Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302043211?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Stock Upgrades: Don't Throw Bebe Out With The Bath Water | Stocks ...
On a day?Google?s?(GOOG) doodle honored the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald, who was born in abject poverty and died in Beverly Hills, the stock market threatened to journey in the opposite direction. Early strength evaporated in the afternoon and, while shares still ended up, the singer was wise to warn us that "spring can really hang you up the most"; it certainly has for the past three years on Wall Street.
?
Wednesday saw the telecom sector suffer its single worst session since August of 2011 but?Alexander Graham Bell?s ass-kicking from beyond the grave?? even in the afterlife, Scots hate losing money ? saw the group gain 1.7% to best all industries. Elsewhere a coach in Germany said beating his rival from Spain,?rock bottom of the PIIGS with a 27.16% unemployment rate, was like ?Robin Hood robbing from the wealthy.? Which, coming from a citizen of Europe?s richest economy, really is a bit rich.
?
Today in economics, consensus says April?s University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey will show an improvement at 9:55 a.m. Eastern. Peak earnings week concludes with announcements expected out of?Alcatel-Lucent(ALU),?Burger King (BKW), Chevron (CVX), DR Horton?(DHI),?Goodyear Tire (GT),?Honda Motor?(HMC),?LyondellBasell (LYB), Total SA?(TOT),?Tyco International?(TYC),?VF Corporation (VFC), and?WellPoint?(WLP).
?
AFLAC?(AFL): Shares are upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee.
?
Aixtron?(AIXG): The name is now Market Perform from Underperform with a new price objective of $13 at Northland Capital.
?
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare?(MDRX): Morgan Stanley moves the stock to Overweight from Equal-Weight.
?
AXIS Capital?(AXS): The rating gets raised to Outperform from Perform at Raymond James.
?
Bebe Stores?(NASDAQ:BEBE): The retailer, up an impressive 3.89% yesterday although still seriously under water over the past year, gets a Buy-from-Neutral boost at Janney. The target price also increases substantially, to $7 from $4. Catalysts include new management, better products, and improving inventory control.
?
Boeing?(BA): The?Dow?(^DJI) member is upgraded to Buy from Hold at BB&T Capital Mkts.
?
Boston Scientific?(BSX): The medical device maker is now Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
?
Cameron International?(CAM): Shares are upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Raymond James.
?
Commercial Metals?(CMC): Jefferies juices its rating to Buy from Hold.
?
Daimler?(PINK:DDAIF): The Mercedes-Benz owner gets a Buy-from-Hold hoist at Deutsche Bank.
?
Facebook?(FB): Citing optimism over new ads and mobile efforts, Raymond James raises its rating to Strong Buy from Outperform. As a result, shares are up 2.07% as I write.
?
Lender Processing?(LPS): LPS is lifted to Outperform from Perform with a $36 target at Oppenheimer, which says cash could soon start to be returned to shareholders.
?
LogMeIn?(LOGM): Cowen raises its opinion to Outperform from Market Perform.
?
PennyMac Mortgage?(PMT): Shares are upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
?
PulteGroup?(PHM): The stock is hoisted to Top Pick from Outperform at RBC Capital.
?
Sony?(SNE): SNE is upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Credit Agricole.
?
SunPower?(SPWR): The stock is now Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, which takes its target to $16 from $10 amid impressive cost reduction initiatives.
?
Unilever?(UN): The consumer products giant, whose brands include Ben & Jerry?s, Lipton, and Vaseline, gets upgraded to Hold from Sell at Soci?t? G?n?rale.
?
Unisys?(UIS): Shares are now Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.
?
Wednesday saw the telecom sector suffer its single worst session since August of 2011 but?Alexander Graham Bell?s ass-kicking from beyond the grave?? even in the afterlife, Scots hate losing money ? saw the group gain 1.7% to best all industries. Elsewhere a coach in Germany said beating his rival from Spain,?rock bottom of the PIIGS with a 27.16% unemployment rate, was like ?Robin Hood robbing from the wealthy.? Which, coming from a citizen of Europe?s richest economy, really is a bit rich.
?
Today in economics, consensus says April?s University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey will show an improvement at 9:55 a.m. Eastern. Peak earnings week concludes with announcements expected out of?Alcatel-Lucent(ALU),?Burger King (BKW), Chevron (CVX), DR Horton?(DHI),?Goodyear Tire (GT),?Honda Motor?(HMC),?LyondellBasell (LYB), Total SA?(TOT),?Tyco International?(TYC),?VF Corporation (VFC), and?WellPoint?(WLP).
?
AFLAC?(AFL): Shares are upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee.
?
Aixtron?(AIXG): The name is now Market Perform from Underperform with a new price objective of $13 at Northland Capital.
?
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare?(MDRX): Morgan Stanley moves the stock to Overweight from Equal-Weight.
?
AXIS Capital?(AXS): The rating gets raised to Outperform from Perform at Raymond James.
?
Bebe Stores?(NASDAQ:BEBE): The retailer, up an impressive 3.89% yesterday although still seriously under water over the past year, gets a Buy-from-Neutral boost at Janney. The target price also increases substantially, to $7 from $4. Catalysts include new management, better products, and improving inventory control.
?
Boeing?(BA): The?Dow?(^DJI) member is upgraded to Buy from Hold at BB&T Capital Mkts.
?
Boston Scientific?(BSX): The medical device maker is now Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
?
Cameron International?(CAM): Shares are upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Raymond James.
?
Commercial Metals?(CMC): Jefferies juices its rating to Buy from Hold.
?
Daimler?(PINK:DDAIF): The Mercedes-Benz owner gets a Buy-from-Hold hoist at Deutsche Bank.
?
Facebook?(FB): Citing optimism over new ads and mobile efforts, Raymond James raises its rating to Strong Buy from Outperform. As a result, shares are up 2.07% as I write.
?
Lender Processing?(LPS): LPS is lifted to Outperform from Perform with a $36 target at Oppenheimer, which says cash could soon start to be returned to shareholders.
?
LogMeIn?(LOGM): Cowen raises its opinion to Outperform from Market Perform.
?
PennyMac Mortgage?(PMT): Shares are upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
?
PulteGroup?(PHM): The stock is hoisted to Top Pick from Outperform at RBC Capital.
?
Sony?(SNE): SNE is upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Credit Agricole.
?
SunPower?(SPWR): The stock is now Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, which takes its target to $16 from $10 amid impressive cost reduction initiatives.
?
Unilever?(UN): The consumer products giant, whose brands include Ben & Jerry?s, Lipton, and Vaseline, gets upgraded to Hold from Sell at Soci?t? G?n?rale.
?
Unisys?(UIS): Shares are now Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.
(See also: New Stock Coverage: TherapeuticsMD Is Just What the Doctor Ordered and Stock Downgrades: Anheuser-Busch Set for Friday Night Hangover.)
No positions in stocks mentioned.
The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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2013 James Beard Awards Spotlight: Chef Paul Virant Cooks Up ...
To garner a coveted award nomination from the James Beard Foundation, and entrance into their deliciously-esteemed, highly-anticipated magnum opus of culinary awards galas, he or she must exude a robust greatness. This person must embody and speak to the late-staunch champion of American cuisine and mentor James Beard?s spirit; this individual can do that through their venerable cooking skills, vast and formidable food knowledge or succulent culinary creations.
Notable chef Paul Virant, of the acclaimed Vie and Perennial Virant Restaurants in Illnois, does that through all three pipelines.
The indefatigable food artist (with a trifecta of roles also including Michelin-star restaurateur and food preservation guru) communicates through garden-fresh cuisine (rife with the season?s best local ingredients). Take for instance this Perennial Virant dinner entr?e: broiled semolina gnocchi, including a confluence of tomato mountain marinara, roasted mushrooms, pickled garlic, wilted spinach and parmesan; consider Vie?s crispy spanakopita: prairie fruits farm ricotta, growing power spinach, chickpea hummus, pickled sweet pepper vinaigrette, roasted carrots and arugula.
His ingredients-focused approach, an astounding dedication to cooking preserves and warm belief in the concept of ?home,? melds together to create quite an unforgettable dining experience. ?I wanted to create an extension of my home,? the talented food canner stated on perennialchicago.com, ?where people come together and enjoy high quality food and drink in the company of others.?
The two-time Beard Awards nominee, who spent his childhood on his family?s Missouri farm before attending the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY, explains graciously that his restaurants are community epicenters. Listening to him, one knows why he is amongst the cr?me de la cr?me of cuisine artists, mavens and inventive mavericks assembled for the Academy Awards-influenced event (expect bursts of attractive chatter about recipes, emotive acceptance speeches, a behemoth media presence, and fragrant aromas stretching the room?s length from the sumptuous fare and drink samples; the stampede over the samplings caused an unforgettable finale last year).
Before this year?s forthcoming event ? with Beard?s formative, far-reaching spirit hopefully echoing loudly in the air ? at the Lincoln Center?s Avery Fisher Hall on May 3 and 6, Virant further tells GALO about his seasonally-savvy food. And the refined tastemaker imparts advice on how a restaurant?s ambience contributes to its immaculate appeal, his future abroad cuisine conquests and erudition, and more.
GALO: Imagine that your restaurant is a food museum, where each displayed dish looks like a work of art. If you were the exhibit curator and you could only showcase four dishes, tell me which ones best embody you as a culinary artist.
PV: I would fall back on the preserving and all the different things. This includes the array of pickles and preserves that we do that vary in color, shape and size. How we could translate that onto one particular plate? I think it would be difficult like the idea of showcasing all the different jars.
We have some kind of aioli, some kind of dumpling on the menu all the time. This is a pretty good representation of the things that we do. What I think that customers like the most is the potato aioli. Maybe I would keep it simple in thinking about what?s in season right now: mushrooms and pickled ramp.
GALO: To expand on the art of cooking, a lot of chefs? culinary creations are like anchors of culinary heritage; the dishes hold the past in place with the present moment. The James Beard Foundation commemorates that idea a lot, but how do you celebrate it specifically?
PV: My restaurants embrace history. We embrace a lot of tradition and how food is prepared but more so how it?s preserved. A huge part of my food is the preservation aspect through canning?I have a book, The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves and Aigre-doux. It?s an old craft that we do all year, so that is a huge part of those traditional aspects of food that we push.
GALO: The Beard Foundation brings a lot of enclaves and communities within the culinary world together. With your esteemed dual of restaurants, Vie (opened in 2004) and the nouveau Perennial Virant (opened last year), how do you draw communities in to dine? Are the establishments considered local hangouts, power lunch spots, neighborhood epicenters that lure in a stable group of regulars or something else?
PV: Vie restaurant in Western Springs, [Illnois] is a community [American cuisine] restaurant. People do come from all over Chicago and all over the country. And we have some that come from out of the country. It is a destination for some [people], but it is a local spot for the surrounding five or six towns.
Perennial is also a neighborhood spot, but I feel it is a little bit more of a destination. It is a fixture; we are right across from the biggest farmer?s market in the city. It?s real neat; there is a lot of history there, too. We are a part of the same building as the Hotel Lincoln, which was around in the 1960s and ?70s, and?then it closed. So we reopened it [and the restaurant] last year in March.
GALO: Considering two key communities ? food writers/bloggers and everyday residents ? please share a recipe from your famous garden-fresh, in-season cuisine that would appeal to both groups.
The following is a recipe from Chef Virant?s cookbook entitled ?The Preservation Kitchen,? courtesy of Chef Virant.
Mixed Berry Crisp with Goat Cheese Mousse and Mulberry Aigre-Doux
?With no peeling, coring, or slicing required, berry crisps are just about the easiest summer dessert that you can make. I?ve complicated things a tad with creamy mousse and sweet-sour mulberry aigre-doux, but only to elevate the crisp from its homespun heritage. For a more striking presentation, bake the crisps in individual ramekins: add 1 cup of fruit to each ramekin, then top with a nice layer of crumble.?
6 cups assorted summer berries (such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup Mulberry Aigre-Doux (recipe featured in Virant?s Book)
Goat Cheese Mousse (recipe featured in Virant?s Book)
1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the berries evenly in 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch over the fruit and gently mix.
2. In a stand mixture fitted with the paddle adjustment, mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the brown sugar, flours, oatmeal, and salt on low speed. While the mixer is running, gradually add the butter and continue to mix until a coarse crumble forms. Spread the crumble evenly over the fruit, gently pressing it into the fruit.
3. Bake until the berry juices are bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes.
(Interview continued on next page)
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Google policy change stops apps like Facebook from bypassing Play Store updates
Google just released a new Play Store version (4.0.27) that, at first glance, contains only very minor tweaks -- except for one little thing. A new policy change will no longer permit any apps to update without going through the Play Store's internal system. That won't affect most software, but there's a notable exception in Facebook, which recently added auto-downloading to the latest version of its Android app, allowing it to bypass Play. The new policy seems designed to put a stop to that kind of thing, but you never know -- it could be just be a coincidence.
[Thanks, Thomas]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Google, Facebook
Source: Google Play
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Novel mechanism by which UVA contributes to photoaging of skin
Apr. 25, 2013 ? A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) provides new evidence that longwave ultraviolet light (UVA) induces a protein that could result in premature skin aging. The findings demonstrate that aspects of photoaging, the process of skin aging by chronic exposure to ultraviolet radiation, could be linked to genetic factors that accelerate the aging process when induced by the environment.
The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, was led by BUSM co-authors Thomas M. Ruenger MD, PhD, professor and vice chair of the department of dermatology, and Hirotaka Takeuchi, MS.
Photoaging is attributed to continuous exposure to UVA and shortwave ultraviolet light (UVB) rays over a long period of time and affects skin surfaces most often exposed to sunlight, including the face, ears, hands and neck. The UVA or UVB rays can be from the sun or from synthetic sources, such as tanning beds. Progerin is a protein that has been associated with both normal and abnormal aging. In Hutchinson Gilford Progeria syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by a vast acceleration of aging of most organs, expression and accumulation of progerin is caused by a mutation in the Lamin A gene.
In this study, skin cells were cultured and exposed to UVB or UVA rays and then examined for expression and accumulation of progerin. The results showed that progerin is induced by ultraviolet light, specifically UVA rays, and that this induction is mediated by reactive oxygen species causing alternative splicing of the LaminA gene pre-mRNA.
"This, to our knowledge, is the first time that induction of progerin is described in response to an external agent," said Ruenger, who also is professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at BUSM and a dermatologist at Boston Medical Center. "Our results reveal a novel mechanism by which UVA rays, which are often emitted from tanning beds, may play a role in the acceleration of photoaging of the skin."
The researchers also note that some aspects of photoaging should be regarded as a process of damage-accelerated intrinsic aging and that intrinsic and extrinsic aging are interdependent.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Boston University Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Thomas M. Ruenger and Hirotaka Takeuchi. Photobiology. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2013 DOI: 10.1038/jid.2013.104
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/ZtTcAiNNpzE/130425132649.htm
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Microsoft squeezes even more money out of Android, signs licensing agreement with ZTE
MADRID, April 25 (Reuters) - Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said the 10-match ban given to his team mate Luis Suarez for biting an opponent was 'absurd' and 'excessive'. Uruguay international Suarez was punished on Wednesday by the English Football Association (FA) after he bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic at the weekend. "He knows he is in the wrong, and that it was a mistake, but the 10-game punishment seems absurd to me, excessive and unfair," Spanish international Reina was quoted as telling radio station Cadena Cope by sports daily AS on Thursday. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-squeezes-even-more-money-android-signs-licensing-194054218.html
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Virginia Tech Carilion scientists image nanoparticles in action
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Paula Byron
paulabyron@vt.edu
540-526-2027
Virginia Tech
For first time, possible to image nanoscale processes in a liquid environment
The macroscopic effects of certain nanoparticles on human health have long been clear to the naked eye. What scientists have lacked is the ability to see the detailed movements of individual particles that give rise to those effects.
In a recently published study, scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute invented a technique for imaging nanoparticle dynamics with atomic resolution as these dynamics occur in a liquid environment. The results will allow, for the first time, the imaging of nanoscale processes, such as the engulfment of nanoparticles into cells.
"We were stunned to see the large-ranged mobility in such small objects," said Deborah Kelly, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. "We now have a system to watch the behaviors of therapeutic nanoparticles at atomic resolution."
Nanoparticles are made of many materials and come in different shapes and sizes. In the new study, Kelly and her colleagues chose to make rod-shaped gold nanoparticles the stars of their new molecular movies. These nanoparticles, roughly the size of a virus, are used to treat various forms of cancer. Once injected, they accumulate in solid tumors. Infrared radiation is then used to heat them and destroy nearby cancerous cells.
To take an up-close look at the gold nanoparticles in action, the researchers made a vacuum-tight microfluidic chamber by pressing two silicon-nitride semiconductor chips together with a 150-nanometer spacer in between. The microchips contained transparent windows so the beam from a transmission electron microscope could pass through to create an atomic-scale image.
Using the new technique, the scientists created two types of visualizations. The first included pictures of individual nanoparticles' atomic structures at 100,000-times magnification the highest resolution images ever taken of nanoparticles in a liquid environment.
The second visualization was a movie captured at 23,000-times magnification that revealed the movements of a group of nanoparticles reacting to an electron beam, which mimics the effects of the infrared radiation used in cancer therapies.
In the movie, the gold nanoparticles can be seen surfing nanoscale tidal waves.
"The nanoparticles behaved like grains of sand being concentrated on a beach by crashing waves," said Kelly. "We think this behavior may be related to why the nanoparticles become concentrated in tumors. Our next experiment will be to insert a cancer cell to study the nanoparticles' therapeutic effects on tumors."
The team is also testing the resolution of the microfluidic system with other reagents and materials, bringing researchers one step closer to viewing live biological mechanisms in action at the highest levels of resolution possible.
###
The study appeared in the April 14 print edition of Chemical Communications in the article "Visualizing Nanoparticle Mobility in Liquid at Atomic Resolution," by Madeline Dukes, an applications scientist at Protochips Inc. in Raleigh, N.C.; Benjamin Jacobs, an applications scientist at Protochips; David Morgan, assistant manager of the Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Facility at Indiana University Bloomington; Harshad Hegde, a computer scientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute; and Kelly, who is also an assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 25-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Paula Byron
paulabyron@vt.edu
540-526-2027
Virginia Tech
For first time, possible to image nanoscale processes in a liquid environment
The macroscopic effects of certain nanoparticles on human health have long been clear to the naked eye. What scientists have lacked is the ability to see the detailed movements of individual particles that give rise to those effects.
In a recently published study, scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute invented a technique for imaging nanoparticle dynamics with atomic resolution as these dynamics occur in a liquid environment. The results will allow, for the first time, the imaging of nanoscale processes, such as the engulfment of nanoparticles into cells.
"We were stunned to see the large-ranged mobility in such small objects," said Deborah Kelly, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. "We now have a system to watch the behaviors of therapeutic nanoparticles at atomic resolution."
Nanoparticles are made of many materials and come in different shapes and sizes. In the new study, Kelly and her colleagues chose to make rod-shaped gold nanoparticles the stars of their new molecular movies. These nanoparticles, roughly the size of a virus, are used to treat various forms of cancer. Once injected, they accumulate in solid tumors. Infrared radiation is then used to heat them and destroy nearby cancerous cells.
To take an up-close look at the gold nanoparticles in action, the researchers made a vacuum-tight microfluidic chamber by pressing two silicon-nitride semiconductor chips together with a 150-nanometer spacer in between. The microchips contained transparent windows so the beam from a transmission electron microscope could pass through to create an atomic-scale image.
Using the new technique, the scientists created two types of visualizations. The first included pictures of individual nanoparticles' atomic structures at 100,000-times magnification the highest resolution images ever taken of nanoparticles in a liquid environment.
The second visualization was a movie captured at 23,000-times magnification that revealed the movements of a group of nanoparticles reacting to an electron beam, which mimics the effects of the infrared radiation used in cancer therapies.
In the movie, the gold nanoparticles can be seen surfing nanoscale tidal waves.
"The nanoparticles behaved like grains of sand being concentrated on a beach by crashing waves," said Kelly. "We think this behavior may be related to why the nanoparticles become concentrated in tumors. Our next experiment will be to insert a cancer cell to study the nanoparticles' therapeutic effects on tumors."
The team is also testing the resolution of the microfluidic system with other reagents and materials, bringing researchers one step closer to viewing live biological mechanisms in action at the highest levels of resolution possible.
###
The study appeared in the April 14 print edition of Chemical Communications in the article "Visualizing Nanoparticle Mobility in Liquid at Atomic Resolution," by Madeline Dukes, an applications scientist at Protochips Inc. in Raleigh, N.C.; Benjamin Jacobs, an applications scientist at Protochips; David Morgan, assistant manager of the Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Facility at Indiana University Bloomington; Harshad Hegde, a computer scientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute; and Kelly, who is also an assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/vt-vtc042513.php
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Search engine marketing Gives A Large Support For Most World ...
Search engine optimization is just assuring that the web pages are obtainable in all search engines. And this is also centering on the means that will make them enhance the probability that net customers will locate the page ?
Search engine optimisation or the search engine optimization is the way of producing web pages eye-catching to most of the search engines. This is the way of altering an internet site in a course of a plan and writing methods that will enhance your website on the principal search engines.
Search engine optimization is simply assuring that the web pages are accessible in all search engines. And this is also centering on the indicates that will make them improve the probability that net users will locate the web page utilizing search engines.
A page that is well enhanced optimized will grow to be the prime putting in the search engine outcome lists. This is quite considerable simply because most folks who use the search engine would tend to only look at the initial web page. Considering that a properly optimized pages is positioned at the first or second page of the search engine it is extremely possible that the researcher will study it.
The principal aim to become a search engine successful is to have the pages offered at the first two pages or first pages (if achievable) for distinct crucial terms. They are five critical rules for search engine optimization and they are:
1. Maintain in thoughts that every web page of your site is a detach unit. Each and every page must relate to the fundamentals of an effective search engine optimization.
two. Select for a suitable important words or phrases that you will use for every single internet page. It is important that the important words or phrases relates to the subject.
three. Offer every page with a suitable and appropriate title that contains the important word or phrases even after.
4. As soon as you are picking the important words or phrases, spot it in the pages title tag, Meta key words and Meta description. The Meta description should be interesting if necessary given that most search engine use the description in the search engine benefits pages.
five. Make it specific that the crucial words or phrase you have selected is reiterated sensibly all through out the pages content. If you did not do it, there is a possibility that it may be regarded as as spam and be rejected.
Some may possibly inform you that these are only the five fundamentals to powerful search engine. However when you make use of these 5 basics, surely it will offer your web page chances of appearing in the very first web page of the most search engines or else at the second (which is still great).
Beneath are listed search engine optimization tips when it comes to its significance:
Possible web site program
Choosing the appropriate keywords
The title tag
The copywriting
The Meta tag
The descriptions alt quality
Issues that should be avoided
How lengthy will it take to be programmed
Most people are effortlessly gets upset when the articles that they are seeking for are unavailable in the web. At times it would take them hours and hours hunting for the articles. And because most individuals would rely on the articles of the search outcomes very first page, possibilities are the articles at the latter pages will most likely be noticed as significantly as the first pages.
This is what makes the search engine optimization crucial this time it aids the world wide web surfers discover their researches the easiest way possible. Especially at this era of computer oriented way of life, most men and women know how to use computers and most people utilizes the internet for some important matters. By the assist of the search engines, it will be simple for them to locate data on keywords and phrases that they are looking for.Design SEO Hosting
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Thursday, April 25, 2013
PFT: GM calls 2013 NFL draft class 'historically bad'
Getty ImagesAs this year?s crop of incoming players, especially those taken in the first two rounds, celebrate their new circumstances, they need to keep one thing in mind.
Several months from now, there?s a chance they will think those circumstances stink.
Rams running back Isaiah Pead fell right into that category last season, despite being the 50th overall pick in the 2012 draft.? Presumed to be the heir apparent to Steven Jackson, Pead became largely forgotten last year, sliding behind seventh-rounder Daryl Richardson.
?Honestly, I would call it miserable,? Pead said of his rookie season, via the University of Cincinnati official website. ?Miserable life.? Miserable four-five months.?
When the season finally ended, Pead packed up and left.
?I took off and I didn?t come back until it was time to,? Pead said.? ?I just wanted to stay out of this area, I came back for a couple days to pack up then all the memories and walking back into my house by myself, had a couple days by myself, I just needed to get out of that area.?
Pead is partially responsible for his misery.? He didn?t deal well with being demoted behind a guy taken 202 spots later, showing up late for a pair of meetings.
?I was literally fed up with football,? Pead said.? ?Not a quitter, not quitting, I was just tired of football.? Tired of practice for the day and I would just lay there play video games and whatnot because it was so miserable, so stressful.?
With a fresh opportunity coming from the departure of Jackson, Pead is ready to turn the page.
?Whole new era, whole new attitude, whole new team, whole new Pead,? Pead said. ??I?m not going to sit and linger on something, but I am one to not forget about a situation.? I am moving on from last year, last year is last year, but I have not forgot about last year.? I wouldn?t call it revenge, but the chip that I put on my shoulder is just a little bigger.?
He needs to perform more than a little better to erase the head start that Richardson earned in 2012.? While Pead finished with 10 carries for 54 yards, Richardson had 98 carries for 475 yards.
Pead also needs to hope the Rams don?t use one of their high draft picks on a rookie who?ll get a chance to in 2013 that which Pead couldn?t in 2012.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/23/one-gm-says-this-draft-is-historically-bad/related/
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
ALS trial suggests novel therapy is safe
Apr. 23, 2013 ? An investigational treatment for an inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease has passed an early phase clinical trial for safety, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital report.
The researchers have shown that the therapy produced no serious side effects in patients with the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The phase 1 trial's results, available online in Lancet Neurology, also demonstrate that the drug was successfully introduced into the central nervous system.
The treatment uses a technique that shuts off the mutated gene that causes the disease. This approach had never been tested against a condition that damages nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
"These results let us move forward in the development of this treatment and also suggest that it's time to think about applying this same approach to other mutated genes that cause central nervous system disorders," says lead author Timothy Miller, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University. "These could include some forms of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and other conditions."
ALS destroys nerves that control muscles, gradually leading to paralysis and death. For treatment of the disease, the sole FDA-approved medication, Riluzole, has only a marginal effect.
Most cases of ALS are sporadic, but about 10 percent are linked to inherited mutations. Scientists have identified changes in 10 genes that can cause ALS and are still looking for others.
The study focused on a form of ALS caused by mutations in a gene called SOD1, which account for 2 percent of all ALS cases. Researchers have found more than 100 mutations in the SOD1 gene that cause ALS.
"At the molecular level, these mutations affect the properties of the SOD1 protein in a variety of ways, but they all lead to ALS," says Miller, who is director of the Christopher Wells Hobler Lab for ALS Research at the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University.
Rather than try to understand how each mutation causes ALS, Miller and his colleagues focused on blocking production of the SOD1 protein using a technique called antisense therapy.
To make a protein, cells have to copy the protein-building instructions from the gene. Antisense therapy blocks the cell from using these copies, allowing researchers to selectively silence individual genes.
"Antisense therapy has been considered and tested for a variety of disorders over the past several decades," Miller says. "For example, the FDA recently approved an antisense therapy called Kynamro for familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited condition that increases cholesterol levels in the blood."
Miller and colleagues at the University of California-San Diego devised an antisense drug for SOD1 and successfully tested it in an animal model of the disease.
Merit Cudkowicz, MD, chief of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, was co-PI of the phase I clinical safety trial described in the new paper. Clinicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston gave antisense therapy or a placebo to 21 patients with SOD1-related ALS. Treatment consisted of spinal infusions that lasted 11 hours.
The scientists found no significant difference between side effects in the control and treatment groups. Headache and back pain, both of which are often associated with spinal infusion, were among the most common side effects.
Immediately after the injections, the researchers took spinal fluid samples. This let them confirm the antisense drug was circulating in the spinal fluid of patients who received the treatment.
To treat SOD1-related ALS in the upcoming phase II trial, researchers will need to increase the dosage of the antisense drug. As the dose rises, they will watch to ensure that the therapy does not cause harmful inflammation or other side effects as it lowers SOD1 protein levels.
"All the information that we have so far suggests lowering SOD1 will be safe," Miller says. "In fact, completely disabling SOD1 in mice seems to have little to no effect. We think it will be OK in patients, but we won't know for sure until we've conducted further trials."
The therapy may one day be helpful in the more common, noninherited forms of ALS, some of which may be linked to problems with the SOD1 protein.
"Before we can consider using this same therapy for sporadic ALS, we need more evidence that SOD1 is a major contributor to these forms of the disorder," Miller says.
The trial was conducted with support from ISIS Pharmaceuticals, which co-owns a patent on the SOD1 antisense drug.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Timothy M Miller, Alan Pestronk, William David, Jeffrey Rothstein, Ericka Simpson, Stanley H Appel, Patricia L Andres, Katy Mahoney, Peggy Allred, Katie Alexander, Lyle W Ostrow, David Schoenfeld, Eric A Macklin, Daniel A Norris, Georgios Manousakis, Matthew Crisp, Richard Smith, C Frank Bennett, Kathie M Bishop, Merit E Cudkowicz. An antisense oligonucleotide against SOD1 delivered intrathecally for patients with SOD1 familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a phase 1, randomised, first-in-man study. The Lancet Neurology, 2013; 12 (5): 435 DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70061-9
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Yau30vTMth4/130423172722.htm
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Airlines say they shouldn?t pay for furlough-induced tarmacdelays?
If the FAA furloughs air traffic controllers and a plane full of passengers sits on the tarmac for 3 or more hours, should the Department of Transportation (DOT) ding the carrier for violating the government?s three-year-old rule against extended tarmac delays?
The airline industry says ?no? and two industry trade groups ? Airlines for America (A4A) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) ? have filed a motion asking DOT to suspend the rule in the event such violations are a result of the sequestration-related furloughs that went into effect Sunday.
?We believe granting this exemption serves the best interests of the flying public by providing airlines with the operating flexibility necessary to focus on responding to the FAA?s projected delays in ways that minimize and avoid worsening the disruption and inconvenience to our passengers,? said A4A spokesperson Katie Connell via email.
The request seeks to spare airlines from the fines laid out under the rule that was first put in place in April 2010 as a response to several high-profile cases in which passengers were stuck on grounded airplanes for up to 9 hours.
Under the rule, carriers that violate the rule are subject to fines of up to $27,500 per passenger. In August 2011, the rule was extended to include international flights, which can incur the same penalties if they don?t offer passengers the opportunity to disembark after 4 hours.
Although bitterly opposed by the airline industry when the rule was first proposed, it has led to a drastic decline in the number of extended tarmac delays. The most recent incident involved 34 planes operated by US Airways and its partners that were stranded during a mid-February snowstorm in Charlotte, N.C., an incident DOT is currently investigating.
For proponents of the tarmac delay rules, the industry motion represents a case of d?j? vu all over again: ?The airlines are rehashing the same arguments they used before,? said Paul Hudson, president of the consumer group FlyersRights.org. ?Their request is for 90 days or the length of the sequester and there?s no doubt they will try to extend it indefinitely.?
For Hudson, the issue should be considered a ?non-starter? because the rule includes language that releases the airlines from liability for situations that are out of their control.
?The DOT already has the discretion not to fine them,? he told NBC News. ?There are provisions that if there are air traffic control or security reasons that prevent planes from getting back to the gate then the airlines are relieved of the obligation.?
In the meantime, both the furloughs and bad weather have led to an uptick in delays in recent days. According to FAA, there were 1,200 delays in the system on Monday that were attributable to staffing reductions with 1,400 additional delays caused by weather and other factors.
Similar, albeit fewer, delays were reported on Tuesday with wind, weather and staffing issues leading to late-afternoon delays in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The worst delays were at Newark (weather/wind) and LaGuardia (staffing), both of which were reporting delays of 115 minutes.
Obviously, such delays aren?t long enough to trigger the tarmac delay rule although they?re plenty long enough to inconvenience passengers. Travelers who wish to weigh in the issue of fines, furloughs and who?s responsible for the current situation have until 5 p.m. Friday to send their comments to DOT.
Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him on Twitter.
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Nintendo has another tough year, sells just 390,000 Wii Us in the last quarter
While there's no shortage of 3DS iterations headed to the market, Nintendo is having a harder time selling its new Wii U. Profits for the year are also half of its own predictions, despite the fact that Nintendo reduced its rosy estimates in the interim. Net sales are down 1.9 percent over the last year, down to 635 billion yen, but most importantly the company has managed to turn its net income into positive figures, netting 7 billion yen over the last year, compared to a 40 billion yen loss the year before. Following its launch, Wii U sales have slowed substantially, with only 390,000 units sold since December (now totaling 3.45 million), while the 3DS continues to sell in healthier numbers, with Nintendo shifting 1.25 million handhelds in the same period.
Focusing on the next year, the company maintains that it'll increase net income to 10 billion yen in the next twelve months, with a focus on selling "the compelling nature" of its gaming hardware, as well as pushing its 3DS more in foreign markets. The financial statement adds that the games maker plans to concentrate on "proactively releasing key Nintendo titles" starting the second half of this year "in order to regain momentum." Those key titles will have to hit hard, as certain competitors' new consoles are creeping closer.
In related news, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata is taking on a second role as CEO at Nintendo of America, today's report states. Current NoA figurehead Reggie Fils-Aime will stay on as COO, overseen directly by Iwata.
Source: Nintendo
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Why TSA delayed its new rules allowing knives on airplanes
Pressure from flight attendants and members of Congress prompts the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to delay new rules that would have let passengers carry small knives and some sporting equipment onto airplanes.
This undated handout image provided by the Transportation Security Administration shows a page from a TSA pamphlet of Changes to Prohibited Items List, of small knife guidelines allowed and not allowed on airplanes as per a new policy that was to go into effect on April 25.
TSA/AP
EnlargeBowing to pressure from flight attendants and members of Congress,?the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it would delay implementation of new rules scheduled to take effect on Thursday that would have let passengers carry small knives and some sporting equipment onto airplanes.
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TSA Administrator John Pistole sent word of the change in an e-mail to employees on Monday. Politico Pro obtained a copy of the message,?which came after Mr. Pistole met with his Aviation Security Advisory Committee.
The agency later posted a brief statement on its website:??In order to accommodate further input from the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), which includes representatives from the aviation community, passenger advocates, law enforcement experts, and other stakeholders, TSA will temporarily delay implementation of changes to the Prohibited Items List, originally scheduled to go into effect April 25.?
The agency did not link the change to the bomb attacks at the Boston Marathon, instead saying that the move ?will enable TSA to incorporate the [advisory panel's] feedback about the changes to the Prohibited Items List and continue workforce training."
But critics of the loosened rules did make such a link. Sara Nelson, international vice president of the Association of Flight Attendants, told USA Today that?"[i]n the wake of the terrorist bombing in Boston last week ... now is not the time to weaken transportation security.??
Ms. Nelson added that "[f]light attendants are breathing a sigh of relief that the weapons that led to the deadliest attack on U.S. soil in our nation's history will not be allowed in the aircraft cabin this week."?
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Women shot at during LA manhunt get $4.2M settlement
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The city of Los Angeles reached a $4.2 million settlement on injury claims by two women who were injured when police mistakenly opened fire on them during the manhunt for disgruntled ex-cop Christopher Dorner, an official said Tuesday.
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced the sum to KNBC-TV Los Angeles, and an attorney representing the women confirmed the amount to The Associated Press.
The settlement must still be approved by the Los Angeles City Council.
Margie Carranza and her 71-year-old mother, Emma Hernandez, were delivering papers around 5 a.m. on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers blasted at least 100 rounds at their pickup.
Hernandez was shot in the back and Carranza had minor injuries.
The settlement means they cannot pursue any future injury claims against the city.
Attorney Glen Jonas, who represents the women, called the amount fair and said it spared the city from defending a case that involved eight police officers and would have likely cost millions of dollars.
"The only certainty was the litigation was going to cost everyone a lot of money and a lot of time," Jonas said.
Jonas sent a 9-page demand to the city more than a month ago that provided an opening to negotiations. He said he negotiated with Trutanich for weeks before the deal was reached on Monday night.
"We're two veteran trial lawyers trying to settle a case, and we both understand the reality of litigation and what it costs to both sides," Jonas said.
The women agreed to receive the payment after June 30 ? the end of the fiscal year ? to help the city with its budgeting. The agreement came in addition to a separate $40,000 settlement reached earlier for the loss of the women's pickup truck.
"For them, the money is not the issue as much as (the city) just doing the right thing," Jonas said. "Everyone agreed that they were wronged, but we didn't know whether responsibility would be assumed ... It's pleasant to get that done without having to go through years of litigation."
___
Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/los-angeles-settles-women-fired-manhunt-201857475.html
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Team deploys hundreds of tiny untethered surgical tools in first animal biopsies
Public release date: 23-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Phil Sneiderman
prs@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
By using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, Johns Hopkins engineers and physicians say they have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.
In two recent peer-reviewed journal articles, the team reported successful animal testing of the tiny tools, which require no batteries, wires or tethers as they seize internal tissue samples. The devices are called "mu-grippers," incorporating the Greek letter that represents the term for "micro." Instead of relying on electric or pneumatic power, these star-shaped tools are autonomously activated by the body's heat, which causes their tiny "fingers" to close on clusters of cells. Because the tools also contain a magnetic material, they can be retrieved through an existing body opening via a magnetic catheter.
In the April print edition of Gastroenterology, the researchers described their use of the mu-grippers to collect cells from the colon and esophagus of a pig, which was selected because its intestinal tract is similar to that of humans. Earlier this year, the team members reported in the journal Advanced Materials that they had successfully inserted the mu-grippers through the mouth and stomach of a live animal and released them in a hard-to-access place, the bile duct, from which they obtained tissue samples.
"This is the first time that anyone has used a sub-millimeter-sized device -- the size of a dust particle -- to conduct a biopsy in a live animal," said David Gracias, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering whose lab team developed the microgrippers. "That's a significant accomplishment. And because we can send the grippers in through natural orifices, it is an important advance in minimally invasive treatment and a step toward the ultimate goal of making surgical procedures noninvasive."
Another member of the research team, physician Florin M. Selaru of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said the mu-grippers could lead to an entirely new approach to conducting biopsies, which are considered the "gold standard" test for diagnosing cancer and other diseases.
The advantage of the mu-grippers, he said, is that they could collect far more samples from many more locations. He pointed out that the much larger forceps used during a typical colonoscopy may remove 30 to 40 pieces of tissue to be studied for signs of cancer. But despite a doctor's best intentions, the small number of specimens makes it easy to miss diseased lesions.
"What's the likelihood of finding the needle in the haystack?" said Selaru, an assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. "Based on a small sample, you can't always draw accurate inferences. We need to be able to do a larger statistical sampling of the tissue. That's what would give us enough statistical power to draw a conclusion, which, in essence, is what we're trying to do with the microgrippers. We could deploy hundreds or even thousands of these grippers to get more samples and a better idea of what kind of or whether a disease is present."
Although each mu-gripper can grab a much smaller tissue sample than larger biopsy tools, the researchers said each gripper can retrieve enough cells for effective microscopic inspection and genetic analysis. Armed with this information, they said, the patient's physician could be better prepared to diagnose and treat the patient.
This approach would be possible through the latest application of the Gracias lab's self-assembling tiny surgical tools, which can be activated by heat or chemicals, without relying on electrical wires, tubes, batteries or tethers. The low-cost devices are fabricated through photolithography, the same process used to make computer chips. Their fingerlike projections are made of materials that would normally curl inward, but the team adds a polymer resin to give the joints rigidity and to keep the digits from closing.
Prior to a biopsy, the grippers are kept on ice, so that the fingers remain in this extended position. An endoscopy tool then is used to insert hundreds of grippers into the area targeted for a biopsy. Within about five minutes, the warmth of the body causes the polymer coating to soften, and the fingers curl inward to grasp some tissue. A magnetic tool is then inserted to retrieve them.
Although the animal testing results are promising, the researchers said the process will require further refinement before human testing can begin. "The next step is improving how we deploy the grippers," Selaru said. "The concept is sound, but we still need to address some of the details. The other thing we need to do is thorough safety studies."
Further development can be costly, however. The team has applied for grants to fund advances in the project, which is protected by provisional patents obtained through the Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer Office. Biotechnology investors might also help move the project forward.
"It is more a question of money than time as to how long it will take before we could use this in human patients," Selaru said
###
Along with Gracias and Selaru, the Johns Hopkins researchers who contributed significantly to the two journal articles were Evin Gultepe, Sumitaka Yamanaka, Eun Shin and Anthony Kalloo. Additional contributors were Kate E. Laflin, Sachin Kadam, Yoosun Shim, Alexandru V. Olaru, Berkeley Limketkai, Mouen A. Khashab and Jatinder S. Randhawa. The researchers are affiliated with School of Medicine, the Whiting School of Engineering and the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology.
Funding for this research has come from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute and the Broad Medical Research Institute.
Related links:
Gracias Lab: http://www.jhu.edu/chembe/gracias/
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gastroenterology_hepatology
Whiting School of Engineering: http://engineering.jhu.edu
School of Medicine: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/
Institute for NanoBioTechnology: http://inbt.jhu.edu/
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Media Contact:
Phil Sneiderman
Cell: 410-299-7462
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 23-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Phil Sneiderman
prs@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
By using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, Johns Hopkins engineers and physicians say they have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.
In two recent peer-reviewed journal articles, the team reported successful animal testing of the tiny tools, which require no batteries, wires or tethers as they seize internal tissue samples. The devices are called "mu-grippers," incorporating the Greek letter that represents the term for "micro." Instead of relying on electric or pneumatic power, these star-shaped tools are autonomously activated by the body's heat, which causes their tiny "fingers" to close on clusters of cells. Because the tools also contain a magnetic material, they can be retrieved through an existing body opening via a magnetic catheter.
In the April print edition of Gastroenterology, the researchers described their use of the mu-grippers to collect cells from the colon and esophagus of a pig, which was selected because its intestinal tract is similar to that of humans. Earlier this year, the team members reported in the journal Advanced Materials that they had successfully inserted the mu-grippers through the mouth and stomach of a live animal and released them in a hard-to-access place, the bile duct, from which they obtained tissue samples.
"This is the first time that anyone has used a sub-millimeter-sized device -- the size of a dust particle -- to conduct a biopsy in a live animal," said David Gracias, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering whose lab team developed the microgrippers. "That's a significant accomplishment. And because we can send the grippers in through natural orifices, it is an important advance in minimally invasive treatment and a step toward the ultimate goal of making surgical procedures noninvasive."
Another member of the research team, physician Florin M. Selaru of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said the mu-grippers could lead to an entirely new approach to conducting biopsies, which are considered the "gold standard" test for diagnosing cancer and other diseases.
The advantage of the mu-grippers, he said, is that they could collect far more samples from many more locations. He pointed out that the much larger forceps used during a typical colonoscopy may remove 30 to 40 pieces of tissue to be studied for signs of cancer. But despite a doctor's best intentions, the small number of specimens makes it easy to miss diseased lesions.
"What's the likelihood of finding the needle in the haystack?" said Selaru, an assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. "Based on a small sample, you can't always draw accurate inferences. We need to be able to do a larger statistical sampling of the tissue. That's what would give us enough statistical power to draw a conclusion, which, in essence, is what we're trying to do with the microgrippers. We could deploy hundreds or even thousands of these grippers to get more samples and a better idea of what kind of or whether a disease is present."
Although each mu-gripper can grab a much smaller tissue sample than larger biopsy tools, the researchers said each gripper can retrieve enough cells for effective microscopic inspection and genetic analysis. Armed with this information, they said, the patient's physician could be better prepared to diagnose and treat the patient.
This approach would be possible through the latest application of the Gracias lab's self-assembling tiny surgical tools, which can be activated by heat or chemicals, without relying on electrical wires, tubes, batteries or tethers. The low-cost devices are fabricated through photolithography, the same process used to make computer chips. Their fingerlike projections are made of materials that would normally curl inward, but the team adds a polymer resin to give the joints rigidity and to keep the digits from closing.
Prior to a biopsy, the grippers are kept on ice, so that the fingers remain in this extended position. An endoscopy tool then is used to insert hundreds of grippers into the area targeted for a biopsy. Within about five minutes, the warmth of the body causes the polymer coating to soften, and the fingers curl inward to grasp some tissue. A magnetic tool is then inserted to retrieve them.
Although the animal testing results are promising, the researchers said the process will require further refinement before human testing can begin. "The next step is improving how we deploy the grippers," Selaru said. "The concept is sound, but we still need to address some of the details. The other thing we need to do is thorough safety studies."
Further development can be costly, however. The team has applied for grants to fund advances in the project, which is protected by provisional patents obtained through the Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer Office. Biotechnology investors might also help move the project forward.
"It is more a question of money than time as to how long it will take before we could use this in human patients," Selaru said
###
Along with Gracias and Selaru, the Johns Hopkins researchers who contributed significantly to the two journal articles were Evin Gultepe, Sumitaka Yamanaka, Eun Shin and Anthony Kalloo. Additional contributors were Kate E. Laflin, Sachin Kadam, Yoosun Shim, Alexandru V. Olaru, Berkeley Limketkai, Mouen A. Khashab and Jatinder S. Randhawa. The researchers are affiliated with School of Medicine, the Whiting School of Engineering and the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology.
Funding for this research has come from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute and the Broad Medical Research Institute.
Related links:
Gracias Lab: http://www.jhu.edu/chembe/gracias/
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gastroenterology_hepatology
Whiting School of Engineering: http://engineering.jhu.edu
School of Medicine: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/
Institute for NanoBioTechnology: http://inbt.jhu.edu/
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
Suite 540, 901 S. Bond St.
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Media Contact:
Phil Sneiderman
Cell: 410-299-7462
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/jhu-tdh042313.php
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