Pakistan held, freed militant before girl's attack

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Pakistani students hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban, during a protest condemning the attack, in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Pakistani students hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban, during a protest condemning the attack, in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, is moved to a helicopter to be taken to Peshawar for treatment in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada, File)

Indian students participate in a prayer ceremony in support of and for the recovery of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the head last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, at a school in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012. Experts are optimistic that Yousufzai, who was airlifted Monday to Britain to receive specialized medical care, has a good chance of recovery because unlike adults, the brains of teenagers are still growing and can adapt to trauma better. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

(AP) ? One of the two Taliban militants suspected of attacking a teenage girl activist was detained by the Pakistani military in 2009 but subsequently released, intelligence officials said Thursday.

Malala Yousufzai, 14, was shot and critically wounded on Oct. 9 as she headed home from school in the northwest Swat Valley. The Taliban said they targeted Malala, a fierce advocate for girls' education, because she promoted "Western thinking" and was critical of the militant group.

The military detained Attaullah during the army's 2009 offensive in Swat because of suspected ties with the Pakistani Taliban, which had established effective control over the valley at the time, said two intelligence officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The military successfully pushed most of the militants out of Swat, but Attaullah was released because of a lack of evidence linking him to specific attacks, said the officials. It's unclear how long he was held.

The shooting of Malala outraged people around the world and stepped up pressure on the Pakistani government to intensify its fight against the Taliban and their allies.

Malala was airlifted to England earlier this week for specialized treatment and to protect her from follow-on attacks by the Taliban, who have threatened to target her again until she is killed.

A Pakistani official said Wednesday that Malala was improving and has been moving her limbs. The official, who said he was briefed by Malala's doctors in England, spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't cleared to talk on the record about the case.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-18-Pakistan/id-08ba75cf88e546f6a34f0951e317d8a6

tannehill joel ward mock draft washington redskins north country brian mcknight sbux

Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape

ScienceDaily (Oct. 16, 2012) ? Ice-sheet retreat can halt temporarily during long phases of climate warming, according to scientists.

A UK team led by Durham University has found that the geometry of channels beneath the ice can be a strong control on ice behaviour, temporarily hiding the signals of retreat.

The findings, which provide the first simulation of past ice-sheet retreat and collapse over a 10,000-year period in Antarctica, shed new light on what makes ice stable or unstable and will help refine predictions of future ice extent and global sea-level rise, the researchers say.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that one of the main challenges in predicting future sea-level rise is to quantify and model the interactions between evolving ice sheets, oceans, sea level and climate. Significant efforts have been made over the last decade to develop computer models and collect data in order to reduce uncertainties and understand the potential impacts under scenarios of future climate change.

The results of the new research from Durham University, the University of Sheffield, the University of Cambridge, and the British Antarctic Survey are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Lead author Dr Stewart Jamieson, a glaciologist at the Department of Geography, Durham University, said: "Our research shows that the physical shape of the channels is a more important factor in controlling ice stability than was previously realised. Channel width can have a major effect on ice flow, and determines how fast retreat, and therefore sea-level rise, can happen.

Although climatic and oceanic changes are crucial drivers of ice loss, the research shows that the landscape below the ice strongly controls the speed of any retreat.

Dr Jamieson said: "Our results suggest that during an overall phase of retreat an ice stream can appear almost stable when in fact, in the longer-term, the opposite may be the case.

"Getting a clearer picture of the landscape beneath the ice is crucial if future predictions of change in the ice-sheets and sea level are to be improved."

Marine-based ice streams are the fast flowing arteries of ice sheets, draining approximately 90 per cent of the ice that reaches the sea. They flow through large channels where the ice can move thousands of metres in a year. According to the scientists, the unpredictable nature of ice streams makes forecasting ice-sheet retreat extremely difficult. If ice streams speed up they can cause sea level to rise.

Durham University co-author Dr Chris Stokes said: "Ice streams are like taps filling a bath, but the problem here is that we do not know if something is suddenly going to turn them up or even turn them down."

Satellite imagery from the last 20 years has led to advances in our knowledge of ice sheet stability and has shown that many ice streams are getting thinner and retreating because the ocean and climate are warming. The new research shows that ice behaviour over thousands of years can successfully be simulated in places where ice streams meet the sea.

The researchers looked at the landscape of the seafloor in Marguerite Bay, in the Antarctic Peninsula, and saw that during a rapid phase of recession 13,000 years ago, retreat paused many times. Using a computer model designed to work in situations of rapid change, they found they could reproduce the same pattern in a series of simulations. These showed that ice dragged on the sides of the channel more where it was narrow, causing retreat to slow and in places temporarily stop for decades to centuries before retreat continued.

Many ice streams are found in channels with beds that are below sea level and that deepen inland. Current theory suggests that ice loss can increase rapidly in deeper water, but the new findings show that channel width plays a crucial role and that narrow bottlenecks in the landscape beneath the ice can cause retreat to slow down.

Dr Andreas Vieli, Department of Geography, Durham University, said: "We can see from our simulations and from new maps of the ocean floor that these bottlenecks occur in the same place as pauses or slowdowns in past ice retreat. This means we should look more closely at the shape of the bed underneath Greenland and Antarctica to better understand how ice might retreat in the future."

The researchers say that understanding ice-stream behaviour and the rate of mass loss from ice sheets and glaciers is essential.

DrClaus-Dieter Hillenbrand, from the British Antarctic Survey, said: "Knowledge of the factors influencing stability and retreat of ice streams is of particular concern because significant portions of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are currently losing mass that contributes significantly to sea-level rise. Our model results help to explain the apparently time-transgressive retreat of ice streams around Antarctica following the last ice age."

The research was financially supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, UK.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Durham University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Andreas Vieli, Stephen J. Livingstone, Colm ? Cofaigh, Chris Stokes, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Julian A. Dowdeswell. Ice-stream stability on a reverse bed slope. Nature Geoscience, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1600

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/GF3LHS3L4a0/121016173136.htm

the rock vs john cena acm awards 2012 january jones ncaa final game miranda lambert reba mcentire acm awards

Sprint Confirms Negotiations with SoftBank of Japan

Industry Leaders Magazine

After struggling with deep losses and a debt load for half of a decade?Sprint Nextel Corp. has found its lifeline. The company has announced that it is in negotiations with SoftBank Corp., the Japanese cellphone company. The Japanese company also confirmed that it considered making a substantial investment in the No. 3 U.S. carrier. The possible takeover could turn around Sprint Nextel Corp. as the company has also been affected by the latest wireless consolidation.

Sprint - SoftBank talks

According to a source familiar with the matter, the Sprint Nextel - SoftBank talks, which began this summer, regard taking a stake of approximately 75 percent and providing capital for necessary investments. SoftBank Corp., the Japanese telecommunications company, is to pay roughly $19 billion for the stake in Sprint Nextel Corp. The Sprint Nextel - SoftBank talks began just a week after Deutsche Telekom, the parent of T-Mobile USA, informed about a reverse takeover of MetroPCS, a small company in cellphone service.

Like us on Facebook -->

The No. 3 U.S. carrier provided only few details on the Sprint Nextel - SoftBank talks. As it was stated by the company based in the Overland Park, Kan., "Although there can be no assurances that these discussions will result in any transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur, such a transaction could involve a change of control of Sprint. Sprint does not intend to comment further unless and until an agreement is reached."

The SoftBank Corp.'s investment would certainly give Sprint Nextel Corp. money to speed up building its next-generation wireless network, 4G LTE network. In September, the No. 3 US carrier, Sprint Nextel Corp., informed that it had launched the network in 24 cities and it planned to launch it in over 100 cities. Furthermore, it is speculated that after the takeover, Sprint Nextel Corp. could acquire other carriers in the market. The combined entity would consider other deals, including a takeover of Clearwire Corp. which is a wireless provider and one of its significant stakeholders is actually Sprint Nextel Corp.

The takeover of Sprint Nextel Corp. would probably have no problems obtaining approvals of the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies, which are increasingly leery of Verizon's and AT&T's positions in a wireless space, according to Jeffrey Silva, a senior policy director of telecommunications at Medley Global Advisors.

However there are some potential hurdles to the takeover of the No. 3 U.S. carrier, including convincing Sprint Nextel Corp.'s shareholders as well as resolving a rocky relationship between the company and its partner, Clearwire Corp. But the Sprint Nextel - SoftBank talks have the potential to reshape the U.S. wireless market; if the combined entity is created, it will certainly be a competitor of Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc.

Yet some analysts expressed surprised at the possible takeover of Sprint Nextel Corp. as there had been information on the possibility of acquiring other U.S. cellphone companies by the No.3 carrier. According to them, the acquisition by SoftBank Corp. would not help Sprint Nextel Corp. improve its position in the U.S. wireless market.

Sprint in Troubles

Sprint Nextel Corp. is in a difficult competitive position. The company has approximately 56 million wireless subscribers. According to compiled data, Sprint Nextel Corp. losses high-paying subscribers to its biggest rivals, namely, Verizon and AT&T.

In addition, the company has about $21 billion in long-term debt. It has involved in building a new network and it also signed a long-term contract to purchase roughly $15.5 billion worth of Apple Inc. Shares Attain Record High" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.industryleadersmagazine.com/new-iphone-5-helps-apple-inc-shares-attain-record-high/">Apple Inc.'s iPhones.

The company believes that new combined entity would improve its position in the market and improve its own technology to lure more potential customers. The acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp. would give SoftBank Corp. a significant presence at the U.S. wireless market.

Industry Leaders Magazine

Source: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/394569/20121016/sprint-confirms-negotiations-softbank-japan.htm

hedy lamarr jack white kowloon walled city ronda rousey vs miesha tate lindsay lohan snl lindsay lohan on snl real housewives of disney

Study: Multivitamins may lower cancer risk in men

America's favorite dietary supplements, multivitamins, modestly lowered the risk for cancer in healthy male doctors who took them for more than a decade, the first large study to test these pills has found.

The result is a surprise because many studies of individual vitamins have found they don't help prevent chronic diseases and some even seemed to raise the risk of cancer.

In the new study, multivitamins cut the chance of developing cancer by 8 percent. That is less effective than a good diet, exercise and not smoking, each of which can lower cancer risk by 20 percent to 30 percent, cancer experts say.

Multivitamins also may have different results in women, younger men or people less healthy than those in this study.

"It's a very mild effect and personally I'm not sure it's significant enough to recommend to anyone" although it is promising, said Dr. Ernest Hawk, vice president of cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and formerly of the National Cancer Institute.

"At least this doesn't suggest a harm" as some previous studies on single vitamins have, he said.

Hawk reviewed the study for the American Association for Cancer Research, which is meeting in Anaheim, Calif., where the study was to be presented on Wednesday. It also was published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

About one-third of U.S. adults and as many as half of those over 50 take multivitamins. They are marketed as a kind of insurance policy against bad eating. Yet no government agency recommends their routine use "regardless of the quality of a person's diet," says a fact sheet from the federal Office of Dietary Supplements.

Some fads, such as the antioxidant craze over vitamins A and E and beta-carotene, backfired when studies found more health risk with those supplements, not less. Many of those were single vitamins in larger doses than the "100 percent of daily value" amounts that multivitamins typically contain.

Science on vitamins has been skimpy. Most studies have been observational ? they look at groups of people who do and do not use vitamins, a method that can't give firm conclusions.

Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and VA Boston, led a stronger test. Nearly 15,000 male doctors who were 50 or older and free of cancer when the study started were given monthly packets of Centrum Silver or fake multivitamins without knowing which type they received.

After about 11 years, there were 2,669 new cancers, and some people had cancer more than once. For every 1,000 men per year in the study, there were 17 cancers among multivitamin users and more than 18 among those taking the placebo pills. That worked out to an 8 percent lower risk of developing cancer in the vitamin group.

Multivitamins made no difference in the risk of developing prostate cancer, which accounted for half of all cases. They lowered the risk of other cancers collectively by about 12 percent. There also was a trend toward fewer cancer deaths among multivitamin users, but the difference was so small it could have occurred by chance alone.

Side effects were fairly similar except for more rashes among vitamin users. The National Institutes of Health paid for most of the study. Pfizer Inc. supplied the pills and other companies supplied the packaging.

The main reason to take a multivitamin is to correct or prevent a deficiency, "but there may be a modest benefit in reducing the risk of cancer in older men," Gaziano said.

Cancer experts said the results need to be confirmed by another study before recommending multivitamins to the public. These participants were healthier ? only 4 percent smoked, for example.

For people who do want to take multivitamins, doctors suggest:

?Be aware that they are dietary supplements, which do not get the strict testing required of prescription medicines.

?Ask your doctor before taking any. Vitamin K can interfere with common heart medicines and blood thinners, and vitamins C and E can lower the effectiveness of some types of chemotherapy. For people having surgery, some vitamins affect bleeding and response to anesthesia.

?Current and former smokers should avoid multivitamins with lots of beta-carotene or vitamin A; two studies have tied them to increased risk of lung cancer.

__

Online:

JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org

Vitamin facts: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/antioxidants

and http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/MVMS-HealthProfessional

Dietary advice: www.dietaryguidelines.gov

Task force advice: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsvita.htm

Vitamin E and prostate study: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/14/1549

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-multivitamins-may-lower-cancer-risk-men-143404710.html

san diego weather north korea frances bean cobain north korea missile launch modesto st louis weather guinea bissau

German tax to finance renewable energy skyrockets

(AP) ? Germany's tax on households' electricity bills to finance the expansion of renewable energies will rise almost 50 percent on the year as the country pushes ahead with phasing out nuclear power within a decade.

The country's four main grid operators say Monday that the tax will rise from ?3.6 cents to ?5.3 cents ($6.7 cents) per kilowatt hour starting in January. That brings the annual cost of financing Germany's energy switchover for a family of four to about ?250 ($324) per year, including sales tax.

The tax is used to pay producers of solar, wind or biomass power guaranteed above-market rates to ensure their investment will be profitable.

Renewable energies currently produce a quarter of Germany's electricity but are set to account for 80 percent by 2050.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-15-Germany-Energy/id-50cc6cd0179945aab64780a285431bb3

brown recluse brown recluse front door alyssa bustamante protandim weightless ellen degeneres jcpenney

CVH Widens Use of HWAY Program - Zacks.com

Well-being enhancement company Healthways (HWAY - Analyst Report) and Coventry Health Care (CVH - Analyst Report) recently revealed an understanding to provide the SilverSneakers Fitness Program to Coventry?s qualified Medicare Advantage enrollees in 13 states. Starting from January 1, 2013, as per a three year deal, SilverSneakers will become available to enrollees in the states of Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas and Illiniois.?? ?

Coventry has provided fitness regimens to its Medicare Advantage enrollees since 2009. Coventry and Healthways started their relationship in 2012 by providing SilverSneakers to eligible Coventry enrollees in Florida. ?

For health plans inclusive of SilverSneakers provision, Coventry?s Medicare Advantage enrollees will have complete and free access to SilverSneakers facilities throughout the U.S.

Bethesda, Maryland based Coventry Health Care is a large managed health care company. The company provides a complete portfolio of fee based and risk products including Medicare programs.

The Healthways model encourages people to make favorable lifestyle changes that lead to enhanced well-being, reduced healthcare costs, improved performance and economic value for customers. The company has invested in technology platforms that provide scalable support with large populations. It has tie-ups with a large proportion of U.S. health plans and counts many millions of lives in its customer base.

Due to its unique scalable business model, Healthways shares may present a long-term investment opportunity, although it faces many challenges in the short term.

Healthways is the leader in a strategically critical and rapidly evolving part of the health care services market. Its fitness program (SilverSneakers) for seniors is available at over 15,000 centers across the U.S. and is available to over nine million eligible enrollees through Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage plans and group retiree plans. Healthways competes with Express Scripts (ESRX - Analyst Report) among others.

We currently have an Outperform recommendation on Healthways. The stock retains a Zacks #1 Rank, which translates into a short-term Strong Buy rating.

Read the full analyst report on CVH

Read the full analyst report on HWAY

Read the full analyst report on ESRX

Source: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/84754/cvh-widens-use-of-hway-program

dr oz serena williams blake lively RG3 Espn Fantasy Football Grandparents Day 2012 army wives

Home Improvement Advice That You Should Follow iWebdeveloper ...

Painting the interior walls of your home can be a great way to freshen up your decor. Painting is inexpensive and allows for much creativity, based on your color choices. It?s also easy to change, should you decide to go in a different direction. To add a quick and effective punch to any room just grab a can of paint and go!

One of the best lighting improvements for children?s rooms, is adding in directional track lighting. This lighting can be adjusted to highlight artwork, different play areas or furniture. For an especially fun twist, replace one light with a brightly colored red, yellow, or blue light bulb. Track lighting is also timeless and makes the room more versatile, without appearing too childish.

If your kitchen cabinets are looking a little bland. you can add new cabinet knobs to create a new living environment that sparkles. Kitchen knobs are relatively expensive. Knobs come in a variety of colors, giving you the ability to personalize your kitchen in a very cute way. Create a happy home today with new kitchen knobs.

If your shower and bathtub seem to be building up mildew, or leaking a little bit, it may be time for you to re-caulk. Removing your old caulk and putting in new should actually be done once a year as your typical bathroom maintenance. You can purchase calk from any hardware store for a very reasonable price.

When searching for a home improvement contractor you should always check references. You have to research, and make sure the contractor has a great reputation and a proven work history with customers they have worked for in the past. You do not want to end up with a contractor who will do a bad job for you.

If you?re considering a home improvement project, learn to perform some handiwork yourself. Your home improvement project will be more satisfying, and the overall cost will be much cheaper. However, do consider the complexity of jobs you might do. Will a major mistake require an expensive fix? If so, you might be better going with a professional. Have confidence in how difficult you judge a job to be, and go with your gut.

You can add a room to your home without adding to its square footage. Use existing space to create that additional room by building a wall, which will turn one area into two. Closing off a partial wall or filling in an archway will allow you to realize that extra room.

To add appeal to your home and increase its value, consider replacing your existing shingles with architectural shingles. Also known as dimensional shingles, these shingles can simulate the textures of natural substances like slate or wood, and they resist wind better than regular shingles, making them an ideal choice if your home is located in a region that sees high winds.

When renovating your home, you should be sure that your renovation is rewarding to you. Even though home improvement can be a serious matter, you should still have fun. If it is not fun to you, then you shouldn?t put yourself through the misery and instead, hire a professional to do everything for you.

Home improvement has to incorporate research, skill, and detail. It is an activity that takes advantage of your property with the intent of making it better. Don?t be fooled by the simple goal, because it takes work. If you are willing to put in the effort and if you follow the tips, you can do it!

Omar Syed helps make e books relating to www.tripletek.com/under-sink-water-filters-and-filtration-systems.html

Source: http://iwebdeveloper.co.uk/2012/10/15/home-improvement-advice-that-you-should-follow/

ticket city bowl 2011 nfl playoff schedule cowboys vs giants ndaa timberwolves weight watchers rawhide

Study shows fit elderly patients should be considered for therapy

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kristal Griffith
Kristal.Griffith@iaslc.org
720-325-2952
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Study looked at non-small cell lung cancer patients 65 and older

DENVER Until there are more validated biomarkers to direct treatment decisions, many physicians use patient age to decide what therapy to give their patients. Literature data report that older patients often go undertreated because of concerns for limited tolerance to toxic therapies. A study, published in the November 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, says that fit elderly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy.

The study looked at 255 NSCLC patients involved in the Biomarker-Integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination (BATTLE) trial. Subgroups were analyzed comparing age groups 65 and older versus younger than 65 and 70 and older versus younger than 70.

The authors conclude that fit elderly patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy. As far as toxicity, there was no increased incidence of pneumothorax in patients over 65. There was no difference in overall response rate between any age group or sex. And, there was no difference in progression-free survival between any of the overall age groups.

The authors note that the elderly patients in BATTLE did experience "more nonhematologic toxicities, primarily diarrhea and gastrointestinal complaints, but they were able to undergo diagnostic core needle biopsies and subsequent targeted therapy treatment without increased incidence of pneumothorax or treatment-related mortality." Of note, the study showed elderly men had both improved disease control rate and progression-free survival compared with younger men.

###

The lead author of this work is IASLC member Dr. Anne Tsao. Co-authors include IASLC members Dr. Jack Lee, Dr. George Blumenschein, Dr. Roy Herbst, Dr. Edward Kim, Dr. Scott Lippman, Dr. David Stewart, Dr. Ignacio Wistuba and Dr. Waun Ki Hong.

About the IASLC:

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit www.iaslc.org.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kristal Griffith
Kristal.Griffith@iaslc.org
720-325-2952
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Study looked at non-small cell lung cancer patients 65 and older

DENVER Until there are more validated biomarkers to direct treatment decisions, many physicians use patient age to decide what therapy to give their patients. Literature data report that older patients often go undertreated because of concerns for limited tolerance to toxic therapies. A study, published in the November 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, says that fit elderly non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy.

The study looked at 255 NSCLC patients involved in the Biomarker-Integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination (BATTLE) trial. Subgroups were analyzed comparing age groups 65 and older versus younger than 65 and 70 and older versus younger than 70.

The authors conclude that fit elderly patients should be considered for salvage targeted therapy. As far as toxicity, there was no increased incidence of pneumothorax in patients over 65. There was no difference in overall response rate between any age group or sex. And, there was no difference in progression-free survival between any of the overall age groups.

The authors note that the elderly patients in BATTLE did experience "more nonhematologic toxicities, primarily diarrhea and gastrointestinal complaints, but they were able to undergo diagnostic core needle biopsies and subsequent targeted therapy treatment without increased incidence of pneumothorax or treatment-related mortality." Of note, the study showed elderly men had both improved disease control rate and progression-free survival compared with younger men.

###

The lead author of this work is IASLC member Dr. Anne Tsao. Co-authors include IASLC members Dr. Jack Lee, Dr. George Blumenschein, Dr. Roy Herbst, Dr. Edward Kim, Dr. Scott Lippman, Dr. David Stewart, Dr. Ignacio Wistuba and Dr. Waun Ki Hong.

About the IASLC:

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit www.iaslc.org.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2012-10/iaft-ssf101512.php

nba trade deadline ncaa tournament marchmadness mike d antoni nba trade rumors 2012 ncaa tournament schedule laurent robinson

Western defense budget cuts may be unstoppable

Whether or not America's politicians can find a way to sidestep the brutal automatic military cuts of sequestration, the era of rising Western spending on weapons and wars is over.

That reality increasingly is challenging major arms manufacturers, spurring them to look for new markets, cost cuts and mergers. It is also confronting policymakers with difficult political and strategic choices as new rivals, particularly China, spend more on their armed forces.

U.S. military spending still dwarfs that of other countries - the equivalent of the next 13 nations' spending by some estimates - but the global military balance is clearly shifting. With European states already cutting, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies this year reported that Asian military spending outstripped Europe's for the first time in several centuries.

U.S. lawmakers may well avoid or delay automatic across-the-board budget cuts that would hit the military hard and are set to begin on January 2 if there is no deal on deficit reduction. But few see the United States avoiding military budget cuts in the next few years given that the government's debt burden has now surged above $16 trillion and continues to rise.

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has pledged to increase Pentagon spending, particularly on the Navy. But he could find himself struggling to keep that promise if he defeats President Barack Obama next month.

U.S. strategic options may soon be defined more by what Washington can afford than by what it believes it needs.

"For the first time in our history, we may be facing a moment where we really do not have the money to do exactly what it is that the experts or the policy advisers ... suggest is the right thing," said Todd Harrison, senior fellow at the Center on Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "Budget cuts could end up determining the shape of U.S. policy."

'Those days are over'
That would be a far cry from the last decade, when military cost control was often of secondary importance as the United States waged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Whenever we found a problem, we cauterized it with cash," Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Brett Lambert told a meeting of Reuters defense and aerospace reporters last month. "Those days are over."

That is a reality some industry executives have quietly conceded. They have been pinning their hopes for growth on more sales to civilian government agencies and emerging states - an approach that has prompted viciously competitive battles for business with India, Brazil and the Gulf.

Attempts to fold Britain's premier defense firm BAE into its larger European rival EADS were in part an acknowledgement of shrinking markets - even if differences between Britain, France and Germany ultimately killed the deal.

Meanwhile, U.S. defense firms have already begun laying off staff and closing facilities to reflect lower demand and the $487 billion in cuts already planned for the next decade.

U.S. defense spending in 2012 will total $612 billion, down slightly from 2010's $691 billion peak as operational contingency spending specifically earmarked for the Iraqi and Afghan wars fell, according to the Pentagon.

The core Pentagon budget ? with the cost of the wars excluded ? is now $531 billion. As things stand, defense takes up around 20 percent of the entire federal budget, roughly the same as Social Security and massively outstripping federal spending on transportation, education and science.

But overall U.S. military spending is now expected to drop for the first time in more than a decade, with the Pentagon proposing a base budget of $525 billion and war spending of just over $88 billion in the fiscal year that began October 1. When inflation is taken into account, it has been falling since 2010.

The sequestration cuts would strip just over 11 percent from Pentagon spending. While that might not seem devastating, the pain would be shared indiscriminately - including in areas seen as increasingly vital, such as special operations and cyber warfare.

Only on Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that unnamed foreign actors were targeting U.S. computer control systems that operate chemical, electricity and water plants, as well as transportation.

If the budget cuts go through as planned, more than 1 million jobs could be lost at U.S. weapons plants and in the surrounding communities, according to some estimates. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin warned it might be forced to make 10 percent of its workforce redundant.

But the campaign to stop sequestration, some suspect, could simply be the start of a much larger battle.

Defense companies push back
It's now a mantra for top Pentagon officials and the wider defense sector that cuts beyond the $487 billion already planned would make nonsense of Washington's entire national security strategy, which was unveiled only last February.

"Defense has already been cut through the muscle and we are now into the bone," said Marion Blakey, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), pointing to 50 "significant sized" projects the Pentagon says it has already canceled. "I wish we lived in a safer world, but we don't."

One of the three cardboard-mounted cartoons she often carries to meetings delivers a blunt message to politicians.

"Defense cuts equal job losses" reads one, a 1930s-style pen and ink image of a line of muscular defense workers marching directly into a polling booth. "Workers return the favor."

  1. Only on NBCNews.com

    1. Campaign surrogates say Obama has crucial task in second debate
    2. Updated 23 minutes ago 10/14/2012 7:25:54 PM +00:00 Andrea Mitchell remembers Specter
    3. Bruce Springsteen to campaign for Obama in Ohio
    4. What question would you ask the candidates at Tuesday's debate?
    5. Navy nuclear submarine, Aegis cruiser collide
    6. Lemonade stand vs. cancer: Boy raises $80,000
    7. Pakistani teen moves hands, feet after shooting

Not everyone agrees. Opinion pollsters say defense often tops the list of areas where the public would like to see cuts, while fatigue over the last decade's wars makes new overseas commitments hard to sell.

Some experts argue further efficiencies and cuts are more than possible. They suggest buying more flexible systems and using special forces, drones and new technology to replace more expensive traditional equipment.

"The companies will put up a fight (against cuts)," said former U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, now chairman of the Center for a New American Security think tank. "But as long as the civilian and military leadership stick together, I don't think the companies will win."

In Washington, a city full of defense lobbyists and where major firms help fund many private foundations that help draft policy, there is no shortage of authorities pointing to potential threats.

China almost invariably tops the list, with its military spending perhaps only a fifth of that of the United States but by some estimates doubling every five years. Long-standing troublespots such as the Middle East also have not gone away.

The argument from the AIA and others, however, goes well beyond the strategic - essentially saying that defense projects themselves are effectively a common good, driving economic activity and innovation at a difficult time.

Some are openly skeptical, even within the industry.

"We shouldn't build a carrier because it creates jobs," said Mike Petters, chief executive of shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls, the largest employer in several U.S. states including Virginia, whose votes could help decide the November 6 presidential election. "We should do it because we decide we need an aircraft carrier."

'Yet another switch'
Critics say European military purchases are already often dictated less by strategy than by the conflicting needs to reduce deficits while supporting "national champion" defense firms like Britain's BAE or Italy's Finmeccanica.

When Britain's newly elected government began its strategic defense review in 2010, it found itself severely limited by the cost of cancelling expensive pre-agreed contracts such as the purchase of two new aircraft carriers.

Already over budget, costs surged further this year after the government changed its mind twice on whether to fit one of the ships with catapults for conventional aircraft or to simply rely on vertical-takeoff jets.

One key reason costs escalate so fast, defense executives argue, has always been the shifting and excessively complex demands from government and military buyers.

"The war fighter almost always wants to add yet another switch," said Petters at Huntington Ingalls. "I think it's our greatest challenge as an industry."

Former Lockheed chief executive Norm Augustine famously predicted in 1984 that by the middle of the 21st century, a single fighter aircraft could be so expensive that the U.S. Air Force and Navy might only be able to afford a single airframe that they would share between them on alternate days.

Now, with coffers emptying, governments may have no choice but to ask themselves whether something less than "best at all costs" could get the job done.

"If you're chasing after a pirate with a Kalashnikov in a small boat, you don't necessarily need to do it with a multi-million dollar destroyer," British Chief of the Defense Staff David Richards told a Washington audience in May.

Additional reporting by Reuters' Marcus Stern, Jim Wolf and Andrea Shalal-Esa.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49404306/ns/us_news-security/

the bee gees woodward keratosis pilaris rock and roll hall of fame 2012 brandon rios oklahoma news nascar news

Wordpress solutions which are giving enterprise CMS vendors ...

WordPress is currently becoming the most dominant CMS used on the internet. WordPress is an open source blogging tool which is a dynamic CMS based on PHP and MySQL and is absolutely free. Its ceaseless list of features includes plugin architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by nearly 15 percent of Alexa Internet?s ?top one million? websites.
WordPress known for its simplicity and intuitive design has limitation in managing editorial teams efficiently. Content companies that need to implement a proper editorial workflow which includes managing pitching, assigning writers, editing and paying contributors etc are finding it very hard to balance administrative and editorial tasks.
I have always been a firm believer in efficient newsroom, a concept bit new to online publishing. Lately there has been surge in deployment of editorial workflow platform by many small to large publishers. Many enterprise CMS vendors have launched a lot of exciting solutions. But publishers on WordPress also need not worry, as WordPress developers have come out with some brilliant solutions to achieve editorial efficiency nirvana. Below are a few WordPress solutions which are giving enterprise CMS vendors sleepless nights.

Betaout?s ContentCloud is a highly evolved editorial team and content management SaaS solution for WordPress sites. I really liked Betaout?s sleek, user friendly and intuitive interface. The system offers a lot of flexibility to create and define custom workflows to enhance collaboration and resource sharing between your content team across multiple sites.
Newsroom dashboard gives a bird-eye view of all the content in production with a neat story path describing how an assignment passes from one team member to another. An ajaxified interface inspired from Outlook takes away the need of opening assignments in multiple tabs. You can just click on any assignment and will be shown in the right hand panel.

Another great feature is their seamless integration with WordPress sites. As soon as you plugin your WordPress sites, Betaout will make few default workflows based on the current set of users you have to give you a quick start. A lot of editorial project management systems I have tried in past have taken too much time to get used to their system before getting any real work done.

Newsflow was initially named as Hypernews. Newsflow is an editorial support plugin which allows content to be published on the website using various RSS feeds. The plugin not only fetches customized feeds from various sources at regular intervals but also publishes the feeds on the website or the blog in a time defined mechanism.
The plugin also makes a note along with the fetched feeds on its respective item row for future reference while readers and publishers can mark various feeds as read and favorites thereby earmarking the content in a systematic manner.

Role Scoper plugin allows WordPress enabled websites to function as fully customized CMS websites by offering CMS like permissions for reading as well as editing and publishing content. Role Scoper plugin assigns restrictions and access to specific pages, posts and categories as suggested by the administrator while not altering core role administrative functionality.
Users of any one level can be upgraded or downgraded to read respective posts or categories as desired. Removing the role scoper plugin or deactivation makes sure that default functionality of all users gets resorted.

Post revision workflow is a newly introduced WordPress plugin that caters to the needs of revision of published content without altering the original published works. The plugin provides editing or revision options in its publish Meta box and all changes are saved as a revision text and posted without altering the workflow of the original write-up.
Post revision workflow plugin has inbuilt options of straightaway publishing the revised content to save revised changes without notification or saving revised content and sending notifications emails to admin and finally auto publication of the revised changes and bringing the changes in notice of the reviewer or publisher as per the workflow of the website concerned.

ApprovalWordPress plugin enhances the smooth workflow progress of multiple authored websites or blogs by verifying users for administrative as well publishing rights for their articles or posts. The plugin also sends a notification to the author having publishing rights after the submission of each post there by helping in cutting out any time discrepancies in submission and publication. Another very essential feature of the Approval workflow plugin is its feature to find for users with publication rights if the writer of the original piece does not have editing or publication rights.

The plugin hunts for the users with publication rights and informs them via email for each submission. The plugin not only helps in easing out the workflow of multiple authored websites but works equally well on WordPress multi site.

Related Posts:

Source: http://djdesignerlab.com/2012/10/13/wordpress-solutions-which-are-giving-enterprise-cms-vendors-sleepless-nights/

rod blagojevich uconn ncaa march madness mario williams vcu unlv sam young