New biomarker may help in detecting gliomas, reports Neurosurgery

Public release date: 16-Jan-2013
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Contact: Connie Hughes
connie.hughes@wolterskluwer.com
646-674-6348
Wolters Kluwer Health

Marker called ELTD1 reflects new blood vessel formation associated with brain cancers

Philadelphia, Pa. (January 16, 2013) Researchers using sophisticated genetic testing techniques have identified a promising new biomarker for diagnosis of gliomathe most common type of malignant brain tumor, reports the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

The biomarker ELTD1 "may serve as an additional biomarker for gliomas in preclinical and clinical diagnosis of gliomas," according to the study by Rheal A. Towner of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City.

Biomarker Reflects Rapid Blood Vessel Development

Dr. Towner and colleagues used advanced "data mining and bioinformatic" techniques to evaluate genes and gene products potentially associated with gliomas. Glioma is a general term referring to tumors originating in the glial cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas make up about 40 percent of all brain tumors and 80 percent of central nervous system cancers. Especially for advanced (high-grade) gliomas such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), expected survival is very poor.

Out of nearly 200 possible markers analyzed, ELTD1 was identified as the strongest candidate for a significant association with glioma. There's special interest in ELTD1 because it is linked to development of new blood vessels, or angiogenesisa characteristic of rapidly growing cancers. (ELTD1 stands for "epidermal growth factor, latrophilin and seven transmembrane domain-containing protein 1.")

Studies in human patients suggested that ELTD1 was strongly associated with gliomas. ELTD1 was more highly expressed in specimens from 50 patients with high-grade gliomas, compared to 21 patients with lower-grade gliomas.

Higher levels of ELDT1 expression were associated with a higher grade of glioma, and with lower survival. ELTD1 compared well with other known markers of glioma, such as vascular endothelial growth factor. It also appeared to be associated with one specific subtype of GBM (mesenchymal GBM).

In further experiments, the researchers transplanted glioma cells into the brains of rats. As the tumors developed, they showed elevated levels of ELTD1, compared to normal brain tissue. The rat studies included evaluation of a "molecular MRI technique" for measuring ELDT1 levels in the living brain.

A Helpful Marker for Glioma Diagnosis?

Even with modern treatments, GBM and other malignant gliomas are devastating cancers. In recent years, advances in research have led to the identification of biomarkers associated with glioma. Dr. Towner and colleagues write, "Validation of more biomarkers for GBM could be beneficial in the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of this disease."

With further study, ELTD1 could become a useful new marker of glioma, including GBM. Gliomas show increased expression of ELTD1, and higher levels of ELTD1 expression are associated with higher tumor grade and a worse prognosis. "Any increase in ELTD1 will more than likely be associated with increased angiogenesis or neovascularization [new blood vessel development] in gliomas," the researchers write.

Although the findings are only preliminary, Dr. Towner and coauthors suggest that ELTD1 could be useful in detecting the presence and grade of gliomasparticularly high-grade gliomas such as GBM. They conclude, "[T]his biomarker may play an important diagnostic role in addition to currently used markers for gliomas, particularly as a histological marker for identifying vascular proliferation."

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About Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery, the Official Journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is your most complete window to the contemporary field of neurosurgery. Members of the Congress and non-member subscribers receive 3,000 pages per year packed with the very latest science, technology, and medicine, not to mention full-text online access to the world's most complete, up-to-the-minute neurosurgery resource. For professionals aware of the rapid pace of developments in the field, Neurosurgery is nothing short of indispensable.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2011 annual revenues of 3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).

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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: 16-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Connie Hughes
connie.hughes@wolterskluwer.com
646-674-6348
Wolters Kluwer Health

Marker called ELTD1 reflects new blood vessel formation associated with brain cancers

Philadelphia, Pa. (January 16, 2013) Researchers using sophisticated genetic testing techniques have identified a promising new biomarker for diagnosis of gliomathe most common type of malignant brain tumor, reports the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

The biomarker ELTD1 "may serve as an additional biomarker for gliomas in preclinical and clinical diagnosis of gliomas," according to the study by Rheal A. Towner of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City.

Biomarker Reflects Rapid Blood Vessel Development

Dr. Towner and colleagues used advanced "data mining and bioinformatic" techniques to evaluate genes and gene products potentially associated with gliomas. Glioma is a general term referring to tumors originating in the glial cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas make up about 40 percent of all brain tumors and 80 percent of central nervous system cancers. Especially for advanced (high-grade) gliomas such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), expected survival is very poor.

Out of nearly 200 possible markers analyzed, ELTD1 was identified as the strongest candidate for a significant association with glioma. There's special interest in ELTD1 because it is linked to development of new blood vessels, or angiogenesisa characteristic of rapidly growing cancers. (ELTD1 stands for "epidermal growth factor, latrophilin and seven transmembrane domain-containing protein 1.")

Studies in human patients suggested that ELTD1 was strongly associated with gliomas. ELTD1 was more highly expressed in specimens from 50 patients with high-grade gliomas, compared to 21 patients with lower-grade gliomas.

Higher levels of ELDT1 expression were associated with a higher grade of glioma, and with lower survival. ELTD1 compared well with other known markers of glioma, such as vascular endothelial growth factor. It also appeared to be associated with one specific subtype of GBM (mesenchymal GBM).

In further experiments, the researchers transplanted glioma cells into the brains of rats. As the tumors developed, they showed elevated levels of ELTD1, compared to normal brain tissue. The rat studies included evaluation of a "molecular MRI technique" for measuring ELDT1 levels in the living brain.

A Helpful Marker for Glioma Diagnosis?

Even with modern treatments, GBM and other malignant gliomas are devastating cancers. In recent years, advances in research have led to the identification of biomarkers associated with glioma. Dr. Towner and colleagues write, "Validation of more biomarkers for GBM could be beneficial in the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of this disease."

With further study, ELTD1 could become a useful new marker of glioma, including GBM. Gliomas show increased expression of ELTD1, and higher levels of ELTD1 expression are associated with higher tumor grade and a worse prognosis. "Any increase in ELTD1 will more than likely be associated with increased angiogenesis or neovascularization [new blood vessel development] in gliomas," the researchers write.

Although the findings are only preliminary, Dr. Towner and coauthors suggest that ELTD1 could be useful in detecting the presence and grade of gliomasparticularly high-grade gliomas such as GBM. They conclude, "[T]his biomarker may play an important diagnostic role in addition to currently used markers for gliomas, particularly as a histological marker for identifying vascular proliferation."

###

About Neurosurgery

Neurosurgery, the Official Journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, is your most complete window to the contemporary field of neurosurgery. Members of the Congress and non-member subscribers receive 3,000 pages per year packed with the very latest science, technology, and medicine, not to mention full-text online access to the world's most complete, up-to-the-minute neurosurgery resource. For professionals aware of the rapid pace of developments in the field, Neurosurgery is nothing short of indispensable.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2011 annual revenues of 3.4 billion ($4.7 billion).

---

[ | 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/2013-01/wkh-nbm011613.php

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5 Things We Hope to See in Beyonce's HBO Documentary

In her new HBO documentary, Beyonce sets out to show that her life isn't 100 percent glamour and fabulousness. It's more like 97 percent -- 98 percent tops.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/5-things-we-hope-see-beyonces-documentary/1-a-515091?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3A5-things-we-hope-see-beyonces-documentary-515091

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Andrew Sullivan?s Ad-Free Publishing Experiment Sees Six-Figure Revenue In First Six Hours

When political blogger Andrew Sullivan announced this morning that he's leaving The Daily Beast and launching an independent company called Dish Publishing, the most provocative bit of news was his intended business model ? he doesn't plan to run any ads, and instead to support the company entirely through subscription revenue. "It's been a pretty amazing day," Sullivan told me. Six hours after he first made his announcement and put out his call for sign ups, he said, "We're well into the six figures." He described the system as a "leaky meter," where readers can hit the "read on" button a limited number of times per month before they have to pay ? it's leaky in that readers can follow links from other sites without adding to the meter. A subscription costs at least $19.99 per year, but readers can pay as much as they want, and Sullivan estimated that about a third of the initial subscribers are paying more than the minimum.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HQvbEM5ounc/

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cubble: Multi-Device Assistance for Emotional Closeness and ... - Blog

Der heutige Artikel stammt von Robert Kowalski, der sein Studium mittlerweile erfolgreich beendet hat. Hier berichtet er von seiner Diplomarbeit ?cubble?. Das Projekt wird im Februar auch auf der International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction in Barcelona vorgestellt.

What is cubble about?

In today?s global society, the number of long distance relationships (LDR) is increasing. Naturally, couples want to keep in touch, share their emotions and feel connected despite the distance. Current approaches to solve this problem fall into three categories. First, the use of additional dedicated objects, which tend to be too inconvenient to be carried around and too easy to forget. Second, the utilization of common communication channels like social media or phones, which do not provide intimate closeness or have been confirmed as ineffective for maintaining intimacy. Third, mobile applications (apps) designed for LDR couples, which still lack evaluation.

cubble is a new hybrid interaction concept that aims at overcoming these limitations and which leverages the mobility advantages of mobile apps, by combining a stationary object for the domestic use and a smartphone application while being on the go. Detached from time and place, couples separated by distance are now enabled to continuously feel connected and share simple messages and emotions through colored light, haptics and thermal feedback.

Nudging the partner from far away

People can send a nudge to their loved one by simply tapping their cubble object at home or the screen of their smartphone once. Before sending this signal, the user can select one of eight predefined colors, which should accompany the nudge. Based on the receiver?s home or away location the nudge is forwarded to either the domestic or the smartphone cubble client.

A nudge sent from one?s domestic hardware cubble to the partner?s home cubble (left) and a nudge sent from a hardware cubble to the partner?s cubble app (right).

On the receiving partners end, the cubble message is then displayed via a colored light flash supported by vibration. During the user studies, partners used the colors to express short messages and feelings such as ?I love you?, ?I miss you?, ?Thinking of you?, ? or to coordinate their regular communication.

Extending nudges to tap patterns

Another possibility partners had was the tap pattern. This is basically a rhythmic extension of the nudge, by providing the users to record repeated taps and also keep the timing between them. However, this component was hardly used to create new kinds of messages, but most of the study participants actually used tap patterns to amplify their message or feeling.

Holding hands always and everywhere

The feature that couples loved most about cubble was the holding hands functionality. This way, a ?live connection? was established between the partners, providing the warm feeling of being in touch right now by holding hands. To do so, each partner has to hold one of their cubble clients and both start pulsating in a warm, yellow color. Additionally, the domestic cubble heats up on its top side to simulate the exchange of body heat between the partners.

How did the couples like it?

They loved it. Not only did the daily exchange between partners increase greatly, but they also had a strong feeling of connectedness and closeness and perceived the hybrid approach as very enriching. Especially the holding hands feature in conjunction with the hardware?s thermal feedback made it a truly unique and bonding experience for them. Besides these and more indications that cubble supports couples in experiencing emotional closeness and that it fostered their intimate communication, the favorite finding was that cubble made people smile.

Want to know more?

Please read the cubble TEI publication or feel free contact me anytime via my webpage.

Source: http://mediainformatics.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/cubble-multi-device-assistance-for-emotional-closeness-and-communication-in-relationships-over-a-distance/

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Venezuela's Chavez in stable condition, says son-in-law

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in stable condition and spent Monday with his daughters, the cancer-stricken leader's son in law said in an appeal for supporters to ignore rumors about his condition.

Chavez has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. The vice president said on Sunday that the 58-year-old was suffering a third set of complications after surgery in Cuba on December 11, his fourth operation in 18 months.

"Compatriots, DON'T believe in ill-intentioned rumors," Science Minister Jorge Arreaza, who is married to Chavez's daughter Rosa Virginia, wrote on Twitter from Havana where they have been at the former soldier's bedside.

"President Chavez spent the day quietly and stable, together with his daughters."

Chavez has not provided details of the cancer that was first diagnosed in June 2011, leading to speculation among Venezuela's 29 million people and criticism from opposition leaders.

Officials have said he suffered unexpected bleeding as result of the complex, six-hour operation on his pelvic area, and that doctors had to fight a respiratory infection, which then caused his latest setback on Sunday.

The government has repeatedly described Chavez's condition as "delicate," warning Venezuelans to prepare for difficult days ahead and urging them to pray for "el Comandante."

The main New Year's Eve party in downtown Caracas was canceled. Instead, the information minister hosted a smaller gathering which featured musicians, speeches and prayers and was dubbed "Now More Than Ever With Chavez."

The president's death or resignation due to illness would upend politics in Venezuela, where his personalized brand of oil-financed socialism has made him a hero to the poor majority but a pariah to critics who call him a dictator.

His condition is also being watched closely around Latin America, especially in other leftist-run nations such as Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia, which depend on subsidized fuel shipments and other Venezuelan aid for their fragile economies.

'TREMENDOUS ABSENCE'

In his New Year's message, Bolivian President Evo Morales said the region's leaders were missing Chavez badly.

"We feel that there has been a tremendous absence, especially for the presidents like us who are anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal," Morales said.

"We are convinced that with the great will of Bolivia's people, all the world's people who pray, who do rituals to Mother Earth for his health, our brother president will be there soon. This is our great wish on the last day of 2012."

Chavez is due to be sworn in again in Venezuela on January 10 after he won re-election in October. But top officials from his ruling Socialist Party (PSUV) have suggested the ceremony could be pushed back if he were unable to return.

For the opposition, any postponement would be just the latest sign that Chavez is not fit to govern and that new elections should be held to choose his replacement.

If Chavez had to step down, new elections would be called within 30 days and his newly named heir apparent, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, would be the PSUV candidate.

Maduro has tried to copy Chavez's bombastic rhetoric in speeches during the president's absence, but he has struggled to replicate Chavez's extraordinary man-of-the-people charisma.

Opposition figures believe they would have a better chance against Maduro than against the president, who for 14 years has appeared almost unbeatable at the ballot box.

Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader who was beaten by Chavez in the presidential election in October, said in a year-end message that Venezuelans needed to unite.

"Everything indicates that 2013 will be a tough year with big changes," he said. "Venezuela has learned a lot in very little time. Today we know the value of union, of agreement, of the need to find common ground and work together to achieve it."

Polls conducted before October's vote - well before Chavez named him as his successor - showed Capriles would beat Maduro.

But it could be a very different story if a new election were to be called now, with the vice president expected to be carried on a wave of emotion from distraught Chavez supporters.

As the New Year approached in Caracas, many PSUV loyalists retweeted a message that read: "In 2012 I cried with Chavez, loved with Chavez, voted for Chavez, laughed with Chavez and prayed for Chavez. In 2013, I will continue to be with Chavez."

(Additional reporting by Mario Naranjo and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas, and Daniel Ramos in La Paz; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-chavez-stable-condition-says-son-law-010200182.html

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Maple Lake Automotive Repair And The Maintenance Mindset ...

When it comes to their vehicles, some Buffalo people don?t have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Buffalo drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their sedans.

For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that Buffalo people are good about maintaining. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your Buffalo doctor for a checkup before school starts.

So Buffalo people really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you?ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, we learn our lesson and start to take better care of things.

Unfortunately, Buffalo sedan owners too often learn the hard automotive lesson when they bring their vehicle to Maple Lake Automotive Repair on a tow truck. So many times a little routine maintenance would have prevented a breakdown.

So how can Buffalo drivers get into the habit of taking care of their sedan? It?s so easy to forget. If you skip cutting the grass, you see it every time you pull in the driveway.

Here?s something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it ? when you go in for a full-service oil change, your Maple Lake Automotive Repair tech will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If your serpentine belt is cracked, he?ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable ? they?ve got you covered. And at Maple Lake Automotive Repair, we check to see if your sedan manufacturer has recommended any services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done. The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more unperformed repair or maintenance service. Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect. But, you?ve got to remember that sedans are complicated machines. There are parts and fluids that are critical to their function. Without them, the sedan won?t run at all.

So when you come in to Maple Lake Automotive Repair for an oil change, you get a visual inspection from your honest service advisor and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your Maple Lake Automotive Repair service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and avoid expensive breakdowns.

Source: http://www.maplelakeautomotiverepair.com/maplelake/maple-lake-automotive-repair-and-the-maintenance-mindset

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State of the Web: Why I'm NOT quitting Instagram | Digital Trends

Deleting your Instagram account over abusive data-sharing practices is a noble thing to do. Unfortunately, it appears to be too late for this act of protest to make any difference at all in how users are treated by the companies we've made rich.

The fiasco that is Instagram?s terms of service just won?t die. On Monday, former Engadget editor in chief, and co-founder of Gdgt, Ryan Block penned an op-ed for The New York Times? Bits blog entitled ?Why I?m Quitting Instagram.? Block not only ?suspended posting photos? to Instagram, where he had ?almost 9,000 followers,? but also dropped Facebook, which of course now owns Instagram.

In making his account deletion public, Block hopes to make the point that ?[w]e?d all be much better off simplifying our technological footprints and consolidating our trust in the few services that provide us the greatest value with the fewest unintended side effects.?

Block?s declaration follows a similar protest from Wired?s Mat Honan, who announced that he had ?nuked? his Instagram profile within hours after the company?s fateful terms of service announcement ? a position to which he held strong even after Instagram recoiled with an apology for the ?confusion? over whether it would or would not sell users? photos.

Block and Honan are apparently far from the only people who hold a grudge against Instagram: mobile application analytics firm AppData reported this past weekend that some 3.5 million Instagram users ? about 25 percent of its total user base ? deleted their profiles upon learning that the photo-sharing company could sell the use of their photos without permission. (Instagram later refuted these claims, saying that the number is much lower ? and that 2.3 million new people joined the service during the same period.) Regardless of the exact numbers, it?s clear from the collective response that people don?t like their photos or data being used without their consent, as Instagram?s (and Facebook?s) terms of service still allow it to do, despite revisions to the document.

Like any other privacy-minded Web user, I applaud Block and Honan, and share in their discontent. But I?m still not deleting my Instagram or Facebook accounts ? even though my principles clearly tell me I should ? for one simple reason: These companies have already won.

Advertising and, as a result, data collection, form the foundation of the online economy. To make a lick of difference in how nearly every major Internet company ? not just Instagram and Facebook ? treat user data, we would have to stop using the Web entirely, and rebuild the whole tower from scratch. Simply deleting a profile or two does next to nothing to protect our online selves. And while you could install a privacy-protection browser plug-in, or use Tor or a VPN, such efforts appear to have zero effect on the ways in which online companies do business.

The idealist in me imagines a day when legions of the Web population suddenly realize that we?ve been had, that we are not simply users ? we are the ones being used; then we all join in clicking the ?delete? button. The companies will cower in the face of our wrath, and abruptly apologize for whoring us out to the highest bidder (or any bidder at all). From then on, they?ll ask for our permission for everything. It?ll be grand, I tell you. Grand!

This day is, of course, never coming. We know we?re being used, and most of us don?t seem to care ? the morsels we get for turning over our lives to online services, apps, ad companies, data brokers, and multitudes of other ?third parties? taste too delicious to reject them. Meanwhile, the Internet advertising business continues to boom. Silicon Valley keeps pumping out future Mark Zuckerbergs. And we sit increasingly glued to our ubiquitous screens.

My instinct tells me to scream and stomp and bang frying pans together every chance I get in an attempt to convince my fellow users that this privacy stuff matters, and the services we helped turn into wealthy businesses that we users should be respected by default ? bottom lines be damned. But for now, at least, I am admitting defeat: Privacy does not matter to most of us, apparently; the companies clearly do not care.

So rather than join Block and Honan in their futile act of consumer disobedience, I?m throwing in the towel, then taking a picture of it, slapping on a sweet filter, and posting the photo all over the Web for everyone to see.

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/opinion/why-im-not-quitting-instagram/

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