Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286929855?client_source=feed&format=rss
seth macfarlane Black Mesa matt ryan matt ryan att wireless Mother Jones cars
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.
The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.
Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.
"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients ? there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."
Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.
The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.
Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.
FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.
Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.
FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer
Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.
Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.
Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.
Source: http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/73099-fda-approves-new-targeted-breast-cancer-drug
madonna half time m.i.a super bowl coin toss best superbowl commercials madonna super bowl halftime kelly clarkson super bowl giants super bowl 2012
Facebook Inc. says it was the target of hackers but no user information was compromised during the attack.
The social media giant said Friday on its security blog that the company discovered in January that its system had been targeted in a sophisticated attack. A handful of the company's employees visited a developer's website that had been compromised, which led to malware being installed on the Facebook employee laptops.
Facebook says it has found no evidence that user data was compromised.
The company has fixed the infected machines, informed law enforcement and has an investigation of its own under way. Facebook also says it was not the only company targeted in the attacks but was one of the first to discover it.
"We are working continuously and closely with our own internal engineering teams, with security teams at other companies, and with law enforcement authorities to learn everything we can about the attack, and how to prevent similar incidents in the future," the company said on its website.
Facebook shares fell 18 cents to close at $28.32 and dropped another 7 cents in after-hours trading.
Associated PressKathi Goertzen Johnny Pesky spice girls justin theroux Bumbo recall USA Basketball taio cruz
FILE - In this Monday, May 28, 2012 file photo Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino talks to the media during a press conference he held in Cremona, Northern Italy. Two years ago, a curious case landed on the desk of Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino in the town of Cremona. Five players on the local third-division club Cremonese fell ill after a match against Paganese. One of the sick players got into an auto accident and club management reported the mysterious circumstances to police. (AP Photo/Simone Spada, Lapresse)
FILE - In this Monday, May 28, 2012 file photo Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino talks to the media during a press conference he held in Cremona, Northern Italy. Two years ago, a curious case landed on the desk of Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino in the town of Cremona. Five players on the local third-division club Cremonese fell ill after a match against Paganese. One of the sick players got into an auto accident and club management reported the mysterious circumstances to police. (AP Photo/Simone Spada, Lapresse)
FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2011 file photo Chris Eaton, FIFA head of Security, addresses a press conference in Harare, Zimbawe. Soccer is falling under a cloud of suspicion as never before, sullied by a multibillion-dollar web of match-fixing that is staining increasingly larger parts of the world's most popular sport. "Football is in a disastrous state," said Chris Eaton, director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). "(The) fixing of matches for criminal gambling fraud purposes is absolutely endemic worldwide ... arrogantly happening daily.? (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)
ROME (AP) ? At 5:45 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2011, when early risers would have been sipping espressos and buttering toast, a man dressed in black disembarked at Milan's Malpensa Airport after a 13-hour trip from Asia aboard a Singapore Airlines flight.
Italian court documents show he stayed in the country just 6 hours and 30 minutes, never left the airport, and then boarded a return flight to Singapore.
Why such a quick hop across the globe?
Italian authorities believe it was to deliver bribe money. They allege the suspected courier, who was under surveillance, delivered information and cash on behalf of a crime syndicate that fixes soccer matches.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a six-month, multiformat AP examination of how organized crime is corrupting soccer through match-fixing.
___
Italy, a four-time World Cup-winning football power, has become so blighted by match-fixing that Premier Mario Monti has even suggested halting the professional game for two to three years to clean it up.
Italian prosecutors investigating dozens of league and cup games they say were fixed have followed a trail back to a figure who is thought to be in Singapore. In documents laying out their findings, prosecutors alleged that 48-year-old Tan Seet Eng is the boss of a crime syndicate that allegedly made millions betting on rigged Italian games between 2008 and late 2011, through bribing players, referees and club officials.
Italian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Tan and list him as their No. 1 suspect, but they have been unable to take him into custody.
"Tan Seet Eng, nicknamed Dan, surfaces in all the European investigations examined, including the Italian one, so therefore he constitutes a common thread that links each criminal gang together," prosecutors stated in a 340-page court document detailing their investigation, which has been leaked to Italian news media. "He directs the aforementioned criminal gang."
Italian authorities have about 150 people under investigation, including Tan, but have yet to indict any of them, prosecutor Roberto Di Martino told The Associated Press last month. Italian arrest warrants cannot be served on Tan while he is in Asia.
Di Martino, who is leading the investigation from Cremona in northern Italy, said Tan will "almost certainly" go on trial in Italy, but likely in absentia. Italy has no extradition treaty with Singapore, but the Italian Justice Ministry said the Asian city-state could still send over a wanted suspect under "friendly terms" if it chooses. Di Martino said relations with Singapore authorities "have not been great. We had hoped for more."
"At first we actually thought they could be brought to Italy, but that calculation was wrong," Di Martino said. "If Tan Seet Eng goes somewhere else, he could be extradited, as long as there's an extradition treaty with that country."
In Singapore, police spokeswoman Chu Guat Chiew said authorities there are reviewing the information submitted by the Italians before deciding what to do, adding: "So far, Dan Tan Seet Eng has not been charged with any offence in Singapore."
Police have questioned dozens of people in Italy, searched the homes of players and coaches, and descended on the Italian national squad's training camp early one morning in May 2012. But Di Martino said the investigation has turned up only limited information about Tan.
"We don't know much about him. We don't know if he's a legitimate businessman involved in illegal activity, or if he's involved in money laundering," Di Martino said. "We're only interested up until a certain point; then it's Singapore's problem."
Much of what European law enforcement authorities have learned about Tan comes from a former associate, Wilson Raj Perumal. A match fixer, also from Singapore, he was arrested in Finland in February 2011, convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for bribing Finnish league players. To Finnish police, Perumal portrayed the syndicate as a well-oiled and structured business, financed and led from Singapore.
The syndicate mainly places bets in China, Perumal said, according to a transcript of his May 18, 2011, police interview obtained by the AP. He said the group fixed "tens of matches around the world" ? in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas ? from 2008 to 2010. He estimated the group's total profits after expenses at "several millions of euros, maybe 5-6 million" ? $7 million-$8 million.
The syndicate leader decides which matches to fix and how much to wager, organizes the betting and drops off bribe money, Perumal said in the transcript. He later identified that leader as Tan, according to the Italian court documents. Italian police traveled to Finland to interview Perumal, Di Martino told the AP. Perumal declined AP requests for an interview.
Perumal told the Finnish police that money was transported from Singapore in couriers' pockets or on their bodies. Italian prosecutors suspect the quick trip to Milan's airport was one such drop. The suspected courier's checked luggage weighed 9 kilograms in Singapore but 8 kilograms when he flew back. They said the suspected courier likely delivered "a sum of money hidden in some sort of container, which was destined to finance the organization's illicit activity."
AP could not contact Tan in Singapore. Five phone numbers identified as his by Italian prosecutors were disconnected. No one answered the door at an apartment the Italians listed as his address. Mail and flyers stuffed under the door and in the door frame suggested no one had been there for a while.
The New Paper in Singapore reported that it spoke to Tan in 2011.
"Why I'm suddenly described as a match-fixer I don't know. I'm innocent," it quoted him as saying. It quoted Tan as saying he was briefly involved in a business venture that Perumal started, "but I took my name out of the company after I smelled something fishy."
"Maybe that's why he had named me to investigators," he continued. "Anybody involved with Wilson gets bad luck. He has a criminal record. It's not good for Singaporeans to do business with him."
Perumal alleged to Italian investigators that Tan places syndicate wagers on fixed games using legal, Asia-based online betting sites ? he named three of them ? via intermediaries in China. In Shenzhen, a southern China city adjacent to Hong Kong, a 1 million euro wager on a game in Serie A, the top Italian league, can be placed this way in a couple of minutes, he told the Italians. That method matches those described by betting experts.
Investigators say such gambling operations hire workers to rapidly place thousands of small online bets ? maybe no more than $1,000 each ? on fixed games. The scattershot of small bets, rather than several large ones, can help hide fixes from monitoring companies in Europe that use computer software to look for unusual wagering.
"They employ kids and they employ people in Singapore and Malaysia to do that for them," said Chris Eaton, former head of security for FIFA, soccer's governing body. "They virtually have a sweatshop, if you like, of people with a large number of credit cards and laptop computers, and they punch those things when they are given the green light."
"Dan Tan comes with very good Oriental connections, meaning he's not running as a single financier. He has an organization behind him," said Eaton, now director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security, a Qatar-backed group funding efforts to research the extent of match-fixing and ways to combat it.
Eaton's successor as FIFA security director, Ralf Mutschke, said last year that the news media have overstated Tan's alleged role in match-fixing, and that he probably isn't "as involved as everyone is thinking" and has only "symbolic importance."
"But you give him a name, so everyone is talking about Dan Tan, and Dan Tan syndicates, and Dan Tan here and Dan Tan there," Mutschke said. "If we kill Dan Tan then you will have no match-fixing? No, I think it's not as easy as this."
___
Leicester reported from Paris. Justin Bergman in Singapore and AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Zurich contributed to this report.
Associated Pressstephen strasburg shabazz legion baby found alive in morgue rockies second degree murders bobby petrino
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UVzMo7EpT1g/
amare stoudemire tallest building in the world the pitch brandon inge freedom tower freedom tower eric church
Sometimes rising or falling trends in cancer rates can mask more complicated scientific aspects of the disease.
Take, for example, a relatively rare form of leukemia known as AML (acute myeloid leukemia) that predominantly affects middle-age and elderly adults. Based on data from NCI and others recently released in the Annual Report to the Nation, an estimated 14,000 people will develop AML in the United States in 2013, and an estimated 10,000 people will die from it. Although life expectancy for AML survivors has increased slowly over the past decade, the improvement is predominantly because of advances in supportive care, not in the therapies that patients received.
Primary AML, or that which develops before any other diagnosis of cancer, is the form of the disease that is most common and does not display a cohesive set of genetic mutations that contribute to its initiation or progression. Secondary AML is related primarily to earlier treatment, usually chemotherapy.? The incidence rate for all cases of AML has been about 3.5 new cases per 100,000 per year of the U.S. population since the mid-1970s, even when secondary AML is included in the rate.? As seen in the graph below, the incidence rate for primary AML has been even more level and hovered around 3 per 100,000 new cases per year since the early 1970s.
Chart showing primary and secondard AML trends from 1970-2010
It should be noted however that when the numbers are parsed, a comprehensive report covering the period 2001-2008 showed strong increases in incidence with increasing age for most AML subtypes,. ?The data also showed statistically significant differences in the incidence of certain AML subtypes by race. So a trend that looks straightforward on the surface may display a number of quirks based on a different slicing of the data.
In part because of these somewhat divergent trends, experts have been working for years to understand the genetic basis of this cancer type, and the risk of developing treatment-related AML after chemotherapy. Researchers know that certain chemotherapy treatments run a high risk of predisposing patients to a second leukemia at a later age; however those risks are necessary to treat the current cancer.? There are also some preliminary studies that suggest there is a genetic susceptibility to developing AML later on, based on earlier treatments for a patient?s initial cancer.
In a study reported in Blood in February 2013, the risk of secondary AML among patients initially treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was found to increase steadily during the subsequent few decades. Over the same time period, the researchers observed declining risk among patients treated for ovarian cancer, myeloma, and possibly lung cancer.? The authors indicated that the increased risk among NHL survivors could be due to prolonged survival in recent years for some lymphoma subtypes that are associated with multiple courses of chemotherapy.? The decreased risk among patients with ovarian cancer was consistent with a shift from use of an alkylating agent called melphalan to platinum-based chemotherapy in the early 1980s.
Much of the data that make possible hypotheses of a cancer?s origin come from NCI?s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, which collects cancer incidence, mortality and survival data from population-based cancer registries that today cover approximately 28 percent of the U.S. population. This information is incorporated into a web resource called the Cancer Statistics Review. The SEER Program has been collecting data since 1973, making it a unique resource for researchers who assess long-term data trends, such as those related to AML. In addition to collecting data, SEER compiles and reports death rates and trends for the entire United States based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
SEER is also unique in that it if statisticians detect changes and trends in a particular cancer, they can respond to those changes by collecting new types of information to help better assess the situation.? For example, starting in 2000, SEER started collecting information on MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndromes) and CMD (Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders) that can progress to AML. This brings up a problem, however: if the data is collected as MDS or CMD that then progressed to AML, the cases would not be recorded as AML because it was not a new tumor. So there was an additional change in data assessment of 2010 cases in order to collect AML information even if it was a progression from MDS or CMD. SEER experts will carefully track these cases to see if there is an increase next year with the change to collect AML even if preceded by MDS or CMD.? Of particular note is the fact that because of the limited number of cases, this is a hard cancer to capture statistically.
The continued refinement and broadened coverage of cancer cases nationwide should only aid in helping geneticists and others glean important insights from these statistics, much in the way AML researchers have used this data in their search for greater understanding of a still rather mystifying and complex cancer.
###
Source: http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/36251-Leukemia-the-first-and-second-time-around.html
xbox live update joan rivers gary carter dies oolong tea survivor one world lil kim progeria
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:19 AM.
Powered by vBulletin? Version 4.1.10Copyright ? 2000-2012 SeriousCompacts.com
sheryl sandberg superbowl recipes super bowl kick off chili recipes carlos condit diaz vs condit super bowl 2012 kickoff time
Miami Hurricane coach Jim Larranaga gives instructions to his team during the first half against North Carolina in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami won 87-61. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, David Santiago) MAGS OUT
Miami Hurricane coach Jim Larranaga gives instructions to his team during the first half against North Carolina in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami won 87-61. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, David Santiago) MAGS OUT
Miami fans show their support before Miami's NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami won 87-61. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, David Santiago) MAGS OUT
Miami's Shane Larkin gestures during an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami won 87-61. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, David Santiago) MAGS OUT
Miami's Kenny Kadji reacts after a play against North Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Coral Gables, Fla. Miami won 87-61. (AP Photo/El Nuevo Herald, David Santiago) MAGS OUT
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) ? Miami Hurricanes center Julian Gamble learned about his team's latest ranking when he received a flurry of phone messages, including one from his mother in North Carolina.
"She texted me ? 'No. 3. Wow. That's crazy,'" Gamble said. "I didn't even know what she was talking about."
For the sixth-year senior, the Hurricanes' unprecedented achievement was a little tough to grasp. They were ranked behind only No. 1 Indiana and No. 2 Duke in Monday's poll, and received a school-record 17 first-place votes.
The Hurricanes (19-3, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had never previously been ranked higher than No. 8. Last week they achieved that spot for the first time since 1960.
"I've never really thought that Miami could be a top 10 program," senior Reggie Johnson said. "I didn't think we'd be here in February. It's surreal."
Miami cracked the Top 25 three weeks ago and has since enjoyed a rapid rise, thanks to a succession of impressive victories and a flurry of losses by highly ranked teams. With the Hurricanes' win Saturday over North Carolina, they became the first ACC team ever to beat both the Tar Heels and Duke by at least 25 points in the same season.
The Hurricanes are so good they've even started to quibble that their ranking isn't high enough.
"It does feel strange Duke is still ahead of our team," Johnson said. "I feel like if the poll's really legit, we should be ranked in front of them."
Coach Jim Larranaga described the Top 25 as a popularity contest and a beauty contest. But he also said the high ranking will benefit the university and give his program a long-term boost.
Larranaga said he texted recruiting prospects with the news of the latest ranking and received congratulations from every one.
"We had an eighth-grader commit," the coach said with a grin. "We told him it's a little too early."
Larranaga said the Hurricanes are handling success and attention well in part because they're a senior-laden team. Miami takes an 11-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at Florida State, and several players said they expect the games to start getting tougher.
"The target on our back is bigger than it ever was," Gamble said.
"We're going to get everybody's best shot," guard Shane Larkin added.
Larkin's only a sophomore, but Miami's other four starters are seniors who are well aware the program's in uncharted territory. So is Larranaga, who is in his second season with Miami after leading George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.
The Hurricanes have already set a school record for ACC victories in a season, and the last time they received any votes for No. 1 was in March 1960.
"This is what every program strives for," Larranaga said. "Carolina and Duke have this every year. It's a little different for us."
The buzz the Hurricanes are creating is a big change for the long-overlooked program. Monday's practice drew a large media contingent, and three of the past four home games have been sellouts.
"I'm at the shopping mall and people are coming up to me, 'Hey, man, I'm proud of you guys. Keep it up,'" Johnson said. "That has never happened before."
Associated Pressawkward awkward CJ Spiller tracy morgan Chase.com Talk Like a Pirate Day raiders
Patti Domm , CNBC.com ? ? ? 25 min.
U.S. oil and gas production is evolving so rapidly ? and demand is dropping so quickly ? that in just five years the U.S. could no longer need to buy oil from any source but Canada, according to Citigroup's global head of commodities research.
Citigroup's Edward Morse, in a new report, projects a dramatic reshaping of the global energy industry, where the U.S., in a matter of years, becomes an exporter of energy, instead of one of the biggest importers.
The shift could sharply reduce the price of oil, and therefore limit the revenues of the producing nations of OPEC, as well as Russia and West Africa. Those nations face new challenges: Not only are the U.S. and Canada increasing output, but Iraq increasingly is realizing its potential as an oil producer, adding 600,000 barrels a day of production annually for the next several years.
"OPEC will find it challenging to survive another 60 years, let alone another decade," the report by Morse and other Citi analysts said. "But not all of the consequences are positive, for when it comes to the geopolitics of energy, the likely outcomes are asymmetric, with clear cut winner and losers."
Read More: The World's 15 Biggest Oil Producers
The U.S. is a winner in many ways. Its super power status could be prolonged because of this new growth in oil and shale gas production, made possible by "fracking" and other non-conventional drilling technologies.
Crude oil generated the largest single annual increase in liquids production in U.S. history last year, with an increase of 1.16 million barrels per day. Oil production is booming in places like Texas and North Dakota, which has the lowest unemployment in the country at just 3 percent last September, compared to the national rate of 7.8 percent then.
Citi analysts also foresee a new era of U.S. industrialization, fueled by cheaper power. They cite dozens of industrial projects across America that have already begun or are planned, in such industries as auto, chemicals and steel.
Read More:Winter Storm May Stall Gas Price Climb
The oil producing nations of OPEC, and others, will have to adjust to a world of lower prices.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, could trade in a new lower range of $70 to $90 per barrel by the end of the decade, from its recent range of $90 to $120 per barrel, Citi projects. That would be below the break-even levels required by many producing countries. The price required by Saudi Arabia is $71, and Kuwait is $44 per barrel, but many other countries have break-even levels of $110 or greater.
"This is a momentous year for what's happening, and we're having almost two million barrels a day of pipeline capacity built out in the U.S.," Morse said on "Fast Money." "The U.S. is actually going to push out about 700,000 barrels a day of light sweet crude imports this year. We think as a result of that, plus production elsewhere, we think the price is going to average, by the time you get to December, $10 less than where it is right now."
As the U.S. and Canada rise, some oil producing countries could face the threat of becoming "failed states" as their leadership grapples with greater pressure for economic and political reform while resource revenues decline, the report said. Others, especially China, could make up for some of the demand, but not all.
"Nigeria, the picture is fairly bleak. Venezuela is pretty bleak," Morse said.
As for Russia, "if it is the case that what is now a $90 Brent floor price becomes a $90 Brent ceiling price, given the dominance of hydrocarbon exports in Russian revenue, there could be a three percent hit to GDP which is by no means insignificant over the next five years, because that's how critical hydrocarbons are," he said. "Here you have a country that requires, on its own public record, $117 per barrel Urals crude, on average, to balance their budget. If the price of oil collapses to only as low as $90 a barrel, it does have that order-of-magnitude effect."
At the same time, Citi sees a big impact on the U.S. economy. The current account deficit is about 3.2 percent of GDP, and the oil import bill is 1.7 percent of GDP. Citi expects that energy self-sufficiency, combined with the impact of low natural gas prices, could cut the current account deficit by up to 2.4 percent of GDP, with an associated improvement in the dollar of 1.6 to 5.4 percent.
To realize this production boom, the energy industry's near-term challenge is moving the U.S. and Canadian oil that is locked in the heart of the continent because of insufficient pipeline transportation. Citi expects that to improve but in the meantime, the railroad industry is helping pick up the slack, shipping U.S. crude across the continent, and creating big demand for rail tanker cars.
Interdependent North America
The Citi report, titled "Energy 2020: Independence Day," also projects a larger and quicker decline in demand for oil in the U.S. over the next decade or two, due to efficiency and the shift to cheaper natural gas.
For instance, Citi expects 30 percent of the U.S. heavy duty truck fleet to turn to natural gas-based fuel by 2015, well above the 10 percent it previously forecast. That would reduce diesel demand by an estimated 600,000 barrels per day. It also expects new automotive efficiency standards to reduce U.S. oil production by two million barrels per day, up from the one million forecast last year.
"Starting this year, North American output, as we indicate in this report, should start to have tangible impacts both on global prices and trading patterns, and will eventually turn the global geopolitics of energy on its head," the report said.
Morse surprised markets a year ago with a report that envisioned the U.S. as part of an energy independent North America. Since then, the view has become mainstream. The International Energy Agency forecast last fall that the U.S. will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the top oil producer by 2017. The IEA also forecast that North America could become a net oil exporter by around 2030 and the U.S. could become nearly self-sufficient by 2035.
Morse's latest report, released Tuesday, has an even more aggressive view of the U.S. move to dominance as an energy producer.
If crude oil and field condensates, natural gas liquids, renewable fuels and refinery processing gains are counted, the report put U.S. production at 11.2 million barrels per day at the end of 2012, making the U.S. the biggest oil producer already last year.
Canadian production is expected to increase to 6.5 million barrels per day, and even Mexico is now expected to join the North America energy renaissance under a new government interested in exploiting its resources.
In the past six years, oil imports into the United States have been cut in half, after peaking in 2006.
"The numbers are striking. The month of peak was 12.6 million barrels a day in October 2006 and ... now it's under six, and by late 2012 totaled 6.8 million bpd," Morse said in an interview.
Since 2006, U.S. oil field production of crude, plus natural gas liquids and bio-fuels has grown by three million barrels a day, about the same as the total output of Iran, Iraq, or Venezuela. In the same period, Canadian production has grown by 510,000 barrels a day.
"The impact of this extraordinary production growth is becoming increasingly apparent and even if the growth rate subsides in the years ahead the mushrooming impacts of this growth will have dramatic impacts," the report said. "A half decade from now combined US and Canadian output will be in surplus of projected needs. Over the next five years, demand for natural gas in the US should catch up with supply, opening up unexpected opportunities in transportation and igniting a re-industrialization of the country."
Morse, in an interview, said the U.S. could in theory need to import only from Canada within five years. "Our projection of U.S. supply growth and U.S. demand collapse is to levels where the U.S. will not need to import oil from any other country except for Canada," he said.
He expects to see a fight for market share in the U.S. and the ultimate result will be that the U.S. could re-export some Canadian crude. "But technically there should be no room for anyone else's crude," he noted.
But this does not mean the U.S. will be immune to price spikes, even with its growing supply. "Disruptions actually affect the price of oil globally and the more integrated we are in the world oil economy, the more we're going to be impacted by it. If there's a price spike, we're going to feel the price spike but the weight of our production is going to make that prices pike come from a much lower base in the future than it is now," Morse said on "Fast Money."
2013 ? a year of change
U.S. oil has been landlocked in the Midwest, lacking a strong transportation system to bring supply to refining areas. A hodge podge of pipeline and rail transport has taken over, as the industry awaits further pipeline development, including the stalled Keystone pipeline.
But Citi points out that 2013 brings big change, what it calls "the most dramatic year of change ever in light sweet crude flows." Pipeline capacity in the U.S. will expand by 1.7 million barrels a day, and up to 600,000 barrels of new rail capacity will be opened between the U.S. and Canada. The report said there is an expected near doubling of receiving capacity of rail-shipped oil from 2012 to 2013.
The industry has innovated where necessary. Lacking pipelines, over half the North Dakota crude production, of 480,000 barrels a day at the end of 2012, was estimated to have been moved by rail. Much of it went to St. James, La., and Port Arthur, Texas and Mobile, Ala. Bakken is also being railed to facilities in Albany, N.Y., and New Brunswick, Canada.
The report also points out the big backlog in rail cars, many of them tank and hopper railcars. Citi said American Railcar Industries last fall said backlog for rail-cars at the end of September was 61,400, and 75 percent were tank rail-cars. Tank rail-cars transport materials like crude, chemicals, propane ethanol and asphalt.
Independent North America
The report describes how shipments of oil from West Africa have been waning and as early as this summer, West African crude shipments into the U.S. Gulf Coast could be unnecessary. East Coast refiners could also decrease dependence on West African crude, replacing more imports with midcontinent oil, brought in by rail from Pennsylvania and Virginia to upstate New York and New Jersey. That would also have a likely impact on gasoline prices, currently at record highs for this time of year because of refining issues.
There is also pressure to move light sweet crude from the Gulf Coast to higher value locations. For instance, Morse expects to see light sweet crude move form the U.S. Gulf Coast to eastern Canada, displacing more West African imports to North America.
Citi expects that within two years, there could be pressure for more exports to other destinations or for pipelines on the East Coast or to change laws that would allow shipping of crude from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast by non-U.S. flagged ships.
By the end of 2014, Citi expects that sour Canadian crude should make its way to the Gulf Coast by way of new pipelines and that should provide a challenge for other producers shipping to the Gulf Coast, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait , Venezuela and Mexico. Morse says they could be pushed out by Canadian crude, or these producers could preserve market share by cutting prices.
Canadian and U.S. crude should be delivered in greater quantities to the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast by mid-decade. A happenstance of poor transportation for all this energy wealth leaves Canadian crude locked in North America, but with exporting ability through the U.S. Gulf Coast until pipelines are approved and built in Canada. Morse said if that were to happen, Canada could see an export boom to the Pacific basin, turning Canadian crude into the benchmark for that region.
The report notes that even before Canada builds pipelines to the Pacific: "There should be exports of crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast -- Canadian crude for sure and potentially U.S. crude if the U.S. succumbs to economic logic and lifts current multiple bans on exports," the report said.
Asked how his report has been received so far, Morse said, with an ironic laugh, that he's had some "push back but not as much as last year."
arnold palmer invitational ryan madson louisiana primary syracuse basketball chipper jones chipper jones dancing with the stars cast
For any help on Shayla boats for sale, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the Cruiser boats fishing rods for sale fly fishing tackle fishing hackle dress fashion for sale. If you are planning to buy used boats for sale, make sure that you decide beforehand what kind you want to buy.
If yes, then the tinny ones will not suffice for you. Are you also looking fishing gifts for boyfriend gift for a trailer with it. Most Recent from the Recreation and Sports:Boating Category.
So it is important cheap fishing tackle that you decide what kind you carp fishing tackle want before you look for used power vessels fishing lures scarf lure for sale. They will have large fly bridges which are meant for serious fishing to fishing rods something which are small, like ski. Do not bind yourself with a deal unless fly fishing you are not sure about the kind of vessel that you want.There are different fly fishing pin up girl dealers fishing poles and yards which will have a range of water crafts to offer. Most Vie in the Recreation and Sports:Boating Category (60 days)
Most Published in the Recreation and Sports:Boating Category (60 days)
If you fishing rods for sale are planning to buy used boats for sale, make sure that you decide beforehand what kind you want to buy. They will have large fly bridges which are meant for serious fishing to something which are small, like ski ones up fishing tackle online for sale.
You fishing rods may not need the surveyor to look at inexpensive vessel. Also decide if you are looking for these for speed and thrill or for the calmness that is required for fishing. Most people face difficulty with them because of their vision. But every used boat is not cheap.
Are you looking for power crafts for sale which are also meant for the spirit of carp fishing torrent storage. saltwater fishing rods Also decide what should be the capacity and dimensions of the trailer you are looking for. It very rarely happens that someone visits a dealer looking for cheap tinny vessels and ends up buying the more fishing schiff sri lanka expensive carp fishing tackle Sea line.
Thus it is important that you stick to your plan of buying the one that you want fishing tackle store and keep it within the budget that you have decided. This is only to ensure that the boat which you buy adds to ice fishing houses for sale your luxury and need rather than being an anchor round your wallet and neck. Also what is the material that you want it to be made of, fibreglass, fishing equipment wood or aluminium. Do not bind yourself with a deal unless you are not sure about the kind of vessel that you want.There are different dealers and yards which will have a range of water crafts to offer.
There are few which make for a good deal in the category of used ones for sale.
Hence, no workbenches for fishing tackle workbenche matter if there is a delay in the purchase of it. Are you planning to take more than two people on your water craft at one time. It is always a wise decision to get it surveyed so that you make the best deal. But many surely end up buying something that they do not require.
Hence, before getting into a deal, be wise to get the proper checking of the engine of the boat done.
Source: http://crew.valkry.com/blog/34387/fishing-tackle-waistbag-fly-fishing/
jason wu Mavericks Surf Stonewall Inaugural Ball kelly clarkson julio jones j crew
Source: http://humbler-shetland.blogspot.com/2013/02/fishing-tackle-waistbag-fly-fishing.html
marion barber syracuse ohio state girl with the dragon tattoo ohio state basketball collateral dick cheney heart
Source: http://hameeshsingh.blogspot.com/2013/02/humbler-shetland-fishing-tackle.html
chris anderson rondo suspended bay bridge presidents day band of brothers presidents george washington
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German economy will gradually regain momentum this year after contracting in the last three months of 2012 as the global economic backdrop improves, the economy ministry said on Monday.
"While weak developments in industrial output and construction point to a contraction in gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2012, there are increasing signs that we will soon overcome this period of weak economic growth," the ministry said in a monthly report.
It cited improved industrial orders, which rose 0.8 percent in December as demand from the euro zone picked up, and to sentiment surveys that have shown businesses, investors and consumers becoming more optimistic.
Germany's economy contracted by 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a preliminary estimate. Economists generally see it avoiding a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, by growing moderately in the first quarter.
"The weak phase in the global economy seems to have reached its low point already. International indicators are once again increasingly sending positive signals," the ministry said.
Recent data has shown stronger international trade in China and a report indicated that the U.S. trade deficit had narrowed in December, pointing to improving global demand.
The ministry said a stabilisation of international financial markets and in the real economy had made companies and consumers feel more upbeat about Germany's economic prospects.
The fourth-quarter contraction led shoppers to postpone purchases, shown by a steep drop in German retail sales in December, but a noticeable rise in wages last year combined with tax cuts at the beginning of 2013 mean private consumption should hold up, the ministry said.
Data released this month has shown a slight upturn in the German economy, with modest increases in exports, industrial orders and output while sentiment surveys have improved, the private sector expanding and unemployment falling.
(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson, writing by Michelle Martin, editing by Stephen Brown; Editing by John Stonestreet)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-economy-pick-economy-ministry-104241598--business.html
Jason Kidd All Star Game 2012 directv rashard lewis curacao curacao home run derby
Cuisine: Vietnamese Street Food
?
Swank Levels: 2/5
?
Nam is not swanky, it?s cool. Located in an inconspicuous corner of Dear Street, Nam?s lack of gimmicks is strangely alluring. At first glance Nam looks more like a warehouse than a restaurant, with its grey walls and a stainless steel counter. However the clever combination of solid grey and multi cultured paper lanterns bring an edgy chic to the restaurant.
?
Nam has recently made a name for itself in the street food market by serving only the basic healthy Vietnamese dishes. Diners can choose from one of two main courses, either a noodle soup or a noodle salad topped with one of beef, chicken, prawns or tofu. You also have the choice of freshly made spring rolls on the side, and a variety of green tea to drink, but that?s it.
Would I Want Seconds?
?
Although the menu is very sparse the food is full of flavour.
All the ingredients are so fresh you can actually taste the difference between the crunchy lettuce in your meal here and the ones you buy pre-packed from Tesco. It is also cooked in front of the customers on request.
?
?
In addition each dish is large enough to be a full meal, for lunch or dinner. In fact for the price it is actually surprising just how much food you get, as many similar street food restaurants in the same area would easily charge double for these portion sizes.
Although Nam?s the menu is limited, this may have worked to their advantage as the food they do serve is fabulous.
Can I Afford Seconds?
Definitely. Both main courses are ?5.90 and green tea is ?1.80. So under ?8 you can have a proper Vietnamese meal. If a main course and spring rolls are ordered together then you won?t leave hungry. Instead the food here is satisfying but also immensely healthy, to the extent that if green tea was added to the menu diners will leave with a warm detoxed glow.
?
Overall:
4/5
The food is here is stunning and the d?cor is original. However Soho is renowned for having a quick turnaround of restaurants, with previously well-known venues closing down and being replaced quite suddenly. The slightly ran-shackled cooking area, and strange lack of toilets makes me feel like this is a gem which isn?t going to last very long.
?
Source: http://herfavfood.blogspot.com/2013/02/nam.html
islands 2013 nissan altima masters par 3 contest google augmented reality glasses wonderlic test texas tornado fantasy baseball
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? The massive weekend snowstorm that clobbered parts of the Northeast and Canada is being blamed for at least 18 deaths.
The epic storm swept through on Friday and Saturday with 1 to 3 feet of snow that entombed cars and sealed up driveways. Several people died from carbon monoxide poisoning while sitting in snowed-in vehicles.
Schools remained closed across much of New England and New York on Monday. And more than 100,000 homes and businesses are still waiting for the electricity to come back on. About 650,000 customers had been without power, most of them in Massachusetts.
Marshfield, Mass., residents Jim and Brenda Stewart have been using their fireplace to stay warm. They say New Englanders just hunker down and do it.
___
Associated Press writers Pat Eaton-Robb in Columbia, Conn., John Christoffersen in Branford, Conn., Frank Eltman in Patchogue, N.Y., Denise Lavoie in Marshfield, Mass., and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/northeast-snowstorm-blamed-deaths-18-people-001835189.html
yom hashoah yolo liquidmetal gsa scandal kelis dick clark dies ibogaine
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/02/10/the-swiss-army-knife-of-rings/
earl scruggs game of thrones wrestlemania 28 game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley kenny chesney academy of country music awards
NEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc and AMR Corp are nearing an $11 billion merger that would create the world's largest airline and could announce a deal within a week, after resolving key differences on valuation and management structure, people familiar with the matter said.
Under terms of a deal that are still being finalized, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker would become CEO, while AMR's Tom Horton would serve as non-executive chairman of the board until spring of 2014, when the combined company holds its first annual meeting, the sources said.
The deal would come more than 14 months after the parent of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, and would mark the last combination of legacy U.S. carriers, following the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers.
The all-stock merger is expected to value the combined carrier at between $10.5 billion and $11 billion, and would give AMR creditors 72 percent of the ownership in the new company and US Airways shareholders the rest, they said.
The board of each airline is expected to meet in the middle of the coming week to vote on the proposed deal, and an announcement would likely come in the latter part of the week, the sources said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.
Negotiations are continuing and could still be delayed or fall apart, they cautioned.
The companies had initially tried to schedule board meetings for Monday, the day that AMR's creditors committee planned to convene, and had aimed to announce a deal as soon as Tuesday, sources told Reuters previously.
But AMR needed more time to finalize details and the boards of the two airlines are now not expected to gather until around Wednesday, the sources said.
The AMR creditors committee is still meeting on Monday in New York, as initially scheduled, and will continue discussions as the airlines finalize negotiations, they added.
A lawyer for the creditors committee declined to comment. Representatives for AMR and US Airways declined to comment.
A combination with US Airways would create the world's top airline by passenger traffic and help the two carriers better compete with rivals United Continental Holdings and Delta Air Lines Inc.
A near-$11 billion valuation of the combined American-US Airways compares to some $12.4 billion market capitalization for Delta, and $8.7 billion for United Continental.
The currently planned equity split ratio between AMR creditors and US Airways shareholders implies a roughly $3 billion valuation for US Airways and some $7.5 billion to $8 billion valuation for AMR.
NEW AMERICAN AIRLINES
US Airways will follow through on its agreement with AMR labor unions last year that the combined carrier would be branded American Airlines and be based in Fort Worth, Texas, where AMR is currently based, sources said. US Airways has its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.
As part of the merger, US Airways will also leave the Star Alliance to join the oneworld global airline alliance, of which American Airlines is an anchor member along with British Airways, the people familiar with the matter said.
The airlines are estimating that a merger will bring about $1 billion in revenue and cost benefits, they said.
Horton rebuffed an aggressive takeover push from US Airways early in the bankruptcy process, saying the airline preferred to exit court protection on its own and consider a deal later. But after several months of talks with its own creditors as well as with US Airways, Horton has softened his approach and agreed to consider all options.
A combined American-US Airways would provide the scale to match bigger rivals that are upgrading service and expanding international routes. The merged company would have revenue of $38.69 billion based on 2012 figures, ahead of United Continental which had revenue of $37.15 billion last year.
The new American would have a solid presence on the important U.S. East and West coasts and on North Atlantic routes, given American's revenue-sharing joint venture with British Airways and Iberia.
(Reporting by Soyoung Kim in New York, additional reporting by Nick Brown and Karen Jacobs; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-air-amr-near-11-billion-merger-deal-013303917--finance.html
chipper jones chipper jones dancing with the stars cast mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Formula One must bring rising costs under control to help struggling teams race on in tough economic circumstances, even if talk of impending crisis is wide of the mark, principals agree. The folding of Spanish-based HRT since the end of last season owed as much to the economic troubles of the team's debt-stricken homeland as to its lack of success on the track but it still flashed up warning signs. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/7-apps-dont-want-miss-164510266.html
gone with the wind michael jordan checkers imbibe msg network ray j anthony shadid
A single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells. Research from BRIC, University of Copenhagen, has identified a crucial role of the molecule Fbxl10 in differentiation of embryonic stem cells and suggests the molecule as a new potential target for cancer therapy.
"Our new results show that this molecule is required for the function of one of the most important molecular switches that constantly regulates the activity of our genes. If Fbxl10 is not present in embryonic stem cells, the cells cannot differentiate properly and this can lead to developmental defects", says Professor Kristian Helin, who heads the research group behind the new findings.
Fbxl10 recruits and activates genetic switches
The Polycomb protein complexes PRC1 and PRC2 are some of the most important genetics switches, which control the fate of individual cells through negative regulation of gene activity. The mechanism by which PRCs are recruited to DNA has been elusive as they are not capable of binding DNA directly. The new results from the Helin research group provide a mechanism for how the PRCs are recruited to the genes that are to be silent.
"Our results show that Fbxl10 is essential for recruiting PRC1 to genes that are to be silenced in embryonic stem cells. Fbxl10 binds directly to DNA and to PRC1, and this way it serves to bring PRC1 to specific genes. When PRC1 is bound to DNA it can modify the DNA associated proteins, which lead to silencing of the gene to which it binds", says postdoc Xudong Wu, who has led the experimental part of the investigation.
Fbxl10 is a potential target for cancer therapy
Timing of gene activity is not only crucial during development, but has to be maintained throughout the lifespan of any cell. Some genes are active at a certain times, but inactive at other times.. Here PRC1 comes into play. PRC1 is dynamically recruited to and dissociated from genes according to the needs of our organism. When cancer strikes, this tight regulation of gene activity is often lost and the cells are locked in a less differentiated stage. This loss of differentiation and the accumulation of other mutations allow the cancer cells to undergo indefinite self-renewal through endless cell divisions, an ability that normal differentiated cells are prohibited from through tight gene regulation.
"Given the emerging relationship between cancer and stem cells, our findings may implicate that an aberrant activity of Fbxl10 can disturb PRC function and promote a lack of differentiation in our cells. This makes it worth studying whether blocking the function of Fbxl10 could be a strategy for tumour therapy", says Xudong Wu.
And that is exactly what the researchers want to try. In collaboration with the biotech company EpiTherapeutics, the researchers want to develop inhibitors to Fbxl10 as a potential novel therapy for cancer.
The results are published in the journal Molecular Cell on February 7, 2013: Wu et al.: Fbxl10/Kdm2b Recruits Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 to CpG Islands and Regulates H2A Ubiquitylation.
###
University of Copenhagen: http://www.ku.dk
Thanks to University of Copenhagen for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 65 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126708/Protein_paves_the_way_for_correct_stem_cell_differentiation
audacious pollen count mexico city first day of spring mexico earthquake aziz ansari aziz ansari
Gavin Bond / NBC
Christina Applegate as Reagan on "Up All Night."
By Access Hollywood
Christina Applegate is departing her NBC comedy, ?Up All Night.?
?It?s been a great experience working on ?Up All Night?, but the show has taken a different creative direction and I decided it was best for me to move on to other endeavors,? Christina said in a statement on Friday. ?Working with Lorne Michaels has been a dream come true and I am grateful he brought me into his TV family. I will miss the cast, producers and crew, and wish them the best always.??
Photos from AH: Hollywood?s Hottest Moms & Their Loveable Little Ones?
In Season 1 of the show, Christina played working mom Reagan Brinkley, who was a producer on a fictional talk show ? ?Ava? ? hosted by Maya Rudolph?s character. Season 2 changed things up with Maya?s character now a former talk show host, and Christina?s Reagan adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom.?
Photos from AH: Primetime Hunks: The Hottest Guys On Television!
The comedy also stars Will Arnett as Reagan?s husband, Chris.
NBC would not comment on the news, when contacted by Access Hollywood on Friday.?
More in The Clicker:
Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/02/08/16902905-christina-applegate-leaves-up-all-night?lite
lupus iCarly banana republic gap Victoria Secret Bath And Body Works Dicks Sporting Good
Envisage Project
The Envisage Research Project is a collaborative endeavor in Scotland that uses visualization to help the elderly with their rehabilitation efforts.??The University of Strathclyde?s Bioengineering Unit, The Glasgow School of Art?s School of Design, Glasgow Caledonian University?s School of Engineering & Computing, and a number of other partner institutions and organisations have developed a series of 'work packages' that help those with rehab needs visualize their treatment.
Envisage runs from Jan 2010 to October 2013 and is funded by Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW), a cross-research council initiative in partnership with the UK health departments and led by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
The aim of Envisage is "to evaluate the use of an innovative method of visualising scientific information about the stresses, strains, and movements of muscles and joints which is usually not possible for lay individuals, and non-specialist professionals to understand."
Lack of understanding or compliance can lead to poor rehabilitation.? This leads to poor mobility, increased dependence on others, lower self-esteem or depression, increased possiblity of further illness and hospital re-admissions and increased healthcare costs.
A clear understanding of the rehabilitation treatment, on the other hand, can lead to increased compliance, increased independence and mobility and a healthier lifestyle.
Through the use of the Envisage system, it is hoped that users will better understand their rehabilitation treatment, be more compliant, achieve better functional outcomes and be more satisfied.? This will lead to more efficient and less costly care.
The Envisage system is currently being evaluated through a series of five pilot clinical trials, using a range of technologies in a variety of home, community and hospital settings, across a variety of rehabilitation disciplines:
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Once these small-scale trials are completed and evaluated it is hoped that larger-scale studies will follow and the technology will eventually become a standard part of stroke and musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Musculoskeletal Rehab.
In the home setting, the lack of adherence to rehabilitation could have serious implications for the health and independence of seniors. Furthermore, if the recommended quality of motion (range and pace of movement) is not observed for these exercises, the seniors will probably not obtain the full recovery benefits offered by rehabilitation program(s). Two of the Envisage work packages are now undertaking full 6-12 week trials in patients? homes. It is believed by the developers of Envisage that the sensor technology will only really be viable if it is small scale, low cost and available for people to use in the comfort of their own homes,
?"We are very excited about the possible outcomes from these two home trials (one focused on falls and one on knee replacement) as we believe that seniors? quality of life and ability to integrate back into daily activities will be greatly enhanced by this technology."
Stroke Rehab
Stroke patients often have quite complex needs and the 3 Envisage stroke trials are taking place in community or hospital settings with therapists leading the sessions. At the moment physical and occupational therapists need to explain to patients how they are getting on with particular movements and exercises. Using Envisage patients are able to see and understand immediately the extent to which they are achieving their target position and respond by making adjustments instantly. Sensors placed on patients? upper and lower limbs during therapy sessions monitor exercises and convert the movement data in real time into images. Patients see their movements being made by a ?stick figure? with the extent to which a desired movement is being achieved indicated by a clear red to green spectrum. The system is tailored not only to the individual patient, but also to the specific therapy session with targets able to be adjusted as recovery proceeds.
?
?
?
?
?
Immediate Impact for Patients and Therapists
Envisage is already proving a hit with both healthcare staff and stroke patients. ?It has been really helpful,? says 55-year old participant Linda Gordon. ?Because you can actually see what you are doing, where you are going wrong you can immediately do something about it.?
?NHS Occupational therapist Gillian Sweeney adds: "Occupational therapists and physiotherapists have always used verbal feedback and mirrors in therapy sessions as patients like to be able to know where they're going wrong and to get advice on how to correct this. Envisage means this is possible for them to see this immediately"
?Envisage is a tangible example of how design can have a positive impact on delivery of health care and on patient recovery,? says Dr Anne Taylor of the GSA, a Research Fellow on the Envisage project. ?Recovery from a stroke is a long, slow process and keeping up with exercise a major challenge. From the evaluation of the trials to date clear patterns are emerging of improved patient understanding and communication as a direct result of them being able to see and immediately adjust their movements, as well as to see how they are reaching their rehabilitation targets.?
Watch this very short video of part of the WP2 showing some of the falling prevention exercises (these exercises were co-designed with the users).
If you like this post, please read other posts in the series on the Person-Centered HealthCare main page. And if you have a story to tell that may be a fit with our series, please comment below or email me at joan@socialmediatoday.com
Connect:
Authored by:
Joan Justice is currently the Senior Curator for HealthWorksCollective. She holds both a nursing and a graduate business degree, and has worked in domestic and international marketing management for several major healthcare corporations. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
See complete profile
vangogh yield crossbow airhead atherosclerosis steven tyler tropic thunder