PFT: Brady says Welker still plays 'huge part'

Buffalo Bills v New York JetsGetty Images

Last week, MDS and yours truly disagreed on only one pick.? I trusted the J-E-T-S, and he didn?t.

So I finished 11-5, and he?s already in second place with a 10-6 mark.

This week, we?ve doubled our disagreements.? Which means that there?s a good chance I?ll be in second place by next week at this time.

Tune in to PFT Live this Thursday and every Thursday for MDS and yours truly talking about three or four of Sunday?s games.? And, yes, there may be gloating.

Bears at Packers

MDS?s take: This is about as close as a Week Two game can get to being a must-win for the Packers. Lose here and they?re two games behind the Bears, plus the Bears have the tiebreaker edge, plus they?re 0-2 at Lambeau Field, plus they?re behind the Lions and Vikings in the NFC North as well. Jay Cutler will have a good game against the Packers? suspect pass defense, but Aaron Rodgers will have an even better game, and the Packers will win with their backs to the wall.

MDS?s pick: Packers 34, Bears 31.

Florio?s take:? The Packers have beaten the Bears in five of their last six games.? And other than the 2010 NFC title game, none has been bigger than Thursday night?s contest at Lambeau Field.? If the Packers lose, the team that was 15-1 in 2011 will fall to 0-2 in 2012, with 25 percent of the home schedule completed.? Look for the Packers? defense to find something close to their groove ? finally ? and for Green Bay to get things moving in the right direction with a strong offensive output.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 28, Bears 24.

Chiefs at Bills

MDS?s take: Picking the Bills burned me in Week One, costing me the head-to-head battle with Florio in last week?s picks. Will I learn from that mistake and avoid the Bills this time? Nope. I think the Bills are a better team than they showed against the Jets and should win a close one at home.

MDS?s pick: Bills 14, Chiefs 10.

Florio?s take:? Last year, the Bills went to Arrowhead in Week One and spanked the Chiefs.? This year, the Chiefs return the favor in Week Two.? (And as long as MDS keeps picking the Bills, I?ll keep building an edge in the season-long contest.)

Florio?s pick:? Chiefs 34, Bills 21.

Saints at Panthers

MDS?s take: Can Cam Newton do to the Saints? defense what Robert Griffin III did? Or is the Panthers? offense going to lay an egg for the second week in a row? In a game that will leave the loser in a big hole in the NFC South, I?m picking the Panthers in a home upset.

MDS?s pick: Panthers 27, Saints 24.

Florio?s take:? The loser of this game will fall to 0-2.? For the Panthers, that would be a problem.? For the Saints, it would be grounds for panic.? Caught napping last Sunday against the Redskins, the Saints wake up in a big way.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 42, Panthers 24.

Browns at Bengals

MDS?s take: Both of these teams looked bad in Week One, but the Browns seem to be on a different level of bad, because Brandon Weeden just doesn?t look like he?s ready to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Joe Flacco showed on Monday night that a good quarterback can beat the Bengals deep, but Weeden is not a good quarterback.

MDS?s pick: Bengals 24, Browns 10.

Florio?s take:? The Bengals lose the games they?re supposed to lose, and they win the games they?re supposed to win.? That trend held on Monday night, and it?ll hold on Sunday.

Florio?s pick:? Bengals 28, Browns 16.

Vikings at Colts

MDS?s take: Andrew Luck had four turnovers in his debut against the Bears, but what would really concern me about that game if I were a Colts fan is that the Colts? defense didn?t look any better than it did last year. Christian Ponder will have his second consecutive big game and the Vikings will start a surprising 2-0.

MDS?s pick: Vikings 27, Colts 20.

Florio?s take:? Andrew Luck will always be compared to Peyton Manning.? And Peyton Manning lost the first home game of his career.? So if Luck can pull this one off, he?ll already be ahead of the curve.? Though the Vikings aren?t nearly as good as they were the year that Peyton Manning entered the league, they?re good enough to spoil Luck?s debut at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Florio?s pick:? Vikings 24, Colts 20.

Texans at Jaguars

MDS?s take: Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert looks like he?s taken a big step forward since last season, and Jacksonville should put some points on the board. But the Jaguars won?t be able to keep pace with the loaded Texans offense, and this game could get ugly.

MDS?s pick: Texans 35, Jaguars 14.

Florio?s take:? Jaguars owner Shahid Khan wants to remove the tarps at EverBank Field.? His players may want to hide under them when the Texans come to town.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 35, Jaguars 17.

Raiders at Dolphins

MDS?s take: Both of these offenses looked like they leave a lot to be desired in their Week One losses, but I have a lot more faith in Carson Palmer turning things around than I have in Ryan Tannehill turning things around. The Dolphins, who started last season 0-7, will take another step toward another dismal start.

MDS?s pick: Raiders 24, Dolphins 6.

Florio?s take:? The Raiders may need sunglasses to dull the glare of all those empty orange seats.? And it will only get more empty in the second half.

Florio?s pick:? Raiders 24, Dolphins 17.

Cardinals at Patriots

MDS?s take: The Cardinals somehow seem to keep playing in close, competitive, exciting games: Last year 13 of their 16 games were decided by a touchdown or less, and they went down to the wire against the Seahawks in Week One as well. So will they be in a close game again? No. The Patriots win this one easily.

MDS?s pick: Patriots 34, Cardinals 14.

Florio?s take:? The two hottest teams over the last 10 regular-season games get together in Foxboro, but there?s still a huge gap between the 9-1 Patriots and 8-2 Cardinals.? Actually, there?s a pretty big gap right now between the 9-1 Patriots and 31 other teams.

Florio?s pick:? Patriots 31, Cardinals 13.

Buccaneers at Giants

MDS?s take: Greg Schiano had his team playing exactly the kind of tough, physical football he promised they would play in Week One against the Panthers, while the defending champion Giants looked surprisingly out of sorts in their Week One loss to the Cowboys. But the Giants are still the Giants and the Buccaneers are still the Buccaneers, and Week One will look like an anomaly when this game is over.

MDS?s pick: Giants 27, Buccaneers 10.

Florio?s take:? This is the kind of game that Giants could have lost, if they?d beaten the Cowboys in Week One.? But since the Giants lost to the Cowboys in Week One, they?ll be guarding against another letdown ? and quarterback Eli Manning will do what he has to do to propel the team in an early must-win situation.

Florio?s pick:? Giants 27, Buccaneers 17.

Ravens at Eagles

MDS?s take: The Eagles won ugly in Week One, while the Ravens won big. Much like they did last year, the Eagles look like a team that?s less than the sum of its parts, and I like the Ravens to go to Philadelphia and win.

MDS?s pick: Ravens 24, Eagles 17.

Florio?s take:? A week after barely beating the toothless new Browns, the Eagles get a taste of the old Browns.? By the time it?s over, Mike Vick may need Jeffrey Lurie to push the wheelchair.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 30, Eagles 21.

Redskins at Rams

MDS?s take: I liked the way the Rams? defense looked in the first game of the Jeff Fisher era: Yes, they gave up 355 passing yards to Matthew Stafford in a loss to the Lions, but they also mixed up their coverages and picked Stafford off three times. The Rams will do a better job of containing Robert Griffin III than the Saints did, but the problem for St. Louis is that the offensive line is a mess, and they?re not going to be able to put many points on the board.

MDS?s pick: Redskins 20, Rams 13.

Florio?s take:? If the Rams had known how RG3 would make his NFL debut, the price for the pick that was sent to the Redskins would have been a lot higher than three ones and a two.? And the Rams may regret sooner rather than later the decision to not simply pick Griffin themselves.

Florio?s pick:? Redskins 28, Rams 20.

Cowboys at Seahawks

MDS?s take: Russell Wilson struggled against the Cardinals? defense, and he?s going to struggle again against an athletic Cowboys defense that can limit Wilson?s mobility. The fans in Seattle may be calling for Matt Flynn soon.

MDS?s pick: Cowboys 21, Seahawks 6.

Florio?s take:? Tony Romo returns to Seattle for the first time since he fumbled the snap on a field goal that would have secured a win in his first career playoff game.? This time around, the defense will be the difference, especially since the Seahawks? receivers are banged up.

Florio?s pick:? Cowboys 24, Seahawks 13.

Jets at Steelers

MDS?s take: No one saw the Jets? offensive explosion coming last week, so maybe I?m underestimating them here, but I just don?t like Mark Sanchez?s chances of moving the ball effectively against the Steelers? defense.

MDS?s pick: Steelers 17, Jets 10.

Florio?s take:? The Steelers saw some Tebowing late in Sunday?s loss to the Broncos.? The Steelers will be hoping to see none of it on Sunday.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, Jets 10.

Titans at Chargers

MDS?s take: Chargers linebacker Shaun Phillips had an excellent game against the Raiders, and he?s going to make Titans quarterback Jake Locker?s life very difficult on Sunday. The Chargers will be off to their first 2-0 start since 2006.

MDS?s pick: Chargers 24, Titans 17.

Florio?s take:? The Chargers begin what could be one of their final seasons in San Diego? in style.? Except for all the empty seats at the stadium.

Florio?s pick:? Chargers 21, Titans 17.

Lions at 49ers

MDS?s take: The Lions survived with an unimpressive win over the Rams at home, while the 49ers had an extremely impressive win over the Packers on the road. San Francisco may just have the best team in the NFL.

MDS?s pick: 49ers 27, Lions 17.

Florio?s take:? The 49ers have gotten better since the last time these two teams met in Detroit.? The Lions haven?t.

Florio?s pick:? 49ers 31, Lions 17.

Broncos at Falcons

MDS?s take: The loss of starting cornerback Brent Grimes is a huge blow to the Falcons, and Peyton Manning is the worst quarterback to face for a team trying to adjust to an injury in the secondary: Manning will find places to pick apart the Falcons? secondary and get a big road win against a good team.

MDS?s pick: Broncos 31, Falcons 28.

Florio?s take:? Last year, Denver?s defense kept games close long enough for the quarterback to do something heroic.? This week, they?ll do the same thing ? without having to give up so few points.

Florio?s pick:? Broncos 38, Falcons 35.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/12/brady-says-welker-remains-a-huge-part-of-this-offense/related/

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Fed seen launching fresh stimulus, details in question

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve appears set to launch a third round of unconventional monetary stimulus on Thursday while signaling that a weak U.S. economy may warrant ultra-low interest rates for at least another three years.

Not everyone believes the Fed will embark on another bond- buying spree, and plenty of doubts remain about the likely efficacy of such a move.

But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made clear the central bank will not sit idly by while unemployment, currently at 8.1 percent, remains so far above levels consistent with a healthy economic recovery.

Many economists are confident the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will deliver a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3. On median, they see a 60 percent chance, according to a Reuters poll.

The FOMC will announce its decision at about 12:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) at the close of a two-day meeting.

"The market is firmly in the camp that the FOMC will deliver; it's just a question of how much," said Brad Bechtel, managing director at Faros Trading in Stamford, Connecticut.

Indeed, the likely details of any decision to purchase bonds - including the size and composition of any new asset purchase plan - are the subject of heated debate.

Many economists see the Fed leaning toward an open-ended bond-buying program that is conditional on the path of the economy, rather than lump-sum amounts with pre-established end dates as done in the past.

This could help carry the economy through the looming risks of a deeper European debt crisis and the looming tax break expirations and government spending cuts known as the U.S. fiscal cliff. Many economists believe businesses have already retrenched out of fear the economy could hit the shoals.

U.S. economic growth cooled in the second quarter, coming in at a tepid 1.7 percent annual rate, and forecasters do not believe it is doing much better now.

Employment data showed just 96,000 jobs were created last month, less than needed to keep up with population growth, hardening forecasts of an aggressive Fed move.

Growing expectations of further bond purchases have helped support U.S. and global stocks in recent weeks. Markets could be in for a steep sell-off if the Fed stops short of the expected action, while the dollar would probably rally.

Whether or not it buys bonds, economists widely agree the central bank will push back its estimate for when interest rates will finally rise. Since January, it has said it would likely keep borrowing costs near zero through at least late 2014; it is expected to push that date into 2015.

An hour and a half after its decision, the Fed will provide fresh forecasts that could show softer projections for economic growth and higher unemployment, which would help provide a rationale for any policy move.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss the Fed's decision during a news conference at 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT).

DEPLETED TOOLBOX

The Fed's toolbox is considerably depleted in the wake of the financial crisis and deep recession that caused the central bank to cut official rates to zero and more than triple its balance sheet to $2.9 trillion.

But policymakers do have a few tools, additional bond purchases chief among them. Some analysts believe the Fed will opt for mortgage-backed securities purchases, which it conducted during the first round of QE, in an effort to give an extra push to a nascent U.S. housing recovery.

Most likely is a mix of Treasury bond and mortgage debt purchases, which would be aimed at putting downward pressure on already-low long-term borrowing costs. In the process, the Fed may choose to nix its current plan of selling short-term notes to buy long-term bonds, known as Operation Twist, if it feels the new measures supersede the program.

Given that interest rates are already so low, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note at just 1.76 percent, many economists worry such steps would not address a fundamental problem in the economy - weak consumer spending driven by a dismal job market.

Indeed, many Republicans and a number of Fed officials feel the central bank has done more than enough already to try to spur growth. The prospect of a further easing of monetary conditions has put the Fed in an unusually bright political spotlight with less than two months before the presidential election.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has said he doubts QE3 would do much good.

Fed officials, however, have vowed to ignore politics, and with some consumers and businesses complaining about access to credit, they hope further bond buys prompt banks to lend more freely.

(Additional reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-seen-launching-fresh-stimulus-details-040346497--business.html

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Physicians suggest expert recommendations ignore vital issues for patients

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 12-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jerry Berger
jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu
617-667-7308
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

'There is more to life than death,' Hartzband and Groopman write

BOSTON In the medical world, where decisions invariably involve risk and uncertainty, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians note that experts generally base their recommendations on the outcome of death, which is "readily determined, easily quantified, concrete."

"There is more to life than death," Pamela Hartzband, MD, and Jerome Groopman, MD, write in the Sept. 12 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Basing decisions on the outcome of death ignores vital dimensions of life that are not easily quantified."

For example, death has been the outcome at the bottom of two recent and controversial recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force involving the use of the PSA test to screen for prostate cancer among men and the value of mammography in women ages 40 to 49 to screen for breast cancer.

In each instance, Hartzband and Groopman note, Task Force members presented their conclusions with absolute certainty, declaring it was a "no-brainer" that the harm from the treatment in men and the screening in women outweighed any benefit.

But, the doctors' note, epidemiological data show a 75 percent decrease in the number of men presenting with advanced prostate cancer since the introduction of PSA screening. And mammography increases the likelihood of identifying breast cancers that are small enough to be treated with conservative therapies such as a lumpectomy, rather than a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

"How do we balance that possibility of a later life with prostate cancer marked by bone pain, pathological fractures and urinary obstruction against the more immediate symptoms of incontinence and impotence that often follow surgical or radiation treatment of early stage prostate cancer," Hartzband and Groopman ask.

"For a woman in her '40s, how do you balance the anxiety and discomfort of a biopsy for a false positive mammogram against the possible need for more extensive surgery, radiation or chemotherapy for a larger cancer detected later in life?

"How do we quantify the utility or impact" of these decisions on a man or woman's life?

Hartzband and Groopman note expert groups typically use methods such as time tradeoff or the "standard gamble," that require people to forecast how they would feel in the future should they become ill or suffer complications of treatment.

"But these calculations are profoundly flawed. They require people to imagine themselves in a health state that they haven't experienced. Even we, as physicians who have cared for many patients with a particular condition, find in difficult to accurately imagine what our lives would be like if we were living with that condition ourselves."

Despite the severe flaws in how many expert groups calculate risk and benefit, their recommendations have a powerful impact on patients' care. In the wake of health reform, major policies could be crafted on the narrow criterion of death and using flawed methods of analysis.

"People have a remarkable capacity to adapt to changes. Indeed, when the quality of life is assessed by patients themselves, there is no difference in assessments between men with prostate cancer who underwent prostatectomy and those who choose active surveillance.

There is often as profound disconnect between the way healthy people view medical conditions and the way patients with these conditions view themselves."

Hartzband and Groopman suggest patients and physicians alike not ignore the real complexities and uncertainties of medical choices.

"Wrestling with these uncertainties requires nuanced and individualized judgment. It is neither ignorant nor irrational to question the wisdom of expert recommendations that are sweeping and generic."

###

In a podcast with the editors of the New England Journal, Hartzband and Groopman propose a new way for individual patients to meaningfully weigh risk and benefit so as to arrive at the right decision about screening tests and treatment choices.

Hartzband is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Groopman is the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. They are coauthors of "Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What is Right for You."

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.



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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 12-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jerry Berger
jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu
617-667-7308
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

'There is more to life than death,' Hartzband and Groopman write

BOSTON In the medical world, where decisions invariably involve risk and uncertainty, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians note that experts generally base their recommendations on the outcome of death, which is "readily determined, easily quantified, concrete."

"There is more to life than death," Pamela Hartzband, MD, and Jerome Groopman, MD, write in the Sept. 12 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Basing decisions on the outcome of death ignores vital dimensions of life that are not easily quantified."

For example, death has been the outcome at the bottom of two recent and controversial recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force involving the use of the PSA test to screen for prostate cancer among men and the value of mammography in women ages 40 to 49 to screen for breast cancer.

In each instance, Hartzband and Groopman note, Task Force members presented their conclusions with absolute certainty, declaring it was a "no-brainer" that the harm from the treatment in men and the screening in women outweighed any benefit.

But, the doctors' note, epidemiological data show a 75 percent decrease in the number of men presenting with advanced prostate cancer since the introduction of PSA screening. And mammography increases the likelihood of identifying breast cancers that are small enough to be treated with conservative therapies such as a lumpectomy, rather than a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

"How do we balance that possibility of a later life with prostate cancer marked by bone pain, pathological fractures and urinary obstruction against the more immediate symptoms of incontinence and impotence that often follow surgical or radiation treatment of early stage prostate cancer," Hartzband and Groopman ask.

"For a woman in her '40s, how do you balance the anxiety and discomfort of a biopsy for a false positive mammogram against the possible need for more extensive surgery, radiation or chemotherapy for a larger cancer detected later in life?

"How do we quantify the utility or impact" of these decisions on a man or woman's life?

Hartzband and Groopman note expert groups typically use methods such as time tradeoff or the "standard gamble," that require people to forecast how they would feel in the future should they become ill or suffer complications of treatment.

"But these calculations are profoundly flawed. They require people to imagine themselves in a health state that they haven't experienced. Even we, as physicians who have cared for many patients with a particular condition, find in difficult to accurately imagine what our lives would be like if we were living with that condition ourselves."

Despite the severe flaws in how many expert groups calculate risk and benefit, their recommendations have a powerful impact on patients' care. In the wake of health reform, major policies could be crafted on the narrow criterion of death and using flawed methods of analysis.

"People have a remarkable capacity to adapt to changes. Indeed, when the quality of life is assessed by patients themselves, there is no difference in assessments between men with prostate cancer who underwent prostatectomy and those who choose active surveillance.

There is often as profound disconnect between the way healthy people view medical conditions and the way patients with these conditions view themselves."

Hartzband and Groopman suggest patients and physicians alike not ignore the real complexities and uncertainties of medical choices.

"Wrestling with these uncertainties requires nuanced and individualized judgment. It is neither ignorant nor irrational to question the wisdom of expert recommendations that are sweeping and generic."

###

In a podcast with the editors of the New England Journal, Hartzband and Groopman propose a new way for individual patients to meaningfully weigh risk and benefit so as to arrive at the right decision about screening tests and treatment choices.

Hartzband is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Groopman is the Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and is Chief of Experimental Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. They are coauthors of "Your Medical Mind: How to Decide What is Right for You."

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.



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

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/bidm-pse091012.php

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How breast cancer spreads

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The invasion of cancer cells into the lymph vessels that connect the breast to surrounding lymph nodes is the first step leading to the metastasis, or spread, of cancer throughout the body. Metastasis is the primary cause of breast cancer deaths. Surprisingly little is known about the control of this process and how it might be interrupted to prolong the lives of women with breast cancer. In a study to be reported Sept. 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition, researchers at Johns Hopkins describe their discovery of how a protein responsible for cell survival in low oxygen can trigger the spread of cancer cells into the lymphatic system in a mouse model of breast cancer.

The researchers knew that like all solid tumor cancers, breast cancer cells can grow so densely that they end up starved for oxygen. To survive, cancer cells trigger the growth of new blood vessels by activating a protein called hypoxia-inducible factor 1, or HIF-1. "We've known that increased levels of HIF-1 are associated with increased tumor vessels and with patient mortality," says Gregg Semenza, M.D., Ph.D., the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine, director of the vascular program at Hopkins' Institute for Cell Engineering and a member of the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine. "Now we've found that HIF-1 activity is directly responsible for the spread of breast cancer to the lymph vessels."

Working in mice injected with human breast cancer cells, which when left undisturbed grow into tumors that spread from the breast to the lungs, Semenza's team previously found that interfering with HIF-1 in these mice reduced growth of the primary tumor and prevented metastasis through blood vessels to the lung. "So of course we wanted to see whether blocking HIF-1 could affect lymph node metastasis as well," he says.

In new experiments, they injected mice with human breast cancer cells that were genetically engineered to knock down HIF-1 protein levels and, after 24 days, examined the mouse lymph nodes to see if the human breast cancer cells had spread. They found that compared to mice whose HIF-1 levels were left undisturbed, lymph nodes with knocked-down HIF-1 contained 76 percent fewer human breast cancer cells, supporting the idea that HIF-1 is somehow involved in the spread of breast cancer to lymph nodes.

To better understand how HIF-1 triggers this to happen, Semenza's team then starved human breast cancer cells of oxygen to see which of the genes involved in the growth of lymphatic vessels might respond to HIF-1. They found that the platelet-derived growth factor B gene ?PDGF-B ? was five times more active when oxygen was lacking. A closer look at the DNA sequence around the PDGF-B gene showed regions of DNA known to be recognized and bound by the HIF-1 protein. They tested this in cells and found that, indeed, HIF-1 protein binds to the PDGF-B gene and turns it on.

The team then took a closer look at PDGF-B to find out how it works once the gene is turned on. They found that PDGF-B that is made by breast cancer cells is pumped out of the cell and stimulates the growth of lymph vessels.

Treating the mice with either digoxin, which blocks HIF-1 activity, or imatinib, a cancer drug, reduced tumor size by 78 percent and reduced lymph node metastasis by 94 percent, although the researchers emphasized that more work must be done to determine whether these drugs will be effective in treating breast cancer patients.

"We're very excited by these results, having shown for the first time that HIFs are directly involved in the lymphatic metastasis of breast cancer," says Semenza. "These results provide experimental support for breast cancer clinical trials that target HIF-1 or PDGF-B." The first study of digoxin in women with breast cancer at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center will begin later this year.

###

Johns Hopkins Medicine: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Thanks to Johns Hopkins Medicine 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/123358/How_breast_cancer_spreads

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Microsoft?s Windows Store Is Now Open For All Developers In 120 Markets

Store_RTMMicrosoft just announced that the Windows Store, the app store for the company's upcoming Windows 8 release, is now open for app submissions from all developers, including individuals. This marks the final step in Microsoft's program to bring the Windows Store to as many developers around the world as possible. Microsoft also announced that it is now ready for submissions in 82 additional markets, bringing the total number to 120.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/V8TCj_5R0LE/

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From words to deeds: Why election matters

FILE - In this March 30, 2010 file photo President Barack Obama, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, and others applaud after the president signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 at a community college in Alexandria, Va. When you vote in November 2012, you'll be voting for more than a president; you'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in. It can be hard to see through the process that the election is a contest of actual ideas, but it is always so. A candidate's words connect to deeds in office. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this March 30, 2010 file photo President Barack Obama, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, and others applaud after the president signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 at a community college in Alexandria, Va. When you vote in November 2012, you'll be voting for more than a president; you'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in. It can be hard to see through the process that the election is a contest of actual ideas, but it is always so. A candidate's words connect to deeds in office. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FILE - In this June 27, 2012, file photo Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a "Putting Jobs First" campaign rally in Sterling, Va., with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, center left. When you vote in November 2012, you'll be voting for more than a president; you'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in. It can be hard to see through the process that the election is a contest of actual ideas, but it is always so. A candidate's words connect to deeds in office. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

When you vote for Democrat Barack Obama or Republican Mitt Romney in November, you'll be voting for more than a president. You'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in.

It can be hard to see, through the fog of negative ads, sound-bite zingers and assorted other campaign nasties, that the election is a contest of actual ideas. But it is always so. A candidate's words connect to deeds in office.

Roll back to 2008. Obama was the presidential candidate who promised to get the country on a path to health insurance for all. He delivered. If you haven't noticed one way or another, you soon will.

And back to 2000. George W. Bush ran on a platform of big tax cuts. That's precisely what the country got. A decade later, taxes are lower than they otherwise would have been.

That's not to say you can count on Romney's checklist or Obama's to come into full being. You sure can't.

By nature and necessity, the presidency is in large part a creature of compromise and improvisation. The unforeseen happens (the terrorist attacks), or circumstances change (the December 2007-June 2009 recession), or things that the candidate sets out to do run into a buzz saw in Congress (way too many examples to mention). That's why promises are broken, priorities shift and intentions get swept away by the fistful.

Even so, you get what you vote for, probably about as often as not. And a lot of what you get, you will feel in a personal way, for better or worse, no matter how distant Washington seems from your world.

The wars called away people in your orbit, if not in your family. The spending that each candidate wants to do ? Romney vows military expansion, Obama would put more into education, for starters ? is bound to benefit many livelihoods in some fashion, at the risk of even deeper national debt. And read their fine print: Medicare won't be the same in the years ahead. Perhaps not Social Security, either. (There's that national debt, after all)

Across the spectrum of issues, Obama and Romney have drawn contrasts and telegraphed divergent ways for the nation to go.

You can't believe everything you hear. But you can believe enough to know that Tuesday, Nov. 6, is a true day of decision.

In this series, Associated Press writers who cover subjects at stake in the election look at the positions of the candidates, the underlying issues ? and why it matters.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-09-10-Why%20It%20Matters/id-32fbce2eef284b68896fd304566e6c04

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Robot dog pack keeps growls to a whimper

9 hrs.

The U.S. military-funded robot dog program now has two electronic canines in training to haul gear for soldiers over rugged terrain. Each member of the pack is also 10 times quieter than its predecessor robot, which should make it easier to hold a conversation or sneak up on an enemy.

The Legged Squad Support System (LS3), as the Boston Dynamics? AlphaDog robots are known, are being developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a sort of an intelligent pack mule that won?t freak out when shots are fired or a mutt walks by on the other side of the hiking trail.

In the video below, it?s clear that the robots are far from stealth, but?their moving parts are quiet enough to hear the robots' footsteps on the ground. The previous version of the robot was so loud that all you could hear was the sound of its motor.?

The robots have also been trained to follow the leader, can walk up to 3 miles per hour over rocky terrain and transition to a 5-mile-per-hour jog on a flat surface. Eventually, top speed will be around 7 miles per hour on flat surfaces.

The robots will even right themselves should they stumble, without even a whimper.

Each of these advances should make the robots useful to soldiers who need to cover ground inaccessible to their Humvees. Let?s just hope these dogs don?t turn on their owners.?

???via IEEE, DARPA

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/robot-dog-pack-keeps-growls-whimper-992336

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xMatters and KingsBridge Disaster Recovery Announce New ...

SAN RAMON, CA ? (Marketwire) ? 09/10/12 ? xMatters, inc., the relevance engine company, today announced a new partnership with KingsBridge Disaster Recovery, bringing together two thought leaders in the Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery space, each of whom have a laser focus on making simple, but powerful solutions for the marketplace.

?This new partnership with KingsBridge allows us to enhance our product offering by providing a truly seamless integrated planning and communication solution to our joint clients,? said David Wall, vice president of alliances, xMatters.

KingsBridge Shield is a complete online application for creating Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans. Shield includes all the tools, content and flexibility you need to create a secure plan that will ensure your business is prepared to manage interruptions or emergencies. To compliment Shield, KingsBridge has partnered with xMatters to build a solution that allows your planning and emergency notification to occur with the same ease and accessibility.

?By leveraging the xMatters powerful web services API, KingsBridge has created a data sync to harmonize Shield Personnel Lists and Teams with xMatters in an automated fashion,? said Skip Williams, CEO, KingsBridge. ?The new integrated offering is a response to client demand for truly seamless integrated planning and notification solutions.?

By partnering and integrating the xMatters solution, KingsBridge Shield allows you to manage one personnel database, so when people move into or out of your company, Shield and xMatters will always be current. This prevents you from sending messages to the wrong people, or sending messages to people who don?t work for you anymore. With security being at an all time high, this can be critical to your business? success.

xMatters and KingsBridge will be showcasing this new integration at Disaster Recovery Journal Fall World conference in San Diego, taking place this week, September 9 ? 11th. You can also visit www.xMatters.com and www.DisasterRecovery.com for more information.

About XMatters

xMatters builds relevance engines that connect people with what they need to know at exactly the right moment ? so they can take immediate action. Our relevance engines work with existing enterprise applications, technologies, and processes to help businesses run faster and smarter. More than 1000 global firms use xMatters to make their products and services more valuable, both internally and to their customers and shareholders. Founded in 2000 as AlarmPoint Systems, xMatters is headquartered in San Ramon, CA with European operations based in London, U.K. More information is available at www.xMatters.com or 1-877-xMATTRS.

Follow us ? http://twitter.com/#!/xMatters_inc, https://www.facebook.com/xMatters.

Media contact
Charity Hudnall
Marketing Director
925-251-5757
Email Contact

Source: http://www.nearshorejournal.com/2012/09/xmatters-and-kingsbridge-disaster-recovery-announce-new-partnership/

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Twenty Quick Tips to Transform Your Home | ERA Home & Family ...

Does your house need a new look? Do you think changing the look will take too much time or money? Using small changes can often have a big effect.

Here are some low-effort and low-cost ideas that can quickly transform your space:

1. Switch out lampshades and/or finials or change a chandelier

2. Reframe or rearrange artwork

3. Have favorite photos printed on canvas and hang them front and center

4. Swap throws and/or pillows

5. Change a rug or pull it up to expose hardwood or tile floors

6. Take out ?high-hat? light in living room for a more ambient atmosphere

7. Give your bookcase a makeover

8. Clear the clutter

9. Switch out bar stools

10. Change drawer knobs and/or cabinet handles

11. Put new towels and/or mats in the bathroom

12. Add a hanging pot holder in the kitchen

13. Sew a fabric band to bottom of shower curtain

14. Change the draperies

15. Add flowers or plants

16. Add accessories like vases, sculptures, candles or photos

17. Lean your artwork rather than hanging it for a way to easily move it later

18. Change slipcovers

19. Use sisal rugs, which are inexpensive and in style

20. Put a decorative plate or bowl in the corners of kitchen counters (where tile meets wall) to increase flow and tie a space together

Source: http://www.erahomeandfamily.com/blog/twenty-quick-tips-to-transform-your-home

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Joss Whedon Promises a "Twisted" Guardians of the Galaxy

With Joss Whedon currently at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival promoting his Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing, the writer-director took some time out to speak to the superhero-happy folks over at MTV, who dove right in and asked him for an update on Guardians of the Galaxy. Last we heard James Gunn (Super) was in discussions to direct, but now it seems like that's a done deal, with Whedon noting that Gunn just started work on the script, which we imagine he'll be rewriting with notes from Whedon and the Marvel crew.

Whedon tells MTV that while he wasn't sure how Guardians of the Galaxy would work at first, he's completely confident in Gunn as a filmmaker and writer, teasing that he has a "very twisted take" on Guardians, adding that "it all comes from a real love for the material." Whedon says, "It's going to be hard for the humans to keep up. I know he's going to come from left field and I'm going to go, 'What?' And then, 'Of course, why didn't I think of that?' And then I'm going to beat him!???

Guardians of the Galaxy is set to hit theaters on August 1, 2014, and it follows a futuristic team of superheroes (including a badass talking raccoon) who must protect the galaxy from a massive threat. For more, check out our complete beginner's guide to Guardians of the Galaxy, and watch the video below for all of Whedon's comments.

Follow along on Twitter @ErikDavis and @Moviesdotcom.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1925862/news/1925862/

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