Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
By msnbc.com news services
Rising bond yields in Italy and a bank crisis in Spain dragged Wall Street lower on Wednesday, as Europe's financial woes continued to dictate the direction of U.S. stocks.
Angst over Europe's outlook drove investors from risky investments into safe-haven assets. U.S. Treasury benchmark yields fell to a 60-year low, prices for crude were down more than 3 percent and the euro fell below $1.24 to a 23-month low.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day down 161 points, having lost as much as 184 points earlier in the session.
The broader S&P 500 is down nearly 6 percent in May, headed for its worst monthly performance since September.
Yields rose sharply at an Italian sale of five- and 10-year debt, and investors worried about Spain's plans to raise new funds as that country's borrowing costs also rose. Adding to worries were Greece's upcoming election, which could determine if the country will stay in the euro zone or leave.
The CBOE volatility index, a gauge of market anxiety, jumped 10 percent.
"You're seeing the deterioration in Spain gain magnitude and that is worrisome because it involves a larger bailout [than Greece's] and far more capital to alleviate banking problems," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
"Traders and long-term investors believe Europeans are working on solutions. But the ultimate question is will capital markets give them the time before a liquidity issue becomes a solvency issue."
Facebook?s share price sank to a new low, off 2.3 percent at $28.19.
U.S.-traded shares of Research In Motion tumbled after the BlackBerry maker warned it would likely report a quarterly operating loss. Analysts cut their price targets on RIM shares and said the odds of a turnaround at the company are fading fast.
Pep Boys Manny, Moe & Jack lost a fifth of its market value after private equity firm Gores Group walked away from a $791 million deal to buy the auto parts retailer.
U.S. economic data showed contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in April to a four-month low, dealing a blow to optimism the housing sector may have hit a bottom.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Discussing the Dow's weak performance this May, with Josh Brown, Fusion Analytics; Nathan Bachrach, The Financial Network Group CEO; and CNBC's "Closing Bell" crew.
The Associated Press is reporting that registered sex offenders are fighting hard in state courts to try and gain access to social networking sites like Facebook—sites which they're currently blocked from using to help protect against potential abuse. More »
International business schools business schools are acclaimed worldwide offering courses of international quality. These schools are highly rated on the quality of education and accommodate students and teachers from different countries. Students benefit from world trade capacities in a wide range of programs. The international business schools with partner companies. Campus interviews are conducted to absorb the brightest students in the world renowned companies. These schools also have a great alumni association of the world.
International graduate schools of business over a thousand students each year. Grants and scholarships are awarded to students with academic excellence. Part time and full time courses for Masters and PhD are made. Executive programs on education and finance, development of personal skills of students to conduct future business.
Case study is the most common method of interactive learning that is used in international business schools. It meets the needs of interdisciplinary real business circumstances. A large percentage of the school budget is used for research related to the realities of economic conditions. A global network of research centers keeps the international scope of research. Business schools are linked to international partner schools worldwide. They also carry out exchange programs with other business schools, allowing students maximum exposure to culture and education. Substantial financial resources is the main advantage of international business schools.
The international business schools have conference rooms, seminar rooms and online classrooms flat floor. Facilities in accordance with international standards. Services to students of information technology and help teachers to get to update their knowledge. The library has relevant and reliable information. Online resources that provide access to books, magazines, annual reports, market research and reference titles are an attraction. There is a fitness center with gym, swimming pool, steam room and spa. Fitness classes and treatment are also held here. The rooms are always in hotel suites on campus. A team of catering on campus to provide a variety of foods and beverages.
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Defense research companies are working hard at improving their "unattended ground sensor" technology: tiny, camouflaged devices that can be left alone for months or years to listen for and report events like footsteps and vehicles. The military has been using them for years, but previous versions didn't last nearly as long enough, and weren't effective enough, to justify their cost. The latest models improve on every aspect.
When troops clear an area and move on, they still have to monitor that area for enemy presence. Usually this means sending a patrol -- possibly a single jeep or a few soldiers on foot. These patrols are vulnerable to attack and can't cover every bit of ground. But if troops could drop sensors behind them that would report back every footfall and engine noise, they would know whether they needed to risk sending men out, and get some idea of the location of the threat.
The idea goes back as far as Vietnam, when bulky acoustic sensors were dropped to report back on Viet Cong movements,?but it's only in recent years that the devices have become a contender for mass deployment. Wired has an extended look at the technology with comment from some military and research officials.
The usual advances have contributed to the new models: smaller and faster microchips for detecting and interpreting signals, better batteries and solar cells for keeping those batteries charged, and more intelligent wireless capabilities that let dozens of the sensors share information with each other or their users.
One from Lockheed Martin, pictured, looks just like a rock and can stay active for years -- possibly decades, according to their creator. It listens for footsteps and vehicle noises (the devices can even determine the number of cylinders by certain distinctive measures), puts nearby sensors on alert, and relays the information to the commander.?Another, made by the far smaller Camgian Microsystems, uses a sort of micro-radar to actually watch for movement.
With such a long lifespan, such devices could remain in areas like Afghanistan long after American troops have been withdrawn, providing a basic level of intelligence on movement in areas of interest. Of course, one of?these smart rocks could also be sitting outside a local building or house and no one would be the wiser. In a few years it might be prudent?to check nearby suspicious rocks before whispering?sensitive information.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
Testing for new E. coli strains begins Barring any last-minute delays, U.S. food safety inspectors will begin testing Monday for six new strains of potentially deadly E. coli bacteria to be banned from certain cuts of raw beef.
Source: MSNBC Posted on:
Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 9:12am Views: 5
Trademarks are one of the most essential building blocks to a franchise brand.?We all immediately recognize what the Golden Arches, the block red ?GNC?, or the Sheraton ?S? surrounded by a sprig of mountain laurel represent.?So, we took great interest in a number of recent trademark decisions involving the spirits industry.
Alcohol packaging and trademark/trade dress law have intersected quite a few times in the news this month. ?First, as?Daniel Corbett?recently reported, the maker's of Daily's cocktails?sued Captain Morgan producer Diageo North America Inc. in a suit alleging that Diageo's single-serve cocktail pouches infringed the plaintiff's?design patents?and trade dress.
Then, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of Maker's?Mark Distillery, Inc. in its?complaint alleging that the makers of Jose Cuervo tequila infringed Maker's Mark's trademark and trade dress rights by?featuring a bottle having a dripping red wax seal. ?In an opinion that provides not only a discussion of trade dress law but also an?entertaining?history of American bourbon manufacturing, the Court considered whether the dripping wax seal was entitled to trademark protection and concluded that the answer was 'yes".
In its defense, Cuervo argued that the seal could not be protected because it was "aesthetically functional." ?The Court noted that "a?trademark is functional 'if it is essential to the use or purpose of the?article or if it affects the cost or quality of the article.'" ?Although the Court did not affirmatively state whether or not it even recognized the doctrine of aesthetic functionality, it upheld Makers' Mark's rights because others could easily sell their products without using the dripping red wax seal:
The district court was not?convinced ?that it would be difficult or costly for competitors to design around? the mark?and we do not disagree. There is more than one way to seal a bottle with wax to make?it look appealing, and so Cuervo fails the comparable alternatives test. As to the?effective competition test, the district court found that ?red wax is not the only pleasing?color of wax . . . nor does it put competitors at a significant non-reputation related?disadvantage to be prevented from using red dripping wax.
Noting that the USPTO awarded Maker's Mark a trademark registration for a non-color-specific version of the seal in connection with other food products, the court then turned to the question of infringement. ?Makers' Mark argued that Cuervo's use of the red dripping wax seal on tequila created "confusion of sponsorship" as to the source of the goods. ?Although there was no evidence of actual consumer confusion, the Court found that Makers' Mark's trade dress rights were strong due to over 50 years' use of the dripping red wax seal. ?The Court also found similarity between the accused and original marks, as well as relatedness in the goods, although the Court gave these factors less weight than it gave to the strength of the mark. ?On this basis, the Court ruled in favor of Makers' Mark.
The opinion provides some guidance for companies who offer products that may appear to be similar to competing products. ?First, although Markers' Mark held a USPTO trademark registration for the dripping bottle seal, the registration was color-agnostic and only listed steak sauce (not alcohol) ?as the relevant goods. ?Thus, the opinion indicates the absence of a USPTO registration ?covering the goods in question does not necessarily mean that a party is not entitled to trademark or trade dress rights if the mark is sufficiently strong.
Second, the Court's focus on strength of the mark shows that consistent use of a trademark over time, along with extensive marketing efforts, can provide a trademark owner with substantial leverage when others use similar marks.?These cases reinforce what we?ve always believed:?franchisors, suppliers and others who own trademarks should adopt and enforce strict and consistent trademark usage policies before allowing others to use those marks. ?Otherwise, the trademark owner may end up with little or no trademark rights -- and no ability to keep infringers out of the market.
Earning money at home is something many people are becoming interested in. The best way to do that is to find an Internet marketing system that is trustworthy as well as rewarding. Nevertheless, before rushing off to start your business, there are a few downsides you should be aware of. You have to take time to get educated on both the good aspects and the bad aspects of managing a business online. Educate yourself first and you are going to avoid misery at a later stage.
The Internet is merely a tool, which can be a big help to developing a business, when used correctly. People?s opinions about the internet are not always couched in fact. One group considers it as a bringer of good things solely. Yet another group of people distrust the internet entirely, believing it to be filled with fraud and lies. The truth can be found somewhere between these two extremes. If you carry out a great marketing system and are prepared to invest some time on it, you can reasonably expect to build a good business. While it is true that your client base spans the whole world, the same can be said of the rivals. What you must do is position your business so that it is not up against huge, recognized competitors.
An internet business has the advantage that is open at all times. You could be pulling in sales all day long, every day, after you?ve built your niche site and set up everything that goes with it. Because the web is world-wide and across all time-zones it is always busy. Your business can therefore be busy at all times, as well, and make more sales. Once you put an opt-in box on your site, you can create a list of prospects with minimal expense. Your subscribers give you their contact information when they opt in. You can then mail them on a regular basis with information related to your niche, and include adverts for products on which you receive a portion of sales..
The fact that you don?t have any personal interaction with your clients is a huge issue. People typically purchase on the basis of what they have been told by a sales agent they trust. People generally want to hear a personal endorsement. This choice does not exist with a web business. The best you?ll be able to do is treat people well through your emails. That appears to be enough for many people, but there are still lots of people who won?t buy something on the web. You might want to make a study of who is checking out your website, and find out how likely they are to become customers.
In case you?ve got an offline business, it?s a good idea to increase your business by using an internet marketing system. All of us are different in how we do things, and we are not going to enjoy equal success from adding a web site to our business. Nonetheless, if it is done the right way, setting up a website will inevitably be great for your business.
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Selling Apple prototypes is tricky business. There's always the chance that Apple will shut it down and ask for the device back. The seller of the dual-dock iPad prototype knew this when he posted his Ebay auction. "I wasn't expecting the auction to finish, I was expecting Apple to take it down."
Antioxidant shows promise as treatment for certain features of autism, Stanford study findsPublic release date: 29-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin Digitale digitale@stanford.edu 650-724-9175 Stanford University Medical Center
STANFORD, Calif. A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder.
The antioxidant, called N-Acetylcysteine, or NAC, lowered irritability in children with autism as well as reducing the children's repetitive behaviors. The researchers emphasized that the findings must be confirmed in a larger trial before NAC can be recommended for children with autism.
Irritability affects 60 to 70 percent of children with autism. "We're not talking about mild things: This is throwing, kicking, hitting, the child needing to be restrained," said Antonio Hardan, MD, the primary author of the new study. "It can affect learning, vocational activities and the child's ability to participate in autism therapies."
The study appears in the June 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry. Hardan is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at Packard Children's. Stanford is filing a patent for the use of NAC in autism, and one of the study authors has a financial stake in a company that makes and sells the NAC used in the trial.
Finding new medications to treat autism and its symptoms is a high priority for researchers. Currently, irritability, mood swings and aggression, all of which are considered associated features of autism, are treated with second-generation antipsychotics. But these drugs cause significant side effects, including weight gain, involuntary motor movements and metabolic syndrome, which increases diabetes risk. By contrast, side effects of NAC are generally mild, with gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, nausea, diarrhea and decreased appetite being the most common.
The state of drug treatments for autism's core features, such as social deficits, language impairment and repetitive behaviors, is also a major problem. "Today, in 2012, we have no effective medication to treat repetitive behavior such as hand flapping or any other core features of autism," Hardan said. NAC could be the first medication available to treat repetitive behavior in autism if the findings hold up when scrutinized further.
The study tested children with autism ages 3 to 12. They were physically healthy and were not planning any changes in their established autism treatments during the trial. In a double-blind study design, children received NAC or a placebo for 12 weeks. The NAC used was a pharmaceutical-grade preparation donated by the neutraceutical manufacturer BioAdvantex Pharma. Subjects were evaluated before the trial began and every four weeks during the study using several standardized surveys that measure problem behaviors, social behaviors, autistic preoccupations and drug side effects.
During the 12-week trial, NAC treatment decreased irritability scores from 13.1 to 7.2 on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, a widely used clinical scale for assessing irritability. The change is not as large as that seen in children taking antipsychotics. "But this is still a potentially valuable tool to have before jumping on these big guns," Hardan said.
In addition, according to two standardized measures of autism mannerisms and stereotypic behavior, children taking NAC showed a decrease in repetitive and stereotyped behaviors.
"One of the reasons I wanted to do this trial was that NAC is being used by community practitioners who focus on alternative, non-traditional therapies," Hardan said. "But there is no strong scientific evidence to support these interventions. Somebody needs to look at them."
Hardan cautioned that the NAC for sale as a dietary supplement at drugstores and grocery stores differs in some important respects from the individually packaged doses of pharmaceutical-grade NAC used in the study, and that the over-the-counter version may not produce the same results. "When you open the bottle from the drugstore and expose the pills to air and sunlight, it gets oxidized and becomes less effective," he said.
Although the study did not test how NAC works, the researchers speculated on two possible mechanisms of action. NAC increases the capacity of the body's main antioxidant network, which some previous studies have suggested is deficient in autism. In addition, other research has suggested that autism is related to an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain. NAC can modulate the glutamatergic family of excitatory neurotransmitters, which might be useful in autism.
The scientists are now applying for funding to conduct a large, multicenter trial in which they hope to replicate their findings.
"This was a pilot study," Hardan said. "Final conclusions cannot be made before we do a larger trial."
###
Hardan's collaborators at Stanford were Lawrence Fung, MD, a psychiatry resident; Robin Libove and Surekha Nair, MD, social science research assistants; postdoctoral scholar Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD; Lenore Herzenberg, DSc, professor of genetics and member of the Stanford Cancer Institute; and Rabindra Tirouvanziam, PhD, a former instructor in pediatric pulmonary medicine at Stanford who is now at the Emory University School of Medicine. The research was supported by a grant from the Escher Family Fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Herzenberg and Tirouvanziam are listed as inventors on two patents for NAC used for treating cystic fibrosis that are licensed by BioAdvantex Pharma, which supplied NAC for the trial. Herzenberg also has equity in BioAdvantex.
Information about the Stanford Autism Center at Packard Children's Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, which also supported the research, is available online at http://autism.lpch.org and http://psychiatry.stanford.edu.
The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is annually ranked as one of the nation's best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, and is the only San Francisco Bay Area children's hospital with programs ranked in the U.S. News Top Ten. The 311-bed hospital is devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers, and provides pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services in association with the Stanford University School of Medicine. Packard Children's offers patients locally, regionally and nationally a full range of health care programs and services, from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit http://www.lpch.org.
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Antioxidant shows promise as treatment for certain features of autism, Stanford study findsPublic release date: 29-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin Digitale digitale@stanford.edu 650-724-9175 Stanford University Medical Center
STANFORD, Calif. A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder.
The antioxidant, called N-Acetylcysteine, or NAC, lowered irritability in children with autism as well as reducing the children's repetitive behaviors. The researchers emphasized that the findings must be confirmed in a larger trial before NAC can be recommended for children with autism.
Irritability affects 60 to 70 percent of children with autism. "We're not talking about mild things: This is throwing, kicking, hitting, the child needing to be restrained," said Antonio Hardan, MD, the primary author of the new study. "It can affect learning, vocational activities and the child's ability to participate in autism therapies."
The study appears in the June 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry. Hardan is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at Packard Children's. Stanford is filing a patent for the use of NAC in autism, and one of the study authors has a financial stake in a company that makes and sells the NAC used in the trial.
Finding new medications to treat autism and its symptoms is a high priority for researchers. Currently, irritability, mood swings and aggression, all of which are considered associated features of autism, are treated with second-generation antipsychotics. But these drugs cause significant side effects, including weight gain, involuntary motor movements and metabolic syndrome, which increases diabetes risk. By contrast, side effects of NAC are generally mild, with gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, nausea, diarrhea and decreased appetite being the most common.
The state of drug treatments for autism's core features, such as social deficits, language impairment and repetitive behaviors, is also a major problem. "Today, in 2012, we have no effective medication to treat repetitive behavior such as hand flapping or any other core features of autism," Hardan said. NAC could be the first medication available to treat repetitive behavior in autism if the findings hold up when scrutinized further.
The study tested children with autism ages 3 to 12. They were physically healthy and were not planning any changes in their established autism treatments during the trial. In a double-blind study design, children received NAC or a placebo for 12 weeks. The NAC used was a pharmaceutical-grade preparation donated by the neutraceutical manufacturer BioAdvantex Pharma. Subjects were evaluated before the trial began and every four weeks during the study using several standardized surveys that measure problem behaviors, social behaviors, autistic preoccupations and drug side effects.
During the 12-week trial, NAC treatment decreased irritability scores from 13.1 to 7.2 on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, a widely used clinical scale for assessing irritability. The change is not as large as that seen in children taking antipsychotics. "But this is still a potentially valuable tool to have before jumping on these big guns," Hardan said.
In addition, according to two standardized measures of autism mannerisms and stereotypic behavior, children taking NAC showed a decrease in repetitive and stereotyped behaviors.
"One of the reasons I wanted to do this trial was that NAC is being used by community practitioners who focus on alternative, non-traditional therapies," Hardan said. "But there is no strong scientific evidence to support these interventions. Somebody needs to look at them."
Hardan cautioned that the NAC for sale as a dietary supplement at drugstores and grocery stores differs in some important respects from the individually packaged doses of pharmaceutical-grade NAC used in the study, and that the over-the-counter version may not produce the same results. "When you open the bottle from the drugstore and expose the pills to air and sunlight, it gets oxidized and becomes less effective," he said.
Although the study did not test how NAC works, the researchers speculated on two possible mechanisms of action. NAC increases the capacity of the body's main antioxidant network, which some previous studies have suggested is deficient in autism. In addition, other research has suggested that autism is related to an imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain. NAC can modulate the glutamatergic family of excitatory neurotransmitters, which might be useful in autism.
The scientists are now applying for funding to conduct a large, multicenter trial in which they hope to replicate their findings.
"This was a pilot study," Hardan said. "Final conclusions cannot be made before we do a larger trial."
###
Hardan's collaborators at Stanford were Lawrence Fung, MD, a psychiatry resident; Robin Libove and Surekha Nair, MD, social science research assistants; postdoctoral scholar Tetyana Obukhanych, PhD; Lenore Herzenberg, DSc, professor of genetics and member of the Stanford Cancer Institute; and Rabindra Tirouvanziam, PhD, a former instructor in pediatric pulmonary medicine at Stanford who is now at the Emory University School of Medicine. The research was supported by a grant from the Escher Family Fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Herzenberg and Tirouvanziam are listed as inventors on two patents for NAC used for treating cystic fibrosis that are licensed by BioAdvantex Pharma, which supplied NAC for the trial. Herzenberg also has equity in BioAdvantex.
Information about the Stanford Autism Center at Packard Children's Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, which also supported the research, is available online at http://autism.lpch.org and http://psychiatry.stanford.edu.
The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is annually ranked as one of the nation's best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, and is the only San Francisco Bay Area children's hospital with programs ranked in the U.S. News Top Ten. The 311-bed hospital is devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers, and provides pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services in association with the Stanford University School of Medicine. Packard Children's offers patients locally, regionally and nationally a full range of health care programs and services, from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit http://www.lpch.org.
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When you're Justin Bieber, not even the threat of criminal battery charges can slow you down. One day after allegedly roughing up a paparazzo, the 18-year-old pop star has released "Die in Your Arms," the second single off of his upcoming album Believe (available June 19). Listen below!
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Philadelphia, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/28/2012 -- Copper roofing offers a distinguished look to any Main Line home. With centuries of use, copper roofing is a durable and long lasting (over 50 years) metal roofing material. Copper's soft properties allow the material to be easily applied to almost any surface of your roof. It?s unique ageing process will provide you with an eye-catching accent that will naturally change to a beautiful patina green. If you are looking for the "Copper Look" that won't patina over time, you can install a metallic copper color made of Galvalume instead. Galvalume is carbon steel coated in zinc and aluminium with a kynar paint finish so it won't rust, rot or fade over time. Below is a description of the copper roof properties.
Traditional Copper Roof Material
Copper metal roofs are typically fabricated using 12 ounce, 16 ounce, or 20 ounce cold rolled copper sheets. The sheets are usually limited to a width of 2 to 3 feet, and they can be either pre-formed or formed in the field into pans. Pans up to 10 feet long are considered short pans. Roofs using pans longer than 10 feet should be designed to accommodate additional movement at the ends of the pans.
Real copper roofing can be weather based on the climate and condition, this can be seen in this copper-weathering chart. Click here to view.
Galvalume Metallic Copper Roofing
Unlike traditional copper roofing, Galvalume roofing uses a kynar coated paint to achieve the copper look. This metallic paint is a premium color under the Drexel Metals metal roofing line and has tremendous reflectivity to give the appearance of a vibrant and luxurious roofing material. With a 35-year paint finish warranty; you can have the high-end look for years to come with out worrying about fading or weathering.
The one draw back to the Galvalume is that it isn?t as soft as copper, therefore cannot be curved and formed as well for applications on domes, bay and bow windows.
Lead-Coated Copper Roof Material
Lead-coated copper provides a metal for roofing and flashing, with the appearance and corrosion resistance of lead at a lower cost and significantly less weight. It also provides roofing and flashing materials whose runoff stains are compatible with white painted woodwork, light colored masonry, limestone, mortar, concrete and marble, which are particularly the more porous materials. Lead-coated copper fulfils the first objective and very nearly satisfies the second. The stains produced color range is from light to dark grey and resemble the natural atmospheric weathering of the masonry or paint.
Although copper of any gauge and temper can be lead-coated for roofing and flashing applications, lead-coated copper is generally stocked in nominal 16 and 20-ounce weights of cold rolled temper. Also, it is in sheets of 24, 30 and 36 inches wide by 96 or 120 inches long. Continuous coils are also available.
About Mainlinecontractor.com Mainlinecontractor.com, the no. 1 Montgomery County's metal roofing installer, has announced the availability of best quality metal roofing services at affordable prices. They are the leading installer of standing seam metal roofs and metal shingle roofs. Main Line Contractor provides lifetime metal roofing solutions that will add beauty, durability, and peace of mind to any historical or contemporary home. They provide Metal Roofing, Designer Shingles, Replacement Windows and James Hardie Siding Services. To know more visit http://www.mainlinecontractor.com/
SHANGHAI - China's Sina Corp has introduced a code of conduct for users of its Weibo service - the local version of Twitter - amid accusations of censorship to rein in what has grown into a raucous online forum to air political and social grievances.
The code of conduct, first announced earlier this month, stipulates that users of Sina's Weibo microblogging site cannot post information that is against the principles of the constitution, cannot harm national unity, disclose state secrets or publish false information, among other rules.
Many users said the restrictions were aimed at muzzling the often scathing and anonymous online chatter in a country where the Internet offers a rare opportunity for open discussion.
The move, the latest in a series of steps to rein in discussion on Weibo, comes as China prepares for a once-in-a-decade leadership handover, expected to be announced at a party congress later this year.
Sina, the biggest of the Weibo operators, also introduced a points system in which a user starts with 80 points and loses points for every violation. A score of zero results in a cancelled account. A user can gain points for validating his or her real identity.
"It gives Sina a firmer basis for expanding a ban on whatever is considered sensitive news," said one prominent Weibo user who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The definition of what counts as sensitive was always loose and it's expanding all the time. Of course, nowadays, they're worried because of all the scandal and rumors before the 18th Congress."
In a sign of how intensely sensitive the issue is for the ruling Communist Party, censors blocked online searches for the name of Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing party boss cast out of the party's Central Committee.
Internet users have skirted restrictions on Weibo by using code words to discuss the issue. Sina employs technicians to scrub Weibo of politically sensitive posts.
Sina's move to implement a user contract comes after Beijing demanded last December that microblogging operators ensure their users are registered with their real names.
The company, which has invested heavily in Weibo, intends to start making money from it this quarter. Sina has said validating the real identity of Weibo users will be hard, given its roughly 300 million users.
Some Weibo users expressed dismay over the new restrictions.
"New rules will be carried out on the 28th," one wrote. "So I should publish my personal opinion on matters of state sovereignty, territorial integrity and social problems before then. After the 28th, I will just write about personal things."
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Toronto, May 29, 2012: Get your engines in gear for an automotive extravaganza like no other! The Fleetwood Country Cruize-In kicks off on Friday, June 1st with a dance under the big top with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. In addition to the planned festivities on Saturday, you can tour the new Fleetwood Auto Salon, a 31-car garage, as well as over 3500 classic cars, hot rods, trucks, amphicars, square dancing tractors and more all on the show field. There?s even more to this party! Top off the day on Saturday with a casual dinner show catered by Bingeman?s featuring 60?s sensations Paul Revere and the Raiders.
On Saturday June 2nd, ongoing highlights of the car show are appearances by George Barris and Gene Winfield. George is the prolific ?King of Kustomizers? and inventor of ?star cars? such as the Batmobile, the Munsters coach, the Monkee-mobile and many others. Gene has been a legendary custom car builder for six decades with some of his work being seen on screen, including in the iconic 1982 film Blade Runner.
As well, between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM on Saturday, cruise on in to meet Candy Clark and Bo Hopkins, stars of ?American Graffiti? and perennial favorites at the Cruize-In.
A successful charity fundraiser, 2011?s Country Cruize-In event successfully raised an outstanding $595,000 for 33 charities. This year promises to be even better.
Come to London, just over an hour?s drive from Toronto, for the cars, for the fun, and for charity, to celebrate the ?good ?ol days? and be a part of what you are sure to agree is an automotive extravaganza like no other!
FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com
Tickets for Friday and Saturday at Centennial Hall:
Call toll free to charge with VISA, MasterCard or American Express
1-888-999-8980
Or call 519-672-1967
Car Show only: $10.00 per person at the gate.
Friday night with Frankie Valli: $59.00 each
Saturday Night Dinner and Dance with Paul Revere and the Raiders: $89.00 each
If you're considering luxury homes and are looking for the right home builders for your property, there are plenty of things that you must think about. Choosing the wrong home builders can mean that your project is over budget and delayed, but it can also mean that you don't get the special touches that you're looking for. Look at a number of display homes before you narrow down which home builders you might consider working with to help make your decision easier, but doesn't forget about these three things.
Reputation Of The Builder
When you're looking for luxury homes, the reputation of the builder is vital. While some new builders are perfectly safe to use, it's a better bet to find one that's established within your community. This can help ensure that you're receiving a house that's structurally sound and backed by a company that's proven itself and stood the test of time.
Don't Forget About Luxury Baths, Stunning Kitchens And Sun Porches
When looking into luxury homes, don't forget the, well, luxury! Look for an open floor plan and high ceilings since these things can help make your house open and inviting. However, that's not all. It's said that kitchens and baths make a house and luxury homes are no exception.
Look for designer kitchens that are full of timeless stainless steel appliances, large walk in pantries to hold all your ingredients and even scullery areas. A scullery is a fairly new touch in luxury homes and it's a tucked away workspace just off the kitchen that's complete with a sink and everything you need to prepare a meal. Having a scullery means that homeowners will be able to tuck meal and party preparations behind closed doors and not mess up their kitchens.
One last popular touch is a sun porch that increases a home's living space. Many houses open right up to their outdoor living space so look for a house with sliding glass doors that can open up entirely so you can enjoy both the indoors and the outdoors.
Protect The Environment With Features Like Solar Power Generation And More
Lastly, make sure your house is doing its part to help the environment. Ask to make sure your house will be orientated the correct way. A home that's facing the wrong direction means that the heating and cooling systems need to work overtime just to keep the inside comfortable. Another way your home builders can help protect the environment is to use a solar power generation system to generate electricity for the house. This helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which is good for everyone. Other environmentally friendly touches can include smart flush toilets, solar gas boosted hot water and sufficient insulation.
When you're looking into luxury homes, make it a point to tour quite a few different display homes from many different home builders. Doing your research before you choose your builder can help ensure that you end up with a home that you'll love for years and years to come.
Buyers looking for luxury homes in Perth can find the home of their dreams from National Homes. The home builders in Perth have a number of display homes in WA for prospective buyers to consider. To see floor plans or to learn more, please visit its site.
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Cancerous tumors deliver pro-metastatic information in secreted vesiclesPublic release date: 29-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lauren Woods law2014@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Cellular particles fuse with organs establishing an environment ripe for the spread of cancer
NEW YORK (May 29, 2012) -- Cancer researchers have known for well over a century that different tumor types spread only to specific, preferred organs. But no one has been able to determine the mechanisms of organ specific metastasis, the so-called "soil and seed" theory of 1889. New details that could help shed light on this hypothesis have been provided by a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and their collaborators, proposing a new mechanism controlling cancer metastasis that offers fresh diagnostic and treatment potential.
The findings, recently published online by Nature Medicine, show how melanoma cancer cells release small "exosome" vesicles (microscopic particles like "bubbles" filled with many different molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids) that travel to the bone, liver, lung and brain. This cellular material fuses with these organs and establishes an environment ripe for spreading tumor cells.
These dangerous cancer exosomes have many effects, the researchers say, such as triggering inflammation, promoting leaky blood vessels and "educating" bone marrow progenitor cells to participate in the metastatic cascade soon to come.
The fact that these exosomes circulate in the blood -- and thus are readily measurable as well as accessible -- could provide an advantage to cancer diagnoses, prognoses and treatment, the researchers say.
"The exosome profile could be useful in a number of ways -- to help detect cancer early, to predict the aggressiveness of a patient's tumor and response to chemotherapy or other treatments, and to understand the risk of cancer recurrence or spread before traditional methods would be able to," says Dr. David C. Lyden, the Stavros S. Niarchos Associate Professor in Pediatric Cardiology, associate professor of Pediatrics and Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell Medical College and a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
"We believe each tumor type will have its own exosomal protein profile that will represent each tumor subtype," says Dr. Jacqueline F. Bromberg, an associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and associate professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell, who studies breast cancer. "The exosomal proteins will be useful for prognosis in predicting which patients, including those who develop disease decades after their original diagnosis, will likely be at risk for future metastatic disease."
Dr. Lyden and Dr. Bromberg are the study's co-senior authors.
The study's lead author, Dr. Hector Peinado, instructor of molecular biology in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College, says the study suggests that effective cancer treatment must be multi-layered. "If, in the future, we were able to find a way to control the 'education' of bone marrow cells, as well as the release and content of tumor exosomes in cancer patients, we would be able to curtail and reduce the spread of cancer, and improve the patient's quality of life and survival," he says.
Not Just Trash Bags
Dr. Lyden and his colleagues have long been trying to decode the biochemical processes that produce the "pre-metastatic niche" -- the sites in distant organs that are primed to provide a nurturing home for cells that spread from a primary tumor. He and his colleagues were first to identify that bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) were found to be crucial to formation of this niche. In this study they sought to understand the signals that prompt BMDCs to do their work at the niche. They looked at exosomes, microvesicles secreted by all cells, which were long thought to be just cellular trash bags to dump used proteins. Recently, however, exosomes were found to contain RNA, including nucleic acids found in cancer cells. Interest in exosomes increased due to their obvious diagnostic potential.
The researchers were interested to see if the exosomes budding off of melanoma actually participated in the course of the cancer -- and they found that they do, and to a great extent.
"Upon their release from the primary tumor, exosomes derived from melanoma cells fuse with cells in distant metastatic organs and lymph nodes, mediating vascular leakiness and inflammation, thereby promoting the formation of pre-metastatic niches that enhance future metastatic growth," Dr. Lyden says.
According to Dr. Peinado, a number of exosomal proteins are transferred by the exosomes to BMDCs where they can reprogram or "educate" the cells to participate in the metastatic cascade. "We found an oncogenic protein, called MET, that is produced by highly metastatic tumors and packaged into pro-metastatic exosomes. The tumor exosomes circulate, fuse and transfer their information, including the MET oncoprotein, to many cells, such as bone marrow cells, which in turn promote a pro-metastatic phenotype," he says.
They also discovered that the education of BMDCs by exosomes is long-lasting, and this may explain how a tumor dormant for decades suddenly develops metastatic disease. These findings are crucial, says Dr. Bromberg, because "educated bone marrow is the key in disease recurrence and may even foster a future secondary cancer."
Examining human blood samples, the scientists found a distinct signature of exosomal proteins (including MET) in patients with stage IV, widely metastatic melanoma that was not found in blood exosomes from patients with non-metastatic melanoma.
They say this protein signature could be used to predict which patients with stage III disease and local lymph node metastasis would then go on to develop distant metastatic disease. "Treatment modalities could be initiated earlier in these high-risk patients to prevent disease progression," Dr. Lyden says. "Our results demonstrated that MET oncoprotein expression, which can be easily analyzed in a simple blood test, could be used as a new marker of metastatic disease in melanoma patients."
The researchers then discovered two ways to reduce exosomal-induced metastasis. One way was to target the protein, Rab27a, responsible for production of exosomes. Another was to proactively educate BMDCs using exosomes spawned from melanoma cells that rarely metastasize.
"We have found that less or non-metastatic exosomal proteins may educate bone marrow cells to avoid partaking in the metastatic process," says Dr. Lyden. "We are working on determining which particular exosomal proteins may be responsible for preventing metastatic participation.
"This concept may one day be applied to the clinic, where non-metastatic exosome proteins may help prevent the acceleration of tumor growth and metastatic disease, allowing patients with cancer to live longer lives," he says.
###
Co-authors include Dr. Irina Matei, Bruno Costa-Silva, Caitlin Williams, Dr. Guillermo Garca-Santos, Dr. Ayuko Nitadori-Hoshino, Dr. Karen Badal and Dr. Caitlin Hoffman from Weill Cornell Medical College; Maa Ale?kovi?, Dr. Benjamin A Garcia, and Dr. Yibin Kang from Princeton University; Dr. Simon Lavotshkin from Columbia University; Dr. Vilma R. Martins from the International Center for Research and Education, A.C. Camargo Hospital, So Paulo, Brazil; Dr. Gema Moreno-Bueno and Marta Hergueta-Redondo, Departamento de Bioqumica, Universidad Autnoma de Madrid (UAM), Instituto de Investigaciones Biomdicas 'Alberto Sols', Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC)-UAM, IdiPAZ (Instituto de Investigacin Sanitaria La Paz) & Fundacin MD Anderson Cancer Center, Madrid, Spain; Dr. Cyrus M. Ghajar from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Dr. Margaret K. Callahan, Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok, Dr. Paul B. Chapman, Dr. Mary Sue Brady, and Dr. Jianda Yuan from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Dr. Johan Skog from Exosome Diagnostics Inc., New York; and Dr. Rosandra N. Kaplan, from the National Cancer Institute.
The research was supported by grants from the Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation, The Manning Foundation, The Hartwell Foundation, Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators Consortium, Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation, Champalimaud Foundation, The Nancy C. and Daniel P. Paduano Foundation, The Mary Kay Foundation, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association 5th District, The Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, National Foundation for Cancer Research, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Fundacin para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigacin Cientfica Aplicada y la Tecnologa, University of Oviedo Foundation, The Beth C. Tortolani Foundation, Sussman Family Fund, Charles and Marjorie Holloway Foundation, Manhasset Breast Cancer Fund, The National Institutes of Health, Fundao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de So Paulo, the National Science Foundation, The George Best Costacos Foundation, and an American Society for Mass Spectrometry research award.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
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Cancerous tumors deliver pro-metastatic information in secreted vesiclesPublic release date: 29-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lauren Woods law2014@med.cornell.edu 212-821-0560 New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center/Weill Cornell Medical College
Cellular particles fuse with organs establishing an environment ripe for the spread of cancer
NEW YORK (May 29, 2012) -- Cancer researchers have known for well over a century that different tumor types spread only to specific, preferred organs. But no one has been able to determine the mechanisms of organ specific metastasis, the so-called "soil and seed" theory of 1889. New details that could help shed light on this hypothesis have been provided by a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and their collaborators, proposing a new mechanism controlling cancer metastasis that offers fresh diagnostic and treatment potential.
The findings, recently published online by Nature Medicine, show how melanoma cancer cells release small "exosome" vesicles (microscopic particles like "bubbles" filled with many different molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids) that travel to the bone, liver, lung and brain. This cellular material fuses with these organs and establishes an environment ripe for spreading tumor cells.
These dangerous cancer exosomes have many effects, the researchers say, such as triggering inflammation, promoting leaky blood vessels and "educating" bone marrow progenitor cells to participate in the metastatic cascade soon to come.
The fact that these exosomes circulate in the blood -- and thus are readily measurable as well as accessible -- could provide an advantage to cancer diagnoses, prognoses and treatment, the researchers say.
"The exosome profile could be useful in a number of ways -- to help detect cancer early, to predict the aggressiveness of a patient's tumor and response to chemotherapy or other treatments, and to understand the risk of cancer recurrence or spread before traditional methods would be able to," says Dr. David C. Lyden, the Stavros S. Niarchos Associate Professor in Pediatric Cardiology, associate professor of Pediatrics and Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell Medical College and a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
"We believe each tumor type will have its own exosomal protein profile that will represent each tumor subtype," says Dr. Jacqueline F. Bromberg, an associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and associate professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell, who studies breast cancer. "The exosomal proteins will be useful for prognosis in predicting which patients, including those who develop disease decades after their original diagnosis, will likely be at risk for future metastatic disease."
Dr. Lyden and Dr. Bromberg are the study's co-senior authors.
The study's lead author, Dr. Hector Peinado, instructor of molecular biology in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College, says the study suggests that effective cancer treatment must be multi-layered. "If, in the future, we were able to find a way to control the 'education' of bone marrow cells, as well as the release and content of tumor exosomes in cancer patients, we would be able to curtail and reduce the spread of cancer, and improve the patient's quality of life and survival," he says.
Not Just Trash Bags
Dr. Lyden and his colleagues have long been trying to decode the biochemical processes that produce the "pre-metastatic niche" -- the sites in distant organs that are primed to provide a nurturing home for cells that spread from a primary tumor. He and his colleagues were first to identify that bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) were found to be crucial to formation of this niche. In this study they sought to understand the signals that prompt BMDCs to do their work at the niche. They looked at exosomes, microvesicles secreted by all cells, which were long thought to be just cellular trash bags to dump used proteins. Recently, however, exosomes were found to contain RNA, including nucleic acids found in cancer cells. Interest in exosomes increased due to their obvious diagnostic potential.
The researchers were interested to see if the exosomes budding off of melanoma actually participated in the course of the cancer -- and they found that they do, and to a great extent.
"Upon their release from the primary tumor, exosomes derived from melanoma cells fuse with cells in distant metastatic organs and lymph nodes, mediating vascular leakiness and inflammation, thereby promoting the formation of pre-metastatic niches that enhance future metastatic growth," Dr. Lyden says.
According to Dr. Peinado, a number of exosomal proteins are transferred by the exosomes to BMDCs where they can reprogram or "educate" the cells to participate in the metastatic cascade. "We found an oncogenic protein, called MET, that is produced by highly metastatic tumors and packaged into pro-metastatic exosomes. The tumor exosomes circulate, fuse and transfer their information, including the MET oncoprotein, to many cells, such as bone marrow cells, which in turn promote a pro-metastatic phenotype," he says.
They also discovered that the education of BMDCs by exosomes is long-lasting, and this may explain how a tumor dormant for decades suddenly develops metastatic disease. These findings are crucial, says Dr. Bromberg, because "educated bone marrow is the key in disease recurrence and may even foster a future secondary cancer."
Examining human blood samples, the scientists found a distinct signature of exosomal proteins (including MET) in patients with stage IV, widely metastatic melanoma that was not found in blood exosomes from patients with non-metastatic melanoma.
They say this protein signature could be used to predict which patients with stage III disease and local lymph node metastasis would then go on to develop distant metastatic disease. "Treatment modalities could be initiated earlier in these high-risk patients to prevent disease progression," Dr. Lyden says. "Our results demonstrated that MET oncoprotein expression, which can be easily analyzed in a simple blood test, could be used as a new marker of metastatic disease in melanoma patients."
The researchers then discovered two ways to reduce exosomal-induced metastasis. One way was to target the protein, Rab27a, responsible for production of exosomes. Another was to proactively educate BMDCs using exosomes spawned from melanoma cells that rarely metastasize.
"We have found that less or non-metastatic exosomal proteins may educate bone marrow cells to avoid partaking in the metastatic process," says Dr. Lyden. "We are working on determining which particular exosomal proteins may be responsible for preventing metastatic participation.
"This concept may one day be applied to the clinic, where non-metastatic exosome proteins may help prevent the acceleration of tumor growth and metastatic disease, allowing patients with cancer to live longer lives," he says.
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Co-authors include Dr. Irina Matei, Bruno Costa-Silva, Caitlin Williams, Dr. Guillermo Garca-Santos, Dr. Ayuko Nitadori-Hoshino, Dr. Karen Badal and Dr. Caitlin Hoffman from Weill Cornell Medical College; Maa Ale?kovi?, Dr. Benjamin A Garcia, and Dr. Yibin Kang from Princeton University; Dr. Simon Lavotshkin from Columbia University; Dr. Vilma R. Martins from the International Center for Research and Education, A.C. Camargo Hospital, So Paulo, Brazil; Dr. Gema Moreno-Bueno and Marta Hergueta-Redondo, Departamento de Bioqumica, Universidad Autnoma de Madrid (UAM), Instituto de Investigaciones Biomdicas 'Alberto Sols', Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC)-UAM, IdiPAZ (Instituto de Investigacin Sanitaria La Paz) & Fundacin MD Anderson Cancer Center, Madrid, Spain; Dr. Cyrus M. Ghajar from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Dr. Margaret K. Callahan, Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok, Dr. Paul B. Chapman, Dr. Mary Sue Brady, and Dr. Jianda Yuan from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Dr. Johan Skog from Exosome Diagnostics Inc., New York; and Dr. Rosandra N. Kaplan, from the National Cancer Institute.
The research was supported by grants from the Children's Cancer & Blood Foundation, The Manning Foundation, The Hartwell Foundation, Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators Consortium, Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation, Champalimaud Foundation, The Nancy C. and Daniel P. Paduano Foundation, The Mary Kay Foundation, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association 5th District, The Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, National Foundation for Cancer Research, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Fundacin para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigacin Cientfica Aplicada y la Tecnologa, University of Oviedo Foundation, The Beth C. Tortolani Foundation, Sussman Family Fund, Charles and Marjorie Holloway Foundation, Manhasset Breast Cancer Fund, The National Institutes of Health, Fundao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de So Paulo, the National Science Foundation, The George Best Costacos Foundation, and an American Society for Mass Spectrometry research award.
Weill Cornell Medical College
Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.