Friday, October 25, 2013

Facebook Removes Beheading Video, Says It Will Tighten Rules



Outrage over the posting of a video showing the decapitation of a woman has led Facebook to say it is going to "combat the glorification of violence ... [by] strengthening the enforcement of our policies." It has also removed the video.


This story began Monday when the BBC reported that:




"Facebook is allowing videos showing people being decapitated to be posted and shared on its site once again. The social network had introduced a temporary ban in May following complaints that the clips could cause long-term psychological damage. The U.S. firm confirmed it now believed its users should be free to watch and condemn such videos. It added it was, however, considering adding warnings."




The news network added that this week it was "alerted to Facebook's change in policy by a reader who said the firm was refusing to remove a page showing a clip of a masked man killing a woman, which is believed to have been filmed in Mexico."


British Prime Minister David Cameron was among those to condemn Facebook's decision. "It's irresponsible of Facebook to post beheading videos, especially without a warning. They must explain their actions to worried parents," he tweeted Tuesday.


Later Tuesday, Facebook posted something of a u-turn in policy:




"People turn to Facebook to share their experiences and to raise awareness about issues important to them. Sometimes, those experiences and issues involve graphic content that is of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses, acts of terrorism, and other violence. When people share this type of graphic content, it is often to condemn it. If it is being shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate violence, Facebook removes it.


"As part of our effort to combat the glorification of violence on Facebook, we are strengthening the enforcement of our policies.


"First, when we review content that is reported to us, we will take a more holistic look at the context surrounding a violent image or video, and will remove content that celebrates violence.


"Second, we will consider whether the person posting the content is sharing it responsibly, such as accompanying the video or image with a warning and sharing it with an age-appropriate audience.


"Based on these enhanced standards, we have re-examined recent reports of graphic content and have concluded that this content improperly and irresponsibly glorifies violence. For this reason, we have removed it.


"Going forward, we ask that people who share graphic content for the purpose of condemning it do so in a responsible manner, carefully selecting their audience and warning them about the nature of the content so they can make an informed choice about it."




Cameron tweeted Wednesday that he is "pleased Facebook has changed its approach on beheading videos. The test is now to ensure their policy is robust in protecting children."


Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/23/240190936/facebook-removes-beheading-video-says-it-will-tighten-rules?ft=1&f=1001
Category: national coffee day   emmys   Namaste   Low Winter Sun   loretta lynn  

Wacha sharp, Cards-Bosox scoreless through 3

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha throws during the first inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham, Pool)







St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha throws during the first inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham, Pool)







Boston Red Sox starting pitcher John Lackey throws during the first inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Jared Wickerham, Pool)







Boston Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury breaks his bat hitting a single in front of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina during the third inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)







St. Louis Cardinals' Carlos Beltran runs after hitting a single off Boston Red Sox starting pitcher John Lackey during the first inning of Game 2 of baseball's World Series Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)







James Taylor sings the national anthem before Game 2 of baseball's World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)







(AP) — Rookie Michael Wacha kept pitching like a postseason ace and John Lackey matched him, leaving the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox scoreless through three innings Thursday night in Game 2 of the World Series.

A day after the Red Sox romped past the sloppy Cardinals 8-1, this one was tight at the start as Boston tried for its 10th straight Series win and a commanding lead.

At 22, Wacha came as advertised. He pitched well beyond his years — and in October, of all things.

The right-hander flashed a 95 mph fastball and a diving changeup while holding Boston hitless until Jacoby Ellsbury's broken-bat bloop single with two outs in the third.

No one in the Boston lineup had ever hit against Wacha and it showed, as the Red Sox struck out four times and took a lot of weak, awkward swings.

The Cardinals had seen this already from Wacha, even though he made only nine regular-season starts. He began the night with a 3-0 record in three postseason starts, allowing just eight hits while striking out 22.

Wacha had his own cheering section at chilly Fenway Park, too. His mom, dad and younger sister bundled up in the stands after arriving from Texarkana, Texas.

Lackey worked around a pair of singles in blanking the Cardinals. He pitched a day after turning 35 — it was his first Series start since 2002 when, as a rookie for the Angels, he beat Barry Bonds and San Francisco in Game 7.

Carlos Beltran started for the Cardinals in right field, returning from an injury that forced him out of the opener. Beltran exited in the third inning and went to a hospital, shortly after bruising his ribs when he rammed into the short bullpen wall while taking away a grand slam from David Ortiz.

Both teams made changes to their lineups.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny benched shortstop Pete Kozma after making two errors in the opener and put Daniel Descalso in his place. Jarrod Saltalamacchia replaced David Ross as Boston's catcher.

The teams are off Friday, and resume with Game 3 at Busch Stadium on Saturday night. Boston starter Jake Peavy makes his Series debut against Joe Kelly.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-10-24-World%20Series/id-3ff44cce737f47ed8f3d499b6d4a4918
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Time Warner Cable's DVR Ad Doesn't Add Up (Video)


This story first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.



As part of a $50 million ad blitz, a Time Warner Cable TV spot crows that, unlike AT&T U-verse, "With Time Warner Cable you can watch and record more than four shows at the same time." But some customers are calling it "deceptive" and "false advertising" on the company's online message boards.


PHOTOS: What TV Viewers Really Want 


The ad ends by promising "TV, Internet and Phone" for $79.99 a month. What it doesn't explain is that the package doesn't include even a DVR. And Time Warner's DVRs record only two shows at a time, while AT&T units do four.


To record the promised number of shows would require three of the company's DVRs at a cost of more than $160 a month (plus installation). TWC says that in response to customer questions, it edited out the word "record" from the ad.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/news/~3/BWAAgNcdWCk/time-warner-cables-dvr-ad-650393
Category: revenge   Yahoo Fantasy Football   Ariel Castro   Obama Syria   Christopher Lane  

B for Boy: London Review




The Bottom Line


A powerful examination of maternity and family life in Nigeria’s male-dominated culture.




Venue


London Film Festival


Starring


Uche Nwadili, Nonso Odogwu, Ngozi Nwaneto, Frances Okeke


Director


Chika Anadu




First-feature director Chika Anadu delivers an effective, moving drama about a wealthy Nigerian woman who, after a miscarriage leaves her infertile, attempts to illegally buy another woman’s unborn child in order to produce a son in B for Boy. Much more arthouse in spirit than the usual sort of “Nollywood” fare, it represents an eminently exportable property for festivals, especially those wishing to showcase new African cinema. Adventurous distributors in territories with substantial diaspora populations might want to check this out, even if its earnings are unlikely to be anything more than niche. Anadu, meanwhile, makes a mark for herself here with her confident handling of actors and technique.   



Amaka (Uche Nwadili), the formidable protagonist, seems to have it all. Seemingly somewhere in her late thirties, with a high-ranking job in television, a fancy apartment in Lagos, a loving, rich and modern-minded husband (Nonso Odogwu), an adorable daughter young daughter, and another child on the way in a few months’ time, it would seem life couldn’t get much better for this modern Nigerian woman. However, the familial joy, especially from her in-laws, that greets the news that her next child will be a boy suggests that more traditional, intensely patriarchal attitudes are still a powerful force in her life.


STORY: Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Appearance at BFI London Film Fest Awards Ceremony


While her husband Nonso on business is away one week, Amaka suddenly discovers her child has died in utero, and she’s forced to go through physically and emotionally painful process of giving birth to the stillborn infant. Suffering through the experience entirely alone, she tells no one what’s happened. As luck would have it, sometime earlier a friend from the health-service leant Amaka a cloth body suit, complete with swollen fake breasts and a weighted belly bump. Amaka was supposed to give it to Nonso to help him develop empathy for what his wife is going through during pregnancy, but she never did. By strapping the undergarment on like suit of protective armor, and wearing flowing caftan-like dresses, she can disguise the fact that she’s lost the child and buy more time. Adding on pressure, she knows that if she doesn’t produce an heir, her village-reared mother-in-law has a second wife already lined up for Nonso in order to save the family reputation. (A very similar plotline featured in the recent Half of a Yellow Sun, also set in Nigeria/Biafra.)


With the clock ticking down towards the due date, Amaka seeks out a desperate measure. Through a shady go-between, she arranges to buy a newborn from poor pregnant woman named Joy (Frances Okeke) who is due to give birth about the same time Amaka was. At first Amaka treats Joy with imperious coldness, much like she does her own house servants and underlings at work. But when Joy’s partner suddenly does a bunk and leaves her alone and frightened, Amaka shows a more maternal side, caring for the young woman, even becoming friends in a way.


Grounded in the realities of contemporary Nigerian culture but never hectoring or crudely didactic, B for Boy makes it clear that it’s mostly on Amaka’s side but admirably doesn’t make her too sympathetic. She’s one tough cookie, determined to get what she wants by any means necessary. Uche Nwadili’s outstanding performance as Amaka strikes just the right balance in service of the script. She has an incandescent smile that could light up a house, but a ferocious set brow when angry and intricately expressive eyes, always making her character’s hidden feelings known with the slightest flicker of expression. The rest of the supporting cast also impress, refraining from the overplayed dramatics that makes most Nollywood films strange and inaccessible to Western audiences.


Mostly shot on handheld cameras by AFI-alumni Monika Lenczewska, the visuals have a quietly nervous energy that resonates particularly well with Enis Rotthoff’s brooding, ominous score.


Venue: London Film Festival (First Feature competition)


Production: No Blondes Productions


Cast: Uche Nwadili, Nonso Odogwu, Ngozi Nwaneto, Frances Okeke, Iheoma Opara


Director: Chika Anadu


Screenwriter: Chika Anadu


Producers: Chika Anadu, Arie Esiri


Executive producers: Ijeoma Jatto, Ogheneochuko Esiri, Ifeoma Esiri, Albert Esiri, Didi Esiri, Dele Alakija, Dundun Peterside, Atedo Peterside


Director of photography: Monika Lenczewska


Production designer: Anthony Prince Tomety


Editor: Simon Brasse


Music: Enis Rotthoff


No rating, 114  minutes


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/reviews/film/~3/8WMa-UdmPRs/b-boy-london-review-650573
Category: downton abbey   zac efron   george strait   Shawn Burr   Alfonso Soriano  

Is Eastern State Penitentiary Really Haunted?



A Philadelphia Prison's Grim Past






  • Hide caption

    Inmates once were hooded so they would not be recognized by guards or other inmates, allowing for anonymity upon release. Eyeholes were allowed in hoods circa 1890, but prisoners were still not allowed to communicate.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






  • Hide caption

    In the 1890s, Eastern State Penitentiary's seven cellblocks radiated from a room known as "Center." Architect John Haviland wrote that the design would promote "watching, convenience, economy and ventilation."





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    A medical team works on a patient in the prison's infirmary in this undated photo.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    Hundreds of inmates lined up every day along the serving windows at "Soup Alley" on the way to the dining hall.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    Guards inspect a tunnel that inmate Willie Sutton and 11 others tried to use in a doomed escape in 1945.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    In the 1890s, prison staff used food carts to deliver meals to prisoners through small wooden feeding doors in their cells. Inmates were not allowed to eat together until 1924.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    The facade of the penitentiary as it looked in the 1920s.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    Cellblocks 8 and 9 were added to the radial plan in 1877 to accommodate more prisoners; however, guards could not see down those corridors without the use of surveillance mirrors, seen here at left and right.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    The exterior of Eastern State's death row. No executions actually took place at Eastern State. The prisoners were shipped elsewhere.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






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    In 1905, a free-standing building was constructed between cellblocks. The second floor was used for religious services, movies, concerts and as a gymnasium.





    Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary






With its looming, gloomy high stone walls, crumbling corridors, and stark cells that once housed thousands of hard-core criminals, Eastern State Penitentiary certainly looks haunted. Its 142-year history is full of suicide, madness, disease, murder and torture, making it easy to imagine the spirits of troubled souls left behind to roam its abandoned halls.


The harsh punishments used on prisoners are enough to make you shiver even without seeing a ghost. There was the water bath, in which inmates were dunked then hung out on a wall in winter until ice formed on the skin. The mad chair, which bound an inmate so tightly that circulation was cut off, later necessitating amputations. The iron gag, in which an inmate's hands were tied behind the back and strapped to an iron collar in the mouth, so that any movement caused the tongue to tear and bleed profusely. And "The Hole," a dank underground cell where unfortunate souls had no light, no human contact, no exercise, no toilet and little food and air.





Ben Bookman, a tour guide at Eastern State Penitentiary, uses a diorama to point out the prison's cellblocks.



Emily Bogle/NPR

The prison is considered by several sources to be one of the most haunted places in America. It has been featured on the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures and Most Haunted Live, Syfy's Ghost Hunters and MTV's Fear. Dozens of paranormal researchers visit every year and report that it's a hub otherworldly activity. Perhaps most convincingly, there are the stories of eerie experiences by visitors, staff, guards and inmates that have corroborated each other since the 1940s.


Cellblock 12 is known for echoing voices and cackling; Cellblock 6 for shadowy figures darting along the walls; Cellblock 4 for visions of ghostly faces. Many people have reported seeing a silhouette of a guard in one of the towers. Footsteps. Wails. Whispers. The same stories, over and over again.


One of the most legendary tales comes from Gary Johnson, who helps maintain the crumbling old locks at the prison. In the early 1990s, he had just opened an old lock in Cellblock 4 when he says a force gripped him so tightly that he was unable to move. He described a negative, horrible energy that exploded out of the cell. He said tormented faces appeared on the cell walls and that one form in particular beckoned to him.


But tour guide Ben Bookman says, "It's a lot harder to find a believer than it is to find a skeptic here. We at Eastern State do not claim that the prison is haunted. We run a haunted attraction."


Bookman says the staff does not like to exploit the prison's darker image. "Most people making TV shows come in looking for ghosts. That's not the story we tell. Inmates were real people. These were people's lives. Seventy-thousand people spent time here. We're not going to glorify it, and we're not going to make fun of it."


Perhaps hauntings are a self-fulfilling prophecy — if you want to have a haunted experience, your imagination just might make sure you do. Certainly there are thousands of visitors who say they've experienced no odd feelings, no sudden chills, no strange sounds, no apparitions. And yet there are plenty who say they have.


What do you want to believe?


Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/24/232234570/is-eastern-state-penitentiary-really-haunted?ft=1&f=1001
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Microsoft exec scoffs at talk that Apple's free iWork threatens Office


Microsoft's head of communications took shots today at Apple's decision to give away its iWork productivity software, calling the move "an attempt to catch up."


In a post to the Official Microsoft Blog, Frank Shaw countered what he said was misguided at best, reality-bending at worst, coverage by the media and blogosphere on Apple's giving away iWork to new Mac and iOS device buyers.


[ Also on InfoWorld: The must-have iPad office apps, round 7. | For quick, smart takes on the news you'll be talking about, check out InfoWorld TechBrief -- subscribe today. ]


Apple made that announcement Tuesday during an 80-minute event in San Francisco, where executives touted new iPads, lower-priced MacBook Pros, and declared OS X Mavericks and the iWork apps would be free to segments of the Mac installed base.


"Seems like the RDF (Reality Distortion Field) typically generated by an Apple event has extended beyond Cupertino," Shaw wrote. "So let me try to clear some things up."


Shaw took exception to the conclusions by some pundits that the Apple maneuver was a shot at rival Microsoft, and that by throwing in iWork with a new Mac, iPhone, or iPad, Microsoft's Office franchise, the Redmond, Wash., company's business model and its tablet strategy were threatened.


"When I see Apple drop the price of their struggling, lightweight productivity apps, I don't see a shot across our bow, I see an attempt to play catch-up," said Shaw.


But Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, saw it as exactly that: A shot. "I don't know any other way to interpret that than to say Apple was going after Microsoft," said Moorhead.


The "that" Moorhead was talking about was the slide shown behind Eddy Cue, Apple's head of Internet software and services, yesterday just before Cue announced that iWork would be free for new device buyers. That slide displayed the logo of Office 365, Microsoft's software subscription service, and cited $99 as the annual price for Home Premium, the consumer SKU.


Shaw has lashed out at the press over reports or at bloggers over their interpretations of news before. In May, he decried negative coverage of Windows 8 in general, and the update then code-named Windows "Blue" in particular. He took special exception to news and news analysis stories that compared Blue's restoration of the Start button to Coca-Cola's "New Coke" disaster of nearly thirty years ago.


Windows Blue was later named Windows 8.1, the free update that launched last week.


More recently, Shaw called out the media over how it handled news of current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's retirement announcement two months ago.


Source: http://podcasts.infoworld.com/d/applications/microsoft-exec-scoffs-talk-apples-free-iwork-threatens-office-229439?source=rss_applications
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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Amazon narrows 3Q loss as sales jump 24 pct

(AP) — Amazon.com says that its fiscal third-quarter loss narrowed as revenue grew 24 percent.

The Seattle-based online retailer also said Thursday that it expects growth in its fourth-quarter revenue, indicating confidence as it enters the key holiday shopping season.

Amazon posted a loss of $41 million, or 9 cents per share, for the quarter that ended in September. That is compared with a loss of $274 million, or 60 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. The prior year includes a one-time $169 million loss related to its stake in online deals site LivingSocial.

Revenue came to $17.09 billion from $13.81 billion.

Analysts were anticipating a loss of 9 cents per share on $16.76 billion in revenue.

Shares rose nearly 7 percent in after-hours trading.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-10-24-Earns-Amazon/id-265775ab28b741faa66bf3616b4f302b
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Watch: Beyoncé Releases A Behind The Scenes Video From Her 2014 Calendar Shoot



Take a Look at the HOT year ahead





Earlier today we learned that Beyoncé MAY be releasing a new album in December but earlier this month we learned FOR SURE that she is readying the release of her first calendar for 2014. Today we get to check out a behind the scenes video that was shot during Bey‘s calendar shoot … and as you can see in the embed above, homegirl looks HOT in every single photo. If you’ve ever wanted to spend a year with Beyoncé, now’s your chance … and this behind the scenes video gives you a taste of the year to come with her :)




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The Birthplace of the Cellphone Is Being Turned Into a Mall

The Birthplace of the Cellphone Is Being Turned Into a Mall

Think Apple’s forthcoming Cupertino headquarters is the first corporate space ship to touch down in America? Not so: In 1962 the legendary R&D hub, Bell Labs, opened a glittering, 500-acre headquarters in semi-rural New Jersey. Today, it's the focus of an ambitious reuse scheme that could turn it into a commercial hub, complete with a spa and a hotel.

Read more...


    






Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/CPe-MsmM9EU/the-birthplace-of-the-cellphone-is-being-turned-into-a-1451451294
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Cover promises contextual lock screens and smarter task switching for Android

Lock screen replacements for Android aren't exactly new -- some even come as part of a larger overlay that customizes your home screen experience entirely. However, few lock screen replacements do as much as Cover, a new invite-only solution that launches today, promises to do. Not only is Cover ...


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/CLKvZ_anneo/
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Riding The Beast: A Dangerous Migration


The freight train known as "The Beast" carries thousands of Central American migrants on a long and perilous journey through Mexico to reach the U.S. border. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR's Jasmine Garsd about riding "The Beast," and a new book that documents its dangers.


Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=240493066&ft=1&f=1004
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WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 predictions

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & © 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/hellinacell/2013/wwe-hell-in-a-cell-2013-predictions
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Voila! Brooklyn backdrop suits Gaultier exhibit


NEW YORK (AP) — Jean Paul Gaultier can barely contain his enthusiasm to be in Brooklyn. Make that his enthusiasm for New York. And life, in general.

In a single conversation, seemingly a single breath, he covers the Chrysler Building; the 1940s film "Falbalas" that started his love affair with fashion; his beloved grandmother who inspired his fascination with corsetry; and the Broadway production of "Nine" that reminded him of it. A joie de vivre oozes with each word.

It leaves one wondering, is there anything Gaultier — he of the famous cone bras, tongue-in-cheek catwalks and rock-star collaborations — isn't exploding to talk about?

But back to Brooklyn. Until he arrived this week to christen the Brooklyn Museum exhibit "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk," he had visited the now-hipster borough twice: once to a fish restaurant that was "very good," he says, and once to visit the nightclub where John Travolta wore his sharp white suit in the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever."

"I'm so impressed with Brooklyn," he says in his thick French accent and occasionally broken English, "and this museum is absolutely fabulous. Voila!"

This is no static fashion exhibition with gowns behind glass.

It seems there was no other way to put Gaultier's 30-plus-year career on display than on mannequins that cry, laugh and speak. They do it so realistically that passers-by surely will do a double take. They'll probably drive the security guards crazy at night.

Some of the outfits, including the "cancan" bustier dress lined with photo-printed legs that gives the illusion that an entire dance line is hiding under the full skirt, are on a revolving runway that aims to mimic the models on parade at a fashion show.

"Fashion is not clothes on the hanger, it was always about dressing somebody. Somebody has to be inside," the 61-year-old Gaultier says.

Seeing the childhood teddy bear that he used as his first model, complete with its bra top and red lipstick, in the same space as the iconic concert costumes he created for Madonna, Beyonce and Kylie Minogue "is a privilege of age," Gaultier says. "It's a very strong sensation."

Yet, Gaultier wasn't completely sold on a retrospective when Thierry-Maxime Loriot, curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, presented the idea in 2010. "My god, at first I thought this was only for people that were dead, like a monument! I am not an artist like the painter or something like that, so I feel a little humbled. ... Do I deserve it?"

His only experience in creating exhibits at that point was participating in a challenge to craft fashion out of croissants, brioche and other French baked treats. "It was funny!"

Now, though, Loriot has produced this show in Montreal, Dallas, San Francisco, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. The Brooklyn exhibit runs Friday through Feb. 23.

Each time the pieces are packed and unpacked, Loriot says he's impressed by Gaultier's craftsmanship and creativity.

Loriot is eager to show off the mermaid-shaped gown that Marion Cotillard wore to the 2008 Oscars — it took 180 hours to make by hand — and Madonna's "Blond Ambition" bustier made of a vintage 1930s metallic fabric that now has added patina from body heat and sweat.

Loriot says the designer isn't some sort of style shock jock. Gaultier roots everything in tailoring and execution, but he's not confined by any conventional rules, he says.

The high-tech, projection-beamed version of Gaultier that greets visitors is, not by coincidence, wearing his signature men's trouser-skirt. "It's one leg of a pant, one half-skirt. It was inspired by the long aprons at a Paris cafe, but it looks like pants from the back. It's sort of very 'him,'" Loriot says.

New to the exhibit in Brooklyn is a section dedicated to Gaultier's muses. There's the fishnet-covered floral gown made for model Crystal Renn, the bronze-beaded catsuit for Naomi Campbell and the floral tulle leotard for Beth Ditto. Also on display is the Amy Winehouse-inspired gown that male model Andrej Pejic wore in a 2012 couture show.

"I always wanted to show there is more than one kind of beauty," Gaultier says.

Voila, indeed!

___

Follow Samantha Critchell and AP fashion coverage on Twitter at @AP_Fashion and @Sam_Critchell

___

Online: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/jean_paul_gaultier/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/voila-brooklyn-backdrop-suits-gaultier-exhibit-210047375.html
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Automatic Link promises to be personal driving assistant, available now for $100

First Automatic said its driving assistant dongle and related iOS app would be ready in May, and then it said the app needed until August to fully bake. Well, it's now October, and at long last, it appears the San Francisco-based startup is finally ready to launch its connected car platform to the ...


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Tanzanian GDP up 6.7 percent in second quarter, slower than previous quarter


DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania's economy grew 6.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2013 from 6.4 percent in the same period a year ago, but weakened compared with the first quarter, official data showed on Wednesday.


The economy grew by 7.5 percent in this year's first quarter, according to the state-run National Bureau of Statistics.


East Africa's second-largest economy is targeting GDP growth of 7 percent this year, slightly higher than the 6.9 percent achieved in 2012. Growth in the second quarter was driven by growth in financial services and communications sectors, while the fishing sector lagged, NBS said in a report.


Financial services grew fastest at 15.2 percent, from 11 percent in the same quarter in 2012.


Tanzania's economy has been growing at more than 5 percent a year for nearly a decade but infrastructure spending has lagged, with poor transport links and energy shortages blamed for uneven growth.


Transport and communication grew at 14.8 percent compared with 13.6 percent in the same period in 2012, but was at a slower rate than the 22.2 percent it attained in the first quarter of this year.


Construction grew by 12.3 percent, compared with 4.3 percent in the year-ago period, while mining and quarrying in Africa's fourth-largest gold producer rebounded to 4.3 percent from a negative growth rate of 5.1 percent a year ago.


Gold output fell to 9.827 tonnes in the second quarter of 2013 compared to 9.963 tonnes a year ago.


"The growth rate (of the mining sector) was attributed to increased production of diamonds and Tanzanite," NBS said.


Tanzanite is a blue/purple mineral found only in Tanzania.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tanzania-says-gdp-growth-rises-6-7-pct-120030022--sector.html
Similar Articles: Grambling State University   Dario Franchitti   Manny Machado   Million Second Quiz   made in america  

Cumberbatch's 'Sherlock' back with 'Downton'


LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Sherlock" starring Benedict Cumberbatch will return to public TV in January, keeping company on Sunday nights with the "Downton Abbey" crowd.

Season three of the modern Sherlock Holmes mystery series will began Jan. 19, PBS said Wednesday. It was previously announced that the fourth season of "Downton" will begin Jan 5.

The scheduling reflects PBS' new strategy of pairing dramas on Sunday, part of a broader effort to build "flow within a given night in our schedule," said Beth Hoppe, PBS' chief programming executive.

Prime-time viewership on Sunday, home to primarily British dramas, grew 26 percent last season with the new approach, Hoppe said, and "Sherlock" and "Downton Abbey" were seen as good partners.

Overall, PBS' prime-time ratings were up 7 percent last season compared to the year before, Hoppe said.

"Downton Abbey," the hit drama about the lives and loves of landed gentry and their servants, will be preceded by a Dec. 1 special, "Return to Downton Abbey." Hosted by Susan Sarandon, it will offer a look at past seasons and a peek at the one ahead.

As in the past, the drama's new season already is in progress on Britain's ITV. PBS has resisted timing the U.S. to the U.K. airings, saying the January debut works better for its schedule — a move that's allowed spoilers to cross the Atlantic.

But PBS relented with BBC's "Sherlock," which is scheduled closer to its yet-to-be announced British airing, Hoppe said.

Other returning U.K. dramas include "Call the Midwife" and "Mr. Selfridge" starring Jeremy Piven, both debuting Sunday, March 30, and "The Bletchley Circle" on April 13.

The busy Benedict Cumberbatch, whose current movies include "The Fifth Estate" and "12 Years a Slave," is part of another PBS program, "Hawking," a Jan. 29 documentary about British physicist Stephen Hawking as told by him. Cumberbatch, who played Hawking in a 2004 TV movie, is a friend of the scientist and appears in the film, Hoppe said.

A lineup of science and nature programming for April includes a three-part special with the working title "Inside Animal Minds," debuting April 9 on "Nova."

More midseason programs scheduled to air on public TV stations:

— "Salinger" (Jan. 21), an "American Masters" documentary about the late "The Catcher in the Rye" author J.D. Salinger that includes interviews with his friends and colleagues.

— "Barrymore" (Jan. 31), a "Great Performances" presentation of Christopher Plummer's stage performance as John Barrymore.

— "The Amish: Shunned" (Feb. 4), an "American Experience" documentary that follows seven former members of the Amish community as they adjust to a new life.

— "Story of the Jews" (March 25), a five-part series with historian and author Simon Schama examining the Jewish experience from ancient times to now.

— "Muscle Shoals" (April 21), an "Independent Lens" look at the fertile musical Alabama breeding ground, with the perspectives from Mick Jagger, Etta James, Clarence Carter and others.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cumberbatchs-sherlock-back-downton-151101915.html
Tags: Bosses Day 2013   redskins   wes welker   bob newhart   David Frost  

I Do Not Like Miley’s Outfit

MIley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus performs during the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 21, 2013.

Photo silhouette by Slate. Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters








Scotchguard your skorts. Disinfect your nylons. Purell your disco purse. It’s getting skanky out there … AGAIN!











Simon Doonan is an author, fashion commentator, and creative ambassador for Barneys New York. (Photo by Roxanne Lowit.)










I’m referring, of course, to the new wave of porn-inspired pop divas who are attempting to sell records by flaunting their private areas and jiggling their fleshy assets with unprecedented abandon.










How did we all get so yeasty and slutty? Why have we chosen to live in a world where hoochie hotness is the only currency? How much is that dildo in the window, the one with the waggly bit on the end?












In order to answer these important questions, we need to go back, way back, to a time when hookers were hookers and pop singers were pop singers and never the twain did meet:










Los Angeles. It’s the late 1970s, and I am watching the girls working the end of my block on Sunset. Wearing bikinis and heels, even in the pouring rain, these drug-addled sex workers are a sorry sight. Donna Summer’s big hit wafts from a passing car:










Bad girls, sad girls
You're such a dirty bad girl
Beep-beep, uh-uh
You’re bad girl, you’re sad girl
You’re such a dirty bad girl
Beep-beep, uh-uh.









Over the subsequent decades, something weird happens. The sad part evaporates, but the bad part lingers. The spotlight focuses upon skank style and begins, slowly but surely, to fetishize, glamorize, and exalt anything remotely connected with pimping, hooking, and stripping. Porno chic is born. Suddenly, shockingly, ball gags are the new fanny packs.













Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera performs in 2002 in New York.

Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images








Two decades after Donna Summer’s Bad Girls, in 2002, Christina Aguilera releases her album Stripped, which includes the track titled “Dirrty.” A David LaChapelle–directed video suggests that Ms. Aguilera might well be in need of a medical intervention. Or maybe there is a Taser lodged in her vagina? Either way, she appears to be suffering from some kind of erotic epilepsy. It is a “me-so-horny” act that makes the chick in Full Metal Jacket look like Maria von Trapp. Aguilera’s record company responds to criticism by claiming that their artist was “reaching out for something more real.” The way the video made it look, that “something” was a dose of the clap. No offense.










At the time I sent up many warning flares. I cautioned the world about the effect on Aguilera’s tween audience. Little girls are not supposed to be thrashing around like cracked-out pole dancers. Instead they should be skipping around the lawn in a Ralph Lauren-ish backyard, wearing little bonnets and starched Bonpoint sundresses and singing songs like “Mabel, Mabel, Set the Table.”










Suddenly, shockingly, ball gags are the new fanny packs.










Ever eager to see things from both sides, I also cried foul on behalf of the strippers of the world. Their choreographic repertoire was, courtesy of La Aguilera, being hijacked by little girls. Ditto their clothing. When the entire female population starts dressing and acting like a bunch of strippers, how, pray, are the strippers supposed to dress to attract attention? Loss of earnings! Hello!










After Aguilera there was, give or take a wardrobe malfunction or two, a comparative lull in the porno-pop action. In the intervening years singers like Adele (very Maggie Smith playing Miss Jean Brodie) and Lily Allen (sneakers with maxi skirts) and Florence Welch (pre-Raphaelite patio gowns) strenuously avoided dressing like sex workers. Porno style migrated temporarily away from pop music and found a new petri dish: reality television. Shows like Bad Girls Club and I Love New York—the participants said charming things like, “I’m so ghetto my pussy smells like menthol”—provided a welcoming skank-friendly environment.













Rihanna, Miley Cyrus
Rihanna, left, and Miley Cyrus

Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker/Slate. Photos by Getty.








The reality show milieu could only contain the stripperfest for so long, and now it’s BACK! And nastier than ever. A second wave of porno pop is currently raging across our screens, and Doris Day it ain’t. We are descending into a hoochie hellhole. And most young people—particularly those young gals who cut their teeth on Aguilera’s G-strings—are totally unfazed. Everything seems “totes norms” to them. In fact, so inured are they to our oversexed culture that, when they discover the artists of yore on YouTube, they are totally dumbfounded by the lack of throbbing, overt sexual hotness. Yes, that gal Dusty Springfield has a great voice, but why isn’t she showing more cleavage and buttcrack ? Siouxsie Sioux, Nina Hagen, and Debbie Harry were all so creative, but why all the clothes? Why the lack of pasties? And Joni Mitchell? What’s with the caftans and long skirts? Is she covering up a skin complaint? And that belter Janis Joplin? If she was so wild and groovy, how come she kept her velour, tie-die pantsuits on? The least she could have done was pull out one of her boobies.










If you think I am exaggerating about the current pornsplosion, then you probably have not seen the new erotically sinister, description-defying Rihanna video, the one for her current hit “Pour It Up, which has been viewed more than 56 million times:














(At the time of this writing, Rihanna is generating more ink. After having viewed a sex show in Phuket, Thailand,  during which a lady pulled live animals from her hoo-hah, RiRi tweeted about what she saw, and the promoters were all arrested. Happy entrails!)










And then there’s Britney’s latest offering, entitled “Work Bitch”:














Here our gal BritBrit has taken on the dual role of whore and sadistic oppressor. She dispenses profound and caring nuggets of advice while thrashing other women with whips—You want a Maserati? You better work, bitch!—after which she dynamites large groups of fellow hookers, blowing their bodies to smithereens. Simone De Beauvoir, Kate Millett, and Germaine Greer, eat your hearts out.










Call me crazy, but I always thought of clothing, however minimal, as a simple system of nonverbal communication. It allows us to telegraph whatever we want to the outside world.










A twinset and pearls indicates a certain conservatism. A leather catsuit screams, “I’m a hired assassin!” An Issey Miyake cocoon suggests that you might be an architect or a pretentious poet. And dressing like a porn-slut indicates, loudly and clearly, that you are more than willing to give head in the stationery closet. What does that have to do with being a songstress?










A cursory glance at these porn ’n’ pop mélanges will leave you wondering where it will all end. How far are we from the day when singers will record their songs midshag? Not very. The next time Miley Cyrus appears on an award show, she will doubtless unzip a dude’s pants and go the whole hog. And then what? Bestiality? Not with my Norwich terrier. No way. Put him down, Miley! He’s too old for you, and he’s not in the mood.










Come back, Lawrence Welk! We miss you.








Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/doonan/2013/10/miley_cyrus_scanty_outfits_porn_inspired_pop_divas_should_wear_more_clothes.html
Category: glee   south park   Ncaa Football Scores   meteor shower tonight   irina shayk  

Soft-spoken teen accused of killing Mass. teacher


DANVERS, Mass. (AP) — A well-liked teacher was found slain in woods behind this quiet Massachusetts town's high school, and a 14-year-old boy who was found walking along a state highway overnight was charged with killing her.

Blood found in a second-floor school bathroom helped lead investigators to the body of Colleen Ritzer, a 24-year-old math teacher at Danvers High School who was reported missing when she didn't come home from work on Tuesday, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.

"She was a very, very respected, loved teacher," Blodgett said.

The suspect, Philip Chism, was arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday and ordered held without bail. The teenager, described by classmates as soft-spoken and pleasant, also did not come home from school the day before and was spotted walking along Route 1 in the neighboring town of Topsfield at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Officials didn't release a cause of death and haven't discussed a motive in the killing.

A court filing said Ritzer and Chism were known to each other from the high school, but it did not elaborate. The arrest was made based on statements by the suspect and corroborating evidence at multiple scenes, investigators said in court documents.

Ritzer's family said they are mourning the death of their "amazing, beautiful daughter and sister."

"Everyone that knew and loved Colleen knew of her passion for teaching and how she mentored each and every one of her students," the family said in a statement provided by her uncle Dale Webster.

At his arraignment in adult court in Salem, Chism's defense attorney argued for the proceeding to be closed and her client to be allowed to stay hidden because of his age. The judge denied the request. The lawyer, Denise Regan, declined to comment outside court. No statement had been released from his family by Wednesday evening.

The tall, lanky teenager had moved to Massachusetts from Tennessee before the start of the school year and was a top scorer on the school's junior varsity soccer team, said Kyle Cahill, a junior who also plays soccer. He said the team had been wondering where Chism was when he skipped a team dinner Tuesday night.

"We're all just a family. It just amazes me really," Cahill said. "He wasn't violent at all. He was really the opposite of aggressive."

Ritzer had a Twitter account where she gave homework assignments, encouraged students and described herself as a "math teacher often too excited about the topics I'm teaching."

She was a 2011 graduate of Assumption College in Worcester, a school spokeswoman said Wednesday. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in math, a minor in psychology and a secondary education concentration, according to the college's 2011 commencement program.

One of her former students, Chris Weimert, 17, said she was a warm, welcoming person who would stand outside her classroom and say hello to students she didn't teach. He said she had been at the school for two years.

"She was the nicest teacher anyone could ever have. She always had a warm smile on her face," he said.

Ryan Kelleher, a senior, said students related to the young teacher, who liked to wear jeans and UGG boots just like the teenagers she taught. Kelleher, who also plays soccer, said the arrest of the soft-spoken Chism didn't make sense to him.

"From what I know about him and seeing him every day, it just doesn't add up that he would do such a thing, unless this was all an act to fool somebody," the 17-year-old said.

Ritzer lived at home with her 20-year-old brother and her sister, a high school senior. The close-knit family was often outside, barbecuing, spending time together and enjoying each other's company, neighbors said.

Mary Duffy has lived next door to the Ritzers in the suburban neighborhood in Andover since the family moved there more than two decades ago. She had known Colleen Ritzer from the time she was a baby and said the Ritzers' oldest child had just one life ambition: to be a high school math teacher.

"All I ever heard is that she loved her job," Duffy said.

All public schools in Danvers, about 20 miles north of Boston, were closed Wednesday.

The Boston Red Sox had a moment of silence for Ritzer Wednesday before Game 1 of the World Series.

Hundreds turned out for a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening on the parking lot of the school. Many wore pink, Ritzer's favorite color. They prayed and sang and, at the end of the vigil, they placed their candles along with some stuffed animals in the middle of a ring they have formed for the gathering.

"She supported all of us. We should be there to support her," said Danvers senior Courtney Arnoldy, 18, who had Ritzer for a teacher.

Ritzer is the second teacher allegedly killed by a student in the U.S. this week. A Sparks, Nev., middle school teacher was allegedly shot by a 12-year-old student on Monday.

___

Associated Press writer Lynne Tuohy in Andover and news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York City contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/soft-spoken-teen-accused-killing-mass-teacher-184209455.html
Category: Government Shutdown Over   Obama impeachment   adrian peterson   Michelle Rodriguez   cote de pablo  

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

CNIO researchers discover new genetic errors that could cause 1 of the most deadly leukaemias

CNIO researchers discover new genetic errors that could cause 1 of the most deadly leukaemias


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Contact: Nuria Noriega
comunicacion@cnio.es
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)



The sequencing of the acute dendritic cell leukaemia exome shows that more than half of patients display 'epigenetic' gene alterations



Acute dendritic leukaemia is a rare type of leukaemia, but one with the worst prognosisthe average patient survival rate is just 12-14 monthsthat is difficult to treat. Juan Cruz Cigudosa's team, from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre's (CNIO) Molecular Cytogenetics Group, has for the first time sequenced the exome the coding, or protein-generating, regions of the genome of dendritic cell leukaemia.


The analyses, published in Leukemia, the world's leading journal in onco- haematology, uncover new genetic pathways that could revolutionise treatment guidelines for these patients.


'EPIGENETIC' GENES ARE ALTERED IN MOST CASES


For the first time in human leukaemias, scientists have described mutations in four genes (IKZF3, HOXB9, UBE2G2 and ZEB2) that have important cellular functions, such as gene regulation and cellular differentiation.


"In addition to these genes, we have found that more than half of the cases harbour mutations in epigenetic genes at diagnosis those genes that introduce chemical modifications in the DNA something that had never been observed in this type of leukaemia", says Cigudosa. "Therapies
directed against these epigenetic genes already exist, so these patients could also benefit from them".


In summary, the genetic profile of acute dendritic cell leukaemia, currently treated as a lymphoid leukaemia, is similar to that of myeloid leukaemia. "These results suggests a change in the treatment guidelines for these patients, who were completely misplaced", says Juliane Menezes, the first author of the study.


According to Cigudosa, "this study is a clear example of the role of genomics in translational research being carried out by Spanish scientists, in general, and more specifically at CNIO".


To carry out this work, the authors analysed the exome of three patients diagnosed with dendritic cell leukaemia and validated the results using a panel of 38 genes and 25 additional patients (known as a targeted resequencing strategy), coming from 9 Spanish hospitals.


###


This research was conducted in collaboration with CNIO's Bioinformatics Core Unit, led by David Pisano, the Pathology Services at the Marques de Valdecilla Hospital in Santander, led by Miguel Angel Piris, as well as several Spanish Genetics and Haematology Services.


Acknowledgements: the study has been supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Carlos III Health Institute, the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) and 'La Caixa' Foundation.


Reference article:

Exome sequencing reveals novel and recurrent mutations with clinical impact in blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm. Menezes J, Acquadro F, Wiseman M, Gómez-López G, Salgado RN, Talavera-Casañas JG, Buño I, Cervera JV, Montes-Moreno S, Hernández-Rivas JM, Ayala R, Calasanz MJ, Larrayoz MJ, Florensa L, Gonzalez-Vicent M, Pisano DG, Piris MA, Alvarez S, Cigudosa JC. Leukemia (2013). DOI: 10.1038/leu.2013.283




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CNIO researchers discover new genetic errors that could cause 1 of the most deadly leukaemias


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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Oct-2013



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Contact: Nuria Noriega
comunicacion@cnio.es
Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)



The sequencing of the acute dendritic cell leukaemia exome shows that more than half of patients display 'epigenetic' gene alterations



Acute dendritic leukaemia is a rare type of leukaemia, but one with the worst prognosisthe average patient survival rate is just 12-14 monthsthat is difficult to treat. Juan Cruz Cigudosa's team, from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre's (CNIO) Molecular Cytogenetics Group, has for the first time sequenced the exome the coding, or protein-generating, regions of the genome of dendritic cell leukaemia.


The analyses, published in Leukemia, the world's leading journal in onco- haematology, uncover new genetic pathways that could revolutionise treatment guidelines for these patients.


'EPIGENETIC' GENES ARE ALTERED IN MOST CASES


For the first time in human leukaemias, scientists have described mutations in four genes (IKZF3, HOXB9, UBE2G2 and ZEB2) that have important cellular functions, such as gene regulation and cellular differentiation.


"In addition to these genes, we have found that more than half of the cases harbour mutations in epigenetic genes at diagnosis those genes that introduce chemical modifications in the DNA something that had never been observed in this type of leukaemia", says Cigudosa. "Therapies
directed against these epigenetic genes already exist, so these patients could also benefit from them".


In summary, the genetic profile of acute dendritic cell leukaemia, currently treated as a lymphoid leukaemia, is similar to that of myeloid leukaemia. "These results suggests a change in the treatment guidelines for these patients, who were completely misplaced", says Juliane Menezes, the first author of the study.


According to Cigudosa, "this study is a clear example of the role of genomics in translational research being carried out by Spanish scientists, in general, and more specifically at CNIO".


To carry out this work, the authors analysed the exome of three patients diagnosed with dendritic cell leukaemia and validated the results using a panel of 38 genes and 25 additional patients (known as a targeted resequencing strategy), coming from 9 Spanish hospitals.


###


This research was conducted in collaboration with CNIO's Bioinformatics Core Unit, led by David Pisano, the Pathology Services at the Marques de Valdecilla Hospital in Santander, led by Miguel Angel Piris, as well as several Spanish Genetics and Haematology Services.


Acknowledgements: the study has been supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Carlos III Health Institute, the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) and 'La Caixa' Foundation.


Reference article:

Exome sequencing reveals novel and recurrent mutations with clinical impact in blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm. Menezes J, Acquadro F, Wiseman M, Gómez-López G, Salgado RN, Talavera-Casañas JG, Buño I, Cervera JV, Montes-Moreno S, Hernández-Rivas JM, Ayala R, Calasanz MJ, Larrayoz MJ, Florensa L, Gonzalez-Vicent M, Pisano DG, Piris MA, Alvarez S, Cigudosa JC. Leukemia (2013). DOI: 10.1038/leu.2013.283




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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/cndi-crd102313.php
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Imaging breast cancer with light

Imaging breast cancer with light


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lmeyer@osa.org
202-416-1435
The Optical Society



Netherlands researchers unveil their 'photoacoustic mammoscope,' a new device that could someday be used for routine breast cancer screenings




WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2013 -- Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and cancer deaths among women worldwide. Routine screening can increase breast cancer survival by detecting the disease early and allowing doctors to address it at this critical stage. A team of researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have developed a prototype of a new imaging tool that may one day help to detect breast cancer early, when it is most treatable.


If effective, the new device, called a photoacoustic mammoscope, would represent an entirely new way of imaging the breast and detecting cancer. Instead of X-rays, which are used in traditional mammography, the photoacoustic breast mammoscope uses a combination of infrared light and ultrasound to create a 3-D map of the breast. The researchers describe their device in a paper published today in The Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express.


A 3-D Map of the Breast


In the new technique, infrared light is delivered in billionth-of-a-second pulses to tissue, where it is scattered and absorbed. The high absorption of blood increases the temperature of blood vessels slightly, and this causes them to undergo a slight but rapid expansion. While imperceptible to the patient, this expansion generates detectable ultrasound waves that are used to form a 3-D map of the breast vasculature. Since cancer tumors have more blood vessels than the surrounding tissue, they are distinguishable in this image.



Currently the resolution of the images is not as fine as what can be obtained with existing breast imaging techniques like X-ray mammography and MRI. In future versions, Srirang Manohar, an assistant professor at the University of Twente who led the research, Wenfeng Xia, a graduate student at the University of Twente who is the first author on the new paper, and their colleagues expect to improve the resolution as well as add the capability to image using several different wavelengths of light at once, which is expected to improve detectability.


The Twente researchers, who belong to the Biomedical Photonic Imaging group run by Professor Wiendelt Steenbergen, have tested their prototype in the laboratory using phantoms -- objects made of gels and other materials that mimic human tissue. Last year, in a small clinical trial they showed that an earlier version of the technology could successfully image breast cancer in women.


Manohar and his colleagues added that if the instrument were commercialized, it would likely cost less than MRI and X-ray mammography.


"We feel that the cost could be brought down to be not much more expensive than an ultrasound machine when it goes to industry," said Xia.


The next step, they say, will be to prepare for larger clinical trials. Several existing technologies are already widely used for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, including mammography, MRI, and ultrasound. Before becoming routinely used, the photoacoustic mammoscope would have to prove at least as effective as those other techniques in large, multicenter clinical trials.



"We are developing a clinical prototype that improves various aspects of the current version of the device," said Manohar. "The final prototype will be ready for first clinical testing next year."


###


Paper: "Design and evaluation of a laboratory prototype system for 3D photoacoustic full breast tomography," W. Xia et al., Biomedical Optics Express, Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp. 2555-2569 (2013). http://www.opticsinfobase.org/boe/abstract.cfm?uri=boe-4-11-2555


EDITOR'S NOTE: Images and video footage are available to members of the media upon request. Contact Lyndsay Meyer, lmeyer@osa.org.


About Biomedical Optics Express


Biomedical Optics Express is OSA's principal outlet for serving the biomedical optics community with rapid, open-access, peer-reviewed papers related to optics, photonics and imaging in the life sciences. The journal scope encompasses theoretical modeling and simulations, technology development, and biomedical studies and clinical applications. It is published by The Optical Society and edited by Joseph A. Izatt of Duke University. Biomedical Optics Express is an open-access journal and is available at no cost to readers online at http://www.OpticsInfoBase.org/BOE.

About OSA


Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional society for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-world applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership programs, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of professionals in optics and photonics. For more information, visit http://www.osa.org.


Contact:


Lyndsay Meyer

The Optical Society

+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org


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Imaging breast cancer with light


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Oct-2013



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Contact: Lyndsay Meyer
lmeyer@osa.org
202-416-1435
The Optical Society



Netherlands researchers unveil their 'photoacoustic mammoscope,' a new device that could someday be used for routine breast cancer screenings




WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2013 -- Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and cancer deaths among women worldwide. Routine screening can increase breast cancer survival by detecting the disease early and allowing doctors to address it at this critical stage. A team of researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands have developed a prototype of a new imaging tool that may one day help to detect breast cancer early, when it is most treatable.


If effective, the new device, called a photoacoustic mammoscope, would represent an entirely new way of imaging the breast and detecting cancer. Instead of X-rays, which are used in traditional mammography, the photoacoustic breast mammoscope uses a combination of infrared light and ultrasound to create a 3-D map of the breast. The researchers describe their device in a paper published today in The Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express.


A 3-D Map of the Breast


In the new technique, infrared light is delivered in billionth-of-a-second pulses to tissue, where it is scattered and absorbed. The high absorption of blood increases the temperature of blood vessels slightly, and this causes them to undergo a slight but rapid expansion. While imperceptible to the patient, this expansion generates detectable ultrasound waves that are used to form a 3-D map of the breast vasculature. Since cancer tumors have more blood vessels than the surrounding tissue, they are distinguishable in this image.



Currently the resolution of the images is not as fine as what can be obtained with existing breast imaging techniques like X-ray mammography and MRI. In future versions, Srirang Manohar, an assistant professor at the University of Twente who led the research, Wenfeng Xia, a graduate student at the University of Twente who is the first author on the new paper, and their colleagues expect to improve the resolution as well as add the capability to image using several different wavelengths of light at once, which is expected to improve detectability.


The Twente researchers, who belong to the Biomedical Photonic Imaging group run by Professor Wiendelt Steenbergen, have tested their prototype in the laboratory using phantoms -- objects made of gels and other materials that mimic human tissue. Last year, in a small clinical trial they showed that an earlier version of the technology could successfully image breast cancer in women.


Manohar and his colleagues added that if the instrument were commercialized, it would likely cost less than MRI and X-ray mammography.


"We feel that the cost could be brought down to be not much more expensive than an ultrasound machine when it goes to industry," said Xia.


The next step, they say, will be to prepare for larger clinical trials. Several existing technologies are already widely used for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, including mammography, MRI, and ultrasound. Before becoming routinely used, the photoacoustic mammoscope would have to prove at least as effective as those other techniques in large, multicenter clinical trials.



"We are developing a clinical prototype that improves various aspects of the current version of the device," said Manohar. "The final prototype will be ready for first clinical testing next year."


###


Paper: "Design and evaluation of a laboratory prototype system for 3D photoacoustic full breast tomography," W. Xia et al., Biomedical Optics Express, Vol. 4, Issue 11, pp. 2555-2569 (2013). http://www.opticsinfobase.org/boe/abstract.cfm?uri=boe-4-11-2555


EDITOR'S NOTE: Images and video footage are available to members of the media upon request. Contact Lyndsay Meyer, lmeyer@osa.org.


About Biomedical Optics Express


Biomedical Optics Express is OSA's principal outlet for serving the biomedical optics community with rapid, open-access, peer-reviewed papers related to optics, photonics and imaging in the life sciences. The journal scope encompasses theoretical modeling and simulations, technology development, and biomedical studies and clinical applications. It is published by The Optical Society and edited by Joseph A. Izatt of Duke University. Biomedical Optics Express is an open-access journal and is available at no cost to readers online at http://www.OpticsInfoBase.org/BOE.

About OSA


Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional society for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-world applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership programs, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of professionals in optics and photonics. For more information, visit http://www.osa.org.


Contact:


Lyndsay Meyer

The Optical Society

+1.202.416.1435
lmeyer@osa.org


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/tos-ibc102313.php
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