May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...
Study opens new prospects for developing new targeted therapies for breast cancerPublic release date: 2-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vanessa Pavinato media@esmo.org European Society for Medical Oncology
5th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference
Lugano-CH, Brussels-BE, 2 May 2013 -- A study led by prominent breast cancer experts from Europe and the US has revealed a number of potentially important prospects for targeted therapies, and brings opportunities of truly personalised therapy for breast cancer a step closer, researchers said at the 5th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.
The IMPAKT meeting presents cutting edge, 'translational' breast cancer research that is beginning to have an impact for patients.
This current study was led by Dr Martine Piccart, Director of Medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, and Dr Jose Baselga, Associate Director at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
The researchers used modern sequencing technology to characterise the genetic aberrations of cancer genes present in tumour samples from a well-defined cohort of advanced postmenopausal patients who were enrolled in the BOLERO-2 clinical trial.
"The results of this study generated hypotheses for developing more rational targeted therapy combinations based on the specific genetic aberrations present in each individual tumour," Dr Piccart said.
"This work, together with previous works published last year, highlights again the genetic heterogeneity of breast cancer. These results show that tumours that may look very similar at the clinical level, can be genetically very different, suggesting that they may require different treatment strategies."
"There is still a long way to go before we will be able to offer truly personalised therapies to cancer patients, and support for research such as this will be critical to accelerate this process," Dr Piccart said.
The study involved postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer that was hormone receptor positive and HER2 negative taking part in the BOLERO-2 phase III trial. The trial showed that everolimus plus exemestane significantly improved progression-free survival, response rate and clinical benefit rate versus placebo plus exemestane. Although benefits were seen in all prospectively defined subgroups of women who took part, the researchers noted some variations, partially due to genetic differences in molecular determinants of everolimus sensitivity and interactions between the oestrogen receptor and mTOR pathways.
In the current analysis, researchers used next-generation sequencing to assess genetic alterations in archival tumour specimens from 230 tumours. They analysed coding regions of 182 cancer-related genes for sequence and copy number variations.
All patients had at least one genetic alteration, and 98% had more than 2, the researchers report. A total of 173 different genes were altered in at least one of the tumour samples. Among the frequently mutated genes were PIK3CA, TP53 and ARID1A.
"Some mutations were found to cluster into similar pathways, for which targeted therapies could potentially be used," Dr Piccart said.
"Although in many cases we cannot be sure what effect the mutations have on the tumour characteristics or the clinical efficacy of treatments, we did find that mutations in the tumour suppressor gene PTEN were associated with loss of protein expression and function."
The authors also found an increased mutation rate for the oestrogen receptor, a key player in breast cancer, between primary and metastatic samples, which highlights potentially clinically relevant differences between the primary and metastatic disease for this group of hormone-receptor positive patients.
More generally, the results illustrate that this kind of sequencing is feasible in phase III studies, the researchers say.
"The ability to carry on large-scale sequencing in phase III trials will potentially help us understand why some patients did show a good clinical response to the investigated drugs whereas others did not. Also, being able to sequence cancer genes in well-described clinically homogeneous cohorts of clinical trials will help to build new hypotheses regarding future targeted treatment strategies."
Dr Fabrice Andre from the Department of Medical Oncology at Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, who was not involved in the research, said the study has two major impacts for clinical research.
First, he said, it suggests that next generation sequencing can be applied in the daily practice using archival samples. This opens new avenues for the development of personalised medicine trials. Second, by discovering new genomic segments, this study will certainly lead to the development of new biomarker-driven trials.
"This is a pioneering study in the field of personalised therapy for breast cancer since it shows for the first time that next generation sequencing can be applied to 'real-life' samples of patients with breast cancer. Until now, most of the data from next generation sequencing have been obtained with frozen tissue specifically for this purpose," Dr Andre said.
"Interestingly, this study, done in patients who have relapsed, shows an increased frequency of mutations in important genes like ESR1, IGF1R. This could lead to the development of new trials testing compounds against these genomic segments," Dr Andre said.
Following this study, prospective trials are needed to test whether the use of genomics could improve outcomes for patients, he said. "Also, we still need a comprehensive analysis of metastatic tissue in order to better develop drugs and understand the metastatic phenomenon. These two purposes will be addressed in the large pan-European effort called PRISM and led by Breast International Group (BIG)."
###
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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.
Study opens new prospects for developing new targeted therapies for breast cancerPublic release date: 2-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vanessa Pavinato media@esmo.org European Society for Medical Oncology
5th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference
Lugano-CH, Brussels-BE, 2 May 2013 -- A study led by prominent breast cancer experts from Europe and the US has revealed a number of potentially important prospects for targeted therapies, and brings opportunities of truly personalised therapy for breast cancer a step closer, researchers said at the 5th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Belgium.
The IMPAKT meeting presents cutting edge, 'translational' breast cancer research that is beginning to have an impact for patients.
This current study was led by Dr Martine Piccart, Director of Medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, and Dr Jose Baselga, Associate Director at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
The researchers used modern sequencing technology to characterise the genetic aberrations of cancer genes present in tumour samples from a well-defined cohort of advanced postmenopausal patients who were enrolled in the BOLERO-2 clinical trial.
"The results of this study generated hypotheses for developing more rational targeted therapy combinations based on the specific genetic aberrations present in each individual tumour," Dr Piccart said.
"This work, together with previous works published last year, highlights again the genetic heterogeneity of breast cancer. These results show that tumours that may look very similar at the clinical level, can be genetically very different, suggesting that they may require different treatment strategies."
"There is still a long way to go before we will be able to offer truly personalised therapies to cancer patients, and support for research such as this will be critical to accelerate this process," Dr Piccart said.
The study involved postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer that was hormone receptor positive and HER2 negative taking part in the BOLERO-2 phase III trial. The trial showed that everolimus plus exemestane significantly improved progression-free survival, response rate and clinical benefit rate versus placebo plus exemestane. Although benefits were seen in all prospectively defined subgroups of women who took part, the researchers noted some variations, partially due to genetic differences in molecular determinants of everolimus sensitivity and interactions between the oestrogen receptor and mTOR pathways.
In the current analysis, researchers used next-generation sequencing to assess genetic alterations in archival tumour specimens from 230 tumours. They analysed coding regions of 182 cancer-related genes for sequence and copy number variations.
All patients had at least one genetic alteration, and 98% had more than 2, the researchers report. A total of 173 different genes were altered in at least one of the tumour samples. Among the frequently mutated genes were PIK3CA, TP53 and ARID1A.
"Some mutations were found to cluster into similar pathways, for which targeted therapies could potentially be used," Dr Piccart said.
"Although in many cases we cannot be sure what effect the mutations have on the tumour characteristics or the clinical efficacy of treatments, we did find that mutations in the tumour suppressor gene PTEN were associated with loss of protein expression and function."
The authors also found an increased mutation rate for the oestrogen receptor, a key player in breast cancer, between primary and metastatic samples, which highlights potentially clinically relevant differences between the primary and metastatic disease for this group of hormone-receptor positive patients.
More generally, the results illustrate that this kind of sequencing is feasible in phase III studies, the researchers say.
"The ability to carry on large-scale sequencing in phase III trials will potentially help us understand why some patients did show a good clinical response to the investigated drugs whereas others did not. Also, being able to sequence cancer genes in well-described clinically homogeneous cohorts of clinical trials will help to build new hypotheses regarding future targeted treatment strategies."
Dr Fabrice Andre from the Department of Medical Oncology at Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, who was not involved in the research, said the study has two major impacts for clinical research.
First, he said, it suggests that next generation sequencing can be applied in the daily practice using archival samples. This opens new avenues for the development of personalised medicine trials. Second, by discovering new genomic segments, this study will certainly lead to the development of new biomarker-driven trials.
"This is a pioneering study in the field of personalised therapy for breast cancer since it shows for the first time that next generation sequencing can be applied to 'real-life' samples of patients with breast cancer. Until now, most of the data from next generation sequencing have been obtained with frozen tissue specifically for this purpose," Dr Andre said.
"Interestingly, this study, done in patients who have relapsed, shows an increased frequency of mutations in important genes like ESR1, IGF1R. This could lead to the development of new trials testing compounds against these genomic segments," Dr Andre said.
Following this study, prospective trials are needed to test whether the use of genomics could improve outcomes for patients, he said. "Also, we still need a comprehensive analysis of metastatic tissue in order to better develop drugs and understand the metastatic phenomenon. These two purposes will be addressed in the large pan-European effort called PRISM and led by Breast International Group (BIG)."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
What started as a free online alternative to Microsoft Office has quickly become one of the most impressive services for creating, editing, saving, syncing, and collaborating on documents. Google Drive (freemium) has long impressed me in just how far it goes toward helping groups of people work together on files simultaneously. Some new features rolling out in a recent update add even more support for teamwork.
It hasn't been long since Google Docs rebranded itself as Google Drive, so allow me to briefly recap: Google Docs took on the new name after it added local file syncing to its service. In other words, Google Docs?ahem, Drive?now works more like Dropbox , SugarSync, or any other file-syncing service you care to name, while still retaining the core office productivity apps. In that sense, its closest competitor may well be Microsoft SkyDrive, which also has online document creation tools.
With Google Drive, you can upload files to your Google account, convert them to Google's file format to edit them online, create new docs in the Web interface, collaborate with other users in real time, and export the finished products to more standard file formats, such as .doc, .rtf, .pdf, and so on. The latest round of changes makes working with others in real time even more intuitive, because you can see their profile pictures on the screen, where formerly you only saw a line of text at the top and a color code indicating who else was looking at or editing the file.
Because of these wide-ranging capabilities and its dedication to collaborative document editing, Google Drive remains a PCMag Editors' Choice. We have no hesitation recommending Google Drive?although it is important to understand how one of the new features works. The feature in question could potentially reveal your identity to others, but managing it is simple when you know how it works. And as much as Google Drive is an excellent platform and service, that doesn't mean it's the only file-syncing service you should use either.
What's New in Drive? The newest change in Google Drive, which will roll out to users slowly, is that Google+ profile pictures of collaborators now appear at the top of the file when they're viewing or editing a document. Formerly, when collaborators opened a document, you would see a line of text reading "2 other viewers" at the top right, which opened to reveal their names or email addresses and a color code for each person. For example, if I invited Maria to edit a spreadsheet with me, I would see her name appear next to a pink square at the top of the spreadsheet any time she opened it. As she moved through cells, they would appear highlighted in pink.
The new feature adds Maria's profile picture at the top of the document and would let me add her to my Google+ circles. There's also now an integrated group chat feature that lets multiple collaborators hold discussions via text while they're working.
Another fairly big addition is offline access to all your Drive materials if you're using Google Chrome OS. To enable this setting, go to your Google Drive page and look under the "More" button the left for the offline access setting. Turning on this feature lets you read and edit your files offline; changes will sync to the cloud the next time you connect.
Privacy The toughest criticism Google Drive has faced amount to concerns over privacy and IP ownership. The new collaboration features could put your face in front of strangers if you're not careful, but it's very easy to manage this potential problem with an ounce of care.
Some Google Drive owners keep their documents open to the public, and if you're signed into your Google account when you view these files, other users will be able to see your picture and name. When looking at public files, it's a better idea to log out of Google, or use a different browser, and maybe also turn on incognito features if your browser has them to keep yourself anonymous. Anonymous users are assigned random profile pictures of animals instead, such as a dolphin, dinosaur, or beaver.
My feeling on the matter of privacy in Google Drive is this: If you are comfortable using Gmail, you should be comfortable with Drive. If you are skeptical of Google's user agreements, don't use Google products. For more in-depth analysis, see "Google Drive's Terms of Use: Lazy People Should Worry."
Main Features of Drive The gist of Google Drive, and the main attraction to it, is it can store your files in the cloud where they are accessible to you and your collaborators, and become highly searchable.
One feature related to "search" stands out: Google's ability to scan a photo and "read" it using optical character recognition, or identify it using its own technology. The only other app of this kind that uses built-in OCR nearly as well is Evernote , although you have to have a paid Premium account to use it.
Google also claims Drive allows videos to be uploaded, but we encountered some issues with that part of the service.
Like many other general file-syncing services, Google Drive works better for document files than multimedia. It's not ideally meant to be a music and video streaming service?for that kind of product, you'll likely need a paid service and device, such as the Verbatim Mediashare Mini, although SugarSync does offer some neat capabilities and support for streaming iTunes music. Amazon Cloud also offers some special support for music and movies. However, within the Google universe you can use Google Play in tandem with Drive (more on that in a bit).
Carryover Features from Google Docs The core services and functionality that were in Google Docs, namely, a free online office suite where files are also hosted, remain intact in Drive. Google Docs is one of the best known free alternative to Microsoft Office, although it's entirely Web-based?there's no software to install to use it (the only downloadable part is the app for local syncing with Drive).
As with Microsoft Office, Google Drive lets you create word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentation documents, forms, vector drawings, and now in beta, tables. Google hosts your files, too, so when you log in, all your files are there. You can sort them into customizable folders, which appear along a left pane, or just search for what you need, using a standard search bar in the Web app.
When you create a document in Google Drive, the file format used is Google's own. However, the system couldn't be more flexible. You can export Google documents to more standardized files formats, like .doc, .rtf, .ppt, .pdf, and more; and you can import practically any document with the option of keeping it in its native format (which may limit your ability to edit it) or translating it into a Google doc file, which makes it editable in the online service. I've certainly had my share of moments when I was stuck on a computer that didn't have Microsoft Office at the very moment someone emailed me an important file that required my feedback pronto. Google Drive saved the day. I could open the file in GoogleDrive, edit it, and export the revised file back out to its original form. Occasionally some formatting will go haywire during this process, but it gets the job done.
The addition of Google Now to the iOS App Store has granted iPhone owners access to one of Google's most useful products. But it did something else, too. It made the iPhone a better Android phone than the vast majority of Android phones you can buy.
The Android Experience
Let's be clear right up front; if you want a top-flight, pure Android phone, you should be looking at the Galaxy S4 or Nexus 4 or HTC One, full stop. Not only do they?and a few other flagship handsets?feature powerful hardware, they're also equipped with Jelly Bean, Google's last major Android update. They're wonderful, you would enjoy them.
But those phones represent a lonesome minority, an elite advanced guard that most existing Android handsets may never join. Only 25 percent of Android devices run Jelly Bean, which means that only one in four can access Google Now.
And most older phones will never get promoted. And even if they do, individual app updates?even for Google products?can take forever.
By contrast, today's addition of Google Now to Google Search means that any phone running iOS 6?which means every iPhone back to and including 2009's 3GS?has access to one of Android's marquee features.
And that's just Google Now. There are 25 Google iPhone apps available in the iOS App Store today. Nearly all of them have been updated in the last three months, and the ones you use the most?Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, etc?are kept up as up to date as their Android counterparts. They work in harmony, too; trying to find directions in Google Now will open Google Maps instead of Apple's mediocre alternative. And as long as you're signed in with your Google account, what you do on one device carries over to any other.
Combine that interwoven goodness with the iPhone's exquisitely chamfered, super-lightweight body, and you've got yourself quite a package. To the extent that the Android experience is the Google experience, you really can't do much better.
What's Missing
There's more to Android than just Google apps, of course. The iOS desktop experience is far more rigid than what you'll find on even the clunkiest Froyo device. And while iOS notifications go a long way towards the seamless integration of Google services, you still can't get anything approaching the customizability Android provides with stock iOS.
But even that objection is largely surmountable. Jailbreaking an iPhone doesn't give you the same godlike powers as rooting an Android device, but it does let you continue to use App Store apps (like Google's) and make the phone look and feel like your own. Or like? Android.
The other big drawback is that some Google apps on iOS will lag behind, say, the latest Nexus release on certain features. But at least you can be more confident that you'll get them eventually.
What a Google Wants
The fact is, Google still doesn't ultimately care what device you're using its services on, just so long as you're using them. That's not going to change any time soon. Openness is baked into all of Google's services. Whereas iMessage's one true aim is to keep you bottled up inside iOS forever, Google has built Drive, Mail, and all of its other pillars to be as platform-neutral as possible. The more people using Google, the more highly relevant ads the company can serve.
And while the iPhone has always benefited from that to some degree?especially since Mountain View took charge of its iOS apps once and for all?Google Now's iOS availability is a strong acknowledgment that the company's willing to prioritize mass adoption of its best features ahead of getting its legacy Android devices up to speed.
What that means for you?since iOS updates bring so many legacy devices along with them?is that you can have more faith that an iPhone you buy today will get future Google bells and whistles than the vast majority of currently available Android phones.
Again, by all means, get an HTC One or a Galaxy S4. But do it for the design or the skin or the camera or the features. If it's Google you're looking for, you might just want to swing by the nearest Apple Store.
SATURDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) ? Many children suffer allergies at this time of year as trees and other plants start releasing pollens into the air. So parents need to monitor their youngsters for symptoms, an expert says.
?There are different types of allergies, but if you notice that your child has more symptoms and reactions during the spring it?s a clue that they have a pollen allergy,? Dr. Joyce Rabbat, a pediatric allergist at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said in a Loyola news release.
Symptoms of pollen allergies ? which are most likely to be worse on dry, windy days ? include itchy eyes, sneezing, stuffy/runny nose, coughing and asthma.
?If your child?s allergy symptoms are interfering with his or her daily life, there is no reason to let the child suffer. Allergy symptoms are very treatable. Some people think it?s just something they need to ?live with? but that?s not the case,? Rabbat said.
She said parents can take the following steps to help reduce children?s allergy symptoms:
Check pollen counts and limit children?s time outside when the counts are high.
Keep windows and doors closed, especially on high-count days. This will help limit the amount of pollen that lands on furniture and carpets. Turn on your air conditioner to filter pollen from the air within your house.
Have children wash their face and hands when they come in from outdoors. A shower and change of clothes can take pollen off the body.
?If your child is active outdoors or in sports, make sure he or she takes allergy medication before heading outside,? Rabbat said.
Parents also need to watch for asthma symptoms because many children with allergies also have allergic asthma. Symptoms of allergic asthma include coughing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, wheezing and a feeling of tightness in the chest.
?Often treating children?s allergies helps to control their asthma as well. Kids may need to take an allergy medicine before going outside, or they may need daily allergy medication. It?s also important to get ahead of your allergy symptoms. Once allergies are flaring, they become more difficult to treat. If you are on a good medication regimen before the pollens peak, it makes for a much more enjoyable season,? Rabbat said.
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about seasonal allergies in children.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? A man jumped over several pews at an Albuquerque Catholic church and stabbed several members in the choir area just as Mass was ending Sunday, Albuquerque police said.
According to authorities, Lawrence Capener, 24, walked up to the choir area at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church and stabbed church-goers just as the choir began singing its final hymn. The man continued his attack until other raced to subdue the man until police arrived, police said.
Four church-goers were injured in the attacked and their injuries weren't life-threatening, Albuquerque police spokesman Robert Gibbs aid. Among those stabbed were the church choir director Adam Alvarez, flutist Gerald Madrid and two other parishioners before he was tackled by several other churchgoers, Gibbs said.
All four were being treated at hospitals and listed in stable condition, police said late Sunday.
Three church members also were evaluated by Albuquerque Fire Department on scene and didn't go to the hospital, investigators said.
It was not immediately known what sparked the bizarre attack at the church on the city's Westside. Investigators don't yet know whether Capener had ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church, Gibbs said.
After attacking several church members, including an off-duty firefighter and others at the church, held Capener and held him down until police arrived.
Madrid told KOB-TV that he tried to stop Capener by placing him in a bear hug but was stabbed in the neck and back.
Police described the stabbing scene as chaotic as parishioners screamed as the attack unfolded.
The choir's pianist, Brenda Baca King, told KRQE-TV that the attacker was looking at the lead soloist. "I just remember seeing him hurdle over the pews, hurdle over people and run (toward) us and I thought, 'Oh my God, this is not good,'" Baca King said.
Capener was interviewed by police and was expected to face felony charges, Gibbs said.
It's not yet known whether Capener has an attorney.
Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan released a statement Sunday afternoon saying he was saddened by the attack.
"This is the first time in my 30 years serving as archbishop in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and as Bishop of Lubbock, that anything like this has occurred," Sheehan said. "I pray for all who have been harmed, their families, the parishioners and that nothing like this will ever happen again," Sheehan said.
The church didn't immediately return calls seeking comment on Sunday afternoon.
___
Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras
No, you're not looking at an early preview of Star Wars Episode VII -- it just might represent the future of air transport, though. Boeing has spent years developing a truly quiet supersonic airliner concept, the Icon II, and what you see is an aerodynamics test of a mockup in a vaguely Death Star-like wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center. The starfighter design is for more than just show, as you'd suspect. Its V-tail design moves sonic booms further back, reducing the chance that shockwaves will reach the ground (and our ears) intact, while the top-mounted engines isolate engine noise. Boeing and NASA are ultimately hoping for production passenger aircraft discreet enough to fly over land at supersonic speeds, although we can't help but think that the sci-fi look is a convenient bonus.
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Public release date: 2-May-2013
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