If you?re an ?American Idol? conspiracy theorist, you were handed some solid ammunition for your arguments Wednesday night. But one guy isn?t playing along with the script.
The judges certainly seem to be setting up an Amber Holcomb-Angie Miller finale, drowning them both in praise. They love how much Amber has grown since the early shows, and in fairness to them she?s the clear winner in the Most Improved category. But the praise over the past few weeks has been overwhelming, and that continued Wednesday.
?You?re just like this blooming flower, Amber. You?re blooming for the world to see,? Nicki Minaj said.
Keep in mind that that comment came after Amber?s version of ?MacArthur Park.? You might ask why anyone would ever choose that song in a singing competition, even if America suffered a massive brain cramp and demanded a one-hit-wonders theme this week. Put it like this ? in ?Dave Barry?s Book of Bad Songs,? the humorist names it the absolute worst song ever for a reason.
Jimmy Iovine disagreed with the level of praise, because there?s only so much anyone can do with a song that schlocky. In response, Nicki decided to use much of the time allotted to her after Candice Glover?s performance to instead bring up Amber again and critique Jimmy?s critique. After the other judges were done, Ryan Seacrest brought Jimmy onstage to defend himself.
?She can?t sing corn like that. Just my opinion. But I think you guys were smoking a little bit of the green icing on that MacArthur Park cake, because it was just so far from what she should be doing,? Jimmy said. Which ? well, duh.
But he continued by calling the panel out. ?What you don?t want to do is say that Candice was better than Amber on that particular round.?
That hit home.
?Candice was better,? Nicki agreed, while Mariah was outraged that Amber was to be blamed for the song choice as though singers have not been blamed for song selection since season one.
?Then say it!? Jimmy responded.
And for some reason the judges got mad. Nicki got up out of her seat as if to charge the mound, with Randy Jackson close behind. But no punches were thrown, and Candice finally got to go offstage and mutter about how Nicki had told her an hour previously ?What I don?t want to happen to you is to have people see you as an old-fashioned artist? after she sang ?Find Your Love? by Drake, released way back in 2010. And how Keith had just complained ?Man, are there any one-hit wonder songs from at least the last decade?? after her version of ?Emotion.?
But at least Candice could take solace that she was treated far better than Kree Harrison, who heard Randy complain that ?I guess I was waiting to hear something else from you this week,? when she finished Susan Tedeschi?s ?It Hurt So Bad.?
"That performance is not going to give you what you need for next week. That is not a top-four worthy performance," Nikki agreed, then doing her part to making sure the Fox censors pay attention in concluding, ??I don?t want to blow smoke up your ?--?
Nicki was even harsher after Kree's second song, insinuating that she was going home. But Kree had much better luck that time with both Randy and Mariah. The latter promised to download her ?Whiter Shade of Pale? right away because she needed it on her phone.
The singer everyone agreed on was Angie Miller, who went back to her strengths early with Jessie J?s ?Who You Are.?
?I'm standing up in spirit, my train is caught on the bottom of my chair!" Mariah said. She therefore extended her own record for number of excuses for not joining the other judges in a standing ovation.
?You made me forget that was a Jessie J song. You made believe it was an Angie performance,? Randy said.
And after her version of Julie London?s ?Cry Me a River??
You came out tonight to snatch some wigs off some heads,? Nikki said. ?Tonight was your night.?
Contact: Susan McDonald slmcdonald@wihri.org 401-681-2816 Women & Infants Hospital
This spring, a team of researchers has released results from an eight-year study that shows improved survival rates for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who undergo cancer tumor testing to determine the best treatment.
Part of the team was Richard G. Moore, MD, director of the Center for Biomarkers and Emerging Technologies and a gynecologic oncologist with the Program in Women's Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.
"Essentially, we have demonstrated that by using a tissue sample from the patient's tumor and a chemoresponse assay, we are able to determine which treatment may or may not work for her," Dr. Moore explains of the study, which was presented at a recent meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and in the trade publication Cure.
"This study shows that a woman with recurrent ovarian cancer could benefit from having a biopsy and chemosensitivity testing. The results from such testing will allow for the identification of chemotherapeutics that are active against the patient's disease and those that are not resulting in decreased toxicity from ineffective treatments. Learning that personal directed therapies may improve overall survival for these patients made this the first study in two decades to show a significant increase in survival in recurrent ovarian cancer."
The study, launched in 2004, included 283 women. Of those, 262 had successful biopsies which were tested in vitro, or in a test tube. The assay ChemoFx, by Precision Therapeutics, tested up to 15 approved treatment regimens on the samples, identifying chemotherapy drugs and regimens to which each tumor might be sensitive. The study was non-interventional, meaning that physicians chose the treatment regimens without knowing of the assay results. The researchers then evaluated the assay's result against actual patient outcomes.
"The assay identified at least one treatment to which the tumor would be sensitive in 52% of patients in the study," Dr. Moore says. "Overall, median survival was 37.5 months for patients with treatment-sensitive tumors, compared to 23.9 months for intermediate and resistant tumors."
Assay-directed therapy has long been debated among oncologists, he continues. Such debate provided the impetus for this study.
###
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the ninth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiology; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health's Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
About ChemoFx
ChemoFx, is a proprietary, CLIA-certified and commercially-available chemoresponse assay which measures an individual's tumor response to a range of therapeutic alternatives under consideration by the treating physician. By testing multiple chemotherapies on a patient's tumor cells before clinically treating a cancer patient, ChemoFx helps determine the chemotherapies more likely to be effective and, therefore, provides valuable insights that help inform physicians' treatment decisions with a goal of improving patient outcomes.
Precision Therapeutics currently receives ChemoFx specimens from 271 top medical institutions including 20 of the 21 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Member Institutions, and 8 of the US News and World Report Top 10 Hospitals for Cancer Care. Over 60,000 patient specimens to date have been tested with ChemoFx.
About Precision Therapeutics
Precision Therapeutics, a leading life-science company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to utilizing precision medicine for personalized cancer care. Precision offers a portfolio of products developed to help guide physicians and patients with difficult clinical decisions throughout the cancer care continuum. The company's leading products for personalized cancer care include ChemoFx and BioSpeciFx, a select portfolio of clinically relevant molecular tests that provide information about drug response and patient prognosis. Additionally, in 2013 Precision is releasing two new gene signature products, under the GeneFx brand. GeneFx Colon is a 634-transcript microarray assay that has been independently validated to predict risk of disease recurrence in stage II colon cancer patients. It is currently undergoing an additional independent validation using a large cooperative group cohort. GeneFx Lung is a 15-gene microarray assay that has been independently validated in 5 separate patient groups to predict risk of mortality in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and may also be able to predict which of those patients will experience benefit from chemotherapy.
For more information, visit http://www.precisiontherapeutics.com or http://www.chemofx.com.
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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.
Contact: Susan McDonald slmcdonald@wihri.org 401-681-2816 Women & Infants Hospital
This spring, a team of researchers has released results from an eight-year study that shows improved survival rates for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer who undergo cancer tumor testing to determine the best treatment.
Part of the team was Richard G. Moore, MD, director of the Center for Biomarkers and Emerging Technologies and a gynecologic oncologist with the Program in Women's Oncology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.
"Essentially, we have demonstrated that by using a tissue sample from the patient's tumor and a chemoresponse assay, we are able to determine which treatment may or may not work for her," Dr. Moore explains of the study, which was presented at a recent meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and in the trade publication Cure.
"This study shows that a woman with recurrent ovarian cancer could benefit from having a biopsy and chemosensitivity testing. The results from such testing will allow for the identification of chemotherapeutics that are active against the patient's disease and those that are not resulting in decreased toxicity from ineffective treatments. Learning that personal directed therapies may improve overall survival for these patients made this the first study in two decades to show a significant increase in survival in recurrent ovarian cancer."
The study, launched in 2004, included 283 women. Of those, 262 had successful biopsies which were tested in vitro, or in a test tube. The assay ChemoFx, by Precision Therapeutics, tested up to 15 approved treatment regimens on the samples, identifying chemotherapy drugs and regimens to which each tumor might be sensitive. The study was non-interventional, meaning that physicians chose the treatment regimens without knowing of the assay results. The researchers then evaluated the assay's result against actual patient outcomes.
"The assay identified at least one treatment to which the tumor would be sensitive in 52% of patients in the study," Dr. Moore says. "Overall, median survival was 37.5 months for patients with treatment-sensitive tumors, compared to 23.9 months for intermediate and resistant tumors."
Assay-directed therapy has long been debated among oncologists, he continues. Such debate provided the impetus for this study.
###
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the ninth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiology; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health's Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
About ChemoFx
ChemoFx, is a proprietary, CLIA-certified and commercially-available chemoresponse assay which measures an individual's tumor response to a range of therapeutic alternatives under consideration by the treating physician. By testing multiple chemotherapies on a patient's tumor cells before clinically treating a cancer patient, ChemoFx helps determine the chemotherapies more likely to be effective and, therefore, provides valuable insights that help inform physicians' treatment decisions with a goal of improving patient outcomes.
Precision Therapeutics currently receives ChemoFx specimens from 271 top medical institutions including 20 of the 21 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Member Institutions, and 8 of the US News and World Report Top 10 Hospitals for Cancer Care. Over 60,000 patient specimens to date have been tested with ChemoFx.
About Precision Therapeutics
Precision Therapeutics, a leading life-science company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is dedicated to utilizing precision medicine for personalized cancer care. Precision offers a portfolio of products developed to help guide physicians and patients with difficult clinical decisions throughout the cancer care continuum. The company's leading products for personalized cancer care include ChemoFx and BioSpeciFx, a select portfolio of clinically relevant molecular tests that provide information about drug response and patient prognosis. Additionally, in 2013 Precision is releasing two new gene signature products, under the GeneFx brand. GeneFx Colon is a 634-transcript microarray assay that has been independently validated to predict risk of disease recurrence in stage II colon cancer patients. It is currently undergoing an additional independent validation using a large cooperative group cohort. GeneFx Lung is a 15-gene microarray assay that has been independently validated in 5 separate patient groups to predict risk of mortality in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and may also be able to predict which of those patients will experience benefit from chemotherapy.
For more information, visit http://www.precisiontherapeutics.com or http://www.chemofx.com.
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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.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of heart attack victims every year have none of the notorious risk factors before their crisis - not high cholesterol, not unhealthy triglycerides. Now the search for the mystery culprits has turned up some surprising suspects: the trillions of bacteria and other microbes living in the human gut.
In a study released on Wednesday, scientists discovered that some of the bugs turn lecithin - a nutrient in egg yolks, liver, beef, pork and wheat germ - into an artery-clogging compound called TMAO. They also found that blood levels of TMAO predict heart attack, stroke or death, and do so "independent of other risk factors," said Dr Stanley Hazen, chairman of cellular and molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute, who led the study.
That suggests a TMAO test could enter the arsenal of blood tests that signal possible cardiovascular problems ahead. "TMAO might identify people who are at risk (for heart attacks and strokes) despite having no other risk factors," Hazen said.
The discovery also suggests a new approach to preventing these cardiovascular events: altering gut bacteria so they churn out less TMAO.
The study joins a growing list of findings that link human "microbiota" - microbes in the gut, nose and genital tract, and on the skin - to health and disease. Research has shown that certain species of gut bacteria protect against asthma, for instance, while others affect the risk of obesity. Last week scientists reported that circumcision alters bacteria in the penis, and that this change (not only the anatomical one) helps protect men from HIV/AIDS, probably by reducing the number of bacteria that live in oxygen-free environments such as under the foreskin.
"It's very strong work," Dr Martin Blaser of New York University Langone Medical Center, a pioneer in studies of the microbiota, said of the TMAO study. "They show clearly that human microbiota play a key role in producing TMAO, suggesting new approaches to prevention and treatment" of cardiovascular disease.
NORMAL CHOLESTEROL, FATAL HEART ATTACK
The new study builds on a 2011 discovery by the Cleveland Clinic team that, in lab mice, gut bacteria turn lecithin in food into TMAO, or trimethylamine-N-oxide, causing heart disease. In addition, they found, people with high levels of TMAO are more likely to have heart disease.
But that research left two questions hanging: Do human gut bacteria trigger the lecithin-to-TMAO alchemy, like those in mice? And do high levels of TMAO predict heart attacks and stroke in people many years out, not simply mark the presence of cardiovascular disease at the time of the blood test?
To answer the first question, Hazen and his colleagues had 40 healthy adults eat two hard-boiled eggs, which contain lots of lecithin. Just as in lab mice, TMAO levels in the blood rose. After a week of broad-spectrum antibiotics, however, the volunteers' TMAO levels barely budged after they ate eggs, the researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"That showed that the intestinal bacteria (which antibiotics kill) are essential for forming TMAO," said Hazen.
Next, to see whether TMAO predicts cardiovascular events, the researchers measured its levels in 4,007 heart patients. After accounting for such risk factors as age and a past heart attack, they found that high levels of TMAO were predictive of heart attack, stroke and death over the three years that the patients were followed.
Moreover, TMAO predicted risk more accurately than triglyceride or cholesterol levels, Hazen said. And it did so in people without substantial coronary artery disease or dangerous lipid levels as well as in sicker patients.
Specifically, people in the top 25 percent of TMAO levels had 2.5 times the risk of a heart attack or stroke compared to people in the bottom quartile.
The reason TMAO is so potent is that it makes blood cholesterol build up on artery walls, causing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and, if the buildup ruptures and blocks an artery, stroke or heart attack.
Earlier this month, the Cleveland Clinic researchers reported that gut bugs also transform carnitine, a nutrient found in red meat and dairy products, into TMAO, at least in meat eaters. Vegetarians made much less TMAO even when eating carnitine as part of the study, suggesting that avoiding meat reduces the gut bacteria that turn carnitine into TMAO, while regular helpings of dead animals encourages their growth and thus the production of TMAO.
More studies are needed to show whether TMAO reliably predicts cardiovascular crises, and does so better than other blood tests. Experts disagree on how many people have no other risk factors but would be flagged by TMAO. Dr Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association, guesses it is less than 10 percent or so of the people who eventually have heart crises.
Someone with high levels of TMAO could reduce her cardiovascular risk by eating fewer egg yolks and less beef and pork. But someone with a two-eggs-a-day habit but low TMAO probably has gut microbes that aren't very adept at converting lecithin to TMAO, meaning she can eat eggs and the like without risking a coronary.
Just as statins control unhealthy cholesterol, prebiotics (compounds that nurture "healthy" gut microbes) or probiotics (the good bugs themselves) might control unhealthy TMAO. For now, however, no one knows which prebiotics or probiotics might do that. In one study, probiotics actually increased TMAO-producing bacteria - "not what you want," Hazen said.
Neither will popping antibiotics work: bacteria become resistant to the drugs. Developing compounds that crimp the ability of the bacteria to turn lecithin into TMAO, Hazen said, is more likely to succeed.
(Reporting by Sharon Begley; editing by Michelle Gershberg and Prudence Crowther)
2013 Meeting of the Americas media advisory 2Public release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Catherine Adams mcadams@agu.org 202-777-7530 American Geophysical Union
Pre-registration deadline is April 26, Virtual Press Room open, scientific program is online
About 1,500 scientists are expected to present their latest Earth and space science findings next month at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas in Cancn, Mexico, May 13-17. The pre-registration deadline for is this Friday, April 26 but onsite, complimentary press registration will be available.
Check out the scientific program and the press Who's Coming list online. The meeting's Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader are now live. Visa information is also available.
Click here to register as a member of the news media: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/press-registration/.
Friday, April 26, is the last day for online press pre-registration, which assures that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive.
You may also register at the meeting; however, you must bring valid media credentials to do so (see eligibility criteria at the link above). Registration for press, whether in advance or on site, is complimentary.
News Media registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all scientific sessions of the meeting. Eligibility for press registration is limited to science reporters, freelancers and public information officers.
All press badges will be issued solely at the discretion of the AGU Public Information Office.
Please note: AGU will not operate a Press Room at the meeting.
Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader Now live
The Virtual Press Room is the online place for journalists to find meeting-related materials such as press releases, images, and videos about newsworthy research being presented at the meeting. To access the Meeting of the Americas Virtual Press Room, go here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/virtual-press-room/.
Public Information Officers can upload press releases (along with accompanying images, videos, audio files and external links) about research presented at the Meeting of the Americas to the Virtual Press Room. To access the Uploader, PIOs must first register here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/for-pios/. Only registered PIOs will be allowed to upload content.
2013 Meeting of the Americas scientific program
Scientists have submitted more than 1,500 abstracts about new findings they plan to present at the meeting. To see the abstracts on topics including anthropogenic influences on the natural environment and extreme events like tsunamis, hurricanes, heat waves and more, please go to the scientific program: http://moa.agu.org/2013/scientific-program/. All scientific sessions take place in the Cancn Center, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
See Who's Coming!
The online list of journalists who have pre-registered for the Meeting is updated daily. To see it, go here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/whos-coming/.
Mexican visa regulations for international reporters
International reporters, including those from the United States, must have a valid passport to enter Mexico. Those without an up-to-date passport are urged to apply for one immediately. Passport information for U.S. citizens may be found at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/.
Journalists who are U.S. citizens, or have a valid U.S. visa, do not need a special visa to report from the meeting, as long as they are staying less than 180 days and not being paid by a Mexican company. However, camera operators bringing gear into Mexico should fill out a specific form; please email news@agu.org for more information.
International reporters from countries other than the United States should contact their country's Mexican embassy (http://www.sre.gob.mx/index.php/representaciones/embajadas-de-mexico-en-el-exterior) to inquire about possible visa requirements.
###
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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.
2013 Meeting of the Americas media advisory 2Public release date: 25-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Catherine Adams mcadams@agu.org 202-777-7530 American Geophysical Union
Pre-registration deadline is April 26, Virtual Press Room open, scientific program is online
About 1,500 scientists are expected to present their latest Earth and space science findings next month at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas in Cancn, Mexico, May 13-17. The pre-registration deadline for is this Friday, April 26 but onsite, complimentary press registration will be available.
Check out the scientific program and the press Who's Coming list online. The meeting's Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader are now live. Visa information is also available.
Click here to register as a member of the news media: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/press-registration/.
Friday, April 26, is the last day for online press pre-registration, which assures that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive.
You may also register at the meeting; however, you must bring valid media credentials to do so (see eligibility criteria at the link above). Registration for press, whether in advance or on site, is complimentary.
News Media registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all scientific sessions of the meeting. Eligibility for press registration is limited to science reporters, freelancers and public information officers.
All press badges will be issued solely at the discretion of the AGU Public Information Office.
Please note: AGU will not operate a Press Room at the meeting.
Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader Now live
The Virtual Press Room is the online place for journalists to find meeting-related materials such as press releases, images, and videos about newsworthy research being presented at the meeting. To access the Meeting of the Americas Virtual Press Room, go here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/virtual-press-room/.
Public Information Officers can upload press releases (along with accompanying images, videos, audio files and external links) about research presented at the Meeting of the Americas to the Virtual Press Room. To access the Uploader, PIOs must first register here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/for-pios/. Only registered PIOs will be allowed to upload content.
2013 Meeting of the Americas scientific program
Scientists have submitted more than 1,500 abstracts about new findings they plan to present at the meeting. To see the abstracts on topics including anthropogenic influences on the natural environment and extreme events like tsunamis, hurricanes, heat waves and more, please go to the scientific program: http://moa.agu.org/2013/scientific-program/. All scientific sessions take place in the Cancn Center, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
See Who's Coming!
The online list of journalists who have pre-registered for the Meeting is updated daily. To see it, go here: http://moa.agu.org/2013/media-center/whos-coming/.
Mexican visa regulations for international reporters
International reporters, including those from the United States, must have a valid passport to enter Mexico. Those without an up-to-date passport are urged to apply for one immediately. Passport information for U.S. citizens may be found at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/.
Journalists who are U.S. citizens, or have a valid U.S. visa, do not need a special visa to report from the meeting, as long as they are staying less than 180 days and not being paid by a Mexican company. However, camera operators bringing gear into Mexico should fill out a specific form; please email news@agu.org for more information.
International reporters from countries other than the United States should contact their country's Mexican embassy (http://www.sre.gob.mx/index.php/representaciones/embajadas-de-mexico-en-el-exterior) to inquire about possible visa requirements.
###
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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.
(Reuters) - The planned sale by state-backed Lloyds of hundreds of UK bank branches to the Co-op fell through on Wednesday, setting back government plans to boost competition in the industry.
The Co-Op said it pulled out of the deal due to toughening regulations and the worsening outlook for UK economic growth.
Lloyds, which is Britain's biggest retail bank and has over 2,900 branches in total, plans instead to spin-off the 630 branches under the TSB name and sell shares in the new company.
Parliamentarians hoped the combination of Co-Op's existing banking business with the Lloyds branches would have created a viable competitor to Britain's established but unpopular lenders, which have been plagued by scandals including the mis-selling of insurance on loans and mortgages.
Co-op chief executive Peter Marks said in a statement that the deal would not currently deliver a suitable return in a reasonable timeframe and with an acceptable level of risk.
"This should serve as yet another warning to (chancellor) George Osborne that his economic plan is failing and he must urgently act to kick-start our flatlining economy," said Chris Leslie, a lawmaker from the opposition Labour party.
Britain's finance ministry said the government remained "determined to promote greater competition in the banking sector in order to provide consumers with more choice".
Industry sources had expressed doubts for several months about the viability of the deal, citing supposed concerns held by the financial regulator about Co-op's capital strength. There had also been worries about the complexities of breaking out the business and merging it with the Co-op.
Lloyds was ordered to sell the branches by European regulators as a condition of receiving state aid during the 2008 financial crisis when Britain pumped 20.5 billion pounds into the bank leaving taxpayers holding a 39 percent stake.
Industry sources said Lloyds will almost certainty need to request that EU regulators extend the November 2013 deadline they have set for a sale, which analysts expect to be granted.
A flotation is unlikely to be possible until the second half of 2014, sources have said.
Amid doubts over the Co-op transaction, Lloyds had operated a "dual track" approach, preparing for both a sale and a share offer. It has prepared to operate the branches as a standalone business from August, under the TSB brand which had disappeared from the high street in 1995 when TSB merged with Lloyds.
The Verde business - the name given to the branches for sale - has around 5 million customers and represents about 6 percent of all bank branches in Britain.
Co-Op agreed in 2012 to buy the branches, which would have created Britain's seventh-biggest bank.
Britain's "Big Five" lenders - Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander UK hold 83 percent of current accounts.
A source close to the Co-op said there was no truth in speculation that it could now pull out of banking altogether. Co-op's insurance business remains on the market having been put up for sale last month.
Co-op's future strategy will be shaped by incoming chief executive Euan Sutherland who takes the helm on May 1. Sutherland joins Co-op from European home improvement retailer Kingfisher where he was chief operating officer and has a predominantly retail background.
Shares in Lloyds showed little reaction and were down 0.2 percent at 1050 GMT, reflecting doubt the deal would succeed.
Industry sources say that Lloyds has been hit with about 1 billion pounds in costs associated with the deal. The Verde business has been making around 200 million pounds a year in profit, according to analysts.
(Reporting by Clare Hutchison, Steve Slater, Will James and David Milliken in London and Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Marvin Tolkin was 83 when he decided that the unexamined life wasn?t worth living. Until then, it had never occurred to him that there might be emotional ?issues? he wanted to explore with a counselor.
?I don?t think I ever needed therapy,? said Mr. Tolkin, a retired manufacturer of women?s undergarments who lives in Manhattan and Hewlett Harbor, N.Y.
Though he wasn?t clinically depressed, Mr. Tolkin did suffer from migraines and ?struggled through a lot of things in my life? ? the demise of a long-term business partnership, the sudden death of his first wife 18 years ago. He worried about his children and grandchildren, and his relationship with his current wife, Carole.
?When I hit my 80s I thought, ?The hell with this.? I don?t know how long I?m going to live, I want to make it easier,? said Mr. Tolkin, now 86. ?Everybody needs help, and everybody makes mistakes. I needed to reach outside my own capabilities.?
So Mr. Tolkin began seeing Dr. Robert C. Abrams, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan. They meet once a month for 45 minutes, exploring the problems that were weighing on Mr. Tolkin. ?Dr. Abrams is giving me a perspective that I didn?t think about,? he said. ?It?s been making the transition of living at this age in relation to my family very doable and very livable.?
Mr. Tolkin is one of many seniors who are seeking psychological help late in life. Most never set foot near an analyst?s couch in their younger years. But now, as people are living longer, and the stigma of psychological counseling has diminished, they are recognizing that their golden years might be easier if they alleviate the problems they have been carrying around for decades. It also helps that Medicare pays for psychiatric assessments and therapy.
?We?ve been seeing more people in their 80s and older over the past five years, many who have never done therapy before,? said Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, a professor of research in the department of psychiatry at Stanford. ?Usually, they?ve tried other resources like their church, or talked to family. They?re realizing that they?re living longer, and if you?ve got another 10 or 15 years, why be miserable if there?s something that can help you??
Some of these older patients are clinically depressed. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that more than 6.5 million Americans over age 65 suffer from depression. But many are grappling with mental health issues unaddressed for decades, as well as contemporary concerns about new living arrangements, finances, chronic health problems, the loss of loved ones and their own mortality.
?It?s never too late, if someone has never dealt with issues,? said Judith Repetur, a clinical social worker in New York who works almost exclusively with older patients, many of whom are seeking help for the first time. ?A combination of stresses late in life can bring up problems that weren?t resolved.?
That members of the Greatest Generation would feel comfortable talking to a therapist, or acknowledging psychological distress, is a significant change. Many grew up in an era when only ?crazy? people sought psychiatric help. They would never admit to themselves ? and certainly not others ? that anything might be wrong.
?For people in their 80s and 90s now, depression was considered almost a moral weakness,? said Dr. Gallagher-Thompson. ?Fifty years ago, when they were in their 20s and 30s, people were locked up and someone threw away the key. They had a terrible fear that if they said they were depressed, they were going to end up in an institution. So they learned to look good and cover their problems as best they could.?
But those attitudes have shifted over time, along with the medical community?s understanding of mental illness among seniors. In the past, the assumption was that if older people were acting strangely or having problems, it was probably dementia. But now, ?the awareness of depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse as possible problems has grown,? said Bob G. Knight, a professor of gerontology and psychology at the University of Southern California, and the author of ?Psychotherapy With Older Adults.?
A report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that about half of all Americans ages 50 to 70 will be at high risk for alcohol and marijuana abuse by 2020, compared with less than 9 percent in 1999.
In years past, too, there was a sense among medical professionals that a patient often could not be helped after a certain age unless he had received treatment earlier in life. Freud noted that around age 50, ?the elasticity of the mental process on which treatment depends is, as a rule, lacking,? adding, ?Old people are no longer educable.? (Never mind that he continued working until he died at 83.)
?That?s been totally turned around by what we?ve learned about cognitive psychology and cognitive approach ? changing the way you think about things, redirecting your emotions in more positive ways,? said Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist and professor of human development at Cornell, and author of ?30 Lessons for Living.?
Treatment regimens can be difficult in this population. Antidepressants, for instance, can have unpleasant side effects and only add to the pile of pills many elderly patients take daily. Older patients may feel that they don?t have the time necessary to explore psychotherapy, or that it?s too late to change.
But many eagerly embrace talk therapy, particularly cognitive behavioral techniques that focus on altering thought patterns and behaviors affecting their quality of life now. Experts say that seniors generally have a higher satisfaction rate in therapy than younger people because they are usually more serious about it. Time is critical, and their goals usually are well defined.
?Older patients realize that time is limited and precious and not to be wasted,? said Dr. Abrams. ?They tend to be serious about the discussion and less tolerant of wasted time. They make great patients.?
After her husband died two years ago, Miriam Zatinsky, a retired social worker who is now 87, moved into an independent living facility at Miami Jewish Health Systems. It was a difficult transition to make late in life.
?It was really strange to me, and I couldn?t seem to make any friends here,? Ms. Zatinsky said. ?I really couldn?t find my way. I was having a terrible time.?
The medical director for mental health at the facility, Dr. Marc E. Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist and the author of ?How We Age,? told her that her problems were not unusual for someone in her situation, and encouraged her to make some friends. He prescribed Xanax to help with anxiety, which she said she rarely takes, and he put her in touch with a social worker, Shyla Ford, whom Ms. Zatinsky saw once a week until Ms. Ford moved (Ms. Zatinsky now has a new social worker she talks to). They strategized on how she could reach out. And slowly, she did.
?Sitting at the table for dinner, you talk to people,? said Ms. Zatinsky, who has become president of her building.
Typically, 15 to 20 sessions of talk therapy are enough to help an older patient, unless he or she is struggling with a lifetime?s worth of significant problems. Still, even long-term issues can be overcome.
After a debilitating depression in which she spent three months unable to get out of bed, Judita Grosz, 69, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., decided to see Dr. Agronin, who prescribed medication. (She also tried group therapy but didn?t like it.) He also practiced some cognitive behavioral techniques with her ? for instance, requiring her to get dressed every day for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Eventually, she began to feel better. ?I learned to adjust my thinking, and I don?t get as anxious as I used to,? said Ms. Grosz, who has since begun making and selling jewelry. ?I found out at this age that I am artistic and creative and innovative and smart. I just woke up to the fact that I have a mind of my own. Talk about a late bloomer.?
Dr. Agronin, who still meets with Ms. Grosz monthly, said, ?You might not be able to gain a magical insight and wrap up theirentire life in therapy, but you might be able to accomplish one or two small but meaningful goals.?
Sometimes, what older patients really need is help putting a lifetime in perspective.
?Things can be seen differently from the perspective of old age that relieve some guilt and challenge assumptions that you?ve had for decades,? Dr. Abrams said. ???Maybe it wasn?t too terrible after all; maybe I shouldn?t blame myself.? Maybe some of your worst mistakes weren?t so egregious, and maybe there were unavoidable circumstances you couldn?t control.?
Mr. Tolkin still stops by Dr. Abrams?s office for a monthly checkup.
?Everybody has a certain amount of heartache in life ? it?s how you handle the heartache that is the essential core of your life,? Mr. Tolkin said. ?I found that my attitude was important, and I had to reinforce positive things all the time.?
He said he wishes he had tried therapy years ago. But he adds: ?I can?t go back. I can only go forward.?
To hear more from these three seniors who have started therapy later in life, view our gallery.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The state flower?s brief blooming period is also trespassing season, as crowds tramp through privately owned farms and ranches for the perfect photo.
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Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
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