Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Police investigate baby found on Oahu beach

HONOLULU (AP) ? Authorities are investigating why a baby girl was found abandoned on a Hawaii beach hours after birth.

State Department of Human Services Director Patricia McManaman says the newborn was abandoned immediately after birth.

Police say a woman parked at Sandy Beach in east Honolulu sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday and midnight heard several people screaming. A few minutes later the screaming stopped and the woman heard a baby crying.

She walked toward the ocean and saw an infant on the sand. The woman took the baby to a hospital. Police are investigating the case as endangering the welfare of a minor and child abandonment.

McManaman says the baby was born full term and was found naked. She says the 8-pound newborn is doing well and drinking formula at a hospital.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-investigate-baby-found-oahu-beach-195012317.html

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Officials: 19 killed in car bombings in south Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Three car bombs exploded Monday in public areas in two cities in Iraq's largely calm Shiite Muslim south, killing 19 civilians and wounding dozens, officials said.

The attacks come amid a week-long spike in sectarian violence following clashes at a Sunni protest camp in the north of the country.

Two parked car bombs went off simultaneously Monday morning in the city of Amarah near a gathering of construction workers and a market, killing 12 civilians and wounding 25, according to police. Amarah is located 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Another police officer said a parked car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the city of Diwaniyah, killing seven civilians and wounding 15 others. The city is located 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

Sectarian violence has spiked since Tuesday, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija. The move set off a clash that killed 23 people, including three soldiers.

The Hawija incident and a spate of follow-up battles between gunmen and security forces as well as other attacks, including Monday's, have left around 200 dead in the last week.

Bomb attacks are relatively rare in Iraq's relatively peaceful southern Shiite cities.

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but coordinated bombings in civilian areas are a favorite strategy used by al-Qaida in Iraq.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/officials-19-killed-car-bombings-south-iraq-082046457.html

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Do you fear you are missing out?

Apr. 29, 2013 ? Does checking Twitter and Facebook to see what your friends are up to make you feel like you are missing out on all the fun? Researchers have come up with a way of measuring the modern day concept of the "fear of missing out" (FoMO).

The rise in social media, where we can keep up-to-date with each other's every movements like never before, has led to the hidden curse of the "fear of missing out."

A relatively new concept, FoMO is a concern people have that others may be having more fun and rewarding experiences than them and is characterised as the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.

Now, researchers at the University of Essex have devised a way of measuring FoMO for the first time, providing a reliable measure of what people are experiencing.

The research, to be published in the July issue of the journal Computers in Human Behavior, is the first study to delve deeper into the fear of missing out phenomenon, which only came to light about three years ago as social media become ever-more accessible with the increase in smart phones.

As lead researcher and psychologist Dr Andy Przybylski explained, the fear of missing out is not new, but the rise is social media offers a window into other people's lives like never before. The problem for people with a high level of FoMO is they may become so involved is seeing what their friends are doing and they are not, they often ignore what they are actually enjoying themselves.

"I find Facebook rewarding to use, but how we are using social media is changing," explained Dr Przybylski. "It is no longer something we have to sit at a computer and log into as we have access all the time on our phones. It is easier to get into the rhythm of other people's lives that ever before as we get alerts and texts.

"We have to learn new skills to control our usage and enjoy social media in moderation. Until we do, it creates a double-edged sword aspect to social media."

The research team, which included academics from the University of California and University of Rochester in the United States, devised a way of measuring an individual's level of FoMO. Take a version of the test yourself to see what your level of FoMO is compared to the people taking part in the study at www.ratemyfomo.com.

The research found that people aged under 30 were more affected than others from the fear of missing out. This group saw social media as an important tool for them and they were more dependent on social media as part of their social development.

Dr Przybylski explained that social factors are also important. The research also found if people's "psychological needs were deprived" they were more likely to seek out social media and FoMO bridged that gap, explaining why people were using social media more than others.

To see what effect FoMO had on people's lives, the researchers found that those with a high level of fear of missing out were more likely to give into the temptation of composing and checking text messages and e-mails whilst driving, were more likely to get distracted by social media during university lectures, and had more mixed feelings about their social media use.

The researchers hope this will study will prompt more investigation into the fear of missing out and how it affects on people's wellbeing.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Essex, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Andrew K. Przybylski, Kou Murayama, Cody R. DeHaan, Valerie Gladwell. Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 2013; 29 (4): 1841 DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/6ffp7vV7Vxc/130429094949.htm

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    Sunday, April 28, 2013

    Team of rivals: Italy, finally, forms new government (+video)

    Center-left leader Enrico Letta will be Italy's new prime minister, after his party formed a coalition government with former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives.

    By Frances D'Emilio,?Associated Press / April 27, 2013

    Italian Premier-designate Enrico Letta speaks at the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome, Saturday, April 27, 2013. Italy has finally has a new government, a coalition of Berlusconi's forces and center-left rivals who forged an unusual alliance.

    (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

    Enlarge

    Center-left leader Enrico Letta forged a new Italian government Saturday in a coalition with former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives, an unusual alliance of bitter rivals that broke a two-month political stalemate from inconclusive elections in the recession-mired country.

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    The daunting achievement was pulled off by Letta, who will be sworn in as premier along with the new Cabinet on Sunday at the presidential Quirinal Palace.

    Letta, 46, is a moderate with a reputation as a political bridge-builder. He is also the nephew Berlusconi's longtime adviser, Gianni Letta, a relationship seen as smoothing over often nasty interaction between the two main coalition partners.

    Serving as deputy premier and interior minister will be Berlusconi's top political aide, Angelino Alfano. He is a former justice minister who was the architect of legislation that critics say was tailor-made to help media mogul Berlusconi in his many judicial woes.

    The creation of the coalition capped the latest political comeback for Berlusconi, a former three-time premier who was forced to resign in 2011 as Italy slid deeper in to the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.

    On Monday, Letta is expected to lay out his strategy to Parliament, ahead of required confidence votes from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

    "We negotiated for the formation of the government without throwing up any stop signs," Berlusconi to told one of his TV networks. "That's how we contributed to forming a government in short time" after Letta was tapped Wednesday.

    Berlusconi, a fervent anti-Communist, views Italy's left as a personal nemesis, and Letta's Democratic Party has some of its roots in what was the West's largest Communist Party.

    Letta expressed "sober satisfaction over the team we put together and its willingness" to form a coalition.

    Only a few weeks earlier, the head of the Democrats, Pier Luigi Bersani, resigned from the party post in humiliation and he refused Berlusconi's offer for a "grand coalition" and futilely tried to form a government without the center-right. Letta was a Bersani loyalist.

    Bersani hailed the coalition formula as a "necessary compromise" that gives the country "freshness and solidarity."

    The No. 3 bloc in Parliament, the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, is led by comic Beppe Grillo, who ruled out any alliance with the largely sullied political class that has ruled Italy for decades.

    President Giorgio Napolitano, who tasked Letta with creating a government out of bitter rivals, called upon the coalition partners to work "in a spirit of absolute, indispensable cohesion" as they work for sorely needed political and economic reforms.

    The 87-year-old head of state sounded almost breathless as he expressed confidence the rivals could work together "without conflict or prejudices to find the right solutions" to the country's pressing economic and political problems.

    Napolitano didn't name the challenges, but they include fighting unemployment, especially for young people, and corruption sullying much of the political class.

    Napolitano said: "It was and is the only possible government," and one "whose formation couldn't be delayed further, in the interest of our country and of Europe."

    He reluctantly agreed to be re-elected by Parliament earlier this month for another seven-year term because of the political instability.

    Italy's economy is No. 3 among eurozone members, and financial markets have been anxiously watching to see if an effective government could be formed to carry on with outgoing Premier Mario Monti's efforts to keep the country from sliding into the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.

    Some Italian political observers have predicted such a hybrid government might last only a few months of Parliament's five-year term, before collapsing in squabbling.

    But the fear of elections, especially after the lightning-quick rise of comic Grillo's grassroots movement, could prove to be strong glue.

    Giovanni Orsina, deputy director of LUISS university's school of government in Rome, ventured that Letta's new coalition could "last more than we expect, 18 to 24 months, more or less."

    The history professor cited "lack of alternatives, and because I believe Parliament's members are not particularly eager to get back to the polling booth and face new elections."

    Voters, fed up with new and higher taxes, including a despised property tax revived by Monti, rejected his severe austerity policies.

    The small centrist party created in time for the election by Monti, an economist and former European Union commissioner, will participate in the coalition, although Monti won't be in the Cabinet, which is heavy on two novelties ? a large presence of female ministers and Italy's first black minister.

    A native of Congo, Cecile Kyenge is a doctor who will serve as minister of integration. Proposals to make it easier for Italy' growing immigrant population to become citizens have gone nowhere in Parliament amid fierce opposition from the anti-immigrant Northern League party. The party, a Berlusconi ally, isn't in the new government.

    Prominent among the women in the Cabinet is Emma Bonino, a former EU commissioner and Radical Party leader who will serve as foreign minister. Olympic gold medal kayaker Josefa Idem was tapped as minister of equal opportunity and sports.

    Letta comes from a moderate wing of the left-rooted Democratic Party that is close to the Vatican. Since Parliament always includes an array of lawmakers enjoying good ties to the politically influential Catholic church in Italy, this was one more qualification on Letta's bridge-building resume.

    The father of three sons, he lives in Rome's working-class Testaccio neighborhood. When he was tapped by Napolitano on Wednesday, he drove his own car to the Quirinal Palace, in what was seen as a photo opportunity gesture to Italian taxpayers who widely despise the huge fleet of luxury cars that shuttles around ministers and lawmakers.

    In 1998, when he was 32, Letta became the youngest minister in Italy's history when he served as minister for European policy for then-Premier Massimo D'Alema, an ex-Communist leader. Letta seemed a natural for that post. He spent his childhood in Strasbourg, home to the European Parliament, and studied international law before jumping into politics.

    Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

    Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/WJ77Gys4ack/Team-of-rivals-Italy-finally-forms-new-government-video

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    More rights for bicyclists? Not without a fight (Star Tribune)

    Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301912124?client_source=feed&format=rss

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    Facebook CEO reaped $2.3B gain on stock options

    (AP) ? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaped a gain of nearly $2.3 billion last year when he exercised 60 million stock options just before the online social networking leader's initial public offering.

    The windfall detailed in regulatory documents filed Friday saddled Zuckerberg, 28, with a massive tax bill. He raised the money to pay it by selling 30.2 million Facebook Inc. shares for $38 apiece, or $1.1 billion, in the IPO.

    Facebook's stock hasn't closed above $38 since the IPO was completed last May. The shares gained 71 cents Friday to close at $26.85.

    The 29 percent decline from Facebook's IPO price has cost Zuckerberg nearly $7 billion on paper, based on the 609.5 million shares of company stock that he owned as of March 31, according to the regulatory filing. His current stake is still worth $16.4 billion.

    Zuckerberg, who started Facebook in his Harvard University dorm room in 2004, has indicated he has no immediate plans to sell more stock.

    The exercise of Zuckerberg's stock options and his subsequent sale of shares in the IPO had been previously disclosed. The proxy statement filed to announce Facebook's June 11 shareholder meeting is the first time that the magnitude of Zuckerberg's stock option gain had been quantified.

    The proxy also revealed that Zuckerberg's pay package last year rose 16 percent because of increased personal usage of jets chartered by the company as part of his security program.

    Zuckerberg's compensation last year totaled nearly $2 million, up from $1.7 million last year. Of those amounts, $1.2 million covered the costs of Zuckerberg's personal air travel last year, up from $692,679 in 2011.

    If not for the spike in travel costs, Zuckerberg's pay would have declined by 17 percent. His salary and bonus totaled $769,306 last year versus $928,833 in 2011.

    Zuckerberg will take a big pay cut this year. His annual salary has been reduced to $1 and he will no longer receive a bonus, according to Facebook's filing. That puts Zuckerberg's current cash compensation on the same level as Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page, whose stake in his company is worth about $20 billion.

    The Associated Press formula for determining an executive's total compensation calculates salary, bonuses, perquisites, above-market interest that the company pays on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock and stock options awarded during the year. The AP formula does not count changes in the present value of pension benefits or stock option gains such as those recognized by Zuckerberg did last year.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-26-Facebook-Executive%20Compensation/id-23de47cd6de5470db02b6a33e635a8e2

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    Fuel barge explosions underscore risks of fuel transportation

    Alabama's fuel barge explosions were nothing more than an unfortunate accident, reports suggest. But the fuel barge explosions serve as a reminder that the distribution of often volatile energy resources comes with certain risks.

    By David J. Unger,?Correspondent / April 26, 2013

    A massive explosion on one of the two barges on the Mobile River in Mobile, Ala., early Thursday morning. The fuel barge explosions come in the wake of a major oil pipeline spill in Arkansas and a longstanding debate over whether to transport heavy crude oil from Canadian tar sands.

    John David Mercer/AP

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    Early reports suggest Wednesday's fuel barge explosions on the Mobile River in Alabama were an unfortunate accident, probably the result of a spark?igniting?a buildup of unrefined gasoline vapors.

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    Why It Matters

    Energy: Fossil-fuel energy requires the transportation of large amounts of volatile fuels through a distribution network.

    Environment: Although rare, fuel transportation spills have significant impacts on local water and air supplies.

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    But the incident, which injured three people, refocuses attention on America's aging ? and sometimes fragile ? energy infrastructure. Coming on the heels of an oil pipeline spill in Arkansas and in the middle of a vociferous debate over whether to build a US pipeline for heavy crude oil from Canadian tar sands (also known as oil sands), it brings into question whether the system is up to the task of transporting the nation's newly growing energy wealth.

    What are the safest means for transporting the large quantities of oil, natural gas, and gasoline we consume everyday? Do new forms of "unconventional" fuels require a new way of thinking about how we distribute those fuels??Is our energy distribution network capable of meeting today's demand?

    "If we're going to integrate new sources of energy into our grid, and move towards energy purity where we?re not beholden to foreign sources, we?re going to have to invest in infrastructure," said John Pappas, interim director of?Texas A&M University's Energy Institute in College Station. "I think everyone realizes that."?

    Saturday, April 27, 2013

    Debris could be part of hijacked 9/11 jetliner, police say

    A piece of wreckage from 9/11 believed to be one of the commercial jets that brought down the World Trade Center was uncovered near Ground Zero. Police have now turned the area into a crime scene. If the pieces contain human DNA, scores of victims who have never been positively identified may bring closure to many families. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

    By Shimon Prokupecz, NBCNewYork.com

    A 5-foot-long chunk of airplane debris found near the World Trade Center site is believed to be a piece of landing gear from one of the planes that hit the towers more than 11 years ago, NBC 4 New York first reported.

    Police confirmed Friday that?the part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

    See original report at NBCNewYork.com


    The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers, as seen in an exclusive photo obtained by NBC 4 New York.?

    Police Commissioner Ray Kelly visited the alley Friday evening and viewed the debris from about 30 feet away.?

    "It brings back terrible memories to anyone who's here, and obviously I think the families could very well be impacted by this finding," he said.?

    Kelly described the piece as being about 5 feet by 4 feet and around 17 inches high, lying in a "very, very narrow, confined area."?

    "It's difficult to get in there and see," he said.?

    NYPD

    The narrow alley in lower Manhattan where debris that might be pieces of landing gear from one of the commercial airliners destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 was found.

    He said there was rope intertwined in part of the gear, and there were no marks on the buildings indicating the piece hit the walls on the way down.

    "It would have had to fall down at a certain angle," said Kelly.

    Asked whether he was surprised to see such a large plane part anchored in such a tight area, Kelly said: "If you see how confined this space is, and you realize the chaos that existed down here on this street, it's not surprising. It's very, very confined. No cleanup went on in this 18-inch space between these two buildings."?

    The NYPD said the landing gear was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday.

    Police spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD has?secured the location "as it would a crime scene," and investigators are photographing the scene and restricting access until the medical examiner completes a health and safety evaluation.

    Officials said the soil below the piece of debris could also be searched for remains.?

    Police officials say the part could be difficult to remove, and may require demolition work that would destroy the two surrounding buildings. Officials are expected to be back at the scene on Monday to see if it can be removed.

    "It really is a historical artifact," Kelly said.

    On Sept. 11, American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

    The rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

    A Boeing representative declined comment.

    NBC New York

    The name Boeing and a serial number is visible on a piece of the debris.

    This story was originally published on

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    Moody's, S&P settle lawsuits over SIV investments

    It's generally understood that in the Fox News and Glenn Beck breakup, Fox was the dumper and Beck the dumpee. But, in most breakups where the couple shares a social circle, neither party wants a reputation as the dumpee. Beck says he's the one who wanted to leave -- because the network was so depressing. "I remember feeling, 'If you do not leave now, you won?t leave with your soul intact,'" Beck said Friday, according to Forbes' Jeff Bercovici. Roger Ailes tried to talk him out of it. "Roger said to me, 'You're not going to leave.' And I said, 'I am. ...

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moodys-p-settle-lawsuits-over-siv-investments-230711902.html

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    Friday, April 26, 2013

    WSCC Awards Convocation is May 3 - Ludington Daily News - News

    Thursday, April 25, 2013

    West Shore Community College will be recognizing students? academic achievements and awarding scholarships on Friday, May 3.

    The Student Awards Convocation will be held at 7 p.m. in the Center Stage Theater located in the Arts and Sciences Center and the public is invited to attend.

    During the convocation, two students will be recognized as the outstanding nursing graduate and the outstanding graduate in liberal arts/sciences or career and technical education.

    Approximately 100 students will be receiving over 170 scholarships offered through the college. The WSCC Foundation provides many of these scholarships through funds that are invested or raised by an annual fund drive or the major gifts campaign.

    Service awards will also be presented to students who were active in various campus organizations during the 2012-13 academic year.

    Along with students receiving their awards, WSCC alumnus Dr. Carolyn Brown, of the Manistee Veterinary Hospital, will be the distinguished alumni speaker.

    Brown earned an Associate of Arts degree in 1998, with honors, from WSCC and she currently resides in Custer. She is a 1996 graduate of Mason County Eastern High School and the daughter of Philip and Ruth Sommerfeldt also of Custer.

    Brown received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2004 from Michigan State University. She has also completed coursework and training for veterinary acupuncture through the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society.

    Prior to taking her position in Manistee, Brown worked at several veterinary hospitals around the country as a small animal associate veterinarian. She has also started a home-based business providing acupuncture treatments for dogs and cats. In August 2002, she was a Miracle of Life worker at the Michigan State Fair.

    The annual convocation is held the week prior to commencement which will take place on May 10, at 7 p.m. in the campus Recreation Center.

    Source: http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/70851-wscc-awards-convocation-is-may-3

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    Mindscapes: The woman who was dropped into her body

    Mindscapes is our new column on brain science with a difference: we meet people who live with the world's most mysterious neurological conditions

    Name: Louise Airey
    Condition: Depersonalisation disorder

    "I feel like I have been dropped into my body. I know this is my voice and these are my memories, but they don't feel like they belong to me."

    It happened out of the blue. Louise Airey was 8?years old, off sick from school, when suddenly she felt like she had been dropped into her own body. "It's just so difficult to verbalise what this feels like," she says. "All of a sudden you're hyper aware, and everything else in the world seems unreal, like a movie."

    She panicked, but told no one. The feeling soon passed but returned several times until, at the age of 19, a migraine triggered a sensation of being disconnected from the world that was to last 18 months. When she was in her 30s she was diagnosed with depersonalisation disorder ? an altered sense of self with all-encompassing feelings of not occupying your own body, and detachment from your thoughts and actions. It has come and gone throughout her life, but since a traumatic pregnancy 20 months ago, these feelings have remained constant.

    "Other people seem like robots," Airey says. "It's like I'm watching a film, like I'm on my own in the centre of everything and nothing else is real. I'll be speaking to my children and I'll catch my voice talking and it seems really alien and foreign. It makes you feel very separated and lonely from everything, like you're the only person that is real."

    Not so rare

    Depersonalisation disorder is not as rare as you might think, says Anthony David at King's College London and the Maudsley Hospital: it may affect almost 1 per cent of the British population (Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, DOI: 10.1007/s00127-010-0327-7). We've all probably experienced mild versions of it at some point, in the unreal, spaced-out feeling you might get while severely jet-lagged or hung-over, for example. Now neuroscientists are beginning to uncover what goes wrong in those who persistently feel unreal. Their findings could tell us something about how we all form a sense of self, and potentially, bring a treatment for those who have the disorder.

    The sense of self has much to do with our awareness of our physicality and how we interact with the outside world. The brain integrates all the information coming in from the external world and from internal sensationsMovie Camera and forms a default setting of "this is me here and now", says Nick Medford, who studies depersonalisation at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK. "If that setting changes somehow, then you feel 'not right', in a way that might be very hard to put into words."

    There are probably several ways that change can occur, but Medford's work is looking at on the emotional detachment characteristic of depersonalisation. In people who have the disorder, areas of the brain that are key to emotion are much less active than normal. These people also show unusual autonomic physical responses to external stimuli, such as evocative images (Emotion Review, DOI: 10.1177/1754073911430135).

    David and his colleagues are also looking at why people with depersonalisation disorder report emotional "numbing" ? the feeling that the world is somehow alien. They have found that some areas in the brain's frontal lobes, which help keep emotions in check, are overactive, or too controlling.

    Living the scream

    One symptom related to this skewed brain activity is the sensation of all sounds competing against each other to be heard. It's like living inside Edvard Munch's painting The Scream, Airey says, which some critics have suggested is about depersonalisation. "The person and the landscape are screaming, you can't get any peace."

    Another area of the brain that appears to be less responsive in depersonalisation is the anterior insula, responsible for integrating physical and emotional sensations. This might explain why sufferers don't feel in touch with the world, Medford says.

    It's not only the outside world that seems strange, says Airey. The disorder makes it almost impossible for her to relate to herself. "Everything that you're familiar with yourself ? your thoughts, your memories ? become alien," she says. "Memories of things you've done don't feel like they belong to you; it robs you of your past. I know rationally that they're my thoughts, my voice, my memories, but they're all wrong ? that why it's so frightening. It takes away the core of who you are."

    Airey says she would investigate any potential treatment. There is an epilepsy drug, Lamotrigine, that has shown some promise when combined with an antidepressant in trials. Transcranial magnetic stimulationMovie Camera ? in which an electromagnet stimulates or suppresses neuronal activity ? is also being explored by David's team to retrain the depersonalised brain.

    "Rationally knowing that I'm real, that these memories are real, that my voice is my own, but not feeling like they all belong to me is somehow worse than being away with fairies," Airey says. "It's like I'm a sane person gone mad."

    If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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    Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/2b2bea2b/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn234450Emindscapes0Ethe0Ewoman0Ewho0Ewas0Edropped0Einto0Eher0Ebody0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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    What planets are made of: Findings establish counterintuitive potential planet-forming materials

    Apr. 24, 2013 ? A team of researchers led by Artem R. Oganov, a professor of theoretical crystallography in the Department of Geosciences, has made a startling prediction that challenges existing chemical models and current understanding of planetary interiors -- magnesium oxide, a major material in the formation of planets, can exist in several different compositions. The team's findings, "Novel stable compounds in the Mg-O system under high pressure," are published in the online edition of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. The existence of these compounds -- which are radically different from traditionally known or expected materials -- could have important implications.

    "For decades it was believed that MgO is the only thermodynamically stable magnesium oxide, and it was widely believed to be one of the main materials of the interiors of the Earth and other planets," said Qiang Zhu, the lead author of this paper and a postdoctoral student in the Oganov laboratory.

    "We have predicted that two new compounds, MgO2 and Mg3O2, become stable at pressures above one and five million atmospheres, respectively. This not only overturns standard chemical intuition but also implies that planets may be made of totally unexpected materials. We have predicted conditions (pressure, temperature, oxygen fugacity) necessary for stability of these new materials, and some planets, though probably not the Earth, may offer such conditions," added Oganov.

    In addition to their general chemical interest, MgO2 and Mg3O2 might be important planet-forming minerals in deep interiors of some planets. Planets with these compounds would most likely be the size of Earth or larger.

    The team explained how its paper predicted the structures in detail by analyzing the electronic structure and chemical bonding for these compounds. For example, Mg3O2 is forbidden within "textbook chemistry," where the Mg ions can only have charges "+2," O ions are "-2, and the only allowed compound is MgO. In the "oxygen-deficient" semiconductor Mg3O2, there are strong electronic concentrations in the "empty space" of the structure that play the role of negatively charged ions and stabilize this material. Curiously, magnesium becomes a d-element (i.e. a transition metal) under pressure, and this almost alchemical transformation is responsible for the existence of the "forbidden" compound Mg3O2.

    The findings were made using unique methods of structure prediction, developed in the Oganov laboratory. "These methods have led to the discovery of many new phenomena and are used by a number of companies for systematically discovering novel materials on the computer -- a much cheaper route, compared to traditional experimental methods," said Zhu.

    "It is known that MgO makes up about 10 percent of the volume of our planet, and on other planets this fraction can be larger. The road is now open for a systematic discovery of new unexpected planet-forming materials," concluded Oganov.

    This work is funded by the National Science Foundation and DARPA.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stony Brook University.

    Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


    Journal Reference:

    1. Qiang Zhu, Artem R. Oganov, Andriy O. Lyakhov. Novel stable compounds in the Mg?O system under high pressure. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2013; DOI: 10.1039/C3CP50678A

    Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

    Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

    Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/e0dYr5OduAk/130424125444.htm

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    Vegas man jailed after car driven into church

    HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) ? A Las Vegas man is behind bars after police say he became so enraged at being turned away from speaking with a pastor that he plowed his car through an entrance and down the hall of a large Henderson church.

    Kevin Wilson was being held Thursday on $8,000 bail at the Henderson city jail pending a court appearance Monday on felony burglary and destruction of property charges.

    Henderson police say the 51-year-old Wilson got out of his Kia Spectra, smashed furniture and knocked holes in the walls at Central Christian Church before police arrested him about 5 a.m. Wednesday.

    Police spokesman Keith Paul says a city building inspector later determined the church building remained structurally sound.

    It wasn't immediately clear if Wilson had an attorney.

    ___

    Information from: KLAS-TV, http://www.klas-tv.com

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vegas-man-jailed-car-driven-church-195915194.html

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    Thursday, April 25, 2013

    Today's White House correspondents are not lapdogs

    But in the past, they certainly have been

    "Why don't you leave him alone?" supporters of President Obama tweet me. "Give the man a break and stop being disrespectful."

    "You're all just a bunch of suck-up lefties," opponents of President Obama tweet at me, referring, I presume, to the White House Press Corps. "Why don't you try asking a real question for a change?"

    SEE MORE: Could the 2013 NFL draft be one of the weakest ever?

    You can't please everyone. And someone is always going to be mad at the White House Press Corps. But it's all in eye of the beholder. And, as I'll explain, there have been times when both sides have been right.

    Conservatives often like to say that White House reporters (who often work for big, conservative companies like News Corp., Time Warner, and Disney) are liberals who just pass along whatever they are spoonfed by Team Obama. In this view, it's all a big love fest between journalists and the president down the hall.

    They ask why the "liberal media" ignored the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Somehow these critics missed the 800+ articles that The Washington Post and New York Times alone have run on the story.

    Also: If White House reporters are lapdogs, why does President Obama hold so few news conferences? If we are lapdogs, why doesn't Obama talk more to newspapers and TV networks accused of being "friendlies," like the Times or the Post or MSNBC??And if reporters are so eager to passively be spoonfed everything Obama says, why does he feel it necessary build his own massive network to get his point of view out?

    If anything, Obama is press averse to an historic degree. "The way the president's availability to the press has shrunk in the last two years is a disgrace," ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton recently told Politico. Ann should know. She's been at the White House since Gerald Ford was president. "This is different from every president I covered. This White House goes to extreme lengths to keep the press away," she adds.

    Today's White House Press Corp. is hardly a lapdog. But in the past, Beltway reporters have been cowed by presidents.?

    SEE MORE: Could an Amazon TV box conquer your living room?

    Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was paralyzed by polio, served 12 years as president, yet the FDR library in Hyde Park, N.Y., only has three photos of him in a wheelchair. "There was a gentlemen's understanding with the press," says the library's website, that photographs displaying FDR's disability were not published." Think that would happen today?

    Similarly, as the Monica Lewinsky scandal showed, reporters today simply won't turn a blind eye to a philandering president. In the 1960s, the press corps did exactly that with John F. Kennedy. While in office, it's believed he slept with a woman who also slept with two Mafia bosses; it's also believed that another mistress was an East German spy. Think a White House reporter would ignore a bombshell like that today?

    Of course, it's also true that journalists were obedient little lapdogs on matters far more serious than even Benghazi. After that other September 11 attack (you know, back in 2001), the White House leaned on the press corps big time. Attorney General John Ashcroft said questioning the Bush administration "only aids terrorists" and "gives ammunition to America's enemies," while Press Secretary Ari Fleischer warned that "all Americans... need to watch what they say, watch what they do."

    In the run-up to the Iraq war from September 2002 to February 2003,?414 Iraq stories aired on the evening broadcasts of ABC, CBS and NBC News, according to media analyst Andrew Tyndall. More than 9 in 10 of them relied on Bush administration sourcing. Reporters did just 34 stories (8 percent) that required independent questioning of non-administration sources. And talk about not wanting to offend the White House: MSNBC fired its top-rated host, the super liberal Phil Donahue, because, as an internal memo said, Donahue's anti-administration views presented "a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war."

    It gets worse still. In a news conference two weeks before the Iraq invasion, President Bush mentioned al Qaeda and the terrorist attacks of September 11 multiple times. No one challenged the connection Bush appeared to be making between al Qaeda and Iraq ? even though intelligence sources by then were publicly questioning the connection.

    SEE MORE: What we don't know about Boston

    That, ladies and gentlemen, is a lapdog press.

    View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

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    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/todays-white-house-correspondents-not-lapdogs-102628988.html

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    Czechs to send funds to blast-hit Texas town

    PRAGUE (AP) ? The Czech Republic plans to donate 4 million koruna (some $200,000) to help the Texas town of West recover from a devastating fertilizer plant explosion.

    The government decided to the provide aid in solidarity because a significant number of people in the town of 2,700 have Czech roots. The blast damaged numerous homes in the town.

    The Foreign Ministry says Czech Ambassador to the U.S. Petr Gandalovic visited West last week and talked to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, West Mayor Tommy Muska and other officials about how to help.

    A ministry statement Wednesday said the money will go toward repairing property in the town.

    Thousands of Czechs, mostly from the eastern part known of Moravia, settled in Texas more than 100 years ago.

    A housing complex, destroyed by a deadly fertilizer plant explosion, is pictured in the town of West, near Waco, Texas, April 21, 2013. Authorities said the death toll from the explosion on April 17, ... more? A housing complex, destroyed by a deadly fertilizer plant explosion, is pictured in the town of West, near Waco, Texas, April 21, 2013. Authorities said the death toll from the explosion on April 17, 2013 remained at 14 in West, a community of some 2,700 people, with 200 people injured. REUTERS/Michael Ainsworth/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE) less? ?

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/czechs-send-funds-blast-hit-texas-town-181551812.html

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    Can Apple stay on top? Investors, suppliers question its future.

    Projections continue to suggest negative results for Apple, but what is preventing Apple from dominating the market like it used to?

    By Steph Solis / April 23, 2013

    A man looks at his Apple iPad in front an Apple logo outside an Apple store in downtown Shanghai. Apple's luster is diminishing as it continues to lose market share to its competitors and face criticism from investors and suppliers.

    Aly Song/Reuters/File

    Enlarge

    As Apple continues to face growing competition, the company's allure is starting to fade in the eyes of investors and suppliers, according to new report from?Reuters. Meanwhile, the once dominant tech giant is losing market share as Samsung and other rivals continue to grow.?

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    The concerns of shareholders apparently range from worries about smaller shipments to criticisms that the company has lost its innovative edge since iconic co-founder Steve Jobs died a year and a half ago.

    Asian suppliers have told Reuters that they are trying to become less dependent on Apple as they encountered delays on deadlines from the company.

    For the first time since December 2011, Apple?s stock closed last week below $400.

    Apple will hold its financial conference call on quarterly results Tuesday afternoon. While Apple is still expected to show growth ? estimates of quarterly revenue currently circle $42.77 billion ? the projection is that Apple may be moving downward, Dan Moren of MacWorld reports.

    "Apple is in some ways a sort of victim of its own success, especially when the term innovation starts being thrown around," says?Charles Golvin, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. In other words, Apple, which?has introduced multiple revolutionary products in the past, is under fire for not bringing an entirely different product to the market recently ? or at least fast enough.

    What seems to be preventing Apple from owning the market is its pricing for smart phones, Golvin says. Apple could benefit from having a range of smart phone prices, similar to the range of options that were available for the iPod.?

    Another possible issue is Apple?s pattern of releasing new products every year, some of which had relatively minor adjustments. Golvin notes that it seems to be harder for Apple to continue that trend with Samsung and other competitors releasing products more often.

    John Koetsier of VentureBeat expressed similar concerns with Apple?s dominance in the market in December. He emphasizes the need for a change in Apple?s market strategy, including more aggressive pricing, if the company expects to stay on top.?

    He notes that while Apple has helped innovate the computer and electronics industry, they need to "fill available niches in the new ecosystem" to compete with rivals like Google and Samsung.?

    The company is at risk of falling back into the lull it saw in the late 20th century, according to Mr. Koetsier. "The problem for Apple, if the current sales and market trends continue, is that iOS will get less and less important, relatively speaking," Koetsier said. "And those massive profits will start to wither away, start to follow the leaders ? the new leaders ? and we?ll be back to the 90s."?

    For more tech news, follow Steph on Twitter: @stephmsolis

    Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/MfLJsbUhs7c/Can-Apple-stay-on-top-Investors-suppliers-question-its-future

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    Hawaii County Completes $1.7 Million Renovation of Hilo's Wai?kea ...

    Mayor Billy Kenoi and the Hawai?i County Department of Parks and Recreation are proud to welcome the public back to a thoroughly renovated and improved Wai?kea Recreation Center.

    Under renovations a few months ago.

    Under renovations a few months ago.

    A public blessing and re-dedication ceremony will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the Hilo facility. Refreshments will be served, and several martial arts and other groups that use the Wai?kea Recreation Center will perform free athletic demonstrations.

    Located at 1634 Kamehameha Avenue, the Wai?kea Recreation Center has undergone a five month, $1.7 million makeover that has made it more comfortable, accessible and safer for the numerous groups and individuals who use it.

    New roof insulation, ceiling fans and lighting have been installed in the main gym area. Extensive termite and water damage have been repaired, new roofing systems installed, hazardous building materials removed, existing bathrooms and showers renovated, the entire facility repainted, and various other improvements performed to meet federal accessibility standards.

    General contractor Stan?s Contracting Inc. also installed an underground drainage system in the parking lot, graded and repaved the parking area and three driveway entrances, and connected the facility to the County?s wastewater treatment system.

    Many others helped to make an improved Wai?kea Recreation Center and save taxpayer money. Several martial arts organizations volunteered their time to complete various finishing touches in preparation for this weekend?s reopening, while personnel from the Department of Parks and Recreation?s Maintenance Division performed numerous repair tasks that complemented the contractor?s efforts.

    The Department of Parks and Recreation wishes to thank the Shudokan Judo Club for improving the judo mat area, the Hilo Seishikan Aikido Club for repainting the kitchen, the Hilo Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Club for beautifying the planter boxes, and the Kongo Zen Shorinji Ryu Son Ryu Karate Club for repainting the wooden floor of the martial arts practice area.

    The department also wishes to recognize the following organizations for their monetary contributions and/or volunteer efforts toward improving the facility: Hilo Reshinkan Kendo Club; Hilo Tae Kwon Do Association; Wai?kea Judo Club; Hawai?i International Karate League; Hilo Kobukan Kendo Club; Hayaite Shotokan Karate; Atkins Martial Arts; Mo Min Kuen; Danish Fitness; Morning Fitness; Evening Fitness; and Insane Workout.

    A sincere mahalo is extended to all Wai?kea Recreation Center users and the general public for their patience and understanding while this important recreational center was being enhanced, repaired, and made more accessible.

    For more information, please contact Jason Armstrong, Public Information Officer, at 345-9105, or jarmstrong@co.hawaii.hi.us.

    ?

    Source: http://damontucker.com/2013/04/23/hawaii-county-completes-1-7-million-renovation-of-hilos-waiakea-recreation-center/

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    Wednesday, April 24, 2013

    Link between inherited endocrine tumor syndrome and much-studied cell pathway

    Link between inherited endocrine tumor syndrome and much-studied cell pathway [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Apr-2013
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Karen Kreeger
    karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
    215-349-5658
    University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

    PHILADELPHIA A mutation in a protein called menin causes a hereditary cancer syndrome called MEN1 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1). Individuals with MEN1 are at a substantially increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors, including cancer of the pancreatic islet cells that secrete insulin.

    Yet knowing these connections and doing something to improve fighting the syndrome are two different things. Researchers still did not exactly understand how menin mutations lead to MEN1 syndrome, and more importantly, what molecular pathways might be dysregulated by menin mutations and thus can be targeted to improve therapy against this type of cancer. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that pathway, which may lead to a new treatment for patients with MEN1 and sporadic endocrine tumors.

    A research team led by Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD, associate professor of Cancer Biology at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, report in Cancer Research that menin suppresses signaling in the much-studied Hedgehog pathway in endocrine organs. Menin mutations lead to increased Hedgehog signaling and cell proliferation. They found that inhibiting proteins in the Hedgehog network using drugs reduces growth of tumors in an animal model of human MEN1 syndrome.

    Unlike many cancer-associated proteins, menin is neither an enzyme nor a signaling receptor. Instead, the team discovered that menin works by physically interacting with a second protein, PRMT5. The menin-PRMT5 complex binds to the promoter of the Gas1 gene, where PRMT5 (an enzyme that adds methyl groups to histone proteins) functions as an epigenetic inhibitor, tamping down gene transcription. The GAS1 protein promotes Hedgehog signaling, and thus by inhibiting Gas1 expression, menin and PRMT5 effectively dial down the pathway's tendency towards cell proliferation.

    "This study uncovered a new layer of regulation of pro-proliferative genes by menin via the Hedgehog signaling pathway," Hua says. "These pro-replication genes are regulated through GAS1 and PRMT5."

    Discovering the link between menin and Hedgehog was serendipitous, says Hua. Using microarray analysis, his team found that loss of menin results in increased expression of the Gas1 gene. Separately, other groups reported that GAS1 mediates Hedgehog signaling. That knowledge gave Hua's team the missing piece of information required to identify menin's normal cellular function. "We found menin linked to Hedgehog signaling by suppressing expression of GAS1, leading to the suppression of Hedgehog signaling in endocrine tissue."

    Significantly, Hua's team found that menin mutant proteins associated with MEN1 cancer in patients were impaired in their ability to interact with PRMT5, and thus, in adding the methyl chemical group to the Gas1 promoter gene. What's more, treating a mouse model of human MEN1 syndrome with a Hedgehog pathway inhibitor called Erivedge (FDA-approved in 2012 for metastatic or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma) reduced proliferation of tumor cells and blood insulin levels. That, says Hua, suggests a potential new treatment for patients with MEN1 syndrome, and also likely for sporadic endocrine tumors, some 40 percent of which also contain menin mutations

    "Because we show in this mouse tumor model that we can significantly suppress proliferation of tumor cells in pancreatic islets and that we can reduce the higher insulin levels with a drug, which was just clinically approved to be safe, that naturally raises the question of whether, in patients who have mutation in this gene or enhanced Hedgehog signaling, this drug can improve patient symptoms to reduce tumor progression or insulinemia," Hua asks.

    First author and postdoctoral fellow in the Hua lab Buddha Gurung, PhD, adds "the possibilities of translating these findings into a viable therapeutic option is extremely exciting."

    ###

    Co-authors include Zijie Feng, Daniel V. Iwamoto, and Austin Thiel of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute; Guanghui Jin of Xiamen University, Fujian, China; Chen-Min Fan of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Baltimore, MD; and Jessica M.Y. Ng and Tom Curran of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

    The research was supported by Caring for Carcinoid Foundation and the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA-113962, 548 R01-DK085121; R01 DK084963).

    Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

    The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

    The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

    Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.


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

    ?


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


    Link between inherited endocrine tumor syndrome and much-studied cell pathway [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 24-Apr-2013
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Karen Kreeger
    karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
    215-349-5658
    University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

    PHILADELPHIA A mutation in a protein called menin causes a hereditary cancer syndrome called MEN1 (multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1). Individuals with MEN1 are at a substantially increased risk of developing neuroendocrine tumors, including cancer of the pancreatic islet cells that secrete insulin.

    Yet knowing these connections and doing something to improve fighting the syndrome are two different things. Researchers still did not exactly understand how menin mutations lead to MEN1 syndrome, and more importantly, what molecular pathways might be dysregulated by menin mutations and thus can be targeted to improve therapy against this type of cancer. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that pathway, which may lead to a new treatment for patients with MEN1 and sporadic endocrine tumors.

    A research team led by Xianxin Hua, MD, PhD, associate professor of Cancer Biology at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, report in Cancer Research that menin suppresses signaling in the much-studied Hedgehog pathway in endocrine organs. Menin mutations lead to increased Hedgehog signaling and cell proliferation. They found that inhibiting proteins in the Hedgehog network using drugs reduces growth of tumors in an animal model of human MEN1 syndrome.

    Unlike many cancer-associated proteins, menin is neither an enzyme nor a signaling receptor. Instead, the team discovered that menin works by physically interacting with a second protein, PRMT5. The menin-PRMT5 complex binds to the promoter of the Gas1 gene, where PRMT5 (an enzyme that adds methyl groups to histone proteins) functions as an epigenetic inhibitor, tamping down gene transcription. The GAS1 protein promotes Hedgehog signaling, and thus by inhibiting Gas1 expression, menin and PRMT5 effectively dial down the pathway's tendency towards cell proliferation.

    "This study uncovered a new layer of regulation of pro-proliferative genes by menin via the Hedgehog signaling pathway," Hua says. "These pro-replication genes are regulated through GAS1 and PRMT5."

    Discovering the link between menin and Hedgehog was serendipitous, says Hua. Using microarray analysis, his team found that loss of menin results in increased expression of the Gas1 gene. Separately, other groups reported that GAS1 mediates Hedgehog signaling. That knowledge gave Hua's team the missing piece of information required to identify menin's normal cellular function. "We found menin linked to Hedgehog signaling by suppressing expression of GAS1, leading to the suppression of Hedgehog signaling in endocrine tissue."

    Significantly, Hua's team found that menin mutant proteins associated with MEN1 cancer in patients were impaired in their ability to interact with PRMT5, and thus, in adding the methyl chemical group to the Gas1 promoter gene. What's more, treating a mouse model of human MEN1 syndrome with a Hedgehog pathway inhibitor called Erivedge (FDA-approved in 2012 for metastatic or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma) reduced proliferation of tumor cells and blood insulin levels. That, says Hua, suggests a potential new treatment for patients with MEN1 syndrome, and also likely for sporadic endocrine tumors, some 40 percent of which also contain menin mutations

    "Because we show in this mouse tumor model that we can significantly suppress proliferation of tumor cells in pancreatic islets and that we can reduce the higher insulin levels with a drug, which was just clinically approved to be safe, that naturally raises the question of whether, in patients who have mutation in this gene or enhanced Hedgehog signaling, this drug can improve patient symptoms to reduce tumor progression or insulinemia," Hua asks.

    First author and postdoctoral fellow in the Hua lab Buddha Gurung, PhD, adds "the possibilities of translating these findings into a viable therapeutic option is extremely exciting."

    ###

    Co-authors include Zijie Feng, Daniel V. Iwamoto, and Austin Thiel of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute; Guanghui Jin of Xiamen University, Fujian, China; Chen-Min Fan of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Baltimore, MD; and Jessica M.Y. Ng and Tom Curran of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

    The research was supported by Caring for Carcinoid Foundation and the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA-113962, 548 R01-DK085121; R01 DK084963).

    Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

    The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

    The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

    Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.


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

    ?


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


    Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uops-lbi042413.php

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