If you've seen one streetlight, you've pretty much seen them all. They're important, sure, but they're usually not much to look at. The lamps that just popped up across Portland are a little bit different. A little more like giant, carnivorous plants.
"Nepenthes" by Dan Corson is a collection of four, 17-foot tall light-up sculptures that devour sunlight, and spit it back out after sundown. Though they share their name with plants known for eating bugs and occasional small animals, these sculptures just soak up rays during the day with solar panels mounted on top, and use that energy to glow for about four hours after dark. Just run-of-the-mill synthetic photosynthesis for these plants.
Made from translucent fiberglass with embedded with LED lights formed around a steel spine, each of the four lamps is structurally identical, but has a uniquely wild color scheme that sets it apart from its brothers. All and all, they seem like a neat represention of the "urban jungle," and it's a good thing they're a little more urban than jungle. [Dan Corson via Designboom]
BEIJING (AP) ? Violent attacks have spread this week in a tense minority region of western China, state media reported Saturday, just days before the anniversary of a bloody clash between minority Uighurs and the ethnic Han majority that left almost 200 dead and resulted in a major security clampdown.
China's communist authorities have labeled some of the incidents ? including one which left 35 people dead ? as terrorist attacks, and President Xi Jinping has ordered that they be promptly dealt with to safeguard overall social stability, state media reported.
The latest violent incidents were reported in southern Xinjiang's Hotan area. In one, more than 100 knife-wielding people mounted motorbikes in an attempt to storm the police station for Karakax county, the state-run Global Times reported.
Another was an attack mob in the township of Hanairike on Friday afternoon, according to the news portal of the Xinjiang regional government. It said the mob was armed, but did not say with what sort of weapons.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported a "violent attack" Friday afternoon on a pedestrian street in downtown Hotan city. No casualties were reported for any of the incidents, which state media say were quickly brought under control. The government's news portal, Tianshan Net, said there was no civilian casualty in Hanairike.
It has not been possible to independently verify the reports because of tight controls over information in the region.
The incidents on Friday in Xinjiang came after what the government described as attacks on police and other government buildings on Wednesday in eastern Xinjiang's Turpan prefecture's Lukqun township killed 35 people.
That was one of the bloodiest incidents since the July 5, 2009, unrest in the region's capital city, Urumqi, killed nearly 200.
Xinjiang (shihn-jeeahng) is home to a large population of minority Muslim Uighurs (WEE'-gurs) in a region that borders Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has been the scene of numerous violent acts in recent years.
Critics often attribute the violence in Xinjiang to what they say is Beijing's oppressive and discriminatory ethnicity policies. Many Uighurs complain that authorities impose tight restrictions on their religious and cultural life.
The Chinese government says that it has invested billions of dollars in modernizing the oil- and gas-rich region and that it treats all ethnic groups equally.
Calls to local government agencies were either unanswered or returned with the answer that they were unauthorized to speak.
State-run media reported that the incident Wednesday started when knife-wielding assailants targeted police stations, a government building and a construction site ? all symbols of Han authority in the region.
Photos released in state media show scorched police cars and government buildings and victims lying on the ground, presumably dead.
An exiled Uighur activist has disputed that account, saying the violence started when police raided homes. It was impossible to independently confirm the conflicting accounts.
Xinhua said 11 assailants were shot dead, and that two police officers were among the 24 people they killed.
"This is a terrorist attack, there's no question about that," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday at a regular news briefing. "As to who masterminded it, local people are still investigating."
State news reports did not identify the ethnicity of the attackers, nor say what may have caused the conflict in the Turkic-speaking region. The reports said police captured four injured assailants.
The Global Times newspaper said Saturday that police had stepped up security measures, deploying more forces to public areas, governmental institutes and compounds for police and military police. It said a suspect was captured Friday afternoon in Urumqi.
Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress, questioned Beijing's account of the event, saying local residents had told him police had forcefully raided homes at night, triggering the deadly conflicts.
Stocks hit fresh highs late Wednesday after a downward revision to first-quarter GDP eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would soon pare its stimulus program.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average were each up 1%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%. Volume was down 3% on the NYSE but was 2% higher on the Nasdaq, compared to the same time Tuesday.
In the stock market today, Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) was the biggest gainer among IBD 50 stocks, jumping 5% to a new high. But volume failed to meet even its average pace. The TV station operator soared above its 50-day line June 13 and had been holding near its high.
Sinclair has a best-possible 99 Relative Strength Rating, indicating that its price performance over the past 12 months exceeds 99% of all listed companies.
Web.com Group (WWWW), which provides website publishing and management software to small firms, jumped 4% to a new all-time high in double its average daily volume. It's now 7% past a 22.94 buy point from a three-weeks-tight pattern, putting it beyond the 5% limit that defines a buy area.
The three-weeks-tight pattern allows current shareholders to buy additional shares, though aggressive investors may also use it to initiate a position.
Web.com has an Accumulation-Distribution Rating of A, indicating strong demand for the shares. It's a top stock in a very weak industry group.
CBOE Holdings (CBOE), which operates a global options exchange, rose 3% and hit a new high in strong trade. It's 11% past a 41.10 buy point from a three-weeks-tight pattern.
Also, Spirit Airlines (SAVE), down as much as 4% in early trading, found support at its 50-day line and reversed higher. At last check, the discount airline was up a fraction in heavy trade as it tries to stem a five-session slide.
Discount retailer Five Below (FIVE) was not so fortunate. It crashed 7% in massive turnover after pricing a secondary offering of 6 million shares at $36 each, a 6% discount to Tuesday's close. The stock pierced both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
Teenage physical fitness reduces the risk of suicidal behavior later in lifePublic release date: 26-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Maria ?berg mab@neuro.gu.se 46-709-668-274 University of Gothenburg
Being in good physical shape at 18 years of age can be linked with a reduced risk of attempted suicide later in life. So says a study of over one million Swedish men conducted by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
A new, extensive report from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare on child and adolescent health shows that teenagers and young adults in Sweden have worse mental health than their age cohorts in other western countries.
Another report that is part of a new social welfare study shows that the number of serious suicide attempts among 19-23 year olds with activity compensation has increased from 115 per year to 460 per year in Sweden between 1995-2010.
At the same time, the number of suicides in the 10 to 45 age group increased. Even the percentage of young people with no activity compensation who attempted to take their life increased.
In order to break this trend, research has now focused on the factors that can prevent mental illness and the risk of suicidal behavior.
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have been able to use a study of 1,136,527 Swedish men to show that there is a link between exercising as a young person and a reduced risk of suicidal behavior later in life.
"Being in poor physical shape at 18 years of age, measured as the test results on an exercise bike during their medical exam for compulsory military service, can be linked to a risk of suicidal behavior as an adult that is 1.8 times greater," says Margda Waern, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
The study shows that the increased risk was evident even 42 years after the exam for military service.
It has previously been shown that physical exercise has a highly positive effect on brain function, e.g. more nerve cells are developed with physical exercise.
"The teenage years are a critical period in terms of brain development since this is when social and emotional faculties are established. Therefore, it was important to do a larger study on the importance of physical fitness in terms of suicidal behavior in this age group," says Maria berg, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy who led the study together with Professor Margda Waern.
In the study, which covers all Swedish men born between 1950 and 1987 who completed the previously mandatory exam, researchers compared the results from physical tests during the exam with the national registers of disease and death.
By carefully examining the roughly 340,000 brothers who took part in the study, researchers were able to study how hereditary factors and the home environment affect this relationship.
In a much discussed study published in 2012, the researcher group showed that good physical fitness as a teenager can also be linked to decreased risk of severe depression later in life.
"But even when we exclude individuals who suffer from severe depression in connection with suicide or attempted suicide, the link between poor physical shape and an increased risk of suicidal behavior remains," says Margda Waern.
While depression is a particularly strong predictor of suicidal behavior in later life, the picture among younger people is complex and many factors are involved.
"One theory is that the brain becomes more resistant to different types of stress if you are physically active," says Maria berg.
Researchers think that physical exercise should be considered in suicide prevention projects aimed at young people.
The new findings are supported by earlier cross-sectional studies where teenagers are interviewed about their physical fitness connected with the risk for suicidal thoughts.
The article Cardiovascular fitness in early adulthood and future suicidal behavior in men followed up to 42 years was published in Psychological Medicine.
Contact:
Maria berg researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg and physician at by district health center in Mlndal
+4610-47 33 960
+46709-668274
mab@neuro.gu.se,
Margda Waern psychiatrist and professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg
+4631-342 21 64
+46702-272205
margda.Waern@neuro.gu.se
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Teenage physical fitness reduces the risk of suicidal behavior later in lifePublic release date: 26-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Maria ?berg mab@neuro.gu.se 46-709-668-274 University of Gothenburg
Being in good physical shape at 18 years of age can be linked with a reduced risk of attempted suicide later in life. So says a study of over one million Swedish men conducted by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
A new, extensive report from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare on child and adolescent health shows that teenagers and young adults in Sweden have worse mental health than their age cohorts in other western countries.
Another report that is part of a new social welfare study shows that the number of serious suicide attempts among 19-23 year olds with activity compensation has increased from 115 per year to 460 per year in Sweden between 1995-2010.
At the same time, the number of suicides in the 10 to 45 age group increased. Even the percentage of young people with no activity compensation who attempted to take their life increased.
In order to break this trend, research has now focused on the factors that can prevent mental illness and the risk of suicidal behavior.
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have been able to use a study of 1,136,527 Swedish men to show that there is a link between exercising as a young person and a reduced risk of suicidal behavior later in life.
"Being in poor physical shape at 18 years of age, measured as the test results on an exercise bike during their medical exam for compulsory military service, can be linked to a risk of suicidal behavior as an adult that is 1.8 times greater," says Margda Waern, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.
The study shows that the increased risk was evident even 42 years after the exam for military service.
It has previously been shown that physical exercise has a highly positive effect on brain function, e.g. more nerve cells are developed with physical exercise.
"The teenage years are a critical period in terms of brain development since this is when social and emotional faculties are established. Therefore, it was important to do a larger study on the importance of physical fitness in terms of suicidal behavior in this age group," says Maria berg, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy who led the study together with Professor Margda Waern.
In the study, which covers all Swedish men born between 1950 and 1987 who completed the previously mandatory exam, researchers compared the results from physical tests during the exam with the national registers of disease and death.
By carefully examining the roughly 340,000 brothers who took part in the study, researchers were able to study how hereditary factors and the home environment affect this relationship.
In a much discussed study published in 2012, the researcher group showed that good physical fitness as a teenager can also be linked to decreased risk of severe depression later in life.
"But even when we exclude individuals who suffer from severe depression in connection with suicide or attempted suicide, the link between poor physical shape and an increased risk of suicidal behavior remains," says Margda Waern.
While depression is a particularly strong predictor of suicidal behavior in later life, the picture among younger people is complex and many factors are involved.
"One theory is that the brain becomes more resistant to different types of stress if you are physically active," says Maria berg.
Researchers think that physical exercise should be considered in suicide prevention projects aimed at young people.
The new findings are supported by earlier cross-sectional studies where teenagers are interviewed about their physical fitness connected with the risk for suicidal thoughts.
The article Cardiovascular fitness in early adulthood and future suicidal behavior in men followed up to 42 years was published in Psychological Medicine.
Contact:
Maria berg researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg and physician at by district health center in Mlndal
+4610-47 33 960
+46709-668274
mab@neuro.gu.se,
Margda Waern psychiatrist and professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg
+4631-342 21 64
+46702-272205
margda.Waern@neuro.gu.se
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Seeing Game of Thrones play out on Facebook was the comic relief necessary for the oft depressing show. Seeing Game of Thrones characters pretend to have online dating profiles? Just as good, well, if only for Hodor's.
Seriously, if Westeros had online dating, the whole world would have been a lot peaceful. At the very least, the end of Season 3 would have been a bit more pleasant. Team Pwnicorn created these profiles for each character and they go along with what we know of them and how online dating works. It's a cute little thing that'll probably make you miss the show more now that it's over.
GAP-AF study helps to define optimal approach to ablationPublic release date: 25-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jacqueline Partarrieu press@escardio.org 33-622-418-492 European Society of Cardiology
Results of both late breaking trials presented at EHRA EUROPACE 2013
Athens, Greece. Tuesday 25 June 2013: Using catheter ablation to create complete linear lesions around pulmonary veins, proved more effective than the creation of incomplete lesions in preventing recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF), reports the GAP-AF study. The study, presented today in the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session I at the EHRA EUROPACE 2013 meeting in Athens, Greece, represents the first time that a randomized controlled study has been undertaken comparing the two different ablation strategies for patients with paroxysmal AF.
Identification of triggers initiating AF within the pulmonary veins led to prevention of AF recurrence by catheter ablation at the site of origin of the trigger. The Heart Rhythm Society /European Heart Rhythm Association/European Society of Cardiology Expert Consensus Document on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (published in 2007 and updated in 2012) states that patients undergoing catheter ablation for AF should have complete isolation of the pulmonary veins, which involves a complete circumferential lesion being created around the pulmonary vein.
"This recommendation was based on observational studies, not on a prospective randomized trial. But some electrophysiologists (EPs) continue to believe that it's sufficient to create incomplete linear lesions where conduction sites still exist between the pulmonary veins and left atrium," explained Professor Karl Kuck, from Asklepios Klinik St George, Hamburg ,Germany, presenter of the GAP-AF study.
Part of their reasoning is that 95% of patients with AF recurrence after complete PV isolation procedures are found to have conduction gaps between the pulmonary veins and left atrium, he said. "Since they can't isolate the pulmonary veins permanently, they reason that incomplete isolation is sufficient and has the advantage of being a shorter procedure that has a potentially lower complication rate and costs less," said Prof Kuck.
In the GAP-AF (AFNET1) study between February 2006 and August 2010, 233 patients with drug refractory paroxysmal AF were randomized to have either a complete procedure (n=117) or an incomplete procedure (n=116). For the incomplete procedure the EPs stopped the radiofrequency application at one site to permit reconduction from the circumference. The study, which was performed in seven German centres, was funded by the German Atrial Fibrillation Network (AFNET). The inclusion criteria for the study were that patients had to be aged over 55 years and to have been treated with one anti arrhythmic drug before they entered the trial. Patients with poor left ventricular function were excluded from the study.
The primary endpoint of the study was the time to first recurrence of symptomatic AF with duration of more than 30 seconds on trans-telephonic ECG monitoring, or detection of asymptomatic AF defined as two consecutive recordings of AF during a minimum of 72 hours. The study made use of the RhythmCard technology, a small credit card sized device that patients can place on their chest wall to record an ECG whenever they experienced symptoms of AF and transmit the data via the telephone. Additionally, patients were asked to record and transmit an ECG every day regardless of their symptoms.
Results showed that at the three month follow-up, sinus rhythm (normal beating of the heart) had been achieved in 37.8% (46)of patients who had complete ablation, versus 20.8% (26) with incomplete ablation (P
At three months, when patients were taken back to the EP lab for a repeat investigation, 70 % of those randomised to complete PVI had gaps versus 89% randomised to incomplete PVI.
No significant differences were found for serious adverse events (including syncope, stroke, major bleeding, tamponade) between the complete and incomplete groups.
"The study shows us for the first time that complete isolation of the pulmonary veins is more effective than incomplete isolation. It suggests that the level of evidence for complete ablation should be upgraded from class Ic to class Ia, where it is supported by a multicentre randomized trial," said Prof. Kuck.
However, the study also highlighted that recurrence rates were high even for patients who had undergone complete isolation procedures. "Research is urgently needed to improve ablation techniques to make the complete lines more durable. There is a need to explore other energy sources and tools for catheter ablation," he said.
The Fire and Ice trial, for example, is currently underway, to see whether a thermocool catheter might be more effect than cryo ablation for patients with paroxysmal AF.
The SARA study, also presented in the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session today, found that catheter ablation therapy was superior to medical therapy for maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with persistent AF.
While a number of previous studies have showed the superiority of catheter ablation (CA) over antiarrhythmic drug therapy (ADT) for patients with paroxysmal AF, no previous studies have been undertaken specifically comparing ablation to drugs in patients with persistent AF. "Patients with persistent AF have in general been considered bad candidates for ablation, due to poor results, and the need for prolonged and aggressive procedures," explained principal investigator Professor Lluis Mont, from the Atrial Fibrillation Unit, University of Barcelona, Spain.
Between May 2009 and November 2011 in the open parallel Study of Ablation vs AntiaRrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (SARA) study Prof. Mont and colleagues, from eight ablation centres in Spain, randomly assigned a total of 146 patients with persistent AF 2:1 to CA (n=98) or ADT (n=48). ADT was given according to current guidelines, with class III drugs (amiodarone) recommended for patients with structural heart disease and class Ic (flecainide) plus dilitiazem or beta blockers for patients without structural heart disease. The inclusion criteria were that patients should have experienced symptomatic persistent AF (> seven days or 50mm anterioposterior diameters).
In an intention-to-treat analysis, the proportion of patients free of prolonged (>12 hours) AF at 12 months (the primary end-point) was 70.4% in the CA group versus 43.7% in the ADT group (p=0.002); implying an absolute risk difference of 26.6% (95% CI: 10.0-43.3) favouring ablation group.
The proportion of patients free of any recurrence of AF or flutter (lasting >30 seconds) was 60.2% in the CA group compared to 29.2% in the ADT group (p
"Our study shows that, if proper selection criteria are applied, ablation can achieve good results for patients with persistent AF," said Mont. "It's likely to have an impact on guidelines and may contribute to an upgrade of ablation in persistent AF to category 1B." Results would not apply to patients with very dilated atrium and long standing persistent AF.
A challenge for increasing the number of ablation procedures taking place was likely to be the shortage of highly trained physicians. "But as happened years ago with coronary angioplasty, the demand is likely to increase the numbers of physicians and centres prepared to perform such procedures," said Prof. Mont.
Further studies, he added, are now needed looking at outcomes according to 'shape remodelling' and levels of fibrosis."This should help to further stratify patients and select good candidates for ablation," he concluded.
###
Tuesday's late breaking trial session included the following abstracts1:
Gap-AF -AFNET 1 Trial. K Kuck
Catheter Ablation for the Treatment of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective, Multicentric, Randomized Controlled Trial of Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. SARA trial. L Mont
Clinical Evaluation of the PhD function in the PARADYM CRT device trial. CLEPSYDRA trial. A Auricchio.
Incidence and Risk Factors for Thromboembolic Events After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: The Leipzig Heart Center AF Ablation Registry. G Hindricks, A Bollmann
PainFree SmartShock technology: trial primary results: inappropriate shock rates in patients with single chamber ICD's using a novel suite of detection algorithms. A. Meijer.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
GAP-AF study helps to define optimal approach to ablationPublic release date: 25-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jacqueline Partarrieu press@escardio.org 33-622-418-492 European Society of Cardiology
Results of both late breaking trials presented at EHRA EUROPACE 2013
Athens, Greece. Tuesday 25 June 2013: Using catheter ablation to create complete linear lesions around pulmonary veins, proved more effective than the creation of incomplete lesions in preventing recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF), reports the GAP-AF study. The study, presented today in the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session I at the EHRA EUROPACE 2013 meeting in Athens, Greece, represents the first time that a randomized controlled study has been undertaken comparing the two different ablation strategies for patients with paroxysmal AF.
Identification of triggers initiating AF within the pulmonary veins led to prevention of AF recurrence by catheter ablation at the site of origin of the trigger. The Heart Rhythm Society /European Heart Rhythm Association/European Society of Cardiology Expert Consensus Document on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (published in 2007 and updated in 2012) states that patients undergoing catheter ablation for AF should have complete isolation of the pulmonary veins, which involves a complete circumferential lesion being created around the pulmonary vein.
"This recommendation was based on observational studies, not on a prospective randomized trial. But some electrophysiologists (EPs) continue to believe that it's sufficient to create incomplete linear lesions where conduction sites still exist between the pulmonary veins and left atrium," explained Professor Karl Kuck, from Asklepios Klinik St George, Hamburg ,Germany, presenter of the GAP-AF study.
Part of their reasoning is that 95% of patients with AF recurrence after complete PV isolation procedures are found to have conduction gaps between the pulmonary veins and left atrium, he said. "Since they can't isolate the pulmonary veins permanently, they reason that incomplete isolation is sufficient and has the advantage of being a shorter procedure that has a potentially lower complication rate and costs less," said Prof Kuck.
In the GAP-AF (AFNET1) study between February 2006 and August 2010, 233 patients with drug refractory paroxysmal AF were randomized to have either a complete procedure (n=117) or an incomplete procedure (n=116). For the incomplete procedure the EPs stopped the radiofrequency application at one site to permit reconduction from the circumference. The study, which was performed in seven German centres, was funded by the German Atrial Fibrillation Network (AFNET). The inclusion criteria for the study were that patients had to be aged over 55 years and to have been treated with one anti arrhythmic drug before they entered the trial. Patients with poor left ventricular function were excluded from the study.
The primary endpoint of the study was the time to first recurrence of symptomatic AF with duration of more than 30 seconds on trans-telephonic ECG monitoring, or detection of asymptomatic AF defined as two consecutive recordings of AF during a minimum of 72 hours. The study made use of the RhythmCard technology, a small credit card sized device that patients can place on their chest wall to record an ECG whenever they experienced symptoms of AF and transmit the data via the telephone. Additionally, patients were asked to record and transmit an ECG every day regardless of their symptoms.
Results showed that at the three month follow-up, sinus rhythm (normal beating of the heart) had been achieved in 37.8% (46)of patients who had complete ablation, versus 20.8% (26) with incomplete ablation (P
At three months, when patients were taken back to the EP lab for a repeat investigation, 70 % of those randomised to complete PVI had gaps versus 89% randomised to incomplete PVI.
No significant differences were found for serious adverse events (including syncope, stroke, major bleeding, tamponade) between the complete and incomplete groups.
"The study shows us for the first time that complete isolation of the pulmonary veins is more effective than incomplete isolation. It suggests that the level of evidence for complete ablation should be upgraded from class Ic to class Ia, where it is supported by a multicentre randomized trial," said Prof. Kuck.
However, the study also highlighted that recurrence rates were high even for patients who had undergone complete isolation procedures. "Research is urgently needed to improve ablation techniques to make the complete lines more durable. There is a need to explore other energy sources and tools for catheter ablation," he said.
The Fire and Ice trial, for example, is currently underway, to see whether a thermocool catheter might be more effect than cryo ablation for patients with paroxysmal AF.
The SARA study, also presented in the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session today, found that catheter ablation therapy was superior to medical therapy for maintenance of sinus rhythm in patients with persistent AF.
While a number of previous studies have showed the superiority of catheter ablation (CA) over antiarrhythmic drug therapy (ADT) for patients with paroxysmal AF, no previous studies have been undertaken specifically comparing ablation to drugs in patients with persistent AF. "Patients with persistent AF have in general been considered bad candidates for ablation, due to poor results, and the need for prolonged and aggressive procedures," explained principal investigator Professor Lluis Mont, from the Atrial Fibrillation Unit, University of Barcelona, Spain.
Between May 2009 and November 2011 in the open parallel Study of Ablation vs AntiaRrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (SARA) study Prof. Mont and colleagues, from eight ablation centres in Spain, randomly assigned a total of 146 patients with persistent AF 2:1 to CA (n=98) or ADT (n=48). ADT was given according to current guidelines, with class III drugs (amiodarone) recommended for patients with structural heart disease and class Ic (flecainide) plus dilitiazem or beta blockers for patients without structural heart disease. The inclusion criteria were that patients should have experienced symptomatic persistent AF (> seven days or 50mm anterioposterior diameters).
In an intention-to-treat analysis, the proportion of patients free of prolonged (>12 hours) AF at 12 months (the primary end-point) was 70.4% in the CA group versus 43.7% in the ADT group (p=0.002); implying an absolute risk difference of 26.6% (95% CI: 10.0-43.3) favouring ablation group.
The proportion of patients free of any recurrence of AF or flutter (lasting >30 seconds) was 60.2% in the CA group compared to 29.2% in the ADT group (p
"Our study shows that, if proper selection criteria are applied, ablation can achieve good results for patients with persistent AF," said Mont. "It's likely to have an impact on guidelines and may contribute to an upgrade of ablation in persistent AF to category 1B." Results would not apply to patients with very dilated atrium and long standing persistent AF.
A challenge for increasing the number of ablation procedures taking place was likely to be the shortage of highly trained physicians. "But as happened years ago with coronary angioplasty, the demand is likely to increase the numbers of physicians and centres prepared to perform such procedures," said Prof. Mont.
Further studies, he added, are now needed looking at outcomes according to 'shape remodelling' and levels of fibrosis."This should help to further stratify patients and select good candidates for ablation," he concluded.
###
Tuesday's late breaking trial session included the following abstracts1:
Gap-AF -AFNET 1 Trial. K Kuck
Catheter Ablation for the Treatment of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective, Multicentric, Randomized Controlled Trial of Ablation Versus Antiarrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. SARA trial. L Mont
Clinical Evaluation of the PhD function in the PARADYM CRT device trial. CLEPSYDRA trial. A Auricchio.
Incidence and Risk Factors for Thromboembolic Events After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: The Leipzig Heart Center AF Ablation Registry. G Hindricks, A Bollmann
PainFree SmartShock technology: trial primary results: inappropriate shock rates in patients with single chamber ICD's using a novel suite of detection algorithms. A. Meijer.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NEW YORK ? Hostess is betting on a sweet comeback for Twinkies when they return to shelves next month.
The company that went bankrupt after an acrimonious fight with its unionized workers last year is back up and running under new owners and a leaner structure. It says it plans to have Twinkies and other snack cakes back on shelves starting July 15.
Based on the outpouring of nostalgia sparked by its demise, Hostess is expecting a blockbuster return next month for Twinkies and other sugary treats, such as CupCakes and Donettes. The company says the cakes will taste the same but that the boxes will now bare the tag line "The Sweetest Comeback In The History Of Ever."
"A lot of impostor products have come to the market while Hostess has been off the shelves," says Daren Metropoulos, a principal of the investment firm Metropoulos & Co., which teamed up with Apollo Global Management to buy a variety of Hostess snacks.
Hostess Brands Inc. was struggling for years before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in early 2012. Workers blamed the troubles on years of mismanagement, as well as a failure of executives to invest in brands to keep up with changing tastes. The company said it was weighed down by higher pension and medical costs than its competitors, whose employees weren't unionized.
To steer it through its bankruptcy reorganization, Hostess hired restructuring expert Greg Rayburn as its CEO. But Rayburn ultimately failed to reach a contract agreement with its second largest union. In November, he blamed striking workers for crippling the company's ability to maintain normal production and announced that Hostess would liquidate.
The shuttering triggered a rush on Hostess snack cakes, with stores selling out of the most popular brands within hours.
About 15,000 unionized workers lost their jobs in the aftermath.
In unwinding its business, Hostess sold off its brands in chunks to different buyers. Its major bread brands including Wonder were sold to Flowers Foods, which makes Tastykakes. McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, snapped up Drake's Cake, which includes Devil Dogs and Yodels.
Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo bought Twinkies and other Hostess cakes for $410 million.
Apollo Global Management, founded by Leon Black, is known for buying troubled brands then selling them for a profit; its investments include fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. Metropoulos & Co., which has revamped then sold off brands including Chef Boyardee and Bumble Bee, also owns Pabst Brewing Co.
That could mean some cross-promotional marketing is in store.
"There is certainly a natural association with the two," Metropoulos said. "There could be some opportunities for them to seen together."
The trimmed-down Hostess Brands LLC has a far less costly operating structure than the predecessor company. Some of the previous workers were hired back, but they're no longer unionized.
Hostess will also now deliver to warehouses that supply retailers, rather than delivering directly to stores, said Rich Seban, the president of Hostess who previously served as chief operating officer. That will greatly expand its reach, letting it deliver to dollar stores and nearly all convenience stores in the U.S.
Previously, he said Hostess was only able to reach about a third of the country's 150,000 convenience stores.
Production was also consolidated, from 11 bakery plants to four ? one each in Georgia, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana. The headquarters were moved from Texas to Kansas City, Mo., where Hostess was previously based and still had some accounting offices.
In the months since they vanished from shelves, the cakes have been getting a few touchups as well. For the CupCakes, the company is now using dark cocoa instead of milk chocolate to give them a richer, darker appearance.
Seban stressed that the changes were to improve the cakes, not to cut costs. Prices for the cakes will remain the same; a box of 10 Twinkies will cost $3.99.
Looking ahead, Seban sees Hostess expanding its product lineup. He noted that Hostess cakes are known for three basic textures: the spongy cake, the creamy filling and the thicker icing. But he said different textures ? such as crunchy ? could be introduced, as well as different flavors.
"We can have some fun with that mixture," he said.
He also said there are many trendy health attributes the company could tap into, such as gluten-free, added fiber, low sugar and low sodium.
During bankruptcy proceedings, Hostess had said that its overall sales had been declining, although the company didn't give a breakout on the performance of individual brands. But Seban is confident Twinkies will have staying power beyond its re-launch.
As for the literal shelf-life, Seban is quick to refute the snack cake's fabled indestructibility.
"Forty-five days ? that's it," he said. "They don't last forever."
It's no secret that a smaller version of the Galaxy S4, known as the Galaxy S4 Mini, is on its way. Nor is it hush-hush that a camera/phone hybrid known as the Galaxy S4 Zoom is coming. While there's still no information about when these will make these over to the States, we just got a little play time with them. Here are our first impressions.
Galaxy S4 Zoom
The Galaxy Zoom is definitely the more interesting of the two. It feels thick and rather bulgy in your pocket, certainly by today's standards, though it's not much thicker than a lot of dumb phones from five years ago. Not exactly the gold standard of ergonomics, but it's not unthinkable that someone might use this as their phone. However, that someone would have to be reeeeeally into photography.
The 4.3-inch qHD screen (960x540) looks, y'know, fine. It's not winning any beauty pagents, though. You wonder why, if you're putting a 16MP camera on a phone, you wouldn't put at least a real HD screen on it so you could see the detail.
The camera has a ring which you can use to operate the optical 10x zoom (which looked very good), and to quickstart into a specific camera mode from anywhere in the phone. So if you're browsing the web and suddenly see something that would make a perfect animated GIF, you'd just turn the dial to select that mode, and you're good to go. It also has a dedicated shutter button (as ALL PHONES SHOULD), a micro SD card slot, and even a tripod mount. Good idea.
The camera software is being revamped (it's very pre-release right now) to add even more features from the already feature-rich camera app. More modes, basically, and goodies like on-screen zoom buttons. Aside from that, the software is pretty much the same as it is on the normal Galaxy S4, as in it runs Android 4.2.2 with Samsung's heavy TouchWiz skin on top. Unfortunately, the Zoom doesn't have the horsepower of the real S4. That manifested in apps being slow to open, and there being noticeable delay when navigating the UI. It may get better before release, but don't expect a speedster.
Galaxy S4 Mini
There's not reeeally a whole lot to say about the Galaxy S4 Mini. It is, as you'd imagine, smaller than the Galaxy S4. It's also slower, has a lower res screen, and a worse camera. Essentially, the Galaxy S4 Zoom, without the the big camera on the back. 4.3-inch qHD screen, dual-core 1.7 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM.
On the positive side, it's very comfortable to hold. 4.3-inches actually feels small nowadays in the Android world. People with very small hands will probably be psyched. People with larger hands won't have to stretch to reach the far side of the screen at all. The other (probably) good news, is that it will probably be cheaper than the S4. And by that we mean it had better be a lot cheaper, because it really is a mid-range phone by today's standards. Why it bears the S4 name at all is kind of... well, questionable.
There's nothing wrong with the S4 Mini, there's just nothing remarkable able it. At all. In any way. It would have been a good phone in 2012. In 2013 it's a snoozer.
LONDON (AP) ? An influential committee of British lawmakers accused search company Google of dodging its taxes on Thursday in a scathing report that said the U.S. Internet company took on highly contrived arrangements serving no purpose other than to avoid paying its fair share.
The report came after testimony by Google Inc. Vice President Matt Brittin, who tried to persuade members of parliament's Public Accounts Committee that his company was transparent and fair. Committee chair Margaret Hodge rejected arguments that Google's advertising sales take place in Ireland and not the U.K.
"Google brazenly argued before this committee that its tax arrangements in the U.K. are defensible and lawful," she wrote, adding that the "argument is deeply unconvincing and has been undermined by information from whistleblowers, including ex-employees of Google, who told us that U.K.-based staff are engaged in selling."
Hodge said the government needs to act to shut down loopholes.
"The company's highly contrived tax arrangement has no purpose other than to enable the company to avoid U.K. corporation tax," she said.
Google countered on Thursday that while it welcomed the call to make the system simpler and more transparent, the company was honoring the law.
"As we've always said, Google complies with all the tax rules in the U.K., and it is the politicians who make those rules," the company said in a statement. "It's clear from this report that the Public Accounts Committee wants to see international companies paying more tax where their customers are located, but that's not how the rules operate today."
Britain is in tough economic times, struggling with austerity measures that have led to cuts in welfare programs, public-sector jobs and government spending.
Like several other multinational corporations, including Amazon, Facebook and Starbucks, Google's complex corporate structures and disproportionately low tax bills have drawn the ire of a public facing one of the worst economic crises since the Great Depression.
Google has paid less than 0.1 percent of its billions in U.K. revenue back to the government in tax. In the first quarter of this year, it made $1.3 billion in revenue from the U.K., according to a Google release. The company argues that the overwhelming majority of sales actually occur at the company's European head office in Dublin.
The location is important. In Ireland, the corporate tax rate is a bargain-basement 12.5 percent.
An investigation by the Reuters news agency cast doubt on those claims, and the committee asked to speak to Brittin for a second time.
Brittin acknowledged that Google Inc. employed "people with sales skills," but insisted that those doing the sales are in Ireland.
Hodge rejected the characterization.
"Google's reputation has been damaged by these revelations of aggressive tax avoidance," she said. "That damage will not be repaired until the company arranges to pay its fair share of tax in the country where it earns the profits from the business it conducts."
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Public release date: 26-Jun-2013
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