john wall gordon hayward gas prices rising stars challenge star trek 2 kathy ireland brooke mueller
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Spotify Finally Releases Its iPad App [Video]
National Honesty Day: This story is an attempt to get Web traffic
National Honesty Day: April 30 marks National Honesty Day. We hope that you'll visit this page so that we can get a tiny bit of advertising money.
April 30 marks National Honesty Day. We spotted the phrase "National Honesty Day" as a trending term on Yahoo! and thought that we might share some of its history in the hopes that Yahoo! visitors would click on the phrase, and then click on the link to our story. ?
Skip to next paragraphIf you're reading this, our ploy apparently worked, and you've just helped us get a little bit of advertising revenue.?
National Honesty Day ? we're gong to repeat this phrase as often as we can in an attempt to increase this story's ranking on search engines ? is the brainchild of?M. Hirsh Goldberg, former press secretary to a governor of Maryland and author of the 1990 book, "The Book of Lies: Schemes, Scams, Fakes, and Frauds That Have Changed the Course of History and Affect Our Daily Lives," which, in all honesty, we haven't actually read.?
Goldberg chose the last day of April for National Honesty Day because the first day of April ? April Fools' Day ? celebrates falsehoods. Researching his book, he estimated that the average person lies some 200 times a day, including white lies and lies of omission. We got this information from a story in the Richmond Times Dispatch, because doing so was easier and less time consuming than trying to track down Goldberg for an interview.
Other estimates about the pervasiveness of lying offer a much lower figure. A poll of 3,000 Britons conducted last year by London's Science Museum found that the?average British man tells three lies each day, and the average woman lies about twice a day. The most common lie for men is "I didn't have that much to drink." For women, it's "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." According to the survey, people are most likely to lie to their mothers.
Of course, statistics, even accurate ones,?can deceive. A 2010 analysis of surveys of lying in America noted that 60 percent of Americans report telling no lies at all in the past 24 hours, and that almost half of all lies are told by only 5 percent of subjects. "[Most] reported lies, concluded the study, are told by a few prolific liars."
On the opposite end of the spectrum from prolific liars are those who embrace the philosophy of Radical Honesty. Developed by psychologist?Brad Blanton, Radical Honesty calls for completely eliminating any filter that may exist between the mind and the organs of speech. Here is a sample from the Radical Honesty website's FAQ:
Q:?Suppose you met someone whom you found unattractive. How do you handle that?
A:?If the person?s outstandingly ugly, then that?s an issue I?m certainly going to bring up to talk about right off. I would say, ?I think you look kind of ugly and this is what I think is ugly. I think that big wart on the left side of your face is probably something that puts people off and that you don?t have much of a love life, is that true?? Then we?ll have a conversation about it. That ugly person has probably always felt the negative unexpressed reaction from people. The idea is that they end up not avoiding the damn thing instead of living a life that?s dancing on egg shells. They live life out loud and it?s a whole lot better life.
In 2004 and 2006, Blanton ran for US Congress in Virginia. He was not elected.
If he had been, Blanton may not have enjoyed the company.?A 2011 Gallup poll asked respondents to rate the honesty of people in 21 professions. Members of Congress scored dead last, below lobbyists, car salesmen, and telemarketers. Ranking at the top of the list were nurses.
Journalists scored about halfway down the list, just below building contractors and above bankers. (Oddly enough, pollsters were not on the list.)
National Honesty Day ends at midnight, at which point we can all go back to saying that "the check is in the mail," "we're on our way but stuck in traffic," and "that shirt looks great on you."
paris jackson howard stern americas got talent china aircraft carrier barbara walters most fascinating person 2011 golden globe nominations los angeles clippers los angeles clippers
Nokia 808 PureView available this month in Russia and India
Are you eagerly awaiting to get your hands on that 41 megapixel Symbian Belle flagship? We bet you are, and perhaps today is your lucky day -- if you live in Russia or India, that is. Nokia's just officially announced that the 808 PureView will be available this month "in select markets." Strangely, the company didn't give a specific date or list any countries beyond the aforementioned two. The handset, which was revealed at Mobile World Congress in February, is expected to retail for 450 Euros and "revolutionize the imaging experience" with its large sensor, Zeiss optics and pixel oversampling technology. Speaking of which -- Nokia's also just renewed its partnership with the German lens manufacturer. Coincidence? We think not. Check out the full PR after the break.
Continue reading Nokia 808 PureView available this month in Russia and India
Nokia 808 PureView available this month in Russia and India originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 04:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
what is autism the giver march 30 rimm george h w bush pauly d project faith hill
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Avastin and Lucentis are equivalent in treating age-related macular degeneration
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vc__Ln0g_WvnaOPleHL3q4UkTIc9TH_zMy9v0yCrPQmRyTOchvZmNbJSeaK4l3aGvT3VzTOMhAyT55DheR4K9kNZDnEyLNvTRO5apJSkc=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-Apr-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Jean Horrigan
jh@nei.nih.gov
301-496-5248
NIH/National Eye Institute
At two years, Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab injection), two widely used drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), improve vision when administered monthly or on an as needed basis, although greater improvements in vision were seen with monthly administration for this common, debilitating eye disease, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Of the two drugs, Avastin is most frequently used to treat AMD. However, prior to the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT), a two-year clinical trial, the two drugs had never been compared head-to-head. Second year results were published today in the journal Ophthalmology. First year results were published in the May 19, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. In its advanced stages, the wet form of AMD spurs the growth of abnormal blood vessels, which leak fluid and blood into the macula and obscure vision. The macula is the central portion of the retina that allows us to look straight ahead and to perceive fine visual detail. Accumulation of fluid and blood damages the macula, causing loss of central vision, which can severely impede mobility and independence. Without treatment, most patients become unable to drive, read, recognize faces or perform tasks that require hand-eye coordination.
"Therapies for AMD require repeated treatment to prevent vision loss. Results of this clinical trial provide evidence that long-term treatment with either drug results in a robust and lasting improvement in vision. Patients and clinicians now have valuable information to base treatment decisions," said Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI.
Avastin and Lucentis block growth of abnormal blood vessels and leakage of fluid from the vessels. Lucentis was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 for the treatment of AMD. Avastin is very similar to Lucentis but is not approved by the FDA for this purpose. Avastin is approved for other indications. Most clinicians use these drugs on an as-needed basis when there is evidence of active disease, such as fluid leakage. However, in the original clinical trials for AMD, Lucentis was administered monthly. It was unknown if as-needed dosing would produce the same long-term visual improvements achieved with monthly administration.
Thus, CATT was designed to compare Avastin and Lucentis with monthly and as-needed treatment schedules. At enrollment, patients were assigned to four treatment groups defined by drug (Avastin or Lucentis) and dosing regimen (monthly or as-needed). After year one, patients initially assigned to monthly treatment were randomly reassigned to monthly or as-needed treatment without changing their drug assignment.
At two years, visual acuity with monthly treatment was slightly better than with as-needed dosing, regardless of the drug. As measured on an eye chart, monthly treatment resulted in a mean improvement of about half a line better than as-needed dosing. Switching to as-needed treatment after one year of monthly treatment yielded outcomes nearly equal to those obtained with as-needed treatment for the full two years. Changes in retinal anatomy differed by drug and frequency of treatment, but did not have an impact on vision through two years.
"Both drugs were highly effective regardless of the approach to dosing. There was slightly less vision gain with as-needed treatment. Patients seeking the small extra advantage of monthly treatment need to be mindful of the additional burden, risks, and costs of monthly injections. Since as-needed dosing required 10 fewer eye injections over the course of two years and yielded similar visual results, many patients may choose this option." said Daniel F. Martin, M.D., study chair for CATT and chairman of the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
Adverse events indicate development or worsening of a medical condition. They may or may not be causally associated with the clinical trial treatment, but they are always monitored and reported in any clinical trial. The median age of patients in CATT was over 80 years, and a high rate of hospitalizations would be anticipated as a result of chronic or acute medical conditions more common to older populations.
Serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred at a 40 percent rate for patients receiving Avastin and a 32 percent rate for patients receiving Lucentis. Although Avastin had a higher rate of SAEs, they were distributed across many different conditions, most of which were not associated with Avastin when evaluated in cancer clinical trials, in which the drug was administered at 500 times the dose used for AMD. Fewer doses were associated with a higher rate of SAEs, which is not a typical dose-response relationship. The number of deaths, heart attacks, and strokes were low and similar for both drugs during the study. CATT was not capable of determining whether there is an association between a particular adverse event and treatment. Additional data from other clinical trials may provide information on long-term safety profiles of these drugs when used to treat AMD.
"The dramatic and lasting improvement in vision with these two drugs is extraordinary. At two-years, two-thirds of patients had driving vision (20/40 vision or better). With previous treatments, only 15 percent of patients retained similar visual acuity," said Maureen Maguire, Ph.D., principal investigator, CATT Coordinating Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
###
Find more information about this clinical trial (NCT00593450) at http://clinicaltrials.gov
Supporting NIH Grants: U10EY017823, U10EY017828, U10EY017825
For more information and audiovisual materials, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/catt/
The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
[ | 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.
Public release date: 30-Apr-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Jean Horrigan
jh@nei.nih.gov
301-496-5248
NIH/National Eye Institute
At two years, Avastin (bevacizumab) and Lucentis (ranibizumab injection), two widely used drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), improve vision when administered monthly or on an as needed basis, although greater improvements in vision were seen with monthly administration for this common, debilitating eye disease, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Of the two drugs, Avastin is most frequently used to treat AMD. However, prior to the Comparison of AMD Treatments Trials (CATT), a two-year clinical trial, the two drugs had never been compared head-to-head. Second year results were published today in the journal Ophthalmology. First year results were published in the May 19, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. In its advanced stages, the wet form of AMD spurs the growth of abnormal blood vessels, which leak fluid and blood into the macula and obscure vision. The macula is the central portion of the retina that allows us to look straight ahead and to perceive fine visual detail. Accumulation of fluid and blood damages the macula, causing loss of central vision, which can severely impede mobility and independence. Without treatment, most patients become unable to drive, read, recognize faces or perform tasks that require hand-eye coordination.
"Therapies for AMD require repeated treatment to prevent vision loss. Results of this clinical trial provide evidence that long-term treatment with either drug results in a robust and lasting improvement in vision. Patients and clinicians now have valuable information to base treatment decisions," said Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI.
Avastin and Lucentis block growth of abnormal blood vessels and leakage of fluid from the vessels. Lucentis was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2006 for the treatment of AMD. Avastin is very similar to Lucentis but is not approved by the FDA for this purpose. Avastin is approved for other indications. Most clinicians use these drugs on an as-needed basis when there is evidence of active disease, such as fluid leakage. However, in the original clinical trials for AMD, Lucentis was administered monthly. It was unknown if as-needed dosing would produce the same long-term visual improvements achieved with monthly administration.
Thus, CATT was designed to compare Avastin and Lucentis with monthly and as-needed treatment schedules. At enrollment, patients were assigned to four treatment groups defined by drug (Avastin or Lucentis) and dosing regimen (monthly or as-needed). After year one, patients initially assigned to monthly treatment were randomly reassigned to monthly or as-needed treatment without changing their drug assignment.
At two years, visual acuity with monthly treatment was slightly better than with as-needed dosing, regardless of the drug. As measured on an eye chart, monthly treatment resulted in a mean improvement of about half a line better than as-needed dosing. Switching to as-needed treatment after one year of monthly treatment yielded outcomes nearly equal to those obtained with as-needed treatment for the full two years. Changes in retinal anatomy differed by drug and frequency of treatment, but did not have an impact on vision through two years.
"Both drugs were highly effective regardless of the approach to dosing. There was slightly less vision gain with as-needed treatment. Patients seeking the small extra advantage of monthly treatment need to be mindful of the additional burden, risks, and costs of monthly injections. Since as-needed dosing required 10 fewer eye injections over the course of two years and yielded similar visual results, many patients may choose this option." said Daniel F. Martin, M.D., study chair for CATT and chairman of the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
Adverse events indicate development or worsening of a medical condition. They may or may not be causally associated with the clinical trial treatment, but they are always monitored and reported in any clinical trial. The median age of patients in CATT was over 80 years, and a high rate of hospitalizations would be anticipated as a result of chronic or acute medical conditions more common to older populations.
Serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred at a 40 percent rate for patients receiving Avastin and a 32 percent rate for patients receiving Lucentis. Although Avastin had a higher rate of SAEs, they were distributed across many different conditions, most of which were not associated with Avastin when evaluated in cancer clinical trials, in which the drug was administered at 500 times the dose used for AMD. Fewer doses were associated with a higher rate of SAEs, which is not a typical dose-response relationship. The number of deaths, heart attacks, and strokes were low and similar for both drugs during the study. CATT was not capable of determining whether there is an association between a particular adverse event and treatment. Additional data from other clinical trials may provide information on long-term safety profiles of these drugs when used to treat AMD.
"The dramatic and lasting improvement in vision with these two drugs is extraordinary. At two-years, two-thirds of patients had driving vision (20/40 vision or better). With previous treatments, only 15 percent of patients retained similar visual acuity," said Maureen Maguire, Ph.D., principal investigator, CATT Coordinating Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
###
Find more information about this clinical trial (NCT00593450) at http://clinicaltrials.gov
Supporting NIH Grants: U10EY017823, U10EY017828, U10EY017825
For more information and audiovisual materials, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/catt/
The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
[ | 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.
bill obrien reggie mckenzie epiphany exorcism jersey shore season 5 mark driscoll unemployment rate
B&N, Microsoft team up on Nook, college businesses
FILE - This file product image provided by Barnes & Noble Inc., shows the new $249 Nook Tablet, which was unveiled Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, in New York. Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to create a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will house the digital and college businesses of the bookseller and include a Nook application for Windows 8. The companies said Monday, April 30, 2012 that they are exploring separating those businesses entirely. That could mean a stock offering, sale, or other deal could happen. (AP Photo/Barnes & Noble Inc., File)
FILE - This file product image provided by Barnes & Noble Inc., shows the new $249 Nook Tablet, which was unveiled Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, in New York. Barnes & Noble Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to create a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will house the digital and college businesses of the bookseller and include a Nook application for Windows 8. The companies said Monday, April 30, 2012 that they are exploring separating those businesses entirely. That could mean a stock offering, sale, or other deal could happen. (AP Photo/Barnes & Noble Inc., File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Books and bits united Monday as Microsoft provided an infusion of money to help Barnes & Noble compete with top electronic bookseller Amazon. In exchange, Microsoft gets a long-desired foothold in the business of e-books and college textbooks.
With Microsoft Corp.'s $300 million investment, the two companies are teaming up to create a subsidiary for Barnes & Noble's e-book and college textbook businesses. Microsoft is taking a 17.6 percent stake in the venture.
The agreement underscores the importance of electronic bookstores as traditional booksellers and technology companies jockey for position in the increasingly competitive market. While no definitive numbers exist, e-books are believed to account for some 20 percent of book sales in the U.S.
For Microsoft, the investment is a way to get back into the e-book business. It has dabbled in the field since at least 2000, but never developed much traction. It was Amazon that blew the market open with the 2007 launch of the Kindle, creating a potent challenge to Barnes & Noble's brick-and-mortar bookstores.
Major Microsoft competitors Apple and Google now have their own e-book stores. All three companies are building businesses that encompass hardware, software and content in an "ecosystem," and e-books and readers are part of the puzzle.
With that perspective, the deal is very important, said Walter Pritchard, an analyst with Citigroup. But he doesn't expect any near-term financial impact from the deal, noting that even if the Microsoft-Barnes & Noble venture is successful, it leaves the Nook a distant second in the e-reader market, behind the Kindle.
The deal gives Barnes & Noble ammunition to fend off shareholders who have agitated for a sale of the Nook e-book business or the whole company, but the companies said Monday that they are exploring separating the subsidiary, provisionally dubbed "Newco," entirely from Barnes & Noble. That could mean a stock offering, sale or other deal.
The deal also puts to rest concerns that Barnes & Noble doesn't have the capital to compete in the e-book business with market leader Amazon.com Inc. and its Kindle, said analyst David Strasser at Janney Capital.
Barnes & Noble Inc.'s stock zoomed up $7.07, or 52 percent, to close trading at $20.75. The opening price of $26 was a three-year high. Microsoft's stock rose 4 cents to $32.
The investment also means that Microsoft will own part of a company that sells tablet computers based on Google Inc.'s Android, one of the main competitors of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft's smartphone software.
Microsoft also said the deal means that there will be a Nook application for Windows 8 tablets, set to be released this fall. The app is likely to get a favored position on Windows 8 screens.
There's already a Nook application for Windows PCs, but none for Windows phones.
William Lynch, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, said Nook software will continue to be available on devices like the iPhone that compete with Windows Phone.
He declined to say whether it was Barnes & Noble or Microsoft that initiated the discussions, but he said the talks had been going on since before the beginning of the year.
"We have been circling the relationship for quite a long time," added Microsoft president Andy Lees. "When you think of different types of reading and what's going to happen when that goes digital, it's really quite dramatic to be bringing that to Windows customers."
The Nook has pleasantly surprised publishers, who worry about Amazon's domination of the e-market. Unveiled to skeptical reviews in 2009, the Nook is estimated to account for about 25 percent of the U.S. e-book market. The Nook helped to cut Amazon's share from what was believed to be 90 percent to around 60-65 percent. David Pogue in The New York Times called the initial device "an anesthetized slug," but praised the new Nook Simple Touch as a "very big deal" that offers "spectacular, crisp pages to read in any light."
Barnes & Noble investors have also been concerned about the recent government lawsuit against Apple and some leading publishers over alleged price fixing. When Apple launched its iPad in 2010, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group (USA) and other publishers switched to an "agency" model that allowed publishers to set prices for e-books, a system many believe helped Barnes & Noble.
Amazon had been offering top-selling e-books for $9.99, a cost publishers, agents and writers believed was so low it could drive competitors out of business. Three of the five publishers sued? Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and the Hachette Book Group ? have already agreed to settle, meaning prices for their e-books likely will again drop on Amazon.
Microsoft has a long-standing interest in the e-book field. It launched e-book software in 2000, but was never able to build a substantial library of books. It's discontinuing the software on Aug. 30.
Barnes & Noble, based in New York, currently runs 691 bookstores in 50 states. The companies said that the subsidiary will have an ongoing relationship with Barnes & Noble's retail stores, but what that relationship will be is unclear.
"The whole reason the Nook business is expanding so rapidly is because bookstores are committed to it and know how to market the product in that environment," said Michael Norris, an analyst at Simba information.
The possibility of a separation of Barnes & Noble's digital and college businesses has been brewing.
In January, Barnes & Noble said it was considering options for its Nook business, including possibly spinning it off or expanding overseas, and said it expected the review to be complete by the end of the year.
And in March, private investment firm G Asset Management, a Barnes & Noble shareholder, offered $460 million for a 51 percent stake in the company's college bookstore unit, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC.
Under that plan, the college bookstore unit was proposed to begin as a private business but become public within a "reasonable" amount of time. G Asset's offer was contingent upon Barnes & Noble keeping current management in place and separating its Nook e-business from the rest of the company. At the time the offer was made, Barnes & Noble declined to comment.
In 2009, Barnes & Noble Inc. bought the college bookstore unit from Chairman Leonard Riggio in a deal worth $596 million. The deal ended up costing Barnes & Noble $460 million after accounting for the unit's cash on hand at the closing date.
___
AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson, Business Writer Michelle Chapman and AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.
Associated Pressjimmy rollins jimmy rollins let it snow jason trawick jerry lewis tampa bay bucs cowboys
V.me by Visa coming to the Europe this autumn, cash starts begging for another chance
V.me by Visa coming to the Europe this autumn, cash starts begging for another chance originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
Pocket-lint | | Email this | Commentspresidential candidates celebrity wife swap gla republican candidates mike martz hokies quadrantid
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)