WHY IT MATTERS: Missile Defense

The issue:

Missile technology is proliferating. It remains unclear how quickly foes such as Iran and North Korea could develop a capability to strike the United States with missiles, but the U.S. says Iran is already capable of hitting Europe. The United States is spending nearly $10 billion a year on missile defense when military budgets are stretched. But the programs have yet to prove that they can reliably knock long-range missiles out of the sky and protect the U.S. from emerging threats.

___

Where they stand:

Early in his presidency, Barack Obama replaced a George W. Bush-era plan for missile defense in Europe that had roiled relations with Russia. Obama says his four-stage plan would protect Europe and the United States as foes develop more sophisticated missiles. The announcement initially eased tensions with Moscow, which considered the previous plan a threat to its nuclear might. Obama has proposed cutting missile defense spending in 2013 by about 7 percent, to $9.7 billion.

Republican rival Mitt Romney would reverse Obama's proposed cuts to the program. He wants to maintain Obama's plans in Europe ? so long as they work. He argues that part of Obama's plan is based on theoretical technology and was designed as much to appease Russia as to address threats from Iran. Romney has called Russia the top geopolitical foe of the United States.

___

Why it matters:

Americans have long taken comfort in the distance from tension in Asia and Europe provided by two wide oceans. Intercontinental ballistic missile technology undermines that security by offering foes the ability to strike quickly from great distance with weapons of mass destruction.

Missile defense has been contentious since Ronald Reagan proposed the idea of making ICBMs obsolete in a nationally televised address in 1983. The initiative was dubbed "Star Wars." Critics say that despite about $150 billion spent since then, the U.S. is far from achieving Reagan's goal. Even supporters claim only a limited capability against long-range missiles. Recent government-commissioned reports by the National Academy of Sciences and other panels have highlighted critical problems with the effectiveness and management of the programs.

Despite those questions, both political parties largely support current missile defense programs. Romney has not proposed any major deviations from Obama's path, but could steer policy in Europe back to a more confrontational approach with Russia.

The United States maintains that missile defenses are aimed at countering attacks from rogue regimes and would be impotent against the arsenals of major nuclear powers such as Russia and China. But Moscow says even a limited capability against its ICBMs could destabilize the balance that deters the United States and Russia from contemplating nuclear confrontation. China has also increasingly raised objections to U.S. and Japanese missile defense assets in Asia.

Although Moscow initially welcomed Obama's shift in missile defense policy, Russian officials have since objected to the latter phases of his four-stage plan. A faster interceptor, still in development, is to be deployed in 2020, theoretically capable of shooting down ICBMs that can reach the U.S. Russians also worry about an increased U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe. And Russian President Vladimir Putin said Romney's identification of Russia as a top foe justifies his concern about U.S. missile defense.

Republicans wonder if the U.S. will roll back the latter stages of the plan. They cite Obama's comment in March to Dmitry Medvedev, then Russia's president, when Obama was unaware he was speaking on an open microphone. Obama told Medvedev he would have more flexibility on the issue after November's election.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ One in a series examining issues at stake in the election and their impact on people

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-matters-missile-defense-145002564--election.html

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No sign of remains in new Mich. search for Hoffa

Roseville Police Department detectives carry soil samples removed from a shed floor of a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Roseville Police Department detectives carry soil samples removed from a shed floor of a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2012, file photo, people photograph a driveway in Roseville, Mich. that a tipster said could be the final resting place of missing Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. Authorities plan to take soil samples from under the driveway. Hoffa?s mysterious disappearance, assumed death and myriad searches for his body have been the stuff of urban legends for more than three decades. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Authorities drill for soil samples in the floor of a shed at a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Media and spectators watch as authorities drill for soil samples in the floor at a Roseville, Mich., home Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Police have been told by a source that former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa may be buried beneath a driveway. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

(AP) ? Authorities drilled through concrete and removed two samples of wet soil and clay in a modest Detroit-area neighborhood Friday in the latest effort to find the remains of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975.

There was no visible sign of human remains, but test results could be ready by Monday, Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said.

"We're not sure if anything is down there. That's what this is all about," Berlin said.

They drilled the concrete floor of a shed adjacent to a driveway where a recent radar test revealed a shift in the soil. The latest investigation was launched after a man told police that he saw a body being buried under the driveway 35 years ago and "thinks it may have been Jimmy."

Authorities have already said they don't think the timeline adds up and that it's unlikely Hoffa's body is there. He was last seen July 30, 1975, outside a restaurant in Oakland County, more than 30 miles to the west.

"I don't believe it's Mr. Hoffa. I don't know what it is," said Berlin, who was contacted last month by the man who said he witnessed a body being buried there. "We received credible information that a crime may have occurred. We're not doing anything we wouldn't have done on any other case.

"That shed did not exist at the time this allegedly occurred. The prior outbuilding that was there did not have a concrete floor."

The homeowner, Patricia Szpunar, 72, has lived there since 1988. She said her son uses the 12-by-12 shed to store two workbenches and his motorcycle. Police detectives appeared two weeks ago and said they may need to search her yard for a dead body.

"I laughed at them," Szpunar said Friday. "I looked at them and said, 'What? Do you think Jimmy Hoffa is buried in my backyard?' ... They just looked at me, and asked why I said Jimmy Hoffa."

Berlin said the brick, ranch-style home may have been owned in the 1970s by a gambler with ties to organized crime.

Hoffa was an acquaintance of mobsters and adversary to federal officials. He spent time in prison for jury tampering. The day he disappeared, Hoffa was supposed to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit mafia captain.

He was declared legally dead in 1982. Previous tips led police to excavate soil in 2006 at a horse farm more than 100 miles north of Detroit, rip up floorboards at a Detroit home in 2004 and search beneath a backyard pool north of the city in 2003.

There were even rumors that Hoffa's remains were ground up and tossed into a Florida swamp, entombed beneath Giants Stadium in New Jersey or obliterated in a mob-owned fat-rendering plant.

On Friday, about 150 people filled the street near Szpunar's home as state Department of Environmental Quality workers drilled for samples.

"I want to see if they are going to find something," said 25-year-old Heather Strohscherin, who lives two blocks over and doubts the site is Hoffa's final resting place.

"It is a good spot," she said. "Who would guess in the backyard in a Roseville neighborhood?"

Berlin said the site will be treated as a crime scene until at least Monday, pending results of the soil tests.

As for the homeowner's knowledge about Hoffa's disappearance?

"Sure, I read about it in the paper. I've listened to it on TV," Szpunar said. "But not because I'm that interested in it. It was just because it was current news."

___

David Aguilar in Detroit contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Hoffa%20Search/id-a48e5676e85d4963bf751e046e567c54

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?Expect Delays? Even When There is No Sign | Business 2 Community

An early morning a couple weeks ago I was headed to a work conference. It ended up that this conference wasn?t at the typical convention center or hotel. Instead, it was located at a retreat out in the woods. While scenic, the road leading there was naturally winding and heavily wooded.

At one point, where the road narrowed to one lane in each direction, there was one of those electronic signs on the side of the road that typically flashes a multi-part message. In this case, there was only one part to the message displayed. It simply read, ?Expect Delays.?

From my experience, these signs usually offer justification as to why there would be a delay. It might read ?Road repair ahead.? And then ?expect delays? following. But this time it did not. The sign just said ?Expect Delays.? Normally I would have passed by this kind of sign paying little attention, but in this case (maybe due to the early hour or the peaceful surroundings) I found a deeper meaning in the message.

Time and time again (in our careers and lives in general) we make plans. We think through all the possibilities and details, catching as many variations as we can think of. Despite this analysis and planning, we are often wrong. Things don?t go as planned.

In my career (and life), I have found that many times when ?things not going as planned?, it involves something taking more time than I would have expected. I generally get impatient, expecting faster results. This often leads to me giving up, or at the very least not give my 100% in following up and seeing things through.

Unfortunately, this feeling (and response) is something that plagues many millennials like me. We are used to instant gratification and feedback. We are used to getting things when we want them, how we want them. Success in your career (and life) just doesn?t work this way.

It is important for us to be patient when we embark on a journey to accomplish a goal. Whether it is something big like starting a company or something as simple as completing a project at work, realize that things won?t go as planned. Delays will invariably creep in, and if we aren?t ready for them, then we run the risk of giving up before we ever reach our goal.

While it is key to understand and anticipate delays, it is important to go one step further. We must build resiliency. The moment we get knocked down, we must get back up. Every delay that comes our way is an opportunity for another lesson that will help us avoid obstacles in the future (or at the very least will help us get over them faster).

We must also actively look for solutions. To beat these ?delays,? we have to find ways to overcome them. Whether it be testing out a new strategy or flat out asking for help, it is better to fight through obstacles and delays instead of letting them happen to us.

As you drive down the road of your career, make sure to keep an eye out for delays. Often times there won?t even be a sign that tells you when or why they are coming. Remember not to just let these delays happen to you. Use them to your advantage. Take away key lessons, they will help you be smarter and more successful further down the road.

Just because you expect delays doesn?t mean that you have to like it. Meet these delays head-on; overcome them and carve out new roads of your own to explore.

Author:

Aaron McDaniel, is a corporate manager, entrepreneur, author, public speaker and community leader. Aaron has held numerous management roles at a Fortune 500 company, being one of the youngest ever appointed appointed Regional Vice President at the age of 27, and is the founder of multiple entrepreneurial ventures. Aaron instructed a highly rated student-led course on leadership at UC Berkeley?s Haas Undergraduate School of Business and has a book, The Young Professional?s Guide to the Working World: Savvy Strategies to Get In, Get Ahead, and Rise to the Top, due to be out later this year. Aaron offers advice that helps young professionals build the foundation for a successful career. Visit his blog to learn more.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/strategy/expect-delays-even-when-there-is-no-sign-0293304

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Streams Of Water Once Flowed On Mars; NASA Says Photos Prove It

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    Curiosity, 2012: NASA says that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity. For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from the Earth (right).

    NASA

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    Curiosity 2012: A wider view of the outcrop of a former streambed shows bedrock that scientists believe was likely exposed by meteorites striking the surface of Mars.

    NASA

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    Spirit, 2010: When NASA's Spirit rover got stuck in Martian sand, it proved to be a lucky break: The spinning wheel churned up soil that provided evidence of rocks formed in the presence of water.

    NASA

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    Opportunity, 2004: Opportunity discovered tiny mineral spheres ? nicknamed blueberries ? poking out of rocks that were likely formed by water. Researchers using Opportunity's science instruments identified them as concretions rich in the mineral hematite, deposited by water saturating the bedrock.

    NASA

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    Pathfinder, 1997: The first mission to land a rover on Mars, Pathfinder touched down in Ares Vallis, an ancient flood plain in the planet's northern hemisphere. Among the 2.3 billion bits of data sent back by the lander and its rover, Sojourner, were 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil, which suggested Mars had once had liquid water and a thicker atmosphere.

    NASA

NASA's Curiosity rover has found definitive proof that water once ran across the surface of Mars, the agency announced today. NASA scientists say new photos from the rover show rocks that were smoothed and rounded by water. The rocks are in a large canyon and nearby channels that were cut by flowing water, making up an alluvial fan.

"You had water transporting these gravels to the downslope of the fan," NASA researchers say. The gravel then formed into a conglomerate rock, which was in turn likely covered before being exposed again.

The agency's scientists presented their findings of the former streambed on Mars at a news conference today.

"A River Ran Through It," Curiosity's operators tweeted Thursday. "I found evidence of an ancient streambed on Mars, similar to some on Earth."

"From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich, "with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep."

The rocks have not undergone scientific analysis. But the NASA team says that taken with geographic data from Mars orbiters, the photographs tell a story all their own.

?

The images show rocks with round, smooth surfaces; many of them have been broken down into sizes smaller than one inch in diameter.

"The shapes tell you they were transported and the sizes tell you they couldn't be transported by wind," co-investigator Rebecca Williams said. "They were transported by water flow."

"There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars," the agency said in a press release, "but this evidence ? images of rocks containing ancient streambed gravels ? is the first of its kind."

NASA's team has named the rock outcrop that reveals the former streambed "Hottah," after Canada's Hottah Lake.

Scientists have not yet estimated the age of the rocks, which may have been buried beneath the surface. Their age could be several billion years.

The next step will be to find a good spot to drill into the rock, NASA says. And they'll be looking for possible carbon deposits, to determine whether the water on Mars once supported life.

The photographs released Thursday are among more than 13,000 raw images Curiosity has captured. The rover took the photos during its mission to Mars' Gale Crater. The rocks in question lie between the crater's north rim and Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crater.

NASA investigators presented the results of their analysis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. You can read other posts about Curiosity in our archive.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/27/161896238/streams-of-water-once-flowed-on-mars-nasa-says-photos-prove-it?ft=1&f=1007

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Personal health record software - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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Source: http://curryrecipe-jp.net/health-2/personal-health-record-software/

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Nasdaq strikes cloud deal with Amazon to cut clients' data costs

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Katie Couric opens up about battling bulimia

This undated photo released by ABC shows host Katie Couric, left, with actress-singer and judge on the singing competition series "The X Factor," Demi Lovato during the taping of an appearance on "Katie," in New York. The interview will air on Monday, Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Ida Mae Astute)

This undated photo released by ABC shows host Katie Couric, left, with actress-singer and judge on the singing competition series "The X Factor," Demi Lovato during the taping of an appearance on "Katie," in New York. The interview will air on Monday, Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Ida Mae Astute)

This undated photo released by ABC shows host Katie Couric, left, with actress-singer and judge on the singing competition series "The X Factor," Demi Lovato during the taping of an appearance on "Katie," in New York. The interview will air on Monday, Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Ida Mae Astute)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Viewers of Katie Couric's talk show were doubtless surprised on Monday when, during the discussion of eating disorders, Couric disclosed that she had had her own struggles with that cruel, sometimes deadly condition.

"I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that," she said, describing the guilt she felt at eating a single cookie or chewing a stick of gum that wasn't sugar-free.

But the bulk of the show was devoted to her guests, who included experts on the subject as well as its sufferers, notably singer and new "X Factor" judge Demi Lovato.

During the hour, Couric said little more about her experience, which she had never before made public.

"I kind of hesitated to even bring it up," she told The Associated Press after the taping. "But I felt that if I expect people on my show to be honest, then, when relevant, I owe it to people watching to be honest myself.

"I wanted to focus on my guests," she said, "while acknowledging one of the reasons this issue is so important to me: I went through it."

It's all part of a balance Couric is striving for on her new syndicated daytime show, "Katie," between sharing her experiences and turning her show into a personal confessional.

But in an exclusive interview with the AP, Couric, 55, shared details about the illness that first plagued her as a senior at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va.

It began, she said, when she learned she had been turned down by the college she most wanted to attend.

Couric was a likely candidate for an eating disorder.

"Like a lot of young women, I was struggling with my body image," she said, "and feeling like I wasn't good enough or attractive enough or thin enough."

She termed her figure at the time as "curvy," and not the cultural ideal, which she identified as "five-foot-eight and weighing 115 pounds. It can be so difficult to embrace the body that you have if it doesn't fit with the ideal. Women get praised for being super-thin, so you keep striving to be that way."

She said her disorder "ebbed and flowed" through the years.

"Some periods were worse than others, when I was binging and purging a lot," she said. "I'd have a piece of gum that wasn't sugarless and then say, 'Oh! I've been bad,' and then feel so terrible that I would eat and throw up. It was awful.

"But what I'm describing is something so many people have gone through or are going through," she noted, "and it's so damaging, both psychically and physically."

Couric attended the University of Virginia, then landed her first job at the ABC News bureau in Washington, D.C. And even then, she was waging a battle with food.

With the help of a therapist, she had a grip on her condition by her early 20s, though "it didn't mean that I didn't still have issues and feel bad about myself."

But since then, she said, "I've learned how to have a much healthier relationship with food, and how to enjoy my life without obsessing about food."

She said she was glad she had shared with viewers her ordeal with bulimia, "because it's so commonplace."

And it's not the first time Couric has let the public in on a personal ordeal. Her audience shared her pain from the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, of colon cancer in 1998. The tragedy led Couric, then a co-anchor of "Today," to become an advocate for colon cancer awareness and for colonoscopies. In 2000, she underwent a colonoscopy on the air.

"The educational aspect far outweighed any personal embarrassment I might have felt," she explained. "I had just lost my husband at 42 to this No. 2 cancer killer of men and women. I had a bully pulpit from which I could implore people to take steps that could potentially save their lives. It was a no-brainer."

In the future, viewers of "Katie" can expect her to confide in them again when it feels right.

"I don't think there are any huge revelations about myself that need to be shared or would be appropriate to share," she said. "But I'm trying to strike the right balance of talking about my situation, but not focusing on it so much that I'm being put on the couch."

___

Online:

http://www.katiecouric.com

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-09-24-US-TV-Katie-Couric/id-5b0064ccf3b94951b4e47e635857088f

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'Democrats for Lingle': Hawaii Senate Candidate's Ad Features Republicans

Hawaii GOP Senate candidate Linda Lingle's newest ad purported to feature Democrats who support her - and it does. But the TV spot, originally posted online under the headline "Democrats for Lingle," also features several Republicans.

"I'm a Democrat, and I'm voting for Linda Lingle," says Elaine Slavinsky, the first person to appear onscreen. Slavinsky ran for state Senate as a Republican in 2004.

"I know she's gonna work with both parties to get things done," says Jan Shishido, who formerly headed the Maui County Republican Party and ran for state House as a Republican in 2004.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee produced research on five other people with varying degrees of GOP affiliation who appear in the ad.

The ad itself does not identify the speakers as Democrats, and the campaign has since changed its online banner to read, "People Across the State Agree." Slavinsky is the only person in the ad with previous GOP affiliations to identify herself on camera as a Democrat.

The Lingle campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When contacted by the Honolulu Civil Beat, Lingle spokeswoman Corrie Heck told the paper:

What the DSCC ignores is the three very prominent Democrat leaders featured in the spot: a former Democrat state Senator, the former State protocol officer who worked for 5 of Hawaii's Governors (4 of whom are Democrats), and a self-identified Democrat supporter who plans to vote for President Obama.

While the spot was labeled "Democrats" during the transfer to the stations, no where in the spot do we state that all individuals featured are Democrats. The spot is about people across the state - from diverse backgrounds, political affiliations and perspectives - that agree Linda Lingle is the clear choice for U.S. Senate. As your research will point out, there are several current and retired public school teachers included in the spot, as well as a native Hawaiian community leader, in addition to the Democrat supporters. These individuals are representative of the broad spectrum of supporters who are backing Linda Lingle for U.S. Senate.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-lingle-hawaii-senate-candidates-ad-features-republicans-220111667--abc-news-politics.html

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PARP inhibitors may have clinical utility in HER2-positive breast cancers

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 17-Sep-2012
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Contact: Jeremy Moore
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

PHILADELPHIA Poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, shown to have clinical activity when used alone in women with familial breast and ovarian cancers linked to BRCA mutations, may be a novel treatment strategy in women with HER2-positive breast cancers, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Currently, women with HER2-positive breast cancers are treated with therapies that target HER2. However, many women with this form of cancer either fail to ever respond to these targeted therapies or initially respond to them but then become resistant to their effects.

"Until now, PARP inhibitors have been shown to exhibit single agent activity only in tumors that are deficient in DNA repair, such as familial breast and ovarian cancers that are linked to BRCA mutations," said Eddy S. Yang, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

According to Yang, only about 5 to 10 percent of all breast and ovarian cancers are BRCA-associated familial cancers, so researchers are currently trying to expand the patient population that might benefit from PARP inhibitors, which are generally well tolerated and have relatively few side effects.

"To do that, we were attempting to render nonfamilial cancers deficient in DNA repair," he said.

In prior studies, the Yang lab found that inhibiting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway, which is commonly overactive in many tumor types, resulted in a DNA repair defect similar to that seen in familial cancers. They subsequently showed that this "forced" DNA repair defect increased tumor sensitivity to PARP inhibitors. Because HER2 and EGFR are in the same family of proteins, Yang and colleagues theorized that HER2-targeted therapies might force a similar DNA repair defect in HER2-positive tumors, increasing their sensitivity to PARP inhibitors.

They found that HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines were indeed sensitive to PARP inhibitors, both in culture and when transplanted into mice.

"However, the surprise was that these HER2-positive tumors were sensitive to PARP inhibitors alone, independent of a DNA repair defect," Yang said. "This means that there may be other mechanisms, outside of DNA repair, that dictate the sensitivity of a tumor to PARP inhibitors."

The researchers hope to further map out the reason why HER2-positive tumors are sensitive to PARP inhibitors. If better defined, the knowledge could ultimately broaden the clinical application for PARP inhibitors.

"Our research suggested that inhibition of NF-kB signaling is a possible cause of this sensitivity, but there may be other determinants as well," Yang said. "If we are able to find the determinants of sensitivity, we may be able to extrapolate our effects to other tumor types."

###

This research was supported by a career development award from the UAB Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer (5P50CA089019-10), the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research Translational Scholar Award, the AACR-Genentech BioOncology Career Development Award for Cancer Research on the HER Family Pathway (Grant Number 12-20-18-YANG), the State of Alabama Investment Pool for Action (IMPACT) Award from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, and developmental support from the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr

Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

About the AACR

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR's membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.

For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.



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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 17-Sep-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
215-446-7109
American Association for Cancer Research

PHILADELPHIA Poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, shown to have clinical activity when used alone in women with familial breast and ovarian cancers linked to BRCA mutations, may be a novel treatment strategy in women with HER2-positive breast cancers, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Currently, women with HER2-positive breast cancers are treated with therapies that target HER2. However, many women with this form of cancer either fail to ever respond to these targeted therapies or initially respond to them but then become resistant to their effects.

"Until now, PARP inhibitors have been shown to exhibit single agent activity only in tumors that are deficient in DNA repair, such as familial breast and ovarian cancers that are linked to BRCA mutations," said Eddy S. Yang, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

According to Yang, only about 5 to 10 percent of all breast and ovarian cancers are BRCA-associated familial cancers, so researchers are currently trying to expand the patient population that might benefit from PARP inhibitors, which are generally well tolerated and have relatively few side effects.

"To do that, we were attempting to render nonfamilial cancers deficient in DNA repair," he said.

In prior studies, the Yang lab found that inhibiting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway, which is commonly overactive in many tumor types, resulted in a DNA repair defect similar to that seen in familial cancers. They subsequently showed that this "forced" DNA repair defect increased tumor sensitivity to PARP inhibitors. Because HER2 and EGFR are in the same family of proteins, Yang and colleagues theorized that HER2-targeted therapies might force a similar DNA repair defect in HER2-positive tumors, increasing their sensitivity to PARP inhibitors.

They found that HER2-positive breast cancer cell lines were indeed sensitive to PARP inhibitors, both in culture and when transplanted into mice.

"However, the surprise was that these HER2-positive tumors were sensitive to PARP inhibitors alone, independent of a DNA repair defect," Yang said. "This means that there may be other mechanisms, outside of DNA repair, that dictate the sensitivity of a tumor to PARP inhibitors."

The researchers hope to further map out the reason why HER2-positive tumors are sensitive to PARP inhibitors. If better defined, the knowledge could ultimately broaden the clinical application for PARP inhibitors.

"Our research suggested that inhibition of NF-kB signaling is a possible cause of this sensitivity, but there may be other determinants as well," Yang said. "If we are able to find the determinants of sensitivity, we may be able to extrapolate our effects to other tumor types."

###

This research was supported by a career development award from the UAB Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in breast cancer (5P50CA089019-10), the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research Translational Scholar Award, the AACR-Genentech BioOncology Career Development Award for Cancer Research on the HER Family Pathway (Grant Number 12-20-18-YANG), the State of Alabama Investment Pool for Action (IMPACT) Award from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, and developmental support from the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr

Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

About the AACR

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR's membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.

For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.



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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/aafc-pim091412.php

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Peregrine Financial CEO Wasendorf to plead guilty to fraud

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - Peregrine Financial chief executive Russell Wasendorf Sr., accused of stealing more than $200 million from his futures brokerage's customers and lying to regulators to cover his tracks, has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud, making false statements to regulators and embezzling customer funds, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Wasendorf, 64, could be sentenced to up to 50 years in prison, according to a plea agreement made public at a hearing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He appeared at the hearing in an orange jumpsuit, his wrists and legs shackled.

Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles said he would rule on the plea agreement at a later time.

Wasendorf's public defender, Jane Kelly, asked that he be released from jail to the care of a pastor in his hometown of Marion, Iowa.

Kelly said Wasendorf had cooperated with law enforcement and with the court-appointed receiver, whose job is to locate Wasendorf's assets and sell them to raise money for bilked customers and creditors.

"He did have an option; he could have remained silent," Kelly said. Scoles said he would probably rule on her request by the end of the week.

CONFESSION

Wasendorf attempted suicide on July 9 near the headquarters of his Cedar Falls, Iowa, firm and left a signed confession of a 20-year-long fraud.

The search continues for the money he stole with former clients still unable to access funds frozen since the firm's bankruptcy on July 10.

Wasendorf was arrested on July 13 and indicted a month later on 31 counts of lying to regulators. He initially entered a not guilty plea and has been held at Linn County Jail in Iowa under suicide watch and in isolation since his arrest.

Linda Livingston, a pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church who knew Wasendorf in high school, told the judge that Wasendorf could move in with her and her husband if Wasendorf was allowed to leave jail.

Nancy Paladino, who had married Wasendorf two weeks before the Peregrine CEO attempted suicide, has offered to live in the house as well if the judge requires Wasendorf, seen as a potential suicide risk, to have constant company, Livingston said.

Paladino filed to annul the marriage in August.

Responding through his lawyer, Wasendorf's son, Russell Wasendorf Jr., said: "My father will now rightfully have to endure the consequences of his actions which caused so much turmoil to PFG's customers and the tremendous pain that he inflicted on so many loyal PFG employees.

"My priority is to assist the trustee and receiver in assisting PFG's customers to recover as much of their funds as quickly as possible," Wasendorf Jr. said in an email to Reuters sent by his attorney, Nicholas Iavarone.

COOPERATION

Wasendorf Sr. met with the receiver and representatives from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Department of Justice and the FBI in two in-person interviews in July and August for six hours each, prosecutors said at the hearing.

The CFTC has filed a lawsuit against Wasendorf and his firm, saying the CEO misappropriated more than $200 million in customer funds over several years. Wasendorf, in his confession, said he spent most of the stolen money to build a new headquarters for his company and keep his business afloat.

Peregrine's 24,000 customers have had no access to their funds since Wasendorf was found, on July 9, incoherent but conscious in his car outside the firm's headquarters, a hose hooked to the exhaust pipe and snaked through the window. FBI agent William Langdon said Tuesday Wasendorf had taken sleeping pills and had a bottle of vodka in the car.

Last week, Peregrine's bankruptcy trustee made public his plans to return $123 million to former customers of the futures brokerage, amounting to 30 percent to 40 percent of their funds. The CFTC over the weekend asked the court to delay that payout pending further examination of the company's records, many of which the regulator says have been falsified.

Wasendorf himself told FBI agents that he had forged bank statements for years to fool regulators into thinking he was properly safeguarding customer funds, when all the while he was using them for his own purposes, according to the complaint in the criminal case.

MOVING THE NEEDLE

Receiver Michael Eidelman said in an interview on Tuesday that he expects to continue meeting with Wasendorf in order to track down more assets, regardless of any plea agreement.

Eidelman has also hired a private investigator help him and is considering suing entities for the return of money or gifts that may have been bought with stolen money, he said.

Still, Eidelman does not believe he'll ever find nearly enough of the spent money to plug the shortfall in customer funds.

"Despite all the work that we have done so far, we haven't found the big-ticket things that once we could sell them we could say, 'Oh, this is great, this is really going to move the needle on what customers will get'," he said.

The National Futures Association on Tuesday turned over to Peregrine Financial's bankruptcy trustee a $700,000 fine it had levied against Peregrine in February. The fine was part of a settlement for Peregrine's role in a Ponzi scheme masterminded by one of the firm's clients.

Wasendorf said he used some of the customer money he stole to pay for regulatory fines.

An NFA spokesman said the money will be distributed to Peregrine Financial customers "affected by the shortfall in funds that should have been segregated for their benefit."

(Reporting by Ryan Schlader in Cedar Rapids; Writing by Ann Saphir and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Tim Dobbyn, Cynthia Osterman and Matt Driskill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/peregrine-financial-ceo-wasendorf-plead-guilty-fraud-033821729--sector.html

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