Monthly Archives: June 2012

How To Keep Track Of How Other People Are Using Your Media Online

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If you have a blog, post on photo-sharing sites or upload your videos to YouTube, youve probably wondered when and how your media is being used by other people. Regardless of whether its free-to-use media or copyrighted material, the process of tracking it down is the same.

Depending on the type of media youre producing, you can track it in different ways. For our purposes, well break the search into three types: art and photos; writing; and videos.

Tracking where photos and art appear online is pretty easy if you dont mind doing it manually. The web app TinEye provides a simple reverse image search that will track anywhere your image turns up online. All you need to do is upload your image and TinyEye will search to see if it appears anywhere else online. Googles own Search by Image will do the same thing.

Less helpful but still useful is your image hosts built-in stats page. If youre using any of the big image-hosting sites such as Picasa (views), Photobucket (Home > Stats) or Flickr (Your Stats), youll find a statistics page showing when people link to your images. Provided someone is linking and crediting your image, youll see where its coming from.

Tracking down your written words is a bit tricky. The simple and automated method is to create a Google Alert with your name, but thats only going to show up when someone is linking to your writing with your name included. The other easy method is to set up trackbacks on your blog so you can tell when people link to you. If your blog doesnt support trackbacks (or youre not using a blog format) you can use Googles Webmaster Tools for free. Once Webmaster Tools is set up, click Traffic > Links to see who is linking to you.

Of course, not every usage of your writing media is going to link back to you. To find out where your words might also be appearing, you can use a copy search engine like Copyscape. In Copyscape you paste the URL you want to check and Copyscape will pull up any links that are identical. You can also sign up for the automated service Copysentry that does the same thing for $US4.95 a month.

Tracking where your videos turn up online is remarkably easy and built right into the two major video-sharing platforms, YouTube and Vimeo. You can check where traffic comes from and where the video is embedded.

For YouTube, click your account name in the top right corner, select Video Manager and click the Analytic button. Here youll find the traffic of all your videos and a breakdown of where that traffic comes from. To find out where the video is embedded, select the video you want to track and then click the Analytics button. Select Playback locations, then click on the Embedded player on other websites link. Here youll find every site that has embedded your video.

For Vimeo you need a paid Plus membership to see where you videos are embedded. Click Me > My Stats > Advanced stats > Embed. Here youll see where your videos have been embedded.

Whether youre curious as to how your freely available media gets used, or if youre trying to hunt down someone breaking copyright, the above tips should get you on your way. We werent able to find a good way to track down how music is used save for a Google Alert or a stores built-in statistics tool (the online store Bandcamp, for instance, gives you a breakdown of incoming links), but if you have some ideas (about music or any other media) please share them in the comments.

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How To Keep Track Of How Other People Are Using Your Media Online

Sapio Sciences Announces Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS for Personalized Medicine

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BALTIMORE, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Sapio Sciences (http://www.SapioSciences.com) is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS. This release is the result of Sapio's extensive experience in implementing LIMS with Biomarker Discovery at leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Exemplar Biomarker Discovery addresses these clients' needs for a single, integrated solution to a breadth of requirements.

Personalized Medicine: The Future of Medicine

It has been known that the idea that a "one size fits all" application of a drug to a disease is not practical. Each person has a unique response to a medication that will determine whether that particular drug will work for them or not. Ideally, certain biological markers, a.k.a. biomarkers, would be known that could be measured and used to predict the efficacy of any particular drug for a particular patient. This is the promise of personalized medicine.

With advances in genetics, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics over the last two decades, it is now possible to perform detailed profiling of study subjects' response to treatments. The proper tracking and interpretation of this data can lead to the aforementioned desired patient profiling for a particular drug to have the best chance of success.

Proper interpretation of this data can also lead to the success or failure of a drug in clinical trials. Certain drugs may appear ineffective, but in fact are working for a small subset of the patient population with some combination of biomarkers. If these markers could be discovered, then the patient population can be preselected for suitable candidates, and the drug trial has a greater chance of success, whereas it may fail without such a predictor in place.

A Comprehensive Biomarker Discovery LIMS Solution

While the promise of personalized medicine is great, little actual progress has been made. One of the major reasons for this is the lack of tools to help manage the diverse and voluminous study data, and to interpret that data. At most companies this important data is spread across the organization in various applications, data stores, and spreadsheets. This means that making discoveries becomes extremely costly, time consuming, and sometimes impossible because of the lack of a single integrated view of the data.

Companies developing pharmaceuticals need to be able to track samples in the sense of traditional LIMS applications, but also want to be able to track treatment regimens, subjects and their phenotypic attributes, and assay data. Within the same application there is also the need to take this aggregated data and perform data mining queries and statistical analysis on it. A comprehensive Biomarker Discovery application should include all of the following:

Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS addresses each of these needs while allowing for configurationcustomization meeting each company's specific requirements.

"The Exemplar Biomarker Discovery product release is the culmination of our extensive experience working with leading drug development firms who are aware of the importance of personalized medicine to their future success. Now, for the first time, these firms can get a single solution that addresses everything from sample management through study data management, assay data management, data mining and statistical analysis," says Kevin Cramer, VP of Sales and Marketing at Sapio.

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Sapio Sciences Announces Exemplar Biomarker Discovery LIMS for Personalized Medicine

He's the real-life Doogie Howser! Meet the 21-year-old who started college at nine and is set to graduate from medical …

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By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 08:16 EST, 4 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:34 EST, 4 June 2012

A 21-year-old Chicago man who began college at age nine and medical school three years later is about to become the youngest student ever awarded an M.D. by the University of Chicago.

Sho Yano, who was reading at age two, writing at three and composing music at five, will graduate this week from the Pritzker School of Medicine, where he also received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology.

Yano earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University at age 12, finishing in three years and graduating summa cum laude, the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday.

Then and now: Sho Yano in 2000 (left) when studying at Loyola University and today (right)

The average age of students entering medical school in the U.S. is 23, and there were schools that refused Yano admittance because of his age.

School officials worried that the rigors of medical school would hinder Yano's ability to have a normal adolescence.

'I never understood that,' Yano said. 'Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging that being totally bored?'

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He's the real-life Doogie Howser! Meet the 21-year-old who started college at nine and is set to graduate from medical ...

Pursue Alternative Routes to a Medical Education

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Most of us know the traditional way to study medicine; go to medical school after college, study hard, and complete a residency. Partially because of the medical field's new emphasis on empathetic, well-rounded medical students and physicians, programs that once seemed to be on the fringe are gaining in popularity not only among premedical students, but also among medical schools and hospitals.

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Pursue Alternative Routes to a Medical Education

Sirius XM: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Sir Patrick Henry, who during a speech in 1775 said "Give me liberty or give me death." He said this in protest to what he felt was suppression or oppression of his beloved statesmen, and if Henry were a Wall Street analyst today, I suppose one can say he would be bullish on Liberty. I wonder how he would feel about the war being fought through the press between Liberty Media(LMCA) and Sirius XM(SIRI)?

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Sirius XM: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

USS Liberty Memorial Service Renews Calls of a Government Cover-Up

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USS Liberty underway in the Chesapeake Bay on July 29, 1967, upon her return from the Mediterranean Sea.

Forty-five years ago, the USS Liberty was attacked in international waters by Israeli jet fighters and torpedo boats.

The attack killed 34 members of the crew, and wounded 174 more on board. Both U.S. and Israeli governments conducted inquiries about the incident, and decided the attack was a result of Israeli confusion about who the USS Liberty was.

Many veterans don't agree.

This Friday, a USS Liberty memorial service will be held at the graves of the Liberty victims at Arlington Cemetery, in part to remember, but also to accuse.

A Facebook page for the event asks supporters to sign a petition calling for a renewed investigation of the attack. The petition suggests a U.S. government cover up, noting that the U.S. initially dispatched aircraft to aid the wounded USS Liberty, but say they were later recalled.

The page also points supporters to reports on the incident from USS Liberty veterans, including a draft letter to Congress asking for a better investigation.

"They were ordered to be abandoned by two flights of Sixth Fleet rescue aircraft," alleges the letter. "Until these facts are acknowledged.... any attempt to honor those who were killed in service to the United States on the USS Liberty is incomplete."

This past Memorial Day, Sen. John McCain was heckled about the Liberty attack while speaking to a crowd in California. "What about the cover-up for Israel of the USS Liberty?!" the heckler shouted. He was promptly escorted out by Secret Service.

In 2004, documents on U.S. foreign policy during the USS Liberty incident were declassified and published in a trilogy. At the time, Harriet Schwar, editor of the trilogy, told the State Department her staff found no evidence the U.S. knew about Israel's orders to attack the USS Liberty.

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USS Liberty Memorial Service Renews Calls of a Government Cover-Up

Maya Jasanoff wins Washington Book Prize for ‘Liberty’s Exiles’

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Harvard history professor Maya Jasanoff won the George Washington Book Prize on Monday night for Libertys Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World.

The annual award, which comes with $50,000, honors the previous years best book about Americas founding era. Libertys Exiles, published by Knopf, is the story of the losers in Americas struggle for independence: British loyalists who found themselves on the wrong side of history. Jasanoff describes how these exiles, who fled their lost colonies for Nova Scotia, West Africa and India, helped shape the future of the British Empire.

This is the second major honor for Libertys Exiles. In March, Jasanoff won the National Book Critics Circle Award for general nonfiction.

Adam Goodheart, director of Washington Colleges Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, which administers the prize, said, Jasanoff brings the past to life by putting readers in the shoes of these characters, from wealthy merchants to African American slaves.

James G. Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which funds the award, said, Libertys Exiles is a masterful combination of archival research and narrative storytelling. Jasanoff delivers brilliant insight into the lives and motives of the 60,000 loyalists who sought refuge around the world after independence, depicting the global impact of that mass exodus and providing a fresh and engaging perspective on the American Revolution.

A review in The Washington Post last year called Libertys Exiles an ambitious, empathetic and sometimes lyrical book.

The award ceremony Monday night at the George Washington museum at Mount Vernon also recognized two finalists: John Feas Was America Founded As a Christian Nation? (Westminster John Knox) and Benjamin H. Irvins Clothed in Robes of Sovereignty: The Continental Congress and the People Out of Doors (Oxford University).

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Maya Jasanoff wins Washington Book Prize for ‘Liberty’s Exiles’

Green Automotive to Join Forces with Liberty Electric Cars Limited

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Green Automotive Company (OTC:GACR) announced today that it has entered into detailed discussions with Liberty Electric Cars Limited (www.liberty-ecars.com), a UK-based developer of Electric Drive Trains, unique Battery Management Systems and provider of full support programs for all types of Electric vehicles. These discussions will lead to Liberty technology being used to convert conventional internal combustion engine driven vehicles into zero emission electric vehicles. Liberty, formed in 2006, was the first company in the world to successfully convert the Range Rover into a high speed pure electric 4x4 capable of 200 miles on a single charge and driven by 4 individual motors. The Liberty Electric Range Rover was hailed as the worlds best luxury EV in 2010 and provided the most telling example of the companys capabilities. Libertys expertise will serve as Green Automotives foundation for its expansion into the European Electric Vehicle market as well as provide the technology for the conversion activities planned for the North American market.

As I disclosed in several of our past public announcements, and in greater detail in our First Quarter March 31, 2012 Information and Disclosure Statement filed with OTCMarkets.com, said Fred Luke, President of Green Automotive Company, we have elected to not make the Companys primary business that of importing, performing the homologation, and then competing against a host of others now entering the market of retailing Electric Passenger Vehicles. Putting the last 2 years of import and homologation knowledge in the proper prospective, it is clear to us that our fastest and least expensive path to revenues from the Electric Vehicle (EV) will be to focus on the conversion of conventional internal combustion engine-driven vehicles of all types, particularly Mass-Transit and passenger vehicles which have already passed the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) tests, to make them into zero emission vehicles.

According to Mr. Luke, this move comes following disappointing test results during the homologation program and failing negotiations with Zotye for as to the Zotye Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). It was determined by management and our independent engineers, at Roush Industries, said Mr. Luke, that the Zotye SUV would struggle to pass the stringent crash tests required by the DOT, FMVSS and NIHSTA, without substantial expenditure and time. At which time the Company began seeking alternatives to replace the Zotye vehicles with automobiles that the Company could bring to market in a more expeditious and efficient manner.

On January 17, 2012 the Company announced that it signed a Letter of Intent pursuant to which it would join forces with Niyato Industries in an effort to accelerate the plans of both companies to bring domestically manufactured Electric Passenger Vehicles to the US market this year. However, Fords announcement that it would be rolling out its own line of EVs, beginning with the Focus and Fusion http://inhabitat.com/ford-announces-2012-ford-focus-electric-will-get-extra-2500-in-tax-credits-in-california/ made it very difficult for us to justify going any further with the Green Automotive-Niyato joint venture. In the process of due diligence on Niyato, the Companys management determined that it was not in its best interest to continue with Niyato as Niyato did not appear to have the immediate manufacturing facility for the proposed conversion of the vehicles it represented to have under contract to convert to EVs, nor did it have a prototype upon which to develop reasonable manufacturing costs, and it appeared to be under-capitalized to finance its plans, requiring the Green Automotive to provide the necessary capital.

Taking into consideration the costly and time consuming (24 to 36 months) efforts to move the Zotye Vehicles through the stringent import tests required by the DOT and NIHSTA, and the capital position of Niyato, negotiations with Niyato were put on hold and alternate solutions were sought.

The first of the Companys new partnership targets was Liberty Electric Cars Limited, a UK-based conversion and EV support company which currently designs, develops, manufactures and markets electric vehicle drive trains for use in its own converted vehicles and for sale to OEMs for incorporation into their production. Their focus is on larger platforms from 4x4 through to commercial vehicles, where they operate in a niche market with few competitors. Liberty Electric Cars Limited also supplies after sales support, training, and upgrades for electric vehicle users throughout Europe and Middle East.

Liberty, through its E-Tech division, is involved in a number of advanced research programs for developing next generation EV solutions, many in partnership with Tier 1 automotive manufacturers. The E-Tech engineering team can count over 2,500,000 miles of EV expertise, and were the first people to design and build a ground up electric truck. In addition, they own the UKs largest EV retail company, which has sold over 1400 electric vehicles and they supply, through their E-Care division, a comprehensive after-market EV support program throughout Europe for electric trucks and cars.

Their clients include such high profile names as UPS, Fed-ex, Navistar, Veolia, Tesco and many more.

In November 2010 Liberty entered and successfully completed the Royal Automobile Club's first annual "Future Car Challenge" where 2 Liberty Pure Electric Range Rovers drove from Brighton to London, with 5 people in each car including a film crew in one, ending with an exciting public display on Regent Street in the centre of London. In addition to Libertys expertise in engineering solutions for electric vehicles, and providing the most comprehensive after market program for electric cars and trucks, Liberty also offers a range of exciting electric transport solutions.

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Green Automotive to Join Forces with Liberty Electric Cars Limited

Dream-Liberty Preview

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After losing their opening five games for the first time ever, the New York Liberty finally got in the win column their last time out behind a stifling defensive display.

They'll likely need to clamp down again with the Angel McCoughtry-led Atlanta Dream coming to town.

The Liberty look to make it two in a row Tuesday night against a Dream club trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a year.

Allowing an Eastern Conference-worst 85.5 points per game, New York (1-5) was outscored by an average of 17.4 during its winless start. It ended the skid with an 87-72 victory over Indiana in the back end of a home-and-home set Sunday.

Four-time WNBA All-Star Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 25 points for the Liberty, who were blown out by the Fever 91-68 the night before.

"We were extra motivated, everybody was angry," Pondexter said. "We finally got a win under our belt. ... We're happy about it. Winning changes everything. (The win) feels awesome but it's a long season ahead of us. We just got to continue to keep going, staying positive with each other and just keep working.

"We made a lot of mistakes in our previous five games, where we knew we had the game and then lost it down the stretch. ... But (Sunday) we stuck together. I think that's a real positive."

New York held Indiana to 40.4 percent shooting and scored 27 points off 22 turnovers. The Liberty had forced an average of 12.8 turnovers during their losing streak.

"We got back to what gives us a chance to compete with anybody in the league, and that is our defense," coach John Whisenant said. "We had even distribution of our scoring. When we play defense harder, our offense is better."

The Liberty could be in for a tough test versus McCoughtry, whose 22.6 points per game rank second in the league.

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Dream-Liberty Preview

LIBERTY Dental Plan Introduces New Executive for Government Programs

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IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

LIBERTY Dental Plan (LIBERTY) is pleased to announced that Dave Meadows, a healthcare industry veteran, is joining the companys operations as Senior Vice President of Government Programs.

We are excited and honored to welcome Dave to our executive management, said Amir Neshat, CEO and founder of the Irvine-based dental benefits administrator. As LIBERTY continues to expand its business within the market of government sponsored plan we anticipate Daves knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our successfully delivering the highest quality of dental benefits to our members in government sponsored programs.

With over 19 years of specialized expertise in state health programs, Meadows will manage operations out of the greater Sacramento area by providing his experienced input on facilitating and developing public plans that will best serve populations for California and LIBERTYS national partners. His extensive career includes a term as Vice President of State Health Programs for Health Net, and time spent working directly for the California State Department as a Supervising Examiner responsible for financial regulation of contracting Health Care Service Plans. Meadows presently serves as a Board Member for the California Association of Dental Plans (CADP) and the California Department of Managed Health Cares Financial Solvency Standards Board.

Im thrilled to be joining such a dynamic company that has demonstrated its leadership in providing dental coverage to the government programs sector, said Meadows. Im excited about the opportunity we have to work on innovative, cost effective ways to continually improve the access and availability government program beneficiaries have to quality dental care.

About LIBERTY Dental Plan

LIBERTY Dental Plan specializes in commercial and government sponsored dental programs, providing services to managed care organizations, state governments, labor unions, large group employers, municipalities, and individuals. With a vast majority of its membership enrolled in government sponsored programs, LIBERTY is recognized as a specialist in administering dental care for Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare beneficiaries. LIBERTY has a proven record of successfully increasing the utilization of quality dental care for multiple programs, ensuring that a larger portion of premiums are appropriated directly to care.

LIBERTY Dental Plan is also recognized as an industry leader in the area of Dental Disease Management. A member of The Care Continuum Alliance (carecontinuum.org), LIBERTY shares their commitment to promote high quality standards for and definitions of key components of wellness, disease, case management where appropriate, and care coordination programs as well as support services and materials.

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LIBERTY Dental Plan Introduces New Executive for Government Programs

Women's basketball: FGCU playing in Virgin Islands tourney in November

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The Florida Gulf Coast University womens basketball team will be going tropical this November as the Eagles will participate in the 2012 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam at University of the Virgin Islands, which will take place Nov. 22-24.

The Eagles will compete in the Reef Division and will face Big East member DePaul, the SECs South Carolina and Hampton in the three-day event.

The Paradise Jam is one of the most competitive events in womens basketball, FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. We try to schedule something special for our players every year, and this is a special event. It should be a great challenge.

FGCU will meet each of their opponents at the Paradise Jam for the first time in program history. The three opponents all advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and won over 20 games, combining for a 74-26 overall record.

The Eagles' first game is against DePaul on Thursday, Nov. 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET. On Nov. 23 at 3:30 p.m. ET, FGCU will face South Carolina, and the Eagles wrap things up against Hampton on Nov. 24 at 1:15 p.m. ET.

Ranked No. 24 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (April 3), DePaul finished the 2011-12 season with a 23-11 overall record (9-7 Big East) and fell to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Blue Demons, who set program records for 3-pointers (156) and 3-point field goal attempts (753), return their top three scorers, highlighted by the Big Easts leading scorer Anna Martin (19.1 ppg).

Dawn Staley, the 2012 Black Coaches and Administrators Female Coach of the Year, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most decorated participants in United States women's basketball history, led herGamecocks to a 25-10 overall record (10-6 SEC) and fell to Stanford in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina was ranked No. 21 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and drew the No. 25 position in the last AP Top 25, which was released prior to the NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks 25 total wins and 10 SEC victories tied the 2001-02 team for the most in the SEC era. South Carolina defeated six top-25 teams, including five wins either on the road or at a neutral site, and, after tying for fourth in the regular-season standings, reached the SEC tournament semifinals for the first time in school history.

Hampton, which finished 26-5 overall (15-1 MEAC) last season and lost to Stanford in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, ranked No. 8 in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

Hampton won its second straight MEAC regular-season title and third straight MEAC tournament crown, while also setting a school Division I record for victories in a single season. The Pirates will have a different look next season, as they will be without their top three scorers, who accounted for 57.2 percent of HUs scoring in 2011-12, including a first team All-MEAC selection and MEAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player in Jericka Jenkins.

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Women's basketball: FGCU playing in Virgin Islands tourney in November

Survey shows healthy bird populations on barrier islands

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Biologists from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources have discovered at least 732 wading-bird nesting sites on Fripp, Harbor and Hunting islands.

The survey, conducted this spring, marks the first time scientists hand-counted nesting areas on the northern Beaufort County islands. The results confirm what many bird watchers long have suspected.

"What this tells us is that we have a very healthy population of birds that are nesting and raising young ones in an environment that's very comfortable and safe for them," said Pete Richards, president of the Fripp Island Audubon Society. "It's very protected."

Data collected in the survey could have many applications, including development of a baseline to compare against future counts. It also could be used to boost the region's appeal as an eco-tourism and bird-watching destination.

"We have been working on letting people know that the Beaufort barrier islands (are) an important area and a great tourist attraction," said John Albert, a Harbor Island resident and Fripp Island Audubon Society board member.

"When we're doing advertising, it won't hurt to say we have 'X number' of nesting birds here," he said.

According to the survey, Harbor Island has at least 656 nesting sites for great egret, snowy egret, little blue heron, green heron and other species. At least 20 such sites were found on Hunting Island, and 56 were spotted on Fripp.

The disparity was not unexpected. Harbor Island has more fresh water than the others, making it more appealing to the birds, Albert said.

Details about the nest count, including when it was conducted and how many state biologists were involved, were not available Friday. Christy Hand, the state's wading-bird biologist, was unavailable for comment.

In addition to confirming hunches about wading-bird populations, the survey suggests salt marshes and lagoons on these and hundreds of nearby islands remain hospitable to migratory birds, such as red knots and piping plovers.

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Survey shows healthy bird populations on barrier islands

Export extravaganza in human cells

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ScienceDaily (June 4, 2012) In the first comprehensive census of human cells' export workers, scientists at EMBL Heidelberg, found an unexpected variety of genes involved in transporting molecules to the cell membrane and beyond.

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have conducted the first comprehensive census of human cells' export workers. In a study published online June 3 in Nature Cell Biology, they found an unexpected variety of genes involved in transporting molecules to the cell membrane and beyond.

Using a combination of genetics and sophisticated microscopy, Rainer Pepperkok and colleagues systematically silenced each of our 22 000 genes, and observed to what extent this affected the cell's ability to transport a protein. They found that 15% of human genes somehow influence this transport network -- known as the secretory pathway -- including genes that provide a link to other events in and around the cell. Their findings suggest, for instance, that our cells evolved a complex strategy for adapting to changes in their environment. When a cell senses a growth factor called EGF in its surroundings, a protein on the cell membrane aptly named the EGF receptor is taken from the membrane into the cell, starting a chain reaction that ultimately leads the cell to divide, and during which the EGF receptor is degraded. The EMBL scientists have now found that the process also triggers an increase in activity at the early steps of the secretory pathway to transport newly synthesised EGF receptor back to the membrane, where it will be needed again.

Next, the scientists would like to tease out how mechanisms like sensing the environment, controlling genes and transmitting signals are connected to transporting molecules to the membrane, in an effort to better understand how cells work as whole.

The study's data is freely available to the scientific community at http://www.mitocheck.org, alongside results of previous screens focused on essential cellular functions like cell division. Pepperkok is working with Jan Ellenberg at EMBL in Heidelberg and Alvis Brazma at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton, UK, to develop a public repository for such image-based screens, which others will be able to turn to when studying the function of human genes.

The work was carried out by Jeremy Simpson, who is now at University College Dublin, Ireland.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), via AlphaGalileo.

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Export extravaganza in human cells

NewLink Genetics Reports Two- and Three-Year Overall Survival Data From Its Phase-2 HyperAcute(R) Pancreas …

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AMES, Iowa, June 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewLink Genetics Corporation (Nasdaq:NLNK - News) announces that its HyperAcute(R) Pancreas (algenpantucel-L) Immunotherapy will be featured today in a poster presentation (abstract number 4049) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2012 Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, IL. The abstract entitled "Addition of algenpantucel-L immunotherapy to standard of care (SOC) adjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer" will be shown in S Hall A2 from 8:00AM to 12:00PM . The study results show 37%, 59% and 121% improvement in 1-, 2- and 3-year survival, respectively, as compared to standard-of-care.

Dr. Jeffrey M. Hardacre, the study's Principal Investigator, from the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH stated, "As a surgeon who regularly treats patients suffering from pancreatic cancer, and being accustomed to the dismal prognosis for these patients, I am highly encouraged with the exceptional overall survival data from this study."

"Given that the primary endpoint in our pivotal Phase 3 study targeting similar patients is overall survival, this data supports our cautious optimism," said Dr. Nicholas Vahanian, President and Chief Medical Officer of NewLink Genetics.

Key data from the 69 patient Phase 2 algenpantucel-L trial demonstrated:

The primary endpoint of the study, 12-month disease free survival (DFS), was 62%. The median DFS was 14.1 months. Subgroup analysis showed that patients receiving 300 million cells/dose had a 12-month DFS of 81%, while those receiving 100 million cells/dose had a 12-month DFS of 51% (p=0.02, Fisher's Exact). Prognostic criteria did not significantly differ between the two groups.

Overall 12-month survival was 86%. The predicted 12 month overall survival in our study was 63%. Subgroup analysis showed that patients receiving 300 million cells/dose had an overall 12-month survival of 96%, while those receiving 100 million cells/dose had an overall 12-month survival of 79% (p=0.053, Fisher's Exact). Two-year overall survival in our study was 51% with a predicted survival of 32% and 3-year overall survival was 42% with a predicted survival of 19%. Predicted survivals were computed using prognostic factors gathered for each patient and calculated using a nomogram published by Brennan et al from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Over the 33 month median follow up period of the study, the percentage improvement in overall survival rate compared to nomogram analysis increased over time. These data are consistent with recent studies of active immunotherapies (Sipuleucel-T and Ipilimumab) in that immune benefits appear greater in some patients over time.

Prominent eosinophil responses have been observed with the majority of patients demonstrating measurable increases in peripheral blood eosinophilia. In addition to eosinophilic infiltrates at the injection site in all tested patients, 70% developed eosinophilia, with 30% showing persistent eosinophilia for up to 2 years.

The HyperAcute(R) Pancreas immunotherapy product candidate, also referred to as algenpantucel-L, demonstrated good tolerability and a favorable safety profile with no grade four adverse events considered attributable to the immunotherapy. The predominant adverse events related to the immunotherapy were grade one or two injection site reactions, all treated with conservative local therapies.

Anecdotally, three patients with cancer recurrence after receiving algenpantucel-L obtained complete radiographic responses with the use of subsequent chemotherapy. As of May 16, 2012, all three patients remain in remission with no evidence of disease for periods ranging from six to 36 months. "We are presenting data from three different HyperAcute products at ASCO this year and each of these has generated intriguing data that provide insights into the activity and mechanisms associated with the treatment of patients with HyperAcute immunotherapies," stated Dr. Charles Link, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of NewLink Genetics. "These observations include survival advantages that improve over time, objective responses, novel immunological findings and chemosensitization."

About the Phase 2 Study

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NewLink Genetics Reports Two- and Three-Year Overall Survival Data From Its Phase-2 HyperAcute(R) Pancreas ...