Obama: US-Japan treaty applies to disputed islands

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TOKYO (AP) President Barack Obama confirmed Wednesday that America's mutual security treaty with Japan applies to the islands at the center of a territorial dispute between China and Japan.

"The policy of the United States is clear," he said in a written response to questions published in Japan's Yomiuri newspaper before his arrival in Tokyo at the start of a four-country Asia tour.

"The Senkaku islands are administered by Japan" and therefore fall under the U.S.-Japan treaty, he wrote. "And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan's administration of these islands."

His statement seems aimed at reassuring Japan that the U.S. would come to its defense if China were to seize the islands, known as Diayou in China. Russia's annexation of Crimea has sparked concern about America's political will to protect Asian allies, notably in Japan and the Philippines.

A Chinese government spokesman responded that China has "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands, and said "the so-called Japan-U.S. alliance" should not harm China's territorial rights.

"We firmly oppose applying the Japan-U.S. security treaty in the issue of the Diaoyu islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular briefing. "The U.S. should respect facts, take a responsible attitude, remain committed to not taking sides on territory and sovereignty issues, speak and act cautiously, and earnestly play a constructive role in regional peace and stability."

Obama told the Yomiuri the United States is deepening its ties with China, but "our engagement with China does not and will not come at the expense of Japan or any other ally."

He said the U.S. will continue to take steps to reduce the impact of its military presence in Okinawa, but added, "it's important to remember that the U.S. Marine Corps presence on Okinawa is absolutely critical to our mutual security. It plays a key role in the defense of Japan."

Associated Press news assistant Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.

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Obama: US-Japan treaty applies to disputed islands

Disputed islands part of US-Japan alliance: Obama

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Tension: a Japanese coast guard vessel shadowing a Chinese surveillance ship last year near the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Photo: AP

Tokyo: Islands at the centre of a row between Tokyo and Beijing are covered by the US-Japan defence alliance, Barack Obama told a newspaper ahead of his arrival in Tokyo.

Mr Obama, on a tour of Asia that will also take in South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia, is the first sitting US president to explicitly affirm that hostile action against the island chain would spark an American reaction.

"The policy of the United States is clear - the Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security," Mr Obama said in a written interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

"We oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan's administration of these islands," he said.

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Several senior US figures, including former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, have made similar statements, which Tokyo covets as a way to warn China away from territories it claims as the Diaoyu islands.

Mr Obama's week-long tour of Asia is being dubbed a "rebalancing" eastward of US foreign policy by the White House.

Although China is not on his itinerary, its presence will be felt on every leg at a time of complex regional disputes and questions about US strategy.

On Wednesday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency published a comment piece criticising US policy in the region as "a carefully calculated scheme to cage the rapidly developing Asian giant".

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Disputed islands part of US-Japan alliance: Obama

Obama pledges support to Japan in islands dispute

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TOKYO , April 23 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama, in an interview prior to his visit to Japan, said a bilateral defense treaty covers islands contested by China and Japan and that it supports Japanese claims.

He arrived in Tokyo Wednesday, the first stop on his seven-day trip that will include visits to South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. China is not on the itinerary but is expected to be a major topic of discussion with heads of state. The trip is an opportunity to reinforce the importance the United States places on Asia, former Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley told the BBC.

Many traditional allies(also) value a strong U.S. presence in the region to balance an assertive China, he said. The visit comes at a period of significant tension among American allies, and between American allies and China.

Islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan but contested by China, are a source of tension. Prior to the visit, Obama said in a written response to a Tokyo newspaper the islands fall within the scope of Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

While Japan relies on the United States for its security, both sides have expressed interest in Japan taking on greater responsibility for its own defense.

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Obama pledges support to Japan in islands dispute

Dispute islands 'within scope' of US-Japan alliance: Barack Obama

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Tokyo: The islands at the centre of a corrosive row between Tokyo and Beijing are covered by the US-Japan defence alliance, Barack Obama told a newspaper ahead of his arrival in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Obama, whose tour of Asia will also take in South Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia, is the first sitting US president to explicitly affirm that hostile action against the island chain would spark an American reaction.

"The policy of the United States is clear -- the Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security," Obama said in a written interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun.

"And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan's administration of these islands," he said.

Several senior US figures, including former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have made similar statements, which Tokyo covets as a way to warn China away from territories it claims as the Diaoyus.

Obama's week-long tour of Asia is being dubbed by the White House a "rebalancing" eastward of US foreign policy.

Although China is not on his itinerary, its presence will be felt on every leg at a time of complex regional disputes and questions about US strategy.

The row over ownership of the Senkakus is not new, but has burst to the fore in the last two years, with paramilitary vessels from both sides jostling in nearby waters to assert control.

In November, China declared an air defence identification zone over the East China Sea, including the skies above the islands.

"I've also told (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) that all our nations have an interest in dealing constructively with maritime issues, including in the East China Sea," Obama told the Yomiuri.

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Dispute islands 'within scope' of US-Japan alliance: Barack Obama

Software Identifies Gene Mutations in 3 Undiagnosed Children

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Newswise (SALT LAKE CITY)A computational tool developed at the University of Utah (U of U) has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases, U of U researchers and their colleagues report in a new study in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The software, Phevor (Phenotype Driven Variant Ontological Re-ranking tool), identifies undiagnosed illnesses and unknown gene mutations by analyzing the exomes, or areas of DNA where proteins that code for genes are made, in individual patients and small families.

Sequencing the genomes of individuals or small families often produces false predictions of mutations that cause diseases. But the study, conducted through the new USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery at the U of U, shows that Phevors unique approach allows it to identify disease-causing genes more precisely than other computational tools.

Mark Yandell, Ph.D, professor of human genetics, led the research. He was joined by co-authors Martin Reese, Ph.D., of Omicia Inc., an Oakland, Calif., genome interpretation software company, Stephen L. Guthery, M.D., professor of pediatrics who saw two of the cases in clinic, a colleague at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and other U of U researchers. Marc V. Singleton, a doctoral student in Yandells lab, is the first author.

Phevor represents a major advance in personalized health care, according to Lynn B. Jorde, Ph.D., U of U professor and chair of human genetics and also a co-author on the study. As the cost of genome sequencing continues to drop, Jorde expects it to become part of standardized health care within a few years, making diagnostic tools such as Phevor more readily available to clinicians.

With Phevor, just having the DNA sequence will enable clinicians to identify rare and undiagnosed diseases and disease-causing mutations, Jorde said. In some cases, theyll be able to make the diagnosis in their own offices.

Using Phevor in Clinic

Phevor works by using algorithms that combine the probabilities of gene mutations being involved in a disease with databases of phenotypes, or the physical manifestation of a disease, and information on gene functions. By combining those factors, Phevor identifies an undiagnosed disease or the most likely candidate gene mutation for causing a disease. It is particularly useful when clinicians want to identify an illness or gene mutation involving a single patient or the patient and two or three other family members, which is the most common clinical situation for undiagnosed diseases.

Yandell, the lead developer of the software, describes Phevor as the application of mathematics to biology. Phevor is a way to try to get the most out of a childs genome to identify diseases or find disease-causing gene mutations, Yandell said.

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Software Identifies Gene Mutations in 3 Undiagnosed Children

Applying math to biology: Software identifies disease-causing mutations in undiagnosed illnesses

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Apr-2014

Contact: Phil Sahm phil.sahm@hsc.utah.edu 801-581-2517 University of Utah Health Sciences

(SALT LAKE CITY)A computational tool developed at the University of Utah (U of U) has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases, U of U researchers and their colleagues report in a new study in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The software, Phevor (Phenotype Driven Variant Ontological Re-ranking tool), identifies undiagnosed illnesses and unknown gene mutations by analyzing the exomes, or areas of DNA where proteins that code for genes are made, in individual patients and small families.

Sequencing the genomes of individuals or small families often produces false predictions of mutations that cause diseases. But the study, conducted through the new USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery at the U of U, shows that Phevor's unique approach allows it to identify disease-causing genes more precisely than other computational tools.

Mark Yandell, Ph.D, professor of human genetics, led the research. He was joined by co-authors Martin Reese, Ph.D., of Omicia Inc., an Oakland, Calif., genome interpretation software company, Stephen L. Guthery, M.D., professor of pediatrics who saw two of the cases in clinic, a colleague at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and other U of U researchers. Marc V. Singleton, a doctoral student in Yandell's lab, is the first author.

Phevor represents a major advance in personalized health care, according to Lynn B. Jorde, Ph.D., U of U professor and chair of human genetics and also a co-author on the study. As the cost of genome sequencing continues to drop, Jorde expects it to become part of standardized health care within a few years, making diagnostic tools such as Phevor more readily available to clinicians.

"With Phevor, just having the DNA sequence will enable clinicians to identify rare and undiagnosed diseases and disease-causing mutations," Jorde said. "In some cases, they'll be able to make the diagnosis in their own offices."

Phevor works by using algorithms that combine the probabilities of gene mutations being involved in a disease with databases of phenotypes, or the physical manifestation of a disease, and information on gene functions. By combining those factors, Phevor identifies an undiagnosed disease or the most likely candidate gene mutation for causing a disease. It is particularly useful when clinicians want to identify an illness or gene mutation involving a single patient or the patient and two or three other family members, which is the most common clinical situation for undiagnosed diseases.

Yandell, the lead developer of the software, describes Phevor as the application of mathematics to biology. "Phevor is a way to try to get the most out of a child's genome to identify diseases or find disease-causing gene mutations," Yandell said.

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Applying math to biology: Software identifies disease-causing mutations in undiagnosed illnesses

Changes in the health care system driven by self-service and DIY health

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Health care is migrating from the bricks-and-mortar doctors office or care clinic to the person him or herself at home and on-the-gowhere people live, work, play, and pray. As people take on more do-it-yourself (DIY) approaches to everyday lifeinvesting money on financial services websites, booking airline tickets and hotel rooms online, and securing dinner reservations via OpenTablemany also ask why they cant have more convenient access to health care, like emailing doctors and looking into lab test results in digital personal health records.

85% of U.S. health consumers say that email, text messages, and voicemail are at least as helpful as in-person or phone conversations with health providers, according to the Healthy World study,Technology Beyond the Exam Room by TeleVox. Furthermore, one in three consumers admits to being more honest when talking about medical needs via automated voice response systems, emails, or texts than face-to-face with a health provider.

And three in ten consumers believe that receiving digital health care communications from providerssuch as texts, voicemail, or emailwould build trust with their providers. Half of people also say theyd feel more valued as a patient via digital health communications. When people look to engage in health with an organization, the most important enabling factors are trust and authenticity.

All consumers, from Gen X and Gen Y to Baby Boomers, welcome the era of personalized medicine via digital communications, looking for these messages to be personally tailored. That 1 in 2 consumers (49%) say theyre open to receiving medical care between visits via email testifies to consumers demand for telehealth services.

Figure 1 reveals the popularity of email among patients for their interactions with the medical establishment, and other media show up strong as well.

Figure 1. Relative popularity of various channels for doctor/patient communication

Most consumers spend time throughout the year seeking health information onlineabout an hour a week on average. Time with a doctor? An hour a year. That 52:1 ratio of hours spent on health, outside versus inside the doctors office, raises the question: what can the health care field do in the interstices of time to enhance peoples health and experience with the health care system?

The answer is in the cloud and mobile technology platforms, combined with the already-well-used Internet. People have been maturing in their use of the Internet for health, with about 1 in 3 people moving beyond Web 1.0 into Health 2.0s era of blogs, wikis, and social networks ofpeer-to-peer support, theWisdom of Patientskicking in. AHarris poll found that at least one-third of peoplewho participate in online activities are keen to use smartphones or tablets to do health online: to ask doctors questions, make appointments, and receive medical test results, for example.

Clinical Management Apps: Creating Partnerships Between Providers and Patients, fromThe Commonwealth Fund, posits that apps can help to transform health care delivery across all populationseven hard-to-reach lower-income people who often fall through both the health care safety net and the digital divide. The authors of the report look into the 40-60,000 health and wellness apps in the market, and believe that these may be beneficial for low-income and minority patients disproportionately affected by chronic disease. Because these people often face barriers to accessing health care, self-managed apps when adopted and used can address this challenge. The researchers point to data from thePew Internet & American Life Projectshowing that African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely than white people to own a smartphone and that among cell phone owners, minorities are also more likely to use their phones for accessing health information.

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Changes in the health care system driven by self-service and DIY health

University of Utah Health Care Online Physician Reviews Continue to Lead Transparency Efforts in Academic Medicine

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Newswise (Salt Lake City) As other health care systems around the country prepare to follow in the footsteps of University of Utah Health Care the first hospital system in the country to post online physician reviews and comments Utahs only academic medical center is reporting new data about the innovative venture it launched in December 2012.

University of Utah Health Care watched web traffic to its online physician profiles skyrocket after implementing online physician reviews, analytics show. In March 2014, page views to University of Utah Health Care physician profiles totaled 122,072 a dramatic increase from the 32,144 page reviews tallied before the systems effort to publish online physician reviews and comments had been fully adopted. The surge in web traffic is a strong indicator that patients and consumers appreciate the transparency and additional information that online reviews can bring, said Thomas Miller, M.D., chief medical officer at University of Utah Health Care.

University of Utah Health Care uses data from more than 40,000 patient surveys to rate its physicians on nine measures using a five-star system. Patients are e-mailed an electronic survey within a few days following their medical appointment and are asked to complete questions about the care they received. Feedback is posted to the web site, but is also used to improve all areas of patients clinical experiences.

Other health care systems have consulted with the university while adapting their own respective models of online physician reviews, said Brian Gresh, senior director of interactive marketing and web at University of Utah Health Care.

There are many systems out there looking at how to do this, said Gresh. Were pleased that weve set the bar high and can serve as a model in the U.S. for how to post physician reviews online successfully.

Elsewhere in the U.S., Piedmont Health Care recently went live with online physician reviews and Wake Forest Baptist Health soon will be experimenting with the idea.

More information can be found at: http://healthcare.utah.edu/fad/pressganey.php#patient%20survey

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University of Utah Health Care Online Physician Reviews Continue to Lead Transparency Efforts in Academic Medicine

Routine blood glucose measurements can accurately estimate hemoglobin A1c in diabetes

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Apr-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, April 22, 2014Hemoglobin A1c is the standard measurement for assessing glycemic control over time in people with diabetes. Blood levels of A1c are typically measured every few months in a laboratory, but now researchers have developed a data-based model that accurately estimates A1c using self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG) readings, as described in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the DTT website at http://www.liebertpub.com/dtt.

In "Accuracy and Robustness of Dynamical Tracking of Average Glycemia (A1c) to Provide Real-Time Estimation of Hemoglobin A1c Using Routine Self-Monitored Blood Glucose Data," authors Boris Kovatchev, PhD, Frank Flacke, PhD, Jochen Sieber, MD, and Marc Breton, PhD present the computer algorithm they developed based on a training data set drawn from 379 subjects and then evaluated for accuracy on an independent test data set. The authors propose that estimation of real-time A1c could increase individuals' motivation to improve diabetes control.

"Patients are used to an A1c result from their doctor visits, and this study highlights simple estimated A1c values from SMBG data," says Satish Garg, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics and Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver. "This may become an important tool for improved patient self-management."

###

About the Journal

Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal that covers new technology and new products for the treatment, monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Led by Editor-in-Chief Satish Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver, the Journal covers topics that include noninvasive glucose monitoring, implantable continuous glucose sensors, novel routes of insulin administration, genetic engineering, the artificial pancreas, measures of long-term control, computer applications for case management, telemedicine, the Internet, and new medications. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT) website at http://www.liebertpub.com/dtt. DTT is the official journal of the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) Conference.

About ATTD

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Routine blood glucose measurements can accurately estimate hemoglobin A1c in diabetes

On-off switch for neurons allows scientists a deeper look into the brain

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SAN DIEGO Karl Deisseroth is having a very early breakfast before the day gets going at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Thirty thousand people who study the brain are here at the Convention Center, a small citys worth of badge-wearing, networking, lecture-attending scientists.

For Deisseroth, though, this crowd is a bit like the gang at Cheers everybody knows his name. He is a Stanford psychiatrist and a neuroscientist, and one of the people most responsible for the development of optogenetics, a technique that allows researchers to turn brain cells on and off with a combination of genetic manipulation and pulses of light.

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On-off switch for neurons allows scientists a deeper look into the brain