Liberty Property Trust Hosts First Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call

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MALVERN, Pa., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY - News) will host its first quarter results conference call on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at 1:00 P.M., ET. The call can be accessed by dialing (888) 870-2815 and entering the passcode 68152370. The conference call will also be available live at http://www.libertyproperty.comin the "Investor Relations" section of the site. Liberty will issue a press release detailing results the same day before the market opens.

If you are unable to join the conference call, you may access the archived webcast, also in the Investor Relations section of the web site. In addition, a recording will be available telephonically until May 8, 2012 by dialing (855) 859-2056 and using the passcode 68152370.

Liberty Property Trust is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 79 million square foot portfolio includes nearly 700 properties which provide office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,900 tenants.

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Liberty Property Trust Hosts First Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call

Amazon And The NIH Team Up To Put Human Genome In The Cloud

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Amazon and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that the complete 1000 Genomes Project is being made available on Amazon Web Services as a public data set. The announcement, made at the White House Big Data Summit, will make the largest collection of human genetics available to anyone free of charge.

In case youre light on the details, the 1000 Genomes Project is an international research effort started in 2008 that involves 75 companies and organizations working together to create a detailed catalog of the human genome, and all its 3 billion DNA bases. To date, over 200 terabytes of data have been created since the projects start.

Theres now DNA sequenced from over 2,661 individuals from 26 populations, and the NIH is planning to add more samples this year. The effort led to the techniques used to sequence the DNA of other species, going from the mouse to the gorilla.

The project started off with three pilot studies. Amazon began hosting the initial pilot data on Amazon S3 in 2010, so its not surprising to see the remainder of the data added today. The latest dataset is the most current, containing the DNA of 1,700 people.

The move to put the data up on Amazon, specifically, Amazon Web Services, aims to help speed up access to the research. Previously, researchers had to download data from government data centers or their own systems, or even snail mail it on discs.

The data will be stored on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) and can be accessed from AWS services such as Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) and Amazon Elastic MapReduce (Amazon EMR).

The 1000 Genomes Project is only one of many of the publicly hosted datasets found on Amazon. Others include data fromNASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Langone Medical Center at New York University,Unilever,Numerate,Sage BionetworksandIon Flux.

More details on the data itself are here.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep into the long tail by housing them in numerous warehouses and distributing products from many partner companies. Amazon directly sells or acts as a platform for the sale of a broad range of products. These include books, music, videos, consumer electronics, clothing and household products. The majority of Amazons...

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Amazon And The NIH Team Up To Put Human Genome In The Cloud

New Data Demonstrates DIFICLIRâ„¢ May Offer Benefits for Cancer Patients, who are at High Risk of Clostridium …

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STAINES, UK, March 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a potentially fatal disease, is one

of the most common healthcare acquired infections in Europe[1]

New data presented at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) demonstrate that in cancer patients with CDI, DIFICLIR( fidaxomicin) may offer significant benefits in terms of clinical cure*, recurrence[#] and sustained clinical cure[=].[2]

The data presented were derived from two Phase III clinical trials. A post hoc analysis compared outcomes in patients who had a diagnosis of cancer with outcomes for patients who did not. In the clinical trials, the data on cancer diagnosis was not collected as a pre-defined endpoint.

CDI is the leading cause of healthcare-acquired diarrhoea in adults[1] and has become an increasing problem in hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.[3] A persons risk of CDI increases with a longer period of hospitalisation.[4] Patients who have received chemotherapy and those with solid tumours can be particularly susceptible to CDI due to their long hospital stays and exposure to many antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents.[5]

"Patients with cancer represent a vulnerable population who are at high risk of CDI, often resulting from their compromised immune system. CDI can be a devastating addition for patients who are already battling pre-existing conditions. Treatment options that reduce the burden of CDI and in particular recurrence, will allow clinicians to focus their efforts on treating the cancer." said Professor Oliver Cornely, Medical Director of the Clinical Trial Center of The University of Cologne, Germany and lead investigator of the study.

In two Phase III clinical trials, there were 1105 patients with CDI in the total modified-intent-to-treat (mITT) population, of which 183 (16.6%) patients had a current diagnosis of cancer. A post-hoc analysis of the data from this sub-group of cancer patients shows that CDI results in a lower clinical cure rate and prolonged episodes of diarrhoea.[2] When compared to patients treated with vancomycin, those treated with DIFICLIR had higher clinical cure (97.3% vs. 87.5%) and sustained clinical cure (83.6% vs. 61.3%), as well as reduced rates of recurrence (14.1% vs. 30.0%) in this population.[2]

Further data announced at ECCMID, and published this month in the Lancet Infectious Diseases supports existing DIFICLIR data by demonstrating that DIFICLIR has a similar efficacy and tolerability profile to oral vancomycin and also offers the benefit of a superior sustained response and a greater reduction in rates of recurrence.[6]

Results from the Phase III clinical trial (Study OPT-80-004) of 509 adults across Europe and North America with a diagnosis of CDI showed that patients treated with DIFICLIR had a significantly lower rate of CDI recurrence (12.7%) compared with those receiving vancomycin (26.9%, p<0.001). In addition, DIFICLIR recipients were more likely than those treated with vancomycin to achieve sustained clinical cure (76.6% vs. 63.4% respectively, p=0.001).[6]

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New Data Demonstrates DIFICLIRâ„¢ May Offer Benefits for Cancer Patients, who are at High Risk of Clostridium ...

New Data Demonstrates DIFICLIR™ May Offer Benefits for Cancer Patients, who are at High Risk of Clostridium Difficile …

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STAINES, UK, March 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a potentially fatal disease, is one of the most common healthcare acquired infections inEurope[1]

New data presented at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) demonstrate that in cancer patients with CDI, DIFICLIR(fidaxomicin) may offer significant benefits in terms of clinical cure*, recurrence[#] and sustained clinical cure[=].[2]

The data presented were derived from two Phase III clinical trials. A post hoc analysis compared outcomes in patients who had a diagnosis of cancer with outcomes for patients who did not. In the clinical trials, the data on cancer diagnosis was not collected as a pre-defined endpoint.

CDI is the leading cause of healthcare-acquired diarrhoea in adults[1] and has become an increasing problem in hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.[3] A person's risk of CDI increases with a longer period of hospitalisation.[4] Patients who have received chemotherapy and those with solid tumours can be particularly susceptible to CDI due to their long hospital stays and exposure to many antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents.[5]

"Patients with cancer represent a vulnerable population who are at high risk of CDI, often resulting from their compromised immune system. CDI can be a devastating addition for patients who are already battling pre-existing conditions. Treatment options that reduce the burden of CDI and in particular recurrence, will allow clinicians to focus their efforts on treating the cancer." said Professor Oliver Cornely, Medical Director of the Clinical Trial Center of The University of Cologne, Germany and lead investigator of the study.

In two Phase III clinical trials, there were 1105 patients with CDI in the total modified-intent-to-treat (mITT) population, of which 183 (16.6%) patients had a current diagnosis of cancer. A post-hoc analysis of the data from this sub-group of cancer patients shows that CDI results in a lower clinical cure rate and prolonged episodes of diarrhoea.[2] When compared to patients treated with vancomycin, those treated with DIFICLIR had higher clinical cure (97.3% vs. 87.5%) and sustained clinical cure (83.6% vs. 61.3%), as well as reduced rates of recurrence (14.1% vs. 30.0%) in this population.[2]

Further data announced at ECCMID, and published this month in the Lancet Infectious Diseases supports existing DIFICLIR data by demonstrating that DIFICLIR has a similar efficacy and tolerability profile to oral vancomycin and also offers the benefit of a superior sustained response and a greater reduction in rates of recurrence.[6]

Results from the Phase III clinical trial (Study OPT-80-004) of 509 adults across Europe and North America with a diagnosis of CDI showed that patients treated with DIFICLIR had a significantly lower rate of CDI recurrence (12.7%) compared with those receiving vancomycin (26.9%, p<0.001). In addition, DIFICLIR recipients were more likely than those treated with vancomycin to achieve sustained clinical cure (76.6% vs. 63.4% respectively, p=0.001).[6]

"Results from key Phase III trials and the post-hoc analysis demonstrate the effectiveness of DIFICLIR as a novel and effective treatment in patients with CDI, but also in high risk populations, such as patients with cancer," said Ken Jones, President and CEO of Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. "Astellas are committed to developing effective treatments for patients where there is a clear unmet medical need."

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New Data Demonstrates DIFICLIR™ May Offer Benefits for Cancer Patients, who are at High Risk of Clostridium Difficile ...

Stakeholders weigh in on UC Berkeley GMO complex

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A forum critical of UC Berkeleys plans to ramp up genetic engineering research at a planned massive new second campus of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Richmond drew a capacity crowd to the David Brower Center Thursday night.

One speaker after another ripped into the potential consequences of the universitys grandiose plans, including the human and environmental devastation certain to be wrought on Africa and Latin America.

We will be posting several articles on the gathering, but we will begin with a focus on some of the ways the labs end products could impact other lands targeted by the labs emphasis on using genetic engineering to transform living plants into fuel.

A resonant voice from Nigeria

Environmental activist Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria and chair of Friends of the Earth International, ripped into comments made a day earlier by Jay Keasling, UC Berkeley professor, founder of three genetic engineering companies, and head of the Department of Energy-funded Joint BioEnergy Institute [JBEI], which is slated to relocate to the new Richmond campus.

In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Keasling had dismissed criticisms by Bassey and others that any successful program to use genetically altered microbes to create fuel from plant matter would wreak ecological and human devastation in Africa, Latin America, and Asia:

Thast so-called wasteland is somebodys land, Bassey said. The worlds pastoralists thrive on lands marginal or unsuitable for farming. People do live in the Sahara desert. People do live in the Kalahari Desert. People do live in the desert here in the United States.

The one sure result of a global land grab is conflict, he said. A second is the introduction of genetically modified organisms [GMOs] into more nations where theyve been previously banned.

Bassey, whose words flow in resonant, almost musical bass tones, is a winner of the 2010 Right Livelihood Award, often called the Alternate Nobel Prize because it is awarded by the Swedish legislature the day before the Nobels are handed out in the same city, Stockholm. The prize is given for working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today.

Much of Basseys work has centered on the devastation wrought on his country by oil companies like Chevron, which has sunk its claws and talons into Richmond, and, like Shell, BP, and other oil companies is moving into agrofuels.

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Canadian-made bedside DNA test speeds treatment

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OTTAWA The University of Ottawa Heart Institute has developed the world's first bedside DNA test, designed to tell doctors about a patient's genes in minutes, instead of days.

Instead of sending blood to a lab and waiting for days, the nurse swabs a few cells inside the patient's mouth and sees results on the spot.

The focus so far is on one type of heart problem, but researchers say this is just the first step toward a future when a swab can tell all about your personal health.

"This one study opens the door," said Dr. Derek So, a cardiologist at the Heart Institute and co-investigator on the project.

"If there are other genes, in any area of medicine where there is a potential for diagnosis or treatment, that same technology could be applied to those genes," he said.

"It's quick and it's accurate."

Working with Spartan Bioscience, an Ottawa biotech company, they first built a design that gives results in one hour. They're now working to cut that to 30 or 45 minutes.

"That's what is revolutionary," So said.

"What they have to do (when using a genetics lab) is get a blood sample, FedEx the sample to a lab, get it to isolate the DNA, then use a machine to sequence the DNA and test it. Their turnaround time is anywhere from three to seven days at best."

That's not fast enough when a doctor has to make a decision about a patient who needs treatment now.

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Nutrition students will participate in service learning project at Longview nursing home tomorrow

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Nutrition students will participate in service learning project at Longview nursing home tomorrow

Several students studying nutrition at Kilgore College will take their expertise on the road tomorrow, hosting a family fun day for residents at Longview nursing home The Clairmont.

The students will be serving picnic-type lunches and will host activities during the event, which is set for 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 31.

Students participating this Saturday are members of adjunct faculty member Deborah Elliotts nutrition class.

This is a great way for KC students to give back to the community, said Patty Bell, Service Learning Director at KC. We are always looking for ways to give our students opportunities to create valuable learning experiences outside of the classroom.

According to Bell, the KC Service Learning Program is a teaching and learning strategy where students perform public service to benefit the community in order to achieve a courses learning objectives and fulfill personal goals.

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Nutrition students will participate in service learning project at Longview nursing home tomorrow

People in the News: Benjamin Madej and Brian Athey

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Benjamin Madej, a chemistry and biochemistry PhD student at the University of California, San Diego, has won the 2012-2013 Nvidia Graduate Fellowship Program award for his molecular dynamics research using graphics processing unit-based computing.

Madej will receive a $25,000 scholarship to further his research. Additionally, he will have access to Nvidia products, technology, and expertise.

His proposal focused on improving the Amber molecular dynamics GPU engine and extending the use of GPUs in other facets of molecular dynamics development and workflows. He is currently working on new methods for developing force fields used in molecular dynamics software, specifically the Amber MD package.

Biovest, a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, has tapped Brian Athey to be a member of its scientific advisory board.

Athey is a professor of biomedical informatics and was recently named chair of the department of computational medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Michigan's medical school (BI 1/20/2012). Additionally, he serves on Appistry's scientific and technology advisory board (BI 2/10/2012).

Athey is also one of the founders of the tranSMART project community which supports open source pharmaceutical data-sharing and -analysis software platforms.

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People in the News: Benjamin Madej and Brian Athey

Candice Swanepoel on the Anatomy of a Victoria’s Secret Swimsuit Shoot

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Courtesy Victorias Secret

White sand beaches, clear oceans, warm sunshine Victorias Secret swim shoots look like a walk in the park, er, on the beach. But in reality, they do take a lot of work, according to swimwear model Candice Swanepoel.

We usually start around 5 a.m., or 5:30 a.m., to be able to catch the sunrise because those are some of the most beautiful moments, the Angel told PEOPLE recently at party to celebrate the brands new swimwear in New York. We take a break in the middle of the day, and then we shoot until the sun goes down.

OK, so we dont feel too badly for Swanepoel, whos shot in gorgeous locations like St. Barts one of my favorite places of all time, she said and Bora Bora. It was far I flew from Paris which was like a world away, but it was paradise, she shared. But really, any beach. Im like, Wheres the next swim shoot?

On the shoots, the models wear very little makeup. The first day we use a lot of bronzer, to get that beautiful tan, but after a while I get naturally tan, she revealed.

And when multiple teams of models, makeup artists and photographers are at a destination (the whole family, as Swanepoel affectionately calls them), the group will shoot all day and enjoy a tropical dinner together at night.

But for all the beautiful places shes posed, theres still one destination Swanepoel is dying to see in a Victorias Secret catalogue: Brazil. The beaches are kind of wild, not the pristine white sand and clear water that looks so good with these bikinis, she explained. But Im obsessed with it the energy they have there, the beach culture its so relaxed. Every moment is exciting people just want to enjoy life and have fun. Sounds like the perfect summer motto.

CELEB TRAINERS REVEAL: HOW STARS STAY SVELTE

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Candice Swanepoel on the Anatomy of a Victoria’s Secret Swimsuit Shoot

Are Travel Agents Really Making a Comeback?

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SHERMAN, CT--(Marketwire -03/29/12)- The past 15 years have brought dramatic changes to how travel is booked in the U.S. Consumer migration to online channels has driven a decline in the number of traditional travel agencies. But according to a new report from travel industry research authority PhoCusWright, traditional agencies still account for one third of travel bookings in the U.S., and today's travel agents are reinventing themselves to stay relevant and competitive.

"The Once and Future Agent: PhoCusWright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape 2009-2013" (www.phocuswright.com/products/4110) reports that traditional travel agencies accounted for nearly US$95 billion in travel sales in 2011, or one third of the $284 billion U.S. travel market. Corporate agencies, which rebounded quickly from the recession, now account for nearly three fourths of all agency bookings and are focused on air, hotel and rental car sales. Leisure agencies tend to specialize in more complex leisure products such as vacation packages and cruises that are more challenging to book online, and represent a little over one fourth of total agency sales.

Both the leisure and corporate agency segments have changed dramatically over the past 15 years, and more change lies ahead. Douglas Quinby, PhoCusWright's senior director, research, addresses some of the key shifts that have taken place in the travel agency distribution landscape.

"The Once and Future Agent: PhoCusWright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape 2009-2013" examines the traditional travel agency channel, assessing the state of the marketplace and providing a detailed outlook for the future. The report includes:

"The Once and Future Agent: PhoCusWright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape 2009-2013" (US$1,100) traces the dramatic forces that have redefined the traditional travel agency sector, and provides essential guidance on the shaping of this distribution channel in the years to come.

ABOUT PHOCUSWRIGHT INC. (www.phocuswright.com)

PhoCusWright, the travel industry research authority, fosters smart strategic planning and tactical decision-making by delivering primary research on the evolving dynamics that influence travel, tourism and hospitality distribution. To complement its research in North America, Europe and Asia, PhoCusWright partners with and produces several high-profile conferences around the world.

2012 PhoCusWright Inc., Sherman, CT United States

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Are Travel Agents Really Making a Comeback?

Using Antiplatelet Therapy After Coronary Interventions – Study

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Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology Also Included In: Heart Disease;Genetics Article Date: 30 Mar 2012 - 8:00 PDT

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Following PCI, the standard care for patients commonly consists of aspirin and clopidogrel to reduce the risk of blood clot formation, however, this dual antiplatelet therapy results in many patients becoming vulnerable to major adverse cardiovascular events.

This persistent vulnerability is linked to elevated on-treatment platelet reactivity, which can lead to a sudden blockage in the stents that can cause heart attacks or death. The characteristics of elevated on-treatment platelet reactivity are inadequate inhibition of the platelet PsY12 receptor following clopidogrel treatment.

According to scientists, numerous clinical variables have been implicated, however, the strongest predictor is the loss-of-function CYP2C19*2 allele (rs4244285), which is a common genetic variant that occurs in almost 30% of western Europeans and in about 50% of Asians.

Two unique P2Y12 inhibitors are prasugrel and ticagrelor, which compared with clopidogrel provide a more potent platelet inhibition. Although both drugs reduce major adverse cardiovascular events following acute coronary syndrome, they are also linked to higher complications in terms of bleeding. The researchers point out that retrospective genetic studies demonstrated that both, prasugrel and ticagrelor remained unaffected by the CYP2C19*2 allele. According to the authors, personalization of dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI could successfully minimize major adverse cardiovascular and adverse bleeding events if CYP2C19*2 carrier status could be identified in the future.

Spartan Biosciences in Ottawa, ON, Canada, has developed Spartan RX CYP2C19 as a point-of-care genetic test for the CYP2C19*2 allele that is performed with a buccal swab, which enables health-care personnel with no previous training in genetic laboratory techniques to undertake genotyping at the patient's bedside.

The researchers decided to evaluate the clinical feasibility and pharmacodynamic efficacy of personalized dual antiplatelet therapy in patients who receive PCI treatment for acute coronary syndrome and stable coronary artery disease.

The standard care for these patients is a medical regimen of aspirin and clopidogrel, however, the new genetic test means that physicians can personalize the patient's therapy and select whether they should opt to administer a more potent anti-platelet drug like prasugrel to those patients who have a high risk of failing treatment with clopidogrel.

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Using Antiplatelet Therapy After Coronary Interventions - Study

Your child’s milk tooth can save her life

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By Azera Parveen Rahman, New Delhi, March 30 : Is your child about to lose her milk tooth? Instead of throwing it away, you can now opt to use it to harvest stem cells in a dental stem cell bank for future use in the face of serious ailments. Now that's a tooth fairy story coming to life.

Still relatively new in India, dental stem cell banking is fast gaining popularity as a more viable option over umbilical cord blood banking.

Stem cell therapy involves a kind of intervention strategy in which healthy, new cells are introduced into a damaged tissue to treat a disease or an injury.

"The umbilical cord is a good source for blood-related cells, or hemaotopoietic cells, which can be used for blood-related diseases, like leukaemia (blood cancer). Having said that, blood-related disorders constitute only four percent of all diseases," Shailesh Gadre, founder and managing director of the company Stemade Biotech, told IANS.

"For the rest of the 96 percent tissue-related diseases, the tooth is a good source of mesenchymal (tissue-related) stem cells. These cells have potential application in all other tissues of the body, for instance, the brain, in case of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's; the eye (corneal reconstruction), liver (cirrhosis), pancreas (diabetes), bone (fractures, reconstruction), skin and the like," he said.

Mesenchymal cells can also be used to regenerate cardiac cells.

Dental stem cell banking also has an advantage when it comes to the process of obtaining stem cells.

"Obtaining stem cells from the tooth is a non-invasive procedure that requires no surgery, with little or no pain. A child, in the age group of 5-12, is any way going to lose his milk tooth. So when it's a little shaky, it can be collected with hardly any discomfort," Savita Menon, a pedodontist, said.

"Moreover, in a number of cases, when an adolescent needs braces, the doctor recommends that his pre-molars be removed. These can also be used as a source for stem cells. And over and above that, an adult's wisdom tooth can also be used for the same purpose," Gadre added.

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Your child's milk tooth can save her life

MBBS student tries to commit suicide

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PTI Mar 29, 2012, 06.52PM IST

LUCKNOW: Apparently depressed over failing in his physiology paper, an MBBS student of the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University on Thursday allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming a poisonous substance.

Neeraj Kumar, an MBBS student of 2010 batch, was found unconscious in his hostel room this morning after which he was rushed to the Trauma centre, where his condition was stated to be stable.

The students, who secured admission in the reserved category had alleged caste bias in the campus claiming that they were deliberately failed. Kumar was also a student in the reserved category.

Kumar, a gold medalist of his batch in the anatomy discipline was not able to move to the second year because he has been repeatedly failing in his physiology subject since 2010.

His batchmates said that he was upset after not being able to pass the physiology paper.

University vice chancellor D K Gupta had written to the Medical Council of India last asking for permission to pass students of reserved category who could not clear their first professional exams for several years.

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MBBS student tries to commit suicide

Hospital staff facing pay cuts up to £11k

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Exclusive By Pamela McGowan Health reporter

Last updated at 12:39, Friday, 30 March 2012

Hospital staff claim they are facing pay cuts totalling up to 11,000 a year as part of a controversial shake-up of pathology services.

Sean Gibson

They have until tomorrow to sign up to the new deal. If they refuse they could potentially be sacked and offered new jobs under the newterms.

The review affects about 18 pathology and blood sciences at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and about the same number at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

These staff carry out essential services, such as testing for infections and cancers.

Bosses say the changes are part of national attempts to bring NHS pay into line. And they stress that no dismissal action will be taken until after a further consultation.

Staff say they face losing their night shift payments in favour of much lower unsocial hours rates. At the same time, many are being downgraded and facing salary cuts.

One pathology worker, who was too afraid to be named due to threats of disciplinary action, told the News & Star: Although we arent treated like it, we are frontline staff. Without us the hospital closes and without night shifts you couldnt run 24-hour A&E, maternity or intensive care services.

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Hospital staff facing pay cuts up to £11k

Cumbrian hospitals staff facing pay cuts up to £11,000 – claim

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Exclusive By Pamela McGowan Health reporter

Last updated at 12:39, Friday, 30 March 2012

Hospital staff claim they are facing pay cuts totalling up to 11,000 a year as part of a controversial shake-up of pathology services.

Sean Gibson

They have until tomorrow to sign up to the new deal. If they refuse they could potentially be sacked and offered new jobs under the newterms.

The review affects about 18 pathology and blood sciences at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and about the same number at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

These staff carry out essential services, such as testing for infections and cancers.

Bosses say the changes are part of national attempts to bring NHS pay into line. And they stress that no dismissal action will be taken until after a further consultation.

Staff say they face losing their night shift payments in favour of much lower unsocial hours rates. At the same time, many are being downgraded and facing salary cuts.

One pathology worker, who was too afraid to be named due to threats of disciplinary action, told the News & Star: Although we arent treated like it, we are frontline staff. Without us the hospital closes and without night shifts you couldnt run 24-hour A&E, maternity or intensive care services.

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Cumbrian hospitals staff facing pay cuts up to £11,000 - claim

Norwich scientist recognized for contributions to plant pathology

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Public release date: 29-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrew Chapple andrew.chapple@nbi.ac.uk 44-016-032-51490 Norwich BioScience Institutes

Professor Jonathan Jones of The Sainsbury Laboratory on the Norwich Research Park in the UK has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 E.C. Stakman Award, for his outstanding achievements in the field of plant pathology.

Professor Jones has made numerous and sustained contributions to the science of plant pathology. His group was among the first to isolate and characterize a plant disease resistance gene. By cloning the Cf-9 gene in 1994, he was the first to demonstrate that resistance induced in plants towards pathogens is based on specific classes of innate immune receptors. His work preceded the 1996 discovery of innate immune receptors in animal systems, which was recognized by the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. In essence, Professor Jones' discovery that an R gene codes for a receptor-like protein was a validation of the concept of gene-for-gene and elicitor-receptor interactions that originated from the work E.C. Stakman, Harold Flor, and other pioneers of plant pathology.

"Jonathan has played a leading role in plant molecular genetics for over 25 years, pioneering our understanding of plant disease resistance," said Professor Sophien Kamoun, head of The Sainsbury Laboratory. "He continues to break new ground in this highly competitive field, with broad ranging discoveries on plant immunity and mechanisms of pathogenesis. He also deserves kudos for his important conceptual contributions to the plant-microbe interactions field and his public stand on plant biotechnology issues."

Professor Jones has been a strong advocate of the use of transgenic approaches to control plant diseases, to ensure that his research can be applied to solve serious problems of disease in agriculture, and so be of greatest benefit worldwide. A field trial of late blight-resistant potatoes is testament to this practical approach and his efforts to engage with the public, media, farmers and NGOs during this trial have typified his open approach to talking about GM and plant biotechnology.

Jonathan Jones completed his Ph.D. in Plant Genetics at Peterhouse, Cambridge University in 1980. After completing his doctorate, he accepted a Post-doctoral Research Fellowship working on symbiotic nitrogen fixation with Professor Fred Ausubel at Harvard University. He then worked at Advanced Genetic Sciences (AGS), a startup agbiotech company, and in 1988 he joined the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK.

Professor Jones was elected a member of European Molecular Biology Organization in 1998, and Fellow of the Royal Society in 2003. He is one of the most highly cited plant and animal scientists.

The E.C. Stakman Award is presented by the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota to individuals of any country and nationality for outstanding achievements in plant pathology.

###

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Enjoy your food while eating less

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CLIFTON As National Nutrition Month comes to a close, my last nutrition message to you is to "Enjoy your food while eating less." Food is meant to be enjoyed but, eating less is the key to managing your weight, leading a healthy lifestyle, and helping to prevent disease. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association) encourages Americans to "Get Your Plate in Shape" not only during the month of March but today, and everyday. Here are three simple tips to help you enjoy your food while eating less:

Figure out an estimate of how many calories you need on a daily basis by logging onto http://www.choosemyplate.gov. Be mindful of this number as you plan your meals and snacks throughout the day. Focus on getting nutrient dense, lower calorie foods, and keep an eye on portion sizes.

By writing down everything you eat and drink, you are holding yourself accountable for your actions.

This is a great tool to help keep you in check. You will be more likely to stay within your caloric range if you jot down all the food and beverage items you consume throughout the day. Then, you can enter your food journal online for free with USDA's SuperTracker which can be found at the website above. SuperTracker helps you plan, analyze, and track your diet and physical activity.

By cooking your own meals at home, this enables you to save on sodium, total fat, and calories because you are in control of the ingredients and the portion sizes. You determine what is going on your plate for you and your family by choosing lean proteins, healthier fats, increasing fiber by adding fruits and vegetables, and using more herbs and spices, while reducing sodium intake. These are all key ingredients that help promote a healthy lifestyle.

Be sure to visit the Academy's National Nutrition Month website at http://www.eatright.org/nnm to find more resources on nutrition education including tips, games, recipes, and helpful tools that help spread the message of nutrition and wellness around the "Get Your Plate in Shape" theme.

D'Alto Nutrition, LLC is a nutrition communications and consulting company based in Clifton. Elisabeth D'Alto, owner, registered dietitian, and Clifton resident, focuses on educating clients and consumers on making knowledgeable food and nutrition choices in their everyday lives in order to promote optimal health and wellness. Contact her at http://www.daltonutrition. com. Follow her on Twitter @DaltoNutrition and "like" her on Facebook at Dalto Nutrition.

D'Alto

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Enjoy your food while eating less

Sacramento youth services center teaches nutrition

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If you're a kid on the streets, jumping from shelter to couch to doorway each night, a square meal isn't likely a part of your regular diet.

That's exactly why the young leaders at Wind Youth Services all of them formerly homeless put nutrition at the top of their list of health topics to teach the vulnerable teens who spend their days there.

It's also why it will be so hard for the teens to put their lessons about healthy eating into practice.

"You'll see them come in in the morning, and their breakfast is a bag of Hot Cheetos and a soda, because that is what is available on the way to get here," said Melissa Binger, manager of Wind's health program.

Homeless and near-homeless youth ages 11 to 22 come to the nonprofit's center off Del Paso Boulevard each weekday to study, shower, relax, eat a free lunch and find support services in a safe place. Six young people who once needed those services themselves now work as paid, part-time "health ambassadors," orienting newcomers to the center, connecting them with resources and giving health tips.

When a volunteer suggested they design and teach health education classes to their peers, they chose to start with nutrition.

"When you're in a not-so-safe situation, moving a lot, you eat when you can," said ambassador Kevin Johnson, 18, who has a home in Natomas now but speaks from personal experience. "The kids who come here, a lot of them don't have a lot of money. It's expensive to be healthy."

The National Coalition for the Homeless has reported that more than one in three homeless people in the U.S. are children under age 18, and that one in five children have so little food that they go to bed and wake up hungry.

The ambassadors delivered their first nutrition class on Thursday to about a dozen youths at Wind.

Johnson handed out a menu with options like Buffalo chicken wings, Doritos, string cheese and Snickers bars. He invited each student to pick an item, "And we'll prepare it for you," he said.

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Sacramento youth services center teaches nutrition

Molecular Detection Inc. Launches Improved Version of Detect-Ready® MRSA Panel at 2012 ECCMID Congress

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LONDON and WAYNE, Pa., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready tests designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, today announced it will release a new version of its Detect-Ready MRSA Panel at the 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). The superior performance of the Detect-Ready MRSA Panel has been further enhanced by increasing the number of MRSA strains it can detect, adding MRSA strains known to be missed by at least one other market-leading assay to the universe of all known common MRSA strains that were already included. The new kit also shortens the sample preparation process and minimizes required "hands-on" time.

The Detect-Ready MRSA Panel is a qualitative real-time PCR in vitro diagnostic test. It is CE-marked for the detection of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and MSSA (methicillin-sensitive S. aureus) and is the only marketed PCR-based MRSA screening test with the proven ability to discriminate accurately between these pathogens and other related bacteria.

"We are delighted to offer this improved version of the Detect-Ready MRSA Panel to our growing customer base," commented David Wilson, MDI's Vice President for Commercial Operations, Europe. "The inclusion of additional covered MRSA strains reinforces the superior performance of our existing test, which was recently reconfirmed in an independent comparative study with a market leading competitor. In addition, the simplicity and ease-of-use of Detect-Ready MRSA is further enhanced with our new streamlined protocol for sample prep."

Comparative data confirming the greater accuracy of the Detect-Ready MRSA panel was generated by researchers at St. Thomas' Hospital in London as part of an academic study. The study compared the performance of MDI's test and the Becton Dickinson GeneOhm MRSA PCR sold by BD Diagnostics. The researchers concluded that the Detect-Ready MRSA assay is superior to the GeneOhm panel in terms of specificity, while still providing a more rapid screening service compared to traditional microbiology culture methods.*

Detect-Ready kits are compatible with a number of the real time-PCR platforms currently found in most hospitals. Samples for testing are simple to obtain using nasal swabs and the kit's ready-to-use pre-mixed reagents require only the addition of patient sample to run the test, which provides results in less than three hours. Unlike other tests that require special handling, Detect-Ready kits are off-the-shelf room temperature-stabilized and require no refrigeration.

The Detect-Ready MRSA Panel is currently available in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia and Israel, and is in late-stage development in the US.

To learn more about the Detect-Ready MRSA Panel at ECCMID, visit Launch Diagnostics, MDI's distributor for the UK, France and Ireland, at Booth 577, or Alere, MDI's distributor for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, at Booth 615, or visit http://www.detect-ready.com.

The 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases will be held in London, UK from March 31 to April 3, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.congrex.ch/eccmid2012/home.html.

* A Comparative Study of Two MRSA PCR Assays, Sarah L. White, Eugene P. Halligan, Penelope R. Cliff Infection Sciences, GSTS Pathology, St. Thomas' Hospital, London, UK, 2011.

About Molecular Detection Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a US-based company with offices in Wayne, PA, Tunbridge Wells, UK and Jerusalem, Israel, is developing and commercializing a portfolio of sample-to-answer Detect-Ready molecular diagnostic tests for the detection of infectious diseases. The company's first product, a ready-to-use, rapid detection panel for hospital-based MRSA screening, is currently commercially available in the EU, Australia and the Middle East. The Detect-Ready MRSA Panel provides increased accuracy, faster time to results and more efficient utilization of hospital resources compared to other MRSA diagnostic products. MDI's real-time PCR tests are based on novel patented technologies for differential diagnosis and room-temperature stabilization. For more information, visit http://www.detect-ready.com.

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Molecular Detection Inc. Launches Improved Version of Detect-Ready® MRSA Panel at 2012 ECCMID Congress

Study suggests why some animals live longer

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Public release date: 29-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Samantha Martin 44-015-179-42248 University of Liverpool

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have developed a new method to detect proteins associated with longevity, which helps further our understanding into why some animals live longer than others.

The team looked at the genome of more than 30 mammalian species to identify proteins that evolve in connection with the longevity of a species. They found that a protein, important in responding to DNA damage, evolves and mutates in a non-random way in species that are longer-lived, suggesting that it is changing for a specific purpose. They found a similar pattern in proteins associated with metabolism, cholesterol and pathways involved in the recycling of proteins.

Findings show that if certain proteins are being selected by evolution to change in long-lived mammals like humans and elephants, then it is possible that these species have optimised pathways that repair molecular damage, compared to shorter-lived animals, such as mice.

The study, led by Dr Joao Pedro Magalhaes and postgraduate student, Yang Li, is the first to show evolutionary patterns in biological repair systems in long-lived animals and could, in the future, be used to help develop anti-ageing interventions by identifying proteins in long-lived species that better respond to, for example, DNA damage. Proteins associated with the degradation of damaged proteins, a process that has been connected to ageing, were also linked with the evolution of longevity in mammals.

Dr Magalhaes, from the University's Institute of Integrative Biology, said: "The genetic basis for longevity differences between species remains a major puzzle of biology. A mouse lives less than five years and yet humans can live to over 100 for example. If we can identify the proteins that allow some species to live longer than others we could use this knowledge to improve human health and slow the ageing process.

"We developed a method to detect proteins whose molecular evolution correlates with longevity of a species. The proteins we detected changed in a particular pattern, suggesting that evolution of these proteins was not by accident, but rather by design to cope with the biological processes impacted by ageing, such as DNA damage. The results suggest that long-lived animals were able to optimise bodily repair which will help them fend off the ageing process."

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The research is published in the American Aging Association's journal, AGE.

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Study suggests why some animals live longer