If you've been needing a little inspiration for your next TI LaunchPad project, look no further than the company itself. Texas Instruments set up shop in the maker tent across from the Austin Convention Center this week, showing off creations built atop its line of microcontrollers. The rep we spoke with was particularly excited about this mouse hack that the company put together in a few hours, while getting ready for SXSW. The creation utilizes the Stellaris board's accelerometers to control the cursor of a windows machine on X, Y, Z axes, via USB.
The project is more than just a hack, according to the company -- it's actually a prototype of something it's set to unveil later this year. No specifics on that front, but TI promised a 'big surprise." In the meantime, you can check out video of the project after the break.
Can hormone help treat multiple sclerosis long-term?Public release date: 10-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology
SAN DIEGO A new study suggests that treatment with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) may be helpful for people whose multiple sclerosis (MS) is not well-controlled through their regular treatment. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.
The study involved 23 people with MS who were taking beta-interferon treatment and had at least one relapse or brain scan showing new disease activity within the previous year. They were considered to have "breakthrough" MS, which means that their treatment that had been working previously stopped being effective, leading to worsening disability and more frequent relapses, as well as increased evidence of disease activity on brain scans.
The study participants were given either ACTH or methylprednisolone as pulse therapy monthly in addition to their regular treatment for one year. The people with MS knew which treatment they were receiving, but the researchers examining them did not.
The participants were tested every three months for 15 months. Over that time, those receiving ACTH had fewer relapses, or 0.08 cumulative relapses per patient compared to 0.8 relapses per patient for those receiving methylprednisolone. Those taking ACTH also had no cases of psychiatric side effects, while those taking methylprednisolone had a cumulative number of 0.55 psychiatric episodes per patient.
"These results are of interest because few treatments are available for people with breakthrough MS," said study author Regina Berkovich, MD, PhD, of Keck Medical Center of USC in Los Angeles. "Further studies, including randomized controlled trials, are needed to validate these preliminary findings, but the results suggest a potential benefit of ACTH pulse therapy in breakthrough MS."
While ACTH has been approved for use in MS relapses for many years, its cost has limited its use to only those patients who are in need of a relapse treatment alternative to corticosteroids. This is believed to be the first study to have been done on its use as a chronic treatment for MS. ACTH is not FDA-approved for use as chronic treatment for MS.
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The study was supported by a research grant from Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., maker of ACTH.
Learn more about multiple sclerosis at http://www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
Media Contacts:
Rachel Seroka
Angela Babb, APR, ababb@aan.com, 612-928-6102
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Can hormone help treat multiple sclerosis long-term?Public release date: 10-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology
SAN DIEGO A new study suggests that treatment with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) may be helpful for people whose multiple sclerosis (MS) is not well-controlled through their regular treatment. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.
The study involved 23 people with MS who were taking beta-interferon treatment and had at least one relapse or brain scan showing new disease activity within the previous year. They were considered to have "breakthrough" MS, which means that their treatment that had been working previously stopped being effective, leading to worsening disability and more frequent relapses, as well as increased evidence of disease activity on brain scans.
The study participants were given either ACTH or methylprednisolone as pulse therapy monthly in addition to their regular treatment for one year. The people with MS knew which treatment they were receiving, but the researchers examining them did not.
The participants were tested every three months for 15 months. Over that time, those receiving ACTH had fewer relapses, or 0.08 cumulative relapses per patient compared to 0.8 relapses per patient for those receiving methylprednisolone. Those taking ACTH also had no cases of psychiatric side effects, while those taking methylprednisolone had a cumulative number of 0.55 psychiatric episodes per patient.
"These results are of interest because few treatments are available for people with breakthrough MS," said study author Regina Berkovich, MD, PhD, of Keck Medical Center of USC in Los Angeles. "Further studies, including randomized controlled trials, are needed to validate these preliminary findings, but the results suggest a potential benefit of ACTH pulse therapy in breakthrough MS."
While ACTH has been approved for use in MS relapses for many years, its cost has limited its use to only those patients who are in need of a relapse treatment alternative to corticosteroids. This is believed to be the first study to have been done on its use as a chronic treatment for MS. ACTH is not FDA-approved for use as chronic treatment for MS.
###
The study was supported by a research grant from Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., maker of ACTH.
Learn more about multiple sclerosis at http://www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
Media Contacts:
Rachel Seroka
Angela Babb, APR, ababb@aan.com, 612-928-6102
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Mar. 10, 2013 ? A class of medications commonly prescribed to lower blood sugar in diabetic patients appears to protect them from developing heart failure, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
"People with diabetes are at risk for developing heart failure," says Henry Ford researcher and cardiologist David Lanfear, M.D., lead author of the study. "Diabetic adults die of heart disease two to four times more than those without diabetes.
"Our study data suggest that diabetic patients taking a particular class of medications are less likely to develop heart failure," adds Dr. Lanfear.
The results will be presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting in San Francisco.
There are more than 25 million adults and children in the U.S. with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. The ADA estimates that nearly 80 million people may be pre-diabetic, with nearly two million new cases diagnosed in adults in 2010. In 2007, diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.
The retrospective study looked at 4,427 diabetic patients who were taking blood-sugar-lowering medications at Henry Ford Hospital between January 1, 2000 and July 1, 2012. Of these patients, 1,488 were taking GLP-1 medications (glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) and 2,939 were not.
Over an observation time of 663 days, there were 281 hospitalizations, of which 184 were due to heart failure, and 158 deaths.
Results were adjusted for factors such as gender, age, race, coronary disease, heart failure, duration of diabetes, and the number of anti-diabetic medications, in order to identify the effect specifically attributable to taking GLP-1 medications. The researchers also looked at hospitalizations and deaths from all causes.
Use of GLP1 medications was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure or any other reason, as well as fewer deaths.
"These preliminary results look very promising," says Dr. Lanfear. "However this was a retrospective study and this subject needs further investigation."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Henry Ford Health System, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Mar. 8, 2013 ? A signaling molecule that helps stem cells survive in the naturally low-oxygen environment inside the bone marrow may hold clues to helping the cells survive when the going gets worse with age and disease, researchers report.
They hope the findings, reported in PLOS ONE, will result in better therapies to prevent bone loss in aging and enhance success of stem cell transplants for a wide variety of conditions from heart disease to cerebral palsy and cancer.
They've found that inside the usual, oxygen-poor niche of mesenchymal stem cells, stromal cell-derived factor-1, or SDF-1, turns on a survival pathway called autophagy that helps the cells stay in place and focused on making bone, said Dr. William D. Hill, stem cell researcher at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University and the study's corresponding author.
Unfortunately with age or disease, SDF-1 appears to change its tune, instead reducing stem cells' ability to survive and stay in the bone marrow, said Samuel Herberg, GRU graduate student and the study's first author. Additionally cells that do stay put may be less likely to make bone and more likely to turn into fat cells in the marrow.
The researchers believe it's the changes in the normal environment that come with age or illness, including diminished nutrition, that prompt SDF-1's shifting role.
"You put new cells in there and, all of the sudden, you put them in a neighborhood where they are being attacked," Hill said. "If we can somehow precondition the transplanted cells or modify the environment they are going into so they have higher levels of autophagy, they will survive that stress."
Autophagy is the consummate green, survival pathway, where the cell perpetuates itself by essentially eating itself over and over again, in the face of low food sources, other stress or needing to eliminate damaged or toxic product buildup. The researchers believe autophagy slows with age, so deadly trash starts piling up in and around cells, Hill said.
"Your cells normally have a reminder to take out the trash," said Dr. Carlos Isales, MCG endocrinologist and Clinical Director of the GRU Institute of Regenerative and Reparative Medicine. "That reminder, SDF-1, becomes inconsistent as you get older, so rather than being an activator of the trash signal, it becomes an inhibitor."
Herberg led efforts to genetically modify stem cells from mice to overexpress SDF-1 -- in fact the researchers were in the enviable position of being able to adjust expression up or down -- and control autophagy in their novel cells. They found that while SDF-1 didn't increase stem cell numbers, it protected stem cells hazards related to low oxygen and more by increasing autophagy while decreasing its antithesis, programmed cell death, or apoptosis.
"They get away with lower oxygen needs and lower nutrient needs and stem cells are able to survive in a hostile environment as they are attacked by damaging molecules like free radicals," Hill said. In fact, the cells can thrive.
"The success of stem cell transplants is mixed and we think part of the problem is the environment the cells are put into," said Isales. "Ultimately we want to find out what is the triggering event for aging, what is the chicken, what is the egg and what initiates this cascade. This new finding gives us a piece of the puzzle that helps us see the big picture."
They've already begun looking at what happens to SDF-1 in human bone marrow stem cells and have identified a couple of drugs used to treat other conditions that increase SDF-1 production and protection. They envision a collagen matrix, almost like a raft, that delivers SDF-1 and stem cells or SDF-1 alone where needed, enabling targeted bone regrowth in the case of a bad fracture, for example.
It was already known that stem cells secrete SDF-1 and that the cell survival pathway, autophagy, was up-regulated in stem cells. "We started thinking, if SDF-1 is secreted here in response to low oxygen, it must be important in cell survival," said Hill and the researchers became the first to put the pieces together.
Cell survival and its antithesis, apoptosis, are both tightly regulated and necessary, Herberg notes. And, in excess, both can be deadly. In fact, cancer therapies are under study that block autophagy with the idea of making cancer more vulnerable to chemotherapy. One of SDF-1's major roles is helping the body properly assemble during development. It's produced by stem cells and found in high levels in the lungs and bones. MCG researchers are looking for other sources of SDF-1 production in the body and how those might change with age.
Bone formation tends to decrease at about age 60, notes Isales, principal investigator on the $6.3 million Program Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health that funded the study.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
Samuel Herberg, Xingming Shi, Maribeth H. Johnson, Mark W. Hamrick, Carlos M. Isales, William D. Hill. Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1? Mediates Cell Survival through Enhancing Autophagy in Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (3): e58207 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058207
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Reports from both Fortune and The Guardian indicate that Google is planning to start a subscription music service like Spotify soon. But the craziest little nugget buried in the reports: YouTube might be getting an ad-free option. Imagine no more Vevo ads. Hello, holy grail. More »
Stock trader Thomas Lyden works at the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 4, 2013 in New York. Uncertainty over the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed world stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Stock trader Thomas Lyden works at the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 4, 2013 in New York. Uncertainty over the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed world stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Stock traders work at the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, March 4, 2013 in New York. Uncertainty over the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed world stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Investors brushed off early jitters about a potential slowdown in China and pushed the Dow to its highest close of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,127.82. The index is a fraction of a percentage point away from its record close of 14,164, reached on Oct. 9, 2007.
Stocks dropped at the opening bell and stayed lower most of the morning amid concern that new steps introduced by the Chinese government to cool the booming housing market in the world's second-largest economy.
Chinese markets were dragged down by housing stocks, which fell sharply after the country's cabinet ordered new measures to rein in home prices. China will raise minimum down payments in areas where prices are deemed to be rising too fast and crack down on efforts to evade limits on how many properties each buyer can acquire.
"The U.S. market continues to digest the negative news and hang tough," said Ryan Detrick, a senior strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
The stock market has rallied this year on optimism that the U.S. housing market is recovering and signs that companies are hiring more. Strong corporate earnings and continuing economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve have also boosted stock prices.
Despite having already logged strong gains this year, stocks may still be able to maintain their momentum as investors move money out of bonds, Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management, said.
"It's all about where the money is going," Lutts said. "If the money that is sitting on the sideline, or in bonds, is moving into equities that alone is enough to create that shift."
Investors put $2.8 billion into U.S. stock mutual funds in the week ending Feb. 27, according to Lipper. That's the eighth straight week investors have put more money into stocks, the longest streak of inflows in almost two years.
The Dow has risen 7.8 percent so far this year and the S&P 500 index is 6.9 percent higher, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note remains below 2 percent. The yield, which moves inversely to its price, rose 3 basis points to 1.87 percent Monday.
For now, stocks are likely to grind higher as investors who missed the rally at the start of the year buy stocks on any drops in the market, Scott Wren, a senior equity strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors, said.
"I'd love to see a pullback, because pullbacks are opportunities," Wren said.
Janet Yellen, vice chair of the Federal Reserve, said Monday she does not see risks at the moment from the U.S. central bank's low-interest rate policies. The Fed is buying $85 billion each month in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities to keep long-term interest rates very low.
Investors' enthusiasm is being held in check by the automatic government budget cuts that took effect Friday after President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach a budget deal. Economists expect the cuts to hurt U.S. economic growth. Both Republicans and Democrats pledged to retroactively undo the cuts, but they have given no indication of how that process would take shape.
In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 7 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,525.20. The Nasdaq composite gained 12.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,182.03.
European markets were mixed. The dollar was little changed against the euro.
Gold, silver and copper were virtually flat. Gold for April delivery rose 10 cents to $1,572.40 per ounce. May silver edged up less than 1 cent to $28.496 per ounce
Among other stocks making big moves:
? Select Comfort, a manufacturer of specialty mattresses, fell $3.23, or 15.7 percent, to $17.28 after the company warned that it will likely fall short of its first-quarter goals as a result of lower-than-expected sales.
? Hess gained $2.30, or 3.5 percent, to $68.84 after the company said it would get out of the retail business as well as energy trading and marketing to focus on exploration and production.
? Yahoo! rose 76 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $22.70 after Barclays analysts raised their rating on the stock to "overweight" and increased their price target to $26. The bank says the value of the company's minority stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan are not fully reflected in the current stock price.
? Apple fell $10.40, or 2.4 percent, to $420. The stock has now fallen 12 out the last 14 trading days and is trading at its lowest in a year.
? Stratasys Ltd., a maker of three-dimensional "printers," gained $4.56, or 7.1 percent, to $68.82 after its latest results beat analysts' expectations for the quarter. The company issued a full-year sales forecast that was higher than analysts were expecting.
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Public release date: 10-Mar-2013
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