FDA probes new pancreas risks with diabetes drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration is looking into new evidence that a group of recently approved diabetes drugs can increase the risk of pancreatitis and other problems.

The agency said Thursday samples of pancreas tissue taken from a small number of patients showed inflammation and cellular changes that often precede cancer. Academic researchers took the samples from diabetes patients who were taking the new medications, after they died from various causes.

Details of the research have not yet been published, but the agency said in an online statement it is seeking more information.

While the FDA has issued previous alerts about the pancreatitis risk, the agency had not notified the public about pre-cancerous cell changes seen with the drugs.

For now, regulators say they are still investigating the issue.

"FDA has not concluded these drugs may cause or contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer," the agency said in an online statement. "At this time, patients should continue to take their medicine as directed until they talk to their health care professional."

The drugs under review come from a wave of recently approved diabetes medications, including Merck's Januvia and Janumet, Novo Nordisk's Victoza and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Byetta and Bydureon, among others. All the drugs mimic natural hormones that the body usually produces to spur insulin production after a meal.

People with type 2 diabetes are unable to properly break down carbohydrates, either because their bodies do not produce enough insulin or because they've become resistant to the hormone, which controls blood sugar levels. These patients are at higher risk for heart attacks, kidney problems, blindness and other serious complications.

Many diabetics require multiple drugs with different mechanisms of action to control their blood sugar levels.

With more than 25 million people living with diabetes in the U.S., some of the world's biggest drugmakers have launched new treatments in recent years, though safety questions have emerged.

The FDA previously added information about cases of pancreatitis, some of them fatal, to the labels of Byetta in 2007, Januvia and Janumet in 2009.

A recent study of insurance records found that use of those drugs could double the risk of developing acute pancreatitis, according to the FDA.

Januvia is a once-a-day pill. Janumet combines the drug with metformin, a decades-old drug commonly prescribed for diabetes. Byetta is a twice-a-day injection originally developed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Bristol-Myers acquired the drug last year, along with the newer formulation Bydureon, which is taken once-a-week.

Byetta and Bydureon are part of a drug class that mimics the GLP-1 hormone, triggering insulin production after a meal. Januvia and Janumet work by blocking the DPP-4 enzyme, which spurs release of more insulin from the pancreas.

The pancreas produces various hormones, including insulin, that help the body break down sugar. Pancreatitis causes an inflammation of the organ and can lead to fatal complications, including difficulty breathing and kidney failure.

Shares of Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. fell 50 cents to $44.09 in midday trading. Shares of New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. declined 30 cents to $38.19.

____

AP Business Writer Linda A. Johnson contributed to this story from Trenton, N.J.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-03-14-Diabetes%20Drugs-FDA/id-f82b44882afe49a7a5e50415e3ea2630

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Pope's partial lung shouldn't affect duties

LONDON (AP) ? The new pope has daunting challenges ahead ranging from the church sex abuse scandal to reinvigorating the flock.

And the 76-year-old Francis will have to do it all with just one whole lung.

The Argentine pontiff underwent surgery as a young man to remove "a good part" of an infected lung, according to his authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin. "He feels it today," says Rubin. "He's a little bit slowed by it, but he's OK."

Doctors said that losing part of a lung doesn't necessarily compromise the pope's health or reduce his life span, though it means no strenuous exercise since he no longer has as much air capacity as people with two lungs.

"He probably wouldn't be able to run marathons, but I don't think that would be on his schedule," said Dr. Peter Openshaw, director of the Centre for Respiratory Infection at Imperial College London. "Having one lung should be enough as long as there is no other disease in that lung."

It was initially reported that Francis lost an entire lung, but the Vatican said Thursday that he had only lost part of one. It provided no further details.

The pope's sister, 65-year-old Mariana Elena Bergoglio, said her brother doesn't appear sick at all.

"Not in the least ... he's totally healthy," she said.

Bergoglio's nephew, Jorge, says the pope was 19 when he had the lung operation.

Openshaw said Francis' whole lung would probably have expanded to fill the space left by the partial one, and that his rib cage would have shrunk slightly in size. His diaphragm may also have moved up slightly higher than normal. But none of those changes should affect Francis' normal activities, he said.

He said the pope's full lung should be able to compensate for the partial one, similar to how parts of the brain may pick up functions of other regions damaged by a stroke.

"The other lung can gain capacity but there will be limits," he said, comparing it to a car engine that now runs slightly slower. "You may not be able to accelerate as hard but it still works just as well."

Some who have worked with Pope Francis said he is still very energetic. "His lung capacity is diminished, logically, but this hasn't affected him at all or kept him from carrying forward all of his activities," said Federico Wals, spokesman for the Buenos Aires diocese where the new pontiff previously presided as archbishop. "He always shows this incredible force. It seems like the diminishment gives him more power."

Experts said it would be rare nowadays to remove or cut away part of a lung. Antibiotics would be used to treat most lung infections including tuberculosis, though part of the organ might be removed to treat advanced lung cancer.

Back when Francis had part of his lung removed, the available antibiotics weren't as powerful. "In the past, doctors used to try all kinds of strange things to try to treat lung infections," said Dr. Jennifer Quint, a respiratory expert at London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She said physicians even used to stick ping pong balls into peoples' lungs in an attempt to starve the lung of oxygen, to kill the bacteria.

Quint said the fact that Francis appears so fit and healthy at 76 bodes well for his future.

"If he were going to have any major complications from the surgery (to remove the lung), he would have had them by now," she said. She said Francis' main challenge will be to keep his remaining full lung healthy. "I would recommend a yearly flu vaccination and an occasional pneumonia vaccine to avoid infection."

Jeremy Ward, a professor of respiratory physiology at King's College London, said he was only mildly concerned about the pope's health ? unless he gets sick.

"If he gets any sort of infection, it could be much more serious in him than in someone else with two lungs. ... That could make him susceptible to pneumonia, which would be very dangerous for him." he said, adding it would either take the pope longer to recover or debilitate him.

Still, Ward didn't think Francis would have to take any unusual measures to avoid getting sick and faced the same problems as all elderly people.

"Unfortunately as you get older, nothing works as well as it should," he said. "He will have to deal with that like everybody else."

____

AP writers Michael Warren and Eva Vergara in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/popes-partial-lung-shouldnt-affect-duties-141106537.html

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MosquitoNix? Casts a Wider Net to Eliminate ... - Franchising.com

New Business Model Expands Franchise Opportunities to Existing Outdoor Businesses

CARROLLTON, TEXAS - (March 12, 2013) - MosquitoNix?, the nation?s leader in?mosquito control and mosquito misting systems, announced today that it is offering franchise opportunities for the first time in five years, primarily to existing outdoor service business owners. MosquitoNix? is expanding nationwide as part of a strategic plan to double its size in 2013, and open as many as 50 new franchises in 2013. With a nationwide surge in demand for mosquito control, MosquitoNix? projects opening upwards of 200 franchisees by 2015.

"We have changed our franchise model to capitalize on a rise in demand for MosquitoNix? all around the country," said Dan O'Neal, chairman & CEO of FEMO Group Franchise System, MosquitoNix's parent company. "Now an existing outdoor service business can 'add on' MosquitoNix? in an easy and affordable way to help their customers get rid of mosquitoes and other flying insects. MosquitoNix? will help businesses compete in this profitable fast growing business. A minimum investment and being licensed in the state in which you operate is all it takes to join our team."

MosquitoNix? offers installed mosquito misting systems and ongoing barrier treatments called QuickNix?. MosquitoNix? eliminates flying, biting insects such as mosquitoes, no-see ums, flies, fleas, and ticks. MosquitoNix? misting system nozzles are placed every ten to twelve feet around the perimeter of a home, and on average mist three to four times per day, each lasting 20 to 45 seconds. Pyrethrum, permethrin, and essential oils are the active ingredients used in our mosquito control systems. QuickNix? is a three-step program that includes fogging, granules and larvicide (Bt-israelensis (Bt-i)) applications. ?MosquitoNix? franchises are exclusive to each market. Franchise partners get brand affiliation, comprehensive training, and ongoing sales and marketing support. MosquitoNix? discounts (up to 30%) on products and operational efficiencies, allows franchisees to show a greater profit margin and continue to grow their business. Qualified franchisees can receive up to fifty-percent financing of the Initial Franchise Fee (IFF).

Mosquito control is a fast growing industry due to changing weather patterns across North America and the emerging threat of mosquito borne illnesses. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), West Nile virus (WNV) is now endemic to the United States and peak time for the spread of the virus will be from July through October, surging in August. In 2012, forty-eight states reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes. As of December 11, 2012, a total of 5,387 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 243 deaths, had been reported to CDC. Of these, 2,734 (51%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis) and 2,653 (49%) were classified as non-neuroinvasive disease. The 5,387 cases was the highest number of West Nile virus disease cases reported to the CDC through the second week in December since 2003. Eighty percent of the cases were reported from 13 states. A third of all cases were reported from Texas.

"It may be winter but now is the time for families to prepare for mosquito season, which starts in the spring and ends in the late fall. MosquitoNix? empowers people with the best mosquito control to enjoy the outdoors safely without flying insects and the ongoing threat of mosquito borne illnesses like West Nile virus, Dengue Fever and Encephalitis. We are looking for pest control professionals, landscapers, pool & spa and any other outdoor service business owners to take advantage of the current high demand for mosquito control in the marketplace," said Josh Ingram, Vice President of Operations at MosquitoNix?.

MosquitoNix? franchise expansion will initially focus on regions in North America most affected by the West Nile outbreak, like Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Kansas, Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska and Virginia.

About?MosquitoNix?

MosquitoNix?, a division of FEMO Group Franchise System, is the nation's leader in mosquito misting systems, servicing tens of thousands of customers in more than 400 U.S. cities and 14 countries. MosquitoNix? uses effective solutions to eliminate flying, biting insects such as mosquitoes, no-see ums, flies, fleas, and ticks. MosquitoNix? empowers customers to protect their families against mosquitoes and enjoy their outdoor lifestyles. An industry expert, MosquitoNix? focuses on customer service and manufacturers its own systems.

SOURCE?MosquitoNix?

Contacts:

MosquitoNix??
Josh Ingram
(972) 934-3131
jingram@MosquitoNix.com
www.MosquitoNix.com

FEMO Group Franchise System
Dan O'Neal
(972) 934-3131
dano@MosquitoNix.com

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Mechanical micro-drum used as quantum memory

Mar. 13, 2013 ? One of the oldest forms of computer memory is back again -- but in a 21st century microscopic device designed by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for possible use in a quantum computer.

The NIST team has demonstrated that information encoded as a specific point in a traveling microwave signal -- the vertical and horizontal positions of a wave pattern at a certain time -- can be transferred to the mechanical beat of a micro-drum and later retrieved with 65 percent efficiency, a good figure for experimental systems like this. The research is described in the March 14 issue of Nature.? "We believe the mechanical drum motion could be used as a kind of local memory for quantum information systems," NIST physicist Konrad Lehnert says. "These experiments live at the boundary between classical and quantum systems."

The technique harks back to "delay line memory" that was used in some of the earliest electronic computers, including NIST's own 1950s computer, SEAC. Those devices were fairly simple. They temporarily stored values during computation in the form of acoustic waves traveling down a column of mercury or other fluid. By contrast, the NIST micro-drum memory would exploit a mechanical form of quantum physics.

NIST scientists introduced the micro-drum in 2011. The micro-drum is embedded in a resonant circuit and can beat at different frequencies. By applying microwaves at specific frequencies, researchers can achieve rapid, reliable exchanges between the circuit's electrical energy, in the form of microwave photons (light particles), and the drum's mechanical energy in the form of phonons (units of vibration).

An applied microwave tone can cool the drum down to its lowest-energy ground state, with less than one quantum of energy -- the quantum regime, where the drum can store and convert quantum information. The same interaction transfers information from microwaves in the circuit to the drum, while converting the drum to a temporary state beating at the received frequencies. A key innovation in the latest experiments is the ability to rapidly switch the circuit-drum interactions on and off based on the intensity of the applied microwave tone.

The drum has certain practical advantages as a quantum storage device. Its size and fabrication method are compatible with the devices used for chip-based superconducting quantum bits (qubits), which might be used to represent information in quantum computers. The drum also can retain quantum information for about the same length of time as superconducting circuits can. Quantum computers would rely on the rules of quantum mechanics, nature's rules for the submicroscopic world, to potentially solve important problems that are intractable using today's technology.

In the latest experiments, the quantum information is stored in the amplitude (vertical position) and phase (horizontal position) of the microwave pulse, or waveform, similar to the way some cellular telephones work, Lehnert says. Although this is a classical approach, the experiments are quasi-quantum because the fluctuations, or "noise," in the measurements are quantum mechanical, Lehnert says.

In 8,000 tries, the research team was able to prepare, transfer, store and recapture information 65 percent of the time. This is a good level of efficiency given the early stage of global research on quantum memories; competing quantum memory devices include special crystals and, in nonsolid systems, atomic gases. In the future, researchers plan to combine qubits with the micro-drum, which could serve as either a quantum memory or as an interface between otherwise incompatible systems such as those operating at microwave and optical frequencies. The advance may benefit fundamental physics experiments, quantum information systems and precise force sensing.

The experiments were performed at JILA, a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder, and co-authors include physicists from NIST's Boulder campus. The research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Science Foundation and NIST.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. T. A. Palomaki, J. W. Harlow, J. D. Teufel, R. W. Simmonds, K. W. Lehnert. Coherent state transfer between itinerant microwave fields and a mechanical oscillator. Nature, 2013; 495 (7440): 210 DOI: 10.1038/nature11915

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/physics/~3/BVbzJlAWbBA/130313142528.htm

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VMware projects revenue hike, EMC unveils Pivotal plan

By Sinead Carew

(Reuters) - Software company VMware Inc promised to boost its annual revenue growth as high as 20 percent in coming years, sending its shares up 7 percent on Wednesday morning.

The company, in which data storage leader EMC Corp owns an 80 percent stake, was presenting at an investor meeting on Wednesday, where the two companies also outlined their plans to set up Pivotal, a venture that will be majority-owned by EMC.

VMware said the creation of Pivotal, a combination of both companies' data analytics and cloud application assets, would increase VMware's operating margins this year.

It said that revenue growth would rise to a range of 15 percent to 20 percent in 2014 to 2016. This compares with its expectation for a growth rate of 11.2 percent to 13.8 percent for this year.

FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said it "appears the company is on the cusp of seeing a reacceleration of growth" and that 2014-2016 growth targets were "front and center" for investors, pushing the shares up.

VMware shares had fallen more than 21 percent on January 29 after investors were disappointed by the outlook for 2013. It also announced that day that it planned to cut 7 percent of its workforce.

WORKING 'LIKE A FATHER AND SON'

At the same event on Wednesday, EMC Chief Executive Joe Tucci gave some details about the Pivotal venture.

EMC will initially own 69 percent and VMware will won the remaining 31 percent, but the eventual plan is to take Pivotal public and create its own equity so that it could attract some strategic investors.

Tucci also said that EMC will contribute money to the venture, which EMC and software maker VMware first announced in December, when they gave no financial details.

Tucci suggested that the structure would be similar to that of VMware, a spinoff from EMC that is publicly traded but still largely owned by EMC.

FBR's Ives said this was the right structure for Pivotal, which is the "right strategy at the right time" for the pair.

"It's like a father and son (EMC and VMware) working together on an initiative," Ives said. "The companies have worked very closely together, which is a positive in terms of execution risk going forward."

Pivotal will be made up of EMC's data analytics division, Greenplum, and its Pivotal Labs group, along with VMware's vFabric, SpringSource and Gemstone units. Included in the new venture are VMware's data analytics company, Cetas, and CloudFoundry, a cloud computing platform.

Analysts had expected that the realignment could eventually result in a spin-out of the new group from EMC, the world's leading maker of corporate data storage equipment.

VMware shares rose 7.4 percent or $5.57 to $80.86 on the New York Stock Exchange after the news. However, the stock was still well below its $98.32 close on January 28. EMC shares climbed 2.2 percent, or 53 cents, to $25.

(Additional reporting by Nicola Leske in New York,; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Nick Zieminski, Matthew Lewis and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/emc-aims-pivotal-initiative-public-company-133943178--sector.html

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China pushes for Arctic foothold, from a thousand miles away

As global warming pushes back the Arctic Sea ice, uncovering new natural-resource deposits, China is looking to establish its presence in the north.

By Mike Eckel,?Contributor / March 7, 2013

The crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, in the midst of their ICESCAPE mission, retrieves supplies for some mid-mission fixes dropped by parachute from a C-130 in the Arctic Ocean in this July 2011 photo.

Courtesy of Kathryn Hansen/NASA/Reuters

Enlarge

Way up above 66th parallel north, the jousting and jostling for the mother lode of oil, gas, mineral, fish, and other resources being exposed by the rapidly receding Arctic sea ice is well under way.

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Russia is building a new class of nuclear icebreakers. Norway is charting fish-migration patterns for potential new fisheries. Canada is setting up a new Arctic training base and constructing a fleet of new patrol ships. US oil giants are angling to drill exploratory oil and gas wells. And China is sending its flagship icebreaker along the Northern Route.

Wait. China?

Not surprisingly, the eight nations that ring the planet?s northern cap ? the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark ? are the ones who have largely driven the discussion about access in the Arctic. With the exception of periodic saber-rattling or polar tub-thumping (Exhibit A: Russia?s 2007 ocean-floor flag-planting stunt), the discussions have been amicable. That?s due in large part to the 17-year-old intergovernmental agency known as the Arctic Council, which has helped soften the edges of growing competition.

?The lure of riches in the Arctic draws ever more companies and nations,? said William Moomaw, a professor of international environmental law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Mass. ?And so far it?s been relatively amicable jousting and jostling there.?

The quickening decline of Arctic Sea ice has its own alarming implications for the globe. As Prof. Moomaw put it at the Tufts University Energy Conference Sunday: ?the trend line looks like a failing stock market or the collapse of a fishery ? it just keeps going down and down, and then keeps going down further.?

That aside, with the wealth of resources being unlocked by global warming, it?s not surprising that other, non-Arctic nations are increasing looking to get in on the action. The US Geological Survey estimates more than a fifth of the world?s undiscovered, recoverable oil and gas lie under the harsh, frigid, and remote conditions above the 66th parallel.

Enter China, whose northern most point in Manchuria, along the Amur River, is at least 1,000 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

Beijing last year sent the icebreaker Snow Dragon (MV Xue Long) from Shanghai to Iceland along the Northern Route, which parallels the Russian Arctic coastline and has the potential to be a shorter, cheaper route to get goods from East Asia to Europe. They?ve applied for observer status at the Arctic Council. And, according to Malte Humpert, executive director of The Arctic Institute, China has also built a swanky new, $250 million embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland, of all places.

So what's behind this push?

It?s easy to see that China would clearly like access to oil, gas, and other resources. But a more persuasive argument is that Beijing clearly wants alternate shipping routes to the Strait of Malacca. That?s the crowded 1-1/2 mile bottleneck between Indonesia and Malaysia that 60,000 ships pass through every year, according to Mr. Humpert: Sixty percent are China-bound, and 80 percent are carrying the fuels that are propelling its economic dynamo. China?s leadership is concerned enough this is a strategic vulnerability that they call the situation the ?Malacca Dilemma.?

But those aren?t wholly convincing in Humpert?s estimation. The most plausible argument is that, as with many of its policies these days, the Chinese are in it for the long haul: a long-term strategy as a global emerging power.

China ?is extending its reach in Africa, southwest Pacific; the Arctic is just the latest region with geopolitical significance. They can make minimal investments today and can secure strong influence in 20, 30 years,? he told a energy conference panel discussion dubbed ?Arctic Anxiety.?

?China wants to have a seat at the table. They want to be part of the Arctic Council. They?re an emerging power,? he said. ?They know that Arctic may be one of the hot spots of the 21st century.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/Hi58C2HgiQM/China-pushes-for-Arctic-foothold-from-a-thousand-miles-away

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Jay Leno Mesmerized By Halle Berry?s Tig Ol? Bitties (VIDEO)

Jay Leno Mesmerized By Halle Berry’s Tig Ol’ Bitties (VIDEO)

Jay Leno has been doing interviews for a long time, but the late night talk show host could barely look Halle Berry in the eye when she wore a sexy, low-cut dress on his show last night. Leno seemed mesmerized by Halle’s cleavage as he tried to do a proper interview with the actress. Halle ...

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