| Jeff Thelen's Blog
Is there anything more annoying in the world than talking to a computer on the phone? Not the voice that tells you to leave a message or gives you a directory of people's extensions. I'm talking about a computer voice that actually has a conversation with you. A cable company that I deal with (I won't say which one) is the worst offender. When there's a problem you are almost guaranteed to deal with the "fake lady" for several minutes. If you come to the end of that rope, you usually get turned over to someone with an accent so thick you can barely understand him or her. I used to have this company's phone service, but dumped it because it went out every time it rained. Between the 4 or 5 times I called to try to get some help, I must have spent the better part of 17 years talking to a computer voice (OK, that's exaggerating a little, but it seemed that long).
CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell Kit For Monitoring Patients With ...
Immunicon Corporation (NASDAQ-GM:IMMC) announced that it filed with the FDA a request for clearance of the CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell Kit as an aid in the monitoring of patients with metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Immunicon announced that it had successfully met the primary endpoint associated with its pivotal clinical trial in metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer in January 2007. The primary endpoint required demonstrating that circulating tumor cells (CTC) levels three-to-five weeks after the initiation of chemotherapy predict overall survival.
The study results which were presented by Jose Moreno, MD, clinical associate professor of Urology at Thomas Jefferson University at the 43rd Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June also showed that CTC levels predict overall survival at each of the additional monthly time points tested.
BET Networks Special 'What U Know Bout That? Rap-It-Up Sex Quiz' HIV ...
RAP-IT-UP SEX QUIZ" slated to premiere on Monday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. with an encore presentation on Friday, November 9 at 10:00 p.m. The one-hour news special is part of a longstanding effort to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS in the Black community and to tackle a host of HIV/AIDS-related issues faced by BET's audience, including stigma and homophobia, HIV testing, substance abuse, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on personal relationships and family life. BET News visits the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami to get up-close and personal with young adults and to test them on how much they really know about safe sexual health, behavior and practices. BET News personality Jina Johnson hosts the informative discussion, and fellow BET personalities Lamorne Morris, Sharon Carpenter, and Samson Styles, along with BET News producer Antonio Neves hit the streets to quiz young adults and to talk about their own personal experiences.
Cell phone films take center stage
Masked and demure, she speaks from the tiny screen of a cell phone like a thumb-size fairy forever trapped inside. "Welcome home," she says softly to the viewer. "Speak to me about anything." The minuscule video is among the works on display at a film festival that opened Dec. 7in Yokohama, featuring 48 movies - all shot on camera-equipped cell phones. Hazy and raw but urgently personal, these pocket-size statements on film, like Yuka Kojima's five-minute Thumb Girl, were selected from more than 400 entries in an international contest. .
No Christmas, Hanukkah Spirit for Israel Father's Rights Activists ...
Jerusalem-----December 24 ....... It's Christmas Day in Israel - the Holy Land, the warm lights of Hanukkah are now fading and a New Year is just days away. Tis the season to merry, many say. It is the season of family. Of father, mother and children. Or is it? On this Christmas day, on the eight days of Hanukkah how many divorced men were separated from their children by family courts and negligent social workers in Israel, North America and Europe?
Dads, who pay child support. Dads who are loving and responsible. Good fathers who as a direct result of gender bias discrimination have been turned from being a full time dad into a "visitor." The State of Israel has not reformed its Knesset Family Custody Act since it was passed into law in 1962.
Nor do many social workers in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ra'anana, Kfar Sava and Herzliya realize the devastating effects of separating dads from their kids.
Ingredient in human semen may enhance HIV infection
Researchers at the University Clinic of Ulm were looking for factors in semen that might block infection with HIV-1, the most common strain of the virus that causes AIDS. Instead, they found one that enhanced transmission, in some experiments as much as 50-fold. "In this study we show that fragments of PAP, a highly abundant semen marker, form amyloid fibrils that drastically enhance the infectiousness of HIV-1," they wrote in the journal Cell. They said they are now looking for compounds that might block this process to slow transmission of the disease. Amyloid fibrils formed from different proteins are associated with many diseases, including Alzheimer's and prion disease. "Further studies on the role of amyloids in the transmission and pathogenesis of enveloped viruses are highly warranted," they wrote.
Tasigna Gains European Approval For Patients With A Life-threatening ...
Tasigna (nilotinib) has received European Union approval as a new anti-cancer therapy for patients with a life-threatening form of leukemia who are resistant or intolerant to prior treatment including Glivec (imatinib).
The EU approval was supported by data showing that Tasigna produced a positive response in 49% of patients in the chronic phase of Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Most patients achieved this response within three months of starting Tasigna treatment.
"The approval of Tasigna gives us the opportunity to help more CML patients and, with Glivec as our first line agent, provide comprehensive treatment options for prescribers," said David Epstein, President and CEO of Novartis Oncology. "Tasigna drives home our commitment to develop compounds to fulfill unmet medical needs by pursuing indications for patients with limited treatment options."
The European Commission decision applies in all 27 EU member states plus Norway and Iceland, and follows recent approvals in the US and Switzerland.
Blood Clots Continue To Kill UK Hospital Patients Unnecessarily
An All-Party Parliamentary Report published exposes NHS Trusts in unnecessary DVT deaths. Over 10,700 hospital patients may have died as a result of NHS Trusts' failure to implement key recommendations on DVT published over seven months ago.1, 2
- Unnecessary deaths from DVT in the last seven months may equate to nearly three times the number of deaths from hospital acquired infections, such as MRSA and C Difficile*1,2,3
- The NHS currently spends only £27.4m per year on DVT prevention (projected to rise to just £50m over the implementation period of the recommendations)4
- The NHS has recently announced additional funding of £270m to prevent deaths from hospital superbugs by 20115
- 99% of NHS Trusts admit to being fully aware of the recommendations on how to manage and treat DVT1
- Only 32% of trusts are taking steps to risk assess patients and bring their practices in line with new recommendations1
- DVT causes 10% of all hospital deaths per year6
"DVT causes over 25,000 deaths each year 2" commented John Smith, MP.
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