X-Ray Screening Doesn't Prevent Lung Cancer Deaths: Study (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Using chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer doesn't prevent deaths from the disease, a new study finds.

"There really was no benefit of the screening," said study co-author Dr. Christine Berg, chief of the early detection research group at the division of cancer prevention at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. "We detected some of the cancers a little earlier than we would have, but not early enough or in large enough numbers to really have an impact on lung cancer mortality."

Experts noted that the results of the large randomized clinical trial should put an end to any lingering questions about whether X-rays are useful in lung cancer screening. Recent research has indicated that CT scans are more effective at spotting malignancies earlier.

The study involved more than 150,000 never smokers, former smokers and current smokers aged 55 to 74 taking part in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Half of the participants, including smokers and nonsmokers, underwent annual chest X-rays for three or four years between 1993 and 2001; half did not get screened.

During 13 years of follow-up, similar numbers of people in both groups were diagnosed with lung cancer -- 1,696 in the screened group and 1,620 who were not screened.

There were 1,213 lung cancer deaths in the screened group and 1,230 in the unscreened group. Those who were not screened were no more likely to die of lung cancer than those who underwent the annual X-rays, according to the study in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was published early online and is scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting, in Honolulu.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide, according to background information in the study.

Starting in the 1950s and through the 1970s -- a time when there were both lots of American smokers and a growing understanding about the dangers of smoking -- there was great interest in using chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer, Berg explained.

Studies published in the 1980s showed chest X-rays weren't all that effective, but those studies had small numbers of participants and other flaws that left lingering questions that have been answered in a more definitive way in this new study, Berg said.

Other experts agreed. "The study shows that lung cancer screening with chest X-ray isn't very effective, and certainly not as effective as CT scans," said Robert Smith, director of cancer screening at the American Cancer Society. "This paper indicates that the long tradition of using a chest X-ray to screen for lung cancer is over."

Another study, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that using a newer technology cut the death rate by 20 percent compared to X-rays.

Helical CT, also called "spiral" CT scan, gives a more precise look at lung tissue. While an X-ray is a single image, portions of which can be blocked by the ribs, a spiral CT scan takes pictures of multiple layers of the lungs to create a three-dimensional image. Think of it like slicing a loaf of bread, with each image about 2.5 millimeters to 3 millimeters thick, Berg explained.

"Lung cancer screening with low-dose helical CT is the only technology that has ever been shown to lower lung cancer mortality," she said.

The downsides of CT scans are that they're more expensive, and they have many more false positives because they're so sensitive, she added.

While lung cancer caught early is more treatable than lung cancer caught later, one challenge with the disease is that many lung cancers are aggressive and difficult to treat, Berg noted. "It's only recently that the drug companies and researchers are beginning to find some drugs that work," she said.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on lung cancer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111027/hl_hsn/xrayscreeningdoesntpreventlungcancerdeathsstudy

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Eric Ehrmann: Holmgren's Last Hurrah... Madden Curse Leaves Browns Prez Mulling Future

Distancing himself before Sunday's forgettable win over Seattle, Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren may be easing himself out before getting eased out -- a possible victim of his own media relations and the NFL quality gap that's getting wider due to declining team revenue and the global recession.

"I would like to see improvement here and lay the foundation here so they can feel good about their team again before I make any changes at all," Holmgren said, in a somewhat oblique interview featured by NBC Sports, some of which even appeared on the official NFL website.

Less than two years into a five year contract with "their team," Holmgren's version of the Bill Parcells "football czar" role that Browns absentee owner Randy Lerner hired him for has been at best problematic.

Holmgren's tenure has been dominated by doublespeak and command and control issues running quietly in the background with his hand picked choices, general manager Tom Heckert Jr., and rookie head coach Pat Shurmur. Both men are legacies from second generation NFL families, part of the league's old boy network. Ironically, the trio are represented by NFL superagent Bob LaMonte whose client list features many top front office names.

As "football czar" for the Cowboys and the Dolphins, Bill Parcells developed an aggressive leadership style, even throwing a suitcase at analysts in a humorous ESPN ad. In contrast, Holmgren suffers from chronic back pain and projects an image that is less mobile, less passionate and relaxed.

In one breath Holmgren tells the Associated Press he's "all in" with the Browns and then hints to other national sports media about retiring to Seattle, where he has a home and a hero's image after rebuilding the Seahawks and taking them to Super Bowl XL working for his first absentee owner, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Holmgren's motivation then was the seven year $32 million contract LaMonte negotiated for him. Financial terms of his deal with the Browns have not been publicly disclosed.

Sports bloggers, however, estimate Holmgren is being paid a minimum of $25 million over five years to add value to the Browns franchise. A big part of his reputation stems from coaching the likes of Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck. His current quarterback project, Colt McCoy, told media after Sunday's 6-3 baseball score win and a 59 quarterback rating "we did a lot of nice things today."

While Holmgren's earnings remain secret his off the cuff remarks about player salary issues have complicated contract negotiations between his more circumspect general manager, Tom Heckert, and popular running back Peyton Hillis. The Conway, Arkansas native is still earning around $600,000 this season on the final year of a rookie contract.

Hillis, who brought chronic hamstring problems with him from Denver in the trade that sent quarterback Brady Quinn to the Broncos, is seeking feature back money after a breakout year that put him on the cover of the Madden football game. Holmgren has assured Browns fans that the team will reach an agreement with Hillis and his agent on a new contract. But in light of Holmgren's recent flip-flopping with the media it is unclear whether Hillis will be the victim of the fabled Madden curse, or if it will be both or just Holmgren himself.

After over a decade of revolvoing door coaches and front office bureaucrats, the Browns salary profile is upside down. Offensive tackle Joe Thomas is earning $8 million and guard Terry Steinbach (now on IR) was set to get $6.8 million this season to open holes and protect passers in a bargain basement backfield where the quarterback and the feature back earn just 10 percent of what interior lineman do. Quarterback Colt McCoy and starting halfback Montario Hardesty are both pulling down less than the rookie pay Hillis makes.

But Randy Lerner's pockets are not as deep as Seahawks owner Allen and he has been been burned on running back deals in the past.

One year wonder Reuben Droughns pulled down a salary of $4.9 million in 2005 before being moved to the Giants where he earned less and picked up a Super Bowl ring. William Green got $4.5 million in 2002, but the halfback who then coach Butch Davis said he "couldn't pass up" was dogged by substance abuse problems and other issues and, like Davis, parted ways with the team.

All that came down before the global financial crisis. And nobody knows that better that Randy Lerner, who also owns soccer club Aston Villa in the English Premiere League. Forbes magazine's latest annual survey of the NFL indicates that under Holmgren the Browns franchise value declined 4 percent last year.

The value of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, owned by the Glazer family, lost 5 percent during the same period. But the Glazers also rake in considerable income as owners of Manchester United, the world's most valuable sports team. Another NFL owner whose team lost value is Stan Kroenke of the St. Louis Rams. He too owns a majority share in a Premiere League soccer team, Arsenal.

It's no wonder that on the eve of the 2012 Olympic Games, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been talking about playing more NFL games in London, where people legally bet on anything. With the Forbes survey indicating that 44 percent of NFL teams either lost value or didn't add value to their business last season it might be time for the London Browns.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-ehrmann/holmgren-browns_b_1029797.html

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For Obama, a campaign money swing with star power (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Some glitz, some glamor and plenty of campaign cash. President Barack Obama is hitting a reliable fundraising trail in California, tapping star donors and trading quips with Jay Leno in what is for him a well-worn path.

The president will tape an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday, his second as sitting president and fourth appearance overall. Monday evening he joined actor Will Smith and basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson at a dinner at the home of producer James Lassiter. Then he mingled with Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas over canapes at the movie star couple's home just a few blocks away.

Tuesday's schedule includes a fundraiser in San Francisco featuring a performance by folk rock singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. Obama also has fundraisers scheduled in Denver later Tuesday, all part of a three-day, three-state swing through the west.

Obama was in California for money events last month, and this marks the president's eighth trip to Los Angeles since elected president. The state ranks as Obama's top donor state, and he raised about $1 million in the Los Angeles area alone during the last two fundraising quarters, according to an Associated Press review of contributions above $200.

The western tour is one of Obama's busiest donor outreach trips of the season. Celebrities are tried and true fundraising draw, particularly for Democratic presidents. Both the president and the stars bask in their reflected fame and the endorsement of stars can be a useful asset.

Not that he needs the votes here. California is a solidly Democratic state, though Sacramento-based Democratic consultant Roger Salazar said the president, echoing national trends, is less popular now in the state than he was when he was elected.

"Democrats by their nature are going to give the president the benefit of the doubt," said Salazar, a veteran of California and national political campaigns. "But they want him to do something about it. They want to see some movement."

Obama is promising some movement. He has been promoting his $447 billion jobs bill, which has been broken up into its component parts in hopes Congress can pass some of them.

Addressing about 240 donors at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas Monday, Obama said the pieces that Republicans reject would likely linger as campaign issues in 2012.

"This is the fight that we're going to have right now, and I suspect this is the fight that we're going to have to have over the next year," Obama said. "The Republicans in Congress and the Republican candidates for president have made their agenda very clear."

Addressing donors in Los Angeles, Obama ticked off his administration's accomplishments, eager to reinvigorate supporters whose enthusiasm has flagged since his 2008 election.

"Sometimes I think people forget how much has gotten done," the president said, as Smith and Johnson looked on. He urged his backers to rally once again, at the same time joking, as he often does, that he is older and grayer now. "This election won't be as sexy as the first one."

At Banderas' and Griffith's house, its entrance path lined with rose petals and votive candles, Obama told about 120 mostly Latino contributors that he has kept a list of his campaign promises and that, by his count, he has accomplished about 60 percent of them.

"I'm pretty confident we can get the other 40 percent done in the next five years," he said to loud applause.

The Griffith-Banderas event was Obama's first Latino fundraiser, with donors giving at least $5,000 per person to attend. It featured guests such as actress Eva Longoria, comedian George Lopez, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and mayors Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Julian Castro of San Antonio.

Obama drew the loudest applause when he vowed to tackle an overhaul of immigration laws, a promise from 2008 that has gone unfulfilled in the face of Republican opposition.

The Las Vegas fundraiser attracted about 240 people who paid from $1,000 to $35,800 toward Obama's re-election campaign and to the Democratic National Committee. The bigger donors met the president personally. Guests at Lassiter's home contributed $35,800.

Obama has been displaying campaign-style vigor. At a Las Vegas subdivision where he promoted housing proposals, Obama waded into the neighborhood crowd to shake hands, sign autographs, even lift a baby.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Obama headed to a diverse neighborhood minutes from Lassiter's home south of Hollywood and stopped at Roscoe's, a popular Los Angeles chicken restaurant chain. Obama roved through the dining booths greeting customers, leaving at least one awestruck young boy holding his hand aloft after shaking the president's hand. One man gave him a hug and a Hispanic man told his daughter that if she studied hard "you'll be like him."

_____

Associated Press writer Jack Gillum contributed to this article.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111025/ap_on_el_pr/us_obama

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Maximizing Intranets for Corporate Communications ? Slaw

October 25, 2011

Heather Colman

Maximizing Intranets for Corporate Communications


by Heather Colman ? October 25, 2011

In September, I attended the 18th ?Intranets for Corporate Communications? conference hosted by Federated Press. Attendees and speakers were an interesting mix of marketing, corporate communications and knowledge management experts as well as intranet consultants. The focus of the two day course was on using intranets to better maximize internal communications, breakdown silos, motivate employees, promote organizational change and firm branding. The three themes that really stood out for me were the importance of an intranet?s usability, content and role in helping to communicate change through out an organization.

Don Hameluck, a usability expert, talked about the winning formula for a successful intranet, which includes providing value and a satisfying and engaging user experience that keeps users coming back. He also talked about the importance of having an intranet that is aligned with business strategy and goals

Don then discussed the different ways to assess usability which include:

  • asking a usability expert to review the design;
  • conducting task-based or contextual inquiry tests with actual users;
  • gathering staff feedback through surveys or polls; and
  • analyzing operational data such as support logs, analytics and other metrics.

Content is key to the success of any intranet and should be reviewed on a regular basis to determine if it is relevant, current and continues to meet the needs of employees. Loris Parekh, Director of Digital Communications for Revera, provided useful tips in considering content management, including determining ownership of content, intranet roles and responsibilities, centralized or decentralized publishing, delivery tools and internal/external sources of content.

Loris shared her motivational techniques for content owners. They included giving them the latitude, tools and training to add content. Promoting the business value of their content and publishing a list of the top ten pages visited by employees are other great motivational techniques for content owners.

Finally, Loris talked about content applications that help drive employees to the intranet which include: company news, blogs, wikis, forms, HR information, self-service tools, policies and procedures, phone directory, organizational charts, document repositories and contact information. This list certainly made me consider what could be added to our intranet.

Other presentations discussed using intranets as change vehicles for communications regarding company reorganizations, office moves, business transformations, and so on. Madeline Long-Duke, Vice President Corporate Sector for Weber Shandwick, discussed leveraging corporate intranets for change management initiatives.

According to Madeline, 70% of all change projects fail due to poor communication regarding the purpose, goal and benefits of the change. They also fail because the infrastructure, processes, incentives, skills and feedback mechanisms are not in place to support the change.

Results can be improved through better stakeholder management and a communications strategy. An intranet should be part of that communications strategy because it is an optimum platform to increase awareness and ?buy-in?, connect all strategic initiatives in one place, send a unified message to stakeholders across business, functional and geographical units and validate the messaging. Intranets can also be used to motivate and engage employees by providing a forum where they can ask questions, brainstorm ideas, provide feedback and comments on the change project.

Along with other case studies presented at the conference, these three presentations help illustrate that intranets are never static and need to be continually assessed for usability, content and communication delivery. They rely on the expertise of IT, Marketing, Communications and Knowledge Management and can be effectively utilized for internal communications and change management initiatives.

?

In September, I attended the 18th ?Intranets for Corporate Communications? conference hosted by Federated Press. Attendees and speakers were an interesting mix of marketing, corporate communications and knowledge management experts as well as intranet consultants. The focus of the two day course was on using intranets to better maximize internal communications, breakdown silos, motivate employees, promote organizational change and firm branding. The three themes that really stood out for me were the importance of an intranet?s usability, content and role in helping to communicate change through out an organization.

Don Hameluck, a usability expert, talked about the winning formula for a successful intranet, which includes providing value and a satisfying and engaging user experience that keeps users coming back. He also talked about the importance of having an intranet that is aligned with business strategy and goals

Don then discussed the different ways to assess usability which include:

  • asking a usability expert to review the design;
  • conducting task-based or contextual inquiry tests with actual users;
  • gathering staff feedback through surveys or polls; and
  • analyzing operational data such as support logs, analytics and other metrics.

Content is key to the success of any intranet and should be reviewed on a regular basis to determine if it is relevant, current and continues to meet the needs of employees. Loris Parekh, Director of Digital Communications for Revera, provided useful tips in considering content management, including determining ownership of content, intranet roles and responsibilities, centralized or decentralized publishing, delivery tools and internal/external sources of content.

Loris shared her motivational techniques for content owners. They included giving them the latitude, tools and training to add content. Promoting the business value of their content and publishing a list of the top ten pages visited by employees are other great motivational techniques for content owners.

Finally, Loris talked about content applications that help drive employees to the intranet which include: company news, blogs, wikis, forms, HR information, self-service tools, policies and procedures, phone directory, organizational charts, document repositories and contact information. This list certainly made me consider what could be added to our intranet.

Other presentations discussed using intranets as change vehicles for communications regarding company reorganizations, office moves, business transformations, and so on. Madeline Long-Duke, Vice President Corporate Sector for Weber Shandwick, discussed leveraging corporate intranets for change management initiatives.

According to Madeline, 70% of all change projects fail due to poor communication regarding the purpose, goal and benefits of the change. They also fail because the infrastructure, processes, incentives, skills and feedback mechanisms are not in place to support the change.

Results can be improved through better stakeholder management and a communications strategy. An intranet should be part of that communications strategy because it is an optimum platform to increase awareness and ?buy-in?, connect all strategic initiatives in one place, send a unified message to stakeholders across business, functional and geographical units and validate the messaging. Intranets can also be used to motivate and engage employees by providing a forum where they can ask questions, brainstorm ideas, provide feedback and comments on the change project.

Along with other case studies presented at the conference, these three presentations help illustrate that intranets are never static and need to be continually assessed for usability, content and communication delivery. They rely on the expertise of IT, Marketing, Communications and Knowledge Management and can be effectively utilized for internal communications and change management initiatives.

?

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  • Bill C-10, now before a House of Commons committee, would impose a minimum sentence of six months in jail for anyone growing between six and 200 marijuana plants. Minimum terms increase in steps to two years for higher quantities, with even more severe terms for using rented premises.

  • Yikes. This is not a hoax. Gizmodo tells you how to fix it. ?until Apple does.

  • The CIA turns down a researcher who requested "any studies? produced by the CIA Center on Climate Change? concerning the impacts of global warming." [PDF] (via Scientific American: http://goo.gl/2V7rC)

  • "Find America" - A great chart showing all countries' income inequality and ranking them.

  • Le texte intitul? ??Ce que Quebecor ne vous dit pas quand elle attaque le radiodiffuseur public?? et le document ??Examen des arguments de Quebecor Media en faveur du libre march? sont vis?s par la requ?te.

  • "Republican governors and state legislators in such states of Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio are repealing mandatory minimum sentences, increasing opportunities for effective community supervision, and funding drug treatment because they know it will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs," said Tracy Vel?zquez, executive director of the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute. "If passed, C-10 will take Canadian justice policies 180 degrees in the wrong direction, and Canadian citizens will bear the costs."

  • ?its implementation could lead to potentially substantial costs for Canadian businesses because our anti-spam law will be much more onerous than similar legislation in any other country?

  • Is it possible to infringe copyright by "copying" a dance? Bob Tarantino answers.

These summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book.
More information.

  • Criminal Law - Sexual offences - Particular offences - Internet luring (by means of computer system)

    The accused was convicted of (1) luring a child under the age of 14 for the purpose of facilitating the offence of sexual interference (Criminal Code, s. 172.1(1)(c)); (2) ...

  • Civil Rights - Language - Right to use French or English in dealings with or within the public service or institutions, etc.

    Two Air Canada passengers filed eight complaints with the Commissioner of Official Languages respecting the lack of services in French for two round ...

  • Contracts - Interpretation - Ambiguity - Admissibility of extrinsic evidence

    SeaWorld owned a male killer whale named Ikaika which was loaned to Marineland of Canada Inc. pursuant to a Breeding Loan Agreement signed on November 16, 2006. When SeaWorld gave written notice to Marineland of ...

  • Criminal Law - Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Where a conviction substituted for another conviction (e.g., manslaughter for murder)

    The accused was convicted of conspiracy to commit arson and second degree murder (see [2007] O.T.C. Uned 691). The trial judge sentenced the accused ...

  • Criminal Law - Appeals - Indictable offences - Grounds of appeal - Question of law or error of law

    The accused was acquitted of two counts of sexual assault. The Crown appealed.?

    The Ontario Court of Appeal, in a decision reported 256?O.A.C. 246, allowed the ...

  • Civil Rights - Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Denial of rights - Remedies - Exclusion of evidence

    The accused called 911 to report that her husband was injured. At the hospital, the police learned that the husband had been shot. He died. Hours ...

  • Banks and Banking - Duties of banks - Fiduciary relationships - Debtor?s reliance on bank

    The applicant financed the purchase of an aircraft with the Royal Bank of Canada. The applicant leased the aircraft to the Moncton Flight College (Moncton Flying Club (MFC)), which was ...


This is a listing of a few upcoming events in Canada of interest to lawyers, law students, legal librarians, and others involved in the practice of law.

Clicking on any event in the list below will give you access to more information and to links allowing you to see the full entry and to add the event to your own calendar.

Click this link for a fuller version of the TalkLaw/ParLoi calendar of events and for instructions as to how to add events and calendars to your own calendar.

Source: http://www.slaw.ca/2011/10/25/maximizing-intranets-for-corporate-communications/

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Depression risk no higher for older first-time mums (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Women who have their first baby at an older age aren't at any greater risk of postpartum depression than their younger counterparts, according to an Australian study of more than 500 first-time mothers.

Researchers led by Catherine McMahon at Macquarie University in Australia found that women aged 37 or older were no more likely to get postpartum depression than younger women, regardless of whether they conceived naturally or had infertility treatment.

"Older mothers are frequently discussed in the media. There are a lot of myths, and limited empirical data," McMahon, a psychology professor, said in an email.

There has been speculation, for instance, that older mothers might have a tougher time adjusting to motherhood after being in the workforce for a long time, or have more trouble dealing with the lifestyle changes that a baby brings.

"There is no research evidence to support these speculations," McMahon added, although she noted that it is known that older mothers have a greater risk of pregnancy complications and that these complications have been linked to the risk of postpartum depression.

For their study, reported in the journal Fertility and Sterility, McMahon's team followed 266 women who had conceived naturally and 275 who had undergone fertility treatment.

All of the women answered questionnaires during their third trimester and had a diagnostic interview for depression when their babies were four months old.

Overall, eight percent of the women had major depression symptoms -- at the lower end of what's seen among new mothers in general, the researchers said. There were 180 women aged 37 or older.

McMahon said a number of questions remained for future studies, including whether going through menopause while caring for a young child presents challenges.

"There is considerable evidence that vulnerability to depression is greatest in mid-life for women," she said.

She said it would also be interesting to see how older mothers fare when they go back to work, as well as looking at the psychological welfare of women who put off having children and then are unable to conceive. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vfffcx

(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; Editing by Elaine Lies)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111026/hl_nm/us_depression

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Mammograms don't save as many lives as women think (Reuters)

CHICAGO (Reuters) ? Many women who have survived breast cancer often say it was a mammogram that "saved their life," a powerful testimonial that can encourage other women to get regular breast cancer screening tests.

But what are the chances that the test actually saved a woman's life? Not that great, according to a new analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday.

"The numbers suggest that at most, 13 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer have been helped. That means the other 87 percent have not been helped," Dr. Gilbert Welch of Dartmouth College, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

"That is important when we keep hearing these stories from breast cancer survivors," he said.

Welch said women who tell their stories about surviving breast cancer can be a powerful inducement for other women to get tested for breast cancer, and as mammogram technology has improved, the chances are even greater that doctors will find something suspicious.

But early detection for some women may not be much of a benefit, especially if a cancer is slow growing, Welch and colleagues say. And many women may be diagnosed and treated for a cancer growing so slowly it might never have caused any symptoms or threatened their lives.

The findings add new fodder to the simmering debate over the benefits of screening healthy people for cancer. Earlier this month, the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that healthy men not get a common blood test for prostate cancer, causing an uproar among cancer specialists who fear more men will die from prostate cancer.

And in 2009, the same group recommended that women under 40 not get a mammogram and that women 50 and older get the test only every other year, rather than yearly, causing an outcry from breast cancer advocacy groups.

But screening tests have both benefits and risks, says Welch, who views the current debate as positive for patients who are starting to think more about the risks of screening.

An earlier study by Welch found that routine screening for prostate cancer has resulted in as many as 1 million American men being diagnosed with tumors who might otherwise have suffered no ill effects from them.

In the latest study, Welch and colleagues looked to see how much mammography reduces deaths from breast cancer.

They found that for 50-year-old women whose breast cancers were diagnosed by a mammogram, there was a 13 percent chance that the screening test saved her life.

The question, then, becomes how to preserve the benefit of mammogram without exposing so many women to the harms of overdiagnosis -- which include being treated for cancers that might not cause harm, Welch said.

He said breast cancer screening technology has become better and better at spotting tiny cancers on the assumption that the earlier a cancer is detected, the better the chances of cancer survival.

But Welch said as treatments for breast cancer get better, the need for very early diagnosis is less great.

"For years we've been looking harder and harder for cancer. I think the time has come to ask the question, 'What if we looked a little less hard?'"

Dr. Timothy Wilt of the Minneapolis Veterans Administration in Minneapolis, who wrote a commentary on the findings in the same journal, said the study gives doctors science-based information to share with patients, who are often influenced by anecdotes.

"Because survivor stories are often so powerful, but inaccurate, they can result in people making healthcare decisions that are not science based and may be wrong," he said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111024/hl_nm/us_cancer_mammograms

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Taking the pulse of charge-separation processes

Monday, October 24, 2011

The use of organic photovoltaics for the production of electricity from sunlight offers an attractive and promising basis for an innovative and environmentally friendly means of energy supply. They can be manufactured quite economically and, because they are as bendable as plastic wrap, they can be processed flexibly. The problem is that they are yet markedly less efficient than conventional inorganic semiconductor cells. The most crucial process in the conversion of light into electric current is the generation of free charge carriers. In the first step of photoconversion, upon absorption of light one component of the organic solar cell, usually a polymer, releases electrons that are taken up by the second component of the cell - in this case silicon nanoparticles - and can then be transported further.

"The mechanisms and the timescale of charge separation have been the subject of controversial scientific debate for many years," says LMU physics professor Eberhard Riedle. In cooperation with investigators at the Technical University in Munich and at Bayreuth University, Riedle and his group have now been able to dissect the process in detail. To do so, the researchers used a novel hybrid cell type containing both organic and inorganic constituents, in which silicon serves as the electron acceptor. Based on the insights obtained with this system, they developed a processing strategy to improve the structural order of the polymer - and found that this enhances the efficiency of charge separation in organic semiconductors by up to twofold. Their findings provide a new way to optimize the performance of organic solar cells.

The key to this breakthrough lies in a unique, laser-based experimental setup, which combines extremely high temporal resolution of 40 femtoseconds (fs) with a very broadband detection. This allowed the team to follow the ultrafast processes induced by photon absorption in real time as they occur. Instead of the fullerenes used in typical organic cells, the researchers used silicon as the electron acceptor, a choice that has two major advantages.

"First, with these novel hybrid solar cells, we were able to probe the photophysical processes taking place in the polymer with greater precision than ever before, and secondly through the use of silicon, a much larger segment of the solar spectrum can be harnessed for electricity," says Riedle.

It turns out that free charge carriers ? so called polarons ? are not generated immediately upon photoexcitation, but with a delay of about 140 fs. Primary photoexcitation of a polymer molecule first leads to the formation of an excited state, called an exciton. This then dissociates, releasing an electron, which is then transferred to the electron acceptor. The loss of electrons leaves behind positively charged "holes" in the polymer and, as oppositely charged entities are attracted to one another by the Coulomb force, the two have a tendency to recombine.

"In order to obtain free charge carriers, electron and hole must both be sufficiently mobile to overcome the Coulomb force," explains Daniel Herrmann, the first author of the new study. The team was able to show, for the first time, that this is much easier to achieve in polymers with an ordered, regular structure than with polymers that are chaotically arranged. In other words, a high degree of self-organization of the polymer significantly increases the efficiency of charge separation.

"The polymer that we used is one of the few known to have a tendency to self-organize. This tendency can be inhibited, but one can also increase the polymer's intrinsic propensity for self-organization by choosing appropriate processing parameters," Herrmann explains. By cleverly optimizing the processing of the polymer P3HT, the researchers succeeded in doubling the yield of free charge carriers ? and thereby significantly enhancing the efficiency of their experimental solar cells.

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Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen: http://www.uni-muenchen.de

Thanks to Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit?t M?nchen for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114557/Taking_the_pulse_of_charge_separation_processes

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Video: Japan?s Defense Ministry Develops Awesome Ball-Shaped Drone

Picture 2The world got a first glimpse of "world's first spherical flying machine" back in June this year, but its maker, Japan's Ministry of Defense, decided it's time to showcase it publicly a few days ago in Tokyo. And as you can see in the video embedded below, their ball drone is pretty awesome. The drone can stand still in mid-air, fly vertically and horizontally through narrow spaces at up to 60km/h, and (which is very cool) keep on moving when it hits the ground or a wall. Thanks to three gyro sensors in its body, the machine can keep also flying even if it's hit by an obstacle.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/igbMPkEHvEA/

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Confessions Of A Tunisian Hacktivist

Tunisian blackhatEditor's note: Contributor Mouna El Mokhtari is a French journalist and editor in chief of Webdorado. Below is her translation of an exclusive interview she conducted with Tunisian hacktivist K3vin Mitchnik. You can follow her @mooouna Today, Tunisia is holding its first free elections. K3vin Mitchnik, whose pseudonym is a tribute to the great American hacker turned computer consultant, Kevin Mitnick, is a 25 year old Tunisian cyber activist who has played a crucial role in the recent Jasmine Revolution in his country, which helped overthrow the previous regime and sparked the Arab Spring across the Middle East.. He is a member of the Anonymous collective and the co-founder of Tunisian Blackhats. With his group, he has led the attacks against Ammar 404 (the nickname given to the state's Internet censorship) and more generally against censorship in his country. After several email conversations, I persuaded him to give us an insight into the mind of an e-resistor from Tunis. Here is his story.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/2nOE_UgA3uo/

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