MOSCOW (AP) — A rocket carrying the Olympic flame successfully blasted off Thursday from earth ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
NASA Live TV showed the rocket, emblazoned with the pale blue Sochi 2014 logo, launching from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome on a clear morning in Kazakhstan.
The torch will make its way to the International Space Station before being taken into space itself — making it the Olympic flame's first spacewalk in history.
Russia's Mikhail Tyurin, NASA's Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata of Japan beamed at the crowd as they carried the lit torch aboard the Soyuz rocket.
For safety reasons, the torch will not burn when it's onboard the space outpost. Lighting it would consume precious oxygen and pose a threat to the crew. The crew will carry the unlit torch around the station's numerous modules before taking it out on a spacewalk.
The Olympic torch has flown into space once before — in 1996 aboard the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis for the Atlanta Summer Olympics — but will be taken outside the spacecraft for the first time in history.
"It's a great pleasure and responsibility getting to work with this symbol of peace," Tyurin told journalists on Wednesday ahead of the launch.
The torch will remain in space for five days. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazanskiy, who are currently manning the International Space Station, will take the flame for a spacewalk on Saturday, before it is returned to earth by three astronauts on Monday.
The four-month Sochi torch relay, which started in Moscow on Oct. 7, is the longest in the history of the Olympics. For most of the 65,000-kilometer (39,000-mile) route, the flame will travel by plane, train, car and even reindeer sleigh, but 14,000 torch bearers are taking part in the relay that stops at more than 130 cities and towns.
Last month, the Olympic flame traveled to the North Pole on a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker. Later this month it will sink to the bottom of the world's deepest lake, Lake Baikal, and in February it will reach the peak of Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 meters (18,510 feet) the highest mountain in Russia and Europe.
The torch will be used to light the Olympic flame at Sochi's stadium on Feb. 7, marking the start of the 2014 Winter Games that run until Feb. 23.
Third-party software support provider Rimini Street is moving ahead with its expected plans for an initial public offering, even as it awaits a showdown in court with Oracle.
Rimini Street filed its draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, according to its announcement Wednesday. Like other companies, including Twitter, Rimini Street has taken advantage of a law enacted last year that allows smaller companies to initially file IPO documents confidentially.
Rimini Street provides support services for Oracle and SAP software customers, who will save at least half off their vendor support bills, the company says. The company caters to customers that have stable systems and little desire to continually apply the upgrades that come with vendor support.
Oracle sued Rimini Street in 2010, alleging it had engaged in "massive theft" of Oracle software and support materials. Rimini Street has denied any wrongdoing and countersued, saying Oracle is trying to squash the third-party support market.
Oracle also charged that Rimini Street CEO Seth Ravin has duplicated the business model of TomorrowNow, a former SAP subsidiary Ravin co-founded. After a similar lawsuit by Oracle, SAP shut down TomorrowNow and accepted liability for wrongdoing by its employees. While the case resulted in a sizable damages award to Oracle, it's not yet resolved.
Software vendors are loath to see a major third-party support market emerge, given the high margins they enjoy on maintenance revenue.
Rimini Street remains small compared to Oracle but has reported consistent growth despite the lawsuit, which has yet to secure a trial date.
Last month, Rimini Street said third-quarter revenue had grown 40 percent year-over-year to US$15.8 million, and that it now supports customers in 72 countries.
A Rimini Street spokesman declined to comment Wednesday beyond the company's announcement. An Oracle spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
Bill de Blasio was elected mayor of NYC on Tuesday, but is his vision for the city even possible?
Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters
For those who dislike Bill de Blasio’s vision for New York City—and even for some who voted for him—his election as the city’s next mayor raises a provocative question: Is a progressive city possible?
For the last half century, the answer to that question seemed to be no.
De Blasio has been very clear about his plans to reduce the city’s inequality by raising taxes on the rich, increasing services for the poor, and ending subsidies for corporations.
But his plan flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that has dominated our thinking about cities since at least the 1970s. According to that wisdom, cities are “competing” in a global marketplace for mobile businesses and residents, and a city’s efforts to redistribute from rich to poor—to provide expanded health care, more education, or a local living wage—are doomed. Cities cannot redistribute because wealthy city residents and the businesses that employ them will pack up and leave. Therefore, the successful metropolis must pursue business-friendly, growth-oriented policies that attract professionals and corporations, even if those policies result in greater income inequality.
For de Blasio’s skeptics, no city can resist mobile capital. Thus, de Blasio will either lead New York City into certain economic decline or he will be forced to abandon his most ambitious policies. If that is true, then there is only one way to be a mayor of a global, post-industrial city: Be Michael Bloomberg—a nonpartisan, technocrat attentive to the city’s competitive position and comfortable with a city of wealth and corporate privilege. A mayor may choose to sound progressive, but when it comes to policy he or she has no choice but to encourage urban investment at the expense of combating inequality.
That view of the city’s ambitions is based on a kernel of economic truth. Certainly there are limits to what cities can do, and we should be realistic about them. But there are good reasons to believe that these constraints are dramatically overstated.
First, we know that cities have always provided more welfare benefits to the poor than seemed possible if the pure “no-redistribution” theory is correct. Consider that over 40 years in the middle of the 20th century, New York City built thousands of working- and middle-class homes, hundreds of schools, libraries, and parks, and thousands of miles of roadways, bridges, tunnels, and subways. This basic infrastructure raised living standards for the urban poor, which in turn helped produce a robust urban middle class by the 1950s.
Second, there is growing evidence that wealthy firms and highly skilled residents are not as mobile as was once thought. The city provides a home for a number of industries—fashion, finance, medicine, law, design, art, tourism—that cannot be easily replicated elsewhere. Industries that rely on sharing ideas, intellectual capital, or a deep bench of skilled workers need to be in a place where people feel connected. That place is the city, and for certain key industries, New York City. The same goes for the amenities that residents come to New York City to enjoy—its street life, restaurants, and so on. The suburbs or other cities often can’t compete.
Third, what we know about the revival of cities in the last 20 years is that it has not been driven by the dramatic lowering of local taxes and regulations. Some of our most economically robust cities—and New York is among them—have high taxes and substantial rules and regulations when compared to the suburbs or cities in the sunbelt. The growing popularity of cities is a global phenomenon and is driven by factors well beyond local tax and welfare policies. Technological and demographic change, shifts in consumer preferences, rising transportation costs, crime reduction, and the rise of the finance, technology, health care, and higher-education sectors of the economy have all contributed to the urban boom.
If a city’s economy is otherwise healthy, then redistributive fiscal policies are unlikely to make much of a difference. And mayors probably cannot control the size of the local economy as much as they claim anyway. But mayors can fight inequality by channeling resources to those who need them most. To those who believe that society has an obligation to pursue social justice, the moral benefits are obvious. The economic benefits of having an urban, healthy, educated workforce are obvious, too.
If a revived urban liberalism is possible, then its time is now, while cities like New York can take advantage of their privileged position as highly desirable places to live. Not all cities are in that enviable position. Many cannot afford what Mayor de Blasio proposes. But if New York City’s new mayor succeeds, he will advance an idea that has mostly gone out of fashion: that cities can play a significant role in creating an urban middle class by providing the kinds of resources necessary for upward mobility. Those resources are basic and obvious: security, education, transportation, health, and shelter. Expanding access to those kinds of municipal goods will create a more equal city. And it may teach us that a progressive city is still possible.
Vitor Belfort has told everyone that would listen that his four straight wins at middleweight (with one loss to Jon Jones at light heavyweight sandwiched in between) have earned him the right to another middleweight shot. Problem is, the last time Belfort got a shot at the middleweight title, he became quick highlight reel fodder for then champ Anderson Silva, losing by KO in the first round.
Belfort is no longer an apparently credible threat to Silva and champ Chris Weidman has his hands full with his rematch with "The Spider." So, "The Phenom" next fights at light heavyweight against Dan Henderson.
Belfort hasn't given up talking about middleweight title shots, though. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet UOL, Belfort told that middleweight gold is still on his mind, and that he'd be willing to drastically change his fight preparation to get a shot at it.
Belfort routinely asks for therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) to received testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Brazilian commissions have been granting the national hero TUEs but Nevada's commission executive director has gone on record as saying that Belfort would not be granted a TUE for TRT in the UFC's home state.
In 2006, Belfort tested positive for the banned substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone, after a fight in Nevada. Belfort maintains that he stays within allowable testosterone levels while receiving TRT under the supervision of doctors but told UOL that he'd give up the treatments if that made a difference to the UFC giving him a title shot.
"I’ve already said that, if they agree with it, I would [stop receiving TRT]," he said. "No problem at all. If they want me to get there in a disadvantage, that’s ok."
Belfort's promise may be a meaningless one, however, since he says that UFC officials have already told him that they won't require him to stop receiving TRT treatments.
"But they already told me that’s not the problem," he explained.
"UFC told me ‘you can’t get in there in disadvantage.’ The thing is, I’m in normal testosterone levels with TRT. That’s the treatment. People don’t seem to understand that I’m the only guy that does blood tests. Many fighters don’t do this, many use illegal stuff and are not tested like I am. I’m tested all the time. Week after week, month after month. I have to keep the levels normal to make it fair."
Nuclear medicine therapy increases survival for patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
6-Nov-2013
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Contact: Susan Martonik smartonik@snmmi.org 703-652-6773 Society of Nuclear Medicine
Reston, Va. (November 6, 2013) For patients who fail to respond to current first-line and second-line treatments for colorectal cancer liver metastases (also known as salvage patients), radioembolization with Y-90 microspheres could extend survival according to new research published in the November issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. A systematic review conducted by researchers showed that approximately 50 percent of salvage patients have an overall survival of more than 12 months after this nuclear medicine therapy.
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide in men and the second in women, and it is also the third most common cause of death. In approximately 50 percent of patients, metastases to the liver are present at diagnosis or during follow-up, which account for a large portion of morbidity and mortality in patients.
A structured review was performed by researchers to gather all available evidence on radioembolization for the specific group of patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases. "Although quite some reviews are printed on the subject of radioembolization, we felt that a structured and comprehensive review on survival and response data for these patients was lacking," said Charlotte E.N.M. Rosenbaum, PhD, lead author of the study "Radioembolization for Treatment of Salvage Patients with Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systemic Review."
Researchers reviewed a total of 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization as a monotherapy and 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization as a combined with chemotherapy. Among the studies, disease control rates (i.e., complete response, partial response and stable disease) ranged from 29-90 percent in the monotherapy studies, which involved 901 patients. In the studies in which Y-90 radioembolization was combined with chemotherapy, involving 472 patients, disease control rates ranged from 59-100 percent.
"From the studies included in this systematic review, survival proportions of approximately 50 percent were found. Therefore, in this group of salvage colorectal cancer liver metastases patients who otherwise have no regular treatment options and a life expectancy of less than six months, Y-90 radioembolization seems to be a hopeful treatment option," noted Rosenbaum.
She continued, "Our paper shows all published data on this subject from the first randomized trial onwards. Furthermore, we have determined 12-month survival proportions for all included articles to provide a better overview and to better allow for comparisons. Finally, this overview of the literature shows which topics have not been the focus of much research and may thus be interesting for further work."
###
Authors of the article "Radioembolization for Treatment of Salvage Patients with Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systemic Review"include Charlotte E.N.M. Rosenbaum, Helena M Verkooijen, Marnix G.E.H. Lam, Maarten L.J. Smits, Tom van Seeters, Malou A. Vermoolen and Maurice A.A.J. van den Bosch, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Miriam Koopman, Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Nuclear medicine therapy increases survival for patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
6-Nov-2013
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]
Share
Contact: Susan Martonik smartonik@snmmi.org 703-652-6773 Society of Nuclear Medicine
Reston, Va. (November 6, 2013) For patients who fail to respond to current first-line and second-line treatments for colorectal cancer liver metastases (also known as salvage patients), radioembolization with Y-90 microspheres could extend survival according to new research published in the November issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. A systematic review conducted by researchers showed that approximately 50 percent of salvage patients have an overall survival of more than 12 months after this nuclear medicine therapy.
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed type of cancer worldwide in men and the second in women, and it is also the third most common cause of death. In approximately 50 percent of patients, metastases to the liver are present at diagnosis or during follow-up, which account for a large portion of morbidity and mortality in patients.
A structured review was performed by researchers to gather all available evidence on radioembolization for the specific group of patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases. "Although quite some reviews are printed on the subject of radioembolization, we felt that a structured and comprehensive review on survival and response data for these patients was lacking," said Charlotte E.N.M. Rosenbaum, PhD, lead author of the study "Radioembolization for Treatment of Salvage Patients with Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systemic Review."
Researchers reviewed a total of 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization as a monotherapy and 13 articles on Y-90 radioembolization as a combined with chemotherapy. Among the studies, disease control rates (i.e., complete response, partial response and stable disease) ranged from 29-90 percent in the monotherapy studies, which involved 901 patients. In the studies in which Y-90 radioembolization was combined with chemotherapy, involving 472 patients, disease control rates ranged from 59-100 percent.
"From the studies included in this systematic review, survival proportions of approximately 50 percent were found. Therefore, in this group of salvage colorectal cancer liver metastases patients who otherwise have no regular treatment options and a life expectancy of less than six months, Y-90 radioembolization seems to be a hopeful treatment option," noted Rosenbaum.
She continued, "Our paper shows all published data on this subject from the first randomized trial onwards. Furthermore, we have determined 12-month survival proportions for all included articles to provide a better overview and to better allow for comparisons. Finally, this overview of the literature shows which topics have not been the focus of much research and may thus be interesting for further work."
###
Authors of the article "Radioembolization for Treatment of Salvage Patients with Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: A Systemic Review"include Charlotte E.N.M. Rosenbaum, Helena M Verkooijen, Marnix G.E.H. Lam, Maarten L.J. Smits, Tom van Seeters, Malou A. Vermoolen and Maurice A.A.J. van den Bosch, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; and Miriam Koopman, Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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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.
New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler sits on the bench with his knee wrapped after being injured during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler sits on the bench with his knee wrapped after being injured during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler (6) walks off the court with Carmelo Anthony after Chandler injured his leg during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
NEW YORK (AP) — Knicks center Tyson Chandler is expected to miss 4-6 weeks because of a broken bone in his right leg.
The team said Wednesday that tests showed no ligament or nerve damage and surgery is not required. Chandler left in the first quarter of a 102-97 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday.
He has a small fracture in the fibula in his lower leg.
New York is off to a 1-3 start after winning its first Atlantic Division title since 1994 last season. The Knicks will miss his defense and rebounding as they try to keep pace in the deep Eastern Conference.
Patrick Cannon, Charlotte, N.C.'s newly elected Democratic mayor, speaks to students at Queens University on Oct. 29.
Chuck Burton/AP
Patrick Cannon, Charlotte, N.C.'s newly elected Democratic mayor, speaks to students at Queens University on Oct. 29.
Chuck Burton/AP
Governors, legislators and mayors were elected Tuesday across the nation. Voters also made key decisions about taxes, marijuana, genetically modified foods — and even secession.
Below is a roundup of some of Tuesday's most noteworthy election results, reported by NPR member stations:
Colorado voters rejected a ballot measure to increase income taxes by nearly $1 billion to provide more funding for public schools by a 2-1 margin. The campaign behind the measure had raised $10 million and Gov. John Hickenlooper supported the proposal.
Meanwhile, 65 percent of the state's voters approved a tax on all recreational marijuana sales, which are set to begin in January. Colorado legalized the use of recreational pot last year.
Six of the 11 counties in Colorado with the question on its ballot voted to secede and create a new state. But the effort is unlikely to succeed, as it would have to be approved by both the state and Congress.
The incumbent Reed sailed to re-election Tuesday, winning "every precinct, every neighborhood, every quadrant of the city of Atlanta." In his second term, he wants to make Atlanta the "center of logistics in the Western Hemisphere."
Meet Boston's new mayor, Marty Walsh. A son of Irish immigrants, Walsh overcame a childhood fight against cancer and a young adult's struggle with alcoholism. He succeeds Tom Menino, the city's longest-serving mayor in history.
Really want to get down in the weeds on the Boston mayoral race? WBUR has a great interactive ward-by-ward map that shows where City Hall was won and lost.
The Boston City Council will have four new faces next year — the largest turnover in over a decade. In the at-large race, the two top vote earners were women.
In Detroit, voters have elected the city's first new mayor since it was taken over by the state and filed for bankruptcy protection. Race also became an issue in the election — Mike Duggan is the first white mayor to represent Detroit's majority black population in four decades.
City Councilor Betsy Hodges looks likely to emerge victorious from the 35-candidate field in the Minneapolis mayor's election after finishing with 36 percent of voters' first-choice ballots. The city is employing a "ranked choice" voting system for the first time, so the final results won't be known until the second- and third-choice ballots are counted Wednesday.
Bill de Blasio won the New York City mayoral election in a landslide, even though he was widely considered to be a long shot just a few short months ago during the Democratic primary.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie cruised to re-election over Democrat Barbara Buono in New Jersey, prompting speculation about his prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Patrick Cannon came out on top in Charlotte's mayoral race with 53 percent of the vote as Democrats maintained their solid 9-2 majority on the City Council.
Among the amendments approved was Proposition 6, which creates a new water infrastructure loan program with $2 billion from the state's rainy day fund.
You know the Astrodome? The so-called Eighth Wonder of the World? The failure of a bond issue to repurpose the aging hall means it might have to be demolished.
State Sen. Ed Murray appears poised to defeat incumbent Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, earning 56 percent of the vote in the initial round of ballot counting. Since Washington voters submit ballots by mail, some votes have yet to be tabulated.
A ballot measure that requires the labeling of genetically modified food is headed for defeat in Washington state. Some influential members of the food and beverage industry opposed the initiative, raising a state record $22 million to defeat it.
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