It hasn't been the best year for HP, what with the demise of webOS and the uncertainty surrounding its status as a PC maker. But, Meg Whitman hasn't taken the bridge of a sunken ship, though things are far from peachy keen. HP just posted its Q4 2011 earnings, and the company cleared a healthy $9.7 billion operating profit in 2011, though that's down 10 percent from last year. Total revenue for the quarter was 32.1 billion, a three percent decline from 2010. And, for those wondering just how much the death of webOS cost the company? Turns out that dalliance took a $3.3 billion chunk out of HP's bottom line. So, the news isn't the best for you HP fans, but we'll be listening in on the earnings call later today, so stay tuned for more details. Impatient folks can find plenty more financial figures in the Source link and PR that follow.
The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength is a grass roots group of over 250 wealthy Americans who are lobbying Congress for higher taxes on the rich. They are some of the 1% standing with the 99%. Jeffrey Gural, Patriotic Millionaire and Nemark K...
It seemed, for a time, that the book on mobile Flash as we knew it was closed. Adobe announced just a few weeks ago that development for mobile Flash would cease, and their efforts and resources would soon be focused elsewhere. As it turns out, Adobe has one last project up their sleeves before they bid mobile Flash adieu: an update that includes support for Ice Cream Sandwich.
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby participates in hockey practice with teamates on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Pittsburgh. Crosby has not been restricted in drills at practices for weeks and reports are predicting he will return to playing in games soon. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby participates in hockey practice with teamates on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Pittsburgh. Crosby has not been restricted in drills at practices for weeks and reports are predicting he will return to playing in games soon. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby pauses between drills as he participates in practice with teammates on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Pittsburgh. Coach Dan Bylsma said Thursday afternoon Crosby will not play Friday or Saturday and that his status remains uncertain. Crosby hasn't played since being diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms in early January. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby skates past a play board as he participates in practice with teammates on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Pittsburgh. Coach Dan Bylsma said Thursday afternoon Crosby will not play Friday or Saturday and that his status remains uncertain. Crosby hasn't played since being diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms in early January. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Sid the Kid is back.
Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby will make his season debut on Monday against the New York Islanders, his first game in nearly a year since being sidelined with concussion-like symptoms.
Crosby hasn't played since taking head shots in consecutive games in January against Washington and Tampa Bay.
The 2007 NHL MVP spent the last 10 months undergoing a painstakingly thorough rehabilitation that left him wondering when ? or even if ? he'd play again and forced the league to take a harsher stance when it comes to policing head hits.
His return ends weeks of speculation that appeared to put the ever-polite Crosby on edge but hardly bothered his teammates. The 24-year-old declined repeated interview requests in recent weeks as the speculation about a possible return date reached a fever pitch.
Crosby missed the remainder of the 2010-11 season after taking a hit from Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman on Jan. 5. The expected brief absence turned into an extended one that rendered him a spectator for Pittsburgh's loss to the Lightning in the opening round of the playoffs.
He vowed to be ready for training camp but spent much of the summer in seclusion in his native Canada, his silence fueling speculation his career may be in jeopardy.
Crosby came forward in September and ? flanked by the two doctors who have overseen his recovery ? said it was "likely" he would be back this season.
He began training camp wearing a white helmet to signify he wasn't to be hit, working feverishly for a month before switching to a black helmet after being cleared for contact on Oct. 13.
Coach Dan Bylsma preached caution, though his teammates did their best to accommodate their captain, jostling with him in practice when given the opportunity.
Crosby only missed one skate since camp began in September, skipping a practice in Los Angeles on Nov. 5 so he could travel back east to visit with his medical team.
His teammates stressed there was no need for Crosby to rush, and the Penguins have been one of the league's top teams through the season's first six weeks.
Pittsburgh entered Friday atop the Eastern Conference behind the crisp goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury and a dynamic offense led by Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.
Yet the Penguins understand they're not the same without Crosby.
"We know what he means to this team, this city," defenseman Kris Letang said. "He's a special player."
One that spent months dealing with "fogginess" that at times made it difficult for him to drive or watch television. He also endured painful migraines and likened the recovery process to a roller coaster.
The ride appears to be finally pulling into the station, sending Crosby out into the great unknown.
For all the steps he's taken during his recovery, the real test will come when he gets hit for the first time at full speed. Though the nature of the game may be changing thanks in part to Crosby's ordeal.
New discipline czar Brendan Shanahan, only three years removed from his playing days, has been suspending players for taking unnecessary head shots at opponents. It's a movement Crosby embraces.
"A guy's got to be responsible with his stick, why shouldn't he be responsible with the rest of his body when he's going to hit someone?" Crosby said. "Whether it's accidental or not accidental, you've got to be responsible out there."
He hasn't backed down during practice, often being one of the last to leave the ice before heading to the dressing room.
The Penguins have raved about Crosby's intensity during even the more informal skates. While he's looked perfectly fine to the naked eye, Crosby wouldn't allow himself to come back until he was at full strength.
"Maybe I can get by with 90 percent, maybe I couldn't but I'm not going to roll the dice with that," Crosby said in September.
When he finally glides onto the ice in his No. 87 jersey, Crosby will put to rest speculation his career was over. His teammates, who did their best to give Crosby distance over the summer, never doubted he would return.
"I figured he was getting enough of it from everywhere else," teammate Jordan Staal said. "All that matters to us really is that he's healthy. All that stuff you thought you heard, I didn't pay any attention to it."
How quickly it takes Crosby to get back to his pre-injury level is uncertain.
He was playing arguably the best hockey of his brilliant career before getting hurt, leading the league in goals and points as the Penguins steamrolled through the first three months of the season.
The team soldiered to a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference despite missing Crosby, Malkin and Staal. The magic disappeared in the playoffs as the Penguins lost in seven games.
Crosby's comeback pushes a team considered a Stanley Cup contender into a Stanley Cup favorite. Yet after months and months of rumors and worry, Crosby's return is cause enough for celebration.
"We know how badly he wants to play," teammate Matt Cooke said. "We want it too, because it means that he's healthy, and that's all you ever really want for him."
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Martin Kampmann's been around for a long time, so he wasn't going to fold when Rick Story pressed him early. The veteran let Story gas himself and took over in the second half of the fight to pick up a split decision victory, 30-27, 29-28 and 28-29 in fight No. 2 of the UFC 139 pay-per-view at the HP Pavilion.
Story looked dynamite early in the fight. His volume blew away Kampmann, who appear to be a little tight in the first three minutes. Kampmann, who suffered a small cut on his forehead during the early onslaught, clearly has a chin, because he absorbed some heavy shots. It may have discouraged Story to see Kampmann standing in front of him shaking his head to show the shots weren't hurting.
Kampmann (18-5, 9-4 UFC) further broke down Story's will with a very effective jab. By the end of the first round, which looked like it was going to be a cakewalk, Story had his own cut over his right eye.
Story's a good wrestler, but he was taken down in each of the final two rounds.
"I feel good. You know I'm really happy but at the same time I'm disappointed. I promised you guys I'd go in and get a finish. My arms felt so heavy out there, like I had lead in my hands.?I came out here way too relaxed tonight and needed a few punches to wake up.?It's a relief to come out and get a win," said Kampmann.
CAIRO ? Egypt's benchmark index plunged on Tuesday, with a temporary suspension of trading failing to cool a frenzy of selling by investors panicked by escalating violence and protests in the capital that have thrust the nation into its worst political crisis since former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
The EGX30 index closed 4.78 percent lower, or at 3,676 points, continuing its slide after trading was suspended for nearly an hour on the Egyptian Exchange after the broader EGX100 index fell by over 5.4 percent.
Underscoring market unease with the political situation, the country's five-year credit default swaps ? the cost of insuring Egypt's sovereign debt against default ? widened by 25 basis points to 563 basis points, according to Markit. Also, the Egyptian pound weakened against the U.S. dollar, briefly breaching the six pound to the dollar mark, according to currency Web site XE.com.
The slide in the market Tuesday was the third consecutive day of declines, and reflected the worries about the country's political future as thousands gathered in central Cairo protesting against the country's military rulers. The escalating tension came just days before the scheduled Nov. 28 parliamentary elections ? the first since Mubarak left office in mid-February.
Traders put the support point for the benchmark index at 3,800 points, but the market blew past that level with little difficulty early in the day, building on Monday's 4 percent slide and dragging its year-to-date decline down to more than 48 percent.
"We passed the support point, so the only thing that will stop further declines in the market is fixing the political situation in the country," said Khaled Naga, a senior broker with Mega Investments. "We have to wait and see what happens."
State television reported that the day's losses on the exchange amounted to 12 billion pounds ($2 billion).
The suspension of trade was a safety measure set up by market authorities in the weeks after the uprising against Mubarak. The measures were intended to guard against what many, at the time, feared would be the market's collapse after its reopening more than two months after the start of the Jan. 25 uprising.
The violence and continuing demonstrations prompted the civilian Cabinet to offer its resignation late Monday. But the move failed to appease the activists who see the civilian government as little more than subservient to the military rulers.
While far from presenting a united front, the activists massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square ? the epicenter of the uprising that toppled Mubarak ? are demanding that the military rulers either immediately hand over power to a civilian administration or set a fixed date for a transition to civilian rule.
Firmly entrenched in Tahrir Square, the activists issued a call for a million-man rally on Tuesday ? a move that had thousands streaming into downtown Cairo and raising the specter of further clashes and violence, even as officials called for restraint from all sides.
The threat of continued trouble only builds on already growing political uncertainty that has battered the country's economy and placed tremendous pressure on the country's currency.
The government has struggled to keep the pound from breaking the six pounds to the dollar level for months, with economists attributing at least a portion of the net international reserves that have been spent going to support the currency. Egypt's net international reserves fell from $36 billion in December to about $22 billion by the end of October, according to Central Bank of Egypt figures.
Naga said the stock market has lost about 180 billion pounds ($30.25 billion) since the start of the year ? with most of that linked to the unrest in the country versus the overall global financial concerns linked to the Eurozone debt crisis and broader fears of recession. He said Monday's losses were about 7 billion pounds.
The Tuesday losses marked the 10th consecutive trading session in which the market ? one of the worst performing emerging market indices in the world ? suffered a slide as a result of Egypt's tenuous political situation.
Rami Sidani, the Dubai-based head of Middle East and North Africa investments for British asset management firm Schroders, said there is a "very negative sentiment" over Egyptian stocks at the moment. The uncertainties surrounding the country's political future have triggered a panicked sell-off on the Egyptian exchange, he said.
"There is no discrimination between one company or another," said Sidani. "Investors are just selling across the board without taking into consideration the value of the underlying assets."
The declines came as several markets elsewhere in the region extended slumps of their own following Monday's rout on Wall Street.
The Dubai Financial Market dropped 0.3 percent to close at 1,351 points Tuesday, its lowest level in more than seven years. Saudi Arabia's main index was trading down 0.8 percent at 6,103 points by mid-afternoon.
___
AP Business Writer Adam Schreck in Dubai contributed to this report.
Ulcer-causing bacteria tamed by defect in cell-targeting abilityPublic release date: 21-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Without the ability to swim to their targets in the stomach, ulcer-causing bacteria do not cause the inflammation of the stomach lining that leads to ulcers and stomach cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Online Early Edition, week of Nov. 21-25), provide new clues about how the bacteria, called Helicobacter pylori, trigger harmful inflammation in some people. About half of all people worldwide are infected with H. pylori, but in most cases the infection does not cause any problems. Severe inflammation leading to ulcers or cancer occurs in only about ten percent of infections.
"If we can understand the pathways that cause the infection to go to this bad state of chronic inflammation, we may eventually be able to design treatments that would limit it," said Karen Ottemann, a professor of microbiology and environmental toxicology at UC Santa Cruz and senior author of the PNAS paper.
Ottemann has been studying H. pylori chemotaxis, which is the bacteria's ability to respond to specific chemicals in its environment by swimming toward or away from them. Her lab has developed a strain of the bacteria that is missing a single gene essential for chemotaxis. These defective bacteria cause much less inflammation than normal strains, even though they seem to have little trouble establishing infections in the stomach.
In the new study, the researchers looked at how the immune system responds to infections with normal and mutant strains of the bacteria. Their findings highlight the role of a particular type of white blood cell known as T-helper cell type 17 (Th17). Th17 cells promote chronic inflammation, but the researchers found that these cells were missing in the immune response to infection with the mutant strain.
The connection between chemotaxis and the immune response involves several steps. Previous work by other researchers has shown that Th17 cells respond to the combination of bacterial infection and dying host cells. Ottemann's group found that the mutant strain of H. pylori causes much less cell death than normal strains. The researchers hypothesize that without chemotaxis, the mutant strains are not able to get close enough to the cells lining the stomach to deliver the bacterial toxins that induce cell death. The toxins trigger a process called apoptosis, a suicide program built into all cells and triggered by certain types of cell damage.
"The bacteria use chemotaxis to get close to the host stomach cells, and then they deliver packages of nasty molecules that kill host cells," Ottemann said. "Previously, people thought the bacteria have to bind to the stomach cells. But it turns out they just have to be close enough to hit the cells with the cell-killing molecules. We think one reason they have the ability to swim is to hover close to their target cells."
The missing gene in the mutant strain, called CheY, provides a link between the bacteria's chemical sensors and their swimming mechanism, a whip-like flagellum that propels the spiral-shaped bacteria. The mutant bacteria can still swim, but they move aimlessly. "They've lost the connection between the sensory input and the behavior, so they just swim blindly," Ottemann said.
H. pylori infections can be cured by taking antibiotics, but some studies have indicated that the infection may actually have some beneficial effects, at least for people who don't get ulcers or stomach cancer. For example, H. pylori infection seems to reduce the chances of getting esophageal cancer. Some doctors have argued that controlling the negative effects of the infection may be preferable to eliminating it with antibiotics.
"The idea is that our bodies have adapted to it, and in 90 percent of people the bacteria act like a normal part of the body's flora," Ottemann said. "So the best thing might be to keep H. pylori in the stomach, but tame it so it wouldn't cause inflammation. It's possible we could tame it by targeting chemotaxis."
###
Annah Rolig, a graduate student in molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz, is the first author of the PNAS paper. Coauthor J. Elliot Carter is at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
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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.
Ulcer-causing bacteria tamed by defect in cell-targeting abilityPublic release date: 21-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Without the ability to swim to their targets in the stomach, ulcer-causing bacteria do not cause the inflammation of the stomach lining that leads to ulcers and stomach cancer, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Online Early Edition, week of Nov. 21-25), provide new clues about how the bacteria, called Helicobacter pylori, trigger harmful inflammation in some people. About half of all people worldwide are infected with H. pylori, but in most cases the infection does not cause any problems. Severe inflammation leading to ulcers or cancer occurs in only about ten percent of infections.
"If we can understand the pathways that cause the infection to go to this bad state of chronic inflammation, we may eventually be able to design treatments that would limit it," said Karen Ottemann, a professor of microbiology and environmental toxicology at UC Santa Cruz and senior author of the PNAS paper.
Ottemann has been studying H. pylori chemotaxis, which is the bacteria's ability to respond to specific chemicals in its environment by swimming toward or away from them. Her lab has developed a strain of the bacteria that is missing a single gene essential for chemotaxis. These defective bacteria cause much less inflammation than normal strains, even though they seem to have little trouble establishing infections in the stomach.
In the new study, the researchers looked at how the immune system responds to infections with normal and mutant strains of the bacteria. Their findings highlight the role of a particular type of white blood cell known as T-helper cell type 17 (Th17). Th17 cells promote chronic inflammation, but the researchers found that these cells were missing in the immune response to infection with the mutant strain.
The connection between chemotaxis and the immune response involves several steps. Previous work by other researchers has shown that Th17 cells respond to the combination of bacterial infection and dying host cells. Ottemann's group found that the mutant strain of H. pylori causes much less cell death than normal strains. The researchers hypothesize that without chemotaxis, the mutant strains are not able to get close enough to the cells lining the stomach to deliver the bacterial toxins that induce cell death. The toxins trigger a process called apoptosis, a suicide program built into all cells and triggered by certain types of cell damage.
"The bacteria use chemotaxis to get close to the host stomach cells, and then they deliver packages of nasty molecules that kill host cells," Ottemann said. "Previously, people thought the bacteria have to bind to the stomach cells. But it turns out they just have to be close enough to hit the cells with the cell-killing molecules. We think one reason they have the ability to swim is to hover close to their target cells."
The missing gene in the mutant strain, called CheY, provides a link between the bacteria's chemical sensors and their swimming mechanism, a whip-like flagellum that propels the spiral-shaped bacteria. The mutant bacteria can still swim, but they move aimlessly. "They've lost the connection between the sensory input and the behavior, so they just swim blindly," Ottemann said.
H. pylori infections can be cured by taking antibiotics, but some studies have indicated that the infection may actually have some beneficial effects, at least for people who don't get ulcers or stomach cancer. For example, H. pylori infection seems to reduce the chances of getting esophageal cancer. Some doctors have argued that controlling the negative effects of the infection may be preferable to eliminating it with antibiotics.
"The idea is that our bodies have adapted to it, and in 90 percent of people the bacteria act like a normal part of the body's flora," Ottemann said. "So the best thing might be to keep H. pylori in the stomach, but tame it so it wouldn't cause inflammation. It's possible we could tame it by targeting chemotaxis."
###
Annah Rolig, a graduate student in molecular, cell, and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz, is the first author of the PNAS paper. Coauthor J. Elliot Carter is at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
It hasn't been the best year for HP, what with the demise of webOS and the uncertainty surrounding its status as a PC maker. But, Meg Whitman hasn't taken the bridge of a sunken ship, though things are far from peachy keen. HP just posted its Q4 2011 earnings, and the company cleared a healthy $9.7 billion operating profit in 2011, though that's down 10 percent from last year. Total revenue for the quarter was 32.1 billion, a three percent decline from 2010. And, for those wondering just how much the death of webOS cost the company? Turns out that dalliance took a $3.3 billion chunk out of HP's bottom line. So, the news isn't the best for you HP fans, but we'll be listening in on the earnings call later today, so stay tuned for more details. Impatient folks can find plenty more financial figures in the Source link and PR that follow.
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It seemed, for a time, that the book on mobile Flash as we knew it
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Public release date: 21-Nov-2011
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