Looking for that perfect place to begin their life together, Ashley Tisdale and Christopher French checked out homes in Beverly Hills on Sunday (October 27).
The “Hellcats” hottie looked snazzy in a black leather vest with a striped blouse, black trousers, and studded ankle boots as she perused the real estate offerings.
Meanwhile, Ashley’s longtime gal pal Vanessa Hudgens told press she fully expects to be a bridesmaid in the upcoming nuptials.
She gushed, “Duh, I’m her best friend! I am so excited for her. I’m just really excited to be a part of her life.”
Oracle is rolling out a series of new features for its Eloqua marketing automation suite, hoping to get a leg up on rivals like Salesforce.com and IBM in the red-hot software segment.
Now generally available is AdFocus, which provides marketers with tools for running multichannel advertising campaigns. A key feature is the ability to deliver targeted display ads to customers and prospects, while comparing their effectiveness to so-called "owned" and "earned" media, such as company websites and buzz on social networks, respectively.
Another update concerns Eloqua Profiler, which like its name suggests, is used to build out profiles of prospects based on their interactions with "assets" tracked in Eloqua, such as emails and web pages. Now Profiler can also include asset activity that's occurring on properties the marketer's organization doesn't own, such as video content hosted on a third-party website.
Finally it's now possible to tap Facebook's custom audience feature from AdFocus, giving marketers the ability to target discrete blocks of users based on their social profile.
There's perhaps no hotter area of enterprise software these days than marketing automation, following a rash of consolidation as platform vendors attempt to build out broad product suites.
Last week, Oracle bought Compendium in order to bolster the capabilities of Eloqua, which it acquired in December for $871 million. Compendium provides software for creating different types of content that can be used to entice customers to visit a marketer's web site or other property, said John Stetic, vice president of products, Oracle Eloqua Marketing Cloud.
Among others, Salesforce.com has also invested heavily in marketing software, scooping up ExactTarget, Buddy Media and Radian6 for its own cloud-based suite.
Oracle gets an edge over the competition with Eloqua, as its always been "built by marketers, for marketers," Stetic said. "We allow for really advanced targeting throughout the entire buying process."
In addition, Oracle is taking a more open approach, offering a full suite but not forcing customers to use it all, he said. "Lots of vendors want to think they'll have this whole stack and own the world, but what I hear from customers is, I want choice."
Meanwhile, as online privacy concerns mount in the wake of revelations over surveillance programs by the U.S. National Security Agency, marketers need to be mindful of the boundaries between themselves and customers, Stetic said.
"Ultimately what it comes down to things like government surveillance, people can't vote with their wallets on that, whereas in the commercial world if someone feels they're being overly tracked and overly monitored and not getting value out of it, they vote with their wallets," he said.
When it comes to making virtual server farms easier to manage, the SAN is the great enabler. But when it comes to maximizing virtual server performance, the SAN is the great bottleneck. A single host running dozens of virtual machines (or more) can easily generate enough I/O operations to reduce overall SAN response time, increasing I/O latency and adversely affecting virtual machine performance. Adding more spindles may help in the short term, but that can be very disruptive to the storage infrastructure and does not really take care of the root of the problem: I/O bottlenecks.
One company that is working to improve VM performance by reducing storage I/O latency is PernixData. PernixData FVP is an add-on module for the VMware vSphere hypervisor that creates a cluster of high-speed SSD devices across multiple vSphere hosts. The PernixData "flash cluster" creates a distributed cache for reads and writes to the SAN, accelerating virtual machine I/O without requiring any changes to the VMs or their host datastores. And because the flash cluster is shared among hosts, PernixData FVP fully supports VMware services such as vMotion, DRS, and HA. VMs can continue to move freely from host to host without incurring a cache "miss" penalty.
By consolidating server-side flash into a single shared flash cluster, PernixData FVP leverages many small flash investments into a large I/O improvement. Installation is quick and easy, and it doesn't even require a reboot of the hosts. PernixData FVP comes in SMB and Standard versions. The SMB version is $9,995 per host for up to four hosts and 100 VMs. The standard edition is $7,500 per host with no restrictions on the number of hosts or virtual machines.
Zero to hero Here is the quick takeaway for PernixData FVP: zero changes to the virtual machine environment. There are no changes to the VMs or to the underlying host datastores, and PernixData FVP is transparent to both the VMs and the SAN.
LOS ANGELES -- The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson was released from jail Monday after serving nearly two years of a four-year sentence.
Conrad Murray was released from a downtown Los Angeles jail at 12:01 a.m., according to the sheriff's office. A change in California law allowed his incarceration time to be significantly cut down.
The former cardiologist was convicted in 2011 of causing Jackson's death in June 2009 by providing the superstar with an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. Jackson was in the midst of preparations for a series of comeback concerts and Murray was serving as his personal physician.
Murray's prospects are uncertain: At age 60 his license to practice medicine has been suspended or revoked in three states and his face and name are well known due to his association with Jackson and his highly-publicized involuntary manslaughter trial.
The former doctor is appealing his conviction, although an appeals court has questioned whether it needs to hear the case. His attorney Valerie Wass has argued that the court should not dismiss the appeal because it could alter his overall sentence and reduce some of the stigma his conviction has caused.
Despite being jailed, Murray has not been entirely silent. Audio recordings of his calls have been posted on celebrity website TMZ and the ex-doctor told the Today show that he cried tears of joy after a civil jury recently determined that the promoters of Jackson's comeback shows did not negligently hire Murray.
He did not, however, testify in the civil case or take the stand during his criminal trial.
Murray previously maintained clinics in Houston and Las Vegas and frequently complained about conditions in jail after his conviction. He was allowed to serve his entire sentence in a Los Angeles jail rather than a state prison due to a law aimed at easing overcrowding by shifting nonviolent offenders to local lockups.
"Dr. Murray has not received any special treatment in jail and in fact has many less privileges than most inmates because of his notoriety," Wass said in a statement earlier this year. She said he "is very much looking forward to his release and getting on with his life. However, the fact of his incarceration is increasingly difficult for him."
Jurors in a lawsuit filed by Jackson's mother against concert giant AEG Live LLC determined that the doctor was not unfit or incompetent to serve as Jackson's tour doctor earlier this month. The panel heard testimony about Jackson and Murray's relationship throughout the five-month trial, but the panel said it did not condone the physician's conduct.
"That doesn't mean we felt he was ethical," jury foreman Gregg Barden said of Murray after the AEG Live verdict.
No doctor or medical expert has condoned Murray's treatments of Jackson during either the ex-doctor's criminal case or the civil litigation. The former cardiologist told police he gave the superstar nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep but lacked the proper medical or monitoring equipment that's required to administer anesthesia.
Although widely used, propofol is intended only for surgical settings and experts have noted that its effects are not actually sleep.
Features include a curved display, self-healing rear skin and back-mounted buttons
We've had our fair share of looks at the then-unannounced G Flex, and now LG has made its curved phone official. Unlike the recently-revealed Samsung Galaxy Round, the G Flex is curved on the horizontal axis (think Galaxy Nexus) and seemingly more dramatically based on the pictures LG has released. Aside from the curve, the G Flex follows LG's design language found on its other "G series" devices, including the rear-mounted buttons we first saw on the LG G2.
In terms of specs, the G Flex has an OLED display, as we'd expect for such a curved panel, but is unfortunately only 720 x 1280 resolution — at 6-inches diagonally, that pegs the pixel density at 244 ppi. Inside, we're looking at a MSM8974 (Snapdragon 800) processor clocked at 2.26GHz, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera, 32GB of internal storage and Bluetooth 4.0. As expected, for now this is a South Korea-only affair. Also interesting, LG says the rear of the G Flex will feature a self-healing coating, designed to automatically fill small scratches in the finish.
As you'd expect the G Flex is running Android 4.2.2 with LG's own software customizations. LG seems to be crafting its software to take advantage — or at least be accommodating — of the curved screen, shifting elements on the screen based on how the phone moves. Beyond that, it isn't entirely known what new software features will be G Flex-specific. See the press release after the break.
NEW YORK (AP) — George Clooney's World War II drama "The Monuments Men" is being pushed to 2014 and out of the fall awards season.
A spokesman for Sony Pictures said Wednesday the movie will now be released in the first quarter of next year, instead of its planned release date of Dec. 18. "Monuments Men," which Clooney directed, co-wrote and stars in, had been expected to be a top Oscar contender.
The film could still compete for awards next year, but the early-in-the-year positioning suggests Sony doesn't expect it to. Sony said the film is being delayed so Clooney can finish the film's extensive visual effects.
The film is about a WWII platoon whose mission is to rescue artworks from the Nazis.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the release date change.
DALE CITY, Va. (AP) — Conservative ideologues are reliable voters who could threaten Democrat Terry McAuliffe's political chances, former President Bill Clinton warned Sunday as he joined his longtime buddy's campaign for Virginia governor.
With little more than a week before Nov. 5's Election Day, McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli each have sought to energize their strongest supporters. McAuliffe has opened a lead in polling and is heavily outspending Cuccinelli on television ads, but turnout is expected to be low and the result could be decided by a few thousand votes. es
"Political extremism does have one political virtue," Clinton said. "Once you get people all torn up and upset, steam coming out of their ears, people will show up and vote."
It was a shift in roles. For decades, it has been McAuliffe championing the personal and political futures of Bill Clinton and, later, his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now, he's here to pitch in during the campaign against Republican Ken Cuccinelli during its final week even though Clinton joked he is "in my dotage."
"Terry's gotten so good on the stump, I don't think he needs me anymore," Clinton said to laughter at the pair's first stop.
Clinton planned other stops throughout the state with his longtime pal and fundraiser during the coming day. Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is considered a strong contender for 2016's presidential nomination, used her first political event after stepping down as secretary of state to endorse McAuliffe earlier this month.
Bill Clinton predicted that Cuccinelli's supporters, who are deeply conservative and align to the tea party, would be reliable, and he urged Democrats to be just as motivated.
"Just remember, the people who aren't here today, who go to the other fella's rally, they will be there on Election Day," he said. "I've dealt with it all my life."
Cuccinelli's campaign sought to turn Clinton's star power among Democrats into another way to build enthusiasm among his conservative supporters. Even before the pair arrived at the veterans' hall here in northern Virginia, Cuccinelli's campaign had already sent reporters a memo recounting the years of Clinton-McAuliffe collaboration for Democrats.
"As Terry McAuliffe spends the next few days traveling the state with Bill Clinton, Virginia voters should remember the troublesome space McAuliffe occupied as the middleman between the dangerous intersection of big-dollar special interest donors and high-ranking elected officials," the memo said. "The Commonwealth of Virginia neither needs nor deserves the McAuliffe-Clinton baggage."
What Republicans called "baggage" — questions over the Clintons' finances, Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern and his subsequent impeachment — seems to have faded for many voters. Bill Clinton's approval ratings have improved since he left the White House in 2001 and voters have not lost interest in Hillary Rodham Clinton since she stepped down as President Barack Obama's top diplomat earlier this year.
Clinton made only one passing mention of his wife, nothing that he was holding up a signup sheet to show voters because "Hillary did it" when she appeared with McAuliffe.
Every step Hillary Rodham Clinton has taken since leaving the State Department has been examined for its 2016 implications. And Bill Clinton's return to full-time campaigning — even if for only a few days — was sure to add to speculation about whether a Clinton could call the White House home again in 2017.
Democrats have been relentless in painting Cuccinelli — who is known outside the state best as the first to challenge President Barack Obama's health care law — as a political ideologue and not someone who is unwilling to compromise.
Clinton happily added his voice to that message.
"If we become ideological, then we're blind to evidence. We can only hear people who already agree with us. We think we know everything right now, and we have nothing to learn from anybody," said Clinton, who as president sometimes bucked his party and worked with Republicans.
Clinton predicted that Cuccinelli as governor would impose his own deeply conservative views on the state at a time when compromise should be employed to build the economy.
___
Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott
New study examines link between pregnancy weight gain, autism spectrum disorders
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
28-Oct-2013
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Contact: Melinda Rogers melinda.rogers@hsc.utah.edu 801-608-9888 University of Utah Health Sciences
Can gaining weight during pregnancy provide clues into the cause of autism spectrum disorders?
New research from the University of Utah shows the answer to that question may be yes in some situations. Researchers have uncovered an association between autism spectrum disorders and a small increase in the amount of weight a mother gains during pregnancy. The results of the new study, "Maternal Prenatal Weight Gain and Autism Spectrum Disorders," are published in November edition of the journal Pediatrics.
Previous studies have identified links between women's prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain to an increased risk for the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. But in the new study from University of Utah, researchers build on prior research by identifying an association between autism spectrum disorder risk and prenatal weight gain, after accounting for important related factors such as a woman's prepregnancy BMI.
"The risk of autism spectrum disorder associated with a modest yet consistent increase in pregnancy weight gain suggests that pregnancy weight gain may serve as an important marker for autism's underlying gestational etiology," said Deborah A. Bilder, M.D., lead author of the study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah. "These findings suggest that weight gain during pregnancy is not the cause of ASD but rather may reflect an underlying process that it shares with autism spectrum disorders, such as abnormal hormone levels or inflammation. ."
This small difference in pregnancy weight gain and the association with ASD was found in two separate study groups. Researchers carried out the study by comparing the cases of 8-year-olds living in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. A group of 128 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders were compared to a control group of 10,920 children of the same age and gender. Researchers also examined a second sample group of 288 Utah children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and compared their data with that of unaffected siblings. In both scenarios, pregnancy weight gain patterns obtained from birth certificate records were identified as common factors in mothers who gave birth to children born with autism spectrum disorders. Such a small, but consistent finding suggests that these small changes in pregnancy weight gain and ASD may share the same underlying cause. The mother's BMI at the onset of pregnancy was not linked to ASD in either study group.
ASD data utilized for this study were taken from the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, a Utah Department of Health (UDOH) registry. "Utilizing this database to study possible associations that may shed light on the causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder is essential," said Harper Randall, M.D., medical director at the Division of Family Health and Preparedness at UDOH. "
"The findings in this study are important because they provide clues to what may increase the risk of having an autism spectrum disorder and provide a specific direction for researchers to pursue as they search for the causes for autism spectrum disorders," said Bilder. "Doctors have known for a long time that proper nutrition is essential to a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women should not change their diet based on these results. Rather, this study provides one more piece for the autism puzzle that researchers are exploring."
Autism spectrum disorders are neurobehavioral disorders manifested by a range of impaired social interactions, abnormal language development, and stereotypic behavior and interests. According to the most recent statistics from the Utah Department of Health, estimates show that 1 in 63 Utah children have an autism spectrum disorder. Another study by the CDC released in 2012 suggests the risk may be even higher, estimating Utah's rate at one in 47. Autism spectrum disorder is no longer considered a rare disorder. It is now recognized in 1 to 2 percent of our population. "This calls for further investigation of its underlying etiology as a public health concern," said Bilder.
###
In addition to Bilder, other authors on the study include: Amanda V. Bakian, Ph.D.; Joseph Viskochil, M.Ed.; Erin A.S. Clark, M.D.; Elizabeth L. Botts, M.D.; Ken R. Smith, Ph.D.; Richard Pimentel, MSCS; William M. McMahon, M.D. and Hilary Coon, Ph.D.
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New study examines link between pregnancy weight gain, autism spectrum disorders
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
28-Oct-2013
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Contact: Melinda Rogers melinda.rogers@hsc.utah.edu 801-608-9888 University of Utah Health Sciences
Can gaining weight during pregnancy provide clues into the cause of autism spectrum disorders?
New research from the University of Utah shows the answer to that question may be yes in some situations. Researchers have uncovered an association between autism spectrum disorders and a small increase in the amount of weight a mother gains during pregnancy. The results of the new study, "Maternal Prenatal Weight Gain and Autism Spectrum Disorders," are published in November edition of the journal Pediatrics.
Previous studies have identified links between women's prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain to an increased risk for the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. But in the new study from University of Utah, researchers build on prior research by identifying an association between autism spectrum disorder risk and prenatal weight gain, after accounting for important related factors such as a woman's prepregnancy BMI.
"The risk of autism spectrum disorder associated with a modest yet consistent increase in pregnancy weight gain suggests that pregnancy weight gain may serve as an important marker for autism's underlying gestational etiology," said Deborah A. Bilder, M.D., lead author of the study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah. "These findings suggest that weight gain during pregnancy is not the cause of ASD but rather may reflect an underlying process that it shares with autism spectrum disorders, such as abnormal hormone levels or inflammation. ."
This small difference in pregnancy weight gain and the association with ASD was found in two separate study groups. Researchers carried out the study by comparing the cases of 8-year-olds living in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties. A group of 128 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders were compared to a control group of 10,920 children of the same age and gender. Researchers also examined a second sample group of 288 Utah children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and compared their data with that of unaffected siblings. In both scenarios, pregnancy weight gain patterns obtained from birth certificate records were identified as common factors in mothers who gave birth to children born with autism spectrum disorders. Such a small, but consistent finding suggests that these small changes in pregnancy weight gain and ASD may share the same underlying cause. The mother's BMI at the onset of pregnancy was not linked to ASD in either study group.
ASD data utilized for this study were taken from the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, a Utah Department of Health (UDOH) registry. "Utilizing this database to study possible associations that may shed light on the causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder is essential," said Harper Randall, M.D., medical director at the Division of Family Health and Preparedness at UDOH. "
"The findings in this study are important because they provide clues to what may increase the risk of having an autism spectrum disorder and provide a specific direction for researchers to pursue as they search for the causes for autism spectrum disorders," said Bilder. "Doctors have known for a long time that proper nutrition is essential to a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women should not change their diet based on these results. Rather, this study provides one more piece for the autism puzzle that researchers are exploring."
Autism spectrum disorders are neurobehavioral disorders manifested by a range of impaired social interactions, abnormal language development, and stereotypic behavior and interests. According to the most recent statistics from the Utah Department of Health, estimates show that 1 in 63 Utah children have an autism spectrum disorder. Another study by the CDC released in 2012 suggests the risk may be even higher, estimating Utah's rate at one in 47. Autism spectrum disorder is no longer considered a rare disorder. It is now recognized in 1 to 2 percent of our population. "This calls for further investigation of its underlying etiology as a public health concern," said Bilder.
###
In addition to Bilder, other authors on the study include: Amanda V. Bakian, Ph.D.; Joseph Viskochil, M.Ed.; Erin A.S. Clark, M.D.; Elizabeth L. Botts, M.D.; Ken R. Smith, Ph.D.; Richard Pimentel, MSCS; William M. McMahon, M.D. and Hilary Coon, Ph.D.
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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.
TechCrunch Disrupt Europe’s first-ever hackathon has just concluded, and the judges have crowned a winner. There were 91 companies presenting hacks at this year’s inaugural event, and 24 hours after they sat down and started hacking, the teams stood up on stage and ran through 60-second demos of what they built.
Our panel of judges evaluated their efforts, and awarded them with three top prizes based on the merits of each. Here’s who walked away with the big prizes.
Winner: Foursquare PreCheck-In
Foursquare PreCheck-In Wins The First Ever Disrupt Europe Hackathon, Teleapp And Colorful Gift Place Second And Third
Foursquare PreCheck-In allows people to express their intent to visit places before they even go. That can make it easier to plan trips with friends, and it can allow businesses to offer up services and products to potential customers in advance to help encourage them to actually go through with their visit and deliver better customer service.
The video of their one minute on-stage demo is above; below, you can see our conversation with them backstage after they were announced as the Hackathon winners.
Foursquare PreCheck-In Wins The First Ever Disrupt Europe Hackathon, Teleapp And Colorful Gift Place Second And Third
Runner-Up #1: Teleapp
Foursquare PreCheck-In Wins The First Ever Disrupt Europe Hackathon, Teleapp And Colorful Gift Place Second And Third
This is a Google Chrome browser extension that intelligently combs web pages for App Store links and then pushes that out to a user’s phone so they can download the app directly. Saves an email or a message, and is probably a handy tool for tech bloggers like myself.
Runner-Up #2: A Colorful Gift
Foursquare PreCheck-In Wins The First Ever Disrupt Europe Hackathon, Teleapp And Colorful Gift Place Second And Third
An app that allows couples getting married to crowdsource their honeymoons, collecting payment from family and friends to pay for their trip, in a gamified, playful way.
Each of the winners gets to present their hacks during the main show at Disrupt Europe 2013, which kicks off on Monday, and the grand prize winner gets $5,000 for the team. Everyone who presented gets two free tickets to Disrupt, and sponsors have offered up a number of prizes to different teams, too. Sponsors this time around included Box, ChallengePost, CrunchBase, T-Mobile, Foursquare, Lufthansa, Mashery, Paymill, Xing, Yammer, Interoute, Nexmo, Watchmi and Weather Underground.
Our judges for the event were Deutsche Telekom hub:raum incubator founder Peter Borchers; Microsoft Developer Platform Evangelist Anika Klauss; SoundCloud VP of Engineering Alexander Grosse; and GetYourGuide CEO and co-founder Johannes Reck.
As a bonus, check out where the many participants hailed from at this year’s show, broken down by country.
Mount Sinai researchers identify mechanisms and potential biomarkers of tumor cell dormancy
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
27-Oct-2013
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Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
May be able to recreate conditions that keep cancer cells from growing after they have spread
Oncologists have long puzzled over the fact that after cancer treatment, single cancer cells that are dispersed throughout the body so-called disseminated tumor cells are quick to grow and form secondary tumors called metastases in certain organs, while in other organs they metastasize more slowly, sometimes decades later. Such is the case with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells, which remain dormant when lodged in bone marrow but rapidly form tumors when they make their way into the lungs.
A study published online October 27 by Nature Cell Biology by Bragado et al. reveals that bone marrow contains high levels of TGFβ2, which activates the tumor suppressor gene p38 in tumor cells and triggers a cascade of events that renders tumor cells dormant and keeps HNSCC growth in check. In the lungs, where TGFβ2 is in short supply, these cells rapidly form tumors.
The research team, led by Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is the first to identify the role of TGFβ2 in determining whether HNSCC cells will remain harmlessly dormant or behave aggressively in a given location. The study confirms a century-old theory called the "seed and soil" theory of metastasis, which suggests that a tumor cell the seed either sleeps or thrives within the unique environment of each organ the soil.
"Our study provides critical evidence to explain why tumor cells gain a firm foothold in certain organs but not in others, where they can remain inactive for long periods of time," explained Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso.
Approximately 80 percent of the animal models the researchers studied contained disseminated HNSCC cells in the lungs, while less than 30 percent contained tumor cells in the bone marrow. After removing the primary tumors, the number of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow remained the same for several weeks (equivalent to ~ 3 years in humans). However, the number of tumor cells in the lungs increased shortly after the tumors were removed, suggesting that conditions within each organ had a long-lasting effect on the cells' behavior.
In addition, the researchers discovered that lowering TGFβ2 or p38 levels awakened dormant cells and fueled metastatic growth throughout the body.
These findings may have implications for estrogen-positive breast tumor cells, which have a similar genetic signature to that of dormant HNSCC cells.
"Our study is the first to identify specific characteristics found in cancer cells as well as in the microenvironment in which they are found that determine whether they will metastasize rapidly, posing a new threat to the patient, or will remain dormant for a period of time," said Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso. "Eventually, we may be able to predict, based on markers detected in disseminated tumor cells and/or in the microenvironment, which patients have a dormant disease and which ones will need more aggressive treatment. This information may also lead to the development of new drugs that mimic the pathways that prevent tumor cells from metastasizing."
###
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient servicesfrom community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians, 12-minority-owned free-standing ambulatory surgery centers, over 45 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, as well as 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report.
For more information, visit Mount Sinai on the web, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
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Mount Sinai researchers identify mechanisms and potential biomarkers of tumor cell dormancy
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
27-Oct-2013
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Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office newsmedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
May be able to recreate conditions that keep cancer cells from growing after they have spread
Oncologists have long puzzled over the fact that after cancer treatment, single cancer cells that are dispersed throughout the body so-called disseminated tumor cells are quick to grow and form secondary tumors called metastases in certain organs, while in other organs they metastasize more slowly, sometimes decades later. Such is the case with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells, which remain dormant when lodged in bone marrow but rapidly form tumors when they make their way into the lungs.
A study published online October 27 by Nature Cell Biology by Bragado et al. reveals that bone marrow contains high levels of TGFβ2, which activates the tumor suppressor gene p38 in tumor cells and triggers a cascade of events that renders tumor cells dormant and keeps HNSCC growth in check. In the lungs, where TGFβ2 is in short supply, these cells rapidly form tumors.
The research team, led by Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is the first to identify the role of TGFβ2 in determining whether HNSCC cells will remain harmlessly dormant or behave aggressively in a given location. The study confirms a century-old theory called the "seed and soil" theory of metastasis, which suggests that a tumor cell the seed either sleeps or thrives within the unique environment of each organ the soil.
"Our study provides critical evidence to explain why tumor cells gain a firm foothold in certain organs but not in others, where they can remain inactive for long periods of time," explained Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso.
Approximately 80 percent of the animal models the researchers studied contained disseminated HNSCC cells in the lungs, while less than 30 percent contained tumor cells in the bone marrow. After removing the primary tumors, the number of disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow remained the same for several weeks (equivalent to ~ 3 years in humans). However, the number of tumor cells in the lungs increased shortly after the tumors were removed, suggesting that conditions within each organ had a long-lasting effect on the cells' behavior.
In addition, the researchers discovered that lowering TGFβ2 or p38 levels awakened dormant cells and fueled metastatic growth throughout the body.
These findings may have implications for estrogen-positive breast tumor cells, which have a similar genetic signature to that of dormant HNSCC cells.
"Our study is the first to identify specific characteristics found in cancer cells as well as in the microenvironment in which they are found that determine whether they will metastasize rapidly, posing a new threat to the patient, or will remain dormant for a period of time," said Dr. Aguirre-Ghiso. "Eventually, we may be able to predict, based on markers detected in disseminated tumor cells and/or in the microenvironment, which patients have a dormant disease and which ones will need more aggressive treatment. This information may also lead to the development of new drugs that mimic the pathways that prevent tumor cells from metastasizing."
###
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient servicesfrom community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians, 12-minority-owned free-standing ambulatory surgery centers, over 45 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, as well as 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report.
For more information, visit Mount Sinai on the web, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marcia Wallace, who was the voice of scoffing schoolteacher Edna Krabappel on "The Simpsons" and played wisecracking receptionist Carol on "The Bob Newhart Show" in the 1970s, has died. She was 70.
"Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean said in a statement Saturday that her "irreplaceable character" — who contended with Bart Simpson's constant antics — would be retired.
Jean said he was "tremendously saddened" when he found out about "the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace. She was beloved by all at The Simpsons."
Jean went on to say that her death was "a terrible loss for all who had the pleasure of knowing her."
The statement did not provide a date for her death, or a cause.
The longtime TV actress' credits also included appearances on Candice Bergen's "Murphy Brown" and roles on "Full House," ''7th Heaven" and "The Young and the Restless."
On "The Simpsons," Wallace provided the voice for world-weary Edna Krabappel (cru-BOP'-pul), who smoked cigarettes, made sarcastic comments and finally found love in the arms of Simpson's neighbor Ned Flanders after fans voted online at the end of season 22 to keep the unlikely couple together.
Wallace's trademark "Ha!" punctuated Krabappel's frequent snide remarks, and her character was known for saying, "Do what I mean, not what I say."
Harry Shearer, the voice of Ned Flanders, said Wallace "brought this huge, positive energy" to her work.
"She was just a warm and wonderful person," he told The Associated Press.
Colin Kaepernick did it all Sunday, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another to lead the San Francisco 49ers to their fifth straight victory, 42-10 over the winless Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
"The offensive line did a great job, made it easy for me," said Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl last year. "I think this is one of the first game that we started that fast."
Kaepernick ended up with 164 yards passing and 54 yards rushing, Frank Gore also ran for two scores and 71 yards, while Kendall Hunter rushed for 84 yards for the 49ers (6-2).
But it was Kaepernick that made the key plays by when the team needed it early.
"He looked much like a running back, and that's great courage," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "You don't always see that in the quarterback position. As soon as he saw that window, he had a great dart and speed to get the ball into the end zone."
The Jaguars (0-8) were the "home" team at London's iconic soccer venue, playing in the British capital for the first of their four-year run of regular-season NFL games in London.
They had plenty of fan support, too, with many of the 83,559 spectators waving their giveaway Jaguars flags throughout the evening.
None of that affected what was happening on the field, and on the field it wasn't pretty for the Jags.
"Our season's not over," Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon. "We're not going to just go out there and get our (butts) kicked, we're going to go back out there and fight."
Kaepernick made his first big play on San Francisco's first possession, quickly throwing to fullback Bruce Miller on the right sideline for a 43-yard gain.
A few plays later, Kaepernick scrambled for 4 1/2 yards on a third-and 5, setting up Gore for a short gain and a first down.
After an incomplete pass, Gore ran 19 yards for the first touchdown.
Kaepernick took over the scoring after that, running 13 yards and diving into the corner for the second touchdown late in the first quarter, then passing to Vernon Davis in the corner of the end zone for another, and finally holding it and scrambling for 7 yards and a touchdown.
And all in the first half.
"Kaepernick is a stud athlete and he showed it again tonight," Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny said.
Besides a 38-yard field goal by Josh Scobee in the waning seconds of the half to make it 28-3, Jacksonville had little to be happy about. But the 49ers fumbled in their own territory late in the third quarter, giving the Jaguars their best chance to score. They took it as Chad Henne tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Mike Brown to make it 28-10 with 3:00 to go.
The Niners bounced right back, first with Kyle Williams returning the kick 47 yards before getting pushed out of bounds. Hunter ran 41 yards on the next play, bringing the ball to the Jacksonville 13.
Gore then ran for 9 yards, 2 yards and the final 2 on three straight plays for the touchdown.
San Francisco linebacker Dan Skuta scored the final points, recovering a fumble and running it back 47 yards for a touchdown after Marcedes Lewis let the ball loose following a 6-yard completion from Henne.
"There are definitely some plays that we needed to make, and the red zone really killed us," Henne said. "If it's just players needing to make plays, we have to make them. We need to man up."
Both teams have a bye next week, as is usual after the trip to London. The Jags then visit Tennessee on Nov. 10 while the 49ers host Carolina.
"The bye week is coming at a good time," Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. "We can take the time to evaluate where we're at with our whole team and recommit to take the next step."
Sunday's encounter was the eighth regular-season NFL game at Wembley, the home of England's national soccer team, and the second this year. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-27 last month.
Next year, there will be three games in London. The Jaguars will face the Dallas Cowboys in their second game of the four-game stretch, while the Detroit Lions will play the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins will take on the Oakland Raiders.
Harbaugh seemed to love the experience of making the trip, likening it to another huge sporting event.
"The beginning of the game when they were playing the two national anthems, I felt like I was at the Olympics," Harbaugh said. "As a youngster, I always wanted to be in the Olympics and at that moment I was feeling like the moment when they play the gold medal and the silver medal and the bronze medal, the different anthems.
"I got a chill when the gal was singing 'God Save the Queen.'"
NOTES: R&B artist Ne-Yo sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and Laura Wright sang "God Save the Queen." ... Former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana and receiver Dwight Clark were the honorary captains for the 49ers. ... It was San Francisco's second game at Wembley. The Niners beat the Denver Broncos 24-16 in 2010.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Crammed into conference rooms with pizza for dinner, some programmers building the Obama administration's showcase health insurance website were growing increasingly stressed. Some worked past 10 p.m., energy drinks in hand. Others rewrote computer code over and over to meet what they considered last-minute requests for changes from the government or other contractors.
As questions mount over the website's failure, insider interviews and a review of technical specifications by The Associated Press found a mind-numbingly complex system put together by harried programmers who pushed out a final product that congressional investigators said was tested by the government and not private developers with more expertise.
Project developers who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity — because they feared they would otherwise be fired — said they raised doubts among themselves whether the website could be ready in time. They complained openly to each other about what they considered tight and unrealistic deadlines. One was nearly brought to tears over the stress of finishing on time, one developer said. Website builders saw red flags for months.
A review of internal architectural diagrams obtained by the AP revealed the system's complexity. Insurance applicants have a host of personal information verified, including income and immigration status. The system connects to other federal computer networks, including ones at the Social Security Administration, IRS, Veterans Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the Peace Corps.
President Barack Obama on Monday acknowledged technical problems that he described as "kinks in the system." He also promised a "tech surge" by leading technology talent to repair the painfully slow and often unresponsive website that has frustrated Americans trying to enroll online for insurance plans at the center of Obama's health care law.
But in remarks at a Rose Garden event, Obama offered no explanation for the failure except to note that high traffic to the website caused some of the slowdowns. He said it had been visited nearly 20 million times — fewer monthly visits so far than many commercial websites, such as PayPal, AOL, Wikipedia or Pinterest.
"The problem has been that the website that's supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance is not working the way it should for everybody," Obama said. "There's no sugarcoating it. The website has been too slow. People have been getting stuck during the application process. And I think it's fair to say that nobody is more frustrated by that than I am."
The online system was envisioned as a simple way for people without health insurance to comparison-shop among competing plans offered in their state, pick their preferred level of coverage and cost and sign up. For many, it's not worked out that way so far.
Just weeks before the launch of HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1, one programmer said, colleagues huddled in conference rooms trying to patch "bugs," or deficiencies in computer code. Unresolved problems led to visitors experiencing cryptic error messages or enduring long waits trying to sign up.
Congressional investigators have concluded that the government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, not private software developers, tested the exchange's computer systems during the final weeks. That task, known as integration testing, is usually handled by software companies because it ferrets out problems before the public sees the final product.
The government spent at least $394 million in contracts to build the federal health care exchange and the data hub. Those contracts included major awards to Virginia-based CGI Federal Inc., Maryland-based Quality Software Services Inc. and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
CGI Federal said in a statement Monday it was working with the government and other contractors "around the clock" to improve the system, which it called "complex, ambitious and unprecedented."
The schematics from late 2012 show how officials designated a "data services hub" — a traffic cop for managing information — in lieu of a design that would have allowed state exchanges to connect directly to government servers when verifying an applicant's information. On Sunday, the Health and Human Services Department said the data hub was working but not meeting public expectations: "We are committed to doing better."
Administration officials so far have refused to say how many people actually have managed to enroll in insurance during the three weeks since the new marketplaces became available. Without enrollment numbers, it's impossible to know whether the program is on track to reach projections from the Congressional Budget Office that 7 million people would gain coverage during the first year the exchanges were available.
Instead, officials have selectively cited figures that put the insurance exchanges in a positive light. They say more than 19 million people have logged on to the federal website and nearly 500,000 have filled out applications for insurance through both the federal and state-run sites.
The flood of computer problems since the website went online has been deeply embarrassing for the White House. The snags have called into question whether the administration is capable of implementing the complex policy and why senior administration officials — including the president — appear to have been unaware of the scope of the problems when the exchange sites opened.
Even as the president spoke at the Rose Garden, more problems were coming to light. The administration acknowledged that a planned upgrade to the website had been postponed indefinitely and that online Spanish-language signups would remain unavailable, despite a promise to Hispanic groups that the capability would start this week. And the government tweaked the website's home page so visitors can now view phone numbers to apply the old-fashioned way or window-shop for insurance rates without registering first.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee was expected to conduct an oversight hearing Thursday, probably without Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifying. She could testify on Capitol Hill on the subject as early as next week.
Uninsured Americans have until about mid-February to sign up for coverage if they are to meet the law's requirement that they be insured by the end of March. If they don't, they will face a penalty.
On Monday, the White House advised people frustrated by the online tangle that they can enroll by calling 1-800-318-2596 in a process that should take 25 minutes for an individual or 45 minutes for a family. Assistance is also available in communities from helpers who can be found at LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.
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Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.
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Follow Jack Gillum on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jackgillum or Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC.
Getting in the Halloween spirit with her little ones, Angelina Jolie took half of her brood to a local party store in Gold Coast City, Australia on Sunday (October 27).
The "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" star was accompanied by Pax, Knox, and Vivienne while wearing a black top and flowing black pants.
Currently, the 38-year-old actress is Down Under to work on directing her upcoming film called, "Unbroken." The movie tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.
Starring as Zamperini is Jack O'Connell, with Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Alex Russell and Finn Wittrock rounding out the cast. Just in pre-production now, the movie is schedule to hit theaters on Christmas Day 2014.
Weather Line is an impeccably designed, delightfully crafted weather app that comes from another one of those director, developers, designer trios that seems to be working so wonderfully well lately. The director for Weather Line, Ryan Jones, was gracious enough to expound on why the world needed another weather app, what iOS 7 allowed them to do with it, and what his role entailed.
First up, what did Weather Line bring the table that no other weather app captured before?
Ryan Jones: I've literally had [the idea for Weather Line] in my head since the first time I saw the Stocks.app in iPhone OS 1. I thought [the interface] was obvious and someone would do it. Maybe even Apple. Then I thought I was an idiot and there was an obvious reason no one was doing it. That I was missing something. Then I thought it wasn't "different enough". That there were too many good weather apps, and a better presentation may not be enough to sell apps. Then I finally said "I just have to know the answer, I'll make it myself."
A couple apps have tried a graphical [weather] view, but either only on the iPad where there is more space or by going from the Hi to the Lo every single day. I won't call them out, but you can find them easily. That just plain doesn't work.
More so, no one had my idea of putting the condition as the data point. Which I thought was really elegant and a great way to get more data in less space. We can show the temperature, the condition, the trend, and the rain chance/intensity all with very very little information and screen space. If you think about a table or list, which is what most apps use, it would be 36 rows and 4-5 columns. Not including the trend, which is arguable the best part.
What, if anything, did iOS 7 allow you to do that previous versions of iOS wouldn't?
Ryan Jones: As an app that job-to-be-done is "quickly present data", Apple's movement to defer to the the content was huge for us. We removed chromes and tiles and shadows and labels.
iOS 7 gave us permission to remove the Pagination Dots. In iOS 7 Apple signaled that users are to be trusted with common interactions now. We are no longer hand holding users, and the base layer of interaction is considered common sense. Some really great beta testers (with famous apps) push back on this, but of the 100+ feedback emails I've received, not a single one mentioned this. That could be self selection, but it's meaningful. I think Apple is right, users "get" the basics.
We had Backgrounding implemented but took it out. (this next part copied from site) We tested and considered it deeply. However, weather data actually changes too rapidly. If we updated in the background, we would still have to update again when you launched the app. So then we'd just be wasting your battery with a background update that we never used. The best experience comes by refreshing data as fast as possible when you launch the app. And we did, it's very fast.
How did you like being an app director?
Ryan Jones: I was worried, big time. I tried to learn to code about 3 times and totally stalled right away. So I just had to hire. I looked to guys like David Barnard who basically paved the way.
It was a challenging when trying to explain my point of view to really famous and awesome designers like Pacific Helm. I would explain my ideas, but I felt like - who am I? I can barely use Photoshop, what do I know? But they were great, and tried my ideas that had potential, and explained ideas that were naive and just couldn't work.
I got incredibly luck to find Mircea (my developer). I had a detailed Work Spec that I sent out, but his response stood out - he immediately "got it" and shared my vision. He would often surprise me with new features he created on his own or take the time to explain why something did or didn't work. Sometimes he would send me a beta, I'd play with it and ask him to try a few things, then we could end up exactly where he started. We did that with the spacing in the Details area. That was iterations an entire day with vertical spacing, text size, horizontal spacing, white space, edge padding, center column padding, etc. We ended up almost exactly where he started. Once we had that trust, I knew he was the one in the code, he had the same eye for details that I did, so he had tried those iterations and picked the best.
Thanks Ryan! The thoughtfulness is obvious in the app!
Missouri coach Frank Haith talks with reporters during Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball media day in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Missouri coach Frank Haith talks with reporters during Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball media day in Birmingham, Ala., Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
FILE - In this March 11, 2010, file photo, Miami's Frank Haith watches from the bench during an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Missouri men's basketball coach Haith faces a 5-game suspension after the NCAA found he failed to monitor his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster. The NCAA released the findings of its investigation into convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's relationship with Miami athletics on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. It found that then-Miami coach Haith and an assistant coach provided Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2011, file photo, Miami's head coach Frank Haith looks on from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Durham, N.C. Missouri men's basketball coach Haith faces a 5-game suspension after the NCAA found he failed to monitor his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster. The NCAA released the findings of its investigation into convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's relationship with Miami athletics on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. It found that then-Miami coach Haith and an assistant coach provided Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis, File)
FILE - In this March 12, 2009, file photo, Miami coach Frank Haith reacts on the bench during the second half against Virginia Tech in an NCAA college basketball game at the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament in Atlanta. Missouri men's basketball coach Haith faces a 5-game suspension after the NCAA found he failed to monitor his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster. The NCAA released the findings of its investigation into convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's relationship with Miami athletics on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. It found that then-Miami coach Haith and an assistant coach provided Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri coach Frank Haith has been suspended for five games by the NCAA, which found he inadequately monitored his former assistants' interactions with a disgraced Miami booster and then tried to cover up a five-figure hush money payment to keep potential violations hidden.
The NCAA released the findings of its two-year investigation into convicted felon Nevin Shapiro's relationship with Miami athletics on Tuesday and said that Haith, the former Hurricanes basketball coach, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance with its rules.
The investigation found that Haith and Miami assistant coach Jake Morton provided Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches, as well as other unflattering details involving a booster now serving a 20-year prison term for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme.
Shapiro, who had basketball season tickets with a courtside seat, initially demanded a large loan from Haith after he experienced financial trouble or the return a $50,000 donation from a benefit bowling tournament he had hosted. The coach refused.
Morton, who joined Western Kentucky as an assistant coach in 2011 but resigned in April as its director of basketball operations, then loaned Shapiro at least $6,000, which he later repaid. The NCAA also said that Haith helped Morton and two other assistants pay $10,000 to Shapiro's mother and "attempted to cover up the booster's threats to disclose incriminating information."
Missouri plays four of its first give games this season at Mizzou Arena, starting with Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 8. Haith will also miss home games against Southern Illinois, Gardner-Webb and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, as well as a Nov. 16 game against Hawaii at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. He also must attend an NCAA rules seminar next summer.
Haith has 15 days to appeal the Committee on Infractions' penalties, which don't affect Missouri as an institution. School officials did not respond to several requests for comment, though Haith, who came to Columbia in 2011 after seven years at Miami, was scheduled to meet with reporters later Tuesday. His Florida-based attorney did not immediately respond to an interview request.
While much of the 102-page report focuses on the far more successful Miami football program, the NCAA inquiry also opens a rare public window into the seamier side of cultivating big-money boosters — even those, like Shapiro, with substantial baggage.
Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports that he steered a $10,000 payment to secure recruit DeQuan Jones' commitment to Miami in 2008 with Haith's knowledge. The NCAA said it found no evidence to support that claim.
The report also said an associate athletics director in charge of fundraising guided Shapiro toward the Miami men's basketball program after the booster became disenchanted with the football team's losing 2007 season under first-year coach Randy Shannon. Haith and Morton told NCAA investigators they shared several meals with Shapiro, attended a concert together and visited a strip club "to create donor relationships."
The report found that Haith provided inconsistent answers during multiple interviews with NCAA investigators, including conflicting accounts of when he reported Shapiro's shakedown attempt to athletic director Paul Dee.
"Because of the many inconsistencies the former head men's basketball coach reported during his interviews with the enforcement staff and the institutions, the committee does not find his version of events to be credible," the report concludes.
Infractions Committee Chairman Britton Banowsky, who is also Conference USA commissioner, reiterated those concerns.
"It was difficult for the committee, and maybe even the members of the enforcement staff, to know precisely what really was going on in the program, given all the conflicting information," he said.
In Haith's three interviews with NCAA investigators between October 2011 and September 2012, he provided three different explanations as to why he paid his assistants $3,200 advances that they normally would have had to wait to receive from summer basketball camps. Haith requested the third interview soon after his second sit-down, citing concerns that he had given "inaccurate" information and was "confused about the timing of what (he) knew and when (he) knew it."
Beyond Haith's penalties, Miami's football team will lose a total of nine scholarships and the Hurricanes' men's basketball team will lose three over a three-year period starting in 2014. The school will also serve three years of probation. Two former Miami football assistants and one ex-basketball assistant received two-year show-cause bans, which effectively keep the penalized parties out of the college coaching ranks.
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Online:
NCAA report: http://tinyurl.com/msydfxl
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Follow Alan Scher Zagier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/azagier
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