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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

NIH scientists, grantees map possible path to an HIV vaccine

Public release date: 3-Apr-2013
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Contact: Laura S. Leifman
laura.sivitz@nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Co-evolution of HIV and strong antibody response charted for first time

In an advance for HIV vaccine research, scientists have for the first time determined how both the virus and a resulting strong antibody response co-evolved in one HIV-infected individual. The findings could help researchers identify which proteins to use in investigational vaccines to induce antibodies capable of preventing infection from an array of HIV strains. Previously, a study of antibody genetics enabled scientists to deduce the step-by-step evolution of certain broadly neutralizing antibodiesthose that can prevent infection by the majority of HIV strains found around the globe. Yet the specific viruses that gave rise to those antibodies and the virus mutations that drove them to reach their final form remained unknown, hampering HIV vaccine discovery.

In the current study, scientists identified one of the roughly 20 percent of HIV-infected individuals who naturally develop broadly neutralizing antibodies to the virus after several years of infection. This person in Africa was a volunteer in a study in which participants gave weekly blood samples beginning early in the course of infection. This individual had joined the study just 4 weeks after infection and was followed for more than 3 years. Having blood samples from such an early stage enabled researchers to pinpoint the particular "founder" virus that triggered the immune system to make an immature broadly neutralizing antibody against HIV, as well as the cell from which that antibody emerged. Analyses of the weekly samples also enabled the scientists to see the series of changes that the virus and antibody underwent over 2.5 years until the antibody matured to a form capable of potently neutralizing the virus. Scientists are now attempting to create a vaccine that harmlessly mimics the virus at key points in the observed process to generate broadly neutralizing HIV antibodies, first in uninfected animals and then in uninfected people.

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The study was led by Duke University's Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine ImmunologyImmunogen Discovery (CHAVI-ID), which is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Scientists at NIAID's Vaccine Research Center (VRC) also played a central role, collaborating with researchers at the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center, administered by the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute, along with seven other institutions.

ARTICLE:
H. Liao et al. Co-evolution of a broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibody and founder virus. Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature12053 (2013).

WHO:
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and VRC Section Chief Peter D. Kwong, Ph.D., are available for comment.

CONTACT:
To schedule interviews, please contact Laura S. Leifman, (301) 402-1663, laura.sivitz@nih.gov.
NIAID conducts and supports researchat NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwideto study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into 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.

NIH scientists, grantees map possible path to an HIV vaccine

Public release date: 3-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Laura S. Leifman
laura.sivitz@nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Co-evolution of HIV and strong antibody response charted for first time

###

ARTICLE:
H. Liao et al. Co-evolution of a broadly neutralizing HIV-1 antibody and founder virus. Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature12053 (2013).

WHO:
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and VRC Section Chief Peter D. Kwong, Ph.D., are available for comment.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nioa-nsg040213.php

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Australia puts $22.6M into '20,000 Leagues' remake

In this photo taken Jan. 5, 2012, U.S. director David Fincher smiles during a photo call for the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"in Berlin, Germany. The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" in Australia after the country agreed to pay it 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film the movie there. The inducement announced Tuesday, April 2, 2013, is the biggest ever paid by an Australian government to bring in a Hollywood production. Fincher will direct the Jules Verne science fiction classic, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia is paying its biggest Hollywood inducement ever to bring "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" Down Under.

The Walt Disney Studios will film a new version of the science fiction classic in Australia, which will pay the studio 21.6 million Australia dollars ($22.6 million) to film there, the government said Tuesday.

David Fincher of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and "The Social Network" will direct, said Disney Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Alannah Hall-Smith.

"No casting decisions have been made," she said, so the filming schedule and locations haven't been set.

Sydney's The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported Tuesday that producers were believed to have been in discussions with Brad Pitt, who starred in Fincher's "Fight Club."

The newpaper reported that Fincher wanted Pitt for the film's hero Ned Land.

The story centers on Capt. Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. Jules Verne's book was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1954 with Kirk Douglas starring as Land and James Mason as Nemo.

The announcement comes after "The Wolverine," starring Australian actor Hugh Jackman, recently wrapped filming in Sydney. The government paid Fox Studios AU$12.8 million to film in Australia.

Gillard said the "The Wolverine" created more than 1,750 jobs, contracted more than 1,027 Australian companies and generated AU$80 million in investment.

She expects "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" will create more than 2,000 jobs.

A strong Australian dollar buoyed by a mining boom has made Australia less attractive to Hollywood as a filmmaking location in recent years.

It wasn't known how much the payment would offset the film's budget.

"The securing of this film is a huge coup for the Australian film industry and for the near 1,000 local businesses that will be providing goods and services for the film," Gillard said in a statement.

"The Wolverine" in 3D opens in July in the United States, Australia and other countries.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-02-Australia-20000%20Leagues%20Under%20the%20Sea/id-dfdb6fc698974dde8b8caf013d259340

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Video: Facebook Seen As a Utility: Pro

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51407580/

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Lindsay Lohan Tweets That She?s Pregnant! UPDATE!

Lindsay Lohan Tweets That She’s Pregnant! UPDATE!

Lindsay Lohan really pregnant? Lindsay Lohan shocked the twitterverse last night when she tweeted, “It’s official. Pregnant.” We actually posted that to prank our readers in our April Fool’s day post yesterday, but could it be true? Lindsay updated her Twitter this morning. The troubled actress, who is dating City Of The Sun guitarist Avi Snow, posted the message ...

Lindsay Lohan Tweets That She’s Pregnant! UPDATE! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/lindsay-lohan-tweets-that-shes-pregnant-wtf/

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Monday, April 1, 2013

Newtown parents make an emotional plea on gun

Roadside angels in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 15, 2012 (Dylan Stableford/Yahoo News)

Parents of the victims in the Newtown school shootings made an emotional plea to Connecticut lawmakers on Monday, urging a "complete limit" on high-capacity gun magazines like the ones Adam Lanza used to carry out the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

"The horrible, brutal truth is that 154 bullets were fired in four minutes, killing our children, our daughters, our wives," Nicole Hockley, whose 6-year-old son Dylan was killed in the Dec. 14 shootings, said. She spoke at a press conference in Hartford, where state lawmakers were expected to be presented with gun control proposals Monday afternoon.

"As supporters of the Second Amendment, we want to understand how we can use technology, innovation and new thinking to solve an old intractable problem," Hockley continued. "We specifically want an up or down vote on the banning of these large-capacity magazines with no grandfathering clause because we learned the way that no other parent should learn the most dangerous part of the assault weapon is the magazine."

Last week, search warrants related to the massacre were unsealed by a court, showing Lanza was found dead inside the school with 10 magazines capable of firing 30-rounds at a time. Twenty children and six adults were killed at the school before the 20-year-old gunman shot himself with a handgun.

"We have learned that in the time it took him to reload in one of the classrooms, 11 children were able to escape," Hockley said. "We ask ourselves every day, every minute that if those magazines had held 10 rounds, forcing the shooter to reload six more times, would our children be alive today?"

[Related: Parents of Sandy Hook victims speak, urging 'real change']

Hockley, surrounded by the parents of other victims, read a letter signed by 24 family members asking lawmakers to "have the courage to stand up for what you know is right."

?The more times you have to reload, the more opportunities there are to escape and to stop the shooting,? Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel Barden was killed in the shootings, said at the press conference.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy released a separate statement to lawmakers on Monday afternoon:

I have been clear for weeks that a ban on the possession and sale of high capacity magazines is an important part of our effort to prevent gun violence?simply banning their sale moving forward would not be an effective solution. This morning, we heard from victims' families on that very point. They?ve asked for an up or down vote on that provision and, whether it's in the larger bill or as an amendment, the families, and every resident of our state, deserve a vote. We know this is an issue that has bipartisan support, including from Senate Minority Leader John McKinney. We cannot lose sight of our ultimate goal?improving public safety for all of our residents, including our children.

Connecticut's General Assembly had been considering gun-control legislation in the wake of the Newtown shootings, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. State lawmakers said they would delay a vote on gun control until after search warrants related to the school shootings were unsealed.

According to the Hartford Courant, a vote could come as early as this week.

The final police report on the massacre is not expected to be finished until June.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/newtown-parents-high-capacity-magazines-guns-191541761.html

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Federal government slashes New York's Medicaid payments

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion.

The Center for Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the nation's medical insurance system for people on low incomes, cut the per-patient reimbursement rate for patients in developmental centers to $1,200 from $5,100 from April 1, according to CMS documents seen by Reuters.

The move by CMS had been expected ever since a bipartisan congressional report said overbilling for the centers reached $15 billion over the last 20 years. The centers serve people with developmental illnesses.

In February, in anticipation that the federal government would reduce its funding for the centers, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo cut $1.1 billion from the state's $135 billion budget plan.

The budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 was passed by New York lawmakers last week, in time for the start of the state's fiscal year on April 1. There was, however, a failed amendment in the Assembly that tried to torpedo the $90 million in cuts for the developmentally disabled that resulted from the loss of funding.

Although the budget anticipated the federal cut, there is still uncertainty about whether the federal government will seek reimbursements for past years.

The present move does not cover past years and CMS is still continuing its audit, according to a person familiar with the matter. Earlier, CMS said it expects to conclude its audit later this year.

A report in March by Standards & Poor's Rating Services said repaying five years of overbilling could cost the state $7 billion.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Congressional panel that issued the report into overbilling, is pushing for New York to reimburse the federal government for past years and wants a root and branch audit into the state's $54 billion Medicaid system, where it says overbilling is rife.

"This is a step in the right direction, but HHS needs to pursue recovery of the decades of overpayments and guarantee an end to all similar overpayments," said Committee Chairman Darrell Issa in a statement emailed to Reuters.

"Fraudulent and wasteful spending remain a serious problem throughout New York's bloated Medicaid system, and vigorous federal oversight is still necessary," he said.

The committee said the move would save federal tax payers $1.2 billion over the next 18 months.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/federal-government-slashes-yorks-medicaid-payments-180833125.html

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Riding in style: The evolution of the popemobile

Alessandro Di Meo / EPA

Images of the automobiles that have transported popes over the years.

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

Comes outfitted in protective bullet-proof glass. Draws a crowd wherever it goes. A driver is included; gold trim is optional.

Popemobiles also include such amenities as a handrail to let the pope easily stand and wave while in motion, a built-in stereo and arctic-cool air conditioning.

Eight popes have had their own set of holy wheels since Pope Pius XI got a stretch 460 Nurburg edition Mercedes-Benz in 1930, but the eighth, Pope Francis -- known for?taking the bus to work?before he was named pope -- may not want all the frills and custom built-ins that popemobiles offer.?

By retiring, Benedict XVI has passed along a white armored Mercedes SUV, which has a white leather interior with gold trim and a white leather turret that can be raised by hydraulic lift high enough for crowds to see the pope, if he wants to sit. (For longer trips around Italy, Benedict enjoyed his own helicopter.) Bullet-proof?Plexiglas?that's strong enough to withstand explosions surrounds the turret on three sides. There's an emergency oxygen supply built in, according to?The Telegraph.?

"The pope must feel comfortable. People must be able to see him. People have traveled very far; they want to be able to get a good look at him," said Christoph Horn, Director of Global Communications of Mercedes-Benz, from Stuttgart, Germany. "This is about creating a comfortable and safe environment for the pope to travel in and be seen in.?

The pre-mobile
Popes didn't have to wait for the invention of automobiles to be mobile. For centuries, popes traveled by throne when going out on local outings. The popes were carried by 12 bearers (representing the 12 disciples of the church) as they moved through crowds, Ronald Rychlak, a University of Mississippi law school professor who has written numerous books on religion,?said.

Daimler

The first car used by a pope.

All that changed when Pope Pius XI got his Benz. The limousine was a gift from the car company, which would provide vehicles for many popes after that.

"Usually more than one vehicle was provided, especially for the popes in the 1930s," Horn said. "They were traveling a lot, so many popemobiles were built for them."

Back then, popes traveled in limousines with open tops, he said. Over the years, more than 12 different models of cars and trucks would be provided for popes. Pope John XXIII ushered in a new era of pope cars in 1960 with a Mercedes 300D Landaulet, which had a throne that rose high in the back, The New York Times reported. His successor switched to a 1964 Lincoln model before he went back to the preferred Mercedes brand a year later.

But don't call it 'popemobile'
When popes travel abroad for state visits, it's not always possible for the vehicles they use at home to make the journey with them. Instead, customized cars are prepared ahead of the visit, submitted for Vatican approval from the country he will visit.

"The primary level of security is assigned to the host nation,"?Rychlak said. "If they want to have something like a popemobile for a major parade, let's say they're doing Mass at Yankee stadium or something like that, they would have to make arrangements to ship something over, or that's the kind of situation where there may be a gift made to the pope" by a major car company.

That was how the car that officially became known for the first time as the "popemobile" came into existence: Pope John Paul II had visited Ireland in 1979, and a boxy yellow Ford Transit van awaited him as his chariot. Last November, The Telegraph reported an Irish businessman had acquired the van from the Dublin Wax Museum, where it had been since the papal visit, and was transforming it into a party bus.

Many other popemobiles have stayed in the countries they were used in. In 2008, Newsweek got a peek at the popemobile Benedict used for his U.S. tour, describing it as "by far the fanciest and sleekest papal car ever built ... The papal handlers can shift their passenger from zero to 60 in less than eight seconds, but the drivers probably won't exceed 10 mph along the parade routes."

In 2002, John Paul II asked the media to stop using the term "popemobile," insisting it sounded "undignified."

A clear need for better security
John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in 1981 while in St. Peter's Square. A Turkish man was later convicted of firing the shots, which punctured the pope's car and struck him four times. John Paul II survived, but it was clear his wide-open truck wouldn't suffice to protect him. From then on, bulletproof glass has encased popemobiles, although popes have occasionally ridden around without covering for brief periods.

Arturo Mari / AP

A 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

Since adding bulletproof glass, popemobiles have added other necessary features, including ultra-powerful air conditioning to cool down the glass dome that popes sit in, reports The Telegraph.

Other protection measures include heavy-metal reinforcement on the bottom of the vehicle as well as the other sides, and the driver is always a trusted longtime Vatican employee. There's no partition between the pope and his driver; a microphone enables him to broadcast messages to crowds through speakers outside the popemobile.

The current weighs five tons and was just presented to Benedict last December by Mercedes-Benz.

"We work with the members of the Vatican and with the people in charge of the garages of the Vatican," Horn said. "These are all individual vehicles that are built to specifications."

The new pope's desire to get up close and personal with his faithful has presented challenges for his security detail.

"The pope's going to want to be up close hugging and touching and meeting people and that's going to be a tremendous concern for his security people,"?Rychlak said. "His security forces have taken him aside, or probably already have, and are going to say, 'Holy Father, you're putting us in a horrible situation if you don't go along with these things.'"

They're used to having to say that, though: Benedict didn't always like the feeling of a "shield between him and the people,"?Rychlak said. Most popemobiles are designed so the glass can be lowered, though.

This story was originally published on Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:36 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2a2d2254/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C310C175184590Eriding0Ein0Estyle0Ethe0Eevolution0Eof0Ethe0Epopemobile0Dlite/story01.htm

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