DALLAS (AP) ? The sun was setting when Jerry Abel's cattle began to bellow on his Central Texas ranch. They were convulsing by the time he rushed to the pasture. Within hours, Abel had lost almost all his herd.
The culprit: toxic grass.
Abel's 15 dead cattle represent the first documented case of cyanide deaths being linked to a common Bermuda grass hybrid found in grazing lands across the Southeast. Although the incident in late May initially sparked concern from other ranchers who use the same grass, state agriculture experts say they believe the problem is isolated and there's no cause for alarm.
"If cattle are already on pasture, don't worry about it," said Larry Redmon, a specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, which worked with state and federal agencies to investigate the deaths. "Chances are it's not going to be an issue." But, he said, "I would never say never."
Preliminary results from the investigation show Abel's Tifton 85 grass contained cyanide, or prussic acid, though Redmond said what caused the poison to build up remains unclear and under investigation.
The grass, a warm-weather perennial grown south of the Red River, was released to ranchers in 1992 for its drought resistance and nutritive value and is perhaps the most commonly used Bermuda grass variety in Texas, the nation's leading cattle state.
Since other grasses such as sorghums or Sudan can pose cyanide danger, most ranchers know to wait seven to 10 days after new growth before sending cattle to graze, Redmon said. That allows the grass time to release the cyanide into the atmosphere.
But because this is the first reported case of deadly levels of prussic acid in Bermuda grass, the 69-year-old Abel had no idea his cattle were in danger. He's been a rancher since 1977 and growing Tifton 85 on his pasture northeast of Austin for 15 years.
"I was totally, completely surprised," he said from his Elgin ranch, which contains about 30 acres of Tifton 85. "I never expected anything like this."
At about 8 or 9 in the evening on May 24, Abel let his 18 head of Corriente cattle into the pasture. His trainer heard the first bellows, and when they returned to the pasture, they saw many of the cattle convulsing, some already dead. Just three cattle survived.
Abel called his veterinarian, who came to the ranch the next morning to begin autopsies on the animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Texas Department of Agriculture are working closely with the extension office on the investigation.
The extension service will attempt to recreate in a greenhouse all the factors that may have caused the prussic acid release, Redmon said.
He called the cyanide deaths a "perfect storm" of conditions that remain under investigation. The grass, which had been stressed by drought, soaked up spring rains that prompted lush growth. Prussic acid levels are highest in new growth, which is the layer eaten first by cattle. Grasshoppers, which had reportedly infested the area, may have damaged the grass tissue, causing a release of prussic acid. The cattle were eager to munch on fresh grass.
State and federal agriculture officials could not provide a tally of how many cattle die from eating toxic grass. Redmon said he has heard of other large numbers of cattle dying at once from lightning, nitrates or algae poisoning. Strange toxins also have been known to kill cattle in states such as Illinois and Nebraska, though experts and ranchers agree those kinds of deaths are rarer.
Redmon stressed that thousands of ranchers across the southeastern United States continue to graze their cattle on Tifton 85 and have reported no issues. He said ranchers expect about a 2 percent loss each year "as part of doing business."
A few ranchers have called Abel to get his advice, but he said he's pointed them to the extension service and its recommendations. Other area ranchers said they will do more research on the incident, but aren't concerned with their own fields.
Jim McAdams, former president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and long-time Texas rancher, said he always gets concerned when extreme weather causes rapid growth of hay or grass.
"Weird things happen," said McAdams, 62, who has about 40 acres of Tifton 85 near Huntsville. "It's just something that we ranchers have lived with for a long time."
Jim Russell, a grass grower and distributer in Sulphur Springs, questioned whether cyanide was the main culprit in the deaths of Abel's cattle.
"Anytime you put real hungry stomachs on a pasture you're going to have problems," said Russell, 74, who has been in the hay business since 1979 and isn't worried about his grasses. "Their bodies can't handle it."
Abel, who does not remember who he purchased the Tifton 85 sprigs from nearly 15 years ago, said the cattle were given hay and water in their pens before being turned out into the field. He added that anytime cattle are set loose to graze in a new pasture, even if they have been fed hay first, "they're going to go after it."
Abel said he has replaced the dead cattle and is keeping all his livestock in pens and feeding them hay. He said the Tifton 85 grass can still be used as hay because the prussic acid eventually dissipates.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? From sites on the fringes of wildfires burning around the West, incident commanders spend nearly every waking hour huddled around maps, looking at computer screens or glued to the radio, trying to plot their next move.
Their decisions come after pouring over intelligence that's flooding in from crew leaders, weather forecasters and fuels analysts.
Elsewhere, teams of specialists smooth out the logistics of shuffling firefighters and equipment around the country.
Tom Harbour is the director of fire and aviation management for the U.S. Forest Service.
He says that the characterization that fire is war is probably a fitting one.
But he expresses cautious confidence that the Forest Service has adequate resources to do the job.
Contact: Jose Fragoso fragoso@stanford.edu 415-810-1887 Stanford University
Scientists convening at the largest-ever meeting of tropical biologists congratulated Brazil for its global leadership on environment and science, but warned that recent developments could jeopardize that position, undermining progress on reducing deforestation, protecting indigenous lands, and safeguarding ecosystems outside the Amazon rainforest.
Forgoing the Rio+20 Earth Summit, some 1200 tropical biologists and conservationists met in Bonito, Brazil at the 49th annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) to present and discuss topics ranging from ecology to sustainable use of tropical biology. More than half the participants were Brazilian.
At the conclusion of the meetings, ATBC issued a declaration urging the Brazil government maintain its leadership position on environmental conservation and sustainable development, by continuing to utilize scientific input and invest in science and education.
"Brazil's success in advancing science and conservation, while achieving impressive economic growth and significant improvements in human welfare are being watched by the world as a potential model for environmentally sustainable development," said John Kress, a botanist at the Smithsonian Institution who serves as ATBC Executive Director. "But recent developments raise concerns."
"Brazil was on a good track on environmental issues over past 10-20 years," said Carlos Fonseca, a botanist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. "We saw real changes in how society perceives and values the environment. Recently this changed drastically mostly due to Congress, which is changing the laws to go against popular opinion and the advice of scientists. This is threatening a lot of the achievements we've had in the past two decades."
The declaration cited several issues including the recent push to weaken the country's Forest Code, which stipulates how much forest a landowner must preserve on their property, and proposed infrastructure projects, which could worsen deforestation and degrade important ecosystem functions.
"Changes to the Forest Code are short-sighted and largely ignored input from biologists and conservation scientists," said Fonseca. "The new Forest Code could reverse Brazil's progress in reducing deforestation."
The scientists also noted possible changes in how indigenous lands and protected areas are designated. The proposal would give more power to Brazilian Congress, which passed the revised forest code, and industrial development agencies in determining what lands are set aside as indigenous territories and parks.
"We are concerned about a push in Congress to start reviewing the tenure of the indigenous lands, which is something that is unique to Brazil," said Jos Manuel Fragoso, an ecologist at Stanford University. "Indigenous peoples depend on these lands for their livelihoods and are also very important partners for biodiversity conservation."
"We feel that Brazil has been in a leadership position with regard to the environment so we're disappointed to see the government failing to address concerns raised by the scientific community on some of these large-scale industrial development projects like the Belo Monte dam and the proposed project on the Tapajs River," said Fragoso.
"Brazil is planning 30 new dams in the legal Amazon region by 2020," said Philip Fearnside of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia in Manaus, Brazil. "These dams will block key fish migration routes, flood tens of thousands of hectares of rainforest, inundate indigenous communities, and unleash vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Amazon dams are not a source of clean energy."
The declaration urged the government rigorously and transparently consider and utilize scientific information in the planning all dam projects. It noted the need to investigate less damaging forms of technology to meet growing energy needs.
ATBC further highlighted Brazil's lesser-known, but highly important ecosystems, which in some cases haven't experienced the progress seen in the Amazon. The deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen by nearly 80 percent since 2004.
"Brazil must be commended for the drop in Amazon deforestation," said Kirsten Silvius of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "But other important ecosystems -- the Atlantic forest, cerrado, caatinga, pantanal, and pampas grasslands -- have not received the same level of attention. Indeed, the cerrado is being converted at a more than twice the rate of the Amazon and is at extreme risk from synergistic interactions between fragmentation, climate change and fire."
"The world is still losing forests at a rapid pace, which as a tropical biologist, is a huge concern to me," said Susan Laurance. "Brazil can offer a positive model for other tropical countries but also for its other ecosystems."
The declaration notes Brazil has shown both vision and leadership in investing in higher education and research, and now boasts world-class institutes and scientists in many areas of scientific endeavor. Its development of satellite technology for monitoring the Amazon has been central to setting and meeting of targets for reducing deforestation.
"We urge that the same vision is extended to other ecosystems to ensure long-term environmentally sustainable stewardship," stated the declaration. "New mechanisms are needed to ensure that vital scientific information is incorporated into decision-making processes from the start."
"Brazil has the once in a lifetime opportunity to lead the world on the environment. It has a wealth of scientific capacity and resources available to develop evidence-based policy," said Toby Gardner. "It shouldn't pass up this opportunity."
###
The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation is the world's largest scientific organization devoted to the study and protection of tropical ecosystems, with members in over 70 countries.
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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.
Contact: Jose Fragoso fragoso@stanford.edu 415-810-1887 Stanford University
Scientists convening at the largest-ever meeting of tropical biologists congratulated Brazil for its global leadership on environment and science, but warned that recent developments could jeopardize that position, undermining progress on reducing deforestation, protecting indigenous lands, and safeguarding ecosystems outside the Amazon rainforest.
Forgoing the Rio+20 Earth Summit, some 1200 tropical biologists and conservationists met in Bonito, Brazil at the 49th annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) to present and discuss topics ranging from ecology to sustainable use of tropical biology. More than half the participants were Brazilian.
At the conclusion of the meetings, ATBC issued a declaration urging the Brazil government maintain its leadership position on environmental conservation and sustainable development, by continuing to utilize scientific input and invest in science and education.
"Brazil's success in advancing science and conservation, while achieving impressive economic growth and significant improvements in human welfare are being watched by the world as a potential model for environmentally sustainable development," said John Kress, a botanist at the Smithsonian Institution who serves as ATBC Executive Director. "But recent developments raise concerns."
"Brazil was on a good track on environmental issues over past 10-20 years," said Carlos Fonseca, a botanist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. "We saw real changes in how society perceives and values the environment. Recently this changed drastically mostly due to Congress, which is changing the laws to go against popular opinion and the advice of scientists. This is threatening a lot of the achievements we've had in the past two decades."
The declaration cited several issues including the recent push to weaken the country's Forest Code, which stipulates how much forest a landowner must preserve on their property, and proposed infrastructure projects, which could worsen deforestation and degrade important ecosystem functions.
"Changes to the Forest Code are short-sighted and largely ignored input from biologists and conservation scientists," said Fonseca. "The new Forest Code could reverse Brazil's progress in reducing deforestation."
The scientists also noted possible changes in how indigenous lands and protected areas are designated. The proposal would give more power to Brazilian Congress, which passed the revised forest code, and industrial development agencies in determining what lands are set aside as indigenous territories and parks.
"We are concerned about a push in Congress to start reviewing the tenure of the indigenous lands, which is something that is unique to Brazil," said Jos Manuel Fragoso, an ecologist at Stanford University. "Indigenous peoples depend on these lands for their livelihoods and are also very important partners for biodiversity conservation."
"We feel that Brazil has been in a leadership position with regard to the environment so we're disappointed to see the government failing to address concerns raised by the scientific community on some of these large-scale industrial development projects like the Belo Monte dam and the proposed project on the Tapajs River," said Fragoso.
"Brazil is planning 30 new dams in the legal Amazon region by 2020," said Philip Fearnside of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia in Manaus, Brazil. "These dams will block key fish migration routes, flood tens of thousands of hectares of rainforest, inundate indigenous communities, and unleash vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Amazon dams are not a source of clean energy."
The declaration urged the government rigorously and transparently consider and utilize scientific information in the planning all dam projects. It noted the need to investigate less damaging forms of technology to meet growing energy needs.
ATBC further highlighted Brazil's lesser-known, but highly important ecosystems, which in some cases haven't experienced the progress seen in the Amazon. The deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen by nearly 80 percent since 2004.
"Brazil must be commended for the drop in Amazon deforestation," said Kirsten Silvius of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "But other important ecosystems -- the Atlantic forest, cerrado, caatinga, pantanal, and pampas grasslands -- have not received the same level of attention. Indeed, the cerrado is being converted at a more than twice the rate of the Amazon and is at extreme risk from synergistic interactions between fragmentation, climate change and fire."
"The world is still losing forests at a rapid pace, which as a tropical biologist, is a huge concern to me," said Susan Laurance. "Brazil can offer a positive model for other tropical countries but also for its other ecosystems."
The declaration notes Brazil has shown both vision and leadership in investing in higher education and research, and now boasts world-class institutes and scientists in many areas of scientific endeavor. Its development of satellite technology for monitoring the Amazon has been central to setting and meeting of targets for reducing deforestation.
"We urge that the same vision is extended to other ecosystems to ensure long-term environmentally sustainable stewardship," stated the declaration. "New mechanisms are needed to ensure that vital scientific information is incorporated into decision-making processes from the start."
"Brazil has the once in a lifetime opportunity to lead the world on the environment. It has a wealth of scientific capacity and resources available to develop evidence-based policy," said Toby Gardner. "It shouldn't pass up this opportunity."
###
The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation is the world's largest scientific organization devoted to the study and protection of tropical ecosystems, with members in over 70 countries.
[ | 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.
Beaches across the nation continue to be fouled by sewage and storm water pollution that puts swimmers at risk of getting sick, according to a report by an environmental group.
The Natural Resources Defense Council found that although the number of days American beaches were closed or posted with advisories because of contaminated water dropped 3% last year, they were at their third-highest level in 22 years.
California registered a slight increase in beach closures and advisories in 2011, most of them in response to tests revealing elevated bacteria counts, according to the group's annual "Testing the Waters" report.
"We have an ongoing legacy of pollution at our beaches, and the problem is not going away," said Noah Garrison, an attorney with the environmental group's national water program. "We need to be doing more to solve the problem."
The top source of contamination is runoff swept into the ocean by rainfall or irrigation, accounting for about 47% of the beach pollution last year. Beaches along the Gulf of Mexico continued to be hit with closures and advisories related to the 2010 BP oil spill.
The report analyzed bacterial test results and public advisories from more than 3,000 beaches in 30 coastal and Great Lakes states. A high bacteria count indicates beach water is likely to harbor pathogens that can sicken swimmers ? causing skin rashes, stomach and respiratory illnesses, and other infections. Interactive maps in the report allow readers to search by ZIP Code to find out how their favorite beach measures up.
The states with the cleanest beaches in 2011 were Delaware, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Jersey and Florida. The most contaminated were Louisiana, Ohio and Illinois.
California, which accounted for 25% of the nation's beach closures and advisories, ranked 21st out of the 30 states in the number of beach water tests that flunked federal health standards.
Two Southern California beaches made the report's list of 15 "repeat offenders" because of their persistent pollution problems: Avalon Beach on Catalina Island and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. Three earned a spot on the nation's one dozen "5 star" beaches with outstanding water quality: Newport Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach.
The report calls on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen a new set of beach water quality standards it is set to finalize this fall. Environmental groups have criticized some of its provisions as weaker at protecting swimmers from contaminated water than the 1986 rules they replace.
To curb beach pollution in the long term, the report says, coastal states must address the root cause and build more "green infrastructure" to absorb polluted runoff. Projects could include rain-capturing barrels, porous pavement that allows water to filter into the ground, and facilities that divert and treat runoff before it reaches the ocean.
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
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The most prevalent fields of art which has an effect on people each day is graphic design. This art and advertising skill is essential to many businesses. Drawing upon a number of disciplines which includes art, architecture, language, philosophy, and science this form of design speaks both to personal and public desires by clearly communicating messages to the consumer. High quality graphic design is not only a popular art, but also a practical art through the visualization of ideas. Good commercial design doesn't simply make something look pretty. Instead, it is always in the best interests of the client's needs to create advantageous visual communication with the target audience.
Often combining a complex mix of colors, shapes, fonts, along with words and pictures, numbers and possibly charts, photographs and even illustrations, the artist orchestrates these elements to create a exceptional, instructive, subversive and most importantly memorable visual result. The most successful design passes on ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate the audience. Every day we are literally overwhelemd with graphic design from the pages of newspapers and magazines, to every billboard, advertisement, and web page we look at. From corporate reports to business cards, to logos, credit cards, food wrappers, to train, bus, and airport signs, and to even all that junk mail, graphic designers have left their mark. Good design means beneficial visual communication and thus a connection between the design's meaning and the audience.
Imaginative graphic artists implement both image-based design and type-based (fonts / words) design when developing graphic design to communicate a client's message to a distinct audience. Both visuals and text can create quite worthwhile combinations. By exploring the creative options presented by words via typography and images through photography, illustration, and/or fine art, designers assemble and present their client's message. When the creative process begins, artists need to work with the client to comprehend the content and the objective of the message, as well as often working with market researchers and other specialists to understand the nature of the demographics. Once a design concept is chosen, the designer may have all skills necessary or may collaborate with a number of other specialists including photographers, typesetters, illustrators, printers, and even web development firms or HTML workers.
In addition to a extensive grounding in fine art, the finest artists in this field need computer software, marketing, and creativity, an extensive body of technical comprehension concerning special printing processes and limitations, paper materials, printing pigments, digital file preparation, quality control, and troubleshooting. It is common to find artists who are proficient in many programs with a broad knowledge and forms of design just as it is to find artists who work together. Web design plays a important role for many graphic artists, as well as motion graphics such as the titles for TV shows and movies. The expression "graphic design" is developing as new technologies are offered.
So the next time your interest is drawn to a poster, a billboard, a business logo, a magazines/book cover, a brochure, or an advertisement and you react, know that by means of design some company has reached with you!
It's been a few days since my last post, so I thought I would post an update about how everything has been going. I know this isn't a typical Sara's house post, but my house hasn't exactly been typical over the last two weeks. The last two weeks have been so crazy, I feel like I am having an outer body experience. I am expecting to wake up any minute now, oh wait, I AM AWAKE. We have been trying to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of our children. It's working pretty well. My surgery is Thursday, pet scan is Monday, and after that I am hoping for good news, and no more doctor visits for a while. We went to Tulsa over the weekend to celebrate my husband's birthday. Friday afternoon we did some shopping and spent time with the kids. Friday evening we went out to dinner with my brother and sister in law. I had a couple of drinks and a lot of laughs. I haven't laughed like that in a while, I need to remind myself to laugh more and worry less. It works wonders for the soul. I need to not take myself so seriously. Saturday evening, my best friend came over and we went out for a night of more laughing and a drink. She and I have been best friends since fourth grade, we have been through everything together. I am discovering as I get older it is more important to me to find true friendships, true friends are so rare these days. I feel as though God has been trying to teach me a lesson over the last year, and it took all of this to finally get me to listen. I am beginning to listen. I have taken so many moments for granted, and I am realizing I dont ?get those back. In life, there is nothing for certain, except death. We are not gauranteed a tomorrow, so make the best of today. Enjoy the moment and live! Have faith. Spend time with your loved ones. Family is the most important thing, they will be the ones to pick you up when everything falls apart. Goodnight.
Treatments must move into the realm of precision medicine, says Frank McCormick.
Frank McCormick, UCSF
Cancer medicine must depart from a one-size-fits-all tradition, and move instead to targeted treatments, said cancer expert?Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, during a congressional forum this week that focused on cutting-edge cancer research and treatment.
McCormick, director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, was part of a top-tier panel of expert witnesses at an event held by the Senate Cancer Coalition in Washington, D.C. It was the first public gathering convened by the non-partisan organization in almost a decade. The hearing served as a platform to examine how breast cancer research has led to the development of more personalized approaches to better detect, treat and prevent many types of cancer.
?In 1971, it was presumed that cancer was a single disease and perhaps there would be a single cure. This turns out to be not the case,?? McCormick said. ?Probably at least 200 different diseases, cancer is caused by thousands of mutations in a very complicated manner?each of these different types of tumors requires different types of treatment. For example, we have learned that there are at least seven different types of breast cancer. And with further research, we are likely to discover that there are even more.??
In his presentation, McCormick explained that advances in understanding cancer at the molecular level ? especially the discovery that cancer is caused by changes, or mutations, in genes that control normal cellular function ? have set the stage for a new era in cancer care including an array of surgical and pharmaceutical options now available to patients.
Now scientists must move into the realm of precision medicine, he said, in which treatment is based on the specific characteristics of individual patients and their tumors in which an individual?s genetic makeup or specific molecular markers of their disease help to determine the course of treatment.
?This is one of the most promising new approaches in modern cancer treatment,?? said McCormick, president of the American Association for Cancer Research, the world?s oldest and largest cancer research organization.
Driving Precision Medicine
UCSF is already at the forefront of precision medicine.
Chancellor?Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, who shepherded the first targeted cancer therapies to clinical trial as president of product development at Genentech, has won accolades for her innovative leadership in working to create an infrastructure that propels laboratory discoveries into new therapies for patients.
In 2011, she co-chaired a National Academy of Sciences committee recommending the creation of a Google maps-like data network that would integrate the wealth of data emerging on the molecular basis of disease with information on environmental factors and patients? electronic medical records, with the goal of developing more diagnostics and treatments tailored to individual patients.
Other UCSF cancer experts are spearheading advances in personalized treatment plans. Earlier this year, two clinical studies led by UCSF ? the largest ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer ? demonstrated that an available molecular test could predict the likelihood of death from early-stage lung cancer more accurately than conventional methods. The studies might in time improve the odds of survival for hundreds of thousands of patients annually.
For breast cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued recommendations last month that would accelerate patient access to new medications while reducing the time and cost of drug development. The new regulatory guidelines were based in part on a groundbreaking, national breast cancer trial called I-SPY 2 led by?Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. The trial combines personalized medicine with a novel investigational design to identify women at high risk of early breast cancer recurrence. It is underway at 19 major cancer research centers around the country.
As scientists continue to make progress in understanding the complex roots of cancer, they face ?unprecedented?? opportunities, McCormick said during the congressional hearing on June 19. The hearing was titled ?Preventing and Treating Breast Cancer in the 21st?Century: Seeking the Right Treatment at the Right Time.??
?By continually probing the biology of cancer, researchers can make new discoveries and then apply that knowledge to improve clinical outcomes to patient benefit,?? McCormick said.
Governmental funding as well as a ?steadfast commitment?? from the White House and Congress would help fulfill the promise of cancer and biomedical research, McCormick said.
The Senate Cancer Coalition is co-chaired by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). The coalition was established in 1995 by Feinstein and former Senator Connie Mack (R-Florida) but has been largely inactive since 2003. Feinstein and Hutchison are working to revitalize the group to provide Senate colleagues with the opportunity to explore the state of cancer care with leading scientists, physicians and other health care professionals and patients.
The panelists at the hearing included Barbara Wold, PhD, advisor to the National Cancer Institute Director on Cancer Genomics Research; Leslie Bernstein, PhD, director of the Division of Cancer Etiology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
CAIRO (AP) ? The new Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi moved first thing Monday morning into the office once occupied by his ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak and started work on forming a government even before he had a clear picture of what he could do after the ruling military stripped most of the major powers from his post.
The country breathed a sigh of relief that at least the question of who won the presidential runoff had been resolved on Sunday after the first free and fair elections in Egypt's modern history. People returned to work a day after a panic that sent many home early for fear that violence might erupt when the winner was announced. Traffic was flowing again through Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of last year's uprising and a major intersection that had been blocked for nearly a week by Morsi supporters protesting against the military's power grab.
Egypt's benchmark stock index closed with record gains of 7.5 percent in a sign of optimism after a president was named. And newspapers were brimming with upbeat headlines, after a week of rumors and scaremongering. "Morsi president on orders from the people: The revolution reaches the presidential palace," said a banner headline in independent daily Al-Shorouk.
"His priority is the stability on the political scene," said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi who said the president was in his office to consult on forming a new government and choosing his team.
Morsi, from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood group, is the first Islamist president of Egypt. He defeated Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, in a tight race that deeply polarized the nation.
Now he faces a daunting struggle for power with the still-dominant military rulers who took over after Mubarak's ouster in the uprising.
The 60-year-old, U.S.-trained engineer comes into office knowing little about his authorities and what he can do to resolve security and economic crises and meet the high expectations from the country's first popularly elected leader.
The contours were emerging of a backroom deal between the military and the Brotherhood that led to the ruling military council blessing Morsi as president. One mediator said negotiations are still under way to hammer out political understandings.
Emad Abdel-Ghaffour, the head of the ultraconservative Islamist party Al-Nour, said in the week between the June 16-17 presidential runoff and the announcement of the winner on Sunday, many politicians tried to mediate between the Islamists and the generals to defuse a political crisis.
"There was an easing (of tension)" when the elections results came through, he said. But discussions are still under way to clarify the authorities of the president and the military. And one of the immediate sticking points is the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament by a court order, days before the presidential runoff.
As polls closed on June 17, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces announced constitutional amendments that shocked the Brotherhood and many other political activists who took part in the uprising 16 months ago.
The ruling generals gave themselves sweeping powers that undercut the authority of the president. That followed a government decision that granted military police broad powers to detain civilians. The military council, which promised to transfer power to an elected leader by July 1, said the moves were designed to fill a power vacuum and ensure that the president doesn't monopolize decision-making until a new constitution is drafted.
Two days before the runoff, a court packed with judged appointed by the Mubarak regime also dissolved the country's first freely elected parliament. The military council followed by declaring it was now in charge of legislating.
Closed-door meetings between Brotherhood members and the ruling generals as well as mediation from different groups, including pro-reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei, aimed at easing the crisis and defusing a political stalemate.
Brotherhood members said the election results, delayed for four days, were held up by authorities as a bargaining chip to reassure the generals in the face of mounting Brotherhood opposition to the military's tightening grip and the group's rise to power.
Former presidents were sworn in by parliament. But with the parliament dissolved, it was not clear where Morsi will be sworn in. Authorities say he could be sworn before the country's highest court, but his supporters are pressing for parliament to be reinstated, arguing that the court decision only disputed a third of the house's seats.
Abdel-Ghaffour said discussions with the generals centered on the Brotherhood's argument that only the disputed third of parliament be dissolved because it was that portion that was elected based on articles deemed unconstitutional. Independent and party members competed for a third of the 498-seat house, which the court said violated rules of equality between candidates.
Brotherhood lawyers say another court, Egypt's highest administrative court, is likely to back their claim.
"This is likely to happen," said Abdel-Ghaffour, whose Islamist party won 25 percent of the dissolved parliament seats in addition to the Brotherhood's nearly 50 percent. "A third of parliament can be dissolved and re-elected in 75 days."
The speaker of the dissolved parliament met with the No. 2 general on the military council, Chief of Staff Gen. Sami Anan, twice since the court decision on June 14.
Abdel-Ghaffour also said talks centered on reassurances the generals were seeking regarding the Brotherhood's control of the new government, including demands that Morsi appoint a prime minister who is a technocrat from outside the Brotherhood.
The stickier issue of drafting the constitution was also raised as well as fears over who controls the key foreign and defense ministries. The generals' new declaration ensures the military appoint the defense minister and control all issues regarding military personnel.
Before parliament was dissolved, a panel appointed by the legislature was supposed to be in charge of drafting the new constitution which would determine the role of Islam in legislation, Egypt's future political system and the role of the military.
In the recent power grab, the ruling generals gave themselves, the prime minister, judges or a fifth of the panel members the right to veto details of the constitution that will be drafted, curbing the powers of Islamists to control the process. The parliament-formed panel is expected to meet Tuesday, and Abdel-Ghaffour said it is expected to continue its work.
"Both sides want reassurances," Abdel-Ghaffour said. "But there is a will for the caravan to keep moving," he said, using an Arabic expression.
In his first speech after being named president, Morsi called for national unity and pledged he will be a "president for all Egyptians." In an effort to heal national divisions, he vowed to appoint diverse deputies including a woman and a Christian. He also has reached out to other presidential hopefuls who got significant support in the first round of elections.
His spokesman Ali said Morsi wants to form a national coalition government that will bring in technocrats and representatives of a broad variety of political factions. But that is likely to take time, Ali said.
Thousands of Morsi supporters, backed by some liberal and secular youth groups who drove the uprising, vowed to press on with their protest in Tahrir Square to pressure the ruling generals to rescind their decrees and reinstate parliament. Tens of thousands spent the night in Tahrir in joyous celebration of Morsi's win. But by morning, the crowds had thinned considerably.
But Brotherhood officials said the protests will continue until the military responds to their demands.
The military-backed government, headed by Kamal el-Ganzouri, resigned Monday, according to legal tradition. The military council asked it to stay as a caretaker government, state TV said.
Morsi faces enormous challenges of improving the economy and maintaining law and order ? both of which deteriorated in the post-Mubarak period. His victory is a stunning achievement for the Muslim Brotherhood, a shadowy organization repressed by successive regimes.
He is Egypt's first civilian president ? his four predecessors all came from the ranks of the military.
LONDON (AP) ? The founder of Wikipedia urged British officials on Monday to block the extradition of a 24-year-old British student wanted in the United States over alleged copyright offenses.
Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales expressed support for Richard O'Dwyer, who was arrested at his university dorm in 2010 by British officers accompanied by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. O'Dwyer's alleged crime was running a file-swapping website called TVShack.net, where users shared links to movies and television shows, many of them protected by copyright.
Wales said merely posting links is not a crime and urged citizens to stand up for their rights online.
"Richard O'Dwyer is the human face of the battle between the content industry and the interests of the general public," Wales said in an online petition posted on Change.org, adding that the student had always done his best to "play by the rules."
By midday Monday the petition to halt O'Dwyer's extradition had gained more than 20,400 signatures.
The Guardian newspaper has thrown its support behind O'Dwyer as well, saying in an editorial published Monday that his case was "unfair" and "absurd."
It might be a little disconcerting, to say the least, to log into your Facebook account and find that Facebook thinks you are dead. That is, unfortunately, exactly what happened to Facebook user?Brett Millet, who?posted about the problem?on the question-and-answer site?StackExchange.
Evidently someone ? and it would have to be one of his Facebook friends ? reported him as deceased, using?this Facebook form:
While it may seem like a funny prank to some, reporting a Facebook user deceased is actually a fairly horrific thing to do. Imagine the shock of your friends checking you out on Facebook and seeing, to their horror, that you are presumably dead. Or, God forbid, your mother or another close relative.
You would think that Facebook would do some level of due diligence before taking such a drastic step, but that allegedly did not happen, at least in Millet?s case:
?Apparently, it?s pretty easy to memorialize someone?s Facebook profile,? he posted. ?I am greeted with the following message?after?entering my?valid?and?correct?username and password:?
Account Inaccessible
This account is in a special memorial state. If you have any questions or concerns, please visit the Help Center for further information.
I find it hard to believe that there are no safeguards in place to prevent this from happening.?The simplest, of course, would be an email or a text to the affected person, checking for a response. Another option would be simply waiting for a time to see if the person logs in and posts anything. Additionally, Facebook could simply, upon the seemingly dead user?s next login, request clarification.
If this story is accurate ? VentureBeat is making inquiries right now with both Facebook PR and the affected user ? Millet seems to have regained access to his account.
One recommended process in the StackExchange thread was to?report a violation of Facebook terms, which enables users who cannot access their accounts to log in again.
However, it appears that Facebook has a special page already set up for users who find themselves in precisely this situation, and that?s the other advice given in the discussion thread. This is the page here:?My Personal Account is in a Special Memorialized State.
The fact that Facebook has a page set up for specifically this purpose would seem to indicate that Millet is not alone in his predicament: this unfortunate situation has happened before, and often enough to require its own page at Facebook. Here, users can prove that they are not, in fact, dead, and regain access to their account.
As mentioned above, VentureBeat is reaching out to both Millet and Facebook and will update this story as we receive more details.
GE has agreed to supply JFE Steel with a heavy duty Frame 9E gas turbine system that will help the Japanese steel producer in its gas-to-energy recovery project at the East Japan Iron Works in Chiba City, Japan
To be installed by engineering, procurement and construction contractor Toshiba Plant Systems and Services, the 9E gas turbine will power the 150MW combined -cycle power project. In addition to the 9E gas turbine, Toshiba will also install GE-designed 9A5 generator at the same facility.
JFE steel has a stringent resource and energy conservation program that it implements at the East Japan Iron Works facility and the new combine-cycle will look to further the same.
Using the steel-mill's own blast furnace and coke oven gases to generate on-site power, the combined-cycle plant will help reduce the facility's annual CO2 emissions.
"As one of the world's leading supplier of gas turbines, we are excited to demonstrate how our heavy duty turbines have the operational flexibility to help JFE and other steel producers effectively deal with their gases that have fluctuating thermal qualities," said GE Energy president and CEO of Thermal Products Paul Browning
As part of the comprehensive 15-year parts supply and repair service agreement GE in addition to supply of the components will also service them.
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FILE - This Feb. 9, 2012 file photo shows musician Caleb Followill, left, and his wife, model Lily Aldridge at the premiere of the third season of "Eastbound and Down" in Los Angeles. The Victoria?s Secret model gave birth to daughter Dixie Pearl Followill on Thursday, June 21, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
FILE - This Feb. 9, 2012 file photo shows musician Caleb Followill, left, and his wife, model Lily Aldridge at the premiere of the third season of "Eastbound and Down" in Los Angeles. The Victoria?s Secret model gave birth to daughter Dixie Pearl Followill on Thursday, June 21, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Victoria's Secret model Lily Aldridge and Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill are the new parents of a baby girl.
The couple welcomed Dixie Pearl Followill on Thursday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Spokesman Ken Weinstein says both Aldridge and the baby are happy and healthy and are resting at their home outside of Nashville. Dixie Pearl was born at 1 a.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.
Aldridge, 26, and Followill, 30, married in California in May 2011. Dixie Pearl is their first child.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As evidence mounts of Islamic militant forces among the Syrian opposition, senior U.S. and European officials are increasingly alarmed by the prospect of sophisticated weapons falling into the hands of rebel groups that may be dangerous to Western interests, including al Qaeda.
In an interview with Reuters, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta articulated U.S. worries that shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, also known as MANPADS, could find their way onto the Syrian battlefield.
Intelligence experts believe that hundreds, if not thousands, of such weapons were looted from arsenals accumulated by late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and are floating on the Middle East black market.
"I think it's fair to say that we have a concern about the MANPADS coming out of Libya," Panetta said in the Thursday interview. "We've had an ongoing view that it was important to try to determine where these MANPADS were going, not only the concern that some of them might wind up in Syria but elsewhere as well," he said.
Panetta added that he had seen no direct intelligence yet that such missiles had made their way to Syria. He did not specifically cite the rebels as potential recipients.
But other U.S. and allied officials voiced that concern, while saying they had no evidence that Syrian rebels had yet acquired MANPADS.
SIGNS OF AL QAEDA JOINING REBELS
The urgency of Western concerns stems as much from the recipients of the weapons as the weapons themselves. High-level sources at multiple national intelligence services report increasing evidence that Islamic militants, including al Qaeda and its affiliates and other hard-line Sunni groups, had joined forces with opponents of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who has advised President Barack Obama on counter-terrorism policy, said that al Qaeda and other militants were "deeply engaged" with anti-Assad forces. He cited public pronouncements by senior al Qaeda figures, including the group's leader, Ayman al Zawahiri, that urged Sunni rebels in Syria to kill members of Assad's Alawite Muslim minority.
A western government source said that Al-Nusrah, a "spinoff" from al Qaeda's Iraq-based affiliate, was responsible for at least some atrocities that have occurred in Syria. The source said the group publicly confirmed its role in killings.
Worries that sophisticated weapons could make their way to the wrong kind of Syrian rebels are one reason Washington remains wary of deeper U.S. involvement in the fighting.
"It stands to reason that if any Middle Eastern nation is even considering giving arms to the Syrian opposition, it would take a measured approach and think twice about providing arms that could have unintended consequences," a U.S. official said.
Nonetheless, U.S. and allied officials say their Saudi and Qatari counterparts have discussed how MANPADS could be used by Assad opponents to bring down Russian-made helicopters the Syrian army is using to redeploy its troops rapidly between trouble spots.
But such missiles also could be used against other targets, including civilian airliners, one reason for the U.S. and allied concern.
After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, the CIA, with Saudi backing, provided sophisticated shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to Islamic militants seeking to oust Soviet troops.
The missiles played a significant role in the Soviets' ultimate defeat in Afghanistan. But they also became a major headache for U.S. and western counter-terrorism agencies when anti-Soviet militants morphed into anti-Western militant factions including al Qaeda.
SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR ARMING REBELS
U.S. and allied officials acknowledge Syrian rebels have been receiving arms supplies from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirate of Qatar. But they said that the sophistication of the weapons being delivered had until recently been low.
An allied government source said it was clear wealthy individuals in Qatar and Saudi Arabia also were helping to finance anti-Assad groups.
The Saudis are on record calling for Assad's ouster. Earlier this year, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, told an international conference that Assad's "regime has lost its legitimacy and resembles an occupation authority...There is no way out of the crisis except through a transition of power, peacefully or forcibly."
In January, Qatar went even further when its ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, told the CBS TV program 60 Minutes that Arab troops should be sent in to "stop the killing" by Assad's forces.
A U.S. official who recently discussed the issue with Saudi and Qatari representatives said the weaponry now being shipped to Syrian rebels consists largely of small arms that would enable regime opponents to "protect their children." Deliveries to the rebels of MANPADS would represent a serious escalation.
US PROVIDING NON-LETHAL SUPPORT
Some prominent U.S. Republicans are urging a big step-up in U.S. aid for Assad's opponents, including arms deliveries and even possible U.S. military involvement.
At a conference on Thursday hosted by the website Bloomberg Government, U.S. Senator John McCain suggested that the Obama administration's cautious policy regarding the Syrian rebels was "shameful" and urged a major escalation in U.S. involvement.
"So what do we do? First of all, we stand up for them. Second of all, we get them weapons. Third of all, we establish a sanctuary with our allies - no boots on the ground, no boots on the ground - and use our and our allied air power to protect that zone and we help these people in a fair fight," McCain said.
At the same conference, however, Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, warned: "We are just really not in a good position today to fully identify all of the groups, all of the factions, who's winning that leadership fight," he said.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that a small number of CIA officers had been deployed to southern Turkey, where they were helping U.S. allies decide which Syrian opposition elements should receive weapons deliveries.
The United States is understood to be supplying non-lethal support to Assad's opponents, such as financing and communications gear, possibly including monitoring equipment. The Times said that the Obama administration has held back on providing rebels with intelligence information, such as satellite photographs, on the activities of Assad's forces.
Riedel warned that Qatar authorities might not be too choosy about which Syrian rebels they are willing to supply with arms, though they would try to avoid giving them directly to al Qaeda.
"I don't think that Qatar and the Saudis are as concerned as we are about surface-to-air missiles," Riedel added.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Tabassum Zakaria and David Alexander. Editing by Warren Strobel and Lisa Shumaker)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Czech Republic's Theodor Gebre Selassie vie for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Czech Republic's Theodor Gebre Selassie vie for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
A Czech fan cheers before the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
A Czech fan cheers before the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
A Portugal fan waits for the start of the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Portoguese former players Eusebio, left, and Luis Figo sit in the stands prior to the Euro 2012 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Czech Republic and Portugal in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, June 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? In the first quarterfinal at Euro 2012, the Czech Republic plays Portugal on Thursday. Here is a running account of the action. All times are local to Poland.
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2132: HALF-TIME: Czech Republic 0, Portugal 0.
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2130: So close! Ronaldo chests the ball down, turns to lose his marker with ease ? but his shot hits the post.
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2125: A blow for the Portuguese as Helder Postiga is forced off with a hamstring injury. Win or lose tonight, Portugal unlikely to see Postiga back in action again at this tournament.
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2122: Ronaldo goes close again and this would have been some goal. Pepe loops a ball back into the penalty area as the Czech Republic tries to clear from a corner. Ronaldo meets it with an acrobatic bicycle kick that bounces wide. Had he tried that with his weaker left foot, he would have been able to get his effort on target but taking that shot on with his right meant the angle was always against him.
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2120: simonhaydon: Howard Webb clamped down with a couple of yellows for Portugal in 2 mins. Seems to have done the trick as play has flowed since. (via Twitter).
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2112: Two yellows in quick succession for Portugal, Nani and Miguel Veloso going into the referee's book.
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2111: Portugal goes close to opening the scoring and it's that man Ronaldo. He cuts in from the left, exchanges passes with Moutinho, and bursts into the penalty area. He shrugs off the feeble attempt at a challenge from Kadlec and launches a shot across goal, but Cech gets down quickly and makes a great save but the referee had already blown for a Ronaldo foul.
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2104: Ronaldo could have scored an own goal there. He is back to help defend a corner and jumps in front of his goalkeeper to flick the ball clear, but it hangs awkwardly in the air for a moment before going wide of the far post and out for another corner to the Czechs.
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2059: Portugal are being watched by two of its greatest-ever strikers at the National Stadium tonight. Eusebio and Luis Figo are sitting side by side. Good to see Eusebio looking fit after a health scare a couple of months ago.
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2058: Moutinho gets a shot at Petr Cech from outside the area after working the ball into some space from a short corner. His shot is tame though and Cech gathers it with ease.
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2056: simonhaydon: I reckon Ronaldo would go nuts if you playfully ruffled his hair and spoilt his look.
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2055: Fiery reaction from Ronaldo as Portugal fails to hit on the counter with the ball running away from the captain and going out of play. Ronaldo had found plenty of space on the left and he turns to his teammates, snarling away, waving his fists in fury and drawing deafening jeers from the crowd.
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2051: It's been a battling start from the Czechs, who are enjoying all the early possession. Jiracek has had a couple of nice touches already and has looked to break forward to assist Baros at every opportunity. In the first clash between Gebre Selassie and Ronaldo, the Czech right back pokes the ball out to safety. More to come from those two tonight though, you feel.
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2045: The match gets underway, the Czechs playing in red, the Portuguese in their white away kit.
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2042: The roof of the National Stadium is closed this evening. The weather has been unpredictable to say the least in the past 24 hours. Last night saw the most incredible thunderstorm rattle away into the early hours of the morning, accompanied by torrential rain.
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2040: Tonight's match will go to penalties if the scores are level after 90 minutes and extra time of 30 minutes. Also worth noting that Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech saved a spot-kick from Ronaldo in the 2008 Champions League final penalty shoot-out in Moscow. Cech still ended up on the losing side that evening but both men will remember the penalty in question, you can be sure of that.
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2026: The referee for the game this evening is Howard Webb, from England. Webb was the referee for the ill-tempered 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands in South Africa.
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2023: Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky has failed to make the starting lineup due to an achilles tendon injury. The Arsenal playmaker has to settle for a place on the bench with Vladimir Darida taking his attacking midfield role, just behind Milan Baros. It was Daniel Kolar who replaced Rosicky in the 1-0 victory over Poland, but Kolar clearly did not do enough to cement his position in the eyes of coach Michal Bilek. Goalkeeper Petr Cech continues with the armband.
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2020: Portugal continues with its 4-3-3 formation. That means Cristiano Ronaldo is part of a three-man attack, alongside center-forward Helder Postiga and former Manchester United teammate Nani on the right. Incidentally, Ronaldo is one of five Portugese players who is a yellow card away from a one match suspension. Fabio Coentrao, Joao Pereira, Helder Postiga and Raul Meireles are the other four. Meireles also missed the Champions League final for his club Chelsea due to the same rule, so will want to be extra careful not to pick up a card tonight. The record of how many yellow cards each player has is wiped after the quarterfinals.
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2015: For the Czech Republic, David Limbersky, Jaroslav Plasil, Petr Jiracek, Tomas Rosicky, Daniel Kolar and Tomas Pekhart are on a yellow card but only the first three of those names start tonight.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Petr Cech, David Limbersky, Theodor Gebre Selassie, Tomas Sivok, Michal Kadlec, Jaroslav Plasil, Vaclav Pilar, Tomas Hubschman, Petr Jiracek, Vladimir Darida, Milan Baros.
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1938: Here at AP Sports, we've been asking who you think the star player of Euro 2012 has been so far, along with who has been the biggest flop, who will win the tournament, etc. Here are some of the responses we've had:
(at)carternacke: Best goal: Welbeck back heel. Best game (so far): England v. Sweden. Best player: Gomez. (via Twitter)
(at)D3_Falcons: All games have been great, Gomez best player, & Danny Welbeck's back heel goal vs. Sweden best goal (via Twitter)
(at)Dalilahermosa: For me so far the best player has been Steven Gerard!! (via Twitter)
(at)AJTheSportsGuy: Realistically Germany looks to be the best side in the tournament. Don't count Portugal out though. CR7 is finding his form
(at)Gozenhaard: Standout player - Zlatan. Flop - Huntelaar (via Twitter)
(at)monsieurcorway: Standout player has surely been Zlatan? 3 great performances with a poor team supporting him. (via Twitter)
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1920: The two best Czech players in the tournament so far have been Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar. They've each scored two goals and are the only players to get on the scoresheet. Jiracek's second of his Euro 2012 campaign was a clinical finish in a 1-0 win over Poland. It proved a decisive goal for both sides, as it saw the Czechs progress as group winner and co-host Poland eliminated. Pilar, who plays his club football in France for Bordeaux, is named 'the Czech Lionel Messi', and demonstrated why he has earned such a reputation with a well taken goal against Russia in its first game in Group A.
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1915: Ronaldo, should he continue to start on the left of a three man Portugese attack, will face Theodor Gebre Selassie, the Czech Republic right back. Gebre Selassie impressed with his performances in Group A, showing composure in defense along with a keen eye to join attacks down the right. The task of dealing with Ronaldo is an unenviable one, yet the 25-year-old will surely be confident in himself after the good form he has displayed. Gebre Selassie may have to curb his attacking instinct though, or risk leaving his defense exposed to the Real Madrid man.
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Public release date: 28-Jun-2012
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If this story is accurate ? VentureBeat is making inquiries right now with both Facebook PR and the affected user ? Millet seems to have regained access to his account.
