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Doody's Review ServiceReviewer: Luigi Strizzi, MD, PhD (Children's Memorial Research Center)
Description: This is a succinct analysis of the concept of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the context of basic and clinical science. The book describes important areas of cancer stem cell research including such topics as isolation and purification of CSCs, signaling pathways involved during self renewal, and pluripotency of these cells, as well as molecular approaches that may be employed to potentially target these pathways.
Purpose: The purpose is to focus on the clinical and therapeutic implications of CSCs. By exploring the concepts derived from basic research and effectively projecting these into the realm of clinical science, the book illuminates the importance of targeting CSCs in order to improve the efficacy of present-day anticancer therapy.
Audience: The editor is an established authority in the field who has published numerous important observations in CSC research. His selection of the diverse areas of CSC research covered in the different chapters will satisfy not only the interests of basic and clinical scientists, but also help students understand the complexity involved in cancer therapy and appreciate how CSC research is shedding new light on alternative therapeutic strategies that may compliment present-day approaches.
Features: The book is well written and describes in a general fashion the concepts necessary for basic comprehension of the biology and clinical relevancy of CSCs research. Most of the color illustrations are clear and useful in summarizing the important aspects of CSC research discussed in the text. Some figures, however, have typos. For example, in figure 8-2 there is a typo for the symbol gamma-secretase. Also, it would have been intriguing to mention in the chapter on melanoma cancer stem cells some of the current issues associated with the debate on the actual scarcity of CSCs in melanoma. Finally, the chapter title, "Targeting the Notch Signaling Pathway in Cancer Stem Cells," seems to imply that the different approaches discussed have been tested on CSCs, but no specific examples of results describing the effects of targeting notch signaling pathways in CSCs are mentioned. This is important for understanding the potential for unwanted side effects in normal and somatic stem cells given the pleiotropic nature of notch signaling.
Assessment: Although work is still needed to identify specific markers that can be employed to identify and/or target CSCs and much debate surrounds whether tumor growth is actually driven by a presumably small subgroup of cells that can be called CSCs, the book does address useful areas in CSC research. The authors are successful in describing in a comprehensive way many concepts such as characterization and isolation of CSCs, the role played by CSCs during tumorigenesis and propagation of cancer, how CSCs may be responsible for resistance to therapy and recurrence, and how future targeting of the molecular mechanisms responsible for these characteristics in CSCs may improve cancer therapy.
(Reviewer Note: The histological images on the cover of this book have been published previously as a color panel for chapter 8, figure 2 in Stem Cells and Cancer, Bagley and Teicher (Humana Press, 2009))

subset: commoncrawl


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Ready Player One: A Review
Ready Player One ended being a much, much better book than one would assume at face value. On the surface, the story surrounds a gamer named Wade, as he attempts to make friends and find a hidden Easter egg treasure deep within the bowels of the largest multi-player game ever concocted, OASIS. But there are catches: the people he's friends with are also competing for the prize; a huge conglomerate corporation is trying to steal it out from under them; and the only person who even knew where to find the keys to get to the tests to try to win the prize was the game's mastermind, who started the contest in his last will and testament.
The prize? $2.4 billion and a controlling stake in his company.
Ready Player One actually tends to make the reader forget that they're reading about a character playing a game, and when compared to the "real" world, it's easy to see how that happens. By the point the story begins, Earth has been absolutely ravaged by war and food and fuel shortages, and has become little more than an apocalyptic wasteland where people have to scrape a living together to get by. This is the world OASIS was born into, and this is the world that gave it the distinction of being the biggest game in world history. And then the contest starts.
Cline has littered the book with references to and trivia of pop culture from the last thirty years, so reading the story is almost like an exciting trip through nostalgia. The characters are fun, the story's engaging, and the stakes are high. Ready Player One becomes a page turner quickly, and definitely deserves the distinction.
Want to read Ready Player One? You can check it out at Hirsh! Just click the cover to be taken to the listing in the catalog. Happy reading!
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Tuesday - 11/6/2012, 4:22pm EST
This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.
Today's guest:
Patrick Lester — Director of Federal Fiscal Policy, OMB Watch
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While Congress will ultimately determine if sequestration happens, the Office of Management and Budget can delay some of the pain from the steep cuts — at least for a little while.
That's the conclusion from a recent report by OMB Watch, an independent watchdog group.
Patrick Lester, director of federal fiscal policy at OMB Watch, joins In Depth to discuss how OMB can use "apportionment" authority to blunt the immediate impact of the cuts.
Tom Shoop — Editor-in-chief, GovExec
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Two candidates... two plans... one Oval Office. Even if tomorrow is just another Wednesday, the future of the federal government is now.
Tom Shoop, editor-in-chief of GovExec, joins In Depth to discuss the election's impact on federal employees and how President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney differ in management styles.
Romney: Not One More Bureaucrat (related link)
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Brian Friel — Reporter, Bloomberg Government
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If you're a contractor that wants to offer services with the federal cleanup for Hurricane Sandy, it might already be too late to get any business, according to analysis by Brian Friel, a Bloomberg Government reporter.
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FEMA, Corps Keep Disaster Contractors on Standby (Related link — requires subscription)
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Presidential transition teams spring into action
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New online game trains kids against cyber attacks (Army.mil)
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Michael Amott – The Guitarist Of Arch Enemy
Interview by Luxi Lahtinen
Live pictures by Antti Nieminen
Transcription by Tony Gabriel
Thanks to Taija Holm of Pro Promotion for setting up the interview for us
The ever-popular Swedish metallers Arch Enemy visited Helsinki on April 13rd 2008, as a part of their "Tyranny And Bloodshred" world tour. The following interview was done with Michael Amott in Helsinki, Finland – nearly 4 months ago, but due to many unfortunate circumstances, it wasn´t published until now. Thanks to Tony Gabriel for taking care of the transcription with such a short notice.
Michael talks about many things that are naturally currently close to Arch Enemy, but also Carcass´ reunion shows, Spiritual Beggars, etc. Read on…
Read the rest of this entry »


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Commentary: Sad day for California hunters, fishermen
Those three commissioners – Sutton, Baylis and Rogers -- were able to change the way the Commission chooses its next president because the directive to change it was pushed along by Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown's office. How else could a regulation that had to be reviewed by the state's Office of Administrative Law review it and approve the change in less than a month? With all the important matters in this state, this was sent through that bureaucratic maze of an office like it was lubed with hog grease. How did that happen?
The answer is that Richards had to be reprimanded for what he did. After all, he posed with a legal kill in a state where killing lions and even eating them, yes eating them, is legal. The other commissioners who were offended by what he did wanted their pound of flesh. They couldn't oust him completely, but embarrassing him and getting him out as president is the best they could do. Gov. Brown couldn't force him to resign, but he sure could influence his unseating as president, and he did, sources close to the situation said.
But remember, this all started before Richards posed with the cougar. That was his way of shoving the issue of mountain lion protection, the sacred cat of this state, into the faces of his critics. Richards never said that, but anyone who was paying attention saw it as just that.
Richards was seen as a critic of the Marine Life Protection Act, those ocean closures that started with our previous California leader, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and were based more on emotions and politics than they were on science. Richards challenged the science, he questioned the state's financial ability to patrol, study and analyze the impacts of the closures. He listened to boat captains, tackle shop owners, marinas, landings and private fishermen who repeated often what financial impacts the closures would have on their livelihoods.
The real question that needs to be asked of the three Fish and Game commissioners who forced Richards out as president is what are you three afraid of? Are you so fearful that one of your board members, its most independent thinker, may uncover the underhanded dealings you've been involved in to railroad marine closures and other intrusions on hunting and fishing through the Commission?
Richards was the only true ally for fishermen and hunters on that Commission. Kellogg, the new president, is an ally, sure, but not like Richards.
Richards never, ever, was intimidated by the Governor's office or the other state officials who are hell-bent to bow down to the extreme environmentalist community, one that ridicules and disrespects commercial and recreational fishermen and hunters every chance it gets. Kellogg doesn't share that record, and that's why he's the new president. He was a safe compromise for the three puppets.
Richards asked questions and demanded accountability for closing areas to fishing or hunting. He posed with a photo of a mountain lion he legally killed, one that even ate. He's not the one who sent it all over the Internet to get reaction. But he's out as president, and on Jan. 15, he'll be gone as a Fish and Game commissioner.
When he leaves, look for his replacement as commissioner to be a person who will be hand-picked by the extreme environmentalists who run this Commission now by controlling their three puppets – Sutton, Rogers and Baylis.
It's a sad day for California's hunters and fishermen, the true conservationists in this warped state, and just a great day for those who want to preserve and protect everything at the expense of people's livelihoods and outdoor recreational choices.


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[June 18, 2014]
Tintri VMstore Wins Two Awards at the UK's 2014 Storage Awards
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwired) -- 06/18/14 -- Tintri, the leading producer of storage for virtualisation and cloud environments, today announced that its VMstore solution has won the "virtualisation product of the year" and "hybrid appliance of the year" at The Storage Awards 2014.
The Storage Awards 2014, were held Monday night at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London. The Awards are an annual event and offers the readers of Storage Magazine (UK) the opportunity to reward outstanding and innovative products, services and people. The two awards highlight Tintri's growing success in the UK market and celebrates Tintri's ability to bring smart storage to the virtualised environment.
"We are honored to have achieved both of these awards for Tintri," said Doug Rich, VP of EMEA at Tintri. "Tintri is constantly developing new and innovative products for the virtualisation market. The award is a recognition of our drive to deliver an effective smart storage solution that can bring real business benefits to the UK's IT market." Tintri is built on the industry's first and leading application-aware storage architecture and addresses the mismatch between storage and virtualisation. Tintri's smart storage is unique in its ability to see, learn and adapt to the storage requirements of the virtualised world.
About TintriTintri builds smart storage that sees, learns and adapts, enabling IT organisations to focus on virtualised applications and business services instead of managing storage infrastructure. Tintri application-aware storage eliminates planning and complex troubleshooting by providing VM-level visibility, control, insight and agility. Tintri powers hundreds of thousands of virtual machines running business critical databases, enterprise apps, desktops and mobile apps, and private cloud deployments. Tintri helps global enterprises such as AMD, F5 Networks, GE, NEC, NTT, MillerCoors and Time Warner maximise their virtualisation and cloud investments. For more information, visit www.tintri.com and follow us on Twitter: @tintriinc.
Press Contact - UK: Kate Langley TouchdownPR Email Contact +44 (0) 1252 717 040 Press contact - US: Katie Halloran SHIFT Communications Email Contact +1 415 591 8459 Source: Tintri
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LAS VEGAS (KSNV) -A 60-year old Las Vegas landmark is officially switching names.
The Sahara was the second oldest hotelleft on what is now called the Las Vegas Strip.
The location was once a selling point, but the north end has been struggling in recent years.
Investors hope that a major overhaul of the casino will be completed by fall of 2014.
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By John McMullen, NFL Editor
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Carolina Panthers will close the preseason Thursday night in the Steel City against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Panthers still have plenty of questions that need to be answered after last week's 30-7 drubbing at the hands of New England.
"We want to try to get a good look at a number of players to help us make the right roster decisions," said Carolina head coach Ron Rivera. "At the same time, we need to find consistency that was lacking against New England."
The Panthers will also have to make those decisions without starting quarterback Cam Newton, who suffered a fractured rib against the Patriots.
Newton suffered the injury late in the second quarter when he scrambled and absorbed a hit from Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins. He remained in the game until the third quarter and finished 8-of-12 for 88 yards.
Joe Webb spoiled New England's shutout bid with a late TD pass.
Rivera remains optimistic that Newton, who also had offseason ankle surgery, will be able to play in the Sept. 7 opener at Tampa Bay.
The Steelers are also dealing with some issues after a 31-21 setback at Philadelphia.
Ben Roethlisberger played into the third quarter against the Eagles and finished the game 15- for-24 for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Steelers, who are 1-2 on the preseason.
A day after being pulled over for marijuana possession the Pittsburgh running back tandem of Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount played and combined for 16 carries and 55 yards, along with four catches for 17 yards.
The two ball carriers and a female friend were arrested after Ross Township Police smelled the scent of marijuana coming from a black Camaro that Bell was driving. The three jointly admitted to possessing the marijuana and Bell is facing charges of possessing and driving under the influence, while Blount has to deal with those same possession charges.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin ultimately decided against any suspension, passing potential punishment off to the league while leaning on the logic that missing a preseason game would be a "reward" to players like Bell and Blount, who aren't fighting for a roster spot.
The Steelers have been Carolina's most common preseason opponent. Pittsburgh leads the preseason series 10-5.
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Bras designed for girls growing up fast
By Rasha Elass
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As parents lament that children growup too quickly, lingerie companies are spotting an opportunityto market bras especially for younger girls.
Companies like Sara Lee Corp.
Indeed, some large department stores have started to traintheir employees that one of their responsibilities will involvebra fittings for "first timers."
"They're either so shy and embarrassed that they'd ratherbe anywhere but in (the intimate apparel) department, orthey're so proud and enthused about being a grown-up that theychoose something totally inappropriate," said Beverley Hinkson,national bra fitting specialist at JC Penney
Hinkson, who has been fitting customers with bras andtraining sales associates to do the same for the past eightyears, said first-time customers are coming in at increasinglyyounger ages.
"It's usually their mother's idea to come in for afitting," she added.
Indeed, some girls as young as 6 are starting to developbreasts, said Iris Prager, who has a Ph.D. in health educationand oversees the Web site sponsored by Procter & Gamble Co.
While the average age for menstruation has been stable at12, other signs of puberty, including breast development, areappearing much earlier, Prager explained, referring to a largeU.S. study of 17,000 girls.
The study, published in Pediatrics in 1997, found that theaverage age at which girls first develop breasts has declinedto a little over 9 for Caucasian girls, and a little over 8 forAfrican-American girls.
"Different factors, both genetic and environmental, controlpuberty," said Dr. Steven Dowshen, a specialist in pediatricendocrinology at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children inWilmington, Delaware, and chief medical editor ofKidsHealth.org, an online site for parents and their kids.
No one really knows why girls approach puberty at a youngerage today than what used to be the norm.
But theorists have come up with such disparate reasons asthe increasing incidence of obesity in children, an abundanceof hormone-laced food in the average American's diet and eventhe influence of mature sexual themes in movies and ontelevision.
Whatever the reason, the medical community agrees that, atthe very least, American girls today look more developed at ayounger age than they did a decade or so ago.
And they're shopping for bras.
Sara Lee Branded Apparel, one of the largest manufacturersof bras, started three years ago to respond to this new market.
"When we introduced 'Barely There' three years ago, weimmediately found it appealed to this whole category ofcustomers," said Joanne Kaye, director of merchandising at SaraLee. "This customer is very modest … and not ready to wearthe underwire."
To appeal to a young girl's fashion sense, Sara Lee makesthe bras in blue with yellow or pink and green with cranberry,Kaye said.
There is another dynamic driving the demand for bras bygirls today that wasn't as prevalent a generation ago: sports.
"In my daughter's school, they won't let you play without asports bra," Kaye said. "If you have an 8- or 9-year-old girlstarting to develop breast tissue, these bras also have a nicemodesty effect."
Then there are half sizes.
Kaye said this patented system is popular with developinggirls whose breasts may not conform to traditional sizing.
Maidenform — an iconic brand whose bra ads in the 1950sand '60s with slogans like "I dreamed I was a toreador in myMaidenform bra … " became part of American culture –introduced a version of its "One Fabulous Fit" bra for youngergirls in 2001.
But not all companies did so well with this demographic.
Abercrombie & Fitch
These included thongs decorated with phrases like "WinkWink" and "Eye Candy" that caused an uproar among parents andchild advocacy groups. The company withdrew its line.
But with a large selection of modest, functional andaffordable bras for young girls, even single fathers arecomfortable dropping their pre-teen daughters off at the malland letting them pick their own.
"We're prepared for the single dads," JC Penney's Hinksonsaid. "They bring their daughter and say, 'Please fit her witheight or nine bras and I'll be back in an hour to pay for it."'