Oncology data guides treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients

Oncology data guides treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Genomic sequencing has revealed therapeutic drug targets for difficult-to-treat, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to an unprecedented study by the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen) and US Oncology Research.

The study is published by the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and is currently available online.

By sequencing, or spelling out, the billions of letters contained in the genomes of 14 tumors from ethnically diverse metastatic TNBC patients, TGen and US Oncology Research investigators found recurring significant mutations and other changes in more than a dozen genes. In addition, the investigators identified mutations previously unseen in metastatic TNBC and took the sequencing data into account in selection of therapeutic protocols specific to each patient's genetic profile.

"This study stands as a one-of-a-kind effort that has already led to potentially beneficial clinical trials, and sets the stage for future investigations," said Dr. John Carpten, Ph.D., TGen's Deputy Director of Basic Science and Director of TGen's Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, and the study's senior author.

The most frequently mutated gene among the tumors (seven of 14) was the TP53 tumor suppressor, and aberrations were observed in additional tumor suppressor genes including CTNNA1, which was detected in two of six African American patients (who typically have more aggressive and treatment-resistant disease). Alterations were also seen in the ERBB4 gene, known to be involved in mammary-gland maturation during pregnancy and lactation, but not previously linked to metastatic TNBC.

The study included an "outlier analysis," which assessed expression patterns for each tumor when compared against the other tumors examined in the study. Specific cancer genes overexpressed among tumors in the study's cohort included: ALK, AR, ARAF, BRAF, FGFR2, GLI1, GLI2, HRAS, HSP90AA1, KRAS, MET, NOTCH2, NOTCH3, and SHH. Significantly underexpressed cancer genes included: BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, CTNNA1, DKK1, FBXW7, NF1, PTEN, and SFN.

Each tumor was genomically unique, but nine of the 14 contained alterations in one or both of two particular cellular pathways: RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/MTOR. Targeted therapeutic intervention aimed at these pathways achieved impressive responses in several cases.

"Importantly, the analysis provided insights into the potential unique therapeutic vulnerabilities of each cancer," said Dr. Joyce O'Shaughnessy, M.D., the study's other co-lead author. Dr. O'Shaughnessy is a practicing oncologist with Texas Oncology ? an affiliate of The US Oncology Network ? and is the Celebrating Women Chair of Breast Cancer Research at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center.

Metastatic TNBC is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer that disproportionately affects African-Americans. It is called triple-negative because tumors do not express the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor or HER-2, the biomarkers successfully targeted in most breast cancers.

Metastatic TNBC also has a poor prognosis once the cancer has spread to other organs, with a median survival rate among metastatic patients of only one year. While TNBC accounts for only about 15 percent of all breast cancers, its more aggressive biology makes it responsible for nearly one in four deaths related to this disease.

"The nature of this disease cries out for innovative research techniques such as whole genome sequencing coupled with new tools for data analysis," said Dr. David Craig, Ph.D., TGen's Deputy Director of Bioinformatics, and one of the study's co-lead authors.

"We are aware that these results are preliminary and based on a small series of patients," said Carpten. "However, our study will pave the way for new clinical trials and novel hypotheses for future testing in a very difficult to treat cancer."

Whole-genome sequencing of tumors and normal tissue was performed on Life Technologies Corporation's Applied Biosystems SOLiD? 4.0 platform, and results were validated in a CLIA-certified laboratory.

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The Translational Genomics Research Institute: http://www.tgen.org

Thanks to The Translational Genomics Research Institute for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125814/Oncology_data_guides_treatment_of_metastatic_triple_negative_breast_cancer_patients_

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Video: Gingrich: Hard to see how House GOP gets past Senate Dems

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/50136300#50136300

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Mounting evidence of US plans for military intervention against Syria

Home ? World News

By Chris Marsden
8 December 2012

Yesterday, Military.Com reported that 400 US and Dutch NATO troops were already ?massed on Turkey?s Syrian border?readying Patriot missiles three days after NATO agreed to deploy the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system in Turkey.?

This follows the announcement this week by Germany, which is supplying two of three missile systems to Turkey, along with one from the Netherlands, that it will dispatch 170 troops to Syria?s border.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle have both alleged that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad is actively considering the use of chemical weapons against its opponents, a move defined as a ?red line? by Washington. On Monday, President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons is ?totally unacceptable? and would have ?consequences.?

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad yesterday reiterated, ?Syria stresses again, for the 10th, the 100th time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against our people. We would not commit suicide.?

The unsubstantiated claims that Syria intends to do so are as transparent a pretext for an act of military aggression by the NATO powers as were the lies a decade ago about Iraqi ?weapons of mass destruction.? The US has made extensive preparations for an intervention that has nothing to do with the ?intelligence? it claims to possess regarding chemical weapons.

As previously reported by the World Socialist Web Site, Washington has deployed a naval armada off Syria?s coast spearheaded by the USS Eisenhower carrier strike group and including an amphibious battle group consisting of the USS Iwo Jima, the USS New York and the USS Gunston Hall, which carry a contingent of 2,500 US Marines.

This brings 17 warships, 70 fighter-bombers and 10,000 military personnel within striking distance of Syria, in addition to the Air Force?s 39th Air Base Wing, stationed at the Incirlik base in Turkey, and tens of thousands of US ground troops deployed in Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Germany?s troop dispatch to Turkey follows last month?s call by its Foreign Ministry for a ?rapid reactivation? of the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) on Egypt?s Rafah border, and for Egypt to receive EU help in equipping its border police, supposedly to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza.

The far more substantial US build-up is in line with plans drawn up by the Pentagon estimating that a full-scale military intervention against Syria would require 75,000 US troops. But another possible option was detailed by French magazine Le Point this week. It stated that there is already a planned mission for Syria involving France that would involve a relatively small number of Special Forces from a number of NATO countries, and which is modelled on the Western intervention in Libya. The intervention would combine an aerial blitz with ground action by Special Forces to destroy chemical weapons stocks and Syria?s air force and air defence systems.

The French report received confirmation Friday from DEBKAfile, which cited sources close to the French Defence Ministry of an imminent combined Western-Arab military intervention involving the US, France, Britain, Turkey, Jordan and other anti-Assad Arab states. DEBKAfile, which is close to Israeli military and intelligence sources, identified Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as being among these.

DEBKAfile noted that ?the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, carrying a complement of marines, is deployed in the Mediterranean, having joined the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and at least five British warships which are also carrying a large marine force.?

It continued: ?In the second and third weeks of November, British and French naval forces, plus 2,600 special ops combatants from both nations, performed landing-and-capture exercises against fortified locations on the coast and mountains of Albania as practice for potential operations against similar terrain in Syria, where the Alawite Mountains loom over the coastal towns of Latakia and Tartus.?

Also yesterday, Le Figaro reported that French military advisers have met with Syrian opposition fighters inside the country in order to identify possible recipients for weapons supplies. French agents held face-to-face talks with a Free Syrian Army leader ?in the area between Damascus and Lebanon,? it quoted an unnamed leader of the Syrian opposition saying. They wanted to determine the ?operational capacity of each group? and their ?political colours,? he said. US and British agents had also held meetings, the source added.

An unnamed French military source confirmed the meetings had taken place.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is playing a pivotal role in urging a military response. Speaking in Belfast yesterday, she urged a ?concerted push? to halt the Syrian conflict, but added that there had been no ?great breakthrough? during talks in Dublin on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The meeting with Lavrov and United Nations-Arab League special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi was the latest attempt to persuade Moscow to ditch its oldest ally in the Middle East, which allows it to operate a military base at Tartus. Speculation was rife as to how to interpret the statements made by Lavrov accepting Turkey?s right to self-defence. But he also insisted that ?Syria is not Libya?, hoped ?there will be no foreign interference? and urged negotiations.

Russia?s ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, criticized the deployment of US-made Patriot missiles on the Turkey-Syria border as proof that NATO ?is getting involved in the conflict after all? on the pretext of ?provocations or some incidents on the [Turkey-Syria] border.?

Yesterday, Turkish government sources confirmed that Turkey and Russia have agreed to work on a plan for ?political change? in Syria. However, a Turkish source said that there was not agreement on what to do next as ?Russia insists on a Syrian-owned process.?

Whether or not Russia abandons Assad, the situation is moving towards NATO intervention?most probably in support of Turkey and/or an Arab proxy force. Clinton is to travel to Marrakesh, Morocco next week for a meeting of the Friends of Syria group that will be attended by the newly formed Syrian National Coalition. ?Now that there is a new opposition formed, we are going to be doing what we can to support that opposition,? Clinton told reporters in Brussels.

The destabilisation of Syria is aimed at isolating Iran and securing US hegemony over the oil-rich region. But such plans bring Washington into a yet more dangerous conflict with Russia and also China. Prior to meeting with Lavrov Thursday, Clinton told reporters that the US is determined to prevent Russia from recreating a new version of the Soviet Union in Central Asia and Eastern Europe using the ?ruse? of economic integration.

?There is a move to re-Sovietise the region,? she said. ?It?s not going to be called that. It?s going to be called a customs union, it will be called Eurasian Union and all of that. But let?s make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it.?

Source: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/dec2012/syri-d08.shtml

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No. 1 Indiana loses Etherington for season

(AP) ? No. 1 Indiana has lost sophomore forward Austin Etherington for the rest of the season because of a fractured left kneecap.

Etherington was hurt late in the first half of Saturday night's 100-69 victory over Central Connecticut State. After being called for a foul on the play, he stayed on the ground and was surrounded by teammates and coaches. He was lifted onto a stretcher and pointed to the crowd as he was wheeled off the court.

On Sunday, the team said Etherington had season-ending surgery.

Etherington's playing time had steadily increased as the Hoosiers (9-0) moved through the nonconference schedule.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-09-T25-Indiana-Injury/id-53ace19fc8364a3aa374d8e6b2d5d15c

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Greener storage for green energy

Green energy production is growing every day ? but a major problem with wind and solar power is storing it for later use. To help address this problem, a team of Harvard engineers and chemists are developing a new type of battery. Read more in the Science Daily article below?

Researchers at Harvard will receive an ARPA-E grant to develop commercially practical flow batteries to store solar and wind power. (Photo courtesy of Michael Aziz)

Renewable energy solutions like wind and solar operate on nature?s timetable. When the sun blazes or when the breeze blows, power is plentiful ? but not necessarily at the moments when consumers need it, like on a hot, calm summer night.

Storing energy from these intermittent sources has aroused interest, yet practical economics and basic chemistry have limited the wider use of green energy. Storage, to be viable, cannot add much to the price of renewable electricity without making it unacceptably expensive. Fossil fuels remain the world?s chief energy source due to their relatively low cost.

To give renewals a fighting chance, a team led by engineers and chemists at Harvard University will use a one-year, $600,000 innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Energy?s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program to develop a new type of storage battery. The grant may be subject to renewal beyond a year, depending on performance. The award is part of a $130-million funding effort by ARPA-E through its ?OPEN 2012? program, designed to support innovative energy technologies.

Called a flow battery, the technology offers the prospect of cost-effective, grid-scale electrical energy storage based on eco-friendly small organic molecules. Because practical implementation is a core driver for the program, the researchers are collaborating with Sustainable Innovations, LLC, a commercial electrochemical system developer.

?Storage of very large amounts of energy is required if we are to generate a major portion of our electricity from intermittent renewable sources such as wind turbines and photovoltaics,? says lead investigator Michael Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). ?Currently no cost-effective solution exists to this large-scale storage problem. Flow batteries may make stationary storage viable in the marketplace, and that will enable wind and solar to displace a lot more fossil fuel.?

A type of highly rechargable fuel cell, flow batteries are suitable for storing large amounts of electrical energy in the form of liquid chemicals, which are flowed past the electrochemical conversion hardware and stored externally in inexpensive tanks that can be arbitrarily large. This permits the designer to independently size the electrochemical conversion hardware (which sets the peak power capacity) and the chemical storage tanks (which set the energy capacity).

By contrast, in solid-electrode batteries, such as those commonly found in cars and mobile devices, the power conversion hardware and energy capacity are packaged together in one unit, and cannot be decoupled. Consequently they can maintain peak discharge power for less than an hour before being drained. Studies indicate that 1 to 2 days (the cycle of day/night) are required for rendering renewables like wind and solar dispatchable through the current electrical grid.

To store 50 hours of energy from a 1-megawatt wind turbine (50 megawatt-hours), for example, a possible solution would be to buy solid-electrode batteries with 50 megawatt-hours of energy storage. The effective result, paying for 50 megawatts of power capacity when only 1 megawatt is necessary, however, makes little economic sense.

?Not only are existing solid-state batteries impractical for storing intermittent wind and solar energy, but flow batteries currently under development have their own set of limitations,? says Aziz. ?The chemicals used for storage in flow batteries can be expensive or difficult to maintain.?

For example, vanadium redox flow batteries ? the type of chemistry receiving the most attention ? have limited commercial head room because the high price of vanadium sets a floor on the cost per kilowatt-hour of storage. Sodium-sulfur batteries operate with their components in a molten state, requiring the tanks to be kept at very high temperatures in hot houses. Both cost and complexity limit their use.

Aziz believes that using a particular class of small organic molecules may be the key. These molecules, which his team has already been working on, are found in plants and can be synthesized artificially for very low cost. They are also non-toxic and can be stored at room temperature. Furthermore, they cycle very efficiently between the chemical states needed for energy storage.

As an expert in materials science and a developer of high-performance flow cells, Aziz will focus his efforts on molecular and electrode electrochemistry and flow cell development. Joining him will be Roy Gordon, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science, who will be responsible for the chemical screening and synthesis of molecules and of practical electrocatalytic and protective coatings. Al?n Aspuru-Guzik, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, will use his pioneering high-throughput molecular screening methods to identify optimal molecules. Trent M. Molter, President and CEO of Sustainable Innovations, LLC, will provide expertise on implementing these innovations into commercial electrochemical systems.

?We think our particular approach could have advantages over other flow batteries, such as higher power density, high efficiency, inexpensive chemicals, and a safer type of energy storage,? says Aziz. ?The success of this program would render intermittent renewables like wind and photovoltaics dispatchable at will, and thereby permit them to supply a large fraction of our electricity needs.?

Aziz foresees using next-generation flow batteries for local energy storage, such as in the basement of a house or office outfitted with rooftop solar panels or, at a larger scale, directly integrated into wind and solar farms. The technology could even out-compete lead-acid batteries for solar energy storage in remote areas without access to a grid.

?While not eliminating fossil fuels, flow battery storage potentially eliminates a barrier to doing so within the existing energy system and market,? says Aziz. ?The best engineering and chemistry alone are not enough to solve our energy challenges. Compatibility with current infrastructure is almost always essential, and economic viability is always essential. Flow batteries may play a huge role in our transition off of fossil fuels and I am very excited that Harvard has the opportunity to develop a potential game-changer.?

Source: http://blogs.kxan.com/2012/12/08/greener-storage-for-green-energy/

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Mailbag: Texas QBs, BCS, WVU rivalry

Thanks for all the e-mails this week, everybody. It's been a fun season, and we'll obviously keep the blog rolling.

If you've got more to say, here's where you can reach me.

Also, don't forget to join our Big 12 Blog Readers Bowl Pick 'Em contest for your fabulous prize.

Let's get to your questions!

Kendall in Austin, Texas writes: What do you think about the option of looking into the JUCO route in order to try to find a QB for Texas? I feel Ash played well at times this year and should get another shot however if he chokes down the stretch again, a former JUCO QB wouldn't be a bad idea.

David Ubben: I really like the idea. There's nothing wrong with competition, and it needs to be in place if Ash doesn't develop into what Texas hopes he will next year. Tyrone Swoopes will be there, but there's no telling if he'll be ready to step in and play if Case McCoy isn't good enough, and I still maintain that Texas' offense is too limited in what it can do and what defenses have to respect when McCoy plays. An experienced guy with a big arm would be nice to have in the garage, too. Texas is being held back by its limitations at the position, and when its defense faltered this year, the margin of error was tiny, and Ash fell well short.


Jarrod Sawyer in Canyon, Texas writes: So this year was better than last for Texas but do you see Ash developing or do they just need to look for a new guy? Also I was wondering why the four game playoff was held off till 2014. I truly dislike the BCS, I know it will still be neccessary but still no fun. I would like to see DI take a page out of the DII book.

DU: No, I'm not selling on Ash at all. What we saw from him early in the season was flashes of a QB that's definitely good enough for Texas to win a Big 12 title, and maybe more. Ash regressed as the season went on, but I still think you can hang Texas' failures this season more surely on the backs of the defense. Ash wasn't great, but he got a lot better from last year to this year. I expect him to be even better next year, and in a year with a lot of turnover, he could easily ascend to become the Big 12's best quarterback. He'll need to be a lot better, but it's possible. The defense had no reason to drop off as much as it did between last year and this year. Losing Jordan Hicks hurt a lot, and hurt their chances to replace Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho, but there wasn't much Texas did well consistently all season, save an affinity to get in the backfield with some regularity on the defensive line.

As for the BCS, it can't change because the conferences signed an agreement through the 2013 season, so the remainder of the BCS contract must be played out before the playoff can kick in. Yes, I hate it too. It's just how business is done.


Daniel in Saginaw, Mich. writes: David,Can OU fans and media please stop blaming somebody for not getting to a BCS game? It is not the Big East or the B1G fault. Bob Stoops early in his career said, "No excuses." We played 12 games and we could have won 12 games, but we didn't. We won 10. If we want to go to a BCS game we have to at a minimum win the Big 12, outright. OU has only OU to blame. It is time to own up. P.S. I'm very excited OU is going to the Cotton Bowl. 1. I like Dallas more than Phoenix. 2. Playing in the best stadium in the WORLD! 3. Right in the middle of OU's recruiting footprint. 4. We'll be playing not only a long time foe, current SEC power, and also the only team that has beat Alabama to date. Keep up the great work on the blog!

DU: Daniel's looking on the bright side. In some ways, I'm with you here, Daniel. Oklahoma was only getting into the BCS because of the rule that prevents more than two teams from a conference from earning bids. It just got pushed out by another BCS rule that allows access for teams from non-AQ conferences.

Ultimately, I don't think it's a huge deal. The Fiesta Bowl thing is kind of overplayed, because OU would have been headed to the Sugar Bowl, so you're off on that point. Playing in a great stadium in nearby Dallas will be fun, but I actually think this might be a tougher matchup for the Sooners. Florida's resume is amazing. No arguments there. However, Oklahoma matched up much better with the Gators and had a better shot to win that game than they do beating A&M. Johnny Football, Heisman or not, is a tough matchup for the Sooners D.


Steve in Point Pleasant, W.Va. writes: Hey David in case you dont understand Morganotwn WV is very cold in the winter. WV has played games in the snow for years. So the Fla boys can handle the snow. WVU will win by 21. Thanks

DU: I got a ton of e-mails on this. Let me clarify. It's not like I think West Virginians can't handle the snow. For me, it's a matter of motivation. Most bowl games are in warm spots, and no doubt, the Florida guys would love to get back to Texas or San Diego for a week. Instead, they're up in NYC, where it's anything but warm. It should be a fun experience, but the weather won't be something they're looking forward to in that game. They already got enough cold when they got sent to Iowa State in late November.


Tony in Charleson, W.Va. writes: Just a trivial thought for the upcoming bowl game for WVU. With Syracuse being the opponent, this will give Darwin Cook a chance to tackle a second "orange" mascot.

DU: Fantastic. I hadn't even considered this option. I will consider this game a failure if Otto doesn't get "accidentally" taken out at some point. He's got plenty of padding. He'll be OK.


Josh in West Virginia writes: What do you think of Syracuse not putting the Schwartzwalder trophy on the line for the Pinstripe Bowl? I understand that there is already a trophy on the line for a crappy bowl that is three years old, but this trophy has been given to the winner of this rivalry since 1993. So its only 19 years old, but it represents a rivalry that goes back to 1945.

DU: Bush league stuff. I don't really understand it. The argument from Syracuse is so silly. Adding a second trophy would lessen the impact of the Steinbrenner Trophy and be some kind of disrespect to the bowl? That's silly. Also, it's the Pinstripe Bowl. It needs all the intrigue it can get. A second trophy adds to that, it doesn't take it away.

There's zero compelling reason to not put the Schwartzwalder Trophy up for grabs, and this same sentiment goes for any future Big 12 games against ex-Big 12 foes in bowl games or in any other scenario.


Bill in Orange County, Calif. writes: Care to speculate on Northern Illinois' record if they played in the Big 12?

DU: 6-6.

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/73639/mailbag-texas-qbs-bcs-wvu-rivalry

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The Connected Car | jacoBLOG

Thanks to Arbitron, I was honored to do a joint presentation at their Client Conference yesterday devoted to ?the digital dash.?? Valerie Shuman was a ?great get? for this session?(credit due to Dr.?Ed Cohen who envisioned this session).? She?s the VP of Industry Programs for the Connected Vehicle Trade Association and had some great insights about this rapidly growing and changing space.

Why was this even a topic?

As Valerie pointed out, the average age of a car in the U.S. is now 11 years old ? and that means that in the next year or so, many Americans will be in the market for a new vehicle.? And many of these consumers will purchase one that is equipped with a system like Ford?s SYNC and Toyota?s Entune.

This is significant because as we learned in Techsurvey8, a majority of our 57,300 respondents say the lion?s share of the broadcast radio listening takes place behind the wheel.? We also learned that half our sample is already able to connect a smartphone to their cars (yup, that AUX IN jack).

This means new options, connectivity, and a different experience than those pushbuttons that we?ve all grown to know and love.

I played a series of videos shot at CES and also SAE?s Convergence show this fall in Detroit.? I?ve been waiting nearly a year to show them to broadcasters, and I was thrilled about the reception they received at the conference.

Radio needs to understand what the automakers ? and aftermarket companies ? are thinking, and how it will impact the?listening experience ? or should I say ? the audio consumption experience.

Here?s a clip from a demo of Cadillac?s CUE, where you?ll?see and hear?the story behind the platform as well as a demo of how the system works.

>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH CADILLAC CUE DEMO<

So what can the average radio programmer, manager, or owner do about the oncoming connected car revolution?

  1. You need a mobile strategy.? This is a shopworn topic in this blog, but the smartphone is the center of the universe for these systems.? Making your station?s brand available on the key platforms is table stakes.
  2. Keep your content fresh and local.? What do the car guys know?? More than you think.? To a person, each one looks at AM/FM radio as local radio ? the programming that?broadcasters?create that no other audio entertainment outlet can.
  3. Rethink HD Radio. When you talk to the engineers, designers, and marketers at the big auto brands, they often talk about HD Radio integration as essential to providing a seamless experience for consumers ? amidst the offering of Sirius/XM, Pandora, and iPods.? I know this may sound counter-intuitive to many of you who hate on HD Radio, but if you listen to these automotive designers and engineers, you will hear a different story.
  4. Get close to your local car dealers. They are radio?s bread and butter.? As Valerie told the crowd at the Arbitron Client Conference, consumers are walking into dealerships and asking about the digital dash infotainment systems ? not air bags, braking systems, or convertible tops.? It is essential your local car dealership owners hear about the value of radio, and experience how it works to fill their showrooms.
  5. Take a test drive. If you don?t own a vehicle with one of these systems, you need to get behind the wheel and experience it for yourself.? Drive one, rent one, and experience a dashboard unlike any you?ve ever seen before. This is where your audience is headed, and understanding the new customer experience is as essential as understanding PPM ? if not more so.

Jacobs Media will continue to be at the forefront of this revolution.? Our commitment to mobile as researchers, consultants ? and of course app development ? is our ?center stack.?? We will be back at CES next month, as will a growing number of broadcasters who are beginning to understand that the consumer electronics and automotive industries are integral to radio?s future.

Drive on.

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Tags: Automotive, Business, Management, Marketing, Mobile, Radio, Sales

Source: http://jacobsmediablog.com/2012/12/07/the-connected-car/

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Netflix 1080p streams no longer called X-High, company credits improved encodes

Netflix 1080p streams no longer called XHigh, company credits improved encodes

While Netflix Watch Instantly movie streams are mostly useful for casual viewing, if you're interested in the actual quality of the video provided you may have noticed a few changes recently. Chronicled in a thread on AVS Forum and reported to us by several tipsters, more than a few users have noticed their streams on 1080p-capable hardware (PlayStation 3, WDTV Live) no longer rock the "X-High" notification (on PS3, hit select to view more information bout your streaming details) that had previously let them know they were getting the highest quality possible. We checked with Netflix, and according to the company, it's rolling out better encoding that improves picture quality despite using a lower bitrate. That means 1080p works even for people with slower connections, and increases detail on "textures, shadows, skies, and particularly faces." As a result, what was previously called "X-High HD" is now being labeled a tier lower.

While it wasn't mentioned specifically, some are theorizing the move is tied into Netflix's use of eyeIO's video encoding tech, which it announced earlier this year, to shrink the size of streams. eyeIO claims it can chop bandwidth by more than half for a 720p stream, something we're sure a company that's pushing as much data as Netflix would appreciate. Still, some viewers in the thread are claiming a noticeably softer picture as a result. Check after the break for the statement from Netflix, then take some time for "research" and let us know if you're noticing any changes in picture quality lately.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Netflix 1080p streams no longer called X-High, company credits improved encodes

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Source: AVS Forum, Tech of the Hub

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/08/netflix-1080p-streams-no-longer-called-x-high-company-credits-i/

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