Embryology

Viral vectors travel longer distances than previously thought – Phys.org – Phys.Org

June 16, 2017 Where viral vectors "travel" and which types of neural cells they infect, can be visualized by fluorescent Proteins being transmitted. Credit: Kirsti Witter/Vetmeduni Vienna

Gene transfer is seen as a hopeful therapy for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. The approach involves using harmless laboratory-produced viruses to introduce important genes into the brain cells. In a study on mice, a team of researchers from Vetmeduni Vienna for the first time investigated how far these viruses spread in the brain and which cells they infect. Some of the artificial viruses travelled from the injection site in the brain as far as the olfactory bulb or the cerebellum and infected not only neurons but also other cells. The results, which were published in the journal Histochemistry and Cell Biology, could help to improve the selection of suitable viral "gene transporters" for custom therapies using gene transfer.

Purposefully infecting brain cells with viruses may seem somewhat odd. But for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, this type of therapy could be a glimmer of hope. The viruses used in this approach do not trigger any disease themselves. They serve as harmless transporters for genes specifically intended to treat these disorders. The therapy, called gene transfer, uses the ability of viruses to insert their genes into the genome of a host cell. This method could therefore be used to purposefully introduce helpful genetic information into neurons.

Viral vectors don't stay put

Viruses suitable for gene transfer are injected into the brain. Previously, however, there had been no studies of how far the viral transporters can spread from the injection site. Earlier studies had usually only investigated the immediate area around the injection canal. A new study with mice has now shown for the first time that some of the tested viruses can travel long distances into different areas of the brain. "In our study, we injected the viral vectors into key areas of the cerebrum responsible, among other things, for the coordinationof body movement ," explains Kirsti Witter from the Institute for Anatomy, Histology and Embryology at Vetmeduni Vienna. From there, some of the viruses spread into distant areas such as the cerebellum or the olfactory bulb.

"This information is important because, depending on the type of neurodegenerative disease, it may be desirable to have as broad a distribution of the virus as possible or to infect a specific, strictly delimited area," says first author Juraj Hlavaty. "This study also shows that all tested viruses can infect the neurons and the surrounding glial cells as expected. Depending on the type of virus, however, there were differences in the number and ratio of the infected cell types."

Inflammation could influence which brain cells are infected

Depending on the virus strain used, the injection triggered a mild or more pronounced reaction of the nerve tissue in the treated mice. The stronger the immune response, the more glial cells were infected. "The fact that individual viruses infected these cells better than the neurons must, however, still be confirmed in future experiments," says Hlavaty.

The results of the work, achieved in collaboration with the University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic, and the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, Langen, Germany, should contribute to improve the selection of viral transporters. "The goal is to create a toolbox of possible viruses in order to choose exactly the right transporter for the custom treatment of a neurodegenerative disease," says Witter.

Artificial copies of viruses as hopeful therapy

Copies of lentiviruses are especially well-suited for gene transfer therapy. "The genome of laboratory-produced lentiviruses consists only of areas that are necessary for the infection and incorporation into the genome. This represents a fundamental difference between these viruses and naturally occurring pathogenic viruses," explains Hlavaty. Through the ability of the artificial viruses to enter a host, the inserted human genes are introduced into the infected cells to assume the tasks that the patients' cells no longer perform themselves.

Explore further: Smallest-reported artificial virus could help advance gene therapy

More information: Juraj Hlavat et al. Tropism, intracerebral distribution, and transduction efficiency of HIV- and SIV-based lentiviral vectors after injection into the mouse brain: a qualitative and quantitative in vivo study, Histochemistry and Cell Biology (2017). DOI: 10.1007/s00418-017-1569-1

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Original post:
Viral vectors travel longer distances than previously thought - Phys.org - Phys.Org

Embryology

How research helped me get over my fear of having an IVF baby … – Stuff.co.nz

AMY KLEIN

Last updated14:37, June 16 2017

123RF

Articles, blogs and "mummy boards" do little to ease a woman's fears about going down the IVF route.

OPINION: When I first visited a fertility doctor because of pregnancy problems, I had no idea that the in vitro fertilisation, or IVF, he was suggesting to help me was actually the "test-tube baby" technique that I'd heard about, an approach that had sounded scary, like something out of science fiction.

After I educated myself and started treatment, the concerns continued: Would the hormone-stimulating drugs have adverse effects on me? What would the drugs do to the fetus?

And more important, would conceiving a child outside the womb (not actually in a test tube but in an embryology lab) have any long-term effects? Most important, would my child - if I would be lucky enough to give birth to one - be as physically and mentally healthy as naturally conceived children?

Articles and blogs fed into my worries - not to mention the online "mummy boards" at pregnancy and fertility websites where women trade rumours, innuendoes and fears, often based on nothing more than a friend's experience.

READ MORE: *Pregnant women may be having stranger's child in Dutch IVF clinic sperm mix-up *Woman whose IVF was paid for by George Michael wishes she got to thank him *Two babies within ten months after thinking it was impossible to have kids

Since the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in England in 1978, about 6.5 million children have been born worldwide with the help of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as IVF. So there is now enough information to address my concerns. Overall, those findings leave me pretty confident that the risks are pretty small and well worth taking if, like me, you want to have a baby but can't.

Although taking fertility medications drove me crazy - some hormones gave me nightmares, others kept me up at night, and the main ones made my mind race loopily - looking at studies allowed me to conclude that IVF probably has no long-term bad effects.

For instance, a 2013 study of 21,646 women in Australia concluded that "there is no evidence of an increased risk of ovarian cancer following IVF in women who give birth".

Another study of 9825 American women found no link between gonadotropins - the drugs I was taking to increase my egg production - and ovarian cancer for women who gave birth. There was one worrisome point: Both studies found an increased cancer risk for women with "resistant infertility" - eg.those who did not give birth - although the researchers did not know why.

A recent study in the journal JAMA of about 25,000 women who had fertility treatments between 1980 and 1995 found that those who had gone through IVF had no greater risk of getting breast cancer in the subsequent 21 years than those who used other techniques.

Whew. I went through nine rounds of IVF before I got pregnant, which means I took a lot of ovary-stimulating drugs, so these studies are reassuring.

"Numerous studies and opinions from [the American Society for Reproductive Medicine] confirm low risk for ovarian and breast cancer from the use of fertility drugs, regardless of the number of IVF cycles performed," said Jeffrey Braverman, founder and medical director at Braverman IVF & Reproductive Immunology in New York.

So how about risks to the baby? Would he or she be affected by her medically assisted conception?

Two studies have raised concerns.

A 2016 study in JAMA Pediatrics found increased risk for birth defects in babies conceived through ART. The study, which involved more than 4 million infants, found that "singleton infants conceived using ART were 40 per cent more likely to have a nonchromosomal birth defect (such as cleft lip and/or palate or a congenital heart defect) compared with all other singleton births."

The researchers acknowledged that the study "did not account for some factors related to infertility that might explain the observed increases in risk for birth defects." In other words, IVF may not have caused the defects. They recommended further research.

A comprehensive review of a group of other studies suggested that the risk for developmental disabilities was greater with ART - which, in addition to IVF, includes egg freezing and surrogacy - than with natural childbirth. The review examined studies of IVF and autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and sensory impairment, among others, and found conflicting information, no correlation or that the disabilities could have been caused by other factors such as preterm birth.

And a study published in March found an increased risk of neoplasms - tumours that can be benign or malignant - in children born through ART.

But I focused on a study that followed children conceived with ART into their teenage years. It offers a much more reassuring view. The study, published in January, compared 253 16- and 17-year-olds who were conceived with fertility treatments to a cohort of teenagers conceived naturally and found that "no differences were detected in general and mental health of ART adolescents or cognitive ability, compared with the reference group".

The researchers, who said this was the first long-term study of such children, concluded that their "preliminary results provide reassurance that in the long run, health and functioning of ART-conceived adolescents is not compromised".

One of the researchers on the study, Mark Weiser, a psychiatry professor at Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine, said in an interview that the findings should be a relief to parents who used IVF and other assisted reproductive technology.

"We show there is nothing wrong with these kids" when compared with children born naturally. "This is a very positive message to parents who are not able to get pregnant on their own. If you look down the line, the kids are perfectly normal."

As for me: After an uneventful pregnancy, my daughter was born full term nearly two years ago at a healthy six pounds, six ounces, with all her fingers and toes and brown hair that would soon turn to curls. She is a delightful, chatty, feisty toddler. Every parent worries about their child, and I know that I will be no different. But for now it seems clear to me that the risks of having used IVF were minimal - and the reward huge.

-The Washington Post

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How research helped me get over my fear of having an IVF baby ... - Stuff.co.nz

Embryology

Greater Manchester community champions celebrated in Queen’s Birthday Honours – Manchester Evening News

A boxer-turned-firefighter and Oldham-born actress Sarah Lancashire have been recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours.

Greater Manchesters police officers and community champions have also been celebrated, as well as trailblazers in research, education, local government and grassroots sport.

Firefighter Nigel Travis, 44, came up with the knockout idea to convert an unused storage unit in Moss Side fire station yard into a boxing den for youngsters in the area.

The project has flourished since it was set up by the former boxer and two fire service colleagues in 2010.

Nigel and his pals aim to show how the discipline of boxing can have a positive impact on young peoples lives.

Nigel, from Worsley, is awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to boxing and the community.

Im just a boxing coach, said Nigel.

At first I wasnt going to accept it. I felt a bit embarrassed, as Im just doing something that I love.

The dad-of-two said one of his proudest achievements had been in training Connor Tudsbury, who became a national champion.

He turned his life around with boxing, he added.

Oldham-born actress Sarah Lancashire, 52, star of Yorkshire crime drama Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, is made an OBE for her services to drama.

GMP Chf Supt John OHare has been recognised for managing many of the major events held across Greater Manchester, awarded the Queens Police Medal.

He has responsibility for policing football matches and has performed the role of European Commander since 2005 working with Manchester United and Manchester City.

John also has responsibility for security around political party conferences.

In his early career John was the youngest police diver in the country. He also led the high-profile multi-agency response to the Boxing Day floods in 2015.

He said: It is really humbling and I can only justify the nomination by accepting the award on behalf of the fantastic police officers, police staff, key partners and community activists who have supported me over the last 30 years.

A long-serving care home worker has been recognised for services to the disabled in the Queens Birthday Honours.

Daniel Savage, 58, has worked at Brookvale Care Home in Prestwich, Bury, for 20 years and been the chairman there for a decade.

He said he was delighted to receive the British Empire Medal for Services to Disabled People.

My role is to ensure the buildings and are members are being looked after, he said.

The award has been a surprise and in my mind a token of thanks for both the management teams I work with, who have allowed me to serve the community.

The 58-year-old, who works for a computer hardware supplier, is also president of Manchester Reform Synagogue on Jacksons Row in Manchester.

Mr Savage works with 500 Jewish families over Greater Manchester, keeping people together and ensuring elderly members have access to social events.

He said he has recently been working on Gary Nevilles development project which will see the Jacksons Row building demolished for development: Ive spent over ten years working on that project.

Hopefully we would like to think we will break ground next year. This will give the synagogue a new lease of life. It will continue to be the only synagogue in Manchester.

This work over the last 20 years is something Ive been able to give my time to and is something I enjoy, he said.

A superhead who has helped turn around a number of struggling Greater Manchester primary schools has been recognised for services to education.

Simon Bramwell, headteacher of 25 years and leader of 10 primary schools in Manchester, Salford and Bolton, is awarded an OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours.

Mr Bramwell, chief executive of SS Simon and Jude Academy Trust in Great Lever, is credited with helping a number of schools in difficulties quickly improve.

The 57-year-old said: Im really grateful to have been nominated for this honour.

I hope it is seen as a reflection of the dedication and commitment of the large team of dedicated professionals who have helped to improve life chances for young people across the region.

It is an absolute privilege to have done, and continue to do, the job I love. To receive recognition in this way is hugely rewarding and affirming both to myself and other colleagues who work with the same purpose.

I could not have done the work I have without the support and understanding of my family and I know that they too are, as I am, very proud to accept this award.

The policeman killed after confronting the Westminster attacker outside Parliament, Julie Walters and David Walliams are among those honoured by the Queen.

Her Birthday Honours list is described as the most diverse yet, with names ranging from Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland, turning 101 next month the oldest woman to become a dame, to Ed Sheeran and Judy Murray.

Meanwhile comedian Billy Connolly was given a knighthood and Julie Walters made a Dame.

Yorkshire-born founder of Iceland supermarket Malcolm Walker is knighted for services to retailing, entrepreneurship and charity, while brothers Brian and Alan Stannah, of family-run stairlift company Stannah Lifts, are given MBEs for services to British manufacturing.

In a break with tradition, the Queens Civilian Gallantry List has been released at the same time as the monarchs birthday honours.

PC Keith Palmer, who was sadly stabbed to death by attacker Khalid Masood in March on the forecourt of the Palace of Westminister, is to be posthumously awarded the George Medal for confronting an armed terrorist to protect others and Parliament.

Briton Dominic Troulan, an ex-soldier who was working as a civilian in Kenya when terrorists attacked a shopping mall in 2013, is awarded the George Cross for saving lives during the massacre.

Bernard Kenny, who was stabbed in the abdomen as he tried to stop neo-Nazi Thomas Mair attacking Mrs Cox outside her constituency surgery in Yorkshire, receives the George Medal one year on from the murder.

Two West Yorkshire Police officers, Pc Craig Nicholls and Pc Jonathan Wright, who arrested Mair are awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal.

There are a total of 1,109 people on the Queens Birthday Honours list, of whom 438 are awarded an MBE, 221 an OBE and 303 a BEM.

ORDER OF THE BATH

COMPANION - CB

Janice Lindsay Hartley, from Bowdon. Implementation and Delivery director, Universal Credit, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to the Development of Universal Credit.

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE

CBE

Sally Kaye Cheshire, Stockport. Chair, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Chair, Health Education England (North). For services to the NHS and Infertility Patients.

OBE

MBE

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL - BEM

QUEENS POLICE MEDAL - QPM

Excerpt from:
Greater Manchester community champions celebrated in Queen's Birthday Honours - Manchester Evening News

Anatomy

What’s New On Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, And HBO This Weekend: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Star Trek Beyond’, ‘The … – Decider

Where to Stream

Strap in, cord-cutters, because your weekend is about to be jam-packed with the highest quality content you can get your hands on.Platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, Starz,Sundance Now, and more are delivering more than your moneys worth on all fronts, and between original content and hit television series, the summer streaming selections just keep raising the bar every week.

Netflix has the biggest bingers covered with the latest series of Shonda Rhimes series likeScandalandGreys Anatomydropping this weekend, as well as the ridiculously hilarious original specialOh, Hello On Broadway. Hulu and Amazon Prime Video are following suit with a handful of hit TV series and blockbusters, and HBO has your laughs covered with comedy specialT.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous. Laughs, thrills, and terrifying scares are in the queue for this weekend, so what are you waiting for? You could be spending this time tackling these top-notch titles!

ShondaLand lovers, rejoice the latest seasons of bothGreys AnatomyandScandaldrop on the platform on Saturday, and theyre better than ever. The thirteenth season of the wildly successful medical drama continues to follow our group of staff as they navigate the complicated waters of the hospital and their own personal traumas. With the departure of a major character impending once again (IS ANYONE SAFE?!), the stakes are higher than ever as this ongoing saga continues its reign.

[StreamGreys Anatomy: Season 13 on Netflix June 17]

The latest installment of the Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto iteration of the franchise does not disappoint as the USS Enterprises crew once again explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space and suddenly find themselves face-to-face with an unexpected, unstoppable enemy. Action-packed, suspenseful, and unexpectedly funny (largely in part to the delightfulSimon Pegg), this Justin Lin-helmed sequel will bring you just as much joy and excitement as the first two flicks and make you remember the gone-to-soon Anton Yelchin fondly.

[StreamStar Trek Beyondon Hulu and Prime Video June 17]

This 1970s-set follow-up to horror hitThe Conjuringonce again depicts the paranormal investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they take on their most hair-raising case yet. The Warrens travel across the pond to aid a single mother raising four children as she copes with an evil spirit infestation, and obviously, total terror ensues. This eerie thrill-ride is a rare example of a quality horror sequel, and you should bump it up to the top of your queue.

[StreamThe Conjuring 2on HBO June 17]

Aquarius: Season 2 (2016) Counterpunch*Netflix Original El Chapo: Season 1 (2017) Marco Luque: Tamo Junto*Netflix Original Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 4 (2016) Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance (2015) Oh, Hello On Broadway*Netflix Original Special Quantico: Season 2 (2016) The Ranch: Part 3 *Netflix Original World of Winx: Season 2 *Netflix Original

Greys Anatomy: Season 13 Scandal: Season 6 (2016) The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)

Shooter: Season 1 (2016)

American Ninja Warrior: Season 9 Premiere (NBC) Asmodexia (2014) Bayou Maharajah (2013) Cardinal: Complete Season 1 (eOne) Cocaine Cowboys (2006) Control Room (2004) Family Mission: The TJ Labraico Story (2016) The Girls in the Band (2011) The Hunting of the President (2004) Outatime (2016) Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)

Kundo (2014) Star Trek Beyond(2016)

Grand Piano (2013)

Star Trek Beyond (2016) Suits: Season 6

Entre nos, Part 1 (2017) Krampus Psi:Season 3

The Conjuring 2 T.J. Miller: Meticulously Ridiculous

Backstreet Boys: Show em What Youre Made Of (2015) Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) Breakin All the Rules (2004) Flaming Star (1960) The Good Shepherd (2006) The Hitcher (2007) The Invisible Woman (2013) The Marine (2006) Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) The People Under the Stairs (1991) Sydney White (2007) Town & Country (2001)

Inferno (2016)

American Gods(2017) SEASON FINALE Episode 108

An Englishman in New York(2009) Latter Days (2003) Out In The Dark (2012) Sand Dollars (2014) Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (2015)

Among the Living I Want You Inside Me (2016) The Puppet Man (2016) The Treatment (2014)

800 Words: Series 2, Part 2, Episodes 5-6 Count Arthur Strong: Series 3, Episode 4 Danger UXBThe Heart Guy, Series 1, Episodes 3-4

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What's New On Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, And HBO This Weekend: 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Star Trek Beyond', 'The ... - Decider

Anatomy

The Anatomy of Jedd Gyorko’s streaky 2017 – Viva El Birdos

Jedd Gyorko has had a weird season so far. If you read this blog often, youre probably a Cardinals fan, which means youre well aware of that. If not, this graph says it all:

This is a rolling 15-game average of Jedds wRC+ throughout his career, provided by the goodnfolks at Fangraphs.com. wRC+ aggregates all of a hitters contributions at the plate into and spits out a park and league adjusted single number to describe how good or bad a hitter was overall.

Jedd started out the year red hot, and just kept hitting better and better. This eventually culminated in holding a 184 wRC+ for the season on May 6th, 86 plate appearances into the season. That means he was 84% better than league average at the plate over that time frame. If he could have somehow kept that up the whole year, it likely would have resulted in an MVP award. Since then its been all downhill, recording a 76 wRC+ in the next 132 plate appearances. That means hes been 24% worse than league average since that point.

Thats averages out to a 118 wRC+ going into Fridays contest, which is solidly above-average. If he can hold that the rest of the year, it would represent a career high for him, so that sounds great. There is worry among fans though, that hes in a bit of a free fall. Some think hes getting exposed in a full-time role. Lets see what the numbers say.

First off, lets look at Gyorkos strike out and walk numbers throughout the year.

Pitchers mostly have control over strikeouts and walks. They can influence contact quality, but to nowhere near the same level, and its hard to be sure without a really large sample. If pitchers figured something out, youd expect to see it in Gyorkos strikeouts or walks. That doesnt seem to be the case though. Continuing with May 6th as the arbitrary dividing line, heres his K% and BB%:

Nearly identical in walks and strikeouts. Non-contact wOBA is also shown, and that did change. Non-contact wOBA is the non-contact portion of wOBA, which is strikeouts, unintentional walks, and hit-by-pitches. For context, league average is .200. Gyorko is below average over both stretches, but he was .017 points worse over his slump period. However, thats actually only because Gyorko was hit by a pitch during his hot streak, but wasnt during his slump.

So no, Gyorkos struggles havent come in non-contact situations. His slump is due entirely to worse results on-contact. Lets look at a 15-game rolling average of his BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) and ISO (isolated slugging, or slugging percentage minus batting average, to get a measure of extra base hit ability):

Both peaked around the same time that his wRC+ did, and have plummeted since. The BABIP was always going to regress. No one in the history of the game has a true BABIP ability of .400, let alone .500. And if they could, it wouldnt be someone like Jedd, who is slower than average and tries to hit as many fly balls as he can, which have the worst chance of being an in-play hit.

Thats OK, because hitting for power can make up for that, and thats the game Gyorko plays. The ISO has plummeted as well though. On its own, that doesnt spell doom. While its not as noisy as BABIP, ISO varies a lot over the course of a season. Baseball is a game of inches, and the difference between a homer and a fly out to the warning track is just fractions of an inch in terms of where the ball makes contact with the bat.

So lets dig into Gyorkos contact quality. Heres his radial chart for the 2017 season, provided by the statcast data hosted at BaseballSavant.com.

If you havent seen this image before, the protractor-shaped image above is used to represent any batted ball by Exit Velocity and Launch Angle. The six shaded regions represent the six qualities of contact, and each dot represents one of Gyorkos batted balls in 2017. If thats confusing to you, dont worry, I was too at first. Check out this post for a full breakdown of the six types of contact quality.

While this is a great visual, it lacks context. We want to know how Gyorkos quality compares to league average, and it would also be nice to know how productive each category is. For this situation, it would also be helpful to see a split between what his hot streak looked like compared to his current slump. Heres what all that looks like:

When Gyorko was hot, he was hitting a well above average amount of barrels, the best type of batted ball. He was getting very little solid contact though, which is basically a border surrounding barrels. You have to wonder if that was the first part of the regression. When one player has a lot of barrels or solid contact, but not that much of the other, it seems likely that the two would be more even going forward. Despite barrels representing much more area on the radial chart than solid contact, theyre very comparable in terms of the average likelihood of one occurring.

Also notice the weak category, which is any batted ball under 60 MPH, regardless of angle. Those batted balls actually perform at an above-average rate, likely because the defense usually isnt positioned in preparation for batted balls under 60 MPH.

Regardless, its hard to believe its a good sign for a hitter. Like the connection between barrels and solid contact, it seems believable that if a hitter has a lot of weak contact, going forward some of that will turn into under or topped batted balls, which are the two below-average performing batted balls. That looks like the case with Gyorko, who saw a big reduction in weak contact, and a big increase in getting under the ball.

Next up, well look at Gyorkos xwOBA. xwOBA is also brought to you by BaseballSavant.com, and replaces the on-contact portion of wOBA with what it should have been, based on the average performance of each of the players batted balls. This doesnt take into account foot speed or how often a player is shifted against, but nevertheless Craig found that xwOBA was more predictive of future wOBA than wOBA itself. Heres how Gyorko grades out during both streaks:

During his hot streak, Gyorko out-performed his contact quality by .060 points of wOBA. For context, thats the 32nd biggest negative difference of 317 players with at least 40 at bats over that time frame, just outside the top 10%. Still, .399 is an impressive xwOBA, 29th over that time frame, or among the top 9% of the league. Gyorkos hot streak wasnt just luck, he was also just plain tearing the cover off the ball.

On the flip side, his cold streak was entirely earned, with the wOBA matching the xwOBA. What does this mean? Again, it doesnt have to mean anything. Baseball is a game of inches, and hitting is one of the most obvious examples of that fact. Lets push forward though, and see if pitchers are attacking Gyorko any differently. First off, well look at a heatmap of where Gyorko has been pitched in 2017, provided by Baseball Savant. On the left is the hot streak, on the right is the cold streak:

The differences are very minor. Generally, Gyorko is pitched a little bit to the outside portion of the plate, but with the highest density middle-middle. That was the case during both his hot and cold streaks. But thats just part of the equation. What about pitch selection? Are pitchers throwing him a different mix of pitches? Heres a pie chart by pitch type during the hot streak, again courtesy of Baseball Savant:

And heres the same thing, but for his slump:

Again, strikingly familiar. Jedds Zone% is also almost the same over this stretch as well, so pitchers arent avoiding the zone more often.

Jedd is walking and striking out at the same pace. If he wasnt, it would be a good sign that either something was wrong or pitchers were successfully adjusting to him. While theres a .160 point difference between his wOBA in both time frames, xwOBA brings it down to a .100 difference. Thats still very significant, but at the same time, hes getting pitched virtually the same way. All that appears to be going on here is a great example of the contrast between a hitter being as locked in as he can be (and have some things goes his way) vs. something being a little off.

Its always fun to find something more concrete, but the season is just full of ups and downs is a valid answer in baseball. Hitters talk about this all the time. Sometimes the ball looks like a beach ball, other times a marble. Its just part of the game. Going forward, hell almost certainly be somewhere in-between. Baseball is a game of streaks. Lets hope Jedd is about done with this one.

Read more here:
The Anatomy of Jedd Gyorko's streaky 2017 - Viva El Birdos

Immunology

Global Immunology Drugs Market to 2022 – Increasing …

Global Immunology Drugs Market to 2022 - Increasing Prevalence, Repositioning Opportunities and Strong Uptake of Interleukin Receptor Inhibitors to Drive Growth

Summary

Immunology is a therapy area characterized by disorders of the immune system, specifically an aberrant autoimmune response against healthy tissues in the body, leading to chronic or acute inflammation. Depending on the specific site affected, this can lead to various types of chronic pain and mobility loss, and have a negative impact on quality of life.

A number of therapies have been approved for immunological disorders, including the largely genericized disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) class of small molecule drugs. However, as these therapies often fail to elicit an adequate long-term response, a large second-line therapy segment has emerged in these markets, beginning with the approval of Remicade (infliximab) and Enbrel (etanercept) in 1998. There is currently no cure for immunological disorders due to the highly complex nature of the immune system and the fact that many components of the pathophysiological states of these diseases have roles in the healthy immune system.

Autoimmune disorders are currently incurable, and treatment is aimed at managing the disease, in order to reduce the severity of its symptoms and lower the risk of associated co-morbidities. Cytokines and their receptors, such as Tumor Necrosis Factor- and Interleukin-6 are the most effective and most common therapies used in immunology. This class of compounds has been the most commercially successful in the past decade, particularly in the RA market, with many clinical trials underway across various immunological indications. The market for immunological disorders is largely accounted for by premium products, with only a relatively small revenue share accounted for by generics and biosimilars.

Inflectra, a biosimilar of Remicade was recently approved by the FDA in 2016. However, the gradual uptake of biosimilars such as Inflectra is not expected to act as a strong growth driver for the biosimilar segment within the forecast period. This therefore means existing products such as Remicade are expected to maintain high revenues during the forecast period

Although there is a high degree of failure and uncertainty in R&D of immunological drugs, there are 2,054 drugs in active development in the immunology pipeline. In the long-term, this is expected to drive growth in this market in spite of the anticipated approval of biosimilars for key blockbuster drugs and resultant erosion of revenues. Cytokines and their receptors account for the largest single segment of each of the pipelines which make up the largest individual class.

The report focuses on four key indications within immunology: Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Psoriasis and Inflammatory bowel disease (The two major types of Inflammatory bowel disease covered in this report are Ulcerative colitis and Crohns disease). With no curative therapies available, symptomatic medications prescribed off-label are an important part of the treatment paradigm, especially in SLE, increasing the need for extensive R&D within this area.

Scope

- Global revenues for the immunology market are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.63%, from $57.7 billion in 2015 to $74.1 billion in 2022. - Which drugs will achieve blockbuster status and how will the key player companies perform during the forecast period? - The immunological disorders pipeline is large and diverse, and contains 2,054 products. How does the composition of the pipeline compare with that of the existing market? - What molecular targets and molecule types are most commonly being trialed in pipeline products in the key indications? - Which products will contribute to market growth most significantly, and which will achieve blockbuster status? - Will the current market leaders retain their dominance over the forecast period, and how is their revenue share of the immunology market set to change?

Reasons to buy

- Understand the current clinical and commercial landscape by considering disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis, and the treatment options available at each stage of diagnosis - Visualize the composition of the immunology market across each indication, in terms of dominant molecule types and targets, highlighting the key commercial assets and players - Analyze the immunological disorders pipeline and stratify by stage of development, molecule type and molecular target, with a granular breakdown across key indications - Understand the growth in patient epidemiology and market revenues for the immunology market, globally and across the key players and product types - Stratify the market in terms of the split between generic and premium products, and assess the role of these product types in the treatment of the various immunological disorders. - Identify commercial opportunities in the immunology deals landscape by analyzing trends in licensing and co-development deals

1 Table of Contents 1 Table of Contents 4 1.1 List of Tables 6 1.2 List of Figures 6 2 Introduction 9 2.1 Therapy Area Introduction 9 2.1.1 Rheumatoid Arthritis 9 2.1.2 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 10 2.1.3 Psoriasis 11 2.1.4 Inflammatory Bowel Disease 12 2.2 Symptoms 13 2.3 Etiology and Pathophysiology 15 2.3.1 Pathophysiology 17 2.4 Epidemiology 21 2.4.1 Rheumatoid Arthritis 22 2.4.2 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 23 2.4.3 Psoriasis 23 2.4.4 Inflammatory Bowel Disease 24 2.5 Co-morbidities and Complications 25 2.6 Treatment 26 2.6.1 Rheumatoid Arthritis 27 2.6.2 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus 30 2.6.3 Psoriasis 31 2.6.4 Inflammatory Bowel Disease 32 3 Key Marketed Products 34 3.1 Overview 34 3.2 Humira (adalimumab) 34 3.3 Enbrel (etanercept) 36 3.4 Remicade (infliximab) 38 3.5 Rituxan (rituximab) 40 3.6 Stelara (ustekinumab) 42 3.7 Simponi (golimumab) 43 3.8 Prograf (tacrolimus) 45 3.9 Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) 46 3.10 Entyvio (vedolizumab) 47 3.11 Cosentyx (Secukinumab) 49 4 Pipeline Landscape Assessment 51 4.1 Overview 51 4.2 Pipeline Development Landscape 51 4.3 Molecular Targets in the Pipeline 54 4.4 Clinical Trials 56 4.4.1 Failure Rate by Stage of Development, Indication, Molecule Type and Molecular Target 56 4.4.2 Clinical Trial Duration by Stage of Development, Indication, Molecule Type and Molecular Target 60 4.4.3 Clinical Trial Size 65 4.4.4 Aggregate Clinical Program Size 69 4.4.5 Assessment of Key Pipeline Products 72 4.5 Conclusion 80 5 Multi-scenario Market Forecast to 2022 81 5.1 Overall Market Size 81 5.2 Generic Penetration 83 5.3 Revenue Forecast by Molecular Target 84 5.3.1 Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha 84 5.3.2 Interleukin Receptor 86 5.3.3 B and T Lymphocyte Antigens 86 5.3.4 Janus Kinases 87 6 Company Analysis and Positioning 89 6.1 Revenue and Market Share Analysis by Company 90 6.1.1 AbbVie Will the Patent Expiration of Humira Cause a Loss in Market Size? 94 6.1.2 Pfizer Xeljanz to Overcome Enbrel Revenue Loss 95 6.1.3 Johnson & Johnson Steady Market Leader over Forecast Period 96 6.1.4 Amgen Will the Patent Expiration of Enbrel Have an Effect on Overall Immunology Revenue? 97 6.1.5 Roche Moderate Revenue Loss Expected due to Biosimilar Competition 98 6.1.6 Eli Lilly Approval of RA Drug to Drive Revenue 99 6.1.7 Bristol-Myers Squibb Will Biosimilar Competition Affect Orencia Revenue? 100 6.1.8 Celgene Otezla and Ozanimod Hydrochloride to Become Blockbuster Drugs 101 6.2 Company Landscape 103 6.3 Marketed and Pipeline Portfolio Analysis 103 7 Strategic Consolidations 106 7.1 Licensing Deals 106 7.1.1 Deals by Region, Year and Value 106 7.1.2 Deals by Stage of Development and Value 108 7.1.3 Deals by Molecule Type, Mechanism of Action and Value 109 7.1.4 Licensing Deals Valued over $100m 111 7.2 Co-development Deals 115 7.2.1 Deals by Region, Year and Value 116 7.2.2 Deals by Stage of Development and Value 117 7.2.3 Deals by Molecule Type, Mechanism of Action and Value 118 7.2.4 Co-development Deals Valued over $100m 120 8 Appendix 124 8.1 References 124 8.2 Table of All Clinical Stage Pipeline Products 132 8.3 Abbreviations 136 8.4 Disease List 137 8.5 Methodology 138 8.5.1 Coverage 138 8.5.2 Secondary Research 138 8.5.3 Market Size and Revenue Forecasts 138 8.5.4 Pipeline Analysis 139 8.5.5 Competitive Landscape 139 8.6 Contact Us 139 8.7 Disclaimer 140

1.1 List of Tables Table 1: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Symptoms of RA, SLE, Psoriasis and IBD 14 Table 2: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Etiology of RA, SLE, Psoriasis and IBD 16 Table 3: Immunology, Global, Epidemiology of Inflammatory Immunological Disorders, 2017 22 Table 4: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Humira, 2017 35 Table 5: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Enbrel, 2017 37 Table 6: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Remicade, 2017 39 Table 7: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Rituxan, 2017 41 Table 8: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Stelara, 2017 43 Table 9: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Simponi, 2017 44 Table 10: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Prograf, 2017 45 Table 11: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Cimzia, 2017 46 Table 12: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Entyvio, 2017 48 Table 13: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Approved Indications for Cosentyx, 2017 50 Table 14: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for Key Products ($m), 20152022 82 Table 15: Immunology, Global, Usage of Generics Across Key Indications, 2017 84 Table 16: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Forecast Revenues by Company, 20152022 91 Table 17: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Licensing Deals Valued over $100m, 20062016 111 Table 18: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Co-development Deals Valued over $100m, 20062017 120

1.2 List of Figures Figure 1: Immunology, Global, Epidemiology Patterns for Rheumatoid Arthritis (000), 20162023 22 Figure 2: Immunology, Global, Epidemiology Patterns for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (000), 20162023 23 Figure 3: Immunology, Global, Epidemiology Patterns for Psoriasis (000), 20162023 24 Figure 4: Immunology, Global, Epidemiology Patterns for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (000), 20162023 25 Figure 5: Immunology, Global, Key Marketed Products and Approved Indications, 2016 34 Figure 6: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Humira ($bn), 20062022 36 Figure 7: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Enbrel ($bn), 20062022 38 Figure 8: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Remicade ($bn), 20062022 40 Figure 9: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Enbrel ($bn), 20062022 42 Figure 10: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Stelara ($bn), 20062022 43 Figure 11: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Simponi ($bn), 20062022 44 Figure 12: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Prograf ($bn), 20062022 46 Figure 13: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Cimzia ($bn), 20062022 47 Figure 14: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Entyvio ($bn), 20062022 49 Figure 15: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Annual Revenues for Cosentyx ($bn), 20062022 50 Figure 16: Antibacterial Drug Market, Global, Overall Pharmaceutical Industry Pipeline by Therapy Area, 2017 51 Figure 17: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Pipeline for Immunology by Stage of Development, Molecule Type and Program Type, 2017 52 Figure 18: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Pipeline for Key Immunology Indications by Stage of Development, 2017 53 Figure 19: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Pipeline for Key Immunology Indications by Molecule Type, 2017 54 Figure 20: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Pipeline by Mechanism of Action (%), 2017 55 Figure 21: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Pipeline for Key Immunology Indications by Molecular Target, 2017 56 Figure 22: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Attrition Rates by Stage of Development (%), 20062017 57 Figure 23: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Attrition Rates by Stage of Development and Indication (%), 20062017 58 Figure 24: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Attrition Rates by Stage of Development and Molecule Type (%), 20062017 59 Figure 25: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Attrition Rates by Stage of Development and Molecular Target (%), 20062017 60 Figure 26: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Duration by Stage of Development (months), 20062017 61 Figure 27: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Duration by Stage of Development and Indication (months), 20062017 62 Figure 28: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Duration by Stage of Development and Molecule Type (months), 20062017 63 Figure 29: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Duration by Stage of Development and Molecular Target (months), 20062017 64 Figure 30: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Size by Stage of Development (patients), 20062017 65 Figure 31: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Size by Stage of Development and Indication (participants), 20062017 66 Figure 32: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Size by Stage of Development and Molecule Type (participants), 20062017 67 Figure 33: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Trial Size by Stage of Development and Molecular Target (participants), 20062017 68 Figure 34: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Program Size by Stage of Development (months), 20062017 69 Figure 35: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Program Size by Stage of Development and Indication (participants), 20062017 70 Figure 36: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Program Size by Stage of Development and Molecule Type (participants), 20062017 71 Figure 37: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Clinical Program Size by Stage of Development and Molecular Target (participants), 20062017 72 Figure 38: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Revenue Forecast for sarilumab ($bn), 20162022 74 Figure 39: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Revenue Forecast for sirukumab ($m), 20152022 75 Figure 40: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for baricitinib ($bn), 20152022 77 Figure 41: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for upadacitinib ($m), 20152022 78 Figure 42: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for ozanimod ($bn), 20192022 79 Figure 43: Immunology, Global, Market Size ($m), 20152022 81 Figure 44: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for Key Products ($m), 20152022 83 Figure 45: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Inhibitors ($bn), 20152022 85 Figure 46: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for Interleukin Inhibitors ($bn), 20152022 86 Figure 47: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for B and T Lymphocyte Antigens ($bn), 20152022 87 Figure 48: Immunology, Global, Annual Revenue Forecast for Janus Kinases ($bn), 20152022 88 Figure 49: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Cluster by Growth and Market Share, 20152022 89 Figure 50: Immunology Therapeutics Market, Global, Forecast Market Share by Company (%), 20152022 92 Figure 51: Immunology, Global, Companies by Compound Annual Growth Rate (%), 20142022 93 Figure 52: Immunology, Global, Revenues by Product Type, 20152022 94 Figure 53: Immunology, Global, AbbVie Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 95 Figure 54: Immunology, Global, Pfizer Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 96 Figure 55: Immunology, Global, Johnson & Johnson Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 97 Figure 56: Immunology, Global, Amgen Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 98 Figure 57: Immunology, Global, Roche Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 99 Figure 58: Immunology, Global, Eli Lilly Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 100 Figure 59: Immunology, Global, Bristol-Myers Squib Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 101 Figure 60: Immunology, Global, Celgene Annual Revenue Forecast ($bn), 20152022 102 Figure 61: Immunology, Global, Companies by Type, 2017 103 Figure 62: Immunology, Global, High-Activity and Late-Stage Pipeline Developers by Level of immunology specialization, 2017 104 Figure 63: Immunology, Global, Proportion of Company Revenue Attributed to immunology, 20152022 105 Figure 64: Immunology, Global, Licensing Deals, 20062017 107 Figure 65: Immunology, Global, Licensing Deals by Indication and Value, 20062017 108 Figure 66: Immunology, Global, Licensing Deals, 20062017 109 Figure 67: Immunology, Global, Licensing Deals by Molecule Type and Mechanism of Action, 20062017 110 Figure 68: Immunology, Global, Co-development Deals, 20062017 116 Figure 69: Immunology, Global, Co-development Deals by Indication and Value, 20062017 117 Figure 70: Immunology, Global, Co-development Deals, 20062017 118 Figure 71: Immunology, Global, Co-development Deals by Molecule Type and Mechanism of Action, 20062017 119 Figure 72: Immunology, Global, Table of all Clinical Stage Pipeline Products, Part I, 2017 132 Figure 73: Immunology, Global, Table of all Clinical Stage Pipeline Products, Part II, 2017 133 Figure 74: Immunology, Global, Table of all Clinical Stage Pipeline Products, Part III, 2017 134 Figure 75: Immunology, Global, Table of all Clinical Stage Pipeline Products, Part IV, 2017 135

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Global Immunology Drugs Market to 2022 - Increasing ...

Human Behavior

Understanding human behviour through the power of data – The Drum

Just a few years ago, the world was abuzz with the potential that beacon technology offered to reshape the retail industry. Now, several years on, there are even more technologies that offer similar promise. Beacons represent an important source of data regarding in-store customer movement, but the emergence of other sophisticated data collection technologies has added to the potential for understanding human behavior in the real world. To that end, what companies really need now is a solution that allows them to understand the fragmented data sets and their sources -- whether its beacons, sensors, or GPS -- and get a better sense of the bigger picture.

People spend an average of 5 hours a day on their phones. That sounds like a lot, but what happens in those other 19 hours? People have lives outside of their phones. The problem for marketers, then, is how to access that information to better understand how people behave in the real world, and then integrate that with what they already know about their online persona. At the moment, there are bits and pieces of data everywhere -- some proximity data here, some geodata there -- but otherwise, there are so many fragmented data sources that each tell a tiny piece of the story of a consumers offline activity. Moreover, the initial promise that beacons held to completely revitalize brick-and-mortar businesses and drastically increase in-store attribution has taken longer to materialize than expected.

Beacons were implemented so that retailers and other businesses could tell where a customer was at any given point, and allow businesses to send out targeted messages to phones that have activated a beacon. Businesses were quick to adopt this new technology, including Macys, Lord & Taylors, Major League Baseball, and American Airlines. However, there are still blank spots on the canvas. The real world is fluid, made up of many different behaviors and movements -- there is no one magic solution.

The information gleaned from one data source alone is not enough to get a complete view into peoples behavior or motivations. That said, proximity and location data have tremendous potential for filling in the blank spots on the canvas when used strategically. For the proximity industry alone, weve seen companies double down on their investments, validating the demand for technologies that provide a clearer understanding of how people behave in the real world.

Having a strong understanding of the various technologies on the market has also helped us determine that the efficacy of this data and technology depends on what goals companies wish to achieve. Deterministic methodologies used by beacon and Wifi technology can pinpoint almost exactly where someone was at any given point -- where they were in a store, for example, or even what floor they were on. Probabilistic technologies, such as GPS and geodata, on the other hand, provide massive scale as well as an overarching idea of people's movements in less densely-populated spaces.

In order for companies to understand a consumers offline behavior as accurately as they understand their online activity, they first need to stitch these different data sources together as they apply to their specific goals. That being said, there are over 400 proximity service providers (PSPs) alone, and thousands of GPS sources and geo-enabled apps -- just getting access to the data requires forming partnerships with each of those entities individually.

The Real World Graph

Unacast built the Real World Graph to provide a solution to that problem. Unacast has created a platform of proximity and location providers to paint a clear picture of how people move in the real world. Just as Google has indexed online behavior and Facebook has created the Social Graph, The Real World Graph provides a place where multiple data sets and technologies are collected and harmonized, all while ensuring individual privacy is respected. Our meticulous methodologies filter for quality to provide transparency, and highlight strategic data that can be used to marry online profiles with real world behaviors. Different data sources tell different stories, and The Real World Graph goes beyond the boundaries of industry to bring those stories together.

The mission at Unacast is to provide the technology and tools that will help data-driven industries understand the physical world the same way we understand the online world. Not only is this vital for the evolution of retail, advertising and other consumer-centric industries, but it can also significantly affect the evolution of e-commerce, financial technology, real estate, and health technology, among other industries.

Data from sensors, beacons, proximity data, GPS, NFC all tell an individual piece of a users behavior in the real world. But combined, the different data sources can tell the most in-depth, accurate story about what people are doing in the real world, and thats what matters most.

Thomas Walle, CEO & Co-founder, Unacast.

Email: hello@unacast.com

Web:unacast.com

Twitter:@unacast

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Understanding human behviour through the power of data - The Drum

Human Behavior

Right to life forfeited by those who commit murder – News Letter Journal

Dear Editor,

While I was not particularly interested in learning all the details of how a firing squad works, I most certainly did appreciate the young mans letter in last weeks paper supporting the death penalty for willful murder and other base crimes.

Various religious leaders may pontificate that all life is sacred. And sociologists, psychologists, and the supposed wise men of the world think that their studies, investigations, and theories of human behavior can negate the need or justification for the death penalty. But these are all conclusions derived merely by human reasoning which, apart from the guidance of Gods written Word, is inevitably perverted by our corrupted and sinful natures to excuse sin and tolerate injustice. It is simply not right to bury the dead, but allow his or her killer to live.

The notion that all life is sacred may sound very pious and holy, but it is an idea that is simply not found in the Scriptures. All innocent life is sacred, yes! But criminal, degenerate life is not. When someone has so little respect for the life of his fellow human beings that he kills them, he has forfeited any right he had to his own life and society has every right and duty to take it from him.

The Bible says plainly: Whoever sheds mans blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in the image of God. (Gen. 9:6) In applying this verse, one Bible commentator has written: How carefully God protects the rights of men! He has attached a penalty to willful murder. If one murderer were permitted to go unpunished, he would by his evil influence and cruel violence subvert others. God must punish murderers. He gives life, and He will take life if that life becomes a terror and a menace. (SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7-A, p. 1091) And the principle that human governments have the right to use capital punishment to maintain order in society and to execute justice on behalf of the victim is substantiated by countless examples in sacred history. Ceasar (human government) does not bear the sword in vain. (See Romans 13:4)

In all the moral issues of life, the word of our infinite Creator God must stand sovereign and supreme. Our only duty as His sinful, erring, and fallible creatures is to submit unquestioning to His infallible judgments, decisions, and requirements.

Leonard Lang

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Genetics

Select Sires poised to acquire Accelerated Genetics – Eau Claire Country Today

What was more than likely an exciting time for Select Sires employees might have been a bit more of a somber occasion for Accelerated Genetics employees June 13 when it was announced that the boards of directors of the two artificial-insemination cooperatives had reached a decision to join forces.

Under the planned agreement, which will become effective on June 30 if Accelerated Genetics delegates vote in favor of the sale, Select Sires will acquire the assets of Accelerated Genetics, joining forces of the employees and independent sales representatives in each of their geographical member organizations.

Select Sires, Inc., with headquarters in Plain City, Ohio, has about 1,200 employees worldwide, while Accelerated Genetics, headquartered in Baraboo, has 250 employees plus another 180 independent contractors who work for the organization.

Shirley Kaltenbach, Select Sires director of communications, said the decision coincides with an already collaborative business relationship that began in 2001, where the two cooperatives share ownership of World Wide Sires, Ltd. World Wide Sires is the international marketing arm for both co-ops in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.

Kaltenbach said although some people knew an acquisition might be in the works,there were a lot of people who were surprised by the June 13 announcement.

Over the past few weeks Ive gotten to know quite a few of the (Accelerated Genetics) employees, and they are good people, Kaltenbach said.It was a struggle for them the day they were told what was going on. These are people who might have worked 30 or 40 years and have been totally loyal to Accelerated Genetics.

While its exciting for us (at Select Sires), we needed to take a step back and think about those people and the tough day they were going to have learning that they might be at risk of being terminated or they were going to work with somebody they have competed with for years. Theyre great people and they have a genuine love for this industry.

Angie Lindloff, Accelerated Genetics vice president of marketing and communications, said it was no secret that Accelerated had been struggling financially in recent years.

From our standpoint we needed help, she said. We needed to partner with someone in the industry to make sure our customers will have the products and services they need. Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to join forces and utilize your resources together.

Kaltenbach and Lindloff said they didnt know how many employees might be displaced by the merger.

Lindloff said she hope(s) a lot of (Accelerated Genetics) team members will be offered positions moving forward.

Theyre trying to do the best for the majority of our employees, she said, to either repurpose them or find them a position.

Kaltenbach said Select Sires has nine member organizations including East Central Select Sires in Waupun and NorthStar Cooperative in Lansing, Mich., that together serve Wisconsin and each member organization will retain the number of Accelerated Genetics employees they need to serve their customers.

Short term, everything will stay the same, and (Accelerated Genetics) will operate as they normally do, Kaltenbach said. Itll probably remain like that until we get a long-term strategy in place. It has to evolve. Right now were trying to transition everything.

I can tell you that each person is valued and important and the goal is to make sound business decisions and take on as many as we can.

Lindloff said the acquisition has been in the works for several months, but only a few employees from each of the co-ops knew of the negotiations.

Its all been very confidential, she said. You have to protect the business and employees and sales representatives from their competitors. You have to keep mergers and acquisitions very quiet to do it correctly.

Lindloff said merging the two companies will give the larger cooperative more genetic strength and a bigger sire offering for our customers.

All of our customers will have access to all the good stuff offered by both companies, including the animal product line that both co-ops sell, she said.

Accelerated Genetics delegates are scheduled to vote on the proposed sale on June 22. If the vote is favorable, the deal will close on June 30.

Accelerated Genetics was formed as Vernon County Breeders in 1941. The cooperative consolidated with Trempealeau County Breeders Cooperative in 1947 and Tri-State Breeders was formed. The name was changed to Accelerated Genetics in January 1995.

The cooperative is led by a 10-member board of directors with dairy and beef farm members in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Select Sires nine member cooperatives cover the U.S. The co-op was formed in 1965 when four farmer-owned co-ops joined forces to offer a wider variety of genetic options to their members and improve efficiencies. Select Sires is the largest artificial insemination organization in North America.

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Select Sires poised to acquire Accelerated Genetics - Eau Claire Country Today

Genetics

Antonio Giraldez Named Chair of Genetics – Yale News

by Jill Max June 13, 2017

Antonio J. Giraldez, Ph.D., has been appointed chair of the Department of Genetics, effective June 1, 2017. Giraldez is professor of genetics and is affiliated with the Yale Cancer Center and the Yale Stem Cell Center. He was director of graduate studies for the Department of Genetics from 2012 to 2016.

Antonio is an outstanding investigator who has made major advances in our understanding of embryonic development. He is committed to continuing the outstanding academic tradition of the department, said Robert J. Alpern, M.D., dean and Ensign Professor of Medicine.

My goal is to continue our trajectory of basic science discovery and bring the research thats being done in our human genetics core closer to patients, so that we become a destination point for analyzing the genomes of thousands of patients.

Giraldezs research in developmental biology, genetics, genomics, and computational biology delves into deciphering the mechanisms by which a single-cell zygote transforms into a multicellular organism. Using zebrafish as a model system, his major contribution has been to contribute to our understanding of the maternal-to-zygote transitionwhat he terms embryonic pubertythe shift that occurs after the embryo interprets and destroys maternal instructions and activates the code contained in its own genome. He also found that the same stem cell factors that reprogram cells play a key role in activation of the genome after fertilization, a universal step in embryonic development that allows an early embryo to develop into different cell types.

Under his leadership, the Department of Genetics will continue to recruit outstanding faculty as it moves into a more quantitative approach to genetics and developmental biology and seeks to bring new understanding to the function of individual genes, as well as the organization of nuclear architecture into gene function. At the same time, Giraldez is excited about the central role genetics will play in our program in personalized medicine. He is eager to build upon Yales strengths in genomic analysis for clinical diagnosis and to leverage the knowledge gained from clinical data to propel basic science discoveries using model systems.

Last year, Giraldez was named as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Scholar, an award that recognizes basic researchers who apply innovative approaches to biological problems that are relevant to human health. In 2014, he won the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Sciences. He was named as a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences in 2008 and won the John Kendrew Young Investigator Award from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in 2007. He has twice been a finalist for the Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists.

Giraldez obtained his doctoral degree in developmental genetics from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany and did postdoctoral training in developmental biology at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center and Harvard University.

This article was submitted by John Dent Curtis on June 13, 2017.

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Antonio Giraldez Named Chair of Genetics - Yale News