Muscle, skin and gastrointestinal problems cause a quarter of patients with heart disease and strokes to stop treatment in HPS2-THRIVE trial

Feb. 27, 2013 ? The largest randomised study of the vitamin niacin in patients with occlusive arterial disease (narrowing of the arteries) has shown a significant increase in adverse side-effects when it is combined with statin treatment.

Results from the HPS2-THRIVE study (Heart Protection Study 2 -- Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events), including the reasons patients stopped the study treatment, are published online February 27 in the European Heart Journal [1].

Niacin has been used for decades to help increase levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and to decrease levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides (fats) in the blood in people at risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and stroke. However, it has a number of side-effects including flushing of the skin. Another drug, laropiprant, can reduce the incidence of flushing by blocking the prostaglandin D2 receptor that is involved in the process. Therefore, the HPS2-THRIVE study investigated whether combining extended-release niacin with laropiprant (ERN/LRPT), given in addition to an LDL cholesterol-lowering statin, simvastatin, could reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems in people at high risk due to existing occlusive arterial disease.

A total of 25,673 patients from China, the UK and Scandinavia were randomised between April 2007 and July 2010 to receive either 2g of extended release niacin plus 40 mg of laropiprant or matching placebo. In addition, all participants received intensive LDL cholesterol-lowering therapy with simvastatin (with or without ezetimibe). Researchers from the Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU) at the University of Oxford (UK), who were responsible for designing and conducting the trial and analysing the results, followed the patients for an average of 3.9 years.

By the end of the study, 25% of patients taking ERN/LRPT had stopped their treatment, compared with 17% of patients taking placebo.

Jane Armitage, Professor of Clinical Trials and Epidemiology & Honorary Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the CTSU, said: "The main reason for patients stopping the treatment was because of adverse side-effects, such as itching, rashes, flushing, indigestion, diarrhea, diabetes and muscle problems. We found that patients allocated to the experimental treatment were four times more likely to stop for skin-related reasons, and twice as likely to stop because of gastrointestinal problems or diabetes-related problems.

"We found that, in the trial as a whole, participants in the experimental arm had a more than four-fold increased risk of myopathy (muscle pain or weakness with evidence of muscle damage) compared with the placebo group. This is highly significant. It appeared that this effect was about three times greater among participants in China than those in Europe, for reasons that are not clear. In the placebo arm (i.e. those on statin-based treatment alone), the statin-related myopathy was more common among participants in China than those in Europe. Therefore -- in combination with the greater effect of ERN/LRPT on myopathy in China -- the excess number of cases of myopathy caused by ERN/LRPT (though low in both regions) was over ten times greater among participants in China than those in Europe (0.53 percent per year compared to 0.03 percent per year)."

Dr Richard Haynes, Clinical Coordinator at the CTSU, said: "This is the largest randomised trial of extended release niacin treatment and it provides uniquely reliable results on adverse side-effects and the ability of patients to tolerate them. Although 25 percent of patients stopped the treatment early, 75 percent continued on it for approximately four years. Currently, we are analysing the final data on the cardiovascular outcomes from the trial, and once we have these we will know whether or not the benefits of the treatment outweigh the myopathy, skin and gastrointestinal problems."

The researchers will be presenting full results on the cardiovascular outcomes at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in March and these will be published in another paper afterwards [2].

The co-principal investigator of the study, Dr Martin Landray, Reader in Epidemiology and Honorary Consultant Physician at the CTSU, said: "Previous research had suggested that improving cholesterol levels in high-risk patients might translate into a 10-15 percent reduction in major vascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. In the HPS2-THRIVE study, 3,400 of the 25,673 participants suffered a major vascular event over an average of four years of follow-up. This means the study has excellent statistical power to discover the effectiveness or otherwise of the treatment."

In an accompanying editorial [3], Professor Ulf Landmesser, of the University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland), points out that although the study showed an increase in myopathy, it also showed that the ERN/LRPT substantially lowered LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by nearly 20%. He writes that these observations "raise important questions as to why niacin/laropiprant did not reduce major cardiovascular events," and he wonders whether laropiprant "is really biologically inert with respect to atherosclerosis and thrombosis."

He concludes that "niacin has failed as a valuable 'partner' of statin therapy in lipid-targeted approaches to further reduce major cardiovascular events in high-risk patients." He continues: "At present, statin therapy has been clearly shown to reduce vascular events effectively and is reasonable well tolerated in most patients. We will still have to wait for the results of ? ongoing studies to see whether another lipid-targeted intervention can further reduce vascular events in addition to statin therapy."

Notes:

[1] "HPS2-THRIVE randomized placebo-controlled trial in 25 673 high-risk patients of ER niacin/laropiprant: trial design, pre-specified muscle, and liver outcomes and reasons for stopping study treatment," by Richard Haynes, Lixin Jiang, Jemma C. Hopewell, Jing Li, Fang Chen, Sarah Parish, Martin J. Landray, Rory Collins, and Jane Armitage, The HPS2-THRIVE Collaborative Group. European Heart Journal.

[2] In December 2012 the pharmaceutical company Merck, which manufactures ERN/LRPT under the trade name Tredaptive and which funded the HSP2-THRIVE study, issued a statement saying the trial had failed to meet its primary endpoint and that "the combination of extended-release niacin and laropiprant to statin therapy did not significantly further reduce the risk of the combination of coronary deaths, non-fatal heart attacks, strokes or revascularizations compared to statin therapy." ERN/LRPT is not approved for use in the USA, and on January 11, Merck announced that it was "taking steps to suspend the availability of TREDAPTIVE? (extended-release niacin/laropiprant) tablets worldwide."

[3] "The difficult search for a 'partner' of statins in lipid-targeted prevention of vascular events: the re-emergence and fall of niacin," by Ulf Landmesser. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/eht064

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Society of Cardiology (ESC), via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Richard Haynes, Lixin Jiang, Jemma C. Hopewell, Jing Li, Fang Chen, Sarah Parish, Martin J. Landray, Rory Collins, and Jane Armitage, The HPS2-THRIVE Collaborative Group. HPS2-THRIVE randomized placebo-controlled trial in 25 673 high-risk patients of ER niacin/laropiprant: trial design, pre-specified muscle, and liver outcomes and reasons for stopping study treatment. European Heart Journal, 2013 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/eht055

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Evx6aULTeDo/130226193840.htm

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Nic Cage Whiteboard Somehow Makes Nic Cage More Insane

Sure, you probably already have photos of Nicolas Cage hanging in most if not every room of your home. But Nic is so much more than a single shot can convey, and even a hundred of these meager approximations would be an insult to the depth of his character. The Nicolas Cage Hairstyle Whiteboard, however, finally allows the flexibility we need to feel like Nicolas Cage is right there in the room with you—watching, furrowing his brow, and screaming incoherently at the appropriate time. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/89GQIyDoa8E/nic-cage-whiteboard-somehow-makes-nic-cage-more-insane

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Mobile and Social: A Marketing Marriage Made in Heaven

Apparently the stars have come into alignment. Or perhaps Hell has frozen over. Whatever the cause, for the first time ever, more Facebook users are accessing the site on mobile devices than on desktops. Not only that, Facebook is actually generating revenue from mobile ads. Perhaps mobile is not just a fad after all. Hmmmm. Time to rethink that marketing strategy, maybe even upgrade the corporate website. Smart thinking and here?s why: Location-based, real time information is no longer a novelty. It has become the norm. Where do people need that information? On their mobile devices. When do they want that information? Now. Who do they want to share it with? Their social network: friends, family, coworkers, even strangers.

What is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile marketing is getting a lot of press lately. Even though the very term ?mobile marketing? has become a bit ubiquitous, there is still some confusion as to what mobile marketing actually is. That is because there are actually two different definitions of the term. According to Wikipedia, ?Mobile marketing is marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a cell phone?. It is also defined as ?The use of the mobile medium as a means of marketing communication?. So, in addition to being marketing messages viewed on the small or ?third? screen, the first two being the television and the computer monitor, it is also marketing that it specifically geared toward mobile devices. The first case would be a website as it is rendered on a cell phone or tablet, the second would be SMS messages and push ads. Clearly, it is the medium AND the message.

Mobile and Social

While social media was the buzz word for 2012, this year it is mobile marketing?and rightly so. However, it is important to recognize that there really is no social without mobile, nor mobile without social. In fact, many social networks are mobile-only platforms. For instance, Instagram, Facebook?s recently acquired photo-sharing application and Twitter?s new love-child, Vine, for micro-video sharing. Both were designed as mobile-only apps. Those two examples highlight the synergistic relationship between social and mobile. Another great example is the Super Bowl. Many of the brands incorporating mobile into their marketing message used social media as the catalyst. Kraft demonstrated the marriage of social and mobile deliciously with their Oreo brand. Their Super Bowl ad ended with a call to action: vote for your favorite, the cookie or the creme, on Instagram. In another commercial, automotive brand Lincoln and comic Jimmy Fallon used a Twitter hashtag to create a 90 second spot optimized for mobile viewing. We are seeing that social media play a crucial role in the success of mobile advertising. Many advertisers are successfully using social media to prompt consumers to use their mobile devices as the starting point to learn more about a brand or product.

The take-away: Social has gone mobile. Mobile needs social for ultimate success. Be kind to your marketing effort. While you are busy building up your social presence, don?t forget to make sure your efforts are mobile-friendly. Right now, mobile and social are in the honeymoon phase. Both are happy, basking in the sun, but remember what your parents told you. Marriage is hard work. Part of that work is making sure your website is mobile responsive, getting rid of any flash-based content and adding prominent social sharing buttons that people can actually click.

Kimberly Reynolds is a social media and mobile marketing consultant that transforms ordinary websites into powerful marketing machines. ?A serial entrepreneur since she was 12, selling books door-to-door, she now trains small business owners on how to leverage social media and the mobile web to attain financial freedom. ?If you are interested in how to use social media to outshine your competition, visit her website for a free social media analysis and social media training. Also, visit her on Google.

@qrkim

Social Media Strategist & Coach. MOBILE 1st! Mobile Marketing #QR #NFC #Joomla Web Design. Christian. QwikR.me RT does NOT = endorsement. Next Xbox May Not Play Used Games - Microsoft could be moving forward with an Internet-based business model for its ... http://t.co/voLFuQAx - 26 mins ago

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Source: http://www.steamfeed.com/mobile-and-social-a-marketing-marriage-made-in-heaven/

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Founder Stories: Okta?s Todd McKinnon On What It Means To Be CEO And Employee Zero

Recently, I spoke with Todd McKinnon, Co-Founder and CEO of Okta, who shared his experience starting the more than 120 employee identity management service. Todd explains that the first thing he learned was how to be CEO of a self-started company.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/S7OHKMXz_tk/

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Review: iPhone Google Maps lags Android version

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) ? Every time my husband and I drive the 677 miles from New York to my parents' house in Michigan, we dread the long stretch of Interstate 80 through the hills of rural Pennsylvania. It's beautiful, but lonely, without a lot of places to stop.

On this trip, with a little help from Google and Apple, I was determined to stay caffeinated and maybe find somewhere else to eat besides McDonald's and truck stops.

We had two iPhones and two Android phones between us, allowing me to test Google Maps on both the iPhone and Android and Apple's own mapping app for the iPhone. (There's no Apple app on Android.) These apps all have turn-by-turn voice navigation and will nag you with new directions if you make a wrong turn or try to go off-course.

I tested out the Google and Apple mapping apps before, but focused on how their walking and public-transportation functions worked in New York City. I wanted to see how they performed for driving and outside of the comfort of a major metropolitan area.

But mainly, I wanted to see how Google Maps fared compared with Apple's Maps, which kicked Google Maps off the iPhone in September. That meant Google had no mapping app on the iPhone until it released a replacement in December. Google Maps with voice navigation has been on Android phones since 2009. I also wanted to see if the Android and iPhone versions have all the same bells and whistles. (Spoiler alert: They don't).

We set off from New York with our easily bored 3-year-old daughter strapped in the back seat. I fired up the phones and set courses for my parents' home in Haslett, Mich. (just outside Lansing, for those too lazy to Google it).

The two versions of Google Maps and the Apple software pretty much gave me the same directions and time estimate ? just over 10 hours, though we were planning on 12 with stops.

We usually take a break at a Panera Bread bakery about an hour into Pennsylvania, but our daughter was napping and we weren't really hungry. So we threw ourselves at the mercy of Google and Apple and hoped that they would find us something in an hour or two.

As we wound through the hills, with my husband driving, I watched the little blue arrows on my phones move across the state and checked out the different features each mapping program offered.

The Android version of Google Maps has the most toys and the most beautiful graphics. The bars and dry cleaners visible on its street maps of New York get replaced by the names of rivers and small-town roads in the distance.

By comparison, both iPhone apps seem bare bones, which isn't too surprising as the Android app had a head start of three years. Apple's fancy 3-D graphics largely melt away when you get out of the city.

The Android version allows me to select "layers" for my map showing such things as traffic and nearby businesses.

The restaurant layer proved very helpful when my daughter started getting cranky and we needed to make an unplanned stop.

The traffic layer, which lights up in red, yellow and green depending on the amount of traffic, also was particularly helpful on the way back to New York. It warned us of a monster backup on the George Washington Bridge and estimated how long that would delay us in case we wanted to take an alternate route. We took our chances with the bridge. While the delay wasn't quite as bad as we feared it would be, it was definitely helpful to know about it ahead of time.

The iPhone version of Google Maps doesn't offer layers at all. And while the Apple software does offer some traffic information, you can't see it in the form of a layer when you're in navigation mode as you can with the Android version.

The Android version also allows you to set a final destination and search for places along your route, while Google's iPhone app doesn't.

Apple lets me do this by using the Siri voice assistant on my iPhone. By hitting the home button and saying "Starbucks," I got the closest locations.

That's what we did a few hours into Pennsylvania when our caffeine withdrawal headaches started to kick in and our daughter was getting antsy.

To my surprise, both Siri and the Android phones located a Starbucks in a small town just a few miles off the freeway. We easily got there, but found it was on the campus of Bloomsburg University, which appeared closed for the holidays.

So, we got back on the highway and headed to the next location, in Williamsport. Unfortunately, we never made it to that Starbucks either. Apple and Google both took us to a residential section of a small town, with no Starbucks in sight.

I still don't know if I did something wrong or if there was an error in the mapping software. Considering that both sent me to a store whose existence I later verified, I'm more inclined to blame my caffeine-deprived brain than the phones.

We never did find a Starbucks before leaving Pennsylvania or a cute mom-and-pop restaurant to eat at. But when we finally caved to our daughter's demands and decided to stop at the next exit, I did use the restaurants layer on one of the Android phones to locate an Arby's. Not exactly haute cuisine, but it's a guilty pleasure from childhood of mine, and all three of us got the break we needed.

I also used the feature on the trip back to New York to find a Mexican restaurant that we had eaten at a few years ago outside of Youngstown, Ohio. Unfortunately, it had yet to open for the day, so I used the software to locate and read online reviews about another Mexican place down the road. We ended up having a nice meal there.

It's worth mentioning that this is one of those times smartphones with larger screens help. The Samsung Galaxy Note II I was using let me easily look at what businesses are available off exits far down the road. Even if my iPhone had been able to show me these things, it would have been tough to view them on its comparatively tiny screen (3.5 inches diagonally on my older Apple 4S, compared with the Note's 5.5 inches).

Another nice feature available on the Android, but not Google's iPhone app or Apple's software, is that the phone's screen enters a night mode when you're driving at night. The background turns dark, so it's not as distracting.

One drawback with Android phones: They have a hard time finding enough juice, even when plugged into the car's charger. In fact, the HTC Droid DNA I was using gave me two warnings that my energy usage was outpacing the power going into my phone. A colleague had a similar problem using two other Android phones. By contrast, the iPhone seems to stay fully charged if you plug it in.

Of course, I could shut one Android phone down while I use another, but this probably isn't an option for most people.

After we got to Michigan, the phones also proved useful for quick little trips in town. That included a last-minute trip to a Toys 'R Us that I couldn't quite remember the location of. I also got to a restaurant that was slightly off the beaten path.

Bottom line is that when you're on the road, all three programs will probably get you where you're going. They offer clear maps and audible instructions that are easy to understand. They give you the directions you need with plenty of time to make turns and get in the appropriate lane of traffic. And when you inevitably do miss a turn or highway exit, they are quick to recalculate your route.

But for those who want an experience and information that rivals those provided by a vehicle GPS system, Google Maps for Android is the way to go. Just don't forget your car charger.

___

Follow Bree Fowler on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/APBreeFowler

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/review-iphone-google-maps-lags-android-version-184336389.html

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Genetic variation doubles risk of aortic valve calcification

Feb. 6, 2013 ? Researchers have found a genetic variant that doubles the likelihood that people will have calcium deposits on their aortic valve. Such calcification, if it becomes severe, can cause narrowing or a blockage of the aortic valve, a condition called aortic stenosis. The study is the first large-scale, genome-wide association study to uncover a genetic link to aortic valve calcification.

An article detailing the findings is published in the February 7, 2013 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The study's lead investigators -- from Johns Hopkins, Harvard University, McGill University, the University of Iceland and the National Institutes of Health -- found that having a genetic variant in the LPA gene, which codes for a type of cholesterol particle called lipoprotein (a), also increases the risk of developing aortic stenosis by more than 50 percent.

The researchers say their findings not only help explain why heart valve calcification may run in families, they could also lead to the development of targeted medications that might slow the progression of the disease. Statin medications, which reduce common forms of cholesterol that can clog blood vessels, have not been shown to reduce aortic valve calcification.

"This is an important step forward in understanding the biology of the development of aortic stenosis and how this common genetic variant, which is found in 7 percent of the general population, contributes to that risk," says Wendy Post, M.D., a cardiologist and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who is a senior author of the study.

Non-genetic risk factors for aortic valve calcification include advancing age, high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol levels and smoking. Men are at higher risk than women.

In the study, the researchers first looked at 2.5 million gene variants, called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, among more than 6,900 people of white European background, and found that this variant in the LPA gene was strongly associated with having aortic valve calcification on a heart CT scan, according to lead author Catherine Campbell, M.D., formerly the chief cardiology fellow at Johns Hopkins who now works for Kaiser Permanente.

Lipoprotein (a) is an unusual type of cholesterol particle that circulates in the blood and is associated with an increased risk for heart attacks.

"Increased levels of lipoprotein (a) have been previously associated with aortic valve disease. However, prior studies could not differentiate whether it was simply a marker or a causal factor," says Campbell. "Our results provide the first evidence for a causal relationship between lipoprotein (a) and calcific aortic valve disease," she adds.

Once the researchers identified the association between the LPA gene variant and those with evidence of aortic valve calcium in that first group, they confirmed their findings among three other groups -- more than 2,000 people of Hispanic origin, about 2,500 African-Americans and more than 700 Germans.

The people in those three groups, as well as the initial 6,900 Caucasians, were participants in several ongoing studies -- the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA); the Framingham Heart Study; the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility (AGES) study in Iceland; and the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study in Germany. All had previously undergone a CT scan to look for the presence of aortic valve calcium.

The researchers also were able to demonstrate an association between the LPA gene variant and the future development of clinical aortic stenosis in two independent groups -- more than 28,000 research participants in Sweden and more than 10,000 participants in Denmark.

Aortic stenosis, when calcified plaque causes narrowing in the aortic valve, can cause chest pain, loss of consciousness and shortness of breath. In severe cases, patients may need aortic valve replacement surgery. More than 1 million individuals in the United States have aortic stenosis, making it the most common form of valve disease.

"Advancing age is a major risk factor for aortic stenosis and with the aging of the population, this will become an even bigger health concern," says Post. "We believe our findings will help us better understand the biology of how valve calcification develops and open the door to new avenues of therapy, possibly with medicines that lower lipoprotein (a) levels in the blood," she says.

The study was funded by multiple grants through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as well as other funding agencies.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. George Thanassoulis, Catherine Y. Campbell, David S. Owens, J. Gustav Smith, Albert V. Smith, Gina M. Peloso, Kathleen F. Kerr, Sonali Pechlivanis, Matthew J. Budoff, Tamara B. Harris, Rajeev Malhotra, Kevin D. O'Brien, Pia R. Kamstrup, B?rge G. Nordestgaard, Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, Matthew A. Allison, Thor Aspelund, Michael H. Criqui, Susan R. Heckbert, Shih-Jen Hwang, Yongmei Liu, Marketa Sjogren, Jesper van der Pals, Hagen K?lsch, Thomas W. M?hleisen, Markus M. N?then, L. Adrienne Cupples, Muriel Caslake, Emanuele Di Angelantonio, John Danesh, Jerome I. Rotter, Sigurdur Sigurdsson, Quenna Wong, Raimund Erbel, Sekar Kathiresan, Olle Melander, Vilmundur Gudnason, Christopher J. O'Donnell, Wendy S. Post. Genetic Associations with Valvular Calcification and Aortic Stenosis. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (6): 503 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1109034

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/1LQurKrTptk/130206185727.htm

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Rocky Coast News: ABC Family Picks Up "The Fosters" and "Twisted"

Michael Riley, president, ABC Family, today announced the pick-up of two, one-hour drama pilots, "The Fosters," from executive producer Jennifer Lopez, and "Twisted" (formerly "Socio") from executive producer Gavin Polone. Production on both series will begin this spring for summer premieres. Additional pick-ups will be announced later this month.
? ? ?
"ABC Family is synonymous with groundbreaking storytelling and iconic characters," said Riley. "These new shows will bring the same depth, heart, close relationships and authenticity that our viewers have come to expect and, will pair nicely with our already established pop culture hits."
? ? ?
From executive producer Jennifer Lopez, ("American Idol," "What to Expect When You're Expecting," "The Back-Up Plan") and created by Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige ("Queer As Folk"), who will also serve as writers and executive producers, "The Fosters" stars Teri Polo ("Meet the Parents"), Sherri Saum ("In Treatment"), Jake T. Austin ("Wizards of Waverly Place"), Hayden Byerly ("Parenthood"), David Lambert ("Aaron Stone"), newcomer Maia Mitchell (star of Disney Channel's upcoming "Teen Beach Movie"), Danny Nucci ("Titanic") and Cierra Ramirez ("The Secret Life of the American Teenager"). The series is a one-hour drama
about a multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological kids being raised by two moms. Joanna Johnson ("Make it or Break it"), Simon Fields, Benny Medina and Greg Gugliotta will also serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Nuyorican Productions, Inc., and Prodco, Inc.
? ? ?
"Twisted" (formerly "Socio") is a one-hour mystery full of twists and turns that is centered on a charismatic 16-year-old with a troubled past who recently reconnected with his two female best friends from childhood. He becomes the prime suspect when a fellow student is surprisingly found dead in her home. The series will be executive-produced by Gavin Polone, ("Gilmore Girls," "Zombieland," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "My Boys," "Jane By Design") David Babcock ("Brothers & Sisters") and Adam Milch ("Greek"), who also wrote the pilot. The drama stars Avan Jogia ("Victorious"), Maddie Hasson ("The Finder"), Kylie Bunbury ("Prom"), Kimberly Quinn ("Terriers"), Sam Robards ("Treme," "Gossip Girl"), newcomer Ashton Moio and Denise Richards ("Two and a Half Men"). The series is produced by Prodco, Inc.
? ? ?
The pick-ups come a month after the successful winter premieres of ABC Family's established dramas "Switched at Birth," "Bunheads," "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Lying Game" on January 7 and 8. These original series returned to impressive ratings: "Pretty Little Liars" delivered the series' #2 telecast ever in Adults 18-34, ranking as the #1 TV telecast of the day in key demos and becoming the #2 'most social' TV series episode ever with nearly 1.2 million Tweets; "The Lying Game" soared to season-opening highs in Adults 18-34, Women 18-34 and Women 18-49, standing as the #1 cable TV telecast in the hour in core Women; "Switched at Birth" returned as the #1 scripted cable TV telecast in the hour in Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49, while "Bunheads" was the #1 scripted cable TV telecast in its time period in target Females 12-34 demo.
? ? ?
Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 97 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today's relationships - told with a mix of diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a combination of network-defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. Emmy(r) Award-winning ABCFamily.com provides a variety of interactive entertainment and community features, from rich, fan-centric programming - including blogs, viewing parties, webisodes, full episodes of the network's hit programming, along with sneak peek exclusive previews and behind-the-scenes clips. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas." ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

Source: http://rockycoastnews.blogspot.com/2013/02/abc-family-picks-up-fosters-and-twisted.html

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Texas OC Major Applewhite had consensual relationship with ...

The Texas coach was punished shortly after the incident.

Texas offensive coordinator Major Applewhite had an inappropriate consensual relationship with a student in 2009, while on a trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

A statement released by Applewhite disclosed the following:

"It was a one-time occurrence and was a personal matter," Applewhite said. "Shortly after it occurred, I discussed the situation with DeLoss Dodds. I was upfront and took full responsibility for my actions. This is and was resolved by the university four years ago." (USA Today, February 2, 2013)

A statement issued by Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds described the relationship as "consensual behavior with an adult student." Applewhite was disciplined, having his salary frozen until Jan. 1, 2010.

At issue is this, did the Dodds and the athletic department comply with the university's policy on consensual relationships between faculty, staff, and students? The policy is straightforward; it essentially exists to deal with situations like this one, and the likely more common case where a professor or instructor has an affair with a student. Relationships that fall within the scope of this policy must have the potential for a conflict of interest.

A conflict of interest and/or an appearance of impropriety arises when individuals with the authority and the responsibility to evaluate the work or performance of an employee, student or student employee initiate, acquiesce or engage in an intimate romantic and/or sexual relationship with that employee, student or student employee.

The policy spells out what is supposed to happen when a consensual relationship occurs between a staff member and a student where a conflict of interest exists:

Should such a relationship develop, the teacher, supervisor or advisor has the obligation to disclose its existence to an immediate supervisor and cooperate in making alternative arrangements for the supervision, evaluation, teaching, grading, or advising of the employee, student and/or student employee.

Provided that the relationship is reported, the policy does not spell out any disciplinary measures; it simply states that actions must be taken to remove the conflict of interest. Punishments are described in the case that the relationship is not disclosed.

Employees in positions of authority who enter into or persist in consensual romantic or sexual relationships without reporting them, or who fail to cooperate in efforts to eliminate the conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety they present, will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Based on this, there are three plausible scenarios:

1. Applewhite had a relationship with a student not affiliated with the athletic department, in which case it seems unlikely that he should be in significant trouble.

2. Applewhite had a relationship with a student affiliated with the athletic department, but disclosed it as suggested by the information released. In this case, the punishment he already received is likely sufficient.

3. Applewhite had a relationship with a student affiliated with the athletic department, and it was not disclosed in compliance with the policy. There is no evidence to suggest that this happened, and if the statements released by Applewhite and Dodds are taken at face value, it likely did not happen. But if this scenario is the right one, there will be a lot of trouble.

..............

Complicating matters is the recent resignation of Texas womens' track coach Bev Kearney. Kearney, a decorated and highly successful coach, had an affair with a student in 2002. The university only recently learned of this affair. When Kearney was informed that the university was going to fire her, she resigned instead.

Kearney is now exploring legal action, which likely explains the timing of this release of information about Applewhite.

Derek Howard, Kearney's attorney, said Monday that he and the coach were discussing her legal options, including a gender and race bias lawsuit. He planned to file open-records requests with the school this week, he said. He claimed that male coaches and professors at the school had similar relationships and weren't punished. (CNN, January 8, 2013)

CNN also provided excerpts from an email pertaining to the Kearney matter sent by Patti Ohlendorf, head of the university's legal affairs department. In it, Ohlendorf wrote that she did not know of any other "UT head coach who has entered into such a relationship with a student-athlete on his or her team."

That is a highly specific statement. Key portions of that statement are "head coach" and "student-athlete on his or her team."

We will follow this situation closely.

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Source: http://www.burntorangenation.com/football/2013/2/2/3944292/texas-oc-major-applewhite-had-consensual-relationship-with-student-in

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Alaska Airlines pilot passes out midair, co-pilot lands plane

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Seattle-bound Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon after its veteran pilot passed out in the passenger cabin, in the second such fainting spell involving the U.S. carrier in 10 days, the airline said on Friday.

Flight crew and passengers helped revive the pilot and guide him into a vacant passenger seat, while the co-pilot took control of the Boeing 737-700 and safely landed in Portland late on Thursday, airline spokesman Paul McElroy said.

"Doctors suspect he became ill due to food poisoning or the flu virus," McElroy said of the pilot, a 28-year aviation veteran, adding that none of the 116 passengers and five crew members on board the flight from Los Angeles was injured.

The pilot was hospitalized in Portland, and McElroy said the two fainting episodes were a "bizarre coincidence."

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said investigators did not immediately see a connection between the incident and a situation on January 22 in which an Alaska Airlines co-pilot fainted on a flight between Seattle and Las Vegas, forcing the captain to make an emergency landing.

"That first officer was infected with the flu. We know that for sure," McElroy said.

Hylan Slobodkin, a Seattle-area rabbi who was traveling with his wife, said he saw the pilot fall and hit his head and then heard a flight attendant call for help.

"There definitely were some passengers panicking," Slobodkin said. "But the plane never lunged, it never veered off track, it seemed really steady."

(Writing by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alaska-airlines-pilot-passes-midair-co-pilot-lands-231802466--finance.html

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