Matt Bevin speaks during the 133rd Annual Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Aug. 3. Bevin, a Louisville businessman, is challenging Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Republican Senate primary.
Stephen Lance Dennee/AP
Matt Bevin speaks during the 133rd Annual Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Aug. 3. Bevin, a Louisville businessman, is challenging Sen. Mitch McConnell in the 2014 Republican Senate primary.
Stephen Lance Dennee/AP
Days after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell helped negotiate a deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, a prominent conservative group endorsed his primary challenger.
The Senate Conservatives Fund officially backed Tea Party favorite Matt Bevin Friday in Kentucky's 2014 Senate race, arguing he is "a full-spectrum conservative with the courage to stand up to the Washington establishment" while McConnell "has a liberal record and refuses to fight for conservative principles."
SCF has had McConnell in its cross hairs for months. In mid-September, the group launched a television advertising campaign attacking McConnell for not doing enough to defund the Affordable Care Act. It also ran radio ads in August calling on McConnell to oppose funding for Obamacare.
Bevin could use the financial support from SCF, which raised more than $16 million during the 2012 elections, if he hopes to pull off the upset. He brought in just $220,000 from July to September, while contributing $600,000 of his own money to the campaign. McConnell raised nearly $2.3 million during the same period and has more than $10 million on hand.
SCF, which has ties to former South Carolina senator and current Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, has made a name for itself supporting Tea Party challengers over Republican incumbents and establishment-backed candidates in Senate primary races.
The group appears to be revving up for the 2014 cycle with the shutdown now in the rearview mirror. On Thursday, the group backed Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel over six-term GOP incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran.
One of SCF's endorsements in 2012 went to Ted Cruz, who has become the leader of the fight to defund Obamacare in Washington, in his primary campaign against Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Boston Red Sox's Jonny Gomes heads to home plate to take batting practice during a team workout at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox will face the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox's Jonny Gomes heads to home plate to take batting practice during a team workout at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox will face the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz laughs as he takes a break from hitting during a baseball workout at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara runs next to the warning track during practice at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox will face the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz walks off the field after completing his workout at practice at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox will face the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara, of Japan, throws to teammate Junichi Tazawa during a baseball workout at Fenway Park, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox are scheduled to host the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the American League baseball championship series on Saturday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
BOSTON (AP) — One victory to reach the World Series.
And all that's in Boston's way is 21-game winner Max Scherzer, with Justin Verlander on deck for a seventh game — if it gets that far.
"We all know what we are up against," Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said on Friday after an offday workout to prepare for Game 6 of the AL championship series against the Detroit Tigers. "I expect it's going to be another one of those tough games."
A victory in Game 6 on Saturday would eliminate the defending AL champions and send the Red Sox to their third World Series since 2004. Scherzer will face Boston's Clay Buchholz, a repeat of the Game 2 matchup that the Red Sox won 6-5.
Scherzer took a no-hitter and a 5-0 lead into the sixth inning, but the Red Sox rallied against the Tigers bullpen and tied it on David Ortiz's eighth-inning grand slam. Now at least the Boston batters can say they've seen the likely AL Cy Young winner recently.
But Scherzer has a little more experience against them, too.
"I don't see him making too many adjustments," Saltalamacchia said. "There's not many adjustments he needs to make."
The Red Sox wrapped up a 4-3 victory over Detroit in Game 5 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. They arrived home early on Friday morning and worked out at Fenway Park in the afternoon.
The Tigers did not work out, instead opting to rest hobbled starters like Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila, who joined the injured after a home-plate collision with Boston's David Ross in the second inning of Game 5.
"We have to go to Fenway and we have to fight hard enough to win a game," said Cabrera, who has been slowed by a variety of injuries since late in the regular season. "If we do that, we have to keep fighting and get the next one. We've done this before, and we've got great pitchers."
Detroit's starting rotation was its biggest advantage heading into the series, and it has lived up to the hype. Anibal Sanchez, Scherzer and Verlander all took no-hitters into the fifth inning in the first three games, though the Tigers won only one of them.
In all, Detroit's starters had allowed only three runs in 27 innings through the first four games before Mike Napoli's homer keyed a three-run second inning the second time around against Sanchez.
"They were pitching pretty well the first could of games. They shut us down," Napoli said. "It's been a great series all-around. But it's not over yet. We've got to take care of business. We've got Buchholz going, and we've got all the confidence in the world in him."
The Red Sox seem to be getting stronger as the series goes on, but the Tigers are more beaten up with each game.
Avila, who has a history of concussions, was involved in a collision with Ross at the plate that left the Tigers catcher with a sprained left knee. He also took a foul ball — also by Ross — off his mask before leaving the game in the fourth inning.
Leyland said he would wait to see how Avila feels on Saturday before making a decision.
"It will be a big factor, whether he plays or not, it will obviously affect us some," Leyland said. "I don't think there will be anything tricky. It will pretty much be using what we've used the last couple of days, depending on Alex's health."
Leyland did confirm that Jose Iglesias will play shortstop on Saturday. The 23-year-old Cuban started Game 1 before coming in as a substitute in the next two games; he was back in the lineup for Games 4 and 5.
The Red Sox are also turning to a young infielder to boost their offense.
Red Sox manager John Farrell said that Xander Bogaerts, a top prospect who wasn't called up until August, will start at 3B in place of Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks started Boston's first eight playoff games but he is batting .174 with nine strikeouts in the postseason, giving way to the rookie in Game 5
"It's definitely special," Bogaerts said. "I want the manager to have confidence in me, especially in the playoffs. Every game is important; every at-bat. It's definitely huge."
(Reuters) - Google Inc shares jumped to an all-time high above $1000 after the search engine giant reported a surge in mobile and video advertising that helped drive quarterly revenue up 23 percent.
At least 16 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock to between $880 and $1,220, with Deutsche Bank bumping up its target price by 26 percent.
The shares rose 13 percent to $1007.40 after the opening bell on the Nasdaq, before easing back a few dollars.
Google said paid clicks increased by a quarter in the three months ended September 30, from a year earlier, the highest rate of growth in the past year.
This offset an 8 percent fall in average cost-per-click, the price advertisers pay Google when consumers click on their ads.
"We view solid paid clicks growth to be a good indicator of demand, driven by the continued shift to mobile," J.P. Morgan analysts said. They had expected 21.5 percent growth.
In contrast, analysts say Yahoo, which this week reported a tepid quarter, has lost market share in display and search advertising in the face of strong competition from Facebook Inc and Google.
Google shares have climbed 38 percent this year, rewarding investors such as Fidelity Investments' $101 billion Contrafund.
Contrafund added to its stake in Google in the third quarter and got a big lift from the surging performance of Facebook and Tesla Motors Inc as well. The fund, managed by star stock picker Will Danoff, returned 8.94 percent in the third quarter, easily beating the 5.24 percent advance of the S&P 500 Index.
Facebook is expected to report its third-quarter results on October 30.
To counter declines in cost-per-click rates, Google rolled out in February a service to help advertisers market through a mix of smartphones, tablets and desktops.
The J.P. Morgan analysts said this drive was a major opportunity for Google in the upcoming holiday season.
Analysts also highlighted Google's ability to generate revenue from its video-streaming website, YouTube.
YouTube branded video-ads grew more than 75 percent in the quarter, from a year earlier, with 40 percent of traffic now coming from mobile devices.
"We estimate that Google's key YouTube asset generated approximately $4 billion in revenue in 2012, positioning Google extremely well for the strong growth in video advertising," RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note.
Analysts at Jefferies said Google is best positioned to benefit in mobile with one billion Android activations. The company sells applications and content through its Google Play Store.
The Mountain View, California-based company - known for its Google Maps service, Chrome browser and Nexus line of smartphones and tablets - reported a 32 percent jump in revenue from the rest of world (excluding UK) during the quarter with growth coming from Japan, South Korea and Australia.
" is an encouraging bright spot. Google should be a good play off any European and Emerging Markets recovery," analysts at RBC Capital markets said.
"We think the worst is behind Google from a sentiment perspective," Deutsche Bank analysts said.
(Reporting by Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Rodney Joyce)
Tiny cameras usually have tiny sensors. A camera that fits comfortably in your pocket almost never has interchangeable lenses. The pint-sized Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 breaks both of those rules, packing the same 16-megapixel Micro Four-Thirds sensor and processing engine as ...
The year of Luigi rages on with today's news that a Luigi-themed Nintendo 3DS XL handheld is headed to Europe next month. It joins a Triforce-emblazoned 3DS XL that's also set to arrive next month: the former on November 1st for �179.99 ($290) and the latter on November 22nd for �199.99 ($318). Of ...
District nursing homes win high marks for quality, but antipsychotic prescribing remains problematic
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
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Contact: Kathy Fackelmann kfackelmann@gwu.edu 202-994-8354 George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
WASHINGTON, DC (October 17, 2013)The District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH) has released a study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors. The study combines pharmaceutical marketing data collected by the District with publicly available data on nursing home quality and Medicare drug claims.
"The good news is that nursing homes in the District of Columbia generally are not prescribing antipsychotic medication at rates higher than the rest of the country," says Susan F. Wood, PhD, lead researcher and an associate professor of health policy and of environmental and occupational health at SPHHS. "However, there are still concerns that District providers are too quick to prescribe these drugs to District seniors and Medicaid beneficiaries."
Antipsychotics are one of the top-selling drug classes, despite widely reported side effects that include weight gain and sedation. Elderly patients suffering from dementia or agitation may be dosed with antipsychotics for their sedative effects, an off-label use that raises ethical questions. Use of antipsychotics puts seniors at increased risk of serious adverse events, including cognitive decline, hip fractures, and death.
"Senior citizens living in the District of Columbia are the city's most vulnerable population," said Dr. Joxel Garcia, Director, DC Department of Health. "The Department of Health will continue to invest in educating physicians on effective use of antipsychotic medications to provide the better health outcomes for all District residents."
The report fulfills the requirement of a 2004 law in the District of Columbia that requires pharmaceutical companies to file annual reports describing their prescription-drug marketing activities in the District. The AccessRx Act also requires analysis of these reports to determine how pharmaceutical marketing may affect healthcare services in the District.
SPHHS researchers searched District of Columbia marketing data for reports of drug-company gifts made in 2007 - 2011 to physicians who currently serve as nursing home medical directors. The search was done to see if pharmaceutical companies were targeting marketing efforts at the medical directors of nursing homes. The report found that nine of the district's 19 nursing home medical directors received no gifts from pharmaceutical companies between 2007 and 2011. Three received cash or checks for speaking or consulting, which totaled $34,639 over five years. Only four received gifts totaling over $1,000 in at least one of the years studied; six received gifts, mostly food or books, totaling $100 to $800 in at least one year.
The study also examined nursing home quality ratings and rates of antipsychotic prescriptions across eight wards in the district, using ratings from the Nursing Home Compare website run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Thirteen of the District's 19 nursing homes received above-average ratings (four or five stars) for overall quality. The two nursing homes with the lowest ratings (two stars, or "below average") are both located in Ward 7.
Nursing Home Compare also reports the percentage of short-stay nursing home patients receiving new antipsychotic prescriptions and the percentage of long-stay patients receiving antipsychotic medications. In the District, seven out of 18 nursing homes have above‐average prescribing rates for short‐stay patients, and six out of 19 have above‐average rates of long‐stay patients taking antipsychotics. (Average US rates are 2.7 percent for short-stay patients and 22.4 percent for long-stay patients.)
Researchers also examined data on prescriptions of antipsychotics for Medicare Part D patients, the majority of whom are seniors. The SPHHS report compiles information on 67 District providers who wrote antipsychotic prescriptions for large numbers of Part D patients. Nearly one-third (22 of 67) of these prescribed at least one antipsychotic to 70 percent or more of their Part D patients.
"Many doctors in the District write significant numbers of prescriptions of antipsychotic medication to Medicare patients. This provides a window into prescribing practices here," says Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, a co-author of the report and an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center.
"As we noted in an earlier report for the Department of Health, the District has a very high percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving antipsychotic medications," Wood says. Data released by CMS just after this report was written indicate that nearly 11 percent of the District's Medicaid beneficiaries filled antipsychotic prescriptions in 2009. "High rates of prescribing antipsychotics, whether to children or elders, raises concerns about the quality of care provided to low-income District residents and the role of pharmaceutical marketing in prescribing practices."
The study can be found on the D.C. Department of Health Website by clicking here.
###
About the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services:
Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education and is now the only school of public health in the nation's capital. Today, more than 1,100 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than 40 nations pursue undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level degrees in public health. The school now offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, which allows students to pursue their degree from anywhere in the world. http://sphhs.gwu.edu/
About the District of Columbia Department of Health:
The Mission of the Department of Health is to promote and protect the health, safety and quality of life of residents, visitors and those doing business in the District of Columbia. Our responsibilities include identifying health risks; educating the public; preventing and controlling diseases, injuries and exposure to environmental hazards; promoting effective community collaborations; and optimizing equitable access to community resources. For more information about the Department of Health or to learn more about administrations and programs please visit http://www.doh.dc.gov.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
District nursing homes win high marks for quality, but antipsychotic prescribing remains problematic
Public release date: 17-Oct-2013 [
| E-mail
| Share
]
Contact: Kathy Fackelmann kfackelmann@gwu.edu 202-994-8354 George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
WASHINGTON, DC (October 17, 2013)The District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH) has released a study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors. The study combines pharmaceutical marketing data collected by the District with publicly available data on nursing home quality and Medicare drug claims.
"The good news is that nursing homes in the District of Columbia generally are not prescribing antipsychotic medication at rates higher than the rest of the country," says Susan F. Wood, PhD, lead researcher and an associate professor of health policy and of environmental and occupational health at SPHHS. "However, there are still concerns that District providers are too quick to prescribe these drugs to District seniors and Medicaid beneficiaries."
Antipsychotics are one of the top-selling drug classes, despite widely reported side effects that include weight gain and sedation. Elderly patients suffering from dementia or agitation may be dosed with antipsychotics for their sedative effects, an off-label use that raises ethical questions. Use of antipsychotics puts seniors at increased risk of serious adverse events, including cognitive decline, hip fractures, and death.
"Senior citizens living in the District of Columbia are the city's most vulnerable population," said Dr. Joxel Garcia, Director, DC Department of Health. "The Department of Health will continue to invest in educating physicians on effective use of antipsychotic medications to provide the better health outcomes for all District residents."
The report fulfills the requirement of a 2004 law in the District of Columbia that requires pharmaceutical companies to file annual reports describing their prescription-drug marketing activities in the District. The AccessRx Act also requires analysis of these reports to determine how pharmaceutical marketing may affect healthcare services in the District.
SPHHS researchers searched District of Columbia marketing data for reports of drug-company gifts made in 2007 - 2011 to physicians who currently serve as nursing home medical directors. The search was done to see if pharmaceutical companies were targeting marketing efforts at the medical directors of nursing homes. The report found that nine of the district's 19 nursing home medical directors received no gifts from pharmaceutical companies between 2007 and 2011. Three received cash or checks for speaking or consulting, which totaled $34,639 over five years. Only four received gifts totaling over $1,000 in at least one of the years studied; six received gifts, mostly food or books, totaling $100 to $800 in at least one year.
The study also examined nursing home quality ratings and rates of antipsychotic prescriptions across eight wards in the district, using ratings from the Nursing Home Compare website run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Thirteen of the District's 19 nursing homes received above-average ratings (four or five stars) for overall quality. The two nursing homes with the lowest ratings (two stars, or "below average") are both located in Ward 7.
Nursing Home Compare also reports the percentage of short-stay nursing home patients receiving new antipsychotic prescriptions and the percentage of long-stay patients receiving antipsychotic medications. In the District, seven out of 18 nursing homes have above‐average prescribing rates for short‐stay patients, and six out of 19 have above‐average rates of long‐stay patients taking antipsychotics. (Average US rates are 2.7 percent for short-stay patients and 22.4 percent for long-stay patients.)
Researchers also examined data on prescriptions of antipsychotics for Medicare Part D patients, the majority of whom are seniors. The SPHHS report compiles information on 67 District providers who wrote antipsychotic prescriptions for large numbers of Part D patients. Nearly one-third (22 of 67) of these prescribed at least one antipsychotic to 70 percent or more of their Part D patients.
"Many doctors in the District write significant numbers of prescriptions of antipsychotic medication to Medicare patients. This provides a window into prescribing practices here," says Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, a co-author of the report and an associate professor of pharmacology and physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center.
"As we noted in an earlier report for the Department of Health, the District has a very high percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving antipsychotic medications," Wood says. Data released by CMS just after this report was written indicate that nearly 11 percent of the District's Medicaid beneficiaries filled antipsychotic prescriptions in 2009. "High rates of prescribing antipsychotics, whether to children or elders, raises concerns about the quality of care provided to low-income District residents and the role of pharmaceutical marketing in prescribing practices."
The study can be found on the D.C. Department of Health Website by clicking here.
###
About the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services:
Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education and is now the only school of public health in the nation's capital. Today, more than 1,100 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than 40 nations pursue undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level degrees in public health. The school now offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, which allows students to pursue their degree from anywhere in the world. http://sphhs.gwu.edu/
About the District of Columbia Department of Health:
The Mission of the Department of Health is to promote and protect the health, safety and quality of life of residents, visitors and those doing business in the District of Columbia. Our responsibilities include identifying health risks; educating the public; preventing and controlling diseases, injuries and exposure to environmental hazards; promoting effective community collaborations; and optimizing equitable access to community resources. For more information about the Department of Health or to learn more about administrations and programs please visit http://www.doh.dc.gov.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
For consumers looking forward to 5G mobile technology for super-high speed, network giant Ericsson says there will be more to it than that—and less.
A 5G mobile standard isn’t in formal development yet and isn’t likely to be in commercial networks until 2020, according to Vish Nandlall, Ericsson’s CTO and senior vice president of strategy, who spoke at the GigaOm Mobilize conference Wednesday. Even then, 5G won’t be totally at consumers’ beck and call to deliver their cat videos and social network feeds.
More so than any previous generation of cellular gear, 5G will have to serve two masters, Nandlall said. With wireless sensors, industrial equipment, and an array of consumer gadgets, in a few years there are likely to be 10 mobile connections per person. If 5 billion humans join the mobile world, that’s 50 billion connections that 5G networks will need to serve.
Not all of those devices will be hungry for megabits per second, Nandlall said. For example, remote sensors may need slow connections to achieve decades of battery life, while other pieces of the so-called Internet of Things may have to have much higher reliability than consumers get when they’re just making phone calls.
“Every now and then, those calls drop, and that’s probably not something that we want if I’m putting an industrial application on it,” Nandlall said. For example, a device that turns the floodgates on a dam had better work correctly and at the right time, he said.
5G flexibility
Bandwidth-hungry consumers won’t get left behind, Nandlall said: As the next major step in the standards process, 5G should deliver 10 times the speed of 4G, putting a theoretical maximum of 10Gbps (bits per second) on the books. But with many more uses of wireless emerging, service providers may carve up their 5G networks and dedicate only part of that capacity to what we think of today as the mobile Internet, he said.
In an example of software’s growing role in networks, 5G should be flexible enough that carriers can reprogram and reconfigure their networks to accommodate different applications, according to Nandlall.
“Those will actually get different slices of the network with different technologies,” including modulation schemes and levels of capacity, Nandlall said. He compared the future architecture to cloud computing with multiple tenants each running their own applications.
Meanwhile, 4G will coexist with 5G, along with Wi-Fi and other technologies, which may include a future lightweight protocol specially designed for machine-to-machine communications, he said.
By moving to 5G, carriers should be able to keep cutting the price of mobile data, Nandlall said. Most consumers haven’t recognized falling prices because their consumption continues to rise, he said. Network efficiencies have slashed the cost of delivering a megabyte of data by about 50 percent per year, from about 46 cents in 2008 to between 1 cent and 3 cents now. That hasn’t lowered subscribers’ bills at the end of the month because average data consumption has been doubling or more each year, he said.
Those looking at requirements for future 5G networks want them to be able to support 50GB of data consumption per subscriber, per month.
Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for the IDG News Service. More by Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service
The year of Luigi rages on with today's news that a Luigi-themed Nintendo 3DS XL handheld is headed to Europe next month. It joins a Triforce-emblazoned 3DS XL that's also set to arrive next month: the former on November 1st for �179.99 ($290) and the latter on November 22nd for �199.99 ($318). Of ...![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
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