RadioShack-Nissan Trek Jersey Revealed

Here it is, the new RSNT jersey, and Cancellara shows it off!

The RadioShack-Nissan jersey was unveiled at the team’s presentation in Luxembourg on Friday evening.

The kit, which is similar to the Leopard-Trek outfit from 2011, is designed by Craft. The main difference from the 2011 kit being a thin red line across the chest, along with title sponsor RadioShack.

The team were presented live on Luxembourg television with Andy and Frank Schleck taking centre stage in their home nation.

The team had early outlined their main aims for the season, which included the three grand tours, Worlds, and Classics.

Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world – twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed

From: http://ping.fm/KDr3J

Vuelta Ciclista a Chile 2012

Aquí está la grandiosa VUELTA A CHILE 2012. Empiezó el día de ayer 5 de Enero y finaliza el 15 de Enero. 10 Etapas, 1,400 kilometros que recorrer! Estos son los resultados de la segunda etapa corrida el día de hoy. Disfruta y comparte tus experiencias ciclistas con nosotros en Español, Inglés, Italiano, Portugués; en el idioma que quieras, caray. Saludos a todos los ciclistas apasionados del mundo!

Resultados

• Individual
• Equipos
• Sprint
• Montaña
• Competitiveness
• Sub23

Ver todos los resultados	Ver todos los resultados
Etapa 2	General
1 LOBATO Juan José 3:04:32 2 RANGEL Héctor m.t. 3 MANSILLA Luis m.t. 4 RICHEZE Maximiliano m.t. 5 ARDILA Mauricio m.t.	1 MANSILLA Luis 3:24:58 2 MANSILLA Cristopher +10 3 GARRIDO Gonzalo +12 4 CABRERA Antonio +12 5 ALMONACID Patricio +12

BRCA1 Cancer Gene Affects Cardiac Function

January 4, 2012 (Toronto, ON) — Canadian researchers have discovered that the BRCA1 gene is an essential regulator of cardiac function, at least in mice, and may therefore represent a new therapeutic target for heart failure [1].

The findings are also important for cancer patients who have mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — who are at higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer — because it means these individuals could be at increased risk of heart problems as well, say Dr Praphulla C Shukla (St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON) and colleagues in their paper published online December 20, 2011 in Nature Communications.

Shukla et al found that mice with BRCA1/2 mutations had much more severe MIs than those without the mutations and a subsequent three to five times higher rate of death, largely due to the development of heart failure.

The results may explain recent observations that BRCA1/2 mutation carriers have an increased risk of nonneoplastic death, particularly in older age, say the researchers.

And they likely have implications for those undergoing chemotherapy too, in that BRCA1 and 2 mutation carriers could be even more susceptible to the cardiotoxic effects of such treatment than average cancer patients, Shukla et al suggest. Mice with the mutations had a twofold increase in heart failure when treated with doxorubicin.

Oncologist and coauthor Dr Christine Brezden-Masley (St Michael’s Hospital) says the research is already making her think twice about particular chemotherapy regimens in BRCA mutation carriers.

“When a patient has the mutated gene, I now have to think about how much doxorubicin I’m going to give them or whether we should consider an alternative therapy,” she says in a hospital statement [2].

From: http://ping.fm/Ts2IM

Greek doctors, pharmacists on strike 2012

Greek pharmacists and doctors on Monday kicked off a week of labour action against cost-cutting measures and liberalisation reforms pursued by the country’s debt-struck government.

Most pharmacies were to shut until Tuesday in opposition to a state attempt to further cut their profit margins to 15 per cent, from the current 18 per cent, in order to help sustain Greece’s troubled social security funds.

State hospitals were only treating emergency cases until Thursday to pressure the government to abandon plans for additional wage cuts, which are part of ongoing salary reductions in the broader Greek public sector.

And the association of Greek doctors has also called its members to a nationwide walkout, barring emergencies, in protest against health sector spending cuts and a disputed organisational overhaul.

Health professionals say they are obliged to sign new contracts with a new state health organisation, EOPYY, that began operation on Monday to streamline and improve management of the main social security funds.

But there is already a backlog of millions of euros in unpaid state bills for medicine, medical supplies and equipment.

‘We are no longer able to operate our pharmacies,’ Theodore Abatzoglou, head of the association of Greek pharmacists, told state television NET.

‘We have unpaid bills worth 400 million euros ($A513.54 million) at a time when banks have closed access to loans while our suppliers demand payment in cash,’ he said.

The Greek government is trying to limit overspending on social welfare, part of a general austerity drive ordered under pressure from the EU and International Monetary Fund after the country nearly went bankrupt in 2010.

Chaotic account-keeping has led to massive waste of state funds for decades.

This enabled unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists to write false prescriptions to patients – some of them already deceased – and skim off the proceeds.

Last year, labour ministry officials revealed that millions of euros annually had also been spent on retirement payments to long-dead pensioners.

Last week, the government said health spending overall had skyrocketed to 10.6 billion euros in 2009 and the goal was to reduce the sum to seven billion euros this year.

‘Failure to do so means that pensions would have to be cut by 12 per cent,’ Labour Minister George Koutroumanis told a news conference.

Many retired Greeks have already sustained pension cuts in addition to income lost through price hikes, while civil servants have also had their monthly salaries slashed by hundreds of euros.

Greece, struggling under a debt of over 350 billion euros, is slogging through a fourth year of recession that has seen its economy shrink by a cumulative 15 per cent, bringing unemployment to almost 18 per cent.

From: http://ping.fm/kqLgI

Brown’s plan would cut state workforce by 3,000 positions

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – California Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2012-13 budget proposal would cut state government by a few thousand jobs and consolidate nearly 50 state organizations – and avoid furloughs.
Brown’s plan would reduce the state’s workforce by some 3,000 positions, mostly from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The savings would fill a just a tiny fraction of the $9.2 billion budget hole projected through June 2013.
When asked whether state workers could expect layoffs or job eliminations through attrition, Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos said the goal is “reductions in positions.”

The anticipated position cuts equal less than half the 7,600 state workers who retired through the first nine months of this year, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. State records show 200,000 full-time state employees received paychecks last month.

The administration will “try to minimize the number of layoffs” by relocating employees whose positions have been eliminated, Matosantos said during a Thursday afternoon Capitol press conference, “But the total workforce will continue to go down.”
Brown didn’t suggest that the Legislature restart furloughs. Contracts covering unionized workers under gubernatorial authority contained no-furlough protections, but those provisions all expire before the July 1 start of the next fiscal year.

From: http://ping.fm/NMR8X

RBS prepared to cut 10,000 jobs in investment banking

RBS, which is 83% owned by taxpayers, has hired investment bank Lazard to see if it can sell parts of the global banking and markets division, which has suffered losses and is hampered by a high cost base.

Should RBS fail to find buyers for the business it will axe up to 10,000 jobs, most of them in London, according to the Financial Times. The cuts, combined with £1 billion to £2 billion restructuring costs, are the worst case scenario being considered by chief executive Stephen Hester, sources told the paper.

Corporate broker Hoare Govett is also expected to be put on the block, alongside substantial chunks of the bank’s equity and corporate market divisions.

RBS (RBS.L) shares, which have almost halved in the past year, dipped 1.1% or 0.2p to 20.5p as the issued continued to cloud the outlook for the stock.

From: Ping.fm