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Saturday, July 27, 2013
NIH Begins Gene Therapy Trial for Parkinson s Disease
All eyes were on Perry Cohen when he froze at the microphone. His voice failed him. He couldn't read his notes. Eventually, the once-powerful Parkinson's disease speaker had to be helped off the stage halfway through his speech. That was in February 2012, but the memory of that day is emblazoned in his mind. "It was the adrenaline and the pressure of speaking -- it drained all the dopamine out," Cohen says, referring to the brain chemical that is found lacking in the neurodegenerative disorder. "That's why my symptoms got worse." When Cohen learned he had Parkinson's disease 17 years ago his symptoms were subtle. In the past couple years, however, the deterioration of his nervous system has become increasingly obvious, ultimately threatening to silence one of the most prominent voices in the Parkinson's patient community. Cohen is now first in line to try a novel treatment he hopes will halt or even reverse the symptoms of his Parkinson's disease. Two months ago he became the inaugural patient to undergo a gene therapy treatment led by the National Institutes of Health. The trial attempts to devise an intervention for Parkinson's disease at the root of the problem: protecting dopamine in the brain. Researchers in this trial are attempting to surgically deliver a gene into the body that will make a natural protein to protect dopaminergic neurons, the brain cells attacked by the disease. To date no Parkinson's treatment is geared toward reversing the progression of Parkinson's disease. For patients in the Parkinson's community Cohen has become a squeaky wheel that cannot be ignored, helping researchers understand more about the patient experience and how to utilize their input in procedures and patient care. A scientist with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in organization studies, Cohen says his background helped fuel his ability to bring people together to take action to advocate for people with Parkinson's disease. His persistency also helped keep him on researchers' radars when they were hunting for eligible patients for the trial. As a savvy medical consumer, Cohen knew to be choosy about volunteering for a research trial, "Patients have one ticket to get on an experimental treatment train. Once you have used your ticket you're used up and we have to be careful how we choose it," Cohen says, pointing to the requirements of the current NIH clinical trial. Since his diagnosis in 1996 Cohen's whole life morphed until his disease became the center of his universe. The 67-year-old former healthcare consultant spoke before the Institute of Medicine on protecting human research participants and he testified before Congress. He founded a new Parkinson's disease support group in the D.C.-area for individuals like him who were relatively young and mobile when they received their diagnosis. His friendships grew out of his relationships at the support group and through the scientific meetings he would attend where he often spoke about the role of patients in research. Early on he decided that he wanted to be part of a gene therapy experiment and waited patiently until the right investigation came along. He volunteered for more than 15 clinical or observational studies -- though none involved brain surgery. He also turned down deep brain stimulation, an increasingly common treatment for Parkinson's disease, because he knew it would disqualify him from any attempt to insert genes into the brain. Essentially deep brain stimulation involves implanting a "pacemaker for the brain," that will regulate neural activity and block the abnormal nerve signals that cause tremor and other Parkinson's symptoms. The procedure does not slow the progression of the disease; it just helps facilitate communication among the nerve cells in the brain. The gene therapy trial had three main requirements, which Cohen made sure he fulfilled. To be eligible, a patient would have to be in the advanced stages of the disease --check. He would have had to avoid any other brain surgery and cleared other exclusionary factors --check. And he would have to be told that the procedure was part of a Phase I trial -- meaning it was geared toward testing for safety and that there was no guarantee it would help him -- check. But Cohen had done his homework on the trial and his hopes were high. He had followed the evolution of the science on this type of gene therapy through its early animal trials and he eagerly anticipated when the human trials would finally wind their way through the reviews process, allowing him to sign up. He also personally spoke with almost all the investigators involved in this area of research. And, it goes without saying, he had his fingers crossed that this treatment would work. In May of 2013, Cohen went under the knife. A team of surgeons made an incision across the top of his head and drilled two holes in his skull. They inserted needles on both sides of his brain and used an MRI scan to monitor their work while they pumped in a virus solution containing the genes they hope will serve as an elixir to save dopaminergic cells. Now, Cohen has returned to his daily life and is anxiously awaiting signs that might indicate whether the procedure worked--something NIH investigators say may not be detectable until this autumn. When Cohen was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a stranger passing him on the street would not have known anything was wrong, but as his disease progressed, the tremors often associated with the disease began to show up along with the insomnia and the "Parkinson's mask" that caused his muscles to droop and look rigid. Now, "I take short steps, I can't even walk half a mile anymore," he says. He has what are commonly called "shuffles" in Parkinson's disease -- referring to his difficulty maintaining balance and the appearance that he is lurching forward when he stops walking. Now he is often short of breath and speaks in a raspy, halting voice. He had to abruptly end interviews with Scientific American on two separate occasions when his symptoms acted up. His five daily medications may help improve his symptoms and combat his lethargy, but there is no treatment that changes the arc of the disease. Today his energies are focused on his own health; he is waiting for any clues that the genes were successfully integrated into his system -- anything from his involuntary movements becoming less prominent after he takes his usual medication to indications that he can walk and move faster between his medication doses than before the procedure. One thing the disease certainly teaches is patience. Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nih-begins-gene-therapy-trial-parkinson-disease-100000077.html
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Internet Marketing Is There To Stay
By Laura Lee
There is a huge and indisputable thrust towards online business in the current age of computers and Internet and this keeps growing in leaps and bounds and is there to stay.
The coming and thriving of online business
We can credit the coming of online business to Internet which has proved to be a world-wide platform to reach out to the millions across geographical borders to promote your product or services with just a click of the mouse! Technological break through is strongly responsible for this tendency of conducting business online. This makes a tremendous impact on your business taking it to international levels.
Added to this social media has helped to open up new chances for the company owner to market and reach out to the teeming millions across a cross section of social groups to create brand recognition.
One can produce their own websites with all related data for their products and services and merely make use of Facebook, the giant among social media sites, to reach out towards the target audience in a jiffy. You can create fan pages or put up ads which will divert visitors to your site and soon your website will be flooded with traffic. All you need is great strategies to advertise your services online.
Advantages of conducting online business
When you get into online business you become the boss! You can direct the company according to your wish and make decisions that you deem sound for your business. You?ve got liberty in a lot of areas; you can fix your own working hours, your online business is working 24X7 hence increasing your company potential and thereby your gains. You may be at any place yet you can see what is occurring and can control things.
Online business demands very little initial investment or start-up-price, all that is needed is a pc and an Internet connection. Loads of establishment overheads can be avoided and it isn?t needed to have a battery of staff to man the counters or sell your services. All this results in increased profit margins. Unlike regular staff with fixed wages you can finally have freelancers to do the job and pay based on the work they do. This cuts down your expenditure towards wages to staff dramatically.
With online business you get to learn the latest trends and certainly will check out new approaches to help your business to grow and flourish. You can expand your organization and take it to new horizons like never before.
And connecting to social media could be the best thing about online business to reach out far and wide. Social media sites like the ever expanding Facebook with the largest ever member base and following not too far is Twitter let you to connect to customers to pronounce new starts or special discounts without really having to contact them individually which is just a herculean task indeed! Soon the world gets to know of your products and services and this helps your sales to soar to new heights!
To stay ahead in this competitive world of online business you need to place in sufficient effort to create marketable services and products. You?ll need to plan well and make use of outstanding marketing strategies to help your web site get top ranking in the search engines.
Go ahead and start your web company and see your cash grow and grow like never before!
Desire to realize much more about Online business. Then visit this suggested website and uncover how Online business can benefit an individual.
Source: http://liveamericandreamnow.com/?p=7963
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Amid scandal, Weiner tours storm-damaged NYC home
NEW YORK (AP) ? New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner met Superstorm Sandy victims on Staten Island as he tried to move past the sexting scandal threatening to derail his attempted political comeback.
The former congressman traveled to the furthest reaches of the city Friday to tour the ruined home of Joseph Cardinale, who is still struggling to rebuild after the deadly storm knocked his house off its foundation.
But even in that setting Weiner couldn't escape the scandal. Neighborhood resident Peg Brunda confronted the candidate, telling him he didn't have the "moral authority" to lead the city.
Weiner said he just wants to give residents a chance to decide for themselves.
So far Weiner has resisted calls for him to abandon the race.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amid-scandal-weiner-tours-storm-damaged-nyc-home-210239553.html
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Scouts Canada volunteer faces sex charges
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Neighbours and those who shared a home with a Scouts Canada volunteer ? who also worked as a lifeguard at a city pool ? who is accused of molesting three boys are ?very surprised? at the allegations.
Scott Graham Stanley, 30, faces 18 charges, including sexual interference, sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and luring against three boys, all under 16.
Police allege the incidents took place from Jan. 2012 to as recently as July 19, while he was a volunteer with Scouts, and involves children 11-to-14 years old in the Ottawa area. Investigators also believe there may be more victims.
Officers arrived in an unmarked car at Stanley?s home, which he rents with three other men, on Thursday. He was taken out in handcuffs, according to neighbours and roommates. Officers also searched the home, seizing a computer.
Stanley also for years worked as a lifeguard at the Stittsville-based Goulbourn Recreation Complex and as a swim coach with the Goulbourn Sea Hawks swim club, said those who knew him.
One of the roommates met Stanley six years ago while working at the pool. He moved into the home in February, following an eviction.
?I never had a problem with him,? said the man, who did not want his name used. ?He helped me out with a lot of stuff. To me, knowing him the longest, it?s very shocking.?
Others had heard him say what they felt were inappropriate comments about children, but were ?surprised it went this far.?
Stanley was let go from the Scouts about a month ago, said roommates. About two weeks ago, he lost his job at the pool.
City officials said Stanley was an aquatics supervisor, who is currently suspended without pay.
Last week, Stanley cleared his online social networking sites of photos, his roommates said.
A graduate of Algonquin College, he also worked with teens at camps and churches, according to a biography that was posted to the Sea Hawks website, but has since been pulled down.
When he wasn?t working or volunteering, his roommates said Stanley spent a lot of time alone in his room.
The heavy set, bespectacled and unshaven Stanley appeared in court on Friday, wearing a T-shirt reading ?I?m not a hippie I just hike a lot.?
He was banned from communicating with anyone under the age of 18, or the alleged victims and their families.
Stanley will spend the weekend in jail before attending a bail hearing set for Monday.
Stanley was suspended on May 12 for not following its child and youth safety policies and procedures, according to Andrew Price, chief commissioner of Scouts Canada.
Shortly after, Scouts Canada shared all of the information it had on the situation with Ottawa police, although the organization did not elaborate, except to say they are co-operating with the police investigation.
Scout leaders are required to complete ?rigorous training and police screening procedures? before being allowed to work with young people, said Scouts Canada, and prior to May this year, Stanley had met those requirements.
His most recent police record check was successfully completed in June 2012.
Scouts Canada said ?nothing is more important? than the safety of young people in their care.
? With files from Megan Gillis
danielle.bell@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @ottawasundbell
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Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/07/26/scouts-canada-volunteer-faces-sex-charges
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UCP Inc: Hybrid Real Estate Play Offers The Most Short-Term ...
UCP, Inc (UCP) is a west coast land developer / homebuilder that recently completed its IPO just over a week ago hitting the public market after the close of business on July 17th. The IPO priced at $15 per share, which was at the low end of the expected range of $15 - $17 per share. The IPO hit the market at an inopportune time, as the frenzy and fear over rising interest rates was at a fever pitch with its greatest impact being felt by housing related names. Since the time of the IPO, shares of UCP have traded down to about $14 per share. The opportunity for investors to profit from an investment in this company is due to multiple discrete items. In my opinion, the upside opportunity from an investment in UCP is greater than any other name tied to real estate today. The homebuilders have rallied significantly from their record lows set over a year ago. Housing and material supply companies are the same story. I believe the market does not currently understand how to price UCP. Is it a homebuilder or a land developer? This uncertainty from a pricing standpoint leads to a price-to-book valuation that is half the level seen by some of the most fairly valued homebuilders today. I would argue that UCP will enjoy the benefits of its startup homebuilding operation and how this side of the business will most likely double annually for years to come. From the land side of the business, the company owns more than enough land to fuel its homebuilding operation. This land was also acquired at dirt cheap prices, and the funds raised from the IPO will allow UCP to develop its land holdings and continue to sell certain developed lots to other builders for significant profits. At the end of the day, this is a company with cheap land, minimal fixed costs, and more than enough cash to grow aggressively or weather any type of correction in the real estate market. I do not feel like a correction will come, and I see the potential for over 50% upside in the near term for UCP.
Company Background
UCP was formed in 2004 and was acquired by PICO Holdings (PICO) in 2008. The story for UCP really begins with its acquisition by PICO, and access to capital that the acquisition provided. Since 2008, UCP has acquired over 6,000 single-family residential lots while investing over $200M. The vast majority of the land acquired and owned today is in Northern California, with a smaller concentration of land holdings in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.
In 2010, UCP launched its homebuilding operation, Benchmark Communities. Today, the company owns and controls over 5,000 lots across 48 communities. There is a significant amount of importance to that last point. On average, each community owned or controlled by the company is comprised of just over 100 lots (~5,000 lots / 48 communities). This is critically important as the company owns communities that can be quickly monetized as opposed to those with hundreds of lots, and have a short tail to them which reduces the holding risk for those who are concerned about a real estate correction.
UCP sold ~7.8M shares as part of the IPO, which priced at $15 per share, raising ~$117M prior to offering costs or any additional proceeds from the underwriters option to purchase up to slightly over another 1M shares. The amount of shares sold as part of the IPO equaled the equivalent of 42.3% of the outstanding ownership interest in the company. Without consideration for the underwriter option to purchase additional shares, this should leave a total of ~18.3M shares outstanding at this point (7.75M shares issued / 42.3% ownership interest). With a current share price of ~$14 per share, the total market capitalization for UCP is ~$255M.
The Investment Opportunity
There are two parts to the investment opportunity. The first is there has been zero coverage yet on this company. All the market knows is that another real estate company hit the public markets, and the coverage has been negative in the sense that it priced at the lower end of its IPO. This compares to other homebuilder IPOs earlier in the year that spiked right out of the gate. Again, I think this is partially timing related due to the interest rate spike and also due to the market not realizing that this company has the upside opportunity of a homebuilder without all of the legacy issues that others in this sector still carry. I fully suspect that when coverage is initiated on UCP it will be at a price point significantly higher than where the stock trades today, which leads directly into the second investment opportunity. This company owns a significant amount of land in relation to its market capitalization. It owns essentially zero legacy land positions, or those purchased before the housing crash that are still not yet fairly valued in many instances. The image below from the IPO prospectus shows the vintage year that the ~5,000 lots owned/controlled currently was acquired:
(click to enlarge)
You clearly see that over 80% of the current land holdings were acquired between 2008 and 2011, when the housing and land market was at its most depressed state. Investors have argued that land sitting on homebuilders' book is undervalued because GAAP accounting rules do not allow for land to be marked up to its fair value. In most cases, I disagree with this argument. In the case of UCP, because the company has to bare all as part of its prospectus and we can determine when its land was purchased, I fully believe that the land held on the balance sheet today is carried at a cost significantly below fair market value.
The table below from the prospectus filing shows the total lots owned and controlled by market:
(click to enlarge)
Again, there are multiple key takeaways from this table. First, we see that the company owns over 4,200 lots out of a total of ~5,000 lots owned/controlled. Owning over 80% of the lots the company controls means the company has physically already purchased the bulk of its lots, and will not be burdened with that cash outlay in the future. The company reported that its total value ascribed to real estate inventory (the bulk of which is land assets) was ~$140M at the end of the last quarter. If you exclude the controlled lots, which the company has very little investment in other than a deposit, you can see just how cheap the land is that the company owns. Using rough math, with $140M of real estate inventory divided by 4,255 owned lots (as seen above), the average value of a lot owned by the company is ~$33K. Just how undervalued these lots are becomes apparent when you view the following table from the KB Home (KBH) 2012 10-K:
(click to enlarge)
KB Home owned ~3,900 lots classified as land held for future development in its West Coast market, which is California. The carrying value of this land was ~$337M, which equates to over $85K per lot. This is land that KB Home does not intend to monetize within 12 months, in some cases because the land has just been acquired and needs to be developed. However, in most cases, this land is part of developments where the housing market has still not recovered to the point where it is economically feasible for the company to generate a return on these assets.
UCP owns lots in California with an average basis of $33K, and roughly 25% of those lots are already finished. In reality, as the finished lots carry a higher basis, the remaining 75% of owned lots are valued at even less than $33K on average. KB Home has lots in California valued at $85K that it cannot monetize today. Even if you think KB Home is overvalued, the discrepancy between the carrying cost for UCP land inventory shows just how undervalued the land holdings for UCP are.
Further evidence of how undervalued the land holdings are can also be found in the prospectus. Since 2008, UCP has sold ~950 lots and homes for just over $100M in proceeds. This works out to over $100K on average for each lot/home sold. The bulk of the transactions, ~850, were lot sales without a home. During Q1 2013, the company sold 54 lots at an ASP of ~$140K generating a gross margin on each lot of ~39%.
The Best Of Both Worlds
With the focus of not only growing a homebuilding operation, but also having the ability to generate revenue and profits through developing and selling lots, UCP is uniquely positioned in the real estate sector. The table below shows the operating results for Q1 2013 as shown in the prospectus:
(click to enlarge)
You will note that the company only had 5 communities at which it was operating its homebuilding operation at the end of Q1 2013. The following table shows just how explosive the homebuilding growth will be in the coming quarters:
(click to enlarge)
The above table shows that the company has over 1,000 lots, across 15 communities, which are or will be substantially developed and ready to open for sales by the end of 2013. The company ended the last quarter with 5 selling efforts, and that number is set to increase by over 200% in the near term. Here is where you will see explosive growth, albeit from a low level, in home closings and revenue over the next few quarters. With a homebuilding company, the operating leverage significantly increases in a situation like this where the entire portfolio of communities is closely concentrated in one geographic area.
The above table only shows 15 communities out of the 48 communities the company owns. UCP can selectively choose to either monetize its remaining communities by developing them and opening homebuilding operations or by selling them to other homebuilders. This is a luxury other builders do not have, in so much as they need to chase volume in order to support their cost structure.
Finally, UCP is unique in that after accounting for its ~$110M IPO proceeds net of costs and its cash on hand, it will have close to $120M at its disposal earmarked for growth. This compares to total debt of only ~$40M. The total market capitalization of the company is currently ~$255M. The net cash (cash minus debt) for UCP will be equal to ~31% of its total market capitalization. The book value for the company will be ~$225M after adding the IPO proceeds to the existing equity of ~$110M. This will give UCP a price-to-book value ratio of ~1.1x. This valuation, combined with the headline of substantial growth in the quarters to come, is what will drive the stock higher.
Investment Outlook
This is about as straight forward of an opportunity that you will find in the homebuilding and real estate industry today. The lack of coverage and fear regarding rising interest rates is creating an opportunity that will not last for long. In homebuilding, most valuation analysis centers around price-to-book value:
TMHC Price / Book Value data by YCharts
The above chart shows some of the more fairly valued homebuilders, as well as Taylor Morrison (TMHC), who just went public earlier this year. You will see that the lowest price to book valuation is 1.8x for M.D.C Holdings (MDC). Another California-based homebuilder which had its IPO earlier this year, TRI Pointe Homes (TPH), trades for greater than a 1.6x price-to-book value ratio.
The upside case here is simple. At a current valuation of ~1.1x its book value, UCP has more upside than any other publicly traded homebuilder. Further, the company has a cleaner balance sheet than any other builder and will face far less downside in the risk of a correction. With a small operation, entailing minimal overhead and carrying costs, UCP does not face the risk of getting caught with overvalued land assets. Remember, over 80% of the land assets the company owns today were purchased between 2008 and 2011. Compare that to the other homebuilders today buying land left and right, at a time when land prices have soared as the housing market has recovered. As the market realizes the opportunity, and the significant risk/reward profile of this company, I feel that UCP has at a minimum 50% upside before its price-to-book valuation is even at a remotely reasonable level. If the company executes on its expansion plans and grows its community account swiftly, the upside could be over 75% before UPC reaches a valuation of 2x its book value.
Opportunity is knocking, answer the door.
Source: (All UCP related financial information is sourced from the Prospectus filed with the SEC in conjunction with the recent IPO)
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Sony confirms Gamescom press conference
- Posted July 26th, 2013 at 08:59 EDT by Mike Harradence
Sony has confirmed it will once again be hosting a press conference at Gamescom this year.
The hardware giant?s conference will take place on August 20, a day before the show kicks off, at the Saatenhaus am Rheinpark in Cologne. Sony?s presser will get underway at 7.00 p.m. CET/6.00 p.m. GMT.
Sony is expected to reveal more software and details and its next-generation console, the PlayStation 4, at the event as well as the PlayStation Vita. Earlier this month the company teased on Twitter that it had some big plans in store for both systems at Gamescom.
In previous years, Sony has used its Gamescom press event to unveil hardware such as the PlayStation Slim (2009), as well as various titles including Resistance 3 (2010).
What do you want Sony to reveal at Gamescom this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
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