Year 9 Vol.No: (105) October 2018 MONTHLY NEWS 2 3 4 5 Azeb Al-Qahtani Assumes JOC Chairmanship Saudi Aramco Arranges An Honoring Party for Al-Helal Oil Price (Monthly) US Dollar Al-Qahtani Meets JOC Members and Department Managers AGOC Arranges An Honoring Party for Al-Helal 68.89 I have the pleasure, while assuming my position as a Chairman for the Joint Operating Committee, to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all KJO employees for their dedi- cated efforts toward achieving KJO goals. I am proud of their profession- ality and supreme values, and sure that our human resources are the main pillar of success in our busi- ness. KJO is keen to enhance its human resources by continuous training and development. It provides them with all technical and technological means and equipment to help them reduce time and costs. In this regard, KJO employees are distinguished in availing from such potentials, and have high awareness about the im- portance of occupational safety, for individuals and groups, in the work- place, and do care for environment as per the applicable standards. The previous era, under the manage- ment of my brother; Eng. Saeed Al- Shaheen, was full of achievements; during which, the Executive Direc- tors, Department Managers, Assis- tants and Employees extended limit- less cooperation to him. So, he really deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude for his efforts and dedica- tion, and thanks to all who worked in such era. We will adhere to high professional- ity in order to promote our business and achieve success for this distin- guished partnership. We believe that successful businesses are those which rely on the previous successful aspects, enhance and promote them, and avail all efforts toward develop- ing them. KJO contributed in serving the local community out of its firm commit- ment to its social responsibility, and will continue such commitment in the future. We will work on achieving the concept of development, depend- ing on accurate and precise stan- dards, in order to achieve the sought goals efficiently. I supplicate to the Almighty Allah to guide us to success and prosperity Eng. Azeb M. Al-Qahtani C-JOC’s Message
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Year 9 Vol.No: (105) October 2018 M O N T H LY N E W S
2 3 4 5Azeb Al-QahtaniAssumes JOC Chairmanship
Saudi Aramco Arranges An HonoringParty for Al-Helal
Oil Price (Monthly)
USDollar
Al-Qahtani MeetsJOC Members and Department Managers
AGOC Arranges An Honoring Party for Al-Helal
68.89
Ihave the pleasure, while assuming my position as a Chairman for the
Joint Operating Committee, to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to all KJO employees for their dedi-cated efforts toward achieving KJO goals. I am proud of their profession-ality and supreme values, and sure that our human resources are the main pillar of success in our busi-ness. KJO is keen to enhance its human resources by continuous training and development. It provides them with all technical and technological means and equipment to help them reduce time and costs. In this regard, KJO employees are distinguished in availing from such potentials, and have high awareness about the im-portance of occupational safety, for individuals and groups, in the work-place, and do care for environment as per the applicable standards. The previous era, under the manage-ment of my brother; Eng. Saeed Al-Shaheen, was full of achievements; during which, the Executive Direc-tors, Department Managers, Assis-tants and Employees extended limit-less cooperation to him. So, he really deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude for his efforts and dedica-tion, and thanks to all who worked in such era. We will adhere to high professional-ity in order to promote our business and achieve success for this distin-guished partnership. We believe that successful businesses are those which rely on the previous successful aspects, enhance and promote them, and avail all efforts toward develop-ing them. KJO contributed in serving the local community out of its firm commit-ment to its social responsibility, and will continue such commitment in the future. We will work on achieving the concept of development, depend-ing on accurate and precise stan-dards, in order to achieve the sought goals efficiently. I supplicate to the Almighty Allah to guide us to success and prosperity
Eng. Azeb M. Al-Qahtani
C-JOC’s Message
Joint Operation’s NewsM O N T H LY N E W S October 2018
On Monday, October 1st 2018, Eng. Azeb M. Al-Qahtani as-
sumed his position as Chairman for the Joint Operating Committee (C-JOC), at KJO Office Park, as succes-sor for Eng. Saeed Al-Shaheen. In this occasion, Al-Qahtani extend-ed his thanks and appreciation to the previous C-JOC, Eng. Saeed Al-Shaheen, for his professional man-agement which was full of achieve-ments. He also thanked Ex-JOC members for their dedicated efforts toward achieving KJO goals. It is worth mentioning that the chairmanship of JOC is rotated ev-ery three years between AGOC and KGOC, and the Committee is com-prised of a chairman and five mem-bers.
Azeb Al-QahtaniAssumes JOC Chairmanship
• 1st September, 2018: Appointed as President and CEO for Aramco Gulf Operations and Chairman for the Joint Executive Committee of KJO. • 1st October 2018: Appointed as Chairman for the Joint Operating Committee of KJO. Scientific Qualifications: • BA Chemical Engineering from KFUPM, 1991. • Saudi Aramco management development program and executive management program. Memberships: • Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). • American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE).• Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE). Professional Career: Eng. Azeb started his career in 1983 in the Government Sector, then: • Joined Saudi Aramco in 1986. • Assumed many technical and administrative positions; including managing the operations in Yan-bu, production engineer in the Northern Area, then senior production project engineer in Qatif and Abu Safah oilfields. • Engineering and Design Manager for Kharasaniya Production Facilities Project in 2005, then Su-perintendent for Tanajib Production Plants. • Assistant Vice President of Upstream in the Northern Area, 2008. • Moved to the Production Division in Safaniyah Plants in 2009, then Safaniyah Offshore Oilfield. • Assigned as Manager for Engineering and Technical Support Department in the Northern Area in 2011. • Assigned as Production Manager for Manifa, Kharasaniya, Abu Hadriya and Al-Fadli fields in 2013. • Assigned as Manager for Operational Procurements in 2015, then assigned as Acting General Manager for Residence Quarters Services. • Assigned as Manager for Production Facilities Development Department in 2016, until finally moved to Khafji City.
About Azeb Al-Qahtani
Eng. Saeed Al-Shaheen, Ex C-JOC, sent the following appreciation letter to his colleagues in KJO at the end of his assignment as C-JOC:
“My march with you as a Chairman for KJO Joint Operating Committee ended yesterday, Sunday, corresponding to 30 September 2018. My brother/ Azeb Mohammad Al-Qahtani – President and CEO of Aramco Gulf Operations – assumed the JOC chairmanship to continue the march of KJO with you. In this regard, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all of you, for your dedicated ef-forts, support and cooperation, which reflected the strong cordial bonds between our two brotherly countries. I have full confidence that you will extend the same limitless support to my brother/ Azeb Moham-mad Al-Qahtani, and will cooperate with him in performing his tasks toward leading KJO to a pros-perous future. I assure continuing my endless support and cooperation, as Deputy CEO for Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, toward achieving KJO objectives. Finally, I wish you all good health and success in your endeavors, and supplicate to the Almighty Al-lah to keep this amiable relation between our two brotherly countries”.
At the end of his assignment as C-JOCAl-Shaheen Sends an Appreciation Letter to KJO Employees
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M O N T H LY N E W S October 2018Joint Operation’s News
On Tuesday, October 3rd 2018, C-JOC Eng. Azeb Al-Qahtani held
a meeting with JOC Members – Ex-ecutive Directors – and Department Managers at the Meeting Room in
KJO Office Park. The meeting was attended by EDO Eng. Mohammad Al-Khatib, EDI Eng. Abdullah Al-Qahtani, A/EDP Eng. Mo-hammad Khalil and A/EDB Mubarak
Al-Saeedi. Al-Qahtani welcomed the attendees, lauded their efforts, heard from them and briefed them about the expected tasks and responsibilities in the new
era. He lauded the efforts of KJO em-ployees and all efforts exerted toward developing KJO human resources, and emphasized that safety is first.
After assuming his assignment as C-JOC
Al-Qahtani Meets JOC Members and Department Managers
On 15th Sep-tember, Eng.
Sulaiman Malek A/EDH honored Sa-lem Mohammed Al-Marri, in pres-ence of Salah Al-Ruwaili MER. The honoring came for his diligent work and enthusiasm to learn the mecha-nism of new tasks entrusted to him in a short period of time and dedication in his outstanding performance.
For his efforts and dedication for self development
Executive Director of Human
Resources honors Salem Mohammed
Al Marri
On Tuesday, 25th September, Eng.
Saeed Al-Shaheen, honored his work team which consist of Internal Audit De-partment, Corporate Planning Depart-ment, and the Joint Affairs Office. The recognition came within the framework of appreciation and thanks to the staff for their efforts and their constant moti-vation. The recogni-tion took place in the office of the Chair-man of the Joint Op-erating Committee where the gifts were distributed to them.
Al-Shaheen honors the C-JOC work team
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Al-Qahtani chairing the meeting
Al-Shaheen posing with honored employees
Eng. Sulaiman Malek, Salem Al-Marri and Saleh Al-Ruwaili
Joint Operation’s NewsM O N T H LY N E W S October 2018
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On Thursday, December 31st 2018, Eng. Mohammad Y. Al-Qahtani, Senior Vice
President of Upstream in Saudi Aram-co, arranged an honoring party for Eng. Abdullah N. Al-Helal, at Al-Diwan Hall, Dahran, on the occasion of his retirement from Saudi Aramco after 38 years of dedi-cated service. The party was attended by members of the Executive Management in Saudi Ar-amco, together with some of the friends and colleagues, as well as President and Board Members of AGOC and the Execu-tive Management. In this occasion, Eng. Khalid A. Al-Buraik, Chairman of AGOC board of directors, delivered a word thanking and appreci-ating the dedicated services of Al-Helal throughout the past thirty nine years, which were full of challenges and achieve-ments, starting from Saudi Aramco, then Luberef, and Finally AGOC. He concluded: “I do extend my sincere
greetings to my dear brother/ Abu Thamer, and do supplicate to the Almighty to bless
his future endeavors and reward him for his dedicated services. I would like to as-
sure that this is not a farewell word, but an occasion to confirm our deep respect and cordial relation, because sure we will remain in touch with him, and sure we need his valuable consultancy and opinion. Please accept our sincere gratitude, ap-preciation and respect, and wish you good health, success and happiness”. In turn, Al-Helal delivered a speech ap-preciating Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Qahtani, Senior Vice President of Upstream, for such noble invitation and for attending the honoring party, and extended apprecia-tion to all those who supported him dur-ing his career. He extended sincere thanks to H.R.H. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, and to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as well as to his elder brother, his wife and sons, as they have extended limitless support to him. He also thanked all colleagues and friends with whom he worked throughout the past four decades.
Saudi Aramco Arranges An Honoring Party for Al-Helal
Dr.Mohammed Al-Qahtani Awarding Al-Helal a gift from Aramco
Abdul Hameed Al-Rushaid giving Al-Helal Drilling Gift
Eng.Azeb Al-Qahtani giving Al-Helal Aramco Gulf Operations gift
Al-Buraik giving Al-Helal the South Area gift
Group PhotoEng. Abdulla Al-Helal Eng.Khaled Al-Buraik
M O N T H LY N E W S October 2018Joint Operation’s News
On Wednesday, 12/09/2018, Eng. Khalid A. Al-Buraik, Chairman of
the board of directors of Aramco Gulf Operations, arranged an honoring
party for Eng. Abdullah N. Al-Helal, on the occasion of his retirement, at Kempinski Al-Othaman Hotel, in Khobar.
The party was attended by the mem-bers of the board, executive man-agement and executives of AGOC. In this regard, Al-Buraik delivered
a word thanking Al-Helal for his dedication and lauded his achieve-ments in his last career station at AGOC and KJO. He highlighted his sincere efforts and all initia-tives taken in cooperation with the brothers in KGOC, which contrib-uted in enhancing safety, preserv-ing environment, developing the human resources, updating the rules and regulations, enhancing governance, and developing the oilfields and onshore and offshore plants.
In turn, Al-Helal delivered a speech
thanking all executives and em-ployees of AGOC and encouraged them to continue their dedicated
efforts toward supporting the youth and to cooperate with AGOC Presi-dent & CEO, Eng. Azeb Al-Qahtani.
AGOC Arranges An Honoring Party for Al-Helal
On July 11th, 2018, Aramco Gulf Oper-ations (AGOC) bade farewell to Eng.
Abdullah N. Al-Helal, Ex-President and CEO, and received Eng. Azeb M. Al-Qa-htani, New President and CEO, in pres-ence of C-JOC Eng. Saeed Al-Shaheen, Khafji Governor Mohammad Al-Hazza, Commander of the 24th Troop in Khafji, Fahad bin Shawia, together with many government officials, KJO department managers and a number of employees, at the Cultural Tent in the Family Quar-ter. The colleague Ahmad Ghali started the ceremony by welcoming the attendance and thanking Al-Helal for his efforts and contributions, and wished all success to the new President and CEO; Al-Qahtani. Then he highlighted the professional career of Al-Helal and the tenure of his service which lasted for 38 years, during which he assumed many pioneering po-
sitions in various companies. Al-Shaheen then delivered a speech lauding Al-Helal and thanking him in the name of the Joint Operating Committee and KJO employees. He then presented a memorial gift to Al-Helal on behalf of Eng. Abdul Nasser Al-Fulaij, CEO of Ku-waiti Gulf Oil Company. The Executive Management of KJO and EDI Abdullah M. Al-Qahtani also pre-sented memorial gifts to Al-Helal. Al-Helal then delivered a speech say-ing: “It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you this night. I am honored with your attendance and now leaving you with feelings of sincere affection, appreciation and gratitude. During the past seven years, Khafji Joint Operations witnessed the execution of a significant number of key initiatives in various areas in the pursuit of operational excellence; including HSE, human capital develop-
ment, reliable and safe operations, proj-ect management, governance, business process improvements, implementation of technology and social responsibility programs”. He highlighted AGOC’s social respon-sibility programs saying: “KJO proved its commitment to the social and eco-nomic development of Khafji city. Since our inception, we carried out several key projects such as home ownership scheme for the employees, giving loans to the employees to build their houses, developing a space land in Prince Fa-had bin Salman Neighborhood, building infrastructure for 800 residential units, building seven modern schools, central market and a mosque and its appen-dixes, as well as building five modern government schools, in partnership with KGOC. AGOC also supported government departments, Khafji SPSP, charity asso-
ciations, Kulluna Al-Khafji Festival, and Summer Club Activities and Programs”.He added: “I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to both the KGOC and AGOC Board of Directors, Joint Operating Committee Chairman and Members, the Joint Executive Com-mittee Chairman and Members, and KJO employees for their support and cooper-ation. I urge you that the same support and cooperation be extended to Mr. Azeb Al-Qahtani, the new AGOC President and CEO”. In turn, Al-Qahtani delivered a speech thanking Al-Helal and lauded his key role in managing production in various facilities in Saudi Aramco and wished him all success and prosperity in his fu-ture endeavors. At the end of the party, the attendance took group photos with Al-Helal and Al-Qahtani.
AGOC Bids Farewell to “Al-Helal” and Receives “Al-Qahtani”
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Board members giving Al-Helal a memorial gift
Group photo with Al-Khafji Governor and Department Managers
Al-Helal recieving memorial gifts
| Safety |
PanoramaM O N T H LY N E W S October 2018
Safety is not just a technology issue.
The effectiveness of people and process-es is enhanced only by the tools available to them, and tech-nology itself is rarely a complete solu-tion to workplace safety. Having said that, technological innovations are es-sential in creating a significant impact in securing facilities, reducing the severity of emergencies and even shortening response times for first responders. One area in which we’ve seen substantial improvements is the communication systems that organizations are implement-ing.The technology powering these changes provides essential communication throughout the workforce, no matter the situation or location. Maintaining communication with em-ployees can be essential not only in an emergency, but also for simple organizational issues such as staffing. The key to implementing an effective communication technology is to provide continuity throughout the workplace. Today, employ-ees are bombarded by many different modes of communica-tion, making effective emergency communication that much more important.Communication systems are playing a key role in today’s workplace, as the modern office no longer is confined to one specific space. Mobile technologies have allowed employees to access work wherever they are, whether collaborating across campus or the country, as well as traveling remotely. With that, a major trend in workplace safety is protecting the lone employee. In the office or in a remote location, corpo-rations still are responsible for protecting each employee. Business leaders now must be sure that communication platforms will reach all employees during an emergency, no matter the location and preferred method of communication.With all these forms of communication come questions that businesses need to address. Are employees safe? Do they need additional resources and assistance? Are they not in their normal location? These questions can be answered with technologies such as poll-based alerting. These tools can work alongside mass notification systems to solicit informa-tion and even location data from employees in the event of an emergency. This allows groups – whether they’re located in a specific area or are members of a certain shift – to re-ceive targeted communications with essential information in an accurate and timely manner. Using these tools alongside email, SMS text and voice options maintains continuity across all forms of communication.The majority of employees expect to receive immediate com-munications from their organizations regarding emergen-cies. In addition to employees receiving notifications about potential life-threatening events, timely updates regarding office closures because of severe weather or system outages also must be communicated to ensure business continuity. Integrating essential communication that isn’t just associ-ated with safety situations ensures employees are enrolled in the appropriate communication channels. Technological in-novations in communications means every safety procedure can be conveyed to all employees.
Stimulating the spinal cord helps 3 more paralyzed people walk
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What are the biggest technological innovations that have affected
workplace safety?
| Science |
RECOVERY IN ACTION David Mzee, 28, was paralyzed in 2010. After five months of rehabilitation involving
targeted electrical stimulation to his spinal cord, Mzee (seen above in this composite image) can now walk for an hour at a time with some help supporting his weight.There’s now more evidence that stimulating the spinal cord can restore voluntary movement in paralyzed pa-tients who haven’t recovered after other treatments. Af-ter five months of training coupled with targeted stimula-tion of nerve cells in the spinal cord, three people who had a severe spinal cord injury regained the ability to walk with varying degrees of support, researchers report on-line October 30 in Nature.Stimulating nerve cells, or neurons, in the spinal cord with electric jolts works by amplifing signals coming from the lower extremities, helping the brain and legs of paralyzed people to communicate better. But after under-going the therapy, two of the patients were even able to walk on crutches without the electrical stimulation. That suggests that the treatment may have helped strengthen neural connections between the brain and spinal cord that were not functional or barely working post-injury. Such a level of recovery is “extremely exciting,” says Chet Moritz, a neuroscientist at the University of Washington in Seattle who wasn’t involved in the work.All three patients were paralyzed from an injury at least four years earlier, but hadn’t regained movement after extensive rehabilitation, despite having some neural con-nections remaining at the injury site. The finding comes on the heels of two other major studies published in Sep-tember, one in the New England Journal of Medicine and one in Nature Medicine, showing similar gains in patients who had a form of paralysis where those connections were totally nonfunctional (SN: 8/27/18, p. 15).“Extending these findings into these two different popula-tions is really important,” says Susan Harkema, a neuro-scientist at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. In pa-tients with different kinds of chronic spinal cord injuries, “we›ve showed with training and stimulation, people ... have the capacity to recover,” says Harkema, who coau-thored the earlier study in the New England Journal of Medicine.The accomplishment was a technological challenge, says Grégoire Courtine, a neuroengineer at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology in Lausanne and a coauthor of the new study. Like Harkema’s team, Courtine and col-leagues implanted a pulse-generating machine into their patients. The matchbox-sized device was originally de-signed as a pain management therapy. Certain patterns of spinal cord stimulation work better for triggering certain movements, like lifting a leg versus setting it down, previous research has shown. So rather than have the stimulator run constantly, as previous stud-ies have done, Courtine’s team designed a wireless sys-tem to control the stimulator so that it delivered targeted pulses of electricity to specific neurons at precise times, coordinated with desired muscle movements.The more targeted stimulation “takes [the therapy] to the next level,” Moritz says.Constant stimulation can also interfere with patients’ abilities to sense their limbs in space, Courtine’s team reports in a separate study published October 31 in Na-ture Neuroscience. Feeling where limbs are in space is important for complex coordinated movements like walk-ing, which requires many muscle groups to work togeth-er, Courtine says. The selective stimulation was better at improving movement in the patients the researchers tested, amplifying conversations between the extremities and the brain without drowning out sensation.Patients receiving the pulses had to learn how to coordi-nate their own movements with the stimulation. At first, people had assistance from a contraption that supported their trunk and helped them remain upright. Within a week of starting the treatment, all three patients could walk while receiving spinal cord stimulation. After five months, two patients had progressed to walking hands-free with just 35 percent of their body weight supported in the harness. A third, who had more severe injuries, needed more assistance.WEIGHT SUPPORT In the lab, patients including David Mzee (shown) learned to walk again with assistance from a harness that supported their body weight. Eventually, Mzee progressed to walking with less support, and even without the harness.
Independent groups of scientists have now made similar progress using the therapy
Many wonder about the differences between leader-ship and management. Are they mutually exclusive?
Do professionals have both qualities—or do they learn one or the other over a long period of time? These ques-tions are just the tip of the iceberg. In this article, we will take a look at both.What is Leadership? What is Management?The words “leader” and “manager” are among the most commonly used words in business and are often used interchangeably. But have you ever wondered what the terms actually mean? What Do Managers Do?A manager is the member of an organization with the re-sponsibility of carrying out the four important functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and con-trolling. But are all managers leaders?Most managers also tend to be leaders, but only IF they also adequately carry out the leadership responsibilities of management, which include communication, motiva-tion, providing inspiration and guidance, and encourag-ing employees to rise to a higher level of productivity.Unfortunately, not all managers are leaders. Some man-agers have poor leadership qualities, and employees follow orders from their managers because they are ob-ligated to do so—not necessarily because they are influ-enced or inspired by the leader.Managerial duties are usually a formal part of a job de-scription; subordinates follow as a result of the profes-sional title or designation. A manager’s chief focus is to meet organizational goals and objectives; they typically do not take much else into consideration. Managers are held responsible for their actions, as well as for the ac-tions of their subordinates. With the title comes the au-thority and the privilege to promote, hire, fire, discipline, or reward employees based on their performance and behavior.
What Do Leaders Do?The primary difference between management and lead-ership is that leaders don’t necessarily hold or occupy a management position. Simply put, a leader doesn’t have to be an authority figure in the organization; a leader can be anyone.Unlike managers, leaders are followed because of their personality, behavior, and beliefs. A leader personally in-vests in tasks and projects and demonstrates a high level of passion for work. Leaders take a great deal of interest in the success of their followers, enabling them to reach their goals to satisfaction—these are not necessarily or-ganizational goals.There isn’t always tangible or formal power that a lead-er possesses over his followers. Temporary power is awarded to a leader and can be conditional based on the ability of the leader to continually inspire and motivate their followers.Subordinates of a manager are required to obey orders while following is optional when it comes to leadership. Leadership works on inspiration and trust among em-ployees; those who do wish to follow their leader may stop at any time. Generally, leaders are people who chal-lenge the status quo. Leadership is change-savvy, vision-ary, agile, creative, and adaptive.Are The Traits A Manager Possesses?Below are four important traits of a manager.#1 The ability to execute a Vision: Managers build a stra-tegic vision and break it down into a roadmap for their team to follow.#2 The ability to Direct: Managers are responsible for day-to-day efforts while reviewing necessary resources and anticipating needs to make changes along the way.#3 Process Management: Managers have the authority to establish work rules, processes, standards, and oper-ating procedures.
| Management |
What’s the Difference Between Leadership and Management?
Panorama M O N T H LY N E W S October 2018
| Environment |
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For many cancers, diagnosis is a long and challenging process. A new blood test,
however, could offer a much-needed sim-pler and more effective diagnostic technique. Called CancerSEEK, it has the potential to identify eight cancer types from one blood sample.In the new study, researchers reveal how the blood test demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for cancer detection in more than 1,000 people with the disease.The team — from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD — recently published their results in the journal Science.Worldwide, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death. It is es-timated that by 2030, the number of cancer deaths will have risen from 8 million to 13 million.Early diagnosis is key to reducing cancer-related deaths; the earlier the disease is diagnosed, the higher the chances of treatment success. But sadly, many cancers are not caught until the later stages, and this is largely due to a lack of fast and effective diagnostic tools.However, the Johns Hopkins researchers believe that CancerSEEK could bring us closer to a quick, simple way to detect cancer in its early stages.Test produced high sensitivity and specificityWhen cancerous tumors form, they release small fragments of mutated DNA and proteins into the bloodstream, and these can act as markers for cancer.The new blood test works by identifying the markers for 16 gene muta-tions and eight proteins that are associated with eight different cancer types. These include breast, lung, and colorectal cancer, as well as five cancers — ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreatic, and esophageal — for which there are currently no routine screening tests for people at aver-age risk.«A novelty of our classification method is that it combines the probability of observing various DNA mutations together with the levels of several proteins in order to make the final call,» explains study co-author Cris-tian Tomasetti, Ph.D., an associate professor of oncology and biostatis-tics at Johns Hopkins University.How gum disease could lead to cancerFor their study, the researchers tested CancerSEEK on 1,005 individuals who had been diagnosed with non-metastatic forms of one of the eight cancers.They found that the test was able to identify 70 percent of the cancers, with sensitivity ranging from 33 percent for breast cancer to 98 percent for ovarian cancer. Sensitivity ranged from 69 percent to 98 percent for the five cancers that currently have no routine screening tests, the re-searchers report.In terms of specificity, the test yielded an overall result of more than 99 percent. On testing CancerSEEK on 812 healthy adults, it only produced seven false-positive results.As study co-author Kenneth Kinzler, Ph.D. — co-director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins — notes, «Very high specificity was essential because false-positive results can subject patients to unnecessary invasive follow-up tests and procedures to confirm the presence of cancer.»What is more, the researchers found that their test was able to pinpoint the location of tumors for 83 percent of patients.Test could ‹substantially impact patients›The researchers note that larger studies will now be needed to further determine the efficacy of CancerSEEK as a routine screening test for cancer, and such studies are in the pipeline.However, the team believes that the results of its current research are encouraging.«This has the potential to substantially impact patients. Earlier detec-tion provides many ways to improve outcomes for patients,» says study co-author Dr. Anne Marie Lennon, Ph.D., who is an associate professor of medicine, surgery, and radiology at Johns Hopkins.«Optimally, cancers would be detected early enough that they could be cured by surgery alone, but even cancers that are not curable by surgery alone will respond better to systemic therapies when there is less ad-vanced disease,» she adds.The team hopes that CancerSEEK will one day offer a simple, noninva-sive, and fast strategy for diagnosing cancer in its early stages.«This test represents the next step in changing the focus of cancer re-search from late stage disease to early disease, which I believe will be critical to reducing cancer deaths in the long-term.»
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com
Eight cancers could be diagnosedwith a single blood test
| Health |
An enormous iceberg about five times the size of Manhattan
broke off Antarctica›s Pine Island Glacier yesterday (Oct. 29), a mere month after a crack first appeared, satellite imagery shows.«I was a bit surprised» it broke off that quickly, said Stef Lhermitte, an assistant professor in the De-partment of Geoscience and Re-mote Sensing at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.Since spotting the crack in early October, Lhermitte had guessed that the icebergs would take weeks or months to calf, «but it turned out to be on the quick side,» he told Live Science. [Photo Gallery: Antarctica›s Pine Island Glacier Cracks]At 115 square miles (300 square kilometers), the enormous amount of ice that calved off the glacier›s ice shelf is even larger than the mass that broke off last year, Lher-mitte said.However, the newborn iceberg didn›t stay in one piece for long. Within a day, it had splintered into smaller pieces, with the largest piece measuring a substantial 87 square miles (226 square km) be-fore it later broke apart even more, Lhermitte said.The biggest iceberg was large enough to receive a name, but it›s not yet clear whether this will hap-pen, given that it existed for such
a short time. But, if it does get a moniker, it will likely be called B-46 by the U.S. Na-tional Ice Center, Lhermitte said.Lhermitte first no-ticed the crack that led to this giant calv-ing event while look-
ing at an Oct. 3 satellite image. Lhermitte said he gets a satellite image of the Pine Island Glacier in his inbox every day, «and all of a sudden I saw something I didn›t see the day before,» he told Live Science at the time.
But, after going back and looking at images from Sentinel-1, a sat-ellite run by the European Space Agency, Lhermitte found that the crack actually appeared the last week of September, between Sept. 25 and 30. By compiling satellite images together, Lhermitte made a GIF showing how rapidly the ice-berg cracked off from the ice shelf.Even more dramatic is a time-lapse from 1972 to 2018, showing how the ice shelf has retreated over the years. It›s natural for ice sheets to grow and shrink over time, as this time-lapse shows. But in 2015, the ice sheet dramati-cally retreated, and then continued to retreat until present day without showing any growth, Lhermitte
said.For years, the ice sheet was hitting a shallow point on the ocean floor, called a pinning point, which might have kept it from regressing too far back, Lhermitte said. «After 2015, it lost the connection with this pin-ning point, which could explain the retreat in 2015 and 2017,» Lher-mitte said. «And now this [ice shelf break] is about 5 kilometers [3.1 miles] farther inland.»Moreover, Pine Island Glacier ap-pears to be calving icebergs more frequently than it used to. In early 2000, the glacier birthed icebergs about once every six years, with calving events happening in 2001, 2007 and 2013. But since 2013, there were four of them: in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018, Lhermitte said.«The retreat we see now is out-side of what we have observed [in modern times],» Lhermitte said. And that›s concerning because ice shelves are key structural ele-ments for glaciers; they slow the flow of ice into the ocean, much like dirt in a clogged drain impedes the flow of water, he said.It›s unclear exactly why Pine Is-land Glacier is calving icebergs more frequently than before. Warm, deep ocean water is melt-ing the ice shelf from beneath. «That depends on climate, but this warm water getting there is also driven by how the wind patterns change,» Lhermitte said. «It’s very difficult to say that this is climate change because we’re still figuring out how it all works.»
Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier Just Lost Enough Ice to Cover Manhattan 5
Times Over
#4 People Focused: Managers are known to look after and cater to the needs of the people they are responsi-ble for: listening to them, involving them in certain key decisions, and accommodating reasonable requests for change to contribute to increased productivity.What Are The Traits A Leader Possesses?Below are five important traits of a leader.#1 Vision: A leader knows where they stand, where they want to go and tend to involve the team in chart-ing a future path and direction.#2 Honesty and Integrity: Leaders have people who believe them and walk by their side down the path the leader sets.#3 Inspiration: Leaders are usually inspirational—and help their team understand their own roles in a bigger context.#4 Communication Skills: Leaders always keep their team informed about what’s happening, both present and the future—along with any obstacles that stand in their way.#5 Ability to Challenge: Leaders are those that chal-lenge the status quo. They have their own style of do-ing things and problem-solving and are usually the ones who think outside the box.The Three Important DifferencesBeing a manager and a leader at the same time is a viable concept. But remember, just because someone is a phenomenal leader it does not necessarily guar-antee that the person will be an exceptional manager as well, and vice versa. So, what are the standout dif-ferences between the two roles?#1 A leader invents or innovates while a manager or-ganizes.The leader of the team comes up with the new ideas and kickstarts the organization’s shift or transition to a forward-thinking phase. A leader always has his or her eyes set on the horizon, developing new tech-niques and strategies for the organization. A leader has immense knowledge of all the current trends, ad-
vancements, and skillsets—and has clarity of purpose and vision.By contrast, a manager is someone who generally only maintains what is already established. A man-ager needs to watch the bottom line while controlling employees and workflow in the organization and pre-venting any kind of chaos.In his book, The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Management: Lasting Lessons from the Best Lead-ership Minds of Our Time, Alan Murray cites that a manager is someone who “establishes appropriate targets and yardsticks, and analyzes, appraises and interprets performance.” Managers understand the people they work with and know which person is the best fit for a specific task.#2 A manager relies on control whereas a leader in-spires trustA leader is a person who pushes employees to do their best and knows how to set an appropriate pace and tempo for the rest of the group. Managers, on the other hand, are required by their job description to establish control over employees which, in turn, help them develop their own assets to bring out their best. Thus, managers have to understand their subordi-nates well to do their job effectively. #3 A leader asks the questions “what” and “why whereas a manager leans more towards the questions “how” and “when.”To be able to do justice to their role as leader, some may question and challenge authority to modify or even reverse decisions that may not have the team’s best interests in mind. Good leadership requires a great deal of good judgment, especially when it comes to the ability to stand up to senior management over a point of concern or if there is an aspect in need of im-provement. If a company goes through a rough patch, a leader will be the one who will stand up and ask the question: “What did we learn from this?”
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All-electric Chevy Camaro previews the future of the electric crate motor
Nodding at the past while look-ing into the future, Chevrolet is presenting the all-new eCOPO Camaro at the 2018 SEMA Show. Fifty years after the introduction of the original COPO (Central Of-fice Production Order) Camaro, it takes the high-performance Camaro electric, dropping in a plug-and-play motor for more than 700 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. Destined for more than just the bright lights of Vegas, this Camaro is designed to push the envelope on the drag strip and beyond.After partnering up with elec-tric drag racing team Hancock and Lane Racing, Chevy began its work with the standard 2019 COPO Camaro drag car. From there, it ripped out the V8 engine and dropped in a specially pre-pared electric motor built from a pair of BorgWarner HVH 250-150 motor assemblies. That power-ful motor channels power to the standard COPO rear axle through a race-prepped «Turbo 400» transmission. Chevy gives the motor the power and operating longevity it needs with a fast-charging 800-volt battery pack strategically split into four 175-lb (79-kg) 200-
volt modules. It›s carefully ar-ranged the individual modules for optimal weight distribution, placing two in the rear seat area and two in the trunk. The result-ing 56-percent rear weight bias helps the car launch more effi-ciently. Chevy believes the eCOPO capa-ble of quarter-mile times around 9 seconds, though it admits that actual performance testing is ongoing. «The eCOPO Concept is all about where we go in the future with electrification in the high-performance space,» explains Russ O›Blenes, GM director of performance variants, parts and motorsports. «The original COPO Camaro program was all about pushing the envelope, and this concept is an exploration with the very same spirit.» And that exploration isn›t lim-ited to playing around with an all-electric concept drag car.
Chevy explains that the electric motor drops right into the gas COPO Camaro›s engine compart-ment, working with the existing transmission and driveline lay-out. It has the same bell house mounting pattern and crankshaft flange as the popular LS-family engines, allowing it to work with virtually any GM transmission. In other words, the 700-hp motor might just be a first look at the electric Chevy crate motor of the future. «Chevrolet pioneered the con-cept of the high-performance crate engine right around the time the original COPO Camaro models were created,» says O›Blenes. «The eCOPO proj-ect points to a future that could include electric crate motors for racing, or even your street rod. We›re not there yet, but it›s something we›re exploring.» Chevy will continue developing and testing the eCOPO Camaro with Hancock and Lane, after showing the electric drag car alongside the 50th anniversary COPO Camaro at the 2018 SEMA Show this week.
A recent report backs up the company›s claims about its browser offering better protection from phishing attacksMicrosoft’s Edge internet browser is faster, safer to use and better for battery life than Google Chrome, Microsoft has claimed.
Chrome is far more popular than Edge, and Microsoft has long struggled to close the gap between the two browsers. While Chrome had a 45.67 per cent share of the internet browser market in the UK over the past 12 months, Edge had just 4.74 per cent of it, according to figures from StatCounter.Worldwide, the figures are even more skewed in Google’s favour. Chrome had a 55.08 per cent share of the global mar-ket over the past 12 months, compared to less than three per cent for Edge, which was less popular than Safari, UC Browser, Firefox, Opera, and even Internet Explorer.Microsoft, however, argues that Edge outperforms Chrome in several key areas. It has released an ad that reveals the results of a battery test – conducted by Microsoft – in which 720p video was streamed on a loop on three identical laptops, using Edge, Chrome and Firefox. The computer using Edge lasted for 16 hours and eight min-utes, while the one using Chrome lasted 13 hours and 31 minutes and the one using Firefox ran out of battery after nine hours and 52 minutes.According to a recently updated GitHub page spotted by ZD-Net, Microsoft used up-to-date versions of the browsers for the test, which was conducted on Surface Book laptops run-ning the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (16299 release), with brightness set to 50 per cent and the volume muted. The findings are unsurprising, coming from Microsoft, but they’re supported by the results of a separate study conduct-ed by AVG, which also found that Edge was better for battery life than Chrome and Firefox.
• In a separate ad, Microsoft also talks up Edge’s speed and safety, claiming, “Microsoft Edge is up to 48 percent faster than Google Chrome”, and that “Edge blocks 18 percent more phishing sites than Google Chrome”.Though Microsoft hasn’t revealed how it came to these con-clusions, its phishing claim is backed up by cyber security firm NSS Labs, which in October found that Edge offers bet-ter protection from cyber criminals than Google Chrome.In NSS Labs’ tests, Microsoft Edge blocked 92.3 per cent of phishing URLs, Google Chrome blocked 74.5 per cent of them and Mozilla Firefox blocked 61.1 per cent of them.https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-chrome-browser-microsoft-edge-slow-security-battery-life-drain-comparison-a8140236.html
