Steve Wozniak

Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak (born August 11, 1950) is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. (now Apple Inc.) with co-founders, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne. His inventions and machines are credited with contributing significantly to the personal computer revolution of the 1970s. Wozniak created the Apple I and Apple II computers in the mid-1970s.Wozniak has several nicknames, including "The Woz", "Wonderful Wizard of Woz" and "iWoz" (a reference to the ubiquitous naming scheme for Apple products). "WoZ" (short for Wheels of Zeus") is also the name of a company Wozniak founded. He is sometimes known as the Other Steve" of Apple Computer, the better known Steve being co-founder Steve Jobs. He is of mostly Polish ancestry.
Apple Computer:
n 1970, Wozniak became friends with Steve Jobs, when Jobs worked for the summer at a company where Wozniak was working on a mainframe computer. According to Wozniak's autobiography, iWoz, Jobs had the idea to sell the computer as a fully assembled printed circuit board. Wozniak, at first skeptical, was later convinced by Jobs that even if they were not successful they could at least say to their grandkids they had had their own company. Together they sold some of their possessions (such as Wozniak's HP scientific calculator and Jobs's Volkswagen van), raised USD $1,300, and assembled the first prototypes in Jobs's bedroom and later (when there was no space left) in Jobs's garage. Wozniak's apartment in San Jose was filled with monitors, electronic devices, and some computer games Wozniak had developed, similar to SuperPong but with voice overs to the blips on the screen. Wozniak carried electronic devices with him often, and would entertain party goers with novel devices.
Aircraft accident:
In February 1981, Steve Wozniak crashed his Beechcraft Bonanza while taking off from Santa Cruz Sky Park. The NTSB investigation revealed that Wozniak did not have a "high performance" aircraft endorsement (making him legally unqualified to operate the airplane), and had a "lack of familiarity with [the] aircraft." The cause of the crash was determined to be a premature liftoff, followed by a stall and "mush" into a 12-foot embankment. As a result of the accident, he had retrograde amnesia and temporary anterograde amnesia.
Employment with Apple:
Wozniak did not immediately return to Apple after having recovered from the crash. Instead, he married Clark and returned to UC Berkeley under the name "Rocky Raccoon Clark" (Rocky was his dog's name and Clark his wife's maiden name), finally earning his undergraduate degree in 1986. In May 1982 and 1983, Wozniak also sponsored two US Festivals to celebrate evolving technologies; they ended up as a technology exposition and a rock festival as a combination of music, computers, television and people.
Post-Apple career:
In March 2006, Wozniak attended the FIRST National Competition in Atlanta to show off Lego robots. In 2010, he attended another FIRST event, a regional event in downtown Phoenix Arizona at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.In February 2009, Steve Wozniak joined Fusion-io, a data storage and server company, in Salt Lake City, Utah as their chief scientist.On November 18, 2010, Steve Wozniak gave a speech at the Science & Technology Summit at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague in which he predicted that Android would be dominant over the iPhone market-wise but the iPhone would retain the quality.
Philanthropy:
Since leaving Apple, Wozniak has provided all the money, as well as a good amount of on-site technical support, for the technology program in his local school district. Un.U.Son. (Unite Us In Song), an organization Wozniak formed to organize the two US Festivals, is now primarily tasked with supporting his educational and philanthropic projects. In 1986, Wozniak lent his name to the Stephen G. Wozniak Achievement Awards (referred to as Wozzie Awards), which he presented to six Bay Area high school and college students for their innovative use of computers in the fields of business, art and music.
Honors and awards:
Wozniak received the National Medal of Technology in 1985 (with Steve Jobs) from US President Ronald Reagan. In December 1989, he received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he studied in the late sixties. Later he donated funds to create the "Woz Lab" at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 1997, he was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum. Wozniak was a key contributor and benefactor to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose; the street in front of the museum has been renamed Woz Way in his honor.In September 2000, Wozniak was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and in 2001 he was awarded the 7th Annual Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. The American Humanist Association awarded him the Isaac Asimov Science Award in 2011.In December 2005, Wozniak was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Kettering University. He also received an honorary degrees from North Carolina State University and Nova Southeastern University, and the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology. In May 2011, Wozniak received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Michigan State University.On June 22, 2011, he was awarded an honorary degree at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
Patents:
Wozniak is listed as the sole inventor on the following patents:
* US Patent No. 4,136,359 - "Microcomputer for use with video display" - for which he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
* US Patent No. 4,210,959 - "Controller for magnetic disc, recorder, or the like"
* US Patent No. 4,217,604 - "Apparatus for digitally controlling PAL color display"]
* US Patent No. 4,278,972 - "Digitally-controlled color signal generation means for use with display.

Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer:
Definition:
Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate the metabolism of sugars.Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis, even when diagnosed early. Pancreatic cancer typically spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death. Signs and symptoms may not appear until pancreatic cancer is quite advanced and surgical removal isn't possible.
Presentation:
Pancreatic cancer is sometimes called a "silent killer" because early pancreatic cancer often does not cause symptoms, and the later symptoms are usually nonspecific and varied. Therefore, pancreatic cancer is often not diagnosed until it is advanced. Common symptoms include:
* Pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back (seen in carcinoma of the body or tail of the pancreas)
* Loss of appetite and/or nausea and vomiting
* Significant weight loss
* Painless jaundice (yellow tint to whites of eyes and/or yellowish skin in serious cases, possibly in combination with darkened urine) when a cancer of the head of the pancreas (about 60% of cases) obstructs the common bile duct as it runs through the pancreas. This may also cause pale-colored stool and steatorrhea. The jaundice may be associated with itching as the salt from excess bile can cause skin irritation.
* Trousseau sign, in which blood clots form spontaneously in the portal blood vessels, the deep veins of the extremities, or the superficial veins anywhere on the body, is sometimes associated with pancreatic cancer.
* Diabetes mellitus, or elevated blood sugar levels. Many patients with pancreatic cancer develop diabetes months to even years before they are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, suggesting new onset diabetes in an elderly individual may be an early warning sign of pancreatic cancer.
* Clinical depression has been reported in association with pancreatic cancer, sometimes presenting before the cancer is diagnosed. However, the mechanism for this association is not known.
* Symptoms of pancreatic cancer metastasis. Typically, pancreatic cancer first metastasizes to regional lymph nodes, and later to the liver and, less commonly, to the lungs; it occasionally metastasizes to bone or brain.
Alcohol:
It is controversial whether alcohol consumption is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Overall, the association is consistently weak and the majority of studies have found no association.Although drinking alcohol excessively is a major cause of chronic pancreatitis, which in turn predisposes to pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis associated with alcohol consumption is less frequently a precursor for pancreatic cancer than other types of chronic pancreatitis.
Diagnosis:
Most patients with pancreatic cancer experience pain, weight loss, or jaundice.Pain is present in 80% to 85% of patients with locally advanced or advanced metastatic disease. The pain is usually felt in the upper abdomen as a dull ache that radiates straight through to the back. It may be intermittent and made worse by eating. Weight loss can be profound; it can be associated with anorexia, early satiety, diarrhea, or steatorrhea. Jaundice is often accompanied by pruritus and dark urine. Painful jaundice is present in approximately one-half of patients with locally unresectable disease, while painless jaundice is present in approximately one-half of patients with a potentially resectable and curable lesion.
Pathology:
The definitive diagnosis is made by an endoscopic needle biopsy or surgical excision of the radiologically suspicious tissue. Endoscopic ultrasound is often used to visually guide the needle biopsy procedure.
Exocrine pancreas cancers:
The most common form of pancreatic cancer (ductal adenocarcinoma) is typically characterized by moderately to poorly differentiated glandular structures on microscopic examination. Pancreatic cancer has an immunohistochemical profile that is similar to hepatobiliary cancers (e.g. cholangiocarcinoma) and some stomach cancers; thus, it may not always be possible to be certain that a tumour found in the pancreas arose from it.Pancreatic carcinoma is thought to arise from progressive tissue changes. Nonmalignant precursor lesions gradually change to cancerous lesions. The second most common type of exocrine pancreas cancer is mucinous.  [discuss] The prognosis is slightly better.[discuss]Other exocrine cancers include adenosquamous carcinomas, signet ring cell carcinomas,hepatoid carcinomas, colloid carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinomas, and undifferentiated carcinomas with osteoclast-like giant cells.
Pancreatic cystic neoplasms:
Pancreatic cystic neoplasms are a broad group of pancreas tumors that have varying malignant potential.
Endocrine pancreatic cancers:
Pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs) are also called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) and islet cell tumors. The annual clinically recognized incidence is low, about five per one million person-years. However, autopsy studies incidentally identify PETs in up to 1.5% most of which would remain inert and asymptomatic.The majority of PNETs are usually categorized as benign but the definition of malignancy in pancreas endocrine tumors has been ambiguous.
Prevention:
According to the American Cancer Society, there are no established guidelines for preventing pancreatic cancer, although cigarette smoking has been reported as responsible for 20–30% of pancreatic cancers.The ACS recommends keeping a healthy weight, and increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while decreasing red meat intake, although there is no consistent evidence this will prevent or reduce pancreatic cancer specifically. In 2006, a large prospective cohort study of over 80,000 subjects failed to prove adefiniassociation.The evidence in support of this lies mostly in small case-control studies.
Screening:
People who may have a high risk of pancreatic cancer due to a family history can be followed, but there is no consensus on what constitutes optimal monitoring. Several small studies have shown promising preliminary results for new biomarkers, but further validation on a larger scale is needed. People with pancreatic cancer themselves, or family members, may wish to participate in the activities at a research facility, or identify a pancreas tumor registry.
Treatment:
Exocrine pancreas cancer Surgery.
Treatment of pancreatic cancer depends on the stage of the cancer.[59] The Whipple procedure is the most common surgical treatment for cancers involving the head of the pancreas. This procedure involves removing the pancreatic head and the curve of the duodenum together (pancreato-duodenectomy), making a bypass for food from stomach to jejunum (gastro-jejunostomy) and attaching a loop of jejunum to the cystic duct to drain bile (cholecysto-jejunostomy). It can be performed only if the patient is likely to survive major surgery and if the cancer is localized without invading local structures or metastasizing. It can, therefore, be performed in only the minority of cases.Cancers of the tail of the pancreas can be resected using a procedure known as a distal pancreatectomy. Recently, localized cancers of the pancreas have been resected using minimally invasive (laparoscopic) approaches.
Chemotherapy:
In patients not suitable for resection with curative intent, palliative chemotherapy may be used to improve quality of life and gain a modest survival benefit. Gemcitabine was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1998, after a clinical trial reported improvements in quality of life and a 5-week improvement in median survival duration in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This marked the first FDA approval of a chemotherapy drug primarily for a nonsurvival clinical trial endpoint. Gemcitabine is administered intravenously on a weekly basis.
Endocrine pancreatic tumors:
The majority of these tumors are histologically benign. Treatment of pancreatic endocrine tumors, including the less common malignant tumors, may include:
* Watchful waiting: incidentally identified small tumors, for example on a computed tomography (CT) scan performed for other purposes, may conceptually not always need intervention, but criteria for watchful waiting are unclear.
* Surgery: tumors within the pancreas only (localized tumors), or with limited metastases, may be removed. For localized tumors, the surgical procedure is much less extensive than the types of surgery used to treat pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
* Hormone therapy: if the tumor is not amenable to surgical removal and is causing symptoms by secreting functional hormones, a synthetic hormone analog medication, octreotide, may lessen the symptoms, and sometimes also slows tumor growth.
* Radiation therapy: occasionally used if there is pain due to anatomic extension, such as metastasis to bone.
* Radiolabeled hormone: some PNETs absorb a hormone called norepinephrine and these may respond to nuclear medicine medication, radiolabeled MIBG therapy (or, experamentally, other hormones), given intravenously.
* Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), cryoablation, hepatic artery embolization
* Chemotherapy: in a small proportion of PNETs with undifferentiated histological features, or which grow rapidly despite other interventions, may receive chemotherapy. A subtype of PNETs, pancreatic neuroendocrine cancers, has received recent attention in the FDA approval of two medications in 2011 for use in this disease.
Epidemiology:
* Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer
* Category:Pancreatic cancer survivors
* Gastrointestinal cancer
* Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (organization in the US)
* Pancreatic Cancer Action (organization in the UK)