Melanoma Drug's Link to Other Skin Cancers Identified (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) -- The recently approved drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf) has been hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. But roughly one-quarter of patients who take the medication develop a troublesome side effect: secondary skin cancers called squamous cell carcinomas.

Now, a new study by researchers at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues identifies the specific genetic mechanism that causes this side effect.

"What we found is that vemurafenib blocks the mutation that makes the melanoma grow, but when patients have skin cells with another mutation that's probably induced from sun exposure, there the drug has the exact opposite effect and causes these squamous cell cancers to grow," said Dr. Antoni Ribas, co-senior author of the study and an associate professor of hematology/oncology at UCLA.

What's more, the findings suggest that combining vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, with a drug called an MEK inhibitor -- which blocks the other mutation -- may not only prevent this side effect, but may also lead to an even more effective melanoma treatment, Ribas said.

"It needs to be demonstrated in clinical trials, but the theory is that if we give these two medications together up front, we will be punching the melanoma where it really hurts twice, and also preventing the growth of secondary skin cancers," Ribas said.

For the study, which appears in the Jan. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Ribas and his colleagues analyzed cells from squamous cell lesions in patients treated with vemurafenib to look for specific genetic mutations.

In a set of 21 tumor samples, the researchers found 13 had what's known as an RAS mutation, which predisposes someone to develop squamous cell cancer. In a separate set of 14 samples, eight had RAS mutations.

"Our data suggest that about 60 percent of patients who develop skin squamous cell cancers while treated with a BRAF inhibitor have an RAS mutation," Ribas said.

In experiments in mice with the RAS mutation, the researchers showed that the combination of a BRAF inhibitor and an MEK inhibitor successfully blocked the growth of squamous cell cancers.

This result may need replication in humans, since many findings in animals do not translate into effective treatments for people.

Ribas noted that the findings have implications beyond just melanoma, since RAS mutations are common in lung, pancreatic and colon cancer. "What this data also warns us is that we have to be very careful about using BRAF inhibitors in a setting where we don't know what other mutations may be driving [the cancer]," he said.

In an editorial accompanying the study, a cancer researcher at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia sounded a similar note. "Patients being given BRAF inhibitors should be tested to determine their RAS status, since the potential for secondary tumor development is of concern," wrote Ashani Weeraratna, an assistant professor in Wistar's Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program.

In an interview, she added, "While cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas are not usually life-threatening, a small portion are. And further, squamous cell carcinomas of other cell types can be very aggressive. So understanding how to solve this problem is critical."

Another skin cancer expert said that although the findings were important and timely, more studies were needed before making broad recommendations. "Patients need to be aware of the risk of development of squamous cell carcinomas, and dermatology exams need to be included as part of the care for these patients," said Dr. Iman Osman, an associate professor of dermatology and oncology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

"I believe any other recommendation, such as adding a MEK inhibitor from the beginning, or doing biopsies of any squamous cell carcinoma for RAS mutation at the time of starting BRAF inhibition, will require more data," Osman said.

Other researchers who took part in the study included investigators from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and the pharmaceutical companies Roche and Plexxikon.

More information

Visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute to learn about melanoma.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120119/hl_hsn/melanomadrugslinktootherskincancersidentified

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Former TV skipper gets jail in fatal Alaska crash

[unable to retrieve full-text content]KENAI, Alaska (AP) ? An Alaska fishing captain who led a crew on the program that spawned the cable TV show "Deadliest Catch" will serve five years in prison for a fatal crash.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-19-TV%20Captain-Fatal%20Crash/id-59fcefb9c07e451a8d1c00bada78b8e5

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IMF looks to raise $600 billion in new resources: sources (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The International Monetary Fund is estimating it needs to raise up to $600 billion in new resources to lend to countries struggling with the fallout from the growing euro zone debt crisis, IMF sources said on Wednesday.

While the IMF estimates it will need $500 billion of the money to lend to member countries in need, the remaining $100 billion will be used as a "protection buffer," the sources, who were present at an IMF board meeting on the issue on Tuesday, told Reuters.

The IMF also estimated there would be a $1 trillion global financing gap over the next two years if global economic conditions worsened considerably, the sources added.

The IMF currently has a lending capacity of about $380 billion. IMF sources said a European commitment to inject 150 billion euros ($200 billion) into the IMF is included in the $600 billion figure.

When consulted, an IMF spokesman said: "Based on staff's estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1 trillion in the coming years, the Fund would aim to raise up to $500 billion in additional lending resources. This total includes the recent European commitment of about $200 billion in increased Fund resources."

"At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding and will have no further comment until the necessary consultations," he added.

On foreign exchange markets, the reports of plans for increased IMF lending capacity helped boost the euro.

The new figures comes as G20 deputies from developed and developing nations gather in Mexico on Wednesday for preliminary talks on boosting the IMF's war chest, with concerns that the European policymakers have not come up with a comprehensive plan to assure investors they have a handle on the problems.

Emerging market countries such as China and Brazil have said they are willing to contribute new resources to the Washington-based institution in exchange for greater voting power.

Getting more resources from advanced economies, such as the United States, is going to be difficult, if not impossible. With a strained budget at home, some U.S. congressional Republicans have threatened to yank $100 billion in U.S. money to the IMF if the funds are used to bailout more euro zone countries.

The Obama administration is unlikely to want to take on the issue as the president seeks reelection this year.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday she met with the IMF board to assess whether the global lender needs additional funds to respond effectively to the euro zone crisis and said IMF management would explore options for increasing the Fund's firepower.

The IMF has warned it will cut global growth projections for 2012 when it updates its forecast on January 24. Weakening global growth prospects raises fears that more countries will need rescuing by the IMF, especially if capital markets freeze up completely.

The World Bank warned in its annual growth outlook late on Tuesday that Europe appears to already be in recession and developing countries should brace for a slowdown in their economies, especially Brazil and India and to a lesser extent Russia, South Africa and Turkey.

With credit downgrades in nine euro zone countries by Standard & Poor's last week, including for France, and uncertainty over Greek debt talks that risk pushing the country into default, the IMF board has urged euro zone leaders to take steps to contain the crisis.

The board called for policies that would address the European crisis and for euro zone policymakers to make sure there is enough money available to tackle the bloc's debt problems effectively.

($1 = 0.7851 euros)

(Reporting By Lesley Wroughton; Editing by W Simon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/bs_nm/us_imf_resources

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OneLouder updates BaconReader with new menu, sorting options

BaconReader

OneLouder announced today that its most recent update for BaconReader, the popular reddit reader app, is now available through the Android Market. Added in this update is the ability to sort by "Top" and "Controversial", as well as to search for posts directly through the menu. Other bug fixes and menu redesigns are abound, though don't try to use the app tomorrow: OneLouder is reminding everyone that reddit will be dark for 12 hours tomorrow, and that BaconReader will be back up and running at the close of the SOPA-induced blackout. The Android Market link is after the break.

Source: OneLouder

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/rAG9nR4Zo-Q/story01.htm

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Press Release: "Rapid News Communications Group and Roger ...

Abstract:
Rapid News Communications Group (RNCG) are delighted to announce that they will be working in conjunction with Roger Grace Associates to present a session entitled MEMS Commericialization: From Lab to Fab to the Market on Thursday 8th March at MM/MEMS/NANO Live USA.

Tattenhall, UK | Posted on January 17th, 2012

Roger Grace, President of Roger Grace Associates, the leading firm specializing in MEMS marketing consulting has organized, will present and will chair a technical session focused on providing attendees to the session with a better understanding of the MEMS commercialization process. From the lab to the fab with a focus on manufacturing issues and the infrastructure that supports this process.

Mr. Grace stated "I am honored to have the opportunity to work with the team at Rapid News Communications Group to organize and chair the inaugural MEMS session at this conference. My session, "MEMS Commercialization: From Lab to Fab to the Market" will have four speakers and four panelists including a keynote presentation from Prof. Yogesh Gianchandani who is the director of the University of Michigan Wireless Integrated Microsystems and Sensors Center. My presentation, "Barriers to the Commercialization of MEMS: The 2011 MEMS Industry Report Card" will be debuted at the conference and will address the fourteen critical success factors for MEMS Commercialization based on the results of my recent market study. Other world recognized MEMS technologists will make presentations addressing some of the most contemporary aspects of the MEMS commercialization process including manufacturing, packaging and testing. The panel discussion participants will address the barriers to commercialization from their individual perspectives of wafer foundry, design software, tools, and testing. A Q & A session will conclude the event with audience participation highly encouraged. The goal of the session is to provide the attendee with a base of knowledge to better understand the complexities and viable technologies to help overcome MEMS commercialization barriers."

Duncan Wood, Managing Director of the Events Group at Rapid News, organizer of the event said, "We are delighted to partner with Roger Grace on this initiative. Roger has years of successful MEMS programs under his belt and with the debut of MEMS Live USA this year we felt it essential to deliver a program of high caliber and with Roger on board we can be sure of doing just that. What is unique about this session is that it is free to attend and so all visitors can take advantage of these high level presentations with no fees."

A full program will be made available shortly.
Following its debut in Ohio, 2012 will see MM Live USA and new co-locating feature events MEMS Live USA and NANO Live USA move to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont near Chicago. The events will take place March 7-8th. The move to a more accessible location both nationally and internationally will have a positive impact on attendee numbers, allow continued growth and offer the ability to enhance the visitor and exhibitor experience.

####

About Rapid News Communications Group (RNCG)
MM Live USA, MEMS Live USA and NANO Live USA are organised by Rapid News Communications Group, an international communications company with a focus on business-to-business media in the manufacturing world.

About Roger Grace Associates

Roger Grace Associates, founded in 1982, is located in Naples, Florida and provides comprehensive strategic marketing consulting and marketing communications services to domestic and overseas high- technology-based clients...from startups to Fortune 500?s in addition to government agencies. The firm specializes in conducting market research leading to the creation, development and execution of positioning, branding and actionable market strategies for its clients in the successful commercialization of technology for the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, Nano and MEMS markets. For more information please visit www.rgrace.com.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Rapid News Communications Group:
Unit 2, Chowley Court
Chowley Oak Lane, Chowley
Tattenhall, Cheshire, CH3 9GA
Tel: +44 (0) 1829 770037
Web: www.rapidnews.com

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

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News and information

Breast Cancer Cells Targeted, Then Burned, by Gold-Filled Silicon Wafers January 18th, 2012

QD Vision Receives 2011 SEMI Award for North America for its Pioneering Quantum Dot Research: Quantum dots expected to deliver improved color and better energy efficiency at lower cost for a range of products, including displays and solid state lamps January 18th, 2012

Five Ways Nanomanufacturing Improves Manufacturing Today: SME?s NanoManufacturing Conference and Exhibits, March 27-28, Boston, will highlight the current and near-term applications of nanotechnology and how they are transforming manufacturing January 18th, 2012

Romanian Research Institution Purchases NanoInk's DPN 5000: The DPN 5000 System will be used for supramolecular structure fabrication, molecular recognition and self-assembling process applications January 18th, 2012

MEMS

New microtweezers may build tiny 'MEMS' structures January 17th, 2012

Baolab announces evaluation kits for its award winning NanoEMS MEMS - available to customers January 16th, 2012

Holographic 3-D looks tantalizingly closer in 2012 December 28th, 2011

MM, MEMS & NANO Live UK 2012 December 12th, 2011

Announcements

Breast Cancer Cells Targeted, Then Burned, by Gold-Filled Silicon Wafers January 18th, 2012

QD Vision Receives 2011 SEMI Award for North America for its Pioneering Quantum Dot Research: Quantum dots expected to deliver improved color and better energy efficiency at lower cost for a range of products, including displays and solid state lamps January 18th, 2012

Five Ways Nanomanufacturing Improves Manufacturing Today: SME?s NanoManufacturing Conference and Exhibits, March 27-28, Boston, will highlight the current and near-term applications of nanotechnology and how they are transforming manufacturing January 18th, 2012

Romanian Research Institution Purchases NanoInk's DPN 5000: The DPN 5000 System will be used for supramolecular structure fabrication, molecular recognition and self-assembling process applications January 18th, 2012

Events/Classes

Nanometrics to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results on February 8, 2012 January 18th, 2012

Five Ways Nanomanufacturing Improves Manufacturing Today: SME?s NanoManufacturing Conference and Exhibits, March 27-28, Boston, will highlight the current and near-term applications of nanotechnology and how they are transforming manufacturing January 18th, 2012

Printed Electronics: The Hot Topics January 17th, 2012

SAVE THE DATE - Harris & Harris Group Meet the Portfolio Day - March 13, 2012 January 17th, 2012

Source: http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=44297

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Get iOS 5 features on your original iPhone and iPhone 3G with Whited00r for jailbreak

A new hack called Whited00r allows iOS 5 to be installed on the original iPhone and iPhone 3G devices, as well as the early iPod touch models.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/T_gv8NeIgFU/story01.htm

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5 tourists killed in Ethiopia: report (AP)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia ? Five foreign tourists were killed by unknown armed rebels in Ethiopia's restive Afar region in the country's north, Ethiopian state television reported on Tuesday.

The Ethiopian Television, or ETV, cited the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense reporting a group of eight unidentified foreign nationals were attacked near the Eritrean border on Monday.

ETV said two tourists were injured severely and have been brought to a health clinic by defense forces. They are in critical condition, the state television said. Another tourist survived the attack unharmed.

ETV suggested that the attackers were rebels with ties to Ethiopia's archrival Eritrea, which hosts the exiled Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group listed as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged tourists had been attacked in the Afar region but said it didn't have any further details about the attack or the victims' nationalities.

In Berlin, a spokesman at the German Foreign Ministry, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said it has received "reports of an attack on a tour group with Germans in Ethiopia" and that the ministry is trying to determine what had happened.

___

David Rising contributed from Germany.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_re_af/af_ethiopia_tourists_killed

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VantagePoint delivers 132 inches of multitouch to HP's business customers

HP VantagePoint
There are those out there that laugh at the idea of a 10-inch multitouch screen, and even some chuckle the thought of settling for a mere 40 inches. For those with such demanding requirements (primarily retailers and businesses), there's HP's VantagePoint. The main point of interaction with the video wall is six 47-inch Ultra-Micro Bezel displays that combine to offer 132 inches of diagonal real estate with a 4098 x 1536 resolution. That rather generous pile of pixels is pushed to the Gorilla Glass-fronted panels by a Z800 workstation, while a separate desktop is dedicated to audio and color processing. As you might expect, the set up doesn't come cheap -- businesses will have to cough up around $125,000 for the pleasure of such a beastly interactive installation. Check out the PR and data sheet at the source and some videos of it in action at the more coverage link.

VantagePoint delivers 132 inches of multitouch to HP's business customers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/U7iTkjawXqQ/

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Seminoles hand UNC its worst loss under Williams

North Carolina's players from left, Dexter Strickland, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, John Henson, and James McAdoo watch as Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots a technical foul free throw in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 in Tallahassee, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

North Carolina's players from left, Dexter Strickland, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, John Henson, and James McAdoo watch as Florida State's Michael Snaer shoots a technical foul free throw in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 in Tallahassee, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams directs his defense during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, in Tallahassee, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

North Carolina's John Henson (31) gets around the defense of Florida State's Bernard James (5) to get off a shot attempt in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 in Tallahassee, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon)

(AP) ? Deividas Dulkys' childhood dream came true Saturday. And you couldn't blame him if he might have believed it had been a dream.

The senior Florida State guard scored a career-high 32 points and was 8 of 10 from 3-point range to key the Seminoles' 90-57 victory over No. 3 North Carolina that snapped a nine-game winning streak and was the Tar Heels' worst loss under coach Roy Williams.

"Every little kid has a dream when you're playing on a big stage like I did today," Dulkys said. "I guess today was my day."

And that was an understatement.

Dulkys, a native of Lithuania whose previous career-high was 22 points, was 12 of 14 from the field overall and added four steals and a blocked shot. His eight 3s were a Florida State record in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

"We tried to keep him from scoring if we could but he just kept getting so open and our guys were running into screens," Williams said. "It was a great performance shooting the basketball."

It was an unexpected turnabout for a Florida State team that lost 79-59 at Clemson just a week ago and came into Saturday's game with the poorest 3-point shooting mark in the conference at 30.2 percent.

But behind Dulkys, the Seminoles hit 12 of 27 from long distance while the Tar Heels were simply off while playing on the road for the first time in six weeks. North Carolina made only 9 of 20 free throws and were beaten 43-35 on the boards despite Tyler Zeller's 14 rebounds. North Carolina had not been beaten on the boards in its previous seven games.

Micahel Snaer added 17 points and Okaro White contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Seminoles.

Dulkys said he made 28 straight from beyond the 3-point arc while warming up earlier in the day with the help of two student managers who took care of rebounding the shots.

"He shoots this well every day in practice," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. "He's had a difficult time transferring that to the game. Sometimes when he misses that first shot, he gets a little tight."

The Seminoles (11-6, 2-1) started the second half on a 30-8 run to take a 66-36 lead en route to handing North Carolina its most lopsided conference loss since a 96-56 defeat at Maryland in 2003, the season before Williams took over. Harrison Barnes scored 15 points and Zeller added 14 for North Carolina (15-3, 2-1), which finished 4 of 21 from 3-point range.

Williams took his team ? except for five walk-ons who finished the game ? from the court with 14.2 seconds left in expectation of the court-storming by the Florida State fans.

"We just tried to be cautious," Williams explained. "It's been shown that's it not always been safe in some scenarios."

Hamilton said he had suggested Williams remove the players as a precaution.

The Seminoles never trailed after Dulkys' first 3-pointer 43 seconds into the game.

Florida State led by as many as 12 points in the first half, grabbing a 31-19 lead on Dulkys' fourth 3-pointer with 7:35 remaining and then again with 6:08 left on Bernard James' riveting dunk on a put back. The 6-foot-10 James, who had six rebounds in the early going, drew his second foul just 5 seconds later and sat the rest of the half.

Dulkys was 6 of 7 from the field in the first half, including 4 of 5 from 3-point distance.

North Carolina had reeled off nine straight wins during a 35-day home stand, shoring up on defense and rebounding that contributed to early season losses to UNLV and Kentucky. But those deficiencies returned to haunt Williams' club in a big way Saturday.

"Princeton's defense must be a hell of a lot better than ours," Williams said. "They can hold them to 10 points in a half and we give up 8,000."

It was the first win of the season over a ranked team for Florida State, which returned nine key players from last season's team that advanced to the NCAA's regional finals.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-14-BKC-T25-NCarolina-Florida-St/id-b141cd0e995f4d359d7994c391743bd5

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Pakistan's army chief calls PM's criticisms "divisive" (Reuters)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) ? Pakistan's army chief is furious with the prime minister for statements criticising the army and has demanded that they be clarified or withdrawn, a senior military source told Reuters on Saturday.

Recent tension has raised fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed country and exposed a struggle between the government and the military, which has ousted three civilian governments in coups since independence in 1947 and has ruled the nation for more than half of its history.

"The army chief complained to the president about the prime minister's statements, and said they needed to be either clarified or withdrawn," the source told Reuters.

"He said such statements were divisive and made the country more vulnerable."

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani this week criticized Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani and the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha for filing court papers in a case involving a mysterious memo that has pitted the military against the civilian government.

In an interview with Chinese media, Gilani said the filings were "unconstitutional," infuriating the military's high command, who issued a stern press release.

"There can be no allegation more serious than what the honourable prime minister has levelled," it said.

"This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country."

Gilani further infuriated the army on Wednesday by sacking the defence secretary, retired Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, for "gross misconduct and illegal action which created misunderstanding" between institutions.

Lodhi was the most senior civil servant responsible for military affairs, a post usually seen as the military's main advocate in the civilian bureaucracy.

"The army is not going to concede an inch," said Najam Sethi, editor of The Friday Times. "Reconciliatory statements are for form, the demanding statement is the bottom line. The army is not going to do anything directly, the army will wait for the Supreme Court to lay down the rules and will back it to the hilt."

As angry as Kayani is, the military source said, the council of senior military commanders is even more angry. "There is a lot of pressure by the main corps commanders on the army chief regarding the statements of the prime minister."

The military, which sets foreign and security policies, drew rare public criticism after U.S. special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in a raid in May 2011, an act seen by many Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty.

Pakistanis rallied behind the military after a November 26 cross-border NATO air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on the frontier with Afghanistan, driving ties with Washington to their lowest point in years.

"My sense is that the PM is also at the end of his tether," Sethi added. "I think his view is that we've done everything for these guys, and these guys have embarrassed us time and again. ... And these people have not once stood by us. And that is actually an accurate description of the ground realities."

The army's fury is cause for serious concern for the civilian government, and Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari went on a charm offensive on Saturday.

"Our government and parliament, and above all our patriotic people, have stood fully behind our brave armed forces and security personnel," Gilani said at a cabinet defence committee meeting also attended by Kayani.

"It has been my government's policy to allow and enable all state institutions to play their role in their respective domains," he added.

Earlier, Zardari met Kayani in an attempt to mend fences.

"The current security situation was discussed," a presidential spokesman said, without giving any details.

Pakistan's politicians and media pundits have been abuzz with rumours of a possible coup since the memo controversy erupted in October.

The disputed memo - allegedly from Zardari's government, seeking U.S. help in reining in the generals - has pushed relations between the civilian leadership and the military, to their lowest point since the last military coup in 1999.

The latest crisis also troubles Washington, which wants smooth ties between civilian and military leaders so that Pakistan can help efforts to stabilise neighboring Afghanistan, a top priority for President Barack Obama.

Gilani's office denied a report on Friday that the prime minister this week called the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, expressing concerns that the army might be about to mount a coup, and asking for London to support the government.

An official at the high commission also denied the report.

"The problem really is the army doesn't want to be associated with this government and its leaders at any level in the public imagination," Sethi said. It wants to be seen as resisting them, standing up to them, rather than following them or obeying them."

"I think they want to see an end to this government. Nothing less than that will satisfy them."

(Additional reporting by Sheree Sardar; Writing by Chris Allbritton; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120114/wl_nm/us_pakistan

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