Indiana University associate professor earns APS's Henry Pickering Bowditch Award

Public release date: 21-Apr-2013
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Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
617-954-3976
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Johnathan D. Tune, Ph.D., receives prestigious award for novel and exceptional work on the mechanisms that connect obesity, diabetes, and heart disease

BOSTONHeart disease has been the number one killer in the U.S. for several decades. Diabetes is now the seventh most common cause of death here. Obesity is a risk factor for both conditions and estimates now show that nearly 70 percent of obese, type-2 diabetics will die of cardiovascular disease.

While this much is known, exactly how obesity and diabetes affect the heart still remains largely a mystery. Johnathan D. Tune, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, is working to find an explanation for these connections. His work, examining these conditions in living pigs, isolated blood vessels, and cells alike, is revealing targets that could eventually be used to treat heart disease or slow its progression, perhaps eventually knocking it from the top cause of death.

For this novel research, the American Physiological Society has recognized the importance of Dr. Tune's work by awarding him the Henry Pickering Bowditch Lecture Award. The award is one of the highest offered by the society and is given to scientists younger than 42 years of age whose accomplishments are original and outstanding.

When Pigs Run:

As a Ph.D. student at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Forth Worth, Dr. Tune's research focused on how to protect the heart from ischemic damagethe injury that takes place when the heart's cells are deprived of oxygen and results in a heart attack. He and his colleagues found that forcing the heart to use glucose as a primary fuel was able to protect the heart against this damage. Later, when he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington School of Medicine, he studied how the heart regulates blood flowsignals that it needs more or less oxygen.

Now, at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Tune combines these interests to study how obesity and diabetes affect blood flow to the heart. He and his colleagues are examining this question in a variety of different ways. For example, one of their most useful models is obese pigs. The researchers surgically implant catheters and transducers in these animals so that coronary blood flow, blood pressure, and cardiac function can be continuously monitored while the animals are conscious and active. Part of their work involves exercising the animals, since exercise can trigger heart attacks in people.

"I always tell people that pigs don't fly, but ours do run on a treadmill," he says. "Just as physicians perform treadmill stress tests in patients suspected of having coronary disease, we use treadmill exercise to physiologically increase the workload of the heart in real time."

Dr. Tune and his colleagues also examine isolated blood vessels and smooth muscle cells in their pig model. These examinations have turned up a number of findings, including that obesity significantly decreases the function of specific potassium channels that are critical for the regulation of blood flow to the heart. Without enough of these channels, the heart may not receive enough blood and oxygen over time, which could lead to long-term damage.

Additional studies in Dr. Tune's laboratory are focused on the potential role of factors released from fat cells, including fat cells that normally surround the major coronary arteries. His recent work has shown that one of these factors, a chemical called leptin, can impair the function of cells that line blood vessels, potentially contributing to the development of coronary artery disease.

From Pigs to People:

Though much of his research takes place in pigs, his ultimate goal is to find pharmaceutical targets for treating heart disease in people. "By understanding how obesity and diabetes leads to the development of cardiovascular disease we hope to discover new targets to delay the initiation and progression of this deleterious disease," Tune says.

Presently, Dr. Tune is working to translate his work in pigs with collaborative studies in obese humans with type 2 diabetes. "At the end of the day," he says, "we're searching for novel ways to improve coronary health in the obese, diabetic heart."

Dr. Tune will discuss his research and what the findings in obese pigs can help researchers understand about heart disease in people when he presents this year's Bowditch Lecture, "Translational Insight Into Regulation of Coronary Blood Flow," on Sunday April 21 at 5:45 PM at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

###

About the Bowditch Lecture Award

The Henry Pickering Bowditch Lecture Award is named in honor of the first president of the American Physiological Society. By tradition, the Bowditch Lecturer, who is to be younger than 42 years of age, has been named by the president of the Society for their outstanding work in the field. The Award has been given annually since 1956.

About Experimental Biology 2013

Six scientific societies will hold their joint scientific sessions and annual meetings, known as Experimental Biology, from April 20-24, 2013, in Boston. This meeting brings together the leading researchers from a broad array of life science disciplines. The societies include the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), American Society for Nutrition (ASN), and American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Additional information about the meeting is online at http://bit.ly/ymb7av.

About the American Physiological Society (APS)

The American Physiological Society (APS) is a nonprofit organization devoted to fostering education, scientific research, and dissemination of information in the physiological sciences. The Society was founded in 1887 and today represents more than 11,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals.

NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule an interview with Dr. Tune, please contact Donna Krupa at DKrupa@the-aps.org, 301.634.7209 (office) or 703.967.2751 (cell) or @Phyziochick on Twitter.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
617-954-3976
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Johnathan D. Tune, Ph.D., receives prestigious award for novel and exceptional work on the mechanisms that connect obesity, diabetes, and heart disease

BOSTONHeart disease has been the number one killer in the U.S. for several decades. Diabetes is now the seventh most common cause of death here. Obesity is a risk factor for both conditions and estimates now show that nearly 70 percent of obese, type-2 diabetics will die of cardiovascular disease.

While this much is known, exactly how obesity and diabetes affect the heart still remains largely a mystery. Johnathan D. Tune, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, is working to find an explanation for these connections. His work, examining these conditions in living pigs, isolated blood vessels, and cells alike, is revealing targets that could eventually be used to treat heart disease or slow its progression, perhaps eventually knocking it from the top cause of death.

For this novel research, the American Physiological Society has recognized the importance of Dr. Tune's work by awarding him the Henry Pickering Bowditch Lecture Award. The award is one of the highest offered by the society and is given to scientists younger than 42 years of age whose accomplishments are original and outstanding.

When Pigs Run:

As a Ph.D. student at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Forth Worth, Dr. Tune's research focused on how to protect the heart from ischemic damagethe injury that takes place when the heart's cells are deprived of oxygen and results in a heart attack. He and his colleagues found that forcing the heart to use glucose as a primary fuel was able to protect the heart against this damage. Later, when he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington School of Medicine, he studied how the heart regulates blood flowsignals that it needs more or less oxygen.

Now, at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Tune combines these interests to study how obesity and diabetes affect blood flow to the heart. He and his colleagues are examining this question in a variety of different ways. For example, one of their most useful models is obese pigs. The researchers surgically implant catheters and transducers in these animals so that coronary blood flow, blood pressure, and cardiac function can be continuously monitored while the animals are conscious and active. Part of their work involves exercising the animals, since exercise can trigger heart attacks in people.

"I always tell people that pigs don't fly, but ours do run on a treadmill," he says. "Just as physicians perform treadmill stress tests in patients suspected of having coronary disease, we use treadmill exercise to physiologically increase the workload of the heart in real time."

Dr. Tune and his colleagues also examine isolated blood vessels and smooth muscle cells in their pig model. These examinations have turned up a number of findings, including that obesity significantly decreases the function of specific potassium channels that are critical for the regulation of blood flow to the heart. Without enough of these channels, the heart may not receive enough blood and oxygen over time, which could lead to long-term damage.

Additional studies in Dr. Tune's laboratory are focused on the potential role of factors released from fat cells, including fat cells that normally surround the major coronary arteries. His recent work has shown that one of these factors, a chemical called leptin, can impair the function of cells that line blood vessels, potentially contributing to the development of coronary artery disease.

From Pigs to People:

Though much of his research takes place in pigs, his ultimate goal is to find pharmaceutical targets for treating heart disease in people. "By understanding how obesity and diabetes leads to the development of cardiovascular disease we hope to discover new targets to delay the initiation and progression of this deleterious disease," Tune says.

Presently, Dr. Tune is working to translate his work in pigs with collaborative studies in obese humans with type 2 diabetes. "At the end of the day," he says, "we're searching for novel ways to improve coronary health in the obese, diabetic heart."

Dr. Tune will discuss his research and what the findings in obese pigs can help researchers understand about heart disease in people when he presents this year's Bowditch Lecture, "Translational Insight Into Regulation of Coronary Blood Flow," on Sunday April 21 at 5:45 PM at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

###

About the Bowditch Lecture Award

The Henry Pickering Bowditch Lecture Award is named in honor of the first president of the American Physiological Society. By tradition, the Bowditch Lecturer, who is to be younger than 42 years of age, has been named by the president of the Society for their outstanding work in the field. The Award has been given annually since 1956.

About Experimental Biology 2013

Six scientific societies will hold their joint scientific sessions and annual meetings, known as Experimental Biology, from April 20-24, 2013, in Boston. This meeting brings together the leading researchers from a broad array of life science disciplines. The societies include the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), American Physiological Society (APS), American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP), American Society for Nutrition (ASN), and American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Additional information about the meeting is online at http://bit.ly/ymb7av.

About the American Physiological Society (APS)

The American Physiological Society (APS) is a nonprofit organization devoted to fostering education, scientific research, and dissemination of information in the physiological sciences. The Society was founded in 1887 and today represents more than 11,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals.

NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule an interview with Dr. Tune, please contact Donna Krupa at DKrupa@the-aps.org, 301.634.7209 (office) or 703.967.2751 (cell) or @Phyziochick on Twitter.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/foas-iua041813.php

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Yahoo axing seven more apps and services as part of streamlining effort

Get ready to say goodbye to another another batch of Yahoo products at the end of this month. As the company continues to streamline and focus its services, March 31st will be the last day of stand-alone existence for Upcoming, Yahoo Deals, Yahoo Kids, Yahoo SMS Alerts, Yahoo Mail and Messages for feature phones. Noting an aim to slim down to roughly 15 offerings from 75, as The Register points out, this follows a few weeks after the company nixed other services like its BlackBerry app. Additionally, if you've been hanging onto the old version of Yahoo! mail, you'll have no choice but to switch to the new version by June 3rd. Yahoo! There's not word on what we can expect next, although EVP of Platforms Jay Rossiter notes that cuts like these are needed so it can focus on the likes of its new Mail and Weather apps. You'll find the details for each cut at the source link.

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Texas residents returning to homes near blast site

An aerial view of the explosion site in West, Texas (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WEST, Texas?Residents displaced by a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant here will be allowed to return to their homes for the first time since Wednesday?s blast.

Steve Vanek, a West City Council member, announced residents will be escorted to their homes within the five-block blast site beginning Saturday but will only be allowed into the area between 7am and 7pm daily.

The decision came just hours after fears of another explosion at the West Fertilizer Plant site, where officials say leaking gas tanks damaged by Wednesday?s blast have been fueling small fires at the site.

On Saturday morning, local residents living just outside the perimeter of the five-block area closed off since Wednesday explosion reported that police asked them to clear back. Investigators combing the ruins as part of the search and recovery process were pulled away from the site for a brief time, the West Mayor?s office confirmed.

Ron Price, who had been trying to access the site to check on the fate of his son?s home, told the Associated Press that state troops ?came flying down the road? and yelled at people to get back.

"It was pretty scary everybody just jumped and took off running," Price told the AP. "They jumped in their cars and we all started heading back."

Workers were allowed to return to the site a short time later, but officials remained concerned about the volatility of the area around the destroyed plant.

In an early evening press conference, Kelly Kistner, an assistant state fire marshal, said the state would begin to remove the remaining tanks from the site starting late Saturday night as officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion.

"We still don't know when the fire started, how the fire started or where the fire started," Kistner said. "Those are all things we are trying to determine."

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing recovery at the site, said Saturday that the death toll from Wednesday?s blast remains at 14.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/residents-allowed-return-homes-near-texas-explosion-194112916.html

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Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Suspected Boston Bomber, May Not Get Islamic Funeral From Wary Muslims

In the days since two deadly bombs and the separate shootings that followed brought Boston to a standstill, the region's Muslim community has loudly condemned the violence and distanced itself from the suspects.

The reasons behind the explosions at the Boston Marathon Monday and the shootings in Cambridge and Watertown, Mass., Friday, which resulted in four deaths and more than 170 injuries, are still unknown. Investigators are working to uncover whether the suspects, Chechen-born, Muslim brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were lone assailants or trained by a terrorist organization. It also is unclear whether their possible motives were related to politics, religion or, as some reports have suggested, struggles assimilating after immigrating to the United States nearly a decade ago.

But after 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture late Friday night, less than a day after his 26-year-old brother died in Friday's shootout, Muslim communities now face a vexing question: Do they accept the men as Muslims despite the allegations against them? If so, will they give Tamerlan Tsarnaev an Islamic burial?

Fearing retaliation, dozens of mosques and Islamic groups have distanced themselves from the brothers after friends and family described them as Muslims, and social media accounts registered in their names indicated they were interested in Islamic Chechen insurgency groups.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two, has been described as more attuned to radical Islamic movements in recent years. Federal authorities are investigating a six-month trip he took in 2012 to Chechnya and Dagestan, Muslim-majority regions in Russia's north Caucasus with militant separatist movements.

"I would not be willing to do a funeral for him," said Imam Talal Eid of the Islamic Institute of Boston, a community services organization that frequently arranges funeral prayers and burials in the region. "This is a person who deliberately killed people. There is no room for him as a Muslim. He already left the fold of Islam by doing that. In the Quran it says those who will kill innocent people, they will dwell in the hellfire."

Imam Suhaib Webb of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the city's largest mosque, said he had not been contacted about a burial. A smaller mosque in Cambridge with the same owners, but a separate administration, the Islamic Society of Boston, confirmed in a statement Saturday that the suspects occasionally attended prayers there. But a representative from the Cambridge mosque said in an email it has had "no contacts or discussion" about a funeral.

"He should be buried according to the religious tradition he adheres to. His case is with God. We can judge him as best we can according to the savage and insane actions he has done, but in the end, his soul is going to be brought before God," said Webb. "I don't think I could ethically lead a prayer for him, but I would not stop people from praying upon him."

Islamic tradition dictates that the body of the deceased is tended to as soon as possible after death, preferably before sunset, with a ritual washing. The washing is often done by family members of the same-sex or a spouse, and is followed by shrouding in a white cloth, funeral prayer gathering and burial. Boston has at least two washing facilities for Islamic rites -- one in at a general funeral home Watertown where Eid helps facilitate Islamic funeral services, and one at Al-Marhama, an organization that shares space with Webb's mosque.

"We have not discussed it," a representative from Al-Marhama said regarding a funeral for Tsarnaev.

In the U.S., few Islamic cemeteries exist, but Muslims often buy sections of cemeteries to reserve for Islamic burials. There are at least four such sections in Boston-area cemeteries, said Eid.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died at a hospital after he was critically injured early Friday morning in Watertown, Mass., the city west of Boston where his younger brother was arrested while hiding in a backyard later that night. His body was turned over to the law enforcement for forensic experts, medical examiners and investigators seeking more details about his death and his actions.

It's unclear where the body is currently. A message left with the Massachusett's Medical Examiner's office was not returned, but experts in forensics and high-profile investigations say its release should be imminent if it hasn't happened already.

"If it's not ready for release now, it is probably going to be released as early as tomorrow," said Joseph Scott Morgan, a professor of criminal justice and forensics at North Georgia College and State University. "Evidence on bodies is very fragile, and people tend to go through the examination very quickly ... [looking for] trace evidence, blast evidence, relevant residue left behind from explosives or anything relative to trauma."

"In Boston, they deal with a large Muslim community, it's not something they have no experience with. Most medical examiner's offices in diverse communities will have clergy on call if they need to take special considerations when doing their work," said Morgan. "But the interests of the state trump everything else in this case."

The next-of-kin to take custody of Tsarnaev's body would be his wife, Katherine Russell, 24, of North Kingstown, R.I. Russell is the mother of Tsarnaev's 3-year-old daughter, Zahara, and reportedly converted after meeting Tsarnaev while at Suffolk University in Boston. The Russells did not respond to a voicemail asking about a funeral.

"Nobody has asked me, nobody has called me," said a man who answered the phone at Masjid Al-Hoda in Kingston, a Muslim community center about a 20-minute drive southwest of the Russell home.

Abdula Hameed, the imam of Masjid Al-Kareem in Providence, said he wasn't sure if the mosque would be open to a funeral. "I'd have to talk to our board members," he said.

Imam Ikram ul Haq, of Masjid Al-Islam North Smithfield, is listed as a contact for funeral prayer requests on the Rhode Island Council for Muslim Advancement website. He said he has not received a funeral request and questioned if the suspects would be seen as truly Muslim considering the accusations against them.

"We have to confirm if (Tamerlan) was a Muslim. If that was confirmed through reliable sources, that he lived a Muslim and died as one, then we (would be allowed) to do a funeral for that person," said ul Haq, emphasizing that he did not support the killings in Boston.

Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of the suspects who has said they were framed, told CNN on Saturday that he would travel to the U.S. from his home in Makhachkala, Dagestan, but did not say if his plans included a funeral.

Even if a mosque steps forward to conduct a funeral for Tsarnaev, Webb said that Islamic law still could place restrictions on the service.

"In fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), for somebody who has committed a major atrocity, it is recommended that the imam does not pray over him, but that someone else does. It's meant to somehow symbolize that there is some grieving with the victims of the person's actions," he said.

"In Islam, if someone is alive and has committed a crime, their opportunity to repent is open until they die," said Webb, referring to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is being treated at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "We hope this man would be guided first of all to help the investigation and seek the forgiveness of family members and all people he has harmed."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/20/tamerlan-tsarnaev-funeral-boston-bomber_n_3123798.html

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Addressing bullying in Rome schools

This section displays all of the Mohawk Valley news articles published in the past 7 days.

Bullying is a problem in most schools nationwide leaving students depressed and even afraid for their lives. In Rome, those affected most by bullying came out of the shadows to tell their board of education what really goes on in the halls and classrooms. Our Cara Thomas has more.

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ROME, N.Y. -- For Taylor Fulgieri, bullying is part of her every day life and has been for more than two years.

"There was this girl and she used to push me around and call me names and used to tell on me for things I didn't do. And then this year, she threatened to choke me and kill me," said the sixth grade student.

Taylor's father, Michael Fulgieri, said, "The kids aren't safe. They don't feel safe. They don't want to go to school. They just don't feel like if they go to anybody for help there's anybody there to actually help them."

And she's not the only one. For other students in the Rome School District, the bullying has led them to do unimaginable things.

Michele Grifasi, a parent of bullied teenager, said, "So it end up being, my daughter had had enough one day, things had happened in school, she came home very upset and I got the call at work that the ambulance was on the way, my daughter tried to overdose."

To try to put an end to the school's bullying problem, more than 100 people attended Wednesday night's Board of Education meeting and more than a dozen shared their stories of the significant role bullying has played in their lives.

"Bullying hurts, help us make it stop," said a young girl who spoke to the board.

But the biggest concern for parents, students and teachers is they say that school administration isn't doing anything about it, no matter how many issues they bring forward. But school officials say that's not necessarily the case.

Superintendent Jeffery Simons of the Rome School District said, "We do have a number of initiatives in place in the district to address bullying but in each case those initiatives may not always be effective of reducing the behaviors."

After listening to more than an hour of public comment, the board as well as school administrators promised to take a look at their disciplinary procedures when it comes to bullying and are asking for the public's help to come up with the best solution.

School officials say they don't take the parent's and student's concerns lightly. They will discuss new options on how to deal with bullying and bring their ideas to the next board meeting.

Source: http://centralny.ynn.com/content/all_news/romemohawk_valley/657435/addressing-bullying-in-rome-schools

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Supplier's warning pushes Apple stock below $400

By Poornima Gupta and Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's shares fell below $400 on Wednesday for the first time since December 2011 after a chip supplier's disappointing revenue forecast fanned fears about weakening demand for the iPhone and iPad.

Apple, whose shares dropped below $400 briefly before bouncing back to stand 5.5 percent lower at about $403, have lost more than 40 percent of its market value since its record high last September, battered by worries about intensifying competition and the effect on Apple's industry-leading margins.

Cirrus Logic's, which makes analog and audio chips for the iPhone and iPad, late on Tuesday said it will record a total net inventory reserve for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 30 of $23.3 million, most of it due to reduced forecast for one product from one customer.

Cirrus did not name the customer, but Apple accounted for over 90 percent of its business in the December quarter, something that makes Cirrus's forecast a key indicator of Apple demand.

Cirrus also forecast revenue for its first quarter ending in June of $150 million to $170 million, well below Wall Street's average forecast of more than $190 million.

"This is a tough environment, Apple is in transition between products," said Michael Yoshikami, a portfolio manager at Destination Wealth Management, which owns about 50,000 Apple shares. Cirrus's warning "makes it more likely Apple's not going to surprise on upside."

Apple is to report quarterly results on Tuesday. Analysts say Cirrus Logic's reduced outlook lends weight to arguments that consumers' love affair with the iPhone is waning as challengers such as Samsung Electronics vie for their attention.

Some believe Apple will not be able to sustain its high gross margins as competition in the tablet and smartphone markets leads to lower prices. Shorter product cycles limit Apple's ability to bring down component costs, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi said in a note to clients.

Cirrus's weak forecast follows a 19 percent decline in first-quarter sales at Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, Apple's main contract manufacturer.

"It's a reminder of weakening demand and the challenges around product transitions," Shannon Cross, of Cross Research, said. "There's not a lot of conviction about what the second half is going to look like."

Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope said in a note on Wednesday that Apple's momentum could weaken further before it launches new products later this year.

DECLINING PROFIT

Apple, which relies heavily on new products to drive its revenue growth, has not had a launch since last October when it unveiled its 7.9-inch iPad mini and an updated full-size iPad.

The company typically launches a new iPad in the spring, but it is unlikely to do so because of the October update. Looking forward, investors now expect an upcoming new iPhone to power earnings in the second half. The two versions of the iPad are also likely to get an update in the fall.

In the past week, analysts had reduced their estimates for Apple's March quarter revenue on average to $42.53 billion from $42.68 billion. Following Cirrus' warning on Tuesday, some think Apple's results could miss those already reduced expectations.

Apple is expected to report a 9 percent increase in quarterly revenue, with net profit expected to decline 17 percent to $9.59 billion, or $10.08 a share, for its fiscal second quarter, according to average analysts' estimates.

Sacconaghi, who lowered his revenue estimate to $41.1 billion from $42.4 billion, said he expects mixed results with Apple's revenue coming in below consensus and earnings per share largely as expected.

Shares of other chip makers and Apple suppliers, including Qualcomm, Avago Technologies, Broadcom and Skyworks, also were hit on a day that saw broad weakness in financial markets.

Investors and analysts will look for more clues about Apple later on Wednesday when flash memory chip maker SanDisk Corp reports results. Apple accounted for 13 percent of SanDisk's revenue in fiscal 2012.

"There's no doubt we'll look at SanDisk to try to figure out what it tells us about overall demand at Apple," RBC analyst Doug Freedman said. "You'll get little nuggets of data that hopefully add up to a bigger picture."

(Additional reporting By Edwin Chan; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Andrew Hay and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-shares-slide-supplier-cirrus-logics-weak-outlook-155459868--finance.html

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Senate plans gun votes Wednesday starting at 4 p.m. (Washington Bureau)

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