Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Health impact assessments prove critical public health tool: Best way to gauge impact of gas drilling on communities

Apr. 22, 2013 ? As natural gas development expands nationwide, policymakers, communities and public health experts are increasingly turning to health impact assessments (HIA) as a means of predicting the effects of drilling on local communities, according to a new study from the Colorado School of Public Health.

The report, published this week in the American Journal of Public Health, highlights lessons learned when scientists from the school were hired to assess the possible health impacts of fracking in a small western Colorado town.

"Health impact assessments can be a useful public health tool to determine the possible health effects of natural gas development on the local level," said the study's lead author Roxana Zulauf Witter, MD, MPH, at the Colorado School of Public Health. "In fact, our study is now being looked at as a model nationwide."

In 2009, the Colorado School of Public Health was contracted by Garfield County to conduct a health impact assessment of 200 proposed natural gas wells in the community of Battlement Mesa.

The team found that the natural gas project could contribute to health effects such as headaches, upper respiratory illness, nausea and nosebleeds and a possible small increase in lifetime cancer risks as a result of air emissions.

The project would also increase safety risks and mental health effects due to traffic and community changes associated with the industrial activity.

According to the study, the HIA offers a roadmap for other communities and industry to follow in determining the health impacts of gas drilling. It also develops recommendations to reduce those impacts.

"We believe we accomplished the important objective of elevating public health into many levels of natural gas policy discussion," the study said. "The Battlement Mesa HIA provides substantial and valuable guidance for local decision makers to protect public health."

At the same time, the industry can use HIA findings to identify and eliminate health issues before they become problems.

"The whole goal is to provide recommendations to reduce impacts before you start," Witter said. "The assessment is a means to an end. It's a critical public health tool."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado Denver.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Roxana Z. Witter, Lisa McKenzie, Kaylan E. Stinson, Kenneth Scott, Lee S. Newman, John Adgate. The Use of Health Impact Assessment for a Community Undergoing Natural Gas Development. American Journal of Public Health, 2013; : e1 DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301017

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/bGnElfWZgeY/130422175712.htm

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Is Boston Like Columbine?

Suspects wanted for questioning in relation to the Boston Marathon bombing April 15 are revealed in this handout photo during an FBI news conference in Boston, April 18, 2013. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, left, and Dzhokar Tsarnev, right, in the surveillance photo handed out by the FBI on Thursday.

Photo provided by FBI/Reuters

My Twitter feed has been flooded with this theme today: The Tsarnaev brothers seem more like the Columbine killers than al-Qaida.

Maybe. Either, neither, or it could easily be a combination. It?s way too early to know. The first thing I learned covering Columbine all those years was that most of the theories that gain traction this week will be wrong.

But we do have an interesting situation developing with a pair of brothers as suspects: potentially, the classic dyad scenario. Notorious dyad examples include Bonnie and Clyde, Leopold and Loeb, and the D.C. snipers. The dyad tends to be a twisted, particular relationship that plays out very differently than the lone gunman or the terrorist team.

Since that idea is getting a lot of attention, let?s explore the ?dyad? phenomenon and how dyads typically play out. Whether that pattern was relevant here will be determined later. We could be looking at a fusion situation, where Tamerlan Tsarnaev?trained as a traditional terrorist, and followed the dyad model in the way he integrated Dzhokhar.

We don?t even know whether this was a true dyad in the sense of joint planning. For all we know, Dzhokhar (or Tamerlan) learned the contents of the duffel bag only 20 minutes before the attack. His older brother could have asked him to carry the bag for him and drop it over there. Dzhokhar could have suspected a little, a lot, or anything in between. All we know is that they were both there at the scene?and then became fugitives together. What came before is all still conjecture.

The good news: There is a typical dyad pattern. That?s in contrast to lone killers, who run the psychological gamut. Every study has drawn the conclusion that there is no typical mass murderer. Mass killers are mostly not loners or outcasts, and the Columbine killers were neither. ?

Killer dyads are more consistent. And the popular conception of the dominant, charismatic leader roping a submissive follower into his diabolical scheme?surprisingly, that usually turns out to be true. The leader is commonly a sadistic, dehumanizing psychopath?not always, but far more often than is the case with lone gunmen/bombers, where that personality type is relatively rare. The follower is often depressive, submissive, or otherwise dependent.

When there is a significant age difference?as with one killer just out of high school?we can?t be certain the older partner plays the lead role, but it usually works that way.

Dyads usually contain contrasting personalities. A psychopathic killer generally does not link up with another psychopath. Nor do depressives pair up. Thrill-seeking psychopaths have been known to pair up, but most are looking for the qualities they lack.

Here, Columbine is highly illuminating. It?s a lousy example for understanding most school shootings, because it?s so atypical: It wasn?t even intended primarily as a shooting?the main event was the failed bombs. But Columbine is a perfect illustration of the classic dyad: Eric Harris wanted a minion to march behind him; Dylan Klebold was looking for someone to lead a parade.

2776552 Eric Harris, left, and Dylan Klebold at a makeshift shooting range March 6, 1999, in this image from video released by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. Did Harris need Klebold?

Photo by Jefferson County Sheriff's Department via Getty Images

Psychopaths like Eric Harris crave excitement and have difficulty sustaining it. An ambitious killer may crave a pliable, excitable assistant. He is not in the market for argument, criticism, or someone to share the glory. A No. 1 fan would be super.

Dylan was unlikely to hook up with another kid wallowing in self-misery. Eric radiated confidence, charisma, and the vision of a glorious bloody way out.

I have often wondered why Eric even recruited a partner. Their writings indicate that Eric sought out the arms, collected the ammo, researched the big bombs, built all the pipe bombs, drew up the plans and diagrams, conducted the reconnaissance, calculated how to maximize the body count, cooked up batch after batch of failed napalm, and generally devised the plan. What exactly did he need Dylan for?

To carry one of the duffel bags and shoot additional people? Couldn?t Eric have coaxed his buddy into dropping a duffel bag in the cafeteria without mentioning the propane bomb inside? Didn?t he have enough firepower with his two guns to kill hundreds? He could have killed far more than 13 people if he focused on work instead of laughing it up and gabbing with his partner the whole way through.

Which is the nub. The shooting was superfluous anyway?it was to be dwarfed by the bombs. The shooting was supposed to be the fun part. ?Have fun,? they wrote on the schedule for their last act.

Almost 14 years to the day after Columbine, I would say Dylan?s main purpose in the whole tragedy was for Eric to have fun. What?s the fun of a shooting spree on your own? And more importantly, how does it entertain you the entire year leading up to the attack?

Serial killers don't space out their murders for efficiency. They do it to maximize enjoyment. Death and torture are the amusing parts. They want to relish the screams over and over. They want recognition. They sometimes assist the police investigation, not to get caught, but to toy with the cops, and to sneer at them.

Sadistic killers who go the event route, as with Columbine, need to plan for months, and they are hungry for satisfaction during that planning period. When you only get one bomb blast, the thrill of the plot is everything. ?Dylan offered Eric a highly intelligent audience of one. They were laughing for month after month at the fools missing the plot unfolding right under their noses.

The boys videotaped themselves at an afternoon of target practice with several friends six weeks before the attack. They shot up a bowling pin and then a tree trunk, ?Imagine that in someone's fucking brain," Eric said. They all laughed, but?only he and Dylan?got the real joke.

Months it went on. An entire year of satisfaction. None of that would have been possible without one hapless follower in on the joke.

That?s how dyads typically operate. Whether that model ends up fitting the Boston massacre is something we may discover soon.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=35f60743435363fddae158a12e34ad9d

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Engadget Podcast 340 - 04.19.13

Engadget Podcast 340 - 04.19.13

We're only 60 weeks away from the big 400th podcast, and the excitement is starting to build. So we guess that's why they've demolished the old studio? This week they've moved our hosts into temporary residence while -- we assume -- they build a new, deluxe suite in preparation. Right?

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Peter Rojas, Brian Stevens

Producers: James Trew, Joe Pollicino

Hear the podcast:

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/TmRqNbsX8mw/

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MTN says U.S. ruling a "positive" in Iran suit defense

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The chief executive of South African telecom MTN Group on Thursday hailed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling as a major boost to its defense against a $4.2 billion lawsuit from rival Turkcell.

"It's definitely a positive for our case," Sifiso Dabengwa told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Turkcell is suing MTN, Africa's biggest mobile phone company, in a U.S. federal court using a 224-year-old law.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday limited the ability of human rights plaintiffs to invoke that law, a ruling seen as a major victory for foreign multinationals.

The federal court had delayed ruling on the Turkcell suit filed a year ago, pending the outcome of Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling.

Critically for Turkcell's suit - which involves two companies that are not based in the United States - the ruling is seen as limiting the reach of U.S. courts in claims seen as lacking sufficient connection to the United States.

Turkcell said in a statement it was "inappropriate" to comment before a ruling from the federal court, adding that its case could be addressed in the coming weeks.

Turkey's largest cell phone firm alleges that MTN used bribery and peddling of political influence to win a mobile license in Iran that was first awarded to Turkcell.

MTN has denied the charges.

Shares of MTN were up 0.81 percent at 163.51 rand at 1105 GMT. Turkcell's shares were also little changed.

(Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Ed Cropley)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mtn-says-u-ruling-positive-iran-suit-defense-111900015--finance.html

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

T-Mobile leak hints at an HTC One launch on April 24th

TMobile leak hints at an HTC One launch on April 24th

We've known for a while that April 19th is the big day for AT&T and Sprint versions of the HTC One, yet news of the T-Mobile version's release has been thin. If TmoNews' copy of a staff memo is on target, though, the UnCarrier's subscribers will only have to wait until April 24th to get their turn. The note tells workers that "select stores" will have the One that day -- it doesn't mention which stores those might be, but it's safe to say this could mean a launch later than the one Best Buy claimed days ago. When we already know the $99 regular price, about all that's seemingly left is for T-Mobile to give the final word.

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Source: TmoNews

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/15/t-mobile-leak-hints-at-an-htc-one-launch-on-april-24th/

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DISH Network gives Sprint a $25.5 billion offer

Sprint and DISH NetworkSatellite provider outbids Japan's Softbank by $5 billion

DISH Network and Sprint this morning announced that the satellite TV operator has submitted a bid worth $25.5 billion, very likely scuttling the $20.1 billion deal proposed last fall by Japan's Softbank.

DISH's proposal -- $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock -- would give Sprint shareholders $7 per share (actually, a mix of $4.76 in cash and the rest in DISH stock), based on the April 12 closing price. Sprint would then have access to some 45 MHz of spectrum.

The two companies have set up a joint microsite for the process, touting that "this combination will create an industry-leading spectrum portfolio and the only company that can offer customers a fully integrated, nationwide bundle of in- and out-of-home video, broadband and voice services.

There's a conference call set for this morning to break it down even further. We'll be kibitzing. 

Source: CompleteDishSolution.com

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/LDRd32DZ4QU/story01.htm

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Saturday, April 13, 2013

How Alzheimer's could occur

Friday, April 12, 2013

A new hypothesis has been developed by researchers in Bochum on how Alzheimer's disease could occur. They analysed the interaction of the proteins FE65 and BLM that regulate cell division. In the cell culture model, they discovered spherical structures in the nucleus that contained FE65 and BLM. The interaction of the proteins triggered a wrong signal for cell division. This may explain the degeneration and death of nerve cells in Alzheimer's patients. The team led by Dr. Thorsten M?ller and Prof. Dr. Katrin Marcus from the Department of Functional Proteomics in cooperation with the RUB's Medical Proteome Centre headed by Prof. Helmut E. Meyer reported on the results in the "Journal of Cell Science".

Components of spherical structures in the nucleus identified

The so-called amyloid precursor protein APP is central to Alzheimer's disease. It spans the cell membrane, and its cleavage products are linked to protein deposits that form in Alzheimer patients outside the nerve cells. APP anchors the protein FE65 to the membrane, which was the focus of the current study. FE65 can migrate into the nucleus, where it plays a role in DNA replication and repair. Based on cells grown in the laboratory, the team led by Dr. M?ller established that FE65 can unite with other proteins in the cell nucleus to form spherical structures, so-called "nuclear spheres". Video microscopy showed that these ring-like structures merge with each other and can thus grow. "By using a special cell culture model, we were able to identify additional components of these spheres", says Andreas Schr?tter, PhD student in the working group Morbus Alzheimer at the Institute for Functional Proteomics. Among other things, the scientists found the protein BLM, which is known from Bloom's syndrome ? an extremely rare hereditary disease, which is associated with dwarfism, immunodeficiency, and an increased risk of cancer. BLM is involved in DNA replication and repair in the nucleus.

The amount of FE65 determines the amount of BLM in the cell nucleus

M?ller's team took a closer look at the function of FE65. By means of genetic manipulation, the researchers generated cell cultures, in which the FE65-production was reduced. A smaller amount of FE65 thus generated a smaller amount of the protein BLM in the nucleus. Instead, BLM collected in another area of the cell, the endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, the researchers found a lower rate of DNA replication in the genetically modified cells. In this way, FE65 influences the replication of the genetic material via the BLM protein. When the researchers cranked up the FE65-production again, the amount of BLM in the nucleus also increased again.

FE65 as a possible trigger for Alzheimer's

In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the protein APP, an interaction partner of FE65, changes. The interaction of the two molecules is important for the transport of FE65 into the nucleus, where it regulates cell division in combination with BLM. M?ller's team assumes that the altered APP-FE65 interaction mistakenly sends the cells the signal to divide. Since nerve cells normally cannot divide, they degenerate instead and die. "This hypothesis, which we pursue in the working group Morbus Alzheimer, also delivers new starting points for potential therapies, which are urgently needed for Alzheimer's disease," says Dr. Mueller. In the future, the team will also investigate whether and how the amount of BLM is altered in Alzheimer's patients compared to healthy subjects.

###

Ruhr-University Bochum: http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Thanks to Ruhr-University Bochum for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127727/How_Alzheimer_s_could_occur

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 37 dead

By Yeganeh Torbati and Marcus George

DUBAI (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported.

The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it.

"Due to the intensity of this earthquake, this tragedy has deepened and we have seen the destruction of many homes in the region, the deaths of 37 people and more than 850 injured," the governor of Bushehr province, Fereydoun Hassanvand, told Mehr news agency.

Many houses in rural parts of the province are made of mud bricks, which have been known to crumble easily in quake-prone Iran. Some 700 homes were destroyed, Hassanvand said.

Across the Gulf, offices in Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake, whose epicenter was 89 km (55 miles) southeast of the port of Bushehr, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The early afternoon shock was also felt in financial hub Dubai.

The Russian company that built the nuclear power station, 18 km (11 miles) south of Bushehr, said the plant was unaffected.

"Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," Russian state news agency RIA quoted an official at Atomstroyexport as saying.

Iran informed the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency that there was "no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation", an agency statement said.

One Bushehr resident said the quake shook her home and the homes of her neighbors but they were not damaged.

"We could clearly feel the earthquake," Nikoo, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said. "The windows and chandeliers all shook."

While initial fears about nuclear fallout receded, nearer the epicenter the rescue efforts ramped up into the night in search of survivors and to feed and house hundreds of residents who were traumatized by at least 16 aftershocks.

A Red Crescent official told ISNA that 20 people had been saved by rescue teams searching through the rubble.

Reports in Iranian media spoke of landslides destroying buildings and crowds gathering in the town of Dashti from outlying areas in search of help. Military officials said army and police units had been deployed to maintain order.

Water and electricity lines were severed and communities stayed in the streets because of the threat from aftershocks.

Iran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offered his condolences to the victims and urged authorities to extend all efforts to save lives and help the afflicted.

Tuesday's quake was much smaller than the 9.0 magnitude one that hit Japan two years ago, triggering a tsunami that destroyed back-up generators and disabled the Fukushima nuclear plant's cooling system. Three of the reactors melted down.

Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated wide areas and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless.

Western officials and the United Nations have urged Iran to join the safety forum.

REPEATED WARNINGS

Tehran has repeatedly rejected safety concerns about Bushehr - built in a highly seismic area - that began operations in September 2011 after decades of delays.

Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. In August more than 300 people were killed when two quakes struck the northwest.

A report published last week by U.S. think-tanks Carnegie Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said that "ominously" the Bushehr reactor sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates.

"Iran's sole nuclear power plant is not at risk of a tsunami similar in size to the one that knocked out the electricity and emergency cooling systems at Fukushima. But, repeated warnings about the threat of earthquakes for the Bushehr nuclear plant appear to have fallen on deaf ears," the report said.

The quake happened on National Nuclear Technology Day when Iran's leaders celebrate the technological advances they say will reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels, leaving more of its abundant oil for export.

Israel, Gulf Arab states and many Western countries fear Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability and the Islamic Republic is under international sanctions aimed at forcing it to curb some of its atomic work.

Iran denies it wants nuclear arms and says its atomic work is for electricity generation and other peaceful uses.

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Regan Doherty in Doha, Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Michael Roddy and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/6-3-magnitude-quake-strikes-near-irans-nuclear-123722902.html

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SKorea says NKorea behind computer crash in March

(AP) ? North Korea was responsible for a cyberattack that shut down tens of thousands of computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks last month, officials in Seoul said Wednesday, noting that an initial investigation pointed to a military-run spy agency as the culprit.

The accusation comes as tensions run high on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea delivering increasingly belligerent rhetoric as it stews over U.N. sanctions and U.S.-South Korean military drills.

Investigators detected similarities between the March cyberattack and past hacking attributed to the North Korean spy agency, including the recycling of 30 previously used malware programs ? out of a total of 76 used in the attack, said Chun Kil-soo, an official at South Korea's internet security agency.

Investigators believe that six computers in North Korea were used to access South Korean servers using more than 1,000 IP addresses in 40 countries overseas, Chun said. Thirteen of those IP addresses were traced back to North Korea.

He said the attack appeared to have been planned for about eight months.

"We saw evidence that the attack was extremely carefully prepared," Chun said at a news briefing.

The March 20 cyberattack struck 48,000 computers and servers, hampering banks for two to five days, although Financial Services Commission official Lim Wang-sub said Wednesday that no bank records or personal data were compromised. Staffers at TV broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN were unable to log on to news systems for several days, although programming continued during that period. No government, military or infrastructure targets were affected.

It was not the first time Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for such online assaults.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service said North Korea was behind a denial of service attack in 2009 that crippled dozens of websites, including that of the presidential office. Seoul also believes the North was responsible for cyberattacks on servers of Nonghyup bank in 2011 and Joongang Ilbo, a national daily newspaper, in 2012.

North Korea blamed South Korea and the United States for cyberattacks in March that temporarily disabled Internet access and websites in North Korea, where a small number of people can go online.

Though Wednesday's findings were from an interim investigation report, the final conclusions were not likely to change much, said Lim Chae-ho, a professor of network security at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

"Future evidence will strengthen the case rather than reverse it," Lim said. "It is worrisome that the North's cyberattacks are getting increasingly severe."

Experts believe North Korea trains large teams of cyber warriors and that the South and its allies should be prepared against possible attacks on key infrastructure and military systems. If the inter-Korean conflict were to move into cyberspace, South Korea's deeply wired society would have more to lose than North Korea's, which largely remains offline.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-10-AS-SKorea-Cyberattack/id-7af553565b7642d782557991f84caf59

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Monday, April 8, 2013

PFT: Gronk may face another surgery on injured arm

Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid gestures during a news conference with Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt introducing Reid as the Chiefs new coach in Kansas City, MissouriReuters

We begin our analysis of each team?s draft needs with a look at the Kansas City Chiefs, who hold the No. 1 overall selection and have eight picks overall ? but lack a second-round selection after the trade for quarterback Alex Smith:

Offensive tackle:?The Chiefs gave left tackle Branden Albert the franchise tag, but it seems they are open to considering moving him in the right deal. Even if the Chiefs keep Albert, drafting a top left tackle prospect like Texas A&M?s Luke Joeckel or Central Michigan?s Eric Fisher?makes a lot of sense. Albert is signed for just one more season, and he prefers left tackle, not right tackle.

Running back:?The Chiefs have a clear-cut featured back in Jamaal Charles. However, the depth behind Charles needs improvement. Kansas City doesn?t necessarily need to address this position early in the draft, given how running backs are valued these days, but adding a back ? perhaps one with a little more bulk than Charles ? would be wise. The good news for Chiefs fans? The Eagles showed a sharp eye for running back talent throughout Andy Reid?s tenure as head coach.

Inside linebacker: Here?s another position where the Chiefs have a building block (in this case, Derrick Johnson) and some questions otherwise. Also, just like at running back, positional value would suggest inside linebacker is more likely to be addressed on the second or third day of the draft.

Outside linebacker:?The Chiefs are set here entering 2013 with Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. However, they need to begin preparing for the future at the position. Hali has been productive (62.5 sacks) and dependable (two missed games in seven seasons), but he will be 30 in November. He has two years left on his deal, as does Houston ? who comes off a 10-sack season in 2012 and figures to garner a big-time second contract, considering the value of pass rushers. The Chiefs might want to add a mid-round prospect and groom him for 2015. You can never have enough pass-rush help.

Tight end: It wouldn?t be a surprise if the Chiefs drafted a tight end even after signing Anthony Fasano in free agency.?Tony Moeaki enters the final year of his contract, and more options at the position wouldn?t be a bad idea. Reid?s draft history suggests tight end might be more of a third-day consideration. The majority of tight ends selected in Reid?s Philadelphia tenure came off the board in Round Five or later.

We have seen far worse holders of the No. 1 pick than the 2013 Chiefs. This is a team that had a half-dozen Pro Bowl representatives in January ? and all of them are still on the roster. Still, they have some work to do in April. With a good draft, a climb out of the cellar in the AFC West wouldn?t shock anyone, especially with the Raiders and Chargers trying to climb back into contention themselves. Finally, the Smith trade opens some options for the Chiefs. They don?t need a quarterback this year. If any team falls in love with a prospect, the Chiefs shouldn?t let the call go to voicemail.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/07/new-concerns-about-gronkowskis-recovery/related/

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New link between heart disease and red meat: New understanding of cardiovascular health benefits of vegan, vegetarian diets

Apr. 7, 2013 ? A compound abundant in red meat and added as a supplement to popular energy drinks has been found to promote atherosclerosis -- or the hardening or clogging of the arteries -- according to Cleveland Clinic research published online this week in the journal Nature Medicine.

The study shows that bacteria living in the human digestive tract metabolize the compound carnitine, turning it into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite the researchers previously linked in a 2011 study to the promotion of atherosclerosis in humans. Further, the research finds that a diet high in carnitine promotes the growth of the bacteria that metabolize carnitine, compounding the problem by producing even more of the artery-clogging TMAO.

The research team was led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of Translational Research for the Lerner Research Institute and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, and Robert Koeth, a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

The study tested the carnitine and TMAO levels of omnivores, vegans and vegetarians, and examined the clinical data of 2,595 patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluations. They also examined the cardiac effects of a carnitine-enhanced diet in normal mice compared to mice with suppressed levels of gut microbes, and discovered that TMAO alters cholesterol metabolism at multiple levels, explaining how it enhances atherosclerosis.

The researchers found that increased carnitine levels in patients predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease and major cardiac events like heart attack, stroke and death, but only in subjects with concurrently high TMAO levels. Additionally, they found specific gut microbe types in subjects associated with both plasma TMAO levels and dietary patterns, and that baseline TMAO levels were significantly lower among vegans and vegetarians than omnivores. Remarkably, vegans and vegetarians, even after consuming a large amount of carnitine, did not produce significant levels of the microbe product TMAO, whereas omnivores consuming the same amount of carnitine did.

"The bacteria living in our digestive tracts are dictated by our long-term dietary patterns," Hazen said. "A diet high in carnitine actually shifts our gut microbe composition to those that like carnitine, making meat eaters even more susceptible to forming TMAO and its artery-clogging effects. Meanwhile, vegans and vegetarians have a significantly reduced capacity to synthesize TMAO from carnitine, which may explain the cardiovascular health benefits of these diets."

Prior research has shown that a diet with frequent red meat consumption is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, but that the cholesterol and saturated fat content in red meat does not appear to be enough to explain the increased cardiovascular risks. This discrepancy has been attributed to genetic differences, a high salt diet that is often associated with red meat consumption, and even possibly the cooking process, among other explanations. But Hazen says this new research suggests a new connection between red meat and cardiovascular disease.

"This process is different in everyone, depending on the gut microbe metabolism of the individual," he says. "Carnitine metabolism suggests a new way to help explain why a diet rich in red meat promotes atherosclerosis."

While carnitine is naturally occurring in red meats, including beef, venison, lamb, mutton, duck, and pork, it's also a dietary supplement available in pill form and a common ingredient in energy drinks. With this new research in mind, Hazen cautions that more research needs to be done to examine the safety of chronic carnitine supplementation.

"Carnitine is not an essential nutrient; our body naturally produces all we need," he says. "We need to examine the safety of chronically consuming carnitine supplements as we've shown that, under some conditions, it can foster the growth of bacteria that produce TMAO and potentially clog arteries."

This study is the latest in a line of research by Hazen and his colleagues exploring how gut microbes can contribute to atherosclerosis, uncovering new and unexpected pathways involved in heart disease. In a 2011 Nature study, they first discovered that people are not predisposed to cardiovascular disease solely because of their genetic make-up, but also based on how the micro-organisms in their digestive tracts metabolize lecithin, a compound with a structure similar to carnitine.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cleveland Clinic, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Robert A Koeth, Zeneng Wang, Bruce S Levison, Jennifer A Buffa, Elin Org, Brendan T Sheehy, Earl B Britt, Xiaoming Fu, Yuping Wu, Lin Li, Jonathan D Smith, Joseph A DiDonato, Jun Chen, Hongzhe Li, Gary D Wu, James D Lewis, Manya Warrier, J Mark Brown, Ronald M Krauss, W H Wilson Tang, Frederic D Bushman, Aldons J Lusis, Stanley L Hazen. Intestinal microbiota metabolism of l-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3145

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/Gv4Dbnq_NVI/130407133320.htm

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Friday, April 5, 2013

Iran backs Syria's Assad with secret training

(This article was reported by a journalist in Syria whose name is withheld for security reasons)

HOMS PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - The Syrian government is sending members of its irregular militias for guerrilla combat training at a secret base in Iran, in a move to bolster its armed forces drained by two years of fighting and defections, fighters and activists said.

The discreet program has been described as an open secret in some areas loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who is trying to crush a revolt against his family's four-decade hold on power.

Reuters interviewed four fighters who said they were taken on the combat course in Iran, as well as opposition sources who said they had also been documenting such cases.

Israel's intelligence chief and a Western diplomat have said Iran, Assad's main backer, is helping to train at least 50,000 militiamen and aims to increase the force to 100,000 - though they did not say where the training occurred.

No one at Iran's foreign ministry was available for comment, but Iranian officials have repeatedly denied military involvement in the Syrian conflict, saying they have only provided humanitarian aid and political support for Assad.

A Syrian government security source, who declined to be named, denied that Syria was sending fighters to Iran. "We train our own special forces for this type of combat," he said. "Since 2006 we have had units trained in guerrilla warfare, why would we need to send people to Iran?"

But if the reports by Syrian fighters are true, the move to train combatants in Iran suggests that their country's increasingly regionalized conflict has grown well beyond - and could even outlast - a battle for power between Assad's circle and the opposition.

The fighters also appear to come largely from minority groups that have supported Assad against the mostly Sunni Muslim-led uprising. Such a move could exacerbate the dangerous sectarian dimensions of a conflict that has turned into a civil war that has cost the lives of more than 70,000 people.

REGIONAL INFLUENCE

Iran, a Shi'ite rival to Sunni countries in the Gulf that support the rebels, sees Syria as the lynchpin of its regional influence. Syria has been its conduit to the Lebanese guerrilla movement Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006.

"It was an urban warfare course that lasted 15 days. The trainers said it's the same course Hezbollah operatives normally do," said Samer, a Christian member of a pro-Assad militia fighting in rural parts of Homs province in central Syria.

"The course teaches you the important elements of guerrilla warfare, like several different ways to carry a rifle and shoot, and the best methods to prepare against surprise attacks."

According to fighters interviewed in Homs, most men sent to undergo the training are from the Alawite sect, the heterodox strain of Shi'ite Islam of which Assad himself is a member.

A smaller number were Druze and Christians, whose communities are divided but largely support Assad due to their fears of rising Islamist rhetoric among the opposition.

"The Iranians kept telling us that this war is not against Sunnis but for the sake of Syria. But the Alawites on the course kept saying they want to kill the Sunnis and rape their women in revenge," said Samer.

"DIE AN UGLY DEATH"

Syrian residents living in areas controlled by the army or militias say irregular forces have been increasingly "regularized" in recent months. These groups now brand themselves as the "National Defence Army" and seem to operate as a parallel force to the official armed forces - more lightly armed but without any of the oversight or responsibilities.

Since 2011, security forces organized groups called "popular committees" for neighborhood watches. These later became militias nicknamed "shabbiha", from the Arabic word for ghost.

Shabbiha groups have been accused of some of the worst massacres of Sunni civilians, including one incident in the central town of al-Houla, in Homs province, in which more than 100 people were killed, half of them children. Authorities blamed rebels for the killings.

It is unclear how many former shabbiha fighters have been sent on courses in Iran, but some interviewees said they had assembled in groups of around 400 before being flown to Iran in smaller numbers. They believed the offer of training was open to many pro-Assad militias operating across Syria.

Syrian shabbiha fighters say Iran is also training Syrians and supporting their forces inside Syria, so it is not clear why courses have been run in Iran.

The fighters interviewed said they believed the training implied a growing crisis of confidence between Iranian forces and the Syrian army, which has been plagued with corruption as well as defections to the rebel side.

Nabeel, a muscular Christian fighter from Homs nicknamed "The Shameless One", said Iranian trainers repeatedly lectured on looting, a crime widely committed by fighters on both sides.

"On our first day of training, the Iranian officer overseeing our course said, 'I know exactly what is going on in Syria and want to tell you one thing: If you joined the National Defence Army for looting and not to defend your country, you will die an ugly death and go to hell'."

SECRETIVE TRAINING

The trainees interviewed said they were divided into groups. Some trained as ground forces with automatic rifles and mounted anti-aircraft guns, others as snipers.

The groups were all flown from Latakia air base to Tehran International Airport and then directly bussed to an undisclosed location, they said.

"As soon as we arrived we were put on buses with windows covered by curtains and they told us not to open the curtains," said the fighter Samer.

"We drove about an hour and a half before reaching the camp. It was straight from the airport to the camp, from the camp to the airport. We didn't see anything other than that camp."

All four combatants, who come from different towns and different militias, separately described the same experience. They said they were usually grouped into units of about 60 for training. The fighters said they were trained by Iranian officers who spoke Arabic but also relied on translators.

The units also had contact with Lebanese fighters, said the participants, who suspected those men of being Hezbollah militants helping to conduct training or participate in courses.

"There were some groups from Hezbollah training at the same base but there was no communication between our groups. They did their thing, and we did ours," said Sameer, another militiaman from Homs. "I think their training was tougher than ours."

GULF SEEKS TO "BLEED" IRAN

Iran has supported and helped train Syria's army under long-standing military cooperation agreements, but a push into training its paramilitary forces could aggravate regional rivals such as Israel, which is particularly wary of Syrian groups increasing coordination with Hezbollah, or Saudi Arabia.

"If the Saudis felt that the Iranians are really moving this game up, they will be sure to check that escalation by increasing assistance to rebel fighters," said Michael Stephens, a Doha-based analyst for the security think tank RUSTIC.

"Saudi Arabia is totally focused on this as a way to make the Iranians bleed ... keep the Iranians bogged down in this proxy war, bleed them dry."

The fighters described the training as far superior to skills they had been taught in courses inside Syria.

"Before I could only hit targets 50 percent of the time, now I can hit a target around 90 percent of the time," said Samer.

"In Syria, they made the priority defending the place we are in, no matter the price. In Iran, they told us to save our lives. If you lose the position but survive, you can recoup and regain the site another day. If you die, your position will eventually be lost."

(Writing and additional reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-syrian-guerrilla-fighters-being-sent-iran-training-105420534.html

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Bipartisan group pushes appeals judge confirmation

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A dozen lawyers who served Democratic and Republican presidents are pushing for the confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominee to the federal appeals court in Washington.

The letter signed by attorneys who have represented the federal government before the Supreme Court comes after Caitlin Halligan withdrew her nomination to the District of Columbia Circuit after being blocked by Republicans. That leaves Sri Srinivasan, (SREEN-i-vah-san) the principal deputy solicitor general, as the only nominee to fill one of four vacancies on the short-staffed circuit.

Monday's letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee argues Srinivasan has "a first-rate intellect" and "unimpeachable character." It was signed by six Republicans and six Democrats who served as either solicitor general or the No. 2 in that office, including Ken Starr and Ted Olson.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bipartisan-group-pushes-appeals-judge-confirmation-205821608.html

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