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Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
All 3 kidnapped SKoreans now free in Philippines (AP)
MANILA, Philippines ? An army general says kidnappers have abandoned two South Korean businessmen as troops closed in on them in the restive southern Philippines.
The gunmen had been holding three South Korean businessmen. The first, Choi Inn-so, was released Friday, apparently because he fell ill.
On Saturday, the other two were found in Lanao del Norte province. Army Maj. Gen. Noel Coballes says Wu Seok-bung and Kim Nam-du were weak and starving when troops found them.
Coballes said Sunday that a Filipino guide seized with the Koreans on Oct. 21 was reportedly shot in captivity, but that troops would continue to look for him and the kidnappers. The group were checking on a mining investment and had failed to return to their hotel.
Coballes said officials negotiated with the kidnappers, but that no ransom was paid.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Mars explorer 'Curiosity' set for Saturday launch
NASA's Mars explorer Curiosity, the most capable robotic rover ever built for taking the measure of a planet, is to launch Saturday morning. Curiosity?will analyze the layered terrain in Gale Crater to read in its rocks the history of the environment there.
NASA's Mars explorer Curiosity, the most capable robotic rover ever built for taking the measure of a planet, is nestled snugly in its protective fairing atop an Atlas V rocket, awaiting a 10:02 launch this morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Skip to next paragraphNot since the twin Viking landers touched down on the Martian surface in 1976 has an advanced robotic chemistry lab been dispatched to the planet ? a sibling of Earth that has captured the human imagination for millenniums.
Unlike Vikings 1 and 2, Curiosity will not hunt for direct evidence of life on Mars. Instead, scientists fielding the Mini Cooper-sized rover with its seven foot "neck" will analyze the layered terrain in Gale Crater to read in its rocks the history of the environment there.
IN PICTURES:?Exploring Mars
The crater's rocks show evidence of water in their distant past. And the formations appear to record a progression from wet, to occasionally wet, to dry conditions. Now researchers are hunting for clues about the broader chemical and atmospheric processes affecting the planet during these changes, conditions that could have encouraged or inhibited the possible emergence of life on Mars.
Any life that exists on Mars "will be a function of its environment," says Pamela Conrad, an astrobiologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and a deputy principal investigator for one of the soil-analysis instruments Curiosity carries.
"We can't say with any definitive knowledge that we could recognize life somewhere else in the solar system, or beyond the solar system, without being able to unbolt all the assumptions and all the experience we have" looking at life on Earth, Dr. Conrad says.
For Mars, Curiosity represents the tool that will suggest to astrobiologists how loose bolts have to be.??????
But first, Curiosity has to get there.
It's a 354-million-mile trip that begins with this morning's lift-off. Once Curiosity reaches space, the craft's Centaur upper stage will ignite and place the craft in a temporary parking orbit around Earth. Roughly 20 minutes later, the upper stage will ignite once more to send Curiosity on its way to Mars.
During the trip, scientists and engineers will make sure the 10 science instruments aboard the rover are working properly, make any course corrections that might be needed to keep Curiosity on the interplanetary not-so-straight but narrow, and plan the early stages of their exploration of Gale Crater.
Over the course of Curiosity's 98-week primary mission, the rover is expected to cover about 12 miles. But mission managers say they expect it to rack up far more than that if the mission receives extensions, according to Peter Theisinger, project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
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Ravens beat 49ers 16-6 in duel of Harbaughs (AP)
BALTIMORE ? Big brother got the best of little brother in a unique NFL duel.
The Baltimore Ravens tied a franchise record with nine sacks and beat the San Francisco 49ers 16-6 Thursday night, giving John Harbaugh reason to celebrate after the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches.
The Ravens (8-3) chased, hindered and battered Alex Smith for much of the night despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the team's leading tackler and spiritual leader. Lewis was inactive for a second straight game with a foot injury.
Terrell Suggs had three sacks for Baltimore, which moved a half-game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.
The nine sacks tied a franchise record, accomplished twice previously.
San Francisco (9-2) had its eight-game winning streak broken under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh.
John, 49, and Jim, 47, grew up dueling each other in all sorts of games. Competing this time on a national stage, John secured an emotional win over his little brother.
During the final minute, John got a Gatorade bath from his players ? twice. After the final whistle, the brothers hugged at midfield.
Baltimore broke a 6-6 tie with a 76-yard, 16-play drive that lasted more than 7 1/2 minutes and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta with 14:56 left. Flacco went 4 for 4 for 34 yards and a touchdown on third down during the drive.
Billy Cundiff wrapped up the scoring with his third field goal, a 39-yarder with 4:16 remaining.
In a game dominated by both defenses, Flacco finished 15 for 23 for 161 yards and Ray Rice ran for 59 yards on 21 carries.
Smith completed 15 of 24 passes for 140 yards and an interception. He never could get into a rhythm against an aggressive defense that rarely let him set up in the pocket.
The 49ers began the third quarter with a 13-play drive that lasted 7 1/2 minutes and produced a 52-yard field goal by David Akers for a 6-6 tie. The key play was an 18-yard completion from Smith to Michael Crabtree on a third-and-17 from the San Francisco 26.
The Ravens responded with their lone touchdown drive of the game.
Baltimore sacked Smith four times in the first half and picked off a pass in taking a 6-3 lead.
The Ravens took the opening kickoff and moved 55 yards ? 38 of them on a pair of Flacco-to-Anquan Boldin completions ? before Cundiff kicked a 39-yard field goal.
Late in the first quarter, a 20-yard completion from Smith to tight end Vernon Davis set up a 45-yard field goal by Akers.
The 49ers blew a chance to take the lead when Frank Gore was penalized for a chop block on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Ted Ginn, who got behind Cary Williams deep down the middle.
Neither team had much luck moving the ball until San Francisco's Tarell Brown was called for pass interference on a long pass to Torrey Smith. The 50-yard penalty put the ball at the 15, and although the Ravens turned it into a first-and-goal at the 4, they had to settle for a 23-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the half.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Dave Astor: Giving Thanks for Putting Away Childish Literary Things
As I write this on Thanksgiving weekend, I give thanks to the books that turn adolescent readers into adult readers. For me, it was one 19th-century novel by a woman, and one 20th-century novel by a man.
All of us who love books started with simpler fare. Perhaps it was Goodnight Moon, then The Cat in the Hat, and then kid-oriented novels such as Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine (about an early computer big enough to hold gazillions of smartphones!).
But by the time we reach our mid-teens, English teachers up the ante. Two books on their agenda when I was that age included Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath -- both of which made me groan before I cracked their covers. A novel about some oddball governess? A farm family leaving Oklahoma? Bor-r-ring.
Then I read those two books, and my literary landscape was transformed. There was no going back to kid fiction with few nuances and little complexity. Danny Dunn was done.
Though I was a 20th-century American male, I strongly related to the British female protagonist in Bronte's 1847 novel. Jane Eyre somehow transcended time, place, and gender -- like all great literary characters can do. I admired her ethics, intelligence, independence, and self-sufficiency. Plus I was sort of a loner like her, and was from modest economic circumstances like her.
Meanwhile, The Grapes of Wrath opened my eyes more widely to matters such as injustice, gross economic inequality, and the importance of family. I was so taken with Steinbeck's 1939 novel that when I learned the movie version would be on TV at 2 a.m. one day, I stayed up to watch it despite having school just a few hours later. (This was before VCRs, of course.)
For all the lessons and such in those two books, the Bronte and Steinbeck classics were also darn good reads filled with suspense, pathos, believable dialogue, and flat-out excellent writing. Plus Jane Eyre was and is incredibly romantic.
Yes, after experiencing novels that meaty, it was time to "put away childish (literary) things." Soon, I was gobbling up Moby-Dick, The Scarlet Letter, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Native Son, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, various Charles Dickens books, and other classics.
For many readers now in their 20s, I suspect the Harry Potter series might have been the books that helped spark that adolescent-to-adult reading transition.
Which novels catapulted your younger self into the world of more sophisticated literature?
?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-astor/giving-thanks-for-putting_b_1112387.html
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Griffin O'Neal pleads guilty to DUI
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Griffin O'Neal, the son of actor Ryan O'Neal, has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs stemming from a head-on crash that injured another motorist.
The San Diego Union-Tribune says O'Neal pleaded guilty Tuesday to driving under the influence and possession of a firearm by a felon, both felonies. He also acknowledged he has a 1992 conviction for shooting into an unoccupied vehicle.
Prosecutors say O'Neal was on drugs Aug. 2 when he veered into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle in San Diego County.
Defense attorney Heather Boxeth said at a previous hearing that her client had been trying to help his half-brother Redmond O'Neal, who had been arrested on suspicion of heroin possession the same day.
Griffin O'Neal faces up to four years in prison.
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Operation Burn Notice, Anti-Scott Walker Recall Group, Seeks To Destory Petitions
Caledonia Patch:
"We cannot allow democracy to be threatened by those who would illegally destroy recall petitions with valid signatures on them," Ross said. "We intend to keep the public informed about its rights during the signature gathering process and alert those who would engage in illegal conduct that they do so at their own peril."
One Wisconsin Now, a pro-recall group, is offering a reward for anyone who outs a person destroying signatures. The group also wants the public to know the rules with regards to the recall petition process and released a memo addressing myths that have been circulating around the recall process.
Read the whole story: Caledonia Patch
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Face-to-face with the super-efficient silkworm
Chelsea Whyte, contributor
(Image: 2011 OSG)
Spin, spin, spin, little silkworm. These chubby grubs take in thousands of times their weight in plants - mulberry leaves are a favourite meal - and churn out strands of fine silk that feed a billion-dollar industry.
They are only a few centimetres long, but silkworms can produce a thread of silk up to 900 metres long for their cocoons. In this picture, the silk worm is lit from below with blue and red lights to show off the thread of silk it is spinning.
"Silk produced by spiders and silk moths demonstrates combinations of strength and toughness that still outperform their synthetic counterparts," says Chris Holland of the University of Oxford.
Not only do silkworms produce stronger fibres than synthetic methods, they do it more efficiently. The Bombyx mori is a Chinese silkworm that produces its fine strands at room temperature with only water as a by-product. In contrast, human production of oil-based fibres requires high-temperature manufacturing and creates harmful waste.
(Image: 2011 OSG)
Silk experts at the University of Oxford worked with researchers at the University of Sheffield to compare the energy used in the formation of natural versus synthetic fibres, which they hope will allow them to find short cuts to smoother silk production.
"This is about being inspired by nature," says Oleksandr Mykhaylyk of the University of Oxford. The researchers say that spinning fibres the way silkworms do could reduce the costs of fibre manufacturing by 90 per cent.
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Campbell Soup 1st-quarter net income falls (AP)
CAMDEN, N.J. ? Campbell Soup Co. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter net income fell 5 percent as price increases were not enough to offset lower volume in its soup and beverage businesses.
Still, profit was better than expected. Campbell said it is working to stabilize its U.S. soup business.
The company raised prices because of rising costs and cut marketing spending in an effort to shield profit from expected volume declines.
The Camden, N.J.,-based company is trying to regain lost ground after several years of declining soup sales. Shoppers have curbed their soup consumption, stopped stocking pantries or shifted to competitor's brands. Campbell is in the early stages of a turnaround plan that includes adding high-end soups and broadening offerings in its snack, beverage and other categories.
It has also closed plants and cut jobs to lower overhead costs.
Net income fell to $265 million, or 82 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 30, from net income of $279 million, or 82 cents per share, in the same period last year.
There were about 5 percent fewer shares outstanding at quarter's end than a year ago, which helps boost earnings per share.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected 79 cents per share.
Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $2.16 billion from $2.17 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $2.21 billion.
U.S. soup sales fell 4 percent, despite higher prices, as volume dropped. Global baking and snacking performed better, with sales up 4 percent to $568 million. Goldfish snack crackers and the new Cracker Chips and Milano Melts cookies were popular.
Campbell affirmed its guidance for fiscal 2012. It expects revenue to be flat to up 2 percent, which translates to revenue of $7.72 billion to about $7.87 billion. It predicted adjusted earnings of $2.35 to $2.42 per share.
Analysts expect net income of $2.38 per share on revenue of $7.83 billion.
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Could Weight Loss Be Early Sign of Alzheimer's? (HealthDay)
MONDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- People with early evidence of Alzheimer's disease are more likely to be underweight than people who don't have this type of dementia, a new study suggests.
"Weight loss may be a manifestation of the disease process progressing," said Eric Vidoni, lead author of a study appearing in the Nov. 22 issue of Neurology. "This may be further evidence for body-wide or systemic changes associated with Alzheimer's disease ... and it certainly supports the idea that Alzheimer's disease-related changes could be silently occurring, i.e., a 'preclinical' phase."
The findings may hold implications for diagnosis, prevention or treatment, but these are likely to be years or even decades away.
"A long history of declining weight or BMI (body mass index, a ratio of weight to height) could aid the diagnostic process," said Vidoni, who is assistant director of the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center in Kansas CityIs.
At this point, though, it's too early "to make body composition part of the diagnostic toolbox," he added.
"If weight loss is part of the disease process, this could suggest, along with the many papers linking metabolic dysfunction with AD, that preventing such dysfunction could reduce the progression of AD," said Ian Murray, an assistant professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "Of course this is, at present, speculative."
Previous studies have found that people who are overweight in middle age or earlier have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's. And those who are overweight in their later years actually may have a lower risk of Alzheimer's, something known as the "obesity paradox."
Vidoni and his partners looked at PET (positron emission tomography) imaging of the brain and analyzed cerebrospinal fluid for markers of Alzheimer's disease in 506 people. Participants represented a range of cognitive function, some with no memory problems, some with mild cognitive impairment and some with Alzheimer's.
People with evidence of Alzheimer's -- either in brain scans or protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid -- were more likely to have a lower BMI than those who did not show early evidence of the disease.
And the markers of brain changes for Alzheimer's were most evident in people with normal memory functioning or mild cognitive impairment, although it's not clear yet why this is.
There are a number of theories -- but only theories at this point -- to explain the findings.
One is that the Alzheimer's disease process is affecting the hippocampus, that part of the brain involved in metabolism and appetite.
Or inflammatory processes may be driving both the decreased BMI and the cognitive changes.
More Information
The Alzheimer's Association has more on has more on this condition.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Norwegian bookseller begins selling e-books on memory cards, for some reason (video)
Norwegian bookseller begins selling e-books on memory cards, for some reason (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Stewart wins Homestead to win NASCAR championship
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) ? When the rain came at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the drivers climbed from their parked cars, a confident Tony Stewart practically strolled down pit road.
He was in fifth place at the time, had a hole in the front of his Chevrolet, and needed to catch leader Carl Edwards in the race for the Sprint Cup championship.
And yet Stewart didn't seem to have a care in the world. His demeanor was not of a guy on the ropes, he was cocky and seemingly certain it was his race to lose.
"We are fixin' to keep delivering this whoopin'. We got more in mind for (Edwards) the rest of the day," Stewart said during the rain.
Stewart seized his third championship Sunday night with a powerful and relentless drive that will go down with the greatest in NASCAR history.
It was nothing like the driver who nearly wrote off his season during a summer slump, then dismissed his chances at the beginning of NASCAR's championship chase.
Then something suddenly changed ? with his cars, with his attitude, with his driving ? and old Smoke was back.
With a vengeance.
Stewart thrust himself early into title contention, then never let up as he drove all over the competition and chased down Edwards.
His victory gave him a tie in the final Sprint Cup Series standings ? good enough to win the title based on his five victories. All of Stewart's wins came in the Chase, and Edwards' lone victory this season was in March. It was the first tie in the points standings in NASCAR history.
How good was Stewart, who drove from the back ? twice! ? and passed 118 cars during the race?
"I think Tony drove the best race of his life," said A.J. Foyt, Stewart's childhood idol.
The compliment nearly brought Stewart to tears.
"Not many people can hear your lifelong hero say that. Just really, really flattering," said Stewart, who wasn't sure it's the best drive of his 31-year career, but knew it was pretty strong.
"I feel like I passed half the state of Florida ? 118 cars is a lot of cars to pass in one race. To do it under the circumstances and pressure we had, I'm very, very proud of that. I can't even remember how many races I've won, but I would have to say under this set of circumstances I've got to believe one of the greatest races of my career."
Stewart became the first owner/driver to win the championship since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992, and the driver to end Jimmie Johnson's record five-year title run. His last title was in 2005, the year before Johnson's began his reign.
Stewart overcame the hole in his grill, a rain delay, used debatable fuel strategy and made aggressive passes that stunned racing veterans to win Sunday. He's been driving that way for at least a month, buoyed in part by a race-winning pass of Johnson on the outside at Martinsville that gave him his third Chase victory.
"He's been the one to go three- and-four wide when everyone else is scared and lifts," said crew chief Darian Grubb, who was told in the middle of the Chase he was being let go at the end of the season because the Stewart-Haas Racing team wasn't performing. His status is now uncertain.
Edwards, who started the race with a three-point lead in the standings, did everything he could from the minute he arrived in Florida. His Roush-Fenway Racing team put his Ford on the pole, he led a race-high 119 of the 267 laps and still finished a helpless second.
Edwards, who had a 4.9 average finish over the 10 Chase races, was disappointed but held his head high after the race.
"This night is about Tony Stewart. Those guys rose to the occasion, and they beat us fair and square," Edwards said. "That is all I had. We came here and sat on the pole, led the most laps and Tony still managed. That's it. That's all I got at the end. That's as hard as I can drive.
"I told my wife, 'If I can't win this thing, I'm going to be the best loser NASCAR has ever had.' So, I'm going to try really hard to keep my head up and know that we'll just go next year and we'll be just as hard to beat."
As third-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. did his post-race news conference, Edwards sat silently off to the side, his eyes fixed on a bank of televisions showing Stewart's championship celebration.
"If I could do it all over again, there's nothing I could have done differently," he whispered. "That's my maximal effort, and Tony beat us. We knew that of all the circumstances possible, this was the least probable. But I was prepared for this."
Edwards, despite being the most consistent driver this season and points leader for 21 weeks, has been on the ropes the last month as Stewart turned up his energy, effort and trash-talking. His quick wit and sharp tongue kept the entire industry entertained as he did everything possible to get inside Edwards' head.
Maybe it was really for Stewart's benefit, a driver trying to talk himself into believing he had a shot at the title after struggling all summer long. He maybe didn't rattle Edwards, but Stewart for sure talked himself into this title.
He arrived in Miami insistent he'd race with nothing to lose and did just that from the moment the race began. He was moving through the field from his 15th starting spot when caution came out 14 laps into the race. His Stewart-Haas Racing crew discovered a hole in his grill, and the repairs dropped him to 40th in the field.
Stewart then blew by car after car and was up to 23rd in a matter of minutes. Another caution sent him into the pits for more repairs, and he restarted in 32nd.
His yapping then resumed, as he scoffed on his radio how embarrassed Edwards and the No. 99 team would be when Stewart drove from the back of the field ? twice! ? to beat them.
Edwards, meanwhile, huddled with crew chief Bob Osborne atop the pit box and declined to be interviewed. His Roush Fenway Racing team had to be nervous about engine durability ? three Roush Yates engines failed over the course of the race ? and Edwards eventually retreated to his motorhome to snack on popcorn and keep his focus.
When racing resumed, Stewart continued to slice through the field and used several spectacular three- and four-wide passes to close in on Edwards. Then crew chief Grubb made an unusual call to keep Stewart out on the track until he was just about out of gas. It was a risky call but worked perfectly when the rain came moments after Stewart finally stopped for gas.
It gave Stewart breathing room as he was able to save gas under yellow. He was fourth on the final restart, Edwards was sixth, and Stewart used a three-wide pass over Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger to reclaim the lead.
Although Edwards quickly moved into second, he couldn't catch Stewart as he sailed to his fifth Chase victory.
"They got 5 wins in 10 races," Osborne said. "That's pretty unbelievable. But they did it, and it got them the championship."
The championship completes a total turnaround for co-owner Gene Haas, who sold half his slumping organization to Stewart in 2008 in a hope the driver could bring a spark to a team that struggled to stay inside the top 35 in points.
"Tony Stewart's a superstar, we knew that," Haas said. "You need a wheelman. You can have all the best equipment in the world, and without a wheelman, you don't have a whole lot."
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Sunday, November 20, 2011
San Jose again wins title for Thanksgiving holiday's loneliest airport (San Jose Mercury News)
Cricket-South Africa 266 & 229-3 v Australia 296 - close
JOHANNESBURG |
JOHANNESBURG Nov 19 (Reuters) - South Africa were 229 for three wickets in their second innings, leading by 199 runs, at the close of the third day of the second test against Australia at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Scores:
South Africa 266 (Jacques Kallis 54, AB de Villiers 64, Ashwell Prince 50; Peter Siddle 3-69) and 229-3 (Hashim Amla 89 not out, AB de Villiers 70 not out) v Australia 296 (Shane Watson 88, Phil Hughes 88; Dale Steyn 4-64).
(Reporting by Ken Borland; editing by Toby Davis)
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Saturday, November 19, 2011
Navy investigating cheating on subs
HARTFORD, Conn.?? The Navy's inspector general for the Atlantic submarine force is investigating claims that pervasive cheating has tainted exams administered to enlisted sailors and officers as part of their nuclear training.
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The official leading the inquiry, Pat Urello, told The Associated Press that it began in August in response to a complaint that originated in Groton, Conn., the home port of an attack submarine that was rocked by an exam-cheating scandal last year.
The investigation could lead to changes for the submarine force, said Urello, the force inspector general.
"We have powers to take corrective action if corrective action is warranted," he said. Urello, who works for the submarine force commander in Norfolk, Va., said he could not provide further details.
'Not a widespread issue'
After the cheating ring was discovered aboard the Groton-based USS Memphis last November, the Navy fired the commanding officer and kicked off 10 percent of the crew. Navy officials said it reflected a rare lapse in integrity, but several former submarine officers told the AP for a story in August that it is not uncommon for sailors to receive answer keys or other hints before training exams.
Cmdr. Monica Rousselow, a spokeswoman for the submarine force, said the Navy has an obligation to investigate cheating allegations but authorities do not believe the problem extends beyond a few isolated cases.
"We stand by our statistics that show this is not a widespread issue and that there are rare occurrences of cheating that are being handled accordingly," she said.
Norman Polmar, a naval affairs expert and author, said he has heard murmurings of cheating in the submarine force for years. He said he hopes the inspector general will address the issue more deeply than previous investigations into individual submarines that "slapped a few hands."
"Everything I've heard indicates it's a significant problem within the submarine force," he said.
One former submarine officer who has described cheating as pervasive, Christopher Brownfield, said in an email that the investigation is a sign the Navy is taking the issue seriously.
"It's important to note that the IG does not toe the party line. They should have no qualms about finding and reporting any problems, if they still exist," said Brownfield, who wrote in a book published last year that his superiors aboard the USS Hartford urged him to accept an answer key to pass a nuclear qualification exam. "Their focus will likely be upon current operations, not upon the past."
Exam and inspection processes
The leadership of each submarine designs exams for crew members from the engineering department, who have to make it through rigorous training before going to sea with responsibility for maintaining the vessels' nuclear reactors. The training exams taken during deployments are part of a continuing training program that also includes drills and oral exams.
Several former submariners interviewed by the AP said there is no doubt the crews know how to handle the technology, but vessel commanders competing for the highest proficiency ratings have made the exams so difficult that they have little to do with the skills sailors actually need. As a consequence, they say, crew members sometimes bend the rules to pass.
Several former submariners say they have seen cheating firsthand or heard from sailors on other vessels that shortcuts on exams are common.
"There is a serious problem throughout the naval nuclear training process and fleet examination and inspection process that condones cheating and deceptive tactics to allow a ship to look better than its peers. Basically it's a competition," said a former member of the nuclear-trained personnel aboard the Memphis who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he said he feared repercussions from the Navy. "It's so common a practice that people don't even realize that it's wrong."
Scandal on the Memphis
In the case of the Memphis, investigators found sailors were emailed the answers before qualification exams, took tests outside the presence of proctors and openly asked officers for answer keys. The sub's commander was relieved of duty, and 13 crew members were punished for their roles in the cheating ring.
The Navy has described the episode aboard the Memphis as highly unusual.
Officials at Naval Reactors, the agency that oversees the Navy's nuclear propulsion program, have said that roughly 16,000 nuclear-trained officers and enlisted sailors take several exams every year, and on average there are one or two cheating cases per year that result in the removal of nuclear qualifications.
In the wake of the scandal on the Memphis, submarine squadron commanders and commanding officers were encouraged to make any changes that might be necessary to prevent such cheating.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45327120/ns/us_news-life/
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Mycophenolate is superior to azathioprine as treatment for lupus nephritis, study finds
ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) ? A new large, international study finds that the immunosuppressant drug mycophenolate mofetil is superior to azathioprine, an older immunosuppressant, as a maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis.
"This is a huge step forward for people who suffer from lupus nephritis," said Mary Anne Dooley, MD, MPH, associate professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and first author of the study, which is published in the Nov. 17, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lupus nephritis is an inflammation of the kidney caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disease of the immune system. Lupus nephritis may cause weight gain, high blood pressure, dark urine, or swelling around the eyes, legs, ankles, or fingers. In some patients the inflammation may be severe enough to cause kidney failure. However, some people with SLE have no symptoms of kidney disease.
The new study adds one more badly needed drug to the arsenal that physicians can use to treat lupus, Dooley said. In addition, it should help persuade health insurance companies to pay for the drug when it is used as maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis. Some insurers have refused to cover it because the drug is not FDA-approved for that indication, she said.
Both mycophenolate mofetil and azathioprine have been FDA-approved since the mid-1990s for use in kidney transplant patients, to help prevent organ rejection. Neither is FDA-approved as a maintenance therapy for lupus nephritis, but their immunosuppressant qualities make them useful for that purpose and physicians have been prescribing them off-label for that indication for many years.
The study included 227 patients who had previously responded well to an earlier round of treatment, called induction therapy. The patients were enrolled at 71 centers in 19 countries in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, Latin America and South Africa. Researchers followed the patients for three years (36 months), with 116 receiving mycophenolate mofetil twice a day while 111 received azathioprine twice a day.
The results showed that mycophenolate mofetil was superior in virtually every aspect to azathioprine. There was a 16.4 percent treatment failure rate in the mycophenolate group, compared to 32.4 percent in the azathioprine group. Patients responded well to mycophenolate for a longer period of time than patients on azathioprine, and negative side effects were more common with azathioprine.
This study also found that African-American patients in particular responded better to mycophenylate mofetil than to cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) as an induction therapy and better than azathioprine as a maintenance treatment, Dooley said.
The mycophonolate mofetil used in the study was formulated by Roche and is marketed as CellCept, while the azathioprine was made by GlaxoSmithKline and is sold as Imuran. However, both drugs are now widely available as generics, Dooley said.
The corresponding author of the study is Neil Solomons, MD, of Vifor Pharma Ltd., which markets mycophenolate mofetil for indications other than immunosuppression for kidney transplant patients.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal References:
- Mary Anne Dooley, David Jayne, Ellen M. Ginzler, David Isenberg, Nancy J. Olsen, David Wofsy, Frank Eitner, Gerald B. Appel, Gabriel Contreras, Laura Lisk, Neil Solomons, for the ALMS Group. Mycophenolate versus Azathioprine as Maintenance Therapy for Lupus Nephritis. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365:1886-1895 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1014460
- Fr?d?ric A. Houssiau. Toward Better Treatment for Lupus Nephritis. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365: 1929-1930 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe1111089
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/~3/hPC5k2gdRC4/111116174744.htm
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GOP hopefuls challenge Obama on Iran (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Republican presidential hopefuls are focusing on Iran as a weak spot in President Barack Obama's foreign policy record, and they're reviving many of the arguments that neoconservative proponents of armed intervention against Tehran lost in the latter years of George W. Bush's presidency.
Spurred by a recent United Nations report on Iran's nuclear weapons research, the leading GOP candidates are presenting themselves as hawkish alternatives to Obama and his administration's two-track policy of pressuring and engaging the Islamic republic. They propose more drastic approaches to prevent Iran from developing an atomic bomb ? from funding armed rebel movements to launching military attacks.
"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon," Mitt Romney said during Saturday's foreign policy debate in South Carolina. "If you elect me as the next president, they will not have a nuclear weapon."
The former Massachusetts governor and Republican front-runner said the U.S. should be "working with the insurgents in the country to encourage regime change." But, if "there's nothing else we can do besides take military action, then of course you take military action."
The killing of Osama bin Laden, NATO's successful Libya campaign and as-promised U.S. troop drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped transform foreign policy into one of Obama's strengths as he prepares for a difficult re-election campaign focused on the economy. Obama has failed to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but that elusive goal has confounded every American president since Jimmy Carter.
Iran's nuclear program offers an unusual point of attack for the Republican candidates. The paucity of reliable public information makes it hard to assess whether the Obama administration has hampered Iran's nuclear ambitions or allowed their advance, offering plenty of space for GOP candidates to present alternative tactics.
"There are a number of ways to be smart about Iran and relatively few ways to be dumb, and the administration skipped all the ways to be smart," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said at Saturday's debate. He called for "maximum covert operations to block and disrupt the Iranian program" and backed Romney's call for possible military action. If "the dictatorship persists, you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon."
Seeking to one-up Gingrich, longshot candidate Rick Santorum said there "isn't going to be enough time" for tougher sanctions on Iran and more support for pro-democracy groups. He acknowledged the Obama administration's possible involvement in some of the covert attacks on Iran's nuclear program.
But he suggested an even tougher approach alongside Israel to strike Iran's nuclear facilities pre-emptively ? similar to the operations the Jewish state conducted against Iraq in 1981 and Syria four years ago. The Reagan administration fumed over the first; the Bush administration acquiesced by silence to the second.
Iran insists its nuclear program is designed solely for peaceful processes, but an International Atomic Energy Agency report last week strongly suggested work toward atomic weaponry. The program has been hindered in recent years by the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, a virulent computer virus attacking its facilities and other possible interference ? which may or may not have been the result of covert American or Israeli activity.
For all the early talk of engagement, Obama has stuck largely to the Bush administration's latter-year policies of negotiations with Iran alongside international pressure ? without the inflammatory rhetoric such as accusations of Tehran's membership in an "axis of evil."
Republicans see the policy nevertheless as a failure and seem to be harkening back to the hard-line American posture taken after U.S. troops toppled Iraq's Saddam Hussein in 2003 and many conservative foreign policy thinkers made Iran's regime the next bogeyman that needed to be taken out.
Then, as now, the argument held that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a mortal threat to U.S. forces in the region and to U.S. ally Israel, whose U.S. backing is wide and deep. Then, as now, the more hawkish voices said time is running out for talking and the U.S. must make clear to Iran that it will use its overwhelming military advantage.
The most likely strategy would be a missile strike on one of Iran's known nuclear facilities, or sabotage from within the country.
Either is clearly within U.S. power, but Obama's calculation has thus far been the same as Bush's: A strike isn't yet worth the risks it carries. Iran could retaliate against U.S. interests or allies, and the Pentagon assesses that if Iran is bent on acquiring a nuclear weapon, a strike would delay but not prevent it.
GOP candidate Herman Cain said he wouldn't pursue a military conflict.
"The only way we can stop them is through economic means," he said.
Libertarian Ron Paul also held back, saying war powers were vested in Congress.
Rick Perry called for sanctions against Iran's central bank to "shut down that country's economy," something the Obama administration has examined in recent months but backed off doing. The fear is that isolating the bank beyond existing U.S. sanctions could drive up oil prices and imperil the fragile world economy.
Over the weekend, Obama argued that U.S. and international sanctions against Tehran have had "enormous bite" and said he'd consult with other nations on further efforts to stop Iran from acquiring an atomic weapon. Without specifically mentioning military action, he insisted, as Bush always did, that U.S. officials "are not taking any options off the table."
Still, the focus is on sanctions. Despite four rounds of economic sanctions against Iran ? three during Bush's presidency and the last under Obama ? the United Nations is being held back from tougher measures by veto-wielding Security Council members China and Russia. They've offered no sign of a change in posture since Obama's meetings Saturday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Romney has argued that Obama made a strategic blunder early in his presidency by failing to leverage Russian support for "crippling sanctions" against Iran before changing the Bush administration's plans for a missile defense system in Europe.
"This is, of course, President Obama's greatest failing from a foreign policy standpoint," he said. "He gave Russia what they wanted, their No. 1 foreign policy objective, and got nothing in return."
Romney's argument is undercut by Bush's similar struggles in rallying global unity against Iran and the assessment by many international security analysts that the sanctions applied under Bush and Obama have seriously undermined Iran's economy.
Responding a day later, Obama said: "Is this an easy issue? No. Anyone who claims it is is either politicking or doesn't know what they're talking about."
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Euro zone barely grows in Q3, downturn seen (Reuters)
BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) ? The euro zone economy grew just 0.2 percent in the third quarter as Germany and France posted solid growth but countries at the sharp end of the debt crisis fared much worse, and analysts expect bleaker times ahead across the 17-country currency bloc.
Growth in the three months from July to September was on a par with that in the second quarter, but the outlook for the last period of the year is dim, with the region's deepening debt crisis weighing on sentiment and consumer confidence.
"The key point is that this is all history," Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics, said.
"Forward-looking indicators suggest that the euro-zone economy is likely to drop back into recession in the fourth-quarter and beyond."
Underlining that view, Germany's ZEW institute reported that its economic sentiment index fell to -55.2 in November, below economists's forecasts and sharply down on October's figure. It said political and economic problems in Greece and Italy had increased uncertainty about the future.
The debt crisis is only likely to make matters worse in the months to come, with countries such as Italy, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain forced to adopt tough austerity measures in order to stop the bond market driving them toward default.
Economists say there is no visible growth strategy in place to counter those cuts.
"Looking ahead, sentiment indicators point to a significant growth slowdown. A contraction of the economy toward the end of the year is possible," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said of Germany, where growth has outstripped that of its peers.
The German economy grew 0.5 percent in July-September, in line with market forecasts, and second quarter growth was revised up to 0.3 percent from 0.1 percent.
Brzeski said the weak euro, very accommodative monetary policy and ultra-low funding costs as investors scramble to buy safe-haven Bunds had helped drive growth in Germany, the euro zone's economic engine.
But "with ... France and Italy seemingly drowning in the maelstrom of the debt crisis, the German economy has lost its immunity. Austerity measures in France and Italy will also hurt German exporters," he warned.
France, the euro zone's second-biggest economy, expanded by 0.4 percent on the quarter, having contracted 0.1 percent in the previous three months.
Newly-installed European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has predicted the bloc will be suffering a "mild recession" by the end of the year, however, and that view was reinforced by ZEW's economist Michael Schroeder.
"The risks of a technical recession have increased and we expect the economy in Germany to shrink at least in one quarter, most likely in the first quarter of next year," he said. France has also rushed through belt-tightening measures, announcing 65 billion euros of tax hikes and budget cuts over five years earlier this month, as President Nicolas Sarkozy seeks to protect the country's top-notch credit rating without killing his chances of re-election in six months' time.
"Positive growth means tax revenue, but there isn't enough growth so we have to manage our budget like you do at home, or like a company chief," labor minister Xavier Bertrand said after the GDP data were released. "If there's not enough money coming in then there must be less money coming out."
A report by the Lisbon Council on Tuesday said France's inability to make rapid adjustments to its economy should be ringing alarm bells for the euro zone.
It ranked France 13th out of 17 economies for its overall health, including its growth potential, employment rate and consumption, and 15th for its progress on economic adjustments, particularly on reducing its budget deficit and keeping a lid on unit labor costs.
Even some countries not under the cosh in debt terms saw their economic fortunes wane. Dutch GDP fell 0.3 percent on the quarter, although Austria and Slovakia grew by the same amount.
PERIPHERAL PAIN
Spanish figures released late last week showed the euro zone's fourth largest economy ground to a halt in the third quarter, pushing it close to recession.
The outlook is even bleaker, with the debt crisis set to curb activity further and the likely winners of Sunday's general election promising to tighten the fiscal screws further.
Neighboring Portugal, recipient of an EU/IMF bailout, is already in recession and its slump deepened in the third quarter. Its economy shrank by 0.4 percent over the three months, data showed on Monday.
Safe haven German government bonds rose as a change of government in Italy failed to halt a rise in the country's borrowing costs and signs of political dissent in Greece re-emerged as new technocrat premier Lucas Papademos took the helm.
The premium demanded to hold French, Belgian and Austrian bonds over Bunds meanwhile hit the highest levels since the euro was launched, a sign that worries over the fate of the euro zone are beginning to take a toll on higher-rated countries' debt.
"The fact that the real (euro zone) economy still managed to grow amidst the escalating debt crisis is somewhat of a relief," said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING. "However, looking beneath the surface, things don't look so rosy."
(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels; Writing by Mike Peacock; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Johnson in comfort zone despite end to run at top
FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2011 file photo, Jimmie Johnson sits in his car at the garage area prior to NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing practice at Phoenix International Raceway, in Avondale, Ariz. Johnson will go to the season finale for the first time in his career with no shot at winning the Sprint Cup title. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2011 file photo, Jimmie Johnson sits in his car at the garage area prior to NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing practice at Phoenix International Raceway, in Avondale, Ariz. Johnson will go to the season finale for the first time in his career with no shot at winning the Sprint Cup title. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Jimmie Johnson takes his car onto the track during a NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing practice at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson looks on after his qualifying run for the Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 auto race at Texas Motor Speedway Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, David Kent) MAGS OUT
Jimmie Johnson, front, and Landon Cassill drive into Turn 4 during a NASCAR Sprint Cup auto racing practice at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Graphic shows layout of Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the Ford
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? Just a few weeks after winning his first NASCAR championship, Jimmie Johnson was goofing around with his friends when he decided to climb atop a golf cart during a charity event. As he pretended to surf, Johnson fell off the cart and broke his wrist.
Concerned that such a silly incident could tarnish his reputation, or anger his team and sponsors, he lied about the circumstances of the accident.
Of course, the truth eventually came out, and Johnson was even more embarrassed.
So began a journey of personal growth and maturation for one of NASCAR's greatest drivers. For some athletes, that means toning down the nightlife and focusing on the job. For Johnson, it's been more about balancing the two sides of personality ? the talented, super ambitious driver and the guy who likes to have a good time.
In the early morning after his fourth championship, Johnson was found asleep on the curb outside his South Beach hotel when the car service arrived to take him to what ended up being a grueling day of media appearances for a hungover champion.
The next year, his first as a father, he rolled his pants legs up and stood in the sand and surf surrounded by his five championship trophies in a quiet moment of reflection at sunrise.
There won't be such a celebration for Johnson this year. His record run of five consecutive championships came to an end with a whimper last weekend at Phoenix, where he crossed the finish line in 14th and was mathematically eliminated from title contention. Sunday will mark the first time since the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format began in 2004 that Johnson won't be eligible to win the title heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"I'm definitely disappointed, but that's motor sports," Johnson said. "It's a very tough business. What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular. Being on top for as long as we have been takes a lot of effort to maintain that.
"It just takes a lot out of you. So this will be a nice winter to unplug and relax and dissect the different areas of the race team and come back stronger."
Nobody has been stronger the last five years ? more, maybe, if you go back to 2003, when he finished second in the final points standings.
He won eight races in 2004, the first year of the Chase, and finished eight points behind champion Kurt Busch. The next year, he went to Homestead ranked second and with leader Tony Stewart in reach, only to crash out of the race with a tire issue and finish a distant fifth in the final standings.
Johnson left Homestead possessed.
"The pressure I put on myself to win a championship was so great, it was like life or death in 2006," Johnson said. "I watched two great opportunities pass me by in '04 and '05, and I wasn't sure I was going to get another chance at a championship. So it was really like life or death for me in '06. Then when I won one, then came trying to chill out a little bit and learn to enjoy racing and enjoy the challenges and learning how to be more confident and comfortable in my own skin."
He's the first to admit it's not been an easy road.
Johnson, a 35-year-old Californian, worked his entire life trying to wow sponsors into giving him the money he needed to pursue a racing career. It required him to be buttoned-up, the consummate professional and constant salesman. It left him guarded, and for a long time didn't help him get the on-track success he craved.
He was collecting a paycheck, but he didn't start picking up wins until he signed with Hendrick Motorsports in late 2001. Even with that big break, Johnson kept a clear distinction between work and play that created the stereotype of a "plain, vanilla driver."
Here we are now, five championships, 55 victories and more than $108 million in purse winnings, and Johnson is that guy sparring with hateful fans on Twitter and unafraid to speak his mind.
"The last five years, from a professional standpoint, the biggest thing has just been the confidence I now have in my own shoes," he said. "The race track has always been who I am, and I spent the majority of my life as like a "B'' or "C'' driver. You don't build a lot of confidence being a mid-packer.
"So being able to prove to myself, to our industry, what I'm capable of, it's helped me gain a lot of confidence in myself, in my role in the sport and how I fit into the sport. It's also allowed me to have a lot more fun."
Yet it's still a struggle sometimes, evidenced last month when Johnson said IndyCar should not be racing on ovals in the wake of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon's death. He meant high-banked ovals, but because he wasn't clear, and because he's currently the face of motorsports, his words spread throughout the industry and drew heavy criticism from some racing icons.
"That was a really tough week for me. I was only speaking out of concern for my friends in the sport, and boy, did it get turned around," he said. "It's so conflicting at times because, sometimes, I'll say or do something and it will go unnoticed. At times my success is criticized, at times my focus is criticized, and there's all these mixed signals and you never know where the masses are because it's always moving around.
"Maybe because I've always been so far in my head about being concerned about what I've said, that, I didn't notice how it could blow up. And as I've relaxed a lot more and learned to be comfortable speaking my opinion ? I feel I've earned the right to speak my opinion ? you still get these eye-opening moments that are like 'Whoa, that really backfired!'"
Johnson goes into Homestead ranked fifth in the standings, and when Sunday's race concludes, either Carl Edwards or Tony Stewart will officially end his reign. He's motivated to move up in the standings ? Johnson has never finished lower than fifth in points ? and he's anxious to sit down with crew chief Chad Knaus to figure out how they can get back to the top of NASCAR.
Stewart doesn't think NASCAR will ever see anything like Johnson and the No. 48 team again.
"I think it's been absolutely remarkable," Stewart said. "I think he holds his head up high knowing what they've accomplished. That's something in NASCAR history that I would put my money on that it will never happen again."
Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, who brought Johnson to the attention of team owner Rick Hendrick and mentored him a bit in Johnson's early Cup years, believes the No. 48 team will be back.
"I said this a while back, before they won a championship, they were just right on the edge of winning that championship, and I said 'Once they win one, watch out, these guys are going to go on quite a roll,' " Gordon said. "When the chemistry is there and you've got great equipment like we have at Hendrick, you've got a great crew chief in Chad Knaus as well as Jimmie Johnson being a great driver ... they got on quite a run.
"It's something you only see every so often. I don't know if we'll ever see five in a row, but you will see from time to time where a team is just that good for a long period of time. I think this will be a year where they learn a lot, they grow a lot from and might even make them stronger."
That's what Johnson is hoping for. He plans to sleep some more this offseason, have fun with his friends and his family, and have a quiet offseason.
But he's adamant he'll be back in 2012, when his first goal will be winning the Daytona 500 with Knaus on the pit box. The crew chief was suspended by NASCAR when Johnson won NASCAR's biggest race in 2006.
"We need to really dig deep this winter, make sure we're focused on the right areas," he said. "I want to win another Daytona 500, I want to win one with Chad there. He needs that photo, he needs that experience. And I want to win championships. I want to win more championships.
"That's the unfortunate part, winning races, you get that taste in your mouth and you want to keep winning races. And then you win championships. You want to keep winning them. You just have this desire to just keep winning. I don't want to give anyone else a chance to hold that trophy."
___(equals)
Follow Jenna Fryer on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JennaFryer
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