সোমবার, ২৮ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

NBA Lockout: Owners, Players Reach Tentative Deal To Start Season On Dec. 25

NEW YORK ? NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season on Christmas Day.

Neither side provided many specifics but said the only words players and fans wanted to hear.

"We want to play basketball," Commissioner David Stern said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

Stern said it was "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9, with free agency opening at the same time. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

"All I feel right now is `finally,'" Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press.

Just 12 days after talks broke down and Stern declared the NBA could be headed to a "nuclear winter," he sat next to union executive director Billy Hunter to announce the deal.

"We thought it was in both of our interest to try to reach a resolution and save the game and to be able to provide the kind of superb entertainment the NBA historically has provided," Hunter said.

A majority on each side is needed to approve the agreement. The NBA needs votes from 15 of 29 owners. (The league owns the New Orleans Hornets.) Stern said the labor committee plans to discuss the agreement later Saturday and expects them to endorse it and recommend to the full board.

The union needs a simple majority of its 430-plus members. That process is a bit more complicated after the players dissolved the union Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota and reform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can only be completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues still must be negotiated between the league and the players.

"We're very pleased we've come this far," Stern said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The sides will quickly return to work later Saturday, speaking with attorneys and their own committees to keep the process moving.

The settlement first was reported by CBSSports.com.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

Owners locked out the players July 1 and the sides spent most of the summer and fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wanted in a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and they wanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn't have the ability to outspend their smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, not wanting to see any teams taken out of the market when they became free agents.

"This was not an easy agreement for anyone. The owners came in having suffered substantial losses and feeling the system wasn't working fairly across all teams," Silver said. "I certainly know the players had strong views about expectations in terms of what they should be getting from the system. It required a lot of compromise from both parties' part, and I think that's what we saw today."

But it was never easy. The day required multiple calls with the owners' labor relations committee, all the while knowing another breakdown in talks would mean not only the loss of the Christmas schedule but also throw the entire season in jeopardy.

"We resolved, despite some even bumps this evening, that the greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tentative understanding," Stern said.

He denied the litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal, but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed a suit that could have won them some $6 billion in damages if the court ruled the lockout was illegal.

"For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with," Stern said. "It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlement was we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play and we've got others who are dependent on us. And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but that took a little time."

It finally yielded the second shortened season in NBA history, joining the 1998-99 lockout that reduced the schedule to 50 games. This time the league will miss 16 games off the normal schedule.

The league will hope fans come right back, despite their anger over a work stoppage that followed such a successful season. But owners wanted more of the league's $4 billion in annual revenues after players were guaranteed 57 percent of basketball-related income in the old deal.

Though it's expected to be approved, it may not be be unanimous as there are factions of hard-liners in both camps who will be unhappy with substantive portions of the deal. But both sides said they expected it to pass, even with a number of B-list items still to be negotiated.

"Let's all pray this turns out well," Pacers forward Danny Granger wrote on Twitter.

When the NBA returns, owners hope to find the type of parity that exists in the NFL, where the small-market Green Bay Packers are the current champions. The NBA has been dominated in recent years by the biggest spenders, with Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas winning the last four titles.

"I think it will largely prevent the high-spending teams from competing in the free agent market the way they've been able to in the past. It's not the system we sought out to get in terms of a harder cap but the luxury tax is harsher than it was. We hope it's effective," Silver said.

"We feel ultimately it will give fans in every community hope that their team can compete for championships."

But getting what the owners wanted took a toll. Stern, after more than 27 years as the league's commissioner, hoped to close a deal much sooner but was committed for fighting for the owners' wishes even at the risk of damaging his legacy. Hunter dealt with anger from agents and even questions from his own players about his strategy, wondering why it could so long for the players to use the threat of litigation to give them leverage that had otherwise eluded them.

The deal was expected to be a huge victory for the owners, though not as resounding as when they sought a hard salary cap and rollbacks of existing salaries when the negotiations got off to a strained start in February 2010. They struggled from there to get on track, with players frustrated by the lack of movement from the owners for months.

The sides met just twice in the first two months of the lockout before stepping up the pace in September, when it was already too late to open camps on time. The sides tried meeting in small groups, large groups and even mediation, but nothing sparked compromise.

Things changed this week with the entrance of Jim Quinn, a former NBPA counsel who had good relationships on both sides. The meeting Friday was held at the office of his law firm, though he did not take part.

Hunter said the terms of the deal would come out shortly, preferring to keep them private until they could be shared with the players. They might not like the deal, but it will be better than what many of them feared. Resigned to possibly missing the season, some had signed deals overseas so they would have some paycheck.

Instead, they're a step closer to returning home.

"We're very pleased we've come this far," Stern said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

___

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/26/nba-lockout-tentative-deal_n_1113886.html

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First-term senator fed up with Congress' gridlock (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A first-term senator is complaining about congressional gridlock, saying lawmakers have "the blame game down to a science."

West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin says it's difficult to find constituents who think Congress is doing its job.

Manchin tells CBS's "The Early Show" that he failed to get President Barack Obama to intervene directly with the debt-reduction supercommittee, which closed shop last week after failing to come up with an agreement to save $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

Manchin says government leaders have to be more involved in such situations, "whether it's the president of the leaders of Congress." He says one possible way to surmount the current stalemate in Washington is to sacrifice an extension of payroll tax relief in exchange for commitments by lawmakers to overhaul the tax system.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111125/ap_on_go_co/first_term_senator_gridlock

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শনিবার, ২৬ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

10 Best Cross-Platform Multiplayer Mobile Games (Mashable)

More and more mobile game developers are learning that their titles have to reach across playforms if they want to bring everyone in on the fun. With the smartphone market more evenly segmented than ever (iPhone and Android being the dominant operating systems), making games that people can play together, regardless of device, is key.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best iPhone Action Games

[More from Mashable: Top 10 Kindle Fire Cases]

Check out our picks for some of the best cross-platform mobile titles out there, and let us know in the comments if you have any favorites we might have missed.

[More from Mashable: 10 Best Racing Games for iPhone]

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/videogames/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/mashable/20111125/tc_mashable/10_best_crossplatform_multiplayer_mobile_games

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Scosche clipSYNC Charge and Sync Cables Review

Have you ever been caught without a charging cable? ?You decided to travel light, with just a phone and your laptop. ?You realize your phone needs a charge, but you don’t have the USB charging cable. ?Clip a clipSYNC Charge and Sync Cable from Scosche to your keyring or gear bag strap, and you’ll always [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/11/25/scosche-clipsync-charge-and-sync-cables-review/

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শুক্রবার, ২৫ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Moroccans hold Arab Spring-inspired election

A Moroccan woman leaves a polling booth before casting her vote in a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Moroccans began voting for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change. Small sign reads: voting booth. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

A Moroccan woman leaves a polling booth before casting her vote in a polling station in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Moroccans began voting for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change. Small sign reads: voting booth. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Abdelilah Benkirane, the secretary general of Morocco's Islamist Justice and Development Party, leaves the voting booth in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Moroccans began voting for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

Moroccan Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, tipped as possibly the next prime minister, casts his ballot in the affluent neighborhood of Souissi, Rabat. Moroccans voted on Friday Nov. 25, 2011 in parliamentary elections brought forward as part of the king's package of reforms to respond to the Arab Spring. (AP Photo/Paul Schemm)

A man clutching his car keys and smartphone votes in the affluent Rabat neighborhood of Agdal early in the morning Friday Nov. 25 2011. Moroccans voted Friday in parliamentary elections brought forward as part of the king's package of reforms to respond to the Arab Spring. (AP Photo/Paul Schemm)

A woman deposits her ballot paper after voting in Rabat, Morocco, Friday, Nov. 25, 2011. Moroccans voted for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar)

(AP) ? Moroccans voted for a new parliament Friday in Arab Spring-inspired elections that are facing a boycott by democracy campaigners who say the ruling monarchy isn't committed to real change.

A moderate Islamist party and a pro-palace coalition led by the finance minister are competing for the top spot, but a key test for the authorities' legitimacy will be how many voters cast ballots.

The king amended the constitution over the summer giving the prime minister new powers, including the ability to dissolve parliament and make certain appointments, in response to pro-democracy protests. But the ultimate authority remains with the king.

The election result will be closely watched by Morocco's U.S. and other Western allies, as well as European tourists who cherish its beaches and resorts, to see how this North African kingdom navigates its own Arab Spring.

In the affluent Agdal neighborhood of Rabat, a steady stream of professionals lined up early in the morning at a polling station to vote before work.

"I've always voted, but this time it is more important," said Dr. Mohammed Ennabli. "Before it was the king who chose, now it is the people who choose."

Many people, however, scorned a process they say has been going on for decades without any tangible effect on their lives.

"I won't vote, the promises are never kept ? with or without the new constitution, it is the same," said Abdallah Cherachaoui, an unemployed 45 year old in the lower income district of Akkari. "They are laughing at us."

In the working class city of Sale, across the river from the capital Rabat, there was a steady trickle of voters to the school acting as a polling station, but some stayed outside.

"I voted in 2007 because the candidate was a member of my family, but he also disappointed me and as soon as the elections were over, I never saw him again, so I'm not making that mistake again," said Brahim Errami, 25, from his seat in a nearby cafe. "I pity the people going in and out of that school."

Morocco's reputation as a stable kingdom in North Africa has taken a hit with this year's protests over government corruption and heavy handed security forces. And its once-steady economy is creaking from the amount of money the government has pumped into raising salaries and subsidies to keep people calm amid the Arab world turmoil.

The election campaign has been strangely subdued, unlike the lively politicking in nearby Tunisia when it held the first elections prompted by the Arab uprisings last month.

Morocco with its many political parties and regular elections under the tight control of an all-powerful monarch was once the bright star in a region of dictatorships.

But all that has changed with the Arab uprisings that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Now a political system that holds elections but leaves all powers in the hands of a hereditary king does not look so liberal.

Some 31 political parties are fielding 5,392 candidates to compete for 395 seats in parliament, including 60 set aside for women and 30 for "youth," under 40.

A complex proportional system of representation means no party is likely to take more than 20 percent of the seats.

Under the new constitution, the king asks the party with the most seats to form the government, which could well be the Islamist Justice and Development party, known by its French initials PJD. But there's uncertainty over whether it can truly change anything in the face of the palace's power.

The Islamists' biggest rival for the top spot is Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar's Rally of Independents, which leads an alliance of seven other pro-palace parties.

"This is a very important election for the Moroccan people and it confirms the choice made for an open process of democratization that is being consolidated by this election," he told The Associated Press after voting. "This is really a moment of great emotion."

Like elsewhere in the Arab world, Moroccans hit the streets in the first half of 2011 calling for more democracy, and King Mohammed VI responded by amending the constitution and bringing forward elections.

But since then the sense of change has dissipated, and while the king remains a respected figure, few have much confidence in parliament or the politicians in it.

"I voted because we need to elect a new parliament, but I voted blank for the simple reason that there is no one I can trust from the people that are being elected," said Chamseddin Baba, the manager of an IT company who voted in the wealthy suburb of Souissi. "I would like to vote for the best, but the best are not there."

The 2007 elections, the first with widespread international observation, had just 37 percent turnout, and some fear it could be even lower this time around.

Now, however, the number of registered voters has dropped from 15 million to 13.5 million, despite population increases, so turnout will almost certainly be higher.

There will be 3,200 election observers, though they will likely only cover a fraction of the 40,000 polling stations scattered across the country.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-25-ML-Morocco-Elections/id-a41decf2f084425883da0ded59a48c3e

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৪ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Video: Yemen?s Saleh signs power transfer deal

After months of street protests demanding he step down, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has signed an agreement transferring power to his vice president. NBC?s Savannah Guthrie reports.

>>> one other note from the rejoon. after months of street protests demanding he step down, yemen's president has signed an agreement tnsferring power to his vice president. a move that could end his 33 years of rule. that is, if he lives up to his word. he has taken back these promises before.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45422569/

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Lawmakers abandon deficit-cutting effort (reuters)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164987668?client_source=feed&format=rss

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বুধবার, ২৩ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Facebook Wins By Getting Us Closer Than Six Degrees

50515_8394258414_4157_nFacebook users are getting more connected to each other as the service grows older, according to a new study by the company's data team and the University of Milan. Instead of the traditional "six degrees of separation" that researchers have historically observed between all people in the world (and Kevin Bacon), the number of degrees has been dropping since 2008 on the site, from 5.28 then to 4.74 now. This isn't just an interesting factoid about the modern world, it highlights Facebook's long-term strategy, and its dominant market position in social networking. Founder Mark Zuckerberg has proclaimed for years that his goal is to make the world more "open and connected." In practice, that's meant features across the site that do things like reveal what friends you have in common with any other user, and suggest that you become friends with people you've never met in person.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wGnlIOWy-JQ/

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A La TechStars, City Of Providence Offers Startups $50K To Complete Local Accelerator Program

Home-Betaspring_1315501347954Back in January, Yuri Milner and SV Angel partnered to offer every startup that was part of Y Combinator's winter batch (some 40 startups) $150K each in convertible debt. In September, national startup accelerator, TechStars, followed suit, upping its investment in each startup to $100K in convertible notes. Providence, Rhode Island may not be the first city that pops into your head when you think of burgeoning startup ecosystems, but it looks like the city and one of its prominent young incubators is looking to change that. This week, Betaspring, a startup accelerator headquartered in Providence, announced that all startups that complete its 12-week accelerator program will be automatically eligible for a $50K equity investment from Rhode Island's capital city.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/e4QFSC8z9RM/

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মঙ্গলবার, ২২ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

After Gaddafi son, spy chief captured (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) ? Abdullah al-Senussi, Libya's feared former intelligence chief, was cornered and captured at a remote desert homestead on Sunday, a day after Muammar Gaddafi's son was seized by Libyan fighters in the same region.

The arrest of the last survivor of the old regime who is wanted at The Hague for crimes against humanity crowned a momentous couple of days for a new government that is still in the process of formation, and also posed immediate tests of its authority -- both over powerful militias and with world powers.

In a sign of the strain that the prime minister-designate is under to reconcile the interests of rival militia groups that control the ground in Libya, officials said Abdurrahim El-Keib had asked for another couple of days to complete a cabinet that he had previously hoped to announce on Sunday.

A commander of former rebel forces nominally loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC), General Ahmed al-Hamdouni, told Reuters that his men, acting on a tip, had found and surrounded Senussi at a house belonging to his sister near the town of Birak, about 500 km (300 miles) south of Tripoli and in the same region as Saif al-Islam was seized on Saturday.

NTC spokesman Abdul Hafez Ghoga later confirmed that Senussi, who is Saif al-Islam's uncle by marriage, had been captured. It was not immediately clear if the arrests were linked, though there has been speculation since the fall of Tripoli three months ago that the pair were hiding together.

Fighters who intercepted Saif al-Islam on a desert road in the early hours of Saturday said they believed one of his companions was also a nephew of Senussi, whose wife is a sister of Muammar Gaddafi's second wife Safiya.

Like Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured and killed on the coast a month ago on Sunday, Saif al-Islam and Senussi were indicted this year by the International Criminal Court for alleged plans to kill protesters after the Arab Spring revolt erupted in February.

But NTC officials have said they can convince the ICC to let them try both men in Libya.

Ghoga said NTC members meeting on Sunday had confirmed that preference, as did the current justice minister - although legal experts point out that international law demands Tripoli make a strong case for the right to try anyone who has already been indicted by the ICC.

MANY LIBYANS WANT HANGMAN'S NOOSE

Given the state of Libya's legal system after 42 years of dictatorship, as well as the depth of feelings after this year's civil war, the ICC seems unlikely to agree, many jurists think. Its chief prosecutor is expected in Libya this week.

While the ICC, backed by a U.N. resolution, can demand Libya hand over the prisoners, many Libyans are keen to see them tried for alleged crimes committed over decades, well beyond the scope of the ICC charges relating to this year only. And many also want them hanged, something barred at The Hague.

Among other old wounds, Senussi is suspected of a key role in the killing of more than 1,200 inmates at Tripoli's Abu Salim prison in 1996. It was the arrest of a lawyer for victims' relatives that sparked Libya's Arab Spring revolt in February. And many of the dead were members of Islamist groups which are expected to be a major political force in a democratic Libya.

The case of Senussi, long the elder Gaddafi's right-hand man and enforcer, may also revive interest in international incidents long shrouded in mystery, from the days in the 1980s and 90s when Gaddafi's Libya waged undercover war on the West.

Senussi's name has been linked with the Lockerbie bombing of 1988. He was among six Libyans convicted in absentia in Paris of bringing down a French UTA airliner a year later.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi spent Sunday at a secret location in the militia stronghold of Zintan while in Tripoli the Libyan rebel leaders who overthrew his father tried to resolve their differences and form a government that can try the new captive.

With rival local militia commanders from across the country trying to parlay their guns into cabinet seats, officials in the capital gave mixed signals on how long Keib, may need.

Ghoga said the NTC had given Keib another two days, right up to a deadline of Tuesday, to agree his cabinet -- a delay that indicated the extent of horse-trading going on.

And though the Zintan mountain fighters who intercepted the 39-year-old heir to the four-decade Gaddafi dynasty deep in the Sahara said they would hand him over once some central authority was clear, few expect Saif al-Islam in Tripoli soon.

Members of the NTC, the self-appointed legislative panel of notables formed after February's uprising, expect to vote on Keib's nominees, with keenest attention among the men who control the militias focused on the Defense Ministry.

One official working for the NTC said that the group from Zintan, a town of just 50,000 in the Western Mountains outside Tripoli that was a stronghold of resistance to Gaddafi, might even secure that ministry thanks to holding Saif al-Islam.

Other groups include rival Islamist and secularist militias in the capital, those from Benghazi, Libya's second city and the original seat of revolt, and the fighters from the third city of Misrata, who took credit for capturing and killing the elder Gaddafi and haggled with the NTC over the fate of his rotting corpse for several days in October.

"FINAL ACT"

"The final act of the Libyan drama," as a spokesman for the former rebels put it, began in the blackness of the Sahara night, when a small unit of fighters from the town of Zintan, acting on a tip-off, intercepted Saif al-Islam and four armed companions driving in a pair of 4x4 vehicles on a desert track.

It ended, after a 300-mile flight north on a cargo plane, with the London-educated younger Gaddafi, who had tried to pass himself off as "Abdelsalam, a camel herder," being held in a safe house in Zintan and the townsfolk vowing to keep him healthy until he can face a judge in the capital.

His captors said he was "very scared" when they first recognised him, despite the heavy beard and enveloping Tuareg robes and turban he wore. But they reassured him and, by the time a Reuters correspondent spoke to him aboard the plane, he had been chatting amiably to his guards.

"He looked tired. He had been lost in the desert for many days," said Abdul al-Salaam al-Wahissi, a Zintan fighter involved in the operation. "I think he lost his guide."

Sitting on the tarmac at Zintan, under siege from a mob who seemed ready to inflict on him the indignities that met his father, revealed his fears, but also some bravado and not a little humour. When others in the besieged aircraft lit up cigarettes, he complained: "We're going to choke to death."

In video posted on YouTube, he was later seen chatting in a room with others, apparently at ease in Zintan -- images that may surprise other Libyans who bear deep grudges against him.

"There is no problem," he said at one point, after cursing the "infidel Crusader pact" of NATO whose air strike a month ago had killed 26 of his men and left him with a wounded hand.

How long Libya will hold on to him and Senussi, who officials said was being held overnight in the desert, was unclear. Despite official insistence, some analysts said Libya would face international pressure if it tried them itself.

Western leaders, who backed February's uprising against Gaddafi but looked on squeamishly as rebel fighters filmed themselves taking vengeance on the fallen strongman a month ago, urged Keib to seek foreign help to ensure a fair trial.

Keib, who taught engineering at U.S. universities before returning to Libya to join the rebellion, drove on Saturday the two hours from Tripoli to Zintan to pay homage to its fighters. He promised justice would be done - within Libya.

(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, Hisham El-Dani and Francois Murphy in Tripoli and Oliver Holmes and Taha Zargoun in Zintan; Writing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111120/wl_nm/us_libya_son

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সোমবার, ২১ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Cancer vaccine impact limited unless drug industry focuses on difficult-to-treat tumors, experts say

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2011) ? Drug companies currently developing therapeutic cancer vaccines may be determining the cancers they target based on the number of annual cases, not the number of deaths they cause.

This approach may limit the patient benefits of such drugs, according to a new University of Michigan report.

Therapeutic vaccines, an alternative form of cancer treatment that may be more effective than traditional cancer therapies, are currently being tested in clinical trials around the world.

Early studies on these vaccines, which trigger patients' immune systems to attack cancer cells, have shown they may offer new hope for those suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers.

"In 2011, there were about 230 clinical trials for therapeutic vaccines targeting 13 different types of cancer," says Matthew Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., associate professor of pediatrics, internal medicine, and public policy at the University of Michigan Health System and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

"If a cancer is more commonly diagnosed in the United States, it is significantly more likely to have therapeutic vaccines in clinical trials," Davis adds. "Focusing on annual incidence is a very common approach by drug companies in developing new therapies."

Therapeutic vaccine development should focus on cancers with higher mortality rates, creating more potential to improve patient outcomes, Davis suggests.

"The lack of a connection between therapeutic cancer vaccine development and cancer deaths means that vaccine development in this arena today may not best serve the needs of cancer patients tomorrow," Davis says. "As a primary care doctor, I would like to see innovations with therapeutic vaccines that target cancers where our current therapies are less effective than average."

Davis and co-author Elias Dayoub, a second-year medical student, emphasize that lung cancer and pancreatic cancer are two tumor types where the five-year survival is lower than average and the number of patients newly diagnosed each year is higher than average.

"Fortunately for patients, there are already some late-stage clinical trials in progress for patients with cancers of the lung and pancreas," Davis says. "Based on the typical time course for trials and licensure, if these vaccines are safe and effective, we may able to use them to help patients as early as 2020 and perhaps earlier."

The cancers with the highest number of active clinical trials in 2011 are melanoma (40), breast (34), lung (30), prostate (22), and brain (20).

The five cancers with the highest five-year mortality (estimated by the authors, based on current U.S. data) are lung (186,000), pancreas (40,000), colon (35,000), breast (21,000) and liver and bile duct (21,000), for a total of 303,000 deaths. There are currently 90 therapeutic vaccines in development against these 5 types of cancer.

In contrast, the five cancers with the most active development (146 vaccines in aggregate) target cancers with a lower five-year mortality of approximately 226,000. "This mismatch is unfortunate for patients," says Davis. "Cancers with higher mortality currently have fewer vaccines in development. For therapeutic vaccines to make the biggest difference in cancer care, development must focus more on high-mortality tumors."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan Health System.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Elias J. Dayoub and Matthew M. Davis. Relationship of therapeutic cancer vaccine development to population disease burden and five-year survival. Human Vaccines, Volume 7, Issue 11; November 2011; Pages 1124 - 1129 DOI: 10.4161/h.v.7.9.17837

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111121142556.htm

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Judge to press: Stay away from Grant ex, baby

A British judge has ordered paparazzi to stay away from Chinese actress Tinglan Hong ? the mother of actor Hugh Grant's child.

High Court justice Michael Tugendhat says Hong has been hounded outside her London home and feels that "her life has become unbearable."

Story: Hugh knew? Grant is dad to new baby girl

He has granted an injunction "prohibiting harassment" of the actress and her daughter.

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The injunction was granted last week, and Tugendhat outlined his reasons on Friday.

Story: Fall in love with the men of rom-coms

Grant's spokeswoman confirmed earlier this month that the actor had recently fathered a child after a brief fling, and he and Hong remain on good terms.

The judge said Grant and Hong "did their best to keep private" the fact that they had a child, "and do not know how the information reached the public domain."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45353291/ns/today-entertainment/

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Source: http://whatgetsmehot.posterous.com/facebook-now-censors-yoga-breastfeeding

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রবিবার, ২০ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Guide us to the top Science Geek Gifts

Particle Zoo

Will plush neutrino toys become hot little numbers for the holidays because of the recent faster-than-light claims?

By Alan Boyle

We science geeks aren't exactly experts at gift-giving (or gift-getting) during the holidays ? just ask Sheldon Cooper from TV's "The Big Bang Theory. "It's no wonder suicide rates skyrocket this time of year," he says.

That's where the 10th annual Science Geek Gift Guide comes in. We?turn to you for guidance on?geek giftitude, offer up the top suggestions for your approval, and send?a box of books?to the science geek who comes up with the top-rated suggestion.

This?holiday season could be an especially good one if?you have a yen for particle physics: There's a lot of buzz about the search for the Higgs boson's hiding place, as well as the?evidence for faster-than-light neutrinos. So?what better place to turn for a totem than the Particle Zoo, which sells plush subatomic particles (larger than actual size) as well as other cosmic toys and cards.

"The Higgs is by far the top seller," Particle Zookeeper Julie Peasley told me today, "but dark matter is pretty high up there." Other top-sellers include photons, strange and charmed quarks, tachyons and the cosmic microwave background radiation. Peasley hasn't noticed that sales are affected by the ebb and flow of discoveries in physics ? all she knows is that the Particle Zoo is about to head into its rush season.

"I don't have a life for two months," she said.

The handmade particle plushies are not recommended for kids under 5, but?there are plenty of other options for your?budding Einstein ??including Baby's Nuclear Physics Book, a $51 cloth creation available from Verdant Violet via Etsy. The online shop also offers soft books about molecular genetics, neuroscience, paleontology, microbiology?and physical anthropology, but you may have to put an I.O.U.?under the tree. Current shipping time is six to eight weeks.

There's plenty more at Etsy for older physics and space fans, including $25 Einstein cufflinks (do geeks wear dress shirts, let alone cufflinks?), a $10 handblown DNA pendant?and all sorts of space-themed gifts.

If the geek on your list is entranced by the Large Hadron Collider, the pop-up book titled "Voyage to the Heart of Matter" ($24.75 from Amazon.com) might be just the ticket. The paper versions of the ATLAS detector, the collider ring and the big bang are a bit delicate, so I wouldn't advise leaving it on the little kids' table, but it makes a great conversation piece for students and grown-up geeks alike.

When it comes to space, one of the big topics for the year ahead is NASA's next mission to Mars, set for launch on the day after Thanksgiving. You'll find all sorts of Mars Science Laboratory paraphernalia on eBay, ranging from patches to wooden models of the Curiosity rover ? or you can get your geeks a Lego set?and have them build their own rover, as Tim?Goddard and Xander R have done.

Are these enough suggestions to gear up the geeky side of your brain? Hope so, because now it's your turn. Leave your suggestions for the Science Geek Guide as comments below. There are a few categories we'll want to stay away from, because they're covered more closely by my colleagues. For example, don't suggest video games, or mobile devices, or?other consumer electronics?such as computers, TVs or?DVD players. Books and DVDs are OK, although science books will be covered in an item next week.

I'll pick out some of the suggestions for your consideration in a follow-up item next week, and the top vote-getter as of?noon ET on Nov. 28 will be crowned as the Science Geek Gift of the year. The person credited with suggesting the top gift will be eligible to receive a pile of books to warm a geek's heart, including "The Cult of Lego," "The Physics Book," "Science Ink" and an autographed copy of "The Case for Pluto."?May the best geek win!

For further inspiration, here are some more suggestions (some of which may be outdated):

Previous Science Geek Gift Guides:

More science gifts:


You don't need to buy me a present. All I ask is that you connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/18/8882354-guide-us-to-your-science-geek-gifts

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AP Interview: Internet tax a states' rights issue (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/163853218?client_source=feed&format=rss

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শনিবার, ১৯ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

2 Bears, 4 Lions fined by NFL (AP)

NEW YORK ? Four Detroit Lions, including quarterback Matthew Stafford, and two Chicago Bears have been fined by the NFL for incidents in their game last Sunday.

Stafford instigated a scuffle when he grabbed the helmet of Bears defensive back D. J. Moore and threw him to the ground. Stafford has been fined $7,500, while Moore is hit for $15,000 for striking back at Stafford and being ejected.

Also docked $15,000 is Lions rookie DT Nick Fairley for driving Bears QB Jay Cutler into the ground.

Chicago receiver Earl Bennett has been fined $10,000 for wearing orange shoes, his second uniform violation.

Detroit DE Kyle Vanden Bosch is docked $7,500 for unnecessary roughness: Vanden Bosch threw Bears RB Matt Forte to the ground late.

Detroit guard Rob Sims also has been hit for $7,500 for a late tackle.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_nfl_fines

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Analysis: IMF can no longer avoid bigger role in euro zone (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The International Monetary Fund is inserting itself more forcefully into Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis, hoping to stem a contagion that is spreading worldwide and threatening global growth.

Uncertainty is turning into frustration and near-panic among policymakers outside Europe as larger European economies such as Italy, Spain and France come under attack by financial markets and bank funding stresses worsen.

Until now, Europe has tried to navigate its way out of the two-year crisis on its own and the IMF has worked as a partner in a rescue "Troika" alongside the European Commission and European Central Bank in bailing out debt-stricken Greece.

But patience, both among officials outside of Europe and in markets, is running thin with what many view as Europe's painfully slow decision-making process.

Three steps taken this week could strengthen the IMF's role in handling the crisis.

The IMF said on Thursday it would not be joined by EU or ECB officials when it conducts an in-depth review in late November of Italy's economy and the fiscal and structural reforms needed to fend off the crisis there, a fresh step in the global lender's approach.

By going it alone, the IMF would assert its leadership role and potentially instill greater market confidence.

This followed a surprise move on Wednesday when the IMF ousted Antonio Borges, its European director. It replaced him with an influential insider, Reza Moghadam, who has worked behind the scenes to reshape the IMF's lending tools and strengthen the way it monitors economies.

Borges cited personal reasons for his decision to step down immediately. Last month, he misstepped in suggesting publicly that the IMF could buy Spanish or Italian bonds alongside the euro zone's bailout fund. He had to issue a hasty retraction to say the IMF could only lend to member countries and could not intervene in bond markets.

European officials also said on Thursday there have been discussions about the European Central Bank possibly lending to the IMF, which would give the global lender enough money to bail out bigger euro zone countries.

Emerging market countries such as China, Russia and Brazil have indicated privately to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde they stand ready to help Europe, as well as other countries, but only if their funding is done through the IMF.

"There is great concern about Europe," IMF Spokesman David Hawley told a news briefing on Thursday that was dominated by questions on Italy and Greece.

"Emerging market countries have expressed readiness to augment the resources of the Fund," Hawley said. "At this stage we don't have precise money".

The Federal Reserve, likewise, is extremely worried about Europe and does not see how the U.S. banking system can escape unscathed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that inadequate European crisis management raises the risk of "cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk that must be taken off the table."

European leaders had hoped they would stem the contagion by setting up a bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. But more than three months later, it has failed to raise the 1 trillion euros it needs, and financial contagion is spreading quickly from the euro zone's periphery to eastern and central Europe and to other vulnerable emerging countries.

If Italy and Spain need rescuing, the 1 trillion euros European leaders are seeking would not be enough. The only lender left with sufficient firepower would be the IMF.

(Additional reporting by Stella Dawson and Mark Felsenthal in Washington)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111118/bs_nm/us_imf_europe

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The protest vote prevails when a landslide victory is expected

The protest vote prevails when a landslide victory is expected [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: SINC
info@agenciasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

Researchers at the Juan March foundation and the Duke University (USA) have analysed the reason for casting a protest vote as a way of expressing unhappiness with a party during elections. Moderate voters are more likely to vote in this way than those at the extreme left or extreme right of the political spectrum.

Daniel Kselman, researcher at the Juan March Foundation and co-author of the study that analyses such behaviour states that "the protest vote is just a way of expressing discontent. In order for it to be effective, a lot more voters from your party need to vote for other. However, if there are enough people casting the protest vote, strategic changes need to be adopted or previously ignored political questions need to be faced."

The authors of the study created a probabilistic model that allowed them to distinguish between "strategic voters", who vote for a party despite it not being their favourite because their first choice has no chance of winning, and "protest voters", who choose another party purely to 'punish them' even though they have a chance of winning.

Kselman points out that "protest voters show their unhappiness by voting for a party either more to the right or more to the left of the political spectrum than their preference in the hope that a rise in votes for the competition will encourage their own party to go in one direction or another."

According to the results of the study, when ideological voters are unhappy, they simply abstain from voting. Furthermore, the protest vote is more likely during elections in which it is hope that a party will win by a landslide victory.

The expert explains that "this applies to the current situation in Spain where many believe that the People's Party (PP) will gain an absolute majority. Since there is likely to be a landslide victory in the upcoming elections this Sunday, we expect to see many protest votes from traditional Socialist Party (PSOE) voters, whether for the PP or other parties. This does not mean that they are changing their party preference because they can in fact vote for the PSOE again in the next elections."

As a result, such voting behaviour will increase the diversity of a party and could also help to strengthen smaller parties. Kselman concludes that "sometimes smaller parties begin to receive the majority of their support through protest votes. Consequently, when building up an independent following of their own, such support allows them in time to become significant and important political forces. Therefore, the protest vote could allow new parties to enter mainstream politics."

###

References:

Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou. "Protest voting in plurality elections: a theory of voter signaling", Public Choice 148 (3): 395-418, 2011. DOI 10.1007/s11127-010-9661-2.

Paper:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/y6hm646274t786l1/



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


The protest vote prevails when a landslide victory is expected [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: SINC
info@agenciasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

Researchers at the Juan March foundation and the Duke University (USA) have analysed the reason for casting a protest vote as a way of expressing unhappiness with a party during elections. Moderate voters are more likely to vote in this way than those at the extreme left or extreme right of the political spectrum.

Daniel Kselman, researcher at the Juan March Foundation and co-author of the study that analyses such behaviour states that "the protest vote is just a way of expressing discontent. In order for it to be effective, a lot more voters from your party need to vote for other. However, if there are enough people casting the protest vote, strategic changes need to be adopted or previously ignored political questions need to be faced."

The authors of the study created a probabilistic model that allowed them to distinguish between "strategic voters", who vote for a party despite it not being their favourite because their first choice has no chance of winning, and "protest voters", who choose another party purely to 'punish them' even though they have a chance of winning.

Kselman points out that "protest voters show their unhappiness by voting for a party either more to the right or more to the left of the political spectrum than their preference in the hope that a rise in votes for the competition will encourage their own party to go in one direction or another."

According to the results of the study, when ideological voters are unhappy, they simply abstain from voting. Furthermore, the protest vote is more likely during elections in which it is hope that a party will win by a landslide victory.

The expert explains that "this applies to the current situation in Spain where many believe that the People's Party (PP) will gain an absolute majority. Since there is likely to be a landslide victory in the upcoming elections this Sunday, we expect to see many protest votes from traditional Socialist Party (PSOE) voters, whether for the PP or other parties. This does not mean that they are changing their party preference because they can in fact vote for the PSOE again in the next elections."

As a result, such voting behaviour will increase the diversity of a party and could also help to strengthen smaller parties. Kselman concludes that "sometimes smaller parties begin to receive the majority of their support through protest votes. Consequently, when building up an independent following of their own, such support allows them in time to become significant and important political forces. Therefore, the protest vote could allow new parties to enter mainstream politics."

###

References:

Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou. "Protest voting in plurality elections: a theory of voter signaling", Public Choice 148 (3): 395-418, 2011. DOI 10.1007/s11127-010-9661-2.

Paper:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/y6hm646274t786l1/



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/f-sf-tpv111811.php

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Benetton withdraws pope ad after Vatican protests (Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) ? Benetton withdrew an advertisement using an image of Pope Benedict kissing an imam on the mouth after the Vatican protested on Wednesday at the Italian clothing firm's latest shock campaign.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi called the unauthorised and "manipulative" use of the pope's picture in the photo montage totally unacceptable and suggested it might take legal action against the company.

"This is a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offence against the sentiments of the faithful and a clear example of how advertising can violate elementary rules of respect for people in order to attract attention through provocation," he said in a statement.

A large banner with the image of the pope and the imam was hung from a bridge near the Vatican on Wednesday morning but later removed.

Benetton said the purpose of its campaign was "exclusively to fight the culture of hate in every form" but said it had nontheless decided to withdraw the image.

"We are sorry that the use of an image of the pontiff and the imam should have offended the sensibilities of the faithful in this way," it said in a statement.

Other photo montages in the same campaign, in which Benetton says it supports the Unhate Foundation, show other world leaders kissing each other on the mouth.

U.S. President Barack Obama is shown kissing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in one.

The Italian clothing company has run controversial advertising campaigns in the past, including one that showed grieving parents at the bedside of a man dying of AIDS.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/india_nm/india605762

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শুক্রবার, ১৮ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Health Tip: Giving Kids Medicine (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- It's often a challenge to convince kids to take much-needed medicine when they're sick.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions to make medicine more palatable for children:

  • Refrigerate liquid medicines before giving them to a child.
  • If the doctor or pharmacist says it's ok, mix the medication with a bit of juice or pudding.
  • Ask your pharmacist to mix flavoring into the medication before you take it home.
  • Explain to the child that the medicine will help him or her feel better.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111117/hl_hsn/healthtipgivingkidsmedicine

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Stocks set to pull back ahead of economic data

By msnbc.com news services

U.S. stocks are set to edge lower Wednesday ahead of a full day of economic reports.

Investors will receive data Wednesday on consumer prices, factory production, foreign demand for U.S. debt and a measure of homebuilder confidence. Positive reports could be further evidence that the U.S. economy is not in danger of slipping back into another recession.

Concerns linger about Europe's debt crisis. Greece's new prime minister Lucas Papademos' government will face a confidence vote later in the day. The government must pass austerity measures to receive additional financial assistance.

Policymakers are warning that Europe's debt crisis poses dangers to the global economy and Italian bond yields remain at elevated levels -- a sign of ongoing risk aversion.

Ronald Spogli, former U.S. ambassador to Italy, visited CNBC Monday to discuss how the new Italian prime minister can work toward bringing Italy out of its current debt crisis:

The European Central Bank stepped in to stem an accelerating selloff of euro zone government bonds, traders said. European shares were higher on the move but lost ground as the yield on Italian 10-year bonds continued to hover near 7 percent, but were off session highs.

?It is clear that they [Europe] have a severe liquidity crisis developing and it is becoming more and more clear that they are going into a severe recession,? said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

?They have got to get their act together and resolve this issue or this recession is going to be worldwide.?

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the crisis was already affecting emerging nations and Japan in multiple ways, while the Bank of England forecast Britain was on the brink of a contraction due to the crisis.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/16/8835836-stocks-set-to-pull-back-ahead-of-economic-data

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Patients with severe sepsis and new-onset atrial fibrillation at increased risk of in-hospital stroke, death

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) ? Patients hospitalized with severe sepsis who experience new-onset atrial fibrillation have an associated increased risk of in-hospital stroke and death, according to a study appearing in JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common arrhythmias among critically ill patients. "Previous studies have demonstrated that 6 percent to 20 percent of patients with severe sepsis develop new-onset AF, suggesting that severe sepsis may be a predisposing factor for new-onset AF," according to background information in the article. "Chronic AF is a known risk factor for stroke and death, but the clinical significance of new-onset AF in the setting of severe sepsis is uncertain."

To examine the association of new-onset AF during severe sepsis with adverse outcomes of in-hospital mortality and ischemic stroke, Allan J. Walkey, M.D., M.Sc., of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues conducted a study that included administrative claims data from the California State Inpatient Database from nonfederal acute care hospitals for January 1 through December 31, 2007. Data were available for 3,144,787 hospitalized adults. The researchers identified 49,082 cases of severe sepsis that met qualifying criteria for the study. New-onset AF was defined as AF that occurred during the hospital stay, after excluding AF cases present at admission.

New-onset AF occurred during 20,608 hospitalizations (0.65 percent; including sepsis and nonsepsis) and during 2,896 hospitalizations (5.9 percent) of patients with severe sepsis, with analysis indicating that 14 percent of all hospital-associated new-onset AF occurred in the context of severe sepsis. Compared with hospitalized patients without severe sepsis, patients with severe sepsis had a nearly 7 times the odds of having new-onset AF. Factors associated with increased risk of new-onset AF during severe sepsis included demographics (increasing age, male sex, and white race), comorbidities (history of heart failure, obesity, malignancy, and stroke), and various acute factors (such as increasing number of organ failures, respiratory failure and renal failure).

Among individuals with severe sepsis, new-onset AF was associated with increased adjusted risks of in-hospital ischemic stroke. In contrast, patients with severe sepsis and preexisting AF did not have an increased risk of in-hospital ischemic stroke compared with those with severe sepsis and no AF. In patients with severe sepsis, in-hospital ischemic stroke occurred in 75 of 2,896 individuals (2.6 percent) with new-onset AF compared with 57 of 9,986 (0.57 percent) with preexisting AF and 249 of 36,200 (0.69 percent) without AF.

Compared with severe sepsis patients without new-onset AF, patients with new-onset AF had a greater risk of in-hospital mortality (1,629 [56 percent] vs. 18,027 [39 percent] deaths).

The researchers speculate that several potential mechanisms might explain the increased ischemic stroke risk in patients with severe sepsis and new-onset AF. "Severe sepsis alone may be associated with an increased risk of stroke through hemodynamic [blood circulation] collapse, increased systemic inflammation, and coagulopathy [clotting/bleeding disorder]. New-onset AF may simply be a marker for greater severity of illness and, thus, greater stroke risk."

"Given projected estimates of severe sepsis incidence in 1 million Americans in 2011, it is likely that new-onset AF occurs in more than 60,000 patients with severe sepsis in the United States each year," the authors write. "Current guidelines do not address AF that occurs in the setting of severe sepsis or acute infection, suggesting that new-onset AF that occurs during severe sepsis is an underrecognized public health problem. If our findings of increased stroke and death in the setting of AF and severe sepsis are replicated in other data sets, then it will be important to examine management strategies that might diminish the risk of adverse outcomes associated with AF during severe sepsis."

Editorial: Is Severe Sepsis Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke?

In an accompanying editorial, Christopher H. Goss, M.D., M.Sc., of the University of Washington, and Shannon S. Carson, M.D., of the University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, write that an important question is whether the findings of this study should lead clinicians to intervene with stroke prevention therapy, such as with acute cardioversion (a method to restore an abnormal heart rhythm back to normal), anticoagulation, or both.

"It is difficult to maintain successful cardioversion as long as severe sepsis persists, perhaps because acute risk factors such as high catecholamine [any of several compounds occurring naturally in the body that serve as hormones or as neurotransmitters in the sympathetic nervous system] states have not yet resolved. Anticoagulation presents additional risks for patients with severe sepsis due to coagulation abnormalities and frequent invasive procedures. Given the limitations of these observational data, current practice should not change in favor of interventions that could involve additional risk. Given the small event rate, a randomized trial of anticoagulation for new-onset atrial fibrillation in severe sepsis would be logically difficult. However, further observational studies with large databases assessing how interventions might modify the risk of stroke could provide more useful information."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by JAMA and Archives Journals.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal References:

  1. A. J. Walkey, R. S. Wiener, J. M. Ghobrial, L. H. Curtis, E. J. Benjamin. Incident Stroke and Mortality Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With Severe Sepsis. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.1615
  2. C. H. Goss, S. S. Carson. Is Severe Sepsis Associated With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke? JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2011; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2011.1730

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/PvaBkJXB1a8/111116051228.htm

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