Pacers beat Knicks 102-95 in Game 1

NEW YORK (AP) ? Every time Carmelo Anthony attacked the rim, a big body seemed to be waiting.

David West, Roy Hibbert and the rest of the Pacers are classic Eastern Conference bruisers, and the New York Knicks are countering with something closer to small ball.

"It'll be, to me, a contrast in styles most of the series," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said.

So far, the Pacers' way is bigger, badder and better.

Physical beat finesse Sunday, as the Pacers outworked and outmuscled the Knicks in a 102-95 victory in Game 1 of the East semifinals.

West scored 20 points and Paul George added 19 for the Pacers, who outrebounded the Knicks 44-30, showing the smaller team that in the rugged East, size does matter.

"I thought guys did a good job just putting them on their heels," West said. "We were attacking, we were aggressive."

D.J. Augustin had 16 points for the Pacers, who built a 16-point lead while Anthony was on the bench in foul trouble in the third quarter, and easily held on to spoil the Knicks' first second-round game since 2000.

Anthony finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but was frustrated by the Pacers' tough defense and by the referees. He shot 10 of 28 from the field and was perhaps thrown out of sync having to defend West, a natural power forward, inside.

"Right now, they're just being really physical with him, they're trying to bang him, they're trying to frustrate him," Knicks point guard Raymond Felton said. "But we're going to be fine. He's going to be fine."

Game 2 is here Tuesday night, and then the series takes a lengthy break before Game 3 on Saturday in Indiana.

The Pacers, who allowed the second-fewest points per game and the lowest field goal percentage in the league during the regular season, mixed in solid offense as well. They outscored New York 59-38 across the middle two quarters and were comfortably ahead throughout the fourth.

"Just a strong defensive effort and then offensively guys played with great poise," Vogel said. "Just a complete team effort, very proud of them."

Hibbert scored 14 points in thoroughly outplaying counterpart Tyson Chandler, and George Hill also had 14 for the Pacers, adding seven rebounds and six assists.

Lance Stephenson added 11 points and 13 rebounds playing in his hometown.

J.R. Smith scored 17 points, but was 4 of 15. Felton had 18 and Kenyon Martin added 12 for the Knicks, who hope to have reserves Amare Stoudemire (right knee surgery) and Steve Novak (back spasms) back for Game 3 and certainly looked as if they could use the help.

Both teams wrapped up their first-round series Friday night, the Knicks' victory in Game 6 in Boston giving them their first series victory in 13 years and sending them on to face a familiar postseason foe in Indiana, which ousted Atlanta.

The teams met three straight years from 1993-95, then again from 1998-00, splitting their six series, and this was the type of slugfest so many of those matchups were.

Indiana led 60-54 when Anthony committed his fourth foul and came out of the game with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers then outscored the Knicks 21-11 the remainder of the period, opening an 81-65 bulge on Augustin's 3-pointer with 31.5 seconds left in the quarter.

"They did all the little things," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We didn't start playing until we actually got down and it was desperation and we've got to play like that from the start."

Anthony came back on to start the fourth and scored the first six points to get the Knicks back within 10. He picked up a fifth on a questionable offensive foul call with 10 minutes left and appeared to wave off a substitution when Chandler checked in, though Woodson said Chandler was going in for Martin, who was the one who exited.

But there was no final flurry, and Chandler eventually fouled out with four points and three rebounds.

Anthony wore a sleeve under his jersey covering a strap to keep his sore left shoulder in place. It was first hurt against the Pacers in April, then aggravated when Kevin Garnett pulled on his arm while setting a screen during the first-round series.

That may have contributed to his poor shooting, but certainly the Pacers had plenty to do with it, as did having to bang inside with the bigger West ? though Anthony downplayed the toughness factor.

"The physicality of this game didn't do nothing to me, to us," he said.

"It's like Coach Woodson said and I agree with him, they beat us on the glass, they beat us to the loose basketballs out there, the hustle plays, and they outworked us. I don't think that had anything do with being more physical."

The Knicks closed the first quarter with a 9-0 spurt, taking a 27-22 lead after 3-pointers by Smith and Felton to end the period. But the Pacers tightened the defense in the second, holding the Knicks to two baskets in the final 5 minutes.

Indiana outscored New York 13-4 during that stretch, taking a 52-46 lead to halftime after George hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left.

The Pacers, who also were the league's best team at defending the 3-pointer, limited the Knicks to 19 attempts and actually made more (8-7). Augustin was 4 of 5 off the bench.

Notes: Anthony averaged 29.1 points in the first round, equaling the second-highest ever by a Knicks player. Patrick Ewing had 31.6 per game in a 1990 series. ... Anthony received the one first-place vote that kept LeBron James from being the NBA's first unanimous selection as MVP. "That's the furthest thing on my mind at this point in time," said Anthony, who was third in the voting behind Kevin Durant. "I'll take that vote." ... Indiana won both matchups in the conference semifinals, a 4-3 victory in 1995 and a 4-1 win in 1998. ... Indiana's Jeff Pendergraph was fined $5,000 by the NBA, the first player punished for violating the league's anti-flopping rules in the playoffs. ... Novak said he hurt his back while warming up at halftime of Game 5 against Boston, but has been feeling better each day since.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pacers-beat-knicks-102-95-game-1-222436347.html

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Money Matters: Assumptions can cost money | Stuff.co.nz

Casual assumptions can cost money.

We're all guilty of them.

Many we get away with, some we pay through the nose for.

Plenty of people, for example, assumed back in 2006 that we lived in a country and world governed by professionalism, common sense and the rule of law.

Then our finance companies started falling over and the Global Financial Crisis followed.

Our collective eyes were opened, and the wealth of many was dramatically decreased.

But don't let's lose perspective.

The bulk of the money transfer from our pockets into those of the money men generally doesn't come in the big collapses and mis-selling scandals that seem to frequently erupt in the finance industry.

No, most of it happens because we, the little people, pay too much interest on debt, whether it be to buy a house, a car, a stereo, or most depressingly to pay for essentials like food and power.

And I reckon there are a bunch of assumptions that lead too many of us to pay over the odds.

The first is around sourcing loans.

A week ago the top man at high street personal loan finance company company, Instant Finance, told me it had lost customers to big Australian-owned banks, and that the banks were happy to lend more than his business would. I was gobsmacked at that news. I'd also thought there was a huge difference between the type of customer Instant would attract and those the banks would lend to.

After all, the average weighted interest rate on Instant Finance loans at the end of March last year was 29.79 per cent. Those borrowers Instant Finance lost to the banks were going to get their debt for a lot cheaper than that. They had not casually assumed the bank wouldn't be interested in their business, and they'd got their deals.

Another lazy debt assumptions I see at work out there is around car finance.

One man I spoke to a couple of week's back had gone to a second tier lender instead of the bank at which he had his mortgage because he felt the bank would not approve of him buying a new car.

The assumption bank staff would be making moral judgements of him, he admitted, had cost him a lot of money because he was now fairly certain the bank would have lent to him. There was a big difference in the lending rate.

I reckon the bank staff wouldn't have judged him on moral grounds, only on how much money they could make out of him.

There are five other debt assumptions no-one should accept:

1. The minimum repayment levels on credit cards are sensible.

2. Rises in your credit card limits offered by the bank are a reward to a good customer.

3. Paying back a mortgage over 35 years is okay.

4. Interest rates advertised in the bank windows are the rates everybody pays.

5. You deserve a holiday, and paying for it with a personal loan is okay.

The truth, again in rapid order:

1. The longer you pay, the more you pay. Pay off that $2000 at $40 a month (minimum repayment 2 per cent), and you'll be going grey by the time the debt's gone.

2. The only person who should be seeking to lift your limit, is you.

3. Debt is risk. The longer you carry it, the more you pay for the privilege.

4. The clever and the bold never pay the advertised mortgage rate. If the bank wants to keep your business, make them show it.

5. You can't help buying a house on credit. It can hard to buy a car without debt. It's downright daft to holiday on debt.

GOLDEN RULES

Assume nothing, question everything.

Take out debt only for the important stuff

There's no shame in bargaining hard

Rob Stock is a journalist with the Fairfax Business Bureau and money editor of Sunday Star-Times. Contact him at rob.stock@fairfaxmedia.co.nz

- ? Fairfax NZ News

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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8640931/Assumptions-can-cost-money

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Unprovoked Attack On Syria: US-backed Israel Commits Egregious ...

The US feigns disassociation with Hitlerian act of Israeli aggression ? as was planned since 2007.

Tony Cartalucci
Activist Post
Image: The West has carefully cultivated Israel into ?regional bully.? Immune from international condemnation, it is now being used to commit egregious war crimes against neighboring Syria, in hopes of provoking a retaliation and giving the US and its regional axis the justification it has long sought to militarily intervene.

Unprovoked, Israel has attacked Syria numerous times over the past 2 days, including attacks on the Syrian capital of Damascus, in what appears to be a series of intentional provocations designed to drag the region into a wider conflict its US sponsors can then enter militarily. Neither attacked directly by Syria, nor able to cite credible evidence in regards to perceived threats Israel claims to be reacting to, the assault on Syria represents a Chapter VII breach of the United Nations Charter.

What?s more, is that while the US feigns disassociation with Israel?s breach of international peace, after jointly fueling a genocidal sectarian conflict within Syria?s borders for the past two years, it is documented fact that the US and Saudi Arabia planned to use Israel to conduct military attacks against Iran and Syria, they themselves could not justify politically, legally, or strategically.

What is now hoped is that Syria and Iran retaliate militarily, allowing the ?other shoe to drop,? and for the US, UK, France, and their regional axis to directly intervene in Syria, and with any luck, Iran.

Insidious Ploy Engineered and Documented in 2007-2009

As early as 2007, it was reported that a US-Saudi-Israeli conspiracy to overthrow the governments of Iran and Syria by arming sectarian terrorists, many linked directly to Al Qaeda, was already set in motion. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh in his 2007 New Yorker article, ?The Redirection,? stated (emphasis added):

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has cooperated with Saudi Arabia?s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

Of Israel and Saudi Arabia?s partnership it specifically stated:

The policy shift has brought Saudi Arabia and Israel into a new strategic embrace, largely because both countries see Iran as an existential threat. They have been involved in direct talks, and the Saudis, who believe that greater stability in Israel and Palestine will give Iran less leverage in the region, have become more involved in Arab-Israeli negotiations.

Additionally, Saudi Arabian officials mentioned the careful balancing act their nation must play in order to conceal its role in supporting US-Israeli ambitions across the region. It was stated even then, that using Israel to publicly carry out attacks on Iran would be preferable to the US, which would ultimately implicate the Saudis. It was stated:

?The Saudi said that, in his country?s view, it was taking a political risk by joining the U.S. in challenging Iran: Bandar is already seen in the Arab world as being too close to the Bush Administration. ?We have two nightmares,? the former diplomat told me. ?For Iran to acquire the bomb and for the United States to attack Iran. I?d rather the Israelis bomb the Iranians, so we can blame them. If America does it, we will be blamed.??

This ploy was further developed in 2009 by the Fortune 500-funded (page 19) Brookings Institution in their document, ?Which Path to Persia?? In regards to Iran, and now clearly being utilized against Syria, the gambit was described as follows (emphasis added):

?it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.) ?-?page 84-85, Which Path to Perisa?, Brookings Institution.

And:

Israel appears to have done extensive planning and practice for such a strike already, and its aircraft are probably already based as close to Iran as possible. as such, Israel might be able to launch the strike in a matter of weeks or even days, depending on what weather and intelligence conditions it felt it needed.? Moreover, since Israel would have much less of a need (or even interest)? in securing regional support for the operation, Jerusalem probably would feel less motivated to wait for an Iranian provocation before attacking. In short, Israel could move very fast to implement this option if both Israeli and American leaders wanted it to happen.

However, as noted in the previous chapter, the airstrikes themselves are really just the start of this policy. Again, the Iranians would doubtless rebuild their nuclear sites. They would probably retaliate against Israel, and they might retaliate against the United States, too (which might create a pretext for American airstrikes or even an invasion).?-?page 91, Which Path to Perisa?, Brookings Institution.

And Israel not waiting for a plausible justification to attack Syria is exactly what has just happened. It should also be noted in particular, the last paragraph which gives insight into what the US-led axis plans to do after this egregious international crime ? that is ? to incrementally engulf the region into a conflict it finally can justify its own entry into open military aggression.

What Should Syria and its Allies Do??

Syria, Iran, Russia and other nations that support the besieged nation most certainly were aware of the Brookings document ?Which Path to Persia?? and familiar with this strategy. It would be hoped that anything of value that the Israelis would seek to attack in order to provoke a much desired retaliation and subsequent war, would have been provided additional protection, or moved entirely out of range of potential Israeli attacks.

A media campaign to illustrate the hypocritical and very revealing convergence between Al Qaeda (the so-called Free Syrian Army or FSA) and Israeli interests would undermine whatever remaining support the battered and failing Western-backed terror campaign inside Syria may still have.

Additionally, Israel?s selection by the US to carry out this attack was done specifically because Israel has long-ago exhausted its international legitimacy. What it is doing in Syria is a blatant international crime, in direct violation of international law. Currently, Syria and its allies hold the moral high ground against an enemy who is no longer fooling the world. If it is calculated that Syria can survive Israel?s unprovoked brutality, it would be best to do little or nothing, and incur internationally the same outrage that accompanies Israel?s brutality against the Palestinians.

MORE HERE>>

Source: http://www.zengardner.com/unprovoked-attack-on-syria-us-backed-israel-commits-egregious-international-crime/

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Ted Cruz: Rubio 'in good faith' on immigration reform (Washington Post)

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Portable device provides rapid, accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis, other bacterial infections

May 5, 2013 ? A handheld diagnostic device that Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators first developed to diagnose cancer has been adapted to rapidly diagnose tuberculosis (TB) and other important infectious bacteria. Two papers appearing in the journals Nature Communications and Nature Nanotechnology describe portable devices that combine microfluidic technology with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to not only diagnose these important infections but also determine the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.

"Rapidly identifying the pathogen responsible for an infection and testing for the presence of resistance are critical not only for diagnosis but also for deciding which antibiotics to give a patient," says Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Center for Systems Biology (CSB) and co-senior author of both papers. "These described methods allow us to do this in two to three hours, a vast improvement over standard culturing practice, which can take as much as two weeks to provide a diagnosis."

Investigators at the MGH CSB previously developed portable devices capable of detecting cancer biomarkers in the blood or in very small tissue samples. Target cells or molecules are first labeled with magnetic nanoparticles, and the sample is then passed through a micro NMR system capable of detecting and quantifying levels of the target. But initial efforts to adapt the system to bacterial diagnosis had trouble finding antibodies -- the detection method used in the earlier studies -- that would accurately detect the specific bacteria. Instead the team switched to targeting specific nucleic acid sequences.

The system described in the Nature Communications paper, published on April 23, detects DNA from the tuberculosis bacteria in small sputum samples. After DNA is extracted from the sample, any of the target sequence that is present is amplified using a standard procedure, then captured by polymer beads containing complementary nucleic acid sequences and labeled with magnetic nanoparticles with sequences that bind to other portions of the target DNA. The miniature NMR coil incorporated into the device -- which is about the size of a standard laboratory slide -- detects any TB bacterial DNA present in the sample.

Tests of the device on samples from patients known to have TB and from healthy controls identified all positive samples with no false positives in less than three hours. Existing diagnostic procedures can take weeks to provide results and can miss up to 40 percent of infected patients. Results were even stronger for patients infected with both TB and HIV -- probably because infection with both pathogens leads to high levels of the TB bacteria -- and specialized nucleic acid probes developed by the research team were able to distinguish treatment-resistant bacterial strains.

The Nature Nanotechnology paper, being issued online today, describes a similar system using ribosomal RNA (rRNA) -- already in use as a bacterial biomarker -- as a target for nanoparticle labeling. The investigators developed both a universal nucleic acid probe that detects an rRNA region common to many bacterial species and a set of probes that target sequences specific to 13 clinically important pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The device was sensitive enough to detect as few as one or two bacteria in a 10 ml blood sample and to accurately estimate bacterial load. Testing the system on blood samples from patients with known infections accurately identified the particular bacterial species in less than two hours and also detected two species that had not been identified with standard culture techniques.

While both systems require further development to incorporate all steps into sealed, stand-alone devices, reducing the risk of contamination, Weissleder notes that the small size and ease of use of these devices make them ideal for use in developing countries. "The magnetic interactions that pathogen detection is based on are very reliable, regardless of the quality of the sample, meaning that extensive purification -- which would be difficult in resource-limited setting -- is not necessary. The ability to diagnose TB in a matter of hours could allow testing and treatment decisions within the same clinic visit, which can be crucial to controlling the spread of TB in developing countries."

Hakho Lee, PhD, of the MGH Center for Systems Biology. co-senior author of both papers, notes that the system will also have important applications in developed countries. "The capacity of the system not only to identify bacterial species but also to differentiate factors such as antibiotic resistance will help clinicians treat patients with the 'right' drugs from the start, which also helps reduce the emergence of treatment-resistant strains. The fact that this device requires only a tiny drop of the sample to be tested will be helpful in instances when specimens can be hard to obtain, such as treating children or seniors."

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/~3/0QSQ9pXVxkc/130505150042.htm

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Scientists build a living patch for damaged hearts

May 6, 2013 ? Duke University biomedical engineers have grown three-dimensional human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue. This advancement could be important in treating heart attack patients or in serving as a platform for testing new heart disease medicines.

The "heart patch" grown in the laboratory from human cells overcomes two major obstacles facing cell-based therapies -- the patch conducts electricity at about the same speed as natural heart cells and it "squeezes" appropriately. Earlier attempts to create functional heart patches have largely been unable to overcome those obstacles.

The source cells used by the Duke researchers were human embryonic stem cells. These cells are pluripotent, which means that when given the right chemical and physical signals, they can be coaxed by scientists to become any kind of cell -- in this case heart muscle cells, known as cardiomyocytes.

"The structural and functional properties of these 3-D tissue patches surpass all previous reports for engineered human heart muscle," said Nenad Bursac, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "This is the closest man-made approximation of native human heart tissue to date."

The results of Bursac's research, which is supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, were published on-line in the journal Biomaterials.

Bursac said this approach does not involve genetic manipulation of cells.

"In past studies, human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes were not able to both rapidly conduct electrical activity and strongly contract as well as normal cardiomyocytes," Bursac said. "Through optimization of a three-dimensional environment for cell growth, we were able to 'push' cardiomyocytes to reach unprecedented levels of electrical and mechanical maturation."

The rate of functional maturation is an important element for the patch to become practical. In a developing human embryo, it takes about nine months for a neonatal functioning heart to develop and an additional few years to reach adult levels of function; however, advancing the functional properties of these bioengineered patches took a little more than a month, Bursac said. As technology advances, he said, the time should shorten.

"Currently, it would take us about five to six weeks starting from pluripotent stem cells to grow a highly functional heart patch," Bursac said.

"When someone has a heart attack, a portion of the heart muscle dies," Bursac said. "Our goal would be to implant a patch of new and functional heart tissue at the site of the injury as rapidly after heart attack as possible. Using a patient's own cells to generate pluripotent stem cells would add further advantage in that there would likely be no immune system reaction, since the cells in the patch would be recognized by the body as self."

In addition to a possible therapy for patients with heart disease, Bursac said that engineered heart tissues could also be used to effectively screen new drugs or therapies.

"Tests or trials of new drugs can be expensive and time-consuming," Bursac said. "Instead of, or along with testing drugs on animals, the ability to test on actual, functioning human tissue may be more predictive of the drugs' effects and help determine which drugs should go on to further studies."

Some drug tests are conducted on two-dimensional sheets of heart cells, but according to Bursac, the 3-D culture model provides a superior environment for functional maturation of cells. This is expected to better mimic real-world heart muscle responses to different drugs or toxins. Engineered heart tissues made with cells from patients with a cardiac genetic disease could be used as the model to study that disease and explore potential therapies.

The current experiments were conducted on one human pluripotent stem cell line. Bursac and his colleagues have reproduced their findings on two other cell lines and are testing additional lines. They are also planning to move to larger animal models to learn how the patch would become functionally integrated with its host and how the patch establishes connections with the circulatory system.

Other members of the research team were Donghui Zhang and Ilya Shadrin from Duke, and Jason Lam, Hai-Qian Xian and Ralph Snodgrass, from VistaGen Therapeutics, San Francisco, who provided cardiomyocytes for these studies. Bursac's team and VistaGen are collaborating to develop engineered cardiac tissues for more predictive drug screening and development.

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/most_popular/~3/wY8_b4kJi6s/130506132405.htm

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Attack on northeast Nigeria church, market kills 10

KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 10 people in an attack on a market and a church in northeast Nigeria before fleeing over the border to Cameroon, police said on Monday.

The attack took place on Sunday in the farming village of Njilang, Adamawa state, near the border, an area that has become a haven for Islamist sect Boko Haram.

"The gunmen opened fire in the village market, killing six persons, then proceeded to the church and opened fire there too, killing four more," Adamawa state police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim said by telephone.

Nine others were being treated in hospital for wounds.

Ibrahim did not know who the culprits were. Although much of northeast Nigeria is plagued by Islamist militants, criminal gangs and ethnic militias also operate there.

The Boko Haram sect and offshoots such as the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru, as well as criminal networks, are seen as the main threat to stability in Nigeria, Africa's biggest energy producer. Its favorite targets have been churches, security forces and moderate Islamic clerics.

Violence in the north, particularly along the area where it borders Cameroon, Niger and Chad, shows no sign of letting up.

President Goodluck Jonathan has set up a committee to work out the terms of an amnesty for the rebels but their leader, Abubakar Shekau, has shown no interest in it so far.

(Reporting by Isaac Abrak; Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mshelizza and Lanre Ola in Maiduguri; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attack-northeast-nigeria-church-market-kills-10-094059984.html

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Nintendo reportedly offering Wii U game conversion software to smartphone app devs

While we knew Nintendo was happy to hook up its newest consoles with smartphones, we thought that would only extend to social networking and shopping. Nope, it looks like the company is planning to go a step further, with a report from Japan Times suggesting that the games maker is offering high-level conversion software to app developers "so they can produce smartphone games that can be played on Wii U." A weak existing games library has been blamed for Nintendo's recent financial woes and the company is hoping the addition of some popular titles will offer enough of a reason to invest in a dedicated device. We just hope it's able to glean some fresh gaming gems -- the first Angry Birds title launched in 2009.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: ZDNet

Source: Japan Times

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ibb7HkVqL3U/

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Preterm infants may need 800 IU of vitamin D3 per day

Public release date: 5-May-2013
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Contact: Debbie Jacobson
djacobson@aap.org
847-434-7084
American Academy of Pediatrics

Largest study to date of preemies shows 800 IU more effective than 400 IU in decreasing vitamin D insufficiency

WASHINGTON, DC Preterm infants may need to be given 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day to ensure they develop strong bones, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

Preemies are known to be at risk for vitamin D insufficiency. If levels of vitamin D are too low, infants and children can get rickets, which leads to softening and weakening of the bones.

Recommendations from medical organizations on how much vitamin D should be given to preemies range from 400 IU to 1000 IU per day. This lack of consensus prompted researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, to conduct the largest study to date on vitamin D supplementation in preterm infants.

Subjects included 96 infants born between 28 and 34 weeks' gestation who were receiving milk feeding. Blood samples were taken from the infants to determine their serum vitamin D levels. The infants then were randomly assigned to receive either 800 IU or 400 IU of oral vitamin D3. Neither the parents nor the primary investigator was aware of which dose the infants were receiving.

Researchers compared whether the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) at 40 weeks and at 3 months corrected age differed between the groups. They also looked at whether infants with higher vitamin D levels also had stronger bones at 3 months corrected age and whether supplementation led to vitamin D levels that were too high.

Results showed that VDI was common in both groups before they received supplements (79 percent of the 800 IU group and 83 percent of the 400 IU group).

After supplementation, the prevalence of VDI at 40 weeks was 43 percent lower in the 800 IU group than the 400 IU group (38 percent vs. 67 percent). In addition, VDI was significantly lower in the 800 IU group when the infants were 3 months old (12 percent vs. 35 percent).

Four infants needed to be supplemented with 800 IU daily to reduce one case of vitamin D insufficiency, said lead author Chandra Kumar Natarajan, DM.

"The study results show conclusively that in preterm infants with high rates of vitamin D insufficiency at baseline, supplementation with 800 IU of vitamin D3 per day compared to 400 IU per day reduces vitamin D insufficiency at term equivalent age and at 3 months," Dr. Natarajan said. "There also is a trend toward a decrease in the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency even in the 400 IU group at 3 months. Therefore, 400 IU per day may be sufficient after 3 months."

Despite significant improvement in serum vitamin D levels in the 800 IU group, higher levels did not result in better bone mineralization at 3 months of age as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). In addition, weight, length and head circumference did not differ significantly between the groups.

Dr. Natarajan also noted that one infant in the 800 IU group had vitamin D levels that were higher than recommended levels at 3 months of age despite the levels at term age being normal. Excess vitamin D for at least one month can cause decreased muscle tone, decreased appetite, irritability and constipation, among other problems. The infant did not experience any major effects.

"The incidence of vitamin D excess in the 800 IU group may indicate the need for monitoring vitamin D levels in infants on vitamin D supplementation, but we need larger studies to answer this," he said. "Similarly, larger studies with longer duration of follow-up may be needed to find out any meaningful difference in clinical outcomes such as bone mineralization."

###

To view the abstract, "Daily Vitamin D Supplementation with 800 IU vs. 400 IU in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Trial," go to http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS13L1_2183.8.

The Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) are four individual pediatric organizations that co-sponsor the PAS Annual Meeting the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Academic Pediatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Members of these organizations are pediatricians and other health care providers who are practicing in the research, academic and clinical arenas. The four sponsoring organizations are leaders in the advancement of pediatric research and child advocacy within pediatrics, and all share a common mission of fostering the health and well-being of children worldwide.For more information, visit http://www.pas-meeting.org. Follow news of the PAS meeting on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PedAcadSoc.

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Public release date: 5-May-2013
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djacobson@aap.org
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American Academy of Pediatrics

Largest study to date of preemies shows 800 IU more effective than 400 IU in decreasing vitamin D insufficiency

WASHINGTON, DC Preterm infants may need to be given 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day to ensure they develop strong bones, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

Preemies are known to be at risk for vitamin D insufficiency. If levels of vitamin D are too low, infants and children can get rickets, which leads to softening and weakening of the bones.

Recommendations from medical organizations on how much vitamin D should be given to preemies range from 400 IU to 1000 IU per day. This lack of consensus prompted researchers from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, to conduct the largest study to date on vitamin D supplementation in preterm infants.

Subjects included 96 infants born between 28 and 34 weeks' gestation who were receiving milk feeding. Blood samples were taken from the infants to determine their serum vitamin D levels. The infants then were randomly assigned to receive either 800 IU or 400 IU of oral vitamin D3. Neither the parents nor the primary investigator was aware of which dose the infants were receiving.

Researchers compared whether the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) at 40 weeks and at 3 months corrected age differed between the groups. They also looked at whether infants with higher vitamin D levels also had stronger bones at 3 months corrected age and whether supplementation led to vitamin D levels that were too high.

Results showed that VDI was common in both groups before they received supplements (79 percent of the 800 IU group and 83 percent of the 400 IU group).

After supplementation, the prevalence of VDI at 40 weeks was 43 percent lower in the 800 IU group than the 400 IU group (38 percent vs. 67 percent). In addition, VDI was significantly lower in the 800 IU group when the infants were 3 months old (12 percent vs. 35 percent).

Four infants needed to be supplemented with 800 IU daily to reduce one case of vitamin D insufficiency, said lead author Chandra Kumar Natarajan, DM.

"The study results show conclusively that in preterm infants with high rates of vitamin D insufficiency at baseline, supplementation with 800 IU of vitamin D3 per day compared to 400 IU per day reduces vitamin D insufficiency at term equivalent age and at 3 months," Dr. Natarajan said. "There also is a trend toward a decrease in the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency even in the 400 IU group at 3 months. Therefore, 400 IU per day may be sufficient after 3 months."

Despite significant improvement in serum vitamin D levels in the 800 IU group, higher levels did not result in better bone mineralization at 3 months of age as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). In addition, weight, length and head circumference did not differ significantly between the groups.

Dr. Natarajan also noted that one infant in the 800 IU group had vitamin D levels that were higher than recommended levels at 3 months of age despite the levels at term age being normal. Excess vitamin D for at least one month can cause decreased muscle tone, decreased appetite, irritability and constipation, among other problems. The infant did not experience any major effects.

"The incidence of vitamin D excess in the 800 IU group may indicate the need for monitoring vitamin D levels in infants on vitamin D supplementation, but we need larger studies to answer this," he said. "Similarly, larger studies with longer duration of follow-up may be needed to find out any meaningful difference in clinical outcomes such as bone mineralization."

###

To view the abstract, "Daily Vitamin D Supplementation with 800 IU vs. 400 IU in Preterm Infants: A Randomized Trial," go to http://www.abstracts2view.com/pas/view.php?nu=PAS13L1_2183.8.

The Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) are four individual pediatric organizations that co-sponsor the PAS Annual Meeting the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Academic Pediatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Members of these organizations are pediatricians and other health care providers who are practicing in the research, academic and clinical arenas. The four sponsoring organizations are leaders in the advancement of pediatric research and child advocacy within pediatrics, and all share a common mission of fostering the health and well-being of children worldwide.For more information, visit http://www.pas-meeting.org. Follow news of the PAS meeting on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PedAcadSoc.

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/aaop-pim042613.php

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Israel Syria strike targeted Iran missiles to Hezbollah: source

May 3 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich have left Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger out of their squad for Saturday's Bundesliga match at Borussia Dortmund, a dress rehearsal for this month's Champions League final. Coach Jupp Heynckes, expected to make other changes for the awkwardly-timed match, said the quartet have minor injuries following Tuesday's 3-0 win at Barcelona in their Champions League semi-final second leg. Bayern have wrapped up the Bundesliga and second-placed Dortmund are guaranteed a place in next season's Champions League group stage. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-syria-strike-targeted-iran-missiles-hezbolla-source-044002434.html

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P. V. Sindhu outplays Hera Desi to surge into Women's Singles semi ...

P. V. Sindhu outplays Hera Desi to surge into Women?s Singles semi-final at Malaysia Grand Prix Gold

India?s emerging player P. V. Sindhu showed a great character in the arena and reached into Women?s Singles semi-final after showing exit to Indonesia?s Hera Desi in quarter-final contest of Yonex Sunrise Malaysia Grand Prix Gold 2013 on Thursday, May 2, in Malaysia.

The lanky Sindhu, who is the top seed in Women?s Singles main draw of this GP Gold tournament, had to employ all of her skills against the seventh seeded Hera and remained successful in winning the contest in 36 minutes.

Indian shuttler played to her maximum potential throughout the battle. She did not let her Indonesian rival to dominate the pace of rallies and managed to end up the match in straight games with a decent total of 21-17 and 21-17.

On the other hand, the lower ranked Hera put up strong show in the opening rallies of both games but she lost her control at the ending points. She could not cope up with the positive and aggressive play of her rival at the concluding points of both games and lost the match with a respectable total.

Both shuttlers started their run in this quarter-final contest in a staggering manner as they played with great speed and precision and remained close at the opening stage.

The highly elevated skills and wonderful game plan helped Sindhu to control the affairs of the game and she found a good flow until the one-minute break in opening game.

After the interval, Sindhu started to play better badminton as she started to dominate the pace of rallies and started to build lead.

Indian lady did not lose her focus at the concluding points of the opening set and she easily wrapped it with a decent 21-17 margin on the board.

Hera played good badminton in the second game but she could not build a considerable lead as her lanky challenger was also in good form. Both ladies were close on the score board until the one-minute break.

However, it was the higher ranked Indian shuttler who played positive badminton after the break and remained successful in finishing up the set with a reasonable margin of 21-17.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/P-V-Sindhu-outplays-Hera-Desi-to-surge-into-Womens-Singles-semi-final-at-Malaysia-Grand-Prix-Gold-a215068

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Copyright ? 2013 Salon Media Group, Inc. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.

SALON ? is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

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Survey: US service firms grew more slowly in April

In this Sunday April 8, 2013, photo, Mary Ma, a bartender at Revel, Atlantic City N.J.'s newest casino, pours a drink at one of the casino's bar. The Institute for Supply Management issues its U.S. non-manufacturing (service-sector) index for April on Friday, May 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

In this Sunday April 8, 2013, photo, Mary Ma, a bartender at Revel, Atlantic City N.J.'s newest casino, pours a drink at one of the casino's bar. The Institute for Supply Management issues its U.S. non-manufacturing (service-sector) index for April on Friday, May 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A survey of U.S. service firms says the sector expanded at a slower pace in April than March, as companies reported less business activity and couldn't raise their prices.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 53.1 in April from 54.4 in March. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The report measures growth in industries that cover 90 percent of the work force, including retail, construction, health care and financial services.

The decline in the overall index suggests some service companies may be starting to see less consumer demand, in part because of higher Social Security taxes.

April's weakness was largely because of a steep drop in a measure of prices. That index dropped from 55.9 in March to 51.2 last month. Nearly 70 percent of firms surveyed said they did not change their prices last month, while 10 percent lowered them.

A measure of business activity also declined. Still, a gauge of new orders was mostly unchanged and businesses stepped up restocking, typically a sign that they expect consumer spending to pick up.

Growth in the service industry depends largely on consumers, whose spending drives roughly 70 percent of economic activity. Americans boosted their spending from January through March at the fastest pace in more than two years, despite the increase in Social Security taxes that kicked in on Jan. 1.

But other indicators suggest the tax increase is starting to catch up with consumers. Retail spending fell in March by the most in nine months.

The survey's index of hiring also fell, indicating fewer jobs were added last month. But the survey conflicted with a separate government report Friday that said service-sector hiring improved in April.

The Labor Department said service firms added 185,000 jobs last month, up from 139,000 in March. That helped lower the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.5 percent.

The tax increase has lowered incomes for a typical household earning $50,000 by about $1,000 this year. A household with two highly paid workers has up to $4,500 less.

Most economists predict the tax increase and steep government spending cuts that began on March 1 could slow economic growth in the April-June quarter.

Consumers are more optimistic that the job market is healing and will deliver higher pay later this year, according to a survey of April consumer confidence released Tuesday.

And other trends may offset some of the impact of the taxes this year. Consumers have cut their debts. Rising home values and stock prices have increased household wealth And average gas prices nationwide have dropped 27 cents from their peak this year to $3.52 a gallon, according to AAA.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-03-Economy-Services/id-62bd2e2c57ff4896b5b511d4564f8f8b

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Jessica Chastain Considers Going Interstellar

Christopher Nolan's sci-fi movie Interstellar is in the process of bringing on Jessica Chastain, Deadline has learned. Her role is not revealed, but she will join a cast that currently includes Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.

[Update: Michael Caine has joined the cast in an unknown role as well.]

Not much is known about the movie other than it may center on a group of explorers going through a wormhole and ending up in alternate dimensions or the far reaches of the universe. Nolan has done some work on his brother's screenplay, so the story may have changed since then.

Between 2011 and 2012, Chastain has appeared in a total of 9 movies, including voicing a character in DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, so she's regarded as the Samuel L. Jackson of actresses during that time period. She has three movies scheduled for 2013, but two of those are different cuts of the same movie, so she may be slowing down a bit.

Interstellar was originally a Steven Spielberg movie, but Nolan jumped at the chance after Spielberg cleared his plate to focus on Robopocalypse.

The movie is a co-production between Paramount and Warner Bros., and it is scheduled to out in theaters on November 7, 2014.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927392/news/1927392/

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Stock futures take off on jobs report

In this Thursday, May 2, 2013, photo, traders gather at a post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stock markets edged higher on Friday May 3, 2013 ahead of the release of the U.S. government's monthly unemployment report, a key measure of the health of the world's largest economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Thursday, May 2, 2013, photo, traders gather at a post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stock markets edged higher on Friday May 3, 2013 ahead of the release of the U.S. government's monthly unemployment report, a key measure of the health of the world's largest economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Sunday April 8, 2013, photo, Mary Ma, a bartender at Revel, Atlantic City N.J.'s newest casino, pours a drink at one of the casino's bar. The Institute for Supply Management issues its U.S. non-manufacturing (service-sector) index for April on Friday, May 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stock futures rose Friday after the April jobs report showed unemployment hitting a four-year low.

After a dismal report in March, the Labor Department said that employers added 165,000 jobs added in April, and upwardly revised figures for the previous two months eased fears that the economic recovery had stalled.

Dow Jones industrial futures rose 113 points to 14,873. S&P futures added 10.2 points to 1,602.50. Nasdaq futures rose 21.50 points to 2,923.50.

Trading before the report had been very light, with markets placing so much weight on the Labor Department report.

There was an average of 208,000 jobs created each month from November through April. That tops the 138,000 jobs added in the previous six months.

Also out Friday are the Institute for Supply Management's index on service companies and the Commerce report on factory orders.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-03-Wall%20Street-Premarket/id-404e90844eaa4777896c74afb0be7dc3

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South Carolina center stage in early 2016 talk

FILE - In this April 20, 2013 file photo, Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Detroit. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File)

FILE - In this April 20, 2013 file photo, Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Detroit. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File)

FILE - In this March 16, 2013 file photo, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks in National Harbor, Md. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo, South Carolina Democratic Congressional candidate Elizabeth Colbert Busch speaks in Charleston, S.C. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

FILE - This April 30, 2013 file photo shows former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford speaking in Charleston, S.C. Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary _ still three years away. Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz arrive to whip up their parties' faithful before Tuesday's special congressional election featuring the high-profile former governor. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Mere months after the 2012 election, South Carolina is a buzz of political activity with a slate of potential presidential candidates already looking ahead to the state's "first in the South" primary ? still three years away.

Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a tea party favorite with national aspirations, were simply the latest politicians to do the presidential campaign tease with the state, descending on it Friday to whip up the partisan faithful ahead of next week's special congressional election. It features former GOP Gov. Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert.

In this conservative state that reliably votes Republican in national and statewide general elections, partisans already are getting a hefty amount of attention. Typically, South Carolina finds itself at the center of American politics for a brief time every four years during the presidential primary season, when it usually is the third state to weigh in on who should become the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees.

South Carolina's primaries have played an important role in the nominating process for both parties; the state gave Barack Obama a commanding victory in 2008 and until last year, every Republican nominee had won the state's primary since Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Years ahead of the 2016 contests, Republican and Democratic hopefuls alike already are starting to survey the landscape, court support and weigh in on local matters, with wide-open fields shaping up in both parties.

"The activists in this state are unhappy about the results of the presidential election," said Jay W. Ragley, a former executive director of the state Republican Party. "They're looking for someone who has a message which national Republicans can rally behind."

With Obama barred from seeking a third term, Democrats here also may be starting to seek their own consensus candidate.

This week, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a potential 2016 candidate, endorsed Sanford, and the party announced that Paul would hold fundraisers for Republicans in the state on June 28. Last month, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, talked up his record ? and heaped criticism on South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley ? during a Democratic event in Charleston, while former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, said to be eyeing another run after losing the GOP nomination last year, campaigned for Curtis Bostic, who lost to Sanford in a Republican run-off for the open congressional seat.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential 2016 candidate, was here months ahead of the pack, headlining the state's Silver Elephant dinner last year.

Absent thus far, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has longstanding ties to South Carolina going back to the time of her husband's presidency. The former first lady and New York senator has said she has not made any decisions about her future, but many Democrats are eager for her to step forward and campaigns urging her to run are underway.

In a sign of the hunger for Clinton, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi gushed over Clinton's experience during an event Thursday at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., telling an audience, "I pray that Hillary Clinton decides to run for president."

Biden and Cruz were in the spotlight Friday evening ? speaking at party events about two miles from each other.

The vice president was headlining the state party's Jefferson-Jackson dinner and then dropping by an annual fish fry held by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. Biden, who twice unsuccessfully ran for president, hasn't ruled out running a third time in 2016. But Biden's decision about whether to run seems unavoidably overshadowed by Clinton, who many Democrats say would eclipse the vice president should she choose to run.

While careful not to upstage the president with flagrant displays of ambition, Biden has kept at least a toe planted firmly in the political world since the start of his and Obama's second term.

He schmoozed with prominent Democrats from Iowa and New Hampshire ? the first two states to hold presidential primary contests last year ? during the inaugural weekend. He's making calls for the House Democrats' campaign arm, working to recruit candidates to help his party win the House next year. And last month, he traveled to Michigan to give the keynote at a state party dinner.

Biden became the figurehead for Obama's push on gun control, appearing countless times with gun violence victims and advocates to urge his former colleagues in the Senate to act. It was unsuccessful. Yet, Biden says he's not giving up the fight; he met with law enforcement officials about the issue Thursday. The same day, while in Mexico, Obama announced that Biden would play an active role in a new partnership with Mexico to strengthen the two countries' economic ties.

Cruz, meanwhile, was speaking at the GOP's Silver Elephant dinner, where Republicans were honoring former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

The Texan is new to national politics, having been in Washington just a few months after becoming the lone tea party candidate to win a Senate seat last year.

In just a few weeks on the job, the insurgent Republican ran afoul of GOP mainstays, prompted Democrats to compare his style to McCarthyism and voted against nearly everything of significance that came before him. Through it all, he made clear he intends to be a conservative standard-bearer.

All that endeared him to a segment of the party and sparked talk of presidential ambitions.

On Wednesday amid presidential buzz, Cruz issued a statement on his Facebook page: "In my short tenure, my focus has been ? and will remain ? on two things: fighting for conservative principles in the Senate and working to help elect strong conservatives to win a majority in the Senate in 2014." He added: "It is a continued source of amazement that the simple fact that I am working hard with like-minded senators to keep my promise is seen as newsworthy and cause for wild speculation."

His appearance here was only fueling the talk, though he was unlikely to address the issue head-on. Rather, he planned to use his speech to pay tribute to DeMint, an early supporter and mentor who recently stepped down to become president of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

___

Lederman reported from Washington.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-03-South%20Carolina-2016/id-68981b2ad1dc4f53a4118c6c4220a46e

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PFT: Reed reportedly had hip surgery last week

Getty Images

The Jaguars have stood pat at quarterback in the offseason, good news for third-year pro Blaine Gabbert, who thus gets another chance to show he can be the club?s long-term answer at the position.

Whether Gabbert can seize the opportunity remains to be seen. But this is much is clear ? the Jaguars believe improving the pass protection even just a little bit could help Gabbert, and they have data that suggests as much.

In a story published Friday, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell told NFL.com?s Albert Breer that data provided by senior vice president of football technology and analytics?Tony Khan in the pre-draft process helped show how Gabbert?s performance related to the time he had to throw. Khan?s data, Breer reported, showed that?Gabbert ranked among the ?top-third? of the NFL at his position when he had 2.6 seconds before throwing.

In two NFL seasons, Gabbert has been sacked 62 times in 25 games (24 starts), and though he?s thrown more TDs than interceptions (21-17), he?s completed just 53.8 percent of his throws, and his play has come under criticism.

The statistics provided by Khan, Caldwell told NFL.com, did help the Jaguars decide to take an offensive tackle second overall.?According to Caldwell, the Jaguars had decided two weeks before the draft that they would be taking either Texas A&M?s Luke Joeckel or Central Michigan?s Eric Fisher with the No. 2 overall pick if Kansas City took one of the tackles first.

?What we did was fill a need where the value met the need,? Caldwell told NFL.com. ?It became clear two weeks prior, after we met with the scouting staff, the personnel staff, got their feedback, that the two highest-rated guys were the tackles. The coaches told us we needed to upgrade the line. So this was gonna be a solid pick; we felt we?d get a cornerstone, a pillar for the team.?

The Chiefs, of course, took Fisher, leaving Joeckel for the Jaguars. Joeckel is expected to ply right tackle for Jacksonville as a rookie, with veteran Eugene Monroe on the left side. Monroe, per Pro Football Focus statistics, gave up just five sacks a season ago, but Cameron Bradfield and Guy Whimper, who combined to start all 16 games at right tackle for Jacksonville in 2012, surrendered a combined 11 sacks, according to PFF.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/03/ed-reed-had-hip-surgery-last-week-expected-at-camp/related/

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Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead At 49 (VIDEOS)

Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead At 49 (VIDEOS)

Jeff Hanneman, the guitarist for heavy metal band Slayer and founding member, died two years after contracting a rare skin tissue disease. Hanneman passed away on Thursday of liver failure at a hospital in Southern California, with the sad news being confirmed by the band. Slayer announced the sad news this afternoon, saying they are ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/05/slayer-guitarist-jeff-hanneman-dead-at-49-videos/

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Troubling levels of toxic metals found in lipstick

Thursday, May 2, 2013

A new analysis of the contents of lipstick and lip gloss may cause you to pause before puckering.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in drugstores and department stores. They detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns. Their findings will be published online Thursday, May 2, in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Prior studies also have found metals in cosmetics, but the UC Berkeley researchers estimated risk by analyzing the concentration of the metals detected and consumers' potential daily intake of the metals, and then comparing this intake with existing health guidelines.

"Just finding these metals isn't the issue; it's the levels that matter," said study principal investigator S. Katharine Hammond, professor of environmental health sciences. "Some of the toxic metals are occurring at levels that could possibly have an effect in the long term."

Lipstick and lip gloss are of special concern because when they are not being blotted on tissue or left as kiss marks, they are ingested or absorbed, bit by bit, by the individual wearing them, the study authors said. The researchers developed definitions for average and high use of lip makeup based on usage data reported in a previous study. Average use was defined as a daily ingestion of 24 milligrams of lip makeup per day. Those who slather on the lip color and reapply it repeatedly could fall into the high use category of 87 milligrams ingested per day.

Using acceptable daily intakes derived from this study, average use of some lipsticks and lip glosses would result in excessive exposure to chromium, a carcinogen linked to stomach tumors. High use of these makeup products could result in potential overexposure to aluminum, cadmium and manganese as well. Over time, exposure to high concentrations of manganese has been linked to toxicity in the nervous system.

Lead was detected in 24 products, but at a concentration that was generally lower than the acceptable daily intake level. However, the lead levels still raised concerns for young children, who sometimes play with makeup, since no level of lead exposure is considered safe for them, the researchers said.

The study authors say that for most adults, there is no reason to toss the lip gloss in the trash, but the amount of metals found do signal the need for more oversight by health regulators. At present, there are no U.S. standards for metal content in cosmetics. The authors note that the European Union considers cadmium, chromium and lead to be unacceptable ingredients at any level in cosmetic products.

"I believe that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) should pay attention to this," said study lead author Sa Liu, a UC Berkeley researcher in environmental health sciences. "Our study was small, using lip products that had been identified by young Asian women in Oakland, Calif. But, the lipsticks and lip glosses in our study are common brands available in stores everywhere. Based upon our findings, a larger, more thorough survey of lip products and cosmetics in general is warranted."

###

University of California - Berkeley: http://www.berkeley.edu

Thanks to University of California - Berkeley for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128103/Troubling_levels_of_toxic_metals_found_in_lipstick

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