GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria has strewn landmines along its borders with Lebanon and Turkey, making it the only country worldwide to use the weapons this year, and is increasingly dropping cluster munitions on civilian areas, campaigners said on Thursday.
Nearly two dozen Syrians, many of them children, are known to have been killed or maimed by Soviet-made mines in border crossing areas so far this year, but the true number of casualties is probably higher, they said.
Another 10 children playing outdoors died in a government air strike that dropped cluster bombs on a rebel-held village near Damascus this week, they said.
"This year we have identified only one government that has used anti-personnel mines and that is Syria. We have information that the laying of mines has continued in Syria, with reports up to October this year that mines are being used," Mark Hiznay, editor of the Landmine Monitor 2012 report, told a briefing.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which publishes the report, documented the most recent mine explosion last month in the village of Kharbit al Jouz, near the border with Turkey. Three civilians were injured, including two who lost their legs.
"This was basically a military position that was abandoned by the Syrian military one day and overnight they had laid about 150 to 200 landmines to delay whoever was pursuing them. And eventually the villagers started finding them the hard way as they were going about their business across the paths," Hiznay said.
Syrian rebels are not known to have used landmines in the 20-month conflict aimed at toppling President Bashar al-Assad, but are setting off roadside bombs and other deadly devices, according to the Nobel prize-winning ICBL.
"We have seen instances where the insurgents are using improvised explosive devices but that all we have seen are ones that have been command-detonated, which is of a different character than an anti-personnel mine which is victim-activated," Hiznay said.
Officials from 160 countries that have joined the Mine Ban Treaty meet in Geneva next week to review progress in halting production, destroying stockpiles and clearing mines after wars.
MADE IN THE USSR
Russia has been a major ally and arms supplier to Syria but there was no indication of a recent transfer of mines to Assad's forces, said Hiznay, a senior arms researcher at Human Rights Watch, which contributed to the report with four other groups.
"The ones we have seen going into ground were produced in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, based on the markings that we have seen on the mines," he said.
Human Rights Watch has also documented the use of cluster munitions by Syrian forces, including on an olive oil factory.
"These are indiscriminate, murderous weapons, they are using them for one reason and that is to attack the civilian population," Hiznay told reporters.
Myanmar, long on its list of governments using antipersonnel mines, has been dropped this year as there has been no proven use by state forces, although armed groups have been found to being planting them there in 2012.
"The situation in Myanmar is evolving right now with the transition that's going on there. Our ability to collect almost real-time information is somewhat limited," Hiznay said.
Only four countries - India, Myanmar, Pakistan and South Korea - are known to be actively producing mines, ICBL said.
China, Russia and the United States have stayed outside the so-called Ottawa pact and reserved the right to produce mines, although the Obama administration is reviewing its position.
For years they have lived as orphans and outliers, a colony of misfit characters on their own island: the bizarre one and the needy one, the untrusting and the crooked, the grandiose and the cowardly.
Their customs and rituals are as captivating as any tribe?s, and at least as mystifying. Every mental anthropologist who has visited their world seems to walk away with a different story, a new model to explain those strange behaviors.
This weekend the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association will vote on whether to adopt a new diagnostic system for some of the most serious, and striking, syndromes in medicine: personality disorders.
Personality disorders occupy a troublesome niche in psychiatry. The 10 recognized syndromes are fairly well represented on the self-help shelves of bookstores and include such well-known types as narcissistic personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, as well as dependent and histrionic personalities.
But when full-blown, the disorders are difficult to characterize and treat, and doctors seldom do careful evaluations, missing or downplaying behavior patterns that underlie problems like depression and anxiety in millions of people.
The new proposal ? part of the psychiatric association?s effort of many years to update its influential diagnostic manual ? is intended to clarify these diagnoses and better integrate them into clinical practice, to extend and improve treatment. But the effort has run into so much opposition that it will probably be relegated to the back of the manual, if it?s allowed in at all.
Dr. David J. Kupfer, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and chairman of the task force updating the manual, would not speculate on which way the vote might go: ?All I can say is that personality disorders were one of the first things we tackled, but that doesn?t make it the easiest.?
The entire exercise has forced psychiatrists to confront one of the field?s most elementary, yet still unresolved, questions: What, exactly, is a personality problem?
Habits of Thought
It wasn?t supposed to be this difficult.
Personality problems aren?t exactly new or hidden. They play out in Greek mythology, from Narcissus to the sadistic Ares. They percolate through biblical stories of madmen, compulsives and charismatics. They are writ large across the 20th century, with its rogues? gallery of vainglorious, murderous dictators.
Yet it turns out that producing precise, lasting definitions of extreme behavior patterns is exhausting work. It took more than a decade of observing patients before the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin could draw a clear line between psychotic disorders, like schizophrenia, and mood problems, like depression or bipolar disorder.
Likewise, Freud spent years formulating his theories on the origins of neurotic syndromes. And Freudian analysts were largely the ones who, in the early decades of the last century, described people with the sort of ?confounded identities? that are now considered personality disorders.
Their problems were not periodic symptoms, like moodiness or panic attacks, but issues rooted in longstanding habits of thought and feeling ? in who they were.
?These therapists saw people coming into treatment who looked well put-together on the surface but on the couch became very disorganized, very impaired,? said Mark F. Lenzenweger, a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. ?They had problems that were neither psychotic nor neurotic. They represented something else altogether.?
Several prototypes soon began to emerge. ?A pedantic sense of order is typical of the compulsive character,? wrote the Freudian analyst Wilhelm Reich in his 1933 book, ?Character Analysis,? a groundbreaking text. ?In both big and small things, he lives his life according to a preconceived, irrevocable pattern.?
Others coalesced too, most recognizable as extreme forms of everyday types: the narcissist, with his fragile, grandiose self-approval; the dependent, with her smothering clinginess; the histrionic, always in the thick of some drama, desperate to be the center of attention.
In the late 1970s, Ted Millon, scientific director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Personology and Psychopathology, pulled together the bulk of the work on personality disorders, most of it descriptive, and turned it into a set of 10 standardized types for the American Psychiatric Association?s third diagnostic manual. Published in 1980, it is a best seller among mental health workers worldwide.
These diagnostic criteria held up well for years and led to improved treatments for some people, like those with borderline personality disorder. Borderline is characterized by an extreme neediness and urges to harm oneself, often including thoughts of suicide. Many who seek help for depression also turn out to have borderline patterns, making their mood problems resistant to the usual therapies, like antidepressant drugs.
Today there are several approaches that can relieve borderline symptoms and one that, in numerous studies, has reduced hospitalizations and helped aid recovery: dialectical behavior therapy.
This progress notwithstanding, many in the field began to argue that the diagnostic catalog needed a rewrite. For one thing, some of the categories overlapped, and troubled people often got two or more personality diagnoses. ?Personality Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified,? a catchall label meaning little more than ?this person has problems? became the most common of the diagnoses.
It?s a murky area, and in recent years many therapists didn?t have the time or training to evaluate personality on top of everything else. The assessment interviews can last hours, and treatments for most of the disorders involve longer-term, specialized talk therapy.
Psychiatry was failing the sort of patients that no other field could possibly help, many experts said.
?The diagnoses simply weren?t being used very much, and there was a real need to make the whole system much more accessible,? Dr. Lenzenweger said.
Resisting Simplification?
It was easier said than done.
The most central, memorable, and knowable element of any person ? personality ? still defies any consensus.
A team of experts appointed by the psychiatric association has worked for more than five years to find some unifying system of diagnosis for personality problems.
The panel proposed a system based in part on a failure to ?develop a coherent sense of self or identity.? Not good enough, some psychiatric theorists said.
Later, the experts tied elements of the disorders to distortions in basic traits.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: November 30, 2012
An article on Tuesday about efforts to adopt a new diagnostic system for personality disorders misstated the number of traits included in the proposed criteria for narcissistic personality disorder. The final proposal involves rating a person on two personality traits, not four.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Speaker John Boehner joined fellow Republicans in the Senate on Thursday in their battle to stop Democrats controlling that chamber from curbing filibusters, threatening to ignore bills the Senate sends him if Democrats have abused GOP senators' rights to slow consideration of legislation.
The threat by Boehner, R-Ohio, represents an unusual escalation across the Capitol building of a bitter partisan fight that has been brewing in the Senate for weeks. It also underscores a Republican effort to retain as much power as they can next year, when Democrats will control the White House and Senate and Republicans will lead only the House.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said that on the first day of the new Congress in January, he may take the unusual step of using a simple majority vote to limit filibusters.
Usually it takes a two-thirds vote to change Senate rules. A simple majority would mean Democrats could change the filibuster rules without GOP support, and the threat has infuriated Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republicans. Democrats will control the new Senate 55-45, including one Democratic-leaning independent.
Boehner said that Reid's threat "is clearly designed to marginalize Senate Republicans and their constituents while greasing the skids for controversial, partisan measures."
He added, "Any bill that reaches a Republican-led House based on Senate Democrats' heavy-handed power play would be dead on arrival."
Though the rules change would not occur until next year, Boehner suggested that it might poison the atmosphere even sooner, "at a time when cooperation on Capitol Hill is critical."
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders of both parties are currently bargaining over deficit-cutting measures that would avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of big tax increases and deep spending cuts scheduled to begin in January unless lawmakers find a way to avert them.
Minority parties in the Senate use filibusters ? parliamentary delays ? to slow or kill legislation. They can only be ended by 60 votes ? a margin neither party can achieve without some cooperation from the other side.
Democrats say Republicans are abusing filibusters by resorting to them too frequently, and statistics show minority Republicans have increasingly used the tactic in recent years. Reid's plan would forbid the use of filibusters when a bill is initially being brought to the Senate floor for debate and require filibustering senators to actually be on the Senate floor, a long-abandoned practice.
"It is a shame to see Speaker Boehner join Sen. McConnell's desperate attempt to double down in the status quo of Republican-led gridlock in Washington," said Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson.
Republicans say they have used filibusters more because Reid blocks them from presenting amendments. Reid, in turn, says Republicans use too much time pushing amendments that make political statements or that are designed to derail bills.
The battle has prompted numerous sharp exchanges on the Senate floor in recent days between Reid and McConnell.
Neither side has ruled out negotiating a solution to the dispute.
Torrent. In the context of consuming mainstream music and movies, the word reverberates with illegitimacy. The Bittorrent protocol, however, is neutral -- a disinterested technology specification. The same is true for all peer-to-peer platforms, and that essential neutrality has been a pillar argument in lawsuit defenses of P2P companies over the last decade.
(Reuters) - Canada's aerospace industry is not selling as much as it could in countries such as Russia and China because of overly zealous government enforcement of controls designed to guard against leaks of sensitive technology, an industry review released on Thursday says.
Companies in other North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, which have more "balanced" controls, are picking up the slack, the report said.
The controls are designed to protect national security and to preserve Canada's unique trade relationship with the United States, but evidence suggests the Canadian government's interpretation and application of the controls "may be unduly sweeping and rigid, even going further, in some instances, than is typical in Washington".
"The result is lost business for Canada with no material enhancement of security," said the independent, government-mandated review, which looked into the competitiveness of Canada's aerospace and space industries.
It urged Ottawa to review its rules to see whether they are unnecessarily restrictive.
The country's aerospace sector is the fifth biggest in the world, and is dominated by Montreal-based Bombardier Inc, which is the world's No. 3 civil aircraft manufacturer. Bombardier has struggled to find customers for its all-new, narrow-body C-Series jet, which is set for its first flight by the middle of 2013.
Other prominent Canadian aerospace companies include flight simulator manufacturer CAE Inc and Heroux-Devtek, a maker of landing gear systems.
The review, which was chaired by David Emerson, a former federal minister of trade, industry and foreign affairs, also urged Canada's Conservative government to be more aggressive in opening doors for the aerospace industry in foreign markets.
"Canada, almost culturally, has been reticent to engage in aggressive 'diplomacy' of this kind," the review said.
"Companies indicate that other governments have taken notice of Canada's relatively passive approach and have sometimes interpreted it as a lack of enthusiasm for, and commitment to, Canadian products."
Industry Minister Christian Paradis welcomed the report saying the government is "committed to helping the sector grow and add to the nearly 160,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs the industry supports".
The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada said in a statement that the review recognized the "critical juncture the aerospace and space industry is facing, and the urgent need for government, industry, academia and unions to adapt to a rapidly changing and highly competitive global environment".
(Reporting By Nicole Mordant in Vancouver; Editing by Peter Galloway)
Brazil's former soccer players and members of the local organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo, right, and Bebeto, second from left, Brazil's Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, left, and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, ride a commuter train on their way to visit to the Corinthians' stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's former soccer players and members of the local organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo, right, and Bebeto, second from left, Brazil's Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, left, and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, ride a commuter train on their way to visit to the Corinthians' stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Brazil's Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, second left, Sao Paulo's Mayor Gilberto Kassab, center, and FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, right, make a visit to the Corinthians stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, center, Sao Paulo's Mayor Gilberto Kassab, center left, and Ronaldo, Brazil's former soccer player and amember of the local organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup, far right, visit the Corinthians stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, left, kicks a ball during a tour of the Corinthians stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Ronaldo, Brazil's former soccer player and a member of the local organizing committee for the 2014 World Cup visits the Corinthians' stadium, which is under construction and will host the opening match of the World Cup in 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Officials are revising the construction work being done at stadiums ahead of the Confederations Cup soccer tournament in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
SAO PAULO (AP) ? FIFA leaders believe there's still a lot left to be done in Brazil to successfully stage the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.
"There is a lot of work in the stadiums and a lot of work in urban mobility and the different infrastructure work," FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said Wednesday. "Yeah, we have plenty of work to do, but we will have what we need to organize the World Cup in the best environment."
Valcke's comments came after a board meeting of the local World Cup organizing committee and FIFA's final tour of the World Cup host cities this year. The draw of the Confederations Cup is Saturday in Sao Paulo.
Valcke said 2013 will be a crucial year with Brazil hosting the warm-up competition in June.
"We are confident and 2013 is definitely a key year with the lessons of the Confederations Cup. We will see what we have to adapt and what we need to do in the remaining six World Cup stadiums," he said. "We have a number of things to work on between now and April. We are now in the process of moving into the details, we are not talking about infrastructure in the highest level."
Ronaldo, a member of the local organizing committee, said Brazil will host "an excellent World Cup."
"We don't have to talk about the stadiums any more, we know they will be ready," Ronaldo said. "It's time to start working about the details. We know the World Cup will happen and that the stadium will be wonderful."
Valcke praised the level of understanding reached between FIFA and the Brazilian government. FIFA and the Brazilian government have been trying to show unity as the deadlines become tighter.
"The Brazilian government has been working very hard," Brazil Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said. "We know there are a lot of challenges, we know there is a lot of work ahead, but there is a lot of dedication."
Valcke said FIFA has authorized Brazil to use the Maracana and the Belo Horizonte stadiums in exhibitions next June. The secretary general was upset this week after the Rio de Janeiro government publicly announced the Maracana would host a match between Brazil and England even though the venue would be under FIFA's control at the time. Brazil is expected to play France on June 9 in Belo Horizonte.
The local organizing committee said more than 120,000 tickets have been sold for the Confederations Cup.
Valcke said FIFA was giving Brazil 50,000 free World Cup tickets to be distributed to Indigenous Brazilian and members of social programs aimed at the poorer population.
Earlier Wednesday, Valcke and Ronaldo took an urban train to Itaquera stadium, site of the opening match of the World Cup. Valcke said he liked the work done at the venue, which is nearly 60 percent ready.
Valcke also praised the work done in the southern city of Curitiba on Tuesday and at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana, which will host the final of both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup.
FIFA leaders arrived during a tense week in Brazilian soccer. A local member of FIFA's executive committee, Marco Polo del Nero, had his home raided in a police operation targeting financial crimes.
Del Nero has not been charged and denied any wrongdoing, saying the raid was related to an investigation on a company he hired for a personal business transaction.
On Thursday, the federation will announce the new Brazil coach, widely expected to be 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The announcement of Scolari would give Brazil a representative in the Confederations Cup draw, when the team will find out who it will play in the opener.
AMSTERDAM ? A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that some of Samsung Electronics? Galaxy smartphones and tablets infringe an Apple patent in the latest round of the two firms? worldwide battle.
An employee holds up a Samsung Electronics? Galaxy Tab tablet computer (L) and an Apple iPad as he poses at a store in Seoul August 27, 2012. REUTERS
The court ordered Samsung Electronics to pay Apple damages, determined by how much profit it has made from the sales.
The patent dispute concerns the Android operating system versions 2.2.1 to 3.0 used on Samsung?s Galaxy tablets and smartphones, the court said.
Samsung and Apple, the world?s top two smartphone makers, are locked in patent disputes in at least ten countries as they vie to dominate the lucrative mobile market and win over customers with their latest gadgets.
Samsung, the world?s top maker of smartphones, infringed Apple patents to make its smartphones and tablets, a U.S. trade panel judge said in a preliminary decision issued last month.
Samsung won a court case last month in the Netherlands, when a Dutch court ruled the company did not infringe an Apple patent by using certain multi-touch techniques on some of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers.
Reuters
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? The diagnostic system used by many mental health practitioners in the United States -- known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- assumes that symptoms of two disorders that occur at the same time are additive and that the order in which the disorders are presented doesn't matter. But new research suggests that order actually plays a significant role in determining how clinicians think about psychiatric disorders.
In an article published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researchers Jared Keeley, Chafen DeLao, and Claire Kirk of Mississippi State University draw from existing research on conceptual combination to investigate how clinicians diagnose psychiatric disorders that occur together.
They predicted that for disorders with overlapping symptoms -- such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) -- clinicians would describe the disorders pretty much the same way, regardless of which disorder was presented first.
But for two disorders that are quite different -- such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) -- the researchers predicted that the order in which symptoms are presented would significantly influence clinicians' descriptions of the disorders.
Keeley and colleagues also predicted that the features of one disorder would overshadow the features of another, providing evidence for a "dominance" effect.
In two different studies, the researchers asked clinicians to identify the symptoms that would describe each of three disorders individually (MDD, GAD, ASPD) and the symptoms that would describe paired combinations of the three disorders.
In both studies, the clinicians were inconsistent in their descriptions of disorder pairs -- for example, the symptoms they identified for a combination of MDD + ASPD were not necessarily the same as those identified for a combination of ASPD + MDD.
And in one of the two studies, the researchers found that the order of symptoms mattered more for clinicians' descriptions of disorders that were different than for disorders that overlapped, partially confirming their original hypothesis.
Together, these results seem to contradict the assumption that order doesn't matter in psychiatric diagnoses.
Findings from a third study indicated that clinicians' descriptions of the symptoms involved in GAD were dominated by their descriptions of both MDD and ASPD, while symptoms of ASPD and MDD had equal weight.
Keeley and colleagues offer several possible explanations for their findings. Clinicians could be straying from the additive guidelines of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Alternatively, their clinical experiences may have led to "rater drift," such that the criteria that they use to evaluate symptoms have drifted over time.
But it's also possible that practitioners are actually ahead of the curve. Keeley, DeLao, and Kirk argue that clinicians could be "accurately modeling an aspect of psychopathology that our current diagnostic system has yet to accommodate."
While it remains to be seen whether these findings have implications for the actual treatment of psychiatric disorders, Keeley and colleagues believe that these three studies may help researchers and practitioners in trying to bring the classification of psychiatric disorders and actual clinical practice closer together.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.
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Journal Reference:
J. W. Keeley, C. S. DeLao, C. L. Kirk. The Commutative Property in Comorbid Diagnosis: Does A B = B A?Clinical Psychological Science, 2012; DOI: 10.1177/2167702612455742
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.
Posted on: 8:32 pm, November 28, 2012, by Jessica Dabrowski, updated on: 08:38pm, November 28, 2012
AKRON, Ohio ? A dog that is the victim of abuse and neglect is extremely patient and sweet despite enduring horrendous pain as he recovers, representatives from the PAWSibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron said.
The organization?s newest rescue, King, was removed from a property in Akron on which he had no food or water.? He was found dehydrated and emaciated and left out in the cold weather.
The PAWSibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron said he should weigh about 55 pounds but only weighs about 40.
Part of his chain was wrapped so tightly around his neck that it became embedded and skin had grown over it.
King was also discovered to be heartworm positive.
His luck is changing now that he?s in caring and capable hands.? He has had surgery to remove the chain and is being given a proper diet.? Once he regains his strength, his treatment for the heartworm will begin.
Other details about King?s rescue were not released due to pending animal cruelty charges.
?Please, if you can give a donation to help this sweet dog and animals like him coming to the shelter daily, contact us. We can?t do it alone and every bit of support we receive makes such a difference to the animals we rescue!? PAWSibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron said on its Facebook page.
Anyone who would like to contribute can call (330) 487-0333 or click here.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are set to show up on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and fans will soon find out whether drug allegations block the former stars from reaching baseball's shrine.
The ballot will be announced Wednesday.
Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and Curt Schilling are certain to be among the other first-time eligibles. Jack Morris, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines are the top holdover candidates.
Longtime members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America will vote through next month. The much-awaited results will be announced Jan. 9, with players needing to be listed on 75 percent of the ballots to gain induction.
The upcoming election is certain to fuel the most polarizing Hall debate since career hits leader Pete Rose's betting problems put him on baseball's permanently ineligible list, barring him from the BBWAA ballot.
Bonds, Clemens and Sosa each posted some of the biggest numbers in the game's history, but were all tainted by accusations that they used performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds is baseball's all-time home runs leader with 762 and won a record seven MVP awards. Clemens ranks ninth in career wins with 354 and took home a record seven Cy Young Awards. Sosa is eighth on the home run chart with 609.
Fans, players and Hall of Fame members have all chimed in about whether stars who supposedly juiced up during the Steroids Era should make it to Cooperstown.
Many of those opposed say drug cheats should never be afforded baseball's highest individual honors. Others on the opposite side claim the use of performance-enhancing drugs was pervasive in the 1980s and 1990s, and shouldn't disqualify candidates.
If recent voting for the Hall is any indication, the odds are solidly stacked against Bonds, Clemens and Sosa.
Mark McGwire is 10th on the career home run list with 583, but has never received even 24 percent in his six tries. Big Mac has admitted using steroids and human growth hormone.
Rafael Palmeiro is among only four players with 500 homers and 3,000 hits, yet has gotten a high of 12.6 percent in his two years on the ballot. Palmeiro drew a 10-day suspension in 2005 after a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, and said the result was due to a vitamin vial given to him by teammate Miguel Tejada.
WWE has always been known for its larger-than-life personas. But for all the Andre the Giants and Great Khalis, there have been diminutive grapplers half the size of The Eighth Wonder of the World. In the 1950s and ?60s, pint-size legends like Fuzzy Cupid and Sky Low Low dazzled fans with their athletic ability. Little people were a staple of ring action. And then things took a turn for the amazing.
As the world of sports-entertainment became increasingly colorful in ?70s and ?80s, some mini stars began to emulate their larger peers. Superstars including ?Macho Man? Randy Savage, Dick the Bruiser and Jerry ?The King? Lawler all received the honor of acquiring a diminutive doppelganger. Some of these itty-bitty clones even competed in marquee pay-per-view matchups. (PHOTOS OF MINIS)
But where have the minis gone? If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, why haven?t minis remained a constant presence in WWE rings? Minis elicited smiles from fans for decades, but they were anything but a punchline. These performers were true competitors in every sense of the word, and were owners of the most unique visual moments in wrestling history. The WWE Universe deserves the opportunity to experience those moments again. So, bring back the minis! (WATCH MINIS IN ACTION)
If you're confused over a recent email from Facebook regarding its data use policy, you're not alone.? The email ? with the subject line "Up... Read more
8 hrs.
Devin Coldewey, NBC News
Police in Helsinki?seized?the laptop of a young girl during a search of her family's home last week, according to her father.?The alleged?offense? Using the?popular BitTorrent website The Pirate Bay to download a single album.
Last year, 9-year-old Julietta?came across a torrent on The Pirate Bay after searching on Google?for Finnish pop star Chisu's latest album. The download failed to work, and she and her father went and bought the album together shortly afterwards.?Unbeknownst to them,?Finland's Copyright Information and?Anti-Piracy Centre (known as CIAPC, as well as its Finnish acronym, TTVK) had already?taken notice.
The events are related by the girl's father,?Aki Wequ Nylund,?in?a public?Facebook post. (Though Google Translate's Finnish is not very good, an account of the translated?story?was posted at copyright and BitTorrent news blog?TorrentFreak.)
That spring, a letter arrived from the TTVK?alleging that the Nylund's account had been linked to a copyright infringement. The letter gave the option to pay a settlement of ?600 and sign a non-disclosure agreement ? a common tactic used by copyright holders that removes the need for formal charges.
Nylund contacted the?TTVK?lawyer to contest the matter, but?the TTVK continued its pursuit of damages. Last Tuesday morning, he found a pair of Finnish police officers standing at his doorstep.
The police presented a search?warrant, entered, and identified the girl's Winnie?the?Pooh-decorated laptop as the object of their search, and confiscated it.
Unsurprisingly, the events have drawn criticism locally and abroad. Finnish Internet rights watchdog Electronic Frontier Finland denounced the actions of the TTVK in a statement and blog post, calling attention to the arbitrary nature of the settlements and their use?as a scare tactic. They also point out that?Nylund's acknowledgment?in this case notwithstanding, an IP address used to track an infringement cannot be linked to a person's identity.
The TTVK's executive director defended the actions in comments to Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, saying that TTVK and the police were only working to enforce the law.?
Chisu, the pop star whose album was at the center of the controversy, expressed in a Facebook post that she supported copyright law but apologized for the situation.
Niko?Nordstr?m, CEO of Warner Music Finland, acknowledged (also via Chisu's Facebook page)?the limits of IP-based enforcement, but said?"this procedure is currently the only way to tackle illegal downloading" (translation by Google).
Had the TTVK known that the infringing party in this situation was a young?girl, might they?have taken a softer approach? In past cases,?U.S. media associations have not?made accommodations for minors, either.
As for Julietta's lost laptop, an anonymous benefactor sent a brand-new MacBook Pro to replace it. Her father reports that she is already putting it to use, playing online with her friends. An administrator at The Pirate Bay promised VIP privileges to her as well if she wants them?? ?although after this experience, it would be understandable if she opted not to take advantage of the offer.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Over the past seven years, Stifel Financial Corp Chief Executive Ronald Kruszewski has impressed Wall Street with a series of acquisitions that quintupled the regional brokerage's revenue and rewarded shareholders with a nearly four-fold increase in returns over the last five years.
Still, some investors view Kruszewski's latest deal, to buy money-losing investment bank KBW Inc, as a much riskier proposition. Some question the wisdom of spending $575 million (358.7 million pounds) to build out a middle-market investment banking business at a time when tougher financial regulations are posing a threat to profits of giants such as UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Moreover, after years of expansion, Stifel's board is starting to worry that Kruszewski may be overextended. Before announcing the KBW deal on November 5, the board was mulling whether to appoint a senior administrator or president to help him run the company, according to one director. Kruszewski is currently chairman and president, as well as chief executive.
"We talk about him moving too fast, and whether we have the infrastructure to move as fast as we're moving," said Robert Lefton, a psychologist who has been on Stifel's board for 20 years.
But he stressed that the board supported the KBW deal and was very happy with Kruszewski, who has been CEO for 12 years and is Stifel's largest individual shareholder with a 1.6 percent stake worth more than $26 million.
"He has a very clear sense of where he's heading," Lefton said. "When he came aboard, we were a struggling little regional firm barely eking out a living. He has put together what he told us he would."
Another board member echoed Lefton's comments. "Even if there is a modest recovery, (KBW) will be a very smart acquisition because he bought it off the bottom," said Robert Grady, a Stifel director and former Carlyle Group partner. "I wouldn't bet against him."
Kruszewski, 53, has said he wants to better balance revenue between the St. Louis-based company's retail and institutional brokerages. The deal to buy KBW, which specializes in advising small banks and thrifts on mergers and capital-raising, takes him closer to that goal.
If he succeeds, Stifel will be able to compete with Jefferies Group Inc - whose market value is twice Stifel's $1.6 billion - to raise money for companies with revenue of $100 million to $1 billion. Big banks like Goldman and Morgan Stanley largely ignore this middle-market segment.
Unlike Kruszewski's previous acquisitions, KBW brings complex integration issues. Stifel already has dozens of bankers, analysts and salespeople serving financial companies, so employees are worried that the merger could bring job cuts.
"He is already pretty exposed to the institutional securities business, and ... financial services is not a great business right now," said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Douglas Sipkin. "He is a very smart guy, but it doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
In addition, money managers who trade through both Stifel and KBW do not want to pay twice for research and other products, so parsing the benefits of the merger becomes difficult.
"To distinguish between the two from Stifel's business perspective is going to be tricky," said Mark Kuzminskas, director of equity trading at Robeco Investment Management.
In an interview, Kruszewski defended the KBW deal, and said it and the 2010 purchase of Thomas Weisel Partners, which specializes in banking for technology companies, are core components of his middle-market corporate strategy.
"I'm not predicting that next year is going to be a blowout year for financial companies, but I'm not being reckless," he said. "Institutional (brokerage) is much more cyclical and, of course, you take a lot more risk. It is also a high profit-margin business when things are working."
Investors do not appear to be convinced. At Monday's close, Stifel shares had declined 2.9 percent this year, compared with an uptick of 1.1 percent for the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index.
CRAFTY NEGOTIATOR
Kruszewski, the son of a fireman from South Bend, Indiana, has an accounting degree and, according to people who have worked with him, a steel-trap mind for absorbing new data and translating it into action.
He demonstrated discipline earlier this year, passing on the acquisition of Morgan Keegan from Regions Financial Corp because the price was too high, Lefton said. Raymond James Financial Inc later purchased the Tennessee-based brokerage.
"At the beginning of every year, I have no idea what we'll do," Kruszewski said. "Strategic planning is for people who have too much time on their hands. Our plan is to be in a position to take advantage of opportunities."
KBW was one such opportunity. The company had lost more than $60 million since the financial crisis of 2008 and was cutting 15 percent of staff. It was also weighing radical changes in its operations after another down year for financial services deals and capital-raising, a person close to KBW said.
Kruszewski drove a hard bargain. He required about 95 key employees to waive change-of-control clauses that would have let them sell their shares, and he compelled them to sign noncompete agreements. He also won control of $250 million of cash on KBW's balance sheet to help finance the cash-and-stock transaction.
You never want to negotiate against that man," said Scott McCuaig, the retired president of Stifel Nicolaus, the company's principal brokerage subsidiary. "He gets his hands dirty and works deals until they come to fruition. Nobody is going to snooker him."
(Reporting by Jed Horowitz and Olivia Oran; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Steve Orlofsky)
Halle Berry's bruised and battered ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry is not giving up his fight against Olivier Martinez -- at least in court. The French-Canadian model, 36, has been granted a restraining order against the Unfaithful actor, 46.
In late October, the Detroit Tigers were preparing to face off against the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball?s World Series. In 2002 and 2003, the Tigers had two of the worst seasons in baseball history, losing a combined 225 games. But through years of calculated decision making and negotiations, team president Dave Dombrowski and his staff rebuilt the team from the ground up, writes Noah Trister of the Associated Press.
Following the disastrous 2002 and 2003 seasons, the Tigers scored what turned out to be a major coup, choosing pitcher Justin Verlander in the MLB draft. According to Trister, Verlander became ?a foundation for everything the team is accomplishing now.? Verlander went on to pitch a complete-game shutout in the 2012 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Oakland Athletics.
In 2005, Dombrowski brought in a new team manager, Jim Leyland, who took the Tigers all the way to the 2006 World Series, where they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. ?At that time,? reflected Dombrowski, ?you were trying to add talent to get you over the hump and keep you out of the way.?
The 2007 season was a disappointing one for Tigers fans, with the team winning only 88 games. But the franchise made long-term strides, recruiting several soon-to-be key players through the draft and trades. In the most notable deal, Dombrowski traded six players to the Florida Marlins in exchange for ace hitter Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Speaking of Cabrera, Dombrowski told Trister that the Tigers knew they were ?getting somebody that was an All-Star player, young, and still had his prime ahead of him.? To lock in Cabrera, the Tigers extended his contract through 2015.
2008 was another disappointing season, with Cabrera failing to live up to expectations, but the Tigers did add two more players who would turn out to be long-term assets: catcher Alex Avila and outfielder Andy Dirks. The Tigers improved in the 2009 season but lost the American League (AL) Central title to the Minnesota Twins. That year, in a somewhat risky three-team deal with the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Dombrowski swapped Tigers fan favorite Curtis Granderson and pitcher Edwin Jackson for four players, including pitcher Max Scherzer and outfielder Austin Jackson. Both players went on to make strong contributions in the 2012 season that helped launch the Tigers into the World Series.
More smart draft picks and trades in 2010 and 2011, including outfielder Delmon Young, helped the Tigers reach the ALCS, which the team lost to the Texas Rangers. Young, the Tigers? designated hitter, went on to be named ALCS?s MVP in 2012.
The Tigers made a bold move in January 2012, signing slugger and first basemen Prince Fielder to a $214 million, 9-year contract. Trister describes the deal as ?the ultimate win-now move ? owner Mike Ilitch opening his wallet to make a run at the World Series title.? As the Tigers competed with the Chicago White Sox to win their division, Dombrowski traded three players for pitcher Anibal Sanchez and second baseman Omar Infante. Both players made key contributions to the Tigers? defeat of the Yankees in the ALCS. As for Cabrera, the Tigers? gamble on him paid off in spades, as he was named the MLB?s first Triple Crown winner (the league leader in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) in 45 years.
Dombrowski attributed his team?s success to a combination of factors: home-grown talent, free agency, and trades. The personnel decisions and negotiations made by him and his staff also illustrate that, to reach your goals (whether it?s to play in the World Series, acquire a company, or meet sales targets), you may need to engage in a series of negotiations rather than just one.
In his article, ?Which Comes First? How to Handle Linked Negotiations? in the January 2005 issue of the Program on Negotiation?s?Negotiation?newsletter, Harvard Business School professor Michael Wheeler explains how negotiators in all realms succeeded at linked negotiations, or those in which your ultimate success depends on carefully timing and executing a series of negotiations.
Here?s Wheeler?s summary of his advice on managing linked negotiations:
Don?t assume you must nail down one deal before starting the next.
Look for hedging opportunities. For instance, if a person sells his current boat before finding a good replacement, he can rent something else for the summer.
Invest most of your effort in the area upon which your ultimate success hinges.
Usually one negotiation will have a bigger upside than the other.
Craft a strategy that allows you to adapt as the process unfolds.
If you?ve done your homework carefully, you?ll be better prepared to grab opportunities that you might not have foreseen.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? An international team of biologists led by Indiana University's David M. Kehoe has identified both the enzyme and molecular mechanism critical for controlling a chameleon-like process that allows one of the world's most abundant ocean phytoplankton, once known as blue-green algae, to maximize light harvesting for photosynthesis.
Responsible for contributing about 20 percent of the total oxygen production on the planet, the cyanobacteria Synechococcus uses its own unique form of a sophisticated response called chromatic acclimation to fine tune the absorption properties of its photosynthetic antenna complexes to the predominant ambient light color. The researchers identified and characterized an enzyme, MpeZ, that plays a pivotal role in the mechanism that allows two different water-soluble proteins in Synechococcus -- phycoerythrin I and II -- to alter their pigmentation in order to maximize photon capture for photosynthesis.
Scientists want to understand how cyanobacteria optimize their photosynthetic activities in different light conditions to gain a better appreciation of how human activities affect the phytoplankton's ability to produce oxygen and uptake the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which they consume in order to grow. Science and industry also use the pigment-protein complex phycoerythrin for fluorescent imaging and as fluorescent markers in biotechnology and health care applications.
"We now have the ability to attach a novel chromophore, part of a molecule responsible for its color, to phycoerythrin, which provides a new chromophore-protein combination that absorbs and fluoresces at a wavelength that is not currently commercially available," said Kehoe, a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology. "Our results suggest that this new chromoprotein is brighter and more stable than most on the market today."
Kehoe also noted IU has begun the process of filing a patent on the invention. The team found that the gene encoding the MpeZ enzyme is activated in blue light. Once produced, MpeZ then binds to antenna proteins containing pigments that normally catch green light and attaches an alternative chromophore that allows the antennae to capture blue light. The specific mechanism, called type IV chromatic acclimation, involves replacing three molecules of the green light-absorbing chromophore with an equal number of blue light-absorbing chromophore. This color-shifting is reversible and is controlled by the ratio of blue to green light in the environment.
"These 'chromatic adapters' are true chameleons that can efficiently live in green coastal waters as well as in blue offshore waters by modifying their pigmentation," Kehoe said. "Synechococcus cells maintained in blue light harvest preferentially blue light, while cells grown in green light harvest more green."
Funding for this work came from the Agence Nationale Recherches in France, the European program MicroB3, IU's Office of International Programs, the National Science Foundation and the Lilly Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Indiana University.
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Journal Reference:
A. Shukla, A. Biswas, N. Blot, F. Partensky, J. A. Karty, L. A. Hammad, L. Garczarek, A. Gutu, W. M. Schluchter, D. M. Kehoe. Phycoerythrin-specific bilin lyase-isomerase controls blue-green chromatic acclimation in marine Synechococcus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211777109
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
General Relationship DiscussionAlthough anyone can post anywhere on Talk About Marriage, this section is for people interested in general relationship and marriage advice.
11-25-2012, 09:25 AM
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#6 (permalink)
Member
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: The Most DANGEROUS City in America!
Posts: 1,281
Quote:
Is there something wrong with this scenario?
Allow me to translate LiarSpeak for you, Costa.
Quote:
He told me he would like to settle down when he is sure that we are truly right for each other
"I would like to settle for you when I am done chasing anyone else who attracts my attention; and when I am sure I can't get anyone hotter than you. You are my Plan B."
Quote:
meanwhile I am free to date anyone I like.
"I don't value you enough to want to be exclusive with you, so don't get the wrong idea that you're 'special', because you're not. But I'd still like to fvck you when I can!"
There you go; now that you've removed the forked-tongue, double-speak, it's really quite clear (and quite simple), isn't it?
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11-25-2012, 03:53 PM
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#13 (permalink)
Member
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Kansas City Metro area
Posts: 1,147
Quote:
If you are looking for a relationship with more substance, keep sex off of the table for a while with the next guy until you are more exclusive.
I can't agree with this point. I've found that sex is one of the important ways a man decides whether a woman is worth being with. Bad sex will equal a quick fade even after they've become exclusive.
Plus, people fall for people who are "into" them. Withholding sex for some arbitrary point is just a way of saying, "I'm not that into you."
As one of the five pillars of compatibility, I would encourage you to do whatever feels natural to you sexually, but remain aware that you are still learning about areas that you are or are not compatible on.
I have to articles on my blog related to this topic that can help you decide how long you should or shouldn't wait:
How Soon Should You Have Sex in a New Relationship?
5 Pillars of Compatibility (& Incompatibility)
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11-25-2012, 04:03 PM
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#14 (permalink)
Member
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 156
Quote:
I can't agree with this point. I've found that sex is one of the important ways a man decides whether a woman is worth being with. Bad sex will equal a quick fade even after they've become exclusive.
Plus, people fall for people who are "into" them. Withholding sex for some arbitrary point is just a way of saying, "I'm not that into you."
As one of the five pillars of compatibility, I would encourage you to do whatever feels natural to you sexually, but remain aware that you are still learning about areas that you are or are not compatible on.
I disagree with the above bolded part. I didn't have sex with my husband prior to marriage, not because I wasn't into him, but because of a vow that I made not only to myself, but to my faith. It was hard, and we crossed some lines, but didn't have sex. Now of course this is not true for everyone, but I disagree that it says that you're not into them.
I do think that when sex is not on the table at the beginning you can filter through what a person is like, and if you are compatible in other areas.nsex can cloud emotions for some.
I have not read your articles yet but looking forward to reading them later.
MILAN (AP) ? A steel plant in southern Italy at the center of an environmental scandal has announced it is closing after police seized some produced goods.
Concerns have grown over the elevated incidence of cancer in the area around the Ilva plant. The Environment Ministry has been overseeing efforts to clean up the plant and assess health risks. Police have arrested seven people on suspicion of bribing officials to play down health concerns.
The plant's operators said Monday that the materials' seizure went against government authorization to keep operations going while they addressed the environmental issues. They say toxic fumes have been reduced.
The plant employs 12,000 and accounts for 75 percent of economic production in the Taranto province.
Despite the closure announcement, the FIOM union urged workers to keep working.
Researchers find evidence that brain compensates after traumatic injuryPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine
November 26, 2012 (BRONX, NY) Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique may be able to predict which patients who have experienced concussions will improve. The results, which were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), suggest that, in some patients, the brain may change to compensate for the damage caused by the injury.
"This finding could lead to strategies for preventing and repairing the damage that accompanies traumatic brain injury," said Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., who led the study and is associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at Einstein and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein.
Each year, 1.7 million people in the U.S., sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Concussions and other mild TBIs (or mTBIs) account for at least 75 percent of these injuries. Following a concussion, some patients experience a brief loss of consciousness. Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, memory loss, attention deficit, depression and anxiety. Some of these conditions may persist for months or even years in as many as 30 percent of patients.
The Einstein study involved 17 patients brought to the emergency department at Montefiore and Jacobi Medical Centers and diagnosed with mTBI. Within two weeks of their injuries, the patients underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which "sees" the movement of water molecules within and along axons, the nerve fibers that constitute the brain's white matter. DTI allows researchers to measure the uniformity of water movement (called fractional anisotropy or FA) throughout the brain. Areas of low FA indicate axonal injury while areas of abnormally high FA indicate changes in the brain.
"In a traumatic brain injury, it's not one specific area that is affected but multiple areas of the brain which are interconnected by axons," said Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein. "Abnormally low FA within white matter has been correlated with cognitive impairment in concussion patients. We believe that high FA is evidence not of axonal injury, but of brain changes that are occurring in response to the trauma."
One year after their brain injury, the patients completed two standard questionnaires to assess their post-concussion symptoms and evaluate their health status and quality of life. "Most TBI studies assess cognitive function, but it is not at all clear if and how well such measures assess real-life functioning," said Dr. Lipton. "Our questionnaires asked about post-concussion symptoms and how those symptoms affected patients' health and quality of life."
Comparing the DTI data to the patient questionnaires, the researchers found that the presence of abnormally high FA predicted fewer post-concussion symptoms and better functioning. The results suggest that the brain may be actively compensating for its injuries in patients who exhibit areas of high FA on DTI.
"These results could lead to better treatment for concussion if we can find ways to enhance the brain's compensatory mechanisms." Dr. Lipton said.
Dr. Lipton's Einstein and Montefiore coauthors are Sara B. Rosenbaum, B.A., Namhee Kim, Ph.D., Ph.D., Craig A. Branch, Ph.D., Richard B. Lipton, M.D., and Molly E. Zimmerman, Ph.D.
###
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. In 2012, Einstein received over $160 million in awards from the NIH for major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS, as well as other areas. Through its affiliation with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, and six other hospital systems, the College of Medicine runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu and follow us on Twitter @EinsteinMed.
Montefiore Medical Center
As the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic medical center nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Montefiore is consistently recognized among the top hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and excels at educating tomorrow's healthcare professionals in superior clinical and humanistic care. Linked by advanced technology, Montefiore is a comprehensive and integrated health system that derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org and follow us on Twitter @MontefioreNews.
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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.
Researchers find evidence that brain compensates after traumatic injuryPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine
November 26, 2012 (BRONX, NY) Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that a special magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique may be able to predict which patients who have experienced concussions will improve. The results, which were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), suggest that, in some patients, the brain may change to compensate for the damage caused by the injury.
"This finding could lead to strategies for preventing and repairing the damage that accompanies traumatic brain injury," said Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., who led the study and is associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at Einstein and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein.
Each year, 1.7 million people in the U.S., sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Concussions and other mild TBIs (or mTBIs) account for at least 75 percent of these injuries. Following a concussion, some patients experience a brief loss of consciousness. Other symptoms include headache, dizziness, memory loss, attention deficit, depression and anxiety. Some of these conditions may persist for months or even years in as many as 30 percent of patients.
The Einstein study involved 17 patients brought to the emergency department at Montefiore and Jacobi Medical Centers and diagnosed with mTBI. Within two weeks of their injuries, the patients underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which "sees" the movement of water molecules within and along axons, the nerve fibers that constitute the brain's white matter. DTI allows researchers to measure the uniformity of water movement (called fractional anisotropy or FA) throughout the brain. Areas of low FA indicate axonal injury while areas of abnormally high FA indicate changes in the brain.
"In a traumatic brain injury, it's not one specific area that is affected but multiple areas of the brain which are interconnected by axons," said Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein. "Abnormally low FA within white matter has been correlated with cognitive impairment in concussion patients. We believe that high FA is evidence not of axonal injury, but of brain changes that are occurring in response to the trauma."
One year after their brain injury, the patients completed two standard questionnaires to assess their post-concussion symptoms and evaluate their health status and quality of life. "Most TBI studies assess cognitive function, but it is not at all clear if and how well such measures assess real-life functioning," said Dr. Lipton. "Our questionnaires asked about post-concussion symptoms and how those symptoms affected patients' health and quality of life."
Comparing the DTI data to the patient questionnaires, the researchers found that the presence of abnormally high FA predicted fewer post-concussion symptoms and better functioning. The results suggest that the brain may be actively compensating for its injuries in patients who exhibit areas of high FA on DTI.
"These results could lead to better treatment for concussion if we can find ways to enhance the brain's compensatory mechanisms." Dr. Lipton said.
Dr. Lipton's Einstein and Montefiore coauthors are Sara B. Rosenbaum, B.A., Namhee Kim, Ph.D., Ph.D., Craig A. Branch, Ph.D., Richard B. Lipton, M.D., and Molly E. Zimmerman, Ph.D.
###
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. In 2012, Einstein received over $160 million in awards from the NIH for major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS, as well as other areas. Through its affiliation with Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for Einstein, and six other hospital systems, the College of Medicine runs one of the largest residency and fellowship training programs in the medical and dental professions in the United States. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu and follow us on Twitter @EinsteinMed.
Montefiore Medical Center
As the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic medical center nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Montefiore is consistently recognized among the top hospitals nationally by U.S. News & World Report, and excels at educating tomorrow's healthcare professionals in superior clinical and humanistic care. Linked by advanced technology, Montefiore is a comprehensive and integrated health system that derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org and follow us on Twitter @MontefioreNews.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
11-25-2012, 09:25 AM
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Public release date: 26-Nov-2012
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