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News For XLE From The Last 14 Days Check below for free stories on XLE the last two weeks.
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Energy Select volatility low, oil approaches five-month high
Sakroots Artist Circle E-Reader Case
Sakroots is the name for a line of accessories from The Sak handbag company.? Shown here is the Artist Circle E-Reader Case for Kindle, Kindle Touch, and the Nook Simple Touch.? These fabric cases are made of coated canvas, trimmed with polyurethane, and lined with polyester.? The case closes with a zipper, and all hardware [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/29/sakroots-artist-circle-e-reader-case/
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Friday, December 30, 2011
D'oh! Top science journal retractions of 2011
Russel A. Daniels / AP
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles led to a drop in crime, according to a report by the RAND Corporation. Except they didn't. After flaws in the data were exposed, RAND retracted its finding.
By Christopher Wanjek
LiveScience Bad Medicine columnist
Bad science papers can have lasting effects. Consider the 1998 paper in the journal the Lancet that linked autism to the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. That paper was fully retracted in 2010 upon evidence that senior author Andrew Wakefield had manipulated data and breached several proper ethical codes of conduct.
Nevertheless the erroneous paper continues to undermine public confidence in vaccines. After the Lancet article, MMR vaccination rates dipped sharply and haven't fully rebounded. This decline in the MMR vaccine has been tied to a rise in measles cases resulting in permanent injury and death.
Each year hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles are retracted. Most involve no blatant malfeasance; the authors themselves often detect errors and retract the paper. Some retractions, however, as documented on the blog Retraction Watch, entail plagiarism, false authorship or cooked data.
No journal is safe from retractions, from the mighty "single-word-title" journals such as Nature, Science and Cell, to the myriad minor, esoteric ones.
Yet as astronomer Carl Sagan once said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Below are five science results retracted in 2011, pulled permanently off the books in part for falling far short of meeting the Sagan standard.
#5: Los Angeles marijuana dispensaries lead to drop in crime.
Keep smoking. The RAND Corporation retracted its own report in October after realizing its sloppy data collection.
Crime data compiled from neighborhoods with these highly contentious medical marijuana dispensaries supposedly revealed slightly lower crime rates. The authors attributed this decline not to marijuana itself but rather the presence of security cameras and guards in and around the dispensaries, having a positive effect on the neighborhood. [ The History of 8 Hallucinogens ]
The L.A. city attorney's office was incensed with the report, having argued the opposite ? that the dispensaries breed crime. The city's lawyers soon found critical flaws in RAND's data collection, largely stemming from RAND's reliance on data from CrimeReports.com, which did not include data from the L.A. Police Department. RAND blamed itself for the error, not CrimeReports.com, which had made no claims of having a complete set of data, and, in fact, didn't even know about the study.
#4: Butterfly meets worm, falls in love, and has caterpillars.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a fantastic claim in 2009 by zoologist Donald Williamson, which was delightfully reported in the science news media. Williamson claimed that ancestors of modern butterflies mistakenly fertilized their eggs with sperm from velvet worms. The result was the necessity for the caterpillar stage of the butterfly life cycle.
The PNAS paper got a few laughs among evolutionary scientists, but it hasn't yet been retracted. Williamson's follow-up 2011 paper in the journal Symbiosis, however, has been retracted.
Researchers Michael Hart and Richard Grosberg at the University of Texas, Austin, systematically refuted all of Williamson's claims in the pages of PNAS by the end of 2009. They based their arguments entirely on well-known concepts of both basic evolution and the genetics of modern worms and butterflies. When Symbiosis published its butterfly-meets-worm article in January 2011, Hart raised questions with the editor. As of November the paper is no longer available.
#3: Treat appendicitis with antibiotics, not surgery.
The Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery published an article in 2009 by Indian researchers titled "Conservative management of acute appendicitis." The gist was that antibiotics might be a safe alternative to an appendectomy, the surgical removal of the appendix.
Well, maybe not. The journal retracted the paper in October. Italian surgeons had raised a red flag with the study in a lengthy letter published in 2010 in the same journal, politely citing a multitude of problems with the study's methodology. The Indian researchers responded a month later with their own two-paragraph letter defending the methodology and calling for a larger study to establish the superiority of antibiotic treatment over surgery.
There's no word whether that larger study is pending, but the journal's editors retracted the original article for reasons of alleged plagiarism, stating that "significant portions of the article were published earlier" by other researchers in 2000 and 1995.
#2: Litter breeds crime and discrimination.
It sounded so reasonable: Graffiti and litter in urban settings can trigger changes in the brain that can lead to crime, hatred and discrimination. Alas, the senior author of this April 2011 paper in Science, Dutch social psychologist Diederik Stapel, might have fabricated much of the data.
The journal Science retracted the paper in November upon realization that Stapel, a media darling whose name frequented the New York Times, may have faked data in at least 30 papers, according to a report from Stapel's university, Tilburg University in the Netherlands. Stapel has since been suspended from Tilburg pending further investigation.
The objective reader must now question other pet theories from Stapel. These include his "findings" that beauty-advertising works because it makes women feel worse about themselves, and that conservative politics leads to hypocrisy.
#1: Chronic fatigue syndrome is caused by a virus.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder of unknown origin. Some researchers, in fact, consider this a psychological disorder largely confined to wealthier countries, affecting women more than men.
Then came a study published in Science in October 2009 by researchers from the Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nevada. The researchers associated CFS with something called xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), which they said they found in blood samples of patients with CFS.
CFS advocates were elated. At last there was proof that their disease was real, they said. Retrovirus experts, on the other hand, were skeptical. Maybe the blood samples were contaminated. It turns out that the paper is likely wrong. No other lab could reproduce the results.
Science issued an "Editorial Expression of Concern" in July after the authors themselves refused to retract their paper. The Science editorial states bluntly that the study purported "to show that ? XMRV was present in the blood of 67 percent of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome compared with 3.7 percent of healthy controls. Since then, at least 10 studies conducted by other investigators and published elsewhere have reported a failure to detect XMRV in independent populations of CFS patients."
The authors finally issued a partial retraction in September, removing data now known to be from contaminated samples. Science followed with a full retraction on Dec. 23. Meanwhile, in a disturbing twist, senior author Judy Mikovits was fired from the Whittemore Peterson Institute in September and arrested in California in November over charges for possession of stolen property and unlawful taking of computer data, equipment and supplies. Science is investigating whether the data were manipulated.
Following the history of this paper is enough to make you fatigued.
Christopher Wanjek is the author of the books "Bad Medicine " and " Food At Work." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on LiveScience.
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How Kim Jon Un's looks may help him rule
Eau de DNA: Do genes determine our perfume preference?
Breakthrough of the year? AIDS discovery could put virus on the run
Source: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9746096-doh-top-science-journal-retractions-of-2011
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Romney will skip debate hosted by Donald Trump (The Arizona Republic)
Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/170736745?client_source=feed&format=rss
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">brandon marshall ">headless horseman brandon lloyd brandon lloyd publishers clearing houseCan Congress force Supreme Court to let in cameras? (The Christian Science Monitor)
WASHINGTON ? A proposed law ordering the US Supreme Court to provide live television coverage of its public proceedings threatens to spark a constitutional showdown pitting Congress against the nation?s highest court, legal experts warned members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
The experts were asked to analyze the Cameras in the Courtroom Act of 2011, which, if passed, would require television coverage of all open sessions at the high court.
?There are serious reasons to believe that legislatively overturning the court?s policy [currently banning television broadcasts] would be unconstitutional,? Supreme Court advocate Maureen Mahoney told the senators during a two-hour hearing.
QUIZ: What do you know about the Second Amendment?
?It would be an effort to strip the court of its authority to control proceedings in its own chamber,? she said. Congress has a degree of power over the high court, but it may not ?impermissibly intrude on the judiciary,? Ms. Mahoney testified.
Supreme Court advocate Thomas Goldstein said that if the legislation passed Congress and was signed into law any resulting legal challenge to the broadcast mandate would ultimately arrive at the Supreme Court.
?Can you force them to do it ? nobody knows,? Mr. Goldstein said. But he added: ?In all likelihood, the answer is yes.?
But Goldstein?s final advice to federal lawmakers was to allow the justices to voluntarily change their policy rather than trying to force their hand.
?The trajectory is that it is inevitable that television will be in the Supreme Court,? he said. ?And I would not provoke the constitutional controversy of requiring them to do it.?
The measure, introduced on Monday by Sens. Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois and Charles Grassley (R) of Iowa, is the latest in a long-running effort by some members of Congress to bring a higher level of transparency to the workings of the Supreme Court.
The effort comes in advance of much-anticipated oral arguments next year in cases examining the constitutionality of President Obama?s health-care reform law.
C-Span and other media outlets have asked Chief Justice John Roberts to permit live television coverage of the historic appeals. No decision has yet been announced.
Although many state courts have long operated under the watchful glare of media cameras, the federal judiciary has staked out a more cautious approach. There have been pilot projects allowing selective broadcasts of federal trials and appeals.
The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, in particular, has embraced the presence of cameras as an aid to public scrutiny and understanding of the judicial process. In contrast, the US Supreme Court has consistently rebuffed invitations to wire up with cameras.
The court has responded to public interest in certain high-profile cases by releasing audio recordings of the argument sessions later that same day. The court did so during the 2000 election battle in Bush v. Gore, and after argument in the gun rights case, District of Columbia v. Heller.
But opposition to live broadcast images from the court has remained firm. In an indication of the strong emotions the issue can evoke, former Justice David Souter once famously remarked: ?The day you see a camera coming into our courtroom it is going to roll over my dead body.?
The primary concern, according to statements made by many of the justices, is that the introduction of cameras at the high court will change the nature of oral argument, undercutting the usual robust exchange between the justices and counsel, and among the justices themselves. Some worry that a nationwide audience might provide too tempting an opportunity for grandstanding by the lawyers ??? and perhaps even a justice or two.
It would likely end the convenient anonymity of most justices. And then there?s the prospect that live video and sound emanating regularly from the high court might provide juicy material for satire on the parody news programs of Comedy Central.
Perhaps in recognition of mounting pressures, the court under Chief Justice Roberts has made significant moves to facilitate closer examination of its work.
Traditionally, members of the media are permitted to watch court proceedings, take notes, and then report what they observe. Under Roberts, written transcripts are now released a few hours after every oral argument, and the audio of each argument session is made public later that week.
That?s not enough, critics say.
?Transcripts and audio aren?t the same as watching a judge question lawyers live,? said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) of Minnesota, who chaired the hearing.
?The public has a right to see how the court functions and how the court reaches its rulings,? she said.
Before his retirement, former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D) was one of the leading advocates in Congress for televising Supreme Court sessions. He said the courtroom at the Supreme Court only holds 250 people and that it was ?selfish? of the justices to limit the ability of Americans to watch the judicial process unfold in important cases.
?The issues which are coming up in the Affordable Care Act really ought to be subject to really close public scrutiny,? Mr. Specter said. ?I believe the legitimacy of the court itself is at stake for the people to understand what the court does.?
He added: ?It is not their domain, it is the public?s domain and [the court] ought to be accountable to the public.?
Goldstein estimated that if the high court agreed to televise the health-care reform appeals it might draw 50 million viewers nationwide.
IN PICTURES: Who's who on the US Supreme Court
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
More Children Using Preventive Asthma Drugs: Study (HealthDay)
MONDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthDay News) -- About one in three children with asthma is currently using a preventive medication, according to new research. That number is up from about 18 percent of kids during the late 1980s.
Preventive asthma medications help control the airway disease before symptoms flare up, and guidelines from the U.S. National Asthma Education and Prevention Program recommend their use.
"The main finding from our study was that over 20 years, the use of medicines to prevent asthma has increased among children with asthma," said the study's lead author, Dr. Brian Kit, a medical epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
Commenting on the study, Dr. Shean Aujla, a pediatric pulmonologist at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said, "I think it's encouraging that there's been an increase in the use of preventive medications, but it's still only about one-third of kids with asthma using these drugs. I still think there's underdiagnosis and undertreatment of asthma."
Results of the study were released online Dec. 5, and will be published in the January 2012 issue of Pediatrics.
Preventive medications for asthma include inhaled corticosteroids, such as Pulmicort (budesonide) and Flovent (fluticasone); leukotriene-receptor antagonists, such as Singulair and Accolate; long-acting beta agonists, such as Serevent and Foradil; mast-cell stabilizers, such as Intal; and methylxanthines, such as Theo-Dur, according to the study.
Not everyone with asthma needs to take a daily preventive medication, Aujla noted. For example, youngsters with exercise-induced asthma often don't need to take a medication every day, just when they might have symptoms. But, many children with asthma can benefit from daily preventive medications, she said.
For the study, Kit and his colleagues used data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They used information collected during three time periods: 1988 to 1994, 1999 to 2002 and 2005 to 2008.
The survey included data from nearly 2,500 children from across the United States, who were between the ages of 1 and 19 years. All of these children reported having asthma currently.
During 1988 to 1994, about 18 percent of children and teens with asthma used a preventive medication. By 1999 to 2002, that number had risen to 21 percent, and by 2005 to 2008, nearly 35 percent of children and teens were using a preventive asthma medication.
The researchers found that preteens and teenagers had the lowest use of preventive medications. In 2005 to 2008, about 43 percent of kids between the ages of 1 and 5 years old used preventive drugs. In kids from 6 to 11 years old, about 45 percent used a preventive medication. But, in 12 to 19 year olds, the use of preventive medication dropped to less than 25 percent.
"Teens may be 'under-perceivers.' They may have severe asthma, but if they can still do activities, they may not report it. And, while families may think their teen is responsible enough to take care of their medications, they're often not," Aujla said.
She said she tells the parents of her patients to be sure they watch their teen taking his or her preventive medications to be sure it's getting done. She added that it's especially important to do this even in times of good control, because that's often when kids may get more lax about using their medications.
Kit's study also found that black children and Mexican American children were significantly less likely to use preventive medications for asthma, as were uninsured people.
Aujla said part of it may be the cost of these medications, or it could be a lack of access to health care. She also said that trust may be an issue in the minority population. And, that's especially concerning because blacks have higher rates of asthma, have more severe asthma and are more likely to die from asthma, she said.
Kit said the take-away message from this study is that parents should discuss their child's asthma symptoms with their child's doctor to make sure he or she is on the right medication.
More information
Learn more about asthma medications from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
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Merkel downplays possible S&P downgrade
BERLIN (AP) ? Chancellor Angela Merkel is downplaying the news that Standard & Poor's is examining the credit rating of 15 eurozone countries for a possible downgrade, saying the region is on the path out of its financial crisis.
She told reporters Tuesday that "what a rating agency does is the responsibility of the rating agency" but that leaders would plot a course to "regain confidence" when they meet later this week.
She says "I have always said this is a long process... and it will continue, but we charted the course yesterday with the French president and we will continue to stay the course."
Markets have been jittery following the news that S&P had placed 15 nations on notice for possible downgrades, including France and Germany, which both have a AAA rating.
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Peter Weller to star in J.J. Abrams' next "Star Trek" (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Peter Weller, the veteran actor who played the title role in the 1987 "Robocop," has joined J.J. Abrams' next "Star Trek" movie, TheWrap has confirmed.
Details about Weller's character aren't being revealed quite yet, but Weller has "Star Trek" experience, having played John Frederick Paxton on two episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise" in 2005.
The Paxton character is the murderous leader of radical group Terra Prime, which advocates expelling all non-humans from earth and the entire solar system.
The 3D movie is a sequel to Abrams' 2009 successful "Star Trek" reboot, which starred Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura and Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. Those actors all are returning, joined by Alice Eve in a new role.
Widely published reports say that Abrams wants Benicio Del Toro to play the movie's villain.
Abrams is writing, directing and producing. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof also wrote. Kurtzman, Orci, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, and David Ellison are producing.
The movie is scheduled to be released May 17, 2013.
The 2009 "Star Trek" grossed $257.7 million domestically and $127.9 million internationally. It had a budget estimated at $150 million.
In addition to "Robocop," Weller played the title role in the 1984 "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension."
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister arrest (AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands ? The International Criminal Court prosecutor sought an arrest warrant Friday for Sudan's defense minister on crimes against humanity and war crimes charges for allegedly helping orchestrate atrocities in Darfur.
The request brings to three the number of senior Sudanese leaders ? including President Omar al-Bashir ? accused of crimes in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a filing to judges that Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein is among those who "bear greatest criminal responsibility" for atrocities in the Sudanese region from August 2003 to March 2004.
At the time, Hussein was interior minister and the Sudan government's special representative in Darfur.
He is accused of overseeing a state-sponsored plan to attack villages in western Darfur. Prosecutors say government troops would surround the villages, air force planes would bomb them and then soldiers, including janjaweed militia fighters, would descend on the ruins, raping and killing those who survived the initial aerial onslaught.
A panel of judges will study evidence filed by Moreno-Ocampo before deciding whether to issue a warrant.
The court already has indicted al-Bashir on genocide charges along with another of his government ministers and a commander of the janjaweed militia for their alleged roles in widespread attacks on civilians in Darfur.
None of those suspects has been arrested by the court, which has no police force, and al-Bashir has refused to surrender himself or anybody else to the court.
Since his indictment, al-Bashir has repeatedly traveled to friendly nations without being arrested.
Moreno-Ocampo said he made public the arrest warrant request for Hussein to put the case back in the spotlight.
In a statement, his office said the request aims "to encourage further public focus on government of the Sudan policy and actions, and promote cooperation in taking action to arrest Mr. Hussein and the 3 other individuals subject to ICC warrants."
Prosecutors also have indicted two rebels for allegedly leading an attack on an African Union peacekeeper compound in Darfur. Judges dismissed similar charges against another rebel for lack of evidence. All three of the rebels surrendered voluntarily to the Hague-based court last year.
Darfur was plunged into turmoil in 2003, when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, whom they accused of discrimination.
The Khartoum government is accused of retaliating by unleashing Arab militias on civilians ? a charge the government denies. The U.N. estimates 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced in the conflict.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
J.J. Abrams beams up Alice Eve for "Star Trek" sequel (omg!)
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Alice Eve has been cast in J.J. Abrams' 3D "Star Trek" sequel, TheWrap has confirmed.
Eve is best known for her leading role in "She's Out of My League," and guest roles in "Sex and the City 2" and HBO's "Entourage."
Eve's role hasn't been revealed, but she is playing a new character.
The principal castmembers of the 2009 hit "Star Trek" are due to return, including Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty.
Benicio del Toro is reportedly being considered for the role of the villain.
The "Star Trek" sequel, which is still untitled, is directed, written and produced by J. J. Abrams. Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci also are writing and producing. Bryan Burk is producing.
Eve will also star in "The Raven," an Edgar Allen Poe thriller directed by James McTeigue ("V for Vendetta"). Eve will also play a young version of Agent O, Emma Thompson's character, in Barry Sonnenfeld's "Men in Black III."
Last week, Paramount Pictures bumped the release date for "Star Trek 2" from June 29, 2012, to May 17, 2013. It had removed the film from its June 2012 slot several months ago, when it put "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" into the spot.
The 2009 "Star Trek" grossed $257.7 million domestically and $127.9 million internationally. It had a budget estimated at $150 million.
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Saundra Schimmelpfennig: Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Giving
December is a busy time of year with many charitable requests for your time or money. The following advice will ensure your time and money does the good you intended.
Don't get scammed by a fake website
Unfortunately, unscrupulous people have learned to mimic nonprofit websites and advertising campaigns. To avoid being scammed, here are a few precautions:
- Never click through to an organization from a link sent to you -- this could be a link to a fake website.
- Google the EXACT name of the charity to ensure you're on their real website.
- For lesser known charities, look for evidence on the web that they exist. Most real charities will leave an electronic trail of meeting minutes, newspaper articles, or mentions by other organizations.
- If donating by mail, verify the address on the website.
Do avoid stand alone projects
Activities such as distributing toys, feeding the hungry, or helping the homeless should be coordinated with long-term programs. Without coordination, your time and donation could be wasted. A homeless man explained the problem well in the NPR article Advice from a Homeless Man:
"In a 2-hour span," Sheptock wrote, "no less than 6 groups of do-gooders came through the park feeding the homeless. After the 3rd or 4th group, I began to tell people, 'No more. I can't eat anymore' and ask them if they were trying to stuff me like a turkey."... "but come Jan. 2, they'll be hungry again, especially on weekends when it's hard to find food."
The problem isn't just with food, there are issues with the delivery of clothing, toys, or sleeping bags too.
Don't send donated goods overseas
Many charities encourage donors to send Christmas presents to children in developing countries. Unfortunately, sending goods overseas is generally not the best way to help. Donated goods are often inappropriate for the local climate, religion, or way of life. In addition, it costs more to ship the goods than to purchase them locally. Buying goods in the local marketplace boosts the local economy, helping more people than just that one child.
Do check with local nonprofits before taking up a collection of donated goods
Before you start a clothes, book, or shoe drive, check with the charity you want to support. Never assume they'll accept your donations. Find out what goods are most needed. What sizes, styles, and amounts are requested. You may be surprised by what you find.
Don't feel pressured to give
Being a good donor means evaluating a charity before donating. Giving at the cash register or when called at home rewards those charities with the most aggressive fundraising campaigns, not the ones that do the best job. Ask for a brochure and take the time you need before deciding. If they don't give you the information you request -- don't donate. The people that approach you in the mall or on the phone (called chuggers for charity muggers) generally work for a middleman and keep a large percentage of the amount you donate. Giving via the charity's website ensures they receive your full donation.
Do keep volunteer opportunities in perspective
It takes a great deal of time and effort to plan and supervise large volunteer events. Often it's faster and easier for staff to do the work themselves. These events are often held for positive PR, as a fundraising activity, or as an awareness raising or educational event. If the volunteer opportunity interests you, go ahead and participate. Just keep in perspective how much you're actually "giving back."
Do consider donating or volunteering throughout the year
People's needs do not end with the holidays. If your goal is to teach your child to be charitable, there are many opportunities throughout the year to volunteer or donate to good causes. The best volunteers are the long-term ones that can be counted on day to day. If you're willing to donate your professional skills, even better. Nonprofits struggle to pay for professional assistance as this is considered "overheads" and is frowned upon by donors.
For more in-depth information on giving during the holidays, read Good Intentions' Holiday Guide to Charitable Giving.
?
Follow Saundra Schimmelpfennig on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Good_Intents
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/saundra-schimmelpfennig/dos-and-donts-of-holiday-_1_b_1123004.html
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Clinton challenges Mynmar to boost reforms
YANGON, Myanmar?? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday shared dinner with Myanmar's most famous former political prisoner and challenged the nation's leaders to expand upon recent reforms, end violent campaigns against ethnic minorities and break military ties with North Korea.
"We believe that any political prisoner anywhere should be released," Clinton told reporters during the first visit to this long-isolated nation by the top U.S. diplomat in more than 50 years. "One political prisoner is one too many in our view."
Clinton made her comments before her private dinner with opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released last year after two decades of on-and-off imprisonment and has said she will run in upcoming elections. Clinton and Suu Kyi were to meet more formally on Friday.
Meeting earlier Thursday with President Thein Sein and other senior government officials in the capital of Naypyidaw, Clinton offered a small package of rewards for steps the country has already taken but made clear that more must be done. She said the U.S. was not ready to lift sanctions on the country.
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Clinton hand-delivered letters from President Barack Obama to Thein Sein and Suu Kyi in which Obama expressed hope that relations could further improve.
PhotoBlog: Clinton visits Myanmar, meets Aung San Suu Kyi"I came to assess whether the time is right for a new chapter in our shared history," Clinton said, adding that the U.S. was ready to further improve relations with the civilian government in the Southeast Asian nation ? also known as Burma ? but only if it stays on the path of democratization.
In a series of modest first steps, she announced that Washington would allow Myanmar's participation in a U.S.-backed grouping of Mekong River countries; no longer block enhanced cooperation between the country and the International Monetary Fund; and support intensified U.N. health, microfinance and counternarcotics programs.
A senior U.S. official said Thein Sein had outlined his government's plans for reform in a 45-minute presentation in which he acknowledged that Myanmar lacked a recent tradition of democracy and openness. He asked for U.S. help in making the transition from military to full civilian rule, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private diplomatic exchange.
Clinton replied that she was visiting because the U.S. was "encouraged by the steps that you and your government have taken to provide for your people."
Yet, she also made clear that those steps must be consolidated and enlarged if the U.S. is to consider easing near-blanket economic sanctions that block almost all American commercial transactions with Myanmar. "While measures already taken may be unprecedented and certainly welcome, they are just a beginning," she told reporters.
"We're not at the point yet where we can consider lifting sanctions that we have in place because of our ongoing concerns about policies that have to be reversed," Clinton said. "But any steps that the government takes will be carefully considered and will be matched."
She called for the release of political prisoners and an end to brutal ethnic violence that has ravaged the nation for decades. She also warned the country's leadership to break suspected illicit military, nuclear and ballistic missile cooperation with North Korea that may violate U.N. sanctions. "Better relations with the United States will only be possible if the entire government respects the international consensus against the spread of nuclear weapons ... and we support the government's stated intention to sever military ties with North Korea," she said.
Video: Clinton's historic visit to Myanmar (on this page)In his presentation, Thein Sein vowed that Myanmar would uphold its U.N. obligations with respect to North Korea, according to the senior U.S. official. He also told Clinton that Myanmar was actively considering signing a new agreement with the U.N. nuclear watchdog that would allow unfettered inspections of atomic sites in the country, the official said.
Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, welcomed the U.S. package of rewards and said, "The incentives will help promote better relations and a better future for the country and I hope the government will expand its reform process."
Clinton rejected the idea that the U.S. outreach to Myanmar was partially motivated by the growing influence of China. "We are not viewing this in light of any competition with China," she said. "We are viewing it as an opportunity for us to re-engage here."
"We welcome positive constructive relations between China and her neighbors. We think that is in China's interest as well as in the neighborhood's interest," she said.
Recalling Obama's mention of "flickers of progress" in Myanmar when he announced that Clinton would visit the country, Clinton urged the leadership not to allow them to "be stamped out."
"It will be up to the leaders and the people to fan flickers of progress into flames of freedom that light the path toward a better future," she said. "That ? and nothing less ? is what it will take for us to turn a solitary visit into a lasting partnership."
Before dinner with Suu Kyi, Clinton toured the Shwedagon Pagoda, a 2,500-year-old Buddhist temple with a massive golden stupa.
Video: Freed Myanmar activist speaks out (on this page)Despite the historic nature of Clinton's visit, enthusiasm has been muted within Myanmar.
Chan Tun, a 91-year-old veteran politician and a retired ambassador to China, said: "This is a very critical visit because U.S. will understand Myanmar better through engagement. U.S. engagement will also help Myanmar's dependence on China."
But Clinton's presence has been overshadowed by the arrival Thursday of the prime minister of Belarus and his wife, to whom two large welcoming signs were erected at the airport and the road into the city. No such displays welcomed Clinton.
The Belarus Prime Minister made the front page of Thursday's edition of the government-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper. Clinton's visit was mentioned in a two-paragraph story on page 2.
Still, some in Myanmar welcomed the attention from the U.S. "I watched the arrival of Ms. Clinton on Myanmar TV last night," 35-year-old taxi driver Thein Zaw said. "I am very happy that Ms. Clinton is visiting our country because America knows our small country, whether it is good or bad."
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45504481/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/
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New type of solar cell retains high efficiency for long periods: ACS podcast
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-Nov-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series features a new solar cell with high efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity and the durability to last and last.
In the podcast, Michael Graetzel, Ph.D., describes research that aimed to develop an improved version of a highly promising solar cell that is less expensive than conventional solar cells made from the semi-conductor material, silicon. These so-called dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), or Graetzel cells (named for the discoverer, Michael Graetzel), have other advantages. They can be manufactured in light-weight flexible sheets, for instance, that are more durable and suitable for roll-up applications such as window shades. Hindering commercial use of DSCs has been their lack of stability, with the electricity output tending to decline over time. Graetzel is with the cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
The study reports development and successful lab tests of a new electrolyte composition suitable for the DSC, constructed with different material that is both stable and has a relatively high efficiency of 10 percent. It has an improved electrolyte system, the substance that conducts electricity inside the solar cell. The new device retained at least 95 percent of that sun-converting ability for 1,000 hours of testing.
The new podcast is available without charge at iTunes and from www.acs.org/globalchallenges.
###
Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is a series of podcasts describing some of the 21st Century's most daunting problems, and how cutting-edge research in chemistry matters in the quest for solutions. Global Challenges is the centerpiece in an alliance on sustainability between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Global Challenges is a sweeping panorama of global challenges that includes dilemmas such as providing a hungry, thirsty world with ample supplies of safe food and clean water; developing alternatives to petroleum to fuel society; preserving the environment and assuring a sustainable future for our children and improving human health. During the 2011 global celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC), Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions also is focusing on the main themes of IYC health, environment, energy and materials.
For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view Prized Science, Spellbound, Science Elements and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 30-Nov-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series features a new solar cell with high efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity and the durability to last and last.
In the podcast, Michael Graetzel, Ph.D., describes research that aimed to develop an improved version of a highly promising solar cell that is less expensive than conventional solar cells made from the semi-conductor material, silicon. These so-called dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), or Graetzel cells (named for the discoverer, Michael Graetzel), have other advantages. They can be manufactured in light-weight flexible sheets, for instance, that are more durable and suitable for roll-up applications such as window shades. Hindering commercial use of DSCs has been their lack of stability, with the electricity output tending to decline over time. Graetzel is with the cole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
The study reports development and successful lab tests of a new electrolyte composition suitable for the DSC, constructed with different material that is both stable and has a relatively high efficiency of 10 percent. It has an improved electrolyte system, the substance that conducts electricity inside the solar cell. The new device retained at least 95 percent of that sun-converting ability for 1,000 hours of testing.
The new podcast is available without charge at iTunes and from www.acs.org/globalchallenges.
###
Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is a series of podcasts describing some of the 21st Century's most daunting problems, and how cutting-edge research in chemistry matters in the quest for solutions. Global Challenges is the centerpiece in an alliance on sustainability between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Global Challenges is a sweeping panorama of global challenges that includes dilemmas such as providing a hungry, thirsty world with ample supplies of safe food and clean water; developing alternatives to petroleum to fuel society; preserving the environment and assuring a sustainable future for our children and improving human health. During the 2011 global celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC), Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions also is focusing on the main themes of IYC health, environment, energy and materials.
For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view Prized Science, Spellbound, Science Elements and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/acs-nto113011.php
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Thursday, December 1, 2011
NYC recommends AIDS drugs for any person with HIV (AP)
NEW YORK ? Health officials said Thursday they are recommending that any person living with HIV be offered AIDS drugs as soon as they are diagnosed with the virus, an aggressive move that has been shown to prolong life and stem the spread of the disease.
Standard practice has been to have patients put off the expensive pill regimen ? which can cost up to $15,000 a year in the United States ? until the immune system weakens.
But Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said recent studies have shown that the benefits of early treatment, combined with education and testing, appears to be a promising strategy for countering the epidemic.
"I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been about this epidemic that we can drive our new rates down to zero or close to it ? eventually. I don't know how soon. But I'm very optimistic of the direction that it's going to take the epidemic to," Farley said in an interview Wednesday.
More than 110,000 people in New York City are infected with HIV, more than in any other U.S. city and about 75 percent of all cases in the state. San Francisco, which had more than 18,000 people living with HIV, is believed to be the only other major city to have made a similar recommendation in 2010.
City health officials said the new recommendation could initially help about 3,000 people get on medications. About 66,000 New Yorkers living with HIV that the Health Department tracks are being effectively treated with AIDS drugs, they said. But they said it was difficult to estimate how many people would eventually need the medications.
Some doctors agree with the Department of Health that it is time to update the guidelines for initiating AIDS drug treatment.
"The New York City health department is a little bit ahead of the curve. In my opinion, the rest of the country will follow and I think it will be pretty quick," said Dr. Michael Saag of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and past chairman of the HIV Medicine Association.
The standard measure of the CD4 count ? a way to measure the strength of the immune system ? is an outdated trigger for therapy, a relic from research on early antiretroviral drugs, Saag said.
"It's anachronism. It's old school. It's yesterday," Saag said. "I agree completely with the New York City health department."
Dr. Joel Gallant of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and vice chair of the HIV Medicine Association also agrees with the New York recommendation for offering early treatment. He recommends early treatment for his own patients.
"Nobody I know who is an HIV expert feels that it's a bad idea to treat HIV at high CD4 counts from a medical or scientific standpoint," Gallant said. "If there are objections, they'd usually be based on cost or feasibility."
Saag said the cost questions are very important because a brand-name drug can retail for $1,200 to $1,600 per month.
"For sure, they're very expensive drugs and we should be careful about that," he said, though he added that the medications are going generic so costs should come down.
City health officials said they anticipated that the cost for expanding the use of AIDS drugs would be covered by private insurance or by the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a $270 million program for the uninsured or underinsured that is partially funded through federal dollars. The health officials said they expect the benefits over the long term would far outweigh the initial costs because there would be fewer hospitalizations and new HIV cases.
"There will be some increasing costs over the short term," said Farley. "But over the long term, it's absolutely the right thing for the epidemic."
HIV experts are split about whether early therapy should be recommended or optional. Besides the high costs, the pills have side effects from nausea to liver damage. Patients unwilling to take them religiously for life could develop drug resistance.
A panel that recently updated U.S. guidelines was divided evenly, with half favoring starting therapy early for everyone and half regarding an early start as elective.
But there's growing evidence that untreated HIV can lead to cancers and heart disease. What's more, antiretroviral drugs are safer, have fewer side effects and work better than they did in the past. New research also indicates that people live better, healthier lives and their partners do as well when they get early treatment.
The new research cited by the city's Health Department in making its recommendations includes a nine-nation study whose preliminary results were announced earlier this year and showed that earlier treatment meant patients were 96 percent less likely to spread the virus to their uninfected partners.
Dr. Moupali Das, the director of research at the San Francisco Department of Health HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, said its surveillance data indicated that physicians were treating their HIV patients early even before the city recommended doing so. She said the average amount of time from diagnosis to having no virus in the blood went from 32 months in 2004 to eight months in 2008.
"That reflects that the newer medications are more potent and efficacious, and the doctors were likely initiating them earlier," she said.
She said they are currently analyzing what has happened since the recommendations went into effect. But, anecdotally, she said that there has been a change among patients seeking treatment. "It's changed the dialogue and empowered our patient population," she said.
Public health experts predict the guidelines for starting AIDS drugs treatment will shift toward a clear recommendation for early treatment.
But New York City's health commissioner said officials there could not wait to respond.
"What we're doing here is we're making a really clear and unequivocal statement that we think this is good for the health of the patient, good for the health of the entire population, good for the response to the epidemic," Farley said.
___
AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson contributed from Chicago.
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Automotive News 2011 All-Stars
?
As if bankruptcies and recalls weren't enough of an obstacle the past two years, the auto industry faced one of the world's worst natural disasters in 2011. The 9.0 magnitude Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11 delivered another blow to an already fragile recovery.
Despite the difficulties, some individuals have thrived.
We unveil our annual Automotive News All-Stars, leaders who set the pace in tough times. Chrysler Group placed five individuals on our list -- including CEO Sergio Marchionne, who is our Industry Leader and North American CEO of the Year for 2011.
Source: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111128/ALLSTARS/311289998/-1
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