Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273187012?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Afghanistan: Woman who killed American is Iranian
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The policewoman who killed an American contractor in Kabul is a native Iranian who came to Afghanistan and displayed "unstable behavior" but no known links to militants, an Interior Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
The policewoman, identified as Sgt. Nargas, shot 49-year-old Joseph Griffin, of Mansfield, Georgia, on Monday, in the first such shooting by a woman in a spate of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies. Nargas walked into a heavily-guarded compound in the heart of Kabul, confronted Griffin and gunned him down with a single pistol bullet.
The U.S-based security firm DynCorp International said on its website that Griffin was a U.S. military veteran who earlier worked with law enforcement agencies in the United States. In Kabul, he was under contract to the NATO military command to advise the Afghan police force.
Insider killings have eroded the trust between the foreign contingent and the Afghan government, just a year before most NATO troops are set to withdraw and turn security responsibility over to local forces.
The ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqi, told a news conference that Nargas, who uses one name like many in the country, was born in Tehran, where she married an Afghan. She moved to the country 10 years ago after her husband obtained fake documents enabling her to live and work there.
A mother of four in her early 30s, she joined the police five years ago, held various positions and had a clean record, he said. Sediqi produced an Iranian passport which he said was found at her home.
"Her mental condition is not good," he said, describing her behavior as "unstable." He said that after she attended a recent training course in Egypt a "foreign government" ? a clear reference to Egypt ? informed Afghan authorities that she did not appear to be "normal."
On Monday, senior Afghan officials said the policewoman was licensed to carry the weapon into the compound and was well known there. On Tuesday, however, the chief investigator, Gen. Mohammad Zahir, told reporters that she was not authorized to carry weapons into the compound but managed to pass through security checks with a hidden pistol. Zahir said the lapse of security was also being investigated, as well as whether she had connections with foreign or local militant groups.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Zahir said that during interrogation, the policewoman said she had plans to kill either the Kabul governor, city police chief or Zahir himself, but when she realized that penetrating the last security cordons to reach them would be too difficult, she saw "a foreigner" and turned her weapon on him.
On Monday, NATO said that "some temporary, prudent measures" might be put into place to lessen exposure of NATO personnel to insider attacks, but the training of Afghan police would not be stopped. The NATO command had no additional comment on the case Tuesday.
There have been 60 insider attacks this year against foreign military and civilian personnel, compared to 21 in 2011. This surge presents another looming security issue as NATO prepares to pull out almost all of its forces by 2014, turning the war against the Taliban and other militant groups largely in the hands of the Afghans.
More than 50 Afghan members of the government's security forces also have died this year in attacks by their own colleagues. The Taliban claims such incidents reflect a growing popular opposition to the foreign military presence and the Kabul government.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-woman-killed-american-iranian-122754343.html
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Lost, blind dog finds way back to Alaska owners
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) ? Blind and alone in Alaska winter temperatures that dipped 40 degrees below zero, a lost 8-year-old Fairbanks dog wasn't given much of a chance to make it home.
But after walking 10 miles to the edge of a local musher's dog yard, Abby the brown-and-white mixed breed was found and returned to her owners, a family that includes two boys and one girl under the age of 10.
The dog that the family raised from an animal-shelter puppy went missing during a snowstorm on Dec. 13, and the family never expected to see her again, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported (http://bit.ly/VhceSZ ).
"It's a miracle, there's no other words to describe it," said McKenzie Grapengeter, emotion choking her voice and tears coming to her eyes. "We never expected to have her to be returned safe and alive."
Musher and veterinarian Mark May said he came across the dog while running his team on Dec. 19, but didn't stop to pick her up.
"It ran with us for about a mile on the way home before she fell off the pace, but I had a big dog team so I couldn't grab it," he said. "I said, 'boy I hope it finds somebody's house.'"
The next day, the dog turned up at May's house.
"Everybody just assumed it was some kind of scaredy-cat, but there it was in front of the door in our dog lot and it was blind," May said. "It was sitting there, all the way from 14 mile on the winter trail down into this neighborhood, I guess by just sniffing, so I picked it up and brought it in."
To May's surprise, the dog had no signs of frostbite.
"No frozen ears, no frozen toes, she'll probably go back home and it'll (be) business as usual. She's no worse for wear but quite an adventure," he said.
The Grapengeter family hadn't tagged or put a microchip in the dog, but the community used social media to track down Abby's owners.
"We're so, so grateful for all (the community's) hard work," McKenzie Grapengeter said. "They've given us the most amazing Christmas gift we could ever ask for."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lost-blind-dog-finds-way-back-alaska-owners-203656548.html
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Ultrasound diagnoses appendicitis without X-rays
Dec. 24, 2012 ? Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown.
Similar patients who went to St. Louis Children's Hospital were more often evaluated with an ultrasound scan, a safer option that uses sound waves instead of radiation to confirm or rule out the need for surgery to remove the appendix.
Use of either scanning technique can potentially reduce the occurrence of unnecessary surgeries and expedite the diagnosis of appendicitis. But recent reports have suggested that the radiation exposures in CT scans can significantly increase children's lifetime cancer risk. As a result, researchers are reassessing the role of CT scans and seeking ways to reduce their use.
The study appears online Dec. 24 in the journal Pediatrics.
"Appendicitis is a very tough diagnosis, because its symptoms overlap with viral infections and other problems," says first author Jacqueline Saito, MD, assistant professor of surgery. "We don't want to operate when the appendix is fine, but if we wait too long, an inflamed appendix can rupture or perforate, making recovery more complicated and much slower."
The appendix is a finger-shaped pouch that extends from the large intestine. Infection or blockage of the appendix causes appendicitis, which can lead to abdominal pain, vomiting and fever.
Saito and her colleagues analyzed case records of 423 children who had appendectomies, or surgery to remove the appendix, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. In 218 patients initially evaluated at Children's Hospital and 205 at general hospitals, researchers reviewed how the patients were evaluated for appendicitis and whether the surgery's results confirmed the diagnosis.
CT scans, which take X-ray images from multiple angles, have been the primary diagnostic scan for detecting appendicitis for many years. About 85 percent of children initially evaluated at a general hospital underwent preoperative CT scans, and 45 percent of children initially seen at St. Louis Children's Hospital had CT scans. Using ultrasound to detect appendicitis has recently become more frequent, especially at St. Louis Children's Hospital; over half of children initially seen at St. Louis Children's Hospital, compared to 20 percent at general hospitals, had preoperative ultrasound.
Only 7 percent were not scanned using either method, and 15 percent had both types of imaging.
While ultrasound scans are safer for diagnosing appendicitis in children, they must be performed and interpreted by personnel who have received specialized training and are familiar with pediatric diagnostics.
"Ultrasound scans are difficult to perform correctly in this context, and what specialists can do at Children's Hospital may not be realistic or even available in a general hospital, which doesn't care for children as often," Saito says.
Saito is currently studying the outcomes of patients whose scans ruled out an appendectomy, looking to see if they had any additional symptoms or eventually had to have their appendixes removed.
"Ultimately what we'd liked to do is learn how we can reduce our use of CT imaging without compromising patient care," she says. "We want to find ways to identify the patients who really need these scans and those who can be effectively evaluated using other methods."
Funding from the National Center for Research Resources (award number UL1RR024992) and the St. Louis Children's Hospital Children's Hospital Children's Surgical Sciences Institute.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis. The original article was written by Michael C. Purdy.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Jacqueline M. Saito, Yan Yan, Thomas W. Evashwick, Brad W. Warner, Phillip I. Tarr. Use and Accuracy of Diagnostic Imaging by Hospital Type in Pediatric Appendicitis. Pediatrics, 2012; [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/oAFUIzf6JhQ/121224113349.htm
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Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Adele Trademarks Her Name? | Adele | News | MTV UK
11:38, Monday, 24 December 2012
Record-breaking singer Adele has reportedly trademarked her name in order to stop fans being tricked into buying unofficial merchandise.
The Sun newspaper suggests the move will prevent people from misusing her name on items such as perfume and jewellery.
A source told the tabloid: "She doesn't want anyone exploiting her name by using it on products which may trick punters into thinking she's involved with it."
The trademark would mean her identity is protected, and make it easier for the superstar singer to take legal action against anyone using her name to dupe fans.
Adele has enjoyed an incredible year, having been named Billboard's Top Artist Of The Year for the second time, won countless awards, recorded the James Bond Skyfall theme, and welcomed her first child into the world.
?
Watch MTV News on the hour every hour on MTV - Sky Channel 126 and Virgin Channel 311
Source: http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/adele/371614-adele-trademarks-name
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Monday, December 24, 2012
FDA Backs Safety of Transgenic Fish
The first genetically engineered (GE) animal for human consumption?a fast-growing salmon?has come a step closer to the dinner table, with a piece of paperwork posted online on December 22 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA?s draft environmental assessment concludes that the fish poses no foreseeable risk to nature. After 60 days of public comment, the FDA may issue a final assessment and approval?at which time AquaBounty, of Maynard, Mass., can begin selling the fish.
However, the draft assessment was dated 4 May, suggesting that the FDA had kept its conclusions under wraps for several months. Advocates on both sides of the issue speculate that political interference may be responsible. ?I think it was controversial, and it was an election year,? says Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch, a Washington, D.C., group opposed to GE food animals. An FDA spokeswoman, Morgan Liscinsky, declined to comment on accusations that the process had been politicized, and says it?s possible that the agency could request further studies after the public comment period.
Delays would not shock AquaBounty's CEO, Ron Stotish, whose company has been seeking FDA approval for the fish since 1995. When he was alerted to the decision today, he didn?t initially believe it. ?I said, ?I?ll wait until I see it because I?ve received calls like this before and it never happened,?? he says. The FDA has reviewed more than 50 safety studies, including one that shows the engineered salmon poses no more of an allergic potential than a wild salmon. The engineered Atlantic salmon contains an active growth-hormone gene from a Chinook salmon that allows it to reach market weight in 18 months rather than three years.
Anti-GE groups still have a long list of concerns. Lovera would like to see more studies done on the potential health risks of the salmon, published in peer-reviewed journals and conducted by scientists with no affiliation to AquaBounty. However, it?s not clear where the money to conduct such tests would come from, as?federal research funding rarely supports GE animals.
The GE salmon are currently kept within enclosed, inland tanks to prevent the small risk that the nearly sterile females will breed with wild salmon. But Lovera still worries that once the fish are approved, manufacturers will file for permits to keep them within nets in the open ocean in order to lower costs. ?This is basically the final step and we think the FDA has given a strong signal that they will accept the fish, and that is a mistake,? she says.
Stotish counters that as part of their application, AquaBounty has promised to not sell the fish to farmers who do not have enclosed, inland tanks. After 17 years and $60 million spent trying to win FDA approval, Stotish is still cautious. ?We are not so foolish to think that this process will suddenly be normal for us,? he says.
This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on December 22, 2012.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=84efcb0855c7fb6aba03a9fa07ae7c4f
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