Therapy for milk allergy offers hope, and caution

Large study shows benefits of gradual introduction to dairy, but protection waned for some patients in smaller studies

Large study shows benefits of gradual introduction to dairy, but protection waned for some patients in smaller studies

By Nathan Seppa

Web edition: February 27, 2013

SAN ANTONIO ? For people with a dairy allergy, gulping down a glass of milk is unthinkable. But many patients came away with that ability after a months-long program of exposure to increasing amounts of milk, researchers from Israel reported February 24 at a meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology.

But other data released at the conference raise questions about the long-term sustainability of such treatment. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University report that many children have seen their allergy return several years after completing a similar regimen of what allergists call oral immunotherapy.

?I think they?re not as protected as we were led to believe,? says Robert Wood, an allergist at Johns Hopkins who reported follow-up data on 32 patients.

In the study in Israel, 280 people ages 4 to 27 began the regimen by consuming less than 1 milligram of milk protein, followed by increases every 15 to 30 minutes during the day until they consumed up to 120 milligrams. The patients were treated in a clinic for four days. People who developed allergic symptoms, such as throat swelling or abdominal pain, returned to a dose that they could tolerate, says study coauthor Michael Levy, an allergist at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Zerifin.

Participants then went home and twice a day consumed the highest dose of milk that they could tolerate in the clinic, returning to the clinic monthly to receive escalating doses. Of the 280 patients treated for at least seven months, 160 were able to consume 7,200 milligrams of milk protein, the equivalent of about one-fourth of a liter of milk, without a reaction by the end of the study. ?They are eating freely all dairy foods,? Levy said.

Another 66 patients who finished the treatment can handle smaller amounts of milk regularly, and 15 are still working through gradual escalations. Being able to consume even modest amounts is valuable, Levy said, because it reduces the likelihood of an accidental allergic reaction. But 39 people in the study simply couldn?t tolerate milk and had to abandon treatment, suggesting there is a group that doesn?t benefit from the approach.

In the other analysis, which included patients from two previous smaller studies, Wood reported that only eight of 32 children who received treatment three to five years earlier at Johns Hopkins were still free of symptoms when ingesting milk. Five can?t touch it, and the rest have occasional to frequent reactions to milk, Wood said at a press briefing February 25. Most had originally completed treatment without symptoms.

Brian Vickery, a pediatric allergist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who wasn?t part of either analysis, said the Israeli approach is similar, but not identical, to other oral immunotherapy treatments being tried for milk allergy. And while the experimental treatment yielded good responses in many people at an early stage of follow-up, he says, the Johns Hopkins findings suggest that real-life behavior could make or break the therapy.

Wood noted that some children may have neglected to keep up with consuming at least a little milk each day, and as a result, lost the protection. Vickery said such daily contact might be simultaneously the most essential and difficult aspects of the therapy, since kids often get anxious or even fearful about eating food they have learned to avoid.

No oral immunotherapy has been approved for any food allergy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348637/title/Therapy_for_milk_allergy_offers_hope_and_caution

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Japan PM Abe cites Thatcher reflections on Falklands war

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose country is embroiled in a row with China over tiny islands, on Thursday quoted former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's reflections on the 1982 Falklands war with Argentina to stress the importance of the rule of law at sea.

"Our national interests have been immutable. They lie in making the seas, which are the foundation of our nation's existence, completely open, free and peaceful," Abe said in a prepared policy speech to parliament covering a wide range of issues.

Abe went on to quote a remark from Thatcher's memoirs, reflecting on the Falklands war, in which she said Britain was defending the fundamental principle that international law should prevail over the use of force.

The war over the remote South Atlantic archipelago began when Argentine troops landed on the Falkland islands on April 2, 1982, and ended 74 days later with their surrender. The conflict killed about 650 Argentine and 255 British troops.

Continuing in his own words, Abe said: "The rule of law at sea. I want to appeal to international society that in modern times changes to the status quo by the use of force will justify nothing."

Tokyo's ties with Beijing chilled sharply after the Japanese government last September bought the rocky islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, from a private owner, sparking violent protests in China.

A flare-up in tensions in the territorial row has raised fears of an unintended military incident near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. The United States says the islets fall under a U.S.-Japan security pact, but Washington is keen to avoid a clash in the economically vital region.

The hawkish Abe, who took office in December after his conservative party's big election win, reiterated in his speech that the islands are Japanese territory, and urged Beijing not to escalate tensions.

He added, however, that Sino-Japanese relations were vital for Japan and said his door was always open to dialogue.

Abe also stressed the importance of the U.S.-Japan security alliance days after his summit with President Barack Obama.

Calling the U.S. alliance the axis of Japan's diplomacy and security policies, Abe said: "It is only logical that, in the open oceans, the United States, which is the world's largest marine state, and Japan, Asia's largest maritime democracy, form a partnership, and to fortify this constantly is necessary."

(Reporting by Linda Sieg, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-pm-abe-cites-thatcher-reflections-falklands-war-042224117.html

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Will Ferrell To Receive First-Ever Comedic Genius Award At Movie Awards

'Anchorman 2' star's contribution to world of comedy will be recognized with inaugural honor.
By Amy Wilkinson

Will Ferrell
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702692/will-ferrell-comedic-genius-movie-awards.jhtml

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Seth MacFarlane Slammed For Anti-Semitism, Racism, Misogyny

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/seth-macfarlane-slammed-for-anti-semitism-racism-misogyny/

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Clever battery completes stretchable electronics package: Can stretch, twist and bend -- and return to normal shape

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Northwestern University's Yonggang Huang and the University of Illinois' John A. Rogers are the first to demonstrate a stretchable lithium-ion battery -- a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics.

No longer needing to be connected by a cord to an electrical outlet, the stretchable electronic devices now could be used anywhere, including inside the human body. The implantable electronics could monitor anything from brain waves to heart activity, succeeding where flat, rigid batteries would fail.

Huang and Rogers have demonstrated a battery that continues to work -- powering a commercial light-emitting diode (LED) -- even when stretched, folded, twisted and mounted on a human elbow. The battery can work for eight to nine hours before it needs recharging, which can be done wirelessly.

The new battery enables true integration of electronics and power into a small, stretchable package. Details will be published Feb. 26 by the online journal Nature Communications.

"We start with a lot of battery components side by side in a very small space, and we connect them with tightly packed, long wavy lines," said Huang, a corresponding author of the paper. "These wires provide the flexibility. When we stretch the battery, the wavy interconnecting lines unfurl, much like yarn unspooling. And we can stretch the device a great deal and still have a working battery."

Huang led the portion of the research focused on theory, design and modeling. He is the Joseph Cummings Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The power and voltage of the stretchable battery are similar to a conventional lithium-ion battery of the same size, but the flexible battery can stretch up to 300 percent of its original size and still function.

Rogers, also a corresponding author of the paper, led the group that worked on the experimental and fabrication work of the stretchable battery. He is the Swanlund Chair at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Huang and Rogers have been working together for the last six years on stretchable electronics, and designing a cordless power supply has been a major challenge. Now they have solved the problem with their clever "space filling technique," which delivers a small, high-powered battery.

For their stretchable electronic circuits, the two developed "pop-up" technology that allows circuits to bend, stretch and twist. They created an array of tiny circuit elements connected by metal wire "pop-up bridges." When the array is stretched, the wires -- not the rigid circuits -- pop up.

This approach works for circuits but not for a stretchable battery. A lot of space is needed in between components for the "pop-up" interconnect to work. Circuits can be spaced out enough in an array, but battery components must be packed tightly to produce a powerful but small battery. There is not enough space between battery components for the "pop-up" technology to work.

Huang's design solution is to use metal wire interconnects that are long, wavy lines, filling the small space between battery components. (The power travels through the interconnects.)

The unique mechanism is a "spring within a spring": The line connecting the components is a large "S" shape and within that "S" are many smaller "S's." When the battery is stretched, the large "S" first stretches out and disappears, leaving a line of small squiggles. The stretching continues, with the small squiggles disappearing as the interconnect between electrodes becomes taut.

"We call this ordered unraveling," Huang said. "And this is how we can produce a battery that stretches up to 300 percent of its original size."

The stretching process is reversible, and the battery can be recharged wirelessly. The battery's design allows for the integration of stretchable, inductive coils to enable charging through an external source but without the need for a physical connection.

Huang, Rogers and their teams found the battery capable of 20 cycles of recharging with little loss in capacity. The system they report in the paper consists of a square array of 100 electrode disks, electrically connected in parallel.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Sheng Xu, Yihui Zhang, Jiung Cho, Juhwan Lee, Xian Huang, Lin Jia, Jonathan A. Fan, Yewang Su, Jessica Su, Huigang Zhang, Huanyu Cheng, Bingwei Lu, Cunjiang Yu, Chi Chuang, Tae-il Kim, Taeseup Song, Kazuyo Shigeta, Sen Kang, Canan Dagdeviren, Ivan Petrov, Paul V. Braun, Yonggang Huang, Ungyu Paik, John A. Rogers. Stretchable batteries with self-similar serpentine interconnects and integrated wireless recharging systems. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1543 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2553

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/8rXHnZdluCo/130226113828.htm

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French Government Mulls Next Generation Anti-Piracy Measures ...

French Government Mulls Next Generation Anti-Piracy Measures

After pioneering one of the world?s first ?three strikes? anti-piracy schemes the French are now turning their attention to other methods of obtaining unauthorized media. A new report just published by the Hadopi agency tackles the issue of streaming and direct download sites, which currently the organization is doing little about. No surprise that filtering, site blocking and domain seizures are being touted as possible solutions to this growing element of online piracy.

France?s graduated response system for dealing with online file-sharing is not only famous around the world but also popular with rightsholders. Those who are repeatedly monitored sharing copyrighted material via peer-to-peer networks can expect a short series of warning messages followed by a punishment.

Since the system only covers BitTorrent-like public transfers, streaming and direct download sites are an attractive option for Internet users wishing to avoid its clutches. But despite the Hadopi anti-piracy agency declaring last year that there had been ?a clear downward trend in illegal P2P downloads? but no ?massive transfer in forms of use to streaming technologies or direct downloads?, there is still interest in these mechanisms.

French news outlet PCInpact has directed TorrentFreak to a new report published by Hadopi which proposes draconian messages to force streaming and Direct Download (DDL) sites to comply with the law.

?Some Internet sites, streaming services and direct download sites are specialized in the massive exploitation of illegal content from which they make profits for their own benefit,? the Hadopi writes. ?This report, showing the state of the ecosystem of illegal streaming and direct downloads, explores different ways to fight against the massive exploitation of illegal content.?

The report, put together by Mireille Imbert-Quaretta, President at the Commission for the Protection of Rights (Commission de Protection des Droits), covers a wide range of anti-piracy techniques, some well-trodden and others more fresh.

Hadopi has always claimed that ?three strikes? is primarily an educational effort and in combating streaming and direct downloads the agency begins with the same approach. Internet users should be educated about the ?dangers? of obtaining media via these mechanisms through warning messages sent by Hadopi.

Aiming to push the sites themselves towards YouTube-levels of copyright compliance, Hadopi would like them to implement content recognition and filtering technologies utilizing fingerprints supplied by rightsholders. These systems could be used to completely remove content or restrict user access based on location.

However, the report goes much further by suggesting that if site operators refuse to sign filtering agreements with rightsholders and illicit content repeatedly appears, they could be subjected to a strikes-style system of their own.

?In the event that it would not be possible to reach an agreement because of the apparent unwillingness of the platform hosting the reported content [to comply with the law], the public authority may decide to correct the behavior of the platform through an alert procedure,? Numerama reports.

Suggested punishments for sites are varied, including reporting them to search engines for delisting. Google has already taken steps to remove French sites including AlloStreaming from its index in the past.

In addition, sites could be reported to a judge in order to begin a domain blocking process. Once blocked by IP and DNS, Hadopi wants to have the power to ensure that domains (and any subsequent mirrors) remain blocked. Outright domain seizures are also a possibility.

Also, in a move that mirrors more recent anti-piracy activity involving PayPal and certain credit cards, Hadopi wants to hit operators in the pocket by targeting the financial intermediaries of sites subjected to the copyright alerts procedure. This could include suspension or termination of payments but if financial partners refuse to cooperate, Hadopi suggests it could take the matter to court.

Finally, and adding momentum to initiatives underway in the United States, Hadopi wants to strangle advertising to sites subjected to the alerts procedure.

Source: http://torrentfreak.com/french-government-mulls-next-generation-anti-piracy-measures-130226/

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Huge explosion rattles Syrian capital

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Damascus residents and state-run TV say a huge explosion has shaken the city.

The blast followed by heavy gunfire caused panic in the capital, where a massive car bombing on Thursday near the ruling Baath party headquarters killed at least 53 people.

It was not immediately clear what the target of Monday's explosion was and whether there were casualties.

State-run TV reported a "terrorist" explosion at the entrance to the northeastern neighborhood of Qaboun.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-explosion-rattles-syrian-capital-193800452.html

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PS4: The Last of the Game Consoles?

1. PS4: The Last of the Game Consoles?

   An article by Wired.

   Wired: 'Sony is attempting to define itself as the anti-Xbox. If that won't work, the game console for gaming gamers is done.'

   

   
   On Wednesday, Sony announced its new upcoming PlayStation 4.

   At the long two-hour event in NYC attended by over 1,000 journalists and fans, the company spent the time talking up its philosophy behind the system and reiterated that it was for 'true gamers': sick new graphics, ungodly amounts of RAM and cool new gaming-centric features like the ability to stream gameplay videos in real time.

   However, according to Wired, there?s an excellent chance the PS4 will be the last videogame console ever (at least as we understand the term).

   Here are some extracts from the article:

   ?We?re focusing on that core gamer, the gamer who wants the ultimate experience and lives for gaming,? Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton told Wired contributor Steven Levy after the event. ?If you?re not a gamer, I don?t think you get it.?

   Not a gamer? Beat it, loser. We don?t even want you buying PlayStation 4. So what is all this, then? Why is Sony rallying the gamer troops under its banner? PlayStation 4?s reveal preceded the as-yet-unscheduled announcement of the next Xbox. And it?s clear that Sony is attempting to preemptively define itself against Microsoft.

   Over the last few years, Microsoft has been attempting to change the way people think about its Xbox 360. It launched it in 2005 as a game console, the same way Sony is talking up the PlayStation 4 today. But now it wants you to think of it as an ecumenical home entertainment system, capable of streaming television, movies, music and everything else. Depending on your cable provider, you can use Xbox to control your live TV experience too.

   With all this in mind, there should be no question that Microsoft?s pitch for its eventual new console, right from the off, will be: This plays games, but it?s not for gamers any more than an iPad is just for gamers. Everybody watches TV, so everybody wants an Xbox to give them a heightened experience. If someday you find yourself caught in a downpour and duck into the nearest doorway and thereby accidentally enter a Microsoft store, you would be able to buy an Xbox on a cellphone-style plan, paying $99 for the box if you subscribe to two years of the Xbox Live service. That?s today. What if that?s the whole pitch for the next Xbox? What if Sony?s machine is $500 and Microsoft?s is $100? That would be the Bambi vs. Godzilla of console wars.

   [...]

   But the big mistake Sony seems to be making is the assumption that this is a zero-sum equation, in which a lack of other entertainment options means you are by default better at games. There?s no reason the next Xbox can?t be an awesome gaming device even if Microsoft achieves its goal of broadening the scope of the product. It?s so costly to make videogames today that none of the handful of publishers that are not yet bankrupt would fail to put their games on both platforms. Hardcore gamers are not hard to please, at the macro level. They are insanely expensive to please, but not hard: They want shooters with 1080p graphics, the same controller they?ve been using for the last decade, and seamless online play. It is not within the realm of possibility that Microsoft fails to deliver that.

   Sony does make better platform-exclusive games than Microsoft. It doesn?t have a shooter as popular as Halo, but Microsoft doesn?t have an Uncharted, a Heavy Rain, a Journey or an Infamous. Sony is killing it with first-party content. But ask Nintendo how that works out for you. It?s not a sufficient condition for success.

   [...]

   Who knows ? maybe it?ll pay off. But if gamers don?t flock to Sony?s rallying cry, what then? There?s a good chance Sony may realize all too late that it was Microsoft that got it right, and that you actually can sell far more game machines into people?s homes by broadening the appeal of the device beyond ?the gamer? who lives for gaming.? Sony might find itself having to change course and play catch-up again, like it did when PlayStation 3 showed up empty-handed to the online-gaming party that Xbox Live was throwing in 2006.

   And if that does happen, and the future is all-in-one entertainment boxes, then PlayStation 4 might be the last traditional gaming console ever released.

   So, what do you think? You can read the full article below!

   NEWS SOURCE: PS4 Analysis (via) Wired

   Our thanks to 'Gauss' for this news item!

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3. Member

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   ''Microsoft doesn?t have an Uncharted, a Heavy Rain, a Journey or an Infamous''

   I don't think those games are reason enough to make people choose PS4 Or not , If thats what they are relying on on , God help them, They are going to need an awful lot more than that.

   You never know , Maybe the next Gran Turismo wont take 40 years to produce or suck monkey nuts when it ships , Games like that might help.

   Last edited by somenutter; Today at 03:04 AM.

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4. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to somenutter For This Useful Post:

   gDrive?(Today), TomatOsaUce?(Today)

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7. Junior Member

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   I think somebody just had an intensive Microsoft butt kissing session.
   PS3 was a better quality piece of hardware than xbox360 and this is hardly going to change with PS4 vs xbox720.

   Oh, and PSN is free, thanks for 2 year subscription plan. (this might change to microsoft style though =/)

   Sony is opting for more expensive and faster memory than Microsoft and AMDs APU benefit A LOT from it, so Sony's console is also going to be faster.
   Sony has announced hard to implement features to be built in.

   Now, consuming some video service (doesn't PS3 already support amazon video? I saw the icon but never used it) is a piece of cake. "OMG controlling video provider", since when does XBox support DVB-C pretty please? Is it about video streaming only? That's oh so 2005...

   Last edited by medi01; Today at 07:47 AM.

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9. Junior Member

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   I think all people in Wired are Xbox fanboy.

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11. Member

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    Sony is opting for more expensive and faster memory than Microsoft and AMDs APU benefit A LOT from it, so Sony's console is also going to be faster.
    Sony has announced hard to implement features to be built in.

    Its true they are using fast memory , But we don't know for sure if Microsoft is using slower ddr3 ram or not, Its only rumors we have heard , Ive also heard a rumor Microsoft is putting a dedicated GPU Into the console along with the APU They already have, So don't count all our chickens just yet.

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13. wired just doing some junk journalism to get hits / thread

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15. Junior Member

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    Its true they are using fast memory , But we don't know for sure if Microsoft is using slower ddr3 ram or not, Its only rumors we have heard , Ive also heard a rumor Microsoft is putting a dedicated GPU Into the console along with the APU They already have, So don't count all our chickens just yet.

    It's leaks not rumors and the guy who leaked it was raided by police.
    While Microsoft might bump memory, dedicated GPU on top of AMDs APU makes so little sense:
    1) much more expensive
    2) nearly doubles power consumption => problems with cooling
    3) cross-platform games (which are what, 99.9%?) could benefit from slightly more power (say better anti-aliasing, anysotropic filtering) but could hardly put twice as powerful GPU to a good use (lots of effort for only half of the market)

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Source: http://www.ps3crunch.net/forum/threads/6646-PS4-The-Last-of-the-Game-Consoles

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Nick App: Binge on Spongebob For All Eternity

Slime on your TV, slime on your tablet. Nickelodeon just launched a fun new iPad app. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/XbbmQ9lI5HQ/nick-app-binge-on-spongebob-for-all-eternity

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Viking's New Stadium Will Accommodate Baseball

The Minnesota Vikings' new football stadium will be designed to accommodate a baseball field.

The Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority announced agreement Friday on a multi-use field configuration for the $975 million stadium.

The Minnesota Twins left the Metrodome for their own new ballpark at Target Field in 2010. But the Minnesota Gophers and other college and prep baseball teams want to play early-season games in the Vikings' new stadium.

Under the agreement, the new stadium will feature a 26-foot-high right field wall, retractable seats on the north sideline and removable dugouts.

Plans now call for the Metrodome to be torn down early next year and for the new stadium to be ready to open by July 1, 2016.

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: http://greaterminnesota.kstp.com/news/news/186357-vikings-new-stadium-will-accommodate-baseball

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House party promoted on Facebook resulted in disorder and arrests

This in from the police, in their own words. Ed

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Police are this morning (February 23) questioning a number of people following a large disorder on the Isle of Wight.

Officers were called to an address in Ryde following reports of a party.

Police escorted a large group away from the address and onto local buses. Further disorder then occurred on the buses and more officers were drafted into Newport to resolve the situation.

Eight people were arrested, aged between 14 and 24. Three of the eight were arrested for assaulting police officers. The officers were not seriously injured and remained on duty.

Sergeant Michael Hughes from Newport Safer Neighbourhood Team said: ?This large scale disorder was the result of a party being advertised on social media. It got out of hand and police had to be called in.

?We then had to use significant resources to deal robustly with further issues in Newport.

?I?d like to reassure the public that we will also be deploying extra patrols this evening. We will not tolerate any repeat of this behaviour.?

Image: Mark Hillary under CC BY 2.0

Source: http://onthewight.com/2013/02/23/house-party-promoted-on-facebook-resulted-in-disorder-and-arrests/

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Italians vote in parliamentary elections

Supporters wait for Italian comic-turned-political agitator Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, to deliver his speech at a final rally in view of the upcoming general elections, in Rome, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Grillo fills piazzas from Milan to Rome, from Palermo to Verona with Italians who seem to get some catharsis from his rant against politician who drove the country to the brink of financial ruin, industrial managers whose alleged shenanigans are tarnishing prized companies and bankers who aided and abetted the other two classes of powerbrokers. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Supporters wait for Italian comic-turned-political agitator Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, to deliver his speech at a final rally in view of the upcoming general elections, in Rome, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Grillo fills piazzas from Milan to Rome, from Palermo to Verona with Italians who seem to get some catharsis from his rant against politician who drove the country to the brink of financial ruin, industrial managers whose alleged shenanigans are tarnishing prized companies and bankers who aided and abetted the other two classes of powerbrokers. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Italian comic-turned-political agitator Beppe Grillo, leader of the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, delivers his speech during a final rally in view of the upcoming general elections, in Rome, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Grillo fills piazzas from Palermo deep in the south to Verona up north with Italians who seem to get some catharsis from his rants against the politicians who drove the country to the brink of financial ruin, the captains of industry whose alleged illegal shenanigans are tarnishing prized companies, and the bankers who aided and abetted both. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Italian center-left coalition leader Pierluigi Bersani delivers his speech during a campaign rally in Rome, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Amid corruption scandals, rising populist sentiment and financial hardship, Italians are voting in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday seen as a test of their will to stay the course for painful economic reforms or revert to their free spending ways of the past. Silvio Berlusconi, a billionaire forced out of office by Italy's debt crisis, is seeking a political comeback promising Italians to give them back the real estate tax they paid as part of austerity measures enacted to salvage the economy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Supporters wave flags in front of a giant monitor broadcasting a message by Silvio Berlusconi during a center-right coalition rally in Naples, Italy, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Silvio Berlusconi has skipped his last campaign rally before Italian elections because of an eye problem. The 76-year-old media mogul is trying to make a comeback, to win a fourth term as premier. He was supposed to address a rally in Naples on Friday, but instead spoke to supporters in a video message. Italian media quoted his personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, as saying Berlusconi was advised to skip the rally, because he has a posterior vitreous detachment in an eye. In the condition, common in the elderly, a gel-like substance naturally in the eye pulls away from the retina. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Italian center-left coalition leader Pierluigi Bersani delivers his speech during a campaign rally in Rome, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. Amid corruption scandals, rising populist sentiment and financial hardship, Italians are voting in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday seen as a test of their will to stay the course for painful economic reforms or revert to their free spending ways of the past. Silvio Berlusconi, a billionaire forced out of office by Italy's debt crisis, is seeking a political comeback promising Italians to give them back the real estate tax they paid as part of austerity measures enacted to salvage the economy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME (AP) ? Will Italy stay the course with painful economic reform? Or fall back into the old habit of profligacy and inertia? These are the stakes as Italy votes in a watershed parliamentary election Sunday and Monday that could shape the future of one of Europe's biggest economies.

Fellow EU countries and investors are watching closely, as the decisions that Italy makes over the next several months promise to have a profound impact on whether Europe can decisively put out the flames of its financial crisis. Greece's troubles in recent years were enough to spark a series of market panics. With an economy almost 10 times the size of Greece's, Italy is simply too big a country for Europe, and the world, to see fail.

Leading the electoral pack is Pier Luigi Bersani, a former communist who has shown a pragmatic streak in supporting tough economic reforms spearheaded by incumbent Mario Monti. On Bersani's heels is Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul seeking an unlikely political comeback after being forced from the premiership by Italy's debt crisis. Monti, while widely credited with saving Italy from financial ruin, is trailing badly as he pays the price for the suffering caused by austerity measures.

Then there's the wild card: comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, whose protest movement against the entrenched political class has been drawing tens of thousands to rallies in piazzas across Italy. If his self-styled political "tsunami" sweeps into Parliament with a big chunk of seats, Italy could be in store for a prolonged period of political confusion that would spook the markets.

While a man of the left, Bersani has shown himself to have a surprising amount in common with the center-right Monti ? and the two have hinted at the possibility of teaming up in a coalition. Bersani was Monti's most loyal backer in Parliament during the respected economist's tenure at the head of a technocratic government. And in ministerial posts in previous center-left governments, Bersani fought hard to free up such areas of the economy as energy, insurance and banking services.

But it's uncertain that Monti will be able muster the votes needed to give Bersani's Democratic Party a stable majority in both houses of Parliament.

"Forming a government with a stable parliamentary alliance may prove tricky after elections," said Eoin Ryan, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "A surge in support for anti-austerity parties is raising chances of an indecisive election result and post-vote political instability."

Another factor is turnout. Usually some 80 percent of the 50 million eligible voters go to the polls but experts are predicting many will stay away in anger, hurting mainstream parties.

When Berlusconi stepped down in November 2011, newspapers were writing his political obituary. At 76, blamed for mismanaging the economy and disgraced by criminal allegations of sex with an underage prostitute, the billionaire media baron appeared finished as a political force.

But Berlusconi has proven time and again ? over 20 years at the center of Italian politics ? that he should never be counted out.

The campaign strategy that has allowed him to become a contender in these elections is a simple one: please the masses by throwing around cash.

Berlusconi has promised to give back an unpopular property tax imposed by Monti as part of austerity measures. Even his purchase of start striker Mario Balotelli for his AC Milan soccer team was widely seen as a ploy to buy votes. Berlusconi has also appealed to Italy's right-wing by praising Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust victims.

The most recent polls show Bersani in the lead with 33 percent of the vote, against 28 percent for Berlusconi's coalition with the populist Northern League. Grillo's 5 Star movement was in a surprise third place, with 17 percent support, while Monti's centrist coalition was notching 13 percent. The COESIS poll of 6,212 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percent.

Pollster Renato Mannheimer said among his biggest clients heading into the elections were foreign banks seeking to gauge whether to hold or sell Italian bonds.

"They are worried mostly about the return of Berlusconi," Mannheimer said.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the vote has pushed the Milan stock exchange down in the days running up to the vote and bumped up borrowing costs, as investors express concern that Italy may back down from a reform course to pull the country out of recession.

Mannheimer said many undecided voters ? who comprise around one-third of the total electorate ? identify with the center-right, and that may help Berlusconi. He said that the undecided vote may also tilt heavily toward Grillo's protest movement.

The professorial Monti looked uncomfortable at first as a candidate but has recently warmed to the role. Like the others, he has not shied away from name calling, warning that Berlusconi is a "charlatan" and saying his return would be "horrific."

Bond analyst Nicholas Spiro said the election "will deliver the most important verdict on the eurozone's three-year-old austerity focused policies."

But he is betting on a period of political instability after the vote.

"An upset victory by Mr. Berlusconi may be markets' nightmare scenario," he said, "but the prospects for a stable and harmonious Bersani-Monti coalition government ? still the mostly likely outcome in our view ? are bleak."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-24-EU-Italy-Elections/id-f07c7c113be440268e065520593be44a

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Obama urges Congress to head off spending cuts

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Chicago. The president and congressional Republicans each seem content with the political ground they hold and are prepared to let across-the-board spending cuts take effect on March 1, unlike during earlier rounds of budget brinkmanship that saw last minute frantic dealmaking. This time, there is no market-rattling threat of a US. default to force the two sides to compromise, no government shutdown on the short-term horizon and no year-end deadline to prevent a tax increase for every working American. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2013 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Chicago. The president and congressional Republicans each seem content with the political ground they hold and are prepared to let across-the-board spending cuts take effect on March 1, unlike during earlier rounds of budget brinkmanship that saw last minute frantic dealmaking. This time, there is no market-rattling threat of a US. default to force the two sides to compromise, no government shutdown on the short-term horizon and no year-end deadline to prevent a tax increase for every working American. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says a little compromise is all Congress needs to turn off automatic, across-the-board budget cuts set to kick in a week from now.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says the cuts will slow the economy and hurt the middle class. He says thousands of teachers will be laid off and air traffic controllers will be forced into unpaid leave, leading to airport delays. He says almost 800,000 defense workers will also face furloughs.

Obama says he wants a balanced plan to deal with the deficit that mixes spending cuts with more tax revenue.

In the Republican address, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota says Obama should approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to Texas, as a way to create jobs and grow the economy.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-23-Obama/id-b2d6851bc9a5410e83cb9b0e74559d7a

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Obama to send 100 U.S. military personnel Niger

President Barack Obama says about 100 U.S. military personnel have been deployed to the African nation of Niger (nee-ZHEHR').

In a letter to Congress, Obama says the forces will focus on "intelligence sharing" with French troops fighting Islamist militants in neighboring Mali. He says the American forces have been deployed with weapons, quote, "for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security."

The U.S. and Niger signed agreement last month spelling out legal protections and obligations of Americans who might operate from the African nation. But U.S. officials declined at the time to discuss specific plans for a military presence in Niger.

The Pentagon is also considering plans to base unarmed spy drones in Niger to boost its ability to see what is happening in the region.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-100-us-military-personnel-deployed-niger-132749337.html

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Tumblr, Pinterest, And Twitter User Email Addresses Stolen In Zendesk Hack [Updates]

Zendesk, the email and contact support client used by Tumblr, Twitter, and Pinterest, has been compromised, and user?s email addresses have been stolen during the breach. Tumblr is sending out emails informing users of the situation, but Twitter and Pinterest are also seeing the same ill effects.

If you?ve never emailed support for any of the three social networks, then your email address is safe. Those who have sent an email to Tumblr in the last 2.5 years, which is when the blogging service started using Zendesk, your email address is likely compromised.

The silver lining to all this is that passwords are safe, so all the attackers have access to is email?addresses? They may be able to send you spam or phishing messages, but that?s about it. For Tumblr, some emails may contain the link to a user?s blog in the subject, so the hackers may be able to associate an email with a blog, but there is still little that can be done with that information.

Zendesk is quick to point out that the breach has been fixed, but obviously, any damage the hackers were looking to do has already taken place.

Twitter uses a technology called Domain-based Message Authentication or DMARC. This makes it difficult for people running phishing scams to fake an email from Twitter. Regardless, if you?ve emailed support for any of these three websites, you should be extra careful about what emails you open, as your email address is likely in the hands of the wrong people. Of course, you should be cautious with emails at all times, but right now it is extra important.

Source: Digital Trends

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tumblr-pinterest-and-twitter-user-email-addresses-stolen-in-zendesk-hack-updates/

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DC pairing Batman, Superman in new title

This black and white combo image of two sketches released by DC Entertainment shows an image of Superman, left, and Batman. DC Entertainment says it will unveil a new ongoing series focusing on Superman and Batman, two of the publisher?s best-known and revered heroes. "Batman/Superman? is set to debut in June and will be written Greg Pak and illustrated by Jae Lee. It will focus on how the two iconic heroes first met in the publisher?s relaunched universe, dubbed The New 52. (AP Photo/DC Entertainment)

This black and white combo image of two sketches released by DC Entertainment shows an image of Superman, left, and Batman. DC Entertainment says it will unveil a new ongoing series focusing on Superman and Batman, two of the publisher?s best-known and revered heroes. "Batman/Superman? is set to debut in June and will be written Greg Pak and illustrated by Jae Lee. It will focus on how the two iconic heroes first met in the publisher?s relaunched universe, dubbed The New 52. (AP Photo/DC Entertainment)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? DC Entertainment says it will unveil a new ongoing series focusing on Superman and Batman, two of the publisher's best-known and revered heroes.

"Batman/Superman" is set to debut in June and will be written Greg Pak and illustrated by Jae Lee. It will focus on how the two iconic heroes first met in the publisher's relaunched universe, dubbed The New 52.

Pak says DC is giving he and Lee "some real leeway to do some really important storytelling" in the series that will give readers the opportunity to delve deep into the characters, their interaction and the effects on the wider New 52 universe.

The two characters have been a part of DC since the late 1930s.

___

DC Comics is owned by Time Warner Inc.

___

Online:

http://www.dccomics.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-21-Superman%20and%20Batman/id-38850dc1dbca4920b5a67d03818b6848

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Earthquake Deaths to Reach 3.5 Million by 2100

The world's favorite places to live often owe their popularity to local geology that provides benefits, like earthquake faults that line up valleys and trap groundwater ? but that also pose a hazard to the nearby population.

With the planet's growing population crowding more and more into these earthquake-prone regions, a new study predicts that 3.5 million people will have died in catastrophic earthquakes between 2001 and 2100. The toll will add additional stress to strapped aid agencies, said study author Tom Holzer, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif.

"The more people [there are] on the planet, the higher the probability of more catastrophic earthquakes," Holzer told OurAmazingPlanet. "Most earthquakes don't actually kill anybody. What is required is a concentration of people in harm's way."

Massive population growth

Four catastrophic quakes (those that kill 50,000 or more people) have already hit since 2001. There was only one per century before 1900, and seven between 1900 and 2000. The total death toll from temblors so far this century is more than 700,000. [10 Biggest Earthquakes in History]

Holzer and USGS colleague James Savage analyzed historic records of earthquake deaths dating back to A.D. 856, then compared those events to world population estimates. Depending on which death catalog they used, the expected number of fatalities from catastrophic earthquakes in this century will be 2.3 million to 5 million, the study found. The most reliable catalog gives an estimate of 3.5 million, from 21 catastrophic earthquakes, Holzer told OurAmazingPlanet.

The results are detailed in the February 2013 issue of the journal Earthquake Spectra.

Holzer, whose expertise is in earthquake risks from different soils, said his interest was sparked by a scientific talk on earthquake fatality rates. He said he was intrigued that there wasn't a one-to-one correlation between total global population growth and earthquake deaths. In fact, the ratio of global earthquake fatalities to world population has been steadily decreasing. "I kept looking until I knew what was driving this," he said.

More people, not more quakes

The researchers attacked the problem in a new way, with a statistical method that accounts for the planet's changing population. Holzer cautions that the increase in killer quakes isn't from more frequent earthquakes, but from more people living in poorly constructed buildings in shake-prone regions.

"There are places, like along the front of the Himalayas, that are just waiting for another disaster," he said. "China, the Middle East and many of the cities in these places just don't design to resist earthquakes. If we don't address this, we're going to see many more catastrophes than we've seen historically, and humanitarian aid efforts are going to be stressed even more over this century. We're going to see more Haiti-type situations."

Remote areas at risk, too

But urban growth isn't all to blame. In 2005, more than 50,000 people died when and earthquake in the Kashmir region of Pakistan devastated a string of villages. And the broad reach of tsunamis can sweep away multitudes in sparsely populated areas.

About 62 percent of the world's population lives in countries with a significant seismic hazard, or risk of earthquakes.

In a study published in 2009, scientists calculated that an earthquake with a million fatalities could be expected once a century if the world's population reaches 10 billion, as the United Nations predicts will happen in 2083.

Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/earthquake-deaths-reach-3-5-million-2100-221119876.html

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Private US firms take major role vs. cyberattacks

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When Kevin Mandia, a retired military cybercrime investigator, decided to expose China as a primary threat to U.S. computer networks, he didn't have to consult with American diplomats in Beijing or declassify tactics to safely reveal government secrets.

He pulled together a 76-page report based on seven years of his company's work and produced the most detailed public account yet of how, he says, the Chinese government has been rummaging through the networks of major U.S. companies.

It wasn't news to Mandia's commercial competitors, or the federal government, that systematic attacks could be traced back to a nondescript office building outside Shanghai that he believes was run by the Chinese army. What was remarkable was that the extraordinary details ? code names of hackers, one's affection for Harry Potter and how they stole sensitive trade secrets and passwords ? came from a private security company without the official backing of the U.S. military or intelligence agencies that are responsible for protecting the nation from a cyberattack.

The report, embraced by stakeholders in both government and industry, represented a notable alignment of interests in Washington: The Obama administration has pressed for new evidence of Chinese hacking that it can leverage in diplomatic talks ? without revealing secrets about its own hacking investigations ? and Mandiant makes headlines with its sensational revelations.

The report also shows the balance of power in America's cyberwar has shifted into the hands of the $30 billion-a-year computer security industry.

"We probably kicked the hornet's nest," Mandia, 42, said in an interview at the Alexandria, Va., headquarters of Mandiant. But "tolerance is just dwindling. People are tired of the status quo of being hacked with impunity, where there's no risk or repercussion."

China has disputed Mandiant's allegations.

Mandiant, which took in some $100 million in business last year ? up 60 percent from the year before ? is part of a lucrative and exploding market that goes beyond antivirus software and firewalls. These "digital forensics" outfits can tell a business whether its systems have been breached and ? if the company pays extra ? who attacked it.

Mandiant's staff is stocked with retired intelligence and law enforcement agents who specialize in computer forensics and promise their clients confidentiality and control over the investigation. In turn, they get unfettered access to the crime scene and resources to fix the problem (Mandiant won't say exactly how much it charges, but it's estimated to average around $400 an hour).

The growing reliance on contractors like Mandiant has been compared to that enjoyed by the military and State Department contractor formerly known as Blackwater, which provided physical security to diplomats and other VIPs during the Iraq war. Officials inside and outside government say that's not a bad thing; contractors can often act more quickly than the government and without as much red tape. There are also serious privacy concerns: Most U.S. citizens don't want the government to access their bank accounts, for example, even if China is attacking their bank.

"The government doesn't have the capacity," said Shawn Henry, a former FBI executive assistant director who works for a Mandiant competitor, CrowdStrike. "There are a lot of people working hard. But the structures aren't there."

Michael DuBose, another former senior Justice Department official who works at a different Mandiant competitor, Kroll Advisory Solutions, added: "I think there's a recognition that the government can't stand at the entry point of the Internet to the United States and shield it from all bad things coming in."

Since Mandiant released its report this week, government officials and lawmakers have publicly embraced its findings. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, hailed Mandiant for exposing China as a problem. She called its report "sobering" and said she hoped it would spur an international agreement to protect companies from cyber-espionage.

"It's a forcing function in the private sector, and frankly ... it's a forcing function with the government," said retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency who now works for the Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm.

Mandiant's report raises questions, too, about the extent to which private companies are in control of defending the nation's most crucial networks, like power companies and water treatment plants. Another question is what rules of engagement private companies might rely on. When does a company strike back?

Mandia and his competitors said they are beholden to U.S. and international laws, which prohibit the type of intrusive acts they accuse China of taking. Mandia also says his clients aren't interested in starting a cyberwar with foreign hackers, in part because they are so vulnerable.

"The only time (hacking back) would really work is if we got all the bad guys out of our networks in the first place," he said. "Then you can start playing that game."

Still, publishing the hacking report was itself an offensive shot across China's bow.

Mandia said he started his company in 2004 after years in the private sector because there was no company focused on investigating intrusions. With a master's degree in forensic science from George Washington University, he became Mandiant's sole employee and, two years later, got a cash infusion from a college friend. Now, he oversees some 330 employees and the field is growing rapidly. He says he used to see maybe three major incidents a month when he started his business; now he estimates there can be anywhere from 30 to 100 incidents a month.

Mandia is hardly alone. A former co-worker, Stuart McClure, recently started his own company, called Cylance. He received $15 million in venture capital funds for his business, which he says is distinctive because of its focus on prevention. McClure said in general he sees the future of cyberdefense residing in the private sector, with its deeper pockets and less red tape.

"With a commercial entity, you can get more creative," McClure said.

As for any problems they might cause in diplomatic or security circles for the federal government, Mandia and his competitors say that's not really on their radar, although he's hiring attorneys to help him monitor changing U.S. policies and regulations. But as a tech guy, he says he's focused on stopping intrusions.

"We're security guys," Mandia said. "We're not diplomats."

___

Online:

Mandiant: http://www.mandiant.com

The report: http://intelreport.mandiant.com/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-21-Cybersecurity%20Hired%20Guns/id-49baeee53de3454f8bb3d51cb2342241

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Obama administration tackles colonoscopy confusion

WASHINGTON (AP) ? It's one part of the new health care law that seemed clear: free coverage for preventive care under most insurance plans.

Only it didn't turn out that way.

So on Wednesday, the Obama administration had to straighten out the confusion.

Have you gone for a colonoscopy thinking it was free, only to get a hefty bill because the doctor removed a polyp?

No more.

Taking out such precancerous growths as part of a routine colon cancer screening procedure will now be considered preventive care.

"Polyp removal is an integral part of a colonoscopy," the Department of Health and Human Services said in guidance posted on its website. That conclusion has the backing of several leading medical societies, the department noted.

Also addressed in the notice was genetic testing for breast cancer, coverage of over-the-counter products such as aspirin for heart care and nicotine patches for smoking, and birth control for women. Unlike formal regulations, the guidance does not have the force of law, but advocates for patients say insurers would be ill-advised to ignore it.

President Barack Obama's health care law required most private health plans to cover preventive care at no additional charge to patients. It also expanded preventive coverage without copayments for Medicare recipients. For workers and their families, the expense is borne by the company health plan, which passes on some of those costs in the form of higher premiums. Advocates say preventive care saves the health care system money over time.

Colonoscopy is an expensive test that can cost more than $1,000. It's recommended for adults 50 and over, and has become a rite of passage for aging baby boomers.

News that it would be covered free under the health care law got attention, but that was followed quickly by a letdown when many insurers started charging if a polyp or two was discovered and removed during the procedure.

"Insurers were reclassifying it from a preventive test to a diagnostic procedure," said Stephen Finan, policy director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "In some cases the cost-sharing was a significant amount of money."

His group was among several that complained to the administration.

Other free preventive services addressed in Wednesday's guidance:

?Insurers must cover testing, if ordered by a doctor, for rare BRCA genes that dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer. Such tests can cost as much as $3,000.

?Over-the-counter products such as aspirin for heart care and nicotine patches for smoking cessation are covered with a doctor's prescription.

?Insurers won't be able to fulfill the law's requirement to cover contraception as preventive care for women if they only pay for birth control pills. A full range of FDA-approved methods must be covered, including long-acting implant and intrauterine devices. Birth control methods for men are not covered as preventive care.

If a health plan does not have a network doctor who performs a particular preventive service, a patient can see a doctor out-of-network without facing copays or additional charges.

The insurance industry said the requirement to cover over-the-counter medications will lead to higher costs. "We are concerned about the precedent of requiring health plans to provide coverage for over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin and iron supplements, that are not typically covered by insurance today," said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, an industry trade group.

Also Wednesday, the government came out with final rules on the benefits that health plans catering to individuals and small businesses will have to offer starting next year, when new insurance markets called exchanges open in each state.

The coverage generally is better than what's now available to people buying individual policies, but close to what medium-size companies offer, with some important improvements in areas such as mental health care.

Benefits include hospital and outpatient care, emergency services, maternity and newborn care, prescriptions, prevention, rehabilitation and ongoing assistance for people with potentially disabling conditions, and dental and vision care for children.

All plans will have to cover the same benefits, but their premiums and cost sharing will vary. There will be four level of coverage ? bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Bronze plans will cover 60 percent of expected costs while platinum plans will cover 90 percent.

___

Online:

Health and Human Services Department: http://tinyurl.com/au6lzeo

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-administration-tackles-colonoscopy-confusion-204049494.html

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