Clarifying the effect of stem cell therapy on cancer

Public release date: 28-Apr-2013
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Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Injection of human stem cells into mice with tumors slowed down tumor growth, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), isolated from bone marrow, caused changes in blood vessels supplying the tumor, and it is this modification of blood supply which seems to impact tumor growth.

The use of stem cells in treating cancer has been controversial, with some studies finding that stem cells force tumors to enter programmed cell death. However other studies find that stem cells actually promote tumor growth by inducing infiltration of new blood vessels. In attempting to sort out this puzzle researchers from INSERM groups at Universit Joseph Fourier in collaboration with CHU de Grenoble investigated the impact of MSC on already established subcutaneous or lung metastasis in mice.

For both the subcutaneous and lung tumors, injection of MSC reduced cell division, consequently slowing the rate of tumor growth. Part of the mode of action of stem cells therefore appears to be due to with angiogenesis, but the mechanism behind this is still unclear.

Claire Rome who led this study explained, "We found that MSC altered vasculature inside the tumor - although new blood vessels were generated, overall they were longer and fewer than in untreated tumors. This could be restricting the oxygen and nutrients to the tumor, limiting cell division." She continued, "Our study confirms others which propose that stem cells, in particular MSC, might be one way forwards in treating cancer."

Commenting on this study Celia Gomes, from the University of Coimbra, said, "One of the interesting questions this study raises is when MSC promote tumor growth and when they restrict it. The answer seems to be timing this study looks at already established tumors, while others, which find that MSC increase growth, tend to be investigating new tumors. This is a first step in the path to identifying exactly which patients might benefit from stem cell therapy and who will not."

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Research

The dual effect of MSCs on tumour growth and tumour angiogenesis

Michelle Kramidas, Florence de Fraipont, Anastassia Karageorgis, Anack Moisan, Virginie Persoons, Marie-Jeanne Richard, Jean-Luc Coll and Claire Rome

Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2013, 4:41

Commentary

The dual role of mesenchymal stem cells in tumor progression

Clia MF Gomes

Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2013, 4:42

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

2. Stem Cell Research & Therapy is the major forum for translational research into stem cell therapies. An international peer-reviewed journal, it publishes high quality open access research articles with a special emphasis on basic, translational and clinical research into stem cell therapeutics and regenerative therapies, including animal models and clinical trials. The journal also provides reviews, viewpoints, commentaries and reports.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral

---

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

Public release date: 28-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

Injection of human stem cells into mice with tumors slowed down tumor growth, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), isolated from bone marrow, caused changes in blood vessels supplying the tumor, and it is this modification of blood supply which seems to impact tumor growth.

The use of stem cells in treating cancer has been controversial, with some studies finding that stem cells force tumors to enter programmed cell death. However other studies find that stem cells actually promote tumor growth by inducing infiltration of new blood vessels. In attempting to sort out this puzzle researchers from INSERM groups at Universit Joseph Fourier in collaboration with CHU de Grenoble investigated the impact of MSC on already established subcutaneous or lung metastasis in mice.

For both the subcutaneous and lung tumors, injection of MSC reduced cell division, consequently slowing the rate of tumor growth. Part of the mode of action of stem cells therefore appears to be due to with angiogenesis, but the mechanism behind this is still unclear.

Claire Rome who led this study explained, "We found that MSC altered vasculature inside the tumor - although new blood vessels were generated, overall they were longer and fewer than in untreated tumors. This could be restricting the oxygen and nutrients to the tumor, limiting cell division." She continued, "Our study confirms others which propose that stem cells, in particular MSC, might be one way forwards in treating cancer."

Commenting on this study Celia Gomes, from the University of Coimbra, said, "One of the interesting questions this study raises is when MSC promote tumor growth and when they restrict it. The answer seems to be timing this study looks at already established tumors, while others, which find that MSC increase growth, tend to be investigating new tumors. This is a first step in the path to identifying exactly which patients might benefit from stem cell therapy and who will not."

###

Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Research

The dual effect of MSCs on tumour growth and tumour angiogenesis

Michelle Kramidas, Florence de Fraipont, Anastassia Karageorgis, Anack Moisan, Virginie Persoons, Marie-Jeanne Richard, Jean-Luc Coll and Claire Rome

Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2013, 4:41

Commentary

The dual role of mesenchymal stem cells in tumor progression

Clia MF Gomes

Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2013, 4:42

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

2. Stem Cell Research & Therapy is the major forum for translational research into stem cell therapies. An international peer-reviewed journal, it publishes high quality open access research articles with a special emphasis on basic, translational and clinical research into stem cell therapeutics and regenerative therapies, including animal models and clinical trials. The journal also provides reviews, viewpoints, commentaries and reports.

3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral

---

[ | 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/2013-04/bc-cte042613.php

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Japan, Russia agree to revive talks on island dispute

By Alexei Anishchuk

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Japan said on Monday they would revive talks on ending a territorial dispute that has prevented them signing a treaty to formally end their World War Two hostilities and, wary of China's growing influence, agreed to thicken trade ties.

At the two G8 powers' first Moscow summit for 10 years, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had China's economic and political might in mind as they launched a new effort to warm up their relationship.

An end to the dispute over four Pacific islands is not in sight, but reviving long-stalled talks is a first step to improving economic cooperation, which both sides say has failed to live up to its full potential.

"We have agreed to revive talks (on the islands)," Putin told a news conference with Abe after a Kremlin ceremony at which about 20 economic cooperation agreements were signed, but said this did not mean the issue would be resolved "tomorrow".

Abe acknowledged the sides were far apart over the islands but hailed the decision to instruct foreign ministers to resume the talks as an important move to end an "abnormal" situation. He said talks on the issue had long been "stagnant".

Looking relaxed in talks with Putin under a glittering chandelier in an ornate Kremlin hall, Abe said bilateral trade had grown eightfold in the 10 years since then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a summit with Putin in Moscow.

"Nevertheless, our potential for cooperation has not been opened wide enough," Abe said.

Underlining this, the sides failed to clinch any significant agreements on energy cooperation. But Abe said closer ties and more trade would "also make a contribution to the stability and prosperity of our region and the world as a whole."

Russia wants to firm up its footing in Asia as it warily watches China's regional influence grow, even though Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a lavish Kremlin summit only a month ago. Japan is also locked in an islands dispute with China, giving it jitters about its huge neighbor.

ECONOMIES TIES RESTRICTED BY ISLANDS DISPUTE

Russia and Japan are both members of the Group of Eight rich nations but the scope for an improvement in relations has long been restricted by the row over islands known in Russia as the Southern Kuriles and in Japan as the Northern Territories.

They were seized by the Soviet Union, of which Russia was then the biggest part, after it declared war on Japan in August 1945 and days before Japan surrendered, forcing about 17,000 Japanese to flee. They are near rich fishing grounds.

Japan and Russia are still nominally at war, although hostilities ended shortly after Japan surrendered. The conclusion of a peace treaty depends on the resolution of the territorial dispute.

Senior Russian and Japanese officials have discussed it repeatedly in recent years but have made little progress.

"This really is a complex matter. And there is no magic wand in the world that could solve the problem in one move," Abe said. "To solve this it takes time and thorough talks."

Russia has frequently signaled that Japan should focus on economic relations and not get too hung up on the islands.

"This process should not be an irritant to bilateral relations but on the contrary one that would help them. Bilateral economic relations are the best instrument to solve this problem," Putin said.

Japan is the largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and sees Russia as a strategic partner as it looks to diversify and cut the costs of LNG imports, which shot up after a 2011 disaster at its Fukushima nuclear plant.

Tokyo had hoped Moscow would present a proposal for Japan to help build a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and an LNG gas hub on the Pacific coast, but Russia did not do so.

(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodkowski in Tokyo, Writing by Steve Gutterman and Timothy Heritage)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-japan-step-efforts-end-territorial-dispute-132603637.html

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CIA gave bags of cash to Afghan leader

(Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.

The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.

"The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan", one American official said, "was the United States."

The CIA declined to comment on the report and the U.S. State Department did not immediately comment. The New York Times did not publish any comment from Karzai or his office.

"We called it ?ghost money'," Khalil Roman, who served as Karzai's chief of staff from 2002 until 2005, told the New York Times. "It came in secret and it left in secret."

For more than a decade the cash was dropped off every month or so at the Afghan president's office, the newspaper said.

Handing out cash has been standard procedure for the CIA in Afghanistan since the start of the war.

The cash payments to the president's office do not appear to be subject to oversight and restrictions placed on official American aid to the country or the CIA's formal assistance programs, like financing Afghan intelligence agencies, and do not appear to violate U.S. laws, said the New York Times.

There was no evidence that Karzai personally received any of the money, Afghan officials told the newspaper. The cash was handled by his National Security Council, it added.

U.S. and Afghan officials familiar with the payments were quoted as saying that the main goal in providing the cash was to maintain access to Karzai and his inner circle and to guarantee the CIA's influence at the presidential palace, which wields tremendous power in Afghanistan's highly centralized government.

Much of the money went to warlords and politicians, many with ties to the drug trade and in some cases the Taliban, the New York Times said. U.S. and Afghan officials were quoted as saying the CIA supported the same patronage networks that U.S. diplomats and law enforcement agents struggled to dismantle, leaving the government in the grip of organized crime.

In 2010, Karzai said his office received cash in bags from Iran, but that it was a transparent form of aid that helped cover expenses at the presidential palace. He said at the time that the United States made similar payments.

The latest New York Times report said much of the Iranian cash, like the CIA money, went to pay warlords and politicians.

For most of Karzai's 11-year reign, there has been little interest in anti-corruption in the army or police. The country's two most powerful institutions receive billions of dollars from donors annually but struggle just to recruit and maintain a force bled by high rates of desertion.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Sarah Lynch in Washington; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/millions-cia-ghost-money-paid-afghan-presidents-office-020006835.html

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Apps of the Week: Plants vs Zombies, ArtRage, Iron Man 3, and more

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a few games, an art app, a fun music creation app, and an app about the most important star in the universe.

Mr. Runner 2: The Masks - Simon Sage

Mr. Runner was a pretty popular game a few years ago, netting over 5 million downloads thanks to its unique stop-and-go play style and slightly warped sense of humor. Mr. Runner is back with some decidedly richer graphics and a surprisingly interesting plot line. Mr. Runner is trapped in a dream where his head is locked in a box by the dastardly La Magie, and he's got to chase down the key. In this journey, he stumbles on the occasional mask which gives him some semblance of an identity in the meantime. The game will take players through 32 bizarre worlds with plenty of tongue-in-cheek pop culture references. Each stage has three bonus objectives to snag, which should keep you coming back for more if the unique art style isn't enough. If you're in the mood for something a little different, definitely give Mr. Runner 2: The Masks a shot.

• $0.99 - Buy now

ArtRage - Michelle Haag

My daughter is obsessed with drawing My Little Pony characters these days. She's almost 10, and asked me recently if she could have a really good art app for the iPad so she could get more comfortable when she's creating, as opposed to sitting in front of the laptop. We searched around and found ArtRage, and it has quickly become her favorite new tool when inspiration strikes.

ArtRage has a ton of built in features including numerous art tools for drawing and painting, tracing, blending, different types of canvas/papers, and one of our favorite features which is the ability to work with layers. Learning how to sketch is an important step for artists, and with the layers Abby is learning to sketch and refine her drawings. The tools are very natural and mimic real world paints and papers very well, even going so far as to judge how much paint is on your brush or canvas and reacting accordingly, among other things.

If you're interested in having an art studio that you can take with you anywhere, you should definitely take a look at ArtRage. There are so many tools and options in this app, I can't even list them all here. Some reviewers have complained about the app crashing, but we haven't experienced that. I would recommend saving your work frequently if that's a concern. ArtRage is available for iPad and iPhone, for $4.99 and $1.99 respectively.

• $1.99 for iPhone - Download Now
• $4.99 for iPad - Download Now

Iron Man 3 - The Official Game - Chris Parsons

We got our first look at Gameloft's Iron Man 3 at GDGC 2013 and ever since then I've been waiting to get my hands on it. Having now arrived and readily available for download, I have to say it's pretty awesome and even better than I expected. You get to play as Iron Man through 3 different locations and fight 4 villains from Iron Man legend, all in some wonderfully graphic detail. Perhaps the best part of it all though, is gaining access to all of the Iron Man suits available. There is 18 in total that ken be discovered including Mark II, Mark III and the Silver Centurion. The game is available for free but keep in mind it does have a few in-app-purchases with it. I've not played through enough to see if they're 'required' - yet!

• Free - Download Now

Figure - Joseph Keller

Propellerhead?s Figure is a great app for music creation for the iPhone and iPad. Figure gives users control over the different instruments available under the Drum, Bass, and Lead sections. Set the rhythm of each instrument, the number of scale steps between octaves, and range of the bass and lead instruments, along with basics like the key and the tempo. There are also a variety of electronic drum, bass, and lead instruments to choose from. Figure also includes support for Audiobus, allowing you to record and edit your music using other music apps like Loopy and Garageband. Try Figure if you?re looking for quick, simple electronic music creation that?s also a lot of fun to use.

• $0.99 - Download Now

Plants vs. Zombies - Ally Kazmucha

There are very few games that remain on my iPhone consistently and Plants vs. Zombies is definitely one of them. In anticipation of Plants vs. Zombies 2 which is supposedly launching sometime this summer, I've cleared out all my data and have started playing the original Plants vs. Zombies all over again.

The fact that there is no support for the iPhone 5 is definitely a downer and makes me that much more impatient for the second release. My favorite part about Plants vs. Zombies is that even after beating the entire game, you can always go back and unlock all kinds of achievements. That's what I plan to do and cross my fingers that Plants vs. Zombies 2 isn't that far off from being released for iOS. If you haven't checked it out, it's one of those iOS games that every iPhone or iPad owner should download and considering they're both at the low price of $0.99 now, there really isn't anything to lose.

• $0.99 - iPhone version - Download Now
• $0.99 - iPad version - Download Now

Sun by KIDS DISCOVER - Leanna Lofte

I love science, and I love when kids show an interest in science, which is why I'm choosing Sun by KIDS DISCOVER this week. It teaches a lot of fun facts about the Earth's light source and includes great images, graphics, 3D models, videos, and more. And with summer right around the corner, the timing seems perfect for discussion about this season's favorite heat supplier.

If you've got kids who can read, check it out.

• $2.99 - Download now

Google+ - Rene Ritchie

I'm still trying to figure out the whole social expectation angle -- Twitter, Facebook, Google+, App.net, Dribbble, Instagram... and the list seemingly goes on and on. There's just not enough time in the day to properly engage with all of them. I use Twitter a lot. I try to use App.net. I've pretty much abandoned Facebook. And I've neglected Google+ because every time I go there, it feels like only Google people are there.

Blame Cali Lewis and John P. Blame Phil Nickinson. Blame #TM13. But I've started trying to use Google+ again. I know I've said that before. And I might well have to try saying it again. The Google + app for iOS has come a long way however, and it's a pretty good user experience now. I guess time will tell.

The truth is I find social overwhelming right now. I think I'll primarily end up using Google+ for DSLR images and the occasional social commentary that I don't want to spam people on Twitter with.

Since I'm guessing I'm not the only one caught like a deer-in-the-social-headlights right now, let me know how you're organizing your sharing. What are you putting where, and how are you managing it all?

You can tell me, or just find me, on Google+ at +Rene Ritchie

• Free - Download now

Your choice?

Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1QaGTcNDibE/story01.htm

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Russia caught bomb suspect on wiretap

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, officials said Saturday, days after the U.S. government finally received details about the call.

In another conversation, the mother of now-dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, officials said.

The conversations are significant because, had they been revealed earlier, they might have been enough evidence for the FBI to initiate a more thorough investigation of the Tsarnaev family.

As it was, Russian authorities told the FBI only that they had concerns that Tamerlan and his mother were religious extremists. With no additional information, the FBI conducted a limited inquiry and closed the case in June 2011.

Two years later, authorities say Tamerlan and his brother, Dzhohkar, detonated two homemade bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260. Tamerlan was killed in a police shootout and Dzhohkar is under arrest.

In the past week, Russian authorities turned over to the United States information it had on Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The Tsarnaevs are ethnic Chechens who emigrated from southern Russia to the Boston area over the past 11 years.

Even had the FBI received the information from the Russian wiretaps earlier, it's not clear that the government could have prevented the attack.

In early 2011, the Russian FSB internal security service intercepted a conversation between Tamerlan and his mother vaguely discussing jihad, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.

The two discussed the possibility of Tamerlan going to Palestine, but he told his mother he didn't speak the language there, according to the officials, who reviewed the information Russia shared with the U.S.

In a second call, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation. Jacqueline Maguire, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington Field Office, where that investigation was based, declined to comment.

There was no information in the conversation that suggested a plot inside the United States, officials said.

It was not immediately clear why Russian authorities didn't share more information at the time. It is not unusual for countries, including the U.S., to be cagey with foreign authorities about what intelligence is being collected.

The FSB said Sunday that it would not comment.

Jim Treacy, the FBI's legal attache in Moscow between 2007 and 2009, said the Russians long asked for U.S. assistance regarding Chechen activity in the United States that might be related to terrorism.

"On any given day, you can get some very good cooperation," Treacy said. "The next you might find yourself totally shut out."

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has denied that she or her sons were involved in terrorism. She has said she believed her sons have been framed by U.S. authorities.

But Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers and Zubeidat's former brother-in-law, said Saturday he believes the mother had a "big-time influence" as her older son increasingly embraced his Muslim faith and decided to quit boxing and school.

After receiving the narrow tip from Russia in March 2011, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into Tamerlan and his mother. But the scope was extremely limited under the FBI's internal procedures.

After a few months, they found no evidence Tamerlan or his mother were involved in terrorism.

The FBI asked Russia for more information. After hearing nothing, it closed the case in June 2011.

In the fall of 2011, the FSB contacted the CIA with the same information. Again the FBI asked Russia for more details and never heard back.

At that time, however, the CIA asked that Tamerlan's and his mother's name be entered into a massive U.S. terrorism database.

The CIA declined to comment Saturday.

Authorities have said they've seen no connection between the brothers and a foreign terrorist group. Dzhohkar told FBI interrogators that he and his brother were angry over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the deaths of Muslim civilians there.

Family members have said Tamerlan was religiously apathetic until 2008 or 2009, when he met a conservative Muslim convert known only to the family as Misha. Misha, they said, steered Tamerlan toward a stricter version of Islam.

Two U.S. officials say investigators believe they have identified Misha. While it was not clear whether the FBI had spoken to him, the officials said they have not found a connection between Misha and the Boston attack or terrorism in general.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in Washington and Michael Kunzelman in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-caught-bomb-suspect-wiretap-105240857.html

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Officials: 19 killed in car bombings in south Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Three car bombs exploded Monday in public areas in two cities in Iraq's largely calm Shiite Muslim south, killing 19 civilians and wounding dozens, officials said.

The attacks come amid a week-long spike in sectarian violence following clashes at a Sunni protest camp in the north of the country.

Two parked car bombs went off simultaneously Monday morning in the city of Amarah near a gathering of construction workers and a market, killing 12 civilians and wounding 25, according to police. Amarah is located 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Another police officer said a parked car bomb exploded near a restaurant in the city of Diwaniyah, killing seven civilians and wounding 15 others. The city is located 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

Sectarian violence has spiked since Tuesday, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija. The move set off a clash that killed 23 people, including three soldiers.

The Hawija incident and a spate of follow-up battles between gunmen and security forces as well as other attacks, including Monday's, have left around 200 dead in the last week.

Bomb attacks are relatively rare in Iraq's relatively peaceful southern Shiite cities.

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but coordinated bombings in civilian areas are a favorite strategy used by al-Qaida in Iraq.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-29-ML-Iraq/id-a8c021bf62184d2fa9f14f2c9b7a1bd8

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Two bizarre endings mar UFC 159 prelims

The UFC debut of two Strikeforce light heavyweights was spoiled by a odd ending. Ovince St-Preux beat Gian Villante in a majority technical decision after the fight was stopped because of a poke to the eye.

After a back-and-forth, but not entirely thrilling bout, St-Preux threw a punch and accidentally poked Villante in the eye. Villante stepped back and crouched down, indicating to referee Kevin Mulhall that there was a problem with the eye. Mulhall asked Villante if he could see, and Villante said no, he couldn't see.

At that point, Mulhall waved his arms and the fight was stopped. Villante protested, but the fight was over. Because the round had started, it had to be judged. The scores were 30-28, 29-28 and 29-29 in St-Preux's favor.

?I couldn?t see. He did poke me in the eye so I don?t know," Villante said after the fight. "He said the fight was over and I didn?t expect that because I was just reacting to his question. I got poked and my eye was closed up so I thought he would stop it but he didn?t, he just kind of looked at me. I don?t understand how you score thirty seconds of a round and that?s how I lost? We were just getting going and I got poked in the eye. I don?t know what to say.?

Mulhall's stoppage adhered to the eyepoke rule, if not literally, then in spirit. When a fighter says he can't see, the fight is stopped. However, Mulhall could have used better communication and followed procedures. It would have been better if he explained to Villante that he didn't have time to recover and that the fight would be stopped if he said he couldn't see.

UFC 159's weird streak continued in the very next bout. Rustam Khabilov and Yancy Medeiros' fight was stopped halfway through the first round. Medeiros defended a Khabilov takedown attempt, but hit his hand awkwardly. His thumb ended up pointing a way thumbs are not supposed to point and the bout was stopped at 2:32 of the first round.

Two weird endings marred the preliminary card, but the UFC rarely lets a weird ending go. Quite often, these fights get a rematch, so don't be shocked if you see these fights happen again on a card this summer.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/two-bizarre-endings-mar-ufc-159-prelims-020815615.html

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Texas inmate shouts 'Wow' during execution

By Michael Graczyk, The Associated Press

AP

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Richard Cobb. Cobb is set for lethal injection Thursday evening, April 25, 2013 in Huntsville, Texas for the slaying of 37-year-old Kenneth Vandever.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Texas inmate was executed Thursday evening for fatally shooting one of three people he and a partner abducted during a convenience store robbery nearly 11 years ago.

Richard Cobb, 29, didn't deny using a 20-gauge shotgun to kill Kenneth Vandever in an East Texas field where two women also were shot and one was raped. He was convicted of capital murder.

"Life is death, death is life. I hope that someday this absurdity that humanity has come to will come to an end," Cobb said when asked if he had any last words. "Life is too short. I hope anyone that has negative energy towards me will resolve that.

"Life is too short to harbor feelings of hatred and anger. That's it, warden."

---

But that wasn't it.

Just before the lethal drug took effect and at the conclusion of his statement, Cobb twisted his head back, raised it off a pillow placed on the gurney and then toward the warden standing behind him.

"Wow!" the inmate exclaimed in a loud voice. "That is great. That is awesome! Thank you, warden! Thank you (expletive) warden!"

His head fell back on the pillow, and his neck twisted at an odd angle, with his mouth and eyes open.

He remained that way for some 15 minutes before a physician entered the death chamber to examine him and pronounce him dead at 6:27 p.m. CDT. Sixteen minutes had passed since the drug had been injected.

The father, stepmother and stepbrother of the man shot and killed by Cobb were among the witnesses. Also in the viewing area was one of the women who was shot and attacked but survived to testify against Cobb.

"I think justice was served but it doesn't change anything to speak of," the slain man's father, Don Vandever, said after watching Cobb die. "I do think the justice system needs to be more of a deterrent.

"All he did was go to sleep. That's it."

Nikki Daniels, 29, who was raped and shot during the 2002 attack but survived to testify against Cobb, said, "I thought he was going to be remorseful, I thought he was going to be apologetic, was hoping that he was going to address me.

"I saw the same evil person I saw 11 years ago. ... He definitely showed his true colors."

The Associated Press generally does not name victims of sexual assault but Daniels agreed to be identified.

Daniels said Cobb's punishment in the end "was far too easy."

About two hours before the lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Cobb to be executed, rejecting a last-day appeal. It was Texas' fourth execution this year.

On Sept. 2, 2002, Kenneth Vandever and the two women were abducted from a store in Rusk, about 120 miles southeast of Dallas, and taken to a field about 10 miles away. All three were shot and left for dead. Vandever, 37, died, but the women managed to get help.

Cobb was 18 at the time of the attack, on probation for auto theft and a high school dropout. Cobb and his partner, Beunka Adams, were arrested in Jacksonville, about 25 miles away, the day after the crime. It was the latest in a series of robberies tied to them.

Cobb testified at his trial he began using drugs at age 12 and turned to robbery to pay off a drug debt.

Adams was executed a year ago this week for his participation in the slaying.

Vandever had frequented the store in Rusk and would do things like take out the trash. An auto accident had left him with the mental capacity of a child.

Cobb's trial attorneys unsuccessfully tried to show Adams forced Cobb to shoot Vandever by threatening Cobb. The survivors of the attack said they never heard such threats, but heard Vandever plead that he needed his medication and scream when he was shot.

"Basically, it was an act of compulsion," Cobb said of the abductions and shootings. He described himself to the AP shortly after arriving on death row in 2004 as "young, dumb and made a mistake."

"I'm guilty of the crime," he said.

He told the Jacksonville Daily Progress last month from prison he didn't want to die "but I'm ready for it."

At least 11 other Texas inmates have executions scheduled for the coming months, including three in May.

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

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So Jerry Seinfeld Called Us To Talk About Coffee : Bay Area Bites

In an episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee called ?Larry Eats A Pancake,? Jerry Seinfeld has coffee with Larry David

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Post by NPR Staff, The Salt at NPR Food (4/26/13)

According to Jerry Seinfeld?s publicist, the comedian was listening to Coffee Week on Morning Edition and decided he had something to add. So he called up host Steve Inskeep. Here?s what he shared, edited for brevity.

On his new coffee habit

?I just started. All those years on the TV series, whenever we would have a scene in the coffee shop, they would say, ?What do you want to drink?? and I would say, ?I don?t care,? so they would just give me a cup of black coffee and I would just touch it. I never liked it and I didn?t understand it and I used to do a lot of stuff in my standup set in the ?80s and ?90s about how I don?t ?get? coffee. I don?t understand why everyone?s so obsessed with this drink. ?

?And then something happened about five years ago. I started touring a lot, and we would have these great big, fun breakfasts in the hotel and [coffee] just seemed to go really well with the French toast ? the sugar and the milk ? and it just seemed like the perfect French toast companion.?

On coffee meetings

?I got married and I had a family and my entire day was not free for social interaction. And eating is annoying and difficult to arrange, [and it's] hard to choose places. And meeting someone for coffee suddenly seemed like a wonderful, compact, accessible and portable social interaction.

?You don?t even really need a place. But you feel like you?re doing something. That is what coffee is. And that is one of the geniuses of the new coffee culture.?

On coffee as a morning toy

?I don?t know what the top does. I don?t know what the plastic stick does. I don?t even really know what the sleeve does. But I want that little kit because this is my morning toy. And then ? and this is gonna sound very naive, I really am very naive in a lot of areas ? I didn?t realize that caffeine has quite an effect on you. And that got to be another toy. So it?s this big fun toy.?

On caffeine

?It?s legal. It?s not expensive. And they have a whole world for you with all their little words. It?s just something to do. My theory is 98 percent of all human endeavor is killing time. This is a great way to do it.?

On coffee rituals

?I do a little thing about the way people shake the sweetener packet. You know, like they?re all excited. I want to get all the granules down to one end. I love all these rituals.?

On the best place for coffee

?I don?t give a damn. That?s the beauty of it. It doesn?t matter. That?s the nearest place. I?ll meet you there. And you know what? Coffee?s all good. It?s all good. As long as it?s fresh, it?s good. And it?s always fresh in New York. ? I think we?re a more productive society as a result.?

On which coffee to order

?I like it pretty basic. I?ve just started this espresso thing, but it?s just milk and sugar. That?s it. I don?t want to talk that long to the guy or gal.?

On instant coffee

?I have that at my mother?s in Florida at her condo. When she says, ?Do you want coffee?? And she had a ? I think it was a Cuban packet ? and I started rolling my eyes. ?Oh my God that?s the coffee you have?? And she boils the water and opens the packet and puts it in there and you know what? It was pretty good.?

On the secret to really enjoying coffee

?You want the sophistication of the snob without the pretension of the snob. So you want to know what?s going on, but don?t be a fussbudget about it. You know what I mean?

?When you go into Three Guys Coffeeshop on Columbus, don?t complain that it?s not as good as Gimme Coffee or Mudd or one of these places. Appreciate that for what that is. Know the difference, but don?t be a pain in the ass about it.?

On why coffee is so central to our culture

?I think the answer is we all need a little help, and the coffee?s a little help with everything ? social, energy, don?t know what to do next, don?t know how to start my day, don?t know how to get through this afternoon, don?t know how to stay alert. We want to do a lot of stuff; we?re not in great shape. We didn?t get a good night?s sleep. We?re a little depressed. Coffee solves all these problems in one delightful little cup.?

On his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

?I really wove the idea of this little show that I?m doing on the Internet around this concept. I saw it as this swirling social hub of activity that was so handy and useful. That whole description of why it?s great to meet someone for a cup of coffee ? the ease, the simplicity, the compactness. And that it also obviously gets people talking. You have coffee and for some reason it makes you talk a lot. And I thought this is an interesting thing to try and capture. So that was my ambition of this little experiment ? let me see if I can capture that energy of two people that are already quite voluble ? they?re comedians ? and then you give them coffee ? you caffeinate them, and then maybe that?s a show.

?After a lifetime in formal show business, I kind of had a theory that if you remove the structures of show business ? the studio, the makeup, the microphone, the can we get you something to drink, the chair that you?re screwed into ? if you remove that, you?ll get a different tone, a different dialogue. I wanted to get the dialogue that when you?re standing on the sidewalk and you?re kicking the curb and you?re with a friend and neither of you really wants to go home and you?re just standing there talking. That conversation, I thought, that?s a ?talk show? that I?d like to try and see if I can get that in a bottle.?

Copyright 2013 NPR.

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Tags: coffee, jerry seinfeld, the salt

Category: food history and celebrities, NPR food, radio, tea and coffee, tv, film, video, photography

Source: http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2013/04/26/so-jerry-seinfeld-called-us-to-talk-about-coffee/

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The Bird That Struts Its Stuff

The Greater sage-grouse is a large bird that makes its living in sagebrush habitats across the western U.S. and Canada. Every year at this time, male sage-grouse perform a striking dance routine each morning at dawn. Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, breaks down the dance and describes challenges the birds face in Utah.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=179224941&ft=1&f=1007

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Faith in God positively influences treatment for individuals with psychiatric illness

Apr. 25, 2013 ? Belief in God may significantly improve the outcome of those receiving short-term treatment for psychiatric illness, according to a recent study conducted by McLean Hospital investigators.

In the study, published in the current issue of Journal of Affective Disorders, David H. Rosmarin, PhD, McLean Hospital clinician and instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, examined individuals at the Behavioral Health Partial Hospital program at McLean in an effort to investigate the relationship between patients' level of belief in God, expectations for treatment and actual treatment outcomes.

"Our work suggests that people with a moderate to high level of belief in a higher power do significantly better in short-term psychiatric treatment than those without, regardless of their religious affiliation. Belief was associated with not only improved psychological wellbeing, but decreases in depression and intention to self-harm," explained Rosmarin.

The study looked at 159 patients, recruited over a one-year period. Each participant was asked to gauge their belief in God as well as their expectations for treatment outcome and emotion regulation, each on a five-point scale. Levels of depression, wellbeing, and self-harm were assessed at the beginning and end of their treatment program.

Of the patients sampled, more than 30 percent claimed no specific religious affiliation yet still saw the same benefits in treatment if their belief in a higher power was rated as moderately or very high. Patients with "no" or only "slight" belief in God were twice as likely not to respond to treatment than patients with higher levels of belief.

The study concludes: ." .. belief in God is associated with improved treatment outcomes in psychiatric care. More centrally, our results suggest that belief in the credibility of psychiatric treatment and increased expectations to gain from treatment might be mechanisms by which belief in God can impact treatment outcomes."

Rosmarin commented, "Given the prevalence of religious belief in the United States -- over 90% of the population -- these findings are important in that they highlight the clinical implications of spiritual life. I hope that this work will lead to larger studies and increased funding in order to help as many people as possible."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by McLean Hospital.

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. David H. Rosmarin, Joseph S. Bigda-Peyton, Sarah J. Kertz, Nasya Smith, Scott L. Rauch, Thr?stur Bj?rgvinsson. A test of faith in God and treatment: The relationship of belief in God to psychiatric treatment outcomes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2013; 146 (3): 441 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.08.030

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/mind_brain/depression/~3/_3Ziyj5LyF0/130425091606.htm

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Medicaid ?expansion? bill passes out of House committee (Offthekuff)

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U.S. Heart Failure Costs Could Skyrocket: Report - Health News and ...

WEDNESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) ? The number of Americans with heart failure could rise 46 percent, from 5 million in 2012 to 8 million in 2030, new research says.

And the direct and indirect costs of treating the condition could more than double, from $31 billion to $70 billion, over the same time period.

That means that by 2030, every U.S. taxpayer could be paying $244 a year to care for heart failure patients, according to the American Heart Association policy statement. It said the findings highlight the need for strategies to prevent and treat heart failure.

Heart failure ? the leading cause of hospitalization for Americans over age 65, according to the AHA ? occurs when the heart becomes weak and can no longer pump enough oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body. Patients often experience fatigue and breathing problems as the heart enlarges and pumps faster in an effort to meet the body?s needs.

The rising number of people with heart failure is the result of an aging population and an increase in the rates of conditions that contribute to heart failure, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Being older, a smoker, poor or a member of a minority group also are risk factors for heart failure.

?If we don?t improve or reduce the incidence of heart failure by preventing and treating the underlying conditions, there will be a large monetary and health burden on the country,? said Dr. Paul Heidenreich in an AHA news release. ?The costs will be paid for by every adult in this country, not just every adult with heart failure.?

?Awareness of risk factors and adequately treating them is the greatest need,? said Heidenreich, a professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of a chronic heart failure research initiative at the VA Health Care System in Palo Alto, Calif.

The statement includes recommendations on how to tackle the issue. These include the following:

• More effective distribution and use of therapy recommended in guidelines to prevent heart failure and improve patient survival.
• Improving the coordination of care when hospitalized patients go home in order to help them achieve better outcomes and reduce their risk of having to return to the hospital.
• Specialized training for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals on advanced heart failure care.
• Improving heart failure prevention and care for minority groups and lower-income people.
• Increasing access to palliative and hospice care for patients with heart failure in advanced stages.

The statement was published online April 24 in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

?We have the solutions we need to change the course of heart failure in this country, but we must take steps now to reverse the trend,? American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown said in the news release. ?If we treat patients using existing guidelines, improve care transitions, adequately train our health care workforce and reduce disparities in the health outcomes of specific populations, we can lessen the burdens of heart failure.?

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about heart failure.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/04/24/u-s-heart-failure-costs-could-skyrocket-report/

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The Ultimate Trailer For Summer 2013 Will Get You Ready For Big Movies

With the awesomeness of summer movies just a few weeks aways, we're bracing ourselves for some of the year's biggest blockbusters, and nothing has captured our excitement for the season quite like this mash-up from Movies.com. The folks over there cut together the trailers for all the May-to-August movies that you're probably looking forward to, [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/04/25/summer-2013-trailer/

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Nintendo has another tough year, sells just 390,000 Wii Us in the last quarter

While there's no shortage of 3DS iterations headed to the market, Nintendo is having a harder time selling its new Wii U. Profits for the year are also half of its own predictions, despite the fact that Nintendo reduced its rosy estimates in the interim. Net sales are down 1.9 percent over the last year, down to 635 billion yen, but most importantly the company has managed to turn its net income into positive figures, netting 7 billion yen over the last year, compared to a 40 billion yen loss the year before. Following its initial launch, Wii U sales have slowed substantially, with only 390,000 units sold since December (now totaling 3.45 million), while the 3DS continues to sell in healthier numbers, with Nintendo shifting 1.25 million handhelds in the same period.

Focusing on the next year, the company maintains that it'll increase net income to 10 billion yen in the next twelve months, with a focus on selling "the compelling nature" of its gaming hardware, as well as pushing its 3DS more in foreign markets. The financial statement adds that the games maker plans to concentrate on "proactively releasing key Nintendo titles" starting the second half of this year "in order to regain momentum." Those key titles will have to hit hard, as certain competitors' new consoles are creeping closer.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/24/nintendo-announces-another-testing-quarter-tktkt/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Hagel to meet Egypt's leaders, push military ties

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, left, upon his arrival at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, on April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, left, upon his arrival at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, on April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, left, is welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense Salman bin Abdulaziz , center, during a meeting at his residence in Riyadh, on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

CAIRO (AP) ? By including Cairo on his first Mideast tour as defense secretary, Chuck Hagel is highlighting the Obama administration's hope of preserving influence with the Egyptian military as the country struggles with its transition to democracy.

After stops in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Hagel flew to the Egyptian capital for his first face-to-face meetings with Egypt's top leaders. In their talks Wednesday, he planned to stress the value of close military ties with a country that is deeply divided in the wake of the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. The U.S. is deeply concerned, however, that continued instability in Egypt will have broader consequences in a region already rocked by unrest, including in the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Egypt in March and rewarded it for President Mohammed Morsi's pledges of political and economic reform by releasing $250 million in American aid.

Morsi came to power in June 2012 as Egypt's first freely elected president.

Hagel was scheduled to meet with Morsi as well as Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

On Tuesday the legal adviser to Morsi resigned, alleging that the Muslim Brotherhood has monopolized decision-making and encroached on the governing of the country.

The resignation letter by Mohammed Fouad Gadallah brought the harshest criticism yet from inside the presidency. Opponents of Morsi long have accused the Brotherhood of being the real power behind the president and say the group's attempts to dominate power have fueled the country's turmoil.

Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, denied in a TV interview earlier this week that the group intervenes in decision-making.

Hagel flew to Cairo from Riyadh, where he met Tuesday evening with top officials, including Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who serves as the kingdom's defense minister as well. Hagel also held talks Tuesday in Jordan and Israel.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-24-ML-US-Mideast/id-0cf6e0529e0c4b568e304b793004f51d

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Will the H7N9 Avian Flu Spread to People Outside Mainland China?

High-risk areas might include Shandong province (where the first case of 104 among humans was reported April 23) and a belt extending around the Bohai sea to Liaoning province in the north. But cases beyond China might be just a matter of time

By Declan Butler and Nature magazine

CLICK MAP FOR DATA: Flight routes from the outbreak regions would quickly carry any human-transmissible virus to huge population centers in Europe, North America and Asia. Estimated numbers of people residing within two hours' travel time of destination airport calculated using gridded population-density maps and a data set of global travel times. Image: A. J. Tatem, Z. Huang and S. I. Hay (2013). Unpublished data. (A.J.T., University of Southampton, UK; Z.H., University of Florida, Gainesville; S.I.H., University of Oxford, UK.)

Scientists do not yet fully understand how the H7N9 avian influenza virus is spreading in China, or why the pattern of sporadic human cases looks like it does. But mapping the risks of known factors in the past geographical spread of avian flu viruses and human infections might provide some clues.

The first known cases of human infection with H7N9 were reported in China on 31 March, with two cases in Shanghai on the eastern seaboard and one in the neighboring province of Anhui. As of 22 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) has tallied 104 confirmed cases, including 21 deaths, and the virus has expanded its geographical range to neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Beijing in the north and Henan in the center of the country.

On 23 April, China's state news agency, Xinhua, reported a 36-year-old man in serious condition in the city of Zaozhuang, midway between Shanghai and Beijing ? the first case from Shandong province (not shown on map). The biggest number of cases has been reported in Shanghai, with 32, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, with 27; Huzhou in Zhejiang province has reported 10 cases, as has Nanjing in Jiangsu province.

To stem the current surge of human cases, scientists must identify the sources of the virus, and the route by which it infects humans. Birds at live markets have been suspected as one source, but tens of thousands of tests in poultry and other animals elsewhere have so far failed to turn up significant levels of the virus.

It is far from easy to devise effective ways to sample birds and animals for testing in a country with some 6 billion domestic birds and 0.5 billion pigs ? not to mention a vast population of wild birds, including many migratory species. Although the risk factors for the spread of H7N9 are not known, voluminous research on its cousin, the H5N1 virus that has caused 622 confirmed cases and 371 deaths since 2003, may help inform analyses. This, in turn, would help scientists and health officials to target their surveillance and control efforts.

For H5N1, researchers integrate large data sets that combine information on many potentially important factors, such as poultry trade routes, the numbers of birds being transported, the distribution of live-bird markets and their supply routes, waterfowl numbers, land use and human population densities. To these, they add the distribution of H5N1 cases in poultry, and as well as positive H5N1 results from active surveillance in markets.

Marius Gilbert, a co-author of one such study published in PLoS Pathogens in 2011 paper, and an expert in the epidemiology and ecology of avian flu viruses at the Free University of Brussels, says that although the risk factors for H7N9 may be different, given the current dearth of information, H5N1 risk maps are probably a good starting point for identifying areas most at risk.

Indeed, when human cases of H7N9 are overlaid on a risk map that Marius and his co-authors supplied to Nature, they seem to fall within the highest risk areas for H5N1. The map suggests that high-risk areas for H7N9 might include Shandong province (which reported its first case on 23 April) and a belt extending around the Bohai Sea to Liaoning province in the north.

Gilbert was one of more than 30 international experts who gathered at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome for a two-day meeting last week to discuss the current H7N9 outbreaks. At that meeting, he says, risk modeling and mapping were discussed as one means to devise targeted surveillance. Such information could also be used to help to modify farming and trade practices to reduce the risk of human exposure to the virus. As more is learned about H7N9, such models can be further refined.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9eb6c68df5180939780c04aa702b7033

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Three under investigation over topless Kate Middleton photos - source

PARIS (Reuters) - The publisher of a French celebrity magazine was placed under formal investigation for breach of privacy over the publication of topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

The photographer who snapped the pictures of the Duchess, or Kate Middleton, in the summer last year and a regional daily were also put under investigation, the last step in France before being charged, the source said.

Closer magazine, a weekly round-up of celebrity gossip, published in September a series of photos of the Duchess, the wife of Prince William, topless on holidays in southern France, something that incensed much of the British public.

The photos showed Kate slipping off her bikini top, relaxing on a sun lounger and at one point pulling down the back of her bikini bottoms. Buckingham Palace had called the photo spread a "grotesque" invasion of the royal couple's privacy.

The publisher of the magazine - the French branch of Italy's Mondadori - and the paparazzi who snapped the photos from a distance were put under formal investigation earlier this month, the judicial source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mondadori in a statement said the company "was not aware of any new developments in addition to what is already known on this matter".

The regional daily La Provence, which published pictures of Prince William and his wife in swimming suits during the same holiday, was put under formal investigation this week, the source said.

An investigation does not necessarily lead to formal charges.

The office of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge could not be reached for comment.

(Corrects that publisher, not editor, of Closer put under investigation)

(Reporting by Nicolas Bertin in Paris; Additional reporting by Antonella Ciancio in Milan and Sarah Young in London; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-under-investigation-france-over-topless-kate-middleton-195933595--finance.html

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