Young N. Korean leader embraces the masses

SEOUL, South Korea?? North Korea's young new leader gets rock star treatment when he visits his troops ? just as his father did. But while the late Kim Jong Il mostly stayed aloof in dark shades, his son holds hands and hugs his soldiers.

Kim Jong Un seems to want to bond with his country's people.

The style harkens back to Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and revered founder of the country and ruling dynasty, and may reflect an attempt to turn a corner on the periods of hardship and famine under Kim Jong Il, analysts say. Kim Il Sung's image as a daring young general fighting Japanese colonial troops is powerfully engraved in the minds of North Koreans.

Cheers, applause and calls of "Hurrah!" greet Kim Jong Un as he examines the heating systems of soldiers' quarters, the pressure of their water faucets, the books stacked in their libraries ? even the taste of their food.

The North Korean state media reports and video footage of such "guidance visits" provide rare windows into the personalities of North Korea's leaders for outsiders and for the country's people alike. Few North Koreans, for instance, even knew what the elder Kim's voice sounded like, analysts say, despite his ruling for 17 years until his death Dec. 17.

Video: Kim Jong Un takes power in North Korea (on this page)

In visits made so far by Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s, North Korea specialists have detected more warmth in his approach than the dour tours made in recent years by Kim Jong Il.

The younger Kim may be trying to emulate Kim Il Sung and move away from his father, who ruled during a famine in the mid- to late-1990s that killed hundreds of thousands, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea professor at Seoul's Dongguk University. North Korea also has faced international condemnation and sanctions for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"He'll try to look comfortable among the masses. He'll try to form an intimacy with the people, perhaps more than his father did," Koh said.

Imitating Kim Il Sung is a "positive for Kim Jong Un, because memories of his father Kim Jong Il aren't very good among ordinary people," Koh said. "People fondly remember the days of Kim Il Sung."

Slideshow: Daily life in North Korea (on this page)

Kim Il Sung often was pictured surrounded by children, and Kim Jong Un resurrected that image during a recent visit to the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.

As children in military uniforms cheered and clapped, a documentary on state TV showed Kim embracing one child's face with his hands. During lunch, Kim patted students in encouragement and watched with a grin as two women ladled out soup for students; he poured a drop of sauce on his thumb so he could taste it.

Support for military
His main emphasis, however, has been on military posts ? with a half dozen such visits since the New Year. They seek to show citizens that their new leader is firmly in command of the country's most important institution, its 1.2 million-strong military, and that he is loved and respected by young troops and elderly generals alike.

While Kim Jong Il had two decades to prepare for leadership, Kim Jong Un was only publicly unveiled as heir in 2010, and outside observers have raised doubts about Kim Jong Un's ability to lead a country locked in a nuclear standoff with its neighbors and Washington and with a history of attacking South Korea.

Animosity is still high between the Koreas. Six decades after the Korean War, the peninsula remains in a state of war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential North Korean aggression.

Bloodshed spiked in 2010 when a South Korean warship exploded in disputed waters, killing 46. South Korea said the North torpedoed the warship; the North denied the allegation. North Korea also attacked a front-line South Korean island, killing four.

Interactive: Meet North Korea?s first family (on this page)

Kim Jong Un clearly has made attempts to appear active and engaged with his soldiers, and this "helps raise troops' morale and his profile," said Kim Yeon-su, a North Korea expert at Korea National Defense University. "North Korea is telling its people that Kim Jong Un is capable of doing all these military activities himself."

Kim Jong Un's first reported military visit after his father's death came on New Year's Day. He appeared at ease, laughing and clapping, pulling officers close to give them words of advice, inspecting bunks and testing water faucets.

State television has also played a documentary on Kim Jong Un meant to highlight his military experience, showing him in the cockpit of a tank, galloping by on horseback and poring over documents at night.

Despite his youth, Kim Jong Un often plays the part of a solicitous father during his meticulously documented military tours.

Wearing a dark overcoat similar to one Kim Il Sung favored as a young man or a light-colored parka like the one Kim Jong Il wore, he exchanges handshakes with cheering soldiers and takes group photos, often holding hands with the officers on either side of him.

Slideshow: Journey into North Korea (on this page)

He asks about the soldiers' warmth, their eating and sleeping arrangements, listens with apparent enjoyment to their musical performances, observes their "militant spirit of training," offers guidance to officers and takes "care of the soldiers' living as their real father would do," according to state media.

He even tastes their bean paste.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46189151/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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Symantec, Lookout Mobile Security debate latest Android ?malware? attack (Appolicious)

If you have an Android device, malware threats are nothing new, just something with which you?ve learned to deal. Mobile security companies usually alert the public when any major malware or Trojan threat is discovered in the Android Market, but rarely do they disagree over what?s actually considered malware. This question?s been raised in regards to the latest string of Android Market botnets uncovered by Symantec, in what could be the largest botnet setup in Android?s history with as many as 5 million victims.

Dubbed ?Android.Counterclank? (or ?Apperhand SDK?) by Symantec, the malware was packaged across 13 different Android apps from different publishers, with titles ranging from Sexy Girls Puzzle to Counter Strike Ground Force. ?They don't appear to be real publishers,? Kevin Haley, a director with Symantec's security response team, said in an interview today. ?These aren't rebundled apps, as we've seen so many times before.?

But Lookout Mobile Security doesn?t think that this differentiated behavior means it?s a malware attack. They posted a blog over the weekend explaining their reasons for disagreeing with Symantec?s assessment, saying Android.Counterclank isn?t malware at all. It?s certainly not something most Android users want on their devices, but Lookout finds no evidence of outright malicious behavior, saying their capabilities are more like aggressive ad networks that put search icons on your home screen and run ads through your notifications bar.

?Malware is defined as software that is designed to engage in malicious behavior on a device. Malware can also be used to steal personal information from a mobile device that could result in identity theft or financial fraud,? reads Lookout?s blog. ?Apperhand doesn?t appear to be malicious, and at this point in our investigation, this is an aggressive form of an ad network ? not malware.?

Money-hungry ads or malicious malware? It seems the industry experts can?t agree, and such disparity could significantly shake up the consumer market. The debate over malware?s core definition came up a few weeks back with the Carrier IQ debacle, leading to a massive consumer backlash as privacy advocates blasted the carrier-supported software. When it comes to Android.Counterclank we have yet another example of how the Android ecosystem is being exploited, and how little this market is controlled. The debate over Android.Counterclank could ultimately circle back to Google, which is increasingly being held accountable for the Android Market experience.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/security/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_androidapps_com_articles10904_symantec_lookout_mobile_security_debate_latest_android_malware_attack/44353985/SIG=13m9m6kf0/*http%3A//www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/10904-symantec-lookout-mobile-security-debate-latest-android-malware-attack

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Tony Hawk Interviews Odd Future Crew At Big Day Out Festival (VIDEO)

Tony Hawk should probably never be in the interviewer seat, but here he is, tempting fate, with probably one of the most unruly groups out there. At the Big Day Out music festival in Australia, the salt-and-peppery-haired skater stayed standing (technically not in the interviewer seat, but equally if not more awkward) to ask questions of a half-seated Tyler the Creator and the rest of his Odd Future crew on a stairwell. The hip hop collective is into skating, so there's your tenuous link -- aside from that, we're just as lost as you are as to why this is happening. The Odd Future boys put up a shop for the week of the festival to sell merchandise, and Hawk begins his line of questioning where they can find common ground -- t-shirts. The camera zooms in on a t-shirt of two gay cats, and Hawk vaguely asks where they get their inspiration from.

"Really I get inspiration from meth, and I like cats a lot, and I'm not playin'," Tyler said.

We're glad this interview happened.

WATCH:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/tony-hawk-odd-future-interview_n_1239176.html

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Madonna says charity plans 10 schools in Malawi (AP)

NEW YORK ? Nearly six years after it was created, Madonna's Raising Malawi charity is set to break ground on the construction of schools in the impoverished country, but they will be run by the local community, not the superstar's organization.

According to organizers, work on the first school will start on March 30 in the Kasungu area, about 80 miles from the capital of Lilongwe, and all of the schools should be built by June 2013. Raising Malawi is providing $300,000 to the non-governmental organization buildOn to develop the schools. They'll serve about 1,000 boys and girls in the southern African nation.

"This remains a very big priority in my life and I am excited that with the help of buildOn we can maintain our ongoing commitment to move forward efficiently," Madonna said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

Raising Malawi had originally intended to build all-girls schools that the organization would run. But it faced several obstacles in its goal, including complaints from some local farmers that they had been moved off land that Raising Malawi intended to use for its mission. Raising Malawi also had difficulty getting title to the land and there were concerns about the high costs of construction.

The new plan calls for "simple structures" that will be more practical and better serve Raising Malawi's original mission, said Trevor Neilson, who is helping to direct the project as partner of the Global Philanthropy Group. The approach will allow the program to serve twice as many children as before, Madonna said.

"I have learned a great deal over the last few years and feel so much more confident that we can reach out goals to educate children in Malawi, especially young girls, in a much more efficient and practical way," she said. Madonna has adopted two children from Malawi.

BuildOn has already built more than 50 schools in Malawi and 427 schools worldwide.

"For schools to be successful, they need to have community ownership and leadership," Neilson said in an interview Friday. "Raising Malawi shouldn't be running schools in Malawi. Local communities in Malawi should be running those schools, so that's a big part of the shift."

BuildOn has been working in Malawi for almost 20 years, said spokeswoman Carrie Pena. The organization works closely with the community, and locals even volunteer the labor to build the schools, according to Pena.

"It's absolutely a community-owned school," she said.

Neilson praised Madonna for sticking with her plan to build schools for Malawi's children despite several setbacks for the star, who is the director of the new movie "W.E.," out next week, and is this year's Super Bowl performer. Madonna brought in Global Philanthropy to work with Raising Malawi more than a year ago and removed the involvement of the Kabbalah Centre. She has practiced Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism.

"When the previous management team had those problems, I think a lot of people thought Madonna would give up," Neilson said "It would have been understandable, but instead she's going to reaching twice as many kids."

___

Online:

http://www.raisingmalawi.org

http://www.buildon.org/

___

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_en_mu/us_people_madonna_malawi

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Gingrich says he's in till GOP convention (AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. ? On the weekend before the pivotal Florida primary, Newt Gingrich vowed Saturday to stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination until the national convention this summer even if he loses Tuesday's vote. Front-runner Mitt Romney poured on the criticism of his rival in television ads airing across the state.

Gingrich's pledge, in a race defined by unpredictability, raised the prospect of an extended struggle inside the party as Republicans work to defeat President Barack Obama in the fall. "You just had two national polls that show me ahead," he said. "Why don't you ask Gov. Romney what he will do if he loses" in Florida.

The former Massachusetts governor countered a few hours later while in Panama City. "I think we are going to win here, I sure hope so," he said.

As the two rivals made their appeals to Hispanic, Jewish and tea party voters, veterans of the armed forces and others, all known indicators pointed to a good day for Romney in the primary.

He and his allies held a 3-1 advantage in money spent on television advertising in the race's final days. Robust early vote and absentee ballot totals followed a pre-primary turnout operation by his campaign. Even the schedules the two men kept underscored the shape of the race ? moderate for Romney, heavy for Gingrich.

Campaigning like a front-runner, Romney made few references to Gingrich. Instead, he criticized Obama's plans to cut the size of the armed forces. "He's detached from reality," the former Massachusetts governor said.

"The foreign policy of `pretty please' is not working terribly well," he added. Romney said he wants to add 100,000 troops, not cut them.

If his personal rhetoric was directed Obama's way, the television commercials were trained on Gingrich, whose victory in last Saturday's South Carolina primary upended the race for the nomination. A new ad released as the weekend began is devoted to the day in 1997 when Gingrich received an ethics reprimand from the House while serving as speaker and was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine.

Nearly the entire 30-second ad consists of NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's nationally broadcast description of the events on the evening news. "By an overwhelming vote, they found him guilty of ethics violations; they charged him a very large financial penalty, and they raised ? several of them ? raised serious questions about his future effectiveness," Brokaw said that night, and now again on televisions across Florida.

Both NBC and the former newsman registered objections. The network called on the campaign to stop using the footage and Brokaw said in a statement, "I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign."

A Romney adviser, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the campaign wasn't likely to stop running the ad. "We believe it falls within fair use," he said. "We didn't take the entire broadcast; we just took the first 30 seconds."

Whatever its impact, the ad represented part of a barrage that Gingrich could not match.

A second Romney ad said Gingrich had "cashed in" as a Washington insider while the housing crisis was hitting Florida particularly hard.

Figures made available to The Associated Press showed Romney was spending $2.8 million to air television commercials in the final week of the Florida campaign. In addition, a group supporting him, Restore Our Future, was spending $4 million more, for a combined total of $6.8 million.

By contrast, Gingrich was spending about $700,000, and Winning Our Future, a group backing him, an additional $1.5 million. That was about one-third the amount for the pro-Romney tandem.

Officials said the total of absentee and early vote cast approached 500,000, about 200,000 of them before Gingrich won in South Carolina last weekend.

Gingrich seemed in good humor during the day, despite the obstacles in his way. He joked with reporters that they had missed an example of his grandiosity ? a charge that one rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, had used in a recent debate ? when they didn't see him hold a golf trophy on display at the PGA Library.

Gingrich also turned aside one opportunity to criticize Romney, answering a question by saying, `I want to talk about defeating Obama."

But his tone seemed to change after he said he wasn't happy with his performances in a pair of debates during the week, and was asked to explain.

"You cannot debate somebody who is dishonest. You just can't," he said, referring to Romney.

Referring to one answer the former Massachusetts governor had given, Gingrich said it was not true that Romney had always voted for a Republican when one was on the ballot.

"That in fact he could have voted for George H.W. Bush or Pat Buchanan the same day and he chose the Democratic primary, he voted Paul Tsongas, the most liberal candidate. The same year he gave money to three Democrats for Congress," he added, referring to the 1992 campaign.

"Now there's no practical way in a civil debate to deal with somebody who is that willing to say something that is just totally dishonest."

Romney poked fun at Gingrich's debate performances.

"This last one Speaker Gingrich said he didn't do so well because the audience was so loud. The one before he said he didn't do so well because the audience was too quiet. This is like Goldilocks, you know, you've got to have it just right.

"When I debate the president, I'm not going to worry about the audience, I'm going to make sure that we take down Barack Obama and take back the White House."

The two other contenders, Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, have conceded Florida and did not campaign in the state during the day.

___

Associated Press reporter Steve Peoples in Panama City contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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FDA approves Pfizer's Inlyta for kidney cancer (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Pfizer's Inlyta drug for patients with advanced kidney cancer got the nod from U.S. regulators on Friday, boosting the company's plans to offset plunging Lipitor sales.

The Food and Drug Administration said the drug, known generically as axitinib, was effective at treating patients who did not respond to another drug for kidney cancer.

About 61,000 Americans were diagnosed with kidney cancer last year, and about one in five of them are expected to die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

About 20 percent to 30 percent of these patients have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, Pfizer said.

Inlyta, which inhibits certain receptors that can influence tumor growth and progression of cancer, is one of several new drugs Pfizer is banking on to help replace lost revenue from its cholesterol fighter, Lipitor. The world's top-selling drug began facing generic competition late last year.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov in Washington and Anand Basu in Bangalore)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/cancer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/hl_nm/us_fda_pfizer_inlyta

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Strong quake jolts eastern Japan, no tsunami warning (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 jolted eastern Japan on Saturday morning, but there were no immediate reports of injury or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, in Yamanashi prefecture, west of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake, at 7:43 a.m., was also felt in the capital.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years since Chernobyl. The disaster left up to 23,000 dead or missing.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher, editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_japan_quake

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The Disappearing Actinides: And Other Frustrations from the Bottom Row of the Periodic Table of the Elements

I bought three copies of Sam Kean?s The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements. I left the first one in the seat-back pocket of Delta flight 188 from Beijing to Detroit. The second one is sandwiched between ROCK and GEM and The Poisoner?s Handbook on an end table in my living room. The third is a Kindle edition that I purchased so that I could quickly search the text.

When I started reading my first copy of The Disappearing Spoon at 2 am local time in a Beijing hotel room, I was fascinated. I followed Kean readily into the introduction, beginning what I could only imagine would be a tantalizing journey through the periodic table.

I signed on for the prerequisite section ORIENTATION: COLUMN BY COLUMN, ROW BY ROW. We thought back to our first encounters with the periodic table, commiserated about high school exams, and pictured the blank table as a castle. We quickly moved on through our tour?mercury, bromine, top to bottom, east to west, periodic trends! And then, the F-shell elements! Lanthanides, lanthanides, lanthanides, atomic structure, Goeppert-Mayer, the end?! Where are the actinides, my beloved actinides?

It?s ok, I thought, it?s cool. A small oversight. I?m sure he?ll mention the actinides in the text. He must, I mean, really, how can you write about elemental hard-hitters like Marie Curie and Glenn Seaborg without mentioning the actinides? Kean will undoubtedly affirm the four years that I?ve spent in graduate school double-gloving over plastic sleeves, wearing a dosimeter, and stepping onto a hand-and-foot monitor for the sake of better understanding those pesky actinides, right?!

Wrong. Rather than acknowledge the actinides as an independent collection of elements with intriguing properties that have been used to do very big things although they are very much still full of mystery, Kean lumps them together with the lanthanides. He uses the word ?actinide? exactly twice, but it is only used in conjunction with the word ?lanthanide? when pointing out the two rows at the bottom of the periodic table. Sure, he briefly mentions individual actinide elements?thorium, uranium, and plutonium mostly?in later chapters with some assessment of how they were discovered and how they?ve been used, but he never even dips his toes into the still relatively uncharted waters of the bottom row.

Maybe, though, it?s not his fault.

According to Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt, a professor at the University of Notre Dame who teaches a graduate level course on the chemistry of lanthanides and actinides, the treatment of the actinide elements in The Disappearing Spoon is comparable to the level of recognition that they receive in introductory level college chemistry courses.

?[Kean?s] book is symptomatic of how we educate people, even a chemistry major,? says Albrecht-Schmitt. ?In a freshman chemistry course sequence, students learn nothing about actinides, and all they are told about lanthanides is that they are similar to one another.?

In light of worldwide emphasis on the future of energy, crippling incidents like Fukushima, and policies that leave the U.S. wondering what to do with decades worth of waste, the lack of attention given to the bottom row of the periodic table is a bit troubling.

?It?s mind-boggling,? says Albrecht-Schmitt, ?that nearly 20 percent of the world?s energy is generated by uranium, but we don?t teach anything about uranium in freshman chemistry.?

The Reappearing Actinides: An Introduction

The modern study of actinides began more than 70 years ago reaching a climax during the Manhattan Project. In that time, they?ve played a vital role in weapons development, nuclear energy, and space exploration.

The most basic definition of the actinide series, comprised of elements 89 through 103, is that it results from the sequential filling of the 5f electron shell. All fifteen elements in the series are radioactive and have half-lives ranging from fractions of seconds to billions of years.

The radioactivity of the actinide elements is caused by their nuclear instability. In order to become more stable, the nucleus of an actinide element undergoes radioactive decay, releasing gamma rays, alpha particles, beta particles, or neutrons. This process of decay produces new daughter elements, which may be stable or radioactive. For example, the transformation of U-235 used in nuclear reactors results in the formation of radioactive, long-lived Np-237 through a process of neutron capture, gamma emission, and beta decay.

Understanding what may seem like the tiniest details about the actinides has important implications for environmental remediation of radioactive contaminants. Unlike the lanthanides, which occur primarily in the +3 oxidation state, the actinides generally have a large range of oxidation states?from +3 to +7. This becomes the most important distinction, a reason why the actinides must be studied independently of the lanthanides, in consideration of the environmental mobility of actinides.

If you would like to know more about what?s happening on the bottom row of the periodic table, check out recent research highlighted in Actinide Research Quarterly, a publication of the G. T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=9bfee9f1460faf2b1684cc7bbed0ab2d

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Engineered bacteria effectively target tumors, enabling tumor imaging potential in mice

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Tumor-targeted bioluminescent bacteria have been shown for the first time to provide accurate 3-D images of tumors in mice, further advancing the potential for targeted cancer drug delivery, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE.

The specially engineered probiotic bacteria, like those found in many yogurts, were intravenously injected into mice with tumors, after which the researchers took full body bioluminescent images. The 3-D images revealed information about the number and location of the bacteria, to the level of precisely revealing where within the tumor the bacteria were living, providing much more information on the interaction of bacteria and tumors than was previously available using similar two-dimensional imaging methods.

According to the authors, led by Mark Tangney of University College Cork in Ireland, "before now, researchers used luminescence to provide an approximation of where a test organism was within the body, and would then follow up with multiple further experiments using different techniques to try to find a precise location."

This new research suggests that such bacteria can be engineered to contain diagnostic or therapeutic agents that would be produced specifically within the tumor for targeted treatment.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science.

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. Michelle Cronin, Ali R. Akin, Sara A. Collins, Jeff Meganck, Jae-Beom Kim, Chwanrow K. Baban, Susan A. Joyce, Gooitzen M. van Dam, Ning Zhang, Douwe van Sinderen, Gerald C. O'Sullivan, Noriyuki Kasahara, Cormac G. Gahan, Kevin P. Francis, Mark Tangney. High Resolution In Vivo Bioluminescent Imaging for the Study of Bacterial Tumour Targeting. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (1): e30940 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030940

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://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120125172319.htm

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Chris Brown Drops New Single 'Turn Up The Music'

Brown revisits electronic-dance sound for first single from Fortune.
By Christina Garibaldi

Chris Brown's "Turn Up The Music"
Photo: RCA

Chris Brown is getting the club banging with "Turn Up the Music." The first single from Brown's upcoming album, Fortune, was released Thursday (January 26), and much like his 2010 hit "Yeah 3x," Brown revisits an electronic-dance sound that is destined to get people in the clubs and on the dance floor.

The track, which was written and produced by the Underdogs and will be available at all digital music stores February 14, is a house-inspired song with a pulsing beat that has Breezy singing, "Turn up the music, 'cause the sun just came up/ Turn up the music if they try to turn us down/ Turn up the music, 'cause I'm trying to hear the speakers blow/ Turn up the music, fill your cup and drink it down," followed by repeated chants of "If you're sexy and you know it, put your hands up in the air."

With a release date for Fortune to be announced soon, Brown is in the studio putting the finishing touches on his fifth studio album, the follow-up to 2011's F.A.M.E.

Back in October, Brown reached out to Team Breezy via Twitter, revealing a single from his upcoming album. "STRIP [from Brown's Boy in Detention mixtape] is one of the singles off of FORTUNE so request at RADIO!" Brown tweeted.

Fans can't expect Brown to be doing much more than tweeting about this album: Earlier this month Brown's manager, Tina Davis, told Billboard magazine that the singer wouldn't be doing any interviews in 2012. "We're not trying to be rude, selfish or disrespectful to anyone in any way," she told the mag. "If people are going to judge anything, judge him for his talent. He signed up to sing and entertain, not to talk about his personal life."

What do you think of "Turn Up the Music"? Share your reviews in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677959/chris-brown-turn-up-the-music.jhtml

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State: 'Serious' questions on GOP pipeline bill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A Republican bill that would strip President Barack Obama of his authority to decide on a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline raises "serious" legal questions, the State Department said Wednesday in objecting to the bill.

Assistant Secretary of State Kerri-Ann Jones told Congress that the bill "imposes narrow time constraints and creates automatic mandates that prevent an informed decision" on the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., would transfer authority over the 1,700-mile pipeline to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Obama blocked the $7 billion pipeline last week, saying officials did not have enough time to review an alternate route that avoided environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska.

The plan by Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. would carry tar sands oil from western Canada across Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma en route to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Jones said Obama's Jan. 18 decision to reject the pipeline was not based on the merits of the project, but on the fact that officials did not have enough time to review the project before a deadline imposed by Congress.

"We fought in World War II in less time than it has taken to decide on this project," shot back Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. "In all due respect, it is an insult to the American people to say you need more time."

TransCanada first applied to build the pipeline in 2008, under the Bush administration.

Obama had delayed a decision on the pipeline in November, saying his administration needed time to review an alternate route that avoided environmentally sensitive areas of Nebraska ? a route that still has not been proposed. But in an unrelated tax deal he cut with congressional Republicans, Obama had been boxed into making a decision by Feb. 21.

The deal required that the project would go forward unless Obama declared by that date that it was not in the national interest. The president did just that last week.

Project supporters say U.S. rejection of the pipeline will not stop one from being built. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada is serious about building a pipeline to its West Coast, where oil could be shipped to China and other Asian markets.

TransCanada has said it will submit a new application once an alternative route for the pipeline is established. Company chief Russ Girling said a proposed route could be made public in a few weeks.

TransCanada says the pipeline could create as many as 20,000 jobs, a figure opponents say is inflated. A State Department report last summer said the pipeline would create up to 6,000 jobs during construction

The pipeline is a dicey proposition for Obama, who enjoyed strong support from both organized labor and environmentalists in his 2008 campaign for the White House.

Environmental advocates have made it clear that approval of the pipeline would dampen their enthusiasm for Obama in November. Some liberal donors even threatened to cut off funds to Obama's re-election campaign to protest the project, which opponents say would transport "dirty oil" that requires huge amounts of energy to extract and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

By rejecting the pipeline, Obama also risks losing support from organized labor, a key part of the Democratic base, for thwarting thousands of jobs.

__

Matthew Daly can be followed on Twitter: (at)MatthewDalyWDC

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_oil_pipeline

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Morning Links (Theagitator)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Video: Video: Ray Lewis' return and Kelly's flip-flop

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/46108285#46108285

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Marine pleads guilty, ending final Haditha trial (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? The U.S. Marine sergeant accused of leading a massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha pleaded guilty on Monday to dereliction of duty, ending the final prosecution stemming from a 2005 incident that brought international condemnation of U.S. troops.

Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 31, entered his plea at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base north of San Diego as part of a deal with military prosecutors in which more serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault were dismissed.

As part of his guilty plea, Wuterich accepted responsibility for providing negligent verbal instructions to the Marines under his command when he told them to "shoot first and ask questions later," which resulted in the death of innocent civilians.

He faces a maximum sentence of three months of confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for three months and a reduction in rank when he is sentenced on Tuesday, a Camp Pendleton spokesman said.

"By pleading guilty to this charge, Staff Sergeant Wuterich has accepted responsibility for his actions," base spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Kloppel said.

Any discharge process Wuterich may face will be separate from the plea and sentencing, Kloppel added.

Wuterich, 31, was accused of being the ringleader in a series of November 19, 2005, shooting and grenade attacks that left two dozen civilians dead in Haditha, a city west of Baghdad that was then a hotbed of insurgent activity.

The killings were portrayed by Iraqi witnesses as a massacre of unarmed civilians and brought international condemnation of the U.S. military.

Local witnesses claimed angry Marines had killed unarmed men, women, and children after a popular comrade, Lance Corporal Miguel "TJ" Terrazas, was killed by a roadside bomb.

'CAULDRON OF WAR'

Lawyers for the troops involved argued the deaths resulted from a fast-moving situation in which the Marines believed they were under enemy fire.

Wuterich was originally charged with murder in the case.

"No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich," his civilian defense attorney, Neal Puckett, said in a statement released shortly after the plea hearing.

"But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years he has had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption," the statement said.

Wuterich pleaded not guilty when the court-martial began in early January.

The proceedings were suspended last Wednesday by the military judge in the case, who ordered prosecutors and defense lawyers to seek a negotiated plea deal.

The trial resumed on Friday for one day, and the plea agreement was announced on Monday morning.

"Many pundits from all walks of life will comment on Wuterich's purported guilt and most of these are people who have never been remotely associated with the challenges of combat action," Colonel Willard Buhl, a U.S. Marine Corps military fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Reuters.

"Marines know that they are the best trained and led military men and women in the world," Buhl said. "But the cauldron of war is the most intense thing humans can experience and this case falls on the extreme end of that spectrum."

Buhl served in the same battalion and regiment as Wuterich, but never met him and was deployed in that unit prior to the events at Haditha that are at the center of the case.

Six out of the eight Marines originally accused in the case had their charges dismissed by military judges, and a seventh was cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Wuterich enlisted in the Marines after his 1998 graduation from high school, where he was an athletic honor-roll student and played with the marching band.

He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman and Paul Thomasch)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_marine_haditha

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Coordinated sect attack kills 143 in north Nigeria (AP)

KANO, Nigeria ? A coordinated attack by a radical Islamist sect in north Nigeria's largest city killed at least 143 people, a hospital official said Saturday, representing the extremist group's deadliest assault since beginning its campaign of terror in Africa's most populous nation.

Soldiers and police officers swarmed Kano's streets as Nigeria's president again promised the sect known as Boko Haram would "face the full wrath of the law." But the uniformed bodies of security agents that filled a Kano hospital mortuary again showed the sect can strike at will against the country's weak central government.

Friday's attacks hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains an important political and religious center in the country's Muslim north. A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with powerful explosives outside a regional police headquarters, tearing its roof away and blowing out windows in a blast felt miles away as its members escaped jail cells there.

Authorities largely refused to offer casualty statistics as mourners began claiming the bodies of their loved ones to bury before sundown, following Islamic tradition. However, a hospital official told The Associated Press at least 143 people were killed in the attack.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the death toll to journalists. The toll could still rise, since other bodies could be held at other clinics and hospitals in the sprawling city.

State authorities enforced a 24-hour curfew in the city, with many remaining home as soldiers and police patrolled the streets and setup roadblocks. Gunshots echoed through some areas of the city into Saturday morning.

Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross, said volunteers offered first aid to the wounded, and evacuated those seriously injured to local hospitals. A survey of two hospitals by the Red Cross showed at least 50 people were injured in Friday's attack, he said.

A Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message to journalists Friday. He said the attack came because the state government refused to release Boko Haram members held by the police.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Saturday that he was "shocked and appalled" by the attacks in the former colony.

"The full horror of last night's events is still unfolding, but we know that a great many people have died and many more have been injured," Hague said in a statement. "The nature of these attacks has sickened people around the world and I send my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of those killed and to those injured."

The U.S. Embassy said it had canceled all staff travel to northern Nigeria after Friday's attacks.

President Goodluck Jonathan also condemned an attack he said saw innocent people "brutally and recklessly cut down by agents of terror."

"As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy, for that is what these mindless killers are, perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land," Jonathan said in a statement. "I want to reassure Nigerians ... that all those involved in that dastardly act would be made to face the full wrath of the law."

But Jonathan's government has repeatedly been unable to stop attacks by Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north. The group has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law and avenge the deaths of Muslims in communal violence across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.

Authorities blamed Boko Haram for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an AP count, including an August suicide bombing on the U.N. headquarters in the country's capital Abuja. So far this year, the group has been blamed for at least 219 killings, according to an AP count.

Boko Haram recently said it specifically would target Christians living in Nigeria's north, but Friday's attack saw its gunmen kill many Muslims. In a recent video posted to the Internet, Imam Abubakar Shekau, a Boko Harm leader, warned it would kill anyone who "betrays the religion" by being part of or sympathizing with Nigeria's government.

"I swear by Allah we will kill them and their killing will be nothing to us," Shekau said. "It will be like going to prayers at 5 a.m."

Friday's attacks also could cause more unrest, as violence in Kano has set off attacks throughout the north in the past, including postelection violence in April that saw 800 people killed. Kano, an ancient city, remains important in the history of Islam in Nigeria and has important religious figures there today.

Amid the recent unrest and attacks, at least two journalists have been killed in Nigeria. Journalist Enenche Akogwu, who worked as a correspondent in Kano for private news station Channels Television, was shot Friday while reporting on the attacks, colleagues said. In central Nigeria's city of Jos, Nansok Sallah, a news editor for a government-owned radio station called Highland FM, was found dead in a shallow stream Thursday, the victim of an apparent murder, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

___

Salisu Rabiu in Kano, Nigeria, and Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell reported from Lagos, Nigeria and can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence

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Bryce Dallas Howard, Seth Gabel Welcome Daughter!

Bryce Dallas Howard and Seth Gabel welcomed a daughter on Thursday, according to the actress' father, famed movie director Ron Howard. He wrote:

"Beatrice Jean Howard-Gabel Born Jan 19 2012 8lbs 6oz Bryce & Baby B are spectacular Daddy Seth & brother Theo are beaming ear to ear :-) "

In August, The Help star told Jay Leno that her 4½-year-old son predicted that his new sibling was going to be a girl. Looks like he was correct!

The actress has spoken candidly about the postpartum depression she suffered four years ago, but described feeling "euphoric" this time around.

Adding to the celebration for newly arrived Beatrice were congratulatory Tweets from the likes of Octavia Spencer, M. Night Shyamalan and Jennifer Connelly.

Director Shyamalan's message: "Ron, tell Bryce congratulations from our whole family. I'll be waiting to cast Beatrice in a few years! :-) "

Congrats to Bryce, Seth, Theo and Ron!

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/bryce-dallas-howard-seth-gabel-welcome-daughter/

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Testing for HIV together, hearing results together (AP)

CHICAGO ? Newly dating and slightly anxious, two men bared their arms for blood tests and pondered the possibility that one of them, or both, could be infected with HIV. An innovative program ? called Testing Together ? would allow them to hear their test results minutes later, while sitting side by side.

Eric Zemanovic, a dental hygienist, and Dominic Poteste, a restaurant server, had been dating two months after a yearlong friendship. In the past, they'd both practiced safe sex and got regular HIV tests. Both are in their early 30s. They'd grown up when AIDS meant an early, horrible death. So, whenever they heard about friends testing positive, they felt pangs of fear.

Poteste explained: "There's always an anxiety that comes with getting tested, even though 99 percent of the time I've been safe and been careful, there still is always ..." His voice trailed off.

"A slight possibility," Zemanovic completed the sentence.

"A slight possibility," Poteste agreed.

___

Testing Together, now under way in Chicago and Atlanta, takes an unusual approach: It encourages gay male couples to get tested together and hear their results together. After delivering the results, a counselor talks with the couple about what to do next, including agreements they may want to make with each other about sex and health.

Are we agreeing to be monogamous? Is any sexual activity outside the relationship OK? How are we going to protect each other from infection? Couples address these questions and more.

The idea is to bring honesty to sexual relationships, said one of the researchers behind the program, Rob Stephenson of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta.

Relationships offer only "mythical protection" from HIV, Stephenson said. Some couples may have avoided talking about each other's HIV status, thinking, "If he were HIV positive he would have told me," or "If he wanted to know, he would have asked."

Poteste and Zemanovic, the newly dating Chicago couple, differed in their past approaches. Zemanovic was in the habit of asking his sex partners about their HIV status; he was "neurotic" about it, he said. Poteste hadn't been as sexually active as his new boyfriend, but he hadn't always asked the questions: Have you been tested? What's your status?

"You have an assumption that if there's something this person could do to potentially hurt me, they would tell me," he said.

Zemanovic hoped getting tested together and discussing results with a counselor would build trust between them.

Poteste hoped the counselor could help them start a conversation so they could ask and answer difficult questions.

___

It started in Africa more than 20 years ago. Researchers believe couples testing has successfully reduced the spread of AIDS among married, heterosexual couples in some African regions. One study that looked at couples where one spouse is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative estimated that couples testing was cutting the rate of transmission by more than half.

In Washington, D.C., where the rate of HIV infection rivals some African nations, some community agencies allow couples to test together. Family and Medical Counseling Service Inc. has been testing about 145 couples together annually since 2008. Most are heterosexual couples.

In Chicago and Atlanta, Testing Together, funded by the MAC AIDS Fund, hopes to test 400 couples by the end of the year.

___

Each participant in Testing Together signs a consent form that addresses receiving counseling, testing and results with a partner in the same room at the same time with a trained counselor: "I hereby consent to allow my partner to know the results of my HIV test," it begins.

The program challenges conventional practices in the United States, where HIV testing is usually private and for individuals only. At most other clinics, a man who asks if his partner can be there when he hears his test result is denied because of patient confidentiality concerns.

There are two trends fueling Testing Together. One, the number of gay Americans telling the U.S. Census they're living with same-sex partners nearly doubled in the past decade, to about 650,000 couples. About half those same-sex partnerships are gay men.

What's more, a new line of research suggests that up to 68 percent of new HIV infections in gay men come from a main sex partner, not from casual sex, in part because main sex partners are more likely to forgo condoms.

Counselors are trained on how to deliver test results, with particular emphasis on how to tell partners the most difficult news: one partner has the virus and the other doesn't. With these so-called "HIV discordant" couples, counselors have a great opportunity to reduce the spread of the virus by helping the couple learn ways to protect the uninfected partner, primarily through correct and consistent condom use.

Counselors are trained to dispel myths. If the couple thinks the test result means one partner has been unfaithful, the counselor might point out that the infected partner could have acquired HIV before the partner became a couple. If the couple believes the virus is "sleeping" and can't be transmitted, the counselor might explain that HIV can be transmitted even if there are no signs or symptoms. If the couple believes their status is proof that precautions aren't needed, the counselor might explain that HIV could be transmitted in the future as the infected partner's virus levels rise.

Sam Hoehnle is a counselor in the Chicago program. "It never becomes easier emotionally" to deliver the news to an HIV discordant couple, Hoehnle said. He tells the HIV negative partner his results first, then spends more time and attention on the HIV positive partner. He's seen partners support each other, but he acknowledges he can't read minds. A show of compassion could mask anger or fear.

"You don't know what's happening internally, in their heads, about how they're feeling about each other," he said.

___

Poteste and Zemanovic got the best news possible: They were both HIV negative.

They both laughed with the sheer relief of it. The counselor had been nonjudgmental and hadn't wanted to talk about the past, only the future, pressing them to talk specifically and directly about their agreement on sex outside the relationship.

Zemanovic: "We both agreed on monogamy. And if we do need to go outside the relationship (we agreed) to talk to each other and find out, `OK, what do we need to do here?'"

Poteste: "This was a full exploration of (monogamy), whereas before, it was a casual statement or a passing joke that was maybe passive-aggressive.... We need to be much more direct in communications than we have been."

As a thank-you gift for participating in the program, they received two movie passes and a gift certificate for drinks and popcorn.

After the other decisions they'd made that day, deciding on which movie to see would be a snap.

___

Online:

http://www.testingtogether.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/aids/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_he_me/us_fea_hiv_testing_couples_together

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CA: California needs reasonable controls on health care premiums

California should join the majority of states across the nation, 36 of 50, that have authority to control health insurance rate hikes.

A consumer group is expecting to begin collecting signatures within the next few days to put a regulatory measure on the November ballot. They should work to give California voters the opportunity to voice their opinion on how much regulation is needed over an industry raking in record profits.

The best place to resolve such important statewide issues is in the Legislature. But lawmakers have taken several runs at giving California's insurance commissioner the power to limit rate hikes and failed each time, thanks to a handful of stubborn Republicans who worked to kill the bills.

In 2010, a year in which medical costs increased by about 9 percent, the five largest health insurers in the United States saw their profits soar by 16 percent while raking in nearly $12 billion. All told, since 2002, employer health insurance premiums have climbed 152 percent.

And who can forget that in 2010 Anthem had proposed a whopping 40 percent increase that President Barack Obama used as Exhibit A in the need for comprehensive national health care reforms. In 2011, Anthem Blue Cross raised rates by an average of 16 percent despite the protests of regulators and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. Insurance companies are fond of arguing that California is a "success story" when it comes to providing

affordable insurance in the state, but one out of every five Californians with annual family incomes between $50,000 to $75,000 is uninsured. One million California children still have no health care coverage, and 60 percent of Latinos in California are uninsured.

The best model for the consumer group working on the potential initiative is Proposition 103. The 1988 ballot measure gave the state insurance commissioner the power to control car insurance rates. Insurers conducted a massive ad campaign against the proposition, arguing that rate regulation would increase administrative and legal costs and would drive insurance companies out of California. They lost.

And instead, the opposite occurred. Drivers experienced an increased number of insurance options in ensuing years, and Californians stopped seeing the outrageous types of price increases they had witnessed for the previous decade.

If the new initiative qualifies for the ballot, voters should expect to see a huge advertising campaign from the health insurance industry, arguing that it will result in higher insurance costs and do nothing to solve the problem of skyrocketing medical costs. Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, told the Mercury News that she predicted the industry may spend as much as $100 million opposing the measure.

Private insurance companies deserve the right to make a reasonable profit. The intent of a ballot measure would be merely to guarantee that insurance companies justify their rate hikes so Californians pay a fair price for their coverage. Almost three-quarters of states have seen the wisdom of implementing rate controls. California should make sure insurance companies aren't left to their own devices.

Source: http://feeds.stateline.org/~r/StatelineorgRss-California/~3/JL0tS7iBoTE/ci_19754976

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Jennifer Hudson: "I Feel Empowered" by Weight Loss

Jennifer Hudson has had many triumphs in her life, including an Oscar, a Grammy and her recent loss of 80 pounds, which she says has "empowered" her. But success has not come easily for the 30-year-old singer-actress. In October 2008, she faced unspeakable tragedy when her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were shot to death inside their Chicago home. On Sunday night's episode of Dateline, Hudson talked about how she found the courage to go back into the spotlight after months of mourning. (Watch the video below.)

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/jennifer-hudson-weight-loss-overcoming-family-tragedy/1-a-417050?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajennifer-hudson-weight-loss-overcoming-family-tragedy-417050

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Outcomes of Proton Radiation Therapy for Peripapillary Choroidal Melanoma at the BC Cancer Agency.

Source

Radiation Therapy Program, BC Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To report toxicity, local control, enucleation, and survival rates for patients with peripapillary choroidal melanoma treated with proton therapy in Canada.

METHODS AND MATERIALS:

We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with peripapillary choroidal melanoma (?2 mm from optic disc) treated between 1995 and 2007 at the only Canadian proton therapy facility. A prospective database was updated for follow-up information from a chart review. Descriptive and actuarial data are presented.

RESULTS:

In total, 59 patients were treated. The median age was 59 years. According to the 2010 American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM classification, there were 20 T1 tumors (34%), 28 T2 tumors (48%), and 11 T3 tumors (19%). The median tumor diameter was 11.4 mm, and the median thickness was 3.5 mm. Median follow-up was 63 months. Nineteen patients received 54 cobalt gray equivalents (CGE) and forty patients received 60 CGE, each in 4 fractions. The 5-year actuarial local control rate was 91% (T1, 100%; T2, 93%; and T3, 59%) (p = 0.038). There was a suggestive relationship between local control and dose. The local control rate was 97% with 60 CGE and 83% with 54 CGE (p = 0.106). The metastasis-free survival rate was 82% and related to T stage (T1, 94%; T2, 84%; and T3, 47%) (p < 0.001). Twelve patients died, including eleven with metastases. The 5-year actuarial rate of neovascular glaucoma was 31% (23% for T1-T2 and 68% for T3, p < 0.001), and that of enucleation was 0% for T1, 14% for T2, and 72% for T3 (p < 0.001). Radiation retinopathy (74%) and optic neuropathy (64%) were common within-field effects.

CONCLUSIONS:

Proton therapy provides excellent local control with acceptable toxicity while conserving the globe in 80% of cases. These results are consistent with other single-institution series using proton radiotherapy, and toxicity rates were acceptable. T3 tumors carry a higher rate of both local recurrence and metastasis.

Copyright ? 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?tmpl=NoSidebarfile&db=PubMed&cmd=Retrieve&list_uids=22209152&dopt=Abstract

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Assassins target Iranian scientists with bombs

The Obama administration is denying any role in the killing of an Iranian university professor working at a key nuclear facility. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

By msnbc.com staff

The assassination Wednesday of an Iranian?scientist?was similar to other killings aimed at the country's nuclear program, bringing new accusations by Iran that Israel or the United States is behind the string of attacks.

Nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32,?was killed?Wednesday by a magnetic bomb reportedly attached to his car by two assailants on a motorcycle in traffic. The cars of three other Iranian scientists, at least two of whom were working on nuclear activities,?were?blown up in 2010 and 2011 in similar circumstances.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, in charge while President?Mahmoud Ahmadinejad travels in Latin America, told state television that?"this terrorist act was carried out by agents of the Zionist regime (Israel) and by those who claim to be combating terrorism (the United States) with the aim of stopping our scientists from serving" Iran.

He said Iran's nuclear program would go on.

Iran has said it is?developing nuclear capabilities only?for energy and other peaceful purposes, but the United States and its allies accuse it of wanting to create a nuclear weapon. Four rounds of sanctions have been imposed on Iran.?On Jan. 23, European Union foreign ministers plan to discuss a possible oil export embargo, adding further pressure.

Iran urged the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon?to condemn the assassinations of scientists, calling the killings?"cruel, inhumane and criminal acts of terrorism." Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee appealed to Ban and the 15-nation council,?"Any kind of political and economic pressures or terrorist attacks targeting the Iranian nuclear scientists, could not prevent our nation in exercising this right" to pursue its nuclear program, Khazaee said in a letter obtained by Reuters.

'Unnatural' happenings
The Obama administration denied any U.S. involvement. Israel did not deny involvement, and there are hints that the Jewish state at least had advance knowledge.?

The Associated Press reported that??Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told a closed meeting of Israel's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that "2012 is expected to be a critical year for Iran." He cited "the confluence of efforts to advance the nuclear program, internal leadership changes, continued international pressure and things that happen to it unnaturally."

Gantz's testimony was leaked by a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday, Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, posted on Facebook: "I don't know who settled the score with the Iranian scientist, but I certainly am not shedding a tear," according to a Reuters report.

Hazhir Teimourian, an Iran expert at the Limehouse Group of Analysts in London, stressed to Reuters that it was impossible to be certain who carried out the attack. But he said Israel was a logical candidate.

"The Israelis really have the ability and the incentive," he said.

List of attacks
Iran has accused the Mossad, the CIA and Britain's spy agency of engaging in an underground campaign against nuclear-related targets, including at least four killings since early 2007. They include:

• In January 2010, a physics professor, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, was killed by a bomb in a motorcycle?that blew up near his car as he left his Tehran home?for work.
• In November 2010,?scientist Majid Shahriari, who managed a "major project" for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization was killed and?colleague?Fereydoon Abbasi, on the U.N. Security Council?s sanctions list for ties to the Iranian nuclear effort, was wounded when motorcyclists attached magnetized bombs to?their cars in separate parts of Tehran.
• In July 2011, Darioush Rezaeinejad, who allegedly was working on a nuclear detonator, was shot in the neck outside his daughter's Tehran kindergarten.
• In 2007, nuclear scientist Ardeshir Hosseinpour died of gas poisoning.

Another key attack was the release of a malicious computer virus known as Stuxnet in 2010 that temporarily disrupted controls of some Iranian centrifuges ? a key component in nuclear fuel production.

Ronen Bergman, an investigative journalist with the Yediot Ahronot daily and expert on Israeli intelligence affairs, said the Mossad has "for years" targeted enemies that include "nuclear proliferators."

"The outcome of such assassinations are the actual neutralization of the main scientists and the intimidation of those left behind," he said.

Israel measures the gains in terms of the delays they cause Iranians.

"They are not keeping to the schedules they would like to keep to," former Mossad spymaster Meir Dagan said in a recent television interview, smilingly crediting the apparent sabotage spree to "God, who controls everything."

It also provokes panic in surviving colleagues, said an Israel official, generating a phenomenon that Mossad veterans dub "virtual defection."

"It's not that we've been seeing mass resignations, but rather a sense of spreading paranoia given the degree to which their security has been compromised," the official, who has extensive Iran expertise, told Reuters.

"It means they have to take more precautions, including, perhaps, being a little less keen to stand out for excellence in their nuclear work. That slows things down."

Israeli attacks
Israel has an admitted history of state-sponsored assassination and intimidation, from letter-bombs it sent German scientists serving Egypt's missile program in the 1960s to the Mossad hunt, using guns and booby-traps, for Palestinians involved in killing 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.

More recently, Israeli air-launched missiles and special forces picked off Palestinian uprising leaders. In 1995, motorbike-borne gunmen killed Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta, and another suspected Mossad team smothered Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his Dubai hotel in 2010.

Proponents of such tactics say they stave off more ruinous open war and few voices are raised in Israel in condemnation. Mabhouh had helped smuggle rockets to Palestinians, a threat Israel cited in justifying its 2008-2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip, amid international outcry at the high civilian toll.

Also on Wednesday:

Clinton cites danger:?Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, reiterating that the U.S. played no role in the killing of Roshan, said the United States is looking for an international understanding with Iran that ends its uranium enrichment program.called recent Iranian threats to close off the Persian Gulf "provocative and dangerous." She said the U.S. was committed to keeping the international waterway open. She called it "part of the lifeline that keeps oil and gas moving around the world." About 35 percent of the world's seaborne traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.?

Slammed at the U.N.: France, Britain, Germany and the United States on Wednesday took advantage of a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council to condemn Iran's decision to begin enriching uranium at an underground bunker.?"It's a worrying development," French Deputy Ambassador Martin Briens told reporters. He added that Tehran's new move was a violation of multiple resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors.?"We see this as a step of escalation by ... Iran," Deputy German Ambassador Miguel Berger said.

Cuba visit:????Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Havana for a one-day visit. Reuters reported that Ahmadinejad was greeted by one of Cuba's vice presidents, Esteban Lazo, and was driven away in a black Mercedes ahead of a meeting with President Raul Castro.?Cuba was his third stop on a Latin American tour meant to show support from four leftist-led nations - Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador -- as Iran is increasingly isolated by tightening Western economic sanctions over its uclear program.

Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times and msnbc.com's Jim Gold contributed to this article.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

?

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/11/10118910-killing-of-iranian-scientist-used-same-method-as-previous-assassinations

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Combination therapy shows positive response for children with ADHD

Public release date: 9-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Billingsley
mbillingsley@jaacap.org
202-966-7300 x105
Elsevier

Reports new study in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Washington D.C., January 9, 2012 - While pharmacologic agents have a demonstrated efficacy in children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), some children have suboptimal response to a single pharmacologic agent. A recent study by Dr. Timothy E. Wilens and colleagues, published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), is the first randomized placebo-controlled trial designed to assess efficacy and safety of guanfacine extended release (GXR) as an adjunct to psychostimulants in children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD who had a suboptimal response to a psychostimulant alone.

As reported in the article "A Controlled Trial of Extended-release Guanfacine and Psychostimulants for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder," Wilens and colleagues conducted a nine week multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-optimization study, with participants in 59 study sites who continued their stable dose of psychostimulant given in the morning and were randomized to receive GXR in the morning, GXR in the evening, or placebo.

For both morning and evening administration of GXR, subjects receiving GXR plus a psychostimulant showed significantly greater improvement from baseline to endpoint, as measured by the ADHD-Rating Scale IV total score, compared with subjects receiving placebo plus a psychostimulant. In particular, the inattention subscale rating and the hyperactivity/ impulsivity subscales of the ADHD-RS-IV showed significantly greater improvements from baseline in subjects receiving GXR with a psychostimulant compared with subjects receiving placebo plus psychostimulant. Significant benefits of adjunctive administration were observed whether GXR was administered in the morning or evening. No new safety signals emerged after adjunctive administration of GXR with psychostimulants compared with psychostimulants alone.

Reflecting on their research findings, Wilens and colleagues stated, "The results of this study support the hypothesis that adjunctive administration of the selective alpha2A-adrenoceptoragonist, GXR, to a psychostimulant in subjects with suboptimal response to psychostimulants reduces ADHD symptoms over placebo with a psychostimulant."

###

The article is "A Controlled Trial of Extended-release Guanfacine and Psychostimulants for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder" by Timothy E. Wilens, Oscar Bukstein, Matthew Brams, Andrew J. Cutler, Ann Childress, Thomas Rugino, Andrew Lyne, Kara Grannis, Sharon Youcha (doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.10.012). The article appears in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 51, Issue 1 (January 2012), published by Elsevier.

This study was supported by Shire Development Inc., Wayne, PA.

Notes for editors

Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Mary Billingsley at +1 202 966 7300 x105 or mbillingsley@jaacap.org. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Dr. Timothy E. Wilens at twilens@partners.org.

About JAACAP

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families.

The journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV; the combined market capitalization of the two parent companies is approximately 12bn/13bn. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Mary Billingsley
Editorial Office JAACAP
+1 202 966 7300 x105
mbillingsley@jaacap.org

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 9-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Billingsley
mbillingsley@jaacap.org
202-966-7300 x105
Elsevier

Reports new study in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Washington D.C., January 9, 2012 - While pharmacologic agents have a demonstrated efficacy in children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), some children have suboptimal response to a single pharmacologic agent. A recent study by Dr. Timothy E. Wilens and colleagues, published in the January 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), is the first randomized placebo-controlled trial designed to assess efficacy and safety of guanfacine extended release (GXR) as an adjunct to psychostimulants in children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD who had a suboptimal response to a psychostimulant alone.

As reported in the article "A Controlled Trial of Extended-release Guanfacine and Psychostimulants for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder," Wilens and colleagues conducted a nine week multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-optimization study, with participants in 59 study sites who continued their stable dose of psychostimulant given in the morning and were randomized to receive GXR in the morning, GXR in the evening, or placebo.

For both morning and evening administration of GXR, subjects receiving GXR plus a psychostimulant showed significantly greater improvement from baseline to endpoint, as measured by the ADHD-Rating Scale IV total score, compared with subjects receiving placebo plus a psychostimulant. In particular, the inattention subscale rating and the hyperactivity/ impulsivity subscales of the ADHD-RS-IV showed significantly greater improvements from baseline in subjects receiving GXR with a psychostimulant compared with subjects receiving placebo plus psychostimulant. Significant benefits of adjunctive administration were observed whether GXR was administered in the morning or evening. No new safety signals emerged after adjunctive administration of GXR with psychostimulants compared with psychostimulants alone.

Reflecting on their research findings, Wilens and colleagues stated, "The results of this study support the hypothesis that adjunctive administration of the selective alpha2A-adrenoceptoragonist, GXR, to a psychostimulant in subjects with suboptimal response to psychostimulants reduces ADHD symptoms over placebo with a psychostimulant."

###

The article is "A Controlled Trial of Extended-release Guanfacine and Psychostimulants for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder" by Timothy E. Wilens, Oscar Bukstein, Matthew Brams, Andrew J. Cutler, Ann Childress, Thomas Rugino, Andrew Lyne, Kara Grannis, Sharon Youcha (doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2011.10.012). The article appears in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 51, Issue 1 (January 2012), published by Elsevier.

This study was supported by Shire Development Inc., Wayne, PA.

Notes for editors

Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Mary Billingsley at +1 202 966 7300 x105 or mbillingsley@jaacap.org. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Dr. Timothy E. Wilens at twilens@partners.org.

About JAACAP

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP) is the official publication of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. JAACAP is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families.

The journal's purpose is to advance research, clinical practice, and theory in child and adolescent psychiatry. It is interested in manuscripts from diverse viewpoints, including genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, social, cultural, and economic. Studies of diagnostic reliability and validity, psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatment efficacy, and mental health services effectiveness are encouraged. The journal also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV; the combined market capitalization of the two parent companies is approximately 12bn/13bn. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Mary Billingsley
Editorial Office JAACAP
+1 202 966 7300 x105
mbillingsley@jaacap.org

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/e-cts010912.php

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