output
stringlengths 148
46.7k
| instruction
stringclasses 1
value | history
sequencelengths 0
0
| system
stringclasses 1
value | input
stringlengths 1.06k
6.38k
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
– It's not hard to figure out what killed a man whose remains were recently discovered at Pompeii—there is a massive stone block, probably hurled by a volcanic cloud, crushing the top part of his body. Determining why he was there takes more expertise: Archaeologists say there are lesions on his tibia that suggest he had a bone infection that slowed down his escape from the city after the AD79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, CNN reports. They believe the man, who was at least 30 years old, limped as he fled down the alley where his remains were found, "Initial observations would appear to indicate that the individual survived the first eruptive phase of the volcano, and subsequently sought salvation along the alley," which was already covered in a thick layer of rocks ejected by the eruption, researchers said in a press release. Researchers say the man was trying to escape a deadly cloud of gas, pumice, ashes, NPR reports. They believe the stone block, which was probably a door jamb, was thrown by the force of the deadly cloud. Massimo Osanna, general director of the Italian site, says the dramatic find shows how technology has transformed archaeology, the AP reports. "In the 1800s and 1900s, they dug in the area where we found the skeleton, but they did not go as deep as we did," he says. "Because of the experts we had, we knew how to do it." (Another extraordinary find was made in Pompeii's central bath house.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | New Excavation At Pompeii Uncovers Victim Crushed By Massive Rock Enlarge this image toggle caption Ciro Fusco/ANSA via AP Ciro Fusco/ANSA via AP Archaeologists working at Pompeii say they have found the remains of a man who survived the initial explosion of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 — but was crushed by a massive rock as he attempted to flee a deadly cloud of gases, ash and rock. The skeleton's remains are in what the Pompeii archaeological site calls a "dramatic position" — with a large rectangular stone embedded in the upper torso. "Initial observations would appear to indicate that the individual survived the first eruptive phase of the volcano, and subsequently sought salvation along the alley now covered in a thick layer of lapilli," or rocks ejected by the volcano, the site said in a statement released Tuesday. The man was on top of the layer of rocks, which was a full story high by that point. The dense cloud of gas and stone, called a pyroclastic flow, knocked him backward, the archaeologists say. "A formidable stone block (perhaps a door jamb), violently thrown by the volcanic cloud, collided with his upper body, crushing the highest part of the thorax," they explain. The skeleton's head has not been located, but archaeologists believe it is probably crushed beneath the stone block. The man was an adult, over 30 years old, who had a bone infection that would have caused him to have trouble walking and may have interfered with his escape, archaeologists say. Of course, plenty of able-bodied adults were equally caught up in the volcano's deadly cloud. The massive explosion of Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum, is one of history's best-known natural disasters. The human toll was detailed by Pliny the Younger, who described an apocalyptic scene of profound tragedy, and preserved physically in the bodies of the many victims entombed by the ash — including desperate would-be evacuees clinging to their belongings and families trying to find shelter together. New excavations at the Pompeii site began in March, in a section called "Regio V," which has been largely unexcavated and hasn't been researched since the postwar era. The unlucky man is the first victim of Vesuvius found in the new excavation. Earlier this month, researchers at Pompeii announced another new discovery at a separate site, just north of the walls around Pompeii, in the Civita Giuliana. The team had found illegal tunnels dug by illicit treasure seekers and began excavating the area to protect the artifacts there. As a result they found kitchen utensils, part of a bed and a tomb that was created after the eruption. Enlarge this image toggle caption Carlo Hermann/Kontrolab/LightRocket via Getty Images Carlo Hermann/Kontrolab/LightRocket via Getty Images They also managed, for the first time, to make a cast of the complete body of a horse that was killed in the eruption. The cavity left by the horse's body was found in an area identified as a stable, "complete with the remains of a trough," The Local reports: "From the remains of its skeleton, they believe the horse was an adult measuring around 150 centimetres [4.9 feet] tall at the withers: on the short side by today's standards, but given that horses were probably smaller at the time, the experts say it would have been exceptionally large for its time. "That, along with the fact that traces of a harness in valuable iron and bronze were found by its head, suggests that the animal was a specially bred parade horse, probably of considerable value." The horse died during the eruption, and its body was surrounded by volcanic ash. After the ash hardened the corpse decayed and left behind a horse-shape cavity. Archaeologists have previously made plaster casts of human victims, as well as a pig and a dog, The Local writes, but this was the first complete horse cast. Two other horses' remains were found nearby, but they were less complete, National Geographic reports. The magazine also says that bits and bridles around the horses' bodies suggest they may have been harnessed by people unsuccessfully attempting to flee the eruption. ||||| The legs of a skeleton emerge from the ground beneath a large rock believed to have crushed the victim's bust during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed the ancient town of Pompeii,... (Associated Press) The legs of a skeleton emerge from the ground beneath a large rock believed to have crushed the victim's bust during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed the ancient town of Pompeii, at Pompeii's archeological site, near Naples, on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. The skeleton was found during... (Associated Press) MILAN (AP) — Officials at the Pompeii archaeological site have announced a dramatic new discovery, the skeleton of a man crushed by an enormous stone while trying to flee the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Pompeii officials on Tuesday released a photograph showing the skeleton protruding from beneath a large block of stone that may have been a door jamb that had been "violently thrown by the volcanic cloud." The victim, who was over 30, had his thorax crushed. Archaeologists have not found the victim's head. Officials said the man suffered an infection of the tibia, which may have caused walking difficulties, impeding his escape. The archaeological site's general director, Massimo Osanna, called it "an exceptional find," that contributes to a better "picture of the history and civilization of the age." |
|
– Exactly how long have humans been in the Americas? A wealth of evidence suggests they arrived as early as 20,000 years ago, while the earliest record of modern humans in the world dates back 200,000 years to Africa (and they probably didn't leave until around 50,000 to 80,000 years ago). But researchers at the San Diego Natural History Museum say they've unearthed evidence that humans, or at least "an unidentified species of Homo," were here 130,000 years ago—a "bold and fiercely disputed claim," per the New York Times, based on mastodon bones and rock scratches found in Southern California in 1992. The claim, published in the journal Nature, is that the markings suggest the use of tools to extract marrow or process bone material to create more tools. Critics aren't holding back. "Extraordinary claims require unequivocal evidence," one skeptic says, while an archaeologist adds: "I was astonished, not because it is so good but because it is so bad." Others think such an early arrival is conceivable. For instance, the Denisovans broke from Neanderthals around 400,000 years ago and lived in Siberia, while bison came to North America by way of the Bering Land Bridge—which has disappeared and reappeared—135,000 years ago. What everyone agrees on is that the mastodon bones, which NPR reports were measured using sophisticated uranium-thorium dating tech, are 130,000 years old. If a human-like species cut them, it's "an order of magnitude difference," one researcher says. "Wow." (Our family tree is still very much a puzzle.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | New Evidence Suggests Humans Arrived In The Americas Far Earlier Than Thought Enlarge this image toggle caption Tom Démeré/San Diego Natural History Museum Tom Démeré/San Diego Natural History Museum Researchers in Southern California say they've uncovered evidence that humans lived there 130,000 years ago. If it's true, it would be the oldest sign of humans in the Americas ever — predating the best evidence up to now by about 115,000 years. And the claim has scientists wondering whether to believe it. In 1992, archaeologists working a highway construction site in San Diego County found the partial skeleton of a mastodon, an elephant-like animal now extinct. Mastodon skeletons aren't so unusual, but there was other strange stuff with it. "The remains were in association with a number of sharply broken rocks and broken bones," says Tom Deméré, a paleontologist at the San Diego Natural History Museum. He says the rocks showed clear marks of having been used as hammers and an anvil. And some of the mastodon bones as well as a tooth showed fractures characteristic of being whacked, apparently with those stones. It looked like the work of humans. Yet there were no cut marks on the bones showing that the animal was butchered for meat. Deméré thinks these people were after something else. "The suggestion is that this site is strictly for breaking bone," Deméré says, "to produce blank material, raw material to make bone tools or to extract marrow." Marrow is a rich source of fatty calories. Enlarge this image toggle caption San Diego Natural History Museum/Nature San Diego Natural History Museum/Nature The scientists knew they'd uncovered something rare. But they didn't realize just how rare for years, until they got a reliable date on how old the bones were by using a uranium-thorium dating technology that didn't exist in the 1990s. The bones were 130,000 years old. That's a jaw-dropping date, as other evidence shows that the earliest humans got to the Americas about 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. "That is an order of magnitude difference. Wow," says John Shea, an archaeologist at New York's Stony Brook University who specializes in studying ancient toolmaking. "If it's correct, then there's an extraordinarily ancient dispersal to the New World that has a very different archaeological signature from anything left behind by recent humans." Shea says it's different because Stone Age toolmakers usually leave behind stone flakes — sharp pieces broken or "knapped" from certain kinds of rock that serve as cutting implements. There were none at the California site. Another odd thing: no signs that the mastodon was butchered for the meat. "This is weird," Shea says. "It's an outlier in terms of what archaeological sites from that time range look like everywhere else on the planet." He suggests these bones might have been broken up by natural causes — by a mudflow, perhaps, or by the trampling of animals sometime after the mastodon died. Another skeptic is John McNabb, an archaeologist at the University of Southampton in England. His question: How did those people get to California? Twenty thousand years ago, archaeologists agree, people did cross over to Alaska from Siberia, perhaps more than once. Sea levels were lower then and there was a land bridge connecting the continents. In an interview with the journal Nature, which published the California research, McNabb says that land bridge wasn't there 130,000 years ago. "The sea lane in between the two continents [was] wider [then]," he says, "so that's one problem with this: How do we get humans across?" Nature YouTube McNabb says what's needed to really prove that this is truly an archaeological site are bones from the people who got there. The California team counters that it has spent over 20 years examining the evidence. "I know people will be skeptical with this because it is so surprising," says team member and archaeologist Steve Holen, "and I was skeptical when I first looked at the material myself. But it's definitely an archaeological site." Holen, with the Center for American Paleolithic Research, says these early people could have come across in boats. As for the broken bones, he says the type of fracture isn't accidental. And the way the hammerstones and bones were distributed in the ground doesn't look natural. One question the team can't answer is who these people were. A genetic technique that uses mutations in a population's genome as a sort of "clock" says the first common ancestor of Native Americans lived about 20,000 years ago. So if there were indeed earlier settlers, it could be they made an arduous migration from Siberia, only to die out without leaving any descendants. ||||| Prehistoric humans — perhaps Neanderthals or another lost species — occupied what is now California some 130,000 years ago, a team of scientists reported on Wednesday. The bold and fiercely disputed claim, published in the journal Nature, is based on a study of mastodon bones discovered near San Diego. If the scientists are right, they would significantly alter our understanding of how humans spread around the planet. The earliest widely accepted evidence of people in the Americas is less than 15,000 years old. Genetic studies strongly support the idea that those people were the ancestors of living Native Americans, arriving in North America from Asia. If humans actually were in North America over 100,000 years earlier, they may not be related to any living group of people. Modern humans probably did not expand out of Africa until 50,000 to 80,000 years ago, recent genetic studies have shown. |
|
malignant melanoma rarely develops in the paranasal sinuses , and generally has a poor prognosis .
however , mucosal melanoma can masquerade both clinically and histopathologically as a benign lesion , rendering accurate early diagnosis difficult . on the other hand , angiofibroma , a benign tumor ,
is more easily diagnosed than a mucosal melanoma , because the former exhibits specific histopathological features .
no cases of concurrent angiofibroma and mucosal melanoma have been reported to date .
we describe such a case below . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | histiopathologically , mucosal melanoma often presents with epidermal hyperplasia , vascularization , hemorrhage , and/or fibrosis , while melanin may be present or absent . hence , it is difficult to reach an early diagnosis of musosal melanoma . on the other hand , angiofibroma , a benign tumor , is more readily diagnosed than mucosal melanoma because the histopathological findings are specific , including many extensively dilated vascular channels . to the best of our knowledge , a 59-year - old female was admitted to the ear , nose , and throat clinic of daejeon st . mary s hospital in december 2013 complaining of nasal stuffiness and intermittent epistaxis from the right nasal cavity over the past year . she had no systemic disease and no relevant medical or family history . on physical examination , rhinoscopy revealed a polypoid mass in the right nasal cavity , which bled when lightly touched ( fig . 1 ) . a computed tomography ( ct ) scan revealed a dense soft tissue mass in the right paranasal sinuses and the right nasal cavity ( fig . 2 ) . magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) revealed an enhanced right antral mass ( 3.2 cm 2.5 cm 2.2 cm in size ) with a widened maxillary ostium that extended to the right nasal cavity ( fig . the patient underwent endoscopic sinus surgery ; however , the mass bled profusely and only a portion was removed for biopsy . because of such bleeding tendency , angiography accompanied by tumor embolization was performed prior to reoperation ( fig . the pathologic report of specimen from primary uncompleted operation pointed to a case of the angiofibroma , which was consistent with the patient s clinical features . the tumor mass was found to be dark greenish and yellowish fragile , filling middle meatus and extending to the nasal cavity . its medial extent was to the nasal septum , lateral to the lateral wall of maxillary sinus , superior to middle of the ethmoid sinus , inferior to the inferior maxillary wall , anterior to the anterior maxillary wall , and posterior to the nasopharynx . the origin of the tumor was deduced to be the lateral wall of the nasal cavity near the middle meatus . furthermore , a large part of the tumor was not adherent to the adjacent sinus wall except around the middle meatus . excised masses were composed of angiofibroma components , which contained thin walled blood vessels and fibrous stroma and mucosal melanoma components , which contained hyperpigmentation in subepithelium on pathologic examination ( fig . the patient was discharged with no complications , and we scheduled positron emission tomography ( pet ) ct and consultations with medical and radiation oncologists . the patient underwent adjuvant radiation therapy with immunotherapy ( interferon- ) for 1 year , and intensity - modulated radiotherapy of the right paranasal sinus ( 5,000 cgy/25 fractions ) . melanomas usually arise from melanocytes , which are in turn derived from the neuroectoderm of the basal layers of the skin . melanomas of the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses are rarer than cutaneous melanomas ; the former tumors constitute 3.6%4% of all nasal cancers . mucosal melanomas in the head - and - neck region account for half of all mucosal melanomas . apart from the head - and - neck region , they can arise in the genital organs of females or the anorectal and urinary tracts , and are far more aggressive with poorer prognoses than cutaneous melanomas . furthermore , primary mucosal melanomas are often misdiagnosed due to their anatomical locations and the lack of discernible signs and symptoms . epistaxis and nasal obstruction are common symptoms in both mucosal melanoma and nasal benign tumors . ct is used to evaluate the primary tumor and cervical lymph nodes , whereas mri is employed to explore the extent of sinonasal tumors , particularly those that may involve the skull base and/or exhibit neurotropic spread . also , mucosal melanoma may either contain or lack melanin , while exhibiting microscopic findings such as epidermal hyperplasia , vascularization , hemorrhage , and/or fibrosis . melanomas are likely to be positive for hmb-45 , melan - a , s-100 protein , mart-1 , and tyrosinase . the primary treatment modality is surgical resection with wide margins since incomplete resection is associated with poor survival rate . in addition , postoperative radiotherapy should be considered for most cases because of the high risk of local recurrence even after apparently complete resection . chemotherapy is prescribed when a distant metastasis and/or recurrence is / are evident ; immunotherapy ( bacillus calmette gurin or interferon ) remains unreliable . this is the first english - language report to describe a concurrent mucosal melanoma and angiofibroma . moreover , the biopsy sample included angiofibroma tissue , leading the pathologist to diagnose melanocytes as hemosiderin - laden macrophages ( fig . mucosal malignant melanomas are very rare , often presenting with atypical symptoms and masquerading both clinically and histologically as benign lesions . when a mucosal melanoma and a benign sinusoidal tumor , such as angiofibroma occur together , accurate diagnosis is difficult . immunohistochemical staining is required if there is even the slightest suspicion of a mucosal melanoma . this case suggested possibility of coexistence of mucosal melanoma and hemangioma in the nasal cavity neoplasm . malignant condition should be considered in easily bleeding masses in the nasal cavity as of its differential diagonosis . |
|
chylous ascites is an accumulation of milky lipid - rich lymph in the peritoneal cavity .
spontaneous chyle leak is a rare occurrence , often associated with malignancy or cirrhosis .
this is a report of spontaneous chylous ascites , chylomediastinum and chylothoraces encountered in the setting of an incarcerated paraesophageal hernia .
a 60-year - old female presented to the emergency department with epigastric pain , dysphagia and vomiting . clinical presentation and imaging
were concerning for an incarcerated paraesophageal hernia , and the patient was taken to the operating room . during laparoscopic reduction of the hernia and repair ,
chyle was encountered in the peritoneal cavity , mediastinum and pleural spaces .
postoperatively , the chyle leak resolved with a nonfat diet .
the unusual occurrence of a chyle leak in this case may have been due to compression of the thoracic duct within the chest by the incarcerated paraesophageal hernia . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | chylous ascites is an accumulation of milky lipid - rich lymph in the peritoneal cavity caused by a disruption in the lymphatic system . it was first identified in 1694 by richard morton in a 2-year - old male who died with tuberculosis . chylous ascites is fairly rare in the clinical setting , with a reported incidence of approximately 1 in 20 000 presenting to the hospital [ 13 ] . left untreated , it can lead to nutritional deficiency and in some cases immunosuppression . in rare cases , patients presenting emergently with volvulus or appendicitis have incidentally been found to have chylous ascites upon surgical exploration [ 24 ] . paraesophageal hernia can present acutely with gastric obstruction or strangulation at an estimated incidence of 1.2% per patient per year , the treatment for which involves laparoscopic or open hernia reduction , resection of the hernia sac , repair of the hiatal defect and fundoplication . we report the unique observation of spontaneous chylous ascites , chylothoraces and chylomediastinum occurring in the setting of an incarcerated paraesophageal hernia . a 60-year - old female with a long - standing gastroesophageal reflux disease and known type iii paraesophageal hernia presented to the emergency department with acute epigastric pain , dysphagia and vomiting . she noted a 1-month history of progressive dysphagia as well . computed tomography ( ct ) revealed a large paraesophageal hernia with significant surrounding fluid concerning for incarceration ( figs 1 and 2 ) . owing to these findings and her discomfort , emergent laparoscopic repair of her paraesophageal hernia was recommended . figure 1:axial ct view of the paraesophageal hernia and mediastinal fluid . figure 2:coronal ct view of the paraesophageal hernia and mediastinal fluid . access to the peritoneal cavity began with a 2-cm incision at the umbilicus using the hasson technique . after insufflation , four 5-mm trocars were introduced to the left and right upper quadrants . chylous fluid was immediately visualized in the vicinity of the greater curvature of the stomach with the preponderance of the fluid at the splenic hilum and splenic flexure . upon entering the lesser sac , chyle was found covering the pancreas as well . at this point , 20 ml of this chylous fluid was aspirated and sent for fluid analysis . the report later returned with triglyceride levels of 3362 mg / dl , consistent with chyle . during the hernia sac dissection , two 19-fr blake drains were placed : one in the lesser sac extending to the splenic flexure and one in the mediastinum . chest tubes drained about 100 ml of chylous fluid each , after which the output transitioned to serous . an abdominal and pelvic ct scan revealed no signs of malignancy that may have caused the chyle leak . the etiologies for chylous ascites can be categorized as traumatic or atraumatic , with malignancy and cirrhosis comprising the majority of atraumatic causes in the developed world via disruption of lymphatic flow . spontaneous chylothoraces due to compression of the thoracic duct by a large substernal goiter and thoracic aorta aneurysm have been reported in the literature as well [ 6 , 7 ] . because the chyle leak resolved rapidly after reduction of the hiatal hernia in this case , it could be postulated that acute incarceration of the hernia within the chest led to significant inflammation and subsequent compression of the thoracic duct above the hiatus . the chyle found within the abdomen could be explained as a transudate from the chest , where the initial disruption to the lymphatic system likely occurred . the most common presenting symptom for isolated chylous ascites is painless abdominal distention , but a subset of patients may present with peritoneal irritation or unspecified abdominal pain . whether chylous ascites is suspected in a clinical setting or incidentally in the operative room , analyzing fluid to confirm diagnosis is critical . for this reason , abdominal paracentesis may be indicated when suspicion for ascites exists at the time of presentation . chyle is classically defined as turbid and milky in character with triglyceride levels above 200 mg / dl [ 1 , 8 ] . in our patient , analysis of the fluid encountered during laparoscopy showed triglyceride levels of 3362 mg / dl , well above the diagnostic marker . imaging studies , such as ct , lymphoscintigraphy and lymphangiography , also have roles in diagnosing chylous ascites preoperatively . the most important initial step is treatment of the underlying cause of the chyle leak [ 3 , 9 ] . in this case , reduction of the paraesophageal hernia was imperative to relieve potential compression of the thoracic duct as well as to treat the incarcerated hernia . medical management is typically aimed at improving nutritional status and decreasing chyle flow , thereby allowing spontaneous closure of the chyle leak . a high - protein and a low - fat diet with middle - chain fatty acids has proved successful . numerous case reports have endorsed pharmacotherapy such as octreotide and somatostatin either alone or in combination with total parenteral nutrition in managing a refractory chyle leak [ 1 , 2 , 9 ] . in cases of chylothorax , pleuro - peritoneal shunts or chest tubes are found to be useful , especially if severe dyspnea is present . although there currently lacks a universal approach to treating chylous leakage , surgical reduction of the hernia and dietary restriction were successful in our atypical case . |
|
– As step 496 in its 10,000-step plan to rule the world, Amazon unveiled its restaurant delivery service this week in San Francisco, Wired reports. Already available in a handful of other cities, Amazon's Prime Now is taking the battle to the home turf of its dozens of food-delivery startup competitors, including Munchery, Postmates, and Uber. And Wired thinks it has a good chance to unseat them all. "As a company that’s built its fortune on logistics, Amazon can seemingly just flip the switch to bring any new item into its delivery infrastructure," the magazine states. In addition to its infrastructure, Prime Now's price point may help it top the competition. Unlike other food delivery companies, which charge service and delivery fees, Amazon's delivery will be free to all Prime members, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The company also promises not to increase prices from what are listed on a given restaurant's menu. According to Wired, cheap and fast—approximately an hour—food delivery is now another way for Amazon to get "people hooked on Prime." So far, 117 San Francisco restaurants are participating. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Amazon is hiring a bonkers number of temporary employees this holiday season, so that you can be absolutely sure the blender or coffee mug you’re sending to your great-aunt gets there in time for Christmas. Instant gratification for everyone! The world’s largest online retailer is creating 100,000 seasonal jobs, it announced today with a press release. That’s up 25 percent from last year, when Amazon hired 80,000 temporary workers, and it doesn’t include the more than 25,000 full-time workers Amazon already hired in the US in recent months. According to The Wall Street Journal, it’s also more than the number of seasonal workers Target (70,000), Macy’s (85,000), and Wal-Mart (60,000) each hired in anticipation of the retail world’s busiest time of year. Unlike Amazon, these companies are reportedly holding steady on their seasonal hires this year. Plus, Amazon continues to expand its infrastructure in support of its massive logistics goals for this holiday season. According to calculations from ChannelAdvisor executive chairman Scot Wingo, an analyst who tracks Amazon closely, Amazon has expanded to 173 facilities worldwide, up from 155 warehouses last year. That helps the company shrink those crucial delivery times and costs down to as small a margin as possible. “Other retailers are going to struggle to come close,” Wingo writes in a blog post. “They do not offer nearly the same level of selection and efficiency that Amazon’s logistical network provides.” A New Narrative in Retail That’s the prevailing narrative: e-commerce is still experiencing crazy growth, while traditional retail struggles to keep pace. The US Department of Commerce recently estimated that the US retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2015 reached $83.9 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent from the first quarter of 2015 and an increase of 14.1 percent year over year. E-commerce sales in the Q2 2015 also accounted for 7.2 percent of total sales in the US, according to the department. Meanwhile, total retail sales on the whole grew by just 1.6 percent from the first quarter of 2015 and 1.0 percent year over year. Just look at the paths of Amazon and Wal-Mart. In July, Amazon surpassed Wal-Mart as the world’s largest retailer by market value after a surprise second quarter profit. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart recorded its biggest one-day decline in almost three decades after it announced, to stunned investors, that it expected its growth over the next three years to be a paltry 3 to 4 percent, and would likely see profits drop up to 12 percent next year. After the news came out, investors saw over $20 billion in market value vanish in one day—and saw $83 billion disappear this year. The reason why it’s doing so terribly: It’s investing a ton of resources in things like wage hikes for employees to keep them happy, building out online grocery shopping, trying out subscription shipping. Basically, it needs to fend off Amazon, which is doing great in those areas. Attractive Innovation Investors just seem to view Amazon as a better bet these days, a company that, even after 21 years of existence, is still unafraid to try new things and see what turns out to be its next breakout hit. It’s already seen massive success with the cloud and (less conspicuously) its third-party online marketplace. It just launched Handmade, an Etsy competitor for artisanal goods, and Flex, an Uber-like platform where on-demand workers could pick up shifts delivering packages. It’s still visibly innovating in a lot of ways, which is attractive to potential shareholders. So, this upcoming holiday season, expect the differences between these massive players in retail to be thrown into even sharper relief. Amazon’s likely to keep crushing it—and it’ll have the workforce and the infrastructure that enables it to do so. Now, if it would only make a better effort than its recent misguided attempts to fix its culture image problem. ||||| You thought Uber Eats, Caviar and Postmates needed no more competition? Think again. Today,announced that they’ve launchedrestaurant delivery in San Francisco – the retail giant currently delivers food in other cities including Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles. But how will Amazon distinguish itself from the pack? The basics are all the same, but in a nutshell, this one is less expensive. (Though to use Amazon Prime Now requires an annual fee of $99, which can also be used for non-perishable items and movie streaming services.) According to spokesperson Tom Cook, there are no added fees – delivery is free (for now) and nothing is built in to the price. And, they’re going one step further. Like any good big box operation, Prime Now is offering a “price guarantee.” This basically means that if you go online and find that the food you ordered through Prime is priced higher than the regular online menu — and you tell them within 24 hours — they’ll give you your money back for that item. Many of the usual suspects found on other delivery services like Caviar are also listed on Prime Now. A quick cost comparison of the prices listed for Green Chile Kitchen, which can be found on both services, shows that on Caviar a grilled rice and bean burrito costs $7.20 and a crispy chicken tacos plate costs $12.30. On Amazon Prime Now, those same dishes cost $7 and $12. (The cost for Caviar delivery would also include a service fee — $2.96 for that particular order– as well as delivery fee of $4.99.) Most of the city is included in the launch, with a handful of other local zip codes to be added in the coming months. Here, a partial list of participating restaurants: |
|
– Baby Doc Duvalier's homecoming to Haiti may not be going as smoothly as he hoped. Haitian police today took the former dictator from his hotel room, reports AP, though it remains unclear exactly what's going on. Earlier, a judge accompanied by officers questioned him in his room about allegations of looting the nation's treasury during his reign, notes Reuters. "He will be questioned and he will remain at the disposal of the judicial system," said a senior official. "They will determine whether to prosecute him." Duvalier said nothing as he was being led into the police vehicle, and his girlfriend only laughed when asked if he had been arrested. Human rights groups have been calling for just that ever since his surprise return over the weekend. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude ''Baby Doc'' Duvalier (C) is escorted by friends and the police from his hotel in Port-au-Prince, January 18, 2011. PORT-AU-PRINCE | PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti on Tuesday briefly detained former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, back from exile in France, and charged him with corruption, theft and abuses of power allegedly committed during his 15-year rule. While a noisy crowd of his supporters protested outside the prosecutor's office, Duvalier, 59, was questioned over accusations that he stole public funds and committed human rights abuses after taking over as president in 1971. Port-au-Prince Chief Prosecutor Aristidas Auguste said his office had filed charges against Duvalier of corruption, theft, misappropriation of funds and other alleged crimes committed during the former president's 1971-1986 period in power. "His fate is now in the hands of the investigating judge. We have brought charges against him," Auguste told Reuters. The charges must now be investigated by the judge who will decide whether a criminal case should go ahead. After several hours of questioning, he left the prosecutor's office but was ordered to remain in the country at the disposition of judicial authorities. "He doesn't have the right to go anywhere," investigating judge Carves Jean said. Duvalier, who fled Haiti in 1986 during a popular uprising, was earlier escorted by heavily armed police from the luxury hotel where he had stayed since his unexpected arrival on Sunday from France, after a quarter century in exile. Smartly dressed in a blue suit and tie, but looking frail, he waved and smiled briefly to supporters at the hotel. The chubby cheeks that he had as a 19-year-old when he took power as the world's youngest head of state 25 years ago have sagged, showing the passage of time. The former dictator's return to his earthquake-battered Caribbean homeland, the Western Hemisphere's poorest state, was a shock to Haitians and to foreign governments. The country is in the midst of a political crisis caused by chaotic and inconclusive elections held on November 28. The political uncertainty comes on top of an ongoing cholera epidemic that has killed more than 3,800 people and efforts to rebuild the crippled nation after the huge earthquake a year ago that claimed more than 316,000 lives. "OPPORTUNITY ... FOR JUSTICE" Human rights groups welcomed the detention but urged the Haitian authorities to fully investigate the full range of accusations against Duvalier. Amnesty International Special Adviser Javier Zuniga said Duvalier, while ruling as "President-for-Life," had presided over a security apparatus which "carried out widespread and systematic human rights violations including torture, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances." He said some of these abuses by state-employed thugs known as "Tonton Macoutes" amounted to "crimes against humanity." "A cycle of impunity has prevailed for decades in Haiti, with victims of abuses and their families denied justice for way too long -- now the opportunity has come for justice, truth and reparations," Zuniga said. ||||| Haitian police took ex-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier out of his hotel Tuesday without saying whether he was being detained for crimes committed under his brutal regime. National police officers patrol a corridor at the hotel's floor where Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier is staying in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011. According to... (Associated Press) National police officers stand guard in front of the room of Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier at a hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011. According to a police officer... (Associated Press) Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of the American States, talks with the press after meeting with Haiti's President Rene Preval at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti,... (Associated Press) Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby-Doc" Duvalier, center, and his wife Veronique Roy are helped by a police officer as they are surrounded by reporters upon their arrival to the Toussaint Louverture... (Associated Press) National police officers patrol the corridor of the floor of the hotel where Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier is staying in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011. According... (Associated Press) Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier waves to the press from a hotel balcony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday Jan. 17, 2011. Duvalier ensconced himself Monday in a high-end hotel following... (Associated Press) A contingent of police led the former dictator known as "Baby Doc" through the hotel and to a waiting SUV. Duvalier, 59, was calm and did not say anything. Asked by journalists if he was being arrested, his longtime companion Veronique Roy, laughed but said nothing. It came after he met in private with senior Haitian judicial officials met inside his hotel room amid calls by human rights groups and other for his arrest. The country's top prosecutor and a judge were among those meeting with the former leader known as "Baby Doc" in the high-end hotel where he has been ensconced since his surprise return to Haiti on Sunday. Dozens of Haitian National Police officers were posted inside and around the hotel, some of them in riot gear or guarding the stairwells. A police vehicle for transporting prisoners was parked in front of the hotel's main door and all non-police traffic was halted at the driveway. Henry Robert Sterlin, a former ambassador under Duvalier who has said in recent days that he was speaking as a spokesman for the former dictator, told reporters at the scene he was shocked by the developments. "Let's see if they put him in prison," he said. |
|
– A federal grand jury today indicted a 37-year-old Ohio man who police say tried to buy a 10-year-old "wife" for $400, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Robert W. Thomas Jr. allegedly posted an ad seeking a young bride/sex slave online last month. "The younger the better, something in the 5-8 year-old range would be good," he wrote, according to the affidavit. "I want a young wife that I can train." Police spotted the ad and responded, offering him a "slightly broke in 10-year-old girl," according to a Fox 8 report. That was good enough for Thomas, but when he arrived to make the deal he found police waiting instead. Police later searched his home, seizing his computer, sexual paraphernalia, and weapons—including a grenade launcher, according to WCPO 9. The affidavit says he later admitted to receiving child porn. He also allegedly planned to shoot child porn of his own with the bride he bought, the Canton Repository adds. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | CLEVELAND, Ohio – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment of a Cuyahoga Falls man, charging him with attempting to buy a child. Alliance police officers arrested Robert W. Thomas Jr., 37, last month as he tried to pay $400 for a 10-year-old girl he intended to keep at his home as a sex slave, according to court documents. Police said Thomas posted an advertisement on an online site seeking to arrange a “marriage” with a young girl. “The younger the better, something in the 5-8 year-old range would be good,” Thomas wrote, according to an FBI affidavit. “I want a young wife that I can train…” Thomas allegedly informed the detective. The three-count indictment also charges Thomas with receiving and distributing child pornography. Thomas is being held in federal custody on $2 million bond. ||||| ALLIANCE, Ohio - An Ohio man accused of trying to buy a 10-year-old girl Saturday has been arrested. Robert W. Thomas Jr., 36, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio posted on a website that he was looking for anyone willing to arrange a “marriage” between him and their daughter. An officer from Alliance, Ohio who works with the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force saw the posting and responded to Thomas. According to a press release, Thomas requested that the child be between the ages of 5 to 8, and that he wished to keep the child permanently and “train her to please him.” The Task Force officer arranged a meeting with Thomas, where the release states Thomas was going to pay $400 for a 10-year-old girl. Instead of making a purchase, Thomas was arrested. Alliance Police said that a search warrant was obtained for Thomas’ Cuyahoga Falls home where a computer, electronic storage devices, sexual paraphernalia, videos and firearms were seized. One of the firearms had a grenade launcher, police said. Thomas is charged with trafficking in persons, attempted kidnapping, attempted rape, and possessing criminal tools. He is being held in Stark County Jail on $2 million bond, and will be arraigned Monday. Alliance police were assisted in this investigation by the Canton office of FBI, and by the Cuyahoga Falls Police Department. ||||| AKRON, Ohio — A federal affidavit reveals disturbing new insight into the intentions of a Cuyahoga Falls man accused of trying to buy a 10-year-old girl for $400. Robert W. Thomas Jr. appeared before a federal magistrate in Akron on Wednesday to face new charges. He was arrested by Alliance police Saturday following a six-day investigation that started with an online ad. Investigators said the ad was placed by Thomas and asked for parents who would arrange a marriage between himself and their daughter. An undercover detective from Alliance responded to the advertisement, and according to the federal affidavit, was told by Thomas “the younger the better, something in the 5-8 range would be good.” The document reveals that Thomas requested a “ball park figure on costs” and later told detectives “I want a young wife that I can train.” According to the affidavit, undercover officers told Thomas they could provide a “slightly broke in 10-year-old girl.” FBI agents were involved in the investigation soon after it began and were there when Thomas was arrested. Special Agent Vicki Anderson said the details fit a federal statute under which Thomas is now charged. “If you are willing to sell a child that you have custody over and then there are certain specifications in that, or, if you are willing to purchase a child and then one of the specifications in that statute indicates that he was willing to purchase this child, what he thought to be a child, and that he was going to use that child for sexual purposes,” said Anderson. The federal affidavit notes that after his arrest Thomas admitted to detectives that he received child pornography over the internet and had saved it to his home computer. The document also notes that Thomas told investigators that he used his cell phone to send the messages to the undercover officers. “The fact that there is a forum out there to put such a posting, I mean to put a posting that says you want to purchase a child, is anyone out there willing to sell their child to marry this man? And initially he had indicated that he wanted to purchase … between a five- and an eight-year-old and he settled for a ten-year-old, that’s … disturbing doesn’t even do that justice,” said Anderson. The seven-page federal affidavit concludes with details of what Thomas allegedly told authorities about his intentions involving a young girl. Investigators said he described how he intended to introduce sexual activity, grooming the child by starting with hugging and kissing on the cheeks and slowly escalating. The document alleges that Thomas admitted he also planned on taking suggestive photos of the girl. Thomas remained in federal custody on Wednesday. He was appointed an attorney. His case is expected to go before a federal grand jury. Federal Magistrate Kathleen Burke advised him if he is convicted of the existing charge, he faced a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars. For extended coverage on this story, click here. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. |
|
the relationship between age and risk for classic dengue fever has never been quantified .
we use data from clinical patients to show that the relative risk of having classical disease after primary dengue virus infection increases with age .
this relationship has implications for strategies aimed at controlling dengue fever . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | clinical dengue incidence data that have been serologically confirmed were abstracted from a survey conducted in 1997 in the communities of belm and ananindeua in par state , brazil ( 5 ) . in 1996 , these communities reported their first cases of dengue fever ( dengue serotype l ) in > 50 years , after the successful control of aedes aegypti mosquitoes during the 1940s ( 5 ) . we assumed , therefore , that persons < 50 years of age were susceptible to all 4 dengue serotypes at the time of the survey and , as a result , that most reported cases were due to primary dengue infection . age - stratified population data from the 2000 brazilian census were used to estimate the total population of belm and ananindeua for the following age classes : 04 , 59 , 1014 , 1524 , 2534 , 3544 , and 4554 years . survey data describing the number of serologically confirmed clinical dengue cases were then used to estimate the minimum proportion of all persons in each age class who had clinical dengue ( figure , panel a ) . estimated minimum proportion of the population , by age , with laboratory - confirmed classical dengue , showing exact 95% binomial confidence intervals . a ) fitting a logistic regression model ( not shown ) to the absolute proportion produced a significant age estimate : mcfadden r = 0.762 , = 5,196.13 , df = 1 , p<0.001 . b ) relative risk , by age , of having classical dengue after primary infection . we further investigated the relationship between age and probability of having clinical disease by calculating the risk for each age class relative to the age class that had the highest proportion of clinical cases . unlike the absolute proportion , the relative risk is independent of transmission intensity . in calculating relative risk , we assumed that the risk for dengue infection was independent of age , which was corroborated by a seroepidemiologic study performed in fortaleza , brazil , in 1994 ( 6 ) . a logistic regression model was developed to describe the relationship between age and the relative probability of disease after primary dengue infection . model fitting was performed with stata 8.0 ( stata corporation , college station , tx , usa ) , and robust standard errors were calculated for each regression coefficient . the logistic model provided a significant fit to the data ( mcfadden r = 0.512 , = 4.86 , df = 1 , p<0.028 ) and described a clear positive relationship between age and relative risk for clinical disease ( = 0.164 ; bootstrap 95% confidence interval 0.14700.1769 ) , as shown in the figure , panel b. the results suggest that the risk for clinical disease after primary dengue infection is relatively low throughout childhood and then increases rapidly through adolescence and early adulthood . to our knowledge , this is the first time data have been used to empirically derive the quantitative relationship between age at time of primary dengue infection and risk of having clinical dengue fever . these findings are consistent with results of earlier studies that suggest that adults are more likely than young children to have clinical dengue ( 79 ) . first , because dengue virus serotypes l and 2 were circulating in the population during the study period , some persons may have been infected with both serotypes during the 1-year period and , therefore , clinical signs may have resulted from a secondary infection . second , several factors other than age are thought to influence severity of classic dengue illness , including viral serotype and strain ( 4,10 ) . data from a dengue epidemic ( dengue virus type 3 ) in puerto rico showed the attack rate to be independent of age ( 11 ) . although the proportion of these cases that were due to primary infection was uncertain , the different infecting serotype may be partly responsible for the conflicting findings between that study and ours . further research should be conducted to determine whether the relationship between age and classic dengue fever is similar in epidemics involving all 4 dengue virus serotypes . finally , whether all age groups in the study population had equal access to participating health facilities is not known . however , if a reporting bias were introduced , it would likely be in adults ( because of child - rearing duties and difficulty taking time off work ) . therefore , because adults represent a higher proportion of total patients with clinical cases in this study , underreporting in this age group would suggest that our relative - risk estimates in the adult age classes are conservative . despite the complexities of dengue epidemiology , these findings provide strong empirical evidence that age is an important factor in determining risk for disease severity after primary dengue virus infection . as such interventions focused on reducing the number of aedes mosquitoes are the mainstay of dengue control worldwide . such approaches , however , have proved incapable of interrupting dengue transmission ( 12 ) . at best , vector control may result in a partial reduction in the rate at which dengue virus is transmitted , which consequently increases the average age of the population susceptible to dengue infection . if age is a risk factor for clinical dengue fever , as our results suggest , then while partial control will decrease the rate of dengue infection , it may have the adverse effect of increasing clinical incidence . |
|
we have carried out a study to simulate distant clusters of galaxies in deep ground - based optical images .
we find that when model galaxies are added to deep images obtained with the william herschel telescope , there is considerable scatter of the recovered galaxy colours away from the model values ; this scatter is larger than that expected from photometric errors and is significantly affected by confusion , due to ground - based seeing , between objects in the field . in typical conditions of @xmath0 1-arcsec seeing , the combination of confusion and incompleteness causes a considerable underestimation of the true surface density of @xmath1 galaxies .
we argue that the actual surface density of @xmath1 galaxies may be several times greater than that estimated by previous ground - based studies , consistent with the surface density of such objects found in the hdf . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | the field of the of the @xmath2 quasar pair pc1643 + 4631 a & b contains a cosmic microwave background decrement ( jones et al .1997 ) which may be the sunyaev - zeldovich effect of a cluster of galaxies at @xmath3 ( saunders et al . 1997 ; kneissl et al .1998 ) . in an attempt to detect such a cluster ,we have carried out deep @xmath4 imaging of the field .no cluster is immediately obvious in the images , so we carried out monte - carlo simulations to quantify our ability to detect a cluster of galaxies in our images ( full details are given in haynes et al .1999 and cotter et al .model clusters were created using simulated colours of evolving galaxies in the redshift range @xmath6 , and added to our wht images .we then used photometric redshift techniques to try to recover the simulated cluster .as the cluster redshift reached @xmath7 and beyond , the lack of strong spectral features in the optical made the cluster increasingly difficult to detect .however , even at @xmath8 , where the characteristic lyman - limit break became detectable , a large fraction of the the fake cluster galaxies were still recovered from the simulation with ambiguous colours ( fig 1 ) .indeed , in our @xmath9 simulation , only one in five of the model cluster galaxies was identified as such by @xmath10 selection .the recovered colours were skewed towards the red in @xmath11 ; this is a result of confusion with other objects in the field .our original search for @xmath13 lyman - break galaxies ( lbgs ) in these images ( cotter & haynes 1998 ) had recovered a reasonable number of candidates approximately 1.1 arcmin@xmath14 , similar to the findings of the surveys of steidel et al .( 1996,1998 ) .the fact that our recovery of simulated high-@xmath5 cluster galaxies was so inefficient therefore prompted us to measure the effects of completeness and confusion specifically for @xmath13 galaxies .we ran 1000 simulations , each time adding ten fake lbgs to our images .fake lbgs were drawn from a schecter luminosity function with @xmath15 and @xmath16 ; all had input colours @xmath17 , @xmath18 .we used input half - light radii of 0.2 - 0.3@xmath19 ( giavalisco et al .1998 ) . then , using focas , we attempted to recover the lbgs .our selection criteria are chosen to be as close as possible to that of steidel et al .we select only those galaxies clearly detected with @xmath20 above the 3-@xmath21 isophote in @xmath22 , measure magnitudes in @xmath23 and @xmath24 through this @xmath22-band isophote , and then impose a colour cut of @xmath25 , @xmath26 , which is closely equivalent to the `` robust '' colour selection of steidel et al .first , we find that 53% of galaxies with input @xmath20 are selected to the isophotal @xmath27 limit .second , we find that , as for our fake cluster galaxies , a large fraction of the fake lbgs are scattered far away from their input colours . in total, only 23% of the input lbgs with @xmath20 remain within the @xmath28 region of the @xmath10 plane ( fig 2 ) .therefore , the true number of lbg candidates in our images may be four times greater than the 1.1 arcmin@xmath14 we measure .again we stress that , while our @xmath10 filter set is slightly different from the @xmath29 used by steidel et al ., our search for genuine lbg candidates in these images finds a surface density at least as great as that of steidel et al .these results suggest that ground - based @xmath10 selection , while extremely successful at identifying @xmath30 galaxies , may miss a significant fraction of the population .this may have a bearing on the apparent discrepancy between the surface densities of lbgs measured in the hubble deep field ( hdf ) and in ground - based surveys .there are 12 galaxies in the hdf which have spectroscopic redshifts @xmath31 and @xmath32 ( dickinson 1997 ) .these galaxies correspond to those which would be detected by the `` robust '' lbg candidate criteria of steidel et al .however , one would expect , given the published surface - density of `` robust '' lbg candidates of @xmath33 arcmin@xmath14 ( steidel et al .1998 ) , to find only three such lbgs in the hdf .of course , cosmic variance will be significant for the hdf ; but it is striking that the apparent overdensity of lbgs in the hdf corresponds with our estimate of the fraction of lbgs lost to incompleteness and confusion in the ground - based images .we have carried out simulations to examine the effectiveness of searches for high - redshift galaxies in deep optical images typical of those obtained with 4-m telescopes .we find that the scatter of the recovered colours of model galaxies away from their model colours is two to three times greater than that expected from the photometric errors alone and arises as a result of confusion between the simulated galaxies and the real objects in the field . because ofthe effects of incompleteness and confusion , the surface densities of lbgs based on ground - based imaging may be underestimated by a factor of four ; this is consistent with the surface density of lbgs measured in the hdf . to investigate these effects further, we will carry out more detailed simulations using our present data to investigate how the inferred luminosity function of the lbgs is affected by incompleteness and confusion .we also plan deep imaging programmes with the new generation of wider - field , high - image - quality instrumentation as it becomes available . |
|
– A special entertainment task force is reviewing a sexual assault allegation against Sylvester Stallone, prosecutors in Los Angeles County have confirmed. Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, says prosecutors are investigating whether the 71-year-old actor should face charges in connection with the alleged incident, which dates back to the 1990s, the Los Angeles Times reports. Police say the woman reported the alleged incident to police in Santa Monica in November last year. Police haven't revealed anything about the nature of the allegation, and it's not clear how charges could be filed: Sexual assault allegations from the 1990s are too old to prosecute under the statute of limitations that was in place in California at the time. Martin Singer, Stallone's lawyer, is pushing back hard against the allegation. He tells CNN that his client "categorically denies" the allegation and says it is "inappropriate" to "try to ruin" somebody with it. "It's outrageous that the DA's office and PD would announce this information because it makes the public think that there's something there," Singer says. The lawyer tells the New York Post that Stallone met the woman while filming Rambo III in the late 1980s and they had a "consensual, sexual" relationship for several years. Singer, who says Stallone didn't hear from the woman until after the Harvey Weinstein scandal last year, accuses prosecutors of trying to appease the "#MeToo generation." (Jamie Foxx is also denying a sexual assault claim.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | (CNN) The Los Angeles District Attorney's office is reviewing a sex crime case against Sylvester Stallone, spokesman Greg Risling said Wednesday. The Santa Monica Police Department turned over the case, which was first reported to it in November 2017, Risling told CNN in an email. The alleged incident at the center of the case took place in 1990s, Lt. Saul Rodriguez of the Santa Monica Police said. Police didn't say anything about the nature of the allegation against Stallone. "My client categorically denies the allegations," Stallone's attorney, Martin Singer, told CNN. "It's outrageous that the DA's office and PD would announce this information because it makes the public think that there's something there." Read More ||||| The sexual assault case that was filed Wednesday against Sylvester Stallone is nothing but a smear campaign — and the only reason authorities announced they were reviewing it is because they are trying to appease “the #MeToo generation,” the actor’s lawyer claims. “The DA’s office in both New York and LA want to get it out there that they’re investigating these matters,” attorney Marty Singer told The Post. see also Los Angeles DA reviewing sexual assault case against Sylvester Stallone A case was presented Wednesday by the Santa Monica Police... “You don’t see police or the DA’s office issuing statements about everybody who files a police report — people would get ruined,” he said. “Why go to the media? Why not do the investigation first?” Stallone, 71, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman he used to date in the early 1990s. The Los Angeles County DA’s Office started reviewing the case Wednesday after it was handed over by Santa Monica police. Singer says his client is completely innocent, and that the sex he had with the alleged victim was always consensual. The two met in Israel while Stallone was filming “Rambo III” and they saw each other regularly for several years. “They had a consensual, sexual relationship when he was single,” Singer said. “But nothing happened.” The couple eventually broke things off and went their separate ways, according to Singer, and that was the last time Stallone heard from the woman. It wasn’t until after the #MeToo movement began making headlines last year — following the Harvey Weinstein scandal — that she surfaced with the allegations, Singer said. “This woman filed a police report after a website would not publish her story,” the lawyer claimed. “She came forward trying to get a story published in November about Stallone with an entertainment website. The woman claimed there was someone who could corroborate what happened. When questioned by the site, the person told a reporter that her claims were absolutely false. They said [the alleged victim] was always boasting about her relationship with Stallone.” Singer told The Post that the website refused to publish the woman’s allegations, even after she filed a report with the Santa Monica police department. “Two witnesses came forward and disputed her story,” Singer said. “One was her boyfriend who had been with her for over 10 years. He said she only said the best things about Stallone, told him he was the greatest guy. The only thing that ever upset her was that he slept with someone who worked with him.” Another website, however, caught wind of the woman’s police report and decided to publish a story in December on her allegations, according to Singer. “It was outrageous,” Singer said, calling both the article and police report “inappropriate.” “Two third-party witnesses went to the police and then came forward to us and confirmed that story was completely false. The woman had stated how much she liked my client and what a great relationship she had with him — so it’s just not right.” Stallone was so outraged by the allegations that he wound up hiring a separate lawyer to file a claim against the woman for filing a false police report. see also Sylvester Stallone's ex-wife slams sexual assault accusation "I can say for certain that it is impossible for... “It’s not appropriate for anyone to file a police report because you wanna get a story out in the media,” Singer said. “It’s totally wrong.” While Stallone’s attorney maintained his client’s innocence, he also pointed out how the accuser and DA’s office are both well aware of the fact that the statute of limitations has already passed on her allegations. “The woman knew that even if her story was true — which it’s not — it’s too late to file charges,” Singer said. “That’s not saying people shouldn’t file police reports, it’s just improper to first try and get a story.” Singer went on to say that he was deeply disappointed with the DA’s office and local authorities for publicizing Stallone’s sex assault case without knowing more about it. “It’s very frustrating that this would be public based on all the facts,” Singer said. “It’s inappropriate and improper — especially when there are two independent witnesses coming forward against her.” Stallone’s legal team hopes that when everything is said and done, the actor’s name will be cleared and his accuser punished. “There should be some consequences if someone files a false police report and [the accused] gets smeared in the media — with the presumption being that if somebody files a report, it must be true,” Singer said, claiming that false accusers gain “legitimacy” from doing so. “That’s not saying there aren’t legitimate police reports,” he added. “But more than 90 percent are rejected.” |
|
– Ariana Grande says she suffers from PTSD in the aftermath of a bombing that killed 22 people at her concert in Manchester, England, last May. "It's hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it's a real thing," she tells the July edition of British Vogue, hitting newsstands Friday. "I've always had anxiety … but when I got home from tour it was the most severe I think it's ever been," the 24-year-old singer adds, per CNN. "I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well." While "I don't think I'll ever know how to talk about it and not cry," Grande says the passage of time has helped. Ink therapy apparently helps, too. After the first anniversary of the bombing last month, Grande revealed a bee tattoo behind her ear, representing the worker bee that's become a Manchester emblem, per CNN. Around the same time, Grande's boyfriend, Pete Davidson of SNL, got the singer's bunny ears logo tattooed in the same spot, along with the letters "AG" on his hand, reports Vanity Fair. The pair have reportedly been dating only a few weeks. (Davidson also has a Hillary Clinton tattoo.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Craig McDean Ariana Grande is the cover star of the July 2018 issue of British Vogue. Photographed by Craig McDean and styled by Kate Phelan with hair by Chris Appleton and make-up by Mark Carrasquillo, Grande wears a Chanel autumn/winter 2018 lace dress with jewelled straps for her #NewVogue debut. Inside the issue, the popstar and social-media titan shares details of her difficult and transformative past year with Vogue’s Giles Hattersley, including how she coped with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of the Manchester bombing. “It's hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it's a real thing,” she says. “I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well. Time is the biggest thing. I feel like I shouldn't even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn't even say anything. I don't think I'll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.” Advertisement At home in her curiously decorated mansion in Beverly Hills, she goes on to give Vogue a preview of her fourth album, Sweetener. "I think a lot of people have anxiety, especially right now," she says, as a pounding song concludes. How is your anxiety, Hattersley asks? "My anxiety has anxiety… I've always had anxiety. I've never really spoken about it because I thought everyone had it, but when I got home from tour it was the most severe I think it's ever been." She was back in the studio the day after finishing her concert commitments in Asia, South America and Australia in September 2017, a decision, that is, she explains, down to being a workaholic. "Everybody thought I was crazy when I got home and wanted to hit the ground running." Read the full interview with Grande in the July issue, which is out on newsstands on June 8. ||||| (CNN) Singer Ariana Grande has spoken about suffering post-traumatic stress disorder following a suicide bombing that killed 22 people at her concert in Manchester, United Kingdom, last year. "I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well," said Grande of suffering the symptoms of PTSD, in an interview with British Vogue to be released on Friday. "I feel like I shouldn't even be talking about my own experience -- like I shouldn't even say anything," added the 24-year-old American, who appears on the cover of the magazine's July edition. loop until it becomes locked in their brain. PTSD is a form of anxiety disorder that occurs when intrusive memories linked to fear from a traumatic event become consolidated in a person's mind by them visualizing the event in aloop until it becomes locked in their brain. Grande said she didn't think she'd ever be able to talk about the attack at Manchester Arena in May 2017 "and not cry." ||||| You know how relationships go: you go on a few dates, finally make your official Instagram debut, and then, not even a month in . . . one person gets two tattoos in honor of their new romantic partner! Oh, you haven’t been in that relationship scenario before?! How strange! Yes, in the grand tradition of celebrity couples moving extremely, extremely quickly, the new pairing of Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson and pop star Ariana Grande took their nascent relationship into overdrive this weekend. Grande and Davidson started dating a few weeks ago, both having recently exited long-term relationships (Grande’s with rapper Mac Miller, Davidson’s with comedian and writer Cazzie David). They took their relationship public almost immediately, commenting on each other’s photos (even flirting in the comments section of other people’s accounts), before each posted a picture of themselves together (“i thought u into my life/ woah ! look at my mind,” Grande captioned hers). They are supporting each other at public events as well: Grande attended Davidson’s stand-up set on Friday night in Atlantic City (Davidson did not mention her on stage), and Davidson posted a tribute to Grande’s Los Angeles Wango Tango performance on Saturday on his Instagram Stories (“are you fucking kidding me !!!?? so fucking lit,” he wrote, with a string of adoring emojis). If nothing else, Grande and Davidson’s behavior should serve to assuage any concerns you may have had about any semi-flirtatious Instagram comments you might have recently left and subsequently regretted. Already, this all seemed—from an outside perspective—like, well, a lot, but then, on top of all this, we learned this weekend that Davidson has now gotten two tattoos in honor of his new relationship. One, portraying Grande's trademark Dangerous Woman bunny ears, is located behind his ear; the other, comprised of the letters “AG,” is located on his hand. (This information was conveyed by L.A.-based tattoo artist London Reese, who initially captioned one of the pictures, “We had a good night somewhere in the hills of Los Angles. Pete loves him some Ariana.”) A few weeks ago, an observant Twitter user noted that it looked as though they might have matching cloud tattoos on their middle fingers, though that’s remained unconfirmed. These two seem like clear front-runners for our celebrity-couple story line of the summer. To recap: Davidson and Grande have been dating a few weeks, are all over each other’s Instagram feeds, may or may not have matching tattoos . . . and now Davidson has two presumably permanent Grande tattoos. Things promise to only get more interesting from here. Get Vanity Fair’s Cocktail Hour Our essential brief on culture, the news, and more. And it's on the house. E-mail Address Subscribe |
|
a 71 year old lady was treated for a squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus with neo - adjuvant chemotherapy followed by a two phase ivor - lewis oesophagectomy with two field lymphadenectomy .
she presented four years later with life threatening bleeding from a fistula between the thoracic aorta and the gastric conduit , which was treated successfully with a thoracic aortic stent . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | fistulation from aorta to gastric conduit after ivor - lewis oesophagectomy is a rare and life threatening condition . reported cases have occurred early post operatively , with a mean post - operative day of presentation of 46 in a review of 23 cases . the majority of these patients presented with a herald bleed ( 93% ) ( 1 ) . early post operative leakage from the suture line of the anastamosis , erosion of the gastric conduit by acidic gastric contents and reduced blood supply to the conduit have been suggested as potential causative factors ( 2,3 ) . thoracic lymphadenectomy , whereby the descending aorta is completely skeletonised , is believed to predispose to fistulation . in this report we present a rare case of the successful treatment of an aorto enteric fistula developing four years after oesophagectomy . a fit and well 71 year old woman presented with a history of reduced appetite and weight loss and was found to have a squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus at 30 cm . following restaging an ivor - lewis oesophagectomy was performed with meticulous two field thoraco - abdominal lymphadenectomy . histopathology confirmed a complete pathological response ( mandard regression grade 1 ) to neo - adjuvant therapy ( t0n0 with 0/37 nodes positive ) . there were no immediate post operative complications and she was discharged day 16 post op . over the subsequent three years she was troubled by recurrent dysphagia related to benign anastamotic strictures which required multiple dilatations . acute gastric ulcer seen on endoscopy acute gastric ulcer post treatment with gold probe an endoscopy performed four years post - operatively demonstrated two atypical acute gastric ulcers in the distal stomach ( figure 1 ) , which were treated with a heat probe ( figure 2 ) . two days later she presented as an emergency in hypovolaemic shock following a large volume haematemesis ( haemoglobin of 40g / l ) . an urgent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a visible vessel at 35 cm forming part of an expansive mass within the gastric conduit . eus demonstrated a heterogeneous mass indenting the gastric conduit , containing a strong doppler signal ( figure 3 ) . an urgent computerised tomography ( ct ) angiogram revealed a type - a thoracic aortic aneurysm with an enteric fistula ( figure 4 ) . the saccular aneurysm of the thoracic aorta was embedded in the gastric conduit . a 28x16 cm valiant ( medtronic ltd , minneapolis , usa ) stent the patient made an excellent recovery and was discharged on the seventh day post stenting . eus examination showing thoracic aneurysm compressing esophagus ct scan showing thoracic aortic aneurysm post operatively the patient developed a low grade stent infection requiring a prolonged course of antibiotics as an outpatient . two years after insertion of the stent she remains well with no further gastrointestinal bleeding and follow up endoscopy has shown intact mucosa at the site of fistula . computerised tomography scanning has demonstrated involution of the aneurysm sac and no endo - leak ( figure 5 ) . aorta - conduit or gastric fistulae are an uncommon complication following oesophagectomy . in this case report we have discussed a patient who developed an aorto - conduit fistula more than four years after an ivor lewis oesophagectomy . in the few cases that have been reported in the literature oesophago - aortic fistulae have presented on average two to three weeks post operatively . eighty two percent ( 82% ) of cases reported presented between the second and sixth weeks postoperatively ( 1 ) . the longest duration between oesophagectomy and presentation of bleed aorta - conduit fistulae tend to present with a triad of symptoms , first described by chiari - strassburgh in 1914 , of chest pain , sentinel haemorrhage and then finally exsanguination following a massive gastro - intestinal haemorrhage ( 5 ) . in a review of 23 reported cases of aorto - conduit fistula 21 patients presented with a herald bleed and only one patient survived operative management of this complication . this presenting symptom may be the only sign prior to massive gastro - intestinal haemorrhage and death . signs of gastro - intestinal bleeding in oesophagectomy patients should raise the suspicion of an aorto - conduit fistula . the latent period between herald bleed and exsanguination has an average duration of ten hours ( 1 ) . proposed aetiology for this complication includes early post operative leakage from the suture line of the anastamosis causing an oesophago - pleural fistula and then an aorto - oesophageal fistula ( 2 ) . this would seem an unlikely cause in the case we have described as four years had passed between the occurrence of the fistula and the original oesophagectomy . erosion of the gastric conduit by highly acidic gastric contents may also predispose to fistula formation ( 3 ) . gastric erosion and ulceration into both the aorta and pericardium from the intra - thoracic portion of the stomach has been reported post oesophagectomy . it is further proposed that chronic infection of these gastric ulcers may be a contributory factor . pathological sections of aorta - oesophageal fistula have shown a granulomatous type inflammation suggestive of mycotic infection complicating ulceration ( 3 ) . indeed this may well have been the cause of the fistula in the case report we have described . an endoscopy performed two days prior to the presentation of the aorto - oesophageal fistula showed two acute atypical looking gastric ulcers . |
|
an 8-year - old male patient who had been diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia ( all ) 4 years ago and received 120 cures of chemotherapy presented at our clinic complaining of spots on his body 3 months after the end of chemotherapy .
anamnesis of the patient revealed that the lesions started 3 months after the last cure of chemotherapy on the abdomen and spread throughout the body .
it was learnt that the number of spots increased very rapidly in a period of 2 months , and exceeded 100 .
a dermatological examination of the patient showed 142 hyperpigmented macules , the largest of which was 1 cm 1 cm and the smallest was 0.2 cm 0.2 cm in size , diffusely scattered to the skin and oral mucosa . when the biopsy material taken from the lesions was histopathologically examined , nest structures composed of nevus cells with oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm starting from the dermoepidermal junction and extending toward the lower epidermis were observed and found to be consistent with the compound nevus .
we present this rare case who was diagnosed as eruptive compound nevus on the basis of clinical signs , all diagnosis , chemotherapy history and histopathologic evaluation . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | eruptive nevus , which is associated with local cutaneous inflammation or immunosuppression , is defined as the development of eruptive pigmented lesions due to melanocytic growth factors secreted by the impaired immune pathway in genetically predisposed individuals.[13 ] the literature contains case reports of eruptive nevus that accompany malignancies , toxic epidermal necrolysis and severe bullous diseases like erythema multiforme , which are associated with pregnancy and that develop after transplantation , in immune failure conditions and in association with chemotherapy.[49 ] we present a case of postchemotherapy - eruptive compound nevus . an 8-year - old male patient presented at our polyclinic due to brown spots that formed on his body . anamnesis of the patient showed that he had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia 4 years ago , received 120 cures of chemotherapy and developed brown spots that started on the trunk and spread throughout his body 3 months after chemotherapy . his dermatological examination revealed a total of 142 monomorphic brown macules , of which the largest was 1 cm 1 cm and the smallest was 0.1 cm 0.1 cm in size , and 13 were on the face , 48 on the trunk , 34 on the upper extremities , 21 on the lower extremities , 19 in the palmar area , five on the plantar area and two on the oral mucosa [ figures 1 and 2 ] . after obtaining the patient 's written consent , the macules were photographed and biopsy samples were taken . monomorphic , brown macules , the largest of which is 1 cm 1 cm and the smallest is 0.1 cm 0.1 cm in size on the trunk numerous brown macules in the bilateral palmar area when the biopsy material taken from the lesion on the right femoral area of the patient was histopathologically examined , nest structures composed of nevus cells with oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm starting from the dermoepidermal junction and extending toward the lower dermis were observed and the material was positively stained with melan - a [ figure 3 ] . the patient , who was diagnosed with post - ct eruptive compound nevus on the basis of detailed anamnesis , clinical evaluation and histopathologic examination , was scheduled for a 6-month regular dermatologic follow - up . nest structures composed of nevus cells with oval nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm starting from the dermoepidermal junction and extending toward the lower dermis ( hematoxylin and eosin , 40 ) although the pathophysiology of eruptive benign nevi has not been clearly understood yet , there are three hypotheses on this topic . the first is that the immune process disrupted in the skin could contribute to the development of lesions in immune - compromised patients . the second hypothesis asserts that subclinical lesions might culminate in the nevi due to triggering factors such as chemotherapy and medical immunosuppression . lastly , it has been claimed that the concerned lesions might be associated with drugs.[36 ] the most widely accepted theory in this respect is that the intact immunological profile inhibits the proliferation of melanocytic lesions , but that immunosuppression and even a modification of t cells induces melanocyte - stimulating hormone ( msh ) , which is an endogenous growth factor for normal melanocytes , or melanoma growth stimulatory activity ( mgsa ) . impaired regulation of the mgsa gene results in elevated expression of the mgsa protein , which leads to melanocyte growth and development . that some areas like the palmoplantar area are more susceptible to melanocytic growth factor explains why lesions concentrate in these areas . the literature includes cases of eruptive nevus that resulted from the hyperplasia of melanocytes in the areas affected by severe bullous diseases like toxic epidermal necrolysis and erythema multiforme , which appeared as eruptive spitz nevus during pregnancy , occurring in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and in aids patients as well as cases that developed following renal transplantation.[711 ] it was noted in the concerned reports that there was a strong correlation between the duration of immunosuppression and the number of nevi that developed , and it was stressed that the impaired immune pathway played a role in this process . although eruptive pigmented lesions are diffusely observed on the body , palmoplantar areas are more commonly involved . reported two cases of post - sorafenib use eruptive melanocytic nevi ; of these two , one had palmoplantar localization while the other was in a diffuse form . it was emphasized in the concerned report that sorafenib caused these lesions by inhibiting human dendritic cell functions and , may be , immunomodulation too , but that it was not clear whether the development of melanocytic lesions was caused by sorafenib use or the underlying immunosuppression . in another case report that described a case who developed eruptive compound nevus as the preliminary sign of chronic myeloid leukemia , the development of eruptive compound nevus in the patient who had not yet received chemotherapy was attributed to the immunosuppression caused by leukemia . a case who developed postchemotherapy multiple eruptive dysplastic nevus and melanoma in situ was reported in the literature , and it was emphasized that this condition could pose a risk for melanoma development . in our case , our case had nevi in both the palmoplantar area and in the diffuse form ; besides , as opposed to the cases reported in the literature , he had oral mucosal involvement . in conclusion , it is recommended that patients should be regularly followed - up for the risk of developing eruptive melanocytic nevus , dysplastic nevus and melanoma in all immunosuppression situations . |
|
– Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army have been terrorizing central Africa for years, "but the net around him tightens," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post. Gerson accompanied Ben Affleck, who founded the Eastern Congo Initiative, to the region to hear first-hand the tales of atrocities from those lucky enough to have escaped. (See a photo gallery here.) Followers think Kony "is a supernatural being," says one teen who escaped his soldiers after years of captivity. "He has a power over them.” Survivors' stories and scattered reports of LRA units displaying signs of desperation and stress suggest that the end of Kony's reign may be in sight, writes Gerson. The US has taken steps to speed his demise but can do more through international pressure and military aid. "After a four-year nightmare, Francoise hopes to go back to school," he writes of the teen. "Joseph Kony, the author of nightmares, remains at large in some jungle camp. He is not a supernatural being. He is human, and thus mortal. It is time to prove it." | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| Post columnist Michael Gerson and actor Ben Affleck heard tales of atrocities during a visit to the town of Dungu. The photos, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of the Eastern Congo Initiative, founded by Affleck. The Lord's Resistance Army has committed atrocities for decades, first in northern Uganda and more recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Here, actor Ben Affleck listens to survivors in Dungu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. ||||| Francoise, age 16, talks quietly, revealing a shy smile only after praise for her tight cornrows. While walking to school four years ago, she and some classmates were captured by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The girls were distributed to soldiers as “wives.” In the mornings, Francoise cooked. In the afternoons, she carried packs on the march. When she tried to escape, the soldiers melted a water container and poured the plastic on her shoulders. Once, when the fighters saw two infants along the path, they crushed them with a pestle. “I witnessed that,” she says. She recalls seeing Joseph Kony “maybe once a year.” Kony is the leader of the LRA and perhaps the most hated and hunted man on earth. His followers, she explains, think that “he is a supernatural being. He has a power over them.” Francoise describes a six-week walk to an LRA camp in a remote part of the neighboring Central African Republic (CAR). Then the sounds of an attacking plane and helicopter. In the chaos, she escaped, arriving home just before Christmas. Her story is eyewitness confirmation of an important event. During the summer, Kony recalled his commanders to the CAR for his first major leadership meeting in two years. On Sept. 12, forces of Uganda’s military (known as the UPDF) scattered the LRA fighters. Kony survived and fled. But the net around him tightens. The pursuit of the LRA ranges over 240,000 square miles of jungle terrain in three countries. According to officers at the Joint Intelligence and Operations Center in Dungu, there were more than 300 LRA attacks last year. Units operate in small bands both east and west of Dungu. But Kony is still thought to be in the CAR. Experts on the conflict speculate his current location to be somewhere west of the Chinko River, a few hours by helicopter from his pursuers’ nearest military outpost. During decades of fighting in the bush, Kony has been protected by a bodyguard of myths. His eyes are said to shine bright red. When he runs, his legs are invisible. His soldiers believe that they were created from Kony’s blood. They spill the blood of others without compunction. A few hundred of Kony’s fighters have turned a vast territory into a gathering place of fears. Organizations such as the Eastern Congo Initiative and Invisible Children are constructing an early-warning radio system to warn villages of impending attacks. United Nations peacekeepers protect civilians in Dungu and other towns. But for this region to be repaired, the LRA must be broken. Military forces of Congo and the CAR are incapable. So the task has fallen to Ugandan soldiers, advised by the U.S. military. More than 80 U.S. special operations forces have been deployed to forward operating bases in Congo, the CAR and South Sudan. Their mission is to provide intelligence and assistance to the Ugandan military, which has skilled trackers — some of them formerly with the LRA — on Kony’s trail. Over the past few months, the pressure has begun to tell. Small groups of LRA fighters continue attacks on civilians, mainly to secure supplies. But larger gatherings, such as the Sept. 12 meeting, risk disruption. LRA leaders know that mass civilian killings — a traditional Kony tactic — would call attention to their location. LRA forces have recently released some captive women and children. U.S. advisers view this as a sign of stress — an attempt to lighten the load of a harried force. The Kony manhunt, however, faces complications. For political reasons, Congo’s government recently ordered Ugandan forces out of its territory, leaving the LRA with significant sanctuaries. The UPDF — which is also fighting al-Shabab in Somalia — is stretched thin. Ugandan operations in the CAR and South Sudan involve just a few transport helicopters and a single reconnaissance drone. The whole effort is hampered by a lack of tactical air support, airlift capacity and advanced communications. An American combat mission in this conflict is not contemplated. But the U.S. government should press Congo to readmit Ugandan troops pursuing the LRA. And the U.S. military could aid the UPDF with more advanced air and communications capabilities. A small, final push might remove the LRA’s most capable leaders from the field. After a four-year nightmare, Francoise hopes to go back to school. Joseph Kony, the author of nightmares, remains at large in some jungle camp. He is not a supernatural being. He is human, and thus mortal. It is time to prove it. [email protected] |
|
– Liberal comedian Marc Maron hit the jackpot on a recent flight when he upgraded to first class … and found himself sitting next to former GOP chairman Ken Mehlman, who recently confirmed he’s gay. Maron live-tweeted the entire experience, starting with a picture of Maron exposing his nipple as Mehlman slept in the background and moving on to paraphrase the political discussion that ensued when Mehlman woke up (“Karl Rove is not evil. He's my friend.”) and, of course, make a few “tea bagging” jokes. Gawker was amused by the whole thing and Punchline Magazine deemed it “hilarious.” Slightly more right-leaning media, however, were not so amused. NewsBusters took Maron to task for “attacking” Mehlman with “gay jokes,” and The Daily Caller didn't seem too happy about the whole thing, either. See all Maron’s tweets here. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Being the manager of George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign? Totally homophobic. Using gay jokes to mock a Republican leader who just came out of the closet? Totally hilarious. At least that's the message liberal comedian and former Air America shock jock Marc Maron sent on Twitter, after he was unexpectedly seated next to former GOP National Committee Chairman and head of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign Ken Mehlman on a flight. The ex-GOP chair announced that he was gay last month, which prompted outrage from liberals who were still angry that Bush opposed gay marriage during the 2004 campaign. "Should I Tea Bag Ken Mehlman as he sleeps?" cracked Maron on his Twitter page on Sept. 19, before posting photos of himself showing off his nipples while the Republican leader dozed in the next seat. "Ken Mehlman looks so vulnerable sleeping," the comedian mused a few minutes later. "I wonder if he dreams about being part of the c*** that f***** the country." Moran also made deft use of airline puns, tweeting that "They just served us nuts. I hope Ken Mehlman doesn't eat mine." The comedian isn't the first liberal media figure who has attacked Mehlman after the Republican came out of the closet. In one post titled "Repulsive Anti-Gay Quisling Homophobic Scumbag A**hat Closeted Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Has Come Out," popular liberal blogger Joe Jevris slammed Mehlman's "crimes against his own people," and wrote that "We can be sure that GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans are positively drooling over the prospect of welcoming Mehlman onto their boards of directors. VOMIT." Gay rights activist and TV pundit Howard Bragman similarly bashed the former GOP chair, saying that he really hopes "there's a special place in Hell for Ken Mehlman," and adding that Mehlman was "as good as a Jew that collaborated with the Nazis." ||||| “Live tweeting” by comedians and other celebrities is not uncommon. Louis C.K., for example, just gained some attention by drunkenly live tweeting some pretty raunchy things about Sarah Palin. And, now, thanks to Marc Maron we have the latest noteworthy installment of this new-fangled entertainment form. As fate would have it, yesterday on a flight, Maron found himself sitting next to Ken Mehlman, ex-GOP chairman who just came out of the closet and who had made a career of not-at-all supporting gay rights. His tweets and photos included, that came from that awkward situation were hilarious, as Gawker’s coverage can attest. As for the tweets that didn’t make Gawker’s post but are noteworthy all the same, here they are: This tweet comes to you from the “Paraphrasing Mehlman” series of quotes. For the complete collection, go to Maron’s Twitter page. We asked Maron a few questions about his in-air experiences. Here’s what he had to say to Punchline Magazine today. Since your live tweeting has already gotten some attention, what are you concerns about possible backlash in the next few days? We’ll see. It was a joke. It wasn’t that loaded. There may be some interesting discussions about the use of Twitter. When and how did you decide that the live tweeting this situation would be a good idea? Having done political talk radio years ago and having had talked about Mehlman before and knowing what he had done, I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t know what I was going to do but we all know that now. He should be happy I recognized him. Any plans on getting Mehlman on WTF? And if so, how would you break the ice of that interview? No plans to get him as a guest but I guess the icebreaker would be the usual ‘Sorry for…..’ ||||| Last month former GOP National Committee Chairman and Bush campaign supervisor Ken Mehlman came out of the closet. This was news to anyone who didn’t know Mehlman A) was gay or B) existed. I did not and do not care about either. Guess who does? Marc Maron! Whaddaya mean, who’s Marc Maron? From Air America. You know, Air America? No, not the movie. The national radio network. No? Nothing? Okay, maybe this will refresh your memory: That’s Maron with the nipple and the facial hair. I guess because he’s not gay or something? And next to him is Mehlman sleeping, which is so gay. Newsbusters has more: Being the manager of George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign? Totally homophobic. Using gay jokes to mock a Republican leader who just came out of the closet? Totally hilarious. At least that’s the message liberal comedian and former Air America shock jock Marc Maron sent on Twitter, after he was unexpectedly seated next to former GOP National Committee Chairman and head of Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign Ken Mehlman on a flight… “Should I Tea Bag Ken Mehlman as he sleeps?” cracked Maron on his Twitter page on Sept. 19, before posting photos of himself showing off his nipples while the Republican leader dozed in the next seat. “Ken Mehlman looks so vulnerable sleeping,” the comedian mused a few minutes later. “I wonder if he dreams about being part of the c*** that f***** the country.” Maron also made deft use of airline puns, tweeting that “They just served us nuts. I hope Ken Mehlman doesn’t eat mine.” See, because Mehlman’s gay. Unlike Maron, who is not gay. You know he’s not gay, right? Not that it would be bad if he was gay, but he’s not gay. Whereas Mehlman is totally gay. Congratulations to Marc Maron for being very funny! And not gay! |
|
– "Aunt Jemima" is a household name for any American who has ever eaten a pancake (read: almost everyone). So it's not terribly surprising that the heirs of Anna Short Harrington, whose iconic image helped make the brand's syrup and pancake mixes famous, are going after decades of royalties from the companies that profited from using her beaming likeness on their packaging. In a $2 billion-plus class-action lawsuit filed in Illinois against Quaker Oats, PepsiCo, Pinnacle Food, and Hillshire Brands, Harrington's great-grandkids maintain the companies lied about employing Harrington, stole recipes and menus from her, and exploited her inexperience and youth during initial negotiations, reports the Wrap. Harrington's heirs reveal the suit was partly motivated by the revelation last year that Quaker officially trademarked her image in 1937, as well as their discovery of a death certificate that showed Quaker Oats as Harrington's employer, reports Fortune. The lawsuit claims Quaker took part in "industrial espionage" by squeezing Harrington's trade secrets out of her before she died and was involved in "racial discrimination towards Anna S. Harrington’s heirs … reflecting an innate form of disrespect towards African American people." The Aunt Jemima we see today on the brand's bottles and boxes isn't Harrington—it's her daughter, Olivia Hunter, recruited in 1989 for the brand update. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | The great-grandchildren of Anna Short Harrington, the woman whose likeness was used for the “Aunt Jemima” logo, are seeking what they say are their just desserts, along with at least $2 billion, in a class action lawsuit brought recently against a group of companies, led by PepsiCo and its subsidiary The Quaker Oats Company, in federal court in Illinois. The suit, which also names as defendants Pinnacle Foods and its former suitor Hillshire Brands, accuses the companies of failing to pay Harrington and her heirs an “equitable fair share of royalties” from the pancake mix and syrup brand that uses her likeness and recipes. According to the lawsuit, Quaker Oats took control of “64 of [Harrington’s] recipes and 22 complete menus” and marketed them to the public. Filed last week by Harrington’s great-grandson, D.W. Hunter, who is representing himself, the lawsuit alleges that Chicago-based Quaker Oats hired Harrington to take over the pre-existing Aunt Jemima role in 1935—a role she continued to serve when the company first registered the brand’s trademark two years later—and that the company also reproduced Harrington’s own pancake recipe on a mass scale. The suit claims that Harrington had entered into a “written contractual agreement to play the actress role of Aunt Jemima” that entitled her to royalties, including a percentage of the proceeds, accumulated by the brand over the years. Hunter’s lawsuit accuses the companies of lying to cover up Quaker Oats’ employment of Harrington, adding that the heirs determined they were owed royalties when they say they discovered last October that the company had trademarked the image of their great-grandmother with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1937 and after they found a death certificate for Harrington that named the company as her employer. Hunter has accused the companies of breach of contract, conspiracy, and fraud, among other charges, while alleging that Quaker Oats engaged in “industrial espionage” to procure Harrington’s trade secrets before failing to compensate her estate on an annual basis following her death. The lawsuit estimates that Pinnacle has sold roughly $300 million worth of frozen pancakes, waffles, and other products from the Aunt Jemima line without providing Harrington’s family with any royalties. Hillshire (HSH) had agreed to buy Pinnacle earlier this year in a $4.2 billion deal that was later called off to free up the former to be bought by Tyson Foods for $8.6 billion. Hunter’s 108-page complaint also alleges that PepsiCo (PEP), Pinnacle (PF), and Quaker Oats engaged in a pattern “of racial discrimination towards Anna S. Harrington’s heirs … reflecting an innate form of disrespect towards African American people,” which the lawsuit claims is evidenced in its treatment of Harrington and other women who stepped into the Aunt Jemima role over the years. A Quaker Oats spokeswoman declined to discuss details of pending litigation, but added that the company feels the lawsuit is without merit. “People associate the Aunt Jemima brand with warmth, hospitality, and comfort, and we stand by this heritage as well as the ways in which we do business,” the company said. ||||| D.W. Hunter, the great grandson of Anna Short Harrington, the woman known as Aunt Jemima, has filed a class action lawsuit against PepsiCo, The Quaker Oats Company, Pinnacle Foods Group and The Hillshire Brands Company on behalf of all of her great grandchildren. He is seeking $2 billion, plus punitive damages to be determined at trial. Hunter alleges that the companies conspired to deny that Harrington had been an employee of Quaker Oats, all the while exploiting her image and recipes for profit, but refusing to pay an “equitable fair share of royalties” to her heirs for more than 60 years. Also read: Paula Deen Allegedly Asked Black Staffers to Dress Like Aunt Jemima The claims come on the heels of the defendants allegedly receiving a certified death certificate for Harrington that listed Quaker Oats as her employer. Hunter further alleges that the companies have lied by claiming they could not find any employment records for Harrington, or images of her, yet they had her image deposited inside the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to the document. Harrington took on the role of the pre-existing character of Aunt Jemima in 1935. In 1937, the company first registered the trademark for the brand. She was allegedly selected because of her own pancake recipe, which the company recreated for the mass market. According to the suit, Quaker Oats sought out Harrington’s youngest daughter Olivia Hunter in 1989, ultimately using her likeness to update the look of Aunt Jemima. It is this image that is used today on Aunt Jemima-branded products. Also read: NCAA Athletes Win Antitrust Lawsuit That Could Lead to Pay for Players The suit further alleges a racial element to the exploitation of Harrington and the other women who portrayed Aunt Jemima, going so far as to accuse the company of theft in procuring 64 original formulas and 22 menus from Harrington. It further alleges that Harrington was dissuaded from using a lawyer, exploiting her lack of education and age, so that the company could not pay her a percentage of sales from her recipes. The company continued to use Harrington’s image for years, as well as licensing it out to other companies for ancillary merchandise like mugs and clothing. The lawsuit cites Screen Actors Guild residuals and standard policies in the entertainment industry regarding revenue statements, which neither Harrington nor her heirs ever received. It wasn’t until they uncovered in 2013 that Quaker Oats had trademarked Harrington’s likeness and picture in 1937 that the family determined that they were owed royalties. Pamela Chelin contributed to this report. |
|
– "Add peas to your guacamole. Trust us," the New York Times tweeted yesterday, to which the Internet responded emphatically, "Hell, no." In what Consumerist calls a stern lesson that "guacamole should not be despoiled by the likes of the pea," commenters urged the NYT to delete the advice—and perhaps its account—and told it to "go home, it's drunk." Under the hashtag #NYTrecipes, dozens of other "winning combinations" were offered, including adding potatoes to your ice cream, Thousand Island dressing to your milk, or, "broken glass in your tunafish," Poynter reports. The uproar generated puns like "Guac-a-NO-le" and brought together some unlikely allies, the Guardian reports. President Obama weighed in, tweeting "respect the nyt but not buying peas in guac," while the Texas Republican Party accused the NYT of "declaring war on Texas" with the peas suggestion, and Jeb Bush tweeted, simply, "You don't put peas in guacamole." But adding peas gives an "intense sweetness and a chunky texture to the dip," according to the NYT recipe, which started out at ABC Cocina. The New York City restaurant tells the Guardian that the chef who thought it up "has decided to pass on the opportunity to comment on this issue." (Jack White wasn't happy about his team's guacamole recipe being shared.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Adding fresh English peas to what is an otherwise fairly traditional guacamole is one of those radical moves that is also completely obvious after you taste it. The peas add intense sweetness and a chunky texture to the dip, making it more substantial on the chip. They also intensify the color of the green avocado — and help the guacamole stay that way. Pea guacamole keeps its bright hue in the fridge for a few days without turning brown around the edges. A good dose of lime juice helps this cause. This dish, a collaboration between ABC Cocina’s chef-owner, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and his chef de cuisine, Ian Coogan, is the best kind of greenmarket tweak upon a classic. Featured in: Green Pea Guacamole. ||||| On Wednesday, a New York Times food story suggested readers add peas to their guacamole. Here’s the tweet: Add green peas to your guacamole. Trust us. http://t.co/7imMY9c2ph pic.twitter.com/oeOMt2qgmh — The New York Times (@nytimes) July 1, 2015 But readers refused. Here are some of their tweets: @nytimes Possibly the worst food advice ever. — David Saleh Rauf (@davidSrauf) July 1, 2015 @nytimes please delete this — Lindsey Adler (@Lahlahlindsey) July 1, 2015 @nytimes you guys are being really offensive and tbh I'm contemplating an unfollow — William Turton (@WilliamTurton) July 1, 2015 @nytimes This advice is wrong and also bad — Vincent Bevins (@Vinncent) July 1, 2015 @nytimes What happened to you? I don't even know you anymore. — pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) July 1, 2015 @nytimes this is literally the whitest tweet ever — Brett (@Brosner85) July 1, 2015 .@nytimes rot in hell you bastards — Simon Maloy (@SimonMaloy) July 1, 2015 i am glad the newspaper industry is failing. @nytimes — carrie plaid-shaw (@CarriePotter_) July 1, 2015 @nytimes Cancel my subscription — Nu Wexler (@wexler) July 1, 2015 .@nytimes One does not mix mustard and Twinkies because they are same color. — Bobby Blanchard (@bobbycblanchard) July 1, 2015 Also: respect the nyt, but not buying peas in guac. onions, garlic, hot peppers. classic. https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V — President Obama (@POTUS) July 1, 2015 But they did offer alternatives: Try antifreeze in your sweet tea. #NYTrecipes — Your Mom (@MostBoringGirl) July 1, 2015 Try broken glass in your tunafish. #NYTrecipes — Graham Campbell (@GrahamCC) July 1, 2015 “Put potatoes in your ice cream. Trust us.” #NYTrecipes — James H (@nobius) July 1, 2015 "Put Thousand Island dressing in your milk. Trust Us." -New York Times #NYTrecipes — Ilan T (@Skeelon1215) July 1, 2015 Follow @kristenhare ||||| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| The greatest debate in the history of guacamole arrived on Wednesday, as a heretic recipe from the New York Times outraged the internet and forced no less a connoisseur than Barack Obama to weigh in. The great guac-off of 2015 was not about extra charges for the dip – it was about adding an extra vegetable … quite an unnecessary one, according to people with too much time on their hands. A recipe for “Green Pea Guacamole” – adapted from New York’s ABC Cocina restaurant and tweeted out by the New York Times – calls for a radical notion: “Add green peas to your guacamole. Trust us,” the newspaper told its 17.7 million followers. Not many people did. Some told the Times to delete its account, while others called out the publication for distributing “possibly the worst food advice ever”. Some websites glommed on, suggesting there were worse things you could add to the Mexican avocado mix – ranch dressing, cream – and Twitter exploded in bad puns, with “Guaca-NO-le” being hardly the worst of it. But the mockamole of “pea-gate” quickly escalated to a bipartisan political platform. The Texas Republican party took to Twitter to say the Times had “declared war on Texas when they suggested adding green peas to guacamole”. Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush had already established his opinion on the matter (anti-pea) during a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon. On Wednesday, he stood by his platform: “You don’t put peas in guacamole,” he wrote. Somehow, the pea politics made their way up to the White House, as Obama revealed during a previously scheduled Twitter Q&A that he prefers his guacamole the classic way … except with peppers. — President Obama (@POTUS) respect the nyt, but not buying peas in guac. onions, garlic, hot peppers. classic. https://t.co/MEEI8QHH1V So the current president and the brother of his predecessor at least agree on that. In an accompanying link to a recipe for the extra-green guacamole, the Times’ Melissa Clark wrote: “Adding fresh English peas to what is an otherwise fairly traditional guacamole is one of those radical moves that is also completely obvious after you taste it.” The recipe in question is about two years old, and originated at ABC Cocina from chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The guacamole received significant attention in 2013, when several food critics and writers weighed in on the dish. Clark wrote about the guacamole in July 2013 for the Times’s Restaurant Takeaway column. ABC Cocina told the Guardian, which published a recipe for guacamole with pomegranate seeds in 2013, that “Jean-Georges has decided to pass on the opportunity to comment on this issue.” |
|
– With Florida—and the rest of America—still reeling over the Trayvon Martin case, another disturbing crime out of Southern California is making waves. A 32-year-old Iraqi immigrant was taken off life support yesterday, after being brutally beaten in her home on Wednesday morning and left beside a note reportedly demanding her family "go back to your own country." Police are looking into the possibility that Shaima Alawadi, a mother of five, was the victim of a hate crime, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Alawadi's 17-year-old daughter was reportedly sleeping upstairs at the time and was the one who found her mother in the dining room. In an interview with KUSI, she said she went downstairs but "it was too late and the (attacker) was gone. The sliding glass door was broken." Police have confirmed the presence of the note but not the contents of it; a family friend says it also read, "You're a terrorist." The friend also says that the family found a similar note outside the house earlier in March, but didn't report it, and notes that Alawadi was a "respectful modest muhajiba," meaning she wore a hijab. The AP reports that the Alawadis had only lived in the house for a few weeks, following a move from Michigan. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | An Iraqi immigrant and mother of five died Saturday of injuries from a severe beating in her El Cajon home, where a note warning the family to “go back to your own country” was left next to her. El Cajon police said they are investigating the possibility of a hate crime. The attack on Shaima Alawadi, 32, has shocked and grieved Muslims and others in San Diego and beyond. “People who have heard of it are numb,” said Hanif Mohebi, executive director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations. “I have had communications from the San Francisco Bay Area asking, ‘how can I help this family,’ and even around the country people are praying for the family. “Given the fact of these notes left, we’re obviously concerned about the possibility of a hate crime. I don’t think anyone would disagree this is a coldblooded murder.” Police said the 17-year-old daughter of Alawadi and Kassim Al Himidi found her mother unconscious in the dining room of the family’s Skyview Street home about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday. Alawadi was hospitalized, then taken off life support about 3 p.m. Saturday. She died a short time later, police said. The daughter told KUSI Channel 9/51 her mother had been beaten on the head repeatedly with a tire iron. Mohebi said the daughter had been sleeping upstairs. When she went downstairs, “it was too late and the (attacker) was gone. The sliding glass door was broken.” Police did not disclose contents of the note found next to Alawadi. A family friend said the note read, “go back to your own country. You’re a terrorist.” El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit said the family told investigators they found a similar note outside the house earlier this month, but did not report it to authorities. Alawadi had dismissed that note as a child’s prank, her daughter told KUSI. Investigators have not said whether they have any leads to the assailant. “Although we are exploring all aspects of this investigation, evidence thus far leads us to believe this is an isolated incident,” Coit said. “A hate crime is one of the possibilities and we will be looking at that. We don’t want to focus on one issue and miss something else.” Al Himidi and Alawadi immigrated from Iraq to the United States about 1995, Mohebi said. He said he was not sure when the couple moved to San Diego. Their two sons and three daughters range in age from 8 to 17. Mohebi said he was with the family at the hospital early Saturday and they were "extremely shocked at the whole thing. They are trying to cope with the incident. "I am trying to figure it out. If this was a hate crime, this tells us we have a lot more work to do in our community." ||||| A woman from Iraq who was found beaten next to a threatening note saying "go back to your country" has died, and police are investigating the possibility of a hate crime. Hanif Mohebi, the director of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Shaima Alawadi was taken off life support Saturday afternoon. "The family is in shock at the moment. They're still trying to deal with what happened," said Mohebi, who met with family members. Alawadi, a 32-year-old mother of five, had been hospitalized since her 17-year-old daughter found her unconscious in the dining room of the family's suburban San Diego house on Wednesday, police Lt. Steve Shakowski said. "A hate crime is one of the possibilities, and we will be looking at that," Lt. Mark Coit said. "We don't want to focus on only one issue and miss something else." The daughter, Fatima Al Himidi, told KUSI-TV her mother had been beaten on the head repeatedly with a tire iron, and that the note said "go back to your country, you terrorist." Addressing the camera, the tearful daughter asked: "You took my mother away from me. You took my best friend away from me. Why? Why did you do it?" Police said the family had found a similar note earlier this month but did not report it to authorities. Al Himidi told KGTV-TV her mother dismissed the first note, found outside the home, as a child's prank. Alawadi's two sons and three daughters range in age from 8 to 17. A family friend, Sura Alzaidy, told UT San Diego (http://bit.ly/GYbfB7) that the attack apparently occurred after the father took the younger children to school. Alzaidy told the newspaper the family is from Iraq, and that Alawadi is a "respectful modest muhajiba," meaning she wears the traditional hijab, a head scarf. The family had lived in the house for only a few weeks, after moving from Michigan, Alzaidy said. Alzaidy told the newspaper her father and Alawadi's husband had previously worked together in San Diego as private contractors for the U.S. Army, serving as cultural advisers to train soldiers who were going to be deployed to the Middle East. Mohebi said the family had been in the United States since the mid-1990s. He said it was unfortunate that the family didn't report the initial threatening note. "Our community does face a lot of discriminatory, hate incidents and don't always report them," Mohebi said. "They should take these threats seriously and definitely call local law enforcement." El Cajon, northeast of downtown San Diego, is home to some 40,000 Iraqi immigrants, the second largest such community in the U.S. after Detroit. |
|
– An entire family who went missing in Mississippi under strange circumstances has been found dead: Three bodies, believed to be those of of Atira Hughes Smith (also referred to as Atira Hill), 30; her husband Laterry Smith, 34; and her son, Jaidon Hill, 7, were found in an abandoned house this morning, WLBT reports. Hughes Smith's family says she told them Friday night, via a strange phone call, that she had to leave town for a few days and was already on the road; the call ended abruptly. On Saturday, police found the family's crashed car, upside down and on fire, but with no one inside, WJTV reports. The bodies were found about a mile from where the car crashed; someone had apparently set it on fire, KLTV notes. Timothy Burns, 42, was taken into custody in connection with the case, and he led investigators to the bodies. Yesterday, police found Hughes Smith's wallet and ID and more of the family's belongings—including a woman's blouse and a T-shirt, with some of the clothes bloodstained—in a gas station dumpster. Police also searched a home near the gas station, where Laterry Smith's mom lives; a neighbor says the mother and Smith's sisters moved out Sunday. (KLTV's source says the occupants left "in a hurry.") Neighbors also say Laterry Smith attempted to run over his wife with a car at the house a few weeks ago. All three bodies found today were shot, the Clarion Ledger reports. Police do not believe the family was in their car when it crashed. It's not clear whether they knew Burns. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Police find items linked to missing family in dumpster Laterry Smith is described as an African-American male, standing 5'8" with brown eyes and black hair and weighing 180 pounds. Atira Hughes-Smith is described as an African-American female, standing 5' tall and weighing 148 pounds with brown eyes and hair. Jaidon is described as an African American child, age seven, standing 3' tall and weighing 44 pounds with brown eyes. Jackson Police found a wallet belonging to Atira Hughes Smith and other items connected to the missing family in a dumpster in south Jackson. Police found the items in a dumpster at a Shell station at 1133 Raymond Road just before noon Monday. Police also searched a home at 835 Combs Street, which is not far from where the items were found. That's where Laterry Smith's mother lives. A neighbor says the mother, and Smith's sisters, who also lived there, moved out Sunday night. The missing family consists of seven-year-old, Jaidon Hill; his mother, 30-year-old Atira Hughes Smith and her husband, 34-year-old Laterry Smith. According to the Copiah County Sheriff's Department the vehicle the family was traveling in has been recovered. Sheriff Jones says, "Were going to put people on the ground looking at certain things there. We believe there are hot spots but as far as knowing where to start going and searching we have no clues." The Jackson woman's family says Copiah deputies told them there had been an accident on Shelby Road, just off Highway 18. No one was inside the vehicle. The family of Atira Hughes Smith said they last heard from her by phone on Friday. Hughes-Smith told relatives that she was going out of town for a couple of days before the call ended suddenly. Sheriff Jones says the family was last seen at a Halloween party in Flowood Friday. "I want this to come to a good conclusion. I want that 7 year old back," says Jones. Jaidon is described as an African American child, age seven, standing 3' tall and weighing 44 pounds with brown eyes. Atira Hughes-Smith is described as an African-American female, standing 5' tall and weighing 148 pounds with brown eyes and hair. Laterry Smith is described as an African-American male, standing 5'8" with brown eyes and black hair and weighing 180 pounds. If you have any information on this case, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at (601) 355-8477, the Copiah County Sheriff's Department at (601) 894-3011 or the FBI at (601) 948-5000. Copyright 2013 MSNewsNow. All rights reserved. ||||| Hundreds of people gathered Monday night at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brandon. Many are relatives of 30-year-old Atira Hughes-Smith and her 7 year old son Jaidon Hill who are missing along with her husband, 34-year-old LaTerry Smith. BRANDON, MS (Mississippi News Now) - Hundreds of people gathered Monday night at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brandon. Many are relatives of 30-year-old Atira Hughes-Smith and her 7 year old son Copiah County Coroner Ellis Stuart says the three bodies found inside an abandoned house Tuesday are the missing family, and tells us all three were shot. The bodies were found inside an abandoned house off Shelby Road, about a mile from where the family's car was found over the weekend. The bodies have been taken to the state crime lab. Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones says, "The sad part is we have a young child who has lost his life and will not be able to grow up to be the person he should have been." Forty-two year old Timothy Burns, of Jackson, who has been taken into custody in connection with the case, led authorities to the three bodies early Tuesday morning. Sheriff Jones says Burns will face charges in the case. Thirty-year-old Atira Hughes Smith, her 7-year-old son Jaidon Hill and Hughes' husband, 34 year old Laterry Smith, disappeared Friday night. Their car was found upside-down and burned in Copiah County, about a mile from where the bodies were found on Tuesday. Sheriff Jones says he does not believe the family was in the car when it wrecked. On Monday, police in Jackson found items in a dumpster at a Shell station at 1133 Raymond Road that were connected to the missing family, including clothing and a photo ID. Copyright 2013 MSNewsNow. All rights reserved. ||||| Update: The Jackson Police Department has recovered bags of evidence that they say are related to the missing Copiah County family. The police were notified that suspicious items were in the garbage dumpster outside of the Raymond Food Mart gas station on Raymond Road in South Jackson. Among the items found were a woman's blouse and a white t-shirt. A prayer vigil will be held at 6:30pm tonight at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brandon for the family. Copiah County authorities are investigating a fiery car crash, and they say the car's occupants are missing. According to Sheriff Harold Jones, a car crashed in the western part of the county near the town of Carpenter off Shelby Road Saturday night. Sheriff Jones says the car was upside-down and on fire, and its occupants were gone. Authorities need your help locating seven-year-old Jaidon Hill, his mother, 30-year-old Atira Hill and his step-father, 34-year-old Laterry Smith. A poster with information about the disappearance says the family is missing from Brandon, MS. If you see any of these individuals, please call authorities. |
|
we present a rare case of massive intracerebral hemorrhage resulting from a small , superficially - located supratentorial cavernous malformation , or cavernoma .
these lesions rarely lead to massive , life - threatening intracerebral hemorrhages . a 17-year - old female presented with a 3-week history of declining mental status .
brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a sizable intracranial hemorrhage , within the right occipital region , associated with a small nodule at the hematoma 's posterior margin .
an emergency operation removed the entire hematoma and nodule .
histological examination of the nodule was compatible with a diagnosis of cavernous malformation .
the patient 's post - operative course was uneventful . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | cavernous malformations are benign vascular lesions of the central nervous system characterized by a mulberry - like cluster of thin - walled vascular sinusoids lined by a thin endothelium , which lacks smooth muscle , elastin , or intervening brain tissue5,16 ) . most hemorrhages attributable to cavernous malformations are characterized by microhemorrhages and are seldom catastrophic or fatal . most notably , supratentorial cavernous malformations leading to massive , life - threatening hemorrhages are rare entities4,7 ) . in this report , we describe a case with a supratentorial cavernous malformation resulting in a life - threatening , massive hemorrhage . a 17-year - old female who had no significant prior medical history was brought to the emergency department because of a fall three weeks prior to admission and an increasing state of confusion ever since . the patient was afebrile , and her physical examination results were unremarkable at the time of admission . a neurological examination revealed a decreased level of consciousness , namely severe confusion , with orientation and cooperation disorders . cranial computerized tomography ( ct ) revealed a well - circumscribed , 5.5 cm - diameter mass in the right occipital region , causing a midline shift and right lateral ventricle compression ( fig . the lesion seemed to be composed of a small , hyperdense , acutely hemorrhagic nodule and a large , peripheral , isodense early subacute hematoma . magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) confirmed that the lesion comprised an acutely hemorrhagic nodule , isointense with deoxyhemoglobin , and a larger subacute hematoma , which was hyperintense due to the presence of methemoglobin ( inferred because it was hyperintense on t1-weighted but hypointense on t2-weighted images ; fig . a t2-weighted mri revealed the classic " popcorn ball " configuration of cavernous malformations at the hematoma 's posterior margin ( fig . 1d ) . using a right parieto - occipital craniotomy , we evacuated the multi - staged intracerebral hematoma excising a well - circumscribed , purple , lobulated mass consisting of vascular structures in its entirety . her consciousness level was gradually improved , and she was discharged on the ninth post - operative day . a final ct scan at the end of her hospitalization revealed no residual mass ( fig . she returned to her previous occupation as a student , with no neurological deficits , three weeks later . cavernous malformations have a wide range of presenting symptoms , varying from mild , such as headaches , to more severe symptoms , including seizures , focal neurological deficits , and even death . epilepsy is the most common clinical manifestation in supratentorial lesions and is seen in 40 - 50% of such cases1,2,9 - 11,15 ) . researchers have ascribed cavernous malformations ' epileptogenicity to the deposition of iron and other blood breakdown products6,8 ) . since the definition of " hemorrhage " varies greatly from study to study , the percentage of patients presenting with hemorrhage shows a wide range , from a low of 9% to a high of 88%1,2,15 ) . del curling et al.9 ) reported symptomatic hemorrhage rates of 0.25% per patient - year and 0.10% per lesion - year . kim et al.10 ) reported symptomatic hemorrhage rates of 2.3% per patient - year and 1.4% per lesion - year . recently , washington et al.15 ) reported on the factors that increase the cavernous malformation hemorrhagic risk . patients with a previous history of bleeding are at higher risk for a new hemorrhage than are those presenting with incidental findings or with a seizure2,12 ) . in addition , al.14 ) reported a higher rate of recurrent symptomatic hemorrhage in infratentorial than in supratentorial lesions ( 3.8% per patient - year vs. 0.4% per patient - year ) and a higher rate in deep than in superficial lesions ( 4.1% per patient - year vs. 0% per patient - year ) . the risk of a significant hemorrhage due to the malformation is relatively low , so hemorrhage prevention should not be an absolute surgical indication . however , clinicians are in general agreement on the need for resection surgery in symptomatic cavernous malformations , particularly for those in superficial , non - eloquent areas . the present case suggests emergency surgery may be necessary in patients with unstable clinical conditions and/or with lesions causing a significant mass effect . although almost all cavernous malformation cases experience microhemorrhages , such bleeding rarely leads to clinical symptoms . since these lesions have small diameters and low flow rates , they rarely cause life - threatening intracerebral hematomas13 ) . zimmerman et al.17 ) reported one patient who died from rehemorrhage of a tectal cavernous malformation . there are consequences , however , even of repeated small hemorrhages . in our case , we can also suspect rehemorrhage on the basis of various radiologic findings . nevertheless , our case lacked a previous history of headaches , epilepsy , or neurological deficits but presented with a massive intracerebral hemorrhage from a small , superficially - located supratentorial cavernous malformation . to our knowledge , only one case of massive intracerebral hemorrhage from a supratentorial cavernous malformation has been reported previously3 ) . unlike our case thus , ours is the first report of a massive intracerebral hematoma resulting from a small , superficially - located , supratentorial cavernous malformation . we presented the case of a massive intracerebral hematoma caused by a small , superficially - located supratentorial cavernous malformation with clinical features and a review of the literature . |
|
a 36-year - old male presented with progressive exertional dyspnea over months . physical examination showed jugular venous distension , lung crecipitations , femoral bruit and pitting pedal edema .
echocardiogram showed a dilated right ventricle with severe pulmonary hypertension and a non collapsing inferior vena cava ( ivc ) . on right heart catheterization ,
ivc oxygen saturation was noted at 92% suggesting arterial mixing ; a computed tomography of the abdomen showed a fistula between the right common iliac artery to the right common iliac vein at l4 level and a massive ivc ; this was linked to trauma from a disectomy done 16 years ago at l4l5 level .
endovascular sealing with a 16 60 mm bifurcated stent graft ( s & g biotech , seoul , korea ) was performed which led to complete resolution of the patient s dyspnea .
iatrogenic vascular injury during lumbar disc surgery , although rare , can lead to high output cardiac failure developing over months to years . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | the symptoms and signs of heart failure can occur in the setting of high output heart failure. this condition is associated with several diseases including chronic anemia , systemic arterio - venous ( av ) fistula , sepsis , hypercapnia and hyperthyroidism . high cardiac output state causing gradual changes of heart and finally ended up with decompensated heart failure ( 1 ) . the cases of high output heart failure related to av fistula during lumbar disc surgery are rarely reported . but the removal of a prolapsed disc , at the level of l4l5 disc spaces where broad vascular bed is formed , has relatively high risk of complication with av fistula than other levels of disc surgery ( 2 ) . herein , we report a case of successful endovascular intervention to repair iatrogenic iliac arteriovenous fistula which caused high output heart failure . this av fistula was delayed complication from the previous discectomy . a 36-year - old asian male was admitted to hospital for progressively worsening exertion dyspnea and orthopnea at january 28th 2013 . physical examination showed warm extremities , irregular heart rate , jugular venous distention , wet crackles in lungs , bilateral pitting edema and hepatomegaly . chest x - ray showed cardiomegaly and pulmonary congestion but the echocardiogram showed that an ejection fraction of 68% , increased chamber size , high pulmonary pressures of 65 mmhg with a tricuspid regurgitation ( tr ) maximum velocity ( v - max ) of 4.02 m / s , inferior vena cava ( ivc ) was non collapsible . a computed tomographic ( ct ) pulmonary angiogram showed increased pulmonary vascularity but no evidence of pulmonary embolism or parenchymal lung disease . on right cardiac catheterization , oxygen saturation in the inferior vena cava was high at 92.3% indicating arterial mixing . a ct evaluation of aorta showed a fistula between right common iliac artery and right common iliac vein ( fig . 1 ) , this was linked to a herniated disc repair he had 16 years ago at lower lumbar level . high output congestive heart failure with preserved ejection fraction due to an iatrogenic iliac arteriovenous fistula. computed tomography demonstrated the right common iliac artery and right common iliac venous fistula ( white arrow ) . the patient underwent an endovascular repair with a 16 60 mm s & g seal bifurcated graft ( s & g biotech , seoul , korea ) which led to the resolution of his high output heart failure ( figs . 2 and 3 ) . after graft stent deployment , residual stenosis was approximately 50%55% and adjuvant ballooning with powerflex 12.0 40 mm was done . computed tomography after the endovascular repair with the bifurcated graft placement and the resolution of common iliac arterio - venous ( av ) fistula ( black arrow ) . three dimensional reconstruction computed tomography of the bifurcated graft placement and the resolution of common iliac arterio - venous ( av ) fistula . the patient s symptoms of heart failure including exertional dyspnea and orthopnea were resolved in 3 weeks . a follow up ct aorta confirmed the anatomic correction and 8 weeks later the echocardiogram showed resolution of the dilated heart chambers , ivc diameter and decrease in pulmonary pressures with a reduction in the tr v - max to 2.25 m / s . 4 ) . chest x - ray demonstrated the improvement of cardiomegaly and pulmonary congestion . an elevated cardiac output with clinical heart failure is associated with several diseases including chronic anemia , systemic av fistula , sepsis , hypercapnia and hyperthyroidism . reduced systemic vascular resistance due to av shunting or peripheral vasodilatation is the underlying physiologic problem . iatrogenic systemic av fistula is not only made for renal dialysis but also created by trauma ( 1 ) . the types of vascular injury during lumbar disc operation are av fistula , laceration or psedoaneurysm . av fistula ( 67% ) is the most common cause of vascular complication from lumbar disc operation . especially the location commonly related to this complications are at the level of l4l5 disc ( 59% ) and common iliac artery ( 72% ) ( 2 ) . if there is a case of high output cardiac failure , chronic av fistula formation should be excluded . the doppler technique , angiography and computed tomography are the imaging modalities to diagnose av fistula . for the iliac av fistulas , the arteriotomy along with suturing the lumen from inside and graft interposition has been preferred technique . however recently endovascular management becomes the preferred option due to the lower risk compared to conventional repair of an av fistula ( 2 ) . in our case after bifemoral artery puncture , the s & g graft stent was deployed without immediate complication and av fistula successfully sealed off . along with graft stent deployment , the residual stenosis was fixed by adjuvant ballooning . to recognize the av fistula early , the suspicion of av fistula is the most important when the patient present with exertional dyspnea or orthopnea with history of previous discectomy . we report a case of successful endovascular intervention to repair iatrogenic iliac arteriovenous fistula which caused high output heart failure . iatrogenic vascular injury during lumbar disc surgery ( iliac artery more commonly injured than the iliac vein ) is rare but can lead to high output cardiac failure developing over months to years and should be considered in the differential of heart failure in young patients ( 23 ) . |
|
– President Trump seems pretty serious about a second term: On the heels of announcing his 2020 reelection campaign manager, he unveiled his 2020 campaign slogan, and no, we won't be making America great again, reports CNN. Rather, "Our new slogan when we start running in, can you believe it, two years from now, is going to be 'Keep America Great' exclamation point," Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania. "We can't say 'Make America Great Again' because I already did that," he added, per the Hill. He also took a shot at NBC's Chuck Todd, notes Fox News, calling him a "sleeping son of a b----." Trump was stumping for GOP House candidate Rick Saccone. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | President Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging set of remarks at a Pennsylvania campaign rally for congressional candidate Rick Saccone, urged support for the GOP hopeful. He also said that the Democrat in the race, Conor Lamb, was likely to vote the party line despite efforts to distance himself from the national party. And, on another note, he took a swipe at NBC "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd at the Saturday night event, calling Todd a “son of a b-----” The president mentioned a 1999 appearance on "Meet the Press" where he can be seen talking about North Korea and his stance on the situation, which has remained the same since: “You got to take them out now!” “It’s 1999, I’m on 'Meet the Press,' a show now headed by sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd,” Trump said. “He’s a sleeping son of a b----, I’ll tell you.” Trump also took the opportunity to slam CNN for its coverage over his decision to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. "Fake as hell, CNN. The worst. So fake." Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Moon Township, Pa., in a show of support for Saccone, who faces a tough special congressional election outside of Pittsburgh. In lengthy remarks at the evening rally, Trump told Pennsylvania voters that his new tariffs were saving the steel industry and urged them to send a Republican to the House so he can keep delivering those kinds of results. We need our Congressman Saccone" to "keep America great," Trump said, framing the race as a national referendum ahead of the 2018 midterms, which will determine which party controls Capitol Hill. The president dismissed Democrat Lamb's efforts to distance himself from his national party and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. "We need Republicans put in office," Trump later added. In the final days leading up to Tuesday’s competitive election, Trump warned Pennsylvania voters not to fall for Lamb, who has shown support for Trump over his own party. "The people of Pittsburgh cannot be conned by this guy Lamb," Trump said. "He's never going to vote for us. "He can say, 'I love President Trump.' I don't want to meet him. I might like him," the president quipped. He warned that although Lamb has voiced his opinion against Pelosi, if Democrats do win control, Lamb will surely “vote the party line.” The president noted that Lamb and Saccone have both endorsed his new tariffs on steel and aluminum. But he made clear that tariffs "are my baby" and are not supported by Democrats. Plenty of Republicans do, as well. But the president said the policy is evidence of his defense of the working class. Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District has an estimated 17,000 steelworkers and almost 90,000 voters from union households. "Not all of our friends on Wall Street love it, but we love it," Trump said of the tariffs. Trump's appearance was an attempt to help Saccone in the closing days of a special election to replace Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, who resigned last year amid revelations of an extramarital affair in which he is said to have urged his mistress to get an abortion when he thought she was pregnant. Murphy, an eight-term congressman, never had a close election. But Saccone has struggled with his own fundraising and hasn't run as aggressive a campaign as Lamb, prompting criticism from Republicans in Washington. Trump, referring to those dynamics, noted talk of Lamb as a handsome candidate. But he said he thinks he's better looking, and added that Saccone "is handsome," too. For his part, Saccone was delighted to have support from the White House. "The president's support is key to attaining victory," Saccone told rally attendees about 45 minutes before Trump took the stage. "There's no one that I would rather have in my corner than President Trump. Are you with me on that?" The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| President Trump Donald John TrumpRobert De Niro, Ben Stiller play Mueller and Cohen in 'SNL' parody of 'Meet the Parents' Trump order targets wide swath of public assistance programs Comey says Trump reacted to news of Russian meddling by asking if it changed election results MORE unveiled his 2020 campaign slogan, “Keep America Great!” on Saturday night. Trump made the announcement while speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in support of GOP House candidate Rick Saccone. “Our new slogan when we start running in, can you believe it, two years from now, is going to be ‘Keep America Great!' " he said to cheers. Trump announced his 2020 campaign last month, naming former digital adviser Brad Parscale as his campaign manager. The new slogan will replace “Make America Great Again,” Trump’s four-word 2016 slogan that has appeared on red baseball caps, on signs and in speeches for the past two years. "We can't say 'Make America Great Again' because I already did that," Trump said of the old slogan. ADVERTISEMENT During his remarks Saturday, Trump levied harsh criticisms against members of the media Democratic lawmakers and Saccone’s Democratic challenger, Conor Lamb. He also praised countries that execute drug dealers, one day after reports that he is considering adopting a policy that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty in drug cases. All eyes are on the Pennsylvania special election, a key race in a district that Trump won by double digits in 2016. Recent polls have shown Lamb leading Saccone by a small margin. |
|
rhabdomyosarcoma is the malignant neoplasm of striated muscle and a relatively uncommon tumor of the oral cavity .
embryonal variety is the most common subtype , observed in children below 10 years of age but occasionally seen in adolescents and young adults .
the present report describes a case of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in the left posterior buccal mucosa , with extension in the adjacent alveolus , soft palate , oropharynx and nasopharynx of a 17-year - old female . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | rhabdomyosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm derived from primitive mesenchyme that retains the capacity for skeletal muscle differentiation and thus often arises at sites where skeletal muscle tissue is normally absent ( e.g. urinary bladder ) , or in areas where striated muscle is scanty ( e.g. nasal cavity and middle ear ) . the most common site is head and neck ( parameningeal and orbit ) , followed by genitourinary tract . less commonly involved sites of head and neck regions are nasal cavity and nasopharynx , ear , paranasal sinuses , soft tissue of face and neck and finally the oral cavity , including the tongue lip and palate . it mostly affects children below 10 years of age but may also affect adolescents and young adults . in the present case , only 17 cases have been reported in the indexed journals till date involving intraoral mucosa according to our review of the literature . intraoral site involvement in a patient nearer to adult age is extremely rare , and the manner by which panel of immunohistochemical markers had been used to confirm the diagnosis makes this case unique . a 17-year - old female patient reported to the department of oral pathology with a mass involving the left side of the mouth for the last 1 months . the lesion was stated to be fast enlarging , painless and caused occasional spontaneous bleeding . left middle third of the face showed slight swelling . on intraoral examination , a diffuse fleshy mass was seen involving left posterolateral part of the palate , left upper retromolar region and adjacent buccal mucosa , measuring about 3 cm 3 cm [ figure 1 ] . on palpation , the lesion was firm , mildly tender and seemed to be extending inferiorly , laterally as well as medially . orthopantomogram showed no bony abnormality except faint soft tissue shadow behind maxillary second molar and impacted left maxillary canine . contrast - enhanced computed tomography showed soft tissue lesion in the parapharyngeal space both causing mass effect on oropharynx and nasopharynx with extension to the cheek causing erosion of mandible [ figure 2 ] . incisional biopsy was taken from the lesion after having written informed consent of her parents . underlying connective tissue contained the tumor mass consisting of clusters of primitive spindle and round cells with dark staining nuclei and little cytoplasm arranged in abundant myxoid stroma [ figure 3 ] . mitotic figures and typical tadpole nuclei were also present [ figure 5 ] , but characteristic cross striation was not found . in other areas , primitive oval cells and scanty rhabdomyoblasts with eccentric vesicular nuclei the lesion was further provisionally diagnosed as malignant round cell tumor compatible with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma . for confirmation of diagnosis , diffuse swelling involving left maxillary tuberosity , adjacent part of palate and buccal mucosa contrast - enhanced computed tomography shows space occupying lesion involving oropharynx , nasopharynx , parapharyngeal space with extension to the cheek and mandible round and spindle - shaped tumor cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and little cytoplasm.(h&e stain , 100 ) tumor cell invasion into blood vessel ( h&e stain , 200 ) tumor cells with tadpole nuclei ( h&e stain , 1000 ) neoplastic rhabdomyoblast cell ( h&e stain , 1000 ) the lesion showed positive reactivity with desmin [ figure 7 ] , myod1 [ figure 8 ] , myogenin [ figure 9 ] and muscle - specific actin [ figure 10 ] . it also showed negative reactivity with cytokeratin , epithelial membrane antigen , mic-2 , synaptophysin , cd34 , cd31 and littoral cell angioma . immunohistochemical staining for desmin shows positive result ( ihc stain , 400 ) immunohistochemical staining for myod1 shows focal positive result ( ihc stain , 400 ) immunohistochemical staining for myogenin shows positive result ( ihc stain , 400 ) immunohistochemical staining for muscle - specific actin shows positive result ( ihc stain , 400 ) immunohistochemical reports of this case are given in table 1 for better understanding . according to the available case reports , it is found that mandibular gingiva is more commonly affected than maxillary gingiva . few reports of intraosseous involvement are there , one of which involved angle of the mandible and ascending ramus . palatal lesions mostly involve the soft palate , and few of them involved the uvula . this malignancy is most prevalent in the first and second decades of life , gradually decreases with increasing age and rarely affects a person in seventh or eighth decade of life . findings from table 1 helped us to confirm the diagnosis as a case of rhabdomyosarcoma . the histopathological report was of round cell tumor , and so , we had to exclude all other round cell malignancies . considering the histopathological pattern and age of the patient , we arrived at the final diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma . histopathological ( h / p ) diagnosis always must be confirmed by immunohistochemical investigation as the histological pattern is variable and poorly differentiated tumors bear resemblance with many other round cell malignancies . prognosis of the lesion depends on age of the patient , anatomic site , clinical staging ( tumor size , node involvement and metastasis ) and h / p subtype . twenty percent of patients develop metastasis at the time of diagnosis ; and lung , lymph node and bone marrow are the common sites . rhabdomyosarcoma is treated by complete resection of the lesion , followed by multi - agent chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy . |
|
iron - deficiency anemia in pregnancy can have serious deleterious effects for both mother and fetus . parenteral iron therapy in iron - deficiency anemia
is recommended in patients where oral iron therapy is ineffective due to malabsorption states and non - compliance .
compared to oral iron therapy , intravenous iron results in much more rapid resolution of iron - deficiency anemia with minimal adverse reactions .
iron sucrose has a favorable safety profile and is an alternative to other forms of parenteral iron therapy in correction of iron stores depletion .
immune mechanisms and iron agent releasing bioactive , partially unbound iron into the circulation , resulting in oxidative stress appears to cause severe adverse reactions .
although iron sucrose has a favorable safety profile in comparison to other parenteral iron preparations , this report highlights a fatal anaphylactic shock to iron sucrose in a pregnant woman with severe iron deficiency non - compliant to oral iron therapy . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | treatment of iron - deficiency anemia in pregnancy with oral iron therapy and blood transfusion has significant drawbacks . high dose of oral iron causes significant side effects ; non - compliance is common.intravenous iron produces a better hematological response than oral iron , including a faster increase in hemoglobin and faster replenishment of body iron stores and can provide an alternative to transfusion in profound iron deficiency anemia . all available iron preparations for parenteral use can cause short - term side - effects , including anaphylactic reaction . we report here a fatal anaphylactic reaction to iron sucrose in a pregnant woman with severe iron - deficiency anemia . a 20 years - old primigravida with seven months amenorrhea presented to the emergency department with giddiness and difficulty in breathing . the history of presenting complaints revealed that she had developed these complaints within few minutes of receiving first infusion of iron sucrose usp 5 ml injection ( ferise 5 brand of intas pharma company ) diluted in 100 ml normal saline for severe iron deficiency anemia in a primary health care centre.parenteral iron therapy was initiated to her because she was noncompliant to oral iron and folic acid supplements.she had no history of allergies or significant past medical illness . on presentation , she was conscious , alert(glasgow coma scale 15/15 ) and afebrile . her pulse rate was 140/min , respiratory rate 28/min , oxygen saturation of 90% at room air and systolic blood pressure 70 mm of hg . on physical examination , chest examination revealed bilateral diminished breath sounds ; rest of the systemic examination was unremarkable . her hemoglobin was 6.0 gm / dl , total leucocyte count 27900/l , red blood cell count 2.86 million / cmm , platelet count 570000/l , international normalized ratio ( inr ) 1.13 and aptt 34.4 seconds . arterial blood gas analysis was suggestive of hypoxia ( ph 7.37 , po2 66 , pco2 44,hco3 20 and po2/fio2 0.66 on 100% fio2 ) . she had normal urine analysis , serum electrolytes , renal , liver and thyroid function tests . she was treated with intravenous adrenaline , hydrocortisone , antihistaminics and h2 blockers and transferred to the intensive care unit for ventilatory and inotropic support . despite intensive resuscitation attempts in the intensive care unit , the patient expired due to cardiac arrest within 24 hrs . anemia in pregnant women is estimated to be between 39.9 to 43.8% globally and 43.9 to 52.5%in south - east asia . it is generally estimated that half of the anemia cases in pregnancy are related to iron deficiency . the prevalence of iron - deficiency anemia in pregnant women is estimated to be between 35 and 75% in developing countries whereas in industrialized countries , the average prevalence is 18% . parenteral iron therapy in iron - deficiency anemia is recommended in patients where oral iron therapy is ineffective due to mal - absorption states and noncompliance . compared to oral iron therapy , intravenous iron results in much more rapid resolution of iron - deficiency anemia with minimal adverse reactions . three commercial formulations ; iron dextran , , all available iron preparations for parenteral use can cause short - term side - effects , such as metallic taste , back pain , nausea , vomiting , diarrhea , abdominal pain , hypotension and allergic or even anaphylactic reactions . symptoms of anaphylaxis include dyspnea , chest pain , angioedema , urticaria with hypotension , and are generally immediate , sudden , and severe , typically occurring in conjunction with the first dose of parenteral iron . the systemic reaction observed in response to the first dose of intravenous iron preparations have not been found consistently to be ige mediated and are therefore described as anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reaction . iron dextran induced toxicity is believed to be due to hypersensitivity related to the dextran moiety , since iron dextran is associated with a higher risk for anaphylaxis or anaphylactoid reactions than newer iv iron products . iron dextran had the highest reports of anaphylaxis , anaphylactoid reaction , urticaria , upper airway angioedema , while iron sucrose carried the lowest risk for these hypersensitivity reactions . the all - event reporting rates for iron dextran , sodium ferric gluconate , and iron sucrose were 29.2 , 10.5 , and 4.2 reports per million 100 mg dose equivalents , respectively , while the all - fatal - event reporting rates were 1.4 , 0.6 , and 0.0 reports per million 100 mg dose equivalents , respectively . iron sucrose appears to have a favorable safety profile and is an alternative to other forms of parenteral iron therapy in correction of depletion of iron stores . rare anaphylactic reactions with iron sucrose have been reported in 0.002% of cases . in our patient , an adverse drug reaction occurring few minutes after infusion of first dose of iron sucrose suggests hypersensitivity reaction rather than an immediate dose related toxicity . use of naranjo probability scale indicated a probable relationship between the hypersensitivity reaction and iron sucrose as the causal drug . since serum ige or tryptase levels were not obtained , we are not able to establish whether this reaction was an anaphylaxis or an anaphylactoid reaction . in conclusion , clinicians should be alert to the possibility of this fatal adverse effect in patients receiving parenteral iron sucrose . a public health initiative aimed at reducing the number of severe adverse reactions to parenteral iron would require a rational use of this drug and a mandatory test dose before the first infusion . |
|
– The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday released photos from the site of the crash that killed former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens and four others, as investigators spoke with two of the four survivors. According to the chair of the NTSB, they did not report hearing weird noises, nor did they feel the plane tilt backward or forward, notes the Anchorage Daily News. "They were flying along, and then they just stopped flying." Though the plane was equipped with an system designed to alert pilots of dangerous terrain, it's not yet known if it was working. Read the full article. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | A survivor of the crash that killed five people including former Sen. Ted Stevens told investigators he didn't hear any strange engine noises before the floatplane struck a mountain north of Dillingham. He didn't feel the plane tilt backward or forward either. "They were flying along, and then they just stopped flying" said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, recalling investigators' first interviews Friday with two of the four survivors. As workers attempted to remove wreckage from the hillside, Hersman provided new details about the plane's condition, what investigators found on the ground and the flying history of the pilot. The de Havilland Otter carrying nine people crashed an estimated 15 minutes after taking off from a GCI-owned lodge on the Agulowak River sometime Monday afternoon. A veteran Alaska pilot and retired chief pilot for Alaska Airlines, Theron "Terry" Smith, was acting as a temporary replacement for the company's primary pilot who had quit midsummer, GCI President Ron Duncan said in an interview on Friday. "Terry and several others agreed to do two-week stints to fill in," said Duncan, who was neighbors with the 62-year-old Smith on Campbell Lake in Anchorage. On his application for employment with GCI, Smith said he had flown a total of 35 hours in an Otter. He had 1,215 hours flying a de Havilland Beaver and 2,378 hours of total time flying amphibious, single-engine aircraft, Hersman said. Smith has flown more than 29,000 hours in his career, working for Alaska Airlines from 1979 to 2007. He died in the crash, after flying the Otter an estimated 10 hours over the course of three days for GCI, according to the NTSB. Smith did not call the flight service station for a weather briefing before takeoff Monday and, according to a lodge employee, may have used the lodge's Internet connection to check weather conditions, Hersman said. A witness estimated visibility was about three miles, based on local landmarks, with a cloud ceiling of about 2,000 feet when the group departed from the lodge, Hersman said. A pilot himself, Duncan called Smith "one of the best pilots in the state." He said Smith was familiar with the route to the fish camp. "He had flown it dozens of times over the prior 10 days. He was familiar with the area, and the routes are all in the GPS," Duncan said. Mike Hoffman of Bethel, who flew commercially for 30 years in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, knew Smith as a "very, very good Alaskan bush pilot." "He's one of those guys that did his homework. ... No one would push him into weather," Hoffman said in an interview this week. Investigators examined the aircraft on Wednesday, recovering the log book, noting the position of switches and the avionics inside the aircraft. "We have not ruled anything out at this point. We're just a few days into our investigation, and everything is still on the table," Hersman said. In addition to Stevens and Smith, those killed were lobbyist Bill Phillips, GCI senior vice president Dana Tindall, and Tindall's 16-year-old daughter, Corey. The adults were either connected to GCI or were friends and political associates of Stevens. The four survivors were hospitalized in Anchorage, where former NASA head Sean O'Keefe was upgraded from critical to serious condition, a Providence Alaska Medical Center spokeswoman said Friday. "Sean is making significant improvements," family spokesman Paul Pastorek wrote Friday. "Despite initial reports, here was no serious trauma to Sean's pelvis. He did have a dislocated hip, which has been corrected." O'Keefe's son, Kevin, also injured in the accident, is showing improvement and "very much on the mend," Pastorek wrote. Jim Morhard, a lobbyist, was in fair condition as of Thursday. Willy Phillips, the 13-year-old son of Bill Phillips, was in good condition. Read The Village, the ADN's blog about rural Alaska, at adn.com/thevillage. Twitter updates: twitter.com/adnvillage. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334. ||||| NTSB releases photos from Alaska crash site Written by Failure staff as part of Failure Analysis Crash site near Aleknagik, Alaska. Photo courtesy NTSB. August 14, 2010 — The plane that crashed into an Alaskan mountainside and killed former Sen. Ted Stevens and four others was outfitted with an alert system that warned pilots of dangerous terrain. But National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairwoman Deborah Hersman said Friday that it’s not known if the system was working just before the plane crashed on August 9. The plane was also equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, Hersman said, which is designed to issue a distress signal to a control center via satellites and provide registration information, such as the owner’s name. She added that it was unclear why that signal didn’t activate. The five victims died from blunt-force trauma, state medical examiner Dr. Katherine Raven said. Four individuals survived, and investigators interviewed two of them on Friday. Hersman said one of the survivors described Monday’s crash by saying: “[We] were flying along, and [we] just stopped flying.” The same survivor said he didn’t notice any changes in the plane’s pitch or hear any unusual engine sounds right before the plane went down near Aleknagik, about 20 miles north of Dillingham, in southwest Alaska. Former NASA chief Sean O’Keefe, his son, Kevin O’Keefe, lobbyist Jim Morhard and lobbyist William Phillips Jr. lived through the accident. Also killed: Pilot Theron Smith, General Communications Inc. executive Dana Tindall, Tindall’s 16-year-old daughter, Corey, and William Phillips Sr., who had worked with Stevens in Washington. View all three photos here |
|
– A powerful earthquake shook south western Iran this morning, near the country's Bushehr reactor, the US Geological Survey reported today. The quake clocked in at 6.3 on the Richter scale, with its epicenter just 55 miles from Bushehr. Social media reports spotted by the BBC indicate that reverberations were felt as far away as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, across the Persian Gulf. Others, spotted by Reuters, indicated that offices in Manama, Bahrain had been evacuated. Four people were reportedly killed in the quake, which caused heavy damage to two nearby villages. But the Russian company running the Bushehr reactor say it was left unscathed by the quake. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| DUBAI A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported. The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it. "Due to the intensity of this earthquake, this tragedy has deepened and we have seen the destruction of many homes in the region, the deaths of 37 people and more than 850 injured," the governor of Bushehr province, Fereydoun Hassanvand, told Mehr news agency. Many houses in rural parts of the province are made of mud bricks, which have been known to crumble easily in quake-prone Iran. Some 700 homes were destroyed, Hassanvand said. Across the Gulf, offices in Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake, whose epicentre was 89 km (55 miles) southeast of the port of Bushehr, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The early afternoon shock was also felt in financial hub Dubai. The Russian company that built the nuclear power station, 18 km (11 miles) south of Bushehr, said the plant was unaffected. "Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," Russian state news agency RIA quoted an official at Atomstroyexport as saying. Iran informed the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency that there was "no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation", an agency statement said. One Bushehr resident said the quake shook her home and the homes of her neighbours but they were not damaged. "We could clearly feel the earthquake," Nikoo, who asked to be identified only by her first name, said. "The windows and chandeliers all shook." While initial fears about nuclear fallout receded, nearer the epicentre the rescue efforts ramped up into the night in search of survivors and to feed and house hundreds of residents who were traumatised by at least 16 aftershocks. A Red Crescent official told ISNA that 20 people had been saved by rescue teams searching through the rubble. Reports in Iranian media spoke of landslides destroying buildings and crowds gathering in the town of Dashti from outlying areas in search of help. Military officials said army and police units had been deployed to maintain order. Water and electricity lines were severed and communities stayed in the streets because of the threat from aftershocks. Iran's most powerful authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offered his condolences to the victims and urged authorities to extend all efforts to save lives and help the afflicted. Tuesday's quake was much smaller than the 9.0 magnitude one that hit Japan two years ago, triggering a tsunami that destroyed back-up generators and disabled the Fukushima nuclear plant's cooling system. Three of the reactors melted down. Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated wide areas and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless. Western officials and the United Nations have urged Iran to join the safety forum. REPEATED WARNINGS Tehran has repeatedly rejected safety concerns about Bushehr - built in a highly seismic area - that began operations in September 2011 after decades of delays. Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.6 magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the south-eastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. In August more than 300 people were killed when two quakes struck the northwest. A report published last week by U.S. think-tanks Carnegie Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said that "ominously" the Bushehr reactor sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates. "Iran's sole nuclear power plant is not at risk of a tsunami similar in size to the one that knocked out the electricity and emergency cooling systems at Fukushima. But, repeated warnings about the threat of earthquakes for the Bushehr nuclear plant appear to have fallen on deaf ears," the report said. The quake happened on National Nuclear Technology Day when Iran's leaders celebrate the technological advances they say will reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels, leaving more of its abundant oil for export. Israel, Gulf Arab states and many Western countries fear Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability and the Islamic Republic is under international sanctions aimed at forcing it to curb some of its atomic work. Iran denies it wants nuclear arms and says its atomic work is for electricity generation and other peaceful uses. (Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Regan Doherty in Doha, Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Michael Roddy and Jon Hemming) |
|
– Two people are dead after a man opened fire on vehicles while driving west through three counties in western Oklahoma early Thursday, reports the Oklahoman. Police say the shooting spree started on I-40 in Canadian County around midnight and continued into Caddo and Custer counties as the shooter drove some 50 miles. A male was killed by a bullet near the Canadian County and Caddo County line, while a woman was shot in Custer County, per KOCO. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police say the shooter also fired at several tractor-trailers, but no one inside the vehicles was injured. The suspect, who hasn't been named, was arrested in Custer County for DUI at 12:39am. Police say he surrendered peacefully. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Two people were killed Thursday during a shooting spree that spanned 50 miles and three counties in Oklahoma, officials with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said. VIDEO: Suspect arrested after 50-mile rampage shooting Officials said (Jeffrey) Kent Powell, 45, of Arapaho died at the scene and Billie Jean West, 63, of Lone Wolf was pronounced dead at a Weatherford hospital after being shot when they were driving along Interstate 40 early Thursday morning. Jeremy Doss Hardy, 36, of Pasadena, Texas, was arrested on complaints of driving under the influence. Video: Clinton man killed in I-40 gunfire Authorities said the rampage started on Interstate 40 in Canadian County around midnight. Officials said a car was run off the road near the Canadian County and Caddo County line. Video: Family devastated after Lone Wolf woman killed in I-40 shootings Investigators said Hardy continued driving west on I-40 and shooting at different vehicles. Several tractor-trailers were shot at, but no additional people were hit. The Custer County sheriff said Hardy surrendered peacefully at 12:39 a.m. Authorities are still getting phone calls from people whose vehicles were hit during the rampage. Anyone who has a vehicle hit by gunfire should contact the Custer County Sheriff's Office. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and OSBI will continue to investigate the incidents along with local authorities. ||||| A man who was shot to death Wednesday night as he drove on Interstate 40 near Hydro was remembered as someone who was always willing to lend a helping hand in his community. Jeffrey Kent Powell, 45, of Arapaho, died at the scene, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported. A second shooting victim, Billie Jean West, 63, of Lone Wolf, was found in a separate vehicle by a Weatherford police officer on routine patrol. Jeremy Doss Hardy, 36, of Pasadena, Texas, was arrested on a DUI complaint after a short pursuit and taken to the Custer County jail. He also is the subject of an OSBI inquiry into the shooting deaths. Powell owned First Care Rehabilitation in Clinton, along with his wife, Tammy. The couple have two young children. Julie Menge, president of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, said he knew Powell well. Powell served on the Clinton Chamber of Commerce board of directors for three years. "He was a great guy," Menge said. "It's a big loss to our community. Anything you asked, Kent would do. He was just an upstanding guy. People are just shocked and saddened about what happened to him." Kent Powell's aunt, Kristy Patterson, said he grew up in Guymon and played on a state championship football team there, before graduating in 1988. Patterson said he was an outstanding student at Guymon who grew up to be a "good, hard working man." "He was extremely outgoing with a big personality," Patterson said. According to his business website, Powell was a 1993 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in physical therapy. He later worked in Oklahoma City as a physical therapist and at one time served as director of physical therapy for Memorial Hospital in Guymon. He opened First Care Rehabilitation in 1996. He was active in coaching youth sports and enjoyed golfing and hunting in addition to being a general aviation pilot. A Canadian County sheriff's office spokesman said West's family was not ready to comment publicly on her death. Hardy is an oil-field worker, said his father, Robert Hardy, of Pasadena, Texas. The elder Hardy said his son lived with his wife north of Liberty, Texas, but uses his father's address as his mailing address. Robert Hardy said he was surprised to hear of his son's arrest. "That seems so not him," Robert Hardy said. "It's not him, not when it comes to guns. That's so hard for me to believe. It doesn't even seem possible." He suggested someone else might have been responsible for the shootings and authorities stopped his son by mistake. “It’s definitely not the way he was taught or the way he’s always been. Weren’t there a lot of black four-door pickups on the road? … That’s a pretty common vehicle for this part of the country. I’m praying that that’s not something he’s capable of doing.” Jeremy Hardy was charged in Harris County, Texas, in 2005 with a felony charge of reckless injury to a child. He was fined $500 and put on community supervision for three years after pleading guilty. He is not a convicted felon because his sentence was deferred. He was accused of hurting his wife’s 2-year-old son during a physical altercation with her at their apartment. About 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, callers along I-40 in Canadian County began reporting a possible road rage incident with shots fired, Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said. A driver in a pickup was firing at vehicles, according to callers. OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said Hardy tried to run a car off westbound I-40 at mile marker 111, about 8 miles west of El Reno. She said he fired at least once and hit Powell, who was able to pull over the car and stop, but he died at mile marker 93. His wife was with him in the car, Brown said. West was found shot near mile marker 84, just off I-40 at Airport Road, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported. She was taken to a Weatherford hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Contributing: Staff Writer Robert Medley |
|
we experienced an extremely rare case of a thymoma in the middle mediastinum . a 42-year - old woman presented with a 4-cm - sized abnormal mass in the middle mediastinum by chest computed tomography .
to resect this tumor , we performed surgery using the thoracoscopic lateral approach from the right side subsequently followed by a median sternotomy . after the resection of this tumor , the intraoperative quick pathological examination diagnosed this tumor as a thymoma .
an extended thymectomy was performed additionally . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | thymoma in the middle mediastinum is extremely rare . a 42-year - old woman presented with an abnormal mass in the middle mediastinum by chest computed tomography ( ct ) . to resect this tumor , we performed an operation using the thoracoscopic approach from the right side subsequently followed by a median sternotomy . a 42-year - old woman was referred to our department with an abnormal shadow found by chest ct during the treatment for pneumonia . after she had recovered from pneumonia with antibiotics , she was admitted for further examinations and surgery . she was asymptomatic and did not have any episodes of ptosis , diplopia , muscle weakness or exertional dyspnea . a systemic examination revealed only a slight elevation of the serum acetylcholine receptor antibody level ( 1.6 nmol / l ) . however , other titers including several tumor markers were within the normal range . contrast - enhanced ct revealed a heterogeneous tumor measuring 4 cm in the middle mediastinum . the tumor was surrounded by many mediastinal structures , including brachiocephalic trunk , right brachiocephalic vein , superior vena cava ( svc ) , azygos vein , ascending aorta and trachea . however , its invasion to these mediastinal structures was uncertain ( fig . 1a and b ) . by magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) , the tumor showed low intensity on both t1- and t2-weighted images , which means that this tumor was not cystic but solid ( fig . positron emission tomography demonstrated that this tumor had no significant increased accumulation of fdg ( suv max 2.22.7 ) . considering these findings , this tumor was preoperatively suspected of being a neurogenic tumor or lymphoma due to its location . figure 1:contrast - enhanced ct revealed a heterogeneous tumor measuring 4 cm in the middle mediastinum ( a and b ) . mri showed a tumor demonstrating the low intensity both on the t1-weighted image ( c ) and the t2-weighted image ( d ) . contrast - enhanced ct revealed a heterogeneous tumor measuring 4 cm in the middle mediastinum ( a and b ) . mri showed a tumor demonstrating the low intensity both on the t1-weighted image ( c ) and the t2-weighted image ( d ) . to resect this tumor , we started surgery using the thoracoscopic lateral approach from the right side . there was no intrapleural adhesion or pleural effusion , and the tumor was easily detected in the mediastinum , behind the superior vena cava ( svc ) anterior to the trachea . after opening of the superior mediastinal pleura , the azygos vein was dissected using endo - gia tri - staple camel 45 mm ( covidien , dublin ) . without any significant invasion to the adjacent mediastinal structures , it was possible to dissect the tumor from the trachea , svc and right brachiocephalic vein ( fig . 2 ) however , the edge of this tumor was so deep that dissection of this tumor from the brachiocephalic trunk was impossible only with the right thoracoscopic lateral approach . a microscopic examination showed the tumor to contain spindle - shaped cells with a lymphocyte - rich component ( fig . the postoperative pathological diagnosis was type ab of a thymoma according to the world health organization classification . she was doing well at 12 months after surgery without recurrence of the tumor or any symptoms associated with myasthesia gravis . spindle cell proliferation ( a ) and lymphocyte infiltration ( b ) ( hematoxylin eosin stain 400 ) . spindle cell proliferation ( a ) and lymphocyte infiltration ( b ) ( hematoxylin eosin stain 400 ) . most thymomas are found in the anterior mediastinum because of the proper location of the thymus . in contrast , the most common site of thymoma is in the anterior mediastinum , and the sites of ectopic thymoma are the neck , the posterior mediastinum and pulmonary hilus [ 1 , 2 ] . in particular , a thymoma occurring in the middle mediastinum is extremely rare and is considered to be associated with mismigration of thymic gland tissue during embryogenesis . there have been several reports regarding the middle mediastinal thymoma [ 15 ] . since it is difficult to establish the pathological diagnosis for tumors in the middle mediastinum preoperatively , in the present case , we chose surgery as the first line of the treatment because this tumor was solid with the possibility of malignancy . in contrast , there have been only two reports about middle mediastinal thymoma with myasthesia gravis written in english [ 4 , 5 ] . however , the preoperative acetylcholine receptor antibody level was also elevated in the present case . since the elevation of the acetylcholine receptor antibody level is closely related to myasthesia gravis , the present case should be preoperatively considered as possible myasthesia gravis , especially in order to avoid the postoperative acute myasthesia gravis crisis . regarding the approach for surgery , two steps were used in this case . preoperatively , we considered that this tumor could not be resected only by median sternotomy . however , the edge of this tumor was so deep that the dissection of this tumor from the brachiocephalic trunk was impossible only with right thoracoscopic lateral approach . therefore , a median sternotomy was performed subsequently . the two - step approach was considered to be necessary and safe for the resection of this tumor present in the middle mediastinum which is surrounded by many major structures . |
|
we propose a novel four - coloring model which describes `` frustrated superfluidity '' of @xmath0-band bosons in the diamond optical lattice .
the superfluid phases of the condensate wavefunctions on the diamond - lattice bonds are mapped to four distinct colors at low temperatures .
the fact that a macroscopic number of states satisfy the constraints that four differently colored bonds meet at the same site leads to an extensive degeneracy in the superfluid ground state at the classical level .
we demonstrate that the phase of the superfluid wavefunction as well as the orbital angular momentum correlations exhibit a power - law decay in the degenerate manifold that is described by an emergent magnetostatic theory with three independent flux fields . our results thus provide a novel example of critical superfluid phase with algebraic order in three dimensions .
we further show that quantum fluctuations favor a nel ordering of orbital angular moments with broken sublattice symmetry through the order - by - disorder mechanism .
strongly frustrated systems are hosts to various complex orders , unusual phases and elementary excitations . a well - studied example is the emergence of critical coulomb phases in systems ranging from water ice @xcite , pyrochlore magnets ( spin ice ) @xcite to @xmath0-band fermions in the optical diamond lattice ( orbital ice ) @xcite .
a common feature shared by these systems is the appearance of an extensively degenerate manifold due to a large number of unconstrained degrees of freedom .
although the macroscopic degeneracy is usually of geometrical origin , especially for magnetic systems @xcite , the nontrivial spatial dependence of anisotropic orbital interactions in optical lattices provides a new playground for studying interesting phenomena related to a highly degenerate manifold @xcite .
in particular , for @xmath0-orbital bosonic condensates in optical lattices , the frustrated couplings between the @xmath1 phase degrees of freedom can lead to intriguing quantum many - body states @xcite . for conventional superfluid states of bosons ,
their ground state wavefunctions are positive - definite as stated by the `` no - node '' theorem which is valid under very general conditions @xcite .
it states that the superfluid phases are uniform over the entire condensate , in other words , non - frustrated .
exotic states of bosons beyond the `` no - node '' theorem have been theoretically proposed and experimentally realized in ultra - cold atom optical lattices @xcite .
for example , when bosons are pumped to high orbital bands , their condensate wavefunctions form non - trivial representations of the lattice symmetry group , dubbed `` unconventional '' bose - einstein condensations , say , the complex - valued @xmath2-type condensates with spontaneously broken time - reversal symmetry ( see ref .
@xcite for a brief review ) .
these condensates are meta - stable excited states , and hence are not constrained by the `` no - node '' theorem .
in this article we study the bose - einstein condensates formed by bosons pumped into the @xmath0-orbital bands in a diamond optical lattice .
we show that the problem of inter - site phase coherence in this lattice represents a highly frustrated system and can be mapped to a four - coloring model on the diamond lattice . by combining analytical arguments and numerical simulations ,
we demonstrate the existence of an algebraic coulomb phase in the highly degenerate superfluid ground state at the classical level .
our work thus provides a three - dimensional ( 3d ) generalization of the celebrated three - coloring model on the planar honeycomb lattice @xcite .
moreover , we also demonstrate a 3d superfluid phase with critical power - law correlations .
we also show that quantum order - by - disorder selects a ground state with an quadrupled unit cell and a nel ordering of the orbital angular moments .
_ model hamiltonian .
_ we begin with a discussion of the hamiltonian for @xmath0-orbital bosons in the diamond optical lattice .
this bipartite lattice can be generated by the interference of four laser beams with suitably arranged light polarizations as discussed in ref .
[ ] .
the unit vectors from each site in sublattice @xmath3 to its four neighboring @xmath4-sites are denoted as @xmath5 $ ] , @xmath6 $ ] , @xmath7 $ ] , and @xmath8 $ ] . around the center of each lattice site , the point group symmetry is @xmath9 of which the degenerate @xmath10-orbitals form a triplet irreducible representation . the band energy is thus represented as @xmath11 where @xmath12 is the projection of the @xmath0-orbitals along the direction of @xmath13 : @xmath14 , where @xmath15 is a vector of annihilation operators for @xmath0-orbitals .
we only keep the longitudinal hopping between @xmath0-orbitals along the bond direction , _
i.e. _ , the @xmath16-bonding , and neglect the small transverse hopping terms . here
@xmath17 is positive because of the odd parity of @xmath0-orbitals @xcite .
the general on - site interaction has the form : @xmath18 , where @xmath19 , @xmath20 is the contact interaction parameter , and @xmath21 @xmath22 are wannier functions of @xmath0-orbitals .
the @xmath9 group contains the symmetry of rotation around the @xmath23-axis followed by the inversion , which transforms @xmath24 , and @xmath25 .
since @xmath26 should be invariant under this transformation , symmetry consideration indicates that there are only two independent parameters @xmath27 and @xmath28 .
the interaction terms can thus be reorganized as @xmath29 where @xmath30 is the particle number in @xmath31-orbital ( @xmath32 ) at site @xmath33 , @xmath34 , and @xmath35 is the orbital angular momemtum operator .
the first term in eq .
( [ eq : ham_int ] ) represents the hubbard interaction with the spherical symmetry around the site center and @xmath36 as given in ref .
[ ] .
we assume repulsive interactions @xmath37 .
the ferro - orbital interaction means that bosons prefer to maximize the on - site orbital angular momentum such that their wavefunctions are most extended spatially to reduce the onsite repulsion @xcite , analogous to the second hund s rule of electrons filling in degenerate atomic orbitals .
the second term with @xmath38 comes from the @xmath9 symmetry crystal field .
compared with the spherically symmetric case ( @xmath39 ) , the angular distributions of wannier orbitals @xmath21 in the diamond lattice expand from @xmath40,@xmath41,@xmath42 toward the the bond directions @xmath43 .
this enhances the inter - orbital repulsion but weakens the intra - orbital one , such that @xmath44 . ,
@xmath45 , @xmath46 , and @xmath47 , respectively , when projected to the base plane perpendicular the direction of angular momentum @xmath48 .
the mapping is not one - to - one , as each @xmath48 corresponds to 4 different cyclic permutations of the colors which preserve the same chirality .
[ fig : mapping ] ] _ mapping to the 4-coloring model .
_ we consider the strong coupling case with a weak crystal field @xmath49 . assuming that the average filling number per site is large
, we approximate each site as a small condensate and treat it classically .
the @xmath50 term on each site favors a @xmath2-type on - site condensate , which aligns @xmath48 along the cubic directions @xmath51 , @xmath52 , and @xmath53 . in each site
the direction of @xmath48 is the nodal line of the condensate wavefunction , around which the @xmath1 phase winds @xmath54 .
let us consider site @xmath55 belonging to sublattice @xmath3 . the projections of its four bond directions in the @xmath56 , @xmath57 and @xmath58 planes are evenly distributed .
therefore , no matter which cubic direction @xmath59 takes , the superfluid phase from site @xmath55 to its neighbor @xmath60 along the direction of @xmath13 can only be four different values among @xmath61 , and @xmath47 up to an overall phase , which is denoted as _
i,= _
i + _ i , , [ eq : phase ] where @xmath62 is the overall phase ; @xmath63 , and @xmath64 corresponding to colors * r * , * g * , * b * , and * y * , respectively , in fig .
[ fig : mapping ] .
the phase shift @xmath65 is equivalent to a cyclic permutation among the 4 colors around the direction of @xmath59 , thus @xmath62 on each site only takes values from @xmath66 to @xmath67 . by the same reasoning ,
the phase from site @xmath60 on @xmath4 sublattice to its neighboring site @xmath55 along the direction of @xmath68 is denoted as @xmath69 .
the expectation value of the orbital operators appearing in the hopping hamiltonian ( [ eq : ham_kin ] ) is given by @xmath70 , and @xmath71 , for the two respective sublattices .
where @xmath72 is the average filling per site and the quantum depleting of the condensation fraction is neglected .
thus the total kinetic energy summing up all the bonds reads e & = & - n t__ij n _ . to minimize the kinetic energy
, we freeze @xmath73 for all sites , and match the color on each bond , i.e. @xmath74 . a defect occurs at a bond @xmath75 when @xmath76 .
the defect - free classic ground states of the @xmath0-band bosons thus map into a highly frustrated 4-coloring model @xcite .
an example of such configurations in the diamond lattice is shown in fig .
[ fig : diamond ] .
there are @xmath77 coloring configurations on each site @xmath55 , and @xmath78 different orientations @xmath79 for @xmath59 , which are defined as the `` chirality '' of the condensate .
for each chirality , there are @xmath80 coloring configurations corresponding to a @xmath81 rotation around the direction of @xmath59 ; see fig .
[ fig : mapping ] .
consequently , the classical ground states correspond to those of the 4-coloring model modular 4 .
the chirality can be explicitly computed as @xmath82 , where @xmath83 denotes the bond with phase @xmath84 at site @xmath33 .
the phase correlation of the @xmath0-band condensate has contributions from both the discrete color variables @xmath85 and the @xmath1 phases @xmath62 . at the classic level , it is dominated by the color correlations at low temperatures in which the gapped excitations of defects can be neglected .
for all the defect - free configurations , the partition functions for thermal phase fluctuations are identical , and thus the color correlations of @xmath85 and phase fluctuations of @xmath62 are decoupled . in 3d , there exists a long - range - order for the @xmath1 phase @xmath62 below a critical temperature @xmath86 .
consequently , up to a temperature - dependent factor , the correlations of phases @xmath87 are just described by the color correlations . ] the residual entropy of the above 4-coloring model can be computed using a method similar to the pauling estimation for the degeneracy of water ice @xcite .
consider a given site on the diamond lattice , there is a total of @xmath88 different colorings for the four bonds attached to it .
only @xmath89 out of the @xmath88 coloring schemes satisfy the color constraint .
treating the constraints imposed by different sites as independent , the number of degenerate ground states is @xmath90 , where @xmath91 is the number of nearest - neighbor bonds and @xmath92 is the number of sites on the diamond lattice .
this estimation gives an entropy density : @xmath93 .
since the 4-coloring model on diamond lattice can be mapped to an antiferromagnetic potts model on pyrochlore with infinite nearest - neighbor couplings @xcite , the residual entropy can also be estimated numerically with the aid of monte carlo simulations .
the numerically obtained @xmath94 is very close to the pauling estimation . on a system with linear size @xmath95 in the ground state .
the inset in ( a ) shows the four unit vectors @xmath96 ( @xmath97 ) used in the definition of the emergent magnetic fields .
( b ) phase correlation vs linear system size @xmath98 . here
@xmath99 denotes the color correlation between two points separated by @xmath100 in a finite lattice containing @xmath101 cubic unit cells .
the inset shows the probability distribution @xmath102 of flippable loop lengths in the critical phase obtained from simulations on a @xmath103 lattice . [
fig : simulation ] ] _ critical superfluid phase in 3d_. we now investigate the phase correlations of the superfluid wavefunction in the degenerate manifold . to this end
, we employ monte carlo simulations with non - local loop updates to efficiently navigate the 4-coloring manifold @xcite . in each loop update ,
two sites are chosen randomly in a given state of the manifold .
these two sites will necessarily be of different color , say * r * and * b*. with periodic boundary conditions , a * rb*-colored loop containing the two chosen sites is uniquely determined . by exchanging colors * r * and * b * over the length of the loop , the non - local update results in a new state as all the color constraints remain satisfied .
since all the microstates have equal statistical weight , loop updates of all lengths and colors are accepted in order to satisfy detailed balance .
the probability distribution of loop length @xmath104 shown in the inset of fig .
[ fig : simulation](b ) exhibits a power - law behavior @xmath105 for short loops , indicating a lack of length scales in the degenerate manifold .
the @xmath104-independent regime at large loop lengths is due to winding loops in a finite system with periodic boundary conditions @xcite .
we then employ the above loop - update monte carlo simulations to investigate the correlations between the superfluid phases at different bonds : @xmath106 , where @xmath107 , and the bond label @xmath108 . as discussed above , since the global @xmath1 symmetry is broken below the critical temperature @xmath86 , the phase fluctuations are mainly governed by the correlations of the color variables @xmath109 via eq .
( [ eq : phase ] ) . by averaging over @xmath110 allowed coloring configurations generated by the loop algorithm in a @xmath95 lattice , we find a phase correlation @xmath111 , shown in fig . [
fig : simulation](a ) , that falls off rapidly beyond a few nearest - neighbor distances , indicating a color - disordered phase .
remarkably , the correlation function exhibits a power - law decay @xmath112 at long distances , as demonstrated in our large - scale monte carlo simulations with number of bonds up to @xmath113 ; see fig .
[ fig : simulation](b ) .
this novel phase thus provides a rare example of critical superfluid phase with algebraic order in three dimensions .
although this phase is similar to the well known kosterlitz - thouless ( kt ) phase in 2d , the critical correlations in our case originate from the orbital frustration instead of thermal or quantum fluctuations as in the kt scenario . _ emergent coulomb phase .
_ the critical correlations of the @xmath0-band superfluid phases can be traced to the non - trivial local ordering imposed by the color constraints .
similar to the case of dimer or spin - ice models @xcite , these local constraints can be mapped to a conservation law of effective magnetic fluxes in the continuum approximation . to this end , we first introduce four unit vectors @xmath96 ( @xmath114 ) pointing toward different corners of a regular tetrahedron [ inset of fig . [
fig : simulation](a ) ] to represent the four different coloring .
we can then construct three ` magnetic ' fields , each corresponds to a component of the @xmath115 vectors , at the diamond sites : @xmath116 where @xmath32 , and @xmath13 denotes the nearest - neighbor bond direction . in the coarse - grained approximation ,
the color constraint that the four color variables @xmath117 around a given site @xmath55 assume different values translates to a divergence constraint @xmath118 for the magnetic fields .
the effective free energy of the ground - state manifold arises entirely from entropy and has the form of the magnetostatic theory with three independent flux fields @xmath119 \propto\sum_{\alpha}\int d^3\mathbf r \left|\mathbf b^{\alpha}(\mathbf r)\right|^2 .
$ ] essentially , it states that the partition function is dominated by microstates characterized by @xmath120 .
this is due to a large number of flippable loops in such states .
although superficially @xmath121 describes gaussian fluctuations of the magnetic fields , the divergence - free constraint in momentum space @xmath122 indicates that only transverse fluctuations are allowed .
consequently , the correct correlators are obtained by projecting out the longitudinal fluctuations .
the asymptotic field correlators in real - space has the famous dipolar form @xmath123 characteristic of a coulomb phase @xcite , which is confirmed in our monte carlo simulations ; see fig .
[ fig : simulation](d ) . in terms of the flux fields ,
the orbital angular momentum can be expressed as @xmath124 , where the two components @xmath125 depend on the particular mapping between phases and colors .
the correlation function of angular momentum thus exhibits a power - law @xmath126 decay in the degenerate manifold . _
four - boson condensate superfluid order_. while the critical phase described above does not have a single - boson long - range superfluid order , there is a four - boson condensate order in this phase as the relative phase differences among * r * , * g * , * b * , and * y * are integer multiples of @xmath127 .
contrary to other reported multi - boson superfluid order @xcite which arises from the interplay of attractive interactions and disordering fluctuations , the four - boson condensate in our case originates from the frustrated inter - site phase coherence , i.e. the kinetic energy , which is in turn induced by the anisotropic orbital hopping and geometrical frustration . and the corresponding 4-color configuration .
the orbital moments @xmath59 on the two sublattices ( labeled by dark and cyan balls ) are antiparallel to each other .
( b ) shows the band structure of the bogoliubov quasiparticles in the orbital nel state ( @xmath128 ) .
[ fig : neel - l ] ] _ quantum order - by - disorder_. the extensive classical degeneracy of the 4-coloring manifold is removed by quantum fluctuations at the lowest temperatures . here
we consider the effects of zero - point motion energy of elementary excitations in different 4-color states . to this end
, we first restrict ourselves to long - range orders with a large extended cubic unit cell containing 64 sites .
this set of states include potential orderings with high - symmetry wavevectors such as the @xmath129 , @xmath130 , or @xmath98 points .
we then consider fluctuations around the condensate wavefunction : @xmath131 .
the quasiparticle spectrum @xmath132 is then obtained by the standard bogoliubov analysis @xcite . by performing simulated annealing simulations to minimize the zero - point motion energy @xmath133
, we find the state with a staggered arrangement of the orbital moments @xmath59 shown in fig .
[ fig : neel - l](a ) is favored by quantum fluctuations .
the band structure of the bogoliubov quasiparticles in this orbital nel state is shown in fig .
[ fig : neel - l](b ) .
the explicit orbital wavefunctions on the two sublattices are given by @xmath134 ( up to an arbitrary @xmath1 phase ) for the state shown in fig .
[ fig : neel - l](a ) . here
the ordering wavevector @xmath135 and @xmath72 is the particle density per site .
the corresponding orbital moments @xmath136 are uniform within the same sublattice ( a @xmath137 ordering ) , with the moments of the two sublattices antiparallel to each other .
the long - range ordering induced by quantum fluctuations occurs in both the diagonal and off - diagonal channels , in other words , the ( single - boson ) superfluid phase ordering and the orbital angular momementum ordering coexist .
it is worth noting that since the four - boson off - diagonal order is not due to attractive interaction , there is no threshold ( e.g. overcoming a color - disordering gap ) for the quantum order - by - disorder mechanism to lift the degeneracy and select the ordered state shown in fig . [ fig : neel - l](a ) . _
conclusion_. we have studied a diamond - lattice four - coloring model which describes the frustrated couplings between the superfluid phase degrees of freedom for @xmath0-band bose - einstein condensates in the diamond lattice .
we have also shown that the ground states of the 4-coloring model is macroscopically degenerate and is described by an effective magnetostatics theory with three independent flux fields . both color and orbital angular momentum correlations decay algebraically in this emergent coulomb phase .
interestingly , point defects violating the color constraints carry `` magnetic '' charges associated with two of the three flux fields . a future direction of study is to explore the kinematics and dynamics of these novel quasiparticles .
finally , we show that quantum order - by - disorder mechanism lifts the degeneracy and favors nel ordering of the orbital angular moments .
_ acknowledgment .
_ we thank useful discussions with r. moessner , y. li , and zi cai .
g.w.c . acknowledges the support of icam and nsf grant dmr-0844115 .
c.w .
is supported by the nsf dmr-1105945 and the afosr fa9550 - 11 - 1 - 0067(yip ) . _ note added . _ upon completion of this work , we became aware of similar results on the pyrochlore 4-state potts model in ref .
@xcite . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | ) on pyrochlore lattice : entropy @xmath138 and specific heat @xmath139 as a function of temperature @xmath140 ; the energy is measured in units of @xmath141 . fixing the high-@xmath140 entropy density to @xmath142gives a residual @xmath143 .[ fig : potts ] ] here we present a numerical estimate of the residual entropy of the 4-coloring model on the diamond lattice . since the color variables are defined on bonds of the diamond lattice , it is more convenient to consider an equivalent potts model on the pyrochlore lattice whose sites correspond to the bond midpoints in the diamond lattice ; see fig . 1 in the main text .for convenience , we shall use @xmath55 , @xmath144 to denote the diamond sites , and use @xmath145 , @xmath146 for the sites on pyrochlore lattice .a potts variable @xmath147 is assigned to each pyrochlore site such that the corresponding phase is given by @xmath148 , where @xmath149 is the global u(1 ) phase .the constraint that bonds attached to the same vertex have different colors translates to an antiferromagnetic interaction between nearest - neighbor potts variables on the pyrochlore lattice : @xmath150 here the coupling constant @xmath151 .to avoid confusion , we use @xmath152 to label the pyrochlore sites .the hard constraint of the 4-coloring model is recovered in the @xmath153 limit .consider first a single tetrahedron , there are @xmath77 ground states in which the four sites are in different potts states .these correspond to the 24 coloring schemes on a diamond site .the pyrochlore potts model ( [ eq : h - potts ] ) represents an under - constrained system with an extensively degenerate ground state , similar to their two - dimensional counterparts @xcite .the residual entropy of the 4-coloring model can be computed by performing finite temperature monte carlo simulations of the pyrochlore potts model ( [ eq : h - potts ] ) . as shown in fig .[ fig : potts](a ) , by integrating the numerical specific - heat curve and fixing the high-@xmath140 entropy density to @xmath142 ( a potts paramagnet ) , we obtain a zero - temperature entropy density @xmath94 .the degeneracy can also be computed using a method similar to the pauling estimation for the degeneracy of water ice @xcite .consider a single tetrahedron , @xmath154 out of @xmath88 potts configurations satisfy the color constraint .treating the constraints imposed by different tetrahedra as independent , the number of degenerate ground states is @xmath90 , where @xmath91 is the number of potts variables and @xmath92 is the number of tetrahedra ( or diamond sites ) .this estimation gives an entropy density : @xmath93 , which is very close to the numerical value @xmath94 . to map the highly constrained 4-coloring manifold to the emergent flux fields , and to make manifest the analogy with the frustrated spin systems , we consider a heisenberg antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice : @xmath155 here @xmath156 and @xmath157 denotes a classical @xmath158 vector of unit length .the second term represents a special ` tetrahedral ' anisotropy : the function @xmath159 has four degenerate minimum at directions @xmath160 pointing toward different coners of a regular tetrahedron ; see the inset of fig .3(a ) in the main text . in the @xmath161 limit ,hamiltonian ( [ eq : heisenberg ] ) reduces to the potts model as the spins are aligned to the tetrahedral vectors according to @xmath162 , where @xmath109 is the corresponding potts variable at site @xmath145 . the exchange term in ( [ eq : heisenberg ] )can be rewritten as @xmath163 up to an irrelevant constant , where @xmath164 denotes the total spin of a tetrahedron .the ground state of the above spin model is reached when the total spin @xmath165 for all tetrahedra . since the potts variables @xmath109 in any individual tetrahedra assume four different values for a valid 4-coloring configuration on the diamond lattice , and noting that the four @xmath160 vectors sum to zero , we have : @xmath166 for all tetrahedra , indicating the corresponding magnetic state @xmath167 is a ground state of the spin model .we thus establish an one - to - one correspondence between the 4-coloring configuration and the ground states of the spin model .the mapping to the spin model ( [ eq : heisenberg ] ) also allows us to recast the color constraint into a conservation law of effective magnetic flux similar to the case of pyrochlore spin model discussed in refs .we first define three ` magnetic ' fields , each corresponds to a component of the heisenberg spin , on the diamond site @xmath168 here @xmath32 , the summation is over the four nearest - neighbor bond directions @xmath13 , and the pyrochlore site @xmath145 corresponds to the bond @xmath169 in the diamond lattice . since for every tetrahedra in the ground state , there are two @xmath170 and two @xmath171 signs for each component @xmath172 of the four @xmath173 vectors .thus the @xmath174 field for _ each _ spin component @xmath172 corresponds to a two - in - two - out configuration , i.e. the flux fields are conserved in each tetrahedra ( no source or sink ) . in the coarse - grained approximation ,the color constraints @xmath165 translate to a divergence constraint @xmath118 for the magnetic fields @xcite .similar physics has also been studied in josephson junction arrays of unconventional superconductors , see , e.g. j. e. moore , d .- h .lee , phys .b * 69 * , 104511 ( 2004 ) ; c. xu , j. e. moore , nucl . phys .b * 716 * , 487 ( 2005 ) . |
|
x - linked adrenoleukodystrophy ( x - ald ) is a hereditary neurological disorder affecting the nervous system and adrenal cortex .
the phenotype of x - ald ranges from the rapidly progressive cerebral form to milder adrenomyeloneuropathy . however , cerebellar manifestations are rare .
we report a case of adrenoleukodystrophy presenting as progressive cerebellar dysfunction resembling olivopontocerebellar degeneration , with a review of the literature | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | the onset and progression were gradual . over the past year , dysarthria and liquid dysphagia developed and progressed . he had been a problem alcohol drinker for the past 7 years . over the past 3 years one year earlier , he was admitted to a local psychiatric hospital because of abnormal behavior , such as stealing alcohol from a store . he was told that the results of brain magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) performed during that admission were abnormal , but this was not followed up . his elder brother had alopecia and a similar neurological condition , and died at the age of 46 years . he was alert and oriented . gaze - evoked nystagmus was observed in both directions and was worse when looking to the right . a review of the previous brain mri results showed mild brainstem and cerebellar atrophy , with a subtly increased signal intensity in the right middle cerebellar peduncle on fluid attenuated inversion - recovery ( flair ) imaging . the flair images showed symmetric high - intensity signals in the posterior limbs of the internal capsule , right middle cerebellar peduncle , and brachia of the inferior colliculus where it joins the medial geniculate body ( figure 1 ) . complete blood counts , erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( esr ) , urinalysis , plasma electrolytes , and kidney , liver , and thyroid function tests were normal . vitamin b12 was somewhat low at 196 pg / ml ( normal range , 2001,000 pg / ml ) , and the folate level was low at 1.3 ng / ml ( normal range , 315 ng / ml ) . gene tests for spinocerebellar ataxia types 13 , 6 , 7 , and 17 ; dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy ; fragile x syndrome ; and friedreich s ataxia were all negative . the plasma levels of pyruvate , lactic acid , homocysteine , and tumor markers were all normal . the adrenocorticotropic hormone ( acth ) level at 8 a.m. was 90 pg / ml ( normal range , 060 pg / ml ) and the cortisol level was normal at 10.2 g / dl ( normal range , 525 g / dl ) . an adrenocorticotropic hormone ( acth ) a very long - chain fatty acid assay showed a c22 : 0 of 2.565 m / l ( normal , < 1.310 m / l ) , c24 : 0/c22 : 0 of 1.785 ( normal , < 1.390 ) , and c26 : 0/c22 : 0 of 0.114 ( normal , < 0.023 ) . a published classification divides the condition into child - onset cerebral , adolescent - onset cerebral , amn , adult - onset cerebral , addison s disease only , and non - symptomatic ald , based on the onset time and organs involved.1 the most common adult - onset ald is amn . however , rare cases presenting as progressive cerebellar dysfunction have been reported.210 one study analyzed the mri scans of 164 adult - onset ald patients who were classified into four subgroups based on their symptoms and patterns of brain involvement : amn with normal brain , amn with brain abnormalities limited to the long tract ( almn i ) , amn with diffuse lobar cerebral involvement ( almn ii ) , and adult - onset cerebral ald.11 our patient had progressive cerebellar ataxia . on mri , demyelination lesions were observed in the cerebellar white matter , including the dentate nuclei and right cerebellar peduncle , posterior limbs of both internal capsules , and auditory pathway . there is a report of a patient who had clinical symptoms similar to our case , and that patient was classified as almn i , or somewhere between almn i and ii.9 in another case of adult - onset ald showing slowly developing gait ataxia over 7 years , demyelination lesions were observed in the dentate nucleus , middle cerebellar peduncle , decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncles , and posterior limbs of both internal capsules on brain mri ; two years later , new white matter lesions were seen in the right frontal lobe , left occipital lobe , and both temporal lobes on brain mri.2 the brain mri findings in other cases of ald presenting as progressive cerebellar dysfunction are summarized in table 1 . our patient had a history of alcohol abuse , aggression , and abnormal behavior before the onset of cerebellar ataxia . preceding psychiatric symptoms have often been reported in adult - onset ald . in a review of 109 cases of ald , six cases presented after the age of 20 years , and four patients had psychiatric symptoms at the time of presentation.12 among 34 adult - onset ald cases , 19 ( 56% ) were reported to have psychiatric symptoms.13 in 13 of these cases , the psychiatric symptoms were assessed relatively thoroughly , and eight cases showed changes in behavior and character . these symptoms appeared between 2 months and 8 years before the onset of other neurological symptoms . of the 13 patients , 12 were reported to have bipolar disorder , including disinhibition and emotional lability , with two of them reported to abuse alcohol or other substances.13 when brain mri shows brainstem and cerebellar atrophy and demyelination lesions along the long tracts , the possibility of ald should be considered . accompanying adrenal insufficiency may be an important clue , but 30% of adult - onset ald cases have normal adrenal function.14 hyperpigmentation of the skin , alopecia , and prior psychotic symptoms are further clues to the diagnosis of ald . |
|
– Who knew a walk through a pumpkin patch could be so perilous? A visitor to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, tried to take a selfie inside Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's mirrored room full of more than 60 spotted glass pumpkin sculptures over the weekend and fell into one, reports the New York Observer. Luckily, the museum says the glowing pumpkin in the "infinity room"—dubbed "All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins"—only "sustained minor damage" and explains the cost of replacing an individual pumpkin is "negligible." However, "the room was closed temporarily" and "will have increased security and visitor services staff" when it reopens at a later date. ArtNet News notes that a 4-foot-tall pumpkin sculpture by Kusama sold for $784,485 at auction in 2015 It's possible the guest was distracted and failed to notice the low, transparent barrier along a narrow pathway inside the room, which permits only a few people at a time, reports Hyperallergic. It's also possible the visitor was in a rush. Museumgoers are allowed in the pumpkin room for only 30 seconds due to the high popularity of the exhibit, which opened last week and includes six infinity rooms, each making use of mirrors to give the impression that the room has no end. The Hirshhorn describes the exhibit as an "unforgettable sensory journey through the mind and legacy of one of the world's most popular artists" and "one of 2017's essential art experiences." (A selfie damaged a 300-year-old statue.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Mirrors, selfies and pumpkin patches don’t mix. Just ask the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., where, over the weekend, a visitor trying to snap a pic apparently tripped and fell, smashing a ceramic glowing pumpkin art work. A similar, standalone piece is worth almost $800,000, according to Artnet. The crushed sculpture is part of Japanese feminist artist Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrors,” open since last Friday at the Hirschhorn, and consisting of a series of mirrored, polka-dotted installations that have captivated the art world and everyday Instagrammers alike. The snafu has left the room, “Infinity Mirrored Room — All the Eternal Love I have for the Pumpkins,” which is Kusama’s most recent “infinity room,” closed for the time being, according to Hyperallergic. When it reopens there will be an increased staff presence, a spokesperson for the museum told the website. The small rooms of the “Infinity Mirrors” show had already resulted in the museum’s first ever use of staggered entry, as the institution anticipated high demand for the very popular artist. There’s only space for a maximum of three people to experience each room at any given time. It does not appear that any charges will be filed against the un-named pumpkin smasher. ||||| Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors is a celebration of the legendary Japanese artist’s sixty-five-year career and promises to be one of 2017s essential art experiences. Visitors will have the unprecedented opportunity to discover six of Kusama’s captivating Infinity Mirror Rooms alongside a selection of her other key works, including a number of paintings from her most recent series My Eternal Soul that have never been shown in the US. From her radical performances in the 1960s, when she staged underground polka dot “Happenings” on the streets of New York, to her latest Infinity Mirror Room, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, 2016, the Hirshhorn exhibition will showcase Kusama’s full range of talent for the first time in Washington, DC. Don’t miss this unforgettable sensory journey through the mind and legacy of one of the world’s most popular artists. ||||| According to museum visitors, someone attempting to take a selfie in Yayoi Kusama’s newest mirror room fell into the gleaming patch of pumpkin sculptures and broke one of them. We’re less than a week into the selfie wonderland that is Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition Infinity Mirrors at the Hirshhorn Museum, and the inevitable has already happened. Over the weekend, according to visitors, someone attempting to take a selfie in the artist’s newest mirror room, “Infinity Mirrored Room — All the Eternal Love I have for the Pumpkins” (2016),” fell into the gleaming patch of pumpkin sculptures and broke one of the spotted glass works. Museum spokesperson Allison Peck confirmed the incident in an email, telling Hyperallergic that “a piece … sustained minor damage and the room was closed temporarily.” The Hirshhorn’s experts have since evaluated the work, and the room remains off limits, although it will reopen shortly. In the meantime, we suggest the museum just loop the Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. “We take great care of our artwork, and also place a great deal of trust in our visitors, providing clear instructions at the entry for each room,” Peck wrote. “When the room reopens, it will have increased security and visitor services staff.” Like all of Kusama’s mirror rooms, this yellow and black one is designed to hold just one to three visitors at a time, who may hang out inside up to a mere 30 seconds. It features just a narrow walkway as well as low, transparent barriers, which, in this unfortunate instance, perhaps did more harm than help. The installation’s closure brings the number of mirror rooms in the exhibition down to five now — which is still plenty to photograph and get you all the Instagram likes you need. Update, 2/28: The New York Times reported that the installation reopened today and that Kusama is arranging for a replacement pumpkin to arrive in a few weeks. ||||| Two things are closely associated with superstar artist Yayoi Kusama: pumpkins and selfies. Selfies are also closely associated with accidents, since budding photographers at galleries and museums are often distracted by their screens. Just think of the man who destroyed a century-old sculpture in Lisbon and the Italian student who broke an early 19th-century sculpture while sitting in its lap for a photo op. Well, now Kusama, pumpkins, and selfie accidents have all come together at “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors,” which opened February 23 at Washington, DC’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The accident took place in her infinity room, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins (2016), when a visitor lost his footing while inside the mind-bending mirrored room, which is filled with bright yellow polka-dotted gourds. (A four-foot-high sculpture of one of her polka-dotted gourds went for $784,485 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in October 2015, according to the artnet Price Database.) A work in the installation “sustained minor damage and the room was closed temporarily,” Allison Peck, the interim director of communications and marketing at the museum, confirmed to artnet News via email. However, would-be visitors shouldn’t fret too much. “It was evaluated by the Hirshhorn’s experts and it will reopen soon,” Peck assured artnet News. “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” will be on view at the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden through May 14, 2017. It will then appear at the Seattle Art Museum, June–September 2017; the Broad Museum, October 2017–January 2018; the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, March 3–May 27, 2018; and the Cleveland Museum of Art, July–October 2018. Follow artnet News on Facebook: |
|
– This month, the man behind a $100 million "charity" scam was finally convicted on 23 felony counts. But "the most outrageous aspect of the case is that much of what [John Donald] Cody did was probably legal, or at least not specifically illegal," writes Ken Stern in the New York Times. Cody's US Navy Veterans Association purported to help needy Navy vets, but much of the millions raised over eight years stayed with the for-profit telemarketers who brought it in from unsuspecting donors. The rest went to Cody and various lawmakers, and the whole thing unraveled only because two reporters started investigating. Yet, outrageous though it may seem, "the alleged fraud was not that very, very little money ever went to Navy veterans," Stern writes. Rather, it stemmed from things like Cody filing registration documents with false information. "The irony is that he could have accomplished virtually his entire enrichment scheme without ever violating the law—and others have figured that out." The IRS simply doesn't have enough staff to adequately regulate the charitable sector, and neither do state and local authorities. (Indeed, the IRS actually audited the Navy Veterans charity in 2008 and found nothing amiss.) That's why donors need to do their homework before giving, by first checking sources like GiveWell to find worthy organizations. Click for Stern's full column. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | WASHINGTON — BY all outward indications, the U.S. Navy Veterans Association was a leader in the charitable community. Founded in 2002 to provide support to Navy veterans in need, the charity recorded astonishing financial success. In its first eight years, it raised around $100 million in charitable contributions, almost all of it through a direct marketing campaign. The organization, headed by Jack L. Nimitz, boasted of 41 state chapters and some 66,000 members. This would be a great story of charitable success, except for the fact that virtually everything about the association turned out to be false: no state chapters, no members, no leader with the name redolent of naval history. Instead, there was one guy: a man calling himself Bobby Thompson who worked from a duplex across the street from the Cuesta-Rey cigar factory in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa. But the money raised was real enough, generated by a series of for-profit telemarketers. The victims, by and large, were unsuspecting small-money donors who received urgent solicitations asking for support for needy naval veterans. Most of the money raised stayed with the fund-raisers, though plenty apparently dripped through to Mr. Thompson and a succession of Republican lawmakers who received generous contributions from the association’s political arm. But little ever made it to the intended beneficiaries. In 2010, the scheme was unwound by two reporters for what is now The Tampa Bay Times, but not before Mr. Thompson had fled the state of Florida. From June 2010, Mr. Thompson was on the run, the search for him hamstrung by the fact that no one had any real idea of who he was. Finally, on April 30, 2012, federal marshals tracked him down in Portland, Ore., finding him with a card to a storage unit containing $981,650 in cash and almost two dozen fake identity cards. Earlier this month in Ohio, where the charity’s registration documents had been filed, the man arrested as Bobby Thompson was convicted on 23 felony counts, including fraud, theft and money laundering. Authorities have identified him as John Donald Cody, a former Army intelligence officer and Harvard Law graduate. Given its sensational facts, the case has drawn more attention than your average matter in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. But the story is worth paying attention to for a more important reason, if we want to prevent more Bobby Thompsons in our future. The most outrageous aspect of the case is that much of what Mr. Cody did was probably legal, or at least not specifically illegal. The principal beneficiaries were always the association’s for-profit fund-raisers. During the trial, one of them, Thomas Berkenbush of Community Support Inc., testified, apparently without fear of legal repercussions, that his company had kept 90 percent of the donations as a fund-raising charge. That, in and of itself, isn’t criminal. The alleged fraud was not that very, very little money ever went to Navy veterans. In fact, the fund-raising explicitly stated that a large portion of donations would go to cover telemarketing and other costs. Mr. Cody ran afoul of the law because he filed registration documents that contained false statements, because he stole the identity of the real Bobby Thompson, and because he pulled money from organizational accounts for his personal use. The irony is that he could have accomplished virtually his entire enrichment scheme without ever violating the law — and others have figured that out. The I.R.S.’s Exempt Organizations Division, which is responsible for supervising the charitable sector, is chronically understaffed. It can’t do much more than process the routine and voluminous reporting of the more than 1.5 million American nonprofits, and keep up with the tens of thousands of applications filed each year to start new charities. State and local authorities are in no better shape. Joel L. Fleishman, a professor of public policy at Duke, estimates that there are fewer than 100 full-time state charity regulators, far too few to exercise any real oversight. In the Navy Veterans case, amazingly, the I.R.S. did undertake one of its rare field audits. And yet, despite the fact that the main office was a trailer, its state offices were empty lots or postal drops, and its board of directors and C.E.O. a total fiction, the I.R.S. in 2008 gave the association a “clean bill of health.” It wasn’t until the two reporters came sniffing — first curious about the political contributions and subsequently intrigued by Mr. Thompson’s obvious dissembling — that the real story began to emerge. When it comes to frauds like these, it is neither the law nor the regulators that are the best line of defense; it will always be the careful application of caveat emptor by potential donors. This isn’t easy: there are approximately 59,000 charities in this country with the word “veterans” in their names. Only a few people can claim the expertise to say which are the best, let alone which are trustworthy. As we enter the annual giving season, donors should look to sources like the GiveWell website to find organizations with a track record of effectiveness. Seeking them out — instead of donating to charities that are first to call or that sound familiar or that we’ve heard are good — is the only way to ensure that money reaches those in need. ||||| Our Top Charities We recommend few charities by design, because we see ourselves as a finder of great giving opportunities rather than a charity evaluator. In other words, we're not seeking to classify large numbers of charities as "good" or "bad"; our mission is solely to identify, and thoroughly investigate, the best. Read about our charity selection process and where we currently recommend that donors give. |
|
in the wimp scenario , there is a one - to - one relation between the dark matter ( dm ) relic density and spin independent direct detection rate if both the annihilation of dm and its elastic scattering on nuclei go dominantly through higgs exchange . in particular , for dm masses much smaller than the higgs boson mass , the ratio of the relevant cross sections depends only on the dm mass . assuming dm mass and direct detection rate within the ranges allowed by the recent dama collaboration results taking account of the channelling effect on energy threshold and the null results of the other direct detection experiments gives a definite range for the relic density . for scalar dm models , like the higgs portal models or the inert doublet model
, the relic density range turns out to be in agreement with wmap .
this scenario implies that the higgs boson has a large branching ratio to pairs of dm particles , a prediction which might challenge its search at the lhc .
the dama collaboration has recently provided evidence for an annual modulation of the rate of nuclear recoils in their detector @xcite , confirming at a firmer level their previous results @xcite .
taking into account the null results of the other direct dark matter ( dm ) detection experiments @xcite and the recently discovered channelling effect on the threshold energy in dama , points towards a nuclear recoil due to dark matter - nucleon elastic scatterings , with a spin independent ( si ) cross section in the range ( see @xcite ) @xmath0 and dark matter mass in the range @xmath1 these results have been already the object of various studies in specific models @xcite . in this short letter , working in the wimp framework which assumes a dm relic density determined by the thermal freeze - out of dm annihilation , we emphasize the importance of higgs exchange diagrams for dm mass in the range of ( [ mass ] ) .
if the dm candidate is light , there is a limited number of possible ( 2-body ) annihilation channels to sm particles , _
i.e. _ to @xmath2 quark pairs , to lepton pairs and to photon pairs . depending on the model this can be done at tree or loop level in various ways .
annihilations through the sm z boson may be excluded right away for it would imply that dark matter contributes to the z invisible width @xcite .
the next simplest possibility at tree level is annihilation of dark matter into fermions through the brout - englert - higgs ( higgs for short ) in the s - channel , as in the diagram of fig.1.a . in this case , only @xmath3 , @xmath4 and @xmath5 annihilations are relevant , since all other sm fermions have small yukawa couplings . from the very same coupling between dm and the higgs ,
si elastic scattering is induced through a higgs in the t - channel , fig.1.b . for the inert doublet model ( idm ) , a two higgs model extension of the standard model with a scalar dark matter candidate @xcite , and _ a fortiori _ for a singlet scalar dm candidate @xcite , the channels of fig.1 are the only possible non - negligible ones in the range of ( [ mass ] ) . in more sophisticated models , such as with the neutralino dm candidate of the mssm , these channels coexist _ a priori _ with many other channels , in particular with other intermediate higgs scalar particle or squarks channels @xcite .
both processes in fig.1 are tightly related .
the higgs boson mass dependence is the same , @xmath6 , because in both cases the momentum of the higgs is negligible compared with @xmath7 .
furthermore the dependence in the unknown dm - dm-@xmath8 coupling is the same .
this means that , up to uncertainties in the yukawa couplings of the sm fermions and in the higgs to nucleon coupling , the only left parameter is the mass of the dark matter .
this dependence is however limited if we take the dm mass within the range ( [ mass ] ) .
in other words , if higgs mediated processes are dominant , the ratio of the cross sections corresponding to the processus of fig.1 is essentially fixed in any model and there is a one - to - one relation between annihilation and direct detection .
this has been pointed out for the case of scalar singlet dm in ref .
@xcite .
the ratio may however be different in different models . to see this and to inquire whether any model may be in agreement with observations , we consider two simple scenarios , respectively with a scalar and a fermionic dark matter candidate .
for a scalar dark matter candidate , the simplest possibility is to introduce one real scalar singlet @xmath9 , odd under a @xmath10 symmetry @xcite , like in the so - called higgs portal framework @xcite . in full generality the four following renormalizable terms may be added to the sm lagrangian : @xmath11 with @xmath12 the higgs doublet .
the mass of @xmath9 is thus given by @xmath13 where @xmath14 gev .
in this model the sole coupling which allows @xmath9 to annihilate into sm particles and to interact with nuclei is @xmath15 . for the annihilation cross section , the elastic scattering cross section ( normalized to one nucleon ) and the ratio , we obtain @xmath16 where @xmath17 for quarks ( leptons )
, @xmath18 is the centre of mass relative velocity between both @xmath9 and @xmath19 is the nucleon - dm reduced mass .
the factor @xmath20 parametrizes the higgs to nucleons coupling from the trace anomaly , @xmath21 . from the results quoted in ref .
@xcite , we take @xmath22 as central value , and vary it within the rather wide range @xmath23 . as for the yukawa couplings , @xmath24
, we consider the pole masses @xmath25 gev , @xmath26 gev and @xmath27 gev ( we neglect the effects of the running of the yukawa couplings which are expected quite moderate ) . within the wimp scenario , one needs @xmath28 to have the right dark matter abundance . therefore using eq.([si ] ) , the ratio required by data is @xmath29 .
this has to be compared with the value of @xmath30 obtained from eq .
( [ ratios ] ) .
fig.2 gives both ratios as a function of @xmath31 , requiring that the relic density with respect to the critical density obtained is within the wmap density range @xmath32 @xcite , and that @xmath33 and @xmath31 are in the dama region allowed by other direct detection experiments , see fig . 1 of ref .
@xcite ( taking into account the channelling effect ) .
as @xmath30 scales approximately as @xmath34 for @xmath35 , it is remarkable that both values of @xmath30 coincide around the dama dm mass region .
the relic abundances are computed using micromegas @xcite , the freeze - out temperature is @xmath36 mev @xmath37 mev for dm mass in the range of ( [ mass ] ) . the qcd phase transition is expected to take place around @xmath38 mev ( see for instance @xcite ) and , consequently , for calculation of the dm abundance for dm masses as low as say @xmath39 gev we should take into account the change in the expansion rate of the universe which results from the variation in number of degrees of freedom that occurs when quarks and gluons become confined in light mesons .
this effect might increase the abundance by a factor of o(2 ) ( see for instance @xcite ) .
such an increase could be compensated by an increase of @xmath15 by a factor of @xmath40 and this , in turn , would require a decrease of the parameter @xmath20 by the same factor .
as fig.2 shows , this may be easily accommodated given the uncertainty on @xmath20 .
however , since micromegas does not take into account the qcd phase transition for the calculation of abundances , strictly speaking we are assuming here that @xmath41 is below @xmath42 mev . ] .
this can also be seen in fig .
3 which gives the regions of @xmath31 and @xmath15 ( for @xmath43 gev ) consistent with wmap and the same direct detection constraints .
both regions nicely overlap .
the corresponding values of the si elastic cross section can be read off from fig.4 .
for the central value @xmath22 the overlap region covers the @xmath44-@xmath45 gev range while for @xmath46 regions overlap for @xmath31 between @xmath47 gev and @xmath48 gev . for @xmath20
smaller than @xmath49 there is no overlap region . for a fixed value of @xmath31 , a smaller @xmath20 gives a smaller detection rate .
this might be compensated by a larger higgs - dm coupling @xmath15 , but then at the expense of a smaller relic abundance . in figs.2 - 4
we used @xmath50 gev but agreement may be obtained for other higgs boson mass provided the ratio @xmath51 is kept fixed .
typically the required value is @xmath52 gev@xmath53 . to keep the result perturbative , @xmath54
, we need that @xmath55 gev .
since all the parameters are fixed , or strongly constrained , we may also make some definitive predictions regarding possible indirect detection of dm , in particular through gamma rays from annihilation of dm at the galactic centre .
the mass of ( [ mass ] ) puts the dm candidate in the energy range of egret data and of the forthcoming one of glast .
fig.5 shows the predicted flux of gamma rays from the galactic centre for a sample of scalar dm with parameters which are consistent with dama and wmap .
egret data @xcite are also shown .
it is interesting that the predicted flux is of the order of magnitude of the observed flux at the lowest energies that have been probed by egret .
actually , the predicted flux may even be larger than the observed one for some set of parameters .
we have however refrained from putting constraints on the model parameters , given the large uncertainties on the abundance of dark matter at the centre of the galaxy . here
we assume a mundane nfw profile @xcite , as in @xcite .
similar predictions regarding the gamma flux , for a different model compatible with dama , have been done in @xcite .
a number of remarks are now in order .
first of all , we should keep in mind that the parameter fit to detection data depends on precise assumptions on the abundance and velocity of the distribution of dark matter in our neighbourhood ( see _ e.g. _ @xcite ) .
also , the cosmic relic abundance is obtained assuming a mundane , radiation dominated expansion of the universe .
these are conservative but well motivated options .
however relaxing either one or the other would give other predictions and would likely jeopardize the model . on the experimental side ,
it is to be seen if the intriguing results of dama will survive the test of time and will be eventually confirmed by other si experiments , like cresst ( see _ i.e. _ the discussion in @xcite ) .
further confirmation of the channeling effect in the regime studied by dama would also be useful . without channeling ,
there is no region allowed by all experiments .. regarding sd detectors , as there are no ( non - negligible ) spin dependent ( sd ) interactions in the higgs exchange scenario , no signal should be expected .
on the theoretical side , we definitely wish we had a better determination of the form factor @xmath20 in the higgs - nucleon effective coupling ( see the discussion above ) . also on the theoretical side , inspection of fig .
3 and 4 reveals that substantial tuning is necessary to obtain agreement with dama data , as one needs a quite large si cross section . as already emphasized in @xcite
( see also @xcite for a singlet and @xcite for the idm ) the cross section of a scalar dm candidate is typically small , @xmath56 , below the range of all the existing direct detection experiments . for it to be observable in dama
requires a large , albeit still perturbative coupling @xmath57 between the dm and the higgs .
, stability of the potential ( [ lag ] ) imposes that @xmath58 and @xmath59 , where @xmath60 is the higgs quartic coupling @xcite , conditions which are easely to satisfy for the parameter range we consider .
similar constraints hold for the inert doublet model @xcite ] simultaneously , to keep the dm mass within the range ( [ mass ] ) requires a cancellation between both terms in eq .
( [ masss ] ) at the per cent level , roughly .
this , in our opinion , is not unbearable . nor is it suprising , given the very minimal number of parameters of the model .
taken at face value , it implies a close connection between dm and the higgs sector , thus with the mechanism at the origin of electroweak symmetry breaking .
this brings us to one immediate , striking consequence of such dm models . a large coupling to the higgs leads to a large higgs boson decay rate to a scalar dm pair @xcite .
for example for @xmath61 gev , @xmath62 and for a higgs of mass 120 gev we get the branching ratio @xmath63 , while for @xmath64 gev and @xmath65 we get @xmath66 .
this reduces the visible branching ratio accordingly , rendering the higgs boson basically invisible at lhc for @xmath50 gev , except possibly for many years of high luminosity data taking .
such a dominance of the invisible dm channel is a clear prediction of the framework , although a challenging one for experimentalists for low value of @xmath7 ( see @xcite for strategies to search an invisible higgs at the lhc ) .
we now would like to emphasize that the results discussed here apply for any scalar dark matter model for which annihilation and si scattering cross sections would be dominated by the diagrams of fig . 1 .
a simple such an instance is the idm , in which case the dm candidate is the lightest component of a scalar doublet , odd under a @xmath10 symmetry .
all the results above hold , provided one identifies the appropriate parameters . using the notations of @xcite for instance , we get the same abundances and si cross section in the dama range , figs . 2 - 4 ,
provided one replaces @xmath67 , @xmath68 and @xmath69 .
one just has to make sure that the extra components of the doublets , noted @xmath70 and @xmath71 , are heavy enough . in practice
, this means that we need @xmath72 so as not to contribute to the @xmath73 invisible decay width .
this simultaneoulsy kills the possibility of sizable co - annihilation of @xmath74 with @xmath70 in the early universe or elastic scattering in detectors through a @xmath73 channel .
as we consider @xmath75 in the range ( [ mass ] ) , @xmath76 .
furthermore we need to preclude large radiative corrections to the @xmath73 and @xmath77 bosons , and in particular to the @xmath78 parameter ( see the discussion in @xcite ) . within the idm ,
this may be obtained naturally as there is a global custodial symmetry if @xmath79 , in which case the contribution of the extra scalar doublet to @xmath78 vanishes ( see @xcite and the discussion in @xcite ) .
of course , the extra heavy degrees of freedom @xmath70 and @xmath71 might show up eventually in high energy collisions @xcite , something in which the idm differs from the simpler singlet scalar model . for the sake of comparison with the scalar dm case discussed above , we now briefly consider the case of singlet dirac and majorana fermionic dm candidates . in the former case
, we consider the lagrangian @xmath80 the higgs - dm coupling may arise from the non - renormalizable operator @xmath81 , so that @xmath82 , and the mass of @xmath83 is @xmath84 ( for similar models see _ i.e. _ @xcite ) . for the annihilation and direct detection cross sections we get @xmath85 both the cross sections and the ratio have different parametric dependence compared to the dm scalar case , eqs .
( [ sigmasannih])-([ratios ] ) . keeping all things constant
, the si independent cross section is smaller by a factor of @xmath86 .
also , assuming perturbative values of the coupling @xmath87 , the abundance of dark matter is way larger than the critical density [ for parameters consistent with ( [ si ] ) and ( [ mass ] ) ] because of the extra small factor @xmath88 in the annihilation cross - section compared to the scalar dm case .
the origin of this suppression is well - known ( see _ e.g. _ @xcite ) .
it results from the fact that a fermion - antifermion pair in a s - wave is a cp odd state and can not annihilate into a scalar , like the higgs .
hence the annihilation is both p - wave , @xmath89 , and helicity suppressed , @xmath90 .
similar conclusions hold for the majorana case . in these fermion cases other channels than higgs exchange
must necessarily be present in order to match the wmap and dama observations , as for instance is the case in the mssm ( see the recent discussion of @xcite ) . before concluding ,
let us raise that the scenario discussed here does not shed light on the baryon - dark matter coincidence problem , @xmath91 .
if the dark matter mass is in the range ( [ mass ] ) , there is roughly one dark matter particle per baryon in the universe , @xmath92 , a result which suggests a deeper connection between ordinary and dark matters .
a few models have been proposed to naturally explain this coincidence ( see _ e.g. _ @xcite ) .
they tend to be sophisticated in comparison with the model discussed here and , to our knowledge , they also tend to have cross sections for scattering of dark matter with nuclei that are much below the sensitivity of existing and forthcoming detectors . in conclusion
, we have discussed the possible relevance of higgs exchange for wimp in dama mass and si cross section ranges , leading to a one - to - one relation between the relic density and si direct detection rate .
we have emphasized that for scalar dark matter this relation is in agreement with data , provided higgs exchange is the dominant channel in both annihilation and si cross sections .
we have illustrated this through a singlet real scalar and the inert doublet model , where it is naturally realized .
these models are very simple , give definitive predictions including for the lhc and might be falsifiable within a foreseeable future . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | we thank jean - marie frre for stimulating discussions .one of us ( s.a . ) thanks michael krmer .this work is supported by the fnrs , the iisn and the belgian federal science policy ( iap vi/11 ) .preprint ulb - th/08 - 27 .d. s. akerib _ et al . _[ cdms collaboration ] , phys .d * 68 * , 082002 ( 2003 ) [ arxiv : hep - ex/0306001 ] ; z. ahmed _ et al ._ [ cdms collaboration ] , arxiv:0802.3530 [ astro - ph ] ; d. s. akerib _ et al . _ [ cdms collaboration ] , phys . rev .lett . * 96 * , 011302 ( 2006 ) [ arxiv : astro - ph/0509259 ] ; j. angle _ et al ._ [ xenon collaboration ] , phys .lett . * 100 * , 021303 ( 2008 ) [ arxiv:0706.0039 [ astro - ph ] ] .f. petriello and k. m. zurek , arxiv:0806.3989 [ hep - ph ] .r. foot , arxiv:0804.4518 [ hep - ph ] .j. l. feng , j. kumar and l. e. strigari , arxiv:0806.3746 [ hep - ph ] .a. bottino , f. donato , n. fornengo and s. scopel , arxiv:0806.4099 [ hep - ph ] .f. t. avignone , r. j. creswick and s. nussinov , arxiv:0807.3758 [ hep - ph ] .j. mcdonald , phys . rev. lett .* 88 * ( 2002 ) 091304 .c. p. burgess , m. pospelov and t. ter veldhuis , nucl .b * 619 * ( 2001 ) 709 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0011335 ] .b. patt and f. wilczek , arxiv : hep - ph/0605188 . k. a. meissner and h. nicolai , phys .b * 648 * ( 2007 ) 312 [ arxiv : hep - th/0612165 ] .v. barger , p. langacker , m. mccaskey , m. j. ramsey - musolf and g. shaughnessy , phys .d * 77 * ( 2008 ) 035005 [ arxiv:0706.4311 [ hep - ph ] ] .j. r. espinosa and m. quiros , phys .d * 76 * ( 2007 ) 076004 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0701145 ] .h. sung cheon , s. k. kang and c. s. kim , jcap * 0805 * ( 2008 ) 004 [ arxiv:0710.2416 [ hep - ph ] ] .pavan , r.a .arndt , i.i .strakovski and r.l .workman , pin newslett .* 16 * ( 2002 ) 110 ; a. bottino , f. donato , n. fornengo and s. scopel , astroparticle physics * 13 * ( 2000 ) 215 ; r. koch , z. phys .* c15 * ( 1982 ) 161 ; j. gasser , h. leutwyler and m.e .sainio , phys . lett .* b253 * ( 1991 ) 260 . j. m. grard and m. herquet , phys .* 98 * ( 2007 ) 251802 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0703051 ] .q. h. cao , e. ma and g. rajasekaran , phys .d * 76 * ( 2007 ) 095011 [ arxiv:0708.2939 [ hep - ph ] ] .h. sung cheon , s. k. kang and c. s. kim , arxiv:0807.0981 [ hep - ph ] . g. jungman , m. kamionkowski and k. griest , phys .rept . * 267 * ( 1996 ) 195 [ arxiv : hep - ph/9506380 ] .d. b. kaplan , phys .* 68 * ( 1992 ) 741 .s. m. barr , phys .d * 44 * ( 1991 ) 3062 .g. r. farrar and g. zaharijas , phys .* 96 * ( 2006 ) 041302 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0510079 ] .r. kitano and i. low , phys .d * 71 * ( 2005 ) 023510 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0411133 ] . n. cosme , l. lopez honorez and m. h. g. tytgat , phys .d * 72 * ( 2005 ) 043505 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0506320 ] .s. abel and v. page , jhep * 0605 * ( 2006 ) 024 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0601149 ] .j. mcdonald , jcap * 0701 * ( 2007 ) 001 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0609126 ] .d. hooper , j. march - russell and s. m. west , phys .b * 605 * ( 2005 ) 228 [ arxiv : hep - ph/0410114 ] .s. d. thomas , phys .b * 356 * ( 1995 ) 256 [ arxiv : hep - ph/9506274 ] .s. dodelson and l. m. widrow , phys .d * 42 * ( 1990 ) 326 .j. f. navarro , c. s. frenk and s. d. m. white , astrophys . j. * 490 * ( 1997 ) 493 [ arxiv : astro - ph/9611107 ] .l. mclerran , arxiv:0808.1057 [ hep - ph ] .s. d. hunger _ et al ._ , astrophys . j. * 481 * ( 1997 ) 205 .l. bergstrom , p. ullio and j. h. buckley , astropart .* 9 * ( 1998 ) 137 [ arxiv : astro - ph/9712318 ] . |
|
– Officials believe P-22, a wild mountain lion that prowls a sprawling Los Angeles park, made a meal of a koala found mauled to death at the city's zoo, the AP reports. Zoo director John Lewis said this week that workers found the koala's body outside its pen March 3. The big, 7-year-old male cougar was spotted on surveillance video from the same night. "The evidence is circumstantial. We don’t have any video of it taking the koala. We can’t say 100%," Lewis tells the Los Angeles Times. Zoo workers are now taking extra precautions, such as locking up smaller animals in barns at night. Lewis says the zoo will learn to adapt to the wild cougar, just like it has learned to adapt to the zoo. P-22 wears a tracking collar and was famously photographed near the Hollywood sign for National Geographic. He lives in Griffith Park, which covers 4,355 acres of rugged wilderness surrounded by urban sprawl. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Steve Winter is famous for his photographs of big cats in their natural habitats, such as snow leopards and tigers, among others. His “Ghost Cats” story in the December 2013 issue of National Geographic opens with a surprising image of a big cat, not in the wilds of India, but in a location arguably as challenging for photographing his subject—downtown Los Angeles. Winter’s task was to illustrate cougars—also known as mountain lions—in an urban environment. His research led him to biologist Jeff Sikich, whose work with a mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on the outskirts of L.A. seemed promising. “Science-wise, this guy really knew what he was doing,” says Winter. Winter knew that if L.A. was his city, he wanted movie stars. He had worked with big cats for many years and knew the importance of connecting these cats to something immediately recognizable. Having heard through the grapevine that a cougar was once spotted in Cher’s backyard, he quizzed Sikich about the particulars of the mountain lion population’s comings and goings. Winter recalls saying to Sikich, “Wouldn’t it be great to get a photograph of a cougar with the Hollywood sign … ” But it didn’t seem likely. So elusive that few people ever see them, many of the animals being tracked by Sikich would leave the Santa Monica Recreation Area only to turn around and go back. And even if they did make the trek, they would risk being struck by cars crossing two busy freeways in between, the 405 and the 101. Eight months later, Winter received an email from Sikich that said: “You’re not going to believe this, because when you said this to me I thought you were crazy.” A trail camera put in place as part the Griffith Park Connectivity Study to monitor passing wildlife had photographed a cougar that had crossed the 101 freeway by the Hollywood Bowl and gone into Griffith Park, home of the Hollywood sign. The game was on. “I immediately call my editor Kathy Moran to tell her I’m going to go out and figure out how we can get a photograph of this cougar … with the Hollywood sign,” says Winter. Above, Steve Winter on location in the hills of Los Angeles. Winter then faced the challenge of setting up—and securing—camera traps that he would use in this attempt. Despite being heavily chained and locked, three out of the four cameras he set up were stolen. The camera used to capture this photo was the only one that survived. “It was on an animal trail, not a human trail,” Winter says, “mostly all I’ve seen (on that trail) are prints of other animals. I see prints of cougar food.” Fourteen months later, a photograph with the cougar and the sign was achieved. You might think that would be the end of it. “Everybody was very happy, but I wasn’t happy. We are all our own worst critic or best critic. I went back to L.A. and changed the lighting so a shadow would appear around the cat’s neck so you would not see the collar [as much]. People were just happy that I got it, but then it’s like, we can do better. So I wanted to do better, and I knew I could.” So Winter tried again, and this time got the lighting just right. When asked how it felt to have succeeded, he had this to say: “This story was extremely difficult. The mountain lion is a very secretive animal. It has to be in order to show up in downtown L.A. and have no one ever see it but the scientists, and so it was a great relief when you have a picture like this that can become iconic. You talk about urban wildlife and, boom, there’s the picture.” Steve Winter’s work with cougars has not stopped with photography. He is partnering with the Annenberg Foundation later this year for a fundraiser to help build a wildlife tunnel across the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. ||||| "We are investigating the circumstances of the koala's disappearance, but in the meantime, we are taking action to ensure that all of our animals are safe. The koalas have been removed from their public habitats for now, and other animals are being moved to their night quarters when the zoo closes," she said. ||||| FILE - This Nov. 2014 file photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Griffith Park mountain lion known as P-22. Officials believe P-22, the wild mountain lion that prowls Griffith Park in... (Associated Press) FILE - This Nov. 2014 file photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Griffith Park mountain lion known as P-22. Officials believe P-22, the wild mountain lion that prowls Griffith Park in... (Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials believe P-22, a wild mountain lion that prowls a sprawling Los Angeles park, made a meal of a koala found mauled to death at the city's zoo. Zoo director John Lewis said this week that workers found the koala's body outside its pen March 3. The big, 7-year-old male cougar was spotted on surveillance video from the same night. Zoo workers are now taking extra precautions, such as locking up smaller animals in barns at night. Lewis says the zoo will learn to adapt to the wild cougar, just like it has learned to adapt to the zoo. P-22 wears a tracking collar and was famously photographed near the Hollywood sign for National Geographic. He lives in Griffith Park, which covers 4,355 acres of rugged wilderness surrounded by urban sprawl. |
|
– Rachel Owen, the former longtime partner of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, died Sunday following a battle with cancer. She was 48. Owen and Yorke—parents to two children, aged 12 and 15—met as art students at Exeter University before starting a 23-year relationship that ended in August 2015, reports the Telegraph. Fans believe the breakup inspired Radiohead's latest album A Moon Shaped Pool, and especially the single "Daydreaming," with lyrics stating, "And it's too late, the damage is done ... This goes beyond me, beyond you." Owen—who tended to stay out of the spotlight—was an artist, printmaker, and lecturer at Oxford University's Pembroke College, where she specialized in medieval Italian literature, reports Billboard. Owen, who also completed a PhD on illustrations in early versions of Dante's Divine Comedy, continued to teach despite her health struggles. Prints she created with inspiration from the Divine Comedy will be displayed at the college next year, according to an obituary. Yorke has been silent on Twitter in the days since her death. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Thom Yorke performs during Pathway to Paris at Le Trianon on Dec. 4, 2015 in Paris. The couple's 2015 breakup heavily influenced Radiohead's 'A Moon Shaped Pool' album. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke’s former partner, Rachel Owen, died Sunday (Dec. 18) at 48 following a battle with cancer. A celebrated scholar and artist, Owen was a retained lecturer in Italian at the University of Oxford's Pembroke College. She continued to teach as her health declined during the past year. Owen was an expert in medieval Italian literature and a renowned artist and printmaker. One of her last works, a series of prints inspired by the cantos of Dante’s first book of The Divine Comedy, will be exhibited at Pembroke’s JCR Art Gallery. While Owen and Yorke were together for 23 years, she lived a private life and was rarely seen in public with the singer. The couple had two children together -- a son, Noah, and a daughter, Agnes, age 15 and 12. Their August 2015 separation heavily influenced Radiohead’s latest album, A Moon Shaped Pool. ||||| It is with great sadness that the College marks the death of Dr Rachel Owen, who was a Retained Lecturer in Italian here at Pembroke. Dr Owen was an internationally renowned artist – mixing photography and printmaking – and at the same time a scholar in medieval Italian literature. As Retained Lecturer, she used to teach Dante’s Divine Comedy to Pembroke’s finalists in Italian. Dr Owen’s parallel passion for art and literature was already established in her university years at Exeter, where she studied Italian and Fine Art. She then moved to Royal Holloway, London, where she completed a PhD on the illustrations of the early manuscripts of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Each year, her Pembroke students enjoyed the pleasure and the privilege of a guided tour through the manuscripts of the Divine Comedy held at the Bodleian Library. Despite her declining health from cancer in the last year, she asked to continue to teach, which she did right until the end of last Michaelmas term. She was 48 years old and leaves behind a son, Noah, and a daughter, Agnes, aged 15 and 12. One of her latest artistic productions was a series of prints inspired by the Cantos of Dante’s first book of the Divine Comedy. The prints will be exhibited at Pembroke’s JCR Art Gallery during Trinity term. Rachel Owen, died on Sunday 18th December. ||||| Rachel Owen, artist, Oxford University lecturer and the former long-term partner of Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, died on Sunday. She was 48 and had suffered from cancer. Owen and Yorke split last year after a 23-year-long relationship, and he announced the news in a statement. The pair have two children, Noah, who is 15, and Agnes, who is 12. This year, Yorke made reference to their split in Radiohead's most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool. The pair met as art students at Exeter University. Owen was an artist and a printmaker but worked at Oxford University, where she was a Retained Lecturer in Italian at Pembroke College. Pembroke College announced her death in an obituary posted online on Monday. Owen had a PhD on the illustrations of the early manuscripts of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The work inspired one of her last artistic projects, a series of prints that will be exhibited at Pembroke’s JCR Art Gallery next Spring. Owen continued to teach into her last months despite her ailing health. Yorke and Owen led a very private life, and were rarely seen together in public. However, fans believe that the lyrics and video for Daydreaming, a single from A Moon Shaped Pool, made reference to the impact of the end of their relationship on Yorke. The repeated phrase "half of my life" is believed to refer to the time the then-47-year-old had spent with Owen. ||||| "Daydreaming" lyrics RADIOHEAD LYRICS Dreamers They never learn They never learn Beyond the point Of no return Of no return And it's too late The damage is done The damage is done This goes Beyond me Beyond you The white room By window Where the sun goes Through We are Just happy to serve Just happy to serve You efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH efil ym fo flaH Visit www.azlyrics.com for these lyrics. Thanks to Tyler for correcting these lyrics. ||||| Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Saber máis Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Saber máis Vaites, produciuse un problema na conexión co servidor. Queres tentalo de novo? Incluír o chío pai Incluír multimedia Ao inserires contido de Twitter no teu sitio web ou na túa aplicación, aceptas o Acordo de programadores e a Normativa de programadores. Previsualizar |
|
vigabatrin ( vgb ) may aggravate clinical seizures and epileptiform discharges especially in the patients with generalized epilepsy .
this report is about the repetitive appearance of generalized spike - and - wave complexes in a patient with focal epilepsy .
though there were constant appearances of the generalized epileptiform discharges on the consecutive electroencephalograms ( eegs ) taken over approximately four years under vgb monotherapy , clinical provocation of primary generalized seizures was not occurred .
because of the repetitive observations of the generalized epileptiform discharges , valproic acid was added and the tapering of vgb was started . on the eeg taken during the tapering period of vgb and another eeg after the discontinuation of vgb , the generalized epileptiform discharges were completely disappeared . through observation in this case
, we suggests that the use of vgb could induce generalized epileptiform discharges without clinical seizure induction for long term period . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a 21-year - old man has been treated for a seizure disorder in the department of neurology since he was 15 years old . at the age of nine years the beginning of his seizures was a visual aura , right side hemianopsia , usually accompanied by a headache , and then he stares vacantly and does not respond to verbal commands . when he was 13 years old , he had started to take an unknown species of antiepileptic drug . but because of the bankruptcy of the hospital he was treated in , he stopped the medication when he was 14 years old . he suffered a generalized tonic - clonic seizure under the drug withdrawal state . just after the seizure he visited another hospital . valproic acid ( vpa ) monotherapy did not change the seizure frequency under poor drug compliance . he heard that there were no abnormal findings on the two eegs checked in that hospital . the patient visited the pediatric department of our hospital when he was 15 years old . there were no abnormal findings in the brain mri taken at that age ; vgb was added on and vpa was tapered ; his prescription was adjusted to high dosage of vgb ( 3,500 mg / day ) by a pediatrician . five months after his visit to the pediatric department , he suffered another complex partial seizure , and the pediatrician in charge referred the patient to the department of neurology . since then , he had been seizure free for four years and eight months while taking 3,000 mg / day of vgb . however , he had another complex partial seizure starting with visual aura when he was 20 years old ; that was his last seizure . eegs were recorded periodically in our hospital after the use of vgb since the first visit in the pediatric department . in eight of the consecutive nine eegs recorded over approximately four years , the diffuse bursts of 22.5 hz spike - and - wave complexes were observed repetitively ( fig . the occurrences of the abnormal discharges in each eeg were several to frequent during the 30 min recording . in another eeg recorded five months after the last seizure at when he was 20 years old , the generalized epileptiform discharges were also observed intermittently . just after that eeg recording , 600 mg / day of vpa the patient s prescription at that time was 600 mg / day of vpa plus 1,000 mg / day of vgb . in the eeg recorded under that medication , several clusters of spikes on the occipital area of the left hemisphere there was no burst of the 22.5 hz spike - and - wave complexes on that eeg . when the patient was 21 years old , four months after the eeg recording , another eeg was recorded ; no epileptiform discharges were observed in that eeg . the mechanism of vgb induced - seizure aggravation is thought to associate with gabaergic system that vgb may act antiepileptic role . in the thalamocortical circuit , nucleus reticularis thalami neurons ( nrts ) the inhibitory impulses produced by the firing of nrts keep tcrs in an inhibitory state . the overactivation of the gabab receptors of the tcrs , resulting from the exceedingly active state of nrts , changes the spindle waves to the spike - and - wave - complexes.6 enhancement of gabaergic transmission could show both preventive and aggravating effects to seizures depending on the site of action . the systemic or local gabaergic stimulation by drugs increased the occurrences of seizures and the duration of spike - and wave discharges in pharmacological and genetic animal models of absence seizures.7,8 in the microinjection study with the genetic absence epilepsy rats from strasbourg ( gaers ) , the injection of vgb into tcrs increased spontaneous cortical spike - and - wave discharges but the injection into nrts inhibits the discharges . this may be because the inhibition of nrts reduces the tendency of synchronization of tcrs , but the enhanced inhibition of tcrs by vgb may make the tcrs in a more synchronized state.1,9 worsening of seizures induced by vgb has been reported usually in the patients with generalized epilepsy.2,3 vgb also could induce de novo absence seizures or absence status epilepticus with generalized epileptiform discharges in patients with partial seizures.4,5 in addition , myoclonic jerks with generalized polyspike and wave complexes in eeg were observed during vgb therapy in focal epilepsy.10 however all of seizures induced by vgb , in both of the aggravated cases and the de novo cases , subsided after the discontinuation of vgb or switching from vgb to other antiepileptic drugs.4,5,10 the vgb - induced generalized spike - and - wave complexes had been observed for about four years in this patient , who had focal epilepsy ; there was no clinically definitive provocation of primary generalized seizures . after the introduction of vpa and reduction of vgb , there was disappearance of the generalized epileptiform discharges completely . the pattern of epileptiform discharges on that eeg was focal type , which confined to the occipital area of the left hemisphere . the use of vgb may chronically induce generalized epileptiform discharges without the induction of primary generalized seizures in the patients with focal epilepsy . regardless that it is not clear whether the discontinuation of vgb , the introduction of vpa or a combination of both disappear the generalized epileptiform discharges in this case . the discontinuation of vgb would be helpful to suppress the generalized epileptiform discharges in such cases . |
|
– The leader of the group trying to overrun Iraq and Syria in order to form a new Islamic state has made what is believed to be his first public appearance. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a video of a sermon he delivered at a mosque in Mosul amid reports that he had been injured or killed, reports the BBC. "I am your leader, though I am not the best of you, so if you see that I am right, support me, and if you see that I am wrong, advise me," he says. "Obey me as far as I obey God." The words may sound humble, but the video marks what the Telegraph calls an "audacious display of power" for the man newly anointed as Caliph Ibrahim, leader of the group now known as the Islamic State. Referring to last week's declaration of the new caliphate and his position as its leader, he said: "The mujahedeen have been rewarded victory by God after years of jihad, and they were able to achieve their aim and hurried to announce the caliphate and choose the imam." Confirmation isn't possible, but most analysts who have seen the video think it is indeed al-Baghdadi, reports AP. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, emerged from the shadows to lead Friday prayers at Mosul's Nuriddin Mosque this week, the first time the notoriously secretive jihadi has made such a public appearance. The head of the jihadist group chose the first Friday prayer service of Ramadan to make an audacious display of power in the city that the Sunni Islamists have now controlled for three weeks. Speaking from the balcony of the mosque, al-Baghdadi urged the world's Muslims to flock to the Islamic caliphate across Syria and Iraq declared by his organisation last week. ||||| BAGHDAD (AP) — A video posted online Saturday purports to show the leader of the Islamic State extremist group that has overrun much of Syria and Iraq delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq, in what would be a rare — if not the first — public appearance by the shadowy militant. The video was released on at least two websites known to be used by the group, but it was not possible to independently verify whether the person shown was indeed the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It bore the logo of al-Furqan, the group's media arm. Through brute force and guile, the Islamic State group has seized control of a vast swath of land straddling Syria and Iraq, and has declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in those territories. It proclaimed al-Baghdadi the leader of its state and demanded that all Muslims pledge allegiance to him. "The mujahedeen have been rewarded victory by God after years of jihad, and they were able to achieve their aim and hurried to announce the caliphate and choose the Imam," he says in the video, referring to the leader. "It is a burden to accept this responsibility to be in charge of you," he adds. "I am not better than you or more virtuous than you. If you see me on the right path, help me. If you see me on the wrong path, advise me and halt me. And obey me as far as I obey God." He is dressed in black robes and a black turban, has dark eyes, thick eyebrows and a full black beard. He speaks eloquent classical Arabic, but with little emotion. The mosque has several dozen men and boys standing for prayer, and a flag of the black Islamic State group is hoisted in the mosque. One man stands guard, with a gun holster under his arm. At the beginning of the video, the man purported to be al-Baghdadi slowly climbs the pulpit in the great mosque in Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul, which al-Baghdadi's group captured last month. Then the call to prayer is made as he cleans his teeth with a miswak, a special type of stick that devout Muslims use to clean their teeth and freshen their breath. A senior Iraqi intelligence official said that after an initial analysis the man in the video is believed to indeed be al-Baghdadi. The official said the arrival of a large convoy in Mosul around midday Friday coincided with the blocking of cellular networks in the area. He says the cellular signal returned after the convoy departed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. A Mosul resident confirmed that mobile networks were down around the time of Friday prayers, and then returned a few hours later. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for his safety. Another aspect of the rule al-Baghdadi envisions was made clear in a series of images that emerged online late Saturday showing the destruction of at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory his group controls. The 21 photographs posted on a website that frequently carries official statements from the Islamic State extremist group document the destruction in Mosul and the town of Tal Afar. Some of the photos show bulldozers plowing through walls, while others show explosives demolishing the buildings in a cloud of smoke and rubble. Residents from both Mosul and Tal Afar confirmed the destruction of the sites. Sunni extremists consider Shiites Muslims heretics, and the veneration of saints apostasy. The Islamic State group seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in June in the opening act of its lightning offensive that sent much of the Iraqi army scattering. Shiite militiamen and volunteers have had to fill the void as the regular army struggles to regroup. On Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki removed the chief of the army's ground forces and the head of the federal police from their posts as part of his promised shakeup in the security forces following their near collapse. Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed the papers to retire Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan, commander of the army's ground forces, and Lt. Gen. Mohsen al-Kaabi, the chief of the federal police. Al-Moussawi says both men leave their jobs with their pensions. No replacements have been named. Last month, al-Maliki retired three generals who had been deployed in Mosul and ordered legal proceedings against them. He also dismissed a brigadier general and ordered his court martial in absentia. He said he planned to retire off or court martial more senior officers, but gave no details. Al-Maliki has also vowed to bring the full weight of military law, including the execution of deserters, on anyone who is found out to have fled the battle. ___ Hadid reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report. |
|
fusion is the union of two normally separated tooth germs resulting in the formation of a single large tooth .
the prevalence of this anomaly is less than 1% and most common in the primary dentition , in the incisor - canine region .
fusions are almost always unilateral , but few cases of bilateral fusions have been reported .
the purpose of this article is to report a rare case of bilateral fusion of mandibular second premolar with supernumerary tooth . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | teeth are complex anatomic structures that encounter with developmental anomaly in various aspects like defects in the structure , shape , size and number . fusion is a rare developmental anomaly with a complex morphology that can give rise to reduced esthetics , misalignment , dental caries and periodontal problems . the purpose of this article is to report a rare case of bilateral fusion of mandibular second premolar with supernumerary tooth . a 25-year - old male patient reported to the chettinad dental college hospital with complaint of pain on the left lower posterior tooth ( 35 ) which was decayed and had bizarre morphology similar to its counterpart on the right side ( 45 ) . both the teeth were larger on all aspects than the adjacent normal first premolar and had a pronounced buccal groove [ figures 1 and 2 ] . radiographic examination of 35 revealed pulpal involvement associated with a complex coronal and radicular pulpal anatomy . the orthopantomograph showed no evidence of missing tooth in the mandibular arch but presented bilateral impaction of third molars [ figure 3 ] . tooth 35 showing abnormal crown morphology and pronounced buccal groove partially erupted 45 showing abnormal crown morphology orthopantamograph showing abnormal tooth morphology in 35 and 45 along with impaction of 38 and 48 fusion is a developmental dental anomaly caused by the union of two tooth germs to form a single tooth . fused teeth are usually united by enamel and dentin , whereas the pulp chambers and pulp canals are either unified or separated . the etiology of fusion is still unknown ; however , the crowding of the tooth germs during their development can be an important factor . local metabolic disturbances or developmental aberrations of ectoderm and mesoderm during morphodifferentiation of tooth bud can be considered as etiological factors . they do not show any sex predilection but are more frequent among japanese population and american indians . fusion of teeth is more common in the deciduous dentition than the permanent dentition with a prevalence rate of 0.52.5% and 0.1% , respectively . literatures reveal the prevalence of bilateral fusion in primary teeth to be 0.010.04% and in permanent teeth as 0.05% . invariable of the type of dentition , majority of them are associated with the incisors and canine than the posterior arch . fusion of posteriors is infrequent in secondary teeth with a prevalence range from 0.08% to 0.5% . in general , the present case is a rarity as it occurred in the mandibular arch , in the posterior region with bilateral presentation , caused by the union of second premolar and a supernumerary tooth which was seldom reported . the number of teeth present is usually reduced in fusion , but is normal if the anomaly occur between a regular and supernumerary tooth . in contrast , gemination results in an apparent increase in the number of teeth , as they are caused due to the division of a single tooth germ to form two separate teeth . in these situations , even though there is no variation in the treatment plan , an attempt can be made to differentiate both the anomalies by performing a thorough clinical and radiographic examination . fusion between two teeth usually results in space gain or diastema but may not be the case when the anomaly involves a supernumerary tooth as seen in our case . the portion of the fused tooth that is formed by the supernumerary tooth is conical in morphology and is smaller when compared with other fused component that is separated by a developmental groove , whereas in gemination both the halves are mirror images of each other . the present case also revealed two disproportionate components with dissimilar morphology separated by a groove . according to which if the anomalous tooth is counted as two teeth and teeth count is normal in the arch , then it is considered as fusion . in cases where the anomalous tooth is counted as two teeth and if an extra tooth is present in the region , then it is regarded as gemination or a fusion between a normal and a supernumerary tooth . he also suggested referring teeth joined together by dentin as fused teeth . brook and winter proposed the neutral term intraoral radiographs can be considered but may not be confirmatory in the differentiation of double teeth as geminated teeth have a single large root canal , whereas fused teeth may have separate or fused root canals . in the present case , the anomalous teeth revealed an increased mesiodistal width , a single pulp chamber ; single root canal and normal teeth count in the respective quadrant as evident radiographically . . the buccal and lingual grooves may be deep and extend subgingivally favoring plaque accumulation leading to dental caries and periodontal diseases . the complex tooth morphology and pulpal anatomy , tooth position , and difficulty in rubber dam placement may negate endodontic treatment and necessitate surgical removal of the affected tooth . fusion of primary teeth may lead to hypodontia , malformation , impaction , delayed , or altered path of eruption of permanent successors . in conclusion , fusions are rare developmental anomaly and need to be recorded during routine clinical examination . the abnormal morphology demands prophylactic and early interceptive treatment in order to avoid the complicated pulpal and periodontal treatment related to these teeth . surgical extraction of the affected primary teeth can be an option to avoid its delayed exfoliation and the subsequent delayed or ectopic eruption of the successor . |
|
– When Mario's Pizza in Northampton, Pa., notified Josh Katrick that he'd won its "free pizza for a year" contest, employees expected him to "be excited, come in and get [his] pizzas." They did not expect to get an email asking whether Katrick could give all that pizza away, reports WFMZ. But Katrick, 36—who'd just received his eighth round of chemotherapy for stage 2 colon cancer when he realized he won the contest earlier this month, per CNN—says he's "been getting so much from family, friends, people I don't even know well, the last few months … I just wanted to give back to people that could use it more than I could." His proposed recipient: a local food bank. "It hit a nerve … in the heart," says Mario's Pizza manager Frank Grigoli, who decided to give both Katrick and the food bank the prize of two large pizzas and soda each month in 2017. "I can't think of anything better," says Grigoli. "It's better to give than receive, and especially during this time of year—Christmas," adds his son. Katrick says the food bank is "very thankful" and will put the pizza "to good use." Katrick plans to do the same. He says he may host a Facebook contest to give away some of the pizza he's won for himself. "You know the saying, 'When life gives you lemons make lemonade,'" he says. "Well, when life gives you pizza, give away a slice." (See why an animal shelter is celebrating this holiday.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | (CNN) Josh Katrick had just walked out of his eighth round of chemotherapy, when good fortune struck. He had just won a competition: free pizza for a year from a neighborhood restaurant in Pennsylvania. But instead of seizing the opportunity to spend the better part of 2017 gorging on the well-deserved melted mozzarella wellspring, Katrick, who has colon cancer, decided other people needed it more. So he gave every slice away. The local Northampton food bank is the recipient of his generosity. "You know the saying, 'When life gives you lemons make lemonade,' well, when life gives you pizza, give away a slice," the 36-year-old told CNN Sunday. Katrick has been feasting on Mario's Pizza in Northampton since he was a child, and was one of 1,200 people to enter the competition. The winner would walk away with 2 large (and they mean large) pizzas and soda, every month for the next year. But after Katrick's act of holiday kindness, the pizza restaurant about 65 miles north of Philadelphia decided to extend its own. The restaurant is doubling the prize to make sure Katrick gets his share of pizza, along with the food bank. "I thought someone would win, they'd be excited, come in and get their pizzas, but a story like this to come out of a contest like that..." Giuseppe Aiello, the son of the family-run pizzeria's co-owner, told CNN affiliate WFMZ "It's better to give than receive, and especially during this time of year -- Christmas," Aiello said. Josh Katrick surprised the family-run pizza restaurant when he asked if he could give his prize away Katrick said he was inspired to pay it forward because of the generosity he had received from others during his cancer treatment. "After everything I went through these last few months -- I met so many people and have been receiving so much -- I felt I wanted to give back." Katrick said. "The food bank are very thankful. They're amazed by it. They will put it to good use" Katrick said he had surgery for stage 2 colon cancer in August and has been receiving chemotherapy since September. "My family and friends are amazed -- so many positive reactions. Around Christmas it really brought everybody's spirits up and made people know there are good people in the world fighting the good fight." Josh's father, Ron Katrick, told CNN he is "very proud" of his son. And his generosity doesn't end there. Josh, still reluctant to indulge in all the pizza coming his way, told CNN, "Maybe I'll share with my friends on Facebook [and] make a contest of my own to see if anyone would like some pizza." ||||| Northampton man receives pizza for a year Video NORTHAMPTON, Pa. - At Christmastime, Mario's Pizza in Northampton seems extra warm - a lot like the smiles, passed for decades from the people behind the counter, to the customers in front of it. Co-owner Giovanni Aiello tells us, that's the recipe. "I've been making pizza for 43 years," he says. Frank Grigoli is a manager here. His father is Giovanni's brother, another co-owner. "We've done a lot to this place, but one thing we've never changed is the quality," Frank says. That's why, recently, they decided they'd reward their customers with something new: a contest for free pizza for a year. Giuseppe Aiello, Giovanni's son, tells us they never expected what came next. "I thought someone would win, they'd be excited, come in and get their pizzas, but a story like this to come out of a contest like that..." he trails off. You see, when the computer randomly chose a winner from the 1200 people who signed up, up popped the name 'Josh Katrick' - someone who really deserved to get some good news. Josh was diagnosed with colon cancer in July. He got the email from Mario's on a Friday, just as he was leaving the chemo treatment center. "I remember coming out of there thinking, 'I just won pizzas for a year! That's cool!' he says. But then Josh - a winner Mario's found so deserving - did the darnedest thing. He gave it away. "I've been getting so much from family, friends, people I don't even know well, the last few months," Josh says. Getting so much love and support…I just wanted to give back to people that could use it more than I could." Josh wrote Mario's back and asked if he could give his free pizza to someone else. Frank remembers the conversation. "We asked the question, 'who are you thinking?' and he said, 'Northampton Food Bank.' And it kind of, like, it hit a nerve…in the heart," Frank says. So, a pizza shop known for spreading the warmth, decided this Christmas to spread it a little further. They're giving both Josh and the food bank, free pizza for a year. "It's better to give than receive, and especially during this time of year - Christmas - it's a great time to think about that and see examples of it around town," Giuseppe says. "And this time of year, doing what we're doing, I can't think of anything better," Frank adds. This Christmas, this group says they hope their story warms up your heart - and reminds others to practice kindness. You never know when it might come full circle. |
|
– A memorial to murdered Muslim teenager Nabra Hassanen was set on fire in Washington, DC, Wednesday—but as with the murder itself, police say there is no evidence it was a hate crime. Police say 24-year-old South Carolina man Jonathan Solomon was arrested Wednesday morning after the memorial of flowers and posters was set on fire at a Dupont Circle fountain, reports the New York Daily News. He has been charged with vandalism. Later Wednesday, around 5,000 people gathered in Sterling, Va., for the funeral of 17-year-old Nabra, who was kidnapped and killed while walking back to a mosque early Sunday. Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, has been charged with the murder. "I just want to thank everyone for your love and support and I just want to say to Nabra that I love you and I’ll always miss you," 10-year-old Nour, one of Nabra's three sisters, told mourners, per the Washington Post. Police have described the killing as a road rage incident, not a bias crime, but "if evidence develops of a hate crime, I promise we will charge to the highest levels," Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. tells the AP. Nabra's body was found in a pond near Torres' home, and the chief says police are awaiting the results of tests to determine whether she was sexually assaulted. "We're doing a thorough investigation and that's something of concern to us," he says. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 photo, Mohmoud Hassanen Aboras, left, whose daughter Nabra Hassanen was killed, listens as Imam Mohamed Magid, center, of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, talks about... (Associated Press) STERLING, Va. (AP) — About 5,000 mourners attended Wednesday's funeral of a Muslim girl whose beating death, blamed by police on a motorist's road rage, has some people in her community fearing for their safety. Some wearing Islamic robes, others in street clothes, they left their cars as traffic overflowed and walked more than a mile to reach her mosque. Nabra Hassanen, 17, was remembered as a shining example of kindness and openness during the services. "There is nothing like losing a child, especially in the way that we lost Nabra," said Imam Mohamed Magid, the religious leader of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society. He stood before Hassanen's closed coffin, covered by a black shroud decorated with quotes from the Quran. Police said Hassanen was bludgeoned with a baseball bat early Sunday by a motorist who drove up to about 15 Muslim teenagers as they walked or bicycled along a road. Police said the driver became enraged after exchanging words with a boy in the group. A Hassanen family spokesman said the girls in the group were wearing Muslim headscarves and robes. Magid said he sought to comfort the victim's mother by telling her that a person who dies in such a manner will enter paradise with no questions asked. He acknowledged that the slaying has people grieving and fearful, but he praised the many people who turned out "in a fever" to search for the teen before police discovered her body Sunday afternoon. After the teen's funeral and burial, Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. spoke with The Associated Press about the community's concerns. Roessler said police have "absolutely no evidence" that her killing was motivated by hate, but he acknowledged that many people still strongly feel that it must have been a hate crime. Virginia law defines these, in part, as crimes that try to intimidate or instill fear in people targeted for their race or religion. "That's the myth, isn't it?" the chief said. He urged anyone with evidence that Hassanen's killing was motivated by hate to come forward, and "if evidence develops of a hate crime, I promise we will charge to the highest levels." Roessler also said police are waiting on the results of forensic tests on Hassanen's body, which was pulled from a pond on Sunday, in an attempt to determine whether she was sexually assaulted. "We're doing a thorough investigation and that's something of concern to us," he said. At her funeral Wednesday, an overflow area itself overflowed with people who came in solidarity. The crowd overwhelmed suburban traffic, and cars jammed into neighborhood streets more than a mile away to park. Most mourners were Muslim, but Christians and Jews attended as well. The ADAMS Center, one of the largest mosques in the country, has a long history of interfaith outreach and activism, and ADAMS board chair Rizwan Jaka said there has been "just a tremendous outpouring of support" from people of all faiths. Lamia Sarver of McLean said the tragedy hits home because she has a daughter Nabra's age. She's warned her not to attend late-night Ramadan prayers and services with friends, so she won't be a target. "'Pray at home,' I tell her," she said. Others expressed similar sentiments. "I have two daughters. He has two sisters," said Zahid Hassan of Fairfax, who attended services with his son Yasin, and choked back tears as he spoke. "It could have been anybody." In the evening, a crowd of several thousand gathered for a vigil organized by the Muslim Student Association at Hassanen's high school. Magid noted the diversity of the crowd and expressed gratitude "to see we are part of the larger community to stand against bigotry, stand against hate." Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who counted Hassanen among his constituents, was one of many political figures who attended. He said the teen's death has prompted the entire community to rally and that the Muslim community is not alone in its grief. Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, is currently being held on a second-degree murder charge. Police said he beat her with a baseball bat early Sunday, drove off with her in his car and assaulted her again — they haven't said how — before dumping her body in a pond near her home. His public defender's office has declined to comment. Lena Masri, national litigation director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that CAIR is representing Hassanen's family and "will monitor the development of the investigation to ensure a thorough examination of any possible bias aspects of the case." ____ Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer and Sarah Rankin contributed to this report from Richmond. |
|
facial nerve disorders may be of sudden onset and more often of unknown etiology .
edema of the facial nerve within the fallopian canal results in bell 's palsy .
this causes compression of the nerve and affects the microcirculation .
many authors have suggested treatment for facial nerve paralysis ranging from simple physiotherapy to complicated microvascular decompression .
it more often results in symptoms like synkinesis and muscle spasm after the decompression surgery of the nerve because of the inability to arrange the nerve fibers within the canal .
the treatment choice also depends on patient 's age , extent of the nerve damage , and patient 's needs and desires .
many patients who can not be rehabilitated functionally can be treated for esthetics of the involved muscles .
this case report elaborates about a patient who was rehabilitated for esthetics and to some extent for function . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a 59-year - old female patient reported to the hospital for replacement of missing teeth . on examination , the patient had lost all her teeth and her one side of the face was paralyzed . the patient gave a history of trauma before some years and gradually lost all her teeth due to periodontal problems . the paralysis was noted both in upper and lower regions of the face and the patient was unable to smile and close her eyes on her left side . the patient was unable to lift her left eyebrow and complained of reduced taste sensation , but was not insisting on the symptoms . the patient had spasms in her facial muscles with synkinesis , which developed gradually [ figures 1 and 2 ] and was not clear of the time period over which it developed . there was an asymmetry of her face when she tried to smile or close her eyes with a maximal effort . the diagnosis was bell 's palsy grade iv on the left side of the patient 's face which involved the ipsilateral part of the facial nerve . the patient was given an option of complete dentures with cheek plumpers , which can somewhat improve her facial appearance . the patient readily accepted the treatment plan and primary impressions were made for the upper and lower edentulous arches . left side of the patient affected the diagnostic casts showed normal arch form without any pathologic conditions . the labial and buccal flanges of the dentures were planned to be enhanced as the circumoral muscles were weak . a simple way of enhancing the labial flanges with wax and later processing with acrylic resin was planned due to time and economic factors . proper physiologic impressions were made after explaining the treatment plan to the patient with her consent . the occlusal rims were fabricated from the master casts with additional wax on the labial and buccal flanges . the jaw relations were made and try - in verification was done at a later date . wax was added more on the right side and less on her left side to reproduce the symmetry of her face [ figures 35 ] . after satisfactory results with the patient 's consent , the denture was fabricated with high impact acrylic resin . the upper and lower dentures were inserted in a later appointment [ figures 6 and 7 ] . the patient was taught to use the prosthesis and proper instructions were given to the patient . wax enhancement on the labial and buccal side try - in verification , intra oral view try - in verification extra oral view post operative , intra oral view post operative extra oral view facial nerve innervates the 18 paired muscles and 1 single facial muscle , which causes facial expressions . buccal branch of the facial nerve supplies the zygomaticus minor , orbicularis oris , buccinator , risorius , nasalis , and levator labii superioris , which play a major role in smiling and chewing . the treatment goals of surgically intervening the nerve are to restore ( a ) corneal damage , ( b ) normal resting tone of the face and ( c ) a symmetrical smile . recovery from the nerve damage depends on the age of the patient , extent of nerve damage and the precession of surgery . since the condition is idiopathic more often , and the reason for paralysis of the face can not be traced , surgery is abandoned by plastic surgeons in many bell 's palsy cases . and the treatment choice does not end here , as the patients can be considered for esthetic rehabilitation by the prosthodontists and by the ophthalmologists for corneal protection and can improve patient 's psychological quotient , who are affected by the disfigurement caused by the nerve damage . rehabilitation of such compromised conditions involves both technical and artistic skills as the patient is compromised of both function and esthetics . since there were well - formed ridges implant prosthesis would have been a better option but due to collapse of the cheek on the affected side the longitivety of implant will be questioned . and implant supported prosthesis may restore function better than the removable complete dentures ; the tissue support needed for neurologically disabled persons can be given only by the later . the main disadvantage of undetachable cheek plumpers is food impaction resulting from the weak buccinator and resulting candidiasis . the patient should be reviewed once in a month initially and once in 3 months thereafter . other methods to enhance the muscle support like surgical correction , detachable cheek support prosthesis , intraoral splints and neutral zone technique are practiced , but a simple method of extended denture bases provided a useful solution in this case . since the patient had adequate mouth opening and well - formed ridges , an undetached cheek plumper prosthesis was preferred . though enhancing the flanges with resin may cause overweight of the denture , it was within the patient 's tolerable limits . the ultimate treatment for any unrecovered facial paralysis will be a surgical intervention of the damaged nerve . when most of the cases are abandoned from surgery due to complications and other reasons , the oral prosthesis plays an important role in patient 's well - being . the goal of the prosthetic treatment should be to support the weakened muscles like buccinator , orbicularis oris , and levator anguli oris and provide comfort and esthetics to the patient over a long period of time . |
|
– After months of planning their destination wedding in Charleston, SC, Britney Mysinger and Jason Houdek of Kansas City ran straight into this weekend's 1,000-year-flood standing between them and exchanging their vows. The photographers, make-up artists, groomsmen, marriage license, and officiant were all outside the peninsula when police shut off access, but the bride, groom, and bridesmaids were downtown at the Double Tree Inn. So Mysinger and Houdek went on ABC News 4 with their desperate plea for an officiant to marry them—and city councilman Mike Seekings, who happened to be touring the area and see the broadcast, offered to help. "There couldn't be anything more exciting than being part of that," Seekings said. Hannah Summer saw the coverage and tweeted an offer to photograph their big day free of charge. "It's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience," the photography student said. She also got her roommate to be the second photographer and a member of a local a capella group to DJ, and then the military stepped in and sent a Humvee to get the groomsmen, who were stranded on the Isle of Palms. The couple moved their outdoor wedding to a ballroom just in time to pull the whole thing off. Even the wedding attire, which the couple described as "dress to impress!" on The Knot, managed to mostly stick to the script, with a few rain boots. "With everyone just putting everything together we appreciate it so much, and it feels great to finally call this man my husband," says the new Mrs. Houdek. (Even a fire didn't stop this couple from tying the knot.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Attire: Dress to impress! RSVP Ceremony and Reception DoubleTree by Hilton Historic Downtown Charleston 181 Church St, Charleston, SC 29401, United States Following the ceremony there will be a cocktail hour with hors D'oeuves at the hotel, and then we will head into the ballroom for the reception. All meals include: Starter - Caesar Salad | Dessert - New York Cheesecake w/ Seasonal Berries All meals include: Artisan Rolls, Sweet Cream Butter, Seasonal Vegetables, Tea & Coffee , Your choice of alcoholic beverage ||||| Britney Mysinger and Jason Houdek meet Mike Seekings to talk about when their wedding will happen. Britney Mysinger talks to Councilman Mike Seekings, who volunteers to officiate her wedding after seeing a news report on ABC News 4. Hannah Summer saw their plea for help and said she would be the wedding photographer. Britney Mysinger walks down the aisle, hours after re-planning her wedding with Charleston's help. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) -- Even in an emergency, Charleston just can't say no to love. It's a lesson that a Kansas City couple learned Saturday with the help of a city councilman, a College of Charleston student photographer, her friend, the military and a TV news crew. When Britney Mysinger and Jason Houdek booked their wedding weekend in the Holy City's downtown, they never expected it to be overshadowed by a stalled front dumping nearly a foot of rain on the Lowcountry. Their wedding journey in Charleston started a week ago with their arrival. Over the days, as the storm front took shape and fell into place, family members flew into Charleston expecting a wedding. By Saturday morning, photographers, make-up artists, and the officiant all had to back out because police had shut down access to the peninsula. The groomsmen were stuck on the Isle of Palms. Even the marriage license was outside the peninsula. Fortunately, the bridesmaids were all downtown with the bridge and groom at the Doubletree Inn. "If anyone in the area can actually marry us, an officiant, that would be greatly appreciated," Mysinger said during a live interview on a special broadcast of ABC News 4. "We're just trying to say 'I do.'" And sometimes the stars align. City Councilman Mike Seekings, who was touring parts of the city and happened to see the Houdek's plea, picked up the phone. He called ABC News 4's Jon Bruce, who couldn't answer his phone because he was anchoring four hours of special coverage. So he called reporter Stacy Jacobson who put him in touch with the ABC News 4 newsroom who, in turn, put him in touch with reporter Rob Mallia. Mallia handed his phone to Mysinger, who spoke to Seekings, who is qualified to marry couples. Her smile gave her away before she could announce the good news: "We're getting married." They had a willing officiant. "Here you have a young couple who has come all this way with their families, they're here at the Doubletree and looking for a wedding to happen. There couldn't be anything more exciting than being part of that," Seekings said. "Charleston is ready, willing, and able when something breaks out, we're ready to go." The wedding day couple then set their eyes on a photographer. Stuck at home on a rainy day watching the weather coverage, Hannah Summer saw the plea for a wedding photographer and knew she could help. So she picked up her phone, tweeted the couple, and became a wedding photographer. @becci_houdek11 @ABCNews4 I would love to help out & take their wedding pictures! I am downtown & a student at the college! No charge! ?? — Hannah Summer (@hannahsummer3) October 3, 2015 "Wow, it's raining on their wedding day, not only raining but flooding. I could take their pictures," Summer, the College of Charleston photography student said. "It's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience." She employed the help of her roommate as a second photographer and they called in a member of a local a capella group to DJ the reception. Now Mysinger and Houdek had a photographer and a DJ. Someone even donated food for the reception. But the groomsmen were still on the Isle of Palms. That's when the military stepped in to help. "They got so far and a military Humvee picked them up and drove them a mile and a half to get them in the city," said Randy Houdek, the father of the groom. What was supposed to be an outdoor wedding was moved into a ballroom -- but everyone was finally in place just in time to cue the flower girl. Hours of turmoil gave way to silence as Mysinger stepped into the hall in her wedding gown. With vows and rings, a promise to each other, the Houdeks said their "I dos." "This never would have happened anywhere else. It's luck -- must be all the rain," Mrs. Houdek said. Charlestonians would probably agree. "It was an amazingly fun event to be part of," Seekings said. "The peninsula of Charleston is shut down for business, and in the middle of a big storm a beautiful wedding broke out." Without a doubt, the Houdeks are heading off into the world as a married couple with a Charleston wedding story that's impossible to beat. "With everyone just putting everything together we appreciate it so much, and it feels great to finally call this man my husband," Mrs. Houdek said. |
|
– Highly altered images of models and celebrities in fashion magazines have come under increasing scrutiny, with France even proposing that all airbrushed pictures come packaged with a health warning. A new tool could make that easier, as it analyzes photographs to detect digital retouching, Wired reports. Publishers have “gone a little too far,” explains the Dartmouth specialist who helped create the tool, adding that there are “negative consequences” associated with a barrage of such images. The new tool would rank images from 1, or barely altered, to 5. It takes into account geometric adjustments (slimming the hips, widening the eyes) as well as photometric adjustments (removing wrinkles, changing skin tone), Mother Nature Network notes. The creators analyzed 468 sets of photos to develop a computational model, which then scored each photo. They then tested the scores by having people evaluate the pictures, and found that the scores they gave closely matched. “Now what we have is a mathematical measure of photo retouching,” the Dartmouth expert explains. “We can predict what an average observer would say.” Such labeling makes more sense than simply labeling whether a photo has been retouched or not, he adds. “Anybody knows that there's different types,” but this tool will address the question, “How much is too much?” The New York Times has an helpful illustration of images ranked 1 through 5. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | A new photograph-analyzing tool quantifies changes made by digital airbrushers in the fashion and lifestyle industry, where image alteration has become the psychologically destructive norm. "Publishers have legitimate reasons to alter photographs to create fantasy and sell products, but they've gone a little too far," said image forensics specialist Hany Farid of Dartmouth University. "You can't ignore the body of literature showing negative consequences to being inundated with these images." In a Nov. 28 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, Farid and doctoral student Eric Kee debut a computational model developed by analyzing 468 sets of original and retouched photographs. From these, Farid and Kee distilled a formal mathematical description of alterations made to models' shapes and features. Their model then scored each altered photograph on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 signifying heavy retouching. To validate the scores, Farid and Kee then asked 50 people randomly picked through Amazon's Mechanical Turk task outsourcing service to evaluate the photographs. Computational and human scores matched closely. "Now what we have is a mathematical measure of photo retouching," said Farid. "We can predict what an average observer would say." The researchers started developing their model after learning of the British government's plans to label photographic alterations in advertising. Psychologists have become vocally critical of such images: By employing an arsenal of retouching techniques, from unnaturally slimmed limbs to the old standby of cleaned-up skin, retouchers create unattainable standards of both beauty and normalcy, ultimately leading to self-destructive body image disorders. In June, the American Medical Association urged advertisers to work with activists in developing alteration standards. Setting limits, however, is easier said than done. "One criticism of the British legislation is that they were presenting a blunt instrument. Photographs would be labeled as retouched or not. Anybody knows that there's different types," said Farid. "It's an interesting scientific problem: How much is too much? That got us thinking about whether we could quantify this." Farid and Kee's model doesn't precisely determine a numerical boundary between psychologically appropriate and inappropriate; that's a judgement call to be made by society, Farid said. But they do provide an objective metric for evaluating images and trends. "You look at what photographs looked like in magazines 10 years ago, and there's a huge difference. And that is escalating," said Farid. On the following pages are more images from the study. Image Analysis: Color-coded overlays show the intensity of alteration at different points on a retouched photograph. ||||| Their work is intended as a technological step to address concerns about the prevalence of highly idealized and digitally edited images in advertising and fashion magazines. Such images, research suggests, contribute to eating disorders and anxiety about body types, especially among young women. The Dartmouth research, said Seth Matlins, a former talent agent and marketing executive, could be “hugely important” as a tool for objectively measuring the degree to which photos have been altered. He and his wife, Eva Matlins, the founders of a women’s online magazine, Off Our Chests, are trying to gain support for legislation in America. Their proposal, the Self-Esteem Act, would require photos that have been “meaningfully changed” to be labeled. Photo “We’re just after truth in advertising and transparency,” Mr. Matlins said. “We’re not trying to demonize Photoshop or prevent creative people from using it. But if a person’s image is drastically altered, there should be a reminder that what you’re seeing is about as true as what you saw in ‘Avatar,’ ” the science-fiction movie with computer-generated actors and visual effects. The algorithm developed by Dr. Farid and Mr. Kee statistically measures how much the image of a person’s face and body has been altered. Many of the before-and-after photos for their research were plucked from the Web sites of professional photo retouchers, promoting their skills. The algorithm is meant to mimic human perceptions. To do that, hundreds of people were recruited online to compare sets of before-and-after images and to determine the 1-to-5 scale, from minimally altered to starkly changed. The human rankings were used to train the software. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. His tool, Dr. Farid said, would ideally be a vehicle for self-regulation. Information and disclosure, he said, should create incentives that reduce retouching. “Models, for example, might well say, ‘I don’t want to be a 5. I want to be a 1,’ ” he said. Yet even without the prod of a new software tool, there is a trend toward Photoshop restraint, said Lesley Jane Seymour, editor in chief of More, a magazine for women over 40. Women’s magazine surveys, said Ms. Seymour, a former editor of Marie Claire and Redbook, show that their readers want celebrities to “look great but real.” “What’s terrific is that we’re having this discussion,” she said. But readers, she added, have become increasingly sophisticated in understanding that photo retouching is widespread, and the overzealous digital transformations become notorious, with the before-and-after images posted online and ridiculed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Readers aren’t fooled if you really sculpt the images,” Ms. Seymour said. “If you’re a good editor, you don’t go too far these days. If you give someone a face-lift,” she said, adding, “you’re a fool.” |
|
– At the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, the flag of South Africa will be carried by Caster Semenya, that nation's 21-year-old champion runner. Semenya receives the honor three years after the track and field governing body subjected her to a gender test, igniting a major controversy. Semnya said she drew inspiration during those days from the support she got from Nelson Mandela, notes ESPN. "Everything I do, I do for him." (Mandela, incidentally, turned 94 today, reports the BBC.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Caster Semenya is aiming for Olympic glory this summer after overcoming tough times since her 2009 world title © Getty Images Enlarge Caster Semenya says the support she has received from former South African president Nelson Mandela has served as her inspiration, and that she "feels great" as London 2012 rapidly approaches. The former 800m world champion has experienced some harsh treatment at the hands of critics since she took gold in Berlin in 2009, with the fuss kicked up over unusually high testosterone levels resulting in a gender test and some unforgiving comments. "With each year I experience I become more relaxed. I know now what is important to listen to and what to ignore," the 21-year-old told the Daily Mirror. Silver at the world championships in Daegu last year came after a battle against injury, and she has struggled to get close to the 1:55.45 she clocked three years ago. However, Semenya is confident and feeling sharp heading into this summer's Games. "If I'm at my best I feel I must win gold all the time," she said. "My friends always tell me that I'm a strong person and the best. But my head has to be clear before I run so nothing upsets me. "Putting yourself out there takes guts. People ask questions that can make you sad. But for me I must always stay positive. "From a young age I was a pretty good listener, a strong lady. Maybe it helped me that I never felt intimidated by anybody. Even at school I was always strong. I believed in myself." While many questioned her achievement back in 2009 one person who congratulated her and ensured Semenya received the credit she deserved was Mandela, and he continues to serve as an inspiration. "I never felt I would meet him. He is such a hero in South Africa. He inspired me, made me believe in what I do best," said Semenya. "Without his support, maybe I would not be where I am today. Everything I do, I do for him." © ESPN Sports Media Ltd. ||||| Nelson Mandela celebrates 'quiet family' birthday Mr Mandela spent the day at home and made no public appearances Continue reading the main story Related Stories Some 12 million children across South Africa have sung a specially composed song as part of official celebrations for Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday. It was among an outpouring of well wishes from around the world. The former South African president is believed to have spent a "quiet" day with family at home in the village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape. The man fondly referred to by his clan name, Madiba, now only appears rarely in public. He spent 27 years in jail for leading an armed anti-apartheid campaign and became president in 1994. Since his retirement from public life, the frenzy that erupts around his birthday each year has only grown - with some South Africans complaining his name has been debased by its association with a proliferation of causes. 'Favourite food' The day began with some 12 million schoolchildren singing a birthday song including the line, "We love you father". Throughout the day, statements were released by politicians, campaigners and union leaders - with Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale urging fellow South Africans to celebrate their fortune to "live in the same country breathing the same air under the same sun with Nelson Mandela". Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Mr Mandela's granddaughter, Ndileka Mandela, told Sowetan Live that the Mandela family would celebrate with a lunch including Mr Mandela's favourite food. "The big lunch will be at 4pm where we will present him with a cake. Our 67 minutes is a way of giving back to him, and that is our birthday gift to him," she said. "We will probably have food like [local corn dish] samp and tripe, his favourite food." On Tuesday Mr Mandela met former US President Bill Clinton on Tuesday. Mr Clinton, accompanied by his daughter Chelsea, opened a new library for the No-Moscow Primary School in Qunu, ahead of his meeting with Mr Mandela. "When I think about Mandela I always think about someone committed to the future," Mr Clinton said. US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, also paid tribute ahead of Mr Mandela's birthday. The US first couple hailed Mr Mandela's "extraordinary life and steadfast commitment to the principles of democracy and reconciliation". 67 minutes The BBC's Milton Nkosi in Qunu says that across South Africa, Mr Mandela's birthday is traditionally celebrated with the poor communities receiving help from those who are more fortunate. Our correspondent says to celebrate the number of years Mr Mandela spent in public life, people are encouraged to spend at least 67 minutes of their time helping those who are less fortunate. But some have criticised the UN-backed initiative as a token gesture used to assuage the guilt of those at the top of a deeply economically polarised society. If Mr Mandela knew how poorly the country's schools were performing, "he would be crying", said Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Mr Mandela stood down as South Africa's president in 1999 after serving one term, handing over to Thabo Mbeki. After leaving prison in 1990, he led the African National Congress party to a landslide victory in 1994 - the first time South Africa's black majority was allowed to vote. |
|
– Hurricane Patricia—the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere—is scheduled to cut a swath of destruction along the west coast of Mexico Friday evening, the Los Angeles Times reports. Two days ago, it was a mere tropical storm. So how did it undergo what experts call "rapid intensification" and the Times calls a "hurricane explosion?" Experts say Hurricane Patricia was enabled by a perfect combination of warm water, calm atmospheric winds, and a relatively compact size. Unfortunately, that's about as specific as they can get. “We have had situations with equally warm water and with low wind shear and we don’t get a record-breaking storm,” James Franklin at the Hurricane Center tells the Times. "What is the exact combination of factors to produce a storm? I don’t think anybody really knows." The Weather Channel reports Hurricane Patricia is one of the most rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones ever seen in the modern world. It took two days to go from a tropical storm to a dangerous Category 5 hurricane, according to the Times. In 24 hours, sustained wind speeds jumped from 85mph to 200mph. Experts believe winds could be as high as 205mph when Hurricane Patricia makes landfall in Mexico, Scientific American reports. Those would be the highest wind speeds ever recorded at landfall. In comparison, Hurricane Katrina's were 125mph when it hit New Orleans, and Hurricane Sandy's winds were 94mph as the storm battered New York. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Hurricane Patricia is now described as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Meteorologists are talking about its stunning “rapid intensification.” The rest of us can call it a hurricane explosion. From Wednesday night through Friday, Tropical Storm Patricia blew up into a record-setting Category 5 hurricane that is headed toward Mexico’s west coast. In about 24 hours, the maximum sustained winds increased from 85 miles per hour Thursday morning to more than 200 miles per hour by early Friday, meteorologists say. “It was a perfect environment for the rapid intensification,” said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami. That perfect environment includes warm ocean water, low wind shear or calm winds in the atmosphere and a relatively compact storm structure, according to meteorologists. Cooler waters, tossing upper winds and a broad storm footprint all serve as brakes to rapid growth. Why Patricia turned into a monster is a bit of a mystery, said James Franklin, chief of forecast operations at the Hurricane Center. “We have had situations with equally warm water and with low wind shear and we don’t get a record-breaking storm,” Franklin said. “What is the exact combination of factors to produce a storm? I don’t think anybody really knows.” But the physics of growth is known, he explained. The hurricane starts with warm waters off the Pacific. The water evaporates, forming thunderstorms, and the vapor turns to liquid, releasing more heat. This forms a cycle of heat that helps lower the air pressure, he said. The probable path of Hurricane Patricia The cycle of heat exchange, dropping pressure and growing winds is like the fuel pump driving the storm. Changes in air pressure excite the winds into blowing. As of 11 a.m. EDT, Patricia was carrying sustained winds of 200 miles an hour with gusts even higher. It was moving north at about 10 miles an hour and was 125 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Air is normally moving in the atmosphere as well. The phenomenon is called wind shear and usually serves as a brake to hurricane growth, Franklin said. Patricia developed when wind shear was calm, so a natural brake was not engaged. The structure of the storm is also a key element in how quickly it grows. The general rule is the more compact a storm, the faster it grows. Think about an ice skater beginning a spin. At first, the skater moves slowly, arms reaching out. But as the skater moves into a fast-moving championship spin, the arms come together, making the athlete more compact. Patricia is relatively compact, Franklin said, perhaps 10 to 15 miles across and with the area of strongest winds just three miles from the center. A very tiny core means that the storm is not going to generate a big sprawling disturbance, which can dissipate some of the force, Franklin said. Also helping speed growth is when there are no outer bands of rain and wind to absorb some of the forces needed for growth, as in the case of Patricia. This is a bit like the skater pulling the arms overhead and close together, he said. "There is no good answer why one storm does this and some storms don’t,” he said of rapid growth. “It seems a natural progression if the environment allows it.” MORE ON HURRICANE PATRICIA: Live updates: Tens of thousands evacuate as Mexico braces for hemisphere's strongest storm on record Category 5 hurricane growing at 'an incredible rate' What to know about Patricia, the most intense hurricane ever recorded ||||| In the past 24 hours Hurricane Patricia, bearing down on Mexico’s west coast, has rapidly intensified to become the strongest storm ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. As of this morning, data from Air Force planes show peak winds (sustained for one minute) of 200 mph and a surface pressure bottoming out at 880 millibars (typical pressure at sea level is 1013 millibars). The numbers push Patricia past the former record holders: Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. On Friday morning the National Hurricane Center said Patricia’s winds could rise to 205 mph as it hits Mexico’s shores, which would be the highest landfall reading ever, worldwide. When “super typhoon” Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013 winds were 195 mph. In contrast, the lowest pressure reading (the real measure of intensity) for Katrina, when it peaked in the Gulf of Mexico before drowning New Orleans, was 902 millibars. The low point for Sandy, which clobbered New York City and New Jersey, was 940. It is important to note that the extreme readings often occur when storms are still at sea, and frequently lessen before landfall—although that may not be the case for Patricia. Katrina’s top winds when it crossed the Gulf Coast were 125 mph, and when Sandy landed on New York City winds peaked at 94 mph. Here, then, are the numbers for the Western Hemisphere’s strongest and most infamous hurricanes: Patricia (2015): Top wind speed 200 mph; lowest atmospheric pressure 880 millibars. Threatening Mexico West Coast. Wilma (2005): Top wind speed 185 mph; lowest atmospheric pressure 882 millibars. Struck Yucatan Peninsula and Florida. Gilbert (1988): Top wind speed 185 mph; lowest atmospheric pressure 888 millibars. Struck Caribbean, Yucatan Peninsula, Texas. Katrina (2005): Top wind speed 175 mph; lowest atmospheric pressure 902 millibars. Struck Gulf Coast. Sandy (2012): Top wind speed 115 mph; lowest atmospheric pressure 940 millibars. Struck U.S. East Coast. For more on hurricanes see our In-Depth Report. |
|
– In Georgia, it's completely legal to pack objects full of the explosive Tannerite and shoot at them, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea, police said after a man had his leg severed by an exploding lawn mower. Police say 32-year-old David Pressley and friends filled the lawn mower with 3 pounds of the explosive material in the woods of Walton County, and his left leg was severed below the knee by shrapnel after he shot at the mower and blew it up. Video obtained by 11Alive shows Pressley firing at least 20 shots from a semi-automatic rifle at the mower before it blows up. "I blew my leg off," he can be heard shouting after the blast. Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman tells Channel 2 that Tannerite is used for target practice and that you're supposed to put a small amount of it into a target and fire from at least 100 yards away, not fire at several pounds from just 25 feet away, as Pressley and his friends were apparently doing. Pressley is recovering in an Atlanta hospital. 11Alive notes that despite warnings from the makers of Tannerite, videos of people shooting at up to 100 pounds of Tannerite have been big hits online, and Pressley was apparently trying to make a similar video with the lawn mower. "Yes, it is legal, and no, we can't make people stop doing it. But why, folks, just why?" the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. (This puppy's collar triggered an explosion that destroyed part of its owner's home.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | A Georgia man trying to videotape shooting a lawn mower packed with explosives lost his leg. "We get a lot of calls about Tannerite. It can be extremely dangerous if it is not used correctly," Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman told 11Alive's Duffie Dixon. Tannerite is the brand name of a combination of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder. When mixed and shot with a high-velocity bullet, it creates a loud noise and explosion. The manufacturer recommends using no more than half a pound at one time. But demonstrations using up to 100 pounds at one time have become popular internet videos. The apparent attempt to make one of those internet videos cost one man his leg. According to the March 19th incident report obtained by 11Alive, a sheriff's deputy responded to a call about an explosion. A 911 call reported 32-year-old David Pressley was shooting Tannerite in the woods and "had possibly blown his legs off from the explosion." Mobile users click here to see the photos PHOTOS | Man shoots explosives-packed lawnmower, loses leg Two of Pressley's friends fashioned a tourniquet around his leg, helped him to the front seat of a vehicle, and drove him to a nearby road. That's where EMS met the group and started working on Pressley. "EMS advised David was missing his left leg below the knee," the report notes. Sign up for the daily Speed Feed Newsletter Sign up for the daily Speed Feed Newsletter Something went wrong. This email will be delivered to your inbox once a day in the morning. Thank you for signing up for the Speed Feed Newsletter. Please try again later. Submit He was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He is now recovering from the incident. One of Pressley's friends told investigators they put three pounds of Tannerite into an old lawn mower "to blow it up". That friend also told the responding deputy the entire incident was captured on video. It became police evidence. 11Alive obtained that video. It shows Pressley dressed in what appears to be a tactical vest, sunglasses, and a ball cap. He shoots a semi-automatic rifle at the lawn mower for 30 seconds, getting off more than 20 shots. On the last shot, the lawnmower explodes in a cloud of water vapor. Shrapnel can be seen flying in all direction. The camera shot wavers. "I blew my leg off! Oh, [expletive]!" That's when what's happened hits the amateur cameraman: "Aw, [expletive]!" "Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!" a voice is heard yelling. The video ends. Tannerite is legal (though not intended to be used in this way). No charges will be filed. The Tannerite website spells out its intended use (as a shot indicator) and posts a warning: Our patented and trademarked invention is designed for precision, long range target practice. Tannerite®, when used as prescribed, is safe/legal/fun for shooters from all walks of life. Please read all sections of this website so that you know you are in compliance with regulations. The site also includes an FBI guide for sellers of Tannerite. It shows intended use (1 pound shot indicator) and misuse (50 pound exploding vehicle). The company's site references recent injuries: Every time someone gets hurt with their own concoction or a fly-by-night patent thief's product, we get pointed at, and we are sick and tired of it. In the Walton County case, friends, police, 911 dispatcher, and the Sheriff all refer to Tannerite by name. ||||| 0 WALTON COUNTY, Ga - A Monroe man is recovering in the hospital after losing his leg in an explosion. Deputies say he put explosive material, called Tannerite, in his lawnmower then shot at it several times. The blast severed part of his leg. People use Tennerite for target practice, but if used the wrong way it can cause injury or death. According to investigators, David Presley filled an old lawnmower with three pounds of Tannerite. Monroe man put 3lbs of this in lawnmower & shot at it! Blew is leg off! Neighbors describe scene @wsbtv RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/MvoeiXPCHT — Tyisha Fernandes (@TyishaWSB) March 24, 2016 Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes spoke to Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman who said people are supposed to put less than a pound of Tannerite into a target you want to shoot, and stand at least 100 yards away. The small explosion lets you know you hit the target. Deputies say he used three pounds of Tannerite and only stood 25 yards away, while two teens recorded it on their cell phones. “You would've had to be on drugs or something to think it was a good idea to play with that and try to blow up a lawnmower,” said neighbor Lydiah Mays. Mays said she thought she heard the sound of a bomb, she grabbed her cell phone and tried to figure out what was going on. “It shook the whole house so I thought it was not very normal,” Mays said. Mays said Presley, who lives across the street, sounded like he needed help. “I heard him scream and so I came downstairs and we were all like looking out the front window,” Mays said. Presley is at Grady Memorial Hospital recovering from his injuries. Chapman hopes people learn from his experience. © 2017 Cox Media Group. |
|
– A weird detail from coverage of the News of the World phone hacking scandal: The year after NotW royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed, Scotland Yard loaned out a retired police horse to Rebekah Brooks, who was at that time the editor of the Sun and later became chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International. She kept the horse for two years, returning it to the Metropolitan Police in 2010, after which it went to a new home with a police officer. A police spokesperson says it's common for retired horses from the Mounted Branch to be loaned out to the public, and Brooks' spokesperson says she was acting as a sort of "foster parent" for the horse while it waited for a new home. But the revelation will almost certainly raise eyebrows, considering all the questions that already exist about Brooks' relationship with the Metropolitan Police, the Telegraph points out. The revelation has led to a flurry of Twitter jokes; click for a sampling. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | The former Sun and News of the World editor was lent the horse in 2008, the year after Clive Goodman, who worked for her as royal editor of the News of the World, was jailed for phone-hacking along withe the private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch visited Mrs Brooks's home in the Cotswolds to check she had suitable facilities and was a competent rider before the horse went there. It was one of only 12 retired horses loaned out in 2008. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police pointed out that it is routine for retired Mounted Branch horses to be lent out to members of the public at the end of their working lives, but the arrangement is likely to raise fresh questions about the Met's relationship with Mrs Brooks. The news comes a day after the Leveson Inquiry was told that Mrs Brooks was briefed by a senior Met officer on the progress of the original phone-hacking inquiry and even consulted on how far she thought the investigation should go. Mrs Brooks, who is married to the former racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, kept the horse at her home in the Cotswolds for two years before giving it back to the Metropolitan Police in 2010. It was then found a new home in Norfolk with a serving police officer. Dave Wilson, Mrs Brooks's spokesman, said: "It's well known by people in the horse world that the Met looks for homes for horses once they retire. Rebekah took on a horse and effectively acted as a foster parent for it for a year or so. "The Met horse team comes out to make sure your facilities are right and proper. It's just a way of giving a temporary home to a horse that has had a distinguished service in the Met. It went off to a retirement paddock in Norfolk once it couldn't be ridden any more." At the time Mrs Brooks took on the horse, she was editor of The Sun, but had given evidence to a committee of MPs five years earlier admitting that the News of the World had paid policemen when she was editor of the Sunday paper between 2000 and 2003. By the time she gave the horse back to the Met she was chief executive of News International and the Met was facing calls to re-open its investigation into phone hacking following the disclosure that thousands of names of potential victims appeared in Mulcaire's notebooks. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "When a police horse reaches the end of its working life, Mounted Branch officers find it a suitable retirement home. Whilst responsibility for feeding the animal and paying vet bills passes to the person entrusted to its care at its new home, the horse remains the property of the Metropolitan Police Service. "Retired police horses are not sold on and can be returned to the care of the MPS at any time. In 2008 a retired MPS horse was loaned to Rebekah Brooks. The horse was subsequently re-housed with a police officer in 2010." The horse has since died of natural causes, the Met said. The Metropolitan Police website states that: "At the end of the police horse's working life the animal is re-homed at one of many identified establishments who have previously contacted the Mounted Branch with a view to offering a home. "The Mounted Branch is looking for suitable homes for retired horses, that is homes where the horse will not be ridden. Anyone in the southeast of England offering such a home will be considered first." ||||| It was a matter of minutes before the inevitable spoof "Rebekah's Horse" Twitter account sprung up, though the quality of his jokes has left a bit to be desired: <noframe>Twitter: RebekahsHorse - My PR has set me up a brief twitter question and answer session later this afternoon. Hope I don't stirrup any trouble.</noframe> He wasn't the only one who couldn't resist a pun. The Mirror's associate editor Kevin Maguire, Lord Prescott and several others were just as culpable. <noframe>Twitter: Kevin Maguire - That Rebekah Brooks horse story is a night mare for the Met <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=badpuns" target="_blank">#badpuns</a></noframe> <noframe>Twitter: John Prescott - Police sources reveal <a href="http://www.twitter.com/rebekahshorse" target="_blank">@rebekahshorse</a> was working undercover for neeeeybourhood watch! via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/TTuzzle" target="_blank">@TTuzzle</a> <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=horsegate" target="_blank">#horsegate</a></noframe> <noframe>Twitter: Mark Austin - Did the horse have a say in being ridden by Rebecca . Yay or neigh? <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=horsegate" target="_blank">#horsegate</a></noframe> Telegraph Chief Reporter Gordon Rayner, who is covering the horse loan story, couldn't resist either: <noframe>Twitter: Gordon Rayner - Did Scotland Yard hear a rumour that Rebekah Brooks was into hacking, hence the gift of a horse? <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=hacking" target="_blank">#hacking</a></noframe> Tom Watson MP is glad things haven't gone the way of The Godfather. <noframe>Twitter: tom_watson - At least the horse's head didn't end up in my bed! <a href="http://t.co/UfwsVlmY" target="_blank">http://t.co/UfwsVlmY</a> Unbelievable. Quite unbelievable.</noframe> Pity the poor BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, bumped from his radio slot. <noframe>Twitter: Rory Cellan-Jones - Blimey this is serious - R5Live has just dropped me in favour of Rebekah Brooks' horse…</noframe> His BBC colleagues meanwhile were having fun with this one: <noframe>Twitter: Chris Mason - The BBC correspondent assigned to cover the Rebekah Brooks loaned a horse by the Met story is....Fiona Trott.</noframe> Attention now turns to the identity of the horse. <noframe>Twitter: Iain Martin - If the horse lent by the Metropolitan Police to Rebekah Brooks turns out to be Shergar then it's the story of the century</noframe> |
|
background : dumping syndrome is a recognized complication of various gastric surgical procedures , such as vagotomy , pyloroplasty , and gastrojejunostomy .
however , it has not to date been reported following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication in adults.case report : we describe the case of a 34-year - old woman who developed late dumping syndrome following an uneventful laparoscopic nissen fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease.conclusion:this condition should be considered in patients who develop hypoglycemic symptoms following laparoscopic fundoplication . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | dumping syndrome is a recognized complication of various gastric surgical procedures , such as vagotomy , pyloroplasty , and gastrojejunostomy . however , it has not to date been reported following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication in adults . we describe the case of a 34-year - old woman who developed late dumping syndrome following an uneventful laparoscopic nissen fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease . fundoplication as a surgical treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease ( gerd ) was first described by nissen in l956 . over the ensuing decades , a number of modifications were made to the original procedure , and in the early 1990s , progress in minimally invasive surgery facilitated the development of laparoscopic fundoplication . the laparoscopic approach offered a potentially more acceptable surgical option for patients with gerd with equivalent results to that of the open procedure . this resulted in many symptomatic patients , who previously did not wish to undergo open antireflux surgery , opting for laparoscopic fundoplication . a number of recognized complications are associated with fundoplication surgery ; these include dysphagia , gasbloat syndrome , abnormal gastric motility , gastric hypersensitivity , and return of gerd symptoms . dumping syndrome has been documented as a complication of open fundoplication and also in pediatric laparoscopic fundoplication . however , a literature search yielded no report of this as a complication of laparoscopic fundoplication in adults . we report the case of a 34-year - old patient who developed late dumping syndrome following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication . she did not wish to be on life - long medication with a proton pump inhibitor and sought a permanent surgical solution . endoscopy demonstrated a small 3-cm to 4-cm hiatus hernia and evidence of moderate reflux esophagitis . a laparoscopic nissen fundoplication was performed with a short 360-degree wrap secured with ethibond incorporating the esophageal wall . the patient 's hiatus was also repaired with plication of the crura over an intraesophageal bougie . she had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on the third postoperative day . at outpatient review 6 weeks later , she complained of mild dysphagia to solids as well as gas bloating and went on to have this successfully treated with endoscopy and balloon dilatation . she was re - referred by her general practitioner 5 months postoperatively with symptoms of postprandial dizziness , sweating , and light - headedness . an opinion was sought from an endocrinologist who felt her symptoms might be related to a reactive hypoglycemia . a prolonged oral glucose tolerance test confirmed a hypoglycemic dip at 150 minutes to 180 minutes post glucose challenge , and a diagnosis of late dumping syndrome was made . dumping syndrome falls into 2 types , early ( osmotic ) and late ( hypoglycemic ) . in both instances , a large volume of gastric content where the anatomy of the pyloric sphincter has been altered by pyloroplasty , or bypassed by gastrojejunostomy , dumping syndrome can be explained by the direct unhindered passage of gastric content to the small bowel . however , where the pylorus is intact , the exact mechanisms are poorly understood , but hypotheses include damage to the vagus nerve and disruption of gastric motility . symptoms can broadly be divided into vasomotor ( including tachycardia , sweating , palpitations , flushing , and dizziness ) and gastrointestinal ( nausea , cramping abdominal pain , and diarrhea ) . early dumping , which occurs up to 45 minutes after a meal , is thought to result from the passage of a large volume of osmotic material into the small bowel , causing an influx of fluid from the intravascular space . the subsequent reduction in circulating volume , combined with the release of vasoactive substances , such as vasoactive intestinal polypeptide , causes the symptoms . in late dumping , however , they do not arise until 2 hours to 4 hours after a meal and are due to an entirely different mechanism . here , a rapid delivery of sugars into the duodenum and consequent rise in blood sugar causes an excessive serum insulin response with subsequent rebound hypoglycemia . symptoms of late dumping tend to be much more subtle and nonspecific than in the early syndrome , and the diagnosis may not always be considered . confirmation is made by demonstrating a rebound hypoglycemia following a prolonged oral glucose tolerance test . we have been unable to find any previous reports of late dumping syndrome in adults following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication in the literature . the condition was described in 1983 following open fundoplication , and there have been several case reports and small studies of dumping syndrome following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication in pediatric surgery . reasons for this apparent prevalence in children are unclear . in their study of infants undergoing fundoplication , samuk et al reported that almost 50% had major associated disorders , ie , neurological impairment , familial dysautonomia , or more than one disease . in addition , 86.6% of the patients developing dumping syndrome in this study had also undergone simultaneous gastrostomy , which was suggested by the authors to be a possible predisposing factor . this is the first reported case of late dumping syndrome in an adult following laparoscopic nissen fundoplication . the apparently high incidence of this in the pediatric literature might suggest that it is an underdiagnosed complication in adults . clinicians should therefore be aware that this as a possible complication , and we would advocate early investigation by glucose tolerance testing , which is a relatively cheap and easy way to exclude postprandial hypoglycemia . |
|
– The Syrian military has been hit with a raft of new defections: Six officers and 33 soldiers today quit the country for Turkey. Reports suggest they brought their families along, bringing the total number to 224 people. Accounts differ as to whether the defectors included an army general. They add to seven others, including three pilots, who have left the country since last week's defection of a pilot to Jordan, al-Arabiya reports. Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with the potential fallout after Syria shot down a Turkish plane, the New York Times notes. The EU wants Turkey "to be restrained in its response" to the incident, the EU's foreign policy head said; NATO meetings are set for tomorrow. Europe won't back military intervention, says the Dutch foreign minister. Back in Syria, the crisis in Homs is growing, with the opposition Free Syrian Army citing a regime plan "to commit the greatest massacre in history," according to al-Jazeera. The group says the regime is sending some 100 tanks to Homs, and it's time for the "international community" to take action. "We have called on the world to do something for our city and its trapped, unarmed civilians, yet there has been no response from anyone," the Syrian National Council said, calling the situation a "genocide." The Red Cross says it's struggling to get "unambiguous" approval from both sides as it steps up its attempt to help locals evacuate, Reuters reports. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross renewed efforts on Monday to enter the Syrian town of Homs to evacuate civilians and wounded trapped by fighting but said it needed "unambiguous" agreement from both sides to make that happen. Aid workers have been seeking access to the flashpoint city since government forces and opposition agreed to a humanitarian pause in the fighting last week. But the ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent team was forced to turn back last Thursday after hearing shooting as they entered the old city. "We have now made a second demarche in fact today so that we can go back to relevant places in Homs, together with the Syrian Red Crescent," ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said. "The agreement of the parties to a conflict is necessary to do the job. There are also real security concerns, booby traps and other things," he told a news conference in Geneva. The ICRC says hundreds of civilians in the old city of Homs are trapped by fighting and wounded urgently need medical care. "The will remains very strong to have access," Kellenberger said. "If we want to enter, it is obviously because we think there are huge humanitarian needs." The independent aid agency also planned to deliver assistance to Aleppo, Latakia and Tartous this week, he said. The only international aid agency working actively in Syria, it now deploys 30 expatriate workers in the country, Kellenberger said, noting that they travel without armed escort. "The ICRC remains the only international humanitarian actor working in his very dangerous context. And that does not go without saying, I have to tell you," he said. On Friday, a Syrian Red Crescent volunteer was shot dead on first aid duty in Deir al-Zor, an eastern province affected by heavy shelling and fierce fighting between security forces and rebels who have joined the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. The United Nations, which said on Friday that 1.5 million Syrians now need assistance, has been largely shut out of Syria. The world body is still trying to deploy U.N. aid workers under an agreement clinched with the government earlier this month - but now stalled - to launch a massive aid program. But the Syrian Red Crescent has distributed some U.N. supplies. "Would a U.N. organization be ready for security reasons to work on the ground in this context? There is a big difference between giving responsibility to somebody else to carry out humanitarian work and being engaged yourself in humanitarian work," Kellenberger said. ICRC officials have visited two prisons, in Damascus and Aleppo, since September to ensure that conditions of detention are decent and to prevent the use of torture. It has yet to secure access to prisoners held by militants, Kellenberger said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich) ||||| The Dutch foreign minister on Monday said that the European Union will condemn Syria's downing of a Turkish jet, but will not support military intervention in the troubled country. "What happened is to be considered very seriously [but] we do not go for any interventions," Uri Rosenthal said ||||| Syrian troops pounded the central city of Homs on Monday, activists and monitors said, amid warnings from the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) of an impending "massacre" there. Main opposition bloc the Syrian National Council (SNC) issued a distress plea from residents, urging international help "before it is too late." The Syrian Revolution General Authority reported shelling of Jorat Shiyah neighbourhood and "a violent bombardment of the Hamidiyeh district with rockets and artillery." The FSA said "Arab and Islamic countries, friendly nations and concerned international organisations" bore responsibility for what happens. "The brave city of Homs faces the strongest and most violent bombardment of rockets, artillery and tanks," its Supreme Military Council said in a statement. "The regime is sending reinforcements estimated at 100 tanks in the direction of Homs... which clearly demonstrates its intention to commit the greatest massacre in history." The FSA holds "the international community and its organisations responsible for what has happened, and what will happen in the brave city of Homs." "To ignore these great people, you will pay a high price in the region for your positions, and you can be sure that this regime has been sentenced to death by its people and history." The SNC in a statement called the 20-day siege of Homs "a campaign of genocide." "We have called on the world to do something for our city and its trapped, unarmed civilians, yet there has been no response from anyone. "We are being bombed mercilessly, indiscriminately and relentlessly with rocket launchers and helicopter gunships and mortars, tanks and heavy weapons." "What is happening in Syria in general, and Homs in particular, is not a military or political conflict, but genocide," the SNC said. It warned that a "war on defenceless people" would sow "mines of hatred" in the region, and urged the international community to "act immediately for the relief of Homs, before it is too late." The appeal said Homs was experiencing shortages of food, water and medicine, and that "the Red Cross and Red Crescent are prevented from entering our neighbourhoods" because of the fighting. "Our wounded are dying of injuries and illnesses could be treated easily if the medicines were available." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported one person shot by sniper fire in Homs early on Monday, a day after at least 91 people were killed nationwide, among them 59 civilians. |
|
– Seven members of SEAL Team Six—one of whom took part in the Osama bin Laden raid—are in trouble because of a video game. The elite troops were paid consultants on Electronic Arts' "Medal of Honor: Warfighter," whose missions include a raid on Somali pirates; the game touts its realism by citing the fact that commandos worked on the project, CBS News reports. The SEALs—who are supposed to avoid publicity—reportedly revealed classified material in the process, and the AP reports that they apparently gave video designers a look at some of the combat equipment specifically designed for their unit. The seven SEALs in question have been sent "letters of reprimand" that kill their chance of promotion, and half of their pay has been cut for two months. (Another four who are no longer on SEAL Team Six are under investigation.) But they're not the only ones in the public eye these days: The commander of the bin Laden raid, Adm. William McRaven, has approved some publicity for the team, including Act of Valor, a film starring actual SEALs. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | 7 Navy SEALs disciplined for role with video game (CBS News) The U.S. Navy SEALs are part of an elite force that operates in the shadows, best known for killing Osama bin Laden. However, CBS News has learned a group of SEALs has been disciplined for revealing secrets. The seven members of SEAL Team Six are all still on active duty. One of them was on the raid which killed Osama bin Laden and made SEAL Team Six a household name. For two days this spring and summer, they worked as paid consultants on a recently released video game, "Medal of Honor: Warfighter." Four other members of the team who have since transferred out of the unit but are still on active duty are under investigation. The game does not recreate the bin Laden raid, but it does portray realistic missions, such as an attack on a pirates' den in Somalia. It was produced by Electronic Arts, which boasts that real commandos, both active duty and retired, help make its games as realistic as possible. Film on bin Laden raid to air just before election SEAL describes Bin Laden's final moments It is unclear what secrets members of SEAL Team Six gave away, but while serving as consultants for the game, they used classified material which had been given to them by the Navy. They also violated the unwritten code that SEALs are silent warriors who shun the spotlight. In fact, the SEALs have been buried in an avalanche of publicity, some of it approved by Adm. William McRaven, the commander of the bin Laden raid and now the head of the Special Operations Command, for instance, the movie "Act of Valor." "Yes, there are SEALs, I think eight of them, active duty Navy SEALs, that are in it," said McRaven. "It started as a recruiting film." SEAL Team Six will be featured in two upcoming movies: One about the rescue of the captain of a container ship kidnapped by Somali pirates, the other about the bin Laden raid. The SEALs have gone Hollywood, but it could cost those who worked on the video game their careers. The seven who have been punished so far all received letters of reprimand which would kill their chances for promotion. They also had half their pay taken away for two months. ||||| Seven members of the secretive Navy SEAL Team 6, including one involved in the mission to get Osama bin Laden, have been punished for disclosing classified information, senior Navy officials said Thursday. This product image released by Electronic Arts shows action from the video game "Medal of Honor: Warfighter." Seven members of the secretive Navy SEAL Team 6, including one involved in the mission to... (Associated Press) Four other SEALs are under investigation for similar alleged violations, one official said. The SEALs are alleged to have divulged classified information to the maker of a video game called "Medal of Honor: Warfighter." Each of the seven received a punitive letter of reprimand and a partial forfeiture of pay for two months. Those actions generally hinder a military member's career. The deputy commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Garry Bonelli, issued a statement acknowledging that nonjudicial punishments had been handed out for misconduct, but he did not offer any details. "We do not tolerate deviations from the policies that govern who we are and what we do as sailors in the United States Navy," Bonelli said. He alluded to the importance of honoring nondisclosure agreements that SEALs sign. He said the punishments this week "send a clear message throughout our force that we are and will be held to a high standard of accountability." The two main complaints against the SEALs were that they did not seek the permission of their command to take part in the video project and that they showed the video designers some of their specially designed combat equipment unique to their unit, said a senior military official. The official was briefed about the case but was not authorized to speak publicly about it. SEALs, including some of those involved in the bin Laden raid of May 2011, have been uncharacteristically prominent in the news this year. Matt Bissonnette, who participated in the raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, but later retired from the SEALs, wrote a firsthand account under the pseudonym Mark Owen, but he landed in hot water with the Pentagon even before it was published in September. The Pentagon accused him of disclosing classified information in violation of the nondisclosure agreements he had signed as a SEAL. He disputes the charge. The SEAL mission to capture or kill Laden, while stunningly successful, encountered a number of unexpected obstacles, including the loss of a stealthy helicopter that was partially blown up by the SEALs after making a hard landing inside bin Laden's compound. The head of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, responded to the Bissonnette book by telling his force that "hawking details about a mission" and selling other information about SEAL training and operations puts the force and their families at risk. SEALs, both active duty and retired, possess highly sensitive information about tactics and techniques that are central to the success of their secret and often dangerous missions overseas. That is why they are obliged to sign nondisclosure agreements when they enter service and when they leave, and it is why the Pentagon seeks to enforce such written agreements. The punishments were first reported by CBS News. ___ AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report. |
|
– Gun violence in Chicago has been an ever-present topic in recent news, and this weekend just saw more disturbing statistics emerge. Seventeen people were shot and killed between Friday night and Monday morning, per homicide numbers tracked by the Chicago Sun-Times; 41 others were reported injured. That makes it the city's most lethal weekend in terms of gun violence in all of 2016 (there were 13 fatal shootings on both Father's Day weekend and Labor Day weekend). "It was a tough weekend," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told reporters Monday, noting that most of the shootings were linked to gangs and that he thought locals "would be in a better frame of mind" because the Cubs were in the World Series. Among this weekend's fatalities: four teens, two of them twins. Edwin and Edward Bryant, 17, were shot in the Old Town section of the city just after 3am on Sunday, CBS Chicago reports. The fraternal twins, both high school juniors, were standing outside when a dark-colored car drove by and shots rang out from inside, Chicago cops say. Johnson says there's video of the shooting police are reviewing. Edward, who played basketball on his high school's team and also for a neighborhood youth program, was shot in the head and chest; Edwin was shot in the chest. Both brothers died within an hour of each other after being transported to a local hospital. "These violent gun offenders are clearly giving us the message that they just don't care about … Chicago," Johnson said, per the Sun-Times. "I'm sick of it and I know the people in the communities are tired of it." | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Twin brothers, 17, among 17 killed in deadliest weekend of year Chicago Police investigate a homicide early Sunday in the 1300 block of North Hudson. Edwin and Edward Bryant were standing outside about 3:15 a.m. in the 1300 block of North Hudson when a dark-color vehicle drove by and someone inside opened fire, according to Chicago Police. | Network Video Productions Twin 17-year-old brothers were killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday in Old Town — among 17 people shot and killed in Chicago between Friday evening and Monday morning. It was the deadliest gun-violence weekend so far this year, according to homicide totals tracked by the Chicago Sun-Times. Besides those shot and killed, 41 other people were wounded in gun violence citywide. Edwin and Edward Bryant were standing outside about 3:15 a.m. in the 1300 block of North Hudson when a dark-colored vehicle drove by and someone inside opened fire, according to Chicago Police. The brothers were two of four teenagers shot dead in Chicago since early Saturday. The spike in violence over the weekend was on the mind of Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson when he addressed the media at Navy Pier Monday morning, after a graduation ceremony for the department’s newest officers. “It was a tough weekend,” Johnson said. “Clearly there were a lot more people outside, but you would think people would be in a better frame of mind given the fact that the Cubs are playing in the World Series,” he added. “The majority of these shootings this weekend were gang-related, we know that.” This year’s highest total for fatal shootings on a weekend had been 13; that number was reached on both Father’s Day and Labor Day weekends. In another particularly violent stretch, nine people were killed in city shootings and 13 others were wounded on Monday, Aug. 9. “Until we start holding repeat gun offenders accountable for these crimes, they’re going to keep seeing cycles of gun violence like this. The majority of these shootings this weekend were gang-related, we know that. But they just have no fear of the consequences of their actions,” Johnson said Monday. “These violent gun offenders are clearly giving us the message that they just don’t care about the rest of the city of Chicago. To be quite frank, I’m sick of it and I know the people in the communities are tired of it. That’s why we have to do a better job of holding those individuals accountable.” Johnson said that in the case of the Bryant twins, “we do have video footage of that incident. We’re making progress on it. The two brothers, as far as we could tell, they didn’t have any documented gang affiliation. But the individuals they were with did. So it’s possibly gang-related.” He added: “We are making substantial progress on a number of those cases over the weekend. We just have to ensure that we keep working hard and I know the detectives will.” Edwin Bryant was shot in the chest and back and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:45 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and police. Edward suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and head and was also taken to Northwestern, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. The fraternal twins were juniors at Marshall High School in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side after transferring from Lincoln Park High School as freshmen, according to Edward’s youth basketball coach. Edward played basketball for the Marshall and for the Chicago Demons, a youth basketball program in Old Town, according to Chicago Demons Coach Vince Carter. Edwin also played basketball until middle school. Carter said Edward played on the Demons’ traveling team since 6th grade. Earlier this year, the Demons won the Bigfoot Classic in Houston and the Las Vegas Live tournament. About 30 teams competed in the tournament in Houston and about 75 teams in Las Vegas. “He was a big part of [those wins],” Carter said. Standing 6-foot-5, Edward played forward and could dunk, Carter said. He “had a Kevin Durant look…and had been coming into his own in the last few years.” He probably would have played college basketball, and Division I college teams “were looking at him.” “He played hard,” Carter said. “He loved basketball … but you had to push him to realize his potential.” Edward can be seen dunking at the end of the video below that was Tweeted by a teammate. My boy could fly 😭😭 #restuped pic.twitter.com/xVPd1gK4NS — Hunter Walder (@hunter_wader7) October 30, 2016 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Other friends and teammates took to Twitter to pay their respects Sunday. Was about to text him & ask for his school schedule. Blessed to have been able to coach him. Gotta cherish these moments #DemonsForever pic.twitter.com/YLWgknwLis — Skeet (@eyeSkeet) October 30, 2016 Man. Really not gonna hit me until we start practicing and Ed doesn't walk in the gym. Loved that kid. — Skeet (@eyeSkeet) October 30, 2016 This don't even feel real💯😓 RestUpLilBro pic.twitter.com/h20vgt2tQk — Daquan Fairley🤘🏾 (@QuanDaG_11) October 30, 2016 ||||| CHICAGO (CBS) — Twin brothers were fatally gunned down in an early morning drive by shooting in Old Town. It happened just after 3 a.m. near Hudson and Evergreen. The 17-year-old victims, Edwin and Edward Bryant, were standing outside when a car drove by an someone starting shooting. The brothers died at Northwestern Memorial hosptial a short time later. So far, police have made no arrests. |
|
– As part of Poland's bid to get a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has been meeting with officials from countries “such as Belize or San Escobar," he told reporters. One slight problem: San Escobar does not, in fact, exist. A spokeswoman says he was thinking of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a two-island Caribbean nation known as San Crisóbal y Nieves in Spanish, reports the Guardian. Still, he is a foreign minister and the internet has not let the mistake pass unnoticed. The fictional San Escobar now has a Facebook page, a flag, and banknotes, and the beaches look lovely. On the bright side for Poland, the BBC notes that one tweet declares that San Escobar "fully supports Poland's candidacy to the Security Council." | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| We've detected that JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Would you like to proceed to legacy Twitter? Yes ||||| Image copyright AP Image caption Witold Waszczykowski (left) met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. There are no known pictures of his meeting with officials from San Escobar. Do you know the way to San Escobar? Probably not, it doesn't exist, but that didn't stop Poland's foreign minister claiming to have had a productive meeting with its officials this week. Witold Waszczykowski told reporters he met with various nations for Poland's bid to join the UN security council, "such as Belize or San Escobar". Mr Waszczykowski has been roundly mocked on Twitter, the one place San Escobar does now exist, flag and all. He said that he had had meetings with officials from nearly 20 countries, including some Caribbean nations "for the first time in the history of our diplomacy. For example with countries such as Belize or San Escobar". He put the slip down to tiredness. "Unfortunately after 22 hours in planes and several connecting flights you can make a slip of the tongue," he said. He said he had in mind Saint Kitts and Nevis, a two-island Caribbean country known in Spanish as San Cristobal y Nieves. Twitter users responded in customary style, creating an official account and a flag for the island nation. One tweet said that San Escobar "fully supports Poland's candidacy to the Security Council". Another designed some currency, but added: "It's funny until you realise your only allies left are Belarus, Hungary and an imaginary nation state." ||||| Witold Waszczykowski derided on Twitter after talk of lobbying non-existent country as part of bid for UN security council seat Poland’s foreign minister has become the subject of online derision after he said he had met the representative of a non-existent country as part of Poland’s campaign to get a non-permanent seat on the UN security council. Witold Waszczykowski was in New York to lobby for a seat on the council from 2018-19. On Tuesday, he told reporters he had held meetings with officials from nearly 20 countries, including some Caribbean nations “for the first time in the history of our diplomacy”. He then gave examples of countries “such as Belize or San Escobar”. The latter, as many people were quick to point out, does not exist. A spokeswoman for the Polish foreign ministry said it had been a slip of the tongue and Waszczykowski was thinking of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a two-island Caribbean country known in Spanish as San Crisóbal y Nieves. San Escobar (@rpdsanescobar) #SanEscobar State Council introduces a visa-free regime with Poland, and a visa requirement for @SealandGov citizens, starting Jan 15th. But the statement did not prevent social media users from jumping on the gaffe. Using #SanEscobar, Twitter users made jokes and even invented a flag for San Escobar. A Facebook page adorned with maps and photographs of the imaginary country was set up, including pictures purportedly of work on a huge statue of Waszczykowski being built to honour his contribution to bilateral relations between the two countries. One account, called San Escobar, has been tweeting policies and landscape photos of the non-existent nation for the past day. Another posted a picture of a San Escobaran banknote featuring a picture of Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s governing party. Waszczykowski’s error brought to mind the 1933 Marx Brothers film Duck Soup, in which the tiny nation of Freedonia, “Land of the Brave, and Free”, suffers from severe financial problems and receives a loan from a wealthy widower to stay afloat. The term Freedonia has since been used to refer to fictional countries in popular culture. While working on Candid Camera, Woody Allen played a practical joke by asking passersby what they thought of the bid for independence for Freedonia. San Escobar (@rpdsanescobar) The magnificient Esperal Bay in #SanEscobar #VisitSanEscobar pic.twitter.com/QHE1c1DB4z In the 90s, satirical magazine Spy got several members of the US Congress to issue statements condemning ethnic cleansing in Freedonia, and in season six of political drama The West Wing, the character CJ Cregg wonders why Freedonia is left off a list of candidates for Nato membership. In reality, it is not unusual for politicians to stumble by making up names of places or inventing words. George W Bush was so adept at this that the term Bushism was devised to describe unconventional statements, pronunciations, malapropisms and linguistic errors in his speeches. Exen 🇵🇱 (@Exen) Little-known fact: bilateral meetings in #SanEscobar regularly go on for 48 and sometimes even 72 hours straight pic.twitter.com/upSKuXzSkt Ewa Lalik (@ewqaewqa) @rpdsanescobar here you go pic.twitter.com/s8s8UXkLqG Some claimed that during the televised debates with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump had made up words such as braggadocious, but Merriam-Webster dictionary explained that it is “a dialectical word from 19th-century America” used to mean “the annoying or exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound very proud or brave”. The word is so seldom used in the 21st century that it does not have an entry in the dictionary, Merriam-Webster added. |
|
a 28-year - old male presented with neck pain and dysesthesias in the right upper limb . on examination , he had a firm , well - defined midline posterior cervical mass discernible on palpation at the mid - cervical level .
he had no neurological deficit .
neuroradiology revealed a variegated enhancing cervical mass is arising from c3 lamina .
the mass extended into the right extradural space eroding the c3 lamina and posteriorly into the intermuscular plane .
the tumor was excised totally .
histopathology of the tumor showed features of hemangiopericytoma ( hpc ) .
the patient underwent postoperative radiotherapy .
primary osseous spinal hpc are rare malignant extra - axial tumors that tend to recur and metastasize .
only two cases of primary osseous hpc have been reported earlier to involve the cervical spine .
the clinical presentation and management of the present case with a review of the literature is presented . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | it is very rarely found in the central nervous system ( cns ) constituting 1% of all cns tumors . the present case is a rare case of primary osseous hpc arising from cervical lamina and spreading intraspinally with an extradural component as well as an intermuscular extension . a 28-years - old male presented with a history of neck pain associated with dysaesthesia in the right upper limb for 3 years . the neurological examination of the patient was normal . a local examination of the nape of the neck revealed a single ovoid swelling at the mid - cervical level having a smooth surface , well demarcated margins and firm consistency . plain radiograph of the cervical spine showed destruction of the c3 lamina and erosion of the adjacent c2 and c4 laminae by an osteolytic mass [ figure 1 ] . there was no evidence of calcifications within the mass or presence of new bone formation . computed tomography scan of the cervical spine revealed a hyperdense well - defined soft tissue mass that had eroded the right half of c3 lamina [ figure 2 ] . magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine confirmed the variegated expansible lesion to arise from the c3 lamina , which enhanced on contrast administration . the mass was well - defined , had a bosselated surface and did not infiltrate into the adjacent muscles . a hyperintense cord signal was noted at the level of cord compression [ figure 4 ] . after excising the extra spinal component of the tumor , normal dura was defined by performing c2 and c4 laminectomies . there was a complete resolution of his neck pain and right upper - limb dysesthesia . histopathological examination of the tumor revealed the lesion to be hpc [ figures 5 and 6 ] . plain radiograph of the cervical spine showing destruction of the c3 lamina and erosion of the adjacent c2 and c4 lamina by an osteolytic mass axial view of computed tomography scan of the cervical spine revealing a hyperdense well - defined soft tissue mass eroding the right half of c3 lamina postcontrast t1-weighted axial magnetic resonance image showing the well - defined enhancing mass extending into both intra -and extra - spinal compartments . multiple flow voids are noted postcontrast sagittal magnetic resonance image showing the cervical tumor to cause epidural compression , and a hyperintense signal is noted in the cervical cord photomicrograph of the tumor showing a hemangiopericytoma consisting of a diffuse sheet - like arrangement of round to oval epitheloid cells with ill - defined cell borders . . scattered dilated branching staghorn like and a thin slit like blood vessels are also seen ( h and e , 400 ) photomicrograph of immunohistochemistry of the tumor showing immunoreactivity for reticulin stain characteristic of hemangiopericytoma ( reticulin , 400 ) hemangiopericytomas usually occur in the subcutaneous soft tissue and skeletal system and rarely in the cns . meningeal hpc constitute 2 - 4% of all meningeal tumors and 1% of all cns tumors . after the first description by stout and murray in 1942 , approximately 106 cases of spinal hpc have been reported . the extradural lesions are further classified as either dural based or primary osseous . in the present case , the tumor was an extradural lesion of the primary osseous variety . of the 14 intradural tumors , 2 patients had intramedullary and 12 harbored intradural extramedullary tumors . of the 20 extradural tumors , 18 were intraspinal dural based and 2 tumors were primary osseous . both intradural and extradural dural based hpcs are most common in the cervical spine and present with neural deficits . in contrast , primary osseous hpcs mostly affect the lumbosacral spine and have paravertebral extensions , but do not present with neurological deficit . thirteen of all reported spinal hpc were primary osseous [ table 1 ] . out of these only two were located in cervical spine . thus , the present case is only the third cervical primary osseous hpc reported in the literature . cases of primary osseous spinal hemangiopericytoma reported in the literature contrary to the popular belief that hpc is a neoplasm arising from capillary pericytes , world health organization in 1990 classified them to be it is classified as grade ii tumor and considered anaplastic grade iii if the tumor contains infiltrative margins , high cellularity , nuclear pleomorphism , areas of tumor necrosis , and increased mitotic index ( > 4 mitoses/10 high - powered field ) . many studies describe that complete en bloc resection improves recurrence free rate and prolongs survival . however , in the largest series published by liu et al . there was no benefit demonstrated from complete resection . the surgeon should be prepared for a substantial amount of bleeding during tumor excision because of high vascularity of hpcs . preoperative embolization can be used to reduce the operative blood loss , which can enhance the chance of gross total resection . in most series , adjuvant the length of survival of spinal hpc depends on the site , size and grade of the tumor . poorer prognosis is associated with tumors larger than 6 cm , higher histological grade of the tumor and extradural locations . the incidence of recurrence for spinal hpc ranges from 48% to 88% and the incidence of metastasis is 17% . intradural spinal hpc and dural based hpc have a better prognosis than primary osseous lesions . such a lesion should be considered in the differential diagnosis of midline posterior neck swelling . |
|
– Some "stunning" revelations from new Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani this week have caused a stir in the legal community and made the former NYC mayor the butt of late-night jokes. Adding to the commotion: the president himself, who the New York Times says "undercut" Giuliani Friday on claims Giuliani made about the Stormy Daniels payment during a surprising Wednesday Fox News interview. In that segment, Giuliani said Trump had reimbursed attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels, as well as paid him back hundreds of thousands more for "other things of a personal nature that Michael took care of." Giuliani also said three US prisoners in North Korea would be released Thursday, though there's so far been no official confirmation of that, per CNN. And in a series of Thursday morning tweets, Trump appeared to back up Giuliani's Stormy Daniels claims from the previous night, focusing on the fact that no campaign funds were used to make the hush payment. But Friday morning, Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House that everything "has been said incorrectly," and that it's mainly because Giuliani isn't up to speed yet. "When Rudy made the statements—Rudy is great—but Rudy had just started, and he wasn't totally familiar with everything," he said. He also called Giuliani a "special guy," said Giuliani "really understands that this is a witch hunt," and that "he's learning the subject matter. … He started yesterday. He'll get his facts straight." As for the Stormy Daniels transaction, Trump said, "It's actually very simple," though he didn't clarify what he meant. "We're not changing any stories," he said. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA. These agreements are..... ||||| (CNN) President Donald Trump publicly undermined his attorney Rudy Giuliani on Friday , saying the former New York City mayor had only a loose grasp of the Stormy Daniels business when he spoke about it earlier this week. A clarifying statement from Giuliani issued four hours later did little to illuminate the matter. Instead, the series of pronouncements only lent further confusion to an issue that has deeply undercut the administration's credibility and has fueled the impression of a West Wing in crisis. "He''ll get his facts straight," Trump stipulated of his longtime friend on Friday morning, before adding: "There has been a lot of misinformation. I say, You know what? Learn before you speak. It's a lot easier." Calling Giuliani a "great guy," Trump nonetheless insisted his attorney wasn't fully up to speed when he told an interviewer that Trump had reimbursed another lawyer for hush money paid to Daniels , an adult film actress who claims she had sex with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied the encounter. "He really has his heart into it. He's working hard," Trump said of Giuliani, before adding: "He's learning the subject matter." By midday, Giuliani had issued a statement he said was "intended to clarify the views I expressed over the past few days." But it did little to spell out when precisely Trump knew of the payment, or how involved he was in reimbursing Cohen. "My references to timing were not describing my understanding of the President's knowledge, but instead, my understanding of these matters," Giuliani wrote. He asserted the payment would have been made "whether he was a candidate or not." Seeking clarity Trump sought to clarify the matter during a pair of morning appearances as he departed for Dallas, where he will address the National Rifle Association. He spoke first outside the South Portico, as his Marine One helicopter was idling nearby, and again under the wing of Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. It was his first time speaking about the matter after Giuliani sat for an interview this week and claimed Trump had paid back his lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 hush payment to Daniels, an adult film actress whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford. Trump seemed to initially back up Giuliani's statement on Twitter the morning after his interview. But he reversed course on Friday. "Everything said has been said incorrectly," he said. Giuliani, who announced he was joining Trump's legal team 15 days ago, "started yesterday," the President insisted. "When Rudy made the statements -- Rudy is great -- but Rudy had just started, and he wasn't totally familiar with everything," he said. Trump had previously said he wasn't aware of the payment. He told reporters aboard Air Force One a month ago "no" when questioned about his knowledge of the arrangement. 'Not changing any stories' JUST WATCHED Trump: I would love to talk to Mueller but ... Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: I would love to talk to Mueller but ... 02:26 He grew indignant on Friday when pressed about the shifting version of events. "We're not changing any stories," Trump demanded on the Andrews tarmac. "This country is right now running so smooth and to be bringing up that kind of crap, and bringing up witch hunts all the time, that's all you want to talk about." As reporters interjected, Trump chided them -- "excuse me, excuse me" -- and insisted they review what he'd said. "You take a look at what I said. You go back and take a look," he ordered. "You'll see what I said." The remarkable series of appearances did little to clarify matters, which have served to erode the credibility both of the President and his aides, who insisted Trump knew nothing of the hush payments. Trump, however, said there should be no confusion. "It's actually very simple," he declared without explanation. Crisis mode JUST WATCHED Trump gets testy with reporter over Stormy Daniels Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump gets testy with reporter over Stormy Daniels 00:54 The matter has again plunged the President's staff and legal team into crisis mode and left them scrambling to catch up with events. There was little indication beforehand that Giuliani had planned to reveal the payment details on Wednesday night, despite his insistence that he remains aligned with his client. "You wont see daylight between me and the President," Giuliani told CNN's Dana Bash on Thursday. If there was a strategy cooked up between the President and his lawyer, most White House aides were left in the dark. Chief of staff John Kelly was among the aides who watched the Giuliani interview with shock on Wednesday. Kelly's stature inside the White House has long been the subject of speculation. But Trump sought to bolster his standing on Friday. "We have a great relationship. He's doing a great job as chief of staff. I could not be more happy," Trump said. "So I just want to tell you that." ||||| ...despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction. |
|
for a number of years we have been following the medical literature to find a relationship between chronic treatment with methotrexate and breast cancer occurrence , because we had had in our clinic a female patient who had had two consecutive cancers following methotrexate treatment for rheumatoid arthritis ( ra ) .
we were much surprised to find in some papers that breast cancer incidence is low in women with ra .
since then , we have found several papers explaining the low incidence of breast cancer among women being under nsaids , but those papers are not univocal .
methotrexate is a known antifolate agent and it has been demonstrated that dietary shortage of folate is a risk factor for breast cancer development . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | in the last two decades there has been a growing interest in studying the appearance of secondary malignancies in conjunction with rheumatoid arthritis ( ra ) [ 1 , 2 ] . the majority of the described malignancies included hematological malignancies especially lymphoma , lung cancer , melanoma and kaposi 's sarcoma [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] . breast cancer incidence is not considered to be increased in ra , except , possibly , in japanese women . our interest in the subject of secondary tumors in patients being treated chronically with immunosuppressive therapy , especially with methotrexate , started with the presentation of a 78-year - old woman in our oncology institute . this patient had been treated for ra with small doses of prednisolone , up to 10 mg daily , and methotrexate , up to 12.5 mg once a week , for a period of 20 years . she was then diagnosed with stage ii infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast ( t2n0m0 ) , containing high levels of estrogen and progesterone receptors . her general condition at that time was considered good and her karnovsky status was 90% . postoperative adjuvant treatment was commenced with tamoxifen and the therapy with prednisolone and methotrexate was continued unchanged . for 2 years after her breast cancer diagnosis , this patient continued to be without any evidence of breast cancer recurrence and she was free of any ra activity as well . at that time , kaposi 's sarcoma lesions of the right inner thigh skin and foot were identified and confirmed by biopsy . it was then decided to cease the immunosuppressive therapy and to give the patient the opportunity to recover from her kaposi 's sarcoma . due to termination of prednisolone and methotrexate and in order to change previous immunosuppressive treatment , tetracycline ( minocycline ) and gold salts ( ridaura ) were begun . as a result , almost a month later , a spontaneous resolution of some of the kaposi 's lesions was observed . some of the lesions shrunk and some even disappeared . this response was observed for a period of 30 days but as soon as the lesions started to regrow , a weekly treatment with vinblastine was started . soon after the initiation of chemotherapy , our patient on her own volition stopped tamoxifen that had been prescribed to her earlier . after a while , lung metastases , confirmed by histology to be of breast cancer origin , were identified . unfortunately , she died of lung insufficiency due to breast cancer metastases to her lungs . she did not have any signs of kaposi 's sarcoma at the time of her death . notably , with the vinblastine treatment a complete response was obtained in kaposi 's sarcoma , lasting for 1 year . we reported this case since we had to optimize several clinical judgments regarding a combined approach to a multiple simultaneous problem , using 1 drug applicable for 2 malignancies , breast carcinoma and kaposi 's sarcoma . our experience illustrated that even in the period of well - established guidelines , when clinicians are facing a special situation , they may sometimes have to make an individual clinical decision that matches a specific patient . in general , vinca rosea derivates , especially vincristine and vinorelbine , are the chemotherapy protocols recommended for recurrent kaposi 's sarcoma . vinblastine is usually not used . our fear that our patient , affected by chronic methotrexate use , might develop neutropenic fever , led to the clinical decision of using vinblastine rather than the other derivates , since vinblastine is in use for breast cancer treatment . lately , neither signs of neutropenic fever , nor of kaposi 's sarcoma were confirmed . on the one hand , methotrexate is a recognized antifolate agent and chronic lack of folates is an accepted factor in breast cancer pathogenesis . yet , on the other hand , anti - inflammatory non - steroidal drugs may reduce the risk of carcinogenesis in general , and of breast cancer specifically , during the lifetime [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] . methotrexate has been used for many years in ra and in recent years a supplement of folinic acid is recommended by rheumatologists . in april 2005 , the british journal of cancer published the first study which explored the level of dna damage and folate status in mononuclear cells in breast cancer and benign breast disease patients , providing some evidence that reduced folate may be implicated in the development of breast cancer . based on retrospective studies published in different journals it is indicated clearly that ra patients have a lower incidence of breast cancer , probably due to the fact that they are being treated with nsaids , even though we discovered that this issue is not univocal . in january 2009 , an additional paper entitled use of aspirin , other nonsteroidal anti - inflammatory drugs , and acetaminophen and risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women in the nurses health study ii by eliassen et al . this paper supported the contrary claim that chemopreventive use of aspirin or other nsaids for breast cancer among premenopausal women is not warranted . further prospective investigation is needed to explain and prove the association between immune diseases , immunosuppressive treatment with methotrexate , breast cancer , and kaposi 's sarcoma . however , despite the lack of knowledge at present , one should keep in mind the possible link among these conditions , before prescribing prolonged immunosuppressive treatment . |
|
– North Korea says it may retaliate after its failed rocket test prompted the US to cut off food aid. Pyongyang holds that the launch was peaceful, and that Washington's move invalidated a deal requiring the North to halt nuclear and missile tests. "We have thus become able to take necessary retaliatory measures, free from the agreement," the country's foreign ministry said, without specifying what those measures might be, the AP reports. "The US will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences." "Peace is very dear for us but the dignity of the nation and the sovereignty of the country are dearer for us," it added. Pyongyang slammed the UN Security Council for condemning the launch. "We resolutely and totally reject the unreasonable behavior of the UNSC to violate (our) legitimate right to launch satellites," officials said, according to Reuters. Asked whether the US would consider a surgical strike to deter any North Korean nuclear ambitions, a US military officer said "all options" were on the table. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | North Korea accused the U.S. of hostility on Tuesday for suspending an agreement to provide food aid following Pyongyang's widely criticized rocket launch, and warned of retaliatory measures in response. North Korean soldiers look at a model of a rocket during a flower show to celebrate 100 years since the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. (AP... (Associated Press) North Korea's Foreign Ministry also rejected the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of Friday's launch of a long-range rocket as "unreasonable," and reasserted the nation's right to develop a civilian space program. North Korea fired a three-stage rocket Friday over the Yellow Sea in defiance of international warnings against what the U.S. and other nations said would be seen as a violation of bans against nuclear and missile activity. North Korean officials called the launch a peaceful bid to send an observation satellite into space, timed to commemorate the 100th anniversary Sunday of the birth of late North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. The launch was a failure, with the rocket splintering into pieces less than two minutes after takeoff. Condemnation was swift, with the U.S. and others calling it a covert test of rocket technology that could be used to fire a long-range missile fitted with a nuclear warhead. Washington immediately halted a plan brokered in February to provide North Korea with much-needed food aid in exchange for a suspension of its nuclear and missile programs. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council, including North Korea ally China, condemned the rocket launch as a violation of resolutions prohibiting North Korea from ballistic missile and nuclear activity, and directed its sanctions committee to strengthen penalties against the country. Responding to the condemnation, North Korea accused the U.S. late Tuesday of leading a campaign to deny its right to develop its defense and civilian space programs. North Korea's Foreign Ministry vowed to press ahead with its space ambitions, and warned it would no longer adhere to the February agreement with the U.S. "We have thus become able to take necessary retaliatory measures, free from the agreement," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. "The U.S. will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences." "Peace is very dear for us but the dignity of the nation and the sovereignty of the country are dearer for us," the statement said, without specifying what countermeasures North Korea might take. North Korea also faced U.N. Security Council condemnation after launching a long-range rocket in 2009, and walked away from six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations in protest. Weeks later, North Korea conducted a nuclear test, its second, and revealed it had a uranium enrichment program that could give scientists a second source for building atomic weapons. ||||| Rockets are carried by military vehicles during a military parade to celebrate the centenary of the birth of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012, in this picture released by the North's KCNA news agency on April 16, 2012. SEOUL North Korea on Tuesday dismissed a rebuke by the U.N. Security Council of its failed long-range rocket launch and said it was no longer bound by an agreement with the United States for a moratorium on missile and nuclear tests and arms inspection. The Security Council on Monday condemned the North for Friday's rocket launch and warned of further action if Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test, reflecting concern that it may follow a pattern it set in 2009 with its second nuclear test. "We resolutely and totally reject the unreasonable behavior of the UNSC to violate (our) legitimate right to launch satellites," the North said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency. The U.N. action was masterminded by the United States with a hostile intent denying the North of its right to conduct peaceful space research, the statement said. "As the U.S. violated the February 29 DPRK-U.S. agreement through its undisguised hostile acts, we will no longer be bound to it," the statement said, referring to a deal for a nuclear and missile test moratorium in return for food aid. "We have thus become able to take necessary retaliatory measures, free from the agreement," the North said, without specifying what actions it will take. The fate of a planned visit by international inspectors to the North's nuclear site under the February agreement is also in doubt since Pyongyang raised tensions by going ahead with the rocket launch against international warning. Powers including the United States, Japan and South Korea said the launch was a long-range missile test disguised as a satellite launch in violation of existing Security Council resolutions that put Pyongyang under tough sanctions. A senior U.S. military officer said on Tuesday that Washington was looking at "all options" as it sought to discourage the North from conducting a third nuclear test, in response to a question whether it would consider a surgical strike on the North's atomic test site. North Korea has revealed work on a uranium enrichment program, which arms experts said could give it a second path to building nuclear weapons after its plutonium-based program at its Yongbyon complex was suspended under a now-defunct 2005 international disarmament deal. U.S. and South Korean officials have said former U.S. President Bill Clinton considered the possibility of a surgical strike on Yongbyon at the height of a nuclear crisis in 1994 before Pyongyang struck an energy deal with Washington to suspend nuclear activities. (Reporting by Ju-min Park, Choonsik Yoo and Jack Kim; Editing by Angus MacSwan) |
|
– It may have seemed like Cate Blanchett came out as bisexual last week, but at a press conference this weekend for her new film, she said her comments about her relationships with women were taken out of context, the Guardian reports. "From memory, the conversation ran: 'Have you had relationships with women?' And I said: 'Yes, many times. Do you mean have I had sexual relationships with women? Then the answer is no,'" Blanchett said. "But that obviously didn't make it." She added that in this day and age, we shouldn't care one way or the other: "I thought one's job as an actor was not to present one's boring, small, microscopic universe, but to make a psychological connection to another character's experiences." She added that in the film she's promoting, Carol, her character—who does embark on a sexual relationship with another woman— doesn't talk much about her sexuality. "[Carol's] sexuality is a private affair. What often happens these days is if you are homosexual you have to talk about it constantly, the only thing, before your work," Blanchett said. "We're living in a deeply conservative time." (Click to see pictures of Blanchett promoting the film at Cannes yesterday.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| The star of Todd Haynes’s acclaimed lesbian romance, Carol, has said her words about same-sex relationships were taken out of context, but she looks forward to a time when people no longer need to publicly discuss their sexuality Carol review - Cate Blanchett captivates in woozily obsessive lesbian romance Read more Two years ago, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche’s explicit love story about the affair between two young French women, won the Palme d’Or. This year another film about a female same-sex relationship is set to follow in its footsteps. Todd Haynes’s Carol is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, about the affair between a married mother and a shop assistant in early 1950s New York. It has met with a consensus of praise from critics in Cannes, with five star reviews across the board and talk of multiple Oscar nominations next year. At a press conference for the film, Cate Blanchett was asked about an interview she gave last week to Variety, in which she appeared to come out as bisexual, saying she had had “many” past relationships with women. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cate Blanchett and director Todd Haynes at the Carol press conference. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters Blanchett, who is married with four children, said her quote had been judiciously edited for effect. “From memory, the conversation ran: ‘Have you had relationships with women?’ And I said: ‘Yes, many times. Do you mean have I had sexual relationships with women? Then the answer is no.’ But that obviously didn’t make it.” Cate Blanchett reveals 'many' past relationships with women Read more To laughter from the crowd, Blanchett continued: “But in 2015, the point should be: who cares? Call me old fashioned but I thought one’s job as an actor was not to present one’s boring, small, microscopic universe but to make a psychological connection to another character’s experiences. My own life is of no interest to anyone else. Or maybe it is. But I certainly have no interest in putting my own thoughts and opinions out there.” Blanchett said she admired the restraint exhibited by the characters in the film, who speak about the sex lives only sparingly. “[Carol’s] sexuality is a private affair. What often happens these days is if your are homosexual you have to talk about it constantly, the only thing, before your work. We’re living in a deeply conservative time.” Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in Carol The actor confirmed that her research had involved consuming countless lesbian novels written in the middle of the last century, of which Carol appeared to be “the only one with a happy ending”. “They were outsider novels. Carol was not a card-carrying member of any sexual persuasion. That’s also important to remember: those labels, those groups, the comfort of them, didn’t exist then. The resultant isolation was very important.” The film is the most mainstream American depiction of a lesbian relationship made to date. Its screenwriter, Phyllis Nagy, has spent 14 years attempting to get it made; that she finally had, she said, amounted to “a huge political statement.” In the time since Highsmith wrote the novel, “nothing has changed and everything has changed. Because we can have this movie now. It starts the kinds of discussion we need to have about this issue. We do not we politicise the material by just allowing people to live their lives honestly. [Gay people] are expected to make it an issue front and centre in our lives. But actually when you live your life, your identity is front and centre – but it’s something we’re not often treated to seeing in films.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Phyllis Nagy, Rooney Mara, Todd Haynes, Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley and Christine Vachon at the Cannes photocall. Photograph: Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images The director, Todd Haynes, agreed that same-sex female relationships had been even less well-served by mainstream movie-makers than those between two men. The reason that the likes of Brokeback Mountain and Milk had preceded Carol was, he suspected, “because male audiences will not be excluded [by them]. They are the prime audience Hollywood are marketing films for.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rooney Mara at the Carol press conference. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA Salma Hayek, Aishwarya Rai and Parker Posey hit back at gender inequality Read more The cast and crew expressed the hope that the film might help change policy in the “70 countries round the world in which homosexuality is still illegal”. “It’s important to talk about,” continued Blanchett, while her co-star Rooney Mara, agreed “there’s a long way to go before we’re not talking about it”. Blanchett also added her voice to the chorus criticising gender inequality at Cannes this year. The importance of female voices in film “fell off the agenda and we lost a lot of ground”, she said, before expressing her unhappiness at a recent headline declaring 2015 “the year of women”. “You hope it’s not just a year. Not just some fashionable moment.” |
|
we report an unusual case of a giant colonic mucocele following ileo - sigmoid bypass surgery in a patient with advanced adenocarcinoma of the splenic flexure .
the formation of a giant colonic mucocele resulted from distal splenic flexure obstruction due to tumour relapse and proximal caecal obstruction due to peritoneal disease with subsequent accumulation of mucus in the closed loop . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a 73 year old female patient presented in may 2005 with lower abdominal pain , abdominal bloating and increased frequency of bowel habits . subsequent colonoscopy detected a neoplastic lesion at the splenic flexure confirmed at biopsy to be adenocarcinoma . however , at laparotomy , the primary arising from the splenic flexure was found to be advanced with diffuse intra abdominal metastases . post - operatively , the patient received palliative chemotherapy with good response indicated by tumour shrinkage in serial ct scans and falling carcinoembryonic antigen ( cea ) . she later presented to the emergency department in august 2007 with abdominal pain and marked abdominal distension . abdominal x - ray showing colonic dilatation at laparotomy , the ascending and transverse colon was dilated to 12 cm with features of a giant mucocele which yielded 3.5 litres of clear mucus . this was found to be due to closed loop obstruction between the terminal ileum adherent to the pelvis as a result of peritoneal disease and local relapse at the splenic flexure resulting in accumulation of mucus and formation of a mucocele . a loop ileostomy was fashioned and the transverse colon was drained with a 24 french 2 way catheter brought out at the top end of the wound . post operatively , about 1600 ml of mucus was drained from the catheter in the initial few days and this subsequently reduced to 125 ml daily . appendiceal mucocele is a well recognized entity and occurs due to appendiceal obstruction followed by luminal accumulation of mucus and dilatation of the obstructed appendix ( 1 ) . it may be associated with concomitant colon cancer and hence thorough investigation of the colorectal tract is recommended after diagnosis of an appendiceal mucocele ( 2 ) . rarely an appendiceal mucocele can become very large and can present as an abdominal mass ( 3,4 ) . it has been reported as an unusual complication after diversion transverse loop colostomy in a patient with long - standing ulcerative colitis resulting from distal stomal and rectal stenosis and accumulation of mucus in the closed loop over many years 5 ) . mucocele following sequestration of a segment of bowel wall at the site of colo - colic anastomosis after resection of sigmoid carcinoma has been reported . in this case , the patient had rising carcino - embryonic antigen levels ( cea ) with increased uptake on positron emission tomography ( pet ) scan at the site of original anastomosis raising the suspicion of a recurrence . following excision of the mucocele perforation of a colonic mucocele has been reported 22 years after formation of ileostomy in a patient with crohn s disease . this occurred due to stenosis of the distal colonic segment and subsequent development of a mucocele ( 7 ) . in this case , a closed loop of the right colon and transverse colon was formed by distal obstruction at the splenic flexure by tumour relapse and proximal obstruction at the ileo - caecal valve by peritoneal metastasis . the continued secretion and accumulation of mucus led to distension of the closed colonic loop . a similar presentation has been reported in a patient with carcinomatosis peritonei from recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix , eight months after palliative bypass of obstructed ascending colon ( 8) . colonic mucoceles mostly present with abdominal distension which usually evolve slowly and insidiously over a period of 2 - 6 years ( 5 ) . it may cause obstructive symptoms if it is large enough to compress adjacent bowel segments . in patients with loop colostomies or mucous fistulas , the cessation of mucous drainage from either the rectum or the mucous fistula should alert the surgeon to the possibility of a closed loop obstruction ( 9 ) . imaging modalities such as ultrasound and ct can be used to aid diagnosis and this requires a high index of suspicion . in a majority of cases , the diagnosis is confirmed at exploratory laparotomy . in this case , a ct scan done five months before the acute presentation revealed colonic dilatation and local relapse at the splenic flexure along with liver metastasis and peritoneal disease ( figure 2 ) . a diagnosis of colonic mucocele was not made and the air fluid level in the closed loop was thought to be due to competent ileocaecal valve . on hindsight , the absence of intestinal obstruction in spite of impressive colonic dilatation in the ct scan should have raised the suspicion of an evolving colonic mucocele . this reinforces the need for a high index of suspicion so that the diagnosis can be made pre - operatively and the patient managed conservatively . ct abdomen showing dilatation of ascending and transverse colon upto splenic flexure with air fluid levels . in a case where diagnosis has been confirmed on imaging , treatment can be undertaken by ct guided drainage ( 8) . other treatment options include excision of the mucocele and this should usually be undertaken in low - risk surgical patients who have a good prognosis ( 5 ) . in cases where there is a high chance of mucocele recurrence , a permanent catheter or a sump drainage tube can be placed and the patient can be taught self irrigation ( 5 ) . colonic mucocele is an extremely rare entity and requires a high index of suspicion for diagnosis . the treatment depends on the underlying disease process and the overall prognosis of the patient . we believe this to be the first reported case in literature of a colonic mucocele following palliative bypass surgery for advanced colonic cancer . |
|
graham little - piccardi - lassueur syndrome is a type of lichen planopilaris ( follicular lichen planus ) characterized by the triad of patchy cicatricial alopecia of the scalp , noncicatricial alopecia of the axilla and groin , and a follicular spinous papule on the body , scalp , or both .
it is four times more common in females in the age group of 30 - 70 years .
only a few cases have been reported in literature wherein the disease has affected males
. herein we report a young male who presented with features of graham little - piccardi - lassueur syndrome . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | graham little - piccardi - lassueur syndrome is a type of lichen planopilaris characterized by the triad of patchy cicatricial alopecia of the scalp , noncicatricial alopecia of the axilla and groin and a follicular spinous papule on the body , scalp , or both . it is more common in females in the postmenopausal age group , with only a very few cases being reported in literature wherein the disease has affected males . here , we report a young male who presented with features of cicatricial alopecia of the scalp , noncicatricial alopecia of the pubic region and shoulder , and a follicular spinous papule over the body . a 26-year - old male , from south india presented with history of loss of hair over the scalp , shoulder , and pubic region since 4 years . he also complained of small pigmented lesions over the abdomen , trunk , thighs , and forearm . history of itching , moderate in intensity over the pigmented lesions with mild scaling over the scalp was present . treatment history included topical and systemic steroids , isotretinoin , without much relief . on examination , scarring alopecia over the parietal area of the scalp around 88 cm , with few residual tufts of normal looking hair present , minimal scaling was noted [ figure 1 ] . non - scarring alopecia was present over the pubic region and also over the shoulder [ figure 2 ] . multiple follicular - oriented papules over the abdomen , trunk , thighs , and forearm were present [ figure 3 ] . scarring alopecia over scalp non - scarring alopecia was present over the pubic region multiple follicular - oriented papules over the abdomen and trunk a provisional diagnosis of lichen planopilaris was done . routine investigation , including hemogram , blood sugar , renal and liver function tests , and thyroid function test were within normal limits . a biopsy from the scalp revealed features of scarring alopecia with dermis replaced by fibrous tissue with perifollicular and junctional lichenoid infilterate [ figure 4 ] . based on the above findings , a diagnosis of graham little - piccardi - lassueur syndrome was made and the patient was started on treatment and counseled regarding the nature of his condition and advised regular follow up . dermis replaced by fibrous tissue with intense perifollicular and junctional lichenoid infilterate ( h and e , 40 ) piccardi in 1913 , initially , described a case of progressive scalp cicatricial alopecia , noncicatricial alopecia in the axilla and pubic area , and follicular spinous papules on the trunk and extremities , to which he gave the name cheratosi spinulosa ( keratotic spinulosa ) . graham little , later in 1915 published a similar case of a 55-year - old woman , referred by lassueur of lausanne , switzerland , which was described as folliculitis decalvans et atrophicans , followed by many similar reports later . piccardi - lassueur syndrome is type of lichen planopilaris which presents in adults between 30 and 70 years and is four times more reported in females as compared to males . lpp can be subdivided into three clinical variants : classical lpp , frontal fibrosing alopecia , and graham little piccardi - lassueur syndrome . in graham little - piccardi - lassueur syndrome , in addition to the triad , a positive pull test for anagen hair can be present . the exact etiology is unknown , but as it is considered a variant of lichen planus , the immunological mechanism , namely cell - mediated immunity may play a major role in triggering the clinical expression of disease . few isolated cases with a familial pattern , association with hepatitis b vaccination , and phenotypically female ( genetically xy ) patient with androgen insensitivity syndrome ( testicular feminization ) have been documented.[57 ] altered integrin expression , which has been shown in active lpp lesions , could explain the phenomenon of anagen hair on pull test . our case was young male who had in addition to scarring alopecia over the scalp , a non - scarring alopecia over the groin and shoulder . non - scarring alopecia over the shoulder may be an associated finding , but not commonly reported . histopathologically , early lesions of lichen planopilaris show perifollicular lymphocytic infiltrate at the level of the infundibulum and the isthmus , along with vacuolar changes of the outer root sheath . more developed cases show perifollicular fibrosis and epithelial atrophy at the level of the infundibulum and the isthmus giving rise to a characteristic hourglass configuration . advanced cases show alopecia with vertically oriented elastic fibers that replace the destroyed hair follicles . this end - stage scarring alopecia with no visible hair follicle is called pseudopelade of brocq . treatment is less effective for such types of lichen palnopilaris as compared to lichen planus , except in the early stage . once scarring occurs , the hair growth is theoretically impossible . therefore , the treatment aims are to block the progression of the illness , prevent further alopecia , and symptomatic management . various treatment modalities tried are topical , intralesional , and systemic corticosteroids , retinoids , cyclosporine , puva therapy , and antimalarials . in our case the patient had good symptomatic improvement with pulsed systemic steroids , isotretinoin , and antianxiety drugs . the course of the disease is often chronic and progressive with little potential for hair regrowth following follicular inflammation and destruction . in conclusion , this case is reported because of its extreme rarity of presentation particularly in males . |
|
sinus of valsalva aneurysm ( sva ) is an uncommon anomaly of the aorta .
rupture of sva often precipitates dramatic clinical complications , including heart failures .
right svas are the most common type , and when they rupture , they usually rupture into the right ventricle or right atrium . rupture into left ventricle or interventricular septum is rare .
herein , we report a case of right sva rupture with dissection into interventricular septum , which produced significant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and aortic regurgitation .
the case was successfully treated by surgical operation . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | sinus of valsalva aneurysm ( sva ) is a rare anomaly with various clinical manifestations . right svas are more common than left svas and if they rupture , they usually rupture into the right ventricle or right atrium.1 ) occasionally , sva protrusions can lead to hemodynamic obstruction of outflow tract on the underlying ventricle from the sva origination.2)3 ) but non - traumatic rupture of right sva complicated by left ventricular outflow tract ( lvot ) obstruction has not yet been documented . we report a case of right sva ruptured into the interventricular septum with resultant lvot obstruction and aortic regurgitation in a previously healthy , middle - aged woman . fifty - four - year - old female visited outpatient clinic due to the worsening dyspnea experienced in the past month . she also complained of intermittent coughing for the previous 6 months . she was diagnosed with essential hypertension 2 years ago , and has been taking single antihypertensive medication . she did not recall any other medical conditions which can explain her symptoms . on her hospital visit , her blood pressure was 122/68 mm hg , heart rate 95 beats per minute and respiration rate of 22 per minute . physical examination was not remarkable except for loud to - and - fro murmurs which were audible along the left sternal border . initial laboratory studies revealed elevated levels of brain natriuretic peptide to 699 pg / ml , but the levels of cardiac markers including cardiac troponin and creatine kinase - mb isoenzyme were within normal limits . on transthoracic echocardiographic exam ( tte ) , basal part of interventricular septum was dissected by intrusion of a cystic cavity which communicated with coronary sinus of valsalva . the cystic structure appeared in various sizes according to the cardiac cycle , increasing during diastole with protrusion into lvot ( fig . transesophageal echocardiogram ( tee ) also showed dynamic changes of the cystic structure with inflows ( fig . however , no shunt flow was observed between left and right heart . although the size of the protruding cavity decreased during systole , the hemodynamic obstruction of lvot was recognized by doppler echocardiography with peak pressure gradients of 55 mm hg ( fig . 2 ) . additionally , aortic regurgitant flow of moderate degree was visible during diastole on both the tte and tee . for further evaluations of the anatomical relationship between the sva and surrounding structures , mdct clearly demonstrated the main part of the sva extending from the right coronary sinus ( fig . interventricular septal dissection and cyst - shaped aneurysm throughout the cardiac cycle was best visualized through the scans ( fig . 3b and c ) . because of the disabling symptoms along with serious anatomic and hemodynamic deteriorations , clinical decision was made to offer prompt surgical corrections for the patient . replacement of aortic valve through aortotomy was performed with 20 mm ats mechanical aortic valve prosthesis ( medtronic inc . , 4 ) . there were no evidences of chronic or acute inflammations or infiltrative disorders . the patient was discharged uneventfully 9 days after surgery , and did not have any complaints for 3 months thereafter . sinus of valsalva aneurysm is an uncommon anomaly of aorta , mostly derived from congenital defects of aorta media , and only rarely from acquired conditions.4 ) the clinical manifestations of sva vary widely , and they are related to ruptures or mass effects on adjacent cardiac structures . the sva in the present case originated from the right coronary sinus , which is the most prevalent site . when the sva ruptures , they most commonly rupture into right ventricle , followed by right atrium , creating aortopulmonary shunt.1)4 ) in the present case , right sva ruptured into interventricular septum by forming a cystic cavity . rupture of sva into interventricular septum is a rare complication , which comprises of less than 2% of sva rupture.1 ) an interesting feature of this case is the hemodynamic lvot obstruction caused by the protruding septal cavity originated from right sva . the protrusion into lvot generated significant pressure gradients of 55 mm hg during systole , as measured by the doppler echocardiogram . a case of unruptured sva causing lvot has been reported for the first time in 1998,2 ) but it was a case of sva originating from the left coronary cusp . right svas dissecting the interventricular septum with protrusion into lvot have been previously described.5)6 ) however , no hemodynamic measurements were made . sva of the right origin with subsequent complications of the hemodynamic lvot obstruction have not yet been reported to the best of our knowledge . the hemodynamic obstruction of lvot in addition to acute volume overloading of the aneurysm rupture and aortic regurgitation might have aggravated the patient 's symptoms . conventionally , both tte and tee have been the first line diagnostic tool for anatomic and hemodynamic assessments of svas . nonetheless , the cardiac mdct and magnetic resonance imaging can provide additional information regarding 3-dimensional structures and anatomical relations between the sva and adjacent organs.7)8 ) in the present case , cardiac mdct clearly demonstrated the configuration of interventricular septal dissection originating from right sva and the anatomical relation with the aortic root and coronary arteries . such data could provide valuable information for drawing up a therapeutic plan . in conclusion , we report a case of right sva ruptured into the interventricular septum which causes significant lvot obstructions and aortic valve regurgitations at the same time , and was successfully managed through surgery . |
|
choriocarcinoma is the most malignant tumor of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia .
it grows rapidly and metastasizes to the lung , liver , and less frequently , the brain .
metastases to the kidney are rare in the literature , and bilateral involvement is even more scarce .
renal involvement of choriocarcinoma is highly exceptional and may mimic renal cell carcinoma .
here we report a case of bilateral renal choriocarcinoma presenting 5 years after a history of a total anterior hysterectomy because of a hydatidiform mole . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a 50-year - old female presented to the emergency department with complaints of weakness , right lumbar pain , and painless total hematuria . she had lost 20 kg of weight in the past 2 months and her hematuria had been present for the past month with no history of trauma . the physical examination was unremarkable except for increased sensitivity on her right flank and hemoglobin and hematocrit values of 6.9 mg / dl and 20% , respectively . owing to clot retention , continuous bladder irrigation was initiated and her hemoglobin levels were corrected with transfusions . computed tomography ( ct ) scans of the chest , abdomen , and pelvis showed a 9 cm cystic renal mass on the right and another 5 cm tumor on the left kidney ; a subpleural 5 cm lesion was visible on the right lower lobe of the lung ct ( fig . 1 , 2 ) . an ultrasound - guided tru - cut biopsy of the right kidney was performed with a pathologic diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis . fine - needle aspiration biopsy of the lung lesion was reported as the coagulation type of necrosis . after cystoscopic evaluation to disclose the source of the hematuria , right transperitoneal radical nephrectomy was performed . the surgery was uncomplicated except for a 3 cm tear in the vena cava that was primarily sutured . on the first postoperative day an increase in serum bilirubin levels was detected and the patient developed tachypnea and dyspnea . a repeat ct scan of the chest and abdomen demonstrated multiple lesions in the liver and spleen that were not visible on the preoperative scans , with an increase in size and number of the lesions in the lung . the patient 's recovery period was troublesome and extended ; nevertheless , no further surgical intervention was necessary . 3 ) ; assessment of the serum beta - human chorionic gonadotropin level was over 1 million miu / ml . the final diagnosis was gestational choriocarcinoma , and the patient was referred to the oncology department for methotrexate - based chemotherapy following stabilization of her general status . gestational choriocarcinomas are mostly seen in women of reproductive age , generally within 1 year after a molar or nonmolar pregnancy . the risk of developing choriocarcinoma is exceptional before 20 years of age but increases significantly from 40 years onward . lung , vagina , and brain metastasis occurs in 50% , 30% , and 10% of cases , respectively ; liver and kidney metastasis is less common . urological involvement with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia is relatively rare , but renal involvement may cause massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage . renal metastases can cause abdominal pain , hematuria , or oliguria but are more usually found as incidental mass lesions during radiological staging . according to the international society for the study of trophoblastic disease , the incidence of renal metastases from choriocarcinoma is rare and can result in perinephric hemorrhage and lead to spontaneous rupture . the case we reported here presented with gross hematuria originating from the right kidney that was confirmed by cystoscopic evaluation . additionally , no evidence of other metastasis was determined except for the lesion in the lung , which could not be diagnosed by fine - needle biopsy . wang et al reported that renal metastases were invariably preceded by lung metastasis ( 100% ) , indicating that renal metastasis is most likely the result of dissemination of tumor cells through the general circulation secondary to lung metastasis . however , this seems not to have been the case in our patient , in whom dissemination of lung metastases occurred after radical nephrectomy . choriocarcinoma is preceded by a hydatidiform mole 60% of cases , by previous miscarriages in 23% , by full - term pregnancy in 10% , and is primary in 5% of cases . our case had a choriocarcinoma with a history of a hydatidiform mole 5 years previously . the international federation of gynecology and obstetrics ( figo ) staging for trophoblastic diseases that was devised in 1992 was improved in 2002 by combining the basic anatomic staging with the modified who risk factor scoring system . the diagnosis and treatment of choriocarcinoma is based on the biological behavior of the tumor rather than a histopathological diagnosis . use of the figo staging system is essential in determining initial therapy for patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia to ensure the best possible outcomes with the least morbidity . our case was staged as iv : 20 according to the figo 2002 scoring system . patients with high - risk metastatic gestational trophoblastic neoplasia ( figo stage iv and stages ii - iii score 7 ) should be treated initially with multiagent chemotherapy with or without adjuvant surgery or radiation therapy . multiagent chemotherapy , a combination of etoposide , high - dose methotrexate with folinic acid , actinomycin d , cyclophosphamide , and vincristine ( ema - co ) , results in improved remission and survival rates . virtually 50% of high - risk patients require surgical treatment during the course of treatment . in conclusion , this case demonstrates that metastatic choriocarcinoma can present with flank pain , hematuria , and a renal mass imitating renal cell carcinoma . also interesting in our case was the occurrence of bilateral renal masses followed by disseminated multi - organ metastases at 5 years after a hydatidiform mole treated with total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo - oophorectomy . the patient was referred to medical oncology after the right radical nephrectomy and is still undergoing a chemotherapy protocol . |
|
introduction : the standard treatment for clavicle fractures non operative but surgical management is essential in certain specific indications . the purpose of this study is to report a not very commonly seen bilateral fracture of a clavicle in a young female patient treated with intramedullary fixationcase report : a 23 year old female patient sustained a bilateral clavicle fracture as a result of direct blow to shoulder and was treated with intramedullary k wires on both sides in single sitting .
postoperatively arm was maintained in a sling for 3 weeks .
the implant was removed after a month when radiographs showed good bridging callus .
after 8 weeks of fixation , she achieved full range of motion in both shoulders without any pain and was thus subsequently allowed to return to her daily activities.conclusion:for bilateral fractures clavicle , intramedullary fixation with k wire is a safe and effective modality for good pain relief and rapid recovery of range of motion .
we did not encounter any complications . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | the standard treatment for clavicle fractures non operative but surgical management is essential in certain specific indications . the purpose of this study is to report a not very commonly seen bilateral fracture of a clavicle in a young female patient treated with intramedullary fixation a 23 year old female patient sustained a bilateral clavicle fracture as a result of direct blow to shoulder and was treated with intramedullary k wires on both sides in single sitting . after 8 weeks of fixation , she achieved full range of motion in both shoulders without any pain and was thus subsequently allowed to return to her daily activities . for bilateral fractures clavicle , intramedullary fixation with k wire is a safe and effective modality for good pain relief and rapid recovery of range of motion . clavicle fractures are common and represent 510% of all fractures of the human skeletal system . epidemiological studies show that 7082% of all clavicle fractures are located in the middle third , 1016% in the lateral and only 3% are found in the medial third . the mechanism of injury in majority is axial loading due to insult to shoulder girdle directly and fall on outstretched hand in remaining cases . the standard treatment though is conservative but recent literature shows increasing rates of delayed union and non unions with it . comminuted fractures , displaced fractures and increasing age are important causes for non union which can be avoided by using surgical line of management either in the form of plates and screws or intramedullary fixation though indications remain controversial . another indication for open reduction and internal fixation as highlighted by schwarz et al in 1992 was bilateral clavicular fractures though literature revealed that bilateral involvement of clavicle fracture is reported in a few studies and distal bilateral fractures are even rarer . these distal clavicle fractures are reported to be treated non operatively [ 12 - 15 ] or with internal fixation with plating or rarely with external fixation [ table 1 ] literature review of bilateral clavicular fractures in our case of bilateral distal clavicular fracture was fixed with intramedullary k wire with good results . a 23 year old female , house wife was admitted with history of fall from height with direct blow to both shoulders . after the base line investigations , under general anaesthesia , open reduction and intramedullary k wire fixation was done on both sides in one sitting . post operatively both shoulders were immobilized in a collar and cuff sling for three weeks . active assisted physiotherapy started from the first day of surgery with complete load reduction of both arms . six weeks following surgery follow up radiographs showed good bone healing in an anatomic position and she achieved full range of motion in both shoulders , totally free from pain . at eight weeks , follow up radiograph showed a complete fracture healing of both clavicles . subsequently patient was mobilized under full load . bilateral clavicular fractures have been treated well with plates and screws , external fixation methods and combination of conservative on one side and intramedullary fixation on other side but we did not come across any literature support for concurrent bilateral traumatic fracture of clavicle treated with intramedullary k wire though one case report suggested idiopathic concurrent nontraumatic bilateral fracture of clavicle should be considered for differential diagnosis of fracture clavicle . our aim was to check out the feasibility and functional outcome in terms of pain , range of motion and union of fracture after surgical management of concurrent bilateral traumatic fracture of clavicle with intramedullary fixation in single sitting . strauss et al had shown similar results in a series of 16 patients of unilateral fracture clavicle treated with intramedullary fixation . the advantages of using intramedullary fixation are minimally invasive , safe alternative to plate and screw fixation , intramedullary compression , minimal stripping of periosteum , cosmesis and rapid recovery as outlined by khalil and mueller et al . the reasons for primary surgical stabilization in our case are completely displaced bilateral fractures and marked risk of non union or poor result in female patients as suggested by smekal et al , duijff et al and pieske et al . braunstein et al revealed that quick analgesia and high mobility can be easily achieved in bilateral clavicular fractures if treated with intramedullary fixation which is in accordance with our report . a handful of case series or case reports showing age , sex , mode of injury with modality of treatment with complications encountered are tabulated below [ table 1 ] which concludes that majority of bilateral involvement occurred in females because of high velocity trauma and in all except two studies ( fracture treated non operatively in both ) there was no complication which is similar to our study . we were not able to find out any published recommendation concerning conservative or operative treatment for displaced bilateral traumatic clavicular fractures . the patient presented here , showed good clinical outcome concerning pain , function and union of fracture [ fig . 1 ] although the intramedullay k wire used was not strong enough , hence the arms could not be mobilised under complete load reduction . for simultaneously occurred bilateral fractures clavicle , intramedullary k wire is a safe and effective modality for good pain relief and rapid recovery of range of motion . bilateral clavicle fractures require internal fixation and intramedullary fixation using k wires is minimally invasive and gives good results |
|
– Japan's Emperor Akihito is 83 years old and in declining health—and he is finally being allowed to step down. Japan's parliament passed a law Friday that will allow Akihito, who became emperor when father Hirohito died in 1989, to abdicate, reports Reuters. Akihito has had heart surgery and prostate cancer and has hinted that his health is making it tough to carry out official duties. But a ban on emperors making political statements made it impossible for him to just say that he wanted to step down, the BBC reports. The law—which will apply to Akihito alone, not any successors—calls for him to be replaced on the Chrysanthemum Throne within three years by his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, who is currently 57 years old. Reuters notes the abdication will be the first in the country since 1817. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Image copyright AFP Japan's parliament has passed a one-off bill to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate, the first emperor to do so in 200 years. The 83-year-old said last year that his age and health were making it hard for him to fulfil his official duties. But there was no provision under existing law for him to stand down. The government will now begin the process of arranging his abdication, expected to happen in late 2018, and the handover to Crown Prince Naruhito. Akihito, who has had heart surgery and was treated for prostate cancer, has been on the throne in Japan since the death of his father, Hirohito, in 1989. In a rare address to the nation last year, he said he was beginning to feel "constraints" on his health which were making it hard for him to fulfil his official duties. The emperor is constitutionally barred from making any political statements, so he could not say explicitly that he wanted to stand down as that would be considered comment on the law. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Crown Prince Naruhito (third from left) is first in line to take the throne after his father abdicates The newly passed law says that on abdication, the emperor's 57-year old son, Naruhito, will immediately take the Chrysanthemum Throne, but that neither he nor his successors would be allowed to abdicate under the law. The government is yet to set a date for the abdication, but the bill says it must take place within three years of the law coming into effect. The handover is widely expected take place in December 2018. What does the emperor do? The emperor has no political powers but several official duties, such as greeting foreign dignitaries. Japan's monarchy is entwined in the Shinto religion and the emperor still performs religious ceremonies. What do the public think? Most support the emperor's desire to abdicate - a survey by the Kyodo news agency after Akihito suggested he wanted to step down found more than 85% saying abdication should be legalised. Are there more debates revision of the law of royal succession? A discussion about whether or not a woman would be able to ascend the throne was triggered in 2006 when the emperor had no grandsons, but was postponed after a boy was born to the imperial family. ||||| TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s parliament on Friday passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate, clearing the way for the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries and the accession of his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, probably late next year. Akihito, 83, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, said in rare public remarks last year he feared age might make it hard for him to continue to fulfill his duties. The soft-spoken Akihito, the first Japanese emperor who was never considered divine, has worked for decades at home and abroad to soothe the wounds of World War Two, fought in his father Hirohito’s name. He will be succeeded by Naruhito, 57. In a vote televised live on NHK public television, the upper house of parliament passed the bill with a handful of lawmakers sitting out the vote. It cleared the more powerful lower house last week. “Abdication will take place for the first time in 200 years, reminding me once again of how important an issue this is for the foundation of our nation, its long history, and its future,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after the vote. Now the government has to hammer out the details of the abdication, including the timing, but media reports have said it is likely to take place at the end of 2018, which would mark three decades on the Chrysanthemum throne for Akihito. The abdication, the first since 1817, appears to have support among the general population, who view it as a sign of changing times. “In essence, the emperor is resigning, which I feel was an issue of personal thought,” said Masayoshi Matsumoto, a 47-year-old animator. “People live much longer these days. I think while on the one hand it pains him not to be able to carry out his duties properly, he may also wonder why he should have to do the job this long.” The government also has to ensure the continuity of a monarchy beset by a shortage of male heirs and shrinking pool of imperial family members. Women are not allowed to inherit the throne and leave the family upon marriage, an issue highlighted last month with the announcement that the Emperor’s oldest granddaughter will marry a commoner. The law, which applies only to Akihito and not to future emperors, included a resolution to debate letting female royals stay in the imperial family after marriage but did not touch on the controversial topic of allowing women to inherit. “I believe we will look into all these issues rather broadly,” said Koichi Hagiuda, deputy chief cabinet secretary, at a news conference. FILE PHOTO: Japan's Emperor Akihito smiles at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo February 23, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Many conservatives oppose the idea of an empress, but some Japanese think the monarchy should also move with the times on this. “I have no problem with an empress, there are plenty of women royals ruling overseas,” said Yukinori Kumakiri, 61-year-old man working for an electrical company. “After all, the emperor is a symbol, it’s not as if they really have power. They’re a representative of the Japanese people and man or woman shouldn’t matter.” |
|
– A man says he was beaten until he was unconscious Sunday night after asking a group of fellow passengers to stop smoking marijuana on a Dallas train, CBS DFW reports. "I'm like come on man. We're on the train ... You got other people on here who don't want to smell all that," 44-year-old Kennan Jones tells WFAA. In response, the group—five men and two women—attacked Jones with fists, feet, and a skateboard. The fight, which lasted nearly three minutes, was recorded by another Dallas Area Rapid Transit passenger with a cellphone, Fox 4 reports. After starting on the DART train, the attack continued at one of the stops, with two men who had been on the platform joining in on beating Jones. Jones suffered bruised ribs and a black eye but says he's lucky to be alive. "Everything just went from 0 to 100," he tells CBS. No one tried to help Jones during the attack, including the passenger who filmed the beating and told Fox he was too afraid to get involved. Jones says he's upset with the conductor of the DART train for driving off while the attack continued on the platform instead of staying and contacting police. DART spokesperson Mark Ball says it's unclear if the conductor actually saw the fight. Ball says DART and police are investigating and trying to identify the attackers. “For [Jones] to have stood up for DART and our policies and then to be hurt by that is a tragedy,” Ball tells CBS. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | DALLAS - Kennan Jones is recovering from a brutal beating by seven fellow passengers on DART’s Green Line Sunday night. "I think that I'm resting in the fact that I'm alive," said Jones, 44. It was just after 11 p.m. when the southbound Green Line train stopped downtown at the Pearl St. Station and the doors slid open. Jones was on his way home from school in Farmer's Branch that night when a group of young men and women walked on board. "All of a sudden, they started smoking. I'm like come on man. We're on the train. Put that out right now. Wait until you get off the train. It's not that serious to smoke. You got other people on here who don't want to smell all that. That's when it escalated," explained Jones. Moments later, one of the young women spat on Jones and one of her friends pushed him. Another rider recorded video of the violent beating and posted it to Facebook where it has been shared tens of thousands of times. When that Green Line train arrived at Deep Ellum, the fight tumbled out onto the platform where others joined in. Jones now wonders why the operator did not stop the train in Deep Ellum once realizing what was happening. Instead, the operator continued down the tracks. "Instead of you calling the police, or staying there and closing the door, you take all the people who did it, home," continued Jones. In June, another rider was attacked at the same Deep Ellum station. That same month, a woman was raped near the DART station at Baylor in the same area. And homeless have been camping out at the platforms. DART pledged to increase police presence but said it took officers 15-minutes to get to Jones after he was attacked. "We apologize for this happening. Especially to that customer. This is not something we want happening on DART's trains. So, we actually want to catch these individuals and we want to prosecute them," said Mark Ball, DART spokesman. Sunday’s attack happened a half hour before service ends and DART had skeleton staff on that night, added Ball. Jones is recovering from a black eye, bruised ribs and sore knees. He said he'll remain a regular on the trains but hopes his attackers arrested, as well. Besides manpower, one of DART's problems, as many riders have said, is that very few of the trains are equipped with any onboard cameras that could have seen Sunday's fight. There are cameras on platforms and DART said its staff watches those feeds. Still, people who live downtown said DART should be more proactive and less reactive. "The people who do the bad behavior and causing the problems, they don't fear anything because they don't see consequences,” said Veronica Simmons, downtown resident. © 2017 WFAA-TV ||||| - A man who was beaten unconscious at a DART train station tells FOX 4 he is surprised by what's in the police report. A witness posted video of the Sunday night attack on Facebook. It lasted almost three minutes, starting on board the green line train and ending on the platform at the Deep Ellum station. DART says it wants to find the attackers, but that's not how the police report reads. Kennan Jones is the man in the middle of a Facebook video showing a group of people, young men and two women, attacking him because he told them to put out the pot they were smoking on the train. The beating lasted several minutes as they took turns punching kicking and slapping Jones. “It wasn’t no reason for that,” he said. “Especially all I'm telling you is just put that out right now.” No one helped Jones as he was attacked, including the man who recorded the video and told FOX 4 he was afraid to step in. Two men wearing orange shirts, who were not even involved in the initial beating, joined in hitting Jones while he was on his knees. At one point, Jones charged all of them and they took him to the ground again with one of the young women hitting him in the head with a skateboard until he fell unconscious. Jones saw the video for the first time Tuesday afternoon, a day after being released from the hospital. “How difficult is that to watch,” asked FOX 4 Reporter James Rose. “It’s not difficult,” Jones said. “It’s just sad that our generation is lost like that.” Jones says someone called police. But when DART officers arrived, he says he was disrespected. "To me, I was assaulted in another type of way by the police officers who were standing there looking at me like I did something wrong,” he said. DART Spokesman Mark Ball says police are actively investigating and asking for the public's help in finding the assault suspects. “It's awful,” he said. “We want to catch the ones who did this. The individual who was assaulted refused to press charges, but DART has the power to press charges. So if we can catch them, we are going to do so." “That’s not true,” Jones said. The DART police report says Jones does want to press charges, but it also shows the status of the incident as closed. "Why would you think I wouldn't want to press charges after being assaulted like that?” Jones said. Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call the DART Police Department at (214) 928-6300. |
|
cemento - ossifying fibromas are benign tumors , and , although cases of an aggressive type have been reported , no cases of cemento - ossifying fibroma transforming into osteosarcoma have been documented previously .
low - grade osteosarcoma is a rare type of primary bone tumor , representing 1%-2% of all osteosarcomas .
a 45-year - old female patient was diagnosed with cemento - ossifying fibroma , treated with mass excision several times over a period of two years and eight months , and followed up .
after biopsy gathered because of signs of recurrence , she was diagnosed with low - grade osteosarcoma .
the patient underwent wide excision , segmental mandibulectomy , and reconstruction with fibula free flap .
the aim of this report is to raise awareness of the possibility that cemento - ossifying fibroma can transform into osteosarcoma and of the consequent necessity for careful diagnosis and treatment planning . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | cemento - ossifying fibromas are benign fibro - osseous tumors that are composed of fibrous tissue and a variable mixture of calcified materials . they are well - defined unilocular or multilocular lesions with slowly progressing enlargement of the affected bone . the most frequent site is the mandibular premolar and molar areas , and the tumor has a definite female predilection . occasionally , it may grow to a massive size and cause serious cosmetic and functional problems , and there are rare reports of lesions behaving in an aggressive fashion1 . low - grade lesions are rare and include well - differentiated intramedullary osteosarcomas and parosteal osteosarcomas2 we report a case of low - grade osteosarcoma in the mandible that was transformed from a recurrent cemento - ossifying fibroma . this is the first reported case of the transformation of cemento - ossifying fibroma into malignant low - grade central osteosarcoma . a 45-year - old female patient was referred for a radiolucent lesion of the left posterior mandible , with complaints of a three - month history gingival swelling and tooth pain in the left mandibular second premolar . on intraoral examination , the overlying mucosa was intact with no paresthesia on the left lower lip . a panoramic radiograph showed external root resorption of the second molar and a relatively well - defined radiolucent lesion involving the posterior mandibular body and ramus.(fig . 1 ) computed tomography ( ct ) imaging showed buccolingual cortical expansion and a soft tissue mass.(fig . 1 ) the surrounding soft tissue did not appear to be involved . under local anesthesia , extraction of the second molar was performed , and a biopsy was taken below the extraction socket for histopathological examination . histopathological examination showed dense fibroblastic proliferation , woven bone , and cementum - like material.(fig . the surgical specimen was sent to a pathologist , and the pathologist recommended close follow - up because of the high cellularity of the specimen . five months after the first operation , the patient complained of tooth pain in the left mandibular second premolar and underwent root canal treatment . periodic follow - up was performed , and there were no signs of recurrence on either clinical or radiographic examination for 16 months . after 16 months , however , follow - up panoramic radiograph and ct displayed signs of recurrence , including a mixed high - attenuation intrabony lesion and a partially multilocular lesion . mass excision was performed under local anesthesia , the surgical specimen was submitted for histological examination ; the pathological diagnosis was cemento - ossifying fibroma . one year after the second operation , the patient complained of discomfort in the left mandibular canine area , and ct revealed expansion of the lesion and signs of recurrence . intentional root canal treatment of the left mandibular first premolar and mass excision were performed under general anesthesia.(fig . 3 ) the pathological diagnosis was the same as previously , but the surgical specimen showed high cellularity and an infiltrative growth pattern into normal bone tissue without mitotic figures or cellular atypia . three months after the third operation , tumor recurrence was suspected at the parasymphysis area on follow - up radiograph ( fig . 4 ) , and a biopsy was taken from the buccal side of the lesion . the specimen showed minimal cellular atypia and irregular bony trabeculae with few mitotic figures ( fig . no regional or distant metastasis was shown on magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography - ct imaging . the patient underwent wide excision , segmental mandibulectomy , and reconstruction with fibula free flap.(fig . cemento - ossifying fibromas are benign fibro - osseous lesions of the jaw which have been described as demarcated or rarely encapsulated neoplasms consisting of fibrous tissue and various amounts of mineralized material such as bone and/or cementum4 . radiologically , cemento - ossifying fibromas are initially characterized by well - differentiated osteolytic images5 . as they evolve they are benign lesions , but sometimes may behave in an aggressive manner and cause extensive bone destruction6 . in aggressive cases , en bloc resection or partial resection of the jaw no cases of aggressive cemento - ossifying fibroma transforming into osteosarcoma have been previously documented . osteosarcomas of all sites account for 40%-60% of primary malignant bone tumors , and osteosarcomas of the mandible affect approximately 1 in 10 million persons per year , mostly young adults8 . the histopathology of low - grade central osteosarcoma usually shows bundles of spindle cells with minimal cytological atypia , rare mitotic figures , and a variable amount of osteoid formation9 . resection with wide surgical margins is the most important factor in determining prognosis and provides a 5-year survival rate of 80% . adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy seems to be inefficacious in cases of low - grade central osteosarcoma2 . in our case , the patient was treated with mass excision several times over a period of two years and eight months because of recurrent cemento - ossifying fibroma . recurrence of these benign tumors following surgery is considered rare , although the reported recurrence rate varies between 0% and 30%4 . this is the first reported case of low - grade osteosarcoma arising from cemento - ossifying fibroma , so there are insufficient data for evaluating this malignant transformation . however , oral and maxillofacial surgeons should be aware of the rare possibility that cemento - ossifying fibroma can transform into osteosarcoma and that careful diagnosis and regular follow - up are required in patients with cemento - ossifying fibromas . |
|
– An astounding third victim in Georgia—the fourth in recent weeks in the Southeast—has been infected by a flesh-eating bacteria and has already lost his leg to the disease. Paul Bales cut his leg three weeks ago while removing a section of dock on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville. "Very small cut. He just bandaged it up and played golf for the next couple of days. He didn't think it was a big deal," Bales' son told WGXA-TV. Bales' leg was amputated below the knee yesterday, and he's listed in stable condition, though doctors may have to amputate more of the limb. The infections, which all seem to be linked to cuts and exposure to lake or river water, are beginning to panic Georgia residents. Another victim affected by the flesh-eating bacteria in the last few weeks is from South Carolina. "People are scared they'll lose limbs. Everybody in town's scared to go out on the water," said a Lake Sinclair resident. But a Macon County family doctor cautioned against overreacting to the frightening outbreak of necrotizing fasciitis. “We have thousands of people getting in Georgia rivers and lakes and aren’t getting this,” he told the Macon Telegraph. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Milledgeville Man Fights Flesh Eating Bacteria Rick Devens "It's very surreal. I'm quite shocked we're having to deal with this in this area but there's been a lot of news recently of the flesh eating bacteria. Not just in Middle Georgia but when it's hitting this close to home it's a little shocking," says Barry Toon, vacationing with his family on Lake Sinclair. Paul Bales, a Milledgeville man, was scheduled to have his leg amputated Wednesday because it's infected with the same flesh eating bacteria that has already claimed three other Georgia victims including Aimee Copeland. According to a neighbor, Bales had created a makeshift platform in order to create an addition on his dock. The neighbor says the injury occurred when Bales tried to remove the makeshift platform. Bales cut leg was submerged in Lake Sinclair. "Very small cut. Matter of fact he just bandaged it up and then went and played golf for the next couple of days," says Mike Bales, the victims son. On May 5, Bales went to the Oconee Regional Medical Center. A week later he was sent to the Medical Center of Central Georgia. "Like, over the last three decades only about 200 cases nationwide. And then all of a sudden we've three or four in the last month," says Mike Bales. Those are shocking numbers and they have a lot of Milledgeville residents afraid to go in the water. "My children will be with me this weekend and it makes you think about it. Whether you're going to get into the water or not," says Barry Toon. "They're saying stay away from the lake. They're saying they ain't going in the lake," says Jonathon Koupke, a Lake Sinclair resident. "People are scared they'll lose limbs. Everybody in town's scared to go out on the water," says Austin Hunter, a Lake Sinclair resident. Paul Bales is currently in stable condition at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Next Article River Levels, Flood Concerns Continue to Rise ||||| Milledgeville resident Paul Bales, whose leg was amputated below the knee Wednesday after being infected with flesh-eating bacteria, likely will lose more of the leg because doctors found more infection, his son said Thursday. His son, Mike Bales, of Dacula, said his fathers problems began when he fell and cut his leg on his boat ramp at Lake Sinclair. What initially seemed like a minor injury quickly turned into a potentially deadly situation, he said. He didnt think it was a big deal, Mike Bales said. Everybody cuts themselves working around the house. Mike Bales said his father bandaged the cut and played golf the next couple of days. Paul Bales sought medical attention, his son said, when he was unable to finish a game because of pain in his leg, which his son said was unusual for him. After first receiving treatment at Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville, Paul Bales was transferred to The Medical Center of Central Georgia in downtown Macon. He was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, the same infection that caused Amiee Copeland of north Georgia to lose a leg, both feet and both hands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates there are about 800 cases of necrotizing fasciitis of varying severities reported in the United States annually, according to the CDCs website. Dr. Mike Green, a family practice doctor in Macon, said its his understanding that Bales is infected with a different organism than the strain of bacteria that infected the 24-year-old Copeland. Just because the bacteria is different does not mean it is any less dangerous, though. Necrotizing fasciitis, Green said, occurs when tissue from a wound gets infected and triggers a response in the body. He said there is not a single so-called flesh-eating bacteria. Two-thirds of people who are diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis have another contributing condition that weakens their immune systems, he said. Initial symptoms of an infection can be mild. Someone with a cut may notice redness or swelling around a wound or have a low-grade fever, Green said. Green cautioned against public panic because infections requiring amputations are rare. We have thousands of people getting in Georgia rivers and lakes and arent getting this, he said. Green said flesh-eating bacteria are not unique to water, but that natural water sources are often unsanitary. Dr. Ed Grimsley, an internal medicine specialist who is a professor at Mercer University School of Medicine, said necrotizing fasciitis is rare, even though there are four cases now in Georgia. Grimsley said its a little surprising to see four cases happen so close together in the same region, but he thinks that is a coincidence. Although the specific organism that affected Bales lives in water, Grimsley said, people should not fear going in the water. He said they should use common sense, like wearing shoes if walking in a rocky area of a lake. In the event someone is cut while in the water, Grimsley said, odds are youre going to be fine. He advised cleaning the cut immediately and applying antibacterial ointment. If symptoms of infection occur, medical attention should be sought. Grimsley said the odds of being infected with necrotizing fasciitis are very slight. Mike Bales said his family is hoping for the best. He said he has been impressed with the care his father has received in Macon. Telegraph writer Liz Fabian contributed to this report. |
|
– One of the big contests still undecided after election night is the race for senator in Mississippi, and a controversial new video is getting a lot of attention ahead of the Nov. 27 runoff. In the video, GOP incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith is seen campaigning with a supporter in Tupelo, and she says, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row," reports Mississippi Today. Hyde-Smith is now taking criticism given that she's a white lawmaker running against a black challenger, Mike Espy, in a Southern state. But she says the criticism is overblown: “In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous." The campaign of Espy, a former congressman and agriculture secretary, calls the remarks "reprehensible," reports Politico. "They have no place in our political discourse, in Mississippi, or our country." NAACP chief Derrick Johnston voiced a similar sentiment, calling the joke "sick" and adding, "any politician seeking to serve as the national voice of the people of Mississippi should know better." Hyde-Smith was appointed to office in April to fill the seat of longtime Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired. She and Espy were the top two finishers in the special election to serve out the final two years of Cochran's term, but because neither got 50% of the vote, a runoff is necessary. (A voter in Mississippi lost his job because of the shirt he wore to the voting booth.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row"- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith says in Tupelo, MS after Colin Hutchinson, cattle rancher, praises her. Hyde-Smith is in a runoff on Nov 27th against Mike Espy. ||||| Click here for Mississippi Today’s full coverage of the historic runoff election between Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy. Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today / Report for America A video featuring Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is spreading rapidly across social media as critics say her comments invoke Mississippi’s violent history of lynching. The video was first posted just before 8 a.m. on Sunday by Lamar White Jr., the publisher and founder of The Bayou Brief, a nonprofit news organization based in Louisiana. The website calls White “one of Louisiana’s most acclaimed online journalists and prominent progressive activists.” According to White’s post, after a supporter praised Hyde-Smith, she said to a crowd gathered in Tupelo: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” In an interview with Mississippi Today, White said he did not take the video, which he says was recorded on Nov. 2 — before the election — and has been viewed close to 90,000 times on Facebook. White added that he has not seen the full recording. Hyde-Smith said she was referring to an invitation to a speaking engagement. “In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous,” Hyde-Smith said through a statement. The campaign of Democrat Mike Espy, who is African American and faces Hyde-Smith in an upcoming runoff election, saw the statement differently, however. Never Miss a Beat. Sign Up for our Daily Newsletter. “Cindy Hyde-Smith’s comments are reprehensible,” said Danny Blanton, a spokesperson for the Espy campaign in a statement sent to media outlets. “They have no place in our political discourse, in Mississippi, or our country. We need leaders, not dividers, and her words show that she lacks the understanding and judgement to represent the people of our state.” Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America In 1986, Espy became the first African American congressman from Mississippi in modern history and, later, the nation’s first African-American agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton. If he is successful in his bid against Hyde-Smith, Espy would be the first African American popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi. A spokesman for Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, who appointed Hyde-Smith to the Senate on an interim basis, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The video controversy also comes days after a white Memphis hospital employee was fired when an Election Day photograph of him wearing a T-shirt featuring a Confederate flag, a hangman’s noose and the words “Mississippi Justice” went viral online. For many in Mississippi and beyond, the mention of public hangings stirs memories of Mississippi’s history of racist violence. The state of Mississippi carried out public hangings for decades as an official method of capital punishment under state law. The last man sentenced to public hanging in Mississippi was Hilton Fortenberry, hanged in 1940 in Jefferson Davis County, according to newspaper archives. In addition to court-sanctioned hangings, Mississippi has a well-known history of allowing white mobs and citizens to commit extrajudicial lynchings of African Americans. No state saw more lynchings than Mississippi, according to a comprehensive report published by the Montgomery, Ala.-based Equal Justice Initiative. In Mississippi, 654 reported lynchings were conducted, and many of them were public. “At these often festive community gatherings, large crowds of whites watched and participated in the black victims’ prolonged torture, mutilation, dismemberment, and burning at the stake,” write the authors of the EJI report. The president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, who is a native Mississippian, drew a parallel between Hyde-Smith’s remarks and the state’s violent history. “Hyde-Smith’s decision to joke about ‘hanging,’ when the history of African Americans is marred by countless incidents of this barbarous act, is sick,'” Johnson said in a statement Sunday. “… Any politician seeking to serve as the voice of Mississippi should know better. Her choice of words serves as an indictment of not only her lack of judgement, but her lack of empathy and lack of character,” Johnson said. Often, whites lynched African Americans for attempting to vote or register. In August 1955, a white man shot and killed a civil rights activist named Lamar Smith in broad daylight outside the Lincoln County courthouse in Brookhaven, where Sen. Hyde-Smith currently lives. Hyde-Smith and Espy are battling in an officially nonpartisan special election to fill the seat left vacant by U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired earlier this year. Hyde-Smith and Espy received more votes than four total candidates on Nov. 6. Because no single candidate received 50 percent of the vote, they will be alone on a runoff ballot on November 27. Corey Wiggins, executive director of the Mississippi NAACP, called Sen. Hyde-Smith’s comments distasteful and said he expects they will motivate voters to turn out to the polls on Nov. 27. “It speaks to the public discourse, where people can use such rhetoric, be emboldened and not have any context. They’re not talking in a way that’s inclusive of all Americans,” Wiggins said. “It’s like the country is at a moral and cultural crossroads. Who are the people who will stand up for the people in this country?” Contributing: R.L. Nave Click here for Mississippi Today’s full coverage of the historic runoff election between Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy. |
|
– The position remains open: Jimmy Fallon is still interviewing candidates for president, putting Hillary Clinton in the hot seat on Thursday's episode of the Tonight Show; Donald Trump sat for a mock job interview on Monday. Clinton had a few clever retorts to Fallon's clipboard of questions. Asked how she heard about the position, she replied, "Fourth grade social studies," per Time. Then, after remarking that she has the experience and qualifications necessary for the job, she assured Fallon, "I have references." In terms of her typing skills, she remarked that "on a real keyboard, I can actually type with more than one finger." Fallon got in a dig when he asked if there was an email address Clinton could be reached at. But Clinton got her own dig in on Trump. "He's a lot more obsessed with me than I am of him," she said. Fallon suggested she should play a drinking game, taking a shot every time she’s mentioned during the Republican debate. "I don't think I would make it past the first half hour," she said. She did admit, though, that "it'll be quite the showdown" if she and Trump are the last two standing, per NBC News. That led neatly into discussion of the "tight race" for the Democratic nomination. Clinton said it was "pretty exciting," noting early polls showing her with a major lead over Bernie Sanders were "artificial," per CNN. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | (CNN) Hillary Clinton responded to the tightening race with Bernie Sanders on Thursday by arguing early polls that showed her with a sizable lead were "artificial." Clinton, in an appearance on "The Tonight Show," agreed that she and Sanders are "in a tight race," a fact that she finds "pretty exciting." After noting she and Sanders are close, host Jimmy Fallon reminded Clinton that she once "had a 20-point lead at one point." "That is really artificial, all of those early soundings and polls," Clinton said. "Once you get into it, this is a Democratic election for our nominee and it gets really close, exciting. And it really depends upon on who can make the best case that you can be the nominee to beat whoever the Republicans put up and try to get your folks who support you to come out." She added, "I find it pretty exciting. This is not a job they give away. You really do have to work hard for. It is the hardest job in the world, so, I get up everyday and go right at it." Read More ||||| NEW YORK — Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton admitted she avoids watching the Republican debates and said Donald Trump "is a lot more obsessed with me than I am with him" in an appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show" Thursday night. Clinton, who said flat out that she would not be tuning in to the Fox Business debate, acknowledged she "sometimes" watches with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Mostly though, she said, they like to fast forward through them when they catch up after the fact. Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on January 14, 2016. Douglas Gorenstein/NBC "You'll do anything to not watch the Republican debates?" host Jimmy Fallon asked. "I think you nailed that," Clinton responded. Fallon then suggested a drinking game: every time the Republicans mention you, "do a shot." "I don't think I'd make it past the first half hour," Clinton deadpanned. Trump, who is leading in Republican polls and was a guest on Fallon's show earlier this week, said he hasn't "even started on her yet." When Fallon recounted this and asked if Trump intimidated her at all, Clinton, without missing a beat, said: "No." But if Trump were to be the Republican nominee opposite her, Clinton conceded, "It'll be quite the showdown." Fallon mistakenly thought that this weekend's upcoming NBC Democratic debate would just feature Clinton and her chief rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but she assured him all three Democratic candidates would be on the stage. When asked if she was worried about the recent polls showing Sanders edging her out in early states, Clinton admitted it was "a tight race" and called her once-formidable lead over Sanders "really artificial." "This is not a job they give away. You really do have to work hard for it and it is the hardest job in the world so I get up every day and go right at it," the former secretary of state said Thursday. Clinton pointed to her recent endorsement by Planned Parenthood as a sign of strength. When Fallon brought up how often the Clinton campaign is utilizing social media to garner support, Clinton pulled an iPhone out of her pocket and opened Snapchat. The pair proceeded to take two video selfies, which Fallon sent out immediately from her account. In the second segment, Fallon conducted a faux job interview with Clinton, asking her questions that come up in a typical interview. "How'd you hear about the position?" Fallon asked. "Fourth grade social studies," she replied. When asked to describe herself in two words, Clinton defined herself as "strong, focused." Fallon then asked if she'd be willing to relocate and Clinton said: "For the right job, I am." He closed with this gem: "Is there an email address we can reach you at?" Clinton laughed and simply said he could follow her on Snapchat. In his opening monologue, Fallon said Clinton told him backstage she was a big fan of his show. "I know, I read it in your email," he joked. Thursday marked Clinton's second appearance on the show since launching her campaign last year. ||||| + READ ARTICLE Is Hillary Clinton qualified to be president? Jimmy Fallon tried to find out by giving the former Secretary of State a faux job interview for the biggest job in the world during The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night. “How’d you hear about the position?” Fallon began. “Fourth grade social studies,” Clinton answered. Clinton said she thought she had the experience and qualifications needed to tackle the job. “I have references,” she said. Among her strengths, she said she’s “tenacious,” “determined” and “can get results.” She can also type “in a pinch.” Fallon ended the segment by joking, “Is there an email address we can follow you at?” In other parts of the segment, Clinton addressed her potential Republican opponents. Fallon suggested that Clinton start a drinking game during the Republican debates: Every time she hears her name, she takes a shot. “I don’t think I’d make it through the first half hour,” she said, laughing. When asked if she had seen Donald Trump on The Tonight Show she said that she had not. “He’s a lot more obsessed with me than I am of him,” she said. When asked if she was intimidated by Trump, she said simply, “No.” |
|
– Peru is evacuating a remote village near the Brazilian border after an unusual display of aggression from one of the 15 or so "uncontacted" tribes that live in its Amazon forests. Earlier this month, 200 men from the tribe, called Mashco-Piro, raided the village of Monte Salvado armed with bows and arrows."There were no injuries although the men fired off arrows," says a minister for intercultural affairs. "The villagers took refuge in a guard post. They are safe but have no food and are terrified." Officials are moving 39 people, 16 of whom are children, along with 22 more from nearby Puerto Nuevo to the region's capital, Puerto Maldonado. The Mashco-Piro raiders took tools, blankets, and food, reports the Guardian, as well as killed domestic animals. "We believe the Mashco-Piro are still in the area," says the official running the evacuation. It's the third time this year that this particular tribe has traveled to Monte Salvado, reports the BBC, but this is the first time such a large group of just men (instead of families) have arrived armed. Some suggest the tribe is growing desperate as loggers and drug-traffickers encroach on its protected land; others point to climate change, which has led to steeper drops in temperature. "When there’s pressure on their territory or attacks against them, that’s when there are these violent reactions," one anthropologist tells the Guardian. The Mashco-Piro were first spotted in May 2011; more on the tribe here. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Image copyright Other Image caption It is thought the Mashco-Piro tribe had not been spotted by outsiders before August 2011 (file photo) Authorities in Peru have decided to evacuate a remote Amazon community after it was raided by members of an indigenous tribe. About 200 Mashco-Piro Indians armed with bows and arrows arrived at Monte Salvador looking for food. They are said to have killed domestic animals and taken cooking pots and other metal goods. No-one was injured, but police say it is safer for villagers to move to a bigger town. This is the third time this year that the Mashco-Piro Indians have arrived in Monte Salvador searching for food and metal objects. But last Thursday they came while most of the villagers were away and ransacked their homes before retreating into the forest. The villagers say they also killed some of their animals. Two days later, the Mashco-Piro Indians returned and the villagers fled. The Peruvian police are sending boats to take them to Puerto Maldonado, a busy town in south-eastern Peru near the borders with Bolivia and Brazil. A local indigenous organisation (Fenamed) has asked the government to protect the Mashco-Piro's land, much of which has been taken over by logging concessions and drug-traffickers. ||||| At least 39 people taken to Puerto Maldonado as officials search for motive behind latest bow-and-arrow attack by members of Mashco-Piro tribe Authorities in Peru have sent riverboats to evacuate a remote jungle village after it was raided by an indigenous tribe that has long lived in voluntary isolation in the country’s south-eastern Amazon. Around 200 men armed with bows and arrows raided the remote community of Monte Salvado near the border with Brazil on Friday, Patricia Balbuena, Peru’s vice-minister of intercultural affairs, told the Guardian. The raiders – members of the Mashco-Piro tribe – took machetes, rope, blankets and food in the attack on the village, which sits on the Piedras river in Peru’s south-eastern Madre de Dios region, she said. “There were no injuries although the men fired off arrows. The villagers took refuge in a guard post. They are safe but have no food and are terrified,” Balbuena said. Weather had prevented police and army helicopters from reaching the community. At least 39 people from Monte Salvado – 16 of whom are children – and 22 from the nearby settlement of Puerto Nuevo will be evacuated to the regional capital, Puerto Maldonado. Most of the adult population had already gone there to vote in elections when the raid took place, Balbuena said. “Our worry is the large number of children,” Lorena Prieto, director of Peru’s office of Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact who was co-ordinating the evacuation, told the Guardian by telephone from Madre de Dios. “We believe the Mashco-Piro are still in the area.” The appearance of up to 200 armed men marks a serious escalation from previous encounters with the isolated tribe, anthropologists said. “We’ve never heard reported such a large movement of uncontacted people,” said Prieto. In August 2013, a group of more than 100 men, women and children appeared across the Piedras river from Monte Salvado. Men from the group brandished spears and aimed bows at villagers in a three-day standoff before disappearing into the forest again. “Normally what happens is family groups arrive and ask for tools and food then they leave,” Prieto said, adding there had been three Mashco-Piro visits already this year, in July, August and October. “But this time the attitude was different,” she said. “This time it was just men, who were armed with bows and arrows, far outnumbering the villagers. They shot arrows and they sacked the whole village – they smashed windows, tore up clothing and killed all the domestic animals. “On seeing their dogs and chickens dead and their village destroyed, the villagers were very frightened. This was a far more violent incursion than is usual. That’s why we’ve decided to evacuate everyone,” Prieto said. Balbuena said: “These encounters are becoming more and more frequent. We are evaluating whether to permanently relocate these communities.” Peru’s vice ministry of intercultural affairs was considering broaching a dialogue with the Mashco-Piro through Yine interpreters to better understand their needs, she added. Balbuena said the vice-ministry would seek advice from its Brazilian counterpart, Brazil’s National Indian Foundation or FUNA, which uses strategic food stores and specialised medical teams and to support indigenous populations in voluntary isolation. Around 15 “uncontacted” tribes with up to 15,000 members are believed to live in the dense forests of the Peruvian Amazon. Direct contact with them is banned out of concern that they could succumb to common illnesses. Anthropologists are trying to understand what caused this latest incident. Balbuena said climate change, which was causing abrupt drops in temperature in this area of the Amazon, may have been a driver. Balbuena, though, dismissed the idea that the tribe had been the subject of threats from drug-traffickers or illegal loggers, saying no “illicit activity” had been detected in the Madre de Dios indigenous reserve, where several hundred Mashco-Piro are believed to live in several nomadic clans. “When there’s pressure on their territory or attacks against them, that’s when there are these violent reactions,” Beatriz Huertas, an anthropologist working with Peruvian indigenous organisations, told the Guardian. “The state shouldn’t be thinking about sending helicopters. These situations should be handled with more care,” Huertas added. |
|
– Looks like Bill Cosby might believe it's still possible to salvage his reputation. In a court filing yesterday, Cosby asked a judge to sanction a woman for allegedly leaking a damning 2005 deposition to the New York Times, reports Reuters. Andrea Constand, who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her and settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006, breached a confidentiality agreement, according to Cosby and his lawyers. She sought to have the full deposition released, in what the Cosby filing says was an "obvious attempt to smear" him, though the Times says the deposition was never sealed and it was available through a court reporting service. The filing also says that although Cosby admitted obtaining drugs to give to women he sexually desired, that doesn't mean they didn't consent to the drugs or the sex, People reports. "There are countless tales of celebrities" and others in the 1970s using quaaludes "for recreational purposes and during consensual sex," the filing states. But "the media immediately pounced, inaccurately labeling the released testimony as defendant's 'confession' of 'drugging' women and assaulting them," it continues. "Reading the media accounts, one would conclude the defendant has admitted to rape. And yet defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s." | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Bill Cosby: I Did Not Give Women Drugs or Have Sex With Them Without Their Consent, New Court Docs Say Just because Bill Cosby admitted he gave Quaaludes to a woman he was in a consensual sexual relationship with in the 1970s does not mean he gave other women the drugs "without their knowledge or consent" or "engaged in any non-consensual sex," his attorneys say in a new court filing. Quaaludes were a highly popular recreational drug in the 1970s, labeled in slang as "disco biscuits" and known for their capacity to increase sexual arousal," wrote Patrick O'Connor, one of Cosby's attorneys, in the motion filed Tuesday."There are countless tales of celebrities, music stars, and wealthy socialites in the 1970s willingly using Quaaludes for recreational purposes and during consensual sex," he wrote."Yet upon the unsealing of those excerpts, the media immediately pounced, inaccurately labeling the released testimony as defendant's "confession" of "drugging" women and assaulting them," he wrote."Reading the media accounts, one would conclude the defendant has admitted to rape," he wrote. "And yet defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s."O'Connor's motion was in response to excerpts from the deposition that were unsealed July 6 at the request of the Associated Press and one filed July 8 by attorney Dolores Troiani, who represents former Temple employee Andrea Constand , with whom Cosby settled a lawsuit in 2006.There was a confidentiality agreement with that settlement but Troiani asked the judge to release Cosby's deposition transcripts and Constand and Troiania from those confidentiality provisions which "defendant has chosen to ignore," she wrote."But for Cosby's repeated violations of the confidentiality agreement and attempt to sway public opinion in his favor this motion would not have been necessary," she wrote."The release of these documents will assist other women who have been victimized and bring awareness to the fact that sexual assault is not just committed with a gun or knife but is also committed by mentors who engage in exploitative behaviors," she wrote.O'Connor argues against unsealing the deposition, which was obtained by The New York Times via the court reporting service the attorneys used, and/or allowing it to be distributed to more members of the media."The timing of plaintiff's July 8, 2015 motion reflects an attempt on her part to ride on the coattails of the barrage of inaccurate and negative media attention that followed this court's July 6, 2015 release of excerpts from the defendant's deposition," O'Connor wrote."Plaintiff should be denied further relief and instead should be sanctioned," he wrote. "The court should preserve what little benefit to defendant remains from the settlement agreement." ||||| (Adds background about scandal, other pending cases) By Steve Gorman July 21 (Reuters) - Comedian Bill Cosby filed legal papers on Tuesday calling for court sanctions against a woman accusing him of sexual assault, saying she breached their confidentiality agreement in the leak of his full deposition from a 10-year-old civil case to the New York Times. Cosby, 78, made the filing in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in opposition to recent motions by Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who has alleged the comedian tricked her into taking drugs before he sexually assaulted her. The lawsuit she brought against Cosby was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006, and all documents from the litigation were sealed until a federal judge on July 6 released limited redacted excerpts from Cosby's 2005 deposition testimony in the case. Those excerpts included Cosby's admission under oath that he had obtained Quaaludes, the brand name for a sedative widely abused as a recreational drug in the 1970s, with the intent of giving the pills to young women in order to have sex with them. On July 8, Constand filed papers in court seeking to unseal the entire deposition and her settlement agreement with Cosby, as well as to free her from any confidentiality restrictions. The New York Times has since obtained its own record of Cosby's deposition and posted additional excerpts on its website, revealing testimony in which the entertainer described how he had pursued women and how he obtained Quaaludes. Cosby's own court filing on Tuesday stressed that the deposition excerpts so far unsealed by the judge contain no testimony that he engaged in any non-consensual sex or gave anyone Quaaludes without their knowledge or consent. "Reading the media accounts, one would conclude that Defendant has admitted to rape," the document said. "And yet Defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s." The memorandum goes on to call Constand's request to open the entire Cosby settlement to public scrutiny an "obvious attempt to smear" the performer and says she should be sanctioned for leaking the nearly 1,000-page deposition transcript to the New York Times through her "own hired court reporter." More than 40 women have come forward in the past year alleging Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in incidents dating back decades. He faces at least four civil lawsuits stemming from such allegations. Cosby has never been criminally charged. His attorneys have consistently denied the accusations, which have left in tatters the career and public image of a once-revered entertainer best known for playing the lovable father figure Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the hit TV comedy series "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s and '90s. Cosby has said little in public about the scandal, telling ABC television in May that he did not wish to discuss allegations. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler, Eric Beech and Ken Wills) |
|
– Uh-oh: Is New York City's sanitation department ready for another epic snowstorm? The storm currently wreaking havoc on the southern US will merge with a Midwest storm today, potentially resulting in another blizzard tomorrow night in the same northeastern area that got pounded by snow after Christmas. The storm could bring six to 12 inches or more of snow, plus high winds, AOL News reports. It is expected to affect northern New Jersey all the way to eastern New England. Click for more on the coming storm. Meanwhile, the storm in the South caused at least two airlines to cancel most of their flights into and out of Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, Bloomberg notes. Says one meteorologist, “I would expect travel to be difficult up and down the East Coast for the next two or three days.” | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | The New York City area may receive 6 to 12 inches of snow from a storm that has crippled air traffic in Atlanta and prompted officials across the South to urge people to stay off the roads. Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Holdings Inc. canceled most of their flights to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the world’s busiest airport, after 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow blanketed the area overnight. That system will combine with another by tomorrow and move up the East Coast with heavy snow that will disrupt travel, said Allan Huffman, a meteorologist for AirDat LLC in North Carolina, which installs weather-gathering sensors on commercial aircraft. “I would expect travel to be difficult up and down the East Coast for the next two or three days,” said Meredith Croke, also a meteorologist for AirDat. “Atlanta is a mess right now because they are not used to handling snow.” Delta scrubbed 1,450 flights today, or about 25 percent of its regular schedule, with the “overwhelming bulk” into and out of Atlanta, said Anthony Black, a spokesman for the Atlanta- based carrier. Delta and its regional partners account for about two-thirds of passengers in Atlanta, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Hartsfield-Jackson handles about 88 million passengers a year. Georgia Emergencies Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed declared states of emergency and urged people to stay indoors and avoid driving. Hundreds of schools, government offices and businesses were closed, and thousands were without power. Sanford ordered 120 National Guard troops to help clear roads and respond to accidents. Some roads in northern Alabama also have been closed, according to the state’s Department of Transportation. Huntsville, Alabama, recorded its third-largest snowfall, with 8.9 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The record was 17.1 inches set Dec. 31, 1963, into Jan. 1, 1964, the agency said. As of 1:30 p.m. East Coast time, 12.5 inches of snow had fallen in western North Carolina, according to the weather service. Pickens County, in South Carolina, reported 9 inches as of 12:27 p.m. Alerts Posted Winter weather advisories and storm warnings stretch from New Mexico to Virginia and cover all or part of 21 states, according to the weather service. A winter storm watch for tomorrow’s system stretches from Virginia to New Hampshire and includes New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. “We’re looking at another significant snowfall with 6 or more inches of snow,” said Brian Ciemnecki, a weather service meteorologist in Upton, New York. “There’s a pretty strong storm system moving through the southeastern portion of the U.S. and that low is expected to move off the southeast coast and take a track northeast.” As much as 12 inches may fall in New York and its suburbs in New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, according to the weather service. “The key accumulating period is tomorrow night into Wednesday morning,” said Matt Rogers, president of Commodity Weather Group LLC, a commercial forecaster in Bethesda, Maryland. “I don’t think it will be as bad as the Christmas storm, but it will definitely be worse than last week’s little guy.” Last Big Storm A winter storm struck New York and the Northeast the day after Christmas, dropping at least 20 inches of snow on Central Park and forcing the cancellation of more than 8,000 flights. The Dec. 26-27 storm left some New York City streets unplowed for days and garbage pickups backlogged. It cost New York at least $20 million of its $38.8 million snow-removal budget, according to the city’s Sanitation Department. The storm currently bringing snow and ice across the South will merge with one making its way across the Ohio Valley, Huffman said. That combined system will move up the East Coast, said Travis Hartman, a meteorologist with MDA Federal Inc.’s EarthSat Energy Weather in Rockville, Maryland. ‘Impressive-Looking System’ “As the low approaches the Jersey coast, rapid intensification is seen to commence which will help bring heavier snow falls to New York City, Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Massachusetts,” Hartman said. “Models have begun to converge on a pretty impressive-looking system.” In Philadelphia, the forecast calls for 4 or more inches of snow to start falling tomorrow. Boston can expect to receive from 7 to 12 inches of snow, according to the weather service. Snow will probably start in Boston tomorrow before midnight and then continue through the next day, said Alan Dunham, a weather service meteorologist in Taunton, Massachusetts. “The Wednesday morning commute is going to be pretty much a nightmare all over,” Dunham said of Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. After the snow leaves, southern New England will be clear and cold, with maybe a snow shower, through the weekend, when the National Football League’s New England Patriots will host the New York Jets in the second round of the American Football Conference playoffs. To contact the reporters on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at [email protected]; Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at [email protected]. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at [email protected] ||||| Sorry, the page you requested was not found. Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the Yahoo! home page or look through a list of Yahoo!'s online services. Also, you may find what you're looking for if you try searching below. Search the Web advanced search | most popular Please try Yahoo! Help Central if you need more assistance. |
|
– Scientists have discovered the smallest known planet, just a third of the size of the Earth. Mercury, the smallest in our solar system, is two-fifths Earth's size, the AP notes; the new discovery, Kepler-37b, is a far-off exoplanet. "This research shows for the first time that other stellar systems host planets much smaller than anything in our solar system," says a scientist. The ability to spot this planet—via the Kepler telescope—suggests researchers are now capable of finding distant Earth-like planets, Sky News notes. But don't pack your bags just yet: The new planet is pretty close to its sun-esque star, resulting in rather balmy 700-degree temps on its surface. Further making life inhospitable: No atmosphere or water. Still, "this new discovery raises the specter that the universe is jampacked, like jelly beans in a jar, with planets even smaller than Earth," says one expert. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | A new planet has been discovered orbiting a distant star - the smallest yet detected outside our own Solar System. The mini-world, the size of the Moon, is described as hot and barren and thought to be like a small version of Mercury. The planet's close orbit to its star - Kepler-37 - means it would be too hostile to support life but scientists say its discovery is significant as it shows that it should be possible to spot Earth-type planets, if there are any out there. They have called the new world Kepler-37b, after the star. It is one of three planets discovered orbiting the star. Kepler-37c is smaller than Earth; Kepler-37d is much bigger. Professor Bill Chaplin, from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, said: "This research shows for the first time that other stellar systems host planets much smaller than anything in our solar system. "This helps us to put our own solar system into a wider context." Until recently, the only planets found orbiting stars outside the solar system were Jupiter-like "gas giants" made mostly of hydrogen and helium. They are often many times the size of Earth and as a result have been easier to detect. Newer techniques are now turning up increasing numbers of small, rocky planets, like the inner planets of our own solar system; Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Such worlds offer the best chance of finding life among the stars. 51 Pegasi-b was the first exoplanet found, in 1995 (artist's impression) Orbiting very close to its parent star, Kepler-37b is likely to have no atmosphere and have a surface blasted by heat and radiation. The planet was detected by the Kepler space telescope, which is surveying more than 145,000 stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The Kepler telescope - which orbits the Sun, rather than the Earth - is designed to measure the tiny reduction in starlight that occurs when a planet moves in-between the telescope and a distant star. It is kept constantly pointing at the same part of the galaxy to record any changes in light emitted from any one of the thousands of stars it is observing. British scientists from the University of Birmingham were among the international team that analysed the data. So far, Kepler has found 2,740 stars which may have Earth-sized planets orbiting them. In January 2013, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics used Kepler's data to estimate that there are "at least 17 billion" Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way galaxy. The first planet found outside the Solar System circling a sun-like star was 51 Pegasi-b, discovered in 1995. Such bodies are called exoplanets. The research is reported in the journal Nature. ||||| Astronomers searching for planets outside our solar system have discovered the tiniest one yet _ one that's about the size of our moon. But hunters for life in the universe will need to poke elsewhere. The new world orbits too close to its sun-like star and is too sizzling to support life. Its surface temperature is an estimated 700 degrees Fahrenheit (371 degrees Celsius). It also lacks an atmosphere and water on its rocky surface. University of California, Berkeley astronomer Geoff Marcy, one of the founding fathers of the planet-hunting field, called the latest find "absolutely mind-boggling." "This new discovery raises the specter that the universe is jampacked, like jelly beans in a jar, with planets even smaller than Earth," said Marcy, who had no role in the new research. It's been nearly two decades since the first planet was found outside our solar system. Since then, there's been an explosion of discoveries, accelerated by NASA's Kepler telescope launched in 2009 to search for a twin Earth. So far, 861 planets have been spotted and only recently have scientists been able to detect planets that are similar in size to Earth or smaller. While scientists have theorized the existence of a celestial body that's smaller than Mercury _ the baby of the solar system since Pluto's downgrade _ they have not spotted one until now. Nearest to the sun, Mercury is about two-fifths the Earth's diameter; the newly discovered planet and our moon are about a third the size of Earth. The teeny planet was detected by Kepler, which simultaneously tracks more than 150,000 stars for slight dips in brightness _ a sign of a planet passing in front of the star. The planet _ known as Kepler-37b _ orbits a star 210 light years away in the constellation Lyra. It's one of three known planets in that solar system. Discoverer Thomas Barclay of the NASA Ames Research Center in Northern California was so excited when he spied the moon-sized planet that for days, he said he recited the "Star Wars" movie line: "That's no moon." It took more than a year and an international team to confirm that it was a bona fide planet. The discovery is detailed in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Scientists are looking for an Earth-size planet that's in the so-called Goldilocks zone _ that sweet spot that's not too hot and not too cold where water, which is essential for life, could exist on the surface. While the newly discovered planet isn't it, "that does not detract from the fact that this is yet another mile marker along the way to habitable Earth-like planets," said Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, who was not part of the discovery team. ___ Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia |
|
neuroendocrine tumours are rare in the gynaecologic tract , comprising approximately 2% of all gynaecological tumours .
they have an aggressive behaviour and are a diagnostic and clinical challenge , due to their rarity and the lack of standardized therapeutic approaches .
there are a few case reports .
it is defined as a high - grade carcinoma exhibiting neuroendocrine differentiation .
the authors describe the case of a 70-year - old woman , with vulvar neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma after superficial vulvectomy .
the patient was submitted to a surgery with wide local excision and adjuvant radiation therapy .
a review of the literature on this topic is also presented . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a seventy year - old woman presenting gradual evolution pruritus gets worse recently . at clinical examination , both labia were observed as white plates , dispersed , irregular borders and sanded surface , suggestive of high - grade intraepithelial vulvar neoplasia . she was undergone to a vulvar polyp that revealed a high - grade vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia , so it was decided superficial vulvectomy . the pathological examination revealed vulvar intraepithelial squamous neoplasia of high - grade , without evidence of invasion of the underlying stroma with signs of hpv infection , diffusely involving both lips , which developed in condyloma plan context , coexisting neuroendocrine carcinoma of high - grade small cell with lymphatic tumour embolization . discrete parakeratosis and dense inflammatory infiltrate , predominantly lymphocytic , was observed in both lips . the neuroendocrine lesion is a mass of intermediate size cells with high nucleus / cytoplasm ratio , hyperchromatic nucleus , some pleomorphism , with necrosis and figures of mitoses . the lesion is surrounded by inflammatory infiltrate mononucleate ( figure 1a ) . the immunohistochemistry was positive for ae1/ae3 , ck7 , ema , cam5.2 and berep4 , and negative for ck5 , p63 , ck20 and ttf1 . it is also observed immunostaining for neuroendocrine markers synaptophysin and chromogranin a ( figure 1c and d ) , with a proliferative activity assessed by ki67 about 100% . pathological examination of the surgical specimen revealed squamous intraepithelial lesion of low grade , with no evidence of residual carcinoma or neuroendocrine tumour lymphatic embolization , and solid metastasis in 1 of the 6 right inguinal nodes of neuroendocrine carcinoma small cell without contralateral inguinal lymph node metastasis ( figure 2 ) . neuroendocrine tumours have an aggressive behaviour and are a diagnostic and clinical challenge , due to their rarity and the lack of standardized therapeutic approaches . they are rarely found in gynaecology , however they comprise approximately 2% of all tumours of the gynaecological tract . most of them occur in the cervix , but they can also arise in other sites including vulva , vagina , uterus , and ovary . these tumours are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that show various histologic findings and biologic behaviours . neuroendocrine small cell carcinoma is included in the group of high - grade neuroendocrine carcinomas . small cell carcinoma , arising in other organs has the same histopathologic characteristics , as the ones originated in the gynaecologic tract . recent genomic analyses of small cell carcinoma of the lung have revealed potential driver genomic alterations . some authors believe that the comprehensive genomic characterization of gynaecologic small cell carcinomas may lead to the identification of markers , that result in an improvement of diagnostic reproducibility of small cell carcinomas of the gynaecologic tract and of molecular aberrations , that may be exploited therapeutically in subgroups of the disease . the uterine cervix is the most frequent place in the female genital tract of this cancer and high - risk human papillomavirus ( hpv ) infection . regardless of the location , small cell carcinoma in the gynaecologic tract displays an aggressive clinical behaviour , with few - reported long - term survivors . this tumour has been observed in women with vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia or squamous cell carcinoma . the small - cell carcinomas of the vagina and vulva need to be distinguished from merkel cell cancers , a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin . attention to the histologic features of neuroendocrine differentiation and the immunohistochemical staining of neuroendocrine markers is necessary to reach a correct diagnosis . microscopically , they are composed of small , oval - spindle cells , which are arranged like a sheet , trabecular or nested pattern . rosette - like or acinar formation may be seen . the cells have high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio , scanty cytoplasm , and hyperchromatic nuclei with inconspicuous nucleoli . small foci of squamous and/or glandular differentiation can be seen but they usually are less than 5 - 10% of the total volume of the tumour . immunohistochemistry : neuroendocrine differentiation can be proved with neuroendocrine markers , such as , chromogranin s , synaptophysin , cd56 , cd57 , neuron specific enolase , protein gene product 9.5 and synaptic vesicle protein 2 . these markers recognize antigens that are expressed independently of the specific hormones secreted by neuroendocrine cells . chromogranin - a , synaptophysin and cd56 are the most commonly used neuroendocrine markers in most practices . reactivity for neuron - specific enolase and cd56 is usually present , although it is known to be a less specific neuroendocrine marker , compared to chromogranin and synaptophysin . the frequent coexistence of neuroendocrine carcinoma and epithelial tumours alltogether with the monoclonality of the two components implies a common cellu lar origin of the neuroendocrine and epithelial components . better survival is associated with fewer genetic aberrations , but tumour - related mortality occurs in approximately one - third of patients . neuroendocrine tumours show highly aggressive clinical behaviour , regardless of the site of origin . despite the potential differences in etiology and risk factors , small cell carcinoma from different sites of the gynaecologic tract , have similar morphologic appearances and clinical behaviour . early stage disease has varied treatment approaches , based on the site of malignancy , but systemic chemotherapy with or without radiation , plays a role in the adjuvant setting to mitigate the risk of recurrence . similar to small - cell cancers arising in other sites , it appears that the regional therapy is not a sufficient treatment , for this tumour . |
|
a 67-year - old man with right - sided blunt ocular trauma is reported here . despite having received primary medical care ,
the patient complained of severe headache for 14 days .
initial computed tomography ( ct ) indicated hematoma in the right frontal lobe .
however , magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) indicated that the right globe along with its optic nerve had been intactly dislocated into the intracranium and differentiated from hematoma . in this case
, the significance of mri , in blunt ocular trauma work - up , and also regaining successful ocular function are highlighted . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | a 67-year - old male fell accidentally down from an agricultural vehicle a protruding part of which crashed into his right eye . he experienced massive bleeding with a 3- to 5-min period of unconsciousness as the immediate consequence of the trauma . eight hours later , the patient was brought to the emergency unit of the ophthalmology hospital . on physical examination , the left eye had a normal appearance with a normal range of motion and 17/20 visual acuity , while the right orbit was empty and filled in with a lot of clots . considering these findings , the primary diagnosis of orbital destruction was made , following which the orbit was irrigated and the upper eyelid repaired . throughout the 7 days of hospitalization as well as for a further 7 days of partial bed rest at home , the patient complained of severe headache , especially prominent in the area corresponding to the frontoparietal lobe . as a work - up for headache , an initial computed tomography ( ct ) scan was performed which demonstrated hyperdense foci of the right frontoparietal lobe , typical signs of a right orbital anterior wall fracture implying right globe destruction . the mri study revealed the intact right globe ; its related optical nerve possessed normal diameter and signal also . the globe had only herniated through the bony defect of the right orbit roof into the floor of the anterior fossa and caused hematoma and edema in the right frontal lobe , surrounding the displaced globe [ fig . consequently , diagnostic and interventional surgery was carried out to save the intact globe cosmetically and functionally . the eyelids were opened using desmarres retractors , and a wide opening in the fracture in the roof of the orbit and frontal bone was discovered . a squint hook was passed under the insertion of the inferior rectus muscle , and the globe was gently restored to its normal anatomical location using a blunt dissector inserted into the hole . the normal attachments of the all extraocular muscles were checked one by one , passing a squint hook under each scleral insertion . serendipitously , the four rectus muscles and inferior oblique tendon were still intact , whereas the superior oblique muscle body was partially lacerated . the globe returned into its normal anatomic site and then the hole was considered to be repaired in a way to place the separated bony parts in association with each other . right globe is dislocated from its normal location in orbit toward the upper medial skull , adjacent to the right frontal lobe . the intact right globe with its lens and nerve ( arrow ) which are dislocated on the cribriform plate have a normal signal . globe dislocation toward the upper medial side on the cribriform plate of the ethmoid is seen the patient , after 2 days , was discharged and asked to get back for out - patient visit 1 week later . however , the patient was poorly cooperative and came to follow - up visit with 1-week delay . patient 's headache came back and on eye movement examination , extraocular movements were restricted in all directions ; blepharoptosis was present , without enophthalmosis . the patient complained double vision ( diplopia ) when the affected eyelid was elevated manually , despite 8/20 visual acuity and reactive pupil on his right eye exam . patient 's ocular motility evaluation revealed 12 prism diopter hypertropia in the primary position , in the affected eye . a temporary glass was prescribed and a follow - up visit was scheduled for reexamination and possible surgical correction for blepharoptosis and ocular realignment . in addition , the patient was advised for rehabilitation and repeat mri examination . , there has not been any case report demonstrating trauma - induced intracranial dislocation of an intact globe ; this is the first report of its kind . this issue , once again , emphasizes the importance of imaging in ocular trauma , especially the mri technique in the detection of an intact globe and its related anatomic components . furthermore , apart from a neurosurgeon 's skills , the meticulous evaluation of imaging findings such as ct and mri may be of great importance in clinical neurosurgery . in the case of the present patient , although there are limited case reports of intact globe dislocation into the ethmoid and maxillary sinuses,[69 ] this is the first case of the traumatic displacement of the globe into the intracranial space . in all of earlier reported cases , the prolapse of the intact globe occurred following the fracture of lateral sinuses wall constructing the orbital fossa , while in the present case , the intact globe luxated into the intracranium space as a consequence of a fracture in the right orbit roof . surgical intervention performed in only one case ( with ethmoid luxation ) has been associated with partially good outcomes , consistent with our final outcome . conventional surgical treatment , repairing the orbital floor only , seems to have lost its theoretical foundation and a conservative approach is advocated until microsurgical techniques become more readily available to treat the sequelae of blow - out fractures at their origin . in particular , these unique cases are the ones with the satisfactory restoration of globe to its normal position and the preservation of patient 's vision . in such cases , performing further imaging studies including mri saves the globe and its function , preventing the inappropriate consequences of globe resection . in addition , favorable cosmetic and functional results may be highly appreciated by these trauma patients . |
|
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2015. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2014, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2015, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2014, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SAA, 2008) to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2014, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state whose federal-state EUC agreement was terminated in 2013, under which the federal government would reimburse a state unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state whose EUC agreement was terminated in 2013. Allows such a state, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013''.SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM. (a) Extension.--Section 4007(a)(2) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended by striking ``January 1, 2014'' and inserting ``January 1, 2015''. (b) Funding.--Section 4004(e)(1) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' at the end; (2) in subparagraph (J), by inserting ``and'' at the end; and (3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the following: ``(K) the amendments made by section 2(a) of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013;''. (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-240).SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF EXTENDED BENEFIT PROVISIONS. (a) In General.--Section 2005 of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, as contained in Public Law 111-5 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note), is amended-- (1) by striking ``December 31, 2013'' each place it appears and inserting ``December 31, 2014''; and (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``June 30, 2014'' and inserting ``June 30, 2015''. (b) Extension of Matching for States With No Waiting Week.--Section 5 of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-449; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended by striking ``June 30, 2014'' and inserting ``June 30, 2015''. (c) Extension of Modification of Indicators Under the Extended Benefit Program.--Section 203 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended-- (1) in subsection (d), by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 2014''; and (2) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 2014''. (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-240).SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND REEMPLOYMENT AND ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES. (a) In General.--Section 4004(c)(2)(A) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended by striking ``through fiscal year 2014'' and inserting ``through fiscal year 2015''. (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-240).SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS UNDER THE RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT. (a) Extension.--Section 2(c)(2)(D)(iii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(c)(2)(D)(iii)) is amended-- (1) by striking ``June 30, 2013'' and inserting ``June 30, 2014''; and (2) by striking ``December 31, 2013'' and inserting ``December 31, 2014''. (b) Clarification on Authority To Use Funds.--Funds appropriated under either the first or second sentence of clause (iv) of section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act shall be available to cover the cost of additional extended unemployment benefits provided under such section 2(c)(2)(D) by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a) as well as to cover the cost of such benefits provided under such section 2(c)(2)(D), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. (c) Funding for Administration.--Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Railroad Retirement Board $250,000 for administrative expenses associated with the payment of additional extended unemployment benefits provided under section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a), to remain available until expended.SEC. 6. SUBSEQUENT EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION AGREEMENTS. (a) In General.--Effective as of the date of the enactment of this Act, subsection (g) of section 4001 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) shall not apply with respect to a State whose agreement under title IV of such Act was terminated in 2013. (b) Permitting a Subsequent Agreement.--Nothing in such title IV shall preclude a State described in subsection (a) from entering into a subsequent agreement under such title on or after the date of the enactment of this Act if the State, taking into account the application of subsection (a), would otherwise meet the requirements for an agreement under such title. |
|
– The biggest health insurer in the country announced Thursday it could leave ObamaCare in 2017. The Hill calls the announcement a "shock ... that could ripple through the marketplace," and the AP notes it could have an impact on policies during the presidential election season. In a statement to shareholders, UnitedHealth Group claims its Affordable Care Act business hasn't met financial expectations while lowering its projected fourth-quarter earnings by $425 million. "We cannot sustain these losses," says CEO Stephen Hemsley. "We can't really subsidize a marketplace that doesn't appear at the moment to be sustaining itself." This is quite the turnaround, as executives in recent weeks had expressed optimism in ObamaCare policies and planned for their expansion, according to the Chicago Tribune. Hemsley says the number of Affordable Care Act enrollees hasn't been growing fast enough while current enrollees are using more medical services, leading to trouble, the Tribune reports. UnitedHealth has approximately 550,000 people—slightly more than 1% of its total customers—enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans. "Participation in exchanges is not essential to our overall benefit offerings, but we remain hopeful these markets will eventually evolve into a viable coverage category for Americans," Hemsley says. According to the Hill, a number co-op insurers have gone under in recent weeks for similar reasons, leading to additional criticisms of ObamaCare. But the AP reports a number of large ensurers are still optimistic about the financial prospects of the Affordable Care Act and say it's much too early to give up on it. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | One of the country’s largest health insurers warned Thursday that it may leave the ObamaCare exchanges within two years, delivering a shock announcement that could ripple through the marketplace. At a shareholder meeting Thursday, UnitedHealthcare cast doubt on its ability to carry plans on the healthcare law’s exchanges beyond 2016, offering a more grim financial outlook than it had previously expected. ADVERTISEMENT “In recent weeks, growth expectations for individual exchange participation have tempered industrywide," said Stephen Hemsley, the company's CEO. "Co-operatives have failed, and market data has signaled higher risks and more difficulties while our own claims experience has deteriorated, so we are taking this proactive step,” he said. The company's statement said it will be “evaluating the viability of the insurance exchange product segment and will determine during the first half of 2016 to what extent it can continue to serve the public exchange markets in 2017.” It also projected that its fourth-quarter revenue will be $425 million less than expected — amounting to 26 cents in earnings per share. The company also announced it has “pulled back” on marketing plans for 2016. Hemsley's mention of the ObamaCare co-operatives, or co-ops, refers to the half-dozen startup insurers that have collapsed in the past few weeks. Opponents of the healthcare law have seized on the closure of the co-op insurers, which were intended to increase competition, and highlighted the troubles in hearings on Capitol Hill. Fewer than half of the original 23 co-ops are still running, and only a handful are on solid financial footing. ||||| UnitedHealth chopped its 2015 earnings forecast and the nation's largest health insurer has begun to question its future in public insurance exchanges, a key component in the nation's health care overhaul. FILE - This Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows a portion of The UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s campus in Minnetonka, Minn. UnitedHealth announced Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, it is chopping its 2015 earnings... (Associated Press) The company said Thursday that it would pull back on the marketing of its exchange business a few weeks after open enrollment for that coverage began nationwide. It also said that it will decide in the first half of next year "to what extent it can continue to serve the public exchange markets in 2017." "We cannot sustain these losses," CEO Stephen Hemsley said Thursday. "We can't really subsidize a marketplace that doesn't appear at the moment to be sustaining itself." Hemsley told investors Thursday that the company doesn't intend to take further losses from this business in 2017. State-based health insurance exchanges opened a few years ago as a way for customers to buy individual health insurance, many with help from income-based tax credits. The exchanges offered a potential growth boom for insurers but also risk because UnitedHealth and others had little sense of the health needs of new customers. They also didn't know whether the new business would attract enough healthy customers to balance the expected enrollment of sicker customers who had not been able to find coverage before. UnitedHealth's unexpected announcement Thursday is sure to raise more concerns about the sustainability of the overhaul's public insurance exchanges. With less than a year before the U.S. presidential election, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Borsch wrote that the health of the exchanges "may ultimately have significant policy and political implications." For UnitedHealth, it marks a dramatic shift after the Minneapolis company said just last month that it was expanding into 11 more exchanges next year. UnitedHealth initially sold coverage on only 4 exchanges before expanding to 24 this year. Chief Financial Officer David Wichmann told analysts in October that the company expected its exchange business to be "strikingly better" in 2016 and that the exchanges will mature into a strong growth market. The company still plans to expand into more exchanges, but medical claims have come in higher than expected on the exchanges overall, and its business in particular has deteriorated. UnitedHealth doesn't detail the performance of its exchange business, but the insurer did say Thursday that it was cutting its forecast in part to account for the advanced recognition of $275 million in losses it expects next year. The company now expects now forecasts 2015 earnings of about $6 per share, down from its previous forecast for $6.25 to $6.35 per share. UnitedHealth had raised that forecast twice so far this year before reaffirming it last month. Analysts expect earnings of $6.31 per share, on average, according to FactSet. UnitedHealth hasn't been alone in endorsing the exchange business, which amounts to a small slice of income for major insurers. Aetna Inc. CEO Mark Bertolini told analysts last month that the nation's third-largest insurer still sees the exchange business as a big opportunity and it was "way too early to call it quits." The Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Anthem Inc. also told analysts that it was well positioned for growth in that market once it stabilizes. But insurers also have struggled to entice healthy customers to buy high-deductible insurance commonly sold on the exchanges. The plans require patients to first pay deductibles that can top several thousand dollars before most coverage begins. Several nonprofit health insurance cooperatives established to compete with insurers on the exchanges announced earlier this year that they would fold. Those plans also have been hurt by lower-than-expect payments from overhaul programs designed to support the insurers while they learn how to price coverage on the exchanges. UnitedHealth Group Inc. shares sank 6 percent, or $7.06,, to $110.25 in premarket trading Thursday. Shares of insurers Anthem and Aetna also fell sharply. |
|
– The baby who last year made international headlines in a surrogacy controversy is now a 1-year-old Australian citizen, though he still lives in Thailand. Gammy, who has Down syndrome and a heart condition, can now access Australian health care, the BBC reports. He has been a regular patient at a Thai hospital, the Sydney Morning Herald reports; donations have covered the costs. Gammy was eligible for Australian citizenship because his biological father, David Farnell, is Australian. He can now also get an Australian passport. Farnell and his wife, Wendy, sparked the controversy when they took Gammy's twin sister home from a surrogate mother in Thailand, but Gammy stayed. The surrogate, Pattaramon Chanbua, applied for Australian citizenship for the boy; she says it was an effort to protect him for the future rather than a means for her to go to Australia. Even so, it now appears she'll be able to do so with Gammy without facing restrictions. Global donors have raised some $240,000 for the baby; that allowed Chanbua's family to move to a new home in Thailand, Australia's ABC reports. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Baby Gammy, one-year-old at centre of Thai surrogacy scandal, granted Australian citizenship Updated Baby Gammy, who was at the centre of a surrogacy scandal in Thailand, has been granted Australian citizenship. Born with Down syndrome via a surrogate mother in Thailand, Gammy was left behind while his healthy twin sister Pipah was taken home by their Australian parents, Wendy and David Farnell. The surrogate mother of the twins, 21-year-old Thai woman Pattaramon Chanbua, said she applied for Australian citizenship for Gammy because she wanted to safeguard his future, not because she wanted to travel to Australia. Gammy, who turned one on December 23 last year, has been granted citizenship and is now also eligible for an Australian passport, although that is a separate process that has not begun. It is unclear whether he could also be eligible for Australian welfare benefits. The Pattaramon family recently moved into a new home in Chonburi, 90 kilometres south of Bangkok, which was purchased from donated funds. More than $240,000 was raised after Baby Gammy's plight became public. The Farnells were heavily criticised last year for leaving one infant behind, prompting robust discussion about laws and regulations surrounding international surrogacy arrangements. The Department for Child Protection began proceedings in the Family Court after it was revealed David Farnell, 56, had 22 child sex convictions, including indecent dealing with young girls. The Farnell family retained custody of Pipah, subject to strict court conditions. Topics: surrogacy, international-law, law-crime-and-justice, thailand, australia First posted ||||| Despite being rejected by his Australian biological father, Thai-born baby Gammy can become an Australian citizen. Australian rights: Baby Gammy, with Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbu, has a biological Australian father. Photo: AP Bangkok: Gammy, the baby at the centre of Thailand's surrogacy scandal, has been granted Australian citizenship. The 12-month-old baby with Down syndrome will now be eligible for Australian services such as healthcare. He will also be eligible to apply for an Australian passport. Gammy, who was born with a heart condition, was abandoned by his Australian biological parents, David and Wendy Farnell, last year, prompting Thai authorities to shut down the country's then booming surrogacy industry. Help at hand: Gammy has received donations of more than $240,000 to help pay for hospital treatment. The baby's surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua, said she applied for Australian citizenship because she wanted to safeguard Gammy's future, not because she wanted to travel to Australia. Advertisement But there are not expected to be any restrictions on Ms Pattaramon travelling to Australia with Gammy. Mr and Mrs Farnell have been allowed by West Australian authorities to keep Gammy's twin sister, Pipah, with strict conditions, despite Mr Farnell's previous convictions for child sex offences. Gammy was automatically eligible to become an Australian citizen because Mr Farnell's sperm was used, making him the biological parent. Ms Pattaramon bitterly criticised the Farnells after they left Thailand with Pipah, saying she was still owed money by the Bunbury couple. Gammy was critically unwell at the time. When Fairfax Media revealed Gammy's plight, people around the world rushed to donate more than $240,000. The money is managed by Australian charity Hands Across the Water, which recently provided a new house for Ms Pattaramon's family in Chonburi, 90 kilometres south of Bangkok. Gammy turned one on December 23. He has been regularly visiting a Thai hospital, with his bills paid by donated money through Hands Across the Water. Legislation has been drafted by Thailand's military junta that will ban surrogacy except involving family members, with penalties of up to 10 years' jail for violators of the law. ||||| Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Baby Gammy's case made headlines around the world and provoked debate over surrogacy Baby Gammy, who was born with Down's syndrome to a surrogate mother in Thailand, has been granted Australian citizenship, local media report. Gammy was left behind while his twin sister Pipah went home with Australian parents David and Wendy Farnell last year. The case sparked intense debate over international surrogacy agreements. Surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua said she sought Australian citizenship to safeguard Gammy's future. Gammy, who turned one in December, is eligible for Australian citizenship because David Farnell is his biological father. He will now have access to healthcare in Australia and is eligible for an Australian passport. Baby aborted The Farnells faced heavy criticism for leaving one baby behind and taking the other. Besides Down's syndrome Gammy has a congenital heart condition. Image copyright AFP Image caption Ms Chanbua said later she had not allowed Gammy to be taken by the Australian parents Ms Chanbua, the 21-years-old surrogate mother, claimed that the Farnells wanted Gammy aborted when they found out he had Down's syndrome, but that was against her Buddhist beliefs. In a TV interview, the Farnells said after Gammy was born, they wanted to bring both infants home. Ms Chanbua told the Associated Press that she had then not allowed Gammy to go with them. It was later revealed that David Farnell had child sex convictions, prompting Australia's Department of Child Protection to launch an investigation in August. The Farnells retain custody of Pipah but with strict court conditions, according to Australian media reports. Gammy's case drew donations from around the world which are being managed by an Australian charity and have been used to pay for his hospital bills and a new home for Ms Chanbua's family. |
|
– It's called "PSYC 157: Psychology and the Good Life," and the course taught by Laurie Santos just happens to be the most popular one ever offered at Yale, writes Adam Sternbergh at the Cut. Its aim is to teach students to be happier. Sternbergh took the course himself and found it useful, and he suggests that it might better be called "What Is Happiness, Why Aren't You Happy, and What Can You Do to Change That?" That's because Santos delves into not just the science of happiness, but the practice of it. Think of it as exercise. "The thing that makes this course different is that we also focus on what I call 'behavior change'—the science of how you move your behavior around," Santos tells her students. All students must start with this survey to help determine their baseline happiness. Then comes the process in which students essentially "rewire" their brains. "Throughout the class, students use a ReWi app specially developed for the course to alter their behavior and enhance their well-being," writes Sternbergh. "They aren't tests per se but exercises designed for self-betterment: Keep a daily gratitude journal for seven days; take a survey to determine your signature strengths; get at least seven hours of sleep for three days in a row." The story digs into how the course shows that most people overvalue money and undervalue time. One day, for example, Santos has the students show up to class, only to learn that it's been canceled. The catch is that they must spend spend the free hour not catching up on work but doing something unexpected for pleasure. One time-crunched student began to cry at the news. Click for the full story, which includes a quiz and a reading list. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | S p e c i a l A s s i g n m e n t Time Affluence Illustration: Zohar Lazar To understand why we overvalue the role of money in happiness, let’s skip ahead to a “special event” scheduled on the syllabus for right after the midterm. Pop quiz: If you suddenly found you had an extra $100, what would you do with it? Now: What would you do if you suddenly found you had an extra hour? With the money, chances are you’d be inclined to use it on a treat — to buy something you did not budget for otherwise, rather than paying off an existing debt. With time, it’s the opposite: There’s a good chance you’d use that hour to catch up on work, rather than go for a walk or visit a museum you’d otherwise not have time to do. As a time-starved New Yorker, I found this reversal particularly intriguing. Sixty percent of working parents report feeling “always” rushed, and 80 percent of working adults, with or without children, would like to have more time to spend with loved ones. In psychology, this sense of not having enough time is known as “time famine.” The sense of having plenty of time is called “time affluence.” Affluence is a fitting analogy, as time and money are both commodities. We see them as literally equivalent: “Time is money.” We think of both as scarce and therefore valuable: We “spend” and “waste” and “save” them both. Yet it turns out we do a terrible job of valuing time and money correctly — in part because we don’t understand the kind of commodities they really are. Here, Santos draws on the work of Ashley Whillans, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, and Elizabeth Dunn, a professor at the University of British Columbia, who have studied how we value time versus money and how our attitudes affect our well-being. First, we have to understand a crucial difference between them: As a personal commodity, money is extremely elastic, in that you can theoretically accumulate an infinite amount of it, and your income fluctuates at different points in your life. Time, by contrast, is intrinsically inelastic: You cannot accumulate more of it, and you’ve never had any less of it. You get the same amount of minutes and hours in every day of your life. By that reasoning, an hour should be much more valuable than a dollar — yet we consistently behave as if the opposite were true. For example: Would you accept a new job with a 20 percent higher salary if it meant a 25 percent longer workweek or a 50 percent longer commute? If so, you are valuing your monetary affluence over your time affluence. You are what Whillans and Dunn would call a “Morgan” — in their studies, they use the figures of “Taylor” (who values time) and “Morgan” (who values money) and ask respondents to identify with one or the other. Interestingly, people are reliably split evenly on whom they identify with. Yet the Taylors of the world report a much higher level of overall happiness in other areas of life. Another illogical way in which we value these two commodities: An abundance of money is considered a status symbol, while an abundance of time is considered shameful. That’s why, in America, there’s a premium on busyness — on having a deficit of time. (According to research, this does not hold true in many other cultures, where there is no stigma to an abundance of time.) In another study, Whillans and Dunn engineered an experiment in which participants were offered $40 and required to spend it on a time-saving purchase of their own devising. Some ordered takeout; some used the money on a house cleaner; some employed a neighborhood kid to finish up that lingering yard work. Later, the same participants were offered another $40, this time with the instruction that they had to spend it on a material good, like a book or an item of clothing. The test subjects were reliably happier when they spent the money to buy time — and they reported that their happiness was directly associated with that alleviation of time pressure. (Let’s overlook, for the moment, the fact that this means you can, indeed, buy happiness — by purchasing time from other, less affluent people.) As for Santos, she came up with a straightforward way of communicating the concept of time affluence to her students. After the midterm, when they arrived on the day of the “special event,” Santos and her teaching assistants handed out flyers at the door of the lecture hall that read “Class is canceled. Go practice time affluence. You have one free hour.” The only proviso was that they were not allowed to fill that hour with work. They had to do something unexpected: Read for pleasure. Take a hike. Meet a friend for coffee. One student was so grateful for this one-hour reprieve in her overpacked schedule that, at news of this gift, she started to cry. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. |
|
wilms tumor ( nephroblastoma ) is extremely rare in adults , skeletal metastasis being still rarer .
the clinical course of adult wilms tumor is very aggressive .
the present case is a rare blastemal predominant adult wilms tumor presenting with skeletal metastasis .
we report a case of 19-year - old female presented with severe low backache and colicky left loin pain of 3 months and progressive weakness of 15 days duration . magnetic resonance image ( mri ) of lumbosacral spine was reported as spinal metastasis with right renal mass .
the patient underwent right radical nephrectomy and the tumor was histopathologically confirmed as adult wilms tumor . in case of adult wilms tumor , distant metastasis may be the first presentation and this possibility should be considered when an adult patient presents with flank pain and a renal mass . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | it is extremely rare in adults accounting for less than 1% of all renal neoplasm . the common sites of metastasis described in literature are lung , liver , and lymph nodes . in both pediatric and adult wilms tumor , adult wilms tumor may have a more aggressive clinical course and a higher tumor stage at the time of presentation compared to that in children . we hereby discuss a rare blastemal predominant adult wilms tumor presenting with skeletal metastasis with a short review of available literature along with differential diagnosis of other relevant small round cell tumors . a 19-year - old female presented with severe low backache and colicky left loin pain of 3 months and progressive weakness of 15 days duration . routine laboratory investigations including a full blood count , chest x - ray , and renal function tests were normal . magnetic resonance image ( mri ) of lumbosacral spine was reported as spinal metastasis with right renal mass [ figure 1a and b ] . the cytology smears were cellular and showed mildly pleomorphic round to oval cells attempting microacinar and papillary structures . cytologically possibilities of blastemal predominant adult wilms and ewing 's sarcoma / primitive neuroectodermal tumor ( pnet ) were considered . ( a ) precontrast t1w axial images showing heterogeneously enhancing right renal mass and enhancing lesion in the body , left pedicle , transverse process and lamina of the l2 vertebral body with epidural component causing compression and displacement of thecal sac to right side . ( b ) postcontrast t1w axial images of the same the patient underwent right radical nephrectomy . the nephrectomy specimen showed a large tumor of 15 10 6 cm with areas of hemorrhage and necrosis almost replacing the normal kidney . microscopically , the tumor comprised of monomorphous cells present as nests , islands , and sheets with intervening tumor necrosis and lymphoid collections . at areas , the tumor cell on treatment with periodic acid schiff ( pas ) agent did not show significant positivity , which favored the diagnosis of wilms tumor rather than ewing's / pnet . immunohistochemistry was performed with a panel of antibodies like vimentin , cytokeratin , cd45 , synaptophysin , chromogranin , s-100 , neuron - specific enolase ( nse ) , cd117 , cd99 . the tumor exhibited positivity for s-100 , cd117 , and nse focally [ figure 3 ] . along with kidney lymph nodes around renal hilum and inferior vena cava were sent for histopathological examination . she received a total of 3060 cgy to spine over 17 fractions ( 180 cgy / day ) and additional boost of 1080 cgy to tumor bed . the chemotherapy schedule was dactinomycin 45 g / kg / day at weeks 0 , 6 , 12 , 18 , and 24 , doxorubicin 45 mg / m / day at third and ninth week and then 30 mg / m / day at weeks 15 and 21.vincristine was given 1.5 mg / m / day at weeks 12 , 15 , 18 , 21 , and 24 . monomorphic tumor cells with adjacent compressed normal renal parenchyma ( h and e , 20 ) immunohistochemically few tumor cells showing s-100 positivity ct of the chest and abdomen at 3 months following surgery has not shown any evidence of recurrence of tumor or metastasis in other viscera . after completion of chemotherapy schedule , patient was lost to follow - up and presented with weakness of lower limbs and backache of 15 days duration one - and - half - year after surgical therapy . the patient underwent d10 , d11 , d12 laminectomy and excision of mass lesion histopathologically which exhibited similar morphology as that of the renal lesion . there was no evidence of neurological improvement in the postoperative period and she was started on four drug regimen with inclusion of cyclophosphamide ( j regimen of nwtsg-4 ) , but patient refused to continue treatment after 4 weeks . wilms tumor , named after the nineteenth century german surgeon carl max wilhelm wilms is a common malignant embryonic renal tumor of childhood but is extremely rare in people over 15 years of age . classic wilms tumor is composed of three types of cells undifferentiated blastemal , mesenchymal , and epithelial ; although the occurrence of all three types in the same case is uncommon . since there are no definite clinical data or radiographic investigations that can distinguish it from renal cell carcinoma , diagnosis is based on pathological evaluation . are primary renal neoplasm in age group of more than 15 years with histological features of embryonic glomerulotubular structure with immature spindle or round cell stroma and no areas of tumor diagnostic of renal cell carcinoma . the relevant small round cell tumors , which should be considered in the differential diagnosis of this particular tumor , are ewings / pnet and non - hodgkin 's lymphoma . the present tumor lacked the microscopical appearance of both these tumors and the corresponding immunohistochemical markers were also negative favoring the diagnosis of adult wilms tumor . the prognosis of wilms tumor in adults is worse than in children because of the high recurrence , the lower response rate to chemotherapy regimens , and the advanced stage at the time of clinical presentation , like an asymptomatic abdominal mass in 75% of the cases . in spite of multimodal approach similar to childhood wilms tumor , omachi et al . opined that prognosis of adult wilms tumor is very poor since many patients have unfavorable histology and no effective treatment guidelines have been established . |
|
– Ex-congressman Bob Barr is helping “Baby Doc” Duvalier gain access to frozen funds left in Swiss banks. The former dictator “is very interested in trying to get those funds freed up, not for himself, but so they can be used to help the situation in Haiti,” Barr, who was a Georgia Republican representative from 1995 to 2003, told Business Week. Meanwhile, Duvalier has spoken to the press for the first time since his return (with Barr by his side), saying he’d come back to “commemorate” the anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake and expected to be persecuted. “The desire to participate with you in this collaboration for national reconstruction far exceeds the annoyances that I could be facing,” he said. Barr and other American advisers are “rebranding” Duvalier, Time notes, for instance, telling him to "make sure to smile" at the end of his speech. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Ramon Espinosa / AP Haiti's ex-dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, center, gestures to supporters as police take him out of his hotel in Port-au-Prince The former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has spoken. After spending almost 25 years in exile in France, the self-proclaimed "President for Life" returned suddenly and unexpectedly to Haiti on Jan. 16. Five days later, during his first appearance before the press, he proclaimed to a mob of journalists that he would like to participate in Haiti's reconstruction effort. "I decided to return to Haiti to commemorate with you, in our country, this sad anniversary. I was expecting all sorts of persecution," said Duvalier. "But believe me, the desire to participate with you in this collaboration for national reconstruction far exceeds the annoyances that I could be facing." The 59-year-old Duvalier sat isolated in a thronelike chair and read from a prepared statement, resembling a faint memory of the 19-year-old who became the head of Haiti and the youngest leader in the western hemisphere after the death of his father François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. After delivering his remarks, Duvalier was quickly ushered up the staircase at the guesthouse in the Montagne Noir neighborhood where he is currently residing. Duvalier did not take any questions, but instead left the lion's den of reporters for his Haitian lawyer and his three newly appointed U.S. counselors, including former Congressman and 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr. (See "Who Let 'Baby Doc' Duvalier Back into Haiti?") Fielding most of the reporters' questions was American attorney Ed Marger, who represented Haiti in the U.S. in the 1960s and who said Duvalier's father "told him [Jean-Claude Duvalier] if he ever had a problem with the United States to call me." "Why is he back?" asked Marger. "There are millions of dollars available to the people of Haiti that have not come in because the donors of those monies, including the United States, have a problem with trust with the persons who are handling the funds." Never mind that the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, headed by former President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, already oversees the $10 billion pledged to Haiti for long-term aid. Regardless of that, Marger assured reporters, Duvalier would be an influential force worthy of aiding to manage those funds. (See photos of Haiti's reconstruction one year after the quake.) It sounds like a pipe dream to establish trust in a man whom Haitian authorities recently accused of corruption and embezzlement during his reign from 1971 to '86, including the allegation that he stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the national treasury before he fled the country on a U.S. chartered flight to France. But rebranding Duvalier is part of his advisers' plan. Marger said he told the former dictator to "make sure to smile" at the end of the speech an attempt to humanize the former strongman whose poor health has left him with a stiff neck that some observers have remarked as robotic. Also, Marger added that part of this image change would involve claiming $6 million frozen in a Swiss bank account and donating the money to the reconstruction effort. Duvalier traveled to Haiti just before a Swiss law that could bar his access to at least $4.6 million takes effect on Feb. 1. To collect the funds, Duvalier will have to prove that Haitian authorities aren't interested in prosecuting him. Currently, however, there is an ongoing investigation seeking to prove his regime's corruption. (See how Swiss banks are adapting to scrutiny.) But Marger insisted that Duvalier's plan for the money is to help the reconstruction effort and not personal gain. Another Duvalier adviser, Barr, a former CIA agent who worked in Haiti in the 1970s, said they are hoping to tap into the base Duvalier has energized with his presence in Haiti. Although Barr said that Duvalier has no political ambitions, he drew a parallel between the pro-Duvalier momentum and that of the Tea Party movement in the U.S. He added that the downward course of the country has caused people to look to Duvalier for positive change. "He's not an organization," said Barr. "But from what I sense it's a lot of grass-roots support." But where will this newfound spark lead the Haitian people? Barr said the movement isn't "programmed" and the direction for this course isn't always clear. Still, the energy on the streets about the return of Duvalier is palpable. After the press conference, dozens of Duvalier supporters cheered in the courtyard of the guesthouse. Duvalier appeared on the balcony and waved to the crowd, then retreated back inside. Also, Duvalier's presence has brought about a re-emergence of former colonels and ministers from the Duvalier regime. They went to salute him with withered faces and aged bodies. Even a significant portion of the young population has a keen interest in the former dictator. Carlo Jean, 30, was 5 years old when Duvalier went into exile, but he says, "I used to hear stories of that time, and I can't compare it to anything we have now. He might have been taking money, but at least Duvalier was building the county." (From TIME's Archive: A visit with Haiti's 20-year-old "President for Life.") But for those who have a far darker view, who remember the days of violence of the Tonton Macoutes (Haitian Creole for bogeyman), Duvalier offered an apology. "I also take this opportunity to express once more, my deep sadness to my compatriots who recognize, rightly, to have been victims under my government," he said. A former dictator, apologizing a start for what advisers hope will be a resurrection of a fallen leader. See TIME's top 10 of everything of 2010. |
|
cobalamin is an important nutrient .
it is not synthesized in human body and supplied only in nonvegetarian diet .
its deficiency reported with range of psychiatric disorders .
only four pediatric cases have been reported as psychiatric disorders .
authors report a case of dietary deficiency of cobalamin presenting solely as schizoaffective disorder without hematological / neurological manifestations .
early diagnosis and treatment of cobalamin deficiency is an opportunity to reverse pathophysiology .
this case highlights the importance of diet history and serum cobalamin level in atypical psychiatric presentations . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | it is not synthesized in human body and supplied exclusively in non - vegetarian diet . psychiatric disturbances include apathy , depression , dementia , delirium , delusions , hallucinations , irritability , incoherent speech , and catatonia are commonly reported in adults / elderly . till date , the psychiatric presentations of cobalamin deficiency are reported in four children . second , oral vitamin - b12 monotherapy showed dramatic improvement in psychosis , but relapsed a year later after stopping ; however , author did not mention serum vit - b12 level or other manifestations . third , inadequate dietary intake of vitamin b12 and folate presented as neuropsychiatric changes and megaloblastic anaemia . last , a case of psychotic disorder and thrombotic manifestations of vitamin b12 and folate deficiency . however , there is no report of vegetarian pediatric case presenting solely as psychosis due to dietary deficiency . authors report a first case of dietary deficiency of cobalamin in lacto - vegetarian adolescent presenting solely as schizoaffective disorder without hematological / neurological manifestations . a 13-year - old lacto - vegetarian class viii boy was presented from lower socioeconomic status with nil significant family and personal history . no past history of gastrointestinal pathology , surgeries , or use of alcohol or proton - pump blockers . patient admitted with 1 week history of mutism , rigidity , immobility , staring look , disturbed sleep , ideas of worthlessness and hopelessness , aimless wandering , guilt , and suicidal ideas . physical examination ( pe ) found no abnormality . on mental status examination ( mse ) , patient had partial mutism , manneristic posture , depressed mood , paranoid delusions , thought echo / broadcast , running commentary , and command hallucinations . complete blood count with peripheral blood smear , blood sugar , renal / liver function test , serum iron , total iron binding capacity , urinary iron binding capacity , transferring , and transferrin saturation were normal . he responded quickly with lorazepam-6 mg / day ( stopped third day ) , olanzapine-15 mg / day and sertraline-50 mg / day , and discharged in 5 days . subsequently patient was asymptomatic , but had functional disability for which aripiprazole 15 mg / day was added and followed up for the next 2 months . then patient relapsed despite good adherence with 1 week history of suspiciousness , hearing voices , over - talkativeness , over - cheerfulness , inflated self - esteem , decreased need for sleep , increased appetite , increased pleasurable activities , and disruptive socio - education . mse revealed inflated self - esteem , over - familiarity , spontaneous over - productive speech , increased psycho - motor activity , elated affect , flight of ideas , thought echo and broadcasting , delusions of persecution and reference , command and commentary second person hallucinations , impaired judgment , and absent insight . sertraline stopped and divalproate sodium-500 mg / day added along with olanzapine-15 mg / day and aripiprazole-15 mg / day . divalproate increased to 1 gm and lithium carbonate 600 mg and haloperidol-10 mg were added . two days later , patient was re - admitted for worsening of symptoms for evaluation of organicity . no abnormality in magnetic resonance imaging of brain , thyroid function test , and gastric mucosal biopsy by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was reported . serum cobalamin level was 112 ng / ml ( normal range : 180 to 914 ng / ml ) while serum folate was normal . patient started on alternate days 1 ml intramuscular injection vitcofol ( vitamin b12 = 500 mcg , folate = 15 mg andniacinamide = 200 mg per ml ) for six doses , then 2 ml monthly . patient became asymptomatic soon after second dose of cobalamin and discharged in 1 week . during followups , normal serum cobalamin level was maintained and psychiatric medications tapered and stopped on the 52 day of vitcofol . atypical presentation of case consists of acute onset , fluctuating course of psychotic spectrum initially with catatonia , depressive symptoms , first rank symptoms , ( frs ) , and later as mania , frs , and relapsed soon on medications . patient reached quickly and maintained the premorbid level in the short - term follow - up with only cobalamin supplementation . dietary deficiency of cobalamin associated with psychosis is significant in developing country like india for two reasons . first , the high prevalence of dietary deficiency of cobalaminin indian children , and second , course and prognosis with supplementation is better . this emphasizes the importance of diet history and performing serum cobalamin level as a routine investigation in first episode , atypical presentation , and treatment resistant cases , especially in vegetarian . early diagnosis and treatment of cobalamin deficiency in neuropsychiatry is recommended for following reasons : first , better prognosis is expected if treated in window period to avoid irreversible neuronal injury . second , to avoid treatment resistance and last , finding that high vitamin b12 level is associated with better treatment outcomes . methylene - tetrahydrofolate reductase , an enzyme of cobalamin metabolism , is involved in metabolism of tetrahydrobiopterin and latter is required for synthesis of dopamine and serotonin . short - term followup is a limitation , but , rapid disappearance of florid psychopathology and maintaining pre - morbid level solely on cobalamin supplementation is vital . early diagnosis and treatment of cobalamin deficiency during narrow window period is an opportunity to revert pathophysiology . this highlights the importance of diet history and serum cobalamin level in atypical psychiatric presentations . |
|
– A 23-year-old man who had just found out his wife was pregnant with their second child was killed Tuesday in California when a boulder crashed through the windshield of his family's car, CBS Los Angeles reports. "He was so excited," the Los Angeles Times quotes 21-year-old Guadalupe Gutierrez as saying about her husband, Christopher Lopez. "Now he's gone." Gutierrez was driving the family's 2017 Toyota Corolla under a freeway overpass around 9pm Tuesday in Pasadena when a 35-pound boulder came through the windshield, striking Lopez in the passenger seat. She drove him to the hospital, where he died. Also in the car were Gutierrez's mother and the couple's 4-year-old daughter. No one else was injured. "This was an intentional act," Lt. Chuck Geletko of the California Highway Patrol said during a press conference Thursday. "We need help from the public to find the person who committed this atrocious act." Investigators are trying to get DNA off the boulder, as well as reviewing camera footage and interviewing homeless people in the area. "This was an innocent family driving home," the Pasadena Star-News quotes Geletko as saying. "Because of a careless person or persons, their lives will forever be changed." Lopez's father asked anyone who knows anything to come forward and help give the family closure. “This shouldn’t have happened this way,” Francisco Lopez said Thursday. “He’s a young father who was just with his family.” | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Guadalupe Gutierrez was driving home with her mother, husband and 4-year-old daughter Tuesday night when the unexpected happened. A boulder, weighing about 35 pounds, fell from above and through the passenger’s side front windshield, striking and killing her 23-year-old husband, Christopher Lopez. “Out of nowhere. Now, he’s gone,” said Gutierrez, 21, in tears, on Thursday. “He didn’t deserve this.” California Highway Patrol officials believe a person or persons threw the boulder from an overpass of the 134 Freeway in Pasadena. Lopez’s family and CHP officials held a news conference Thursday to urge any witnesses to come forward. The family of Christopher Lopez, who was killed Tuesday night when a 30-pound boulder went though the windshield of the car his pregnant wife was driving on the 134 Freeway in Pasadena, mourn his loss during a press conference on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Francisco Lopez hugs his 13-year-old daughter Jennifer while his wife Laura sheds tears. The CHP believes someone intentionally threw the boulder from the Orange Grove Boulevard overpass onto the 134 freeway and are seeking the publics help. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Ryan Bejar, CHP PIO, speaks to the press as investigators and the family of a man killed Tuesday night, when someone threw a 30-pound boulder over an overpass onto the 134 Freeway in Pasadena, ask for the public’s help in finding the suspect at a press conference on Thursday, March 15, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Sound The gallery will resume in seconds Guadalupe Gutierrez speaks to the press on Thursday, March 15, 2018 about her husband Christopher Lopez being killed by a 30-pound boulder that went though the windshield as she was driving on the 134 Freeway in Pasadena Tuesday night. The CHP believes someone intentionally threw the boulder from the Orange Grove Boulevard overpass onto the 134 freeway and are seeking the publics help. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) CHP Lt. Chuck Geletko speaks to the press as investigators and the family of a man killed Tuesday night, when someone threw a 30-pound boulder over an overpass onto the 134 Freeway in Pasadena, ask for the public’s help in finding the suspect at a press conference on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Lopez’ pregnant wife Guadalupe Gutierrez is comforted by Paola Herrera. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Francisco Lopez peaks to the press on Thursday, March 15, 2018 about his son Christopher being killed when a 30-pound boulder went though the windshield of the car his pregnant wife Guadalupe Gutierrez was driving on the 134 Freeway in Pasadena Tuesday night. The CHP believes someone intentionally threw the boulder from the Orange Grove Boulevard overpass onto the 134 freeway and are seeking the publics help. Christopher Lopez’s wife Guadalupe Gutierrez is comforted by Paola Herrera while his sister Jennifer, 13, listens. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) Francisco López abraza a su hija Jennifer, de 13 años, mientras hablaban con la prensa el jueves 15 de marzo de 2018 sobre su hermano Christopher, de 23 años, asesinado cuando una piedra de 30 libras atravesó el parabrisas mientras su esposa embarazada Guadalupe Gutiérrez, derecha, conducía en la autopista 134 en Pasadena el martes por la noche. Autoridades creen fue arrojada intencionalmente y están buscando la ayuda del público. (Foto por Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News / SCNG) “This was an innocent family driving home,” CHP Lt. Chuck Geletko said. “Because of a careless person or persons, their lives will be forever changed.” Even though whoever threw the boulder from the overpass didn’t know who was inside the vehicle, “this was an intentional act,” Geletko said. The incident happened about 8:55 p.m. Tuesday, the CHP said. Gutierrez was driving a 2017 Toyota Corolla heading west in the carpool lane of the 134 Freeway. As she was about to drive under Orange Grove Boulevard, the boulder crashed through the windshield, the CHP said. The boulder hit Lopez. A man died Tues night after a boulder slammed through his windshield as his pregnant wife drove westbound on the 134 Freeway under the Orange Grove Blvd overpass in Pasadena. #CHP is looking for witnesses @PasStarNews @ladailynews pic.twitter.com/enMYuX7BYu — Sarah Reingewirtz (@sarahimages) March 16, 2018 Gutierrez, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, drove her husband to Glendale Adventist Medical Center where Lopez later died from his injuries. Coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said Lopez died at 9:33 p.m. Tuesday. CHP officer Chris Cassidy said they know for sure the boulder came down from the overpass. “How it came down is still under investigation,” he said. The CHP believes the boulder weighed between 30-35 pounds. Here is what the damage looked like. pic.twitter.com/sb22VvVvPo — Alejandra Molina (@alemolina) March 15, 2018 Cassidy said officials are looking into any footage from cameras in the area, as well as a homeless encampment in the area for witnesses. “If somebody saw something. Please help us,” the victim’s father Francisco said urging anyone with information to speak with the CHP. “This shouldn’t have happened this way,” he said. “He’s a young father who was just with his family.” “To find his death this way is something very hard for the family,” he added. “… This can’t stay this way.” Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the CHP Altadena Office at 626-296-8100 or 323-259-3200. Staff writer Ruby Gonzales contributed to this report. ||||| "He was so excited. My daughter was so excited to be a big sister," she said. "Now he's gone. We're asking for your help if anybody saw anything, please help us find whoever did this." |
|
– Two big rocks collided in deep space about 290 million years ago, and a new study suggests that we earthlings felt the impact via that amazing meteor strike in Chelyabinsk, Russia, last year. Scientists analyzing meteorite fragments think that the chunk of asteroid that exploded over the city in 2013 got spat out of the long-ago collision, reports Reuters. The telltale sign is that the fragments are embedded with a mineral called jadeite, which forms under high pressure—as would exist in a major colliision. "This impact might have separated the Chelyabinsk asteroid from its parent body and delivered it to the Earth," writes a Japanese researcher this week in the journal Scientific Reports. Assuming the timeline of 290 million years holds up under further research, it suggests that asteroids have a "much greater longevity than previously estimated," reports Discover. In fact, the lead researcher says it's possible that the meteor has "siblings" created in the same impact that theoretically could be headed our way, reports New Scientist. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Talk about a chip off the old block: the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, last year was probably spat out during a collision between two much larger rocks more than 290 million years ago, according to new analysis of the meteor's composition. The meteor is thought to have been about 20 metres wide before it blew up in the atmosphere. Collectors and researchers have recovered a number of fragments in Chelyabinsk, including a large one found at the bottom of a lake, allowing geologists to learn more about its origins. Previous studies have identified filled-in cracks running through the rock, known as shock veins, produced by high temperature and pressure conditions. They suggest that Chelyabinsk experienced a large impact in its past. "No other process can be considered to cause such melting after a meteoroid is formed," says Shin Ozawa of Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. High pressure Ozawa and his colleagues examined some of the recovered fragments and found a particular form of the mineral jadeite that seems to have been formed by rapid crystallisation. This would require pressures of between 3 and 12 gigapascals and temperatures of 1700-2000 ºC. From that, they could calculate properties of the impacting body – it was likely to have been between 150 and 190 metres wide and travelling at anything from 1400 to 5400 kilometres an hour. Previous studies have pinpointed Chelyabinsk's parent as a 200-metre-wide asteroid called 2011 EO40, but this is the first description of the rock that chipped it off. "The size and velocity of the impactor seem to be consistent with those of impacts in the main asteroid belt," says Ozawa, meaning it was not a freak event that sent Chelyabinsk hurtling our way. It is also possible that the meteor is one of many siblings formed in the impact, so other large chunks could still be lurking out there. "In some cases, fragments of asteroids formed by an impact can have similar orbits," says Ozawa. Journal reference: Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/srep05033 If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. ||||| A Russian policeman works near an ice hole, said by the Interior Ministry department for Chelyabinsk region to be the point of impact of a meteorite seen earlier in the Urals region, at lake Chebarkul some 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Chelyabinsk February 15, 2013. Workers repair damage caused after a meteorite passed above the Urals city of Chelyabinsk February 15, 2013. The trail of a falling object is seen above a residential apartment block in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, in this still image taken from video shot on February 15, 2013. CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. An asteroid that exploded last year over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,000 people injured by flying glass and debris, collided with another asteroid before hitting Earth, new research by scientists shows. Analysis of a mineral called jadeite that was embedded in fragments recovered after the explosion show that the asteroid's parent body struck a larger asteroid at a relative speed of some 3,000 mph (4,800 kph). "This impact might have separated the Chelyabinsk asteroid from its parent body and delivered it to the Earth," lead researcher Shin Ozawa, with the University of Tohoku in Japan, wrote in a paper published this week in the journal Scientific Reports. The discovery is expected to give scientists more insight into how an asteroid may end up on a collision course with Earth. Scientists suspect the collision happened about 290 million years ago. Most of the 65-foot (20-meter) wide asteroid that blazed over Chelyabinsk in southwestern Siberia on Feb. 15, 2013, was incinerated in a bright fireball, the result of frictional heating as it dropped through the atmosphere at 42,000 mph (67,600 kph). But many small fragments survived. The asteroid was traveling almost 60 times the speed of sound and exploded about 18 miles (30 km) above ground with a force nearly 30 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 in World War Two. The blast over Chelyabinsk caused shock waves that destroyed buildings and shattered windows. More than 1,000 people were injured by flying debris. Analysis of recovered Chelyabinsk meteorites revealed an unusual form of jadeite entombed inside glassy materials known as shock veins, which form after rock crashes, melts and re-solidifies. Jadeite, which is one of the minerals in the gemstone jade, forms only under extreme pressure and high temperature. The form of jadeite found in the Chelyabinsk meteorites indicates that the asteroid’s parent body hit another asteroid that was at least 492 feet (150 meters) in diameter. Scientists are still analyzing fragments of the asteroid and calculating its precise path toward Earth. In an email to Reuters, Ozawa described the Chelyabinsk meteorite as "a unique sample.” "It is a near-Earth object that actually hit the Earth, and its trajectory was well-recorded,” Ozawa wrote. The Chelyabinsk asteroid caused the second most powerful explosion in recorded history. In 1908, a suspected asteroid exploded with a force about 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, leveling some 80 million trees over 772 square miles (2,000 square km) near Russia’s Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia. The first possible meteorites from the so-called Tunguska event were recovered just last year. Results have not yet been published. (Editing by Grant McCool) |
|
– The Gap rolled out a new logo this week with little fanfare. Unfortunately for the retailer, the response hasn't been so quiet. The biggest complaints seem to revolve around the use of Helvetica (yes, that hated font) lettering, and the decision to shrink the big navy box that used to comprise its logo to a random blue square. Some spirited bashing: There is absolutely nothing remarkable about Helvetica, but it does have a remarkable effect, writes Armin for Brand New: "It makes Old Navy, Gap’s low-end retail sister, look like a luxury brand by comparison." Abe Sauer echoes the low-end sentiment on Brand Channel, saying the logo "looks like it cost $17 from an old Microsoft Word clipart gallery." But perhaps it's the perfect choice for the brand. "It communicates exactly the values currently embodied by Gap: A sense of being lost and a lack of clear vision and creativity." As for the complaints that it looks like a child designed the logo, Laura Northrup snarks on Consumerist, "Don't be ridiculous. No, today's children have much more talent and design savvy than that." And the logo debacle gets even more bizarre. Gap responded on Facebook ... weirdly ... and has tried to brush the whole thing off, saying the plan was to limit its release. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | The marketing geniuses at The Gap seem to have fiddled around with Photoshop for a few minutes and designed a new company logo that's as bland and uninteresting as jeans and a black t-shirt. It's not ugly, but it's not memorable or creative, either. What were they thinking? No one knows. According to AdAge, the logo change came without fanfare and the company hasn't commented on it publicly. It's probably just as well, because no one seems to like the new design. AdAge sums it up: Of course a brand is more than a logo, but as far as logos go, Gap's is an icon. Across the internet detractors have been picking apart the new look, with the most common sentiment being that it looks like something a child created using a clip-art gallery. Don't be ridiculous. No, today's children have much more talent and design savvy than that. While Gap remains silent, a parody Twitter account has appeared to fill the, er, gap. Unlike the parody BP account, it doesn't have more followers than the real company—but at least it tries to give the boring lump of Helvetica some personality. Gap Introduces New Logo, Mass Criticism Ensues [AdAge] @gaplogo [Fake Twitter Account] THE TROPICANA THING: "Loyal Customer" Backlash Forces Tropicana To Abandon New Packaging Tropicana's Failed Packaging Design Was A Real Life Poochie ||||| This is a very old entry — images are small, formatting is off. Don’t Mind the Gap, or the Square Reviewed Oct. 6, 2010 by Armin Industry / Retailers Established in 1969 in San Francisco, Gap is one of the most popular American clothing brands — net sales of $3.8 billion in 2009 can attest to it. With 1,140 stores in the U.S. and almost 300 more abroad, Gap pushes simple and unfuzzy clothing at very reasonable prices and of very reasonable quality. Through their advertising they have established a cool, breezy, and sophisticated brand visual language that ties everything together nicely and, until now, their logo was the perfect little bow to keep it all together. Without any fanfare, Gap rolled out a new logo yesterday. When I first saw it I thought it would just be a seasonal change, but now there is little doubt it’s a new logo: the file on their website is called newlogo.png. Like its clothes, the old logo didn’t call attention to itself and it was elegant without being pretentious. Over the last year or so, Gap has been using a lot of Helvetica in their promotions and sales materials for the Premium 1969 Jeans, and the venerable font has been upgraded to wordmark status, while the big blue square has been demoted to decoration status. Just as some folks hate Gotham in logos, I hate Helvetica in logos. It has the unique ability to make anything look pedestrian and, in this particular case, it makes Old Navy, Gap’s low-end retail sister, look like a luxury brand by comparison. The shaded square on the corner doesn’t help at all either — I’m not one to critique something by saying it looks as if it were done in Microsoft Word but this one is just too unsophisticated to warrant anything more than that. If they got rid of the blue square and went with the Helvetica wordmark by itself I might be more open to the change, but this is not flattering on the retailer. You can follow the Gap Logo on Twitter @GapLogo to see how it is feeling about all of this. (Fake logo Twitter accounts: just a few inches from rock bottom, people). Thanks to Veronica Wong for first tip. ||||| logo no-no Did you hear that Gap has redesigned its logo? Probably not, as it's been pretty quiet about it. In fact, the only recent news out of Gap of late has been its donate-your-old-jeans drive and its annual kids' casting call. But go to its homepage and there it is — or more accurately, isn't, as its classic blue-boxed logo is missing, replaced with a Helvetica Gap with a box perched behind the 'p' like a window. Yes, after dominating the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gap has dropped its iconic logo in favor of something that looks like it cost $17 from an old Microsoft Word clipart gallery. By now everyone knows the story of how Gap's over-expansion, soft consumer spending and changing styles conspired to drag the clothing retailer down from its once-lofty position. But the brand itself, along with its siblings Old Navy and Banana Republic, is still strong with Gap Inc. putting up $14.2 billion in revenue last year and Q2 sales increases in 2010 (though Gap itself registered a loss). But ditching the classic logo, recognized by everyone, in favor of whatever that new monstrosity is, demonstrates a prototypical brand panic move. With things not going in its favor, the brand decides to change the one valuable element it has going for it. Ironically maybe, the new logo is perfect for the brand. It communicates exactly the values currently embodied by Gap: A sense of being lost and a lack of clear vision and creativity. (Update: Gap responded on its Facebook page, turning this into a crowdsourcing exercise. Seriously. Oct. 12 Update to that update: Gap has pulled the new logo.) While Gap has been using the Helvetica font on its signage and windows for some time, going whole hog on the font by remaking its logo is a bit surprising. We'd have to assume that Gap's creative team would have seen Gary Hustwit's Helvetica documentary, about how overly ubiquitous the font has become in recent years: |
|
a 56-year - old man was referred to our hospital about 48 h after sudden onset of painless central visual loss in his right eye ( od ) on a winter morning .
he had a more than 25-year history of systemic hypertension and smoking .
funduscopic observation showed striated retinal whitening in the macular region , faint cotton - wool patches around the optic disc , and segmental narrowing of the retinal arteries near the optic disc edge .
based on the pattern of onset and fundus findings , he was diagnosed with vasospastic acute central retinal artery occlusion od , and a venous drip injection of prostaglandin e1 was started immediately .
optical coherence tomography showed bands of high and low density in the inner retina arranged alternately in the edematous area ; the bands corresponded to edematous and nonedematous areas , respectively , and geographically to venules and arterioles , respectively .
the best - corrected visual acuity of 0.03 at referral improved to 0.5 , and the striated retinal edema and most cotton - wool patches resolved 1 month after onset .
the oxygen pressure gradient in the capillary networks due to differences in the distance from the arterioles may be the mechanism of this unique periarteriolar - sparing retinal edema pattern . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | central retinal artery occlusion ( crao ) induced by emboli from carotid artery atherosclerosis , the most common cause of crao , is diagnosed based on sudden visual loss and characteristic fundus findings including narrowing of the retinal arteries and macular whitening around the fovea that is typically seen as a cherry - red spot . arterial spasms , a relatively rare cause of retinal artery occlusion , can cause branch retinal artery occlusion with complete superficial retinal opacification . we report a case of crao that presumably was caused by a vasospastic mechanism and characterized by a unique striated pattern of retinal edema in the macula . a 56-year - old man was referred to our hospital about 48 h after sudden onset of painless central visual loss in his right eye ( od ) on a winter morning . he had a more than 25-year history of systemic hypertension and smoking . at referral , the best - corrected visual acuity ( bcva ) was 0.03 od and 1.2 in the left eye ( os ) , and the respective intraocular pressure values were 12 and 16 mm hg . funduscopic observation showed striated retinal whitening in the macular region , faint cotton - wool patches around the optic disc ( fig . 1a ) , and segmental narrowing of the retinal arteries near the optic disc edge ( fig . a horizontal foveal spectral - domain optical coherence tomography ( sd - oct ) scan showed thickening of the inner retina ( fig 1c ) . a horizontal sd - oct scan of the edematous region 0.5 disc diameter above the fovea showed discrete distributions of inner retinal thickening with patchy increases in reflectivity in the inner retina ( fig . 1d ) showed that the hyperreflectivity coincided with the retinal opacification around the venules and the lower reflectivity coincided with the nonedematous retinal tissue around the arterioles . based on the pattern of onset and fundus findings , we diagnosed incomplete acute crao od and immediately started a venous drip injection of prostaglandin e1 ( pge1 ) . fluorescein angiography performed after the initial pge1 drip showed an arm - to - retina circulatory time of 28 s and an early - phase filling defect in the small capillary networks in the macular region ( fig . doppler echocardiography did not show arterial narrowing or endothelial plaque in either carotid artery . according to a reported protocol , the patient was treated with intravenous pge1 ( 80 g / day ) for 5 days and then oral pge1 ( 30 g / day ) for 1 month . one month after onset , the bcva improved to 0.5 od and the striated retinal edema and most cotton - wool patches resolved ( fig . sd - oct showed marked thinning of the inner retina in the macula ( fig . typically , acute crao is characterized on fundus examination by a cherry - red spot surrounded by homogenous superficial retinal whitening , while cotton - wool patches are infrequently seen , and oct shows thickening in the entire inner half of the sensory retina with blood supply from the central retinal arteries . thus , the appearance in the current case is atypical compared with the typical acute crao induced by a thrombus or embolus . based on the findings that included sudden visual loss , retinal edema , and a filling defect of the macular capillary networks accompanied by segmental constriction of the retinal arteries and cotton - wool patches , we diagnosed this case as an incomplete form of crao induced by arterial vasoconstriction . thus , winter onset , a history of systemic hypertension , and smoking might have been associated with the vasospastic crao in this case . the fundus appearance in the current case seems identical to cases reported by kurimoto et al . , who described three cases of incomplete crao resembling purtscher - like retinopathy with scattered macular edema and cotton - wool patches , although the authors did not fully discuss the mechanism of the development of the scattered macular edema . using the currently available modalities , we found that the alternating arrangement of the inner retinal edema is associated geographically with the distribution of the retinal vessels , i.e. , edema develops only around the retinal venules and no edema develops around the retinal arterioles . accordingly , we propose that differences in oxygen saturation resulting in differences in the distances from the arterioles may explain the alternating pattern of retinal edema in incomplete crao . pge1 administered systemically can improve the visual acuity if it is administered during the acute phase , i.e. , typically within 1 day after the onset of acute crao . the visual acuity in the current case recovered after administration of systemic pge1 2 days after onset . thus , the effect of systemically administered pge1 in the current case is inconclusive . to avoid recurrent crao , our patient continued to take oral pge1 until 1 month after onset , although the need for sustained use of oral pge1 is undetermined . in conclusion , we observed a unique fundus appearance of striped retinal edema with faint cotton - wool patches in a patient with incomplete crao due to vasospasm . differences in the oxygen pressure gradient in the capillary networks due to differences in the distances from the arterioles may be the mechanism of periarteriolar - sparing retinal edema . the patient provided written informed consent for publication of this case report and any accompanying images . the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper . |
|
pyogenic granuloma , also known as lobular capillary hemangioma , is a common benign vascular proliferative lesion that can present at any age on the skin or mucous membranes .
most lesions do not exceed 2 cm , but there are a handful of giant cutaneous pyogenic granulomas that have been reported , often in individuals with underlying immune dysfunction . here , we report the first giant pyogenic granuloma in a patient with a hematological malignancy , chronic lymphocytic leukemia . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | first described in 1897 by poncet and dor , it was thought to represent a reactive response to an unidentified bacterium given the florid granulation tissue and inflammation on histology . however , no causal bacterium was identified , and in 1980 , it was proposed that pyogenic granuloma was instead a vascular proliferative lesion , which could be best visualized by histology of the lesion 's base . hence , the alternative name for pyogenic granuloma , lobular capillary hemangioma , was introduced . here , we present a case of a giant cutaneous pyogenic granuloma in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia ( cll ) . a 52-year - old woman with cll presented with a 1-month history of a rapidly expanding mass on her forearm . she reported intermittent bleeding and crusting , but denied pain , pruritus or frank pus . a week prior to the development of the mass , she had begun chemotherapy for cll with rituximab , bendamustine and lenalidomide requiring multiple blood draws from her arm . physical examination revealed a 4.7 3.7 cm pedunculated , firm mass with a fleshy , erythematous stalk and a peripheral border of hemorrhagic crust on the volar surface of her left forearm ( fig . laboratory results were significant for pancytopenia with a white blood cell count of 800 cells/l ( 16% neutrophils ) . punch biopsy of the stalk was performed , which showed a histological picture most suggestive of reactive changes to trauma ( fig . however , given concern that the biopsy was not representative of the entire lesion , full excision was recommended . she was treated with wet - to - dry dressings , and her chemotherapy was held . subsequently , her white blood cell count normalized , and her wound healed without a revised closure or skin graft . pyogenic granuloma often presents as a solitary , red - purple nodule that undergoes rapid growth over weeks to months . mucosal lesions are more common in women ( 2.6:1 ) , particularly during pregnancy , pointing to estrogen as an important driving factor in their pathogenesis . in contrast , cutaneous lesions have a slight male predominance ( 1.2:1 ) and are commonly found on the trunk and upper extremities in adults . this divergent epidemiology of mucosal and cutaneous pyogenic granulomas suggests that these lesions may have partially distinct routes of pathogenesis . in our case , the patient 's pyogenic granuloma was 4.7 3.7 cm , which far exceeds the previously published average size of pyogenic granulomas , which ranges from 0.65 to 1.1 cm [ 3 , 4 ] . there are a handful of giant cutaneous pyogenic granulomas that have been reported in the past , often in individuals with underlying immune dysfunction , but never in a patient with cll [ 5 , 6 ] . in making the diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma , it is important to exclude a more sinister diagnosis , such as amelanotic melanoma , metastatic carcinoma , leukemia cutis , squamous cell carcinoma , angiosarcoma , bacillary angiomatosis and fungal infection , which can be done using light microscopy . in our patient , given her history of progressive cll , it was important to exclude leukemia cutis and squamous cell carcinoma , particularly given her eight - fold increased risk for developing a squamous cell carcinoma with a poor outcome [ 7 , 8 ] . thus , heightened suspicion for these diagnoses contributed to the decision to pursue excisional biopsy despite her inconclusive punch biopsy to definitely exclude these diagnoses . the characteristic histopathological findings of pyogenic granulomas include a lobular arrangement of proliferating capillaries separated by myxoid or fibrous connective tissue septa . often , this architecture is obscured by edema , hemorrhage , inflammation and ulceration , much like our patient 's pathology showed . immunohistochemistry is rarely performed , but would reveal positive staining for vascular markers cd31 , cd34 and factor viii . generally , the choice of treatment depends on the location , size and shape of the underlying lesion . certain practices are associated with lower rates of recurrence , including surgical excision and topical imiquimod therapy , but there are very few randomized controlled trials directly comparing available therapies . at present reported triggers include antecedent trauma , pregnancy and certain drugs , including acitretin , hiv protease inhibitors , egfr inhibitors , docetaxel , capecitabine and rituximab [ 10 , 11 ] . interestingly , drug - associated pyogenic granulomas tend to have a periungual and subungual distribution . recent insights from gene expression profiling identify flt4 ( a specific vegf receptor ) , the nitric oxide pathway and vascular injury and repair pathways as specifically upregulated in pyogenic granulomas compared to other vascular proliferative lesions . this case highlights an unusual presentation of a pyogenic granuloma given the shear size of the lesion . contributing factors may include immune dysfunction due to cll , persistent neutropenia and trauma sustained due to multiple blood draws to her left forearm . although there is one reported case of multiple , small periungual and subungual pyogenic granulomas following rituximab exposure , the appearance and distribution of these lesions were unlike our patient 's , making rituximab a less likely contributing factor . however , given the small number of giant pyogenic granulomas reported to date , it is difficult to exclude any associations with medications . interestingly , in the handful of giant cutaneous pyogenic granulomas reported , the majority of hosts had underlying immune dysfunction , which may be an important risk factor for the development of such large pyogenic granulomas . |
|
– If sources are to be believed, Fox News could be headed toward its third major prime-time lineup shuffle this year. A "source with knowledge of the matter" tells CNN that Laura Ingraham is in talks with Fox executives to get her own show on the network. That report was confirmed to Variety by a "person familiar with the outlet's plans." Ingraham has been a contributor with Fox News since 2007 and has filled in for both Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly on occasion. Talks are said to be in their early stages, and nothing has been finalized. Neither Fox News nor Ingraham have commented. Fox News had to switch up its prime-time lineup earlier this year, first with the departure of Megyn Kelly and then again when O'Reilly was ousted amid sexual harassment allegations, the Los Angeles Times reports. Now, the networks is faced with the possibility of host Eric Bolling, also facing sexual harassment allegations, getting the boot, as well. That would create an opening for Ingraham, a strident supporter of President Trump who sources say could be a good fit between Hannity and Tucker Carlson. “She’s always been a go-to solution for Fox News,” one source says. Giving Ingraham her own show could also allow Fox News to move Hannity up an hour to compete directly with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Longtime Fox News contributor and fill-in host Laura Ingraham is in line for her own show on the channel, possibly in a key prime time hour. On Monday a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN that there are talks underway between Ingraham and Fox executives, but no decisions have been finalized. The addition of an Ingraham talk show could be part of a bigger-picture reshuffling of Fox News Channel's highly rated schedule. A Fox spokeswoman declined to comment and Ingraham did not respond to a request for comment. Ingraham has been a paid contributor to Fox News since 2007. The show that's been discussed would be a big promotion. Matt Drudge, who is well-sourced in conservative media circles, spurred intrigue about potential changes when he tweeted this on Monday: "FALL PREVIEW: Laura Ingraham's prime time to shine! After years in the trenches, much deserved." Drudge got tongues wagging, which may have been his goal. The prime time hours on cable news are 8, 9 and 10 p.m. When Megyn Kelly left for NBC in January, Tucker Carlson took over her 9 p.m. time slot. Then in April when Bill O'Reilly was removed amid a sexual harassment scandal, Carlson moved into O'Reilly's 8 p.m. time slot and the channel's 5 p.m. conservative talk show "The Five" moved to 9 p.m. Sean Hannity remained in place at 10 p.m. Now there is speculation inside and outside Fox that another schedule shake-up is in the works. The cable news channel seems to be exploring programming options in the event that Eric Bolling does not return. Bolling is the centerpiece of the 5 p.m. show that was created when "The Five" moved to 9. It is called "Fox News Specialists." Earlier this month Bolling was suspended pending a probe into accusations that he sent lewd texts to colleagues, which he has denied. If Fox News executives need to replace "The Specialists," "The Five" could be shifted back to its original 5 p.m. time slot. Then Ingraham could take over at 9 p.m. Alternatively, Hannity could move up one hour to 9, and Ingraham could take over at 10. Or maybe Fox executives have something in mind that nobody else has thought of yet. Along with the Bolling suspension, another subplot is the ratings race between Fox and MSNBC. The MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has snapped Fox's winning streak in the 9 p.m. hour. So Fox executives are asking themselves: Would Ingraham be a better match against Maddow than "The Five" currently is? Ingraham is a vocal supporter of President Trump, just like some of the co-hosts of "The Five." She is already a popular radio talk show host, with a three-hour morning time slot on stations across the country. She also operates a conservative-themed news and features site called LifeZette. ||||| Fox News Channel is in discussions with the conservative radio host Laura Ingraham that could result in her coming to the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-news network as a regular host, a person familiar with the outlet’s plans confirmed early Tuesday. The two sides are believed to be in early talks, and no decision has been made regarding the time slot Ingraham might anchor, or even when she might join the company in the new role. No deal has been signed, and there is no sense at this time when one might come to fruition, this person said. She already serves as a Fox News contributor. Revelation of the talks, which surfaced Monday on The Drudge Report and were further detailed by CNN, show Fox News Channel continuing to mull tinkering with its program line-up as it grapples in real time to find alternatives for hosts who have come under recent fire. Fox News replaced mainstay Bill O’Reilly in April after he parted ways over advertiser reaction to disclosures of settlements paid to women who had accused him of sexual harassment and other improprieties. The network’s current primetime lineup features Tucker Carlson at 8 p.m, the panel show “The Five” at 9 p.m., and Sean Hannity at 10 p.m. And though Fox News remains cable’s most-watched news network, it has had to contend with a resurgent MSNBC, where a primetime lineup led by Rachel Maddow has expanded its audience. Related Fox, Major League Baseball Strike New Rights Pact Official Name of New Fox Is, Uh, Fox -- and Other Takeaways From Annual Stockholders Meeting Ingraham has a long association with Fox News, having served as a fill-in for both Hannity and O’Reilly. Executives at the network have remained open to the idea of tweaking its primetime lineup, Fox News co-president Jack Abernethy told Variety in July. Fox News is also mulling talent options due to the recent suspension of Eric Bolling, the former commodities trader who served as co-host on the late-afternoon program “Fox News Specialists,” this person confirmed. Bolling was suspended earlier this month, when Fox News said it planned to investigate recent allegations made in a Huffington Post report that Bolling may have sexually harassed colleagues. Bolling has denied the charges and said he intends to clear his name. ||||| Fox News is not commenting, but people familiar with the talks who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly said Ingraham is seen as a compatible fit between the network's conservative prime-time hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. Under that scenario, the roundtable show "The Five" -- which moved to 9 p.m. Eastern time when the network had to shuffle its program line-up after Bill O'Reilly exited in April -- would move back to its original time slot of 5 p.m. Eastern to make room for Ingraham. |
|
– A significant number of people killed in Mexican drug cartel violence since 2006 may have been killed with guns bought in US border states, according to a report based on data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco. The report—prepared by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns—found that of the guns recovered from crime scenes and submitted for testing, 90% came from the US, with 75% coming from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Texas alone supplied 40% of those guns, ABC News notes. The report found that on a per capita basis, far fewer of the tested guns came from California, which has strict laws aimed at deterring illegal gun trafficking, than from the other three border states, which lack such measures. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has urged the US to help stop the flow of guns, saying that while he understands the purpose of the Second Amendment, "many of these guns are not going to honest American hands." | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | A shocking new report obtained by ABC News says that as many as three out of four guns used in crimes in Mexico and recovered and capable of being traced can be traced to gun stores just across the border in the U.S. The numbers bolster complaints by Mexican officials that the country's unprecedented bloodshed – 28,000 people have died in drug-cartel violence since 2006 – is being fueled both by the U.S. appetite for drugs, and by American weapons. "We can say that there is enormous violence in Mexico and most of the killing is done with guns and most of the guns used in the killing are originally from gun dealers in the United States," said Arkado Gerney, one of the report's authors. The study, based on Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) data and prepared by the advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, shows that three out of four guns used in crimes in Mexico and submitted for tracing were sold in the four U.S. states that border Mexico. According to the report, from 2006 through 2009, 19,000 guns used in crimes in Mexico were traced to an original sale at a US gun dealer, and the bulk of the guns came from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Texas supplied four in ten of those weapons, and the other three border states provided an additional one third. Mexican law places stringent restrictions on gun purchase and ownership, though it does permit ownership of shotguns and pistols. In April Mexican President Felipe Calderón, speaking to a joint session of Congress, pleaded to US lawmakers for more help in limiting the flow of weapons to Mexico. "I understand that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to guarantee good American citizens the ability to defend themselves and their nation," he said. "But believe me, many of these guns are not going to honest American hands." New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, noted that Congress had initially blocked the release of the ATF data used to generate the group's new report. The data analyzed in the study was requested in 2009 and not provided till March of this year. "This is information, previously hidden by Congress, that the public needs to see, to show how guns bought in the US are fueling the drug wars in Mexico," said Bloomberg. "[It] again proves it is too easy for criminals and traffickers to get guns." Weaker Gun Laws Attract Gun Shoppers The report's authors also analyzed the gun trace data on a per capita basis. The numbers showed that Arizona, Texas and New Mexico had an export rate 169 percent greater than any other states, which the authors suggest may be due in part to less-restrictive gun laws in those states. "The differences in export rates to Mexico among the four border states may reflect differences in the way those states regulate guns," the report states. In an interview with ABC News, study co-author Gerney pointed out that the effect of lax gun laws on the export rate would mirror a similar pattern within U.S. borders, where weaker gun laws in states like Virginia have been linked to the export of guns used in crimes in states with tougher laws like New York. The top ten source states for supplying crime guns to Mexico in 2009 were Texas (2076 guns), California (1011), Arizona (690), New Mexico (173), Florida (113), Colorado (100, Oklahoma (90), Illinois (84), Nevada (56), and North Carolina (56). In total, the top ten supplier states contributed more than 4,449 guns, or about 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico that were originally sold in the US. On a per capita basis, in 2009 Arizona led the pack in exporting weapons to Mexico, at a rate of 10.5 guns per 100,000 inhabitants. New Mexico, with 8.6 per 100,000, and Texas, with 8.4 per 100,000, ran a close second and third. Recent media reports cited by the authors also indicated that the "time to crime" had dropped precipitously during the period studied: from more than six years in 2006 to under three years in 2009. "While export rates identify which states supply crime guns to Mexico at the highest rates, Time-To-Crime, or 'TTC,' measures the time between a gun's initial retail sale and its recovery in a crime," the report notes. Mexico, according to the LA Times, has deployed 45000 troops and 5000 federal police to 18 states in a so far unsuccessful effort to halt the escalating drug violence. CLICK HERE to follow the ABC News Investigative Team's coverage on Twitter. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox told Bloomberg News in July that the U.S. as well as Mexico was responsible for the violence. "What is happening is that this huge market of the United States in drug consumption, the largest in the world, is generating the weapons that are sold to Mexican cartels, and is generating the money that is laundered in the United States and brought to Mexico," Fox said. Click Here for the Blotter Homepage. ||||| Contains periodically archived News Web sites, the web sites of electronic journals and newspapers, radio and television stations, as well as blogs, and other formats published by entities that create, gather and disseminate to the public news, research, opinion and other content that reflects a left / progressive viewpoint. The content of these sites are primarily general interest or multi-issue; similar single issue sites are usually found in the other topically based web archives created by the Tamiment Library. For technical, privacy and other reasons, archived websites may not be exact copies of the original website at the time of the web crawl. |
|
– As bells tolled today at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania field, politicians gathered on the Sunday talk shows to offer up their memories and interpretations of 9/11. “It was clear they had hit the seat of economic power in New York and the seat of military power of the United States in Washington,” Donald Rumsfeld told Face the Nation. But with the Pentagon in flames, and a fire marshal calling for an evacuation, Rumsfeld decided to keep it open. "I don't want the world to think that a group of terrorists could shut down the US Department of Defense. I went back to my office and got about my business.” Elsewhere on the Sunday dial, as per Politico: Michael Bloomberg on the Ground Zero memorial: “We want to remember. We want to memorialize. We want to give families a place to go. And that's what this memorial behind me will do. And it will do it in a wonderful way," he said, adding that "we have an obligation to look forward." Paul Wolfowitz on Iraq and Afghanistan: “If we come home too fast, I think we’ll get hit again in some way we can’t predict. And if we get hit again, we’ll be at war again.” Rudy Giuliani on the good that came from 9/11: "It made us more realistic about the threat that we faced. I think we have much better intelligence today. I think spiritually we're stronger. We have to remind ourselves of that. We were attacked with the worst attack in the history of this country and we survived it." Giuliani on 2001 and 2012: “I'm gonna put my thinking off for a couple of weeks until I get over the emotion of this and see where everything stands. I understand the realistic problems I'd have getting nominated. So I have to take that into consideration. And around 9/11 I don't like to think about politics as much.” | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is not a time to dwell on the past, but rather to look to the future. “We have an obligation though to look forward,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation,” speaking from ground zero. “We wanna remember. We wanna memorialize. We wanna give families a place to go. And that's what this memorial behind me will do. And it will do it in a wonderful way," he said. "But, those that died were working for a living to take care of their families. They're not here anymore. We've gotta make sure that their families have good schools, have good places to live, have good jobs, and can enjoy everything that the deceased would've wanted them to have, and were working towards that.” Share this Article Digg Delicious Reddit Yahoo Google Technorati ||||| Giuliani isn't thinking about 2012 today Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he’s considering a second bid for the Republican presidential nomination - but not today. “I'm gonna sorta put my thinking off for a couple of weeks until I get over the emotion of this and-- and see where everything stands,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation,” speaking from ground zero. “I understand the realistic problems I'd have getting nominated. So I have to take that into consideration. And around 9/11 I don't like to think about politics as much.” ||||| Paul Wolfowitz, the former deputy secretary of defense during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, warns if the U.S. withdraws too soon from Iraq and Afghanistan, the country risks being attacked again. “If we come home too fast, I think we’ll get hit again in some way we can’t predict,” he said on "Fox News Sunday." “And if we get hit again we’ll be at war again.” Wolfowitz advocated for continuing to support the Afghans and Iraqis who are helping to hold the line against the recruitment and training of terrorists in the Middle East. “The key to coming home is to keep supporting them,” he said. “It’s very important that we don’t abandon Iraq - don’t abandon Afghanistan.” ||||| Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says the Sept. 11 attacks changed the country “mostly in good ways.” “It made us more realistic about the threat that we faced,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation,” speaking from ground zero. “I think we have much better intelligence today. I think spiritually we're stronger.," he said. "I don't - we have to remind ourselves of that. We were attacked with the worst attack in the history of this country and we survived it. And the city is bigger, stronger, you know, twice as many people live down here now as before September 11th. So the terrorists thought they were gonna destroy this place, this place is twice as big as it was before. So we showed a lot of resiliency that we need to remind ourselves of. And we had a tremendous unity.” Giuliani said the nation would rally again if it was faced with another attack. “You know, it's like when you find out that somebody you love is ill or just died. All those little small things you're thinking' about go away,” he said. “That's what would happen then. But I wish we could apply some of that to some of the other things we face, which are almost as big. I mean, our-- economy is now a national security issue, not just a debate about one ideology or the other, it's hurting our national security because our economy is so bad. Well, we should get over being Republicans and Democrats and think as Americans and get it solved.” Share this Article Digg Delicious Reddit Yahoo Google Technorati ||||| Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he he made the executive decision not to close down the Pentagon after Sept. 11 attacks. “It was clear they had hit the seat of economic power in New York and the seat of military power of the United States in Washington,” he said in an interviewed aired Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation,” reflecting the 10th anniversary of the attacks on Sunday. “And another plane of course was probably gonna try to hit the seat of political power in the White House or the Congress," he added. "And I just made a decision that when the fire marshal said evacuate the building, I said, ‘No, get the non-essential personnel out of there and-- and-- we'll leave it open.’ I didn't wanna-- I don't want the world to think that a group of terrorists could shut down the U.S. Department of Defense.” Before the first responders made it to Pentagon, Rumsfeld said he was helping people evacuate and get those injured on gurneys. “These were just people from the Pentagon who came out and started helping and bringing people out of the burning building,” he said. “And the flames were leaping up and the smoke. And-- and at that moment I just gave somebody a hand and-- and then when the first responders did come in I went back to my office and got about my business.” Share this Article Digg Delicious Reddit Yahoo Google Technorati |
|
a 21-year - old gentleman , a worker in a mobile phone shop , was admitted with rhabdomyolysis , renal failure , and pulmonary edema requiring mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis .
after extensive workup and ruling out other causes , heavy metal poisoning was considered .
investigations during the course of the hospital stay revealed chromium poisoning . with repeated hemodialysis , his parameters normalized and he was discharged home in a stable condition .
diagnosis of chromium toxicity needs high index of suspicion . a history of occupational exposure might offer a clue to diagnosis . with hemodialysis and supportive care ,
it is a potentially salvageable condition . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | chromium , though a micronutrient naturally present , can lead to life threatening complications when ingested in high levels . it is a rare poison and is associated with life threatening complications involving various organ systems . r , a 21-year - old gentleman from south india , who worked in a cellphone shop , was brought to the hospital with sudden onset breathlessness gradually worsening for the last 2 days . on arrival to the hospital , he was found to have tachypnea , tachycardia , and was in hypotension . . abdomen and central nervous system ( cns ) examination did not reveal any abnormality . his oxygen saturation was low , and the arterial blood gas analysis ( abg ) was done which revealed type 1 respiratory failure with severe metabolic acidosis and lactic acidosis [ table 1 ] . baseline investigations at admission the patient was immediately intubated and given fluid resuscitation and shifted to the medical intensive care unit ( icu ) . his initial hemogram and biochemical investigations revealed leukocytosis , with acute renal failure and deranged liver function tests [ table 2 ] . arterial blood gas at admission chest radiograph revealed bilateral lower zone haziness and electrocardiogram revealed sinus tachycardia . his creatinine phosphokinase ( cpk ) was high , which was suggestive of rhabdomyolysis . in view of the worsening renal function and oliguria with severe metabolic acidosis , his ventilatory parameters improved gradually , and he was extubated on the 7 day of the admission and shifted to the ward on the 9 day . he was worked up extensively for his renal failure and rhabdomyolysis , including a muscle biopsy which was inconclusive . after ruling out infectious and autoimmune causes , the heavy metals were checked in the patients ' blood by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer ( icp - ms ) , which can accurately detect the concentration of heavy metals in the biological materials . the abovementioned test revealed high levels of chromium in the blood ( 338 microgram / l ) ( normal range < 10 on further questioning , the patient mentioned that he works in a mobile phone shop and has been handling mobile phone batteries for more than 2 years checking the power by putting the wires on his mouth . he was in the hospital for a duration of 27 days and was followed - up in the outpatient department [ table 3 ] . trend of creatinine and cpk which gradually normalized with hemodialysis he was discharged home in a stable condition . on follow up , his repeat chromium levels were 5.8 microgram / l ( normal range : < 10 the patient was educated regarding the possible source of his exposure and the related health implications . chromium toxicity can occur as an occupational hazard among electroplating , tanning , and leather industry workers and welders . there are even case reports of transmucosal absorption , which can occur through nasal mucosa , as well as dermal absorption leading to burn injuries . there have been studies revealing that electronic equipment , such as mobile phones batteries , contain heavy metals such as chromium . in our patient , the possible source could have been handling of mobile phone batteries and directly putting the electrodes in the mouth while checking for charge . the dosage , rate , and route of exposure may determine the manifestations pertaining to the symptoms . acute poisoning occurs usually secondary to suicidal intent , accident , or due to spillage where there is exposure to large dose of toxin over a short period of time . . in our patient , we assumed that he had acute on chronic exposure in view of a rapid worsening . there is increase in lipid peroxidation and decrease in plasma antioxidant capacity . on long - term exposure , it can even cause dna damage and mutation . various organ systems including the kidneys and liver and bleeding manifestations leading to circulatory failure have been described with acute chromium poisoning . there is preferential accumulation of chromium in the kidneys , as described in previous studies leading to tubular damage . our patient also had severe metabolic acidosis with hypotension and high lactate levels , suggesting tissue hypoxia and circulatory failure . his deranged liver function tests could have been due to ischemic hepatitis or due to direct liver injury caused by chromium itself . gastric decontamination and role of activated charcoal ingestion has not been studied in acute poisoning . early administration of ascorbic acid has been tried in few cases ; however , there is no definite evidence to prove benefit . hemodialysis initiated early is associated with a good survival rate , as in our patient . though peritoneal dialysis can be tried , hemodialysis is more effective in chromium clearance . chromium levels were investigated in our patient during his hospital stay much later after multiple dialysis , in spite of which the levels were high . his renal failure improved and his chromium level reduced , which signifies that hemodialysis is an effective method to remove chromium . in patients who present with unexplained rhabdomyolysis or renal failure , a toxin - mediated injury should be considered . index of suspicion should be higher in patients who can have risk of occupational exposure or in those who come from an industrial area where there is assess to chromium . though the abovementioned condition is associated with life threatening complications , prompt and supportive management with dialysis would lead to favorable outcome as in our patient . |
|
backgroundmongolian spots are benign skin markings at birth which fade and disappear as the child grows .
often persistent extensive mongolian spots are associated with inborn error of metabolism .
we report thirteen people of the single family manifested with extensive mongolian spots showing autosomal dominant inheritance.case presentationa one day old female child , product of second degree consanguineous marriage , born by normal vaginal delivery with history of meconium stained amniotic fluid and birth asphyxia . on examination
the child showed extensive bluish discoloration of the body involving trunk and extremities in both anterior and posterior aspects associated with bluish discoloration of the tongue .
a detailed family history revealed most of the family members manifested with extensive bluish discoloration of the body soon after birth which faded in the first few years of life and completely disappeared by puberty .
thus it was diagnosed to be extensive mongolian spots with an autosomal dominant inheritance.conclusionknowledge about the natural history of extensive mongolian spots , their inheritance and association with certain metabolic diseases mainly iem and mucopolysaccharidosis aids in the diagnosis and in order to improve the patient 's prognosis . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | mongolian spots are benign skin markings at birth which fade and disappear as the child grows . we report thirteen people of the single family manifested with extensive mongolian spots showing autosomal dominant inheritance . a one day old female child , product of second degree consanguineous marriage , born by normal vaginal delivery with history of meconium stained amniotic fluid and birth asphyxia . on examination the child showed extensive bluish discoloration of the body involving trunk and extremities in both anterior and posterior aspects associated with bluish discoloration of the tongue . a detailed family history revealed most of the family members manifested with extensive bluish discoloration of the body soon after birth which faded in the first few years of life and completely disappeared by puberty . knowledge about the natural history of extensive mongolian spots , their inheritance and association with certain metabolic diseases mainly iem and mucopolysaccharidosis aids in the diagnosis and in order to improve the patient 's prognosis . these manifests as blue or slate gray macular lesions of varying sizes , most commonly located on lumbosacral , posterior thighs , legs and shoulders . extensive or generalized mongolian spots usually involve whole of the anterior and posterior aspects of the trunk , limbs and occasionally face . although they are usually benign in character , mongolian spots can cause significant anxiety for both parents and doctors due to their unusual appearance and unexpected location and number . persistent extensive mongolian spots are often associated with inborn error of metabolism ( iem ) such as gm1-gangliosidosis and mucopolysaccharidosis . knowledge about the natural history , inheritance and associations of these spots aids not only in the diagnosis of certain serious conditions but also in timely intervention of the disease . a one day old female child , product of second degree consanguineous marriage , born by normal vaginal delivery with history of meconium stained amniotic fluid and birth asphyxia . on examination the child showed extensive bluish discoloration of the body involving trunk and extremities in both anterior and posterior aspects ( fig 1 ) associated with bluish discoloration of the tongue . child has normal weight for the age ( 2.75 kg ) , height for the age ( 47.5 cm ) , but the heart rate ( 160 beats / min ) and respiratory rate ( 66 cycles / min ) are increased . general condition of the baby was poor with reduced oxygen saturation ( spo2 80% in room air ) . routine blood investigations showed a total white cell count of 14000/cu mm , differential count : neutrophils-87% with band forms of 3% . three hours after admission the discoloration of tongue ( cyanosis ) had disappeared but there was persistent bluish discoloration of the body excluding face , palms , soles , external genitalia , and area around the nipples and areola ( fig . hematological , urine and radiological ( skeletal survey and ultrasound abdomen ) examination workup for inborn errors of metabolism did not reveal any abnormality . photograph of the child shows extensive mongolian spots involving the trunk and extremities a detailed family history revealed that most of the family members were manifested with extensive bluish discoloration of the body soon after birth as depicted in the pedigree chart which faded in the first few years of life and completely disappeared by puberty . the fading extensive mongolian spots were also seen in the first cousin of the patient ( fig 2 ) . thus in view of characteristic family pedigree presentation ( fig 3 ) of the bluish discoloration of the skin , which fades away in the later life , it was diagnosed to be extensive mongolian spots of an autosomal dominant inheritance . photograph of the 9 months old first cousin of the baby ( fig 1 ) shows fading extensive mongolian spots pedigree chart showing autosomal dominant inheritance pattern of extensive mongolian spots in the family . mongolian spots or dermal melanocytosis result from failure of complete melanocyte migration into the epidermis before birth with ensuing dermal nesting and melanin production . among different ethnic groups , just under 10% of americans , over 90% of african americans , about 80% of asians , about 70% of hispanics and fewer than 10% of caucasians have mongolian spots . mongolian spots uncommonly appear on the abdomen and chest and , rarely , on the palms or soles . certain atypical sites are also reported in mandibular and temporal region [ 4 , 5 ] . the typical mongolian spot is noted at birth and size may vary from a few millimeters to more than 10 cm . they may increase in size for 1 to 2 years and peak in color intensity at 1 year . they become less noticeable and eventually fade during the first few years of life but they occasionally persist . histological examination of the lesion reveals a deep dermal melanocytic proliferation scattered among the collagen bundles . the stem cell factor and endothelin 3 are the major pilot growth factors targeting c - kit and ed3r , respectively . the extensive mongolian spots associated with inborn error of metabolism ( iem ) such as gm1-gangliosidosis and mucopolysaccharidosis show no sign of resolution . the association between mendelian inheritance , benign extensive mongolian spots and those with iem is not reported so far in the literature . whereas the above case typically follow autosomal dominant inheritance . to conclude , knowledge about the natural history of extensive mongolian spots , their inheritance and association with certain metabolic diseases mainly iem and mucopolysaccharidosis aids in the diagnosis in order to improve the patient 's prognosis . |
|
– A Chinese safari guide is accused of stabbing two Chinese tourists—one fatally—on Monday at Keekorok Lodge, overlooking Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, when the couple refused to move from his usual table in the dining room, reports the Daily Nation. "He told them that he could not use any other table and they had to leave and when they refused, he started attacking them," an officer on the scene says. Li Changquing, 47, allegedly stabbed the woman twice in her chest and ribs with a pocketknife before turning on her husband, while their two children, aged 9 and 12, watched, reports Reuters. The woman—whom the Shanghaiist identifies as Luo Jinli, 45—died at a hospital, while her husband, Dong Ya, 47, is being treated for stab wounds to his stomach. A Kenyan police commander says Li, who was taken into custody, "looks like somebody who has a lot of anger" and told him he attacked the pair because "they insulted me," reports the New York Times. "We are shocked," the commander says. "This is a place where you go to relax with the family and leave the stress behind. We've never heard of anyone even slapping someone out here." Thousands of tourists were in the area to watch the "Great Migration" of wildebeests and zebras in the reserve. More than 100 tourists were in the dining room when the stabbing occurred. (A safari guide was killed last year in Zimbabwe.) | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Photo NAIROBI, Kenya — In the vaulted dining room of the Keekorok Lodge, guests gathered Monday night for a feast overlooking one of the most spectacular vistas in Africa: the game-studded Masai Mara National Reserve. Suddenly an argument broke out at one of the tables, apparently over who was going to sit where. The authorities said an enraged Chinese safari guide whipped out a pocketknife and sank it into the chest of a Chinese tourist, killing her. On Wednesday, Kenyan police officials said they were holding the safari guide, whom they identified as Li Changquing, 47, a Chinese citizen who speaks little English but decent Swahili, on suspicion of murder. “I won’t say we are surprised — we are shocked,” said Abdi Jillo Galgalo, a Kenyan police commander. “This is a place where you go to relax with the family and leave the stress behind. We’ve never heard of anyone even slapping someone out here.” The Masai Mara reserve is one of Africa’s brightest jewels. It is an undulating sheet of wavy grass and thorn trees covering hundreds of square miles, home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, zebras, elephants, gazelles, vultures, crocodiles and hippos. Advertisement Continue reading the main story At this time of year, it also hosts thousands of tourists. They flock in from all corners of the world to witness the “Great Migration,” when an estimated 1.5 million wildebeests and zebras trudge across the Masai Mara in seemingly endless herds looking for fresh grass to eat, while being stalked by lions and other predators. Mr. Galgalo said that he had spoken to the assailant. “He looks like somebody who has a lot of anger,” Mr. Galgalo said, adding that the assailant was “strong and stout” and did not show much emotion. The Kenyan authorities said that Mr. Li also attacked the victim’s husband, who remains hospitalized with stab wounds to his stomach. They said that members of the Keekorok Lodge staff rushed to stop Mr. Li before he could kill him. The Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper, reported that Mr. Li had a favorite table at the lodge and that the argument had started after he asked the couple to sit at a different table and they refused. Mr. Galgalo said that when he asked Mr. Li why he had attacked the couple, the assailant replied in Swahili, “They insulted me.” Mr. Li, who the Kenyan authorities said was a professional safari guide who had been in the country for several years, is being held in a jail in Narok, a town near the Masai Mara. The reserve is about a six-hour drive west of Nairobi, the capital. ||||| NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Chinese tour guide stabbed and killed a tourist who was visiting Kenya’s famed Maasai Mara Game Reserve after an argument over the seating arrangement for dinner, police and a lodge manager said on Tuesday. John Kiruti, manager of Keekorok Lodge, which is within the park, said the woman, also a Chinese citizen, sustained serious chest injuries in the incident late on Monday and died as she was being transferred to another tourist camp for treatment. Her husband sustained serious stomach injuries. “The tour guide who had brought three clients from his country for two nights differed with the couple ... over the sitting arrangement at dinner time,” Kiruti said. “After a brief exchange of words, he drew a knife and stabbed the two, fatally injuring the woman and injuring her husband.” Kiruti said the couple’s two children, aged nine and 12 years old, watched as the incident took place. “The hotel staff rushed to restrain the guide. The kids are still in shock. We making plans to take them to Nairobi,” he said. Police later arrested the guide. “We are holding him until investigations are over. It was a sad incident that is deeply regretted,” Narok County Police Commander Abdi Galgalo said. ||||| By GEORGE SAYAGIE More by this Author A Chinese tour guide at the Keekorok Lodge in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Narok County on Monday night stabbed and killed his compatriot following a scuffle over a dining table. The tour guide and a Chinese couple had argued about the occupancy of a dining table, with the guide insisting that he usually sat at that table. He then brought out a knife, which he used to attack the couple. The woman, who was stabbed twice in her chest and ribs, succumbed to her injuries as she was being rushed to Sikinani Health Centre. Her husband survived with injuries. More than 100 tourists who were having dinner and witnessed the incident scampered for safety, screaming as they rushed out of the dining hall. Narok County Police Commander Jillo Galgalo confirmed the incident, which happened at 7:30pm on Monday night. HUSBAND FLOWN TO NAIROBI The police boss confirmed that the woman’s husband was on Tuesday morning flown to Nairobi Hospital for treatment. Mr Galgalo said the attacker was arrested and was being held at the Narok Police Station. A police officer who responded to the attack, but who requested not to be named, said the tour guide had asked the couple to vacate the dining table so he could sit there but they declined. He had argued that it was his usual sitting place at the lodge, the officer said. “He told them that he could not use any other table and they had to leave and when they refused, he started attacking them using a knife that he was carrying,” he said. |
|
– The calls for Silvio Berlusconi’s head reached a fever pitch today, when Umberto Bossi, Berlusconi’s closest coalition ally, joined the chorus. “We asked the prime minister to stand down,” Bossi told reporters, in what Reuters thinks could be the decisive blow. Berlusconi faces a critical budget vote today that could expose how little support he has. Opposition lawmakers plan to let the budget pass but skip voting in protest—and at least five members of Berlusconi’s PDL are joining them. Berlusconi will meet with at least one of those defectors today, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I want to look my traitors in the face,” he was quoted as saying. If the final vote today comes up with less than 310 backing the prime minister—and early estimates indicate it’ll be well below that—the pressure for him to resign will be immense, with a no-confidence vote likely this week. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool at the bottom of any article or visit www.djreprints.com ROME—Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday was in 11th-hour talks aimed at saving his conservative coalition as investors renewed pressure on the premier to step down and allow a new government to steer the country out of Europe's debt crisis. Over his 18 years as the leading man of Italian politics, the 75-year-old Mr. Berlusconi has survived sex scandals and corruption trials. But on Tuesday, Italy's controversial leader faces what is likely to be the biggest test of his political career: a parliamentary vote that could strip him of his governing majority, triggering a chain of events that could lead ... ||||| ROME Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday he would resign after suffering a humiliating setback in parliament that showed a party revolt had stripped him of a majority. Berlusconi confirmed a statement from President Giorgio Napolitano that he would step down as soon as parliament passed urgent budget reforms demanded by European leaders after Italy was sucked into epicenter of the euro zone debt crisis. The votes in both houses of parliament are likely this month and they would spell the end of a 17-year dominance of Italy by the flamboyant billionaire media magnate. His failure to implement reforms fueled a party revolt and Berlusconi told his own Canale 5 television station that the only option was an early election. However, this could prolong the uncertainty that has sapped market confidence. Napolitano said he would now hold consultations on the formation of a new government. Markets and Napolitano himself are thought to favor a technocrat or national unity government. Berlusconi's government won a key budget vote after the opposition abstained on Tuesday but failed to secure a majority, obtaining only 308 votes in the 630-seat lower house, eight short of the 316 needed to be sure of passing legislation. Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Italy ran a real risk of losing access to financial markets after political uncertainty pushed yields on government bonds toward a red line of 7 percent. "I ask you, Mr Prime Minister, with all my strength, to finally take account of the situation ... and resign," Bersani said immediately after the vote. Italy, considered too big to bail out, has replaced Greece as the main cause for concern in the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. ON THE ROPES Berlusconi has been on the ropes for weeks, beset by a string of sex and legal scandals, political defeats and, most crucially, a loss of confidence on international markets. But the 75-year-old, who has dominated Italian politics for most of the past two decades, had steadfastly refused to step down until Tuesday's vote and battled until the last to win over rebels in his PDL party. The vote showed he had failed to stem the revolt and Berlusconi's bitterness was revealed by a photographer who caught the words "8 traitors" jotted down on his notepad in parliament after the result was read out by the speaker. The news that Berlusconi had finally agreed to resign came after European markets closed but the euro jumped against the dollar and U.S. stocks edged up. Earlier, Berlusconi's key coalition ally Umberto Bossi, head of the devolutionist Northern League, said Berlusconi should be replaced by Angelino Alfano, secretary of the premier's PDL party. The League, and many members of the PDL, were believed to have wanted Berlusconi to make way for a new center-right government to restore the confidence of markets without handing power to a transitional administration. The center-left opposition said they had abstained to lay bare the weakness of Berlusconi's support, while allowing formal ratification of the 2010 budget. Interest rates on Italy's debt have soared to levels that are causing deep concern about whether the euro zone can survive if its third largest economy cannot service its debts. BOND YIELDS SOAR Yields on Italy's 10-year benchmark bonds rose to 6.74 percent on Tuesday before dropping back. Analysts said Italy was reaching the point at which Portugal, Greece and Ireland had been forced to seek a bailout. Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said Italy was just too big to bail out. "It is difficult to see that we in Europe would have resources to take a country of the size of Italy into the bailout program," he told parliament in Helsinki. As the spread between Italian and German bonds -- a reflection of the extra risk of holding Italian bonds -- approached 5 percent, Italian employers' association leader Emma Marcegaglia said: "We can't go on like this for long." Analysts say current interest rates, if maintained, would cancel out the budget savings planned as part of a painful austerity program. Even when Berlusconi goes, there is no guarantee that reforms to cut Italy's debt and boost growth will be quickly implemented and relief on markets may not last long. There is no agreement among political parties on either a national unity or technocratic government and Napolitano's consultations may be difficult. Berlusconi and his closest allies say appointment of a government of technocrats -- the option favored by markets and it is thought Napolitano -- would be an undemocratic "coup" that ignored the 2008 election result that brought the center right to power. (Additional reporting by Paolo Biondi, Giselda Vagnoni, Roberto Landucci, Francesca Piscioneri, Philip Pullella and Catherine Hornby; Editing by Andrew Roche) |
|
– Police are to resume searching a Chicago park this morning after the grisly discovery yesterday afternoon of the severed body parts of a toddler, reports the Chicago Tribune. Police responded yesterday to a 911 call reporting a foot floating in Garfield Park Lagoon; it turned out to be the left foot of a toddler—unclothed and in what the Tribune calls an advanced state of decomposition. Subsequent searching yielded the right foot and both hands, along with a 20-pound weight. Officers called off the search last night, but sealed the scene. The investigation is continuing, notes CNN. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | Story highlights A child's feet, hands and a head are found in a Chicago park Authorities don't know yet if the parts are from the same body (CNN) Authorities in Chicago say they don't know yet whether child body parts found in the city's Garfield Park are from the same body. Over the weekend, after a human foot was discovered, searchers recovered the head, two hands, and another foot of a child, according to the police department and the city's medical examiner's office. Investigators found the hands and feet in a lagoon in the park on Saturday and officers continued searching into the night, video footage from CNN affiliate WLS showed. A source with knowledge of the investigation said it was a citizen who made the first discovery in the park. A search of the same area Sunday recovered the head. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said investigators also found a plastic bag that was brought to a lab to be opened in a sterile environment. Guglielmi said he believes the remains were somehow separated from the bag. Read More ||||| Chicago police late Sunday found a child's head near where other body parts were discovered in Garfield Park Lagoon the previous afternoon. Police recovered the toddler's head at the lagoon near where they had been searching after a foot and hands were found Saturday, authorities said. No other information was available. A foot was found about 4:40 p.m. Saturday in the lagoon off the 200 block of McCrea Drive in Garfield Park, in the area of the lagoon, authorities said. Police later found the child's other foot, and both hands toward the north end of the lagoon about 25 yards away. A 20-pound weight was found nearby, authorities said. The limbs were in an advanced state of decomposition and not clothed, authorities said. Police officers patrolling the park late into the evening Sunday kept a tight leash on the area. Despite a large perimeter of yellow and red crime scene tape roping off the lagoon, police closed off an additional area about 75 to 100 feet beyond the crime scene. Reporters and photographers were confined to a small area on the western edge of the park, and the grounds were closed to members of the public, restricting people to the sidewalk. Just before 9 p.m., two teen boys rode down West Lake Street just under the CTA Green Line tracks. As they approached the northwest corner of the park, one of them slowed down and said he wanted to look for a water fountain in the park. The teen steered his bike onto a dirt path in the restricted area. Within seconds, officers converged, a squad car from behind and two bike officers from the front. Police gently escorted the boy back to the sidewalk, Someone called 911 to report a foot floating in the lagoon Saturday afternoon. It turned out to be the left foot of a toddler, according to authorities. Chicago police detectives, the marine unit and K-9 officers returned to the lagoon Sunday morning. Investigators in waist-deep, mucky water searched the edges of the water, lifting logs and fallen branches. A police dog sniffed the shoreline, at one point plunging into the water. During the day Sunday, police hauled several items from the water, but they appeared to be machinery or tools. Other officers gathered evidence from the shore. Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, said the recovered body parts belong to a child likely 2 to 4 years old of unknown gender. Police set up a mobile command center on the eastern edge of the water. The portion of the park near the northwest corner of the lagoon, along Hamlin Boulevard between Lake and Washington, was closed. Police tape fluttered in the breeze as TV cameramen recorded the recovery efforts. Several members of the community arrived at the park, including Perry Starks, a member of the Garfield Park Advisory Council. Starks heard about the search Sunday morning after arriving at his mother's house adjacent to the park. Starks said bodies have been found in the park over the years, but this discovery is particularly sad. Starks said the park overall is a great place, but it does have issues, mainly people who linger in unlit, tree-sheltered areas to sell or buy drugs, engage in sex acts or sleep for the night. No one is allowed to park their vehicle in the park from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m, a rule put in place after some groups of people caused problems. A recent upgrade to park infrastructure, including to the field-house on the lagoon and some of the roads and trails, has helped, but Starks said more lighting is still needed. "It wouldn't surprise me that someone would dump that there and no one would see them," Starks said. Ervin, who has been talking with the police district commander, said he does not know how long the body parts may have been in the lagoon. The alderman also said he has not heard of any area missing children reports. "This is unthinkable," Ervin said. "This just hurts. "Garfield Park is the jewel of the West Side, and for someone to bring this type of nonsense to this park is unfortunate," the alderman said. He said the park remains relatively safe and hopes people can still enjoy the remainder of the holiday weekend in other sections of the park. "This park is a work in progress," Ervin said. Chicago Tribune reporters Rosemary Regina Sobol, Dawn Rhodes and Carlos Sadovi contributed. |
|
objective : the aim of this prospective study was to evaluate patients ' experience and the outcome of outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by a single upper gastrointestinal surgeon at a district hospital.methods:between november 1999 and may 2003 , 100 patients underwent outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy .
patients were followed up at 2 weeks as outpatients , and a questionnaire was mailed to all patients to assess their experiences.results:none of the patients required conversion to open cholecystectomy .
one patient required admission to the hospital following drain insertion , and one patient was readmitted for pain control .
one patient developed an epigastric port infection that resolved with antibiotics .
sixty - eight of the 100 patients completed the postal questionnaire .
thirty - five patients rated their overall experience as excellent .
twenty - three patients experienced very mild or no pain .
all patients ' right upper quadrant pain subsided or improved following surgery except one patient who stated that it became worse .
sixty - three patients ( 92.7% ) stated they would recommend outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy to a friend or relative.conclusion:laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed safely as an outpatient procedure with a high acceptance and satisfaction rate in select patients . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | laparoscopic cholecystectomy ( lc ) is the operation of choice for symptomatic gallstones , and it was performed for the first time on an outpatient basis in 1990 . several reports have demonstrated the feasibility , safety , and cost - effectiveness of this operation as an outpatient procedure . however , outpatient lc has been questioned because of difficult to control postoperative pain and nausea and because of the possibility of a higher morbidity rate . it is for these reasons that outpatient lc is not the current practice in the united kingdom . the objective of this prospective study was to assess patients ' experience and morbidity as well as unplanned admission and readmission rates following ambulatory lc at a london district hospital . from november 1999 to may 2003 , 100 well - motivated patients ( 9 males ; 91 females ; age range 18 - 69 years ; mean age 44 years ) with symptomatic cholelithiasis and an american society of anesthesiologists ( asa ) grade i or ii underwent outpatient lc . patients with acute cholecystitis , abnormal liver - function tests , asa > ii , and patients not fitting the general surgical outpatient criteria ( morbidly obese patients , patients older than 70 years , or any patient living alone ) were excluded from our study . all operations were performed in the morning at our day surgical unit by a single upper gastrointestinal consultant surgeon with an interest in laparoscopic surgery in the presence of a consultant anesthesiologist . a veress needle was used to induce pneumoperitoneum prior to performing a conventional 4-port lc with local anesthetic ( 10 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine ) infiltration of the skin incisions . all patients received a standardized anesthetic and were premedicated with 1 g acetaminophen and 400 mg ibuprofen one hour preoperatively . tramadol ( 50 mg ) was used in case of a contraindication for acetaminophen or ibuprofen . induction of anesthesia was achieved with propofol ( 2 mg / kg ) , fentanyl ( 1 mg / kg ) , and atracurium ( 0.3 mg / kg ) . anesthesia and analgesia were maintained by propofol and remifentanil as a target controlled infusion . at the conclusion of the operation , all patients in our series had adequate muscle function , and therefore we did not utilize reversal agents . patients were discharged on the same day following assessment by the operating surgeon with a contact telephone number and were followed up at 2 weeks as outpatients . the postoperative pain control regime consisted of 1 g of acetaminophen 4 times a day together with 400 mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day as a regular prescription for the first 3 days and then on an as required basis . tramadol 50 mg 4 times was used if there was a contraindication for any of the above 2 drugs . a questionnaire was mailed to all patients to assess overall experience , postoperative pain , improvement of pain , whether they would recommend the procedure to a relative or friend , and whether they would have preferred staying in the hospital overnight . there was no hospital mortality , and none of the patients required conversion to open cholecystectomy . of the 100 patients , only one required an overnight stay in the hospital following insertion of a drain that was removed the next day . thirty - five patients rated their overall experience as excellent ( 29 very good , 3 good , and 1 poor ) . seven patients experienced no pain after the operation ( 16 very mild , 8 mild , 23 moderate , and 14 severe pain ) . all patients ' right upper quadrant pain subsided or improved following surgery except for one patient who stated that it became worse . sixty - three patients ( 92.7% ) stated they would recommend outpatient lc to a friend or relative , and 14 patients ( 20.5% ) would have preferred staying in the hospital overnight . the present study demonstrates that our hospital admission rate compares favorably to that of other reported series that ranged between 1% and 39% . postoperative nausea and vomiting was the most common reason for overnight stays in the above series , but this did not appear to be a problem in our study . the length of operation has been shown to be another independent predictor for unplanned admissions . the mean length of lc in our series appears to be less than that in other series because an experienced laparoscopic surgeon performed all operations and because no concomitant procedures such as intraoperative cholangiograms were required . a preemptive antiemetic regime with cyclizine and ondansetron together with a short operation might explain our low incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting . readmission rates after ambulatory lc range between 2% and 8% , and retained stones is the commonest morbidity after lc . only one patient in our series was readmitted for pain control , and one patient was treated with antibiotics as an outpatient for a wound infection . fourteen of the 68 ( 20.5% ) patients would have preferred spending the night in the hospital , which may , in part , be attributable to patient 's concerns about participating in a study that involves leaving the hospital on the same day , which is not actually the current practice . our experience with ambulatory lc demonstrates that this procedure can be performed safely with low morbidity and with a high satisfaction and acceptance rate in well - motivated select patients when operated upon by an experienced laparoscopic surgeon in the presence of an experienced consultant anesthesiologist . |
|
– A pair of enterprising fourth-graders in Colorado got caught dealing marijuana pilfered from home at their elementary school, reports ABC News. Officials at the school in Greeley originally got police involved, but they've decided to handle it internally with suspensions and with a message to grown-ups: "For crying out loud, secure it," asks the school district's security chief. Authorities say one boy stole (legally bought) marijuana from his grandparents and sold it to three young buyers at his school, netting himself $11 in the process. The next day, one of those buyers brought in a marijuana candy bar and tried to swap it for some of the leafy stuff, reports CBS Local. "It was the simple fact that we had adults that didn’t secure their marijuana," says the school official. "That sure is concerning because this would have never happened had the marijuana not been so accessible to two 10-year-old boys." The two other buyers, also 10, face suspensions, too. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | April 23, 2014 11:47 PM GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) – A school in Greeley is asking parents to be more vigilant after a 10-year-old boy admitted to selling marijuana to other students on the playground and another student came to school with a marijuana edible candy bar. Both incidents happened in one week. School officials are now asking parents to pay attention to where they are keeping their recreational marijuana after the fourth graders brought the items to Monfort Elementary School in Greeley. John Gates, director of safety for Weld County School District 6, said there were four students involved — three boys and a girl. The students were all 10. Gates said the students faced tough discipline but not suspension or expulsion but would not provide specific details on their punishment. One boy admitted to taking a small bite of the candy bar but he didn’t get sick, and a medical exam showed he didn’t suffer any harmful side effects. Gates said the boys told them they got the pot from home. That marijuana appears to have been legally purchased by adults. The grandparents in two families apparently made the purchases. No charges are expected to be filed. On Monday a student who was not involved told school officials about the pot selling on the playground and the next day a student tried to trade an edible for some of the student’s marijuana. “It was the simple fact that we had adults that didn’t secure their marijuana,” Gates said of the grandparents, urging adults to take care with the drug. “That sure is concerning because this would have never happened had the marijuana not been so accessible to two 10-year-old boys.” Monfort Elementary School principal Jennifer Sheldon sent home a letter to parents on Tuesday stating that even though it’s easier for adults to get marijuana, children potentially have greater access. A portion of that letter reads: “We urge all parents, grandparents and anyone who cares for children to treat marijuana as you would prescription drugs, alcohol or even firearms. This drug is potentially lethal to children, and should always be kept under lock and key, away from young people.” More Marijuana Legalization Stories Police Cite 7 Denver Pot Shop Employees For Underage Sales South Dakota Tribe To Open Nation’s 1st Marijuana Resort DeGette Once Again To Try To Declassify Marijuana At Federal Level Pot Products Recalled, Pot Shop Fires Employee For Unapproved Pesticides Advocacy Group: Commercialization Of Legal Pot Has Led To ‘Epidemic’ For Colorado Kids 2 Denver Pot Businesses Recalling Products With Pesticide Residues Democratic Presidential Hopeful Visits Marijuana Regulators Democratic Presidential Hopeful Vows Marijuana Change Police Release Images Of Pot Shop Burglar Colorado Marijuana Holiday Saves Shoppers, Growers Big Bucks ||||| It's Legal to Sell Pot in Colorado, But Not If You're in 4th Grade DENVER - Two Colorado fourth graders were busted for selling marijuana at their elementary school, prompting officials today to urge adults to keep their weed locked away from kids. School officials said a 10-year-old fourth grade boy brought a small quantity of leafy marijuana to Monfort Elementary School in Greeley, Colorado, on Monday. "He sold it to three other fourth graders on the school playground, which resulted in a profit to the young man of $11," John Gates, director of safety and security for the Greeley-Evans School District, told ABC News. The next day, Gates said one of the three young buyers brought a marijuana edible to school and gave it to the boy who sold the pot on Monday. That boy took a bite, but did not suffer any ill effects, Gates said. Both boys apparently got the weed from relatives, according to Gates. "Both of these kids took the marijuana without the consent of their grandparents," said Gates. Gates said the four students involved will be suspended for a "significant" number of days, but declined to say exactly how long the punishment would be. Initially police were called, but officials have determined the incident will not he handled as a criminal matter, he said. "We hope to send a good message here without ruining anybody's lives. The message we really want to get out here to the adults is, 'for crying out loud, secure it,'" Gates said. Adults 21 and older have been able to buy recreational marijuana legally in Colorado since Jan. 1. In a letter sent home to parents, Monfort Elementary School Principal Jennifer Sheldon said no student was injured. "We know that many adults have greater access to marijuana since the change in the drug's legal status in Colorado," Sheldon wrote. "We urge all parents, grandparents and anyone who cares for children to treat marijuana as you would prescription drugs, alcohol or even firearms. This drug is potentially lethal to children, and should always be kept under lock and key, away from young people." The side effects of edible marijuana - which can be far more potent than smoking a joint - have been raising new concerns after two recent deaths in Colorado. In one, a 19-year old college student died when he jumped off a hotel balcony after eating a marijuana-laced cookie. In the second, Richard Kirk, 47, was charged with shooting and killing his wife while she called 9-1-1, telling police her husband had consumed pot-infused candy. Colorado's legislature is currently considering new safety regulations for marijuana edibles, including bills requiring stronger warning labels and lowering the amount of THC permitted in food. The Associated Press contributed to this report |
|
– Libyan oil honcho Shokri Ghanem reportedly defected earlier this month, but Reuters now reports that he may actually be on a secret mission for Moammar Gadhafi. A Libyan opposition source and a source at a large international oil company say Ghanem is attempting to maintain Libya’s ties with big oil companies by meeting with oil reps in Tunisia to discuss contracts. "He was holding court in some form,” says the oil company source. Another source at a different oil company adds, "It is completely false that Shokri Ghanem is no longer working for Gadhafi’s government.” Ghanem, one of the most senior government figures in Libya, is reportedly trying to reassure oil companies that contracts would not be voided even though the Libya uprising has prevented them from being able to conduct oil operations in the country. If Gadhafi is able to re-establish control, presumably this would allow the oil companies to make a quick return to Libya. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | May 18, 2011 11:23:39 PM By Tarek Amara and Joseph Logan TUNIS/TRIPOLI, May 19 (Reuters) - The wife and daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi crossed the border into Tunisia, a Tunisian security source said, but it was unclear whether they were on a diplomatic mission or seeking safe haven. Arabic television stations quoted Tunisian officials as denying that the family members were in the country, saying that Safia Gaddafi and her daughter Aisha were on a U.N. sanctions list and would therefore not be allowed in. However, the security source said the two women came to Tunisia with a Libyan delegation on May 14 and have been staying on the southern island of Djerba near the Libyan border. It did not appear that they were travelling with Shokri Ghanem, Libya's top oil official, who is believed to have also crossed into Tunisia several days ago and defected. Government officials in Tripoli were not immediately available for comment. The Tunisian Interior Ministry denied that any members of the Gaddafi family were in the country in remarks to Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV. Al Jazeera quoted a ministry spokesman as saying Tunisia would arrest any members of the Gaddafi family should they enter the country under a U.N.-imposed travel ban. A Libyan opposition source said the women were in Djerba to accompany Aisha's husband, who he said had been injured in the Libyan conflict, and was seeking treatment in Tunisia. A commentator on a daily political talkshow on state-run Libyan TV dismissed reports Gaddafi and members of his family had left Libya as "rumours" and "psychological war" spread by rebels and the West. "Those people (Gaddafi and his children) live among other people and if any of those rumours were true it would be possible to find this out," the commentator said. Italian officials have speculated that Gaddafi, who has been in power for four decades, was wounded during a NATO air strike in the capital last month which killed his youngest son and three of his grandchildren. Libyan television has shown footage of the leader since the bombardment and aired an audio message in which he taunted NATO forces, saying he was in a place where their artillery could not reach him. Since the revolt began in February against Gaddafi's rule, Aisha Gaddafi has made several public appearances backing her father, and attacking the rebels and Western powers trying to overthrow him. A month ago she appeared at her father's Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli and addressed cheering crowds of supporters in an event broadcast live on Libyan state television. "Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans," she said. On Tuesday, Libyan rebels and a Tunisian security source said the head of Libya's National Oil Corporation, Shokri Ghanem, had defected and fled to Tunisia. If confirmed, the defection would undermine Gaddafi's efforts to cling to power. Ghanem would be the most senior Libyan official to defect since former foreign minister Moussa Koussa switched sides in Britain earlier this year after passing through Tunisia. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Christian Lowe in Algiers and William Maclean in London, Writing by Sylvia Westall; editing by David Stamp) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions. ||||| LONDON | LONDON (Reuters) - Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem has not defected, contrary to widespread reports, and is secretly working for Muammar Gaddafi to maintain ties with big oil companies, sources at western firms said. A Libyan opposition source and a source at a major international oil company said Ghanem, one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi's government, had invited representatives of oil companies to meet him last week in Tunisia, to discuss oil contracts. "There were some invitations or advances but we did not accept," said the source at a western oil company. "He was holding court in some form." A third source, at another western oil company, with operations in Libya, said the reports that Ghanem had deserted were incorrect. "It is completely false that Shokri Ghanem is no longer working for Gaddafi's government," the source said. Ghanem himself could not be contacted to comment. Companies have been unable to conduct operations in Libya due to the uprising against the regime and military strikes by western powers, which means they are not in compliance with the obligations in their contracts. Ghanem wanted to reassure the groups that contracts would not be voided because of this, and would be respected in future, the opposition source said. This waiver could allow companies to return quickly to Libya, which is reliant on oil revenues, should Gaddafi re-establish control and have international sanctions lifted. Were the western oil companies to stay away from Libya for a protracted period, the country would struggle to rebuild production, which has been cut to a trickle by the violence. Libya's government said last Thursday that Ghanem had not defected and was instead on an official visit to Tunisia and some European countries to " continue his work." However, Tunisian Foreign Minister Mouldi Kefi said on Monday he believed Ghanem was no longer working for Gaddafi's government and was staying in a hotel on the small southern island of Djerba off Tunisia. Big investors in Libya include Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), France's Total (TOTF.PA), BP Plc (BP.L), Norway's Statoil (STL.OL) and Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI). Sources at those companies said their representatives had not recently met Ghanem. (Editing by Richard Mably and Anthony Barker) |
|
lesch - nyhan syndrome ( lns ) is a rare inherited disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme hypoxanthine - guanine phosphoribosyl transferase-1 .
few reports on behavioral aspects especially self - injurious behavior in lns patients are available .
we report a case of lns in an 8-year - old male child , who presented with characteristic self - injurious behavior . | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | lesch - nyhan syndrome ( lns ) , is a rare inherited disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme hypoxanthine - guanine phosphoribosyl transferase-1 ( hgprt-1 ) , produced by mutations in the hprt gene located on the x - chromosome . hgprt deficiency leads to the characteristic triad of features : hyperuricemia , spectrum of neurological dysfunctions , andcognitive and behavioral disturbances . cognitive and behavioral disturbances present as mental retardation , aggressive , and self - injurious behavior ( sib ) . increased plasma uric acid levels damage the basal ganglia leading to cognitive disturbances , neurologic dysfunction , and sib . sib is the most salient feature of this disorder and is apparent in 85% of affected males . the self - injury begins with biting of the lips , cheeks , and tongue ; as the disease progresses , affected individuals frequently develop finger biting and head banging and poking fingers into the eyes . this sib continues , resulting in partial or total destruction of the perioral tissues , especially the lower lip and to a lesser extent , the upper lip . partial or complete amputation of the fingers , nose , and tongue are also common . few reports on behavioral aspects especially self - injurious behavior in lns patients are available . we report a case of lns in an 8-year - old male child , who presented with characteristic sib . mr a , an 8-year - old male child with uneventful birth history without a family history of neurological and psychiatric illness presented with complaints of sib , irritability , stubbornness , emotional lability from last 5 years . from the age of 3 years , he gradually started biting of the lips , cheeks , and tongue . over the next 6 months , such type of biting behavior of the patient gradually increased . he started banging his head over the wall and floor , repeatedly punching , and scratching his face . this type of self - injurious behavior has led to swelling and inflammation of the lips , cheeks , and tongue . after 1 year , the patient started repeatedly poking fingers into his eyes and picking the upper and lower eyelids around outer canthus of both eyes . the family members of the patient have to restrain him , to avoid his sib . physical examination revealed periorbital edema , facial edema , abrasion of cheeks , ulceration of cheeks , swelling and inflammation of both lips and tongue [ figure 1 ] . laboratory investigations including hemogram , thyroid function tests , liver function tests , computed tomography scan brain were within normal limits except serum uric acid which was increased to 4.78 mg / dl ( normal limits 3.50 - 7.20 mg / dl ) . a pediatric and skin opinion was sought for his above problems . for his skin lesions broad spectrum antibiotic ( syrup amoxicillin trihydrate / potassium clavulanate ; 125 mg/5 ml ) 3 times daily along with regular dressings were started . the child was prescribed oral allopurinol ( 4 mg / kg ) to suppress uric acid production . he was started on tablet risperidone 1 mg / day in divided doses along with tablet clonazepam 1 mg / day . to prevent further sib , parents were taught various techniques of physical restraints , i.e. , dental guard and hand gloves . with this treatment , his sib and irritability came under control after 4 months and currently the patient is being followed up . sib in lns can be differentiated from sib associated with autism or developmental disabilities by its sudden and more severe onset . allopurinol will lower uric acid levels to normal but does not affect the behavioral aspects of the disease . treatment options for management of sib are physical restraints , behavioral , and pharmacological treatment ( benzodiazepines ) but the success rate is limited . cloth body restraints , cloth mittens , and plastic arm splints have all been useful in reducing the frequency of injury . drastic measures , such as removal of the teeth or provision of tooth guards , are often taken to prevent further tissue damage . the aggressive behavior usually wanes in patients older than 10 - 12 years of age . the cause of death is renal failure or infections that are a result of decrease in lymphocyte and immunoglobulin g levels . diagnosis of lns is usually missed in children with self - injurious behavior due its relative rarity . hence , we should be careful while dealing with self - injurious behavior in children and a multidisciplinary approach is required for their management . the authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms . in the form the patient(s ) has / have given his / her / their consent for his / her / their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal . the patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity , but anonymity can not be guaranteed . the authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms . in the form the patient(s ) has / have given his / her / their consent for his / her / their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal . the patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity , but anonymity can not be guaranteed . |
|
– Marissa Mayer has failed to stop Yahoo's downward spiral during more than three years with the company, so obviously the CEO is slated to receive a massive severance package worth $55 million, the AP reports. That information comes from a regulatory filing Friday and includes both stock and cash, according to Fortune. Mayer will receive her golden parachute if she is forced out of her leadership position within a year of someone buying Yahoo's Internet operations, which are currently at auction. A sale is expected sometime in the next few months for an estimated $4 billion to $10 billion. Shareholders at Yahoo, which has only struggled more under Mayer, aren't necessarily onboard with her severance package. "I don't think this management team has done anything to merit a huge payout," one shareholder tells the AP. Mayer took home a salary of $36 million last year. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2014, file photo, Yahoo president and CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mayer will walk away with a $55 million severance... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2014, file photo, Yahoo president and CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Mayer will walk away with a $55 million severance... (Associated Press) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will walk away with a $55 million severance package if the company's auction of its Internet operations culminates in a sale that ousts her from her job. The payout disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday consists of cash, stock awards and other benefits that Mayer would get should she be forced out as CEO within a year after a sale. Although Yahoo's board is still evaluating takeover offers, most investors are betting that the company will decide to sell its well-known brand and an Internet business that includes a popular email service and sections focused on sports and finance. Mayer, a former Google executive, has been unsuccessfully trying to turn around Yahoo for nearly four years. Instead, Yahoo's long-running slump has deepened during her reign, making her pay a prickly topic among investors. "I don't think this management team has done anything to merit a huge payout," said Eric Jackson, managing director of SpringOwl Asset Management, a Yahoo shareholder critical of Mayer's leadership. Yahoo declined to comment beyond its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The documents didn't explain the rationale for the severance packages covering Mayer and other Yahoo executives, although they are common at most publicly held companies as a way to maintain some stability during times of uncertainty. Mayer received a compensation package valued at nearly $36 million last year under the SEC's accounting rules. Yahoo's board maintained in its filing that it was only worth about $14 million as of April 1. The chances of a sale happening at Yahoo Inc. increased earlier this week when the Sunnyvale, California, company reached a truce with activist investor Starboard Value, an outspoken critic of Mayer's that has been pushing her to sell. Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith is now one of three Yahoo directors on a special committee assessing the bids for the Internet business. Although Yahoo's hasn't set a timetable for reaching a decision, most analysts expect a deal to be struck within the next two months at a price ranging anywhere from $4 billion to $10 billion. In an opinion shared by most of his peers on Wall Street, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney says he believes Verizon Communications is the most likely buyer. After snapping up AOL Inc., another fallen Internet start, for $4.4 billion, Verizon has publicly expressed interest in taking over Yahoo, too. That has spurred speculation that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong will shove aside Mayer if Verizon buys Yahoo's Internet operations. Armstrong was a top advertising executive at Google during much of the same time Mayer was working on some of the products that helped turn Google into the Internet's most powerful company. Mayer's inability to boost Yahoo's advertising sales at a time that marketers are shifting more of their budgets to digital services is the main reason investors are pushing the company to cash out and turn its Internet operations to a new owner. Last year, for instance, Yahoo's board set a target asking management to generate $4.6 billion in revenue, after subtracting ad commissions. That would have been a modest 5 percent increase from the previous year. Yahoo's revenue last year instead came in at $4.1 billion. The company this year expects its revenue after ad commissions to decline another 15 percent to a projected $3.5 billion. Mayer is nearly done with a cost-cutting plan that is jettisoning 15 percent of Yahoo's workforce in an effort to boost profits as revenue drops. Yahoo's stock added a penny to close Friday at $36.60, more than double its value in July 2012 when the company hired Mayer. But the run-up has been driven by the rising value of Yahoo's stake in China's e-commerce leader, Alibaba Group. The investment in Alibaba was made long before Mayer's hiring, although she has been unsuccessfully trying to find a legal way to avoid paying taxes when the stake is sold. ||||| Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stands to rake in $55 million in severance if her company is sold and she loses her job. The hefty parachute package, disclosed in a regulatory filing late Friday, comes as the struggling web portal tries to auction off its Internet operations. If pushed out within a year of any sale, Mayer would be able to collect a bounty of cash and stock that would ease her exit beyond an already sizable personal fortune. Yahoo's board is weighing whether to sell the company's still-widely used Internet operations like its sports, finance, and email after Mayer failed to turnaround the business during her nearly four-year tenure as CEO. It is said to have narrowed the list of potential suitors to 10 large companies like Verizon ( vz ) and big private equity firms. Mayer's $36 million salary last year and even bigger severance packages , in some cases, have generated intense criticism in the past because of the company's poor performance. The latest severance for a so-called "change is control," or takeover, is likely to add fuel to the fire. Mayer has been under intense pressure from investor Starboard Capital to sell the company. Earlier this week, Yahoo ( yhoo ) appeared to acquiesce to a major demand by giving the investment firm four board seats. |
|
Restoration of Parental Rights and State Sovereignty Act of 2015 Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit the Secretary of Education from forcing a state to satisfy any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under an ESEA grant program. Prohibits the Secretary from releasing assistance to a state under an ESEA grant program unless the state's legislature has by law expressly approved the program. Allows that approval to be accomplished by a vote to affirm a state budget that includes the use of such federal funds, but requires that budget to expressly include any requirement imposed as a condition on the state's receipt of those funds. Prohibits ESEA funds that are not allocated to a state due to the state's failure to affirmatively agree to their receipt from being reallocated among the other states. Expresses the intent of Congress that control over public education and parental rights to control their children's education is vested exclusively within the authority reserved to the states and individual Americans by the Constitution, except when states expressly approve federal terms or conditions on educational assistance or the federal government is obliged to enforce minimum federal equal protection or due process standards. | Make an abstract according to the given text content, only output the abstract content and nothing else. | [] | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Restoration of Parental Rights and State Sovereignty Act of 2015''.SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY OVER PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PARENTAL RIGHTS OVER THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN. Part E of title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:``Subpart 3--Restoration of State Sovereignty Over Public Education and Parental Rights Over the Education of Their Children``SEC. 9541. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES THEY DO NOT EXPRESSLY WAIVE. ``(a) Retention of Rights and Authorities.--No officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary shall enforce against an authority of a State, nor shall any authority of a State have any obligation to obey, any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under a grant program established under this Act, nor shall such program operate within a State, unless the legislature of that State shall have by law expressly approved that program and, in doing so, have waived the State's rights and authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed by the Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance. ``(b) Amendment of Terms of Receipt of Federal Financial Assistance.--An officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary may release assistance under a grant program established under this Act to a State only after the legislature of the State has by law expressly approved the program (as described in subsection (a)). This approval may be accomplished by a vote to affirm a State budget that includes the use of such Federal funds and any such State budget must expressly include any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under a grant program established under this Act so that by approving the budget, the State legislature is expressly approving the grant program and, in doing so, waiving the State's rights and authorities to act inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed by the Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance. ``(c) Special Rule for States With Biennial Legislatures.--In the case of a State with a biennial legislature-- ``(1) during a year in which the State legislature does not meet, subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply; and ``(2) during a year in which the State legislature meets, subsections (a) and (b) shall apply, and, with respect to any grant program established under this Act during the most recent year in which the State legislature did not meet, the State may by law expressly disapprove the grant program, and, if such disapproval occurs, an officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary may not release any additional assistance to the State under that grant program. ``(d) Definition of State Authority.--As used in this section, the term `authority of a State' includes any administering agency of the State, any officer or employee of the State, and any local government authority of the State. ``(e) Effective Date.--This section applies in each State beginning on the 90th day after the end of the first regular session of the legislature of that State that begins 5 years after the date of the enactment of the Restoration of Parental Rights and State Sovereignty Act of 2015 and shall continue to apply in subsequent years until otherwise provided by law.``SEC. 9542. DEDICATION OF SAVINGS TO DEFICIT REDUCTION. ``Notwithstanding any formula reallocations stipulated under this Act, any funds under this Act not allocated to a State because a State did not affirmatively agree to the receipt of such funds shall not be reallocated among the States.``SEC. 9543. DEFINITION OF STATE WITH BIENNIAL LEGISLATURE. ``In this Act, the term `State with a biennial legislature' means a State the legislature of which meets every other year.``SEC. 9544. INTENT OF CONGRESS. ``It is the intent of Congress that other than the terms and conditions expressly approved by State law under the terms of this subpart, control over public education and parental rights to control the education of their children are vested exclusively within the autonomous zone of independent authority reserved to the States and individual Americans by the United States Constitution, other than the Federal Government's undiminishable obligation to enforce minimum Federal standards of equal protection and due process.''.SEC. 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS. The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating to subpart 2 of part E of title IX the following:``subpart 3--restoration of state sovereignty over public education and parental rights over the education of their children``9541. States to retain rights and authorities they do not expressly waive.``9542. Dedication of savings to deficit reduction.``9543. Definition of State with biennial legislature.``9544. Intent of Congress.''. |
Subsets and Splits