Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/281727386?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
Shell 'not culpable' over spills
30 January 2013
Last updated at 05:05 ET
A Dutch court has rejected four out of five allegations against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell over oil pollution in Nigeria's Niger Delta region.
But it found a subsidiary of the firm, Shell Nigeria, responsible for one case of pollution, ordering it to pay compensation to one Nigerian farmer.
The level of damages in that case will be established at a later hearing.
The landmark case against the Anglo-Dutch firm was brought by four Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth.
The case is linked to spills in Goi, Ogoniland; Oruma in Bayelsa State and a third in Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State.
The farmers had alleged that oil spills had poisoned their fish ponds and farmland with leaking pipelines.
The court said Shell was only guilty of negligence.
"The district court has established that four oil spills were not caused by defective maintenance by Shell but by sabotage from third parties," the court said in its judgement.
It said according to Nigerian law, the firm was not responsible for damage caused in this way.
However, in one case it found Shell Nigeria culpable of neglecting its duty of care and ruled that: "Shell could and should have prevented this sabotage in an easy way".
Friends of the Earth have said they are "flabbergasted" by the verdict and intend to appeal.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21258653#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Climate change alters ecosystems from Walden Pond to 'The Shack'
Using historical data collected by famous naturalists and authors Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, scientists have linked early flower blooms to warm springs. This is the first time researchers have analyzed patterns in these two sets of data together. ?
Walden Pond has seen warmer temperatures and earlier spring flowerings since Henry David Thoreau first stayed there in 1852.
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EnlargeThe warmest springs on record caused flowers to bloom at their earliest dates in decades at two historic sites, according to new research.
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The findings, published online today (Jan. 16) in the journal PLoS ONE, show just how much climate change has altered ecosystems throughout the temperate areas of the United States. The study used 161-year-old data on flowering times from Henry David Thoreau's notebooks, as well as nearly 80-year-old data from the famous naturalist Aldo Leopold.
Scientists had previously described the Thoreau records but they hadn't combined the two naturalists' findings until now.
"Record warm temperatures (in 2010 and 2012) have resulted in record early flowering times," said study researcher Elizabeth Ellwood of Boston University. [8 Ways Global Warming Is Already Changing the World]
Famous naturalists
Henry David Thoreau was one of the most iconic figures of the 19th century. The famous naturalist and poet wrote the book "Walden" about his years living at idyllic Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. Starting in 1852 and at different points throughout his life, he also created the first "spreadsheets of flowering dates" for many well-known?flowers, including the wild columbine, the pink-lady slipper orchid and the marsh marigold, Ellwood said.
Similarly, the naturalist Leopold took detailed records of first flowering times at a site called "The Shack" in?wilderness near the Wisconsin River, starting in 1935.
"It's the iconic equivalent to Walden Pond for Wisconsinites," Ellwood told LiveScience.
While scholars knew of these flowering observations, many were scattered in different libraries and archives, and no one had systematically analyzed their patterns, she said.
Hotter springs, earlier blooms
To do so, Ellwood and her colleagues gathered all of?Thoreau's flowering records?from several archives. They then compared flowering dates with spring temperatures for 32 different flowering plants.
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Bilateral trade: Nigeria rebuffed by Caribbeans over oil export
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
Paul Ndubuwa
30 January 2013, Sweetcrude, Lagos ? The move by Nigeria to penetrate the Caribbean regional oil export market through bilateral trade relations may have met with a brick wall as some members of the regional economic bloc who though desire economic relation with Nigeria have insisted that crude oil be excluded from the list of the bilateral trade between them and Nigeria.
This is coming on the heels of the United States of America closing its market to crude oil export volumes from Nigeria. Nigeria is said to be losing the United States as its biggest oil customer amid surging output and the development of Shale oil in North America, prompting Nigeria, Africa?s top producer to be searching for alternative oil markets.
Traders are predicting that United States purchases of Nigerian crude this year is expected to fall to a six-year low by second quarter this year, and this will push Nigeria to seventh position from among suppliers to the United States.
The United States is awash with light crude, leaving Nigerian crude faced with the possibility of being priced at a discount to secure new markets.
PetroCaribe, the regional oil cooperative controlled by Venezuela to supply cheap crude oil to neighbouring countries seems to be standing as a barrier to the trade relations with Nigeria.
PetroCaribe supplies 120,000 ? 140,000 barrels of crude per day at favourable financing terms to 18 Caribbean nations, including 14 out of 16 from the CARIFORUM (Caribbean Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States).
Sanjhevi Kempadoo, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dr. Densil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis, one of the Caribbean countries, said in an interview that they are not seeking economic relations with Nigeria in the area of oil and gas but in banking, hospitality, real estate and other service industry. According to her St. Kitts and Nevis gets all her Crude oil and petroleum products requirement from Venezuela her next door neighbouring country, rich in oil as Nigeria.
PetroCaribe is said to be providing the Caribbean nations with special incentives and low interest loans to import petroleum products from Venezuela though they pay part of the oil up front, and then pay off the rest within 25-years at one percent interest rate.
Although the percentages do fluctuate, most of the countries in this PetroCaribe generally pay for only 40-50 percent of the crude they get upfront.
?No wonder figures like Dominican Republic Energy Minister Tem?stocles Montas and Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe are fearing that any change of government could foster a new Venezuelan regime that is less keen on PetroCaribe? oil traders said.
St. Kitts and Nevis is said to be seeking a bilateral trade agreement with Nigeria but insists that oil be excluded. According to the Prime Minister who was in Nigeria recently his country is inviting those Nigerian businessmen who are into Banking, Real Estate and commerce to come and take advantage of the rapid economic transformation that is going on in St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to him, St Kitts and Nevis will be awarding Nigerian businessmen with citizenship and tax holiday for anyone who will invest up to the tune of $400,000 annually.
?Apart from the tax incentives our government will give the investor what we term citizenship by investment,? he had said.
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Survey shows strong consumer interest in BlackBerry 10, but few are willing to buy just yet
The good news for RIM (RIMM): Lots of people are interested in checking out its upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The bad news: Few are willing to commit to buying a BlackBerry 10 device at the moment. According to a new online survey of more than 1,100 Americans commissioned by mobile application specialist BiTE interactive and conducted by reputable pollster YouGov, 47% of Americans find ?at least one of BlackBerry?s new features appealing,? although only around 13% say they?ll consider buying a BlackBerry 10 device.
The survey found that the new Time Shift Camera, which lets users rapid-shoot multiple pictures of the same subject and then choose the best one from the bunch, was the most popular new BlackBerry feature, followed by BlackBerry 10?s new predictive keyboard. But as BiTE operations executive vice president?Joseph Farrell notes, there?s a big difference between interest in new features and a commitment to spend money acquiring them. Farrell also thinks that RIM will still struggle to be relevant as long as app developers neglect BlackBerry in favor of iOS and Android.
?RIM?s much anticipated BB10 launch is a major, and much needed overhaul for the one-time smartphone leader and all indications are that it has, at very least succeeded in convincing Americans to give BlackBerry a second look,? he says. ?However, it is clear that while all the new features can catch the interest of Android and iOS owners, the key chink in RIM?s armor remains its apps ecosystem. RIM has made great efforts to catch up with iOS and Android in this regard, but it, like Microsoft, is likely to find this far easier said than done.?
BiTE?s full press release is posted below.
BlackBerry 10 Captures Attention of One in Two Americans
But only one in eight will actually consider buying a BB10 device
Los Angeles, January 29, 2013 ? Ahead of the launch of Research in Motion?s long-anticipated BlackBerry 10 operating system and two new smartphones this week, nearly one in two Americans online (47 percent) finds at least one of BlackBerry?s new features appealing.
Despite interest in the new features only one in eight Americans (13 percent) will consider buying a BB10 device, and only one in 100 plans to get one immediately. The findings are according to a report from BiTE interactive, the native mobile application specialist for Fortune 1000 brands, which commissioned YouGov to poll the views of a representative sample of 1,127 American adults online.
Time Shift Camera wins most American hearts, especially with Android owners
RIM?s Time Shift Camera is the most compelling new BB10 feature for 16 percent of Americans. The Time Shift Camera takes multiple shots of a subject in a single picture and lets you choose the best composite image. 46 percent more women than men identify it as the most attractive new feature of BB10, while it is most appealing for one in five (21 percent) 18-34 year olds. The same age group is also the most likely to find one of the BlackBerry 10?s features appealing (66 percent). RIM?s new predictive keyboard feature is the most compelling new feature for only six percent of Americans while only one in 100 picked the new ?flow? interface.
The new BB10 features appeal to more Android (65 percent) than iPhone owners (56 percent).
?RIM?s much anticipated BB10 launch is a major, and much needed overhaul for the one-time smartphone leader and all indications are that it has, at very least succeeded in convincing Americans to give BlackBerry a second look,? said Joseph Farrell, EVP Operations, BiTE interactive. ?However, it is clear that while all the new features can catch the interest of Android and iOS owners, the key chink in RIM?s armor remains its apps ecosystem. RIM has made great efforts to catch up with iOS and Android in this regard, but it, like Microsoft, is likely to find this far easier said than done. A lot of eyes will be on the new BlackBerry World from day one, as its success is pivotal to that of the BB10 devices as viable mainstream consumer handsets.?
iPhone owners least likely to jump to BlackBerry
According to BiTE interactive?s report, iPhone owners are the least likely to buy into BB10. Only around one in 10 (11 percent) have any interest in owning one of RIM?s new phones compared with around one in five (21 percent) Android owners. Overall, almost one in two (44 percent) Americans definitely will not get a BB10 device while a further one in four (27 percent) say they will likely not get one.
Joseph Farrell added, ?RIM?s challenge is compounded by the fact that Google and Apple have already built up huge mobile user bases who, for the most part, have invested lots of time and money learning and using their platform of choice. To switch to any new platform, even between the two, means a new investment of time and resources that many do not wish to spend, let alone taking a perceived risk on the new BB10 platform, no matter how impressive some of the new technology is.?
Research methodology
BiTE interactive commissioned YouGov to poll the views of a representative sample of 1,127 US adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between January 23-25, 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/survey-shows-strong-consumer-interest-blackberry-10-few-204400843.html
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You Don't Need to Give Up Your Smartphone; You Just Need to Change How You Use It
We're all inundated with technology these days. It's everywhere, and it's impossible for most of us to get away from it. Because of that, the smartphone often gets a bad rap because it's always in our face. But it's not the smartphone itself that's a problem. It's how you use it.
We've talked about this before, last week we had a guest post about moving back to a dumbphone, we've tackled smartphone addiction, and dealt with the stupidest things we all do with smartphones. But let's be honest: most of us aren't going to give up our iPhone, Androids, or Windows Phones. We just need to use them better.
Make Better Notifications and Alerts
A few different schools of thought exist in the notification debate. On one end, notifications are evil and should be turned off completely whenever possible, and on the other, a smarter notification system makes them a lot more worthwhile. Where you land really depends on what you need from your phone (or how your work needs you).
Personally, I fall under the "no notifications" school of thought. I don't have notifications on my phone for anything but phone calls and text messages. If you can't get a hold of me in the long hours I spend in front of the computer, you're not going to get a hold of me (unless you call or send a text message). This works great for me because, like I said, I'm in front of a computer for a bulk of the day, and the weekends are my time to do the exact opposite of that. That said, not everyone has that luxury and still needs to be available to at least some extent all the time.
For people who can't get away from notifications, a smarter notification system is necessary. One way to do that is to use Pushover and IFTTT to regulate when and how you get messages. Another is the iPhone's built-in Do Not Disturb feature. If email's your problem, correctly utilizing the Priority Inbox in Gmail ensures you're only getting email that really matters.
The point is that most of us use too many notifications for too much stuff. If you're checking Facebook every 30 minutes, do you need notifications on too? Probably not. Turn off the non-essentials and use your smartphone in peace.
Delete the Junk Apps You Waste Time On
Every one of us at Lifehacker has at least a small degree of app addiction. We download and try new stuff constantly, and because of that, our phones get filled with all types of useless junk. We've talked about beating your app addiction before by starting from scratch and building up with just what you need. Delete everything, and add what you actually use as you need it. You might be surprised by how little you really need the bulk of your apps.
Instead of checking Facebook, Twitter, or playing a game of Temple Run when you're bored, delete those apps and do something else. The out of sight out of mind philosophy works great on your smartphone. As someone who plays a ton of iOS games, I had to delete all of them from my iPhone and relegate them to an iPad because I found myself obsessively thinking about high scores every time I had a little down time. Once I deleted them, I never really thought about it again. I also employed the verb system for app organization so when I clicked on Twitter I had to go into the "Distract" folder and get a small pang of guilt.
Even without all the time-wasting apps, your smartphone is still a device that's connected to the internet, takes pictures, has GPS, and is still incredibly useful. Getting rid of the apps that waste your time or make you anxious helps break the reliance you have on it.
Quit Relying On Your Smartphone When You Don't Have To
We rely on our smartphones for a lot of things, and if you feel like you're growing uncomfortably attached to it, then it might be time to start weaning yourself away. I did, which is exactly why I decided to rely on my own memory instead of technology for a month. Sure, I've gone back to certain things (like notes), but I've stopped reaching for my phone every time I need to remember something.
The same goes for GPS. While it's obviously an incredibly useful service, it also makes it so you don't really learn your surroundings. We've walked you through weaning yourself off GPS before and it's a wortwhile experiment, even if you only try it for a couple days. The point is that you're likely better at getting around than you think, and the less you look at a GPS app, the better you'll learn your city in the long run (obviously GPS is still incredibly helpful when you're out of town).
As we've pointed out before, smartphones can be a serious bane to our existence?but so can anything else when it's used in excess. Thankfully, part of what makes smartphones "smart" is that we can tailor them to fit our needs. If you can't ditch a smartphone and resort to older tech to break away from it, then you can at least make it a better experience overall.
Title photo remixed with Jasmes Bowe.
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Ashton Kutcher Was Hospitalized After Trying Steve Jobs? Fruitarian Diet
Method actors are known to go to extreme lengths to understand the character they're portraying. Natalie Portman dropped a whopping 20 lbs to play a ballerina in Black Swan. Ashton Kutcher's preparation for playing Steve Jobs in the biopic jOBS was so extreme it left him in the hospital. According to USA Today, he spent two days in the hospital after trying to stick to Steve Jobs' fruitarian diet, which consists of eating fruits, nuts and seeds.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WpcuGZLngKo/
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Monday, January 28, 2013
Parrots can be great pets, but make sure to read up first | Reporter ...
Dunwoody resident Marie Frank with one of her cockatiels
When you ring the doorbell at Marie Frank?s Dunwoody home, she barely cracks the door.
?Come in quickly,? she says, opening the door just enough for you to squeeze through.
Once inside, the reason for her caution is clear. Frank has three pet cockatiels that fly freely about her home.
Dixie perches on the handle of her oven, singing to his reflection in the stainless steel appliance. Lucky hops over to the table where Frank is sitting, curiously inspecting her coffee mug.
Frank said her birds are always entertaining her. But she said most people don?t know what they are getting into when they buy a parrot.
?These are the best pets,? Frank said. ?But if you don?t treat them well, they can be your worst nightmare.?
Frank is passionate about teaching people about responsible bird ownership.
Frank said when she got her first gray and yellow cockatiel, Dixie, she assumed it would be happy living in its cage. ?I had a 5-year-old son who wanted a parrot,? Frank said. ?I think people think ? like I did ? that you can buy a big cage and look at him because he?s pretty.?
But she soon learned that her bird needed to spend time outside of his cage, flying and interacting with her family.
?Dixie is kind of the one who trained us on how he wanted to be treated,? Frank said. ?To treat them properly, you have to give them little or no cage time.?
Since getting her first cockatiel, Frank has rescued three more and has traveled to Arizona to volunteer with a bird rescue sanctuary.
She said there are many things people don?t know about parrots ? the family of exotic birds that includes macaws, cockatoos and Amazons.
If birds are bored or unhappy in their cage, they can be very loud and destructive, she said.
Some birds will even pick out their feathers and bite their skin with their beaks if they are confined to a cage.
?People need to know they are social creatures, they do need stimulation, they do need interaction,? Frank said.
Frank said many people give away their parrots, annoyed by the noise the birds make. There are only a few bird rescue groups around the country, and there often isn?t much space.
?The rescues are bursting at the seams. They?re so overcrowded,? Frank said.
One reason those rescues are so crowded: birds have incredibly long life spans.
Smaller parrots like cockatiels can live up to 25 years. But some larger birds, like macaws and African Grey Parrots, have a life span of up to 100 years.
Ron Johnson, owner of Feathered Friends Forever, cares for 1,400 birds at his rescue facility near Augusta.
He said birds come to the rescue from around the country for a variety of reasons. Some have owners who have died, or owners who have moved and can no longer keep them. Some people turn their birds in because they are simply tired of being bitten by the birds or hearing them chirp.
Johnson said the problem is that breeders continue to sell the birds for a large profit.
?Breeders and pet stores don?t care what people buy so long as they collect their money,? Johnson said.
Johnson said someone recently dropped off a bird that was only six months old.
?A breeder convinced this lady that this was a quiet, lovable bird,? Johnson said. ?She paid $900 for the bird, $300 for the cage, and had it 48 hours because she couldn?t stand the noise that it made.?
He said it?s important to keep in mind that parrots are wild animals. They still have natural instincts that can make them unfriendly.
?They?re in a sense ?domesticated? in that they will take food from your hand and they will talk to you,? Johnson said. ?When it?s breeding season, you have Dr. Jekyll.?
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Sunday, January 27, 2013
Iran official: Attack on Syria is attack on us
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran considers any attack against Syria an attack on itself, an advisor to the Islamic Republic's supreme leader was quoted as saying Saturday, the strongest warning to date by a top Iranian official that Tehran will use any available means to keep the regime of President Bashar Assad in power.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Syria plays a major role in the "resistance front" of anti-Israel states and militant groups.
"Syria plays a very key role in supporting, or God forbid destabilizing, the resistance front. For this same reason, attack on Syria is considered attack on Iran and Iran's allies," Velayati was quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying.
The comments reflect Iran's commitment to prevent the possible collapse of Assad, who is fighting a bloody war with rebels. More than 60,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, according to the U.N.
Velayati, Iran's former foreign minister, said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas would had been defeated in wars with Israel without Syrian support.
"If Syria didn't provide logistical support to Hezbollah, Hezbollah and Hamas would have not achieved victory in the 33-day and 22-day wars (respectively)," he said.
He was referring to the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and Gaza War during the winter of 2008-2009. Both militant groups claimed victory although Israel has disputed this.
"Regional reactionary (regimes) and the West attacked the golden ring of resistance by targeting Syria," Mehr quoted him as saying, a reference to U.S. and Gulf Arab backing for the rebels.
Iran is Syria's most important ally in the Middle East. Tehran has provided Assad's government with military and political backing for years, and has kept up its strong support for the regime since the uprising began in March 2011.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-official-attack-syria-attack-us-090549157.html
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Chile Food & Drink Report Q1 2013 - New Market Report Now ...
Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/26/2013 -- We believe the impact of a Chinese hard landing will lead to slower Chilean real GDP growth. That said, private consumption has continued to perform well; we expected it to grow 5.3% in 2012. Unemployment has so far stayed lower than we expected, while real wages also are continuing to grow. Supporting the increase in private consumer spending has been steady growth in bank loans, a trend we expect to be sustained through 2013. Indeed, a cut to the monetary policy rate will allow credit to grow further and consumption to increase 5.5% in real terms in 2013.
Headline Industry Data (local currency)
? 2013 per capita food consumption value = +5.7%; forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2017 = +5.7%. ? 2013 alcoholic drinks value sales = +6.4%; forecast CAGR to 2017 = +6.3%. ? 2013 soft drinks value sales = +8.0% ; forecast CAGR to 2017 = +8.1%. ? 2013 mass grocery retail value sales = +5.7%; forecast CAGR to 2017 = +5.7%.
Key Company Trends
View Full Report Details and Table of Contents
Barry Callebaut Expands In Chile: In October 2012, Swiss business-to-business chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut signed a deal with Chile-based confectionery producer Arcos-Dos en Uno for the supply of compound and chocolate products. The move will see Barry Callebaut invest EUR13mn to build a new facility in the city of Santiago with capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of chocolate products per year. The firm described the deal as its first long-term outsourcing agreement in South America, and the move fits with our favourable view of the regional confectionery sector as well as Barry Callebaut's stated desire to increase its exposure to emerging markets.
Cencosud Turns Attention To Colombia As Carrefour Exits: In October 2012, Chile-based retailer Cencosud announced it is to acquire the Colombian assets of French retailer Carrefour in a deal worth US$2.5bn. The move comes after the firm raised additional capital through a share sale in Chile and New York (via American depository receipts), which we said at the time was likely to be used to pay off debts and fund further expansion. We had speculated that the retailer was likely to be focused in Brazil, where it has been investing heavily since entering the market in 2007. However, the recent cooling of the Brazilian economy may have pushed the firm to look elsewhere, with Colombia's consumer sector currently outperforming its regional counterpart.
About Fast Market Research
Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff will help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.
Browse all Food research reports at Fast Market Research
You may also be interested in these related reports:
- France Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Greece Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Australia Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Bulgaria Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Hungary Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- United Kingdom Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Vietnam Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Germany Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Colombia Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
- Croatia Food & Drink Report Q1 2013
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Japan minister: not trying to weaken yen, central bank
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Japan's economy minister said on Saturday his country's extraordinary fiscal and monetary stimulus program was not aimed at weakening the yen or undermining central bank independence.
Akira Amari told the World Economic Forum in Davos it was up to the market to determine the currency's exchange rate, and the Bank of Japan had chosen independently to sign a joint statement with the government on actions to fight deflation and revive economic growth.
"You might think there's a deliberate policy to drive down the value of the yen but we in government refrain from commenting on the exchange rate of the yen," Amari said in response to criticism of Japanese action.
(Reporting by Lisa Jucca and Paul Taylor; Writing by Paul Taylor)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-minister-not-trying-weaken-yen-central-bank-141103533--business.html
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Accused Zumba pimp trial begins in disorder
Robert F. Bukaty / AP
Mark Strong Sr., right, and his attorney, Dan Lilley, leave the Cumberland County Court House, on Jan. 18, in Portland, Maine.
By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
It takes 12 to tango.
The prosecution of Mark Strong, who has been accused of helping a Maine woman run a prostitution ring from her Zumba workout studio, has run up against an unexpected series of complications this week as the court failed to seat a jury.
Topping the problems off on Friday, Judge Nancy Mills unexpectedly dropped 46 of the 59 misdemeanor counts against Strong ? spurring an immediate appeal by attorneys for the state.
Prosecutors say that the men of Maine were knocking down the doors of Alexis Wright?s Pura Vida dance and exercise studio between Oct. 2010 and Feb. 2012, and that Strong helped Wright run a prostitution ring from the storefront in the seaside town of Kennebunk.
Strong pleaded not guilty in October to 59 counts including promotion of prostitution and conspiracy to commit promotion of prostitution.
All of the 46 counts against Strong dropped by Mills on Friday were invasion of privacy charges related to allegations that Wright videotaped herself with clients.
A separate trial for Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to 106 counts, including 45 counts of engaging in prostitution, is not expected to begin until May.
But four days after Strong?s case was supposed to get under way, the high-publicity, slow-simmering case of small-town indiscretion still does not have a jury.
As of Friday, zero jurors had been seated out of a pool of 140 after a series of closed-door selection proceedings, director of court information Mary Ann Lynch confirmed in an email.
The case in Mills? court also drew into itself, lobster pot-like, a new round of court filings as Maine Today Media, which owns the local Portland Press Herald, filed to put a stop to the secret voir dire hearings.
After Maine Today Media protested on Tuesday, a trial court at first agreed to open the proceedings, but Strong and his attorney objected, expressing ?concerns about the ability to draw an impartial jury if the process used by the court were changed,? according to court documents.
In an affidavit filed Tuesday by Maine Today Media, reporter Scott Dolan said that jury selection went on in the courthouse?s basement while members of the press sat in the hallway outside an empty courtroom.
The closed door sessions were finally halted on Thursday, when the state?s highest court ruled in a 6-1 decision that they had to be opened to the public.
?Everything I?ve done in the past few days has been appealed,? Justice Mills said in court at one point Thursday, according to the Press Herald.
The decision to open up the hearings was precedent-setting for Maine, said Sigmund Schutz, counsel to the Press Herald.
??It?s going to ensure that all aspects of the Alexis Wright trial are conducted in public, at least unless the court makes a decision to the contrary,? he told NBCNews.com.
While it is unclear how long it may take to prepare the court-ordered transcripts of the jury hearings held so far, a confidential juror questionnaire given to the pool was released on Wednesday.
The questionnaire listed 47 people accused of being clients of Wright, and asked if the potential jurors had ever discussed the individual?s cases with friends, family, or co-workers. It also asked if they knew or were related to any of the 72 people who may be called as witnesses in the case.
?You may be shown explicit videos and photographs depicting individuals engaged in graphic sexual acts,? the questionnaire asked. ?Would viewing this evidence make it difficult for you to listen to the law and evidence and render a fair and impartial verdict??
The questionnaire warned of as many as three weeks of testimony, from Wednesday of this week through Friday. Feb. 8. Court broke for the day Friday without a clear date for when testimony may actually begin, Lynch confirmed.
Also in the questionnaire: ?If the evidence shows that Alexis Wright was a prostitute, would the fact that defendant Mark Strong had a sexual relationship with her, not for money, make it difficult for you to find defendant Mark Strong not guilty of the crime of promotion of prostitution??
And: ?Do you know Alexis Wright or any member of her family??
That question gets to the crux of problem with finding jurors: Many townspeople may have gotten to know Alexis Wright all too well -- or known someone who has.
And putting a lid on rampant gossip about the trial might be beyond Mills? powers. The superior court in Alfred, Maine is only about 15 miles from where Wright operated her Zumba studio in Kennebunk.
The close-knit town of 10,000 was rattled when police began releasing the names of Wright?s alleged clients in October, in one case leading to a local high school hockey coach stepping down from his job.
??Are you a close friend or family member of any other member of the jury pool?? asked the questionnaire jurors were given. ?Do you work with any member of the jury pool??
In fact, Strong?s attorney argued in a motion filed earlier this month that it would be ?impossible? to find a York County jury free of some sort of bias against his client.
NBC News correspondent Katy Tur contributed to this report.
Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16700275-accused-zumba-pimp-trial-begins-in-disorder?lite
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Saturday, January 26, 2013
AP Interview: Haiti eyes tourism, other businesses
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Haiti's prime minister says his deeply poor country is aiming to attract high-end tourists and multinational investors ? instead of constant handouts ? to get on its feet after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe recognizes that's an ambitious dream for a country where 52 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and infrastructure is desperately lacking.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Lamothe said Saturday that "Haiti is open for business." He's pushing that idea ? and a bid to build up Haiti's tourism industry ? in meetings with CEOs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Haiti still has huge humanitarian needs, but Lamothe says the Caribbean nation does not want to live on international handouts forever.
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Friday, January 25, 2013
For Sandy's homeless, lives of anxiety in hotels
Ayanna Diego looks over her living room while waiting for inspectors at her home, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ayanna Diego looks over her living room while waiting for inspectors at her home, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ayanna Diego looks over her living room while waiting for inspectors at her home, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ayanna Diego, left, watches as inspectors and contractors from the Rapid Repair program inspect the damage to her home in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded during Superstorm Sandy, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ayanna Diego and her son William Diego stand in their dining room, which was damaged during Superstorm Sandy, at their home in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ayanna Diego talks with inspectors and contractors from the Rapid Repair program at her home in the Rockaways section of New York, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Not only was the basement flooded during Superstorm Sandy, but water leaked through the roof and damaged the higher floors as well. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) ? Diane Burstein spends her days sifting through apartment listings and disaster paperwork and her nights lying awake with worry, her daughter and grandson sleeping feet from her in a cramped hotel room.
The family has nowhere else to go. Three months after Superstorm Sandy destroyed their apartment, the Bursteins are among at least 3,500 families displaced by the storm in New York and New Jersey who have been living in hotels and motels, sometimes bouncing to a different room as reservations for weddings, parties and conferences eat up hotel space.
Their hotel stays ? funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ? expire every two weeks, leaving them in a constant state of anxiety over whether they'll be pushed out onto the street.
"I'm panicking. I just panic," said Burstein, who is staying at a hotel in Toms River. "I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."
The next deadline is Saturday, when families will learn whether they must pack their bags and check out. The program has been extended in New York and New Jersey until Feb. 9, but individual families are still waiting to hear whether they will be allowed to stay because claims are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
According to FEMA, people are no longer eligible for hotel assistance if they have received rental assistance, have a viable housing option or an insurance settlement, or can return to a repaired home.
For storm victims with no other housing options, the anxiety is palpable. Most spend their days on the phone with a never-ending stream of federal agencies, contractors and insurance agents, struggling to sort out the housing mess Sandy left behind.
"What happens if you don't have the money to fix your home?" wondered Ayanna Diego, who is holed up at a hotel near LaGuardia Airport with her mother, 17-year-old son and 12-year-old niece. "It's an issue."
Diego, 37, is staring down $180,000 in repairs to her family's home in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. She was laid off from her job at Verizon last summer and is currently living off FEMA money and unemployment checks to feed her family and pay for daily expenses.
The family has been living in a blur of hotel rooms and short-term rentals since the storm. Her 61-year-old mother stopped showing up to work as a roaming public school nurse after the storm because the commute became too difficult.
Diego qualified for the maximum $31,900 lump sum allowed under FEMA's household assistance program, and the money is supposed to be used for home repairs and short-term rentals. Instead, she is using those dollars to pay for gas and tolls to drive her niece to school in their old neighborhood, pay the mortgage on their wrecked home and buy meals for the family of four.
"We're in a hotel. I can't cook," Diego said. "You have breakfast, lunch and dinner. What's happening is you're using that money to survive off of, day to day. We've had to order meals."
Agnes Ruggiero, 69, whose Toms River apartment was destroyed, has been told by FEMA that she shouldn't expect to remain in a hotel for much longer. She doesn't understand why she and others are out of housing options when millions of dollars are being spent to rebuild boardwalks in the tourist-heavy region.
"How could they start worrying about a boardwalk when all these people have no place to live?" she said.
At the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Toms River, which sits on a state highway leading to a barrier island that suffered some of the state's worst damage, a hotel manager said about 80 percent of the hotel's guests are in the FEMA program.
The Sandy victims have formed a community here, waving to one another as they walk through the lobby to their rooms, sneaking out for cigarettes together and offering rides to people who need them. On a recent afternoon, a white box filled with cookies and cannoli was passed around for someone's birthday.
Burstein, 69, who is on disability, and her 37-year-old daughter ? who doesn't work because her 3-year-old disabled son recently had surgery ? have been living here since early December. Like many other storm victims, they can't find an affordable rental. Even if they did find one, they barely have enough money for a security deposit.
On Saturday, they will file down to the lobby along with the other Sandy refugees to learn their fate, as they do every two weeks. Burstein and Ruggiero said hotel staff will read the names of people whose assistance was extended for another two weeks. In the past, some people have been left off the list.
"Can't you let the people know ahead of time so they don't go crazy worrying?" she asked.
People like 68-year-old Janice Yunginger, of Point Pleasant, N.J., are stranded because they're waiting to hear back from their insurance companies.
Yunginger's home was destroyed, and she is still awaiting a final flood insurance estimate. Her hotel assistance ran out Jan. 12. She and her 26-year-old daughter are paying the $450 a week, out of pocket, for a room at the Red Roof Inn in Tinton Falls, N.J.
"I've applied for everything I can apply for, and for some reason they extended some of the people under the temporary shelter program, but not me," Yunginger said.
FEMA officials in both states say they are working with people staying in hotels on a daily basis, trying to resolve the obstacles that are preventing them from finding other housing opportunities.
"We're there to fill the gap between the devastation that you encountered and getting you to a more permanent solution," said Michael Byrne, the FEMA official supervising Superstorm Sandy recovery in New York.
The process of figuring out how to help homeless Sandy victims find a more permanent solution was delayed by Congress' slow passage of the hurricane recovery bill. New Jersey has set aside 1,000 Section 8 federal housing vouchers for low-income families displaced by the storm and currently living in hotels.
New Jersey created dozens of housing units at Fort Monmouth, a former military installation, for Sandy victims.
Both FEMA and New Jersey have set up websites to help connect people displaced by the storm with rental listings.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is working with state and local officials to help find long-term housing for displaced people, according to a spokesman for HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan who could not give details on specific plans.
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Rob Watson: When a Son Tells His Gay Dad, 'You Are Not My Mom'
I always figured there were certain hateful statements that my sons would make, especially ones that say I am inadequate. Such statements would come out in the future, during some angsty teenage scrap as I'm laying down the law and they're going for my jugular. My sister told me once, "If your kids don't shout out that they hate you at least a few times, then you aren't doing it right." Up until now, no such shout-out has occurred.
But one of the statements I feared was finally delivered, though it did not come as part of a calculated gotcha exchange. It came at the worst possible moment.
It was Thanksgiving evening, and dinner at my sister's house was almost ready. We were preparing to get to the table when my younger son appeared in the dining room and announced, "Jason just threw up!" I rushed upstairs to find my 10-year-old son crying over a mess that smelled like rancid juice.
I rushed him to the nearby bathroom as the stomach convulsions continued, and we experienced one of what would be many rounds of this illness episode. It was a horrible event, because there was nothing I could do for him but hold him while his body expelled the contents of his stomach. He cried and gasped and tried to recover.
"I am so so sorry," I whispered as his body tensed again.
"I want my mommy," he cried out, bursting into tears!
Say what?!
Several things went through my mind. My son is hypoglycemic, and when his blood sugar drops, he becomes completely irrational until food is back in his system This effect is exacerbated by his hypersensitivity, which is a result of having been exposed to heroin in the womb. He was already hungry, given that we were about to have dinner, and now his system was even more depleted. However, his comment was still concerning, because there is no such person in his life, nor has there ever been. He has been in my arms since he was 4 days old and weighed 4 lbs. There was a birth mother, but she was not a "mommy" and has never been there for him.
I tried to ignore the comment, and I pet him gently. I had to say something, though, and I heard myself muttering, "You have a daddy, and I am here, boo."
He looked up and cried, "But you aren't my mom!"
Now I was at the emotional edge. It is horrible being in a situation in which you want to care for your child but are completely helpless, but then to be marked as inadequate, as well, was too much for me.
"You have a dad, boo, not a mom," I said. "I do all your mom things for you. A mom just does what I do but would be a girl. I am your mom. Try to relax. You will feel better in a minute."
He looked at me again and cried out, "I want Papa!" Papa is my ex and was my co-parent for the boys. He chose to keep his distance from us over the past year.
"Oh, great," I thought sarcastically. "That is so much better. Kill me. Just kill me now."
The fact was that nothing could magically give my son comfort in that moment. I was not going to be able to make that happen. He knew it, and I knew it, and in his hypoglycemic irrationality he was lashing out in any way his mind could muster.
For him, the discomfort would ease in a few hours, his body would get peaceful, and he would sink into my embraces. He would feel safe, back in control and tired. For me, the drama would continue: My younger son also got hit with the illness, so my new partner Jim took care of one child in one bathroom while I took care of the other child in another bathroom. I ended up spending a sleepless night, at times with both kids at the toilet bowl, praying for some inspiration that would help me put an end to their misery. But I knew it just had to run its course.
The entire adventure is now a thing for our family history book, under "Thanksgiving Disasters," but still I felt the nagging residual pang of sadness over my son's declaration. I finally talked to him recently, and the conversation affirmed that he is not feeling that he is lacking anything with only male parents in our family.
"Where did that idea come from?" I asked.
He explained that one of his school friends talks to him "in private" and tries to tell him that he needs his "real" mother, and this friend has tried to get him on sites to "find" her. This same friend is also convinced that my son has Asian heritage and has been urging him to research that. Even if my son were truly interested, it is a useless exercise. He is Mexican; we know where his ancestors come from and have studied them. I have pictures of his birth mother and am in contact with her family. She is not at a computer or anywhere to be found or communicated with; she is still on the streets, and his birth father is in prison.
Those who oppose gay marriage and gay families decry the pro-gay socialization of the children of gay parents and cite this as their chief concern around the issue. In my opinion, the pro-gay side too often capitulates and assures our opponents that no such socialization is mandated or desired. Meanwhile, those with an anti-gay agenda double down and hit back harder with their own propaganda. This inspires children, like this friend of my son, to attempt to undermine the love we have in our families, with complete and utter disregard for the consequences of their actions. I do not believe that children of all ages should be privy to the intimate details of adult relationships, but they do need enough information to know that many family structures exist, thrive and are equal to their own. Children should know that the fact that one child has a female parent whom they love does not mean that another child's male parent is not equally worthwhile.
As it turns out, despite not having a female parent in the house, both my sons are fully content and grounded. They have their daddy, and according to them, that is good enough.
?
Follow Rob Watson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JandJDad
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'Nanotubes on a chip' may simplify optical power measurements
Jan. 25, 2013 ? The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a novel chip-scale instrument made of carbon nanotubes that may simplify absolute measurements of laser power, especially the light signals transmitted by optical fibers in telecommunications networks.
The prototype device, a miniature version of an instrument called a cryogenic radiometer, is a silicon chip topped with circular mats of carbon nanotubes standing on end. The mini-radiometer builds on NIST's previous work using nanotubes, the world's darkest known substance, to make an ultraefficient, highly accurate optical power detector, and advances NIST's ability to measure laser power delivered through fiber for calibration customers.
"This is our play for leadership in laser power measurements," project leader John Lehman says. "This is arguably the coolest thing we've done with carbon nanotubes. They're not just black, but they also have the temperature properties needed to make components like electrical heaters truly multifunctional."
NIST and other national metrology institutes around the world measure laser power by tracing it to fundamental electrical units. Radiometers absorb energy from light and convert it to heat. Then the electrical power needed to cause the same temperature increase is measured. NIST researchers found that the mini-radiometer accurately measures both laser power (brought to it by an optical fiber) and the equivalent electrical power within the limitations of the imperfect experimental setup. The tests were performed at a temperature of 3.9 K, using light at the telecom wavelength of 1550 nanometers.
The tiny circular forests of tall, thin nanotubes called VANTAs ("vertically aligned nanotube arrays") have several desirable properties. Most importantly, they uniformly absorb light over a broad range of wavelengths and their electrical resistance depends on temperature. The versatile nanotubes perform three different functions in the radiometer. One VANTA mat serves as both a light absorber and an electrical heater, and a second VANTA mat serves as a thermistor (a component whose electrical resistance varies with temperature). The VANTA mats are grown on the micro-machined silicon chip, an instrument design that is easy to modify and duplicate. In this application, the individual nanotubes are about 10 nanometers in diameter and 150 micrometers long.
By contrast, ordinary cryogenic radiometers use more types of materials and are more difficult to make. They are typically hand assembled using a cavity painted with carbon as the light absorber, an electrical wire as the heater, and a semiconductor as the thermistor. Furthermore, these instruments need to be modeled and characterized extensively to adjust their sensitivity, whereas the equivalent capability in NIST's mini-radiometer is easily patterned in the silicon.
NIST plans to apply for a patent on the chip-scale radiometer. Simple changes such as improved temperature stability are expected to greatly improve device performance. Future research may also address extending the laser power range into the far infrared, and integration of the radiometer into a potential multipurpose "NIST on a chip" device.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- N. A. Tomlin, J. H. Lehman. Carbon nanotube electrical-substitution cryogenic radiometer: initial results. Optics Letters, 2013; 38 (2): 175 DOI: 10.1364/OL.38.000175
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Xq6lUB954bE/130125111337.htm
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Gilda Radner's name will remain with Cancer Support center
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Gilda Radner's name will remain in the title of a Gilda's Club Madison, the Wisconsin branch of the worldwide Cancer Support Community announced on Wednesday.
"We are happy and humbled to announce that our name will continue to be Gilda's Club," the organization's executive director, Lannia Stenz, said in a statement. "Gilda Radner's iconic image will continue to help us welcome and support people affected by cancer."
Although the cancer support group never intended to remove the "Saturday Night Live" alum's likeness from their walls or spirit from their mission, board members voted last November to rename Gilda's Club Madison to Cancer Support Community Southwest Wisconsin. However, many of the organization's members, Radner's fans and her husband, Gene Wilder, weren't too happy about the decision.
"As her husband I could have told that ?I think it would hurt Gilda's feelings terribly if she were watching what you're doing and that there's no reason to hurt her or those who love her," Wilder told Web2Carz after being informed of the news last December. "There are millions of people who still love her."
According to Stenz, "many passionate voices" agreed.
"We heard a wide variety of feedback from members, community and folks outside our community," Stenz told TheWrap. "And the feedback was overwhelmingly asking us to keep the name."
"We heard from our members that the Gilda's Club name offered a great deal of warmth and welcomeness. That has made a difference to our members," she continued. "Gilda's story and her legacy is something that resonates with people living with cancer that walk through our door."
Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986 before dying from the disease in 1989. Through her experience at a Wellness Community in California, the comedian and actress understood the importance of emotional support during treatment.
"Gilda knew, and research has shown, that when people living with a cancer diagnosis receive the emotional support they need, they tend to have better treatment outcomes and an improved quality of life," Stenz explained.
It was for that reason that Wilder teamed up with Joanna Bull, Radner's psychotherapist, to launch Gilda's Club in 1995, which later merged with the Wellness Community in 2009 to create a global support network known as the Cancer Support Community.
The organization's name was derived from one of Radner's most famous quotes: "Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I'd rather not belong to."
Thanks to the 53 Cancer Support Community branches around the world - 23 of which are known as Gilda's Club - over one million cancer patients who would rather not belong to the elite club have had access to an estimated $40 million a year in free care.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gilda-radners-name-remain-cancer-support-center-195401096.html
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Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma
Jan. 23, 2013 ? Stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder are major causes of brain damage and permanent disabilities, including motor dysfunction, psychological disorders, memory loss, and more. Current therapy and rehab programs aim to help patients heal, but they often have limited success.
Now Dr. Shai Efrati of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine has found a way to restore a significant amount of neurological function in brain tissue thought to be chronically damaged -- even years after initial injury. Theorizing that high levels of oxygen could reinvigorate dormant neurons, Dr. Efrati and his fellow researchers, including Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob of TAU's School of Physics and Astronomy and the Sagol School of Neuroscience, recruited post-stroke patients for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) -- sessions in high pressure chambers that contain oxygen-rich air -- which increases oxygen levels in the body tenfold.
Analysis of brain imaging showed significantly increased neuronal activity after a two-month period of HBOT treatment compared to control periods of non-treatment, reported Dr. Efrati in PLoS ONE. Patients experienced improvements such as a reversal of paralysis, increased sensation, and renewed use of language. These changes can make a world of difference in daily life, helping patients recover their independence and complete tasks such as bathing, cooking, climbing stairs, or reading a book.
Oxygen breathes new life into neurons
According to Dr. Efrati, there are several degrees of brain injury. Neurons impacted by metabolic dysfunction have the energy to stay alive, but not enough to fire electric signals, he explains. HBOT aims to increase the supply of energy to these cells.
The brain consumes 20 percent of the body's oxygen, but that is only enough oxygen to operate five to ten percent of neurons at any one time. The regeneration process requires much more energy. The tenfold increase in oxygen levels during HBOT treatment supplies the necessary energy for rebuilding neuronal connections and stimulating inactive neurons to facilitate the healing process, explains Dr. Efrati.
For their study, the researchers sought post stroke patients whose condition was no longer improving. To assess the potential impact of HBOT treatment, the anatomical features and functionality of the brain were evaluated using a combination of CT scans to identify necrotic tissue, and SPECT scans to determine the metabolic activity level of the neurons surrounding damaged areas.
Seventy-four participants spanning 6 to 36 months post-stroke were divided into two groups. The first treatment group received HBOT from the beginning of the study, and the second received no treatment for two months, then received a two-month period of HBOT treatment. Treatment consisted of 40 two-hour sessions five times weekly in high pressure chambers containing oxygen-rich air. The results indicate that HBOT treatment can lead to significant improvement in brain function in post stroke patients even at chronically late stages, helping neurons strengthen and build new connections in damaged regions.
A potential avenue for prevention
Although the study focuses on patients only through three years post-stroke, Dr. Efrati has seen similar improvement in patients whose brain injuries occurred up to 20 years before, belying the concept that the brain has a limited window for growth and change. "The findings challenge the leading paradigm since they demonstrate beyond any doubt that neuroplasticity can still be activated for months and years after acute brain injury, thus revealing that many aspects of the brain remain plastic into adulthood," says Prof. Ben-Jacob.
This study also "opens the gate into a new territory of treatment," adds Dr. Efrati. The researchers are currently conducting a study on the benefits of HBOT for those with traumatic brain injury. This treatment also has potential as an anti-aging therapy, applicable in other disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia at their early stages.
"It is now understood that many brain disorders are related to inefficient energy supply to the brain," explains Dr. Efrati. "HBOT treatment could right such metabolic abnormalities before the onset of full dementia, where there is still potential for recovery."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Friends of Tel Aviv University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Shai Efrati, Gregori Fishlev, Yair Bechor, Olga Volkov, Jacob Bergan, Kostantin Kliakhandler, Izhak Kamiager, Nachum Gal, Mony Friedman, Eshel Ben-Jacob, Haim Golan. Hyperbaric Oxygen Induces Late Neuroplasticity in Post Stroke Patients - Randomized, Prospective Trial. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e53716 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053716
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/26cdKWsBxnU/130123144218.htm
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