Engadget Podcast 337 - 03.28.13

Missed us live at our new weekly livestream home on YouTube at 3PM ET last Thursday? Fret not, because we've got you covered here with the video and audio recordings as usual. So, listen on your own time as Tim, Brian and Peter talk everything from OUYA to Angry Birds hand sanitizer. Stream it below, or catch the subscription links and video embed after the break. Happy weekend!

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Peter Rojas, Brian Heater

Producers: James Trew, Joe Pollicino

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/31/engadget-podcast-337-03-28-13/

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Shroud of Turin authenticity up for debate again after new report (+video)

Scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have used infrared light and spectroscopy (the study of a physical object's interaction with electromagnetic radiation) to examine the shroud and found that it's actually much older than a previous study found.

By Marc Lallanilla,?LiveScience Assistant editor / March 29, 2013

Williams Jones, Shenadoah, Pa., shows some of the points of interest in the Shroud of Turin replica on display in front of the altar after the Divine Liturgy during the Shroud of Turin exhibit at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Shenandoah, Pa., in Feb.

Jacqueline Dormer/The Republican-Herald/AP

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The Shroud of Turin, an icon of faith and controversy among Christians, is back in the news.

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The Shroud of Turin - the cloth that some have claimed was used to wrap the body of Jesus after his crucifixion - is the subject of a new book that claims it is 2,300 years old. Gayle King reports.

The linen cloth, allegedly the burial shroud of Jesus, was closely examined in 1988 in laboratories in Switzerland, England and the United States using carbon-14 dating techniques, the?Telegraph?reports.

Those examinations of the shroud ? which bears the image of a man's face and torso ? dated the cloth from 1260 to 1390, supporting claims that it's merely an elaborate medieval hoax, as Jesus' life is thought to have come to an end in A.D. 33.

Some believers, however, insisted that the linen fibers used in the 1988 examinations were not from the original shroud, but rather from a portion of the cloth that had been repaired after suffering fire damage in the Middle Ages.

Now, scientists at the University of Padua in Italy have used infrared light and spectroscopy (the study of a physical object's interaction with electromagnetic radiation) to examine the shroud and found that it's actually much older, the Telegraph reports.?

In his recent book, "Il Mistero della Sindone," translated as "The Mystery of the Shroud," (Rizzoli, 2013), Giulio Fanti, a professor of mechanical engineering at Padua University, said his analysis proves the shroud dates from 280 B.C. to A.D. 220 ? meaning it existed during Jesus' lifetime, the?Guardian?reports. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]

The Shroud of Turin is said to be the cloth that covered Jesus' body after the crucifiction. Previous examinations that dated the shroud to the Middle Ages mesh with historical records, which don't start mentioning the cloth until that time. But some researchers believe the shroud is older. Thomas de Wesselow, author of "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection" (Dutton Adult, 2012), argues that medieval artists did not paint in photorealistic style, and that a forged shroud created in the Middle Ages would be an anachronism.?

That doesn't mean the shroud is evidence of a miracle, however, de Wesselow told LiveScience last year. He believes natural chemical reactions caused by a decomposing body and annoiting oils could have created the body imprint on the shroud, which may have then been?used as evidence of Christ's resurrection.?

For the first time in 30 years, the shroud will be shown on television this Saturday (March 30), the Guardian reports. Before leaving the papacy,?Benedict XVI?approved a special broadcast of the shroud to be held at the Turin Cathedral, where the cloth is preserved in a climate-controlled case.

And for those who want an even more intimate examination of the cloth, a new mobile app, Shroud 2.0, was just released on Good Friday (March 29),?Zenit.org?reports.

Designed in collaboration with the Museum of the Holy Shroud and the Archdiocese of Turin, Shroud 2.0 synthesizes 1,649 high-definition photographs into a single 12-billion-pixel image. An Android version is also being developed, Zenit reports.

Follow Marc Lallanilla on?Twitter?and?Google+. Follow us?@livescience,?Facebook?&?Google+. Original article onLiveScience.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/c-5e5aDK4EI/Shroud-of-Turin-authenticity-up-for-debate-again-after-new-report-video

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Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells

Friday, March 29, 2013

Clumps of ?-synuclein protein in nerve cells are hallmarks of many degenerative brain diseases, most notably Parkinson's disease.

"No one has been able to determine if Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, hallmark pathologies in Parkinson's disease can be degraded," says Virginia Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

"With the new neuron model system of Parkinson's disease pathologies our lab has developed recently, we demonstrated that these aberrant clumps in cells resist degradation as well as impair the function of the macroautophagy system, one of the major garbage disposal systems within the cell."

Macroautophagy, literally self eating, is the degradation of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular bits and pieces by a compartment in the cell called the lysosome.

Lee, also a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and colleagues published their results in the early online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry this week.

Alpha-synuclein (?-syn ) diseases all have clumps of the protein and include Parkinson's disease (PD), and array of related disorders: PD with dementia , dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. In most of these, ?-syn forms insoluble aggregates of stringy fibrils that accumulate in the cell body and extensions of neurons.

These unwanted ?-syn clumps are modified by abnormal attachments of many phosphate chemical groups as well as by the protein ubiquitin, a molecular tag for degradation. They are widely distributed in the central nervous system, where they are associated with neuron loss.

Using cell models in which intracellular ?-syn clumps accumulate after taking up synthetic ?-syn fibrils, the team showed that ?-syn inclusions cannot be degraded, even though they are located near the lysosome and the proteasome, another type of garbage disposal in the cell.

The ?-syn aggregates persist even after soluble ?-syn levels within the cell are substantially reduced, suggesting that once formed, the ?-syn inclusions are resistant to being cleared. What's more, they found that ?-syn aggregates impair the overall autophagy degradative process by delaying the maturation of autophagy machines known as autophagosomes, which may contribute to the increased cell death seen in clump-filled nerve cells. Understanding the impact of ?-syn aggregates on autophagy may help elucidate therapies for ?-syn-related neurodegeneration.

###

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/

Thanks to University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127519/Parkinson_s_disease_protein_gums_up_garbage_disposal_system_in_cells

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'G.I. Joe: Retaliation': The Reviews Are In!

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson takes the helm in this CGI-heavy reboot
By Driadonna Roland

Dwayne Johnson in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation"
Photo: Paramount

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704570/gi-joe-retaliation-movie-reviews.jhtml

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Cowboys, Romo agree on 6-year, $108M extension

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Tony Romo has a chance to start for the Dallas Cowboys longer than Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman. The question is whether he will ever match their Super Bowl pedigrees.

Romo signed a six-year contract extension worth $108 million Friday, with about half of that guaranteed to make him the highest-paid player in franchise history.

The agreement, reported on the team's website, will lower the quarterback's salary cap number for 2013 by about $5 million, giving the team more room to sign free agents and draft picks.

Romo, who turns 33 next month and was entering the final year of his contract, gets $55 million guaranteed.

Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco got $52 million guaranteed in the six-year, $120.6 million contract he signed with Baltimore earlier this month.

"I think it's just exciting more than anything that you know you're going to be here the rest of my career," Romo said in a video on the team's website that showed owner Jerry Jones exchanging high-fives with Romo's nearly 1-year-old son. "We're a team on the rise and I think it's going to show here going forward."

Romo could be with Dallas through 2019, giving him a chance to be the starter longer than the 11 seasons of Aikman and seven of Staubach, who was a part-time starter his first four years with the Cowboys.

Aikman and Staubach won five Super Bowls between them, while Romo has just one playoff win in six full seasons as the starter. He had a gut-wrenching playoff loss the year he took over midseason in 2006, flubbing the hold after driving the Cowboys into position for the go-ahead field goal in the final minutes.

Romo alluded to changes "behind the scenes" in the interview on the team's website, and Jones said in a statement that his quarterback will have "a significant level of input and contribution to the planning and implementing of our offensive approach ? both in the meeting room and on the field."

"Tony is uniquely qualified to lead this team at the quarterback position for the next several years," Jones said. "He knows how to run an offense and run a team."

Romo lost playoff-or-bust games in regular-season finales the past two years. That included a loss to Washington last season when Romo threw an interception with a chance to tie or win the game with a drive in the final 3 minutes.

A former Romo rival, Donovan McNabb, questioned the deal on Twitter.

"Wow really, with one playoff win," McNabb wrote. "You got to be kidding me."

Dez Bryant, who teamed with Romo for career highs of 1,382 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012, tweeted, "Congrats Big Tony on the contract extension."

Romo is the franchise leader in touchdown passes and the single-season leader in touchdowns, passing yards, completions and attempts. He had a career-high 4,903 passing yards in 2012 but matched his highest interception total at 19 and had his lowest quarterback rating at 90.5 rating.

His best rating of 102.5 came in 2011, when the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants with a playoff berth on the line in the finale. His other best season was 2009, which included his only playoff win against Philadelphia.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cowboys-romo-agree-6-108m-extension-211647794--nfl.html

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Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Prospects for a Senate deal on an ambitious rewrite of the nation's immigration laws improved markedly as business and labor appeared ready to set aside their differences over a new low-skilled worker program holding up the agreement.

The AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries. But on Friday, officials from both sides said there was basic agreement on the wage issue, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a final deal on the low-wage worker dispute was very close.

That likely would clear the way for Schumer and seven other senators in a bipartisan group to unveil legislation the week of April 8 to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, strengthening the border, cracking down on employers, allowing in tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers and providing a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

Under the emerging agreement between business and labor, a new "W'' visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The program would be capped at 200,000 a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs, personnel can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship. And currently there's no good way for employers to bring many low-skilled workers to the U.S. An existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

The Chamber of Commerce said workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department determines prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it varies from city to city.

There was also disagreement about how to deal with certain higher-skilled construction jobs, such as electricians and welders, and it appears those will be excluded from the deal, said Geoff Burr, vice president of federal affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors. Burr said his group opposes such an exclusion because, even though unemployment in the construction industry is high right now, at times when it is low there can be labor shortages in high-skilled trades, and contractors want to be able to bring in foreign workers. But unions pressed for the exclusion, Burr said.

The low-skilled worker issue had loomed for weeks as perhaps the toughest matter to settle in monthslong closed-door talks on immigration among the senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, when the legislation foundered on the Senate floor after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community.

The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. President Barack Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-30-Immigration/id-51f78aac15a646e3b109a9b176cede5f

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2011 Oklahoma Quake Tied to Wastewater Disposal at Oil Wells

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Findings published by the journal Geology are the latest to tie quakes to underground disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/science/earth/2011-oklahoma-quake-tied-to-wastewater-disposal-at-oil-wells.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Pentagon reduces unpaid leave for civilian workers to 14 days

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Department civilian employees will have to take 14 days of unpaid leave this year instead of the 22 previously planned after Congress adjusted Pentagon funding in a measure signed by the president this week, an official said on Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided on Wednesday to reduce the number of furlough days facing most of the Pentagon's nearly 800,000 civilian employees to 14 from 22.

The Pentagon had been set to send out furlough notices to employees last week, but delayed the move after Congress passed a measure that funded the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The department said it needed two weeks to see how the measure affected Pentagon finances.

The Defense Department is facing more than $40 billion in budget cuts this year under a process known as sequestration after Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on alternative ways to reduce deficits. The new cuts went into effect on March 1.

The Pentagon budget also has been squeezed by a temporary funding mechanism that left it with a shortfall in the main account used to pay civilian personnel.

The funding measure signed by Obama this week kept the budget cuts under sequestration intact but allocated more money to the account used to pay civilians, letting the Pentagon reduce the amount of unpaid leave.

The Pentagon has not announced how many of its nearly 800,000 civilians will have to take unpaid leave, but officials have predicted it could be in the range of 80 percent.

Officials have said civilians supporting the war effort would not be affected, but a final decision on how many other essential personnel would be exempted has not been announced.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editiing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-reduces-unpaid-leave-civilian-workers-14-days-111401604--business.html

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BracketRacket: A quiz, a thought and Peeps

Welcome to BracketRacket, your one-stop shopping place for all things NCAA.

For our first Sweet 16 edition, we've got a geography quiz by Shockers and Explorers, a coach in rarified air, a former Ohio attorney general rooting for Michigan State and Jim Larranaga's thought for the day. All that and some Bracket Bits that include all of Dunk City's postseason dunks and, in honor of Easter, Peeps.

___

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

Who says academics go by the wayside during the NCAA tournament?

La Salle and Wichita State took a geography quiz at the West Regional in Los Angeles, and the Shockers passed. Belying their name, the Explorers need to brush up a little.

Here's an excerpt of how it went from AP Sports Writer Beth Harris:

Question: Where is La Salle located?

Answer: "Philly, right? I believe it's Philly," Shockers guard Malcolm Armstead said.

Correct.

Question: Where is Wichita State located?

Answer: "What state is it in?" asked La Salle guard Ramon Galloway.

And it went downhill from there.

"I saw a store down here called Which Wich," Explorers guard Tyrone Garland offered, not-so-helpfully naming a national sandwich chain.

Guard Tyreek Duren pitched in: "Steve Zack said we passed the Wichita exit when we were going to the airport. He pointed it out and said, 'That's who we play.'"

Informed of their opponent's confusion, Shockers forward Cleanthony Early, of Middletown, N.Y., admitted he was initially stumped, too.

"I didn't know where Wichita was either before I went there," he said. "I had to do my research. When I first heard of it, I couldn't even pronounce it correctly."

After losing to the Shockers in the Sweet 16, the Explorers probably know a little bit more about Wichita as well.

___

ONE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

Forgive Dana Altman and the Oregon Ducks if they have a bit of an inferiority complex this weekend.

And no, this isn't a gripe about the selection committee's seeding.

The Ducks, being covered at the Sweet 16 by AP National Writer Nancy Armour, are in the Midwest Regional semifinals with a veritable Who's Who of college hoops.

Their opponent, Louisville, is a two-time national champion and was in the Final Four last year. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino is a surefire Hall of Famer, with two NCAA titles, 660 wins ? and counting ? and a 49-18 record in March alone.

There's also Duke, which won its fourth national title three years ago and whose coach, Mike Krzyzewski, has more wins than anyone else in Division I. (Coach K has a side gig, too, leading the U.S. men to gold medals at the last two Olympics.)

And don't forget Michigan State, which may as well include the Final Four on its schedule for as many times as Tom Izzo and the Spartans wind up there.

"Fortunately, it's our team going out there," Altman said.

Altman is no slouch, either. Oregon is the third school he's taken to the NCAA tournament, and the Ducks have had 20-win seasons in each of his three years as head coach. But Oregon is not exactly a tournament mainstay; this is the Ducks' first appearance since 2008, and their first trip to the regional semifinals since 2007.

"All three of those programs, because of their coaches, have great records, great traditions," Altman said. "We're trying to build a tradition. We're trying to build something that consistently competes year in and year out. That's a big challenge for us."

___

FORCED TO CHOOSE

Richard Cordray is the former Ohio attorney general and lives in Columbus, so he roots for Ohio State football.

He also went to Michigan State at the same time as Magic Johnson, so he pulls for Spartans basketball.

That left the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with a dilemma while filling out his NCAA tournament bracket. But when it came down to picking a team ? he has the Buckeyes and Spartans reaching the Final Four ? Cordray went with Michigan State.

"I always go with my heart," Cordray told AP Business Writer Christina Rexrode.

Cordray's roommate at Michigan State had a few classes with Magic and he saw firsthand the impact the oversized and gregarious point guard had on the school.

"It was really exciting and fun to watch," Cordray said. "Of course he left after two years and went on to fame and fortune. The rest of us toiled for four years finding ourselves. He's a great personality, he just glows and picks everybody up around him."

___

HOLD THAT THOUGHT

During his Final Four run with George Mason, Miami coach Jim Larranaga became known for giving a "thought for the day" to his players.

He's carried on the practice with the Hurricanes, although it's hard to tell what effect it has, as AP Sports Writer Joseph White in Washington, D.C., found out.

"Every day he gives us a thought, and something that sticks with us, and it's not something that's complicated," forward Julian Gamble said, "just something that's very simple and just to let you know that we have to enjoy these moments."

If that's the case, Gamble was asked, can he name a favorite "thought for the day?"

"Can't think of one. Know one?" he said, turning to teammate Shane Larkin.

"I can't think of one," Larkin said.

But Gamble made a nice recovery, saying: "The one for this game is keep 'em out of the paint and block out on rebounds, so that will be my favorite one for now."

Larranaga will have to come up with a new thought, one that will last the entire offseason, after the Hurricanes lost to Marquette in the Sweet 16.

Hopefully, it'll be one that sticks.

___

BRACKET BITS

That speck in the middle isn't a postage stamp. It's the court inside Cowboys Stadium for the Sweet 16: http://bit.ly/YGOWYA

Apparently the cordial feelings between Ohio State and Arizona aren't just between the coaches: http://bit.ly/10VBWPv

In honor of Easter, a bracket made out of Peeps: http://bit.ly/YGPJZm

Dunk City's dunks during the postseason, all of them: http://deadsp.in/XColZj

A couple of celeb sightings at Sweet 16 games: Drew Carey at Ohio State-Arizona in LA, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh at Syracuse-Indiana in DC.

___

STAT OF THE DAY

Dunk City is rattling the search engines along with rims.

According to Yahoo! Search, Florida Gulf Coast University is dominating as the most-searched team after becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16.

Searches for the Eagles spiked 3,367 percent this week and FGCU has gotten more searches than North Korea, Lindsay Lohan and Justin Bieber.

FGCU has been searched more than any of the remaining teams in the tournament, ahead of better-known schools such as Syracuse, Duke, Michigan and Kansas.

___

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We're so used to people not giving us credit. ... That fuels our fire," Marquette's Vander Blue said after the Golden Eagles beat Miami to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003.

___

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

East Region

Marquette 71, Miami 61

Syracuse 61, Indiana 50

West Region

Ohio State 73, Arizona 70

Wichita State 72, La Salle 58

___

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE

South Region

At Arlington, Texas

Kansas (31-5) vs. Michigan (28-7), 7:37 p.m.

Florida Gulf Coast (26-10) vs. Florida (28-7), 30 minutes following

Midwest Region

At Indianapolis

Louisville (31-5) vs. Oregon (28-8), 7:15 p.m.

Duke (29-5) vs. Michigan State (27-8), 30 minutes following

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bracketracket-quiz-thought-peeps-083117291--spt.html

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The Engadget Podcast is live at 3:30PM ET!

Hey you! We're back! Join Tim, Brian, Peter a bunch of mics and maybe a stuffed animal or two for this latest episode of the Engadget Podcast. Chat and video after the break!

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/_LuCWUqXDLs/

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Hagel says number of furlough days being reduced

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Pentagon says it's easing the impact of automatic budget cuts on as many as 800,000 civilian employees, sharply reducing the number of unpaid furlough days they will have to take in coming months.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday a new spending law lets the military services cut furlough days from 22 to 14.

The spending bill was signed earlier this week by President Barack Obama. It shifts $10 billion to operations and maintenance to give the Pentagon more flexibility to deal with billions of dollars in automatic, across-the-board cuts that kicked in March 1.

Hagel says the move will reduce the amount of cuts the military has to make in the 2014 budget year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hagel-says-number-furlough-days-being-reduced-191025003.html

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Girl Gets Wisdom Teeth Pulled, Bawls Over Murdered Molars

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Idaho boy detained after list of names and weapons found

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) ? An eastern Idaho junior high school student who police say compiled a list of students and police officers he planned to kill and gathered weapons for that purpose has been taken into custody.

Rigby Police Chief Keith Hammon said the boy's parents called police Monday evening when they found the list on an electronic tablet.

"It wasn't a huge list," Hammon said. "All of the parents of the students whose names were on the list have been notified."

Names and how many students and police officers were on the list have not been released publicly. The name of the juvenile taken into custody was also not released. Hammon said police believe no one else was involved in planning the possible attack.

Hammon said officers found a bag of weapons at the boy's home, including multiple knives, handguns and ammunition. Specifics about the weapons, belonging to the parents, weren't released.

Hammon said bullying at the boy's school, Rigby Junior High, was a factor.

"We're pleased to have been able to address this matter before anything came to fruition," Hammon said. "Hopefully, everything will work out for this young man in the long run."

Police planned to transport the boy to the Behavioral Health Center in Idaho Falls for a mental health evaluation.

No time frame was given for the possible attack.

"It was determined, however, that the junior high school was the target of the plot," Hammon said. "Of course, we take any threat seriously."

Students at the school are being encouraged to speak with a counselor if they desire.

"A threat like this tends to put people on edge," Hammon said. "However, our community is still safe."

___

Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/idaho-boy-detained-list-weapons-found-135105091.html

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Eggs-treme: Christie's auctions super-sized egg

LONDON (AP) ? It's a foot long, nearly nine inches in diameter, and would once have made a really, really, big omelet.

A London auction house is hoping buyers will be scrambling to take a crack at this natural wonder, a massive fossilized egg laid long ago on the island of Madagascar by a now-extinct elephant bird.

Christie's said Wednesday that the oversized ovum ? laid sometime before elephant birds were wiped out several hundred years ago ? is expected to sell for up to 30,000 pounds (roughly $45,000).

Flightless, fruit-gobbling elephant birds resembled giant ostriches and could grow to be 11 feet high (3.4 meters). Christie's says their eggs are 100 times the size of an average chicken's.

The egg is being sold during a travel and science sale on April 24.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eggs-treme-christies-auctions-super-sized-egg-133424322.html

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Gameloft bringing Iron Man 3 to Android on April 25

Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk. -- Tony Stark

We saw the teasers yesterday, and today Gameloft has announced that Iron Man 3 is coming to Android. It's set to launch on April 25, and it looks like a new breed of endless runner. 

Before you complain about yet another endless running game, be sure to check the trailer above. Flying above city streets, firing a lazer at obstacles and enemies is a far cry from Temple Run. This looks like a ton of fun, and even if you're not a fan of Iron Man, who doesn't love to blow the bad guys out of the sky?

No news on what this one's going to cost, all Gameloft is telling us is the date and where to see the trailer. When it comes, we'll have a good look at it.

Source: @Gameloft

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Jv1YdeRobBg/story01.htm

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Tabloid Klaim: Kim Kardashian Faking Pregnancy for Major Payday!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/tabloid-klaim-kim-kardashian-faking-pregnancy-for-major-payday/

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SAfrica: Mandela in hospital with lung infection

FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool, File)

FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday May 30, 2012 file photo South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela, after receiving a torch to celebrate the African National Congress' centenary from ANC chairperson Baleka Mbete in Mandela's home village of Qunu in rural eastern South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Lulamile Feni-Daily Dispatch) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

In this photo taken on Friday, March 15, 2013, a man look's at a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela at the entrance to the Robben Island ferry departure point at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection, South Africa said Thursday, March 28, 2013. Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times since last year, mostly recently earlier this month when he received what a presidential spokesman described as a "successful" medical test. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection, South Africa said Thursday.

Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times since last year, most recently earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sad," said Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident. "I just try to pray all the time. He must come very strong again."

The Nobel laureate was admitted to a hospital just before midnight Wednesday "due to the recurrence of his lung infection," the office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement.

"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," the statement said. It appealed "for understanding and privacy in order to allow space to the doctors to do their work."

It did not identify the hospital. In December, Mandela spent three weeks in a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj acknowledged there was cause for worry, but said the medical specialists treating Mandela were very competent.

"The health has been OK given his age, but the downturn last night ? obviously when the lung infection recurs, the doctors will want to do everything possible and make sure that they don't allow the infection to spread, that they arrest it as quickly as possible," Maharaj said in an interview with eNCA, a South African news channel.

He said there had been a global outpouring of messages expressing concern for Mandela's health.

Zuma wished Mandela a speedy recovery, referring to him affectionately by his clan name, "Madiba."

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery," the presidential statement quoted Zuma as saying.

Mandela spent a night in a hospital and was released on March 10 following a medical test. At that time, spokesman Maharaj said Mandela was "well."

In February 2012, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.

He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.

Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela served 27 years in prison, where he contracted tuberculosis, before being released in 1990. He later became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress, helping to negotiate a relatively peaceful end to apartheid despite fears of much greater bloodshed. He served one five-year term as president before retiring.

Perceived successes during Mandela's tenure include the introduction of a constitution with robust protections for individual rights and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that heard testimony about apartheid-era violations of human rights as a kind of national therapy session. South Africa still struggles with crime, economic inequality and other social ills.

Mandela last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

He had spent more time in the rural village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up. He was visited there in August by Hillary Clinton, who was U.S. secretary of state at the time.

Doctors said in December that he should remain at his home in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton for the time being to be close to medical facilities that can provide the care he needs.

During Mandela's previous hospitalizations, the South African government had criticized some media outlets for what it described as rumor-mongering and a failure to respect the privacy of the former leader and his family. The media, in turn, expressed concern about an alleged lack of transparency and occasionally conflicting reports from officials.

Maharaj, the presidential spokesman, told eNCA on Thursday that authorities were mindful of public interest in Mandela's health, but would allow the medical team to focus on treating the former president.

"Our updates will be dependent always on what the doctors tell us and we are not pressurizing them to give us updates every few hours," he said. "We think that they should attend to their work. We are confident that they know that if there is an upturn for the good, or for the bad, they will always keep us informed."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-28-South%20Africa-Mandela/id-d3289dccf0b74079b178950bd2b659bb

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Black market killing chimps and gorillas

BANGKOK (AP) -- The multibillion-dollar trade in illegal wildlife ? clandestine trafficking that has driven iconic creatures like the tiger to near-extinction ? is also threatening the survival of great apes, a new U.N. report says.

Endangered chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos are disappearing from the wild in frightening numbers, as private owners pay top dollar for exotic pets, while disreputable zoos, amusement parks and traveling circuses clamor for smuggled primates to entertain audiences.

More than 22,000 great apes are estimated to have been traded illegally over a seven-year period ending in 2011. That's about 3,000 a year; more than half are chimpanzees, the U.N. report said.

"These great apes make up an important part of our natural heritage. But as with all things of value, great apes are used by man for commercial profit and the illegal trafficking of the species constitutes a serious threat to their existence," Henri Djombo, a government minister from the Republic of Congo, was quoted as saying.

The U.N. report paints a dire picture of the fight to protect vulnerable and dwindling flora and fauna from organized criminal networks that often have the upper hand.

Apes are hunted in their own habitats, which are concentrated in central and western Africa, by sophisticated smugglers who transport them on private cargo planes using small airstrips in the African bush. Their destination is usually the Middle East and Asia.

In countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon, great apes are purchased to display as show pieces in private gardens and menageries.

In Asia, the animals are typically destined for public zoos and amusement parks. China is a main destination for gorillas and chimpanzees. Thailand and Cambodia have recorded cases of orangutans being used for entertainment in "clumsy boxing matches," the report said.

Lax enforcement and corruption make it easy to smuggle the animals through African cities like Nairobi, Kenya, and Khartoum, Sudan, which are trafficking hubs. Bangkok, the Thai capital, is a major hub for the orangutan trade.

Conditions are usually brutal. In February 2005, customs officials at the Nairobi airport seized a large crate that had arrived from Egypt. The crate held six chimpanzees and four monkeys, stuffed into tiny compartments. The crate had been refused at the airport in Cairo, a well-known trafficking hub for shipment to the Middle East, and returned to Kenya. One chimp died of hunger and thirst.

The proliferation of logging and mining camps throughout Africa has also increased the demand for primate meat. Adults and juveniles are killed for consumption, and their orphans are captured to sell into the live trade. Villagers also pluck primates out of rural areas to sell in the cities.

Humans also have been encroaching upon and destroying the primates' natural habitats, destroying their forest homes to build infrastructure and for other purposes. That forces the animals to move into greater proximity and conflict with people.

Sometimes animals are even the victims of war.

Arrests are rare largely because authorities in Africa, where most great apes originate, do not have the policing resources to cope with the criminal poaching networks. Corruption is rampant and those in authority sometimes are among those dealing in the illegal trade. Between 2005 and 2011, only 27 arrests were made in Africa and Asia.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates the trade of animals and plants to ensure their survival. Under the agreement, trade in great apes caught in the wild is illegal. But traffickers often get around that by falsely declaring animals as bred in captivity.

The orangutan is the only great ape found in Asia. One species, the Sumatran orangutan, is critically endangered, with its population having dropped by 80 percent over the last 75 years. Their numbers are in great peril due to the pace of land clearance and forest destruction for industrial or agricultural use.

The report estimates that nearly all of the orangutan's natural habitat will be disturbed or destroyed by the year 2030.

"There are no wild spaces left for them," said Douglas Cress, a co-author of the report and head of a U.N. sponsored program that works for the survival of great apes. "There'll be nothing left at this rate. It's down to the bone. If it disappears, they go, too."

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chimps-gorillas-other-apes-being-130310115.html

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British MPs urge legal challenge over transaction tax

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-mps-urge-legal-challenge-over-transaction-tax-141403375--sector.html

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Insync, A Google Drive Client For Power Users & Businesses, Exits Beta With Pro Features & Pricing Plans

Insync, a startup offering an advanced, business-focused alternative to the Google Drive desktop client, is today taking the service out of a beta with a 1.0 release for Mac and Windows users. The updated client application includes a number of features not found in the earlier build (or in Google Drive itself, for that matter), including support for multiple Google accounts, selective sync, desktop notifications, support for external and network drives, built-in sharing, and more.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4TZXoDGE9rg/

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Yankees complete trade for Vernon Wells

In this photo taken March 23, 2013, Los Angeles Angels' Vernon Wells strikes out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning of a spring training baseball game in Tempe, Ariz. Wells might become the latest addition to the New York Yankees' injury-depleted lineup. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

In this photo taken March 23, 2013, Los Angeles Angels' Vernon Wells strikes out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning of a spring training baseball game in Tempe, Ariz. Wells might become the latest addition to the New York Yankees' injury-depleted lineup. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

In this photo taken March 23, 2013, Los Angeles Angels' Vernon Wells bats against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning of a spring training baseball game in Tempe, Ariz. Wells might become the latest addition to the New York Yankees' injury-depleted lineup. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? On his first day with the New York Yankees, Vernon Wells recalled a game in the International League more than a decade ago and he saw Darryl Strawberry in uniform for the opposition.

"I remember the first time I played the Triple-A Yankees, when I was 20 years old," he said Tuesday. "It was the first that I actually got goosebumps playing against another team. And from that day I've quietly been a Yankee fan."

Wells' trade to the Yankees was finalized Tuesday, when New York dealt a pair of minor leaguers to the Angels: outfielder Exircado Cayones and left-hander Kramer Sneed. The Angels will pay about $28.5 million of the $42 million Wells is owed over the final two seasons of his contract.

"Obviously not when we've played against them," Wells said, "but every time the Yankees were in the playoffs and I was sitting at home, I was cheering for the Yankees. Somewhat of a dream come true."

Los Angeles will pay about $28.5 million of the $42 million Wells is owed over the final two seasons of the $126 million, seven-year contract he signed with Toronto.

The Yankees will pay most of his salary this year, a move designed to help the Angels to stay under the luxury tax threshold of $178 million. Los Angeles will pay most of his salary in 2014, when the Yankees hope to get under the threshold as it rises to $189 million.

Wells was down to play left field and bat sixth for the Yankees against Houston on Tuesday night. With the Angels, he figured to be a spare part. The Los Angeles outfield is set with Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos, and the Angels have Mark Trumbo at designated hitter.

"It came as a shock," Wells said. "Once you get toward the end of spring training, you think, all right, this is how it's going to be. They called me into the office and said they have a deal in place. When they told me the team, I tried not to smile too big in the office. And I'm here."

A three-time All-Star, Wells hit .230 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs last year and has just 36 homers and 95 RBIs in two seasons with the Angels. He is batting .361 in spring training with four homers and 11 RBIs in 36 at-bats.

The 21-year-old Cayones, acquired by the Yankees from Pittsburgh last year in the deal sending A.J. Burnett to the Pirates, hit .228 with 15 RBIs last year in 158 at-bats for the Class A Staten Island Yankees.

Sneed, 24, was 0-7 with a 5.37 ERA at Class A Tampa last season.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-26-BBA-Yankees-Angels-Trade/id-fbf7ec64917447cba88caeec8582be8b

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Offed the Record

Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky in 2011.

Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters

The Russian edition of Forbes magazine published an interview that had been conducted less than 24 hours before exiled Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky?s mysterious death. Berezovsky was quoted as saying he had lost ?the point of life.? Berezovsky?s comments had been made off the record, but Forbes decided to publish them. Is it ethical for journalists to publish off-the-record comments after a source?s death?

Depends on whom you ask. As the Explainer has previously explained, ?off the record? is a nebulous concept that depends on the reporter, source, and situation. Typically, statements made off the record may not be quoted, and information disclosed off the record may not be published unless the journalist is able to find a second source willing to go on the record or on background with the same information. (?On background? means that the source agrees that the journalist may publish certain information as long as the journalist doesn?t identify the source.) The exact parameters of ?off the record? are typically negotiated between a journalist and a source before an interview begins. But often those negotiations don?t include discussion of whether the source?s comments will remain off the record in perpetuity or until the source?s death, which means that a journalist must decide whether to publish off-the-record quotes posthumously on a case-by-case basis.

To decide whether to publish such comments, a journalist may weigh the source?s reason for wanting to keep the comments out of the public sphere, in addition to weighing whether disseminating those comments would contribute to the public good. In the case of Berezovsky, since his comments during the Forbes interview shed light on his mental state before his death, they arguably are in the public interest. In January 2011, Fortune magazine published off-the-record information about Steve Jobs? cancer treatment after its source, Apple director Jerry York, died. Fortune?s reporter wrote ?With York's death, the off-the-record agreement is no longer in place,? but other media professionals disagreed.

Sometimes journalists agree to keep entire conversations off the record for the sake of cultivating relationships with their sources. In Washington, D.C., it?s common for political figures to attend dinners with journalists with the understanding that any comments made over the course of the evening will remain off the record. Berezovsky?s final off-the-record conversation with Forbes took place at London?s Four Seasons restaurant.

Got a question about today?s news??Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Todd Gitlin of Columbia Journalism School.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=1f127a633cdc39f558624558c6ffbbd7

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'Wolverine' Teaser Makes Us Question Everything

Everyone knows that Wolverine is the fan-favorite, self-healing X-Men member that can slice and dice is way out of about any situation thanks to his nifty mutation, but MTV News' exclusive look at his upcoming film, "The Wolverine," is making us question that. The tease, which is introduced by the Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, hints [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/03/26/wolverine-teaser/

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Antibiotic may provide benefit for treatment of respiratory disorder

Mar. 26, 2013 ? Among patients with the lung disorder non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, treatment with the antibiotic azithromycin or erythromycin resulted in improvement in symptoms but also increased the risk of antibiotic resistance, according to two studies appearing in the March 27 issue of JAMA.

Bronchiectasis is characterized by abnormal widening of the bronchi (air tubes that branch deep into the lungs) and can cause recurrent lung infections, a disabling cough, shortness of breath, and coughing up blood. "If progressive, this process may lead to respiratory failure and the need for lung transplantation or to death," according to background information in one study. Macrolide (a class of antibiotics) antibiotics have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that conceivably would provide effective treatment of bronchiectasis. These antibiotics have been shown beneficial in treating cystic fibrosis (CF), and findings from small studies suggest a benefit in non-CF bronchiectasis.

Josje Altenburg, M.D., of the Medical Centre Alkmaar, the Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a multicenter trial to investigate whether 1 year of low-dose macrolide treatment added to standard therapy is effective in reducing exacerbation frequency in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted between April 2008 and September 2010 in 14 hospitals in the Netherlands among 83 outpatients with non-CF bronchiectasis and 3 or more lower respiratory tract infections in the preceding year. Patients received azithromycin (250 mg daily) or placebo for 12 months.

Forty-three participants (52 percent) received azithromycin and 40 (48 percent) received placebo and were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. A total of 117 exacerbations treated with antibiotics were reported during 1 year of treatment, 78 of which occurred in the placebo group. "During the treatment period, the median [midpoint] number of exacerbations in the azithromycin group was 0, compared with 2 in the placebo group. Of the 40 participants receiving placebo, 32 (80 percent) had at least 1 exacerbation during the study period. In the 43 participants receiving azithromycin, 20 (46.5 percent) had at least 1 exacerbation in the same period, yielding an absolute risk reduction of 33.5 percent. The number of patients needed to treat with azithromycin to maintain clinical stability was 3.0," the authors write.

"Gastrointestinal adverse effects occurred in 40 percent of patients in the azithromycin group and in 5 percent in the placebo group but without need for discontinuation of study treatment. A macrolide resistance rate of 88 percent was noted in azithromycin-treated individuals, compared with 26 percent in the placebo group."

"We conclude that macrolide maintenance therapy was effective in reducing exacerbations in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis. In this trial, azithromycin treatment resulted in improved lung function and better quality of life but involved an increase in gastrointestinal adverse effects and high rates of macrolide resistance," the authors write.

In another study, David J. Serisier, M.B.B.S., D.M., F.R.A.C.P., of Mater Adult Hospital, South Brisbane, Australia, and colleagues tested the hypothesis that low-dose erythromycin would reduce pulmonary exacerbations in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis with a history of frequent exacerbations.

The study consisted of a 12-month randomized controlled trial of erythromycin in currently nonsmoking, adult patients with non-CF bronchiectasis with a history of 2 or more infective exacerbations in the preceding year. The study was undertaken between October 2008 and December 2011 in a university teaching hospital. Patients received twice-daily erythromycin ethylsuccinate (400 mg) or matching placebo. The primary measured outcome was the annualized average rate of protocol-defined pulmonary exacerbations (PDPEs) per patient. Secondary outcomes included macrolide resistance and lung function.

Six-hundred seventy-nine patients were screened, 117 were randomized (58 placebo, 59 erythromycin), and 107 (91.5 percent) completed the study. The researchers found that erythromycin significantly reduced PDPEs (76 for the erythromycin group vs. 114 for the placebo group; average 1.29 vs. 1.97 respectively, per patient per year). The number of patients treated with erythromycin who had zero PDPEs was 20 (vs. 16 for placebo), and 10 patients had more than 2 PDPEs (vs. 18, respectively).

Erythromycin also reduced PDPEs in the prespecified subgroup with baseline Pseudomonas aeruginosa airway infection. In addition, there were significantly fewer total respiratory events (total PDPEs plus non-PDPEs) in the erythromycin group (111 vs. 176 for placebo; average, 1.88 vs. 3.03 per patient per year).

"Erythromycin reduced 24-hour sputum production and attenuated [lessened] lung function decline compared with placebo. Erythromycin increased the proportion of macrolide-resistant oropharyngeal streptococci," the authors write.

"In conclusion, long-term low-dose erythromycin significantly reduced exacerbations, protected against lung function decline, reduced sputum production, and significantly increased macrolide resistance in oropharyngeal streptococci. The bacterial resistance caused by macrolide therapy mandates a cautious application of this therapy in clinical practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate the possibility that P aerugmosa-infected individuals with frequent exacerbations may represent an appropriate subgroup for limitation of this therapy."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The JAMA Network Journals.

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

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Journal References:

1. Josje Altenburg et al. Effect of Azithromycin Maintenance Treatment on Infectious Exacerbations Among Patients With Non?Cystic Fibrosis BronchiectasisThe BAT Randomized Controlled TrialAzithromycin for Adults With Non-CF Bronchiectasis. JAMA, 2013; 309 (12): 1251 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.1937
2. David J. Serisier et al. Effect of Long-term, Low-Dose Erythromycin on Pulmonary Exacerbations Among Patients With Non?Cystic Fibrosis BronchiectasisThe BLESS Randomized Controlled TrialLow-Dose Erythromycin for Pulmonary Exacerbations. JAMA, 2013; 309 (12): 1260 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.2290

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/~3/805Uy541XCM/130326162332.htm

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4 Packaging Trends for Businesses - Better Business Center - Tork

Product packaging has emerged as an essential way for businesses to attract customers and differentiate themselves among the competitive clutter.?

A recent study by MWV showed that 64 percent of consumers will sometimes buy a product off the shelf without prior knowledge ? an indication of how important first impressions are. Thus, businesses are putting more resources into packaging and hiring engineers to specialize in packaging elements such as displays, graphics and structure.?

Planning the packaging should begin when you plan the product. To do this, understanding key industry packaging trends will help you take full advantage of the opportunities available.?

Here are four packaging trends to help you plan your next product launch:?

1.?????? Packaging part of brand image. Businesses want to stay top-of-mind among consumers in order to distinguish themselves from competitors. Product packaging can help make that difference as a tangible method to showcase a brand right before consumers interact with the product. As a result, businesses should take the opportunity to leverage product packaging in order to boost brand recognition.

2.?????? Going green more important than ever. With 50 percent of American adults sustainability at least sometimes influences their choices when selecting products, a business, university or a restaurant to patronize, being environmentally and socially responsible has become a key factor in improving reputation. Green packaging is one way for businesses to illustrate their holistic approach.

3.?????? Less space, smaller packages. Convenience is key and having bulky packages can be frustrating for some customers ? whether they are being stored or transported. Businesses are searching for ways to reduce space waste and minimize the amount of materials used. According to a World Packaging Organisation report, the use of lighter corrugated containerboard has become a significant trend, particularly in developed countries.

4.?????? Use of automation to simplify processes. New technology has helped simplify the packaging process to the point where even mom and pop shops can join in on the fun. According to PMMI?s 2012 Shipments Study, shipments of U.S. packaging machinery grew 19 percent in 2011. Businesses are seeing the benefits to automation and are adapting to packaging machinery.

Source: http://betterbusiness.torkusa.com/4-packaging-trends-for-businesses/

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Paris Hilton: Swatting Victim Number 247!

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Rabbi Elan Adler Visits Auschwitz and Pres. Obama Visits Israel

A7 Radio's "The Derech Eretz Show" with Elan Adler

U.S. President Barak Obama came to Israel and did his best to reset American-Israeli relations as well as personal ties between himself and Prime Minister Netanyahu. What kind of derech eretz did Obama give and what kind did he get? How do we judge the entirety of a person? By words? Deeds? Beliefs? Did those who vehemently disagree with him cross any lines of decency, or did they not go far enough in their critique? Elan examines his visit through the prism of Derech Eretz.

Also,?Rabbi Adler?shares about his recent journey to Poland, seeing first-hand evidence of an absolute absence of derech eretz - merciless torture, dispassionate killings, a profound and depraved indifference to human life that is horrifying to absorb. Where was God? Where was mankind? A tough journey with tough questions.

I wish all my listeners joyous holidays, a Happy Passover and the quickening of the redemption of the Jewish people and a world redeemed of hate, bigotry and bloodshed.

Be in touch anytime at rabbiadlerinisrael@gmail.com and keep that derech eretz thing going, my friends, Shalom!

In front of the remains of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland with Israeli flags.

Rabbi Elan Adler served as a pulpit Rabbi for 25 years in Stamford, Ct and Baltimore, Md prior to making aliyah in 2010. Rabbi Adler received his Smicha from Yeshiva University, had the privilege of being an aide to Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik for two years, was an activist Rabbi in support of Israel and aliyah, and served as the President of the Baltimore Board of Rabbis. During his tenure as a Rabbi, he was known for being an engaging speaker and teacher, never failing to make easy connections with Jewish people as well as the non-Jewish and African American community. While serving congregations, he was appreciated for being welcoming, embracing of all people, and bringing congregants closer to their Jewish heritage. For more information on Rabbi Adler visit http://elanadler.com/

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/4585

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