Maggie Gyllenhaal walks 5-year-old Ramona to school! Plus, see more photos of celebs spending time with their loved ones!
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
FDA revisits safety of newer birth control drugs (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Birth control drugs that were heavily promoted as having fewer side effects and the ability to clear up acne and other hormonal bothers are under new scrutiny from safety regulators.
Research suggesting that newer birth control formulations are more likely to cause blood clots than older drugs has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to consider new safety measures in meetings later this week. The increased risk is slight, but significant because blood clots can cause heart attacks, strokes and blockages in lungs or blood vessels, which can be fatal.
Regulators could order new warning labels on several contraceptives that gained popularity in the last decade, including Bayer's pill Yaz, which was the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. for 2008 and 2009.
Yaz, Yasmin and similar drugs use a version of a female hormone which appears to reduce side effects found in older drugs, including bloating and mood swings.
Bayer AG spent more than $270 million on TV and magazine advertisements for Yaz between 2007 and 2010, according TNS Media Intelligence. Such big-budget campaigns are rare for birth control products. One advertisement featured young women singing the Twisted Sister anthem, "We're Not Gonna Take It," while popping balloons labeled "moodiness," "bloating" and "acne."
Sales of Yaz have fallen since regulators forced Bayer to correct advertisements that overstated Yaz's benefits and as safety questions drew scrutiny in both the U.S. and Europe.
FDA also is reviewing research on clot risks associated with Johnson & Johnson's weekly Ortho Evra patch, which is marketed as an "option for busy women who are looking to simplify life." The drug uses a different version of the female hormone progestin.
Millions of women have used the products since they launched a decade ago, but recent studies comparing the medical histories of women taking the newer drugs to older ones suggest a slightly higher risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs. Last year, the U.S. market for female contraceptive drugs totaled $3.4 billion, according to IMS Health.
Sorting out the blood clot risk of birth control drugs is especially difficult because all hormone-based drugs increase the risk of clotting. Further complicating the matter is that clots can be caused by factors such as smoking, obesity or family history.
Yaz, Yasmin and other pills containing a synthetic hormone called drospirenone are the focus of a discussion Thursday. The next day's meeting focuses on the Ortho Evra patch, which uses the hormone norelgestromin.
Bayer says its studies have shown no difference in blood clot risk between its drugs and the older birth control drugs. But several large, independent studies suggest the risk with Yaz and similar medications is slightly higher. The latest analysis by the FDA estimates the risk of a blood clot with drospirenone-containing pills is 1.5-fold higher than other hormone-based contraceptives. That translates into an estimated 10 in 10,000 women on the newer drugs experiencing a blood clot, compared with 6 in 10,000 women on older contraceptives, according to the FDA.
"It's a very small percentage of patients that develop these, but it's such a serious side effect that I think doctors have to use a lot of caution," said Dr. Jennifer Wu, of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
Even if Yaz and other newer drugs get additional warning labels some doctors say they don't expect to stop prescribing them. They point out that the risk of blood clots with any birth control pill is still far lower than that associated with pregnancy and birth, when hormone levels and reduced blood flow increase clotting risk.
"At the end of the day I tell my patients the absolute risk is still very, very low compared to pregnancy and post-partum risk," said Dr. Rebecca Starck, of Cleveland Clinic's Fairview Hospital. "There are still many benefits to combination birth control pills."
The Ortho Evra patch already carries warning labels about an increased risk of blood clots compared with pills. Some, but not all, studies suggest patch users have twice the risk of clots. The FDA will try to further define that risk using the latest data.
Most birth control drugs use a combination of two female hormones, estrogen and progestin, to stop ovulation and help block sperm. But for decades many women have reported bloating and mood swings as side effects.
Introduced in 2001, Yasmin was the first birth control pill to use a new form of progestin called drospirenone, which appeared to have fewer side effects. The reformulated version of the drug, Yaz, was approved in 2006 with approval to claim on the label that it decreased acne and a severe type of mood disorder.
Yaz quickly grew into the best-selling birth control pill in the U.S. Sales plummeted more than 50 percent in 2010, after the company was forced to run corrective TV and magazine advertisements. Among other problems, the FDA said the company's commercials suggested Yaz could treat premenstrual syndrome when it has only been shown to decrease incidence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe mood disorder associated with major depression. Yaz currently ranks fourth in sales among contraceptive pills in the U.S.
Newer drugs like Yaz are no more effective than older pills, generally allowing one unplanned pregnancy per year for every 100 women.
"Many women will do fine on the older generation drugs, but some women will not," said Dr. Petra Casey, of the Mayo Clinic. "I think the newer drugs help many women in terms of mood and the water retention."
About 4,000 lawsuits against Bayer argue that any additional risk with the newer drugs should have been detected and emphasized to the public.
On Thursday, Cindy Rippee will tell the FDA panel about her 20-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who died Christmas Eve 2008 when a blood clot traveled to her lung. Rippee says her daughter had been taking Yasmin for about two months.
"I really feel that if my daughter had been told about the increased risk she would have made a different decision," said Rippee, of Escondido, Calif.
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If you?re not into skiing, check out Uclear for motorcycle ($199.95) and bike ($229.95) helmet systems, too.
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/12/02/enjoy-clear-communications-and-music-while-you-ski-with-uclear/
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Snagged!
Apologies if this isn't formal or protocol but I'm fairly new at this affair.
Almost two months ago I started my own roleplay in this site but 'Life' happened and I have left my roleplay unattended since then. It may as well be considered dead by all standards so the question is how do I get this roleplay back up and running again? Or is it to the point where it is doomed to be left in a roleplaying scrapyard?
I just need a little something to breath a little life back into it although I have pondered about "advertising" it in other forums but I'm not too sure if that is appropiate or not.
Thank you for your time.
"The lowest form of life is a politician. The lowest form of politician is a liberal democrat."
-General George S. Patton
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/WIwc3sYZsMY/viewtopic.php
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Icon of US military now in Iraqi hands (AP)
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq ? Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war's course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers.
Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp, while others sat down with a cigar and a can of nonalcoholic beer hoping for a respite from incoming rockets or mortar shells.
Along another lake some distance away, a jailed Saddam tended to tomatoes and cucumbers in a small, walled-off enclosure with guards patrolling overhead.
Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.
From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington, and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.
It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.
On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.
"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson. He said that by 2 p.m. on Friday, there was no longer any U.S. troop presence at the base.
The transfer of the country's largest American military base to Iraqi custody happened with little fanfare, and no ceremony was held.
The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park, or the hours during which the casino was open.
Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.
To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine structures of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.
In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.
Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.
"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline, which Sumner said could have also been a bobcat, was spotted wandering around the base.
In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.
But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.
"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.
Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.
The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.
By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:
? The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.
? A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.
? A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.
? Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.
If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.
At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.
Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.
One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.
Off-limits to most troops was the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.
The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Christmas burst reveals neutron star collision
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tK4zt3NwlHjJJnbOaV7Eo4lvgoRwecquq3cLspBfI8-E9E7mT3150xz-WgJhegKUttiYIq9q2JRB-o-oZRCmA2Dt370f_oQX1IU7AivWo=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 1-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Nancy Ambrosiano
nwa@lanl.gov
505-667-0471
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory
Old model, new data: A match made in the heavens
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico -- A strangely powerful, long-lasting gamma-ray burst on Christmas Day, 2010 has finally been analyzed to the satisfaction of a multinational research team. Called the Christmas Burst, GRB 101225A was freakishly lengthy and it produced radiation at unusually varying wavelengths. But by matching the data with a model developed in 1998, the team was able to characterize the star explosion as a neutron star spiraling into the heart of its companion star.
The paper, "The unusual gamma-ray burst GRB 101225A from a helium star/neutron star merger at redshift 0.33," appears in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature. Christina Thne of Spain's Instituto de Astrofsica de Andaluca is the lead author, and Los Alamos computational scientist Chris Fryer is a contributor.
Fryer, of the Lab's Computer, Computational, and Statistical Sciences Division, realized that the peculiar evolution of the thermal emission (first showing X-rays with a characteristic radius of ~1011 cm followed by optical and infra-red emission at ~1014 cm) could be naturally explained by a model he and Stan Woosley of the University of California at Santa Cruz had developed in 1998.
"The Helium Merger Model explained all the properties we were seeing," Fryer said, although he noted that proving this required a series of additional computational models by the international theory team studying this "Christmas burst" and the work still under way. Fryer is working with Wesley Even of the Los Alamos X Theoretical Design Division, using the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Simulation and Computing codes to study the emission of this burst in more detail.
"What we think happened is that a primary neutron star was orbiting in a close binary relationship with a companion star, and the companion expanded into a gas giant phase and enveloped the neutron star," Fryer said. "The neutron star spiraled into the core of the helium companion, with the friction of that passage ejecting the helium star's envelope and creating a shell that produced the conditions needed to explain the different characteristic radii that we were seeing."
When the neutron star transformed into a black hole and the jet of gamma rays blasted outward, it struck the shell of the old star's gas envelope at 1014 centimeters, which produced anomalous results and made this GRB look very different from previously seen events. Normally GRBs are incredibly brief, powerful, and pretty much invisible astronomical events that are almost gone before they're detected.
Since the 2004 launch of the NASA satellite Swift, which carries a device called a Burst Alert Telescope, with triggering software developed at Los Alamos, GRBs have been identified and documented on a regular basis. And when Swift tagged this Christmas Burst, the international teams jumped to their telescopes and computers to capture it. Identifying it, however, has taken nearly a year.
Having the existing model on hand, one that seemed unlikely to ever be tested in the real world, was a happy coincidence, Fryer said. "We really thought it was unlikely that the field would produce data sufficient to prove this neutron/helium star collision scenario, and yet, here it has done it."
This burst may be one of a class of bursts (including XRF060218) that is explained by this model. "This is the game we're in right now with astronomical transients," Fryer said. "Weird objects can teach us a lot about the physics and we are no longer throwing them out as being too weird to explain. Now we can compare our unusual models to some of these unusual GRBs and they're starting to match up."
###
About Los Alamos National Laboratory (http://www.lanl.gov)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 1-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Nancy Ambrosiano
nwa@lanl.gov
505-667-0471
DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory
Old model, new data: A match made in the heavens
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico -- A strangely powerful, long-lasting gamma-ray burst on Christmas Day, 2010 has finally been analyzed to the satisfaction of a multinational research team. Called the Christmas Burst, GRB 101225A was freakishly lengthy and it produced radiation at unusually varying wavelengths. But by matching the data with a model developed in 1998, the team was able to characterize the star explosion as a neutron star spiraling into the heart of its companion star.
The paper, "The unusual gamma-ray burst GRB 101225A from a helium star/neutron star merger at redshift 0.33," appears in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature. Christina Thne of Spain's Instituto de Astrofsica de Andaluca is the lead author, and Los Alamos computational scientist Chris Fryer is a contributor.
Fryer, of the Lab's Computer, Computational, and Statistical Sciences Division, realized that the peculiar evolution of the thermal emission (first showing X-rays with a characteristic radius of ~1011 cm followed by optical and infra-red emission at ~1014 cm) could be naturally explained by a model he and Stan Woosley of the University of California at Santa Cruz had developed in 1998.
"The Helium Merger Model explained all the properties we were seeing," Fryer said, although he noted that proving this required a series of additional computational models by the international theory team studying this "Christmas burst" and the work still under way. Fryer is working with Wesley Even of the Los Alamos X Theoretical Design Division, using the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Simulation and Computing codes to study the emission of this burst in more detail.
"What we think happened is that a primary neutron star was orbiting in a close binary relationship with a companion star, and the companion expanded into a gas giant phase and enveloped the neutron star," Fryer said. "The neutron star spiraled into the core of the helium companion, with the friction of that passage ejecting the helium star's envelope and creating a shell that produced the conditions needed to explain the different characteristic radii that we were seeing."
When the neutron star transformed into a black hole and the jet of gamma rays blasted outward, it struck the shell of the old star's gas envelope at 1014 centimeters, which produced anomalous results and made this GRB look very different from previously seen events. Normally GRBs are incredibly brief, powerful, and pretty much invisible astronomical events that are almost gone before they're detected.
Since the 2004 launch of the NASA satellite Swift, which carries a device called a Burst Alert Telescope, with triggering software developed at Los Alamos, GRBs have been identified and documented on a regular basis. And when Swift tagged this Christmas Burst, the international teams jumped to their telescopes and computers to capture it. Identifying it, however, has taken nearly a year.
Having the existing model on hand, one that seemed unlikely to ever be tested in the real world, was a happy coincidence, Fryer said. "We really thought it was unlikely that the field would produce data sufficient to prove this neutron/helium star collision scenario, and yet, here it has done it."
This burst may be one of a class of bursts (including XRF060218) that is explained by this model. "This is the game we're in right now with astronomical transients," Fryer said. "Weird objects can teach us a lot about the physics and we are no longer throwing them out as being too weird to explain. Now we can compare our unusual models to some of these unusual GRBs and they're starting to match up."
###
About Los Alamos National Laboratory (http://www.lanl.gov)
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/danl-cbr120111.php
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