Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for 1 Jan. 2013

Public release date: 31-Dec-2012
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Contact: Angela Collom
acollom@acponline.org
215-351-2653
American College of Physicians

Embargoed news from Annals of Internal Medicine

1. Distributing Naloxone to Heroin Users May be a Cost-effective Way to Reduce Overdose Deaths

Distributing naloxone to heroin users to use to reverse overdose may be a cost-effective strategy to reduce overdose-related mortality. Opioid overdose is a leading cause of accidental death in the United States and accounts for half of the mortality among heroin users. Naloxone is a short-acting opioid antagonist that can reverse opioid overdose. Researchers developed computer models to estimate the cost-effectiveness of distributing naloxone to heroin users for use at witnessed overdoses. In the simulation, researchers compared the cost-effectiveness of distributing naloxone to 20 percent of heroin users with no distribution. Cost-effectiveness was expressed in terms of costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), and incremental costs per QALY gained. The researchers found that naloxone distribution prevented 6.5 percent of all overdose deaths for each 20 percent of heroin users that received a naloxone kit, or one overdose death would be prevented for every 164 naloxone kits distributed. The computer model suggests that the death prevention effect was greater among younger heroin users. According to the authors of an accompanying editorial, naloxone use is limited in the lay population because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve a formulation of naloxone that can be delivered without injection. According to the authors, making naloxone available to prevent overdose deaths should be a priority, but taking steps to prevent opioid dependence is also an important issue that should not be overlooked.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. Reporters can reach the lead author, please contact Eileen Shields at Eileen.Shields@sfdph.org or 415-554-2507.

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2. Patients with HIV May Benefit from Quadruple the Standard Dose of Seasonal Flu Vaccine

Administering a quadruple dose of seasonal flu vaccine may help better protect HIV-infected patients from serious illness or death from influenza. In a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, 190 HIV-positive adults were randomly assigned to receive either a standard dose (15 mcg of antigen per strain) or a high dose (60 mcg/strain) of the influenza trivalent vaccine. Participants were included if they were indicated for a flu vaccine and were receiving stable antiretroviral therapy as recommended by current guidelines. The researchers found that the high dose patients achieved greater immune response as measured by their levels of seroprotective antibodies at 21 to 28 days after vaccination. Adverse event rates were similar in the two intervention groups. According to the researchers, these findings could have implications for future vaccination efforts in the HIV-positive population.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. You can reach the lead author directly at Pablo.Tebas@uphs.upenn.edu or 215-615-4321.

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3. Observation Article: Foodborne Illness Could Have Sinister Causes

Doctors should consider the intentional addition of medicine to food as a potential cause of foodborne disease outbreaks. The World Health Organization suggests possible sources of foodborne disease outbreaks are pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasitic worms, natural toxins, and chemicals, but not medicines. A 2010 foodborne disease outbreak in Beijing, China was a result of clonidine, a medication used to treat hypertension and ADHD, being intentionally added to lunch ingredients. Eighty travelers who had just finished lunch in a Beijing restaurant began to feel faint. Within a few hours they developed dizziness, weakness, lethargy, dry mouth, and nausea, among other troublesome symptoms. At a nearby hospital, the travelers were treated for low blood pressure and low heart rate. With no response to treatment, the patients were referred for a screening for common toxins and drugs. The screening found clonidine in the patients' systems. The patients were treated for clonidine poisoning and symptoms resolved in all patients within 48 hours. After six days, all patients had been discharged from the hospital and at one year no patients had residual symptoms. An investigation found that two persons put clonidine into the starch used to make certain dishes (the kitchen staff would not notice the addition because starch and clonidine are both white, odorless powders) to gain a competitive advantage for a nearby restaurant.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom.

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4. Limited Evidence to Connect Cost of Health Care to Quality

Researchers need more evidence to determine the connection between health care quality and cost. The nation's heath care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, making it a priority to control costs. But there is uncertainty as to whether improvements in quality will cause costs to go up or down. Researchers reviewed 61 published studies to determine the association between health care quality and cost. Of 61 included studies, 21 reported a positive or mixed-positive association between higher cost and quality; 18 reported a negative or mixed-negative association between higher cost and quality; and 22 reported no difference, an indeterminate association, or a mixed association. The limited evidence available suggests no clear relationship between cost and quality. The researchers conclude that more research is needed focusing on what types of spending are most effective in improving quality and what types of spending are wasteful. The authors of an accompanying editorial addressing efficient use of health care resources agree that more detailed and timely data is needed to make good medical, operational, and policy decisions. They call for provider organizations to be more transparent about the cost and price of services and for physicians to actively seek the information. They also suggest that those who fund research should support studies that evaluate cost and quality of interventions.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. To speak with the lead author, please contact Warren Robak at media@rand.org or 310-451-6913.

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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: 31-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Angela Collom
acollom@acponline.org
215-351-2653
American College of Physicians

Embargoed news from Annals of Internal Medicine

1. Distributing Naloxone to Heroin Users May be a Cost-effective Way to Reduce Overdose Deaths

Distributing naloxone to heroin users to use to reverse overdose may be a cost-effective strategy to reduce overdose-related mortality. Opioid overdose is a leading cause of accidental death in the United States and accounts for half of the mortality among heroin users. Naloxone is a short-acting opioid antagonist that can reverse opioid overdose. Researchers developed computer models to estimate the cost-effectiveness of distributing naloxone to heroin users for use at witnessed overdoses. In the simulation, researchers compared the cost-effectiveness of distributing naloxone to 20 percent of heroin users with no distribution. Cost-effectiveness was expressed in terms of costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), and incremental costs per QALY gained. The researchers found that naloxone distribution prevented 6.5 percent of all overdose deaths for each 20 percent of heroin users that received a naloxone kit, or one overdose death would be prevented for every 164 naloxone kits distributed. The computer model suggests that the death prevention effect was greater among younger heroin users. According to the authors of an accompanying editorial, naloxone use is limited in the lay population because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve a formulation of naloxone that can be delivered without injection. According to the authors, making naloxone available to prevent overdose deaths should be a priority, but taking steps to prevent opioid dependence is also an important issue that should not be overlooked.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. Reporters can reach the lead author, please contact Eileen Shields at Eileen.Shields@sfdph.org or 415-554-2507.

---

2. Patients with HIV May Benefit from Quadruple the Standard Dose of Seasonal Flu Vaccine

Administering a quadruple dose of seasonal flu vaccine may help better protect HIV-infected patients from serious illness or death from influenza. In a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial, 190 HIV-positive adults were randomly assigned to receive either a standard dose (15 mcg of antigen per strain) or a high dose (60 mcg/strain) of the influenza trivalent vaccine. Participants were included if they were indicated for a flu vaccine and were receiving stable antiretroviral therapy as recommended by current guidelines. The researchers found that the high dose patients achieved greater immune response as measured by their levels of seroprotective antibodies at 21 to 28 days after vaccination. Adverse event rates were similar in the two intervention groups. According to the researchers, these findings could have implications for future vaccination efforts in the HIV-positive population.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. You can reach the lead author directly at Pablo.Tebas@uphs.upenn.edu or 215-615-4321.

---

3. Observation Article: Foodborne Illness Could Have Sinister Causes

Doctors should consider the intentional addition of medicine to food as a potential cause of foodborne disease outbreaks. The World Health Organization suggests possible sources of foodborne disease outbreaks are pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasitic worms, natural toxins, and chemicals, but not medicines. A 2010 foodborne disease outbreak in Beijing, China was a result of clonidine, a medication used to treat hypertension and ADHD, being intentionally added to lunch ingredients. Eighty travelers who had just finished lunch in a Beijing restaurant began to feel faint. Within a few hours they developed dizziness, weakness, lethargy, dry mouth, and nausea, among other troublesome symptoms. At a nearby hospital, the travelers were treated for low blood pressure and low heart rate. With no response to treatment, the patients were referred for a screening for common toxins and drugs. The screening found clonidine in the patients' systems. The patients were treated for clonidine poisoning and symptoms resolved in all patients within 48 hours. After six days, all patients had been discharged from the hospital and at one year no patients had residual symptoms. An investigation found that two persons put clonidine into the starch used to make certain dishes (the kitchen staff would not notice the addition because starch and clonidine are both white, odorless powders) to gain a competitive advantage for a nearby restaurant.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom.

---

4. Limited Evidence to Connect Cost of Health Care to Quality

Researchers need more evidence to determine the connection between health care quality and cost. The nation's heath care costs are rising at an unsustainable rate, making it a priority to control costs. But there is uncertainty as to whether improvements in quality will cause costs to go up or down. Researchers reviewed 61 published studies to determine the association between health care quality and cost. Of 61 included studies, 21 reported a positive or mixed-positive association between higher cost and quality; 18 reported a negative or mixed-negative association between higher cost and quality; and 22 reported no difference, an indeterminate association, or a mixed association. The limited evidence available suggests no clear relationship between cost and quality. The researchers conclude that more research is needed focusing on what types of spending are most effective in improving quality and what types of spending are wasteful. The authors of an accompanying editorial addressing efficient use of health care resources agree that more detailed and timely data is needed to make good medical, operational, and policy decisions. They call for provider organizations to be more transparent about the cost and price of services and for physicians to actively seek the information. They also suggest that those who fund research should support studies that evaluate cost and quality of interventions.

Note: For an embargoed PDF, contact Megan Hanks or Angela Collom. To speak with the lead author, please contact Warren Robak at media@rand.org or 310-451-6913.

---

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/acop-enf122612.php

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Wall Street opens lower without "cliff" solution

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened lower on Monday, the last trading day of the year, as political leaders in Washington worked to find agreement that would keep the United States from falling off the "fiscal cliff."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 51.99 points, or 0.40 percent, at 12,886.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 4.09 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,398.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 5.20 points, or 0.18 percent, at 2,955.11.

Major indexes are on track for their sixth straight day of losses, though the S&P 500 remains up more than 11 percent for the year.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-edge-higher-cliff-talks-continue-004506710--sector.html

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Romo's 2 INTs leave Cowboys, Skins 0-0 after 1st

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) ? With the NFC East title on the line, Tony Romo threw interceptions on each of Dallas' first two possessions Sunday night, and Washington kicker Kai Forbath missed a field-goal try for the first time in his NFL career, leaving the Cowboys and Redskins tied 0-0 after the first quarter.

It was a win-or-go-home game moved into prime time to mark the end of the NFL's regular season: Whichever team lost would miss the playoffs, and the winner would host the wild-card Seattle Seahawks in a first-round game next weekend.

Washington and rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III won the coin toss, got the ball first and went three-and-out, with Dwayne Harris' 28-yard punt return setting up Dallas at the Washington 27.

But on Dallas' third play on offense, Romo's pass was picked off by Redskins rookie Richard Crawford. Walking to the sideline, Romo gave intended receiver Kevin Ogletree a talking-to.

The Redskins then drove into field-goal range, before Forbath sent his 37-yard attempt off the right upright, ending his NFL-record streak of 17 consecutive makes to begin a career. Forbath made two field goals last week to surpass Saints kicker Garrett Hartley's old mark of 16 in a row.

Dallas' second drive also ended with Romo's pass getting picked off, this time by cornerback Josh Wilson at Washington's 13. The Redskins again did not capitalize, needing to punt the ball back.

The Cowboys were seeking the first division title and playoff berth since 2009. The Redskins, meanwhile, sought their first trip to the postseason since 2007 ? and first NFC East championship since 1999. Washington finished in last place each of the past four seasons.

Washington entered the day on a six-game winning streak and with a 9-6 record, while Dallas came in 8-7.

A victory over Dallas would make Washington the first club since the 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars to get to the playoffs after opening 3-6.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romos-2-ints-leave-cowboys-skins-0-0-021302687--spt.html

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No heir to run the company? Why adult 'adoption' is big business in Japan

Osamu Suzuki, left, is the fourth adopted son to run the family company

Family firms in Japan often rely on adult adoptees to help retain dynastic control. Finding a match has become an industry in itself.

Like many men in Japan, Tsunemaru Tanaka is looking for a wife. Unlike some, he is prepared to sacrifice his name to get one. If all goes well in 2013, he'll find a bride, her prosperous family will adopt him and he'll take their family name. In an ideal world, he'll run their business too. "I think I have a lot of skills to offer the right family," he says.

The 19th-century industrialist Andrew Carnegie famously said that inherited wealth "deadens talents and energies. Business research generally supports the Carnegie thesis: companies controlled by heirs underperform their professionalised competitors. Except, apparently, in Japan.

Japan boasts the world's oldest family-run businesses, the Hoshi Guest House, founded in 717. And the construction company Kongo Gumi was operated for a record-breaking 1,400 years by a succession of heirs until it was taken over in 2006. Many family firms - car-maker Suzuki, Matsui Securities, and giant brewery Suntory - break the rule of steady dynastic decline, or what is sometimes cruelly dubbed the "idiot-son syndrome".

So how do Japanese firms do it? The answer, apparently, is adoption.Last year more than 81,000 people were adopted in Japan, one of the highest rates in the world. Remarkably, more than 90 per cent of those adopted were adults.

The practice of adopting men in their 20s and 30s is used to rescue biologically ill-fated families and ensure a business heir, says Vikas Mehrotra, of the University of Alberta, the lead author of a new paper on the Japanese phenomenon of adult adoptions. "We haven't come across this custom in any other part of the world," he says.

Though the phenomenon has been previously documented, its impact on economic competitiveness has not. Dr Mehrotra's paper finds not only inherited family control still common in Japanese business, but says family firms are "puzzlingly competitive", outperforming otherwise similar professionally managed companies. "These results are highly robust and... suggest family control 'causes' good performance rather than the converse."

Finding suitable heirs, however, is not as simple as it once was. Japan's sliding birthrate has created many one-child families, and while daughters can manage the company back office, the face out front in this still chauvinistic country must be male, says Chieko Date. She is one of dozens of marriage consultants who bring together ambitious young men and the marriageable daughters of business families. Ms Date is proud of her record. "We bring happiness to both sides," she says.

If the meetings go well, the men agree to drop their own surname and be adopted by their new bride's family, becoming both the head of the family and its business. Ms Date's consultancy claims to have brokered 600 of these marriages - known as "mukoyoshi" - over the past decade. "We believe that this cannot be just a business transaction," she says. If the couples don't like each other, the marriage and the business will fail.

Ms Date screens the men carefully, going only for "top-class" candidates. "I've talked to 20,000 men over the past decade and successfully brokered hundreds of marriages, and I haven't heard of a single divorce," she adds. Just in case, the families of prospective wives will often do a deep background check on their future adoptees, to make sure they don't come loaded with debt, and they're not gay.

Remarkably, some families will bypass a biological son for an adoptee if they feel that nature has shortchanged them - a practice that occurs with "some regularity" says Dr Mehrotra.

Could Japan's unique remedy offer lessons to its prickly neighbour China? It seems unlikely. Chinese businessmen who have come across the practice find it "uncivilised".

Family fortunes: Business dynasties

Toyota

Established in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda, above, as a spin-off from his father's weaving company. In 2009, Akio Toyoda, Kiichiro's grandson, pictured, took over as president of the company, which employs 300,734 people worldwide.

Suntory

Founded in 1899 by Shinjiro Torii, below, the brewing giant famous for its whisky is still 90-per-cent owned by the founding family.

Suzuki

Michio Suzuki set up the Suzuki Loom Works during a silk boom in 1909. It is now the ninth largest car-maker in the world. The CEO, Osamu Suzuki, is the fourth adopted son to run the company.

Matsui Securities

A financial company providing online securities trading services, set up in 1931. The company's fourth president, Michio Matsui, was adopted into the family, but this meant ditching his own name.

Source: http://www.sott.net/article/255363-No-heir-to-run-the-company-Why-adult-adoption-is-big-business-in-Japan

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Five great video games to get your New Year's Eve party started

6 hrs.

Winda Benedetti , NBC News

The New Year's Eve long?weekend is upon us, and you know what that means???good friends and?good times ahead.?If you're looking to add?that special something to the party,?then may we suggest you fire up some?video games?

Yes, video games. A great multiplayer game has a way of adding extra life???and extra fun???to a group?gather.?Below we take a look at five video?games guaranteed to get your party started ... and then keep it going well past midnight. (Champagne not included.)

"Dance Central 3"?- Xbox 360 (Kinect required)
While the "Dance Central" games are pitched as a great way to learn some dance moves and maybe even get some exercise in the process, I've found them, more than anything, to be?a great way to get an entire room of people laughing. At each other. At themselves. And probably at you.?And I mean this?in a good way.

As with the first two Dance Central games, "Dance Central 3" uses?the Xbox?Kinect motion sensor to?read the movements of your entire body as you try to follow choreographed dance routines performed by a colorful array of characters on the screen. And?while you can play this game solo, the real fun comes in playing with others as you?pit your dance skills (or the total and complete?lack thereof) against those?of your friends.

"Dance Central 3" takes players history-hopping through 40 years of dance crazes?and?the music that went with them. So whether you like to?do some '70s style?disco to the Trammps,?get your '80s?boy band boogie?on to New Kids on the Block or go "Gangnam Style" with Psy here in?modern times, there is something for?everyone at the party. Meanwhile, the developers at Harmonix noticed just how popular this game is at parties and have added two new party-specific modes:?Party Time and Crew Throwdown, the latter of which pits?two teams of up to?four players against each other in a competition to see who has the "best crew."

Grab a drink, grab your friends,?turn up the volume and get ready to dance ... and mock each other.

Sing Party - Wii U
Who needs a karaoke bar when you can bring the karaoke right into your home ... and make a competitive party?game of it at the same time. "Sing Party" for Nintendo's new Wii U game machine?comes packaged with a microphone and,?in karaoke style, presents players with a variety of songs new and old to belt out.

You've got tunes from?Rihanna, Jackson 5, Lady Gaga,?The Wanted and?James Brown among others.?The Wii U's new tablet-style GamePad controller lets the singer read the lyrics right there in front of them and also lets you act as a kind of DJ, lining up tunes to keep the party jumping ...?er?... singing.

For this weekend's gathering, be sure to check out?the?Team Mode, which has the crowd splitting into two groups who then try to top each other's vocal skillz. There's also?Party Mode which has one person act like a lead singer while?the rest of the room performs back-up vocals and dance routines. Of course, if you sing like I do (and by "sing," I mean "squawk") then you may need a beverage or three?before you start.

"New Super Mario Bros. U"?- Wii U
This much we know: Nintendo knows how to make a great family-friendly game. And nothing is more family friendly???and I mean friendly to the entire family???than "New Super Mario Bros. U."

The game features the clever, colorful platforming fun that Super Mario games are famous for. But this time around, it adds the Wii U's new?tablet controller into the mix. And the?addition?of this gadget???called the GamePad???really accentuates the group fun.

I tested this game out on my own family over the Christmas holiday?and had three generations playing happily together. My 5-year-old son and I used the standard Wii Remote controllers to take Mario and Luigi through their paces,?maneuvering?them?through levels, collecting coins and fighting goombas as one would expect.?Meanwhile,?I handed my 67-year-old mother the GamePad and tasked her with assisting us. When you have the GamePad, you simply?tap on the touchscreen to drop platforms?helpfully into position for the other players?to jump on; or you tap on enemies to keep them from harming your pals. With the GamePad in hand, even the most casual player can join the fun in a low-stress way.

"New Super Mario Bros. U" supports a total of five players (four using the standard controllers?and one using the GamePad to assist) and is a great way to get people?of all skill levels playing together.

Sonic &?All-Stars Racing Transformed?- PlayStation 3,?Xbox 360,?Wii U
This zany, fast-paced kart racing game is just the thing to add a bit of zip into any?gathering. You and your friends and family?members can burn rubber together???and?pit your (virtual) driving skills against each other???in the game's?four-player split-screen mode (the Wii U version supports up to five players).

You'll start by?picking from a variety of favorite Sega?gaming mascots???there's?Sonic the Hedgehog (of course) as well as?new gaming hero?Wreck-It Ralph, from the Disney movie. You'll then?compete across a variety of wildly inventive?race tracks?that will have you speeding along not only on the ground, but in the air and on the water. That's because the "transformed" in the title refers to your race cars???which transform?from cars to boats to planes mid-race.

PlayStation All Stars?Battle Royale?-?PlayStation 3
If you want to spike your gathering?with a?competitive spirit (and maybe a bit of good-natured trash talk) then fire up this multiplayer?fighting game.

With characters and settings plucked from your?favorite PlayStation titles, this brawler featuring the likes of Kratos from "God of War," Nathan Drake from "Uncharted" and Sackboy from "LittleBigPlanet" allows up to four players to duke it out in frantic, over-the-top style. Yep, nothing brings friends together like?pummeling?each other with high-flying, eye-popping?Super Attacks.

Winda Benedetti?writes about video?games for NBC?News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you can?follow her?on?Google+.?Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/five-great-video-games-get-your-new-years-eve-party-1C7752996

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Redskins.Com: Redskins Rewrite Team, NFL History

Since the start of the 2012 season, the Redskins have set dozens of franchise and NFL marks on their way to first place in the NFC East.

Whether in victory or defeat, the Redskins have set new records in 14-of-15 contests, an impressive feat for any club, and a major reason why the Redskins find themselves in first place in the NFC East.

Regardless of the outcome of Sunday night's game, the Redskins have found a strong roster foundation and have set a new precedence for rookie excellence in Washington and around the league.

Here is a comprehensive, week-by-week recap heading into the Week 17 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys:

Click link for rest http://www.redskins.com/news-and-eve...b-8f117c02579e

The Redskins are undefeated against the Cowboys at home when fighting for Division Titles and Championships.

Source: http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?377499-Redskins.Com-Redskins-Rewrite-Team-NFL-History&goto=newpost

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Flickr (for iPhone)

Flickr is the most popular photo-specific web service around (with over 26 million unique visitors per month, according to recent comScore numbers) and it earned our Editors' Choice as the best. But its mobile app has long been held up as a missed opportunity because of the many features of the main service it lacked. A recent major update changes all this?it's now a fantastic photo app?and adds a strong play in the social networking ecosystem, with Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr integration. But maybe most significant new features are its Instagram-like photo enhancements, which, coming on the heels of Instagram's recent lessening of Twitter integration, could be a big new venue for Flickr.?

Setup/Signup
In the iTunes App Store, the same new Flickr app states support for both iPhone and iPad, though it only appears in the iPhone section. Users of the new iPhone 5 will be happy to note that the new app takes advantage of their phone's longer display. Unfortunately, on the iPad, the app is formatted with the small iPhone-size image; you can hit the 2x button to fill most of the screen. Of course, you could just go to the full Web version in Safari on the iPad. If you don't have a Flickr account, you can sign in with your Facebook or Google account, and of course, a Yahoo Mail login works

Interface and Features
In place of the old app's three simple tabs for Recent, You, and Contacts, you now get five buttons across the bottom for contacts/groups, Interesting/Nearby, your own Photo Stream and Activity, and More, which offers searching among other functions. This is one interface design aspect that some may prefer the old app for?there the search box was prominently at the top of the home page.

The really great thing about the new interface is its use of the swipe gestures. I can swipe sideways through any of my contacts' photo streams or up and down to switch among contacts. In the Interesting/Nearby mode, accessible from the globe button, I can swipe down through all the cream of the photos culled from nearly 2 million daily uploads. And all this swiping and switching among button modes is superfast; Yahoo has clearly put efforts into the performance of the app.

Instead of showing a grid of small square boxes when you're viewing a photo stream or set, the new app uses the much more appealing "justified" layout familiar from the new Flickr Web design. This layout offers a much better view of the photos, and you don't get it with Picasa's mobile experience (Picasa doesn't have an iOS app) or in apps from Photobucket, SlickPic, or even Instagram.

The individual photo view is also improved. Tapping on the image opens it in full screen, but not you can zoom in by spreading fingers on it?up to its full resolution?and pinch to zoom out. The old app only let you fit the image to the phone's screen?no pinch zooming. You can still comment on, favorite, and share a photo from its page, and now, clicking the "i" brings up the photo's map, tags, groups it's included in, and EXIF info such as shutter speed, ISO, focal length, and F-stop. To Favorite a photo, you double-tap on it; I actually prefer heart button, which seems less likely to result in unintentional favoriting.

One thing you can't do is save a photo from a Web album to your phone, something available in the previous version. This app is more about going the other way?taking pictures with your iPhone and uploading them to the service and sharing them on social sites. It now even offers batch uploads, where you select multiple photos for uploading at once. But hopefully the Flickr dev team will restore the ability to download photo stream images in a future update.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/j1MKuHwjztY/0,2817,2413609,00.asp

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Adam Lanza DNA: Will it Provide Clues to Shooting?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/adam-lanza-dna-to-provide-clues-regarding-shooting/

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India gang-rape victim dies in hospital - World News

The 23-year-old who was gang-raped in New Delhi and thrown from a bus has died from her injuries in Singapore, where she was being treated. NBC's Natalie Morales reports.

By NBC News and wire services

SINGAPORE ? A 23-year-old Indian woman who was gang-raped and severely beaten on a bus in New Delhi died Saturday at a Singapore hospital.

The woman's horrific ordeal galvanized Indians to demand greater protections against widespread sexual violence, and her death was expected to intensify public demands for action by the Indian government.

The victim who has not been identified,?"passed away peacefully" with her family and officials of the Indian embassy by her side," said Kelvin Loh, the chief executive of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been treated since Thursday. "The Mount Elizabeth Hospital team of doctors, nurses and staff join her family in mourning her loss," he said in a statement.

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The woman and a male friend were traveling in a public bus after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who took turns raping her. They also beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into her body resulting in severe organ damage. Both of them were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

?

The woman was airlifted to Singapore on Dec. 26 for specialist treatment, but she had remained in extremely critical condition, Loh said.

The victim had already undergone three abdominal operations before arriving in Singapore, where her condition on Thursday was described as "extremely critical."

Photos: Police try to temper outrage over gang rape

"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth Hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days," said Loh on Saturday. "She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome."

Related video:

Rape ignites outrage
Protesters call for execution

The attack triggered nationwide protest?over the lack of safety for women, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of the capital.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government seemed at first caught off guard by the reaction to the attack, which sparked a blame game between politicians and the police.

On Saturday he said that he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred and that it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.

"These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change," Singh said in a statement. "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."

He said the government was examining the penalties for crimes such as rape "to enhance the safety and security of women."

Indian television channels said security had been tightened in New Delhi on Saturday in anticipation of more protests following the woman's death.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Protests continued across New Delhi, India, where around 500 people marched in response to the recent gang rape of a young woman. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/28/16212322-india-gang-rape-victim-dies-in-hospital

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The year's top ancient mysteries (and missteps)

New questions are being raised about whether Jesus was married after Harvard historian Karen King found an ancient papyrus with words apparently referring to Jesus' wife. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

By Alan Boyle

Long-ago lore still has the power to ignite modern-day controversies: Witness the tempests that were stirred up this year over the Maya calendar, the purported "Gospel of Jesus' Wife," a bone box linked to early Christians, a disputed dinosaur skeleton and the plan to clone a woolly mammoth.

It turned out that there was much more to each of these cases than met the eye. Or sometimes much less. Either way, we'll be hearing more about ancient mysteries in the year to come. Here's a status report on six of 2012's most controversial mysteries (and missteps) in the realms of archaeology, anthropology and paleontology.

---

Gospel of Jesus' Wife: Harvard historian Karen King stirred up a sensation in September with the unveiling of a papyrus that apparently quotes Jesus talking about "my wife." The claims quickly sparked questions about the murky origins of the papyrus, and the Vatican suggested that the controversial text was faked. Most other experts on textual analysis were similarly skeptical.

The Harvard Theological Review withdrew plans to publish a scholarly article about the papyrus in its January issue, and this month a spokesman for the journal said tests to authenticate the document were not yet complete. The Smithsonian Channel has delayed broadcasting a documentary on the find, pending further testing. Status: In limbo.

The Jonah box: In February, researchers announced that they used a camera-equipped robotic arm to study an ossuary, or funerary bone box, within a sealed underground tomb in Jerusalem. They said the box was engraved with a picture of a fish, as well as allusions to "Jonah" and resurrection. Their conclusion was that the inscriptions served as evidence that early Christians were buried in the tomb ? but skeptics disputed that interpretation. Did the picture really show a fish, or was it an upside-down tower, or an urn? The controversy was stoked by the fact that the "Jonah box" team was also behind the even more hotly debated "Jesus Tomb" project a couple of years earlier.

Months later, the findings are still in dispute. One of the researchers behind the find is James Tabor, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. ?He says some experts have told him privately that they agree with his interpretation, but they're reluctant to speak out because of the acrimony surrounding the original reports. One expert who has voiced cautious support for the "Jonah and the fish" interpretation is Princeton Theological Seminary's James Charlesworth. (That support, too, has come under criticism.) Tabor acknowledges that more evidence is needed. "What we really need to do is enter the tomb and bring those ossuaries out. ... But that would have to be maybe next year," he said today.?Status: In limbo.

Maya calendar: 2012's most publicized ancient mystery has to do with the Maya calendar, and the fact that Dec. 21 apparently marked the end of a series of cycles ? including the 394-year baktun cycle as well as the 5,126-year "cycle of creation." Somehow, those calendrical cycles got mixed up with worries about the end of the world. Did the ancient Maya really think the cosmos would blink out of existence when the calendar ended? And if they did, why should we believe them?

Nothing happened on Dec. 21, other than some New Age-style celebrations of the new age. But the controversy did attract some extra attention for archaeological finds???including the discovery of a calendar workshop that clearly referred to dates beyond 2012, and an inscription that refers to the end of a calendar cycle in 2012, but not the end of the world. Status: Case closed.

Heritage Auctions via Reuters

An 8-foot-tall dinosaur skeleton is tied up in federal court proceedings.

Disputed dinosaur: You could argue that the world's hottest dinosaur fossil is currently in federal custody in New York. The 24-foot-long skeleton, nicknamed Ty, was said to come from a tyrannosaur-like species known as Tarbosaurus bataar. Fossil dealer Eric Prokopi sold it for more than $1 million in May, but experts claimed that the bones must have been smuggled out of Mongolia years earlier. Federal authorities seized the skeleton and filed criminal charges against Prokopi.

The civil and criminal proceedings yielded some surprises: Prokopi's lawyers said the skeleton was assembled from bones that were gathered up from various sources, leading to a new nickname: "Franken-saurus."?Government prosecutors, meanwhile, said they have photos and forms to back up their claims that the dealer was "a participant in the black market" in Mongolia. Just today, Prokopi pleaded guilty to the smuggling charges and agreed to give up the dinosaur skeleton. That means Ty will eventually be sent back to Mongolia. Prokopi could be sentenced to up to 17 years in prison, but today's plea may win him leniency from the court.?Status: Case essentially closed.

Pyramids on Google Earth:?Researcher Angela Micol made a splash in August with claims that Google Earth imagery appeared to show pyramid-type structures in the Egyptian desert. She suggested that these were previously unknown sites ? but it turns out that archaeologists have known about them for decades, and have studied them up close. The most intriguing formations are natural mounds, topped by structures that may have served as watchtowers and/or wells, said Italian Egyptologist Paola Davoli.

Another formation that Micol saw in the imagery is thought to be an oddly shaped natural butte.?Micol told me in September that she was working with contacts in Egypt to get a closer look, but there haven't been any new revelations lately. Status: Case close to being closed.

Cloning a woolly mammoth: Is it really possible to bring the woolly mammoth back to life, tens of thousands of years after the species went extinct? It's highly doubtful, but Korean and Russian researchers are still trying. The project, unveiled in March, would involve recovering viable cells from a mammoth specimen pulled from the Siberian permafrost, implanting the cells' genetic material into an elephant egg, creating a cloned embryo, then transferring the embryo to an elephant womb for gestation. Each of those steps is fraught with difficulty ??and the South Korea scientist in charge of the project is none other than Woo-Suk Hwang, who was disgraced several years ago in a scandal surrounding faked cloning results.

Last month, The Siberian Times reported that samples of mammoth bone marrow, hair, muscles and fat tissue were taken from Yakutsk to Seoul, to find out whether living cells could be extracted. Sources at the lab in Seoul did not respond to phone or email inquiries this week, but even if the cells turn out to be viable, don't expect to see a mammoth resurrection anytime soon. Russian researcher Semyon Grigoriev said it would be "years before we learn to choose the suitable cells or to re-create an extinct DNA molecule." Status: Case not yet closed. Or should that be, "not yet cloned"?

Dinosaurs ... and more: Science writer Brian Switek (a.k.a. @Laelaps) rounded up the year's top stories in paleontology at his "Dinosaur Tracking" blog, just before shifting over to Phenomena, National Geographic's new online science salon. In an email, he highlighted a few of his favorite stories:

"I was particularly interested by Nyasasaurus (confirming an earlier origin for dinosaurs), Yutyrannus (showing that feathers were not just for small dinosaurs)?and mammal bones adding new evidence that dinosaurs may have been endothermic," he told me. "In other fossil news, the two that jump to mind are: fossil turtles caught in the act of mating; and?a new fossil shark species which shows that Carcharocles megalodon was not a giant ancestor of today's white shark, but a member of a different lineage altogether."

I've included the fossil turtle-sex tale in our annual roundup for the Weird Science Awards, but here are 30 more ancient mysteries that should keep you clicking into the new year:

Ten top paleontology tales from Cosmic Log and NBC News:

Ten top anthropology tales from Cosmic Log and NBC News:

Top 10 discoveries from Archaeology magazine:

---

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the?Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16173366-the-years-ancient-mysteries-and-missteps-put-into-perspective?lite

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Report: Millionaire Richard Stephenson Funneled Millions To ...

Eric Lach December 27, 2012, 11:03 AM

The Washington Post?s story of former House Majority Leader Dick Armey?s attempted coup of the tea party group FreedomWorks had the political press buzzing on Wednesday. But in the background, behind the dramatic account of a high-stakes D.C. power struggle, Amy Gardner?s story also supplied some answers to one of the abiding money mysteries of 2012 election.

In early November, several news outlets ran stories about a Knoxville, Tenn. man named William S. Rose III. Over six weeks that began in late September, using two newly formed companies with no other apparent purpose, Rose gave more than $12 million to FreedomWorks. The donations made Rose?s companies among the biggest corporate donors of the election cycle. In response to the press interest over his motivations, Rose released a six-page statement, denying that he or his companies were ?shadowy? but insisting that the business of one of the companies, Specialty Group, was a ?family secret? that would be kept secret ?as allowed by applicable law ? for at least another 50 years.?

The Post?s story this week reported that the money given by Rose?s companies actually came from Richard Stephenson, a ?reclusive Illinois millionaire? and the founder and chairman of the board of the for-profit Cancer Treatment Centers of America. From the Post:

Rose, who could not be reached for comment, has said publicly he would not answer questions about the donations. But according to three current and former FreedomWorks employees with knowledge of the donations, the money originated with Stephenson and his family, who arranged for the contributions from the Tennessee firms to the super PAC.

[Adam] Brandon, FreedomWorks? executive vice president, told colleagues starting in August that Stephenson would be giving between $10 million and $12 million, these sources said. Brandon also met repeatedly with members of Stephenson?s family who were involved in arranging the donations, the sources said.

Stephenson attended a FreedomWorks retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in August at which a budget was being prepared in anticipation of a large influx of money, according to several employees who attended the retreat. At the retreat, Stephenson dictated some of the terms of how the money would be spent, the employees said.

?There is no doubt that Dick Stephenson arranged for that money to come to the super PAC,? said one person who attended the retreat. ?I can assure you that everyone around the office knew about it.?

What?s not yet clear: why Stephenson, a member of FreedomWorks? board, used Rose to mask his donations. Rose?s affiliation with FreedomWorks goes way back. According to the Post, Stephenson was an early supporter of Citizens for a Sound Economy, the conservative lobbying group founded in 1984 by the Koch brothers, which in 2004 split into FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity. To resolve the recent Armey struggle with FreedomWorks, Stephenson agreed to pay $400,000 per year over 20 years in exchange for Armey leaving the group.

Just last week, two watchdog groups, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice over the $12 million that came from Rose?s companies.

?The circumstances surrounding more than $12 million in contributions made to Freedom Works for America raise serious questions about whether this was an illegal scheme to launder money into the 2012 elections and hide from the public the true identity of the sources of the money,? Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer said in a statement.

Campaign Finance, FreedomWorks

Eric Lach

Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website?s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com

Source: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/richard_stephenson_freedomworks.php

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Packing Pro (for iPhone)

I once left for spring break without any socks, which may sound like the precursor to a wild story, except I was headed to Rochester, New York, to ride out a blizzard at my friend's father's apartment. We got to town, hit up the mall, and I bought a six-pack of cheap socks. If I had written a packing list or had an app to help me prep my trip, such as Packing Pro (for iPhone) ($2.99), chances are I would have forgotten the socks regardless. Life rolls like that sometimes. You know you ought to pack socks and you simply don't, even if it's written down.

To pay $3 for an app that reminds me to pack socks?or medication, sunscreen, a light jacket, a knitted cap, and my swimsuit?seems frivolous even to someone as into organization as I am.

For some, however, it might be the very specificity of the reminders in this indie app that make it worth the modest cost.

Checklist Planning and Packing
Packing Pro helps you pack, and that's just about all it's designed to do. You work from a sample list of items to pack or create your own and tick off items as they go into your luggage.

It has a handful of other reminders, too, like booking reservations and watering the plants before you leave home, which you can save into checklists to guide your harried soul while you're running around your apartment like a chicken with its head cut off worried that you'll miss your flight if you dally a moment longer.

The default palette puts before you a lackluster brown color scheme and insipid fonts (using excessive italics) that suggest perhaps what's inside is equally uninspiring?however, the lack of visual panache really does not speak to the attention to detail that went into creating sample packing lists. They are comprehensive and thorough, and at any time you can create a new item, which you can classify to any one of dozens of pre-programmed categories.

Moreover, you can change the color scheme and fonts, but, ultimately, no one should waste her time customizing the look of a single-utility app that's overpriced to begin with. Theme customization options turn out to be just one fatty area. The app needs a lot of tightening.

From the homescreen, I created several packing lists, a few from sample lists and a few from scratch, but based on real travel experiences as I tried to think through the kinds of things I would genuinely need. Packing Pro's sample lists range from "male" and "female" to "camping" and "business." The sample female list did have more than I imagined it might, but all the other sample lists are male-oriented. Where are the bras and sports bras? The business sample list includes three ties, a suit jacket, and a handkerchief, but not pantyhose, jewelry, or tampons.

Pack It Up, Pack It In...
As mentioned, I could always add the items that I wanted to include by either writing them in as special entries or finding them on other lists to add--except that customizing a packing list proved to be much more time-consuming than packing on the fly, forgetting my socks, and picking up a few pairs when en route to my destination. Again, there's fat to trim. The app requires heavy-handed tightening and simplification to be more useful.

If Packing Pro were a 99-cent iPhone app, I would have scored it slightly higher than the three-star grade it got. It's not a terrible app, but it costs too much for such a single-purpose tool.

More iPhone App Reviews:
??? Google+ Mobile App (for iPhone)
??? Packing Pro (for iPhone)
??? Google Maps (for iPhone)
??? Yahoo! Mail (for iPhone)
??? Gmail (for iPhone)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/4d5kEpAZOgI/0,2817,2413593,00.asp

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Obama heads back to Washington as "cliff" deadline nears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was flying back to Washington on Thursday and the top Republican in Congress planned to speak with House of Representatives lawmakers as the clock ticked toward a year-end deadline for action to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" tax hikes and spending cuts.

Markets around the world awaited action in Washington to prevent tax hikes on nearly all Americans and the deep automatic government spending cuts due to kick in at the beginning of next month that could push the U.S. economy back into recession.

Such action, however, remained far from certain, with Republicans and Democrats each insisting the other side move first amid continuing partisan gridlock.

Air Force One carrying Obama from Hawaii took off at about 3 a.m. EST for a journey that can take nearly half a day.

The U.S. Senate was scheduled to meet later on Thursday but on matters unrelated to the "fiscal cliff." The Democrats control the Senate and the Republicans control the House.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said through a spokesman that the Senate was ready to consider any bills coming from the House but would take no action on its own.

Speaker John Boehner and other House Republican leaders, who said on Wednesday they were willing to take up a "fiscal cliff" measure only after the Senate acts on one, planned a conference call with Republican House members on Thursday.

The expectation for the call was that lawmakers would be told to get back to Washington within 48 hours to consider anything the Senate might pass.

Weather permitting, that would bring them to Washington with perhaps three days left before the deadline for action. Storms affecting the Midwest, the South and the Northeast played havoc with airline schedules.

"This isn't a one party or one house problem. This is (that) leaders in both parties in all branches of the government are not willing to make the deal that they know they have to make. Everybody wants their stuff but doesn't want to give up what they don't want to give up," Republican U.S. Representative Steven LaTourette told CNN on Thursday.

The House and Senate passed bills months ago reflecting their own sharply divergent positions on the expiring low tax rates, which went into effect during the administration of Republican former President George W. Bush.

'ALL TOO SLOWLY'

Democrats want to allow the tax cuts to expire on the wealthiest Americans. Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone.

"We're in an economy now that is fragile - still recovering, all too slowly. These tax cuts must be extended for the middle class. We need to protect the middle class from that huge tax increase," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told CNN.

While Obama and congressional leaders have said that they are willing to negotiate, no substantive discussions are known to have taken place over the holidays and the gap between them appears to remain.

A senior Obama administration official told reporters traveling with Obama that Republican leaders in Congress should step up to head off the looming tax and spending hit.

Congress has proven that it can act swiftly once an agreement is reached. Hope persisted that Republicans and Democrats might come up with a resolution before New Year's Day that might at least postpone the impact of the tax hikes and spending cuts while further discussions take place.

On that basis, world shares and the euro edged higher on Thursday.

"There is still hope for a last-minute deal, otherwise we're in for a correction in January. People have already priced in an agreement. Without it, the market can't stay at these levels," a Paris-based trader said.

Another battle is just over the horizon in late January or early February over raising the debt ceiling, which puts a limit on the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow to pay its debts and can be raised only with the approval of Congress.

Republican leaders have said they will insist on more budget cuts as a condition of raising the ceiling. Without any action, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday the government is set to reach its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on December 31.

The Treasury Department said in a statement it would begin "extraordinary measures" to buy time. Many analysts believe the government can stave the default date off into late February.

(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-heads-back-washington-cliff-deadline-nears-142954670--business.html

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Reduce Pain With Your 2013 New Year&#39;s Resolution | Advanced ...

Between 40 and 50 percent of Americans pledge to make New Year?s resolutions each year, and health-related goals consistently rank among the most popular. People make these resolutions to look or feel better in the coming year, but there are also significant long-term pain prevention benefits.

You might be surprised to learn that maintaining a proper weight and basic level of fitness is crucial to protect your spine and major joints from excessive strain, wear and tear.? In fact, people who are overweight are at greater risk for low back pain, sleep disorders, spinal disc pain and joint pain, due to added weight-related strain on the spine and joints such as the knees, hips and ankles. It makes sense if you think about it; more weight means more pressure and strain that can cause pain.?

?Losing weight is the best way to decrease obesity-related pain, but there are certainly other things to consider,? said Satvinder Dhesi, MD, a physician with Advanced Pain Management in Milwaukee. ?The ability to lose weight requires individuals to be both healthy and active. There are many elements that can help people reduce stress and become more active, including: physical therapy, interventional pain procedures, supportive shoes, walking assistance devices and even investing in a supportive mattress.?

Along with decreasing pain or one?s risk for long-term chronic pain, other weight loss benefits include:

• By losing 5-10 percent of body weight, blood pressure is lowered and LDL (?bad?) cholesterol is reduced.
• Lowering body weight can improve sleep apnea and other sleep problems.
• 90 percent of all diabetes, 80 percent of heart disease and 60 percent of cancers are preventable with healthier lifestyles and normal body weight.

?We encourage everyone to choose healthier eating and exercise habits in the New Year,? said Dr. Dhesi. ?Weight loss is really the first step in an overall healthier life.?

So as you think about your New Year?s Resolutions this year, consider the pain reducing benefits of losing weight.

What are your resoultions for 2013? Tell us your thoughts!

Source: http://www.apmhealth.com/blog/2012/12/reduce-pain-with-your-2013-new-years-resolution/

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Daily Chronicle | Gov. Quinn welcomes health insurance &#39;co-op&#39;

CHICAGO ? Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is welcoming the news that a nonprofit organization plans to offer health insurance in the state starting in 2014.

The new nonprofit ? called Land of Lincoln Health ? announced last week it is applying for a state license and has received a $160 million federal loan to begin operations.

In a statement Monday, Quinn called the announcement ?another positive step to provide the people of Illinois more choices? in health care.

President Barack Obama?s health care overhaul law created a category of insurance carriers called Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans, or ?co-ops.?

Land of Lincoln Health was incorporated by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. It?s the first co-op in Illinois to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There are 26 hours, 46 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2012/12/26/gov-quinn-welcomes-health-insurance-co-op/a6foq6s/

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How do you get pension payout estimates? - The Help Desk ...

My husband was downsized a year ago. He is eligible to start taking a pension from his former company, but they refuse to give him any information with regard to projections. How do we decide when to start his pension if they won't tell him the difference in payout for year 62, 65, etc.? ? M. Anderson

If you haven't done so already, refer to the section in your husband's summary plan description that deals with early withdrawals. If that doesn't answer your questions, Lisa Germano, president of Midlothian, Va.-based Actuarial Benefits and Design Company, says your husband should get back in touch with the benefits department at his former employer. He should request a statement that lists the estimated value of his pension, as well as what percentage of his pension benefit he'd be entitled to if he withdraws before the full retirement age of 65. Be sure to put the request in writing this time and send it by certified mail so there's a record of it.

According to the IRS, plan administrators must provide detailed financial information about benefit options in a timely manner. "If you have a need to get the information soon," Germano says, "emphasize that time is of the essence."

If you don't receive a reply to your written request within 30 days, you should call the Employee Benefits Security Administration at 866-444-3272. A representative at its hotline will guide you on how to get an answer, and may intervene on your behalf with your employer. Ultimately, if your employer still doesn't give you the information you need, EBSA can help you file a complaint as well.

? Marc Mewshaw

Got a question for the Help Desk? Send it to?helpdesk@cnnmoney.com.

Source: http://helpdesk.blogs.money.cnn.com/2012/12/26/pension-payout-estimates/

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Acer Aspire AME600-UR378

If the Acer Aspire AME600-UR378 ($899.99 list) is a harbinger of the sort of mainstream multimedia desktops that we'll be seeing in a Windows 8 world, then consider us enthusiastic. In addition to packing a nimble Intel Core i7-3770 processor, a hefty amount of RAM, and a huge hard drive, it also offers decent expandability and sports a reasonable price tag. Although a few shortcomings keep it from being a total knockout, it nonetheless sets the bar pretty high for what we expect from media-center desktops in a Windows 8 world.

Design and Features
The AME600-UR378 measures 14.9 by 7.09 by 15.82 inches (HWD). Its boxy black metallic chassis is a relatively unassuming affair, but its glossy plastic face adds a splash of style. The front portion houses a dual-layer DVD burner and a free optical drive bay. Directly beneath that is a sliding door that covers a swappable expansion bay whose removable sled allows for a straightforward hard drive upgrade without having to open the chassis. The only departure from the AME600-UR378's all-black aesthetic is its gray upper lip protruding above the tower, which houses two USB 2.0 ports, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a multicard reader, headphone and mic jacks, and a button that toggles a dim white light that emanates from a sliver between the AME600-UR378's face and the lip. The rear of the chassis houses the remainder of its ports, including four USB 2.0 ports, dual USB 3.0 ports, two PS/2 ports (for old-school mice and keyboard, even though the ones bundled with the AME600-UR378 are USB 2.0), HDMI- and VGA- out, audio ports, and Ethernet.

Opening the AME600-UR378's chassis requires unscrewing two rear bolts. Once you pop open the side of the AME600-UR378, you'll find an empty bay that can accommodate a supplemental optical drive as well as the removable sled mentioned above for an additional hard drive The system's 10GB DDR3 RAM is divvied into one 2GB module and a pair of 4GB modules, leaving a single vacant socket for RAM upgrades. One of the system's three PCIe x1 slots is occupied by the built-in 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi card. The other two PCIe x1 slots are available, as well as a free PCIe x16 slot. The AME600-UR378 has integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU, and one of its available PCI slots can be filled with a beefier GPU. That said, the AME600-UR378's 300W power supply means that it won't be able to accommodate anything beyond a midrange graphics card.

The AME600-UR378 ships with a generous 2TB 5,400RPM hard drive. At the same time, however, it's laden with a fairly heavy amount of preloaded software. As is often the case, these programs vary in utility. At any rate, one encounters all of the usual suspects, ranging from the genuinely useful (Office 2010 Starter, a full version of McAfee Internet Security Suite, media-oriented software like CyberLink Media Espresso, Clear.fi Media and Photo) to the obligatorily proprietary (Acer Power Management, Acer Recovery Management, Acer Cloud Docs) to the typical delete-immediately-after-unpacking bloatware (Wild Tangent games suite, desktop links to eBay, Amazon, Spotify). The AME600-UR378 is covered by a one-year limited warranty.

Performance
The AME600-UR378's 3.4GHz Intel Core i7-3770 processor and 10GB of DDR3 RAM yielded impressive scores across the board. Since it was one of our first Windows 8 mainstream multimedia desktops, comparable systems are scarce. That said, we were able to stack the AME600-UR378's performance against similarly priced Windows 7 desktops, like the Lenovo IdeaCentre K430 and the Dell Vostro 470.

While each system sported the same processor, the Aspire AME600-UR378's PCMark 7 score of 3,917 points muscled its way past its competitors, well ahead of the Lenovo IdeaCentre K430 (3,737 points). It also scored higher than both the Gateway DX4870-UR11P (3,540 points) and Asus Essentio CM6870 (3,304 points). The AME600-UR378 displayed similar agility in multimedia-oriented tasks. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in a brisk 40 seconds, leaving the Asus CM6870 (1:03) in a distant second place. The AME600-UR378 completed our Photoshop CS6 test in 3 minutes 32 seconds.

On our Cinebench test, the Aspire AME600-UR378 scored 7 points, coming relatively close to the Gateway DX4870-UR11P (7.45 points) but falling a bit short of the Lenovo K430 (7.86 points), a disparity that can be attributed to the latter's extra 2GB of RAM. On a practical level, though, the two score closely enough that most users won't be able to discern much of a difference in processing capability between them.

While the Aspire AME600-UR378 understandably didn't display the same 3D rendering prowess as desktops sporting discrete graphics processors did, it held its ground in 3DMark 11 (1,478 in Entry-level settings; 230 in Extreme-level settings) where it counted?against the Gateway DX4870-UR11P (1,460 points in Entry-level settings), the only other system in the class with an integrated GPU. It came as no surprise, then, that the Aspire AME600-UR378 was outflanked by systems in its class with discrete graphics, like the Asus CM6870 (2,832 points and 523 points, respectively) and the Lenovo K430 (2,948 points and 525 points, respectively.

Like the Lenovo K430, the Aspire AME600-UR378 failed to crack the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier in the high-end gaming arena. Such was the case in both our Aliens vs. Predator benchmark test (14fps with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 5fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) and our Heaven benchmark tests (14fps with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 4fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution), and this shortcoming is more forgivable than it is with the IdeaCentre K430's inability to do so in both Aliens vs. Predator (12fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) and Heaven (26fps and 12fps) since that system is actually touted as a gaming rig.

All said, the Acer Aspire AME600-UR378 is a good choice for users looking for an affordably priced mainstream multimedia desktop preloaded with Windows 8. In addition to its solid hardware offerings, it also offers decent expandability and comes with a reasonable price tag. At the same time, however, the mere inclusion of Windows 8 alone hardly distinguishes it from our current Editors' Choice for midrange desktop PCs, the Gateway DX4870-UR11P, a system whose extremely similar specs and slightly lower price help keep it at the top of the pile. Still, the Aspire AME600-UR378 is certainly worth checking out.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Acer Aspire AME600-UR378 with several other desktops side by side.

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??? Acer Aspire AME600-UR378
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Colleges help students put best Web foot forward

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) ? Samantha Grossman wasn't always thrilled with the impression that emerged when people Googled her name.

"It wasn't anything too horrible," she said. "I just have a common name. There would be pictures, college partying pictures, that weren't of me, things I wouldn't want associated with me."

So before she graduated from Syracuse University last spring, the school provided her with an online tool that allowed her to put her best Web foot forward. Now when people Google her, they go straight to a positive image ? professional photo, cum laude degree and credentials ? that she credits with helping her land a digital advertising job in New York.

"I wanted to make sure people would find the actual me and not these other people," she said.

Syracuse, Rochester, and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore are among the universities that offer such online tools to their students free of charge, realizing ill-considered Web profiles of drunken frat parties, prank videos and worse can doom graduates to a lifetime of unemployment ? even if the pages are somebody else's with the same name.

It's a growing trend based on studies showing that most employers Google prospective hires and nearly all of them won't bother to go past the first page of results. The online tools don't eliminate the embarrassing material, they just put the graduate's most flattering, professional profile front and center.

"These students have been comfortable with the intimate details of their lives on display since birth," said Lisa Severy, president-elect of the National Career Development Association and director of career services at the University of Colorado-Boulder, which does not offer the service.

"The first item on our 'five things to do before you graduate' list is 'clean up your online profile,'" she said. "We call it the grandma test ? if you don't want her to see it, you probably don't want an employer to, either."

After initially supplying BrandYourself accounts to graduating seniors, Syracuse University this year struck a deal with the company ? begun by a trio of alumni ? to offer accounts to all of its undergraduate and graduate students and alumni at no additional charge. About 25,000 people have access to it so far.

"It's becoming more and more important for students to be aware of and able to manage their online presence, to be able to have strong, positive things come up on the Internet when someone seeks them out," said Mike Cahill, Syracuse's career services director.

Online reputation repair companies have been around for at least a couple of years, often charging hundreds or thousands of dollars a year to arrange for good results on search engine result pages. BrandYourself, which normally charges $10 a month for an account, launched two years ago as a less expensive, do-it-yourself alternative after co-founder Pete Kistler ran into a problem with his own name.

"He couldn't get an internship because he was getting mistaken for a drug dealer with the same name," said co-founder Patrick Ambron. "He couldn't even get calls back and found out that was the problem."

An April survey of 2,000 hiring managers from CareerBuilder found nearly two in five companies use social networking sites to research job candidates and 11 percent said they planned to start. A third of the hiring managers who said they research candidates reported finding something like a provocative photo or evidence of drinking or drug use that cost the candidate a job.

"We want our students and alumni actively involved in shaping their online presence," said Johns Hopkins Career Center Director Mark Presnell. Students are encouraged to promote positive, professional content that's easily found by employers, he said.

BrandYourself works by analyzing search terms in a user's online profile to determine, for example, that a LinkedIn account might rank 25th on Google searches of the user's name. The program then suggests ways to boost that ranking. The software also provides alerts when an unidentified result appears on a user's first page or if any links rise or fall significantly in rank.

Nati Katz, a public relations strategist, views his presence online as a kind of virtual storefront that he began carefully tending while in graduate school at Syracuse.

Google his name and up pops his LinkedIn page with a listing of the jobs he's held in digital media and the "500+ connections" badge of honor. His Facebook account is adorned with Katz smiling over an elegant Thanksgiving dinner table. There are a couple of professional profiles and his Tumblr link, one after another on the first page of results and all highlighting his professional experience.

Before his 2011 graduation, he took the university up on its offer of the BrandYourself account and said it gave him a leg up with potential employers and internship supervisors.

"Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with anything negative under my profile," said Katz, who used the reputation website BrandYourself.com while pursuing dual degrees in public relations and international affairs. "What I was trying to form was really a nice, clean, neat page, very professional."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-26-Reputation%20Rescue/id-8c8b1da79b2648e6b69e70f0483383fc

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