Windows XP Automatically Logs Off After Login

A malware infected registry can cause this harmless but annoying problem where Windows immediately logs off straight after logging on.

I’ve heard of guys reinstalling their entire systems because of this auto logoff issue.  Bizarre stuff.

If Windows XP automatically logs you off after login you can try these two step by step solutions.

The solutions are similar but one is executed locally and the other remotely over the network.

There’s also a third possible solution which is to edit the registry via command prompt which can be very tricky.

If you’re really stuck, leave a comment.

Boot up Windows XP into Command Prompt (If you don’t how to get into Safe Mode, see this article).
Note:  If you can’t get into Safe Mode you can try this from another Windows computer on your network.  See below for more.When at the desktop, click Start > RunType regedit and click OKIn regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonIn the right pane, double click on ShellEnter the following: explorer.exeClick OKIn the right pane again, double click UserInitEnter the following (assuming your hard disk is c:): c:\windows\system32\userinit.exeClick OKExit RegeditRestart your computer and try logging in
Boot up a working Windows XP computer normally.When at the desktop, click Start > RunType regedit and click OKClick File > Connect Network Registry…Enter the hostname or IP address of the infected PC > Click OKIn regedit, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinlogonIn the right pane, double click on ShellEnter the following: explorer.exeClick OKIn the right pane again, double click UserInitEnter the following (assuming your hard disk is c:): c:\windows\system32\userinit.exeClick OKExit RegeditRestart your computer and try logging in
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Stop Windows Rebooting Automatically After Updates

In fact, it’s more than annoying.

Sometimes it’s downright infuriating – especially if you’ve been working on something in the evening, you get up from your computer and walk away without saving it and then come back in the morning to find the ‘Windows installed new updates‘ message happily grinning at you.

By default, Windows is set to install Windows Updates at about 3am and to automatically restart your computer when it’s finished.

It doesn’t really matter if you have 20 programs open or unsaved documents;  Windows simply restarts your computer – forcibly.

Here’s a few ways to prevent that from ever happening again:

Click Start > RunType gpedit.msc and click OK.Expand Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows UpdateDouble-click either “No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations” or “No auto-restart with logged in users for scheduled automatic updates installations” (depending on your Windows version)Select the Enabled radio button and click OKRestart Windows. Click Start > RunType regedit and click OK.Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Policies \Microsoft\Windows \WindowsUpdate\AU Change the “NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers” DWord value to 0 (zero)Restart Windows.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Esure staff to share £3m bonanza after insurance firm's flotation

From the postroom to the boardroom, around 1,000 Esure workers are set to share a £3m payout following the company's flotation this month.
The insurance business behind what are arguably some of the most annoying adverts on TV for brands including Sheila's Wheels and gocompare.com made the announcement in its prospectus as it plans to go public with a value of up to £1.3bn.
If successful, it will make the FTSE 250 listing the biggest of the year so far and leave multimillionaire founder Peter Wood with up to £151m when he sells a quarter of his 49% stake in the firm he set up 13 years ago.
He will remain the biggest shareholder, with 35% of the company, and stay on as chairman with a £730,000 annual salary, private health insurance and his own driver for business and personal use.
The sale is also set to give a significant boost for the Exchequer, with up to £42m due in capital gains tax on Wood's windfall, after the businessman, who is known for paying substantial tax in the UK, decided against relocating to Jersey for the flotation.
Esure's chief executive Stuart Vann could earn up to £1.7m for his work in the first year and chief finance officer Darren Ogden, could earn up to £1m.
The firm employs 1,400 staff and the prospectus reveals it will give long-service awards to any members of staff who have been there for two years or more.
A source close to the business said: "It will be very democratic, with the payouts based purely on length of service rather than on pay level, and ranging from a few hundred to several thousand pounds."
The payouts will be in the form of shares worth £3m in total, which can be sold in three years' time.
The company, which insures 5% of British motorists, aims to sell around 50% of its share capital for between 240p and 310p per share as bosses start a two-week roadshow to woo potential investors. Around £50m of the cash raised will be used to pay off company debts and if the float succeeds the business will move straight into the FTSE 250, alongside rival insurer Direct Line, which was also founded by Wood and floated by Royal Bank of Scotland last October.
"We have worked hard for many years to make Esure a business that can compete at the highest level with confidence," Wood said. "Today is a milestone reached through enormous hard work by the Esure board, executive team and staff.
"We live and breathe insurance at Esure and look forward to bringing that knowledge, commitment and focus to bear as a premium listed company."
Vann will get a basic salary of £475,000, with a 16% pension top-up payment of £79,000, plus a bonus of up to £356,250 in the first year if certain financial targets are met. He will also be entitled to shares worth £831,250 at flotation, but will not be able to cash them in for at least three years and then only if targets are achieved.
Ogden will take home up to £514,600 in the first year and entitled to £465,000-worth of shares which he can sell in three years, pending achievements.
Some bonuses will have clawback agreements attached to them.
The float comes just three years after Wood led a management buyout of a 70% stake from Lloyds Banking Group, which valued the insurer at just £260m.
Never employing a marketing manager, Wood has always overseen the brand image of the business, including the neon pink-clad women advertising Sheila's Wheels, using Michael Winner in Esure commercials with the catchphrase "Calm down, dear" and joint venture Go Compare with its opera-singing mascot.
He also set up Direct Line, with its distinctive red phone on wheels and catchy jingle. Direct Line was recently floated by RBS and became particularly popular with retail investors, with shares rising 20%.
Wood recently told the Guardian: "This is my seventh insurer – and my last. I will be here for as long as I can make a contribution. Or until Stuart [Vann] taps me on the shoulder and says 'Time for a bit more golf'."
Last year Esure revealed that annual pre-tax profits had doubled to £116m.

Esure staff to share £3m bonanza after insurance firm's flotation

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Peter Wood who has run Esure since the launch in 2000, will retain a 35% stake in the business. Photograph Frank Baron for the Guardian

From the postroom to the boardroom, around 1,000 Esure workers are set to share a £3m payout following the company's flotation this month.

The insurance business behind what are arguably some of the most annoying adverts on TV for brands including Sheila's Wheels and gocompare.com made the announcement in its prospectus as it plans to go public with a value of up to £1.3bn.

If successful, it will make the FTSE 250 listing the biggest of the year so far and leave multimillionaire founder Peter Wood with up to £151m when he sells a quarter of his 49% stake in the firm he set up 13 years ago.

He will remain the biggest shareholder, with 35% of the company, and stay on as chairman with a £730,000 annual salary, private health insurance and his own driver for business and personal use.

The sale is also set to give a significant boost for the Exchequer, with up to £42m due in capital gains tax on Wood's windfall, after the businessman, who is known for paying substantial tax in the UK, decided against relocating to Jersey for the flotation.

Esure's chief executive Stuart Vann could earn up to £1.7m for his work in the first year and chief finance officer Darren Ogden, could earn up to £1m.

The firm employs 1,400 staff and the prospectus reveals it will give long-service awards to any members of staff who have been there for two years or more.

A source close to the business said: "It will be very democratic, with the payouts based purely on length of service rather than on pay level, and ranging from a few hundred to several thousand pounds."

The payouts will be in the form of shares worth £3m in total, which can be sold in three years' time.

The company, which insures 5% of British motorists, aims to sell around 50% of its share capital for between 240p and 310p per share as bosses start a two-week roadshow to woo potential investors. Around £50m of the cash raised will be used to pay off company debts and if the float succeeds the business will move straight into the FTSE 250, alongside rival insurer Direct Line, which was also founded by Wood and floated by Royal Bank of Scotland last October.

"We have worked hard for many years to make Esure a business that can compete at the highest level with confidence," Wood said. "Today is a milestone reached through enormous hard work by the Esure board, executive team and staff.

"We live and breathe insurance at Esure and look forward to bringing that knowledge, commitment and focus to bear as a premium listed company."

Vann will get a basic salary of £475,000, with a 16% pension top-up payment of £79,000, plus a bonus of up to £356,250 in the first year if certain financial targets are met. He will also be entitled to shares worth £831,250 at flotation, but will not be able to cash them in for at least three years and then only if targets are achieved.

Ogden will take home up to £514,600 in the first year and entitled to £465,000-worth of shares which he can sell in three years, pending achievements.

Some bonuses will have clawback agreements attached to them.

The float comes just three years after Wood led a management buyout of a 70% stake from Lloyds Banking Group, which valued the insurer at just £260m.

Never employing a marketing manager, Wood has always overseen the brand image of the business, including the neon pink-clad women advertising Sheila's Wheels, using Michael Winner in Esure commercials with the catchphrase "Calm down, dear" and joint venture Go Compare with its opera-singing mascot.

He also set up Direct Line, with its distinctive red phone on wheels and catchy jingle. Direct Line was recently floated by RBS and became particularly popular with retail investors, with shares rising 20%.

Wood recently told the Guardian: "This is my seventh insurer – and my last. I will be here for as long as I can make a contribution. Or until Stuart [Vann] taps me on the shoulder and says 'Time for a bit more golf'."

Last year Esure revealed that annual pre-tax profits had doubled to £116m.

Hunt for missing soldier after failed hostage rescue - Telegraph.co.uk

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The rescue attempt is thought to have been triggered because they feared that Mr Allex would be executed in revenge for France's military involvement in Mali, a former French colony.

Both the Mali rebels and al-Shabaab are known to support al Qaeda.

The mission appears to have gone badly wrong - initially the French authorities announced that Mr Allex and two soliders had been killed in the operation, but they later said only one solider had been killed.

Officials said they believed Mr Allex had also died in the battle, but al-Shabaab insisted he was safe and far from the location of the battle.

The militant group said that five French helicopters had attacked a location in Bula-Marer at around 2am on Saturday morning and that a "fierce firefight" had lasted for 45 minutes.

They said the French forces had left one of their injured comrades lying on the ground and he was now "in custody".

Residents in the town also told the BBC that at least four civilians, including a pregnant woman, had been killed in the cross-fire.

"Commandos broke into where Allex was being detained last night and immediately faced strong resistance. Everything leads us to believe that Denis Allex was unfortunately killed by his captors," said Mr Le Drian.

Mr Allex had been training Somali fighters loyal to the government when he was seized with a comrade who later managed to escape.

According to the statement by al-Shabaab n announcement about his fate would be made within two days, but the group promised "bitter consequences" for the French government.

In another blow to France, a pilot died during operations against rebels in Mali, in what appears to be a dramatic new western military intervention in the former French colony.

The pilot was fatally injured during a helicopter attack on Friday afternoon to repulse rebel forces near Konna, a key desert town.

"During this intense combat, one of our pilots... was fatally wounded," said Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Defence Minister.

Special forces were among hundreds of French troops and Malian government soldiers who drove rebels out of the town on Saturday, turning back a rebel advance.

Mr Le Drian said the operation had destroyed a rebel command centre, adding that there had been three strikes on rebel targets overnight.

He said France was compelled to act quickly to stop the Islamist offensive, which he said could allow "a terrorist state at the doorstep of France and Europe."

Britain and America announced their support for the operation, ordered by French President Francois Hollande after the Islamists threatened to break out of their northern stronghold and invade the south of the country.

Mali's fragile government had begged for help from France after Islamists drove their army out of the northern town of Konna on Thursday.

It was the fiercest fighting in the Saharan nation since rebels grabbed control of a vast territory bigger than France nine months ago.

An international taskforce was being prepared and was expected to go into action later this year against the rebels. But after Konna was seized, French forces were ordered into action, apparently supported by African armies.

President Hollande said he ordered the operation at the request of President Dioncounda Traore, Mali's president, who has declared a state of emergency.

The French president described the rebels as terrorist groups, drug traffickers and extremists, and said they "show a brutality that threatens us all." He said the operation would last "as long as necessary."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Senegal and Nigeria also responded to the appeal for help to counter the militants.

Residents in central Mali said they had seen Western military personnel arriving in the area, with planes landing at a nearby airport throughout the night.

Sanda Abou Moahmed, a spokesman for the main rebel Ansar Dine group, mocked the Malian president for calling French troops into their former colony.

"While Dioncounda Traore asked for help from France, we ask for guidance from Allah and from other Muslims in our sub-region because this war has become a war against the crusaders," he said by telephone from Timbuktu.

For the past nine months militants have ruled the north of Mali, a lawless desert region where kidnapping has flourished.

There are 6000 French citizens in Mali, and they have been urged to leave. Kidnappers currently hold seven French hostages in the nation.

A Mali army official said that Islamist militants had been driven out of Konna. Lt. Col. Diarran Kone said on Saturday that the military did not yet control the city and were still searching for any hidden Islamist extremist elements there.

"The Islamists have been chased out of the city of Konna. We are doing sweeps of the city to find any hidden Islamist extremist elements," said Lt. Col. Kone.

"The full recovery of the city is too early to determine as we do not yet control the city, and we remain vigilant."

The operation in Mali is the first military intervention under the leadership of President Hollande, just weeks after he pulled France's last combat troops out of Afghanistan, ending an increasingly unpopular 11-year presence there.

France was a leading force in the NATO operation against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's forces in 2011.

Also that year, France played a driving role in an international military intervention to oust Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to leave power after disputed elections.

View the original article here

In England, the day after Christmas, boxing day, mean football games

Click Here! The request channel timed out while waiting for a reply after 00:01. Increase the timeout value passed to the call to Request or increase the SendTimeout value on the Binding. The time allotted to this operation may have been a portion of a longer timeout. A national holiday, the day after Christmas (also called St. Stephen's Day) has come to be known as Boxing Day. The origin of its name is largely unknown. One theory suggests the date was a day off for servants who would receive a Christmas box from their employers to take home to their families. Another proposes that great ships setting sail would have a sealed box full of money onboard for good luck. If the voyage was a success, the box was given to the church and the contents donated to the poor on this day.

--> Whatever its roots, its quintessentially British traditions are steeped in history, of which soccer is the centerpiece for many.
The tradition of soccer on Boxing Day dates to 1860, when the world's oldest and second-oldest clubs the first interclub match constructors. Hallam and Sheffield played a game under Sheffield Rules, to 19th-century interpretation of today's modern sport that still permitted participants to catch the ball with their hands. Derby matches were once contrived to fall on Dec. 26, bypassing the computer that randomly decides the schedule for the rest of the season. That particular tradition is now neglected in the upper echelons of English soccer. The past two seasons have had only two genuine derbies, with Fulham drawing with Chelsea in 2011 and West Ham winning at Craven Cottage the year before that. Only Arsenal and West Ham represented such a clash this year, until planned London Underground strikes for Wednesday forced a postponement.
These local games were devised to ensure that supporters would not have to travel long distances at a time of the year that revolves around the home. Those who perhaps would not or could not attend their local team's games for a majority of the season would go to the Boxing Day derby, in much the same way some Christians might attend only Christmas Eve services.
Perhaps it is an indictment of modern soccer's precedence that this consideration is now dismissed. Or maybe the authorities simply decided that holding feisty derby matches fueled by alcohol was probably not the best way to mark the holidays. (At one game between Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United in 1979, players and supporters took Boxing Day a little too literally, and more than 50 were arrested.) The most remarkable Boxing Day occurred in 1963, when 157 goals were scored in 39 games, with Fulham registering at 10-1 win over Ipswich Town. Liverpool defeating Stoke City, 6-1; Blackburn Rovers West Ham routing, 8-2; and Burnley topping Manchester United, 6-1.
Surprisingly, when United met Burnley again two days later, it scored five goals. Likewise, Ipswich defeated Fulham, 4-2, and West Ham also completed an unlikely turnaround, beating Blackburn by 3-1. As far as the rest of Europe is concerned, sports on Dec. 26 is a uniquely British. In Germany, the Bundesliga takes a six-week break in December and January. France similarly enters a state of hibernation, and some Eastern European countries changed all sporting endeavors until March.
But in Britain (Scotland's Premier League also has a full slate of games), the festivities are a time honored and much-loved highlight of the sporting calendar, despite a degree of clamor from some for a continental-style winter break. Outsiders question why the most games are played at the most volatile time of the year. (Many lower-level teams will be unable to complete their schedules for months because of unplayable fields.) Insiders might not have an answer.
British Boxing Day sports, in general, has a long and storied history. Dog-led fox hunts were a popular pastime, particularly among the upper classes, until the sport was outlawed in 2005. Horse racing was also a Dec. 26 staple, with the King George VI Chase still hosted every year at Kempton racecourse. Rugby once operated a schedule similar to soccer's until adopting a summer season in 1996. One Boxing Day tradition that has withstood time along with soccer is the urge to take to the sea, as participants don novelty costumes and plunge into the icy waters. That custom puts typical British eccentricity on full display "all along the shoreline.
But no other sport can claim a stronger influence of good will over the holidays than soccer. Even during World War I, British and German troops called a temporary truce over Christmas to play a game with each other between their trenches. Festive traditions tend to outlast their practicality; the explanation for the name Boxing Day is a testament to that. Although the custom of soccer on the day after Christmas might have been diluted somewhat over the years, its place on the calendar is still marked.
Soccer and Christmas have changed significantly since Hallam and Sheffield played for the first time in 1860, but some traditions are seen as worth preserving.

U.N. Suspends Immunization Field Work in Pakistan After More Attacks

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
The shootings followed a day of violence on Tuesday in the port city of Karachi during which four female health workers were killed. The attacks Wednesday brought the death toll from the three-day polio immunization campaign to eight people, most of them women.

The World Health Organization and Unicef ordered their staff members off the streets in response to the latest shootings, although some provincial governments continued to immunize children.

The shootings represent the most direct assault yet on an urgently needed public health program in one of the world’s last remaining reservoirs of the polio virus. Pakistan is one of three countries were polio remains endemic — the others are Nigeria and Afghanistan — and it has made strong progress against the disease after a disastrous rate of infection last year.

So far in 2012, officials say, Pakistan has recorded 56 new polio cases, compared with 192 at the same point in 2011. The turnaround is due to a series of nationwide immunization drives targeting children under 5, which can involve up to 225,000 public health workers.

But the unprecedented series of attacks targeting female health workers in recent days threatens to hinder future immunization efforts.

The attacks Wednesday were concentrated in the districts around Peshawar. North of the city, a gunman riding a motorcycle killed a female health worker and her driver. Another driver was seriously wounded in a second episode close to the city center. And in Nowshera, east of Peshawar, four female health workers reported being shot at but not hit.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban denied responsibility for the attacks, although the insurgents have a history of threatening polio eradication programs, claiming they are a cover for American espionage activities.

But the police in Peshawar said that Taliban fighters based in Mohmand tribal agency, north of Peshawar, were involved in at least two of the attacks in the Peshawar area.

One woman who came under fire described the attack, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “Two people were riding a motorbike,” she said. “The one wearing a mask pulled out a gun and fired four shots. We shouted. The bullets whizzed past us, but luckily we were safe.”

The Taliban’s suspicions about vaccination workers were aggravated by the case of Shakil Afridi, a doctor from the tribal areas who was paid by the Central Intelligence Agency to run a bogus hepatitis vaccination campaign near Osama bin Laden’s house in Abbottabad in the run-up to the May 2011 American commando raid that killed the Qaeda leader. Dr. Afridi has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for treason.

But the Taliban have also used the polio campaign — a rare effort by the government to extend its authority into the tribal belt — for raw political purposes. In North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a major Taliban-affiliated warlord, has banned polio vaccination until America halts drone strikes in the area.

In contrast, the Taliban in Afghanistan have taken a more enlightened approach to polio vaccination, in some cases actively sponsoring the campaign, said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, a senior Pakistani polio official.

“What’s happening here is much, much more sinister,” she said. “And it’s happening right in the heart of our cities.”

Vaccination rounds in Pakistan take place many times each year, with teams of health workers visiting homes and public spaces to deliver polio immunization drops to children.

The three-day vaccination round under way this week, which began on Monday, targeted parts of the country worst hit by the virus — the northwest, the tribal belt, and Karachi — and was due to involve an estimated 135,000 health workers, according to the government.

The lower house of Parliament adopted a unanimous resolution Wednesday condemning the attacks on polio campaign volunteers.

“We cannot and would not allow polio to wreak havoc on the lives of our children,” Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Tuesday.

Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan.

View the original article here

White House Memo: President Obama Facing Critical Choice After Newtown Shooting

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Should he invest his energy and the stature he won with his re-election last month in a fight he may believe in but is not sure he can actually win? And with his last election now behind him, is he willing or even able to shift the dynamics in Washington to make such fights winnable?

To his core supporters, this is a moment that will define what a second-term Obama presidency will look like — whether it will be closer to the soaring aspirations that set liberal hearts aflutter in 2008 or more like the back-room deal making that characterized the four years that followed. Advocates on the left have long lamented that Mr. Obama was too quick to compromise, even as those on the right see him as a champion of a radical agenda.

From his point of view, Mr. Obama has been pragmatic, making cleareyed if cold assessments about when the votes were there and when they were not. Mr. Obama does not accept the notion that he has not pursued goals that seemed hard to achieve, most notably the historic health care program he pushed through. The economic crisis invariably forced other priorities onto the shelf.

But with the election over, outside events have now presented Mr. Obama with a series of decisions. Vote counts might suggest that he is still a long way from passing significant legislation on climate change, immigration and gun control. But Hurricane Sandy, last month’s Latino turnout for Democrats and now the Newtown shootings have also given him openings to make new arguments.

The developments in his fiscal negotiations with Republicans, overshadowed momentarily by the gun control debate, underscore the same tension. After agreeing to renew Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy in his first term, Mr. Obama has stood firm against it on the eve of his second and forced Republicans to accept raising rates on high income. But he compromised this week by agreeing to exempt many of those he has deemed wealthy and faces a test on whether he will stick to that even as House Republicans readied an alternative proposal.

Although he has spoken out for gun control without putting muscle into it before, his emotional speech at a memorial service in Newtown on Sunday declaring that there was no longer any “excuse for inaction” suggested that this time may be different. The pressure is high from pundits who compared the speech to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and suggested that Newtown may be what Birmingham was to John F. Kennedy in inspiring civil rights action.

“This moment is so pain-filled and there is such a desire — I think you can feel it building — to move forward in a common-sense way that he sees the imperative,” said Melody Barnes, the president’s former domestic policy adviser. “I’ve looked at the pictures of his face, and I think he sees that there’s no other course than to move forward. The situation demands it.”

Yet the normally sure-footed White House has seemed uncertain how far the president intends to go. Aides who normally offer expansive explanations of Mr. Obama’s thinking have declined to return phone calls. On Monday, Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, generally stuck to repeating the president’s words from his speech to avoid boxing him in, and he tamped down expectations of instant action by using the phrase “in coming weeks” 16 times.

Then, later in the day, the White House confirmed that Mr. Obama had met with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and three cabinet secretaries to discuss gun control and other responses to the tragedy, but declined to provide details. Even the simple question of whether the president put Mr. Biden in charge of developing a response went unanswered by a half-dozen White House aides questioned on Tuesday. (The president planned to announce Mr. Biden's assignment on Wednesday morning.)

The White House opened the window a little on Tuesday, hinting at the kinds of gun measures Mr. Obama would embrace. In the past, he has endorsed the reinstatement of an expired ban on assault weapons, but this time, Mr. Carney said the president would be “actively supportive” of a new legislative effort. The president will also support reversing the exemption from background checks for gun show purchases in certain circumstances and “potentially” limits on high-capacity ammunition clips of the sort used in Newtown, Mr. Carney said.

But Mr. Carney said the president hoped to forge a broader response, including looking at mental health, education and cultural issues.

These decisions are made on a scale of trade-offs that may be unique to the White House. President Bill Clinton made big pushes in his early days for priorities that did not have the votes, or that helped cost Democrats control of Congress in his first midterm election, including the assault weapon ban that later expired and left the party feeling burned for nearly two decades. Then Mr. Clinton adjusted and focused more on making incremental progress toward his goals.

President George W. Bush scorned what he considered Mr. Clinton’s “small ball” approach and prided himself on bold initiatives like cutting taxes, remaking education, expanding Medicare to cover prescription drugs and combating AIDS in Africa. But by his second term, he pursued big goals like overhauling Social Security and immigration only to lose.

“There certainly can be a cost to it,” said Peter Wehner, an adviser to Mr. Bush who worked for Mitt Romney this year. “You can fight for something and lose and be a weakened figure. On the other hand, sometimes there’s honor in loss. You may lose but in the process you advance a cause in the eyes of history.”

Mr. Wehner and other conservatives consider the groundswell for gun control to be understandable but more a symbolic gesture than an effective response. But he said Mr. Obama had been smart about picking the terrain he fought on. “He has waited until the stars aligned before he acted,” he said.

In the end, the stars have not aligned before for Obama priorities like legislation on climate change and immigration. He took office amid the worst economic crisis in generations and pursued a historic health coverage expansion that had eluded his predecessors. By the time he pushed that through, enacted a stimulus package, toughened Wall Street regulations and lifted limits on gays in the military, he had lost the House and did not think the new Republican majority would agree to gun legislation.

“The president always had a personal commitment to the issue,” said Phil Schiliro, who was Mr. Obama’s first legislative affairs director. “But given the crisis he faced when he first took office, there’s only so much capacity in the system to move his agenda.”

View the original article here

Stomach-Acid-Suppressing Drugs May Raise Risk of Death After Angioplasty

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
TUESDAY, Nov. 17, 2009 (Health.com) — Heart patients who take certain stomach-acid-suppressing drugs to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding may be at increased risk of dying after a cardiac procedure, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Orlando.

Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City, reported that patients who underwent angioplasty, a procedure to clear blocked blood vessels in the heart, were 30% more likely to die if they were taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

It’s unclear whether the patients in the study who were prescribed these medications were sicker than those who weren’t, and thus more likely to die. The study's lead author, Joseph M. Sweeny, MD, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai, says that he will continue to follow current guidelines on prescribing PPIs, but that he will also be "very careful" in deciding which of his patients need to be on the drugs.

Before undergoing angioplasty, heart patients are typically prescribed blood-thinning drugs such as aspirin and Plavix, which increase the risk of stomach bleeding and ulcers. In a joint statement issued in 2008, the AHA, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American College of Cardiologists indicated that PPIs could help prevent stomach bleeding in people at high risk.

But some experts have raised concerns that PPIs could make Plavix less effective because they block the action of enzymes that are crucial for metabolizing the blood-thinning drug. A number of studies have suggested that mixing the two drugs could be risky for patients, while others have not.

The study examined some 8,300 angioplasty patients who had had drug-secreting stents placed in their hearts to prop open narrowed blood vessels. In all, 17% of the patients were prescribed PPIs.

During the follow-up period, which lasted an average of two years, 602 patients died. When Dr. Sweeny and his colleagues broke patients into groups according to which PPI they were taking, they found that omeprazole (Prilosec) and pantoprazole (Protonix) were associated with an increased risk of death of 72% and 54%, respectively, in the years following the procedure.

Two other PPIs, esomeprazole (Nexium) and lansoprazole (Prevacid), were not associated with a greater risk of dying after the procedure. It’s not clear whether this means some PPIs were safer than others, says Dr. Sweeny.

“The numbers that I got were very dramatic,” Dr. Sweeny says. “You have to raise questions as to exactly what this is coming from.”

The findings need to be interpreted cautiously, he adds, because the patients who were taking PPIs may have been sicker to begin with. “What the clinical implications of this are right now I don’t know,” he says. However, the risk of death and complications after angioplasty is relatively low overall.

“The jury is still out regarding acid-suppressing medications and Plavix,” says Shoshana J. Herzig, MD, a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, who didn’t participate in Dr. Sweeny’s study.

Because overall mortality in the current study was greater among the patients on PPIs, says Dr. Herzig, it’s definitely possible they may have been sicker in the first place.

Even so, she says, “I think that it’s fairly clear that in patients who are on Plavix and an acid-suppressing medication, we should evaluate whether they actually need that acid-suppressing medication.” Although PPIs usually aren’t intended to be taken indefinitely, patients often wind up staying on the drugs anyhow, she says.

At least in ICU patients, Dr. Herzig says, PPIs are prescribed too often, in large part because the ulcer drugs are viewed as very safe. However, she adds, rarer side effects do come to light when a drug is prescribed to millions of people.

Any patient who is prescribed a PPI, Dr. Herzig and Dr. Sweeny agree, should ask their physician why, and find out how long they need to take the medication.

At the American Heart Association's annual Scientific Sessions meeting, more than 20,000 cardiologists and other physicians from around the country give presentations on new research and on advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke.

Keep your ticker in tip–top shape and fight diabetes with the latest news, recipes, and advice for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Common Painkillers May Be Risky After Heart Attack

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Sept. 10, 2012 -- Heart attack survivors who take commonly used pain relievers have a higher risk of dying or having another heart attack, new research shows.

The Danish study adds to the evidence linking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Voltaren), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve) to poorer outcomes in heart patients.

Using the painkillers after a first heart attack was linked to a higher risk for a second heart attack or death from any cause. And the risk persisted over at least five years.

Like previous studies, the new research does not prove that NSAIDs are directly responsible for these events.

But the evidence as a whole strongly suggests that the pain relievers should be used cautiously, if at all, by heart attack survivors, says Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen, MD, who led the Danish study.

"Our results indicate that use of NSAIDs is associated with persistently increased coronary risk, regardless of the time elapsed after a [heart attack]," she says. "Thus, long-term caution is advised in all patients."

The study included data on nearly 100,000 survivors of first heart attacks, taken from Danish hospital and pharmacy registries.

Just under half of the people (44%) filled at least one prescription for an NSAID at some point after their heart attack.

Compared to those who presumably did not take NSAIDs, people who did had a 59% increased risk of death from any cause within one year of having the heart attack and a 63% increased risk over five years.

The risk of having another heart attack or dying from heart disease was 30% higher after one year in NSAID users and 41% after five years.

American Heart Association (AHA) immediate past president Gordon Tomaselli, MD, says the study is one of the first to suggest that NSAID use may be risky for many years after a first heart attack.

Tomaselli directs the division of cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

In 2007, the AHA issued a statement on NSAID use in heart patients, urging doctors to carefully weigh the risks vs. benefits before recommending the drugs or prescribing them.

Tomaselli says this means carefully assessing a person's risk, which is influenced by conditions like heart failure or diabetes.

He says for many heart patients, non-NSAID painkillers like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or even short-term prescription-narcotic use may be safer pain-relief options.

"Patients who do take NSAIDs should always use the lowest dose possible to control pain for the shortest duration," Tomaselli says. Heart attack survivors should talk to their doctor before regularly using any NSAID, even those available without prescription like ibuprofen or naproxen, he says.

Even though there have been concerns about the safety of NSAID use in heart attack survivors for many years, Schjerning Olsen says most people, and many doctors, are unaware of the potential risk.

"It is important to get the message out to clinicians taking care of patients with cardiovascular disease that NSAIDs are harmful, even several years after a heart attack," she says.

The study appears today in the journal Circulation.

SOURCES: Schjerning Olsen, A.M. Circulation, Sept. 10, 2012. Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen, MD, research fellow, Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte, Hellerup, Denmark. Gordon Tomaselli, MD, director, division of cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; immediate past president, American Heart Association. News release, American Heart Association.

©2012 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

View the original article here

Longer Resuscitation After Cardiac Arrest May Be Warranted, Study Suggests

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Longer resuscitation efforts improve the chances of survival in patients who suffer cardiac arrest in a hospital, new research contends.

The finding, published Sept. 4 in The Lancet, may be controversial, since it challenges the common belief that it's futile to extend resuscitation in patients who do not respond immediately, the study authors said.

However, study lead author Zachary Goldberger of the University of Washington said the new findings "suggest that prolonging resuscitation efforts by 10 or 15 minutes might improve outcomes."

Speaking in a Lancet news release, he added that extending resuscitation would not use up much more medical resources and have only "modest" effects on the patient's neurological health, should he or she survive.

In the study, Goldberger's team analyzed data from more than 64,000 patients at 435 U.S. hospitals who underwent resuscitation after suffering a cardiac arrest between 2000 and 2008. There was wide variation in the average duration of resuscitation attempts at the hospitals.

However, patients at hospitals where resuscitation efforts lasted the longest were more likely to be successfully revived (restoration of heart beat for at least 20 minutes) and to survive to be discharged from the hospital than patients at hospitals where resuscitation attempts were shortest.

The percentage of patients who survived to hospital discharge and had little or no brain damage was similar regardless of the length of resuscitation, the study found.

The researchers said their findings can't be used to define the ideal duration for resuscitation attempts, but do suggest that establishing minimum lengths of time for resuscitation may help improve outcomes in patients who suffer cardiac arrest in a hospital.

Currently, survival for these patients is low. Between one and five of every 1,000 hospitalized patients in developed countries suffer a cardiac arrest, and fewer than 20 percent of those patients survive to be discharged, according to journal background information.

Two specialists were cautious about the findings.

"It is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from this study," said Dr. Kenneth Ong, acting chair of the department of medicine and cardiology at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, in New York City.

"There are many variables that affect a person's survival after cardiac arrest," he said. "As the authors correctly point out, few guidelines exist to assist the resuscitation team, including the duration of the attempt. It is possible that those who survive and undergo the longest resuscitative efforts may have clinical features pointing toward success compared with those who may be judged medically futile by the caretakers and thus have a shorter period of resuscitation."

Another expert said the finding may not apply to most cardiac arrest patients.

"From clinical experience, overall survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest is quite poor when there is no clear reversible cause for the arrest," noted Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City. "However, when there is a potentially reversible cause for the arrest, successful resuscitation efforts may potentially improve. This suggests that in these limited clinical situations, there may be a window of opportunity to improve care by increasing duration of resuscitation time prior to termination of efforts."

Glatter added, however, that the study "did not demonstrate that longer resuscitation efforts resulted in a higher percentage of patients who were neurologically intact upon discharge." He believes that there is no specific, ideal duration for resuscitation and decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis.

Also, Glatter noted, "this study was purely observational, and therefore cannot directly demonstrate a causal relationship between length of resuscitation and improvements in survival."

-- Robert Preidt Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Kenneth Ong, M.D., acting chair, Department of Medicine and Cardiology, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York City; Robert Glatter, M.D., emergency physician, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; The Lancet, news release, Sept. 4, 2012

View the original article here

Men More Prone to Depression After Stroke: Study

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

THURSDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Although depression affects about one-third of all stroke victims, male stroke survivors are more likely to become depressed than females, a small new study suggests.

The gap may be due to men putting extra stock into the notion that they will enjoy good health, one of the researchers explained.

Many of these male stroke survivors "may be accustomed to, and value highly, being in control of their health," said study author Michael McCarthy, of the University of Cincinnati College of Health Sciences School of Social Work. "For these individuals, loss of control due to infirmity caused by stroke could be perceived as a loss of power and prestige. These losses, in turn, may result in more distress and greater depressive syndromes."

The study, published Sept. 12 in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, involved 36 people who had a first stroke within the previous 36 months. Of these stroke survivors, 16 were women and 20 were men.

The researchers assessed the participants' symptoms of depression as well as their ability to perform routine activities, such as bathing and cutting their food. They also examined the amount of uncertainty the survivors had about their health or the outcome of their stroke. The participants were asked to agree or disagree with certain statements, such as "I don't know what's wrong with me," and "I have a lot of questions without answers."

The study revealed that uncertainty about health was strongly associated with greater depression for both men and women. The researchers noted, however, that this link was stronger for the men.

The findings suggest that talking to survivors and their family members in clear, easily understood terms about the patient's health "may be an effective approach for reducing survivor distress and, ultimately, for improving rehabilitation outcomes," McCarthy said in a news release from the journal.

The researchers noted that the study was limited in size and diversity. McCarthy said that future studies with people from various social and economic backgrounds should give more data on how gender and health-related beliefs affect survivor outcomes. More research might also illuminate how women are relatively protected from depression after a stroke, compared to men.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, news release, Sept. 12, 2012

View the original article here

The progress of Alzheimer's slower after 80: study

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Aug. 2 HealthDay News)--the Deadly March Alzheimer is less in people age 80 or older than younger elderly, scientists have found.

The risk of developing Alzheimer's increases with age, and by 85, the risk is about 50 percent. But those who develop progressive brain disorder that at the end of life will be less aggressive than the disease whose symptoms appear in the 1960s and 1970s, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

Lead researcher Dominic Holland from the University Department of neurosciences, said that doctors will need to consider these findings, assessing the elderly patients with Alzheimer 's.

"Methods of early detection, which will be based on biomarkers, as well as mental capacity, you should consider the age of the persons assessed," he said. Because the "old" elderly could deteriorate in a slightly slower rate than younger patients, doctors may not realize that these people suffering from Alzheimer 's.

The findings also have relevance for the assessment of potential Alzheimer's treatment and prognosis for patients of different Alzheimer's care costs, clinical Holland and other experts say.

There is currently no effective treatment or the treatment of Alzheimer 's, which gradually destroys the cells of the brain and robs people of memory and their ability to perform everyday tasks and communication.

The report was published online in the journal PLoS Aug. 2 one.

Study progress of Alzheimer, Holland and colleagues used data from the research initiative of the Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging. They looked at more than 700 people aged 65 to 90, some with normal mental functioning, some mild symptoms of dementia and other persons suffering from Alzheimer 's.

Participants are tested every 6 or 12 months.

The researchers found that Alzheimer's patients lost mental skills to younger more quickly than older patients.

The decline among patients younger paralleled the accelerated loss of brain tissue and increase bone marrow or knob fluid Alzheimer's seen among the younger age group, compared with older patients, study authors added.

Researchers are not sure why Alzheimer's is more aggressive in younger patients. One explanation may be that older patients are decreasing trend in this slower pace for a longer period of time, in some unknown factor keeping symptoms at bay, they suggest.

Another possibility is the older patients with dementia Alzheimer 's, which can place plus the full effect of Alzheimer's in the brain. But such a diagnosis must be made with the Visual inspection, which is the only way that Alzheimer's is diagnosed, Holland noted carefully.

Alzheimer's disease currently affects an estimated 5.6 million Americans, and this number is expected to triple by 2050 as the baby boom generation ages.

Finding that previous develops the disease more aggressive is not good news for those younger older patients who suffer losses for a long time, the deterioration of their mental capacities, Holland said.

Another expert said that the findings may have implications for predicting costs of health and clinical trials.

"This is an extremely important paper about the impact on both the forecast costs of care for Alzheimer's and planning clinical trials," said Dr. Sam Gandy, Associate Director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

If the clinical picture in the over-85 population is milder than what is typical in populations Younger, these older patients would remain independent already and projections for the economic burden to the health care system should be adjusted, he said.

"Annual cost of 200 billion dollars in the United States now is; the projection of $ 1 trillion annually by 2050, "Gandy says.

"Maybe that $ 1 trillion is really only $ 500 to 750 billion dollars. Still catastrophic, but it is worth taking this into account, "he added in the projection.

Equally important, if the speed of the decline is less than 85 years of age at the age of 65-years, which must be taken into account during the recruitment for clinical trials, Gandy said.

For example, if all of the patients receiving the drug were more than 85 and all patients receiving inactive placebo were significantly younger, it might appear that the drug worked, when in fact the population were incorrectly matched, Gandy pointed out.

"We must know that we wanted the population to be identical as possible, but really do not know the specific of this phenomenon before," he said.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Dominic Holland, Ph.d., researcher, Department of neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; Sam Gandy, M.D., Ph.d., Mount Sinai Research Chair and Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry Alzheimer's and the CEO, the Mount Sinai Center for cognitive health and Associate Director, Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City; Aug. 2, 2012, PLoS One, the online

View the original article here

After fighting for his life, holds mom finally newborn

Tommy Scott was not worried when his pregnant wife called to tell him she thought she was on the road with a migraine. But when he came home from work, Tommy found amber, 38 weeks pregnant, laying in their bedroom do not react with one eye open and the other closed, Moaning and vomiting.

"Rush of course everything through your head," Tommy told today's Natalie Morales. "I phoned 911 right away and the ambulance was there within 10 minutes and we were at the hospital right away. But it was crazy. "

Doctors determined that the 29-year-old Amber had a ruptured blood vessel in his brain — a condition that occurs in approximately six out of every 100,000 pregnancies.

Surgeons elected to deliver her baby by C-section, and then to operate on Amber's brain.

Initially, everything seemed fine as Amber started to come out of the anesthesia.  But then things took a frightening turn and she was once again responding. Realizing that the Ambers brain had started to swell rapidly, doctors removed part of her skull to protect her brain from being crushed against the bone.

A month later, Amber woke up, but was not well enough to talk himself. All the while watching her family visited regularly, showing Amber photos of baby, Adeline, she had yet to hold or even.

"We wanted to let her know the baby was okay," Tommy told today.  "Since day one we have shows her images."She started to smile a little.  She always smiles now. "

On Sunday, for the first time got Amber to keep her baby and begin to care for her.

"She kept the bottle and fed her," Tommy told today.  "She needs a little assistance, but the most important part, she grabbed the bottle and went right into the mouth. She knows what is going on. For the first time, smiled Adeline also. "

Amber is still got a long way to go. Doctors predict she will be in intensive rehab for weeks working to regain speech and motor skills.

But they say are positive signs.

"She now communicates with us," said Dr. Andrea Toomer, a doctor at West Jefferson Medical Center, just outside New Orleans, today. "She can tell us what she needs and what she wants, what Bothers her. She is able to ask questions about what is going on. "

It is enough for a start to Amber's mom.

"The fact that she witness Adeline now that she recognizes her, that makes me feel better," said Laura Rabalais today.

For Tommy, who had been looking forward to the day when he and his wife would be parents, it has been "bittersweet."

"Of course you satisfied," he told Morales. "I am happy that I am a father now. But of course I will be with yellow all the time, too.

"Amber was so excited for the last nine months. Her whole life, everything revolved around making sure everything was prepared for Adeline. It is so sad. But we try to include Amber in everything we can. We always tell her daily activities. We do our best to keep her informed. "

Tommy takes hope from the speed of Ambers progress so far.

"I never would have thought that we would be this much sooner, compared to where we were we first started," he told today. "She has motivation to get better, and I believe she will definitively".

More health today:
Aimee Copeland in ' high spirits ' in rehab
Fantastic MRI video shows birth from the inside
Dangerous ride? ATV deaths Prompt safety warning

View the original article here

Intimidation Tactics? Prof demoted after criticizing university for PSA seminar

About 20 months ago, Dr. Michael Wilkes of UC-Davis and a colleague wrote an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, “PSA tests can cause more harm than good.”  He questioned his institution’s public event for men focusing on prostate cancer screening.  Excerpts of the editorial:

“Sadly, most men are never told the facts about the test, nor are they encouraged to make their own informed decision. The UC Davis course doesn’t even acknowledge a problem with prostate cancer screening. Its expert presenters – including two urologists and a professional football player (!) – will tell you that you need to “know your (PSA) statistics” beginning at age 40. …

We can’t say why UC Davis offers this course that ignore scientific evidence, but we wonder whether it just might have to do with money. Testing for and treating PSA-identified cancer is a large part of the practice of many urologists so it may not be surprising that urology groups take a far more positive stance on the test than almost any other doctors. They also fund a pro-PSA lobby that now includes the National Football League.

Health care spending is threatening to wreak greater and greater havoc on our economy. That’s not to say we shouldn’t invest in treatments that lead to improved health, even when they’re expensive.

And UC Davis, the NFL and surgical device companies have the right in our society to promote events in order to increase their profits. But we worry when companies and doctors with a conflict of interest sponsor what could be considered an infomercial endorsement to unsuspecting men without telling them they might end up being harmed as a result of a simple PSA blood test.”

Last week, InsideHigherEd.com reported that hours after that editorial was published, UC Davis administrators kicked off a series of steps to remove Wilkes from leadership positions he had held.  Excerpt:

Now, a committee on academic freedom at the university that investigated allegations of intimidation and harassment against Wilkes has found them to be true. The faculty committee said in its report, a copy of which was obtained by Inside Higher Ed, that the actions of the university administrators cast doubt on its ability to be a “truthful and accountable purveyor of knowledge and services.”

The group has asked the dean and other top officials at the university’s school of medicine to write letters of apology to the professor, admit to errors of judgment, stop proposed disciplinary actions against him and take steps to prevent future violations of academic freedom.

At the end of last week, the UC Davis Academic Senate Representative Assembly voted 52-0 to:

affirms the right of academic freedom of Professor Michael Wilkes and all other faculty to publish scholarly articles and professional expert commentaries that address ethics and societally relevant critiques.call upon the Dean, Executive Associate Dean, and the Health System Counsel of the School of Medicine of the University of California, Davis, all to:

1. Accept promptly and publicly responsibility for serious errors in judgment;
2. Write individual letters of apology to Professor Wilkes;
3. Rescind in writing all disciplinary actions that have been stated, proposed, or taken
against Professor Wilkes.

Also:

Resolved, That the Representative Assembly of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate expresses severe disapproval of the notion that the University of California may take legal action against professors whose scholarly publications or professional expert commentaries may be perceived by University administrators to be injurious to University interests.Resolved, That the Representative Assembly of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate calls upon the Chancellor of the University of California, Davis, within six months to:

1. Take concrete steps to prevent future violations of rights of academic freedom and
report to the Davis Division the steps that have been taken to this end.
2. Have the Dean of the School of Medicine take appropriate training to prevent
academic freedom violations.

Finally, in a 50-0 vote, the Assembly added a resolution:

That the Representative Assembly condemns Health System and Campus Legal Counsels for drafting inappropriate and apparently threatening letters that violated a faculty member’s right to academic freedom.

View the original article here

Intimidation Tactics? Prof demoted after criticizing university for PSA seminar

About 20 months ago, Dr. Michael Wilkes of UC-Davis and a colleague wrote an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, “PSA tests can cause more harm than good.”  He questioned his institution’s public event for men focusing on prostate cancer screening.  Excerpts of the editorial:

“Sadly, most men are never told the facts about the test, nor are they encouraged to make their own informed decision. The UC Davis course doesn’t even acknowledge a problem with prostate cancer screening. Its expert presenters – including two urologists and a professional football player (!) – will tell you that you need to “know your (PSA) statistics” beginning at age 40. …

We can’t say why UC Davis offers this course that ignore scientific evidence, but we wonder whether it just might have to do with money. Testing for and treating PSA-identified cancer is a large part of the practice of many urologists so it may not be surprising that urology groups take a far more positive stance on the test than almost any other doctors. They also fund a pro-PSA lobby that now includes the National Football League.

Health care spending is threatening to wreak greater and greater havoc on our economy. That’s not to say we shouldn’t invest in treatments that lead to improved health, even when they’re expensive.

And UC Davis, the NFL and surgical device companies have the right in our society to promote events in order to increase their profits. But we worry when companies and doctors with a conflict of interest sponsor what could be considered an infomercial endorsement to unsuspecting men without telling them they might end up being harmed as a result of a simple PSA blood test.”

Last week, InsideHigherEd.com reported that hours after that editorial was published, UC Davis administrators kicked off a series of steps to remove Wilkes from leadership positions he had held.  Excerpt:

Now, a committee on academic freedom at the university that investigated allegations of intimidation and harassment against Wilkes has found them to be true. The faculty committee said in its report, a copy of which was obtained by Inside Higher Ed, that the actions of the university administrators cast doubt on its ability to be a “truthful and accountable purveyor of knowledge and services.”

The group has asked the dean and other top officials at the university’s school of medicine to write letters of apology to the professor, admit to errors of judgment, stop proposed disciplinary actions against him and take steps to prevent future violations of academic freedom.

At the end of last week, the UC Davis Academic Senate Representative Assembly voted 52-0 to:

affirms the right of academic freedom of Professor Michael Wilkes and all other faculty to publish scholarly articles and professional expert commentaries that address ethics and societally relevant critiques.call upon the Dean, Executive Associate Dean, and the Health System Counsel of the School of Medicine of the University of California, Davis, all to:

1. Accept promptly and publicly responsibility for serious errors in judgment;
2. Write individual letters of apology to Professor Wilkes;
3. Rescind in writing all disciplinary actions that have been stated, proposed, or taken
against Professor Wilkes.

Also:

Resolved, That the Representative Assembly of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate expresses severe disapproval of the notion that the University of California may take legal action against professors whose scholarly publications or professional expert commentaries may be perceived by University administrators to be injurious to University interests.Resolved, That the Representative Assembly of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate calls upon the Chancellor of the University of California, Davis, within six months to:

1. Take concrete steps to prevent future violations of rights of academic freedom and
report to the Davis Division the steps that have been taken to this end.
2. Have the Dean of the School of Medicine take appropriate training to prevent
academic freedom violations.

Finally, in a 50-0 vote, the Assembly added a resolution:

That the Representative Assembly condemns Health System and Campus Legal Counsels for drafting inappropriate and apparently threatening letters that violated a faculty member’s right to academic freedom.

View the original article here

After fighting for his life, holds mom finally newborn

Tommy Scott was not worried when his pregnant wife called to tell him she thought she was on the road with a migraine. But when he came home from work, Tommy found amber, 38 weeks pregnant, laying in their bedroom do not react with one eye open and the other closed, Moaning and vomiting.
"Rush of course everything through your head," Tommy told today's Natalie Morales. "I phoned 911 right away and the ambulance was there within 10 minutes and we were at the hospital right away. But it was crazy. "
Doctors determined that the 29-year-old Amber had a ruptured blood vessel in his brain — a condition that occurs in approximately six out of every 100,000 pregnancies.
Surgeons elected to deliver her baby by C-section, and then to operate on Amber's brain.
Initially, everything seemed fine as Amber started to come out of the anesthesia. But then things took a frightening turn and she was once again responding. Realizing that the Ambers brain had started to swell rapidly, doctors removed part of her skull to protect her brain from being crushed against the bone.
A month later, Amber woke up, but was not well enough to talk himself. All the while watching her family visited regularly, showing Amber photos of baby, Adeline, she had yet to hold or even.
"We wanted to let her know the baby was okay," Tommy told today. "Since day one we have shows her images."She started to smile a little. She always smiles now. "
On Sunday, for the first time got Amber to keep her baby and begin to care for her.
"She kept the bottle and fed her," Tommy told today. "She needs a little assistance, but the most important part, she grabbed the bottle and went right into the mouth. She knows what is going on. For the first time, smiled Adeline also. "
Amber is still got a long way to go. Doctors predict she will be in intensive rehab for weeks working to regain speech and motor skills.
But they say are positive signs.
"She now communicates with us," said Dr. Andrea Toomer, a doctor at West Jefferson Medical Center, just outside New Orleans, today. "She can tell us what she needs and what she wants, what Bothers her. She is able to ask questions about what is going on. "
It is enough for a start to Amber's mom.
"The fact that she witness Adeline now that she recognizes her, that makes me feel better," said Laura Rabalais today.
For Tommy, who had been looking forward to the day when he and his wife would be parents, it has been "bittersweet."
"Of course you satisfied," he told Morales. "I am happy that I am a father now. But of course I will be with yellow all the time, too.
"Amber was so excited for the last nine months. Her whole life, everything revolved around making sure everything was prepared for Adeline. It is so sad. But we try to include Amber in everything we can. We always tell her daily activities. We do our best to keep her informed. "
Tommy takes hope from the speed of Ambers progress so far.
"I never would have thought that we would be this much sooner, compared to where we were we first started," he told today. "She has motivation to get better, and I believe she will definitively".

Climber dies after 1,000-foot fall on Mount Hood

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — A man climbing alone who died early Thursday after falling about 1,000 feet on the south side of Mount Hood was an experienced mountaineer from Portland, a Clackamas County sheriff's officer said.

Mark Cartier, 56, fell from close to the 10,000-foot level, landing on the west side of an area known as the Hogsback near Crater Rock, Sgt. Adam Phillips said.

Cartier "was described as an extremely experienced mountaineer and rock climber," Phillips said.

He had been on a standard climbing route. Other climbers who saw him fall alerted authorities.

In a statement, Cartier's wife, Deb Weekley, said her husband was a past member of Timberline Mountain Guides who "always exemplified the description of preparedness and calculated risk" and used Mount Hood "as his special playground."

"He climbed the mountain as he has done hundreds of times before," she said. "The only thing different this time was that he didn't call me saying he had made it down."

Cartier had climbed mountains in Oregon, California, Alaska, Europe and the Himalayas, his wife said.

Rescuers brought his body down off the mountain later in the day.

Cartier was one of 15 climbers who had registered at Timberline Lodge to solo climb overnight, The Oregonian reported.

Portland Mountain Rescue recommends that climbers tackle Mount Hood in groups of three or more so there are at least two people to help if someone falls.

Cartier was a close friend of many members in that rescue group, said Rocky Henderson, who was with those who helped retrieve the body.

"He had just returned from a climb in Alaska," Henderson told the newspaper. "He had done a lot of different climbs. An accident happened."

Although inexperienced climbers are advised not to climb solo, Henderson said Cartier had the skills and conditioning to do it.

"It's a personal choice," Henderson said. "Solo climbing is dangerous, but the attraction is that I'm responsible for my life and I make that conscious choice. It takes more effort."

Mount Hood, a Cascade Mountains peak that rises more than 11,000 feet about 50 miles east of Portland, is popular among climbers nationwide, but it has been the site of dozens of climbing accidents and fatalities over the past three decades. About 100 climbers were on the peak Thursday, taking advantage of a clear day.

Cartier is the fourth person — and second climber — to die on the mountain this year. The other two fatalities involved snowboarders.

Zac Snow, a 27-year-old climber from Ashland who passed the area where the man fell, told The Oregonian that "up where he was, it gets pretty steep."

Shaken by the climber's fall, he turned around and descended: "It kind of makes you adjust not why you go to the top but why you want to get to the top that day."

View the original article here

Kansas farmers regroup after twister

Click Here!

AppId is over the quota AppId is over the quota Samuel Rudman, representing aggrieved shareholders, brought a case against Facebook and its underwriters claiming securities laws were violated.