Family: Webcam spying led to gay student's death

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Joseph and Jane Clementi shows their son Tyler Clementi at a family function. Clementi committed suicide days after he and a companion appeared in the live video that fellow Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi briefly streamed. Ravi, who was convicted of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other crimes, is due to be released from jail Tuesday, June 19, 2012, after serving 20 days of a 30 day sentence. (AP Photo/Clementi Family, File)

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Joseph and Jane Clementi shows their son Tyler Clementi at a family function. Clementi committed suicide days after he and a companion appeared in the live video that fellow Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi briefly streamed. Ravi, who was convicted of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and other crimes, is due to be released from jail Tuesday, June 19, 2012, after serving 20 days of a 30 day sentence. (AP Photo/Clementi Family, File)

Dharun Ravi, 20, walks out of Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick, N.J., Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The Indian-born former Rutgers University student who was convicted of bias intimidation for using a webcam to see his roommate kissing another man was released from jail Tuesday after serving 20 days of a 30-day sentence. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (AP) ? The family of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi said they have come to believe he killed himself in part because his roommate used a webcam to see him kissing another man.

"It was the humiliation that his roommates and his dorm-mates were watching him in a very intimate act. And that they were laughing behind his back," his mother, Jane Clementi said. "The last thing that Tyler looked at before he left the dorm room for the bridge (he jumped from) was the Twitter page, where (his roommate) was announcing Tyler's activities."

Jane Clementi, her husband and one of their surviving sons talked about Tyler's death and how their views on homosexuality have changed when they appeared Thursday night on NBC's "Rock Center" in the first interview the family has given since the bias intimidation trial of the 18-year-old's roommate.

The roommate, 20-year-old Dharun Ravi, was convicted in March of all 15 criminal charges he faced, including bias intimidation. Though a judge could have sent him to prison for up to 10 years, he sentenced him to 30 days in jail. Ravi spent 20 days behind bars after getting credit for good behavior and working.

The case attracted national attention after Clementi's suicide in September 2010, just days after the spying. With his death, Clementi became a symbol of the consequences of harsh treatment of young gays. Ravi, who apologized for his actions last month, was not charged with causing the death of Clementi, who jumped from the George Washington Bridge.

His parents, evangelical Christians, said their views on homosexuality have shifted since their son's death.

They say they went from struggling to accept that their son was gay when he came out to them just before starting at Rutgers to embracing that some people are gay.

"Sin needs to be taken out of homosexuality," said Tyler Clementi's father, Joe Clementi. "Our children need to understand ? and adults need to understand ? that they're not ... broken."

James Clementi, who is also gay, said he believes his brother may have been depressed but the webcam spying exacerbated his problems and contributed to his suicide.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-06-29-Rutgers%20Suicide/id-8c0ffd9b7826410c911b9b77a77592e0

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Can We Trust Egypt's New President, Mohammed Morsi?

Throughout America's history, there have been people who denied threats from our enemies. During the Revolutionary War, significant numbers sided with the British monarchy. Enablers in politics, the media and even religion helped communism remain in power for seven decades in the Soviet Union. German Nazis had their U.S. apologists.

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The presidential election in Egypt, won by the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi in a race where three-quarters of Egyptians voted for someone else, challenges contemporary deniers and enablers who refuse to acknowledge the threat advancing Islamism poses to Israel and the West. Enough Egyptians voted for Morsi to allow Islamists to achieve greater political power than at any time since the Brotherhood's 1928 founding.

Morsi mouths the words the West wants to hear (he was educated in America). He speaks of being president of "all Egyptians," promising to honor all international agreements made by the Hosni Mubarek regime.

A cleric, Safwat Higazi, introduced Morsi at a May 1 campaign rally and stated the Brotherhood's objective: "Our capital shall be Jerusalem, Allah willing." That seems to signal the real direction in which Morsi could take his country. It is certainly in line with Muslim Brotherhood thinking.

After more than three years of pandering and apologizing to the Islamic world, the Obama administration has produced a tree bearing rotten fruit. The White House congratulated Morsi on his victory. What else could it do? It won't admit error or acknowledge that the "Arab Spring" is starting to resemble a Siberian winter.

Iran continues its nuclear weapons program and threatens to wipe the "Zionist entity" off the map. Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Israel and urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Iran, to which Russia has been providing nuclear technology. Should Egypt again become hostile to the Jewish state (the recent terror attacks from the Sinai border area are a sign that 32 years of stability along the Egyptian-Israeli border could unravel), Israel may be in greater peril than at any time in its modern history.

Sixteen months ago, the Brotherhood declared disinterest in the Egyptian presidency, vowing not to run a candidate. Add that to the long list of lies and empty promises that numerous Arab and Islamic leaders have peddled to the West.

Columnist Max Boot seemingly buys into the fantasies of the apologists, enablers, and deniers. In a Commentary magazine article titled "Let the Brotherhood Rule in Egypt," Boot writes, "As long as a Brotherhood government must face voters in the future, popular sentiment will act as a check on its illiberal tendencies."

Many dictators have been elected once.

SOURCE: WORLD Mag

Cal Thomas

Source: http://www.blackchristiannews.com/news/2012/06/can-we-trust-egypts-new-president-mohammed-morsi.html

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Minnesota workers' comp laws may limit employers' liabilities | Coon ...

Workers in Coon Rapids and throughout the entire state of Minnesota may be well aware that if they do become injured in an accident at work, they may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits. These benefits are paid by employers' insurance companies and may cover medical expenses, disability costs and time off of work.

Once injured workers locate the Employee Rights and Responsibilities poster that is often displayed on work communication boards by employers, folks should be able to find the information they need to start the process of filing a workers' compensation claim. However, workers' compensation laws are complex, and before workers make any decisions that could affect the amount of benefits they may be entitled to after an accident, they may want to consider seeking guidance from an attorney in order to make sure they receive the benefits they need and deserve.

Recently, a worker who became injured in Minnesota was denied additional medical benefits by the Minnesota Supreme Court because she failed to acknowledge a statute that places limits on an employer's liability to pay medical benefits when an injured worker seeks treatment in a state other than Minnesota.

The higher court's ruling came after the injured worker claimed that her workers' compensation benefits had failed to cover all of her medical expenses resulting from an injury. When the woman was injured, she had been living and working in Minnesota. She suffered injuries after becoming involved in a car accident while she was on the job. After the accident, she moved to Wyoming and received additional treatment for her injuries at a medical facility in that state.

When the woman submitted a claim to be compensated for her out-of-state treatment, she was only partly compensated. According to a Minnesota statute, employers may use out-of-state workers' compensation fee schedules when employees seek medical treatment in a different state. Sometimes this works out to be less than what an employee would have received had the employee been treated in Minnesota.

The injured worker claimed that she should have been compensated for her entire medical expenses, but the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that her employer had provided her with the proper amount of benefits.

Source: Risk & Insurance, "Worker's arguments fail to increase payments to out-of-state provider," June 21, 2012

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Syrian civilians hit hard by spreading violence

KHAN SHEIKHOUN, Syria (AP) ? Her daughter, 8, often hides in a closet, terrified of flying bullets. Her son, 6, still asks for his father months after he turned up in a morgue. And the family has little income because her brother-in-law was killed too.

Umm Moussa's extended family is smaller now. They live day to day in a house of simply furnished concrete rooms around an empty courtyard in this dusty city in northern Syria.

"I'm always worried that after all I've lost, I'll lose something else," said the thin, shy 27-year-old, leafing through photos of her dead husband.

As Syria's 15-month-old uprising has morphed from a popular call for reform into an armed insurgency, the country's civilians have paid the highest price.

Most of the more than 14,000 people activists say have been killed are civilians. Countless others have watched their livelihoods collapse, their neighborhoods turn to battlegrounds and their friends and relatives die or disappear.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, collecting on-the-ground information on the revolt against President Bashar Assad ? the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.

___

During two weeks in northern Syria, three Associated Press journalists met scores of civilians whose lives have been altered by the conflict: students who cannot cross army checkpoints to reach schools and universities; merchants whose suppliers have stopped delivering; and farmers who left land fallow because they can no longer afford diesel for irrigation pumps.

The international community has harshly condemned President Bashar Assad's regime for its role in the violence, endorsing a plan by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan to try to end it.

But that plan has fallen far short ? as is obvious here in Khan Sheikhoun, a city of 80,000 people surrounded by wheat fields and orchards on the country's main north-south highway.

Six military checkpoints ring the city, housing snipers who fire on civilians and rebels alike. Troops block roads to the fields and sometimes set them ablaze, meaning farmers can smell the smoke of their crops burning but cannot fight the flames.

Regime forces have also seized the state hospital and other downtown buildings, parking armored vehicles out front and piling sandbags on the roofs. Residents call the shuttered central boulevard the "street of death" because so many people have been shot there.

Rebels run the rest of the city and have mined its entries. They blast army vehicles passing on the highway with rocket-propelled grenades, and patrol in two armored SUVs that they captured.

They also run a clinic and hang out in a former security building. A bust of the former president, Assad's late father Hafez, is positioned near the entrance, defaced with devilish horns sprouting from the head.

The regime shells occasionally, and the rebels clash with those manning the checkpoints daily.

One sweltering afternoon, rebels blasted machine guns around the corners of buildings while sniper fire chipped at the streets and walls around them.

Standing at the door to his house, Mohammed al-Safa, 24, listed neighbors struck by those snipers: the family across the street who'd abandoned their home; the 10-year-old girl paralyzed by a bullet in the back; the elderly man shot dead on his roof while adjusting his satellite dish.

"May God protect you!" al-Safa's mother yelled as rebels rushed down their alley.

"The Free Army is all we have to protect us," al-Safa said. "No one else can."

The media team for the city's rebels, now based in a former office of Assad's ruling Baath party, says the numbers show the regime's disregard for civilians: Of the more than 130 people killed in the uprising, only 31 were fighters, said activist Hisham Nijim.

When asked about the Annan plan and the nearly 300 observers sent to monitor it, residents recall "the massacre."

On May 15, U.N. observers left a security building, walked past a number of sand berms and through a rowdy anti-regime protest about 100 meters (yards) away. Apparently feeling protected by the observers, the crowd inched toward the soldiers guarding the building, chanting, "The people want to execute Bashar!" and "Traitors! The Syrian army are traitors!" according to a video of the event.

Minutes later, the soldiers opened fire in a deafening roar, and protesters dropped in the street as the crowd scrambled for cover.

Nijim said 44 people were killed. Photos of 32 of them, including young children and old men, hang in the media office.

"Annan's plan is worthless," Nijim said. "It is impossible that this regime will give up power peacefully. It will only go under force of arms."

The Syrian government rarely comments on its military's actions. It has never acknowledged popular calls for reform and blames the uprising on foreign-backed gangs and terrorists seeking to weaken the country.

The troubles for Umm Moussa's family began in February 2011, when her husband's youngest brother was arrested in a cafe for chatting online about the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. When those uprisings inspired Syrians to protest a month later, his arrest pushed the two older brothers to join.

Umm Moussa's husband, Mohammed Tilawi, became a leader, drawing banners and outfitting a pickup truck with huge speakers to blast anti-regime chants, she said.

Security forces attacked the protests and raided activist homes, killing four people on one day in June. More people joined, and some sought arms.

"Anyone who had a weapon ? a hunting rifle, a Kalashnikov, even a club ? came out to defend the city," activist Osama Abu Homam said.

That month, Mohammed's other brother, Mukhlis, was shot and killed while manning a rebel checkpoint. The family never found out who shot him.

Mohammed sold his brother's car to buy a rifle. Umm Moussa and their four children saw him less and less as the clashes grew more frequent.

"We often fled the house because we were afraid they'd arrest us to get him to turn himself in," Umm Moussa said. She last saw him alive in September: Gunfire broke out near a protest, and he took his gun and left.

They found his body days later in a morgue in Hama, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. The handwritten hospital report she keeps in her pocket said he'd been shot through the gut and that state security had delivered the body.

It didn't explain his broken jaw, nor the large bruises on his face and around his groin. The family suspects he was tortured.

The younger brother was finally released without trial in February 2012. He was shocked when he got home.

"I was surprised to learn how many people had been killed, and I had to get used to life without my brothers," said Abdel-Razaq, 32.

Since then, he has become a cameraman, filming protests and violence to post on the Internet. In April, shrapnel from a shell attack sliced through his stomach. He has a pink, four-inch scar over his navel from the operation to remove the shrapnel.

The family struggles without his brothers' incomes. Before the uprising, Mohammed had a fiberglass workshop that made sinks. Muklis was a blacksmith. Now both shops are closed, and Abdel-Razaq cannot go back to Dubai, where he worked as a cook before the uprising. His mother, 65, wears black daily and cries when she mentions her sons.

Umm Moussa struggles to comfort her children when gunfire breaks out. She worries when her 12-year-old boy, Moussa, sneaks out to attend protests. She chose to give only her nickname, Arabic for "Mother of Moussa," fearing retribution by Assad's regime.

But she also hopes the uprising will give them better lives.

"There is no way this regime can stay after all the people it has killed," she said. "That would be the biggest crime."

EDITOR'S NOTE _ Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, collecting on-the-ground information on the revolt against President Bashar Assad _ the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.

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Nuevas fotos de Anna Kendrick en HIGH LINE Presented by COACH- 19 Junio

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He decido empezar a escribir este diario, porque de pronto he tenido cambios en mi vida. Resulta que me han enviado a vivir con mi padre, a un pueblo perdido rodeado de arboles, no se si lo harian porque piensan que soy una antisocial.

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94% Moonrise Kingdom

From the very beginning, it's difficult to properly find what to expect from Moonrise Kingdom. Is it about young love? Triumph through adversity? Is it just a showpiece for the artistic vision of Wes Anderson? Whatever the expectations, what's marvelous about Anderson's most recent film is that they're greatly exceeded. It's really all of the things mentioned above, put together in the most delicate and skillful manner to create quite possibly the best film of 2012 so far. The story occurs in 1965 on New Penzance Island, just off the coast of New England. Though the cast includes big names like Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton, the main protagonists here are the young Sam and Suzy, played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward respectively. They have been communicating via letters for over a year after a chance meeting in a church play one night. Slowly but surely, their correspondence leads to them growing ever closer, resulting in them wanting to meet again. The plan is to then go on their very own adventure out in the wilderness, all the while discovering bit by bit what love truly is. This is a deliberately simplified look at the plot, which is populated with many more clever characters and side-plots that tie everything together. Sam had to escape from camp, where he was part of a troupe of scouts, led by Scout Master Ward (Norton). This calls Captain Sharp of the police (Bruce Willis) to action, and a frantic search ensues. However, with that being said, the innocence of young love still lies at the movie's heart. Sam and Suzy are both unusual when compared to those around them, but when they're together they compliment each other rather than clash; when they talk to each other it's with genuine compassion and interest. It can almost be bizarre to see their intimate connection due to their young age (about 12 years of age), but the film is more a testament to the fact that love doesn't take age into the equation when it comes simply to the desire of being together. Love's manifestation here is a refreshing antithesis to the traditional representation in Hollywood, it reminds you of how simple love can be when the extraneous baggage of modern life is stripped away. This is ingeniously contrasted with the troubled connection between Suzy's parents (Murray and McDormand), which is falling apart at the seams. Their desire for adventure has been depleted, leaving just an empty shell of a relationship held together by their kids and home. It may sound hokey, but love is not only the central focus of the film but also what makes it so special. Few movies have ever spoken so directly and artfully to what makes love both special and hazardous. Needless to say, Gilman and Hayward's performances are extremely affecting, which is impressive considering these are their first roles in the movies. They at times seem a bit stilted but it eventually becomes apparent that that is part of their character. At the same time, their awkward mannerisms seem to melt away when they're together. It will be really interesting to see more from them in the future. The aforementioned supporting cast does an amazing job on their own, with many of them expanding their talents further than they've ever had to before. Bruce Willis is and has always been a great actor, but this reviewer never knew he could have a more mellow side that's in full display here. Bill Murray has already proven himself to be a great dramatic actor (as in Lost in Translation) and continues this image to perfection here, while retaining a slightly comic character as well. Frances McDormand and Edward Norton are both memorable as well, though their roles aren't given as much attention when all is said and done. Tilda Swinton is a noteworthy surprise, since after her masterclass performance last year in We Need To Talk About Kevin, she takes on a more light-hearted and funny role as Social Services. Just Social Services. These sorts of quirks are what make Moonrise Kingdom particularly admirable. It deals with often complex and almost depressing subjects, but looks at them with artistic vision and attention to the comical aspects (though these won't be mentioned here to avoid spoilers). The movie starts off with a camera going through the rooms of a quaint little home (where Suzy lives) with simple pans and rotations to portray the day-to-day life of a family in the 60s. Meanwhile, we hear a program on a music player talking about classical music, interspersed with orchestral pieces from a range of famous songwriters. It's an amazing way to start a film and it only gets better from there. The camera sometimes mimics older tendencies, such as awkward zooms towards the faces of our lead characters and a more foggy camera in between. The best thing about these creative decisions is that they don't impede the narrative. You don't stop and think: "Well, he's really showing off". It only improves the movie's uniqueness, and for fans of photography and visual arts, it makes for a whole new angle of enjoyment. The music is particularly entertaining, since it's a blend of music from the 40s to 60s (such as Hank Williams' Ramblin' Man) to orchestrated classical pieces, which accompany Alexandre Desplat's great soundtrack. It perfectly places you into the movie's time period, and is good enough to warrant listening to outside of the theater as well. It really is difficult to describe in words what makes Moonrise Kingdom really special. Understanding that takes the full visual/aural/narrative combination that you can only experience by watching the film. However, to put it in simpler terms, MK is about discovery and perseverance. The discovery of new things, the will to go into the unknown; the perseverance to hold on to what you love, not let go and lose sight of what was important to you in the first place. Though these aren't new emphases, the way Anderson and his coworkers approach it is so unforgettable, so colorful, careful and touching, that it really sits with you. If there's one film you shouldn't miss out on this year, it's Moonrise Kingdom.

June 19, 2012

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Sony pumps $994 million into building stacked CMOS that lets smartphones record HDR Video

Sony is pumping 80 billion yen ($994 million) into its Nagasaki Technology Center, the home of its innovative stacked CMOS. Unlike traditional versions, the image sensor and circuit are mounted on top of one another, rather than side-by-side across a supporting substrate. The tweak means it shaves valuable millimeters from its body while producing far clearer images and, best of all, HDR Video. With the investment (and some Government subsidy) the company aims to pump out 60,000 wafers per month by the end of 2013. Given that both Samsung and Apple both use Sony's imaging equipment in their flagships, we can hope that the 13-megapixel units find their way into the next generation of handsets.

Continue reading Sony pumps $994 million into building stacked CMOS that lets smartphones record HDR Video

Sony pumps $994 million into building stacked CMOS that lets smartphones record HDR Video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tech Meets Geo-Tech: Russia?s Search Giant Yandex Takes $1M, 25% Stake In Seismotech

Yandex may be seen as the anti-Google by pursuing a strategy for growing its search-portal business in Russia and adjacent countries rather than aggressively expanding worldwide, but it is using another route to extend its reach: through investments. Today it confirmed that it has taken a strategic, 25 percent stake in Seimotech, a Russian geophysical exploration company, for $1 million. This represents the first investment of its kind for Yandex, which has otherwise limited its funding activities to tech companies in areas like e-commerce and new technology. (It was one of the early backers of?Face.com, the facial recognition company that this week officially?got bought by Facebook.) At heart, it is a strategic, big-data play: as part of the deal, Yandex says it will be providing computing resources and proprietary technologies for Seimotech to use in its analysis mapping seismic data for purposes like oil and gas exploration.

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Mayo Clinic: Common blood pressure drug linked to severe GI problems

Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nick Hanson
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

Patients in clinical trial taking Olmesartan had symptoms of celiac disease

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities -- symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online today in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

From 2008-11, Mayo Clinic physicians treated 22 patients with symptoms similar to celiac disease, including intestinal inflammation and abnormalities. Patients came from 17 states, and some had been diagnosed with celiac disease. They had chronic diarrhea and weight loss; the median weight loss was 39 pounds, and one patient lost 125 pounds. Fourteen of the 22 were hospitalized because of the severity of their symptoms. When given a blood test, however, these patients didn't come back with results typical of celiac disease. They also didn't respond to treatments such as gluten-free diets.

After examining their medications, Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., pulled several of the patients off Olmesartan. Their symptoms dramatically improved. Eventually, all 22 were taken off the drug, and all showed improvement. Eighteen of the 22 patients had intestinal biopsies after stopping the medication and showed improvement.

"We thought these cases were celiac disease initially because their biopsies showed features very like celiac disease, such as inflammation," says Dr. Murray, the lead author. "What made them different was they didn't have the antibodies in their blood that are typical for celiac disease."

Olmesartan -- prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure -- works by blocking substances that tighten blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more smoothly and the heart to pump more efficiently, according to the U.S. National Library on Medicine.

"It's really an awareness issue. We want doctors to be aware of this issue, so if they see a patient who is having this type of syndrome -- they think about medications as a possible association," Dr. Murray says. "We've reported an association. What needs to be known next is the science to understand why there is such an association."

###

The investigators were supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Gastroenterology Junior Faculty Development Award, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Swedish Research Council and the Fulbright Commission.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about/ and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news/.

TELECONFERENCE BRIEFING: Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., will host a teleconference on his findings at 3:30 p.m. ET today, June 21. Call 877-358-3883. Please RSVP if you plan to call in.

Video Alert: Visit the Mayo Clinic News Blog for links to downloadable video and audio of Joseph Murray, M.D., discussing the findings.

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Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Nick Hanson
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic

Patients in clinical trial taking Olmesartan had symptoms of celiac disease

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an association between a commonly prescribed blood pressure drug, Olmesartan, and severe gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and electrolyte abnormalities -- symptoms common among those who have celiac disease. The findings are published online today in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

From 2008-11, Mayo Clinic physicians treated 22 patients with symptoms similar to celiac disease, including intestinal inflammation and abnormalities. Patients came from 17 states, and some had been diagnosed with celiac disease. They had chronic diarrhea and weight loss; the median weight loss was 39 pounds, and one patient lost 125 pounds. Fourteen of the 22 were hospitalized because of the severity of their symptoms. When given a blood test, however, these patients didn't come back with results typical of celiac disease. They also didn't respond to treatments such as gluten-free diets.

After examining their medications, Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., pulled several of the patients off Olmesartan. Their symptoms dramatically improved. Eventually, all 22 were taken off the drug, and all showed improvement. Eighteen of the 22 patients had intestinal biopsies after stopping the medication and showed improvement.

"We thought these cases were celiac disease initially because their biopsies showed features very like celiac disease, such as inflammation," says Dr. Murray, the lead author. "What made them different was they didn't have the antibodies in their blood that are typical for celiac disease."

Olmesartan -- prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure -- works by blocking substances that tighten blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more smoothly and the heart to pump more efficiently, according to the U.S. National Library on Medicine.

"It's really an awareness issue. We want doctors to be aware of this issue, so if they see a patient who is having this type of syndrome -- they think about medications as a possible association," Dr. Murray says. "We've reported an association. What needs to be known next is the science to understand why there is such an association."

###

The investigators were supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Gastroenterology Junior Faculty Development Award, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Swedish Research Council and the Fulbright Commission.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about/ and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news/.

TELECONFERENCE BRIEFING: Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., will host a teleconference on his findings at 3:30 p.m. ET today, June 21. Call 877-358-3883. Please RSVP if you plan to call in.

Video Alert: Visit the Mayo Clinic News Blog for links to downloadable video and audio of Joseph Murray, M.D., discussing the findings.

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Katelyn Mullen: 'So You Think You Can Dance' Recap: Vegas Week's Most Memorable Moments In Season 9, Episode 5

This week's comments, questions and concerns come without any technical dance knowledge and no actual dance skills ... just straight up love for "So You Think You Can Dance."

The insanity of Vegas week is here and I've been anticipating this tear-fest for a full week now.

The drama-level was pretty high (though not nearly as nuclear as the promos promised) and the dancers were dropping like flies almost instantly. They really got down to business, eliminating contestants from the get-go, having each dancer do a solo before the choreography rounds even began.

For the choreography rounds, first up was hip hop with Twitch (TWITCH!) and Comfort, followed by Tyce Diorio's challenging Broadway routine, which cut 23 additional dancers after Round 2. After Sonja Tayeh's jazz and Jason Gilkison's ballroom routines, only 52 dancers (out of the original 181) remained for Travis Wall's contemporary round. The competition was fierce and emotions were running high as the judges did the dirty job of eliminating nearly two-thirds of the contestants for the final day.

Quite honestly, there aren't enough hours in the day to read about all the lunacy that was jam-packed into episode 5 of "SYTYCD" so, for the sake of your time, here are the top 5 most memorable moments from Vegas week.

5. Hampton Williams (the guy who mesmerized us all early on in Dallas) graciously bowed out of the competition early when the choreography proved to be too much. Though quitting isn't usually something I condone, the humble way in which he spoke to the judges almost made it okay. I hope he comes back next year!

4. Cyrus (member of the Dragon House crew, with the incredibly large gauge earrings) danced for his life after struggling (but making it) through the choreography rounds. And once again, he stunned the judges, getting an "that was extra buck" from Lil' C. I hope they aren't highlighting him so much, just to break our hearts ... although something tells me that may be it.

3. The High Schoolers -- This five-person group (four guys, one girl) led by Aubrey, put on, as Tyce said, "One of the best group performances in Vegas ever" and Nigel even complimented Aubrey, calling her a mini-Mia Michaels. Although very talented, she just didn't have what they were looking for. Aubrey was cut after the ballroom round.

2. Amelia (1920s-inspired, flapper-ish girl) danced for her life after Sonja's jazz routine and really impressed all of the judges but Nigel. His tough but valid criticism -- dance other people's choreography the way you dance your own -- led to a really, very genuinely heartfelt moment to remember: Amelia's tearful promise to the judes, "I am so ready to make you love me." Well Amelia, challenge accepted.

1. The judges, especially Tyce, were particularly hard on Alexa (a Vegas week veteran, who was the last one cut before the Top 20 in Season 8) telling her that the "lights were on, but no one was home" and that she was "dead inside." They literally forced the emotion out of her after the group round, bringing her to tears on stage. Although sad to watch, I'm glad they did it! That seemed to be exactly what she needed. The breakthrough kicked her dancing up a notch and she sailed her way through the rest of Vegas week.

Comment: Lookout, boys! Aside from a few (okay, just Cyrus) I can't remember any of the guys. Not their names or faces, the song they danced to or any descriptive characteristics to explain who I'm talking about to other "SYTYCD" junkies. Maybe it's just too early, or maybe the girls are just kicking butt.

Question: HOW much longer until we reach the live episodes?! (Answer: Three weeks. Next week the Top 20 are revealed, then there's a break for July 4 and then 7/11, we're live).

Concern: As the live episodes approach, I'm still concerned (read: annoyed by/not looking forward to) how one episode a week will work.

I know there were a number of moments and dancers that didn't make it into this recap, but I'll just tell you this, if I left them out tonight (I'm looking at besties Lindsay and Whitney, among others) it's because I think you're going to get plenty of playing time in the very near future.

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Follow Katelyn Mullen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kmull19

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Personal Development in Religion and Science | James Reilly

Hello, thanks for visiting James Reilly Blog

Religion, science and personal development all share the same goal ? to elevate mankind above his current circumstances. We once used religion to increase our spiritual understanding and science to develop our knowledge of the world. However, many people are now using personal development to do both!

Personal development has, in the past, been a luxury pursuit of the rich, famous or dedicated seeker. However, as we find ourselves firmly planted in the 21st Century personal development is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.

The term Personal Development has historically been a lose term used to describe the development of yourself in some area or field of expertise. However, in this day and age, it really refers to creating the type of self improvement at a mental, emotional and spiritual level that can create real positive physical changes in character and life experience.

As the fear-mongers and financial elite continually drive home the concept that we are entering the worst recession in a hundred years it is now more than ever that we need to launch ourselves on the personal development trail. It is your responsibility to rise above the controlled collective consciousness of lack and embrace the truth that we are all connected and have access to unlimited supplies of everything!

Quantum physics is continually pushing past the old boundaries imposed by outdated science and showing us the way. This new scientific field is experimenting with, and proving the existence of, the energy field that binds all matter and from which everything, animate and inanimate, takes its form.

How does this discovery connect to personal development?

Well religious, metaphysical and esoteric texts have always told us that we are all connected and that there is only one God who is spiritual in nature. We have been told that we are given dominion over life itself. Jesus told us that we are the temple of the living God. Buddha became conscious of his connection with God. We are told that God is spirit and permeates all things. If you believe that there is only one God and that he permeates everything in existence then you must also believe that everything takes its form from this one God. That means that there can only be one true consciousness in existence ? God!

Personal growth and self improvement begins with the premise that we are all connected within one mass of vibrating energy. Most self Improvement tools begin with this premise and mould their approaches around it. However, we always remain a part of the whole and cannot escape that, no matter how hard we try.

Science is now confirming that all these beliefs are true. Quantum theory postulates that this energy field, or divine matrix, is the starting point of all matter. In fact matter, or material objects, are just small packets of energy, within this one energy field, that group together to form things!

A great deal of research and a varied group of truth-seeking scientists have discovered strong evidence to suggest this matrix is composed of electromagnetic energy. We can ascertain then that everything that exists has electromegnetic properties. It is also being shown that our thoughts are composed of the exact same electromagnetic properties as the very energy field in which we live, move and have our being!

Electromagnetic properties are similar to other forms of magnetism ? magnetic! Therefore, if your thoughts are magnetised to this matrix of energy, which is the fabric of reality as we know it, and physical objects are part of this matrix then you can use your thoughts to attract things! Thoughts become things!

It is the aim of personal development to allow you to use this knowledge to change your life by giving you practical tools for achieving your goals. The reason why it is so hard for most of us to grasp this concept, never mind use it to our advantage, lies in the fact that most of our life experiences and material objects are created and attracted to us by our subconscious thoughts. It is the automatic thoughts you think that are responsible for creating your life! Most of these thoughts are negative in nature.

To truly elevate yourself above the collective consciousness and become the master of your own life you must fully embrace this axiom. It is necessary to find and then eliminate the negative thoughts and beliefs you hold that have held you back from achieving your dreams. Personal development is just a tool to achieve this. Use it to alter your automatic thinking. Then you will be free to consciously think yourself into any life you desire!

Would you like to use a piece of 21st Century audio technology to remove your negative subconscious programming and instil new positive thoughts & beliefs just by listening to some calming miusic? Then visit The Personal Development Newsletter to claim a free Manifestation MP3 when you subscribe to their free personal development ezine.

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Brought to you by Michael McGrath from Personal Development ? products tested and then reviewed for free. We find out what works so you don?t have to!

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This Post "Personal Development in Religion and Science" was Added by "James Reilly"

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What's your name again? Lack of interest, not brain's ability, may be why we forget

ScienceDaily (June 20, 2012) ? Most of us have experienced it. You are introduced to someone, only to forget his or her name within seconds. You rack your brain trying to remember, but can't seem to even come up with the first letter. Then you get frustrated and think, "Why is it so hard for me to remember names?"

You may think it's just how you were born, but that's not the case, according to Kansas State University's Richard Harris, professor of psychology. He says it's not necessarily your brain's ability that determines how well you can remember names, but rather your level of interest.

"Some people, perhaps those who are more socially aware, are just more interested in people, more interested in relationships," Harris said. "They would be more motivated to remember somebody's name."

This goes for people in professions like politics or teaching where knowing names is beneficial. But just because someone can't remember names doesn't mean they have a bad memory.

"Almost everybody has a very good memory for something," Harris said.

The key to a good memory is your level of interest, he said. The more interest you show in a topic, the more likely it will imprint itself on your brain. If it is a topic you enjoy, then it will not seem like you are using your memory.

For example, Harris said a few years ago some students were playing a geography game in his office. He started to join in naming countries and their capitals. Soon, the students were amazed by his knowledge, although Harris didn't understand why. Then it dawned on him that his vast knowledge of capitals didn't come from memorizing them from a map, but rather from his love of stamps and learning their whereabouts.

"I learned a lot of geographical knowledge without really studying," he said.

Harris said this also explains why some things seem so hard to remember -- they may be hard to understand or not of interest to some people, such as remembering names.

Harris said there are strategies for training your memory, including using a mnemonic device.

"If somebody's last name is Hefty and you notice they're left-handed, you could remember lefty Hefty," he said.

Another strategy is to use the person's name while you talk to them -- although the best strategy is simply to show more interest in the people you meet, he said.

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New ?Calorie Shifting? - How Can You Lose Weight

Montgomery, IL (PRWEB) May 23, 2008

Statistics say that 95 percent of diets fail, and in most cases dieters end up gaining weight. According to a new diet theory─the ?calorie shifting? theory?this is because they are eating the wrong foods, in the wrong pattern each day. The ?calorie shifting diet? teaches a new way of eating. It is different from other diets because it does not involve reducing calories, carbohydrates, or fat, and it allows dieters to eat four times a day.

The ?calorie shifting? diet is gradually gaining momentum in the weight loss industry as an effective method of achieving fast and continuous fat loss. Proponents say low calorie diets don?t work because your body will detect any major drop in calories and will slow down your metabolism accordingly. Low fat diets have proven to be ineffective, evidenced by the fact that society as a whole is getting fatter and fatter despite the low fat diet trend. Low carbohydrate diets make you miserable because they are nothing more than thinly disguised starvation diets.

According to ?calorie shifting? theory, your body needs certain foods at certain intervals each day. If you don?t eat the right foods at the right times, you won?t burn calories efficiently, and will store them as fat. Because you deprive your body of food when you are starving yourself on a low fat, low calorie, or low carbohydrate diet, it goes into survival mode, switching from a fat burning machine to an energy saving, fat storing machine. Calorie shifting works by constantly changing what you eat, so that your body doesn?t get used to a routine. It tricks your metabolism into thinking that you are not dieting. That way the metabolism doesn?t slow down and you lose weight.

This is detailed in a new weight loss program called ?The Idiot Proof Diet,? which includes a Diet Handbook and Diet Generator.

The Diet Handbook teaches you how to: lose nine pounds in eleven days, stop retaining water, eat out, drink alcohol while still burning fat, shop for fat-burning foods, eat more than three times a day to speed up weight loss, eat late at night, overcome genetic predisposition to obesity, and stay slim for life.

The Diet Generator gives you a customized daily menu which constantly alternates between every possible type of calorie, ensuring that your weight keeps dropping. It computes the menu for you. There is no need to count calories or read labels. That?s why this is called the ?Idiot Proof Diet.?

The handbook and generator are both downloadable at http://www.health-fitnessandmore.com/Diet-For-Dummies/ a website dedicated to providing dieters with new diet techniques that do not starve the body of calories or carbohydrates.

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Executive privilege's rocky legal and political road (CNN)

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Microsoft unveils iPad-competitor 'Surface' tablet computer

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Malaysia News.Net
Tuesday 19th June, 2012 (ANI)

Software giant Microsoft has finally unveiled its much-awaited tablet computer that aims to challenge the dominance of the Apple iPad.

The tablet, named 'Microsoft Surface', has a 10.6-inch touchscreen with a fold-out kickstand and a magnetic cover that doubles as a keyboard.

The company announced the new device on Monday afternoon in Los Angeles.

According to The New York Times, Microsoft's new Surface tablet computer is not only an iPad competitor, but it also an ultrabook competitor.

If Microsoft can deliver a satisfying PC experience through its devices and accessories, then all those manufacturers who pegged their hopes on the super-thin, super-light "ultrabook" model have something to worry about, the report said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said that pricing for the products would be announced closer to launch, but added that it would be 'competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC.'

Surface is the first tablet product that would run the company's latest Windows 8 operating system, which is expected to launch commercially this year. (ANI)

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University behavioral health - HEALTH, BEAUTY & FITNESS

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? Eat well eat diet wealthy food to avoid any illnesses

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Obama national security record gives GOP limited opportunities to challenge commander in chief

WASHINGTON ? ?President Barack Obama's not-so-secret counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia, the killing of Osama bin Laden and strong hints of a cyber war against Iran give Republicans few openings to challenge the commander in chief.

This aggressive national security policy has undercut the derisive label Republicans have successfully attached to Democrats in the past: the soft-on-defense Mommy Party. It has been one of the most effective election-year cudgels for the GOP. Just eight years ago, President George W. Bush capitalized on his tough response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Iraq's Saddam Hussein to win a second term. In a major assist to Bush's candidacy, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth used debunked claims to undermine Democratic rival John Kerry's decorated Vietnam War record and cast him as "unfit to serve."

In the past 3? years, Obama has waged a secret campaign against al-Qaida in two countries ? one on the Arab peninsula, the other on Africa's east coast. The White House officially acknowledged the lethal attacks in Yemen and Somalia in its semiannual report to Congress last Friday. Navy SEALs took out bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011 while armed drones have pursued al-Qaida terrorists within the country, degrading the terrorist group.

In public opinion polls, Obama gets high marks for his record on national security, a stark contrast to his dismal numbers on handling the nation's finances. An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in May found that 64 percent approved of Obama's handling of terrorism and 53 percent approved of the way he's managing the situation in Afghanistan. By contrast, less than half approved of his handling of the economy (46 percent), unemployment (48 percent) or gas prices (30 percent).

Republicans, who have successfully pummeled the president on the economy, have made little headway on national security.

"There's nothing like success to quell criticism," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va. "I think the fact that there have been some successes, ranging from spectacular, Osama bin Laden, to the utter decapitation of al-Qaida to the disruption of violent insurgencies in Yemen, Somalia ... western parts of Pakistan has done much to quiet some of that criticism. ... I think the Republicans are very hard-pressed to criticize that aspect of the president's foreign policy."

That hasn't stopped Republicans from fixating on what they describe as major weaknesses in Obama's national security policy. Leaks of classified information, including reports of a computer attack that has infected Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, led Republicans to demand the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate. Republicans argue that the leaks were politically driven to help Obama and have jeopardized national security.

Democrats and the administration have rejected those demands. Attorney General Eric Holder instead has appointed U.S. Attorneys Ron Machen and Rod Rosenstein to oversee the investigation into who leaked information about U.S. involvement in cyberattacks on Iran and an al-Qaida plot to place an explosive device aboard a U.S.-bound flight.

"Considering how closely in time these items were published and how favorable of an impression they left about the president's approach to national security, it is not unreasonable to ask whether these leaks were part of a broader effort to paint President Obama, in the midst of an election year, as a strong leader on national security issues," Sen. John McCain, Obama's 2008 presidential rival, said Tuesday in a blistering Senate floor speech.

The Arizona lawmaker, who is the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, has called the leaks "almost unprecedented" and insisted last week that he couldn't think of "any time that I have seen such breaches of ongoing national security programs as has been the case here."

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters Tuesday that the leaks "create a lack of confidence on the part of people around the world" who are cooperating with the United States.

Hardly, say Democrats.

Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said there is not "one shred of evidence" that individuals around Obama leaked information to enhance the president's reputation.

"They're (Republicans) just blankly asserting it and hoping it sticks. And the reason they're hoping it sticks is because the president has a very strong record on national security," Smith said in an interview. "His record makes that clear and the polls make it clear that people feel that way."

Kerry, D-Mass., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Republicans are "flailing around desperately trying to get some kind of handle, constantly trying to discredit the president, which doesn't serve our foreign policy or our national security."

Outside experts say the Obama administration has aggressively prosecuted leaks of classified information, charging six people under the Espionage Act for the alleged mishandling of classified information. Most notably is the case of Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army private accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified government documents, sending them to the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks.

"It's an astonishing prosecutorial record that goes far beyond what we've seen in previous administrations," said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy issues for the Federation of American Scientists, a private group.

Republicans have been ferocious in challenging Obama's foreign policy, accusing him of being wobbly in his support for Israel, uncertain as Syrians are slaughtered and lacking toughness as Iran pushes its nuclear program. They've criticized deficit-driven cuts in the military even though they agreed to them last summer. They've suggested he cut a secret deal with Russia that would undermine missile defense, an agreement that will emerge after the election.

Among Democrats, Obama's national security record has largely quieted any criticism among liberals, but it hasn't silenced them. They see policies even tougher than Bush that has paid little heed to the Constitution, international law or the sovereignty of other nations.

"This administration, as had the last administration, appropriated to itself the power to prosecute war anywhere it pleases in the world," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. "We cannot afford this financially, militarily or morally."

Putting party labels aside, Kucinich said that, while the Bush administration declared a global war on terror, "the Obama administration has kept those wars going and expanded the wars across Africa."

"We're propelling wars. What is this all about?" Kucinich said. "We don't have enough problems here at home ... We are promoting wars around the world, and so Democrat or not, I take strong exception to the direction our country has gone with respect to our international aggression."

____

Associated Press Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

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Chinese businessman arrested in alleged fabricated bank buy

Lin Chunping

BEIJING?? In a China awash with fake iPhones, pirated DVDs and knockoff Louis Vuitton bags, rice trader Lin Chunping took fakery to a whole new level: He invented a U.S. bank and claimed he bought it.

The little-known businessman shot to fame in January when state media reported that he had taken over Delaware-based Atlantic Bank. The unprecedented acquisition brought him praise: His hometown gave him a prestigious political appointment, and state media called his business experience "legendary." The only thing that may have been legendary is Lin's audacity. Not only did he not buy Atlantic Bank in Delaware for $60 million as he claimed, but there is no Atlantic Bank in that state.

Chinese reporters could not locate an Atlantic Bank or a bank registration by Lin in Delaware. He's under arrest for an unrelated fraud and has been forced to give up his municipal-level appointment to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the government's top advisory body. Lin, 41, who was arrested in early June, could not be reached for comment.

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