Monday, July 9, 2012

What is polonium-210 and how can it kill?

FILE - A Friday, May 10, 2002 photo from files showing Alexander Litvinenko, former KGB spy and author of the book "Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within" photographed at his home in London. Polonium first hit the headlines when it was used to kill KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. This week, Yasser Arafat's widow has called for the late Palestinian leader's body to be exhumed after scientists in Switzerland found elevated traces of radioactive polonium-210 on clothing he allegedly wore before his death in 2004. (AP Photo/Alistair Fuller, File)

FILE - A Friday, May 10, 2002 photo from files showing Alexander Litvinenko, former KGB spy and author of the book "Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within" photographed at his home in London. Polonium first hit the headlines when it was used to kill KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. This week, Yasser Arafat's widow has called for the late Palestinian leader's body to be exhumed after scientists in Switzerland found elevated traces of radioactive polonium-210 on clothing he allegedly wore before his death in 2004. (AP Photo/Alistair Fuller, File)

A Palestinian woman stands by a drawing of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, displayed on a street corner in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, July 5, 2012. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he's willing to exhume the body after doctors said they found elevated levels of the radioactive agent polonium-210 on clothing reportedly worn by Arafat before his death in November 2004. However, Abbas aide Nimr Hamad said Thursday the Palestinian leader first wants to send experts to Europe to learn more from the Swiss lab and to the French military hospital where Arafat died. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

(AP) ? Polonium first hit the headlines when it was used to kill KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

This week, Yasser Arafat's widow has called for the late Palestinian leader's body to be exhumed after scientists in Switzerland found elevated traces of radioactive polonium-210 on clothing he allegedly wore before his death in 2004.

What is polonium and how dangerous can it be?

WHAT IS POLONIUM?

Polonium-210 is one of the world's rarest elements, discovered in 1898 by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie and named in honor of her country of origin, Poland. It occurs naturally in very low concentrations in the Earth's crust and also is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. In small amounts, it has legitimate industrial uses, mainly in devices to eliminate static electricity.

IS IT DANGEROUS?

Very. If ingested, it is lethal in extremely small doses. Less than 1 gram (0.04 ounces) of the silver powder is sufficient to kill. A 2007 study by radiation experts from Britain's Health Protection Agency concluded that once polonium-210 is deposited in the bloodstream, its potent effects are nearly impossible to stop. A poisoning victim would experience multiple organ failure as alpha radiation particles bombard the liver, kidneys and bone marrow from within. The symptoms shown by Litvinenko ? nausea, hair loss, throat swelling and pallor ? are also typical.

WHO CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON IT?

The good news ? not too many people. The element can be a byproduct of the chemical processing of uranium, but usually is made artificially in a nuclear reactor or a particle accelerator. These nuclear facilities are monitored and tightly regulated under international agreements.

John Croft, a retired British radiation expert who worked on the Litvinenko case, said a dose large enough to kill would likely have to come from a government with either civilian or military nuclear capabilities. That category includes Russia ? producer of the polonium believed to have killed Litvinenko ? and Arafat's foe, Israel. But it also includes dozens of other nations, including the United States.

WHY WOULD IT BE ATTRACTIVE TO ASSASSINS?

Polonium makes a good weapon. Its large alpha particles of radiation do not penetrate the skin and don't set off radiation detectors, so it is relatively easy to smuggle across international borders. Polonium can be ingested through a wound or inhaled ? but the surest method would be to have the victim consume it in food or drink. Litvinenko drank tea laced with polonium during a meeting at a luxury London hotel.

WHO HAS IT KILLED?

Polonium poisoning is so rare that it took doctors several weeks to diagnose Litvinenko's illness and security experts struggled to think of a previous case. More than five years after Litvinenko's death, no one has been arrested. British prosecutors have named ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi as their chief suspect, but Russia refuses to hand him over.

Some speculate that the Curies' daughter Irene, who died of leukemia, may have developed the disease after accidentally being exposed to polonium in the laboratory.

Israeli author Michal Karpin has claimed that the cancer deaths of several Israeli scientists were the result of a leak at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1957. Israeli officials have never acknowledged a connection.

CAN SCIENTISTS PROVE WHETHER ARAFAT WAS POISONED WITH POLONIUM?

Scientists caution that traces on Arafat's clothing aren't sufficient proof of poisoning. Exhuming his body would a surer method. Derek Hill, a radiological science expert at University College London, said eight years after Arafat's death in 2004, any polonium would have decayed and would be far less radioactive than it was at the time. But he says it would still be much higher than normal background levels, and with an autopsy it should be possible to tell "with a pretty high confidence" whether Arafat had polonium in his body when he died.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-07-05-EU-Polonium-QandA/id-35cb5c760ff042179c541b0612757c8a

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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Turkishspine.org - Reference and Education

But what details are you allowed to possess? Big corporations have complete departments devoted to ensuring that all facts on a resume or application is appropriate, but smaller corporations don?t have that capacity. They are also less in a position [?] ? Read the rest of this entry?

Source: http://www.turkishspine.org/reference-and-education/07/02/30/

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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Career options after 12th - WordPress.com ? Get a Free Blog Here

One of the most important decisions in the life of a young person is to choose an Educational Programme that leads to a Career or Profession. After plus Two, one finds that he or she is at a turning point in life. Where to go? Well, for the young people today there are scores of career options to choose from. Here a few options are listed.

Accounting: Accounting is largely the understanding, tracking, and reviewing of how the financial side of a business or businesses work.
As an accountant, you will often find yourself involved in, and responsible for, ensuring the proper documentation, tracking, and analyzing of financial matters related to the overall financial operations of an organization.
Courses in financial accounting can be of graduation level which takes 3 years to complete or it can be a master?s degree program that takes 2 years. Some other accounting diplomas are also there. Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi; St. Xavier?s College; Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration are the best accounting colleges in India courses that can cater to the needs of various industries and provide employment opportunities to the youth.

Acting: Acting is synonymous with glitz, glamour and fame. If you are an imaginative person, a keen observer of human psyche and sensitive to the events around you then you fit the bill to be an actor. Good scope of acting courses is available in telefilms, mega serials, reality shows, game shows and countdown shows. There are a good number of institutes in various parts of India, which offer acting courses.

Advertising media: Mostly, advertising agencies work on behalf of those who want to advertise their products. An advertising agency understands what their client wants to communicate, develop campaigns and brings it to the target audience.
While copywriting is the process of writing the words to promote a product, storyboard gives a visual representation of the flow of the advertisement. Advertising course attracts many and it is quite a hit among the students when it comes to choosing a viable career course.
If you want to project a particular image for your organization and product or if you want to pass on a particular message, like national unity, brotherhood, or donate blood, etc., you should take help of a good advertising agency for excellent results.

Agriculture: Careers in agriculture also exist in research institutes, laboratories and soil conservation bodies. Candidates with a degree in agriculture are in great demand in the primary economic sector which includes farming, plantations, fisheries, mining, cattle rearing and poultry farming.
India is one of the leading agricultural countries in the world. Agriculture plays an important role in driving the state of Indian economy. Agriculture is the mainstay of our economy. It provides food to millions and raw material for our industries. India also has enormous potential as an exporter of agricultural commodities.
Students with an agricultural degree learn better methods in growing cash crops like jute, sugar cane, tea and tobacco. Sugar cane and tea though strictly food items, are treated as cash crops as they are exported for revenue. Qualified agriculturists are offered lucrative opportunities in tea gardens, rubber plantations, and fruit orchards and organized vegetable farms.

Air Hostess: The job of an Air Hostess has always inspired much interest among young girls owing to the glamour attached to the profession. Also the prospect of flying to different parts of the world has further enhanced the popularity of Air Hostess jobs among many high school pass-outs as well as fresh graduates.
The air hostess (also referred to as cabin crew), are the first people to welcome passengers aboard an aircraft. They welcome and greet every passenger. They help them to supervise their seating arrangements and help them in arranging their hand baggage in the proper manner. Once all the passengers have come in they set about ensuring the safety-belt arrangements and demonstrate the use of emergency equipment. They make the necessary announcements over the public address system. Their duties and responsibilities start much before the arrival of the passengers by checking that blankets, pillows, magazines, newspapers, etc are in good order in their proper places.
At present there are an increasing number of institutes that offer Air Hostess Training Courses. These are generally extensive courses that focus on areas such as Self Development, Personal Grooming and Fitness and Effective Communication Skills. Introduction to Operational Training are also important part of the Air Hostess Training Courses offered by various institutes.

Architecture: Architecture of a country epitomizes its cultural ethos. It is the architect who is entrusted with the gigantic responsibility of planning and designing a town and its buildings meant for public utility in consonance with a number of factors like changing outlook of a society, rules and regulations passed by the government, availability of space and building materials and the financial status of the state concerned. For those willing to try their luck in such a profession which is not only profitable but also promising, here are some appropriate information. There are several institutes that offer architecture courses in India.
Architects are also called upon to prepare land surveys, evaluate lands and buildings for insurance, mortgage or transfer purposes. They may give technical advice to plan, improve or beautify landscapes (that is the field of landscape architecture), highways, entire towns, estates, historical monuments, etc.

Astronomy: Careers in astronomy have always attracted the most brilliant students who show exceptional proficiency in physics and mathematics. Jobs in astronomy are among the most prized and revered ones. Only the best brains get to study this subject and thereafter create an opportunity for themselves in the most coveted institutes and organizations.
Astronomy Courses in India are among the most specialized study programs offered by various universities and technological institutes. Astronomical science has fascinated scientists since ancient times.

Audio Visual Media: The term audio-visual (AV) may refer to works with both sound and visual component, the production or use of such works, or the equipment involved in presenting such works. Films and television programs are examples of audio-visual presentations.

A course in Audio Visual Media includes among others, film making, journalism, brand promotion, media promotion and planning, media studies and even photography. If you have a burning zeal to showcase your creative prowess along with your communication skills through a lens based media, then Audio Visual Media Course is your domain.
By pursuing a course in Audio Visual Media studies one can gain a high degree of competency in filmmaking, screenplay writing, editing, journalism, documentary film making and many other interesting and potentially challenging fields of study. The era of globalization and consumerism is creating a huge demand for professionals in the audio visual media. Therefore, the course prepares an individual on both the theoretical and practical aspects of this field of study and enables him to make a career out of it.

Banking: Banking has emerged as one of the most challenging sectors in the country. Openings are available at various levels, from Bank Clerical to Probationary Officers (PO). There is great job security and the salary is very good, besides the perquisites of loans for employees. It is a lucrative career: till recently careers existed only in nationalised banks, but with liberalisation, a host of private banks have been set up. As a result, demand for trained professionals has increased substantially. The private banks offer better salaries but then the job security is also less.

Beautician: This profession offers excellent scope for entrepreneurship. Beauticians may practice their skills in skin care, hair care, hair dressing, cosmetology, etc all at the same time, or specialize in one of these areas. Eventually, they can evolve their own formulations for skin care, hair care, etc. and market them to their clients.
Personal qualities include a pleasing and well-groomed personality, gentleness, dexterity, an eye for fashion, readiness to work with your hands, loads of stamina and a strong back (you may have to stand for long hours at a stretch), conversational ease and the knack of making your clients feel special and comfortable.Today, cosmetology is a booming business and most of the youth of today; especially women aspire to carve out a niche for themselves in the beauty business.

Bio-Medical Engineering: Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve healthcare diagnosis, monitoring and therapy.
A Biomedical Engineering course educates a student on how to gain technical expertise in biology and medicine simultaneously and contribute effectively in the development and improvement of healthcare solutions. This unique field encompasses bio-instrumentation, bio-materials, bio-mechanics, medical imaging, genetic engineering, orthopedic surgery cellular and tissue engineering, etc.
Biomedical engineers device artificial organs like kidneys, pacemakers, sophisticated therapeutic and surgical devices like magnetic resonance imaging machine, laser system for eyes and more.

Bio-Technology: Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.Biotechnology also means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.
Bio-Technology is a combination of Biology and Technology and related to research science. Subjects that are covered under this technology such as Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Virology, Immunology, Engineering and Chemistry. More subjects related are also included such as Animal Husbandry and Agriculture, Medicine and Health, Crop Management and Cropping system, Ecology, Cell Biology, Bio-statistics, Soil science and Soil Conservation, Seed Technology , Plant Physiology, etc. Living things such as bacteria and cells in the industrial process are used in the biotechnology.
A biotechnologist has scientific aptitude and interest in the al the sciences related to this technology. Biologist should be patient and methodical by the nature, should work neatly and correctly and have a talent for the laboratory related work

Book publishing: The innate nature of human beings continuously instigates them to seek knowledge and books being the primary medium of gaining and disseminating knowledge for ages, career opportunities in the book publishing industry abounds.
The emergence of ?knowledge economy? has added significant value to those who seek to pursue a career in book publishing industry.
Are you the proverbial bookworm who laps up the first chance to curl up with a good book? Do you desire that one day other people too enjoy reading your books? If the answer is in the affirmative, a career as a publisher is right for you.
Moreover the books published in India find a market not only in India but also in abroad. The increasing readership of books published in India has thus helped in the growth of career opportunities book publishing.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO): Business Process Outsourcing is one of the fastest growing industries in the present scenario. BPO refers to outsourcing in all the major fields of business.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments of its supply chain.[1] In the contemporary context, it is primarily used to refer to the outsourcing of services.
BPO is typically categorized into back office outsourcing ? which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing ? which includes customer-related services such as contact center services.
BPO that is contracted outside a company?s country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company?s neighboring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing.
Due to the fact that BPOs are paying decent five-figure salaries and incentives, a career in this field has become a hit among the youngsters aged between 18 and 30 years. According to the latest NASSCOM statistics, more than 1.1 million people in India are working in the BPO industry, which is expected to increase to 2.5 to 3 million by the year 2010. Convenient transport facilities, attractive lifestyle, flexibility in work timings and whopping salary package have led to this boom.
As a result, many institutes have started imparting training to develop special skills required for the job, such as proficiency in spoken English, speech, accent and voice modulation, negotiation with clients, marketing skills and communication skills, through short-term diploma or certificate courses.

Cartoonist: Cartoonist is a person who conveys his/her thoughts, feelings and ideas through cartoons. Cartoons are considered as pieces of art, which wrap creativity and convey a message through the picture. They are drawn with the motive of generating hilarity and fun, at the same time; make the viewer think about the matter depicted by the image. Cartoonists have a variety of subjects to draw on. They can pick any subject, ranging from the serious ones like political criticisms or even the funny ones, such as those drawn for comic cartoon strips in newspapers. A cartoonist needs to be innovative and dedicated towards the job. He/she should be a creative thinker. A cartoonist also needs to be a good observer. He/she should be a blend of intellect and innovation.
He/she should possess analytical as well as artistic skills. A good cartoon replaces the words and communicates an intense thought with ease and incorporating humor element in it.

DJ (Disc Jockey): Disc jockey or DJ is a person who entertains the crowd of a discotheque, party or an event by playing music. Apart from night club/discotheque, DJs are also hired for entertaining the guests of auspicious occasions such as wedding, engagement, birthday party or any other social gathering.
A professional disc jockey is expected to have knowledge of different genre of music, such as country, jazz, rock, melody etc., and should know the techniques of combining and merging different types of music, by making use of software.
A disc jockey needs to understand the popular demand of the people, whom he/she is entertaining through music. Moreover, he/she should also possess good communication skills, should be punctual and comfortable at working for many hours at a stretch. A disc jockey always needs to keep in mind that his/her good work can bring lot of opportunities to him/her, as people would recommend his/her name to others. It is a job where one can enjoy while performing his/her task, at the same time, earn a lot of money.
Disc jockeys (DJs) present, mix and link recorded music for a live or radio audience. They use a wide variety of equipment varying in complexity including turntables and mixers; tape decks; amplifiers and headphones; graphic equalisers; lighting effects; and multimedia and sound processors.

VJ (Video Jockey): Video Jockey or VJ is a person, who entertains the television viewers through witty anchoring and presentation. He/she is expected to entertain the audience with the capability of keeping them hooked on to the television.
A VJ could be the anchor of a musical phone-in program, a talk show or even a reality show where he/she shoots outdoors and interacts with the layman. A video jockey has to entertain viewers by conveying messages, showing videos, songs etc. and interacting with them in the most interesting manner. A good video jockey should be passionate, vibrant, excited to learn more, energetic, amiable and should have a reservoir of knowledge on his/her subject.
The person should also have a good sense of humor. The most important aspect of video jockeying is to be confident in front of the camera and make the conversation or interaction lively. A video jockey not only has to perform in front of the camera, but also actively involve in the pre-production work, which includes choosing the theme of the program, deciding the songs to be played and even preparing the script.
Video jockey should possess skills, like they need to be confident to face the camera, one should have good vocabulary, should have good personality, good knowledge of music, should know to deal with sound equipment and computers and should be enthusiastic.

Commercial Pilot: Commercial Pilot Courses offer the students a perfect platform to prepare for a challenging career in the aviation sector. These courses involve extensive training and comprise of several steps before one can become a certified commercial pilot. At present there are quite a number of institutes that offer commercial pilot training courses in India.
The duration of these courses is generally for a period of 2 to three years. Prior to starting the commercial pilot training, one has to get a Student Pilot License (SPL). For this purpose, students should also join training programs for getting Private Pilot License (PPL). Following the PPL, they have to undergo a 190 hours of flying training needed for acquiring a Commercial Pilot?s License (CPL).

Foreign Languages: There are many areas and jobs where knowledge of foreign language is crucial for the growth and success of one?s career.
1) Airlines Ticket, airlines reservation, ministry of external affairs, tour guide, international hotel manager, customs and immigration.
2) As a peace corps and visa worker, import and export agent, international journalist, flight attendant tour organizer, foreign language teacher, translator, linguist, travel agent.
3) Besides France and germen language other language like Spanish, Italian , Dutch, Russian are also in demand. These foreign language learner are required by the it and the off shoring industry, mainly for the kind of jobs requiring collection of information and working on foreign language documents, voice based tasks, transactions and migration processes, quality management jobs and other documents outputs jobs.
4) As in customs, multinational firms, translation services, united nation government department and intelligence agencies.
5) Airline hotels, resorts , radio tv industry, immigration are gallery.
The globalisation, privatisation and the multinational companies have opened up job opportunities for proficient in foreign language. foreign language professional are finding opportunities more than mealy a translator. in addition to those skills if someone have intercultural and international knowledge, exposure and experience, he can achieve great height in his career.

Hotel Management: The ongoing liberalization of trade and opening up of economy has lead to revolutionary growth in hotel sector. Moreover the recent measures taken in promotion of tourism and rapid industrial growth have further given a boost the hoteliering because hotel industry is a closely linked one to the tourism industry.
With increasing growth in this sector career opportunities are also growing day by day. Now the field is not limited within the country but has already extended to internationally operated chains of hotels. The result is increase in the demand of well trained quality professional people who can manage the hotel business.
Therefore the demand for Hotel Management as a professional course is growing in the country. The diversity of experience in hotel management is greater than in any other profession. Courses in Hotel Management often referred to as Hospitality Management, is offered in many renowned institutes. Hotel Management Course includes varied aspects of learning, both theoretical and practical.

Film Editing: Editing is an integral part of film making. Film editing can be defined as a process of selecting the scenes and combining them in sequence, in order to make a motion picture. Sometimes, film editing is referred to as an invisible art, because viewers are generally unaware of the work of a film editor. There are three stages of film editing. These are the editor?s cut, director?s cut and the final cut. Apart from concentrating on these three stages, a film editor has to keep a check on the different criteria, such as emotion, story, rhythm, audience focus of interest, two dimensional plane of the screen and three dimensional space of action, while editing. Film editing has become a money-spinning job, thanks to the increasing demand for skilled film editors in the entertainment industry. Keeping this in mind, many institutes that have been offering courses in different branches of film making have started conducting courses for becoming film editors as well.

Photo Journalism: Photo Journalism is a form of journalism, wherein the person clicks, develops and submits images relevant to a news story. Initially, the term ?photojournalism? was restricted to still photography.
Scope of Photo Journalism has now broaden and in the present time, photo journalists even shoot videos to come up with a good news item/feature a craze commonly seen in citizen journalism. Photojournalism is not merely about taking the best shots, but also how to click news worthy photographs, in accordance with the interest of the reader.
Generally, the work of a photojournalist is quite equivalent to a reporter, except the fact that a photo journalist doesnt gather, write and report news stories. To become a successful photojournalist, one should have thorough knowledge about the three principles of photo journalism ? timeliness, objectivity and narrative. They should be able to use modern tools like digital camera, camera phones and laptops in order to develop photographs.

Screenplay Writing: Screenplay can be defined as a written document that consists of the story of a film or a television program. Through screenplay, one can describe every visual and behavioral ingredient that is required to justify a story.
All the work of a director, cast, editor and production team revolves around the screenplay or the script. Therefore, script should be written in comprehensive and clear manner by the scriptwriter, so that every member of the team (in a film or a television program) can get an idea of the story.
There are two important components of writing a screenplay ? action and dialogue. Action is written in present tense, where as dialogues are written for the characters of the film/television?s serial/tele-film.
So, screenplay or scriptwriting depends on the mind and judgment of a scriptwriter. Screenplay writing has emerged as a beneficial job, because success of a motion picture largely lies in its screen play.

Sound Engineering: Sound engineering, a branch of Audio science, is a career for those who love music and wish to be a part of this industry. Sound Engineering is all about capturing sound, recording, copying, editing, mixing and reproducing sound using electronic and mechanical devices. It involves both production and post production tasks. Set-up to the actual recording may be included into Production.

Video Editing: Video editing is all about creation of video/footage derived from various sources and selection and rearrangement of its fragments, in order to construct a meaningful visual. It is an important material of creation work in electronic media. Video editing has emerged as a beneficial career option, due to the increasing popularity of the audio-visual media.
The artistic beauty of the final product depends on the talent and proficiency of the video editor. Video editor should be a vibrant person. The job requires lot of persistence and keenness towards work. Each and every details must be exists in the video by a video editor. He/she should be a logically skilled and creative, who needs to revise his/her knowledge constantly and should possess a logical and critical mind. He/she should be able to imagine what is in the mind of the producer/director of the show.

Computer Science Engineering: Computer Science or Information Technology is the fastest accelerating career field in the India. Everyday there are thousands of available Computer Science positions available for freshers. Receive a degree in Computer Science or take an accelerated fast track course in a particular Computer Science Curriculum like Microsoft MCSE, MCSD, Cisco CCNA, .Net, or A+, etc.
Now a days, computers are used in almost every aspect of our lives, it comes to our home as a affordable and useful luxury. Computers are used in many fields like car engines, microwave ovens, watches, telephones etc. It is also used as mainframe computers in government and industry and supercomputers expanding the leading adge of science and technology.
As a result, the computer industry is one of the fastest rising segments of our economy. Now, there is a demand for trained and skilled professionals with the scientific and technical training necessary to perform effectively on the job.

[For more details please visit http://www.jeetaapki.com/career-courses/]

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Source: http://kvptlibrary.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/career-options-after-12th/

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Can Fertility Treatments Influence Later Breast Cancer Risk? - Drugs ...

FRIDAY July 6, 2012 -- Whether or not a woman becomes pregnant while on fertility drugs may affect her odds for breast cancer later on, a new study suggests.

However, experts who reviewed the study said it has flaws and is far from conclusive.

In the study, published July 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women using ovulation-stimulating fertility drugs who were unable to get pregnant for at least 10 weeks had a lower risk of the disease than women who have not taken the drugs, the U.S. study found.

On the other hand, the odds of breast cancer rose for women who became pregnant for at least 10 weeks after taking the fertility drugs, when compared to women who were unsuccessfully treated with these drugs.

However, the risk for women who became pregnant while on fertility drugs rose only high enough to put it on par with women who had never taken fertility drugs, the researchers noted.

The researchers, led by Chunyuan Fei, at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, examined women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50, as well as their sisters who did not have the disease, over the course of two years.

"Our data suggest that exposure to a stimulated pregnancy is enough to undo the reduction in [breast cancer] risk associated with a history of exposure to ovulation-stimulating drugs," the authors wrote.

The study's authors pointed out that the study was limited by its reliance on the participants' self-reported fertility drug usage, and a lack of information on each woman's specific diagnosis for infertility. The study is also complicated by the fact that it focuses on women who developed breast cancer before the age of 50, and these tumors are often associated with genetic factors.

In an accompanying editorial, Louise Brinton, of the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, noted that the effects of one fertility drug are similar to an established drug long used to prevent cancer -- a finding that could help explain the study results.

Still, Brinton believes more research is needed to understand the link between breast cancer risk and fertility drugs.

Two other experts took issue with the study's methodology.

"It is hard to draw a conclusion as to whether or not treatment for infertility increases the risk of breast cancer from this study," said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of surgical oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. She said these types of cases-vs.-control group studies are somewhat unreliable, and she pointed out that while some prior studies looking at fertility drugs and breast cancer have found a link, others have not.

"One of the ways to reach a better conclusion would be the creation of a national data bank where information on women undergoing treatment is entered and updated as time progresses," Bernik said. "This is an important question to answer, and better methods of obtaining the information need to be established."

For his part, Dr. Paul Tartter, a breast surgeon at St. Luke's & Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, noted that "previous studies have not found an increased risk [of breast cancer for women on fertility treatment]. Only one previous study noted a slightly increased risk, which was not statistically significant."

He also took issue with the choice of control group included in the study.

"The control group for these women should be women of the same age who became pregnant without IVF -- they did not use the correct control group. Using the patients' sisters is irrelevant," Tartter explained. Furthermore, "the cases had significantly younger age at menarche [onset of menstruation] and older age at first birth, both well-known risk factors for breast cancer. Nowhere in this study did they control for these differences."

More information

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists provides more information on infertility treatments.

Posted: July 2012


Source: http://www.drugs.com/news/can-fertility-treatments-influence-later-breast-cancer-risk-39133.html

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'Snooki & JWoww': Snooki Had A Strange Reaction To Seeing Her Baby On The First Ultrasound (VIDEO)

It's one of the most significant moments for any mother-to-be, right up there with hearing the heartbeat for the first time, and feeling that first kick. On "Snooki & JWoww" (Thu., 10 p.m. ET on MTV), Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi went in for her first ultrasound, and got to see her baby for the first time. The baby even moved for her.

Jennifer "JWoww" Farley summed up the differences in their reactions quite well at that supposedly beautiful moment.

"How am I about to cry and you?re going to throw up?? she asked.

Snooki's reaction was, "Ewww!" She thought the baby looked like an alien. Hopefully, she'll be better prepared for what newborn infants look like, or she may be in for another surprise in the delivery room.

Keep up with "Snooki & JWoww" every Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/06/snooki--jwoww-snooki-reaction-first-ultrasound-video_n_1653126.html

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Wright's hit in 9th wins it as Mets beat Phils 6-5

New York Mets' Josh Thole, left, and Daniel Murphy, center, celebrate with David Wright after Wright drove in the game-winning run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. The Mets won 6-5. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Josh Thole, left, and Daniel Murphy, center, celebrate with David Wright after Wright drove in the game-winning run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. The Mets won 6-5. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets manager Terry Collins, left, celebrates with David Wright after Wright drove in the game-winning run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. The Mets won 6-5. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' Justin Turner (2) puts shaving cream on teammate David Wright's face after Wright drove in the game-winning run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. The Mets won 6-5. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Hunter Pence fails to catch a ball hit by New York Mets' David Wright during the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. The Mets won 6-5. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Mets' R.A. Dickey delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, July 5, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

(AP) ? After being pushed around by their National League rivals for the past five seasons, David Wright and the New York Mets are refusing to give in to anyone.

The new attitude is paying off, big time.

Wright singled off Jonathan Papelbon with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Mets to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night that preserved R.A. Dickey's 11-game winning streak.

Mets catcher Josh Thole prevented a run in the eighth when he held on to the ball despite being barreled over at home plate. Daniel Murphy lined a shot off Papelbon's leg for the tying run with two outs in the ninth, setting the stage for Wright.

"It seems like all year we've had that never-say-die attitude, continuing to play the game no matter what the score is," said Wright, who had four RBIs with two outs.

Cole Hamels outlasted Dickey in a matchup of All-Stars that fizzled from the start. Hounded by recent trade rumors, Hamels pitched seven gritty innings and had two hits. But the Phillies' suspect bullpen couldn't finish off the win after beating the Mets on Wednesday night.

Ike Davis began the ninth with a double off Papelbon (2-3). Thole sacrificed pinch-runner Ronny Cedeno to third before Kirk Nieuwenhuis struck out. Papelbon then hit Jordany Valdespin with a 3-2 pitch and walked Ruben Tejada on a full-count to load the bases for Murphy.

"The way I look at it, this one's on me," Papelbon said. "The team went out and grinded as hard as it could."

Dickey pumped his fist in the dugout and Justin Turner smashed a pie in Wright's face during a postgame interview as fans chanted "MVP!" for the All-Star third baseman.

Wright had nine RBIs in the three game series.

Bobby Parnell (2-1) pitched the ninth for the Mets, winners of six of eight. Up next for New York: the NL Central's last place ballclub, the Chicago Cubs.

"It's feels great to win a game like this, but we have to be prepared to win tomorrow," Wright said. "It would be really nice to win another series before the break."

Wright hit a two-run homer in the fifth that gave the Mets a brief 4-3 lead and had an RBI single in the third.

Papelbon blew just his second save in 20 chances this season.

The Phillies fell to 3-9 in games decided in the last at-bat.

"It might sound like an old cliche, but the game is never over 'til it's over, like Yogi (Berra) said," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "You try to stay even keel. You come out the next day and chip away."

Philadelphia tried to add on a run in the eighth when Mike Fontenot attempted to score on pinch-hitter Chase Utley's single to left. But Thole caught the throw from left fielder Scott Hairston, braced himself and kept the ball in his mitt when he was slammed into by Fontenot.

"Just hang on to the ball," Thole said he was thinking as Fontenot beared down on him.

Dickey matched a career high by allowing 11 hits, and perhaps gave National League manager Tony La Russa reason to end the debate over whether the knuckleballer should start the All-Star game. In his shaky final start before the break, Dickey gave up five runs ? but avoided a loss for the second time in three starts. He hasn't lost since April 13 at Atlanta.

"I didn't deserve a no-decision, I deserved to lose tonight," Dickey said. "The guys picked me up."

Juan Pierre pushed a bunt up the first-base line to score Rollins with the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning after Wright put New York ahead in the fifth with a two-out, two-run homer.

Dickey is coming off one of the best months in baseball history. In winning the NL pitcher of the month award for June, he went 5-0 with an 0.93 ERA and had consecutive one-hitters. Dickey became the first starter in the 100 years of tracking ERA to allow five runs in one game and still end a month with an ERA under 1.00, according to stats provided to the Mets by the Elias Sports Bureau.

His July got off to a rocky start.

Jimmy Rollins, who was a homer shy of the cycle, walked leading off and, after two outs, Dickey hit his potential All-Star batterymate Carlos Ruiz with a pitch. Shane Victorino, a switch-hitter batting from the right side against the righty, lined an RBI single to center field for the first run against Dickey in the first inning this year.

The last time these two All-Star pitchers faced each other ? in 2010 ? Hamels had the Phillies' only hit off Dickey. This time, Hamels popped up a sacrifice bunt attempt in the second inning but beat it out for a single because Dickey was slow to react and his throw to first was late. Rollins then hit an RBI double.

Hairston hit his fifth home run in his 27th at-bat against Hamels, a leadoff shot in the second to pull the Mets to 2-1. Wright's RBI single an inning later tied it.

But the Phillies kept on connecting against Dickey and Hunter Pence had a run-scoring single in the fourth.

Hamels' second hit led to two runs in the sixth. He scored on Rollins' triple. Pierre's bunt gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

NOTES: The Mets recalled RHP Pedro Beato before the game and he got one in the eighth. ... Wright has eight game-ending hits in his career. ... Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said 1B Ryan Howard (Achilles) could join the Phillies on Friday. It all depends on how he feels after his rehab game Thursday night.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-06-Phillies-Mets/id-db8db3af9fae4296a9c59d233111a443

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Immigration & Education ? Edify - Education Through Sustainable ...

Immigration & education are hot political topics in nearly every developed country and in many developing countries that share a border with countries who have worse poverty or a less stable government.? Take for example Costa Rica and Nicaragua.? While living in Costa Rica I would often hear politicians espousing their opinions on how to strengthen borders to keep unwanted illegals out of the country or perhaps how to better facilitate the process of legal immigration.? Entwined in the discussion on immigration there exists a great concern as to how the school systems in the more developed country will be able to absorb an influx of more bodies, how those expenses will be covered and who will or will not be permitted to receive a basic education.? Similarly, on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola there exists a great tension between the Dominican Republic and Haiti as many Haitians illegally immigrate to the eastern half of the island that is home to the Dominican Republic.

As Cristen shared in this post, The Dominican Office of Immigration recently proposed that all foreign students (i.e. Haitians) in the Dominican Republic must be required to have proper paperwork and economic means among other criteria to be allowed to enroll in a school in the Dominican Republic. Schools that don?t comply with the new regulation and accept students without the proper paperwork (over 33,000 of them currently in the country) could be fined.

At first glance one might think that this sounds reasonable.? After all, having your paperwork in order and being registered as a legal citizen would make things a lot easier on everybody right?? Unfortunately, the consequences of such a law would mean that tens of thousands are kicked out of schools as they wait months or years to complete the correct ?paperwork?.? As Christians we must consider whether we will remain faithful in our allegiance to God and His body of believers or if we will allow the economics of the nation-state to change the way we see and treat those whom we should be loving as family. ?1 Timothy 5:1-2 reads, ?Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.?? Jesus reminds us in Mathew 25:45, ?He will reply, ?Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.??

In each of these countries there exists an educational system that is made up of both private and public schools.? In many developing countries like Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic (of those Edify is currently only working in the Dominican Republic) where the public education is underfunded, overcrowded and insufficient due to government corruption and mismanagement there exists a remarkable network of private, Christian schools affordable to the poor. These schools charge a mere $2-15 per week for an education that is usually better than that received in a public school.? This is the type of school that Edify supports.? This is the sector that will absorb those who are rejected by the state and offer them the education that they will never be able to get unless people continue to fight to serve the least of these.

Source: http://www.edify.org/immigration-education

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