U.S. to soon determine post-2014 troop presence in Afghanistan

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-soon-determine-post-2014-troop-presence-afghanistan-222121536.html

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Study overturns common assumption about knee replacements in morbidly obese individuals

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Phyllis Fisher
phylils.fisher@gmail.com
212-606-1724
Hospital for Special Surgery

Obese achieve great outcomes from joint replacement surgery

After total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, patients who are morbidly obese have similar pain and function outcomes as patients who do not fall into this weight category, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The finding is surprising given that numerous studies have shown that obese patients have worse outcomes. The study will be reported at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, to be held Nov. 9-14, in Washington D.C.

"As long as they are medically appropriate for surgery, even obese people can have excellent results from joint replacement. Obesity, in and of itself, should not be viewed as an absolute contraindication to joint replacement," said Lisa Mandl, M.D., M.P.H.., a rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), in New York City, who was involved with the study.

"We undertook the study because we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said Susan Goodman, M.D., a rheumatologist at HSS, who led the study. Until now, many studies examining TKRs in obese patients have lumped all patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and higher into one category. "In my mind, there is clearly a difference in a patient with a BMI of 40, the morbidly obese, versus an obese patient with a BMI of 33," said Dr. Goodman. "We wanted to see if we could identify a difference in outcomes among those patients, and we found that the morbidly obese had just as good outcomes."

Overweight individuals are prone to developing osteoarthritis because the extra weight adds extra wear and tear on joints. An obese individual often requires a TKR decades before a patient who is of normal weight will require one.

To conduct their research, the HSS researchers turned to the HSS Total Joint Replacement Registry, a prospective registry started in 2007 that includes, among other things, data on all patients who seek care at HSS for knee replacement surgery. They identified all patients with a BMI greater than 18.5 who had undergone a TKR between July 2007 and June 2009. Patient pain and function had been assessed prior to surgery and two years after surgery using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). The WOMAC measures pain, stiffness, and functional limitation. It is one of the more widely used tools for measuring outcomes after TKR.

The investigators found that two years after surgery, pain and function scores improved across all BMI categories and as BMI rose, patient improvements increased. Patients with a BMI greater than 40 showed the most improvement.

"The morbidly obese did well in terms of their pain and function outcomes. They start out in a much worse situation and then by two years, they are pretty much caught up," said Dr. Goodman. "I was surprised, because my expectation was that they wouldn't do as well, their functional outcomes wouldn't be as good, and they wouldn't be as satisfied. But, it turns out that they were really quite satisfied."

Dr. Goodman said that many surgeons have concerns about performing knee replacements in the morbidly obese. Almost 90% of referring physicians believe that obesity increases the likelihood of poor outcomes after a TKR.

"There is no question that the morbidly obese are a more difficult group to managethey are more likely to have a significant number of comorbidities, including cardiac disease," said Dr. Goodman. "If you look at the Deyo comorbidity scale of the patients in our study, the morbidly obese had a significantly greater number of comorbidities than normal, so they were definitely sicker to start with, but their outcomes were just as good."

In a multivariate analysis, the researchers identified a number of other factors that correlated with pain outcomes after surgery. They found that individuals who were Caucasian experienced less pain, and individuals who were female or had only a high school education had worse pain and function two years after surgery. Patients who were between the ages of 61 to 70 had less pain than those who were younger than 60. The researchers say that more research is needed to flush out why these factors play a role in recovery.

"It's surprising to learn that a patient's level of education has a greater influence on their outcome and satisfaction than obesity does," said Mark Figgie, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and Chief of the Surgical Arthritis Service at HSS.

###

The study was supported by a Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics grant from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Other Hospital for Special Surgery authors involved in the study include Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle, M.D.

About Hospital for Special Surgery

Founded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No. 3 in rheumatology, No. 10 in neurology and No. 5 in geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report (2012-13), and is the first hospital in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center three consecutive times. HSS has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. From 2007 to 2011, HSS has been a recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award. HSS is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College and as such all Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are faculty of Weill Cornell. The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at www.hss.edu.

For more information contact:

Phyllis Fisher
212-606-1197
646-584-2714 cell
Phyllis.Fisher@gmail.com

Tracy Hickenbottom
212-606-1197
HickenbottomT@hss.edu



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?


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


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 10-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Phyllis Fisher
phylils.fisher@gmail.com
212-606-1724
Hospital for Special Surgery

Obese achieve great outcomes from joint replacement surgery

After total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, patients who are morbidly obese have similar pain and function outcomes as patients who do not fall into this weight category, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery. The finding is surprising given that numerous studies have shown that obese patients have worse outcomes. The study will be reported at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, to be held Nov. 9-14, in Washington D.C.

"As long as they are medically appropriate for surgery, even obese people can have excellent results from joint replacement. Obesity, in and of itself, should not be viewed as an absolute contraindication to joint replacement," said Lisa Mandl, M.D., M.P.H.., a rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), in New York City, who was involved with the study.

"We undertook the study because we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said Susan Goodman, M.D., a rheumatologist at HSS, who led the study. Until now, many studies examining TKRs in obese patients have lumped all patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and higher into one category. "In my mind, there is clearly a difference in a patient with a BMI of 40, the morbidly obese, versus an obese patient with a BMI of 33," said Dr. Goodman. "We wanted to see if we could identify a difference in outcomes among those patients, and we found that the morbidly obese had just as good outcomes."

Overweight individuals are prone to developing osteoarthritis because the extra weight adds extra wear and tear on joints. An obese individual often requires a TKR decades before a patient who is of normal weight will require one.

To conduct their research, the HSS researchers turned to the HSS Total Joint Replacement Registry, a prospective registry started in 2007 that includes, among other things, data on all patients who seek care at HSS for knee replacement surgery. They identified all patients with a BMI greater than 18.5 who had undergone a TKR between July 2007 and June 2009. Patient pain and function had been assessed prior to surgery and two years after surgery using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). The WOMAC measures pain, stiffness, and functional limitation. It is one of the more widely used tools for measuring outcomes after TKR.

The investigators found that two years after surgery, pain and function scores improved across all BMI categories and as BMI rose, patient improvements increased. Patients with a BMI greater than 40 showed the most improvement.

"The morbidly obese did well in terms of their pain and function outcomes. They start out in a much worse situation and then by two years, they are pretty much caught up," said Dr. Goodman. "I was surprised, because my expectation was that they wouldn't do as well, their functional outcomes wouldn't be as good, and they wouldn't be as satisfied. But, it turns out that they were really quite satisfied."

Dr. Goodman said that many surgeons have concerns about performing knee replacements in the morbidly obese. Almost 90% of referring physicians believe that obesity increases the likelihood of poor outcomes after a TKR.

"There is no question that the morbidly obese are a more difficult group to managethey are more likely to have a significant number of comorbidities, including cardiac disease," said Dr. Goodman. "If you look at the Deyo comorbidity scale of the patients in our study, the morbidly obese had a significantly greater number of comorbidities than normal, so they were definitely sicker to start with, but their outcomes were just as good."

In a multivariate analysis, the researchers identified a number of other factors that correlated with pain outcomes after surgery. They found that individuals who were Caucasian experienced less pain, and individuals who were female or had only a high school education had worse pain and function two years after surgery. Patients who were between the ages of 61 to 70 had less pain than those who were younger than 60. The researchers say that more research is needed to flush out why these factors play a role in recovery.

"It's surprising to learn that a patient's level of education has a greater influence on their outcome and satisfaction than obesity does," said Mark Figgie, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and Chief of the Surgical Arthritis Service at HSS.

###

The study was supported by a Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics grant from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Other Hospital for Special Surgery authors involved in the study include Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle, M.D.

About Hospital for Special Surgery

Founded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No. 3 in rheumatology, No. 10 in neurology and No. 5 in geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report (2012-13), and is the first hospital in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center three consecutive times. HSS has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. From 2007 to 2011, HSS has been a recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award. HSS is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College and as such all Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are faculty of Weill Cornell. The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at www.hss.edu.

For more information contact:

Phyllis Fisher
212-606-1197
646-584-2714 cell
Phyllis.Fisher@gmail.com

Tracy Hickenbottom
212-606-1197
HickenbottomT@hss.edu



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/hfss-soc110912.php

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High court to take new look at voting rights law

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court will consider eliminating the government's most potent weapon against racial discrimination at polling places since the 1960s. The court acted three days after a diverse coalition of voters propelled President Barack Obama to a second term in the White House.

With a look at affirmative action in higher education already on the agenda, the court is putting a spotlight on race by re-examining the ongoing necessity of laws and programs aimed at giving racial minorities access to major areas of American life from which they once were systematically excluded.

"This is a term in which many core pillars of civil rights and pathways to opportunity hang in the balance," said Debo Adegbile, acting president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

In an order Friday, the justices agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to the part of the landmark Voting Rights Act that requires all or parts of 16 states with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval before making any changes in the way they hold elections.

The high court considered the same issue three years ago but sidestepped what Chief Justice John Roberts then called "a difficult constitutional question."

The new appeal from Shelby County, Ala., near Birmingham, says state and local governments covered by the law have made significant progress and no longer should be forced to live under oversight from Washington.

"The America that elected and reelected Barack Obama as its first African-American president is far different than when the Voting Rights Act was first enacted in 1965. Congress unwisely reauthorized a bill that is stuck in a Jim Crow-era time warp. It is unconstitutional," said Edward Blum, director of the not-for-profit Project on Fair Representation, which is funding the challenges to the voting rights law and affirmative action.

But defenders of the law said there is a continuing need for it and pointed to the Justice Department's efforts to block voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas, as well as a redistricting plan in Texas that a federal court found discriminated against the state's large and growing Hispanic population. "What we know even more clearly now than we did when the court last considered this question is that a troubling strain of obstructing the path to the ballot box remains a part of our society," Adegbile said.

Since the court's decision in 2009, Congress has not addressed potential problems identified by the court. Meanwhile, the law's opponents sensed its vulnerability and filed several new lawsuits.

Addressing those challenges, lower courts have concluded that a history of discrimination and more recent efforts to harm minority voters justify continuing federal oversight.

The justices said they will examine whether the formula under which states are covered is outdated because it relies on 40-year old data. By some measures, states covered by the law are outperforming some that are not.

Tuesday's election results also provide an interesting backdrop for the court's action. Americans re-elected the nation's first African-American president. Exit polls across the country indicated Obama won the votes of more than 70 percent of Hispanics and more than 90 percent of blacks. In Alabama, however, the exit polls showed Obama won only about 15 percent of the state's white voters. In neighboring Mississippi, the numbers were even smaller, at 10 percent, the surveys found.

The case probably will be argued in February or March, with a decision expected by late June.

The advance approval, or preclearance requirement, was adopted in the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to give federal officials a potent tool to defeat persistent efforts to keep blacks from voting.

The provision was a huge success, and Congress periodically has renewed it over the years. The most recent occasion was in 2006, when a Republican-led Congress overwhelmingly approved and President George W. Bush signed a 25-year extension.

The requirement currently applies to the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It also covers certain counties in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, and some local jurisdictions in Michigan and New Hampshire. Coverage has been triggered by past discrimination not only against blacks, but also against American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives and Hispanics.

Before these locations can change their voting rules, they must get approval either from the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division or from the federal district court in Washington that the new rules won't discriminate.

Congress compiled a 15,000-page record and documented hundreds of instances of apparent voting discrimination in the states covered by the law dating to 1982, the last time it had been extended.

Six of the affected states, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas, are backing Shelby County's appeal.

In 2009, Roberts indicated the court was troubled about the ongoing need for a law in the face of dramatically improved conditions, including increased minority voter registration and turnout rates. Roberts attributed part of the change to the law itself. "Past success alone, however, is not adequate justification to retain the preclearance requirements," he said.

Jurisdictions required to obtain preclearance were chosen based on whether they had a test restricting the opportunity to register or vote and whether they had a voter registration or turnout rate below 50 percent.

A divided panel of federal appeals court judges in Washington said that the age of the information being used is less important than whether it helps identify jurisdictions with the worst discrimination problems.

Shelby County, a well-to-do, mostly white bedroom community near Birmingham, adopted Roberts' arguments in its effort to have the voting rights provision declared unconstitutional.

Yet just a few years earlier, a town of nearly 12,000 people in Shelby County defied the voting rights law and prompted the intervention of the Bush Justice Department.

Ernest Montgomery won election as the only black member of the five-person Calera City Council in 2004 in a district that was almost 71 percent black. The city redrew its district lines in 2006 after new subdivisions and retail developments sprang up in the area Montgomery represented, and the change left his district with a population that was only 23 percent black.

Running against a white opponent in the now mostly white district, Montgomery narrowly lost a re-election bid in 2008. The Justice Department invalidated the election result because the city had failed to obtain advance approval of the new districts.

The case is Shelby County v. Holder, 12-96.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/high-court-look-voting-rights-law-201947650.html

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Archaeologists discover Thracian golden jewelry

AAA??Nov. 8, 2012?3:42 PM ET
Archaeologists discover Thracian golden jewelry
AP

Archaeologist shows an artifact, part of 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, on Thursday, Nov 8, 2012. Prof. Diana Gergova , archeologist and team leader said that among the artifacts, dated back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

Archaeologist shows an artifact, part of 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, on Thursday, Nov 8, 2012. Prof. Diana Gergova , archeologist and team leader said that among the artifacts, dated back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

Archeologists show an artifact, part of 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, on Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 Prof. Diana Gergova , archeologist and team leader said that among the artifacts, which date back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

Archaeologist shows an artifact, part of 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, on Thursday, Nov 8, 2012. Prof. Diana Gergova , archeologist and team leader said that among the artifacts, dated back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

Archeologist Prof. Diana Gergova show an artifact, part of a 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in the northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, Thursday, Nov 8, 2012 She said that among the artifacts, dated back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

Artifacts, part of 2,400-year old golden hoard found in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgarian village of Sveshtari, some 400 kilometer (250 miles) northeast of Sofia,are seen on Thursday, Nov 8, 2012. Prof. Diana Gergova , archeologist and team leader said that among the artifacts, which date back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring. (AP Photo/ImpactPressGroup)

(AP) ? Archaeologists say they have unearthed an almost 2,400-year-old golden hoard in an ancient Thracian tomb in northern Bulgaria.

The treasure was found on Thursday near the village of Sveshtari, 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of Sofia, team leader Diana Gergova said.

She said that among the artifacts, dating back to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century B.C., were gold jewelry and applications for horse trappings, a tiara with reliefs of lions and fantasy animals, as well as four bracelets and a ring.

The Thracians lived in what is now Bulgaria, and parts of modern Greece, Romania, Macedonia, and Turkey between 4,000 B.C. and the 7th century A.D., when they were assimilated by the invading Slavs.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-11-08-EU-Bulgaria-Archaeology/id-72109e4f79c84a6e912418f9e7159f7d

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It'll be a g'day for total solar eclipse

The moon will blot out the sun next week in the only total solar eclipse of the year, providing a rare skywatching treat for parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

The total solar eclipse will occur on Tuesday, but it will actually be Nov. 14 local time for observers south of the equator. The eclipse's partial phases will be visible from all of Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand, as well as part of Antarctica and a far-southern slice of South America. The total solar eclipse, however, can only be seen only from a narrow corridor running southeast across Queensland and the Northern Territory in Australia.

Next week's skywatching treat will be the first total eclipse to be visible since July 11, 2010, when the moon blocked out the sun's disk over the open ocean waters of the South Pacific.?

The total solar eclipse comes six months after a spectacular "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse ? in which the outer edges of the sun shine like a ring around the moon in the sky. That solar event wowed skywatchers across parts of Asia, the Pacific region and western North America. [ Total Solar Eclipse of 2012: Viewing Locations (Gallery) ]

Story of the shadow
Total solar eclipses occur when the moon lines up perfectly with the sun in the sky, obscuring the entire solar disk and casting a shadow over observers here on Earth.

The lunar shadow?s first contact with Earth next week occurs at 3:35 p.m. EST on Tuesday. At this time, the shadow's path will be 78 miles (126 kilometers) wide, and the total phase will last 1 minute and 41 seconds.?

The path of the moon's shadow will begin over the Arnhem Land region in the northeastern corner of Australia's Northern Territory (where it will actually be Nov. 14). The northern part of the shadow will fall upon the adjacent Arafura Sea, which overlies the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea. [ Video: Watch Path of Nov. 14 Solar Eclipse ]

The North and South Goulburn Islands, located in Auray Bay off the northern Arnhem Land coast, are tucked just inside the shadow?s northern edge and lie just to the east of the sunrise terminator. The islands are Aboriginal-owned, so permits from the Northern Land Council are essential for any skywatchers hoping to watch the eclipse from there. The Goulburns are not set up for tourism, but intrepid sailors and fisherman occasionally may find themselves on the shores.

?

Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, is positioned 155 miles (240 km) to the west of the sunrise terminator, where the shadow first touches down on the Earth. Maximum eclipse will come four minutes before local sunrise, which occurs at 6:11 a.m. on Wednesday, local time. As a consequence of this geometry, the dawn twilight may appear unusually subdued.?

When the sun finally emerges over the east-southeast horizon, Darwin?s population of 125,000 will witness ? if they?re awake and the local skies are clear ? a striking and very unique sunrise. The sun will appear as a narrow (albeit waxing) crescent with its cusps pointing downward; the moon will be covering about 92 percent of the sun at that time.

During the first two minutes that it is in contact with the Earth, the shadow, traveling rapidly southeast, will cut diagonally across the Gulf of Carpentaria, a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by Northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea.?

As it begins its jaunt across the Gulf, the shadow?s southern edge will graze the north shore of Bickerton Island, home to a small Aboriginal community of 140 people, and then cut across the northernmost portions of Groote Eylandt, which is owned by the Anindilyakwa people (who still speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language).?

Warning: Never look directly at the sun, either with the naked eye or through telescopes or binoculars, without the proper filters. To safely view solar eclipses, you can purchase special solar filters or No. 14 welder's glass to wear over your eyes. Standard sunglasses will NOT provide sufficient protection. [Photos: How to Safely Observe the Sun]

Drawn to Cairns
After traversing the Gulf, the shadow will come back onshore for a two-minute trek across northern Queensland. Most eclipse visitors to Australia will likely congregate in the city of Cairns, a rapidly expanding city of 147,000 (as of 2010) that finds itself within the totality path and 11 miles (18 km) south of the eclipse center line.?

Cairns is a popular travel destination for foreign tourists because of its tropical climate and proximity to attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef. Here, sunrise will be at 5:35 a.m.; it will be followed just 10 minutes later by first contact: The new moon will appear to take a tiny bite out of the sun at the 11 o?clock position on its disk.?

During the next 53 minutes, that indentation will grow noticeably, eventually cutting the visible solar disk down to a narrow crescent.? Finally, as the last bit of the sun is extinguished at 6:38:34 a.m. local time, the glorious corona of the sun will come into view and the sky will dramatically darken to an extent similar to what it had been just over an hour and a half previously ? that is, 30 to 40 minutes before sunrise.?

Cairns will witness a total eclipse lasting 1 minute and 58 seconds; however, observers who journey to the north to try to position themselves on the center line (located roughly midway between Clifton Beach and Port Douglas) can extend the duration of totality by 7 seconds. The sun?s altitude for totality?s onset at Cairns is 13.8 degrees above the east-southeast horizon. The umbra will then be an ellipse, with its major axis measuring 88 miles (143 km).

Farewell, Australia!
The shadow then will pass off the coast and out over the Pacific Ocean with no further landfall. The 2,141 inhabitants of tiny Norfolk Island will witness a tantalizing partial eclipse of magnitude 0.980 at 8:38 a.m. local time as the southern limit of the totality path passes a mere 60 miles (96 km) to the northeast. (That island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance. Together with two neighboring islands, it forms one of Australia's external territories.)

A few minutes later, the moon's shadow will cross the International Date Line, and the date of the eclipse will transition to Tuesday, Nov. 13.

The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 2211:48 GMT on Nov. 13, when the duration of totality lasts 4 minutes, 2.2 seconds and the sun stands 68 degrees above the ocean waves.?

The path of totality finally comes to an end 610 miles (980 km) west-northwest of Santiago, Chile, at 2348 GMT as the shadow leaves the Earth?s surface along the sunset terminator, about midway between the San Felix and San Ambrosio Islands (to the north) and Juan Fernandez Islands (to the south).?

Additional details for the 2012 total solar eclipse (including tables, maps and weather prospects) can be found here.

  1. Space news from NBCNews.com

    1. Mars rover snaps spooky self-portraits

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: It looks as if someone is taking portraits of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars from a few feet away ? but who's the photographer?

    2. Countdown to a total solar eclipse
    3. Light from first stars in universe spotted
    4. Spacewalkers troubleshoot leaky radiator

Coming attractions
On Nov. 3 of next year, the path of a hybrid solar eclipse will stretch southeast from off the coast of the Carolinas and across the North Atlantic Ocean, finally making landfall in the African nation of Gabon and then turning east-northeast across equatorial Africa before finally coming to an end over southern Ethiopia.?

This eclipse will be annular in its initial stages, then transition into a total eclipse for the rest of the path.

The duration of totality will reach a maximum of about 100 seconds at a point in the Atlantic several hundred miles off the coast of Liberia.

Editor's note: If you are in Australia or along the solar eclipse path and snap an amazing photo of Tuesday's total solar eclipse that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please send images, comments and location information to Managing Editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49762839/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Additional Tax payable when becoming a director - UK Business ...

Hello,

I am in the process of officially becoming a director of a company that I work in and coincidentally co-founded in 2010 (I was not in a position to become a director for financial reasons at the time). As part of this change I will obtain voting rights as my share will be increased to 5%. Early in the company set-up an EMI scheme was put in place for key employees. As part of the current restructuring I have been advised that, by becoming a director with voting rights (e.g. 5%) that this will be subject to a "Tax Event" or I will need to pay some amount of Capital Gains tax.

My question is does this sound right and what might this look like in tax terms? I just want to ensure I am in possession of relevant facts to ensure I am fully protected

Regards
Chris

Source: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=277333

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Cosmic sprinklers explained

Friday, November 9, 2012

Astronomers using ESO's Very Large Telescope have discovered a pair of stars orbiting each other at the centre of one of the most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula. The new result confirms a long-debated theory about what controls the spectacular and symmetric appearance of the material flung out into space. The results are published in the 9 November 2012 issue of the journal Science.

Planetary nebulae are glowing shells of gas around white dwarfs -- Sun-like stars in the final stages of their lives. Fleming 1 is a beautiful example that has strikingly symmetric jets that weave into knotty, curved patterns. It is located in the southern constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur) and was discovered just over a century ago by Williamina Fleming, a former maid who was hired by Harvard College Observatory after showing an aptitude for astronomy.

Astronomers have long debated how these symmetric jets could be created, but no consensus has been reached. Now, a research team led by Henri Boffin (ESO, Chile) has combined new Very Large Telescope (VLT) observations of Fleming 1 with existing computer modelling to explain in detail for the first time how these bizarre shapes came about.

The team used ESO's VLT to study the light coming from the central star. They found that Fleming 1 is likely to have not one but two white dwarfs at its centre, circling each other every 1.2 days. Although binary stars have been found at the hearts of planetary nebulae before, systems with two white dwarfs orbiting each other are very rare.

"The origin of the beautiful and intricate shapes of Fleming 1 and similar objects has been controversial for many decades," says Henri Boffin. "Astronomers have suggested a binary star before, but it was always thought that in this case the pair would be well separated, with an orbital period of tens of years or longer. Thanks to our models and observations, which let us examine this unusual system in great detail and peer right into the heart of the nebula, we found the pair to be several thousand times closer."

When a star with a mass up to eight times that of the Sun approaches the end of its life, it blows off its outer shells and begins to lose mass. This allows the hot, inner core of the star to radiate strongly, causing this outward-moving cocoon of gas to glow brightly as a planetary nebula.

While stars are spherical, many of these planetary nebulae are strikingly complex, with knots, filaments, and intense jets of material forming intricate patterns. Some of the most spectacular nebulae -- including Fleming 1 -- present point-symmetric structures. For this planetary nebula it means that the material appears to shoot from both poles of the central region in S-shaped flows. This new study shows that these patterns for Fleming 1 are the result of the close interaction between a pair of stars -- the surprising swansong of a stellar couple.

"This is the most comprehensive case yet of a binary central star for which simulations have correctly predicted how it shaped the surrounding nebula -- and in a truly spectacular fashion," explains co-author Brent Miszalski, from SAAO and SALT (South Africa).

The pair of stars in the middle of this nebula is vital to explain its observed structure. As the stars aged, they expanded, and for part of this time, one acted as a stellar vampire, sucking material from its companion. This material then flowed in towards the vampire, encircling it with a disc known as an accretion disc. As the two stars orbited one another, they both interacted with this disc and caused it to behave like a wobbling spinning top -- a type of motion called precession. This movement affects the behaviour of any material that has been pushed outwards from the poles of the system, such as outflowing jets. This study now confirms that precessing accretion discs within binary systems cause the stunningly symmetric patterns around planetary nebulae like Fleming 1.

The deep images from the VLT have also led to the discovery of a knotted ring of material within the inner nebula. Such a ring of material is also known to exist in other families of binary systems, and appears to be a telltale signature of the presence of a stellar couple.

"Our results bring further confirmation of the role played by interaction between pairs of stars to shape, and perhaps even form, planetary nebulae," concludes Boffin.

###

ESO: http://www.eso.org

Thanks to ESO for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125190/Cosmic_sprinklers_explained

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Spinach recall for Fresh Express. Are you affected?

Spinach recall from Fresh Express involves 9-ounce bags in as many as 18 western US states due to possible contamination with salmonella. Customers affected by the spinach recall should throw the product away and call Fresh Express for a full refund.

By Schuyler Velasco,?Correspondent / November 9, 2012

A bag of Fresh Express spinach is shown in this undated file photo. Fresh Express and the Food and Drug Administration have recalled some 9-ounce bags of spinach due to possible salmonella contamination. The spinach recall affects product sold in several western US states.

PRNewsFoto/File

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Bagged salad maker Fresh Express has issued a spinach recall of select bags of pre-washed salad due to possible salmonella contamination.

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?No illnesses or consumer complaints?have been reported to Fresh Express at this time in association with this recall,? the FDA?s notice reads. ?No other Fresh Express products are subject to this recall.?

The recall was initiated after a sample of the spinach tested positive for salmonella?under the US Department of Agriculture's random sample testing program.?

No word yet on how many bags are affected, nor which grocery store locations are involved. Fresh Express is a division of Chiquita Brands and distributes products to a wide range of national supermarket chains.?

The affected bags are 9 ounces and, on the upper right corner of the package, have the product code S299B25 and a??Use By? date of Nov. 7. The product was distributed and sold primarily in the western US, possibly in the following 18 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Fresh Express and the Food and Drug Administration are working to ensure that the spinach has been removed from supermarket shelves. Consumers are asked to throw out the affected product and call the Fresh Express Center for a full refund at (800) 242-5472. The line is open every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

This is at least the second bagged spinach recall this year. In September, the Kroger supermarket chain recalled 10-ounce bags of Fresh Selections Tender Spinach sold primarily in the southeastern United States. In April 2011, Fresh Express issued a much larger recall of its 9-ounce bags of spinach. It affected 2,939 cases.

For the full release, visit the FDA?s recalls website here.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Akhm5b5K9yE/Spinach-recall-for-Fresh-Express.-Are-you-affected

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Selectajet.com, for No-Frills Private Charter Jet Flying Experience ...

Winter Park, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/09/2012 --
With years of experience in providing executive class services and making chartered jet planes a more sought after option, Select A Jet is one of nation?s best Jet chartering firm. Taking pride in having access to more than 2,500 approved private jets, Select A Jet puts an end to unwanted expenditure incurred on monthly memberships, upfront and keep, and unsought for agreements. The company is straightforward ?Why pay extra for the time when you aren't flying??

Offering a variety of lush and lavish jet planes to choose from, Select A Jet gives you complete worth of your expenditure by providing the best of the class aircrafts. Let?s take a look at a few,

Accommodating 4 persons and a pilot, the Eclipse Jet is a fast, swift and smooth machine. It has a commercial aircraft type of lavatory and comfortable seating, along with a decent baggage space and a wide range of non-stop flying.

The Lear 35 is one of the fastest light jet aircraft for business and executive travelers who need to get to their desired destination as quickly as possible. It?s an eight seater with enclosed lavatory and good baggage space. Great for even having confidential executive meetings while flying.

When it comes to speed and fuel efficiency, the King Air 350 is a contender too. With a passenger capacity of 10 people & relatively large cabin space, it is ideal for ferrying the top brass of a company for business meetings across the globe.

Even the King Air 200 with a capacity to accommodate 8 passengers has a generous cabin space. It also has a fairly high range of 1,000 nautical miles flying without a stop.

Any trip whether for business or pleasure can be so much more comfortable, efficient & productive with Select A Jet that you might never go back to commercial air travel again. Select A Jet works only with the best private jet operators in the business. All aircraft & crew of these operators meet or exceed the safety standards of FAA Part 135 requirements for charter aircraft. And a request for a private jet can be accommodated in as little as 8 hours? notice

About Selectajet.com
Selectajet.com (http://www.selectajet.com/) is one of the best chartered plane service providers in the US. With private jet travel coming up as a safe, fast and convenient way of flying without any frills, Select A Jet is committed to give best value to its esteemed customers. The company can be easily contacted via email or a phone call.

Source: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/selectajetcom-for-no-frills-private-charter-jet-flying-experience-178562.htm

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