Clear the Blur-Tips to Boost Your Eye-Q | Medindia

Eye problems may present as blurry vision or simply a minor headache, but they can affect your life in more ways than one. While most vision problems are genetic, there are some that can arise as a result of lifestyle habits, physical injury and even ageing. Read on to discover more about some common eye problems, their symptoms, diagnosis and correction.


Refractive Errors -

Hypermetropia: Also known as farsightedness, hypermetropia is a condition wherein the individual is able to clearly view objects at a distance, but is however, unable to view objects that are nearer. This is because the rays of light from the object do not fall exactly on the retina, but much behind it. Family history is of utmost importance in this condition.

Headache, blurred vision and difficulty in reading words that are near are some common symptoms of hypermetropia. Diagnosis of this condition is done by Cyclo refraction test wherein eye drops are administered to relax the ciliary muscles of the eye, so that the exact degree of hypermetropia can be found.

Treatment of this condition may be done by a LASIK eye surgery in which the cornea of the eye is re-shaped to make it steeper. One can also use contact lenses or spectacles. However, it should be noted that the contact lenses must be light weight and anti-reflective, since the eye tends to look enlarged if a heavy contact lens is worn.

Myopia: This condition is the exact opposite of hypermetropia - the individual is able to view nearby objects clearly, but the objects placed far away appear blurred. In such an individual, the eyeball is longer than in a normal individual, causing the light from a faraway object to fall in front of the retina.

Characterized by headaches and eye strain, myopia is common among school children. Contrary to popular belief, reading in dim light and watching too much TV is NOT responsible for causing myopia. Regular annual examinations should be done for school-going children to detect the presence of myopia. The child will simply be asked to read off the Snellen chart placed 20 feet away by using lenses of different strengths. Eye drops may also be administered to relax the ciliary muscles and give an accurate correction.

LASIK and Epi-LASIK are suggested for individuals over 18 years of age, having stable power for over 6 months and not suffering from any severe ophthalmic condition such as glaucoma and cataract. Contact lenses can be used to enhance cosmetic appearance; however, it is suggested that children use spectacles until they reach maturity.

Astigmatism: Often combined with near-sightedness or far-sightedness, astigmatism is a condition where the corneal shape of the eye is affected, leading to blurred vision.

Headache, accompanied by pain in the eyes and blurred vision are common symptoms of low-degree astigmatism. Corneal topography-a technique that makes three-dimensional maps of the cornea, is done to rule out the possibility of diseases like keratoconus. Toric contact lenses, spectacles with spherical and/ or cylindrical lenses are recommended. For patients who have passed the corneal topography successfully, LASIK eye surgery can be considered.

Age-related Disorders -

Presbyopia: Ageing eyes or presbyopia refers to the onset of visual impairment as a person crosses 40 years of age. This usually happens because the ciliary muscles of the eye become weak with age, and the eye loses its ability to focus at different distances.

Characterized by eye strain, blurry vision and headaches, presbyopia hampers some precision requiring day-to-day activities such as threading a needle, and so on. This ocular condition is diagnosed by a simple near vision chart and can be corrected either by LASIK surgery, or by use of multi-focal lenses.

Cataract: The human eye is made up of protein and water. As the individual ages, the proteins in the eye tend to cluster together, clouding a part of the eye, and making it look foggy in appearance. This is known as cataract.

Being painless, cataract is often characterized by simple, easy-to-note symptoms such as reduced sharpness and brightness of objects, inability to view objects clearly even after using glasses, and decreased vision in bright lights. It can be easily detected by a 5-minute test known as the slit-lamp examination. Treatment for cataract is a surgery that replaces the clouded lens with an artificial lens made up of silicone or polymer acrylate. Left untreated, cataract can lead to blindness.

Age-related macular degeneration: Age-related macular degeneration,, as the name suggests, occurs in the elderly, and affects the macula of the eye (central portion of the retina). It may present itself as either a gradual breakdown of the macula, or by formation of abnormal blood vessels in the macula.

Age-related macular degeneration is most commonly noted by 2 symptoms-blurry vision and black spots. It is diagnosed by using an ophthalmoscope and an Amsler grid. Though there is no cure at present for this condition, researchers say that including more green vegetables in your diet and improving lifestyle habits can make a huge difference in shunning away many other age-related ocular manifestations.

Other Eye Problems -

Dry eyes: A very common eye concern, especially among people living in urban areas, dry eyes may show symptoms like redness, painful itching, burning sensation and whitish discharge. Most common causes of dry eye are exposure to pollutants, heat, dust, wind etc. Sitting near an air conditioner for too long can also cause eye problems. Avoid staying in the sunlight for too long without sunglasses.

Conjunctivitis: Commonly observed during warm and humid seasons, conjunctivitis is basically an infection of the membrane lining the surface of the eyes and eyelids, leading to redness, swelling, inflammation, excessive tear production and crusting. Both viral and bacterial conjunctivitis can be treated by using eye drops and maintaining cleanliness.

Lazy eye: An early childhood condition wherein the eyesight in one eye of the child does not develop as it should, lazy eye can leave the child visually impaired in that eye for life if not treated at an early stage. This condition starts appearing in early childhood and can make the brain biased, forcing it to focus on one eye only, virtually ignoring the lazy eye. If the ?lazy? eye is not stimulated within the early stages, it can hamper the maturation of the visual brain cells, leaving the child visually impaired. The best treatment is to patch the better eye so that the child is forced to focus on the ?lazy? eye and develop his vision in the affected eye at the right time.

Stye: A stye is basically a minor inflammation of the oil gland just at the edge of the eyelid which can hurt when you blink. Styes can be easily prevented by removing make-up before going to bed and by avoiding the use of dirty hands to rub the eyes.

Diabetic retinopathy: Diabetic blindness or diabetic retinopathy is one of the severe complications of diabetes which involves swollen, leaky blood vessels rupturing in the retina and blocking the vision of the individual. Controlling blood sugar and getting regular eye check-ups done is very important for all diabetic patients.

Uveitis: This painful condition occurs as a result of inflammation of the uvea of the eye, possibly due to different underlying causes like family history, auto-immune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, and infections like TB and toxoplasmosis. This condition is characterized by a severe pain and swelling in the eye, often radiating to the head. Sensitivity to sunlight and inflammation of the eye is also seen. Ophthalmologists usually prescribe steroids to tackle this condition.

Source: http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/clear-the-blur-tips-to-boost-your-eye-q.htm

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AP Sources: 'Fiscal cliff' deal emerging

The moon rises behind the U.S. Capitol Dome in Washington as Congress works into the late evening, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 to resolve the stalemate over the pending "fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

The moon rises behind the U.S. Capitol Dome in Washington as Congress works into the late evening, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 to resolve the stalemate over the pending "fiscal cliff." (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., followed by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., second from right, leaves the Senate chamber to meet with fellow Republicans in a closed-door session as the "fiscal cliff" negotiations continue at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Leaders in the Senate and the House are under pressure to find a legislative path to head off the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., walks to a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats as he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., work to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Senate and House leaders are rushing to assemble a last-ditch agreement to stave off middle-class tax increases and possibly delay steep spending cuts in an urgent attempt to find common ground after weeks of gridlock. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., third ranking in the Senate Democratic leadership, speaks on his cell phone following a closed-door caucus at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 to discuss how to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts that could kick in Jan. 1. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The contours of a deal to avert the 'fiscal cliff' emerged Monday, with Democrats and Republicans agreeing to raise tax rates on family income over $450,000 a year, increase the estate tax rate and extend unemployment benefits for one year, officials familiar with the negotiations said.

But with a midnight deadline rapidly approaching, both sides were at an impasse over whether to put off automatic, across-the-board spending cuts set to take effect on Jan. 1, and if so, how to pay for that. Democrats want to put off the cuts for one year and offset the so-called sequester with unspecified revenue.

Officials emphasized that negotiations were continuing and the emerging deal was not yet final. President Barack Obama was to speak about the status of the negotiations from the White House Monday afternoon.

The proposal in the works would raise the tax rates on family income over $450,000 from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, the same level as under former President Bill Clinton. Also, estates would be taxed at 40 percent after the first $5 million for an individual and $10 million for a couple, up from 35 percent to 40 percent.

Unemployment benefits would be extended for one year. Without the extension, 2 million people would lose benefits beginning in early January.

A Republican official familiar with the plans confirmed the details described to The Associated Press.

The officials requested anonymity in order to discuss the internal negotiations.

Unless an agreement is reached and approved by Congress by the start of New Year's Day, more than $500 billion in 2013 tax increases will begin to take effect and $109 billion will be carved from defense and domestic programs

Though the tax hikes and budget cuts would be felt gradually, economists warn that if allowed to fully take hold, their combined impact ? the so-called fiscal cliff ? would rekindle a recession.

Urgent talks were continuing Monday afternoon between the White House and congressional Republicans, with longtime negotiating partners Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at the helm. Underscoring the flurry of activity, another GOP aide said the two men had conversations at 12:45 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Monday.

An agreement on the proposed deal would also shield Medicare doctors from a 27 percent cut in fees and extend tax credits for research and development, as well as renewable energy.

The deal would also extend for five years a series of tax credits meant to lessen the financial burden on poorer and middle-class families, including one credit that helps people pay for college.

The deal would achieve about $600 billion in new revenue, the officials said.

Despite the movement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned that time was running out to finalize an agreement.

"Americans are still threatened with a tax hike in just a few hours," said Reid, D-Nev., as the Senate began an unusual New Year's Eve session.

Liberal Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, took to the Senate floor after Reid to warn Democratic bargainers against lowering levies on large inherited estates and raising the income threshold at which higher tax rates would kick in.

"No deal is better than a bad deal. And this look like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up," said Harkin.

Letting tax rates rise for couples with incomes of $450,000 a year is a concessions for Obama, who campaigned for re-election on a pledge to set the levels at $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. It also marked a significant concession by Republican leaders who pledged to continue the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for all income earners. .

The hope of the White House and lawmakers was to seal an agreement, enact it and send it to Obama for his signature before taxpayers felt the impact of higher income taxes or federal agencies began issuing furloughs or taking other steps required by spending cuts.

Regardless of the fate of the negotiations, it appeared all workers would experience a cut in their take-home pay with the expiration of a two-year cut in payroll taxes.

"This whole thing is a national embarrassment," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Monday on MSNBC, adding that any solution Congress would swallow at this late stage would be inconsequential. "We still haven't moved any closer to solving our nation's problems."

In a move that was sure to irritate Republicans, Reid was planning ? absent a deal ? to force a Senate vote Monday on Obama's campaign-season proposal to continue expiring tax cuts for all but those with income exceeding $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.

In one sign of movement on Sunday, Republicans dropped a demand to slow the growth of Social Security and other benefits by changing how those payments are increased each year to allow for inflation.

Obama had offered to include that change, despite opposition by many Democrats, as part of earlier, failed bargaining with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, over a larger deficit reduction agreement. But Democrats said they would never include the new inflation formula in the smaller deal now being sought to forestall wide-ranging tax boosts and budget cuts, and Republicans relented.

"It's just acknowledging the reality," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said of the GOP decision to drop the idea.

As the New Year's Eve deadline rapidly approached, Democrats and Republicans found themselves at odds over a host of issues, including taxing large inherited estates. Republicans wanted the tax left at its current 35 percent, with the first $5.1 million excluded, while Democrats wanted the rate increased to 45 percent with a smaller exclusion.

The two sides were also apart on how to keep the alternative minimum tax from raising the tax bills of nearly 30 million middle-income families and how to extend tax breaks for research by business and other activities.

Republicans were insisting that budget cuts be found to pay for some of the spending proposals Democrats were pushing.

These included proposals to erase scheduled defense and domestic cuts exceeding $200 billion over the next two years and to extend unemployment benefits. Republicans complained that in effect, Democrats would pay for that spending with the tax boosts on the wealthy.

"We can't use tax increases on anyone to pay for more spending," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

_____

Eds: Associated Press writers David Espo, Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram and Josh Lederman contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-31-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-48de439403b34023ae9f2c7fe8ba7eeb

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Sign of the cross in a tree after tornado gives true believers in Alabama hope

? whnt.com

Christmas carols about angels have special meaning to a Marshall County woman who says she frequently feels their presence.

Barbara McKinley said she received a sign of the cross after the April 27 tornadoes, when a tree fell in one of her neighbor's yards, in the Preston Island community.

"After the tornado, he went up to start cutting the tree limbs up and that to haul out to the road to be picked up, and as he was cutting up, when he got into this part of the tree, is when he saw the cross," McKinley said.

Her neighbor began to cut the same timber looking for more, but McKinley said the cross disappeared after 12 to 15 inches, and she was glad to receive a cross-cut of the cross.

She said some people think this is a hoax, claiming photos are doctored with a computer, or someone drew the cross on this piece of a tree.

"I keep trying to tell everybody God's trying to tell us something, and we're not listening."

? whnt.com

Splotches appeared in the middle of several other trees in the area but none were like this.

McKinley believes it and her safety are a sign.

"We've had two tornadoes here and my house has never been touched, so I know my angels are watching me," she said.

Her faith continues to grow as a result of feeling that protection for years.

"My husband's had two bouts with strokes, and prostate cancer, and he's fine," she said.

"I feel my angels are looking are over us, all the time."

She said the cross is God's way of saying he is there, too.

Her son made the display case for the cross, along with a wooden plaque which reads:

"this cross came from the middle of a tree limb found after the tornado of april 27, 2001 on hwy 79 in marshall county, al."

Source: http://www.sott.net/article/255370-Sign-of-the-cross-in-a-tree-after-tornado-gives-true-believers-in-Alabama-hope

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Understanding HR Outsourcing and Its Value for Businesses

by guestcontributor on December 29, 2012

It is not everday that the business industry get to hear success stories concerning the human resources department. However, this aspect of the business industry is slowly but surely reaching the surface as more people are coming to realize the essence of this service. Indeed, there is a lot of work involved in terms of managing the human resources of a company and the work delivered by HR specialists and managers are some of the most critical driving forces behind its success. And so this is where the debate on whether there is more to the value of outsourcing HR functions aside from the cost savings to be enjoyed.

Larger companies typically go for HR outsourcing to help with the administrative functions, which is a given knowing that most of these companies also have a large number of employees. But for small businesses with limited employees, the debate on whether outsourcing is good for them or not isn?t as defined. Experts, however, reveal that process-driven aspects of your HR department can be relegated to an outsourcing company while you can keep the rest in-house.

The abiltiy to access modern and advanced HR software is also another benefit to be enjoyed with HR outsourcing. And this, too, is deemed by HR experts as one of the competitive edge you can enjoy with these outsourcing services. The cost of acquisition, maintenance and upgrade to keep these HR systems running fully well is something that small businesses cannot afford on their own. As you tap into HR outsourcing, you will often reveal many benefits that you never even knew existed.

Click here to find out more details about how tapping into an HR outsourcing service can spell the difference for your business.

Source: http://currencyintelligent.com/understanding-hr-outsourcing-and-its-value-for-businesses

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'The Onion' Year In Review 2012: The Year's Biggest Fake Stories (VIDEO)

Stephen A. Smith Thinking Son Is Finally Ready For The Sex Argument

Stephen A Smith sort of proved <em>The Onion</em>'s point when he went on a Twitter tirade about the article, "Stephan A Smith Thinking Son Is Finally Ready For The Sex Argument." Smith rebutted that he didn't have a son or a 9-year-old, later tweeting that he had realized it was a joke.

Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex

Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana posted the article "Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex" to his Facebook page, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/06/john-fleming-onion-planned-parenthood_n_1257763.html">commenting that it was "abortion by the wholesale."</a> Perhaps the $8 Billion price tag should have tipped him off.

Sean Penn Demands To Know What A**hole Took SeanPenn@gmail.com

A Danish television station not only ran this story as truth, but included a little poll on the side asking readers if Sean Penn has a right to be upset. So far, <a href="http://go-dyn.tv2.dk/articlefornoejelse/id-3498191:hvem-har-hugget-sean-penns-emailadresse.html">79% say he is ridiculous</a>.

Conspiracy Theorist Convinces Neil Armstrong That Moon Landing Was Fake

Both <em>The Daily Banab Zamin</em> and <em>The New Nation</em> (two Bangladeshi papers) picked up <em>The Onion</em>'s story about Neil Armstrong finally being convinced that the moon landing was staged, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8237558.stm">not knowing the story was fake.</a>

Congress Takes Group Of Schoolchildren Hostage

<em>The Onion</em> sparked a panic in Washington D.C. when it started tweeting "breaking news" about 12 children being held hostage at the Capitol Building with the hashtag #CongressHostage. Capitol Police <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/the-onion-congress-hostage_n_987254.html">launched an investigation</a> after the tweets, many of which did not link to the parody story, were re-tweeted hundreds of times.

Congress Threatens To Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built

<em>The Beijing Evening News</em> printed parts of this article <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/U-S-satire-tricks-Beijing-paper-Satire-fools-2829911.php">as fact</a>, including a fake Dennis Hastert quote complaining that the Capitol "is no longer suitable for a world-class legislative branch. The sight lines are bad, there aren't enough concession stands or bathrooms, and the parking is miserable." No concession stands? But this is AMERICA.

Study Finds Every Style Of Parenting Produces Disturbed, Miserable Adults

Because this sarcastic news brief cited real-life organization The California Parenting Institute (CPI), the organization was swamped with phone calls. Their director of marketing and development, Wendy Hilberman, told the <a href="http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111028/ARTICLES/111029463/1350?template=printpicart">Press Democrat</a> that "It's obviously not OK to list our agency, even in satire."

Harry Potter Book Sparks Rise In Satanism Among Children

If you Google "Jesus died because He was weak and stupid" you might get a good look into America's consciousness. Fictional six-year-old Jessica Lehman's quote has been used <a href="http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/potter.asp">as a chain e-mail reason</a> <a href="http://forum.dancehallreggae.com/showthread.php/19293-quot-Jesus-died-because-He-was-weak-and-stupid-quot">to fear</a> Harry Potter. Go figure.

Study: 58 Percent Of U.S. Exercise Televised

On March 12, 2004, Deborah Norville stated on her MSNBC show that a new study said that 58 percent of exercise done in America was on broadcast television. Whoever wrote the script that night literally wrote, "For instance, of the 3.5 billion sit-ups done during 2003, two million, 30,000 of them were on exercise shows on Lifetime or one of the ESPN channels," as if it were news copy.

Barack Obama 'Tiger Beat' Cover Clinches Slumber Party Vote

Even <em>The New York Times</em> is susceptible to the occasional <em>Onion</em> parody. The Times published an article about <em>Tiger Beat</em> using a PhotoShopped image of the President on the magazine's cover that accompanied <em>The Onion</em>'s fake story. They later <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/weekinreview/17tigerbeat.html?_r=0">ran a correction</a> stating they had "erroneously included a parody cover."

Illuminati Warning: Martial Law Plans Revealed?

Three years after <em>The Onion</em> came out with this video of Rep. John Haller becoming increasingly concerned about "classified" information, many took to Facebook <a href="http://i.imgur.com/VlYaV.jpg">in fear of imminent martial law</a>.

Frustrated Obama Sends Nation Rambling 75,000 Word E-Mail

Now, we assume Fox News knows that <em>The Onion</em> is satire, but according to <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/foxnation-com-repurposes-anti-obama-article-from-the-onion-forgets-to-mention-its-a-joke/">Mediaite</a>, their website Fox Nation failed to mention that the story was fictional. Naturally, it attracted such gems in the comment as: ?HAHAHAHAHAHA OBUMMA ? Un-raveled. EPIC FAILURE. IMPEACH it.?

'98 Homosexual-Recruitment Drive Nearing Goal

This early <em>Onion</em> article attracted the fury of Fred Phelps (author of the "God Hates Fags" website), who according to <em><a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/onion_pr.html">Wired</a></em>, "listed the article as proof of a gay conspiracy."

Vatican Reverses Stance On Gay Marriage After Meeting Tony And Craig

<em>The Onion</em>'s "news" that the Catholic Church had softened its feelings toward homosexuality after meeting one fabulous couple fooled some conservatives online. In the Facebook screenshot at left, <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/insane-things-representative-sally-kern-has-said">notoriously anti-gay Rep. Sally Kern</a> doesn't exactly take the bait, but doesn't say she knows it's a joke, either.

Report: Al-Qaeda Allegedly Engaging In Telemarketing

<em><a href="http://jclass.umd.edu/archive/newshoax/casestudies/pranks/PranksOnionTele2.html">The Battle Creek Enquirer</a></em> reported that the Sheriff's department had released a dispatch about the possibility of terrorists making telemarketing phone calls, including information from <em>The Onion's</em> article.

Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation

This video of Chad, an ingenious Make-A-Wish kid who cheated the system by demanding unlimited wishes, fooled many into believing that the foundation had actually gone broke. Make-A-Wish <a href="http://www.wish.org/about/fraud_alerts">still has a disclaimer on their website</a> stating that the ?Today Now!? segment is not true and that all characters, including wish child ?Chad,? are fictitious.

Obama's 19-Year-Old Son Makes Rare Appearance At DNC

The Mecklenberg County, VA Republican Party thought they were really on to something when they posted <em>The Onion</em>'s story to their Facebook page. After posting, they expressed their disconcern in a comment that no other news sources had picked up the story of Obama's 19-year-old son. We wonder why?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/the-onion-year-in-review-2012_n_2381261.html

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Central Africa states to up troops in Central African Republic ahead of peace talks

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's neighbors have agreed to increase the number of troops stationed there to help defend against rebels threatening to overthrow the government.

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) - which already has more than 500 peacekeepers in CAR - announced its decision overnight in Gabon's capital Libreville, ahead of peace talks planned between the SELEKA rebels and the government in early January.

The insurgency poses the biggest threat yet to President Francois Bozize's nearly ten years in charge of the nation, which has remained poor since independence from France in 1960 despite rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds.

"We are thinking of a way to deploy this mission as quickly as possible," Gabon Foreign Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet told reporters after a meeting with his regional counterparts. He did not say how many soldiers would be deployed.

The ECCAS troops, mostly from Chad, are part of the MICOPAX (Mission for the consolidation of peace in Central African Republic) peacekeeping force, but have been unable to prevent a rebel advance to within 75 km (45 miles) of the capital Bangui since early December.

The SELEKA rebels have threatened to overthrow Bozize if he does not live up to a previous peace deal offering former fighters pay and jobs, but they have agreed to stay out of Bangui to allow for peace talks.

Officials in Bangui on Friday said rebels had agreed to send delegates to Libreville in early January. A rebel spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

Some clashes between government troops and rebel fighters were reported on the outskirts of Damara, 75 km north of Bangui, on Friday, and some residents of the capital were fleeing the city, fearing a fresh rebel push.

Clashes were also heard in Bambari, some 385 km northwest of Bangui, residents told Reuters.

Bozize came to power in a rebellion in 2003 and has since won two elections. France conducted air strikes against rebels challenging him in 2006, but Paris has said it will not intervene militarily in the current conflict.

The United States said on Thursday it had closed its embassy in Bangui and evacuated its staff.

Central African Republic is one of a number of countries in the region where U.S. Special Forces are helping local forces try to track down the Lords Resistance Army, a rebel group responsible for killing thousands of civilians across four African nations.

Some 1,200 French nationals live in CAR, mostly in the capital, according to the French Foreign Ministry, where they typically work for mining firms or aid groups.

French nuclear energy group Areva mines the Bakouma uranium deposit in CAR's south - France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.

(Additional reporting by Paul-Marin Ngoupana in Bangui; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/central-africa-states-troops-central-african-republic-ahead-094155840.html

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Rebels Take Aim at Military Base in Battle to Control Syria

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Plumes of smoke rise from a military base that came under rebel attack on the Damascus to Aleppo highway. Rebels, outgunned are not giving upt.

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Animal Figurines Found in Ancient Israel Temple

Just outside of Jerusalem, archaeologists have discovered a cache of vessels and figurines inside a 2,750-year-old temple that could provide a rare window into religious rituals of the period, the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced.

The finds were uncovered at Tel Motza, an archaeological site being excavated ahead of the expansion of Highway 1, the main road connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The dig revealed part of a large building, believed to be a temple, and objects that date back to the era of the First Temple, which, according to the Hebrew Bible, was constructed by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. and then destroyed 400 years later.

"The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judaea at the time of the First Temple," the directors of the dig, Anna Eirikh, Hamoudi Khalaily and Shua Kisilevitz, said in a statement.

"The walls of the structure are massive, and it includes a wide, east-facing entrance, conforming to the tradition of temple construction in the ancient Near East: the rays of the sun rising in the east would have illuminated the object placed inside the temple first, symbolizing the divine presence within," the archaeologists added. [5 Dazzling Sun Myths]

They said that they found a square structure they believe was an altar in the temple courtyard, and nearby they discovered fragments of vessels that were typically used in rituals, such as chalices, as well as figurines of human heads and harnessed animals, which still "require extensive research."

It's rare to find artifacts from this early monarchic period in buildings that appear to be temples, equipped ritual platforms, the researchers say. Similar objects found elsewhere have been attributed to domestic rituals.

"The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare archaeological evidence for the existence of temples and ritual enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in general, and in the Jerusalem region in particular, prior to the religious reforms throughout the kingdom at the end of the monarchic period (at the time of Hezekiah and Isaiah), which abolished all ritual sites, concentrating ritual practices solely at the Temple in Jerusalem," the site's directors said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?& Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/animal-figurines-found-ancient-israel-temple-234436458.html

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They?re Just People Looking From the East (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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The Daily Roundup for 12.28.2012

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 12.28.2012

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/the-daily-roundup-for-12-28-2012/

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Overwhelmed Newtown officials seek temporary halt to gifts

NEWTOWN, Conn. - Officials in Newtown, Conn., are asking people to stop sending gifts to the grief-stricken community following the deadly school shooting, saying they're deeply grateful but can't handle the donation deluge.

The town's first selectman, police chief and schools superintendent made the request Wednesday through an editor at The Newtown Bee newspaper.

They say since a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators Dec. 14, gifts from school supplies to artwork have arrived in such numbers they've overwhelmed the small community's ability to process them.

The officials are asking people to temporarily stop sending gifts. They say once they process the "warehouses full of items," they'll detail the best ways to help.

Meanwhile, the United Way of Western Connecticut announced Wednesday that a fund established after the shooting to support Newtown has grown to $3.5 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/overwhelmed-officials-newtown-conn-seek-temporary-halt-gifts-003017199.html

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Disease burden links ecology to economic growth

Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bryan Ghosh
bghosh@plos.org
44-122-344-2837
Public Library of Science

A new study, published December 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, finds that vector-borne and parasitic diseases have substantial effects on economic development across the globe, and are major drivers of differences in income between tropical and temperate countries. The burden of these diseases is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological factors: it is predicted to rise as biodiversity falls. This has significant implications for the economics of health care policy in developing countries, and advances our understanding of how ecological conditions can affect economic growth.

According to conventional economic wisdom, the foundation of economic growth is in political and economic institutions. "This is largely Cold War Economics about how to allocate property rightswith the government or with the private sector," says Dr Matthew Bonds, an economist at Harvard Medical School, and the lead author of the new study. However, Dr Bonds and colleagues were interested instead in biological processes that transcend such institutions, and which might form a more fundamental economic foundation.

The team was intrigued by the fact that tropical countries are generally comprised of poor agrarian populations while countries in temperate regions are wealthier and more industrialized. This distribution of income is inversely related to the burden of disease, which peaks at the equator and falls along a latitudinal gradient. Although it is common to conclude that economics drives the pattern of disease, the authors point out that most of the diseases that afflict the poor spend much of their life-cycle outside the human host. Many cannot even survive outside the tropics. Their distribution is largely determined by ecological factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and soil quality.

Because of the high correlations between poverty and disease, determining the effects of one on the other was the central challenge of their statistical analysis. Most previous attempts to address this topic ignored disease ecology, argue Bonds and colleagues. The team assembled a large data set for all of the world's nations on economics, parasitic and infectious vector-borne diseases, biodiversity (mammals, birds and plants) and other factors. Knowing that diseases are partly determined by ecology, they used a powerful set of statistical methods, new to macroecology, that allowed variables that may have underlying relationships with each other to be teased apart.

The results of the analysis suggest that infectious disease has as powerful an effect on a nation's economic health as governance, say the authors. "The main asset of the poor is their own labor," says Dr Bonds. "Infectious diseases, which are regulated by the environment, systematically steal human resources. Economically speaking, the effect is similar to that of crime or government corruption on undermining economic growth."

This result has important significance for international aid organizations, as it suggests that money spent on combating disease would also stimulate economic growth. Moreover, although diversity of human diseases is highly correlated with diversity of surrounding species, the study indicates that the burden of such human disease actually drops when biodiversity rises. The analysis is inconclusive about why this effect is so strong. The authors suggest that competition and predation limit the survival of disease vectors and free-living parasites where biodiversity is high. The research sets the stage for a number of future analyses that need to lay bare the relationship between health care funding and economic development.

###

Funding: MHB is funded by NIH Grant #K01TW008773 from the Fogarty International Center. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Bonds MH, Dobson AP, Keenan DC (2012) Disease Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Latitudinal Gradient in Income. PLoS Biol 10(12): e1001456. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456

CONTACT:

Matthew Bonds
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
UNITED STATES
Tel: +1-410-991-6759
mhb9@hms.harvard.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bryan Ghosh
bghosh@plos.org
44-122-344-2837
Public Library of Science

A new study, published December 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, finds that vector-borne and parasitic diseases have substantial effects on economic development across the globe, and are major drivers of differences in income between tropical and temperate countries. The burden of these diseases is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological factors: it is predicted to rise as biodiversity falls. This has significant implications for the economics of health care policy in developing countries, and advances our understanding of how ecological conditions can affect economic growth.

According to conventional economic wisdom, the foundation of economic growth is in political and economic institutions. "This is largely Cold War Economics about how to allocate property rightswith the government or with the private sector," says Dr Matthew Bonds, an economist at Harvard Medical School, and the lead author of the new study. However, Dr Bonds and colleagues were interested instead in biological processes that transcend such institutions, and which might form a more fundamental economic foundation.

The team was intrigued by the fact that tropical countries are generally comprised of poor agrarian populations while countries in temperate regions are wealthier and more industrialized. This distribution of income is inversely related to the burden of disease, which peaks at the equator and falls along a latitudinal gradient. Although it is common to conclude that economics drives the pattern of disease, the authors point out that most of the diseases that afflict the poor spend much of their life-cycle outside the human host. Many cannot even survive outside the tropics. Their distribution is largely determined by ecological factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and soil quality.

Because of the high correlations between poverty and disease, determining the effects of one on the other was the central challenge of their statistical analysis. Most previous attempts to address this topic ignored disease ecology, argue Bonds and colleagues. The team assembled a large data set for all of the world's nations on economics, parasitic and infectious vector-borne diseases, biodiversity (mammals, birds and plants) and other factors. Knowing that diseases are partly determined by ecology, they used a powerful set of statistical methods, new to macroecology, that allowed variables that may have underlying relationships with each other to be teased apart.

The results of the analysis suggest that infectious disease has as powerful an effect on a nation's economic health as governance, say the authors. "The main asset of the poor is their own labor," says Dr Bonds. "Infectious diseases, which are regulated by the environment, systematically steal human resources. Economically speaking, the effect is similar to that of crime or government corruption on undermining economic growth."

This result has important significance for international aid organizations, as it suggests that money spent on combating disease would also stimulate economic growth. Moreover, although diversity of human diseases is highly correlated with diversity of surrounding species, the study indicates that the burden of such human disease actually drops when biodiversity rises. The analysis is inconclusive about why this effect is so strong. The authors suggest that competition and predation limit the survival of disease vectors and free-living parasites where biodiversity is high. The research sets the stage for a number of future analyses that need to lay bare the relationship between health care funding and economic development.

###

Funding: MHB is funded by NIH Grant #K01TW008773 from the Fogarty International Center. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Bonds MH, Dobson AP, Keenan DC (2012) Disease Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Latitudinal Gradient in Income. PLoS Biol 10(12): e1001456. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456

CONTACT:

Matthew Bonds
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
UNITED STATES
Tel: +1-410-991-6759
mhb9@hms.harvard.edu

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/plos-dbl122012.php

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San Onofre: NRC Wants More Analysis At Ailing California Nuke Plant

LOS ANGELES ? Federal regulators Wednesday pressed the operator of the San Onofre nuclear power plant for more analysis on its damaged steam generators, as the government considers when, or if, one of the seaside reactors can be restarted safely.

San Onofre, located between Los Angeles and San Diego, hasn't produced electricity since January, after a tiny radiation leak led to the discovery of excessive wear on hundreds of generator tubes that carry radioactive water.

Southern California Edison asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early October for permission to rekindle one of the twin reactors, Unit 2, and then run it at reduced power. Company officials believe that operating at up to 70 percent power will end vibration and friction that prematurely eroded generator tubing.

In a letter to Edison, NRC officials raised a potentially thorny question for the company.

Under technical operating rules, the plant is required to ensure that generator tubes retain "structural integrity" during "the full range of normal operating conditions," including if the plant is running at full power. NRC said it wanted the company to demonstrate that Unit 2 could meet that threshold, or explain how generator tubes would interact with each other if the plant is operating at maximum capacity.

Any change in those technical rules could trigger a longer, more complex review by the NRC. Agency spokesman Victor Dricks declined comment when asked if meeting the full-power threshold could be a condition of restarting the Unit 2 reactor.

Edison spokeswoman Jennifer Manfre said in a statement that the utility would provide additional information to the federal agency, as requested. A thorough review of the restart plan "is important to both the public and Southern California Edison," she added.

The problems at San Onofre center on steam generators that were installed during a $670 million overhaul in 2009 and 2010. After the plant was shut down, tests found some generator tubes were so badly corroded that they could fail and possibly release radiation, a stunning finding inside the nearly new equipment.

Friends of the Earth, a group critical of the nuclear power industry, is among several environmental groups pushing the NRC to require Edison to seek an amendment to its operating license to restart the plant, a process that could take up to two years. Spokeswoman Kendra Ulrich said in a statement the group is "encouraged that the NRC is asking hard questions" about the restart and its implications, including on the operating license.

The ability of San Onofre to run safely at lower power ? and whether that limit would require an amendment to its operating license ? came up earlier this month at a hearing of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an arm of the NRC.

Administrative Judge Gary Arnold asked an Edison attorney, Steve Frantz, if he was confident that the plant could operate at 99 percent power with its ailing generators.

"I do not say that," Franz responded. He argued that running at 70 percent power would fall within San Onofre's license and operating rules.

The generators, which resemble massive steel fire hydrants, control heat in the reactors and operate something like a car radiator. At San Onofre, each one stands 65 feet high, weighs 1.3 million pounds and has with 9,727 U-shaped tubes inside, each three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

Company executives have left open the possibility that the heavily damaged generators in Unit 3 might be scrapped.

Cracked and corroded generator tubing has vexed the nation's nuclear industry for years.

Decaying generator tubes helped push San Onofre's Unit 1 reactor into retirement in 1992, even though it was designed to run until 2004. The following year, the Trojan nuclear plant, near Portland, Oregon, was shuttered because of microscopic cracks in steam generator tubes, cutting years off its expected lifespan.

San Onofre is owned by SCE, San Diego Gas & Electric and the city of Riverside. The Unit 1 reactor operated from 1968 to 1992, when it was shut down and dismantled.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/san-onofre-nrc-wants-more-analysis_n_2367118.html

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European shares steady, euro climbs as "fiscal cliff" push awaited

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares and the euro edged higher on Thursday as U.S. lawmakers prepared to resume negotiations to avoid a fiscal crunch, while the yen hit a two-year low on the prospect of drastic monetary easing.

President Barack Obama will try to revive budget crisis talks which stalled last week when he returns to Washington on Thursday after cutting short his Christmas holiday in Hawaii.

In a sign that there may be a way to break the deadlock, Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to act to pull back from the so-called "fiscal cliff" and offered to at least consider any plan the upper chamber produced.

European shares <.fteu3> were up 0.3 percent and heading back towards last week's 19-month high at 1300 GMT as trading resumed after the Christmas holiday break.

The MSCI global index <.miwd00000pus> was also up 0.3 percent ahead of what was expected to be a flat open on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei had earlier hit a 21-month high, amid signs the country's authorities are preparing to ease policy considerably.

"The majority view is that a solution will be reached on the 'fiscal cliff' in a timely fashion," said XBZ European equity options broker Mike Turner.

"Most people are taking a neutral stance, as opposed to trying to second-guess the outcome of the U.S. talks," he said.

Economists warn that the "fiscal cliff" of higher taxes and spending cuts worth $600 billion and set to kick in from January, could push the world's largest economy into recession, dragging other countries with it.

YEN SLUMP

Such concerns underpinned the dollar as the fiscal impasse continues to sap investor appetite for risky assets, raising the dollar's safe-haven appeal.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar at 85.87 yen reached its highest since September 2010, with investors accelerating their yen sales after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his newly formed government would pursue a bold monetary policy, a flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy to encourage private investment.

The yen has now fallen roughly 10.5 percent versus the dollar in 2012, its biggest annual drop since 2005. At the same time Japan's benchmark Nikkei is now up 22 percent for the year.

"The present yen weakness is related to the new government, which seems devoted to push through both fiscal and monetary policy changes and take direct measures to weaken the yen," said Richard Falkenhall, currency strategist at SEB in Stockholm.

"Yen weakness could very well continue. We see the yen as extremely over-valued considering the weak fundamentals we see in Japan," he added.

The euro, which has been supported in recent weeks by an improvement in the outlook towards the euro zone, climbed 0.4 percent to $1.3266.

French consumer confidence data helped consolidate the rise as it rose unexpectedly in December to the highest level since August despite increased concerns about rising unemployment.

Things appeared less certain in Italy though. Morale among manufacturers rose slightly for the second month in a row but broader business morale fell to its lowest level on record.

NO PANIC

While focus will be firmly on the budget discussions in Washington, economic data due at 1330 GMT includes weekly initial jobless claims where little change is expected, and the Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index for November.

In commodity markets, London copper rose 1.7 percent to a one-week high of $7,945.25 a metric ton after some positive data from China, the world's top copper buyer whose economy is now a key driver of global growth.

Profits earned by China's industrial companies jumped 22.8 percent in November from a year ago, accelerating from October's 20.5 percent, Beijing reported. "People are hopeful that China's economy will recover next year," said Zhang Ao, an analyst at Minmetals Futures.

The U.S. wrangling hung over oil and gold, however. Brent crude slipped back below $111 a barrel although the Chinese data, unrest in the Middle East and hopes that the new Japanese government's policies would spur demand, helped limit the drop.

Gold fell $4.58 an ounce to $1,654.91. It has come off a 4-month low of $1,635.09 struck last Thursday, but remains below a record high of around $1,920 hit in September 2011.

With bond investors also focusing on Washington, German government bond futures were little changed at 144.72.

Analysts believe that even if a U.S. compromise is not reached before year end - as initially expected - budget measures could be agreed in January and enforced retroactively.

"Safe-haven assets (such as Bunds) should remain supported as long as the fiscal cliff debate remains unsolved. But there is no sense of panic. The market has come to some sort of understanding that the end of December is not an extremely hard deadline," said Commerzbank rate strategist Rainer Guntermann.

(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; and Anooja Debnath; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-fiscal-woes-cap-asian-shares-yen-stays-002854146--finance.html

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Netflix suffers Christmas Eve outage, points to Amazon

2 hrs.

Sam Forgione

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An outage at one of Amazon's Web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc.'s streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.?

The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and television shows from home, Netflix spokesman Joris Evers said. Such devices range from gaming consoles such as Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 to Blu-ray players.?

Evers said that the issue was the result of an outage at an Amazon Web Services' cloud computing center in Virginia, and started at about 12:30 p.m. PST (2030 GMT) on Monday and was fully restored Tuesday morning, although streaming was available for most users late on Monday.?

"We are investigating exactly what happened and how it could have been prevented," Evers said.?

"We are happy that people opening gifts of Netflix or Netflix-capable devices can watch TV shows and movies and apologize for any inconvenience caused last night," he added.

An outage at Amazon Web Services, or AWS, knocked out such sites as Reddit and Foursquare in April of last year.?

Amazon Web Services was not immediately available for comment. Evers, the Netflix spokesman, declined to comment on the company's contracts with Amazon.

(c) Copyright ThomsonReuters 2012. Check for restrictions at:?http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/netflix-suffers-christmas-eve-outage-points-amazon-1C7662774

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