Forceful Raddatz draws praise as moderator

Moderator Martha Raddatz watches as Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin participate in the vice presidential debate at Centre College, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Danville, Ky. (AP Photo/Pool-Michael Reynolds)

Moderator Martha Raddatz watches as Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin participate in the vice presidential debate at Centre College, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Danville, Ky. (AP Photo/Pool-Michael Reynolds)

Moderator Martha Raddatz, left, reaches across to greet Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., right, as Vice President Joe Biden, center, takes his seat for the start of the vice presidential debate, at Centre College in Danville, Ky., Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, right, and Vice President Joe Biden, center, listen to moderator Martha Raddatz during the vice presidential debate at Centre College, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Danville, Ky. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

NEW YORK (AP) ? ABC's Martha Raddatz took a forceful approach to moderating Thursday's vice presidential debate, winning many positive reviews from instant pundits on social media but some complaints from Republicans.

Her performance was a clear contrast to PBS' Jim Lehrer's work in last week's debate between President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney. Lehrer let the presidential candidates talk almost freely, while Raddatz sought to be more specific and keep things under control.

Raddatz, a foreign policy correspondent at ABC News since 1999, was moderating her first vice presidential or presidential debate.

She stopped one exchange on the economy just at the point when Vice President Joe Biden and GOP candidate Paul Ryan had descended into bickering.

"I want to move on to Medicare and entitlements," she said. "I think we've gone over this quite enough."

She twice pressed Ryan for proposals when the congressman said a Romney administration would work to close tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy. "No specifics again," she said when the Republican did not lay out an agenda.

"Can you guarantee this math will add up?" she asked.

Later, Raddatz drew Biden's ire during a discussion on the war in Afghanistan by asking him whether the Taliban is taking advantage of the Obama administration's timeline for ending the war. She also questioned whether U.S. troops were being pulled out for political or military reasons.

Twitter was alight with praise for Raddatz, including some suggestions that she run for vice president.

"Martha Raddatz is no joke," tweeted CNN anchor Don Lemon. "Following up and in charge."

But some Republicans suggested Raddatz was being too quick to cut off Ryan and allowing Biden to interrupt the Republican. CNN's count of how much time each candidate spent talking was 41 minutes, 32 seconds for Biden and 40:12 for Ryan.

"Martha Raddatz is the worst moderator ever," Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity tweeted. "Maybe next time Paul Ryan should invite her to his wedding."

That was a reference to a story that circulated in conservative media earlier this week noting that when Raddatz married a Harvard law school student in 1991, one of the wedding guests was her new husband's fellow Harvard student and future U.S. president: Barack Obama. Raddatz and her husband, Julius Genachowski, divorced six years later.

The social media scorecard for Raddatz became more predictable as the debate went on, as Slate magazine noted in one tweet: "Liberals think Martha Raddatz is the best debate moderator ever, conservatives think the worst." Relief or happiness among Democrats at Biden's aggressive stance in contrast to Obama last week also seemed to affect opinions on Raddatz.

Toward the end of the debate, Raddatz introduced the issue of abortion with a personal, general question, asking the two Roman Catholic candidates how their faith affected their work in politics.

Her final question was whether either candidate had ever been embarrassed by the tone of the campaign. That drew a rebuke from Karl Rove, whose American Crossroads super PAC helps fund anti-Obama advertising. Rove tweeted that Raddatz's question was "her own personal editorial."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-10-12-Debate-Raddatz/id-84142ca394364f25a4d747d23cb8dc0e

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Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook gets updated with Ivy Bridge, optional touchscreen

File this under things we could've sworn happened already: Dell is updating its nine-month-old XPS 13 Ultrabook with third-generation Core (read: Ivy Bridge) processors. What's more, in keeping with other trends sweeping the PC industry, Dell is now offering the 13 with an optional touchscreen -- you know, to make it a little more Windows 8-friendly. While the rest of the company's Win 8 lineup isn't shipping until October 26th now, the refreshed XPS 13 should already be live on Dell's site, with the same starting price of $1,000.

Filed under: Laptops, Dell

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook gets updated with Ivy Bridge, optional touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/12/dell-xps-13-ultrabook-ivy-bridge-refresh-touchscreen/

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Quantum effects observed in cold chemistry

ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2012) ? At very low temperatures, close to absolute zero, chemical reactions may proceed at a much higher rate than classical chemistry says they should -- because in this extreme chill, quantum effects enter the picture. A Weizmann Institute of Science team has now confirmed this experimentally; their results will not only provide insight into processes in the intriguing quantum world in which particles act as waves, but they might explain how chemical reactions occur in the vast frigid regions of interstellar space.

Long-standing predictions are that quantum effects should allow the formation of a transient bond -- one that will force colliding atoms and molecules to orbit each other, instead of separating after the collision. Such a state would be very important, as orbiting atoms and molecules could have multiple chances to interact chemically. In this theory, a reaction that would seem to have a very low probability of occurring would proceed very rapidly at certain energies.

Dr. Ed Narevicius and his team in the Institute's Department of Chemical Physics managed, for the first time, to experimentally confirm this elusive process in a reaction they performed at chilling temperatures of just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero -- 0.01?K. Their results appeared this week in Science.

"The problem," says Dr. Narevicius, "is that in classical chemistry, we think of reactions in terms of colliding billiard balls held together by springs on the molecular level. In the classical picture, reaction barriers block those billiard balls from approaching one another, whereas in the quantum physics world, reaction barriers can be penetrated by particles, as these acquire wave-like qualities at ultra-low temperatures."

The quest to observe quantum effects in chemical reactions started over half a century ago with pioneering experiments by Dudley Herschbach and Yuan T. Lee, who later received a Nobel Prize for their work. They succeeded in observing chemical reactions at unprecedented resolution by colliding two low-temperature, supersonic beams. However, the collisions took place at relative speeds that were much too high to resolve many quantum effects: when two fast beams collide, the relative velocity sets the collision temperature at above 100?K, much too warm for quantum effects to play a significant role. Over the years, researchers have used various ingenious techniques, including changing the angle of the beams and slowing them down to a near-halt, that managed to bring the temperatures down to around 5?K -- close, but still a miss for those seeking to observe chemical reactions in quantum conditions.

The innovation that Dr. Narevicius and his team, including Alon B. Henson, Sasha Gersten, Yuval Shagam, and Julia Narevicius, introduced was to merge the beams rather than collide them. One beam was produced in a straight line, and the second beam was bent using a magnetic device until it was parallel with the first. Even though the beams were racing at high speed, the relative speed of the particles in relation to the others was zero; thus, a much lower collision temperature of only 0.01K could be achieved. One beam contained helium atoms in an excited state; the other, either argon atoms or hydrogen molecules. In the ensuing chemical reaction, the argon or hydrogen molecules became ionized, releasing electrons.

To see if quantum phenomena were in play, the researchers looked at reaction rates -- a measure of how fast a reaction proceeds -- at different collision energies. At high collision energies, classical effects dominated and the reaction rates slowed down gradually as the temperature dropped. But below about 3?K, the reaction rate in the merged beams suddenly took on peaks and valleys. This is a sign that a quantum phenomenon -- known as scattering resonances, due to tunneling -- was occurring in the reactions. At low energies, particles started behaving as waves; those waves that were able to tunnel through the potential barrier interfered constructively with the reflected waves upon collision. This creates a standing wave that corresponds to particles trapped in orbits around one another. Such interference occurs at particular energies and is marked by a dramatic increase in reaction rates.

Says Dr. Narevicius: "Our experiment is the first proof that the reaction rate can change dramatically in the cold reaction regime. Beyond the surprising results, we have shown that such measurements can serve as an ultrasensitive probe for reaction dynamics. Our observations already prove that our understanding of even the simplest ionization reaction is far from complete; it requires a thorough rethinking and the construction of better theoretical models. We expect that our method will be used to solve many puzzles in reactions that are especially relevant to interstellar chemistry, which generally occurs at ultra-low temperatures."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Weizmann Institute of Science.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. A. B. Henson, S. Gersten, Y. Shagam, J. Narevicius, E. Narevicius. Observation of Resonances in Penning Ionization Reactions at Sub-Kelvin Temperatures in Merged Beams. Science, 2012; 338 (6104): 234 DOI: 10.1126/science.1229141

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/pD7AuIItJow/121011140812.htm

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U.S. Immigration Discretion to Save Binational Same-Sex ... - Gay USA

By Melanie Nathan, Oct 10, 2012.

Shirley Tan, Jay Mercado, Twins and Melanie Nathan at San Francisco Pride 2009

Here is the directive issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ? ICE regarding policy changes to grant latitude to determining whether or not to prosecute/ deport undocumented foreigners who are in same-sex couple permanent relationships.? This was issued by the Obama administration to thwart the extreme hardship suffered by same-sex couples who are precluded from sponsoring foreign spouses/partners for green cards.

Same-sex couples suffer severe immigration hardship as they lack immigration equality under the law.? Whereas a straight American spouses can sponsor a partner, a gay or lesbian partner, cannot, due to the implementation of the Defense of marriage Act (DOMA).? In the past year, the Obama Administration has refused to defend cases where DOMA has been challenged, asserting that it considers DOMA unconstitutional.

Immigration is covered by Federal law and so even if one can marry legally under the law of a specific State in the USA or in a foreign country where same-sex marriage is legal, spouses are still separated, exiled, or live in fear of being caught as undocumented.

This policy does not those in exile or separated, but only provides discretion to ICE if they happen to ?catch? an undocumented spouse/ partner, living in the USA, who may otherwise be subject to deportation.

This would help people like Shirley Tan who received the introduction of a Private Bill back in April 2009, thanks to the consideration and compassion she experienced from Senator Dianne Feinstein, who happened at that time to take into account all the factors mentioned by ICE in this directive.

Legislation to provide same-sex couples with immigration equality has languished for many years in various forms in the U.S. Congress, and most recently as The Yniting American families Act, with it primary champion in Congress, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat from New York.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

HERE IS THE DIRECTIVE:-

Washington, D.C. 20536

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

MEMORANDUM FOR:

FROM:

SUBJECT:

OCT ? 5 2012

All Field Office Directors All Chief Counsel
All Special Agents in Charge

GaryMead

Executive Associate Director

James Dinkins

Applicability of Prosecutorial Discretion Memoranda to Certain Family Relationships

June 2011, Director Morton issued a memorandum entitled ?Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities
of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal o f Aliens? (the Prosecutorial Discretion Memorandum). This and other memoranda related to
prosecutorial discretion are designed to ensure that agency resources are focused on our enforcement priorities, including individuals who pose a threat to
public safety, are recent border crossers, or repeatedly violate our immigration laws. Pursuant to the Secretary?s instruction, this new guidance serves to
clarify how the existing memoranda related to prosecutorial discretion apply to family relationships involving long-term, same-sex partners.

When considering whether to exercise prosecutorial discretion in an individual case, ICE officers, agents, and attorneys should examine the totality of
the circumstances presented by that case. As the Prosecutorial Discretion Memorandum makes clear,one of the factors relevant to that assessment is
?the person?s ties and contributions to the community, including family relationships.? The factor of ?family relationships? encompasses two adults
who are in a committed, long-term, same-sex relationship.

Same-sex relationships that rise to the level of ?family relationships? are long-term, same-sex relationships in which the individuals -

• are each other?s sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely;
• are not in a marital or other domestic relationship with anyone else; and
• typically maintain a common residence and share financial obligations and assets.www.ice.gov

?AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12101040. (Posted 10/10/12)

????????

????????

By Melanie Nathan

Source: http://gayusathemovie.com/2012/10/u-s-immigration-discretion-to-save-binational-same-sex-spouses-from-deportation/

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IMF cuts global growth forecast; prods Europe, U.S

TOKYO (Reuters) - The IMF cut its global growth forecast on Tuesday for the second time since April and warned U.S. and European policymakers that failure to fix their economic ills would prolong the slump.

Global growth is too weak to bring down unemployment and what little momentum exists is coming primarily from central banks, the International Monetary Fund said in its World Economic Outlook, released ahead of its twice-yearly meeting, which will be held in Tokyo later this week.

"A key issue is whether the global economy is just hitting another bout of turbulence in what was always expected to be a slow and bumpy recovery or whether the current slowdown has a more lasting component," it said.

"The answer depends on whether European and U.S. policymakers deal proactively with their major short-term economic challenges."

For 2012, the IMF now expects global output to grow just 3.3 percent, down from its July estimate of 3.5 percent, making it the slowest year of growth since 2009. It predicted only a modest pickup next year to 3.6 percent, below its July estimate of 3.9 percent.

Emerging markets are still expected to grow four times as fast as advanced economies, but the IMF took a sharp knife to its estimates for India and Brazil, with the latter now seen growing slower than the United States this year.

The IMF said "familiar" forces were dragging down advanced economy growth: fiscal consolidation and a still-weak financial system, the same problems that have plagued the world since the global financial crisis exploded in 2008.

"More seems to be at work, however, than these mechanical forces - namely, a general feeling of uncertainty," IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard said.

Measures of risk and uncertainty, such as the VIX volatility gauge in the United States, remain at low levels, Blanchard pointed out, which makes it difficult to assess the nature of the uncertainty. Blanchard described it as "more Knightian in nature," referring to a term for risk that is impossible to measure, named after economist Frank Knight.

"Worries about the ability of European policymakers to control the euro crisis and worries about the failure to date of U.S. policymakers to agree on a fiscal plan surely play an important role, but one that is hard to nail down," Blanchard said.

The IMF said financial conditions are likely to remain "very fragile" over the near term because repairing euro zone problems will take time and there are concerns about how the U.S. economy will cope with the expected expiry of tax cuts early next year.

For the United States, the IMF said its "urgent policy priorities" should include avoiding a so-called "fiscal cliff" from the expected tax increases and spending cuts, raising the government borrowing limit, and agreeing on a credible plan to reduce the deficit.

It said the fiscal cliff at the extreme would amount to a fiscal withdrawal of more than 4 percent of GDP in 2013, and economic growth would stall.

In the euro area, it said resolving the crisis was the highest priority, and that would require progress toward banking and fiscal union.

"If uncertainty is indeed behind the current slowdown, and if the adoption and implementation of these measures decrease uncertainty, things may turn out better than our forecasts, not only in Europe, but also for the rest of the world," Blanchard said. "I, for once, would be happy if our baseline forecasts turn out to be inaccurate - in this case, too pessimistic."

(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/imf-cuts-global-growth-forecast-prods-europe-u-213153610--business.html

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Detroit police chief retires, accused of affair with officer

(Reuters) - Detroit's police chief retired on Monday amid accusations he had a long-running affair with a female internal affairs officer in the department, the latest scandal to shake the city that also faces a financial crisis.

Chief Ralph L. Godbee Jr.'s exit, which Detroit Mayor Dave Bing called a retirement, follows the resignation of his immediate predecessor, Warren Evans, in mid-2010 over an alleged affair, and former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2008, who now faces trial on unrelated public corruption charges.

Bing had suspended Godbee on October 2 for 30 days and opened an investigation. He had named Assistant Chief Chester Logan as interim chief.

Angelica Robinson has said she had a sexual relationship with Godbee for about a year, her attorney said. Godbee had pursued the officer aggressively and she had wanted to end the relationship, said David Robinson, who is not related to his client.

Court records show that Godbee filed for divorce in August and that a settlement conference has been scheduled for November 26.

The city is in financial crisis and Detroit has made deep cuts in city services, including at the police department. The city reached a consent decree with the state in April that has permitted some state oversight, but not an emergency manager.

Four cities now have emergency managers and Governor Rick Snyder is close to ordering an emergency manager for a fifth city. There are three Michigan school districts operating under emergency managers, including the Detroit Public Schools.

Godbee succeeded Evans in mid-2010 after Evans resigned in part due to fallout from an alleged affair with a subordinate, and one day after a local television station aired an excerpt from a video pitch he made for a possible reality TV show.

Former mayor Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned from office after prosecutors alleged he lied in a civil suit to conceal an affair with his chief of staff.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/detroit-police-chief-retires-accused-affair-officer-150156198.html

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Is Swine Flu the Next Pandemic Threat?

It's too early to tell if the traditional winter flu outbreak will be uneventful or will send Americans scurrying for cover. But federal health officials?already have their eyes peeled on what may be the next potential menace: a virus transmitted from pigs to humans.

The virus, dubbed influenza A H3N2 variant, is not a major threat to the public right now, although it had a pretty good run over the summer. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently asked state and county public health officers nationwide to step up their efforts to swiftly identify and investigate potential H3N2 cases, a move that's necessary to help federal authorities evaluate the extent of the outbreak and possible human-to-human transmission.

Persistent watchingdogging like this is a common m.o. among health officials and is essential to making sure a small outbreak doesn't morph into a major flu pandemic.

MORE: Swine Flu Cases Jump Dramatically, Pigs Still the Culprit

Here are the facts so far. Since July 12, 305 infections have been reported in 10 states: Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Sixteen people have been hospitalized and there has been one death linked to the infection. In the majority of cases, people had prolonged exposure to swine, such as by caring for farm animals. However, CDC officials say there are "likely" cases where the virus was passed from one infected person to another.

There is still no evidence of ongoing transmission from human to human?the kind of flu activity where a sneeze infects three other people and suddenly an illness has snaked throughout a community. But that's not to say that flu experts aren't watching H3N2 warily, Dr. ?Gregory A. Poland, director of translational immunovirology and biodefense at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minn., told TakePart.

"I worry about this a lot," says Poland, also a spokesperson on flu for the Infectious Diseases Society of? America. "There have only been?documented?a few hundred cases so far. But, in Ohio, there were 10 hospitalizations and one death. This is not a trivial development. There is close, careful surveillance."

CDC officials noted in the recent report that five of the hospitalized patients had no other serious medical conditions, "highlighting the fact that H3N2v virus infection can cause illness resulting in hospitalization, even in otherwise healthy persons."

MORE: The Most Vulnerable Pay a High Price for Flu Infection

Flu viruses are transmitted easily among pigs, but they can spread to people through close contact. Swine flu viruses are not transmitted by eating pork or foods derived from pork, health officials say. According to Poland, the human H3N2 virus acquired the M gene from the 2009 H1N1 virus to produce a problematic new virus. The M gene is known to play a role in flu infection, but it's still unclear how the acquisition of this gene will affect the swine-origin influenza A H3N2 virus.

"The question is how transmissible this will be?" he says.

This year's flu vaccine has a component that covers H3N2 strains but not this particular one, Tom Skinner, a senior spokesman for the CDC told TakePart. "A vaccine that included H3N2v would be needed if we saw widespread and sustained human to human transmission," he says. "We are not seeing that with this virus."

MORE: Censored H5N1 Bird Flu Studies: Much Ado About Nothing?

Taking the usual precautions?washing hands thoroughly and avoiding other sick people?will help protect most people from H3N2v. Staying away from pigs is especially important. In particular, children younger than age 5, adults older than 65 and people with health problems should avoid swine on farms or at state fairs this fall.

"This virus is a particular concern for the vulnerable groups," Poland says. "If you have a young child, are an older person, are pregnant, or have chronic medical conditions, don't go to these state fairs."

The onus, for now, is on doctors and public health officials to keep an accurate count of H3N2v cases. Rapid flu tests commonly used in doctor's offices may not detect this particular strain, however, and testing should be conducted at state public health labs.

MORE: Swine Flu Survivors May Hold Key to "Universal" Flu Vaccine

The public, meanwhile, shouldn't assume that this season will be a repeat of last year's mild one.

"One cannot predict based on last year what will happen this year," Poland says. "You can't even predict today what will happen in December with influenza.?The only truth about this virus is that it's unpredictable."

If you are around pigs, either at farms, petting zoos or state fairs, follow these precautions from the CDC:

Don't take food or drink into pig areas. Don't take toys, pacifiers, cups, baby strollers and other baby items into pig areas. Avoid close contact with pigs that look or act ill. Take precautions if you have to be around a pig known to be ill. Wear gloves, masks and protective clothing. Wash your hands before and after exposure to pigs. If you have a pig that looks ill, call the veterinarian. Avoid contact with pigs if you have flulike symptoms. Wait seven days after the illness started or 24 hours after your fever is gone (without the use of fever-reducing medication).

Do you think the country is equipped to handle a flu pandemic? Let us know in the comments.

Related Stories on TakePart:

? Bird Flu Transmission: How Many Mutations Away?

? Germ Airways, You're Cleared for Takeoff: The U.S. Airports Most Likely to Spread Pandemics

? Ask Dr. Dave: Can You Get the Flu from a Flu Shot?

---

Shari Roan is an award-winning health writer based in Southern California. She is the author of three books on health and science subjects.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/swine-flu-next-pandemic-threat-041355040.html

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Waiting, worrying amid deadly meningitis outbreak

Patsy Bivins, 68 of Sturgis, Ky., drinks coffee while sitting on her porch with her dog Little Britches at her apartment in Sturgis, Ky., Friday, October 5, 2012. Bivins was injected with steroids at St. Mary Sugricare in Evansville, Ind., who notified her of possibly being infected with bacterial Meningitis. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Patsy Bivins, 68 of Sturgis, Ky., drinks coffee while sitting on her porch with her dog Little Britches at her apartment in Sturgis, Ky., Friday, October 5, 2012. Bivins was injected with steroids at St. Mary Sugricare in Evansville, Ind., who notified her of possibly being infected with bacterial Meningitis. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Patsy Bivins, 68 of Sturgis, Ky., sits on her porch with her dog Little Britches at her apartment in Sturgis, Ky., Friday, October 5, 2012. Bivins was injected with steroids at St. Mary Sugricare in Evansville, Ind., who notified her of possibly being infected with bacterial Meningitis. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Patsy Bivins, 68 of Sturgis, Ky., sits on her porch with her dog Little Britches at her apartment in Sturgis, Ky., Friday, October 5, 2012. Bivins was injected with steroids at St. Mary Sugricare in Evansville, Ind., who notified her of possibly being infected with bacterial Meningitis. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

Patsy Bivins, 68 of Sturgis, Ky., kneels down while walking her dog Little Britches at her apartment in Sturgis, Ky., Friday, October 5, 2012. Bivins was injected with steroids at St. Mary Sugricare in Evansville, Ind., who notified her of possibly being infected with bacterial Meningitis. (AP Photo/Stephen Lance Dennee)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Patsy Bivins tossed and turned all night after finding out the steroid shot she received to ease her chronic back pain could instead threaten her life.

For now, all the 68-year-old retired waitress can do is hope she doesn't develop the telltale signs of a rare form of fungal meningitis that health officials say has sickened more than 60 people in nine states: a splitting headache, fever, stiff neck, difficulty walking or worsening back pain. There may be hundreds or even thousands more like her.

She called her doctors Friday, right after her first cup of coffee, hoping to relieve the anxiety stirred a day earlier when she learned she might be at risk. Bivins was told only that she didn't need to be checked unless she developed symptoms.

"I'm not sure if I like it," Bivins, of Sturgis, Ky., said Friday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "Seems like there should be some way to tell it before you get the symptoms. Honestly, it makes me worse than I was."

Federal health officials say seven people have died so far, and they fear thousands more could have been exposed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the outbreak may have been caused by a steroid made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, where inspectors found at least one sealed vial that was contaminated. It's not yet clear how the fungus got into the steroid, which is commonly used to treat back pain. But officials have told health professionals not to use anything made by the pharmacy.

So far, the government has identified about 75 facilities in 23 states that received the recalled doses. It is not yet clear exactly how many people could get sick, though health officials say the fungus is not transmitted from person to person.

The CDC has called for clinics and doctors to immediately identify those who could have been exposed between July 1 and Sept. 28. It could be weeks before any of the patients are in the clear.

"Sure I'm apprehensive, but there's not a thing I can do except wait and see what happens," said Richard Jenkins, an 81-year-old from Nashville who received his most recent shot Sept. 11 at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurology Surgery Center.

The chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Health said Friday the incubation period for the disease isn't yet known and he advised at-risk patients to be vigilant for symptoms for weeks.

"A month is the shortest we'd possibly want to consider that. We're looking at a longer period of time before we'd feel confident that somebody is out of the woods," Dr. David Reagan said.

The company at the center of the outbreak, the New England Compounding Center, had been investigated by Massachusetts regulators in 2006. That led to an agreement for a full inspection of its drug compounding practices, including sterility.

A spokesman for NECC said the company would have no further comment Friday. It has previously said that it is cooperating with health investigators to determine the source of the infections.

Bivins, a widow who lives in western Kentucky about an hour from Evansville, Ind., received two injections in her lower back on Aug. 27. It was the first time she had received steroid injections and the constant pain in her lower back, hips and legs was eased.

She said she doesn't blame the doctors ? they were just trying to help her, not knowing the steroid could have been contaminated. She was told Thursday by Our St. Mary's Surgicare Cross Pointe facility in Evansville, Ind., that she could be at risk, which made for a restless night. For now, she tries to pass the time by arranging things in the apartment she moved into a few days ago.

"I can't sit around here and dwell on it all the time and go nuts," she said.

___

Schreiner reported from Louisville, Ky. Associated Press writer Lindsey Tanner contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-06-Meningitis%20Outbreak-Waiting/id-9a3a7d0a52fb42b99fca5026e116c236

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Facts And Fiction Regarding Health And Fitness - Passion For Beauty

Imagine your frustration if you discovered you?d been performing your exercises wrong for years. Think of the person who executes an exercise wrong due to incorrect information and then gets injured. People go through these real situations all the time. You need to be sure you?re getting your information from experts and credible sources for this reason. Your health depends on it and bad information is rampant. The following is some solid information on health and fitness.

Yoga and back pain products and related information are commonly seen online. Yoga is touted as a means for relieving your back pain. This statement can be misleading and dangerous, although yoga can help in some cases. Yoga can help you with back pain if the cause of the pain is related to your muscles. If you need to stretch and strengthen muscles in your back or other areas, yoga can help with that. Once you can do that, then your back pain will get better. Yoga won?t help, however, if your back pain is due to bone problems like an issue with a spinal disc. In these cases, yoga can actually cause serious complications.

The only way to really benefit is to work your muscles until they are sore but not painful. If you are living by this motto you are making a mistake. The pain of a good workout should not inhibit your other activities. It?s important that you follow the if it hurts don?t do it rule where exercise is concerned. An injury can only get worse if you don?t stop.

Sometime you can hear people grumbling that their body cannot get used to exercising at some specific time of day, or they are too tired at the end of the day. There are certain accounts where we have to call people out on, such as your body does have a natural circadian cycle. A morning workout may not be for you, but your body will adjust to the change just allow it about 3 to 4 weeks, then you will feel totally natural. The point is that once you break through your resistance and exercise after work, your body will have more energy to actually do it. It?s really important to sort the truth from fiction if you are new to working out. This is because you are in the beginning stages of forming your fitness habit. You will be setting yourself up for a painful re-education if you cultivate the wrong habits now. Forming good habits is crucial not only to your success but to actually sticking with your fitness routine.

You can also use some sort of fitness equipment like Power Rack to further assist you in your exercise and physical activities. Now, follow the advice above to achieve a perfect result, stay healthy, and live your life.

Exercise and Fitness is a very crucial physical fitness and Donald Petersen will help you about this stuff. He will also help you lose weight and get you powerful, lean, and feeling great by the use of a Squat Rack.

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Source: http://www.passionforbeauty.biz/facts-and-fiction-regarding-health-and-fitness.html

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