Man pleads not guilty to extorting A&M professor

HOUSTON (AP) ? A Louisiana man has pleaded not guilty to extorting money from a Texas A&M University professor about a week before the professor jumped to his death from a campus building in January.

A Houston judge on Tuesday ordered the 37-year-old Metairie, La., man to remain jailed without bond.

Prosecutors say the defendant lured 59-year-old communications professor James Arnt Aune into a sexually explicit online relationship with what he thought was an underage girl. They say the man later contacted Aune, told him he was the girl's father, and threatened to expose him unless he paid $5,000.

The Associated Press isn't naming the defendant to protect his underage daughter's identity. The girl told Louisiana authorities in 2011 that her father used nude images of her "to scam men" she met online.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-26-AandM%20Professor-Extortion/id-3a205f5779414106bfb65511c0d3702e

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Scientists confirm first 2-headed bull shark

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of the first-ever, two-headed bull shark.

The study, led by Michigan State University and appearing in the Journal of Fish Biology, confirmed the specimen, found in the Gulf of Mexico April 7, 2011, was a single shark with two heads, rather than conjoined twins.

There have been other species of sharks, such as blue sharks and tope sharks, born with two heads. This is the first record of dicephalia in a bull shark, said Michael Wagner, MSU assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife, who confirmed the discovery with colleagues at the Florida Keys Community College.

"This is certainly one of those interesting and rarely detected phenomena," Wagner said. "It's good that we have this documented as part of the world's natural history, but we'd certainly have to find many more before we could draw any conclusions about what caused this."

The difficulty of finding such oddities is due, in part, to creatures with abnormalities dying shortly after birth. In this instance, a fisherman found the two-headed shark when he opened the uterus of an adult shark. The two-headed shark died shortly thereafter and had little, if any, chance to survive in the wild, Wagner added.

"You'll see many more cases of two-headed lizards and snakes," he said. "That's because those organisms are often bred in captivity, and the breeders are more likely to observe the anomalies."

The shark was brought to the marine science department at Florida Keys Community College. From there, it was transported to Michigan State's campus for further examination.

Wagner and his team were able to detail the discovery with magnetic resonance imaging. Without damaging the unique specimen, the MRIs revealed two distinct heads, hearts and stomachs with the remainder of the body joining together in back half of the animal to form a single tail.

As part of the published brief, Wagner noted that some may want to attribute the deformed shark to exposure to pollutants.

"Given the timing of the shark's discovery with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I could see how some people may want to jump to conclusions," Wagner said. "Making that leap is unwarranted. We simply have no evidence to support that cause or any other."

###

Michigan State University: http://www.newsroom.msu.edu

Thanks to Michigan State University for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127462/Scientists_confirm_first___headed_bull_shark

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Burma Warns Religious Conflict Threatens Reforms (Voice Of America)

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Obama presses Congress to act quickly on immigration reform

By Mark Felsenthal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Congress on Monday to summon the "political courage" to quickly pass immigration reform.

Speaking at a naturalization ceremony for 28 new U.S. citizens at the White House, Obama said he was pleased with steps made toward reforming immigration laws, he wants the process to be complete within months.

"I expect a bill to be put forward. I expect the debate to begin next month," he said. "I want to sign that bill into law as soon as possible."

Obama pointed to the accomplishments of many of the 28 people who had just become U.S. citizens and said immigrants had reinvigorated the labor force and benefited businesses.

"If we want to keep attracting the best and brightest the world has to offer, we need to do a better job of welcoming them," he said.

Reforms making it easier for undocumented foreigners to become citizens have gained momentum in Congress since Hispanic voters overwhelmingly supported Obama in November's presidential election. Recent polls show strong support for creating a way for undocumented foreigners to become U.S. citizens.

Congress is on two-week recess but is expected to look more closely at immigration and other domestic issues after being consumed for weeks with budget matters.

A group of eight Democratic and Republican senators is working on a plan that would create a 10- or 15-year process that leads to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

The path to citizenship may be called a path to a "green card" to soften opposition among Republicans, although Senate aides have characterized that as a semantic distinction.

The so-called green card - which is no longer green - allows a foreigner to live and work in the United States and ultimately to apply for citizenship.

Lawmakers are trying to produce a bill by next month. A Senate vote could be held in June or July. One obstacle is the divide between business and labor organizations over how to manage the flow of unskilled labor into the United States.

Obama urged lawmakers to push through to a conclusion.

"We've got to finish the job, because this issue is not new," he said. "We've just got, at this point, to work up the political courage to do what's required to be done."

(Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-presses-congress-act-quickly-immigration-reform-173034096.html

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Hostage killings a new, dangerous turn for Nigeria

A man reads a local newspapers with the headline 'We've killed 7 foreign hostages' on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A man reads a local newspapers with the headline 'We've killed 7 foreign hostages' on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Muslim men ride on bicycles on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A boy pushes a cart with garbage past Muslim women on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People read local newspapers with headlines like ' We've killed 7 foreign hostages' on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali,not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

People read local newspapers with the headline 'We've killed 7 foreign hostages' on a street in Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, March. 10, 2013. The United Kingdom's military says its warplanes recently spotted in Nigeria's capital city were there to move soldiers to aid the French intervention in Mali, not to rescue kidnapped foreign hostages. The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that the planes had ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. An Islamic extremist group in Nigeria called Ansaru partially blamed the presence of those planes as an excuse for claiming Saturday that it killed seven foreign hostages it had taken. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

KANO, Nigeria (AP) ? Radical Islamic fighters killed seven foreign hostages in Nigeria, European diplomats said Sunday, making it the worst such kidnapping violence in decades for a country beset by extremist guerrilla attacks.

Nigeria's police, military, domestic spy service and presidency remained silent over the killings of the construction company workers, kidnapped Feb. 16 from northern Bauchi state. The government's silence only led to more questions about the nation's continued inability to halt attacks that have seen hundreds killed in shootings, church bombings and an attack on the United Nations.

The latest victims were four Lebanese and one citizen apiece from Britain, Greece and Italy.

Britain and Italy said all seven of those taken from the Setraco construction company compound had died at the hands of Ansaru, a previously little-known splinter group of the Islamic sect Boko Haram. Greece also confirmed one of its citizens was killed, while Lebanese authorities didn't immediately comment.

"It's an atrocious act of terrorism, against which the Italian government expresses its firmest condemnation, and which has no explanation," a statement from Italy's foreign ministry read. Italy also denied a claim by Ansaru that the hostages were killed before or during a military operation by Nigerian and British forces, saying there was "no military intervention aimed at freeing the hostages."

Italian Premier Mario Monti identified the slain Italian hostage as Silvano Trevisan and promised Rome would use "every effort" to stop the killers. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the killings "an act of cold-blooded murder" and identified the U.K. victim as Brendan Vaughan.

A statement from Greece's foreign ministry said authorities had already informed the hostage's family. "We note that the terrorists never communicated or formulated demands to release the hostages," the statement read, which also denied any military raid took place.

Ansaru issued a short statement Saturday saying its fighters kidnapped the foreigners from the construction company's camp at Jama'are, a town 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi state. In the attack, gunmen first assaulted a local prison and burned police trucks, authorities said. Then the attackers blew up a back fence at the construction company's compound and took over, killing a guard in the process, witnesses and police said.

Local officials in Nigeria initially identified one of the hostages as a Filipino, something the Philippines government later denied.

The gunmen appeared to be organized and knew who they wanted to target, leaving the Nigerian household staff at the residence unharmed, while quickly abducting the foreigners, a witness said.

In an online statement Saturday claiming the killings, Ansaru said it killed the hostages in part because of local Nigerian journalists reporting on the arrival of British military aircraft to Bauchi. However, Ansaru's statement cited local news articles that instead said the airplanes were spotted at the international airport in Abuja, the nation's central capital 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said Sunday the planes it flew to Abuja ferried Nigerian troops and equipment to Bamako, Mali. Nigerian soldiers have been sent to Mali to help French forces and Malian troops battle Islamic extremists there. The British military said it also transported Ghanaian soldiers to Mali the same way.

The ministry declined to comment further. Ansaru had said it believed the planes were part of a Nigerian and British rescue mission for the abducted hostages.

The U.K. has offered military support in the past in Nigeria to free hostages. In March 2012, its special forces backed a failed Nigerian military raid to free Christopher McManus, who had been abducted months earlier with Italian Franco Lamolinara from a home in Kebbi state. Both hostages were killed in that rescue attempt.

"I am grateful to the Nigerian government for their unstinting help and cooperation," Hague said in a statement, without addressing the claim that the U.K. had launched a rescue effort.

In its statement Saturday, Ansaru also blamed the killings on a pledge by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to do "everything possible" to free the hostages. Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati didn't respond to requests for comment Sunday.

While Nigerian authorities have yet to comment publicly about Ansaru's claim, it comes as the nation's security forces remain unable to stop the guerrilla campaign of bombings, shootings and kidnappings across the country's north. The majority of those attacks have been blamed on Boko Haram, an amorphous group that grew out of the remains of a sect that sparked a riot and a security crackdown in Nigeria in 2009 in which about 700 people were killed.

Boko Haram has hit international targets before, including an August 2011 car bombing of the U.N. office in Abuja that killed 25 people and wounded more than 100. An online video also purportedly claims that Boko Haram is currently holding hostage a family of seven French tourists who were abducted from neighboring Cameroon in late February. The group is blamed for killing at least 792 people last year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

Ansaru, which analysts believe split from Boko Haram in January 2012, seems to be focusing much more on Western targets. Analysts say it has closer links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and cares more about international issues, as opposed to Boko Haram's largely local grievances. But much remains unknown about Ansaru, which has communicated through short, sometimes muddled online statements.

The hostage killings appear to be the worst in decades targeting foreigners working in Nigeria, an oil-rich nation that's a major crude supplier to the U.S. Most kidnappings in the country's southern oil delta see foreigners released after companies pay ransoms. The latest kidnappings in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north, however, have seen the hostages killed either by their captors or in military raids to free them, suggesting a new level of danger for expatriate workers there.

The worst violence targeting foreign workers previously in the country's history came during its 1960s civil war. In May 1969, forces with the breakaway Republic of Biafra raided a Nigerian oil field, killing 10 Italian oil workers and a Jordanian. Eighteen other foreign workers taken by Biafran soldiers faced the death penalty, but later were pardoned and released.

___

Associated Press writers Frances D'Emilio in Rome, Demetris Nellas in Athens, Greece, Sylvia Hui in London and Shehu Saulawa in Bauchi, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-10-Nigeria-Hostages%20Killed/id-5c538c0960764488a8058abb8860229e

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Zimbabwe finance minister pleads for diamond money

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) ? Zimbabwe's finance minister said Monday he will ask President Robert Mugabe to order diamond mining companies to pay millions of dollars into the nation's treasury.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti told reporters he was losing patience with the companies' indifference in helping to fund a constitutional referendum on March 16 and elections in July.

Biti said at least $217 million is needed for both polls.

He said he had information that total diamond sales for 2012 amounted to $800 million but the state has received only $45 million so far, although the companies would have owed considerably more than that in taxes.

Biti said it was "criminal" that diamond mines and executives failed to submit their profits to the state. "I will be appealing to both the President and Prime Minister to make these companies pay. We are beginning to lose our patience," he said. "It is irresponsible and unpatriotic and a breach of our laws."

Diamond mining in eastern Zimbabwe has been mired in allegations of human rights abuses and illegal money laundering by Mugabe's loyalists.

Zimbabweans will be voting in a referendum for a new constitution which will pave way for elections to end a four-year-old coalition between long-time ruler Mugabe and former opposition leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The unwieldy power-sharing government was brokered by regional leaders in 2009 after violent and disputed elections in 2008.

Zimbabwe's eastern Marange diamond fields ? one of the world's biggest diamond deposits ? have been mined since 2006.

Biti and his former opposition party in the coalition have criticized what they call the militarization of Zimbabwe's diamond mining by Mugabe's loyalist police and military which have gone into partnership with secretive Chinese companies to exploit the stones.

"It is totally unacceptable that the country is struggling to raise money for the referendum and election when such money is coming from diamond sales," Biti said.

Mines Minister Obert Mpofu, a Mugabe-appointed minister, insists that Western economic sanctions have prevented the government from getting fair prices for the diamonds on the international market and forced some covert selling.

Zimbabwe is said to have the capacity to produce between 110 million to 160 million carats of diamonds annually, ranking it as one of the top five diamond producers by volume in the world.

An international diamond watchdog, Partnership Africa Canada alleged last year that at least $2 billion have been stolen by Mugabe's cronies from Zimbabwe's eastern diamond fields.

It said the vast earnings could have turned around Zimbabwe's economy, crippled by years of economic meltdown and political turmoil.

"We can't have a government which is indifferent to the costs of a referendum and elections," Biti said.

He said funding for Saturday's referendum has been raised from a giant local real estate and pension fund enterprise and other private interests as well as the sale of government treasury bills.

Zimbabweans are to cast their votes in the referendum at 9,000 voting stations countrywide Saturday. All political leaders have called for a 'Yes' vote from their supporters to accept a new constitution.

Crucial national elections are expected to be sometime in July, with Tsvangirai, 61, running against Mugabe, 89, in the presidential poll.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zimbabwe-finance-minister-pleads-diamond-money-145733573.html

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Mumford & Sons Make Four Videos For 'Whispers In The Dark'

Band take fans behind the scenes in four mini clips for their latest single.
By James Montgomery

Marcus Mumford in the video for "Whispers In The Dark"
Photo: Glass Note

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703379/mumford-and-sons-whispers-in-the-dark.jhtml

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China issues plan to streamline government

Ma Kai, secretary-general of the State Council, speaks during a plenary session of the National People's Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Ma read out the report on the Cabinet's plan to streamline government ministries, doing away with the powerful Railways Ministry and creating a super-agency to regulate the media and realigning other bureaucracies in a bid to boost efficiency. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Ma Kai, secretary-general of the State Council, speaks during a plenary session of the National People's Congress held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Ma read out the report on the Cabinet's plan to streamline government ministries, doing away with the powerful Railways Ministry and creating a super-agency to regulate the media and realigning other bureaucracies in a bid to boost efficiency. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and incoming-President Xi Jinping, right, walks ahead of Chinese premier-in-waiting, Li Keqiang during a plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 10, 2013. China announced plans Sunday to streamline government ministries, doing away with the powerful Railways Ministry and creating a super-agency to regulate the media and realigning other bureaucracies in a bid to boost efficiency. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Chinese Communist Party General Secretary and incoming-President Xi Jinping reads a report during a plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 10, 2013. During the session, the Cabinet unveiled its plan to streamline government ministries, doing away with the powerful Railways Ministry and creating a super-agency to regulate the media and realigning other bureaucracies in a bid to boost efficiency. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

BEIJING (AP) ? China announced plans Sunday to streamline government ministries, doing away with the powerful Railways Ministry and creating a super-agency to regulate the media and realigning other bureaucracies in a bid to boost efficiency.

The plan introduced to the rubber-stamp national legislature is being pushed by the newly installed Communist Party leadership and reflects its priorities to reduce waste and address quality of life issues for a more prosperous, demanding society.

Among the changes, the corruption-plagued Railways Ministry will be split, its regulatory responsibilities going to the Transport Ministry and its operations to a commercial entity. The food and drug agency will see a boost in authority to try to end the safety scandals that have been a source of public anger, and two censorship arms, one for broadcasters and one for print media, will be merged.

The restructuring, the seventh since China began market reforms 30 years ago, marks the latest periodic attempt to reduce government meddling in the economy and society. Despite the effort, the government's role in the economy and the power of state companies have grown over the past decade, often to the detriment of private and foreign companies, which face a welter of industrial and other policies that have raised barriers to success.

This time, the streamlining plan includes guidelines to restrict and better define the central government's responsibilities, limiting its issuing of permits for projects, the setting of standards and other policies that have slowed decision-making.

"Departments of the State Council are now focusing too much on micro issues. We should attend to our duties and must not meddle in what is not in our business," Ma Kai, secretary-general of the State Council, or Cabinet, told the legislators. He said that overlapping government functions has often led to buck-passing.

Overall the realignment would do away with four agencies and reduce the number of ministry-level bodies by two to 25.

The public has been complaining about government inefficiency and for that reason "we should dare to push ahead with cracking the tough nut of structural reform," the state-run Jinghua Daily quoted Wang Feng, an official in the Communist Party office involved in drafting the reform program.

Underscoring the government's determination is the abolishing of the Railways Ministry. With deep ties to the military, the ministry has resisted previous rounds of reform and has continued to serve as both regulator and operator. Under the new plan, operations will be spun off into a newly created China Railway Corp., responsible for building railways and managing freight and passenger services. Safety, quality and other regulatory standards will be the purview of a state railway administration under the Ministry of Transport.

Another influential bureaucracy, the family planning commission, which oversees enforcement of the much disliked policies that limit most families to one child, will be merged with the Health Ministry in a sign the government may be rethinking its approach to family planning. The proposal called for "maintaining and perfecting family planning policies" and said the party would continue to set policy. Meanwhile, population research is being transferred to the economic planning agency, highlighting government concern about the effect an aging population and shrinking labor force may have on the economy.

In another bureaucratic boost, the government will pull together separate agencies involved in fisheries and other maritime law enforcement into one administration. The move appears aimed at better asserting China's claims in disputed stretches of the East and South China seas and, if energetically pressed, could aggravate already high tensions with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The National Energy Administration, created five years ago to help oversee a pressing need for the fast-growing but resource-strapped economy, would be expanded to absorb a regulatory body that sets electric rates.

The food and drug administration is being elevated in status to ministry level to give it added powers in hopes of improving enforcement and ending the lax enforcement that has led to repeated scandals over toxic medicines and tainted foods from milk to meat.

In a separate report to the legislature, the head of the supreme court, Wang Shengjun, said Chinese courts had sentenced more than 20,000 people for making and selling adulterated milk powder, recycled cooking oil known as "gutter oil" and the steroid clenbuterol, which makes pigs produce leaner meat.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-10-China-Restructuring/id-fc618ca9e4bf47e6ac3d22e02ffb9c9a

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For once, Catholic Online agrees with Planned Parenthood ...

Bloomberg's teen pregnancy campaign takes a shameful approach.

For once, Catholic Online agrees with Planned Parenthood about something. Mayor Bloomberg's anti-teen pregnancy ads are both offensive and misleading. The Bloomberg administration has unveiled several ads that highlights the costs of teen pregnancy.

Bloomberg's posters are so misleading that even Planned Parenthood called him out on it.

NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - As Oscar Wilde once put it, "A cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing." Bloomberg's ads are certainly cynical. The posters, which were plastered around the city on Monday target teens and highlight the costs of teen pregnancy.

Featuring crying babies, the posters decry the expense and challenge of being a teenage parent. Posters read:

-I'm twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen.

-Got a good job? I cost thousands of dollars each year.

-Dad, you'll be paying to support me for the next 20 years.

-Honestly Mom, chances are he won't stay with you. What happens to me?

These ads highlight to cost of being a teen parent, but they also fail to demonstrate the value of every human life and the gift that is motherhood. Having a child, even as a teen, can be?a rewarding and life-changing experience. While some of those changes may be challenging, the joy of parenthood is also very rewarding.

Planned Parenthood also has its problem with the ads, blasting them because they say the ads shame teen pregnancy and perpetuate gender stereotypes. Catholic Online agrees - at least in part.

Haydee Morales, vice president of Planned Parenthood of New York City said, "The latest NYC ad campaign creates stigma, hostility and negative public opinions about teen pregnancy and parenthood rather than offering alternative aspirations for young people."

Morales then called for more education, although not of the type that will actually help with the problems associated with teen preganancy.?

Teens are best?served by abstinence education and being taught the value of marriage and the virtues of chastity and patience.

Though teens can - and do -?make wrong choices?in life. Though they can and do?engage in inappropriate and immoral behavior, God does not make mistakes. Every child is an intentional gift from God and an opportunity for his or her?parents to serve as responsible stewards of new life, regardless of their youth and finances.

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Source: http://www.catholic.org/hf/family/story.php?id=50040&wf=rsscol

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Manga my visual novel is back on

Then this thread is pointless, there is no point in creating a thread for a visual novel, if you JUST started on creating one, that will take one year to finish? Let me give you a friendly piece of advice here. You need to have a budget or you are not gonna go anywhere, most people are not willing to do anything without getting paid.

You have two options here, you either find two guys, one a programmer and one a graphic artists that are incredibly good and are willing to help you with your visual novel for free, or a share at the end. - note most people don't even want to create one with a split at the end, as it takes a lot of time and there is no guarantee that the novel will earn money at the end.

Or you get a 10k budget and hire a programmer, music director and a graphic artist.
I have done my fair amount of research when it comes to creating a visual novel.

Your best option Is trying to use one of those free visual novel maker software out there, that way you wouldn't need a programmer, it would save you a lot of money.

Graphics are important, music on the other hand try to get a amateur piano player, getting good soundtracks costs ALOT. I've seen pro musicians who sell their 3 min tracks for 1k each. I don't think you have the money to afford that.

Anyways, I wish you the best of luck!

Source: http://www.anime-forums.com/showthread.php?139300-my-visual-novel-is-back-on

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Simple wallet hack uses magnetic alarms to stave off pickpockets

We just wrapped up our tour of duty at MWC dodging the notorious pickpockets in Barcelona, so perhaps that's why we're particularly intrigued by Cabel Kraft's anti-snatch wallet hack over at Hackaday. Most billfold alarms rely on a light trigger, which can be problematic if the thief squirrels away his prize for a later reveal. Kraft solves that issue by using magnetic alarms -- the sort attached to windows for break-in alerts -- that set off when the wallet is removed from the victim's pocket. He did have to remove a lot of the alarm's bulk and alter the location of the reed switch, but the setup seems otherwise uncomplicated. If you'd like to prevent your wallet from getting picked and have some soldering chops to boot, have a peek at Kraft's handiwork at the source or just view the video after the break.

Filed under: Misc

Comments

Source: Hackaday

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/09/wallet-hack-prevents-pickpockets/

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Is online grocery shopping right for you?

Online grocery shopping isn't for everyone. But the service is becoming more widespread, and if you live a certain lifestyle, it may be worth a test drive.?

By Naomi Mannino,?Contributor / March 9, 2013

A Safeway online shopping advertisement is shown at a Safeway store in San Francisco. For people who live in large cities, have a hard time getting to the grocery store, or already shop online frequently, online grocery shopping may be worth a try.

Paul Sakuma/AP/File

Enlarge

There are some of us who love grocery shopping. Comparing products side-by-side according to ingredients; smelling, prodding, and tapping the produce; analyzing the meat fat patterns before making a selection, and so on. But if you're the type of shopper who gets easily aggravated by time spent rolling a cart down crowded aisles, waiting in checkout lines, loading up the car, and then lugging your haul inside, you may want to send your significant other to the store instead ? or you could just try out online grocery shopping.

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Wouldn't it be ideal to get groceries from your favorite local supermarket, without ever having to leave the comfort of the couch? An ever-growing number of grocers know the aforementioned pains for shoppers, and are thus offering ways for customers to order their groceries online, sometimes for delivery, other times for pickup. The move from overly-lit grocery store aisles to the digital realm is both a time-saver and a peaceful alternative to the hassles of the supermarket. But is online grocery shopping for you? Here's a checklist to help you find out; if any of these apply to you and your lifestyle, then the service might be worth a test drive.

You Live in a Large City

More and more supermarkets are experimenting with allowing customers to place their orders online. For example, Peapod ? owned by Royal Ahold, a large chain of stores that includes Stop & Shop and Giant, among others ? offers grocery delivery in major metro areas, mostly on the East Coast, and it will expand to additional locations in 2013. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company offers online grocery shopping for many of its A&P stores (after emerging from bankruptcy earlier this year) in the Northeast tri-state area, while Safeway ? the fifth largest American supermarket chain ? offers grocery delivery in markets nationwide under its own brand as well as its owned stores: Vons, Randalls, and Tom Thumb.

That said, some delivery services, such as those for Hy-Vee stores, are operated by third-parties not affiliated with the actual supermarket. For this reason, they don't honor store deals, pricing, or coupon policies.

There are also online grocery services that don't have a brick-and-mortar component, like Amazon Fresh, which currently supports markets in the Seattle metro area. (Alternatively, Amazon Grocery offers items in bulk nationwide.) Other online services include Fresh Direct (available in the New York City and Philadelphia area only), as well as ShopFoodEx, Netgrocer, and a subscription-style frozen food site called Schwan's, all of which make deliveries throughout most of the U.S.

Your Grocery Shopping Is Quick and Routine

If there are regular items that your household regularly needs, especially within the nonperishable packaged goods category, then you will likely find shopping for these items online quick and painless, since you're essentially sticking to an unchanging list. Amazon takes the idea of such hassle-free shopping a step further though with its Subscribe & Save service: it offers scheduled automatic replenishment of basic items at a 5% discount. "These services take your stock-up trip and make it a no-brainer," says Liz Fogerty, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning at InMarketing Services, a retail shopper marketing agency.

Additionally, the more you use the service, the more you can save. Amazon recently announced that the extra discount for members with five subscriptions at a time jumps from 5% to 15% off. However, keep in mind that the prices on these items can change between shipments, and you should be aware that a special sale when you subscribe likely won't be offered on future shipments.

You Can't Get to the Store Easily

Recent research from Forrester suggests that convenience is the biggest factor in why people choose to grocery shop online. "We have seen that it's a real family solution for a busy couple with kids," says Sucharita Mulpuru, a retail analyst at Forrester. As more and more consumers become aware of delivery and store pickup options for groceries, the service offerings have grown. That's why Peapod placed coded transit ads on Philadelphia train platforms, to encourage commuters to shop for goods in the morning and schedule a home delivery for later in the day.

You Already Love Shopping Online

If you're already a savvy online shopper, switching to online grocery shopping will be a breeze. Stores are making it easier and easier to buy their goods outside of the home including via mobile apps that allow for digital grocery shopping anytime, anywhere. Delivery routes are expanding, too, and in-store pickup options are becoming more and more common.

You're on a Budget

Have you ever headed to the market to pick up "just a few things" and walked out with arms full of groceries and no bills left in your wallet? Turns out, this is less likely to happen online. "We have found in our research that shopping online using a pre-made, stored list prevents shoppers from usual impulse buys in-store," says Fogerty. "Online grocery shopping allows you to effectively and quickly stick to your list by getting you out of the store."

Moreover, many local supermarkets still accept manufacturer coupons online, in line with store policies. However, some stores like Amazon and Walmart don't permit coupon clipping. The former has its own coupons and deals, and the latter accepts coupons in-store, but not online for groceries. "You'll have the best chance of using coupons, deals, and finding savings if you shop online at your favorite local grocery store, where you can use your loyalty card, too," says Fogerty. That said, according to Mulpuru, to date coupons have been widely underused, as price is not the main concern for many people who choose to grocery shop online.

You Can Afford the Delivery Fee

While online deals abound in most other categories, online grocery shopping is not always as cost-effective because of delivery fees and bulk purchase requirements. Some goods are sold only in large quantities, as on Amazon and Meijer, so initial orders may cost more, and you need to be aware of unit prices to be sure you are getting a good deal. That said, some merchants offer delivery subscriptions wherein the customer pays a base rate and is entitled to unlimited and free deliveries for a particular period of time.

You're Shopping for Specialty Items

This is one area where online grocery shopping really shines, says Smulpuru. If you are in the market for gluten-free, organic, kosher, or other local specialty items, online shopping is an easy way to find these goods under one roof. In addition, online grocery markets such as Relay Foods bring local farmers, food artisans, and specialty foods into the mix.

You're Willing to Try Anything Once

If you're willing to give online grocery shopping a go, you'll likely be rewarded! Most supermarkets waive the delivery free for new customers, allowing for a risk-free first order. Some sites will also offer free delivery upon reaching a minimum order. For example, Raleys in California has no service charge on orders over $100; Walmart likewise doesn't charge for shipping on orders of $45 or more (assuming the items are eligible for home delivery).

To avoid any and all fees associated with replenishing your cupboards by way of online shopping, you can always opt for in-store pickup when available. Many supermarkets even offer curb-side pick-up, meaning you don't even have to get out of your car! Talk about a time-saver.

While Fresh Direct and Peapod may be two of the most well-known store-to-door grocery services, the number of markets offering home (and office) delivery is growing. Are you an anti-grocery store shopper, already having your weekly provisions delivered at home? Or for those of you who haven't made the leap, does the convenience of shopping for groceries from anywhere entice you to try these services? Sound off in the comments below.

This article first appeared in dealnews.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/xAzL0eSOOyU/Is-online-grocery-shopping-right-for-you

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HBT: Teixeira will not need surgery on wrist

Mark Teixeira spoke to the media yesterday for the first time since the Yankees announced that he?ll miss 8-10 weeks with a strained wrist tendon and revealed a little bit of a silver lining: He won?t require surgery.

That won?t enable him to return before mid-May at the earliest, but obviously avoiding going under the knife is always a good thing. According to Teixeira, doctors told him that it?s not an injury he could play through because he?d be at risk of further damaging the tendon to the point that surgery would then be necessary.

?That?s why we have the conservative timetable of 8-10 weeks, because we really don?t know exactly how long it?s going to take, but it has to heal fully,? Teixeira said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/08/mark-teixeira-wont-need-surgery-for-strained-wrist-tendon/related/

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Hackers Escalate Reign of Malware Terror on Android

Android has become a mobile malware magnet, according to F-Secure. A whopping 79 percent of all mobile malware targeted the Google OS in 2012, based on a new report from the firm. That was up from 66.7 percent in 2011 and just 11.25 percent in 2010. The fourth quarter of 2012 was particularly bad, it said, with attacks on Android spiking to account for 96 percent of all mobile malware.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/295d2706/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C774870Bhtml/story01.htm

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The future of ion traps: Technology will continue to be leader in development of quantum computing architectures

Mar. 7, 2013 ? Recently Science Magazine invited JQI fellow Chris Monroe and Duke Professor Jungsang Kim to speculate on ion trap technology as a scalable option for quantum information processing. The article is highlighted on the cover of the March 8, 2013 issue, which is dedicated to quantum information.

The cover portrays a photograph of a surface trap that was fabricated by Sandia National Labs and used to trap ions at JQI and Duke, among other laboratories.

Trapped atomic ions are a promising architecture that satisfies many of the critical requirements for constructing a quantum computer. At the heart of quantum computers are qubits, systems maintained in two or more quantum states simultaneously. Here, the qubits are manifested in the internal energy levels of the ions, and are manipulated through laser and microwave radiation. These technologies are a key factor in the success of atomic ions: scientists can set the frequency of the radiation to match that of the ion's energy level spacings with extreme precision.

The qubits have long coherence time -- meaning they can be placed in quantum states and remain that way long enough to perform calculations. The qubit's states are not sensitive to ambient disturbances like magnetic fields, giving them inherent protection from the destructive environment.

Additionally, the ions are in a vacuum of lower than 10^-11 torr. This is about 100 trillion times lower than atmospheric pressure. To visualize this daunting number, imagine light particles like hydrogen or nitrogen in a vacuum chamber. After special pumps remove most of the air, there are so few molecules left that before one molecule will collide with another, it will typically travel a distance comparable to the circumference of Earth. At atmospheric pressure, even though we can't see them with our eyes, there are so many molecules floating about that they only travel about a hundredth the width of a human hair before they bump into a neighboring particle.

Scientists want to go even further. Using cryogenics (cooling to near absolute zero temperature), they expect to push a few more factors of ten lower in pressure. Cooling the system is effective because it makes the molecules stick to the walls, thus removing them from the region where the ions rest.

Ion traps themselves were invented more than a half-century ago, but researchers have implemented new technologies in order to store large ion crystals and shuttle ions around as quantum operations are executed. Professionally micro-fabricated devices, like the one shown on the cover, resemble traditional computer components. Some researchers are also integrating optics on-board the traps. Although quantum logic operations in such chip traps remain elusive, the obstacles are not prohibitive. In the US, researchers at institutions such as NIST (Boulder), Sandia National Labs, Georgia Tech Research Institute, JQI, Duke, MIT, and others are now, often collaboratively, fabricating and testing these technologies.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Joint Quantum Institute.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. D. D. Awschalom, L. C. Bassett, A. S. Dzurak, E. L. Hu, J. R. Petta. Quantum Spintronics: Engineering and Manipulating Atom-Like Spins in Semiconductors. Science, 2013; 339 (6124): 1174 DOI: 10.1126/science.1231364

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_technology/~3/Pgi0qz10np8/130307145722.htm

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Google adds public alerts to Search, Now and Maps in Japan

When trouble looms, most people turn to the internet before anything else. As such, the search giant is ensuring that it's offering public alerts to those in disaster-prone regions. Following a rollout in the US last year, Google is also adding disaster warnings to its local versions of Search, Maps and Now -- using data from the Japan Meteorological Agency. At the same time, Google is teaming up with 14 Japanese prefectures and cities to make governmental data online during crises and that troubling period afterward.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Source: Google

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/08/google-public-alerts-japan/

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Sea floor earthquake zones can act like a 'magnifying lens' strengthening tsunamis beyond what was through possible

Mar. 6, 2013 ? The earthquake zones off of certain coasts -- like those of Japan and Java -- make them especially vulnerable to tsunamis, according to a new study. They can produce a focusing point that creates massive and devastating tsunamis that break the rules for how scientists used to think tsunamis work.

Until now, it was largely believed that the maximum tsunami height onshore could not exceed the depth of the seafloor. But new research shows that when focusing occurs, that scaling relationship breaks down and flooding can be up to 50 percent deeper with waves that do not lose height as they get closer to shore.

"It is as if one used a giant magnifying lens to focus tsunami energy," said Utku Kanoglu, professor at the Middle East Technical University and senior author of the study. "Our results show that some shorelines with huge earthquake zones just offshore face a double whammy: not only they are exposed to the tsunamis, but under certain conditions, focusing amplifies these tsunamis far more than shoaling and produces devastating effects."

The team observed this effect both in Northern Japan, which was struck by the Tohoku tsunami of 2011, and in Central Java, which was struck by a tsunami in 2006.

"We are still trying to understand the implications," said Costas Synolakis, director of the Tsunami Research Center at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and a co-author of the study. "But it is clear that our findings will make it easier to identify locales that are tsunami magnets, and thus help save lives in future events."

During an earthquake, sections of the sea floor lift up while others sink. This creates tsunamis that propagate trough-first in one direction and crest-first in the other. The researchers discovered that on the side of the earthquake zone where the wave propagates trough-first, there is a location where focusing occurs -- strengthening it before it hits the coastline with an unusual amount of energy that is not seen by the crest-first wave. Based on the shape, location, and size of the earthquake zone, that focal point can concentrate the tsunami's power right on to the coastline.

In addition, before this analysis, it was thought that tsunamis usually decrease in height continuously as they move away from where they are created and grow close to shore, just as wind waves do. The study's authors instead suggest that the crest of the tsunami remains fairly intact close to the source.

"While our study does not preclude that other factors may help tsunamis overgrow, we now know when to invoke exotic explanations for unusual devastation: only when the basic classic wave theory we use does not predict focusing, or if the focusing is not high enough to explain observations," said Vasily Titov, a researcher at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and study co-author.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. U. Kanoglu, V. V. Titov, B. Aydin, C. Moore, T. S. Stefanakis, H. Zhou, M. Spillane, C. E. Synolakis. Focusing of long waves with finite crest over constant depth. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2013; 469 (2153): 20130015 DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0015

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/FaEJ_PHZceE/130307124800.htm

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This Is News Corp's New $300 Tablet For Schools

Amplify, which is an educational wing of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, has just announced that it's launching a $300 Android tablet for use in schools. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QWnJL2SdaZc/this-is-news-corps-new-300-tablet-for-schools

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How dedicated are MMA fans? Check out how one couple incorporated it into their wedding

When Rebecca Dodell and Fernando Albiar started dating, she wasn't much of an MMA fan. But she fell for the sport as their relationship grew more serious. Now, she attends UFC events and cheers on fighters with her fiance. The pair was in attendance at UFC 157 in Anaheim.

So when it came time to send out save the dates for their summer wedding, they decided to honor their favorite sport. In the front of the card, Dodell has the championship belt and Albiar has the interim. On the back, she has both because she's united the belts.

"It is who we are. Some of our family does not get it and some don?t like it. But this is us and we will continue to advocate for MMA," Albiar said.

Best wishes to the Mr. and Mrs. from Cagewriter.

As Dodell and Albiar prove, MMA fans are some of the most dedicated in sports. Do you have a story that shows just how dedicated you are to sport? Email it to Cagewriter for use in a future post.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dedicated-mma-fans-check-one-couple-incorporated-wedding-180906541--mma.html

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Senator launches lengthy debate to block CIA pick

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Republican critic of the Obama administration's drone policy mounted a self-described filibuster Wednesday to block Senate confirmation of John Brennan to take over as director of the CIA.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took the floor shortly before noon. With intermittent support from other conservatives holding similar views, plus Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Paul spoke almost continuously for five hours before Majority Leader Harry Reid tried but failed to move to a vote on Brennan.

Paul resumed his oration, snacking on candy at the dinner hour while continuing to speak. At one point, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, who walks haltingly with a cane because of a stroke, delivered a canister of hot tea and an apple to Paul's desk, but a doorkeeper removed them.

Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, Paul read from notebooks filled with articles about the expanded use of the unmanned weapons that have become the centerpiece of the Obama administration's campaign against al-Qaida suspects. As he moved about the Senate floor, aides brought him glasses of water, which he barely touched. Senate rules say a senator has to remain on the floor to continue to hold it, even though they can yield to another senator for a question.

The Kentucky senator, who is the son of former Texas congressman and libertarian leader Ron Paul, offered to cease if President Barack Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement assuring that drones would not be used in the United States to kill terrorism suspects who are U.S. citizens.

Later in the evening Paul offered to allow a vote on Brennan if the Senate would vote on his resolution stating that the use of the unmanned, armed aircraft on U.S. soil against American citizens violates the Constitution. Democrats rejected the offer.

Reid, D-Nev., said he planned to file a motion to bring debate over Brennan's nomination to an end, if not on Thursday, then Friday or next week. Reid had pushed for a confirmation vote Wednesday. Technically, the Senate had not even started the debate on Brennan's nomination before Paul took control of the floor almost immediately after Republicans successfully blocked a vote on a federal appeals court nominee.

Paul's speech began at 11:47 a.m. with him declaring, "I will speak until I can no longer speak." He focused on what he said was the Obama administration's refusal to rule out the use of drone strikes inside U.S. borders against American citizens. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Wyden joined Paul briefly three hours into the debate but turned it back to him. Wyden has long pressed for greater oversight of the use of drones.

The record for the longest individual speech on the Senate floor belongs to former Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Holder came close to making the statement Paul wanted earlier in the day during an exchange with Cruz at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, according to Paul.

Cruz asked Holder if the Constitution allowed the federal government to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil who doesn't pose an imminent threat. Holder said the situation was hypothetical, but that he did not think that in that situation the use of a drone or lethal force would be appropriate. Cruz criticized Holder for not simply saying "no" in response.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Paul, Brennan said the CIA does not have authority to conduct lethal operations inside the U.S.

Brennan's bid to lead the spy agency received a boost when Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Wednesday that he is leaning toward voting for Brennan after receiving detailed information about the attack last September on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.

Graham, along with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had said they would oppose the nomination on the Senate floor if they didn't get classified information detailing the Obama administration's actions immediately following the attack that killed four Americans.

Graham also criticized his GOP colleagues, calling the prospect of drones being used to kill people in the United States "ridiculous."

"I think it's paranoia between libertarians and the hard left that is unjustified," Graham said. "I trust this president and other presidents to exercise commander-in-chief authority in a time of war."

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Graham. "Any suggestion that the United States would use drone strikes against U.S. citizens in the United States is irresponsible," Rogers said.

Holder told Paul in a March 4 letter that the federal government has not conducted such operations and has no intention of doing so. But Holder also wrote that he supposed it was possible under an "extraordinary circumstance" that the president would have no choice but to authorize the military to use lethal force inside U.S. borders. Holder cited the attacks at Pearl Harbor and on Sept. 11, 2001, as examples.

Paul said he did not dispute that the president has the authority to take swift and lethal action against an enemy that carried out a significant attack against the United States. But Paul said he was "alarmed" at how difficult it has been to get the administration to clearly define what qualifies as a legitimate target of a drone strike.

"No president has the right to say he is judge, jury and executioner," Paul said.

Brennan's nomination won approval Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee after the White House broke a lengthy impasse by agreeing to give lawmakers access to top-secret legal opinions justifying the use of lethal drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects overseas.

If confirmed, Brennan would replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy director who has been acting director since David Petraeus resigned in November after acknowledging an affair with his biographer.

Brennan currently serves as Obama's top counterterrorism adviser in the White House. He was nominated for the CIA post by the president in early January and the Intelligence Committee held his confirmation hearing on Feb. 7.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senator-launches-lengthy-debate-block-cia-pick-020317750--politics.html

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Newer Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Don't Seem to Increase Risk of ...

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) ? The newest medications used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis don?t appear to raise the risk of developing shingles, new research indicates.

There has been concern that these medications, called anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs, might increase the chances of a shingles infection (also known as herpes zoster) because they work by suppressing a part of the immune system that causes the autoimmune attack.

?These are commonly used drugs for people with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, and the issue was whether or not they increased the risk of [shingles]. We found there is no increased risk when using these drugs, which was reassuring,? said study author Dr. Kevin Winthrop, associate professor of infectious disease and public health and preventive medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

Results of the study are published in the March 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Shingles is a major concern for people with autoimmune conditions, particularly people who are older and more at risk for developing shingles in general. Shingles is caused when the same virus that causes chickenpox is reactivated.

The symptoms of shingles, however, are often far more serious than chickenpox. It typically starts with a burning or tingling pain, which is followed by the appearance of fluid-filled blisters, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Shingles pain can vary from mild to so severe that even the lightest touch causes intense pain.

People who have rheumatoid arthritis already have an increased risk of shingles, although Winthrop said it?s not exactly clear why. It may be due to older age, or it may have something to do with the disease itself.

Rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions are treated with many different medications that help dampen the immune system and, hopefully, the autoimmune attack. Corticosteroids such as prednisone often are the first line of treatment, but because these drugs have many side effects, the goal is to be on the lowest dose possible or off them altogether.

Two other classes of drugs ? the ?biologic? anti-TNF drugs and a group of medications called non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) ? are newer medications that can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions. Examples of biologics are adalimumab (Humira), etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab (Remicade). A commonly used DMARD is methotrexate.

Winthrop and his colleagues reviewed data from almost 60,000 people with various autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. More than 33,000 were taking biologic anti-TNF drugs, and almost 26,000 were on DMARDs. The study period ran from 1998 through 2008.

They found no significant increase in the risk of shingles based on the type of medicine people were taking, with the exception of a high dose of corticosteroids. People taking more than 10 milligrams a day of corticosteroid medication had twice the odds of developing shingles.

Dr. Patience White, vice president of public health for the Arthritis Foundation, said the study?s findings were good news.

?People worry a lot about taking drugs, and this well-done study says this is another thing we don?t have to worry about,? said White, who also is a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in Washington, D.C. ?Drug therapies, other than corticosteroids, don?t increase the risk of getting [shingles].?

Both White and Winthrop said people, if possible, should get the shingles vaccine before they start taking medication for an autoimmune condition. The shingles vaccine is a live vaccine, so it?s not recommended for people who are on any type of immune-system-altering drug.

Winthrop said that based on the latest findings, he suspects it would be OK to vaccinate people on the newer medications, but he added that a study would need to be done first to confirm that.

More information

Learn more about anti-TNF medications from the American College of Rheumatology.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/03/05/newer-rheumatoid-arthritis-drugs-dont-seem-to-increase-risk-of-shingles/

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