Congo army fights back, rebels hold Goma

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

M23 rebel fighters rush from Goma to the town of Sake to reinforce positions as residents of Sake flee with their belongings on the road between Goma and Sake in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 22, 2012. Many of the fleeing residents stopped at an internally displaced person camp between Sake and Goma.

Reuters reports ? Congolese troops fought back on Thursday against rebels who rejected calls from African leaders to quit the eastern city of Goma, captured earlier this week in a major upset that forced U.N. troops to withdraw.

Thousands of people fled the area of clashes around the town of Sake, as M23 rebel fighters rushed from Goma to reinforce their positions against an army counter-offensive.

Both sides claimed control of Sake as night fell on the troubled eastern area. There was no independent verification of who was holding the town.

The M23 rebel movement, widely believed to be backed by Rwanda, has vowed to "liberate" all of the vast, resource-rich country after taking Goma, a provincial capital on the Rwandan border, ramping up tensions in a fragile region. Full story?

Jerome Delay / AP

Women run after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battle over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, Nov. 22. The woman in orange, identified as Mamou, said she lost her husband by a fatal wound to the head from incoming mortar rounds. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Thousands of Congolese flee the town of Sake, about 16 miles west of Goma, following fresh fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nov. 22.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Congolese children sit on a step in front of M23 rebels in Sake, Nov. 22, 2012. Rebels took the town yesterday, but were engaged in heavy gunfighting this afternoon as government-allied militia tried to retake it.

Dai Kurokawa / EPA

A woman who fled her home in Sake emerges from a shelter at an internally displaced person camp in Mugunga, between Goma and Sake, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 22.

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EU steelmakers unhappy with EU conditions on Glenstrata deal

LONDON (Reuters) - EU steelmakers said Europe's antitrust conditions for Glencore to go ahead with its $33 billion takeover of Xstrata are not sufficient to prevent the dominant influence of one zinc supplier.

The European Commission (EC) cleared the world's largest diversified commodities trader to complete the $33 billion deal but said it must scrap an exclusive European zinc sales agreement with producer Nyrstar .

Zinc, used in metal alloys and to prevent corrosion, is a metal where Glencore and Xstrata would be particularly strong as a combined entity.

Terminating the agreement between Glencore and Nyrstar addresses one of the European steel industry's major concerns, but the remedy may not be sufficient, steel industry body Eurofer said on Thursday.

"The European steel industry, which uses the lion's share of zinc metal traded in Europe, will still have to face a leading provider effectively controlling the zinc supply chain from mining to warehousing operations," Eurofer said in a statement.

Post-merger, the parties will still have a share of around 35 per cent of the European zinc market and the vertical integration of the new entity, which includes mining, smelting, trading, logistics and warehousing, is also concerning according to Eurofer.

"This shows that Glencore/Xstrata can still exert controlling influence on the zinc market, for instance by artificially shortening supplies," Gordon Moffat, Eurofer director general, said.

The European steel industry needs zinc for corrosion-resistant coatings applied to steel products. More than half of global zinc production goes into steel making.

(Reporting by Silvia Antonioli; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-steelmakers-unhappy-eu-conditions-glenstrata-deal-191355505--finance.html

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China's manufacturing growth quickens; HSBC flash PMI at 13-month high

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's vast manufacturing sector saw expansion accelerate in November for the first time in 13 months, preliminary results from a factory survey showed, a sign that the pace of economic growth has revived after seven consecutive quarters of slowdown.

The China HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a 13-month high of 50.4 in November, the latest indicator of recovery in the real economy after data showing solid credit growth, firmer exports and rising industrial output in the previous month.

A sub-index measuring output rose to 51.3, also the highest since October 2011.

"This reflects that conditions for smaller firms, especially exporters, are looking up," said Li Wei, a Shanghai-based economist for Standard Chartered. "The consensus in the market is already for a small, gradual improvement."

An uptick in key economic activity indicators in October, following encouraging signs in September, cemented the view of many analysts and investors that a rebound in the world's second largest economy gathered momentum as it entered the fourth quarter, thanks to a raft of pro-growth policies rolled out by the government over recent months.

China is currently shuffling its senior officials after the seven top leaders of the ruling Communist Party were selected at a congress last week. The new appointments should end months of uncertainty in the highest ranks, although economic policy is not expected to change abruptly in the near-term.

Even before the congress, the central bank had moved to ease liquidity by pumping short-term cash into money markets rather than resorting to the interest rate cuts or reduction in banks' required reserve ratios that many investors had expected.

STEADY THROUGH YEAR-END

This month's PMI reading above 50 is likely to be seen as a turning point by the market, particularly if it is born out by the final reading due on December 1 and by official indicators.

Asian shares extended gains slightly after the data to stand up nearly 1 percent on the day and the Australian dollar, sensitive to demand from the biggest customer for Australia's resources, rose as far as $1.04.

"This confirms that the economic recovery continues to gain momentum towards the year-end," Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at index sponsor HSBC, said in a statement accompanying the data.

"However, it is still the early stage of recovery and global economic growth remains fragile. This calls for a continuation of policy easing to strengthen the recovery."

With a one-month exception in October 2011, the HSBC PMI -- which largely reflects the private manufacturing sector -- has remained stubbornly below the 50-point level separating accelerating from slowing growth since June 2011.

Unlike the patchy results seen in previous months, in November almost all the sub-indices in the HSBC survey concurred in showing an improving economy.

The one exception was a fall in the sub-index measuring output prices, demonstrating that manufacturers are still struggling with overcapacity and relatively weak domestic demand.

That could also reflect the weight in the survey of exporting firms, which have less ability to raise sales prices, said Standard Chartered's Li.

Indeed, China's exporters are increasingly squeezed by rising domestic costs and competition from new international suppliers, Zhou Haijiang, head of Chinese textile exporter Hodo Group, told reporters this month.

"Not only Western countries manufacture industrial goods, but also a lot of developing countries including former socialist countries who now have market economies are all exporting, thus creating a global surplus that cannot be changed," Zhou said.

"Because of this it is hard to raise sales prices, everyone is selling and it is hard for manufactured goods prices to rise. In some cases prices have even fallen."

Analysts expect no further cuts to interest rates this year or next after back-to-back cuts in June and July, and only one more 50 basis point cut to banks' required reserve ratios (RRR) in 2012 after three since late 2011 that have freed an estimated 1.2 trillion yuan for new lending.

Chinese banks are on course to make new loans worth more than 8.5 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in 2012, expansionary versus the 7.5 trillion of new loans extended in 2011 and above the 8 trillion yuan that sources told Reuters back in February was the target for 2012.

Total social financing aggregate, a broad measure of liquidity in the economy, weakened to 1.29 trillion yuan in October, down from 1.65 trillion yuan in September, but still remained on track to hit a record 14 trillion yuan this year.

China also opened many previously-closed sectors to private investment with a view to funding new infrastructure projects and supporting economic growth without piling on more debt that local governments can ill-afford.

Although analysts expect fourth quarter GDP growth to outpace the 7.4 percent seen in the third quarter, full-year expansion for 2012 is expected to be the slowest in 13 years.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hsbc-china-flash-pmi-13-month-high-growth-031839009--business.html

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alaskasmith: martincs Site ? Health & Fitness: Substance Abuse

By Michael Spelling

Health issues regarding psychological as well as physical health mirror drug abuse and dependency behaviors and how uncontrollable these become. As a problem greatly affecting the brain?s normal functions, substance dependency makes a drug addict endure co-occurring psychological and mental health disorders that may exacerbate an addiction drastically. With the increased level and severity of addiction, much more extensive therapy and more pronounced monitoring are needed to cater the damages. The treatment mechanisms tend to be inclined toward an abuser?s needs, values, life-style, as well as experiences.

Substance dependency both affects the abuser and also the individuals around him. Many human relationships are damaged due to changes in an addict?s behaviors and priorities, leading to arguments and also unwanted changes between a drug addict and his family members. Dependency will depend on the substance?s addictive effects that also implies being in favor of the toxins and harmful consequences due to substance abuse and addiction.

The choice of continuing the addiction rather than getting treatment will make abusive behaviors severe. Most cases of drug abuse often shift to addiction. Substance abuse recuperation will be narrowed down to an addict?s choice, whether to quit using an addicting substance or even continue its use rather than experiencing painful and also uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Most common factors that bring about abuse of substance include curiosity, experimentation, and recreational use. These factors are also caused by various other situations depending on the situation of a person.

Major issues might drive an individual to abuse a substance to be able to escape other situation, people, or things. Many addicts believe that drug use can be discontinued at any time, however what happens is contrary to this idea, instead recognizing why others become too weak to control the abusive behaviors. Cases of relapses are very achievable, particularly among individuals who actually experienced substance abuse and addiction for some time and without any given measures for the habit to end.

In cases of substance addictions strongly recognized with support systems, may it be socially or even spiritually, recoveries can incorporate values provided by the environment of a particular support group. This means higher rate of recovery among addiction sufferers. Side effects will start to be felt by a drug addict once he made the choice to get involved with drug abuse. A casual use could be changed into an everyday habit without the individual realizing this transition stage. Apart from using substances, the behavior includes the issues behind substance abuse that could have driven a person to develop his abusive behaviors. Numerous scientific studies in recent years reveal that changing the functions of the brain is not the only vital side effect of dependency. The toxins from addictive substances will have its consequences on other systems. As an outcome, several serious complications may be felt by a patient that can make him suffer, even destroying his life.

Source: http://health-andfitnes-s.blogspot.com/2012/11/substance-abuse-prevention-programs-how.html

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Credit card debt rises to nearly $5,000 per borrower

Borrowing on credit cards is up 4.9 percent from a year ago, TransUnion reports.

By Bill Hardekopf,?Contributor / November 21, 2012

In this July 18, 2012 file photo, credit card logos are seen on a downtown storefront as a pedestrian passes in Atlanta. Americans cranked up their use of credit cards in the third quarter of 2012, racking up more debt than a year ago, while also being less diligent about making payments on time, an analysis of consumer-credit data shows.

David Goldman/AP/File

Enlarge

Americans' credit card debt is rising again and they're not as diligent about paying on time, signs perhaps that credit trends are returning to normal.

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The average credit card debt per American borrower increased to $4,996, up 4.9 percent in the third quarter from the year before, according to a?report?released yesterday from TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. The pattern fits 2011, when debt fell in the first two quarters and rose in the last two.

Late payments at least 90 days overdue also slightly increased to 0.75 percent during the July-September period, up from 0.71 percent in the third quarter of 2011. The late payment rate was 0.63 percent in the second quarter of 2012. But the late payment rate is rising from historically low levels.

TransUnion reported 36 states had increases in their credit card delinquency rates from a year ago while nine other states and the District of Columbia posted decreases. There were no changes in five states.

Average credit card debt is likely to climb again in the fourth quarter as consumers use credit cards to pay for holiday shopping.

The increase in credit card debt may reinforce the latest research from the Federal Reserve that shows bankers have eased up slightly on lending standards and demand is increasing for credit cards. During the past three months, 17 percent of all banks and 26 percent of large banks reported a moderately stronger demand for credit card loans, according to the?Federal?Reserve Senior Loan Officer Survey. In addition, nearly 17 percent of large banks eased the credit standards for applying for a credit card.

??Bill Hardekopf?is founder of?Lowcards.com, an online credit-card information site.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/dcG-q_4jDZw/Credit-card-debt-rises-to-nearly-5-000-per-borrower

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Become The Shonn Greene Jersey Person You Need - i4Giveu.com

Confessor MeghanKennemuth?Confessed on? Children abuse,?@?November 21st, 2012

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Researchers find decline in availability and use of key treatment for depression

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Holly Brown-Ayers
hbrownayers@butler.org
401-455-6501
Women & Infants Hospital

ECT use and availibility drops

Providence, RI - - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered the most effective treatment option for patients with severe depression who cannot find symptom relief through antidepressant medications or psychotherapy. In a new study, researchers at Butler Hospital and Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island found a sharp decline in the availability and use of ECT in general hospitals across the U.S. The findings were published online in the journal Biological Psychiatry on October 10, 2012.

The researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of US general hospitals, the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), conducted annually by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). They took information from between five and eight million patient discharge records at 1,000 hospitals nationwide between the years 1993 through 2009 and found that the annual number of hospital stays in which ECT was administered fell 43 percent over the 17 year period, from more than 1.2 million to 720,000. Researchers also found a dramatic decline in the percentage of hospitals conducting ECT, from 55 percent to 35 percent of facilities with a psychiatric unit. The percentage of inpatients with severe, recurrent major depression treated in hospitals conducting ECT fell from 71 to 45 percent. But for depressed patients treated in hospitals that conduct ECT, the proportion who received the procedure remained stable.

"The data strongly support the impression that psychiatric units in general hospitals are discontinuing use of ECT and that this is driving the decline in the number of severely depressed inpatients receiving the procedure," said Brady Case, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and director of the Health Services Research Program at Bradley Hospital. "Growing pressures to avoid the inpatient treatment costs and length of stay associated with ECT may be one factor associated with this trend. We didn't have information on provider and patient attitudes, but as facilities cease conducting ECT, we can expect that fewer clinicians and inpatients are exposed to the option, reinforcing the turn away from ECT." Researchers also note the FDA approval of new treatment alternatives, like vagus nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, as possible influences.

Declines in ECT availability and use were particularly dramatic in elderly patients, a group traditionally thought to benefit most from the procedure. "Decreased availability of ECT for older patients with severe depression is of major concern, since a significant proportion of this group fails to benefit from available medication treatments. In such cases, ECT can literally be a life-saving intervention," said Lawrence Price, MD, clinical and research director at Butler Hospital and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University.

The researchers also noted a key finding they observed throughout the 15-year study period: depressed inpatients from poor neighborhoods and those who were publicly insured or uninsured were less likely to receive care from hospitals conducting ECT. "Access to ECT for less affluent patients has concerned the field for some time, but these data really drive home the reality. The worry is that ECT may be part of a tiered system of psychiatric care that deprives the disadvantaged of one of our most effective treatments," according to Price.

The researchers acknowledge that a limitation of the study is its exclusion of data from freestanding psychiatric facilities. Case and his colleagues note that psychiatric hospitals less commonly offer ECT than general hospitals, possibly because the procedure requires a level of medical support more readily available in general hospitals. Because of this, and the fact that psychiatric hospitals have accounted for a declining proportion of inpatient mental health care, the researchers argue that this exclusion is unlikely to have offset the declines they observed.

The data also do not include information on outpatient ECT, but many severely ill patients are inappropriate for outpatient ECT initiation. Case concedes that while "changing pharmacologic treatment practices for depression have received an immense amount of attention, we still know very little about how and where ECT is being used, especially outside of academic medical centers."

###

The study was funded in part by the Leon Levy Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Future research plans for the team include characterizing the availability of ECT in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient mental health programs, as well as national trends in use of the procedure to treat a small number of adolescent inpatients.

Butler Hospital is the only private, nonprofit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital serving adults, adolescents and children in Rhode Island and southeastern New England. Founded in 1844, it was the first hospital in Rhode Island and has earned a reputation as the leading provider of innovative psychiatric treatments in the region. The flagship hospital for the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Butler is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in conducting cutting-edge research.


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

?


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


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Holly Brown-Ayers
hbrownayers@butler.org
401-455-6501
Women & Infants Hospital

ECT use and availibility drops

Providence, RI - - Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered the most effective treatment option for patients with severe depression who cannot find symptom relief through antidepressant medications or psychotherapy. In a new study, researchers at Butler Hospital and Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island found a sharp decline in the availability and use of ECT in general hospitals across the U.S. The findings were published online in the journal Biological Psychiatry on October 10, 2012.

The researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of US general hospitals, the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), conducted annually by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). They took information from between five and eight million patient discharge records at 1,000 hospitals nationwide between the years 1993 through 2009 and found that the annual number of hospital stays in which ECT was administered fell 43 percent over the 17 year period, from more than 1.2 million to 720,000. Researchers also found a dramatic decline in the percentage of hospitals conducting ECT, from 55 percent to 35 percent of facilities with a psychiatric unit. The percentage of inpatients with severe, recurrent major depression treated in hospitals conducting ECT fell from 71 to 45 percent. But for depressed patients treated in hospitals that conduct ECT, the proportion who received the procedure remained stable.

"The data strongly support the impression that psychiatric units in general hospitals are discontinuing use of ECT and that this is driving the decline in the number of severely depressed inpatients receiving the procedure," said Brady Case, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and director of the Health Services Research Program at Bradley Hospital. "Growing pressures to avoid the inpatient treatment costs and length of stay associated with ECT may be one factor associated with this trend. We didn't have information on provider and patient attitudes, but as facilities cease conducting ECT, we can expect that fewer clinicians and inpatients are exposed to the option, reinforcing the turn away from ECT." Researchers also note the FDA approval of new treatment alternatives, like vagus nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, as possible influences.

Declines in ECT availability and use were particularly dramatic in elderly patients, a group traditionally thought to benefit most from the procedure. "Decreased availability of ECT for older patients with severe depression is of major concern, since a significant proportion of this group fails to benefit from available medication treatments. In such cases, ECT can literally be a life-saving intervention," said Lawrence Price, MD, clinical and research director at Butler Hospital and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University.

The researchers also noted a key finding they observed throughout the 15-year study period: depressed inpatients from poor neighborhoods and those who were publicly insured or uninsured were less likely to receive care from hospitals conducting ECT. "Access to ECT for less affluent patients has concerned the field for some time, but these data really drive home the reality. The worry is that ECT may be part of a tiered system of psychiatric care that deprives the disadvantaged of one of our most effective treatments," according to Price.

The researchers acknowledge that a limitation of the study is its exclusion of data from freestanding psychiatric facilities. Case and his colleagues note that psychiatric hospitals less commonly offer ECT than general hospitals, possibly because the procedure requires a level of medical support more readily available in general hospitals. Because of this, and the fact that psychiatric hospitals have accounted for a declining proportion of inpatient mental health care, the researchers argue that this exclusion is unlikely to have offset the declines they observed.

The data also do not include information on outpatient ECT, but many severely ill patients are inappropriate for outpatient ECT initiation. Case concedes that while "changing pharmacologic treatment practices for depression have received an immense amount of attention, we still know very little about how and where ECT is being used, especially outside of academic medical centers."

###

The study was funded in part by the Leon Levy Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Future research plans for the team include characterizing the availability of ECT in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient mental health programs, as well as national trends in use of the procedure to treat a small number of adolescent inpatients.

Butler Hospital is the only private, nonprofit psychiatric and substance abuse hospital serving adults, adolescents and children in Rhode Island and southeastern New England. Founded in 1844, it was the first hospital in Rhode Island and has earned a reputation as the leading provider of innovative psychiatric treatments in the region. The flagship hospital for the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Butler is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in conducting cutting-edge research.


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

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/wih-rfd112012.php

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Astrophysicists identify a 'super-Jupiter' around a massive star

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Astrophysicists at the University of Toronto and other institutions across the United States, Europe and Asia have discovered a 'super-Jupiter' around the massive star Kappa Andromedae. The object, which could represent the first new observed exoplanet system in almost four years, has a mass at least 13 times that of Jupiter and an orbit somewhat larger than Neptune's.

The host star around which the planet orbits has a mass 2.5 times that of the Sun, making it the highest mass star to ever host a directly observed planet. The star can be seen with the naked eye in the constellation Andromeda at a distance of about 170 light years.

"Our teamidentified a faint object located very close to Kappa Andromedae in January that looks much like other young, massive directly imaged planets but does not look like a star," said Thayne Currie, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of Toronto and coauthor of a paper titled "Direct imaging of a `super-Jupiter' around a massive star" to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It's likely a directly imaged planet." The report on the study can be viewed on arXiv.org at http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.3744.

The researchers made the discovery based on an infrared imaging search carried out as part of the Strategic Explorations of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) program using the Subaru telescope located in Hawaii.

"Kappa Andromedae moves fast across the sky so it will appear to change position relative to more distant, background objects," Currie says. "When we reobserved it in July at multiple wavelengths, we saw the faint object again, located at about the same position as it was in January. This indicates that it is bound to the star and not an unrelated background object." Labelled by the researchers Kappa And b, it could be the first direct rendering of an exoplanet in two years and of a new exoplanet system in almost four years, ending a significant drought in the field.

In a single infrared snapshot, the tiny point of light that is Kappa And b is completely lost amid the overwhelming glare of the host star. The SEEDS observing team was able to distinguish the object's faint light using a technique known as angular differential imaging, which combines a time-series of individual images in a manner that allows for the otherwise overwhelming glare of the host star to be removed from the final, combined image.

Young planets retain significant heat from their formation, enhancing the brightness at infrared wavelengths. This makes young star systems attractive targets for direct imaging planet searches. However, despite this fact, the successful direct imaging of extrasolar planets is exceptionally rare, especially for orbital separations akin to our own solar system planets. The extraordinary differences in brightness between a star and a planet are a primary reason why only a handful of planets have ever been directly imaged around stars.

"Although astronomers have found over 750 planets around other stars, we actually directly detect light from the atmosphere of only a few of them," said Currie. "There are approximately six now. Kappa And b is one of them if our estimates for its age and mass are correct, which we think they are. The rest are only inferred directly."

The large mass of both the host star and gas giant provide a sharp contrast with our own solar system. Observers and theorists have argued recently that large stars like Kappa Andromedae are likely to have large planets, perhaps following a simple scaled-up model of our own solar system. But experts predict that there is a limit to such extrapolations; if a star is too massive, its powerful radiation may disrupt the normal planet formation process that would otherwise occur. The discovery of the super-Jupiter around Kappa Andromedae demonstrates that stars as large as 2.5 solar masses are still fully capable of producing planets within their primordial circumstellar disks.

"This planetary system is very different from our own," Currie says. "The star is much more massive than our Sun and Kappa And b is at least 10 times more massive than any planet in the solar system. And, Kappa And b is located further from the star than any of the solar system planets are from the Sun. Because it is generally much harder to form massive planets at large distances from the parent star, Kappa And b could really be a challenge for our theories about how planets form."

The SEEDS research team continues to study the Kappa And b emitted light across a broad wavelength range, in order to better understand the atmospheric chemistry of the gas giant, and constrain the orbital characteristics. The researchers also continue to explore the system for possible secondary planets, which may have influenced the Kappa And b formation and orbital evolution. These follow-up studies will yield further clues to the formation of the super-Jupiter, and planet formation in general around massive stars.

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University of Toronto: http://www.utoronto.ca

Thanks to University of Toronto for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125350/Astrophysicists_identify_a__super_Jupiter__around_a_massive_star

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Fighter loses by TKO: Vomiting (VIDEO)

Levi West has two losses in his professional career, but something tells me his second one will be more memorable. As shown on Inside MMA, West lost by technical knockout: vomiting. (It's the second fight mentioned in the short clip.)

The old wives tale advises swimmers to stay out of a pool for at least 30 minutes after eating. Perhaps it needs to be revised for fighters, as well.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/fighter-loses-tko-vomiting-video-235121053--mma.html

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An Ongoing Commitment to Kids Right Here at Home | wacap

The first child WACAP placed with an adoptive family, back in 1976, was a young girl from the US foster care system. Ever since then, as our work has expanded around the world, WACAP has maintained a special commitment to finding families for children from foster care.

At any given time, there are about 1,500 children in Washington State alone, who need a forever family. The youngest and healthiest of these children are often adopted right away. Many children, however, face barriers to being adopted because they?re older,?have special medical needs or behavioral disabilities. With every year a child spends in foster care, these barriers only get higher. For too many children, they become insurmountable, and at age 18, they?re on their own.

While many organizations do great work to provide support for children who have ?aged out? of the foster care system, the future these kids face can be pretty bleak. Statistics show that by their 19th birthday, 40 percent?of girls who have aged out will have an out of wedlock pregnancy. 20 percent?of foster care alums will have been arrested, and 12 percent?will be homeless.

WACAP?s work lies in finding the families who have the resources and dedication to bring to these children into their families. We know they?re out there, and we?re determined to find them. That?s where our award winning A Family for Me program comes in.

A Family for Me is the only program of its kind in Washington state. Each week, the program features a local foster child waiting to be adopted. The child is treated to a ?Dream Date? ? an afternoon spent doing the child?s favorite or ?dream? activity, such as an afternoon horseback riding, bowling, or a trip to a salon. Professional videographers record the children as they enjoy their activities, share about their interests, and talk about the type of family they would like to have.

The staff at KING 5 edit the footage, and Joyce Taylor, the anchor hosting A Family for Me, presents the child every Thursday on KING 5 Morning News, on KONG and KING 5 News at Noon, as well as at other times during the weekend. The videos are also featured on the King5 website. Yuen Lui Studio?takes a professional portrait of each child, also posted on WACAP?s website. These are often the first and only professional photos the child has even had taken. These photos and videos can then be shared with partner organizations, state social workers, and potential adoptive families, increasing each child?s chances of finding their forever family.

Since August 2005, A Family for Me has reached 233 children in need of families. Nationwide, only about half of all foster children waiting for adoption find permanent families in any given year. To?date, 73 percent of the children who have been a part of A Family for Me have joined adoptive families.

We?re so proud to be a part of this important work, and so appreciative of King 5 and Yuen Lui for helping us work toward our vision of A Family for Every Child.

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WACAP (World Association for Children and Parents) is one of the largest and most experienced international nonprofit adoption and child assistance agencies in the United States. Since 1976, we?ve placed over 10,000 children with loving adoptive parents and provided food, medical care and education to more than 200,000 children around the world.

Source: http://wacap.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/an-ongoing-commitment-to-kids-right-here-at-home/

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