KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Police say they are trying to determine how a medical box containing a pair of eyeballs ended up in a trash bin at a gas station in Kansas City.
Police spokesman Steve Young says a worker at a Conoco station in the city's north called police after finding the cardboard box late Wednesday. The box was labeled, "Keep refrigerated."
Young says police aren't sure if the eyes are human, or whether any crime has been committed. Surveillance video shows two men in a blue Toyota leaving the package on the trash bin.
Police say no eye banks or hospitals in the area were awaiting delivery of any eyeballs.
The Jackson County Medical Examiner's office is holding the package while the investigation continues.
Free HTC One plus unlimited data starting at £34 per month
Right on schedule, we're starting to see broader UK availability for the HTC One, and today Three UK has officially launched the silver version of the handset.
Three's 24-month plans start at £34 per month for its "Ultimate Internet 500" deal, which bags you a free HTC One, unlimited data, 500 minutes and 5,000 texts. For £36 per month you'll get Three's "One Plan," which gets you unlimited data (with tethering included), 2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes and 5,000 texts. The phone is also being offered on Pay As You Go for £479.99.
The black HTC One is available for pre-order on the same price plans. More details at the source link.
by Kevin Melrose| March 27, 2013 @ 8:00 AM | 2 Comments |
?Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre? #3, by Amanda Conner
The National Cartoonists Society has announced the divisional nominees for the 67th annual Reuben Awards. They join the finalists for the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year Award ? Brian Crane (Pickles), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues) and Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) ? who were revealed last month.
The winners will be announced May 25 at the Reuben Awards dinner in Pittsburgh.
TELEVISION ANIMATION ? Todd Kauffman, executive producer, Sidekick ? Alberto Mielgo, production design, Tron: Uprising ? Rich Webber, director, Aardman Animation Studios, DC Nation
FEATURE ANIMATION ? Rich Moore, director, Wreck-It Ralph ? Joann Sfar, director, The Rabbi?s Cat ? Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director, The Secret World of Arriety
NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION ? Mark Brewer ? Bob Rich ? Dave Whamond
GAG CARTOONS ? Roz Chast ? Sam Gross ? Mick Stevens ? Jack Ziegler
GREETING CARDS ? Bill Brewer ? George Schill ? Jem Sullivan
NEWSPAPER COMIC STRIPS ? Brian Basset, Red and Rover ? Jeff Parker and Steve Kelley, Dustin ? Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, Zits
NEWSPAPER PANEL CARTOONS ? Tony Carrillo, F-Minus ? Dave Coverly, Speed Bump ? Hilary Price, Rhymes with Orange
ONLINE COMICS-SHORT FORM ? Graham Harrop, Ten Cats ? Jonathan Lemon, Rabbits Against Magic ? Michael McParlane, Mac
ONLINE COMICS-LONG FORM ? Vince Dorse, Untold Tales of Bigfoot ? Meredith Gran, Octopus Pie ? Pat N. Lewis, Muscles Diablo in Where Terror Lurks
MAGAZINE FEATURE/MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATION ? Barry Blitt ? Daryll Collins ? Anton Emdin
BOOK ILLUSTRATION ? John Manders ? John Martz ? Dave Whamond
EDITORIAL CARTOONS ? Clay Bennett ? Michael de Adder ? Jen Sorenson
ADVERTISING and PRODUCT ILLUSTRATION ? Luke McGarry ? Ed Steckley ? Wayno
COMIC BOOKS ? Amanda Conner, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre ? Evan Dorkin, House of Fun ? Bernie Wrightson, Frankenstein Alive, Alive!
GRAPHIC NOVELS ? Derf, My Friend Dahmer ? Joseph Lambert, Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller ? Chris Ware, Building Stories
Former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia working with Jets starter-for-now Mark Sanchez seems like a legitimate opportunity for a man well-versed in the West Coast Offense to share his wisdom.
Throw in JaMarcus Russell, and it sounds like a punch line that?s looking for a joke.
But Garcia said he was impressed with the work Sanchez was doing, as he gets used to the changes new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is bringing to the Jets.
?He?s doing an excellent job ? the progress Mark has made over the past three weeks is definitely very positive,? Garcia told Jim Corbett of USA Today. ?It shows Mark is committed to bettering himself and getting himself more mentally prepared.
?
?The most important thing for Mark is to take that tough season last year as a learning experience from the standpoint of how he can get better and give his team the best chance to win. That has to be done in terms of being confident in his ability to run this system and speak the language correctly. So now when he takes the field in OTAs, he?ll be in that much more comfortable of a place.?
Garcia?s a good tutor for the system, and he threw for career-best numbers under Mornhinweg?s tutelage in San Francisco in 2000.
?Marty and I communicated a few weeks ago [about] what he?d like to introduce to Mark,? Garcia said. ?Mark is definitely getting more comfortable speaking the West Coast terminology. He had a brief glimpse of the West Coast system at USC.
?The toughest thing is this will be Mark?s third offensive coordinator in six seasons. The guy has had to learn a new system just about every other year. From a consistency standpoint, that just doesn?t translate to success in the NFL. You really need to be secure in what you?re doing mentally in order to compete at the highest level.?
Speaking of which, Garcia said Russell?s trying to get in shape for a pro day in a month or so, hoping to get another chance.
?Granted his back is against the wall,? Garcia said of the former first-overall pick. ?This is a situation where if he doesn?t do it now, it may never happen. But if you look at where he was two months ago to where he is today, he?s come a long way in demanding more out of himself than he ever did.?
If he had done that the first time through, he might not be a reclamation case.
EEG identifies seizures in hospital patients, UCSF study findsPublic release date: 27-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco
Electroencephalogram is underused tool for diagnosis, say authors
Electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures and records electrical activity in the brain, is a quick and efficient way of determining whether seizures are the cause of altered mental status (AMS) and spells, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.
The research, which focused on patients who had been given an EEG after being admitted to the hospital for symptoms such as AMS and spells, appears on March 27 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
"We have demonstrated a surprisingly high frequency of seizures more than 7 percent in a general inpatient population," said senior investigator John Betjemann, MD, a UCSF assistant professor of neurology. "This tells us that EEG is an underutilized diagnostic tool, and that seizures may be an underappreciated cause of spells and AMS."
The results are important, he said, because EEG can identify treatable causes of AMS or spells, and because "it can prompt the physician to look for an underlying reason for seizures in persons who did previously have them."
Seizures are treatable with a number of FDA-approved anticonvulsants, he said, "so patients who are quickly diagnosed can be treated more rapidly and effectively. This may translate to shorter lengths of stay and improved patient outcomes."
In one of the first studies of its kind, Betjemann and his team analyzed the medical records of 1,048 adults who were admitted to a regular inpatient unit of a tertiary care hospital and who underwent an EEG. They found that 7.4 percent of the patients had a seizure of some kind while being monitored.
"As I tell my patients, seizures come in all different flavors, from a dramatic convulsion to a subtle twitching of the face or hand or finger," said Betjemann. "There might be no outward manifestation at all, other than that the person seems a little spacey. It's easily missed by family members and physicians alike, but can be picked up by EEG."
Another 13.4 percent of patients had epileptiform discharges, which are abnormal patterns that indicate patients are at an increased risk of seizures.
Almost 65 percent of patients had their first seizure within one hour of EEG recording, and 89 percent within six hours.
"This is good news for smaller hospitals that don't have 24 hour EEG coverage, but that do have a technician on duty during the day," Betjemann said.
He speculated that lack of 24-hour coverage is a major reason that EEG is not used as an inpatient diagnostic tool as often as it might be. "This paper shows that, fortunately, it's not necessary. Almost two thirds of patients with seizures can be identified in the first hour, and almost 90 percent in the course of a shift."
EEGs are easy to obtain, painless and noninvasive, said Betjemann. "The technician applies some paste and electrodes and hooks up the machine. All the patient has to do is rest in bed."
Betjemann said that the next logical research step would be a prospective study. "We have to start at the beginning, see if patients are altered when they are admitted, and do an EEG in a formal standardized setting. Then we'd want to see how often EEG is changing the management of patients either starting or stopping medications," he said. "A patient may be having spells, and an EEG might tell you this is not a seizure, and that it's important not to treat it with anti-epileptic medications."
###
Co-authors of the study are Ivy Nguyen, BS, Carlos Santos-Sanchez, MD, Vanja C. Douglas, MD and S. Andrew Josephson, MD, of UCSF.
Ivy Nguyen was awarded a Quarterly Research Fellowship by UCSF Dean's Office Medical Student Research Program.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
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.
EEG identifies seizures in hospital patients, UCSF study findsPublic release date: 27-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco
Electroencephalogram is underused tool for diagnosis, say authors
Electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures and records electrical activity in the brain, is a quick and efficient way of determining whether seizures are the cause of altered mental status (AMS) and spells, according to a study by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.
The research, which focused on patients who had been given an EEG after being admitted to the hospital for symptoms such as AMS and spells, appears on March 27 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
"We have demonstrated a surprisingly high frequency of seizures more than 7 percent in a general inpatient population," said senior investigator John Betjemann, MD, a UCSF assistant professor of neurology. "This tells us that EEG is an underutilized diagnostic tool, and that seizures may be an underappreciated cause of spells and AMS."
The results are important, he said, because EEG can identify treatable causes of AMS or spells, and because "it can prompt the physician to look for an underlying reason for seizures in persons who did previously have them."
Seizures are treatable with a number of FDA-approved anticonvulsants, he said, "so patients who are quickly diagnosed can be treated more rapidly and effectively. This may translate to shorter lengths of stay and improved patient outcomes."
In one of the first studies of its kind, Betjemann and his team analyzed the medical records of 1,048 adults who were admitted to a regular inpatient unit of a tertiary care hospital and who underwent an EEG. They found that 7.4 percent of the patients had a seizure of some kind while being monitored.
"As I tell my patients, seizures come in all different flavors, from a dramatic convulsion to a subtle twitching of the face or hand or finger," said Betjemann. "There might be no outward manifestation at all, other than that the person seems a little spacey. It's easily missed by family members and physicians alike, but can be picked up by EEG."
Another 13.4 percent of patients had epileptiform discharges, which are abnormal patterns that indicate patients are at an increased risk of seizures.
Almost 65 percent of patients had their first seizure within one hour of EEG recording, and 89 percent within six hours.
"This is good news for smaller hospitals that don't have 24 hour EEG coverage, but that do have a technician on duty during the day," Betjemann said.
He speculated that lack of 24-hour coverage is a major reason that EEG is not used as an inpatient diagnostic tool as often as it might be. "This paper shows that, fortunately, it's not necessary. Almost two thirds of patients with seizures can be identified in the first hour, and almost 90 percent in the course of a shift."
EEGs are easy to obtain, painless and noninvasive, said Betjemann. "The technician applies some paste and electrodes and hooks up the machine. All the patient has to do is rest in bed."
Betjemann said that the next logical research step would be a prospective study. "We have to start at the beginning, see if patients are altered when they are admitted, and do an EEG in a formal standardized setting. Then we'd want to see how often EEG is changing the management of patients either starting or stopping medications," he said. "A patient may be having spells, and an EEG might tell you this is not a seizure, and that it's important not to treat it with anti-epileptic medications."
###
Co-authors of the study are Ivy Nguyen, BS, Carlos Santos-Sanchez, MD, Vanja C. Douglas, MD and S. Andrew Josephson, MD, of UCSF.
Ivy Nguyen was awarded a Quarterly Research Fellowship by UCSF Dean's Office Medical Student Research Program.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
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.
HONG KONG (AP) ? Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday after upbeat economic data from the world's largest economy. But in Europe, markets were unsteady ahead of the release of more indicators that would provide further clues about the health of the world's leading economies.
Reports including a forward-looking German consumer confidence index and U.S. pending home sales were expected out later in the day.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX slipped less than 0.1 percent to 7,873.17 while France's CAC 40 fell 0.1 percent to 3,743.49. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies was practically unchanged at 6,398.29.
U.S. stocks were poised to rise marginally. Dow futures rose less than 0.1 percent to 14,484.00 while broader S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 percent to 1,558.50.
Asian stocks ended the day higher following reports overnight from the U.S. showed home prices rose in January at the fastest rate since the country's housing boom peaked in 2006 while February factory orders for long-lasting goods were at their highest in five months.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index rose 0.6 percent to close at 22,464.82 while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.5 percent to 1,993.44. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent to 2,301.26 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite rose 0.3 percent to 955.24.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9 percent to 4,995.00 while benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand also rose.
"So we had a good session in the US last night, certainly. I think the durable goods order figures were really supporting to the market," said Guy Stear, head of Asia research at Societe Generale. "We continue to see strong figures really, out of the production side in the US economy."
In Japan, gains were more muted, with the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2 percent to end at 12,493.79 as investors stay on the sidelines, hoping for more than just talk from policymakers trying to stimulate the economy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to pull Japan out of deflation through monetary easing and higher government spending.
"If the Abe government is going to keep the yen down, it is going to have to pull the trigger sooner rather than later, as investors are going to start calling its bluff," IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas said in a commentary.
In currencies, the dollar strengthened slightly to 94.57 yen from 94.50 yen in late trading Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.2832 from $1.2858.
Oil prices slipped. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 39 cents to $95.95 a barrel. The contract rose $1.53 to settle at $96.34 on the Nymex on Tuesday.
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Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
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