Man pleads no contest to stalking Halle Berry (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A man accused of scaling the fence of Halle Berry's house will remain in jail after pleading no contest to stalking the Oscar-winning actress.

Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall says Richard A. Franco was sentenced to serve 386 days in county jail Thursday, but he has already served half the term.

The 28-year-old was also placed on five years' probation, a year of psychological counseling and ordered to stay away from the actress for the next decade.

Franco was arrested outside Berry's home in July after repeatedly coming onto her property. In one instance, the actress stated in a sworn declaration that Franco attempted to enter her kitchen, but she was able to lock the door before he got inside.

A burglary charge filed against Franco was dropped.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_en_mo/us_people_halle_berry

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Study suggests junk food in schools doesn't cause weight gain among children

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

While the percentage of obese children in the United States tripled between the early 1970s and the late 2000s, a new study suggests that?at least for middle school students?weight gain has nothing to do with the candy, soda, chips, and other junk food they can purchase at school.

"We were really surprised by that result and, in fact, we held back from publishing our study for roughly two years because we kept looking for a connection that just wasn't there," said Jennifer Van Hook, a Professor of Sociology and Demography at Pennsylvania State University and lead author of the study, which appears in the January issue of Sociology of Education.

The study relies on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, which follows a nationally representative sample of students from the fall of kindergarten through the spring of eighth grade (the 1998-1999 through 2006-2007 schools years). Van Hook and her coauthor Claire E. Altman, a sociology and demography doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University, used a subsample of 19,450 children who attended school in the same county in both fifth and eighth grades (the 2003-2004 and the 2006-2007 school years).

The authors found that 59.2 percent of fifth graders and 86.3 percent of eighth graders in their study attended schools that sold junk food. But, while there was a significant increase in the percentage of students who attended schools that sold junk food between fifth and eighth grades, there was no rise in the percentage of students who were overweight or obese. In fact, despite the increased availability of junk food, the percentage of students who were overweight or obese actually decreased from fifth grade to eighth grade, from 39.1 percent to 35.4 percent.

"There has been a great deal of focus in the media on how schools make a lot of money from the sale of junk food to students, and on how schools have the ability to help reduce childhood obesity," Van Hook said. "In that light, we expected to find a definitive connection between the sale of junk food in middle schools and weight gain among children between fifth and eighth grades. But, our study suggests that?when it comes to weight issues?we need to be looking far beyond schools and, more specifically, junk food sales in schools, to make a difference."

According to Van Hook, policies that aim to reduce childhood obesity and prevent unhealthy weight gain need to concentrate more on the home and family environments as well as the broader environments outside of school.

"Schools only represent a small portion of children's food environment," Van Hook said. "They can get food at home, they can get food in their neighborhoods, and they can go across the street from the school to buy food. Additionally, kids are actually very busy at school. When they're not in class, they have to get from one class to another and they have certain fixed times when they can eat. So, there really isn't a lot of opportunity for children to eat while they're in school, or at least eat endlessly, compared to when they're at home. As a result, whether or not junk food is available to them at school may not have much bearing on how much junk food they eat."

The study results also intimate that when it comes to combating childhood obesity and weight issues, policymakers should put more emphasis on younger children, Van Hook said. "There has been a lot of research showing that many children develop eating habits and tastes for certain types of foods when they are of preschool age, and that those habits and tastes may stay with them for their whole lives," Van Hook said. "So, their middle school environments might not matter a lot."

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American Sociological Association: http://www.asanet.org

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116747/Study_suggests_junk_food_in_schools_doesn_t_cause_weight_gain_among_children

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Organize Lids in Drawers with Tension Rods [Kitchen Hacks]

Inexpensive tension curtain rods can be handy organizing tools: Use one in a drawer and you've got an instant divider to separate pot lids from pans. You could probably also use this for that other tricky storage item?tupperware (and lids).

This is a tip we've noted a while ago, but the photo here from Real Simple makes it really clear how much of a clever space-saving solution this can can be.

For more handy tension rod repurposing, try using rods as vertical pantry dividers or, my favorite, turn one into a under-the-sink cleaning bottle holder.

18 Clever Organizing Tricks and Storage Ideas | Real Simple

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ZdmTq2IFyrk/organize-lids-in-drawers-with-tension-rods

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AMD's Ultrabook competitor to focus on price, undercut Intel

When AMD showed off its upcoming Trinity APUs at CES the company was pretty light on the details. We're still stuck holding our breath for specs, but DigiTimes is reporting some alleged info on pricing. According to the report, AMD's "Ultrathin" laptops will hit shelves priced between $100 and $200 less than comparably-equipped Intel machines. Of course, the folks from Sunnyvale have traditionally hit Chipzilla on pricing rather than performance (except during a brief period in the aughts when Intel got lost in the Netburst woods), so dirt-cheap AMD "Ultrabooks" wouldn't come as much of a surprise. Then again, pressure on both the laptop and tablet front could cause the Santa Clara crew to reevaluate its pricing strategy leaving its competition to either further cut profit margins or find a new angle of attack.

AMD's Ultrabook competitor to focus on price, undercut Intel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/17/amds-ultrabook-competitor-to-focus-on-price-undercut-intel/

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BrainStorm sees positive data in ALS stem cell trial (Reuters)

TEL AVIV (Reuters) ? Data from the first ALS patients in a clinical trial treated with BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics adult stem cell therapy did not show significant side effects and the treatment has so far proven to be safe, the company said on Tuesday.

Israel-based BrainStorm is developing NurOwn for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year granted orphan drug designation to NurOwn. The FDA's orphan drug program encourages the development of treatments for rare diseases by providing financial incentives.

"There have been no significant side effects in the initial patients we have treated with BrainStorm's NurOwn technology," said Dimitrios Karussis, the head of Israel's Hadassah Medical Center's Multiple Sclerosis unit, who is leading the clinical trial.

"In addition, even though we are conducting a safety trial, the early clinical follow-up of the patients treated with the stem cells shows indications of beneficial clinical effects, such as an improvement in breathing and swallowing ability as well as in muscular power."

Patients in the trial are transplanted with stem cells derived from their own bone marrow and treated with the NurOwn stem cell technology.

The initial phase of the study is designed to establish the safety of NurOwn and will later be expanded to assess efficacy.

"Based on the interim safety report, the hospital ethical and safety committee granted the company approval to proceed with treating the next patients," said Chaim Lebovits, president of BrainStorm.

According to the ALS Association, 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease -- which has severely disabled British physicist Stephen Hawking -- at any given time.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/biotech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/hl_nm/us_brainstorm_trial_embargoed

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Broken arm? Brain shifts quickly when using a sling or cast

ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2012) ? Using a sling or cast after injuring an arm may cause your brain to shift quickly to adjust, according to a study published in the January 17, 2012, print issue of Neurology?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study found increases in the size of brain areas that were compensating for the injured side, and decreases in areas that were not being used due to the cast or sling.

"These results are especially interesting for rehabilitation therapy for people who've had strokes or other issues," said study author Nicolas Langer, MSc, with the University of Zurich in Switzerland. "One type of therapy restrains the unaffected, or "good," arm to strengthen the affected arm and help the brain learn new pathways. This study shows that there are both positive and negative effects of this type of treatment."

For the study, researchers examined 10 right-handed people with an injury of the upper right arm that required a sling for at least 14 days. The entire right arm and hand were restricted to little or no movement during the study period. As a result, participants used their non-dominant left hand for daily activities such as washing, using a toothbrush, eating or writing. None of the people in the study had a brain injury, psychiatric disease or nerve injury.

The group underwent two MRI brain scans, the first within two days of the injury and the second within 16 days of wearing the cast or sling. The scans measured the amount of gray and white matter in the brain. Participants' motor skills, including arm-hand movements and wrist-finger speed, were also tested.

The study found that amount of gray and white matter in the left side of the brain decreased up to ten percent, while the amount of gray and white matter in the right side of the brain increased in size.

"We also saw improved motor skills in the left, non-injured hand, which directly related to an increase in thickness in the right side of the brain," said Langer. "These structural changes in the brain are associated with skill transfer from the right hand to the left hand."

Langer noted that the study did not look at whether the decreases would be permanent.

"Further studies should examine whether using a restraint for stroke patients is really a necessity for improving arm and hand movement," he said. "Our results also support the current trauma surgery guidelines stating that an injured arm or leg should be immobilized 'as short as possible, as long as necessary.'"

The study was supported by the National Center of Competence in Research and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/8zeng_ltSwY/120116200604.htm

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Kenya?s foray into Somalia sows seeds of backlash at home

As Kenya attempts to pacify the Islamist Al Shabab movement in Somalia, issues of poverty and security may go unaddressed back home, says?guest blogger Alex Thurston.

By most accounts, Kenya?s incursion into Somalia has succeeded militarily, as measured by Kenya?s goals of taking territory and inflicting casualties on the Muslim rebel movement Al Shabab. In a sense, the Kenyan advance has also succeeded politically: Kenya has gained some international legitimacy for its mission by moving to join the African Union forces there, a step the United Nations seems to be endorsing.

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But on other political fronts, seeds of a backlash are being sown.

For one thing, there is the question of radicalization inside Kenya. A wave of minor attacks have occurred in Kenya this winter, and Britain warned earlier this month that more attacks are on the way. A Kenyan Muslim organization now says it is officially representing Al Shabab in Kenya, reports the Associated Press:

The statement by the Kenya-based Muslim Youth Center came amid a flurry of warnings from embassies about planned terror attacks in Kenya. The Somali militant group al-Shabab has promised to attack Kenya for its decision to send troops to Somalia in October.

The Muslim Youth Center was named in a United Nations report last year for recruiting, fundraising, and running training and orientation events for al-Shabab. An official al-Shabab spokesman did not answer questions about whether the center now represents al-Shabab in Kenya, but a statement published on the center?s blog on Wednesday was unequivocal.

?There can be no doubt that Amiir Ahmad Iman Ali?s elevation to become the supreme Amiir of Kenya for al Shabaab is recognition from our Somali brothers who have fought tirelessly against the kuffar on the importance of the Kenyan mujahideen in Somalia,? the statement said.

The UN Monitoring Group report that the AP mentions can be found here.

Announcements of open support for al Shabab in Kenya not only increase fears of upcoming attacks, they also threaten to increase political tensions in Kenya. The large Somali community in Kenya has become a target of violence and repression by other groups and by authorities in the past. In a year when Kenya will hold a potentially tense election, where ethnic hatreds could flare up, increased religious tension will only make the situation more precarious.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/EwfWrdz7d0o/Kenya-s-foray-into-Somalia-sows-seeds-of-backlash-at-home

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