Early Saturday morning, well-known skateboarder Peter Starrs was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle near the 101-80 connector ramp in San Francisco. He was 24.
According to SFAppeal, Starrs crashed at about 12:30 a.m. and was ejected from the ramp to the surface street below. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, and investigators are researching what caused the accident.
Starrs had recently moved to San Francisco from Seattle where he was a fixture in the skateboarding scene. Upon news of his death, skateboarding blogs exploded with memorial posts for Starrs.
"Seattle lost one of its finest skaters and human beings," wrote Randomlife.
Many sites uploaded videos of Starrs skating in Seattle and San Francisco, along with words about Starrs, his life and his skateboarding style. "Skateboarder and friend Peter Starrs has passed away in a motorcycle accident," wrote skate shop GOODS on the company's blog. "His time here was cut short, but it was not taken for granted."
Preoperative aspirin therapy can benefit cardiac surgery patientsPublic release date: 5-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karen Finney karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9111 University of California - Davis Health System
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Aspirin taken within five days of cardiac surgery is associated with a significant decrease in the risk of major postoperative complications, including renal failure, a lengthy intensive care unit stay and even early death (30-day mortality), according to a study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and UC Davis Medical Center set to appear in the journal Annals of Surgery.
According to the study's authors, the findings are significant because despite remarkable progress in cardiac surgery, the number of major complications from cardiac surgery remains high.
"Therapies targeted to prevent or reduce major complications associated with cardiac surgery have been few and ineffective so far," said Jianzhong Sun, an anesthesiologist at Thomas Jefferson University and lead author of the study. "These complications are significant and costly both for the public health and the quality of patient life."
The study team evaluated the impact of preoperative aspirin on major outcomes in adults (total 4,256 consecutive patients) who had cardiac surgery -- mostly coronary artery bypass graft or valve surgery -- at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital or UC Davis Medical Center between 2001 and 2009. Among 2,868 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 1,923 took aspirin (about 81 to 325 mg daily) at least once within five days preceding their surgery versus 945 not taking aspirin (non-aspirin therapy).
The outcomes showed that preoperative aspirin therapy (vs. non-aspirin) is associated with a significant decrease in the risk for 30-day mortality, major adverse cardiocerebral events, postoperative renal failure and average time spent in the intensive care unit.
Beneficial effects of preoperative aspirin use found in the current study "are in line with our previous findings and findings from early postoperative aspirin studies," wrote Sun and colleagues in their paper.
"We know that aspirin can be lifesaving for patients who have experienced heart attacks," said Nilas Young, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UC Davis and a study co-author. "Now we know that this simple intervention can do the same for patients who undergo certain coronary surgeries. This outcome could lead to new preoperative treatment standards in cardiac medicine."
The researchers acknowledge that bleeding remains a concern with preoperative aspirin therapy. However, they said, in the current era of cardiac surgery, the potential for bleeding may be avoided by using antifibrinolytic therapy, which prevents the breakdown of clotting factors in the blood, and/or a low dose of aspirin.
"Overall, the outcome benefits provided by preoperative aspirin therapy may override its possible risk of excess bleeding in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, further studies are certainly needed to examine this potential side effect carefully," Sun and colleagues wrote.
Added Zvi Grunwald, chair of anesthesiology at Jefferson, "While we are excited that the study clearly showed that preoperative use of aspirin significantly reduced major complications and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, we do urge further study before recommending aspirin for cardiac surgery patients prior to surgery."
###
In addition to Sun and Young, study investigators included senior author Longhui Cao, Scott Silvestry, Will Sun and James Diehl of Thomas Jefferson University; Hong Lui of UC Davis; and Ning Zhao of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH) are dedicated to excellence in patient care, patient safety and the quality of the health-care experience. Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation's top hospitals, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, established in 1825, has over 900 licensed acute care beds with major programs in a wide range of clinical specialties. TJUH is one of the few hospitals in the U.S. that is both a level 1 trauma center and a federally-designated regional spinal cord injury center. TJUH patient care facilities include Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, the region's only dedicated hospital for neuroscience, Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia, and additional patient care facilities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. TJUH partners with its education affiliate, Thomas Jefferson University. For information, visit http://www.jeffersonhospital.org.
UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Calif., is a comprehensive academic medical center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health. Centers of excellence include the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Cancer Center; the region's only level 1 pediatric and adult trauma centers; the UC Davis MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders; and the UC Davis Children's Hospital. The medical center serves a 33-county, 65,000-square-mile area that stretches north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada. It further extends its reach through the award-winning telemedicine program, which gives remote, medically underserved communities throughout California unprecedented access to specialty and subspecialty care. For information, visit http://www.medicalcenter.ucdavis.edu.
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Preoperative aspirin therapy can benefit cardiac surgery patientsPublic release date: 5-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karen Finney karen.finney@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9111 University of California - Davis Health System
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Aspirin taken within five days of cardiac surgery is associated with a significant decrease in the risk of major postoperative complications, including renal failure, a lengthy intensive care unit stay and even early death (30-day mortality), according to a study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University and UC Davis Medical Center set to appear in the journal Annals of Surgery.
According to the study's authors, the findings are significant because despite remarkable progress in cardiac surgery, the number of major complications from cardiac surgery remains high.
"Therapies targeted to prevent or reduce major complications associated with cardiac surgery have been few and ineffective so far," said Jianzhong Sun, an anesthesiologist at Thomas Jefferson University and lead author of the study. "These complications are significant and costly both for the public health and the quality of patient life."
The study team evaluated the impact of preoperative aspirin on major outcomes in adults (total 4,256 consecutive patients) who had cardiac surgery -- mostly coronary artery bypass graft or valve surgery -- at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital or UC Davis Medical Center between 2001 and 2009. Among 2,868 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 1,923 took aspirin (about 81 to 325 mg daily) at least once within five days preceding their surgery versus 945 not taking aspirin (non-aspirin therapy).
The outcomes showed that preoperative aspirin therapy (vs. non-aspirin) is associated with a significant decrease in the risk for 30-day mortality, major adverse cardiocerebral events, postoperative renal failure and average time spent in the intensive care unit.
Beneficial effects of preoperative aspirin use found in the current study "are in line with our previous findings and findings from early postoperative aspirin studies," wrote Sun and colleagues in their paper.
"We know that aspirin can be lifesaving for patients who have experienced heart attacks," said Nilas Young, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UC Davis and a study co-author. "Now we know that this simple intervention can do the same for patients who undergo certain coronary surgeries. This outcome could lead to new preoperative treatment standards in cardiac medicine."
The researchers acknowledge that bleeding remains a concern with preoperative aspirin therapy. However, they said, in the current era of cardiac surgery, the potential for bleeding may be avoided by using antifibrinolytic therapy, which prevents the breakdown of clotting factors in the blood, and/or a low dose of aspirin.
"Overall, the outcome benefits provided by preoperative aspirin therapy may override its possible risk of excess bleeding in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Nonetheless, further studies are certainly needed to examine this potential side effect carefully," Sun and colleagues wrote.
Added Zvi Grunwald, chair of anesthesiology at Jefferson, "While we are excited that the study clearly showed that preoperative use of aspirin significantly reduced major complications and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, we do urge further study before recommending aspirin for cardiac surgery patients prior to surgery."
###
In addition to Sun and Young, study investigators included senior author Longhui Cao, Scott Silvestry, Will Sun and James Diehl of Thomas Jefferson University; Hong Lui of UC Davis; and Ning Zhao of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH) are dedicated to excellence in patient care, patient safety and the quality of the health-care experience. Consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the nation's top hospitals, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, established in 1825, has over 900 licensed acute care beds with major programs in a wide range of clinical specialties. TJUH is one of the few hospitals in the U.S. that is both a level 1 trauma center and a federally-designated regional spinal cord injury center. TJUH patient care facilities include Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, the region's only dedicated hospital for neuroscience, Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia, and additional patient care facilities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. TJUH partners with its education affiliate, Thomas Jefferson University. For information, visit http://www.jeffersonhospital.org.
UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Calif., is a comprehensive academic medical center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health. Centers of excellence include the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Cancer Center; the region's only level 1 pediatric and adult trauma centers; the UC Davis MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders; and the UC Davis Children's Hospital. The medical center serves a 33-county, 65,000-square-mile area that stretches north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada. It further extends its reach through the award-winning telemedicine program, which gives remote, medically underserved communities throughout California unprecedented access to specialty and subspecialty care. For information, visit http://www.medicalcenter.ucdavis.edu.
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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.
JERUSALEM?? Israel has cancelled government-sponsored television advertisements calling on expatriates to return, after some American Jews complained that the message denigrated their lifestyles.
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The spots, aired on Israeli channels that are often viewed by emigrants, featured dramatized scenes of Jewish assimilation in gentile settings. In one, an Israeli couple looks dismayed to hear their grandchild mention celebrating Christmas abroad.
"I don't think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for American Jews as obvious as these ads," wrote influential U.S. blogger Jeffrey Goldberg, in sentiments echoed by several American Jewish groups that lodged complaints.
The United States has the largest Jewish community outside Israel, and religious assimilation there is common. Israel looks to American Jews for support, but some in the community chafe at Israel's rightist tilt and strains in its ties with Washington.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the ads, produced by Israel's Immigration and Absorption Ministry, be yanked "immediately" upon hearing of the controversy they caused, his spokesman said on Saturday.
"The government of Israel is very attuned to the sensitivities of the American Jewish community," the spokesman, Mark Regev, said.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Supporters of Egyptian candidate for the parliamentary elections Mustafa Bakri, center, surround his car as they celebrate after he was able to win a seat in the first round in South Cairo's Helwan district, Egypt Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Partial results show the Muslim Brotherhood emerging as the biggest winner in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, and leaders of the once-banned Islamic group demanded to form the next government, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the ruling military. (AP Photo)
Supporters of Egyptian candidate for the parliamentary elections Mustafa Bakri, center, surround his car as they celebrate after he was able to win a seat in the first round in South Cairo's Helwan district, Egypt Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Partial results show the Muslim Brotherhood emerging as the biggest winner in Egypt's landmark parliamentary elections, and leaders of the once-banned Islamic group demanded to form the next government, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the ruling military. (AP Photo)
A banner supporting Egyptian parliamentary candidate Ahmed Abd El Hameed Mohammed is pasted on a wall in the al-Azhar quarter in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The fundamentalist Brotherhood is emerging as the biggest winner in partial results from the first voting this week in Egypt's landmark election, in which voters turned out in unexpected droves. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
T-shirts for sale are displayed in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Judges overseeing the vote count in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster say near-final results show Islamist parities taking a majority of seats contested in the first round. The Arabic writing on T-shirts read, "Jan. 25, Revolution, freedom." (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An Egyptian tobacco vendor waits for customers in the al-Azhar quarter in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The fundamentalist Brotherhood is emerging as the biggest winner in partial results from the first voting this week in Egypt's landmark election, in which voters turned out in unexpected droves. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Egyptians drink coffee and smoke water pipes in the al-Azhar quarter in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The fundamentalist Brotherhood is emerging as the biggest winner in partial results from the first voting this week in Egypt's landmark election, in which voters turned out in unexpected droves. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist party plans to push for a stricter religious code in Egypt after claiming surprisingly strong gains in the first round of parliamentary elections, a spokesman said Friday.
Final results are to be announced later on the day, but preliminary counts have been leaked by judges and individual political groups.
Islamists led by the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Salafists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster, a trend that if confirmed would give the religious parties a popular mandate in the struggle to win control from the ruling military and ultimately reshape a key U.S. ally.
Spokesman Yousseri Hamad says the Salafi Nour party expects to get 30 percent of the vote. Their party appeared to lead the polls in the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheik, in the rural area of Fayoum, which is known for high rates of illiteracy and poverty, and in parts of their longtime stronghold of Alexandria.
Hamad also said the party faced its toughest challenge in Cairo because of the small presence of Salafi supporters there.
The strong showing would put them in a strong position to influence policy, although it's unclear how much power the new parliament will have with the ruling generals still in power.
Hamad said that his party is willing to cooperate with the rest of secular, liberal and Islamist forces, "if it will serve the interest of the nation."
This week's vote, held in nine provinces, will determine about 30 percent of the 498 seats in the People's Assembly, parliament's lower house. Two more rounds, ending in January, will cover Egypt's other 18 provinces.
The new parliament, in theory, is tasked to select 100-member panel to draft Egypt's new constitution.
The Nour Party is the main political arm of the hard-line Salafi movement, which unlike the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood is a new player on Egypt's political scene.
Inspired by the Saudi-style Wahhabi school of thought, Salafists have long shunned the concept of democracy, saying it allows man's law to override God's. But they formed parties and entered politics after Hosni Mubarak's ouster to position themselves to make sure Sharia law is an integral part of Egypt's new constitution.
Salafi groups speak confidently about their ambition to turn Egypt into a state where personal freedoms, including freedom of speech, women's dress and art are constrained by Islamic sharia codes.
"In the land of Islam, I can't let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. It's God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong," Hamad said. "If God tells me you can drink whatever you want except for alcohol, you don't leave the million things permitted and ask about the prohibited."
The showing in Egypt ? long considered a linchpin of regional stability ? would be the clearest signal yet that parties and candidates connected to political Islam will emerge as the main beneficiaries of this year's Arab Spring uprisings.
Tunisia and Morocco have both elected Islamist majorities to parliament, and while Libya has yet to announce dates for its first elections, Islamist groups have emerged as a strong force there since rebels overthrew Moammar Gadhafi in August. They also play a strong opposition role in Yemen.
The best week for the stock market in more than two years ended with major indexes nearly unchanged Friday. A surprise drop in the U.S. unemployment rate sent stocks higher in early trading, but the gains fizzled throughout the afternoon. European stock indexes and the euro rose after German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a speech pushing for tighter rules on government spending.
The Dow ended the week up 7 percent, the largest weekly gain since July 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.61, or less than 0.1 percent, to close at 12,019.42.
The S&P 500 index slipped 0.31, less than 0.1 percent, to 1,244.28.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.73, less than 0.1 percent, to 2,626.93
For the week to date:
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 787.64 points, or 7 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 85.61, or 7.4 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index is up 185.42, or 7.6 percent.
NEW YORK ? Sprint Nextel Corp. is mending fences with independent subsidiary Clearwire Corp., pledging Thursday to use the data network Clearwire is planning to build and to participate if the company raises more capital.
The announcement is a lifeline for Clearwire, which is struggling financially. It's using a network technology called WiMax that has been bypassed by all phone companies except Sprint, and lacks the funding to upgrade to the industry's standard technology.
Clearwire shares climbed 43 cents, or 24.2 percent, to $2.21 in midday trading. The stock has been very volatile this year, as investors have followed the blow-by-blow of Clearwire's tempestuous relationship with Sprint.
Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint owns 54 percent of Kirkland, Wash.-based Clearwire, but doesn't have voting control. Sprint now resells access to Clearwire's WiMax network as "Sprint 4G."
Two months ago, Sprint made clear that it had no plans to keep selling WiMax-compatible devices after the end of next year, and it said nothing about using the new network Clearwire is planning. That sent Clearwire shares crashing.
On Thursday, Sprint said it will collaborate with Clearwire Corp. on building the new network and expects to sell phones that can use it, starting in 2013. It will pay up to $350 million in advance for network capacity if Clearwire meets certain buildout goals.
Clearwire will still need more funding for the network. Sprint said it would participate in a share offering, buying shares worth up to $347 million to maintain its stake in the company.
Also Thursday, Clearwire said it's made $237 million in interest payments that were due Thursday on its debt. The Wall Street Journal had reported two weeks ago that the company was considering whether to delay the payments.
Sprint also said it's paying Clearwire $926 million for unlimited use of its WiMax network in 2012 and 2013, and intends to establish a usage-based contract for 2014 and beyond.
Sprint is upgrading its own network to use the same technology Clearwire is planning to use, dubbed LTE, for Long-Term Evolution. It has also struck a deal to collaborate with privately funded startup LightSquared on its LTE network. That network, however, is being held up by concerns that it will interfere with GPS navigation devices.
Given that Sprint is building its own network, analysts believe it will minimize Clearwire's role over time, despite Thursday's announcement. That leaves "Clearwire's strategic role in doubt long-term," said Michael Nelson at Mizuho Securities.
Sprint shares fell 1 cent to $2.69 in morning trading.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The United States on Wednesday criticized China for backing away from free market reforms and moving toward more state control of its economy as Beijing approaches the tenth anniversary of its entry into the World Trade Organization.
"China seems to be embracing state capitalism more strongly each year, rather than continuing to move toward the economic reform goals that originally drove its pursuit of WTO membership," U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Michael Punke said in remarks delivered in Geneva and made available in Washington.
"This is a troubling development, and the United States urges the Chinese government to reconsider the path it is on," Punke said.
His comments were part of a tenth and final review of how well China has honored commitments it made to join the WTO, which became official on December 11, 2001.
They follow recent testy exchanges, with President Barack Obama bluntly urging China to act more like a "grown up" economy and Beijing pledging to fight what it sees as U.S. protectionism in the green sector.
China's Defense Ministry on Wednesday also criticized the United States and Australia for upgrading their military ties, warning such steps could undermine trust and reflected Cold War thinking.
In the 10 years since joining the WTO, China has surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest economy after the United States. Its growth has presented a challenge to U.S. global leadership, already tarnished by an unpopular war in Iraq and burdened by a mountain of government debt.
Punke acknowledged that "China took impressive steps" during the first five years after joining the WTO to bring its laws and regulations into line with global rules and that led to a dramatic expansion in trade with the rest of the world.
But "the overall picture presented by China's first 10 years of WTO membership remains complex, given a troubling trend in China toward intensified state intervention in the Chinese economy over the last five years," Punke said.
"Increasingly, trade frictions with China can be traced to China's pursuit of industrial policies that rely on trade-distorting government actions to promote or protect China's state-owned enterprises and domestic industries," he added.
China's ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights and selective use of border measures to encourage or discourage exports continue to raise concerns among many of its trade partners, as do policies that prevent U.S. manufacturers, farmers and service companies from doing more business there, Punke said.
He noted the United States has already brought 12 cases against China at WTO for what it believed were rule violations and has won on many of the complaints.
Punke also highlighted what he called China's apparent habit of retaliating against "legitimate actions taken by the United States or other trading partners under their trade remedies laws."
"This type of conduct is at odds with fundamental principles of the WTO's rules-based system," Punke said.
He did not give an example, but Beijing has responded to an unfair trade complaint brought by U.S. solar panel producers against China by initiating its own probe into U.S. government policy and subsidy support for renewable energy.
In a separate speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the United States would continue to press China to honor its WTO commitments, but did not signal any new specific new case on the horizon.
"We very much welcome China's economic growth, especially right now. The world very much welcomes a healthy China, a healthy Brazil but we just want to make sure that our producers have far access to their markets," Kirk said.
(Reporting by Doug Palmer, editing by Anthony Boadle)
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Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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