Apr. 9, 2013 ? Hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, is the primary cause of heart disease. It is caused by calcium accumulation in the blood vessels, which leads to arteries becoming narrow and stiff, obstructing blood flow and leading to heart complications. Although many risk factors for atherosclerosis have been identified, the cause is not known and there is currently no way to reverse it once it sets in. In a new study published 9th April in the open access journal PLOS Biology, researchers have characterized the cells responsible for driving this calcium build-up in vessel walls.
The process of calcium accumulation in blood vessels resembles bone formation and involves maintaining a balance between bone-forming cells called osteoblasts and bone-destroying cells called osteoclasts. In the new study, Hyo-Soo Kim and colleagues characterize the origin of a population of vascular calcifying progenitor cells, and the potential of these cells to differentiate into different cell types.
"We show that vascular calcifying progenitor cells in the artery have the potential to become either osteoblasts or osteoclasts," said Dr Kim of Seoul National University. "And a certain chemical can push these cells towards becoming osteoclasts, which leads to the softening of the blood vessels."
The researchers sorted cells from the aortas of mice into two groups. Both groups originated from bone marrow and expressed a cell surface protein, called Sca-1, but only one group expressed another cell surface protein called PDGFR?. They found that the cells which only expressed Sca-1 could become either osteoblasts or osteoclasts, whereas the cells which expressed both Sca-1 and PDGFR? were committed to an osteoblastic lineage.
The team then treated the cells with a protein called PPAR?, which is known to promote the formation of osteoclasts and inhibit the formation of osteoblasts. When treated with PPAR?, only Sca-1 expressed cells preferentially differentiated into osteoclast-like cells. Furthermore, in vivo study demonstrated that, while bidirectional cells that were injected into mouse models of atherosclerosis increased the severity of calcium build-up in arteries, cells that were then treated with a drug activating PPAR? markedly decreased this effect and even reversed the calcification.
"These findings suggest that a subtype of calcifying progenitor cells offer a new therapeutic target for the prevention of calcification," said Dr Kim. "This opens up the possibility of new drug development to inhibit the hardening of the arteries, and thereby reduce the risk of heart disease."
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This morning, payments startup Ribbon announced support for "in-stream" payments on Twitter.com, allowing users to click a button directly within a tweet in order to make a purchase without having to leave the Twitter.com website. However, it appears that Twitter has already shut this feature down - almost immediately after its public debut.
Morocco takes part in ?Mundo Abreu? Travel Fair which opened on Saturday in Lisbon, Portugal with the participation of over 260 exhibitors representing more than 85 countries and promising to cater to everyone?s vacation tastes.
On a stand of 100 m2 constructed by the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT), visitors can find the necessary information on the richness and diversity of tourist potentialities of the different regions of the Kingdom.
Thanks to the support of the national airline ?Royal Air Morocco,? Morocco?s exposition in Lisbon allows visitors access to all information and documents on multiple tourist offers in Morocco through posters, CDs, and publications touting the charm and attractions of tours of Morocco, the beauty of its nature and its imperial cities etc.
?Our participation in this exhibition is a valuable promotional opportunity for Morocco to reveal the richness and diversity of its tourism potentialities and conquer potential buyers by making them absorb the culture and flavors of the kingdom of Morocco which wants to become one of the best world tourist destinations,? said the representative of the Moroccan National Office of Tourism in Lisbon, Abdellatif Achachi in a statement to MAP.
?Portugal is also a platform for conquering important markets in Latin America, including Brazil,? added Achachi, noting that the number of Brazilian tourists in Morocco is remarkably increasing.
Organized by Abreu, the largest Portuguese tour operator, on a covered area of ??10,000 m2, this two days fair is an important platform for meetings between professionals involved in the development of tourism and an opportunity for partners to coordinate their sales and enhance the prospects for the development of new tourist destinations.
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The small, faint constellation Cancer is rich in open clusters and double stars.
By Joe Rao Space.com
The dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab, high toward the south during the mid-to-late evening hours recently, is the least conspicuous of the 12 zodiacal constellations.
Aside from being in the Zodiac, Cancer is probably noteworthy only because it contains one of the brightest galactic star clusters in the sky. It appears to the eye as a fuzzy patch of light, but binoculars will reveal its stellar nature.?
But what to call it? Some astronomy texts speak of "Praesepe, the Manger," while others simply call this cluster the "Beehive."
A manger is defined as "a trough in which feed for donkeys is placed." The cluster was apparently first called Praesepe 20 centuries ago. Perhaps the older designation Praesepe is preferable since in the middle of Cancer are two stars called the Aselli ("donkeys") known for over 2,000 years as Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis ? the northern and southern colts ? feeding from a manger. [Night Sky?Observing Guide:?April?2013 (Sky Maps)]
Galileo first resolved Praesepe into individual stars (36 of them) in 1610. More than 100 stars can be seen in binoculars or a small telescope, and they seem to be spread out over an area about three times the apparent diameter of the moon.?
The cluster's relatively new moniker, Beehive, apparently evolved almost four centuries ago, when some anonymous person, upon seeing so many stars revealed in one of the first crude telescopes exclaimed,? "It looks just like a swarm of bees!" Hence, some astronomy books call the cluster Beehive, while others still call it Praesepe.??
Celestial weather forecaster Interestingly, Praesepe was also used in medieval times to forecast the weather. It was one of the very few clusters that was mentioned in antiquity.?
Aratus (around 260 B.C.) and Hipparchus (about 130 B.C.) called it the "Little Mist" or "Little Cloud." But Aratus also noted that on those occasions when the sky was seemingly clear, but Praesepe was invisible, this meant a storm was approaching.?
Of course, we know today that prior to the arrival of any unsettled weather maker, high, thin cirrus clouds (composed of ice crystals) begin to appear in the sky. Such clouds are thin enough to dim the sun, moon and brighter stars only slightly, but apparently just opaque enough to hide a dim patch of light like Praesepe.
Crushed Crab Because it contains no star brighter than 4th magnitude, the Crab is difficult, if not impossible, to see under a light-polluted sky.?
Cancer is essentially a Greek creation. This creeping creature was sent by Zeus' jealous wife Hera to fatally bite Hercules, Zeus's son from his liaison with Alcmene. The crab arrived just as Hercules was slaying the multiheaded Hydra, one of his assigned 12 "labors."?
Cancer's bite was no more than a mere annoyance to Hercules, who crushed the crab under his heel. Infuriated, Hera banished the hapless sea creature to the heavens as one of the most inconspicuous constellations. Furthermore, nearby, directly under the Crab we find the head (and only one head) of the Hydra.
To the Egyptians, Cancer was Scarabaeus, a sacred insect who was charged with rolling the sun across the sky. Roughly 3,000 years ago, the point in the sky marking the position of the June solstice lay very close to Praesepe. But thanks to precession ? the "wobble" that the Earth's axis describes over an interval of 25,800 years ? the solstice point has shifted out of constellation Cancer?and is now located in the adjacent constellation of Gemini, having apparently slid backward toward the west over the last three millennia.?
The crab is a creature that can go in one direction as well as another, so it seems only fitting that this part of the sky where the sun has seemingly reversed its direction at the beginning of summer has since been dedicated to this animal.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, N.Y. Follow us?@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on?Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? U.N. experts are poised to move into Syria within 24 hours to investigate reported chemical weapons attacks in the country's civil war, but President Bashar Assad's government still has not given them the green light to enter the country, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.
Ban told reporters in The Hague that an advance team is already waiting at a final staging post on Cyprus, while the U.N. negotiates "technical and legal" issues with Damascus.
All reports of chemical attacks "should be examined without delay, without conditions and without exceptions," Ban said.
His comments appeared aimed at increasing pressure on Assad's regime and ensuring that U.N. inspectors are given access to all sites of reported chemical weapons attacks and not just those Damascus wants them to see.
Ban said it is "a matter of principle" to investigate all allegations and not just a case in which Syria alleges that rebels used poison gas.
"I am hopeful we will be able to finish this as soon as possible, and I urge the Syrian government to be more flexible so this commission can be deployed as soon as possible," Ban said. "We are ready."
Syria asked the United Nations last month to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack by rebels on March 19 on Khan al-Assal village in northern Aleppo province. The rebels blamed regime forces for the attack.
Britain and France followed up by asking the U.N. chief to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in two locations in Khan al-Assal and the village of Ataybah in the vicinity of Damascus, all on March 19, as well as in Homs on Dec. 23.
Ban was speaking at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, which is sending a team of 15 experts to join the commission, along with World Health Organization staff.
The team is led by Ake Sellstrom, a Swedish professor who was a U.N. chemical weapons inspector in Iraq and now works at a research institute that deals with chemical incidents. Ban said he spoke to Sellstrom on Sunday night and he was now heading to join the advance party in Cyprus.
Syria is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons, but it is one of only eight countries in the world that have not signed up to the chemical weapons convention, which means that it does not have to report any chemical weapons to the Hague-based organization that monitors compliance with the treaty.
Ban said the experts need to get to Syria as soon as possible to investigate the attacks.
"The longer we wait, the harder this essential mission will be," he said.
Apr. 5, 2013 ? The world's first clinical trial to explore the use of the hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms to treat depression is being delayed due to the UK and EU rules on the use of illegal drugs in research.
Professor David Nutt, president of the British Neuroscience Association and Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London (UK), will tell the BNA's Festival of Neuroscience today (Sunday) that although the UK's Medical Research Council has awarded a grant for the trial, the Government's regulations controlling the licensing of illegal drugs in research and the EU's guidelines on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) have stalled the start of the trial, which was expected to start this year. He is calling for a change to the regulations.
He will tell the meeting at the Barbican in London, that his research has shown that psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms, has the potential to alleviate severe forms of depression in people who have failed to respond fully to other anti-depressant treatments. However, psilocybin is illegal in the UK; the United Nations 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances classifies it as a Schedule 1 drug, one that has a high potential for abuse with no recognised medical use, and the UK has classified it as a Class A drug, the classification used for the most dangerous drugs. This means that a special licence has to be obtained to use magic mushrooms in research in the UK, and the manufacture of a synthetic form of psilocybin for use in patients is tightly controlled by EU regulations.
Prof Nutt will say: "The law for the control of drugs like psilocybin as a Schedule 1 Class A drug makes it almost impossible to use them for research and the reason we haven't started the study is because finding companies who could manufacture the drug and who are prepared to go through the regulatory hoops to get the licence, which can take up to a year and triple the price, is proving very difficult. The whole situation is bedevilled by this primitive, old-fashioned attitude that Schedule 1 drugs could never have therapeutic potential, and so they have to be made impossible to access."
"The knock-on effect is this profound impairment of research. We are the first people ever to have done a psilocybin study in the UK, but we are still hunting for a company that can manufacture the drug to GMP standards for the clinical trial, even though we've been trying for a year to find one. We live in a world of insanity in terms of regulating drugs at present. The whole field is so bogged down by these intransient regulations, so that even if you have a good idea, you may never get it into the clinic."
He will say that the regulations need to be changed. "Even if I do this study and I show it's a really useful treatment for some people with depression, there's only four hospitals in this country that have a licence to hold this drug, so you couldn't roll out the treatment if it worked because the regulations would make it difficult to use," he said.
Prof Nutt and his team at Imperial College London (UK) have shown that when healthy volunteers are injected with psilocybin, the drug switched off a front part of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex, which is known from previous imaging studies to be over-active in depression. "We found that, even in normal people, the more that part of the brain was switched off under the influence of the drug, the better they felt two weeks later. So there was a relationship between that transient switching off of the brain circuit and their subsequent mood," he will explain. "This is the basis on which we want to run the trial, because this is what you want to do in depression: you want to switch off that over-active part of the brain.
"The other thing we discovered is that the major site of action of the magic mushrooms is to turn down a circuit in the brain called the 'default mode network', which the anterior cingulate cortex is part of. The default mode network is a part of the brain between the front and back. It is active when you are thinking about you; it coordinates the thinking and emotional aspects of you."
The researchers discovered that the 'default mode network' had the highest density of 5HT2A receptors in the brain. These are known to be involved in depression and are the targets for a number of existing anti-depressive drugs that aim to improve levels of serotonin -- the neurotransmitter [1] that gives people a sense of well-being and happiness. Psilocybin also acts on these receptors.
"We have found that people with depression have over-active default mode networks, and they are continually locked into a mode of thinking about themselves. So they ruminate on themselves, on their incompetencies, on their badness, that they're worthless, that they've failed; these things are not true, and sometimes they reach delusional levels. This negative rumination may be due to a lack of serotonin and what psilocybin is doing is going in and rapidly replacing the missing serotonin, switching them back into a mind state where they are less ruminating and less depressed," Prof Nutt will say.
The proposed trial will be for patients with depression who have failed two previous treatments for the condition. Thirty patients will be given a synthetic form of psilocybin and 30 patients will be given a placebo. The drug (or placebo) will be given during two, possibly three, carefully controlled and prepared 30-60 minute sessions. The first session will be a low dose to check there are no adverse responses, the second session will give a higher, therapeutic dose, and then patients can have a third, booster dose in a later session if it's considered necessary. While they are under the influence of the drug, the patients will have guided talking therapy to enable them to explore their negative thinking and issues that are troubling them. The doctors will follow up the patients for at least a year.
"What we are trying to do is to tap into the reservoir of under-researched 'illegal' drugs to see if we can find new and beneficial uses for them in people whose lives are often severely affected by illnesses such as depression. The current legislation is stopping the benefits of these drugs being explored and for the last 40 years we have missed really interesting opportunities to help patients."
Ethical approval for the trial was granted in March and Prof Nutt says he hopes to be able to start the trial within the next six months -- so long as he can find a manufacturer for the drug.
[1] Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals from neurons (nerve cells) to target cells.
[2] Funding: The Beckley Foundation has funded part of Prof Nutt's research, and the Medical Research Council has agreed a grant for the proposed clinical trial.
Abstract title: "Can we use psychedelic drugs to treat depressions?" Symposium: "Treating depression with antidepressants: where are we now and where are we going?"
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Contact: Francis Reddy francis.j.reddy@nasa.gov 301-286-4453 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from the Japan-led Suzaku satellite. The findings will help astronomers better understand the diversity of type Ia supernovae, an important class of stellar explosion used in probing the distant universe.
"The composition of the star, its environment, and the mechanism of the explosion may vary considerably among type Ia supernovae," said Sangwook Park, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington. "By better understanding them, we can fine-tune our knowledge of the universe beyond our galaxy and improve cosmological models that depend on those measurements."
The best way to explore the star's makeup is to perform a kind of post-mortem examination on the shell of hot, rapidly expanding gas produced by the explosion. By identifying specific chemical signatures in the supernova remnant, astronomers can obtain a clearer picture of the composition of the star before it blew up.
"Kepler's supernova is one of the most recent type Ia explosions known in our galaxy, so it represents an essential link to improving our knowledge of these events," said Carles Badenes, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Using the Suzaku satellite's X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), the astronomers observed the remnant of Kepler's supernova in 2009 and 2011. With a total effective XIS exposure of more than two weeks, the X-ray spectrum reveals several faint emission features from highly ionized chromium, manganese and nickel in addition to a bright emission line from iron. The detection of all four elements was crucial for understanding the original star.
"Suzaku's XIS instrument is uniquely suited to this type of study thanks to its excellent energy resolution, high sensitivity and low background noise," said team member Koji Mori, an associate professor of applied physics at the University of Miyazaki, Japan.
Cosmologists regard type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" because they release similar amounts of energy. By comparing this standard to the observed peak brightness of a type Ia supernova, astronomers can pin down its distance. Their similarity stems from the fact that the exploding star is always a compact stellar remnant known as a white dwarf.
Although a white dwarf star is perfectly stable on its own, pair it with another white dwarf or a normal star and the situation eventually may turn volatile. The normal star may transfer gas onto the white dwarf, where it gradually accumulates. Or the orbits of binary white dwarfs may shrink until the two objects merge.
Either way, once a white dwarf begins tipping the scales at around 1.4 times the sun's mass, a supernova soon follows. Somewhere within the white dwarf, carbon nuclei begin merging together, forming heavier elements and releasing a vast amount of energy. This wave of nuclear fusion rapidly propagates throughout the star, ultimately shattering it in a brilliant explosion that can be detected billions of light-years away.
Astronomers can track some details of the white dwarf's composition by determining the abundance of certain trace elements, such as manganese, that formed during the explosion. Specifically, the ratio of manganese to chromium produced by the explosion turns out to be sensitive to the presence of a neutron-rich version of neon, called neon-22. Establishing the star's neon-22 content gives scientists a guide to the abundance of all other elements heavier than helium, which astronomers call "metals."
The findings provide strong evidence that the original white dwarf possessed roughly three times the amount of metals found in the sun. Progressive stellar generations seed interstellar gas with increasing proportions of metals. The remnant, which lies about 23,000 light-years away toward the constellation Ophiuchus, lies much closer to our galaxy's crowded central region than the sun does. There, star formation was probably more rapid and efficient. As a result, the star that blazed forth as Kepler's supernova likely formed out of material that already was enriched with a higher fraction of metals.
Park, Badenes, Mori and their colleagues discuss the findings in a paper scheduled for publication in the April 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters and now available online.
While the Suzaku results do not directly address which type of binary system triggered the supernova, they indicate that the white dwarf was probably no more than a billion years old when it exploded, or less than a quarter of the sun's current age.
"Theories indicate that the star's age and metal content affect the peak luminosity of type Ia supernovae," Park explained. "Younger stars likely produce brighter explosions than older ones, which is why understanding the spread of ages among type Ia supernovae is so important."
In 2011, astrophysicists from the United States and Australia won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is picking up speed, a conclusion based on measurements of type Ia supernovae. An enigmatic force called dark energy appears to be responsible for this acceleration, and understanding its nature is now a top science goal. Recent findings by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite reveal that dark energy makes up 68 percent of the universe.
Launched on July 10, 2005, Suzaku was developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), which is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with NASA and other Japanese and U.S. institutions.
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Contact: Francis Reddy francis.j.reddy@nasa.gov 301-286-4453 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
An exploding star observed in 1604 by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler held a greater fraction of heavy elements than the sun, according to an analysis of X-ray observations from the Japan-led Suzaku satellite. The findings will help astronomers better understand the diversity of type Ia supernovae, an important class of stellar explosion used in probing the distant universe.
"The composition of the star, its environment, and the mechanism of the explosion may vary considerably among type Ia supernovae," said Sangwook Park, an assistant professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington. "By better understanding them, we can fine-tune our knowledge of the universe beyond our galaxy and improve cosmological models that depend on those measurements."
The best way to explore the star's makeup is to perform a kind of post-mortem examination on the shell of hot, rapidly expanding gas produced by the explosion. By identifying specific chemical signatures in the supernova remnant, astronomers can obtain a clearer picture of the composition of the star before it blew up.
"Kepler's supernova is one of the most recent type Ia explosions known in our galaxy, so it represents an essential link to improving our knowledge of these events," said Carles Badenes, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh.
Using the Suzaku satellite's X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), the astronomers observed the remnant of Kepler's supernova in 2009 and 2011. With a total effective XIS exposure of more than two weeks, the X-ray spectrum reveals several faint emission features from highly ionized chromium, manganese and nickel in addition to a bright emission line from iron. The detection of all four elements was crucial for understanding the original star.
"Suzaku's XIS instrument is uniquely suited to this type of study thanks to its excellent energy resolution, high sensitivity and low background noise," said team member Koji Mori, an associate professor of applied physics at the University of Miyazaki, Japan.
Cosmologists regard type Ia supernovae as "standard candles" because they release similar amounts of energy. By comparing this standard to the observed peak brightness of a type Ia supernova, astronomers can pin down its distance. Their similarity stems from the fact that the exploding star is always a compact stellar remnant known as a white dwarf.
Although a white dwarf star is perfectly stable on its own, pair it with another white dwarf or a normal star and the situation eventually may turn volatile. The normal star may transfer gas onto the white dwarf, where it gradually accumulates. Or the orbits of binary white dwarfs may shrink until the two objects merge.
Either way, once a white dwarf begins tipping the scales at around 1.4 times the sun's mass, a supernova soon follows. Somewhere within the white dwarf, carbon nuclei begin merging together, forming heavier elements and releasing a vast amount of energy. This wave of nuclear fusion rapidly propagates throughout the star, ultimately shattering it in a brilliant explosion that can be detected billions of light-years away.
Astronomers can track some details of the white dwarf's composition by determining the abundance of certain trace elements, such as manganese, that formed during the explosion. Specifically, the ratio of manganese to chromium produced by the explosion turns out to be sensitive to the presence of a neutron-rich version of neon, called neon-22. Establishing the star's neon-22 content gives scientists a guide to the abundance of all other elements heavier than helium, which astronomers call "metals."
The findings provide strong evidence that the original white dwarf possessed roughly three times the amount of metals found in the sun. Progressive stellar generations seed interstellar gas with increasing proportions of metals. The remnant, which lies about 23,000 light-years away toward the constellation Ophiuchus, lies much closer to our galaxy's crowded central region than the sun does. There, star formation was probably more rapid and efficient. As a result, the star that blazed forth as Kepler's supernova likely formed out of material that already was enriched with a higher fraction of metals.
Park, Badenes, Mori and their colleagues discuss the findings in a paper scheduled for publication in the April 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters and now available online.
While the Suzaku results do not directly address which type of binary system triggered the supernova, they indicate that the white dwarf was probably no more than a billion years old when it exploded, or less than a quarter of the sun's current age.
"Theories indicate that the star's age and metal content affect the peak luminosity of type Ia supernovae," Park explained. "Younger stars likely produce brighter explosions than older ones, which is why understanding the spread of ages among type Ia supernovae is so important."
In 2011, astrophysicists from the United States and Australia won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery that the expansion of the universe is picking up speed, a conclusion based on measurements of type Ia supernovae. An enigmatic force called dark energy appears to be responsible for this acceleration, and understanding its nature is now a top science goal. Recent findings by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite reveal that dark energy makes up 68 percent of the universe.
Launched on July 10, 2005, Suzaku was developed at the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), which is part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with NASA and other Japanese and U.S. institutions.
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All Critics (75) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (8)
The final shot, with windshield wipers struggling to clean away a torrent of muddy water, suggests that no human agency is great enough to handle this world's misery.
"Beyond the Hills" seethes with astonishment and rage at a broken society marooned between the 21st century and the 16th.
It is a haunting movie, dealing with superstitions, possession, even exorcism, one in which Mungiu poses no easy answers, because there are none to be found.
If you long for the bleak intelligence of an Ingmar Bergman film, where humankind is deeply flawed and God is indifferently silent and the landscape is cloaked in perpetual winter, then Beyond the Hills promises to be your cup of despair.
There are no easy villains or heroes in this sad and slow but forcefully told tale, which exhibits the same humanity Mungiu brought to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, his abortion drama that won the 2007 Palme d'Or.
A film that asks its viewer to consider the nature of good and evil, love and trust - and trust that turns into something like blind faith.
What makes this movie unique is that it holds literally everyone in the film accountable for the unfortunate goings on.
It's an exorcism movie for everyone who thought, after Mungiu's gruelling abortion buddy-movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, that this guy should do an exorcism movie
It's an enigmatic and austere film from a region where political, sexual and religious repression are as stifling as the sooty air.
Mungui's rigorous approach to filmmaking isn't a ton of fun to watch, but his ideas stick with you.
It delivers an emotional punch, in what its director has called a story about the sin of indifference.
Such is the rigorous and high-minded nature of Romanian cinema that even a real-life exorcism story can inspire something loftier than a horror movie.
Heartbreak at a Romanian convent
...Cristian Mungiu has taken a real life event...to consider deeply human philosophies such as freedom vs. discipline, love vs. security, the choices facing those without financial recourse and the hypocrisies of organized religions.
I found it riveting to watch and fascinating to think about afterwards.
An undeniably tough watch.
Stark, deadpan, and darkly dry.
With this viscerally involving drama, acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) tells another strikingly original story of women caught between old and new world beliefs.
Mungiu is not preaching - he is telling us what can happen when people are trapped within their own emotions and circumstances. Remarkable.
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Friday, April 5?A three-member fact-finding panel is expected to submit its findings and recommendations on Monday, April 8, Ramona Unified Superintendent Robert Graeff said today. The report will detail the issues that have thus far hindered a contract settlement between the Ramona Unified School District and Ramona Teachers Association, he said.
The report, submitted to both parties, outlines the panel?s observations and conclusions, drawn from two days of presentations by the district and RTA on Feb. 27-28. While not binding, its recommendations are intended to help move the parties closer to a settlement after 18 months of negotiations and mediation sessions.
District? trustees will have 10 days following the release to make the report?s findings public, said Graeff, noting that the specific date will be announced shortly.
Meanwhile, Graeff said district schools will continue to operate fully under normal conditions.
?We also continue to be hopeful that we can reach a settlement with the union that is both fair to our teachers and financially responsible to the district and our taxpayers,? Graeff said.
For related story, see ?Ramona school district braces for strike,? posted Wednesday, April 3.
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FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2013 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey takes part in news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. Dempsey traveled to Afghanistan Saturday, April 6, 2013 to meet U.S. and allied commanders and consult with Afghan officials on winding down the war. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2013 file photo, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey takes part in news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. Dempsey traveled to Afghanistan Saturday, April 6, 2013 to meet U.S. and allied commanders and consult with Afghan officials on winding down the war. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) ? A weekend visit to Afghanistan by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is aimed at assessing the type and level of additional training that U.S. troops could provide to Afghan defense forces after 2014.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, who arrived at Bagram Air Field on Saturday after an overnight flight, said that assessment will inform U.S. decisions about how many American troops should remain after the U.S. and NATO combat role ends in December 2014.
The U.S. is expected to keep between 9,000 and 10,000 in a residual force, but no final decision has been made.
Dempsey was expected to meet with U.S. and allied commanders, including the new overall commander of coalition forces, Gen. Joseph Dunford. He also planned to meet with Afghan officials and talk with soldiers in the field.
Dempsey said Friday in Stuttgart, Germany, that he would like to see how Afghan forces perform this summer before determining the size of a residual U.S. force. There are now about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from a 2010 peak of about 100,000.
Among the key issues for Dempsey is the pacing of U.S. troop withdrawals this year and next, as well as the rate of improvement among Afghan security forces.
By Julia Appleby, Kaiser Health News. This story was produced in collaboration with USA Today
It?s not just sore throats and flu shots anymore. Walgreens today became the first retail store chain to expand its health care services to include diagnosing and treating patients for chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high cholesterol.
The move is the retail industry?s boldest push yet into an area long controlled by physicians, and comes amid continuing concerns about health care costs and a potential shortage of primary care doctors.
?Those two words, diagnosis and treatment, are big words. They show [Walgreens] is coming out of the closet and saying we really are going to do primary care now,? said Tom Charland, chief executive officer of Merchant Medicine, a health care consulting firm.
Other retail store clinics, such as those at Walmart, CVS and Target stores, help customers manage chronic illnesses but generally do so only after they have been diagnosed elsewhere. More than a year ago,?Walmart outlined plans to provide primary care in a leaked confidential document ? but then appeared to back away from the idea.
Walgreens officials say they will have nurse practitioners and physician assistants at more than 300 Take Care Clinics in 18 states and the District of Columbia to do tests and make diagnoses ? and also write prescriptions, refer patients for additional tests and help them manage their conditions.
?We?re not trying to take over primary care, but we think we can help support physicians and transform the way care is delivered to provide more access points at a time when people need it the most,? said Heather Helle, a division vice president at Walgreens.
But?that offer was not welcomed by the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, who said it is more difficult to manage patients? care if they are treated in various settings ? and that the clinics may not have some specialty services needed to treat those with complex diseases.
?It ends up being riskier for patients and costlier for the country,? said AAFP President Jeffrey Cain, a family doctor in Denver.
Helle said that in a perfect world all patients would have their own primary care doctors, ?but, in reality, they simply do not.?
She said physicians will help oversee Walgreens? clinics ? and the clinics can transmit test results and other information electronically to doctors? offices. She noted that clinics could help people find doctors too.? Many would have an affiliation or other link with the stores? clinics.
Retail clinics generally appeal to consumers looking for convenience and cost savings.? Costs are roughly 30 percent to 40 percent less than similar care at doctor?s offices and 80 percent cheaper than at an emergency room,?according to a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
At Walgreens, services will range from about $65 to $122 and will be offered in all Take Care Clinics except in Missouri, where state laws restrict services provided by non-physicians, the company said.
Walgreens? move puts it in the potentially lucrative business of treating customers with long-term medical problems, which often require prescription drugs or other supplies that could be purchased at its stores.
Expanding services to diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions that affect millions of Americans is a logical step, because the clinics can not only grow their own business, but also partner with hospitals and doctors? groups to gain new customers, said Ronald L. Hammerle, president of Health Resources, a Florida consulting firm.
?Everyone is trying to figure out how to get into that space,? he said. ?The sophisticated player recognizes that whoever controls point of entry [to health services] manages the downstream referral business.?
In addition to its in-store clinics, Walgreens runs about 350 health clinics at worksites, which are paid for by employers. The retailer also has a program to link patients leaving hospitals with Take Care Clinics and Walgreens pharmacies.
At least one physicians? group that had been briefed on the expanded clinics took a more conciliatory stance to the retailer?s announcement.
?We understand retail clinics are here to stay and likely to be expanding,? said Steven Weinberger, executive vice president of the American College of Physicians. ?We need to figure out how the patient can be best served ? in terms of safety, access and communication with the primary care physicians.?
Photos: Clinic sign, Steve Mencher;?stethoscope, JD Lasica via Flickr;?
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Clayton Blackburn pitched five shutout innings, Mac Williamson had three hits including a home run, and the San Jose Giants held off host Visalia 8-7 in a California League Single-A season opener Thursday.
Williamson had an RBI double in a four-run first, a solo homer in the fifth and a single in a three-run seventh. The outfielder was a third-round draft pick in 2012 out of Wake Forest.
Blackburn, a 16th-round pick in 2011 from Edmond, Okla., allowed two hits and struck out six.
Colleges
The championship series of the College Basketball Invitational is down to a winner-take-all third game. Santa Clara (25-12) couldn't close out the series in Game 2, falling 73-66 at George Mason (22-15) on Wednesday. Game 3 on Friday will be in the 10,000-seat Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Tipoff is 4 p.m. (Pacific). AXS TV and KDOW (1200-AM) will broadcast the game. The Broncos, who won the CollegeInsider.com tournament in 2011, saw their nine-game postseason win streak snapped when they lost in front of 1,280 fans at the RAC Center in Fairfax. The Patriot Center was busy with a career fair.
The Santa Clara baseball team (8-19, 0-7 WCC) lost 3-1 to visiting BYU (15-14, 3-4). Reece Karalus (0-6) took the loss, allowing two earned runs in seven innings. Greg Harisis was 2 for 4 with an RBI for Santa Clara.
Pieter Lehrer, who spent eight seasons on the Cal men's soccer staff, was named coach of Harvard. He was also an assistant at Stanford (1999-2001 and 2003).
MLS
The Earthquakes announced the signing of forward Alexandre Gonzalez Emerson, a San Jose native who grew up in Mexico. He played for Necaxa of the Mexican League before pursuing an MLS career this year. He is expected to be part of the Quakes' reserve team this season.
Basketball
Archbishop Mitty girls coach Sue Phillips was named head coach of the 2013 U.S. women's under-16 team, USA Basketball announced. The team will compete at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship on June 19-23 in Cancun, Mexico. "This will be a definite highlight in my career as a coach," Phillips, who also coaches the San Jose Cagers AAU program, said in a statement.
AFL
The SaberCats were assigned offensive lineman Devin Clark on a one-year deal. He played with the Philadelphia Soul last season.
In mice, bits of proteins can treat condition resembling multiple sclerosis
By Nathan Seppa
Web edition: April 3, 2013
Tiny components of amyloid plaques, the notorious protein clumps found littering the brains of people with Alzheimer?s disease, might fight inflammation. Researchers report that several of these sticky protein fragments, or peptides, glom onto inflammatory compounds and reverse paralysis in mice that have a condition similar to multiple sclerosis. A fragment of tau protein, which shows up in other brain deposits in Alzheimer?s patients, has a similar effect.
When tested on blood taken from three MS patients, the tau peptide weeded out some inflammatory culprits there, too, researchers report in the April 3 Science Translational Medicine.
?This is a seriously good study. It opens up more questions than it answers,? says Jian-Guo Geng, a cell biologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor who wasn?t part of the research team. ?But I don?t think we?re anywhere close to using these peptides for treatments.?
Amyloid is a broad term for clusters of protein in the brain, including those arising with the aid of misfolded versions of tau or another protein implicated in brain disease called a prion. Viewing amyloid-forming peptides as good guys runs against the scientific thinking, since amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer?s disease. But study coauthor Lawrence Steinman, a neurologist at Stanford University, points out that the actual role of amyloid plaques in the disease is unclear. He suggests the tiny peptides holding the plaques together might have an alternative, useful role in the body.
Last year, Steinman and his team showed that injecting mice with amyloid improves symptoms in animals with the MS-like condition (SN: 9/22/2012, p. 14). Separately, Geng reported in 2012 that mice genetically engineered to make extra amyloid could fend off the MS-like disease, and that knocking out the amyloid-making capacity worsened symptoms in animals.
The new study goes a step further toward working out how amyloid fights disease in mice. In MS, inflammation is the enemy, damaging the fatty coatings on nerve sheaths in the central nervous system. A breakdown of that nerve insulation results in disordered nerve signaling and symptoms that can include weakness, loss of motor control, vision problems, loss of sensation and other problems.
Steinman and his colleagues identified several peptides, each only six amino acids in length, that seem to knock down inflammation when they twist to form sticky structures called fibrils. Steinman likens the peptide fibrils to sponges, because of their ability to bind to and contain compounds that trigger inflammation.
The researchers injected various peptides that can form amyloid in mice that had become disabled by the MS-like condition. Several of the peptides ? including fragments of heat shock proteins, tau protein and prion protein ? reversed the animals? paralysis during treatment. The effect later faded.
Blood samples from treated mice showed that heat shock and tau peptide fibrils had reduced levels of several proteins that cause inflammation, including interleukins 2 and 6. Compared with animals that received no fibril treatment, the animals? brain tissue had less inflammation.
When the scientists cultured human blood from MS patients with the tau fibril, the sticky peptide bound to dozens of compounds, including many molecules involved with inflammation.
The misfolded versions of tau, prions and amyloid protein can all form deposits in the brain, and it is the stickiness of fibrils that enables sheets of proteins to aggregate into these deposits, Steinman says. Those deposits have earned fibrils a nasty reputation.
?We have to keep an open mind,? he says. ?Most molecules are nuanced in function. In certain circumstances, they can cause harm or benefit.?
(Reuters) - Hundreds of fast-food restaurant workers in New York City turned out for protests on Thursday in what organizers said would be their largest rally yet for better pay.
Employees from familiar chains such as McDonald's Corp, Burger King and Yum Inc's KFC are seeking to roughly double their hourly wage to $15. They also say they want the right to form a union without interference.
Winning such concessions will be an uphill battle. Low-wage, low-skill workers lack political clout and face significantly higher unemployment than college graduates.
"It's a long fight. We have to stick together if we're going to have a chance," said Joseph Barrera, 22, who has worked at a Brooklyn KFC restaurant for the past 10 months.
Organizers estimated that there are 50,000 fast-food workers in New York City who earn $10,000 to $18,000 per year
Events kicked off at a McDonald's in midtown Manhattan, where roughly 100 people - including supporters bused in from Washington, DC - rallied. Roughly the same number of protesters clogged the entrance of a Wendy's restaurant near Penn Station at noon.
As many as 400 workers from more than five dozen restaurants around New York City have committed to turn out for protests planned at various locations throughout the day, said Jonathan Westin, director of Fast Food Forward, which organized Thursday's actions and is backed by labor, community and religious groups.
That turnout would be twice as large as in November, when the city's fast-food workers also walked off the job, Westin said.
"It's going to be difficult for these businesses to operate this time," said Westin.
That claim was in dispute, though. Protesters said their walk-out prevented a Burger King restaurant in Brooklyn from opening, but the company said it was only delayed 15 minutes.
FLIPPING AND FRYING
The nearly $200 billion U.S. fast-food industry long has been known as an employer of teenagers and students.
But the 18-month "Great Recession" that began in December 2007 forced more adults to seek part-time, largely minimum wage work flipping burgers and manning fryers.
Burger King and McDonald's said in statements to Reuters that most restaurants in their chains are independently owned and operated, and offer compensation consistent with industry standards.
U.S. President Barack Obama proposed raising the federal minimum wage in his State of the Union address as a way to help lift some workers out of poverty. Critics, including the restaurant industry, say such a move would kill jobs by burdening small businesses with higher costs.
The state of New York recently passed a budget that includes plans to raise the state minimum wage to $9 an hour by the end of 2015.
But even with that hike, New York's minimum wage would remain below the roughly $11 hourly pay needed to lift a family of four above the poverty line.
"Anywhere where the cost of living is very, very high, $9 is not enough. Everyone should be able to make a living wage," said Barrera, who is paid the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
(Additional reporting by Lucas Jackson and Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Gevirtz)
The Milwaukee Brewers announced their newest community initiative today. ??Beyond the Diamond? will feature a series of events throughout the season. ?Complete details are below.
(Via the Milwaukee Brewers) ? Milwaukee, WI (April 3, 2013)???The Milwaukee Brewers today announced a new community initiative called??Beyond the Diamond,??which features a series of community outreach events that will take place throughout the season.? The program is built around a partnership between Brewers players, coaches, wives, alumni and team personnel working hands-on in the community.? The community events will be funded in part by Brewers Community Foundation and focus on the areas of health, education, recreation and basic needs.
?Our players, coaches and staff participate in hundreds of events throughout the year, activities that contribute to bettering the communities we live in throughout southeast Wisconsin and beyond,? said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger. ?Our?Beyond the Diamond?initiative will highlight a broad spectrum of significant events, those that will feature collective contributions from our players, coaches and staff members all season long.?
?Beyond the Diamond? events this year will include ?S.C.O.R.E. for Excellence Day,? hospital visits, a playground build, and a Habitat for Humanity project.? Each month from May through August, all players, coaches and team personnel will be divided into groups to attend one of the following community outreach events:
May 8 (Basic Needs)?Habitat Build-a-thon:? Brewers players, wives, staff, alumni will assist organizers from Habitat for Humanity and residents of the local community to build a home. The event is sponsored by the Brewers wives, Ryan Braun, and Brewers Community Foundation.
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May 21 (Education)?S.C.O.R.E. for Excellence Day:?Brewers players and alumni will visit a middle school and deliver the important message of S.C.O.R.E.? T-shirts and game tickets will be given to the selected school along with a $5,000 donation, sponsored by Brewers Community Foundation.? S.C.O.R.E., an acronym for School, Community, Opportunities, Role Models and Excellence, is the Brewers signature character education program.
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June 6 (Health)?Children?s Hospital Visit:? Brewers players and alums will make bedside visits and take Brewers memorabilia to the pediatric patients at Children?s Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa.?
July 22 (Recreation)?KaBoom Playground Build:? Brewers wives, staff and alumni will assist organizers from KaBoom?and residents of the local community to build a new playground at the Northside YMCA.? Brewers players will also attend the ribbon cutting; thank the volunteers, hand out Brewers Buddies tickets and take group photos with volunteers and supporters.? The playground build will be sponsored by Brewers wives, players and Brewers Community Foundation.??
August 20 (Health)?VA Hospital Visit:?Brewers players and alums will visit and have lunch with patients at the VA Hospital near Miller Park.
BAGHDAD (AP) ? The wounded Syrian government troops were returning to their country in trucks escorted by Iraqi soldiers. They'd almost reached the border, near the frontier town of Akashat, when the attackers struck.
Regional intelligence officials saw the March 4 ambush, which left 48 dead, as evidence of a growing, cross-border alliance between two powerful Islamic extremist groups ? al-Qaida in Iraq and Jabhat al-Nusra or Nusra Front in Syria. Nusra Front is the most effective rebel faction fighting President Bashar Assad's regime, and the U.S. designates both Sunni jihadi groups as terrorist organizations.
Iraqi intelligence officials say the burgeoning cooperation is pumping new life into the Sunni insurgency in their country. They point to nearly 20 car bombings and suicide attacks that killed over 65 people, mostly in Baghdad, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last month.
The alliance is also nurturing Nusra Front, which emerged as an offshoot of Iraq's al-Qaida branch in mid-2012 to battle Assad's regime as one of a patchwork of disparate rebel groups in Syria. Nusra Front's presence on the battlefield complicates desperately needed international support for Syrian rebels because foreign backers do not want to bolster Islamic extremist groups.
Two Iraqi intelligence officials said the cooperation reflected in the attack on the wounded Syrian troops prompted their government to request U.S. drone strikes against the fighters. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to talk to reporters about the subject.
A U.S. official confirmed that elements within the Iraqi government had inquired about drone strikes. But the official said the U.S. was waiting to respond until the top level of Iraqi leadership makes a formal request, which has not happened yet.
Iraq is also turning elsewhere for assistance. Ministry of Defense spokesman Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said that in Iraq's last weapons deal with Russia, Baghdad requested aircraft and heavy weapons to try to seize control of the Iraqi-Syria border region where the groups are operating.
The two Iraqi intelligence officials said the jihadi groups are sharing three military training compounds, logistics, intelligence and weapons as they grow in strength around the Syria-Iraq border, particularly in a sprawling region called al-Jazeera, which they are trying to turn into a border sanctuary they can both exploit. It could serve as a base of operations to strike either side of the border.
"We are very concerned about the security situation in Iraq," said Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Moussawi. He said Iraqi ground troops and the country's tiny air force were unable to quell the militant activity in the border zone.
"This area is a nest of terrorist cells," he said.
A Jordanian counterterrorism official said al-Qaida in Iraq was assisting Nusra Front "with all possible means, including weapons, fighters and training."
Another regional security analyst cited the attack on the wounded Syrian troops in Iraq as decisive proof of cooperation.
"This is operational collaboration," the analyst said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "The transfer of weapons, tactics and ideas, what they call complex suicide attacks."
Iraq and Syria's other neighbors, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Israel, all fear the spillover effects of the 2-year-old civil war. Iraq, Lebanon and Syria all share a similar, fragile ethnic mix and the concern is that the conflict could cause sectarian warfare between Sunnis and Shiites to spread throughout the region.
Under Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government, already tense relations with minority Sunnis have worsened. There are also longstanding strains between Arabs and Kurds, who control their own autonomous region in Iraq's north.
In Syria, Assad is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and his security forces are heavily stocked by fellow Alawites and Shiites. But Alawites are a minority, and the opposition fighting him is predominantly made up of majority Sunnis.
Shiite-dominated Iran and Shiite militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon are Syria's two closest allies in the Mideast.
Iraq pledged on Friday that it would conduct more searches of Syria-bound planes and vehicles, days after visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asked al-Maliki to stop shipments of Iranian weapons and fighters through Iraqi territory to help Assad's regime.
But al-Moussawi also pointedly noted that Iraq would try to halt weapons shipments to rebels.
Nusra Front's role in Syria's civil war is troubling not only for Iraq but for international supporters of the Syrian opposition as well.
Since it emerged in mid-2012, it has transformed into the most potent fighting force among rebel groups, with a strong presence in the eastern provinces of Raqqa, Deir el-Zour and Hassakeh close to the Iraqi border.
The group has claimed responsibility for many of the deadliest suicide bombings against the regime and military facilities. Its success has led to popularity among fighting groups, though a source of friction with more moderate and secular brigades in Syria. Nusra Front has complicated the fractured Syrian opposition's cause and remains a chief reason the U.S. has been reluctant to arm the Syrian rebels.
Intelligence officials estimated last month that about 750 Nusra Front militants ? including foreign fighters from other Arab countries ? were among approximately 2,000 anti-Assad fighters who control long stretches of borderlands on the Syrian side. The officials said the Syrian militants were increasingly crossing into Iraq to meet their al-Qaida counterparts.
They mostly operate from the al-Jazeera region that straddles three provinces of western Iraq. The region abuts part of the porous, 375-mile border, composed of desert valleys, orchards and oases.
Their cooperation with al-Qaida intensified when Nusra Front seized control of two border crossings between Syria and Iraq, freeing up space for the militants to operate, the Iraqi intelligence officials said.
The rebels seized the Rabia-Yarubiya crossing in March and the al-Qaim crossing in September, according to a report on Nusra Front by the U.K.-based Quilliam Foundation. One crossing still remains in Syrian hands ? the Walid-Tanf post near where the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders intersect.
Government spokesman al-Moussawi and Jassim al-Halbousi, a provincial council member in Iraq's Anbar province, also confirmed the two groups were using "nests" ? Arabic slang for small bases ? in the area.
"This battle has two directions, from Syria to Iraq and from Iraq to Syria," said analyst Mustafa Alani of the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center.
The Jordanian counter-terrorism official said al-Qaida in Iraq was also providing "expertise and logistics" to the Nusra Front.
"During training, Nusra elements are taught how to fire rockets and machine guns, maneuver in the desert terrain and handle arms supply to its in-the-field fighters," he said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
He said the training is conducted in "temporary camps in a no-man's land along the Syrian-Iraqi border." After training sessions, the camp is usually dismantled so as not to leave traces behind.
"It's natural for al-Qaida to help another group with a similar ideology," he said. "The aim is to control the street in Syria as a step toward toppling Assad and setting up an Islamic jihadi state there."
According to the Iraqi officials, the group is helping al-Qaida expand in western Iraq and conduct high-profile attacks against mostly Shiite targets.
A wave of daring and coordinated strikes in March led intelligence officials to conclude that al-Qaida militants had strengthened their weapons-smuggling networks as well as their ability to find volunteers and carry out attacks.
They said the surge was caused by increased cooperation with Nusra Front fighters who appear to have facilitated the flow of suicide bombers, weapons and explosives into Iraq.
The ambush on the wounded Syrian troops only strengthened the notion of cooperation. An intelligence official said attackers appeared to have been tipped off.
The soldiers were making their way back to Syria in an Iraqi-escorted convey traveling hundreds of miles westward.
The assault began with militants detonating explosive charges on the military escort vehicles assigned to protect trucks carrying the Syrian soldiers, al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a statement posted on its website after the attack.
After that, "the fighters launched an attack from two directions using light- and medium-range weapons as well as rocket-propelled grenades," it said. "Within less than half an hour, the whole convoy ... was annihilated."
U.S. and Iraqi forces had mostly quelled al-Qaida's presence in Iraq before American troops withdrew in late 2011. But by September 2012, Iraqi intelligence officials were warning that al-Qaida was regrouping, seizing on regional instability and government security failures to regain strength.
They reported at the time that fighters linked to al-Qaida were crossing into Syria to battle the Assad regime. Since then, those fighters have strengthened the al-Jazeera area into what they hope will be a haven to battle their foes, intelligence officials said.
"For these guys," said the regional security analyst, "the border between Iraq and Syria is not even a real thing."
___
With reporting by Jamal Halaby in Amman, Zeina Karam in Jordan and Lara Jakes in Washington. Follow Hadid on twitter.com/diaahadid
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Public release date: 8-Apr-2013
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The move is the retail industry?s boldest push yet into an area long controlled by physicians, and comes amid continuing concerns about health care costs and a potential shortage of primary care doctors.
Expanding services to diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions that affect millions of Americans is a logical step, because the clinics can not only grow their own business, but also partner with hospitals and doctors? groups to gain new customers, said Ronald L. Hammerle, president of Health Resources, a Florida consulting firm.
(Via the Milwaukee Brewers) ? Milwaukee, WI (April 3, 2013)???The Milwaukee Brewers today announced a new community initiative called??Beyond the Diamond,??which features a series of community outreach events that will take place throughout the season.? The program is built around a partnership between Brewers players, coaches, wives, alumni and team personnel working hands-on in the community.? The community events will be funded in part by Brewers Community Foundation and focus on the areas of health, education, recreation and basic needs.