health: Lincoln Tribune

السبت، 17 ديسمبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

New Breast Cancer Treatment Shows Great Promise
Gift-Givers Find Paradise in ‘Big Apple’
112 people arrested across Europe in crackdown on child porn
Controversy Surrounds Muslim-American Reality TV Show
Controversy Surrounds Muslim-American Reality TV Show

New Breast Cancer Treatment Shows Great Promise

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 09:10 PM PST

There's some promising news about breast cancer treatment. In clinical trials at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center in Baltimore, Maryland, doctors report they successfully pumped cancer-fighting medicine directly into a breast tumor. Early results show the treatment not only kills the tumor, but spares the patients disfiguring surgery and the side effects of more radical treatments.

The earliest stages of breast cancer are usually discovered during a mammogram. Right now, the standard treatment when tumors are found is surgery, followed by radiation therapy and then hormone treatment. Some women who have a high risk of getting breast cancer even opt to have mastectomies - the surgical removal of one or both breasts - just to reduce their risk.

At Johns Hopkins Cancer Center in Baltimore, one oncologist has been studying a less radical approach.

"Since most cancers originate within the breasts and the cells that line the milk ducts within the breasts, can we possibly eliminate those dangerous cells, and by doing so, eliminate breast cancer?" asks Dr. Vared Sterns.

The idea is simple. Give a small concentration of a chemotherapy drug directly through the patient's nipple and into the milk ducts where cancer cells or even pre-cancerous cells are forming. The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes. In clinical trials, researchers found this technique was more effective and less toxic than the conventional practice of administering chemotherapy through the vein.

"What we found was that the concentration of the drug within the breast was very, very high, while the concentration of the drug within the blood system was very low," said Sterns.

With conventional chemotherapy, the opposite was true: Drugs administered through the vein concentrated in the blood system and but were less concentrated where they were most needed - in the breast. The clinical trials have been so promising that this type of treatment might eventually become the standard for patients with very early stages of breast cancer or those who are at risk of developing it.

"It is my hope that the treatment can be delivered in just your usual mammogram suite. This has been done in our study quite easily on an outpatient basis. It doesn't take very long. It's not painful," said Sterns.

She likens this procedure to a colonoscopy. If there's a polyp, the doctor removes it before it can become cancerous.

Dr. Sterns said researchers need to find out how much of the drug is needed and how often it should be administered to rid the breast of cancer. She estimates that work will take another 10 years. Then, if this procedure is as promising as it seems, it may become standard treatment for patients with early stage breast cancer.

Gift-Givers Find Paradise in ‘Big Apple’

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 07:20 PM PST

New York is known as "the city that never sleeps," and during the busy holiday season, many locals and tourists alike are descending on the "Big Apple" to take in its sights and sounds, and perhaps find the perfect gift for that special someone. One store in particular targets gift-givers looking for that one-of-a-kind gift item.

"Very fun… I want to take it home with me," one shopper said about a special pinball machine.

For about $6,000, buyers with the money to spend at Hammacher Schlemmer can purchase a Rolling Stones pinball machine - just one of thousands of unusual items keeping this one-of-a-kind store full of people all day.

When you come to this store, the staff encourages you to touch and enjoy the items - even the pricier goods, without any pressure to buy.

"If I was making four times as much money as I am, I would love to have one of these," said a customer about a unique lounge chair.

"They always have something cool to look at, and you never know what you may find," said another.

Store manager Kerri Calderone is enthusiastic about what her store has to offer. She said it is the place to buy a gift one cannot find anywhere else. She said anyone, young or old, looking for the unusual item, can find that perfect gift, and in price ranges from $9 to $75,000. The economy has not hurt this 163-year-old company.

"Our store is doing well this year based on the variety of items we sell. You cannot get these items at other retailers. With the economy the way it is, we are still doing well and selling as many items as we can," said Calderone.

There is the world's smallest camera. It works like a regular camera and holds 32 megabytes of memory, with a small USB port.

The Lean Mean Green Machine comes with a motorcycle engine and three wheels, but it costs as much as a high-end luxury automobile.

Then there's this fortune teller, Zoltar. Take him home and he will tell you what tomorrow will bring.

"Age is simply a matter of mind, if you don't mind, my friend, it doesn't matter," said Zoltar.

Zoltar combines humor with fantasy, as do many of the other items that are available during this holiday season.

To some shoppers, coming in here is like living out a childhood fantasy.

"We're still kids, but now we actually have the money to buy the stuff we want," said one man. "So when you walk past a store with toys, it's always nice to play around with it."

There is a lot to see here, and it is all in the mood of gift-giving this holiday season.

112 people arrested across Europe in crackdown on child porn

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 06:30 PM PST

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (BNO NEWS) -- More than 110 people have been arrested across 22 European countries on suspicion of possessing child pornography, the European Police Office (EUROPOL) announced on Friday. More arrests are expected.

Officials said an investigation into a file-sharing program identified 269 suspects who allegedly possessed and shared child pornography. A total of 189 house searches have been conducted as of Friday, resulting in 112 arrests across 22 European countries.

Europol said the operation targeted those who shared the most extreme forms of video material, which includes babies and toddlers being sexually abused and raped. "This is the latest major success in over 10 years of Europol supporting law enforcement agencies in Europe in their fight against child sex abuse online," said Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol.

The arrests were made in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Norway, and Switzerland.

In Denmark alone, police said it arrested 19 men aged 24 to 55 and seized 59 computers and 2,430 external media such as hard drives, USB sticks, DVDs and other material. "From just one of the accused Danes we seized a quantity of 29 terabytes of data," said Danish National Police Commissioner Jens Henrik Højbjerg. "It's a tall order to handle for our investigators - it can potentially be 9,000 hours of high quality video."

But Højbjerg said its investigators are using automated software which compares the seized material against a police database of previously known child pornography. This allows investigators to concentrate on new images and movies, which may uncover new victims.

The operation, called 'Operation Icarus', is the first operation to be concluded under the auspices of the new action plan of the COSPOL Internet Related Child Abuse Material Project (CIRCAMP), an initiative by EU police chiefs led by Belgium and funded by the European Commission. Denmark was chosen to lead the operation.

According to investigators, the latest arrests have already uncovered previously unknown networks of pedophiles. "This operation shows how the internet is helping offenders to develop better techniques for sharing images on a global basis and for protecting their identity," Wainwright said. "The problems involved are becoming harder to police and call for sustained efforts by policy-makers and law enforcement agencies to ensure that society's response remains strong and agile in this area."

Investigations are ongoing and Europol said it expects more arrests in the near future, with a special focus on identifying those who produce child pornography, the suspects and their victims. Among those arrested during 'Operation Icarus' is at least one person who is suspected of grooming and meeting a young child.

"These children are victims of multiple crimes," said Cecilia Malmström, European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs. "First, when the actual abuse takes place. Then, when it is filmed. And, thereafter, every time the images are posted, circulated or viewed."

In March, Europol announced 184 people had been arrested in what is believed to have been the world's largest online pedophile network. The investigation centered on the Netherlands-based website boylover.net, which attracted more than 70,000 members at its height.

The website operated as a discussion-only forum where people could share their desire about sexual contact with young boys, without committing any specific offence. However, some members of the website would eventually move to private channels such as e-mail to exchange illegal images and videos of children being abused.

Controversy Surrounds Muslim-American Reality TV Show

Posted: 16 Dec 2011 05:28 PM PST

A new controversy over Islam has arisen in the United States, this time over a reality TV show that profiles Muslim Americans and a home improvement chain's decision to pull its advertising from the show. The company, Lowe's, decided to end its ties to the program after a conservative Christian group labeled the show "propaganda" that hides the "danger" of the Islamic agenda.

It's a scene from All-American Muslim...

"I have no concerns about traveling around the anniversary of 9/11," says one young Muslim American woman on the show.

...focused on discrimination.

"It's annoying to walk through an airport and know people are looking at you," she goes on to say.

Muslim-American leaders say the Lowe's home improvement chain's decision to pull ads from the show is more of the same.

"I'm really disappointed, because it promotes hate. It's so un-American. It is bigotry at its core," said Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan state representative.

"I think that it's frankly pitiful that Lowe's corporation, a corporation that touts itself on being inclusive and promoting diversity, would capitulate to bigots," said Dawud Walid of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

All-American Muslim follows five families in Dearborn, Michigan - home to one of the nation's largest Arab-American communities. The channel that airs it, TLC, says it offers an "intimate look" at misconceptions and conflicts the families face.

Lowe's said in a statement it withdrew its advertising after the program became what it called a "lightning rod" for strong political views.

That followed a campaign by the Florida Family Association. The group calls All-American Muslim "propaganda," designed to counter concerns about Muslims by only profiling those who appear to be ordinary people.

VOA's calls to the association were not returned.

Daniel Cox is director of research at the Public Religion Research Institute in Washington. He said the controversy over the show speaks to the public opinion challenges Muslim Americans face.

"American attitudes toward Muslims are changing, but overall there is still a significant level of discomfort. You see this evident in our research and other research," said Cox. "We find that Americans are really divided overall whether they'd be comfortable with a mosque being built in their neighborhood, a Muslim teaching elementary school or a Muslim woman wearing the burqa. And you see an even greater discomfort among certain religious groups like white evangelicals."

Now facing threats of a boycott, Lowe's is not the only company distancing itself from the series. Travel website Kayak.com says it also is stopping its ads, but not because of the Florida Family Association.

One of its reasons: It doesn't think the show is any good.