Body weight, diet may be risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research

BOSTON Body weight in young adulthood and diet appeared to be associated with the risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to results presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

"The causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are poorly understood, and unfortunately, we don't know very much about specific ways to prevent or lower the risk for this disease," said Kimberly Bertrand, Sc.D., research fellow in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

In previous analyses of the Nurses' Health Study at 14 years of follow-up, lead researcher Shumin Zhang, M.D., Sc.D., and colleagues reported positive associations with NHL for trans fat intake and inverse associations for vegetable intake. To expand those findings, Bertrand and colleagues evaluated the association of obesity, specific types of dietary fats and fruits and vegetables with risk for NHL.

Researchers analyzed questionnaire responses from 47,541 men followed for 22 years in the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study and 91,227 women followed for 28 years in the Nurses' Health Study. Among the women, researchers confirmed 966 incident diagnoses of NHL through 2008, and among the men, they confirmed 566 cases through 2006.

"In analyses that controlled for age, race and other factors, we found that obesity in young adulthood (ages 18 to 21 years) was associated with risk for NHL later in life," Bertrand said. "Men who were obese (body mass index [BMI] equal to or greater than 30) [in young adulthood] had a 64 percent higher risk for NHL compared with men who were lean, while obese women had a 19 percent higher risk."

Current BMI was also associated with risk for NHL in men but not in women. Although total and specific dietary fats were not associated with NHL risk, findings also suggested that women who consumed the highest amounts of trans fat in their diets had a nonstatistically significant increased risk for NHL overall. "We observed that women who consumed at least four servings of vegetables per day, compared with those who consumed fewer than two servings per day, had a 16 percent lower risk for developing NHL," Bertrand said.

"The results from this study, if confirmed in other studies, suggest that body weight and dietary choices may be potentially modifiable risk factors for NHL," she said.

Bertrand and colleagues also plan to investigate associations of obesity and dietary factors with common subtypes of NHL, to evaluate biomarkers of fatty acids related to NHL risk to obtain more information on the possible biological mechanism for these associations, and to investigate other dietary factors including red meat consumption and antioxidants.

###

The study was supported by the American Cancer Society with funds to senior researcher, Brenda Birmann, M.Sc., Sc.D. (RSG-11-020-01-CNE), and by the National Institutes of Health (CA055075 and CA87969). Bertrand was supported by a training grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25 CA098566).

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 23-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.Moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research

BOSTON Body weight in young adulthood and diet appeared to be associated with the risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to results presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

"The causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are poorly understood, and unfortunately, we don't know very much about specific ways to prevent or lower the risk for this disease," said Kimberly Bertrand, Sc.D., research fellow in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

In previous analyses of the Nurses' Health Study at 14 years of follow-up, lead researcher Shumin Zhang, M.D., Sc.D., and colleagues reported positive associations with NHL for trans fat intake and inverse associations for vegetable intake. To expand those findings, Bertrand and colleagues evaluated the association of obesity, specific types of dietary fats and fruits and vegetables with risk for NHL.

Researchers analyzed questionnaire responses from 47,541 men followed for 22 years in the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study and 91,227 women followed for 28 years in the Nurses' Health Study. Among the women, researchers confirmed 966 incident diagnoses of NHL through 2008, and among the men, they confirmed 566 cases through 2006.

"In analyses that controlled for age, race and other factors, we found that obesity in young adulthood (ages 18 to 21 years) was associated with risk for NHL later in life," Bertrand said. "Men who were obese (body mass index [BMI] equal to or greater than 30) [in young adulthood] had a 64 percent higher risk for NHL compared with men who were lean, while obese women had a 19 percent higher risk."

Current BMI was also associated with risk for NHL in men but not in women. Although total and specific dietary fats were not associated with NHL risk, findings also suggested that women who consumed the highest amounts of trans fat in their diets had a nonstatistically significant increased risk for NHL overall. "We observed that women who consumed at least four servings of vegetables per day, compared with those who consumed fewer than two servings per day, had a 16 percent lower risk for developing NHL," Bertrand said.

"The results from this study, if confirmed in other studies, suggest that body weight and dietary choices may be potentially modifiable risk factors for NHL," she said.

Bertrand and colleagues also plan to investigate associations of obesity and dietary factors with common subtypes of NHL, to evaluate biomarkers of fatty acids related to NHL risk to obtain more information on the possible biological mechanism for these associations, and to investigate other dietary factors including red meat consumption and antioxidants.

###

The study was supported by the American Cancer Society with funds to senior researcher, Brenda Birmann, M.Sc., Sc.D. (RSG-11-020-01-CNE), and by the National Institutes of Health (CA055075 and CA87969). Bertrand was supported by a training grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25 CA098566).

Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards to young investigators, and it also funds cutting-edge research projects conducted by senior researchers. The AACR has numerous fruitful collaborations with organizations and foundations in the U.S. and abroad, and functions as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable initiative that supports groundbreaking research aimed at getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated time frame. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special Conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care, and Educational Workshops are held for the training of young cancer investigators. The AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Discovery; Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Prevention Research. In 2010, AACR journals received 20 percent of the total number of citations given to oncology journals. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers, which provides practical knowledge and new hope for cancer survivors. A major goal of the AACR is to educate the general public and policymakers about the value of cancer research in improving public health, the vital importance of increases in sustained funding for cancer research and biomedical science, and the need for national policies that foster innovation and the acceleration of progress against the 200 diseases we call cancer.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/aafc-bwd101911.php

ted haggard neutrino carly fiorina girl with the dragon tattoo trailer girl with the dragon tattoo trailer parks and rec facebook announcement

Thai PM says floods may last for 6 more weeks

Buddhist monks carry a table while making floods barriers at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo)

Buddhist monks carry a table while making floods barriers at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo)

Buddhist monks take a break from piling up sand bags to make floods barriers at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo)

A Thai resident uses a makeshift float to keep his dog dry as he pulls a woman along flooded streets in Rangsit district at the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on Friday Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok's residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground Friday as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A Thai resident uses plastic lids as paddles on his makeshift float as he makes his way through floods in Rangsit district at the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on Friday Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok's residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground Friday as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A young Thai resident looks out a truck as they evacuate to higher grounds at flooded Rangsit district at the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand on Friday Oct. 21, 2011. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged Bangkok's residents to get ready to move their belongings to higher ground Friday as the country's worst floods in half a century began seeping into the capital's outer districts. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

(AP) ? Thailand's catastrophic floods may take up to six weeks to recede, the prime minister said Saturday, as the human toll from the crisis rose to 356 dead and more than 110,000 displaced.

Excessive monsoon rains have drowned a third of the Southeast Asian nation since late July, causing billions of dollars in damage and putting nearly 700,000 people temporarily out of work.

Colossal pools of runoff from the north have been bearing down on the capital for the last two weeks. In recent days, water has overwhelmed districts just outside Bangkok's northern boundaries, while on Friday, floodwaters began spilling over canals in some of the city's outermost districts, causing minor damage to homes.

Some flooding on Bangkok's outskirts was expected after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered floodgates opened in a risky move to drain the dangerous runoff through urban canals and into the sea. So far, most of the vast metropolis of 9 million people has escaped unharmed, and its two airports are operating normally.

In a weekly radio address Saturday, Yingluck said that "during the next four to six weeks, the water will recede."

In the meantime, the government will step up aid to those whose lives have been disrupted, including 113,000 people Yingluck said were living in temporary shelters forced to abandon submerged homes.

The government said at least 356 people had died in the floods since July.

The floods are the worst to hit the country since 1942, and the crisis is proving a major test for Yingluck's nascent government, which took power in July after heated elections.

The Labor Ministry says the flooding has put nearly 700,000 temporarily people out of work, many of them from five major industrial estates north of Bangkok that were forced to suspend operations. Among those affected are Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda, which have halted major assembly operations, and a slew of automotive parts makers.

The electronics industry has also suffered, with the best-known victim being U.S. hard drive maker Western Digital, which has two major production facilities in the flooded zone.

While Bangkok has mostly survived unscathed, images of disaster just outside the city have spooked residents, who are girding for the worst after Yingluck urged all Bangkokians to move valuables to higher ground.

Thousands of cars are parked alongside elevated highways as drivers try to safeguard their vehicles. And some supply lines are being affected; one Thai company that delivers drinking water to city residents and businesses sent out an SMS to customers announcing its services had been halted because of the crisis.

"The flooding this time is a critical problem," Yingluck said. "We need cooperation and sacrifice from everyone."

To fight the crisis, Yingluck on Friday invoked her powers under a disaster law that give her overriding authority over all other official bodies, including local governments. The move should allow better coordination with the municipal authorities in Bangkok and helps project Yingluck as a take-charge leader, after weeks of seeming indecision and confusion.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-22-AS-Thailand-Floods/id-ea375b56617440e1892b73d03e3b39bd

acc mayweather vs ortiz ncaa football 12 ncaa football 12 direct tv lion king photon

California commits business suicide | Watts Up With That?

A mass exodus of business and jobs out of California will be the likely result of this madness. From the San Franscisco Chronicle:

?

Free and paid credits

Businesses that emit more carbon dioxide than is allowed under the law will have to use ?allowances? ? or credits ? to make up for the difference. The allowances will be mostly free when the program starts in a little more than two months, but eventually businesses will have to purchase credits in an auction ? a sort of penalty for exceeding the limit. The board?s major action on Thursday was to finalize how credits will be allocated.

The opposition from the industrial sectors, like glass manufacturers and oil refineries, strongly objected to the initial requirement that forces these businesses to pay for 10 percent of their credits. They said paying for the allowances ? one previous idea was that they be free ? will be crippling as businesses in other states and countries will have a competitive advantage.

?

Higher water rates

Multiple representatives of water agencies, mainly in Southern California, also told the board that because the regulation covers their energy usage, water rates would increase.

The cost will be about $2.50 per year per household, said air board spokesman Stanley Young, explaining that utilities are covered by the law because of the electricity used in moving water from Northern California to Southern California.

?

Like this:

One blogger likes this post.

Source: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/10/21/california-commits-business-suicide/

kurt warner st. croix st. croix threadworm nick swisher pirates of silicon valley htc flyer tablet

Document: Cadaver dog 'hit' at missing baby's home

FILE - This file photo provided Oct. 4, 2011, by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, shows Lisa Irwin. Police and federal authorities have been searching extensively for Irwin who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, File)

FILE - This file photo provided Oct. 4, 2011, by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, shows Lisa Irwin. Police and federal authorities have been searching extensively for Irwin who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, File)

Investigators search the memorial outside the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An investigator steps over police lines while searching the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Investigators carry a ladder into the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

An investigator leaves the home of missing baby Lisa Irwin in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

(AP) ? An FBI cadaver dog reacted to the scent of a dead person inside the Kansas City home where a baby girl disappeared nearly three weeks ago, and investigators discovered soil in the backyard that had been "recently disturbed or overturned," police said in a court document released Friday.

The affidavit, filed earlier this week in support of a search warrant targeting the family's home, also stated that the girl's mother, Deborah Bradley, "made the statement she did not initially look for her baby behind the house because she 'was afraid of what she might find.'"

Those details and others in the affidavit, publicly released for the first time Friday, led to a daylong search Wednesday of the family's home, where the parents say then-10-month-old Lisa Irwin must have been snatched in the middle of the night as the mother and two other boys slept. Bradley and the baby's father, Jeremy Irwin, reported the girl missing on Oct. 4 and have denied any role in the disappearance while insisting police have pointed the finger at them.

The affidavit stated that an FBI cadaver dog taken into the house Monday indicated a "positive 'hit' for the scent of a deceased human in an area of the floor of Bradley's bedroom near the bed."

The FBI dogs, which often are used at both disaster and crime scenes, are trained "specially to recognize the scent of decaying, decomposing human flesh," retired FBI special agent Jeff Lanza said Friday.

"That can be the scent of an actual body decomposing, or residual scents after the body is no longer there," Lanza said.

Dr. Edward David, a deputy chief medical examiner for the state of Maine and co-author of the "Cadaver Dog Handbook," said that when a body is left in one spot for several hours, cells are left behind. They continue to decompose and create an odor, giving the dog scents to detect.

He said that while trained dogs may fail to detect the smell of human decomposition about 30 percent of the time, they generally don't alert when nothing is there. One exception is when human waste is present.

Joe Tacopina, a New York lawyer hired by a benefactor he has not identified to represent Bradley and Irwin, said the dog could have detected "a dirty diaper or 10 other non-human-remains items."

But granting that cadaver dogs are trained chiefly to detect decomposing flesh, "There's really no scenario where this baby, God forbid she was dead, would have decomposed in that short a period of time," Tacopina told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday night.

The court document also indicated police felt they needed handheld digging tools after an investigator noticed dirt in a garden area behind the home appeared to have been "recently disturbed or overturned." During Wednesday's search, investigators could be seen digging behind a shed in the backyard. Among other revelations in the affidavit:

?Officers searched all rooms in the house and the basement after being called to the home Oct. 4. Officers sought evidence but because the parents said the baby had been abducted, the only areas extensively processed for DNA and fingerprints were the baby's bedroom and possible entry points.

?The parents had told police that three cell phones were missing. The affidavit said a phone had since been found in a desk drawer, but that phone wasn't one of those reported missing. The missing phones haven't been found.

?Interviews with people involved in the case revealed "conflicting information for clear direction in the investigation."

Another document released Friday revealed some of what police recovered from the home during Wednesday's search: a comforter and blanket, some clothes, rolls of tape and a tape dispenser. The family's local lawyer, Cynthia Short, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the documents, and police declined to discuss what they found.

But before the affidavit was released, a statement issued by Short's office insisted the parents had no role in the disappearance and disputed claims that the parents aren't cooperating with police. The statement said the parents have consented to "unfettered access" to their property and allowed police to take hair and other samples.

"They have taken all calls from detectives, and answered questions posed again and again," the statement read. "In the initial hours of the investigation, they tolerated accusations, volunteered to take polygraph examinations; continued to work with detectives even after the interviews turned into pointed accusations."

___

Associated Press writer Dana Fields contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-21-Kansas%20City%20Baby%20Missing/id-1999c5212a5b409ba673bb2d1af9c4b8

champions online champions online mezzanine mezzanine jules verne jules verne als

MIND Reviews: Someone Else's Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth

Image:

Someone Else?s Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth
by Nancy L. Segal. Prometheus Books, 2011

In 1973 identical twins Delia and Bego?a were accidentally separated in the Canary Islands hospital where they were born. Bego?a went home with her parents and an unrelated baby, Beatriz, who was raised as her twin. Meanwhile, 50 miles away, Beatriz?s parents brought up Delia as their daughter.

Fast-forward 28 years, when a local store clerk mistakes Bego?a for Delia. Convinced the two are twins, she arranges a meeting. The meeting fundamentally alters the sisters? sense of identity?as well as that of their parents and siblings.

In Someone Else?s Twin, Nancy L. Segal delves into this extraordinary, tragic case to tackle both the scientific significance of identical twins and the humanistic questions they spark about identity. Segal, a fraternal twin and psychologist who directs the Twin Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton, gained access to the women in exchange for acting as an expert witness in their lawsuit against the Canary Islands Health Services. Her position is clear: ?Suddenly finding a twin in adulthood revises everything about one?s personal identity?who one is and who one should have been.?

She bolsters her position with findings from the 20-year Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, in which Segal was an investigator, and other research. Regardless of how they are raised, identical twins are more alike than fraternal twins in height, weight, health, intelligence, athleticism, social attitudes and job satisfaction, underscoring the influence of genes on these qualities. Indeed, the relationship between identical twins is so unique that a Spanish physician contended that Delia and Bego?a?s separation violated their ?fundamental right to personal identity.?

Segal describes how Beatriz, too, suffered a devastating loss when the switch was discovered. The twins? parents also were shattered. Research on maternity certainty?a mother?s confidence that a child is her own?has shown that new mothers perform better than chance when trying to recognize their newborns within a couple of hours using senses other than sight; fathers are better at picking out their babies visually. Failing to spot a switch or to act forcefully on that instinct only adds to the grief of the new reality. ?Saying your child has been switched,? the father of a switched pair tells Segal, ?is like saying she?s been killed.?


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=653e318c11ac6d47a4d0a644e4bf81e5

creature creature us open mens final go daddy tmobile johnny cash serbia

Obama to name Fed dissenter Hoenig as FDIC No. 2 (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is nominating a longtime Federal Reserve official and critic of big banks to be the No. 2 official at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The White House announced that Thomas Hoenig, who stepped down as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in October, is the president's choice to be vice chairman at the FDIC. His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

Hoenig was the most vocal critic of the Fed's $600 billion bond buying program, which ended in June. He also opposed keeping the Fed's key short-term interest rate near zero. Hoenig said such policies risked higher inflation at a later time.

Hoenig has also publicly criticized big banks, saying they pose a danger to the financial system.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_fdic

god rush il divo il divo jon huntsman bliss miss universe 2011

McDonald's keeps gaining, talks price hikes (AP)

NEW YORK ? McDonald's Corp.'s third-quarter net income rose by 9 percent as it kept defying a tough economy and attracting more customers. But those diners might want to get ready to pay more.

The world's largest hamburger chain, which has performed well throughout the recession and its aftermath, noted potential challenges like the rising cost of beef and higher labor costs. McDonald's, a bellwether for the rest of the fast-food industry, hinted that it could raise menu prices for the third time this year.

Companies of all stripes, from restaurants to clothing makers, raised prices this year as the cost for many raw materials spiked, and it appears that more increases are coming. For McDonald's that means the beef in its burgers, the grain in its buns and the coffee in its lattes.

But companies know that they still have to be careful to not raise prices too much and drive away customers, who are choosing carefully where to spend their money.

"The economists say we are officially out of the recession, but it hardly feels that way," CEO Jim Skinner said in a conference call with analysts. He referred to McDonald's gains as "hard-won" victories.

The 9 percent rise in net income, to $1.51 billion, represents McDonald's ninth straight quarter of earnings gains. Earnings per share of $1.45 beat analysts' expectations of $1.43. A 14 percent increase in revenue, to $7.17 billion, also beat the $7.02 billion predicted by analysts polled by FactSet.

McDonald's success has hinged on quickly adapting to customers' changing tastes and reshaping itself as a hip, healthier place to eat. It has added menu items like smoothies and oatmeal, remodeled restaurants, and converted more locations to 24-hour operations. All those moves, the company says, have brought in more customers.

The company didn't give details about possible price increases, though Skinner said that keeping prices affordable was "paramount."

We will continue to evaluate additional price increases in light of this inflationary environment, always balancing our goal of driving traffic and market share gains with managing impact of rising costs," said Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen.

The company's U.S. commodity costs spiked 8 percent this quarter compared to a year ago. That's higher than the 6 percent in the second quarter and the 1 percent increase in the first quarter.

The cost of beef, which normally declines at the end of the summer grilling season, stayed high, which McDonald's hadn't expected. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now predicts that consumers will end up paying 8 or 9 percent more for beef and veal in 2011 compared with 2010.

McDonald's has already raised prices to offset the higher ingredient costs, raising menu prices by an average of 1 percent in March and another 1.4 percent in May. Bensen said the company had experienced good "flow through" on the two price increases, meaning they hadn't driven away customers.

Grocery prices, which are increasing at a faster clip than restaurant prices, could also give McDonald's some room to raise prices because customers could view eating in as less of a value.

Beef wasn't the only expense to rise. McDonald's effective tax rate climbed because of some lower foreign tax credits. Labor costs rose, and the company invested in new restaurant openings in China, where it now has about 1,400 locations. "Almost every category of costs is going in the wrong direction," Bensen said.

The store openings in China, where it hopes to have 2,000 locations by the end of 2013, signal McDonald's strategy to invest in emerging markets as the U.S. economy continues to struggle. The U.S. accounts for about 31 percent of McDonald's total revenue.

Customer spending at McDonald's franchised and company-owned restaurants rose 5 percent, while in Europe, the company's largest market, the figure climbed 16 percent, and in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East and Africa 20 percent. The foreign gains were helped by the impact of currency translation ? when the dollar weakens, money made in other countries translates into more dollars in the U.S. ? but even without that effect, the gains outpaced the U.S. revenue growth.

Those figures don't reflect McDonald's corporate revenue, which consists of revenue at company-owned restaurants plus fees and rents paid by franchisees.

McDonald's shares rose $3.31, or 3.7 percent, to close at $92.32.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_mcdonald_s

whats your number eastman kodak eastman kodak melissa gorga melissa gorga pueblo co pueblo co

Economy shows signs of health after summer slump (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The economy appears slightly healthier than many had feared it was a few weeks ago, raising hopes that it can end the year on an upward slope.

A raft of data Thursday show layoffs are trending down to a six-month low and factories in the Mid-Atlantic are growing again after contracting for two months. Nevertheless, home sales fell and the housing market is expected weigh on the economy deep into 2012.

The outlook for the final six months of the year has improved from August, when many thought the economy was at growing risk of falling back into a recession. Other recent reports showed hiring picked up slightly in September and consumers boosted their spending on retail goods by the most since March.

Most economists now expect modest growth for the rest of this year. Still, they caution that it's unlikely to be strong enough to significantly lower the unemployment rate, which has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years. And a recession in Europe, which many now predict, could slow growth in 2012.

Macroeconomic Advisers forecasts the economy will expand at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the July-September quarter, and 2.6 percent in the final three months of the year. The government issues its first estimate for third-quarter growth on October 27.

"A recession now looks a lot less likely, but economic growth is still going to be pretty weak," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics.

Reports Thursday were mostly positive:

? The average number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week over the past four weeks fell to 403,000, the Labor Department said. That's the lowest level for the four-week average since mid-April. A month ago, it was 422,250.

? Manufacturing grew in the Philadelphia region in October after contracting for two straight months, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said. The October reading was the best for the Philly Fed's regional manufacturing index in six months.

? The Conference Board index of leading economic indicators rose 0.2 percent in September. It was the fifth consecutive gain for the index, although it was slightly weaker than increases in August and July.

The financial markets rose in morning trading after the Philly Fed report was released. They gave up most of their early gains after reports showed Europe is struggling to agree on a plan to address the region's debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 37 points for the day.

Economists have been closely watching unemployment benefit applications since fears of another recession intensified this summer. Layoffs and applications tend to rise at the beginning of recessions.

"This decline in initial claims signals the potential for an improvement in the pace of job creation in October relative to recent months," said John Ryding, an economist with RDQ Economics. "However, we are still waiting for that decisive move in claims below the 400,000 mark to send a stronger signal that payroll growth is running at a pace that will begin to make sustained inroads into unemployment."

Job growth is critical to a housing recovery, which many economists say could be years away.

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million homes, the National Association of Realtors said. The pace matches last year's sales figures, which were the worst since 1997.

Economists say home sales need to be closer to 6 million to be consistent with a healthy housing market.

"This is a significant barrier to recovery," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economists for High Frequency Economics.

Home sales are tumbling, even though mortgage rates are at record lows. This week, the average rate on the 30-year mortgage ticked down to 4.11 percent. Just two weeks ago, it fell below 4 percent for the first time ever.

Most people don't want to go into debt to purchase depreciating assets, even if they can get low mortgage rates, Shepherdson said.

"Housing will recover in time as the labor market picks up and people start moving around the country to take up new jobs, but for now the market is dead," he said.

Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That's far below the 100,000 per month needed to keep up with population growth. And it's down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year.

In September, employers added only 103,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for a third straight month.

Employers pulled back on hiring this spring, after rising gas prices cut into consumer spending and Japan's March 11 earthquake disrupted supply chains. That slowed U.S. auto production.

Auto output has rebounded in the past couple of months and gas prices have come down from their peak in early May.

Despite the improvement, the economy faces a number of risks. Many economists now expect Europe to slide into recession by the end of this year, which could slow exports of U.S. goods and weaken growth.

And Congress has yet to commit to extending a Social Security tax cut and extended unemployment benefits that expire at the end of the year. Allowing them to expire could slow growth in the first three months of 2012, economists say.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy

marco rubio chris morris chris morris loma prieta loma prieta paranormal activity 3 trailer paranormal activity 3 trailer

Stem cell patents ruled illegal in Europe

Andy Coghlan, reporter

Embryonic_stem_cells.jpg

Coloured scanning electron micrograph of human embryonic stem cells (Image: Miodrag Stojkovic/Science Photo Library)

Stem-cell researchers in Europe have been left dismayed by a ruling today outlawing patents on stem cells obtained through destruction of human embryos.

Issued today by the European Court of Justice, the region's highest court, the ruling essentially declares illegal patents on stem cells extracted from any entity capable of developing into a human being, whether it's a natural embryo or one made by some other means.

The court's rationale for the decision is a passage within the European Patent Convention of 1973 banning patents "contrary to public order and morality".

It concluded today that any process resulting in the destruction of a human embryo violates this principle, and is therefore unpatentable. It says that the ban should apply even if embryos are not cited in patents, or if teams applying for patents didn't destroy the embryo themselves.

The only exception would be a case in which the patent applied for is for a treatment that would "benefit" embryos, perhaps by correcting a gene defect in an embryo that would otherwise lead to disease.

Researchers were furious with the ruling, the result of a challenge in 1999 by environmental lobby group Greenpeace to a patent on neural precursor cells obtained two years earlier by Oliver Br?stle, now at the University of Bonn in Germany.

"With this unfortunate decision, the fruits of years of translational research by European scientists will be wiped away and left to non-European countries," Br?stle said today.

"It is very much to be regretted that the court has taken this view," said Ian Wilmut of the University of Edinburgh, UK, the scientist whose team developed Dolly the cloned sheep. "This judgment may mean that initial research carried out in Europe - in some cases with European funds - will be more likely to be developed and used in other parts of the world.

"This is a devastating decision which will stop stem-cell therapies used in medicine," said Pete Coffey of University College London.

Coffey said that the ruling would not jeopardise or delay planned trials of a tiny eye patch to prevent age-related macular degeneration that he helped develop using stem cells. But he said the ruling could jeopardise other treatments. "This decision will be a major barrier to patients actually receiving these [types of] treatments," he said. "I've just won an international prize from the New York Stem Cell Foundation for translating stem-cell research into clinical practice, yet I now find that Europe, the continent in which I'm doing this research, is basically calling me immoral."

In a letter to Nature in April protesting at an earlier prior opinion from the court's advocate general, Yves Bot, Coffey and other researchers warned that a ban would drive research outside Europe and obstruct the development of treatments. They also argued strongly that it would be immoral not to allow patents that could benefit patients and relieve suffering to stand.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/19602419/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A110C10A0Cstem0Ecell0Epatents0Eruled0Eillega0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

usnews new york special election windows 8 2pac kabul build build