At one time, the thought was that the daily printed daily newspaper would be around as long as Baby Boomers are around.
But industry experts say the tablet reader -- theApple iPad and its ilk -- may indeed attract enough Baby Boomer readers as to help render the printed paper to dinosaur status at some point.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE ? An analysis of cancer rates among residents of the area of the city known as ?The Swamps? where people feared an unknown health risk, shows no abnormal rate of cancer, a county health official said Saturday.
Analysis of data from 1997 through 2008 showed the cancer rates among residents were 11 cases below the expected number for that neighborhood compared with national data, said Ken Pearce, director of the Lorain County General Health District.
There were no children diagnosed with cancers during that period, and no environmental causes were associated with the diagnosed cancer cases, Pearce said. The majority of cancer cases reviewed in the study are linked to lifestyle behaviors and genetics, he said.
The area studied is near Center Ridge Road, one of the former Lake Erie beach ridges that still rise over the surrounding typography, Pearce said.
It is between Lear Nagle Road and McKinley Avenue from east and west, and between Mills and Center Ridge roads to the north and south.
Residents or former residents of the area had sought soil testing and a health study to determine whether there was an abnormally high rate of cancer.
The health district used its own staff and help from state health officials to analyze data from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System to determine the number of people living in ?The Swamps? area who were diagnosed with cancer, Pearce said.
Cancer cases from ?The Swamps? during that time were then compared with national cancer rates from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program at the National Cancer Institute, Pearce said.
The complete results can be found on the district?s website, Pearce said.
?The result of the assessment does not show any significant difference of cancer among the neighborhood residents when compared to national cancer rates; therefore, there is no reason to think anything unusual is happening in ?The Swamps,? ? Robert Indian, Chief of the Ohio Department of Health Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, said in a news release.
To read the cancer report, visit www.loraincountyhealth.com.
Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
Derrik Sweeney, 19, of Jefferson City, Mo., smiles as he walks with his mother, Joy Sweeney, center, and sister Ashley Sweeney after arriving at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Derrik Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Derrik Sweeney, 19, of Jefferson City, Mo., smiles as he walks with his mother, Joy Sweeney, center, and sister Ashley Sweeney after arriving at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Derrik Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, as arms from his mother, Joy Sweeney, wrap around from behind after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Derrik Sweeney, left, walks with, from left to right, his mother, Joy Sweeney, sister Ashley Sweeney and father Kevin Sweeney after arriving at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Derrik Sweeney, center, gets hugs from his father Kevin Sweeney, left, and sister Ashley, right, as arms from his mother, Joy Sweeney, wrap around from behind after Derrik arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in St. Louis. Sweeney and two other American students were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square in Cairo last Sunday, accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered the three to be released. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Three American college students detained for several harrowing days in Egypt before obtaining their release as deadly protests swept Cairo have flown home to freedom, one describing an ordeal so terrifying he wasn't sure he would survive it.
"I was not sure I was going to live," 19-year-old college student Derrik Sweeney told The Associated Press by telephone moments after his relieved parents, other relatives and dozens of supporters swamped him with hugs as he got off a flight in St. Louis.
Sweeney, the last of the three to arrive late Saturday, recounted how tear gas clouded Cairo's streets and he heard the rumbling of armored vehicles and what sounded like shots being fired just before his arrest a week earlier. Suddenly, the drama involving thousands of demonstrators in the streets had become intensely personal.
Egyptian authorities later announced that they had arrested Sweeney and two others studying abroad ? 19-year-old Gregory Porter and 21-year-old Luke Gates ? on the rooftop of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square and a focal point of protests raging in that capital.
Officials had accused the young men of throwing firebombs at Egyptian security forces who were clashing with the protesters. Sweeney said Saturday that he and the other Americans "never did anything to hurt anyone," never were on the rooftop and never handled or threw explosives.
Sweeney said he and the others were told by a group the night of their arrest that they would be led "to a safe place" amid the chaos engulfing the nearby square. Next, he said, they found themselves being taken into custody, hit, and forced to lay for about six hours in a near fetal position in the darkness with their hands behind their backs.
The worst, he said, was when they were threatened with guns.
"They said if we moved at all, even an inch, they would shoot us. They were behind us with guns," Sweeney said in the brief interview.
That night in detention ? "probably the scariest night of my life ever" ? gave way to much better treatment in ensuing days, he said. Sweeney didn't elaborate on who he believed was holding him the opening night but he called the subsequent treatment humane.
"There was really marked treatment between the first night and the next three nights or however long it was. The first night, it was kind of rough. They were hitting us; they were saying they were going to shoot us and they were putting us in really uncomfortable positions. But after that first night, we were treated in a just manner ... we were given food when we needed and it was OK."
He also said he was then able to speak with a U.S. consular official, his mother and obtain legal counsel. He also said he denied the accusations during what he called proper questioning by Egyptian authorities. The three were studying at American University in Cairo.
A court ordered the students' release Thursday and they took separate connecting flights out of Cairo via Germany on Saturday, a day of fresh clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters. The demonstrators are demanding Egypt's military step down ahead of parliamentary elections due to start Monday.
Porter and Gates were first to arrive back in their home states late Saturday, greeted by family members in emotional airport reunions.
Neither Gates nor Porter recounted any details of the past week in Egypt, where protests erupted Nov. 19 and have continued for days amid sporadic scenes of police firing tear gas and using armored vehicles to chase rock-throwing protesters. Authorities said more than 40 people have died in the unrest.
"I'm not going to take this as a negative experience. It's still a great country," said Gates, his parents wrapping their arms around him, shortly after getting off a flight in Indianapolis.
In another scene played out at Philadelphia International Airport, Porter was met by his parents and other relatives earlier Saturday evening after he landed.
Porter took no questions, saying he was thankful for the help he and the other American students received from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, administrators at the university they were attending, and attorneys in Egypt and the U.S.
"I'm just so thankful to be back, to be in Philadelphia right now," said Porter, who is from nearby Glenside, Pa., and attends Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Joy Sweeney said waiting for her son had been grueling.
"He still hasn't processed what a big deal this is," she told the AP before his arrival in St. Louis , about 130 miles east of their home in Jefferson City, Mo.
She said she was trying not to dwell on the events and was just ecstatic that her son, a student at Georgetown University in Washington, was coming home before the close of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
___
Matheson reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press photographer Michael Conroy contributed to this report from Indianapolis and AP writers Bill Cormier in Atlanta; Maggie Michael in Cairo; Andale Gross and Erin Gartner in Chicago; Sandy Kozel in Washington; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia also contributed.
Each year, several dozen smartphones land on our collective desks. They come in different shapes and sizes, boast different features and sell at different price points. We take each of them for a spin and review most of them, but only a handful really stand out. This is especially true with Android handsets, where incremental updates appear to be the modus operandi. Every now and then a device comes along that we really look forward to getting our hands on. Google's line of Nexus smartphones falls into this category, setting the new standard for Android each year.
In early 2010, the Nexus One became the yardstick for all future Android handsets and, later that year, the launch vehicle for FroYo. A year ago, the Nexus S introduced us to Gingerbread on the popular Galaxy S platform. Now, a few weeks after being unveiled with much fanfare, we're finally able to sink our teeth into Ice Cream Sandwich with the Galaxy Nexus, arguably the latest addition to Samsung's critically acclaimed Galaxy S II family. So, does this highly anticipated device live up to our expectations? Is the Galaxy Nexus the smartphone to beat? Most importantly, is Ice Cream Sandwich ready to take Android to the next level? In a word, yes. Read on for our full review.
If you're going to start your festivities by running a turkey trot or with a game of touch football, be sure to warm up afterward by having this simple and delicious hot rum drink from acclaimed author Wayne Curtis. It will chase away a chill with ease.
MOSCOW ? Russia threatened on Wednesday to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans, a harsh warning that reflected deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin.
President Dmitry Medvedev said he still hopes for a deal with the U.S. on missile defense, but he strongly accused Washington and its NATO allies of ignoring Russia's worries. He said Russia will have to take military countermeasures if the U.S. continues to build the shield without legal guarantees that it will not be aimed against Russia.
The U.S. has repeatedly assured Russia that its proposed missile defense system wouldn't be directed against Russia's nuclear forces, and it did that again Wednesday.
"I do think it's worth reiterating that the European missile defense system that we've been working very hard on with our allies and with Russia over the last few years is not aimed at Russia," said Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. "It is ... designed to help deter and defeat the ballistic missile threat to Europe and to our allies from Iran."
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the United States will continue to seek Moscow's cooperation, but it must realize "that the missile defense systems planned for deployment in Europe do not and cannot threaten Russia's strategic deterrent."
But Medvedev said Moscow will not be satisfied by simple declarations and wants a binding agreement. He said, "When we propose to put in on paper in the form of precise and clear legal obligations, we hear a strong refusal."
Medvedev warned that Russia will station missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region and other areas, if the U.S. continues its plans without offering firm and specific pledges that the shield isn't directed at its nuclear forces. He didn't say whether the missiles would carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was "very disappointed" with Russia's threat to deploy missiles near alliance nations, adding that "would be reminiscent of the past and ... inconsistent with the strategic relations NATO and Russia have agreed they seek."
"Cooperation, not confrontation, is the way ahead," Rasmussen said in a statement.
The U.S. missile defense dispute has long tarnished ties between Moscow and Washington. The Obama administration has repeatedly said the shield is needed to fend off a potential threat from Iran, but Russia fears that it could erode the deterrent potential of its nuclear forces.
"If our partners tackle the issue of taking our legitimate security interests into account in an honest and responsible way, I'm sure we will be able to come to an agreement," Medvedev said. "But if they propose that we `cooperate,' or, to say it honestly, work against our own interests, we won't be able to reach common ground."
Moscow has agreed to consider a proposal NATO made last fall to cooperate on the missile shield, but the talks have been deadlocked over how the system should be operated. Russia has insisted that it should be run jointly, which NATO has rejected.
Medvedev also warned that Moscow may opt out of the New START arms control deal with the United States and halt other arms control talks, if the U.S. proceeds with the missile shield without meeting Russia's demand. The Americans had hoped that the START treaty would stimulate progress in further ambitious arms control efforts, but such talks have stalled because of tension over the missile plan.
While the New START doesn't prevent the U.S. from building new missile defense systems, Russia has said it could withdraw from the treaty if it feels threatened by such a system in future.
Medvedev reaffirmed that warning Wednesday, saying that Russia may opt out of the treaty because of an "inalienable link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons."
The New START has been a key achievement of Obama's policy of improving relations with Moscow, which had suffered badly under the George W. Bush administration.
"It's impossible to do a reset using old software, it's necessary to develop a new one," Medvedev's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said at a news conference.
The U.S. plan calls for placing land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in European locations, including Romania and Poland, over the next decade and upgrading them over time.
Medvedev said that Russia will carefully watch the development of the U.S. shield and take countermeasures if Washington continues to ignore Russia's concerns. He warned that Moscow would deploy short-range Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, a Baltic Sea region bordering Poland, and place weapons in other areas in Russia's west and south to target U.S. missile defense sites. Medvedev said Russia would put a new early warning radar in Kaliningrad.
He said that as part of its response Russia would also equip its intercontinental nuclear missiles with systems that would allow them to penetrate prospective missile defenses and would develop ways to knock down the missile shield's control and information facilities.
Igor Korotchenko, a Moscow-based military expert, was quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency as saying that the latter would mean targeting missile defense radars and command structures with missiles and bombers. "That will make the entire system useless," he said.
Medvedev and other Russian leaders have made similar threats in the past, and the latest statement appears to be aimed at the domestic audience ahead of Dec. 4 parliamentary elections.
Medvedev, who is set to step down to allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reclaim the presidency in March's election, leads the ruling United Russia party list in the parliamentary vote. A stern warning to the U.S. and NATO issued by Medvedev seems to be directed at rallying nationalist votes in the polls.
Rogozin, Russia's NATO envoy, said the Kremlin won't follow the example of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and take unwritten promises from the West.
"The current political leadership can't act like Gorbachev, and it wants written obligations secured by ratification documents," Rogozin said.
Medvedev's statement was intended to encourage the U.S. and NATO to take Russia seriously at the missile defense talks, Rogozin said. He added that the Russian negotiators were annoyed by the U.S. "openly lying" about its missile defense plans.
"We won't allow them to treat us like fools," he said. "Nuclear deterrent forces aren't a joke."
____
Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Pauline Jelinek and Julie Pace in Washington and Slobodan Lekic in Brussels contributed to this report.
Protesters throw stones during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters throw stones during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A Protester runs to throw a tear gas canister away during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters throw stones during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Protesters chant slogans during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A protester throws stones during clashes with the Egyptian riot police near Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptian state television says the military rulers are in a crisis meeting with leaders of political parties across the spectrum and the head of the ruling military council will address the nation shortly.
The report Tuesday came as tens of thousands massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand the military set a date for presidential elections soon to enable the quick transfer of power to a civilian government.
The military-appointed government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf submitted its resignation on Monday in apparent response to some of the demands of protesters. The military has not yet said whether it accepted the resignation.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
CAIRO (AP) ? Tens of thousands of Egyptians massed on Tahrir Square for a mass demonstration Tuesday while fresh clashes broke out elsewhere in Cairo as protests demanding the country's military rulers step down entered a fourth day.
Activists are hoping to increase the number of protesters in the square ? which was the epicenter of the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February ? with a demonstration to bolster popular support for a "second revolution" despite bloodshed that has left at least 29 people dead nationwide.
Security forces stayed away from the square since Monday to avoid confrontations after several failed efforts to clear the area in downtown Cairo turned violent. But clashes broke out in streets connecting Tahrir Square to police headquarters, with black-clad security forces backed by military troops firing volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets to block groups of angry young men, who responded by hurling stones and fire bombs.
The two sides have been engaged in intense clashes since the unrest began on Saturday with protesters trying to force out the generals who have failed to stabilize the country, salvage the economy or bring democracy more than nine months after taking the reins from Mubarak.
Three foreigners were arrested after they were seen throwing fire bombs at security forces from the roof of a building belonging to the American University near Tahrir Square, an Interior Ministry official said. The official did not give the nationalities of the three men.
An airport official also said a U.S. citizen who had been arrested while allegedly filming security forces at Tahrir Square was deported Tuesday to the United Arab Emirates from which he had arrived.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information
In many ways, the protests bear a striking resemblance to the 18-day uprising beginning Jan. 25 that toppled Mubarak. The chants are identical, except that military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi's name has replaced Mubarak's.
"The goal is to get rid of the government. They're still stealing and people can't eat," said protester Raed Said, 23, as he walked with an arm around his friend who was choking from the tear gas. "The field marshal has to leave because he's trying to protect Mubarak and doesn't want to try him, so he has to go."
Hundreds of protesters arrived early Tuesday to join several thousand who have been camping on Tahrir Square, sleeping in tents or on the grass rolled up in blankets despite efforts by police to clear the area. The crowds hoisted a giant Egyptian flag and chanted slogans demanding the generals immediately step down in favor of a presidential civilian council.
One man held a sign reading "ministry of thuggery" with photos of Mubarak, Tantawi, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and others. A few hundred young men nearby chanted "say it, don't fear, the council must go" and "the people want to execute the field marshal."
The rally, dubbed "Egypt's Salvation," came a day after Sharaf's civilian Cabinet submitted its resignation to the military council, a move that had been widely expected given the government's perceived inefficiency and its almost complete subordination to the generals. The ruling military council gave no word if the offer had been accepted, but regardless, it failed to satisfy the protesters.
"That was a game, like playing the joker in a game of cards. We want the military council to resign," said 60-year-old protester Mustafa Mursi, who wore a pair of goggles on his forehead with a gas mask and a laminated picture of his slain son around his neck.
Mursi, who has been at the square since the latest protests began on Saturday, said that his son Mohammed was shot in head on Jan. 28 during clashes with security forces in the earlier uprising.
"I'll stay until military rule ends and there is civilian rule," he said.
The clashes came few days before the country's first parliamentary elections since Mubarak was forced to step down. Fears were high that the turmoil would disrupt elections due to begin on Nov. 28.
Amnesty International harshly criticized the military rulers in a new report, saying they have "completely failed to live up their promises to Egyptians to improve human rights."
The London-based group documented steps by the military that have fallen short of increasing human rights and in some cases have made matters worse than under Mubarak.
"The euphoria of the uprising has been replaced by fears that one repressive rule has simply been replaced with another," according to the report, issued early Tuesday.
The report called for repeal of the Mubarak-era "emergency laws," expanded to cover "thuggery" and criticizing the military. It said the army has placed arbitrary restrictions on media and other outlets.
Egyptian security forces have continued to use torture against demonstrators, the report said, and some 12,000 civilians have been tried in military trials, which it called "unfair."
A military spokesman, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that the military has set up barbed wire and barricades around the security headquarters to prevent protesters from storming the building. "We are only here to protect the interior ministry," he said.
The spokesman, who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to release the information, also said army officers and soldiers had been forbidden to enter Tahrir Square.
In violence elsewhere, Egypt's state-TV reported that three people were killed overnight in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, raising the overall death toll from the protests to 29.
The unrest also had an immediate impact on Egypt's economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism and had not fully recovered from the effect of the January revolution. The stock exchange temporarily suspended trading after the broader EGX100 index slumped 5 percent.
Have trouble with chopsticks? Then maybe you should learn to use your opposable thumbs, you big ape. Alternatively, try these Fork-Knife chopsticks. Not only do they give dexterously-challenged diners a spring-loaded pair of chopsticks, they also split apart to form a knife and fork when you inevitably give up and start shoveling in the sushi [...]
Moffitt Cancer Center researchers find men less willing to be screened for cancerPublic release date: 22-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ferdie De Vega Ferdinand.DeVega@moffitt.org 813-745-7858 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
TAMPA, Fla. -- Although men have higher cancer mortality rates than women, they are less willing to be screened for cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Sanoa Consulting LLC, Muscle Shoals, Ala., and the New York University College of Dentistry.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health, was conducted in New York City, Baltimore, Maryland and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through a random-dial telephone survey of 1,148 adult African Americans, whites, and Puerto Rican Hispanics who answered questions from the Cancer Screening Questionnaire. The majority of those surveyed were 30 to 59 years of age. The study has been released online and will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Men's Health.
"This study examined beliefs and attitudes held by men and women about cancer screening," said study corresponding author Jenna L. Davis, M.P.H., of Moffitt's Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior. "Our aim was to gain insight for improving existing cancer health promotion practices. Our findings indicate that there is a need for better health and cancer screening promotion among men."
The researchers suggested that the screening participation gap between men (who accounted for 35 percent of those surveyed) and women may be related to several factors. For example, more cancer awareness promotions in the media are aimed at women's breast cancer; there is a lack of government sponsored men's cancer awareness campaigns; and studies indicate that women visit their primary care doctors more often than do men.
According to co-author B. Lee Green, Ph.D., Moffitt senior member and the vice president of Moffitt Diversity, there is far less coverage in the media of men's cancers. For example, the authors cite a previous study showing that mammography is more often mentioned in newspaper articles than the prostate specific antigen (PSA), the screening tool for prostate cancer.
"There are many fundraisers, commercials and community awareness events about women's cancers, such as breast cancer," said Green. "For example, the National Football League allows players to wear pink during October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Prostate Cancer Foundation has only recently petitioned the NFL to recognize National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by allowing players to wear blue in September."
The authors also note that within national government agencies, men's health promotions are lacking. While the National Institutes of Health has an Office of Research on Women's Health, there is no such office for men's health.
Another variable may be that women are more frequent consumers of health care.
"Women generally have more ongoing and routine visits to their primary care doctors than men," said Davis. "They are more likely to be screened during these visits."
The study concluded that when men are provided with the details of screening procedures who conducts the screening, what men have to do men were slightly more likely to participate in cancer screening than women.
"This strongly suggests that men will participate in screening when given more information about screening procedures," concluded Davis. "This means that health educators, physicians and community-based organizations should make a concerted effort to educate men on exact screening procedures, explain how cancer is detected, and communicate what to expect during screening."
###
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Follow Moffitt on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MoffittCancerCenter
Follow Moffitt on Twitter: @MoffittNews
Follow Moffitt on YouTube: http://www.MoffittNews.com
Located in Tampa, Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center is an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center a designation that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt currently has 14 affiliates in Florida, one in Georgia, one in Pennsylvania and two in Puerto Rico. Additionally, Moffitt is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. Moffitt marks a very important anniversary in 2011 25 years committed to one mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.
Media release by Florida Science Communications
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Moffitt Cancer Center researchers find men less willing to be screened for cancerPublic release date: 22-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Ferdie De Vega Ferdinand.DeVega@moffitt.org 813-745-7858 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
TAMPA, Fla. -- Although men have higher cancer mortality rates than women, they are less willing to be screened for cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Sanoa Consulting LLC, Muscle Shoals, Ala., and the New York University College of Dentistry.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research/National Institutes of Health, was conducted in New York City, Baltimore, Maryland and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through a random-dial telephone survey of 1,148 adult African Americans, whites, and Puerto Rican Hispanics who answered questions from the Cancer Screening Questionnaire. The majority of those surveyed were 30 to 59 years of age. The study has been released online and will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Men's Health.
"This study examined beliefs and attitudes held by men and women about cancer screening," said study corresponding author Jenna L. Davis, M.P.H., of Moffitt's Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior. "Our aim was to gain insight for improving existing cancer health promotion practices. Our findings indicate that there is a need for better health and cancer screening promotion among men."
The researchers suggested that the screening participation gap between men (who accounted for 35 percent of those surveyed) and women may be related to several factors. For example, more cancer awareness promotions in the media are aimed at women's breast cancer; there is a lack of government sponsored men's cancer awareness campaigns; and studies indicate that women visit their primary care doctors more often than do men.
According to co-author B. Lee Green, Ph.D., Moffitt senior member and the vice president of Moffitt Diversity, there is far less coverage in the media of men's cancers. For example, the authors cite a previous study showing that mammography is more often mentioned in newspaper articles than the prostate specific antigen (PSA), the screening tool for prostate cancer.
"There are many fundraisers, commercials and community awareness events about women's cancers, such as breast cancer," said Green. "For example, the National Football League allows players to wear pink during October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Prostate Cancer Foundation has only recently petitioned the NFL to recognize National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month by allowing players to wear blue in September."
The authors also note that within national government agencies, men's health promotions are lacking. While the National Institutes of Health has an Office of Research on Women's Health, there is no such office for men's health.
Another variable may be that women are more frequent consumers of health care.
"Women generally have more ongoing and routine visits to their primary care doctors than men," said Davis. "They are more likely to be screened during these visits."
The study concluded that when men are provided with the details of screening procedures who conducts the screening, what men have to do men were slightly more likely to participate in cancer screening than women.
"This strongly suggests that men will participate in screening when given more information about screening procedures," concluded Davis. "This means that health educators, physicians and community-based organizations should make a concerted effort to educate men on exact screening procedures, explain how cancer is detected, and communicate what to expect during screening."
###
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Follow Moffitt on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MoffittCancerCenter
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Located in Tampa, Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center is an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center a designation that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt currently has 14 affiliates in Florida, one in Georgia, one in Pennsylvania and two in Puerto Rico. Additionally, Moffitt is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. Moffitt marks a very important anniversary in 2011 25 years committed to one mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.
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LONDON (Reuters) ? Turkey is still determined to join the European Union despite the current crisis in the euro zone and can become the bloc's economic "growth engine," President Abdullah Gul said in an interview published on Sunday.
Gul rejected concerns that the economic problems facing the euro zone meant that any further expansion of the 27-member EU should be put on hold.
EU countries agreed unanimously in 2005 to start talks with mainly Muslim Turkey with the goal of full membership.
However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains opposed to Turkey joining and German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she favors a "privileged partnership" for Turkey rather than full membership.
"Some people who think in a narrow scope and who do lack a strategic perspective consider Turkey's membership a burden," Gul, who is traveling to Britain this week for a three-day visit, told Britain's Sunday Telegraph.
"But those who can think 30 years, 60 years ahead, and who can think about the changing trends in the economy and the changing centers of power, can understand how much strength Turkey can bring to the existing strength of Europe."
Gul said Turkey's membership of NATO had been considered the only reason for it to be allowed to join but now its booming economy, where GDP grew by 11 percent in the first quarter of 2011, was as valid.
"Consider the potential that Turkey has: Turkey's position, her assets, the value she can add in terms of energy resources, her population, the dynamism she can bring into Europe, and also the growth that she can bring, with Turkey being the engine of this growth."
He said Turkey viewed the euro zone crisis as a temporary situation.
"We approach the negotiations with a strategic vision, and are very determined."
Turkey has also been taking a tough approach against Syria over its crackdown on opponents of President Bashar al-Assad and Gul said his country would back the Syrian people.
"When any kind of movement has its roots among the people of the country and the walls of fear come down, then the end result is very obvious," he said.
"With a strong and clear voice we are saying that the legitimate demands of the people are being supported by us. We enable them to have their meetings and discussions in a free environment, and provide a diplomatic platform.
"I strongly believe that there is no place any more for authoritarian regimes -- single party systems that do not have accountability or transparency -- on the shores of the Mediterranean."
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Ralph Gowling)
Call off the Katy Perry bump watch! Although Russell Brand's 27-year-old wife says she wants kids someday, she's not pregnant yet!
"I still love drinking alcohol, so [no kids] yet," Perry told The Insider at the American Music Awards on Sunday. "I like In-N-Out Burger and Taco Bell, and if you want to make that pregnant, that's your problem."
PHOTOS: What the stars wore to the AMAs
At a recent concert in NYC, the "Firework" singer told fans any bump they thought they saw wasn't an indicator that she was pregnant; she'd just indulged in too much "NYC pizza!"
PHOTOS: Katy and Russel's romance
But earlier this month on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Perry said having children is "one of the reasons you get married."
PHOTOS: Katy's crazy cleavage
"Especially to the person that you marry. You think, that person is going to be a good partner, a good parent," she explained. "But, I'm not sure it's time yet. We'll see, ya know?"
She added that "if it doesn't hurt the first time, I'll keep popping them out!"
BRUSSELS ? The European Union relaxed its ban on Angola's TAAG Airlines flying in European airspace, imposed a partial ban on Jordan Aviation and noted significant aviation safety improvements in Albania and Russia.
The EU's latest blacklist on Monday banned three of Jordan Aviation's Boeing 767s from flying to Europe. The charter company often works for the United Nations to transport its peacekeepers.
Siim Kallas, the EU commissioner responsible for transport, said the bloc could not accept any compromises when it comes to air safety.
"Where we have evidence ... that air carriers are not performing safe operations, we must act to exclude any risks to safety," he said.
The EU list of 281 airlines from 24 countries ? mostly smaller carriers from Africa and Asia ? banned from flying in European airspace was established in 2006 and is updated regularly.
But critics say most of the notorious African cargo outfits still on the list have been shut down. Many others on it involve air taxi services or small, specialized charter firms that work for mining, oil and gas and other natural resources companies, usually to transport employees to remote work sites.
The update for TAAG means that it can fly into Europe using its two modern Boeing 777-300 airliners "which the air carrier has shown that it is capable to manage safely," the EU statement said.
Meanwhile, the commission said Russia and Albania had made significant progress in improving flight safety and that no punitive measures would be taken against any of their airlines.
The EU banned all operations to Europe by aircraft belonging to Rollins Air, a charter and leasing company registered in Honduras.
The list also includes 11 air carriers that are allowed to operate in Europe subject to strict conditions and restrictions on which planes they can use. These include North Korea's Air Koryo and Iran's national flag carrier Air Iran.
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Follow Slobodan Lekic on Twitter at http://twitter.com/slekich
CAIRO ? Egyptian doctors say three people have been killed in a police and army assault to evict protesters at Cairo's central Tahrir Square.
The assault came on the second of two days of clashes between Egyptian security and protesters calling on the ruling military to quickly announce a date for the transfer of power to a civilian administration.
Mahmoud Said, a doctor at the nearby Munira hospital, said the bodies of two men were brought to the hospital on Sunday evening, while Mohammed Qenawy, a doctor at one of two field hospitals in the square, said a male protester in his early 20s also was killed.
The military took over when longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February.
A toothy Mayan skull, made of limestone and in the shape of a monkey head, is set to go on display at a Maya exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.
But unlike the famous crystal skulls, which are widely regarded as fake, this one is believed to be real.
The skull is roughly life-size and small enough that you can hold it in your hands. It has eight inlaid white teeth made of shell in two groups of four, with a black tooth made of iron pyrite in the middle. The mouth of the skull is wide open, and the eyes may have originally had shells in them.
"This was something that was given to the museum in the early 1970s," exhibition curator Justin Jennings told LiveScience.
A key trait that separates it from its fake crystal counterparts is that it's made of limestone, a material commonly used for art among the ancient Maya. Many artifacts from the Mayan city of Palenque were manufactured using it. Also, monkeys were common motifs in Mayan art, their gods being sometimes drawn in the form of the animal.?
Museum researchers believe that the skull would have been placed in a tomb sometime between A.D. 250 and 600, a time when the Maya civilization was flourishing. Jennings said that the skull may have been a symbolic representation of a piece of clothing worn while playing a ball game popular among the Maya.
The ball games were played on a narrow court using a hard rubber ball. Two opposing teams had to pass the ball by using their hips, elbows and knees (no hands were allowed). Evidence from Mayan art suggests that the losing team was sometimes sacrificed at the end.
To minimize injury, and make it easier to slide, the Mayans wore different types of clothing to protect themselves. The monkey skull may represent a hand guard, something worn around the wrists that would have made it possible for players to slide without injuring themselves. The cloth versions would not have been as artistic as the stone versions put in the tombs and may not have included a depiction of a monkey?s skull.
"The stone versions are put in the tomb because when (the Maya) go to the afterlife they're going to be playing the ball game," said Jennings. "They're playing it in life and they're playing it in death."
The exhibition, which features the skull along with more than 200 other artifacts, starts at the museum on Saturday and runs through April.
WASHINGTON ? Top international climate scientists and disaster experts meeting in Africa had a sharp message Friday for the world's political leaders: Get ready for more dangerous and "unprecedented extreme weather" caused by global warming.
Making preparations, they say, will save lives and money.
These experts fear that without preparedness, crazy weather extremes may overwhelm some locations, making some places unlivable.
The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a new special report on global warming and extreme weather after meeting in Kampala, Uganda. This is the first time the group of scientists has focused on the dangers of extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, droughts and storms. Those are more dangerous than gradual increases in the world's average temperature.
"We need to be worried," said one of the study's lead authors, Maarten van Aalst, director of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre in the Netherlands. "And our response needs to anticipate disasters and reduce risk before they happen rather than wait until after they happen and clean up afterward. ... Risk has already increased dramatically."
The report said "a changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration, and timing of extreme weather and climate events, and can result in unprecedented extreme weather and climate events." And it said that some ? but not all ? of these extreme events are caused by the increase of man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
"We face many challenges in the future," another study lead author, Chris Field of Stanford University, said in a news conference. Those include floods, drought, storms, and heat waves. Field said scientists aren't quite sure which will be the biggest threat to the world because disasters are weather extremes interacting with economics and where people live. Society's vulnerability to natural disasters, aside from climate, has also increased, he said.
Field told The Associated Press in an interview that "it's clear that losses from disasters are increasing. And in terms of deaths, "more than 95 percent of fatalities from the 1970s to the present have been in developing countries," he said.
Losses are already high, running at as much as $200 billion a year, said Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University, a study author.
"Global warming is increasing the risk of disaster and already makes dealing with several types of disaster, like heat waves, more difficult. The risk will become greater as the future gets hotter," he said.
Science has progressed so much in the last several years that scientists can now attribute the increase in many of these types of extreme weather events to global warming with increased confidence, said study author Thomas Stocker at the University of Bern.
Scientists were able to weigh their confidence of predictions of future climate disasters and heat waves were the most obvious. The report said it is "virtually certain" that heat waves are getting worse, longer and hotter, while cold spells are easing.
What that means is the nasty heat wave that used to happen once every 20 years by mid-century will be once every five years and by the end of the century will be an every other year scorcher, Field and Stocker said.
The report said there is at least a two-in-three chance that heavy downpours will increase, both in the tropics and northern regions, and from tropical cyclones.
The 29-page summary of the full special report ? which will be completed in the coming months ? says that extremes in some unnamed regions at some point in the future can get so bad that they may need to be abandoned.
Unless the world changes the way it deals with vulnerability disasters and climate change, "there's going to be an increasing number of places where dealing with these disasters is going to be more and more difficult," van Aalst said in a telephone interview. And in those cases, sometimes the most sensible option, he said, "may be to leave those places."
Such locations are likely to be in poorer countries, he said, but the middle class may be affected in those regions, which aren't specifically identified in the report. And even in some developed northern regions of the world, such as Canada, Russia and Greenland, cities might need to move because of weather extremes and sea level rise from man-made warming, van Aalst said. In places like van Aalst's native Netherlands, citizens will have to learn how to handle new weather problems, in this case heat waves.
Scientists emphasized that governments have to be more prepared.
"Governments are not doing a good job now protecting us from disaster in the current climate," Oppenheimer said.
And it's not just the big headline grabbing disasters like a Hurricane Katrina or the massive 2010 Russian heat wave that studies show were unlikely to happen without global warming. At the Red Cross/Red Crescent they are seeing "a particular pattern of rising risks" from smaller events, van Aalst said.
Of all the weather extremes that kill and cause massive damage, he said, the worst is flooding.
There's an ongoing debate in the climate science community about whether it is possible and fair to attribute individual climate disasters to manmade global warming. Usually meteorologists say it's impossible to link climate change to a specific storm or drought, but that such extremes are more likely in a future dominated by global warming.
The panel was formed by the United Nations and World Meteorological Organization. In the past, it has discussed extreme events in snippets in its report. But this time, the scientists are putting them all together.
The next major IPCC report isn't expected until the group meets in Stockholm in 2013.
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Online:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on weather extremes: http://1.usa.gov/sYQQRv
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Public release date: 22-Nov-2011
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