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Costa Rica Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 104 |
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Ministerio de Obras Públicas y
Transportes photo
They actually used this bridge.Hanging bridge at Río Orosi due for repairs and replacement By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Highway crews begin work today to repair the old hanging bridge over the Río Grande de Orosi in Palomo de Cartago. Crews are trying to make temporary repairs while bids are sought for a new bridge there. Road officials characterized the state of the bridge as precarious. The span will be closed for a month to motor vehicles while work continues. The Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes said that pedestrians will be allowed to use the bridge as well as persons on bicycles and motorcycles. An early part of the work will be a complete diagnosis of the bridge by engineers. The bridge has a weight limit of four tons, but that limit was not respected, officials said. Once repair work is finished, the weight limit will be reduced to three tons, they said. Ministry officials said that a new, two-lane bridge probably will take at least 18 months for design and construction. They said that for technical reasons a bailey bridge is not suitable for the span. Biofestival photo
This
is a scene from last year's festival
Guápiles
festival this year
will be June 3 through 8 By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Guápiles plans its Biofestival from Monday, June 3, to Saturday, June 8. This is a big event for the community and some 6,000 persons are expected to attend. Events will take place in the Casa de la Cultura de Guápiles, in the Escuela Los Diamantes and in other locations around town. The environmental emphasis will include a hike to water sources, discussion of water politics and a relaunching of a local biological corridor. There also is an environmental video contest. The Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud and the Municipalidad de Pococí are among the sponsors. Pretend cops are detained after home robbery in Nicoya By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Three men have been detained on the allegation that they pretended to be judicial agents in order to invade a home and held the occupants captive. A judge in Nicoya awarded the men six months each of preventative detention. The Poder Judicial said that the men used trickery to enter the home and take valuables but that they were detained not long after the crime. They were identified by the last names of Castro, Bejarano and Arce. Blue skies in the morning can mean afternoon downpours By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
That bright morning with blue skies actually are helping to generate afternoon showers. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said Monday that the lack of cloud cover was one reason that hot air put more moisture into the atmosphere. That is expected to happen again today with afternoon or evening showers and perhaps electrical storms in the Pacific and in the Central Valley and the northern zone. Partly cloudy skies are predicted for the Caribbean, the weather agency said. The weather institute put out a midday warning of heavy storms Monday, but they did not materialize in the metro area. Behavior of Chinese tourists become an issue in their country By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Social media users in China are expressing outrage at a young Chinese tourist who was reported to have been identified after having scribbled his name into an ancient Egyptian monument. Chinese state media say an Internet user last week tracked down the 15-year-old boy, who wrote "Ding Jinhao was here" in Mandarin on a 3,500-year-old tablet at Egypt's Temple of Luxor. Egyptian authorities this week removed the graffiti from the monument. The Global Times newspaper says the image of the defaced monument has been shared over 90,000 times on Chinese social media and triggered public outrage from embarrassed Chinese citizens. The boy's parents, who say the monument was defaced a few years ago, have apologized. They say their son is concerned about the attention being given to his actions, especially because Chinese hackers defaced his school's Web site with a message making fun of him. The story has raised the issue of embarrassing behavior of Chinese tourists abroad. Monday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson urged Chinese citizens to behave themselves overseas and abide by local laws and regulations. Earlier this month, Vice Premier Wang Yang said certain tourists' uncivilized behavior, such as talking loudly, jay-walking, spitting, and graffiti, were harming China's image. The number of Chinese tourists traveling overseas has expanded rapidly in recent years. The United Nations World Tourism Organization says Chinese travelers are now the biggest source of international tourism cash in the world. French lesbian love story among the winners at Cannes By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A French lesbian love story and a veteran Hollywood star are among the top winners at the 66th annual Cannes Film Festival, the world's most prestigious celebration of cinema. "Blue Is the Warmest Color," a story of a teenage girl's love affair with an older woman, won the GPalme d'Or award for best film. Its Tunisian-born director, Abdellatif Kechiche, said he is dedicating his prize, in part, to young Tunisians whose successful revolution gives them the chance to live and love in freedom. Hollywood's Bruce Dern won the best actor award for his role of an old man returning home to claim an inheritance in the film "Nebraska." The best actress prize went to Berenice Bejo for "The Past," the story of a woman trying to balance motherhood with an ex-husband and a new fiancee. The Grand Prix prize for the second best film was awarded to the Coen brothers' story of a folk singer in the 1960s. Mexico's Amat Escalante was best director for his violent drug war drama "Heli," and China's Jia Zhangke won the best screenplay prize for his "A Touch of Sin," the story of Chinese citizens rebelling against corruption.
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
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Costa Rica advertising reaches from 12,000 to 14,000 unique visitors every weekday in up to 90 countries. |
San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 104 |
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The Red Sismológica Nacional said that there have been 13 aftershocks of a magnitude of between 4.1 and 4.3 as a result of the 3:42 a.m. quake. Quakes with greater magnitude are in blue at the estimated epicenter. |
Red Sismológica Nacional graphic
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Panamå quake spawned a day full of
moderate aftershocks |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The early Monday morning earthquake in Panamá did not cause any serious damage, but there were many aftershocks The quake was estimated to be about 5.7 magnitude, and the epicenter was estimated to be about 18 kilometers south of Sixaola in Panamá. The quake was felt all over the country with the exception of western and northern Guanacaste, records show. The Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención |
de Emergencias coupled its
report on the quake with a reminder that every home should be prepared. The commission said that heavy objects should be removed from high places and that suitcases should be packed with survival food and gear. The commission also encouraged residents to keep a battery-operated radio nearby as well as flashlights, personal documents and medicines. There have been previous quakes about the same magnitude in this region in 1991 and 2001. |
Report of blacklisting shakes up
officials in finance ministry |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
As Costa Rica is poised to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, officials were rattled Monday by a wire service report saying that France had again listed the country as a so-called fiscal paradise. That means a country with low controls on the transfer of money. The Ministerio de Hacienda quickly shot out a release denying this. The ministry said that Costa Rica has not had any official word on being placed on any blacklist. In addition, the ministry said that a check with the French Embassy and French officials in México failed to uncover in any information on such a listing. The ministry also said that for the last four years the country has been working to tighten its financial oversight and that |
officials have signed 14 agreements
to exchange information on tax cases. Costa Rica had been listed by French in years past, but in 2012 it signed the appropriate agreements for an exchange of financial information on persons banking here, said the ministry. And the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has even advanced the country toward membership, the ministry said. Anabel González, the minister of Comercio Exterior was in Paris Monday at the organization headquarters working to enroll the country, her ministry reported. This would be a prestigious achievement for the Laura Chinchilla administration to be listed among the most advanced countries. |
You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 104 |
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U.S. officials confirm international sweep targeting Liberty
Reserve |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Attorney's Office in New York Tuesday confirmed the indictment and criminal action against Liberty Reserve, which the office called one of world’s largest digital currency companies. The office also said that seven of its principals and employees wre included in the indictment. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Liberty Reserve, which was based in Costa rica, was a $6 billion money laundering scheme with at least a million users worldwide. The action against the company and associated individuals involved law enforcement in 17 countries as is being considered by officials as the largest international money laundering prosecution in history. The U.S. attorney, Preet Bharara,, who is a federal prosecutor, said that there were about 200,000 Liberty Reserve users in the United States. Nearly all the transactions were illegal and involved more than $6 billion in suspected proceeds of crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography, and narcotics trafficking, said the U.S. Attorney's Office.. In additoon to Csota Rica, the investigation involved law enforcement action in 17 countries, including The Netherlands, Spain, Morocco, Sweden, Switzerland, Cyprus, Australia, China, Norway, Latvia, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, as well as the United States. One aspect of the crackdown became known Friday when a Costa rican prosecutor, Jose Pablo González, , said that Liberty Reserve administrator Arthur Budovsky, 39, a Costa Rican citizen, had been detained in Spain. He oversaw searches of the man's property here and the confiscation of computer servers and three vehicles. For some reason, federal officials did not announce the actions until today. In addition to Budovsky, Vladimir Kats, 41, the co-founder of Liberty Reserve, was arrested in Brooklyn, New York; Azzeddine el Amine, 46, a manager of Liberty Reserve’s financial accounts, was arrested in Spain; and Mark Marmilev, 33, and Maxim Chukharev, 27, who helped design and maintain the firm’s technological infrastructure, were arrested, said the federal agency in a release. Marmilev was arrested in Brooklyn, and Chukharev was detained in Costa Rica, the agency said. Two other defendants, Ahmed Yassine Abdelghani, 42, and Allan Esteban Hidalgo Jimenez, 28, are at large in Costa Rica, it added. “As alleged, the only liberty that Liberty Reserve gave many of its users was the freedom to commit crimes," said Bharara. "The coin of its realm was anonymity, and it became a popular hub for fraudsters, hackers, and traffickers. The global enforcement action we announce today is an important step towards reining in the Wild West of illicit Internet banking. As crime goes increasingly global, the long arm of the law has to get even longer, and in this case, it encircled the earth.” The U.S. Attorney's Office gave this background report in a news release: Liberty reserve was incorporated in Costa Rica in 2006 and operated the digital currency commonly referred to as “LR.” While the company billed itself as the Internet’s largest payment processor and money transfer system, serving millions of people around the world, including the U.S., at no time did the company register with the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a money transmitting business, as required by law. Budovsky, the principal founder of Liberty Reserve, directed and supervised its operations, finances, and corporate strategy. Kats, a co-founder, helped operate the company until 2009. The day-to-day operations were managed, at different times, by Hidalgo and Yassine. El Amine managed various financial accounts controlled by Liberty Reserve, while Marmilev and Chukharev were primarily responsible for designing and maintaining the company’s technological infrastructure. The defendants created, structured, and operated Liberty Reserve as a criminal bank-payment processor designed to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes. It emerged as one of the principal money transfer agents used by cyber criminals around the world to distribute, store, and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity. The company grew into a financial hub of the cybercrime world, facilitating a broad range of online criminal activity, including credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, child pornography, and narcotics trafficking. Liberty Reserve was used extensively for illegal purposes, functioning as the bank of choice for the criminal underworld because it provided an infrastructure that enabled cyber criminals around the world to conduct anonymous and untraceable financial transactions. The defendants also protected the criminal infrastructure of Liberty Reserve by, among other things, lying to anti-money laundering authorities in Costa Rica and pretending to shut down Liberty Reserve after learning the company was being investigated by U.S. law enforcement. They then continued operating the business through a set of shell companies, and moved tens of millions of dollars through shell company accounts maintained in |
Cyprus, Russia,
China, Hong Kong, Morocco, Spain, Australia, and elsewhere. In order to use LR currency, a user first had to open an account through the firm's Web site and provide basic identifying information. Unlike traditional banks or legitimate online processors, Liberty Reserve did not require users to validate their identities. Users routinely established accounts under false names, including such blatantly criminal names as “Russia Hackers” and “Hacker Account.” As part of the investigation, a law enforcement agent opened and executed transactions through an undercover account at Liberty Reserve in the name of “Joe Bogus” and the address “123 Fake Main Street” in “Completely Made Up City, New York.” Once an account was established, the user could conduct transactions with other users. In these transactions, the user could receive transfers of LR from other users’ accounts, and transfer LR from his or her own account to other users, including any “merchants” that accepted LR as payment. Liberty Reserve charged a 1 percent fee up to a maximum of $2.99, every time a user transferred LR to another user through the firm's system. For an additional “privacy fee” of 75 cents per transaction, a user could hide his or her own account number when transferring funds, effectively making the transfer completely untraceable, even within Liberty Reserve’s already opaque system. To add an additional layer of anonymity, the firm did not permit users to fund their accounts by transferring money to the company directly through a credit card transfer or other means. Users also could not withdraw funds from their accounts directly. Instead, users were required to make any deposits or withdrawals through the use of third-party exchangers, which enabled the company to avoid collecting any information about its users through banking transactions or other activity that would leave a centralized financial paper trail. Budovsky, Kats, and El Amine owned and operated certain exchanger services. In order to use LR currency, a user first had to open an account through the firm's Web site and provide basic identifying information. Unlike traditional banks or legitimate online processors, Liberty Reserve did not require users to validate their identities. Users routinely established accounts under false names, including such blatantly criminal names as “Russia Hackers” and “Hacker Account.” As part of the investigation, a law enforcement agent opened and executed transactions through an undercover account at Liberty Reserve in the name of “Joe Bogus” and the address “123 Fake Main Street” in “Completely Made Up City, New York.” Once an account was established, the user could conduct transactions with other users. In these transactions, the user could receive transfers of LR from other users’ accounts, and transfer LR from his or her own account to other users, including any “merchants” that accepted LR as payment. Liberty Reserve charged a 1 percent fee up to a maximum of $2.99, every time a user transferred LR to another user through the firm's system. For an additional “privacy fee” of 75 cents per transaction, a user could hide his or her own account number when transferring funds, effectively making the transfer completely untraceable, even within Liberty Reserve’s already opaque system. To add an additional layer of anonymity, the firm did not permit users to fund their accounts by transferring money to the company directly through a credit card transfer or other means. Users also could not withdraw funds from their accounts directly. Instead, users were required to make any deposits or withdrawals through the use of third-party exchangers, which enabled the company to avoid collecting any information about its users through banking transactions or other activity that would leave a centralized financial paper trail. Budovsky, Kats, and El Amine owned and operated certain exchanger services. The Liberty Reserve Web site recommended a number of pre-approved exchangers, which tended to be unlicensed money transmitting businesses operating in countries without significant governmental money laundering oversight or regulation, such as in Malaysia, Russia, Nigeria, and Vietnam. The exchangers charged transaction fees for their services that were much higher than the fees charged by mainstream banks or payment processors for comparable money transfers. To further enable the use of Liberty Reserve for criminal activity, its Web site offered a shopping cart interface that merchant Web sites could use to accept LR currency as a form of payment. The merchants who accepted LR currency were overwhelmingly criminal in nature. They included traffickers of stolen credit card data and personal identity information, peddlers of various types of online Ponzi and get-rich-quick schemes, computer hackers for hire, unregulated gambling enterprises, and underground drug-dealing Web sites. In addition to being used to process payments for illegal goods and services online, Liberty Reserve was also used by cyber criminals to launder criminal proceeds and transfer funds among criminal associates. For example, Liberty Reserve was used by credit-card theft and computer-hacking rings operating in countries around the world, including Vietnam, Nigeria, Hong Kong, China, and the U.S., to distribute proceeds of these conspiracies among the members involved. The defendants were well aware that Liberty Reserve functioned as an unlawful money-laundering enterprise. In an online chat between Kats and Yassine that was captured by law enforcement, Kats explicitly described LIberty Reserve’s activities as illegal and noted that everyone in USA such as the Department of Justice knows “LR is money laundering operation that hackers use.” |
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2013 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
A.M.
Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 104 |
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John Innes Centre photo
The purple tomatoes are
genetically modified.Those purple
tomatoes
are really the best ones By
the John Innes Centre news staff
Tomatoes, said to be the world’s most popular fruit, can be made both better-tasting and longer-lasting thanks to UK research with purple genetically modified varieties. “Working with GM tomatoes that are different to normal fruit only by the addition of a specific compound allows us to pinpoint exactly how to breed in valuable traits,” said Cathie Martin a professor from the John Innes Centre. The research could also lead to genetically modified varieties with better flavor, health and shelf life characteristics because even higher levels of the compounds can be achieved. In research to be published in Current Biology, Ms. Martin and colleagues studied tomatoes enriched in anthocyanin, a natural pigment that confers high antioxidant capacity. The purple genetically modified tomatoes have already been found to prolong the lives of cancer-prone mice and in the latest findings they also more than double the normal shelf life of tomatoes from an average of 21 days to 48 days. “Post-harvest losses due to rotting are such a serious problem for growers and supermarkets that even an increased shelf life of one day would make an enormous difference to them,” said Yang Zhang, lead author from the John Innes Centre. One way to improve shelf life is to pick tomatoes early when they are still green and induce them to ripen artificially with ethylene. However, this results in loss of flavor. Another method is to grow varieties that never fully ripen, but these also never develop a full flavor. In the current study, anthocyanins were found to slow down the over-ripening process that leads to rotting and softening, achieving a tomato with a long shelf life and full flavor. The purple tomatoes were also less susceptible to one of the most important post harvest diseases, grey mold caused by Botrytis cinerea. Conventional tomatoes can now be screened for their antioxidant capacity. Those found to be highest in antioxidant compounds can be used as parental lines for breeding. “Our research has identified a new target for breeders to produce tomato varieties that are fuller in flavor, and so more appealing to consumers, and more valuable commercially due to increased shelf life,” said Martin. The findings could also be applied to other soft fruit such as strawberries and raspberries. Other varieties of tomatoes high in a variety of compounds such as those found in red wine are being used by Essex company Biodeb to develop a range of skincare products. Chinese president speaks hopefully of U.S. visit By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Chinese President Xi Jinping says Beijing's relationship with Washington is at a critical juncture to build on past successes and open up new dimensions for the future. The statement came at a meeting in Beijing Monday with U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, who is in China to lay the groundwork for a summit between Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama next week in the United States. Donilon told the Chinese president that the summit will be an important opportunity for the two presidents to have in-depth discussions about U.S.-China relations. The talks will take place at the secluded desert resort of Sunnylands in the western U.S. state of California June 7 and 8. Among the issues that are likely to be discussed are tensions over North Korea's latest nuclear test, U.S. accusations of Chinese government-backed cyberspying, which Beijing denies, and China's territorial disputes with Japan and Southwest Asian neighbors. Americans honor the fallen with ceremonies and rally By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Americans paused Monday to honor the country's war dead, as the United States observed its annual Memorial Day. U.S. President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington. He recalled the service and character of several military personnel who were killed recently in overseas operations and have been buried at Arlington, the nation's most prominent military cemetery. "Today, just steps from where these brave Americans lie in eternal peace, we declare as a proud and grateful nation, that their sacrifice will never be forgotten. And just as we honor them, we hold their families close," Obama said. Obama and his wife, Michelle, also hosted a breakfast at the White House for families of the fallen. Communities across the country honored the war dead in a variety of ways. In New York, Women Air Service Pilots who tested aircraft during World War II were commemorated. Washington marked the holiday Sunday with thousands of motorcycle riders roaring into the national capital, a Rolling Thunder rally aimed at calling attention to prisoners of war and those missing in action. The first large-scale observance of what was originally called Decoration Day took place at Arlington cemetery in 1868, three years after the bloody U.S. Civil War that killed more than 600,000 people. Many Americans have the day off from work and school, and the three-day weekend is seen as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season. Many families have picnics or make trips to the beach, parks or campgrounds. Burma's opposition leader protests two-child policy By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has condemned a policy by authorities in the country's west that revives a two-child limit on Muslim Rohingya families. Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday the move was illegal discrimination that violated the Rohingyas' human rights. Authorities in Rakhine state, near the border with Bangladesh, have reaffirmed a measure enforced in the 1990s that banned Rohingya families from having more than two children. The policy applies to two Rakhine townships in the state with Muslim majorities. The Burmese government does not include its population of about 800,000 Rohingyas as one of its ethnic minorities. It considers them illegal immigrants and has denied them citizenship in the Buddhist-majority nation. In the past, Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized by rights groups for not speaking up for the Rohingya. New guide to mental illness is facing some criticisms By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A long-anticipated revision of an official diagnostic guide to mental illness, known as the DSM-5, was released this week. While the new manual is being welcomed by some doctors as reflecting advancements in the understanding and diagnosis of mental disorders, critics say its definitions of psychiatric conditions are based too much on symptoms and too little on the biological causes of mental illness. The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is considered by many psychiatrists and psychologists to be the bible by which they can diagnose and treat their patients' mental illnesses. It’s been nearly 20 years since the DSM's publisher, the American Psychiatric Association, or APA, did a major revision of the voluminous guide. David Kupfer, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, headed the international task force that put together this fifth version of the manual. Kupfer says it was time to update the manual, a process that took the task force a decade to complete. “We are quite excited about putting out DSM-5 as a revision due to the fact that many things have happened over the last 19 years; that it was felt, in terms of scientific evidence that we were ready for a change,” Kupfer said. For example, the manual drops the separate diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, a developmental disorder marked by significant difficulties with social interaction, and folds it into a broader category called autism spectrum disorders. Asperger’s is considered the mildest form of autism, which can cause an inability to communicate with others, emotional outbursts and repetitive behaviors. Kupfer believes that the change in the Asperger’s designation is relatively minor. But Alycia Halladay, a senior director of Autism Speaks, an advocacy group for people with autism, thinks otherwise. Ms. Halladay says people who were previously diagnosed with Asperger’s will still have access to special treatment and training programs in the U.S. “We’re concerned about individuals who may have shown symptoms of Asperger’s or may show symptoms of what was called Asperger’s not meeting the criteria for what is now called autism. And therefore not receiving services,” Ms. Halladay said. Another significant change in DSM-5 that critics have targeted is its revised definition of depression. The old criteria were that a patient had to display symptoms of unhappiness or lack of pleasure for weeks or months at a time. Now, the manual specifies that a psychiatrist may diagnose a patient with clinical depression after just two weeks of persistent sadness. To "diagnose major depression after a bereavement is medicalizing a normal human reaction, that is the grief of losing a loved one,” explained Bruce Cuthbert, coordinator of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health’s Research Domain Criteria Project or RDoC. RDoC is tasked with pulling together the latest research identifying the biological underpinnings of mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. Cuthbert says the DSM-5 continues the prevailing symptoms-based approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders. It's an approach he calls hit or miss since the drugs and therapies prescribed to relieve a mental health condition don't always work as hoped. As a result, Cuthbert says, doctors frequently resort to trying different medications on the same patient. Cuthbert says mental health research also tends to follow definitions outlined in the DSM manual. “That’s what we need to change, because we know that these categories are very complicated. There are many different mechanisms of brain functioning and behavior that are involved with any one of these disorders,” Cuthbert said. As scientific research sheds new light on the biological causes of mental illness, Cuthbert says doctors will be able to target increasingly effective treatments for their patients' psychiatric disorders. Experts say those advances will be incorporated by the American Psychiatric Association in future revisions to its DSM. Original Apple brings amazing auction price By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A vintage Apple computer has sold for more than $670,000 at an auction in Germany. The Apple-1 computer sold Saturday was assembled by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Bob Luther, author of the book, "The First Apple," said the computer is a rare collectible. "Well, the Apple 1 - there were only 200 built and they came out of the garage of Steve Jobs," Luther explained. "And then Apple had a trading program, because they wanted to bring them back, so they destroyed a lot of trade-ins. So, about 46 of them today. It's really the holy grail of collectible technology." The German auctioneer says the buyer who purchased the computer for $671,400 is from the Far East and wishes to remain anonymous. Chile evacuates an area around erupting volcano By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Chile has ordered a mandatory evacuation of a 25-kilometer radius around Copahue volcano on the border with Argentina. The 2,965-meter volcano, located in south-central Chile's Bio Bio region, has seen increasing seismic activity in recent weeks, but has not erupted. Chile's Interior and Security Minister Andres Chadwick says about 2,200 people will be evacuated. In neighboring Argentina's Neuquen province, access to the volcano is closed within four kilometers. In 2011, ash from a Chilean volcano eruption forced the sporadic cancellation of hundreds of flights, especially in neighboring Argentina and Uruguay. Brazil to forgive debt of some African nations By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Brazil's government says it is canceling or restructuring nearly $900 million in debt owed by 12 African nations. The announcement came as Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff visited Addis Ababa for the African Union summit. Easing the debt is part of a Brazilian program to bolster Africa's infrastructure, agriculture, and social programs. Brazil is one of the world's largest economies, with a gross domestic product of $2.4 trillion. Afghanistan news reporters become a growing target By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The rise of independent media in Afghanistan has been one of the country's biggest achievements, but there are troubling signs for its future. A growing number of attacks on journalists and the international community's continued silence on the issue are drawing concern. Naqibullah, a shopkeeper on so-called electronic street in Kabul, sells TVs and DVD players "Over the past 10 years under the Karzai government, I would say 85 percent of people are using TVs, DVDs, radio and other devices if they can access them. People are so interested in watching the news and other programs on TV," Naqibullah said. The country now boasts 75 TV channels, 175 radio stations, and hundreds of newspapers and magazines. Yet, behind the headlines lies another story. Since January there have been 36 cases of violence against journalists, a 40 percent increase over last year. Footage from Takhar province shows a police officer just after he smashed a journalist's car. The officer told a television cameraman he was acting on orders from the local chief of police who for a year has been repeatedly accused of assaulting and threatening journalists. The abusive police chief was fired in May. Although journalists have criticized the dismissal as being a year late, Sadiq Siddiqi, the interior ministry's spokesman, says the government is very supportive of free media "...and we will support, fully support that, and that is the policy of the Afghan government, but unfortunately in some areas there are some individuals who do not understand that reality and that policy, and cannot implement that policy," Siddiqi said. The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, however, claims the government is the main perpetrator of violence against journalists. Committee spokesman Najib Sharifi says the international community's failure to speak out on the issue has given government officials the idea their behavior is acceptable. "A strong and adamant position from the international community about the concepts would create the perception in the mind of the Afghan government workers and non-state players who are usually behind the acts of violence against reporters. It creates the perception that the international community is serious about this issue," Sharifi said. In a country like Afghanistan, where victims of violence can be killed for telling their stories, so can the journalists who assist them. 1TV's show "Mask" seeks out women who have been abused and invites them on the show to tell their stories. Islamic scholars and clerics listen and respond to the victims' tales. "Mask" producer Sorosh Azami has been targeted twice by the families of the victims who appeared on the show. "Two weeks ago a husband beat his wife. Her hand and nose were broken so she called me for help, her husband went to jail and a divorce is in the process. I am supporting and handling this prosecution and the family issues. Who will support this woman if I don't? This is my job," Azami said. In an already tense reporting environment, and with presidential elections less than a year away, media rights groups fear the number of violent acts against journalists will only increase. Vietnamese online critic carried off to prison By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Vietnamese police have detained a former journalist who ran a blog containing anti-state views, authorities said Monday, part of a widening crackdown on dissent in the Communist-run country. Truong Duy Nhat, 49, was taken into custody on Sunday and police searched his house in the central city of Danang. He complied with an urgent warrant issued against him, the ministry of public security said in a statement Monday. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in jail. Online dissent has grown in the past year as Vietnam wrestles with deep economic woes that have shattered its image as one of Asia's hottest emerging markets. Some bloggers have harshly criticized Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, accusing him of cronyism and economic mismanagement, which he denies. The ministry said Nhat violated a clause of the penal code on abusing democratic freedoms with acts against the state. It did not elaborate on his actions. Nhat, a former journalist at state-run newspapers, including one run by the Danang police force, was moved to Hanoi for further investigation, state media said. He quit his journalist job in 2010 and ran a blog titled Truong Duy Nhat, "a different viewpoint," that was known for criticism of top government officials including the prime minister. He also conducted an online opinion poll just weeks before the national assembly's first-ever confidence vote on top officials, scheduled for early June. New iPhone device sends rapid EKG info to hospital By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Researchers have developed an experimental iPhone application, or app, designed to help emergency medical technicians diagnose a particularly deadly form of heart attack and send that information quickly to waiting hospital surgical teams. The inexpensive app can greatly improve a patient's odds of survival. The iPhone app is specially designed to identify patients suffering from a dangerous type of heart attack known as STEMI, or ST-elevation myocardial infarction. In STEMI, blood flow to the heart is blocked by a clot in a coronary artery. Unlike many types of heart attacks, STEMIs show up very clearly on an electrocardiogram, or ECG, a diagnostic test that measures the heart's electrical activity. Small adhesive wire leads are placed on the chest around the heart. They feed signals to the ECG, which prints a paper tracing of a dozen waves showing cardiac activity. With the experimental iPhone app, emergency medical technicians responding to a call can do an ECG, snap an image of the tracing with the mobile phone camera and transmit it clearly at high speed over the cell network. David Burt and his students at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville jointly developed the iPhone app. Burt says the app has the potential to save lives by alerting emergency room doctors to get ready for the STEMI patient, who will need catheterization and surgery to unblock the artery. “A decision made as early as possible in the STEMI treatment process allows the system to ramp up or mobilize so that when the patient shows up, they are pushed into the cath lab, everything happens and their artery gets opened," said Burt. The iPhone app centers and reduces the size of the ECG image, sending a sharp, clear, easy-to-read image to waiting physicians in as little as four seconds. The developers tested the app 1,500 times over three U.S. cellular networks in an urban area. Normally, when emergency medical teams send an ECG image to the hospital by regular e-mail, it can take between 38 and 114 seconds, a long time when a patient's life is at stake. “If your iPhone at the time that you hit send shows two or more bars, the app is successful in sending an image 94-plus percent of the time in less than 10 seconds," he said. Burt and his student developers are now testing the still-nameless app in rural areas, where cell phone reception is typically less reliable than in cities. They are hoping to make the software available at a very low cost. The emergency iPhone app that quickly transmits diagnostic heart images was presented at an American Heart Association symposium in Baltimore, Maryland. |
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San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 104 |
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Legal
marijuana increases child intoxication, study says By
the University of Colorado
School of Medicine news staff A new study shows the relaxation of marijuana laws in Colorado has caused a significant spike in the number of young children treated for accidentally eating marijuana-laced cookies, candies, brownies and beverages. "We have seen an increase in unintentional ingestions of marijuana by children since the modification of drug laws in Colorado," said George Wang, lead author of the study and clinical instructor in pediatrics at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "We need to educate marijuana users, the community and medical professionals about the potential dangers." The study, published Monday in the JAMA Pediatrics, compared the number of young children treated at the Children's Hospital Colorado emergency department for ingesting marijuana before and after the modification of Colorado's drug laws beginning in 2009. A total of 1,378 patients under age 12 were evaluated for unintentional ingestions – 790 before Sept. 30, 2009 and 588 after Oct. 1, 2009. The number of children treated for exposure to marijuana before Sept. 30 was zero. The number from Oct. 1 on was 14 with eight of those coming directly from consuming marijuana food products. Wang, a fellow at the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center, said today's marijuana can be much stronger, and these products can contain higher concentrations of THC, the active ingredient in the drug. Some marijuana infused candy bars, for example, contain 300 milligrams of THC. Children who ingested the drug exhibited symptoms that included respiratory problems, extreme sleepiness, difficulty in walking and lethargy. Many underwent a battery of expensive tests to diagnose their problem because the history of exposure was not given, or medical professionals were not familiar with marijuana causing these symptoms. "Before the marijuana boom these kinds of edibles were not mass-produced and the amount of THC ingested was somewhat limited, but now we are seeing much higher strength marijuana," Wang said. "The key to this is prevention through child resistant packaging." With that in mind, Wang and Michael Kosnett, a medical toxicologist and associate clinical professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, recently testified before a state advisory panel. According to Kosnett, they persuaded the panel to recommend child resistant packaging for marijuana edibles. "Dr. Wang and I worked together to translate his study findings into public policy that would prevent poisoning," said Kosnett, who is also an attending physician at the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center, a division of Denver Health. "We were gratified that our message to the governor's Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force and the legislature resulted in passage earlier this month of a law requiring the Colorado Department of Revenue to develop rules for child resistant packaging for marijuana products by July 1." Child resistant packaging, Kosnett said, began with baby aspirin in the 1940s and in several studies has been associated with a 40 to 95 percent decline in pediatric poisonings from oral medications and hazardous household chemicals. "We know that children will act quickly to ingest even unpalatable items like household cleaners, pills and capsules," he said. "The allure of these marijuana edibles which taste and look like simple sweets makes them especially risky." So far, no other state has developed similar packaging laws, including Washington which legalized recreational marijuana last year, Kosnett said. "I believe the experience here in Colorado and the appropriate response by the Colorado Legislature will serve as an example to the rest of the country," he said. Wang agreed. "As more states move to legalize marijuana this problem is only going to increase," said Wang. "Now is the time to be proactive and intervene." |
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