Current Events in June 2013

What's a human life worth? That's the question that is now holding up adoption of a rule that would require backup cameras on new cars and trucks sold in the U.S.

Car manufacturers have been complaining that the devices are too expensive. Now an analysis of the rule's cost pegs it at $2.7 billion, which works out to about $18 million per life saved, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.

This is the fourth time the feds have delayed implementing the rule. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says more analysis of the cost is needed.

Advocates miffed

The latest delay is not likely to be welcomed by child safety advocates, who held a rally in April urging the Obama Administration to take its foot off the brake and implement the rule. 

“If there was a camera on my car [my daughter] wouldn’t have died,” said Ellen Adams, one of the speakers at the rally. On September 9, 2003, Adams' husband accidentally backed over their one-year-old daughter Ashleigh when she wandered behind his car as he backed out of the family driveway.

“I don’t want anyone else to go through what we went through and the numbers are rising. There are 50 a week injured and two die a week," she said. 

Katherine McFate, president and CEO of the Center for Effective Government, said, “Congress passed this law to ensure children would not be needlessly killed. Five years after Congress ordered the Transportation Department to issue the rule, the administration is still stalling and American families are paying the price for this delay.”

Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, said, “The administration is making a mockery of the will of Congress. The Transportation Department sent its draft final rule to the White House more than a year and a half ago, and then it just disappeared.

"The so-called most transparent administration in history has held this rule in an obscure White House office for a year and a half, where the public can’t see what’s going on. Today’s announcement means that more children will be needlessly killed as we wait for the administration to finally comply with Congressional will,” Weissman said.

Automakers object

Automakers say it's not necessary to require the cameras on all cars, only on bigger ones. They say consumers should decide how to spend their money.

The rule is part of a 2008 auto-safety bill signed into law by President George W. Bush, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act. It is named after a New York boy who died after his father accidentally backed over him.

The question LaHood's department is now debating is whether consumers who opt for the cameras should get a tax break or other incentive.

It is estimated that 292 people die each year in backover accidents. Half of the accidents could be prevented by requiring the cameras in every vehicle, safety regulators say.

Bottleneck

The backup camera rule is one of dozens that are "stuck" in various stages of the review process at the Obama White House 

The Department of Transportation sent a draft final “rear visibility” rule to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on November 16, 2011, and it has remained under OIRA review since, according to OIRA’s website.

President Obama reaffirmed President Clinton’s Executive Order 12,866, which limits OIRA review to 90 days, with a single 30-day extension possible, Weisman noted.

Presently, the White House is reviewing dozens of draft or final rules from federal agencies for more than the allowed 120 days.

The rear visibility rule was examined in a recent report by the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS) on eight stalled rules, Down the Regulatory Rabbit Hole: How Corporate Influence, Judicial Review and a Lack of Transparency Delay Crucial Rules and Harm the Public. The report is available here.

The U.S. Agriculture Department has approved a label for meat and liquid eggs that have not been produced with genetically-modified feed. To be eligible, the meat and eggs will have to be certified by the the Non-GMO Project.

The USDA says it's not a new policy and notes that it has previously allowed companies to say on their labels that their products have been certified by a recognized third party.

The USDA regulates meat and poultry products. Other foods are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Does it matter what animals eat? Well, it might. A new study finds that pigs fed genetically-modified feed were less healthy than pigs that ate non-modified feed. 

The study was published in the June issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Organic Systems. Australian researchers studied 168 U.S. pigs over 22 weeks. Half ate a diet that included genetically-modified soybeans and corn while the other half ate a similar diet that had not been genetically engineered.

While the pigs gained about the same amount of weight, the ones eating the genetically-modified diet had a higher rate of severe stomach inflamation -- 42 percent versus 12 percent.

Does it matter?

Does this have any implications for humans who eat the pork from the pigs who were fed the genetically-modified diet? No one is quite sure and researchers say more studies are needed to answer that question.

Meanwhile, food safety advocates say that consumers have a right to know whether they're eating food that has been produced with genetic engineering or whether it is natural, more or less.

It's a controversial issue in the food business. Several states are considering legislation of one sort or another and the USDA and FDA are pondering what else, if anything, they should do about it.

Connecticut just a few weeks ago passed a bill that would require food manufacturers to label food that has been genetically modified, although the measure doesn't become effective until four other states adopt similar laws.

A lawsuit charges that a website claiming to be a national sex offender registry is really in a different business, one that involves shaking people down for money.

The class action charges that Sexoffenderin.com refuses to remove information, even when it's inaccurate, without a payment of up to $299, Courthouse News Service reported.

Lead plaintiff Terracazeno Talbert filed the suit in Jackson County, Missouri, claiming that the website had a profile of him containing his date of birth, address, a Google Map pinpointing his home and a photo of him with the words "sex offender" plastered across it.

Talbert says he has never been convicted of a sex offense but said that when he tried to have the profile removed, he was told he would have to pay.

Talbert claims the website has a link to request removal of information, but to do so costs $79 to $299. For $79 the information will be removed within 45 days; for $99 within 25 days; for $199 within six days; and for $299 within 24 hours, according to the complaint.

The owners of the site can't be identified because they have a "secret" domain registration that blocks their identity. Besides the site, the lawsuit names Special Domain Services, Go Daddy Operating Co. and Domains by Proxy, which the lawsuit says allow the defendants to register websites through them anonymously.

Sexoffenderin.com is a self-proclaimed national sex offender registry. It is not affiliated with federal government or any other agency. Users can search by name or by state and see photos and profile pages which publish alleged sex offenders' addresses, birth date and offenses, Talbert says.

When we visited the site, the "Record Removal" and "Removal Request" pages were inoperable. The rest of the site seemed to be functioning normally.

Best Buy is recalling about 5,100 ATG lithium-ion batteries.

The battery can catch fire while charging. The firm has received 13 reports that the battery caught fire, including one report of a serious burn to a consumer’s leg.

This recall involves both black and white ATG lithium-ion replacement batteries for MacBook Pro notebook computers. Model number “MC-MBOOK13B” is on the label of the black battery and model number “MC-BOOK13W” is on the label of the white battery. The ATG logo is on both batteries.

The batteries, manufactured in China, were sold at Bestbuy.com and Partstore.com, or shipped to customers through the Geek Squad Protection fulfillment at Best Buy from September 2008, through June 2012, for about $50.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled battery, remove it from the computer and contact Best Buy for a replacement Apple brand battery or a $50 Best Buy gift card as a full refund. Best Buy is contacting its customers directly.

Consumers may contact Best Buy toll-free at (888) 737-6954 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT daily or e-mail bestbuypartexchange@decisionone.com.

Polaris Industries of Medina, Minn., is recalling about 4.500 Polaris 900 EFI RZR recreational off-highway vehicles.

The firewall behind the driver and passenger seats can overheat and melt, posing a burn hazard to consumers. The firm has received one report of an incident involving a consumer who received burn injuries to a finger.

This recall involves 2011 model Polaris Ranger RZR XP 900 recreational off-highway vehicles. The machines are either white or red and have a “RZR XP” decal on the right and left rear side panels. The right and left of the hood have “Dual Overhead Cam” decals. There are also “900 EFI” decals on the front right and left of the machine.

The vehicles, manufactured in the U.S., were sold at Polaris dealers nationwide from May 2012, through February 2013, for between $16,000 and $16,600.

Consumers should immediately stop using the vehicles and contact Polaris to schedule a free repair. Polaris is contacting its known customers directly.

Consumers may contact Polaris toll-free at (888) 704-5290, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

Advance Pharmaceutical is recalling the over-the-counter drug product, Rugby label Enteric Coated Aspirin Tablets, 81 mg, Lot 13A026.

The company has received a complaint about a bottle labeled as Enteric Coated Aspirin Tablets, 81 mg, actually containing Acetaminophen 500 mg tablets.

The product is indicated for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains and is packaged in bottles of 120 tablet with NDC 0536-3086-41 and UPC 3 0536-3086-41 9. The affected lot of Enteric Coated Aspirin Tablets is Lot 13A026 with Expiration Date 01-2015. The lot was manufactured and packaged under the label of Rugby Laboratories, which distributed the product nationwide to wholesalers and retailers.

Consumers may be inadvertently taking Acetaminophen 500 mg instead of Enteric Coated Aspirin 81 mg, which may cause severe liver damage to those who take other drugs containing acetaminophen, consumers who take 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day, or those who have liver disease.

The labeled directions instructs patients to take 4-8 tablets every 4 hours, but not more than 48 tablets in 24 hours. Consumers who take 48 tablets daily of the defective product may be ingesting up to 24,000 mg of Acetaminophen, which is about six times the maximum recommended daily dose of acetaminophen (4,000 mg).

Consumers who have the affected lot should immediately discontinue its use and return it to the pharmacy or store where it was purchased.

Anyone with questions about the recall may contact Advance Pharmaceutical, Monday-Friday, 9 am- 5 pm EST.  

As predicted, Lyme disease cases are increasing in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25,000 Americans will get the disease this year.

If you live in or visit New England, the mid-Atlantic states, and the upper Midwest, your risk of the disease is greatest. If you live in rural or suburban areas with high concentrations of deer, the risk is even more severe.

That's because Lyme disease is spread primarily through bites by blacklegged ticks whose favorite food is the blood of deer. A close second is your or your pet's blood.

But Lyme disease is not the only threat you have to worry about from ticks. Another type of tick, the lone star tick, can spread infectious diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Unfortunately, the lone star tick has been on the move recently, spreading out from its native south and southwestern environs.

Ticks on the move

"Lone star ticks become more and more widespread every year, as they continue to infiltrate states where they have never before been present," said Dr. Michael Dryden, distinguished professor of veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The latest data reveals lone star tick populations today as far north as New York, Maine – even Ontario, Canada – and as far west as Nebraska. In fact, they now share much the same turf as their Lyme disease-carrying brethren. Both are very bad news.

"The lone star tick is a very aggressive tick, and it actively seeks out people and pets to feed on," said Dr. Michael J. Yabsley, associate professor at the University of Georgia. "It's one of the most common ticks that people find on themselves and their dogs, so everyone should take precautions – especially in the new areas of invasion."

Know where they hide

To avoid the diseases ticks carry you need to know where to find these tiny insects. Ticks generally like moist, humid environments in or near grassy or wooded areas. You may come into contact with ticks during outdoor activities around your home or when walking through vegetation. On nature hikes, walk in the center of trails and avoid tall vegetation.

Experts at the CDC also advise using a repellent with DEET on skin or clothing. Repellents containing 20% or more DEET can be applied to the skin and they can protect up to several hours. Always follow product instructions.

Parents should apply repellents to their children, making sure you don't get it on hands, eyes and mouth. Products containing permethrin can be used to treat boots, clothing, and camping gear. Treated items can remain protective through several washings.

Symptoms

Lyme disease infection is usually marked by a large, red bulls-eye rash around the bite, but not always. Sometimes the first sign that you are infected is when you observed the symptoms; fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes.

The symptoms for Rocky Mountain spotted fever are similar to those of Lyme disease but the infection is more lethal. Last week a six-year-old North Carolina girl died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Doctors say the child was bitten by a tick when the family visited Texas over the Memorial Day weekend.

To reduce the risk of disease from ticks, keep pets inoculated with an effective flea and tick preventive, since pets often bring ticks into contact with humans.

"By the time you notice ticks on dogs, it's often too late," said Dryden. "All it takes is one bite."

What to do

If you find a tick on your body, remove it as quickly as possible, but using care. The CDC provides these instructions:

• Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
• Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
• After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

If anyone needed to be convinced that the publishing business has been turned inside out, the news that Facebook's security chief quit to take a job with the National Security Agency should do the trick.

Max Kelly left Facebook to join the NSA in 2010 but it remained, well, secret, until The New York Times broke the news today.

Publishing used to be pretty much a one-way business. Writers and editors assembled information from their news sources, slapped it onto newsprint or glossy paper and trucked it over to the Post Office or newsstand. Advertisers who thought their potential customers might read the publication in question paid to insert their ads.

These days, the publisher operates the "platform" and assembles information about its readers -- or "users," as they're now called -- and sells that to advertisers and marketing researchers. Readers supply the content free of charge, giving up information they would never dream of giving to the government. Advertisers pay for access to the data and then pay again to display their ads on the platform. 

Nice work if you can get it.

Huge databases

What's really quite amazing is how much information is being gathered about the hundreds of millions of people who use Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and so forth. Despite all the uproar about the NSA's Prism program, which tracks phone calls and emails, the program comes nowhere near equalling the huge datasets assembled by private publishers.

The NSA, of course, always knows more than it admits to knowing but Big Data -- the huge databases being constantly updated by the marketers of the world -- puts it to shame, collecting demographic and financial information about Internet users and marrying it to data about our online activities, our online and brick-and-mortar purchases, our travel, the books we read and the movies we watch.

You don't have to have a doctorate in history to know what happens when private companies amass huge troves of information the government doesn't have. That's right -- the government finds a way to sneak a hose into the warehouse and suck out the data.

Not that Max Kelly would be involved in anything like that, of course. Just saying -- a huge dataset is like a loaded gun. Sooner or later somebody is going to use it. Or steal it.

Or as the Times put it: Kelly's move underscores the degree to which Silicon Valley and the NSA are in the same business: "Both hunt for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions of Americans."

Who penetrates whom

Back to our comparison of publishing past and present: In the Watergate era, reporters penetrated government and revealed its secrets to the public. Now publishers penetrate their users, so to speak, and reveal their secrets to marketers and the government.

Now of course, the darlings of Silicon Valley will tell you they don't give much data to the government and deny the NSA has a "back door" to their servers. This is another way in which business and government now resemble each other: No one believes anything they say.

As the Times notes in its story, the NSA and other government agencies have become some of Silicon Valley's biggest customers for data analytics, the software that's used to collate, translate and correlate the enormous datasets government and industry pore over daily.

Government and what used to be called the press have always had back-door arrangements, of course. When I was an Associated Press executive in Washington, certain government agencies would occasionally call to let us know which of our circuits they were monitoring at how many locations so that we could bill them.

No delivery was necessary. They had already intercepted the transmissions.

Similarly, we were once working with a local broadcaster to demonstrate how data could be encrypted in a broadcast signal. But on the day when we were to turn on the data feed for the demonstration, the engineers were perplexed to discover there was already heavily-encrypted data multiplexed into the signal.

No one would admit knowing how it got there or where it came from but the military-style encryption didn't leave much room for doubt about what it was.

Kind of quaint

This kind of clandestine activity seems almost quaint today. After all, it amounted to nothing much more than moving around information that had already been collected; no one was tapping into private citizens' brains to see what they had on their minds.

Wire-tapping and steaming open letters used to be about all the government had at its disposal.  Now, in a digital world, just about everything that doesn't have skin wrapped around it can be detected, collected and accepted.

Even Skype, the seemingly innocuous Internet telephone service, has been part of the Prism operation since 2011, according to the Times article.

What's it all mean? That's up to you but one thing it probably means is that if you're worried about your secrets, you can stop worrying. They've already been stolen.  

A lot of  people love animals. They love visiting them at zoos, coming home to them as pets and viewing them in their natural habitats.

But sometimes things can go awry between animal and human. Dogs can attack, things in the ocean can bite you, and there are all kinds of things flying around that can give you a nasty sting.

So what are the best ways to avoid animal attacks? 

Dog Bites

According to the American Humane Association, about 4.7 million people in the United States are bitten by a dog each year and 71% of those bites are on the extremities (legs, hands, arms and feet).

Jeremy Talamantes, dog trainer and owner of K-9 Behavior Services, says when you're confronted by a vicious dog, you might be bitten or you might be attacked. And for your own safety, it's important to recognize the difference. 

"You have bites and you have attacks. So the bites happen very often, but the attacks are 'I'm not letting go. I'm going back and forth on you.' And those are the ones that are serious and they can be life threatening situations," said Talamantes in a TV interview.

A lot of experts say not to panic if you're confronted by a mean dog, but that's clearly a difficult thing to do, especially if you have a slight fear or  a full-on phobia. 

But Talamantes says staying calm is the best thing you can do in most cases, because running will set off a natural instinct in the dog and tell him to give chase.

"If you find yourself in a situation where you come around a corner and a dog comes up and he's staring at you, he's sizing you up and at that same moment you need to do the same thing," advised Talamantes.

"You need to stop. Don't move. Don't take off running. If you take off running, you're prey. It's a prey-driven instinct that a dog has. He's going to chase you and he's going to take you down."

In addition, Talamantes says if a dog is biting you for more than three seconds -- it's not a just a bite, it's an attack -- and you'll have to do whatever you can to protect yourself.

He suggests to start screaming to get someone's attention, which probably won't be too hard for you to do considering the circumstances. After that, try to find something to put  in between yourself and the dog, like a garbage can lid, stick or broom.

And just as important, go to the emergency room if you're ever bitten, since the bacteria in a dog's mouth can cause infection, experts say.

Bee Stings

When it comes to avoiding a bee sting, experts say to think about where you're going and plan accordingly.

Researchers at the University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources say to avoid wearing colognes, perfumes or scented soaps if you're going to be in a place that has a lot of bees or wasps.

Additionally, they say not to wear bright or heavily patterned clothing or walk barefoot in areas with a lot of foliage. And if a bee or wasp does land on you, most times it's not looking to sting; it's just looking for water.

"If you remain calm when a bee or wasp lands on your skin to inspect a smell or to get water if you are sweating heavily, the insect eventually will leave of its own accord," wrote the researchers. "If you don't want to wait for it to leave, gently and slowly brush it away with a piece of paper."

Most experts say unless you're disturbing a nest, the chances are high you won't be stung. But if a bee lands on you, you increase those chances if you swat at it or try to hit it.

And after you decide whether you're going to brush the bee off or wait for it to leave, you should slowly back away and go to another area, experts advise.

If you're allergic to bee or wasp stings, get emergency medical treatment immediately. And wearing a Medic-alert bracelet if you're allergic to stings is another smart move.

Bear Attacks

As for bear attacks, you're more likely to be bitten by a dog or stung by a bee, but they still happen.

And just because the chances of something bad occurring are low, it doesn't mean that you don't prepare for it in some way, right? 

Like getting struck by lightning. Even though the chances are low, you still take the necessary precautions during a thunderstorm. You don't go walking under a tall tree, for Pete's sake.

According to safety tips provided by various sources, including Hinterland Who's Who and Parks Canada, it's best to make a lot of noise if you're walking through the woods, or in an area that's known to have bears.

Making noise as you walk will alert a bear to your presence, because if it becomes alarmed, you'll increase your chances of being confronted. Generally, bears will try to avoid a confrontation, so if they hear you coming they'll go someplace else, experts say.

If you do run into a bear or one runs into you, slowly back way. Running will only increase the chances of an attack occurring.

And experts say if you plan to be in an area that's known to have bears, you should keep bear spray handy, and have it in a place where you can grab it quickly.

If the bear isn't retreating, hold your arms high above your head. This will make you appear bigger in size to the bear, and it might back off. 

Obviously, these tips will be difficult to follow in the heat of an attack, but you'll still need to be prepared nonetheless. A recent study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management showed that attacks by North American black bears are happening more frequently, as population in the United States and Canada continues to grow.

"We didn't demonstrate why population growth is correlated with more bear attacks," explained Stephen Herrero, a professor at the University of Calgary and one of the study authors. "But we speculate that it could be because bears in those areas are living in less productive habitat with periodic food stress, which may predispose some bears to consider people as prey. 

"With training, people can learn to recognize the behavior of a bear that is considering them as prey and deter an attack by taking aggressive action such as fighting back," he said.

A new form of leukemia treatment may be available in the future, according to two recent studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) say a recently tested drug called ibrutinib could be an effective form of treatment for adults with either chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Two-phase testing

Researchers came to this conclusion after examining the drug in two phases of testing and saw that 71% of patients had a response to it. After ibrutinib was taken for 26 months, there was no progression of the disease in 75% of the patients who had CLL. And the overall survival rate for these patients was 83%.

The researchers said ibrutinib could be an effective and safe alternative to chemotherapy.

"Essentially all CLL patients respond well to ibrutinib, which lacks many of the side effects of chemotherapy and frequently produces long-lasting remissions, even in patients with high-risk genetic lesions," said John C. Byrd, one of the study's co-authors and director of the division of hematology at OSUCCC.

In addition, Byrd said patients taking ibrutinib could be free of CLL in two years' time. 

"Approximately 75% of people of all types of relapse CLL will be disease-free at two years," he said.

According to the Leukemia Research Foundation, there have been 126,340 new cases of leukemia in 2012 and 43,670 people have died from the disease, which is why places like OSUCCC have been researching alternative treatments so vigorously.

Attack of the T cells

Another place that's been busy in the fight against cancer is Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where researchers have been testing a new leukemia treatment for quite some time. 

The Sloan-Kettering scientists gathered five adult patients, all with lymphoblastic leukemia, and removed each patient's T cells. From there, scientists modified those T cells so they would be able to attack other cells that are tumorous.

Isabelle Riviere, director of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Cell Therapy and Cell Engineering Facility, said more and more scientists are beginning to take another look at cell therapy as an effective cancer treatment. 

"We are at a critical time when a number of cell therapies are starting to demonstrate some therapeutic benefits," said Riviere in an interview posted on the Sloan-Kettering website.

"There are still a number of hurdles to overcome from the processing and manufacturing point of view, but we are now at a stage where the scientific and medical communities believe it's worthwhile to move forward and test these new treatments."

Effective treatment

Back in Ohio, the OSUCCC researchers found that ibrutinib could be an effective treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma, as 68% of the patients who took the drug had a response to it.

In addition, 47% had partial response to the drug and the survival rate was 58% after 18 months.

Kristie Blum, MD, who leads OSUCCC's James lymphoma program, says patients responded better to ibrutinib compared to a lot of other treatments.

"This is remarkable because the last agent approved by the Food and Drug Administration for MCL had a 30% response rate," she said. "This trial suggests that ibrutinib could significantly improve the landscape of therapy options for MCL."

In addition, researchers say that ibrutinib could be a good alternative to chemotherapy since the side-effects are a lot milder.

CLL survivor Dennis Hickey agrees. He's been taking ibrutinib three times a day and says it's far better than going through chemotherapy. 

"[Chemotherapy] would work for about six months. It would shrink the tumor," he said. 

But it would also put Hickey's body through some very harsh changes. "To make a long story short, I was a mess," he recalled.

And a decade after he was diagnosed with CLL, Hickey has been cancer free since taking ibrutinib, and he says he couldn't be happier.

"Ten years later I sit here before you truly blessed," he said.

Although fruits and vegetables are now sporting bar codes at some supermarkets, they don't come with built-in clocks. Or do they?

In a new study this week in Current Biology, researchers at Rice University and the University of California at Davis say that produce continues responding to the environment for days after being harvested.

"Vegetables and fruits don't die the moment they are harvested," said Rice biologist Janet Braam, the lead researcher. "They respond to their environment for days, and we found we could use light to coax them to make more cancer-fighting antioxidants at certain times of day." 

Braam's team simulated day-night cycles of light and dark to control the internal clocks of fruits and vegetables, including cabbage, carrots, squash and blueberries.

Circadian rhythm

The research is a follow-up to her team's 2012 study of the ways that plants use their internal circadian clocks to defend themselves from hungry insects. That study found that Arabidopsis thaliana -- an  organism that's similar to cabbage and is often used for plant studies -- begins ramping up production of insect-fighting chemicals a few hours before sunrise, the time that hungry insects begin to feed.

Some of those chemicals are known to be valuable to human health, so Braam's team decided to study whether they were affected by the time of day.

Braam's team began their research by attempting to "entrain" the clocks of cabbage in the same way they had Arabidopsis. Entrainment is akin to the process that international travelers go through as they recover from jet lag. After flying to the other side of the globe, travelers often have trouble sleeping until their internal circadian clock resets itself to the day-night cycle in their new locale.

Using controlled lighting in a sealed chamber, Rice graduate student and study lead author Danielle Goodspeed found she could entrain the circadian clocks of postharvest cabbage just as she had those of Arabidopsis in the 2012 study. Following the success with cabbage, Goodspeed and co-authors John Liu and Zhengji Sheng studied spinach, lettuce, zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes and blueberries.

"We were able to entrain each of them, even the root vegetables," Goodspeed said. She and Braam said the findings suggest that storing fruits and vegetables in dark trucks, boxes and refrigerators may reduce their ability to keep daily rhythms.

"We cannot yet say whether all-dark or all-light conditions shorten the shelf life of fruits and vegetables," Braam said. "What we have shown is that keeping the internal clock ticking is advantageous with respect to insect resistance and could also yield health benefits."

"It's exciting to think that we may be able to boost the health benefits of our produce simply by changing the way we store it," Goodspeed said.

The MemoryShape Breast Implant, which is used to increase breast size (augmentation) for use in women at least 22 years old and to rebuild breast tissue (reconstruction) in women of any age, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Approval of the implant, manufactured by Mentor Worldwide LLC, is based on six years of data from 955 women demonstrating that the implant is reasonably safe and effective. The implant showed basically the same rates of complications and outcomes as previously approved devices.

These include tightening of the area around the implant (capsular contracture), re-operation, implant removal, an uneven appearance (asymmetry), and wrinkling. Fissures or cracks were observed in the gel of some MemoryShape Breast Implants, a characteristic called gel fracture.

“It’s important to remember that breast implants are not lifetime devices,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Women should fully understand the risks associated with breast implants before considering augmentation or reconstruction surgery, and they should recognize that long-term monitoring is essential.”

Post-approval studies needed

Shuren says that while the data that were reviewed showed a “reasonable assurance” of safety and effectiveness, “We will be looking at the results from post-approval studies that will focus on the implants’ long-term safety and effectiveness.”

The silicone gel in the MemoryShape Breast Implant contains more cross-linking compared to the silicone gel used in Mentor’s previously approved implant. Cross-linking refers to the bonds that link one silicone chain to another. This increased cross-linking results in a silicone gel that is firmer. The clinical significance of this type of silicone gel is not known.

The FDA requires that Mentor conduct a series of post-approval studies to assess long-term safety and effectiveness outcomes and the risks of rare disease. Lessons learned from previous post-approval studies on silicone gel-filled breast implants informed the design of post-approval studies for Mentor’s MemoryShape Breast Implant.

FDA requirements

As a condition of approval for the MemoryShape Breast Implants, Mentor must:

• Continue to follow 955 women who received the implants as part of the pre-market core study that provided safety and effectiveness data for the device approval. These patients will be followed until they have completed their 10-year evaluations for long-term device performance;
• Continue to follow approximately 350 patients who were implanted with the MemoryShape Medium Height Moderate Profile (CPG Style 321) Breast Implants as part of a pre-market continued access study (not part of the pre-market core study). They will be followed until they have completed their 5-year evaluations;
• Conduct a new study of approximately 2,500 women receiving MemoryShape Breast Implants to collect information on long-term local complications (e.g., capsular contracture, re-operation, removal of implant, implant rupture) and less common potential disease outcomes (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, breast and lung cancer, reproductive complications). They will be followed for 10 years;
• Conduct five case control studies by enrolling 10,750 women to evaluate the potential association between any silicone gel-filled breast implant (including MemoryShape Breast Implants) and five rare diseases: rare connective tissue disease, neurological disease, brain cancer, cervical/vulvar cancer and lymphoma;
• Evaluate women’s perceptions of the patient labeling; and
• Analyze the MemoryShape Breast Implants that are removed from patients and returned to the manufacturer.

With this latest approval, there are now five FDA-approved silicone gel-filled breast implant products available in the U.S. manufactured by three companies: Allergan, Mentor and Sientra.

Buyer's market or seller's market, there's no escaping the fact that homes are selling -- and for more money.

From the National Association of Realtors (NAR) word that comes Existing-home sales improved in May and remain solidly above a year ago, while the median price continued to rise by double-digit rates from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales of previously owned homes, which includes single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 4.2% in May -- to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million. That's 12.9% above the pace in May 2012.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says the recovery is strengthening and that he expects limited housing supplies in much of the country for the rest of the year. “The housing numbers are overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “However, the number of available homes is unlikely to grow, despite a nice gain in May, unless new home construction ramps up quickly by an additional 50 percent. The home price growth is too fast, and only additional supply from new home building can moderate future price growth.”

Existing-home sales are at the highest level since November 2009 when the market jumped to 5.44 million as buyers took advantage of tax stimulus. Sales have stayed above year-ago levels for 23 months.

Prices surge

The national median price for all types of existing homes was $208,000 in May -- up 15.4% from a year ago. The median is the point at which half are higher and half are lower. This marks six straight months of double-digit increases and is the strongest price gain since October 2005, which jumped a record 16.6 percent from a year earlier.

Additionally, the national median price has shown 15 consecutive months of year-over-year increases. The last time that happened was from March 2005 to May 2006.

Where they're selling

• Existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 1.6% to an annual rate of 650,000 in May and are 8.3% above May 2012. The median price in the Northeast was $269,600, up 12.3% from a year ago.
• Sales jumped 8.0% in the Midwest to a pace of 1.21 million, and are 16.3% higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $159,800 -- 8.2% higher than in May 2012.
• In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.0% to an annual level of 2.09 million in May and are 16.1% above the same time last year. The median price was $183,300, which is 15.0% above a year ago.
• Existing-home sales in the West increased 2.5% to 1.23 million pace in May -- 7.0% above May of last year. With the tightest regional supply, the median price in the West was $276,400 -- up 19.9% from May 2012.

Tip Top Poultry of Rockmart, Ga., is recalling approximately 18,000 pounds of mechanically separated chicken product that may contain pieces of plastic, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The following product is subject to recall:

• 250 – lb. drums of Tip Top roasted mechanically separated chicken.

The product was packaged on April 29, 2013, and distributed to one establishment for further processing for institutional use. Cases can be identified by the case code 55252, pack date 04/29/13, and the establishment number P-17453 within the mark of inspection.

The pieces of plastic are from a washer that broke. The problem was discovered at the further processing establishment as they were using the product to formulate a soup base. There have been no reports of illness due to consumption of these products.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Laura Holder, Public Relations, at (770) 579-4289.

Kolcraft Enterprises, of Chicago, Ill., is recalling more than 96,000 Kolcraft Jeep Liberty strollers

The inner tube of the tire on the stroller can rupture causing the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of bodily injury and property damage.

There have been 39 reports of inner tube ruptures causing the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile. Of these, 18 included reports of injury, with 14 occurring while adult caregivers were filling the tire with air. Two children received lacerations to their chin or leg while standing near the stroller and 16 adults received abrasions, contusions and/or lacerations to their arms, legs, stomach or head/face. Two of the reports included property damage.

The recall includes Jeep Liberty branded strollers with model numbers starting with JL031, JL032, JL034, JL035 or JL036 manufactured between June 2010, and September 2011. The model number and date of manufacture are printed on a white tag on the rear upper center of each seatback pad.

The three-wheeled strollers were sold in different color fabric combinations with a metal black and silver frame including: green seat and canopy; gray seat and canopy with a teal blue stripe across the center of the canopy; orange seat and canopy with a tan stripe; tan seat and canopy with yellow stripe across the center top of the canopy; and tan seat and canopy with an orange canopy rim.

“Jeep” is printed on the side of the stroller and on the front of the stroller tray. There is a plastic red toy steering wheel, ignition key and orange shift lever mounted on a yellow base attached to the stroller tray. If your stroller wheels have a gray triangle located on the rim at the valve stem, they are NOT included in this recall.

The strollers, manufactured in China, were sold at Burlington Coat Factory, Sears and Toys R Us nationwide, online and at other mass market and independent juvenile specialty stores from June 2010, through June 2013, for between $150 and $180.

Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact the company to receive free replacement wheels. Consumers should use a manual bicycle pump to inflate stroller tires to a maximum of 30 p.s.i. Do not use gas station air pumps to inflate stroller tires.

Consumers may contact Kolcraft at (800) 453-7673 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.  

In less than five years time, smart phones have become a critical part of modern life. That point was driven home last fall when Hurricane Sandy slammed into the northeast corridor, knocking out power to wide areas of the New York City metro.

The result was communication chaos. Millions of people now have no wired telephone account, relying solely on their cell phones for contact with family, friends and work.

The cell phone providers quickly restored power to their networks through emergency generators, but it turned out to be of little use to customers after a day or two. With no electricity, smart phone batteries quickly ran down. Sandy, it seems, exposed the Achilles heel of wireless communication in a blackout.

Now, less than a year after the storm, New York City and AT&T are embarking on an ambitious program to provide free cell phone charging stations around the city. They will be there in an emergency, or when you are on the go and discover your phone's battery needs a charge.

Street Charge

AT&T calls the pilot project “Street Charge” and is basing it on the temporary charging stations it set up in Sandy's aftermath. But instead of the generators it brought in to provide power, these new permanent charging stations will be powered by solar energy.

Before the end of the summer AT&T expects to deploy some 25 charging stations across the city's five boroughs. There are two solar mobile charging units now live at Fort Greene Park. Charging stations will next come online at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier I, Governor's Island, and Pier 1 at Riverside Park and Union Square Park.

"Thanks to AT&T, more New Yorkers will have improved connectivity and access to the wireless technology that has become such an important part of our daily lives," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "After Hurricane Sandy, I asked our private sector partners to step up and help improve the resiliency of New York City. AT&T is doing just that, and we're grateful for their efforts."

Where to find charging stations

Once the project is complete, charging stations for cell phones and tablets will be available in these locations:

Manhattan:

• Riverside Park, Pier I
• Union Square Park, North Plaza
• Rumsey Playfield, Central Park Summerstage
• Hudson River Park Pier 59
• Randall's Island

Brooklyn:

• Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier I
• Fort Greene Park
• Coney Island
• Metrotech Plaza
• The Dumbo Arts Festival
• The Brooklyn Book Festival

Queens:

• Rockaway Beach
• Clearview Golf Course
• Socrates Sculpture Park

Bronx:

• Orchard Beach
• Staten Island:
• Governor's Island
• La Tourette Golf Course
• Staten Island Zoo

Keeping a smart phone charged is a bigger issue than with the previous generation of cell phones. Accessing data and running apps provides a much faster battery drain than simple voice communication.

What to do

A number of manufacturers are at work to find ways to extend battery life, or produce smart phone batteries that will hold a charge longer. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to go longer between charges.

The first is obvious – turn off the phone when you are asleep or in an area where there is weak or no cell signal. If the phone is constantly searching for a signal, it can quickly drain the battery.

When you are in a meeting and don't want to be disturbed, turn the phone off instead of switching to “vibrate.” The vibrate mode uses extra power.

Turn down the brightness. Yes, you need to be able to see the screen when you are outside in the sunlight but the backlight feature on smart phones is an energy hog.

Don't let the battery drain completely. The lithium-based batteries in mobile devices are designed to operate best when they don't run all the way down. Charge it up whenever you have the chance.

Whether you live in a city with millions of people or in a nice quiet suburb, the world can really feel like a crowded place sometimes.

It's easy to feel that way whenever you have to wait on line at the store, when you're stuck in traffic, or when you're unable to get a seat on the subway or bus.

By the time you get home, all you want is a little bit of peace and relaxation, and thankfully, most times you're able to get it.

But some of us just aren't able to get that quiet time at home because we have a neighbor who's either inconsiderate, oblivious to the unwritten rules of neighbor etiquette or just a plain jerk.

So what should you do when you have an unruly neighbor? Should you go over and settle things through an angry face-to-face confrontation?

Easy does it

No, say the folks at Colorado Home Owners Association Law. They say you should first vent your frustrations before going to your neighbor's house to discuss things.

You should speak to a friend or family member, take a few days to calm down or write out your grievances beforehand. It's best to get all of your frustrations out first, so you're able to present your case in a calm and rational manner, say the Colorado lawyers.

And before taking action on your neighbor, it's important to determine if whatever he's doing is an isolated incident, something that happens once in a while or a constant occurrence.

You would clearly need to put the problem in the right perspective before you go marching over to your neighbor's house, experts say.

Get a grip

Bob Borzotta, author of "Neighbors From Hell: Managing Today's Brand of Conflict Close to Home" told USA Today it's importantnot to confuse an unfriendly neighbor with a bad one. 

And just because your neighbor doesn't wave to you while you're mowing the lawn or has never invited you for coffee and cake, doesn't mean he's a horrible person to live next to.

"Don't let lack of familiarity breed contempt," said Borzotta. "Neighbors don't always become our good friends, but knowing the names of people living nearby, exchanging a friendly wave and being seen around your community are underrated steps to harmony."

In addition, Borzotta says to wait at least one day before confronting your neighbor about something he's done.

"Don't run over to a loud party next door while it's going on, or scream out at a barking dog in an adjacent back yard; cooler heads prevail, and the time to pleasantly mention a concern is 24 hours after the disturbance," he said.

What's your problem?

According to a new survey conducted by FindLaw.com, 48% of people who have an issue with their neighbor are bothered by noise and 29% are annoyed by their neighbor's pets.

Additionally, the survey showed that 21% of people are bothered by their neighbor's children and 18% said they're angered by the appearance of their neighbor's property, whether it's trash around the yard, uncut grass or some other eyesore.

What to do

And how did the people in the survey handle those disputes?

Results show that 49% spoke with their neighbor face to face, 27% called the cops, 15% contacted a neighborhood owners association and 11% sent their neighbor a letter.

Real estate expert and Today show contributor Barbara Corcoran says there are certain things you should do before picking a new neighborhood to live in.

And if you're interested in avoiding a lot of neighborhood problems down the road, you should cruise the neighborhood at night -- not during the day.

Corcoran says by checking out a neighborhood at night, you'll be able to get a real sense of what the noise and activity levels are.

When looking at a new street to live on, you should also keep an eye out for basketball hoops, skateboard ramps and other equipment that might cause a lot of noise or draw all the kids in the neighborhood to one area.

Plus, Corcoran says to avoid streets where there's a country club nearby, an empty lot, a halfway house, a bus stop or an intersection with stop signs.

By doing so, you'll be able to increase the chances of getting that peace you're looking for at home and never having to confront your neighbor about noise.

Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney with FindLaw.com, says to make sure you're aware of your rights when it comes to things like the local noise ordinance.

"Neighborhoods form dynamic communities with unique personalities, since a group of unrelated people must live close together," she said.

"Most often, neighbors are friendly, but occasionally, disputes will arise over issues such as boundaries or excessive noise. Our survey found that most issues between neighbors are satisfactorily settled without the matter turning into a legal dispute.

"It's important for people to know what their rights are on issues such as boundaries, nuisances, animals and so on, as well as what legal and other resources are available that could help them," Rahlfs concludes.

Completing any type of course feels good, but there's something about finishing a CPR class that gives you an extra special feeling.

But how many people feel that same level of preparedness when it comes to saving their pet's lives.

According to statistics and rescue advice released by Carrington College, 63% of dog owners are somewhat likely or likely to give CPR to their dog at some point.

And when it comes to being ready for an emergency, 54% of dog owners said they don't have an evacuation plan for their pet and only 20% of owners said they keep an animal first aid kit around.

Get ready

So how can you be better prepared?

The ASPCA says every animal emergency kit should include pet first-aid supplies, three to seven days' worth of pop-top canned dog food, disposable litter trays, litter or paper toweling, disinfectant and disposable garbage bags. And that's just for starters.

For a complete list of what you'll need for a pet emergency, you can speak to your veterinarian or visit the ASPCA website.

In addition, the ASPCA says pet owners should put a rescue alert sticker on the windows of their home, so rescue workers know there's a pet inside. On the sticker itself, you'll be able to list what kind of pet you have, how many you have and the name and number of your vet.

If you have to leave your home during an emergency, create a safe haven for your pet, and if necessary contact your veterinarian to learn where the nearest boarding kennels and emergency shelters are.

Plan out your evacuation route before an emergency hits, so you'll have an idea of where to go and what to do. And never leave your pet behind and assume he'll survive a disaster. If it's not safe for you, it won't be safe for your pet, says the ASPCA.

Puppy CPR

If your puppy or dog has a CPR emergency, the first thing you want to do is check his heartbeat and breathing. If you don't feel a pulse, start doing CPR immediately and have someone call your vet while you begin the resuscitation process.

If you feel a pulse but no breath, start doing artificial respiration by clearing blood or mucus from the dog's air passage. You may need to remove your dog's tongue as well. Just pull it forward so that it is not blocking the air passage.

If the air passage is blocked by an object of some sort, remove it also. 

Once the object is removed, shut your dog's mouth and close his lips by placing your hand under his chin. You'll then take your other hand to seal off his mouth and nose, so you can start breathing into his nostrils.

Experts say you should gently exhale through your hands and into the dog's nostrils every five or six seconds, and you should repeat this process until your puppy or dog is able to breathe on his own.

If you don't feel a heartbeat, keep doing CPR.

For bigger puppies, you'll start by laying him on his right side. For smaller puppies use your thumbs and forefingers on both hands and place them around the puppy's chest.

From that point, you'll do chest compressions one time per second, while breathing into the nose every six seconds. You'll continue this process until help comes or the puppy or dog begins to breathe again. 

Helping kitty

If your cat isn't breathing, use your finger to clear out any objects, mucus or blood from the mouth and tilt the head back so she'll have a straightened air passage, say the experts at the Pet Guardian Angels of America (PGAA).

Similar to giving your dog CPR, you would use one hand to close the cat's mouth and breathe into its nose and mouth, without letting air escape. If you see your cat's chest expand, you'll know your breaths are reaching the lungs.

If the chest isn't moving, begin the process all over again. Clear your cat's mouth and start breathing.

If you don't feel a heartbeat, place your cat on its right side, put your fingers on the ribcage and place the fingers from your other hand on top of your first hand.

Then in a steady manner, you would press down on the ribcage in rapid succession using both hands, pressing about three to four inches down. This should be repeated about 10 times, advises the PGAA.

Newborn pets

If you have a newborn puppy in the litter that's not breathing, experts say to remove any extra fluid that might be around the puppy's throat, nose or mouth, and lower the head so the fluid can come out by itself.

Once you clear the air passage, place your mouth around the nose of the puppy and give two to three small breaths. But be sure not to breathe fully or too hard, as a newborn puppy's lungs are still small and not very strong.

To check for a heartbeat, use two fingers to feel the chest. If you don't feel a heartbeat, place either hand around the puppy's chest and do rapid compressions. 

You'll then continue to press down, while you're breathing into the mouth and nose of the puppy every 15 to 20 seconds and repeat this step until you start seeing results or until help arrives.

It's always important to make sure someone is calling your vet, while you're doing the CPR treatment, experts say. 

With one-third of Americans being obese, members of the American Medical Association (AMA) have voted to recognize obesity as a medical condition that requires treatment.

The vote by the AMA's House of Delegates followed a debate about whether the new classification would create more help for patients or simply add to the stigma many obese people already feel. 

If nothing else, the vote puts pressure on insurance companies to reimburse doctors for the time they spend urging their patients to pay a little more attention to the scale. It also makes it part of a physician's professional obligation to raise the subject, even if it makes the doctor and patient uncomfortable.

The Medicare program, which covers about 13 million obese Americans, already covers the cost of behavioral therapy as well as bariatric surgery, but coverage is spotty among private insurers.

Based on BMI

The decision was controversial and went against the conclusion of the AMA's Council on Science and Public Health, which concluded that the new classification is problematic because the measure used to define obesity -- the body mass index (BMI) -- is flawed. 

"Given the existing limitations of BMI to diagnose obesity in clinical practice, it is unclear that recognizing obesity as a disease, as opposed to a 'condition' or 'disorder,' will result in improved health outcomes," the council wrote in its conclusion.

Obesity is defined by the National Institutes of Health as having a BMI of 30 and above. BMI describes the body weight relative to height. Although very muscular people may have a BMI of 30 or more without being obese, for the rest of us it probably means we're lugging around too much fat.

In its report opposing the reclassification, the Council on Science and Public Health said it feared that defining obesity as a disease would result in "greater investments by government and the private sector to develop and reimburse obesity treatments."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved just two new prescription weight-loss drugs since 1999 and is likely to face pressure to approve more drugs, leading to higher spending and exposing patients to unforeseen risks and side effects that often accompany newer drugs.