Current Events in April 2019

If you recently dined at Buca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, Planet Hollywood, Chicken Guy!, Mixology or Tequila Taqueria and paid with plastic, your card information may have been compromised.

Earl Enterprises, the parent company of those restaurant chains, has notified customers of a  “data security incident” that it said potentially affects payment card information of a “limited” number of customers.

The company said it recently became aware of the security incident and began an internal investigation with the help of two cybersecurity firms. As part of the investigation, the company said it has talked with federal law enforcement officials and is cooperating with federal investigators.

‘Incident contained’

“The security and privacy of guests' payment card data is a top priority, and the company deeply regrets that this incident occurred,” Earl Enterprises said in a statement. “The incident has now been contained, and Earl Enterprises is working diligently with security experts on further remediation efforts.”

The company said it will closely monitor its systems and increase security measures for its payment networks.

The company says its investigation suggests hackers were able to install malware on some of its point-of-sale systems in some of its restaurants. The software then intercepted payment card information, which could have included credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates and, in some cases, cardholder names.

The company said it appears that payment cards used at its restaurants between May 23, 2018, and March 18, 2019, may have been affected by this incident. Orders placed online were not affected.

Reported a month ago

Meanwhile, Brian Krebs, who operates the KrebsOnSecurity blog, reports he contacted Buca di Beppo after discovering what he called “strong evidence” that some two million credit and debit card numbers belonging to the company’s customers were being sold on the dark web.

The 2 million figure comes from Krebs and has not been confirmed by Earl Enterprises. Krebs says he asked the company for confirmation but did not receive it.

The company has created this web page for customers who think they may have been affected by the data breach.

Consumers who have frequented the company’s restaurants in the past year should closely monitor credit card and bank account statements looking for suspicious activity. Should you spot an unauthorized charge contact the issuing institution right away.

Roughly one in five Americans has declined an invitation to a wedding because they can’t afford to attend, according to a recent survey by Bankrate. However, 30 percent of those who were forced to decline an invitation due to financial constraints said that doing so negatively affected their relationship with the couple.

Bankrate’s Kelly Anne Smith notes that while no one should risk going into debt in order to celebrate the occasion, experts agree that merely being invited to the wedding necessitates sending the happy couple a gift.

“Even giving cash or writing a check is no longer taboo, so that’s one option for giving a gift,” Smith said. She noted that cash has become a desired gift item for many couples, possibly due to the high cost of planning and executing a wedding.

Although the practice of giving cash may be frowned upon in some social circles, giving cash or a check as a wedding gift is seen as an appropriate option by 88 percent of Americans and all nine of Bankrate’s experts.

How much to give

In terms of how much to send the couple, Bankrate’s Cashlorette Sarah Berger suggests sending “whatever you think is appropriate and can realistically afford.”

A previous study by Bankrate found that wedding gift amounts vary between different regions of the U.S. Wedding guests in the Northeast gave the most, with 38% of respondents saying that the typical gift was at least $200.

Bankrate’s most recent survey found that invited guests often felt it was okay to reduce a wedding gift for several reasons, such as if the couple has already established a home together (28 percent), if the wedding is less formal (14 percent), or if the couple did not give them a large gift for their wedding (13 percent).

While Bankrate’s experts agree that no event is worth depleting a savings account, none of the aforementioned scenarios were regarded as valid reasons to give less. However, 1 out of Bankrate’s 9 experts thought it was appropriate to skimp on the gift if it wasn’t the first marriage for the bride and/or groom.

Acceptance rates have declined at many of the nation’s top colleges, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Of the 43,330 candidates who applied to join Harvard College’s class of 2023, only 1,950 were invited to attend the college -- a record low admission rate of 4.5 percent.

“The Class of 2023 is remarkably accomplished and promising by any standard,” Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 said in a press release on Thursday, which was “Ivy Decision Day.”

“Reading their applications and getting to know these individuals through their unique experiences and talents inspires great confidence for the future of Harvard College and our society,” Fitzsimmons said.

Record low acceptance rates

Other colleges that were more selective than they historically have been included:

• Dartmouth College, with a record low acceptance rate of 7.9 percent;

• Cornell University, with a 10.6 percent acceptance rate, up slightly from last year’s record low 10.3 percent;

• Brown University, with a record low acceptance rate of 6.6 percent;

• The University of Pennsylvania, with a record low acceptance rate of 7.4 percent.

Part of the reason it appears to be getting harder for applicants to get accepted is that students can now apply to more schools electronically, usually through the Common Application process, Bloomberg noted.

“The percentage of students who submitted seven or more applications increased to 35 percent in the 2016 school year, compared with 10 percent in 1995, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Many send in a dozen or more,” according to Bloomberg.

College scandal

News of the drop in admission rates at some of the nation’s most elite colleges comes just a few weeks after an alleged multimillion-dollar college admissions scheme came to light.

The “Operation Varsity Blues” scandal, in which clients including Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin employed cheating tactics to get their kids into top-tier schools, sparked a larger discussion about top universities’ processes for admitting students.

The scandal also gave way to debate over whether the pressure some parents feel to send their child to a top university lines up with the potential reward a student may eventually get from attending an elite college.

Many consumers who lose a significant amount of weight struggle to keep the weight off, and researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus might know why.

According to a recent study, the researchers found that consumers looking to keep weight off should prioritize an exercise regimen over a strict diet.

“This study addresses the difficult question of why so many people struggle to keep weight off over a long period,” said Dr. Danielle Ostendorf. “By providing evidence that a group of successful weight-loss maintainers engages in high levels of physical activity to prevent weight regain -- rather than chronically restricting their energy intake -- is a step forward to clarifying the relationship between exercise weight-loss maintenance.”

Staying active

The researchers wanted to see the most effective way for consumers to maintain weight loss, and they focused their study on “weight-loss maintainers” -- those who keep off 30 pounds or more over the course of the year.

In this study, weight-loss maintainers were compared with two other groups: those who were currently overweight/obese but whose BMIs were similar to those of the pre-weight-loss maintainers, and those of average body weight.

In evaluating all three groups, the biggest takeaway was that physical activity was more important for keeping weight off than following a strict diet.

The researchers found that weight-loss maintainers were moving much more than any of the participants in the other two groups, which could be the primary reason exercise was working better than diet. Weight-loss maintainers were taking more steps -- around 12,000 steps per day -- compared with just 6,500 steps for the obesity group and 9,000 steps for the average weight group.

Moreover, the researchers evaluated how many calories the participants burned, and the weight-loss maintainers were burning most of their calories due to physical activity, especially when compared with the other two groups.

When it came to consuming and burning calories, the weight-loss maintainers weren’t that far off from the overweight group, though they were burning 300 more calories than the group of average weight.

“Our findings suggest that this group of successful weight-loss maintainers are consuming a similar number of calories per day as individuals with overweight and obesity but appear to avoid weight regain by compensating for this with high levels of physical activity,” said Dr. Victoria A. Catenacci.

Keeping track

In an effort to help consumers stay on track with their weight loss goals, a recent study found that doctors should be as specific as possible when offering tips to their patients. Researchers found that offering specific bits of wisdom and avoiding generalities like “lose weight” or “exercise more” is more effective in helping consumers lose weight.

“Just telling somebody to lose weight or improve their diet or physical activity didn’t work,” said researcher Gary Bennett. “The doctor should instead encourage patient participation in a specific program.”

Recent studies have also found that tracking food intake is beneficial for weight loss, while counting calories may not be as important as many think.

As a means of better understanding the relationship between children’s mental and physical health, researchers from Columbia University recently explored how stomach pains are often associated with mental health struggles.

The study revealed that when children are faced with adversity at a young age, like being separated from a parent, they are more likely to experience gastrointestinal pain, which, in turn, should signal to physicians that there may be future mental health issues.

“One common reason children show up at doctors’ offices is intestinal complaints,” said researcher Tim Nottenham. “Our findings indicate that gastrointestinal symptoms in young children could be a red flag to primary care physicians for future emotional health problems.”

What’s in the gut

To see how gut and mental health were affected when children experienced separation from a parent, the researchers evaluated data from children who were raised by their biological parents and those who were adopted from foster care or orphanages.

The original groups included nearly 230 children raised by their biological parents and 115 adopted children. The researchers say the latter group reported more prevalent stomach issues, such as vomiting, nausea, constipation, and stomachaches.

The team then analyzed brain scans and stool samples for eight children from each parenting group to see how genetic makeup affected the likelihood of later mental health issues. The tests showed that there were fundamental differences between adopted children and those who were raised by their biological parents.

One of the major findings had to do with the diversity of the gut microbiomes of the two groups; the researchers found that greater diversity is a characteristic linked to the part of the brain that handles emotions, and this was more common in the children who were raised by their biological parents.

“It is too early to say anything conclusive, but our study indicates that adversity-associated changes in the gut microbiomes are related to brain function, including differences in the regions of the brain associated with emotional processing,” said Tottenham.

As this is the first study to explore how children’s gastrointestinal issues affected later mental health issues, the researchers cited previous studies that have produced similar results in both adults and animals. Not only is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) more common in adults who have experienced trauma, but the researchers note that mental health issues are common in adults who were separated from their parents at a young age.

Despite this small sample size, the researchers plan to put their findings to the test when they increase the number of participants in an upcoming study.

"Animal studies tell us that dietary interventions and probiotics can manipulate the gut microbiome and ameliorate the effects of adversity on the central nervous system, especially during the first years of life when the developing brain and microbiome are more plastic," Callaghan said. "It is possible that this type of research will help us to know if and how to best intervene in humans, and when."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), giving doctors a new weapon against this disease of the central nervous system.

The FDA has cleared Mavenclad, whose generic name is cladribine, to treat relapsing forms of MS. The drug, taken in tablet form, will treat relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease.

According to the agency, Mavenclad will not be recommended for MS patients with the clinically isolated syndrome. However, it will be generally recommended for MS patients who have not responded well to other treatments for the disease.

"We are committed to supporting the development of safe and effective treatments for patients with multiple sclerosis," said Dr. Billy Dunn, director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "The approval of Mavenclad represents an additional option for patients who have tried another treatment without success."

Subsidiary of Merck developed the drug

Mavenclad was developed by a subsidiary of Merck. The company says the drug “opens a new way to treat MS,” and requires a maximum of 20 days of oral therapy to deliver two years of efficacy to a patient.

MS usually strikes young adults between the ages of 20 and 40. It interferes with the communication between the brain and major muscles. It tends to occur more frequently in women than in men.

In many cases, patients begin with the relapsing-remitting form of MS, in which the patient may suffer a relapse in their condition, followed by periods of recovery. Mavenclad will be used primarily to treat this form of MS.

Some patients may not experience periods of recovery and suffer what is called secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS).

‘Significantly reduced’ relapses

In a clinical trial of more than 1,300 patients with relapsing MS, Mavenclad “significantly decreased” the number of relapses these patients experienced, compared to those taking placebo. Mavenclad was also shown to be effective in reducing the progression of disability.

The new drug is not without its risks. According to the FDA:

• Mavenclad has a Boxed Warning for an increased risk of malignancy and fetal harm

• The drug is not to be used in patients with a malignant tumor

• The risk to cancer survivors will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis

• Health care professionals should follow standard cancer screening guidelines

• Pregnant women should not take the drug

• Mavenclad should be stopped if the patient becomes pregnant.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says about 2.3 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with MS. Scientists don’t know what causes MS but believe genetic factors play a major role.

Tip Top Poultry of Rockmart, Ga., is recalling approximately 100 pounds of frozen, fully cooked diced white chicken meat.

The product, which is labeled as fully cooked diced white chicken meat but contains fully cooked grilled chicken breast strips, contains soy, an allergen not declared on the label.

There are no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following item, produced on February 15, 2019, is being recalled:

• 10-lb. case containing two 5-lb. plastic bag packages of “Gordon CHOICE All Natural* Diced White Chicken Meat,” case code 599697, and “PACKDATE 02/15/19.”

The recalled product, bearing establishment number “P-17453” inside the USDA mark of inspection, was shipped to a distributor in Michigan.

What to do

Restaurants that purchased the recalled product should not use it, but discard or return it to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Terry Bruce at (770) 973-8070.