 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
||
|
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
 |
| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
|
San
José, Costa Rica, Thursday, May 1, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 85
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policíe
Fuerza Pública officers
confiscated this load of cocobolo logs in Bagaces Tuesday after
they stopped a truck and said the driers did not have permits to
transport the wood.y Seguridad Pública photo Tax police grab helicopter in dispute over craft's status By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The tax authorities seized a helicopter Wednesday because the government said the owner owed money for keeping the craft in Costa Rica. The Policía de Control Fiscal of the Ministerio de Hacienda conducted three raids at the same time and took control of the craft. It was at Tobías Bolaños airport in Pavas. The tax police said the craft was worth about $850,000 and that the tax was $150,000. One raid was at a customs brokerage office in San José where documents connected with the craft were confiscated. The Ministerio de Hacienda said that the 2013 model Robinson helicopter had been brought into Costa Rica for a time that the owners said was temporary. The owners names were not given. Construction workers in river may have been upset and drunk A Nicaraguan man was mauled by crocodiles in the Río Tárcoles after he jumped into the river. According to Cruz Roja workers, the man, Omar de Jesús Jirón, entered the river for reasons unknown but cited an argument with a friend and drunkenness as possible factors. Jirón, who is believed to be 25 to 35 years old, was a construction worker at the Clínica de Parrita. A Cruz Roja press representative said the friend remains the case's primary witness and key to figuring out Jirón's motive for getting in the water. The river that starts in the San José province and flows into the Gulf of Nicoya is known for being a popular spot where tourists can stop on their way outside the city to see sun-bathing crocodiles. Zarcero food producers plan weekend fair in city By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Another fair is filling the wide hall of the Antigua Aduana this weekend as more than 70 vendors and artists make up the Zarcero en San José celebration. The two-day affair celebrating the canton of Zarcero's centennial will feature a diverse sampling of foods from the region as well as locally inspired dances and concerts. Located in the mountains of Alajuela, Zarcero is known for its organically farmed produce. The town's culinary scope also offers a lot in the way of dairy, with queso palmito and natilla being some of the favorites that will be available at the Antigua Aduana. There will also be fresh juices, vegetables, breads, deserts, and other organic dishes on hand at the fair. These products will complement the local bands and performers sporting an array of disciplines like piano, guitar, and orchestra. The canton's 100th anniversary is not officially until next year. The festival is free to the public and begins at 10 a.m. Saturday and continues Sunday. The Antigua Aduana is on Calle 23 in northeast San José. Region makes some progress on anti-terrorism, U.S. says By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Little by little Latin American countries are improving their abilities to react to terrorism, according to the latest from the U.S. Department of State. The department's Bureau of Counterterrorism published its annual report on terrorism on Wednesday, citing heightened security measures and funding into counterterrorism efforts in Latin America. Still, factors like government corruption and lack of resources kept holding the region back in 2013, the report states. Though Costa Rica is not directly mentioned in the assessment, it says the country's security personnel and border patrol have worked directly with forces in Panamá for training. Panama's main terrorist threat is the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, known as the FARC, because rebel units come through the border. It did say Panama's border control has strengthened security measures against the FARC and other terrorists through its air, land, and sea patrols. Both the Panama Canal and the Darien Gap attract a lot of criminal dealings. The report also represents an optimistic outlook on Mexico's prevention of terrorism. “The Mexican government remained vigilant against domestic and international terrorist threats in 2013,” it reads. “There are no known international terrorist organizations operating in Mexico, and there is no evidence that any terrorist group has targeted U.S. citizens in Mexican territory.” However, money laundering and terrorist financing are still large concerns looming over the country's well-being. The report says the U.S. State Department is worried about Mexico's infrastructure and access to resources when fighting such threats. The department stated that Iran's involvement in the Western hemisphere is a potential concern for terrorist activity. According to the report, recent sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union against Iran has limited the country's influence in this region. “There were no known operational cells of either Al-Qaeda or Hezbollah in the hemisphere, although ideological sympathizers in South America and the Caribbean continued to provide financial and ideological support to those and other terrorist groups in the Middle East and South Asia,” the report reads.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, May 1, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 85 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
| Archaeologists
will look beneath the soil By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Archaeologists have long wished to be able to see into the ground. Instead, for nearly 200 years, they have been forced to dig trenches, test holes and meticulously scrape away the soil. There is lot of soil and plenty of archaeological sites still undiscovered. But now researchers at the sites of the famous stone balls will be getting a peek into the ground without disturbing it. The Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales at the Universidad de Costa Rica has agreed to share its ground penetrating radar with the Museo Nacional staffers. The Laboratorio has the equipment for checking the engineering and condition of roadways. The museum also is getting three-dimensional scanner laser devices to very accurately create a representation of the topography of the sites and also create very accurate computer models of the spheres that archeologists know exists. The scanning laser device very quickly scans and records thousands of data points. The devices have been used to create three-dimensional computer images of historic buildings and even former battlegrounds. The museum has four sites in the canton of Osa, and the stone balls are being considered for inclusion in the list of United Nation world heritage sites. Only recently did archeologists expose a stone sphere that was underground. They will use the radar to see if there are more. The laboratory also will provide the technicians to operate the devices during this pilot project, the museum said. Using ground penetrating radar is not new. A.M. Costa Rica reported Tuesday that researchers in Spain are planning to use ground penetrating radar to search the floor of a Madrid convent for the bones of Miguel de Cervantes. He is the author of what is considered the world’s first novel, "The Adventures of the Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha." Records show Cervantes died in poverty at 69 on April 22, 1616. His remains were reportedly entombed in the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid's historic Barrio de las Letras, or literary quarter. The exact location of the remains within the convent is unknown, said the newspaper's wire services The cost of the Spanish endeavor is expected to be $138,000, the wire services said. The devices also are used to test the composition of soil. |
 A.M. Costa Rica graphic
This is one type of unit. |
| Pre-Columbian spheres have inspired a dance recounting their
creation |
|
|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Museo Nacional celebrates its 127th birthday Sunday with a seven-hour extravaganza, mostly musical. A highlight is the “Campo de Esferas,” a dance presentation by the group UNA Danza Joven from Universidad Nacional in Heredia. The dance performance has been presented at Finca 6, the heart of the area in which the giant stone spheres have been found. Directed by Fito Guevara and Valentina Marenco, 15 dancers will present the history of the creation of the stone spheres, which soon will be listed as tangible world heritage. This presentation begins at 6 p.m. The festivities begin at noon with an exposition called "A Tres Bandas," which seeks to celebrate different forms of music. An hour |
later, humorist
and singer Dionisio Cabal will be presenting a commentary on Tico
culture. The event at 2. p.m. featured a group from the Academia de Baile Merecumbé, whose members will perform Latin American dances. The Universidad de Costa Rica's Taller Formativo de Expresión Musical performs calypso and other Latin rhythms at 3 p.m. Fantasía de Tango at 4 p.m. presents a show featuring that dance. At 5 p.m. the Grupo Eleus presents a mix of classical and traditional music. The entire event is free for Costa Ricans and residents. |
 |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
 |
|
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, May 1, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 85 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Veterinarian defends European ban on seal products and cites
cruelty |
|
|
By
the University of Bristol' news service
Next month, following an appeal by Canada and Norway to overturn the European Union's ban on the import of seal products, the World Trade Organization is expected to announce whether the 2013 decision will be upheld. In an editorial article, a University of Bristol academic, whose research on the animal welfare of the seal hunt has been used in the case, explains why the ban should stand. The article byAndy Butterworth, senior lecturer in animal sciences at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences and an official observer of the seal hunt is published in the journal Nature. EU legislation, in place since 2009, intended to ban the import of seal products. However, the implementation of this has been slowed pending a decision by the World Trade Organisation on whether the ban would be permitted under trade rules, which must reconcile contrasting statements from international agreements that are almost 70 years old. One forbids arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries. Another says that nations can act in a way that is necessary to protect public morals. Last November, the World Trade Organization agreed that the ban on marketing of seal products could be legitimately implemented on the basis of protection of public morals. This was a historic decision, the first time that public morals combined with animal welfare concerns had been used to create a marketing restriction for a specific animal product. he EU ban was introduced on the grounds of public morals, and |
T science
and scientific evidence was used to inform the judgements made on the
moral questions raised by the seal hunt. The scientific evidence, by
researchers including Butterworth, indicated that some shot seals
took
a considerable period of time to die and that some injured animals were
unchecked for periods of several minutes before being finally killed by
clubbing. The post mortems that the researchers carried out on the ice
indicated that some seals had multiple shooting, clubbing and hooking
injuries — and that some had swallowed their own fresh blood
—suggesting that they were alive for a period following the first
contact with the hunter. Butterworth in his article argues the appeal from Canada and Norway does not challenge the poor welfare outcomes of the seals, which the World Trade Organization last year judged sufficient to justify the European ban. Instead, the appeal concentrates on trade issues and restrictions. Butterworth said: "As a veterinary scientist, I consider the hunt to present real and significant welfare concerns. The available scientific evidence supports that opinion. But science, of course, is only one of the factors at play. If what I have witnessed being done to a young seal was done to a horse or a dog, there is little doubt that it would be labelled as cruel." The annual Canadian commercial seal hunt is the world's largest hunt of marine mammals and by the end of the 2014 hunt, a quota of some 400,000 young seals could have been taken. The seal pups, which are only a few weeks old, are prized for their skins and for the omega-3-rich oil used in food supplements: products that are shipped around the world. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 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 |
 |
||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, May 1, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 85 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
|
| Gerry Adams faces probe in IRA murder of widow By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Police in Northern Ireland are questioning Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams about the 1972 abduction and murder of a widowed mother of 10. The 65-year-old Adams repeatedly has denied any involvement in the Jean McConville case. She was abducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army from her Belfast home and shot to death. Adams confirmed his interview with police in a prepared statement late Wednesday. He declared his innocence and described his contact with police as voluntary and pre-arranged. Police later said he had been arrested. Authorities have long sought to query Adams about the death of McConville, a 38-year-old executed by the IRA as an accused spy for the British army. Her body was secretly buried and found decades later on a beach in the Republic of Ireland. Historians and witnesses say Adams served as an IRA commander for decades during the 40-year conflict, which pitted independence-seeking Republicans against pro-British unionists. Adams has always denied holding any position in the outlawed group, despite accusations from an IRA veteran who said McConville was killed on Adams' orders. Turkish regime is seeking to extradite foe from U.S. By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The news that Turkey will officially request that the United States extradite Turkish Islamic scholar Fetullah Gulen is threatening to strain U.S.-Turkish relations. Ankara insists Gulen is behind a conspiracy to overthrow the government. But analysts warn that Ankara may find it difficult legally to secure his extradition. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that he would ask Washington to extradite Gulen. Erdogan has repeatedly accused the cleric and his followers of seeking to overthrow the government. But Riza Turmen, a former European Court of Human Rights judge who is now a parliamentary deputy for Turkey's opposition Republican People’s Party, said that while an extradition agreement has been in force since 1981, it would be difficult to secure Gulen's extradition. "There is an obligation to effect extradition if conditions are fulfilled, but one condition for such extradition: the person who is requested should be charged with an offense or should be convicted of an offense. Then another condition: the offense for which extradition is requested should be punishable under the laws of both countries. Now, whether these conditions are fulfilled is very doubtful. I don’t think there is any charge or any conviction against Mr. Gulen. So I can't really see how there is legal basis for such a request of extradition," said Turmen. But local media reports claimed Ankara prosecutors have launched an investigation into Gulen. Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik said Wednesday that prosecutors were investigating Gulen for crimes against the constitution. The minister went on to say the investigation was about Turkey's survival. The ruling AK Party accuses followers of Gulen inside the police and judiciary of unjustifiably launching graft investigations last December against family members of leading ministers, with the aim of overthrowing the government. Gulen denies the allegations. Kadri Gursel, diplomatic columnist for the Milliyet newspaper, said despite the severity of the charges, it would be difficult for the U.S. to secure Gulen's return under the extradition agreement, because the agreement forbid extraditing someone whose conviction for alleged criminal offenses was deemed politically motivated. "I think this clause of the agreement blocks the way of any extradition. Because the whole discourse against Gulen is built on political charges," said Gursel. Washington has indicated it is skeptical about the allegations against Gulen and criticized Ankara for interfering in probes into alleged government graft. But the Turkish prime minister insists his government is threatened by a parallel state led by Gulen. Such claims helped Erdogan consolidate his electoral base in last month's local elections, said Semih Idiz, a diplomatic columnist for Turkey's Taraf newspaper. With presidential elections looming in August, Idiz said, Erdogan was playing politics with the Gulen extradition. "He is maintaining this momentum he had before the local elections, where he was hitting at this parallel structure, and it obviously worked for him and he needs to maintain momentum over the next few weeks and months as he decides what he has to do vis-a-vis the presidency. I think he is just playing politics here. And U.S.-bashing, America-bashing, always brings popularity in this country. There is this problem of anti-Westernism in Turkey, and when America is involved, that peaks," said Idiz. Analysts said Washington was unlikely to extradite Gulen, even if it would take considerable time, possibly years, to do so. But diplomatic columnist Gursel predicted that even if the extradition request was turned down, bilateral relations were unlikely to be seriously damaged. "What will happen if the United States reject this demand, will there be any sanctions -- I don’t think so. U.S.-Turkish relations are multi-dimensional; there are many aspects of it. And I think Erdogan’s government and he himself value U.S.-Turkish relations," said Gursel. But for now Erdogan continues to keep pressure on both Gulen and Washington, noting that Turkish courts have on several occasions honored U.S. extradition requests. Observers say with presidential elections looming, Ankara's pressure on Washington, and its campaign against Gulen and his followers, are likely to continue. U.S. lawmakers clash over roots of poverty By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Fifty years after U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty, about 46 million Americans are living in poverty. Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan says government social welfare programs are not working, and it is time to listen to those fighting poverty on the front lines for different approaches. Democrats say things would be much worse, however, without government services for the poor. Democratic and Republican lawmakers faced off Wednesday at a hearing on the role of the government in helping to lift people out of poverty. Ryan said the government has failed. “I think we can all agree that Washington isn’t making anybody proud these days," said Ryan. "Right now, the federal government spends nearly $800 billion a year on 92 different programs to fight poverty. Yet the official poverty rate is the highest in a generation. And over the past three years, deep poverty has been the highest on record. Clearly, we can do better.” Most Democratic lawmakers strongly disagree, and oppose Ryan’s budget that would raise defense spending but sharply cut spending on domestic programs for the poor. It passed the House but not the Senate. The president of the non-profit group, the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, Robert Woodson, said the focus on government programs has created a whole industry of those who service the nation’s poor. “Seventy percent of all the dollars over the years that we have spent on the poor goes to those who serve poor people,” said Woodson. Woodson argued the focus should be on private enterprise giving people jobs. Ryan has come under criticism for remarks suggesting that some poor people in inner cities lack a culture of hard work. Rep. Chris van Hollen, a Democrat, accused Republicans of misunderstanding the roots of poverty. “But it adds insult to injury to claim, as Republicans do, that shredding the social safety net actually helps those who are struggling every day to make ends meet," said van Hollen. "This claim is based on a false and pernicious stereotype that many of these struggling individuals prefer to rely on these safety nets - sometimes mockingly referred to as hammocks - rather than get a job. This mindset is a fantasy world approach that by dismantling anti-poverty programs, we will reduce poverty.” Ryan met Wednesday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss ways to reduce poverty. After the meeting, Democratic Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman Marcia Fudge spoke to reporters. “We appreciate Chairman Ryan coming to our meeting. We did not get a whole lot accomplished, but we do agree on a number of things. One is that we are both concerned about the poverty in this country. We just disagree on how we address the problem,” she said. Ms. Fudge said Ryan agreed to invite members of the Congressional Black Caucus to present their views at a future hearing on alleviating poverty. Stagnant U.S. economy seen getting better soon By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. economy barely grew during the first three months of the year, but the central bank is giving a bright outlook for the immediate future. The Commerce Department says economic growth was a scant 0.1 percent during the first quarter. This was the slowest growth rate in more than a year, and a sharp drop from the last quarter of 2013. Ending a two-day meeting Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve blamed the slowdown, in part, on a harsh winter that kept people out of stores and slowed delivery of goods and services. But it said economic activity has since picked up, and households appear to be spending more. The Fed also agreed to cut back on its purchases of bonds, a program it uses to stimulate a slow economy. Its optimism encouraged investors Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the main U.S. stock index, to an all-time high. But economist Adam Hersh at the Center for American Progress says in an interview that he believes it will be a while before U.S. economic growth is strong enough to bring down still high unemployment and stimulate higher salaries. "I expect that the economy is certainly going to strengthen from the rather disappointing growth number that we saw today for the first quarter," said Hersh. “But it’s going to be a long time before we get back to the strength of growth that is adequate to bring down the still-high unemployment that the economy is facing and to create pressure, upward pressure on incomes and wages for people out there who haven’t seen a raise in a very long time now.” Republicans block effort to raise minimum wage By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
An effort to raise America’s national minimum wage has been blocked by minority Republicans in the U.S. Senate. The issue is the latest partisan skirmish between lawmakers as both parties position themselves for mid-term elections in November. The minimum wage in America is $7.25 an hour, and has been since 2009. But the cost of living has continued to climb, eroding the purchasing power of low-wage workers. Sen. Edward Markey. a Democrat, said that must change. “No person in America should work full time and not earn enough to be above the poverty level. Raising the minimum wage is a first step to fighting income inequality in our country,” said Markey. Wednesday’s 54 to 42 vote was shy of the three-fifths required to begin Senate debate on a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 over the next two years. Republicans lined up in opposition to the measure. Sen. John Cornyn argued higher wages make labor more expensive, which discourages employment. “We all want to see hard-working American families work their way toward the American dream. But we are not going to be able to do that by the federal government setting wages for restaurants, small businesses and other people across the country,” said Cornyn. Democrats disagree, saying a wage hike will boost consumer spending and provide a badly-needed lift to the economy. That Democrats would press for a minimum wage hike and Republicans would block the bill has been known for months. Most Democrats want to give low-wage workers a raise and are happy to force Republicans to go on record opposing it. Before votes were cast, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “Millions of American workers will be watching how each senator votes today. And for Republicans, this vote will demonstrate whether they truly care about our economy.” Republicans, though, accuse Democrats of staging show votes to distract the American public from anemic economic growth recorded under President Barack Obama. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell responded to Reid. “Senate Democrats are pushing legislation today that would cost as many as a million jobs in this country. They seem to think they can coast on talking points and stale ideas,” he said. Republicans face similar charges from Democrats in the Republican-led House of Representatives, where dozens of votes have been held to repeal Obama’s signature health care law. While Republicans continue to shine a spotlight on Obamacare as a central campaign issue, Democrats have crafted a populist economic message in hopes of rallying the party’s base between now and November, when one-third of the Senate and all House seats will be contested. Political observers expect Republicans to retain their majority in the House, but which party will control the Senate is -- at this point -- anyone’s guess. California cities include some of worst polluted By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
California is home to most polluted cities in the United States. Based data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association lists six California cities among the 10 worst-polluted metropolitan areas in the country. The Lung Association rankings are included in its 2014 “State of the Air” report, released Wednesday. The list is based on ozone and particle pollution for the years 2010 to 2012. Fresno, in north central California and home to 1.1 million residents, is the most polluted area, according to the report. Exhaust from agricultural operations, the area’s topography and smog from nearby San Francisco and Sacramento all contribute to Fresno’s problem. Fresno citizens suffer from the worst particle pollution in the country. It is so bad that school and city officials raise red flags when the air outside is dangerous to breath, according to the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles has the worst ozone pollution in the country. Ozone, according to scientists, is the most widespread pollutant in the United States, as well as one of the most dangerous. Harmful to breathe, ozone aggressively attacks lung tissue by reacting chemically with it, according to the Lung Association. The Lung Association report warns that nearly half of all Americans live in metropolitan areas where pollution has become unhealthy to breathe. Twenty-two of the 25 most ozone-polluted cities in the 2014 report – including Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago – had more high ozone days on average when compared to the 2013 report. According to the Lung Association report, these are the most polluted metropolitan areas in the United States: 1. Fresno, California 2. Visalia, California 3. Bakersfield, California 4. Los Angeles, California 5. Modesto, California 6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 7. El Centro, California 8. El Paso, Texas 9. Phoenix, Arizona 10. St. Louis, Missouri On the opposite end of the spectrum, four metropolitan areas were named by the as the cleanest cities for having no days with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution and for being among the 25 cities with the lowest year-round particle levels. These cities include: Bangor, Maine; Bismarck, North Dakota; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, and Salinas, California Drug resistance bacteria brings a medical warning By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Doctors have long warned against prolonged use of antibiotics, saying that bacteria can build resistance to drugs, eventually rendering them ineffective. The World Health Organization reported Wednesday that antibiotic-resistant bacteria now exist in many parts of the world. Some diseases that once could easily be cured by antibiotics have now become deadly. The Geneva-based World Health said its survey shows very high rates of drug-resistant E. coli bacteria, which can cause meningitis and infections of the skin, blood, kidneys and other organs. The agency's assistant director-general, Keiji Fukuda, said Wednesday that the survey also found worrying rates of resistance in other bacteria, such as those that cause pneumonia, diarrhea, urinary tract infections and gonorrhea. "It's clear that rates are very high of resistance among bacteria, causing many of the most common serious infections, the ones that we see both occurring in the community, as well as in hospitals," said Fukuda. Romanian doctor Adrian Cercel said he has virtually no treatment left for some of his patients. "During the last 20 years, the bacteria have developed very sophisticated resistance mechanisms, and we are facing a situation in which we don't have antibiotics to treat the patient due to the existence of pan-resistant germs," said Cercel. The World Health survey shows that in some countries, many types of bacterial infections do not respond to antibiotic treatment in more than half of patients. Public health specialists blame overconsumption of antibiotics, which are often prescribed for non-bacterial ailments. Jean-Baptiste Ronat, with the group Doctors Without Borders, said that people also can consume the drug inadvertently by eating meat from animals that have been treated with antibiotics. "So the two main dangers, actually, are the use and the overuse of antibiotics in food factories and animal production - especially the fact that we use antibiotics as growth factors since ages in the U.S. and all over the world. It has been restricted in Europe since 2001. And the second one is the overuse in human health. Taking into account that most of the time people take antibiotics because they have a common cold and because the patient wants antibiotics," said Ronat. Ronat and others said the world is returning to conditions similar to the era before antibiotics. "That means in the 19th century, so before the first world war, where we had no antibiotics and where we were just dying because of a urinary tract infection or because of a pulmonary infection. So this is what is going to happen in the future," predicted Ronat. The World Health report describes the problem as a major threat to global public threat. It recommends that people use antibiotics only when prescribed by a doctor. They should complete the full prescription, never share antibiotics with others, and never use leftover prescriptions. Experts come to the defense of the maligned Neanderthal By
the University of Colorado news staff
If you think Neanderthals were stupid and primitive, it’s time to think again. The widely held notion that Neanderthals were dimwitted and that their inferior intelligence allowed them to be driven to extinction by the much brighter ancestors of modern humans is not supported by scientific evidence, according to a researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. Neanderthals thrived in a large swath of Europe and Asia between about 350,000 and 40,000 years ago. They disappeared after a group referred to as anatomically modern humans, crossed into Europe from Africa. In the past, some researchers have tried to explain the demise of the Neanderthals by suggesting that the newcomers were superior to Neanderthals in key ways, including their ability to hunt, communicate, innovate and adapt to different environments. But in an extensive review of recent Neanderthal research, University of Colorado researcher Paola Villa and co-author Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, make the case that the available evidence does not support the opinion that Neanderthals were less advanced than anatomically modern humans. Their paper was published today in the journal PLOS ONE. “The evidence for cognitive inferiority is simply not there,” said Ms. Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. “What we are saying is that the conventional view of Neanderthals is not true.” Ms. Villa and Roebroeks scrutinized nearly a dozen common explanations for Neanderthal extinction that rely largely on the notion that the Neanderthals were inferior to anatomically modern humans. These include the hypotheses that Neanderthals did not use complex, symbolic communication; that they were less efficient hunters who had inferior weapons, and that they had a narrow diet that put them at a competitive disadvantage to anatomically modern humans, who ate a broad range of food. The researchers found that none of the hypotheses were supported by the available research. For example, evidence from multiple archaeological sites in Europe suggests that Neanderthals hunted as a group, using the landscape to aid them. Researchers have shown that Neanderthals likely herded hundreds of bison to their death by steering them into a sinkhole in southwestern France. At another site used by Neanderthals, this one in the Channel Islands, fossilized remains of 18 mammoths and five woolly rhinoceroses were discovered at the base of a deep ravine. These findings imply that Neanderthals could plan ahead, communicate as a group and make efficient use of their surroundings, the authors said. Other archaeological evidence unearthed at Neanderthal sites provides reason to believe that Neanderthals did in fact have a diverse diet. Microfossils found in Neanderthal teeth and food remains left behind at cooking sites indicate that they may have eaten wild peas, acorns, pistachios, grass seeds, wild olives, pine nuts and date palms depending on what was locally available. Additionally, researchers have found ochre, a kind of earth pigment, at sites inhabited by Neanderthals, which may have been used for body painting. Ornaments have also been collected at Neanderthal sites. Taken together, these findings suggest that Neanderthals had cultural rituals and symbolic communication. Ms. Villa and Roebroeks say that the past misrepresentation of Neanderthals’ cognitive ability may be linked to the tendency of researchers to compare Neanderthals, who lived in the Middle Paleolithic, to modern humans living during the more recent Upper Paleolithic period, when leaps in technology were being made. “Researchers were comparing Neanderthals not to their contemporaries on other continents but to their successors,” Ms. Villa said. “It would be like comparing the performance of Model T Fords, widely used in America and Europe in the early part of the last century, to the performance of a modern-day Ferrari and conclude that Henry Ford was cognitively inferior to Enzo Ferrari.” Although many still search for a simple explanation and like to attribute the Neanderthal demise to a single factor, such as cognitive or technological inferiority, archaeology shows that there is no support for such interpretations, the authors said. But if Neanderthals were not technologically and cognitively disadvantaged, why didn’t they survive? The researchers argue that the real reason for Neanderthal extinction is likely complex, but they say some clues may be found in recent analyses of the Neanderthal genome over the last several years. These genomic studies suggest that anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals likely interbred and that the resulting male children may have had reduced fertility. Recent genomic studies also suggest that Neanderthals lived in small groups. All of these factors could have contributed to the decline of the Neanderthals, who were eventually swamped and assimilated by the increasing numbers of modern immigrants. New technique tracks DNA down to ancestor's hometown By
the University of Sheffield news service
Tracing where an individual's DNA was formed over 1,000 years ago is now possible due to a revolutionary technique developed by a team of international scientists led by experts from the University of Sheffield. The ground breaking Geographic Population Structure tool, created by Eran Elhaik from the University of Sheffield's Department of Animal and Plant Sciences and Tatiana Tatarinova from the University of Southern California, works similarly to a satellite navigation system as it helps a person to find their ancestor's home from 1,000 years ago. Previously, scientists have only been able to locate where DNA was formed to within 700 kilometers, which in Europe could be two countries away. However this pioneering technique has been 98 per cent successful in locating worldwide populations to their right geographic regions, and down to their village and island of origin. The breakthrough of knowing where the gene pools that created the DNA were last mixed has massive implications for life-saving personalized medicine, advancing forensic science and for the study of populations whose ancestral origins are under debate, such as African Americans, Roma gypsies and European Jews. Genetic admixture occurs when individuals from two or more previously separated populations begin interbreeding. This results in the creation of new gene pools representing a mixture of the founder gene pool. Such processes are extremely common in history during migrations and invasions, for example, when the Vikings invaded Britain and Europe in the 11th Century and settled with locals some of them formed a new Viking-Anglo-Saxon gene pool, but some married other Vikings and maintained their original gene pool, allowing GPS to trace their Scandinavian origins. Elhaik said: "If we think of our world as being made up of different colors of soup – representing different populations - it is easy to visualize how genetic admixture occurs. If a population from the blue soup region mixes with a population from the red soup region their off-springs would appear as a purple soup. "The more genetic admixture that takes place, the more different colors of soup are introduced which makes it increasingly difficult to locate your DNA's ancestry using traditional tools like Spatial Ancestry analysis, which has an accuracy level of less than 2 per cent." He added: "What we have discovered here at the University of Sheffield is a way to find not where you were born – as you have that information on your passport – but where your DNA was formed up to 1,000 years ago by modeling these admixture processes. "What is remarkable is that, we can do this so accurately that we can locate the village where your ancestors lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Until now this has never been possible." To demonstrate how accurate GPS predictions are, Elhaik and his colleagues analyzed data from 10 villages in Sardinia and over 20 islands in Oceania. The research published in the journal Nature Communications shows that Elhaik and his team were able to place a quarter of the residents in Sardinia directly to their home village and most of the remaining residents within 50 kilometer of their village. The results for Oceania were no less impressive with almost 90 per cent success of tracing islanders exactly to their island. "This is a significant improvement compared to the alternative SPA tool that placed Oceanians in India," said Elhaik. "This technique also means that we can no longer easily classify people's ethnic identities with one single label. It is impossible for any of us to tick one box on a form such as White British or African as we are much complex models with our own unique identities. The notion of races is simply not plausible." Tracing our ancestry is now a major social trend and genealogy is the number one hobby in America. An estimated one million people in the USA have already had their DNA genotyped. People can explore their DNA by simply taking a swab from inside their mouth and sending it to a private company for costs ranging from $99-$200. Elhaik's co-author, Ms. Tatarinova, developed a Web site making GPS accessible to the public. "To help people find their roots, I developed a Web site that allows anyone who has had their DNA genotyped to upload their results and use GPS to find their ancestral home," said Ms. Tatarinova. "We were surprised by the simplicity and precision of this method. People in a given geographical area are more likely to have similar genetics. When they also have genetic traits typically found in other, distant regions, the geographical origin of those traits is generally the closest location where those traits can be found." According to the researchers, in ethnically-diverse regions like the United Kingdom or the United States, where many people know only a few generations of their descendants, this kind of screening has huge, important medical implications. Discovery of a certain genotype might indicate the potential for a genetic disease and suggest that diagnostic testing be done. Also, as scientists learn more about personalized medicine, there is evidence that specific genotypes respond differently to medications—making this information potentially useful when selecting the most effective therapy and appropriate dosage. The investigators are currently designing a study to correlate pharmacokinetics - the time course of drug metabolism - with genotype. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Some of our other titles: |
|||||
| A.M. Panama |
A.M. Colombia |
A.M. Guatemala |
A.M. Honduras |
A.M. Cuba |
A.M. Nicaragua |
| A.M. Venezuela |
A.M. Central America |
A.M. Dominican Republic |
A.M. Ecuador | A.M. San Salvador |
A.M. Bolivia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa
Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, May 1, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 85 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
||
|
School grades
show girls perform better, study says By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Think boys get better grades in math and science than their female counterparts? Think again. A new study of academic performance in more than 30 countries and spanning nearly a century shows girls do better than boys in math and science as well as other subjects. “Although gender differences follow essentially stereotypical patterns on achievement tests in which boys typically score higher on math and science, females have the advantage on school grades regardless of the material,” said lead study author Daniel Voyer of the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, in a statement. “School marks reflect learning in the larger social context of the classroom and require effort and persistence over long periods of time, whereas standardized tests assess basic or specialized academic abilities and aptitudes at one point in time without social influences,” he added. Voyer’s data, which spanned from 1914 to 2011, showed that the grade gap between girls and boys was widest for language courses and most narrow with math and science, according to the study published in that American Psychological Association’s journal Psychological Bulletin. The study also showed that the better grades among girls in math and science was not evident until middle school. The gap grew from elementary to middle school and then narrowed between high school and college. “The fact that females generally perform better than their male counterparts throughout what is essentially mandatory schooling in most countries seems to be a well-kept secret, considering how little attention it has received as a global phenomenon,” said co-author Susan Voyer, also of the University of New Brunswick in a statement. Voyer echoed these sentiments. “Test scores have been used to perpetuate this notion for a long time, even though recent research shows that gender differences have essentially disappeared on them, at least in math,” he said in an email. “It is hard to get rid of a stereotype.” Some possible reasons for girls performing better could be that because parents assume boys will be better at math and science, they may encourage girls to try harder. This, the researchers say, could explain why girls get better grades in all courses. The authors also said learning style differences between girls and boys could also explain the gap. Previous research, they said, shows that girls “tend to study in order to understand the materials, whereas boys emphasize performance, which indicates a focus on the final grades." “Mastery of the subject matter generally produces better marks than performance emphasis, so this could account in part for males’ lower marks than females,” the authors wrote. Earlier this week, the National Center for Education Statistics released data showing that in the U.S. girls had a higher high school graduation rate, 84 percent, than boys who had a rate of 77 percent. Voyer hopes the research will spark more research. “It might get people to look outside the classroom for solutions to the underachievement in boys,” he said. “Our view is that there are multiple factors involved, making this a societal issue. He added that educational decision makers need to change their views about stereotypes of boys and girls. “With enough publicity about relevant findings, we might convince the public that they need to treat their boys and girls equitably,” he said. |
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine Dining
in Costa Rica |
The CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| From Page 7: Kids' creations are centerpiece of fashion show By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Eight students have been chosen to premiere their clothing designs at Papaya con Leche's next fashion show. Their clothing collections intended for girls will be produced by store designers and will follow the Fruiti-licious theme set by the store's founder, Kata Kis, the firm said. The selected students are in grades one to 12 at the La Paz Community School in Guanacaste. They will be showcasing their fruit-themed collections in the May 17 show at the Hotel Diria in Tamarindo. Ms. Kis said she will also be showing her newest set of bikini designs at the event in which all the wearables are named after fruits. All proceeds from the night are to be donated to the scholarship fund at La Paz. Ms. Kis, who has been designing clothes in Costa Rica for 16 years, said the fashion show is a valuable chance to impassion local youth in the art of fashion design. “It's how I started, so I just wanted to pass it on,” she said of getting into the design business. Kerry McClennen, an English teacher at La Paz, said the experience of working in a professional environment at such a young age is invaluable. “Cultivating creative expression has great benefits for the kids and having the tangible outcome literally materialize in front of their eyes is a great success of this partnership with Papaya con Leche,” she said. “Being able to contribute a creative spark in a professional environment teaches teamwork.” The show, which promises to reveal top bikini styles and young girls fashion through tops, dresses, and accessories, will begin at 7 p.m. Papaya con Leche is a bikini brand that has developed top-flight swimsuits for its Tamarindo clientele since its inception in 1998. The store also makes dresses and bridal wear. Tickets are available at Papaya con Leche's storefront located at Hotel Diria. “I organized this competition to inspire creativity in the fashion design field and have the kids witness how their own designs will come to life on the runway,” Ms. Kis said. |
