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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 137
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 A.M.
Costa Rica/Michael Krumholtz
Germany was the favorite for a
number of Costa Ricans as well as those with German nationality or
blood Sunday. Draped in a flag and holding a replica of the World Cup
trophy is Rolando Fonseca, who watched the game at the Club
Alemán in Los Yoses.A single late
goal decides World Cup
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Germany has become the first European team to ever win a World Cup in the Americas, beating Argentina in Sunday's final in extra time, 1-0. German substitute Mario Goetze scored in the 113th minute to account for the win before a capacity crowd of about 75,000 fans at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Goetze craftily used his chest to control a crossing pass on the left side from teammate Andre Schurrle and kicked it inside the right post past Argentine goalie Sergio Romero. Goetze, a midfielder who plays for Bayern Munich, came off the bench toward the end of regulation for Miroslav Klose, who in the 7-1 semifinal win over Brazil became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. The goal by Goetze triggered memories of the one by Spain’s Andres Iniesta just before the end of extra time in a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup championship in South Africa. It also gave Germany its fourth World Cup title but the first as a unified country. West Germany won in 1954, 1974 and 1990. It united with East Germany in October of 1990. South American teams won the seven previous times the tournament was played in the Americas. "It is unbelievable and an awesome experience," Germany's goalie Manuel Neuer told German television. "We have had incredible cohesion since the start of our preparations. Germany world champions. I don't know how long we will celebrate, but we will go about it with big grins." After the game, the German team made its way up the stairs of Maracana Stadium to raise the hallowed 18-carat gold trophy, as confetti rained down and fireworks exploded in the sky. "It's incredible how hard we worked and what a performance we produced,'' team captain Philipp Lahm said. "It's an incredible feeling.'' Germany and Argentina had met twice before in the World Cup title game. Argentina won in 1986, and the Germans won in 1990. This time, Argentina was hoping its superstar, Lionel Messi, would lead the South American football power to its third title. But Germany's stingy defense neutralized Messi, a four-time World Player of the Year, for most of the game. Messi, who scored four goals in the tournament, all in the group stage, received the Golden Ball award as the World Cup's best player. In the end, though, he was still walking in the shadow of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who led his country to the 1986 World Cup title, in part, with his famous Hand of God goal and the Goal of the Century. Sunday's game marked the third straight World Cup championship that went to extra time. Both teams had solid chances to score before Goetze's goal, with the Argentines missing out on a few that would later haunt them. In the 21st minute, Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain intercepted an errant pass and broke for the net but hooked his shot far wide. He found the net in the 30th minute but was called for offside. Early in the second half, Messi stood one-on-one with Neuer, who later won the Golden Glove award for the tournament's best goalie, but sent his shot wide. Argentina also failed to convert on opportunities in extra time. "When there are chances in a game that is so evenly balanced, you have to take them," Argentina's coach Alejandro Sabella said of the match. "We lacked a bit of efficiency." Sabella praised his team for staying even with Germany for so long after a tough semifinal against the Netherlands. Argentina won that game in a penalty shootout, 4-2, after a scoreless draw. "The only thing I can do is congratulate my players," Sabella said. "The work they did was extraordinary, and also congratulate Germany." The Argentines went undefeated in the World Cup until the championship game. They played Germany without speedy winger Angel Di Maria, who was out with a thigh injury. In addition to the award to Messi and Neuer, Colombia's James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot award as the tournament's top scorer with six goals. In a symbolic gesture before the game, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sepp Blatter, president of football's world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, took part in a World Cup handover ceremony. Russia will host the 2018 World Cup. Senior needs court to get operation By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 66-year-old woman suffering from multiple hernias in Pérez Zeledón was on a list for operations at a public hospital there for six months and still had not been notified of a date for surgery. In addition, she received an appointment for a gastroscopy for the year 2022 because the hospital staff said there were 381 patients ahead of her. That was enough for her daughter who filed an appeal with the Sala IV constitutional court. The court ordered the directors of the hospital to do the gastroscopy, an examination of the upper digestive tract, in 30 days and to schedule the operation within two months, according to a summary from the Poder Judicial. The hospital is part of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. The court was critical of the Caja for its administration and organization as it has been in other similar cases. Scheduling is a continual problem with the Caja staff, which seems to lack resources. Teen says taxi driver raped her By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A taxi driver has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor in San Rafael de Alajuela. Fuerza Pública officers detained the driver, a 38-year-old with the last names González Ortega, late Thursday night. A 15-year-old girl asked to have a ride from Belén de Heredia to a church located in the center of Alajuela, according to a police report. She told police that González took her to Santa Ana instead and raped her. Authorities said they immediately issued the help of the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia, known as PANI, to give professional care and any necessary psychological aid to the girl. González, who was driving a Geo brand car and is a resident of Belén de Heredia, was detained by police in San Rafael de Alajuela and sent to the area prosecutor. Tourism chamber plans to meet minister By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two months into the new administration, the national tourism chamber is showing some impatience. The chamber, the Cámara Nacional de Turismo, has scheduled a meeting today with Wilhelm Von Breymann, the Turismo minister, to express its concerns. The chamber said members want to know the role that the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo will assume on political issues and in national and international promotions of the country, it said in a release. The chamber said that the tourism industry has been faced with uncertainty for the last few years due to the economic downturn, the dollar exchange rate, and contractions in the European market. Pablo Heriberto Abarca, chamber president, said the tourism institute should defend the interests of the industry.
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 137 | |
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| An A.M. Costa
Rica review New jade museum overwhelms, but displays are low on data |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The new Museo de Jade is overwhelming, The Instituto Nacional de Seguros said all 7,000 of its pre-Columbian holdings have been put
Archaeologist are not really interested in just collecting ceramics. They want the artifacts to speak and tell them about the complex societies that crafted them. The museum chose not to put labels in the display windows. To find out about a ceramic piece or a jade pendant, a visitor must go to a computerized panel. Nearly every display case has a panel in front with photos of the display items. The touch screens allow a visitor to find out information specific to the item of interest in Spanish or English. But too many say the origin of the piece is unknown. This is the same problem that existed when the pieces were at the former jade museum in the insurance institute's headquarters. Without knowledge of the origin, an archaeological piece is close to useless for scientific study. Costa Rica is full of such items, many the product of 19th and early 20th century pot hunters. There is hardly a home of wealthy Costa Ricans that does not have its own archaeological display but almost always without any indication of the origins of the pieces. Then there are the spectacular replicas mainly from the Chorotega area that are offered for sale in gift shops. Add to these the booty of home burglars that shows up at the Sunday flea markets. |
 A.M. Costa Rica photo
Flat screen contains photos of
items in the display case A.M. Costa Rica photo
A touch brings information and a
larger photo of a specific itemMore recently archaeologists and students are revealing the past with professional care and precision. At Finca 6 and nearby Osa sites, too, professionals are trying to obtain answers about the culture that created the iconic stone balls. There also are long-running professional sites being researched elsewhere in the country. Many state-of-the-art devices are being used. Some time will pass before this new knowledge of former residents ends up in the display cases of museums. Until then, many of the ceramic pieces are like Greek statues: great to look at but with a limited history. |
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| National museum will host INBIO's massive collection of
specimens |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Tiny Costa Rica boasts an estimated 4 percent of the entire world's biodiversity, and soon the country's most impressive biological collection will be on display at the Museo Nacional. María del Rocío Fernández Salazar, the museum's new director, said the transfer of these collections from the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad stands as one of her major goals. “This is a very important task we have in front of us,” Ms. Fernández said during a recent telephone interview. “The delivery is divided into two platforms between the physical aspect with infrastructure and control, and the digital platform with organizing the databases.” The biodiversity institute known as INBIO boasts more 3.5 million specimens that fall under arthropod, plant, fungus, and mollusk classifications. A committee made up of related ministry heads, like the minister of Agriculture y Ganadería and the minister of Ambiente y Energía, is in charge of deciding which of those millions of pieces will be put up for display. |
Ms.
Fernández said those board of directors will meet again for the
second time this week to discuss delivery logistics. The physical
portion of delivery implies a lengthy process that requires the museum
to install proper housing for the species with humidity controlled
rooms. She added that the construction will require a load of investment from the state, as these high-end facilities must be extremely stable and sanitary. On the digital side of things, Ms. Fernández said the Ministerio of Sciencia and Technología is in charge of transferring the computer database from INBIO to the museum. Currently INBIO's digital source allows free access to academics with an appointment. From scientific papers and manuals to web pages and books, the research information is immense. The committee has a stated goal of completing the advanced infrastructure by the end of 2015, said Ms. Fernández, and the chosen collections should begin to roll in for display by 2016. Earlier this month Ms. Fernández returned to her post as director at the Museo Nacional, as she also headed the museum from 2008 to 2010. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 137 | |||||
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| Religion-free mindfulness meditation reaching fad status all
over U.S. |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Mindfulness meditation used to be done mainly at spiritual retreats and in yoga centers, but now the technique is practiced in offices, schools, prisons and even the U.S. military. Although it’s been around for decades, the mindfulness movement is being called a revolution. Advocates say it reduces anxiety, and it can have spiritual benefits. A visit to the dentist’s office can cause nervousness and anxiety. But being a dentist is no picnic either, said Alona Bauer. “There’s definitely stress. You work in a small environment and it’s very exact. It’s very precise. Plus you’re managing the patient. So there’s great stress right there,” said Bauer. So Ms. Bauer practices mindfulness meditation at a Yoga center in downtown Washington. Hugh Byrne has been teaching mindfulness since 2000. He said it’s about focusing on the present. “Some forms of meditation are about clearing the mind of thoughts. Mindfulness isn’t about clearing away thoughts. It’s just about being aware of them,” said Byrne. Americans work more and have less time off than people in most other countries. And even outside the workplace, technology and |
multi-tasking
make it increasingly impossible to disconnect. But shutting off
like this is becoming so popular that Time Magazine recently declared a
Mindful Revolution. Critics say mindful meditation is a fad that strips an ancient Buddhist tradition of its moral content. Byrne prefers to see mindfulness as “a broad doorway for people to come in. People who might say, 'I’m not really interested in Buddhism or Eastern spirituality. But I do want less stress. I do want less anxiety.'” Surveys show that young Americans increasingly consider themselves spiritual but not religious. Byrne said mindfulness is for them. “Nobody’s proselytizing. Nobody’s saying, ‘You’ve got to do this. You’ve got to believe this.’ It’s really being offered in this very openhanded way. If this doesn’t work for you, great! There may be many other things that do work for you,” he said. After half an hour, it’s over. Ms. Bauer said it helped sort the muddle in her head. “It was just chatter, you know, chatter, chatter. Energy, very jittery energy, inside my body, tension and now I feel like almost I’m speaking slower my body’s more relaxed my heartbeat is slower," she said. Ms. Bauer grew up without a religious upbringing in the former Soviet Union. Now she says she just might give Buddhism a try. |
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
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 137 | |||||||
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| Refloating wrecker liner begun at Italian island By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The operation to refloat the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship has begun in Italy. Salvage workers began the work today of raising the rusty liner from its watery grave off the Tuscan island of Giglio, where it sank in a nighttime disaster in 2012 that left 32 people dead. It will take about a week to refloat the vessel before it is towed to Genoa for dismantling. The ship rolled onto its side when it sank. It was pulled upright last September in a difficult operation known as parbuckling to prepare it for the refloating process. Ship owner Costa Crociere estimates the cost of the salvage so far at $1.4 billion, with millions more budgeted for the scrapping contract. The area where the ship sank is a marine sanctuary, a haven for dolphins and whales. Environmentalists have warned about the dangers of toxic waste or fuel leaking into the sea as the ship is raised and towed. The Costa Concordia was the largest Italian passenger ship ever built. It was two-and-a-half times as heavy as the Titanic. It had four swimming pools, 13 bars, the largest spa center on any cruise ship, and a nine-deck-high, glass-doomed lobby. The ship's captain is on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the vessel before all passengers had been evacuated. Congress facing decision on handling illegal kids By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Clues could emerge this week whether America’s politically divided Congress will approve funds requested by President Barack Obama to address a surge of immigrants illegally crossing the southwestern U.S. border. It is a situation everyone agrees is intolerable: unaccompanied minors risking their lives to reach the United States, warehoused in overcrowded detention facilities, and ineligible under current U.S. law for quick deportation to their country of origin. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, said tougher border enforcement must come first. “We should do targeted appropriations where it is needed to make sure that we are able to detain people and send them back to their country," Goodlatte said. "Most of the money the president is asking for is to continue the process of further transporting these children - and adults, by the way - further into the United States," he said. But a security surge at the border alone will not solve the problem, because U.S. law mandates immigration hearings for non-Mexican arrivals. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said, “The immigration laws are being enforced, though we are faced with an extraordinary situation where thousands of people, young people especially, are fleeing Central America. "Our immigration laws are broken. It is why we need comprehensive immigration reform," Holder added. Last year, the Senate approved an overhaul of America’s immigration system to boost border enforcement and provide an arduous path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. The Republican-led House of Representatives has not voted on the Senate bill or any alternative. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, blamed Obama for the current border crisis. “There is a powerful incentive for people to travel to the United States. Obviously we understand people who want opportunity, people who are trying to flee violence," Cornyn said. "But the president has effectively encouraged children and their parents to make this treacherous, life-threatening journey by suggesting he will not enforce the law," he added. Such criticisms are baseless so long as Congress does nothing, said Sen, Robert Menendez. a Democrat. “It is easy to say 'No.' It is far more difficult to be constructive. And so far what I have heard in response to this crisis is the negativity of ‘No,’ the criticism of the president for using executive powers when the Congress fails to act in its own right," Menendez said. "You cannot have it both ways. This is a moment to call for the greater interest of the nation, than play the politics I have seen unfold so far," he said. Time is growing short for action on Obama's funding request. Congress will be in recess from early August through early September. Cargo craft blasts off to resupply space station By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A private U.S. company has launched an unmanned cargo carrier to resupply the astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. Orbital Sciences Corp. launched its Cygnus cargo spacecraft on an Antares rocket at midday Sunday from Wallops Island, Virginia. The spacecraft is packed with 1,600 kilograms of food, equipment, science experiments and tools. The launch is the second of eight missions the company has contracted with the U.S. space agency, NASA. The Cygnus is to arrive at the station Wednesday. Private companies, Orbital Sciences and SpaceX, have contracted with NASA for multiple missions to carry supplies to the space station NASA lost its ability to reach the space station after the 30-year space shuttle program ended in 2011. Europe and Russia also have spaceships to carry equipment and provisions to the research outpost. Astronauts are launched three at a time to the space station aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, at a cost of $70.7 million each. Several U.S. companies are competing to build the crew vehicle that will restore U.S. access to the station in the next few years. New government energy lab will test efficiency concepts By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Most of the electrical energy in the U.S. is consumed by buildings and the building sector has the fastest growing rate, but up to now the country did not have a facility for comprehensive testing of new technologies that aim to make buildings more energy efficient. That has changed with Thursday’s opening of a cutting edge laboratory, in California, for evaluating the efficiency of new building methods and materials. In many buildings, windows and walls are poorly insulated, air conditioning and heating systems are inefficient and lighting is inadequate. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings account for 36 percent of the nation's total energy use and create 30 percent of its greenhouse gasses. Technologies for lowering those numbers exist, but their effectiveness is hard to measure because the process requires real-life conditions. In addition to testing each element individually, it's important to assess how well they work together, says the executive manager of the Department of Energy’s new Flexlab, Cindy Regnier. “We're looking at integrated systems, so instead of looking at just components, like air conditioning units, we're looking at the integration, of lighting systems with windows and shading, as an example," said Ms. Regnier. Flexlab has four test beds where scientists can compare the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of different methods. One of the test beds can be rotated 270 degrees to study technologies under different solar orientations. Cameras aimed at windows and walls are helping scientists evaluate the energy efficiency of new materials. Ms. Regnier says the work done at Flexlab can save billions of dollars. “Good integrated design in buildings can achieve as much as 50 percvent energy savings over regular energy use. That's true of the existing buildings as well as new construction," she said. Flexlab will work with all groups interested in improving energy efficiency - from architects and builders, designers and manufacturers of new materials, to building owners and research sponsors. Another important factor will be occupant comfort and acceptance, so certain tests will involve people spending time in the facility. “One of the tests that we currently have going on with Webcor and Genentech will have occupants come into the space and work in the space for a couple of weeks so that they can test the technologies and understand how they perform. It's really important for the kind of work that we do," said Regnier. <s. Regnier says the tests conducted at Flexlab will provide a preview of a building's energy use, before it's built - saving time, money... and energy. New study finds alcohol does not boost heart health By the University of Pennsylvania news staff
Reducing the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, may improve cardiovascular health, including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower body mass index and blood pressure, according to a new multi-center study published in The BMJ that involved the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The latest findings call into question previous studies which suggest that consuming light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health. The new research reviewed evidence from more than 50 studies that linked drinking habits and cardiovascular health for over 260,000 people. Researchers found that individuals who carry a specific gene which typically leads to lower alcohol consumption over time have, on average, superior cardiovascular health records. Specifically, the results show that individuals who consume 17 percent less alcohol per week have on average a 10 percent reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower blood pressure and a lower body mass index. “These new results are critically important to our understanding of how alcohol affects heart disease. Contrary to what earlier reports have shown, it now appears that any exposure to alcohol has a negative impact upon heart health,” says co-lead author Michael Holmes, research assistant professor iat Perelman. “For some time, observational studies have suggested that only heavy drinking was detrimental to cardiovascular health, and that light consumption may actually be beneficial. This has led some people to drink moderately based on the belief that it would lower their risk of heart disease. However, what we’re seeing with this new study, which uses an investigative approach similar to a randomized clinical trial, is that reduced consumption of alcohol, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, may lead to improved cardiovascular health.” In the new study, researchers examined the cardiovascular health of individuals who carry a genetic variant of the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B gene, which is known to breakdown alcohol at a quicker pace. This rapid breakdown causes unpleasant symptoms including nausea and facial flushing, and has been found to lead to lower levels of alcohol consumption over time. By using this genetic marker as an indicator of lower alcohol consumption, the research team was able to identify links between these individuals and improved cardiovascular health. New smell, eye tests spot progression of Alzheimer's By the Alzheimer's Association news staff
A decreased ability to identify odors might indicate the development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, while examinations of the eye could indicate the build-up of beta-amyloid, a protein associated with Alzheimer's, in the brain, according to the results of four research trials reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen. In two of the studies, the decreased ability to identify odors was significantly associated with loss of brain cell function and progression to Alzheimer's disease. In two other studies, the level of beta-amyloid detected in the eye was significantly correlated with the burden of beta-amyloid in the brain and allowed researchers to accurately identify the people with Alzheimer's in the studies. Beta-amyloid protein is the primary material found in the sticky brain plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. It is known to build up in the brain many years before typical Alzheimer's symptoms of memory loss and other cognitive problems. "In the face of the growing worldwide Alzheimer's disease epidemic, there is a pressing need for simple, less invasive diagnostic tests that will identify the risk of Alzheimer's much earlier in the disease process," said Heather Snyder, Alzheimer's Association director of medical and scientific operations. "This is especially true as Alzheimer's researchers move treatment and prevention trials earlier in the course of the disease." "More research is needed in the very promising area of Alzheimer's biomarkers because early detection is essential for early intervention and prevention, when new treatments become available. For now, these four studies reported at AAIC point to possible methods of early detection in a research setting to choose study populations for clinical trials of Alzheimer's treatments and preventions," Ms. Snyder said. With the support of the Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's community, the United States created its first National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease in 2012. The plan includes the critical goal, which was adopted by the G8 at the Dementia Summit in 2013, of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025. It is only through strong implementation and adequate funding of the plan, including an additional $200 million in fiscal year 2015 for Alzheimer's research, that we'll meet that goal. Clinically, at this time it is only possible to detect Alzheimer's late in its development, when significant brain damage has already occurred. Biological markers of Alzheimer's disease may be able to detect it at an earlier stage. For example, using brain PET imaging in conjunction with a specialized chemical that binds to beta-amyloid protein, the buildup of the protein as plaques in the brain can be revealed years before symptoms appear. These scans can be expensive and are not available everywhere. Amyloid can also be detected in cerebrospinal fluid through a lumbar puncture where a needle is inserted between two bones (vertebrae) in the lower back to remove a sample of the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. There is growing evidence that the decreased ability to correctly identify odors is a predictor of cognitive impairment and an early clinical feature of Alzheimer's. As the disease begins to kill brain cells, this often includes cells that are important to the sense of smell. Matthew E. Growdon at Harvard Medical School and colleagues investigated the associations between sense of smell, memory performance, biomarkers of loss of brain cell function, and amyloid deposition in 215 clinically normal elderly individuals enrolled in the Harvard Aging Brain Study at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The researchers administered the 40-item University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests. They also measured the size of two brain structures deep in the temporal lobes which are important for memory and amyloid deposits in the brain. Growdon reported that, in this study population, smaller brain structures were associated with worse smell identification and worse memory. The scientists also found that, in a subgroup of study participants with elevated levels of amyloid in their brain, greater brain cell death was significantly associated with worse olfactory function – after adjusting for variables including age, gender, and an estimate of cognitive reserve. "Our research suggests that there may be a role for smell identification testing in clinically normal, older individuals who are at risk for Alzheimer's disease," said Growdon. Davangere Devanand professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and colleagues investigated a multi-ethnic sample of 1037 non-demented elderly people in New York City, with an average age of 80.7, and assessed them in a variety of ways at three time periods – from 2004-2006, 2006-2008, and 2008-2010. The smell test was administered in English and Spanish between 2004 and 2006. During follow-up 109 people transitioned to dementia. There were 270 deaths. Devanand reported that, in 757 subjects who were followed, lower odor identification scores on thesmell test were significantly associated with the transition to dementia and Alzheimer's disease, after controlling for demographic, cognitive, and functional measures and language of administration. For each point lower that a person scored on the smell test, the risk of Alzheimer's increased by about 10 percent. Further, lower baseline test scores, but not measures of verbal memory, were significantly associated with cognitive decline in participants without baseline cognitive impairment. Recent studies have identified beta-amyloid plaques in the retinas of people with Alzheimer's – similar to those found in the brain – suggesting the possibility of simple, non-invasive methods of early detection. Shaun Frost of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia, and colleagues reported preliminary results of a study of volunteers who took a proprietary supplement containing curcumin, which binds to beta-amyloid with high affinity and has fluorescent properties that allow amyloid plaques to be detected in the eye using a novel system from NeuroVision Imaging, LLC, and a technique called retinal amyloid imaging. Volunteers also underwent brain amyloid PET imaging to correlate the retina and brain amyloid accumulation. An abstract prepared by the scientists for the conference gives the results for 40 participants out of 200 total in the study. The full study is expected to be completed later this year. Preliminary results suggest that amyloid levels detected in the retina were significantly correlated with brain amyloid levels as shown by PET imaging. The retinal amyloid test also differentiated between Alzheimer's and non-Alzheimer's subjects with 100 percent sensitivity and 80.6 percent specificity. Furthermore, longitudinal studies on an initial cohort demonstrated an average of 3. percent increase in retinal amyloid over a 3.5-month period of time demonstrating promise of the technique as a means for monitoring response to therapy. |
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| 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 |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Monday, July 14, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 137 | |||||||||
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía
The ARM Cuauhtemoc tied up
at Puntarenas.y Seguridad Pública photo Mexican
tall ship docked at Puntarenas
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Puntarenas residents had a treat over the weekend. The Mexican training ship ARM Cuauhtemoc was in port and the crew was offering tours. The boat leaves Tuesday, so residents have one more day to visit the 90.5-meter, three-mast sailing vessel. In addition to training for 124 cadets, the boat is a floating public relations statement from the government of México. The boat participates in a number of tall ship events and at the end of May was in a Venezuelan harbor along with similar training ships from Latin countries. Among the cadets are 36 women, who also are future naval officers. This is the first time the ship has visited Puntarenas. The crew plans a musical event and demonstrations Tuesday morning at dockside where cruise ships tie up. The captain is Juan Carlos Vera Mijares. Young robber killed by passerby By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Agents took a 30-year-old man into custody Saturday afternoon after he fatally wounded a presumed robber who turned out to be a 17 year old. He was to be interviewed by prosecutors. The 2 p.m. shooting took place in a section known as Vista de Mar in Ipis de Guadalupe, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Agents have yet to identify anyone involved. They said the 30 year old came upon a street robbery and ordered the robber to desist. When the robber pulled his own gun, the 30 year old fired. The youth injured in the shooting went to Clínica de Coronado where he died, said agents. The man who killed him carried documents and a permit to carry a pistol. He had a .38-caliber weapon. Agents said they found a homemade gun at the scene, presumably that used by the dead youth. |
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| From Page 7: Obama touts an improved economy By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
U.S. President Barack Obama says the economy is better off now than it was five years ago, adding that American businesses have created 10 million new jobs. The president said in his weekly address Saturday that he has taken action to help the middle class, including raising workers' wages, creating new jobs and helping students pay off their loans. Obama said the Republicans have opted not to work with him and are instead taking steps to bring a lawsuit against him concerning health care. House Speaker John Boehner said earlier in the week the president violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to get Congressional approval for a change to the health care law. President Obama said Saturday the lawsuit is a political stunt that's going to waste months of America's time. He said he had a better idea for the Republican Congress: join him in working to improve the lives of American citizens instead of suing him with Americans' hard-earned tax dollars. |
