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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Witness recalls efforts to save wounded Trayvon Martin

LIVE VIDEO ? George Zimmerman faces charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

By James Novogrod, Tom Winter and Tracy Connor, NBC News

The jury in the George Zimmerman trial was shown photos Tuesday of Trayvon Martin?s body and a closeup of a chest wound as a police sergeant testified about his attempts to save the teenager?s life.

Sgt. Anthony Raimondo of the Sanford, Fla., police department told jurors how he arrived at the shooting scene, in the evening drizzle, on Feb. 26, 2012, to find Zimmerman handcuffed by another officer.

Martin?s body was on the grass, facedown with his hands under him, Raimondo said.

He said he checked the 17-year-old for a pulse and found none and then turned him over to perform CPR.?

?I breathed for Mr. Martin -- or I tried to,? Raimondo said, adding that the other officer performed the chest compressions.

Editor's note: Photos from the crime scene, which some readers might find disturbing, are included below.

Raimondo said there was a bubbling noise ? the sound of air escaping from the chest wound -- and he asked for plastic wrap and Vaseline so he could create an airtight seal around it. A passerby brought him a plastic bag.

The sergeant testified that he sat the body upright to feel for an exit wound and felt a cold can in Martin?s hooded sweatshirt pocket ? the Arizona brand fruit drink he had purchased at a 7-Eleven where he also bought Skittles for a his father?s girlfriend?s young son.

Raimondo laid the body back down to continue CPR, but could not revive Martin. After a rescue crew arrived and pronounced Martin dead, Raimondo put an emergency blanket over the body, he testified.

While the 14-year veteran was on the stand, prosecutors displayed pictures of Martin?s body facedown on the grass, face-up after the CPR attempt, and under the emergency blanket. There was also a photo of what appeared to be a coin-sized chest wound. Martin?s father left the courtroom as the pictures were shown.

It was the most graphic evidence to date in the trial, which began in earnest Monday with opening statements. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming he shot Martin in self-defense.

Earlier testimony on Tuesday focused on Zimmerman?s experience with a neighborhood watch program, with a ?civilian employee for the Sanford, Fla., police department saying he struck her as ?meek? but civic-minded and ?professional.?

Wendy Dorival said that as part of her job, she assisted neighborhood watch programs, which enlist residents to be the ?eyes and ears? of the police department and alert authorities to suspicious activity.

Dorival met with Zimmerman in September 2011 to help him launch a neighborhood watch, and later tried to recruit him for the Citizens on Patrol program -- a more intensive volunteer squad that offers training, uniforms, and a vehicle to participants. He declined, she said.

?He seemed a little meek,? Dorival testified under cross-examination on the second day of testimony in the second-degree murder trial. ?He seemed like he really wanted to make changes in his community to make it better.?

Sanford Police Dept.

This crime scene photo presented by prosecutors for the State of Florida shows Trayvon Martin's body from the night of the shooting in February 2012. The photo was entered as evidence during George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court June 25, 2013 in Sanford, Fla.

Dorival was put on the stand by prosecutors, who contend Zimmerman ?profiled? Martin as the unarmed teen walked through a gated community on Feb. 26, 2012, then shot him through the heart during a confrontation.

The defense says Martin, 17, was the aggressor and ?viciously? attacked Zimmerman, 29, forcing him to shoot in self-defense.

Dorival said she tells neighborhood watch volunteers like Zimmerman they are observers who alert police to possible problems and don?t take action themselves.

Asked what watch volunteers are told about following and confronting people, Dorival said, ?We tell them don?t do that. That?s the job of law enforcement.?

A handbook that Dorival gave to watch groups, which was shown to her on the stand, contained a page that read: "Neighborhood watch is not the vigilante police."

When she was questioned by the defense, Dorival had mainly positive things to say about her contacts with Zimmerman, calling him professional. She also said he wrote a complimentary letter about her to the police chief and that she thanked him for it.

Prosecutors want to play for the jury five calls that Zimmerman made to a non-emergency police dispatcher between August 2011 and Feb. 2, 2012 to report people or activity he found suspicious.

They said the prior calls would give the jury insight into Zimmerman?s state of mind when he encountered Martin, which is important since Florida law requires proof of a so-called "depraved mind? for a second-degree murder conviction.

The defense contends that the prior calls have no bearing on Zimmerman?s fatal confrontation with Martin.

The judge has not yet ruled on whether the jury can hear the calls.

Editor?s note: George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation. The company has strongly denied the allegations.

Seminole Circuit Court

This crime scene photo presented by prosecutors for the State of Florida shows Trayvon Martin's body from the night of the shooting in February 2012.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2dc8a76d/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A60C250C19134940A0Ewitness0Erecalls0Eefforts0Eto0Esave0Ewounded0Etrayvon0Emartin0Dlite/story01.htm

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Knobbly reptile roamed vast desert

24 June 2013 Last updated at 15:02 ET

A bizarre reptile with knobbly growths on its head roamed a vast, isolated desert about 260 million years ago, researchers say.

New fossils from northern Niger in Africa have been described in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The distinctive creature belongs to a new genus of pareiasaur - plant-eating creatures that flourished during the Permian period.

The cow-sized specimen has been named Bunostegos, which means "knobby roof".

During Permian times, the Earth was dominated by a single supercontinent called Pangaea.

Animal and plant life dispersed broadly across the land, as documented by identical fossil species found on multiple modern continents.

But the new research by an international team supports the idea that there was an isolated desert in the middle of Pangaea with distinctive animals.

Most pareiasaurs had bony knobs on their skulls, but Bunostegos sported the largest, most bulbous ones ever seen in this group, which were common in the Middle and Late Permian, about 266-252 million years ago.

In life, these were probably skin-covered horns like those on the heads of modern giraffes.

"We can't say for sure, but it is most likely that the bony knobs on the skull of pareiasaurs did not serve a protective function," Dr Linda Tsuji from the University of Washington in Seattle told BBC News.

"They vary quite markedly in size and shape between different species, with some species lacking prominent knobs entirely, so I think that they were purely ornamental. The most probable use was for inter-specific (between species) or intra-specific (within species) recognition."

Dr Tsuji and colleagues performed an analysis showing that Bunostegos was actually more closely related to older and more primitive pareiasaurs.

This led them to the conclusion that its genealogical lineage had been isolated for millions of years.

Climatic conditions may have conspired to corral Bunostegos - along with several other reptiles, amphibians, and plants - and keep them constrained to the central, arid area of the supercontinent.

"Our work supports the theory that central Pangea was climatically isolated, allowing a unique relict fauna to persist into the Late Permian," said Christian Sidor, another author of the paper.

This surprised the scientists because areas outside this central region show fossil evidence of regular faunal interchange.

Geological data show that central Pangaea was extremely dry, discouraging some animals from passing through, while keeping those within from venturing out.

The long period of isolation under these parched conditions gave Bunostegos lineage time to evolve its unique anatomical features.

Much of what was once central Pangaea remains to be explored by palaeontologists.

"It is important to continue research in these under-explored areas," said Dr Tsuji.

"The study of fossils from places like northern Niger paints a more comprehensive picture of the ecosystem during the Permian era."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23032892#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Mayor's Office Recognized for Health and Wellness | Maui Now

June 24th, 2013 ? No Comments ? Maui News

File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Maui Now Staff

The mayor?s office on Maui is being honored for a second consecutive year as one of the healthiest employers in the state by the Pacific Business News, according to a county announcement.

The recognition is part of an award program conducted by the publication, which recognizes companies that are committed to creating a healthy workplace for employees.

Maui was recognized in the large company category which is for employers of 200 or more people, according to information released by the county.

County programs aimed at improving quality of life include the ?Walking on Wednesdays? initiative, health fairs, fitness classes, and other activities.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said the programs were created ?to help employees improve their quality of life.? He said the achievement is one that ?we can all take pride in.?

S. Africa president urges prayers for Mandela

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's president on Monday said a critically ill Nelson Mandela was "asleep" when he visited the 94-year-old at the hospital, and he urged the country to pray for Mandela, describing him as the "father of democracy" who made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of his people.

President Jacob Zuma told dozens of foreign and South African journalists that doctors are doing everything possible to help the former president feel comfortable on his 17th day in a Pretoria hospital, but refused to give details of Mandela's condition, saying: "I'm not a doctor." The briefing came a day after the government said Mandela's condition had deteriorated and was now critical.

Monday's press gathering highlighted the tension between the government's reluctance to share more information about Mandela on the basis of doctor-patient confidentiality, and media appeals for thorough updates on a figure of global interest. The government's belated acknowledgement that an ambulance carrying Mandela to the hospital on June 8 broke down has fueled the debate about transparency versus the right to privacy.

Zuma's briefing was also an indicator of the extent to which reports on Mandela's health sometimes overshadow the business of the state. Under questioning, Zuma said President Barack Obama would go ahead with a visit to South Africa, despite concerns about Mandela's health.

"President Obama is visiting South Africa," Zuma said. "I don't think you stop a visit because somebody's sick."

Obama, who arrives in Africa this week, is due to visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

White House spokesman Jay Carney wouldn't speculate about how Mandela's health would impact Obama's upcoming visit to South Africa, saying only that the U.S. president "continues to look forward to his trip."

"The president obviously has long seen Nelson Mandela as one of his personal heroes, and I think he's not alone in that in this country and around the world," Carney said.

Zuma, who in the past has given an overly sunny view of Mandela's health, briefly spoke of his visit Sunday night to Mandela in the hospital in the capital. That visit was mentioned in a presidential statement on the same night that said Mandela, previously described as being in serious but stable condition, had lapsed into critical condition within the previous 24 hours.

"It was late, he was already asleep," Zuma said. "And we then had a bit of a discussion with the doctors as well as his wife, Graca Machel, and we left."

The president said South Africans should accept that Mandela is old, and he urged people to pray for their former leader.

"Madiba is critical in the hospital, and this is the father of democracy. This is the man who fought and sacrificed his life to stay in prison, the longest-serving prisoner in South Africa," Zuma said, using Mandela's clan name.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president after the end of apartheid in 1994, was hospitalized for what the government said was a recurring lung infection. This is his fourth hospitalization since December.

Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and was released 23 years ago, in 1990. He then played a leading role in steering the divided country from the apartheid era to an all-race democracy. As a result of his sacrifice and peacemaking efforts, he is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.

"Nelson Mandela, for me, is like my father," Alex Siake, a South African, said in Pretoria. "Every day, I just pray that he can recover quickly and be among us again."

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party, said in a statement that the news that Mandela was in critical condition came "as a blow to all South Africans."

Zuma referred to the transfer of Mandela from an ambulance with engine trouble to another ambulance on the night he was taken to the hospital in Pretoria.

"Nobody can predict whether the car is going to break down or not," he said. But he said he was pleased because seven doctors, including specialists, in the convoy "made all the contingencies before leaving" and Mandela's health was therefore not affected.

Asked why none of Mandela's doctors had been made available for a news briefing, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said an arrangement had been made in consultation with Mandela's family whereby information would be provided through a "single source in an authoritative way."

"We've come to that arrangement on the basis that we need to respect the privacy of the family, we need to adhere to doctor-patient confidentiality," he said.

"You can be assured that what we are saying is based on agreement with the doctors," Maharaj said. Doctors approve the text of announcements on Mandela's health, and believe some media reporting has transgressed professional ethics, he said.

Monday also marked the 18th anniversary of Mandela's appearance at the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, a day still enshrined as a hugely significant moment for South Africa.

In a move crucial in unifying sections of a previously fractured society, Mandela wore a green and gold Springboks rugby jersey at the June 24 final in Johannesburg and brought all South Africans together in support of their national team ? once an all-white bastion of the apartheid regime and hated by blacks.

Mandela shook hands with and patted the shoulder of the Springboks' captain, Francois Pienaar, after South Africa won a tense final against New Zealand, underlining the new president's dedication to reconciliation.

___

Associated Press writer Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-leader-mandela-asleep-during-visit-164903201.html

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Pleasure response from chocolate: You can see it in the eyes

June 24, 2013 ? The brain's pleasure response to tasting food can be measured through the eyes using a common, low-cost ophthalmological tool, according to a study just published in the journal Obesity. If validated, this method could be useful for research and clinical applications in food addiction and obesity prevention.

Dr. Jennifer Nasser, an associate professor in the department of Nutrition Sciences in Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions, led the study testing the use of electroretinography (ERG) to indicate increases in the neurotransmitter dopamine in the retina.

Dopamine is associated with a variety of pleasure-related effects in the brain, including the expectation of reward. In the eye's retina, dopamine is released when the optical nerve activates in response to light exposure.

Nasser and her colleagues found that electrical signals in the retina spiked high in response to a flash of light when a food stimulus (a small piece of chocolate brownie) was placed in participants' mouths. The increase was as great as that seen when participants had received the stimulant drug methylphenidate to induce a strong dopamine response. These responses in the presence of food and drug stimuli were each significantly greater than the response to light when participants ingested a control substance, water.

"What makes this so exciting is that the eye's dopamine system was considered separate from the rest of the brain's dopamine system," Nasser said. "So most people- and indeed many retinography experts told me this- would say that tasting a food that stimulates the brain's dopamine system wouldn't have an effect on the eye's dopamine system."

This study was a small-scale demonstration of the concept, with only nine participants. Most participants were overweight but none had eating disorders. All fasted for four hours before testing with the food stimulus.

If this technique is validated through additional and larger studies, Nasser said she and other researchers can use ERG for studies of food addiction and food science.

"My research takes a pharmacology approach to the brain's response to food," Nasser said. "Food is both a nutrient delivery system and a pleasure delivery system, and a 'side effect' is excess calories. I want to maximize the pleasure and nutritional value of food but minimize the side effects. We need more user-friendly tools to do that."

The low cost and ease of performing electroretinography make it an appealing method, according to Nasser. The Medicare reimbursement cost for clinical use of ERG is about $150 per session, and each session generates 200 scans in just two minutes. Procedures to measure dopamine responses directly from the brain are more expensive and invasive. For example, PET scanning costs about $2,000 per session and takes more than an hour to generate a scan.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/sP3xYVux-9w/130624111014.htm

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Colorado Gun Control ? Media Trackers

Colorado

By: Lee Hopper | June 25, 2013

The recent gun control measures approved in Colorado have already taken a toll on local individuals, businesses, and ?communities throughout the state. Those who work in the outdoor recreation industry, along with entire towns and counties that center around hunting and fishing, have been the first to experience the real economic effect of the new firearm regulations.

Tom Bowers is an outdoor recreation guide and the owner of Colorado?s High Lonesome Outfitter & Guides located in Yampa. Bowers shared with Media Trackers Colorado how the new gun legislation has already affected his business.

?Many of my hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and rafting clients are choosing to recreate in other states because of the new laws. Before the [gun control] legislation passed I got 15-30 calls from potential clients a day, now I get less than 5.?

Eric Layman with Western Colorado Outfitters in Montrose experienced the same drop off in business bookings, reservations, and correspondence as Bowers. After the gun control package cleared the legislature, ?the phone calls and emails suddenly stopped. It?s hard to tell if the state is being boycotted if you don?t hear it from anyone directly,? Layman told Media Trackers Colorado.

Neither Bowers or Layman are isolated cases. As Media Trackers Colorado previously reported, Magpul Industries has also had to make plans to close its doors in Colorado and move elsewhere, taking with it a business that employed over 600 Coloradans and generated more than $85 million in taxable revenue for the state. Various shooting sports competitions have been cancelled and hunters have launched a Colorado boycott.

Layman confirmed this reality and added that, ?my friend and neighbor was supposed to host the shooting event that was cancelled. That will really hurt the local hotels and restaurants also.?

?I?m thinking about sending the legislature a bill for lost business,? Layman concluded frankly.

In a normal year, Bowers and his High Lonesome Outfitters guide between 35 and 40 big game hunters. This year, he said he would be lucky to get 20-25. One big game client, whom he has served as a guide?for 15 years, told Bowers that he will not be rebooking or coming back to Colorado. Bowers recalled the conversation with the client, who told him: ?It is not because of you, it is because of your Governor. I am not giving any money to that state?.

Bowers? clients who booked before the new laws still plan to come this season, but many of them have told him it will be the last time they come to Colorado for any kind of outdoor recreation, even beyond hunting.

As such, Bower?s losses are not limited to hunting, as he attests to the fact that many of the fisherman and rafters he guides will no longer be returning to Colorado to recreate either. ?He explained: ??Now we are a gun control state. My type of clients think if they come to the state of Colorado they are going to be violating gun laws.?

Layman, from Western Colorado Outfitters, echoed the fact that the boycott is spreading far beyond the hunting crowd, saying that while ?the hunter forums show comments indicating that the boycott is in full effect, even summer visitors and skiers are joining in.?

In an attempt to pick up his bookings for this year, Bowers recently lowered the retail cost of his services by a whopping 40 percent. Since he reduced the rates, Bowers has received a total of 20 emails. In previous years, he received between 75-130 emails during the same time frame ? at normal prices.

Bowers finished by expressing his desire simply to stay in business. ?If the trend continues I will be out of business within four years, which would mean losing my home and ranch as well.? Bowers said that he started his?business twenty six years ago with ?two horses and one saddle.?

The blow to the outdoor recreation industry will affect many businesses in Colorado. There are 10 counties across the state where the highest proportion of employment is related to hunting and fishing.

According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, ?The shooting sports are so much more than simply pulling a trigger or releasing a bowstring. They represent financial opportunity for every American community, especially rural economies. Each purchase made by hunters sets off a chain reaction of economic benefits.?

Moreover, the losses will affect more than just local gas stations, restaurants, and hotels. The State of Colorado usually collects over $8 million in taxes from the hunting industry, while the federal government collects over $43 million in Colorado.

Exact losses to Colorado?s $1.8 billion dollar hunting and fishing industry will not be fully recognized until next year.

Follow Lee Hopper on Twitter: @hopper_lee

Source: http://mediatrackers.org/colorado/2013/06/25/colorado-gun-control-already

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Feeling stressed?

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
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Contact: Fiona Downey
fiona.downey@concordia.ca
514-848-2424 x2518
Concordia University

Oxytocin could help you reach out to others for support, Concordia researchers show

Montreal- The next time someone snubs you at a party and you think hiding is the solution to escape your feelings of rejection, think again. Scientists have shown that reaching out to other people during a stressful event is an effective way to improve your mood, and researchers at Concordia University suggest that the hormone oxytocin may help you accomplish just that.

Mark Ellenbogen and Christopher Cardoso, researchers in Concordia's Centre for Research in Human Development are taking a closer look at oxytocin, a hormone traditionally studied for its role in childbirth and breastfeeding, and more recently for its effect on social behaviour. Their latest study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, shows that oxytocin can increase a person's trust in others following social rejection.

Explains Ellenbogen, "that means that instead of the traditional 'fight or flight' response to social conflict where people get revved up to respond to a challenge or run away from it, oxytocin may promote the 'tend and befriend' response where people reach out to others for support after a stressful event. That can, in turn, strengthen social bonds and may be a healthier way to cope."

In a double-blind experiment, 100 students were administered either oxytocin or a placebo via a nasal spray, then subjected to social rejection. In a conversation that was staged to simulate real life, researchers posing as students disagreed with, interrupted and ignored the unsuspecting participants. Using mood and personality questionnaires, the data showed that participants who were particularly distressed after being snubbed by the researchers reported greater trust in other people if they sniffed oxytocin prior to the event, but not if they sniffed the placebo. In contrast, oxytocin had no effect on trust in those who were not emotionally affected by social rejection.

Cardoso, who is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology, says that studying oxytocin may provide future options for those who suffer from mental health conditions characterized by high levels of stress and low levels of social support, like depression. "If someone is feeling very distressed, oxytocin could promote social support seeking, and that may be especially helpful to those individuals," he says, noting that people with depression tend to naturally withdraw even though reaching out to social support systems can alleviate depression and facilitate recovery.

For Ellenbogen, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Developmental Psychopathology, the contribution of stress the development of mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder has long been a research focus. "I'm concerned with the biological underpinnings of stress, particularly interpersonal stress, which is thought to be a strong predictor of these mental disorders. So, oxytocin is a natural fit with my interests," says Ellenbogen. "The next phase of research will begin to study oxytocin's effects in those who are at high risk for developing clinical depression."

Cardoso says reactions to oxytocin seem to be more variable depending on individual differences and contextual factors than most pharmaceuticals, so learning more about how the hormone operates can help scientists to figure out how it might be used in future treatments.

"Previous studies have shown that natural oxytocin is higher in distressed people, but before this study nobody could say with certainty why that was the case," Cardoso says, "In distressed people, oxytocin may improve one's motivation to reach out to others for support. That idea is cause for a certain degree of excitement, both in the research community and for those who suffer from mood disorders."

###

Partners in research: This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Media contact:

Fiona Downey
Media Relations Advisor
Concordia University Media Relations
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 2518
Cell: 514-518-3336
Fax: 514-848-3383
Email: fiona.downey@concordia.ca
Web: concordia.ca/now/media-relations
Twitter: twitter.com/fidow

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Feeling stressed?

Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Fiona Downey
fiona.downey@concordia.ca
514-848-2424 x2518
Concordia University

Oxytocin could help you reach out to others for support, Concordia researchers show

###

Partners in research: This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Related links:

Media contact:

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/cu-fs062113.php

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