Pitt/UPMC: Exceptional cognitive and physical health in old age leaves immunological fingerprint

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Oct-2011
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Contact: Anita Srikameswaran
SrikamAV@upmc.edu
412-578-9193
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 20 Exceptional cognitive and physical function in old age leaves a tell-tale immunologic fingerprint, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Likewise, older adults who have mild impairments bear a distinct immunologic pattern, too, according to findings published today in the Public Library of Science: One.

Old age is not synonymous with impairment and disability, noted lead investigator Abbe N. de Vallejo, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"Our study indicates that getting older does not necessarily mean that the immune system gets weaker, as many of us assumed," he said. "The immune system is dynamic, and the changes it undergoes over time very much influence function."

For the project, the team collected blood samples from 140 participants who had been followed in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) for nearly two decades and were 78 to 94 years old. With only two participants younger than 82, the average age of the group was 86. The team also gathered information about the participants' health and function, medical history and hospitalizations, and self-rated health, and assessed their cognitive and physical function using standard tests.

Previous research has shown that with age, immune cells called T-cells become more like natural killer (NK) cells, which typically target tumor cells and virus-infected cells, Dr. de Vallejo said. A closer look in the new study shows that participants who were most physically and cognitively resilient had a dominant pattern of stimulatory NK receptors on the T-cell surface, and that these unusual T-cells can be activated directly through these NK receptors independently of the conventional ones. The functionally resilient elders also have a distinct profile of blood proteins called cytokines that reflect an immune-enhancing environment.

Conversely, the group that showed mild health impairment had a dominant pattern of inhibitory NK receptors on their T-cells, and they have a cytokine profile indicating a pro-inflammatory environment. Both of these immunologic features could suggest a greater susceptibility to illness.

"These findings indicate that there is remodeling or adaptation of the immune system as we age that can be either protective or detrimental," Dr. de Vallejo said. "Now we have an immunological fingerprint that can identify individuals who are more likely to stay physically and cognitively well."

He and his colleagues are now studying factors, such as genetics or traits developed during childhood that might influence the adaptation of the immune system with advancing age.

###

The team includes Anne B. Newman, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), and director of the Center for Aging and Population Health, as well as others from GSPH and the Pitt School of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1997.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu.

About Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

Renowned for its outstanding clinical services, research programs and medical education, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC has helped establish the standards of excellence in pediatric care. From ambulatory care to transplantation and cardiac care, talented and committed pediatric experts care for infants, children and adolescents who make more than 1 million visits to Children's and its many neighborhood locations each year. Children's also has been named consistently to several elite lists of pediatric health care facilities, including ranking 8th among children's hospitals and schools of medicine (FY 2010) in funding provided by the National Institutes of Health, and is one of 11 pediatric hospitals in the United States named to U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll of America's "Best Children's Hospitals" for 2011-2012.


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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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Anita Srikameswaran
SrikamAV@upmc.edu
412-578-9193
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 20 Exceptional cognitive and physical function in old age leaves a tell-tale immunologic fingerprint, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Likewise, older adults who have mild impairments bear a distinct immunologic pattern, too, according to findings published today in the Public Library of Science: One.

Old age is not synonymous with impairment and disability, noted lead investigator Abbe N. de Vallejo, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics and immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"Our study indicates that getting older does not necessarily mean that the immune system gets weaker, as many of us assumed," he said. "The immune system is dynamic, and the changes it undergoes over time very much influence function."

For the project, the team collected blood samples from 140 participants who had been followed in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) for nearly two decades and were 78 to 94 years old. With only two participants younger than 82, the average age of the group was 86. The team also gathered information about the participants' health and function, medical history and hospitalizations, and self-rated health, and assessed their cognitive and physical function using standard tests.

Previous research has shown that with age, immune cells called T-cells become more like natural killer (NK) cells, which typically target tumor cells and virus-infected cells, Dr. de Vallejo said. A closer look in the new study shows that participants who were most physically and cognitively resilient had a dominant pattern of stimulatory NK receptors on the T-cell surface, and that these unusual T-cells can be activated directly through these NK receptors independently of the conventional ones. The functionally resilient elders also have a distinct profile of blood proteins called cytokines that reflect an immune-enhancing environment.

Conversely, the group that showed mild health impairment had a dominant pattern of inhibitory NK receptors on their T-cells, and they have a cytokine profile indicating a pro-inflammatory environment. Both of these immunologic features could suggest a greater susceptibility to illness.

"These findings indicate that there is remodeling or adaptation of the immune system as we age that can be either protective or detrimental," Dr. de Vallejo said. "Now we have an immunological fingerprint that can identify individuals who are more likely to stay physically and cognitively well."

He and his colleagues are now studying factors, such as genetics or traits developed during childhood that might influence the adaptation of the immune system with advancing age.

###

The team includes Anne B. Newman, M.D., professor and chair, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH), and director of the Center for Aging and Population Health, as well as others from GSPH and the Pitt School of Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1997.

Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see www.medschool.pitt.edu.

About Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

Renowned for its outstanding clinical services, research programs and medical education, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC has helped establish the standards of excellence in pediatric care. From ambulatory care to transplantation and cardiac care, talented and committed pediatric experts care for infants, children and adolescents who make more than 1 million visits to Children's and its many neighborhood locations each year. Children's also has been named consistently to several elite lists of pediatric health care facilities, including ranking 8th among children's hospitals and schools of medicine (FY 2010) in funding provided by the National Institutes of Health, and is one of 11 pediatric hospitals in the United States named to U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll of America's "Best Children's Hospitals" for 2011-2012.


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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/2011-10/uops-pec102011.php

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Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman: Religion Can't Be an End Unto Itself

My wife Heather is a fiber artist. She creates quilts, wall-hangings and even three-dimensional structures based on Jewish texts and social justice themes. And for the last two years, she has been going to homeless shelters through New York City to talk to men, women and children, in order to turn their stories into a piece she is calling "Temporary Shelter." It's based on a sukkah, the temporary hut we build each fall on Sukkot, and evokes the Israelites' wandering in the desert, the time when our ancestors were homeless.

"Temporary Shelter" will be traveling to different churches and synagogues throughout the City in November and December, but there was one church that had a rather unique idea. The Church of St. Francis Xavier in Chelsea wanted to host it, but they weren't sure they'd be able to because of logistical reasons.

"At first there was some concern that your piece would be too big with all the Christmas decorations and such," said Cassandra Agredo, who directs Xavier Mission. "Then someone suggested that instead of a stable, we could use your piece as the cr?che for Jesus. After all, Jesus was born a homeless baby."

Heather didn't quite know how to respond to that offer.

So we talked about it. And the more we talked about it, the more we realized that this idea was a pretty cool idea -- this Christian church would be trying to sanctify the stories of predominantly Christian homeless New Yorkers by linking their stories to Christianity's most sacred story, the birth of their Savior. But they would be doing it through a Jewish symbol made by a Jewish woman, who was making this piece because of her commitment to her Jewish values. And we realized that this was a story about religion at its most nuanced and at its most complex in 21st century America.

Because for far too long, and even today, far too frequently, religion is far too simplistic. Often, religion is about trying to convince people that "my way is the only way." But here, the church wasn't looking to convert Heather to Christianity, and Heather wasn't looking to have the church become Jewish. And yet at the same time, no one was moving in the other direction and simply proclaiming that "we all believe the same thing." No, Heather was using very specifically Jewish language with her sukkah, and the church was using very specifically Christian language with its cr?che. So it's equally important to recognize that the church wasn't watering down its Christianity, and Heather wasn't watering down her Judaism. Miraculously, both the church and Heather were able to demonstrate both openness to the other and deep devotion to themselves.

How did that happen? I think it's because everyone realized that in 21st century America, for religion to work, religion cannot be an end unto itself. Instead, religion has to be a means to an end.

We don't need to look far to see the problems of viewing religion as an end unto itself. At its very worst, religion tells people that if others don't share our belief system, then they don't deserve the most basic human rights, including their own lives. Nearly a thousand years ago, that is the ideology that fueled the Crusades. Ten years ago, it led 19 people to hijack four airplanes. And even earlier this month, it caused a group of people to burn down a mosque in Northern Israel. But even when religion doesn't lead to violence, we still find stories here in the United States about the problems it creates. We hear about how religion leads people to reject the science of evolution and climate change, how it excludes and denigrates gays and lesbians, and how it fosters hubris and arrogance when people say "I know what God wants." So as we hear so much about the worst of religion, we naturally ask, why would anyone want to become religious?

And the answer is, we wouldn't. We deeply prize openness and acceptance, so we understandably and legitimately recoil against someone trying to convince us to change our belief system. We fight against the sense of superiority of "my way is the best way," let alone "my way is the only way." And we decry the violence that religion so easily fuels. So when we see all the evil that is done in the name of religion, we naturally want no part of it. But the truth is, the problem isn't with religion per se. The problem is with seeing religion as an end unto itself.

In fact, that's what creates such tension for those of us who identify as "religiously liberal," and I have certainly experienced this tension in the liberal Jewish community. On the one hand, we believe that the goal of religion is to make our world more just and our selves more whole. But at the same time, we want our children to have a strong sense of Jewish identity and strong Jewish values. And so in a world with more choices than ever before and more diversity than ever before, it's hard to hold both of those ideas at the same time. How do we act as both a universalist and a particularist?

Indeed, that's a major reason why so many people in the under-40 demographic are asking the very hard question, "Why should I be Jewish?" They see all the evil that has been done in the name of religion, and so religion -- including Judaism -- is simply not compelling to them. But it's because they are seeing Judaism presented as end unto itself.

So, at least when it comes to Judaism, I would suggest we focus less on the questions of what it means to "be Jewish" or to "be religious." After all, how are we determining what it means to "be Jewish" or to "be religious"? Who is deciding the answers to those questions? What's the metric we are using to gauge if we're being successful or not?

Instead, I would suggest we focus more on the question, "How can Judaism help us to become better people and to create a better world?" In short, we should be aiming to see Judaism not as an end unto itself, but as a means to an end.

And there are two analogies that I like. First, we can think of Judaism as a language to articulate our values, and second, we can view it as a lens through which we perceive the world.

Let's start with language. Language is obviously designed to help us communicate, and there are certain similarities across all languages: nouns and verbs, certain ways that words can and can't be put together into sentences, and even a limited number of sounds that the human larynx can produce. But no one speaks "language" -- people speak English or Hebrew or Chinese or French or Swahili. Each of these languages has its own structure, its own grammar, its own way of talking about the world. And so while there are certain universal rules that undergird every human language, how those rules transform themselves into particular languages can vary quite widely.

Similarly, there are certain universal values that undergird human society. Our most basic values -- respect, empathy, fairness -- aren't really "religious" values at all. They are human values. That's why some formulation of the Golden Rule has been expressed in almost every time and every place in human history. So what Judaism gives is us a particular language to talk about those values.

Harvard professor Howard Gardner talks about the difference between "neighborly morality," which every society is based on, and "the ethics of roles," which talks about the specific responsibilities we have as family members, as friends and as citizens ("Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed," p. 82-87). "Love your neighbor as yourself" is great, but it's far too broad to apply to the all the complex ethical dilemmas we face. When we need to ask how we respond when someone wrongs us, or are wondering what the financial and legal responsibilities employers have to their employees, we need more than just "be fair" or "think about others." We need to go in depth on those questions, to explore a variety of sources and responses, and then to create an answer that works for us. Judaism gives us particular ways to try to address those questions. Because in the same way no one speaks "language," no one can live "morality." We need specific approaches to talk about these ethical questions in order to try to answer them.

The second analogy for Judaism as a means is to give us is a way to look at the world through a particular lens. After all, what we see, and how we interpret what we see, are what we respond to in this world.

There's a story about a 4-year-old boy who was obsessed with cement mixers, fire engines and all kinds of construction equipment. And one day, his uncle took him to a homecoming parade. There were football players, cheerleaders, the school band, even fireworks. But all the boy saw were the floats, led by big 4x4s. Afterwards, his uncle asked him what he thought about the parade. "I loved it!" the boy exclaimed. "That was the best truck parade I've been to!" (based on Stone, et al., "Difficult Conversations," p. 31).

So yes, there are facts in this world that we cannot change. But we determine what facts we pay attention to, and we determine how we interpret them.

And Judaism leads us to see the world in particular ways. We are commanded to seek out blessings to celebrate. We are taught that our world is in need of repair and that we can do something about fixing it. We are told that every human being is to be viewed as having been created in the Divine Image, and is therefore worthy of infinite dignity. And we live our Jewish communal experiences the twin lenses of the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation at Sinai, which as Rabbi Elliot Dorff notes, "permeate Jewish liturgy and holidays." (Dorff, "To Do the Right and the Good," p. 4) And as inheritors of not only biblical but rabbinic tradition, we are to challenge, to question, to ask, "How do we know this?" So there is a particularly Jewish lens through which we see the world.

But what's so powerful about viewing Judaism in this way -- as a language and as a worldview -- is that it doesn't preclude someone else from having a different language and a different worldview. When religion is a end unto itself, it's a zero-sum game: "I'm right, you're wrong." But when religion is a means and not an end, we can honor the fact that many different methods can lead us to the same end: to a world of justice, compassion and peace. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i, none of the above -- they can all help us find meaning in our lives and help us build a better world.

And yet as we keep that vision in our mind's eye, we also need to remember that we need a specific language and a particular worldview in order to help us get there. Writer Cynthia Ozick once taught that "a shofar has a broad end and a narrow end. If you blow in the broad end, you get nothing. If you blow in the narrow end, you get a sound everyone can hear." (Wolpe, "Floating Takes Faith," p. 17)

I've told the story about Heather's sukkah potentially becoming a cr?che to many people, and one of them was Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, the co-president of Clal, a national Jewish think tank that aims to foster religious pluralism. He shared with me that the message he got was that both Heather and the church were focused on the same goal: telling the story's of New York's homeless population. But the other piece we need to remember, he told me, was that the church was no less Christian for using a sukkah, and Heather was no less Jewish for making a cr?che. And perhaps because he, too, doesn't believe that religion is an end unto itself, he wrote a book entitled "You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism." And in it, he reminds us that:

[r]eligion captures the very best and very worst of who we are, and to see only the best or the worst of religion is a dangerous error. If you see only the good, you become an apologist and take no responsibility for the incredible violence that religion is so capable of unleashing. If you see only the bad in religion, then you miss all the biggest questions, the most profound longings, the deepest fears and the greatest aspirations that define us. When faith is working right it can be profound, inspiring and a great force for positive change in the world, and it can help us lead more giving, productive, and fulfilling lives. (Hirschfield, 9)

The question isn't "how religious" we are. The question is how we use religion to make ourselves and our world just a little bit better. So if we can see religion as a means, but not an end, then we can realize that someone else doesn't have to be wrong for us to be right.

Indeed, we are all on a journey, all of us hoping to become a little better tomorrow than we were today, and making a world a little more whole tomorrow than it was today. Or, in the language of Judaism, we are all striving for tikkun hanefesh, the repair of our souls, and tikkun ha'olam, the repair of our world. But we have to remember that there are many paths to that same destination, and that others' journeys are not our own. And yet at the same time, we also need our own path that we can embrace.

So let us find our specific language to articulate our values. Let us see the world through our particular lens. And most of all, let us create religion is at its best, when the values of openness and devotion don't contradict each, but instead, bring out the best in each other.

?

Follow Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RabbiMitelman

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-geoffrey-a-mitelman/religion-cant-be-an-end-unto-itself_b_1009907.html

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Space weather prediction model improves NOAA's forecast skill

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Katy Human
katy.g.human@noaa.gov
303-497-4747
NOAA Headquarters

NOAA is now using a sophisticated forecast model that substantially improves predictions of space weather impacts on Earth. Better forecasts offer additional protection for people and the technology-based infrastructure we use daily.

Explosions in the sun's outer atmosphere tracked and forecast by NOAA scientists can cause geomagnetic and solar radiation storms at Earth that can impede the operation of electrical power grids, interfere with the normal function of Global Positioning Systems and temporarily hamper radio and satellite telecommunications. Grid and satellite operators and airlines can take protective measures when stormy conditions are forecast.

"This advanced model has strengthened forecasters' understanding of what happens in the 93 million miles between Earth and the sun following a solar disturbance," said Tom Bogdan, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. "It will help power grid and communications technology managers know what to expect so they can protect infrastructure and the public."

Magnetic storms can occur on Earth 1? days after a coronal mass ejection a burst of charged particles and magnetic field that streams out from the sun at more than one million miles an hour. Before development of this model, forecasters could predict timing of such impacts within a 30-hour window, on average. The new model allows forecasters to narrow that window to 12 hours.

That improvement gives airline operators more reliable information about when to reroute flights to avoid communications blackouts from storms. Satellite operators can avoid changing orbit or orientation when space weather threatens. Oil drilling, mining and other operations that rely on global positioning systems which can be made unreliable by space weather can avoid conditions that might put operators at risk. Power companies can work to prevent problems.

"The shorter prediction timeframe will enable the electric industry to better prepare for potential issues," said Gerry Cauley, president and chief executive officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. "The continued improvement of forecasting through innovation and modernization of the existing satellite infrastructure is vital to support the reliability of North America's bulk electric system."

The new model, WSA-Enlil, combines two advanced models, the Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) and Enlil (named for the Sumerian god of wind). These linked numerical forecast models simulate physical conditions and phenomena from the base of the sun's corona out into interplanetary space, to Earth and beyond. Space weather scientists "inject" solar events into the WSA-Enlil model to understand how the space weather storm system is likely to unfold.

###

Scientists with NOAA, NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boston University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and George Mason University collaborated to develop the model.

The model has been used in experimental mode for several months and has accurately forecast the timing of recent space weather events. NOAA began running the new model on its supercomputers officially on September 30. Recent model run results are available online at www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/ambient.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. is the nation's official source of operational forecasts, warnings and alerts about space weather.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us online at www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

On the Web:

NOAA:
www.noaa.gov

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC):
www.swpc.noaa.gov

WSA-Enlil model, current conditions:
www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/ambient


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 20-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Katy Human
katy.g.human@noaa.gov
303-497-4747
NOAA Headquarters

NOAA is now using a sophisticated forecast model that substantially improves predictions of space weather impacts on Earth. Better forecasts offer additional protection for people and the technology-based infrastructure we use daily.

Explosions in the sun's outer atmosphere tracked and forecast by NOAA scientists can cause geomagnetic and solar radiation storms at Earth that can impede the operation of electrical power grids, interfere with the normal function of Global Positioning Systems and temporarily hamper radio and satellite telecommunications. Grid and satellite operators and airlines can take protective measures when stormy conditions are forecast.

"This advanced model has strengthened forecasters' understanding of what happens in the 93 million miles between Earth and the sun following a solar disturbance," said Tom Bogdan, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. "It will help power grid and communications technology managers know what to expect so they can protect infrastructure and the public."

Magnetic storms can occur on Earth 1? days after a coronal mass ejection a burst of charged particles and magnetic field that streams out from the sun at more than one million miles an hour. Before development of this model, forecasters could predict timing of such impacts within a 30-hour window, on average. The new model allows forecasters to narrow that window to 12 hours.

That improvement gives airline operators more reliable information about when to reroute flights to avoid communications blackouts from storms. Satellite operators can avoid changing orbit or orientation when space weather threatens. Oil drilling, mining and other operations that rely on global positioning systems which can be made unreliable by space weather can avoid conditions that might put operators at risk. Power companies can work to prevent problems.

"The shorter prediction timeframe will enable the electric industry to better prepare for potential issues," said Gerry Cauley, president and chief executive officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. "The continued improvement of forecasting through innovation and modernization of the existing satellite infrastructure is vital to support the reliability of North America's bulk electric system."

The new model, WSA-Enlil, combines two advanced models, the Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) and Enlil (named for the Sumerian god of wind). These linked numerical forecast models simulate physical conditions and phenomena from the base of the sun's corona out into interplanetary space, to Earth and beyond. Space weather scientists "inject" solar events into the WSA-Enlil model to understand how the space weather storm system is likely to unfold.

###

Scientists with NOAA, NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Boston University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and George Mason University collaborated to develop the model.

The model has been used in experimental mode for several months and has accurately forecast the timing of recent space weather events. NOAA began running the new model on its supercomputers officially on September 30. Recent model run results are available online at www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/ambient.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. is the nation's official source of operational forecasts, warnings and alerts about space weather.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us online at www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usnoaagov.

On the Web:

NOAA:
www.noaa.gov

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC):
www.swpc.noaa.gov

WSA-Enlil model, current conditions:
www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/ambient


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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/2011-10/nh-swp102011.php

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EBay revenue trumps Street target (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? EBay Inc, operator of the largest online marketplace, reported quarterly revenue that rose 32 percent and profit that matched analysts' expectations on Wednesday.

EBay shares fell 5 percent to $31.45 in after-hours trading.

EBay reported third-quarter net income of $490.5 million, or 37 cents a share, compared to $432 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding stock-based compensation expenses and other items, profit was $628.2 million, or 48 cents a share, in the latest period, the company said. Revenue climbed 32 percent to $2.97 billion.

EBay was expected to earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $2.91 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr, editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111019/wr_nm/us_ebay

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Moving poor women to lower-poverty neighborhoods improves their health

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
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Contact: William Harms
w-harms@uchicago.edu
773-702-8356
University of Chicago

Low-income women with children who move from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods experience notable long-term improvements in some aspects of their health, namely reductions in diabetes and extreme obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and partner institutions.

The study was the first to employ a randomized experimental design akin to a randomized clinical trial used to test the efficacy of new drugs to learn about the connections between neighborhood poverty and health. The study was published Oct. 20 in the New England Journal of Medicine in a special article, "Neighborhoods, Obesity and Diabetes A Randomized Social Experiment." The lead author for the collaboration was Jens Ludwig, the McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy at UChicago.

For the study, Ludwig and a team of scholars from around the country studied 4,498 poor women and children, who from 1994 to 1998, enrolled in a residential mobility program called Moving to Opportunity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development operated MTO in five United States cities Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

The MTO program enrolled low-income families with children living in distressed public housing. Families volunteered for the experiment, and based on the results of a random lottery, were offered the chance to use a housing voucher subsidy to move into a lower-poverty community. Other families were randomly assigned to a control group that received no special assistance under the program.

The study collected information during 2008-10 on families who had enrolled in the program 10 to 15 years before. The research team directly measured the heights and weights of MTO participants, and it also collected blood samples to test for diabetes.

At the time of follow-up, 17 percent of the women in the study's control group were morbidly obese (body mass index at or above 40), and 20 percent had diabetes. However, in the group of women who were offered housing vouchers to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods, the rates of morbid obesity and diabetes were both about one fifth lower than in the control group. "These findings provide strong evidence that the environments in low-income neighborhoods can contribute to poor health," said Ludwig.

The research team included another UChicago faculty member, Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau, associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology, and an expert in urban health.

"Obesity and diabetes are among the biggest health problems facing our country, and they are preventable. But preventing these conditions through interventions that target individual behavioral change has proven very difficult," she said.

"This study shows that where a woman lives with her children may, in part, determine whether she develops serious, costly, life-shortening diseases like diabetes and extreme obesity. Giving a low-income woman the opportunity to move with her children to a less impoverished neighborhood appears to lower her risk of diabetes and extreme obesity," she said.

The study's findings that disadvantaged community environments contribute to extreme obesity and diabetes could help explain the increase over time in these health problems. The study's findings could also help explain disparities in obesity and diabetes prevalence across race and ethnic lines in the U.S.

"The increase in U.S. residential segregation according to income in recent decades suggests that a larger portion of the population is being exposed to distressed neighborhood environments," they write in the paper. "Minorities are also more likely than whites to live in distressed areas."

"These results highlight the great importance of learning more about what specific aspects of the social or physical environment reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity; for example, greater access to grocery stores, more opportunities for physical activity, or feelings of greater safety and reduced psychological stress," said Ludwig.

"Given that diabetes and obesity are associated with a large number of health complications and higher cost for medical care, the findings from this study suggest that improving the environments of low-income urban neighborhoods might improve the duration and quality of life for the residents and lower health care expenditures," said another study co-author, Dr. Robert Whitaker, Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics at Temple University, and an expert on obesity and diabetes.

###

The study was supported by HUD, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging, the Institute of Education Services at the U.S. Department of Education, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Joining Ludwig, Lindau and Whitaker in writing the paper were Lisa Sanbonmatsu (National Bureau of Economic Research); Lisa Gennetian (Brookings Institution); Emma Adam (Northwestern University); Greg Duncan (University of California, Irvine); Lawrence Katz (Harvard University); Ronald Kessler (Harvard Medical School); Jeffrey Kling (Congressional Budget Office); and Thomas McDade (Northwestern).


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[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 19-Oct-2011
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Contact: William Harms
w-harms@uchicago.edu
773-702-8356
University of Chicago

Low-income women with children who move from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods experience notable long-term improvements in some aspects of their health, namely reductions in diabetes and extreme obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and partner institutions.

The study was the first to employ a randomized experimental design akin to a randomized clinical trial used to test the efficacy of new drugs to learn about the connections between neighborhood poverty and health. The study was published Oct. 20 in the New England Journal of Medicine in a special article, "Neighborhoods, Obesity and Diabetes A Randomized Social Experiment." The lead author for the collaboration was Jens Ludwig, the McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy at UChicago.

For the study, Ludwig and a team of scholars from around the country studied 4,498 poor women and children, who from 1994 to 1998, enrolled in a residential mobility program called Moving to Opportunity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development operated MTO in five United States cities Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

The MTO program enrolled low-income families with children living in distressed public housing. Families volunteered for the experiment, and based on the results of a random lottery, were offered the chance to use a housing voucher subsidy to move into a lower-poverty community. Other families were randomly assigned to a control group that received no special assistance under the program.

The study collected information during 2008-10 on families who had enrolled in the program 10 to 15 years before. The research team directly measured the heights and weights of MTO participants, and it also collected blood samples to test for diabetes.

At the time of follow-up, 17 percent of the women in the study's control group were morbidly obese (body mass index at or above 40), and 20 percent had diabetes. However, in the group of women who were offered housing vouchers to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods, the rates of morbid obesity and diabetes were both about one fifth lower than in the control group. "These findings provide strong evidence that the environments in low-income neighborhoods can contribute to poor health," said Ludwig.

The research team included another UChicago faculty member, Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau, associate professor in obstetrics and gynecology, and an expert in urban health.

"Obesity and diabetes are among the biggest health problems facing our country, and they are preventable. But preventing these conditions through interventions that target individual behavioral change has proven very difficult," she said.

"This study shows that where a woman lives with her children may, in part, determine whether she develops serious, costly, life-shortening diseases like diabetes and extreme obesity. Giving a low-income woman the opportunity to move with her children to a less impoverished neighborhood appears to lower her risk of diabetes and extreme obesity," she said.

The study's findings that disadvantaged community environments contribute to extreme obesity and diabetes could help explain the increase over time in these health problems. The study's findings could also help explain disparities in obesity and diabetes prevalence across race and ethnic lines in the U.S.

"The increase in U.S. residential segregation according to income in recent decades suggests that a larger portion of the population is being exposed to distressed neighborhood environments," they write in the paper. "Minorities are also more likely than whites to live in distressed areas."

"These results highlight the great importance of learning more about what specific aspects of the social or physical environment reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity; for example, greater access to grocery stores, more opportunities for physical activity, or feelings of greater safety and reduced psychological stress," said Ludwig.

"Given that diabetes and obesity are associated with a large number of health complications and higher cost for medical care, the findings from this study suggest that improving the environments of low-income urban neighborhoods might improve the duration and quality of life for the residents and lower health care expenditures," said another study co-author, Dr. Robert Whitaker, Professor of Public Health and Pediatrics at Temple University, and an expert on obesity and diabetes.

###

The study was supported by HUD, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging, the Institute of Education Services at the U.S. Department of Education, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Joining Ludwig, Lindau and Whitaker in writing the paper were Lisa Sanbonmatsu (National Bureau of Economic Research); Lisa Gennetian (Brookings Institution); Emma Adam (Northwestern University); Greg Duncan (University of California, Irvine); Lawrence Katz (Harvard University); Ronald Kessler (Harvard Medical School); Jeffrey Kling (Congressional Budget Office); and Thomas McDade (Northwestern).


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/uoc-mpw101411.php

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EBay profit meets Street; shares dip on cautious view (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? EBay Inc reported profit that matched Wall Street estimates and gave a restrained outlook for the rest of the year because of economic uncertainty, sending its shares lower.

"Not a spectacular quarter," said R J Hottovy, an equity analyst at Morningstar. "It was essentially in line, which may have disappointed the market."

The operator of the largest online marketplace reported third-quarter net income of $490.5 million, or 37 cents a share, compared with $432 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding stock-based compensation expenses and other items, profit was $628.2 million, or 48 cents a share, in the latest period, the company said. Revenue rose 32 percent to $2.97 billion.

Analysts, on average, had expected EBay to earn 48 cents a share on revenue of $2.91 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

EBay is riding a strong e-commerce growth wave as shoppers buy more online and through smartphones and tablet computers.

The company benefits from this trend because its Internet marketplaces make money by charging fees on transactions and other activity. The company's PayPal unit also wins as it takes a small cut of a rising volume of electronic payments processed on its network.

However, the debt crisis in Europe and global economic slowdown has the potential to restrain all types of consumption during the crucial holiday season, even online.

"We read the same newspaper headlines and we don't have a crystal ball on the economy," eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said in an interview with Reuters. "I don't think it will be a great holiday, but we are putting our stake in the sand and saying we think it will be solid."

EBay Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan said the company saw a "modest deceleration" in its German and U.S. businesses as the third quarter ended.

EBay forecast fourth-quarter profit of 55 cents to 58 cents a year. Analysts, on average, were expecting 58 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

EBay forecast full-year revenue of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion and full-year profit of $1.98 to $2.01 a share.

When eBay reported second-quarter results in July, the company forecast full-year revenue of $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion and full-year profit of $1.97 to $2.00 a share.

"Investors were assuming there would be upside surprise in earnings or the guidance," said Fred Moran, an analyst at The Benchmark Company.

"They maintained their full-year forecast essentially, which reflects a little caution around the global economy," Moran added. "Management could increase forecasts later in the year, but things are too volatile right now to stick one's neck out."

EBay shares fell 4.1 percent to $31.82 in after-hours trading.

PAYPAL LOSSES

PayPal's loss rate -- which measures how much the unit loses to payment fraud -- climbed to 0.31 percent in the third quarter, versus 0.25 percent in the previous quarter.

EBay's Donahoe said the increase was partly due to a jump in the volume of transactions processed by PayPal over mobile devices.

PayPal expects to process $3.5 billion worth of mobile payments this year, up from $750 million in 2010.

PayPal's fraud-monitoring computer models need time to adjust to this new source of transactions, CFO Swan told analysts during a conference call on Wednesday.

Once the models have adjusted, PayPal's loss rate should decline, the CFO added.

Donahoe said the adjustment will make PayPal more competitive in the long-term.

"Paypal's business model is even more powerful on a mobile device than on a computer," Donahoe said. "You can lose your phone but not your money with PayPal."

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; editing by Bernard Orr)

(Corrects paragraph 14 to the Benchmark Company instead of Benchmark Capital)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/wr_nm/us_ebay

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Obama bringing first lady for last day of bus tour

President Barack Obama speaks at the Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Obama is on a three-day bus tour promoting the American Jobs Act. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

President Barack Obama speaks at the Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Obama is on a three-day bus tour promoting the American Jobs Act. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

Audience members applaud as President Barack Obama speaks at the Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Obama is on a three-day bus tour promoting the American Jobs Act. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Barack Obama shakes hands at Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Obama is on a three-day bus tour promoting the American Jobs Act. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Barack Obama visits Greensville County High School in Emporia, Va, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Obama is on a three-day bus tour promoting the American Jobs Act. (AP Photo/Richmond Times Dispatch, Eva Russo)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama will employ the services of the first lady Wednesday as he wraps up a three-day bus trip to boost public support for his jobs plan.

The president and first lady Michelle Obama will appear together at a military base in Hampton, Virginia. The White House says they will deliver remarks on the importance of businesses hiring veterans.

Obama will then climb back onto his sleek, million-dollar bus for the final leg of a driving tour that has taken him through rural swaths of North Carolina and Virginia. Both states are politically important to Obama's re-election bid.

The president will make a final stop Wednesday at a fire station in North Chesterfield, Virginia, before returning to Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-10-19-Obama/id-f947d0df47bb465284e43fccb890b789

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China quizzes audit giants on foreign regulator contact (Reuters)

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) ? China's financial regulators have asked the world's biggest audit firms to conduct an urgent review of their work on U.S.-listed Chinese companies and provide them with details on information they may have provided to overseas regulators, two sources told Reuters.

The move is set to ratchet up tensions between the financial regulators of America and China following a string of accounting scandals at U.S.-listed Chinese companies.

Last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked an American court to enforce a subpoena it sent to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's China practice for work papers from its audit of scandal-hit Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd.

Two sources from the audit industry told Reuters that the Ministry of Finance and China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) met with the so-called 'Big Four' audit firms -- KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Deloitte -- along with two smaller firms last week.

The firms were requested by the government to conduct an urgent review of all audits they had done on U.S.-listed Chinese firms in 2010 along with work on U.S. initial public offerings by Chinese companies.

They have been asked to report back by the end of this week with information on whether audit work papers or other client information were given to overseas regulators or any of their overseas practices.

One source, who can't be named due to the sensitive nature of the meeting, said the Chinese authorities reiterated to the firms their rules on confidentiality.

"We are being asked to give that message to foreign regulators that seek to get information from us," the source said.

The second source said that the information requested included all correspondence on U.S.-audit work between the firms' mainland Chinese offices and their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macau. Firms have also been asked to provide details of audits done by their Hong Kong offices on U.S.-listed Chinese companies, provided their main operations are on the mainland.

The request is understood to have been made to verify that auditors are abiding by China's confidentiality rules for accountants. However it's being seen as a direct response to the move by the U.S. regulators in the Longtop case and to ensure that firms do not succumb to pressure to hand over documents to other regulators.

"Given what's happened in the States recently with the SEC ratcheting up the pressure, there was likely to be some sort of reaction and this is part of it, if not the total of it," said one industry expert who did not have direct knowledge of the meeting.

The CSRC and China's Ministry of Finance ministry had no immediate response when reached by phone. Reuters asked all of the 'Big Four' firms about the meeting. PWC, KPMG and Ernst & Young declined to comment while Deloitte did not immediately respond.

U.S. accountancy watchdog Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has been negotiating with the Chinese authorities to be allowed to conduct inspections of mainland firms that audit Chinese companies listed in America.

However, the momentum of the talks appears to have been slowing in recent weeks, with no date yet set for the next round of discussions.

(Additional reporting by Nanette Byrnes in NEW YORK and Don Durfee in BEIJING; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111019/bs_nm/us_china_accounting

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Apple Stores To Close Briefly To Mark Jobs' Death (NewsFactor)

Apple will close some retail stores for at least an hour on Wednesday in honor of co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs. The closing will come at the same time as a celebration of Jobs' life that will be taking place at the company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

Jobs died at age 56 on Oct. 5, following a fight with pancreatic cancer. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, store employees have been notified of the closing because of a private event, but they were not specifically informed that it related to the passing of Jobs. The Journal cited sources "familiar with the matter."

'Incredible Things'

The celebration of Jobs' life on Wednesday had been announced to Apple employees via an e-mail from CEO Tim Cook, according to The Journal. The e-mail said Apple intended "to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place." According to the newspaper, the occasion at Apple headquarters will be three hours long.

On Oct. 7, a private funeral was held for the Apple visionary, and there was a large, private memorial service on Sunday at Stanford University.

The Sunday service included ex-President Bill Clinton, ex-Vice President Al Gore, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Google co-founder Larry Page, singer Bono, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, actor Tim Allen, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Dell founder Michael Dell, Adobe co-founders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke, and others.

Jobs will continue to be remembered in countless large and small ways, not the least of which will be a new authorized biography and, reportedly, a major feature film.

Sony Pictures is negotiating for a seven-figure purchase of the movie rights to the coming authorized biography, "Steve Jobs." The new book, whose release was moved up from November to this month following the Apple co-founder's passing, is written by Walter Isaacson, former chairman of CNN and ex-managing editor for Time magazine. Isaacson's previous biographies include Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein.

'Roller-Coaster Life'

Immediately following Jobs' death, the as-yet-unpublished book shot from 437th to first on Amazon's bestseller list, based on pre-orders.

According to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, the book presents "a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing."

The book is based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs and over 100 conversations with family members, friends and colleagues. It's the first book on the legendary CEO that had his cooperation. The movie reportedly would be produced by Mark Gordon, whose other films include Saving Private Ryan, The Day After Tomorrow, Source Code, and 2012.

Simon & Schuster said Jobs had neither control over what Isaacson wrote nor even the right to read it prior to publication.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111018/bs_nf/80646

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U.N. rights office against proposed Saleh immunity (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday that any power transfer deal in Yemen should not include an amnesty for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose security forces are accused of killing largely peaceful protesters and other crimes.

A proposed power transfer plan brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would offer immunity to Saleh and those serving under him in exchange for his stepping down.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to make a decision this week on a resolution to "strongly condemn" the government's human rights violations. The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters in New York, urges Saleh to "immediately sign and implement" the plan by the six-nation GCC.

"We've not seen the details of the initiative put forth by the GCC so we can't comment on the specifics of that proposed deal. However, international law is pretty clear on this issue. It prohibits the use of amnesties that prevent the prosecution of individuals for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity or gross violations of human rights," U.N. rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing in Geneva.

"So that's the general position on amnesties which would apply in this situation, as in any other," he added, speaking in response to a reporter's question.

The office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemns the killing of largely peaceful protesters in the cities of Sanaa and Taiz by Yemeni security forces wielding indiscriminate force, Colville said.

At least 34 people have been killed in the last four days, including six on Tuesday, in the intensifying crackdown.

"In addition to those killed, hundreds of people have been reportedly injured by the disproportionate use of force against unarmed protesters," Colville said.

An international, independent investigation was required to hold perpetrators accountable and render justice to victims.

"We are extremely concerned that security forces continue to use excessive force in a climate of impunity for crimes that are resulting in heavy loss of life and injury, despite repeated pledges by the government to the contrary," he added.

Amnesty International has said that Saleh should not be immune from prosecution and those responsible for extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances should be brought to justice as part of any transition agreement.

Saleh, who says he is ready to step down but wants to ensure that control of the country is put in "safe hands," has rejected the GCC plan three times.

Saleh, who has ruled the impoverished country for 33 years, has stayed in office despite 10 months of mass protests against his rule inspired by pro-democracy unrest across the Arab world.

Opposition to him has turned increasingly violent and organized, threatening to pitch Yemen into all-out civil war.

The U.N. rights office also called on armed opponents of Saleh's government to remove weapons from public spaces being used by peaceful protesters and to "stop launching armed attacks from densely-populated areas."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111018/wl_nm/us_yemen_un

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