Over the years, President Barack Obama has built relationships with some of Hollywood's biggest names. The birthday boy is known to be close with Beyonc? and Jay Z ? who says he texts with the POTUS ? and at different events and rallies, Obama has joked around with everyone from David Beckham and Katy Perry to Prince William and Kate Middleton. Even before he became president, Obama counted Oprah Winfrey and Robert DeNiro among his acquaintances as they supported his campaign. In honour of President Obama's 52nd birthday yesterday, take a look at some of his best snaps with celebrities!
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sent what amounted to a SWAT team to raid a no-kill animal shelter so they could seize a baby deer. All of the shelter staff were corralled by armed officers, the fawn was shoved into a body bag and hauled off to be euthanized. The shelter had arranged for the fawn to be taken to a wildlife rehab center the very next day but weren't allowed to send it there.
The DNR chief defended the decision to raid the center without warning by likening the situation to a drug raid. "If a sheriff's department is going in to do a search warrant on a drug bust, they don't call them and ask them to voluntarily surrender their marijuana or whatever drug that they have before they show up," Niemeyer said.
It's a sad day when a state sends a hit squad comprised of thirteen armed officers out to seize and kill a baby deer.
More than 600 pregnant teens have called Gerard House home over the last 25 years.
For one resident, who cannot be named because she is under 18 and in foster care, the house has given her many things.
?There?s a lot of positive attitude here,? she said.
She was 16 when she came to Gerard House and went on to earn her high school diploma after being put into the state?s custody for a truancy issue. The pregnancy is what got her attention.
?They said if you don?t get straightened out, there?s a chance you could have your kid taken away, so I realized I want to go to school and get everything done,? she said. ?I was in a foster home and it was hard for me at first. It really helped me coming here.?
Now, about to turn 18, she and her 8-month-old son are getting ready for another big change: She?s starting a career to become an aesthetician.
?They?ve brought her stability, learning skills, emotional and financial support, she has her high school diploma and she?s going to Eric Fisher Academy,? said Christy Hannon, the young woman?s family support worker from St. Francis Community Services who works with Gerard House and was a teen mom herself.
The large, but modest house at 3144 N. Hood will take in pregnant teens at any point of their pregnancy and allow them to stay until their babies can crawl. It will celebrate its 25th anniversary Sunday with a reception in downtown Wichita.
Gerard House began as a joint mission of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother and the Congregation of St. Joseph. Now it?s under the umbrella of Via Christi Health in Wichita. It?s named after Gerard Majella, the patron saint of mothers.
According to the most recent figures from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for 2011, the statewide pregnancy rate for ages 10 to 19 is 20.9 per 1,000, or nearly 4,100 pregnancies. A little more than 890 of those pregnancies were in Sedgwick County.
?School and baby?
The young women have a very structured environment, said Deneen Dryden, Gerard House executive director. They often wake up for school at 6 a.m. and aren?t done with parenting classes, tutoring and counseling until 9 p.m.
In addition to connecting the women with prenatal care ? most of which is paid for by Medicaid ? and parenting classes and counseling, Gerard House also helps some find jobs through the Workforce Alliance.
The state has a program that helps pay for some of the young women to attend selected state schools for higher education, Dryden said, but typically only 2 percent of adolescents who are pregnant before they?re 18 finish college.
?To me, that?s the saddest statistic,? she said.
?For us the real priority is school and baby. If they haven?t completed their high school diploma or GED, that?s the No. 1 responsibility because the research shows only 40 percent graduate.?
Gerard House also provides the women information on adoption, Dryden said. As a Catholic-sponsored institution, it does not encourage abortion.
?They need to make an informed decision,? she said. ?If they choose to parent we give them the skills and support them in that decision.?
The younger the woman, the less likely they are to place the babies into adoption services, Dryden said. At Gerard House, about one in 20 decide to pursue adoption.
?If you look at infrastructure many come from, they didn?t have family,? she said. ?And they?ll look right at you and say, ?I got pregnant so I would have something to love and to call family.?
?When you?re under that pretense, you think that baby is going to meet your needs instead of the reality that you?re up all night.?
Juvenile system
Often, the young women are referred through foster care or the juvenile justice system, Dryden said. But they also come through private or community referrals by school nurses or families.
?There?s lots of channels that get them here,? Dryden said.
?What we know is that on paper, it really doesn?t matter what it says, we?re dealing with a pregnant teenager who?s got lots going on in their life. So we treat them all the same. They?re the same girl.?
As of July 1, Gerard House is the only contracted maternity home with Juvenile Services in the state.
According to Jeremy Barclay, communications director for the Kansas Department of Corrections, the state used to also contract with Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home in Hays and Grace Center in Kansas City, but the number of teens in the system who are being referred to group homes has decreased over the last several years.
?It?s just an example of oversupply for demand,? Barclay said.
And it?s perhaps a shift in the way society views pregnant teens, Dryden said.
?Initially, it was set up because of the stigma that society placed on (pregnant teens) and the shame,? Dryden said. ?A lot of the girls were sent away and would come back to the community after they had placed for adoption.
?And although times have changed and society has changed, that?s still the mission: to still serve this underserved population that?s very vulnerable.?
Jessica Newsome is pictured?with her husband, Jason, and their two little girls, Savannah and Ella.
As Jessica Newsome battles for her life, The Grove rallies around her to help in any way possible. The Grove is Newnan First United Methodist Church's aid committee for medical crises and longterm illness, which started soon after Newsome was diagnosed in March with kidney cancer while serving as the church's children's minister.
Newsome suffered from exhaustion almost immediately after taking the job in July 2012. She fought off symptoms of fatigue for months until her husband, Jason, finally put her in a car and drove her to the emergency room.
The news was heartbreaking. Jessica had stage 4 renal cell cancer.
Word of Jessica's illness shook the church and spurred a group effort in coordinating the massive outpouring of assistance church and community members wished to send the Newsomes' way. The Grove immediately became the facilitator for funds and assistance to reach the church families in need, just like the Newsomes.
This past month, The Grove renovated the Newsomes' bathroom to make it wheelchair accessible. The group also bought the family a recliner to make visitors more comfortable.
One of Newsome's wishes was to attend a Braves game. When she got there, word of her illness spread all the way to pitcher Tim Hudson and his wife. His Hudson Family Foundation has since provided a grant to the Newsome family, with Hudson also donating autographed items to The Grove, which will be used to raise money for the family.
Those who know Newsome find her amazingly strong-spirited, giving and an overachiever. Newsome, who recently turned 30, continues to battle advanced stages of cancer with the support of her husband and her two little girls, along with friends and family.
'Jessica is the true definition of a mother,' says Sarah Dewberry, who helped start The Grove and has been friends with Jessica since college.
'She is selfless, caring, warm and nurturing to everyone she meets. She has always shown an interest in the people around her, and even through her personal struggles, she finds ways to minister to those she cares about. The world should wish to have her as a friend.'
The family started a blog titled getbetterjess.blogspot.com in order to update loved ones and concerned community members on Newsome's journey. The blog includes posts from Newsome. The pages are filled with loving thoughts and family photographs.
Along with supporting Jessica, The Grove is assisting about a dozen other families dealing with medical crises.
If a family needs a wheelchair ramp, online meal calendar, or monetary support, The Grove always donates a planted seedling tree as a symbol of its love and support. For Kelley Welden, another one of The Grove's founders, the ministry is a blessing for those involved.
'It is a joy to work with other women who truly care about our church members. The people that we have helped have been so appreciative, whether it's been meals, prayer shawls or the dogwood trees. We are just happy to be able to do our part.'
Since The Grove's conception, community support has been overwhelming for Jessica and her family as they continue to battle her illness - and pray.
It's amazing what the love and care of a community accomplish when people are pulled together for a common cause. It's just a shame it takes the worst battles to realize the depths of human compassion.
To request assistance or make a donation to The Grove call 770-2537400 or email churchoffice@newnanfumc. org.
Kate Middleton is in labor and her husband Prince William is right by her side, where he will remain until the new addition to their family is born. The doting William will no doubt be catering to all of his wife?s needs as she endures labor. No waiting in the hallway pacing for this guy, he will be front and center when his child is born.
William was with Kate when her labor began early this morning.? Together they made their way to the hospital where they were ushered in through a private back entrance. Since then there has been very little news about the labor other than it is progressing along naturally.
His wife may be doing all the hard work but William will be making sure he does everything possible to get her through the labor.? Things he might do for his wife include, rubbing her back, telling her to breathe and of course getting ice chips. Although the later may be a little tough with people lurking around. Even though they are their own private wing of the hospital, you never know who can sneak in.
When the big moment arrives the Prince will likely hold Kate?s hand as he tells her to push and breathe, guys have it so easy.? If he gets nervous or queasy, as some men do, he can lean on his mother-in-law Carole? Middleton and sister-in-law Pippa Middleton. Both rumored to be in the room when the Royal baby makes his or her debut. I wonder if he will do the honor of cutting the umbilical cord, probably that seems to be the dad thing to do right?
Like many first time father?s William will probably have some anxiety, maybe even be a little freaked out. He may be a Royal but he is also human. However there is no doubt that he will put that all aside to be there for Kate as she delivers there first child.
What other things do you think William will be doing to help Kate during delivery? Tell us what you think in the below comments section.
The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard transits the Philippine Sea on July 1. Two American fighter jets launched from Bonhomme Richard dropped four unarmed bombs into Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park last week when a training exercise went wrong, the U.S. Navy said. (MCS Seaman Apprentice Edward Guttierrez III/Navy)
Source: amarillo.com --- Tuesday, July 16, 2013 HOOVER, Ala. ? Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive took time away from bragging about his thriving league to point out that ?important questions need to be answered? about how the NCAA governs college athletics. Slive used part of his annual address opening SEC media days Tuesday to reiterate his push for athletes to receive a scholarship that covers the total cost of attendance and stress the importance nationally of ?innovative leadership to slash through our Gordian knot.? read more ...
Heat warnings or advisories are posted in parts of eight western states with temperatures of 120 degrees not out of the question for parts of California, Nevada and Arizona into next week. Residents are advised to protect themselves and their pets. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
By Tracy Jarrett, NBC News
A sizzling heat wave sent temperatures soaring and records tumbling in Western states on Saturday, leading to one suspected heat-related death and prompting officials to urge people to stay inside and take extra precautions.
Las Vegas' McCarran airport tied a record for the day at 115 degrees, and at a National Weather Service office in the southwest section of the city the thermometer spiked up to 118 degrees. In Death Valley, Calif., it was 124 degrees.?
A Las Vegas Fire & Rescue crew responded to a report of an elderly man in cardiac arrest at residence without air conditioning on Saturday. When paramedics arrived, they found the man was dead, NBC station KSNV reported. The man, who was not identified, did have medical issues but paramedics characterized his death as heat-related.
Another elderly man whose car air conditioner went out while on a road trip fell sick, stopped and called 911. He was admitted to the hospital and reported in serious condition.?
It was so hot in Nevada that rangers at Lake Mead persuaded tourists not to hike, according to the National Park Service, which posted the warning on its Facebook page.
In Phoenix, the temperature rose to 119 degrees?? the fourth hottest day in recorded history in the desert city.
Two cities in Texas ??San Antonio (108 degrees) and Houston (107 degrees)???set all-time highs for the month of June.
?Where it is hot now it it?ll stay hot,? said Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler.
Several records were also set in California, with Palm Springs hitting 122 degrees, beating the previous high from 1994, according to the National Weather Service.
While some states such as Colorado and New Mexico may be beginning to cool, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana will continue to experience all-time temperature highs at least for the next two weeks, Ressler said.
?The ridge doesn?t completely go away in the next 2 weeks, so temperatures will come down somewhat but there?s no time soon where it will turn into the east coast where they are experiencing below average ?temperatures, ? he said.
?The heat will stay west and there will be no great break in heat anytime soon.?
Such extreme weather was causing health concerns. On Friday, 200 people were treated for heat problems at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, where it was 115 degrees.
Dr. Kein Reilly with University of Arizona Department of Emergency Medicine told NBC News Tucson affiliate KVOA that Arizona residents should stay inside and drink plenty of water.
"If you get dizzy or light headed those are some signs of dehydration. If you become confused that's a real warning sign. That's someone who needs to come into the emergency department," Reilly said.
Julie Jacobson / AP
From left, Subrina Madrid, Sarah Hudak, Jennifer, Shackelford, all of North Las Vegas, Nev., sit in the shallow waters along Boulder Beach at Lake Mead, Saturday, June 29, 2013 near Boulder City, Nevada. The three planned to spend the day at the lake to escape the heat in Las Vegas.
Cooling stations were set up to shelter the homeless as well as elderly people who can't afford to run their air conditioners,? Phoenix, Ariz, Sheriff Joe Arpaio told NBC News affiliate KSNV.
Keeping people cool is not the only concern in the heat.
?If it?s hot for you it?s hot for your pet, and ultimately we are their voice so we are responsible for them. Use common sense,? said Bretta Nelson, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society.
Nelson suggests keeping your pets indoors and making sure they are hydrated. If you need to take your pet for a walk keep it quick, said Nelson. She also suggests foot booties for hot cement.
?It?s important to understand pets have to have shelter shade plenty of drinking water and if they don?t they can result in animal cruelty charges,? she said.
The same rules apply for people.
?As much as possible have constant water available and also stay inside in air conditioning those are two things I would suggest,? said Ressler.
Ressler said record highs are expected over the next few days, and record highs this time of year mean, ?it is extremely hot.?
Virginia Republican lieutenant governor candidate E. W. Jackson said that the American government has been worse for "the black family" than slavery was during an event on Wednesday to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery. "In 1960 most black children were raised in two parent monogamous families," Jackson said, according to the Virginia Daily Press. "By now, by this time, we only have 20 percent of black children being raised in two-parent monogamous families with a married man and woman raising those children. It wasn't slavery that did that. ...
Rejoice fellow space and brick nutters, because Lego is going to release an official Mars Curiosity set! The original model was designed by Stephen Pakbaz, an actual NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's mechanical engineer who worked in the mission. Pakbaz entered his creation in Lego Cuusoo, a web site that allows fans to submit models that could be turned into real sets, like the incoming Back to the Future or the Minecraft sets.
Whooping cough can be deadly for infants, but 61 percent of adults don't know their vaccine statusPublic release date: 17-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Masson mfmasson@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System
Most adults agree parents of newborns should insist visitors have updated vaccine for pertussis, according to new U-M National Poll on Children's Health
ANN ARBOR, Mich. Cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, are on the rise in the U.S., recently reaching their highest level in 50 years. The disease can be serious or even fatal to newborns who have not yet received vaccinations.
Effective vaccines against pertussis have been available for many decades, but that vaccine protection can wear off over time. A new University of Michigan poll shows that 61 percent of adults say they don't know when they were last vaccinated against pertussis, which could mean they might be unwittingly exposing vulnerable babies to the disease.
Only 20 percent of adults reported that they received the pertussis vaccine less than 10 years ago (the recommended time frame) and 19 percent said they were vaccinated more than 10 years ago.
"Pertussis is a very preventable disease," says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
"But many adults may think their childhood vaccinations still are protecting them against pertussis. Findings from this poll show that few adults have received a booster shot within the recommended 10-year time frame and in fact, two-thirds told us they were not aware of their vaccination status."
Pertussis easily spreads within households, day care facilities, schools and neighborhoods and is most often serious in infants and young children. In fact, the majority of deaths from pertussis occur in children less than 3 months old.
The poll found, however, broad support for parents to insist their newborns aren't exposed to those who might not be current on their pertussis vaccine.
The majority of adults polled (72%) strongly agree or agree that parents have the right to insist that visitors receive the pertussis vaccine before visiting a newborn baby in the hospital. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of adults strongly agree or agree that parents should make sure all adults receive the pertussis vaccine before visiting a newborn baby at home.
Pertussis vaccines are recommended for teens and adults (known as the "Tdap" vaccine), including pregnant women. Boosting immunity against pertussis among teens and adults is especially important for protecting newborns against the disease. Most infants who fall sick with pertussis got the illness from an older child or adult with pertussis.
"Welcoming a baby to the family is a wonderful time, and no one would want to put an infant at risk. So the results of this poll are encouraging because they indicate some awareness that visitors need to be protected against this disease," Davis says.
"Teens and adults who have received the Tdap vaccine are less likely to get whooping cough themselves, and therefore less likely to spread whooping cough to other people including infants who have not yet been protected by the recommended pertussis vaccinations."
Davis says he hopes the awareness among parents will increase the numbers of people seeking a booster vaccine.
"Expectant parents should have a conversation about pertussis vaccine with their family and close friends BEFORE the baby is born, to allow time for them to get their pertussis vaccine up to date," Davis says.
"If parents begin to take this approach, it may have a very positive impact decreasing the number of newborns who become severely ill or die as a result of pertussis."
###
Broadcast-quality video is available on request. See the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBWS24DO6LY&feature=youtu.be
Full report: http://mottnpch.org/reports-surveys/protecting-newborns-whooping-cough
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) What You Need To Know
http://www.cdc.gov/features/pertussis/
Pertussis outreach letter
http://www2.aap.org/immunization/http://www2.aap.org/immunization/illnesses/dtp/PertussisVaccineOutreachLetter2012_3.pdfillnesses/dtp/PertussisVaccineOutreachLetter2012_3.pdf
Website: Check out the Poll's website: MottNPCH.org. You can search and browse over 70 NPCH Reports, suggest topics for future polls, share your opinion in a quick poll, and view information on popular topics. The National Poll on Children's Health team welcomes feedback,, including features you'd like to see added. To share feedback, e-mail NPCH@med.umich.edu.
Purpose/Funding: The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health based at the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan and funded by the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and the University of Michigan Health System is designed to measure major health care issues and trends for U.S. children.
Data Source: This Report presents findings from a nationally representative household survey conducted exclusively by GfK Custom Research, LLC (GfK), for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital via a method used in many published studies. The survey was administered in January 2013 to a randomly selected, stratified group of adults age 18 and older (n=2,182) from GfK's web-enabled KnowledgePanel that closely resembles the U.S. population. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect population figures from the Census Bureau. The survey completion rate was 61 percent among panel members contacted to participate. The margin of error is 1 to 4 percentage points.
Findings from the U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health do not represent the opinions of the investigators or the opinions of the University of Michigan.
[ | 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.
Whooping cough can be deadly for infants, but 61 percent of adults don't know their vaccine statusPublic release date: 17-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Masson mfmasson@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System
Most adults agree parents of newborns should insist visitors have updated vaccine for pertussis, according to new U-M National Poll on Children's Health
ANN ARBOR, Mich. Cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, are on the rise in the U.S., recently reaching their highest level in 50 years. The disease can be serious or even fatal to newborns who have not yet received vaccinations.
Effective vaccines against pertussis have been available for many decades, but that vaccine protection can wear off over time. A new University of Michigan poll shows that 61 percent of adults say they don't know when they were last vaccinated against pertussis, which could mean they might be unwittingly exposing vulnerable babies to the disease.
Only 20 percent of adults reported that they received the pertussis vaccine less than 10 years ago (the recommended time frame) and 19 percent said they were vaccinated more than 10 years ago.
"Pertussis is a very preventable disease," says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.
"But many adults may think their childhood vaccinations still are protecting them against pertussis. Findings from this poll show that few adults have received a booster shot within the recommended 10-year time frame and in fact, two-thirds told us they were not aware of their vaccination status."
Pertussis easily spreads within households, day care facilities, schools and neighborhoods and is most often serious in infants and young children. In fact, the majority of deaths from pertussis occur in children less than 3 months old.
The poll found, however, broad support for parents to insist their newborns aren't exposed to those who might not be current on their pertussis vaccine.
The majority of adults polled (72%) strongly agree or agree that parents have the right to insist that visitors receive the pertussis vaccine before visiting a newborn baby in the hospital. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of adults strongly agree or agree that parents should make sure all adults receive the pertussis vaccine before visiting a newborn baby at home.
Pertussis vaccines are recommended for teens and adults (known as the "Tdap" vaccine), including pregnant women. Boosting immunity against pertussis among teens and adults is especially important for protecting newborns against the disease. Most infants who fall sick with pertussis got the illness from an older child or adult with pertussis.
"Welcoming a baby to the family is a wonderful time, and no one would want to put an infant at risk. So the results of this poll are encouraging because they indicate some awareness that visitors need to be protected against this disease," Davis says.
"Teens and adults who have received the Tdap vaccine are less likely to get whooping cough themselves, and therefore less likely to spread whooping cough to other people including infants who have not yet been protected by the recommended pertussis vaccinations."
Davis says he hopes the awareness among parents will increase the numbers of people seeking a booster vaccine.
"Expectant parents should have a conversation about pertussis vaccine with their family and close friends BEFORE the baby is born, to allow time for them to get their pertussis vaccine up to date," Davis says.
"If parents begin to take this approach, it may have a very positive impact decreasing the number of newborns who become severely ill or die as a result of pertussis."
###
Broadcast-quality video is available on request. See the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBWS24DO6LY&feature=youtu.be
Full report: http://mottnpch.org/reports-surveys/protecting-newborns-whooping-cough
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) What You Need To Know
http://www.cdc.gov/features/pertussis/
Pertussis outreach letter
http://www2.aap.org/immunization/http://www2.aap.org/immunization/illnesses/dtp/PertussisVaccineOutreachLetter2012_3.pdfillnesses/dtp/PertussisVaccineOutreachLetter2012_3.pdf
Website: Check out the Poll's website: MottNPCH.org. You can search and browse over 70 NPCH Reports, suggest topics for future polls, share your opinion in a quick poll, and view information on popular topics. The National Poll on Children's Health team welcomes feedback,, including features you'd like to see added. To share feedback, e-mail NPCH@med.umich.edu.
Purpose/Funding: The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health based at the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan and funded by the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and the University of Michigan Health System is designed to measure major health care issues and trends for U.S. children.
Data Source: This Report presents findings from a nationally representative household survey conducted exclusively by GfK Custom Research, LLC (GfK), for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital via a method used in many published studies. The survey was administered in January 2013 to a randomly selected, stratified group of adults age 18 and older (n=2,182) from GfK's web-enabled KnowledgePanel that closely resembles the U.S. population. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect population figures from the Census Bureau. The survey completion rate was 61 percent among panel members contacted to participate. The margin of error is 1 to 4 percentage points.
Findings from the U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health do not represent the opinions of the investigators or the opinions of the University of Michigan.
[ | 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.
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in "The Heat."
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy may have never met prior to filming their upcoming buddy-cop film "The Heat," but when the two started working together, they discovered they had a lot in common -- including working-mom guilt.
As they told Parade magazine in an article that will publish this weekend, making movies while having young children at home (Bullock has a 3-year-old son; McCarthy has daughters aged 6 and 3) was hugely guilt-inducing.
"It plagues me," said McCarthy, who also stars on CBS's "Mike and Molly." "I feel intensely guilty for working. But I feel like it's a weird modern phenomenon that you always feel guilty for it."
Added Bullock, "I don't know if I feel like a bad mom, but at the end of the day I'm always plagued with, 'Did I do enough? Should I go in a different direction?' But I also know that my entire life revolves around (son) Louis."
Both expressed strong protective feelings about trying to keep their kids out of the limelight. Bullock acknowledged, "We're adults, and we're fair game. ... But I instinctively throw things over Louis's head. ... He doesn't like (paparazzi). He gives them the stink-eye and they're like, 'That's such an angry kid' but I look at them and say, 'Only when you guys are around.'"
McCarthy was more emphatic, saying kids should be off-limits for roving photographers. "Strangers shouldn't be allowed to take a picture of your child and sell it for profit," she said. "They think, 'We're putting out a product,' but you're putting out a child."
Still, these shared trials may have made for a stronger, more instant chemistry in "Heat." Noted Bullock, "Having kids connected us on a deeper level. And the things we're obsessed with outside of being a mom are the same, too -- construction and home renovation. ... We're kindred spirits in that world. If we had a beer den, with Barcaloungers -- but our version of that -- it'd be great!"
"The Heat" opens in theaters on June 28. Check out the trailer:
A lifeguard keeps watch on opening day of the newly renovated McCarren Park Pool on June 28, 2012, in? Brooklyn, New York.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. ?I think he thinks you?re drowning,? the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. ?We?re fine; what is he doing?? she asked, a little annoyed. ?We?re fine!? the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ?Move!? he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, ?Daddy!?
How did this captain know?from 50 feet away?what the father couldn?t recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that?s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, ?Daddy,? she hadn?t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn?t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.
The Instinctive Drowning Response?so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)?of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. According to the CDC, in 10 percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning?Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard?s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:
?Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
Drowning people?s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people?s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water?s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people?s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.?
This doesn?t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn?t in real trouble?they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn?t last long?but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.
Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
Head low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs?vertical
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK?don?t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don?t look like they?re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, ?Are you all right?? If they can answer at all?they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents?children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.
We installed a web-cam in the exhibition hall pointed at the CeBIT Social Media Command Centre (Click here for the infographic) to stream to the main Salesforce.com at CeBIT exhibition space, we had a few 'photobombers' - here's our top seven from the event!
"I love you SaaSy"?
"Salesforce.com Pro-Peace"?
"Oh look, a camera!"?
"Why won't someone hug SaaSy??"?
SaaSy Group Hug Love
"Too cool for school"?
"Yep, I'm wearing a kilt" - The team from the Vimily stand
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Make sure you check out the Salesforce.com at CeBIT Infographic filled with social media stats from the event.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? After their 2-year-old son died of untreated pneumonia in 2009, faith-healing advocates Herbert and Catherine Schaible promised a judge they would not let another sick child go without medical care.
But now they've lost an 8-month-old to what a prosecutor called "eerily similar" circumstances. And instead of another involuntary manslaughter charge, they're now charged with third-degree murder.
"We believe in divine healing, that Jesus shed blood for our healing and that he died on the cross to break the devil's power," Herbert Schaible, 44, told Philadelphia homicide detectives after their ninth child, Brandon, died in April. Medicine, he said, "is against our religious beliefs."
The Schaibles were ordered held without bail Friday, two days after their arrest, although defense lawyers argued that they are neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.
"He is incarcerated because of his faith," said lawyer Bobby Hoof, who described client Herbert Schaible's mindset as resolute.
"He's strong willed," Hoof said. "(Yet) he's mourning this son. He's hurting as any dad would."
The only people theoretically at risk are the couple's seven surviving children, who are now in foster care, the lawyers said.
A judge acknowledged that the couple had never missed a court date in the first case but said he worried that might change amid the more serious charges. And he feared they may have supporters who would harbor them.
"Throughout this country ... there are churches like the Schaibles' whose members and leaders probably don't think they did anything wrong and might be willing ? to paraphrase the Schaibles' pastor ? to put their interpretation of God's will above the law," Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner said.
About a dozen children die each year in the U.S. when parents turn to faith healing instead of medicine, typically from highly treatable problems, said Shawn Francis Peters, a University of Wisconsin lecturer who has studied faith-healing deaths.
In Oregon, four couples from a faith-healing church have been prosecuted, the most recent in 2011 when a couple was sentenced to more than six years in prison for manslaughter in the death of their newborn son.
The state legislature that year removed faith healing as a defense to murder charges. Members of the Followers of Christ have consistently refused to speak with journalists.
Defense lawyer Mark Cogan declined to comment Friday on whether the legal actions have changed the practice of any church members. Some testified at the 2011 trial that they do get medical care.
At the Schaibles' sentencing in February 2011 in their son Kent's death, they agreed to follow terms of the 10-year probation, which included an order to get their children regular checkups and sick visits as needed. Catherine Schaible, 43, let her husband speak for her and never addressed the judge.
"It's very clear that the law says that religious freedom is trumped by the safety of a child," Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Engel Temin explained.
But a transcript of a later probation hearing that year shows probation officers were confused by their mandate to oversee the required medical care and felt powerless to carry it out. The family was not being monitored by child-welfare workers, who are more accustomed to dealing with medical compliance.
"I think that we all on the jury thought that it would not happen again, that whatever social and legal institutions needed to be involved in their situation would just take over ... and that the mandated visits would be robust enough that they would not be able to do this again," Vincent Bertolini, a former college professor who served as jury foreman at the Schaibles' first trial, said Friday.
That jury convicted the couple of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.
Like other cases Peters has studied, the Schaibles belong to a small, insular circle of believers. Both are third-generation members and former teachers at their fundamentalist Christian church, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia.
Their pastor, Nelson Clark, has said the Schaibles lost their sons because of a "spiritual lack" in their lives and insisted they would not seek medical care even if another child appeared near death. He did not return phone messages this month, but he told The Associated Press in 2011 that his church is not a cult, and he faulted officials for trying to force his members into "the flawed medical system," which he blamed for 100,000 deaths a year.
"These are people who have been brought up in these communities; their beliefs are reinforced every day," Peters said. "They're not trained intellectually to question these doctrines, where the rest of us might engage in critical inquiry, weighing the benefits of medicine versus the benefits of prayer."
A handful of families, including one in western Pennsylvania, have lost two children after attempts at faith healing, according to Peters, who wrote "When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law."
Peters isn't sure that courts have the means to prevent the problem, since such people don't fear legal punishment, only Judgment Day. Some believe death "is a good outcome," given their belief in the afterlife, he said.
"They don't want to harm their children. They're just in this particularly narrow ? and very, very dangerous ? way misguided about the potential of medical science," he said.
He believes that "empathetic" intervention, through dialogue between church and public health educators, could help some "get to a point where they allow their beliefs and practices to evolve."
But there's a risk that could backfire, and drive these communities further underground, he said.
For the Schaibles, a third-degree murder conviction could bring seven to 14 years in prison or more.
Said Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore: "Somebody is dead now as a result of what they did ? or didn't do."
___
Associated Press writer Tim Fought in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.
May 16, 2013 ? New experiments reveal previously unseen effects, could lead to new kinds of electronics and optical devices. Graphene has dazzled scientists, ever since its discovery more than a decade ago, with its unequalled electronic properties, its strength and its light weight. But one long-sought goal has proved elusive: how to engineer into graphene a property called a band gap, which would be necessary to use the material to make transistors and other electronic devices.
Now, new findings by researchers at MIT are a major step toward making graphene with this coveted property. The work could also lead to revisions in some theoretical predictions in graphene physics.
The new technique involves placing a sheet of graphene -- a carbon-based material whose structure is just one atom thick -- on top of hexagonal boron nitride, another one-atom-thick material with similar properties. The resulting material shares graphene's amazing ability to conduct electrons, while adding the band gap necessary to form transistors and other semiconductor devices.
The work is described in a paper in the journal Science co-authored by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Mitsui Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT, Professor of Physics Ray Ashoori, and 10 others.
"By combining two materials," Jarillo-Herrero says, "we created a hybrid material that has different properties than either of the two."
Graphene is an extremely good conductor of electrons, while boron nitride is a good insulator, blocking the passage of electrons. "We made a high-quality semiconductor by putting them together," Jarillo-Herrero explains. Semiconductors, which can switch between conducting and insulating states, are the basis for all modern electronics.
To make the hybrid material work, the researchers had to align, with near perfection, the atomic lattices of the two materials, which both consist of a series of hexagons. The size of the hexagons (known as the lattice constant) in the two materials is almost the same, but not quite: Those in boron nitride are 1.8 percent larger. So while it is possible to line the hexagons up almost perfectly in one place, over a larger area the pattern goes in and out of register.
At this point, the researchers say they must rely on chance to get the angular alignment for the desired electronic properties in the resulting stack. However, the alignment turns out to be correct about one time out of 15, they say.
"The qualities of the boron nitride bleed over into the graphene," Ashoori says. But what's most "spectacular," he adds, is that the properties of the resulting semiconductor can be "tuned" by just slightly rotating one sheet relative to the other, allowing for a spectrum of materials with varied electronic characteristics.
Others have made graphene into a semiconductor by etching the sheets into narrow ribbons, Ashoori says, but such an approach substantially degrades graphene's electrical properties. By contrast, the new method appears to produce no such degradation.
The band gap created so far in the material is smaller than that needed for practical electronic devices; finding ways of increasing it will require further work, the researchers say.
"If ? a large band gap could be engineered, it could have applications in all of digital electronics," Jarillo-Herrero says. But even at its present level, he adds, this approach could be applied to some optoelectronic applications, such as photodetectors.
The results "surprised us pleasantly," Ashoori says, and will require some explanation by theorists. Because of the difference in lattice constants of the two materials, the researchers had predicted that the hybrid's properties would vary from place to place. Instead, they found a constant, and unexpectedly large, band gap across the whole surface.
In addition, Jarillo-Herrero says, the magnitude of the change in electrical properties produced by putting the two materials together "is much larger than theory predicts."
The MIT team also observed an interesting new physical phenomenon. When exposed to a magnetic field, the material exhibits fractal properties -- known as a Hofstadter butterfly energy spectrum -- that were described decades ago by theorists, but thought impossible in the real world. There is intense research in this area; two other research groups also report on these Hofstadter butterfly effects this week in the journal Nature.
The research included postdocs Ben Hunt and Andrea Young and graduate student Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi, as well as six other researchers from the University of Arizona, the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, and Tohoku University in Japan. The work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the National Science Foundation.
By Stephen Grey and Michele Kambas and Douglas Busvine
NICOSIA (Reuters) - When the Cyprus bank run began earlier this year, Russians set much of the pace. Documents seen by Reuters show that as the Mediterranean island headed towards financial meltdown in March, most notable among companies transferring money from the country's two main banks were Russians and East Europeans.
At least 3.6 billion euros ($4.67 billion) was removed in two weeks by big depositors, according to the documents. Though many companies listed initially appear obscure, a Reuters analysis shows a significant proportion are vehicles for foreign investors more at home in Moscow or Kiev than Nicosia.
The lists give an insight into the March crisis and how the tax haven, with a population of just 1.1 million, had amassed bank deposits that peaked at 72 billion euros - more than four times the island's GDP.
Prepared in April by private sector lenders Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank, and passed to lawmakers by the island's central bank, the documents list 5,323 transactions, most previously undisclosed. They detail transfers of 100,000 euros or more from Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank in the two weeks before Cyprus closed its banks on March 16 as it desperately negotiated an international rescue.
Reuters analyzed 129 companies that each transferred 5 million euros or more over the two-week period, collectively accounting for 1.9 billion euros. Of those companies, 95 could be traced.
Out of that group, 34 have links to Russia, five have links to Ukraine and two to Kazakhstan. The remainder comprise companies from Cyprus and other countries including tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Dutch Antilles. By value, more than half the transactions were made in dollars.
"This list verifies as well-founded Cyprus' reputation as an offshore economy used as a conduit for people, particularly Russians, to hold large sums of money, often to avoid paying tax and without too much scrutiny," said Michael McIntyre, professor of law and a tax expert at Wayne State University in the United States.
While the transfers appear mostly related to moving money out of Cyprus, Reuters could not establish where the funds went. It is possible some transfers were between banks within Cyprus.
Deposits that did flow out of the country had to be funded by emergency liquidity assistance from the European Central Bank, according to analysts. In effect, the ECB was paying for depositors, many of them Russian, to remove money from Cyprus before those depositors could be compelled to contribute to the international rescue of the island.
BIGGEST TRANSFER
As debts threatened to overwhelm Cyprus early this year, money began to flow out of the country in fluctuating amounts. In January 1.7 billion euros left the island and a further 900 million in February, according to Central Bank of Cyprus figures.
The run accelerated in March as Cyprus found it had few friends among international institutions suffering bail-out fatigue. Many of the biggest transfers were by firms linked to Russia.
One of the largest was listed under the name of UCP Industrial Holdings, which is recorded as moving 80.2 million euros out of the Bank of Cyprus on March 7. UCP Industrial Holdings is part of United Capital Partners, a $3.5 billion Russian investment firm led by Ilya Sherbovich, a former head of investment at Deutsche Bank Russia and now a board director of the oil giant Rosneft.
Sherbovich, whose UCP fund recently acquired a stake in VKontakte, a fast-growing social network known as the "Russian Facebook", told Reuters: "Our group has several dozen legal entities, and some of them have accounts at Bank of Cyprus, but we don't use those as primary accounts.
"Anybody serious who works on financial markets wouldn't have left any significant amounts in the Cyprus banks. Very simple reason: Look at the share price chart of the Bank of Cyprus. It went to zero many months before the freeze happened."
He could not confirm the transaction listed in the Cypriot documents and said his companies did not keep big deposits in Cyprus. A spokeswoman for UCP said the transaction "must be a mistake or incorrect information".
On March 16, the Cyprus government shut banks amid discussions over imposing losses on depositors as the price for an international rescue. On the day before, a company called Trellas Enterprises moved 2 billion roubles ($63.85 million) out of Bank of Cyprus. Trellas Enterprises is majority-owned by Maxim Nogotkov, an entrepreneur who controls Svyaznoy, one of the biggest retailers of cell phones in Russia. Nogotkov, 36, is listed by Forbes as having a net worth of $1.3 billion.
Nogotkov confirmed that he controlled his mobile phone and banking interests in Russia through Trellas, but declined to comment on the transfer recorded in the bank list.
"We never comment on financial transfers or mergers and acquisitions activity," Nogotkov said by telephone.
Asked whether he was considering restructuring his business interests in light of Cyprus' financial meltdown, Nogotkov said: "Not actively. We don't have any urgent decisions to restructure (the business)."
Another company illustrating the Russia connection is O1 Properties Limited, which moved 10.1 million euros out of Bank of Cyprus. The company is controlled by Boris Mints, a Russian politician turned businessman, and this year bought the White Square business center in Moscow for $1 billion.
In the 1990s Mints was a state official handling issues relating to property and local authorities. From 2004 until 2012 he was chairman of the board of Otkritie Financial Corporation, which describes itself as Russia's largest independent financial group by assets. He is now president of the firm.
Mints was not available for comment. A spokesman for O1 Properties said: "O1 Properties keeps an account at the Bank of Cyprus to use it for regular business activities. We didn't know that Cyprus banks (would) shut. O1 Properties suffered losses. We do not comment (on the) total loss."
EXPENSIVE WORDS
The troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund insisted on tough terms for providing billions to stop Cyprus going bust. As talks progressed, speculation began to spread that any package for Cyprus would include levying money from bank depositors - an unprecedented move that came to be known as a bail in, rather than a bail out.
The impact of what politicians and officials said - and did not say - is reflected in the pattern of fund outflows.
On March 4, depositors withdrew 261 million euros from the two banks, according to the transfer lists. Late that day, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers in the euro zone, was asked whether the rescue of Cyprus would affect bank depositors. He did not give a clear answer. The next day depositors yanked 315 million euros out of the banks.
Account holders were further unnerved on March 5 when Panicos Demetriades, the island's central bank governor, publicly acknowledged for the first time that depositors might lose some of their money. Over the next two days transfers leapt to 342 million euros and 491 million euros; the latter figure including the 80.2 million euros withdrawn by UCP Industrial Holdings.
NON-RUSSIANS
As fears of losses mounted, Russians were not the only depositors who transferred large sums of money from the tax haven's banks. There were also Cypriot companies, individuals both Cypriot and foreign, and the occasional well-known international firm.
These included Apax Partners, a private equity group based in London. A subsidiary, Apax Mauritius Holdco Ltd, moved 68.8 million euros from the Bank of Cyprus on March 8. A spokeswoman for Apax Partners confirmed that it controlled Apax Mauritius Holdco but declined to comment further.
Previous news reports have noted how the Electricity Authority of Cyprus transferred 19 million euros out of Laiki Bank just days before it was closed. The documents seen by Reuters show the authority also transferred 22 million euros out of Bank of Cyprus between March 1 and 15.
The Electricity Authority said there was nothing unusual in the transfers. "This represented payments for heavy fuel oil ... our annual fuel costs are 650 million," said Costas Gavrielides, a spokesman for the authority.
MYSTERY COMPANIES
While some readily identifiable companies appear on the lists of transfers, what is striking is the complex nature of many entries.
Glenidge Trading, which transferred 22.5 million euros out of the Bank of Cyprus, is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven often favored because of its British-based legal system and lack of transparency. Glenidge was the vehicle through which a Cypriot company called DCH Investment UA Limited acquired an interest this year in the Karavan group of shopping malls in Ukraine, according to local reports and Cypriot and Ukrainian corporate filings.
In turn DCH Investment UA Limited is controlled by one of Ukraine's richest men, Oleksander Yaroslavsky, according to corporate filings. A representative for Yaroslavsky did not respond to requests for comment about Glenidge and the Cypriot bank transfer.
Some companies that made several of the largest transfers could not be traced. They include Jarlath Limited, which moved 76 million euros, and Accent Delight International, which moved 27 million.
Also on the list is Rangeley Services Limited, which transferred 9.3 million euros from Bank of Cyprus on March 15. A company of that name is registered at an address near Leeds in Britain and owned by Jason Rangeley, who is described in company records as an agricultural contractor.
But when asked if the transfer of 9.3 million euros was anything to do with him, Jason Rangeley said: "No ... I wish it was."
Rangeley, a self-employed farmer, said he had set up his company because he had hoped to buy a few sheep. "It just never came off." He said his company is dormant. It remains unclear who owns the company involved in the Cypriot transfer. ($1 = 0.7705 euros) ($1 = 31.3252 Russian roubles)
(Stephen Grey and Michele Kambas reported from Nicosia; Douglas Busvine reported from Moscow. Additional reporting by Himanshu Ojha and Natalie Huet in London, Olga Sichkar in Moscow and Olzhas Auyezov in Kiev; Editing By Richard Woods and Simon Robinson)
While we knew Nintendo was happy to hook up its newest consoleswith smartphones, we thought that would only extend to social networking and shopping. Nope, it looks like the company is planning to go a step further, with a report from Japan Times suggesting that the games maker is offering high-level conversion software to app developers "so they can produce smartphone games that can be played on Wii U." A weak existing games library has been blamed for Nintendo's recent financial woes and the company is hoping the addition of some popular titles will offer enough of a reason to invest in a dedicated device. We just hope it's able to glean some fresh gaming gems -- the first Angry Birds title launched in 2009.
May 5, 2013 ? Parents are advised to make sure their children drink milk and eat other calcium-rich foods to build strong bones. Soon, they also may be urged to make sure their kids eat salmon, almonds and other foods high in magnesium -- another nutrient that may play an important role in bone health, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
"Lots of nutrients are key for children to have healthy bones. One of these appears to be magnesium," said lead author Steven A. Abrams MD, FAAP, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Calcium is important, but, except for those children and adolescents with very low intakes, may not be more important than magnesium."
While it is known that magnesium is important for bone health in adults, few studies have looked at whether magnesium intake and absorption are related to bone mineral content in young children. This study aimed to fill that gap.
Researchers recruited 63 healthy children ages 4 to 8 years old who were not taking any multivitamins or minerals to participate in the study. Children were hospitalized overnight twice so their calcium and magnesium levels could be measured.
Participants filled out food diaries prior to hospitalization. All foods and beverages served during their hospital stay contained the same amount of calcium and magnesium they consumed in a typical day based on the diaries. Foods and beverages were weighed before and after each meal to determine how much calcium and magnesium the subjects actually consumed. In addition, parents were given scales to weigh their child's food for three days at home after the first inpatient stay and for three days at home prior to the second inpatient stay so that dietary intake of calcium and magnesium could be calculated accurately.
While hospitalized, children's levels of calcium and magnesium were measured using a technique that involved giving them non-radioactive forms of magnesium and calcium, called stable isotopes, intravenously and orally. Urine was collected for 72 hours. By measuring the stable isotopes in the urine, the researchers could determine how much calcium and magnesium were absorbed into the body. Bone mineral content and density were measured using total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results showed that the amounts of magnesium consumed and absorbed were key predictors of how much bone children had. Dietary calcium intake, however, was not significantly associated with total bone mineral content or density.
"We believe it is important for children to have a balanced, healthy diet with good sources of minerals, including both calcium and magnesium," Dr. Abrams concluded.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Public release date: 17-Jun-2013
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A lifeguard keeps watch on opening day of the newly renovated McCarren Park Pool on June 28, 2012, in? Brooklyn, New York. 