Labor in tub OK but water births unproven

WASHINGTON — Sitting in a tub of warm water can relieve a mom-to-be's pain during the early stages of labor, but actually giving birth under water has no proven benefit and may be risky, say recommendations for the nation's obstetricians.

There's no count of how many babies in the U.S. are delivered in water, but it is increasingly common for hospitals to offer birthing pools or tubs to help pregnant women relax during labor.

In a report released Thursday, a distinction is made between the two uses, saying that early on immersion may be helpful, as long as some basic precautions are taken.

But there has been little scientific study of underwater delivery, along with a handful of reports over the past decade or so of near-drownings and other risks to the infant, said the joint opinion from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Although complications appear to be rare, the report urges that underwater deliveries be performed only in research studies to settle the questions.

"Laboring in water is not the same as delivering under water," said co-author Dr. Jeffrey Ecker of Harvard University, adding that he's cared for numerous women comforted by immersion during labor.
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As for delivery, "We want people to do more research," added ACOG committee member Dr. Aaron Caughey of Oregon Health & Science University.

In fact, midwives at Caughey's hospital perform several dozen underwater deliveries a year and are collecting data on how mothers and babies fare, said Cathy Emeis, a certified nurse-midwife at the Oregon university. She cautioned that the numbers are small but so far don't show increased risks.

Pregnant women interested in a water birth at the Oregon facility are required to take a special class and sign a consent form, Emeis said.

"We always acknowledge to our patients that there is not a lot of high-quality evidence that shows there's a benefit to birthing under water," she said.

Thursday's recommendations aren't binding. Birthing in warm water, which proponents say simulates the uterine environment, has been an option for several decades, although more women use it for early labor than delivery, said Tina Johnson of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

"I don't know that this statement will necessarily change women's desire for that option," said Johnson, whose organization is drafting its own guidelines.

The report recommends that hospitals or birth centers choose low-risk candidates for immersion during labor, keep tubs clean, monitor women appropriately and be able to move them out of the water quickly if a problem occurs.

It says potential risks of underwater delivery include infection, difficulty regulating the baby's body temperature and respiratory distress if the baby inhales water.

source: philstar.com

Google co-founder Larry Page says US online spying threatens democracy

VANCOUVER, March 20, 2014 (AFP) – Google co-founder Larry Page on Wednesday condemned US government snooping on the Internet as a threat to democracy.

His comments came during an on-stage chat at a prestigious Technology Entertainment Design gathering, where a day earlier fellow Google founder Sergey Brin had a virtual encounter with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

A photo of Brin smiling with a robot remotely controlled by Snowden from a refuge in Russia, where the wanted man is in hiding, was tweeted by TED curator Chris Anderson and became an instant online hit.


“It is tremendously disappointing that the government sort of secretly did all this stuff and didn’t tell us,” Page said.

He reasoned that details of suspected terrorist threats should remain cloaked but that the parameters of what US intelligence agents do, along with how and why they do it, should be public.

“We need to have a debate about that or we can’t have a functioning democracy; it is just not possible,” Page said.

“It is sad that Google is in the position of protecting you and our users from the government doing secret things nobody knows about; it doesn’t make any sense.”

Spying backlash peril

As smartphones and sensors synched to the Internet obtain and share increasing amounts of data about where people are and what they are doing, Page said it was critical for people to be given choices of how it is used.

He was concerned, though, that privacy fears and a backlash to online spying would result in blocking uses of personal information for beneficial purposes.

He noted how shared medical information, on an aggregate scale and made anonymous, could help researchers develop treatments and patients select doctors or map medical care.

“We are not really thinking about the tremendous good that can come from people sharing the right information with the right people in the right ways,” Page said.

Page gave the example of going public with details of trouble with his voice.

“On your show, I kind of lost my voice and I haven’t gotten it back,” Page joked with Rose.

“I am hoping that by talking to you I am going to get it back. Get out your Voodoo doll and do whatever you need to do.”

Web bill of rights

Earlier in the day, on the same TED stage, the father of the World Wide Web urged those in the conference’s influential and innovative community to fight to keep life on the Internet free and open.

Tim Berners-Lee rallied support for creating a bill of rights for the Internet this year in the wake of revelations about extensive government surveillance.

Berners-Lee launched his Web We Want campaign last week as the Web turned 25 years old.

He has repeatedly called for fewer controls on the Web, and has praised Snowden for revealing details of how the US government collects masses of online data.

Berners-Lee conceived the Web 25 years ago in his spare time at Geneva-based CERN, Europe’s top particle physics lab.

“I want to use this anniversary to think about what kind of Web we want,” Berners-Lee said, referring ideas to a Webat25.org website.

NSA to respond

Former intelligence contractor Snowden emerged from his Russian exile Tuesday in the form of a remotely-controlled robot to promise more sensational revelations about US spying programs.

The fugitive’s face appeared on a screen as he maneuvered a wheeled android around the TED gathering, addressing an audience in Vancouver without ever leaving his hideaway.

“There are absolutely more revelations to come,” he said. “Some of the most important reporting to be done is yet to come.”

Snowden used the conference to launch a global call to fight for privacy and Internet freedom.

He endorsed Berners-Lee’s quest for a global Magna Carta laying out values and rights on the Internet.

Berners-Lee briefly joined Snowden’s interview with TED curator Chris Anderson, and put the leaker in the hero camp.

National Security Agency Deputy Director Rick Ledgett will appear at the TED gathering early Thursday via video link as a counterpoint to Snowden’s talk, according to Anderson.

source: interaksyon.com

Cheaper iPhone 5C raises doubts, guess

BEIJING — A cheaper, smaller version of the iPhone 5C smart-phone was unveiled by Apple Tuesday, but with raised doubts and guess among consumers and experts.

This 8 GB edition of former iPhone 5C, only available in the UK, France, Germany, Australia and China, aims to boost consumers’ interest and bring the fourth-generation iPad back from the dead.

However, 8 GB of storage is not enough any more, as some iPhone fans pointed out. Because higher quality photos and high definition movies would take up a huge space, and consumers prefer a 32G or even 64G for more storage.



This “cut-price” version of iPhone 5C signaled Apple’s ambitions and appeal shift to wider, more emerging markets, as expert said, which is also a possible move to take on Samsung.

source: interaksyon.com

Singer Chris Brown to remain in jail until probation hearing

LOS ANGELES | R&B singer Chris Brown on Monday was ordered by a Los Angeles judge to remain in jail at least until his April 23 probation violation hearing, related to his 2009 assault of his then-girlfriend, the singer Rihanna.

Brown, 24, was arrested last Friday when he was dismissed from a rehabilitation facility, triggering a violation of the singer’s court-ordered treatment. He had spent the weekend at Los Angeles County’s aging Men’s Central Jail.

Brown was dismissed from the rehab center on Friday for violating four in-house rules, including inappropriately touching a female client on the elbow. Brown also said to a group, “I am good at using guns and knives,” which Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Brandlin said was troubling.

“I have concerns about his inability to stay out of trouble,” Brandlin said before ordering Brown held without bail.

Brown, dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs as his mother Joyce Hawkins sobbed.

Brown’s jailing is another mark on a growing rap sheet for the singer, whose music has so far been able to maintain wide popularity despite a poor image that has included his beating of Rihanna and several altercations.

The singer, who also faces a misdemeanor assault case in Washington, D.C., had been in the Malibu, California, rehabilitation center for anger management.

Brandlin had sentenced Brown to 90 days in the treatment program in November following his assault arrest where he allegedly punched and broke the nose of a man who was trying to get a picture with him.

The “Turn Up the Music” singer was ordered last month to stay in the treatment program until his April 17 trial in Washington.

In 2009, Brown was sentenced to five years probation, community labor and domestic violence counseling after assaulting Rihanna, who was then his girlfriend, on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

source: interaksyon.com

Fishermen saw plane crash around Malacca Straits

LANGKAT, North Sumatra -- A group of fishermen in North Sumatra provincial sub-district of Pangkalan Susu claims to have seen an air plane crash around the Malacca Straits.

"We saw an airplane crash around the Malacca Straits," one of the fishermen, identified as Hendra, said here on Monday.

Hendra, along with several fishermen, said they went to the sea on Sunday, March 8, for a week of fishing.

Around 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, the fishermen saw a white plane crossing and circling.

Then, the ill-fated plane showed smoke coming from the right rear portion when it circled for a second round and tilted to the left.

A moment later, the plane, flying lower, fell from sight.

"We suspect the plane crashed into the sea," he said.

"We could not go to the location where the aircraft was lost due to large waves, and the boat did not have enough fuel," the fisherman said.

The location of the aircraft is believed to be in Idi waters, in Aceh provincial district of East Aceh.

source: interaksyon.com

Kate Winslet honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

LOS ANGELES | Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet was honored with a star on the storied Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday — hours after an earthquake jolted Tinseltown awake.

The “Titanic” star joked that the pre-dawn 4.4 magnitude quake, which was felt strongly across the Los Angeles area, occurred just as she was getting ready with a breast pump for her three-month old son.

“I had no idea that this was going to be such a well attended event,” she said, referring to the quake as she accepted the honor on Hollywood Boulevard, noting that the shaker “frightened me quite a lot actually.”

The 38-year-old Brit said she headed for a nearby doorway, said to be a safe place in the event of a quake, “with my breast pump in my hand”.

Winslet had a baby boy in December with new husband Ned RocknRoll. She already has a daughter, Mia Honey, with first husband Jim Threapleton and a son, Joe Alfie, with Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes.

Winslet has been nominated six times for Oscars, including for her role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 1998′s “Titanic,” finally winning in 2009 for playing a Nazi concentration camp guard in “The Reader.”

At Monday’s Hollywood ceremony, local councillor Mitch O’Farrell also quipped about the quake, saying: “The ground in Los Angeles literally shook in anticipation of Kate Winslet’s star today.

The British actress’s “Titanic” cast-mate Kathy Bates meanwhile made a more earthy joke, about the famous stars which honor generations of celebrities along a stretch of tourist-thronged Hollywood sidewalk.

“You deserve to have stars strewn at your feet,” she said.

“Even though stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame sometimes get a little dirty with a little poo or whatever, what will last is your wonderful beautiful films, characters that you’ve played that have stolen our hearts.

“Nobody can ever poo on those.”

source: interaksyon.com

High-tech goods to lead trade growth over next 15 years -- HSBC

WASHINGTON - Exports of high-tech products will grow more quickly than exports of other goods over the next 15 years as emerging Asia moves away from being a low-cost production hub for foreign brands and toward developing value-added local products, according to research from HSBC.

High-tech goods would make up more than 25 percent of goods traded by 2030 compared to 22 percent in 2013, HSBC said in its latest global trade report, which forecast trade would pick up only slowly in the near term.

The value of global goods trade would rise at an average rate of 8 percent a year from 2014 to 2030, with high-tech goods rising about 9 percent a year, HSBC said. Mineral fuels would rise 5 percent a year and raw materials about 6 percent.

World Trade Organization data show fuels and mining products were the fastest-growing export category between 2009 and 2012, followed by agricultural products. Exports of office and communications equipment rose 27 pct over the period.

HSBC said much of the future increase in high-tech trade would be driven by internationalization of supply chains, with parts for high-tech products crisscrossing national borders, but Asian firms would also snare market share from Western competitors.

HSBC forecast that by 2030, China would account for more than half the global trade in high-tech goods. Hong Kong and the United States would remain in second and third place, although with a lower market share, and Korea would displace Singapore as the fourth-biggest exporter of high-tech goods.

China, home of the world's third-biggest smartphone manufacturer, Huawei Technologies, and the biggest PC maker, Lenovo Group, is already ramping up spending on research and development, as is Malaysia.

"These two economies may have depended on foreign investment to fuel their early growth in high-tech exports, but they are now increasing their technological know-how and moving up the value chain to develop high-tech products of their own," HSBC said in the report, based on forecasts from Oxford Economics.

China, India and Indonesia are among 10 countries on a U.S. "watch" list for failing to protect U.S. companies' intellectual property rights, for example through lax rules against trade secret theft or poor patent protection.

The United States and European Union are also pushing China to resume talks on expanding a list of high-tech products covered by a 16-year-old pact that eliminated duties on products including personal computers, laptops and telephones.

The HSBC report showed China accounted for 36.5 percent of high-tech goods exports in 2013, followed by Hong Kong at 13 percent. The United States was in third place at 9.6 percent. In 2000, the United States was the world's biggest tech exporter with a market share of 29.2 percent.

HSBC said Asian countries also logged a high share of high-tech imports, as did the United States.

"This internationalization of supply chains explains why the United States - the designer of devices such as the iPhone and a country with an evident comparative advantage in the high-tech sector - operates a trade deficit in these goods," HSBC said.

"The outsourcing of production of high-tech goods by U.S. companies to serve the large domestic consumer market for these goods means that U.S. companies import a large quantity of assembled products that they have designed themselves."

The data highlight why the United States and other trading partners such as Japan, Canada and Korea are keen to restart talks on the WTO's Information Technology Agreement, or ITA, which reached an impasse in November.

China has said cutting all tariffs to zero would be unfair and wants some products excluded and others to have a long phase-in period, saying the pact has to take into account differing levels of development.

Michael Punke, U.S. ambassador to the WTO, on Monday urged China, as this year's chair of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation trade group, to take up calls to conclude an expanded ITA by the next regional trade ministers' meeting in May.

"We think this is a doable goal and we encourage China, as host country, to exercise leadership in helping to achieve this," he said in a statement.

The U.S. administration estimates expanding the ITA to drop duties on additional technology products could liberalize roughly $1 trillion in global IT and communications trade and increase annual global economic output by $190 billion.

The WTO has forecast global goods trade growth of 4.5 percent in 2014, below the average rate of 5.4 percent recorded from 1982 to 2012.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft’s CEO may unveil Office for iPad on March 27: source

Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Satya Nadella may unveil an iPad version of the company’s Office software suite on March 27, a source familiar with the event told Reuters, and use his first big press appearance to launch the company’s most profitable product in a version compatible with Apple Inc’s popular tablet.

Nadella, who replaced longtime CEO Steve Ballmer earlier this year, will address the media and industry executives in San Francisco on March 27.

Investors for years have urged Microsoft to adapt Office for mobile devices from Apple and Google Inc, rather than shackling it to Windows as PC sales decline. But the Redmond, Washington-based software giant has been reluctant to undermine its other lucrative franchise, its PC operating software.

Microsoft gives up some $2.5 billion a year in revenue by keeping Office off the iPad, which has now sold almost 200 million units, analysts estimate.

Tech blog Re/code first reported news of Nadella’s event. Microsoft said in an invitation to reporters that Nadella will discuss “news related to the intersection of cloud and mobile” but declined to comment on the specifics of the CEO’s appearance.

Microsoft has had iPad and iPhone versions of Office primed for several months now, sources told Reuters, but the company has dallied on their release due to internal divisions, among other things.

Although Nadella is expected to discuss his thinking in depth next week, the company has already signaled that it will adopt a more liberal attitude toward putting its software on different platforms.

Microsoft said earlier on Monday that it would make OneNote, its note-taking software, available on Mac, a move interpreted by observers as a shot against Evernote, the popular note-taking application that has both Mac and Android compatibility.

Aside from Evernote, Microsoft also faces budding challenges from startups that have released mobile-friendly alternatives to Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

source: interaksyon.com

Facebook rolls out video ads, aims to capture part of TV-marketing budgets

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc will allow more marketers to run video advertisements on its website, provided the world’s No.1 social network deem them to be of high-enough quality.

Facebook and social media rivals like Twitter are increasingly trying to grab a slice of lucrative TV-marketing budgets as they try to sustain rapid growth. That market is considered crucial to supporting Facebook’s growing market valuation and poses a potential long-term threat to traditional TV networks.

Facebook has moved cautiously to avoid annoying users. Social media players like Twitter are typically careful not to clutter up their users’ pages with unwanted material.

The 15-second video ads, which appear in newsfeeds and will play automatically with sound muted, will become available to a limited number of marketers over the next few months, Facebook said on its official blog on Thursday.

It first tested video ads with a single advertiser in December. Facebook said Thursday that video ads will be available to a “a select group of advertisers,” without details.

The price that marketers pay to run a video ad on Facebook will be determined by the size of the audience as measured by measurement firm Nielsen, Facebook added. Marketers will be able to choose specific times of day for their spots and will be able to target ads according to age and gender.

However, Facebook said it would review the creative quality of any video spots that appear on its website, assessing ads for criteria such as watchability, meaningfulness and “emotional resonance.” Such reviews will be done in partnership with video analytics firm Ace Metrix.

“We’re taking this step in order to maintain high-quality ads on Facebook and to help advertisers understand what’s working to maximize their return on investment,” Facebook said in the post.

source: interaksyon.com

Obamacare covers married gay couples under family plan

WASHINGTON -- Married gay couples will be eligible for a family health policy under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, beginning in 2015, the US government said on Friday, encouraging insurers to begin offering coverage this year.

The Department of Health and Human Services also announced it would extend for one month a temporary program that offers insurance to some of the sickest Americans, who have had trouble finding private plans in new health insurance marketplaces set up in all 50 states under Obamacare.

Friday's announcements add to the series of delays and modifications the administration has made to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, since the law was enacted in 2010 and formally launched last October.

Obamacare's six-month enrollment period ends March 31. And with volume expected to surge in the final two weeks, officials say the website HealthCare.gov continues to operate smoothly after technical problems in October and November paralyzed the portal for consumers in 36 states.

The remaining 14 states run their own markets.

About 4.2 million people have enrolled in private Obamacare health plans so far, and millions more have been found eligible for the Medicaid program for the poor, according to the administration.

It continues, however, to wrestle with complicated and controversial issues related to the law.

In its decision on gay couples, HHS exercised federal authority to prevent discriminatory insurance market practices on an issue that has been caught up in state marriage laws.

The move follows a February lawsuit filed by an Ohio gay couple, who were unable to obtain family coverage under Obamacare, they said, because their state does not recognize same-sex marriage.

The gay community is a key constituency for Democrats, who are facing a Republican onslaught over Obamacare in this year's midterm elections for control of Congress.

"If an insurance company offers coverage to opposite-sex spouses, it cannot choose to deny that coverage to same-sex spouses," Dr. Matthew Heinz, who heads HHS outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual communities, said in a posting to a government website.

"In other words, insurance companies will not be permitted to discriminate against married same-sex couples when offering coverage. This will further enhance access to health care for all Americans, including those with same-sex spouses."

A formal clarification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lead Obamacare agency within HHS, said the administration is encouraging insurers to voluntarily implement the non-discrimination policy for the 2014 coverage year under the Public Health Service Act.

Compliance will be required starting in 2015.

"We expect issuers to come into full compliance with the regulations as clarified in this guidance no later than for plan or policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2015," CMS said.

"We also expect states to begin enforcing the regulations in accordance with this clarification no later than for plan or policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2015," it said.

Administration officials said the gay marriage decision and extension of the program for people with pre-existing conditions, known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, were both intended to help Americans transition to the new healthcare era established by Obamacare.

The law requires most Americans to pay a penalty unless they are enrolled in insurance coverage by March 31, which is also when the PCIP program was set to expire.

Patient advocates welcomed the move, saying people with cancer, multiple sclerosis or other serious disorders need time to find insurance plans that meet complicated healthcare needs.

"We encourage patients in PCIP to look at other insurance options, including the health insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov, as soon as possible so they are assured of coverage beyond the short term," the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said in a statement.

The extension came a day after US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmakers in Congress that the enrollment deadline would not be delayed.

Administration officials said the PCIP program was being extended through April 30, under congressional authorization that has already allowed for two other extensions. PCIP was originally intended to expire at the end of 2013, but was extended first through January and later through March.

source: interaksyon.com