JIA

//////////////Long–term outcome of juvenile idiopathic arthritis following a placebo–controlled trial: sustained benefits of early sulfasalazine treatment.


////////////////Ask the Expert: Psychiatric Implications of Paediatric Rheumatologic DiseaseElsevier Global Medical News




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Caught on Tape: Death Star Galaxy December 18, 2007 - 6:19pm
This composite photo provided by NASA shows A powerful jet from a supermassive black hole is blasting a nearby galaxy in the system known as 3C321, according to new results from NASA. This galactic violence, never seen before, could have a profound effect on any planets in the path of the jet and trigger a burst of star formation in the wake of its destruction. (AP Photo/NASA)
By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The latest act of senseless violence caught on tape is cosmic in scope: A black hole in a "death star galaxy" blasting a neighboring galaxy with a deadly jet of radiation and energy.
A fleet of space and ground telescopes have captured images of this cosmic violence, which people have never witnessed before, according to a new study released Monday by NASA.
"It's like a bully, a black-hole bully punching the nose of a passing galaxy," said astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, who wasn't involved in the research.
But ultimately, this could be a deadly punch.
The telescope images show the bully galaxy shooting a stream of deadly radiation particles into the lower section of the other galaxy, which is about one-tenth its size. Both are about 8.2 billion trillion miles from here, orbiting around each other.
The larger galaxy has a multi-digit name but is called the "death star galaxy" by one of the researchers who discovered the galactic bullying, Daniel Evans of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Tens of millions of stars, including those with orbiting planets, are likely in the path of the deadly jet, said study co-author Martin Hardcastle of the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
If Earth were in the way _ and it's not _ the high-energy particles and radiation of the jet would in a matter of months strip away the planet's protective ozone layer and compress the protective magnetosphere, said Evans. That would then allow the sun and the jet itself to bombard the planet with high-energy particles.
And what would that do life on the planet?
"Decompose it," Tyson said.
"Sterilize it," Evans piped in.
The jet attack is relatively new, in deep space time. Hardcastle estimates it's no more than 1 million years old and can stretch on for another 10 to 100 million years.
"A truly extraordinary act of violence," Evans said. "The jet violently slams into that lower half of the neighboring galaxy after which the jet dramatically twists and bends."
The good news is that eventually an area of hot gas that gets hit and compressed by this mysterious jet _ astronomers are still baffled by what's in it and how it works _ over millions and billions of years can form stars, Tyson said.
NASA, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in United States and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom used ground optical and radio telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope to get an image of the violence on various wavelengths, including invisible ones. The results will be published in The Astrophysical Journal next year.
The two galaxies are only 24,000 light-years apart and are in a slow merging process. The jet has already traveled 1 million light-years. A light-year is about 5.88 trillion miles.
Tyson said there are two main lessons to be learned from what the telescopes have found:
"This is a reminder that you are not alone in the universe. You are not isolated. You are not an island."
And "avoid black holes when you can."
___
On the Net
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: http://chandra.nasa.gov/ (Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The latest act of senseless violence caught on tape is cosmic in scope: A black hole in a "death star galaxy" blasting a neighboring galaxy with a deadly jet of radiation and energy.
A fleet of space and ground telescopes have captured images of this cosmic violence, which people have never witnessed before, according to a new study released Monday by NASA.
"It's like a bully, a black-hole bully punching the nose of a passing galaxy," said astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, who wasn't involved in the research.
But ultimately, this could be a deadly punch.
The telescope images show the bully galaxy shooting a stream of deadly radiation particles into the lower section of the other galaxy, which is about one-tenth its size. Both are about 8.2 billion trillion miles from here, orbiting around each other.
The larger galaxy has a multi-digit name but is called the "death star galaxy" by one of the researchers who discovered the galactic bullying, Daniel Evans of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Tens of millions of stars, including those with orbiting planets, are likely in the path of the deadly jet, said study co-author Martin Hardcastle of the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom.
If Earth were in the way _ and it's not _ the high-energy particles and radiation of the jet would in a matter of months strip away the planet's protective ozone layer and compress the protective magnetosphere, said Evans. That would then allow the sun and the jet itself to bombard the planet with high-energy particles.
And what would that do life on the planet?
"Decompose it," Tyson said.
"Sterilize it," Evans piped in.
The jet attack is relatively new, in deep space time. Hardcastle estimates it's no more than 1 million years old and can stretch on for another 10 to 100 million years.
"A truly extraordinary act of violence," Evans said. "The jet violently slams into that lower half of the neighboring galaxy after which the jet dramatically twists and bends."
The good news is that eventually an area of hot gas that gets hit and compressed by this mysterious jet _ astronomers are still baffled by what's in it and how it works _ over millions and billions of years can form stars, Tyson said.
NASA, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in United States and the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom used ground optical and radio telescopes, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope to get an image of the violence on various wavelengths, including invisible ones. The results will be published in The Astrophysical Journal next year.
The two galaxies are only 24,000 light-years apart and are in a slow merging process. The jet has already traveled 1 million light-years. A light-year is about 5.88 trillion miles.
Tyson said there are two main lessons to be learned from what the telescopes have found:
"This is a reminder that you are not alone in the universe. You are not isolated. You are not an island."
And "avoid black holes when you can."
___


///////////////////////////////////Most expensive paintings (sale prices expressed in dollars and adjusted for inflation):
No. 5, 1948, Jackson Pollock: $142.7 million (2006)
Woman III, Willem de Kooning: $140.2 million (2006)
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, Gustav Klimt: $137.6 million (2006)
Portrait of Dr. Gachet, Vincent van Gogh: $129.7 million (1990)
Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre, Pierre-Auguste Renoir: $122.8 million (1990)
Garçon à la pipe, Pablo Picasso: $113.4 million (2004)
Irises, Vincent van Gogh: $97.5 million (1987)
Dora Maar au Chat, Pablo Picasso: $97.0 million (2006)
Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe, Vincent van Gogh: $90.1 million (1998)
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, Gustav Klimt: $89.1 million (2006)
Japanese industrialist Ryoei Saito bought both #4 and #5 in 1990 and then announced he would have them burned during his cremation. Perhaps fortunately, he later ran into financial difficulties and was forced to sell them.


////////////////////////////////fc-Rejoinder
Does any English word contain all six vowels?
Unquestionably.

///////////////////5 Emergency Tips to Avert Diet Disaster
by J. M. Graham ("Crabby McSlacker")
Say you've recently resolved to lose weight and eat healthier, and you've been doing a great job. You've been eating the right foods in reasonable portions, and when you have an occasional treat, it's small and it's part of your overall plan.
But then one day your friends drag you to a fast food restaurant, and instead of choosing the grilled chicken salad like you were going to... somehow you end up ordering a double cheeseburger and fries like everyone else. Or you're at home and you find your spouse's stash of Oreos and you're pretty sure you could eat the entire bag...
Is this the beginning of the end of your weight loss resolution?
It doesn't have to be. The worst problem with going "off" a diet or healthy eating plan is not the few extra calories of a single indulgence--it's the sense of failure that can make you feel like giving up entirely. When faced with overwhelming temptation, here are some simple suggestions to keep you on track.
Abort!We have a natural tendency to want to finish what we've started, even when what we've started is incredibly stupid. If you can "snap out of it," just stop in your tracks. What if you've already ordered the cheeseburger? You could give it to a friend or even throw it away. It might feel weird, but the extra money you spend on the second "right" choice will be worth it for the feeling of accomplishment in sticking to your plans.
CompromiseSo let's say you can't make yourself abort, and you really are seriously bent on having that burger or those cookies. Then it's time to abandon the "all or nothing" thinking that makes it seem just as bad to have half a burger as it is to have two of them, or to have four Oreos versus forty.
Throw part of the cheeseburger or other offending item away. Or share it with someone. Take three or four Oreos and enjoy them but before you do, put the rest of them out in the garage or in the mailbox or somewhere inconvenient.
Perform food surgery: scrape off sauces and mayo, peel fried skin off chicken, take the white bread or bun off a burger or sandwich, even scrape the filling out of an Oreo. (Though this renders the whole Oreo pointless and is not advised unless you really like the chocolate part best).
CompensateAnother way to regain control is to take what seems to be a screw-up and make it less of a big deal to your overall goals. Walk an extra mile or two; skip the potato you were going to have for dinner and eat more broccoli instead. It will help you feel "back on track" and in control again.
Don't Indulge in GuiltGuilt feels so miserable it's hard to recognize it as an indulgence, but it is. It plays into perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking. Everyone slips up. Beating yourself up over it can be an unconscious way to get yourself off the hook. "I'm a failure, I got off track, so there's no use trying." Look forward, not back, and take the energy you'd waste on remorse to plan better for next time.
Learn from your slip-upsRather than stew about it, ask some questions: What set you off? Were you too hungry? Did you not have enough healthy snacks around? What helped you regain control and how can you remember to do that again next time?
Does anyone else struggle with unplanned temptations? What helps you avoid overindulgence or get yourself back on track when you slip?




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