NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Univision's midseason lineup includes a new weight loss show, "Dale con Ganas," co-produced by the creator of the "Biggest Loser," as well as "El Gran Show de los Peques," a new variety show showcasing childrens' talents.
The Spanish-language network, which aims to beat the English-language broadcasters in total viewers within the next five years, often tops at least one of them in the nightly ratings.
The network is also bringing back the reality/beauty show "Nuestra Belleza Latina"for a sixth season, beginning March 4. Next year will also mark the 50th anniversary of the returning Saturday night show "Sabado Gigante," hosted by Don Francisco.
Updated at 5:45 a.m. ET: Judges decide WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal??to the U.K.'s Supreme Court against lower court rulings that he should be extradited to Sweden over allegations of rape and molestation, The Associated Press reports.
Published at 4:20 a.m. ET: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to ask British judges Monday to let him continue his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations.
Assange will ask high court judges to let him take his case to Britain's Supreme Court. If they refuse the request, he could be extradited to Stockholm within 10 days.
The 40-year-old Australian behind the anti-secrecy website has spent almost a year on bail in Britain fighting extradition for questioning over claims of rape and molestation made by two Swedish women. Assange, who has been living in Britain since his arrest here in December last year, denies wrongdoing.
Two courts have ruled against him so far.
For his case to be considered by Britain's Supreme Court, Assange's lawyers must persuade two High Court judges that it raises a question of "general public importance."
Assange spent nine days in London's Wandsworth prison after his arrest last year. He was freed a week before Christmas on bail and has since been living at the country house of a wealthy supporter in eastern England.
His arrest came shortly after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables that included unflattering views of world leaders and candid assessments of security threats.
Assange says the allegations are politically motivated.
The application to take the case to?the Supreme Court rests on two legal questions: Is the warrant for Assange's arrest valid, and can he be considered an "accused" person as required under extradition laws when no decision has been taken over whether he will be prosecuted.
If his appeal fails, Assange could still take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, further prolonging his stay in Britain.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
NASA Space Flight is reporting that Boeing made a presentation at the latest Global Exploration Workshop of a plan to return Americans to the moon by 2022, 50 years after the last astronauts walked on the moon.
The Boeing plan, which uses a "way station" located at the L1 point where the gravities of the Earth and moon cancel one another out as well as a reusable lunar lander is the first detailed approach to a return to the moon.
What would the way station look like?
The way station would be constructed at the International Space Station, using the remote manipulator arm. It would consist of a "Node4/DHS (Docking Hub System), an orbiter external air lock, a MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module) habitat module, and an international module." The various modules would be launched to the ISS with commercial rockets such as the Atlas V. Once assembled, a "space tug" would convey the way station to the L1 point.
How would the reusable lunar lander work?
A Space Launch System Heavy Lift launcher would deliver a fuel depot to the way station. Then a second SLS would deliver an Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle and a reusable lunar lander. The lunar lander would take on fuel at the depot and then proceed on to the moon with the crew delivered by the Orion. The crew would conduct lunar surface operations, then return to the way station, transfer to the Orion, and return to Earth. Commercial launchers would top off the fuel depot as needed for subsequent lunar missions.
There is also a secondary plan that involves deploying the reusable lunar lander at the way station while it is built at the ISS. The SLS would launch an Orion MPCV and a Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS) to the way station. The DCSS would transfer fuel to the lander and then would boost it to the moon. As in the first scenario, the crew conducts lunar surface operations, then returns to the way station, transfers to the Orion, and returns to Earth.
The advantage of the second scenario over the first is that the long term storage of fuel is not necessary. The problem of preventing "boil off" of cryogenic fuel is one that would have to be solved before long term, space based depots become practicable.
What are the advantages of the Boeing plan?
Billions of dollars would be saved with a reusable lunar and one launch of an SLS per lunar mission. The way station could also be used as a base for running tele-operated robots on the lunar surface and deploying lunar surface infrastructure such as habitats.
What are some show stoppers?
The official plan, as articulated by President Obama, is still to bypass the moon and go to an Earth approaching asteroid. Also some analysts, such as Clark Lindsey, claim that there will be no money available for a way station and a reusable lunar lander and a heavy lift Space Launch System. But Lindsey's prediction of what the fiscal and political situation of 2018-2022 when this hardware would be developed and deployed remains idle conjecture, projecting the current situation into the future without changes that might be brought about by an election of a new administration.
Mark R. Whittington is the author ofChildren of ApolloandThe Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the LA Times, and The Weekly Standard.
A panel of six judges has redrawn the state's 34 Senate districts and 163 House districts. The Missouri Appellate Apportionment Commission released a statement and a map of the state with the completely redrawn districts.
Here is a look at the commission's work.
* Each district is supposed to have nearly the same population. From the greatest population to the smallest, there is a deviation of 7.46 percent in Senate districts and 7.8 percent in House districts.
* Candidates for office can start filing Feb. 28, 2012, in the new districts. Some races will have two incumbent office holders will be running against each other.
* Many districts gained population while others shrank. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports six judges were appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court after a bipartisan commission appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon failed to come up with a compromise for the new districts.
* Boundaries must be redrawn every 10 years because of the U.S. Census. The Missouri Constitution mandates districts must be redone to show population shifts.
* Four of the new Senate districts have African American majorities. Sixteen of the House districts are also apportioned this way.
* Two House districts were formed in areas where other racial minorities combine with African Americans to form a majority.
* Republicans and Democrats couldn't agree on a map. The commission took ideas from the General Assembly's map as well as coming up with ideas on their own.
* The first primary election for the new districts will be Aug. 7, 2012. Candidates have until March 27, 2012 to file their intentions to run for office.
* KOLR television in Springfield, Mo., reports even though the map was drawn by judges, citizens may still file lawsuits challenging the new districts. When districts were drawn after the 2000 election, a panel of six judges had to step in when both parties could not agree on a new apportionment.
* New districts often overlap into old ones. Others may have gotten bigger while others shrank. Legislators can run for office based upon the districts in which they live. When lines are redrawn, sometimes office holders have no choice but run against a fellow incumbent. Others may have completely new names running to represent their district in Jefferson City.
* To run for a House seat, you must be at least 24 years old, a qualified voter in Missouri for two years and you must have lived in the district you represent for one year.
* To qualify for a Senate position, you must be at least 30 years old and a qualified voter in Missouri for three years. Residency requirements are the same in the Senate districts as they are in the House--you have to live in your district for a year.
William Browning, a lifelong Missouri resident, writes about local and state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Born in St. Louis, Browning earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Branson.
How do Jenny McCarthy and Julie Benz let out their inner fighters? At a boxing match, of course. The two hot blondes were spotted ringside at the Los Angeles Matadors World Series of Boxing a few weekends ago.
The latest sporting craze to hit Hollywood even drew in Audrina Patridge, along with her beau Corey Bohan. The on-again/off-again couple sipped drinks and canoodled during the match. Dancing With the Stars? Cheryl Burke was hanging out with Jenny, who tweeted from the event, ?If you are a man and live in LA and don't come to a @LAmatadors fight you are a vagina.? Who knew all these Hollywood ladies were into such a rough sport! If you want to catch the latest celebrity fad (or just see some hot boxing action), there?s another show December 4, featuring the Los Angeles Matadors vs. Moscow Dynamo. Check out the website for more information.
Transplant candidates seek best quality livers, even if it means waiting longerPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Masson mfmasson@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System
U-M researcher finds patients would rather be on waiting list than accept an organ with higher risk of failure
Liver transplantation candidates want to be involved in decisions regarding quality of the donor organ, and many are reluctant to accept organs with a higher risk of failure, according to research by U-M physicians and experts.
More than 42 percent of patients would choose to remain on the waiting list rather than accept a "lower quality" liver according to the study's lead author Michael L. Volk, M.D., M.S., assistant professor in U-M's Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology.
Research from Volk and his colleagues will appear in the December issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
As of November 30, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) reports that 16,124 candidates are on the waiting list to receive a liver, with only 5,375 deceased donor organs recovered through August. Additionally, there is a large variation in quality of deceased donor livers, which is based on donor characteristics such as age, cause of death, and ischemia time. Previous research has shown that donor characteristics can make the difference between a 20 to 40 percent risk of graft failure by three years following transplantation.
"Organ quality is an important issue for all liver transplant candidates, increasingly so, given the aging donor pool and more frequent use of organs that carry a higher risk of failure," says Volk, who is a hepatology specialist.
"The decision to accept or pass on an organ could mean the difference between life and death for patients with end-stage liver disease. Communication of the risks versus benefits of accepting a 'lower quality' organ is critical, and understanding patient views on the subject is essential for physicians caring for transplant candidates."
For the current study, researchers tested presentation formats for communicating organ quality risks to patients, and factors that might influence patients' willingness to accept higher-risk organs. First, the team conducted interviews with ten patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation to determine their knowledge of organ quality and preferences for accepting organs with greater risk of failure. Based on qualitative information obtained from interviews, the team created a web-based survey which 95 candidates completed.
The findings show that patients are reluctant to accept higher-risk organs. Of those completing the survey, 58 percent would only accept organs with a 25 percent (or less) risk of graft failure and 18 percent would only accept the lowest possible risk of 19 percent at three years following transplantation.
Women were slightly more accepting of high-risk organs than men. Researchers found that risk tolerance was increased by presenting organ quality as "average quality" rather than "best quality," and by providing feedback about the implications of these preferences on the likelihood of receiving a transplant. Additionally, 83 percent of candidates were found to prefer an equal or dominant role in deciding whether to accept a higher-risk organ. This finding is striking given that, in most transplant centers, patient involvement in these decisions is minimal.
"Up until now, it has not been clear how much patients want to be involved in this complicated decision," says Volk.
"Furthermore, explaining the intricacies of this topic to sick patients is easier said than done. Our findings offer transplant physicians some useful guidelines for how to council transplant candidates on issues of organ quality."
The authors suggest future studies are needed to develop validated patient education tools that will enhance discussions between physicians and patients in need of liver transplantations.
###
Additional authors: All from U-M: Rachel S. Tocco, research specialist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Shawn J. Pelletier, M.D., associate professor of Surgery; Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher, Ph.D., research assistant professor in Department of Internal Medicine and assistant professor of Health Behavior and Education in the School of Public Health; and Anna S. Lok, M.D., F.R.C.P., Alice Lohrman Andrews Research Professor in Liver Disease and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.
This study is published in Liver Transplantation. Media wishing to receive a PDF of the article may contact healthnews@wiley.com.
Journal citation: DOI: 10.1002/lt.22437
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Transplant candidates seek best quality livers, even if it means waiting longerPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mary Masson mfmasson@umich.edu 734-764-2220 University of Michigan Health System
U-M researcher finds patients would rather be on waiting list than accept an organ with higher risk of failure
Liver transplantation candidates want to be involved in decisions regarding quality of the donor organ, and many are reluctant to accept organs with a higher risk of failure, according to research by U-M physicians and experts.
More than 42 percent of patients would choose to remain on the waiting list rather than accept a "lower quality" liver according to the study's lead author Michael L. Volk, M.D., M.S., assistant professor in U-M's Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology.
Research from Volk and his colleagues will appear in the December issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
As of November 30, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) reports that 16,124 candidates are on the waiting list to receive a liver, with only 5,375 deceased donor organs recovered through August. Additionally, there is a large variation in quality of deceased donor livers, which is based on donor characteristics such as age, cause of death, and ischemia time. Previous research has shown that donor characteristics can make the difference between a 20 to 40 percent risk of graft failure by three years following transplantation.
"Organ quality is an important issue for all liver transplant candidates, increasingly so, given the aging donor pool and more frequent use of organs that carry a higher risk of failure," says Volk, who is a hepatology specialist.
"The decision to accept or pass on an organ could mean the difference between life and death for patients with end-stage liver disease. Communication of the risks versus benefits of accepting a 'lower quality' organ is critical, and understanding patient views on the subject is essential for physicians caring for transplant candidates."
For the current study, researchers tested presentation formats for communicating organ quality risks to patients, and factors that might influence patients' willingness to accept higher-risk organs. First, the team conducted interviews with ten patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation to determine their knowledge of organ quality and preferences for accepting organs with greater risk of failure. Based on qualitative information obtained from interviews, the team created a web-based survey which 95 candidates completed.
The findings show that patients are reluctant to accept higher-risk organs. Of those completing the survey, 58 percent would only accept organs with a 25 percent (or less) risk of graft failure and 18 percent would only accept the lowest possible risk of 19 percent at three years following transplantation.
Women were slightly more accepting of high-risk organs than men. Researchers found that risk tolerance was increased by presenting organ quality as "average quality" rather than "best quality," and by providing feedback about the implications of these preferences on the likelihood of receiving a transplant. Additionally, 83 percent of candidates were found to prefer an equal or dominant role in deciding whether to accept a higher-risk organ. This finding is striking given that, in most transplant centers, patient involvement in these decisions is minimal.
"Up until now, it has not been clear how much patients want to be involved in this complicated decision," says Volk.
"Furthermore, explaining the intricacies of this topic to sick patients is easier said than done. Our findings offer transplant physicians some useful guidelines for how to council transplant candidates on issues of organ quality."
The authors suggest future studies are needed to develop validated patient education tools that will enhance discussions between physicians and patients in need of liver transplantations.
###
Additional authors: All from U-M: Rachel S. Tocco, research specialist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Shawn J. Pelletier, M.D., associate professor of Surgery; Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher, Ph.D., research assistant professor in Department of Internal Medicine and assistant professor of Health Behavior and Education in the School of Public Health; and Anna S. Lok, M.D., F.R.C.P., Alice Lohrman Andrews Research Professor in Liver Disease and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.
This study is published in Liver Transplantation. Media wishing to receive a PDF of the article may contact healthnews@wiley.com.
Journal citation: DOI: 10.1002/lt.22437
[ | 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.
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Public release date: 1-Dec-2011
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