Video games at bars are nothing new ? you can find the occasional trivia game sitting on a bar counter, and arcade games have been in bars for years. But you've probably never seen a bar game quite like this: Sega has begun to sell a urinal-mounted video game unit called?Toylet in Japan.
The game interfaces with the urinal itself to control the action on the game's screen, which is mounted at eye level. To play the games, you'll need stellar aim, not to mention the right amount of pressure and volume.
The video game system itself costs 140,000 yen ? about $1,750 ? and individual games cost another $125 or so on top of that. Some of the games include one where you fill beer cans, a combat-style game where you battle by squirting milk out your nose, and one where a hurricane-force wind lifts up a cartoon reporter's skirt.?Sonic the Hedgehog this is not, but we suppose it's a stretch to expect the Toylet to come equipped with?family-friendly games.
Toylet actually serves a purpose beyond entertaining bar-going patrons for the 60 seconds they're standing at the urinal. According to Sega, players of the game are less likely to leave a mess. The game also allows for advertisements to be played as a way of increasing a bar's revenue. Owners can also add an optional coin operating unit so they can charge per play.
While the Toylet certainly is strange, we're hardly surprised to learn it came from Japan. They take video gaming very seriously over there ? after all, this is the country that offered (and quickly sold out of) a$1,300 edition of?Resident Evil 6, complete with replica leather jacket worn by a character in the game.
[via?Wired]
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
VMware on Wednesday unveiled a portfolio of end-user computing products to help manage the slew of personal mobile devices corporate employees are bringing into the workplace for use. The products are built into version 5.1 of the company's VMware View enterprise virtual desktop.
If Mel Gibson feels any shame about his latest expletive-laden rant, he's certainly hiding it well. During a visit to The Tonight Show on Friday, the tantrum-prone actor joked about the recording that hit the Internet last week, which contains two-and-a-half minutes of Mel screaming at screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. And as far as Gibson is concerned, Eszterhas is the one who should be ashamed. Watch the interview below!
Children with juvenile arthritis have higher rates of bacterial infection Public release date: 1-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters healthnews@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley-Blackwell
High-dose steroids found to significantly increase infection risk
Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without JIA according to an observational study appearing in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The findings show that the risk of infection among JIA patients was significantly increased with use of high-dose glucocorticoids (steroids). Methotrexate (MTX) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) inhibitors were not found to increase infection risk in this pediatric population.
Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and can lead to disability. JIA refers to chronic arthritis diseases that attack young patients and the ACR estimates close to 300,000 children in the U.S are affected. While immunosuppressant therapies such as steroids, MTX, and TNF inhibitors are used to treat JIA, it is unclear how they impact infection risk.
To compare bacterial infection incidence in children with and without JIA, a research team led by Dr. Timothy Beukelman from the University of Alabama at Birmingham used U.S. Medicaid data from 2000 to 2005. The team identified 8,479 JIA patients with 13,003 person-years of follow-up and a group of 360,489 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for comparison. Pharmacy claims were used to determine exposure to MTX, TNF inhibitors, and oral steroid medications. Infections were identified using hospital discharge diagnoses.
Researchers determined that 42% of JIA patients used MTX and 17% used TNF inhibitors to manage their disease. JIA patients without current exposure to MTX or TNF inhibitors had an increased rate of bacterial infection compared to patients with ADHD, even after adjusting for steroid use. "Patients with JIA who were not currently treated with MTX or TNF inhibitors had a 2-fold increase in hospitalized bacterial infection rates compared to children without arthritis," explains Dr. Beukelman, "This finding suggests the inflammatory or autoimmune process may predispose children to infection regardless of therapy."
Among children with JIA, the rate of infection associated with MTX or TNF inhibitor use was similar. After adjusting for MTX and TNF inhibitor use among children with JIA, high-dose steroid use10 mg or more of prednisone dailymore than doubled the rate of subsequent infection compared to patients not taking steroids. Dr. Beukelman concludes, "A steroid-sparing treatment strategy may reduce the risk of serious infection in children with JIA."
###
This research was supported by grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This study is published in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com.
Full citation: "Rates of Hospitalized Bacterial Infection Associated with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Its Treatment." Timothy Beukelman, Fenglong Xie, Lang Chen, John W Baddley, Elizabeth Delzell, Carlos G Grijalva, James D Lewis, Rita Ouellet-Hellstrom, Nivedita M Patkar, Kenneth G Saag, Kevin L Winthrop and Jeffrey R Curtis on behalf of the Safety Assessment of Biological ThERapeutics (SABER) Collaboration. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: May 1, 2012 (DOI: 10.1002/art.34458).
URL upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.34458.
Author Contacts: To arrange an interview with Dr. Beukelman, please contact Bob Shepard with the University of Alabama at Birmingham at bshep@uab.edu.
About the Journal:
Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College, and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology (http://www.rheumatology.org) is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1529-0131.
About Wiley-Blackwell:
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
Children with juvenile arthritis have higher rates of bacterial infection Public release date: 1-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters healthnews@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley-Blackwell
High-dose steroids found to significantly increase infection risk
Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without JIA according to an observational study appearing in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The findings show that the risk of infection among JIA patients was significantly increased with use of high-dose glucocorticoids (steroids). Methotrexate (MTX) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) inhibitors were not found to increase infection risk in this pediatric population.
Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and can lead to disability. JIA refers to chronic arthritis diseases that attack young patients and the ACR estimates close to 300,000 children in the U.S are affected. While immunosuppressant therapies such as steroids, MTX, and TNF inhibitors are used to treat JIA, it is unclear how they impact infection risk.
To compare bacterial infection incidence in children with and without JIA, a research team led by Dr. Timothy Beukelman from the University of Alabama at Birmingham used U.S. Medicaid data from 2000 to 2005. The team identified 8,479 JIA patients with 13,003 person-years of follow-up and a group of 360,489 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for comparison. Pharmacy claims were used to determine exposure to MTX, TNF inhibitors, and oral steroid medications. Infections were identified using hospital discharge diagnoses.
Researchers determined that 42% of JIA patients used MTX and 17% used TNF inhibitors to manage their disease. JIA patients without current exposure to MTX or TNF inhibitors had an increased rate of bacterial infection compared to patients with ADHD, even after adjusting for steroid use. "Patients with JIA who were not currently treated with MTX or TNF inhibitors had a 2-fold increase in hospitalized bacterial infection rates compared to children without arthritis," explains Dr. Beukelman, "This finding suggests the inflammatory or autoimmune process may predispose children to infection regardless of therapy."
Among children with JIA, the rate of infection associated with MTX or TNF inhibitor use was similar. After adjusting for MTX and TNF inhibitor use among children with JIA, high-dose steroid use10 mg or more of prednisone dailymore than doubled the rate of subsequent infection compared to patients not taking steroids. Dr. Beukelman concludes, "A steroid-sparing treatment strategy may reduce the risk of serious infection in children with JIA."
###
This research was supported by grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This study is published in Arthritis & Rheumatism. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com.
Full citation: "Rates of Hospitalized Bacterial Infection Associated with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Its Treatment." Timothy Beukelman, Fenglong Xie, Lang Chen, John W Baddley, Elizabeth Delzell, Carlos G Grijalva, James D Lewis, Rita Ouellet-Hellstrom, Nivedita M Patkar, Kenneth G Saag, Kevin L Winthrop and Jeffrey R Curtis on behalf of the Safety Assessment of Biological ThERapeutics (SABER) Collaboration. Arthritis & Rheumatism; Published Online: May 1, 2012 (DOI: 10.1002/art.34458).
URL upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/art.34458.
Author Contacts: To arrange an interview with Dr. Beukelman, please contact Bob Shepard with the University of Alabama at Birmingham at bshep@uab.edu.
About the Journal:
Arthritis & Rheumatism is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College, and covers all aspects of inflammatory disease. The American College of Rheumatology (http://www.rheumatology.org) is the professional organization who share a dedication to healing, preventing disability, and curing the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disabling and sometimes fatal disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Members include practicing physicians, research scientists, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, and social workers. The journal is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the ACR. For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1529-0131.
About Wiley-Blackwell:
Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit http://www.wileyblackwell.com or our new online platform, Wiley Online Library (http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.
[ | 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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday looked set to call early elections, and Defence Minister Ehud Barak said he expected parliament to name a date within days.
Netanyahu, said to favour early elections in a bid to strengthen his position before a potential fight over austerity measures and US elections in November, has so far made no official announcement on a change to the date, currently scheduled for October 2013.
"Apparently the Knesset will decide on elections within the coming days," Barak, a close confidante of Netanyahu, was quoted by his office as telling members of his Independence party on Monday.
"Whether the elections themselves are set for the middle of August or the middle of October I don't see much difference. We are entering an election campaign."
"It's final," said Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who heads the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party. "Now it is only a question of dates."
Lieberman, whose party is a key partner in Netanyahu's coalition government, told the Ynet news website he was eager for the vote to take place as quickly as possible.
"If the decision to go to elections has been made, we should hold them as quickly as possible," he said.
Israeli public radio said Netanyahu favours a date between mid-August and the beginning of September, while the head of the main opposition Kadima party, Shaul Mofaz, is pushing for October 16.
Commentators said there were plenty of reasons for Netanyahu to favour bringing the vote forward, including the desire to consolidate his position before having to implement budget cuts later this year.
He is also looking to bolster domestic support before US elections in November, which could return US President Barack Obama to office.
Netanyahu has differed with Obama on issues ranging from the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process to Iran's nuclear programme.
Another key reason for bringing the vote forward is a dispute over the issue of drafting Orthodox Jews into the army, which has threatened the stability of Netanyahu's coalition.
The so-called Tal Law, which allowed ultra-Orthodox Jews to defer their service in the Israeli military, is strongly opposed by Lieberman's staunchly secular Yisrael Beitenu party.
Netanyahu has pledged to replace the law, which expires this year, with a more "egalitarian" rule, but is caught between Yisrael Beitenu and the ultra-Orthodox factions in his coalition, who adamantly oppose military service.
The Knesset is expected to debate a replacement law on May 9.
Whenever the elections are held, polls have consistently showed Netanyahu and his Likud party coming out on top, with no credible rival to the prime minister.
A poll published by the Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Monday showed Likud increasing its strength from 27 to 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, if elections were held today.
The Labour party stands to make the biggest relative gain, winning 18 seats, from the nine it currently holds, while Yisrael Beitenu would lose two seats, leaving it with 13, the poll showed.
Kadima is expected to suffer crushing losses, with its standing reduced from 28 seats to 11, while the newly formed Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party would win 11 seats, the poll found.
The shape of any future coalition remains unclear, however, with Labour, Kadima and Yesh Atid all having expressed willingness to join a government led by Netanyahu.
The "black-and-white rock star" of the Smithsonian's National Zoo, female panda Mei Xiang, is recovering Monday after being artificially inseminated with up to 800 million sperm.
This was the Washington, D.C.-based zoo's second try at inseminating the 13-year-old panda, after a first attempt on Sunday when scientists determined the semen they had collected from the male Tian Tian wasn't high enough quality for artificial insemination.
The scientists decided to try this technological intervention in the first place after a natural attempt fell flat.
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"Veterinarians performed an artificial insemination Sunday night after they determined no competent natural breeding had occurred between Mei Xiang and male giant panda, Tian Tian (tee-YEN tee-YEN)," zoo officials wrote in a statement. [Video: Panda Mating Dance]
And the zookeepers and experts live-tweeted the personal panda event.
"Mei did great and there's a sense of celebration and accomplishment in the air here! pandaAI," tweeted the National Zoo's Twitter account, @NationalZoo, Monday evening after the insemination was completed.
The two pandas have successfully bred before ? Mei Xiang gave birth to cub Tai Shan in 2005 ? but they aren't so good at getting it on themselves (Tai Shan was conceived via artificial insemination).
Furthermore, female pandas are fertile only one to two days a year, so zookeepers had to seize the rare opportunity.
(National Zoo research scientist research scientist Jon Ballou told The Washington Post he thinks both pandas are too old to be successful ? while Mei Xiang is 13; Tian Tian is 14. "Get a couple of young pandas, (of) reproductive ages," he said.)
For Monday's artificial insemination, zookeepers used sperm from Tian Tian harvested back when Tai Shan was born.
Just carrying Mei Xiang into the surgery room was a feat. "The keepers and vets are carrying Mei on a tarp now with handles. It takes 8 people ? she weighs about 230 lbs.," the zoo tweeted.
"While under general anesthesia, Mei Xiang was inseminated with thawed semen collected from Tian Tian in 2005," zoo officials wrote.
They added, "Zoo staff will continue to monitor Mei Xiang's hormone levels in the coming months and conduct ultrasounds to see if she is pregnant." (But even figuring out if a female panda is pregnant can be tricky; it is often difficult to identify a panda fetus through an ultrasound. And female giant pandas, inlcuding Mei Xiang, regularly undergo pseudo-pregnancies, which mimic the real thing to a tee, sans the developing infant.)
Captive breeding programs like this one serve as a chief part of scientists' efforts to study and conserve the species; giant pandas, native to southeastern China, northern Myanmar, and northern Vietnam, are now endangered with only 1,600 left in the wild.
Plus, baby pandas are oh-so-cute, and present a big draw for any zoo. The National Zoo had to send Tai Shan back to China in 2010, because all pandas, regardless of where they are born, officially belong to China under international law. Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are on loan to the United States until 2015.
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
'Let's go, Most Dope versus Taylor Gang. It's on,' Mac Miller said on 'RapFix Live,' hyping up the backstage competition between him and Wiz. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa on "RapFix Live" Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News
When Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller hit the road together this summer, the good times will roll no doubt. But who will have more fun: the fans or the headliners? During their nine-city Under the Influence of Music run, the Pittsburgh boys are planning plenty of backstage fun. "Your little crew better get your little selves together, 'cause T.G.O.D. is coming," Wiz told Mac, playfully threatening his labelmate when they both appeared on "RapFix Live" on April 25. "Let's go, Most Dope versus Taylor Gang. It's on," Mac responded all smiles, pumping up his rap crew.
Wiz and company get plenty competitive on the road. Fans got a taste of the fun in Khalifa's second "Taylor Gang" video, which he released in September. The Bill Paladino-directed clip is composed of concert footage from Wiz's 2011 Rolling Papers Tour. In addition to onstage shots, there are plenty of clips of team T.G.O.D. playing pranks and shooting Super Soaker water guns. "We play basketball, water fights, we ride bikes," Wiz said of the Taylors' backstage antics. "We're gonna climb mountains on bikes."
Last year, Wiz and Mac went out on the Green Carpet Tour, but their respective careers have grown exponentially since then and anticipation for their latest run is building. Mac is particularly excited. "We should do team building. Can we do safety falls?" he asked Wiz with a child-like glee.
"Absolutely not," Wiz barked, keeping up the faux-feud they cooked up for the "RapFix" episode. "We're gonna play board games, we're gonna have mind fights to see who's mind is stronger."
Who do you think is the stronger crew Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang or Mac Miller's Most Dope? Tell us in the comments!
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Public release date: 1-May-2012
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