MANCHESTER, England (AP) ? Chelsea surged to the top of the weekly Associated Press global soccer poll after winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League for the 11th straight season.
There was a Chelsea player at the top of the player rankings, with Fernando Torres sharing first place with Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery. The Spanish striker belatedly regained his goal-scoring form to impress the 14 voters on the panel.
"Great week for Torres and 'Spanish' Chelsea in the last days with (Rafa) Ben?tez," said Orefeo Suarez, from Spain's El Mundo. "The Spanish coach said Torres is coming back with him to the level he had in Liverpool."
Torres scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over Benfica in the Europa League final before firing home the winner against Everton on the final day of the Premier League season, securing the team third place in the standings. He had previously netted just once in his previous eight matches.
"He had to be under a fair amount of pressure considering his scoring troubles," said Tom Timmermann, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Chelsea edged Bayern into second place ? but the German side could be back on top spot next week if it wins the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Ribery looks in prime form for that match, after scoring twice in a wild 4-3 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach in which Bayern came back from conceding three times in the opening 10 minutes.
"If there was any doubt that Franck Ribery has been Bayern's most important player this season, the Frenchman put them to rest on the final day of the Bundesliga season scoring twice and laying on a further two assists in another world-class performance," said James Thorogood, of Bundesliga.com.
Atletico Madrid was rewarded for its victory over city rival Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, climbing to third in the team poll and having two players ? goalkeeper Thibault Courtois (fourth) and striker Radamel Falcao (ninth) ? in the top 10 of the player rankings.
"What a Friday night at the Bernabeu for Atletico Madrid," said Julian Bennetts, from Hayters news agency in England. "They had not beaten their old rivals Real Madrid in 14 years until their incredible victory in the Copa del Rey, and they celebrated with understandable gusto."
To extend the week's Chelsea theme, Courtois is on loan to Atletico from the London club, which is widely reported to be one of the many teams chasing the signature of Radamel Falcao this summer. Romelu Lukaku, who was third in the player poll after getting a second-half hat trick for West Bromwich Albion in a 5-5 draw with Manchester United, is also a Chelsea player.
Arsenal placed fourth thanks to wins over Wigan and Newcastle that capped an end-of-season recovery and clinched the fourth and final Champions League berth in the Premier League. By sealing the Portuguese title, FC Porto was fifth and Barcelona sixth after beating Valladolid 2-1 in the Spanish league.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic stole some of the spotlight from David Beckham in the midfielder's final home match from Paris Saint-Germain, scoring a double in a 3-1 win over Brest in the French league for eighth place in the player list.
His 29 points put him just behind AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, whose converted penalty helped AC Milan into next season's Champions League, but ahead of Falcao and Robin van Persie (10th).
News of Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr is already official, so today's NYC event will likely shed some light on that $1.1 billion deal. CEO Marissa Mayer will be on hand to address the crowd -- and we'll be there to give you the play-by-play. Will we hear exactly what Yahoo means when it says won't "screw it up?" Will Tumblr CEO be there to contribute his take on the merger? Park your browsers here to find out; the liveblog goes down at 5PM EST.
TiVo adds MLB.tv in the US today, nears IPTV launch in Sweden
TiVo announced its quarterly earnings yesterday, revealing a net loss for the quarter of $10.8 million. Despite that, its push to partner with cable companies seems to be going well: it recorded its largest growth in MSO customers in seven years, adding 277,000 subscriptions that way. More interesting to most users however, will be news that the MLB.tv app Zatz Not Funny mentioned in January launches today. Additionally, Scandinavian operator Com Hem is about to start offering an IPTV service built on TiVo's devices, and is accepter preregistrations to be an early tester. The Com Hem project will combine an internet TV service with the usual TiVo features -- including TiVoToGo -- and DVR capable of recording up to three HD channels at once. What we can see of the box looks very similar to the one offered by Virgin in the UK, we'll wait and see if any other operators look the company's way when/if they make the transition to IPTV service in the future.
News of Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr is already official, so today's NYC event will likely shed some light on that $1.1 billion deal. CEO Marissa Mayer will be on hand to address the crowd -- and we'll be there to give you the play-by-play. Will we hear exactly what Yahoo means when it says won't "screw it up?" Will Tumblr CEO be there to contribute his take on the merger? Park your browsers here to find out; the liveblog goes down at 5PM EST.
Zapier Launches API-Monitoring Service To Catch Issues And Outages
Zapier, a service that automates tasks between online services,?has launched a tool that monitors 200 APIs, sometimes catching an outage before the provider does. The new tool monitors the uptime and downtime?of every API on Zapier. It is designed to monitor the realtime status of?popular web APIs and their impact on customers that use the Zapier service or just want a good resource to monitor how APIs are behaving.?Each API can be monitored via SMS, instant message, email or any number of methods that are supported by Zapier's core product.
Prince Harry of Britain attends the 2013 Warrior Games, at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado, Sunday May 12, 2013. The Warrior Games is a competition for wounded, ill and injured service members. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Prince Harry of Britain attends the 2013 Warrior Games, at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado, Sunday May 12, 2013. The Warrior Games is a competition for wounded, ill and injured service members. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
FILE - In a Feb. 25, 2013 file photo, the sun rises in Seaside Heights, N.J., behind the Jet Star Roller Coaster which has been sitting in the ocean after part of the Funtown Pier was destroyed during Superstorm Sandy. Work is expected to start Tuesday afternoon, May 14, 2013 to remove the Jet Star coaster from the surf in Seaside Heights. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
MANTOLOKING, N.J. (AP) ? Britain's Prince Harry will see signs of welcome as he views the reconstruction and destruction in two New Jersey shore towns hard hit by Superstorm Sandy.
A man on Tuesday hoisted two Union Jacks on poles in Mantoloking, near where the Atlantic Ocean meets Barnegat Bay.
The prince is scheduled to walk along the road in the wealthy town where all 521 homes were damaged or destroyed.
Harry will see a sign welcoming him in the Camp Osborn section of Brick Township, where 68 homes burned to the ground in a fire fueled by natural gas leaks.
With Gov. Chris Christie as his tour guide, Harry will visit Seaside Heights, which was the home to MTV's reality show "Jersey Shore." The prince will see a roller coaster that plunged into the ocean.
Background noise in the operating room can impair surgical team communication
Background noise in the operating room can impair surgical team communicationPublic release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dan Hamilton pressinquiry@facs.org 312-202-5328 American College of Surgeons
New Journal of the American College of Surgeons study also finds that high levels of OR noise can have a disruptive effect on a surgeon's auditory processing abilities
Chicago (May 10, 2013): Ambient background noisewhether it is the sound of loud surgical equipment, talkative team members, or musicis a patient and surgical safety factor that can affect auditory processing among surgeons and the members of their team in the operating room (OR), according to a new study that appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings are the first to demonstrate that a surgeon's ability to understand spoken words in the OR is directly affected by noise in the environment.
"The operating room is a very fast-paced, high-demand, all senses running on all cylinders type of environment," said study coauthor Matthew Bush, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington. "To minimize errors of communication, it is essential that we consider very carefully the listening environment we are promoting in the OR."
To assess the effects of ambient noise on communication in the OR, the researchers created a noise environment similar to that of an OR and tested 15 surgeons with one to 30 years of operating experience. The surgeons' ability to understand and repeat words was tested using the Speech In Noise Test-Revised (SPIN-R) under four different listening conditions typical of OR environments. These conditions included quiet, filtered noise through a surgical mask and background noise both with and without music. Subjects were tested in two situations: engaged in a specific surgical task and task free.
The study showed a significant decrease in speech comprehension with the presence of background noise when the words were unpredictable. In addition, the surgeons demonstrated considerably poorer speech comprehension in the presence of music compared with a quiet environment or one with OR noise present. However, the addition of music became a significant barrier to speech comprehension only when the surgeon was engaged in a task.
The researchers concluded that OR noise can cause a decrease in auditory processing, particularly in the presence of music. Further, the ability to understand what is being said becomes even more difficult when the conversations carry critical information that is unpredictable.
Currently, miscommunication is one of the most frequently cited causes of preventable medical errors. For this reason, there is a growing interest in identifying overlooked variables that can lead to communication breakdowns among health care professionals.
Therefore, these study results have important implications in the real world because surgical teams carry on critical conversations during surgical procedures that often include discussions about medications and dosing as well as the blood supply that should be on hand. Because some of these details might sound similar, clear communication is crucial to avoiding medical errors (ie: a request for the drug heparin might be heard as Hespan).
"Our main goal is to increase awareness that operating room noise does affect communication and that we should foster the best environment in which we can communicate better," Dr. Bush explained. "This effort means that the surgical team needs to work diligently to create the safest environment possible, and that step may mean either turning the music off or down, or limiting background conversations or other things in the environment that could lead to communication errors and medical mistakes."
In future studies, the researchers plan to look at a larger population of surgeons, especially those who are hearing impaired, as well as other operating team members such as anesthesiologists and nurses.
"I think it's important to demonstrate the effect of environmental operating noise on communication on a variety of different players in the operating room setting," Dr. Bush said. "Another step from here is to not only see how noise affects our understanding of speech, but how it affects our tasks, how it affects our ability to perform surgical procedures efficiently and effectively. That is a different stage and different study design completely, but these questions are all ahead of us as we investigate the effects of environmental sound on operating room communication."
###
Other study investigators include T. Justin Way, MD; Ashleigh Long, PhD; Jeff Weighing, PhD, Rosalind Ritchie, MD; Raleigh Jones, Jr., MD; Jennifer B. Shinn, PhD.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 79,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org.
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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.
Background noise in the operating room can impair surgical team communicationPublic release date: 10-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dan Hamilton pressinquiry@facs.org 312-202-5328 American College of Surgeons
New Journal of the American College of Surgeons study also finds that high levels of OR noise can have a disruptive effect on a surgeon's auditory processing abilities
Chicago (May 10, 2013): Ambient background noisewhether it is the sound of loud surgical equipment, talkative team members, or musicis a patient and surgical safety factor that can affect auditory processing among surgeons and the members of their team in the operating room (OR), according to a new study that appears in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings are the first to demonstrate that a surgeon's ability to understand spoken words in the OR is directly affected by noise in the environment.
"The operating room is a very fast-paced, high-demand, all senses running on all cylinders type of environment," said study coauthor Matthew Bush, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington. "To minimize errors of communication, it is essential that we consider very carefully the listening environment we are promoting in the OR."
To assess the effects of ambient noise on communication in the OR, the researchers created a noise environment similar to that of an OR and tested 15 surgeons with one to 30 years of operating experience. The surgeons' ability to understand and repeat words was tested using the Speech In Noise Test-Revised (SPIN-R) under four different listening conditions typical of OR environments. These conditions included quiet, filtered noise through a surgical mask and background noise both with and without music. Subjects were tested in two situations: engaged in a specific surgical task and task free.
The study showed a significant decrease in speech comprehension with the presence of background noise when the words were unpredictable. In addition, the surgeons demonstrated considerably poorer speech comprehension in the presence of music compared with a quiet environment or one with OR noise present. However, the addition of music became a significant barrier to speech comprehension only when the surgeon was engaged in a task.
The researchers concluded that OR noise can cause a decrease in auditory processing, particularly in the presence of music. Further, the ability to understand what is being said becomes even more difficult when the conversations carry critical information that is unpredictable.
Currently, miscommunication is one of the most frequently cited causes of preventable medical errors. For this reason, there is a growing interest in identifying overlooked variables that can lead to communication breakdowns among health care professionals.
Therefore, these study results have important implications in the real world because surgical teams carry on critical conversations during surgical procedures that often include discussions about medications and dosing as well as the blood supply that should be on hand. Because some of these details might sound similar, clear communication is crucial to avoiding medical errors (ie: a request for the drug heparin might be heard as Hespan).
"Our main goal is to increase awareness that operating room noise does affect communication and that we should foster the best environment in which we can communicate better," Dr. Bush explained. "This effort means that the surgical team needs to work diligently to create the safest environment possible, and that step may mean either turning the music off or down, or limiting background conversations or other things in the environment that could lead to communication errors and medical mistakes."
In future studies, the researchers plan to look at a larger population of surgeons, especially those who are hearing impaired, as well as other operating team members such as anesthesiologists and nurses.
"I think it's important to demonstrate the effect of environmental operating noise on communication on a variety of different players in the operating room setting," Dr. Bush said. "Another step from here is to not only see how noise affects our understanding of speech, but how it affects our tasks, how it affects our ability to perform surgical procedures efficiently and effectively. That is a different stage and different study design completely, but these questions are all ahead of us as we investigate the effects of environmental sound on operating room communication."
###
Other study investigators include T. Justin Way, MD; Ashleigh Long, PhD; Jeff Weighing, PhD, Rosalind Ritchie, MD; Raleigh Jones, Jr., MD; Jennifer B. Shinn, PhD.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 79,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit http://www.facs.org.
[ | 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.
A multitude of apps facilitate learning Japanese, a fairly difficult language for Westerners. The Android app Obenkyo (free) is a great study and testing aid for learning Japanese writing and reading ? hiragana, katakana (the two basic Japanese alphabets), and kanji (the language's fiendish difficult logographic writing system).
Obenkyo is specifically for studying Japanese?indeed, "obenkyo" means "study" in Japanese. The app's best for those who already have some basic knowledge of the language. If, like me, you have taken one year of college-level Japanese, you'll find the app useful. It would also make a good study companion for currently-enrolled students.
Obenkyo has a friendly and simple design. The menu is composed of sections for alphabets, vocabulary, particles, and so on. Pressing the left side of the desired function brings you to a "Study" section, while the right side goes to "Test." The study section mostly just lists all the things you need to practice Japanese writing, reading, vocabulary, and grammar. A tab for hiragana gives you a complete table of characters, and when viewing an individual character, lets you swipe in any direction to view a different character as though you're traveling on the board.
Brush Up a Little on Everything Other than the expected hiragana, katakana, numbers, and kanji, Obenkyo also has a useful section that explains Japanese particles and grammar. The particles' explanations could use a little more depth to them because there are multiple ways of using them. In reading a few of them, it seemed like there should be more text; they often end without touching on many of the distinct uses. The tests are very useful, though. You fill in missing particles in complete sentences, which is a great and natural way to learn grammar.
As for grammar itself, that section contains an extensive, organized guide divided into short articles, full of examples. One feature I liked in this section is that when you touch a kanji, the app displays the English translations. You can test your knowledge of kanji through multiple-choice questions, by recognition, and by drawing. Drawing is particularly impressive, because it accurately tests stroke order, direction, and overall shape. The app will show you where you went wrong if you made a mistake. Across all tests, you can pull a tab from the bottom to see corrections for instant feedback. It's too bad you can't "favorite" words or characters to save them into a custom list.
Silent Study Time Unlike other language apps like Human Japanese ($9.99), Obenkyo doesn't have formal lessons divided into chapters. There isn't a guided path on what to study next, so Obenkyo is much more for self-learners than anyone else. Given how rigorous Japanese learning is, Obenkyo works best for tackling the intimidating number of kanji symbols and practicing them. However, if you're a novice with the language, Obenkyo might not be the best choice; it's recommended for those who know some basics and want to deepen their vocabulary and knowledge of kanji.
There is no voice support at all; you can't speak to Obenkyo, and neither will Obenkyo speak to you. If you're worried about pronunciation, you're out of luck. There are no conversation examples or guided practice. The most you can do is to delve into the grammar section and read some sentences there. If you're looking to quickly grasp some touristy phrases or something to get you by, Obenkyo will fall short there.
Lists are a little unmanageable because they can be very big, and it's a little painstaking to personally select each word to toggle whether they appear on tests. The lists are divided into proficiency levels, but they are still huge. The dots next to words and kanji change color depending on how well you know the word or character, but there isn't a setting to test yourself on the words you generally miss or to take out the learned selections. You're left to jump between levels, keep taking tests in the same pool, or manually edit big lists, which works fine if you have the patience for it.
You can select how many words appear in tests, but it's a choice that affects all tests, so even if you have just 10 kanji or words selected, you'll get 30 of them if you change the setting. It's a one size-fits all option that's just a little annoying because you have tailor it whenever you want to take a new test. The app could use a little more automation, something that tracks your progress or suggests tests for you.
Self-Assessment Obenkyo contains essentially everything you need to practice writing Japanese. It's not meant for speaking and listening, though. It's a great tool for self-advancement in the Japanese Proficiency tests. If you haven't had any practice yet, you might like Obenkyo as a learning companion for memorizing hiragana and katakana, but otherwise you may need to look at more guided, automated applications.
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Public release date: 10-May-2013
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