Mindfulness Meditation Could Lower Levels Of Cortisol, The Stress ...

Even more research is drawing a clear link between mindfulness meditation and lowered stress.

A new study in the journal Health Psychology shows an association between increased mindfulness and decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

"This is the first study to show a direct relation between resting cortisol and scores on any type of mindfulness scale," study researcher Tonya Jacobs, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis Center for Mind and Brain, said in a statement.

For the study, 57 people spent three months in a meditation retreat, where they were taught mindful breathing, observation skills, and cultivation of "positive" mental states like compassion.

At the beginning and end of the retreat, the participants also had their cortisol levels measured with a saliva test, and their mindfulness levels rated on a scale, which Jacobs explained in the statement "measured the participants' propensity to let go of distressing thoughts and attend to different sensory domains, daily tasks, and the current contents of their minds."

Researchers noted that the participants' mindfulness scores on the scale were higher at the end of the retreat than at the beginning. Plus, they found an association between increases in mindfulness and decreases in cortisol levels in the saliva.

However, it's important to note that this study did not use a control group to compare cortisol levels to. Researchers noted that future studies should include a larger group of participants and a study design that includes a control group.

This study joins a whole host of other research showing mindfulness meditation's stress-busting effects. For example, a 2007 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that going through integrative body-mind training (a type of meditation training) helped to lessen the body's release of cortisol and lower anxiety and fatigue levels in college students. And a 2008 study in the Journal of American College Health showed that meditation could reduce stress and boost forgiveness.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/mindfulness-meditation-cortisol-stress-levels_n_2965197.html

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Prosecutors' killings rattle former cotton town in Texas

By Chris Francescani

KAUFMAN, Texas (Reuters) - Twin killings of Texas prosecutors in a quaint town where oak trees and two-story brick buildings line the central square have shocked residents, raised questions whether the shootings could be linked, and fueled speculation about the possible role of a white supremacist jail gang.

"We were a quiet little backwater where you could get on your bicycle and ride into the square and feel safe," said Carolyn Long, 69, recalling her childhood in the 1950s when cotton farmers and ranchers would drive into the town's main square on Saturdays to conduct business out of the backs of their trucks.

"At least it used to be like that," she said of the north Texas town of 11,000.

Already stunned by the killing of local prosecutor Mark Hasse on January 31 on the courthouse steps, the town was sent reeling by the slaying on Saturday of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, in their home.

Shell casings were scattered everywhere around the crime scene, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing one law enforcement official. Authorities have ruled out murder-suicide.

The cases remained unsolved.

Authorities have kept quiet about potential suspects, while people in town speculated it was the work of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, a white supremacist jail gang that had recently been under investigation by McLelland's office.

"People are in absolute shock here," said Joe Gibson, 21, the manager at Moon's Fried Chicken Cafeteria.

Kaufman County is generally split between rural towns in the eastern part of the county and more affluent Dallas commuter suburbs in the west, where the McLellands lived. The town of Kaufman lies in the center of the county.

Local, county and state police all overlap in Kaufman, about 30 miles east of Dallas, creating a sense of security that has been shattered.

"We have a strong tradition of law enforcement in this area," said insurance agent Bobby Aga, 68. "The criminal justice system here is something you don't mess with. It's the fabric of our community."

First Assistant District Attorney Brandi Fernandez was named interim district attorney on Monday and will hold the position for 21 days or until Governor Rick Perry appoints a successor. Perry, meanwhile, has raised concern about the public safety.

McLelland had vowed to capture those who killed Hasse, one of his assistants. A former Army veteran who served in the Gulf War and publicly showed little fear of retribution, he was a fixture at the town's Lions Club, where he regularly ate lunch and helped support youth baseball, said Wade Gent, 38, an attorney who knew the couple.

Cynthia McLelland belonged to the Quilt Guild, which met at the "2 Sisters Quilt Shop" on the site of a former drug store built in 1891 in the heart of the town square.

Today, the town's business revolves largely around Falcon Steel, which builds the structures that hold highway signs. It remains a quiet, church-going town where shopkeepers who smoke slip out the back of their stores rather than risk the disapproval of neighbors by lighting up out front.

"There's a church on every corner," said Long, whose family has lived in the area since 1852.

When Hasse was killed, speculation immediately focused on the prison-based gang the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas because that same day the U.S. Justice Department released a statement saying the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office was involved in a racketeering case against the white supremacist group.

In an indictment unsealed in November, the Texas arm of the Aryan Brotherhood was described as a gang responsible for murders, arson, assault and other crimes, and prone to "extreme violence and threats of violence to maintain internal discipline and retaliate against those believed to be cooperating with law enforcement."

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified prison gangs as the second-most significant organized crime threat to the state after Mexican drug cartels.

Gent said there was real concern of further violence in Kaufman.

"If somebody is sending a message," he said, "they're probably not finished."

(Additional reporting by Corrie MacLaggan, Jim Forsyth and Marice Richter; Editing by Daniel Trotta, Paul Thomasch and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/killing-texas-district-attorney-wife-seen-targeted-004859469.html

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Ericsson T28z review

When Ericsson launched the T28 in 1999, it was the lightest and slimmest phone on the market. It was also the first handset ever to use a lithium polymer battery. The T28 was a premium device -- Ericsson described it as "designer technology", and it was successful with business executives before the Blackberry became popular. Unlike its bar-shaped competitors, the T28 was immediately recognizable by its signature antenna stub and "active flip" keypad cover. Ericsson packed the phone with state-of-the-art features like voice dialing and an optional Bluetooth dongle. It came in three versions: T28s (GSM 1800 / 900), T28z (GSM 1900) and T28 World (GSM 1900/900). Our T28z review unit started life on VoiceStream (eventually acquired by T-Mobile). How does this classic handset stack up to our modern pocketable computers? Find out after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/bX5lXiGsnBA/

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Slickdeals' best in tech for April 1st: Sony NEX-F3 and Harman Kardon Home Theater Speakers

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we'll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You'll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won't stick around long.

In what we could've labeled as the HD Edition, home theater gadgets claim three of the five spots in today's roundup. If you're not into those types of purchases at the moment, the Sony NEX-F3 also gets a pretty nice discount of its own. For all of the details, take a quick trip to the other side of the break.

Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

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Source: Slickdeals

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/01/slickdeals-best-in-tech-for-april-1st/

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First commercial flight between Egypt and Iran for 34 years

CAIRO (Reuters) - The first commercial flight between Egypt and Iran in 34 years took off on Saturday, the latest step towards normalizing ties broken following the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution.

Egypt and Iran agreed to resume direct flights in October 2010 before President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power, but no flights were made.

"A flight by Air Memphis, owned by Egyptian businessman Rami Lakah, took off from Cairo to Tehran earlier on Saturday carrying eight Iranians including diplomats," one airport official said adding that the airline could later carry out more tourist and business trips between Egypt and Iran.

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Egypt were cut in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran when the government in Cairo gave sanctuary to the deposed shah.

But ties improved over the years, and have become significantly better since the election of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as president of Egypt in June 2012.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt in February, the first visit by an Iranian leader to Cairo in more than three decades, and called for a strategic alliance with Egypt and offered a loan to the cash-strapped Arab state.

Mursi visited Iran in August to attend an international summit where he initiated a quartet committee that included Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to end the Syrian civil war. Saudi Arabia later left the group.

(This story was refiled to correct headline)

(Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/private-egyptian-jet-flies-iran-first-time-202848954.html

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Mark Kelly: Background Checks Are Crucial, But NRA 'Right' On Mental Health Records

Legislation that doesn't address universal gun background checks would be a "mistake," Mark Kelly said Sunday on Fox News, adding that efforts should also be made to keep guns from the mentally ill.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) is crafting a bill that wouldn't include such background checks, but Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), expressed skepticism.

"I think any bill that does not include a universal background check is a mistake," he said. "It's the most common sense thing we can do to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from having access to weapons."

Kelly pointed to polling showing high levels of support for background checks, including in the states of some prominent opponents to the measure. In Sen. Marco Rubio's (R) state of Florida, a Quinnipiac poll found 91 percent support for such checks.

Kelly had few kind words for the NRA, which he called a "very powerful gun lobby" that had controlled the debate on guns for many years.

But he said he agreed with the NRA's push to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining weapons. The man who shot Giffords, Jared Loughner, couldn't have bought a gun if his mental illness were in the system, Kelly said.

"They [NRA] absolutely have a point. They are right on that issue," he said. "We need to encourage states to include the mental health record."

Kelly said he believed the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., had changed the debate over gun control.

"One thing that is different now is the fact that we have 20 first graders murdered in a classroom along with 6 educators," he said. "I mean, that's unacceptable and the American people want something done on this."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/mark-kelly-background-checks_n_2988596.html

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Italy's president declines to resign, will stay to deal with crisis

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday ruled out standing down to make way for new parliamentary elections after the failure of attempts to form a government this week, saying he would stay in place until the very end of his mandate in May.

Earlier, all of Italy's main newspapers said Napolitano, whose term ends on May 15, was considering stepping down to get around constitutional provisions which prevent a president dissolving parliament and calling elections in the final months of his mandate.

But the 87-year-old head of state told reporters he would continue his efforts to break the deadlock since elections last month that left no single group with enough power to govern.

"I will continue until the last day of my mandate to do as my sense of national responsibility suggests, without hiding from the country the difficulties that I am still facing," he told reporters at his Quirinale palace.

He said he would ask two small groups of experts to formulate proposals for institutional and economic reforms that could be supported by all political parties.

Napolitano met leaders of the main parties on Friday to try to find a way out of the stalemate, which has raised fears of prolonged uncertainty in the euro zone's third-largest economy.

However with all of the three main groups in parliament clinging to entrenched positions that have prevented a majority being formed in parliament, hopes of a solution that would avoid a new snap election have faded.

Center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, whose party controls the lower house but does not have a majority in the Senate, failed to win enough support to form a government from any of the other parties during a week of talks.

He rejected demands by center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi for a cross-party coalition deal that would give the scandal-plagued former prime minister a share in power and the right to decide Napolitano's successor.

Both Berlusconi's group and the populist 5-Star Movement led by ex-comic Beppe Grillo have also ruled out supporting a new technocrat government like the one led by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, blocking what appears to be the only other option.

(Writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Barry Moody)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-president-could-resign-allow-election-source-083108238--business.html

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