Ex-head of French breast implant maker arrested (AP)

PARIS ? Police in southeast France on Thursday arrested the former head of a French company at the center of a breast implant scandal affecting tens of thousands of women worldwide, a police official said.

Jean-Claude Mas, who ran the now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, was detained at his residence in the Mediterranean coastal town of Six Fours Les Plages shortly before dawn, the official said.

A police search of the residence was under way, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is officially in the hands of judicial investigators.

The implants were pulled from the market in several countries in and beyond Europe amid fears they could rupture and leak silicone into the body.

Authorities worldwide have been scrambling to strike a proper public response to the scandal ? notably about who will pay to remove the implants made with cheap, industrial-grade silicone instead of medical-grade gel, or if the implants need to invariably come out.

European governments have taken different positions: German, Czech and French authorities say the implants should be removed, while Britain says there is not enough evidence of health risks to suggest they should be taken out in all cases.

On Wednesday, health authorities in Brazil said the government will fine private health plans that refuse to pay for the removal and replacement of faulty breast implants sold by PIP and a Dutch company.

A lawyer for Mas said in a statement earlier this month that his client, who ran PIP until it was closed in March 2010, would not speak publicly on the case.

The scandal has put pressure on French health authorities for allegedly not doing enough to vet the quality of a product used by untold thousands of women both in France and abroad.

France's Health Safety Agency has said the suspect implants ? just one type of implants made by PIP ? appear to be more rupture-prone than other types. Investigators say PIP sought to save money by using industrial silicone, whose potential health risks are not yet clear.

PIP's website said the company had exported to more than 60 countries and was one of the world's leading implant makers. The silicone-gel implants in question are not sold in the United States.

According to estimates by national authorities, over 42,000 women in Britain received the implants, more than 30,000 in France, 9,000 in Australia and 4,000 in Italy. Nearly 25,000 of the implants were sold in Brazil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_eu/eu_france_breast_implants

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Corning 4Q profit falls 53 pct, shares sink (AP)

ROCHESTER, N.Y. ? Corning Inc. posted a 53 percent slump in fourth-quarter profit Wednesday and said it is scaling back production of liquid-crystal-display glass because lackluster demand for LCD televisions has led to a steep drop in glass prices.

Its stock fell almost 10 percent, despite the assertion from Chief Financial Officer Jim Flaws that producing LCD glass remains "extraordinarily profitable."

The world's largest maker of LCD glass, Corning said it has had to cut its prices in recent months because Asian panel makers have excess supplies.

Corning hopes that by lowering its output it will help glass supplies "become balanced with glass demand at some point during the year," Flaws told analysts during a conference call.

Corning's net income fell to $491 million, or 31 cents per share, in the October-December period. That's down from $1.04 billion, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it said it earned 33 cents a share. That matches the average forecast from Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $1.89 billion from $1.77 billion, lifted by a 4 percent rise in sales of LCD glass, which totaled $780 million. That beat analysts' average expectation for revenue of $1.85 billion.

Flaws said "price declines would be significant" in the January-March quarter ? as they were in the fourth quarter ? and reach into double digits over the two quarters.

"We are hopeful that our pricing actions, combined with our capacity decisions, will help us get back to more stable price declines in the coming quarters," he said.

Corning shares fell $1.42, or 9.7 percent, to $13.20 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $11.51 to $23.43 in the past year.

Corning expects the retail market for LCD products to grow to 3.6 billion square feet in 2012 from about 3.2 billion square feet in 2011. Revenue from LCD glass rose 4.5 percent to $3.1 billion last year, accounting for 40 percent of overall sales.

DisplaySearch estimates that 206 million LCD-TVs were shipped worldwide in 2011, up 7.5 percent from 2010, while shipments in North America fell 2 percent to 37.5 million units.

In 2012, the market-research firm in Austin, Texas, projects a 9 percent jump in global shipments to 225 million units, and a 3.7 percent rise in North American shipments to 38.9 million units.

"With small but continuous improvements in the economic outlook ... there's better times ahead for the industry," said DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon.

Environmental technologies revenue amounted to $238 million in the fourth quarter, in line with a year ago. Life-sciences revenue rose 2 percent to $143 million, and telecommunications sales rose 11 percent to $490 million.

Propelled by ultra-strong Gorilla glass used in handheld, tablet devices and upscale TVs with frameless monitors, Corning's specialty materials revenue swelled 21 percent in the fourth quarter to $238 million. Invented in 1962, Gorilla found commercial use only in 2008 and sales surged to $710 million in 2011.

For all of 2011, Corning's revenue hit an all-time high of $7.9 billion, up 19 percent from $6.6 billion in 2010. But its net income fell 21 percent to $2.8 billion, or $1.77 a share, from $3.6 billion, or $2.25 per share, a year earlier.

Based in western New York, Corning employs 26,000 people. It also makes air-pollution filters for vehicles and industrial plants and is the world's largest producer of optical fiber and cable.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_corning

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New material to remove radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2012) ? Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste.

The Sandia researchers have used metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to capture and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel. "This is one of the first attempts to use a MOF for iodine capture," said chemist Tina Nenoff of Sandia's Surface and Interface Sciences Department.

The discovery could be applied to nuclear fuel reprocessing or to clean up nuclear reactor accidents. A characteristic of nuclear energy is that used fuel can be reprocessed to recover fissile materials and provide fresh fuel for nuclear power plants. Countries such as France, Russia and India are reprocessing spent fuel.

The process also reduces the volume of high-level wastes, a key concern of the Sandia researchers. "The goal is to find a methodology for highly selective separations that result in less waste being interred," Nenoff said.

Part of the challenge of reprocessing is to separate and isolate radioactive components that can't be burned as fuel. The Sandia team focused on removing iodine, whose isotopes have a half-life of 16 million years, from spent fuel.

They studied known materials, including silver-loaded zeolite, a crystalline, porous mineral with regular pore openings, high surface area and high mechanical, thermal and chemical stability. Various zeolite frameworks can trap and remove iodine from a stream of spent nuclear fuel, but need added silver to work well.

"Silver attracts iodine to form silver iodide," Nenoff said. "The zeolite holds the silver in its pores and then reacts with iodine to trap silver iodide."

But silver is expensive and poses environmental problems, so the team set out to engineer materials without silver that would work like zeolites but have higher capacity for the gas molecules. They explored why and how zeolite absorbs iodine, and used the critical components discovered to find the best MOF, named ZIF-8.

"We investigated the structural properties on how they work and translated that into new and improved materials," Nenoff said.

MOFs are crystalline, porous materials in which a metal center is bound to organic molecules by mild self-assembly chemical synthesis. The choice of metal and organic result in a very specific final framework.

The trick was to find a MOF highly selective for iodine. The Sandia researchers took the best elements of the zeolite Mordenite -- its pores, high surface area, stability and chemical absorption -- and identified a MOF that can separate one molecule, in this case iodine, from a stream of molecules. The MOF and pore-trapped iodine gas can then be incorporated into glass waste for long-term storage.

The Sandia team also fabricated MOFs, made of commercially available products, into durable pellets. The as-made MOF is a white powder with a tendency to blow around. The pellets provide a stable form to use without loss of surface area, Nenoff said.

Sandia has applied for a patent on the pellet technology, which could have commercial applications.

The Sandia researchers are part of the Off-Gas Sigma Team, which is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and studies waste-form capture of volatile gasses associated with nuclear fuel reprocessing. Other team members -- Pacific Northwest, Argonne and Idaho national laboratories -- are studying other volatile gases such as krypton, tritium and carbon.

The project began six years ago and the Sigma Team was formalized in 2009. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy.

Sandia's iodine and MOFs research was featured in two recent articles in the Journal of the American Chemical Society authored by Nenoff and team members Dorina Sava, Mark Rodriguez, Jeffery Greathouse, Paul Crozier, Terry Garino, David Rademacher, Ben Cipiti, Haiqing Liu, Greg Halder, Peter Chupas, and Karena Chapman. Chupas, Halder and Chapman are from Argonne.

"The most important thing we did was introduce a new class of materials to nuclear waste remediation," said Sava, postdoctoral appointee on the project.

Nenoff said another recent paper in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research shows a one-step process that incorporates MOFs with iodine in a low-temperature, glass waste form. "We have a volatile off-gas capture using a MOF and we have a durable waste form," Nenoff said.

Nenoff and her colleagues are continuing their research into new and optimized MOFs for enhanced volatile gas separation and capture.

"We've shown that MOFs have the capacity to capture and, more importantly, retain many times more iodine than current materials technologies," said Argonne's Chapman.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Sandia National Laboratories.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal References:

1. Karena W. Chapman, Dorina F. Sava, Gregory J. Halder, Peter J. Chupas, Tina M. Nenoff. Trapping Guests within a Nanoporous Metal?Organic Framework through Pressure-Induced Amorphization. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011; 133 (46): 18583 DOI: 10.1021/ja2085096
2. Dorina F. Sava, Mark A. Rodriguez, Karena W. Chapman, Peter J. Chupas, Jeffery A. Greathouse, Paul S. Crozier, Tina M. Nenoff. Capture of Volatile Iodine, a Gaseous Fission Product, by Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011; 133 (32): 12398 DOI: 10.1021/ja204757x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/CJGeQjqGk-0/120124140319.htm

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Preview: Finale Episode of VH1?s Love & Hip Hop

TV Shows – Full Episode Video – Reality TV Shows LOVE & HIP HOP? SEASON 2 FINALE – PREMIERES MONDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 8PM ET/PT Season 2 of?Vh1?s ?Love and Hip Hop??was a rollercoaster of?epic fights and personal triumphs?from the reveal by new cast member Kimbella that she dated hip hop artist Fabulous while his [...]

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Israeli leader condemns Palestinian Muslim cleric (AP)

JERUSALEM ? The Palestinians' top Muslim cleric is facing harsh Israeli criticism for quoting a religious text that includes passages about killing Jews.

Mufti Mohammed Hussein said his remarks at a rally for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement last week were taken out of context and that he didn't incite people to kill Jews.

The comments from the rally were posted to YouTube by an Israeli watchdog group tracking incitement.

In the video, the mufti cited a hadith, or saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, that the Earth's end of days will not happen until Muslims kill Jews in a religious battle.

Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned the comments as "heinous."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

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'The Artist' silent but golden at producer awards (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? "The Artist" followed its Golden Globe win by taking top honors at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, as the silent film continues its unlikely run toward Oscar night.

Producer Thomas Langmann received the award handed out at the Beverly Hilton by the Producers Guild of America, as "The Artist" beat out George Clooney's family drama and another Oscar favorite, "The Descendants."

"The Artist" won best musical or comedy at Sunday's Golden Globes and "The Descendants" won best drama along with a best actor nod for Clooney, making the movies likely rivals for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

The other nominees in the movie category were "War Horse," "The Help," "Bridesmaids," "Hugo," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball" and another Clooney movie, "The Ides of March."

Along with honors from other Hollywood professional groups such as actors, directors and writers guilds, the producer prizes have become part of the preseason sorting out contenders for the Oscars, whose nominations come out Jan. 24.

HBO's saga of mobsters in Prohibition-era Atlantic City "Boardwalk Empire" won the producers' award for television drama series, keeping AMC's "Mad Men" from winning its fourth straight PGA Award.

A team of seven producers including Martin Scorcese received the award for "Boardwalk Empire," which also beat out Showtime's "Dexter," CBS's "The Good Wife," and another HBO series, "Game of Thrones."

The ABC sitcom "Modern Family" took the award for best comedy series for the second straight year, beating "30 Rock," "The Big Bang Theory," "Glee," and "Parks and Recreation."

Other winners at the PGA awards include PBS's "Downton Abbey" for long-form television, "The Adventures of Tintin" for animated film, "Beats, Rhymes & Life" for movie documentary and "The Colbert Report" for talk and live entertainment shows.

___

Online:

http://www.producersguild.org

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_en_ot/us_film_producers_awards

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Conservatives, economy fuel Gingrich win in SC

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, stands with, from left, his wife Ann, obscured left, granddaughter Allie, son Tagg, son Matt, and granddaughter Chloe, as he speaks at his South Carolina primary election night reception at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the Republican primary Saturday night. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, stands with, from left, his wife Ann, obscured left, granddaughter Allie, son Tagg, son Matt, and granddaughter Chloe, as he speaks at his South Carolina primary election night reception at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the Republican primary Saturday night. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, leaves after a campaign event at Chick-Fil-A, in Anderson, S.C., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Tommy?s Country Ham House, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Greenville, S.C., on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A man shelters himself from the rain prior to a scheduled campaign event for Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, outside a polling station at Powdersville Middle School, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Greenville, S.C., on South Carolina's Republican primary election day. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Strong backing from conservative and religious voters and people fretting about the uncertain economy fueled Newt Gingrich's victory Saturday in South Carolina's Republican presidential primary, an exit poll of voters showed Saturday.

The figures also showed that for the first time, the former House speaker had grabbed two constituencies that his chief rival, Mitt Romney, prided himself in winning in the year's two previous GOP contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. By a decisive 5 to 4 margin, Gingrich bested Romney among voters looking for someone to defeat President Barack Obama this November, and he led Romney by nearly as much among those who considered the economy the top issue in picking a candidate.

Gingrich benefited most from the campaign's final, tumultuous week, the figures showed.

Just over half said they'd chosen a candidate in the last few days, and they backed Gingrich over Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, by 2-1. By a slightly stronger margin, the roughly two-thirds who said campaign debates were an important factor also supported Gingrich. There were two GOP debates in South Carolina during the past week.

In the last days of the campaign, Romney stumbled badly when asked repeatedly whether he will release his income tax returns. Gingrich endured an allegation by one of his two former wives, Marianne, that he had asked permission for an open marriage while he was having an affair with the woman who is his current wife, Callista.

That accusation seemed to take only a slight toll on Gingrich.

He got less than 10 percent support from people who said what they most wanted in a candidate was strong moral character, but these voters were less than 1 in 5 of those who showed up Saturday at the polls. And Gingrich did slightly better than Romney among women and polled a bit more strongly among married than unmarried females.

Gingrich won healthy margins among the state's conservatives, who comprise more than 6 in 10 voters in the state, one of the country's reddest. While those results were bad news for Romney, they were even more damaging to Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who has been dueling with Gingrich to become the GOP's conservative champion and alternative to Romney.

Gingrich won among conservatives and tea party supporters by nearly 2-1 over Romney. Santorum was slightly behind.

Nearly two-thirds of voters Saturday said they are born again or evangelical Christians, and they backed Gingrich over Romney by 2-1 also.

More telling, 6 in 10 voters said it was important that their candidate share their religious beliefs. Nearly half of such voters backed Gingrich, while only around 1 in 5 chose Romney or Santorum.

About 8 in 10 voters said they were very worried about the direction of the country's economy, and they picked Gingrich over Romney by about a 4-3 edge.

South Carolina's unemployment rate of 9.9 percent is worse than the national average, and the exit poll provided evidence of the state's economic pain. About 3 in 10 said someone in their household has lost a job in the past three years. And about 1 in 5 said they are falling behind financially ? about double the proportion who said so in exit polling in the state's 2008 GOP presidential primary.

Romney's earlier career heading Bain Capital, a venture capital firm, clearly wounded his prospects. During much of the campaign, Gingrich and others accused Romney and his company of killing jobs in the companies they bought and restructured.

Those blows showed on Saturday. According to the exit polls, Gingrich and Romney broke about even among the 6 in 10 voters who said they had a positive view of Romney's activities at Bain. But among those who viewed Romney's work negatively, half picked Gingrich and almost none backed Romney.

Underscoring how poorly Romney fared in South Carolina, only about 4 in 10 voters Saturday said they could enthusiastically back Romney should he eventually win the GOP nomination.

Romney's defeat was so sweeping that he lost to Gingrich among voters of every age. The only income group that Romney won was people making above $200,000 a year ? 1 in 20 of those who voted Saturday.

The exit poll also showed that around two-thirds of voters approve of the job Nikki Haley is doing as governor, a job she won with strong tea party support. Haley endorsed Romney but 7 in 10 tea party backers gave her high marks anyway.

The survey was conducted for AP and the television networks by Edison Research as voters left their polling places at 35 randomly selected sites in South Carolina. The survey involved interviews with 2,381 voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

___

Associated Press global polling director Trevor Tompson contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-21-GOP%20Campaign-Voter%20Attitudes/id-3c7609554bdb4e52ae3a40953e8c8c48

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