Abdominal Pain

The following is an incomplete list of possible causes of abdominal pain.

• Gastrointestinal
  • Inflammatory: gastroenteritis, appendicitis, gastritis, esophagitis, diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis
  • Obstruction: hernia, intussusception, volvulus, post-surgical adhesions, tumours, superior mesenteric artery syndrome, severe constipation, hemorrhoids
  • Vascular: embolism, thrombosis, hemorrhage, sickle cell disease, abdominal angina, blood vessel compression (such as celiac artery compression syndrome)
  • digestive: peptic ulcer, lactose intolerance, celiac sprue (affecting 1:133 people), food allergies, Jasohnstritis
  • Bile system
    • Inflammatory: cholecystitis, cholangitis
    • Obstruction: cholelithiasis, tumours
    • Liver
      • Inflammatory: hepatitis, liver abscess
      • Pancreatic
        • Inflammatory: pancreatitis
        • Renal and urological
          • Inflammation: pyelonephritis, bladder infection
          • Obstruction: kidney stones, urolithiasis, Urinary retention, tumours
          • Vascular: left renal vein entrapment
          • Gynecological or obstetric
            • Inflammatory: pelvic inflammatory disease
            • Mechanical: ovarian torsion
            • Endocrinological: menstruation, Mittelschmerz
            • Tumors: endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cyst, ovarian cancer
            • Pregnancy: ruptured ectopic pregnancy, threatened abortion
            • Abdominal wall
              • muscle strain or trauma
              • muscular infection
              • neurogenic pain: herpes zoster, radiculitis in Lyme disease, abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES), tabes dorsalis
              • Referred pain
                • from the thorax: pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, ischemic heart disease, pericarditis
                • from the spine: radiculitis
                • from the genitals: testicular torsion
                • Metabolic disturbance
                  • uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis, porphyria, C1-esterase inhibitor deficiency, adrenal insufficiency, lead poisoning, black widow spider bite, narcotic withdrawal
                  • Blood vessels
                    • aortic dissection, abdominal aortic aneurysm
                    • Immune system
                      • sarcoidosis
                      • vasculitis
                      • familial Mediterranean fever
                      • Idiopathic
                        • irritable bowel syndrome (affecting up to 20% of the population, IBS is the most common cause of recurrent, intermittent abdominal pain)

Acute Abdominal Pain

Acute abdomen can be defined as severe, persistent abdominal pain of sudden onset that is likely to require surgical intervention to treat its cause. The pain may frequently be associated with nausea and vomiting, abdominal distention, fever and signs of shock. One of the most common conditions associated with acute abdominal pain is acute appendicitis, a condition where mucus or fecal matter hardens, becomes rock-like, and blocks the opening.
Selected causes of acute abdomen

• Traumatic : blunt or perforating trauma to the stomach, bowel, spleen, liver, or kidney
• Inflammatory :
  • Infections such as appendicitis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, pyelonephritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, hepatitis, mesenteric adenitis, or a subdiaphragmatic abscess
  • Perforation of a peptic ulcer, a diverticulum, or the caecum
  • Complications of inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis
  • Mechanical :
    • Small bowel obstruction secondary to adhesions caused by previous surgeries, intussusception, hernias, benign or malignant neoplasms
    • Large bowel obstruction caused by colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, volvulus, fecal impaction or hernia
    • Vascular : occlusive intestinal ischemia, usually caused by thromboembolism of the superior mesenteric artery

Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children and Adolescents

Recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) occurs in 5–15% of children 6–19 years old. In a community-based study of middle and high school students, 13–17% had weekly abdominal pain. Using criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), 14% of high school students and 6% of middle school students fit the criteria for adult IBS. As with other difficult to diagnose chronic medical problems, patients with RAP account for a very large number of office visits and medical resources in proportion to their actual numbers. Most patients with RAP benefit from reassurance and techniques to manage anxiety and stress, which are frequently associated with episodes

Abdominal pain (or stomach ache) can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. Making a definitive diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain can be difficult, because many diseases can result in this symptom. Abdominal pain is a common problem. Most frequently the cause is benign and/or self-limited, but more serious causes may require urgent intervention.

When a physician assesses a patient to determine the etiology and subsequent treatment for abdominal pain the patients history of the presenting complaint and physical examination should derive a diagnosis in over 90% of cases.

It is important also for a physician to remember that abdominal pain can be caused by problems outside the abdomen, especially heart attacks and pneumonias which can occasionally present as abdominal pain.

Investigations that would aid diagnosis include

* Blood tests including full blood count, electrolytes, urea, creatinine, liver function tests, pregnancy test and lipase.
* Urinalysis
* Imaging including erect chest X-ray and plain films of the abdomen
* An electrocardiograph to rule out a heart attack which can occasionally present as abdominal pain

If diagnosis remains unclear after history, examination and basic investigations as above then more advanced investigations may reveal a diagnosis. These as such would include

* Computed Tomography of the abdomen/pelvis
* Abdominal or pelvic ultrasound
* Endoscopy and colonoscopy (not used for diagnosing acute pain)

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Classification

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are commonly divided according to their size and symptomatology. An aneurysm is usually defined as an outer aortic diameter over 3 cm (normal diameter of aorta is around 2 cm). However, if the AAA is surgically repaired before rupture, the post-operative mortality rate is substantially lower: approximately 1-6%.

The vast majority of aneurysms are asymptomatic. However, as abdominal aortic aneurysms expand, they may become painful and lead to pulsating sensations in the abdomen or pain in the chest, lower back, or scrotum. The risk of rupture is high in a symptomatic aneurysm, which is therefore considered an indication for surgery. The complications include rupture, peripheral embolisation, acute aortic occlusion, and aortocaval (between the aorta and inferior vena cava) or aortoduodenal (between the aorta and the duodenum) fistulae. On physical examination, a palpable abdominal mass can be noted. Bruits can be present in case of renal or visceral arterial stenosis. The bleeding can be retroperitoneal or intraperitoneal, or the rupture can create an aortocaval or aortointestinal (between the aorta and intestine) fistula.

* Genetic influences: The influence of genetic factors is highly probable. The high familial prevalence rate is most notable in male individuals. There are many theories about the exact genetic disorder that could cause higher incidence of AAA among male members of the affected families. Some presumed that the influence of alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency could be crucial, some experimental works favored the theory of X-linked mutation, which would explain the lower incidence in heterozygous females. Other theories of genetic etiology have also been formulated.
* Atherosclerosis: The AAA was long considered to be caused by atherosclerosis, because the walls of the AAA are frequently affected heavily. However, this theory cannot be used to explain the initial defect and the development of occlusion, which is observed in the process.

Hemodynamics affect the development of AAA. It has a predilection for the infrarenal aorta. The histological structure and mechanical characteristics of infrarenal aorta differ from those of the thoracic aorta. The diameter decreases from the root to the bifurcation, and the wall of the abdominal aorta also contains a lesser proportion of elastin. The mechanical tension in abdominal aortic wall is therefore higher than in the thoracic aortic wall. The elasticity and distensibility also decline with age, which can result in gradual dilatation of the segment. Higher intraluminal pressure in patients with arterial hypertension markedly contributes to the progression of the pathological process. This is a grade B recommendation. A re-analysis of the meta-analysis estimated a number needed to screen of approximately 850 patients.

The largest of the randomized controlled trials on which this guideline was based studied a screening program that consisted of:

Screening men ages 65–74 years (not restricted to ever smokers). 'Men in whom abdominal aortic aneurysms (> or =3 cm in diameter) were detected were followed-up... Patients with an aortic diameter of 3·0–4·4 cm were rescanned at yearly intervals, whereas those with an aortic diameter of 4·5–5·4 cm were rescanned at 3-monthly intervals ... Surgery was considered on specific criteria (diameter > or =5.5 cm, expansion > or =1 cm per year, symptoms)'.

This trial reported significant short) and long term (number needed to screen after 7 years of approximately 280 to prevent nonfatal ruptured AAA plus AAA-related deaths) benefit and cost effectiveness. Subsequent randomized controlled trials also found benefit:

* number needed to screen after 4 years of 300
* number needed to screen after and after 7 years of 563 (calculation).

In the U.S., effective January 1, 2007, provisions of the SAAAVE Act (Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Very Efficiently) now provide a free, one-time, ultrasound AAA screening benefit for those qualified seniors. Men who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes during their life, and men and women with a family history of AAA qualify for the one-time ultrasound screening. Enrollees must visit their healthcare professional for their Welcome to Medicare physical within six months of enrolment in order to qualify for the free screening. The Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam must be completed within the first six months of Medicare eligibility, but there is no published time limit thereafter for completion of the AAA screening. Providers who perform the physical and order the AAA screening need to document the AAA risk factors.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (also known as AAA, pronounced "triple-a") is a localized dilatation of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent. It is caused by degeneration of the aortic wall, but the exact etiology remains unknown. Some 90 percent of abdominal aortic aneurysms occur infrarenally (below the kidneys), but they can also occur pararenally (at the level of the kidneys) or suprarenally (above the kidneys). Such aneurysms can extend to include one or both of the iliac arteries in the pelvis.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms occur most commonly in individuals between 65 and 75 years old and are more common among men and smokers. They tend to cause no symptoms, although occasionally they cause pain in the abdomen and back (due to pressure on surrounding tissues) or in the legs (due to disturbed blood flow). The major complication of abdominal aortic aneurysms is rupture, which can be life-threatening as large amounts of blood spill into the abdominal cavity, and can lead to death within minutes.
Symptomatic and large aneurysms (i.e., those greater than 5.5cm in diameter) are considered for repair by one of several surgical methods. There is moderate evidence to support screening in individuals with risk factors for abdominal aortic aneurysms.
There have been many calls for alternative approaches to rupture-risk assessment over the past number of years, with many believing that a biomechanics-based approach may be more suitable than the current diameter approach. Numerical modelling is a valuable tool to researchers allowing approximate wall stresses to be calculated, thus revealing the rupture potential of a particular aneurysm.
Experimental models are required to validate these numerical results, and provide a further insight into the biomechanical behaviour of the AAA. ''In vivo'', AAAs exhibit a varying range of material strengths from localised weak hypoxic regions to much stronger regions and areas of calcifications. Experimental models can now be manufactured using a novel technique involving the injection-moulding lost-wax manufacturing process to create patient-specific anatomically-correct AAA replicas.
Work has also focused on developing more realistic material analogues to those ''in vivo'', and recently a novel range of silicone-rubbers was created allowing the varying material properties of the AAA to be more accurately represented. These rubber models can also be used in a variety of experimental testing from stress analysis using the photoelastic method to deterimining whether the locations of rupture experimentally correlate with those predicted numerically.
With the recent advancements in AAA research, coupled with the increasing collaboration between clinicians and engineers, the future research into AAA rupture-prediction and treatment appears to be in a strong position to combat what is currently ranked as the 13th leading cause of death in the US and the 10th leading cause of death in men over the age of 55 years.
A recent animal study published in the journal ''Nature Medicine'' showed that removing a single protein prevents early damage in blood vessels from triggering a later-stage, frequently lethal complication of atherosclerosis. By eliminating the gene for a signaling protein called cyclophilin A (CypA) from a strain of mice, researchers were able to provide complete protection against abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
New endovascular devices are being developed that are able to treat more complex and tortuous anatomies.

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Makeup Tips for Winter

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The BRATTY (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Tea, Toast, and Yogurt) diet is generally recommended as part of the prescribed treatment for patients suffering from gastrointestinal ailments. Common conditions such as gastroenteritis, dyspepsia, and diarrhea as well as more serious conditions such as Graft versus Host Disease can be effectively managed and treated with this diet. This diet helps to treat the root cause of diarrhea as well as the accompanying symptoms such as abdominal cramps, dehydration, fatigue, and lethargy. It is important to include all the foods in this diet for a speedy recovery.

Purple and Persian Green Crepe Embroidered Churidar Kameez

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the new 10.1-inch tablet powered by a Nvidia dual-core Tegra 2 processor,16GB or 32GB of storage, and sporting dual camera with front-facing 2 megapixel camera for video calling and 8 mega-pixel camera at rear .It is pre-loaded with the latest Android v3.0 OS .It is also called Samsung P7100 Tablet.
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TOKYO — The operator of Japan's leaking nuclear plant says power lines have been hooked up to all six reactor units, though more work is needed before electricity can run through them.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, announced the hookup Tuesday but cautioned that workers must check pumps, motors and other equipment before the electricity is turned on.

Reconnecting the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex to the electrical grid is a significant step in getting control of the overheated reactors and storage pools for spent fuels. But it is likely to be days if not longer before the cooling systems can be powered up, since damaged equipment needs to be replaced and any volatile gas must be vented to avoid an explosion.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) – Weariness and anxiety percolated Tuesday among people who left their homes near Japan's radiation-shedding nuclear complex as workers tried urgently to cool an overheated storage pool and methodically to reconnect critical cooling systems.

In another day of progress and setbacks, a pool holding spent nuclear fuel heated up to around the boiling point, a nuclear safety official said. With water bubbling away, there is a risk that more radioactive steam could spew out. "We cannot leave this alone and we must take care of it as quickly as possible," said the official, Hidehiko Nishiyama.
Story continues below
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It wasn't clear if crews had to retreat to stop work hooking up electrical systems and checking machinery to power up cooling systems.

People at Fukushima city's main evacuation center waited in long lines for bowls of hot noodle soup. A truck delivered toilet paper and blankets. Many among the 1,400 people living in the crowded gymnasium came from communities near the nuclear plant and worry about radiation and weary of the daily routine of the displaced.

"It was an act of God," said Yoshihiro Amano, a grocery store owner whose house is 4 miles (6 kilometers) from the reactors. "It won't help anything to get angry. But we are worried. We don't know if it will takes days, months or decades to go home. Maybe never. We are just starting to be able to think ahead to that."

Public sentiment is such that Fukushima's governor rejected a meeting offered by the president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, the utility that runs the nuclear plant.

"What is most important is for TEPCO to end the crisis with maximum effort. So I rejected the offer," Gov. Yuhei Sato said on national broadcaster NHK. "Considering the anxiety, anger and exasperation being felt by people in Fukushima, there is just no way for me to accept their apology."

The nuclear crisis has added a broader dimension to the disaster unleashed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that pulverized the northeast coast, leaving more than 9,000 dead by official count and twice that in police estimates.

Three of Japan's marquee companies – Sony Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. – announced halts to production at plants in Japan. The reason is a shortage of parts – a result of so many ruined factories in the disaster area.

Fears about radiation are reaching well beyond those living near Fukushima and the 430,000 displaced by the earthquake and tsunami to encompass large segments of Japan. Traces of radiation are being found in vegetables and raw milk from a swath of farmland, forcing a government ban on sales from those areas.

Seawater near the Fukushima plant is showing elevated levels of radioactive iodine and cesium, prompting the government to test seafood.

China, Japan's largest trading partner, has ordered testing of imports of Japanese food. The World Health Organization has urged Japan to adopt stricter measures and reassure the public.

Government officials and health experts say the doses are low and not a threat to human health unless the tainted products are consumed in abnormally excessive quantities. But the government measures to release data on radiation amounts, halt sales of some foods and test others are feeding public worries that the situation may grow more dire.

"We acknowledge this situation has caused anxiety among the general public but even if the accident hadn't happened we would be monitoring and taking action if the government's very conservative standards are exceeded," the government's spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, said at a briefing.

In the first five days after the disasters struck, the Fukushima complex saw explosions and fires in four of the plant's six reactors, and the leaking of radioactive steam into the air. Since then, progress has been made cooling the active reactors and replenishing spent fuel pool, though setbacks have occurred.

The bubbling in Unit 2's storage pool is worrisome. If unabated, the water could boil away, exposing fuel rods that would throw up more radiation. At extremely high temperatures, the zirconium cladding around the rods could melt and explode.

Nishiyama, the agency official, said the rods had been partly exposed; an agency spokesman Shinji Kinjo believed the rods remained covered.

An official of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in Washington that Units 1, 2 and 3 have all seen damage to their reactor cores, but that containment is intact. The commission's executive director, Bill Borchardt, said that "things appear to be on the verge of stabilizing."

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that radiation seeping into the environment is a concern and needs to be monitored. "We are still in an accident that is still in a very serious situation," said Graham Andrew, senior adviser to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano.

IAEA monitoring stations have detected radiation 1,600 times higher than normal levels – but in an area about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the power station, the limit of the evacuation area declared by the government last week.

Radiation at that level, while not high for a single burst, could harm health if sustained. If projected to last three days, radiation at those levels would U.S. authorities would order an evacuation as a precaution.

The levels drop dramatically the further you go from the nuclear complex. In Tokyo, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) south of the plant, levels in recent days have been higher than normal for the city but still only a third of the global average for naturally occurring background radiation.

Indian politicians are in a stew over cables released by WikiLeaks suggesting that Indian lawmakers were paid millions of dollars to vote in favor of a civil nuclear deal with the U.S.

The deal was regarded as a milestone in Indo-American relations. But it was opposed by several groups in India, especially the Communist Party, which withdrew support from the governing coalition as the deal was being finalized in 2008.

Brinda Karat, a senior leader of the Communist Party, told AOL News that the cables exposed how Congress Party leaders tried to "whitewash the political crimes that have been committed."

The 2008 civil nuclear agreement was a first step in repairing India-U.S. relations, which had worsened after the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on India for conducting underground nuclear tests in 1998.

The deal was signed under the Bush administration and is still being finessed by the Obama administration, which hosted its first state dinner in 2009 for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The leaked cable, published in The Hindu, said that an Indian political aide showed an American diplomat two chests of cash, allegedly part of a $25 million fund to pay for votes.

Before the vote of confidence on the nuclear deal in 2008, leaders of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, produced cash on the floor of the House and claimed that votes had been bought. A subsequent investigation, however, did not lead to any concrete findings.

The cables have brought the issue to the forefront again, according to Karat, who has called on Congress Party leaders to confess and asked the government to conduct criminal prosecutions immediately.

Several analysts in India have expressed concern that the government is bending over backward to accommodate the U.S., which they say is running the show.

The immediate question, however, is whether the Congress-led government will survive. Many observers have suggested that this scandal -- like many others -- will blow over, especially because the allegations are old and the deal has moved forward since then. And WikiLeaks has said that it will reveal more India-related cables, which could distract the public and media with another scandal.

"In normal circumstances, the government would not survive, but we don't live in normal times. ... The corruption has become so deep-rooted," said Prashant Bhushan, a prominent Indian lawyer and activist, who convinced the Supreme Court to investigate the loss of $40 billion from the Indian Treasury in the "2G Spectrum" scam last year.

Still, Bhushan observed that the fragile polity, if hit with another blow, could crumble in the coming months.

Following the recent uproar, Prime Minister Singh told the Indian Parliament that the cables were "speculative, unverified and unverifiable."

"It is unfortunate that the opposition continues to raise old charges that have been debated, discussed and rejected by the people of India," he said last week.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, however, insists that the cables are authentic and that Singh is misleading the public.

"The comments that I've been hearing from Prime Minister Singh, these to me seem like a deliberate attempt to mislead the public by suggesting that governments around the world do not accept this material and that it's not verified," Assange told Indian news channel NDTV.

"That does not mean every fact in them is correct. You have to look at their sources and how they gave this information," he said Monday.

Shoma Chaudhury, the managing editor of Tehelka, an Indian news magazine known for its undercover exposes, argues that the cables have too many "ifs and buts" and are only of "speculative value."

"They are not conclusive by a long shot," she said, adding that the Indian political aide who showed the money to the American official was a junior operative and could have been exaggerating.

While the Congress Party has been mired in a series of billion-dollar corruption scams, its soft-spoken leader is generally regarded as being clean. But in the wake of the new scandal, the BJP has called for his resignation.

It is unlikely that the current scandal will lead to Singh's resignation, according to Vinod Mudgal, who runs a project to improve rural livelihood in India that includes more transparency in governance.

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"In South Asia, corruption is endemic ... The poor have to pay more bribes than the rich in their everyday life," he said. "But there will be a limited impact."

Today, the opposition staged a walkout of a parliamentary session, saying Singh had misled the House in 2008 by claiming that lawmakers had not been bribed.

But the BJP hasn't escaped the scandal unscathed. Shortly after the first revelation, WikiLeaks released cables that suggested the opposition party publicly slammed the nuclear deal but privately reassured the Americans they were OK with it.

"The result of all this is that even the opposition party has no moral authority," Bhushan said.

The BJP has denied engaging in any hypocrisy.
Source: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/22/wikileaks-cables-cause-uproar-in-india-over-nuke-deal-with-us/

There have been several tutorials and questions on internet that shows how to reset the security locking code of your Nokia Symbian Phones. But honestly speaking, non of the tutorial works. Because, most of them keeps talking about Master Code security code which really does not work in every phone.
The technique behind Master code is that, every phone has unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and with the help of this number, a specific software will calculate your so called master code. This might work in some phone but not always. Because how can you be so sure about that the Master Code generated is the correct one? If it has been the straight right security code then there won’t be any use of security code. Because, Lock codes and master codes are meant for security purpose in case if it’s stolen or lost some where.
Therefore this might not be much practical. The good thing you can do is, contact the authorized service center to have your code reseted. If you don’t want to do that then still you have a choice left. That is, you’ll have to hack the phone. Don’t worry with the term ‘hack’ we’ll do nothing like hacking.
We’ll use a backdoor to reset the security code. This might be illegal, but can be helpful if you badly need it. Here is how you do it.
First of all download the security code hack patch from here. Once you have downloaded it extract it with your favorite unzipper.  Now reate a new folder ‘Recogs‘ in your desktop.

New Recogs folder in desktop

Once it has been created, copy the THC-NOKIA-UNLOCK.MDLfile from the extracted file to Recogs folder.

Drag or copy the file to Recogs folder

Now take out the memory card from your Nokia phone and plug it in to you card reader and open it from my computer.

Open your card from my computer

Once you open go to System folder. If it is not there then don’t worry it is hidden folder. To go to System folder, type ‘system‘ next to your card location as shown in the image below (in this tutorial the drive letter for the memory card is H:).

Type-in system to go to system folder

Instantly you’ll be inside system folder.

The System folder

Once you are inside the system folder copy the Recogs folder from desktop to the system.

Recogs folder being copied to system folder

Finally when it’s copied, eject your memory card and insert it to your phone which you want to unlock. Once you insert the memory card, it will automatically start the unclocker file and resets the Locking code.
Once it succesfully resets your Locking code, it will prompt a message on white screen with, ‘Press a Key’. Press any key and your code is rested to 12345. Now you can change it any time.
Thats it, you are done. No need of any electronic device, no need of any data cards no need of any complicated and insecure software and the phone is yours again.
If you enjoyed this tutorial then subscribe to us for free and also bookmark us.

Verizon's 4G network proved the fastest and most consistent among those of the four major U.S. carriers, according to a study (PDF) out today by mobile testing company RootMetrics.

With the four (but soon to be three, what with yesterday's surprise announcement that AT&T plans to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion) major carriers all trumpeting the respective performance of their own high-speed mobile networks, RootMetrics set out to determine which was truly the speediest by testing 4G-capable phones from each one.

Included in the study were the HTC Thunderbolt running on Verizon's LTE network, the HTC Inspire on AT&T's HSPA+ network, the HTC Evo on Sprint's WiMax network, and the Samsung Galaxy S on T-Mobile's HSPA+21 network. The testing was done solely in Seattle near RootMetrics' offices in Bellevue, Washington.

Though the term 4G is bandied about rather loosely in the industry, for the purposes of the study Metrics referred to each carrier's network as 4G.

Measuring upload and download performance as one part of the test, RootMetrics found that Verizon's LTE delivered the best speeds, averaging between 4 and 14.5 times faster than the competition in downloads and between 4.7 and 49.3 times faster in uploads. Beyond mere speed, though, the test looked at the ability to both achieve and maintain those high speeds. And here, Verizon also scored on top.

RootMetrics discovered that Verizon managed to deliver download speeds above 10 megabits per second almost 90 percent of the time and average upload speeds between 5Mbps and 10Mbps fully 100 percent of the time. Further, Verizon's LTE network was available 100 percent of the time, both in the car and in a fixed location.

In comparison, T-Mobile and Sprint tied statistically for second place overall, though T-Mobile's HSPA+21 network offered a slightly higher average download speed of 4.42Mbps over Sprint's WiMax at 4.4Mbps. T-Mobile's upload speed fared better as well, averaging 1.29Mbps versus Sprint's 605 kilobits per second. Taking up the rear in speed was AT&T's HSPA+ network, which delivered average download speeds of 1.18Mbps and upload speeds of just 123Kbps.

Looking at reliability, RootMetrics was able to access Sprint's network 90 percent of the time and the networks from AT&T and T-Mobile 80 percent of the time. Further, the tests found that WiMax offered the most consistent download and upload speeds after Verizon, followed by T-Mobile and then AT&T.

How do the speeds that RootMetrics found compare with those touted by the carriers themselves?

For its LTE network, Verizon promises average speeds of 5Mbps to 12Mbps for downloads and 2Mbps to 5Mbps for uploads. AT&T points to download speeds up to around 6Mbps. Sprint promises average download speeds of 3Mbps to 6Mbps on its WiMax network. And T-Mobile's testing showed download speeds of close to 5Mbps.

To conduct its tests, RootMetrics drove around Seattle on March 18 with unaltered, off-the-shelf versions of the four smartphones tested, each outfitted with the Android 2.2 operating system. The testers also stopped at certain locations to gauge performance in a fixed location.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20045376-251.html#ixzz1HB4qQgzZ

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to do a "systematic and methodical" review of U.S. nuclear facilities following the onset of the crisis earlier this month in Japan.

The NRC said today that it will study information from the situation in Japan--where a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunamis provoked a dangerous situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility--and conduct an assessment of nuclear power plants in the U.S. There will be a rapid, 90-day review and a longer review which could include regulatory action, according to reports.

"We have a high degree of confidence that at our 104 nuclear reactors there is an adequate basis to ensure adequate protection," Bill Borchardt, executive director for operations at the NRC, said at a Commission meeting, according to a report at E2 Wire.
Dry cask storage puts spent fuel assemblies are entombed in steel and concrete.

Dry cask storage puts spent fuel assemblies are entombed in steel and concrete.
(Credit: NRC)

The review comes at a time of growing concern over nuclear disasters in the U.S. and renewed calls to improve the safety of spent fuel from nuclear facilities. At the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan, the spent fuel pools have emerged as one of the gravest dangers because they are not stored in metal and thick concrete structures as the reactors are.

In the U.S., there are under 100 tons of spent fuel stored at power plants, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. After they have been used to generate heat in the reactor, fuel is kept in pools of water that contain the radiation. Water is also circulated to remove the residual heat from the assemblies, which hold the nuclear fuel rods, for several years.

Because there isn't a central repository in the U.S. for storing spent nuclear fuel, many nuclear plants have a lot of spent nuclear fuel on site. The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant in New Hampshire, for example, had space for 20 years worth of spent fuel storage in pools but then needed to build a dry cask storage facility on site. The nuclear waste is covered in steel and concrete.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which released a report citing safety lapses at U.S. nuclear plants last week, noted that storing fuel in dry casks, rather than in pools, is safer from errors, natural disasters, and attacks.

"UCS has long recommended that spent fuel be transferred from the pool to dry cask storage once the fuel has cooled enough, after about five years. This is a major issue in the U.S. because U.S. pools are becoming increasingly packed with spent fuel," said Lisbeth Gronlund, the co-director of the global security program, in a blog post yesterday.

In particular, plant designs where nuclear fuel is stored above ground have come under fire. Massachusetts state attorney general Martha Coakley yesterday put out a statement pressing the NRC to review the spent fuel at two New England nuclear power plants--Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim. The Seabrook Power Plant was not subject of the complaint because it has below-grade storage.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20045486-54.html#ixzz1HB31P300