Tuesday, June 12, 2012

A bite of the Apple for SanDisk and Nova

Friday saw the end of the best week we have had so far this year, with rises of around 4% in all the indices. The previous week, the indices fell by more than 3%. What is interesting is that this manic-depression is rife not just in the markets themselves, but also in the forecasts of the various experts. The headlines veer almost daily from predictions of imminent total collapse to predictions of a rally of unprecedented strength.

In the end, next month's financials and guidance season will set the direction, as will the severity of the profit warnings we will be treated to beforehand, some of which we will probably start seeing this week.

In the technology sector, this will be mainly Apple's (AAPL) week. This evening, at the opening of its annual developers' week in San Francisco, the company will announce a revamp of its computer lines, something it has not done for a long time.

Besides computers, the speculation ranges from the unveiling of a new iPhone via the launch of a mini-iPad to the unveiling of a first television, which the late Steve Jobs hinted at, a hint lately repeated by current CEO Tim Cook. However, the chances that these devices will be launched today are low. Whoever believes that we are in for big surprises today will point to Cook's recent remark that "we're going to double down on secrecy on products."

Much talk about NAND

Two stocks that I hold here, which rose last week by three times the rise in the indices, are connected to the Apple product food chain. The first, SanDisk (SNDK) is 13% up on its annual low. Investors are starting to believe the hints dropped by the company's management that if in the first half year they collapsed because of the collapse of the customers routed by Apple, in the second half SanDisk will grow again, because it will sell to the "market leaders". You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to understand that this means Apple and Samsung.

It looks as though we will still not find out this evening what exactly SanDisk will sell to Apple later on in the year, but what is certain is that there will be a great deal of talk about storage on NAND chips, that is, SSD. This is a market that SanDisk is counting on very heavily. SSDs will be part of the new thin computers that Apple will launch today to compete with the ultrabooks, some of which were launched last week at Computex in Taiwan.

Another stock that rose 13% was Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (Nasdaq:NVMI; TASE:NVMI). They must be working round the clock in Rehovot in order to supply quantities of measuring systems to the biggest chip subcontractor in the world, TSMC (TSM) of Taiwan. These are systems for 28 nano production lines on which the most advanced processors by Qualcomm (QCOM), Nvidia (NVDA), and others, are produced. There is a considerable shortage of these processors, because TSMC and other companies did not anticipate the strength of the demand, which means that they are now speeding up investment.

Qualcomm is the supplier of the processors for Apple's iPads and iPhones, and if Apple designed the next generation of iPhones on the basis of Qualcomm processors produced on 28 nano lines, it has a problem, because the shortage is expected to continue until the end of the year at least. Among the advantages of these processors is that consume much less energy than processors fabricated on 40 nano lines, and their performance is better.

Further collaboration between Juniper and Radware?

I believe that, although Nova is a very small equipment supplier, it is one of the suppliers that is being pressed to supply systems for TSMC's 28 nano lines. This is because these are very advanced lines that require more measuring systems of the kind supplied by Nova than the lines employing production geometry of 40 nano. Investment bank JP Morgan estimates that TSMC is adding another two 28 nano production lines, to reach five production lines at it three fabs.

To end with, Juniper Networks (JNPR) is holding its annual analysts' day tomorrow, and that is presumably where it will amplify on its collaboration with Radware (RDWR). The two companies announced an OEM agreement in routers for communication providers last year, an agreement that will boost Radware's profitability this year, because it concerns software.

Last month, analyst Ittai Kidron of Oppenheimer wrote about another OEM agreement, also concerning software but much bigger, for switches for computing centers. We have yet to hear about such an agreement from the companies themselves, but if it's true, we will very likely hear about it tomorrow.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 11, 2012

? Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012

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Ex-British prime minister challenges Murdoch for misleading inquiry

LONDON (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused media tycoon Rupert Murdoch on Monday of misleading a government-sponsored inquiry into press ethics with incorrect testimony alleging Brown had threatened war against Murdoch's company.

"This conversation never took place. I am shocked and surprised that it should be suggested," Brown told the Leveson inquiry. "This call did not happen. The threat was not made."

"I find it shocking," Brown said."This did not happen. There is no evidence that it happened other than Mr Murdoch's but it didn't happen."

Murdoch had told the inquiry under oath that Brown phoned him in September 2009 after the Sun newspaper started supporting the Conservative Party. Brown vowed to wage war on Murdoch's company in revenge, he testified.

"We were talking more quietly than you or I are now - he said, 'Well, your company has declared war on my government and we have no alternative but to make war on your company,'" Murdoch told the inquiry in April.

When pressed on how a serving prime minister could make such a threat, Murdoch told the inquiry: "I don't think he was in a very balanced state of mind".

Brown, who served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, said that Murdoch was wrong about both the date and the contents of the phone call.

Statements submitted to a media watchdog by five of Brown's advisers, and seen by Reuters, show none of the five heard Brown threaten Murdoch on the call.

Aides to Brown, including his special adviser, director of strategy and deputy chief of staff, said in statements submitted to the Press Complaints Commission last year that Brown made no such threat on the call, which took place in November not September as Murdoch had said.

"I listened to the phone call between Mr Brown and Mr. Murdoch in November 2009," Stewart Wood, special adviser to the Prime Minister's office, said in a statement dated October 2011 that Reuters has seen.

"At no point in the conversation was threatening language of any sort used by either Mr Brown or Mr Murdoch," Wood said.

In one of the other corroborating statement, lawmaker Michael Dugher, wrote: "At no time did Mr Brown threaten the position of News International. Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Murdoch were entirely courteous and calm."

A former British leader accusing Murdoch of misleading the inquiry under oath will further tarnish the reputation of the world's most powerful media tycoon in a country which is home to some of his biggest newspaper and broadcasting interests.

A British parliamentary committee which investigated allegations of illegal phone-hacking by Murdoch publications has already deemed the Australian-born tycoon unfit to manage a major global company.

The cross-party parliamentary committee said in May that Murdoch was ultimately responsible for the illegal phone hacking that has corroded his global media empire and convulsed Britain's political elite.

BROWN'S SON

Brown also challenged a version of events given by Murdoch's deputy, Rebekah Brooks, about a Sun report that Brown's four-month-old son Fraser had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

Brooks, a close Murdoch confidante who was charged last month with interfering with a police investigation into the phone hacking scandal, told the inquiry the Browns had given their backing to the story.

"I have never sought to bring my children into the public domain," Brown said. He denied his consent had been given to publish the story.

"I find it sad that even now in 2012 members of the News International staff are coming to this inquiry and maintaining this fiction."

The former prime minister has questioned whether the paper had hacked into his son's medical records to get the story. Brooks has denied this and Murdoch has said the story was broken when a father of another child tipped off the newspaper.

"A father from the hospital in a similar position had called us, told us," Murdoch said in his testimony.

But Brown told the inquiry that the National Health Service in Fife had apologized to his family because information about his son came from NHS staff.

"There were only a few medical people who knew that our son had this condition," Brown said.

He said the NHS in Fife "now believe it highly likely that there was unauthorized information given by a medical or working member of the NHS staff that allowed the Sun through this middle man to publish this story," Brown said.

The Sun ran a story in July 2011 under the headline "Brown Wrong" which said the source of the story was a "shattered dad" who had a son with the genetic disorder and that Brown's wife, Sarah, had given the newspaper consent to run the story.

Brooks said on May 11 at Leveson that a small donation was made to the cystic fibrosis charity at the request of the man.

But Reuters has seen a copy of a letter from the chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Ed Owen, saying the Trust found no record of any donation by The Sun or News International at the time of the story.

The Sun newspaper also reported that its readers had helped Cystic Fibrosis Trust double its donations in the wake of their story about Fraser. But the letter from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust showed they had seen no significant increase in donations.

Regardless of who the source was, the subject of a front page splash detailing the serious illness of a four-month baby is likely to prove unedifying and garner sympathy for Brown, who has rarely appeared in public since he left office in 2010.

Murdoch described a relationship with Brown - whose political career effectively ended when he lost an election to incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 - that included meals which their wives attended and conversations on topics ranging from charity to the war in Afghanistan.

Brooks told the Leveson inquiry she formed a friendship with Sarah Brown and that they had had a "pyjama party" at the prime minister's official country residence, Chequers, with Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth, and his wife, Wendi.

But Murdoch said their relationship worsened after his media companies opposed Brown ahead of the 2010 election.

Brown told parliament in 2011 that News International was part of a "criminal-media-nexus" that had broken the law on an industrial scale.

(Editing by Michael Stott)

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At the Woody Hayes Golf Classic Lou Holtz said of Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer Ive had Barry Alvarez Pete Carroll...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Jun 11, 2012 @ 5:16pm ET)

5:15 PM: The New York Giants have waived TE Jake Ballard, who suffered a torn ACL during the third quarter of last season's Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.

5:00 PM: Bloomberg reports the Big East is suing TCU for $5 million for joining the Big 12 instead of their conference.

4:45 PM: New York Mets relief pitcher Jon Rauch, who said he's been "pretty horses***" this season after Sunday's loss to the Yankees, retweets comments from others who have been saying a lot worse to him (language NSFW).

4:30 PM: An Ohio Supreme Court board suggested Monday that lawyer Christopher Cicero should lose his license for six months over emails sent to former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel regarding the Buckeyes' tattoo scandal.

4:15 PM: An NBA female security official has filed a lawsuit against Geno Auriemma, claiming the UConn & U.S. Olympic women's basketball coach grabbed & tried to kiss her at a hotel in Russia during a tournament in 2009, then had her removed from working the London Olympics when she rebuffed him.

4:00 PM: Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has reportedly sold the team to Robert Pera for $350 million. The deal still requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors.

3:45 PM: MLB's Public Relations Dept. tweets that attendance is up 7% through the same dates as of last year.

3:30 PM: Minnesota Vikings receiver Jerome Simpson has been suspended for three games & fined an additional game check by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

3:15 PM: Porn star Taylor Stevens tweets that she plans to be back behind the New Jersey Devils' bench at Staples Center for tonight's Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals against the L.A. Kings. Devils coach Peter DeBoer responds: "We won the last time she was here, so I'll buy her ticket."

3:00 PM: At the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse trial Monday, Victim 4 testified that during a family picnic Sandusky would throw children in the air but would grab them by their buttocks & brush over their genital areas.

2:45 PM: The NBA referees' union says that officials working the NBA Finals will wear a #57 patch in honor of Greg Willard, a referee who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

2:30 PM: Former Edmonton Oilers player & head coach Craig MacTavish is back with the team as its senior vice president of hockey operations. MacTavish had served as the head coach of the AHL's Chicago Wolves this past season.

2:15 PM: Miami Dolphins RB Reggie Bush on Chad Ochocinco: "If we can bring him in here, I definitely feel like he can be a help."

2:00 PM: CBC "Hockey Night In Canada" commentator Don Cherry prefers to know the L.A. Kings' travel distance this year in miles, and none of that "commie stuff" in kilometers.

1:45 PM: Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports the Miami Heat will be hosting viewing parties at the American Airlines Arena for the first two NBA Finals games held in Oklahoma City. Tickets are $2 each while parking is $5.

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Finding book topics to write about vs flogging a dead horse

Last night I had an incredibly great time at the PSASA. Unfortunately it meant that I missed a day writing at 750 Words. Given that I was on a 67 day streak this is quite a big dip for me.

When you choose a book topic don't pick a dead horse

When you choose a book topic don't pick a dead horse

Robin Pullen suggested that I take my talk, refine it as a workshop and then sell it. Both physically and online as a webinar. But to tell a speaker that when you start thinking speaking you stop thinking writing is almost impossible.

I don?t want to say I told you so but I know I missed 750 Words yesterday because my focus was not on writing but on speaking about writing. But, with that being said, let me bring some value to the conversation.

Last night I ran through my BLOCK & CRAM method in just over an hour which means that I touched too lightly on a number of things. Just for my own notes I think that it would be prudent to not down what I said, or what I meant to say of what I write down is not what I said (See, there we are back to the difference between speaking and writing).

One thing I mentioned is a method of determining a loose structure for the manuscript you are going to write. What you do is to take ten books on the same or similar topics to the book that you want to write. Look at the table of contents and list every topic in all ten books, and then weigh and arrange the topics according to your expertise and interests.

Two other methods to add to and to expand on this list of topics is The List and Mind Mapping.

Both these need to be done by hand, on paper and with a timer. I suggest ten minutes, repeated until you have exhausted the subject.

The List

For The List you take a notepad and write on the top of the page:

?What I know about (my subject I?m going to write about) is:?

And then in ten minutes time list as many facts, truths, laws, conventions, delusions and confusions you know about your topic. After ten minutes set the timer again and go again. If you run out of steam, draw a line, write the above intro again and then carry on.

First, you will both be surprised by how little and how much you know about your topic. And second, some things will really grip you as you write them down. Star these because they will be very useful in determining the focus of your book.

Mind Mapping

On the surface Mind Mapping seems similar to The List but it turns a different field.

Take a blank piece of paper and write your topic in the middle. Draw lines away from the middle and then free associate what the topic makes you think about.

Say for instance that you plan to write on Personal Money Management. You might then draw a line which says Personal Values. From there you can then go to Family, Pets, the Cost of Veterinary Services and eventually ending up with Gold Fish vs Labrador.

Again this will give you a rich field of information to explore your subject area. But it will also give you an angle, possibly stories or analogies, that will help you treat your topic in a very unique way. I would imagine that a Money book with a Dog focus will be very unique in a field where almost everybody else starts and ends with Compound Interest.

Now remember, if you use all three methods you will have more topics than you can possibly deal with in just one book. You have to take your list and cull out anything that bores you. If you think something has been done to death then don?t keep it on your list. You are going to need all the spark you can get to get your own writing done and you do not want to be flogging a dead horse.

Are there any other methods you think you might use either to construct a list of topics, or to cut it down to the few you really want to write on?

About Gerhi Feuren

As a writer Gerhi Feuren is unknown to millions of people across China and large parts of Russia, Alaska and Turtle Island. Gerhi Feuren is the author of the short story collection Snap etc...

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DAILY POST: NGO Jobs in Nairobi Kenya - Save the Children

DAILY POST: NGO Jobs in Nairobi Kenya - Save the Children
Save the Children (SC) is an international organization with 27 member organizations across the globe. It is united by a common mission and brand but, to some extent, has until now been working independently from country to country and within countries.? With the decision by all Save the Children organizations to create an International Programmes Unit (IPU) taken in 2010, Save the Children aims to create a stronger voice for children by unifying the operations in all countries.? This will result in one organisation at the national level in each country and a unified programme delivery structure for all Save the Children International Members. Save the Children UK, Denmark and Finland unified in Somalia in January 2010 under the name Save the Children in Somalia which will move to the IPU model by the end of 2012.? After one year of unification and as a result of an active fundraising strategy the programme budget was over GBP 10m covering thematic areas of protection, child survival (which includes health, nutrition and livelihoods), education, and Child Rights Governance.
?
Emergency Health Technical Advisor
?
Application Closing Date:?Sunday 24th June 2012.
?
In order to better coordinate and provide an advisory role to the emergency health support programme to Somalia/Somaliland, Save the Children requires a high level technical support, coordination and guidance through provision of guidance to managers and staff involved in managing and/or implementing emergency health project.? This support includes, among others, identifying opportunities for funding and learning through networking with donors and other agencies. This is an international post based in Nairobi.? While working from Nairobi, the post-holder will be required to provide support to the emergency health team remotely and may travel to Somalia (Puntland, Somaliland and Mogadishu for the south), for short monitoring and support visits.? Barring security clearance to travel to central Somalia, the health technical adviser will be requested to travel
to Somaliland on a regular basis for support, monitoring and management meetings with the CSS health team.
?
Area Representative - Southern Somalia
?
Application Closing Date:?Sunday 24th June 2012
?
The Area Representative has overall responsibility for development, management and delivery of good quality programmes in Southern Somalia (currently Mogadishu and Bay & Bakool).? S/he will work through local partners to ensure all aspects of programming are coordinated resulting in efficiency, high team moral and cost effectiveness.? As the senior representative of Save the Children in Southern Somalia, s/he will ensure programmes implement key humanitarian principles and that we work in close collaboration with other key stakeholders to promote and advocate for children?s rights.? The Security environment in Southern Somalia is fragile and requires the post-holder to liaise closely with staff and partners to advise senior management on robust security management guidelines and plans for Southern Somalia.? Programmes in these areas are new, and started in the last quarter of 2011/first quarter of 2012 and while this expansion was a result of the drought crisis, it is envisaged that Save the Children will plan and work towards a long term presence responding the needs of children.
?
Human Resources Assistant
?
Application Closing Date: Friday 15th June 2012.
?
The position of HR Assistant is responsible for providing quality and efficient HR support to the Somalia / Somaliland Programme team based in Nairobi:
?
????????????????????? Be involved in the recruitment and selection process including processing and placement of advertisements, short listing, selection processes including conducting screening test and interviews.? ????????????????????? In post offering process - Reference checks, offer/appointment letters, and sending out regret letters.? ????????????????????? Conducting the induction process including the preparation of the induction plan.? ????????????????????? In liaison with the line manager, manage the medical/group life insurance enrolment and exit process of
staff.?
????????????????????? In liaison with the line manager, keep track of all medical bills for both national and international staff and liaise with the administrator in follow up of their payment etc. Our selection processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.? Our people are as diverse as the challenges we face.
Applications should be forwarded to: vacancies@scsom.org.

2012 The Kenyan DAILY POST. All Rights Reserved. - Designed by Denno

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Home Business Marketing Tips

Marketing, as contrasted to advertising, is essentially a long-term effort. It mandates a huge amount of time and effort compared to some other programs but is perhaps the most important, depending on which product or service is featured in your particular Home Business. The first step in your marketing efforts should be a business plan. And the center of your plans is a specific goal your Home Business is trying to achieve. Marketing is the vehicle that will propel your Home Business toward your goal and make the best possible use of your budget as well as the most effective use of your time.?When you work as an independent consultant or home business, you alone are the sole marketer for your entity. In other words, there is not really a team to call upon for your marketing needs. And yet, you seek the exact same result, which is expanded awareness of the product or service offered by your Home Business.

This being the case, then obviously a certain degree of salesmanship is essential in this ultra-competitive marketplace we are currently in, whether you business involves fly fishing in South Dakota or sailing off the South Carolina coastline.?

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of this marketing and salesmanship is the follow-up. Essentially, there is follow up with your current base and second, there is follow up with your potential customers. The fact is many businesses do not consistently follow up with their current customer base. When following up with your potential customers, or prospects, you should get a much better conversion ratio that when you first contacted them. And by no means should you neglect to follow up more than once, if necessary.?You will need to decide how often you would like to follow up with your customers or prospects. You basically want your prospect to not forget about you and to have enouph time to analyze your offer. You should also have some type of tracking system in place. Be ready to send in additional information when a prospect requests it.

Find more Useful Tips on?Food | Gift | Relationship and many many more on http://www.saygeneral.com

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Top risk of stroke for normal-weight adults: Getting under 6 hours of sleep

Top risk of stroke for normal-weight adults: Getting under 6 hours of sleep [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Doug Dusik
ddusik@aasmnet.org
630-737-9700
American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Stroke risk greatest for employed middle to older ages, normal weight and no sleep apnea, habitually sleeping less than 6 hours each day

DARIEN, IL Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.

The participants had no history of stroke, transient ischemic attack, stroke symptoms or high risk for OSA at the start of the study, being presented today at SLEEP 2012. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham recorded the first stroke symptoms, along with demographic information, stroke risk factors, depression symptoms and various health behaviors.

After adjusting for body-mass index (BMI), they found a strong association with daily sleep periods of less than six hours and a greater incidence of stroke symptoms for middle-age to older adults, even beyond other risk factors. The study found no association between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants.

"In employed middle-aged to older adults, relatively free of major risk factors for stroke such as obesity and sleep-disordered breathing, short sleep duration may exact its own negative influence on stroke development," said lead author Megan Ruiter, PhD. "We speculate that short sleep duration is a precursor to other traditional stroke risk factors, and once these traditional stroke risk factors are present, then perhaps they become stronger risk factors than sleep duration alone."

Further research may support the results, providing a strong argument for increasing physician and public awareness of the impact of sleep as a risk factor for stroke symptoms, especially among persons who appear to have few or no traditional risk factors for stroke, she said.

"Sleep and sleep-related behaviors are highly modifiable with cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches and/or pharmaceutical interventions," Ruiter said. "These results may serve as a preliminary basis for using sleep treatments to prevent the development of stroke."

Ruiter and colleagues collected their data as part of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, led by George Howard, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. REGARDS enrolled 30,239 people ages 45 and older between January 2003 and October 2007, and is continuing to follow them for health changes. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

###

The abstract "Short sleep predicts stroke symptoms in persons of normal weight" is being presented today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) in Boston. To be placed on the mailing list for SLEEP 2012 press releases or to register for SLEEP 2012 press credentials, contact AASM PR Coordinator Doug Dusik at 630-737-9700 ext. 9364, or at ddusik@aasmnet.org.

A joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, the annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of more than 5,500 leading clinicians and scientists in the fields of sleep medicine and sleep research. At SLEEP 2012, more than 1,300 research abstract presentations will showcase new findings that contribute to the understanding of sleep and the effective diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

Follow @aasmorg on Twitter for live updates and use the official hashtag #SLEEP2012 to see what attendees are saying. "Like" the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on Facebook at Facebook.com/sleepmedicine for photos, videos and more.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Top risk of stroke for normal-weight adults: Getting under 6 hours of sleep [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Doug Dusik
ddusik@aasmnet.org
630-737-9700
American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Stroke risk greatest for employed middle to older ages, normal weight and no sleep apnea, habitually sleeping less than 6 hours each day

DARIEN, IL Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study of 5,666 people followed for up to three years.

The participants had no history of stroke, transient ischemic attack, stroke symptoms or high risk for OSA at the start of the study, being presented today at SLEEP 2012. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham recorded the first stroke symptoms, along with demographic information, stroke risk factors, depression symptoms and various health behaviors.

After adjusting for body-mass index (BMI), they found a strong association with daily sleep periods of less than six hours and a greater incidence of stroke symptoms for middle-age to older adults, even beyond other risk factors. The study found no association between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants.

"In employed middle-aged to older adults, relatively free of major risk factors for stroke such as obesity and sleep-disordered breathing, short sleep duration may exact its own negative influence on stroke development," said lead author Megan Ruiter, PhD. "We speculate that short sleep duration is a precursor to other traditional stroke risk factors, and once these traditional stroke risk factors are present, then perhaps they become stronger risk factors than sleep duration alone."

Further research may support the results, providing a strong argument for increasing physician and public awareness of the impact of sleep as a risk factor for stroke symptoms, especially among persons who appear to have few or no traditional risk factors for stroke, she said.

"Sleep and sleep-related behaviors are highly modifiable with cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches and/or pharmaceutical interventions," Ruiter said. "These results may serve as a preliminary basis for using sleep treatments to prevent the development of stroke."

Ruiter and colleagues collected their data as part of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, led by George Howard, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. REGARDS enrolled 30,239 people ages 45 and older between January 2003 and October 2007, and is continuing to follow them for health changes. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

###

The abstract "Short sleep predicts stroke symptoms in persons of normal weight" is being presented today at SLEEP 2012, the 26th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) in Boston. To be placed on the mailing list for SLEEP 2012 press releases or to register for SLEEP 2012 press credentials, contact AASM PR Coordinator Doug Dusik at 630-737-9700 ext. 9364, or at ddusik@aasmnet.org.

A joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, the annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of more than 5,500 leading clinicians and scientists in the fields of sleep medicine and sleep research. At SLEEP 2012, more than 1,300 research abstract presentations will showcase new findings that contribute to the understanding of sleep and the effective diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

Follow @aasmorg on Twitter for live updates and use the official hashtag #SLEEP2012 to see what attendees are saying. "Like" the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on Facebook at Facebook.com/sleepmedicine for photos, videos and more.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


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