Treadmill testing can predict heart disease in women

ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2012) ? Although there is a widespread belief among physicians that the exercise treadmill test (ETT) is not reliable in evaluating the heart health of women, UC Davis researchers have found that the test can accurately predict coronary artery disease in women over the age of 65. They also found that two specific electrocardiogram (EKG) indicators of heart stress during an ETT further enhanced its predictive power.

Published in the December issue of The American Journal of Cardiology, the study can help guide cardiologists in making the treadmill test -- an accessible, economic and easy-to-administer evaluation of patients with heart disease symptoms -- more useful in clinical practice.

"Newer cardiac imaging technologies are more accurate in identifying the presence of heart disease, but those tests are considerably more expensive than ETT and in many cases unnecessary" said Ezra Amsterdam, senior author of the study and UC Davis professor of cardiovascular medicine. "Our study found that the test is a very valuable tool for identifying coronary artery disease in women older than 65, and that it can be used to help select those who may require higher-tech diagnostics."

During ETT, a patient exercises on a treadmill at gradually increasing speed and elevation while undergoing blood pressure monitoring and an EKG to gauge exercise-induced changes in the heart's electrical activity. If signs of heart disease are present, more definitive and invasive evaluations such as coronary angiography may be conducted to determine if any blood vessels are narrowed or blocked by plaque. Coronary angiography, which produces a series of X-rays of the interior of the arteries by injecting dye into them to make them visible, may be recommended when there is evidence of heart disease.

The current study analyzed 111 women who had seen their doctors at UC Davis Medical Center because of chest pain and whose exercise treadmill tests were "positive," indicating they should have further cardiovascular testing. Coronary angiography was performed on each patient, and the researchers analyzed how often the results showed definite evidence of arterial narrowing.

They found that overall only half of the women with positive treadmill tests had coronary artery disease as determined by coronary angiography. But when test results were evaluated by age, the predictive value of ETT rose. While the treadmill test predicted arterial disease in only 36 percent of the youngest group (aged 35 to 50 years) of study participants, it successfully identified the condition in 68 percent of those aged 65 years and older, when the prevalence of coronary artery disease rises sharply for women.

The investigators also found that two EKG parameters of heart stress due to poor blood flow -- an ST-segment depression greater than 2.0 mm or ST-segment recovery time longer than three minutes -- added to the diagnostic value of ETT. Longer ST-segment recovery time was in fact the best predictor across all age groups of whether a positive treadmill test result was "true" or "false" and accurately identified coronary artery disease in eight out of 10 women older than 65.

"Our results provide physicians with a way to make an old heart disease screening tool more reliable for women," said Amsterdam. "The study also supports the guidelines of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology, which recommend that exercise treadmill testing should remain the initial test for both women and men who require evaluation for chest pain."

Additional authors of the study were Jeffrey Levisman and Karen Aspry, who conducted the research during their cardiology fellowships at UC Davis. The study received no external funding.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis Health System.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Jeffrey M. Levisman, Karen Aspry, Ezra A. Amsterdam. Improving the Positive Predictive Value of Exercise Testing in Women for Coronary Artery Disease. The American Journal of Cardiology, 2012; 110 (11): 1619 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2012.07.027

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/StjNCqgQu5w/121206153646.htm

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Nokia Lumia 920T for China Mobile brings TD-SCDMA to Windows Phone

Nokia Lumia 920T for China Mobile brings TD-SCDMA to Windows Phone

Nokia just announced plans to launch a TD-SCDMA version of its Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 flagship. The handset, designated Lumia 920T, will be available on China Mobile by the end of the year for RMB 4599 (about $739) in a choice of four colors (black, white, yellow and red). It's the first Windows Phone to support the country's TD-SCDMA standard and the first Windows Phone 8 device available in China.

Spec-wise, the Lumia 920T is almost identical to its western sibling. Other than packing a different radio, it features the same 4.5-inch 1280x768-pixel PureMotion HD+ display, optically image-stabilized 8.7-megapixel f/2.0 Carl Zeiss autofocus camera, and 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor (plus 1GB RAM). There's no word on storage capacity, but the handset presumably matches the original with 32GB on board.

The Lumia 920T integrates with local Internet services such as Sina, Sohu, Tencent, Baidu and Renren and provides access to both the Chinese Marketplace (50,000 apps) and Mobile Market (China Mobile's app store). It also offers NFC deals on location-based service Jiepang (in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou). Furthermore, Nokia and Air China are making wireless chargers available in VIP lounges at Beijing airport. Hit the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 920T for China Mobile brings TD-SCDMA to Windows Phone

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/05/nokia-lumia-920t-for-china-mobile-brings-td-scdma-to-windows-pho/

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Syria envoy Brahimi to meet Clinton, Lavrov on Thursday

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet international Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi in Dublin on Thursday to try to put a U.N. peace process for Syria back on track, diplomatic sources said.

The talks come ahead of a meeting of the Western-backed "Friends of Syria" group in Marrakech next week which is expected to boost support for rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"We have been trying hard to work with Russia to stop the bloodshed in Syria and start a political transition towards a post-Assad Syrian future and very much support what Lakhdar Brahimi is trying to do," Clinton told a news conference ahead of the meeting.

"Events on the ground in Syria are accelerating and we see that in many different ways - the pressure against the regime in and around Damascus seems to be increasing. We've made it clear what our position is with respect to chemical weapons and I think we will discuss that and many other aspects."

Assad's deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that Western powers were whipping up fears of a fateful move to the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war as a "pretext for intervention".

In Moscow, a senior Russian lawmaker and ally of Vladimir Putin described Syria's government as being incapable of doing its job properly, in a sign Russia is trying to distance itself from Assad.

Clinton held a bilateral meeting with Lavrov ahead of the talks with Brahimi, which are set to take place after 12:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) gathering.

Brahimi also met separately with Lavrov.

A Western diplomatic source hinted that at least some change may be forthcoming from Russia.

"I don't really know what may come out of the meeting, but I'd expect something based on the Geneva agreement as I cannot imagine Russia now changing completely on Assad. So I am not expecting anything radically new, rather a new version of Geneva maybe," the source said.

The Geneva Declaration, which was agreed when Kofi Annan was international mediator, called for a transitional administration but did not specify what role, if any, Assad would have.

RUSSIAN, CHINESE OPPOSITION

Rebels have made advances across Syria in recent weeks, despite punishing air raids, and have stepped up fighting outside Damascus, where fighting raged on Wednesday in an arc of suburbs on the capital's eastern outskirts.

Assad's family has ruled Syria for 42 years and the Syrian president has vowed to fight to the death in a conflict that has killed an estimated 38,000 people and risks sucking in other countries.

Opposition sources said on Wednesday rebels, riven by deep divisions and rivalries, were trying to restructure their leadership across Syria in an effort to secure foreign funding for their armed revolt.

Brahimi has called for world powers to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution based on a June deal they reached to set up a transitional government in a bid to end the bloodshed in Syria.

The United States and its allies want Assad to step down but are at odds with China and Russia over what role he should have in the process and whether the U.N. Security Council should pass tough measures to punish non-compliance by the Assad government.

Annan's plan also called for Syrians to be allowed to demonstrate freely, the release of political prisoners and an immediate halt to violence. But it did not resolve the question of arms sales to Syria and a host of other issues.

As violence continued in Syria unabated, Western countries proposed a new resolution at the U.N. Security Council in July aimed at putting direct pressure on Assad by threatening more sanctions if his troops did not stop using heavy weapons and withdraw troops from towns and cities within 10 days.

However, Russia and China for the third time vetoed the resolution saying it represented a direct effort to interfere in Syria's internal affairs.

Annan stepped down in August, saying divisions in the Security Council made his plan unworkable.

The United States and its allies said the plan failed because of Assad's refusal to abide by its provisions and Russia and China's refusal to hold Assad accountable at the Security Council.

The United States said it would focus its efforts on rallying support outside the U.N. system for more help for Syria's opposition.

(Additional reporting by Conor Humprhries, Stephen Mangan and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-envoy-brahimi-meet-clinton-russias-lavrov-thursday-092339710.html

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Freeport to buy Plains, McMoRan Exploration

(AP) ? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold says it is buying oil companies Plains Exploration & Production and McMoRan Exploration for about $9 billion.

The additions of the oil and gas drillers are expected to create a natural resources conglomerate with assets ranging from oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to mines in Indonesia and Africa.

Freeport will buy Plains Exploration Co. for $50 per share in cash and stock totaling $6.9 billion. It will acquire McMoRan Exploration Co. for $14.75 per share in cash, or about $2.1 billion excluding interests already owned by Freeport and Plains.

McMoRan Exploration shareholders will also get a distribution of units in a royalty trust.

The deals are expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-05-Freeport-McMoRan-Acquisitions/id-258a352946f1403baf55e1397238cd88

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Trader charged in $1 billion Apple scheme

3 hrs.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. --?A trader from New York has been charged in a scheme that involved the unauthorized purchase of about $1 billion of Apple stock that wound up costing his Connecticut-based employer $5 million, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

David Miller, while employed as an institutional sales trader for Rochdale Securities LLC in Stamford, executed a trade to buy 1.6 million shares of Apple Inc. stock in October on a day the company was scheduled to announce earnings, prosecutors said. The scheme was designed so Miller would profit if the stock price rose, but it declined, they said.

A Rochdale customer stated it had ordered only 1,625 shares of Apple, the Cupertino, Calif.-based maker of iPods, iPhones and iPads. Miller falsely claimed that he had made a mistake in ordering many multiples of what was written in a client's order, authorities said.

In telling Rochdale that he was simply executing a customer order, Miller misrepresented that the customer was at risk of loss if the trade proved unprofitable when he knew that it was Rochdale that would bear the risk of loss, prosecutors said.

As a result of the scheme, Rochdale was left holding more than 1.6 million shares of Apple stock, authorities said. It promptly traded out of the position but suffered losses of about $5 million.

Miller was charged with wire fraud. His attorney, Kenneth C. Murphy, declined to comment Tuesday.

Authorities say Miller, who lives in Rockville Centre, N.Y., just east of New York City, duped another broker-dealer into taking on a significant short position in Apple stock. Miller convinced the broker-dealer to sell 500,000 shares of Apple stock, falsely claiming that he was trading for the account of a company with which he had no relationship and for which he was not authorized to trade, prosecutors said.

Miller engaged in that part of the scheme to hedge against the large purchase of Apple stock he was executing at Rochdale, prosecutors said. He placed the broker-dealer at risk of sustaining substantial losses, they said.

Miller, 40, appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport. He didn't enter a plea and was released on a $300,000 bond. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/trader-charged-1-billion-apple-scheme-1C7426530

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Missing Arizona girl with leukemia is safe, getting treatment in Mexico: father

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An 11-year-old girl with leukemia who was spirited out of a Phoenix hospital by her mother - prompting a police search - is safe and being treated in Mexico, her father told NBC News on Wednesday.

Luis Bracamontes, 46, said in a television interview that his daughter Emily, who disappeared from Phoenix Children's Hospital late last month, was being treated by doctors at an undisclosed location in Mexico.

"She's well and she's fine," Bracamontes told NBC News, but declined to be more specific.

Authorities have been searching for Emily and mother Norma Bracamontes, 35, since the two were spotted on surveillance cameras slipping out of the hospital on November 28. The girl left the hospital with a catheter still wedged in her heart that could lead to a fatal infection without medical treatment.

Police said the mother unplugged the IV feed from her daughter's catheter, changed the youth's clothing in a hospital bathroom and walked out of the building. She then drove away in a Ford minivan.

The youngster was in the hospital for more than a month and underwent chemotherapy, police said, adding she had contracted an infection, causing doctors to amputate her right arm.

A Phoenix police spokesman said investigators have yet to verify the father's claims and remain focused on finding the girl.

"There still is the possibility of criminal charges," Sergeant Steve Martos told Reuters. "Right now we're waiting to get all the facts on what happened and why."

On Saturday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped and questioned the father as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico. He told the agents had no information about Emily's or his wife's whereabouts and denied any involvement or knowledge of the incident.

In the television interview, Bracamontes said that the hospital had cost the girl her arm and that he was being pressed over growing medical bills.

Jane Walton, a Phoenix Children's Hospital spokeswoman, declined to comment on Emily's case because of patient privacy issues. But she encouraged the parents to come forward with any concerns about her treatment.

"If Emily's family has questions about her care, we encourage open communication and discussion of options with the care team," Walton said in a statement. "Clinical decisions are not based on ability to pay."

(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/missing-arizona-girl-leukemia-safe-getting-treatment-mexico-014746329.html

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Egypt's Morsi flees palace as protesters battle cops

Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi reportedly left the palace via the back door to avoid further confrontation, as crowds vented their fury at Morsi's decree granting him nearly unlimited powers. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

By NBC News wire reports

Updated at 7:58 a.m. ET: CAIRO --?Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohammed Morsi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.

Officers fired tear gas at up to 10,000 demonstrators angered by Morsi's drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. The Associated Press reported that some protesters?broke through barbed wire around the building and hurled chairs and rocks at retreating police on Tuesday night.

The crowds had gathered in what organizers had dubbed "last warning" protests against Morsi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. "The people want the downfall of the regime," the demonstrators chanted.


"The president left the palace," a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed.

Morsi returned to work at the presidential palace on Wednesday morning, an aide later told Reuters.

The Muslim Brotherhood also called for a rally backing Morsi outside the palace on Wednesday and leftists planned a counter-demonstration, raising fears of clashes in a crisis over a disputed push for a new constitution.?

Morsi ignited a storm of unrest in his bid to prevent a judiciary still packed with appointees of ousted predecessor Hosni Mubarak from derailing a troubled political transition.

/

Egyptian protesters chant slogans against the Muslim Brotherhood during a rally in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Tuesday.

Facing the gravest crisis of his six-month-old tenure, the Islamist president has shown no sign of buckling under pressure.

On Tuesday, riot police at the palace faced off against activists chanting "leave, leave" and holding Egyptian flags with "no to the constitution" written on them. Protesters had assembled near mosques in northern Cairo before marching toward the palace.

Supporters of Islamist president push Egypt to tipping point

"Our marches are against tyranny and the void constitutional decree and we won't retract our position until our demands are met," said Hussein Abdel Ghany, a spokesman for an opposition coalition of liberal, leftist and other disparate factions.

Protesters later surrounded the palace, with some climbing on gates at the rear to look down into the gardens.

As protesters clashes, President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt announced a referendum on a proposed constitution. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

At one point, people clambered onto a police armored vehicle and waved flags, while riot police huddled nearby.

The Health Ministry said 18 people had been injured in clashes next to the palace, according to the state news agency.?

Civil disobedience
Despite the latest protests, there has been only a limited response to opposition calls for a mass campaign of civil disobedience in the Arab world's most populous country and cultural hub, where many people yearn for a return to stability.

A few hundred protesters gathered earlier near Morsi's house in a suburb east of Cairo, chanting slogans against his decree and against the Muslim Brotherhood, from which the president emerged to win a free election in June. Police closed the road to stop them from coming any closer, a security official said.

Mona El-Tahawy explains why President Mohammed Morsi's recent decree is very insulting to many Egyptians who demonstrated against Former President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Opposition groups have accused Morsi of making a dictatorial power grab to push through a constitution drafted by an assembly dominated by his supporters, with a referendum planned for December 15.

Liberals, Christians left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

They say the draft constitution does not reflect the interests of Egypt's liberals and other groups, an accusation dismissed by Islamists who insist it is a balanced document.

Egypt's most widely-read independent newspapers did not publish on Tuesday in protest at Morsi's "dictatorship". Banks closed early to let staff go home safely in case of trouble.

Abdelrahman Mansour in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cradle of the anti-Mubarak revolt, said: "The presidency believes the opposition is too weak and toothless. Today is the day we show them the opposition is a force to be reckoned with."

Analysis: Crisis tests Egyptians' constitution

But after winning post-Mubarak elections and pushing the Egyptian military out of the political driving seat it held for decades, the Islamists sense their moment has come to shape the future of Egypt, a longtime U.S. ally whose 1979 peace treaty with Israel is a cornerstone of Washington's Middle East policy.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, who staged a huge pro-Morsi rally in Cairo on Saturday, are confident enough members of the judiciary will be available to oversee the mid-December referendum, despite calls by some judges for a boycott.

"The crisis we have suffered for two weeks is on its way to an end, and very soon, God willing," Saad al-Katatni, leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/04/15673963-morsi-flees-egypts-presidential-palace-as-last-warning-protesters-battle-cops

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Feel Like Investing in a State Sponsor of Terrorism? | Mad Hedge ...

How about buying shares in a country whose leaders have stolen $400 billion in the last decade and have seen 300 foreign workers kidnapped? Another country lost four wars in the last 40 years. Still interested? How about a country that suffers one of the world?s highest AIDs rates, endures regular insurrections where all of the Westerners get massacred, and racked up 5 million dead in a continuous civil war?

Then, Africa is the place for you, the world?s largest source of gold, diamonds, iridium, chocolate, and cobalt! The countries above are Libya, Nigeria, Egypt, and the Congo. Below the radar of the investment community since the colonial days, the Dark Continent has recently been attracting the attention of large hedge funds and private equity firms.

Goldman Sachs has set up Emerging Capital Partners, which has already invested $2 billion there. China sees the writing on the wall, and has launched a latter day colonization effort, taking a 20% equity stake in South Africa?s Standard Bank, the largest on the continent. There are now thought to be over one million Chinese agricultural workers in Africa.

In fact, foreign direct investment in Africa is soaring. The angle here is that all of the terrible headlines above are in the price, that prices are very low, and the perceived risk is much greater than actual risk.

Price earnings multiples are low single digits, cash flows are huge, and returns of capital within two years are not unheard of. These numbers remind me of those found in Japan during the fifties, right after it lost WWII. That was already in the price too.

The reality is that Africa?s 900 million have unlimited demand for almost everything, and there is scant supply, with many firms enjoying local monopolies. The big plays are your classic early emerging market targets, like banking, telecommunications, electric power, and other infrastructure.

For example, in the last decade, the number of telephones has soared from 350,000 to 10 million. It?s similar to the early days of investing in China in the seventies, when the adventurous only played when they could double their money in two years, because the risks were so high.

This is definitely not for day traders. If you are willing to give up a lot of short term liquidity for a high long-term return, then look at the Market Vectors Africa Index ETF (AFK), which has 29% of its holdings in South Africa and 20% in Nigeria. There is also the SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF). For more of a rifle shot, entertain the iShares MSCI South Africa Index Fund (EZA). Don?t rush out and buy these today. Instead, wait for emerging markets to come back in vogue, I send you are trade alert when this is going to happen.

?

Meet Your New Partner

Source: http://www.madhedgefundtrader.com/feel-like-investing-in-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-2/

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10 powerful people who run the world

5 hrs.

What do the president of the United States, the pope and the founder of Facebook all have in common? They?re all featured on Forbes? 2012 ranking of the World?s Most Powerful People ??an annual look at the heads of state, financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who truly run the world.

To compile the list, we considered hundreds of candidates from various walks of life all around the globe, and measured their power along four dimensions. First, we asked whether the candidate has power over lots of people. Pope Benedict XVI, ranked #5 on our list, is the spiritual leader of more than a billion Catholics, or about 1/6th of the world?s population. Michael Duke (#17), CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, employs two million people.

Next we assessed the financial resources controlled by each person. Are they relatively large compared to their peers? For heads of state we used GDP, while for CEOs, we looked at measures like their company?s assets and revenues. When candidates have a high personal net worth ??like the world?s richest man, Carlos Slim Helu (#11)?? we also took that into consideration. In certain instances, like Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, we considered other valuable resources at the candidate?s disposal ??like 20 percent of the world?s known oil reserves.

Then we determined if the candidate is powerful in multiple spheres. There are only 71 slots on our list ? one for every 100 million people on the planet ? so being powerful in just one area is often not enough. Our picks project their influence in myriad ways: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (#16) has power because he?s a politician, because he?s a billionaire, because he?s a media magnate, and because he?s a major philanthropist.

Lastly, we made sure that the candidates actively used their power. Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (#3) scored points because he so frequently shows his strength ? like when he jails protestors.

To calculate the final rankings, 10 senior Forbes editors ranked all of our candidates in each of these four dimensions of power, and those individual rankings were averaged into a composite score.

U.S. President Barack Obama emerged, unanimously, as the world?s most powerful person, for the second year running. Obama was the decisive winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and now he gets four more years to push his agenda. The president faces major challenges, including an unresolved budget crisis, stubbornly high unemployment and renewed unrest in the Middle East. But Obama remains the unquestioned commander in chief of the world?s greatest military and head of its sole economic and cultural superpower.

The second most powerful person in the world also happens to be the most powerful woman: Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, jumps up from #4 last year to take the runner-up spot on the list. Merkel is the backbone of the 27-member European Union and carries the fate of the euro on her shoulders; she?s shown her power through a hard-line austerity solution for? the European debt crisis.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (#25) is one of the youngest people on the list, at age 29; he dropped significantly from last year?s top-10 ranking after Facebook?s much-anticipated IPO turned out to be a flop. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff (#18) is one of the list?s biggest gainers: At the midpoint of her first term, Rousseff?s emphasis on entrepreneurship has prompted a slew of new startups and energized Brazilian youths.

Apple CEO? Tim Cook (#35) made a big upward move, too: A year after he succeeded iconic founder Steve Jobs, the company is the most valuable in the world. Apple stock hit an all-time high in September, at $696.82 a share: That?s up $319 from the day Jobs died in October 2011.

New members of the list include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman (#71), the world?s most powerful venture capitalist and the most-connected man in Silicon Valley. Elon Musk (#66), the entrepreneur behind PayPal and Tesla Motors, is the most powerful man in space: His company SpaceX is a leader in the private space industry, and with that business set to boom, Musk stands to make out like a 19th-century railway tycoon.

A number of prominent people fell off the entirely. Last year?s #2, Chinese President Hu Jintao, is on his way out of office; he?s already handed over some of his duties, and will surrender the rest early next year. We? removed U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from the list for the same reasons: They?re both not expected to return to their powerful posts for Obama?s second term.

Here is the list of the top 10:

1.???????? Barack Obama?
President, United States of America?
Age: 51

The decisive winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election on all counts: Obama took the popular vote, the electoral college and 7 out of 7 toss-up states. Now he gets 4 more years to push his agenda past weakened congressional Republicans. Still, he faces major challenges, including an unresolved budget crisis, stubbornly high unemployment and renewed unrest in the Middle East. But Obama remains the commander in chief of the world?s greatest military and head of the sole economic and cultural superpower?literally the leader of the free world.

2.???????? Angela Merkel?
Chancellor, Germany?
Age: 58

The world?s most powerful woman is the backbone of the 27-member European Union and carries the fate of the euro on her shoulders. Merkel?s hard-line austerity prescription for easing the European debt crisis has been challenged by both hard-hit southern countries and the more affluent north, but it?and she?are still standing. Merkel has served as chancellor since 2005, but one of her biggest challenges still lies ahead: bolstering her government?s sagging popularity before the 2013 German general election.

3.???????? Vladimir Putin?
President, Russia?
Age: 60

Re-elected for a third six-year term as president in March after a few years swapping posts with Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Putin officially regains the power that no one believes he truly gave up. This October the ex-KGB strongman?who controls a nuclear-tipped army, a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and some of the world?s largest oil and gas reserves?turned 60. That?s Russia?s retirement age, but who?s got the nerve to tell him to quit?

4.???????? Bill Gates?
Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?
Age: 57

The world?s second-richest man is worth $65 billion?and that?s after giving away more than $28 billion. Gates?s post-Microsoft mission includes eliminating many infectious and deadly diseases: By his own estimates, that could translate into 8 million lives saved by 2020. But the quintessential activist billionaire doesn?t stop there: Gates continues to persuade his peers to sign the ?Giving Pledge,? promising to give away half their wealth or more.

5.???????? Pope Benedict XVI?
Pope, Roman Catholic Church ??
Age: 85

How?s this for a job description? According to the doctrine of Papal Supremacy, the pope enjoys ?supreme, full, immediate, and universal power? over the souls of 1.2 billion Catholics around the world. They turn to the Vicar of Christ for the final word on life?s most personal decisions, including birth control, abortion, marriage and euthanasia. As the leader of Vatican City, he?s also a head of state. Of course, the pope faces dissent anyway?recently from ?radical feminist? American nuns.

6.???????? Ben Bernanke?
Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve?
Age: 59

Big Ben has been on a buying spree: In a third round of quantitative easing, the Fed is now snapping up $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed securities and $45 billion of Treasurys. Result: modest economic recovery and a near-record $2.9 trillion on the Fed?s balance sheet. The American economy?s ?adult in the room? recently warned that there is only so much the Fed can do; politicians are the ones with the power to keep us from going over that fiscal cliff.

7.???????? Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud?
King, Saudi Arabia?
Age: 88

The absolute monarch of the desert kingdom controls 20 percent of the world?s known oil reserves and guards Islam?s holiest cities. The Arab Spring didn?t shake the ruling family?s control of the kingdom, but out-of-control youth unemployment remains a threat. Aging Abdullah lost his second heir apparent in two years when his brother, Crown Prince Nayef, died in June; he?s been replaced by another brother, 76-year-old Crown Prince Salman, the former governor of Riyadh.

8.???????? Mario Draghi
President, European Central Bank?
Age: 65

With the euro lurching constantly from crisis to crisis, the European Central Bank is more important than ever. As chief banker of the world?s largest -currency area?the euro zone?s collective GDP is now more than $17.4 trillion?Draghi faces the Herculean task of trying to maintain financial unity across 17 countries. But if anyone can wrangle the interests of nations as diverse as Germany and Greece, it might be the man who navigated the minefield of Italian politics so deftly, he earned himself a nickname: ?Super Mario.?

9.???????? Xi Jinping?
General Secretary, Communist Party of China?
Age: 59

The man who will lead China for the next decade was recently promoted to the Communist Party?s top position; Xi also took over as chairman of the Party?s Central Military Commission, putting him in control of the world?s largest army. His rise to power will be complete in March, when he takes over for Hu Jintao as president and head of state. Xi?s only half of a Chinese power couple: His wife, Peng Liyuan, is a superstar folk singer.

10.??????? David Cameron?
Prime Minister, United Kingdom?
Age: 46

Two years into office, the Tory PM has gone from being the called the second coming of Margaret Thatcher to standing in the shadow of Europe?s new Iron Lady, Angela Merkel. Cameron has rejected the German Chancellor?s call to increase the EU budget and threatened to veto anything but a spending freeze. At home he faces a sustained economic downturn, a disillusioned electorate and rumblings from his own party over Britain?s future.

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/worlds-most-powerful-people-1C7423106

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