Pain-Topics.org News/Research UPDATES: CAM Exercises Aid ...

Within the scope of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), a number of exercise modalities ? such as tai chi, qigong, yoga, and lesser-known movement therapies ? have been studied as aiding persons with fibromyalgia. A meta-analysis of the current research literature found some evidence for the beneficial effects of these exercise types, with tai chi appearing to be most favorable.

Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 15 million persons in the United States alone, a majority are female, and diminished aerobic fitness and poor physical function in afflicted patients have been well documented. Exercise has been strongly recommended as an adjunct to medication therapy for fibromyalgia, but traditional forms of strenuous aerobic, stretching, and strength-building exercise often appear to have limited benefits for reducing pain while improving function, and patient discontinuation rates are sometimes unacceptably high.

In view of these concerns, Scott Mist and colleagues at the Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, conducted a systematic research review and meta-analysis of land-based CAM exercise therapies that have been increasing adopted by patients with fibromyalgia, including: qigong, tai chi, yoga, and several less familiar movement therapies [Mist et al. 2013]. For purposes of their review, the following definitions were used:

1. Exercise was defined as ?planned, structured physical activity whose goal is to improve one or more of the major components of fitness ? aerobic capacity, strength, flexibility, or balance.? (Studies of exercise therapies conducted in water were excluded in this review.)
2. CAM was defined as ?a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine.? (CAM approaches involving low levels of exertion, such as brief yoga with an emphasis on mindfulness or breathing, were excluded.)

Their search discovered 16 qualifying studies; 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 6 of a more observational nature in design. In total, 832 patients with fibromyalgia participated, with 490 allocated to CAM exercise interventions. The mean sample size in the studies was 52 (range 6?128 participants), and the median retention rate in all studies was 81%. The researchers noted that the studies were largely conducted in middle-aged women, but demographics summary data were not provided in the report. Overall, the strength of the included studies was rated as moderate-to-low.

The primary outcome endpoint of interest was FIQ total scores or FIQ pain scores, converted to standardized mean differences (ie, Cohen?s d) as measures of effect size [interpreting effect sizes was discussed in an UPDATE here]. The FIQ (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) is a widely used, self-administered, 20-question tool for assessing the current health (ie, physical function, pain, other symptoms) of patients with fibromyalgia in clinical and research settings [more info on FIQ here].

Writing in the March 2013 online edition of the Journal of Pain Research, Mist et al. report the following results [data adapted from tables in the report]:

• Six studies of tai chi demonstrated a pooled, large-sized effect = 1.14 (95% Confidence Interval, 0.88?1.39; P<0.001). Only 1 of the 6 studies did not achieve statistical significance and the remaining 5 were of good size with narrow confidence intervals, all of which suggest a reasonably strong level of evidence.
• There were 3 studies of yoga, with a pooled, moderate-sized effect = 0.45 (95% CI, 0.12?0.76; P=0.005). Only 2 of the 3 studies were statistically significant.
• Qigong was examined in 6 studies and there was a pooled, moderate-sized effect = 0.47 (95% CI, 0.25?0.69; P<0.001). However, only half of the individual studies achieved statistical significance and the outcomes overall varied extensively from each other, with wide confidence intervals (ie, the studies were highly heterogenous).
• Individual trials also were reported for the following modalities (with effect size, 95% CI, P-value): Pilates (0.77, 0.19?1.35, P=0.009); BMP, or Body Movement and Perception therapy (2.25, 1.67?2.84, P<0.001); Biodanza (3.92, 3.05?4.80, P<0.001). All 3 modalities exhibited large, statistically significant effect sizes, with relatively narrow confidence intervals; however, these were single trials of each modality needing replication for further confirmation.

  NOTE: The individual trials itemized above add up to more than 16 in total because some studies examined more than one modality. Pilates involves nonimpact strength, flexibility, and breathing exercises. Body Movement and Perception (or, Ress?guier) is based on selected low-impact gymnastic movements integrated with postural exercises. Biodanza, or ?life dance,? most often uses dance and related movements to optimize self-development and deepen self-awareness.

According to the researchers, only 2 participants reported any adverse effects (increased shoulder pain and plantar fasciitis), and none of the studies found any serious adverse events. Therefore, given the lack of negative effects, and the medium-to-high effects sizes for pain reduction and other benefits, Mist and colleagues state, ?there is little risk in recommending these modalities as a critical component in a multimodal treatment plan, which is often required for fibromyalgia management.?

COMMENTARY: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can be robust methods for establishing the quality and strength of evidence for pain management therapies. An understanding of these statistical methods was discussed in an UPDATE article [here].

In this meta-analysis by Mist et al., the modality with the best data profile and largest effect size ? suggesting a higher level of strongly favorable evidence ? was tai chi. Second choice would be qigong (albeit the data were somewhat inconsistent), and yoga would be third. The other 3 modalities appear to have promise, but they were solitary trials, so the reliability and strength of evidence cannot be determined. [Note: the Mist et al. article is open access, allowing interested readers to download and examine the forest plots and other data for themselves. See link in the reference below.]

The generally small sample sizes in the included studies (mean n=52) and predominance of middle-aged female subjects limits the statistical power and generalizability of study outcomes to other clinical populations. Another limitation, noted by the researchers, was that only a single interventionist (ie, exercise instructor) was involved in each of the trials. It is possible that a skilled, caring, and/or charismatic instructor in some trials, but not others, might have influenced beneficial outcomes.

The researchers write that all but 2 studies report positive outcomes; however, the study outcomes data indicate that only 1 of the studies was negative (ie, effect size = ?0.42 in a study of qigong). Furthermore, while the rest of the data point-estimates were indeed positive (ie, point effect size estimates >0.0) a third of them (5/15) were statistically non-significant, which might temper enthusiasm regarding the strength of the evidence overall.

Prior Pain-Topics UPDATES have discussed exercise modalities ? including tai chi and, most commonly, yoga ? as benefitting various acute and chronic pain conditions [series here]. More specifically, a study by Wang et al. reported in 2010 [UPDATE here] found that tai chi afforded significant relief from muscle pain, better sleep, and a higher quality of life with less depression in persons with fibromyalgia (this study also was included in the meta-analysis by Mist et al.).

It is of some concern that most of the trials in the meta-analysis by Mist and colleagues, no matter how small the number of subjects, used multiple assessment instruments for detecting numerous endpoints. This increases the chances that at least some positive statistically significant results might be produced; however, it also increases the risk of Type I error, or finding significant results due to random chance alone (ie, false positives). Mist et al. were wise to focus only on one measure ? FIQ scores ? even though this might have limited the scope of potentially beneficial therapeutic effects that could be assessed and discussed in their report.

Meta-analyses in most areas of pain research also highlight the problem of studies examining the same topic using different patient-selection criteria, disparate outcome measures, and other methodological variations. This sort of inconsistency challenges the validity of combing data from the different studies in aggregated, or pooled, estimates of effect size. In fact, Mist et al. noted that there ?was a significant amount of heterogeneity? across the studies they examined [particularly evident in the analysis of qigong] and, while they did not report calculating tests of heterogeneity, they did appropriately use random-effects modeling in their pooling of data.

As often is the case, Mist and colleagues advise that there is a need for large, meticulously designed and rigorously executed trials with active parallel arms ? such as comparing traditional aerobic exercise with a CAM-oriented approach ? to extend this body of evidence. However, it could be a many years before such studies are conducted and, then, it is questionable whether they will use methodologies that are statistically comparable to earlier trials. Clinical research is sometimes a very ?messy business.?

REFERENCE: Mist SD, Firestone KA, Jones KD. Complementary and alternative exercise for fibromyalgia: a meta-analysis. J Pain Res. 2013;6:247-260 [available here].

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Source: http://updates.pain-topics.org/2013/03/cam-exercises-aid-fibromyalgia-meta.html

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German migrant program offers cautions for US

BERLIN (AP) ? In gritty backstreets of Berlin and other major German cities, housewives wearing head scarves shop for lamb and grape leaves. Old men pass the time in cafes sipping coffee, chatting in Turkish and reading Turkish newspapers.

More than 3 million people of Turkish origin live in Germany ? the legacy of West Germany's Cold War-era program to recruit temporary foreign labor during the boom years of the 1950s and 1960s when the country rebuilt after World War II.

What started as a temporary program has changed the fabric of German urban life ? from mosques on street corners to countless shops selling widely popular Doener kebab fast food sandwiches.

Germany's experience with "guest workers" offers lessons for the U.S. as it debates immigration reform, including whether to provide a path to citizenship for unskilled foreign laborers, or whether there should be additional temporary-only visas for such workers. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to begin debate in April after lawmakers return from a two-week recess.

Decades after Germany's formal guest worker program ended in the early 1970s, the country is still wrestling with ways to integrate Turks ? the second biggest group among the estimated 15 million-strong immigrant community after ethnic Germans who moved from the former Soviet Union and for Soviet bloc countries ? into German society.

"When you bring people to work, it's quite hard to tell them to go back one day," said Goecken Demiragli, a social worker whose grandmother came to Berlin from Turkey in 1968. "That was the biggest mistake: to think that if you don't need them, they will go."

Initially, the Germans felt they didn't need an integration path.

They foresaw a temporary program of rotating labor, where workers from Turkey, the Balkans and southern Europe would spend a couple of years on an assembly line and then go home to be replaced by others if industry still needed them.

But factory managers grew tired of retraining new workers every couple of years and convinced authorities to allow contract extensions.

Many immigrants, especially young Turkish men who faced grinding unemployment at home, opted to stay in Germany, bringing their families and building lives here despite discrimination in education, housing and employment.

Although immigrants could stay legally with government-issued residence permits, they could not apply for citizenship for 15 years, although the period has been shortened in recent years. Without fluent German, and state-supported language programs, many were unable to pursue good educations and well-paying jobs.

As a result, the Turkish community remains the least integrated immigrant group in Germany, according to the private Berlin Institute for Population and Development.

Immigration critics blame the Turks for refusing to abandon traditions of rural Turkey, failing to learn German and take advantage of educational opportunities. Critics note that more than 90 percent of marriages by ethnic Turks are to other Turks ? in part because of cultural restrictions against marrying outside the Muslim faith.

Over the years, the existence of a parallel society of marginalized people speaking a different language and following different religious and social customs has triggered a backlash in a country which only recently has considered itself a nation that welcomes immigrants.

Neo-Nazis have focused on the Turks in their campaign against immigration. Next month, the surviving member of a small neo-Nazi cell goes on trial in Munich for allegedly killing 10 people ? eight of them Turkish immigrants ? over seven years. The cell allegedly got away with the killings for years because police assumed they were the work of Turkish immigrant gangs.

Thilo Sarrazin, once a top official of Germany's central bank, wrote in a 2010 best-seller that immigrants were dumbing down German society and that Turkish and Arab immigrants were reluctant to integrate. The firestorm that followed forced Sarrazin out of his bank post, but his book sold over 1.5 million copies.

Others fault successive German governments for being slow to recognize the immigration problem and moving only in recent years to put in place programs to combat discrimination, provide German language training and offer a speedier path to full citizenship.

"The West German government should have devised comprehensive integration measures as part of family reunification policies but did not," a 2009 study for the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. "Consequently, integration problems began to take root in West Germany."

In the meantime, an entire generation grew up feeling estranged, living in urban ghettoes apart from the mainstream and unable to take part in political life. Even well-educated Turks who have assimilated believe that stigma remains alive today.

"There's this categorization ... that you are not the same as the others," said Demiragli, the social worker, who was born in Germany but did not get citizenship until she was 16. "That is a feeling that grows in you if you do not have strong parents who can support you and give you the feeling that you are still special."

Overt discrimination has abated since the 1970s and 1980s when real estate ads in German newspapers contained phrases like "Only for Germans" or "No Foreigners." But Turkish residents say subtle barriers remain.

"Now it's more hidden," said Bekir Yilmaz, head of a Turkish community organization in Berlin. "You look for housing, you make a telephone call, you can speak German well but when you stand in front of the landlord, they say, 'Oh, the apartment is taken.'"

Yilmaz believes the problem has worsened since the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. and the war on terror smeared the image of Muslims.

"The West had its enemy in communism but communism is gone. Now it's the Muslims," Yilmaz said. "The Turks here are no enemy. They have lived here for years, and their children born here. This has nothing to do with reality."

German attitudes toward immigration and citizenship also proved an obstacle to full and rapid integration. Although attitudes are changing, Germany never perceived itself as an immigrant society like the United States. German society values conformity.

Unlike the United States, Germany does not automatically grant citizenship to anyone born on German soil. Even though the naturalization process has been shortened, it still takes years and requires knowledge of the German language and history.

In 2000, a new law granted German citizenship to German-born children of longtime legal residents. By age 23, those children must decide whether to keep German citizenship or their parents' nationality.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has refused calls from Turkish and other immigrant communities to allow dual citizenship. Many immigrants are reluctant to apply for German citizenship because they want to hold on to their original nationality.

"I think we should have a dual citizenship here in Germany," said Ayvaz Harra, a German citizen of Turkish origin who sells bread in a Berlin market. "My family has property in Turkey and I would like to inherit it. Right now it's not possible."

But others believe the core problem was the government's failure to foresee the long-term effects of the temporary labor program.

"The problem here is that there is a picture of how Germans should live and if somebody is living differently, it doesn't fit," Demiragli said. "I think that in 20 to 30 years it will be a totally mixed community, especially here in Berlin. If we get over that 20 years, I think it will be a totally different situation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-migrant-program-offers-cautions-us-073113485.html

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Greenwich resident Grainger wins squash title at Chelsea Piers ...

Greenwich resident and Chelsea Piers squash director Natalie Grainger receives her trophy for winning the United States Squash National Championship on her home court.

For Greenwich resident Natalie Grainger, the timing couldn?t be more perfect for her return to competitive squash.

Grainger, who is the Chelsea Piers Connecticut Racquets Director, got a unique opportunity and made the most of it.

It turns out that Chelsea Piers hosted the United States Squash National Championships and Grainger jumped at the idea of competing once again on her home turf. Not only did Grainger get to play the game she loves, but she won the national championship and reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the country.

?It was fantastic,? Grainger said. ?To see so many friends and family come to the club to watch and support made it that much more special. There were little kids there watching and being able to produce a good outcome on the day in front of those people that wanted me to win was great.?

During the U.S. Championships Women?s Open Singles event, Grainger was the No. 2 seed and was able to take care of her first round opponent, Niki Clement of Bryn Mawr, Pa. (6,2,5). The semis had Grainger up against Wilton?s Olivia Blatchford, but again it was Grainger with the 4,4,3 victory.

In the championship match, Grainger was up against a familiar foe, top-seed, Amanda Sobhy from Sea Cliff, N.Y. and Grainger won the championship with a score of (8), 3, 3, (5), 7.

?I knew it was going to be a very tough match against Amanda,? Grainger said. ?It meant that in order to win that title, I would have to play a phenomenal opponent, who is on the rise of her own career and she?s someone that I?ve coached and mentored in the past as well. It was a great match and it was clean. Amanda is a champion, so it meant a lot to actually have a tough and accomplished opponent.?

The victory against Sobhy gave Grainger the sixth national championship of her career. However, this title was more rewarding.

During her previous five championship runs, Grainger was an active member on the squash tour and was also ranked one of the top players in the world.

Now things are different. Grainger has been retired from the tour for a few years now and is currently teaching and directing squash full-time at The Squash Club at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, a 12 International court state-of-the-art facility in Stamford.

?I could have showed up with the expectations of really having to play well, but I felt like there wasn?t as much pressure because of being retired,? Grainger said. ?It meant a lot to me to win the event.?

In order to get ready for the championship, Grainger had to change things up a bit. With the success of The Squash Club at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, Grainger has been coaching quite a bit, but didn?t really have the time to play some competitive squash.

Leading up to the national championships, Grainger did her best to prepare. In the weeks before the championship, Grainger got in a couple of matches a week with some of her fellow pros that work at Chelsea Piers and from other pros from around the area.

While lightening her coaching in the days before the tournament, Grainger also entered a tournament in New York and played in the men?s division so she could get a little bit of match practice under her belt.

?We just finished with the height of the season and I just finished coaching in the junior championships, so my focus had to be on them,? Grainger said. ?I was able to get a couple of matches a week with some pros and I entered a tournament in New York and played in the men?s division there, so I could get a little bit of match practice. That was really helpful and that gave me a wake-up call to remind me not to do too much coaching in the lead-up to competing because it makes your legs so heavy. I lightened my coaching mode a day or two leading up to the event.?

While winning the championship in front of all the local supporters was an amazing feeling for Grainger, seeing the Squash Club at Chelsea Piers roar to life was equally exciting.

?The club was able to hold a great championship,? Grainger said. ?Everybody that I talked to had such a phenomenal time at the tournament. The masters players really enjoyed the club and seeing people enjoy the facility and having it spring to life with such a major championship was really exciting.?

Although competing at a high level, as well as winning championships, never gets old, don?t expect to see Grainger giving up coaching the sport she loves any time soon.

?The interesting thing about Chelsea Piers is that we have a lot of kids in our program that have never been exposed to the sport of squash,? Grainger said. ?It?s great to have this facility Chelsea Piers and the ability to take squash outside of some of the private clubs and have kind of an all-access facility. To build a program where kids can enjoy the sport is phenomenal because it?s such a fun sport for young kids to try.?

Source: http://www.greenwich-post.com/12050/greenwich-resident-grainger-wins-national-title-on-home-turf-at-chelsea-piers/

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Microsoft's next Office update is codenamed 'Gemini,' could ship this fall

Blue is to Windows as Gemini is to Office. Any questions? Well, that's unfortunate -- we don't have a ton of answers. What we do know, courtesy of some top-notch ZDNet reporting, is that Microsoft's next Office release is codenamed "Gemini," and that it could be making its way to your desktop by the end of this year. The site quotes a potential fall ship date, at least for the first release, which is set to include new versions of Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint and Word. Rumor has it that the next version will be somewhat platform-independent, and will rely heavily on the Office 365 subscription concept. Beyond that, there isn't really much to share, but you're welcome to hit up our source link for a few more (minor) details.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

Comments

Source: ZDNet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/microsoft-office-gemini/

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New Restaurant Reviews: Share the Spreads at El Omda; Red ...

This week, our professional eaters sought out plates that reminded them of home -- if not theirs, then someone else's. In Astoria, Robert Sietsema enjoyed an Egyptian feast at El Omda, while Tejal Rao sopped up the sauce at Red Gravy in Brooklyn Heights.

How did our critics rate their Middle Eastern and Italian feasts? Find out after the break.

El Omda's food is "just so damn good," writes Sietsema. More specifically, he's a fan of the faithfully elegant renditions of recognizable Middle Eastern dishes, along with some of the restaurant's more "working-class Egyptian" cooking.

Sietsema writes:

This cuisine features a fascinating mixture of familiar Middle Eastern stewed beans, bread dips, lemony composed salads, and charcoal-grilled kebabs, plus recipes borrowed from Sicily, Greece, North Africa, and even France.

Unless you're a fervid carnivore, you're better off skipping the shish (lamb), kufta (ground beef with onions), and chicken kebabs in favor of the more interesting seafood preparations. The one exception is the quartet of long-boned lamb chops, which are flavorsome and cheap ($18). They're so tender, you almost don't need to chew.

Our conscientious critic notes that even vegetarians can string together an excellent meal.

El Omda's baba ghanouj possesses a nice smoky flavor, but is strangely devoid of the usual tahini. Instead, like the foul, it conceals a megaton of garlic. Another favorite of mine in the same your-Egyptian-mama-might-have-made-this-at-home vein is stuffed grape leaves ($8). Swaddled in deep green, a dozen cylinders that have never seen the inside of a can bulge with red rice faintly flavored with dill. These three dishes would make a spectacular vegan feast.

Meanwhile, Tejal Rao relished Italian food and a packed house at Red Gravy, Saul Bolton's latest restaurant on Atlantic Avenue. The upmarket spot draws huge neighborhood crowds into its cozy surroundings, plying them with dreamy pasta dishes and other hearty fare. Rao did note a few slip-ups with staff but, for the most part, finds her meal strong enough to ignore some minor mistakes.

Thick ruffles of reginetti ($19), made with semolina and chestnut flour, are layered in a nuanced sauce of braised rabbit meat. A bowl of bucatini, served with melting dollops of sea urchin and slices of pickled cherry-bomb peppers ($29), looks very small and plain for its price tag, but taste it and you'll find it's an undeniably gorgeous dish, swimming in salty butter and white wine, delicately sweet with basil.

The kitchen does especially well with the chiles, seafood, and breadcrumb-paved dishes of the south, and when it celebrates Italian-American favorites such as spaghetti and meatballs, or Sunday gravy.

Those seeking more than a hefty plate of noodles have options:

But it's not all pasta: Rabbit appears again--the bones replaced with a dark, delicious mousse of the animal's offal in a pretty roulade, roasted maybe a minute or two too long--on a bed of fine lentils and chard ($26). A recent salad special of fried smelts and arugula was lovely, the fish cooked whole, their bones as soft as their flesh, and their tiny eyes just visible through a veil of crisp batter. Branzino ($27), on a bright smear of beet puree, hid little smoked beets and their garlicky greens.

Over at the Times, Pete Wells declares the The Dining Room at The Modern is an oldie but goodie. "The restaurant itself is full of unexpected delights," writes Wells, and "unpacking them one by one is the pleasant work of a meal." He awards the MOMA restaurant three stars.

NY Mag's Adam Platt files a twofer in lower midtown. At Hanjan, he most enjoys "the barbecue skewers threaded with chicken hearts or sizzling strips of gizzard, sticky ddukbokki (rice cakes) tossed in pork fat, vats of viscous, spicy cod-roe stew," small snacks which should be consumed at the bar with gusto. Just a block away, Maysville is "another stealthily good new restaurant built around the pleasures of a stiff drink." Platt enjoys the "elegantly restrained" pleasures of the South at this hopping new spot.

"Manzanilla may be the first modernist import with a real shot at success," writes Jay Cheshes of the new the new Spanish restaurant in Gramercy. Time Out's critic writes that the new spot offers an "approachable introduction" to Spanish cooking in a city that needed one.

The NY Post's Steve Cuozzo also reviews Manzanilla. He feels that "while it might not be the best Spanish restaurant in Manhattan," it's the largest good one, and worth a visit.

Farther uptown, Stan Sanger also seeks out Spanish cuisine -- Andanada 141 on the Upper West Side. The Daily News critic writes that "New Yorkers are blessed to have Spanish food this good."

Source: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2013/03/el_omda_red_gravy_reviews.php

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Dwolla Is Latest Victim Of DDoS Attacks ? Site & API Down For Second Day

While the media continues to debate the severity of the denial-of-service attacks taking place across the web this month, they appear to have claimed another victim: payments startup Dwolla announced today that it, too, is now?experiencing?a distributed denial-of-service event (DDoS attack). The attack, which is still underway, began yesterday, resulting in either limited or no availability to the company's website, Dwolla.com.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QiFsJmvBvNc/

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Minn. train derailment causes oil spill

PARKERS PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Thousands of gallons of oil leaked onto frozen ground after a train carrying crude from Canada derailed Wednesday in western Minnesota.

The 94-car Canadian Pacific train was headed south near Parkers Prairie when it lost air pressure and went into an emergency braking mode, the Otter Tail County sheriff's office said. Fourteen tankers derailed. Three either leaked or spilled oil. No one was hurt, and a spokesman for the state's pollution control agency said crews were able to control the spill.

An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 gallons leaked onto the ground, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesman Dan Olson said. The spill was contained in a field and ditch in a rural area, and the cold weather helped keep the spill contained and prevented oil from moving down the ditch or into the ground, Olson said.

One heavily damaged car spilled much of its 26,000-gallon load, Olson said. He said the oil was "just oozing out" in the cold.

Because the ground is frozen, there's no threat to water, Olson said. Initial recovery efforts likely will take a day or two, and excavations then will be done to determine if any oil leaked into the soil, he said.

The railroad was cleaning up the spill, Canadian Pacific spokesman Ed Greenberg said.

While the spill appeared to be under control from an ecological standpoint, it could play a role in the politics surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from tar sands in Canada to refineries in Texas. Environmentalists have criticized the proposal, saying that a pipeline could be prone to spills and would ensure that the carbon-laden tar sands are fully developed. A recent analysis from the State Department seemed to knock down one of their arguments, by saying that when it comes to global warming, shipping the oil by pipeline would release less pollution than using rail.

Greenberg said he did not know if the oil that spilled was tar sands oil. The train, carrying a mix of cargo, originated in western Canada and was bound for Chicago, he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/train-cars-derail-minnesota-spill-202111375.html

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