Asian shares edge higher, yen falls on Bank of Japan report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Monday but prices were capped by uncertainty facing the global economy after a private survey showed Chinese manufacturing activity retreated from two-year highs this month.


China's HSBC flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) for February slipped to a four-month low of 50.4 and down from January's final reading of 52.3, which had been the best performance since January 2011. But the PMI on Monday showed a fourth consecutive month of expansion, confirming that the world's No. 2 economy is recovering, albeit slowly.


Investors remain wary of fragility in the global economic recovery, having pushed markets broadly higher over the past few months on receding pessimism over the euro zone's debt crisis and U.S. budget woes.


Markets are also pondering whether Italy's weekend elections will produce a stable government, and the implications of that for euro zone cohesion, while Moody's credit downgrade on Britain weighed on confidence in the pound.


Investors await testimony on Tuesday from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke for further clues of when the Fed may slow or stop buying bonds. Financial markets were rattled last week after minutes of the Fed's January meeting suggested some Fed officials were mulling scaling back its strong monetary stimulus earlier than expected.


The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> was up 0.1 percent, pulled higher by Australian shares <.axjo> which gained 0.6 percent on strong financials.


South Korean shares <.ks11> were nearly flat as the nation's first female president, who has shown willingness to talk down the won, was being inaugurated.


Korean carmakers came under pressure on news that an advocate of aggressive monetary easing was poised to head the Bank of Japan.


The Nikkei newspaper reported the Japanese government is likely to nominate Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda and Kikuo Iwata, both vocal advocates of aggressive monetary expansion, as BOJ governor and deputy governor.


The Nikkei <.n225> jumped 2 percent to a 53-month high on Monday as the yen fell to fresh lows since May 2010 against the dollar.


Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday vowed to get the world's third biggest economy growing again as he met with President Barack Obama. The United States and Japan also agreed on language during Abe's visit that could set the stage for Tokyo to soon join negotiations on a U.S.-led regional free trade agreement - the Trans-Pacific Partnership.


"The news of Kuroda (as BOJ nominee) appears to be taken positively by the market, but I think signs of progress towards TPP are vital as it shows Abe is taking leadership in pushing structural reforms, with the TPP being a vital tool to boosting growth," said Tetsuro Ii, the chief executive of Commons Asset Management.


Abe has called on a mix of strong reflationary policies: aggressive monetary easing, huge fiscal spending and pro-growth strategies. Investors have cheered the mix, dubbed "Abenomics," pushing the Nikkei up some 30 percent and the yen down 20 percent against the dollar over the past three months.


Early on Monday, the yen touched a low of 94.77 against the dollar, while the euro rose to a high of 124.83 yen, still off its 34-month peak of 127.71 set early this month.


The dollar fell sharply to below 93 yen last week on media reports that Toshiro Muto, a former financial bureaucrat perceived as less willing to take unconventional steps, was the frontrunner candidate for the top BOJ job.


"The dollar's move this morning is merely a rebound from disappointment on Muto last week. I don't think this topic will be enough to hoist the dollar above 95 yen," said Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan at UBS in Tokyo. "No matter who is elected at the BOJ, it will not affect the longer-term trend of a weak yen," he said.


Speculation over the BOJ has been a key factor driving the yen lower recently due to anticipation of strong reflationary measures, but other fundamental factors such as Japan's deteriorating trade balances and signs of firmer U.S. growth also supported a weakening yen trend.


In the U.S., with five days left before $85 billion is slashed from U.S. government budgets, the White House issued more dire warnings about the harm the cuts will do to Americans, breaking down the loss of jobs and services to each of the states.


Wall Street ended up on Friday on strong earnings from Dow component Hewlett-Packard , but the benchmark Standard & Poor's Index <.spx> posted its first weekly decline of the year.


The euro steadied around $1.3190, off Friday's six-week low of $1.31445.


Sterling fell to a 31-month low of $1.5073 early on Monday and a record low against the New Zealand dollar at NZ$1.8025 following Friday's one-notch downgrade of Britain's prized triple-A sovereign rating by Moody's.


Hedge funds and other big speculators cut their bullish bets on U.S. commodities by the most in about 10 months in the week to February 19, just before oil and metals prices tumbled on rumors a commodities fund was dumping positions, data showed on Friday.


U.S. crude was down 0.1 percent to $93.07 a barrel and Brent fell 0.2 percent to $113.92.


(Editing by Eric Meijer)



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IHT Rendezvous: Opera for an Era When Money Is Tight

VIENNA—Not long ago it looked as if cuts in arts funding would sound the death knell of the Vienna Chamber Opera, known in German as the Kammeroper, an ensemble esteemed for its chamber-scale productions in an intimate, inviting setting. The Austrian federal government’s decision to eliminate entirely its support, which constituted half of the company’s governmental subsidies (the other half coming from the city) effectively put the Kammeroper out of business.

Yet the 2012-13 season has seen the Kammeroper come roaring back with five new productions—including a “Bohème” finishing up performances this weekend— put on by a resident company with an established orchestra in the pit.

How to explain this turnaround? In fact, the old company, which was founded over 50 years ago by Hans Gabor and was subsequently run by Isabella, his widow, is history. The new Kammeroper, formally known as Theater an der Wien in der Kammeroper, is a case of one opera company rushing to fill the void left by the collapse of another.

Few opera companies today are in a financial position to go into expansionary mode. But, with the city willing to continue its support, the Theater an der Wien saw an opportunity, as its director of artistic administration, Sebastian Schwarz, who oversees the Kammeroper, explained by phone. Surprisingly, as he pointed out, the Vienna Staatsoper lacks a young artists program, so the new venture helps meet a need in the city. It also adds a degree of continuity to the Theater an der Wien’s own operations, which include world-class productions of interesting repertory that are assembled individually, with visiting performers and orchestras.

What has happened at the Kammeroper would be akin the Metropolitan Opera taking over the name and venue of a smaller New York company in financial trouble, giving the city the “Mini-Met” audiences have fancied for decades. The Kammeroper’s venue is especially choice: the gilded former ballroom, dating from the turn of the last century, of the venerable Hotel Post in the old Fleischmarkt district of the city. Outfitted with an orchestra pit, it comfortably seats 300. The performance I attended was packed, and with ticket prices ranging from 16 to 48 euros ($21-64), it is a bargain.

At the core of the new Kammeroper is an ensemble of seven young singers, which Mr. Schwarz described as constituting a “cast for ‘Così Fan Tutte’ ”—two sopranos, a mezzo soprano, a tenor, a baritone and a bass, plus a counter-tenor. In addition to their Kammeroper duties, the singers take smaller roles at the Theater an der Wien.

“La Bohème” can make a special impact when cast with young singers, and so it does here, as performed in Jonathan Dove’s 1986 chamber version with newly composed modernistic music at the start and between acts by Sinem Altan. Basically, the opera is performed straight, but with choral and other big moments from Acts 2 and 3 excised. The interludes, which included prerecorded music, are atmospheric and intermittently engaging, but essentially peripheral. For one not knowing what to expect, it was a relief when—with Rodolfo and Marcello already onstage—the familiar music of Act 1 began to unfold and continued on uninterrupted.

The lively, updated staging is by Lotte de Beer, the young director of Robin de Raaff’s recent “Waiting for Ms. Monroe” at the Netherlands Opera. The set by Clement & Sanôu, who also did the lighting, focuses on the modern kitchen of the bohemians’ apartment, which also, somewhat confusingly seems to be part high-end boutique (at least until the merchandise is removed after Act 2). In any case, it is handsome and full of stylish details. The playwright Rodolfo writes at a laptop and throws pages of his opus into the oven for warmth.

There is an inevitable loss of grandeur in Act 2, but Ms. de Beer nicely handles Rodolfo and Mimi’s growing attraction to each other and the conflicts of Act 3. The setting of Mimi’s hospital room for Act 4 is rather contrived, however, especially since the others, not at first being allowed in, communicate with her from pay phones in the lobby, which detracts from the emotional impact. Mimi has lost her hair, presumably as a result of treating a fatal illness different from that specified by Puccini. Still, this is an engaging show

The vocal ensemble, which is capably augmented by two guests, Oleg Loza as Schaunard and Martin Thoma as Benoit and Alcindoro, is uniformly strong. From the opera’s opening line by Marcello, one admired Ben Connor’s rich, fluent baritone, and it didn’t take long for the tenor Andrew Owens to catch his stride as Rodolfo and spin his own handsomely lyrical phrases and a fine high C.

All the singers displayed ample voices that could be overpowering in a hall this size, but they didn’t allow that to happen. Cigdem Soyarslan’s Mimi was a little uneven at first, but one came to appreciate her warm spinto sound, especially in her Act 3 aria, and Anna Maris Sarra sings Musetta with a glinting soprano that is heard to fine effect in her animated account of the waltz aria.

Igor Bakan brings a full, resonant bass voice and a strong emotional charge to Colline’s farewell to his overcoat. The fine Vienna Chamber Orchestra is in the pit, led with assurance by Claire Levacher.

The newly constituted Kammeroper has thus emerged as a bright spot on the Viennese opera scene.

Two more productions remain this season, a double bill of Britten’s “Curlew River” and “Prodigal Son” and Handel’s “Orlando.”

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Facebook Inspires Hundreds to Attend a Funeral For a Man They Never Met






While Facebook might be best known as a means for some low-grade entertainment, as evidenced by our love of cat memes, it sometimes also proves to be a catalyst for an inspiring display of social good.


When 70-year-old James McConnell passed away last month in Britain’s Southsea, his nursing home staff reported that he had no known friends or family to attend his funeral. In fact, little was known about the man’s life before he came to the Bluebell Nursing Home, except that he had served in the Royal Marines.






Upon hearing the news, Rev. Bob Mason, who was charged with leading McConnell’s funeral, decided to enlist the help of Facebook; he posted a public plea, asking local residents to attend McConnell’s ceremony in order to provide the Marine Corps veteran a more dignified send-off.


According to ITV News, 200 people who had never so much as met McConnell showed up to mourn his passing.


What was supposed to have been a small, state-sponsored ceremony turned into a proper military farewell, despite the freezing temperatures; standard bearers from the Royal British Legion led a procession through the cemetery, followed by a group of flag-bearing motorcyclists. The service concluded with two buglers from the Royal Marines Band Service who played “Last Post,” the British equivalent of “Taps.”


Danny Marshall, also a former Royal Marine, was one of the attendees and he told ITV News, “It was mentioned wrongly that he did not have family. The corps family is bigger and better and than most people would know about. We are all family and always will be.”


Rev. Mason’s original post, which was shared heavily among the Facebook pages of Royal Marine Corps active and former members, included this personal appeal from the clergyman: “In this day and age it is tragic enough that anyone has to leave this world with no one to mourn their passing, but this man was family and I am sure you will agree deserves a better send off. If you can make it to the graveside for that time to pay your respects to a former brother in arms then please try to be there.”


During the ceremony, Rev. Mason said he was moved by the throng of mourners and their outpouring of kindness.


While this isn’t the first time social media has been used to galvanize a large group of people, those who attended McConnell’s funeral stand as exceptional for the simple fact that they had no personal stake in the outcome—showing up was simply the compassionate thing to do.


Related stories on TakePart:


• Clip of the Day: The First Lady and the First (Big) Bird Talk Snacks


• Teen Jeopardy Winner Delivers Best Final Jeopardy Answer Ever


• Did This 15-Year-Old Kid Just Change the Course of Medicine



A Bay Area native, Andri Antoniades previously worked as a fashion industry journalist and medical writer.  In addition to reporting the weekend news on TakePart, she volunteers as a webeditor for locally-based nonprofits and works as a freelance feature writer for TimeOutLA.com. Email Andri | @andritweets | TakePart.com


Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Christina Applegate Marries Martyn LeNoble






People Exclusive








02/24/2013 at 11:25 PM EST







Christina Applegate and Martyn LeNoble


Kevan Brooks/AdMedia


With a child ... and now married!

Christina Applegate tied the knot on Saturday with longtime boyfriend Martyn LeNoble, the father of her 2-year-old daughter Sadie, "surrounded by family in a private ceremony at their home in Los Angeles," her rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.

Their rings were designed by Neil Lane. And her dress was by Maria Lucia Hohan.

Applegate, 41, and LeNoble, 43, a founding member of the band Porno for Pyros, have been together since 2008. They got engaged on Valentine's Day in 2010.

This the second marriage for both. Applegate – an Emmy winner best known for her work on Married … with Children and recently Up All Night – was married to actor, writer and director Johnathon Schaech for six years before their divorce in 2007.

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.


The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.


Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.


"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."


Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.


The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.


The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.


Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.


FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.


Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.


FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer


Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.


Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.


Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.


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2 Palestinians Shot in Clashes With Israeli Settlers





JERUSALEM (AP) — Clashes erupted Saturday in the West Bank, with Jewish settlers shooting two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said.




The unrest reflected mounting friction in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of large demonstrations protesting Israel’s control of the territory in general and in solidarity with four prisoners on hunger strikes in Israeli jails.


Also on Saturday, a Palestinian prisoner died in an Israeli jail, an event that is likely to intensify tensions in the area.


In the West Bank skirmish, Helmi Abdul-Aziz, 24, was shot in the stomach by Jewish settlers, Palestinian demonstrators said. They said settlers also shot Mustafa Hilal, 14, in the foot.


An Israeli military official confirmed that two Palestinians had been shot, apparently by settlers, since the Israeli military forces there were not using live ammunition.


Villagers said the clashes began when a group of Jewish settlers encroached on their village lands and fired guns. They said settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land, prompting the farmer to call on other villagers to confront the settlers, and men on both sides hurled rocks at one another.


In an Israeli jail on Saturday, Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat, a Palestinian prisoner, died apparently of a heart attack, according to an Israeli prison services spokeswoman, Sivan Weizman. She said that Mr. Jaradat had not been on a hunger strike.


Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, said that Mr. Jaradat, 30, was arrested last week after he was involved in a rock-throwing attack that injured an Israeli citizen. Mr. Jaradat admitted to the charge, as well to another West Bank rock-throwing episode last year, the Shin Bet said.


A Shin Bet spokesman said that Mr. Jaradat had not been beaten during an interrogation.


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Ubuntu announced for tablets, developer preview available for Nexus devices on Thursday [video]








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Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Sweeps the Razzies









02/23/2013 at 10:00 PM EST







Taylor Lautner and Mackenzie Foy, in Breaking Dawn – Part 2


Andrew Cooper, SMPSP/Summit


Who's misérable now?

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Adam Sandler and Rihanna are among the "winners" of the 33rd annual Golden Raspberry Awards – the Razzies – which are not so much handed out as they are thrown at those who are voted as perpetrating Hollywood's worst achievements of the year.

Breaking Dawn – Part 2, the fifth and final installment in Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga, was recognized in seven categories, including worst picture.

The flick's Kristen Stewart was also cited as worst actress; Taylor Lautner, worst supporting actor; Lautner and 12-year-old Mackenzie Foy, worst screen couple; the entire cast, including Robert Pattinson, worst screen ensemble, and Bill Condon, worst director.

In addition, the film, which since opening last November has taken in more than $828 million at the box office, was named worst sequel.

Sandler, who last year monopolized the Razzies – and set a record by winning in 10 categories with the "comedy" Jack & Jill – this year got only two awards: for worst actor of the year and worst screenplay, both for That's My Boy.

Unlike the Oscars, which keep voting tallies a secret and will be handed out Sunday night during a very glamorous event, founder and Head RAZZberry John Wilson announced Razzie recipients Saturday night in the utilitarian Continental Breakfast Room of the Holiday Inn Express Hollywood Walk of Fame hotel, near (and yet so far from) the Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards.

Wilson revealed to the press that although Rihanna, as worst supporting actress in the movie Battleship, won her Razzie by a landslide, worst screenwriter Sandler only beat the authors of Breaking Dawn by a single vote.

It's close shaves like that that really make or break the Razzies.

Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Sweeps the Razzies| Oscars 2013, The Razzies 2013, Movies, Battleship, That's My Boy, News Franchises, Individual Class, Adam Sandler, Kristen Stewart, Rihanna, Robert Pattinson

Adam Sandler, in That's My Boy, and Rihanna, in Battleship

Columbia; Universal

The 85th annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 24, from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.


The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.


Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.


"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."


Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.


The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.


The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.


Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.


FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.


Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.


FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer


Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.


Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.


Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.


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Drone Pilots Found to Get Stress Disorders Much as Those in Combat Do


U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Steve Horton


Capt. Richard Koll, left, and Airman First Class Mike Eulo monitored a drone aircraft after launching it in Iraq.





The study affirms a growing body of research finding health hazards even for those piloting machines from bases far from actual combat zones.


“Though it might be thousands of miles from the battlefield, this work still involves tough stressors and has tough consequences for those crews,” said Peter W. Singer, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who has written extensively about drones. He was not involved in the new research.


That study, by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, which analyzes health trends among military personnel, did not try to explain the sources of mental health problems among drone pilots.


But Air Force officials and independent experts have suggested several potential causes, among them witnessing combat violence on live video feeds, working in isolation or under inflexible shift hours, juggling the simultaneous demands of home life with combat operations and dealing with intense stress because of crew shortages.


“Remotely piloted aircraft pilots may stare at the same piece of ground for days,” said Jean Lin Otto, an epidemiologist who was a co-author of the study. “They witness the carnage. Manned aircraft pilots don’t do that. They get out of there as soon as possible.”


Dr. Otto said she had begun the study expecting that drone pilots would actually have a higher rate of mental health problems because of the unique pressures of their job.


Since 2008, the number of pilots of remotely piloted aircraft — the Air Force’s preferred term for drones — has grown fourfold, to nearly 1,300. The Air Force is now training more pilots for its drones than for its fighter jets and bombers combined. And by 2015, it expects to have more drone pilots than bomber pilots, although fighter pilots will remain a larger group.


Those figures do not include drones operated by the C.I.A. in counterterrorism operations over Pakistan, Yemen and other countries.


The Pentagon has begun taking steps to keep pace with the rapid expansion of drone operations. It recently created a new medal to honor troops involved in both drone warfare and cyberwarfare. And the Air Force has expanded access to chaplains and therapists for drone operators, said Col. William M. Tart, who commanded remotely piloted aircraft crews at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.


The Air Force has also conducted research into the health issues of drone crew members. In a 2011 survey of nearly 840 drone operators, it found that 46 percent of Reaper and Predator pilots, and 48 percent of Global Hawk sensor operators, reported “high operational stress.” Those crews cited long hours and frequent shift changes as major causes.


That study found the stress among drone operators to be much higher than that reported by Air Force members in logistics or support jobs. But it did not compare the stress levels of the drone operators with those of traditional pilots.


The new study looked at the electronic health records of 709 drone pilots and 5,256 manned aircraft pilots between October 2003 and December 2011. Those records included information about clinical diagnoses by medical professionals and not just self-reported symptoms.


After analyzing diagnosis and treatment records, the researchers initially found that the drone pilots had higher incidence rates for 12 conditions, including anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and suicidal ideation.


But after the data were adjusted for age, number of deployments, time in service and history of previous mental health problems, the rates were similar, said Dr. Otto, who was scheduled to present her findings in Arizona on Saturday at a conference of the American College of Preventive Medicine.


The study also found that the incidence rates of mental heath problems among drone pilots spiked in 2009. Dr. Otto speculated that the increase might have been the result of intense pressure on pilots during the Iraq surge in the preceding years.


The study found that pilots of both manned and unmanned aircraft had lower rates of mental health problems than other Air Force personnel. But Dr. Otto conceded that her study might underestimate problems among both manned and unmanned aircraft pilots, who may feel pressure not to report mental health symptoms to doctors out of fears that they will be grounded.


She said she planned to conduct two follow-up studies: one that tries to compensate for possible underreporting of mental health problems by pilots and another that analyzes mental health issues among sensor operators, who control drone cameras while sitting next to the pilots.


“The increasing use of remotely piloted aircraft for war fighting as well as humanitarian relief should prompt increased surveillance,” she said.


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