The Nikkei's advance on Monday contrasted with the performance of many other indexes in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Investors elsewhere had been spooked by moderately disappointing retail sales and industrial production data from China, the world's second-largest economy.

However, fairly solid U.S. retail sales figures, showing a 0.1 percent monthly rise in April against an expected 0.3 percent decline, helped brighten the mood.

"April's retail sales report is another example of a generally weak report that is better than expected, so it's perceived to be a positive," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer for Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

Hopes over the U.S. economy have lain behind the upbeat market mood this year, alongside a seeming easing in Europe's debt crisis and continued monetary support by the world's leading central banks. Many indexes, including Germany's DAX and the Dow in the U.S., have struck a series of all-time highs in recent weeks, while others, such as the Nikkei, have hit multi-year peaks.

On Monday, the DAX fell 0.1 percent to 8,268 while the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares also fell 0.1 percent to 6,621. The CAC-40 in France was 0.3 percent lower at 3,941.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.3 percent at 15,074 while the broader S&P 500 index dropped the same rate to 1,630.

In Asia, the Nikkei jumped 1.2 percent to 14,782.21, its highest close since December 2007. The index has soared more than 42 percent since the beginning of the year as the yen dropped sharply in response to the Bank of Japan's aggressive monetary stimulus program.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, elected late last year on promises to revive the world's third-largest economy, has implemented a policy mix of increased public spending and aggressive monetary easing to end the country's two decades of economic stagnation.

One byproduct of the policy has been a sharp drop in the yen increasing the amount of yen in the financial system dilutes its value. For Japan, the yen's drop is a potential boon to growth as it makes exports cheaper; also, for a country that's seen prices fall for much of the past 15 years, a falling yen is positive as it makes imports more expensive.

Last week, the dollar rose above 100 yen for the first time in over four years. On Monday, the dollar was down 0.2 percent at 101.63 yen but earlier during Asian trading hours it had risen above 102 yen.

Japan was a talking point at a weekend meeting of financial representatives from the Group of Seven leading developed economies. All refrained from criticizing the Bank of Japan's policy, and accepted that its motivation was to get demand growing, not to weaken the yen.

However, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew indicating that he's monitoring developments with regard to the yen, the issue may be revisited at the wider G-20, when the leading industrial economies are joined by developing nations.

"This accepting tone could well change if the yen were to decline further which seems likely and is unlikely to be the end of the matter, especially if China and South Korea become more vocal with their concerns about the yen's rise and its effects on their exports," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent to 5,210.30 and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,948.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4 percent to 22,989.81.

Mainland Chinese shares were mixed as government data showed slightly smaller-than-expected increases in industrial production and retail sales in April. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,241.92. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 974.20.

Aside from the Japanese yen's movements, the currency markets were steady, with the euro 0.1 percent lower at $1.2984.

Oil prices tracked equities lower, with the benchmark New York rate down 90 cents to $95.12 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp is playing it rough in its attempt to keep Dish Network Corp from breaking up its $20.1 billion deal to take control of Sprint Nextel Corp.

The Japanese telecom company, which owns 33 percent of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, has told banks that their financing of Dish's $25.5 billion rival offer for Sprint could hurt their chances of landing a role in a highly anticipated public offering of the Chinese e-commerce giant, two sources familiar with the situation said.

SoftBank, Dish and Sprint declined to comment. A source close to Alibaba said on Friday that while SoftBank is a major investor, it does not make decisions for Alibaba's management. Alibaba has no timetable for an IPO yet and has not hired underwriters.

Softbank's unusual move is the latest sign that the battle for the control of Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, is fast turning into a no-holds-barred brawl between Softbank founder Masayoshi Son and Dish's Charlie Ergen.

SoftBank agreed in October last year to buy 70 percent of Sprint for $20.1 billion. In December, Sprint also made an offer to buy out the stake in Clearwire Corp it didn't already own. But Softbank's plans have run into trouble, thanks in large part to Dish. In January, Dish made a counterbid for Clearwire, and followed up in April with the bid for Sprint.

Softbank's latest move could make it more difficult for Dish to firm up financing for its Sprint bid. At least one major bank has withdrawn from financing the Dish bid after Softbank's move, the sources said.

Dish has said it would need to raise $9 billion in debt to finance the offer, and Softbank has criticized its rival for not having committed financing in place.

In an interview last month, Son described the U.S. media veteran as an "amateur" in mobile. "Charlie has no expertise in the mobile industry," the executive told Reuters.

For his part, Ergen has fought back against the criticism. Earlier this month, he said acquiring Sprint was so important to Dish that he could consider selling the company altogether if he loses a bidding war.

Softbank's move, though unusual, is legal, the sources said.

So-called anti-tying rules prohibit banks from offering a product to a company on the condition that it gets a role in another transaction. For example, a bank cannot say it will only give a loan to a company if the bank is chosen as an adviser on the company's next M&A transaction.

But banks' corporate clients are not subject to these restrictions. A company, for example, may select underwriters for an IPO on the condition that these banks not participate in a competitor's future public offering.

Alibaba's IPO, which could come as early as this year, is one of the most highly anticipated technology deals after Facebook Inc's $16 billion offering last year and would generate lofty fees for Wall Street banks. In Facebook's case, underwriters split about $176 million in fees.

BANKS TIED UP

Dish is in the process of lining up financing, but is encountering challenges in part because of Softbank's move, the sources said.

Barclays Plc, which is advising Dish, and Jefferies Group LLC, are lined up to provide financing, with Dish speaking to more banks to join the financing, one of the sources said. Jefferies and Barclays declined to comment.

Many Wall Street banks including Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, UBS AG and Deutsche Bank are already conflicted and cannot provide financing to Dish because of their roles in other aspects of the bidding war.

Bank of America is advising Sprint's special committee, while Citigroup, UBS and Rothschild are advising Sprint. Deutsche Bank is financing SoftBank's proposal.

Meanwhile, Softbank has already removed Barclays from a role in financing its bid for Sprint after the British bank was revealed to be advising Dish on a rival offer, sources have said previously.

FINANCING ISSUES

Dish's lack of committed financing is a concern for the special committee of Sprint's board that is reviewing Dish's offer to determine whether it could lead to a better deal than Softbank's, the sources said.

Ergen said on Thursday that Sprint's special committee has not yet given Dish access to its data room to gain a closer look at Sprint's books. The committee is taking its time in part because Dish does not have committed financing, the sources said.

In a letter to Sprint's board of directors on April 15, Dish said it intended to fund the $17.3 billion cash portion of the deal using $8.2 billion in balance sheet cash and raising $9 billion in additional debt financing.

"We have a proven track record in raising capital to fund strategic initiatives and have received a Highly Confident Letter from our financial advisor, Barclays, confirming our ability to raise the required financing," the letter said.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim, Olivia Oran and Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Matthew Lewis and Paul Simao)

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - In one of the biggest ever bank heists, a global cyber crime ring stole $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into their credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.

New York federal prosecutors accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth defendant was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27, according to U.S. prosecutors.

He was allegedly a leader of the cell and reported to ringleaders believed to be outside the United States.

"In the place of guns and masks, this cyber crime organization used laptops and the Internet," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch said at a news conference. "Moving as swiftly as data over the Internet, the organization worked its way from the computer systems of international corporations to the streets of New York City."

The case demonstrates the major threat that cyber crime poses to banks around the world. Prosecutors said the international crime ring used an attack known as "Unlimited Operations" in the cyber underworld.

According to the complaint, they used sophisticated hacking techniques to break into the computers of two credit card processors, one in India in December 2012 and the other in the United States this February. The complaint did not identify the companies.

In both cases, the hackers increased the available balance and eliminated the withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit cards issued by Bank of Muscat of Oman, and National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) of the United Arab Emirates.

They then allegedly distributed counterfeit debit cards to the New York cell and other teams around the world - known as "cashers" - enabling them to siphon millions of dollars from ATMs in a matter of hours, according to the complaint.

Cashers pulled some $40 million during the Bank of Muscat operation and stole another $5 million during the RAKBANK operation, prosecutors said. In total, cashers made some 40,500 withdrawals in 27 countries during the two coordinated incidents.

Representatives for the two banks could not be reached for comment outside of regular business hours.

In late February, Bank Muscat disclosed that it would take an impairment charge of up to 15 million rials ($39 million) because it had been defrauded overseas by 12 prepaid debit cards used for travel. That charge was equal to more than half of the 25 million rials profit it posted in its first quarter ended March 31.

HIGHLY SKILLED HACKERS

Cyber experts said they believe the operation likely required the work of several hundred people, at least several of whom were highly skilled hackers capable of devising ways to penetrate well-protected financial systems.

"Hackers only need to find one vulnerability to cause millions of dollars of damage," said Mark Rasch, a former federal cyber crimes prosecutor, based in Bethesda, Maryland.

A single account number, for instance, yielded nearly $9 million in profits, including an alleged $2.4 million from the cell in New York City, prosecutors said.

The eight defendants - all U.S. citizens and residents of Yonkers, New York - were charged with withdrawing cash from the ATMs and transporting money, not hacking into the credit card processing firms or managing the operation.

The seven arrested are: Jael Mejia Collado, Joan Luis Minier Lara, Evan Jose Pea, Jose Familia Reyes, Elvis Rafael Rodriguez, Emir Yasser Yeje and Chung Yu-Holguin (known as "Chino El Abusador"). All except for Rodriguez were arraigned on Thursday and pleaded not guilty. Rodriguez's attorney was unavailable. Only Pena has been released on bail.

The defendant, who reportedly had been killed was Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pea, also known as "Prime" and "Albertico." Lynch said it was unclear whether the murder was related to this case.

Prosecutors said cashers often laundered their proceeds by purchasing luxury goods, and sending a portion of the money back to the organization's leaders. They said they seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and bank accounts, as well as two Rolex watches and a Mercedes SUV, from the New York defendants.

Investigators said that they found an email exchange with an account associated with a criminal money laundering operation in St. Petersburg, Russia, describing wire transfers.

An investigation is ongoing to see if other cells are operating in the country, Lynch said, adding that U.S. law enforcement had worked with counterparts in Japan, Canada, Germany, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Latvia, Estonia, Thailand, and Malaysia to uncover the ring.

No individual bank accounts were compromised by the scheme, Lynch said.

(Editing by Noeleen Walder, Tiffany Wu and Leslie Gevirtz)

Australian climatologists have published a study that compared results from five global research groups, each of which used different modeling approaches to develop future wave-climate scenarios.

Their : "We find an agreed projected decrease in annual mean significant wave height over 25.8% of the global ocean area." Translation, as succinctly put by , "Surfing is going to suck for a quarter of the world."

Galliano, who was fired by Dior in 2011 after he was caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris cafe, will teach a course titled "Show Me Emotion" at Parsons The New School For Design, the school said on Monday.

Parsons said the class "will be a dynamic and intimate opportunity for our students to learn from an immensely talented designer."

"We believe that over the past two years Galliano has demonstrated a serious intent to make amends for his past actions," the school added.

Earlier this year, the 52-year-old British designer, widely thought of as one of the most talented and creative names in fashion, spent several weeks working at Oscar de la Renta's studio in New York, preparing for de la Renta's New York Fashion Week show in February.

A French court handed out a 6,000-euro ($8,000) suspended fine to Galliano in 2011 after he was found guilty of anti-Semitic behavior. Galliano has said an addiction to drugs and alcohol had left him out of control and he was determined to make amends.

Parsons said students in the master class "will have the opportunity to engage in a frank conversation with Mr. Galliano about the challenges and complications of leading a design house in the 21st century."

Following his Dior dismissal, Galliano designed British model Kate Moss's wedding dress.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Doina Chiacu)

The big South African wielded the long-putter he is phasing out to sink five birdies, against one "silly" bogey, to lie two shots behind Australia's Scott Hend and Korea's Hwang Inn-choon at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

"I've got to be satisfied with that. Obviously you would like to say it could have been better but I played nicely," said Els who finished 14th at the Chiangmai Golf Classic in March.

"I made a silly mistake on the third hole which was a short par-four. I played with a nice group of guys who played good as well.

"I like playing out here in Asia and the golf courses are nice. I need to get more rounds under my belt and I feel that I'm starting to get better," said Els, who took a share of the 15th place in the PGA Tour New Orleans Classic on Sunday.

Hend looked in his element playing in the country where he won his first Asian Tour title in 2008 and the big-hitting Australian traded six birdies and an eagle against one double bogey.

"I'm in a good position. The scores are going to be low this week so I've got to keep grinding those numbers and add that into a good score," said the three-times Asian Tour winner.

Korean Hwang used his new putter to birdie four of his closing five holes and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria fired 67 climb to third. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi, editing by Ed Osmond)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Telling the parents of babies who spit up and cry frequently that their child has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, makes them more likely to want medicine - even if they're also told it isn't likely to help much, a new study suggests.

Most babies who spit up don't have an acid reflux problem, researchers said, just a not-quite-developed upper stomach valve.

Still, an increasing number of those kids are being labeled as having GERD - even though a definitive diagnosis normally requires an invasive test.

"Roughly 50 percent of babies during the first six months are spitting up enough to bother their parents," said Dr. William Carey from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who wrote a commentary published Monday with the new study.

"I never offered medication for a kid who was just spitting up and gaining weight well and happy," he told Reuters Health. "I could confidently tell the mother, Look, it's going to be a nuisance until about six months, and then it's gradually going to get better.' It's an irritating variation of normal."

For their study, Laura Scherer from the University of Missouri in Columbia and her colleagues handed out surveys to 175 parents with a hypothetical scenario: their one-month-old infant was spitting up and crying a lot.

The researchers asked parents what they would do if the doctor diagnosed their child with GERD versus if the condition wasn't labeled, as well as what they would do if the doctor told them the medication to treat the condition was ineffective - as research suggests it is - or didn't say anything about its efficacy.

Survey participants were more likely to want medication if their hypothetical infant was given a GERD diagnosis. Even when parents were told the medicine probably wouldn't work, they rated their interest in treatment at about 2.5 out of 5.

However, with no disease label and with information about the medicine's lack of efficacy, parents rated their desire to treat below 1.5 out of 5, the researchers reported in Pediatrics.

"It shows how these kinds of labels can influence how people respond to symptoms," Scherer told Reuters Health. "Words can make an otherwise normal process seem like something that requires medical intervention."

She said current guidelines say the case of an irritable infant who cries and spits up frequently should probably not be treated as GERD - but that if doctors rule everything else out, they can try a two-week course of acid-reducing medication.

That caveat could further confuse doctors and parents into thinking medicine is likely to help, Scherer said.

"It's really becoming pretty clear that GERD in infants is overdiagnosed and overtreated. One reason for this could be that doctors' use of this GERD label could unintentionally increase people's (desire) for medications," she said.

Carey compared what's happening with GERD symptoms to the rising number of very active kids being diagnosed with and treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Parents need to know that there are some annoying or insignificant variations of normal which one really needs to just put up with and not treat as a disease," he said.

"Be darn sure that there is an abnormality before treating it as such."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/jsoh2P Pediatrics, online April 1, 2013.

Mothers who pick up their infants and walk with them when they are crying trigger a specific set of emotional and physical responses,published in the journal Current Biology on Thursday. Researchers believe the responses originally developed to promote bonding between a mother and her child.

In aof the study, scientists point out that the mothers of many mammalian species demonstrate this carrying behavior. They claim that this is the first time that the anecdotal evidence regarding the efficacy of carrying and other soothing techniques demonstrated by mothers has been the subject of scientific research.

Here is some of the key information that emerged on Thursday regarding this new study into the mother-infant bonding process.

* The behaviors that the scientists measured, which included a specific set of "central, motor, and cardiac regulations" all were triggered specifically by mothers carrying their infants while walking. Mothers who were sitting and holding their babies did not trigger nearly the same level of response in their infants, according to the researchers' report.

* Measured responses to being picked up and carried included a rapid decrease in heart rate, as well as a halt to voluntary movement and crying.

* Researchers who conducted the study believe that the behaviors developed to increase mother-infant bonding. Specifically, that these behaviors in infants, which they defined as "innate," are meant to promote "maternal proximity" by triggering a particular set of responses to being separated from their mothers, according to the report in Current Biology.

*the study was a particularly small one, involving a sample group of just 12 infants and their mothers. The babies were all between the ages of 1 month and 6 months old.

* Researchers observed that when an infant began crying, if their mother picked them up and began walking around, that there was an observable "automatic change" to the mother's actions, according to the MyHealthNewsDaily report.

* This response has led the researchers to speculate that carrying an infant may be a more effective way to soothe them than other techniques, including rocking.

* Although this particular study specifically looked at an infant's response when picked up by their mother, the scientists were quick to point out that any primary caregiver -- whether father, grandparent, or other adult in the household -- may be able to trigger the same responses.

* The researchers also tested mice to see if the same behavioral mechanisms would reveal themselves, which they did.

Groups supporting legal access to abortion, after major successes in the 2012 national elections, find themselves on the defensive as they distance themselves from Gosnell.

"All of us are appalled by the substandard illegal practices," said Vicki Saporta, who as CEO of the National Abortion Federation represents hundreds of U.S. abortion clinics. "But to make the leap to say that's indicative of the state of abortion care throughout the U.S. is absolutely false."

Anti-abortion activists, in contrast, are energized by the case, citing it in fundraising appeals and renewed efforts to expand state restrictions on abortion.

"It's very seldom we get such an opportunity to look at the realities of what's happening in abortion," said Dr. Donna Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Gosnell, 72, is charged with killing five people a patient and four viable babies that prosecutors say were born alive. Among scores of other counts, he also is accused of performing abortions after Pennsylvania's 24-week limit.

Jury deliberations began April 30 and are scheduled to resume Monday.

Anti-abortion groups have seized on the case as a chance to reach an audience beyond their regular followers. Those efforts were enhanced midway through the trial when abortion opponents used social media to accuse some national news outlets of a "blackout" of the case, resulting in increased news coverage.

Certainly, there's been national attention. Beth Burkstrand-Reid, a University of Nebraska law professor who teaches courses about abortion and gender issues, says her students have been coming up to her before and after class to talk about the case.

The horrific allegations against Gosnell whose clinic was licensed but hadn't been inspected since 1993 have prompted the abortion-rights lobby to repudiate him as a "rogue operator" employing practices far outside the norm.

"This was an incredibly horrible situation and when it came to light, he was somehow associated with the abortion community, which he's not," said Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a research group which supports abortion rights. "It's taking a long time for that message to get out. He does not represent abortion care in this country."

Anti-abortion groups are trying to make the case that he does, arguing that lax regulation and callous attitudes have allowed dangerous conditions to persist in many clinics.

They also contend there's little practical difference between what Gosnell is charged with killing four babies who were born alive and a late-term abortion.

The trial "shows people that abortion is about killing human beings that have arms and legs and in this case, a lot of attention has been focused on necks and spines that can be cut. They're alive and something has to be done to them to cause them to die," said David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee.

One anti-abortion group, Live Action, has used the case to publicize the latest in a series of undercover videos it has made at abortion clinics.

"Gosnell Not Alone in Late-term Abortion Brutality," declares a news release about videos which, according to Live Action president Lila Rose, show abortion providers discussing possible outcomes of late-term abortions that she depicts as infanticide.

Another group, Americans United for Life, is using the case to bolster its promotion of state laws requiring abortion clinics to meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgical facilities.

"You are going to see legislators taking a look at this horrific situation in Philadelphia and say, 'We do not want this in our state,'" said spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick.

Anti-abortion activists were already feeling emboldened by the Republican electoral gains of 2010. Since then, GOP-dominated state legislatures have passed more than 160 restrictive abortion measures more than in the seven previous years combined, according to a tally by the Guttmacher Institute.

In the 2012 election, abortion-rights supporters countered by accusing the GOP of waging a "war on women," and some anti-abortion Republicans lost high-profile Senate races.

Now the Gosnell case is providing abortion opponents with fresh ammunition as they seek tighter clinic regulations and additional restrictions on late-term abortions. For example, they are citing the case in urging Congress to ban abortions in Washington, D.C., beyond the 20th week of pregnancy, based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that age.

Eleven states already have so-called fetal pain laws, though only six are in force. Courts have blocked enforcement in three states, while in two states the measures have yet to take effect.

Late-term abortions are relatively rare. According to federal data, about 92 percent of abortions are performed at 13 weeks of pregnancy or earlier.

Some states are now targeting those early-stage abortions. New laws would ban most abortions after 12 weeks in Arkansas and after six weeks in North Dakota.

In Pennsylvania, the Gosnell case has already had a direct impact on policy.

A law that took effect last year raised safety standards for abortion clinics, including requirements for wider hallways and doorways, bigger operating rooms, and full-time nurses. The law also mandates unannounced inspections.

Since the law's enactment, five of the state's 22 abortion clinics have closed, according to the Health Department, though reasons for the closures vary.

Abortion-rights supporters say the Gosnell case illustrates the need for increased access to abortion services, not less. They argue that restrictions drive down the number of reputable providers and force desperate, low-income women to turn to unsafe options, as was often the case before the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion.

"The kinds of restrictions that the anti-choice lobby has been trying to put in place for years and years are the exact kinds of restrictions that keep people like Kermit Gosnell in business," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Peeking at Gosnell's clinic is like peeking into U.S. history pre-Roe v. Wade."

Dr. Anne Davis, who is medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health and provides abortions as part of her practice in New York City, says abortion is among the safest medical procedures.

"There are always going to be bad actors in any profession," she said. "The harder it gets to access abortion, the wider the door for bad actors."

It's too soon to gauge whether the Gosnell case will sway public opinion and alter abortion politics over the long term.

Eric Ferrero of Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the U.S., said he took heart in national polls that consistently show most American support legal access to abortion. "I don't doubt that extremist politicians and activists will try to use the case to fan the flames," he said. "When two-thirds of the public is against you, you look for a game-changer at every bend."

President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, waded into the debate on April 26, becoming the first sitting president to make an in-person address to Planned Parenthood.

Obama vowed to help fight against state abortion restrictions that he said are designed to "turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century."

The president did not mention the Gosnell case, but he attacked legislators in North Dakota, Mississippi and elsewhere who want to "ban or severely limit access to a woman's right to choose."

Pennsylvania lawmakers were among the first anywhere to approve restrictions on abortion. The state's 1980s-era abortion laws required women to wait at least 24 hours for an abortion and to receive information from a doctor about abortion risks and alternatives.

Yet in the case of Gosnell's clinic, enforcement was lacking. Prosecutors said Gosnell employed untrained, unlicensed workers in a deplorable facility with broken or unsterile equipment.

A Philadelphia grand jury report in 2011 said Gosnell routinely performed illegal, third-trimester abortions and cut the spinal cords of hundreds of infants born alive.

According to the report, Gosnell's clinic had not been inspected since 1993. It said the state Health Department stopped inspecting abortion clinics in the 1990s out of a desire to avoid "putting up a barrier" to women seeking abortions.

Claremont McKenna College professor Jon Shields, an expert in abortion policy, described the U.S. abortion system overall as "unusually permissive" compared to most Western countries.

"Most of the industry is self-regulated and generally that works pretty well," he said, crediting such groups as Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation with high standards.

"But then you get a lot of clinics that ... are interested in cutting costs," Shields added. "We know a lot less about these clinics."

___

Follow David Crary and Michael Rubinkam on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP and http://twitter.com/michaelrubinkam

Now, a new study finds that at least one dino took a birdlike approach to hatching eggs. Troodon was a small, meat-eating dinosaur that grew to be about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long. Thedate back to the Late Cretaceous, about 75 million years ago, and they apparently incubated their eggs much like modern birds.

Most birds sit on their eggs to warm them, but crocodiles and their relatives completely bury their nests. The difference between the two shows up in the eggshells: Croc eggs have many pores to allow for air and water exchange, lest the eggs suffocate in their closed, humid nests. Bird eggs exposed to the air have fewer pores, because their eggs would be more in danger of drying out. []

University of Calgary dinosaur researcher Darla Zelenitsky and Montana State University paleontologist David Varricchio studied Troodon egg clutches from Canada and Montana, examining the fossilized shells for signs of burial. They compared the porosity of the eggshells with that of eggshells from modern-day crocodiles, birds that nest by burying their eggs in mounds, and birds that nest by brooding, or sitting on their eggs.

They found that porosity varied across the dino eggshell, suggesting the dinosaur laid its eggs almost vertically in sand or mud, but didn't bury the eggs completely. The adult would have had direct contact with the upper portions of these partially buried eggs, Varricchio said.

"There are similarities with a peculiar nester among birds called the Egyptian plover that broods its eggs while they're partially buried in sandy substrate of the nest," Varricchio said in a statement.

The plover, a wading bird, nests by laying its eggs in warm sand and then sitting on the nest with a wet belly, cooling the eggs from above.

The findings demonstrate that birdlike behavior evolved in theropods, the caste of bipedal dinosaurs related to today's birds, Zelenitsky said in a statement. The researchers reported their findings in the spring issue of the journal Paleobiology.

Previous studies have found that dinosaurs were doting parents. In 2008, Zelenitsky and her colleagues reported in the journal Science thatwhile dino moms went out to snag meals. Another study published this month in the journal Nature found thatand kicked in their eggs before hatching.

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