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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Herbal supplements aimed at improving men's sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study.

Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal remedies contained more of the ingredient than is allowed in prescription-only pharmaceuticals.

"It's pretty scary stuff," said Neil Campbell, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Pfizer, which sells Viagra. "These products are not herbal at all, they're adulterated."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is in charge of regulating herbal supplements, posted 11 warnings to consumers in 2013 alerting them of unlabeled pharmaceuticals being found in these products.

Campbell and his colleagues analyzed 91 samples from 58 products.

They sent undercover consumers into convenience stores and gas stations in the Atlanta and Baltimore areas, and bought products such as Rize 2 The Occasion, Stiff 4 Hours, and Man King.

Although 57 of the products claimed to be "all natural," 81 percent of them contained the tadalafil or sildenafil (marketed as Cialis and Viagra, respectively) or similar ingredients that are not approved by the FDA.

The products also had labeling problems, indicating poor quality production, according to the authors. In some cases, expiration dates or lot numbers were missing, manufacturers could not be identified, or samples of the same product had different appearances.

"There's so little effort to do something the right way to produce a legitimate product," Campbell told Reuters Health. "This is an all time low."

None of 10 supplement companies contacted by Reuters Health responded to a request for comment, nor did the FDA.

Campbell said given the potential side effects and health risks associated with prescription erectile dysfunction drugs, men are "risking their lives" taking herbal sex enhancement drugs.

"Almost one patient a day says they've tried Mojo or one of these over-the-counter products," said Dr. Gregory Lowe, an assistant professor of urology at Ohio State University who was not part of this study.

"One of the big concerns is that we don't know what the patient's getting," he added.

Seven samples that Campbell's group analyzed contained only unknown substances.

"Commonly, I hear patients say, 'it worked one time and it didn't work other times.' And that fits in well with what they found here" that quality control is lacking, he added.

It's unclear where the ingredients are coming from.

Lowe advises men who are interested in taking these pills to talk to their doctors first.

He says patients often turn to these products because they are cheap - costing between $2.99 and $17.99, according to Campbell's study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

But they are taking a health risk in doing so.

Erectile dysfunction medicines can be unsafe for men taking nitrates for chest pain, but only 14 of the samples in the study included a warning against combining the drugs.

"Unfortunately, to an unwitting patient they think they're taking an herbal product," said Campbell. "It really poses a really scary threat for patient health and safety."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/17KGjiu Journal of Sexual Medicine, online May 1, 2013.

Happ was removed from the field on a stretcher in the second inning Tuesday night after being struck on the head by a line drive off the bat of Jennings in the Blue Jays' 6-4 victory over the Rays.

"I just saw it come off the bat hot, and when it hit him I know it hit him hard," said Ryan Roberts, who was on deck to bat behind Jennings. "I instantly started praying for him. That's a situation you never want to see. It's unfortunate. I hope he recovers and hope he's back pitching as soon as possible."

Jennings, who did not speak to the media after the game, hit the ball so hard that after it ricocheted off Happ it went all the way into the bullpen in foul territory halfway down the right-field line for a two-run triple. Happ dropped face down at the front of the mound, holding his head with his glove and bare hand.

The Blue Jays said Happ was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was alert and undergoing tests. Nursing supervisor Natasha Keller told the Associated Press that Happ had been admitted to the hospital and was in stable condition.

Team trainers, paramedics and medical officials rushed to Happ's aid as Tropicana Field fell into a hush.

Just before he disappeared under the stands on the stretcher, Happ raised his right hand and waved. He received a standing ovation, and the game resumed after an 11-minute delay.

Said Adam Lind, whose home run in the second inning gave the Jays a 1-0 lead: "It took us a few innings to regroup. The energy in the dugout was very sad and we weren't really in the mood. I think that was obvious, and then we got some hits and got our minds off things that were bad and got our minds pointed in the right direction."

Happ's injury was the latest to a pitcher struck by a batted ball during the last few years, and Major League Baseball has discussed ways to protect hurlers on the mound.

"We are actively meeting with a number of companies that are attempting to develop a product, and have reviewed test results for several products," MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told the AP in an email after Happ was injured Tuesday night. "Some of the products are promising. No company has yet developed a product that has satisfied the testing criteria."

Oakland right-hander Brandon McCarthy was hit in the head by a line drive last September, causing a skull fracture, an epidural hemorrhage and a brain contusion that required surgery. He was released from the hospital six days later.

Not long after Happ was hit Tuesday night, McCarthy's wife, Amanda, tweeted: "Thoughts go out to Happ and his family. Such a scary moment."

Major league general managers discussed the issue during their meetings in November and MLB presented several ideas at baseball's winter meetings only weeks later.

MLB staff have said a cap liner with Kevlar, the high-impact material used by military, law enforcement and NFL players for body armor, is among the ideas under consideration. The liners, weighing perhaps five ounces or less, would go under a pitcher's cap and help protect against line drives that often travel over 100 mph.

MLB could implement the safety change in the minor leagues, as it did a few seasons ago with batting helmets, but would require the approval of the players' union to make big leaguers wear them.

Brad Lincoln replaced Happ, who gave up four runs all in the second inning and five hits in 1 1-3 innings.

Lincoln took over with Tampa Bay leading, 4-1. But Cody Rasmus hit a two-run home run off Rays reliever Jake McGee in the seventh inning, and Toronto tied it in the eighth when Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista hit back-to-back doubles off Kyle Farnsworth.

Maicer Izturis homered off Joel Peralta (0-2) in the ninth and Cabrera drove in the Jays' final run with another double.

Steve Delabar (3-1) threw two scoreless innings before Casey Janssen pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

The Blue Jays have won three in a row for the first time this season, but this victory was overwhelmed by the traumatic moment in the second inning.

Happ began spring training without a spot in Toronto's projected rotation. He earned a starting role when the Blue Jays left struggling Ricky Romero behind in Florida to work on his mechanics when the season began.

Happ was obtained by Toronto in a trade with Houston last July 20. He was placed on the disabled list Sept. 7 and missed the rest of the season due to a broken right foot.

"You just hope and pray that it's not as bad as it looks," said Delabar. "Nobody ever wants to get hit on the mound, especially in the head. You just pray it doesn't amount to anything."

NOTES: Rays RF Ben Zobrist rejoined the team after missing two games following the death of his grandmother. ... A group of injured Toronto pitchers rehabbing at the team's complex in nearby Dunedin were at the ballpark. RHP Sergio Santos (right triceps) is scheduled to pitch in extended spring training games Thursday and Saturday, and if things go well he could join Class-A Dunedin next week. RHP Dustin McGowan (right shoulder) is pitching out of the bullpen in extended spring games and could start a rehab assignment next week. RHP Drew Hutchison (right elbow) is about three weeks away from throwing batting practice. RHP Kyle Drabek (right elbow) could be ready to throw batting practice in a week or two.

The , a daily record of atmospheric carbon dioxide, has been running continuously since March 1958, when a carbon dioxide monitor was installed atin Hawaii. On its first day, the observatory measured a carbon dioxide concentration of 313 parts per million (ppm). That number means there were 313 molecules of carbon dioxide in the air for every 1 million air molecules.

The number continued to climb through May 1958 and then slowly started to drop, reaching a minimum in October that year. This maximum-minimum pattern, repeated seasonally, reveals how trees withdraw carbon dioxide from the air in summer to grow and then release it through dead, decaying leaves and wood in the winter.

Upward creep

But humans release carbon dioxide into the air, too, by burning fossil fuels. This activity has caused the Keeling Curve to creep ever upward since 1958: The lows get a little higher each year, as do the highs. []

Because carbon dioxide typically peaks in May, researchers are expecting the Keeling Curve to break a milestone of 400 ppm this year. (If not, the number will almost certainly be reached in May 2014.) As of May 1 of this year, the last day data was available, the Mauna Loa observatory recorded 399.39 ppm of carbon dioxide in the air.

There will be no huge atmospheric or climatic shift once carbon dioxide hits 400 ppm, but the milestone has symbolic significance, said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.

"It is a reminder of just how uncontrolled this dangerous experiment we're playing with the planet really is," Mann told LiveScience.

What 400 ppm means

In the 1,000 years that occurred before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, atmospheric carbon dioxide held steady at around 270 to 280 parts per million.

Scientists believe that the most recent period to reach 400 ppm was the Pliocene Epoch, between 5 million and 3 million years ago, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which keeps track of the Keeling Curve.

Back then, it was a different world. Global average temperatures during the period were between 5.4 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (3 to 4 degrees Celsius) higher than today, and sea level was as much as 131 feet (40 meters) higher in some places. Even the least-affected regions saw16 feet (5 meters) higher than today's.

A major difference between then and now, though, is the speed at which carbon dioxide is rising today. Typically, in the last 40 to 50 years, the Keeling Curve shows increases of 2 to 2.5 ppm a year, Mann said. In the 1950s and 1960s, carbon dioxide increased by less than 1 ppm each year, according to Scripps.

"We're on course for more than 450 ppm in a matter of decades if we don't get ourunder control quite soon," Mann said.

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A team working with data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider says it has discovered a particle that decays unevenly into matter and antimatter.

The lab near Geneva said Wednesday that the particle called 'B0s' is the fourth sub-atomic particle known to prefer matter over antimatter.

Theory posits that the Big Bang produced equal amounts of each, and scientists have puzzled over why matter now dominates.

The discovery of the first matter-antimatter asymmetry earned two scientists at Brookhaven Laboratory in New York a Nobel Prize in 1980.

Team spokesman Pierluigi Campana said the find was predicted by the standard model of physics but "some interesting discrepancies demand more detailed studies."

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra, the British rock group that mixed electric guitars with classical cellos, violins and woodwind, are celebrating their 40th anniversary with new material and a slew of album re-issues.

The band had a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s like "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic" and "Mr. Blue Sky." But by the late 1980s it had run its course, and Lynne had teamed up with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty to form another supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys.

Lynne and ELO mark the milestone of becoming a band with the never-before released "Electric Light Orchestra Live" with two new songs, and two reissues - ELO's "ZOOM" and Lynne's debut solo album "Armchair Theatre" (also with two new tracks) - all out on Tuesday.

Lynne, 65, talked to Reuters about the band's legacy, why there are no plans for touring, and old pals Petty, Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Q: Did you ever think you'd be celebrating ELO's 40th anniversary, and how special is it for you?

A: It's pretty special and a marvelous thing that my songs are still getting played after all these years. But it took me by surprise. It just sort of creeps up on you without you knowing, and when you try and think about where those 40 years went, it's hard to imagine.

Q: What can fans expect from the new releases?

A: Maybe some fans missed the albums the first time around, and "Armchair Theatre" is one of my favorite albums I did, including all the ELO ones. I love "Zoom" too, and they didn't get much of a look-in last time around, so it's a chance for fans to catch up. I'm very proud of the songs and the live one is great too - and I'm not a big fan of live albums usually.

Q: All the albums feature some additional new songs. What's the history there?

A: The two extra tracks on "Armchair" were written during the original sessions in 1990, and I never quite finished them, so I finally went back and completed the tracks recently. And "Zoom" has a new track, "One Day," which I recorded in 2004.

Q: George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Tom Petty also appear on these releases. What did they bring to the mix?

A: It was lovely to have them and it's just another energy to add to the music. And when it's musicians as great as they are, there's this buzz and it's really nice to play with people you respect and love and who're so good at what they do.

Q: George Harrison and you collaborated on a lot of projects. What are your fondest memories of him?

A: Probably the first thing we did together, his album "Cloud Nine." I actually moved into his house and lived there during the week, and then went home at the weekend. We had a fabulous time and so much fun. It was the first real producing I'd done outside ELO and so it was very exciting for me, especially as I was producing his solo album at his home studio. We became very close. And then I got to see the world with George. He loved to travel and he'd invite me to come along on these wonderful trips, so it was a magical time.

Q: Fair to say you've always been more of a studio musician than a touring one?

A: Absolutely. Once I discovered recording and production, that was my main interest. I had this little tape machine and it taught me how to make records, in the front room of my parents' house in Birmingham, England.

Q: Any plans to tour with ELO again?

A: Not really. My manager keeps saying, Come on,' but once I started working in the studio, I never wanted to go on the road and play the same thing every night. I was far more interested in writing and recording new stuff all the time.

Q: So many classic rock bands - from the Rolling Stones to Fleetwood Mac and The Who - are still going strong. What's the continuing appeal?

A: It's obviously great songs that have a certain sound you just don't get now. What's amazing to me is that so many kids today are big fans, too. So many other types of music - like big band - came and went, but rock n' roll-pop just keeps going.

(Reporting By Iain Blair, editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Heather Graham is about to enjoy some "Californication."

The "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" actress has signed on as a guest star for the Showtime series "Californication," the network said Monday. Graham will play a woman from writer Hank Moody's (David Duchovny) past, who arrives into his sphere once more to upend his life.

The show has also cast "24" alum Mary Lynn Rajskub, who will play a neurotic writer.

"The Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli has also been cast in the upcoming season of the series. In his multi-episode arc, Imperioli will play Rick Rath, an old-school TV producer who plays a key role in Moody's latest venture.

The upcoming seventh season of "Californication" begins production later this month for a 2014 premiere.

The 27-year-old has joined the Misako Gym stable in Tokyo, Japanese media reported on Friday. No details of his debut bout were disclosed.

Murata beat Brazilian Esquiva Falcao Florentino 14-13 with some shrewd inside fighting at the London Games to win Japan's first boxing gold since 1964.

(Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by John O'Brien)

Canada's top court announced on Friday that it had completed a review of its records and found no documents related to the allegations.

The court launched the review after the recent publication of a book that alleges two of its former justices interfered in the political process and engaged in backroom discussions.

Francois Gendron, the Parti Quebecois' deputy premier, says the allegations are very serious and the court's decision to end the review is unacceptable.

Gendron says he's convinced there is truth to the story and says the Quebec government is looking at other options to get to the bottom of it.

For the moment, Gendron says the Quebec government has ruled out legal action to find out more.

"We will do everything we can, in other ways, to take this (investigation) further," Gendron said Saturday.

The controversy stems from a new book "La bataille de Londres," by historian and journalist Frederic Bastien.

In the book, Bastien writes that Bora Laskin, then chief justice of the Supreme Court, provided information to the Canadian and British governments on the discussions between the justices about the legality of repatriation.

Bastien based that account on British government documents he got under the United Kingdom's freedom-of-information laws. He also claims another high court judge, Willard Estey, also secretly advised the British government in 1980 that the Supreme Court would address the issue.

Bastien suggests that both jurists violated the principle of separation of executive and judicial powers.

What has happened to plain old "parenting"? Time and again, I see children make their own rules because the parents have shrugged off the responsibility of parenting. You should have told them to tell their child that if he won't wear a helmet, his bike will be taken away until he does. -- BILL IN BARTLESVILLE, OKLA.

DEAR BILL: You and many readers are right. I did overlook the issue of parenting in my reply. Mea culpa! Read on:

DEAR ABBY: Have "Overprotective Mom" ask her son if he thinks firefighters, fighter pilots, police officers and football players are "uncool." They all wear helmets! -- JAMES IN HASTINGS, NEB.

DEAR ABBY: Not wearing a bike helmet to be "cool" is knuckling under to peer pressure. Those parents should use this opportunity to explain peer pressure and its consequences to their son.

He needs to understand that he must make decisions for himself, and his "friends" should accept him for who he is. He needs to learn to stand his ground and be who he wants to be despite what others think of him. He also needs to learn to make decisions that affect his life based on facts, and not follow the crowd. True friends will most often make the same sound decisions that he makes, or accept his decision without pressuring him.

One other comment: Require the kid to wear a helmet or forfeit the right to ride a bike. It's called "tough love" and although it is tough, it is also rewarding. More parents need to have sound, well-thought-out rules and stick to them. -- PARENT FIRST, FRIEND SECOND

DEAR ABBY: Patients cannot be used as exhibits, even with the best of intentions. It would be unethical and also illegal under HIPAA laws. A better option would be to contact the injury prevention office at a local children's hospital and ask for tips. If your readers don't live near one, there are websites filled with helpful information. -- LAURIE IN DALLAS

DEAR ABBY: It's true that there is no state code law in Texas regarding bicycle helmets, but many municipalities, including Dallas, have ordinances that require riders to wear them. That mother should check her city code. -- CONCERNED IN TEXAS

DEAR ABBY: "Overprotective" should let her son choose a "cool" helmet and be sure it's fitted correctly. Going to a bike shop may be the best bet.

Serious bikers are cool and will be supportive. The boy should select the style and color he wants and decorate it with hot stickers or whatever he wishes. If that doesn't work, then take the bike away. It's the kind of cause-and-effect discipline that really works. -- BARBARA IN RUMFORD, MAINE

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

For an excellent guide to becoming a better conversationalist and a more sociable person, order "How to Be Popular." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Popularity Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)