The often-criticized components of the Western diet, like fried foods, salty snacks and meat, accounts for 30 percent of heart attack risk across the world, according to a study of dietary patterns in 52 countries reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers identified three dietary patterns in the world:

• Oriental: higher intake of tofu, soy and other sauces;
• Prudent: higher intake of fruits and vegetables; and
• Western: higher intake of fried foods, salty snacks, eggs and meat.

The Prudent diet was associated with a lower heart attack risk than the Oriental, researchers said.

New Jersey Institute of Technology professor Bruce Bukiet, a mathematician who has applied mathematical modeling techniques to the dynamics of scoring in baseball, has computed the probability of the Rays and Phillies winning the World Series now that the Rays have defeated the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. He recently released the names of those most deserving of Major League Baseball's prestigious 2008 Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Cy Young awards.

This is the eighth year that Bukiet has used his model to determine whether it is worthwhile to wager on games each day of the baseball season. His picks (posted on www.egrandslam.com) have led to positive results for six of the past eight years.

The US Presidential candidates on fostering science and technology innovation:

For decades, the United States dominated the technological revolution sweeping the globe. The nation’s science and engineering skills produced vast gains in productivity and wealth, powered its military and made it the de facto world leader.