Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/301912124?client_source=feed&format=rss
wall street journal us map Electoral Map concede Obama Acceptance Speech Prop 30 Election 2012
Saturday, April 27, 2013
How Apple?s Developer Conference Grew Too Big for Its Own Developers
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/Lj1W3R0Xafc/
baby found alive in morgue rockies second degree murders bobby petrino brian dunn vin scully petrino fired
Peru says no to GMO
Peru is the first country in the Americas to ban genetically modified foods,?putting its food policy closer to that of Europe, than the United States or many of its South American neighbors.
A man drags a cart loaded with vegetables in downtown Lima, Peru, Wednesday.
Mariana Bazo/Reuters
EnlargeThere isn?t much local Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino won?t eat. His highly accliamed Amaz restaurant is devoted to finding and using Amazonian food native to the country, like a 600-pound freshwater fish or a little-known fruit nicknamed ?cannonball? that tastes like a cross between a guava, coconut, and melon.
Skip to next paragraph' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
Subscribe Today to the Monitor
But a year ago Mr. Schiaffino stopped eating supermarket tomatoes.
Even though Peru is the birthplace of the crop, it?s difficult to find anything other than hard, pale Roma tomatoes in supermarkets, and Schiaffino says that worried him.
?They?re a big monoculture, which is why people usually end up using [genetically modified organisms] GMOs. Because when you have monocultures, the crops end up getting diseases, and you have to look for these extreme ways to fix them,? he says.
Peru was the cradle of the Inca Empire, and today it?s home to many crops indigenous to the Americas. It has 400 varieties of potato alone, and a geography that allows farmers to grow almost anything.
It's also the only country in the Americas to put a 10-year ban on genetically modified food, with a law that was first introduced in 2011, and went into effect at the end of last year. Its basic intention, say Schiaffino and others, is to protect Peru?s biodiversity, as well as the practices that have kept it intact for so long.?
?In the end, it?s not a law that?s ?against? anything,? says Antonietta Gutierrez, a biologist at Peru?s National Agrarian University.??This is a law in favor of biosecurity. The idea is that there should be a responsible way of using technology, so that it helps us develop resources ? and at the same time, doesn?t destroy what we already have."
Environmental 'coup?
GMOs are organisms that have been altered via genetic engineering ? and this can mean anything from bacteria, to animals, and plants. Supporters praise the ability of engineers to do things like create plants resistant to pests and drought, or ones that have higher yields. Yet those wary of GMO crops worry about food safety, a lack of longterm research, and the potential for contaminating and even wiping out non-GMO species.
For the past few decades, Profesor Gutierrez has kept a packed schedule, doing experiments in the test fields and laboratories of the agrarian university, and as a proponent of laws to regulate GMO crops.
?There aren?t yet long term studies of GMOs,? says Gutierrez in a spartan concrete and linoleum lab just outside the capital. ?You can?t measure their real effects in five, 10, or even 20 years. It takes more time to observe those effects, especially when we?re talking about entire ecosystems.?
Peru's new law puts its food policy closer to that of Europe, than to that of the United States or many of its South American neighbors. While genetically modified species can still be tested in controlled lab settings, as of December 2012, they can?t be planted or set free, and GMO seeds are barred from entering the country. Both activists and many scientists consider this a coup.
GMOs produced outside the country, however, are still present in products sold in supermarkets. A law requiring products containing GMOs to be labeled was passed in 2011 ? but terms and regulations were never set. According to a study done by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users, of 13 basic products bought and tested for the presence of GMOs, 10 tested positive.
Activists say this is all the start of a long fight.?
'Ancient culture'
Uldarico Reyes Rold?n has been working at the popular Madre Natura natural food market in Lima?s Miraflores neighborhood since the store opened 30 years ago. He jokes that a lot of the people who come into the store ?want to stay thin,? and that if healthy food also happens to be organic and GMO-free, they just see it as an added bonus.
?But seriously, for instance, take a look at this,? he says, pawing through a wooden cabinet filled with bags of freshly milled grain. He holds up a small sack of coarsely ground wheat the color of tree bark, explaining that it?s a Peruvian variety, unaltered, and free of pesticides. ?People taste the difference. It?s nuttier, more malty. They come back asking for this stuff. Not some stuff that comes from who knows where.??
Many of these products have been around for centuries?since the Incas, and earlier.
?Our ancient cultures knew how to do this,? says Schiaffino, the chef. ?They grew crops together, in terraces, with the seasons, with the rain, and natural irrigation. I think they had more knowledge about crops and cultivation and farming than we have now.?
Back in the dining room of Amaz, one of Schiaffino?s two restaurants, an enormous mural of a tropical serpent covers the wall behind him. It?s done in tiny iridescent beads, meant to evoke the indigenous, plant-based hallucinogen ayahuasca.
Schiaffino?s restaurants function according to the logic that monoculture and the implementation of GMOs is ?going against nature. What nature tells you is that you have to have different plants and different animals around.? He relies on small producers and foragers, many of whom are from indigenous groups that have long acted as stewards of Peru?s biodiversity. A few of those producers even introduced him to a tomato native to the Amazon.
?It?s an heirloom seed that?s stayed in the Amazon. It looks like a bull?s heart, but smaller. Very tasty.?
Schiaffino says the flavor of a good tomato is all about the smell.?
?Like some humidity, with earth, along with a green scent. You can tell it?s just-picked," he says. "The supermarket tomatoes have no smell.?
"Sometimes we don't think to appreciate the possibility of doing this another way."
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0AALoo6NL-Y/Peru-says-no-to-GMO
affordable care act the line us soccer bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania
Weight loss programs via virtual reality
Apr. 25, 2013 ? Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36% of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programs, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for childcare, and loss of anonymity.
In a new study released in the May/June 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, investigators from The University of Kansas Medical Center continue to explore alternative weight management delivery methods to eliminate some of these barriers. The solution they are investigating -- virtual reality for weight loss and weight maintenance.
Looking at the results from twenty overweight and obese individuals after 3 months of a weight loss program at a weekly clinic delivered via face-to-face or virtual reality and then 6 months of weight maintenance delivered via virtual reality, the investigators found virtual reality compares favorably with face-to-face for weight loss and may facilitate greater weight maintenance. Debra Sullivan, lead investigator, adds, "Although we found weight loss was significantly greater for face-to-face compared to virtual reality, weight maintenance was significantly better for virtual reality."
The virtual reality weight maintenance program was conducted using Second Life, a Web-based virtual reality environment available to the public. Participants in Second Life create virtual representations of themselves, called ''avatars,'' which can interact with other avatars and navigate through the virtual world of Second Life. Voice communication is accomplished via headset, which allows for person-to-person and group interaction. Education and training takes place on an ''island,'' which is purchased from Second Life and provides restricted group access to the nutrition education/training area.
To further explain how Second Life can be used in this capacity, Dr. Sullivan explains, "Individuals who want to participate in real-life scenarios without real-life repercussions can use virtual reality. For example, participants can practice meal planning, grocery shopping, and dietary control when eating at restaurants and holiday parties to a much greater extent with Second Life compared with the time-limited clinic meeting. Virtual reality may even be able to serve as a more feasible option to monitor individuals after completing a weight loss program."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier Health Sciences.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Debra K. Sullivan et al. Improving Weight Maintenance Using Virtual Reality (Second Life). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, May/June 2013
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
austin rivers sweet home alabama etch a sketch the host hoodie hoosiers temperance
Hagman's 'Dallas' belt buckle to be auctioned
Handout / REUTERS
Larry Hagman's ruby-adorned silver and gold belt buckle from "Dallas."
By Eric Kelsey, Reuters
A ruby-adorned silver and gold belt buckle from the U.S. television drama "Dallas" forms the centerpiece of an auction of personal items of late actor Larry Hagman, who played the conniving oilman J.R. Ewing on the hit series.
The buckle, with the initials "J.R.," is as garish and brazen as the character who wore it and is expected to fetch between $3,000 and $5,000 in a May 5 sale, Los Angeles auction house Bonhams said on Thursday.
The large buckle has four rubies framing the initials of the villain on the show that was first broadcast between 1978 and 1991.?
Hagman, who reprised his role in an updated version of "Dallas" in 2012, died at the age of 81 in November from complications of throat cancer. He rose to fame in the mid-1960s as a star on the TV comedy "I Dream of Jeannie."
Hagman's custom-made leather director's chair from "Dallas" is expected to fetch between $2,500 and $3,000, and dozens of cowboy hats owned by Hagman are expected to sell for hundreds of dollars each.
Also up for sale among the scores of cowboy and Western-themed items is an abstract landscape painting by Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins, estimated to sell between $400 and $600.?
Related content:
the big c the visitor king of kings ostara masters 2012 andy kaufman tom watson
Identify Your System Before Trying to Improve It
When coming up with a system for being productive, it's easy to think that you're starting with a blank slate. As self-improvement blog A Better Mess points out, that's simply not true.
Unless you go to a different job every day, and return to a different home every night, you have a system. It's a collection of habits, routines, and tendencies that you follow to accomplish what you need to do, whether you're aware of it or not. Realizing this and figuring out how you accomplish work is the first step in figuring out how to make that system better:
If you?re yet to really consider your system, don?t ask yourself if you need one. Don?t start by asking yourself something along the lines of ?do I need to read Getting Things Done?? Instead, start by asking this: is how I?m working, working? If the answer is yes, great! Get back to work. If not, don?t worry, but start looking to understand the system you?re pretending not to use and then [to] start figure out how to make it better.
If you accomplish a full week's worth of work without writing anything in a to-do list or managing a calendar, then your system may be working just fine. If, however, you find yourself repeatedly frustrated and need to adjust your habits, take a look at how you do things already before trying to adopt an entirely new system that may or may not work for you.
Yes, You Have A System | A Better Mess
Photo by Dennis Hamilton.
Oblivion Hemlock Grove Boston Bomber Death Photo Fox Boston Bomber cnn news foxnews
Science Study Shows Monkeys Pick Up Social Cues
[unable to retrieve full-text content]A study published in Science showed that monkeys conditioned to eat a certain color corn switched to a disliked color when other monkeys were eating it.
     |
eddie royal iditarod nfl free agents 2012 encyclopedia brittanica nfl free agency jonbenet ramsey jason campbell
Friday, April 19, 2013
Science surprise: Toxic protein made in unusual way may explain brain disorder
Friday, April 19, 2013
A bizarre twist on the usual way proteins are made may explain mysterious symptoms in the grandparents of some children with mental disabilities.
The discovery, made by a team of scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School, may lead to better treatments for older adults with a recently discovered genetic condition.
The condition, called Fragile X-associated Tremor Ataxia Syndrome (FXTAS), causes shakiness and balance problems and is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease. The grandchildren of people with the disease have a separate disorder called Fragile X syndrome, caused by problems in the same gene. The new discovery may also help shine light on that disease, though indirectly.
In a new paper published in the journal Neuron, the U-M-led team presents evidence that a toxic protein they've named FMRpolyG contributes to the death of nerve cells in FXTAS ? and that this protein is made in a very unusual way.
Normally, DNA is transcribed into RNA, and then a part of the RNA is translated into a protein that performs its function in cells. Where this translation process starts on the RNA is usually determined by a specific sequence called a start codon.
The gene mutation that causes FXTAS is a repeated DNA sequence that is made into RNA but normally is not made into protein because it lacks a start codon. However, the investigators discovered that when this repeat expands, it can trigger protein production by a new mechanism known as RAN translation.
Corresponding author Peter Todd, M.D., Ph.D., notes that this unusual translation process appears to stem from a long chain of repeated DNA "letters" found in the genes of both grandparents and kids with Fragile X mutations. Todd is the Bucky and Patti Harris Professor in the U-M Department of Neurology
"Essentially, we've found that a sequence of DNA which shouldn't be made into protein is being made into protein ? and that this causes a toxicity in nerve cells," he explains. "We believe that the protein forms aggregates, and that this is a major contributor to toxicity and symptoms in FXTAS."
The U-M group went on to show how this RAN translation occurs in FXTAS and demonstrated that blocking it prevents the repeat mutation from being toxic, suggesting a new target for future treatments.
Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome or FXTAS was only discovered a decade ago. It may affect as many as one in every 3,000 men and one in 20,000 women, who have a repeat mutation in the gene known as FMR1. However, these patients don't usually develop symptoms until late middle age, allowing them to pass the mutation on to their daughters, who can then have children where the DNA repeat that has grown much longer. In those children, especially in boys, it can cause severe intellectual disability and autism-like symptoms as the FMR1 gene shuts down and none of the normal protein is produced.
In fact, says Todd, it's often only after a child is diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome through genetic testing that their grandfather or grandmother finds out that their own symptoms stem from FXTAS. Doctors in U-M's Neurogenetics clinic for adults, and the Pediatric Genetics Clinic at U-M's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, routinely work together to address the needs of Fragile X families.
"We have some treatments for the symptoms that FXTAS patients have, but we do not yet have a cure," says Todd, who regularly sees patients with FXTAS and related disorders. "Better treatments are needed ? and this new discovery might help lead to novel strategies for clearing away or preventing the buildup of this toxic protein."
In addition, he says, the discovery that Fragile X ataxia results in part from RAN translation could have significance both for other diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease) and certain forms of dementia that are caused by DNA repeats. It can also aid our understanding of basic biology. "This may represent a new way in which translational initiation events occur, and may have importance beyond this one disease," he notes. Further research on how RAN translation occurs, and why, is needed.
The idea that proteins can be created without a "start site" flies in the face of what most students of biology have learned in the last century. "In biology, we're finding that the rules we once thought were hard and fast have some wiggle room," Todd says.
###
University of Michigan Health System: http://www.med.umich.edu
Thanks to University of Michigan Health System for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 56 time(s).
breaking dawn part 2 Jennifer Lacy Honey Baked Ham hostess israel AMA BCS Standings 2012
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Analysis: How Goldman's dollar-store bet reaped a fortune
By Lauren Tara LaCapra and Carrick Mollenkamp
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc has likely generated around $1.2 billion of revenue over six years from its dealings with discount retailer Dollar General Corp, a Reuters review shows. Just don't expect the investment bank to boast about it.
Much of the revenue stems from an equity investment that is lumped into a catchall earnings segment called "Investing and Lending." Goldman created the segment in 2011 to shine some light on how much money it makes from investing its own money, but it still confounds analysts and investors because the bank does not provide details on the performance of individual assets.
The segment can have a large impact on Goldman's results in any given quarter. In the fourth quarter, Goldman reported nearly $2 billion in revenue from Investing and Lending, or 21 percent of overall revenue. Analysts expect the area to boost profits again when Goldman reports first-quarter results next week. Forecasts for the segment's revenue differ widely, from $1 billion to $2.2 billion.
"When you look at investment banking, it's very easy to break out how they will do quarter to quarter," said Rick Scott, chief investment officer at wealth-management firm L&S Advisors, which has about $25 million invested in Goldman shares. "But when it comes to Investing and Lending, what can you say? You certainly don't have the transparency."
The revenue the bank has earned from Dollar General also helps explain why Goldman, perhaps more than rivals, is aggressively looking for ways to continue its principal investing activities without running afoul of regulations such as the Volcker rule, which restricts how much of their own money banks can put at risk. It has lobbied regulators to preserve its merchant banking business and has come up with new structures for investments that are exempt from the rule's provisions.
Goldman is not required to provide details on individual investments when it reports earnings, and the bank declined to confirm or deny Reuters' calculations.
Unlike many of Goldman's investments, Dollar General is a publicly traded company, which means both the bank and the retailer have to disclose more information. A Reuters review of six years of filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers a rare - albeit limited - window into how Goldman profits from betting its own money.
The review shows that Goldman affiliates have nearly quintupled an initial $605 million cash investment in Dollar General, which peddles everything from $1 packs of Snickers bars to $5 packs of toilet paper. The investment was made as part of a $7.3 billion KKR & Co LP-led buyout in 2007.
Goldman has not only helped to turn around the retailer and sell most of its affiliates' holdings at a profit but has also earned money from serving as Dollar General's banker.
The broader KKR-led private-equity group - dubbed "Buck Holdings" in a nod to Dollar General's bargain-basement brand - took the retailer public again in November 2009 for $21 a share.
Since then, Goldman affiliates have generated roughly $2.5 billion of proceeds from stock sales and $77 million in management fees as private-equity sponsors, the analysis shows.
It is impossible from the outside to calculate precisely how much money Goldman itself has made from its Dollar General dealings, because some information is not public. While Goldman earned money from lending to Dollar General, for instance, it is unclear if it held onto that debt or sold it, and whether it booked gains or losses related to such sales.
Publicly available information on its Dollar General dealings nevertheless adds up to $1.2 billion in revenue.
Goldman earned money on Dollar General stock sales through a private equity fund called GS Capital Partners VI, which invests a mix of client money, employee money and Goldman's own money.
The investment bank represents about 25 percent of that fund - meaning that for the Dollar General buyout, Goldman contributed about $151 million in capital and has generated about $650 million in revenue from stock sales and management fees. Goldman's share of the fund's remaining stake in Dollar General amounts to about $70.6 million.
In addition, Goldman has also received at least $58 million of investment banking and underwriting fees for taking the company private and then public again; $479 million of interest payments and repurchase commissions from making a loan to the company; and $56 million for a derivatives trade pegged to that loan, according to filings. It has also earned fees from clients for managing the private equity fund.
"In this transaction, Goldman kind of nailed it - they've done it all," said Michael Driscoll, a former Bear Stearns executive who now teaches finance at Adelphi University.
UNPREDICTABLE SWINGS
Goldman does not run the Investing and Lending segment as a single operation. Businesses whose earnings flow into the segment do not share a common management team, and their investment strategies vary widely.
The segment holds standard financial investments like corporate bonds and stocks but has also made a slew of more unusual investments, from a coal mine in Cesar, Colombia, to a 50 percent stake in the crime drama television series "CSI," which it sold in March.
Profits from an elite team called the Special Situations Group also flow into Investing and Lending. That group has a history of making big, profitable bets on troubled assets, including a Japanese golf course and the pizza chain Sbarro Inc.
Not all investments have been a success. Goldman was a sponsor of the $45 billion buyout of Texas utility TXU, which turned into a terrific flop.
Over the long run, Goldman's principal investment has been a big moneymaker, but it also causes unpredictable swings in its fortunes from one year to the next because the bank marks its assets to market. Over the past five years, Investing and Lending has ranged from a pretax loss of $13.5 billion in 2008 to a pretax profit of $4.2 billion in 2010.
"Obviously it brings more volatility to earnings, and that causes some investors and regulators and politicians to be concerned," said David Stowell, a former Goldman executive who teaches finance at the Kellogg School of Management. "But, on balance, I think that Goldman has some talented people - I know them quite well - who run that, and I expect that they are making generally wise decisions."
The opacity of the segment has made the job of analysts and investors harder.
The only investment Goldman details is an equity stake in the Chinese lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, which is big enough to warrant disclosure. The rest of Investing and Lending revenue goes into three buckets: equities, debt and the vague category "other."
In raising estimates for Goldman's first-quarter profits over the past week, analysts have cited Investing and Lending as a big driver. JMP Securities' David Trone said he doubled his estimate for those gains, to $2.2 billion, based on broad market trends, not any specific investments.
On a January 16 conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings, six analysts asked Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz for clarity on the segment.
Schwartz said the "idiosyncratic nature" of different portfolios can affect how they are managed but gave few other details.
"In some quarters (the segment) will perform well; in some quarters, we won't perform as well, relative to the marketplace," he said. "But the market will drive that."
Adding to confusion are Investing and Lending's expenses, which typically run $2 billion to $3 billion a year, even though Goldman says it has few employees. Dane Holmes, head of investor relations, said in an March interview that those expenses come from paying people as well as from operating expenses of investments like power plants and mines.
As for Dollar General, it has grown since its leveraged buyout.
It has hired new management, closed 400 unprofitable locations, kept tighter controls on inventory and changed the layout at stores to encourage customers to spend more, turning the company around. Earnings have soared from $138 million in 2006 to $953 million last year, while sales have climbed from $9.2 billion to $16 billion.
And the stock is up 137 percent since its relisting.
(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Carrick Mollenkamp; Editing by Dan Wilchins, Paritosh Bansal, Martin Howell and Prudence Crowther)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-goldmans-dollar-store-bet-reaped-fortune-040448123--sector.html
levi johnston 2013 srt viper scott walker recall fisker atlantic social darwinism wisconsin recall election april 4
Man who fled Florida after taking two sons sighted in Cuba
By Jeff Franks
HAVANA (Reuters) - A man accused of kidnapping his two young sons in Florida and fleeing with them by boat was seen in Cuba on Tuesday, where he was believed to be holed up with his wife and children at a marina outside the capital.
Reporters from Reuters and other media outlets attempted to speak with the man, Joshua Hakken, when he appeared briefly to stow away some gear and secure the hatch on a small blue and white sailboat named Salty at the Hemingway Marina near Havana.
But Hakken, a stocky man who was bearded and wearing shorts and a dark green baseball cap, shook his head 'no' when asked if would answer any questions.
He then disappeared into a nearby building, which was roped off, and a Cuban man who identified himself as a "dockmaster" said Hakken and his family were clients of the marina and did not want to be interviewed.
Plainclothes security guards equipped with walkie-talkies at the marina prevented reporters from asking any further questions of Hakken, a fugitive from U.S. justice, after he entered the dockside building.
It was unclear exactly when Hakken arrived in Cuba or whether Cuban immigration or U.S. consular officials were dealing with him and his family inside the building.
The cockpit of the Salty, which has a distinctive paw mark emblazoned on one side of the hull, was cluttered with various items including two child car seats with towels draped over them and a travel carrier for a dog or cat.
Hakken is accused of breaking into his mother-in-law's home north of Tampa, Florida, on Wednesday, tying her up with zip ties and fleeing with his sons, 4-year-old Cole and 2-year-old Chase, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
Hours later, Hakken, his wife Sharyn, and the children left from a dock in Madeira Beach, Florida, aboard the Salty, their recently purchased 25-foot (7.6-meter) sailboat, investigators said.
Hakken had learned a few hours before he went to his mother-in-law's home that he and his wife had lost custody of the children, the Tampa Bay Times said.
The boys wound up with their maternal grandmother after the Hakkens attended an "anti-government" rally in June in Louisiana, where police said they found Hakken in the family's hotel room with a gun, marijuana and knife, talking about a "journey to Armageddon," the newspaper said.
Hakken was charged with marijuana possession and the boys were placed in a foster home, where Hakken later showed up armed with a gun, the Times quoted authorities as saying.
Louisiana officials then sent the boys to live in Tampa with Sharyn Hakken's mother, Patricia Hauser.
Warrants issued in Hillsborough County, Florida, charged Joshua Hakken with kidnapping, interfering with child custody, child neglect, false imprisonment, burglary with battery and stealing Hauser's car.
(Additional reporting by Saundra Amrhein in Tampa; Editing by Jane Sutton, Tom Brown and Eric Wals)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-fled-florida-taking-two-sons-sighted-cuba-190959778.html
berkshire hathaway ufc 144 james jones james jones aladdin black forest ufc 144 fight card
Toddler Left on Stranger's Doorstep Found Thanks to Facebook ...
Zoe Brown, AKA "Little Jane Doe", was abandoned on a doorstep recently in South Carolina. Roy Campbell heard his doorbell ring, and when he went out front to see who it was, he found Zoe sitting in a stroller with a note attached to her diaper that read "Call DFAC" (Division of Family and Child Services). The little girl was identified when a tip came in to authorities after nearly two million people reposted her photo to their Facebook wall. She's currently in foster care, awaiting notice of a potential family member who may be able to provide a safe environment for her, and her parents -- Alonzo Brown and Tongela Denise McBride -- have been arrested and charged with unlawful neglect of a child.
So, yeah. Although a lot of things on Facebook and Twitter are completely idiotic and banal, some things aren't -- and this is when social media becomes completely awesome, as opposed to a mere time suck! I mean, make no mistake, photos of puppies are fantastic, but social media as a means to help solve a crime? That's tremendous. And that trumps LOLcats any day.
So the next time you see one of those chain-like messages in your news feed, imploring you to help someone out you've never met, just do it. It takes two seconds and what have you got to lose? Two million people obliged this time and look what happened.
Do you usually repost "chain-letter" type of things to your Facebook page?
?
Image via Anderson County Sheriff's Office
Source: http://thestir.cafemom.com/technology/153756/toddler_left_on_strangers_doorstep
10 year old gives birth c. difficile carmelo anthony nurse jackie nurse jackie peeps nhl playoffs
Dickey falters in second Blue Jays start
R.A. Dickey allowed four runs in six innings against the Indians last week in his rough Blue Jays debut.
On Sunday afternoon against the Red Sox, the 38-year-old knuckleballer had an even rougher time.
Dickey gave up five runs in the top of the first inning and was pulled from the game with two outs in the fifth inning after allowing a total of eight runs ? seven earned ? on 10 Boston hits and two Boston walks.
Dickey has now allowed 12 runs ? 10 earned ? on 15 hits through 10 2/3 innings with his new team.
It would be foolish to make too much of a couple of ugly starts, but Dickey rarely looked shaky in consecutive games last season. He?ll try to right the ship later this week when he takes on the Royals.
The Red Sox wound up winning Sunday?s series-finale in Toronto by a score of 13-0.
downton abbey nba all star game danica patrick Michelle Laxalt Alabama Shakes PlayStation 4 michael jordan
13 people killed in shooting spree in Serbia
Serbian police officers guard a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian police officers guard a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A police tape is seen on the road near a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Police officers guard a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian police officers guard a house in village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in a quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
An ambulance arrives in the village of Velika Ivanca, Serbia, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A 60-year-old man gunned down 13 people, including a baby, in a house-to-house rampage in the quiet village on Tuesday before trying to kill himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said. Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the man, identified only as Ljubisa B., used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses. The dead included six women. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
VELIKA IVANCA, Serbia (AP) ? A 60-year-old veteran gunned down 13 people in Serbia, including his mother, his son and a two-year-old cousin, in a pre-dawn house-to-house rampage Tuesday before shooting himself and his wife, police and hospital officials said.
The man, identified as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, used a handgun in the shooting spree at five houses in Velika Ivanca, a village 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Belgrade, emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said.
Twelve people were killed immediately between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. and one person died in a Belgrade hospital, Serbian police chief Milorad Veljovic said. The man and his wife were both severely injured by the shootings and another person was also injured, Macura said.
"We were all caught by surprise," Veljovic told reporters. "Most of the victims were shot while they were asleep."
He said the motive for the killings was unclear.
Media reports said the suspect had a license for the handgun. Although such shootings are relatively rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available, mostly from the 1990s wars in the Balkans.
Residents said the man first killed his son before leaving the house and then began shooting his neighbors. They expressed shock, describing the suspect as a nice quiet man.
"He knocked on the doors and as they were opened he just fired a shot," said resident Radovan Radosavljevic. "He was a good neighbor and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."
Neighbors said an entire five-member family was shot dead in one house, including the small boy who was the suspected killer's cousin.
Milovan Kostadinovic, another neighbor, said the suspect was caught by police while on the way to his house.
"If they didn't stop him, he would have wiped us all out," Kostadinovic said, standing in front of his two-story, red tile- roofed house ? one of a dozen modest homes that make up the village, located on a lush green hill covered with fruit trees. "He shot himself when police stopped him."
The suspect had lost his job last year and fought as a Serb soldier in the war in Croatia in 1992, the police chief said. Villagers said Bogdanovic fought in Vukovar, the eastern Croatian town that was destroyed in a massive Serbian-led army offensive ? the scene of the worst bloodshed during Croatia's 1991-95 war for independence.
Macura, the hospital spokeswoman, said the shooter had no known history of mental illness. Stanica Kostadinovic, another neighbor, said the man's father had hanged himself when he was a young boy and his uncle had a history of mental illness.
Doctors said later Tuesday that the suspect's condition was critical but his wife was able to communicate with hospital staff.
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said Tuesday the killings showed that the government must pay more attention to gun control laws and other social problems facing the Balkan nation, which is still reeling from the 1990s wars.
Police blocked off the village while forensic teams and investigators in white protective robes took evidence from homes where the shootings took place.
Serbia's last big shooting spree occurred in 2007, when a 39-year-old man gunned down nine people and injured two others in the eastern village of Jabukovac.
__
Sabina Niksic contributed from Bosnia.
Associated Pressmark jenkins super bowl commercials 2012 mia amar e stoudemire m.i.a. adrianne curry hoekstra
Friday, April 5, 2013
Sonnet Echo 15 Thunderbolt dock piles on 15 ports, optical drive, disk bay for $400
There are Thunderbolt docks, real and ethereal, and then there's this beast from Sonnet: the Echo 15. As implied by the name, it's lavished with 15 ports front and back, including four USB 3.0, two eSATA, two audio in and out, an extra Thunderbolt, GigE and FireWire800 ports. If you're thinking that'll finally let you hook up a Blu-ray or hard disk to your laptop, back up a second -- Sonnet's dock has those items built in as well, giving you SATA III-level disk throughput and freeing up your ports for more interesting peripherals. You'll be able to grab one this summer with a built-in DVD for $399, or configure it to the max with a Blu-ray drive and 2TB HDD for $549 -- assuming it avoids any untoward delays.
Filed under: Peripherals
Via: 9to5 Mac
Source: Sonnet
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-FMkC_-pyUo/
jon jones chuck colson death meteor showers 2012 ufc 145 jones vs evans marian hossa philip humber
Justin Bieber given month to collect pet monkey
BERLIN (Reuters) - Teenage pop sensation Justin Bieber has been given a month to provide German authorities with the papers they need to release his pet monkey "Mally".
Customs officials seized Bieber's capuchin monkey at Munich Airport last week when the 19-year-old failed to present the health and species protection certificates required to bring the pet into the country.
Bieber was visiting Munich to give a concert and has since continued on his tour.
"If he doesn't (present the papers), Mally will be taken to a good animal shelter that has experience rearing groups of young capuchin monkeys and can ensure disoriented Mally becomes a healthy little capuchin," the shelter currently caring for the monkey said.
The shelter said Mally, who is around 14 weeks old, had been taken away from its mother too early and was receiving veterinary care.
A spokesman for Munich's customs office said it would decide whether to keep the animal at the current shelter or move it elsewhere at the end of the four-week deadline.
He added that Bieber would likely have to pay a fine, but declined to give details of the amount.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin, editing by Paul Casciato)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/popstar-justin-bieber-given-month-collect-pet-monkey-121008946.html
best picture 2012 oscar winners channel 3 news j lo j lo sacha baron cohen ryan seacrest octavia spencer
Putting larval cobia to the acid test
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Ocean acidification, which occurs as CO2 is absorbed by the world's oceans, is a source of concern for marine scientists worldwide. Studies on coral, mollusks, and other ocean denizens are helping to paint a picture of what the future might entail for specific species, should carbon emissions continue to increase.
In a new study published in Global Change Biology, University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science researchers Sean Bignami, Su Sponaugle, and Robert Cowen are the first to study the effects of acidification on the larvae of cobia (Rachycentron canandum). Cobia are large tropical fish that spawn in pelagic waters, highly mobile as they mature, and a popular species among recreational anglers.
The team reared cobia in tanks with different levels of CO2 saturation looking for effects on growth, development, otolith (ear stone) formation, swimming ability, and activity level during the vulnerable larval stage of these fish. They found that cobia showed remarkable resistance to end-of-century acidification scenarios in terms of growth, development, and activity. However, more extreme acidification scenarios caused reduced larval size and a 2-3 day delay in their development. The study also reports a significant increase in otolith size at the most mild acidification conditions reported to date.
"The larval period is a critical stage in the marine fish lifecycle and the ability of cobia larvae to withstand 'business-as-usual' scenarios of ocean acidification provides an optimistic outlook for this species. However, research on this topic is still limited and if our findings on otolith formation are any indicator, then these fish are not entirely resistant to acidification," said Bignami, a Marine Biology and Fisheries PhD candidate at UM.
The study is the first to report impacts of ocean acidification on a large, pelagic tropical fish species. "We need additional studies on study how fish, especially those that are ecologically and economically important, react to these environmental changes if we want to find ways to potentially mitigate the effects," Bignami added.
Cobia larvae used in this study were produced from broodstock raised at the UM Experimental Hatchery.
###
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu
Thanks to University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
This press release has been viewed 30 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127564/Putting_larval_cobia_to_the_acid_test
Joe Weider Florida Gulf Coast Golf Channel Andy Enfield La Salle University the voice Denny Hamlin
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Judge to retire after sending racist Obama email
HELENA, Mont. (AP) ? Montana's chief federal judge will retire following an investigation into an email he forwarded that included a racist joke involving President Barack Obama.
U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull had previously announced he would step down as chief circuit judge and take a reduced caseload, but he informed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that he now intends to fully retire May 3.
The appellate court posted a statement by Chief Judge Alex Kozinski on its website Tuesday announcing Cebull had submitted the retirement letter.
The March 29 letter comes after the appellate court's Judicial Council issued a March 15 order on the investigation into the February 2012 email.
The council's order will remain confidential during an appeal period, the statement said.
A Cebull aide directed calls for comment to Clerk of Court Tyler Gilman, who said Wednesday that Cebull would not have any comment other than the court's statement.
He declined to release the resignation letter or describe what it said.
Appellate Court spokesman David Madden did not return a call.
Cebull wrote a letter of apology to Obama and filed a complaint against himself after The Great Falls Tribune published the contents of the email, which included a joke about bestiality and the president's mother.
The Billings judge forwarded the email from his chambers to six other people on Feb. 20, the newspaper reported.
Two other groups also demanded an investigation, with one, the Montana Human Rights Network, starting an online petition calling for Cebull's resignation.
Kim Abbott, the network's co-director, said Wednesday she was pleased with the announcement but hopes to see the results of the investigation.
"The email really called into question his ability to treat women and people of color fairly, so we're happy Montanans will get to appear before a different judge," Abbott said.
The complaints were referred to a special committee appointed by the appellate court to investigate whether Cebull's email constituted misconduct.
Kozinski's statement said the committee submitted a report to the Judicial Council in December after "a thorough and extensive investigation" that included interviews with witnesses and Cebull and going over related documents. The council issued its order based on that report.
The statement says the Judicial Council will not comment further until Cebull's retirement is effective.
Cebull previously said he would take senior status March 18, which would have allowed another judge to be appointed while he continued working with a reduced caseload.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus then formed a committee to replace Cebull and another judge taking senior status, with Baucus recently recommending that Obama appoint state District Judge Susan Watters of Billings to take Cebull's spot on the bench.
The new chief federal judge, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen, plans to meet with other judges to discuss how to handle the Cebull's cases, Gilman said.
Cebull was a Billings attorney for nearly 30 years before becoming a U.S. magistrate in Great Falls in 1998.
He became a district judge in 2001 and has served as chief judge of the District of Montana since 2008.
Cebull's notable cases include his block of reopening of the U.S. border to cattle in 2005, two years after the U.S. banned Canadian cattle and beef products over fears of mad-cow disease. The 9th Circuit overturned that decision.
Cebull also presided over a lawsuit filed by landowners against Exxon Mobil Corp. over the cleanup following last year's pipeline spill of 1,500 gallons into the Yellowstone River.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-retire-sending-racist-obama-email-173821021.html
db cooper fafsa branson missouri davy jones dead monkees last train to clarksville tim tebow taylor swift
Turn Your House Into A Home With These Home Improvement Tips ...
TIP! Home improvements can be a lot of fun when you do it yourself. Staying positive will make them even more so.
You may have long wanted to learn more about home improvement and may have spent lots of time and effort seeking information. The advice found in this article can help you get started or improve on your existing home improvement skills.
TIP! Try your hardest to be flexible about the improvement projects you tackle. While you should always set a time frame, sometimes you simply won?t be able to make your deadline.
A drill is a necessary part of many renovations. It allows you to make different sized holes in surfaces for screws, and allows you to drive the screws in with special attachments. Here is the best kind of drill to have: 9V cordless with bits ranging from 1/4 to 1/32 in both Phillips head and flat head types.
TIP! Your AC unit?s filter should be kept clean. If the filter is clogged, it will make it hard for the unit to cool your home.
If you want your dryer to work better and use less energy, shorten the hose. Disconnect and clean your dryer hose thoroughly with a vacuum. Trim the hose length so that it is only a few feet long. This length should be just enough for you to pull out the dryer in order to clean all sides of it. The shorter the hose, the more efficient your dryer will be.
TIP! Take a look at your home from the point of view of a visitor to see what can improve the attractiveness of your home. The outdoor area is always one that should be enhanced in the beginning.
Choose low-maintenance options when designing your yard. Use a lot of rocks and plants in the yard for the best results. Going with a low-maintenance yard will significantly help you save on water costs and reduce your time spent on maintaining your yard.
TIP! Does your lawn have bare spots? If that is the case, consider purchasing some grass seed. Brown and bare grass detracts immensely from the way your house looks.
You should never underestimate the work involved in any home improvement project. There is no way of knowing whether or not you will run into more problems as you work on a project. This will help you deal with anything that comes your way.
TIP! Sponges are great for installing drywall. By sponging your drywall, you avoid the dust of sanding.
Tile can get worn down and begin to look old. Almost all floor will benefit from cleaning with a mixture of vinegar and water. This solution makes easy work of mopping your floors. It?s also a good product to use if you?re eco-conscious.
TIP! If you?re not finding a good color of grout for your needs, you can make a custom color. You can buy some acrylic paint from your local craft store and mix that in the grout to make the color you want.
Try planting a tree as an inexpensive way to improve the curb appeal of your home. Additions to your landscape increase your home?s value. The tree you plant now will grow into a great mature shade feature. Trees correctly placed reduce cooling costs up to forty percent.
TIP! Take a little time and invest a little thought into the decoration of your home both inside and out. The way your home looks is a big part of home improvement, and as far as the interior and exterior decor, you should spend as much time as possible going for the look you want.
Rather than using a granite slab, you can use granite tile. A granite slab can cost you thousands of dollars. Granite tiles will cost one tenth the price of slab and offer a dramatic effect as well. Plus, you will save quite a bit of money.
TIP! Are you discovering that your home is getting too bright during the day? If it is, consider tinting your windows. Tinting your windows is quite easy and can usually be done by the average home owner.
Drain hot water heaters about every six months. A well maintained hot water heater will last longer and run more efficiently too. This can be as easy as finding the valve to drain it and putting a hose on it to drain.
TIP! If you are doing some work on your house, you need to have a drill. You can make holes and even attach screws.
Larger home improvement projects, such as building a pool or adding on to your property usually require permission from your City?s government and permits. If you?re clueless about the local regulations, talk to a professional and find out what they are.
TIP! Understand that dry days are essential when it comes to painting your home. This is crucial if you want the final result to shine.
There is a ton to know when it comes to home improvement. Don?t let it overwhelm you. Depending on the situation, you can earn a lot back on your investment by learning more and starting new challenges successfully.
Source: http://www.floorkitchenbath.com/turn-your-house-into-a-home-with-these-home-improvement-tips/
north korea news north korea news giuliana and bill giuliana and bill bill rancic nflx chicago blackhawks
Scientists build material that mimics squid beak: Promising step toward safer, more comfortable implants
Apr. 3, 2013 ? Researchers led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University have turned to an unlikely model to make medical devices safer and more comfortable -- a squid's beak.
Many medical implants require hard materials that have to connect to or pass through soft body tissue. This mechanical mismatch leads to problems such as skin breakdown at abdominal feeding tubes in stroke patients and where wires pass through the chest to power assistive heart pumps. Enter the squid.
The tip of a squid's beak is harder than human teeth, but the base is as soft as the animal's Jello-like body. In order to connect these two mechanically dissimilar parts of the squid a major part of the beak has a mechanical gradient that acts as a shock absorber so the animal can bite a fish with bone-crushing force yet suffer no wear and tear on its fleshy mouth.
Nature's technology could make a range of medical devices more comfortable and safer for patients, from glucose sensors for diabetics to prosthetic arms and legs that attach to amputees' bones, the researchers say. Their work is published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
"We're mimicking the architecture and the water-enhanced properties of the squid to generate these materials," said Stuart J. Rowan, the Kent H. Smith professor of macromolecular science and engineering at Case Western Reserve, and senior author.
Rowan worked with PhD student Justin D. Fox and assistant professor of biomedical engineering Jeffrey R. Capadona at CWRU, and Paul D. Marasco, who, like Capadona, is a principal investigator at the Advanced Platform Technology Center at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Other researchers have shown the structure of the beak is a nanocomposite composed of a network of chitin fibers embedded within increasingly cross-linked structural proteins from mouth to tip. The gradient is present when the beak material is dry, but is dramatically enhanced when in water, the squid's natural environment.
Rowan and Capadona were among a team of researchers who had previously reported a material that mimics the sea cucumber's skin, which is soft and pliable when wet and stiff and hard when dry.
They thought that material, in the form of a film, could be cross-linked with nanofibers to maintain stiffness when wet. They filled the film with functionalized cellulose nanocrystals that, when exposed to light, form cross-links.
To ramp up stiffness across the film, one end was exposed to no light and subsequent sections to increasingly more light. The longer the exposure, the more cross-links that formed.
Just like the beak, the grade from soft to hard was steeper when wet. Water switches off the weaker non-covalent bonds that form when the material is dry.
The wet environment inside the body will enhance the gradient just as well, which makes this technology especially attractive for implants, the researchers say.
"There are all sorts of places in medicine where we're using hard materials but we're mostly soft," Marasco said. The contrast is a recipe for sores and infection, poor performance and implant failure.
Needles in diabetics' insulin pumps, metal stents inserted in blood vessels and electrodes inserted in muscles or brains could be safer and more effective if materials would remain hard where they need to be but buffer surrounding soft tissues.
"Prosthetic limbs are connected to the arm or leg with a socket of hard plastic that fits over the residual limb," Marasco continued. "But bone moves around under the socket and can damage the soft tissue inside, while the socket can be hard on the skin where it makes contact."
A better solution, he said, would be to run a metal insert into the bone inside the body and attach a prosthesis directly outside the body using this kind of mechanical buffer where the hard metal passes through the soft skin.
The researchers are already working on the next generation of materials and cross-linking strategies to make the buffer gradient steeper. The tip of a squid's beak is 100 times harder than it's softest portion, while this first mimic's hard tip is five times harder than its soft end.
"This is a proof of concept," Rowan said. "Now that we have shown the concept works we're now getting a wee bit more complicated and targeting materials that will allow us to move closer to applications."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Case Western Reserve University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Justin D. Fox, Jeffrey R. Capadona, Paul D. Marasco, Stuart J. Rowan. Bioinspired Water-Enhanced Mechanical Gradient Nanocomposite Films That Mimic the Architecture and Properties of the Squid Beak. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2013; 135 (13): 5167 DOI: 10.1021/ja4002713
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/j7iG4PN5Ihk/130403104224.htm
anderson cooper adrian peterson chicago bears netflix george h w bush Belk Led Zeppelin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)