Thursday, January 31, 2013

Prince Charles takes rare ride on London's subway

Britain's Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, walk through a ticket barrier as they prepare to travel on a London underground train as they mark 150 years of London Underground, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, Pool)

Britain's Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, walk through a ticket barrier as they prepare to travel on a London underground train as they mark 150 years of London Underground, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, Pool)

Britain's Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, walk through a ticket barrier as they prepare to travel on a London underground train as they mark 150 years of London Underground, Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, Pool)

LONDON (AP) ? Royalty means rarely having to mind the gap.

Britain's Prince Charles took a ride on the London subway Wednesday ? for the first time in a quarter century.

Charles and his wife, Camilla, joined transit officials and commuters to mark the 150th anniversary of the Underground, the world's first subway system.

The subway system, which sees 3.5 million journeys a day, is well known for announcements warning passengers to "mind the gap between the train and the platform."

The royal couple traveled one stop, from Farringdon to King's Cross on the Metropolitan Line ? the oldest section of the subway system, opened in 1863.

Charles last traveled by subway in 1986, when he and the late Princess Diana took the Tube to Heathrow Airport to open a new terminal.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-30-Britain-Prince%20Charles-Subway/id-8f54d1f64cd144cb8a3f712f1397dd05

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East London lecturer posted to Algeria crisis

01.22.13 AlgeriaSarah Davidson.jpg

An east London lecturer put her studies into practice when she supported the Red Cross during the recent Algerian hostage crisis.

Clinical psychologist Sarah Davidson runs an online Masters course at the University of East London (UEL) but was posted to Africa earlier this month, joining forces with the Red Cross Psychosocial Support Team and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Rapid Deployment Team.

As a volunteer for the Red Cross team, UEL's International Humanitarian Psychosocial Consultation programme leader was on standby to provide support and practical advice during the traumatic experience.

"I never have a bag packed when I'm on standby, as I don't know what kind of climate I may be sent to, but I managed to get to the airport within a couple of hours," said Sarah.

"The team was briefed that there was a hostage situation in Algeria involving British nationals, but it was the next morning before we could get a flight out there."

On the team's arrival in Algeria, Sarah said contact was made with the incident team, and she was tasked with talking with those involved and helping them to cope with the stressful situation.

"We witnessed some breathtaking dedication from the teams on the ground and I have great respect for their professionalism and dignity," she said.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Microsoft Office 2013, Office 365 Home Premium available now; 365 for business coming later

Microsoft Office 2013, Office 365 Home Premium available now; 365 for business coming later

Until now, we've known almost all there is to know about Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 365: we got hands-on with the new features last summer, and the company has even confirmed pricing. The only thing we weren't sure of was the exact on-sale date, but even that got leaked when a Canadian retailer put up a pre-order page indicating the two products would ship January 29th. Well, what do you know? Today is January 29th and sure enough, Office 2013 is on sale, along with the subscription service Office 365. To be clear, while every version of the boxed software is now out, 365 is only being offered to consumers; the business version will arrive later, on February 27th.

For now, Office 365 Home Premium is priced at $99.99 for an annual subscription, with permission to install the suite on up to five PCs and Macs. There's also a "University" version for college students and faculty, which costs $79.99 for a four-year plan. Either way, the sub includes 20GB of SkyDrive storage, which is to say if you previously only had 7GB of space, your limit will now get bumped to 20 gigs. (In other words, people grandfathered into 25GB don't get an additional 20 gigabytes.) Of course, you can always deactivate a particular machine through Office.com if you need to free up a license. Naturally, too, as a part of the subscription you'll always have the most recent version. That means Office 2013 for Windows users; Office for Mac 2011 if you're on OS X. That last piece is a bit of a bummer, for sure, but for what it's worth Microsoft has said a new Mac product is in the works, and that subscribers will get it as part of a future software update.

If you'd rather buy the software outright, you can do that today too. At the low end, there's Office 2013 Home and Student 2013 ($139), which comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Home and Business adds Outlook for $219, while the top-of-the-line Professional package includes all of the above along with Access and Publisher for $399. Remember, though: these come with only one user license, and you don't get any complimentary cloud storage or upgrades to future versions. It's your money, obviously, but it seems clear to us that Microsoft has gone out of its way to make its Office 365 service the more attractive option. So, you might want to think long and hard about how much owning your software really means to you before going the old-fashioned route.

Show full PR text

Microsoft Releases Office 365 Home Premium
Jan. 29, 2013
New consumer cloud service works across devices to help busy people simplify their lives and get more done.

NEW YORK - Jan. 29, 2013 - Microsoft Corp. today announced worldwide availability of Office 365 Home Premium, a reinvention of the company's flagship Office product line for consumers. Office 365 Home Premium is a cloud service designed for busy households and people juggling ever-increasing work and family responsibilities. The new offering includes the latest and most complete set of Office applications; works across up to five devices, including Windows tablets, PCs and Macs; and comes with extra SkyDrive storage and Skype calling - all for US$99.99 for an annual subscription, the equivalent of US$8.34 per month.

"Today's launch of Office 365 Home Premium marks the next big step in Microsoft's transformation to a devices and services business," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. "This is so much more than just another release of Office. This is Office reinvented as a consumer cloud service with all the full-featured Office applications people know and love, together with impressive new cloud and social benefits."

Microsoft also announced it will now deliver many new features and services to the cloud first, transforming the company's traditional three-year release cycle. Now, new features and services stream to subscribers as soon as they are ready, keeping subscribers always up to date while eliminating the hassles of upgrading.

"This is a major leap forward," said Kurt DelBene, president of the Microsoft Office Division. "People's needs change rapidly, and Office 365 Home Premium will change with them."

Simultaneously, Microsoft today released Office 365 University for college or university students, faculty and staff at a price of just US$79.99 for a four-year subscription - the equivalent of US$1.67 per month. Globally, the company also released updated versions of the traditional Office suite: Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013 and Office Professional 2013. Office 365 for businesses will be released globally with new capabilities on Feb. 27.

Time to Do the Things You Want

In a recent global survey,* nearly 60 percent of people said they don't have the time to do the things they want to do, and more than 80 percent said they could save one or more hours a day if they were better organized. Office 365 Home Premium is designed to help people be more productive from virtually anywhere and find the flexibility to do the things they want.

"Between kids and career, I'm never completely at home or completely at work - and thanks to technology, that suits me just fine," said Jen Singer, an author, blogger and mom of two teen boys. "With Office 365 Home Premium, I can work around my kids' schedules, so I can drive the soccer carpool, coordinate errands while at a doctor's office and still hit my deadlines at work. And, with one subscription for everyone in my family, it's an absolute steal."

To help people find more time to do the things they want, Microsoft is introducing Time to 365 (http://www.office.com/timeto365), a new crowd-sourced website where people can find and share tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration from around the world. Contributors include experts such as "techorating" pro Janna Robinson (http://www.jannarobinson.com) and everyday working parents who have found ways to simplify their lives. Tips on the site include, for example, an idea for organizing your grocery list with OneNote on your phone, a pointer on how to pick the right-sized TV for your living room, and ways to use Office applications to help plan a child's birthday party.

About Office 365 Home Premium

Office 365 Home Premium is available in 162 markets in 21 languages and includes the following:

o. The latest and most complete set of Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access

o. One license for the entire household to use Office on up to five devices, including Windows tablets, PCs or Macs, and Office on Demand available from any Internet-connected PC**

o. An additional 20 GB of SkyDrive cloud storage, nearly three times the amount available with a free SkyDrive account

o. 60 free Skype world calling minutes per month to call mobile phones, landlines or PCs around the world***

o. Future upgrades, so you always use the latest time-saving technology

People can learn more about Office 365 Home Premium or try it free for 30 days at http://www.office.com.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Microsoft surveyed more than 10,000 people in over 20 countries.

** App availability varies by operating system, device and language.

*** Skype world minutes not available in all countries. Calls to select countries.

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Source: Microsoft

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/microsoft-office-2013-office-365-home-premium-available-now/

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Is the Free-Radical Theory of Aging Dead? (preview)

Cover Image: February 2013 Scientific American MagazineSee Inside

The hallowed notion that oxidative damage causes aging and that vitamins might preserve our youth is now in doubt


elderly man, cane, old man, wood cane, aging Image: THOMAS BORN Corbis

In Brief

  • For decades researchers assumed that highly reactive molecules called free radicals caused aging by damaging cells and thus undermining the functioning of tissues and organs.
  • Recent experiments, however, show that increases in certain free radicals in mice and worms correlate with longer life span. Indeed, in some circumstances, free radicals seem to signal cellular repair networks.
  • If these results are confirmed, they may suggest that taking antioxidants in the form of vitamins or other supplements can do more harm than good in otherwise healthy individuals.

David Gems's life was turned upside down in 2006 by a group of worms that kept on living when they were supposed to die. As assistant director of the Institute of Healthy Aging at University College London, Gems regularly runs experiments on Caenorhabditis elegans, a roundworm that is often used to study the biology of aging. In this case, he was testing the idea that a buildup of cellular damage caused by oxidation?technically, the chemical removal of electrons from a molecule by highly reactive compounds, such as free radicals?is the main mechanism behind aging. According to this theory, rampant oxidation mangles more and more lipids, proteins, snippets of DNA and other key components of cells over time, eventually compromising tissues and organs and thus the functioning of the body as a whole.

Gems genetically engineered the roundworms so they no longer produced certain enzymes that act as naturally occurring antioxidants by deactivating free radicals. Sure enough, in the absence of the antioxidants, levels of free radicals in the worms skyrocketed and triggered potentially damaging oxidative reactions throughout the worms' bodies.

This article was originally published with the title The Myth of Antioxidants.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=99595e86bdbfe6687e34b528d5f1c171

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Pfizer Q4 net jumps on sale of nutrition business

Pfizer Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled, despite competition from generic drugs hurting sales of Lipitor and other medicines, because of a $4.8 billion gain from selling its nutrition business. The drugmaker's profit and sales both beat Wall Street expectations.

The world's biggest drugmaker said Tuesday that its net income was $6.32 billion, or 85 cents per share, up from $1.44 billion, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding the windfall from selling its nutrition business to Nestle SA for $11.5 billion on Nov. 30, and a total of $888 million for restructuring, legal and other one-time items, the Viagra maker would have had a profit of $3.51 billion, or 47 cents per share. That's 3 cents more than analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

In early trading, the New York-based company's shares rose 26 cents, or 1 percent, to $27.10.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $15.1 billion, mainly due to generic competition to cholesterol blockbuster Lipitor. Analysts expected $14.35 billion.

"Overall, a good quarter driven by the revenue beat," BernsteinResearch analyst Dr. Timothy Anderson wrote to investors, calling Pfizer's 2013 financial forecast "a bit underwhelming."

Pfizer said it expects 2013 earnings per share of $2.20 to $2.30, excluding one-time items, and revenue of $56.2 billion to $58.2 billion. Analysts are expecting $2.28 per share and revenue of $57.55 billion.

Lipitor, which had reigned as the world's top-selling drug ever for nearly a decade, got U.S. generic competition in December 2011 and now has generic rivals in many major markets. The pill had been bringing Pfizer nearly $11 billion a year before then, down from its peak of $13 billion a year.

In the fourth quarter, Lipitor sales plunged 91 percent in the U.S. and 71 percent worldwide, to $584 million. A dozen other medicines also had lower sales due to generic competition.

Altogether, generic competition reduced prescription drug revenue by more than $2.1 billion. Unfavorable currency exchange rates lopped off another 2 percent, or $271 million.

However, several key newer drugs had double-digit sales increases, including fibromyalgia and pain treatment Lyrica, at $1.13 billion, painkiller Celebrex at $750 million, and the Prevnar 13 vaccine against meningitis and other pneumococcal infections, at $993 million. Viagra was up 6 percent at $553 million.

Altogether, Pfizer's prescription drug revenue fell 9 percent in the quarter, to $12.89 billion. The division was led by sales of primary-care medicines, which totaled $3.83 billion. Still, that was down 29 percent as Lipitor's sales in the two biggest markets, the U.S. and Japan, where shifted into the established products category. That segment, which markets off-patent drugs still popular in many countries, posted a 3 percent rise in revenue, to $2.37 billion.

Specialty products, such as Enbrel for psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, and hemophilia treatments Refacto AF and Benefix, had revenue dip 4 percent, to a combined $3.67 billion. Sales in emerging markets such as China and India jumped 17 percent, to $2.65 billion, while sales of cancer drugs, a newer focus for Pfizer, rose 9 percent to $370 million.

The animal health business saw revenue increase 6 percent, to $1.17 billion. Pfizer is set to sell about a 20 percent share in the business, called Zoetis, in an initial public offering on Friday.

The consumer health business saw revenue jump 16 percent, to $936 million, due to strong growth of Advil pain reliever and Centrum vitamins.

He said Pfizer will soon launch two new medicines, rheumatoid arthritis treatment Xeljanz and ? with partner Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ? potential blockbuster Eliquis, for preventing heart attacks and dangerous clots in patients with the irregular heartbeat atrial fibrillation. CEO Ian Read said Pfizer's mid- to late-stage drug pipeline "continues to strengthen with key potential opportunities," including drugs for advanced breast cancer and three other types of cancer, one for high cholesterol and a meningococcal B vaccine for adolescents and young adults.

For the full year, net income was $14.57 billion, or $1.94 per share. That was down from $10.01 billion, or $1.27 per share, in 2011. Revenue totaled $58.99 billion, down 10 percent from $65.26 billion in 2011, before generic competition slashed sales of Lipitor and schizophrenia drug Geodon.

___

Linda A. Johnson can be followed at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-29-Earns-Pfizer/id-af4e3258c33b42a08d41a172fdb44c96

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Phone and mailed interventions significantly increase colorectal cancer screening rates

Phone and mailed interventions significantly increase colorectal cancer screening rates [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Steve Graff
stephen.graff@jefferson.edu
215-955-5291
Thomas Jefferson University

Patients 3 times more likely to get screened with phone navigation and mailings, researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center found

PHILADELPHIAA mailing or phone call to help patients get screened for colorectal cancer significantly increases their chances of actually getting tested, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

The research team, led by Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, performed a randomized, controlled trial of 945 people aged 50-79 to test the impact of a new, preference-based navigation intervention, as opposed to standard mailing or usual care, on screening rates.

A third of the patients received a "tailored" phone call to encourage them to perform their preferred screening test (colonoscopy vs. at-home blood stool test), plus a mailing of preferred information; another third were sent information on colonoscopy and a stool blood test kit; while the last third received no intervention.

Patients who received a phone call and/or mailing were almost three times as likely to undergo screening six months later compared to those who had no intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the phone and mailed interventions versus mailings only on screening rates.

While colorectal cancer screening rates are increasing in the United States, rates lag behind those for breast and cervical cancer screening. Screening and early detection of colon and rectal cancer holds tremendous promise for reducing the toll of colon and rectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in this country with more than 140,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Late diagnoses will account for many of the colorectal cancer related deaths.

The study, which was conducted between 2007 and 2011, included 10 primary care practices affiliated with the Christiana Care Health System in Delaware that used a comment medical record system.

The research team searched for patients who had no prior diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia or inflammatory bowel diseases, had visited one of the participating practices within the previous two years, and were not compliant with American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines.

For the study, 312 patients received a tailored intervention, where they were informed about both colonoscopy and blood stool tests and then were sent information on colonoscopy or the actual blood test performed, based on their preference. Another group, consisting of 316 patients, was mailed information about both colonoscopy and stool blood test performed. The remaining 317 were sent no information or tests and did not receive any phone calls.

Overall screening adherence at six months was significantly higher in both invention groups compared to the control group, the researchers found. Thirty-eight percent of patients who received the tailored phone interventions and 33 percent of patients who received mailings completed screening tests. Only 12% of patients in the control group completed screening tests.

In terms of the intervention groups, the researchers found that preference-based navigation did not significantly boost overall adherence to a level that was significantly higher than that achieved by mail, but increased participant performance of their preferred screening test in comparison to the mailed intervention, especially colonoscopy use.

"The study showed that both strategies were superior to usual care, and that there is not a one-size fits all approach to screening," said Dr. Myers. "The next step is to determine if an intervention strategy that maximizes screening test access, incorporates patient preference, and engages providers can achieve higher screening rates compared to just mailings."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Phone and mailed interventions significantly increase colorectal cancer screening rates [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Steve Graff
stephen.graff@jefferson.edu
215-955-5291
Thomas Jefferson University

Patients 3 times more likely to get screened with phone navigation and mailings, researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center found

PHILADELPHIAA mailing or phone call to help patients get screened for colorectal cancer significantly increases their chances of actually getting tested, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention by researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

The research team, led by Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Division of Population Science, Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, performed a randomized, controlled trial of 945 people aged 50-79 to test the impact of a new, preference-based navigation intervention, as opposed to standard mailing or usual care, on screening rates.

A third of the patients received a "tailored" phone call to encourage them to perform their preferred screening test (colonoscopy vs. at-home blood stool test), plus a mailing of preferred information; another third were sent information on colonoscopy and a stool blood test kit; while the last third received no intervention.

Patients who received a phone call and/or mailing were almost three times as likely to undergo screening six months later compared to those who had no intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the phone and mailed interventions versus mailings only on screening rates.

While colorectal cancer screening rates are increasing in the United States, rates lag behind those for breast and cervical cancer screening. Screening and early detection of colon and rectal cancer holds tremendous promise for reducing the toll of colon and rectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in this country with more than 140,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Late diagnoses will account for many of the colorectal cancer related deaths.

The study, which was conducted between 2007 and 2011, included 10 primary care practices affiliated with the Christiana Care Health System in Delaware that used a comment medical record system.

The research team searched for patients who had no prior diagnosis of colorectal neoplasia or inflammatory bowel diseases, had visited one of the participating practices within the previous two years, and were not compliant with American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines.

For the study, 312 patients received a tailored intervention, where they were informed about both colonoscopy and blood stool tests and then were sent information on colonoscopy or the actual blood test performed, based on their preference. Another group, consisting of 316 patients, was mailed information about both colonoscopy and stool blood test performed. The remaining 317 were sent no information or tests and did not receive any phone calls.

Overall screening adherence at six months was significantly higher in both invention groups compared to the control group, the researchers found. Thirty-eight percent of patients who received the tailored phone interventions and 33 percent of patients who received mailings completed screening tests. Only 12% of patients in the control group completed screening tests.

In terms of the intervention groups, the researchers found that preference-based navigation did not significantly boost overall adherence to a level that was significantly higher than that achieved by mail, but increased participant performance of their preferred screening test in comparison to the mailed intervention, especially colonoscopy use.

"The study showed that both strategies were superior to usual care, and that there is not a one-size fits all approach to screening," said Dr. Myers. "The next step is to determine if an intervention strategy that maximizes screening test access, incorporates patient preference, and engages providers can achieve higher screening rates compared to just mailings."

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/tju-pam012813.php

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Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013

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Neglect, errors to blame in Brazil nightclub fire

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? There was no fire alarm. There were no sprinklers or fire escapes. And when a band member tried to put out a fire that had been started by pyrotechnics, the extinguisher didn't work.

All the elements were in place for the tragedy at the Kiss nightclub early Sunday. The result was the world's worst fire of its kind in more than a decade, with 231 people dead and this southern Brazilian city in shock and mourning.

Funerals began on Monday, as reports continued to emerge about the accumulation of neglect and errors at the packed night spot.

Brazilian police said they detained three people in connection with the blaze, while the newspaper O Globo said on its website that a fourth person had surrendered to police. Police Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said the detentions were part of the ongoing police probe and those detained can be held for up to five days.

Vieira declined to identify those detained, but the Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora quotes lawyer Jader Marques saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, had been held.

The paper said police also detained two members of the band that was performing when the blaze broke out in this university town of about 260,000 people. The band's guitarist told Brazilian media he saw flames lick the ceiling after the group's spark machine was deployed.

More than 100 people remained hospitalized for smoke, local officials said. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a doctor helping coordinate the emergency response, said he was optimistic that those injured would pull through.

"It's impossible to predict what will happen, because they are all in a very delicate state, but there's hope for all of them," said Beltrame, adding that more than 40 survivors had been sent to neighboring cities for treatment of burns and smoke inhalation. "One of the problems we're having here is that all these people need to be on respirators and we don't have enough respirators in the city."

Funeral services were held for several of the 231 victims, most of them college students 18 to 21 years old. Some of the victims were minors. Most died from smoke inhalation rather than burns.

Initial reports suggested the tragedy was the result of a series of failures. Police have said they think the pyrotechnics ignited flammable sound insulation on the ceiling.

Other witnesses said security guards who didn't know about the blaze initially blocked people from leaving without paying their bills. Brazilian bars routinely make patrons pay their entire tab at the end of the night before they're allowed to leave. Many of the dead were found in the club's two bathrooms, where the blinding smoke caused them to believe the doors were exits.

Rodrigo Martins, a guitarist for the group Gurizada Fandangueira, told Globo TV network in an interview Monday that the flames broke out minutes after the deployment of a pyrotechnic machine that fans out colored sparks, at around 2:30 a.m. local time.

"I felt that something was falling from the roof and I looked up and I saw the fire was spreading, and I shouted 'Look, it's catching on fire, man, it's catching fire,'" Martins said. "Then the drummer tried to throw water on it, and it looked like the fire spread more then. Then the security guards came with an extinguisher, tried to use it, but it didn't work."

He added that the club was packed and estimated the crowd at about 1,200-1,300 people.

"I thought I was going to die there. There was nothing I could do, with the fire spreading and people screaming in front."

Martins confirmed that the group's accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, died, while the five other band members made it out safely. Martins said he thought Jacques made it out of the building and later returned to save his accordion.

Martins said the group nearly always used the so-called Sputnik pyrotechnics machine and that it had never before caused any problem, even in smaller venues. An electrical short circuit could also possibly have been to blame for the fire, he suggested.

Still, police were leaning toward the pyrotechnics as the likely cause of the tragedy. Police inspector Antonio Firmino, who's part of the team investigating Sunday's blaze, said it appeared the club's ceiling was covered with an insulating foam made from a combustible material that ignited with the pyrotechnics. He said the number and state of the exits is under investigation but that it appeared that a second door was "inadequate," as it was small and protected by bars that wouldn't open.

Television images from Santa Maria showed black smoke billowing out of the Kiss nightclub as shirtless young men who attended the university party joined firefighters using axes and sledgehammers to pound at the hot-pink exterior walls, trying to reach those trapped inside. Teenagers sprinted from the scene after the fire began, desperately seeking help. Others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms. About half of those killed were men, and another half women.

The party was organized by students from several academic departments at the Federal University of Santa Maria. Such organized university parties are common throughout Brazil.

Beltrame said he was told the club had been filled far beyond its capacity, and the crowds and thickness of the smoke made it hard for people to find their way out.

"Large amounts of toxic smoke quickly filled the room, and I would say that at least 90 percent of the victims died of asphyxiation," Beltrame said. "The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit. At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom."

Beltrame said people who were inside the club and thought they made it out safely have started to turn up at area hospitals with symptoms of smoke inhalation, which he said can take hours or even days to appear. He estimated that around 15 people have sought out help in the past few hours and said some have had to be intubated.

Santa Maria Mayor Cezar Schirmer declared a 30-day mourning period, and Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, said officials were investigating the cause of the disaster.

The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.

Sunday's fire also appeared to be the worst at a nightclub since December 2000, when a welding accident reportedly set off a fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309 people.

___

Associated Press writers Marco Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia, Brazil, Stan Lehman and Bradley Brooks contributed from Sao Paulo and Jenny Barchfield contributed from Rio de Janeiro.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/neglect-errors-blame-brazil-nightclub-fire-200250681.html

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Video: Curfew imposed as violence persists in Egypt

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50608968/

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Canon EOS 6D


Prior to the announcement of the Canon EOS 6D ($2,099 direct, body only) and the Nikon D600, shooters who wanted a full-frame camera?one with an image sensor the same size as a 35mm film frame?were faced with a small number of choices at $3,000 and up. Both companies cut about $1,000 off the price of entry to full-frame with new models that sacrifice some features that pro shooters are used to, but are packaged in smaller bodies that are similar in design to the top-end APS-C cameras. The 20-megapixel 6D also adds some enthusiast-friendly features?notably an integrated GPS receiver and Wi-Fi capability?which, along with fantastic image quality, earn it an almost-perfect rating and our Editors' Choice award. The $6,000 full-frame Nikon D4 is still a better choice for anyone who relies on photography to put food on the table, but most folks simply don't need that much camera in their bag.

Design and Features
While it's bigger than entry-level cameras with smaller APS-C image sensors, the 6D is compact for a full-frame D-SLR. It measures 4.4 by 5.7 by 2.8 inches (HWD) and weighs just under 1.7 pounds without a lens. Compare this with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, a more traditional full-frame camera that measures 4.6 by 6 by 3 inches and weighs about 2.1 pounds. If you currently shoot with an APS-C Canon camera like the EOS Rebel T4i or EOS 7D and are considering an upgrade to full-frame be aware that while you can mount any EF lens to any Canon D-SLR, Canon's line of EF-S lenses are designed only for use with APS-C cameras and can't be used with the 6D, 5D Mark III, or EOS-1D X cameras. This is in contrast to Nikon's approach, which allows its APS-C DX lens lineup to be used on the D600, the D800, and D4 in a special crop mode. Like Canon's other full-frame offerings there is no flash built into the 6D?you'll need to use an external one. This isn't atypical for a full-frame camera?Nikon does include a pop-up flash on the D600 and D800, but omits it on the D4, and Sony does not include a flash in its full-frame bodies.

The control layout is familiar to anyone who has handled a Canon SLR before. There's a standard mode dial on top left side with an integrated On/Off lever. To the right of the viewfinder you'll find a control wheel, the shutter release, and buttons to adjust the AF Mode, Drive Mode, ISO, Metering Mode, and to activate the backlight on the monochrome information LCD, also located on the top of the camera. The rear controls are compressed when compared with the 5D Mark III, but you'll still have access to a rear control wheel with an integrated four-way controller, an Info button that controls what is displayed on the rear LCD, the Menu button, a control switch to activate Live View and movie recording, image playback controls, and buttons to engage the autofocus system, activate Exposure Lock, and select the active autofocus point. There's also a physical lock switch that prevents the rear control from adjusting settings when turned?that wheel controls exposure compensation in most shooting modes.

First seen on the Rebel series of APS-C cameras, the Q button allows you to change settings via the rear LCD. Hit it and you'll be able to adjust lens aperture, ISO, Exposure Compensation, Flash Compensation, JPG output, White Balance, and other common shooting settings?the rear control pad is used to navigate from item to item and the control wheel scrolls through the available settings.

The camera's large optical viewfinder trumps even the best APS-C models in terms of size and brightness?but it doesn't offer a full 100 percent field of view. Instead Canon opted to include a 97 percent viewfinder?the camera will capture a little bit of extra information around the edges of the frame, and the slightly smaller viewfinder makes it possible to change the focus screen?a feature that was omitted from the higher-end 5D Mark III. This is a boon to Canon shooters who use the rare manual focus Canon lens like the TS-E 90mm f/2.8, or any of the manual focus Carl Zeiss lenses available for Canon cameras like the Makro-Planar T* 2/100, as Canon's EG-S focus screen is ideally suited for accurate manual focus with faster lenses.

The resolution of the 3-inch rear LCD tops one million dots. It's extremely sharp, allowing you to confirm critical focus when reviewing shots or shooting in Live View mode. It's fixed?the Sony Alpha 99 is the only full-frame D-SLR with an articulating display?and isn't quite as large as the 3.2-inch screen on Nikon's D600, but it is sharper.

The 6D is the first SLR with integrated Wi-Fi connectivity, and overall, it's a good implementation. There are a number of ways to use the wireless features, and some are more useful than others. Canon gives you the ability to share photos directly with another Canon Wi-Fi camera and to print directly to a Wi-Fi-enabled printer. So you'll have to be out shooting with a partner who also has a Wi-Fi-equipped Canon camera to take advantage of the former, and the latter assumes that you'll be printing your photos without cropping, retouching, or other post-production work. You also have the option of viewing your photos on a DLNA device, like a Wi-Fi HDTV or set-top box.

The more useful functions involve sharing your photos online, and taking control of the 6D via your smartphone. You can send photos and videos directly to Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube via the Canon Image Gateway service. To set this up you'll need to install the EOS Utility application on your PC or Mac and create an account on the Canon Image Gateway service. From there you can link your social networking accounts. Connecting the 6D to your computer pairs it with your Canon account, and will let you send JPG images and videos directly to the service of your choice. You'll need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network, and the EOS 6D can store the SSID and login information for up to three networks at a time.

Photos and videos can also be directly sent to your iOS or Android device. You can connect to a phone when it, and the 6D, are on the same Wi-Fi network. Or the 6D can act as a hotspot for direct connection?and you can save presets for either configuration in one of the five slots dedicated to this mode. Once connected, you can transfer images and videos directly to your phone via the EOS Remote app; it's available for free in both the Apple and Android app stores. Raw transfer is supported?because photos are sized down to 2-megapixel JPG images in order to speed up transfers. You can also use your phone to control the camera wirelessly. A live feed of the camera's Live View mode shows up on your phone's screen, and you can select a focus point via touch, change shooting settings, and fire the shutter. There's noticeable lag in the video feed?it's not as speedy as the USB tethered computer connection that is possible via the included EOS Utility software for Mac or Windows?but it's useable in the field, whereas traditional tethered shooting is more useful in a studio setting.

You also get integrated GPS. It's a powerful receiver?it only took about 40 seconds to lock on to my location on initial setup?and you can adjust how often it polls for a new location. By default it checks for your location every 15 seconds, but you can go as fast as once a second or as slow as every five minutes. Using the GPS definitely puts a strain on the camera's battery. I was out shooting on a cold morning and went from a full charge to two battery bars in only a few hours. And the GPS will continue to check for your location even when the camera is turned off. The photos I took were, without exception, accurately geotagged, appearing on Lightroom's map at the exact locations from which I shot them. If you want to add location data to your photos, you'll likely want to set the camera to check with the GPS satellites less often to extend the battery life, and disable the GPS before you turn the camera off. If that's an unacceptable compromise, tote an extra battery. There is an optional battery grip available?it plugs into the bottom of the camera and holds two cells, doubling the operation time.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/yR8DYE19DMM/0,2817,2414619,00.asp

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In memoriam John Trim | CLERA blog

John TrimJohn Trim was a remarkable figure in the European language education community. He had a long and distinguished career, first?as a German scholar at UCL, then as Lecturer of Phonetics and later Director of Linguistics at Cambridge, where the Language Centre is named after him.

From the 1960s onwards, John Trim served as an advisor to the Council of Europe on learning, co-originator of the Threshold Level concept that has a huge influence on language curricula and testing, and one of the key authors?of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

John was also one of the founders of BAAL. He attended first meetings in London in 1965, and was elected Treasurer at the first annual meeting at Reading in 1967, later serving as Chair from 1985 to 1988.

From 1978-1987, John served as Director of CILT, the Centre for Information on Language Teaching (1978-1987), where he played a key role in forming the Association for Language Learning. In 2012, he was awarded a Fellowship ?in recognition for his lifetime of distinguished service and outstanding achievement in the field of language learning and teaching in Europe and the UK and for his long-term contribution to the furtherance of the Association for Language Learning?. (see Holmes)

To find out more about John Trim?s life, work and?legacy, follow the links below:

John Trim, by Bernardette Holmes, Past President of ALL

In a presentation to the English Profile Seminar, Cambridge, February 2007, John Trim describes the development of the influential Threshold series

Interview with John Trim and Nick Saville to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), recorded in May 2011

John Trim gave a keynote on the ?CEFR: its educational and political background? at the ACTFL-CEFR Symposium 2012 which took place on 21-23 June 2012 at the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML, Graz). Listen to his speech on SoundCloud.

Messages of condolence can be left on the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML)?s website

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Source: http://clerablog.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/in-memoriam-john-trim/

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Waldo Fire Victims Feel Bullied By Insurance Companies

Homeowners affected by the Waldo Canyon Fire feel like they are in a tug-of-war battle with their insurance companies.

Over 100 residents filled the room at a heated and emotional call to action meeting Saturday.

Dozens stood up for their families and spoke their minds about mistreatment of their fire insurance settlement claims.

The fire victims say they feel abused, neglected and bullied by their insurance companies.

"I've been intimidated, I've been harassed, I?ve been ignored and in the meantime I just want my home back to the pre-loss condition that my policy states I should have,? said Mountain Shadows homeowner Judy Brinkman. ?I?m not asking for anything, I don?t want any money from the insurance companies that I am not owed.?

The meeting addresses damage settlements, repairs, property replacement and customer service issues.

Families and homeowners were very emotional as they talked about health issues, improper damage evaluations, and unresponsive adjusters. Many said they are not being properly paid for their losses.

?Everyday you wipe off the dust, you wipe off the suit and ashes. And it got so hot inside the house, that our windows are separated from the house itself? said Peregrine Homeowner Julie Pruitt.

?They've like we don't have to cover that, or the other comment is always, prove that is from the fire. We're just in circular arguments, frustration, anger, resentment, there's just now where to go. You just feel like such a victim,? said Brinkman.

The main issues brought up were : suit, ash and smoke damage, exterior house damage, insurance companies failure to investigate properly, non-responsive insurance adjusters, no time extensions, family health issues caused by the fire, damage not evaluated properly, under insured, suffering from additional costs, not being paid for their losses. Many asked for DORA to investigate their insurance companies, and how they are handling their claims.

?I?m a Vietnam veteran, I went over to Vietnam to protect the people of the United States, and I did my duty. That?s why DORA has to do their duty, and state representatives have to do their duty,? said Mountain Shadows homeowner Ron Haberkorn.

Families who just want to move on after the Waldo Canyon Fire, say the insurance woes are taking a huge emotional toll.

"People just need to be made whole and let people move on, but it's hard to move on when you don't have closure on getting things fixed, and having to struggle through that every day,? said Pruitt.

The newly formed Catastrophic Insurance Complaints in Colorado (CICIC) Association held the meeting at the Colorado Springs Together Facility.

Residents had the chance to offer their issues in order to form some solutions in front of the Colorado Division of Insurance (DORA) as well as local and state leaders and legislators.

If you need help with your Waldo insurance issues, contact CICIC at 719-660-8158.

Or submit a complaint to DORA at: http://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/real/Ins_Complaint.Submit_Form

Source: http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Waldo-Fire-Victims-Feel-Bullied-By-Insurance-Companies-188502981.html

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What will Michelle Obama do with 4 more years?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Michelle Obama has a new look, both in person and online, and with the president's re-election, she has four more years as first lady, too.

That's got many people wondering: What will she do with them?

Take on a new cause? Travel more? Trace the path of another first lady and keep the Obama political brand alive by running for office?

The answers are to be determined.

The first lady is trying to figure out what comes next for this self-described "mom in chief" who also is a champion of healthier eating, an advocate for military families, a fitness buff and the best-selling author of a book about her White House garden.

For certain, she'll press ahead with her well-publicized efforts to reduce childhood obesity and rally the country around its service members.

"But beyond that, the first lady is exploring ways that she can make a real difference for Americans, not just for these next four years, but for years to come," said Kristina Schake, Mrs. Obama's communications director.

Here are five areas to watch.

___

NEW ISSUES

Will she take on a new cause? It's possible.

When Parade magazine asked last year whether she'd take up any new issues, Mrs. Obama identified women's health issues. "How do we strengthen families and make them healthier, an issue not just in America but around the world," she said.

Her marquee causes ? the "Let's Move" campaign against childhood obesity and the "Joining Forces" effort to help military families ? took a back seat last fall as she campaigned doggedly for President Barack Obama's re-election.

Look for her to begin publicizing those efforts anew.

Do not expect to see Mrs. Obama push more contentious issues such as gun control or immigration, both second-term priorities for the president. Her public approval rating was 73 percent in a December poll by CNN and she'd like to keep it there.

Some feminists remain unhappy that the Ivy League-educated lawyer hasn't used her position to champion what they view as more substantive issues.

Robert Watson, an American studies professor at Lynn University, said he hopes Mrs. Obama will use her popularity to pivot away from the "velvet-glove" issues first ladies typically embrace and say, "I'm swinging for the fence."

___

MALIA AND SASHA

Obama's daughters are older and will be in full teenage mode by the summer of 2014. Malia is already there at 14; sister Sasha is 11.

Both the president and first lady sometimes talk about the girls' busy lives and how they don't want to spend much time with their parents anymore.

Could having older, more independent children free Mrs. Obama to pursue other interests? Some first lady watchers say that's unlikely. After all, the teenage years are often full of angst about dating, proms, learning how to drive, going to college and so on.

"Michelle has made such a public statement about being the 'mom in chief' that it's hard to see her saying, 'Go ahead girls, here's the limo,'" Watson said.

Malia will graduate from high school during Obama's final year in office, in 2016, and probably trade the White House for a college dorm. She and her parents will have to navigate the college application process and campus tours. Sasha will be in high school.

___

TRAVEL

Presidents and first ladies often step up the pace of international travel in the second term. But it seems unlikely that Obama could make such a pivot just yet, with the U.S. public still so concerned about the economy, unemployment and government spending.

One option would be to send Mrs. Obama abroad in his place.

The first lady is popular overseas and has been well-received outside the U.S., including in India, where she accompanied the president in 2010, and in Mexico, also in 2010, and in South Africa and Botswana in 2011, the only countries she has visited alone as first lady.

She and Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, traveled together to Haiti after the massive earthquake there in January 2010.

Mrs. Obama also went to Spain in the summer of 2010 on a personal trip with friends and daughter Sasha, but her stay at a luxury resort on the Costa del Sol wasn't well-received back home, raising questions about the cost and wisdom of taking such a trip during tough economic times.

Laura Bush pursued a grueling foreign travel schedule during George W. Bush's second term. She visited 77 countries in eight years as first lady, including with the president, but 67 of those trips came during the second term, including solo stops in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, according to Anita McBride, her then-chief of staff who runs American University's first ladies program.

Hillary Rodham Clinton also traveled abroad extensively during Bill Clinton's second term.

___

RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

Will she or won't she? Despite Mrs. Obama's many denials of interest in seeking elected office herself, the question keeps getting asked. A recent survey found her to be more popular than Mark Kirk, the Republican senator from her home state of Illinois, in a hypothetical matchup.

"I have no interest in politics. Never have, never will," the first lady said last year on ABC's "The View."

But even those who at one time say "never" can later change their minds.

Hillary Clinton gave the same answer in 1995 when asked if she'd ever run for public office, says Myra Gutin, who studies first ladies at Rider University. But five years later, as her husband's presidency was ending, there was Clinton campaigning across New York for a Senate seat.

She won, used her time in the Senate as a springboard for her 2008 presidential campaign but lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. She became his secretary of state but is departing soon amid feverish speculation that she will run for president in 2016.

Mrs. Obama will be young ? 53 years old ? when her husband leaves office in January 2017, and will have a range of options ahead of her. Friends say she has always believed there are ways to serve the country without running for office.

___

PERSONAL STYLE

Look for the first lady to continue to be a fashion trendsetter. Everything from her hair to her clothes is scrutinized, with some clothing pieces selling out quickly after she's seen wearing them.

Her new bangs became the talk of this town immediately after she went public with them on her 49th birthday, a few days before the president began his second term. Even the president said his wife's haircut was "the most significant event" of inaugural weekend and gave his approval.

Mrs. Obama also won largely positive reviews for her inaugural wardrobe: Reed Krakoff and Thom Browne by day, and Michael Kors and Jason Wu by night. Wu designed her red chiffon and velvet ball gown. He also designed the white ball gown she wore four years ago.

She also has a new presence on Twitter ? (at)FLOTUS.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michelle-obama-4-more-years-130004370--politics.html

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Research may lead to new strategies against sepsis

Jan. 25, 2013 ? Scientists at the Center for Translational Medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine are inching closer to solving a long-standing mystery in sepsis, a complex and often life-threatening condition that affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S. every year. By blocking the activity of a protein, STIM1, in cells that line the insides of blood vessels in mice, they have halted a cascade of cellular events that culminates in the out-of-control inflammation that marks sepsis, and protected lungs from severe damage.

The findings, reported online January 25, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, provide new insights into molecular details underlying sepsis and its effects on the lungs. In identifying STIM1 as a potential drug target, the results may lead to new treatment strategies against sepsis.

"While antibiotics are improving, more than 25 percent of those who develop sepsis will die from it. This is partly because we don't fully understand the mechanisms behind the widespread inflammation it causes," said senior author Muniswamy Madesh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Temple University School of Medicine and a member of Temple's Center for Translational Medicine. "We've provided evidence indicating that without STIM1 driving calcium signaling, the exacerbation of inflammation can't occur. Our results could lead to a whole range of new therapeutic research directions."

STIM1 plays a variety of roles in the cells, including serving as a sensor for the amount of calcium inside a cell, and driving calcium signaling, which is important for cellular communication. In sepsis, a bacterial infection produces toxins that cause the body's normal reaction to infection to go haywire, prompting the immune system to attack the body's own organs and tissues.

According to Dr. Madesh, these toxins -- small molecules called lipopolysaccharides -- set off a chain of events. They initially bind to endothelial cell receptors, sending chemical signals that can result in "oxidative" damage to cells. STIM proteins can detect this cell damage, and drive the flow of calcium ions into the cell, increasing calcium signaling. The resulting fluctuations in calcium levels activate endothelial cells.

"When the endothelial cells are activated, they express various pro-inflammatory molecules, which facilitate white blood cells to adhere to endothelial cells and migrate from the blood to lung tissue," Dr. Madesh explained. "This cell migration further stimulates the immune system, increasing the release of other signaling molecules and factors. But how this occurs hasn't been completely understood."

Dr. Madesh and his colleagues wanted to better understand how STIM proteins were involved in lung inflammation and injury, which is commonly seen in sepsis. Such injury can lead to edema, or fluid, in the lungs, and possibly death. Their previous research had indicated that STIM1 played an important role in oxidative cell damage-altered calcium levels.

To find out, the researchers created mice lacking STIM1 in endothelial cells, and in a series of experiments, compared these mice to normal mice exposed to the sepsis toxin. They found that without STIM1 in the cells, the calcium fluctuations did not occur, and endothelial cells were protected against the toxin-induced lung injury.

The investigators also used a small molecule, BTP2, to see the effect on lung damage of physically blocking the STIM1 signaling pathway. "We found that the small molecule inhibitor blocked this calcium entry in the channel, as opposed to the other strategy in which the STIM1 gene was knocked out. Eliminating STIM1 or blocking the channel both reduced the permeability of the lungs' blood vessels and lessened lung edema. We can block this pathway using both genetic and pharmacological approaches, and both protected against endotoxin-induced lung inflammation," Dr. Madesh said.

"Although this STIM-mediated signaling pathway is essential for development and other functions, in the case of vascular inflammation, blocking the pathway protected that animal from the damage involved. While several other pathways have been established in the sepsis model, our finding is a new signaling pathway that could be targeted for therapeutic interventions."

Because BTP2 targets a specific calcium channel rather than the protein itself, Dr. Madesh said that one of his team's next goals is to "design new molecules that target the activation of the STIM protein." This same strategy could be used for other diseases or conditions, including stroke, that involve STIM-controlled calcium signaling, he noted.

Other investigators contributing to this research include: Rajesh Kumar Gandhirajan, Shu Meng, Harish C. Chandramoorthy, Karthik Mallilankaraman, Salvatore Mancarella, Hui Gao, Roshanak Razmpour, Xiao-Feng Yang, Steven R. Houser, Walter J. Koch, Hong Wang, Jonathan Soboloff, Donald L. Gill, Temple University School of Medicine; and Ju Chen, University of California, San Diego.

The research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health grants HL086699, 1S10RR027327-01, and 1R21HL109920-01.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Temple University Health System.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Rajesh Kumar Gandhirajan, Shu Meng, Harish C. Chandramoorthy, Karthik Mallilankaraman, Salvatore Mancarella, Hui Gao, Roshanak Razmpour, Xiao-Feng Yang, Steven R. Houser, Ju Chen, Walter J. Koch, Hong Wang, Jonathan Soboloff, Donald L. Gill, Muniswamy Madesh. Blockade of NOX2 and STIM1 signaling limits lipopolysaccharide-induced vascular inflammation. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2013; DOI: 10.1172/JCI65647

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/health_medicine/genes/~3/J0maGIczOgg/130125142201.htm

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Alison Cork's Guide to Artful Scrapbooking ... - Alison at Home

Over the Christmas holiday I decided to do something a bit different, and as a family we backpacked round the world on a cheap ticket. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and America. As you can imagine, it was a feast of images and experiences, and I didn?t want to forget a moment of it.

So I suggested to my son Ethan that he keep a ticket stub diary of the journey. Over the four weeks we duly stuck in tickets, maps, sweet wrappers, even a slither of eucalyptus soap, and gradually built up a multi layered recollection of events. It was colourful, sometimes irreverant but always interesting and a genuine cultural snapshot of the places we visited.

The best scrapbooks are mostly visual, complemented by succinct and insightful comment. The best scrapbooks use a beautiful journal or photo album to take you on the journey and make you think.

?

My top tips for a great scrapbook:

* the layout should be 60 per cent visual and 40 per cent text.

* change the layout of each page and don?t make the arrangement too ordered ? a sense of spontaneity is a good thing.

* inject humour amongst the serious stuff ? include sweetie wrappers or drinks labels.

* don?t cram too much on a page ? let it breathe.

* think of texture as well ? people will be fingering the page ? cloth, string, foil, they all help communicate the message.

* collage your cover and protect it with sticky backed plastic for a hardwearing finish.

Source: https://www.alisonathome.com/at-home-with-alison/alison-corks-guide-to-artful-scrapbooking/

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Weather keeps search for Antarctica plane grounded

Lynn M. Arnold / National Science Foundation viAP

A De Havilland Twin Otter like the one missing since Wednesday lands at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 2003.

By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News

Bad weather continued to stop rescuers from searching for a Canadian airplane that went missing in Antarctica with three people on board, officials in New Zealand rescue team said Friday.?

Though winds, which had been blowing at over 100 mph, had calmed to just over 20 mph by 5 p.m. Friday New Zealand time (11 p.m. ET Thursday), conditions would not allow sighting of the downed twin-engine airplane.

?Visibility is down to (1,300 feet) and the snow is almost horizontal,? Kevin Branaghan, an official with Rescue Coordination Center New Zealand, said in a statement. ?The weather is expected to improve slightly after 12-24 hours.?

The plane, owned by Kenn Borek Air of Calgary, Alberta, was on its way from the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole station to Italy?s Mario Zucchelli station while supporting an Italian research project, according to the National Science Foundation, which manages U.S. programs on the icy continent.

It took off at about 3 a.m. ET Wednesday and flew for an hour before its emergency locator beacon was detected in New Zealand, which is responsible for monitoring that section of Antarctica.

The beacon was tracked to a spot about 11,000 feet above sea level at the northern end of the Queen Alexandra Mountain range, some 400 miles from the aircraft?s departure point near the South Pole, rescue-team spokesman Michael Flyger said Thursday.

Hours of flyovers by aircraft from the United States, Canada and New Zealand proved fruitless because of cloud cover and blowing snow, he said.

'Extremely cold'
Kenn Borek Air said in a Thursday statement that weather had kept another of its planes from landing at a makeshift airbase 35 miles from the site of the locator beacon.

The company has otherwise released little information, saying it is ?maintaining a respectful silence? until the fate of the plane is known.

If the plane has crashed, any survivors would have faced extreme conditions in the mountains, Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Flyger said Thursday.

?It?s a cold place to start with,? he said. ?The elevation is around 11,000 feet so ... combined with the wind and snow ... it?s going to be extremely cold.?

Flyger noted that the crew was carrying heavy-duty, cold-weather gear and a five-day supply of water.

"We are still operating with the expectation that we will find them alive," his colleague Branaghan said Friday.

The search-and-rescue team's website, however, referred to searching for a "crash site."

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16695865-weather-keeps-antarctic-search-for-missing-canadian-plane-grounded?lite

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Researchers build a working tractor beam, on a very small scale

Researchers develop a working tractor beam, on a very small scale

We recently saw research that suggested negative radiation pressure in light could lead to a practical tractor beam. A partnership between the Czech Republic's Institute of Scientific Instruments and Scotland's University of St. Andrews can show that it's more than just theory: the two have successfully created an optical field that flipped the usual pressure and started pulling objects toward the light. Their demo only tugged at the particle level -- sorry, no spaceships just yet -- but it exhibited unique properties that could be useful here on Earth. Scientists discovered that the pull is specific to the size and substance of a given object, and that targets would sometimes reorganize themselves in a way that improved the results. On the current scale, that pickiness could lead to at least medicinal uses, such as sorting cells based on their material. While there's more experiments and development to go before we ever see a tractor beam at the hospital, the achievement brings us one step closer to the sci-fi future we were always told we'd get, right alongside the personal communicators and jetpacks.

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Via: BBC

Source: University of St. Andrews, Nature

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/J6VA489BooY/

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Friday, January 25, 2013

iPhone 5S, a Plastic Version and iPad 5 Reportedly Coming This Year

iPhone 5S, a Plastic Version and iPad 5 Reportedly Coming This Year
It's been just about three months since the fourth-generation iPad was announced, so naturally, it's time for some rumors and reports of the fifth-gen model to start rolling in -- along with reports on the next-generation iPhone.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/kTfx6VjTV_k/

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