বৃহস্পতিবার, ৩১ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Rats, like humans, return to drinking once punishment is removed

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Once heavy drinking impairs function, a variety of punishment-related threats may motivate people to stop drinking: spouses may threaten divorce, employers may threaten job loss, and courts threaten drunk drivers with losing their driver's license or incarceration. In the face of these threats, many alcohol abusers refrain from drinking, but relapse is very common when the threats of punishment fade, particularly when exposed to alcohol-associated environments (contexts).

A new study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that rats may behave in the same way. This is important because a significant amount of addiction research is performed in animals, using models of addiction, before it is translated to work in humans.

"The better our animal models fit human alcoholism, the more our animal research will help us to understand the complexity of the human disorder and to develop new treatments," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Currently, the most commonly employed techniques to achieve alcohol abstinence in animal work are forced abstinence and/or extinction training, where a lever press that used to consistently deliver alcohol no longer does so. These models of relapse are limited because they do not incorporate behaviors that mimic a human's desire to avoid negative consequences of drinking.

To address this divergence between animal models and the human condition, Nathan Marchant and colleagues developed a rat relapse model in which voluntary alcohol intake is suppressed by punishment in an environment that is different from the original alcohol intake environment.

They showed that when rats were re-exposed to the original alcohol self-administration environment, after suppression of alcohol intake in a different environment by punishment, they immediately relapsed to alcohol seeking.

"A potential clinical implication of this preclinical finding is that abstinence induced by introducing adverse consequences on alcohol intake in inpatient treatment clinics would have a limited effect on subsequent alcohol use in the home environment after completion of treatment," commented Marchant.

As with nearly all such scientific work, the findings themselves are interesting, but they also lead to many more questions. What is the potential influence of medication or other manipulations on this model? Would the model hold up when other drugs of abuse or even food were studied? Does the passage of time have any effect on this model? More work will be undertaken to answer these and other related questions.

###

Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com

Thanks to Elsevier for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126544/Rats__like_humans__return_to_drinking_once_punishment_is_removed

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Democrats? small-business development bills face GOP opposition

Democrats on the Colorado House committee that hears most business-related legislation passed two small-business bills Tuesday that had died last year under Republican control, but they found that the partisan divide over both of those issues remains.

House Bill 1002, sponsored by Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood, would allot $1 million in additional funding over the next two years to the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) program, which works with startup and expanding companies to give advice on business plans and help them be able to find private funding.

And HB 1003, sponsored by Democratic Reps. Pete Lee of Colorado Springs and Leroy Garcia of Pueblo, would use about $400,000 of that money to create a statewide ?economic gardening? program in which trained staffers could advise about 20 to 25 growing businesses how to expand sales out of state or outside the country.

The bills both received approval from the House Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Development Committee on Democratic-led 6-5 party-line votes.

The measures stem from their sponsors? belief that paying to help local businesses grow is a more efficient use of state funds than giving large sums to large businesses to relocate to Colorado.

Tyler noted that the SBDC program created nearly 1,700 jobs in 2011 with just $85,000 in state general-fund money ? spending of roughly $43 per job created.

?A lot of these businesses don?t even understand the opportunities they have in expanding or growth potential,? said Kelly Manning, state director of the SBDC program. ?That?s where we come into play.?

Ed Sealover covers government, health care, tourism, airlines and hospitality for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Capitol Business" blog. Phone: 303-803-9229.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bizj_denver/~3/g2kKSP2II_o/democrats-small-business-development.html

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No alarm, no extinguishers, no sprinklers and no escape in Brazil fire

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? There was no alarm, no extinguishers, no sprinklers and almost no escape from the nightclub that became a death trap for more than 200 Brazilian college students.

As investigators began poking through the rubble and families mourned their dead, questions abounded as the university city in southern Brazil tried to understand how the Sunday morning blaze that killed 231 people could have been sparked in the first place, then rage rapidly out of control.

Why was there only one door available for exit and entry? What was the flammable material in the ceiling that allowed the conflagration to move so quickly? And, more pointedly, why was a band playing at the club allowed to use pyrotechnics inside the building?

Police were leaning toward the band's pyrotechnics as the cause of the blaze during a party at the Kiss nightclub organized by several academic departments at the Federal University of Santa Maria. Inspector Antonio Firmino, who's part of the team investigating the fire, said it appeared the club's ceiling was covered with an insulating foam made from a combustible material that ignited with the pyrotechnics.

Firmino 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.

The disaster, the worst fire of its kind in more than a decade, also raises questions of whether Brazilian authorities are up to the task of ensuring safety in such venues ahead of it hosting next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Some critics have said conditions in many Brazilian bars and clubs are ripe for another deadly blaze. They say that in addition to modernizing sometimes outdated safety codes and ensuring sufficient inspectors, people must change their way of thinking and respect safety regulations.

Hundreds of people marched peacefully outside the nightclub Monday night to remember the victims, and demand justice. Some carried signs with slogans such as, "May God's justice be carried out."

"We hope that the justice system, through its competent mechanisms, succeeds in clarifying to the public what happened, and gives the people an explanation," said marcher Eglon Do Canto.

Brazilian police said they detained three people Monday 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 local media has identified them as two co-owners of the club, and two members of the band that was using a spark machine inside the building when the fire erupted.

According to state safety codes here, clubs should have one fire extinguisher every 1,500 square feet as well as multiple emergency exits. Limits on the number of people admitted are to be strictly respected. None of that appears to have happened at the Santa Maria nightclub.

"A problem in Brazil is that there is no control of how many people are admitted in a building," said Joao Daniel Nunes, a civil engineer in nearby Porto Alegre. "They never are clearly stated, and nobody controls how many people enter these night clubs."

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 employment 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."

Standing next to the stage when the fire broke out, Rodrigo Rizzi, a first-year nursing student, watched the tragedy unfold.

"I was right there, so even though I was far from the door, at least I realized something was wrong," he said. "Others, who couldn't see the stage, never had a chance. They never saw it coming."

As he headed toward the door, the air turned dense and dark with smoke; there was no light, nothing pointing to the single exit. Rizzi found himself clawing through a panicked crowd that surged blindly toward the door.

"I was halfway across the floor, I could see the door, but the air turned black with this thick smoke," he said. "I couldn't breathe. People started to panic and run toward the door. They were falling, screaming, pulling at each 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.

Inside the club, metal barriers meant to organize the lines of people entering and leaving became traps, corralling desperate patrons within yards of the exit. Bodies piled up against the grates, smothered and broken by the crushing mob.

About 50 of the victims were found in the club's two bathrooms, where the blinding smoke caused them to believe the doors were exits.

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.

The first funeral services were held Monday for the victims, including brothers Pedro and Mercello Salle. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. Almost all died from smoke inhalation rather than burns.

National Health Minister Alexandre Padilha cautioned that the death toll could worsen dramatically, telling news media in Santa Maria on Monday that 75 of those injured were in critical condition and could die.

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 anywhere in the world 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.

___

Associated Press video:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/focus-turns-brazil-club-safety-fire-073637802.html

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বুধবার, ৩০ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Nintendo Q3 earnings show 3 million Wii Us sold, sales forecasts lowered again

Nintendo Q3 earnings report show

Nintendo's Q3 earnings report is out, and it's sold just over 3 million units of its new Wii U console (at a loss) along with 11.69 million pieces of software. The other big news is that it's adjusted sales forecasts downward -- again, after it announced they were being cut back in October. However, since the flagship console is sold at a loss, while Nintendo is predicting 17 percent lower revenue, its prediction for net income has actually moved up by eight billion yen ($87 million).

It's not all bad news however, as it's showing about $160 million in net income for the year, compared with last year's losses. The 3DS has jumped up to 29.84 million sold, while the original Wii is within shouting distance of the 100 million number. Need more numbers? Hit the source links to check out all the sales data firsthand.

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Comments

Source: Nintendo Q3 earnings (PDF), Financial Forecast adjustment (PDF)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/nintendo-q3-earnings-show-3-06-million-wii-u-consoles-sold-sale/

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Pending home sales take a breather in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts to buy previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in December after three months of gains, an industry group said on Monday, but the housing market recovery remains intact.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, dropped 4.3 percent to 101.7.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which become sales after a month or two, to rise 0.3 percent after a previously reported 1.7 percent increase in November.

The drop in contracts, which the Realtors group blamed on the tightening stock of homes, suggested resales could fall again in January after slipping in December.

"The supply limitation appears to be the main factor holding back contract signings in the past month," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Supplies of homes costing less than $100,000 are tight in much of the country, so first-time buyers have fewer options."

Still, the housing market remains the economy's bright spot, and is expected to support growth this year. Pending home sales were up 6.9 percent in the 12 months through December.

The NAR expects sales of previously owned homes to increase 9 percent this year after a similar gain in 2012.

Home resale contracts were down in three of the country's four regions last month. They increased in the Midwest.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pending-home-sales-breather-december-150057232--business.html

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মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

Zoom Raises $6M Series A, Launches Version 1.0 Of Its Radically Different Virtual Conferencing Tool

zoom-usZoom, a startup founded by WebEx and Cisco veterans that wanted to make high quality video conferencing and virtual meetings accessible to everyone, instead of just those with the budgets to invest in expensive hardware and even more expensive software, today announced a new $6 million Series A round of funding, supplied by Qualcomm Ventures, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, WebEx founder Subrah Iyar and former Cisco SVP and General Counsel Dan Scheinman.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/-4QZq-2uNrM/

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Social Security commissioner to leave in February

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue says he will step down in February after completing his six-year term. Astrue's departure gives President Barack Obama the opportunity to name a new head to the federal government's largest program.

Astrue's term was marked by increasingly dire warnings about the long-term financial health of the massive retirement and disability program. Astrue also worked to reduce backlogs of people applying for disability claims.

The trustees who oversee Social Security project that the program's trust funds will run dry in 2033. At that point, Social Security will collect only enough in taxes to pay 75 percent of benefits. As commissioner, Astrue is also a trustee.

Astrue has urged Congress to shore up the program's finances but has not publicly endorsed any solutions.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-28-Social%20Security%20Commissioner/id-cf8a2827eb414cb499f5352a8b2b5010

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Claire Danes Says Son Cyrus Is ?Getting Fat!?

"He's six weeks and getting fat. It's very exciting. All that time on the boob is starting to result in growth," the Homeland star, 33, told Giuliana Rancic on E!'s Live from the Red Carpet at the SAG Awards.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/ONHJjWA0fAU/

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সোমবার, ২৮ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

IRL: HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

We swear we didn't plan it this way, but it looks like we've got a little trifecta this week, with write-ups pertaining to Apple, Google and, last but not least, Microsoft. On the pessimistic end of the spectrum, Dana would rather have the third-generation iPod shuffle than the model she's using. Terrence is hooked on Google Now and Jon likes the HTC 8X -- just not as much as the Lumia 920.

HTC 8X

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle What's this? Another Windows Phone 8 test? Yes, while I was trying the Lumia 920 and before I reviewed the ATIV S, I felt it was only fair to give the third flagship of the platform, HTC's Windows Phone 8X, a proper shakedown. I spent a few weeks with one to gauge the differences and came back with the impression that HTC has a worthy flagship -- but not necessarily the one I'd choose for myself.

If you talk solely about ergonomics, the 8X is undoubtedly my first pick. It's much lighter and grippier than the Lumia 920, and the smaller screen makes it easier to reach every corner with one hand than the ATIV S. About the only reservations I have are that hard-to-press power button and the relatively sharp edges. The stand-out appearance can't help but sway me, too. If you get the phone in one of the bolder colors (read: not black), it's simply iconic. No one will mistake an 8X for another phone, while both the ATIV S and Lumia 920 have familiar-looking peers.

Yet there are a few ingredients missing that make it hard to call HTC's creation my perfect Windows Phone 8 device. Simply speaking, the camera just isn't as good as it needs to be in early 2013. While the 8X is sometimes a better pick for up-close photography than the Lumia 920, it falls apart in low-light situations where the Lumia is a champ. Nokia Maps isn't vital, but I missed its navigation when I switched devices -- at least there's now the Drive+ beta for those that need it. And I'll have to admit that being Canadian skews my preferences towards the Nokia phone's glove-friendly screen: it's great to avoid the binary choice of making a phone call versus preserving my fingers. While I'd be inclined to choose the 8X over the ATIV S as long as storage wasn't a priority, I would still give Nokia the ultimate nod as the most relevant to real-world use.

-- Jon Fingas

Google Now

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle Pretty much from the moment I first launched Google Now it changed the way I interacted with my phone. I've used Siri and toyed with S Voice, but Now is the only virtual assistant that seems like more than an occasionally useful gimmick. Truth is, at this point I unlock directly into it almost as often as I go to the home screen. Sure, in the early days its functionality was fairly limited (and still is), but there was enough information presented by default to keep me coming back. When Gmail was added to its repository of information, the app became a true game-changer for me. While other "assistant" apps are little more than voice commands with personality, Now actually helps track information for you and presents it at valuable times. I don't have to ask what the weather is like or how long it'll take me to get to my next appointment -- it just tells me without prompting.

Of course, things aren't perfect. Now still has a lot of rough edges to work out. For one, the mobile boarding pass feature has yet to work as advertised for me, though, its flight tracking feature turns out to be quicker and more accurate than United's own app. It also stumbles a bit on tracking packages. I like that it recognizes tracking numbers and presents them to me with a quick link, but Now doesn't actually do any tracking itself. Instead it simply shows the card to you for a predetermined amount of time. That's fine if you're enjoying free two-day shipping thanks to Amazon Prime, but if your delivery takes more than a couple of days the card disappears before the box hits your doorstep. It also has an unfortunate habit of presenting me directions to a "new place" almost any time I perform a web search. Oh, and some higher-res icons for the sports score cards would be greatly appreciated.

None of that is enough to ruin the experience, however. If I need to know when my bus is coming, what the temperature is, if my flight is on time or even how many steps I took this month I simply swipe up on my Nexus lock screen and let Google do the work for me. What's more, things can only get better as the company improves its algorithms, opens up new sources of data and, hopefully, develops an API to let other apps tap into the power of Now.

-- Terrence O'Brien

iPod shuffle (fourth generation)

IRL HTC 8X, Google Now and the iPod shuffle We runners are a superstitious bunch. In my training group, "Nothing new on race day" is our mantra, and it's one to which I've adhered earnestly. It goes without saying that new shoes, running shorts and Snozberry-flavored energy gels are out of the question, but I even get antsy about wearing my Spibelt around my waist instead of my hips. Yeah, I'm neurotic, but running 26.2 miles is scary, yo.

So I was none too pleased when I had a gadget emergency the week before the 2011 New York City Marathon. I'd been training with the Sansa Clip Zip for two months when it abruptly began having mood swings. It started repeating songs, even when I had set my library to shuffle. Sometimes, if it encountered a song it didn't like, it just froze. On a good day, I could side-step the issue by selecting a different artist or song. At its worst, the only way to revive it was to perform a hard reset.

Obviously, that wasn't going to cut it for my epic run, so I did what any desperate person would do: I went to Best Buy and spent $50 on an iPod shuffle. Truly, I would have preferred something like the nano, which would have let me choose specific songs, but I wasn't about to drop $149 on what was essentially an impulse buy. Fifty bucks was about as much as I was willing to spend without having had the opportunity to hem and haw over my purchase.

So I used it. And it was okay. The clip doesn't feel as strong as on the third-generation model. Also, it came with regular headphones (i.e., ones without inline controls), which meant I had to press the player on the device to pause the music and skip tracks. To this day, I find the keys a bit too small, and I often hit the wrong one, mistaking pause for fast-forward, etc. Fortunately, I've since subbed in a pair with an inline remote, which means I barely have to touch the device anymore (except, perhaps, to reposition it in a place where the clip will stay put). Battery life was initially awesome -- I got through that nearly six-hour marathon (oof) with plenty of juice to spare. It's since seen better days, though, to the point where I now have to recharge it several times a week. Faint praise, if ever you've heard it, but at least it doesn't force me to listen to the same Madonna song over and over. That would just be cruel.

-- Dana Wollman

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/27/irl-htc-8x-google-now-ipod-shuffle/

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Comments - Jackie Damp Health & Fitness

Still no working out, other than walking the dog periodically.? I?m still sore too so I am okay waiting another couple of weeks!? However, nursing and carrying around a baby is quite a workout!!? There will be some warmer days this week so hoping to get the baby and dog out for a walk for some fresh air.

Monday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Protein pancake
  • M3: Quiche
  • M4: Greek yogurt with granola, fruit
  • M5: Dinner with friends

Tuesday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Protein pancake
  • M3: quiche
  • M4: lara bar, hardboiled egg, fruit
  • M5: Chicken cacciatore

Wednesday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Egg whites and turkey sausage & ezhekiel raisin bread
  • M3: Quinoa fried rice
  • M4: Vita muffin, hardboiled egg, fruit
  • M5: Chicken cacciatore

Thursday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Steel cut oats with brown sugar and cinammon, hardboiled egg
  • M3: Quinoa fried rice
  • M4: Lara bar & Fruit
  • M5: Meatloaf

Friday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Steel cut oats with brown sugar and cinammon and apple
  • M3: Egg salad sandwich, baby carrots
  • M4: Vita muffin, greek yogurt
  • M5: meatloaf and veggies

Saturday

  • M1: Shakeology
  • M2: Multigrain pancakes
  • M3: Baked potato w/ turkey bacon & 2% cheddar, salad
  • M4: Frozen yogurt
  • M5: Chicken Crescent sandwiches

Sunday

Source: http://www.jackiedampfitness.com/?p=579

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রবিবার, ২৭ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

jobsanger: Human Family Tree

Quote

It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made.
-Oscar Wilde

Quote

If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones.
-John Steinbeck

Quote

What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.
-Molly Ivins

Comment Policy

I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published.

1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted.

2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks.

3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous".

4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam).

Source: http://jobsanger.blogspot.com/2013/01/human-family-tree.html

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African leaders meet in Ethiopia amid Mali crisis

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) ? African leaders are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for talks expected to be dominated by the conflict in Mali as well as lingering territorial issues between the two Sudans.

The African Union says it will deploy a force in Mali, where French troops are helping the Malian army to push back Islamist extremists whose rebellion threatens to divide the West African nation.

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union said in a statement Saturday that it wanted "the early operationalization of the African Standby Force" in Mali. The council also said it fully supports Mali President Dioncounda Traore but urged him to put in place a roadmap to free and fair elections. It also said the African Union is committed to preserving the unity of Mali.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/african-leaders-meet-ethiopia-amid-mali-crisis-100222090.html

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Fears grow that Libya is incubator of turmoil

FILE - In this Tuesday Feb. 14, 2012 file photo, Libyan militias from towns throughout the country's west parade through Tripoli, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad. (AP Photo/ Abdel Magid Al Fergany, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday Feb. 14, 2012 file photo, Libyan militias from towns throughout the country's west parade through Tripoli, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad. (AP Photo/ Abdel Magid Al Fergany, File)

FILE -- In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, a Libyan follower of Ansar al-Shariah Brigades chants as he carries the Brigades flag, with Arabic writing that reads, "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger, Ansar al-Shariah," during a protest in front of the Tibesti Hotel, in Benghazi, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, Libyan military guards check one of the U.S. Consulate's burnt out buildings during a visit by Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif, not shown, to the U.S. Consulate to express sympathy for the death of the American ambassador, Chris Stevens and his colleagues in the deadly attack on the Consulate last Tuesday, September 11, in Benghazi, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad.(AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

FILE --In this Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 file photo, graffiti on one of the city walls calls on people to stop random firing of weapons making the point that when a bullet goes up it also comes down and can injure or kill people, in Benghazi, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

FILE -- In this Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 file photo, Libyan civilians watch fires in the Ansar al-Shariah Brigades compound, after hundreds of Libyans, Libyan Military, and Police raided the Brigades base, in Benghazi, Libya. Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. There is a growing fear that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

Libya's upheaval the past two years helped lead to the ongoing conflict in Mali, and now Mali's war threatens to wash back and further hike Libya's instability. Fears are growing that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad.

The possibility of a Mali backlash was underlined the past week when several European governments evacuated their citizens from Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, fearing attacks in retaliation for the French-led military assault against al-Qaida-linked extremists in northern Mali.

More worrisome is the possibility that Islamic militants inspired by ? or linked to ? al-Qaida can establish a strong enough foothold in Libya to spread instability across a swath of North Africa where long, porous desert borders have little meaning, governments are weak, and tribal and ethnic networks stretch from country to country. The Associated Press examined the dangers in recent interviews with officials, tribal leaders and jihadis in various parts of Libya.

Already, Libya's turmoil echoes around the region and in the Middle East. The large numbers of weapons brought into Libya or seized from government caches during the 2011 civil war against Gadhafi are now smuggled freely to Mali, Egypt and its Sinai Peninsula, the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. Jihadis in Libya are believed to have operational links with fellow militant groups in the same swath, Libyan fighters have joined rebels in Syria and are believed to operate in other countries as well.

Libyan officials, activists and experts are increasingly raising alarm over how Islamic militants have taken advantage of the oil-rich country's weakness to grow in strength. During his more than four-decade rule Gadhafi stripped the country of national institutions, and after his fall the central government has little authority beyond the capital, Tripoli. Militias established to fight Gadhafi remain dominant, and tribes and regions are sharply divided.

In the eastern city of Benghazi, birthplace of the revolt that led to the ouster and killing of Gadhafi, militias espousing an al-Qaida ideology and including veteran fighters are prevalent, even ostensibly serving as security forces on behalf of the government since the police and military are so weak and poorly armed. One such militia, Ansar al-Shariah, is believed to have been behind the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in the city that killed four Americans, including the ambassador. Since then, militants have been blamed for a wave of assassinations of security officers and government officials.

Earlier this month, former Libyan leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil warned the militant threat extends to efforts to establish a state that can enforce rule of law.

"Libya will not see stability except by facing them," he told a gathering videotaped by activists and aired on Libyan TV. "It is time to either hold dialogue or confront them." He listed 30 officials and police officers assassinated in Benghazi the past year.

The Mali drama illustrates how the threat bounces back and forth across the borders drawn in the Sahel, the region stretching across the Sahara Desert. Libya and Mali are separated by Algeria, but the two countries had deep ties under Gadhafi. Thousands of Tuaregs moved from Mali to Libya beginning in the 1970s, and many joined special divisions of Gadhafi's military where they earned higher salaries than they would have at home.

As Gadhafi was falling in 2011, thousands of heavily armed Tuareg fighters in southern Libya fled to northern Mali. The Tuareg are an indigenous ethnic group living throughout the Sahel, from Mali to Chad and into Libya and Algeria.

The fighters, led by commander Mohammed Ag Najem, broke the Mali government's hold over the north and declared their long-held dream of a Tuareg homeland, Azawad. But they in turn were defeated by Islamic militants, some linked to al-Qaida's branch in North Africa, who took over the territory and imposed rule under an extreme version of Shariah, or Islamic law. This month, as militants moved south, France launched its military intervention to rescue the Mali government, conducting airstrikes against militants.

In retaliation, militants seized an oil complex in eastern Algeria, prompting a siege by Algerian forces that killed dozens of Western hostages and militants.

The militant group that carried out the Algeria hostage taking, in turn, had help from Libyan extremists in the form of smuggled weapons and "organizational ties," the group's leader, Moktar Belmoktar said.

"Their ideological and organizational connection to us is not an accusation against a Muslim but a source of pride and honor to us and to them," Belmoktar, the one-eyed Algerian founder of the Masked Brigade, said of the Libyans in an interview with The Mauritanian newspaper in mid-December. "Jihadists in al-Qaida and in general were the biggest beneficiaries of the Arab world uprisings, because these uprisings have broken the chains of fear ... that the agent regimes of the West imposed."

He urged Libyan militants not to submit to calls by the Tripoli government to hand over their weapons, saying their arms are "the source of their dignity and their guarantee of security."

With pressure building on Mali's Islamists, Libya provides a possible alternative haven for jihadis, said Scott Stewart of the global intelligence group Stratfor.

"It is a very good place to operate if you are an extremist," he said. "There are fault lines and divisions ... The central government has very little authority outside Tripoli. This is very conducive environment for Jihad to thrive."

They already have a free rein in Benghazi.

"Libya became a heaven for them," Col. Salah Bouhalqa, a leading military commander in Benghazi, said of al-Qaida. "The Westerners are fearful that what happened in Algeria will take place in Libya. And here, just like Mali and Egypt and Iraq, these groups have extensions."

Some extremists say they are determined to shape the new Libya. Youssef Jihani, a member of Ansar Shariah in Benghazi, vowed that he and other jihadis would not accept a return to the days when they were jailed and executed under Gadhafi's rule. He told the AP in Benghazi late last year that the toppling of Gadhafi would not have been possible without the strength of jihadi fighters who he said joined the uprising to ensure an "Islamic state of Libya, where Shariah rule is implemented."

The bearded young man said he lay down his weapons last year. But he said he would take arms up again if Libya's next constitution doesn't make a clear reference to rule by Islamic law or if secular politicians hold power and try to rein in jihadis.

Jihani proudly said he believes in al-Qaida and supports its slain leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He said that during Libya's civil war in 2011, he killed a captured soldier from Gadhafi's army after discovering 11 video clips on his mobile phone showing soldiers raping women and men. Jihani said he ordered the soldier to dig his own grave, then severed his head with a knife.

"I wish I could behead him 11 times," he said. His story could not be independently confirmed.

Stewart, of Stratfor, also pointed to a concern that al-Qaida could make inroads among Libya's impoverished and alienated Tuareg.

Living in mud-brick slums or camps in the deserts of southwestern Libya, most Tuaregs were never given citizenship under Gadhafi's rule, though he used their fighters as mercenaries, and now they suffer not only from poverty but from the disdain of Libyans who see them as Gadhafi loyalists.

For centuries, Tuareg ran caravan routes across the Sahara, carrying gold and other valuables. Now they're known for smuggling weapons and drugs. In slums around the towns of Sabha and Owbari, they sleep next to livestock in shacks with corrugated metal roofs, with webs of electric cables dangling from poles overhead and garbage-filled streets.

Libya's new leadership has largely shunned them. The Tuareg's four members in parliament were removed because of ties to Gadhafi's regime, leaving them without a political voice. The Tuareg contend they were exploited by Gadhafi, along with all other Libyans.

"Gadhafi's rule left behind a breeding ground for terrorism by depriving people of their rights and education .... After all the promises, we thought we will live in heaven, but kids here die from scorpion bites," said Suleiman Naaim, a Tuareg rights activist, told the AP in Owbari.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-26-ML-Libya-Turmoil-Central/id-24b860b55ef34a54b0ac51383e3a569b

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Automobile Getting Time ? How to Take Advantage of Employed ...

Auctions for employed vehicles can offer you with mounds of opportunities to purchase a excellent vehicle without having spending as well significantly cash. It is extremely crucial, however, to prepare oneself before acquiring into an auction so that you would be in a position to actually get a great deal and not finish up wasting your cash on a badly conditioned automobile. It is important for you to know how to take benefit of employed automobile auction to make the most out of your car purchasing. Here are some essential suggestions for wiser spending on employed automobile auction.

Prior to going to a employed vehicle auction, you have to be certain about the type of auction you are going into. Generally, car auctions are organized by the police, the government or auction lots. The cars sold right here might come from the surplus of government autos, repossession, or impounding. You have to comprehend that you are getting automobiles as is, and there are no warranties. Returning the vehicle right after buying it would be really difficult and therefore when you buy one, you actually have to certain of its top quality.

Check out the schedule of the utilized vehicle auction. A great auction must have a period for preliminary inspection and you must certainly go there to be certain that the auction is worth going to. While you might not be capable to test drive cars throughout the inspection you can certainly take a look at each and every nook and cranny of the automobiles and it is very best to take advantage of this chance. Mark on your mind three or so automobiles that you would contemplate so you would have just the correct quantity of alternatives for bidding throughout the actual utilized vehicle auction.

List down the Automobile ID numbers of the vehicles that you seem to be interested in. Once you get residence, you can search for the Vehicle ID on Carfax to verify out its background report. A minimal fee would be charged, but this is definitely worth the search simply because it will let you see how much the automobile has been use, if it has a clean record, or if it has been taken cared of by its previous owners.

When you go to a utilized car auction, bring a extended an auto guide such as the Kelley Blue Book so that you can go about looking for automobiles with a guide at hand. Such publications are useful in giving you the values of several car models in the course of trade-in, which could aid you in finding out regardless of whether you are giving a good bid or not. Have in mind all the fees of bidding ? you have to spend buyer?s premium (from five to ten percent of the bid), or a registration fee for the auction.

Have a functioning spending budget when buying a automobile at utilized car auction. By setting a ceiling for your price range, you will stop yourself from bidding a lot more than you can afford. Some people tend to overbid out of their pride to win a bid even if the vehicle does not really expense as much.

Vehicle auctions are great venues to discover automobiles if you are on a price range. But just before obtaining into one, it is important to know how to take advantage of used vehicle auction to be sure that you would not end up losing both your cash and the opportunity to drive a decent automobile.

Source: http://www.bnr.co/autos/automobile-getting-time-how-to-take-advantage-of-employed-automobile-auction/

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California Intends to Declare BPA a Reproductive Health Hazard

Sacramento Capitol California today is announcing its intent to declare bisphenol A a reproductive hazard. Under a state law known as Prop. 65, items that contain a certain level of BPA would need warning signs for consumers. Pictured: California's Sacramento State Capitol Image: Flickr/Franco Folini

California today is announcing its intent to declare bisphenol A a reproductive hazard.

Under a state law known as Prop. 65, warning signs would be required for consumer items that contain a certain high level of BPA. BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic, and also is found in liners of food and beverage cans and some thermal receipts.

Scientists say BPA is an estrogen-like substance that can alter reproductive hormones. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said it based its decision to list BPA as a Prop. 65 chemical on a 2008 report by the National Toxicology Program.

?"Bisphenol A meets the criteria for listing as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity (developmental endpoint) under Proposition 65, based on findings of NTP [the National Toxicology Program]," according to the state agency.

"OEHHA is relying on the NTP?s conclusion in the report that there is clear evidence of adverse developmental effects in laboratory animals at 'high' levels of exposure," according to the state's decision.

The decision was based on laboratory tests by scientists that have shown effects on the body weight and reproductive development of the pups of pregnant rats and mice exposed to high levels of BPA.

The state agency is proposing to set an acceptable level of exposure that is considered fairly high, 290 micrograms per day. As a result, Sarah Janssen of the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote on her blog that the decision ?is not likely to trigger any warning labels on canned food or beverages.? The same is probably true for receipts and most other consumer products.

"However," she added, "a listing alone is quite significant and makes official what parents have known for years ? BPA is harmful and should be avoided."

Plastics and chemical manufacturers say the compound, which has been used in polycarbonate plastic for 50 years, is safe at levels people are exposed to

The intent of the law, passed by voters in 1986, is to require manufacturers to warn consumers whenever a chemical is used that has been linked to cancer or reproductive effects. In some cases, companies decide to avoid using the compound rather than put up warning signs in stores or other public places.

BPA already has been banned from baby bottles, and removed from most hard-shell water bottles. It also has been replaced with another chemical in most thermal receipts, although that chemical, known as BPS, also has been linked to estrogen-like effects.

The state agency will accept public comments for one month before making a final decision listing BPA.

This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=0b7cea1657e01f480b127129949a4586

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Cajunlicious | The 5 C's of Super Bowl Food

The 5 C?s of Super Bowl Food

Super Bowl Sunday is quickly approaching and people all over the country?especially in New Orleans!?are preparing to go all out in celebration.? Aside from the obvious (football), Super Bowl celebrations are known for one very important thing: hearty and delicious food, and lots of it!

If you?re hosting a Super Bowl party, the prospect of making a snack food feast can be pretty overwhelming; it?s easy to get carried away with wanting to make every type of appetizer imaginable!? To keep your cooking and your grocery budget in control, though, stick to the basics.? If you follow the 5 C?s of Super Bowl cooking and entertaining, you?re guaranteed to have a happy house full of football fans:

Chips and Queso

Queso & Beer

When you?re watching the game, you don?t need to be fussing with complicated appetizers that are difficult to grab or eat.? Keep it simple this Super Bowl and serve up a bowl of tortilla or potato chips with a piping hot bowl of queso dip?chips and queso are traditional football-favorites, easy to eat and completely addicting.? If you want some other dip options, try out buffalo chicken dip or spinach artichoke dip, or try tomato recipes like salsa or marinara sauce.

Chicken Wings

Sweet N Tangy BBQ Wings

Nothing says football more than spicy, tangy chicken wings, so be sure to include them on your appetizer table.? To save time on game day, marinate your wings the night before.? All you?ll have to do before the game starts is pop them in the oven and serve them up on a platter?they?re that simple.? Try this recipe for Sweet ?n Tangy BBQ Wings if you?re in need of an easy recipe.

Chili

Chili & Beer

To make your Super Bowl food more of an actual meal than an appetizer spread, make sure there?s a main course option for your guests.? One of the easiest and yummiest Super Bowl meals is chili?it?s beefy, spicy and so simple to make.? Keep a pot of chili simmering on the stove or in your crockpot throughout the game; there are dozens of easy slow-cooker recipes out there that are great for the Super Bowl.

Cookies

Screen shot 2013-01-26 at 9.00.27 AM

To balance out your savory snacks, make sure to serve some sort of dessert to satisfy your guests? sweet teeth.? Whip up a quick batch of cookies (use football-shaped cookie cutters for the occasion!) or brownies and watch them disappear after all of your appetizers.

Cans

Screen shot 2013-01-26 at 9.06.46 AM

It?s impossible to eat this much food without something to wash it all down with!? When you?re preparing your Super Bowl feast, don?t forget to stock up on a variety of drinks?especially if you?re serving spicy nachos or hot wings.? Soda is crucial, and beer is always a popular game day drink with the over-21 crowd.? Keep everything chilled in the fridge throughout the game, or drag an icy cooler over to the couch for easy drink access.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Meredith K. on behalf of Hunt?s?.? For more easy appetizer recipes and football-ready chili recipes, visit www.hunts.com. ?

Source: http://cajunlicious.com/2013/01/26/the-5-cs-of-super-bowl-food/

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Crystal Cruises entices bookings through brand ... - Luxury Daily

Crystal Symphony

Crystal Cruises is eyeing affluent travelers by offering exclusive Mediterranean excursions on its spring itineraries that cannot be accessed through other travel brands.

The cruise line?s new collection of experiences called ?Boutique Adventures? will be available this spring for groups ranging from one to 15 travelers on Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity ships sailing to the Mediterranean. Guests will have exclusive access to estates, art studios, museums, castles and businesses.

?Our guests are looking for different ways to experience destinations and they relish insider access,? said Mimi Weisband, vice president of public relations at?Crystal Cruises, Los Angeles. ?We are continually challenging our tour operators to seek out the unusual, experiential, intimate, cultural adventures.

?Our guests do not want a mass-market excursion ? they will pay more for something if it is unique and authentic,? she said.

Cruising the Mediterranean
There are seven Boutique Adventures that guests can choose. The cost ranges from $223 to more than $1,000 per guest.

Travelers can book the excursions online up to six months before their cruise.

The Florence excursion comprises a viewing of the Uffizi Gallery?s private Contini Bonacossi Collection, which is not accessible to the public.

In Funchal, Portugal, guests will have lunch with a local celebrity at Reid?s Palace or visit a family-run Madeiran winery where they will dine with the owners.

During the Rome experience, guests will make their own jewelry with instruction from a former Valentino model who now designs jewelry.

The Corfu, Greece, excursion consists of a painting lesson from the president of the Corfu Painters Society.

In Italy?s Vetriano, guests will attend the opera at Teatro Concordia, the?smallest public theater in the world.


Teatro Concordia

Excursions in Sorrento and Taormina, Italy, comprise?cooking lessons and meals with local, Michelin-star chefs.

In Taormina in Italy?s Sicily region, travelers will be served a meal while watching a classical concert at a Sicilian castle.

Crystal Cruises will promote the Boutique Adventures via its Web site, quarterly magazine and the on-board Shore Excursion team, per Ms. Weisband.

In addition, travel agents will also inform their clients about the experiences.

?The cruise industry has been becoming more aware of the large portion of the affluent travelers who shy away from cruises due to many misconceptions and overall lack of desire to be on-board the mega-ships,? said D.M. Banks, director at?DMB Public Relations, New York.

?Crystal Cruises is always looking at ways to provide the luxuries of cruises, while providing a boutique experience for their guests,? he said. ?This is another example of them thinking outside of the box to truly connect with their guests.

?Affluent travelers are more than happy to pay a premium for superior services and, more importantly, unique and personalized experiences. These intimate and semi-private excursions are great ways for guest to feel more immersed into the culture and destinations while at port.?

Story time
The new Boutique Adventures are meant to align with Crystal Cruises? ?Begin a New Story? ad campaign that launched last year, per Ms. Weisband.

The cruise line rebranded itself during the second quarter of 2012 through an all-encompassing campaign that centers on the notion of the travel journal and encourages consumers to share memories from past cruises.

The marketing efforts focus on cruise destinations and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, rather than the amenities of the ship.

Begin a New Story uses multiple channels including print ads with digital watermark technology, brochures, online banner ads, email, video and a smartphone app.

For instance, print ads appear in Cond? Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Town & Country, Travel & Leisure, Coastal Living, Elle D?cor, Food & Wine and Forbes Life.

Consumers can scan the ads with their smartphones to reveal a 60-second video that shows three travelers? experiences in select Crystal Cruises? destinations through watercolor animation.

The brand asked eight watercolor artists to create images that are used in all aspects of the campaign (see story).

?The trend for affluent consumers is more intimate and incredibly special ? both of which are key to these excursions,? Ms. Weisband said.

?Entering someone?s home, sharing a meal with them and just a few other guests, and being able to hear in-depth stories of living and working in that area from your host ? these are experiences that can be deeply personal, bonding and memorable, really expanding one?s understanding of a culture far beyond any info gleaned from merely sight-seeing,? she said.

?Affluent consumers crave such experiences that go beyond the norm, as so many of them travel at a level well above the basics.?

Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Tricia Carr is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at tricia@napean.com.


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Related content: None Found

Tags: Begin a New Story, Boutique Adventures, Crystal Cruises, Crystal Serenity, Crystal Symphony, In-store, luxury, luxury marketing, luxury travel, Mediterranean travel, Mimi Weisband, travel and hospitality, travel marketing

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Source: http://www.luxurydaily.com/crystal-cruises-entices-bookings-through-brand-exclusive-experiences/

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Videotron to launch LG Nexus 4 on Jan. 30

Android Central

Videotron will become the first Canadian carrier to offer LG and Google's Nexus 4 when it launches the device next Wednesday, Jan. 30. The Quebec-based operator posted the confirmation, in French, on its Twitter feed this afternoon. The news comes almost exactly a year after Videotron launched the previous Nexus handset, Samsung's Galaxy Nexus.

So far there's no information available on pricing, but based on how things have panned out in other territories, buyers should expect Videotron's price to be in line with that of other high-end handsets, rather than the cheaper Google Play Store price.

Source: Twitter; via: MobileSyrup



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/2dVl-060lik/story01.htm

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Odd biochemistry yields lethal bacterial protein

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

While working out the structure of a cell-killing protein produced by some strains of the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, researchers stumbled on a bit of unusual biochemistry. They found that a single enzyme helps form distinctly different, three-dimensional ring structures in the protein, one of which had never been observed before.

The new findings, reported in Nature Chemical Biology, should help scientists find new ways to target the enterococcal cytolysin protein, a "virulence factor that is associated with acute infection in humans," said University of Illinois chemistry and Institute for Genomic Biology professor Wilfred van der Donk, who conducted the study with graduate student Weixin Tang.

Enterococcus faecalis (EN-ter-oh-cock-us faye-KAY-liss) is a normal microbial inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other mammals and generally does not harm its host. Some virulent strains, however, produce cytolysin (sigh-toe-LIE-sin), a protein that, once assembled, attacks other microbes and kills mammalian cells.

"The cytolysin protein made by Enterococcus faecalis consists of two compounds that have no activity by themselves but when combined kill human cells," van der Donk said. "We know from epidemiological studies that if you are infected with a strain of E. faecalis that has the genes to make cytolysin, you have a significantly higher chance of dying from your infection." E. faecalis contributes to root canal infections, urinary tract infections, endocarditis, meningitis, bacteremia and other infections.

Enterococcal cytolysin belongs to a class of antibiotic proteins, called lantibiotics, which have two or more sulfur-containing ring structures. Scientists had been unable to determine the three-dimensional structure of this cytolysin because the bacterium produces it at very low concentrations. Another problem that has stymied researchers is that the two protein components of cytolysin tend to clump together when put in a lab dish.

Van der Donk and Tang got around these problems by producing the two cytolysin components separately in another bacterium, Escherichia coli (esh-uh-REE-kee-uh KOH-lie), and analyzing them separately.

"The two components are both cyclic peptides, one with three rings and the other with two rings," van der Donk said. "Curiously, a single enzyme makes both compounds."

In a series of experiments, the researchers found that one ring on each of the proteins adopted a (D-L) stereochemistry that is common in lantibiotics (see image, above). But the other rings all had an unusual (L-L) configuration, something van der Donk had never seen before.

Scientists had assumed that the enzyme that shaped enterococcal cytolysin, a lantibiotic synthetase, acted like a three-dimensional mold that gave the ring structures of cytolysin the exact same stereochemistry, van der Donk said.

"But we found that the enzyme, enterococcal cytolysin synthetase, makes the rings with different stereochemistry," he said. "I don't know of any other examples where one enzyme can make very similar products but with different stereochemistries."

The researchers don't know how the enzyme accomplishes this feat, but found a clue in the sequence of amino acids that make up the protein rings. The chemical characteristics of the three amino acids in the middle of the ring structure and their proximity to another amino acid, a cysteine, determined whether the rings took on a D-L or L-L stereochemistry.

The researchers tested the idea that the amino acid sequence of the cytolysin protein was guiding the stereochemistry by looking at other lantibiotic proteins with similar sequences. So far, every protein they've tested that has the same sequence characteristics conforms to the pattern they discovered, van der Donk said.

Further tests showed that the cytolysin produced in E. coli had the same anti-microbial and cell-killing potency as the E. faecalis variety.

"Knowing the structure of enterococcal cytolysin and having a method to produce it in relatively large quantities will allow scientists to find out how it kills human cells and, in turn, how we might fight against it," van der Donk said.

###

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: http://www.uiuc.edu

Thanks to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126409/Odd_biochemistry_yields_lethal_bacterial_protein

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Starship Enterprise petition fizzles out

NASM

This model of the fictional Starship Enterprise was used in the weekly hourlong "Star Trek" TV series that aired September 1966 to June 1969. It is now on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

If the Death Star went up against the Starship Enterprise, who would win? When it comes to White House petition drives, it's the Death Star.

The petition calling on the federal government to build a fully operational "Star Wars" battle station attracted more than 34,000 signatures, forcing the White House to issue a hilarious response. But?a similar petition supporting a real-life version of Captain James T. Kirk's favorite ride?fell far short of the 25,000-signature requirement when the one-month deadline passed on Monday.

At last count, the Enterprise petition had 7,200 signatures, according to its creator, a Trek fan known publicly as BTE-Dan.?"I?m disappointed that it didn't reach 25,000, because I would have genuinely liked to have seen the Obama administration respond to it," Dan told NBC News in an email.?


Dan is the webmaster behind the "Build the Enterprise" website?? and he says he's serious about wanting NASA to do a feasibility study for an Enterprise-like spaceship.

"I really do think that building an interplanetary spaceship that follows the form of the USS Enterprise would be uniquely inspirational to Americans, and people around the world, too," he wrote. "Once its construction started in space, people would be fascinated by it, and it would constantly be in the news. And it might well inspire a new generation of Americans to study the STEM subjects [science, technology, engineering, math]."

Dan likes the basic idea behind the Obama administration's "We the People" program, which provides an opportunity for petitioners to get a response from the White House if enough people sign on.

"Unfortunately, having a short 30-day window to?gather signatures makes the petition system geared to getting high signature counts mainly for the most emotionally charged current events of the moment, like pro-gun control, or anti-gun control, or the desire of some to deport Piers Morgan," he said. "People are motivated by humor, too, like in the Piers Morgan case and for the Death Star petition, and there is nothing wrong with having some fun with the petitions. But I?d like to see the system changed so that more substantive petitions get considered."

Maybe the problem was that BTE-Dan's proposal was too substantive, especially for a concept that sounds like classic science fiction. The same issue might be working against another space-themed petition, calling on the federal government to build a nuclear thermal rocket. (NASA actually pursued a nuclear-rocket development program in the 1960s, and may do so again.) That campaign has attracted fewer than 2,300 of the required 25,000 signatures with 10 days to go before the deadline.

One thing's for sure: It'll be even harder for slightly wacky petitions like the Death Star plea, or an earlier effort to crack the alien conspiracy, to make their way into the spotlight in the future. That's because the White House raised the signature requirement from 25,000 to 100,000 last week. BTE-Dan's effort just might stand as the most ambitious effort to build a real-life Starship Enterprise until the year 2063 ? when eccentric genius?Zefram Cochrane?achieves the first warp drive flight and brings the Vulcans in for first contact.

More about starships and petition drives:


Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/23/16665671-its-dead-jim-white-house-petition-to-build-starship-enterprise-fizzles?lite

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Celgene's Abraxane increases survival in pancreatic cancer

(Reuters) - Celgene Corp said its Abraxane drug helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer live an average of two months longer than chemotherapy and significantly increased the percentage of those who survived with the disease for up to two years, according to a late-stage study.

Based on the results, Celgene said it expects to file applications in the United States and Europe in the first half of this year seeking approval for the use of Abraxane for pancreatic cancer.

Celgene previously said Abraxane met the main survival goals of the study of 861 patients who had not previously been treated for their cancer. It released the details on Tuesday ahead of a medical meeting where the study will be presented this week.

Patients who received Abraxane in combination with the chemotherapy agent gemcitabine had a median overall survival of 8.5 months, compared with 6.7 months for patients who received standard therapy of gemcitabine alone. The result was deemed to be statistically significant, researchers said.

"It's such a tough disease that moving the needle on survival at all is a major accomplishment," Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, the study's lead investigator, said in a telephone interview.

"It's been a pretty tough, discouraging area," he said, adding that the overwhelming majority of studies of similar patients have failed to improve survival at all.

Abraxane plus gemcitabine demonstrated a 59 percent increase in one-year survival - 35 percent vs 22 percent - and doubled the rate of survival at two years from the start of treatment, with 9 percent still alive compared with 4 percent for gemcitabine alone.

Von Hoff said this was the first study in such advanced pancreatic cancer to report two-year survivors.

"People will look at it and say, 'I have more of a chance than I thought,'" he said. He added that if people can live for 24 months with the disease, Abraxane might enable them to survive until better options evolve.

"It gives you more of a chance to get to hopefully a real breakthrough," said Von Hoff. "You just don't know what's coming."

He will present the data on Friday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.

Abraxane is already approved to treat breast and lung cancer and has also demonstrated efficacy against melanoma.

Advanced pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate among all cancer types, with a five-year survival rate of less than 2 percent. With few recent advances in the field, it remains one of the most critical unmet needs in oncology.

The survival extension seen in the Abraxane study is likely to be viewed by regulators as clinically meaningful and result in an expanded approval and a significant sales boost for Abraxane.

The drug had sales of $106 million in the third quarter of 2012. Celgene has targeted Abraxane sales of $1 billion to $1.25 billion in 2015, reaching as high as $2 billion in 2017, helped by use of the drug against pancreatic cancer and melanoma.

Abraxane also met secondary goals of the study. It demonstrated an improvement in a median progression-free survival, or the time it took for the disease to worsen, at 5.5 months versus 3.7 months, and had an overall response rate, or those who experienced tumor shrinkage, of 23 percent compared with 7 percent in the control group.

Time to treatment failure was also improved with Abraxane plus gemcitabine, Celgene said.

Patients in the study had the most advanced form of the disease, in which the cancer had already spread to other organs, such as the liver and lungs.

Von Hoff characterized the side effect profile of the combination therapy as "acceptable and manageable."

Deaths connected to adverse events were 4 percent in both arms of the study.

There was a significantly higher incidence of peripheral neuropathy, a numbness in the fingers or toes, seen in the Abraxane group, at 17 percent versus less than 1 percent in the control group, researchers said.

"One thing we worry about is febrile neutropenia," or a low white blood cell count with fever, Von Hoff said. The incidence was 3 percent for the Abraxane combination and 1 percent for gemcitabine. "That is very comforting," he said.

"I'm glad to see we've got something that has an impact on survival," Von Hoff said. "It's something to build on."

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/celgenes-abraxane-increases-survival-pancreatic-cancer-230101920--finance.html

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