Monday, April 29, 2013

A French ?Oui? for Gay Marriage? Not So Fast (Powerlineblog)

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Column: Playing politics with crisis is inevitable (The Arizona Republic)

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PFT: SEC accounts for 63 picks ? a quarter of the draft

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After analyzing?the draft needs of all 32 teams, PFT will review how well each team addressed those needs. Up next: The Oakland Raiders.?

What?they?needed: Defensive line, quarterback, offensive line, cornerback, tight end, wide receiver.

Who they got:
Round 1: D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston.
Round 2: Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State.
Round 3: Sio Moore, LB, Connecticut.
Round 4: Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas.
Round 6: Nick Kasa, TE, Colorado.
Round 6: Latavius Murray, RB, UCF.
Round 6: Mychal Rivera, TE, Tennessee.
Round 6: Stacy McGee, DT, Oklahoma.
Round 7: Brice Butler, WR, San Diego State.
Round 7: David Bass, DE, Missouri Western.

Where they hit: Hayden, who survived a freakish life-threatening internal injury suffered in November, could be the Raiders? top cornerback in short order. With the second-rounder acquired from Miami, the Raiders added Watson, a tackle prospect with upside. Moore is a good scheme fit, and Wilson could prove a very good value if he plays to his best collegiate form.

Where they missed: The Raiders didn?t draft a defensive lineman until Round Six. There?s playing time to be had for ends Bass and Jack Crawford (2012 fifth-rounder) and tackles McGee and Christo Bilukidi (2012 sixth-rounder) behind the Raiders? veteran starters, but Oakland could use a little more help at both line positions. In McKenzie?s defense, the Raiders have numerous needs, and on first analysis, he did quite well to add talent and depth in this draft.

Impact rookies: Given the state of the Raiders? roster, all 10 drafted rookies have a chance to make the team, and several could earn game-day snaps of consequence in Year One. Hayden has the best shot to start. He should compete with Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins right off the bat. Moore is also a player to watch; the Raiders have revamped their LB corps this offseason but don?t have any standouts. A talented fresh face has a chance to make an impact early at this position. Watson?s best opportunity to start in 2013 is at right tackle, but that?s no sure thing, given his lack of experience. Rivera is a potential sleeper, given the Raiders? lack of a clear-cut top target at tight end after the departure of Brandon Myers. Murray also is an interesting addition; can he challenge backup Rashad Jennings for snaps? And then we come to Wilson. Matt Flynn will get first run at the starting job, and Wilson will have to be a quick study to beat out him and Terrelle Pryor for playing time. However, it?s not out of the realm of possibility.

Long-term prospects: Watson is talented enough to play in Year One if he quickly develops, but his best football could be down the road.?If Wilson doesn?t win the starting job in 2013, the question becomes whether he shows enough to be one of the primary contenders or the heir apparent in 2014. The Raiders used a mere fourth-round pick on him, so he?s going to have to show at least a little promise in Year One. Kasa is a converted defensive end who could need some time to continue learning the TE position.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/28/with-63-draft-picks-sec-produces-a-quarter-of-the-nfls-talent/related/

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Longer days bring 'winter blues' -- for rats, not humans

Apr. 25, 2013 ? Most of us are familiar with the "winter blues," the depression-like symptoms known as "seasonal affective disorder," or SAD, that occurs when the shorter days of winter limit our exposure to natural light and make us more lethargic, irritable and anxious. But for rats it's just the opposite.

Biologists at UC San Diego have found that rats experience more anxiety and depression when the days grow longer. More importantly, they discovered that the rat's brain cells adopt a new chemical code when subjected to large changes in the day and night cycle, flipping a switch to allow an entirely different neurotransmitter to stimulate the same part of the brain.

Their surprising discovery, detailed in the April 26 issue of Science, demonstrates that the adult mammalian brain is much more malleable than was once thought by neurobiologists. Because rat brains are very similar to human brains, their finding also provides a greater insight into the behavioral changes in our brain linked to light reception. And it opens the door for new ways to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's, caused by the death of dopamine-generating cells in the brain.

The neuroscientists discovered that rats exposed for one week to 19 hours of darkness and five hours of light every day had more nerve cells making dopamine, which made them less stressed and anxious when measured using standardized behavioral tests. Meanwhile, rats exposed for a week with the reverse -- 19 hours of light and five hours of darkness -- had more neurons synthesizing the neurotransmitter somatostatin, making them more stressed and anxious.

"We're diurnal and rats are nocturnal," said Nicholas Spitzer, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. "So for a rat, it's the longer days that produce stress, while for us it's the longer nights that create stress."

Because rats explore and search for food at night, while humans evolved as creatures who hunt and forage during the daylight hours, such differences in brain chemistry and behavior make sense. Evolutionary changes presumably favored humans who were more active gatherers of food during the longer days of summer and saved their energy during the shorter days of winter.

"Light is what wakes us up and if we feel depressed we go for a walk outside," said Davide Dulcis, a research scientist in Spitzer's laboratory and the first author of the study. "When it's spring, I feel more motivation to do the things I like to do because the days are longer. But for the rat, it's just the opposite. Because rats are nocturnal, they're less stressed at night, which is good because that's when they can spend more time foraging or eating."

But how did our brains change when humans evolved millions of years ago from small nocturnal rodents to diurnal creatures to accommodate those behavioral changes?

"We think that somewhere in the brain there's been a change," said Spitzer. "Sometime in the evolution from rat to human there's been an evolutionary adjustment of circuitry to allow switching of neurotransmitters in the opposite direction in response to the same exposure to a balance of light and dark."

A study published earlier this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found some correlation to the light-dark cycle in rats and stress in humans, at least when it comes to people searching on the internet for information in the winter versus the summer about mental illness. Using Google's search data from 2006 to 2010, a team of researchers led by John Ayers of San Diego State University found that mental health searches on Google were, in general, 14 percent higher in the winter in the United States and 11 percent higher in the Australian winter.

"Now that we know that day length can switch transmitters and change behavior, there may be a connection," said Spitzer.

In their rat experiments, the UC San Diego neuroscientists found that the switch in transmitter synthesis in the rat's brain cells from dopamine to somatostatin or back again was not due to the growth of new neurons, but to the ability of the same neurons there to produce different neurotransmitters.

Rats exposed to 19 hours of darkness every 24 hours during the week showed higher numbers of dopamine neurons within their brains and were more likely, the researchers found, to explore the open end of an elevated maze, a behavioral test showing they were less anxious. These rats were also more willing to swim, another laboratory test that showed they were less stressed.

"Because rats are nocturnal animals, they like to explore during the night and dopamine is a key part of our and their reward system," said Spitzer. "It's part of what allows them to be confident and reduce anxiety."

The researchers said they don't know precisely how this neurotransmitter switch works. Nor do they know what proportion of light and darkness or stress triggers this switch in brain chemistry. "Is it 50-50? Or 80 percent light versus dark and 20 percent stress? We don't know," added Spitzer. "If we just stressed the animal and didn't change their photoperiod, would that lead to changes in transmitter identity? We don't know, but those are all doable experiments."

But as they learn more about this trigger mechanism, they said one promising avenue for human application might be to use this neurotransmitter switch to deliver dopamine effectively to parts of the brain that no longer receive dopamine in Parkinson's patients.

"We could switch to a parallel pathway to put dopamine where it's needed with fewer side effects than pharmacological agents," said Dulcis.

The other researchers involved in the study, which was funded by grants from the Ellison Medical Foundation, were Pouya Jamshidi and Stefan Leutgeb of UC San Diego.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. D. Dulcis, P. Jamshidi, S. Leutgeb, N. C. Spitzer. Neurotransmitter Switching in the Adult Brain Regulates Behavior. Science, 2013; 340 (6131): 449 DOI: 10.1126/science.1234152

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/top_news/top_science/~3/jWxZHMiyj5c/130425142430.htm

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Is Nicki Minaj Influencing The 'American Idol' Finalists' Style And Song Choice?

'We definitely listen to her because she's huge in the mainstream world right now,' says Angie Miller.
By Gil Kaufman


Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj and Randy Jackson on "American Idol"
Photo: Fox

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706273/american-idol-top-four-nicki-minaj.jhtml

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Chernobyl follow-up study finds high survival rate among young thyroid cancer patients

Apr. 24, 2013 ? More than a quarter of a century after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, many children and teenagers who developed thyroid cancer due to radiation are in complete or near remission, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Following the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the former Soviet Union, the number of children and teenagers diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer spiked in Ukraine, Belarus and western areas of Russia. Most of the patients developed the papillary subtype of differentiated thyroid cancer. Although this cancer tends to be more aggressive in children than adults, nearly all of the patients tracked in the study responded favorably to treatment.

"Even though some patients did not receive optimal treatment initially, the vast majority went into remission after receiving state-of-the-art radiodine treatment and follow-up care," said study lead author Christoph Reiners, MD, of the University of W?rzburg, Germany. "Many patients recovered from advanced cancers. Of this group, 97 percent had cancer spread to the lymph nodes, and 43 percent had cancer metastasize in the lungs."

The observational study followed the treatment and outcomes of 229 Belarusian children and adolescents who underwent surgery in Belarus and radioiodine therapy in Germany. The study participants were among the highest-risk young patients exposed to radiation from the accident.

Despite the risk, 64 percent of the patients are in complete remission and 30 percent nearly complete remission of their cancer. One patient died of lung fibrosis, a side effect of cancer treatment. Only two had cancer recurrences.

The findings suggest victims of more recent nuclear accidents like the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan face lower risk of developing advanced-stage thyroid cancer, Reiners said.

"Although people fear a similar thyroid cancer 'epidemic' will affect Japan, the quick actions taken to evacuate or shelter residents and ban potentially contaminated foods following the Fukushima accident greatly reduced the risks of children developing radiation-induced thyroid cancer," Reiners said. "In addition, Chernobyl has taught us how important it is to have at-risk children and adolescents screened for thyroid cancer to catch any cases in their early stages. Because public health authorities are aware of the risks, screening programs for children from the Fukushima area already have been initiated."

Other researchers working on the study include: J. Biko, H. Haenscheid and H. Hebestreit of the University of W?rzburg; S. Kirinjuk and O. Baranowski of the Hospital for Oncology in Minsk, Belarus; R. Marlowe of Spencer-Fountayne Corporation; E. Demidchik of the National Academy of Science in Minsk; V. Drozd of the International Fund Help for Patients with Radiation Induced Thyroid Cancer in Belarus; and Y. Demidchik of the Belaruisan Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Endocrine Society, via Newswise.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Christoph Reiners et al. Twenty-Five Years after Chernobyl: Outcome of Radiodine Treatment in Children and Adolescents with Very-High-Risk Radiation-Induced Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma. JCEM, 2013 (in press)

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/top_news/~3/AS4u1iNXIZY/130424132630.htm

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?Stoopid Tall? bike is over 14 feet tall

By Karolos Grohmann DORTMUND, Germany, April 24 (Reuters) - Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could not understand how his well-drilled side let Robert Lewandowski score four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win on Wednesday but vowed that his team could still reach the Champions League final. The nine-times European champions have a huge task on their hands in Tuesday's home second leg after Mourinho acknowledged they had been outplayed in the semi-final first leg in Germany. "I saw a team that was better than the other one, mentally and physically. The better team won today. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/stoopid-tall-bike-over-14-feet-tall-212924545.html

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

First vaccine to help control autism symptoms

Apr. 24, 2013 ? A first-ever vaccine created by University of Guelph researchers for gut bacteria common in autistic children may also help control some autism symptoms.

The groundbreaking study by Brittany Pequegnat and Guelph chemistry professor Mario Monteiro appears this month in the journal Vaccine.

They developed a carbohydrate-based vaccine against the gut bug Clostridium bolteae.

C. bolteae is known to play a role in gastrointestinal disorders, and it often shows up in higher numbers in the GI tracts of autistic children than in those of healthy kids.

More than 90 per cent of children with autism spectrum disorders suffer from chronic, severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Of those, about 75 per cent suffer from diarrhea, according to current literature.

"Little is known about the factors that predispose autistic children to C. bolteae," said Monteiro. Although most infections are handled by some antibiotics, he said, a vaccine would improve current treatment.

"This is the first vaccine designed to control constipation and diarrhea caused by C. bolteae and perhaps control autism-related symptoms associated with this microbe," he said.

Autism cases have increased almost sixfold over the past 20 years, and scientists don't know why. Although many experts point to environmental factors, others have focused on the human gut.

Some researchers believe toxins and/or metabolites produced by gut bacteria, including C. bolteae, may be associated with symptoms and severity of autism, especially regressive autism.

Pequegnat, a master's student, and Monteiro used bacteria grown by Mike Toh, a Guelph PhD student in the lab of microbiology professor Emma Allen-Vercoe.

The new anti- C. bolteae vaccine targets the specific complex polysaccharides, or carbohydrates, on the surface of the bug.

The vaccine effectively raised C. bolteae-specific antibodies in rabbits. Doctors could also use the vaccine-induced antibodies to quickly detect the bug in a clinical setting, said Monteiro.

The vaccine might take more than 10 years to work through preclinical and human trials, and it may take even longer before a drug is ready for market, Monteiro said.

"But this is a significant first step in the design of a multivalent vaccine against several autism-related gut bacteria," he said.

Monteiro has studied sugar-based vaccines for two other gastric pathogens: Campylobacter jejuni, which causes travellers' diarrhea; and Clostridium difficile, which causes antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

The research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Guelph.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Brittany Pequegnat, Martin Sagermann, Moez Valliani, Michael Toh, Herbert Chow, Emma Allen-Vercoe, Mario A. Monteiro. A vaccine and diagnostic target for Clostridium bolteae, an autism-associated bacterium. Vaccine, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.04.018

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/mind_brain/child_development/~3/0W9_AFl8Wv4/130424112309.htm

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Motherlode Blog: Study Links Autism With Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy

A cautiously worded study based on data collected in Sweden has found that ?in utero exposure to both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (S.S.R.I.?s) and nonselective monoamine reuptake inhibitors (tricyclic antidepressants) was associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders, particularly without intellectual disability.?

The Swedish medical birth register (which contains data on current drug use reported by mothers early in their pregnancies), along with a system of publicly funded screenings for autism spectrum disorders and extensive national and regional registers of various health issues, make a detailed, population-based case-control study possible ? one that controls for other variables like family income, parent educational level, maternal and paternal age and even maternal region of birth (all factors the authors note have been previously associated with autism).

This is the second study in two years to associate antidepressant use during pregnancy with an increased incidence of autism in exposed children. An earlier, smaller study in California also found a modest increase in risk. The Sweden-based study could not (and did not) exclude the possibility that it was the severe depression, rather than the use of antidepressants, that created the association, but the smaller California study (which considered only S.S.R.I.?s) found ?no increase in risk? for mothers with a history of mental health treatment in the absence of prenatal exposure to S.S.R.I.?s.

The authors of the current study took a very cautious approach to their findings:

The results of the present study as well as the U.S. study present a major dilemma in relation to clinical advice to pregnant women with depression. If antidepressants increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder, it would be reasonable to warn women about this possibility. However, if the association actually reflects the risk of autism spectrum disorder related to the nongenetic effects of severe depression during pregnancy, treatment may reduce the risk. Informed decisions would also need to consider weighing the wider risks of untreated depression with the other adverse outcomes related to antidepressant use. With the current evidence, if the potential risk of autism were a consideration in the decision-making process, it may be reasonable to think about, wherever appropriate, nondrug approaches such as psychological treatments. However, their timely availability to pregnant women will need to be enhanced.

Others working in the field are more inclined to draw a line between the prenatal drug exposure and the increased risk of autism. ?It really shouldn?t come as that much of a surprise given that numerous animal studies have shown that exposure during development leads to changes in the brain and changes in behavior ? often that mimic autism,? said Dr. Adam C. Urato, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Tufts University School of Medicine and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass. (Dr. Urato obviously didn?t speak in links, but you can find the animal studies he refers to here and here.)

?And why should it surprise us that medications that can change brain chemistry and function might alter the development of the brain and behavior?? Dr. Urato argues that the risks of antidepressant use during pregnancy outweigh what he sees as the limited benefits.

One conclusion that is simple to draw is that it?s extraordinarily difficult for a pregnant woman with clinical depression to find some definitive answer about what?s best for her in her situation. I?ve spoken to other researchers in the past who have described for me how difficult it is to put together a study that separates the risks of depression itself in pregnancy from the risks, if any, of the drugs used to treat it. As the researchers in Sweden note, it?s unlikely that conclusive evidence on this issue will ever be available.

If you?ve been pregnant with clinical depression, where did you go to find the information and advice you needed?


Source: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/study-links-autism-with-antidepressant-use-during-pregnancy/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Study: The MacBook Pro with Boot Camp is the world?s most reliable Windows PC

DORTMUND, April 24 (Reuters) - Teams for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at BVB stadium. Teams: Borussia Dortmund: 1-Roman Weidenfeller; 26-Lukasz Piszczek, 4-Neven Subotic, 15-Mats Hummels, 29-Marcel Schmelzer; 8-Ilkay Guendogan, 6-Sven Bender, 16-Jakub Blaszczykowski, 10-Mario Goetze, 11-Marco Reus; 9-Robert Lewandowski Real Madrid: 41-Diego Lopez; 4-Sergio Ramos, 3-Pepe, 2-Raphael Varane, 5-Fabio Coentrao; 6-Sami Khedira, 14-Xabi Alonso; 19-Luka Modric, 10-Mesut Ozil, 7-Cristiano Ronaldo; 20-Gonzalo Higuain. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-macbook-pro-boot-camp-world-most-reliable-183057888.html

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Annie Leonard addresses students on Earth Day - The Daily Collegian

Juliette Sandleitner/Collegian

An Earth Day packed full of activities on campus came to a close Monday night, with a keynote address from filmmaker and environmental activist Annie Leonard.

Leonard, whose film ?The Story of Stuff? has reached over 20 million views and has led to an organization of the same name, explained to the crowd the ecological consequences of American consumption.

?As I see it, it isn?t that complicated,? Leonard said. ?(First), we are trashing the planet ? second, we are trashing each other ? and third, we aren?t even having fun doing it.?

Added Leonard: ?If it?s not working and we?re not having fun, why don?t we just change it up??

In her 20-minute film, Leonard went step-by-step through the creation of ?stuff,? explaining problems with the current linear model of extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. This model, she explained, has created a nation of consumerism with little concern for the environmental effects. Americans are creating more waste than ever before ??two times as much as they were 50 years ago ? and big corporation involvement in government has made it difficult to pass any major legislation.

While Leonard warned of the environmental effects the system may have, she also stressed the health risks that come along with the system.

??We take chemicals that we know can hurt us, and put them in our homes,? she said. According to Leonard, this has led to what is called a body burden ? or the amount of toxic chemicals stored in your body. The levels of toxicity in the products sold, she said, have made this build up unavoidable, regardless of individual action.

While it is impossible to officially link these toxins to diseases, because of the sheer amount of toxins that people are exposed to each day, there appears to be a direct link between popular health issues such as cancer and the levels of toxins in our environment, Leonard said.

While she said that popular lifestyle changes, such as recycling, are helpful, ?they are not commensurate with the size of the problem,? explaining that they are a ?good place to start, but a terrible place to end.?

She expressed concern that America, as a nation, is forgetting how to make ?big, bold change.? Leonard explained that more people are in favor of environmental action ? over 80 percent ? than any other major social change in the past.

What people need now, Leonard challenged, is action. She called to the students in the audience to be the ones to take that action, reminding people that students have been at the forefront of almost all major change.

Leonard hopes that her organization, The Story of Stuff Project, can bring about that action. The film, which explains the issue in simple terms, took off when it was released, gaining 50,000 views on the first day alone ? more than Leonard ever expected.

She has since followed up the original film with seven shorter films about problem areas, such as electronic waste and the Citizens? United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Leonard announced that she is currently working on the organization?s final film, ?Story of Solutions,? and will be moving forward to help its followers take action.

According to Leonard, the organization?s website allows her and her team to keep in touch with 400,000 people, and encourages them to post their ideas for action onto the site.

From that, ?The Story of Stuff? has identified the three issues that their followers are most passionate about: money in politics, plastic packaging and waste and the creation of a sharing economy. They plan to launch campaigns dealing with all three of these issues.

Leonard also expressed appreciation of the work UMass is doing to aid the environment.

?UMass Amherst is such a great place to be,? Leonard said. ?I have never seen a school with so many and such high caliber people working towards sustainability. Everywhere I look here I see signs of hope and inspiration convincing me that change is possible.?

?

Erin Wolosz can be reached at?ewolosz@student.umass.edu.

Source: http://dailycollegian.com/2013/04/23/annie-leonard-addresses-students-on-earth-day/

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Stem cell transplant restores memory, learning in mice

Apr. 21, 2013 ? For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember.

A study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology.

Once inside the mouse brain, the implanted stem cells formed two common, vital types of neurons, which communicate with the chemicals GABA or acetylcholine. "These two neuron types are involved in many kinds of human behavior, emotions, learning, memory, addiction and many other psychiatric issues," says Zhang.

The human embryonic stem cells were cultured in the lab, using chemicals that are known to promote development into nerve cells -- a field that Zhang has helped pioneer for 15 years. The mice were a special strain that do not reject transplants from other species.

After the transplant, the mice scored significantly better on common tests of learning and memory in mice. For example, they were more adept in the water maze test, which challenged them to remember the location of a hidden platform in a pool.

The study began with deliberate damage to a part of the brain that is involved in learning and memory.

Three measures were critical to success, says Zhang: location, timing and purity. "Developing brain cells get their signals from the tissue that they reside in, and the location in the brain we chose directed these cells to form both GABA and cholinergic neurons."

The initial destruction was in an area called the medial septum, which connects to the hippocampus by GABA and cholinergic neurons. "This circuitry is fundamental to our ability to learn and remember," says Zhang.

The transplanted cells, however, were placed in the hippocampus -- a vital memory center -- at the other end of those memory circuits. After the transferred cells were implanted, in response to chemical directions from the brain, they started to specialize and connect to the appropriate cells in the hippocampus.

The process is akin to removing a section of telephone cable, Zhang says. If you can find the correct route, you could wire the replacement from either end.

For the study, published in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology, Zhang and first author Yan Liu, a postdoctoral associate at the Waisman Center on campus, chemically directed the human embryonic stem cells to begin differentiation into neural cells, and then injected those intermediate cells. Ushering the cells through partial specialization prevented the formation of unwanted cell types in the mice.

Ensuring that nearly all of the transplanted cells became neural cells was critical, Zhang says. "That means you are able to predict what the progeny will be, and for any future use in therapy, you reduce the chance of injecting stem cells that could form tumors. In many other transplant experiments, injecting early progenitor cells resulted in masses of cells -- tumors. This didn't happen in our case because the transplanted cells are pure and committed to a particular fate so that they do not generate anything else. We need to be sure we do not inject the seeds of cancer."

Brain repair through cell replacement is a Holy Grail of stem cell transplant, and the two cell types are both critical to brain function, Zhang says. "Cholinergic neurons are involved in Alzheimer's and Down syndrome, but GABA neurons are involved in many additional disorders, including schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression and addiction."

Though tantalizing, stem-cell therapy is unlikely to be the immediate benefit. Zhang notes that "for many psychiatric disorders, you don't know which part of the brain has gone wrong." The new study, he says, is more likely to see immediate application in creating models for drug screening and discovery.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison. The original article was written by David Tenenbaum.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Yan Liu, Jason P Weick, Huisheng Liu, Robert Krencik, Xiaoqing Zhang, Lixiang Ma, Guo-min Zhou, Melvin Ayala, Su-Chun Zhang. Medial ganglionic eminence?like cells derived from human embryonic stem cells correct learning and memory deficits. Nature Biotechnology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2565

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/top_news/top_health/~3/Dn4FJ19YaLw/130421151613.htm

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Fox Shuts Down Cory Doctorow's Homeland Book In Overzealous DMCA takedown

Screen Shot 2013-04-21 at 1.00.05 PMTorrentFreak is reporting that links to Cory Doctorow's book, Homeland, are being shut down after a DMCA request by Fox. Why is Cory's Creative Commons licensed book that is available for free being attacked? It kind of sounds like it could be a copy of Homeland, the TV series, so they shut it down.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/mjHR7wJqiEY/

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Piki, Minibar, and More

Whether your unquenchable thirst is for knowledge or something a little more... alcoholic, this week's set of apps will have you covered. And once you're saturated with either, there's even something to help you keep it all together—which you'll be especially thankful for where the latter's concerned. More »
    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nK1sAkmg2mQ/piki-minibar-and-more

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Coelacanth Genome Sequenced

Why not just prevent posts from ACs, new accounts, or accounts with negative karma from going up for, I dunno, half an hour on a story?

Or maybe reorder comments so that they're by score and not first posted by default? Maybe don't jump right into it. There's this little website called reddit that does it that way, maybe slashdot should wait and see if that catches on before making the jump. Maybe people really like completely off-topic posts as the first thing they see?

I get the feeling that slashdot is trolling me these days. They're still updating stuff, but not bothering to fix that.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/N_F5ahe0QWA/story01.htm

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Judge suspends genocide trial of Guatemala's Rios Montt

By Mike McDonald

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A judge suspended the genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt on Thursday, saying all actions taken since November 2011 are void in the case of the retired general charged with war crimes.

Judge Patricia Flores told a court in Guatemala City that the order had come from the country's top courts to suspend the trial because she had been wrongly removed from the case, prompting complaints that the ruling made a mockery of justice.

Rios Montt, 86, who ruled between 1982-1983, was ordered to trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in January to answer for a counterinsurgency plan that killed over 1,700 members of the Ixil indigenous group during Guatemala's long civil war.

For decades, Rios Montt avoided prosecution, protected as a congressman by a law that grants immunity to public officials.

He left Congress in 2012 and Flores formally charged him with genocide and war crimes in January that year.

Rios Montt has denied the charges and his lawyers argued that procedural errors meant the trial should be annulled. Flores became a focal point of the lawyers' efforts.

In November 2011, a lawyer representing another man then under investigation with Rios Montt won a decision to recuse Flores from the case on the grounds she would not be impartial. But she was not informed of the ruling until 2012.

She then stood down from proceedings, whereupon prosecuting attorneys appealed that decision. Finally, last month a court declared that Flores should not have been recused.

That prompted Rios Montt's lawyers to argue that Flores should have been handling the case from the start.

Flores said Guatemala's constitutional court and the supreme court of justice had therefore ordered her to be reinstated and for the case to be rolled back to when she was recused. Prosecutors said they would appeal that ruling.

"This makes a mockery of the law," said state prosecutor Orlando Lopez. "Returning the entire process back to a previous phase that has already concluded is illegal."

Earlier on Thursday, Rios Montt's lawyers stormed out of the court after arguing the process needed to be reset, and left him sitting alone in the courtroom without legal counsel. He tried to reach his lawyers by telephone, but got no answer.

Prosecutors allege that Rios Montt, an army general before becoming head of a junta that ruled Guatemala, turned a blind eye during the 1960-1996 civil war as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents.

His defense team has argued Rios Montt had no control over battlefield operations and that genocide did not take place.

(Editing by Simon Gardner, Philip Barbara, Christopher Wilson and Lisa Shumaker; Writing by Dave Graham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-suspends-genocide-trial-guatemalas-rios-montt-021129443.html

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Gold, Silver And Bird Farmers - The Daily Reckoning

It?s been a tough week for hard assets. Prices plummeted for gold, silver, platinum, copper, oil and more. It was a broad, marketwide retreat ? helped along by the ?usual suspect? market movers, who likely wanted to knock things down for their own nefarious reasons.

In the past week, at some moments, the sell side was in a panic. People apparently bailed from large positions ? although I believe that as things quickly evolved (too quickly, actually), many jumpers were forced to exit due to margin calls.

Today, as I write, precious metal and energy markets seem stable, albeit at a lower price plateau. Still, lower prices for ?long-term? wealth-protection ideas like gold, silver, etc., have knocked down the share price for many a producing company.

All in all, many hard asset portfolios have taken tough hits, especially those of investors who bought in over the past year, and certainly in recent months. What happened? Where do we go? Has the hard asset train derailed? Let?s think it through.

I have to admit that a few weeks ago, when I was writing to my paid up readers, I did not foresee the sharp asset dive that we?ve just experienced. I?m more than aware that gold and silver prices go down as well as up. But I didn?t see a super-sharp selloff coming.

For example, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold shares dropped from the $33 range to the vicinity of $29. Barrick shares dropped from over $25 to just under $19. These levels are five-year lows ? as low as the respective companies have been since late 2008 and early 2009, during the worst days of the last crash.

At current price levels, the dividend yield for both Freeport and Barrick shares is near 4.2% for each company ? not bad. If Freeport and Barrick were good ideas before, they?re ?better? ideas now. These entry points are attractive, although I counsel caution and suggest allowing more dust to settle. Yes, there is STILL a downside to big mining plays.

Still, at these levels, I?m inclined to suggest that long-term investors nibble away. Be sure to keep cash in reserve for other opportunities.

Markets for everything move up and down. You get bad days, right? That, and beware fighting the Federal Reserve. But I still don?t understand why the dollar is somehow so ?strong? in a relative sense and gold is somehow ?weak.? The ferocity and scope of last week?s hard asset slide surprised me.

Why the Slide?

Let?s look at a couple of the mainstream explanations for the gold sell-off. One has to do with Japan?s intentional weakening of the yen for domestic ?stimulation.? In response, the dollar strengthens. Strong dollar leads to lower gold prices, right? But why would a stronger dollar trigger a major gold sell-off? On the best day, dollar-yen is an exchange-rate issue, not a fundamental restructuring of U.S. monetary issues.

How about the rumor that Cyprus will sell its national gold to pay the European Union for a bank bailout. That?s on top of Cyprus nicking all of the big bank accounts on the island for up to 60%. Still, how much gold does Cyprus have? And where would it go?

If Cyprus ?sells? its national gold, the transaction will likely just be a ledger move from the books of one central bank to another. That is, unless China buys the gold and demands delivery. Beware of that happening, because it?ll lead to a physical scramble to cover delivery ? in which case gold prices should rise, not fall.

And why would any large gold holder ? public or private ? ?sell? it in such a way as to crash the price? That is, why dump a large gold position in a hurry? Especially if you know that it?ll spook the market downward, and at the end of the day you?ll get a lower price. That?s dumb, right?

It?s dumb unless you?ve already positioned yourself to gain from the price fall. You?ve got your short contracts in place. Basically, what if somebody is manipulating the gold market? Who would do such a thing?

Well, gee. Isn?t it interesting that last week Goldman Sachs announced that it was recommending that people exit gold and await a price decline. Then, on Thursday, as if on cue, The New York Times published a front-page hit piece titled, ?Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster.?

When I saw the Times article, I wasn?t sure if it should be on the front page as news or the business pages, if not the obituary section. Here?s one of the key lines from the Times, ringing with empirical certitude: ?Gold, pride of Croesus and store of wealth since time immemorial, has turned out to be a very bad investment of late.?

Got that? Gold is for losers. And then the next day, Times columnist Paul Krugman weighed in with a tirade against ?gold bugs,? of which I?ll mention more below.

Looking for the Next Investment Fad?

First, though, looking back to 2001 or so, we?ve had a sweet, rising, bullish market for gold, silver, etc. Still, don?t confuse personal insight with a rising, bullish market.

The good news is that if you bought into the gold story back when the yellow metal was selling for $300 per ounce, you?re still up about 370% even after the pullback to the $1,400 range. If you bought silver at, say, $5 per ounce, then you?re up by a similar level.

But the last decade is history. What about the future? Is the gold pullback a harbinger of fundamental change in world monetary realities, if not market perceptions? In other words, have central banks and their currencies ? dollars, euros, yen, etc. ? somehow gotten well in a hurry? Has investor sentiment changed dramatically and moved away from gold and silver?

Last week, in The New York Times, the predictably dyspeptic Paul Krugman ripped into gold and ?gold bugs.? Krugman used his characteristic, ad hominem tone, and that nasty polemic style that he reserves to label and indict groups that lack a protected, politically-favored status. (If Krugman were a woman, he?d be a ?mean girl.?)

Basically, in his execrable column, Krugman gloated that after a 12-year run as a top-performing asset class, gold has hit the skids. It?s over for gold, states the economic sage of Princeton University. Of course, the former adviser to Enron has been known to be wrong in the past.

Deep down, though, let?s humor Krugman and ask the hard question. For the past decade or more, was gold just another investment fad ? a transient, ?dot-gold? sort of thing, like buying dog food over the Internet ? and now we need to find a new fad?

Looking for Clues

I?m old enough to recall the 1970s, when gold prices ran up from $32 per ounce to around $800. Then, as the 1980s unfolded, gold prices crashed back down and stayed in the dumps for two decades. I?ve seen this movie before.

What happened back then? The late 1970s and 1980s were the era of presidents Carter-Reagan in the U.S. and prime ministers Callaghan-Thatcher in Britain.

First, under the ?liberals? (as the British label their politics), gold and silver prices ran up in the shadow of rampant global inflation and stagnant economies due to government mismanagement. Then, under the ?conservatives? (again using British terms), new leadership stopped their respective nations from turning into Cuba without the sunshine.

In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker raised interest rates to double-digit levels, and choked inflation out of the system. In Britain, Chancellor of the Exchequer Geoffrey Howe worked similar policy. In both nations, tough monetary policy pushed many an uneconomic enterprise into bankruptcy. At the same time, other parts of the economy began to boom ? not the least being Britain?s North Sea oil sector and American?s high-tech and defense sectors.

Returning to the present, why would the dollar get well last week while gold was forced into precipitous decline? Asked another way, is anyone serving up hard monetary or fiscal medicine to the U.S. economy?

Do the Fed?s zero interest rate policies spread money to the job creators of the nation? Do legislative diktats like Dodd-Frank and Obamacare kick-start a profound advance in the fortunes of the U.S. economy and its dollar.

Say again, what?s the signal for a long-term downtrend for gold? I do not see such flags waving, nor hear those drums beating and bugles blowing. It doesn?t make sense.

Just a Correction?

Try this. Perhaps last week?s gold sell-off was more like a classic correction, where Mr. Market shakes out the weak hands. Indeed, the recent market retreat resembled a scene where valuable assets moved from weak hands to strong hands.

Consider this chart, courtesy of my friend and Agora Financial colleague Dan Denning, down in Australia:

DRH041813_GoldvsAAPL

The dark line represents shares in iconic Apple Computer, which are down nearly 35% in the past eight months. Compare this with gold, which dropped about 16.5% last week. Tell me again what?s ?crashing??

Investment guru Marc Faber recently made this same point during an interview with Bloomberg TV. He stated:

?I love the markets. I love the fact that gold is finally breaking down. That will offer an excellent buying opportunity? At the same time, the S&P is at about not even up 1% from the peak in October 2007. Over the same period of time, even after today?s correction, gold is up 100%. The S&P is up 2% over the March 2000 high. Gold is up 442%. So I am happy we have a sell-off that will lead to a major low. It could be at $1,400, it could be today at $1,300, but I think that the bull market in gold is not completed. Nobody knows for sure, but I think the fundamentals for gold are still intact.?

Those ?fundamentals? include the fact that gold is a hard asset and ? if you take possession ? no one else?s liability.

On this last point, consider that ? as we learned from the recent Cyprus debacle ? political and monetary authorities feel legally entitled and morally justified to confiscate your savings when they want the funds to cover government bills. Meanwhile, never forget that central banks everywhere continue to print money and monetize government debt. The story of the Weimar Republic sort of speaks for itself.

20130419DRH2

Weimar Republic, half-billion mark ?brick? of notes.
Museum of Economy, Stockholm. BWK photo.

To wrap it up, yes, the idea of a serious asset decline is always in the back of my head ? certainly, since I saw gold tumble and stay down in the 1980s. But was last week the beginning of the end for gold? The resurrection of the dollar as a long-term store of wealth? I don?t believe so.

Not All Bad Luck Is Bad

One final point?

?It is sad for the bird farmers, but good news for us,? said a Chinese man, quoted in a recent issue of the U.K. Daily Mail. ?Not all bad luck is bad for all,? he added.

The Chinese man was discussing his relative good fortune. That is, he fell into a bargain buying unwanted baby ducklings from ?bird farmers.?

The back story, here, is that the price of poultry has collapsed in China due to fears about a new strain of bird flu, called H7N9. Fearful of flu infection, Chinese diners are eating fewer duck dinners, leaving farmers who raise the birds with a large surplus.

Thus, Chinese duck farmers are selling birds on the cheap (so to speak), and others are benefitting. The ?lucky? farmer quoted above will feed the surplus baby ducks to his snakes.

With characteristic Chinese practicality, another farmer stated, ?It?s not a nice end for the baby ducks but they were raised as food. They weren?t going to live on a pond for the rest of their natural lives.?

Bottom line? If someone wants to sell you gold and silver at a bargain, feel free to take it off their hands.

That?s all for now. Thanks for reading.

Byron W. King

Original article posted on Daily Resource Hunter

Byron King

Byron King is the managing editor of Outstanding Investments and Energy & Scarcity Investor. He is a Harvard-trained geologist who has traveled to every U.S. state and territory and six of the seven continents. He has conducted site visits to mineral deposits in 26 countries and deep-water oil fields in five oceans. This provides him with a unique perspective on the myriad of investment opportunities in energy and mineral exploration. He has been interviewed by dozens of major print and broadcast media outlets including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, MSN Money, MarketWatch, Fox Business News, and PBS Newshour.

Source: http://dailyreckoning.com/gold-silver-and-bird-farmers/

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Friday, April 19, 2013

Vial Behavior - Business Management Daily

drug testingWe all have our days when we show up to work with a little red eye, in a bad mood and maybe even a bit ?word challenged.? But when do those signs signal that an employee should be sent for a drug test? And how do you prevent claims of discrimination for singling that employee out? A court ruling last week gave great insights into making sure your drug testing policy and practices are properly aligned with the law ?

Case in Point: Marcus Berry, who is black, worked as a bricklayer for an Indiana company. One day he bumped into a table in the lunchroom, causing coffee to spill onto the lap of one of his white co-workers. The two men argued loudly and then threw cups of coffee at each other.

Berry?s supervisor soon got involved and heard Berry exhibiting, ?abnormal speech, screaming, yelling, facial expressions? and ?spitting, slurping? speech. The supervisor ordered him to take a drug test.

Berry argued that he didn?t need a drug test and he was merely being ?boisterous? because he was partially deaf in one ear. He took the test anyway. It came back positive for cocaine. Berry was fired for violating the company?s drug policy.

Berry filed a discrimination claim against his employer, alleging he was singled out for a drug test because of his race. He argued that the other employee involved should also have been tested because of his own loudness.

The supervisor testified he was just following procedures because, as he stated in his deposition, Berry?s behavior was abnormal, not just loud.? ?Definitely, something was wrong with Berry,? said the supervisor.

Verdict: The court found that Berry's supervisor acted in line with company policy by ordering the test based on his perception of Berry's erratic behavior. Company policy stated, ?Any employee suspected of being impaired by drugs may be required to submit to a drug screening test to determine their fitness to work.?

The court said that, under the company?s policy, ?It is (the supervisor?s) perception that matters ? and he testified that he perceived (Berry) to be loud and out of control,? not the white co-worker. (Berry v. ArcelorMittal USA LLC, N.D. Ind., 4/10/13)

3 Lessons Learned ? Without Having To Go To Court

1. Have a drug testing policy. The court recognized that even a short written policy will go a long way to shield your company from discrimination lawsuits. Don?t forget to have one on alcohol, too. It can even be in the same policy.

2. Have a separate drug checklist. Managers need a tool to use as a guideline to help them document the situation. The court observed the manager checked the box next to ?conflict with employee(s)? as the reason for ordering the drug test and the boxes next to ?speech rambling or tangential,? ?speech fast or pressured,? and ?yelling? as behaviors, he witnessed.

3. Pick and tell. There are many types of substance testing your company can utilize. Be specific about all that apply: pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion and post-accident.

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We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.

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Source: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/35305/vial-behavior-when-does-employees-unusual-conduct-allow-for-immediate-drug-test

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Making fruit easier to eat increases sales and consumption in school cafeterias

Making fruit easier to eat increases sales and consumption in school cafeterias [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 17-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sandra Cuellar
foodandbrandlab@cornell.edu
607-254-4960
Cornell Food & Brand Lab

Pre-sliced fruit in school cafeterias: Children's selection and intake

No matter how you slice it, cutting fruit into bite-sized pieces prompts children to eat more apples during lunchtime, according to a recent study by Cornell University researchers.

Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith concluded that the size of the snack counts the most.

Kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served whole, which could explain why children are taking fruits on the lunch line but not eating them.

The authors concluded that children dislike eating large pieces of fruit for two main reasons: for younger students, who have smaller mouths and might have braces or missing teeth, whole fruit is too difficult to eat. For older girls, eating potentially messy whole fruits in front of others is an unattractive, and potentially embarrassing, proposition.

The study found that fruit sales increased by an average of 61 percent when the fruit was sliced. For example, apple sales in schools with fruit slicers increased by 71 percent compared to control schools without such slicers. More importantly, researchers found that the percentage of students who ate more than half of their apple increased by 73 percent, an effect that lasted long after the study was over.

Slicing fruit into handy, bite-sized pieces encourages more children to select it and to eat more of it. With an initial investment of just $200, fruit slicers constitute a means for school cafeterias not only to encourage fruit consumption among students but also to prevent food waste!

###


[ 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.


Making fruit easier to eat increases sales and consumption in school cafeterias [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 17-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sandra Cuellar
foodandbrandlab@cornell.edu
607-254-4960
Cornell Food & Brand Lab

Pre-sliced fruit in school cafeterias: Children's selection and intake

No matter how you slice it, cutting fruit into bite-sized pieces prompts children to eat more apples during lunchtime, according to a recent study by Cornell University researchers.

Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith concluded that the size of the snack counts the most.

Kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served whole, which could explain why children are taking fruits on the lunch line but not eating them.

The authors concluded that children dislike eating large pieces of fruit for two main reasons: for younger students, who have smaller mouths and might have braces or missing teeth, whole fruit is too difficult to eat. For older girls, eating potentially messy whole fruits in front of others is an unattractive, and potentially embarrassing, proposition.

The study found that fruit sales increased by an average of 61 percent when the fruit was sliced. For example, apple sales in schools with fruit slicers increased by 71 percent compared to control schools without such slicers. More importantly, researchers found that the percentage of students who ate more than half of their apple increased by 73 percent, an effect that lasted long after the study was over.

Slicing fruit into handy, bite-sized pieces encourages more children to select it and to eat more of it. With an initial investment of just $200, fruit slicers constitute a means for school cafeterias not only to encourage fruit consumption among students but also to prevent food waste!

###


[ 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/2013-04/cfb-mfe041713.php

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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Head of School | Jewish Jobs - Jewish Jobster

Job Description

The Ottawa Jewish Community School is seeking a new Head of School to continue our tradition of academic excellence and broad Jewish education. OJCS (formerly Hillel Academy and Yitzhak Rabin High School) includes both a primary and secondary school, and boasts small class sizes, tri-lingual education, and a range of extra-curricular and community activities. OJCS develops academic and personal qualities in its students in an inclusive, caring environment based on Jewish religion, culture and values. Our school motto captures our values: Respect, Responsibility and Reaching for Excellence.

OJCS is an academic leader among Ottawa schools, and this position offers an excellent salary and benefits package, as well as opportunity for continuing education.

The Head of School will lead in planning and delivering the school educational curriculum and oversee school budget and finances along with the school CFO. Additionally, the Head of School is responsible for extra-curricular programming, school culture, community involvement, and a safe and positive school environment. The Head of School will oversee the continued introduction of modern and innovative educational methods to foster 21st century skills and provide world-class education.

The new Head of School will be an exceptional leader with experience fostering faculty dedication and development. Interpersonal and communication skills, and a reputation for character, will be essential for the successful applicant. The new Head of OJCS will be an educational visionary with a track record of introducing new academic methods and raising standards.

Canada?s capital has a thriving Jewish community and this school is central to it. The new Head of School will be helping to create our future. Ottawa is a beautiful city, naturally and architecturally, next door to a national park. With excellent cultural attractions and limitless outdoor recreational activities, it is a great place to raise a family.

Qualifications sought:

  • Principal?s certificate or equivalent
  • Advanced degree in Education (preferably in curriculum)
  • Five years experience in administration as well as five years teaching
  • Experience working in Jewish institutions, with a familiarity with Jewish studies and culture
  • Good standing with College of Teachers (for Ontario candidates)
  • Familiarity with modern educational methods
  • Work with OISE or similar research programs
  • Experience with budgeting (will work with school CFO on budget and school finances)
  • Experience working on educational committees
  • Experience working with parent councils
  • Experience working with unions
  • Familiarity with special education requirements as mandated by law
  • Familiarity with? Ontario Ministry Curriculum Guidelines and Regulations an asset
  • Experience with government audits

The successful candidate will be chosen by Fall 2013, and will assume their position by Summer 2014.

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How to Apply

Applications can be sent to the head of our search committee, Gerald Pulvermacher, at?gerald@gpulvermacherassociates.com. Please include a cover letter, CV, and copies of academic transcripts. Shortlisted candidates will be asked for three letters of reference, along with reference contact information.

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Job Categories: Education/Teaching, Featured, Indeed, and Non-Profit. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: canada, jewish, ottawa, principal, and school. Salary: 100,000 and above. Job expires in 180 days.

12?total views, 5?today

Source: http://www.jewishjobster.com/jobs/head-of-school/

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

'Most lovable girl' ID'd as a Boston victim

Krystle Campbell (Facebook)

A second victim in the Boston Marathon bombings has been identified: Krystle M. Campbell, a 29-year-old originally from Medford, Mass.

Her father, William A. Campbell Jr., told Yahoo News he's in shock that his daughter was killed.

"My daughter was the most lovable girl. She helped everybody, and I'm just so shocked right now. We're just devastated," he said. "She was a wonderful, wonderful girl. Always willing to lend a hand."

Campbell was at the finish line with a friend, Karen Rand, to cheer on her boyfriend, who was running the race. William Campbell said he doesn't know if Rand's boyfriend finished the race before the bombs went off.

Karen Rand survived, but was in surgery for her serious injuries through Monday night. Cheryl Rand Engelhardt, Karen Rand's sister-in-law, wrote on Facebook that Krystle's parents at first believed that Karen was their daughter, and that she had survived the attack, because Karen was carrying Krystle's ID. Krystle's family was finally ushered into Karen's hospital room after one of her leg surgeries by hospital staff, only to discover their daughter's friend instead of Krystle. Krystle was then declared missing, and the family found out on Tuesday she was among the dead.

More than 170 people were wounded?17 of them critically?and three were killed in the attacks, which occurred at 2:50 p.m. Monday near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Campbell attended the University of Massachusetts-Boston and Medford High School.

The other identified victim, 8-year-old Martin Richard, was running from the first explosion with his family when the second blast killed him. His mother and 6-year-old sister were injured in the bombing as well.

?My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston," Bill Richard, Martin's father, said in a statement Tuesday. "I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover."

Late Wednesday, Boston University said one of its graduate students was among the dead, but did not release the student's name or any other identifying information, pending family notification.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said Campbell was cheering on her boyfriend, instead of Rand's boyfriend.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/second-boston-marathon-victim-identified-krystle-campbell-174401374.html

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