0336 GMT [Dow Jones] China shares fall more at the midday break, led by declines in the resource sector on the back of weaker global commodity prices, while financial stocks continue to drop on profit-taking, analysts say. The Shanghai Composite Index is down 2.7% at 2331.61, with analysts putting immediate support at 2300. "The market may have run out of steam as the latest data showed that equity funds' positions have risen to 89%, a relatively high level, indicating that fund managers may be short of ammunition," says Industrial Securities analyst Jiang Shiqin. Among actives, China Shenhua Energy (601088.SH) tumbles 4.8% to CNY22.86 and Jiangxi Copper (600362.SH) slides 7.0% to CNY24.05. Financial plays Citic Securities (600030.SH) drops 3.6% to CNY14.16 and China Minsheng Banking Corp. (600016.SH) falls 5.0% to CNY9.87. The Shenzhen Composite Index is 2.0% lower at 950.32. (amy.li@dowjones.com)
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Feb. 21, 2013 ? Simon Fraser University virologist Masahiro Niikura and his doctoral student Nicole Bance are among an international group of scientists that has discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus.
Working on the premise that too much of a good thing can be a killer, the scientists have advanced previous researchers' methods of manipulating an enzyme that is key to how influenza replicates and spreads.
Their new compounds will lead to a new generation of anti-influenza drugs that the virus' strains can't adapt to, and resist, as easily as they do Tamiful. It's an anti-influenza drug that is becoming less effective against the constantly mutating flu virus.
These increasingly less adequate anti-influenza drugs are currently doctors' best weapons against influenza. They helped the world beat H1N1, swine flu, into submission four years ago.
The journal Science Express has just published online the scientists' study, revealing how to use their newly discovered compounds to interrupt the enzyme neuraminidase's facilitation of influenza's spread.
Tamiful and another anti-influenza drug, Relenza, focus on interrupting neuraminidase's ability to help influenza detach from an infected cell's surface by digesting sialic acid, a sugar on the surface of the cell. The flu virus uses the same sugar to stick to the cell while invading it. Once attached, influenza can invade the cell and replicate.
This is where the newly discovered compounds come to the still-healthy cells' rescue. They clog up neuraminidase, stopping the enzyme from dissolving the sialic acid, which prevents the virus from escaping the infected cell and spreading.
The new compounds are also more effective because they're water-soluble. "They reach the patient's throat where the flu virus is replicating after being taken orally," says Niikura, a Faculty of Health Sciences associate professor.
"Influenza develops resistance to Replenza less frequently, but it's not the drug of choice like Tamiful because it's not water-soluble and has to be taken as a nasal spray.
"Our new compounds are structurally more similar to sialic acid than Tamiful. We expect this closer match will make it much more difficult for influenza to adapt to new drugs."
Ultimately, the new compounds will buy scientists more time to develop new vaccines for emerging strains of influenza that are resistant to existing vaccines.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Simon Fraser University.
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Journal Reference:
Jin-Hyo Kim, Ricardo Resende, Tom Wennekes, Hong-Ming Chen, Nicole Bance, Sabrina Buchini, Andrew G. Watts, Pat Pilling, Victor A. Streltsov, Martin Petric, Richard Liggins, Susan Barrett, Jennifer L. McKimm-Breschkin, Masahiro Niikura, and Stephen G. Withers. Mechanism-Based Covalent Neuraminidase Inhibitors with Broad Spectrum Influenza Antiviral Activity. Science, 21 February 2013 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232552
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.
Feb. 20, 2013 ? NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has relayed new images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock on another planet. No rover has ever drilled into a rock beyond Earth and collected a sample from its interior.
Transfer of the powdered-rock sample into an open scoop was visible for the first time in images received Wednesday at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
"Seeing the powder from the drill in the scoop allows us to verify for the first time the drill collected a sample as it bore into the rock," said JPL's Scott McCloskey, drill systems engineer for Curiosity. "Many of us have been working toward this day for years. Getting final confirmation of successful drilling is incredibly gratifying. For the sampling team, this is the equivalent of the landing team going crazy after the successful touchdown."
The drill on Curiosity's robotic arm took in the powder as it bored a 2.5-inch (6.4-centimeter) hole into a target on flat Martian bedrock on Feb. 8. The rover team plans to have Curiosity sieve the sample and deliver portions of it to analytical instruments inside the rover.
The scoop now holding the precious sample is part of Curiosity's Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device. During the next steps of processing, the powder will be enclosed inside CHIMRA and shaken once or twice over a sieve that screens out particles larger than 0.006 inch (150 microns) across.
Small portions of the sieved sample later will be delivered through inlet ports on top of the rover deck into the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.
In response to information gained during testing at JPL, the processing and delivery plan has been adjusted to reduce use of mechanical vibration. The 150-micron screen in one of the two test versions of CHIMRA became partially detached after extensive use, although it remained usable. The team has added precautions for use of Curiosity's sampling system while continuing to study the cause and ramifications of the separation.
The sample comes from a fine-grained, veiny sedimentary rock called "John Klein," named in memory of a Mars Science Laboratory deputy project manager who died in 2011. The rock was selected for the first sample drilling because it may hold evidence of wet environmental conditions long ago. The rover's laboratory analysis of the powder may provide information about those conditions.
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using the Curiosity rover with its 10 science instruments to investigate whether an area within Mars' Gale Crater ever has offered an environment favorable for microbial life. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
An image of the drill's rock powder held in the scoop is online at: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16729 .
For more about the mission, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl , http://www.nasa.gov/msl .
You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity .
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Guerlain Chicherit, a 34-year-old French rally car driver, has successfully landed what's believed to be the first unassisted car backflip on snow.
Chicherit used a Mini Countryman JCW to perform the stunt?which took four years to plan?on a snow-covered ramp in Tignes, France, on Sunday. According to Mini, Chicherit was traveling at 37 mph when he hit the 25-foot high jump.
"Warning," a note preceding the car maker's version of the footage reads. "This video was filmed exclusively in a closed ares with a professional driver in ideal safety conditions. Under no circumstances should you attempt to drive this way on the open road."
According to Mini, Chicherit actually landed the jump twice?once during a private test-run earlier in the day, and then again in front of a crowd at the ski area in France's Northern Alps.
It was an epic pairing: the Leader of the Free World chipping and putting alongside the top-ranked golfer in the U.S.A.
But President Obama said his 18 holes with Tiger Woods over the weekend felt like no big deal.
"I don't think either of us was nervous," Obama told San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO's Dan Ashley in his first public comments on the round.
Obama and Woods played together Sunday on a secluded course at the Florida resort in Palm City, where the president spent three days vacationing and taking private golf lessons from Woods' former coach Butch Harmon.
"How does your golf game hold up next to Tiger's?" Ashley asked Obama.
"That's not a hard question," Obama joked. "He plays a different game than I do. He's on another planet."
At a press conference Tuesday in Arizona, Woods praised his partner, saying the two of them won in match-play against U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Houston Astros owner Jim Crane.
"He hit the ball well, and he's got an amazing touch. He can certainly chip and putt," Woods said of Obama. "If he ? spends more time playing the game of golf, I'm sure he can get to where he's got pretty good stick."
Posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 at 9:40 AM
By BellaNaija.com
The autopsy report for Nigerian music star Susan Oluwabimpe ?Goldie? Harvey has revealed that she died as a result of an ?Intracerebral Hemorrhage? caused by ?Hypertensive Heart Disease?.
Goldie?s autposy was carried out at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja and the report was signed by Dr. O.O Oyewole.
Creative and boundary-pushing artiste Goldie died on the 14th of February 2013, just hours after she arrived from Los Angeles where she had gone to experience the Grammy Awards.
According to the New York Times health section, when an intracerebral hemorrhage occurs, ?Death is possible and may occur quickly despite prompt medical treatment.?
About Intracerebral Hemorrhage from From Stroke Centre.org
What is Intracerebral Hemorrhage? Intracerebral hemorrhage occurs when a diseased blood vessel within the brain bursts, allowing blood to leak inside the brain. (The name means within the cerebrum or brain). The sudden increase in pressure within the brain can cause damage to the brain cells surrounding the blood. If the amount of blood increases rapidly, the sudden buildup in pressure can lead to unconsciousness or death. Intracerebral hemorrhage usually occurs in selected parts of the brain, including the basal ganglia, cerebellum, brain stem, or cortex.
What causes it? The most common cause of intracerebral hemorrhage is high blood pressure (hypertension). Since high blood pressure by itself often causes no symptoms, many people with intracranial hemorrhage are not aware that they have high blood pressure, or that it needs to be treated. Less common causes of intracerebral hemorrhage include trauma, infections, tumors, blood clotting deficiencies, and abnormalities in blood vessels (such as arteriovenous malformations).
Who gets it? Intracerebral hemorrhage occurs at all ages.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey freed a group of Kurdish former mayors accused of links to militants on Tuesday in a further small step towards halting a Kurdish insurgency, but the rebels' jailed leader was reported as saying he could not stem the violence single-handedly.
After more than three years in prison, 10 Kurdish defendants including six former mayors hugged family members as they emerged from jail at dawn in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast, and were greeted by the city's mayor.
Their release coincided with fledgling peace talks between Turkey and the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, aimed at ending a 28-year-old conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people.
The court's decision came hours after Ocalan's brother Mehmet visited the PKK leader on the prison island of Imrali, south of Istanbul, where he has been held in virtual isolation since his capture by Turkish special forces in 1999.
Mehmet quoted his brother as playing down his ability to end the conflict, according to the Kurdish Dicle news agency.
"I'm a prisoner here... If I say 'I'll do this, I'll do that', that wouldn't be right and ethical," Ocalan was quoted as saying by his brother in the Dicle report, calling for access to PKK commanders in northern Iraq.
"They are the ones who are running the movement. I can't send news to them via the birds," he said.
Dicle follows Kurdish issues closely but Ocalan's reported comments could not be independently verified.
The peace process envisages a PKK ceasefire, the withdrawal of fighters to northern Iraq, and eventual disarmament in return for reforms boosting the rights of a Kurdish minority of some 15 million - about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 76 million.
Progress has been delayed by the failure of the government and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to agree on which Kurdish politicians should be allowed to visit Ocalan.
REFORM MOVES
Turkey has used anti-terrorism legislation widely to prosecute politicians, activists and journalists, mostly Kurds. But it has taken steps in recent months towards ending the conflict with the PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.
Last month, parliament passed a law allowing defendants to use Kurdish in court.
The government has also drafted a penal code reform, expected to be sent to parliament soon, narrowing the definition of terrorist propaganda, potentially leading to the release of hundreds of KCK defendants.
Those released on Tuesday, after a marathon 18-hour court session, are among 175 people accused of involvement in the PKK-linked political umbrella group KCK at the trial in Diyarbakir. Thousands have been detained over links to the KCK.
The court did not give a reason for their release, but their lawyers had rejected the charges against them. It can often take weeks for Turkish courts to announce reasons behind decisions.
Among those released were the former mayors of the towns of Sirnak, Hakkari and Batman in Turkey's southeast.
"We will move hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder to advance this developing process," Firat Anli, former mayor of Diyarbakir district Yenisehir, told reporters after his release.
The moves toward peace risk triggering a backlash from nationalists. In a sign of the challenges ahead, a visit by Kurdish politicians to the Black Sea region to boost support for the process has been marred by violent protests this week.
During his decade in power, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has pushed through reforms increasing Kurdish cultural rights but Kurdish politicians have demanded decentralization, Kurdish language education and a new constitution boosting equality.
(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Pravin Char)
London is on the Juno radar ? with a flurry of hopefuls with local ties in the 2013 Junos field announced Tuesday.
London-tied performers with Juno noms range from London, England?s Dan Snaith ? a Juno- and Polaris Music Prize winner with Caribou ? whose Daphni project is up in the electronic album category to vocalist Aviva Chernick, nominated with Toronto?s Jaffa Road in the world music category.
The London hopes this year aren?t as strong as the 2011 edition of the Junos. That year four Junos went to London-tied performers ? Caribou, Lara St. John, Shad and Meaghan Smith. But even an early, and likely partial, list for 2013 shows there are contenders in several fields.
Another former Londoner, Justin Broadbent, is up for his work on Metric?s Synthetica in the record package of the year category.
?Nominated for a Juno for best album artwork (Metric)! Wooh! #Juno2013 #JUNOAwards,? Broadbent said Tuesday on his Facebook page.
Former Western student Tony Dekker?s Great Lake Swimmers is nominated for roots & traditional album with New Wild Everywhere. The band includes violinist Miranda Mulholland, who studied opera at Western?s Don Wright music faculty.
Toronto?s Tafelmusik Baroque orchestra and chorus are up in classical categories with former Londoner Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord, and Julia Wedman, violin, among the London- and Western-tied members in the ensemble. Former Western music student Ivars Taurins directs the Tafelmusikc choir.
Toronto jazz vocalist Elizabeth Shepherd and pop album nominee Victoria Duffield, of B.C., are among the contenders with family and other ties to London. Duffield is nominated in the same category as Canadian superstars Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen.
james.reaney@sunmedia.ca
Twitter.com/JamesatLFPress
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OIART ROCKS THE JUNOS
What: Following are details including artist and recording of London-based Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART) ties through its former students with the 2013 Juno nominations:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Billy Talent - Viking Death March, assistants Kevin O?Leary (2009) and Alex Krotz (2011)
INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift - Red, mix assistant Matty Green (2003)
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Stars - The North, Engineer, Producer Graham Lessard (2002)
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Billy Talent - Dead Silence, assistant Kevin O?Leary(2009) , additional production Alex Krotz (2011)
Rush - Clockwork Angels, engineer Jason DuFour (2007)
The Tragically Hip - Now For Plan A, editor Alastair Sims, assistants Kevin O?Leary(2009) , Alex Krotz (2011)
ROOTS AND TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GROUP
Great Lake Swimmers - New Wild Everywhere, Engineer, Mixer, Producer, Baritone Guitar, BG Vocals - Andy Magoffin (1995)
ELECTRONIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Crystal Castles - III, engineer, Alex Bonenfant (2004)
METAL/HARD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light, Producer, Engineer Seigfried Meier (1999)
Feb. 8, 2013 ? Every year, sensors designed to detect nuclear explosions see harmless bursts in Earth's upper atmosphere from the breakup of an asteroid a few yards across. Tiny asteroids are much more numerous than big ones, so destructive hits to Earth are very rare. However, because of their potential for devastation, NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) observations program supports surveys which are undertaking sustained searches to find the largest objects and predict their impact threat to Earth.
According to NASA's NEO program, there are more than 1,300 "Potentially Hazardous Asteroids" (PHAs) -- objects at least 150 yards (about 140 meters) across with a very small chance of impacting us someday because their orbital paths take them close to Earth's orbit.
"Asteroids move at an average of 12 to 15 kilometers per second (about 27,000 to 33,000 miles per hour) relative to Earth, so fast that they carry enormous energy by virtue of their velocity," says Edward Beshore of the University of Arizona, Tucson, deputy principal investigator for NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. "Anything over a few hundred yards across that appears to be on a collision course with Earth is very worrisome."
The main difficulty is obtaining sufficient observations to be able to predict their orbits with enough certainty to find out if they could hit us at some point.
"When an asteroid makes a close pass to Earth, the gravitational pull from our planet changes the asteroid's orbit," says Beshore. "However, how this change will affect the evolution of the asteroid's orbit is difficult for us to predict because there are also other small forces continuously acting on the asteroid to change its orbit. The most significant of these smaller forces is the Yarkovsky effect -- a minute push on an asteroid that happens when it is warmed up by the sun and then later re-radiates this heat in a different direction as infrared radiation."
The Yarkovsky effect happens simply because it takes time for things to heat up and cool down. Objects tend to be coldest just before dawn and warmest at mid-afternoon, after hours of illumination by the high sun. "A brick building can feel warm even in the early evening hours, because it is radiating away the heat accumulated from an entire day of sunshine," says Beshore. In the same way, an asteroid radiates most of its heat from its late "afternoon side," giving it the small Yarkovsky push which is variable depending mostly on the asteroid's size, shape and composition.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, and Regolith Explorer) will make the most precise measurements of the Yarkovsky effect to date by visiting a PHA called "1999 RQ36" or just "RQ36."
"For such a large object, it has one of the highest known probabilities of impacting Earth, a 1 in 2,400 chance late in the 22nd century, according to calculations by Steve Chesley, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory," said Beshore. RQ36 is about 457 meters (500 yards) across.
The best measurements of the Yarkovsky effect are made when an asteroid's position is precisely known. "If an asteroid comes very close, we can get radar observations on it," says Beshore. "With radar measurements, we get very good data on its range and therefore can constrain one aspect of its orbit very well. If we can get that measurement a couple of times (or more) over a few years, it helps us understand its orbital behavior and we can start to make an estimate of the Yarkovsky effect. We estimate the position of the asteroid and what its orbit must be like by using Newtonian and Relativistic physics. If we see a deviation from the estimated position, then it must be due to the sum of all these other small forces, and the greatest of these we believe to be the Yarkovsky effect."
Measurements like these enabled the team to estimate the very small force of the Yarkovsky effect on RQ36 -- about equal to the weight felt when holding three grapes, according to Beshore. "Although very small, this force is constant and adds up over time to significantly change the asteroid's orbit," adds Beshore.
Scheduled for launch in 2016, OSIRIS-REx will arrive at RQ36 in 2018 and orbit the asteroid until 2021. By communicating continuously with a spacecraft in orbit around RQ36, the team will get a much better idea of the asteroid's orbit.
"We expect OSIRIS-REx will enable us to make an estimate of the Yarkovsky force on RQ36 at least twice as precise as what's available now," says Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The team will use what it learns about the Yarkovsky effect on RQ36 to help estimate the effects on other asteroids. "What we want to be able to do is create a model that says okay if you give me an asteroid of this size, made of this composition, with this kind of topography, I can estimate for you what the Yarkovsky effect will be," says Beshore. "So now I can probably come up with a better notion of what to expect from other asteroids that I don't have the good fortune to have a spacecraft around."
Given that OSIRIS-REx lets us better model the Yarkovsky effect, and we discover an asteroid that might hit us someday, what if anything can be done about it?
"There are several mitigation strategies," says Beshore. "We could explode a small nuclear device close above the surface on one side of the asteroid. This could be very effective -- it would vaporize the surface layer, which would then fly off at very high speed, causing a rocket thrust that would shove everything over by a few centimeters per second. This might be plenty to deflect the asteroid. Other strategies include kinetic impactors, where you strike an asteroid very hard with a heavy projectile moving at high speed. In 2005, NASA's Deep Impact mission hit comet Tempel 1 with a 370-kilogram (over 815-pound) copper slug at about five kilometers per second (over 11,000 miles per hour), not nearly enough to significantly alter the orbit of the five-kilometer-sized body, but a proof of the technology for this kind of mission. Another idea is to use a gravity tractor -- station a spacecraft precisely enough near the asteroid which would gradually deflect it with only its gravitational pull."
The key to all these strategies is to discover the asteroid well in advance of its impact date and attempt to deflect it early, according to Beshore. "If you're trying to deflect an arrow, you wouldn't need to apply much force to the arrow to make it widely miss the target if you could deflect it as it left the bow," says Beshore. "On the other hand, if you had to deflect it right before it hit the target, you'd need to push on it a whole lot more to get it out of the way."
One of the first things that would be done if an asteroid appeared to be on a collision course with Earth is to send a probe to the asteroid that might look very much like OSIRIS-REx, according to Beshore. "You want to characterize it first to choose the correct deflection strategy," says Beshore. "For example, we know the density of RQ36 is about 1 gram per cubic centimeter, over two times less than solid rock. This means it is probably a rubble pile -- a collection of boulders, rocks, and dust loosely held together by gravity. Some deflection strategies might be ineffective with this kind of asteroid."
OSIRIS-REx will determine if RQ36 is actually a rubble pile by orbiting it and revealing the subtle effects on the orbit from the gravity of any large and dense lumps within the asteroid. A probe like OSIRIS-REx could map the internal structure of an asteroid this way, providing valuable information on where to target the deflection mechanism.
OSIRIS-REx will also determine the composition of RQ36 using remote measurements from both visible light and infrared spectrometers, and by collecting a sample of material from the asteroid's surface and returning it to Earth for study. Since the Yarkovsky effect may vary depending on the type of material and its distribution, a probe with OSIRIS-REx's capability to map the surface composition will enable a more precise estimate of the Yarkovsky effect on the asteroid's orbit.
The mission will also provide critical experience navigating around asteroids. "We don't have a lot of experience doing precise maneuvers near one of these objects with very small gravity," says Beshore. "It's not easy to stay in orbit around it -- this asteroid's gravitational pull is so weak, the push from sunlight on our spacecraft's solar panels will be roughly similar to the amount of force from the gravity of RQ36 itself. We have to factor in a lot of these forces to navigate and operate around an asteroid. With OSIRIS-REx, we'll generate a set of techniques and technologies for any mission that would go to an asteroid to characterize it in advance of a mitigation mission."
The OSIRIS-REx mission is led by Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, supported by a science team of Co-Investigators from multiple institutions, with project management at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and development partnership with Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, Colo. International contributions are provided by the Canadian Space Agency. The OSIRIS-REx mission was selected under the NASA New Frontiers program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington.
More information about OSIRIS-REx can be found at: http://osiris-rex.lpl.arizona.edu/
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MADRID -- Spanish police have seized 4.1 metric tons (4.5 tons) of cocaine with an estimated street value of (EURO)252 million ($340 million) ? the biggest confiscation of the drug arriving to the nation since 2001.
The Civil Guard says in a statement the drugs were at a warehouse in the eastern city of Elche. Three Spaniards running a front company from the location were arrested.
The company imported leather from Colombia, and the statement issued Wednesday said cocaine was in six shipping containers of leather that arrived Feb. 1.
The drugs were destined for distribution in Spain and Europe. Police raided 16 places linked to those arrested, seizing weapons that were not described and six luxury vehicles.
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Controversial Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who styles himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff," has enlisted action film star Steven Seagal to lead a training exercise for members of his armed volunteer posse on how to respond to a school shooting.
The training event will involve six instructors leading 40 armed volunteers through a simulated shooting on Saturday, with teenagers acting as students, the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Seagal will lead the training run, focusing on various aspects of shooting scene management, including "entry room tactics and hand-to-hand tactics," according to Arpaio's office.
Arpaio, known for his tough stance on illegal immigration, dispatched members of his volunteer posse to patrol schools last month in the wake of the gun rampage that killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school in December.
Those murders touched off a renewed debate over gun violence in America and prompted National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre to advocate placing armed security guards at schools.
President Barack Obama has proposed the most sweeping package of gun-control measures in generations, calling for a ban on assault weapons and other steps likely to face a tough ride in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
The Arizona event will take place at a school campus in the Phoenix suburb of Fountain Hills. Semi-automatic weapons and handguns firing marking rounds will be used.
It will not be Seagal's first foray into law enforcement. In 2011, he was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in Texas' Hudspeth County, which runs along the Rio Grande, after expressing an interest in patrolling the border. He also appeared in a reality show detailing his work as a reserve deputy in New Orleans.
Seagal, a resident of the Phoenix Valley and member of Arpaio's posse, starred in big-budget films in the 1980s and early 1990s, earning a reputation as an action star in movies like "Above the Law" and "Under Siege."
In the last decade, he has appeared mainly in direct-to-DVD, low-budget films while working in law enforcement. His last role was as a corrupt Mexican drug lord in the Robert Rodriguez grindhouse flick "Machete."
Arpaio's 3,450-strong posse of unpaid men and women has for years helped the sheriff target drunk drivers and illegal immigrants, and chase down fathers behind on child support.
Last year, Arpaio sent posse members to Hawaii to investigate the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate at the request of local Tea Party activists - a key Arpaio constituency.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Leslie Adler)
TIP! All things being equal, a home with a good view will sell for more than one without. Remember though, that extra cost may not be an investment, but just a premium charge for aesthetic pleasures.
In order to make proper home improvements, be sure to educate yourself. In the realm of home improvement, it is important to gain as much knowledge as possible before attempting any task, and this article is here to help you do just that.
TIP! Cool and attractive ceramic tile is an attractive upgrade that is perfect for rooms like bathrooms, entryways and kitchens. There are unique designs available on the tile, or innovative new solid colors can provide a modern, updated look.
Re-caulking windows could be a great idea for home improvement because it saves you money since you can avoid future damages. It also reduces utility bills. By doing this, you will be sure to prevent moisture and drafts from getting into your house. This will end up saving you a lot on your heating bill, as well as help prevent mold growth. Use a hammer and chisel to remove old caulk before applying new caulk.
TIP! Bathrooms should always have a ventilation fan or a window. Mold takes over when a bathroom retains its moisture.
Pick out a color that you want in your room. For formal areas in a home, consider using complementary color schemes, which work well in these types of spaces. Colors that complement each other are actually shown opposite each other on color wheels. This type of color palette looks good and works well.
TIP! Planning on doing some home improvement? Start by looking at what you own now for new ways to showcase your personality. If you want to change the look of some of your artwork, you can find new and exciting frames that go well with whatever new look you have planned.
It is important to measure your windows correctly before you buy new blinds and attempt to install them. You might have trouble installing the blinds properly, if you take the wrong measurements for the windows. Not only do blinds come in a wide variety of different widths, but they are installed in different ways. In some cases you may need to know the interior width of the window frame, while other designs may mount outside of it.
TIP! If you?re unhappy with the work that your contractor has done, you need to be vocal. Go over the contract and see where the discrepancies are.
Whenever you replace siding, understand that stucco can be quite expensive to install. Be sure you?re prepared to invest in stucco. There?s always a cheaper option that will still give you a beautiful look.
TIP! Consider refinishing a bathtub instead of replacing it. If your tub is porcelain, you can have it refinished so it looks new.
If you?re determined to make improvements to your home, use this article?s information. If you want your house to look its best, the sole way to do it is by making use of these tips for home improvement.
Obesity in dads may be associated with offspring's increased risk of diseasePublic release date: 5-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Harrison rachel.harrison@duke.edu 919-419-5069 Duke University Medical Center
DURHAM, N.C. -- A father's obesity is one factor that may influence his children's health and potentially raise their risk for diseases like cancer, according to new research from Duke Medicine.
The study, which appears Feb. 6 in the journal BMC Medicine, is the first in humans to show that paternal obesity may alter a genetic mechanism in the next generation, suggesting that a father's lifestyle factors may be transmitted to his children.
"Understanding the risks of the current Western lifestyle on future generations is important," said molecular biologist Adelheid Soubry, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at Duke Cancer Institute and the study's lead author. "The aim of this study was to determine potential associations between obesity in parents prior to conception and epigenetic profiles in offspring, particularly at certain gene regulatory regions."
Researchers looking at health outcomes in newborns have historically focused on pregnant women. Studies have shown that nutrition and environmental factors during pregnancy can affect children's health and may raise their risk of chronic diseases. However, little has been done to uncover how paternal factors can affect children.
The Duke research team sought to determine associations between obesity in parents and changes in DNA methylation at the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene among offspring. DNA methylation regulates the activity of certain genes, which can reflect a higher risk for some diseases. Decreased DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene has been associated with an increased risk of developing certain cancers, including colorectal and ovarian cancers.
"Our genes are able to adapt to our environment. However, we adjust in a way that may be problematic later," said Cathrine Hoyo, PhD, MPH, a cancer epidemiologist at Duke Medicine and the study's senior author. "It is not a change in the sequence of the DNA itself, but how genes are expressed. Some genes may get 'shut off' as a result of environmental trauma."
To gather data on newborn health outcomes, the researchers followed families enrolled in the Newborn Epigenetics Study (NEST), a research program developed by Hoyo and funded by the National Institutes of Health to test the influence of environmental exposures on genetic profiles in newborns.
Researchers gathered information about the mothers and fathers using questionnaires and medical records. They then examined DNA from the umbilical cords of 79 newborns to determine potential associations between the offspring's DNA methylation patterns and parental obesity before conception.
DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene in the offspring of obese fathers was significantly lower than in the children of fathers who were not obese. This suggests that paternal obesity may be associated with an increased risk of children developing certain cancers.
The researchers noted that the changes in DNA methylation could have been a result of something related to obesity, such as eating a certain diet or having diabetes, that was not measured in this study.
Additional research is underway to see if these changes in DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene remain as the children grow older. Future studies may also determine if certain interventions similar to women taking folic acid while pregnant to prevent birth defects can be used prior to or after conception to prevent irregular methylation profiles.
"This study is an important start in looking at the effects of environmental exposure on children, not only through the mother but also through the father," said Soubry. "Although we cannot define at this point which obesity-related factor may cause an epigenetic effect, we measured in this study a significant association between paternal obesity and aberrant methylation profiles in the offspring."
###
In addition to Soubry and Hoyo, study authors include Joellen M. Schildkraut, Amy Murtha, Frances Wang, Zhiqing Huang, Autumn Bernal, Joanne Kurtzberg, Randy L. Jirtle, and Susan K. Murphy.
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health (R21ES014947, R01ES016772, R01DK085173, R25CA126938-01A2), the American Cancer Society (ACS-IRG 83-006), Fulbright, and the Fred and Alice Stanback Foundation.
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Obesity in dads may be associated with offspring's increased risk of diseasePublic release date: 5-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Harrison rachel.harrison@duke.edu 919-419-5069 Duke University Medical Center
DURHAM, N.C. -- A father's obesity is one factor that may influence his children's health and potentially raise their risk for diseases like cancer, according to new research from Duke Medicine.
The study, which appears Feb. 6 in the journal BMC Medicine, is the first in humans to show that paternal obesity may alter a genetic mechanism in the next generation, suggesting that a father's lifestyle factors may be transmitted to his children.
"Understanding the risks of the current Western lifestyle on future generations is important," said molecular biologist Adelheid Soubry, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at Duke Cancer Institute and the study's lead author. "The aim of this study was to determine potential associations between obesity in parents prior to conception and epigenetic profiles in offspring, particularly at certain gene regulatory regions."
Researchers looking at health outcomes in newborns have historically focused on pregnant women. Studies have shown that nutrition and environmental factors during pregnancy can affect children's health and may raise their risk of chronic diseases. However, little has been done to uncover how paternal factors can affect children.
The Duke research team sought to determine associations between obesity in parents and changes in DNA methylation at the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) gene among offspring. DNA methylation regulates the activity of certain genes, which can reflect a higher risk for some diseases. Decreased DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene has been associated with an increased risk of developing certain cancers, including colorectal and ovarian cancers.
"Our genes are able to adapt to our environment. However, we adjust in a way that may be problematic later," said Cathrine Hoyo, PhD, MPH, a cancer epidemiologist at Duke Medicine and the study's senior author. "It is not a change in the sequence of the DNA itself, but how genes are expressed. Some genes may get 'shut off' as a result of environmental trauma."
To gather data on newborn health outcomes, the researchers followed families enrolled in the Newborn Epigenetics Study (NEST), a research program developed by Hoyo and funded by the National Institutes of Health to test the influence of environmental exposures on genetic profiles in newborns.
Researchers gathered information about the mothers and fathers using questionnaires and medical records. They then examined DNA from the umbilical cords of 79 newborns to determine potential associations between the offspring's DNA methylation patterns and parental obesity before conception.
DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene in the offspring of obese fathers was significantly lower than in the children of fathers who were not obese. This suggests that paternal obesity may be associated with an increased risk of children developing certain cancers.
The researchers noted that the changes in DNA methylation could have been a result of something related to obesity, such as eating a certain diet or having diabetes, that was not measured in this study.
Additional research is underway to see if these changes in DNA methylation at the IGF2 gene remain as the children grow older. Future studies may also determine if certain interventions similar to women taking folic acid while pregnant to prevent birth defects can be used prior to or after conception to prevent irregular methylation profiles.
"This study is an important start in looking at the effects of environmental exposure on children, not only through the mother but also through the father," said Soubry. "Although we cannot define at this point which obesity-related factor may cause an epigenetic effect, we measured in this study a significant association between paternal obesity and aberrant methylation profiles in the offspring."
###
In addition to Soubry and Hoyo, study authors include Joellen M. Schildkraut, Amy Murtha, Frances Wang, Zhiqing Huang, Autumn Bernal, Joanne Kurtzberg, Randy L. Jirtle, and Susan K. Murphy.
The study was supported by National Institutes of Health (R21ES014947, R01ES016772, R01DK085173, R25CA126938-01A2), the American Cancer Society (ACS-IRG 83-006), Fulbright, and the Fred and Alice Stanback Foundation.
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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.
The wings of the Seagull NebulaPublic release date: 6-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Hook rhook@eso.org 49-893-200-6655 ESO
Running along the border between the constellations of Canis Major (The Great Dog) and Monoceros (The Unicorn) in the southern sky, the Seagull Nebula is a huge cloud mostly made of hydrogen gas. It's an example of what astronomers refer to as an HII region. Hot new stars form within these clouds and their intense ultraviolet radiation causes the surrounding gas to glow brightly.
The reddish hue in this image is a telltale sign of the presence of ionised hydrogen [1]. The Seagull Nebula, known more formally as IC 2177, is a complex object with a bird-like shape that is made up of three large clouds of gas -- Sharpless 2-292 (eso1237: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1237/) forms the "head", this new image shows part of Sharpless 2-296, which comprises the large "wings", and Sharpless 2-297 is a small, knotty addition to the tip of the gull's right "wing" [2].
These objects are all entries in the Sharpless nebula catalogue, a list of over 300 glowing clouds of gas compiled by American astronomer Stewart Sharpless in the 1950s. Before he published this catalogue Sharpless was a graduate student at the Yerkes Observatory near Chicago, USA, where he and his colleagues published observational work that helped to show that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with vast, curved arms.
Spiral galaxies can contain thousands of HII regions, almost all of which are concentrated along their spiral arms. The Seagull Nebula lies in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way. But this is not the case for all galaxies; while irregular galaxies do contain HII regions, these are jumbled up throughout the galaxy, and elliptical galaxies are different yet again -- appearing to lack these regions altogether. The presence of HII regions indicates that active star formation is still in progress in a galaxy.
This image of Sharpless 2-296 was captured by the Wide Field Imager (WFI), a large camera mounted on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows only a small section of the nebula, a large cloud that is furiously forming hot stars in its interior. The frame shows Sharpless 2-296 lit up by several particularly bright young stars -- there are many other stars scattered across the region, including one so bright that stands out as the gull's "eye" in pictures of the entire complex.
Wide-field images of this region of the sky show a multitude of interesting astronomical objects. The young bright stars within the nebula are part of the nearby star-forming region of CMa R1 in the constellation of Canis Major, which is filled with bright stars and clusters. Also lying close to the Seagull Nebula is the Thor's Helmet Nebula, an object that was imaged using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) on ESO's 50th Anniversary, 5 October 2012, with the help of Brigitte Bailleul -- winner of the Tweet Your Way to the VLT! competition (eso1238a: http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1238a/).
###
Notes
[1] Astronomers use the term HII to mean ionised hydrogen and HI for atomic hydrogen. A hydrogen atom consists of an electron bound to a proton but in an ionised gas atoms are split into freely moving electrons and positive ions, in this case just single protons.
[2] These objects are officially designated Sh 2-292, Sh 2-296, and Sh 2-297 respectively in the SIMBAD astronomical database.
More information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".
Links
Contacts
Richard Hook
ESO, La Silla, Paranal, E-ELT & Survey Telescopes Press Officer
Garching bei Mnchen, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org
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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.
The wings of the Seagull NebulaPublic release date: 6-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Hook rhook@eso.org 49-893-200-6655 ESO
Running along the border between the constellations of Canis Major (The Great Dog) and Monoceros (The Unicorn) in the southern sky, the Seagull Nebula is a huge cloud mostly made of hydrogen gas. It's an example of what astronomers refer to as an HII region. Hot new stars form within these clouds and their intense ultraviolet radiation causes the surrounding gas to glow brightly.
The reddish hue in this image is a telltale sign of the presence of ionised hydrogen [1]. The Seagull Nebula, known more formally as IC 2177, is a complex object with a bird-like shape that is made up of three large clouds of gas -- Sharpless 2-292 (eso1237: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1237/) forms the "head", this new image shows part of Sharpless 2-296, which comprises the large "wings", and Sharpless 2-297 is a small, knotty addition to the tip of the gull's right "wing" [2].
These objects are all entries in the Sharpless nebula catalogue, a list of over 300 glowing clouds of gas compiled by American astronomer Stewart Sharpless in the 1950s. Before he published this catalogue Sharpless was a graduate student at the Yerkes Observatory near Chicago, USA, where he and his colleagues published observational work that helped to show that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with vast, curved arms.
Spiral galaxies can contain thousands of HII regions, almost all of which are concentrated along their spiral arms. The Seagull Nebula lies in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way. But this is not the case for all galaxies; while irregular galaxies do contain HII regions, these are jumbled up throughout the galaxy, and elliptical galaxies are different yet again -- appearing to lack these regions altogether. The presence of HII regions indicates that active star formation is still in progress in a galaxy.
This image of Sharpless 2-296 was captured by the Wide Field Imager (WFI), a large camera mounted on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. It shows only a small section of the nebula, a large cloud that is furiously forming hot stars in its interior. The frame shows Sharpless 2-296 lit up by several particularly bright young stars -- there are many other stars scattered across the region, including one so bright that stands out as the gull's "eye" in pictures of the entire complex.
Wide-field images of this region of the sky show a multitude of interesting astronomical objects. The young bright stars within the nebula are part of the nearby star-forming region of CMa R1 in the constellation of Canis Major, which is filled with bright stars and clusters. Also lying close to the Seagull Nebula is the Thor's Helmet Nebula, an object that was imaged using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) on ESO's 50th Anniversary, 5 October 2012, with the help of Brigitte Bailleul -- winner of the Tweet Your Way to the VLT! competition (eso1238a: http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1238a/).
###
Notes
[1] Astronomers use the term HII to mean ionised hydrogen and HI for atomic hydrogen. A hydrogen atom consists of an electron bound to a proton but in an ionised gas atoms are split into freely moving electrons and positive ions, in this case just single protons.
[2] These objects are officially designated Sh 2-292, Sh 2-296, and Sh 2-297 respectively in the SIMBAD astronomical database.
More information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".
Links
Contacts
Richard Hook
ESO, La Silla, Paranal, E-ELT & Survey Telescopes Press Officer
Garching bei Mnchen, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org
[ | E-mail | 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.
DUBLIN (AP) ? Ireland's prime minister says the latest finding of horsemeat in products labeled as Polish beef is harming Ireland's reputation as an exporter of high-quality meat products.
Enda Kenny spoke before Tuesday's Cabinet meeting to discuss the widening scandal. Food Safety Authority of Ireland scientists made the discovery last month by conducting DNA tests on dozens of beef burger brands and finding some contained horse as a substantial ingredient.
Irish investigators have pinned the problem on Polish offcuts imported to Ireland for use as filler in factory-made burger patties. Poland says it has found no evidence to support Ireland's charges.
In results announced Monday, Ireland says one sample of the Polish-labeled product was found to be 75 percent horsemeat.
Kenny says identifying the source is "a matter of reputation."
Let?s face it, hemorrhoids are a pain in the butt! There are a lot of things that cause hemorrhoids. The burning and itching associated with hemorrhoids is not only unpleasant but embarrassing as well.The intention of this article is to give the hemorrhoid sufferer some tips to help alleviate the embarrassing symptoms and pain that hemorrhoids bring.
Your job or lifestyle may have an effect on your hemorrhoid symptoms. If you have a desk job or spend a lot of time sitting while you?re at home, make sure to give yourself some relief by walking around for a few minutes every hour. This takes the direct pressure off your hemorrhoids. Also, if your job involves a lot of heavy lifting, try to exhale as you bear the brunt of the load. Holding your breath exerts pressure on the hemorrhoids and may cause them to become more painful.
Incorporating acai berries into your daily diet can improve how you feel throughout the day and reduce your hemorrhoids. Acai berries are very rich in antioxidants and can help to break down toxins in your body. Reducing toxins in your body will help to reduce the swelling and make you feel better.
During rest room breaks make sure you do not strain hard. Straining and pushing hard will only make your hemorrhoids worse; instead walk around to stimulate peristalsis in the intestines which will making elimination easier. Engaging in light exercise like rebounding or swimming will assist in getting the bowels moving. But no matter what do not force a bowel movement.
Excessive or overly aggressive wiping after a bowel movement can further irritate delicate hemorrhoidal tissues. If opportunity presents, take a bath after bowel movements. Also try using medicated premoistened towelettes for the purpose of toileting or specifically for hemorrhoids. You will find all of these approaches soothing.
You?ll be surprised how many types of nonprescription products can quickly relieve your hemorrhoid symptoms! These include creams, gels, pads, and foams that can soothe pain and reduce itching and inflammation. You can also try pills, such as Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen that can reduce swelling and inflammation!
Spending time in any one fixed position is not good for hemorrhoids and will slow down the healing process. So just as sitting all day is bad, standing in one fixed position all day is just as bad. Try to alternate between between being stationary and moving and between sitting and standing.
Being overweight puts one at greater risk for developing hemorrhoids. Losing weight if you are overweight will reduce your risk of developing hemorrhoids and reduce the swelling of a pre-existing hemorrhoid. A larger waist and abdominal area leads to putting more weight and pressure on the veins in your rectum leading to hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids flare up on us the most when we have trouble passing a stool. This means you should always work to have looser stools by way of a stool softener. You can get some great over-the-counter products that will keep things moving along nicely down there, allowing you to use the bathroom comfortably.
To stay as healthy as possible and limit the symptoms of hemorrhoids, make sure that you maintain a proper diet. This means that you should reduce the foods that have high cholesterol and fat content to improve the way that you feel. Eat well-balanced meals that are rich in protein for optimal results.
Avoid scratching your hemorrhoids at all costs. Besides causing increased irritation, you can cause them to bleed and transfer germs from your hands. Hemorrhoids can easily become infected which can lead to more serious issues. Use a medicated ointment for those times when the itching or inflammation is too much to bear.
As simple as ice is, it is truly effective at reducing pain, swelling ans even itching associated with hemorrhoids. You can use one of those cooler ice packs or simply put some ice in a plastic bag. Be sure not to use ice for extended periods of time so as not to get a frostbite.
As stated in the beginning of this article, hemorrhoids can be a pain in the butt, quite literally. The burning and itching symptoms can be close to unbearable and are most certainly embarrassing. Hopefully this article has given you some great ideas about how to calm those terrible hemorrhoid symptoms.
Learn more about curing hemorrhoids. Stop by Dr. Trella Dutton?s site where you can find out all about natural hemorrhoid cures and what they can do for you.
There are plenty of domain registrars who will let you place backorders, where they will attempt to grab the domain for you when it becomes available.
Is there an extra cost for doing this
I know some people use some certain software out there that will automatically tell them when a domain comes up for sale whether they have pacifically had it built for themselves or its an open thing i don't know
Stitcher's Android app can do many things with radio and podcasts, but one thing it hasn't done lately is blend in -- its interface is out of sync with a platform that has had its own distinct style for more than two years. A major remake today helps make amends. The new Stitcher app relies on the Action Bar and overall concepts of Holo-native apps for input, simplifying things for anyone who's comfortable with Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean -- and more than a little prettier, we'd add. It's more than just eye candy, though. The Android build now has a dedicated Smart Station to listen to recommendations, browsing that keeps interruptions to a minimum and Jelly Bean-specific playback controls in notifications. While there's no fundamental changes that would lure someone who's wedded to a single-purpose app, the Stitcher refresh could be worth a look if previous versions ever felt like strangers on Google's turf.
After a confirmation hearing performance universally described as ?lackluster? at best ? and far worse by many accounts ? Defense Secretary-nominee Chuck Hagel may be feeling marginally better today.
He?s picked up two Republican backers in the Senate. There?s no sign ? yet, anyway ? that any Republicans intend to filibuster the nomination, which would be highly unusual. And the Pentagon?s top two officials ? outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey ? voiced their support for Hagel on the Sunday TV talk shows.
"In my contacts with the senator, Senator Hagel, in his preparations, I found him to be very thoughtful and very well prepared and very interested,? Gen. Dempsey said on CNN?s ?State of the Union.? ?And so if he's confirmed, I'm sure that we'll establish a very close working relationship.?
A former Democratic congressman before heading the CIA and then the Defense Department in the Obama administration, Mr. Panetta took a more political line.
"It's pretty obvious that the political knives were out for Chuck Hagel," Panetta said on NBC?s "Meet the Press."
"What disappointed me is that ... they talked a lot about past quotes, but what about what a secretary of defense is confronting today?" he asked. "What about the war ... in Afghanistan? What about the war on terrorism? What about the budget sequestering [automatic budget cuts] ? what impact it's going to have on readiness? What about Middle East turmoil? What about cyber-attacks?"
"All of the issues that confront a secretary of defense, frankly ? we just did not see enough time spent on discussing those issues," Panetta said.
THE MONITOR'S VIEW: With Hagel at Defense, what would be America's 'special role'?
Still, former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on ?Meet the Press,? ?The disconcerting thing for anybody that watched [Hagel?s confirmation hearing] is he seemed unimpressive and unprepared on the questions that quite frankly he knew was coming.?
Many Republican critics have been flogging Hagel for his past comments on the pro-Israel lobby?s influence on Congress and on Iran ? issues that have a close connection.
But the line of inquiry that got the most attention was over the ?surge? in Iraq, specifically Sen. John McCain?s sharp assertion that Hagel was ?on the wrong side of history? in opposing the surge ? and earlier than that, the former Nebraska Senator?s eventual opposition to the Iraq war itself.
To some observers, McCain?s attack on his one-time close friend and fellow Vietnam combat veteran seemed unnecessarily personal, focusing on an issue that most lawmakers (and most Americans) have gotten past regarding an unpopular war.
?This was a vanity thing for John McCain to try to prove to a former friend who disagreed with him that he was right on the surge and Chuck Hagel was wrong,? said Gibbs.
Writing in the American Prospect, Steve Ericson asserts that Sen. McCain has ?allowed temperament, pique and ego to steamroll the judgment and perspective that we hope all of our elected officers have.? It?s the kind of charge made periodically over the years ? including by the George W. Bush presidential campaign in 2000 ? about McCain?s personality and temper, undoubtedly influenced by the captivity and torture he endured in North Vietnam.
But in the end, refighting the Iraq war and its surge (or the Vietnam War) is unlikely to determine whether or not Hagel ? who?d become the first former enlisted man to become Defense Secretary ? moves to the Pentagon.
More important may be the Republican votes he picks up, although those aren?t essential in a Senate that?s mostly Democratic.
Over the weekend, Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska joined fellow Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi in announcing his vote for Hagel.
"Chuck earned this endorsement," Sen. Johanns told the Lincoln [Nebraska] Journal Star.
Johanns said he received all the assurances he needed during a private one-hour meeting with Hagel that "he will stand side by side with our allies, be firm with our enemies and use good judgment" as secretary of defense, the newspaper reported.
"He was absolutely clear that he will be a strong defender of Israel, and that's very important to me," Johanns said. "He was absolutely clear that he believes the use of force must remain on the table as an option against Iran, and that's the position we must maintain."
THE MONITOR'S VIEW: With Hagel at Defense, what would be America's 'special role'?
The autopsy report for Nigerian music star Susan Oluwabimpe ?Goldie? Harvey has revealed that she died as a result of an ?Intracerebral Hemorrhage? caused by ?Hypertensive Heart Disease?.
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Public release date: 5-Feb-2013
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