Sunday, 31 March 2013

Obama attending Syracuse-Marquette basketball game

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is attending one of this weekend's big college basketball games.

The president is at Washington's Verizon Center to watch Syracuse and Marquette play for a berth in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Earlier Saturday, Obama played golf for the first time since automatic spending cuts known as the sequester went into effect on March 1.

Some conservatives have called on Obama to give up golf since popular public tours of the White House have been canceled because of the budget cuts. The White House has said the tours were canceled to keep Secret Service agents from being furloughed because of the spending reductions.

Obama played on the course at Andrews Air Force Base with a friend, Marty Nesbitt, and two White House aides.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-attending-syracuse-marquette-basketball-game-205918618--politics.html

viola davis school shooting in ohio shooting at chardon high school sasha baron cohen stacy keibler stacy keibler oscar red carpet

Project SHIELD at GDC 2013

Still waiting on retail availability info

Android Central at GDC

We already got some playtime with NVIDIA's Project SHIELD at PAX East, but it was great to sneak in a few more rounds at GDC 2013. As a more industry-focused event, obviously NVIDIA was busy at GDC getting devs on board with Tegra optimizations through sessions, but there were also plenty of Project SHIELD demo units kicking around, giving everyone a chance to try out the system first-hand.

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/E-dJyg7NlFQ/story01.htm

diners drive ins and dives jeff who lives at home 49ers news saint louis university night at the museum pope shenouda bolton muamba

Saturday, 30 March 2013

Inorganic materials display massive and instantaneous swelling and shrinkage

Mar. 29, 2013 ? The first observation of massive swelling and shrinkage of inorganic layered materials like a biological cell provides insights into the production of two-dimensional crystals.

Two-dimensional (2D) crystals have unique properties that may be useful for a range of applications. Consequently there is high interest in the mechanism for producing 2D crystals by exfoliating materials with layered structures. Now researchers in Japan have reported an unusual phenomenon that layered materials undergo drastic swelling without breaking into separate 2D crystal layers. "The findings demonstrate important implications for and chemical insight into the exfoliating process," say the researchers.

Certain ions or solvents can infiltrate materials with layered structures. This 'intercalation' sometimes causes excessive swelling and ultimately exfoliation into separate layers. The process of exfoliation has been studied in a number of materials including graphite, oxides, and hydroxides among others. In all these materials, exfoliation into separate layers occurs after swelling of less than several nanometres, which raises difficulties in analysis of the swelling stage, and hence the exfoliation mechanism as a whole.

Now Takayoshi Sasaki and colleagues at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics at the National Institute for Materials Science and the Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan have realized up to 100-fold swelling of layered protonic oxides, otherwise known as solid acids, without exfoliation, by exposure to an aqueous amine solution. Adding HCl reduced them to their original size. Notably, n the process more than3000 atomic sheets, which comprise of the starting crystal, instantly move apart and reassemble like shuffled poker cards

Unlike previously reported swelling or exfoliation, which swell far less before exfoliation, the swollen structures produced by exposure to the amine solution remained stable even when shaken. The researchers explain the stability using molecular dynamics calculations. "Unlike the random H2O in the previously reported swollen phases that could be easily exfoliated, long-range structuring of the H2O molecules in the highly swollen structure was confirmed using first-principle calculations." The observations also provide important insights into the physics of these systems.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), via ResearchSEA.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Fengxia Geng, Renzhi Ma, Akira Nakamura, Kosho Akatsuka, Yasuo Ebina, Yusuke Yamauchi, Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, Yoshitaka Tateyama, Takayoshi Sasaki. Unusually stable ~100-fold reversible and instantaneous swelling of inorganic layered materials. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1632 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2641

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/tmb8p3Zr0aM/130329124157.htm

kate middleton marco rubio marco rubio Zero Hour Funny Valentines Chris Kyle Russian meteor

How herpesvirus invades nervous system

Friday, March 29, 2013

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a component of the herpesvirus that "hijacks" machinery inside human cells, allowing the virus to rapidly and successfully invade the nervous system upon initial exposure.

Led by Gregory Smith, associate professor in immunology and microbiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, researchers found that viral protein 1-2, or VP1/2, allows the herpesvirus to interact with cellular motors, known as dynein. Once the protein has overtaken this motor, the virus can speed along intercellular highways, or microtubules, to move unobstructed from the tips of nerves in skin to the nuclei of neurons within the nervous system.

This is the first time researchers have shown a viral protein directly engaging and subverting the cellular motor; most other viruses passively hitch a ride into the nervous system.

"This protein not only grabs the wheel, it steps on the gas," says Smith. "Overtaking the cellular motor to invade the nervous system is a complicated accomplishment that most viruses are incapable of achieving. Yet the herpesvirus uses one protein, no others required, to transport its genetic information over long distances without stopping."

Herpesvirus is widespread in humans and affects more than 90 percent of adults in the United States. It is associated with several types of recurring diseases, including cold sores, genital herpes, chicken pox, and shingles. The virus can live dormant in humans for a lifetime, and most infected people do not know they are disease carriers. The virus can occasionally turn deadly, resulting in encephalitis in some.

Until now, scientists knew that herpesviruses travel quickly to reach neurons located deep inside the body, but the mechanism by which they advance remained a mystery.

Smith's team conducted a variety of experiments with VP1/2 to demonstrate its important role in transporting the virus, including artificial activation and genetic mutation of the protein. The team studied the herpesvirus in animals, and also in human and animal cells in culture under high-resolution microscopy. In one experiment, scientists mutated the virus with a slower form of the protein dyed red, and raced it against a healthy virus dyed green. They observed that the healthy virus outran the mutated version down nerves to the neuron body to insert DNA and establish infection.

"Remarkably, this viral protein can be artificially activated, and in these conditions it zips around within cells in the absence of any virus. It is striking to watch," Smith says.

He says that understanding how the viruses move within people, especially from the skin to the nervous system, can help better prevent the virus from spreading.

Additionally, Smith says, "By learning how the virus infects our nervous system, we can mimic this process to treat unrelated neurologic diseases. Even now, laboratories are working on how to use herpesviruses to deliver genes into the nervous system and kill cancer cells."

Smith's team will next work to better understand how the protein functions. He notes that many researchers use viruses to learn how neurons are connected to the brain.

"Some of our mutants will advance brain mapping studies by resolving these connections more clearly than was previously possible," he says.

###

Cell Host & Microbe online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931312813000401.

Northwestern University: http://www.northwestern.edu

Thanks to Northwestern University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 31 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127507/How_herpesvirus_invades_nervous_system

21 jump street illinois primary results acapulco mexico hines ward robert deniro mexico news the talented mr ripley

Buster Posey gets $167M, 9-year deal from Giants

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey removes his cap during batting practice before an exhibition spring training baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey removes his cap during batting practice before an exhibition spring training baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

San Francisco Giants' Buster Posey (28) swings for an RBI single off Oakland Athletics' Tommy Milone in the third inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game Thursday, March 28, 2013, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The San Francisco Giants have rewarded NL MVP and batting champion Buster Posey with a $167 million, nine-year contract.

Posey's deal, announced Friday by the reigning World Series champions, includes a club option for 2022 that could raise the value to $186 million over 10 years.

The agreement is the longest for a catcher and the largest in Giants history, surpassing Matt Cain's $127.5 million, six-year contract.

Posey had been due to make $8 million this year. He instead gets a $7 million signing bonus, with $5 million payable Oct. 15 and the remainder Jan. 15, and his 2013 salary is reduced to $3 million.

The agreement includes a full no-trade clause.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-29-BBN-Giants-Posey/id-ff2fef0012a54bc185998c5c7f1ce884

ravens Ravens vs Patriots 49ers Vs Falcons Mama Movie flyers epo suits

Austrian police chase herd of cattle through town

VIENNA (AP) ? Austrian police and firefighters have taken on the role of urban cowboys in a two-day round-up of a herd of cattle that broke out of a fenced-off pasture and decided to go into town.

A police statement says the 43 steers defied attempts by police and volunteer firefighters to recapture them after wandering off Thursday and heading toward the Upper Austrian town of Freistadt. After being chased away from the railway station, they endangered motorists by stampeding onto a two-lane highway before running into a town suburb.

Two firefighters who tried to stop them were injured and needed hospital treatment.

The statement says 18 of the animals remain on the loose Friday. The rest have been corralled or tranquilized.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/austrian-police-chase-herd-cattle-town-120729765.html

Romnesia eminem eminem yankees Tagg Romney Bosses Day Cabin Fever 2

Friday, 29 March 2013

Tabloid Klaim: Kim Kardashian Faking Pregnancy for Major Payday!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/tabloid-klaim-kim-kardashian-faking-pregnancy-for-major-payday/

tracy morgan Chase.com Talk Like a Pirate Day raiders Demi Lovato iOS 6 Features big brother

GameStop says demand hit as customers await new consoles

By Neha Alawadhi and Malathi Nayak

(Reuters) - Retailer GameStop Corp warned of weak sales this year as customers delay purchases ahead of the arrival of next-generation videogame consoles, but it reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

The world's largest retailer of videogame products said on Thursday that it expected full-year sales to remain flat or fall by as much as 8 percent, implying revenue of between $8.18 billion and $8.89 billion. Analysts on average expect $8.86 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

GameStop's full-year earnings forecast lagged analysts' estimates by a sizable margin. It expects a profit of $2.75 to $3.15 per share, while analysts had estimated $3.40.

The company said same-store sales were likely to fall 5.5 percent to 8 percent this quarter.

"The first half of the year is going to be very challenging because we're continuing the trend that we have seen in the last two or three months on sales of hardware from the current console set and sales of software," Chief Financial Officer Robert Lloyd said in an interview.

The videogame industry is anticipating a strong finish to 2013 with the release of Take-Two Interactive Software's "Grand Theft Auto V," Electronic Arts Inc's "Battlefield 4" and at least one next-generation console by the holidays.

As a result, consumers are postponing purchases until the fourth-quarter console introductions.

"But we expect to return to growth in the back half of the year," Lloyd said.

Sony Corp said last month it would release its next-generation PlayStation this year, its first videogame console in seven years. Microsoft Corp is also expected to announce the successor to its Xbox 360 later this summer.

Global sales of traditional videogame products such as consoles have suffered because of the rising popularity of online games as enthusiasts spend more time on tablets and phones.

U.S. sales of videogame hardware and software fell 25 percent in February, following a month-over-month downward trend that has continued since last year, according to a report by market research firm NPD.

Games software sales were down 27 percent in February, the report said.

GameStop has weathered the trend by focusing on selling new and used games to console owners and expanding its digital and mobile offerings, including the sale of iOS and Android devices in some stores.

The company said revenue fell marginally to $3.56 billion in the fourth quarter ended on February 2. Analysts on average expected $3.45 billion.

Net income attributable to GameStop rose to $261.1 million, or $2.15 per share, from $174.7 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items such as the deferral of digital revenue, earnings were $2.16 per share. Analysts had forecast $2.09.

In January, GameStop cut its same-store sales forecast for the fourth quarter after customer traffic shrank over the holiday season.

The company's shares were up 0.5 percent at $26.58 in late-morning New York Stock Exchange trading.

(Reporting by Neha Alawadhi in Bangalore and Malathi Nayak in San Francisco; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gamestop-posts-higher-fourth-quarter-profit-124533295--sector.html

calvin johnson festivus festivus nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture Peter Billingsley Larry King

Finnish hotel seeks professional guest for 35 days

(AP) ? Fed up with the neighbors? Pipes burst in the kitchen? Or, you just want to get away from it all for a while?

Hotel Finn in the heart of Helsinki might just be the ticket ? they're seeking a "professional sleeper" for 35 days to test their rooms and write all about it.

Hotel manager Tio Tikka says he thought up the stunt to help promote the hotel after lengthy renovations.

Tikka said Wednesday that they were looking for a "dynamic person to write a quality blog" about their daily experiences at the basic hotel, which has no bar or restaurant.

Requirements: Fluent Finnish and English, Russian a plus. The job opens May 17 with applications closing end of April.

So far more that 600 would-be hotel sleepers have applied.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-03-27-Finland-Hotel%20Sleeper/id-7212fb86d8ab4692b5642bed4916c893

brandon lloyd celtic thunder fabrice muamba collapse prometheus trailer patrice oneal shamrock slainte

Darren Elkins nearly missed the call for his UFC on Fox 7 bout because of cell phone charges

For Americans visiting Canada, the cell phone charges can sometimes creep up on you. Your phone will work the same, but weeks later, you get a shocking cell phone bill. UFC featherweight Darren Elkins wasn't going to get hit with that massive phone bill during his trip to Montreal for UFC 158. He ignored phone calls.

[Also: Video blog shows the other side of UFC's Dana White]

Of course, that also meant he nearly missed his chance at filling in at UFC on Fox 7 after Clay Guida pulled out of his bout with Chad Mendes because of an injury.

"Up there (in Canada) I had my phone turned off," Elkins today told MMAjunkie.com Radio "You've got those ridiculous roaming charges and stuff."

His manager ran him down and broke the news of the potential fight. Elkins will face Mendes, the one-time featherweight contender, just a month after fighting Antonio Carvalho and winning with a controversial TKO. Elkins is on a five-fight win streak, so a win over Mendes could push him closer to a title shot.

It's the kind of fight that's definitely worth the roaming charges.

Memorable Moments from Yahoo! Sports:

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Rick Pitino still cherishes deflections above any other stat
? Pat Forde: Breaking down the Sweet 16
? Metta World Peace will be out for six weeks with a knee injury
? Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki stands alone as baseball's most dominant SS

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/darren-elkins-nearly-missed-call-ufc-fox-7-215721707--mma.html

kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city super bowl snacks appleton denver weather

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Microscale medical sensors inserted under skin powered wirelessly by external handheld receiver

Mar. 27, 2013 ? Implantable electronic devices potentially offer a rapid and accurate way for doctors to monitor patients with particular medical conditions. Yet powering such devices remains a fundamental challenge: batteries are bulky and eventually need recharging or replacing. Jia Hao Cheong at the A*STAR Institute for Microelectronics, Singapore, and his co-workers are developing an alternative approach that eliminates the need for a battery. Their miniature devices are based on wireless power-transfer technology.

The research team has developed a microscale electronic sensor to monitor blood flow through artificial blood vessels. Surgeons use these prosthetic grafts to bypass diseased or clogged blood vessels in patients experiencing restricted blood supply, for example. Over time, however, the graft can also become blocked. To avoid complete failure, blood flow through the graft must be monitored regularly, but existing techniques are slow and costly.

These limitations prompted the researchers to develop a bench-top prototype of a device that could be incorporated inside a graft to monitor blood flow. The implant is powered by a handheld external reader, which uses inductive coupling to wirelessly transfer energy, a technology similar to that found in the latest wireless-charging mobile phones. The team developed an application-specific, integrated circuit for the implant designed for low power use (see image).

The incoming energy powers circuits in the device that control sensors based on silicon nanowires. This material is piezoresistive: as blood flows over the sensor the associated mechanical stresses induce a measurable increase in electrical resistance, proportional to the flow pressure.

Key to the success of the device is its ability to work with a very limited power supply. Most of the incoming energy is absorbed by skin and tissue before it can reach the implant, which may be inserted up to 50 millimeters deep.

"Our flow sensor system achieves an ultra-low power consumption of 12.6 microwatts," Cheong says. For example, the sensor transmits its data to the handheld reader passively, by backscattering some of the incoming energy. "We have tested our system with 50-millimeter-thick tissue between the external coil and implantable coil, and it successfully extracted the pressure data from the implantable device," he adds.

Cheong and his co-workers' tests showed that the prototype sensor was also highly pressure sensitive, providing pressure readings with a resolution of 0.17 pounds per square inch (1,172 pascals). "The next step of the project is to integrate the system and embed it inside a graft for [an experimental] animal," Cheong says.

The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Institute of Microelectronics

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Jia Hao Cheong, Simon Sheung Yan Ng, Xin Liu, Rui-Feng Xue, Huey Jen Lim, Pradeep Basappa Khannur, Kok Lim Chan, Andreas Astuti Lee, Kai Kang, Li Shiah Lim, Cairan He, Pushpapraj Singh, Woo-Tae Park, Minkyu Je. An Inductively Powered Implantable Blood Flow Sensor Microsystem for Vascular Grafts. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 2012; 59 (9): 2466 DOI: 10.1109/TBME.2012.2203131

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/oPdGd-Vm3EA/130327162425.htm

stan musial Mega 49ers lance armstrong Earl Weaver Inauguration Schedule barack obama

House watcher Stx - USVI Moving Center

Anyone know the going rate for watching a house for a few months while the owner is away? Not property mgmt, just checking on the place once per week to be sure no issues exist and that all is well. No maintenance required, no house sitting required. Thanks.

Source: http://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,200455,200455

Pokemon X and Y Rob Ryan bethenny frankel sacramento kings alex jones Google Docs Huell Howser

New bone survey method could aid long-term survival of Arctic caribou

New bone survey method could aid long-term survival of Arctic caribou [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joshua Miller
mille5ju@ucmail.uc.edu
513-556-6704
University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. A study co-authored by a University of Florida scientist adds critical new data for understanding caribou calving grounds in an area under consideration for oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The research may be used to create improved conservation strategies for an ecologically important area that has been under evaluation for natural resource exploration since enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980.

By studying bone accumulations on the Arctic landscape, lead author Joshua Miller discovered rare habitats near river systems are more important for some caribou than previously believed. The study appearing online today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows bone surveys conducted on foot provide highly detailed and extensive data on areas used by caribou as birthing grounds.

"The bone surveys are adding a new piece of the puzzle, giving us a way of studying how caribou use the landscape during calving and providing a longer perspective for evaluating the importance of different regions and habitats," said Miller, an assistant scientist at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus and a Fenneman assistant research professor at the University of Cincinnati.

Unlike other species in the deer family, both male and female caribou grow antlers. Males shed them after they mate, while pregnant females keep their antlers until they calve, losing them within a day or two of giving birth. Newborn caribou calves also suffer high mortality rates within the first couple days of birth. The female antlers and newborn skeletal remains offer a unique biological signal for understanding calving activity, Miller said.

"This new tool has a lot of potential, and the idea that these bones are providing new information is really exciting bone surveys allow us to go into the field today and collect historical information about ecosystems and animal communities that are sometimes only known from a few years of observation," Miller said.

Miller recorded evidence of shed caribou antlers and newborn skeletons from the Porcupine Caribou Herd in area 1002 on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, which comprises about 1.5 million acres on Alaska's northeast border. Because these high-latitude habitats are frozen nearly three-quarters of the year, bones may be preserved on the landscape for hundreds or thousands of years, researchers said.

Testing two different habitats, the tussock tundra and riparian terraces, researchers found the latter has higher concentrations of shed female antlers and numerous newborn skeletons. The data suggests these terrace habitats are used more during some portions of the calving period than other areas traditionally viewed as primary calving terrain, which is important because they comprise less than 10 percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge calving grounds, Miller said.

"Bone surveys are suggesting that these riparian zones should be under special consideration as we think about how to manage the Arctic Refuge and ensure this herd prospers in the decades and centuries to come," Miller said.

The Porcupine Caribou Herd includes as many as 170,000 animals that are essential parts of the delicate Arctic ecosystem. These large, herbivorous, hoofed mammals are an important food source for many indigenous northern peoples and natural predators, including wolves, bears and eagles.

Anna Behrensmeyer, vertebrate paleontology curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, said that using skeletal remains as a research tool is important because it helps scientists understand which habitats need protection with minimal disruption to caribou calving. It also allows researchers to collect historical information that may be used to better understand how climate change and other human influences have affected how these animals use the landscape over time.

"We tend to think that what we see now is normal, but we're just seeing a little bit of time," said Behrensmeyer, who was not involved with the study. "Josh's work can extend our time window back maybe hundreds of years, so there's the chance of seeing long-term cycles in the calving areas and also correlating those cycles with climate if you can look back into the past, you might see what this species did to adapt its reproductive strategies to warmer or colder climate periods."

###

Study co-authors include Patrick Druckenmiller of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum and Volker Bahn of Wright State University.

Credits

Writer

Danielle Torrent, dtorrent@flmnh.ufl.edu

Source

Joshua Miller, mille5ju@ucmail.uc.edu


[ 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.


New bone survey method could aid long-term survival of Arctic caribou [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Joshua Miller
mille5ju@ucmail.uc.edu
513-556-6704
University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. A study co-authored by a University of Florida scientist adds critical new data for understanding caribou calving grounds in an area under consideration for oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The research may be used to create improved conservation strategies for an ecologically important area that has been under evaluation for natural resource exploration since enactment of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980.

By studying bone accumulations on the Arctic landscape, lead author Joshua Miller discovered rare habitats near river systems are more important for some caribou than previously believed. The study appearing online today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows bone surveys conducted on foot provide highly detailed and extensive data on areas used by caribou as birthing grounds.

"The bone surveys are adding a new piece of the puzzle, giving us a way of studying how caribou use the landscape during calving and providing a longer perspective for evaluating the importance of different regions and habitats," said Miller, an assistant scientist at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus and a Fenneman assistant research professor at the University of Cincinnati.

Unlike other species in the deer family, both male and female caribou grow antlers. Males shed them after they mate, while pregnant females keep their antlers until they calve, losing them within a day or two of giving birth. Newborn caribou calves also suffer high mortality rates within the first couple days of birth. The female antlers and newborn skeletal remains offer a unique biological signal for understanding calving activity, Miller said.

"This new tool has a lot of potential, and the idea that these bones are providing new information is really exciting bone surveys allow us to go into the field today and collect historical information about ecosystems and animal communities that are sometimes only known from a few years of observation," Miller said.

Miller recorded evidence of shed caribou antlers and newborn skeletons from the Porcupine Caribou Herd in area 1002 on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, which comprises about 1.5 million acres on Alaska's northeast border. Because these high-latitude habitats are frozen nearly three-quarters of the year, bones may be preserved on the landscape for hundreds or thousands of years, researchers said.

Testing two different habitats, the tussock tundra and riparian terraces, researchers found the latter has higher concentrations of shed female antlers and numerous newborn skeletons. The data suggests these terrace habitats are used more during some portions of the calving period than other areas traditionally viewed as primary calving terrain, which is important because they comprise less than 10 percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge calving grounds, Miller said.

"Bone surveys are suggesting that these riparian zones should be under special consideration as we think about how to manage the Arctic Refuge and ensure this herd prospers in the decades and centuries to come," Miller said.

The Porcupine Caribou Herd includes as many as 170,000 animals that are essential parts of the delicate Arctic ecosystem. These large, herbivorous, hoofed mammals are an important food source for many indigenous northern peoples and natural predators, including wolves, bears and eagles.

Anna Behrensmeyer, vertebrate paleontology curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, said that using skeletal remains as a research tool is important because it helps scientists understand which habitats need protection with minimal disruption to caribou calving. It also allows researchers to collect historical information that may be used to better understand how climate change and other human influences have affected how these animals use the landscape over time.

"We tend to think that what we see now is normal, but we're just seeing a little bit of time," said Behrensmeyer, who was not involved with the study. "Josh's work can extend our time window back maybe hundreds of years, so there's the chance of seeing long-term cycles in the calving areas and also correlating those cycles with climate if you can look back into the past, you might see what this species did to adapt its reproductive strategies to warmer or colder climate periods."

###

Study co-authors include Patrick Druckenmiller of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum and Volker Bahn of Wright State University.

Credits

Writer

Danielle Torrent, dtorrent@flmnh.ufl.edu

Source

Joshua Miller, mille5ju@ucmail.uc.edu


[ 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/2013-03/uof-nbs032713.php

new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers lisa marie presley florida panthers tannehill

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Video: Cypriot Students Protest In Capital

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51334301/

roger goodell psychosis dianna agron million hoodie march tebow trade mike the situation jacksonville jaguars

Quitting marshmallow test can be a rational decision

Mar. 26, 2013 ? A psychological experiment known as "the marshmallow test" has captured the public's imagination as a marker of self control and even as a predictor of future success. This test shows how well children can delay gratification, a trait that has been shown to be as important to scholastic performance as traditional IQ.

New research from University of Pennsylvania psychologists suggests, however, that changing one's mind about delaying gratification can be a rational decision in situations when the timing of the payoff is uncertain.

The research was conducted by assistant professor Joseph Kable and postdoctoral researcher Joseph McGuire, both of the Department of Psychology in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences.

The study was published in the journal Psychological Review.

In the classic marshmallow test, researchers give children a choice between one marshmallow and two. After the children enthusiastically choose two, the experimenter says that they need to leave for "a few minutes" or "a little while." The children are also told that, if they can hold off eating the one marshmallow until the researcher returns, they can have the two marshmallows they prefer. With the children left alone in the room, hidden cameras track how long they resist temptation. Most try to wait but end up caving within a few minutes.

"The kids' responses seem illogical -- if you decided to wait in the first place, why wouldn't you wait the whole way through?" Kable said.

This behavior was an intriguing puzzle for Kable; he studies how people make value-based decisions, especially when they require comparing the value of something in the present with something else in the future. But, in conducting his own variants of the marshmallow test, he found that a key fact had been glossed over in both popular and academic discussions: the children don't know how long they will have to wait.

"I didn't even know that there was uncertainty in the marshmallow test until we started trying to do that type of experiment ourselves on adults and weren't getting any interesting behavior," Kable said. "That the kids don't know how long it's going to be until the researcher returns changes the entire decision problem!"

This confusion may stem from the explanations provided for children's decisions in the marshmallow test. Some of the researchers who have employed the marshmallow test and its variants have hypothesized that participants' decision to eat the marshmallow could be attributed to a strong impulse overriding the original decision to wait, or that the ability to wait was drawing on a reserve of self control that is depleted over time. Since these hypotheses make the same predictions even when there is no uncertainty, the uncertainty was often downplayed.

Kable and McGuire's analysis of data from earlier marshmallow-test studies showed problems for these hypotheses, however. If reversing the decision to wait was a function of the wearing down of self control, the time at which children eat the first marshmallow should be clustered in the middle or towards the end of the waiting period. Instead, children who gave up waiting tended to do so within the first few minutes.

After this analysis, Kable and McGuire did their own survey-based research to see how people estimate the lengths of waiting times in different situations.

The researchers asked participants to imagine themselves in a variety of scenarios, such as watching a movie, practicing the piano or trying to lose weight. Participants were told the amount of time they had been at the activity and were asked to respond how long they thought it would be until they reached their goal or the end.

The results showed a marked difference between the scenario with a relatively well-defined length and those that were more ambiguous.

"Our intuition is that when we are waiting for something, the longer we wait the closer and closer we get to that thing, which is what we see when we ask people about familiar things, like how long a movie will last," Kable says. "But what we've found is that, if you don't know anything about when the outcome will occur, the longer you wait the more you think you're getting farther and farther away from that outcome."

While the marshmallow test remains a good predictor of who is better or worse at delaying gratification, Kable's research suggests the mechanism behind that ability needs to be reinterpreted. It may also suggest some tools and techniques people can use to improve self control, or at least become aware of situations where delaying gratification will be particularly challenging.

"This is exciting to us because it suggests a way to get people to persist to the end," Kable said. "Your previous experience and your expectations can change your behavior, so you need to give them experiences that provide them with the right kinds of expectations."

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

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

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


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/consumer_behavior/~3/hABE1hnohKo/130326194138.htm

Christian Bale Sherman Hemsley Olympics Opening Ceremony Katherine Jackson Olympics Opening Ceremony Time paris jackson paris jackson

US stocks fall on broad concern about Europe

A trader rushes across the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets are opening higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A trader rushes across the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets are opening higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Edward Curran, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets opened higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Peter Mancuso, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets opened higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader James Riley, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets opened higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Mario Picone, left, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, March 25, 2013. U.S. stock markets are opening higher after Cyprus clinched a last-minute bailout that saved it from bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks reversed an early rise on Wall Street Monday as traders returned to worrying about the European economy.

Optimism about a deal to prevent financial collapse in Cyprus had briefly pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 index to within a quarter-point of its record closing high, but stocks soon turned negative.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite index both closed down 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.4 percent.

Stocks turned negative about an hour into the trading day Monday as the initial euphoria about Cyprus' deal to secure 10 billion euros in emergency funding was overshadowed by renewed concerns about the European economy.

The fear intensified after a top European official indicated that investors in struggling banks may be forced to take losses ? an element of the Cyprus agreement that had previously been seen as unique to that country.

All ten industry groups in the S&P 500 closed lower, with industrial and materials companies posting the biggest losses. Network technology company VMware Inc. dove after the website Business Insider reported that PayPal and eBay will remove its software from 80,000 servers. The stock fell $3.65, or 4.6 percent, to $76.50.

Among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 index were software maker Red Hat Inc., online marketplace eBay Inc. and Textron Inc., an aerospace and defense contractor.

Europe still needs a long-term economic fix, said David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds. Business activity in the 17 nations using the euro has declined continually since September 2011, according to research by Markit, a data provider. The region's economy shrank 0.6 percent in 2012, according official government statistics.

Business activity in nations that use the euro contracted more quickly in March, according to Markit's closely-watched survey of purchasing executives, which was published Thursday. The index had its worst decline in four months.

European policy makers have avoided a financial crisis by flooding the market with cash, but they haven't addressed economic hardship on the ground, Kelly said. In granting Cyprus' emergency rescue, for example, lenders demanded economic reforms, debt payments and a banking overhaul that will result in heavy losses for bank bondholders and shareholders. In addition, people with more than 100,000 euros in their accounts will lose up to 40 percent of their deposits.

Kelly said that's tough to swallow for people facing high unemployment and government cutbacks in Greece, Italy, Spain and other countries that received bailouts.

"If they're going to end up broke anyway," Kelly said, it will be "harder and harder for people to make the sacrifices that Europe is demanding of them." That could lead voters in bailed-out countries to resist lenders' terms, increasing political and economic instability in Europe and weighing on global markets, he said.

That concern intensified Monday after a key official indicated that the Cyprus rescue may serve as a model in other nations with struggling banks.

"If the bank can't do it, then we'll talk to the shareholders and the bondholders, we'll ask them to contribute in recapitalizing the bank, and if necessary the uninsured deposit holders," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs meetings of finance ministers from nations that use the euro, in an interview with the Financial Times and Reuters. Dijsselbloem's office confirmed the remarks.

Wall Street had opened higher, following gains in Europe and Asia. Traders were relieved that international lenders agreed early Monday to release emergency rescue funds for Cyprus. The European Central Bank will continue to support the nation's foundering banks. In exchange, Cyprus will take major steps to shrink its troubled banking industry and cut its budget.

At first, the deal to save Cyprus' banks erased the latest source of anxiety for investors, who have traded for more than three years under the cloud of a debt crisis in Europe. The fear is that a heavily indebted country will default on its financial obligations and be forced to exit the shared currency. That could cause the region to unravel, deepening the recession there and roiling international financial markets.

Concern about Cyprus last week pushed U.S. stock indexes to only their second weekly loss this year. Investors watched closely as the small, Mediterranean island scrambled to satisfy its lenders and prevent its banks from collapsing.

Traders expect more turbulence from Europe before the crisis has been resolved, said Anthony Conroy, head trader at ConvergEx Group, which provides technology to support big traders like investment advisers and hedge funds. Given the uncertainty, it's not surprising that stocks would veer between positive and negative, he said.

"When you have concern, you have volatility, and you're seeing volatility in here," Conroy said.

European stocks were up when Wall Street opened Monday, but turned lower shortly after Wall Street's gains evaporated. France's CAC-40 closed down 1.1 percent, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent and Germany's DAX lost 0.5 percent.

Earlier, Asian stocks closed mostly higher on optimism about the Cyprus deal.

The S&P 500 closed down 5.2 points at 1,551.69. The loss was offset in part by big jumps for Apollo Group Inc. and McGraw-Hill Cos. Computer maker Dell Inc. also supported the index as a bidding war broke out among investors who want to take the company private.

The Dow fell 64.28 points to 14,447.75. The Nasdaq dropped 9.7 to 3,235.30.

As the final week of trading this quarter kicks off, the indexes are holding onto most of the gains built during the long rally earlier this month. The Dow is up 10 percent, the S&P 500 nearly nine percent.

Conroy expects stocks to maintain their recent gains as short-term dips draw more traders into the market. Kelly agreed, noting that stocks typically decline in the last week of a strong quarter, as investors seek to lock in their gains.

Among the companies making big moves:

? Apollo Group soared after the for-profit education company said its quarterly net income exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The stock rose $1.21, or 7.1 percent, to $18.25.

? Dollar General's quarterly net income rose as the operator of discount stores attracted more customers and sold more goods. The stock rose $1.01, or 2 percent, to $51.08.

? Dell rose 37 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $14.51. The company received competing bids from activist investor Carl Icahn, who offered $15 per share for a majority stake; and buyout firm Blackstone Group, which proposed a deal worth $14.25 per share. Founder Michael Dell had been in talks to take the company private for about $13.65 per share.

? McGraw-Hill Cos. rose strongly after it said it will resume an accelerated share buyback program capped at $500 million. The media company will use cash generated by the recent sale of its education business. Its stock rose $1.66, or 3.4 percent, to $50.03.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-25-Wall%20Street/id-36c650d937a84e39a3eeee9bef11dab1

aaron carter sister pfizer signing day 2012 football gasland college football recruiting bjork national signing day 2012

Build A Space-Saving Roll-Out Pantry that Fits Between the Fridge and the Wall

Build A Space-Saving Roll-Out Pantry that Fits Between the Fridge and the Wall If you have a little space between your fridge and the retaining wall next to it, or any space about six inches wide in your kitchen, this DIY roll-out pantry can hold a ton of canned goods and other non-perishables, roll out when you need it, and slide easily back into place when you're finished.

The project from the folks at Classy Clutter, is designed to hold canned foods, but we imagine you could use it for just about anything, and it doesn't have to live between the fridge and a wall. It's only 6" across, and it rests on 2" casters, so it can slide in and out of place easily. Everything you need to build it are easily available at your local hardware store (The full parts list is at the link below?it's pretty much just wood, casters, dowels, and a knob to pull the pantry in and out with.)

Once you assemble the thing, you have plenty of extra shelf space for storage, and dowels along the bottom part of the shelves to make sure items don't come falling out every time you pull the pantry out from behind the fridge. She even painted it so it would blend in nicely with the rest of the kitchen. Hit the link for more photos, the list of parts, and all the measurements.

Build Your Own Extra Storage (DIY Canned Food Organizer) | Classy Clutter

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/umm854i5pbY/build-a-space+saving-roll+out-pantry-that-fits-between-the-fridge-and-the-wall

bowling green marysville tornados dr. seuss the temptations rush limbaugh sandra fluke green book

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Cyprus deal could spur stocks to new high?

NEW YORK - Stocks could break through to all-time closing highs next week - provided a resolution to the fiscal woes of Cyprus satisfies investors.

The island nation accounts for a fraction of euro zone economic output, and yet the wrangling over a $13 billion bailout package kept markets on edge throughout this past week. The S&P 500 fell for the first time in four weeks, with weakness linked to uncertainty overseas.

The Cypriot ruling party said Friday that it was close to a deal to raise billions of euros in order to secure a bailout from the European Union to avoid a financial meltdown and a potential exit from the euro.

Eurozone leaders have offered the country 10 billion euros on the condition it raises 5.8 billion euros on its own. The rescue plan is smaller in scope than previous bailouts to eurozone members, making investors worry less about a banking collapse and more about the possibility Cyprus would exit the bloc and drop the euro currency.

The worry "is the psychological knock-on effect of the credible possibility of some (country) saying ?Cyprus got out, now they are on their own, they devalued their currency, they don't have to go through austerity,'" said Art Hogan, managing director at Lazard Capital Markets in New York.

"What is going to stop Greece from doing the same thing? And you start a daisy chain."

Similarly, investors had reacted harshly to proposals by European officials to tax depositors - including those protected by depositor insurance - to fund the bailout. That sparked some selling on the idea that such a plan could set a precedent for dealing with other troubled euro zone economies, and set off bank runs across the continent.

Assuming Cyprus's troubles are solved, investors will turn their attention to economic data due during the holiday-shortened week, with equity markets closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

The data will include orders for durable goods orders and pending home sales for February as well as the final reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product.

But with the trend of economic data showing a slow improvement in the U.S. economy, few negative surprises are expected next week. That could enable the S&P 500 to once again make a run at its all-time closing high of 1,565.15. After all, for all of the worry about Cyprus, the S&P only dipped 0.3 percent this week and the benchmark index remains up more than 9 percent for the year.

"The story doesn't seem to be weakening and domestically it seems to be growing in terms of strength," said Sandy Lincoln, chief market strategist at BMO Asset Management U.S. in Chicago.

"People are looking at a better backdrop, whether it is the jobs data, the GDP data or the consumer stepping up on the retail sales side in spite of fiscal drag."

Stocks could see another boost in the form of quarter-end "window dressing" in which money managers add outperforming stocks to their portfolios.

"You are coming into the end of the quarter, everybody has some great results. You are going to get some window dressing on some of the stocks that are doing well," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

With earnings season several weeks away, only nine S&P 500 companies are expected to report quarterly results next week, including discount retailer Dollar General Corp and video game retailer Gamestop Corp.

Only a few companies released results this week, but they were disconcerting. Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, fell well short of revenue expectations. FedEx Corp, the second-largest U.S. package delivery company, cut its forecast for the year.

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 491 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 69 percent have topped analysts' expectations, compared with 62 percent since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

A strong showing next week could push the index past both its record closing high as well as its record intraday high of 1,576.09.

But the index has faced stiff resistance in prior attempts to break the mark, climbing as high as 1,563.62 before losing steam. As more attempts to break the mark fall short, the likelihood of a bigger dip that many analysts have been expecting increases.

"Every time it gets up there, it seems to sell off, so you have to get through that resistance point," Mendelsohn said.

"Once we get through that resistance point that will probably bring more buyers in. If you can't get through it, that will probably encourage some of the sellers a little bit."

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/29edbd7b/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Ccyprus0Edeal0Ecould0Espur0Estocks0Enew0Ehigh0E1C90A34370A/story01.htm

hippocrates andrew breitbart red wings penguins the band colton dixon houston weather

Paul Krugman: Matt Yglesias Condo Criticism Shows Conservatives 'Don't Actually Believe In Any Rules At All'

Paul Krugman is getting a bit fed up with all of this ?right-wing huffiness.?

The Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist criticized conservatives in a blog post Saturday for accusing left-leaning Slate blogger Matt Yglesias of hypocrisy for, of all things, buying a condo. In fact, as Krugman sees it, the right-wing bloggers are the ones acting hypocritical in this case by ?attacking success? after they told everyone to lay off the super-rich during the 2012 presidential campaign.

?These guys don?t actually believe in any rules at all,? Krugman wrote. ?Whatever rule they may lay down in one case, they?ll break in an instant if they think they see an advantage.?

Conservatives have seized on Yglesias? $1.2 million condo buy largely because they believe his past support for some form of wealth redistribution implies that he doesn?t believe anyone should own private property. But that interpretation skews Yglesias? argument, New York Magazine?s Jonathan Chait writes:

His argument about ownership does not imply that nobody should own anything. It merely implies that people don?t have a right to the entirety of their market income so absolute it makes redistribution immoral.

And as the Atlantic's Elspeth Reeve argues, advocating that rich people should pay higher taxes and then buying an expensive condo doesn?t constitute hypocrisy. Yglesias would ?be a hypocrite if he opened a P.O. box in Florida to avoid paying some income taxes,? Reeve writes.

It?s also worth noting that the conservative blogosphere may have honed in on the wrong target in this case. While Yglesias has advocated for raising taxes on the rich as a way to boost funding for public services, he doesn?t think it should necessarily be the go-to solution. In addition, he even offered a sort-of defense of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney?s low tax rate, writing in September that many economists agree that capital income, which accounts for much of Romney?s wealth, should be taxed ?more lightly than labor income.?

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/paul-krugman-matt-yglesias_n_2944862.html

jessica sanchez robert kennedy cardinals san diego weather frances bean cobain north korea missile launch modesto

The TechCrunch ?Lean In' Roundtable: Full Video And Transcript

leanin1This past week, TechCrunch TV was honored to host an intimate roundtable discussion of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's new best-selling book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/1h-6zpLkGTY/

yield crossbow airhead atherosclerosis steven tyler tropic thunder carnie wilson

Monday, 25 March 2013

AP PHOTOS: Images from Holy Week around the world

Pope Francis leans over to kiss a baby after celebrating his first Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square. Penitents in white robes and pointed white hats wait outside a church before a procession in Seville, Spain. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a woman grasps palm fronds and a rosary while praying during an outdoor Mass at an earthquake-damaged cathedral.

Here are some of the images from Holy Week:

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-images-holy-week-around-world-234638084.html

barefoot bandit polar bear plunge lovelace antioch the grey review demi moore 911 call ipo

Blackstone submits preliminary offer to Dell special committee

CALABAR, Nigeria, March 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria, crowned African Nations Cup champions six weeks ago, needed a dramatic late equaliser to rescue a 1-1 home draw with bottom team Kenya in World Cup Group F qualifying on Saturday. Substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi, who plays for Italian second-tier club Varese, scored three minutes into stoppage time to save the Nigerians from an embarrassing defeat. It was the second draw in three games for Nigeria who have five points, level with Malawi at the top of the group. Namibia have three points from three matches and Kenya are bottom on two points. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackstone-submits-preliminary-offer-dell-special-committee-161902878--sector.html

sleigh bells meek sturgis sturgis whitney houston laid to rest daytona bike week mary kay ash

Sunday, 24 March 2013

The Longform Guide to Motherhood

A mother and daughter walk down the Fifth Avenue in Manhattan at the Easter Bonnet Parade in New York April 4, 2010. A mother and daughter walk down the Fifth Avenue in Manhattan at the Easter Bonnet Parade in New York April 4, 2010.

Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

Every weekend, Longform shares a collection of great stories from its archive with Slate. For daily picks of new and classic nonfiction, check out Longform or follow @longform on Twitter. Have an iPad? Download Longform?s app to read the latest picks, plus features from dozens of other magazines, including Slate.

If the personal really is political, then the choices moms make become fodder for us all. In some cases, even the definition of ?mother? is changing. Here are six recent picks about extraordinary moms, stories that reflect a few of the many considerations modern childbearing women must make.

Dream Map to a Mind Seized
Amy Leal ? Chronicle of Higher Education ? December 2012

The author takes time off from teaching to aid her autistic son.

?As an English professor, I teach the art and science of words?their history and literature, their prose and poetry, their logic and their magic. When I plow through the niceties of syntax with my students, I try to pique their interest by pointing out something the essayist Lewis Thomas once noted: Grammar and glamour (originally, ?to cast a spell on?) share etymological roots, and it is no accident that we use the word "spell" to mean both the alphabetic configuration of a word as well as an incantation. Words have power; the proper concatenation of them can conjure a sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice, as Coleridge conceived it, and enact the impossible.

?But how do I empower someone without language, sign, or gesture? What is it like to experience aphasia, dysnomia, auditory and visual distortions, and variable physical sensations? At times I imagine that entering into my son's sensory world?his own particular neurocosm, perhaps I should say?is a bit like walking into Lewis Carroll's Wood With No Names.?

My Mother, My Daughter
Samantha Irby ? Rumpus ? June 2012

A young girl cares for her mother after a stroke.

?You don?t just get to withdraw from your child life while making sure your disabled mother doesn?t set the apartment on fire because her fingers can no longer close firmly around a cigarette. There is no ?opt out? button on adolescence. I would divide myself into two people: the happy, smiling person who needed to make friends and appear to be having a well-adjusted childhood during the day; and my mother?s mother and nursemaid and caretaker and friend at night.?

Parents of a Certain Age
Lisa Miller ? New York ? September 2011

How old is too old to get pregnant?

?It is nearly impossible to have a baby at 50 by accident. ?Oops? does not happen; that momentary abandonment of good sense or caution will almost never result in a pregnancy. No matter how a child is procured, whether through technology or adoption, her 50-year-old parents have likely gone through some kind of hell?paperwork, blood tests, questionnaires, waiting, visa applications, mood swings, marital discord, and recalibration of expectations?to have her. These are the most wanted of children. And their parents, some would argue, can give them something that the youngest and prettiest don?t have: the wisdom of age and an abiding sense that life is a precious gift not to be wasted.?

Meet the Twiblings
Melanie Thernstrom ? New York Times Magazine ? December 2010

On the complicated process of surrogacy and the many definitions of ?mother.?

?And once we made the decision to have children this way, and put away regret, I felt happier embracing it than just tolerating it. There was even something I liked about the idea of a family created by many hands, like one of those community quilt projects, pietra dura, or a mosaic whose beauty arises from broken shards. If it takes a village to raise a child, why not begin with conception? When I tried to think about why I don?t want to have donor-and-surrogacy amnesia, it isn?t that it seems unfair to them (although it is), but that it erases our own experience of how our children came to be. At a basic level, the fact that our children originated through the good will of strangers feels like an auspicious beginning.?

Pregnant Pause?
Alyssa Giacobbe ? Boston Magazine ? December 2012

To some people?s ire, pregnant women are exercising more personal judgment about alcohol consumption.

?And yet, their decision to drink while expecting puts them in the middle of what may be the greatest divide among the pregnant and those who come in contact with them?which, of course, is all of us. That?s because pregnant or not, woman or man, everyone, it seems, has an opinion about everyone else?s drinking habits, especially if the everyone else in question is carrying a child. I?ve seen friends at both ends of the spectrum?from the one who sat at home for the first six months of her pregnancy for fear of doing anything that could possibly harm her baby to the one who took a far more ?European? approach. (If pregnant ladies in Europe are, in fact, doing J?ger shots.) I?m also hearing them judge one another and the comparative health of their babies?out of earshot, of course. And I have to wonder: Is there such a thing as ?drinking safely? while pregnant? And who has the right to say? Are we basing decisions about drinking while pregnant on science? Or something else??

Entertainment for Women
Jessica Francis Kane ? Morning News ? July 2012

The author interviews her mother about life as a secretary at Playboy in 1960s New York City.

?JFK: Were any of your co-secretaries career women, or were they all just working until they got married?

?Mom: Two wanted to sell ad space in the magazine, but no woman would ever have been hired at that time to make the rounds. But maybe they eventually got their wish, attitudes did change ultimately. (By the way, I politely object to the phrasing above, the ?just working until.? Take out the just and I am OK with it.)?

Have a favorite piece that we missed? Leave the link in the comments or tweet it to @longform. For more great writing, check out Longform?s complete archive.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=24234adc1664286fe73092b1d56c5230

grammy nominations lil boosie bobbi kristina brown new edition austerity rihanna and chris brown back together pebble beach