Meningitis outbreak kills at least 40 in Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) ? Health officials say a meningitis outbreak has killed at least 40 people in the West African nation of Guinea.

Conde Lansine, a doctor in the eastern city of Siguiri, said Tuesday it is feared that far more people are dying in remote villages and are not included in that toll.

Siguiri, near the country's border with Mali, has been the hardest-hit community, and Lansine said it was believed that hundreds may have died since January.

Eastern Guinea is hit annually with meningitis cases, though doctors say this year has been much deadlier.

Meningitis is an infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

Even when the disease is caught early and treatment is started, up to 10 percent of patients die within two days.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/meningitis-outbreak-kills-least-40-guinea-163726923.html

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Discuss College Savings During Divorce Process

When Mary Thate and her now ex-husband divorced, she had no idea where her children would go to college. As a couple, they had put aside money for their three children's college education. Early on in the divorce process, they decided to stay in touch and save individually for the collegiate needs of their children.

Saving for college after a divorce is a process of communication. However, the communication is easier if a framework is set up during the divorce settlement, says Mike Fitzgerald, chairman of the College Savings Plans Network.

The framework could include freezing the current 529 plan account (a tax-advantaged investment account used for higher education), splitting 529 plan accounts when needed and deciding what proportion each parent will pay toward their children's education.

[Learn more ways to save for college.]

First, freezing a 529 plan account means no more deposits are made to the account. The money already in it can only be used toward education for the child designated, Fitzgerald says.

Under normal circumstances, an account owner could withdraw money at any time for any reason - a car, a vacation or another purpose - though they would have to pay a tax penalty for non-education spending. Freezing the account prevents former spouses from doing so during what is often a very tense process, he says. Freezing the account would also prevent a parent from using account funds to pay for the education of a child from a new marriage.

The other issue that should be discussed or decreed is what to do with money left over after the child completes his or her education, says Ernest Almonte, a certified public accountant. Possible options include one of the parents using funds to return to school or a sibling using leftover funds, he says.

Once the account is frozen, there are still investment decisions, Fitzgerald says, which are made by the account owner. The legal owner could decide to change the investment strategy to a riskier, more stock-based one or take a more conservative route with a greater percentage of short-term bonds and money market and savings accounts, he says.

[Examine your college savings strategy.]

There is a solution to the problem of one parent having full investment control. "The judge can order splitting an existing 529 plan, and the state has to abide by it," Fitzgerald says.

That means each half of the plan would be set up as a new account and owned by one spouse, who would make investment decisions on his or her half of the account. If a 529 plan had $5,000 in assets, each spouse would be responsible for a new account containing $2,500.

"That money could eventually be used by each parent to help pay for his or her share of the college costs as outlined in the divorce settlement," Fitzgerald says. The court can mandate the percentage each parent will pay toward the child's education, he says. However, each parent will make their own decisions as far as how and where the savings is held or invested.

Thate set a goal of saving $4,000 a year, which she deposits into Idaho's Ideal College Savings Program 529 plan. Her new husband also deposits $4,000, for a total of $8,000. Her ex-husband makes his own decisions about how he will save.

[Avoid the college savings mistakes parents make.]

Each child's education had a different price tag, and that cost wasn't known until college neared. It varied per child based on scholarships awarded, the tuition at time of graduation and high school grades, Thate says. Their oldest won a scholarship and the former couple adjusted what each needed to contribute toward their daughter's education accordingly.

They have an open discussion with each child and say they will pay the full cost of tuition if the child chooses which college to attend from among a set list of schools, she says. If the child chooses a more expensive school, she and her ex-husband will pay a certain amount.

Parents have to keep working together and be in agreement when it comes to education, Thate says. She and her ex-husband managed to get two children started in college by working together.

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/discuss-college-savings-during-divorce-process-150730767.html

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Top 10 Green Buildings Improve Surrounding Environment and Users Health

The American Institute of Architects' winning structures combine environmental sustainability with a focus on public health

By Erin Brodwin

YIN YANG HOUSE The Yin Yang House in Venice, Calif. retained part of an existing 1,200-square foot home built in 1963 and incorporates green roofs, an independent stormwater retention system, and drought-tolerant native plants Image: John Edward Linden

Most paragons of architectural greatness distinguish themselves by an ability to stand out from their surroundings. The American Institute of Architects, by contrast, has just recognized a handful of buildings for their capacity to blend in.

This week, the AIA?s Committee on the Environment (COTE) chose 10 structures that contribute more to the environments in which they dwell than they remove.

They all have a few things in common: First, winning structures are designed with the natural environment in mind: the buildings, as examples, recycle wastewater and replace non-permeable ground and roof coverings, like asphalt, with soil and native vegetation. They also reduce energy consumption by taking advantage of natural light and using on-site renewable energy options like photovoltaic systems. Projects are also designed to improve public health: buildings are located within access to existing public transit networks to encourage walking, bicycling and riding, and designers maximized use of natural light and ventilation and used products that do not give off harmful particles or gases to improve indoor air quality.

Beyond providing feedback for green designers and architects, the panel encourages planners to recognize the importance of sustainable design. As an added incentive to green construction, AIA introduced a voluntary self-reporting system for builders to track their progress toward designing low energy structures as part of its goal of having most buildings be carbon-neutral and non-polluting.

?What we see is a national average energy reduction of around 35 percent over the last three years and this is a great step forward,? says Judson University Department of Architecture Chair Keelan Kaiser, who was a member of the COTE judging panel.

View the Top 10 Green Buildings slide show.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c00a8e39393dbc829b305c640c302449

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UN urges Syria to let in chemical weapons experts

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Syria again Monday to allow experts into the country without delay or conditions to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use, saying this is a "crucial moment" to get the team on the ground.

The U.N. chief told reporters he takes seriously a recent U.S. intelligence report which indicated Syria has twice used chemical weapons and said "a credible and comprehensive inquiry" requires access to all sites where allegations have been made.

Syria wants any investigation limited to an incident near Aleppo in March, but Ban wants a broader investigation, including a December incident in Homs.

Ban made his appeal for access standing beside Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom, a former U.N. chemical weapons inspector in Iraq who heads the team, before they met privately. He praised Sellstrom and his team for their "integrity and independence and professionalism."

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said later that the secretary-general and Sellstrom discussed the steps that have been taken so far in gathering information from a range of sources. He said they agreed that there is no substitute for an on-site investigation to determine if chemical weapons have been used.

Ban stressed earlier to reporters that "on-site activities are essential if the United Nations is to be able to establish the facts and clear up all the doubts surrounding this issue."

He noted that April 29 is the Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare.

"As we address these allegations," Ban said, "I encourage all involved to uphold their responsibilities in enabling us to properly police these heinous weapons of massive destruction."

In a message marking the day, the secretary-general said the allegations "of the use of these indiscriminate and morally repugnant weapons in Syria serve as a reminder of the continuing vital importance of the Chemical Weapons Convention."

The convention prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by the 188 states that have ratified it. Ban said in the past year, the total of declared chemical warfare agents that have been verifiably destroyed has risen from nearly 75 percent to close to 80 percent.

But the secretary-general said "the threat of chemical weapons persist," noting that eight countries have not ratified the convention ? Syria, North Korea, Angola, Egypt, Somalia, South Sudan, Israel and Myanmar.

"Until the convention is universal and the last stockpiles have been destroyed," he said, "our debt to the victims of chemical warfare will remain unpaid."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-urges-syria-let-chemical-weapons-experts-152059439.html

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Algeria president sent to Paris after mini-stroke

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) ? Algeria's president was transferred to Paris for medical treatment following a mini-stroke and tests show he isn't seriously ill, the state news agency reported Sunday.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika had a brief blockage of a blood vessel known as a transient ischemic attack and was sent to the French capital for further tests under the recommendation of his doctors.

The 76-year-old president had been checked into Val de Grace hospital, where he was treated in 2005 for a bleeding ulcer.

"Medical tests conducted at the Val de Grace hospital in Paris confirmed that there is no worry about the state of his health," according to a statement from the prime minister's office. "Daily life will continue as normal."

There have long been concerns about Bouteflika's health, especially since the president rarely appears in public.

Bouteflika, president since 1999, is credited with seeing Algeria through the end of a bloody civil war against Islamists and ruling in an uneasy partnership with the powerful military.

The last few years of his reign, however, have been slammed with accusations of corruption. Bouteflika was also widely believed to be planning to run for a fourth term in next year's presidential elections.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/algeria-president-sent-paris-mini-stroke-081408904.html

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Chilean center-right's hopes sag as top candidate quits race

By Anthony Esposito

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean businessman Laurence Golborne abandoned his presidential candidacy on Monday over a billing scandal and allegations of undeclared offshore assets, dealing a blow to the ruling center-right coalition's hopes of retaining power in the November election.

"I don't want to be an obstacle ... right now I'm withdrawing my candidacy," Golborne, a former public works and mining minister who spearheaded the 2010 rescue of 33 trapped miners in the Atacama desert, said at a news conference in Santiago.

The charismatic Golborne, an independent who was backed by the UDI political party, was widely seen as the conservative with the best shot at defeating Michelle Bachelet, a former president and the frontrunner to lead the center-left in the November 17 vote.

The UDI said it was tapping Economy and Tourism Minister Pablo Longueira, a veteran politician who was close to former dictator Augusto Pinochet, to replace Golborne. Longueira, who had a 50 percent approval rating in March, according to pollster Adimark, will likely face a June 30 primary against former Defense Minister Andres Allamand.

The shake-up in the presidential race came after Chile's top court fined retailer Cencosud about $70 million last week for overcharging some 600,000 customers in its supermarket unit in 2006, when Golborne was the company's chief executive officer.

Chilean newspaper El Sur reported over the weekend that Golborne has undeclared investments in accounts held in the British Virgin Islands, and other media picked up on the report. Golborne said the accounts complied with tax rules.

But his muddled defense of his responsibility in the Cencosud scandal added to criticism that he was politically inexperienced. Golborne initially said it was unclear if there had been abuse, and then declared he had merely gone along with the Cencosud board's decision.

There is significant distrust of business executives in Chile, the world's No. 1 copper producer.

Its center-right coalition has been unable to capitalize on robust economic growth and low unemployment under the stewardship of President Sebastian Pinera, who is ranked the most unpopular president in two decades.

Pinera, a billionaire who used to run an airline, has been battered by protests demanding free education for all in Chile, which has the highest income inequality among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Pinera is constitutionally barred from running for a second consecutive term as president.

Most polls show that Bachelet, a pediatrician who ruled from 2006 to 2010, will easily win the presidential election if she gets the backing of the center-left as expected.

She has said she would pursue major tax reform, change the constitution and "work towards" free education if elected.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer, Terry Wade and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chilean-center-rights-hopes-sag-top-candidate-quits-003249064.html

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HBT: Youk shakes off back injury, starts for Yanks

Kevin Youkilis is back in the Yankees? lineup this afternoon for the first time in a week, reports Dan Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.

Youkilis missed his sixth straight game yesterday due to lower back tightness, which led to a potential stint on the disabled list, but he was cleared to return after he made it through batting practice this afternoon without incident. He?s starting at first base this afternoon against the Blue Jays while Jayson Nix is playing third.

Youkilis is hitting .259 (17-for-61) with two homers, seven RBI and a .796 OPS through 16 games this season. Due to a wide variety of injuries, the 34-year-old has averaged just 120 games played over the past four seasons.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/27/kevin-youkilis-returns-to-yankees-lineup-after-missing-six-games-with-back-injury/related/

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Officials: No sign 'Misha' tied to Boston bombing (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Opponents to Walker: Back off new rent-to-own rule

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Milwaukee's Roman Catholic archbishop and a Republican state senator joined with others Friday to pressure Gov. Scott Walker to back off his plan to free rent-to-own businesses from Wisconsin's consumer protection act.

The provision in the Republican governor's executive budget proposal ensures the businesses wouldn't have to disclose what industry opponents say are exorbitant interest rates.

"I assume Gov. Walker does not know how predatory and plain evil this chain is," Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said of Rent-A-Center, which he said he's been fighting for 18 years. "I hope we can get Gov. Walker to change his mind."

Grothman, Archbishop Jerome Listecki, the director of the consumer advocacy group WISPIRG, the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin and others spoke at a press conference Milwaukee. They contended rent-to-own businesses prey on the poor, uneducated or those with language barriers and charge exorbitant interest rates similar to payday lenders.

Walker's office didn't immediately respond to an email and message left Friday.

Rent-A-Center spokesman Xavier Dominicis said the contracts aren't credit transactions and Wisconsin's consumer act shouldn't apply to them.

"If you really do a deep dive into it, what you discover is there are very key differences between rent to own and traditional consumer credit," he said.

Rent-to-own businesses offer customers a chance to rent items such as appliances, electronics, computers and furniture with no credit check. Typically, customers can exit and rejoin the deals as they wish with no effect on their credit rating. People who complete their contracts can exercise options to buy the items.

Dominicis said the critics aren't giving consumers enough credit to read their contracts, which he said are clear on how much customers will pay if they make payments to the end.

"It's not smoke and mirrors," he said.

He said rent-to-own businesses are particularly helpful for people with bad credit or who don't want to take on more credit.

"It's making life manageable for everyday Americans," he said.

Listecki said rent-to-own businesses keep people in economic servitude.

"If someone wants to pay seven times the amount for an item, they are more than welcome to pay more than seven times for the amount for the item," he said. "The difficulty is when you are not told when you are paying seven times the amount."

Grothman said some other Republicans agree with him but won't speak up publicly. He also said he spoke to Walker about it before the governor introduced his budget proposal and hopes to speak with him again.

"I am going to have to be a lot more vocal about the details if I can get in to see him again," Grothman said.

Forty-seven states have separate laws governing rent-to-own businesses; Wisconsin, New Jersey and North Carolina do not, according to research by Columbia University economics instructor Alejo Czerwonko.

More than 8,500 rent-to-own storefronts were operating in all 50 states and Canada in 2009, generating more than $7 billion and employing more than 50,000 people, according Czerwonko's research. Walker's office says about 50 rent-to-own businesses operate in Wisconsin.

A Wisconsin appeals court ruling in 1993 affirmed the state's consumer protection act governs the industry here, agreeing with a circuit court judge that rent-to-own deals are indeed credit transactions.

In 1999, the state Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Rent-A-Center Inc. The agency accused the company of not abiding by provisions in the act requiring the businesses to disclose all terms of its deals to customers, including finance charges and interest rates. Three years later, a Milwaukee County judge sided with DOJ and ordered Rent-A-Center to pay the state $7 million in restitution and $1.4 million in penalties and fees, according to court documents.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/opponents-walker-back-off-rent-205210427.html

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38 die in mental hospital fire outside Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) ? A fire swept quickly through a psychiatric hospital outside Moscow early Friday, killing 38 people, some of them sedated and in their beds, officials said.

The one-story brick-and-wood hospital building housed patients with severe mental disorders, Health Ministry officials said. An Emergencies Ministry official said the fire started in a wooden annex and then spread to the main brick building, which had wooden beams.

Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said that half of the patients took sedatives at night. She insisted that the patients were not tied to their beds and were not given any medication that would leave them unconscious and unable to escape.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the federal Investigative Committee.

Investigators said the 38 dead included 36 patients and two doctors. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patient, while another patient got out on his own. The Emergencies Ministry also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyev said some of the hospital windows were barred. Gumennaya cited the surviving nurse as saying that the doors inside the hospital were not locked.

Investigators said they are looking at violations of fire regulations and a short circuit as possible causes for the blaze that engulfed the hospital in the Ramensky settlement, some 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Moscow.

Vadim Belovoshin of the Emergencies Ministry said that it took firefighters an hour to get to the hospital because a ferry across a canal was closed and they had to make a detour.

Vorobyev told Russian state television that the fire alarm seems to have worked, but the fire spread too quickly.

Ministry for Emergency Situations workers and fire fighters work at a site of a fire of a psychiatric hospital Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric ... more? Ministry for Emergency Situations workers and fire fighters work at a site of a fire of a psychiatric hospital Friday morning, April 26, 2013. At least 38 people died in the fire in the psychiatric hospital outside Moscow late Thursday night. Police said the fire, which broke out at about 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Eastern, 2200 GMT) in the one-story hospital in the Ramenskoye settlement, was caused by a short circuit. (AP Photo/Pavel Sergeyev) less?

Skvotsova told the state television said that the hospital had all the necessary fire equipment, but conceded mental hospitals should be better equipped for emergencies than the current law requires.

President Vladimir Putin called for a thorough investigation into the deadly fire and asked regional authorities to pay more attention to safety regulations.

Russia has a poor fire safety record, with about 12,000 deaths reported in 2012. In January, a fire in an underground parking lot killed 10 migrant workers from Tajikistan who were working and living there. In a similar incident in September, 14 Vietnamese workers were killed by fire at a clothing factory near Moscow.

In one of the most high-profile cases of negligence, more than 150 people died in a night club in the city of Perm after a pyrotechnic show ignited a wooden ceiling.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/38-die-mental-hospital-fire-outside-moscow-051615611.html

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Jennifer Love Hewitt, 'X Factor' Judge? Interesting...

Have you heard the news that Simon Cowell is "very interested" in having  Jennifer Love Hewitt join him and Demi Lovato on the judging panel for The X Factor, Season 3? Fascinating, isn't it, that this possibility emerged less than a week after Hewitt made this dainty appearance on Ellen? 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/jennifer-love-hewitt-x-factor-judge/1-a-534398?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajennifer-love-hewitt-x-factor-judge-534398

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Tracking gunfire with a smartphone

Apr. 25, 2013 ? You are walking down the street with a friend. A shot is fired. The two of you duck behind the nearest cover and you pull out your smartphone. A map of the neighborhood pops up on its screen with a large red arrow pointing in the direction the shot came from.

A team of computer engineers from Vanderbilt University's Institute of Software Integrated Systems has made such a scenario possible by developing an inexpensive hardware module and related software that can transform an Android smartphone into a simple shooter location system. They described the new system's capabilities this month at the 12th Association for Computing Machinery/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks in Philadelphia.

For the last decade, the Department of Defense has spent millions of dollars to develop sophisticated sniper location systems that are installed in military vehicles and require dedicated sensor arrays. Most of these take advantage of the fact that all but the lowest powered firearms produce unique sonic signatures when they are fired. First, there is the muzzle blast -- an expanding balloon of sound that spreads out from the muzzle each time the rifle is fired. Second, bullets travel at supersonic velocities so they produce distinctive shockwaves as they travel. As a result, a system that combines an array of sensitive microphones, a precise clock and an off-the-shelf microprocessor can detect these signatures and use them to pinpoint the location from which a shot is fired with remarkable accuracy.

Six years ago, the Vanderbilt researchers, headed by Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Science Akos Ledeczi developed a system that turns the soldiers' combat helmets into mobile "smart nodes" in a wireless network that can rapidly identify the location of enemy snipers with a surprising degree of accuracy.

In the past few years, the ISIS team has adapted their system so it will work with the increasingly popular smartphone.

Like the military version, the smartphone system needs several nodes in order to pinpoint a shooter's location. As a result, it is best suited for security teams or similar groups. "It would be very valuable for dignitary protection," said Kenneth Pence, a retired SWAT officer and associate professor of the practice of engineering management who participated in the project. "I'd also love to see a version developed for police squad cars." In addition to the smartphone, the system consists of an external sensor module about the size of a deck of cards that contains the microphones and the processing capability required to detect the acoustic signature of gunshots, log their time and send that information to the smartphone by a Bluetooth connection. The smartphones then transmit that information to the other modules, allowing them to obtain the origin of the gunshot by triangulation.

The researchers have developed two versions. One uses a single microphone per module. It uses both the muzzle blast and shockwave to determine the shooter location. It requires six modules to obtain accurate locations. The second version uses a slightly larger module with four microphones and relies solely on the shockwave. It requires only two modules to accurately detect the direction a shot comes from, however, it only provides a rough estimate of the range.

The research was supported by Defense Advance Research Project Agency grant D11PC20026.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vanderbilt University. The original article was written by David Salisbury.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/di4naegPAM8/130425213800.htm

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Oppo's 4.7-inch, 6.93mm-thick R809T pays homage to the Finder

No, this isn't the world's thinnest phone thanks to Alcatel and BBK, but Oppo's recently announced R809T is still a seemingly attractive device judging by the above official image. Measuring at 6.93mm thick (instead of the rumored 6.13mm), we're surprised that Oppo didn't set this to be the follow-up to the Finder: sure, it's 0.28mm thicker, but it also aces the latter with a 4.7-inch 720p in-cell display, a 1.2GHz quad-core chip with 1GB RAM (likely MediaTek's Cortex-A7-based MT6589 SoC), Android 4.2 and a sorely missed 3.5mm headphone jack -- so no micro-USB adapter required. Then there's also an 8-megapixel main camera plus an increasingly common 2-megapixel, 88-degree wide front-facing imager, which is obviously no match for the 5-megapixel counterpart on Oppo's Ulike 2.

Pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but given the "T" in the model name, chances are it'll only work on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA network, anyway; unless you really don't mind using just GSM. Close-up shot after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Scientists create novel approach to find RNAs involved in long-term memory storage

Scientists create novel approach to find RNAs involved in long-term memory storage

Friday, April 26, 2013

Despite decades of research, relatively little is known about the identity of RNA molecules that are transported as part of the molecular process underpinning learning and memory.

Now, working together, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), Columbia University and the University of Florida, Gainesville, have developed a novel strategy for isolating and characterizing a substantial number of RNAs transported from the cell-body of neuron (nerve cell) to the synapse, the small gap separating neurons that enables cell to cell communication.

Using this new method, the scientists were able to identify nearly 6,000 transcripts (RNA sequences) from the genome of Aplysia, a sea slug widely used in scientific investigation.

The scientists' target is known as the synaptic transcriptome?roughly the complete set of RNA molecules transported from the neuronal cell body to the synapse.

In the study, published recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists focused on the RNA transport complexes that interact with the molecular motor kinesin; kinesin proteins move along filaments known as microtubules in the cell and carry various gene products during the early stage of memory storage.

While neurons use active transport mechanisms such as kinesin to deliver RNA cargos to synapses, once they arrive at their synaptic destination that service stops and is taken over by other, more localized mechanisms?in much the same way that a traveler's bags gets handed off to the hotel doorman once the taxi has dropped them at the entrance.

The scientists identified thousands of these unique sequences of both coding and noncoding RNAs. As it turned out, several of these RNAs play key roles in the maintenance of synaptic function and growth.

The scientists also uncovered several antisense RNAs (paired duplicates that can inhibit gene expression), although what their function at the synapse might be remains unknown.

"Our analyses suggest that the transported RNAs are surprisingly diverse," said Sathya Puthanveettil, a TSRI assistant professor who designed the study. "It also brings up an important question of why so many different RNAs are transported to synapses. One reason may be that they are stored there to be used later to help maintain long-term memories."

The team's new approach offers the advantage of avoiding the dissection of neuronal processes to identify synaptically localized RNAs by focusing on transport complexes instead, Puthanveettil said. This new approach should help in better understanding changes in localized RNAs and their role in local translation as molecular substrates, not only in memory storage, but also in a variety of other physiological conditions, including development.

"New protein synthesis is a prerequisite for maintaining long term memory," he said, "but you don't need this kind of transport forever, so it raises many questions that we want to answer. What molecules need to be synthesized to maintain memory? How long is this collection of RNAs stored? What localized mechanisms come into play for memory maintenance?"

###

In addition to Puthanveettil, who was the first author of the study, authors of "A Strategy to Capture and Characterize the Synaptic Transcriptome," include Igor Antonov, Sergey Kalchikov, Priyamvada Rajasethupathy, Yun-Beom Choi, Maxime Kinet, Irina Morozova, James J. Russo, and Jingyue Ju of Columbia University; Kevin A. Karl of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Eric R. Kandel of Columbia University, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Kavli Institute for Brain Science; and Andrea B. Kohn, Mathew Citarella, Fahong Yu and Leonid L. Moroz of the University of Florida, Gainesville. For more information, see http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/04/10/1304422110.long

Scripps Research Institute: http://www.scripps.edu

Thanks to Scripps Research Institute for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127967/Scientists_create_novel_approach_to_find_RNAs_involved_in_long_term_memory_storage

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Smartphones out-ship feature phones for the first time, iPhone reaches Q1 high

Smartphones outshipped feature phones for the first time in Q1 2013, with the iPhone reaching a new first-quarter personal high for shipments. Apple had the second-highest number of smartphones shipped, coming in behind Samsung. IDC noted that the iPhone did experience a slowdown in growth compared to the same quarter last year.

Apple's smartphone shipment volume hit a new first-quarter high thanks in part to the iPhone 5, with volume growing 6.6% year over year. However, the last time the iPhone maker posted a single-digit year-over-year growth rate was 3Q09. The iPhone maker has held the second spot in the smartphone rankings for the past five quarters. Apple's mix of models shipped to market is increasingly diversified as it tries to reach new buyers.

Samsung, of course, sells many different models of phones, while Apple only sells three, and Samsung doesn?t sell every phone in every country. Apple may have the lead in the United States, but Samsung continues to fulfill a demand in countries where the iPhone has no presence or is more expensive than anything Samsung offers. Apple may be looking to compete in these countries with the rumored low-cost iPhone, bringing a more affordable device to places where phone subsidies are either uncommon or non-existent, and threatening Samsung?s position as the world leader in smartphones.

Source: IDC

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/f8G8aH910uo/story01.htm

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Jenelle Evans Kicked Out of House By Courtland Rogers' Mom, Throws Fit, Leaves Dog

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/jenelle-evans-kicked-out-of-house-by-courtland-rogers-mom-throws/

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Teachers trash Mexican political party offices in regional capital

By Luis Enrique Martinez

ACAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Angry teachers on Wednesday attacked offices of Mexico's main political parties in the capital of the southwestern state of Guerrero to protest against an education overhaul, breaking windows, spray-painting walls and starting fires.

Dozens of teachers opposed to President Enrique Pena Nieto's new education reform ran riot in the city of Chilpancingo, trashing installations of his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the main opposition parties.

Police were nowhere to be seen.

Television footage showed masked protesters throwing chairs, papers and plants out of the upper floors of the PRI offices in Chilpancingo as others destroyed images of Pena Nieto and sprayed colorful graffiti about him on the walls of buildings.

Teachers in Guerrero, home to the popular beach resort of Acapulco, are fighting the legislation that aims to revamp the country's failing education system by imposing tougher oversight of teaching standards and cracking down on abuses.

The law takes away control of teacher assessment from a powerful teachers union and seeks to end the practice of teachers passing on posts to relatives or simply selling them.

Teachers have been one of the most militant groups in Mexico in recent years, periodically causing major disruptions in some states during efforts to force through change.

"We need to avoid the law of the jungle imposing itself, chaos and the breakdown of public order," PRI chairman Cesar Camacho said, pledging to investigate the unrest.

Images from Milenio Television also showed protesters armed with sticks attacking offices of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which also backed the education reform.

The footage showed people had set fire to a building next to the PRI complex. It was unclear if it belonged to the party.

Milenio's website quoted Chilpancingo Mayor Mario Moreno as saying the city lacked the means to take on the protesters. "We've already asked for federal assistance," he said.

Previous demonstrations in Guerrero have shut down main roads in the state, which is already suffering from a wave of violence that spawned vigilante-style "community self-defense" groups.

The groups have taken the law into their own hands, rounding up who they see as suspects, including police, and prompting criticism the government is no longer in control of some areas.

Guerrero state police said elements from the self-defense groups were among the people attacking the political offices.

The protests in Chilpancingo kicked off after Guerrero's state congress on Tuesday rejected demands from the teachers to amend the education bill, which involves constitutional changes that must be approved by Mexico's state legislatures.

To escape disruption from the protests, the state congress moved this week to Acapulco, which last year became the murder capital of Mexico with more than 1,000 homicides reported.

Pena Nieto signed the education law in February. Lawmakers must still draw up separate legislation to implement it.

(Additional reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Simon Gardner and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teachers-trash-mexican-political-party-offices-regional-capital-155435081.html

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Apple confirms WWDC 2013 will take place June 10th to 14th, tickets go on sale tomorrow

This is one Apple event that's fairly constant, but the company has confirmed today that the 2013 edition of its Worldwide Developers Conference -- otherwise known as WWDC -- will take place from June 10th to 14th at Moscone West in San Francisco. In a statement, Apple's Phil Schiller says that its "developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we're excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to help them create innovative new apps," adding, "we can't wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC." Not exactly a huge surprise there, but you can rest assured we'll be there to cover that and anything else the company might have up its sleeve. Tickets are set to go on sale tomorrow.

Filed under: Apple

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Apple

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

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Looking for life by the light of dying stars

Apr. 24, 2013 ? Because it has no source of energy, a dead star -- known as a white dwarf -- will eventually cool down and fade away. But circumstantial evidence suggests that white dwarfs can still support habitable planets, says Prof. Dan Maoz of Tel Aviv University's School of Physics and Astronomy.

Now Prof. Maoz and Prof. Avi Loeb, Director of Harvard University's Institute for Theory and Computation and a Sackler Professor by Special Appointment at TAU, have shown that, using advanced technology to become available within the next decade, it should be possible to detect biomarkers surrounding these planets -- including oxygen and methane -- that indicate the presence of life.

Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the researchers' "simulated spectrum" demonstrates that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), set to be launched by NASA in 2018, will be capable of detecting oxygen and water in the atmosphere of an Earth-like planet orbiting a white dwarf after only a few hours of observation time -- much more easily than for an Earth-like planet orbiting a sun-like star.

Their collaboration is made possible by the Harvard TAU Astronomy Initiative, recently endowed by Dr. Raymond and Beverly Sackler.

Faint light, clear signals

"In the quest for extraterrestrial biological signatures, the first stars we study should be white dwarfs," said Prof. Loeb. Prof. Maoz agrees, noting that if "all the conditions are right, we'll be able to detect signs of life" on planets orbiting white dwarf stars using the much-anticipated JWST.

An abundance of heavy elements already observed on the surface of white dwarfs suggest rocky planets orbit a significant fraction of them. The researchers estimate that a survey of 500 of the closest white dwarfs could spot one or more habitable planets.

The unique characteristics of white dwarfs could make these planets easier to spot than planets orbiting normal stars, the researchers have shown. Their atmospheres can be detected and analyzed when a star dims as an orbiting planet crosses in front of it. As the background starlight shines through the planet's atmosphere, elements in the atmosphere will absorb some of the starlight, leaving chemical clues of their presence -- clues that can then be detected from the JWST.

When an Earth-like planet orbits a normal star, "the difficulty lies in the extreme faintness of the signal, which is hidden in the glare of the 'parent' star," Prof. Maoz says. "The novelty of our idea is that, if the parent star is a white dwarf, whose size is comparable to that of an Earth-sized planet, that glare is greatly reduced, and we can now realistically contemplate seeing the oxygen biomarker."

In order to estimate the kind of data that the JWST will be able to see, the researchers created a "synthetic spectrum," which replicates that of an inhabited planet similar to Earth orbiting a white dwarf. They demonstrated that the telescope should be able to pick up signs of oxygen and water, if they exist on the planet.

A critical sign of life

The presence of oxygen biomarkers would be the most critical signal of the presence of life on extraterrestrial planets. Earth's atmosphere, for example, is 21 percent oxygen, and this is entirely produced by our planet's plant life as a result of photosynthesis. Without the existence of plants, an atmosphere would be entirely devoid of oxygen.

The JWST will be ideal for hunting out signs of life on extraterrestrial planets because it is designed to look into the infrared region of the light spectrum, where such biomarkers are prominent. In addition, as a space-based telescope, it will be able to analyze the atmospheres of Earth-like planets outside our solar system without weeding out the similar signatures of Earth's own atmosphere.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/ftCCORIXq54/130424112318.htm

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TV-over-Internet service Aereo expands to Boston

NEW YORK (AP) ? Aereo, the television-over-the-Internet service that is threatening the broadcast and cable TV industries, is expanding to Boston on May 15.

With prices starting at $8 a month, Aereo will offer 28 Boston-area broadcast channels, plus the cable channel Bloomberg TV. Service will be available in Boston and surrounding areas in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The Barry Diller-backed company announced in January that it plans to expand beyond New York to 22 additional U.S. markets. Boston represents the first metropolitan area outside New York. Others expected in the coming months include Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington.

Aereo converts television signals into computer data and sends them over the Internet to subscribers' computers and mobile devices. Subscribers can watch channels live or record them with an Internet-based digital video recorder. They can pause and rewind live television, just like a DVR.

Aereo sells its service as a low-cost alternative to cable or satellite TV, and it plans to target those who have dropped pay-TV service or never had one. Aereo offers far fewer channels than most pay-TV packages, but it could appeal to viewers who already turn to Hulu, Netflix and other online sources for TV shows and movies.

Broadcasters see Aereo as a threat to their revenue, even though stations already make signals available for free. Broadcasters are increasingly supplementing advertising revenue with fees they get from cable and satellite TV companies for redistributing their stations to subscribers. If customers drop their pay-TV service and use Aereo instead, broadcasters would lose some of that revenue.

So far, federal courts have ruled against broadcasters' claims that Aereo's service constitutes copyright infringement. Aereo claims what it is doing is legal because it has thousands of tiny antennas at its data centers and assigns individual subscribers their own antenna. According to Aereo, that makes it akin to customers picking up free broadcast signals with a regular antenna at home. Broadcasters argue that the use of individual antennas is a mere technicality meant to circumvent copyright law.

Although the latest ruling, from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will likely be appealed, broadcasting companies have already threatened to take their stations off the air. The Fox and Univision television networks are among those that say they might end their free broadcasts and become a subscription-only channel like CNN, Nickelodeon and Discovery.

Aereo's Boston expansion will initially be available only to those who had pre-registered for the service. The New York-based company said others would be able to join after May 30.

Subscribers must live in one of 16 counties: Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, or Worcester in Massachusetts; Belknap, Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham or Strafford counties in New Hampshire; or Windham County in Vermont.

___

Online:

Aereo: http://aereo.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-23-TV%20on%20the%20Internet/id-831a86cfec6e4abcb4320f8afaf2010e

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Oops! N.Y.'s Suffolk County accidentally defaults on debt

By Edward Krudy and Pamela Niimi

NEW YORK (Reuters) - As if Suffolk County, home of the Hamptons and playground of the rich and famous on New York's Long Island, didn't have enough financial problems already.

A regulatory filing on behalf of the county dated April 16 shows it accidentally missed an interest payment on some of its debt, including $76.1 million of public improvement bonds, putting the county technically in default. Oops.

The county is wealthy with income per capita well above the national average but it has run into difficulty recently, declaring a fiscal emergency last year after an independent task force predicted a three-year deficit of $530 million.

The county could have a budget shortfall of as much as $250 million by the end of next year, local officials said last month.

The error is more of an embarrassing glitch than anything else. The missed payment - just $722.65 - would be small change for many of the county's residents.

That will buy you fewer than 20 butter-poached lobster rolls (not the most expensive thing on the menu) at Dave's Grill in Montauk, a quaint fishing village on the island's northern tip, or just 10 bottles of Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River 2009 at La Plage in Wading River. A mere picnic.

The mistake was pointed out by the Depository Trust Company, a clearing firm, the day after it was missed and the filing says the error was the fault of the county's escrow agent, M&T Bank.

"The county informed M&T of its error and the escrow agent immediately wired the $722.65 payment to DTC," the regulatory filing said.

So what went wrong? The county was making the first payment in a complicated arrangement that uses $17 million in state HEAL grants for medical costs, primarily related to the Foley Nursing home, said Richard Tortora, president of Capital Markets Advisors, the county's financial adviser.

The $722.65, part of a debt payment of over $1 million, was the portion of the payment from the HEAL grants. The $17 million is being held in an escrow account at M&T.

"M&T for reasons we can't fathom just blew it: 'Oops it wasn't in our system, we missed it'", said Tortora, president of Capital Markets Advisors. Tortora said missing the payment and having to make a regulatory filing with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board was frustrating after months spent putting the arrangement together for the county.

M&T Bank was not immediately available for comment.

Fitch Ratings, the credit ratings agency, downgraded Suffolk County's general obligation bond rating to A from A-plus last month, affecting about $1.4 billion of debt. General obligation bonds have the full faith and credit of the issuer and are the best gauge of how risky investors think the county is.

Fitch said it had concerns about the county's ability to become financially stable, let alone reduce its big deficit.

(This story was corrected to fix name of Suffolk County's financial advisers)

(Reporting by Edward Krudy, additional reporting by Pam Niimi; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oops-yorks-suffolk-county-accidentally-defaults-debt-173732971--sector.html

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Britain proposes airwaves shake-up to meet broadband demand

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's telecoms regulator is proposing to change the way it will allocate the next batch of airwaves to be made available to mobile operators facing burgeoning demand for mobile data.

Telecoms operators have previously paid billions of pounds to secure long leases on the best chunks of airwaves, known as the real estate of the mobile industry, most recently in the 4G auction.

But Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said the industry would have to become more flexible on the terms of spectrum ownership to solve problems such as interference and the changing dynamics of the industry.

That means operators could own specific parts of spectrum for shorter lengths of time as newer demands emerge, he said.

But the flip side for consumers is that, with spectrum changing hands more often, products such as handsets and tablets would need to be updated and retuned, and could become obsolete faster.

"At every stage, industry and consumers will need to modify their expectations in relation to the spectrum certainties of the past," he said at the Telecoms Regulation Forum on Tuesday.

A consultation on the changes is expected to be launched by Ofcom on Wednesday as part of its strategy to eventually reallocate the 700 MHz spectrum, some of which is used for television broadcasting to mobile services, in about 2020.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by David Goodman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-proposes-airwaves-shake-meet-broadband-demand-170904589--finance.html

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Sharon Osbourne says she's not divorcing Ozzy

NEW YORK (AP) ? Sharon Osbourne says she and husband Ozzy aren't splitting.

Osbourne addressed recent rumors of their family problems on Tuesday's edition of "The Talk," the CBS chat show she co-hosts.

She told viewers she had not been aware of her husband's year-and-a-half-long relapse into prescription drug and alcohol abuse, which he made public in an apologetic Facebook post last week.

She says she is "devastated" by their struggles, but she added that the couple has dealt with worse before.

The TV personality and music manager blinked back tears as she said, "This, too, shall pass."

Ozzy Osbourne was a founding member of heavy-metal pioneers Black Sabbath, but he left the group in 1979. The 64-year-old has since rejoined, and the band's new studio album is out in June.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sharon-osbourne-says-shes-not-divorcing-ozzy-194843119.html

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S.Africa's central bank sentiment indicator rises in February

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African Reserve Bank's monthly leading business cycle indicator increased 0.1 percent in February from January, as the number of residential building plans approved went up, the bank said on Tuesday.

The indicator collates data such as vehicle sales, job advertisements, business confidence and money supply to gauge the economic outlook.

Indices: 2000 = 100 Feb Jan Dec

Leading Indicator 133.3 132.2 131.8

12-mth percentage change 1.0 1.9 1.2

Coincident Indicator 166.0 166.1

12-mth percentage change 6.7 7.0

Lagging Indicator 106.7 105.9

12-mth percentage change 0.2 0.6

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africas-central-bank-sentiment-indicator-rises-february-072012609--business.html

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Anna Merz, Protector of Black Rhinos, Dies at 81

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Mrs. Merz founded a wildlife reserve in Kenya that has helped the black rhinoceros come back from the brink of extinction.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/world/africa/anna-merz-protector-of-black-rhinos-dies-at-81.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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