Google Analytics Now Makes It Easier To Track Inbound Links And Stats From Its Social Hub Partners

Google today announced that it has redesigned some of Google Analytics‘ social reports to make it easier for publishers to see when they get inbound links from other sites. The update also makes it easier to track how people are engaging with a publisher’s content through the new Data Hub Activity report. Google Analytics’ Social Data Hub gets this data from partner sites like Reddit, and Digg, through commenting systems like Disqus, Echo and Livefyre, as well as a number of other services. The standalone Data Hub Activity report provides publishers with a “timeline of the number of activities that have occurred in the Social Data Hub and the raw activities in a list below.” The data can also be filtered by specific networks. This Social Hub data was already available previously, but it was mostly buried inside Google Analytics’ social reports. Now that this data is more visible, integrating with the Analytics Social Data Hub will surely become more interesting for companies that operate social networks and platforms, as more Analytics users will now be aware of it and ask for this kind of integration so they can track their social engagement data in one place. Stats about trackbacks, too, were already available in Google Analytics, but they are now available in a standalone report. Previously, however, it was hard to see how important a certain inbound link really was. The new report, Google says, now provides more context “for the significance of each of these trackbacks by displaying the number of visits that were driven by each endorsing URL during the reporting period.”

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bxRocOvle8I/

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Official says US seeks Arab states for peace push

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The U.S. is seeking to bring Arab countries into efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that broke down more than four years ago, a senior Palestinian official said Monday.

Also Monday, the Israeli government said it would resume regular transfers of millions of dollars in tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, a step bound to ease the self-rule government's protracted cash crisis.

The decision came just days after President Barack Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to the region. Obama has said stabilizing the Palestinian Authority, which has buckled under mounting debt, is key to U.S. peace efforts.

However, there are wide gaps on the terms of renewing talks. The Palestinians say Israel must freeze settlement building on lands it captured in 1967 before any negotiations can resume. Israel says the issue of settlements can be addressed during negotiations.

Obama has sided with the Israeli view, and it is not clear how the U.S. can bring the Palestinians back to the table without a settlement freeze.

Arab countries are now being asked to help, said Yasser Abed-Rabbo, a top official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

"U.S. efforts will increase in coming weeks and will include other Arab parties, such as Jordan and Egypt," Abed-Rabbo told Voice of Palestine radio, adding that an Arab League delegation is to visit Washington as part of these efforts.

However, he said there would be no flexibility on Palestinian demands for a settlement freeze.

"For us, the important thing is the substance, such as the full settlement freeze and the recognition of the 1967 borders," he said.

The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem ? territories Israel captured in 1967 ? but are ready to negotiate border changes, provided the 1967 frontier is the baseline.

Palestinian officials say they cannot return to talks without such a clear framework, arguing that open-ended negotiations will simply provide diplomatic cover to Israel to keep expanding settlements.

"We fear they (the Israelis) would waste time by getting us into a bargaining process over details and steps here and there, and in this way would waste two to three years and then get us to wait for a new U.S. administration," Abed-Rabbo said.

Netanyahu has said he is willing to resume talks immediately. However, he has said he will not relinquish control over east Jerusalem and has refused to recognize the 1967 lines as a starting point for talks.

For 10 months during his previous term, Netanyahu curbed settlement building as part of a U.S. push to bring the Palestinians back to the table, but negotiations never got off the ground.

Successive Israeli governments have built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, now home to more than half a million Israelis. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, dismantling almost two dozen settlements there, but sharply restricts access to the territory.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sunday that the Palestinians would wait two to three months to see if a new U.S. push to restart talks will yield results.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said he has instructed Finance Minister Yair Lapid to resume the monthly transfer of taxes and customs duties Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

The decision was announced on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, and Israeli officials were not available to further comment.

Israel froze the transfers of about $100 million a month after a successful Palestinian bid in November to win U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine in the lands Israel captured in 1967. Israel has released some money since then, but not on schedule.

The office of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said it expects Israel will now transfer the money regularly.

The transfers are a key component of the Palestinian Authority's budget. In recent months, the self-rule government, which administers about 38 percent of the West Bank, has struggled to pay salaries of tens of thousands of civil servants, the backbone of the local economy, and repay its debt to the private sector.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/official-says-us-seeks-arab-states-peace-push-155317484.html

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Many parents introduce solids before 4 months : CDC

By Genevra Pittman

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Four in ten new parents start feeding their babies solid foods before their four-month birthday, according to a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Physician groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommend against parents introducing solid foods until infants are about six months old.

In part, that's because early solids have been tied to obesity and other chronic conditions and because public health experts agree it's best if mothers can breastfeed exclusively for six months.

"Introducing solid foods early means that the baby gets less breast milk over the course of their infancy, and that decreases the ability to get optimal benefits, like protection against infection," said Dr. Alice Kuo, from the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities.

Kuo, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health there's been less research on when babies are developmentally ready to chew and swallow solid foods without choking - another important consideration.

"Infants should be able to sit up (and) take food off the spoon," said the CDC's Kelley Scanlon, who worked on the research.

"Sometimes if they're not ready, if they get presented with the food, they might not open their mouth? or they might spit it back up."

Her team's research included 1,334 new moms who filled out questionnaires each month about what their baby had eaten in the past week. The surveys were conducted between 2005 and 2007, when AAP recommendations called for starting solid foods no earlier than four months of age.

Just over 40 percent of parents reported their babies were eating solids, such as cereals and purees, before that point.

Those parents said they thought their babies were old enough to eat solid foods, infants seemed hungry or - in the case of more than half of early solid feeders - doctors or nurses had recommended they start introducing those foods.

"There's not clear communication of the recommendations or the potential health impacts of early introduction," Scanlon told Reuters Health.

Nine percent of early introducers gave their baby solid food before one month, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

Women who reported exclusive breastfeeding during their baby's first couple of months were less likely to introduce solid foods earlier than recommended compared to formula-feeding mothers, the CDC researchers found.

Kuo said the new findings are further evidence that pediatricians should tailor their messages about breastfeeding and solid foods to each particular parent and child - rather than always giving "the same spiel" about introducing solids at the four-month visit.

"The decision to start solid foods in babies has to be a compromise between what makes sense for the baby and what makes sense for the mom, who most likely is working," she said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/YzHFtC Pediatrics, online March 25, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/many-parents-introduce-solids-4-months-cdc-195553198.html

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Bloggers Plan For End Of Google Reader - Business Insider

Social Media Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that collects and delivers the top social media news first thing every morning. You can sign up to receive Social Media Insights here or at the bottom of this post.

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Blogging: How To Attract And Retain An Audience?(Heidi Cohen)
Recently bloggers have been buzzing about Google?s plan to pull the plug on their Reader. Since Google Reader regularly drives thousands of people to established blogs, this move translates to the loss of a significant portion of these blog audiences. To combat this potential falloff in loyal readership short-term, bloggers are experimenting with a variety of alternatives including expanding their email registrations and the use of other feed readers.?Read >>

What Pew's Twitter Analysis Means?(PR Daily)
A year-long study concluded that "the reaction on Twitter to major political events and policy decisions often differs a great deal from public opinion as measured by surveys." The report stated that "the overall negativity on Twitter over the course of the [U.S. presidential] campaign stood out," adding, "for both candidates, negative comments exceeded positive comments by a wide margin throughout the fall campaign season." This is a rather strong indictment of the ability of social media research to capture public opinion.?That doesn't mean that the insight we gain from social media research is useless. We just need to start thinking about it differently. Its main value comes from the fact that the comments we capture are spontaneous and not defined by questions.?Read >>

We Need A Digital Code Of Conduct For Social Media?(GigaOM)
For better or worse, we all live in glass houses. Yet social media has made it easier and faster than ever before to throw stones, and that?s not always a good thing. Looking back on the nearly 20 years since we?ve embraced the World Wide Web, the social media revolution is probably the most important thing that?s emerged from the medium. However, it?s pretty clear that we are not sure to handle the power that revolution can allow us to wield. We need to create a digital code of conduct that extends the grace and decency human beings generally show each other in public to the Web, where an astonishing number of people leave those traits behind. Read >>

A Plan To Challenge Facebook's Monopoly (Business To Community)
For many people, the logical assumption is that a better product will come along to replace Facebook because MySpace replaced AOL, and Facebook replaced MySpace, and so it is inevitable something will replace Facebook in the foreseeable future. Facebook has a seam of vulnerability, but it will be difficult to challenge it. The only way to unseat Facebook is to go back to the beginning and create a platform so exclusive and amazing that it will attract the ?cool kids? and thought leaders in junior highs, high schools and college campuses. That is where a new network will be born and I believe that is the only way a new idea will "tip."? Read >>

Is Twitter Dead When It Comes To Marketing? (Business 2 Community)
Twitter, it used to be the talk of the Internet but that all changed when Facebook became so big in such a hurry. Do you use Twitter to help market your website? Do you use Twitter to follow your friends and see what they are up to? People are still using Twitter, so it is not dead; however, it is not what it once was. If you are an Internet marketer or a blogger, then Twitter can still be very valuable to you. What most people don?t realize is that Twitter still can help move more traffic for your site if you know what you are doing. Where most people fail is they either Tweet too much about useless stuff, or they don?t Tweet enough. So, do you need some help getting more out of Twitter?? Read >>

Create Visionary Measurement For Social Media (Rohit Bhargava)
Marketing people are typically guilty of seeing measurement as a necessary evil. It doesn?t have to be this way. Visionary Measurement is a new strategic model for measuring social media that may help you understand the real value of social media. True business value goes beyond sales. Visionary Measurement is a holistic way to describe the impact of what you do based on four distinct elements ? Sales, Efficiency, Innovation, and Retention. When it comes to describing the business value, it also helps to think about measurement with the same audience lens that you might use for building a communications program. Every audience member would not receive the exact same messages from your marketing ??so why should measurement be any different?? Read >>

The Four 'Cs' Of Social Media (UBM Tech)
Content, conversations, community, and connections all illustrate how tech buyers and marketers are currently using social media, and how these four strategies can be used to get the most out of future social media efforts.? Read >>

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/bloggers-plan-for-end-of-google-reader-2013-3

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Nook for iOS adds support for high-res iPad magazines, Nook Comics

Barnes & Noble may have saved most of the limelight today for in-app purchasing on Nook hardware, but it's not leaving other platforms by the wayside. Its Nook 3.4 update for iOS focuses heavily on visuals, with new support for both Nook Comics as well as "HD" magazines on Retina display-equipped iPads. Likewise, there's some spring cleaning afoot: the app offers better organization for periodicals, the option to expand book illustrations and newly animated page turns. Swing by the App Store if you've got enough of a toehold in Barnes & Noble's ecosystem to use its software.

Filed under: Tablets, Software

Comments

Source: App Store

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/nook-for-ios-supports-high-resolution-ipad-magazines-nook-comic/

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New lung cancer study takes page from Google's playbook

Mar. 25, 2013 ? The same sort of mathematical model used to predict which websites people are most apt to visit is now showing promise in helping map how lung cancer spreads in the human body, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Research.

A team of researchers used an algorithm similar to the Google PageRank and to the Viterbi Algorithm for digital communication to analyze the spread patterns of lung cancer. The team includes experts from the University of Southern California (USC), Scripps Clinic, The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.

"This research demonstrates how similar the Internet is to a living organism," said USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor Paul Newton, Ph.D., the lead and corresponding author of the study. "The same types of tools that help us understand the spread of information through the web can help us understand the spread of cancer through the human body."

Employing a sophisticated system of mathematical equations known as a Markov chain model, the research team -- guided by USC applied mathematicians- found that metastatic lung cancer does not progress in a single direction from primary tumor site to distant locations, which has been the traditional medical view. Instead, they found that cancer cell movement around the body likely occurs in more than one direction at a time.

Researchers also learned that the first site to which the cells spread plays a key role in the progression of the disease. The study showed that some parts of the body serve as "sponges" that are relatively unlikely to further spread lung cancer cells to other areas of the body. The study identified other areas as "spreaders" for lung cancer cells.

The study revealed that for lung cancer, the main spreaders are the adrenal gland and kidney, whereas the main sponges are the regional lymph nodes, liver and bone.

The study applied the advanced math model to data from human autopsy reports of 163 lung cancer patients in the New England area, from 1914 to 1943. This time period was targeted because it predates the use of radiation and chemotherapy, providing researchers a clear view of how cancer progresses if left untreated. Among the 163 patients, researchers charted the advancement patterns of 619 different metastases to 27 distinct body sites.

The study's findings could potentially impact clinical care by helping guide physicians to targeted treatment options, designed to curtail the spread of lung cancer. For example, if the cancer is found to have moved to a known spreader location, imaging tests and interventions can be quickly considered for focused treatment before the cells may be more widely dispersed. Further study is needed in this area.

Keeping tabs on cancer's movement in the body is vital to patient care. While a primary cancer tumor (confined to a single location) is often not fatal, a patient's prognosis can worsen if the cancer metastasizes -- that is, flakes off and travels to other parts of the body to form new tumors.

The study is part of a relatively new movement to involve physical sciences in oncology research. Mathematics probability models that interpret data from specific patient populations offer a new alternative to the established approach of relying on broader clinical trends to predict where, and how fast, cancer will spread.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. P. K. Newton, J. Mason, K. Bethel, L. Bazhenova, J. Nieva, L. Norton, P. Kuhn. Spreaders and sponges define metastasis in lung cancer: A Markov chain mathematical model. Cancer Research, 2013; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-4488

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/most_popular/~3/S2c0yU_9a4g/130325111150.htm

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The IRS's Horrible Parody Video Is the Worst Star Trek Episode Ever

We all have our favorite Star Trek episodes, and the ones we think aren't quite up to snuff. But here's something we can all agree on: the IRS's nearly $60,000 Star Trek-inspired training video from 2010 would be the worst Star Trek episode ever. No contest. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_PLUbDXt6LE/this-horrible-irs-training-video-is-the-worst-star-trek-episode-ever

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CA-BUSINESS Summary

IMF draft cuts 2013 U.S. growth forecast: report

MILAN (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is planning to cut its U.S. growth forecast for this year due to higher taxes and spending cuts, Italian news agency ANSA said, citing a draft of the IMF's next World Economic Outlook report. The U.S. economy, the world's biggest, will expand 1.7 percent this year, down from the 2.0 percent predicted in January, ANSA reported late on Saturday. The next round of IMF forecasts is scheduled to be published in mid-April.

Euro zone bailouts getting harder to agree: policymakers

SAARISELKA, Finland (Reuters) - Euro zone bailouts are getting tougher to agree as opposition within creditor nations grows and indebted states struggle to persuade citizens to back austerity, policymakers said on Sunday. At a meeting in Finnish Lapland this weekend, attendees including Ireland's Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton and host Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen sounded confident that Cyprus would secure a bailout deal to avoid financial collapse.

Switzerland denies banking deal in principle reached with U.S.

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss government on Sunday denied a newspaper report that the country had reached a deal in principle with the United States over undeclared funds hidden by wealthy Americans in Swiss offshore bank accounts. "There is no agreed framework. The negotiations for an industry-wide deal to enable all Swiss banks to draw a line under the matter are ongoing," Swiss government spokesman Mario Tuor said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Standard Chartered would consider Egypt buy, plans Iraq push

DUBAI (Reuters) - Standard Chartered would consider acquiring a bank in Egypt to ride an expected boom in one of the Middle East's largest economies, the firm's regional head said. The bank also plans to expand operations in Iraq this year. Many European banks are under pressure to cut costs and bolster their capital in the wake of the global financial crisis, but Christos Papadopoulos said such pressures would not deter Standard Chartered from growing in the Middle East.

Blackstone, Icahn set up three-way battle to buy out Dell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell Inc appeared to have received competing offers following a $24.4 billion agreement last month to be taken private by its founder and private equity firm Silver Lake, setting up a tug-of-war for the world's No. 3 PC maker. Blackstone Group LP submitted an indicative and preliminary offer ahead of the expiration of a "go-shop" period on Saturday that allowed Dell to explore other options, a person familiar with the matter said.

Canada's Flaherty sees substantial tax avoidance by the wealthy

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Some wealthy Canadians are hiding "substantial" amounts of revenue offshore, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday, a day after unveiling a new plan to crack down on tax cheats and pay individuals who come forth with information on them. Flaherty's budget on Thursday proposed a series of measures to close tax loopholes and reduce international tax evasion and avoidance, part of a broader effort to boost revenues and eliminate the country's budget deficit by 2015.

Sky's the limit? Southeast Asia budget airlines bet big on growth

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lion Air's record aircraft orders underline the ambitious plans the privately held Indonesian group is hatching to emerge as a pan-Asian low cost carrier, throwing a serious challenge to AirAsia Bhd , the region's biggest budget airline. The rivalry intensified on Friday when Lion Air launched its first service in Malaysia, barging onto AirAsia's home turf, but the pace of expansion has raised questions about whether airlines are overextending themselves.

ThyssenKrupp deems Steel Americas bids low, wants talks: paper

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp was surprised by the low value of bids for its Cia Siderurgica do Atlantico mill in Brazil and is seeking talks with bidders to raise the offer prices, the Agencia Estado news agency reported Saturday. The two main bidders, Brazil's Cia Siderurgica Nacional and the Luxembourg-based Latin American steelmaker Ternium SA , counted on ThyssenKrupp's wanting to sell the money-losing mill quickly to drive down the cost of buying it, Agencia Estado said, citing a source with access to the negotiations.

Deutsche Bank co-CEO asked for two million euro pay cut: paper

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank co-Chief Executive Anshu Jain requested a pay cut of almost 2 million euro ($2.60 million) to draw level with the 2012 compensation package of fellow top executive Juergen Fitschen, a German newspaper reported. Jain, who until June last year was head of investment banking at Deutsche, asked the supervisory board at the beginning of this year not to be paid parts of his bonus for 2012, Sunday paper Welt am Sonntag cited sources close to the board as saying.

BlackBerry shares dive on reports of muted U.S. debut for Z10

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of BlackBerry fell nearly 8 percent on Friday after reports of a flat response to the launch of its new Z10 smartphone in the vitally important U.S. market. The well-reviewed device, whose success is essential if BlackBerry is to reestablish itself as a power in the smartphone industry, finally hit U.S. store shelves early on Friday, nearly two months after being formally unveiled.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-010555062--finance.html

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Today, Senior Citizens get in free at the South Texas State Fair.

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Investing In Precious Metals | Bear Creek Ledger

Precious metals refer to the rare metallic elements that have high economic value such as silver, gold, ruthenium, osmium, rhodium, palladium, iridium and platinum. People are increasingly turning towards these metals investment due to their high value and demand, high levels of security and low risk factor.

Investing in valuable metals can happen in a number of ways such as investing in jewellery, bullions, tangible coins and bars, shares, certificates, mining stocks, mutual funds and metal futures.

The rare metals make for a more preferred investment over several other investment types such as stocks, real estate etc. Wealthy investors who are on the lookout for investment opportunities are now increasingly investing in metals as a way of storing their wealth.

With the downturn in the economic situation the world over, and in this age of uncertainty investing in bonds, securities and stocks are associated with big risks because their prices fluctuate dramatically. Solid gold and silver investments offer stability even in relatively bad economic conditions. It is therefore a wise idea to diversify the investments. Investing in precious metals makes for a good investment decision and helps balance off the risk factors that are associated with other investments.

While investing you must bear in mind that the prices of these rare metals fluctuate too and it will not be right to say that investing in these metals is totally risk free. There is risk involved in almost every kind of investment and it is required that investors take calculated decisions based on the recent trends of the metals industry.

Before planning your investments, ensure that you are well acquainted with the market trends. Reading market reviews will help in making the right moves. It is imperative that you keep an eye on the market as you plan your investments. While the risk is always there, you can take steps to minimize the same.

The increasing value of silver and gold indicates that investing in them will increase even more in the coming years. Of all the metals, investing in gold is the most popular and perhaps the most lucrative as well. People like to invest in bullion coins and the condition and the design of the coin have an impact on its price.

The metals have managed to retain their value even during the recession. The prices of the four major metals silver, platinum, gold and palladium have increased in the past several years as their demand increased. Besides jewelry and coinage, these metals are used in a number of high-end industries as well such as manufacture of computer parts, hybrid cars and a host of other hi-tech products.

Investing in the metals is a good way to spread portfolio risk at times of economic turmoil and when inflation affects currency values. To many investors, buying these metals indicates a safe haven method and a complete protection against inflation.

The metals come with good liquidity and can be easily bought and sold without much problem. However, palladium and platinum are less liquid than gold and silver. It is quite easy to get in and get out of these types of investments. One more reason to invest is that as consumption is very high, the demand surpasses the supply and the prices go up.

The downward slide of the stock market has made many people wary of investing their money. These days cash is being regarded as unreliable, and it is getting devalued with each passing day. It is therefore encouraged to invest in hard assets such as silver and gold as this is the best possible way to protect one?s savings.

If you are looking to make your own investments, then buying precious metals offers many exciting opportunities. With so many alternatives in the market, it might not be easy to find the right option to help secure your finances. You might want to do an in-depth study of the market before you plan your investments. While you can go about it on your own, you might also want to consider contacting someone who can help you with your investments with the help of applicable tools and expertise.

For many centuries, these valuable metals have withstood the test of time and have been regarded as the highest store of wealth and the best medium of exchange. Both silver and gold have been consistent over time and have increased in value. Buying these metals now can help reap financial rewards in the long run despite fluctuating stock prices and currency values.

Source: http://bearcreekledger.com/investing-in-precious-metals/

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Criminal justice system's 'dark secret': Teenagers in solitary confinement

By Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, and Deirdre Cohen and Sarah Koch, Rock Center

Courtesy of the Stewart family

James Stewart, who was arrested after being charged with vehicular homicide when he was 17, is seen in an undated school photo.

James Stewart, a 17-year-old from Denver who committed suicide while in solitary confinement, had never been to jail before August of 2008. That was when, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, Stewart had gotten into a head-on car collision, killing a 32-year-old man.

Because of the severity of his crime, Stewart was charged with vehicular homicide ? and charged as an adult. His family couldn?t make bail, so Stewart was placed in the Denver County Jail while he awaited his sentence.

There was just one problem: Since he was a minor, Stewart was ordered to be put in protective custody, separate from the adult prisoners? and the best protection the jail had to offer was solitary confinement.

Weeks later, the psychological impact was too much. After a brief reprieve from solitary to be in a shared cell with another juvenile offender, Stewart was sent back to isolation after a minor argument with his cellmate. ?According to his older sister, Nicole Miera, Stewart took his own life after less than 10 minutes of being back in what inmates called "the hole."

"It was stated that that when he got in there, he was pretty upset," Miera told NBC's Ted Koppel, her eyes filling with tears. "He had taken a sheet and he had wrapped around his neck and just twisted until he couldn't twist anymore."

Stewart was one of many juveniles who are in adult jails and prisons across America. Not all of their stories end as tragically as his, but the increasingly blurry line between juvenile offenders and adult correctional facilities have made many wonder if better solutions are needed for this growing population.

For each of the past five years, roughly 100,000 juveniles have been held in adult jails and prisons, according to data from the Department of Justice.

Defense attorney Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the Montgomery, Ala.-based Equal Justice Initiative, told NBC these youths are getting unfairly harsh treatment for the crimes they commit.

"Ninety-one percent of the children who are serving time in adult jails and prisons are serving time in jails and prisons for crimes that are not murder, crimes that are not sex crimes," he said. "Solitary confinement is pretty horrible for anybody, but it's especially horrible for a child. It is psychological torture."

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??The dark secret of the criminal justice system?
Data on how many of those young people nationwide are held in solitary confinement isn't available, but a report published this past October by Human Rights Watch and The American Civil Liberties Union said the New York City Department of Corrections, for example, reported that in fiscal year 2012, 14 percent of all detained adolescents were held in solitary at least once.

"I spoke to kids. They talked about being in a cell alone, the size of a parking space, the size of an elevator," said Ian Kysel, who authored the HRW/ACLU report. "This is sort of the dark secret of the criminal justice system. ... Jails and prisons don't make available their data on solitary confinement."

At New York City's Riker's Island, the average length of solitary confinement for youths last year was 43 long, 23-hour days, according to Kysel's report.

The catch-22 of being prosecuted as adults but segregated from the adult prison population because they are still minors is literally making young offenders go out of their minds ? and many of them have mental health issues before they are put in isolation, according to the HRW/ACLU report.

Stuart Grassian, a Boston-based psychiatrist who is an expert on solitary confinement, cites CIA research done in the 1950s, which found solitary confinement made American prisoners of war in North Korea go psychotic.

"What was produced by that was a person who was so unhinged, he was confused, disoriented, disheveled," he told NBC News, "They wouldn't sometimes know who they were. They couldn't think."

Kysel, the author of the report on adolescents in adult prisons, has called for youth solitary confinement to be banned and for other punishments ? such as taking away privileges ? to be instituted instead. Grassian agrees that this is necessary.

"You have these kids getting more and more out of control, more and more impulsive, more and more emotionally out of control because they're in solitary.? It's very likely that's going to be a permanent impairment in their lives," he said. "Well, guess what? Ninety-five percent of them are gonna get out back into your community. What do you want them to be like when they get out?"

Rock Center's Rima Abdelkader contributed to this report.

Watch Ted Koppel's full report on teenagers in solitary confinement on "Rock Center With Brian Williams" Friday, March 22, at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29e29045/l/0Lrockcenter0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C220C1740A3150A0Ecriminal0Ejustice0Esystems0Edark0Esecret0Eteenagers0Ein0Esolitary0Econfinement0Dlite/story01.htm

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Advances in inflammatory bowel disease -- what's new, what's next

Public release date: 22-Mar-2013
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Contact: Connie Hughes
connie.hughes@wolterskluwer.com
646-674-6348
Wolters Kluwer Health

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's 'Challenges in IBD Research' published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Philadelphia, Pa. (March 22, 2013) Every five years, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) gathers top researchers in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to set the research agenda for the next five years. The findings and recommendations of these expert workgroups are presented in a series of detailed "Challenges in IBD Research" reports, now available in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the CCFA. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Each workgroup is assigned to specific topic areas including genetics, epidemiology and environmental factors, the "microbiome" (intestinal bacteria), epithelial cell biology, innate and adaptive immunity, clinical classification and prognostic models, and optimizing medical therapy. A special "Challenges in IBD Research" progress report appears in the March issue of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The complete workgroup reports are available for direct download at http://links.lww.com/IBD/A77.

Experts Outline New Agenda for IBD Research

Based on a thorough review in each area, the workgroups have defined key research priorities for the next few years, including:

• Defining clinically relevant subgroups of IBD patientsusing different types of information to predict aggressiveness of disease, complications, and response to treatment.
• Understanding the environmental factors affecting the risk and course of IBDincluding environmental "triggers" and a specific focus on the role of diet.
• Clarifying the complex interrelationships among genes, bacteria, and epithelial and immune responsesfocusing on cellular pathways and critical cell types that may lead to new "therapeutic targets."
• Determining the optimal treatment approaches and strategies through comparative effectiveness studies.

The workgroup reports also identify the resources needed to carry out this ambitious research agenda, including a "centralized and distributable infrastructure" for integrated studies of IBD in humans and long-term follow-up studies of children and adults with IBD.

"Through development of the ambitious research goals outlined in this document, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America has again led the effort to further the understanding of IBD," said Dr. Lee Denson of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "CCFA is keen to advance this research agenda in 2013 and beyond."

Building on Recent Scientific and Clinical Advances

The CCFA research agenda builds on recent advances in scientific and clinical research. They include major strides in IBD geneticsmore than 160 genes affecting susceptibility to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have now been identified. Using sophisticated techniques, researchers have gained new insights into the complex interactions between intestinal bacteria and immune responses, including the role of specific types of immune cells.

Clinical studies have improved the ability to predict the response to IBD treatment in children and to track the short- and long-term adverse effects of IBD treatments. Progress has also been made in understanding the risks and benefits of medical and surgical treatments for key patient subgroups, including pregnant women and newborns. These studies point the way toward future efforts to optimize treatment for individual patients with IBD.

###

About Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases brings the most current information in clinical and basic sciences to physicians caring for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, and investigators performing research in IBD and related fields. Each issue contains cutting-edge original basic science and clinical articles on diagnosis, treatment, and management of IBD from clinicians and researchers around the world. Coverage includes articles highlighting the unique and important issues in pediatric IBD, as well as articles pertaining to adult patients.

About the CCFA

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cures for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. It was founded in 1967 by Irwin M. and Suzanne Rosenthal, William D. and Shelby Modell, and Henry D. Janowitz, M.D. Since our founding over four decades ago, CCFA has remained at the forefront of research in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Today, we fund cutting-edge studies at major medical institutions, nurture investigators at the early stages of their careers, and finance underdeveloped areas of research.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2012 annual revenues of 3.6 billion ($4.6 billion).

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Mar-2013
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Contact: Connie Hughes
connie.hughes@wolterskluwer.com
646-674-6348
Wolters Kluwer Health

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's 'Challenges in IBD Research' published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Philadelphia, Pa. (March 22, 2013) Every five years, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) gathers top researchers in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to set the research agenda for the next five years. The findings and recommendations of these expert workgroups are presented in a series of detailed "Challenges in IBD Research" reports, now available in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, official journal of the CCFA. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Each workgroup is assigned to specific topic areas including genetics, epidemiology and environmental factors, the "microbiome" (intestinal bacteria), epithelial cell biology, innate and adaptive immunity, clinical classification and prognostic models, and optimizing medical therapy. A special "Challenges in IBD Research" progress report appears in the March issue of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. The complete workgroup reports are available for direct download at http://links.lww.com/IBD/A77.

Experts Outline New Agenda for IBD Research

Based on a thorough review in each area, the workgroups have defined key research priorities for the next few years, including:

• Defining clinically relevant subgroups of IBD patientsusing different types of information to predict aggressiveness of disease, complications, and response to treatment.
• Understanding the environmental factors affecting the risk and course of IBDincluding environmental "triggers" and a specific focus on the role of diet.
• Clarifying the complex interrelationships among genes, bacteria, and epithelial and immune responsesfocusing on cellular pathways and critical cell types that may lead to new "therapeutic targets."
• Determining the optimal treatment approaches and strategies through comparative effectiveness studies.

The workgroup reports also identify the resources needed to carry out this ambitious research agenda, including a "centralized and distributable infrastructure" for integrated studies of IBD in humans and long-term follow-up studies of children and adults with IBD.

"Through development of the ambitious research goals outlined in this document, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America has again led the effort to further the understanding of IBD," said Dr. Lee Denson of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "CCFA is keen to advance this research agenda in 2013 and beyond."

Building on Recent Scientific and Clinical Advances

The CCFA research agenda builds on recent advances in scientific and clinical research. They include major strides in IBD geneticsmore than 160 genes affecting susceptibility to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have now been identified. Using sophisticated techniques, researchers have gained new insights into the complex interactions between intestinal bacteria and immune responses, including the role of specific types of immune cells.

Clinical studies have improved the ability to predict the response to IBD treatment in children and to track the short- and long-term adverse effects of IBD treatments. Progress has also been made in understanding the risks and benefits of medical and surgical treatments for key patient subgroups, including pregnant women and newborns. These studies point the way toward future efforts to optimize treatment for individual patients with IBD.

###

About Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases brings the most current information in clinical and basic sciences to physicians caring for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, and investigators performing research in IBD and related fields. Each issue contains cutting-edge original basic science and clinical articles on diagnosis, treatment, and management of IBD from clinicians and researchers around the world. Coverage includes articles highlighting the unique and important issues in pediatric IBD, as well as articles pertaining to adult patients.

About the CCFA

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cures for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis. It was founded in 1967 by Irwin M. and Suzanne Rosenthal, William D. and Shelby Modell, and Henry D. Janowitz, M.D. Since our founding over four decades ago, CCFA has remained at the forefront of research in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Today, we fund cutting-edge studies at major medical institutions, nurture investigators at the early stages of their careers, and finance underdeveloped areas of research.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2012 annual revenues of 3.6 billion ($4.6 billion).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/wkh-aii032213.php

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Obama urged to step in to fix VA backlog

The numbers are staggering.? The Department of Veterans' Affairs estimates that within a month more than 1 million veterans will have filed for disability benefits -- and they'll all have to wait in line. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

The benefit-claims backlog that has ensnared nearly 600,000 younger veterans ? many with war wounds ? has reached a crisis point inside the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the hour has come for President Barack Obama to become personally involved in unclogging the quagmire, two of the nation's leading veterans advocates told NBC News Thursday.?

"It?s time to go above the VA. If you think of VA as a broken down car, it?s hard for us to know how to fix it if we can?t see under the hood. The president can see under the hood. And the president can send people in to fix it," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq War veteran and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which represents more than 200,000 people.

"When you have so many men and women that are waiting years to see their claims adjudicated, there is a problem and it's somewhere within VA. And the president needs to take a personal interest," said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.?

Rieckhoff contends that Obama must answer a key question: With the overall claims tally surpassing 900,000 cases earlier this year and with 34,000 troops soon returning from Afghanistan, should VA Secretary Eric Shinseki be replaced??

---

In a meeting Wednesday with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Rieckhoff said he told Obama's top advisor: "We need to hear it from the president" as to whether Shinseki should remain atop the VA.

During a press briefing Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "It is absolutely the president?s position that we need to aggressively address this problem, and he has made clear to Secretary Shinseki that he wants this addressed. He is getting weekly updates on the backlog."

Responded Rieckhoff: "We?re focused on ending the backlog. What we need from the president is a plan to end the backlog. If (Shinseki's removal) is a part of that plan, we?d love to hear about it. The easy thing to do is fire some people. But that won?t necessarily fix things.

"Yes, we need a cultural transformation (at the VA). We need new blood, new ideas," Rieckhoff added. "But three VA secretaries have been there and three VA secretaries have failed. That?s why we?re focused on the president. This is bigger than Shinseki."

IAVA file

"The backlog is the place where veterans end up feeling betrayed. When your claim is delayed 600 days, which is the case if you live in New York or L.A., you feel like your president and your country are letting you down," said IAVA's Paul Rieckhoff, photographed Thursday speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C.

VA official urged to step down
During a congressional hearing Wednesday, Miller called for the resignation of Allison Hickey, the VA's under secretary of benefits. Miller became frustrated when Hickey could not tell the panel where the backlog will stand in 12 months while simultaneously promising that no veterans will be waiting 125 days or more for their benefits?by 2015. Miller said he fears that high-ranking VA officials have failed to reveal to Shinseki the real depth of the claims challenge and the scope of the financial hardships faced by hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans ? many who are unable to work due to battle injuries.

Asked Thursday if he believes Shinseki should resign, Miller said: "I am not prepared to ask the same of the secretary. He has a strong desire to do what is right. My fear is his leadership (team) has not been transparent with him to the point that he knows the true picture that exists out there."?

This week, four other prominent veterans' groups ? Student Veterans of America,?The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars?and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) all voiced support for Shinseki and for the work being done by the VA's Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which has handled claims for millions of veterans. Those groups argue that the VA's?plan to cut the backlog should be given a chance to work.

"DAV believes that VBA is on the right path, that they have set the right goals and that they have leadership committed to transforming and institutionalizing a new claims processing system to better serve veterans," DAV national legislative director Joe Violante testified Wednesday before a Senate panel examining veterans issues.?

During 2012, the VA paid?$58.6 billion in benefits to 4.3 million veterans or their survivors, according to the VA. The agency reported Thursday that its total "claims inventory" stands at?859,396. The VA defines its "backlog" as claims that have been pending for more than 125 days ? that number stands at 592,222, according to the VA.?

"Secretary Shinseki believes it is unacceptable that veterans are waiting too long to get the benefits they have earned," read a statement emailed by Josh Taylor, a VA spokesman. "That is why VA is implementing an aggressive plan that will solve this decades old problem for good and transform how VA processes claims for decades to come."

But according to Miller, one factor fueling the backlog is that VA claims handlers are not working as efficiently as they did before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.?In 1997, the average VA field officer processed 138 claims a year while, in 2011, with three times as many overall employees, the average VA field officer processed 73 claims a year, Miller said.?

"I have confidence at this time that (Shinseki) has a desire to move in the right direction. He leads an organization of 300,000 people that delivers some of the best health care in the world as well as educational benefits," Miller said. "But this benefits backlog, unfortunately, is going to be a stain that will stay with VA for years to come."

Related:

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/29d8ab5f/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C210C1740A4780A0Eobama0Eurged0Eto0Estep0Ein0Eto0Efix0Eva0Ebacklog0Dlite/story01.htm

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Do you have a career plan?

Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!

Discussion of the Day

Other Great Discussions

Get Involved

Great Discussions Any Time

To join or start great discussions on any topic, be sure to visit the Openthread forum. And today being Friday, don't forget to check out this week's Open Thread.

If you've got a cool project, inspiration, or just something fun to share, be sure to let us know in our Tips forum.

Happy Lifehacking, everybody!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/r1vkgx4q_v4/do-you-have-a-career-plan

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PFT:?UGA's Jones says he's?draft's best? |? Runs 4.9

Getty Images

Several weeks ago, we began to catch wind of a plan to delay the payment of so-called performance-based pay to NFL players. ?As it was initially explained, the move arises from efforts to pump up the salary cap.

Now, it?s being sold as a way to protect players from themselves, financially.

NFLPA spokesman George Atallah previously has acknowledged that the two-year delay will happen with the 2013 performance-based bay, for cap purposes. ?According to Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, the performance-based pay of all players?will be held in escrow for two years ? in every remaining year of the CBA.

For clarity, the term ?performance-based pay? relates to one specific benefit, paid to players based on their playing time in relation to their compensation. ?A low-paid player who plays a lot, for example, gets a big check, like Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who went from undrafted to starting lineup. ?The term does not include incentives or contractual bonuses.

Freeman calls it a ?controversial and still hotly debated move? within the NFLPA, which resulted from an ?extremely close? vote of the union?s player representatives at their annual meeting earlier this month. ?The most surprising aspect of the move, from our perspective, is that it?s now apparently being characterized not as a shell game aimed at ensuring the salary cap will remain at desired levels while keeping earned money out of the players? hands for two years, but as a way to protect players from themselves.

It?s fitting, we suppose, given that the NFL has spent so much time over the past several years protecting players from themselves on the field. ?Now, the union can protect players from themselves off the field.

But that?s not fair to the guys who don?t take out $300,000 loans to throw birthday parties for themselves. ?That?s money that can be invested by the players who earned it. ?And if the players choose to make it rain or take it to the tables or light it all on fire and watch it burn, that?s their business.

The inalienable right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness necessarily includes a right to squander life, liberty, and/or happiness. ?Freedom includes the freedom to screw up, and when a group of men are being treated like children, that?s not good for anybody.

Then again, it?s possible that it?s all just clumsy cover for an effort to prop up the salary cap by keeping player money from the players on a two-year rolling basis. ?Regardless of the real reason, no union should be taking its members? money and putting it in a jar for two years, two months, two weeks, two days, or even two minutes.

Especially if the members don?t want that to happen.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/21/jarvis-jones-calls-himself-the-best-player-in-the-nfl-draft/related/

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7 Ways Meditation Can Transform Your Life | Health and Fitness News

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Best Prices on all YOUR Health and Fitness Requirements! CLICK HERE

Source: http://www.16g.org/7-ways-meditation-can-transform-your-life/

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Website offline where stolen credit reports posted

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The website where hackers had published what it said were credit reports for Michelle Obama, the attorney general, CIA director, FBI director and other politicians and celebrities has been shut down by Russian Internet officials. The site has been inaccessible since late Tuesday.

Whoever was behind the website published a rambling statement earlier this week described as "our final message" and said the efforts were intended for "entertainment and laughs." The note was signed off with the message "from Russia with love." Before it shut down, the website published what it said were the credit reports of 29 politicians and celebrities. The most recent one, published Friday, appeared to be the stolen credit report for CIA Director John Brennan.

The company that managed the registration for the website's Internet address told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it withdrew the address because it could not confirm identifying information that was provided when the site was registered. The director for Webnames.ru, Sergei Sharikov, said in a statement that the leaks about personal financial records "made it necessary to interfere."

The FBI, Secret Service and the Los Angeles Police Department were investigating the theft of the credit reports, which included Social Security numbers, dates of birth, previous home addresses and monthly account balances on credit cards, mortgages and car loans.

An initial investigation showed that the hackers accessed the credit bureau systems by correctly entering personal details about their victims to impersonate them and generate the credit reports.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-20-US-Celebrity-Financials-Leaked/id-29c9521f844b4e0ea8341a1202243f4a

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Single Drug May Combat Several Deadly Viruses

A single compound could stop several viruses, including rabies and Ebola, in their tracks, new research suggests.

The findings, published today (March 21) in the journal Cell Chemistry and Biology, could eventually lead to a broad-spectrum medicine for many viral diseases, similar to the way antibiotics work on bacterial infections.

"This new approach appears to work on multiple viruses rather than one," said study co-author John Connor, a virologist at Boston University.

Elusive parasites

With a bacterial infection, doctors prescribe antibiotics without knowing the specific bacteria involved.? But such one-size-fits-all treatments for viruses have remained elusive.

Partly, that's because bacteria can live on their own outside cells and have many parts that can be targeted by drugs ? some of which are common to several types of bacteria. By contrast, viruses are parasites that co-opt the body's machinery to do their work, so it's much more difficult to find drug targets that will disable multiple viruses without targeting the body's cells as well, Connor said.

"The best analogy is if you're shooting at a bacterium, you can actually shoot at it, whereas if you're trying to shoot at a virus there's a lot of host proteins in the way," Connor told LiveScience.

Stopping the viral machinery

To remedy this problem, Connor and his colleagues studied a pathogen called vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which replicates well in the lab and is related to Ebola, but isn't as deadly. They noticed that several viruses ? including rabies, mumps and Nipah, a deadly virus carried by bats ? used a similar method to make copies of themselves inside the body's cells.

They then searched for chemicals that would disable this copying process, finding a chemical that prevented VSV from replicating in a petri dish.

Because VSV makes copies in a similar way to other diseases, the team then tested the compound against Ebola and other related viruses, such as Rift Valley Fever, and found it also stopped them cold.

Through follow-up studies, the team determined that the new compound disables the machinery that the virus uses to copy its RNA, which is similar to DNA and carries the virus' genetic information.

Because viruses of this type use the same cellular machinery, the team believes that the compound could potentially treat a wide variety of viruses. To follow up, though, they need to prove that this compound is safe and can work in animals. They also need to test it against many other viruses.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter @tiaghose.?Follow?LiveScience @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/single-drug-may-combat-several-deadly-viruses-160503157.html

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Vavuud Wind Meter For Smartphones Contains No Electronics ...

Smartphones have a lot of on-board sensors, but do they really have enough? No way, say a slew of recent hardware startups, of which Danish Vavuud is only the most recent. Vavuud is turning to Kickstarter to help build?a smartphone-compatible wind meter, one that miraculously contains no electronics and yet still can communicate accurate wind speed measurements wirelessly to iPhones and Galaxy devices.

The Vavuud wind meter provides an easy way to measure wind speed exactly where you are, with a device that?s remarkably inexpensive and deceptively simple. It plugs into the headphone jack of your device, but that?s to give it a stable base; it actually uses two magnets in the rotor, which generate a magnetic field that the smartphone can pick up and process using algorithms normally used for sound processing to translate it to wind speed data. Vavuud co-founder Thomas P. Helms says it?s been tested with iPhone 4, 4S, and 5, as well as Galaxy SII and SIII so far, and it has been calibrated in a wind tunnel at the University of Denmark to ensure accuracy.

?To our knowledge we are the first to use the magnetometer in smartphones in this way, so we of course think the technology itself is kind of cool,? Helms explained via email. ?It?s also cool because on a mechanical level it appears quite simple, but there is some relatively complex math behind it .?

It?s likely that Vavuud will be able to work with any modern advanced smartphone with built-in magnetic field sensors (which is pretty much all of them), so the limited existing test pool shouldn?t frighten away potential backers. The Vavuud is designed to be used by anyone who might find accurate current windspeed readings useful ? a potential group of users that includes windsurfers, sailors, paragliders, model plane pilots and more.

?Surfers, sailors, paragliders etc. have needed an online anemometer for ages to be able to create and share crowd-sourced wind information,? Helms explained. ?Because conditions at your favorite spots may depend on very local factors like mountains, could be affected by thermal conditions, and on and on.?

Vavuud is looking to ship the Wind Meter by June of this year, with pre-orders beginning at the ?15 level.?iOS and Android apps from Vavuud itself are expected to become available at the same time, but it?s easy to imagine how, as with the Thermodo, the developer community might embrace another means of collecting information about the world around you and integrate Vavuud into their own apps.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/19/vavuud-wind-meter-for-smartphones-contains-no-electronics-delivers-accurate-ground-wind-speed-readings/

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Sheriff's Corner: radio communication - Brainerd Dispatch

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Nevada town mourns Marines who died in explosion

A sign telling residents about a memorial service is posted at the Convention Center in Hawthorne, Nev., near the Hawthorne Army Depot on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, where seven Marines were killed and several others seriously injured in a training accident Monday night, about 150 miles southeast of Reno in Nevada's high desert. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

A sign telling residents about a memorial service is posted at the Convention Center in Hawthorne, Nev., near the Hawthorne Army Depot on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, where seven Marines were killed and several others seriously injured in a training accident Monday night, about 150 miles southeast of Reno in Nevada's high desert. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

Brig. Gen. James W. Lukeman, Commanding General, 2nd Marine Division, speaks to press at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, regarding Monday night's mortar shell explosion killed that seven Marines and injured a half-dozen more during mountain warfare training in Nevada. The exercise involved members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune. (AP Photo/John Althouse, The Daily News)

Brig. Gen. James W. Lukeman, Commanding General, 2nd Marine Division, speaks to press at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, regarding Monday night's mortar shell explosion killed that seven Marines and injured a half-dozen more during mountain warfare training in Nevada. The exercise involved members of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune. (AP Photo/The Jacksonville Daily News, John Althouse)

Renown Medical Center emergency room doctor Michael Morkin talks about treating the wounded from Monday night's deadly explosion in Hawthorne that took the lives of seven Marines, during a press conference in Reno, Nev., Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Behind him is Kris Gaw, Chief Operating Officer, Renown Regional Medical Center. Morkin said that the Air Races crash in 2011 helped with the situation in the ER Monday night and Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn)

A sign telling residents about a memorial service is posted at the Convention Center in Hawthorne, Nev., near the Hawthorne Army Depot on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, where seven Marines were killed and several others seriously injured in a training accident Monday night, about 150 miles southeast of Reno in Nevada's high desert. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner)

HAWTHORNE, Nev. (AP) ? Hundreds of residents in a rural community steeped in military history turned out to mourn the loss of at least seven Marines as investigators arrived at an ammunition depot to try to determine how a mortar shell exploded at the Nevada base and sent shrapnel flying into troops during a training exercise.

Families with children clutching small American flags were among the nearly 300 people who attended the brief memorial service, where a trumpeter played taps at a city park as a giant American flag flew at half-staff across the street from the base at dusk.

Marine officers from Camp Lejeune, N.C., who arrived at the Hawthorne Army Depot on Tuesday could not attend the memorial, as they began the task of figuring out what caused a mortar shell to explode in its firing tube. The accident prompted the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of the weapons until an investigation can determine their safety, officials said.

"All of the officers are tied up with the investigation," said John Stroud, a Veterans of Foreign Wars official from Fallon who led the memorial service. "For obvious reasons, they've got important work to do."

The explosion Monday night at the sprawling facility during an exercise involved the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune. At least seven men were killed and eight were injured, officials said.

Hawthorne has been an important installation in American military history since World War II, when it was the staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets. The facility has downsized in recent years but still serves as a munitions repository and disposal site, along with being a training facility for troops as they take advantage of terrain and climate similar to places like Afghanistan. The facility is made up of hundreds of buildings spread over more than 230 square miles, and bunkers dot the sagebrush-covered hills visible from the highway.

Even though the Marines were from the other side of the country, locals still feel a strong sense of pride in the military because the town's history is so deeply tied to the armed forces.

The town calls itself "America's Patriotic Home" and is home to the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum, which displays hundreds of shells, munitions, battery guns and weapons dating to World War II. Red, white and blue sculptures made of former shells and bombs are on display in town. Storefronts carry names like Patriot's Plaza. The sign on a business Thursday carried the message, "Please Pray For Our Marines."

At the memorial Tuesday night, members of the women's Auxiliary of VFW 231 laid a wreath and floral arrangements beneath an American flag as dozens of Mineral County sheriff's deputies and firefighters who attended to the wounded the night before looked on.

"The evening of March 18, 2013, will forever be remembered as a moment of profound tragedy in Mineral County," District Attorney Sean Rowe told the memorial service. "You have given meaning to the phrase, 'America's Patriotic Home.'"

The identities of those killed won't be released until 24 hours after their families are notified, the military said.

However, the grandfather of a 21-year-old Marine from Ohio confirmed Wednesday that his grandson was among those killed.

Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Taylor's fulfilled a nearly lifelong dream when he joined the military right after graduating from a southeastern Ohio high school in 2010, said his grandfather, Larry Stephens.

Stephens said his grandson had talked about being a Marine since he was about 5, watching the History Channel and studying the military. After joining, he worked with mortars and served tours in Afghanistan and Kuwait, and was preparing for another tour in Afghanistan.

Stephens called Taylor "polite, respectful," saying he would "do anything for anybody."

Taylor was engaged to be married, with a wedding planned for May.

The impact of the accident was immediately felt.

The Pentagon expanded a temporary ban to prohibit the military from firing any 60 mm mortar rounds until the results of the investigation. The Marine Corps said Tuesday a "blanket suspension" of 60 mm mortars and associated firing tubes is in effect.

The Pentagon earlier had suspended use of all high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds that were in the same manufacturing lots as ones fired in Nevada.

The 60 mm mortar is a weapon that traditionally requires three to four Marines to operate, but it's common during training for others to observe nearby. The firing tube is supported in a tripod-like design and fires roughly a 3-pound shell, some 14 inches in length and a bit larger than 2 inches in diameter.

The mortar has changed little since World War II and remains one of the simplest weapons to operate, which is why it is found at the lowest level of infantry units, said Joseph Trevithick, a mortar expert with Global Security.org.

"Basically, it's still a pipe and it's got a firing pin at the bottom," Trevithick said. Still, a number of things could go wrong, such as a fuse malfunction, a problem with the barrel's assembly, or a round prematurely detonating inside the tube, he said.

A Marine Corps official said an explosion at the point of firing in a training exercise could kill or maim anyone in or near the protective mortar pit and could concussively detonate any mortars stored nearby in a phenomenon known as "sympathetic detonation." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the individual wasn't authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation.

The official said a worldwide moratorium after such an accident is not unusual and would persist until the investigation determines that the weapon did not malfunction in ways that would hurt other Marines or that mortar shells manufactured at the same time as the one involved in the accident were safe.

The official said it would be normal to warn other U.S. military branches that use 60 mm mortars, such as the Army, about the Marines warning. The moratorium could last for weeks or months.

The investigation will focus on whether the Marines followed procedures to properly fire the weapon, or whether there was a malfunction in the firing device or in the explosive mortar shell itself, the official said.

Renown hospital emergency physician Dr. Michael Morkin said at a news conference that some of the injured Marines he treated were conscious and "knew something happened but didn't know what." Morkin said the Marines mostly suffered blunt force trauma from shrapnel.

"They're injuries of varying severity ... to varying parts of the body. They're complicated injuries to deal with," he said.

The Hawthorne depot opened in 1930, four years after a lightning-sparked explosion virtually destroyed the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition depot in northern New Jersey, about 40 miles west of New York City. The blast and fires that raged for days heavily damaged the adjacent Picatinny Army Arsenal and surrounding communities, killing 21 people and seriously injuring more than 50 others.

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Bridis reported from Washington. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Pauline Jelinek in Washington, Allen Breed in Camp Lejeune, N.C., Julie Watson in San Diego, Martin Griffith in Reno, Nev., Michelle Rindels and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, Joseph Altman in Phoenix and Mitch Stacy in Columbus, Ohio.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-20-Army%20Depot-Marines%20Killed/id-ed33ad90bd2944b298f99e4151c788f3

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