Sunday, March 31, 2013

Shooting reported outside northeast Ohio church

ASHTABULA, Ohio (AP) ? Police in northeast Ohio are investigating a shooting outside a church that a parishioner says left one man dead after an Easter service.

Ashtabula police would not immediately confirm the fatality; an officer answering the telephone would say only that authorities were investigating.

A member of the Hiawatha Church of God in Christ said the man was shot soon after Easter services ended, around 1:15 p.m. Sunday. Joan Crockett said the man knew the shooter, and that a suspect was taken into custody. She said the wounded man died.

The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported that the church's pastor said congregants were leaving when they heard a gunshot.

"People pushed me into a back office and said, 'Somebody's here with a gun,'" said the Rev. David Howard Jr. "The guy was outside hollering and acting crazy."

There were no immediate reports of any other injuries.

Howard said the church has about 175 members. He said people at the church didn't know what led up to the shooting.

"It's such a tragic loss," Crockett said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shooting-reported-outside-northeast-ohio-church-233920543.html

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Patients of Oklahoma doctor line up for tests

About 150 to 200 patients of Dr. W. Scott Harrington, who's accused of unsanitary practices, line up outside the Tulsa Health Department North Regional Health and Wellness Center to be screened for hepatitis and the virus that causes AIDS, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Tulsa, Okla. Oklahoma officials say 7,000 patients of Harrington's in the past six years will receive letters that warn that poor hygiene at Harrington's two clinics created a public health hazard. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, James Gibbard) ONLINE OUT; TV OUT; TULSA OUT

About 150 to 200 patients of Dr. W. Scott Harrington, who's accused of unsanitary practices, line up outside the Tulsa Health Department North Regional Health and Wellness Center to be screened for hepatitis and the virus that causes AIDS, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Tulsa, Okla. Oklahoma officials say 7,000 patients of Harrington's in the past six years will receive letters that warn that poor hygiene at Harrington's two clinics created a public health hazard. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, James Gibbard) ONLINE OUT; TV OUT; TULSA OUT

This Thursday, March 28, 2013 photo shows the dental offices of Dr. Scott Harrington at 2111 S. Atlanta Place in Tulsa, Okla. Health officials on Thursday, March 28, 2013 urged thousands of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying unsanitary conditions behind his office's spiffy facade posed a threat to his clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Michael Wyke) ONLINE OUT; TV OUT; TULSA OUT

This 1977 license picture provided by the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry shows Dr. Scott Harrington. Health officials urged thousands of patients of Harrington, an oral surgeon, to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying unsanitary conditions behind his office's spiffy facade posed a threat to his clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Oklahoma Board of Dentistry)

This Thursday, March 28, 2013 photo shows the dental offices of Dr. Scott Harrington at 2111 S. Atlanta Place in Tulsa, Okla. Health officials on Thursday, March 28, 2013 urged thousands of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying unsanitary conditions behind his office's spiffy facade posed a threat to his clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Michael Wyke) ONLINE OUT; TV OUT; TULSA OUT

(AP) ? Hundreds of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon accused of unsanitary practices showed up at a health clinic Saturday, looking to find out whether they were exposed to hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS.

Letters began going out Friday to 7,000 patients who had seen Dr. W. Scott Harrington during the past six years, warning them that poor hygiene at his clinics created a public health hazard. The one-page letter said how and where to seek treatment but couldn't explain why Harrington's allegedly unsafe practices went on for so long.

Testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS began at 10 a.m. Saturday, but many arrived early and stood through torrential downpours. The Tulsa Health Department said 420 people were tested Saturday at its North Regional Health and Wellness Center. Screenings resume Monday morning.

Kari Childress, 38, showed up at 8:30 a.m., mainly because she was nervous.

"I just hope I don't have anything," said Childress, who had a tooth extracted at one of Harrington's two clinics five months ago. "You trust and believe in doctors to follow the rules, and that's the scariest part."

Inspectors found a number of problems at the doctor's clinics in Tulsa and suburban Owasso, according to the state Dentistry Board, which filed a 17-count complaint against Harrington pending an April 19 license revocation hearing. According to the complaint, needles were reinserted into drug vials after being used on patients, expired drugs were found in a medicine cabinet and dental assistants, not the doctor, administered sedatives to patients.

One patient, Orville Marshall, said he didn't meet Harrington until after he had two wisdom teeth pulled about five years ago at the Owasso clinic. A nurse inserted the IV for his anesthesia; Harrington was there when Marshall came to.

"It's just really scary. It makes you doubt the whole system, especially with how good his place looked," said Marshall, 37.

An instrument set reserved for use on patients with infectious diseases was rusty, preventing its effective sterilization, and the office autoclave ? a pressurized cleaner ? was used improperly and hadn't been certified as effective in at least six years, according to the complaint.

Dr. Matt Messina, a Cleveland dentist and a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association, said creating a safe and hygienic environment is "one of the fundamental requirements" before any dental procedure can be performed.

"It's not hard. It just takes effort," he said.

Weekly autoclave testing can be performed for less than $400 annually, according to the website of the Autoclave Testing Services of Pearl River, New York.

Autoclaves typically can be purchased for $1,000 to $8,000, depending on their size and features. And an average dental practice can expect to pay more than $40,000 a year in equipment, tools and supplies alone, according to several dental organizations.

Attempts to reach Harrington have been unsuccessful. No one answered the door Thursday at his Oklahoma home, which property records show is worth more than $1 million. His practice a few miles away, in a tony section of Tulsa where plastic surgeons operate and locals congregate at bistros and stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, has a fair-market value of around $851,000.

Property and tax records show Harrington owns another residence in Carefree, Ariz., in an area of upscale homes tucked into in the boulder-strewn mountains north of Phoenix.

Nobody was at home Saturday at the low-slung, 1950s-style vacation home, across from the Boulders Resort. Neighbors said they had seen a lot of activity at the home in recent weeks.

Harrington's malpractice lawyer, Jim Secrest II, did not respond to phone messages left Thursday or Friday. A message at Harrington's Tulsa office said it was closed and an answering service referred callers to the Tulsa Health Department.

Suzy Horton, an old friend of Harrington's, said she can't believe the allegations about the man who removed two of her teeth in the early '90s. Horton's ex-husband sold Harrington his home in Carefree ? a home where she once lived.

"I've been to dentists my whole life, so I know what a professional office looks like," Horton, who now lives in Phoenix, said in a telephone interview. "His was just as professional as anybody."

Horton hasn't seen Harrington in years, but she said he has sent her a Christmas card and wreath every year since her 1999 divorce.

"It was a long time ago, so I suppose anything can change, but the kind of person they're portraying in the news is not the kind of person who sends you a Christmas" card, she said.

___

Associated Press writers Traci Carl in Carefree, Ariz., and Jeannie Nuss in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-30-Dentist%20Investigation-Testing/id-19d4d577670640b3b74a2ce8f44643ef

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The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Killen's BBQ ...

Just because it's Easter Sunday doesn't mean you have to spend the weekend hunting eggs. There are plenty of non-Easter events coming up in the next two days.

Killen's BBQ Pop-Up
2804 South Main, Pearland
Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Within a few months, Ronnie Killen will open up his highly-anticipated barbecue joint at 3613 East Broadway. Until then, get a taste of what's to come every Saturday and Sunday at Killen's Steakhouse, where he'll be serving up brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, sausage and more at lunch. Just get there early -- odds are that he'll sell out this first weekend.

In addition to the smoked meats -- which will include the Best Bites-winning smoked short rib -- Killen's will also have sides such as potato salad, pinto beans and pulled pork along with bread pudding, pecan pie and banana pudding for dessert. Since the popular steakhouse is closed at lunch on Saturdays and Sundays, the barbecue pop-up is a clever use of Killen's existing space while his new smokehouse is completed.

Sprouts Farmers Market
23105 Cinco Ranch Boulevard, Katy
Saturday and Sunday, all day

Check out the brand-new 25,000 square-foot Sprouts grocery store, which opened its first Houston location this past Wednesday. The Arizona-based store is designed to look like an indoor farmers market, selling inexpensive organic produce and other food. Its seafood is delivered up to six days a week and Sprouts sports more than 200 bins of bulk nuts, grains, spices and trail mixes. This Saturday will feature a Deli Delight special, in which random shoppers may get their deli order "on the house."

Game of Thrones beer at The Flying Saucer
705 Main
Saturday and Sunday, all day

Winter is coming. Get your grog on and celebrate in style with Brewery Ommegang's limited-release Game of Thrones-inspired ale: Iron Throne Blonde Ale. It's on draft now at The Flying Saucer downtown, where it was tapped yesterday afternoon. Or pick some up in bottles at Spec's for your own GoT season premiere party at home.

Ash Bash at Cottonwood
3422 N. Shepherd
Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.

Cottonwood is hosting the final event in a week-long series of events honoring Ash Rowell, the founder of Duff Beer Distribution, who was tragically killed at his home in February. The bar will feature special keg and cask tappings throughout the day along with live music from The George Mitchell Trio and Deep Cuts -- two of our favorite Houston bands -- and others. Drink up, because 20 percent of all draft beer sales will be donated to the Texas Children's Hospital in Rowell's name. We also hear that an ultra-mega-special keg of a big, brash brew will be on hand too...

Easter Sunday Brunch
Sunday, all day

It's not too late to book your reservations for Easter brunch. Check out our handy round-up of the best brunch specials in town and get hopping.



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Source: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2013/03/the_5_best_things_to_eat_or_dr.php

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Look out squirrels: Leopards are new backyard wildlife

Friday, March 29, 2013

A new study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain landscapes of western India completely devoid of wilderness and with high human populations are crawling with a different kind of backyard wildlife: leopards.

The study found as many as five adult large carnivores, including leopards and striped hyenas, per 100 square kilometers (38 square miles), a density never before reported in a human-dominated landscape.

The study, called "Big Cats in Our Backyards," appeared in the March 6 edition of the journal PLoS One. Authors include: Vidya Athreya and Ullas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bangalore; Morten Odden of Hedmark University College; John D. C. Linnell of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; and Jagdish Krishnaswamy of Asoka Trust for Research of Ecology in the Environment.

Using camera traps, the authors founds that leopards often ranged close to houses at night though remained largely undetected by the public. Despite this close proximity between leopards and people, there are few instances of attacks in this region. The authors also photographed rusty spotted cat, small Indian civet, Indian fox, jungle cat, jackal, mongoose ? and a variety of people from the local communities. The research took place in western Maharashtra, India.

"Human attacks by leopards were rare despite a potentially volatile situation considering that the leopard has been involved in serious conflict, including human deaths in adjoining areas," said big cat expert Ullas Karanth of WCS. "The results of our work push the frontiers of our understanding of the adaptability of both humans and wildlife to each other's presence."

The authors say that the findings show that conservationists must look outside of protected areas for a more holistic approach to safeguarding wildlife in a variety of landscapes.

###

Wildlife Conservation Society: http://www.wcs.org

Thanks to Wildlife Conservation Society for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127521/Look_out_squirrels__Leopards_are_new_backyard_wildlife

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Sweet 16 for FGCU Eagles: Will 'dunk city' see long-term benefits?

The FGCU Eagles have found their way into the Sweet 16, putting the tiny, new college on the map. As they gear up to face the Gators in their Sweet 16 matchup, will their success yield lasting benefits?

By Schuyler Velasco,?Staff writer / March 28, 2013

Sherwood Brown (25) of Florida Gulf Coast University drives past and shoots over Georgetown's Jabril Trawick (55) and Georgetown's D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (4) during the first round of the NCAA tournament last week in Philadelphia.

Michael Perez/AP/File

Enlarge

There are Cinderella teams. And then there are the FGCU Eagles, who are gearing up to face the University of Florida Gators Friday night at 10 p.m. on TBS.

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By its very nature, the NCAA tournament, a 68-team, single-elimination free-for-all, has seen its fair share of unlikely squads making deep runs, thrusting their home schools suddenly into the national consciousness. Butler, George Mason, and VCU are a few recent examples.

But before last Friday, it was a safe bet that most Floridians didn?t know where Florida Gulf Coast University was, let alone most Americans. That changed over the weekend, when the Eagles, in only their second season as a Division I basketball program, rattled off decisive victories against No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 7-seed San Diego state, respectively, to become the first 15-seed ever to make it to the Sweet 16. Their rise caught everyone by surprise.

Really, everyone. Nearly 8.2 million NCAA brackets were submitted last week to ESPN?s Tournament Challenge; After the first round, there wasn?t a single perfect bracket left, thanks in large part to the Fort Myers upstarts.?

The New York Times repeatedly called the school ?Gulf Coast College? in a recap of the Friday win over Georgetown; Sunday, San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher called the team that defeated his Aztecs ?Florida State? (though he may have been joking). LeBron James congratulated the team on Twitter, but called the school "Florida Golf Coast" (incorrect, but not totally inaccurate. The school offers a "Golf Management" major). When asked by NPR where FGCU is, and how big it is, Tampa Bay Times journalist John Woodrow Cox replied, ?I didn?t know the answer to any of those questions until Friday.?

Millions of people know the answer to those questions now. Financially, that means a boost for the basketball program that could have lasting benefits for the young college.?

FGCU?s tournament success won?t yield huge bucks directly, especially by the standards of major Division I college sports. Part of the reason: Their winnings have to be shared equally with the other eight members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. If the Eagles lose to the Gators on Friday, they will have played three games in this year?s tournament, earning a $250,000 payout for each, says Victor Matheson, a sports economist and professor at The College of the Holy Cross in Worchester, Mass. ?They get those three tournament shares every year for six years. That?s $3 million in the pocket of the Atlantic Sun Conference, when normally, they get their one automatic bid [and $250,000] every year and that?s it.??

It won?t be exactly rolling in for head coach Andy Enfield, either. Mr. Enfield?s salary from FGCU is a respectable $157,000. According to ESPN?s Daren Rovell, Enfield got an additional $5,000 bonus for making the tournament, a $10,000 bonus for making the round 16, and would make another $25,000 for winning the entire thing.

Compared to the high end of the college coaching pay scale, that?s tiny potatoes: John Calipari, last year?s tournament winner with Kentucky, made $100,000 for making the Sweet 16, $150,00 for making the Final Four, and another $350,000 for winning the title, all on top of his then-$3.8 million annual base salary.?

But a successful basketball program can yield more intangible benefits for universities in terms of revenue, recruitment, and alumni relations. For one, the NCAA tournament is all upside for participating teams, which don?t have to pay for travel expenses or sell tickets. That?s not true of college football?s bowl system, which requires teams to buy up hotel rooms and eat the cost of any unsold tickets, a huge problem for small schools forced to travel far for a postseason berth.

The TV contracts for March Madness are worth about $600 million annually, Mr. Matheson says, and allows the league to pay teams? expenses from the tournament, as well as fund ?every team in every sport across all divisions."

FGCU is enjoying a meteoric boost in visibility and school spirit, at least for now. The school?s athletics website crashed under the weight of unprecedented traffic over the weekend, and much of the school apparel sold online was back-ordered. AP reported phone lines jammed with people seeking tickets to Friday?s game.

It will definitely help the Eagles in Florida?s tough athletic recruiting landscape: The University of Florida, Florida State, and the University of Miami are among the most storied college sports programs in the country, so any little bit of spotlight helps. Academically, the advantages are less clear.

After its 2011 Final Four appearance, Butler saw its application rates jump 41 percent. FGCU, which culls 92 percent of its students from Florida, could see a similar jump and a more varied pool of applicants, though Matheson warns. ?You may get a lot more shoppers but no more buyers, and you may not get any better students. Those who would choose based on that probably aren?t? better students.

There?s some evidence that sports success increases alumni giving, and FGCU has everything to gain in that department: The school has only been up and running since 1997, and its annual endowment is around $50 million (UF?s, meanwhile, is about $1.3 billion). But Matheson warns that donations inspired by the basketball program will probably end up there, and won?t result in any extra money for academics.

Still, he says, athletics are a good way for small colleges like FGCU to build an identity and better reach out to their student body and the community at large. At the very least, the Eagles? high-flying tournament run, full of dancing, dunks, and decisive victories, have given the school and the city of Fort Myers a personality that, to the rest of the nation, looks like a whole lot of fun. Indeed, Fort Myers has fully embraced the Eagles, even putting #dunkcity below the city's name on every page of its tourism website, cityftmyers.com.?

Coach Enfield, meanwhile, can probably expect a pay raise. According to naplesnews.com, FGCU officials have already met to discuss doubling his salary, and his name is being bandied about for the vacant head coaching job at UCLA.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/IJS29H35ZYE/Sweet-16-for-FGCU-Eagles-Will-dunk-city-see-long-term-benefits

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Texan's Plans Put Wall Street on Edge (WSJ)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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South Africa: Mandela making progress in hospital

FILE - In this Wednesday, July 18, 2012 file photo former South African President Nelson Mandela as he celebrates his birthday with family in Qunu, South Africa, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

FILE - In this Wednesday, July 18, 2012 file photo former South African President Nelson Mandela as he celebrates his birthday with family in Qunu, South Africa, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

Visitors gather in front of a portrait of former president Nelson Mandela, in a Park in Soweto, South Africa, Thursday, March, 28, 2013. 94-year-old Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been hit by a lung infection again and is in a hospital, the presidency said. Mandela, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

A child passes portraits of former president Nelson Mandela depicted in various stages of his life in a Soweto, South Africa, street Thursday, March, 28, 2013. 94-year-old Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been hit by a lung infection again and is in a hospital, the presidency said. Mandela, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

A child looks through a fence at a portrait of former president Nelson Mandela in a Park in Soweto, South Africa, Thursday, March, 28, 2013. 94-year-old Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been hit by a lung infection again and is in a hospital, the presidency said. Mandela, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including earlier this month when he underwent what authorities said was a scheduled medical test. The Nobel laureate is a revered figure in South Africa, which has honored his legacy of reconciliation by naming buildings and other places after him and printing his image on national banknotes. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 14, 2013, a statue of Former South African president Nelson Mandela at the entrance to the Robben Island ferry departure point at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president, has been admitted to a hospital with a recurring lung infection, South Africa said Thursday, March 28, 2013. Mandela, 94, has become increasingly frail in recent years and has been hospitalized several times since last year, mostly recently earlier this month when he received what a presidential spokesman described as a "successful" medical test. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

(AP) ? Nelson Mandela is making "steady progress" while being treated for a recurring lung infection and he had a full breakfast on Friday, South African authorities said.

The office of President Jacob Zuma released a statement in which it said the former president and anti-apartheid leader was in good spirits after being taken late Wednesday to a hospital in the capital, Pretoria.

"The doctors report that he is making steady progress. He remains under treatment and observation in hospital," the statement said.

"We would like to repeat our appeal for the media and the public to respect the privacy of Madiba and his family," it said, using Mandela's clan name, a term of affection.

It is 94-year-old Mandela's third trip to a hospital since December. At that time, he spent three weeks in a hospital in Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones. Earlier this month, he was hospitalized overnight for what authorities said was a successful, scheduled medical test.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in his country.

President Barack Obama said Thursday he was concerned about Mandela's health, but noted he was as strong physically as he has been in leadership and character. Obama said he was sending his thoughts and prayers to Mandela, and he described him as a hero and an inspiration who gave everything to his people.

Zuma's office said Thursday that doctors were acting with extreme caution because of the advanced age of Mandela, who has become increasingly frail in recent years.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is a revered figure in his homeland, which has named buildings and other places after him and uses his image on national bank notes.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-29-AF-South-Africa-Mandela/id-a82847977d44428e8d5bdebe1666bc88

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Brain's 'molecular memory switch' identified

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Scientists have identified a key molecule responsible for triggering the chemical processes in our brain linked to our formation of memories. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits, reveal a new target for therapeutic interventions to reverse the devastating effects of memory loss.

The BBSRC-funded research, led by scientists at the University of Bristol, aimed to better understand the mechanisms that enable us to form memories by studying the molecular changes in the hippocampus -- the part of the brain involved in learning.

Previous studies have shown that our ability to learn and form memories is due to an increase in synaptic communication called Long Term Potentiation [LTP]. This communication is initiated through a chemical process triggered by calcium entering brain cells and activating a key enzyme called 'Ca2+ responsive kinase' [CaMKII]. Once this protein is activated by calcium it triggers a switch in its own activity enabling it to remain active even after the calcium has gone. This special ability of CaMKII to maintain its own activity has been termed 'the molecular memory switch'.

Until now, the question still remained as to what triggers this chemical process in our brain that allows us to learn and form long-term memories. The research team, comprising scientists from the University's School of Physiology and Pharmacology, conducted experiments using the common fruit fly [Drosophila] to analyse and identify the molecular mechanisms behind this switch. Using advanced molecular genetic techniques that allowed them to temporarily inhibit the flies' memory the team were able to identify a gene called CASK as the synaptic molecule regulating this 'memory switch'.

Dr James Hodge, the study's lead author, said: "Fruit flies are remarkably compatible for this type of study as they possess similar neuronal function and neural responses to humans. Although small they are very smart, for instance, they can land on the ceiling and detect that the fruit in your fruit bowl has gone off before you can."

"In experiments whereby we tested the flies' learning and memory ability, involving two odours presented to the flies with one associated with a mild shock, we found that around 90 per cent were able to learn the correct choice remembering to avoid the odour associated with the shock. Five lessons of the odour with punishment made the fly remember to avoid that odour for between 24 hours and a week, which is a long time for an insect that only lives a couple of months."

By localising the function of the key molecules CASK and CaMKII to the flies' equivalent brain area to the human hippocampus, the team found that the flies lacking these genes showed disrupted memory formation. In repeat memory tests those lacking these key genes were shown to have no ability to remember at three hours (mid-term memory) and 24 hours (long-term memory) although their initial learning or short-term memory wasn't affected.

Finally, the team introduced a copy of the human CASK gene -- it is 80 per cent identical to the fly CASK gene -- into the genome of a fly that completely lacked its own CASK gene and was therefore not usually able to remember. The researchers found that flies which had a copy of the human CASK gene could remember like a normal wildtype fly.

Dr Hodge, from the University's School of Physiology and Pharmacology, said: "Research into memory is particularly important as it gives us our sense of identity, and deficits in learning and memory occur in many diseases, injuries and during aging."

"CASK's control of CaMKII 'molecular memory switch' is clearly a critical step in how memories are written into neurons in the brain. These findings not only pave the way for to developing new therapies which reverse the effects of memory loss but also prove the compatibility of Drosophila to model these diseases in the lab and screen for new drugs to treat these diseases. Furthermore, this work provides an important insight into how brains have evolved their huge capacity to acquire and store information."

These findings clearly demonstrate that neuronal function of CASK is conserved between flies and human, validating the use of Drosophila to understand CASK function in both the healthy and diseased brain. Mutations in human CASK gene have been associated with neurological and cognitive defects including severe learning difficulties.

The BBSRC-funded study, entitled 'CASK and CaMKII function in the mushroom body a'/?' neurons during Drosophila memory formation' by Bilal Rashid Malik, John Michael Gillespie, James John Llewellyn Hodge was published on Wednesday 27 March 2013 in the Frontiers in Neural Circuits Journal.

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

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Journal Reference:

  1. Bilal R. Malik, John Michael Gillespie, James J. L. Hodge. CASK and CaMKII function in the mushroom body ??/?? neurons during Drosophila memory formation. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 2013; 7 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2013.00052

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/cT56pPuns70/130328125226.htm

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Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells

Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
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Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA Clumps of ?-synuclein protein in nerve cells are hallmarks of many degenerative brain diseases, most notably Parkinson's disease.

"No one has been able to determine if Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, hallmark pathologies in Parkinson's disease can be degraded," says Virginia Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

"With the new neuron model system of Parkinson's disease pathologies our lab has developed recently, we demonstrated that these aberrant clumps in cells resist degradation as well as impair the function of the macroautophagy system, one of the major garbage disposal systems within the cell."

Macroautophagy, literally self eating, is the degradation of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular bits and pieces by a compartment in the cell called the lysosome.

Lee, also a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and colleagues published their results in the early online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry this week.

Alpha-synuclein (?-syn ) diseases all have clumps of the protein and include Parkinson's disease (PD), and array of related disorders: PD with dementia , dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. In most of these, ?-syn forms insoluble aggregates of stringy fibrils that accumulate in the cell body and extensions of neurons.

These unwanted ?-syn clumps are modified by abnormal attachments of many phosphate chemical groups as well as by the protein ubiquitin, a molecular tag for degradation. They are widely distributed in the central nervous system, where they are associated with neuron loss.

Using cell models in which intracellular ?-syn clumps accumulate after taking up synthetic ?-syn fibrils, the team showed that ?-syn inclusions cannot be degraded, even though they are located near the lysosome and the proteasome, another type of garbage disposal in the cell.

The ?-syn aggregates persist even after soluble ?-syn levels within the cell are substantially reduced, suggesting that once formed, the ?-syn inclusions are resistant to being cleared. What's more, they found that ?-syn aggregates impair the overall autophagy degradative process by delaying the maturation of autophagy machines known as autophagosomes, which may contribute to the increased cell death seen in clump-filled nerve cells. Understanding the impact of ?-syn aggregates on autophagy may help elucidate therapies for ?-syn-related neurodegeneration.

###

Co-authors are Selcuk A. Tanik, Christine E. Schultheiss, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley, and Kurt R. Brunden, all from Penn.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Neurological Diseases (NS053488), the JPB Foundation, and the Jeff and Anne Keefer Fund.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.



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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.


Parkinson's disease protein gums up garbage disposal system in cells [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
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Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA Clumps of ?-synuclein protein in nerve cells are hallmarks of many degenerative brain diseases, most notably Parkinson's disease.

"No one has been able to determine if Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, hallmark pathologies in Parkinson's disease can be degraded," says Virginia Lee, PhD, director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

"With the new neuron model system of Parkinson's disease pathologies our lab has developed recently, we demonstrated that these aberrant clumps in cells resist degradation as well as impair the function of the macroautophagy system, one of the major garbage disposal systems within the cell."

Macroautophagy, literally self eating, is the degradation of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular bits and pieces by a compartment in the cell called the lysosome.

Lee, also a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and colleagues published their results in the early online edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry this week.

Alpha-synuclein (?-syn ) diseases all have clumps of the protein and include Parkinson's disease (PD), and array of related disorders: PD with dementia , dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. In most of these, ?-syn forms insoluble aggregates of stringy fibrils that accumulate in the cell body and extensions of neurons.

These unwanted ?-syn clumps are modified by abnormal attachments of many phosphate chemical groups as well as by the protein ubiquitin, a molecular tag for degradation. They are widely distributed in the central nervous system, where they are associated with neuron loss.

Using cell models in which intracellular ?-syn clumps accumulate after taking up synthetic ?-syn fibrils, the team showed that ?-syn inclusions cannot be degraded, even though they are located near the lysosome and the proteasome, another type of garbage disposal in the cell.

The ?-syn aggregates persist even after soluble ?-syn levels within the cell are substantially reduced, suggesting that once formed, the ?-syn inclusions are resistant to being cleared. What's more, they found that ?-syn aggregates impair the overall autophagy degradative process by delaying the maturation of autophagy machines known as autophagosomes, which may contribute to the increased cell death seen in clump-filled nerve cells. Understanding the impact of ?-syn aggregates on autophagy may help elucidate therapies for ?-syn-related neurodegeneration.

###

Co-authors are Selcuk A. Tanik, Christine E. Schultheiss, Laura A. Volpicelli-Daley, and Kurt R. Brunden, all from Penn.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Neurological Diseases (NS053488), the JPB Foundation, and the Jeff and Anne Keefer Fund.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.



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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/uops-pdp032813.php

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Game On, Google: eBay Now Same-Day Delivery Service Expands To Chicago And Dallas

eBay Now ScreenshotEBay is in the middle of its Analyst Day, and just a little while ago it announced plans for some significant expansions for eBay Now, its same-day delivery service, with Chicago and Dallas?deliveries coming this summer, and integration of?the service into its "core experience" as it gears up for competition with Amazon and now Google.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/7pJK_RKX_BY/

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Serbs in Kosovo jailed over deadly riots

MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP) ? A Kosovo court on Thursday found three ethnic Serbs guilty of storming a U.N.-run court and inciting riots that led to the death of a Ukrainian peacekeeper in 2008.

The ruling came as dozens of NATO peacekeepers backed by armored vehicles secured the area around the court. Hundreds of local Serbs briefly blocked entrances to the building with big trucks filled with dirt.

The panel of three European Union judges convicted Marijan Ilincic and Dragan Milojevic, and sentenced them to 22 and 18 months in prison, respectively. A third defendant, Zoran Cavic, was convicted of similar charges and given a 9-month sentence that was suspended for one year, according to the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX.

Three other defendants were cleared of all charges.

A team of defense lawyers said they will appeal the three guilty verdicts.

Hours before the court proceeding started, EULEX armed special police units escorted the judges and the prosecutor into the court house. No incidents were reported, and the barricades were removed after the verdicts were made public.

Ethnic Serbs, who dominate Kosovo's north, boycott EULEX, saying it backs ethnic Albanian separatists.

In March 2008, a crowd of ethnic Serbs stormed the court house in Mitrovica to prevent EULEX from replacing the U.N. administration. The violence was in response to Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia.

About 130 people, including some 60 U.N. and NATO peacekeepers, were wounded during several days of clashes that ensued between Serbs and international peacekeepers. Thursday's guilty verdicts involved a Ukrainian peacekeeper who died from injuries received from fragments of a hand grenade. He was part of a special police unit deployed restore control of the courthouse from the Serb rioters.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's independence.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/serbs-kosovo-jailed-over-deadly-riots-174233096.html

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AT&T's Samsung Galaxy Express getting Jelly Bean update today

Samsung Galaxy Express

Google Now, performance improvements and other features hit this mid-level Android smartphone

AT&T this morning announced that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is now available for its Samsung Galaxy Express smartphone.  With the update you'll get the "Project Butter" performance improvements, updates to the notification area and, most important, you'll be able to rock Google Now, with all its prediction and search capabilities.

You'll also get "Blocking Mode," which lets you turn off calls and notifications for a specific period of time. Plus, you'll get a new data usage calculator.

You can snag the update now by going to Settings>About device>Software update>Check for updates. You'll need to be on Wifi.

Source: AT&T



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/iznHj7VQfHU/story01.htm

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Iowa governor holds hearing on releasing killer

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Iowa's governor has called a rare public hearing Wednesday to gather input on whether he should free an inmate widely credited with turning his life around while serving 38 years in prison for a 1974 murder.

Rasberry Williams, 66, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder after shooting a neighbor over a $30 gambling debt outside a Waterloo pool hall. His decade-long bid to have his sentence commuted to a set number of years so he can become eligible for parole has won the backing of the Iowa Board of Parole, prison wardens, the prosecutor who convicted him and the judge who oversaw his trial.

But the only opinion that matters is that of Gov. Terry Branstad, who called the hearing in Waterloo to allow the public to sound off on the parole board's 4-0 recommendation that Williams' sentence be adjusted. Branstad is the third Iowa governor to consider Williams' request and has until May 4 to accept or reject the board's recommendation. During 18 years in office spread over three decades, Branstad has commuted the life terms of only two inmates, the last being in 1992.

Williams' supporters, however, argue the governor should show leniency to reward a remarkable rehabilitation. Prison officials describe Williams as a model inmate who got an education in prison, mentored scores of young offenders and served as a fixture in programs where he warned young people to avoid trouble. And, in what officials call his most noteworthy act, he once intervened to save the lives of prison guards who had been taken hostage by another inmate.

"It's an extraordinary case, and that's what makes it so compelling," said Waterloo attorney David Dutton, who prosecuted Williams but recently came out in support of commutation. "He's served 38 years and during that time, he's saved two guards and has comported himself as a model citizen, albeit under very difficult conditions. That, in my view, indicates a person who has truly understood the importance of acting on behalf of others. I think that's a sign of a changed person, and a person that is not going to be a threat to society."

Branstad requested Wednesday's hearing because he wanted to hear from people who live in the community where the shooting happened, said the governor's spokesman, Tim Albrecht. He said Branstad will consider the impact on victims, public safety and Williams' behavior while incarcerated, in deciding Williams' future.

Jeremy Haile, who tracks criminal justice issues at the Sentencing Project, which advocates shorter sentences, said it's rare for a governor to free someone convicted of murder because of the political risks involved. The hearing is a smart move, he said, because strong support for Williams would help justify a decision to release him.

"Ultimately, executives have to act not because they will benefit politically, but because extending mercy is the right thing to do," Haile said.

Only a dozen Iowa inmates serving life sentences have had them commuted since 1986, state data shows. Nationally, Haile said the number of life sentences had risen dramatically in recent decades in a tough-on-crime political climate and executives at the state and federal level have been increasingly reluctant to show mercy.

Williams was convicted in the death of his next-door neighbor, 40-year-old Lester Givhan. The two began arguing over a $30 debt at a pool hall, and when Givhan refused to pay, Williams waited outside, confronted Givhan and shot him once. Williams turned himself into police hours later.

Givhan had a gun in his pocket, and the then-28-year-old Williams claimed he acted in self-defense. "I had to stand my ground," he told the parole board in January. He said he worried Givhan would've killed him, according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press through the public records law.

But jurors didn't buy that, and even Williams' defense lawyer, Wallace Parrish, said he was guilty.

"When you have facts like that, it was like getting hit on the head with a hammer," Parrish said. "You had him lying in wait, you had intent. There was no defending that. It was like he read a book on the elements of first-degree murder, and went out and committed each element deliberately."

The attorney also said, however, that Williams had served enough time for "a crime of passion" and would not pose a safety risk if allowed to live with his sister in Chicago. Parrish called the former prosecutor's support for Williams' commutation "very significant."

Dutton opposed the parole board's 2005 recommendation to commute Williams' sentence. But he said he didn't know then that Williams had helped save the lives of two guards who were held hostage in 1979 by an inmate at the penitentiary in Fort Madison.

In a letter supporting Williams' commutation, inmate George Goff said he planned to ignite gasoline in a cell where he was holding guards at knifepoint, but Williams approached and told him, "'boy don't you do that! It is not worth getting a life sentence for.'"

Goff freed the hostages unharmed.

"If it not been for Rasberry Williams that day there would have been two dead guards and I would be doing a life sentence," Goff wrote.

Gov. Tom Vilsack denied Williams' commutation bid in 2006, citing concerns he had been gambling in prison, which Williams denied. His successor, Gov. Chet Culver, reviewed Williams' commutation file during his final days in office in 2011 but didn't act.

Among those hoping Branstad will give Williams another chance is Walter Polk, 65, who worked with Williams at the WonderBread bakery in Waterloo even after his arrest.

"He was so trustworthy and the company liked his work, that he worked up until his conviction," Polk said. "Rasberry was a happy-go-lucky person, a person to keep you laughing. . . . I knew he had this incident in his life, but I think he just got caught up in in the moment."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iowa-governor-holds-hearing-releasing-killer-183926507.html

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Research reveals protective properties of influenza vaccines

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Collaborating scientists from Nationwide Children's Hospital, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified an important mechanism for stimulating protective immune responses following seasonal influenza vaccinations. The study was published in Science Translational Medicine, a journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

While seasonal influenza vaccines protect 60 to 90 percent of healthy adults from "the flu," the mechanisms providing that protection are still not well understood.

The study led by Octavio Ramilo, MD, chief of Infectious Diseases and an investigator in the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at Nationwide Children's Hospital and professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine, and Hideki Ueno, MD, PhD, an investigator at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research at Baylor University, demonstrates how certain T cells in the blood are stimulated to provide protective antibody responses with seasonal flu vaccines.

Antibodies are produced by specific white blood cells or B cells, which serve as an immune defense against foreign bodies such as the influenza virus. Helper T cells, another type of white cell, are essential for the generation of B cells.

Blood samples before and after influenza vaccination from three groups of healthy study participants were analyzed for antibody responses. The groups included two sets of adults, one receiving flu vaccines during the 2009-2010 winter and the other receiving vaccination during the 2011-2012 winter. The third group included children receiving the flu vaccine during the 2010-2011 winter.

Analyses show that a temporary increase in a unique subset of helper T cells expressing the co-stimulator molecule ICOS adds to the immune response by helping B cells produce influenza-specific antibodies.

Results indicated that at day seven following the administration of a flu vaccine in all groups, stimulated T cells were evident, contributing to the development of the immune response.

The T cells positively correlated with increased antibodies against each flu virus strain examined, with the exception in the children's group against the swine-origin H1N1 virus.

"Given that seasonal influenza vaccines induce antibody responses mainly through boosting the recall response of the immune system, this lack of correlation might reflect the lack of H1N1 specific immunity in some children," explains study co-author Emilio Flano, PhD, a principal investigator in the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at Nationwide Children's and an associate professor of Pediatrics at OSU College of Medicine.

"This is consistent with the fact that these children had not been vaccinated or naturally exposed to the H1N1 virus prior to being vaccinated during the 2010-2011 winter," said study co-author Santiago Lopez, MD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Vaccines and Immunity and a resident at Nationwide Children's.

Further experiments demonstrated that this unique subset of helper T cells can boost production of existing antibodies that fight flu by stimulating memory B cells, but do not help production of new antibodies by na?ve B cells.

"We're gratified that our study provides evidence of one of the essential events associated with the immune response following seasonal influenza vaccination," says Dr. Ramilo. "Understanding these processes is a key step toward developing more effective vaccines."

###

Nationwide Children's Hospital: http://www.NationwideChildrens.org

Thanks to Nationwide Children's Hospital for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127459/Research_reveals_protective_properties_of_influenza_vaccines

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New process to make nanospheres

Mar. 26, 2013 ? A patent-pending technology to produce nanospheres developed by a research team at North Dakota State University, Fargo, could enable advances across multiple industries, including electronics, manufacturing, and biomedical sectors.

The environmentally-friendly process produces polymer-based nanospheres (tiny microscopic particles) that are uniform in size and shape, while being low-cost and easily reproducible. The process developed at NDSU allows scale-up of operation to high production levels, without requiring specialized manufacturing equipment.

A 3 a.m. Eureka! moment

Dr. Victoria Gelling, associate professor in the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials at NDSU, had a "Eureka!" moment when she woke early one morning -- 3 a.m., to be precise, an hour when most of us are still sleeping. Dr. Gelling used early morning creativity to imagine a new way to oxidize monomers, which are relatively small and simple molecules, into polymers, which are larger, more complex molecules that can be used to create synthetic materials. Dr. Gelling hypothesized that oxidizing ozone in water might accomplish this task.

Later that day in the lab, Dr. Gelling and her team tested the hypothesis. On the first try, they created a suspension of nearly perfectly rounded, uniformly-sized nanospheres, ranging from 70 to 400 nanometers in diameter. In addition to their uniform size, the nanospheres stay suspended in the solution, and are easily removed using a centrifuge.

"The synthesis of the nanospheres is rather simple, with no other chemicals required other than water, ozone, and the small molecules which will become the polymers," said Dr. Gelling. "We also have tight control of the size, as they are beautiful, perfect marbles."

Given their uniform size and shape, the nanospheres could have uses across multiple industries. According to Dr. Gelling, such nanospheres could be used to: -Produce high-performance electronic devices and energy-efficient digital displays -Create materials with high conductivity and smaller parts for consumer electronics -Deliver medicine directly to diseased cells in the body -Provide antibacterial coating on dressing for wounds -Develop nanosensors to aid in early disease detection -Create coatings that provide increased protection against corrosion and abrasion

The process to develop nanospheres discovered at NDSU's Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials was developed with support under Grant Number W911NF-09-2-0014, awarded by the U. S. Army Research Office.

NDSU's research team for this technology includes Dr. Victoria Gelling, graduate research assistant Abhijit Jagnnath Suryawanshi, Omerga, MS, India; Chris Vetter, MS '11, Moorhead, Minn., and Jessica Lamb, Fargo, N.D., now a graduate student at Cornell University.

The patent pending nanospheres technology is available for licensing/partnering through the NDSU Research Foundation.

A brief video describing the NDSU-developed nanospheres is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndK-NzULfAk

Additional information about this technology and other NDSU innovations available for licensing are available at http://www.ndsuresearchfoundation.org/rft351

About the NDSU Research Foundation The NDSU Research Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that supports NDSU in its teaching, research and public service missions. The Foundation manages the intellectual properties developed by faculty, staff and students doing research at NDSU and facilitates commercialization of these technologies. By commercializing intellectual property, the Foundation is able to create resources that are returned to the individual inventors and to the University to promote continued research. www.ndsuresearchfoundation.org

About North Dakota State University NDSU, Fargo, North Dakota, USA, is notably listed among the top 108 U.S. public and private universities in the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education's category of "Research Universities/Very High Research Activity." As a student-focused, land grant, research institution, NDSU is listed in the Top 100 research universities in the U.S. for R&D in computer science, chemistry, physical sciences, psychology, social sciences, and agricultural sciences, based on research expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation. www.ndsu.edu/research

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/JxMk7tJ3jC0/130326162201.htm

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Online dating service Cupid rejects claims it used fake profiles

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/online-dating-cupid-rejects-claims-used-fake-profiles-094444068--finance.html

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Superstars whose careers ended at WrestleMania

It?s no secret that a WrestleMania match is the goal of every Superstar who steps through the doors of WWE. It?s called The Showcase of the Immortals for a reason ? only the best and brightest are featured, and a bout at the big dance can solidify a performer?s reputation as a star of the future or cement him or her as a main-event icon for WWE. But The Show of Shows can also be a bittersweet event, as it is often the night when legends of the highest caliber bid their farewells to the squared circle with one final, epic bout before hanging up their boots.

WrestleMania 29 might just prove to be one of those instances, as Triple H has put his in-ring career on the line in a No Holds Barred Match against Brock Lesnar, a Superstar who beat him to the point of near-retirement once already at SummerSlam 2012. This particular piece of WrestleMania history has yet to be written, but as The King of Kings prepares to set foot on The Grandest Stage of Them All for potentially the last time, WWE.com looks back at six Superstars who ? voluntarily or otherwise ? ended their careers under the bright lights of WrestleMania.

View Comments

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/superstars-whose-careers-ended-at-wrestlemania

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Could that cold sore increase your risk of memory problems?

Mar. 25, 2013 ? The virus that causes cold sores, along with other viral or bacterial infections, may be associated with cognitive problems, according to a new study published in the March 26, 2013, print issue of Neurology?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study found that people who have had higher levels of infection in their blood (measured by antibody levels), meaning they had been exposed over the years to various pathogens such as the herpes simplex type 1 virus that causes cold sores, were more likely to have cognitive problems than people with lower levels of infection in the blood.

"We found the link was greater among women, those with lower levels of education and Medicaid or no health insurance, and most prominently, in people who do not exercise," said author Mira Katan, MD, with the Northern Manhattan Study at Columbia University Medical Center in New York and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. The study was performed in collaboration with the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami in Miami, FL.

For the study, researchers tested thinking and memory in 1,625 people with an average age of 69 from northern Manhattan in New York. Participants gave blood samples that were tested for five common low grade infections: three viruses (herpes simplex type 1 (oral) and type 2 (genital), and cytomegalovirus), chlamydia pneumoniae (a common respiratory infection) and Helicobacter pylori (a bacteria found in the stomach).

The results showed that the people who had higher levels of infection had a 25 percent increase in the risk of a low score on a common test of cognition called the Mini-Mental State Examination.

The memory and thinking skills were tested every year for an average of eight years. But infection was not associated with changes in memory and thinking abilities over time.

"While this association needs to be further studied, the results could lead to ways to identify people at risk of cognitive impairment and eventually lower that risk," said Katan. "For example, exercise and childhood vaccinations against viruses could decrease the risk for memory problems later in life."

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Leducq Foundation.

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Journal Reference:

  1. M. Katan, Y. P. Moon, M. C. Paik, R. L. Sacco, C. B. Wright, M. S. V. Elkind. Infectious burden and cognitive function: The Northern Manhattan Study. Neurology, 2013; 80 (13): 1209 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182896e79

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/kVuFu0Oj-hQ/130325183813.htm

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