Monday, April 29, 2013

NYU and NYU Langone researchers devise method for enhancing CEST MRI

NYU and NYU Langone researchers devise method for enhancing CEST MRI [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
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Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

Researchers at New York University and NYU Langone Medical Center have created a novel way to enhance MRI by reducing interference from large macromolecules that can often obscure images generated by current chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) methods.

Their work, which appears in the Nature publishing group journal Scientific Reports, has the potential to improve MRI for cartilage as well as for brain tissue.

"We have found a way to eliminate signals of certain molecules and thereby clean up the image of parts of the body that could be used by medical professionals in order to make diagnoses," explained Alexej Jerschow, a professor in NYU's Department of Chemistry.

The study's other authors were: Ravinder Regatte, professor, Departments of Radiology and Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center; Prodromos Parasoglou, a post-doctoral research fellow, and Ding Xia, an assistant research scientist, at the Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center; and Jae-Seung Lee, an NIH research fellow, who holds appointments in NYU's Department of Chemistry and NYU Langone Medical Center.

The researchers' work aims to improve a decade-old method, chemical exchange, which has been used to enhance MRI techniques. Under this approach, scientists exploit the movement of atoms from their natural molecular structure to water in the body in order to enhance their visibility.

However, these efforts have often been hindered by the presence of macromolecules, which continue to obscure the smaller molecules that are of interest to doctors and other health-care professionals in making assessments. The macromolecules' interference is the result of two phenomena: their size and their frequencies.

Neutralizing the macro-molecular frequency interference was the focus of the NYU method reported in Scientific Reports recently.

Previously, Jerschow, Regatte, and colleagues created a non-invasive imaging technique for glycosaminogycans (GAGs), which are molecules that serve as the building blocks of cartilage and are involved in numerous vital functions in the human body. Here, under chemical exchange, they separated out the GAG protons from those of water, creating an inherent contrast agent. Testing the idea in tissue samples, the researchers found that the available GAG protons provided an effective type of contrast enhancement, allowing them to readily monitor GAGs through a clinical MRI scanner.

In the Scientific Reports work, the researchers again focused on improving visibility of GAGs through MRI. But, in this effort, they sought to block the signaling impact of the macromolecules that obscure the observation of GAGs.

To do so, they took advantage of macromolecules' broad frequency spectruma trait that allows for easy detection and neutralization. Specifically, the researchers could, in effect, "bleach" the signal out by simultaneously using multiple irradiation frequencies. As a result, macromolecular interference diminished and enhanced the quantitative assessment of GAGs.

"This method gives us the opportunity to correct existing CEST methods by focusing on molecular signals of interest with much better precision than currently exists," explains Regatte.

###

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (grants K25AR060269, R21AR055724, R01AR053133, R01AR056260, and R01AR060238) and the National Science Foundation (grant CHE0957586).


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NYU and NYU Langone researchers devise method for enhancing CEST MRI [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

Researchers at New York University and NYU Langone Medical Center have created a novel way to enhance MRI by reducing interference from large macromolecules that can often obscure images generated by current chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) methods.

Their work, which appears in the Nature publishing group journal Scientific Reports, has the potential to improve MRI for cartilage as well as for brain tissue.

"We have found a way to eliminate signals of certain molecules and thereby clean up the image of parts of the body that could be used by medical professionals in order to make diagnoses," explained Alexej Jerschow, a professor in NYU's Department of Chemistry.

The study's other authors were: Ravinder Regatte, professor, Departments of Radiology and Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center; Prodromos Parasoglou, a post-doctoral research fellow, and Ding Xia, an assistant research scientist, at the Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Medical Center; and Jae-Seung Lee, an NIH research fellow, who holds appointments in NYU's Department of Chemistry and NYU Langone Medical Center.

The researchers' work aims to improve a decade-old method, chemical exchange, which has been used to enhance MRI techniques. Under this approach, scientists exploit the movement of atoms from their natural molecular structure to water in the body in order to enhance their visibility.

However, these efforts have often been hindered by the presence of macromolecules, which continue to obscure the smaller molecules that are of interest to doctors and other health-care professionals in making assessments. The macromolecules' interference is the result of two phenomena: their size and their frequencies.

Neutralizing the macro-molecular frequency interference was the focus of the NYU method reported in Scientific Reports recently.

Previously, Jerschow, Regatte, and colleagues created a non-invasive imaging technique for glycosaminogycans (GAGs), which are molecules that serve as the building blocks of cartilage and are involved in numerous vital functions in the human body. Here, under chemical exchange, they separated out the GAG protons from those of water, creating an inherent contrast agent. Testing the idea in tissue samples, the researchers found that the available GAG protons provided an effective type of contrast enhancement, allowing them to readily monitor GAGs through a clinical MRI scanner.

In the Scientific Reports work, the researchers again focused on improving visibility of GAGs through MRI. But, in this effort, they sought to block the signaling impact of the macromolecules that obscure the observation of GAGs.

To do so, they took advantage of macromolecules' broad frequency spectruma trait that allows for easy detection and neutralization. Specifically, the researchers could, in effect, "bleach" the signal out by simultaneously using multiple irradiation frequencies. As a result, macromolecular interference diminished and enhanced the quantitative assessment of GAGs.

"This method gives us the opportunity to correct existing CEST methods by focusing on molecular signals of interest with much better precision than currently exists," explains Regatte.

###

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (grants K25AR060269, R21AR055724, R01AR053133, R01AR056260, and R01AR060238) and the National Science Foundation (grant CHE0957586).


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nyu-nn042913.php

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NASA Sun Video: Three Years Condensed Into Three-Minute Time Lapse!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/nasa-sun-video-three-years-condensed-into-three-minute-time-laps/

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

TSX up 6th day on upbeat data, Potash earnings

By John Tilak

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index extended its gains into a sixth straight session on Thursday, buoyed by positive U.S. economic data and a stronger-than-expected earnings report from Potash Corp .

Investors were encouraged by data showing the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, offering reassurance that the bottom is not falling out of the labor market.

The Toronto market, which posted its biggest jump in more than eight months on Wednesday, has erased most of the losses incurred during a massive commodities-led rout earlier this month.

"The TSX is staging a bit of a recovery," said Keith G. Richards, portfolio manager and technical analyst at ValueTrend Wealth Management. "I see this near-term rally as a near-term rally, and that's all."

He expects weakness in banks and commodities to hold the index back over the next couple of months.

Despite the gains, the index is down 0.9 percent on the year, compared with a 10.7 percent rise in the S&P 500.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was up 53.18 points, or 0.43 percent, at 12,323.61 on Thursday. It hit its highest point since the huge selloff on April 15.

Eight of the 10 main sectors of the index were higher.

A 2.4 percent gain in Potash and rise in gold shares boosted the materials sector, which climbed 2.3 percent.

The price of bullion hit a 10-day high, lifted by a weak dollar and strong physical buying.

Potash said it was abandoning efforts to take over Israel Chemicals Ltd because of strong opposition in Israel. The fertilizer giant also reported a stronger-than-expected 13 percent rise in profit after renewed sales to China and India.

"Potash has got near-term upside," Richards said. "Positive news on the stock is going to push it a bit."

Energy shares rose 0.5 percent, reflecting a rise in the price of oil.

Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, gave back 0.2 percent.

In other company news, Open Text Corp reported a 25 percent rise in third-quarter adjusted profit as its cloud-based services business expanded. The business software maker's stock added 9.1 percent to C$63.02.

Shares of Imperial Oil Ltd climbed 1.4 percent after Canada's No. 2 oil producer and refiner reported a first-quarter profit.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tsx-set-open-higher-stronger-earnings-data-124832541--finance.html

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Movie review: The Rep | canada.com

The Rep

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Directed by: Morgan White

Featuring: Nigel Agnew, Charlie Lawton, Alex Woodside

Running time: 99 minutes

Parental guidance: Coarse language

Three years ago, three film nerds from Toronto named Nigel Agnew, Charlie Lawton, and Alex Woodside decided to open their own repertory cinema. It would be called the Toronto Underground Cinema and be housed in a modern theatre that someone had built below a condominium on downtown Spadina Avenue. It wasn?t easy to find ? you had to go under a sign that said Office Furniture ? but Nigel, Charlie and Alex were sure they could make a go of it.

Owning a movie theatre is a common dream for movie nerds, even though, as the documentary The Rep points out, it?s fraught with dangers.

For one thing, it?s a psychologically delicate operation: programmers throw movies up on screen and when people don?t come to see them, they feel rejected. Keith Altomare of the Bijou Theatre in New York, one of several experts interviewed in The Rep, says it?s like a daily election, ?and if you don?t show up, you?re not re-voting for us.?

Then there?s the money factor. It?s a tough business, and Noah Cowan, the artistic director of the Toronto film festival, calls it a road to a life of semi-poverty.

Alex agrees. ?It?s not good business sense to open it,? he says. ?But f? that.?

The Rep is a record of a year in the life of the Toronto Underground Cinema: the sparse crowds, the bickering among the partners, the sad look on the face of Nigel?s girlfriend when she realizes this will be another night when he has to be at the theatre.

The cinema seats almost 700, but attracts only handfuls: at one stage, desperate for new ideas, Alex institutes a Canadian cinema week, despite the misgivings of Nigel, the resident cynic.

?It?s a waste of time,? he says. ?No one will come,? and indeed, just eight paying customers come to see Atom Egoyan?s The Sweet Hereafter. When a screening of the sci-fi film Cube is beset by technical problems ? and with the director present ? Alex goes into a back room to recover in unhappy privacy.

The Rep

The Rep

First-time director Morgan White, who was allowed access to every private moment, intercuts the story with a broader look at rep cinema. It?s almost a genre unto itself, typically held in older movie houses that show second-run and art films to audiences who love film.

?People collectively dream in the dark with each other,? in the words of Sam Sharkey of San Francisco?s Red Vic theatre, which has now, alas, closed.

The Red Vic is one of many rep houses that are gone. Film buffs love them ?director Bruce McDonald contrasts them to the ?shit mall-box crap theatres? ? but video and wide-screen TV?s have cut the audiences. Horror director George Romero says his rep house is his room upstairs.

The Rep never gets under the skin of its three heroes, although we do get quick portraits of three personalities who, in the words of Charlie, ?make one fully functional person.? As a matter of interest, Charlie owns six Batman T-shirts.

There is also a bit of suspense ? the idea to get Adam West of the old Batman TV show to attend the screening of his campy Batman movie is a lesson in the tensions of celebrity capitalism ? and even some psychological drama in the clash of personalities when Alex and Nigel decide that Charlie isn?t pulling his weight as a partner.

Most of all, though, it?s a love letter to the theatres that exhibit classic movies on 35mm film to audiences that are enthralled by them. They are a dying breed, and The Rep presents a catalogue of grand old cinemas that have been closed, converted to gyms or, in one particularly poignant show, a video store.

The Rep closes with a plea to support your local theatre. The New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles stays open because Quentin Tarantino bought the building. The least the average movie buff can do is buy a ticket.

Source: http://o.canada.com/2013/04/25/movie-review-the-rep/

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Friday, April 26, 2013

Woody Guthrie Center opens Saturday in Tulsa

This April 25, 2013, photo shows workers put the finishing touches on the Woody Guthrie Center, which features a mural of the Oklahoma-born folk singer/songwriter, in downtown Tulsa. The center is set to open to the public on Saturday, April 27. (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

This April 25, 2013, photo shows workers put the finishing touches on the Woody Guthrie Center, which features a mural of the Oklahoma-born folk singer/songwriter, in downtown Tulsa. The center is set to open to the public on Saturday, April 27. (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

This April 25, 2013, photo shows some of the more than 400 metal plates featuring copies of song lyrics and illustrations by Woody Guthrie at the Oklahoma-born folk singer?s center opening Saturday in Tulsa. The 12,000 square-foot Woody Guthrie Center features exhibits that chronicle Guthrie?s life and career. (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

In this April 25, 2013, photo Deana McCloud, of the Woody Guthrie Center, tries out the Woody?s America interactive map at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa. The 12,000 square-foot center, which opens to the public on Saturday, features many interactive exhibits chronicling the life and work of Woody Guthrie and is home to the folk singer?s archives. (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

This April 25, 2013, photo shows the entrance to the Woody Guthrie Center, which opens to the public on Saturday in downtown Tulsa. The center features interactive exhibits chronicling the Oklahoma folk singer?s life and career, as well as an original, handwritten copy of ?This Land is Your Land.? (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

This circa 1943 photo courtesy of the Woody Guthrie Archives shows Oklahoma-born folk singer Woody Guthrie. The Woody Guthrie Center opens to the public on Saturday, April 27, 2013, with many interactive exhibits chronicling the life and work of Guthrie and is home to the folk singer?s archives. (AP Photo/Al Aumuller, Courtesy Woody Guthrie Archives)

(AP) ? Supporters of folk singer Woody Guthrie say the opening of a center chronicling his storied life and career is long overdue in his native state of Oklahoma.

The 12,000-square-foot Woody Guthrie Center opens Saturday afternoon in Tulsa.

It features Oklahoma's only permanent exhibit on the Dust Bowl and also includes Guthrie's original handwritten copy of "This Land Is Your Land," perhaps his best-known song.

Guthrie's daughter Nora says Oklahomans should take pride in knowing that the core of who her father was as a man and a musician was determined in Oklahoma.

The center is also home to the Woody Guthrie Archives, a collection featuring nearly 3,000 song lyrics, hundreds of pieces of artwork, journal entries, postcards, manuscripts and more than 500 photographs, among other rare items.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-26-US-Woody-Guthrie-Center/id-50f21535a0d045c798666e42810748d5

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Microsoft is desperately trying to steal users away from Android

(Reuters) - This year's U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania has attracted a record total of 9,860 entries, the United States Golf Association (USGA) said on Thursday. The number of applicants for the June 13-16 tournament eclipsed the previous best of 9,086 for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. "The fact that we have a record number of entries, from across the world, is a testament to both the great appeal of the U.S. Open and the historic nature and grandeur of Merion Golf Club," USGA Executive Director Mike Davis said in a statement. The U.S. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-desperately-trying-steal-users-away-android-194004253.html

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Two arrested in Al Qaeda US-Canada train plot ? directed from Iran (+video)

Canadian police thwarted a terrorist attack on a US-Canada train by two men directed by Al Qaeda in Iran. Yes, Al Qaeda in Iran, say police.

By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / April 22, 2013

RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said on Monday in Toronto, that police had arrested and charged two men with an Al Qaeda-supported plot to derail a VIA passenger train.

Aaron Harris/Reuters

Enlarge

Two men were arrested Monday and charged with plotting a "major terrorist attack" on a Canada-US passenger train.

Skip to next paragraph David Clark Scott

Online Director

David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.

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Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, who live in Montreal and Toronto, were acting alone, but were operating with support from Al Qaeda in Iran, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Al Qaeda in Iran?

Assistant RCMP Commissioner James Malizia, the officer in charge of federal policing operations, said the plot was supported by ?Al Qaeda elements in Iran.?? He also said that Al Qaeda provided "direction and guidance" to the alleged plot.

The link to Iran is a curious one. Al Qaeda leaders and Iran's leaders have not been known allies. Al Qaeda is a Sunni-based movement. Iran is predominantly Shiite. Canadian officials made clear that they weren't connecting the alleged plot to the Iranian government. But the presence of Al Qaeda leaders, who fled from Afghanistan to Iran after September 11, 2001, has been known for some time.

As Peter Bergen, wrote for CNN last month, "According to US documents and officials, in addition to [Suleiman] Abu Ghaith, other of bin Laden's inner circle who ended up in Iran include the formidable military commander of al Qaeda, Saif al-Adel, a former Egyptian Special Forces officer who had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, as well as Saad bin Laden, one of the al Qaeda's leader older sons who has played some kind of leadership role in the group."

What prompted the Bergen "Strange Bedfellows: Iran and Al Qaeda" article was the recent capture of Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law, Suleiman Abu Ghaith. As Reuters reported, "he was captured on Feb. 28 and brought secretly to the?United States?... Law enforcement sources say he was detained in?Jordan?by local authorities and the FBI after was believed to have been expelled from?Turkey." But for most of the past decade Abu Ghaith had been living in Iran.

"Current and former US officials said that group, known to US investigators as the Al Qaeda "Management Council," was kept more or less under control by the?Iranian government, which viewed it with suspicion."

Bergen describes the life of Al Qaeda members in Iran is a loose form of house arrest.? They are allowed to go out shopping, for example, but with restrictions.

This latest example of an Al Qaeda-Iran tie will raise some eyebrows.

And how serious was this latest terrorist threat in Canada?

Charges include conspiring to carry out an attack against, and conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group, according to the RCMP press release. "It was definitely in the planning stage but not imminent," RCMP chief superintendent Jennifer Strachan told reporters. But she declined to give more details.

Neither men were Canadian, and Canadian law enforcement officials did not state their nationality, but some media reports described them as Tunisians.

US officials?told Reuters that the attack plotters were targeting a rail line between New York and Toronto, but Canadian police did not publicly confirm which route was the target.

Canadian law enforcement officials praised the cooperation between various agencies, including the FBI, the US Department of Homeland Security, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada Border Services Agency, and various local Canadian police departments.

The CBC News says that it's "highly placed sources" tell them that the suspected terrorists have been under surveillance for more than a year in Quebec and southern Ontario.

The two men are reportedly to appear in a Toronto court Tuesday, and more details may be forthcoming in that hearing.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/aHsKGCVC0Ow/Two-arrested-in-Al-Qaeda-US-Canada-train-plot-directed-from-Iran-video

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Farrah Abraham: Threatened By James Deen Poser!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/farrah-abraham-threatened-by-james-deen-poser/

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Iraq vet takes stand, describes killing fellow soldiers at mental health ...

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. ? As family members of his victims looked on, Army Sgt. John Russell described on Monday how in 2009 he rampaged at a mental health clinic in Baghdad during the Iraq War, killing four soldiers and a Navy officer.

The testimony proved too much for one relative, who cried out and left the military court at Joint Base Lewis-McChord when Russell described killing her son.

Russell's testimony was part of an agreement in which Russell pleaded guilty to the murders. In doing so, he'll avoid the death sentence. His maximum sentence would be a life term. He testified Monday to persuade Army judge Col. David Conn to accept the agreement. Conn agreed.

Russell ? who is from Sherman, Texas ? went on a shooting spree at the Camp Liberty Combat Stress Center near Baghdad in May 2009. It was one of the worst instances of soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war.

In court, Russell said he was in a "rage" when he opened fire.

"I wanted the pain to stop," he testified in court at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, talking in a husky voice. He read a written statement detailing his memories of the killings.

Russell was nearing the end of his third tour when his behavior changed, members of his unit testified in 2009. They said he became more distant in the days before the May 11, 2009, attack and that he seemed paranoid that his unit was trying to end his career.

On May 8, Russell sought help at a combat stress clinic at Camp Stryker, where his unit was located. On May 10, Russell was referred to the Camp Liberty clinic, where he received counseling and prescription medication.

The following day witnesses saw Russell crying and talking about hurting himself. He went back to the Camp Liberty clinic, where a doctor told him he needed to get help or he would hurt himself. Russell tried to surrender to military police to lock him up so he wouldn't hurt himself or others, witnesses said.

Military prosecutors say Russell left the clinic and later returned with a rifle he took from his unit headquarters and began firing.

Russell said he wanted to hurt a doctor who he thought had earlier encouraged him to commit suicide. He didn't find that doctor, but still carried out the shooting.

Killed in the shooting were Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, 52, of Wilmington, N.C., and four Army service members: Pfc. Michael Edward Yates Jr., 19, of Federalsburg, Md.; Dr. Matthew Houseal, of Amarillo, Texas; Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25, of Paterson, N.J.; and Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20, of Lenox, Mo.

Of the dead, Russell had interacted only with Springle, who tried to help him a couple of days before the attack.

Yates raised a gun at him after Russell killed Springle and Houseal, but Yates dropped the gun and ran.

Yates "ran and I ran after him, and I shot him," Russell said.

Yates' mother, Shawna Van Blargan, joined Springle's wife and son in court. They held each other tightly as Russell talked about killing their family members.

Van Blargan cried out when Russell described killing her son. She left the courtroom.

Russell also remembered finding Barton hiding under a table. Russell shot him in the head.

Bueno-Galdos tried to grab Russell's rifle. Russell testified he shot Bueno-Galdos in the chest, then shot him once more while he lay face down on the ground.

Two evaluations presented during a 2009 hearing said Russell suffered from severe depression with psychotic features and post-traumatic stress disorder. A March 2011 evaluation said the major depression with psychotic features was in partial remission.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported Russell entered his plea while flanked by his two military defense attorneys and his civilian lawyer.

Some family members of Russell's victims have expressed frustration in news reports that it has taken four years to bring the case to trial.

Russell's pretrial agreement includes a contested portion that remains to be argued in court. He refused to plead guilty to murdering the service members with premeditation. Prosecutors planned to argue that point next month.

-- The Associated Press

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/04/iraq_vet_takes_stand_describes.html

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Samsung Galaxy S 4 coming to US Cellular April 30th

Samsung Galaxy S 4 coming to US Cellular April 30th

Wait, what inventory shortage? US Cellular doesn't seem to have any issue with getting the Samsung Galaxy S 4 on its retail and virtual shelves -- it confirmed to us in an email that it will begin selling the flagship device on April 30th. You'll be able to purchase the 16GB version in either white or black for $199 with a two-year commitment. If you didn't get in on the pre-order, now's your chance to get hooked up.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/t9UNCKUVj0U/

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Ancient Earth crust stored in deep mantle

Apr. 24, 2013 ? Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie's Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature.

Oceanic crust sinks into Earth's mantle at so-called subduction zones, where two plates come together. Much of what happens to the crust during this journey is unknown. Model-dependent studies for how long subducted material can exist in the mantle are uncertain and evidence of very old crust returning to Earth's surface via upwellings of magma has not been found until now.

The research team studied volcanic rocks from the island of Mangaia in Polynesia's Cook Islands that contain iron sulfide inclusions within crystals. In-depth analysis of the chemical makeup of these samples yielded interesting results.

The research focused on isotopes of the element sulfur. (Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.) The measurements, conducted by graduate student Rita Cabral, looked at three of the four naturally occurring isotopes of sulfur--isotopic masses 32, 33, and 34. The sulfur-33 isotopes showed evidence of a chemical interaction with UV radiation that stopped occurring in Earth's atmosphere about 2.45 billion years ago. It stopped after the Great Oxidation Event, a point in time when Earth's atmospheric oxygen levels skyrocketed as a consequence of oxygen-producing photosynthetic microbes. Prior to the Great Oxidation Event, the atmosphere lacked ozone. But once ozone was introduced, it started to absorb UV and shut down the process.

This indicates that the sulfur comes from a deep mantle reservoir containing crustal material subducted before the Great Oxidation Event and preserved for over half the age of Earth.

"These measurements place the first firm age estimates of recycled material in oceanic hotspots," Hauri said. "They confirm the cycling of sulfur from the atmosphere and oceans into mantle and ultimately back to the surface," Hauri said.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Carnegie Institution.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Rita A. Cabral, Matthew G. Jackson, Estelle F. Rose-Koga, Kenneth T. Koga, Martin J. Whitehouse, Michael A. Antonelli, James Farquhar, James M. D. Day, Erik H. Hauri. Anomalous sulphur isotopes in plume lavas reveal deep mantle storage of Archaean crust. Nature, 2013; 496 (7446): 490 DOI: 10.1038/nature12020

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/~3/LDR1C8bWhcs/130424132705.htm

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5 Anti-Aging Treatments That Work and Won&#39;t Break The Bank

Looking beautiful doesn?t have to be expensive! There?s no need to spend thousands of dollars to get the gorgeous skin you?ve always wanted. Save the cash and invest in these 5 treatments that have been designed to make you look years younger. They have been around for years and don?t involve anything scary to fight those signs of aging. Each treatment will help keep your skin smoother and less plagued by wrinkles, pigmentation irregularities and other pesky aging signs.

The 5 Treatments You Shouldn?t Do Without:

1. Under $100: A chemical peel

If you want skin that?s softer, smoother, more even toned and is less lined, then a chemical peel is perfect. A single peel can transform your skin by gently exfoliating the old layers that are hiding the fresher and healthier layers below. Expect to pay under $100 for one, which is a fantastic, low cost investment for healthier skin that glows. Can be performed on a routine basis.

2. Around $300: A customized at-home skincare routine

Most aesthetic medical clinics offer free consultations to help you figure out what type of treatment would be best for your skin. Take advantage of this and book your appointment! You?ll be able to talk to a skincare expert privately, who will also tell you what kind of skincare products you should be using at home to keep your skin looking youthful and healthy. Expect to pay around $300 for your complete collection of skincare products for use at home, usually for a 3 month?s supply.

3. Around $500: BOTOX

$500 can get you a few months of wrinkle free skin around your eyes and across your forehead ? two areas that tend to develop wrinkles the fastest. Pretty nice, huh? You won?t have to slather on the makeup anymore!

4. Around $600: Fillers

Another injectable procedure like BOTOX, Fillers plump up your wrinkles so they don?t form a crease in the skin anymore. For the same price, you can also boost lip volume, giving you luscious sexier lips like Angelina Jolie!

5. Around $800: A Soft Lift

If you?ve got serious wrinkles and need a facelift, you don?t need surgery. Go for a Soft Lift instead! A Soft Lift is basically a single procedure that involves BOTOX and Fillers to erase wrinkles and improve facial contours. It?s an all-in-one kind of treatment that will make you look years younger, without breaking the bank.

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skincare-header

Source: http://www.tammyshealtharticles.com/5-anti-aging-treatments-that-work-and-wont-break-the-bank/

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

How To Get Your Kids Through the Grocery Store, Meltdown-Free

It?s an inevitability that every parent has to experience. A rite of passage, the ?supermarket shakedown? is one that indeed shakes your maternal/paternal resolve to the core. This unique meltdown of sorts is usually precipitated by the perpetrator?s viewing of candy-coated confections, promptly followed by an unequivocal ?No!?

This is a guest post by Samantha Kemp-Jackson.

It?s them or you. The line has been drawn in the proverbial sand (or in the cereal aisle) and the standoff ensues. Will you relent and give in to the demands for chips, cheesies, or chocolate? Will you capitulate, in an effort to calm the inevitable tantrums, screams, and foot-stomping, or will you stand your ground, repeat the parental party line??NO!??and keep walking? Will you too melt down, overwhelmed with the situation at hand and the apparent lack of solution, or will you be strong in your resolve and let calmer heads prevail? Will you get through your grocery list and not forget the two dozen eggs and bread required for tomorrow?s breakfast?

The answers to these questions are rooted in one of the anchors of parenthood?being prepared?which will allow you to circumvent the loudest screams and the most extreme meltdowns. Following are tips for parents on how to keep kids calm at the supermarket.

A Fed Child is a Happy Child

Always make sure that everyone is fed before venturing into the cereal aisle. This includes you, mom and dad. You will be less likely to give in to demands for sugar-coated crap on a full stomach.

Ground Rules Rule

Make it clear to the kids before you go to the supermarket that under NO circumstances will you be veering off your shopping list. At all. No sugar-coated cereals, no candy-covered chocolates, and no chips or cheesies.

Case the Joint

Supermarkets have this annoying habit of changing their floor plan every so often, in order to force you down aisles that you didn?t plan to before. This is to assure that you (and of course your kids) will be caught by surprise by the ?new and improved? chocolate-coated marshmallows in aisle three. If you can, make a mental note each visit of any changes regarding food's position and keep them in mind before you venture into the vast expanse with the kids in tow. It will save you not only your nerves (not having to listen to screaming demands for goodies) but your sanity as well. Which leads us to tip #4...

Cows and Chickens First

Go down the dairy aisles first?they're usually located at the furthest expanses and corners of the stores. There is method behind this madness. Supermarket planners and marketers realize that making you pass all of the enticing items before getting to the staples?milk, eggs, and cheese?may make you give in to your (and your kids?) primal desires. Don?t fall for it. Keep your eye on the prize and don?t walk?run with your shopping cart?to the staples. Once you?ve got them, high-tail it out of there, if you can!

Make a List, Check it Twice

Having a pre-written list will save you from the horror of the latest sale on bulk-sized munchies, and keep you focused. Plan your week?s menu in advance, check your fridge and pantry/cupboards, and make your list. Refer back to tip #2 and reiterate to the kids that you have a list and are not buying anything that?s not on it. If the kids are too small to understand, resort to Parenting 101: Bribery, Negotiations, and Threats if necessary. Really.

Diversion Tactics

You will need these, particularly when you finally dodge the sugary crap and make it to the checkout. This is where they really get you?and your kids. Feeding upon our human nature to ?impulse shop? as well as the fact that a large number of us will have our kids with us (evil, aren?t they?!), candy bars, useless electronic gadgets, comics, and National Enquirers will stare you down. Don?t stare back and don?t let your kids stare back either. Pull out your bribe-items from home, such as new stickers or a coloring book, and keep the kids occupied at this crucial time in the shopping process.

So you see, shopping with kids can be done. All it takes is a little planning, determination, and resolve. (Okay...perhaps nerves of steel as well!)

Meltdown in Aisle Five: Top 6 Tips For Keeping Your Kids Calm at the Supermarket | Multiple Mayhem Mama


Samantha Kemp-Jackson is a writer, blogger and mother of four, including identical twin boys. Located in Toronto Canada, she chronicles the inanities of parenting through her humorous blog, www.MultipleMayhemMamma.com, where she also provides simple and easy to follow tips and advice for parents.

Image remixed from ollyy (Shutterstock) and and J-P F (Flickr).

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/RzpQO8KUCRo/how-to-get-your-kids-through-the-grocery-store-meltdow-478263883

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Decoding touch: Rats detect textures with their whiskers

Apr. 23, 2013 ? With their whiskers rats can detect the texture of objects in the same way as humans do using their fingertips. A study, in which some scientists of SISSA have taken part, shows that it is possible to understand what specific object has been touched by a rat by observing the activation of brain neurons. A further step towards understanding how the brain, also in humans, represents the outside world.

We know the world through the sensory representations within our brain. Such "reconstruction" is performed through the electrical activation of neural cells, the code that contains the information that is constantly processed by the brain. If we wish to understand what are the rules followed by the representation of the world inside the brain we have to comprehend how electrical activation is linked to the sensory experience. For this reason, a team of researchers including Mathew Diamond, Houman Safaai and Moritz von Heimendahl of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste have analyzed the behavior and the activation of neural networks in rats while they were carrying out tactile object recognition tests.

During the experiments researchers observed the performance of rats -- the animals were discriminating one texture from another -- along with the activation of a group of sensory neurons. "For the first time the study has monitored the activity of multiple neurons, while until now, due to technical limitations, researchers had examined only individual neurons," explains Diamond, who heads up the Tactile Perception and Learning Lab at SISSA. "The activity of such groups of neurons is represented in our model as multi-dimensional clouds, comprising as many dimensions as the number of cells under examination (up to ten). We have observed a different cloud for the contact with each different texture."

By analyzing the "clouds," Diamond and his colleagues were able to successfully decode the object contacted by the rodent. "Our method is so accurate that when the rat would mistake one object for another, the decoding would also indicate a different object from the one actually touched. And this happened because the representation made by the brain -- and, as a consequence, our decoding -- appeared like that of a different object. Hence the error."

Diamond's team has no intention of stopping here. "In real life, we generally recognize objects using more senses all together, in an integrated manner. We use touch and sight at the same time, for instance," explains Diamond. "For this reason we are now working on new experiments employing more neurons, with more complicated stimuli, and more senses, to build 'multimodal' representations of objects."

This kind of "mind reading" carried out on rats' brain by Diamond and his colleagues is important to understand how the brain forms a representation of the world. "Each one of us perceives a physical world outside ourselves, yet actually all we have at our disposal to create an experience of the world is the representation that our brain makes of it through the input of sensory organs" says Diamond.

To understand that such a representation is at the very least partial it is enough to think of all the information about the world that escapes us all the time: for instance, we are blind to infrared and ultraviolet rays, we are unable to hear certain sound frequencies or smell some chemical substances or others. Some details pertaining to the physical world are completely invisible or, to put it better, imperceptible (others are interpreted incorrectly, like visual illusions, for example.)

This is a further demonstration that what we perceive is not the physical world in itself, but the neuronal activation the world evokes inside our brain.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Sissa Medialab, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. H. Safaai, M. von Heimendahl, J. M. Sorando, M. E. Diamond, M. Maravall. Coordinated Population Activity Underlying Texture Discrimination in Rat Barrel Cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 2013; 33 (13): 5843 DOI: 10.1523/%u200BJNEUROSCI.3486-12.2013

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/strange_science/~3/HfI6cbZivhg/130423090935.htm

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James has 27, Heat top Bucks 110-87 in Game 1

Miami Heat's LeBron James, top, goes to the basket as Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova (7) looks on during the first half of Game 1 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Miami, Sunday April 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Miami Heat's LeBron James, top, goes to the basket as Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova (7) looks on during the first half of Game 1 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Miami, Sunday April 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (3) congratulates Chris Andersen (11) after Andersen scored against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second half of Game 1 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Miami, Sunday April 21, 2013. The Heat won 110-87. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (3) shoots as Milwaukee Bucks' Monta Ellis (11) defends during the first half of Game 1 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series in Miami, Sunday April 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Milwaukee Bucks power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute practices before Game 1 of their first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Miami Heat in Miami, Sunday, April 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings arrives at the American Airlines for Game 1 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Miami Heat in Miami, Sunday April 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

(AP) ? LeBron James has never taken fewer shots in a playoff game than he did on Sunday night, which at first glance might seem like a good thing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was not.

James scored 27 points on 9 for 11 shooting ? finishing two assists shy of a triple-double ? while Ray Allen scored 20 off the bench and the defending champion Heat picked up where they left off in the NBA playoffs a year ago, never trailing on the way to beating the Bucks 110-87 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.

"All I care about is the win," James said. "I didn't even know my stats. I just knew that we were playing efficient offensively besides the turnovers. We want to try to keep that going."

Dwyane Wade scored 16, Chris Bosh added 15 and Chris Andersen finished with 10 on 4 for 4 shooting for the Heat, who opened their title defense by holding Milwaukee to 42 percent shooting and outrebounding the Bucks 46-31.

Brandon Jennings scored 26 points and Monta Ellis added 22 for the Bucks, who have not won the opening game of a playoff series since May 2001.

Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami.

"We've got nothing to lose," Jennings said. "Nobody should be scared or anything. Let's just hoop."

James had taken only 11 shots in a playoff game twice before, and his postseason per-game average entering Sunday was just under 21 tries. But with the way he controlled the game Sunday, he didn't exactly need to shoot.

That's probably not the best of signs for the Bucks.

"Obviously, incredibly efficient," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "When you have a game like that, what can you do?"

Milwaukee came into the series with Jennings predicting his team would oust the reigning champions in six games.

They'll have to win four of five now for that to happen.

And with James playing like this, the odds would seem particularly slim. He had 10 rebounds and eight assists ? both game-highs. His assist total was only six shy of what the Bucks managed, combined.

"That's about as efficient as you can get," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Made that look easier than it was."

The 23-point margin notwithstanding, it was far from a perfect night for Miami. The Heat shot only 30 percent from 3-point range, plus turned the ball over 19 times ? giving Milwaukee 22 points ? and still won with ease.

Milwaukee had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, zero in the second half.

"I think we played good basketball in stretches," Ellis said. "They're a great team. They capitalized on our mistakes. I think they were more aggressive towards the end. In the third and fourth, they never looked back."

The Bucks said coming into Game 1 that they would brace for Miami to come out flying, and the Heat more than delivered on that expectation. Miami scored on its first five possessions and after back-to-back scores at the rim by James ? the first of those a vicious one-handed slam after Wade set him up on a 3-on-1 break ? the Heat were up 21-8 early.

Milwaukee settled down quickly, getting within 26-24 at the end of the first, with Jennings scoring 10 in the period. And the Bucks hung around for the remainder of the first half, with the Miami lead just 52-45 going into intermission.

"I thought in the first half we played with some good energy, had some good ball movement, created some turnovers and took advantage of that," Boylan said. "In the third quarter they came out a little bit more focused ... with a little more purpose, I think."

Ellis ? who compared himself to Wade earlier this season, saying he had everything the Heat guard had besides the wins and two championships ? opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, getting the Bucks within four.

Then came the second big Heat flurry of the night, and the Bucks had no more answers.

An 11-1 Miami run immediately followed that 3-pointer by Ellis, stretching the lead to 14, and the Heat were off and running. Miami closed the quarter with seven straight points ? James started that burst with a left-handed slam, then set up Andersen for another dunk. Another dunk by Andersen, this time when he soared in for a two-handed flush of a missed 3-pointer by Shane Battier, sent the building into overdrive, with people in the "White Hot" crowd waving their giveaway T-shirts in unison.

Anderson flapped his arms ? he's called "Birdman" for a reason ? and the Heat improved to an uncanny 40-3 when he plays.

"He brings us a lot of energy and effort plays," James said. "He flies above the rim and we're so happy to have him."

The fourth quarter took on a familiar feel as several Heat regular-season games did, with the only question being if James would get a triple-double, as he got in the clinching Game 5 of last season's NBA Finals.

He finished a bit short, and left with a broad smile.

"It's a great way to start the series," Bosh said. "They're a feisty team over there. We wanted to make sure that we played good on defense and keep doing what we've been doing."

NOTES: Miami outrebounded Milwaukee 22-9 after halftime. ... The Heat stayed with what was their normal regular-season rotation, with Udonis Haslem starting and allowing Bosh to play more away from the basket ? which paid off by him making a pair of 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes. ... Rihanna was in attendance. ... Miami paid tribute to Army Spc. Eddie Romero before the game, continuing their tradition of welcoming a soldier who serves abroad back to South Florida. ... In Milwaukee's last trip to Miami, only Jennings was in double figures. This time, only Jennings and Ellis scored at least 10. ... Miami's bench outscored Milwaukee's reserves 43-25.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-21-Bucks-Heat/id-e69ed4aaca5f4b12b175c118402d7a3a

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Justices decline to hear challenge to tobacco law

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a tobacco industry challenge to a federal law that expanded restrictions on the advertising and marketing of cigarettes.

The provisions of the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act under attack included one requiring the display of a large health warning on packaging and another banning the sponsorship of public events.

The law also requires that before a tobacco product can be marketed, the manufacturer must prove to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it is less dangerous than other tobacco products. This provision is aimed at descriptive marketing terms such as "light" and "mild."

Those challenging the provisions of the law included companies owned in part or in full by Reynolds American Inc, British American Tobacco Plc, Imperial Tobacco Group Plc and Lorillard Inc.

The companies claimed the law violates the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech, imposing "myriad restrictions on truthful, non-misleading speech to adult tobacco consumers."

In response, the Obama administration noted in court papers that the law was specifically drafted to battle a recognized public health problem. Congress was particularly interested in restricting the marketing of cigarettes to young people, government lawyers wrote.

The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law in full, saying the warnings "are reasonably related to the government's interest in preventing consumer deception."

The case is distinct from a separate industry challenge to regulations the FDA issued to implement the graphic warning requirement. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed out the regulation. The FDA is currently drafting a new one.

The case is American Snuff Company v. United States, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-521.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller, Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justices-decline-hear-tobacco-warning-law-challenge-134222399--sector.html

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Scientists cage dead zebras in Africa to understand the spread of anthrax

Scientists cage dead zebras in Africa to understand the spread of anthrax [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Steve Bellan
steve.bellan@gmail.com
512-471-0877
University of Texas at Austin

Infected zebra were left where they fell, but protected by electrified cage exclosures

AUSTIN, Texas Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as previously assumed, according to findings from a small study conducted in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia.

Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses.

The effort might be ill spent, according to results published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology by an international consortium of researchers led by Steven Bellan, an ecologist at The University of Texas at Austin.

Carrion produced by anthrax deaths feeds many scavengers, including jackals, hyena, vultures, marabou storks and occasionally even lions. These scavengers have evolved to be able to digest infected carrion without contracting the infection. Herbivorous animals more vulnerable to anthrax include zebra, springboks, elephants and wildebeest.

It has been thought that scavengers change the environment in which the anthrax bacteria are living by opening herbivores' carcasses, enabling more production of spores the infectious life stage of the anthrax bacteria.

"The hypothesis is that when a carcass is intact, the anthrax bacteria are forced into a kind of death match with putrefying bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract," said Bellan, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of biologist Lauren Ancel Meyers. "But when the body is opened to the air, either by a scavenger or the hemorrhaging from all bodily orifices that occurs at death, the anthrax bacteria can escape that competition and more successfully produce spores."

According to this hypothesis, the scavenging also allows the carcasses' bodily fluids to leak into the soil, leading to more spores contaminating the soil. Combined, this might increase the likelihood of spread to vulnerable herbivores as they move and eat among the grasses.

In order to test the hypothesis, the researchers found seven zebra and one wildebeest that had just died in the wild from anthrax infection. All of the carcasses were left where they fell, but four were protected from scavengers by electrified cage exclosures. The other four were left completely open to the elements.

"The goal was to allow the carcasses to exist in as natural a state as possible, while preventing scavenging," Bellan said.

Samples were then taken at regular intervals to see whether there was greater anthrax spore production in the scavenged carcasses and in the nearby soil.

The researchers found that anthrax sporulation and contamination happened to a similar degree at both the scavenged and unscavenged carcasses.

"It appears that the anthrax bacteria can survive for some time in the carcass even though it may be competing with other bacteria," said Bellan. "It also appears that fluids can escape from the carcass into the soil via mechanisms other than scavenging or through hemorrhages occurring at the time of death. It looks like bloating caused by gases produced during putrefaction and maggot feeding activity are capable of independently rupturing carcass skin."

Bellan cautions that the experiment was a limited one, conducted on a small number of samples. But he said it does suggest a need for some re-evaluation of practices aimed at keeping scavengers away from anthrax carcasses.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


Scientists cage dead zebras in Africa to understand the spread of anthrax [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Steve Bellan
steve.bellan@gmail.com
512-471-0877
University of Texas at Austin

Infected zebra were left where they fell, but protected by electrified cage exclosures

AUSTIN, Texas Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as previously assumed, according to findings from a small study conducted in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia.

Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses.

The effort might be ill spent, according to results published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology by an international consortium of researchers led by Steven Bellan, an ecologist at The University of Texas at Austin.

Carrion produced by anthrax deaths feeds many scavengers, including jackals, hyena, vultures, marabou storks and occasionally even lions. These scavengers have evolved to be able to digest infected carrion without contracting the infection. Herbivorous animals more vulnerable to anthrax include zebra, springboks, elephants and wildebeest.

It has been thought that scavengers change the environment in which the anthrax bacteria are living by opening herbivores' carcasses, enabling more production of spores the infectious life stage of the anthrax bacteria.

"The hypothesis is that when a carcass is intact, the anthrax bacteria are forced into a kind of death match with putrefying bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract," said Bellan, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of biologist Lauren Ancel Meyers. "But when the body is opened to the air, either by a scavenger or the hemorrhaging from all bodily orifices that occurs at death, the anthrax bacteria can escape that competition and more successfully produce spores."

According to this hypothesis, the scavenging also allows the carcasses' bodily fluids to leak into the soil, leading to more spores contaminating the soil. Combined, this might increase the likelihood of spread to vulnerable herbivores as they move and eat among the grasses.

In order to test the hypothesis, the researchers found seven zebra and one wildebeest that had just died in the wild from anthrax infection. All of the carcasses were left where they fell, but four were protected from scavengers by electrified cage exclosures. The other four were left completely open to the elements.

"The goal was to allow the carcasses to exist in as natural a state as possible, while preventing scavenging," Bellan said.

Samples were then taken at regular intervals to see whether there was greater anthrax spore production in the scavenged carcasses and in the nearby soil.

The researchers found that anthrax sporulation and contamination happened to a similar degree at both the scavenged and unscavenged carcasses.

"It appears that the anthrax bacteria can survive for some time in the carcass even though it may be competing with other bacteria," said Bellan. "It also appears that fluids can escape from the carcass into the soil via mechanisms other than scavenging or through hemorrhages occurring at the time of death. It looks like bloating caused by gases produced during putrefaction and maggot feeding activity are capable of independently rupturing carcass skin."

Bellan cautions that the experiment was a limited one, conducted on a small number of samples. But he said it does suggest a need for some re-evaluation of practices aimed at keeping scavengers away from anthrax carcasses.

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uota-scd042213.php

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CA-NEWS Summary

Hospitalized suspect in Boston bombings awaits charges

BOSTON (Reuters) - The ethnic Chechen college student accused with his deceased older brother of the Boston Marathon bombing faced federal charges as early as Monday as he lay hospitalized under armed guard, severely wounded and unable to speak. ABC and NBC news networks reported late on Sunday that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was awake and responding in writing to questions put to him by authorities after two days under sedation in Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Russia warns EU not to lift Syria arms ban as UK keeps pushing

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia warned the European Union on Monday not to lift an arms embargo that has prevented weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, despite British and French lobbying. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday that EU foreign ministers, who last month rejected a Franco-British proposal to ease the ban, would in coming weeks discuss the question again.

Frustration rises from rubble of China's deadly quake

LUSHAN, China (Reuters) - Hundreds of survivors of a 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit southwest China, killing nearly 200 people, pushed into traffic along a main road on Monday, waving protest signs, demanding help and shouting at police. "We are in the open air here. No place to sleep, nothing to eat. No one is paying any attention to us," said Peng Qiong, 45, a farmer in Chaoyang village on the outskirts of Lushan, near the epicenter.

Iran to meet U.N. nuclear watchdog on May 21: reports

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog will hold a new round of talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program on May 21 in Vienna, Iranian media reported on Monday. The Mehr and ISNA news agencies gave no further details in their reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency press had no immediate comment. Last week, a diplomatic source told Reuters that a meeting in May was a possibility, but that no date had yet been fixed.

Kuwait opposition politician gets bail in insult case

KUWAIT (Reuters) - A prominent Kuwaiti opposition politician convicted of insulting the ruling emir was granted bail on Monday, his lawyer said, prompting celebrations by supporters who packed the court building and defusing tensions over his case. Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, was sentenced to five years in jail last week for remarks made at a rally last year.

Assad's forces kill 85 in Damascus suburb, activists say

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed at least 85 people when they stormed a Damascus suburb after five days of fighting, opposition activists in the area said on Sunday. There was no immediate confirmation of the activists' account of what they described as a "massacre", including of women and children, at Jdeidet al-Fadel. Syrian authorities have banned most independent media since the uprising began in 2011.

South Korean minister cancels Japan visit over war shrine

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign minister canceled a trip to Japan on Monday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering to a shrine seen as a symbol of Japan's former militarism, a South Korean government official said. China also objected to Abe's offering on Sunday to the Yasukuni shrine, where 14 Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal are honored, saying Japan had to face up to its past nationalistic aggression.

Helicopter carrying Turks forced down in Taliban-held Afghan east

GARDEZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A helicopter carrying eight Turks and a Russian made an emergency landing in a Taliban-controlled area of eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Monday, and it was possible they were being held by insurgents. The helicopter, owned by air charter company Khorasan Cargo Airlines, made an emergency landing in Logar province late on Sunday due to bad weather, a Khorasan staff member said on condition of anonymity.

EU Commission recommends start of Serbia EU membership talks

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission recommended on Monday that negotiations begin with Serbia on membership of the European Union. After months of on-off negotiations, Serbia agreed last week to cede its last remaining foothold in Kosovo, its former province, striking an historic accord to settle relations in exchange for talks on joining the European Union.

Myanmar authorities accused of aiding killings of Muslims

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Monday accused authorities in Myanmar's western Rakhine State of crimes against humanity in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims last year, charges the government dismissed as one-sided and "unacceptable". Security forces were complicit in disarming Rohingya Muslims of makeshift weapons and standing by, or even joining in, as Rakhine Buddhist mobs killed men, women and children in June and October 2012, New York-based HRW said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-002706113.html

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