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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Andrew?s most-used iPhone and iPad apps of 2011
My most-used apps of 2011 consist of some of Rene’s favorites, and for good reason. Like Rene and Leanna, I’d also prefer to list some of the...
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Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles fans (or not fans)?
I was thinking about creating a Tsubasa based fandom roleplay. It would be set up sometime after the adventures of Syaoran and the gang. For the conflict, I would either have some sort of rift in time/common enemy OR it can be character driven, and each person coincidentally meets each other at Yuko's place with the plot and conflict unraveling itself along the way.
So if you're interested, just comment and tell me! Also if you don't mind, tell me if you would rather have a unified or character driven and developed conflict.
I look forward to your responses and hope that you would consider joining!! :D
Background of Tsubasa (for those who don't know that much, or those who need refreshing):
Tsubasa is about a princess, Sakura, who contains a power that a group of people want (this is the verrrrrrry short version, haha). Her chosen one--her best friend, Syaoran--are transported to the Dimensional Witch, Yuko, after Sakura loses her memories--in the form of feathers. When they get there, they are greeted by two other travelers with different pasts and reasons for being there, all with one common goal: to travel through dimensions. They talk to Yuko who tells them they must each give the thing dearest to them as a price to keep everything balanced, and the four set off on an adventure to regain the princess's feathers.
~It's a lot cooler and more in depth than I make it out to be! xD I just fail at giving synopiseseseses thingies.~
Why you should join:
- 1. Even if you haven't seen and/or read the entire series, you just know enough to be a fan, it can still be fun! I will provide enough information to help you with the general world, and since it doesn't coincide with the main characters and their story, it is free for all!
2. You can create ANY kind of character you want, within reasonable limits. Because Tsubase involves millions of dimensions, you can be a futuristic warrior, a poor magician, or royalty trying to find a deeper meaning in life. You aren't limited to the races and cultures of a single world.
3. I haven't really seen any Tsubasa-based roleplays on here, unless I've just totally missed something... >.>
4. It's Tsubasa, and it's AWESOME.
5. We get Mokona! <333 
So if you're interested, just comment and tell me! Also if you don't mind, tell me if you would rather have a unified or character driven and developed conflict.
I look forward to your responses and hope that you would consider joining!! :D
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/jMsOTEQdr_E/viewtopic.php
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Kourtney Kardashian is eating ?whatever? she can while she is pregnant
The 32-year-old star – who has two-year-old son Mason with long-term boyfriend Scott Disick – admits she is having trouble with her diet since announcing she was expecting her second child, and is having to eat anything she can “tolerate”. She said: “I’m just eating whatever I can. Whatever I can tolerate. I think this [...]
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Jones-Drew: Suits fuel NFL's concussion crackdown
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Quincy Black (58) and middle linebacker Mason Foster (59) during the second half of an NFL football game, in Jacksonville, Fla. Ask Jones-Drew whether he would try to play through a concussion or yank himself from a game, and he provides a straightforward answer. "Hide it," the NFL's leading rusher says. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Quincy Black (58) and middle linebacker Mason Foster (59) during the second half of an NFL football game, in Jacksonville, Fla. Ask Jones-Drew whether he would try to play through a concussion or yank himself from a game, and he provides a straightforward answer. "Hide it," the NFL's leading rusher says. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton, File)
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew (32) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ? Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew says lawsuits have fueled the NFL's crackdown on concussions.
The league's leading rusher spoke out about the issue again Wednesday, nearly a week after telling The Associated Press he would hide a concussion to stay in a game.
Jones-Drew has been questioned several times about his concussion views since. His latest comments are his strongest.
He says until recent years there "wasn't this big deal about concussions," and adds "the only reason they're making a big deal about concussions right now is because the league is getting sued over it."
He reiterates that he knows the risk of playing such a physical game, calling injuries an "occupational hazard." He adds that "you have to be willing to accept it, and I am."
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
'Are We There Yet?' Star Essence Atkins Welcomes a Baby Boy!
The actress and her husband Jaime Mendez had a son on Christmas Day! Plus, see more stars who welcomed new bundles of joy
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Avastin May Help Some With Ovarian Cancer: Studies (HealthDay)
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies suggest that the drug Avastin may lengthen progression-free survival by about four months for women with ovarian cancer.
What isn't clear yet is whether adding Avastin (bevacizumab) will make a difference in overall survival. One study suggested it would, while the other study didn't find a difference in overall survival between two treatment groups.
"The bottom-line results are a 28 percent reduction in disease progression with patients on continued bevacizumab compared to the standard treatment group. There was a 3.8 month median difference in progression-free survival," said Dr. Robert Burger, author of one of the studies and director of the Women's Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
"We still have to fine-tune or optimize this sort of new paradigm of treatment. This regimen [chemotherapy plus continued Avastin] could be considered a frontline option for patients with advanced ovarian cancer. However, there are some risks to the treatment, and we haven't shown an impact on overall survival. But, in the European trial, they saw an overall survival benefit," Burger added.
"I think the difficult reality is that these studies are not clear-cut," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. "The improvements in progression are modest and appear to be greater for women who have worse disease. What this ultimately means is that it's absolutely important for doctors treating women with advanced ovarian cancer to read these studies very carefully so they know who may benefit and the risks of treatment, and to counsel their patients very carefully before moving forward with Avastin treatment," Lichtenfeld explained.
"This is not a case where treatment can be initiated in every woman. The benefits for many women are modest at best," he added.
Results of both studies are published in the Dec. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The studies were funded by Roche and Genentech (a Roche-owned company). Burger said Genentech played no role in the study design or analysis.
Burger's study included almost 1,900 women with newly diagnosed stage 3 or stage 4 epithelial ovarian cancer. All of the women had undergone surgery to remove as much cancer as possible. They were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: standard treatment including paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy; the Avastin-initiation group that included the standard chemotherapy and Avastin for the second through sixth treatment cycle; and the Avastin maintenance group that included chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to the 22nd treatment cycle.
The average progression-free survival was 10.3 months for the standard group, 11.2 months for the Avastin-initiation group and just over 14 months for the Avastin-maintenance group. There was no difference in overall survival for the three groups.
The European study included more than 1,500 women with varying types of ovarian cancer. Most had epithelial ovarian cancer, but the severity ranged from early-stage disease to stage 4. Seventy percent of the women enrolled in this study had stage 3 or stage 4 cancer.
The women were randomly assigned to receive either standard chemotherapy treatment or chemotherapy plus Avastin for up to 12 cycles of chemotherapy. The dose of Avastin used in this trial was half of what was used in Burger's trial.
Progression-free survival was 20.3 months for the standard group and 21.8 months for the standard therapy plus Avastin. In women who were considered at high risk for progression, the progression-free survival was 14.5 months on standard therapy and 18.1 months with the addition of Avastin. Overall survival in high-risk women was 28.8 months for women on standard chemotherapy and 36.6 months for standard therapy plus Avastin.
High blood pressure is a common side effect of Avastin, but Burger said that in most cases, it can be controlled with blood pressure medication. Another serious side effect associated with Avastin is bowel perforation, which means a hole opens in the bowel wall. This side effect occurred in fewer than 3 percent of women treated, but occurred twice as much in women taking Avastin.
Published reports peg the cost of the drug at somewhere between $4,000 and $9,000 a month, depending on co-pay assistance that's available from Genentech, Avastin's manufacturer. In a previous study, another research group looked at the cost effectiveness of treatment with Avastin in Burger's trial and found the standard treatment arm of the trial cost $2.5 million. Treating the Avastin-initiation group cost $21.4 million and the Avastin-maintenance group cost $78.3 million, according to the study, which was published in the March 7 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. And, most of those costs came directly from the cost of the medication. Those researchers concluded that Avastin was not a cost-effective medication.
"We don't want cost to be a deciding factor, but for many women with ovarian cancer, cost may be a significant factor, and it needs to be weighed in the equation," Lichtenfeld said.
Avastin isn't approved in the United States for the treatment of ovarian cancer, so some insurance companies may balk at paying for it. Plus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration pulled Avastin's approval for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in November because the FDA found the risks of the drug outweighed its modest benefits. Avastin is still approved for the treatment of some types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancer in the United States.
However, the drug was just approved by the European Union for use in ovarian cancer in combination with chemotherapy.
More information
Learn more about ovarian cancer and its treatment from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
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LG Prada 3.0 sashays over to South Korea because Android phones are so hot right now
LG Prada 3.0 sashays over to South Korea because Android phones are so hot right now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Japan, China Focus on North Korea
BY TOKO SEKIGUCHI
BEIJING?Concerns over North Korea following the death of its leader, Kim Jong Il, took center stage during a two-day visit by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to China, while the two sides steered clear of sensitive topics such as territorial disputes.
In the first visit by a national leader to Beijing since the unexpected news of Mr. Kim's death last week, Mr. Noda agreed with Chinese leaders on the need to coax Pyongyang back into regional security talks.
Peace and stability in the region are "a wide expectation held by the international community," Chinese President Hu Jintao told Mr. Noda ...
BY TOKO SEKIGUCHI
BEIJING?Concerns over North Korea following the death of its leader, Kim Jong Il, took center stage during a two-day visit by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to China, while the two sides steered clear of sensitive topics such as territorial disputes.
In the first visit by a national leader to Beijing since the unexpected news of Mr. Kim's death last week, Mr. Noda agreed with Chinese leaders on the need to coax Pyongyang back into regional security talks.
Peace and stability in the region are "a wide expectation held by the international community," Chinese President Hu Jintao told Mr. Noda ...
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Couple finds $12,000 in street, returns it
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Police in northeast Ohio say a couple who lost $12,000 caught a lucky break this week when the money was found and returned.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45784126/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Today, Dec. 26 - Football Viewing at The Sett | Monday Night Football: Atlanta vs. New Orleans
| 
- Date Today, Dec. 26
- Time 7:30 p.m.
- LocationThe Sett, Union South
- Web sitehttp://www.union.wisc.edu
- CostFree
- Contactrggarcia2@wisc.edu
- Tagged under
- Recreation
Add this event to your calendar: iCalendar
Source: http://www.today.wisc.edu/events/view/45330
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Writer annoyed that Jon Jones got snubbed in AP voting, why?
Another year has just about come and gone for the world of mixed martial arts. The growth and progress of the sport since 2001 has been simply incredible.
It's come a long way, but are the athletes revered and respected like those in the traditional "major" sports?If you're looking at media coverage, probably not. Mike Chiappetta from MMAFighting.com says definitely not. He penned a piece this week to express his anger that Jon Jones, the clear choice for king of the MMA world in 2011, got zero respect from those voting for the AP's 2011 Male Athlete of the Year award.
[Related: Cagewriter's wish list: MMA fights we'd love to see in 2012]
Green Packers Super Bowl winning QB Aaron Rodgers won the award with MLB AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander finishing second. Others getting votes included Novak Djokovic, Cam Newton, Tony Stewart, Kelly Slater, Derek Jeter, Dario Franchitti,? and Usain Bolt. That's right, there's also a surfer, driver and sprinter on the list, but no MMA fighter.
Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole and MMA analyst Frank Trigg joined myself during our "The MMA Insiders" show on ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas to debate whether Jones got hosed.
Maybe the time hasn't arrived yet for athletes like Jones to be considered along with stars from the NFL, NBA and MLB. Or as Chiappetta and Iole suggest, the lack of respect for Jones is more a sign that the folks voting for the award are out of touch with the younger demographic and the hottest sport for males 18-34 years old.
Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? Bob Arum, Oscar De La Hoya weigh in on boxing's stengths, weaknesses
? Who are the favorites to win Big East, Big Ten and Pac-12 hoops titles?
? AJ Allmendinger proves to be biggest winner in NASCAR's silly season
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Naked Trading: A Robbie Burns Inspired Quant Investing Screen
In Brief
This is a?mixed-criteria GARP screen inspired by the enjoyable best-seller by Robbie Burns, quot;The Naked Trader: How Anyone Can Make Money Trading Sharesquot;. His approach combines a focus on fundamentals:
quot;My investment strategy has always been quite simple: find excellent companies and hold them until the value comes outquot;.
While he does appear to use a fair amount of technical analysis in order to time the entry, he appears sceptical about pure TA:
quot;I strongly believe charts are very important to look at.. but I also believe it?s simply crazy to buy and sell shares on the basis of looking at a chart and nothing else at allquot;.
?In the book, Robbie seems to ally himself most closely to the investor type that he calls the Medium Term Trader, i.e. an investor that buys and holds shares for:
quot;anything between 3 months and 2 years, does some careful research, sticks to stop losses, takes profits when it?s sensible to do so? amp; prefers smaller companies (with growth prospects) to FTSE 100 onesquot;.
Background?
Robbie Burns is a journalist and writer. Formerly working with BSkyB, ITV, Channel 4, he left full-time work in 2001 to trade and run his own businesses. While at BSkyB, Robbie broadcast a diary of his share trades which became his website, www.nakedtrader.co.uk. He published the first edition of the Naked Trader in 2005, following up with the third edition in September 2011. As Alistair Blair of the Investors Chronicle notes, quot;The Naked Trader by Robbie Burns sounds awfully like one of those ?How anyone can make money trading shares? books that wouldn?t get a mention in this column. It really does say exactly that on the cover. But hey ? to ignore the fact that this promise sells books would be very naive. It?s what?s inside that countsquot;.
The book does cover a lot of very useful material, including an excellent chapter discussing the top 20 mistakes that investors make, backed with real-life examples (these range from not using stop losses, to buying lots of penny shares and/or tipped shares).?He also lists in the book 20 quot;provenquot; investing ?techniques which range from fairly trivial examples like quot;Find something cheapquot;, to the more interesting ideas such as buying shares that have recently done a share split (he gives the example of Greggs for this) or which are moving from AIM to Main Market (quot;whenever you see an announcement that an AIM share is planning to move to the main market, it?s? probably one of the best buy signals there is!quot;). The Naked Trader is unfortunately devoid of any systematic backtesting type analysis so the only evidence for some of these ideas is frankly Robbie?s say-so but that?s not to say that they aren?t sensible ideas.
While the Naked Trader book lacks the kind of analytical rigour of, say, David Dreman?s quot;Contrarian Investment Strategiesquot;, that?s also part of its appeal. It?s written much more as a candid expose of the lessons learnt from practical trading, without any pretensions to be an academic work. As one Amazon reviewer puts it, it?s quot;free from the usual financial mumbo-jumbo jargon found in most stuffy financial booksquot;. Given the unashamedly populist/laddish tone, it?s also a book that might be read by a larger audience than most investing texts ? hopefully, that will go some way to correcting the awful national obsession with speculating on residential property,?that most unproductive asset class beloved by seemingly all Brits!
Between 2002 and 2005, Robbie Burns wrote a column for the Sunday Times, ?My DIY Pension?, featuring share buys and sells made in his pension, and apparently doubled the money from ?40,000 to ?80,000 over this period. By mid-2011 he had turned this into ?250,000. Robbie is said to have made a tax-free gain of well over ?1,000,000 from trading shares since 1999, making a profit every year, even during market downturns. His public trades ? detailed on his website ? have made to date ?978,286 (split between Share Buys: ?815,731, Spread Shorts: ?155,594 amp; Big Brother Bets: ?6,961). Without knowing for certain the initial investment amount, it?s hard to know the exact compound annual return he?s achieved but turning, say, 50,000 into 1 million over 12 years amounts to a CAGR of 27.8% which isn?t too shabby. It is worth pointing out that this is a portfolio return, which may or may not be matched by a simplified quantitative quot;Naked Trader screenquot;, especially given that there a number of qualitative criteria involved in his system that can?t really be modelled (as discussed below).
Investing Criteria
Burns declares himself against strict rules ? quot;I?m not really one for rules. I?ve always hated authority, so rules and me don?t often get alongquot;. While he does list some 30 rules of thumb in an appendix, they are mostly qualitative ones, such as quot;Understand as fully as you can everything about a company before you buy itquot;. Having said that, on page 130 of the 3rd edition, he lists a number of stock selection criteria, with the most quantitative being:
a) Dividends, profits and turnover are rising
b) It has a full listing ? quot;I tend to favour shares that have a market cap of between ?50m and ?900m because they have a lot more room for growth than, say, a FTSE 100 sharequot;.
c) It is liquid ? quot;A spread of 3% is about as much as I?ll allow. 4% maxquot;.
d) It is priced at under 15x profits to market cap
e) He also says it must look cheap, using slightly wider PE based criteria ? quot;Personally, I quite like lower P/E ratios (provided all the other signs on a share are good)? in the region of 12?20quot;.
f) The chart looks positive and is in an upward trend ? the measure here seems to be 1 year absolute strength (although he also talks about the three year profile too). He is keen on shares trending upwards and breaking new highs. quot;Don?t buy shares trending downwards and breaking new lowsquot;.
g) Debt is under three times its full-year profits: quot;My rule of thumb is not to buy anything with net debt more than three times the full-year pre tax profit, or what the likely pre-tax profit might be next yearquot;.
Let us know in the comments below if you think we?ve missed anything from a quant perspective.?
Qualitative criteria
In addition, he lists a range of other more qualitative criteria, which can?t be filtered quantitatively and could only be assessed based on a detailed analysis of the company, e.g. quot;there are no question marks, I understand what the company does, demand for its products is likely to growquot;. One other criterion ? there is still growth to come ? could potentially be quantified by referring to analyst forecasts, although given the poor forecasting record by analysts, company growth prospects are probably better assessed on a case by case basis.?He also does a quick and dirty textual analysis of the annual report to see how frequently it uses words like quot;challengingquot; or quot;difficultquot; as opposed to quot;exceeding expectationsquot; or quot;positivequot; .
How can I apply these screen criteria?
Although Robbie?s approach isn?t ideally suited to quantitative screening, we?ve done our best to replicate the key filtering criteria in order to create a Naked Trader-eque Screen. We?ll be tracking its performance shortly on Stockopedia PRO. It?s worth recognising that Burns seems sceptical about the value-added of systematic investing ? quot;If only stock market investing was that easy! Don?t waste time on magic formulas and systems? You?re better off doing your own research and developing your own investing stylequot;. It will be interesting to see how this simplified Naked Trader-eseque quant screen compares over time with his own declared returns on the website.
From the Source:
The third edition of Robbie Burns? Naked Trader is now available on Amazon. It is a quick read, packed full of ideas (some quite introductory, others far less so) and ? if you can get past the quot;alright geezerquot; tone which sometimes grates ? it is very very entertaining and educational.
Further Reading
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US appears to soften ban on online betting (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration appears to have softened a U.S. ban on Internet gambling.
In a legal opinion posted Friday, the Justice Department said online betting unrelated to sporting events falls outside the reach of federal law.
The U.S. government has long considered such gambling illegal when it crosses state lines.
The gambling industry is worth billions worldwide but many operators are based overseas. Washington has cracked down on some of them, and a 2006 law forbade financial institutions from processing funds for most online wagering.
Because of the difficulty in enforcing age and other requirements, the issue has divided lawmakers and the industry. But several states have been studying plans for web betting within states.
The opinion letter was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
New crew arrives at International Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Friday with a trio of astronauts, bringing the orbital outpost back to full staffing after a failed cargo ship launch in August disrupted flight schedules.
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA's Don Pettit and the European Space Agency's Andre Kuipers blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday for the space station, a $100 billion research complex that orbits about 240 miles above Earth.
Their two-day trip in the cramped capsule ended at 10:19 a.m. EST (1519 GMT) when the Soyuz slipped into the Earth-facing docking port on the station's Rassvet module.
The docking occurred about three hours after another botched Russian launch, the fifth this year.
An unmanned Soyuz-2 rocket carrying a Russian communications satellite lifted off from Russia's Plesetsk space center at 7:08 a.m. EST (1208 GMT), but failed to reach orbit after a third-stage engine failure.
The rocket and its payload crashed in Siberia, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
There was no immediate word about whether the Soyuz-2 failure will impact upcoming launches, including a Soyuz flight slated for Wednesday to put six Globalstar mobile communications satellites into orbit.
The engine on the Soyuz-2 rocket lost Friday is different than the one used on the rocket that launches space station cargo and crews, NASA said.
"This is unlikely to have any effect on operations to the International Space Station," said NASA spokesman Joshua Buck.
The next cargo run to the space station is scheduled for launch on January 25.
At a news conference broadcast on NASA Television following the new crew's arrival, Russian space agency officials acknowledged the country's aerospace industry is in trouble.
"There are problems," Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said through a translator. "There is aging of many resources. We need to optimize everything. We need to modernize."
"It's also aging of human resources," Popovkin said. "Given the troubles we had in the '90s, quite a lot of people left and nobody came to replace them."
Russian launch troubles kept the space station short-staffed for most of the past three months.
Crew flights to the station were delayed while Russian engineers scrambled to find and fix the cause of a Progress cargo ship engine failure on August 24. The engine is virtually identical to the one used on the Russian Soyuz capsules that ferry crew.
The accident was traced to contamination or a blockage in a fuel line.
Russia beefed up its inspection and quality control systems and resumed flying on October 30.
Russian launch failures this year also claimed a long-awaited mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos. The 13-ton Phobos-Grunt spacecraft is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere between January 9 and 16.
The newly arrived crew at the space station joined station commander Dan Burbank and two cosmonauts, who have been aboard the outpost since November 16.
"It is so great to have all six crew members on board the space station," said NASA's head of human spaceflight Bill Gerstenmaier.
"This will be an exciting period for the crew. They have many activities over the next several months."
With the return to a six-member crew, the station can resume full-time science operations, including medical research, physics experiments and astronomical observations.
The crew also will begin preparations for the arrival of the first commercial cargo ship.
Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, is scheduled to launch its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule on February 7 for a trial run to the station.
The debut flight of a second U.S. supplier, Orbital Sciences Corp., is expected later in the year.
(Editing by Kevin Gray and Will Dunham)
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School absenteeism, mental health problems linked
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 22-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Sarah Hutcheon
shutcheon@srcd.org
202-289-7905
Society for Research in Child Development
School absenteeism is a significant problem, and students who are frequently absent from school more often have symptoms of psychiatric disorders. A new longitudinal study of more than 17,000 youths has found that frequently missing school is associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems later on in adolescence, and that mental health problems during one year also predict missing additional school days in the following year for students in middle and high school.
The study, published in the journal Child Development, was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Florida, Boston University, the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, the Oregon Social Learning Center, and Johns Hopkins University.
"We've long known that students who are frequently absent from school are more likely to have symptoms of psychiatric disorders, but less clear is the reason why," says Jeffrey Wood, associate professor of educational psychology and psychiatry at UCLA, who led the study. "These two aspects of youths' adjustment may at times exacerbate one another, leading over the course of time to more of each."
The study found that between grades 2 and 8, students who already had mental health symptoms (such as antisocial behavior or depression) missed more school days over the course of a year than they had in the previous year and than students with few or no mental health symptoms. Conversely, middle and high school students who were chronically absent in an earlier year of the study tended to have more depression and antisocial problems in subsequent years. For example, 8th graders who were absent more than 20 days were more likely to have higher levels of anxiety and depression in 10th grade than were 8th graders who were absent fewer than 20 days.
"The findings can help inform the development of programs to reduce school absenteeism," according to Wood. "School personnel in middle schools and high schools could benefit from knowing that mental health issues and school absenteeism each influence the other over time. Helping students address mental health issues may in turn help prevent the emergence of chronic absenteeism. At the same time, working to help students who are developing a pattern of chronic absenteeism come to school more consistently may help prevent psychiatric problems."
The researchers looked at more than 17,000 children in 1st through 12th grades using three datasets: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12; the Johns Hopkins Prevention Intervention Research Center Study, a longitudinal study of classroom-based interventions involving children in grades 1 to 8; and the Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers trial, a longitudinal study of children in grades 1 through 12.
Researchers interviewed students and parents annually or biennially, and they gathered information from school attendance records. In addition, students, parents, and teachers filled out questionnaires.
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The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies.
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Public release date: 22-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Sarah Hutcheon
shutcheon@srcd.org
202-289-7905
Society for Research in Child Development
School absenteeism is a significant problem, and students who are frequently absent from school more often have symptoms of psychiatric disorders. A new longitudinal study of more than 17,000 youths has found that frequently missing school is associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems later on in adolescence, and that mental health problems during one year also predict missing additional school days in the following year for students in middle and high school.
The study, published in the journal Child Development, was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Florida, Boston University, the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, the Oregon Social Learning Center, and Johns Hopkins University.
"We've long known that students who are frequently absent from school are more likely to have symptoms of psychiatric disorders, but less clear is the reason why," says Jeffrey Wood, associate professor of educational psychology and psychiatry at UCLA, who led the study. "These two aspects of youths' adjustment may at times exacerbate one another, leading over the course of time to more of each."
The study found that between grades 2 and 8, students who already had mental health symptoms (such as antisocial behavior or depression) missed more school days over the course of a year than they had in the previous year and than students with few or no mental health symptoms. Conversely, middle and high school students who were chronically absent in an earlier year of the study tended to have more depression and antisocial problems in subsequent years. For example, 8th graders who were absent more than 20 days were more likely to have higher levels of anxiety and depression in 10th grade than were 8th graders who were absent fewer than 20 days.
"The findings can help inform the development of programs to reduce school absenteeism," according to Wood. "School personnel in middle schools and high schools could benefit from knowing that mental health issues and school absenteeism each influence the other over time. Helping students address mental health issues may in turn help prevent the emergence of chronic absenteeism. At the same time, working to help students who are developing a pattern of chronic absenteeism come to school more consistently may help prevent psychiatric problems."
The researchers looked at more than 17,000 children in 1st through 12th grades using three datasets: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12; the Johns Hopkins Prevention Intervention Research Center Study, a longitudinal study of classroom-based interventions involving children in grades 1 to 8; and the Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers trial, a longitudinal study of children in grades 1 through 12.
Researchers interviewed students and parents annually or biennially, and they gathered information from school attendance records. In addition, students, parents, and teachers filled out questionnaires.
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The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies.
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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/2011-12/sfri-sam121511.php
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Friday, December 23, 2011
European court approves carbon trade for aviation (AP)
AMSTERDAM ? The European Union's highest court has upheld the EU's right to impose its cap-and-trade scheme on international airlines using European airports, rejecting an appeal from U.S. airlines.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg dismissed the argument Wednesday that the program infringes on national sovereignty or violates international aviation treaties.
The carbon trading program is due to go into effect Jan. 1.
It is one of the widest reaching measures adopted by any country or regional bloc to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The suit was brought by U.S. airlines acting through the industry trade organization Airlines for America, but the protest was supported by China, India and other countries with international carriers.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
AMSTERDAM (AP) ? The European Union's highest court is set to rule Wednesday on a challenge by U.S. airlines to an EU regulation charging them for their carbon pollution when using European airports.
The long-awaited ruling would come just 10 days before the charge is take effect at the turn of the year.
It is one of the widest reaching measures adopted by any country or regional bloc to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Activists anticipate the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg will uphold the legality of the EU directive that would bring all aircraft landing or taking off in Europe under its cap-and-trade scheme.
Last October the court's legal adviser delivered an opinion that the airlines' arguments were invalid. While that is not binding on the 13 judges, the court usually follows the advocate general's advice.
If the court upholds the 2008 law enacted by the European parliament, the EU expects the airlines to comply despite their objections, said Damien Meadows, the EU's director of carbon markets for aviation and shipping.
"If the court says the system is unlawful, we will change it," he told reporters at a recent briefing in Brussels.
As of Jan. 1, each airline will be allocated pollution permits slightly less than its average historical emissions record. If it exceeds its limit it can buy permits from other airlines that have emitted less than allowed and have leftover permits to sell. Emissions are counted for the entire route of an aircraft that touches down in Europe.
Airlines for America, an industry trade organization previously known as the Air Transport Association of America, challenged the directive, arguing the EU was infringing the sovereignty of other nations and contravening international aviation agreements.
The airlines argued that the EU lacked the jurisdiction to require permits for emissions produced during the entire flight, or even stretches that cross the air space of non-EU countries.
The plan puts a market-determined price on carbon emissions, and is intended to force the airlines to operate more efficiently and develop low-carbon fuels. About 3 percent of all human-caused emissions come from aviation, but are growing rapidly.
In a letter to the European Commission last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Transport Secretary Ray LaHood reiterated Washington's objections on "legal and policy grounds," and said the U.S. would respond with "appropriate action." It did not elaborate.
China and other countries with international fleets also have objected, and the Indian government reportedly has told Indian carriers to defy the directive by refusing to submit carbon emissions data to the EU.
The Indian threats were "not a surprise" and were a case of "muscle flexing," said Pamela Campos, an attorney for the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "Like any international corporation, airlines have an obligation to comply with the law where they operate," she said.
The EU has calculated the cost to the airlines, which almost certainly will be passed on to the consumer, will range from euro2 ($2.60) to euro12 ($15.70) for a one-way trans-Atlantic flight.
"Commercially, it's a non-event," said Bill Hemmings, of the nonprofit group Transport and Environment in Brussels, noting that airlines routinely adjust their fares hundreds of times a day.
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Kazakh leader orders curfew after oil city riots
ALMATY?? Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Saturday declared a 20-day state of emergency in a western oil city where at least 11 people have been killed in the deadliest outbreak of violence in the Central Asian state's recent history.
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Wounded victims filled hospitals in Zhanaozen and many oil workers stayed at home, fearing for their safety a day after violent clashes between riot police and crowds in a city where thousands of sacked oil workers have been protesting for months.
The head of a local trade union said many wounded civilians and policemen had been brought by car from overflowing hospitals in Zhanaozen, a city of 90,000 around 150 km (95 miles) east of the Caspian Sea, to the regional centre of Aktau.
"They have all kinds of wounds, from gunshot wounds to stab wounds and blunt traumas," Kenzhegali Suyeov, chairman of the independent Aktau trade union, told Reuters. He said sporadic shooting had been heard in Zhanaozen overnight.
Public protests are rare in Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy and oil producer, where 71-year-old Nazarbayev has overseen more than $120 billion in foreign investment during more than two decades in power.
The clashes marred celebrations across the rest of Kazakhstan to mark the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union and were a shock to a government that has put stability and economic growth over democratic freedoms.
"We will not permit any attempts to disturb the peace and calm in our home, to erase the achievements of our independence," Nazarbayev said in a statement.
"The state will use the full strength of the law to suppress any attempt to disturb the peace and security of our citizens."
STATE OF EMERGENCY
A presidential decree declared a state of emergency and curfew in Zhanaozen until January 5. Public protests and strikes are banned while movement around Zhanaozen and access to and from the city will be restricted.
The clashes began when sacked oil workers and sympathetic citizens stormed a stage erected for an Independence Day party on Friday, toppling sound equipment and later setting fire to the city hall and the headquarters of the local oil company.
Nurdaulet Suindikov, spokesman for the prosecutor-general's office, told a news conference 11 people had been killed in the clashes. A further 86 people were wounded, including six policemen, he said. Around 70 people have been arrested.
Reports on social networking websites said the death toll was much higher than 10 and police had opened fire. These reports could not be verified independently. Power, mobile phone connections and Internet access was shut down in the city.
European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement she hoped for an immediate investigation and a peaceful solution to the problems faced by striking oil workers.
Nazarbayev said policemen had acted within legal bounds.
ARMED SECURITY
Thousands of employees of state-controlled oil company KazMunaiGas Exploration Production began a strike in May to demand better pay and conditions. It sacked 989 workers and says output will fall 8.5 percent short of target this year.
London-listed KazMunaiGas EP said the Interior Ministry was providing armed security at oil production facilities and some workers had failed to show up for the night and morning shifts due to security concerns. A round-the-clock shift by workers on site was maintaining daily output levels, the company said.
KazMunaiGas EP has said 2,500 people were on strike at the height of the dispute. Representatives of the striking workers have put the maximum number at almost 16,000.
"For seven months, those striking workers were standing in the scorching sun, in the rain and wind and snow, and the authorities would not start a dialogue with them," said Bolat Abilov, a leader of the opposition Social-Democratic Party.
Nazarbayev hinted he did not believe aggrieved workers were behind the violence.
"One shouldn't confuse an oilmens' working dispute with the criminal acts of bandits who aimed to take advantage of the situation," he said. "We will find out where the funding comes from and who is behind this."
Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, a close adviser to Nazarbayev, likened Zhanaozen to social protests in Europe. "You know, practically the same events took place in August this year in London," RIA news agency quoted him as telling reporters.
"And events of a similar nature have happened in Greece. In the end, the global financial crisis has extremely aggravated social conflicts."
Around 100 opposition activists gathered in the commercial capital, Almaty, for a memorial service to commemorate Kazakhs killed in clashes with Soviet forces in December 1986.
"Yesterday, exactly 25 years later, the same tragedy was repeated," said one of the activists, Gulzhan Yergaliyeva.
Around 20 protesters broke off from the service and attempted to march to the city headquarters of the ruling Nur Otan political party. Riot police detained around half of them.
KazMunaiGas EP's London-traded stock closed down 4.0 percent on Friday, versus a decline of only 0.4 percent in the wider oil and gas sector.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45698660/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Researchers describe a new genetic program that converts static cells into mobile invasive cells
Researchers describe a new genetic program that converts static cells into mobile invasive cells
Thursday, December 15, 2011Researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have identified the gene GATA 6 as responsible for epithelial cells -which group together and are static- losing adhesion and moving towards a new site. This process, which is common to developing organisms, is very similar to one that occurs in metastasis, when tumour cells escape from the original tumour and invade new tissue. "This process explains why Gata 6 is found in cancers of the liver, pancreas and colon, thus allowing tumour cells to acquire metastatic properties", stresses Jordi Casanova, CSIC professor and head of the Drosophila Morphogenesis Group at IRB Barcelona, where the study has been conducted. The journal Developmental Cell is to publish the results of this study this week.
In addition, Gata 6 triggers a genetic programme that favours the survival and adaptation of cells in new tissue. It also promotes the expression of some enzymes, the so-called metalloproteases, which degrade the cellular matrix, thus allowing cells to migrate and enter new tissue. Furthermore, Gata 6 induces the gene Forkhead, which is a survival factor. "When cells start migrating they are subjected to many changes and to stress, and in these adverse conditions many can die. This gene protects them against death", explains Kira Campbell, "Juan de la Cierva" post-doctoral fellow with Casanova's lab and first author of the article. Tumour cells hold metalloproteases and Forkhead.
From the Drosophila fly to cancer
Once again the small fly D. melanogaster, used in developmental studies, has shed light on processes linked to cancer. Casanova's team, which specializes in morphogenesis, has revealed the mechanism by which epithelial cells transform into mesenchymatic cells during gut development in fly embryos. The Drosophila gut is an endodermal organ, as is the colon, the liver and the pancreas. "What we have discovered is that the programme that we have characterized for the first time is specific for endodermal tissues", explains Casanova.
Having identified the genetic programme that favours this transformation in Drosophila, Casanova contacted Eduard Batlle's lab, which focuses on colorectal cancer and is also at IRB Barcelona. The aim was to test whether the homologue gene in mammal cells had the capacity to produce this same change. Their studies showed that this gene homologue, GATA 6, is conserved and confers cells the same capacities as those observed in the fly. "We started off with a strictly basic research line in development and have ended up with a collaboration with the Oncology Programme to address possible implications in cancer", says Casanova, emphasizing the multidisciplinary nature of the study. His lab now wishes to turn its attention to other members of the GATA family. "For example, pancreatic cancer has very poor prognosis. Our research can contribute to furthering understanding of the genetic bases of endodermal tumours and may speed up the detection of possible therapeutic targets".
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Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona): http://www.irbbarcelona.org
Thanks to Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) for this article.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Why Your Schedule Should Have a Weekly Appointment Dedicated to "Thinking Time" [Productivity]
Jacob Gorban is an independent software developer who like many of us, lives with a work culture in which taking time to think feels like a luxury rather than necessity. In this post, Gorban argues for "Thinking Time" and suggests how you might include it in your work week, regardless of the kind of work you do.
Being an indie software developer, developing products and running the business, takes lots of time. I work during normal working hours and then often have a "second shift", when the family, or at least the kids, fall asleep. Still, I have enough planned stuff to do, when I'm near my Mac, to fill months of work. And most of this better be done sooner than later.
I'm pretty sure that if you're an indie software developer, a designer, a business man or almost anything where you have some control over your time and work, you know what I'm talking about.
In this state, we may become so reactive to the tasks that need to get done that we just don't stop, take a step back and reflect on the whole situation. We may just forget to think deeply, strategically about the business and even about the work tasks themselves.
Enter "Thinking Time"
When I was at the uniquely great NSConference 2011 this March, I had the opportunity to discuss some of this with Matt Gemmell during a dinner there. Matt is a well-known Cocoa developer, conference speaker and, should I say, thinker. He appears to think deeply about stuff and publishes many of his thoughts in the articles on his blog.
So I asked him how he approached the thinking about software design, and his answer included something like "I take a walk, in the nature, by the river, and only take my Moleskine and a pen with me." It's not a quote but the gist of his reply.
And I thought to myself, "Why, that's a good idea. Step back from the monitor, the distractions, and devote time to just thinking for some time, writing thoughts down with analog pen and paper".
So, on my way back home I grabbed a couple of notebooks at the airport (they just happened to be Moleskine, of course), one for me and one for my partner, Kosta, and decided on having "Thinking Time".
I put it in my calendar, weekly, as the first thing to do each week. It's a good way to start a new work-week. While most of the population rushed to the jobs thinking "It's @#$%@#$ Monday again", I start the week slower, walking the streets or sitting on a park bench or under a tree to write things down, breathing real air. If the weather doesn't allow being outside, I'll sometimes go to a cafe, instead of skipping it completely.
During such couple of hours I can make good progress planning software architecture, sketching application design, preparing a conference talk, or thinking about strategic business stuff.
Then, by noon, I come back to my home-office, feeling refreshed, satisfied that I already did something important today, and overall feeling inspired for the rest of the week.
Try it yourself
If you don't yet have such "Thinking Time" on your schedule, I suggest you to try it. The beginning of the week works the best for me. But maybe you'll feel that the middle is actually better because it splits your work week and you get some kind of a break from your regular tasks.
In this age of Internet and social networks with all the fun distractions that they provide, it becomes more important to go away from it all at least for a couple of hours each week, sit down with a pen and paper (or even an iPad running some notepad-type application), and just think it all through.
Thinking Time | via Gorban.org
Jacob Gorban founded Apparent Software, an indie software development company for the Mac OS X and iOS. Along with writing code, he loves the business side of things, plays guitars and listens to progressive rock.
Jacob writes on http://gorban.org and can be found on Twitter as @apparentsoft.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Nun cleared of Sri Lanka 'baby farm' allegations (AP)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ? A Roman Catholic nun from Mother Teresa's charity who had been accused of running a "baby farm" has been cleared by a Sri Lankan court of any potential charges.
Judge Yvonne Fernando discharged Sister Mary Eliza on Thursday without presenting charges. Eliza, from Mother Teresa of Calcutta's Missionaries of Charity, was arrested last month for allegedly selling babies born from unwed mothers.
The Missionaries of Charity says that its home in Moratuwa, south of Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, houses women who become pregnant outside of marriage or after being raped, and that it gives the babies up through legal adoption.
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Last.fm Discover delivers greener pastures of music discovery
Continue reading Last.fm Discover delivers greener pastures of music discovery
Last.fm Discover delivers greener pastures of music discovery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Last.fm | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/14/last-fm-discover-delivers-greener-pastures-of-music-discovery/
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