Thursday, March 28, 2013

Summer melt season getting longer on Antarctic Peninsula

Mar. 27, 2013 ? New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level.

The Antarctic Peninsula -- a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America -- is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Temperatures have risen by up to 3 oC since the 1950s -- three times more than the global average. This is a result of a strengthening of local westerly winds, causing warmer air from the sea to be pushed up and over the peninsula. In contrast to much of the rest of Antarctica, summer temperatures are high enough for snow to melt.

This summer melting may have important effects. Meltwater may enlarge cracks in floating ice shelves which can contribute to their retreat or collapse. As a result, the speed at which glaciers flow towards the sea will be increased. Also, melting and refreezing causes snow layers to become thinner and more dense, affecting the height of the snow surface above sea level. Scientists need to know this so they can interpret satellite data correctly.

Dr Nick Barrand, who carried out the research while working for the British Antarctic Survey, led an analysis of data from 30 weather stations on the peninsula. "We found a significant increase in the length of the melting season at most of the stations with the longest temperature records" he says. "At one station the average length of the melt season almost doubled between 1948 and 2011."

To build up a more complete picture across the whole peninsula, the team (funded by the European Union's ice2sea programme) also analysed satellite data collected by an instrument called a scatterometer. Using microwave reflections from the ice sheet surface, the scatterometer was able to detect the presence of meltwater. The team were able to produce maps of how the melt season varied from 1999 to 2009, and showed that several major ice shelf breakup events coincided with longer than usual melt seasons. This supports the theory that enlargement of cracks by meltwater is the main mechanism for ice shelf weakening and collapse.

The researchers also compared data from both the satellite and weather stations with the output of a state-of-the-art regional climate model.

Dr Barrand, who now works at the University of Birmingham, says, "We found that the model was very good at reproducing the pattern and timing of the melt, and changes in melting between years. This increases confidence in the use of climate models to predict future changes to snow and ice cover in the Antarctic Peninsula."

Trends in Antarctic Peninsula surface melting conditions from observations and regional climate modeling will be officially published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface this week.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by British Antarctic Survey, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. N. E. Barrand, D. G. Vaughan, N. Steiner, M. Tedesco, P. Kuipers Munneke, M. R. van den Broeke, J. S. Hosking. Trends in Antarctic Peninsula surface melting conditions from observations and regional climate modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2013; DOI: 10.1029/2012JF002559

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/PqhcZ6QP3aI/130327133707.htm

dickclark gavin degraw gavin degraw alec time 100 bob beckel anna paquin

EA reveals Battlefield 4 headed to PC this fall, refuses to confirm next-gen (video)

Battlefield 4 arrives this fall, heading to PC and probably nextgen

This year's Battlefield series entry -- Battlefield 4 -- is headed to PCs this fall. The game wasn't given other platforms, but logic dictates it'll arrive on the PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 successor. Apparently, since only Sony's next-gen console is a known quantity and Microsoft's staying mum, EA isn't sharing other platforms yet (but hey, it's probably PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox). The game's being built on the latest iteration of DICE's Frostbite engine, though no other details were given about the engine just yet.

Like previous Battlefield entries, EA-owned Swedish game studio DICE is at the helm, and Battlefield 4 remains planted in current times (unlike the pseudo-future of Call of Duty's latest entry, Black Ops 2). A beta for the game will go live some time this fall, and folks who bought last year's Medal of Honor: Warfighter are automatically part of said beta. We'll have more info as EA offers it up, but color us not surprised if Battlefield 4 makes a reprise appearance at Microsoft's still undated Xbox 360 successor unveiling.

Update: EA also released a 17-minute gameplay demo of the game's prologue section, played on a PC. It features a squad of four soldiers on the run from Russian spec-ops militants in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. You'll find it just beyond the break.

Update 2: Per a listing on EA's digital store, Battlefield 4 is headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in addition to the PC. PlayStation 4 is curiously missing, as is mention of Microsoft's next-gen game console.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LQ4Qzzk7fOc/

acc tournament big ten tournament big east tournament 2012 solar storm solar flares spanx aurora borealis

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Top ten Irish recipes for St. Patrick's Day - corned beef and cabbage ...

Celebrate Ireland?s national holiday by sharing an Irish meal with your family

Published Monday, March 11, 2013, 8:40 AM

Updated Monday, March 11, 2013, 9:34 AM



Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by breaking bread with your family and friends

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by breaking bread with your family and friends


It?s no secret that the Irish are fond of a nice bit of homemade, comfort grub and over the years, especially around St. Patrick?s Day, we?ve noticed that our recipes are hugely popular.

We?ve put together the top ten recipes as chosen by IrishCentral readers over the years. Although some of them, such as corned beef and cabbage and stew are no-brainers, the IrishCentral readers went a little off script with spring rolls and pasta bakes making it into their top St. Patrick?s Day recipes.

Just click on the title to view the simple recipes. Knock them together and sit down and enjoy them with your friends and family their St. Patrick?s Day.

1. Corned Beef and Cabbage

Although in Ireland we opt for bacon rather than corned beef when the Irish arrived to New York there was none to be found. The Jewish butchers substituted the bacon for corned beef and low and behold the tradition stuck.

Either way it?s the top favorite meal with the Irish on either side of the Atlantic.

2. Shepherd?s Pie

As I?ve said before this is the best Irish comfort food going and it?s sure to put a smile on the face of any Irish person you know.

3. Corned Beef and Cabbage Pasta Bake

All right, so the IrishCentral readers liked a pasta bake out of all the hundreds of recipes on this site but it might just be their sensible streak showing. After you?ve cooked for all your friends, cousins and extended family over St. Patrick?s Day you?re bound to be left with a pile of left-overs.

What to do, what to do! Pasta!

4. Potatoes treats

What Irish person doesn?t like potatoes!? But it seems that the Irish palate is getting a little more sophisticated. Above Colcannon and Boxty the IrishCentral readers have voted ?Potato cheesy ale and cheddar colcannon? and ?Bacon and cheese quiche with potato crust? their top potato treats.

5. Corned Beef and Cabbage Spring Rolls

Our chef, Michael Gilligan, came up with this one and it really took off. He also does a very good job at explaining the place of corned beef and cabbage in the Irish diet. Although it?s Irish meets Chinese food it seems to me like this would really work.

?
Nster.com
"); } else { document.write(""); } document.write("

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.

"); } else { document.write(""); }

Source: http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/IrishCentrals-top-ten-Irish-recipes-for-St-Patricks-Day-141964933.html

randy moss superbowl commercials OJ Brigance What Time Does The Superbowl Start 2013 Psalm 91 Super Bowl 2013 Commercials Evasi0n

How YC's Curebit Has A ?Sixth Sense? Into E-Commerce Startups That Are About To Blow Up

Bonobos current campaignBonobos. Dodocase. Warby Parker. A generation of e-commerce companies is growing up using a vertically integrated strategy where they take more ownership of the design, production, marketing and branding of their products.?But how do you know very early on if you have a hit? With a purely web-based or mobile product, startups can watch how well they retain users after a week or a month. With e-commerce companies, repeat purchases is an obvious metric, but there are also ways to track the virality of an e-commerce product. A YC-backed startup called Curebit has built a business around tracking word-of-mouth referrals for companies like Bonobos. Based on that, the company says it’s able to not only drive sales but predict hits.?What they do is create referral campaigns for e-commerce companies — like those landing pages that say you’ll get 25 percent off or $25 off your next purchase if you send a friend by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. Curebit will optimize the landing pages, copy, art direction and then track how many people convert to making a purchase after they’ve seen the page. On that strategy, the 12-person startup has grown to about 3,000 clients and a break-even run rate. Their customers include Bonobos, Restaurant.com and Jawbone. “We still have a lot of cash in the bank,” said the company’s CEO Allan Grant. Since creating landing pages for referrals isn’t technically that difficult, the base version of Curebit is free.?The startup makes money off custom services like testing hundreds of variants for the highest-performing campaigns. For that, they’ll charge $10,000 for the first $100,000 in extra sales generated by the campaigns, then they’ll take a 10 percent after that. “Just having a basic feature set is not enough,” Grant said. “We engineer virality the way that social gaming companies measure and optimize their K-factor, viral loops and every step of the funnel.” Here what’s the funnel might look like for a client – Curebit drove 25 percent of Bonobos’ new customers last year, which helped double the New York-based company’s customer base in 2012. Over time, Bonobos had to change its referral strategy. It was centered on Facebook sharing at first, but Curebit found that e-mail converted better for the company. That’s unusual since Facebook is a stronger channel in 93 percent of Curebit’s cases, Grant says. He says the average lift in sales from referrals on e-mail, Facebook or Twitter

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/zIGzLLwc5Kg/

cherry blossom festival nc state erika van pelt

Monday, March 11, 2013

Fluoride in drinking water cuts tooth decay in adults, study shows

Mar. 11, 2013 ? A new study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Adelaide, Australia, has produced the strongest evidence yet that fluoride in drinking water provides dental health benefits to adults, even those who had not received fluoridated drinking water as children.

In the first population-level study of its kind, the study shows that fluoridated drinking water prevents tooth decay for all adults regardless of age, and whether or not they consumed fluoridated water during childhood.

Led by UNC School of Dentistry faculty member Gary Slade, the study adds a new dimension to evidence regarding dental health benefits of fluoridation.

"It was once thought that fluoridated drinking water only benefited children who consumed it from birth," explained Slade, who is John W. Stamm Distinguished Professor and director of the oral epidemiology Ph.D. program at UNC. "Now we show that fluoridated water reduces tooth decay in adults, even if they start drinking it after childhood. In public health terms, it means that more people benefit from water fluoridation than previously thought."

The researchers analyzed national survey data from 3,779 adults aged 15 and older selected at random from the Australian population between 2004 and 2006. Survey examiners measured levels of decay and study participants reported where they lived since 1964. The residential histories of study participants were matched to information about fluoride levels in community water supplies. The researchers then determined the percentage of each participant's lifetime in which the public water supply was fluoridated.

The results, published online in the Journal of Dental Research, show that adults who spent more than 75 percent of their lifetime living in fluoridated communities had significantly less tooth decay (up to 30 percent less) when compared to adults who had lived less that 25 percent of their lifetime in such communities.

"At this time, when several Australian cities are considering fluoridation, we should point out that the evidence is stacked in favor of long-term exposure to fluoride in drinking water," said Kaye Roberts-Thomson, a co-author of the study. "It really does have a significant dental health benefit."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. G. D. Slade, A. E. Sanders, L. Do, K. Roberts-Thomson, A. J. Spencer. Effects of Fluoridated Drinking Water on Dental Caries in Australian Adults. Journal of Dental Research, 2013; DOI: 10.1177/0022034513481190

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/CzuieRa3jpk/130311151255.htm

10 year old gives birth c. difficile carmelo anthony nurse jackie nurse jackie peeps nhl playoffs

Michelle Malkin ? Dianne Feinstein: It's 'legal to hunt humans' with ...

**Written by Doug Powers

This one slipped through the cracks late last week but it?s worth mentioning. Senator Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and gun control advocate, is upping the rhetorical ante just a bit:

?The time has come, America, to step up and ban these weapons,? Feinstein said. ?The other very important part of this bill is to ban large capacity ammunition feeding devices ? those that hold more than 10 rounds. We have federal regulations and state laws that prohibit hunting ducks with more than three rounds. And yet it?s legal to hunt humans with 15-round, 30-round, even 150-round magazines. Limiting magazine capacity is critical, because it is when a criminal, a drug dealer, a deranged individual has to pause to change magazines and reload that, the police or brave bystanders have the opportunity to take that individual down.?

Yep, she actually said that (video via Weasel Zippers):

Did the whole country go full-blown Surviving the Game while we weren?t looking?

Bonus Feinstein:

?The problem with expanding this is that, you know, with the advent of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War, it?s not clear how the seller or transferer of a firearm covered by this bill would verify that an individual was a member, or a veteran, and that there was no impairment of that individual with respect to having a weapon like this. I think you have to ? if you?re going to do this, find a way that veterans who are incapacitated for one reason or another mentally, don?t have access to this kind of weapon.?

If Feinstein were truly interested in keeping those weapons out of the hands of people with mental issues, her bill wouldn?t have exempted Congress.

Moe Lane at Red State pointed out that Feinstein ? in addition to the general offense to veterans ? is wrong on the PTSD facts:

?the properties of post-traumatic stress disorder were first codified in the Vietnam era, and became an actual recognized condition in 1980. Something like it had been suspected for some time previously, of course: the conditions of World War I were sufficiently horrific that doctors started realizing that something was going on (the term was ?shell shock,? which phrase has by the way long since been incorporated into Standard English). Translation: contra Feinstein?s mistaken belief (click the link), PTSD was a condition prior to, during, and after the last ?assault weapons ban.?

The fact that ?Einstein? appears in her name is the only evidence of an IQ over room temperature.

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

~ For the latest breaking news, be sure to join Michelle's e-mail list ~

Source: http://michellemalkin.com/2013/03/10/feinstein-legal-hunt-humans/

flip saunders academy award nominations cynthia nixon cspan state of the union drinking game oscar noms capital gains

Dartmouth contemplates hitting a new low (Powerlineblog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/290471552?client_source=feed&format=rss

emmylou harris disco inferno b.i.g 1000 words ron white ron white buckyballs

Yellowstone gets real about budget cuts (Washington Post)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/290480210?client_source=feed&format=rss

paul ryan michele bachmann donald trump Election 2012 map Election Results Map Early voting results BBC

96% Monsters, Inc. 3D

All Critics (190) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (195) | Rotten (8) | DVD (46)

It may be harder nowadays to dazzle audiences with fancy visual effects, but Monsters, Inc. 3D proves that smart, imaginative storytelling still does the trick every time.

Most of the charm of "Monsters Inc." comes from its vocal cast.

If history is any guide, you and your family - whether young or old - will probably want to see "Monsters University" over and over.

The movie itself stands up well, even from an adult, two-dimensional perspective.

Its reassuring message is more relevant than ever.

The good guys are those who realize that laughter is stronger than fear. That's a message worth taking to heart these jittery days.

Pixar's overlooked gem arrives in a worthwhile collector's edition bursting with features and exceptional A/V presentation.

While nippers will love the colourful creatures and their slapstick antics, grown-ups will find less humour and layers than in the likes of Toy Story, meaning less overall appeal as a result.

[I] really don't see the point of paying extra for children under eight. Their eyes are still developing, their noses are still small for slippery glasses, and... isn't a trip to the pictures enough for them in any case?

If anything, it improves with age.

Monsters displays wonderful imagination which makes it worth reliving in an extra dimension - particularly the energetic chase scene along a conveyor belt of doors.

Pixar's soaringly lovely fourth feature ...

[An] exciting, imaginative and very likable adventure.

Despite its eternal message about physical differences and the importance of love over fear of the unknown, Monsters, Inc primarily remains an ambitious concept film.

It's in the visuals that 'Monsters Inc' comes to life, from the jazzy, Norman McLaren influenced opening to the hilarious, shakycam amateur-dramatic recap over the closing credits.

Another chance to see Pixar's most dazzling premise, now spruced up with a third dimension.

Now in 3D, the filmmakers have created a wonderful reality - the reality of Monstropolis, which like the worlds of Oz and Pleasantville, whisk us far, far away on a magic carpet of fantasy

A shrewdly timed reminder of Pixar's early, heady days, when the animation powerhouse could do no wrong.

This didn't need 3D to work. It long ago passed the kids-wear-out-the-DVD-rewatching-it test.

There's really little reason to check out Monsters, Inc. 3D in... well, 3D, rather than going for a good old-fashioned 2D screening instead.

It does well, but not brilliantly: an amusing trifle from a studio whose best work still lay ahead of it.

Not quite a Pixar classic, but funny, witty and visually spectacular enough to be enjoyed again on the big screen.

Monsters, Inc. continues a positive 3D trend for the company, who appear to be selecting their upgraded titles wisely, choosing features that benefit from the additional depth.

Not even the opportunistic 3D-ification can squander the pure delight of the film's meticulously detailed world of ragtag creatures.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/monsters_inc_3d/

epidemiology total eclipse of the heart jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco donald payne elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra

Friday, March 8, 2013

Processed Meat Raises Risk Of Dying From Cancer And Heart ...

Past studies on red and processed meat's potential health effects have been chalked up to "well, people who eat a lot of that stuff lead unhealthy lifestyles to begin with." Same thinking goes for vegetarians, who are known to live longer than meat-eaters, but who also generally lead healthier lifestyles.

But now, a new observational study is teasing out processed meat's effect in particular on health, and shows that not only is it the sort of person who eats a lot of processed meat that has the negative health risks, but the processed meat itself.

The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine and conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich, shows an association between processed meat and higher risks of dying from heart disease and cancer.

The results are based on an analysis of 448,568 men and women between ages 35 and 69, who did not have cancer and who had not suffered a stroke or heart attack when they entered the study. Researchers gathered information on their diets, exercise, body mass index and smoking status. The participants came from 10 countries.

Researchers found strong associations between unhealthy lifestyle choices and high consumption of processed meat; such lifestyle choices including eating little produce and being more likely to smoke (among men and women), and drinking higher amounts of alcohol (among men).

However, researchers were able to tease out processed meat consumption specifically to see how that affected risk of premature death. Even after taking into account other factors, processed meat consumption was still shown to raise risk of dying from heart disease and cancer.

"We estimated that 3.3 [percent] of deaths could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption of less than 20 [grams] per day," the researchers wrote in the study. The Atlantic pointed out that 20 grams of processed meat is the equivalent of a "matchbook-sized portion" of sausage.

Meanwhile, researchers did not find an association between poultry consumption and increased risk of premature death.

But take heart, meat lovers, the study was not all bad news -- researchers also found a small benefit from still including a bit of red meat in the diet. The Atlantic explains:

Eating little or no red meat, like beef and pork, was actually associated with higher all-cause mortality than very moderate consumption, presumably because red meat does contain important vitamins and nutrients (protein, iron, zinc, vitamins A and B, essential fatty acids). This range, the authors also believe, most accurately reflects people who attempt to optimize their diet, whereas vegetarian diets may be poorly balanced.

BBC News pointed out that processed meat in the study was not just fresh meat that had been put through a grinder -- it was meat that had something added to it (whether it's salt, or something else).

"If you eat lots of processed meat, try to vary your diet with other protein choices such as chicken, fish, beans or lentils," heart health dietitian Tracy Parker, of the British Heart Foundation, told BBC News.

Previously, processed meat has been linked with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. A British Journal of Cancer study showed that people who eat an extra 50 grams of processed meat (the equivalent of a sausage) a day can raise the risk of the condition by 19 percent, and people who ate an extra 100 grams of processed meat a day can raise their risk by 38 percent.

Meanwhile, another study from Harvard researchers showed that regularly eating processed meat could actually affect your body's ability to use and produce insulin -- thereby raising risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/processed-meat-cancer-heart-disease-death-risk_n_2829092.html

1000 words ron white ron white buckyballs buckyballs awake mario batali

Storm strikes Mid-Atlantic; 250K without power

In this image from video provided by WJZ-TV, emergency crews surround a tractor-trailer that overturned on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge, which crosses the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The bridge was closed in both directions after the crash Wednesday afternoon due to high winds from a snowstorm blowing through the Mid-Atlantic region. (AP Photo/WJZ-TV)

In this image from video provided by WJZ-TV, emergency crews surround a tractor-trailer that overturned on the westbound span of the Bay Bridge, which crosses the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. The bridge was closed in both directions after the crash Wednesday afternoon due to high winds from a snowstorm blowing through the Mid-Atlantic region. (AP Photo/WJZ-TV)

A pedestrian walks down Pennsylvania Ave near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Schools, businesses and the federal government closed in anticipation of a snow storm that could blanket the region. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Snow falls on tourists stopping in front of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Schools, businesses and the federal government closed in anticipation of a snow storm that could blanket the region. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

A morning commuter, bundled against the cold, watches the snow begin to fall in Washington early Wednesday, March 6, 2013. The Mid-Atlantic region is expected to get 6 to 10 inches of snow. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

A woman crosses a street in the falling snow in the historic Old Town Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, March 6, 2013. After pummeling the nation's midsection with heavy snow, a late-winter storm made its way Wednesday to the nation's capital, where residents braced for the possibility of power outages. As the storm closed in, the federal government said its offices in the Washington, D.C., area would be closed Wednesday. Many major school systems around Washington and Baltimore announced pre-emptive closures as well. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A winter storm marched into the Mid-Atlantic region Wednesday, dumping nearly two feet of snow in some places and knocking out power to about 250,000 homes and businesses. It largely spared the nation's capital, which was expecting much worse and had all but shut down.

Officials in Washington didn't want a repeat of 2011, when a rush-hour snowstorm stranded commuters for hours, so they told people to stay off the roads and gave workers the day off. Dubbed the "snowquester," the storm closed government offices, just as the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester were expected to do.

The storm pummeled the nation's midsection on Tuesday, killing at least four people in weather-related traffic accidents. It was forecast to head to the northeast on Thursday, bringing strong winds, more snow and the possibility of coastal flooding to New England.

In Washington, where as much as 10 inches had been forecast, the storm did little but drop harmless snowflakes that rapidly melted amid warmer-than-expected temperatures. Federal offices in the region will be open Thursday.

"They just say that it might snow and the whole city shuts down," said Sheri Sable, who was out walking her two dogs in light rain and marveled at how even the dog park she frequents failed to open at 7 a.m.

There were bigger problems elsewhere in the region, though.

Lashing winds blew off part of the roof of a Stone Harbor, N.J., condominium complex and Ocean City officials advised residents to move their cars to higher ground in preparation of possible flooding. Maryland's Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland's Eastern shore with the Baltimore-Washington region, closed in both directions, because of wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

A tractor-trailer overturned on the bridge and leaned against the guardrail. Kelly Kiley, an interior designer, was driving on the span soon after the accident.

"The travel on the bridge was extremely scary," Kiley said. "The crosswinds were terrible. Some of the taller box trucks were swaying."

The bridge reopened Wednesday evening.

In Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency and about 50 National Guard soldiers were sent out to help clear roads. Up to 20 inches of snow piled up in central and western parts of the state. More than 200,000 people in Virginia alone were without power and another 40,000 in New Jersey were in the dark. Hundreds of wrecks were reported around the region.

"Over the next 12 hours, as the storm churns up the coast quite slowly, we expect a lot more heavy wet snow, we expect heavy winds and that is a dangerous situation," McDonnell said at an afternoon briefing. "So stay off the roads, stay inside, enjoy the day off."

In Richmond, most commuters appeared to be headed home by midday with the exception of Clint Davis, an attorney who was needed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

"Unless they canceled court, I had to be here," said Davis, who was wearing a hooded slicker over his suit to shield himself from gobs of snow blown from trees. "I'll be here for two or three hours and come out to a snow-covered car."

Some communities in Washington's outer suburbs saw significant accumulation too, including in Loudoun County, which had 9 inches in some places.

In Sterling, Va., a glaze of slush and snow coated major roads and side streets, but traffic was relatively light and plow trucks passed through repeatedly. Many retailers were closed. Only a handful of customers patronized the Glory Days Grill. Carolyn Donahue was working from home and trekked out with her husband, Tom, for a lunch break without any trouble on slushy but passable roads.

"I don't consider this a big storm," he said.

In North Carolina, state officials said high winds led to sound side flooding along N.C. 12 and brought the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry run to a halt.

Downtown Washington was unusually quiet. Officials eager to avoid a repeat of 2011 pre-emptively shut down federal offices and canceled public schools. Non-emergency federal employees were treated to a paid snow day for the number of hours they were scheduled to work.

Some congressional hearings were postponed, but the House managed to approve legislation to prevent a government shutdown on March 27 and President Barack Obama was set to have dinner with GOP senators at a hotel on Wednesday night.

"So far, knock on wood, we've dodged on this one," said D.C. Homeland Security director Chris Geldart. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that it remains the way it's been."

The Baltimore-Washington area's last major snowstorm struck Jan. 26, 2011. It hit Washington during the evening rush hour, causing some motorists to be stuck in traffic nearly overnight. It dropped 5 inches on Washington and 7.8 inches on Baltimore, knocked out power to about 320,000 homes and contributed to six deaths. The federal government later changed its policies to allow workers to leave their offices sooner or to work from home if major storms are expected.

The current storm led to at least four deaths. A semi-trailer slid off a snow-covered interstate in western Wisconsin, killing two people. A central Indiana woman died when a semi-trailer plowed into her car after she lost control merging onto the highway, and a man from Columbia City in northeast Indiana was killed when his snowmobile left the road, headed across a field and crashed into a wire fence.

The storm brought around 10 inches of snow to weather-hardened Chicago on Tuesday, closing schools and canceling more than 1,100 flights at the city's two major airports.

Hundreds more flights were canceled Wednesday at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area, according to FlightAware.com.

In Pennsylvania and Ohio, many areas had 4 to 6 inches of snow. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the Philadelphia area and parts of central Pennsylvania through Thursday morning.

Still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, the Jersey Shore prepared for another hit. The storm should bring rain and snow, but one of the biggest problems could be flooding in areas where dunes were washed away and many damaged homes still sit open and exposed.

___

Associated Press writers Alex Dominguez in Baltimore; Jessica Gresko, Ben Nuckols and Brett Zongker in Washington; David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md.; Wayne Parry in Long Beach Township, N.J.; Steve Szkotak in Richmond, Va.; Don Babwin and Jason Keyser in Chicago and Kevin Wang in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-06-Winter%20Storm/id-9d84dfdc0f874ed8b1ad67f577468976

History Channel The Bible alex smith alex smith The Bible History Channel dancing with the stars Melissa King Jodi Arias

The Future Of Facebook And The Newsfeed | Six Pixels of ...

Do you remember Facebook before the timeline... before newsfeed?

I do. I loved the introduction of Facebook's news feed when it happened. Many were up in arms and many thought that Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was going to destroy the power and potential of the online social network. The idea that you would not explore other people's pages, but simply have their information, updates and content come to you - on your own profile page - seemed like a stupid idea. Who is laughing now? While many think that photos are the killer app of Facebook (and the reason the company paid a billion dollars to acquire Instagram), none of that would matter had Facebook not had the insight (and the courage) to imagine, develop and deploy this personal RSS feed of our social graph.

Is the newsfeed perfect?

It is not. Nothing is. But newsfeed is - beyond a shadow of a doubt - the true killer app of Facebook. Strolling through the newsfeed and timeline, you easily and quickly get a glimpse of what's happening to the people you are most interested in (and you can mute the self-absorbed and those who are simply there to inflate their own tires). You are able to like, follow, comment and interact with more information than ever before. As Facebook continues to roll out Facebook marketing initiatives for brands, the newsfeed becomes ground zero. In the past few weeks, there has been controversy about just how much Facebook allows individuals and brands to get listed on the timeline of those they are connected to (you can read more about that here: Each Facebook Post Seen by One-Third of Friends, on Average, here: Disruptions: As User Interaction on Facebook Drops, Sharing Comes at a Cost and here: Facebook to Nick Bilton (And Everyone Else): Seriously, There's No Pay to Play Scheme Here). EdgeRank is the quiet tool that Facebook uses to filter, hold back and sort what content is displayed in our timeline. It's a curious strategy, because it runs counter-intuitive to the notion that individuals are choosing who to follow (be they brand or people). In short, if you follow a brand or friend an individual, you will not see everything that they post in your timeline. Facebook throttles how much interaction a brand can have with the people who have given them permission to communicate. Facebook claims that this is a strategy to ensure balance and quality, but to some it feels like you're giving out your mobile number to whomever you chose, but the phone company is deciding which calls to allow through. If someone (or a brand) is posting too frequently, why not empower the consumer to decide the amount of content (i.e. everything, allowing EdgeRank to take over, muting or unfollow/unfriend)?

The magic of the newsfeed.

TechCrunch reported that Facebook is about to make big and important changes to this feature (which will be announced today: Facebook Will Launch Content-Specific News Feeds, Bigger Photos And Ads On Thursday). Users will be able to better manage and filter their timelines. This could include the addition of multiple timelines (or tabs) just for things like news, images or brands. While the rumors swirl, it's an interesting but dramatic shift away from what we currently have. The change is analogous to listening to music from your iTunes library or listening to music on satellite radio. The current version of timeline is satellite radio. There is nothing but serendipity that flows in. Every time a consumer hits the newsfeed button, life becomes a box of chocolates. You just never know what you're going to get. As social Graph Search, more user-controlled newsfeeds and other features roll out in the next short while, the ability for consumers to choose, mute, filter and change what they see will move Facebook into the iTunes world. A place where consumers are getting more control over what they want to do. It kills a lot of the serendipity.

What do people really want?

A vast majority of people will applaud this shift to a more user-centric and controlled Facebook experience. One where you can have multiple feeds or, potentially, pull all of the brands that you follow and like into their own tab segregating it from real friends and connections. Some will argue that this is good for brands, because that section - which may have less users in terms of the overall population of Facebook - will have better interactions with the fans that really care, and it will be less annoying to those who are getting tired of brands asking them to like a photo if they're happy it's Thursday (the old quality over quantity debate). There is something powerful (and valuable) in serendipity. There is something magical in suddenly seeing a relevant and contextual brand offering in your feed that gives you pause. Facebook is filled with very smart marketing professionals who have - without question - done some serious thinking about how these newsfeed changes will affect their media business. It seems like the addition of social graph search mixed with new functionality and control over newsfeed will keep consumers more engaged and connected. As always, it is the brands trying to squeeze their messages into these tiny and closely-knit connections that will be put to the test. They're going to have to develop more social insights and relevant stories to share to earn the trust and credibility of the consumer's crowded newsfeed. Which, by all of this news, sounds like it's going to get more fragmented and crowded.

What's your take on this? Are all of these changes good for brands and the Facebook experience?

By Mitch Joel

Source: http://www.twistimage.com/blog/archives/the-future-of-facebook-and-the-newsfeed/

Where To Vote james harden breeders cup Mitch Lucker Red Cross CMA Awards 2012 election day

[Infographic] Evolution of Education Technology | Doug Woods

As inevitably as the apes lit the first spark that introduced fire to human life, so did technology lit the education sector, initiating a learning revolution. The evolution of EdTech has been continual, so much so that every time you look among the many options available, it gives a Pandora?s Box like experience, promising a new treasure every time you open it. Here is the Infographic showing it in detail.
Over the years, technology has made the four walls of a classroom lose the rigidity and limitations of time and space. It has given students the wings to explore by engulfing the entire world within the physical space of the learning room. Here is a timeline that traces the evolution of education technology through the ages.???

?

Foundation Stage
At a time when the Industrial Revolution was almost two centuries away and the only form of technology were feather pens and printing systems, formalized education began with the inception of the Boston Latin School, the first private school in the US in 1635.? ?
Next John Dury in 1651 propounded the concept of the modern library that opened public access to books and introduced the profession of the educated librarian.
One of the most commonplace objects around the world today i.e. the pencil was still unknown to most of humanity until 1795 when Nicolas Jacques Conte pressed a mixture of graphite and clay between two half cylinders of wood. Although not considered a milestone development in its time, a world without this little technology would seem so different today!

Tech-abled Writing
The next milestone in the evolution of education technology was the invention of the typewriter in 1868 by Christopher Sholes using the now popular QWERTY keyboard that gave a tech form to writing.

The Computer Wave
The 20th century saw major developments. The first computer that was used for instruction came in 1950 at MIT where a flight simulator trained pilots. This was followed by the IBM 650 that was the first commercially available computer with a memory 2kb, costing 0,000.
The predecessor to our modern day hand held calculators was invented in 1967 by Texas Instruments. Though expensive at its time of invention, math students today know who to thank for tech-olving their calculations. ?
With the coming of Apple II by Apple computers in 1967, a common fruit became synonymous with personal computers.
1977 was also the year that saw the incorporation of personal computers into schools, such that by 1981 18% of US public schools had one or more computers for instruction.
Evolution of education technology continued and brought gaming under its ambit. The Oregon Trail became the first educational game to be widely adopted by schools in 1985.
The history of EdTech further evolved such that by 1991, one in every 18 students had access to computers. In 1994 in his quest to encourage education technology, President Clinton increased funding by 3000%, thus challenging the nation to connect every school to the web, despite internet access being limited to only 3% US schools.
Their efforts bore fruit and by 1996, one in every 12 students had computer access.

New Forms of Learning
Distance learning entered the picture in 1997 and brought education to the doorstep for willing students. At this time around 78% four year public higher educational institution were providing this facility.
The beginning of the millennium brought an unprecedented access to EdTech. While in 2000, every five students could access one computer; in 2004 54% of K-12 schools had laptops available for students. The next year, 94% schools had classrooms with internet access.
Online education eased time and space constraints like never before. In 2007 nearly one in every five college students was taking an online class
With the introduction of Poll Everywhere in 2008, EdTech could be used to enhance classroom education. The launch of this resource allowed teachers to live poll students in the classroom by submissions via text, email or twitter.
Online Education became further developed. In 2011, University of Southern California?s online Master of Arts in teaching program (MAT@USC) was the first to include real time elements such as live sessions, break out rooms and collaborative learning.
By 2011, use of technology in education became a commonplace occurrence. For instance, as part of a pilot program, NYC public schools ordered over 2000 ipads for its teachers and students in this year.
Just as the only constant thing about life is change, EdTech too continues to evolve bringing more and more treasures and innovations for generations to come. The following infographic sums the journey of education from classrooms and notebooks to internet connection and ipads.

The infographic originally appeared here.

Source: http://www.dougwoods.co.uk/curation/infographic-evolution-of-education-technology/

social security paulina gretzky paulina gretzky david bowie elvis presley elvis presley Pretty Little Liars

Thursday, March 7, 2013

On the trail of mucus-eaters in the gut

Mar. 5, 2013 ? The microbiology team of David Berry, Alexander Loy and Michael Wagner from the Faculty of Life Sciences, in collaboration with scientists at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna) and with the help of NanoSIMS technology, has for the first time succeeded in directly observing microorganisms feeding on the intestinal mucosa.

The results of this research project appear in the current issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

To understand the research project by Michael Wagner and his team, one must be ready to follow the microbiologists into the depths of mouse intestine. Michael Wagner, Professor for Microbial Ecology, provides this analogy: "Much like cows grazing in a meadow, intestinal bacteria can feed on mucus secreted by the mucosal tissue. There are a group of microorganisms that do not nourish themselves from mouse food, but rather are specialized in feeding on the secreted products of their host." The intestinal mucus layer is a vital barrier to block pathogenic microorganisms from entering the body and also plays a major role in inflammatory bowel disease. That is why scientists are very interested to know which bacteria inhabit the mucus layer in healthy organisms and thus may suppress the colonization and degradation of this barrier by pathogens.

Cooperation: Department of Microbial Ecology and Max F. Perutz Laboratories

The team led by Michael Wagner and Alexander Loy wanted to know as part of their activities supported by the Austrian Genome Research Program GEN-AU: Which organisms in healthy mice consider the mucosa and intestinal mucus layer a delicacy? "We've come up with an experimental setup that allows us for the first time to look into the intestine and directly observe organisms grazing on the mucus and measure how much mucus they have taken up," said team leader Alexander Loy from the Department of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna. To do this, the microbiologists in collaboration with the teams of Thomas Decker, Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories and B?rbel Stecher of the University of Munich, labeled an amino acid with stable isotopes that once in the bloodstream mostly ends up in the mucus. Wagner explains, "It became clear from the isotope ratio mass spectrometry measurements made by our collaborators Andreas Richter and Wolfgang Wanek from the Department of Terrestrial Ecosystems Research, University of Vienna, that after only a few hours the isotopes had arrived in the intestinal mucosa, where they were broken down by bacteria." A method was now established to identify bacteria feeding on the mucus layer with single-cell resolution.

Research success through the NanoSIMS-Facility of the University of Vienna

The key tool in the investigation was the high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry, or NanoSIMS for short. It is a device that cost more than 2 million euros and since its installation in February 2010 at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Vienna has been in use by the team led by Michael Wagner for applications in microbiology and ecology. "This technology allows us to exactly quantify the amount of stable isotopes taken up by each microbial cell in a gut sample," says Arno Schintlmeister, who operates the unit at the Faculty.

"The investment costs for the NanoSIMS device were high, and it took some time before we were able to integrate this highly complex device completely in our research. Now however, our patience will be rewarded: The University of Vienna has the world's first study in which one does not have to indirectly infer the function of individual intestinal bacteria cells but can measure it directly," said microbiologist Michael Wagner This research approach has great potential and is a topic that will continue to be a research priority in the working groups led by David Berry and Alexander Loy in the coming years.

Gut microbiota is hot research topic

The bacterial cells measured by NanoSIMS facility were identified using fluorescence in situ hybridization -- FISH for short -- in the confocal laser-scanning microscope. "We have identified a number of mucus-eating microorganisms and clearly the most important players are Akkermansia muciniphilia and Bacteroides acidifaciens," explains Wagner, "The gut microbiota is a very hot research topic worldwide because the composition of our gut microbial communities appears to correlate with many diseases -- from obesity and autism to inflammatory bowel disease."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

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

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


Journal Reference:

  1. D. Berry, B. Stecher, A. Schintlmeister, J. Reichert, S. Brugiroux, B. Wild, W. Wanek, A. Richter, I. Rauch, T. Decker, A. Loy, M. Wagner. Host-compound foraging by intestinal microbiota revealed by single-cell stable isotope probing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219247110

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/wOF8tlMcezw/130305131036.htm

Nexus 4 Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football monday night football

Emblaze Mobile's ex-CEO: First Else was eventually ready but the market had changed

Emblaze Mobile's exCEO

We were rather heartbroken when Emblaze Mobile announced the abortion of its First Else project back in June 2010, with the culprit being "critical delays in deliveries;" so when we caught up with ex-CEO Amir Kupervas -- who's now running a startup called UIU -- at MWC, we had to see if he had anything to add to the sad story. "It was ambitious for a small Israeli company to come into consumer electronics, build a brand and try to push it," Kupervas emphasized. "When we started this project it wasn't about ecosystem and apps and things like that. Eventually the iPhone came with its app store, and then Android came with its app store, and we were left behind."

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/05/emblaze-mobile-ceo-amir-kupervas-mwc-2013/

all star weekend undercover boss barbara walters tupelo honey limp bizkit stations of the cross nike foamposite galaxy

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Viruses: More survival tricks than previously thought

Mar. 5, 2013 ? Among eukaryotes with modified nuclear genetic codes, viruses are unknown. Until now it had been believed that the modifications to the genetic code effectively prevented new viral infections. However, researchers have now reported the first example of a virus that can be shown to have crossed the boundary from organisms using the standard genetic code to those with an alternate genetic code.

"The finding is significant because it means that virus-host co-evolution after a genetic code shift can be more extensive than previously thought," said researcher Derek J. Taylor, professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo.

"It shows that these viruses can overcome what appears to be an insurmountable change in the host genome," Taylor said. "So the fact that we haven't previously seen any viruses in these species with a modified genetic code may not be because the viruses can't adapt to that shift. It may be that we haven't looked hard enough."

The study, titled "Virus-host co-evolution under a modified nuclear genetic code," was published on March 5th in PeerJ. The team of scientists, all from the University of Buffalo, discovered the highly adapted virus -- a totivirus -- in the yeast species Scheffersomyces segobiensis (a distant relative of human pathogens in the genus Candida).

In most living things, the genetic code comprises 64 elements called codons, most of which instruct the body to produce a certain amino acid, the basic building block of a protein. In S. segobiensis, however, the genetic code has been modified -- a codon that usually stands for the amino acid leucine codes instead for serine (an amino acid change that can affect how proteins function). It had been thought that such a radical change in the genome may help host species evade viruses.

However, the presence of the totivirus in S. segobiensis shows that viruses may be more nimble than previously thought, able to overcome even this enormous hurdle. Intriguingly, the totivirus the researchers discovered has only one C-U-G codon left in its genome, suggesting that it may have purged that sequence as it adapted to the yeast host.

The research team found other odd and interesting evidence pointing to a history of co-evolution between totiviruses and yeasts with the modified code. For instance, the modified yeasts appeared to have incorporated genetic material from totiviruses into their genomes on at least four occasions. In total, evidence was found of past, or present, viral infection in five lineages of yeasts with a modified genetic code.

In the yeast Scheffersomyces stipitis, the scientists even identified a former totivirus gene that the host is now using to produce a protein.

"It's a non-retroviral RNA virus gene being kidnapped and expressed as a protein by a cellular host in the absence of a current viral infection" Taylor said. The function of this protein is unknown, but the result is further evidence of the unexpected co-evolution between viruses and hosts with modified nuclear code.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

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

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Derek J. Taylor, Matthew J. Ballinger, Shaun M. Bowman, Jeremy?A. Bruenn. Virus-host co-evolution under a modified nuclear genetic code. PeerJ, 2013; 1: e50 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.50

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/1rLgEXa-SwY/130305080747.htm

safe house jay z and beyonce baby cpac powell the last lecture kim jong un josh powell