Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295122563?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Friday, March 29, 2013
Gas prices dip in West Virginia by 3 cents
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The cost of gas is leveling off in West Virginia after months of rising fuel prices.
The Triple A's weekly fuel gauge reports a 3-cent decline in the price per gallon of gas. The statewide average is $3.72 a gallon, which remains higher than the national average of $3.65.
While the U.S. average is down 12 cents from a month ago, the auto club said it's still too soon to say whether gas prices have peaked.
In West Virginia, pump prices range from a low of $3.65 in Parkersburg to a high of $3.78 in Martinsburg.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gas-prices-dip-west-virginia-150128462.html
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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Records provide new look at Ariz. shooting spree
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2011 file photo, Emergency personnel and Daniel Hernandez, an intern for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, second right, move Giffords after she was shot in the head outside a shopping center in Tucson, Ariz. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the shooting rampage were released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack more than two years ago. (AP Photo/James Palka, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2011 file photo, Emergency personnel and Daniel Hernandez, an intern for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, second right, move Giffords after she was shot in the head outside a shopping center in Tucson, Ariz. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the shooting rampage were released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack more than two years ago. (AP Photo/James Palka, File)
FILE - This photo released Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Jared Lee Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that killed six people and left several others wounded, including then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the shooting were released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack on Jan. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Office, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2012 file photo, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously injured in the mass shooting that killed six people in Tucson, Ariz., in January 2011, is aided by her husband, Mark Kelly, as she speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the shooting were released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - Emergency personnel attend to a shooting victim outside a shopping center in Tucson, Ariz. in this Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 file photo taken where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and others were shot as the congresswoman was meeting with constituents. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are being released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack more than two years ago. (AP Photo/James Palka, File)
PHOENIX (AP) ? Documents released Wednesday detailing the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords show how the gunman had grown increasingly erratic and delusional in the months leading up to the rampage as he alienated friends and family and became paranoid that police were out to get him.
The roughly 2,700 pages included witness and survivor accounts from people who helped save Giffords' life after she was shot in the head outside a Tucson supermarket in 2011 during a meet-and-greet with constituents. Six people were killed and 11 others were wounded.
The files also provide the first glimpse into gunman Jared Lee Loughner's family. His parents have said nothing publicly beyond a brief statement after the attack, but records show they were trying to deal with a son who had grown nearly impossible to communicate with.
"I tried to talk to him. But you can't. He wouldn't let you," his father, Randy Loughner, told police. "Lost, lost and just didn't want to communicate with me no more."
"Sometimes you'd hear him in his room, like, having conversations," said his mother, Amy Loughner. "And sometimes he would look like he was having a conversation with someone right there, be talking to someone. I don't know how to explain it."
Randy Loughner said his 24-year-old son had never been diagnosed with mental illness. Despite recommendations from officials at Pima Community College, which expelled Loughner, that he undergo a mental evaluation, his parents never followed up.
However, Loughner's parents grew worried enough about their son that they drug tested him.
The results were negative, said Amy Loughner, who was particularly worried that her son might have been using methamphetamine.
She said Loughner had told his parents that he had not had a drink of alcohol in five months but that he had tried marijuana and cocaine in the past.
The father said his son kept journals, but they were written in an indecipherable script.
Several weeks before the shooting, Loughner visited Anthony George Kuck, who had known him since preschool. Kuck said he was alarmed to find he had shaved his head and was armed with a handgun.
"I kicked him out of my house because he showed me his gun," Kuck told police, adding that Loughner said he bought it for protection.
"I tried to talk to him about why it's not smart to have a gun," Kuck said. "He obviously didn't listen to me."
Kuck told police he had seen Loughner's mental state deteriorate over time, starting with drinking problems in high school, trouble with authorities and being kicked out of college, noting Loughner had gotten tattoos of bullets and a gun on his shoulder.
"I know he has some crazy thoughts where he ... just believes the government is corrupt, and he has all these assumptions on things, that he doesn't really know what he's talking about," Kuck told investigators.
While he never heard him mention Giffords "he just seemed to have some kind of ... hate for government," Kuck added.
Kuck's roommate, Derek Andrew Heintz, who has known Loughner since he was about 12, said he was cooking when Loughner showed up with a gun and removed it from his belt. It was loaded with 32 rounds.
He asked Loughner why he had the weapon. "There's no need for it here," Heintz told him.
"I just want to show you,'" Loughner replied.
Loughner then left Heintz with a souvenir ? one bullet.
On the day of the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting, a friend, Bryce Tierney, told investigators Loughner called him early in the morning and left a cryptic voice mail that he believed was suicidal.
"He just said, 'Hey, this is Jared. Um, we had some good times together. Uh, see you later.' And that's it," Tierney said.
He recalled for detectives a time when Giffords visited Pima Community College, where the two attended classes together.
Loughner asked her, "What is government and stuff?" Tierney said. "She couldn't give him the answer. ... I feel like he had ... something against Gabrielle Giffords."
Tierney also described Loughner's apparent spiral into madness, saying his behavior was growing strange "in a dark way." He said Loughner would send him text messages that he called "nihilistic ... the belief in nothing."
Onetime Loughner friend Zachary Osler also described the shooter's increasing isolation from his other friends and acquaintances in the years leading up to the shooting.
He explained how he worked at a sporting goods store where Loughner bought the Glock 9 mm handgun used in the shooting. He was questioned about seeing Loughner shopping there, sometime before Thanksgiving, and described his awkward encounter with the man.
"His response is nothing. Just a mute facial expression. And just like he, he didn't care," Osler told authorities.
Osler also told investigators he had grown uncomfortable with Loughner's strange personality.
"He would say he could dream and then control what he was doing while he was dreaming," Osler said.
Still, he said he was shocked to learn Loughner had carried out such an attack.
"And I was like, 'I know this person. Why would he do it? What would his motive be?'" he added, noting that Loughner had never mentioned Giffords in the past.
When he was arrested at the scene, Loughner was wearing peach-colored foam earplugs, authorities wrote in the documents. He was polite and cooperative as detectives began their hours-long initial interview.
As Loughner sat in restraints in an interview room, the conversation was confined mainly to small talk. Little was said over the first four hours. Loughner asked if he could use the restroom, then at one point complained he felt sore.
"I'm about ready to fall over," he said.
Giffords intern Daniel Hernandez described how constituents and others were lining up to see Giffords that morning. He helped people sign in and recalled handing the sheet on a clipboard to Loughner.
"The next thing I hear is someone yell, 'Gun,'" said Hernandez, who rushed to tend to Giffords' gunshot wound to the head.
"She couldn't open her eyes. I tried to get any responses from her. It looked like her left side was the only side that was still mobile," Hernandez told authorities. "She couldn't speak. It was mumbled. She was squeezing my hand."
Hernandez explained how he had some training as a nurse and first checked for a pulse.
"She was still breathing. Her breathing was getting shallower," he said. "I then lifted her up so that she wasn't flat on the ground."
The documents detailing the event and ensuing investigation had been kept private until being released by the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
News organizations seeking the records were repeatedly denied access in the months after the shooting and the arrest of Loughner, who was sentenced in November to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140 years, after he pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns cleared the way for the release of the records after Star Publishing Company, which publishes the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, sought their release. The judge said Loughner's fair-trial rights were no longer on the line now that his criminal case has resolved.
Loughner's guilty plea enabled him to avoid the death sentence. He is serving his sentence at a federal prison medical facility in Springfield, Mo., where he was initially diagnosed with schizophrenia and forcibly given psychotropic drug treatments.
Arizona's chief federal judge and a 9-year-old girl were among those killed in the rampage. Giffords was left partially blind, with a paralyzed right arm and brain injury. She resigned from Congress last year and has since started, along with her husband, a gun-control advocacy group.
The Star said it wanted the records because they contain information about how a mass shooting occurs, including how long it took Loughner to fire gunshots ? an issue raised by some advocates in the debate over high-capacity pistol magazines.
Phoenix Newspapers Inc., which publishes The Arizona Republic, and KPNX-TV had joined Star Publishing in the latest effort to get the records released after The Washington Post's initial request was denied in March 2011.
___
Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Store Charging Patrons $5 For ?Just Looking', To Offset Losses From Internet Shoppers
To make up for pesky competition from the Internet, the owner of an Australian retail store is charging patrons $5 for "just looking", in order to offset losses from shoppers who browse and then buy online. "If you're going to be asking bucketloads of questions, you've got to pay for the information," said Celiac Supplies owner, Georgina, to the Brisbane Times, who asked that her last name not be published, after her store's policy inadvertently went viral and led to Internet infamy.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/W4XS_dRKzhk/
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013
53-year-old musher becomes oldest Iditarod champ
NOME, Alaska (AP) ? A 53-year-old former champion has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska's grueling test of endurance.
Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds at 10:39 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday.
"This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age," he said on a live stream posted to the Iditarod website after completing the race in temperatures just above zero. His race time in the 1,000-mile race was nine days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.
Seavey's victory came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle, last year's runner-up, along the frozen, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast. Zirkle crossed the finish line 24 minutes after her rival, who greeted her after a while.
"You did a good job," Seavey told Zirkle as a camera crew filmed them. "You're going to win this thing, probably more than once."
At a news conference after the race Zirkle gave credit to her rival's strategy.
"Mitch has this ability to sit on the sidelines and refuel because he knows he needs to refuel, while everyone else is zooming by," she said. "It's smart, and that's probably why you won."
Immediately after finishing, both mushers rushed to pet their dogs, with Seavey singling out his main leader, 6-year-old Tanner, posing for photos with the dog and another leader, Taurus, wearing yellow garlands.
Zirkle's dogs wagged their tails as she praised them. "My dog team is my heart," she said.
The pair jostled for the lead, with Zirkle never more than a few miles behind, in the final stretch.
"I just now stopped looking over my shoulder," Seavey said after winning.
Also trailing by a dozen or so miles was four-time champion Jeff King, who was followed by a cluster of contenders, including Seavey's son, Dallas Seavey. The younger Seavey at age 25 last year became the youngest Iditarod winner ever, beating Zirkle to the finish line by one hour.
Mitch Seavey first won the Iditarod in 2004. Before his Tuesday night win, King had been the oldest Iditarod champion, winning his fourth race at age 50 in 2006.
The oldies were still stellar performers in a race that ended last year with a top field featuring many finishers in their 20s and 30, noted Iditarod race spokeswoman Erin McLarnon.
"Last year, we saw a lot of those youngsters in the top 10," McLarnon said. "Some of those 45-plussers are taking back the lead this year. They are showing the young 'uns what they can really do out there on that trail."
Zirkle, 43, had hoped to be only the third woman to win the race and the first since Susan Butcher won her fourth Iditarod in 1990. Before this year's race, Zirkle noted the long time that had passed since a woman won.
"This is my 13th year, and I've wanted to win every year," she said before the race, which began March 2 with 66 teams at a ceremonial start in Anchorage.
The competitive part of the race began the following day in Willow 50 miles to the north. Since then, the race changed leaders several times. Those at the front of the field included four-time champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser, who later fell behind.
En route to Nome, the race turned into an aggressively contested run among veterans along an often punishing trail.
Conditions on the Yukon River required dogs to go through deep snow and navigate glare ice. Above-freezing temperatures also led to overflow along the trail, a potentially dangerous situation where water has pushed up through the ice and refrozen, creating a weak top layer of ice that teams and mushers can break through.
For reaching Nome first, Seavey wins $50,400 and a new 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split among the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line under the famed burled arch on Front Street, a block from the sea.
___
Associated Press writer Rachel D'Oro reported from Anchorage. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rdoro.
___
Online:
http://iditarod.com
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/53-old-musher-becomes-oldest-iditarod-champ-064610073--spt.html
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SmartCompany - Why social networking seems so unnatural
A few weeks back, this blog explored why this generation of smaller businesses were unlikely to embrace social networking.
Mirroring their glacier-speed adoption of websites, Australian small businesses with a social networking presence are well in the minority.
Depending on whose report you read, less than a third of smaller businesses have a presence in what is the biggest communications revolution since the internet itself, now nearly a decade after its introduction.
This week I'd like to look at a more fundamental attribute of the medium itself to explain the reticence of smaller business to get into social networking.
New tricks for old dogs
For most people who are at an age to run a business, or at least its marketing strategy, social networking is not only a new communications medium, but one that is unlike anything before it.
Because most other revolutionary communications media had a precedent ? a communications method that was improved upon significantly ? in some cases creating a new business model to go with it.
Whilst telephones made it possible to reduce or even extinguish distance between two participants, its fundamental purpose, conversation, had been occurring since the dawn of language.
Facsimile was an electronically transmitted version of the letter or mailed document and in turn email a considerable improvement again (particularly its affordability).
Despite what many may say, most websites are essentially brochures on steroids and web-conferencing a virtual extension of ordinary meetings.
A brand new way of communicating
But as pointed out in this blog before, social networking is a 'new to the world' phenomenon.
Never before has an individual or business been able to broadcast a conversation to many simultaneously and in turn have that broadcast to connections of the person in the conversation.
Broadcast email came close, but it was still a relatively controlled private group of recipients compared to the pretty much public stage that is social networking.
Whilst to some degree it can be compared to a 24/7 electronic 'party' attended by all your friends (some of whom you haven't seen since childhood), what makes it completely revolutionary is that unlike conversations at parties, every single person at that party can hear and participate in the dialogue.
What's more, attendees can invite their own parties to join in on the conversation, and so on, making it one massive online party to end all parties.
Unprecedented word-of-mouth effects
If your conversation or comment, picture or video is interesting enough, you can soon find yourself with an audience literally numbering millions. And when I say soon, I mean lightning speed soon.
Now to some that prospect is like viral manna from heaven, but to many smaller business operators already struggling to eke more time or resource to keep their businesses afloat, it's the last thing they need to deal with right now.
I mean, who wants to run the risk of inadvertently posting or saying the wrong thing and suddenly being the butt of a viral campaign of mass ridicule?
Because in the same way your positive, promotional post can be viralled to millions in no time at all, so can your potentially innocent but damaging post.
This effect is traumatic enough to an individual, but to a business, revenues, reputations and livelihoods are literally at stake.
Undoing the undoable
Then there is the additional time (read 'money') required to deal with the issue ? either by trying to steer the conversation back on track ? if that's possible, or trying to have the offending material removed via official channels.
I should know. Recently I spent three hours intervening in an innocent post gone wrong. Even then, how many weren't able to follow the conversation and my clarifications and simply discredited me ? and told their friends as much!
I'll never get that three hours back and nor will I hope to get the business of those who misunderstood what I posted.
And how much time and money did one sports club (also a small business) recently spend trying to stem the irretrievable damage caused by a spurned schoolgirl who got her fingers on some compromising photos of its players?
That prospect is real and is quite frightening to an already overwhelmed smaller business operator.
Exercising due caution
This 'warts and all' new way of communicating may well be second nature to those young enough to be brought up with the medium, but to the rest of us it's still very new and very confronting.
It explains why smaller businesses are being extra cautious in embracing what to them is literally a brave new world.
Not only are they being asked to invest in a new communications medium but one where the rules of engagement are unlike anything they've ever encountered before.
No wonder they are taking their time.
In addition to being a leading eBusiness educator to the smaller business sector, Craig Reardon is the founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team, which was established to address the special website and web marketing needs of SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.
Source: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet-secrets/why-social-networking-seems-so-unnatural.html
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The dynamic of Spain's population follows the maximum entropy principle
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Public release date: 11-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Press Office
info@agenciasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
A team of Spanish and Argentinean researchers have verified that the distribution of the inhabitants in each Spanish province evolves in accordance with the maximum entropy principle in the field of physics. Therefore, this evolution is predictable. The results have allowed authors to put forward a 'socio-thermodynamic' theory that applies the laws of thermodynamics to collective human behaviour.
Spanish and Argentinean scientists have researched the way in which we as people group together on a large scale as a way of seeing whether there is any law or pattern that explains how we behave. Their findings? The maximum entropy principle. At least this is the case in the population distribution of Spain's provinces.
"We have verified that given province characteristics, which we specify as a value named 'q', population distribution over time does not arise by chance but rather by a certain way that adjusts to the maximum entropy principle," as explained to SINC by Alberto Hernando, researcher of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland) and co-author of the study.
Once certain conditions are known, the population evolution of all municipalities in this case, the equilibrium distribution of the system for each one of the provinces is one that maximises the quantity of information or entropy, the latter being the physical magnitude describing how irreversible the system is.
"In this way, by observing how the population is distributed in each city or town of each province, we have found that on a collective level we obey mathematically predictable patterns," comments Hernando.
To carry out the study published in the 'Journal of the Royal Society Interface' they used the population data provided by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) on 8,116 municipalities spread over 50 provinces between 1996 and 2010. There were already more than 47 million people in Spain in 2010.
The 'q' value used by the researchers not only helped them to summarise the socioeconomic characteristics of each province but also to quantify how large population nuclei grow in relation to their smaller counterparts. Their typical value is 1 and reflects that the population increase of a municipality during the last year studied is proportional to its number of inhabitants the year before.
Nonetheless, when 'q' is greater than 1 this means that the large municipalities or cities of a province grow at a faster rhythm compared to small municipalities or towns. This is what the data shows in the case of Len, for example or Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Huesca.
This is the general tendency in the majority of provinces, which in turn reflects the progressive abandonment of the countryside in favour of the city. In fact, the average 'q' value within Spain is 1.2.
However, when the 'q' value is less than 1, the interpretation becomes more complex. It could reflect that towns of a province have grown at a greater rate than cities, as in the case of Guipzcoa, but the particular way in which municipalities with different tendencies group together also plays a role.
According to the data, in Madrid and Barcelona a mixture of the two phenomena is occurring. On the one hand the very small towns are being left whereas on the other hand the city is being saturated. Therefore, the medium sized nuclei are experiencing a relatively higher growth rhythm.
"We are obviously dealing with average figures and it could be the case that a town or city in particular does not fit the rule of its province, but this does not alter statistic properties," says Hernando, who developed this study during his time at the Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse in France.
Along with other colleagues from the University of Granada, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (CSIC-University of the Balearic Islands) and the National University of La Plata in Argentina have employed these results to formulate a theory called 'socio-thermodynamics', which is similar to thermodynamics used to describe the equilibrium state of gases, solids and liquids.
The maximum entropy principle is a formulation of the second thermodynamics principle that states that the entropy quantity of the universe tends to increase over time. In other words, a state with a certain order always leans towards a state with less order and the inverse process to this is impossible on a spontaneous level.
According to the researchers, its application to human society can help us to understand how social order always tends to deteriorate if active attempts are not made to avoid such an occurrence. "This without a doubt gives rise to many speculations and interpretations but only one single investigation based on observations and objective data can give us a clear answer," concludes the researcher.
In any case, the authors believe that the predictability provided by this theory could be useful for estimating certain aspects such as migratory flows, future city growth, and the popularity of mass consumer products or even the results of elections.
###
References:
A. Hernando, R. Hernando, A. Plastino, A. R. Plastino. "The workings of the maximum entropy principle in collective human behavior". Journal of the Royal Society Interface 10: 20120758, 2013. Doi:10.1098/rsif.2012.0758.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 11-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Press Office
info@agenciasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
A team of Spanish and Argentinean researchers have verified that the distribution of the inhabitants in each Spanish province evolves in accordance with the maximum entropy principle in the field of physics. Therefore, this evolution is predictable. The results have allowed authors to put forward a 'socio-thermodynamic' theory that applies the laws of thermodynamics to collective human behaviour.
Spanish and Argentinean scientists have researched the way in which we as people group together on a large scale as a way of seeing whether there is any law or pattern that explains how we behave. Their findings? The maximum entropy principle. At least this is the case in the population distribution of Spain's provinces.
"We have verified that given province characteristics, which we specify as a value named 'q', population distribution over time does not arise by chance but rather by a certain way that adjusts to the maximum entropy principle," as explained to SINC by Alberto Hernando, researcher of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland) and co-author of the study.
Once certain conditions are known, the population evolution of all municipalities in this case, the equilibrium distribution of the system for each one of the provinces is one that maximises the quantity of information or entropy, the latter being the physical magnitude describing how irreversible the system is.
"In this way, by observing how the population is distributed in each city or town of each province, we have found that on a collective level we obey mathematically predictable patterns," comments Hernando.
To carry out the study published in the 'Journal of the Royal Society Interface' they used the population data provided by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) on 8,116 municipalities spread over 50 provinces between 1996 and 2010. There were already more than 47 million people in Spain in 2010.
The 'q' value used by the researchers not only helped them to summarise the socioeconomic characteristics of each province but also to quantify how large population nuclei grow in relation to their smaller counterparts. Their typical value is 1 and reflects that the population increase of a municipality during the last year studied is proportional to its number of inhabitants the year before.
Nonetheless, when 'q' is greater than 1 this means that the large municipalities or cities of a province grow at a faster rhythm compared to small municipalities or towns. This is what the data shows in the case of Len, for example or Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Huesca.
This is the general tendency in the majority of provinces, which in turn reflects the progressive abandonment of the countryside in favour of the city. In fact, the average 'q' value within Spain is 1.2.
However, when the 'q' value is less than 1, the interpretation becomes more complex. It could reflect that towns of a province have grown at a greater rate than cities, as in the case of Guipzcoa, but the particular way in which municipalities with different tendencies group together also plays a role.
According to the data, in Madrid and Barcelona a mixture of the two phenomena is occurring. On the one hand the very small towns are being left whereas on the other hand the city is being saturated. Therefore, the medium sized nuclei are experiencing a relatively higher growth rhythm.
"We are obviously dealing with average figures and it could be the case that a town or city in particular does not fit the rule of its province, but this does not alter statistic properties," says Hernando, who developed this study during his time at the Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse in France.
Along with other colleagues from the University of Granada, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Physics and Complex Systems (CSIC-University of the Balearic Islands) and the National University of La Plata in Argentina have employed these results to formulate a theory called 'socio-thermodynamics', which is similar to thermodynamics used to describe the equilibrium state of gases, solids and liquids.
The maximum entropy principle is a formulation of the second thermodynamics principle that states that the entropy quantity of the universe tends to increase over time. In other words, a state with a certain order always leans towards a state with less order and the inverse process to this is impossible on a spontaneous level.
According to the researchers, its application to human society can help us to understand how social order always tends to deteriorate if active attempts are not made to avoid such an occurrence. "This without a doubt gives rise to many speculations and interpretations but only one single investigation based on observations and objective data can give us a clear answer," concludes the researcher.
In any case, the authors believe that the predictability provided by this theory could be useful for estimating certain aspects such as migratory flows, future city growth, and the popularity of mass consumer products or even the results of elections.
###
References:
A. Hernando, R. Hernando, A. Plastino, A. R. Plastino. "The workings of the maximum entropy principle in collective human behavior". Journal of the Royal Society Interface 10: 20120758, 2013. Doi:10.1098/rsif.2012.0758.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/f-sf-tdo031113.php
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Monday, March 11, 2013
If Superheroes Were Sponsored By Famous Brands
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Twitter And Other Social Media Fertile Ground For ... - Business Insider
"Apparently I have a twitter impersonator," said the hedge fund manager, adding that he had no plans "to tweet about stocks."
What set off Einhorn, founder of Greenlight Capital, was a post by a since-suspended Twitter account called @Greenlightcap that read: "The $HLF tug of war will in the end come down to who has more money to play with. I wouldn't want to be in Bill's shoes right now #TeamIcahn."
That may have misled people into thinking that Einhorn - whose infrequent tweets under @davidein tend to be about poker - was picking sides in the battle between two other big-name investors, Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman, who have opposing positions in Herbalife.
Einhorn isn't the only shortseller who has been impersonated on Twitter, which has become an important source of information for many investors. In late January, shares of Audience Inc and Sarepta Therapeutics Inc plunged following tweets that were purported to be from short-selling researchers.
"Twitter pump and dump schemes are obviously something for the market to be concerned about, even if they are just a new way for people to do schemes that have been done forever," said Keith McCullough, chief executive officer at Hedgeye Risk Management in New Haven, Connecticut. He uses Twitter and has more than 22,000 followers.
In such hoaxes, anonymous users set up accounts with names that sound like prominent market players, issue negative commentary, and spark massive declines. The selling that follows shows how the rapid spread of information on social media can make for volatile trading, and is a warning to investors who trade on news before fully verifying the source.
The FBI monitors Facebook and Twitter, and told Reuters in November that social media will be a big part of securities fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website has a warning that swindlers can use social media "to appear legitimate, to hide behind anonymity, and to reach many people at low cost." And the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued social media guidelines to broker-dealers, requiring that they keep records of usage.
In January 2012, the SEC charged an advisor with attempting to sell fictitious securities through LinkedIn Corp, an online social network catering to professionals.
"As some violators have learned the hard way, using social media to defraud investors leaves an electronic trail of footprints for our investigators to follow," said John Nester, a spokesman for the SEC in Washington, D.C.
LOOKING FOR INFORMATION
Investors can minimize the risk of being conned by only trusting the Twitter accounts of established users and independently researching any tip or rumor.
In addition to Twitter, another popular site for traders is Stocktwits.com, where users send messages almost exclusively about stocks. These sites in some ways are more sophisticated versions of on-line chat rooms that were popular during the dot-com boom. Rumors in those rooms flowed freely, and became a breeding ground for untrustworthy information.
Twitter and StockTwits have stronger filters - the Einhorn impersonator's account was suspended shortly after the misleading post - but the spigot of false information cannot be shut entirely.
StockTwits doesn't allow discussions of penny stocks "since those are the ones that are the most vulnerable to being pushed around," said Howard Lindzon, the company's San Diego-based chief executive.
Twitter, which did not respond to requests for comment, verifies the accounts of public figures, focusing on "highly sought users in music, acting, fashion, government, politics, religion, journalism, media, advertising, business, and other key interest areas," according to its website.
Analytic firms are also emerging to help traders navigate social media.
The activity in audio chip maker Audience, which has a market value of $275 million, serves as a prime example of the peril of following sources that are not what they seem - and is also where social media scanners see an opportunity.
The initial fake tweet was posted at 8:44 a.m. New York time on Jan. 29, by someone pretending to be short-seller Carson Block of Muddy Waters. Block is best known for exposing accounting problems and taking short positions in a series of Chinese companies listed in the United States.
The share declines did not accelerate until after 2 p.m., when trading picked up, and more than 300,000 shares traded in a two-minute period, far exceeding the stock's daily average volume of about 186,000 shares.
Dataminr, a New York-based social media analytics firm that monitors Twitter for stock activity, said it sent an alert on the fake tweet at 12:28 p.m. The firm "was able to warn its clients of a market rumor far in advance of the market-movement, along with providing context on the veracity of the message," said Dataminr Chief Executive Ted Bailey.
While Dataminr declined to provide the actual language of the alert, it said the alert conveyed skepticism about the tweet on Audience, noting the account's past activity and its "demonstrated domain expertise across the social graph."
Overall, analytic firms said scanning programs were not advanced enough to be fully automated yet.
"We're a strong believer in the human element in this," said Emmett Kilduff, CEO of Dublin-based Eagle Intel, a social media analytics firm that has alerts evaluated by a research team composed of former portfolio managers and analysts.
Another analytics firm, London-based Knowsis, filters its alerts through market professionals. CEO Oli Freeling-Wilkinson said the firm looks at who is sending information, taking into account the person's location, whether they are an established market professional, and how shares react.
No system is fail proof, and big share reactions will still likely occur from time to time, goosed initially by Twitter but later as investors react to price moves. It is this aspect that will keep people on their toes.
"There's an impulse, when you see a name of yours moving like this, to shoot first and ask questions later and find out why it is moving," said Sam Ginzburg, head of trading at First New York in New York.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-and-other-social-media-fertile-ground-for-stock-hoaxes-2013-3
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Friday, March 8, 2013
Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE)
Google is a company that will never let you forget that it's built upon experimentation. In that regard, the company has released the Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) to a world of believers and doubters. In a nutshell, the Chrombook Pixel is essentially a thin client notebook with a brilliant screen. Like all thin clients, it works well when connected to the Internet, where it can take advantage of the massive infrastructure that Google has built up over the past fifteen years. Away from the Internet, the Chromebook Pixel is somewhat diminished. Take it at face value?as a halo product for a category that Google wants to flesh out over the next few years?and you'll be okay. In early 2013, the Chromebook Pixel is a luxurious experiment that shows potential, but is definitely first-generation hardware that is dependent on omnipresent Internet access.
Design and Display
The Chromebook Pixel feels as solidly built as a bank vault door. It measures about 0.64 by 12 by 9 inches (HWD) and weighs about 3.36 pounds, so it's squarely in the ultraportable and ultrabook chassis category. The dark-silver-colored anodized aluminum case is sharply rectangular, evoking the image of high-end laptops from the early-mid 2000s rather than the tapered and rounded shapes you see today. If you were presented this in a design meeting, you'd think of it as squarely retro, with no visible screws and that vaunted piano hinge with the Chrome name etched in a Sans Serif font on it. Those 3.36 pounds make the Chromebook Pixel feel heavy for its size, even though it is balanced well. This gives you that solid feeling of quality that Steve Jobs used to crow about when talking about the first all-metal Apple PowerBooks in the early 2000s.
The 12.85-inch IPS (In-Plane Switching) screen is the thing that gives the Chromebook Pixel its name. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio, which a throwback to the mid-2000s when everything wasn't 16:9 widescreen yet. A 3:2 aspect ratio is taller overall compared widescreen a 16:9 widescreen, which makes the Chromebook Pixel well suited to the Web apps that it is designed to run. The screen resolution is 2,560 by 1,700 at 239 pixels per inch (ppi), which is imperceptibly denser than the 220 ppi on the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Retina Display) and the 227 ppi on the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Retina Display). On all three screens, video and photos look amazing, with the ability to zoom in and view multi megapixel images clearly without any distortion or blockiness. Streaming videos from HBO Go, Max Go, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix looked spectacular on the Pixel's display, as did the pre-loaded demo video. HBO Go in particular looked like a movie theater screen when viewed at a two-foot distance. Older SD videos were a little blockier, but still looked nice on the Pixel's screen. The screen has a wide viewing angle, so you can share videos with a few close friends.
Touch-Screen Functionality
The Chromebook Pixel comes with a backlit chiclet style keyboard, which was moderately comfortable to use. The keys are a bit slick, but the key feel was similar to other keyboards like the one on the MacBook Pros, the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15-4010nr, and the Editors' Choice for high-end ultrabooks, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. The Chromebook Pixel's multi-touch glass trackpad is very responsive, so much so that you're likely to use that instead of the system's built-in touch screen.
The touch screen is responsive, but the system doesn't come with pinch-to-zoom active by default. You have to go into some hidden settings (Google them) to enable pinch-to-zoom in the Chrome environment. There's also the fact that the Google Chrome OS interface uses traditional UI elements like the launch bar at the bottom of the screen and menu bars at the top of browser windows, so for most users, the trackpad is the way to go.
Speaking of the Chrome browser, Chrome is really the main interface for using this laptop. We've seen it before on Chrome OS systems like the Samsung Chromebook Series 3 (XE303C12) and Acer C7 Chromebook (C710-2847). After you log into any Chromebook, it brings you a screen where the options are to launch the Chrome browser or Web apps that run in the Chrome browser. It's really useful if you have bought into Google's suite of services (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Maps, etc.). If you want to run Web apps in Chrome, there's a link to the Chrome Web Store with thousands of games and apps that work fine, or at least as well or better than those on Windows RT, Android, and iOS devices. All of these apps and websites load very quickly and run well on the system's Intel Core i5-3427U processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Wake and boot times were measured in seconds, and Web apps loaded just as quickly on our corporate Internet connection.
One plus for the Chrome OS model is that it is self-updating. As long as Google stays on the game, it will be a very secure haven against malware and viruses. Chrome OS won't be affected by the majority of Windows or Mac OS malware, though you will still have to guard against identity theft and phishing attacks. Since you're mainly working in the cloud with Google Drive, your documents, emails, and other work are saved automatically and are accessible from other PCs and Macs.
Basically, the Chromebook Pixel is a thin client, and while thin clients work great in corporate environments where network access is assured, network access cannot be guaranteed for consumer products. The real issue is that, at this point in time, Internet access outside of the home or work doesn't support a product like this. WWAN, whether tethered, using the built in 4G LTE modem, or on a mobile hotspot, is still too expensive to use all the time. Wi-Fi on trains, planes, and automobiles is spotty at best. Those who live where satellite Internet is the norm or in counties where the Internet runs at DSL speeds are likely to have a poor experience with cloud computing. Early adopter users will forgive spotty Internet access in a $200 laptop. On a $1,450 laptop? Not so much.
Fast and Hot
Most of the time the system is quiet, but when there is a lot of processing happening in the Web browser, like when playing back videos or when you're loading multiple tabs with lots of Flash or HTML5, the fans make themselves heard. Essentially the fans will spool up on the same sorts of sites that spin up the fans on your PC or Mac laptop. The problem is that on a Mac or PC, you can switch to local apps that let the processor cool and let the fans spool down. On the Chromebook Pixel, you're using Flash and HTML5 all the time; thus, active Web apps and rich websites will make the fan run loud more often. When the system is working hard, the keyboard deck near the ESC key starts to get quite warm. It's not an area that most touch typists rest fingers on, but it's worth noting.
Speakers
Other noise concerns involve the internal speakers. They're mounted under the keyboard so that there aren't any unsightly external openings, but that also means that the keys reverberate when you listen to videos and music at high volume levels. Playing test tracks like The Knife's Silent Shout and Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack made the keyboard buzz with the beat at high volume levels. On the one hand, the Chromebook Pixel pumps out enough sound that you won't need external speakers. On the other, they're not good sounds when the volume is turned up all the way. Audio using the headset jack was fine.
Connectivity
We looked at the LTE-equipped Chromebook Pixel, which is a good model for connectivity. The Chromebook Pixel comes with two USB 2.0 ports for connecting modems, mice, and more. It's a shame that the ports aren't USB 3.0, which would be faster for local storage on USB sticks and hard drives. The Core i5 processor in the Chromebook Pixel will certainly interface fine with USB 3.0. There's also a SD card slot for additional storage, and a mini-DisplayPort for external monitors. The built-in 4G LTE WWAN module on our configuration works on Verizon's network and comes with 100MB per month free (like other Chromebooks with WWAN). However, you're going to burn through that in a short session, so consider upgrading to one of Verizon's larger data plans if you want to use the Chromebook Pixel away from home, the office, or coffee shop hotspots. Because of the limited data plan, you'll likely use the system primarily on Wi-Fi, and it can connect via both 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n. Bluetooth 3.0 is included so you can tether to your phone if you have service for that. Google includes 12 free sessions on GoGo Inflight Internet, but make sure you're on short flights or reserve a seat with a power plug: the Chromebook Pixel with its 59 WHr battery only lasted 4 hour, 11 minutes on our rundown test. This is several hours less than systems like the MacBook Pro 13-inch (74WHr, 7:10 battery life) and the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A (50 WHr, 6:38 battery life). You'll need to keep the Chromebook Pixel near a power plug if you want to continuously use it all day.
Storage
The Chromebook Pixel comes with 64GB of storage, which seems small compared with the 128GB in the MacBook Pro 13-inch and other portables like the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro, but the Chromebook Pixel comes with 1TB of Google Drive service free for three years. Professionals and Chrome users alike have pointed out that 1TB of Google Drive cloud storage service alone would cost $1,800 over three years, and that you can use Google Drive on your other PCs and Macs. However, there is a 10GB file size limit on Google Drive, and it's less useful to you if you're away from stable Internet service. You can use the SD card reader or external USB drives to supplement the 64GB internal SSD. We were able to copy an MP4 video file to the onboard storage and play it without a connection to the Internet, but other files like spreadsheets are read-only without Google Docs on an Internet connection. Sure, you can set up Google Docs to work offline, but it's not set up that way by default. And even if you set it up, you can only edit word documents and presentations, other documents like spreadsheets and drawings can't be edited offline.
A premium product like the Chromebook Pixel really should be set up to use all of the basic functions like Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Drive offline by default. That initial setup should automatically be part of the extra services you're paying for. You'll also need to manually download and install your Chrome browser apps that are capable of being used offline. We realize that most of the time you will be connected to Wi-Fi or WWAN, but if you regularly find yourself travelling where your Internet access is spotty or slow (like on a safari, plane, train, ship, or automobile), then you better have a backup like a 4G portable hotspot, tethered phone, or satellite Internet device.
So with all that, what's the verdict? The Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) is appealing in the same way that $150 chopsticks made of carbon fiber are appealing. Yes, they will do all the things that chopsticks are expected do, like lift sushi off of a plate, and they have the luster and feel of expensive material. The question is, why would you get one, when $5 lacquered wood chopsticks will do the same thing for pocket change?
The problem is, aside from the perceived status, screen, and the added extra services, there really aren't a lot of reasons to recommend the Chromebook Pixel over, say, the 13-inch MacBook Pro (with or without Retina Display) or the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T. If wireless Internet were cheap, fast, unlimited, everywhere, and reliable, then the Chromebook Pixel with its included Google Drive subscription would be a decent buy at $1,450. However, since wireless Internet is not cheap and everywhere, and since the Chromebook Pixel's battery isn't all day capable, we can't recommend it over any Mac or Windows-based laptop in its price range.
COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) with several other laptops side by side.
More laptop reviews:
??? Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE)
??? HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15z-b000
??? HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15-4010nr
??? Sony VAIO T15 Touch (SVT15112CXS)
??? Samsung ATIV SmartPC Pro 700T (XE700T1C-A01US)
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/s-EbSZTFTuA/0,2817,2416245,00.asp
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Thursday, March 7, 2013
TV Veteran Valerie Harper Battling Brain Cancer | ExtraTV.com
Actress Valerie Harper, best known for her Emmy-winning role as Rhoda Morgenstern on ?The Mary Tyler Moore Show? and its spin-off, ?Rhoda,? has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
People.com reports that Harper received the news on January 15, but told the magazine she is ready to face the disease with hope. "I don't think of dying," the 73-year-old said. "I think of being here now.?Harper penned the memoir "I, Rhoda," and had been promoting the book until she fell ill in January.
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?The side of my face started to feel kind of numb. I was slurring my speech,? Harper told the New Yorker that month.
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The tests revealed she has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain. Her doctors say she has as little as three months left to live.
Harper's friend Mary Tyler Moore said, "I'm absolutely devastated by this news. Valerie has given so much joy, laughter and love to the world. I join her fans and send much love and positive thoughts to her and her family during this difficult time."
"Mary Tyler Moore" co-star Ed Asner also said in a statement, "Valerie Harper is a century plan and I have come to know her much better in my latter years and have every confidence in the world that she will shock the hell out of us and survive to keep functioning as the great talent and human that she is."
Actress Roma Downey, who worked with Valerie on ?Touched By An Angel,? stopped by The Grove and told ?Extra?s? Mario Lopez, ?We?re going to keep her in our prayers. I love Valerie. I love working with her. She is a beautiful, wonderful, generous hearted women.? I send out all my love to Valerie.?
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Harper previously battled lung cancer in 2009.
Source: http://www.extratv.com/2013/03/06/tv-veteran-valerie-harper-battling-brain-cancer/
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Jawbone design guru Yves Behar unveils latest creation for golf startup
Click photo to enlarge
British professional golfer Lee Westwood shows off the Game Golf, a device that affixes to a golfer's belt and clubs that captures information about his or her performance on the links, then lets the golfer crunch the data and share it with friends. Yves Behar, the design guru behind the Jawbone wireless handset, devised the Game Golf.
Yves Behar is a busy man: The San Francisco-based design guru has worked on everything from Birkenstock footwear to sleek Bluetooth headsets. And on Tuesday, he unveiled his latest brainstorm: A device to help golfers improve their games and share stats with friends.
Behar and his Fuseproject studio were commissioned by a Silicon Valley startup and a pair of star golfers to bring Game Golf into the world. The system combines hardware and software to record each swing and upload such information as distance and accuracy to a smartphone app.
"There's a lot more that happens than just hitting the ball," Behar said. "People are very involved in numbers and statistics. How you learn from the game depends on your ability to track the data."
Behar's solution includes a small transmitting tag that plugs into the handle of each club; a receiver that clips onto a golfer's belt; and the app itself, which lets a user trumpet that hole-in-one to friends on Twitter and Facebook.
But don't go running for your checkbook just yet: Game Golf, as they say, is not available in stores. Tuesday's unveiling was meant to draw attention to a crowdfunding campaign that by the end of the day had raised nearly half of the $125,000 needed to mass-produce and market Behar's prototype.
While a golf startup might seem like a narrow niche, a
growing number of competitors are entering the space.Santa Clara-based Mobiplex has raised more than $4 million for a similar product that uses wireless motion sensors to analyze a golf swing and send the data to a mobile device. Its backers include Brian Halla, former CEO of National Semiconductor.
Palo Alto's Swing by Swing Golf says more than 2 million users have downloaded its mobile app, which helps duffers gauge distance on the course and get video feedback from a golf pro.
Many entrepreneurs, though, have shanked their tee shots into the woods. A startup called Sonic Golf, for instance -- whose product, designed by a Yale physics professor, also featured a belt-worn receiver and accelerometer inserted in the club -- has gone dormant despite having raised more than half a million dollars. William Sulinski, CEO of another defunct startup called AccelGolf, raised more than $400,000 from investors before raising the white flag in 2011 and selling his company; like Game Golf and Swing by Swing, it used phone-based GPS technology to help golfers make better club choices and track improvements in their games.
Still, he said of Game Golf, "These guys are working on a cool idea," and he predicted the
British professional golfer Lee Westwood shows off the Game Golf, a device that affixes to a golfer's belt and clubs that captures information about his or her performance on the links, then lets the golfer crunch the data and share it with friends. Yves Behar, the design guru behind the Jawbone wireless handset, devised the Game Golf. ( courtesy of Game Golf )
market might be ripe for success now with the increasing ubiquity of smartphones.Game Golf was founded in Ireland and relocated to San Francisco about two years ago. The device will cost $249, including a set of 18 wireless "tags" for your clubs.
Behar -- who in his spare time is chief creative officer of headset maker Jawbone -- was introduced to Game Golf 18 months ago by some of its early investors. They include U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood, formerly the world's top-ranked golfer.
Behar said he hacks around the links a bit but is "more of a surfer than a golfer." Still, he said that's not a handicap when it comes to designing a product.
"It's not about being a golfer -- it's about the opportunity to bring along an existing field into a new experience. I don't see it as that different from designing the Jambox (portable speaker) and changing the way people experience their music."
Contact Peter Delevett at 408-271-3638. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercwiretap.
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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Finding The Right Cell Phone Wholesale ... - Communications
Retail storefront owners that are involved in sales on all levels of their establishment understand the need to pad their profits. That is, they need products that sell fast with a good turn around time in order to bring in consistent revenue to their stores. While there are certainly many different items a retail business can sell, cell phone accessories certainly are good to have in stock, because of the wide use, and growth of cell phone sales.
Looking over the wide selection of wholesale cell phone accessories for sale, do you remember when the cellular phone was considered a luxury item? Perhaps you can even remember far enough back to when cell phones only appeared in science fiction movies. Well today cell phones are as common place as TV sets and that has opened the door wide not only for cell phone growth, but also for cellular phone accessories sales.
Constant Demand - If there was one thing that resellers of wholesale cell phone accessories can always count on it would be constant demand. Because people are always in need of cellular phone accessories, any entity that is selling such items can rely on a steady stream of customer support. For many sellers, the ability to offer accessories can help solidify a business's profit margin. That is why it is best to seek a supplier of wholesale cell phone accessories that can deliver on a wide variety of accessory needs.
Wide Selection - Whether it is batteries, chargers, protective cases, or belt-holder clips, people will look towards acquiring such items. Maintaining a healthy stock of such accessories is often to the benefit of any seller. That is why it is necessary to procure inventory from a seller of wholesale cell phone accessories that is able fill orders for various types of accessories. Those sellers that are constantly out of stock or perpetually placing items on back order are best avoided. When you need an order filled, you will want to be confident it is filled with expediency.
Huge Selection - It goes without saying that purchasing smartphone and cell phone accessories from a source that offers specials, and sales is always a plus. No matter what type of a situation a business may encompass, it needs to be profitable. One of the ways to boost profitability is to keep expenditures low. That is why wholesale suppliers that offer excellent deals or access to overstock are always a plus to deal with.
Whether it is battery chargers, batteries, cases, or hands free headsets, people are always in need at one time or another for such items, so maintaining a wide variety and healthy stock of cell phone accessories is often to the benefit of any reseller. That is why it is best to order inventory from a wholesaler that is able handle orders for various types of accessories. The suppliers that are constantly out of stock or on back order is a "red flag", and should be avoided. When you need an order filled quickly, you will want to be confident it is done with expediency.
Stick with those suppliers with a website configured with a modern, user-friendly shopping cart. This will certainly add to the ease of ordering which in turn, makes it easier to offer such accessories to the public.
There are scores of different ways an entrepreneur can provide cellular phone accessories to the public. Retail stores, online distribution, and even venturing into the world of online auctions are all viable methods. Of course, in order to take any of these steps, it is necessary to purchase from a reliable source of wholesale cell phone accessories.
Source: http://onlinescommunication.blogspot.com/2013/03/finding-right-cell-phone-wholesale.html
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Monday, March 4, 2013
Two new genes linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related disorders
Mar. 3, 2013 ? A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has discovered mutations in two genes that lead to the death of nerve cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and related degenerative diseases.
The same mutation occurred in both genes and led to the abnormal build-up of the proteins inside cells. These proteins play an essential role in normal RNA functioning and have also been linked to cancer, including the Ewing sarcoma, the second most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents. The finding is the latest in a series of discoveries suggesting degenerative diseases and cancer may have common origins. RNA is the molecule that directs protein assembly based on instructions carried in DNA.
The study also adds to evidence that seemingly unrelated neurodegenerative diseases may involve similar defects in RNA metabolism. Researchers linked the problems to a specific region of the mutated proteins whose normal function was unclear. The study was published today in the advanced online edition of the scientific journal Nature.
"I hope this study helps to build the foundation for desperately needed treatments for ALS and perhaps a broad range of diseases caused by abnormal RNA metabolism," said J. Paul Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., an associate member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology and senior author of the study. Taylor and James Shorter, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the biochemistry and biophysics department at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, are the study's corresponding authors.
Each year approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are found to have ALS. The disease is nearly always fatal, often within five years. Patients suffer muscle wasting and paralysis that affects their limbs and trunk as well as their ability to talk, swallow and breathe. There is no cure.
For this project, St. Jude sequenced just the portion of the genome called the exome, which carries instructions for making proteins. Researchers sequenced the exomes of two families affected by rare inherited degenerative disorders that target cells in the muscle, bone and brain. Neither family carried mutations previously tied to ALS or related diseases. The project built on the infrastructure developed by the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital -- Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, which played an important role in finding the mutations.
Researchers found the families carried a single, previously unknown mutation in a pair of RNA-binding proteins named hnRNPA2B1 and hnRNPA1. The proteins both bind RNA and help regulate its function. When researchers checked for the same mutations in 517 ALS patients they found hnRNPA1 protein mutated in two patients. One patient had the inherited form of ALS. The other ALS patient had no family history of the disease.
The new mutations occurred in a region of the proteins Taylor refers to as a prion-like domain because it has similarities with yeast proteins called prions. Prions are proteins that can alternate between shapes as needed for different functions. "Until recently we did not know these domains existed in humans and now we realize that hundreds of human proteins have them," Taylor said. "We're only beginning to understand their function in human cells."
Researchers showed the prion-like domains are responsible for the shape change that occurs when these proteins convert into slender threads called fibrils. The mutations accelerate fibril formation and recruit normal proteins to form fibrils. This phenomenon called propagation may explain how ALS and related diseases spread throughout the nervous system.
Taylor speculated that the normal function of prion-like domains is to assemble RNAs into temporary structures called granules, which are part of the cell's normal protein production machinery. Granules are normally short lived, and the RNA-binding proteins involved in their formation are recycled. But in cells with hnRNPA2B1 or hnRNPA1 mutation, RNA granules accumulated in the cytoplasm instead of being disassembled. "That's bad news for RNA regulation, which is bad news for those cells," Taylor said.
The study has several important implications, Taylor said. Recognition that the mutations adversely impact regulation of RNA could lead to targeted therapy to correct the problem. The mutation's location in the prion-like domain might also prove significant. Although the mutations in hnRNPA2B1 or hnRNPA1 appear to be rare, hundreds of other RNA-binding proteins have prion-like domains. Taylor said patients with unexplained neurodegenerative diseases may have mutations in these proteins.
The study's first authors are Hong Joo Kim, Nam Chul Kim, Yong-Dong Wang and Jennifer Moore, all of St. Jude; and Emily Scarborough and Zamia Diaz, both of the University of Pennsylvania. The other authors are Kyle MacLea and Eric Ross, both of Colorado State University; Brian Freibaum, Songqing Li, Amandine Molliex, Anderson Kanagaraj and Robert Carter, all of St. Jude; Kevin Boylan, Aleksandra Wojtas and Rosa Rademakers, all of the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.; Jack Pinkus and Steven Greenberg, both of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School; John Trojanowski, Bradley Smith, Yun Li and Alice Flynn Ford, all of the University of Pennsylvania; Bryan Traynor, of the National Institute of Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.; Simon Topp, Athina-Soragia Gkazi, Jack Miller and Christopher Shaw, all of the Institute of Psychiatry, London; Michael Kottlors and Janbernd Kirschner, both of University Children's Hospital Freiburg, Germany; Alan Pestronk and Conrad Weihl, both of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis; Aaron Gitler, Stanford University School of Medicine; Michael Benatar, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Oliver King, Boston Biomedical Research Institute, Watertown, Mass.; and Virginia Kimonis, University of California-Irvine.
The research was supported in part by the Packard Foundation, by grants (NS053825, AG032953, DP2OD002177 and NS067354) from the National Institutes of Health, the ALS Association, the Ellison Medical Foundation, a grant (MCB-1023771) from the National Science Foundation and ALSAC.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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- Hong Joo Kim, Nam Chul Kim, Yong-Dong Wang, Emily A. Scarborough, Jennifer Moore, Zamia Diaz, Kyle S. MacLea, Brian Freibaum, Songqing Li, Amandine Molliex, Anderson P. Kanagaraj, Robert Carter, Kevin B. Boylan, Aleksandra M. Wojtas, Rosa Rademakers, Jack L. Pinkus, Steven A. Greenberg, John Q. Trojanowski, Bryan J. Traynor, Bradley N. Smith, Simon Topp, Athina-Soragia Gkazi, Jack Miller, Christopher E. Shaw, Michael Kottlors, Janbernd Kirschner, Alan Pestronk, Yun R. Li, Alice Flynn Ford, Aaron D. Gitler, Michael Benatar, Oliver D. King, Virginia E. Kimonis, Eric D. Ross, Conrad C. Weihl, James Shorter, J. Paul Taylor. Mutations in prion-like domains in hnRNPA2B1 and hnRNPA1 cause multisystem proteinopathy and ALS. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11922
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/pOZEz9hUe_o/130303154857.htm
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