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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Fiasco fire up Canada Day

Rain kept freeride mountain bikers from competing in JumpShip on Saturday, but couldn?t keep The June Fiasco from playing their afternoon show.

To lead singer Andrew Spark?s estimate, about 200 people hung around despite the wind and rain to watch his band play on stage at Ship Point, next to the JumpShip barge.

?We?ll take it, there could have been more but no complaints here,? Spark said.

It was the first of back-to-back weekend shows the Victoria-based rock band is playing on the Inner Harbour. The June Fiasco open for Gold & Youth (formerly Racoons) as part of Victoria's Canada Day celebrations on Saturday.

It?s been a smooth takeoff for all five members of The June Fiasco, who played their first show in January and released a three song EP in February. The record is titled This is Your Life, after the single launched into the national radio chart, sitting 130th out of 200. The video has been in rotation on Much Music?s show Much Loud since March.

?It?s a comfortable pace,? said?Spark, who was raised in Victoria, a product of Vic High?s music program in the 1990s. ?You don?t want too much to happen too fast. There?s some younger guys in the band experiencing it for the first time, with a couple of us veteran guys in the band guiding them along, so to speak.?

At 32, Spark has been involved with a few band projects, some of which took the stage at festivals in England.

?Nothing I?ve done, or anyone else in the band matches The June Fiasco?s amount of success in a short period of time,? Spark said.

Their video was made in town with Shoepp Film, and the group was recently branded as the Zone 91.3?s band of the month, earning signifcant air time. The band was also approached by Juno-nominated songwriter and producer Jeff Johnson (Faber Drive).

It?s been serious enough that the band?s Cowichan Valley contingent has relocated to Victoria.

Spark is the lead singer and one of three guitarists in the band, with Jeff Richardson the lead and Damien Anthony.

The band?s sound is a middle ground of modern rock influences, with various styles gently pulling the tune behind Spark?s vocals.

?It?s in-your-face with three guitars, sort of a Foo Fighter approach,? Spark said.

?(Richardson) is a studied musician, and he defines the guitar pieces, brings the continuity between them so they don?t sound cluttered. Otherwise it?s kind of a blend of styles. Jeff?s into Boston, and AC/DC, Damien brings metal, bass player Steve Williams comes from pop punk and I?m a Seattle grunge guy from the '90s.?

Drummer R.J. Fraser brought some bigger studio experience but is away right now, with Chris Peterson from local success Current Swell filling in.

Later this summer The June Fiasco will take the stage at Logan?s on July 28 and the following week as part of Rifflandia?s Courtyard Sessions on Aug. 4, a buildup to the September festival.

DID YOU KNOW

The June Fiasco open will play at Ship?s Point at 6 p.m. on Saturday (June 30), part of Victoria's Canada Day celebrations. The Ship Point entertainment stage opens at 12 p.m., with acts on the hour. Gold & Youth headline at 7 p.m.

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Source: http://www.vicnews.com/entertainment/160716035.html

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Source: http://snippet-hatchet.blogspot.com/2012/06/become-pro-comedian-learn-stand-up-arts.html

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Mexico Election: Who Are Enrique Pe?a Nieto And The Other Two Top Candidates?

Mexican voters will head to the polls Sunday to elect the country's next president and vote in an entirely new Congress (500-member lower house and 128-member Senate). Additionally, six governorships (the states of Morelos, Jalisco, Chiapas, Tabasco, the Federal District, and Guanajuato) are being contested, as well as the mayoralties of key cities.

If the polls bear out, poised to win the presidency handily is Enrique Pe?a Nieto, the popular former governor of the vote-rich State of Mexico, whose well-oiled campaign has never slipped from frontrunner status, consistently maintaining strong leads over its two main opponents:Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), and Josefina V?zquez Mota of the center-right National Action Party (PAN).

In this week's final media polls, Pe?a Nieto commands leads of between 10 and 17 percentage points over the second-place L?pez Obrador. A comfortable margin for Mexico's next president is important, since it would allay fears of post-election rancor and civil strife and provide a clear mandate - something that outgoing President Felipe Calder?n lacked in his first days in office in 2006 after winning by less than seven-tenths of one percentage point over L?pez Obrador. Because many Mexicans felt the close margin was the product of a conspiracy to deny the left-leaning L?pez Obrador a victory, the election was widely disputed and cast a pall over Calder?n's first days in office.

Below are profiles of the top three contenders in Mexico's 2012 presidential election:?

The Frontrunner: Enrique Pe?a Nieto

The candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and former governor of Mexico's most populous state, the State of Mexico, Enrique Pe?a Nieto is far and away the frontrunner heading into tomorrow's vote. His juggernaut campaign has capitalized on voter disenchantment after two terms (twelve years) of PAN presidencies; projected an air of cool discipline and competence in contrast to the bickering and division of the rival parties; and received favorable -- some say prejudiced -- coverage from the country's major broadcasters. These factors, along with the candidate's good looks and charisma, if not strong policy and intellectual credentials, have made him the odds-on favorite to replace Calder?n come December, when the president's term ends.

Analysts note that there are two main reasons behind Pe?a Nieto's success. First are the unique political and economic circumstances of this year's race. High levels of narcoviolence, disappointing economic growth, and incumbency fatigue have worked strongly in Pe?a Nieto's favor. At the same time, the PRI's legacy of governance - it controlled Mexican politics for most of the 20th century - and momentum from the party's near-sweep of the 2009 midterms have convinced voters that Pe?a Nieto is the best of the current field. Additionally, his party's organizational capacity at the local and state levels is particularly formidable: the PRI controls the governorships of close to three-quarters of the Mexican states, and in this cycle has made surprising plays in PAN bastions, such as the conservative western state of Jalisco.

A Diferente Candidate: Josefina Vazquez Mota

The first female presidential candidate in Mexican history, the PAN's Josefina Vazquez Mota would probably be a formidable contender in any other election cycle. But in this year's race, the otherwise strong candidate has been blindsided by Pe?a Nieto's juggernaut campaign and has suffered from her own party's relative organizational weakness at the state and local levels. Additionally, campaign incompetence and incumbency fatigue with fellow party member Calder?n has hurt her. An example of internal division within her campaign: the haphazard mid-race decision to switch her official slogan from "Josefina Diferente" to "Josefina La Jefa." The change led to brand confusion, provided the media with an easy target, and did not help Vazquez Mota's poll numbers, which have hovered in the mid-20 percent range compared with a consistent 40 percent and higher for Pe?a Nieto. More recently, the Vazquez Mota campaign suffered another intrapartisan wound, when former president Vicente Fox asked her supporters to shift allegiance to Pe?a Nieto, lest Lopez Obrador, who consistently polls in second place, make a stronger-than-expected showing.

The Populist: Andres Manuel L?pez Obrador

This will probably be the last serious presidential challenge by populist center-left politician Andres Manuel L?pez Obrador, a former governor of the Federal District who nearly won the 2006 race. Lopez Obrador's poll numbers have improved modestly throughout the race and show him ?a consistent second with around 30 percent. Yet it appears highly unlikely that he can hope for anything better than a distant second-place finish, and it is highly unlikely that he will be able to marshal loyalists to challenge vote results or lead anti-government street protests as occurred in late 2006. Then, Mexico City was held hostage by L?pez Obrador supporters, who waged a months-long sit-in in to force a comprehensive review of all ballots. However, this time around, there appears to be little appetite for indulging such protests by either outgoing Mexico City Governor Marcelo Ebrard or his likely successor, Miguel Mancera, even if both of them belong to the PRD like L?pez Obrador. ?This is partly because such protests would be incongruent with what is expected to be a stronger-than-expected showing by the party in the day's congressional and gubernatorial votes, including projected wins outside of its Mexico City bastion.?

Robert Donnelly is a political analyst currently based in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He formerly worked at The Wilson Center Mexico Institute, a major think tank on U.S.-Mexico issues, and has written extensively on immigration and U.S.-Mexico border issues.

To contact the editor, e-mail:

Source: http://africa.ibtimes.com/articles/358063/20120629/mexico-election-pri-pena-nieto-lopez-obrador.htm

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Minister for Finance presents Budget Bill in the National Council

June 28, 2012

The Honorable Minister for Finance presented the National Budget & Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2012-2013 in the National Council, today. In his presentation, he said that the budget had been prepared keeping in mind the resources available, keeping fiscal deficits within reasonable limits and considering the shortage of Indian Rupee in the economy. He reported that the total resources for the Financial Year 2012-2013 was projected at Nu. 31,891.042? million comprising of domestic revenue of Nu. 21,157.457 million and external grant of Nu. 10,691 million.

He also presented the Operational Resources of the Budget for the Financial Year 2010-2011, Supplementary Budget Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2011-2012 and Tax Revision Bill 2012. Introducing the Tax Revision Bill, he said that a green tax of 40% for the luxurious vehicle with engine capacities of 1,800 cc and above was proposed to control import of vehicles in the country. To control the outflow and the overall import volume, a green tax of 5% was proposed for levy on petrol, diesel, lubricants, kerosene and LPG. A 10% levy was proposed for refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners for the sake of the environment and economy. Other taxes included excise duty and sales tax on alcohol and tax revision on other items like silk fabric, furniture and power chainsaw to reduce demand for imports and thus help control the foreign exchange outflows.? ?

After the presentation, the House deliberated and endorsed the Operational Resources of the Budget for the Financial Year 2010-11 and Supplementary Budget Appropriation Bill for the Financial Year 2011-12. The National Council will continue deliberations on the Tax Revision Bill and Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2012-13 on 2^nd July 2012.

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Source: http://bt.nykom.com/2012/06/28/minister-for-finance-presents-budget-bill-in-the-national-council/

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Florida State extends Martin's contract through 2015

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Source: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120629/FSU06/120629013

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GEDI chip sorts prostate cancer cells

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Posted: Jun 28th, 2012

Posted: Jun 27th, 2012

Posted: Jun 26th, 2012

Posted: Jun 27th, 2012
GEDI chip sorts prostate cancer cells
(Nanowerk News) The future of prostate cancer therapy may lie in a tiny, "sticky" silicon chip dubbed GEDI (Geometrically Enhanced Differential Immunocapture, pronounced like the "Star Wars" forces of good) that can identify and collect cancer cells from a patient's bloodstream.
A team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and Cornell's College of Engineering in Ithaca has built the chip into a device that captures an unprecedentedly high concentration of rare cancer cells from metastatic prostate cancer patients for a quick, noninvasive analysis to determine the efficacy of the patients' current chemotherapy. The ability to collect a relatively pure sample of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) may also enable research to better understand the biology of metastasis and develop new treatments, the researchers said.

The "sticky" square patch (middle) of the GEDI device contains the purest collection of circulating tumor cells in the blood. The rest of the blood cells are discarded in the capsule.
Their work is described in a paper in the April 2012 issue of the journal PLoS ONE ("Functional Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells with a Prostate-Cancer-Specific Microfluidic Device"), and was announced in a press conference at Weill by Brian Kirby, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; David Nanus, M.D., the Mark W. Pasmantier Professor of Hematology and Oncology in Medicine; and Evi Giannakakou, associate professor of pharmacology. The team includes 12 other researchers from both campuses.
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from the place where it first started -- in this case, the prostate -- to another place in the body, most commonly the lungs, bones and liver. Metastasis accounts for the majority of cancer-related deaths.
"We need to be able to match the drug to the patient and the tumor," said Nanus. But tumor cells habitually mutate and develop a resistance to a previously effective therapy. In the case of prostate cancer, three drugs are in common use, but the most effective one varies with the patient and the particular cancer.
Metastasis is believed to be caused by cells that detach from the primary prostate tumor, circulate in the bloodstream and seed new tumors. Extensive clinical research shows that a reliable CTC count is a strong predictor of overall survival in metastatic prostate cancer patients. However, since the incidence of CTCs can be very small -- one CTC per 100 million blood cells -- pure CTC capture is difficult.
"This really is a needle in a haystack," Kirby emphasized.

On the GEDI chip, blood flows through an array of posts just a few millionths of a meter in diameter, coated with antibodies that stick to cancer cells. Each row of posts is offset from the one before by a distance that causes the larger cancer cells to collide with them - and stick on - more often, while other cells in the blood flow smoothly past
Cell-capture devices now in use contain antibodies that bind to an antigen found on the surface of nearly all malignant prostate cancer cells. But these antibodies also bind to other cells in the bloodstream and can collect a highly impure sample.
On the GEDI chip, a milliliter (mL, one-thousandth of a liter) of blood is pumped through a nanoscale channel filled with tiny posts just a few microns (millionths of a meter) in diameter, coated with antibodies. Successive rows of posts are offset in a carefully calculated way so that only cells larger than 15 microns will collide with the posts and stick to them, while most smaller cells flow smoothly around them.
"Most cancer cells are bigger and more rigid than normal cells, so it's about tricking these cancer cells into colliding with the sticky walls," Kirby explained.
After the test the chip is removed from the device and the captured cells extracted for analysis. In an experiment with a blood sample containing 200 mL of CTCs and 5 billion blood cells, the device captured a whopping 170mL of CTCs and only 91mL of irrelevant blood cells.
The GEDI device is scheduled to go into clinical trial this year. Meanwhile, the researchers are actively working on detectors for breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.
The research is one of several joint Ithaca-New York City projects associated with the Cornell Center for Microenvironment and Metastasis, a $13 million National Institutes of Health-funded Physical Sciences-Oncology Center created to use physical techniques and processes to improve understanding and care of metastatic cancer in patients.

Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=25741.php

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Thursday, June 28, 2012

Alaska debris said to be from 1952 Air Force crash

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Mississippi Personal Injury Accidents Resulting Catastrophic Burn ...

Burn injuries are categorized by the severity of the burn.? A first degree burn is the mildest form of burn and impacts only the epidermis, which is the surface layer of skin.? While a first degree burn can be red and cause discomfort, these burns are essentially the equivalent of sunburns.? Second degree burns (partial thickness burns) are more serious because they involve not only the surface layer of skin but also the dermis, which is the skin underneath the surface layer.? If you do not obtain appropriate medical treatment for a second degree burn, it can develop into a third degree burn, which is extremely serious.? Third degree burns (full thickness burns) impact the skin all the way through to the hypodermis layer and take a prolonged period to heal because of the severity of the damage to multiple layers of skin tissue and other bodily structures.? Third degree burns cause charring of the skin and may result in extensive disfigurement often requiring skin grafts and extensive psychological therapy to cope with the trauma.

Smoke inhalation injuries are another serious type of fire related injury.? Smoke inhalation injuries are extremely serious and can occur with even a brief exposure to fire.? When a person breathes in extremely hot air, gases and particulate matter present in the smoke created by a fire, it can cause burning or swelling of the air passages and the lungs.? In structural fires and gasoline fed motor vehicle fires, carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation can prove fatal.

While many presume that the likelihood of being involved in a fire is minor, fire departments throughout the U.S. respond to a fire every twenty seconds.? If you are one of those victims who were injured in a fire caused by a motor vehicle accident, unsafe product, industrial accident or any other negligent conduct, the experienced Mississippi catastrophic burn injury attorneys at Barrett Law may be able to help you obtain the compensation you need for reconstructive surgery and emotional support to cope with the devastating injury and severe emotional trauma of severe burn injuries.

Experienced Mississippi Burn Injury Lawyers Providing Passionate Advocacy for Victims

If you suffer a serious burn injury caused by the negligence of a third party, our experienced and compassionate team of Mississippi catastrophic burn injury attorneys can guide you through the challenges of dealing with legal complexities and insurance hassles.? We recognize that you may be feeling bewildered by excruciating pain, overwhelming stress and staggering financial obstacles, but we are? available to evaluate your Mississippi burn injury case and advise you of your right to pursue a legal claim.? We have successfully represented thousands of injury victims throughout Mississippi so we urge you to call so that we can evaluate your claim and fight for your future.? At Barrett Law, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.? Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Personal Injury Cases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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Cities grow more than suburbs, first time in 100 years

WASHINGTON?? For the first time in a century, most of America's largest cities are growing at a faster rate than their surrounding suburbs as young adults seeking a foothold in the weak job market shun home-buying and stay put in bustling urban centers.

New 2011 census estimates released Thursday highlight the dramatic switch.

Driving the resurgence are young adults, who are delaying careers, marriage and having children amid persistently high unemployment. Burdened with college debt or toiling in temporary, lower-wage positions, they are spurning homeownership in the suburbs for shorter-term, no-strings-attached apartment living, public transit and proximity to potential jobs in larger cities.

While economists tend to believe the city boom is temporary, that is not stopping many city planning agencies and apartment developers from seeking to boost their appeal to the sizable demographic of 18-to-29-year olds. They make up roughly 1 in 6 Americans, and some sociologists are calling them "generation rent." The planners and developers are betting on young Americans' continued interest in urban living, sensing that some longer-term changes such as decreased reliance on cars may be afoot.

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The last time growth in big cities surpassed that in outlying areas occurred prior to 1920, before the rise of mass-produced automobiles spurred expansion beyond city cores.

New Orleans, which saw its population shrivel in the mid-2000s due to Hurricane Katrina, saw the biggest rebound in city growth relative to suburbs in the last year, 3.7 percent vs. 0.6 percent. Atlanta, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, N.C., also showed wide disparities in city growth compared to suburbs.

Other big cities showing faster growth compared to the previous decade include Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Seattle.

"I will never live in the suburbs," said Jaclyn King, 28, a project director at a Denver hospital. King, who grew up in the Denver suburb of Littleton and attended Columbine High School, still remembers her parents' 45-minute train commute to the city each day for work. She now rents a Denver house with her fianc?e.

"I just like being connected to everything down here ? concerts, work, restaurants, all of it. This is where everything's at," said King, who biked 6 miles to her job on a recent morning.

Businesses are taking notice. "Companies are really seeking to meet the need of younger people who are choosing to live in cities," said Royal Shepard, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ in New York, who tracks the residential and commercial real estate market. The ratings agency has a "positive fundamental outlook" on residential real estate investment trusts, particularly those with holdings in multifamily apartment buildings, citing in part a demographic shift.

"The recession hit suburban markets hard. What we're seeing now is young adults moving out from their parents' homes and starting to find jobs," Shepard said. "There's a bigger focus on building residences near transportation hubs, such as a train or subway station, because fewer people want to travel by car for an hour and a half for work anymore."

Katherine Newman, a sociologist and dean of arts and sciences at Johns Hopkins University who chronicled the financial struggles of young adults in a recent book, said they are emerging as a new generation of renters due to stricter mortgage requirements and mounting college debt. From 2009 to 2011, just 9 percent of 29- to 34-year-olds were approved for a first-time mortgage.

"Young adults simply can't amass the down payments needed and don't have the earnings," she said. "They will be renting for a very long time."

The numbers are based largely on an analysis of census estimates as of July 2011 for cities and "primary cities," defined as boundaries of incorporated divisions and closely interrelated adjacent areas, by William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. They are supplemented with data from the New York Federal Reserve as well as Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire.

Primary cities in large metropolitan areas with populations of more than 1 million grew by 1.1 percent last year, compared with 0.9 percent in surrounding suburbs. While the definitions of city and suburb have changed over the decades, it's the first time that growth of large core cities outpaced that of suburbs since the early 1900s.

During the mid-decade housing boom, city growth came close to a standstill as the wide availability of low-interest mortgages pushed new residential development outward.

Will it hold?
In all, city growth in 2011 surpassed or equaled that of suburbs in roughly 33 of the nation's 51 large metro areas, compared to just five in the last decade.

"City growth in recent years clearly has ramped up faster than suburban growth has declined, suggesting an increased attractiveness of cities," Frey said. "The real question is, will cities continue to hold their own when the suburban housing market picks up? Cities that market themselves well to young people and that offer job growth, cultural amenities and access to rapid transit are likely to see continued growth."

In Denver, for instance, civic leaders have been actively promoting their city to young, educated professionals ages 25 to 34, touting in brochures the city's "walkable urbanism" including a newly formed Theatre District, pedestrian walkways, high-rise apartments, bicycle lanes and a variety of sidewalk cafes and restaurants.

Similar efforts have been under way in other larger cities across the U.S., including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., seeking to turn excess city asphalt to greenery with new planters, small parks and pedestrian plazas.

In recent years, the share of 16- to 39-year-olds with driver's licenses has declined markedly. The suburb also is no longer a refuge from poverty, now surpassing cities in numbers of poor people.

Still, some economists aren't so certain "generation rent" will last. They point to practical considerations such as better schools in the suburbs, continued government tax breaks for home ownership and subsidies for travel in rural areas, as well as rapidly rising downtown rents, that are likely to push young adults to the suburbs once they sort out decisions about jobs, kids and finances.

Symm Vafeades, 33, isn't so sure. Growing up in Denver, he briefly moved outside the city as an adult to experience suburban life. Before long, though, he was back in town. Vafeades said he likes being able to stop at his favorite shop for iced coffee and a breakfast burrito on his way to work instead of sitting in traffic. His commute to his job as an architect clocks in at just 2 miles.

"I much prefer living in the city," Vafeades said. "There's just a lot more you can do without having to drive everywhere."

Other findings:

?Roughly 52 of the 73 cities with population of greater than 250,000 showed faster annual growth (or slower rates of losses) in 2011 than their average growth over the last decade. Cities switching from declines to gains included Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.

?Texas dominated the list of the 15 fastest-growing large cities from April 2010 to July 2011, including Round Rock, Austin, Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Denton, McAllen and Carrollton.

?The city of Chicago added nearly 9,000 people last year compared to annual losses of roughly 20,000 in the last decade, having benefited as fewer moved to the outlying exurban areas of Will and Kendall counties. Detroit saw much smaller losses last year, a sign that its 25 percent decline over the past decade has bottomed out.

?New York remained the most populous city at 8.2 million, followed by Los Angeles and Chicago. The 15 most populous cities were unchanged since the 2010 census with the exception of Austin, Texas, which moved up from 14th to 13th, supplanting San Francisco.

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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

What Is the Average Cost of a Wedding?

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OSX Lion and Proxy Server - Talk Photography

anyone had any experience of using a proxy in lion?

having a few issues that Apple forums/google isnt really helping with.

first off the "system pref -> network -> ethernet -> proxies" settings would not save, every time you went back in the details were blank again. managed to get this sorted by creating a new network connection and disabling the old.

however now the username and password specified in the proxy settings is not being passed to the web filter.

seems like a common issue but no answers.

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Controversial singing vet gets the boot on 'AGT'

By Bruna Nessif, E! Online

Virginia Sherwood / NBC

Country crooner Timothy Michael Poe, the Army veteran who made headlines after he exaggerated his military record on "America's Got Talent," is now out of the running on the reality competition.

We're sure this made some people happy. Country crooner and former soldier Timothy Poe won over America's hearts after his initial audition for "America's Got Talent" when he shared that he was injured in combat, but quickly lost credibility when his injuries couldn't be proven.

And although many viewers were bothered to see Poe continue with the show, they won't need to worry about that any longer.

MORE: Howard Stern: Let viewers decide whether Tim Poe should stay on "America's Got Talent"

Poe sang George Strait's "The Chair" on Tuesday night's episode in hopes of being one of the top 48 to move forward with the competition, but the judges didn't let that happen.

Follow @TODAY_Clicker

But it wasn't the controversy surrounding Poe's claims that caused his dismissal.

GALLERY: "You're Out!" Reality TV sendoffs

Tuesday night's elimination was filmed last month, before people started questioning what really happened in Afghanistan, so it was strictly based on his performance.

Are you glad to see Tim Poe go home? Share your thoughts on his controversial stint on the show and his ouster on our Facebook page.

Related content:

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'AGT's' singing vet says he's 'truly sorry' for 'incomplete facts'
'Got Talent' judge Howie Mandel doesn't think vet will be kicked off
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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Video: Bone marrow donors eligible for compensation

>>> back now with a story of a victory for a woman, a mother whose daughters are facing a terrible fate, unless they receive bone marrow transplants. tonight after an uphill fight, she's changed federal law , and in the process, perhaps even modern medicine . an update on her successful fight tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman .

>> reporter: doreen flynn is a mother on a mission. her three daughters all suffer from a disease, a genetic disorder that destroys bone marrow and increases the risk of cancer. the only treatment is a bone marrow transplant .

>> as a mom, i'm willing to do whatever it takes to help make that possible.

>> whatever it takes, including changing the law.

>> you only need to register one time.

>> reporter: to encourage more people to donate bone marrow , doreen wants them to get paid. that breaks a longstanding law, that makes it illegal for donors to profit from their gift of life .

>> any family out there that has a sick child, parent, brother, sister that is awaiting a zoner, they find out they get a donorer, and all of a sudden that donor pulls out for some odd reason. that's heartbreaking.

>> reporter: to minimize the chance of heartbreak, she sued the federal government in a landmark case . the u.s. attorney general will not pursue the case with the supreme court , thus making a lower court 's ruling law.

>> this decision is a total game changer. right now, any donor, doctor, patient across the country can use compensation in order to get more marrow donors.

>> reporter: donors would receive not cab, but coupons for goods and services for as much as $3,000. for doreen flynn whose eldest daughter received a bone marrow transplant a month ago this is a sweet victory . but her fight is far from over.

>> i cried at fist, because i never thought we'd get this far. they were happy tears, and the twins still need a transplant. i also think of them as well. she really had no choice.

>> reporter: a victory she sees for her family, and those she doesn't know.

>> i feel very proud about it. i want to do something good in my life, i feel this is a huge accomplishment for that.

>> 75% of marrow donors can donate, just by getting their blood drawn after taking medication that separates the stem cells from the rest of the blood. it's easily, relatively painless and takes about three or four hours. the voucher system, devil in the details .

>> while we have you, a story i noticed today about the investigation into a possible link between stress and early onset dementia?

>> this is a pilot program that's going to go on in england. they're trying to figure out the learning between stress and depression, and whether those two things can speed up the development of alzheimer 's. we've known for a long time that there are triggers that can take a predementia state and kick it into alzheimer 's. with blood and saliva samples and find the stressors that may in fact make alzheimer 's start sooner.

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Real Estate Buyers Discover Mexico's Hidden Jewel as Two ...

Published: 25 June 2012 - Written by admin in section: Buying

United Country Real Estate, CDR Debut Office in San Miguel de Allende

KANSAS CITY, Mo.?(BUSINESS WIRE)?Often compared to Santa Fe, N.M., and Aspen, Colo., in the United States, San Miguel de Allende is valued as one of the most unique and desirable areas of Mexico by retirees and vacationers. That said, not many Mexican citizens have discovered this fantastic area of the country yet.

This is a monumental signing in United Countrys history and a huge step in developing its presence with our friends south of the border

Changing that will be the focus of a recent partnership that has formed between United Country Real Estate, the leading lifestyle real estate company in the U.S., and local market real estate leader CDR of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

We want to help consumers discover this amazing and totally unique area of Mexico, says Jim Dolan of United Country CDR. Once people begin to understand the lifestyle that we lead here, they will find it extremely attractive. San Miguel was recently named the fourth-best city in the world by U.S. magazine Travel and Leisure.

Jean Paul Pelletier, Mexico master franchisor with United Country Real Estate, signed an agreement with Dolan and Howze to have exclusive rights to two states in Mexico Guanajuato and Quertaro. San Miguel will be their first office under the United Country CDR franchise agreement, followed by additional offices in the coming years.

By joining one of the largest networks of real estate agents and auctioneers, we can offer our clients more options when it comes to the best approach to buying or selling a particular property, said Nancy Howze. The one-of-a-kind marketing program allows us to introduce more buyers to the area.

This is a monumental signing in United Countrys history and a huge step in developing its presence with our friends south of the border, said Mike Duffy, president of United Country Real Estate.

United Country CDR can be contacted by phone at 832-895-6068 (from the U.S.) or 011-52-415-154-5106 / 154-7809, email at nancy@cdrsanmiguel.com, and their full listings can be viewed online at www.sanmiguelmexicorealestate.com.

About United Country

See the rest here:
Real Estate Buyers Discover Mexico?s Hidden Jewel as Two Leading Firms Join Forces

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Former foe of gay marriage in California now favors unions

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A key witness for lawyers seeking to defend California's ban on same-sex marriage in federal court in 2010 has changed his view on the subject, and pronounced his support for giving gay unions social recognition.

David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values think tank, wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times he now believes the time for "denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over."

"Whatever one's definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness," Blankenhorn wrote in a piece published on Friday.

In 2010, Blankenhorn was the final witness called to defend California's ban on gay marriage, which was passed by voters in the state in 2008 in a ballot measure called Proposition 8. Six states and the District of Columbia now allow same-sex marriage.

Blankenhorn began his testimony by asserting that the best environment for children is to live in a house led by a man and a woman.

But in a surprise to observers of the trial, Blankenhorn seemed to concede certain points to gay marriage advocates under persistent cross-examination from veteran litigator David Boies, who helped launch the legal challenge to Proposition 8.

Blankenhorn said on the witness stand he believed "adopting same-sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children."

In his New York Times opinion piece, Blankenhorn maintained gay marriage "has become a significant contributor to marriage's continuing deinstitutionalization."

"I have written these things in my book and said them in my testimony, and I believe them today," he wrote in the piece. "I am not recanting any of it."

CHANGE OF HEART

But Blankenhorn went on to argue that he has changed his view due in part to the public's coming to believe gay marriage is about accepting gays and lesbians "as equal citizens."

"And to my deep regret, much of the opposition to gay marriage seems to stem, at least in part, from an underlying anti-gay animus," Blankenhorn wrote. "To me, a Southerner by birth whose formative moral experience was the civil rights movement, this fact is profoundly disturbing."

Chad Griffin, president of the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, applauded Blankenhorn's change of heart.

"His experience wrestling with the issue of marriage equality and coming out on the right side of history will be an inspiration to millions of fair-minded Americans who are in the same place," Griffin said in a statement.

Representatives from the National Organization for Marriage and Focus on the Family, two prominent groups opposed to same-sex marriage, could not be reached for comment.

Officials from the National Organization for Marriage have argued gays and lesbians should not force society to redefine marriage, and that recognizing same-sex weddings could endanger the freedom of expression of places of worship that oppose it.

President Barack Obama last month announced his support for same-sex marriage, after previously voicing his opposition to it during his 2008 campaign for president.

His change of stance on the issue galvanized the gay rights movement, and set Obama on the opposite side of the question from presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who is against same-sex marriage.

In the federal court case in which Blankenhorn testified in 2010, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled to overturn California's gay marriage ban on the grounds that it violated due process and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.

The ban remains in place while its supporters appeal Walker's ruling, which this year was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but could ultimately be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Todd Eastham)

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Supreme Court Year in Review

I see this as a fairly small but still significant step in expanding the definition of cruel and unusual punishment?the Eighth Amendment standard for declaring a sentence off limits. It?s incremental because two years ago, the court ruled unconstitutional mandatory LWOP for teenagers who commit crimes other than murder. Today, the court simply extended the reasoning of that ruling, Graham v. Florida, to teenage killers. Not surprising, right? Especially since the whole idea behind Graham was that minors are less culpable than adults in part because their brains aren?t fully developed. Once again today, the court relied on the research of Laurence Steinberg at Temple University, whose studies of the adolescent brain have been crucial to this line of cases. Steinberg has found that teenagers tend to have less impulse control and more proclivity for risk, and as Kagan says, these findings mean the court?s decisions rest ?not only on common sense?on ?what any parent knows??but on science and social science as well.?

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Gene mutations cause massive brain asymmetry

ScienceDaily (June 24, 2012) ? Hemimegalencephaly is a rare but dramatic condition in which the brain grows asymmetrically, with one hemisphere becoming massively enlarged. Though frequently diagnosed in children with severe epilepsy, the cause of hemimegalencephaly is unknown and current treatment is radical: surgical removal of some or all of the diseased half of the brain.

In a paper published in the June 24, 2012 online issue of Nature Genetics, a team of doctors and scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, say de novo somatic mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation are likely culprits for causing hemimegalencephaly, though perhaps not the only ones.

De novo somatic mutations are genetic changes in non-sex cells that are neither possessed nor transmitted by either parent. The scientists' findings -- a collaboration between Joseph G. Gleeson, MD, professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego; Gary W. Mathern, MD, a neurosurgeon at UC Los Angeles' Mattel Children's Hospital; and colleagues -- suggest it may be possible to design drugs that inhibit or turn down signals from these mutated genes, reducing or even preventing the need for surgery.

Gleeson's lab studied a group of 20 patients with hemimegalencephaly upon whom Mathern had operated, analyzing and comparing DNA sequences from removed brain tissue with DNA from the patients' blood and saliva.

"Mathern had reported a family with identical twins, in which one had hemimegalencephaly and one did not. Since such twins share all inherited DNA, we got to thinking that there may be a new mutation that arose in the diseased brain that causes the condition," said Gleeson. Realizing they shared the same ideas about potential causes, the physicians set out to tackle this question using new exome sequencing technology, which allows sequencing of all of the protein-coding exons of the genome at the same time.

The researchers ultimately identified three gene mutations found only in the diseased brain samples. All three mutated genes had previously been linked to cancers.

"We found mutations in a high percentage of the cells in genes regulating the cellular growth pathways in hemimegalencephaly," said Gleeson. "These same mutations have been found in various solid malignancies, including breast and pancreatic cancer. For reasons we do not yet understand, our patients do not develop cancer, but rather this unusual brain condition. Either there are other mutations required for cancer propagation that are missing in these patients, or neurons are not capable of forming these types of cancers."

The mutations were found in 30 percent of the patients studied, indicating other factors are involved. Nonetheless, the researchers have begun investigating potential treatments that address the known gene mutations, with the clear goal of finding a way to avoid the need for surgery.

"Although counterintuitive, hemimegalencephaly patients are far better off following the functional removal or disconnection of the enlarged hemisphere," said Mathern. "Prior to the surgery, most patients have devastating epilepsy, with hundreds of seizures per day, completely resistant to even our most powerful anti-seizure medications. The surgery disconnects the affected hemisphere from the rest of the brain, causing the seizures to stop. If performed at a young age and with appropriate rehabilitation, most children suffer less language or cognitive delay due to neural plasticity of the remaining hemisphere."

But a less-invasive drug therapy would still be more appealing.

"We know that certain already-approved medications can turn down the signaling pathway used by the mutated genes in hemimegalencephaly," said lead author and former UC San Diego post-doctoral researcher Jeong Ho Lee, now at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. "We would like to know if future patients might benefit from such a treatment. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our results could prevent the need for such radical procedures in these children?"

Co-authors are My Huynh, department of Neurosurgery and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Mattel Children's Hospital, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA; Jennifer L. Silhavy, Tracy Dixon-Salazar, Andrew Heiberg, Eric Scott, Kiley J. Hill and Adrienne Collazo, Institute for Genomic Medicine, Rady Children's Hospital, UC San Diego and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Sangwoo Kim and Vineet Bafna, Department of Computer Sciences, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego; Vincent Furnari and Carsten Russ, Institute for Medical Genetics, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles and Department of Pediatrics, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA; and Stacey B. Gabriel, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the Daland Fellowship from the American Philosophical Society, the National Institutes of Health (grants R01 NS038992, R01 NS048453, R01 NS052455, R01 NS41537 and P01 HD070494), the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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Boosting blood system protein complex protects against radiation toxicity

ScienceDaily (June 24, 2012) ? New research in Nature Medicine shows that boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning.

Scientists in the multi-institutional study -- posted online by the journal on June 24 -- say their findings open the potential for new treatments against radiation toxicity during cancer treatment or environmental exposures -- such as in a nuclear explosion or accident.

By identifying a target-specific intervention to protect the hematopoietic system against radiation toxicity, the study addresses a largely unmet challenge, according to the researchers.

"These findings suggest that pharmacologic augmentation of the activity of the Thbd-aPC pathway by recombinant Thbd (thrombomodulin) or aPC (activated protein C) might offer a rational approach to the mitigation of tissue injury and lethality caused by ionizing radiation," the scientists write in their manuscript. "Recombinant human aPC has undergone extensive clinical testing in patients, and recombinant soluble human Thbd is currently being investigated for efficacy in antithrombotic therapy in humans. Our data encourage the further evaluation of these proteins for their radio-mitigating activities."

The study reveals a previously unknown function of the Thbd-aPC pathway in radiation mitigation. The pathway is normally known for its ability to prevent the formation of blood clots and help the body fight infections. The researchers found the pathway helps blood cells in the bone marrow recover from injury caused by radiation exposure. They demonstrated that pharmacologic boosting of this pathway with two drugs tested for the treatment of thrombosis or infection (recombinant Thbd and aPC respectively) can be used in mice to prevent death caused by exposure to lethal doses of radiation.

In all instances of treatment with recombinant soluble Thbd or aPC, the result was accelerated recovery of hematopoietic progenitor cell activity in bone marrow and a reduction in the harmful effects of lethal total body irradiation. When treatment was with aPC, these benefits occurred even when treatment was delayed for 24 hours.

The scientists caution their study involves early laboratory research in mice, so it remains to be tested how the findings may translate to human treatment. Researchers also need to determine exactly why the protective function of the targeted Thbd-aPC protein pathway seems to work so well in mice.

Researchers noted that the protective benefits of Thbd-aPC occurred only in vivo in irradiated mouse models. The researchers reported that overexpressed Thbd in irradiated laboratory cell cultures did not offer the same protective benefits, as the cells did not survive. This indicates the protective benefits of Thbd on blood making cells in irradiated mouse models depends on the help of additional cells or molecules in the body, which the researchers are trying to identify in a follow-up study.

The study involves extensive multi-scientist collaborations that combined previously independent lines of research by groups at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Ulm, Germany (led by Hartmut Geiger, PhD, Division of Experimental Hematology/Cancer Biology and the Department of Dermatology/Allergic Diseases); the University of Arkansas, Little Rock (led by Martin Hauer-Jensen, MD, PhD, Division of Radiation Health, the College of Pharmacy and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System); the Blood Research Institute in Milwaukee, Wis. (led by Hartmut Weiler, PhD); and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. (led by John H. Griffin, PhD, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine).

The research team said the current study exemplifies a global shift to multi-investigator projects that allow a combination of varied expertise by scientists tackling complex problems from the perspective of their respective fields. This approach requires the willingness of investigators to share unpublished data and engage in an open collaboration. The researchers also said the study underscores the importance of continued federal funding for leading edge basic research that can benefit human health.