Last night, during Sandy, Fort Greene was whipped by winds and rain. My house shook, and eventually a painting fell off the wall. Horizontal rain blacked out the windows at times, and atmospheric noises ranged from a guttural hum to an unsettling mechanical squeak. That was about it for doom, though, and all of it peanuts compared to what happened elsewhere in Brooklyn and in the other boroughs. When I woke up, our neighborhood was much the same, except that a beloved corner deli had lost its awning. Not so for friends and family in Manhattan; I?ve spent over forty years in the city and I?ve never seen Avenue C underwater.
According to veloroutes, my house in Fort Greene is seventy-five feet above sea level. Fort Defiance, an excellent Red Hook restaurant, is elevated above the sea by only sixteen feet. From a Facebook post by the restaurant?s owner, St. John Frizell: ?We got about six inches of water in the dining room, and the basement was completely submerged.? Hot Bird, a popular bar in Clinton Hill, is eighty-two feet above sea level, and sustained no major damage. You get the idea.
Marathon runners know exactly how much the city goes up and down. Check this chart from the 2005 N.Y.C. marathon and you?ll see that the second half of the race, which runs through Fort Greene, averages well above fifty feet above sea level. This pdf of the rebranded ING marathon path shows, similarly, that as the race moves deeper into Brooklyn, around 15-K, the elevation increases.
Avenue C and Red Hook are close to the water, so what happened there wasn?t exactly unexpected. But when mayhem like Sandy comes to town, much of what you know about the city goes out the window. The corner of Canal and Hudson?which flooded, as seen in this fantastic New York Times graphic?isn?t that close to the water (about forty feet above sea level) and the water in question wasn?t clearly rainfall or tidal overflow. Was it just backed up sewage? And why did the Con Ed substation on Fourteenth Street kinda sorta blow up? Flooding and airborne debris are both suspects. The apocalypse thrives on confusion. Brooklyn was supposed to be more vulnerable with all of our power lines on poles, intermingling with trees. Manhattan?s subterranean cables were supposed to be safe from harm. Well.
We do know a few things. On The Nation?s Web site, Mike Tidwell wrote about the variables that are making Sandys more likely, and more common:
Oceans worldwide are projected to rise as much as three more feet this century?much higher if the Greenland ice sheet melts away. Intense storms are already becoming much more common. These two factors together will in essence export the plight of New Orleans, bringing the Big Easy ?bowl? effect here to New York City and Washington, as well as to Charleston, Miami, New York and other coastal cities.
Governor Andrew Cuomo put it more bluntly at a press conference today: ?We have a hundred-year flood every two years now.?
Real-estate agents won?t have as much luck selling river views, and may end up appealing to fear, that reliable unit-shifter. On Craiglist, next to pitches like ?Granite Kitchen, X-bRICK, hardwood floors,? expect to see ?elevation 80 and above!!!? As amateur experts on French medieval history already know, ?holding the high ground is critical.? Look for Trump to build his next apartment block on Battle Hill, allegedly the highest point in Brooklyn. Or he can just put Manhattan on his hair.
Photograph by Ruddy Roye. See a slide show of Roye?s coverage of Sandy at Photo Booth.
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Two lads from Ghent University in Belgium, Karel Bruneel and Benjamin Schrauwen, got tired of the traditional tools used to build electronics manufacturing. Rather than rage silently at their breadboards, the created Circuits.io, a website that lets you create circuits in Chrome and view the rendered PCB.
He speaks openly about his early competitive days, personal life and plans for the next year.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the East Coast Monday, some companies decided to postpone quarterly earnings reports scheduled for release early this week as financial markets shut down.
Among the companies postponing the announcement of their financial results include Pfizer Inc., Thomson Reuters and NRG Energy Inc.
Pfizer says it will now report its third-quarter earnings on Thursday. Thomson Reuters and NRG Energy will report their third-quarter results on Friday. Acorda Therapeutics Inc. will now announce its results on Wednesday.
U.S. financial markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and CME Group in Chicago, planned a rare shutdown Monday.
Sandy has the potential to wreak havoc over 800 miles from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.
Stealth Survival: The Well-Dressed Survivalist - Part One skip to main | skip to sidebar
The Well-Dressed Survivalist - Part One
Every well-dressed survivalist knows the importance of proper headwear. Whether it?s to conserve heat loss in the winter or to keep you from frying your brain in the summer, the proper headwear can make a big difference. There are numerous hats and caps that are available to provide the proper protection. It could be anything from a straw hat to a wool cap. The important thing to remember is that no well-dressed survivalist goes anywhere without some form of head covering for protection. A decent head cover can also provide the opportunity to carry some extra gear such as cordage or fishing gear for use in an emergency.Staying above the water line!
In this Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 photo. A rebel fighter throws a homemade grenade towards Syrian army troops on the frontline in the Bustan Al-Pasha neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Syria's air force fired missiles and dropped barrel bombs on rebel strongholds while opposition fighters attacked regime positions, flouting a U.N.-backed cease-fire that was supposed to quiet fighting over a long holiday weekend but never took hold. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras).
In this Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 photo. A rebel fighter throws a homemade grenade towards Syrian army troops on the frontline in the Bustan Al-Pasha neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. Syria's air force fired missiles and dropped barrel bombs on rebel strongholds while opposition fighters attacked regime positions, flouting a U.N.-backed cease-fire that was supposed to quiet fighting over a long holiday weekend but never took hold. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras).
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens gather in front of a damaged building that destroyed by a car bomb, at Jaramana neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, Monday Oct. 29, 2012. A Syrian government official says a car bomb in a Damascus suburb has killed 10 people. The official said the blast on Monday in Jaramana also wounded 41 people and caused heavy damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. (AP Photo/SANA)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens gather next to cars that were destroyed by a car bomb, at Jaramana neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, Monday Oct. 29, 2012. A Syrian government official says a car bomb in a Damascus suburb has killed 10 people. The official said the blast on Monday in Jaramana also wounded 41 people and caused heavy damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. (AP Photo/SANA)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens and security forces, gather next of a damaged car that was destroyed by a car bomb, at Jaramana neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, Monday Oct. 29, 2012. A Syrian government official says a car bomb in a Damascus suburb has killed 10 people. The official said the blast on Monday in Jaramana also wounded 41 people and caused heavy damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. (AP Photo/SANA)
In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens search damaged shops that were destroyed by a car bomb, at Jaramana neighborhood, in Damascus, Syria, Monday Oct. 29, 2012. A Syrian government official says a car bomb in a Damascus suburb has killed 10 people. The official said the blast on Monday in Jaramana also wounded 41 people and caused heavy damage. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. (AP Photo/SANA)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian warplanes launched 60 airstrikes against rebel targets around the country on Monday, the most intense air raids across the country since the uprising began 19 months ago, according to anti-regime activists. The suburbs of the capital Damascus were particularly hard hit.
Activists said at least 500 people were killed over the four-day period ending Monday when a U.N.-backed truce was supposed to be in effect. They said the death toll for Monday so far has reached 80.
A government official said a car bomb killed 10 people on the outskirts of Damascus and TV footage showed firemen fighting the blaze amid wide destruction after parts of balconies fell on cars parked on a residential street. As smoke billowed, a woman was seen running away with children from the area of the blast and electricity cables dangled from poles. Activists said the air raids were launched both before and after the car bomb and were still under way.
Another car bomb exploded in a Damascus neighborhood where rebels are active, and state-run news agency said there were many casualties.
Monday was supposed to be the fourth and final day of a U.N.-backed cease-fire to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest periods on the Muslim calendar. But the truce was violated almost as soon as it was supposed to take effect on Friday and violence continued unabated over the holiday weekend.
The army warned late Sunday night that it will strike "remnants of terrorists with an iron fist" after they "repeatedly violated the cease-fire." The regime of President Bashar Assad often refers to those waging the uprising as "terrorists."
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said airstrikes on Monday were by far higher than on any other day since the conflict began in March last year.
"Today has seen the most intense air raids across Syria since the start of the uprising," he said, estimating there were more than 60 airstrikes nationwide by early afternoon Monday.
He said the Syrian military was trying to compensate for recent losses on the ground with airstrikes.
Muhieddine Lathkani, a London-based member of the Syrian National Council opposition group, said the air attacks were a result of the regime's "total despair" and reflect the military's inability to recapture areas it lost to the rebels.
Mohammed Saeed, an activist based in the Damascus suburb of Douma, said members of the rebel Free Syrian Army were shooting at the planes but failing to bring them down.
A Syrian official said the car bomb in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana also wounded 41 people and heavily damaged shops and apartments in the area heavily inhabited by Christians and members of the Druse minority sect.
The Observatory also reported clashes and shelling in other parts of the country including the northwestern province of Idlib that borders Turkey, where it said warplanes carried out 11 air raids on several villages. Amateur videos showed warplanes in the skies, then giant mushroom clouds of smoke after the missiles hit.
On Friday, at least 15 people were killed in a Damascus car bomb, state media said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep disappointment at the collapse of the cease-fire and urged more unity from the international community. Speaking in South Korea, he said the U.N. is trying to ease Syria's humanitarian woes and find a political solution to the crisis.
He called for an immediate halt to the fighting and said other countries and the United Nations need to do more to help.
"I am deeply disappointed that the parties failed to respect the call to suspend fighting. This crisis cannot be solved with more weapons and bloodshed," he said. "I remain committed to doing all I can to make this happen. As long as the international community remains at odds, the needs, attacks and suffering will only grow."
U.N. International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters in Moscow that the failure of the cease-fire will not discourage him and his supporters.
"So we will continue to work as hard as we possibly can, in cooperation with everybody inside of Syria and outside of Syria to bring the level of violence, put an end to it," he said.
In Turkey, state-run Anadolu news agency said the Turkish forces fired artillery in response to a stray shell fired from Syria that landed across the northern border. The shell landed some 300 meters (yards) away from the Turkish border village of Besaslan. No one was injured, but a power line was destroyed.
With the unraveling of the cease-fire, it's unclear what the international community can do next. The holiday truce marked the first attempt in six months to reduce the bloodshed in Syria, where activists say more than 35,000 people have been killed in 19 months.
In Turkey, about 150 members of the Syrian opposition met Monday to plan for a post-Assad future, discussing the immediate challenges of managing parts of the northern Idlib province, sections of the city of Aleppo, the country's largest, and other areas that are held by rebels. Long-term planning will focus on constitutional and legal reform, laws on elections and political parties and how to build a modern national army.
Delegates to the three-day meeting at a hotel on the outskirts of Istanbul included members of Syrian rebel groups as well as the country's Kurdish minority. Abdelbaset Sieda, president of the Syrian National Council, said the Syrian regime, which he described as a "criminal group," was losing its grip on power and that the opposition must be prepared to rebuild the devastated country.
"The transitional phase has started now," Sieda said. "That's what we're witnessing clearly today in many of our cities and villages."
Contact: Chrissa Kioussi Chrissa.kioussi@oregonstate.edu 541-737-2179 Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. A group of researchers in Israel, the United States and other nations have made important advances in the rapidly-expanding field of "regenerative medicine," outlining for the first time connections in genetic regulation that normally prevent birth defects in heart and facial muscles.
Some of these problems are surprisingly common about 1 percent of all people have a congenital heart defect. This basic research will provide a road map to ultimately allow scientists to grow the cell types needed to repair such defects, from stem cells that can be generated from a person's own body.
The findings were published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Advances in regenerative medicine and developmental biology can now happen because we no longer require human embryos to generate stem cells," said Chrissa Kioussi, a co-author on the study and associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. "The Nobel Prize this year was awarded to people who discovered how to make stem cells from adult biopsies."
Patient-derived stem cells can in principle be turned into any needed cell type, Kioussi said. The key is understanding the exact regulatory process than tells cells what type they are supposed to turn into, she said, such as a cell on the outside of the left ventricle of the heart.
"Once we understand these genetic controls in sufficient detail, we can not only turn a skin cell into a stem cell, but also turn that stem cell into the type needed for the patient to recover," Kioussi said. "We may eventually be able to grow replacement organs from the patient's cells."
In this study, researchers identified four specific "transcription factor" genes that control processes related to heart and head muscle formation. When there are defects in this process, the result can be death or a range of debilitating problems, from cleft palate to facial malformations and defective heart valves.
"There are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, but only 2,000 of the genes describe transcription factors," Kioussi said. "These transcription factors control the output of genes, the genetic machinery. They collectively determine which of the 20,000 possible molecular machines is actually deployed in each particular cell type."
Scientists have found that these transcription factors don't work alone to define cell types in mammalian development they function in small, self-stabilizing combinations of at least two or three.
The process moves rapidly after conception, and within one month most of the cells in the body "know" their cell type, based on the precise combination of transcription factors produced within them. When researchers understand how these stable transcription factor combinations get generated, they will know how to artificially generate these combinations in stem cells to convert them into the needed cell types.
Mammalian embryonic development is a process of self construction, a series of transitions of "temporary" cell types on the way to adult cell types. A fertilized egg is essentially a stem cell with the potential to become any other cell type. At each intermediate stage, the "temporary" cell types become more restricted in what they can become, until they ultimately achieve and maintain the adult type.
"In this work and in regenerative medicine, we care a great deal about all of these steps of cell differentiation," Kioussi said. "If you know all the steps it takes to get from here to there, you can identify what went wrong and find ways to fix it. This is being done already with some disease problems, and this work will move us closer to being able to repair heart and craniofacial defects."
The task is complex, Kioussi said, but very possible. Although there are 100 trillion cells in the human body, there are only about 100 adult cell types. Understanding and influencing the genetic specification of those cell types is possible and will probably revolutionize the treatment of many defects and diseases, Kioussi said.
This work was supported by the European Research Council, the Israel Science Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and other agencies. The lead author was Eldad Tzahor at the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel, and other collaborators were from universities and agencies in the United Kingdom, India and Spain.
###
Editor's Note: A digital image of a cross-section of a mouse brain is available online: http://bit.ly/Tf60xO
By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
Contact: Chrissa Kioussi, 541-737-2179 or Chrissa.kioussi@oregonstate.edu
[ | 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.
Contact: Chrissa Kioussi Chrissa.kioussi@oregonstate.edu 541-737-2179 Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. A group of researchers in Israel, the United States and other nations have made important advances in the rapidly-expanding field of "regenerative medicine," outlining for the first time connections in genetic regulation that normally prevent birth defects in heart and facial muscles.
Some of these problems are surprisingly common about 1 percent of all people have a congenital heart defect. This basic research will provide a road map to ultimately allow scientists to grow the cell types needed to repair such defects, from stem cells that can be generated from a person's own body.
The findings were published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Advances in regenerative medicine and developmental biology can now happen because we no longer require human embryos to generate stem cells," said Chrissa Kioussi, a co-author on the study and associate professor in the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. "The Nobel Prize this year was awarded to people who discovered how to make stem cells from adult biopsies."
Patient-derived stem cells can in principle be turned into any needed cell type, Kioussi said. The key is understanding the exact regulatory process than tells cells what type they are supposed to turn into, she said, such as a cell on the outside of the left ventricle of the heart.
"Once we understand these genetic controls in sufficient detail, we can not only turn a skin cell into a stem cell, but also turn that stem cell into the type needed for the patient to recover," Kioussi said. "We may eventually be able to grow replacement organs from the patient's cells."
In this study, researchers identified four specific "transcription factor" genes that control processes related to heart and head muscle formation. When there are defects in this process, the result can be death or a range of debilitating problems, from cleft palate to facial malformations and defective heart valves.
"There are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, but only 2,000 of the genes describe transcription factors," Kioussi said. "These transcription factors control the output of genes, the genetic machinery. They collectively determine which of the 20,000 possible molecular machines is actually deployed in each particular cell type."
Scientists have found that these transcription factors don't work alone to define cell types in mammalian development they function in small, self-stabilizing combinations of at least two or three.
The process moves rapidly after conception, and within one month most of the cells in the body "know" their cell type, based on the precise combination of transcription factors produced within them. When researchers understand how these stable transcription factor combinations get generated, they will know how to artificially generate these combinations in stem cells to convert them into the needed cell types.
Mammalian embryonic development is a process of self construction, a series of transitions of "temporary" cell types on the way to adult cell types. A fertilized egg is essentially a stem cell with the potential to become any other cell type. At each intermediate stage, the "temporary" cell types become more restricted in what they can become, until they ultimately achieve and maintain the adult type.
"In this work and in regenerative medicine, we care a great deal about all of these steps of cell differentiation," Kioussi said. "If you know all the steps it takes to get from here to there, you can identify what went wrong and find ways to fix it. This is being done already with some disease problems, and this work will move us closer to being able to repair heart and craniofacial defects."
The task is complex, Kioussi said, but very possible. Although there are 100 trillion cells in the human body, there are only about 100 adult cell types. Understanding and influencing the genetic specification of those cell types is possible and will probably revolutionize the treatment of many defects and diseases, Kioussi said.
This work was supported by the European Research Council, the Israel Science Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and other agencies. The lead author was Eldad Tzahor at the Weizman Institute of Science in Israel, and other collaborators were from universities and agencies in the United Kingdom, India and Spain.
###
Editor's Note: A digital image of a cross-section of a mouse brain is available online: http://bit.ly/Tf60xO
By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
Contact: Chrissa Kioussi, 541-737-2179 or Chrissa.kioussi@oregonstate.edu
[ | 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.
Another update to Windows Phone 8 that's been announced today is a new feature in the People Hub called Rooms. This allows Windows Phone 8 users to parcel up their contacts so they send group messages to particular sub-sets of people, share location, calendars, shared to-do lists and more.
We are in the post-PC era, and soon billions of consumers will be carrying around Internet-connected mobile devices for up to 16 hours a day.?Mobile audiences have exploded as a result.
Mobile advertising should be a bonanza, similar to online advertising a decade ago. However, it has been a bit slow off the ground, and its growth trajectory is not clear cut.
In a?new report?from?BI?Intelligence?on the mobile advertising ecosystem,?we?explain the complexities and fractures, and examine the central and dynamic roles played by mobile ad networks, demand side platforms, mobile ad exchanges, real-time bidding, agencies, brands, and new companies hoping to upend the traditional banner ad.
Access The Full Report And Data By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >>
Here?s an overview of some major players in the mobile advertising ecosystem:
Mobile ad networks:?Mobile ad networks aggregate advertising inventory and match it with advertisers, much as online ad networks do.?Networks soak up ad inventory, analyze its potential, and sell it by matching it to advertisers? needs.?Where networks differentiate is in value-added services, such as aggregating buying power to strike better deals, or improve targeting.?The largest ad networks have their own sales forces reaching out to advertisers, as well as their own campaign optimization technology.?
Demand side platforms (DSPs):?These function similarly to ad networks, in the sense that they help match advertisers with inventory, but tend to work hand-in-glove with brands.?DSPs are complementary to the ad network business because they more richly describe mobile audiences.?But once DSPs start hiring their own staff to sell ad inventory, the complementarity could end, and DSPs would compete more head-on with ad networks.
Mobile ad exchanges: ?Exchanges automate many parts of the mobile ad process, and can connect publishers with multiple ad networks.?Ad exchanges are primarily supply-facing at the moment, and have relatively few interactions with mobile ad agencies (even less so with brands).?Agencies are disincentivized from using exchanges because they threaten their lucrative role as the brands? media buyers.
Mobile Ad Agencies and Mobile Marketing: ?One of the gripes you often hear around the mobile ad industry is that agencies don?t get it.?According to the U.K.?s Association of Online Publishers, 55 percent of publishers blamed ?agencies? attitude? for low mobile ad revenues. That may be changing. Several people we talked to said agencies are doubling down on mobile, and competency is improving.
Natives:?Other companies are emerging that don?t neatly fit the established categories.?They resemble ad networks in that they connect advertisers with publishers? inventory, but they express disdain for the traditional mobile advertising model.?These companies are trying to find a native approach to mobile advertising that will break through consumers? apparent disdain for mobile ads. We call them ?the natives.?
In full,?the?report:
To access BI Intelligence?s full reports on The Mobile Advertising Ecosystem, sign up for a free trial subscription here.
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Join the conversation about this story ?
Tags: complementarity, dynamic roles, Ecosystem, era, ground, growth trajectory, hand in glove, Internet-connected, Mobile, mobile advertising, network business, online, optimization technology, report, Result, side, time bidding, traditional banner, Upend, value added services
Updated 12:13 a.m. ET? ?Hurricane Sandy has been?renamed a "post-tropical cyclone," but still packs hurricane-force winds, the National Hurricane Center said Monday night. After making landfall at?Atlantic City, N.J., the storm has inundated the Eastern Seaboard and is making its way inland. Here,?a look at what you're seeing.
ATHENS (Reuters) - A major Greek newspaper reprinted the names of more than 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts on Monday and the editor who first published the list was to go on trial for violating data privacy laws.
Ta Nea devoted 10 pages to the list of accounts said to hold some 2 billion euros until 2007, a sum that riveted austerity-hit Greeks, angry at the privileges of politicians and an elite seen as having enriched themselves at the country's expense.
The list, given to Greece by French authorities in 2010, contains the names of 2,059 Greek account holders at HSBC in Switzerland to be probed for possible tax evasion.
It has been dubbed the "Lagarde List" after Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund who was the French finance minister when the list was handed over.
The centre-left daily said that despite publishing the same list released by the weekly magazine Hot Doc it was not leaping to any conclusions about "its content nor the connotations it evokes in a large part of the public."
It did not say why it had decided to reprint the list and stressed there was no evidence linking any one on the list to tax evasion.
Costas Vaxevanis, editor of "Hot Doc" that first went to print with the list, was due in court later on Monday on misdemeanor charges. He could face up to two years in prison if convicted.
"Ta Nea is publishing the list today. Will they be prosecuted? A month ago it published a list of the tax returns of celebrities. Charges weren't filed," Vaxevanis wrote on his Twitter account.
"Today, it's not Hot Doc that's on trial but press freedom in Greece, and truth," Vaxevanis said.
The magazine says the list, which includes well-known political and business figures, was sent to it anonymously and authorities have not confirmed if the list was authentic.
MUZZLING THE MEDIA
Greek authorities have said there is no evidence that people included in the list have violated the law, but former ministers have come under fire in Greek media for not investigating the list for suspected evaders.
"He published a list of names without special permission and violated the law on personal data," a police official said on Sunday following the arrest of Vaxevanis.
"There is no proof that the persons or companies included in that list have violated the law. There is no evidence that they violated the law on tax evasion or money laundering," the official added.
Court officials said the names of two politicians on the list have been referred to parliament for investigation, and the accounts controversy has highlighted deep divisions in a country now in its fifth straight year of recession, where austerity measures have taken a heavy toll on poorer sections of society.
In a video sent to Reuters by his magazine, Vaxevanis defended his actions and said his prosecution was an attempt by the authorities to muzzle the press.
"I did nothing other than what a journalist is obliged to do. I revealed the truth that they were hiding," he said. "If anyone is accountable before the law then it is those ministers who hid the list, lost it and said it didn't exist. I only did my job. I am a journalist and I did my job."
"Tomorrow in parliament they will vote to cut 100-200 euros in pay for the Greek civil servant, for the Greek worker, while at the same time most of the 2,000 people on the list appear to be evading tax by secretly sending money to Switzerland."
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ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) ? Researchers have learned how a human-made molecule destroys complexes that induce allergic responses -- a discovery that could lead to the development of highly potent, rapidly acting interventions for a host of acute allergic reactions.
The study, published online Oct. 28 in Nature, was led by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Bern, Switzerland.
The new inhibitor disarms IgE antibodies, pivotal players in acute allergies, by detaching the antibody from its partner in crime, a molecule called FcR. (Other mechanisms lead to slower-developing allergic reactions.)
"It would be an incredible intervention if you could rapidly disconnect IgE antibodies in the midst of an acute allergic response," said Ted Jardetzky, PhD, professor of structural biology and senior investigator for the study. It turns out the inhibitor used by the team does just that.
A myriad of allergens, ranging from ragweed pollen to bee venom to peanuts, can set off IgE antibodies, resulting in allergic reactions within seconds. The new inhibitor destroys the complex that tethers IgE to the cells responsible for the reaction, called mast cells. Severing this connection would be the holy grail of IgE-targeted allergy treatment.
The first time a potential allergen enters the body, some people respond by making allergen-specific IgE antibodies. These antibodies stick around long after the initial allergen is cleared from the body. Most of the antibodies get snagged by IgE-specific receptors called FcRs, which are exposed on the surface of mast cells. The mast cells are then primed to react the next time a person encounters the allergen.
Dissociation of this IgE-FcR interaction is a sought-after goal of allergy treatment for a good reason: IgE-coated mast cells are grenades of histamine, and re-encountering the allergen is equivalent to pulling out the clip. When an allergen makes a return visit, it binds to the pre-loaded IgE on the mast cell surface, triggering the release of inflammatory mediators -- including histamine -- that promote the allergic response. As allergy sufferers are well aware, these nasty reactions can occur within a matter of seconds. In a severe allergic response, sudden anaphylactic shock and death can be the result.
The key to actively disabling the allergic response lies in the separation of IgE from the FcRs on the surface of mast cells. But separating these dangerous couples is a tall order because their interaction is extremely stable -- sensitizing the mast cells for weeks. Currently available treatment using omalizumab (an anti-IgE antibody sold under the trade name Xolair) can block new interactions between IgE and FcR, but it is not designed to pry the molecules apart once they've formed a bond on the surface of a mast cell. So Xolair can dampen the allergic response, but as stated on the product's website: "Xolair is not a rescue medicine and should not be used to treat sudden asthma attacks."
While simply blocking IgE binding is helpful for some allergy sufferers, when it comes to the rapid quenching of an acute allergic response, "what you'd really like to do is get rid of it," said Jardetzky. Along with scientists at the University of Bern, his team discovered that an engineered protein inhibitor called DARPin E2-79 stripped IgE from the mast cell receptor. Using this inhibitor, "an interaction that normally lasts for hours or days in terms of its stability is stripped off in a matter of seconds," said Jardetzky.
DARPin E2-79 is one of a family of engineered inhibitors containing protein-binding regions called ankryin repeats. While Jardetzky's group was using structural biology and biophysical approaches to probe the weak spots in the IgE-FcR interaction, scientists at the University of Bern were tinkering with DARPins that dampened IgE's disastrous effects. The collaboration of the two groups resulted in the characterization of DARPin E2-79, an inhibitor that goes beyond mere blockade to actively disassemble the IgE-FcR power couple.
Jardetzky's group solved E2-79'S structure and used this information to model its interaction with the IgE-FcR pair. Then, using sensitive biochemical techniques that detect step-by-step binding interactions between molecules, the teams were able to tease out the mechanism that the inhibitor uses to break the IgE-FcR bond.
The researchers found that E2-79 hastens the separation of the two molecules by taking advantage of a moment of weakness in the relationship between IgE and FcR. IgE maintains its interaction with FcR using two contact points, and occasionally one of these points releases while the other one keeps the pair together. Normally this brief looseness isn't enough to separate the couple, but E2-79 can swoop into the small space between them, effectively driving the couple apart.
While E2-79 is the first molecule to display these IgE stripping characteristics, Jardetzky hopes that this work will stimulate the discovery of smaller compounds capable of working even more efficiently. Drug developers generally expect large macromolecules like E2-79 to be less potent than small molecule inhibitors and unlikely to be able to disrupt complexes, so the fact that E2-79 worked so well was a surprise. Small molecules are more amenable to oral administration, and are easier and cheaper to manufacture than large macromolecules. "Now we're in the hunt for a small molecule that could have this kind of activity. That would be the real hit," said Jardetzky.
The discovery of E2-79's mechanism of IgE inhibition could lead to rapid discoveries from other labs as well. Now that scientists know what mechanism to look for, they may be inspired to dig back through freezers full of IgE inhibitors that were identified years ago, said Jardetzky. In the light of techniques described in this study, perhaps once-neglected inhibitors will show new promise in the treatment of allergic disease.
The study's primary authorship was shared between Beomkyu Kim, PhD, a Stanford graduate student, and Alexander Eggel, PhD, at the University of Bern. The other Stanford co-author is research assistant Svetlana Tarchevskaya.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Asthma Foundation and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University Medical Center. The original article was written by Jessica Shugart.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Beomkyu Kim, Alexander Eggel, Svetlana S. Tarchevskaya, Monique Vogel, Heino Prinz, Theodore S. Jardetzky. Accelerated disassembly of IgE?receptor complexes by a disruptive macromolecular inhibitor. Nature, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nature11546
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad Oct. 27, 2012. Two blasts hit a Baghdad Shi'ite neighborhood and a bus full of Iranian pilgrims on Saturday, killing at least 30 people on the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival, police and hospital sources said.
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By Reuters
BAGHDAD ? Bombings on Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and a blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus killed more than 30 people on Saturday, marring Iraqi celebrations of the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival.
Violence in Iraq has eased sharply, but Sunni Islamist insurgents and al-Qaida's Iraq wing often target Shiites in an attempt to stir up the kind of sectarian tensions that dragged the country close to civil war in 2006-2007.
Two car bombs exploded on Saturday, one ripping into a restaurant in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City and killing at least 23 people, police and hospital sources said.
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"I was just selling fruit and we were surprised by a huge explosion on the other side of the street," Hassan Falih Shami, a grocery stall owner near the site of the blast. "You can see pools of blood, the shoes and pieces of clothing."
Hours earlier, a roadside bomb planted near an open-air market killed seven people, including three children at a playground. Another blast killed six people when it hit a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims to a Baghdad shrine, police and hospital officials said.
Police said the attack on the Iranian pilgrims came from a bomb that had been attached to their bus. It exploded around 300?yards from a police checkpoint, sending the bus out of control before it flipped over on its side.
Insurgents have carried out at least one major attack a month since the last U.S. troops left in December. Iraqi officials worry Syria's crisis is bolstering Iraqi insurgents.
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The monthly death toll from attacks in Iraq doubled in September to 365, the highest number of casualties in two years, including a series of bombings targeting Shiite neighborhoods that killed more than 100 people.
Security officials had said they believe insurgents would try to carry out a large attack during the religious holiday, which started on Friday.
Car bombs exploded and mortars landed around the Shiite neighborhood of Shula, northwestern Baghdad, on Tuesday killing eight people and wounding 28, and another person was killed by a mortar round in Kadhimiya area.
Reporting by Raheem Salman; Writing by Patrick Markey
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"Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings, out of 300 million, that are are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!"
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pakistani politician Imran Kahn, a vocal critic of U.S. drone strikes, was briefly delayed and questioned by U.S. immigration officials in Toronto before being allowed to board a flight to New York, prompting his party to demand an apology from Washington.
Khan told his followers on Twitter that he was detained and interrogated Friday about his views on drones.
A State Department official confirmed Khan had been briefly detained, but said the former Pakistani cricket star was later released to go the United States. "The issue was resolved and Mr. Khan is welcome in the United States," the official said.
Ali Zaidi, senior vice president of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, demanded an apology from U.S. authorities for their two-hour questioning of Khan and his traveling companions, as well as a thorough investigation.
The State Department gave no details about why Khan was detained. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said it was prohibited from discussing specific cases.
Khan, who led a protest march to northern Pakistan this month to protest U.S. drone strikes, vowed to continue opposing the deadly attacks. "Nothing will change my stance," he said.
"I was taken off from plane and interrogated by U.S. Immigration in Canada on my views on drones. My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop," Khan tweeted on Friday afternoon.
Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said the politician arrived safely in New York on Friday, the first day of the Muslim Eid-al-Adha holiday, after the delay at the Toronto airport and went directly to a fundraising lunch.
Zaidi, of the party, said the incident violated ethical and diplomatic norms and the Pakistani government should complain to the U.S. embassy in Islamabad.
Calling Khan "a celebrated national hero" and a "global icon of colossal stature," Zaidi wrote on the party's website that to "subject him to such clumsy and vicious treatment speaks volumes about the exasperation induced in the American ranks by his heroic and patriotic-minded opposition to the drone program."
In an email, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency declined to comment on the case, but said travelers who wanted to enter the United States bore the burden of proof to establish that they were eligible for admission, and that included overcoming "ALL grounds of inadmissibility."
Pakistani authorities earlier this month stopped a protest led by Khan from entering the troubled region of South Waziristan, a tribal area frequently hit by drone strikes.
Khan blames the Pakistan government for allowing the United States to operate in the country, and has said he will order the Pakistani air force to shoot the unmanned planes down if he wins next year's elections in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, Khan led a march to northern Pakistan to protest the drone strikes, which have killed between 2,600 and 3,400 Pakistanis, according to the independent London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Some Pakistanis say Khan is fanning anti-American sentiment to bolster his political career and criticize him for refusing to condemn atrocities by the Taliban or Pakistani army.
Others praise him for reaching out to Pakistan's northern tribal areas and say he is standing up for a war-ravaged population ignored by mainstream politicians.
The United States says the strikes have killed top Taliban and al Qaeda commanders and that civilian casualties are minimal. But it has not said how targets are selected or how the military determines whether the dead were fighters or civilians.
(Reporting by Katherine Houreld in Islamad and Andrea Shalal-Esa in Washington; Editing by Vicki Allen)
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Another update to Windows Phone 8 that's been announced today is a new feature in the People Hub called Rooms. This allows Windows Phone 8 users to parcel up their contacts so they send group messages to particular sub-sets of people, share location, calendars, shared to-do lists and more.
