Thursday, February 28, 2013

How Computers Can Learn: For Starters, Chuck the Silicon

Just how stupid is your computer? The short answer is that it?s really, really stupid. The longer answer is that it?s stupider than a slime mold. The protoplasmic microbe known as the Physarum polycepharum can move from place to place by what?s known as shuttle streaming, which is a very fancy way of saying, well, oozing ? and one of the places it can ooze with surprising ease is through a maze. Put a food source at the beginning and end of a microscopic maze and, after eight hours of trial and error, the organism can change its shape so its front and back ends can both reach the goodies ? and by the shortest route possible too. In its own primitive way, through mindless chemical signals that respond only to the presence of nutrient, the slime mold learns ? something your computer will never, ever do.

Learning has always been what separates the nimble carbon-based information processing system from the rigid ? if powerful ? silicon one and has made the long-dreamed-of concept of artificial intelligence so elusive. The weakness of computer intelligence is also its central strength: its binary intelligence. No matter how big or powerful the system, all information is stored as nothing more than a series of on-off signals on microtransistors. There?s no high-charge, low-charge, sort of off, sort of on ? a universe of nuance that?s forever lost on the machine.

This is in sharp contrast to the way the synapses behave in the human or animal brain. Each neuron is synaptically connected to thousands of others around it, and the signals that run through them can vary in unlimited ways. They can be sudden and powerful (the house-shaking bam! of the first clap of thunder you hear as a baby) or they can be subtle and repetitive (the signature footfalls of the adults outside your bedroom that you must hear again and again before you distinguish mom?s from dad?s from the sitter?s). We learn instantly or in tiny increments, indelibly or forgettably, and all of this is encoded by electrochemical signals that run through our synaptic networks in an infinite variety of strengths and directions, changing the brain in the process ? which is what we mean by learning in the first place.

(MORE: Why Your Smartphone Will Be Your Next PC)

But the computer?s woeful lack of learning skills might be slowly changing, if, as engineers hope, the transistor can be replaced by what is known as the memristor ? or memory resistor. The concept of a memristor ? a logic gate that works like a human neuron ? has been around for decades, but as a new paper in the Journal of Physics, by physicist Andy Thomas of Germany?s Bielefeld University, points out, we might actually be getting close to putting theory into practice.

Last year, Thomas and his colleagues developed a memristor just to satisfy themselves that the thing could, in its primitive way, behave like a neuron in the brain. Like all memristors, it consisted of a charge-resistant nanomaterial sandwiched between two electrodes ? and that was pretty much it. But there?s magic in that resistance.

While traditional computers can do things with astonishing speed, every time they repeat the same task is like the first time. That?s because when transistors are done with the task, their on-off, binary circuits are, essentially, wiped clean. A memristor does things differently. When a current flows through it in one direction, it increases its resistance to the charge; a current flowing the other way causes resistance to decrease. And when the current goes off, the last level of resistance is preserved. The memristor, essentially, remembers that final charge.

(MORE: Lessons Learned From the New York Times-Tesla Motors Dustup)

?A memristor can store information more precisely,? Thomas said in a press release. ?[It delivers] the basis for the gradual learning and forgetting of an artificial brain.?

The new paper does not so much break new ground in engineering ? the memristor Thomas and his colleagues have this year is the same as the one last year ? but it does explain the audacious claim that a web of the things could eventually operate like a brain. For starters, there?s a flexibility that allows memristors to learn in different ways. A charge of a particular intensity for a particular time will produce a particular level of resistance ? and a charge of half the resistance for twice the time will produce the same level. This is a very brain-like way to operate. You can study distractedly for four hours to get ready for tomorrow?s test, or you can concentrate twice as hard and need just two hours to learn the same material.

A network of interconnected memristors can practice localized learning as well, which also mimics the brain. Every nerve cell in every lobe of your brain might ultimately be connected to every other one, if only via very circuitous routes, but that doesn?t mean that the whole massive network lights up when a charge goes through a single area. One set of circuits can have you humming a tune while other circuits are letting you draw a picture or work in the garden or do nothing at all. This kind of so-called input-specifity, Thomas reports, has also been observed in memristor systems, with only target pathways activated while adjacent ones remain still.

(MORE: North Korea to Allow Mobile Internet to Foreigners)

What?s more, memristors have the power to ignore, allowing current to pass only when a certain voltage threshold is achieved and blocking it if the level falls too low. That?s the key to the selective attention that allows you to read or think or watch a movie and either not notice or soon tune out distracting thoughts or sounds or smells round you.

Finally, memristors are energy efficient. A big computer brain with lots and lots of chips requires lots and lots of power ? since every transistor on every chip may eventually require a charge. But when the whole point of your system is to resist a charge, you run small and cool instead of big and hot. ?The need for less power is particularly obvious,? writes Thomas, ?if we compare the performance of the brain of even an invertebrate with a CPU and contrast power consumption.?

Silicon computers aren?t going anywhere soon ? or maybe even ever. The fact is, they do steam-shovel work like data processing and complex calculations infinitely better and faster than humans do. The subtler stuff ? the learning and creating and even imagining ? is so far limited to us. But it?s that so-far part that might be the key.

(MORE: China?s Red Hackers: The Tale of One Patriotic Cyberwarrior)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/computers-learn-starters-chuck-silicon-130053836.html

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'Pretty in Pink' came out 27 years ago

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, NBC News

Children of the 1980s, you remember "Pretty in Pink." Molly Ringwald's bizarre home-sewn prom dress. "His name is Blane? That's a major appliance, that's not a name!" ?"What's this? We don't have a candy machine in the boys' room!" "WHAT ABOUT PROM, BLANE?"

The 1986 John Hughes classic came out 27 years ago Thursday, meaning that had Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) actually stayed together with either rich pretty boy Blane McDonnagh (Andrew McCarthy) or (our preference) quirky best friend Duckie Dale (Jon Cryer), they might even have kids of their own by now. Possibly adult kids. Maybe even a grandkid.

Everett Collection

"Pretty in Pink" came out 27 years ago Thursday.

Some say "Pretty in Pink" pales next to some of Hughes' other work, such as "Sixteen Candles" or "The Breakfast Club," but there's no doubt it's made its mark on pop culture. Years ago, Jon Cryer told TODAY.com that he's played Alan Harper on "Two and a Half Men" for years, but when he walks down the street, fans who recognize him never yell "Alan!" They always yell, "Duckie!"

In 2012, Jimmy Fallon asked Cryer if the beloved character couldn't be resurrected for a "Duckie Holiday Speclal." Cryer wasn't so sure, pointing out the innate uncoolness of his alter ago. "People forget that Duckie wore lederhosen!" he admonished.

And when McCarthy's memoir came out last fall, TODAY anchor Savannah Guthrie asked him if he felt it was true that Duckie was better for Andie than his own character of Blane. "That is an outrageous theory," McCarthy joked.

It's famously known that "Pretty in Pink" was supposed to end with Andie leaving Blane and ending up back with Duckie, her faithful, fashionable friend. But that ending was reportedly rejected by a test audience (someone find these people and interrogate them about what they were thinking), so Andie got the "happy" ending with richie Blane.

And perhaps that's as it should be. As much as we support Duckie's eternal faithfulness and fire, a 2012 TODAY.com poll showed that a slight majority of readers chose Blane over Duckie anyway. So let's pretend they're content, whoever and wherever they are. And happy anniversary.

Duckie or Blane? Take our new poll, and tell us what you think on Facebook.

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17132395-pretty-in-pink-characters-now-old-enough-to-have-kids-of-their-own?lite

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Horse meat sold in beef products in Hungary - watchdog

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Horse meat labelled as beef has been sold in Hungary, the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nebih) said on Tuesday.

Gyorgy Pleva, director of Nebih told television channel TV2 that the authorities were looking into three separate cases of suspected horse meat found at the retail and wholesale level.

"Horse meat certainly got into (shops)," he said, adding that all the shipments investigated by the authority took place last year.

Horse meat has been found in beef products across Europe in recent weeks, damaging confidence in the continent's vast and complex food industry.

A small amount of hamburger meat containing horse meat was sold last summer in a Hungarian restaurant, Pleva said, without disclosing the origin of the product.

The Hungarian distributor of food brand Nowaco will withdraw a lasagne product in a few days, which is suspected of containing horse meat, he added.

"What we can say is that even if there is such a product, that will be taken off from the shelves within days," he said.

DNA tests in the Czech Republic have shown that two batches of frozen Nowaco Lasagne Bolognese in a branch of the Tesco supermarket chain contained horse meat, and authorities said the products listed Luxembourg as the country of origin.

Pleva said another lasagne product, which was made in Hungary, was also being probed based on a report from Denmark, the intended destination of the product. He did not clarify whether this product got into Danish shops and could not immediately be reached for further comment.

(Reporting by Sandor Peto; editing by Jane Baird)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/horse-meat-sold-beef-products-hungary-watchdog-125413422.html

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Deloitte Recognizes Mr. Lube as one of Canada's ... - Franchising.com

VANCOUVER - Feb. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Mr. Lube, Canada's leading quick lube provider, is proud to announce that it has been named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies for 2012 by Deloitte. Mr. Lube was chosen based on their proven ability to create sustainable growth, expand market share and maintain corporate health in a challenging industry landscape.

"We're incredibly honoured to be recognized by Deloitte in this way," stated Stuart Suls , President and CEO, Mr. Lube Canada. "We've worked hard over the past several years to strengthen our culture and business practices, and it's gratifying to be recognized for the work our entire company has put in to ensure that our franchisee family is successful."

Established in 1993, Canada's Best Managed Companies is the country's leading business awards program, recognizing excellence in Canadian-owned and -managed companies with revenues over $10 million. Every year, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of a company's management abilities and practices. They focus on Canadian-owned and managed companies, recognizing overall business performance and sustained growth.

"We certainly could not have gotten to this point without the ongoing engagement of our entire network," added Suls. "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn, and to integrate knowledge and best practices, from our franchisees, partners and suppliers to continually improve our business."

The award will be presented to Mr. Lube at Canada's Best Managed Companies Gala the evening of April 16, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario. For more information on Canada's Best Managed Companies, please visit: https://www.canadas50best.com/.

About Mr. Lube Canada

Mr. Lube Canada is Canada's leading quick lube provider in the routine automotive maintenance sector. The company was founded in 1976 by the Giese family in Edmonton, pioneering a category of automotive servicing that focused on convenience and no appointment necessary. With 121 locations across the country, Mr. Lube is operated by a national network of franchisees. The Canadian owned and operated company maintains corporate offices in Delta, BC and Mississauga, ON to support its national franchise network.

In 2002, Mr. Lube Canada founded the Mr. Lube Foundation to support its corporate goals of giving back to the community. It was the company's belief that supporting those in need in the communities in which they operated was vital to the success of the organization. Today, the Foundation has donated over $4.0 million dollars to national and local charities across the country. For more information about the company, please visit www.mrlube.com.

SOURCE Mr. Lube Canada

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Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20130226_deloitte_recognizes_mr_lube_as_one_of_canadas_best.html

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Copyright Alert System gets started, ISPs ready to lay the smack ...

DNP Copyright Alert System now up and running, ISPs ready to lay the smack down P2P piracy

The fight against online piracy just gained a new weapon in the form of the Copyright Alert System (CAS) aka the "six strikes" policy. Starting today, participating ISPs like Verizon, Time Warner Cable, AT&T and Comcast will begin issuing warnings to customers suspected of using illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing services that violate copyright laws. Initial notifications will be used to educate and direct customers to legal alternative content sources. If the first set of notifications go avoided, the ISP may take further action, which includes: throttling internet connection speeds and redirecting users to websites requiring acknowledgment of CAS alerts.

If a person wishes to contest their ISP's findings, they will have 14 calendar days to request an independent review by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for a fee of $35. If the investigation finds that no copyright violations have taken place, the alerts will be removed from the customer's account and they will receive a refund for the filing fee. However, should the organization's research rule otherwise, the internet service provider may proceed with taking action against its account holder. To get a closer look at the CAS and its inner workings, "redirect" your browser to the source links below.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/copyright-alert-system-now-live/

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Actress Carrie Fisher briefly hospitalized after bipolar episode

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was briefly hospitalized due to her bipolar disorder, the actress' spokeswoman said on Tuesday after video emerged of Fisher giving an unusual stage performance.

The video came from a show Fisher gave aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean last week, according to celebrity website TMZ, which posted the clip.

The clip shows Fisher, 56, singing "Skylark" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," at times appearing to struggle to remember the lyrics. Fisher also appears to use paper to clean up after a small dog that shares the stage with her, and then stuffing the paper into a couch behind her.

"There was a medical incident related to Carrie Fisher's bipolar disorder," Fisher's spokeswoman Carol Marshall said in a statement. "She went to the hospital briefly to adjust her medication and is feeling much better now."

The actress has previously discussed her struggle with bipolar disorder. And in her 2009 memoir "Wishful Drinking," she also described her alcoholism and drug abuse.

Fisher is the daughter of Hollywood stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher and, aside from starring in the first three "Star Wars" films, wrote the bestselling novel "Postcards from the Edge" about an actress recovering from drug addiction. She wrote the screenplay for a 1990 movie adaptation.

She in recent years had a recurring role on the animated comedy "Family Guy" and has guest starred in a number of other television shows.

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/actress-carrie-fisher-briefly-hospitalized-bipolar-episode-025251449.html

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Nokia Lumia 521 bringing Windows Phone 8 pizazz exclusively to T-Mobile

Nokia Lumia 521 bringing Windows Phone 8 pizazz exclusively to TMobile

Neither Nokia nor T-Mobile USA are spilling too many beans on the Lumia 521, but needless to say, it's heading exclusively to Señorita Magenta in the near future. Announced in a blurb here at Mobile World Congress, the Windows Phone 8 handset will connect to T-Mob's HSPA+ network, and the carrier swears that it'll "embody a range of high-end features at an affordable price." Of course, additional details -- including device availability and specifics on pricing -- are being kept under wraps until a heretofore undefined date. We'll be sure to share more as we hear of it.

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Source: T-Mobile USA

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/YWfvI7VPnyQ/

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Liver stem cells grown in culture, transplanted with demonstrated therapeutic benefit

Feb. 25, 2013 ? For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique -- until now.

In the journal Nature, physician-scientists in the Pap? Family Pediatric Research Institute at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Portland, Ore., along with investigators at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research, Utrecht, Netherlands, describe a new method through which they were able to infinitely expand liver stem cells from a mouse in a dish.

"This study raises the hope that the human equivalent of these mouse liver stem cells can be grown in a similar way and efficiently converted into functional liver cells," said Markus Grompe, M.D., study co-author, director of the Pap? Family Pediatric Research Institute at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital; and professor of pediatrics, and molecular and medical genetics in the OHSU School of Medicine.

In a previous Nature study, investigators at the Hubrecht Institute, led by Hans Clever, M.D, Ph.D., were the first to identify stem cells in the small intestine and colon by observing the expression of the adult stem cell marker Lgr5 and growth in response to a growth factor called Wnt. They also hypothesized that the unique expression pattern of Lgr5 could mark stem cells in other adult tissues, including the liver, an organ for which stem cell identification remained elusive.

In the current Nature study, Grompe and colleagues in the Pap? Family Pediatric Research Institute at OHSU Doernbecher used a modified version of the Clever method and discovered that Wnt-induced Lgr5 expression not only marks stem cell production in the liver, but it also defines a class of stem cells that become active when the liver is damaged.

The scientists were able to grow these liver stem cells exponentially in a dish -- an accomplishment never before achieved -- and then transplant them in a specially designed mouse model of liver disease, where they continued to grow and show a modest therapeutic effect.

"We were able to massively expand the liver cells and subsequently convert them to hepatocytes at a modest percentage. Going forward, we will enlist other growth factors and conditions to improve that percentage. Liver stem cell therapy for chronic liver disease in humans is coming," said Grompe.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Oregon Health & Science University.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Meritxell Huch, Craig Dorrell, Sylvia F. Boj, Johan H. van Es, Vivian S. W. Li, Marc van de Wetering, Toshiro Sato, Karien Hamer, Nobuo Sasaki, Milton J. Finegold, Annelise Haft, Robert G. Vries, Markus Grompe, Hans Clevers. In vitro expansion of single Lgr5 liver stem cells induced by Wnt-driven regeneration. Nature, 2013; 494 (7436): 247 DOI: 10.1038/nature11826

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/co-OcQp_tVg/130225153130.htm

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Justices poised to query voting rights focus on South

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Supreme Court last scrutinized the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2009, Justice Anthony Kennedy peered down from the bench and asked why federal rules were tougher for Alabama and Georgia than for Michigan and Ohio.

Chief Justice John Roberts pointedly added that it seemed lawyers defending the rules, which were created to protect black voters, believed that even in modern times "southerners are more likely to discriminate than northerners."

Now four years later, as the landmark law faces another challenge, the skepticism of Roberts and of Kennedy, often the decisive vote on racial dilemmas, is likely to emerge with even greater force.

In the dispute to be heard on Wednesday, the crucial issue is whether Congress may continue to require certain states, mainly in the South, to show that any proposed election-law change would not discriminate against African-American, Latino or other minority voters.

The screening provision known as Section 5 is one of the pillars of the law passed after the notorious "Bloody Sunday" on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, when state troopers attacked civil rights marchers with clubs and tear gas. The act broadly prohibited poll taxes, literacy tests and other rules depriving blacks of the franchise. In the 1960s, such measures existed throughout the nation but were especially common in the South with its legacy of slavery.

The modern relevance of the issues was underscored in the 2012 presidential election campaign when courts nationwide heard civil-rights challenges to newly adopted state voting-districts, voter identification laws, and polling-place limits, for example on hours of early voting. The most restrictive laws ended up being blocked before the November elections.

As the 2009 remarks of Kennedy, Roberts and other justices signaled, the conservative Supreme Court majority is skeptical that today's South still needs special oversight. The new case from Shelby County, Ala., is likely to come down to whether Congress documented sufficient evidence in its 2006 renewal of the law to justify treating different locales differently.

The Obama administration is defending the provision, asserting that the South still needs tough supervision. The court's ruling in one of the most closely watched cases this term could affect federal oversight of a swath of states through 2031 as well as the extent of minority participation in elections in crucial jurisdictions.

Nine designated states (and parts of seven others) must obtain federal approval before making any election-law changes, such as for voter-identification rules or in district boundaries. The nine fully covered states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Conservative advocates and southern officials who have banded together against Section 5 say it is an archaic measure that encroaches on state sovereignty. The U.S. government, backed by civil rights groups, counters that in the case of Shelby County v. Holder that Congress has rightly continued to single out places with the worst bias.

In 2009, the Supreme Court avoided the large question about the scope of Congress's power to remedy discrimination and decided the case from Texas on narrow grounds. But Chief Justice Roberts fired a warning shot about how the court might ultimately rule when he wrote, "Things have changed in the South. Voter turnout and registration rates now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare. And minority candidates hold office at unprecedented levels."

In his brief for the Obama administration defending Section 5, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli acknowledged that "there is no question that ?things have changed in the South' since 1965." But Verrilli stressed that Congress found that states covered by Section 5 were still resisting minority voters' "right to participate in the political process."

He pointed to a federal court's decision last year that Texas legislators had redrawn voting districts along racial lines and disadvantaged minority voters. In separate 2012 actions, judges blocked Texas from imposing a tough voter-ID rule and Florida locales from curtailing an early-voting period. Critics of Section 5 note, however, that in 2012 northern states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania tried to impose voting restrictions that were rejected by courts.

PERPETRATORS TO VICTIMS

When Congress first adopted Section 5 in 1965, it wanted to prevent places with a history of bias from continually imposing new rules that would keep blacks from the polls. As the court observed when it upheld the law against its first challenge, in 1966, Congress found case-by-case litigation costly and inadequate to stop abuses. Congress sought "to shift the advantage of time and inertia from the perpetrators of the evil to its victims," the court observed.

As Congress has repeatedly renewed Section 5, it has retained a coverage formula linked to discriminatory practices of the 1960s and early 1970s. But it has allowed jurisdictions that can show a new, clean record to "bail out" and has extended coverage beyond those states originally covered.

In Shelby County's appeal to the Supreme Court, lawyer Bert Rein says Section 5 and its coverage formula achieved their goals and that Congress failed to document in 2006 the kind of systematic obstruction that originally warranted tough scrutiny.

Still, in Alabama, the U.S. Justice Department has repeatedly and recently blocked proposed electoral changes. One 2008 incident occurred in Shelby County when the city of Calera implemented a redistricting plan that caused the one African American on the city council to lose his seat. After the Justice Department forced Calera to redraw the map with fairer lines, he won his election.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyer Debo Adegbile will represent that council member, Ernest Montgomery, and other Shelby County African Americans, on Wednesday.

Adegbile was at the lectern in 2009, on behalf of African Americans in that Texas case, when Chief Justice Roberts said it appeared the message of Section 5's defenders was that "southerners are more likely to discriminate than northerners."

Adegbile said then, and insists today, that it's not that discrimination does not happen outside Section 5's covered states but that repetitive violations are concentrated in those within its scope. "Voting discrimination continues," Adegbile told Reuters in a recent interview, "particularly in Alabama, and indeed Shelby County's own recent record proves that point."

(Editing by Howard Goller and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/justices-poised-query-voting-rights-focus-south-070823447.html

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EAU Patient Information now available in Spanish and Greek

EAU Patient Information now available in Spanish and Greek [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
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Contact: Monique van Hout
m.vanhout@uroweb.org
31-263-890-680
European Association of Urology

Materials on kidney or ureteral stones can be downloaded free of charge

Greek and Spanish-speaking patients with kidney or ureteral stones can now read EAU Patient Information in their native language. The Endourology, Laparoscopy and Urotechnology Section of the Hellenic Urologic Association (HUA) has provided the Greek translation and the Spanish translation is the result of a collaboration between the Spanish Association of Urology (AEU) and the Dominican Republic Society of Urology (SDU).

EAU Patient Information aims to offer clear and trustworthy information on urological diseases to all European patients. Having the information available in multiple languages and keeping it consistent throughout all of its translations is therefore an essential element of this project. Collaboration is key and the EAU is grateful to the national societies for their commitment to this initiative. In particular, a big thank you goes to Dr. Andreas Skolarikos (Athens, GR), Dr. Diego Rengifo (Madrid, ES), and Dr. David Soriano (Santo Domingo, DR) for coordinating these translations.

With the involvement of the SDU, the Patient Information partner network now reaches beyond the borders of Europe. This is an important step forward. As Dr. Soriano explains: "urolithiasis is a big problem in the Dominican Republic, and the lack of information is a difficulty that both patients and general practitioners encounter, making diagnosis and treatment of the condition more challenging."

"When we heard the EAU was producing medical information aimed at patients and general practitioners, we decided to contact the association and express our interest in participating in this project by translating the contents of the website so that Spanish-speaking people can also access it."

"It was an honour to be acknowledged as part of the team. Now we have current data to show to patients in our office during consultation which makes it easier for us and for the patients to deal with the situation. We hope to encourage other countries to join the initiative because we are sure that many patients worldwide will be very grateful!"

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EAU Patient Information now available in Spanish and Greek [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Monique van Hout
m.vanhout@uroweb.org
31-263-890-680
European Association of Urology

Materials on kidney or ureteral stones can be downloaded free of charge

Greek and Spanish-speaking patients with kidney or ureteral stones can now read EAU Patient Information in their native language. The Endourology, Laparoscopy and Urotechnology Section of the Hellenic Urologic Association (HUA) has provided the Greek translation and the Spanish translation is the result of a collaboration between the Spanish Association of Urology (AEU) and the Dominican Republic Society of Urology (SDU).

EAU Patient Information aims to offer clear and trustworthy information on urological diseases to all European patients. Having the information available in multiple languages and keeping it consistent throughout all of its translations is therefore an essential element of this project. Collaboration is key and the EAU is grateful to the national societies for their commitment to this initiative. In particular, a big thank you goes to Dr. Andreas Skolarikos (Athens, GR), Dr. Diego Rengifo (Madrid, ES), and Dr. David Soriano (Santo Domingo, DR) for coordinating these translations.

With the involvement of the SDU, the Patient Information partner network now reaches beyond the borders of Europe. This is an important step forward. As Dr. Soriano explains: "urolithiasis is a big problem in the Dominican Republic, and the lack of information is a difficulty that both patients and general practitioners encounter, making diagnosis and treatment of the condition more challenging."

"When we heard the EAU was producing medical information aimed at patients and general practitioners, we decided to contact the association and express our interest in participating in this project by translating the contents of the website so that Spanish-speaking people can also access it."

"It was an honour to be acknowledged as part of the team. Now we have current data to show to patients in our office during consultation which makes it easier for us and for the patients to deal with the situation. We hope to encourage other countries to join the initiative because we are sure that many patients worldwide will be very grateful!"

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/eaou-epi022513.php

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Can We Really Stop Bullying?

Little girl crying.

What do you do if your kid is a bully?

Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy is Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon's in-depth look at bullying and a blueprint for how to reduce it. She tells compelling stories from the perspective of both the bullied and the bullies, explores the new world of online bullying, looks deep into the academic literature, and provides answers to the problem. She discussed it all with Slate's ?Dear Prudence? columnist, Emily Yoffe.

Emily Yoffe: What was the most surprising thing your reporting turned up?

Emily Bazelon: One piece of research in particular helped me understand why kids bully?how that can be a rational, if unfortunate, choice. Robert Faris at U.C. Davis mapped social networks in a few different high schools, and he showed that kids behaving aggressively?not physically, but socially?use gossip, exclusion, and attacks on other kids? reputations to help themselves move up the social ladder. It turned out that for most kids, it didn?t work, in terms of increasing status, to attack someone much weaker. But if you picked on someone near you in the social hierarchy who was a possible rival, that often had a social benefit. It is sort of depressing but important to understand, I think. People ask: Why do kids act this way? But kids are doing what anyone would do: maximizing their social influence. So then the question is: How do we upend this?

Yoffe: Is it even realistic to think you can upend it? Aren?t you talking about a pervasive part of human nature?

Bazelon: Aggression is endemic to human nature, and we wouldn?t want to stamp it out. Kids are not always going to be nice to one another. But bullying is a certain kind of harmful aggression. The agreed-upon definition is that it?s verbal or physical aggression that is repeated over time and involves a power differential. It?s one kid lording it over another, and because it persists, the victim can find it particularly devastating. We can help kids realize this kind of aggression is not the norm, and in the end, it?s not the best way to advance socially, either.

One school I write about did a survey, and the results showed that 90 percent of students there did not exclude other kids at the lunch table. So they put this information on posters around the school, and the incidence of exclusion dropped even further. There?s an analogy here to the campaign against drunk driving. When I was in high school, I felt it was a tiny bit cool to drink and drive. There wasn?t a strong message about how dangerous and wrong it was. But parents, schools, and the media have succeeded in impressing that on kids, and now they are less likely to do it?and the death rate from drunk driving among young people has gone down significantly. There are social problems that seem intractable, but when we put energy into pushing back, we are able to change things.

Yoffe: You write about your own experience being bullied in middle school, when you say your friends ?fired? you. Did your parents handle the situation correctly when they told you to ignore the mean girls and make new friends? Or do you now realize there was something else they should have done?

Bazelon: My parents were pretty good. They were clued into what was going on, they didn?t minimize or say I was being silly to be so upset. They gave good advice to make new friends. The notion that you can walk away from a toxic social situation, take yourself out of it, and find a new social group is right, even if it?s hard to do. What my parents didn?t do was ask the school for help. At that time, in the 1980s, I don?t think that would have occurred to many parents. And I probably would have said no if they had wanted to! So in my case, and more tellingly in the case of another girl in my class I write about, who really was bullied, there was no suggestion that this was the school?s affair. If this were happening to my kid, I would try to find someone at school to help. But even now the research shows most kids don?t tell adults at school, and sadly those that do report that their situations don?t necessarily improve. That has to change so that the kids who go for help really get it.

Yoffe: Is there a danger in adults getting too involved in this? Have you found that adults can overreact and then make the kids think of themselves as damaged victims?

Bazelon: Yes, and that?s why I think it?s important to use the bullying label sparingly. Lots of psychological literature shows that seeing oneself only as a victim doesn?t help people advance in life. In a well-intentioned effort to help kids treat one another better, we do have to be careful not to overpolice or overprotect them. They have to make mistakes and experience adversity, and we can?t fix everything along the way. In some upper- and middle-class communities, we can veer too far in that direction. But some real mistreatment does get swept under the rug, so I worry about the opposite problem at the same time.

Yoffe: You write at length about how social media, texting, etc. has changed the nature of bullying. Suddenly the record is permanent, everyone can read the nasty things being said. Has social media made kids meaner? Has it enabled bullying the way the Internet gave new life to the spread of child pornography??

Bazelon: Cyberbullying is mostly a new expression of an old phenomenon. Most kids caught up in it are kids who are also involved in in-person bullying. The cyberbully is not a new creature. And moving online hasn?t caused the rate of bullying to rise, so much as make the meanness feel more prevalent, because it can be 24/7. When kids go home they don?t get a break anymore. Because if they?re going online, they can see what other kids are saying about them at any time, in front of an audience. It can also elevate the meanness. The spoken word is ephemeral, but the written word, once posted, can be permanent and even go viral. Also, the act of posting can block kids? sense of empathy. They can push send without thinking through the consequences. (Adults can, too.)

The upside is that parents have a chance to monitor what their kids are writing and to get clued in. But that?s tricky, too, of course, because parents have to figure out how much to keep track of their kids online. I don?t think there?s much consensus about that. My own feeling is that it?s best to start off stricter, as your kid gets his first phone or social media account. Explain that you?re overseeing this the way you would any whole new world he is entering. And then you can ease up as he gets the hang of it.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8e5cdce269bc245b675fd3fa24b3236e

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2 people injured in Chicago mall disturbance

(AP) ? A manager at a Chicago mall where the boy band Mindless Behavior signed autographs for fans says a disturbance that left two people with minor injuries was "totally unrelated" to the event.

Ford City Mall senior general manager John Sarama says a group of older youths caused Saturday's disturbance, not the young girls and parents who attended the boy band appearance.

Police spokesman Veejay Zala says multiple arrests were made but none for serious charges. He says officers evacuated the mall and closed it for the rest of the day.

Sarama says the Mindless Behavior event ended about 45 minutes before the disturbance. Fans who bought the group's new CD during a pre-sale were given posters for band members to sign.

The group's publicist couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-23-Chicago%20Mall%20Disturbance/id-ee764de463df4f87b465e6a2ae572066

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Star Wars Family Tree ? Design You Trust ? Design Blog and ...

star wars family tree 650x812 Star Wars Family Tree

With the new Star Wars movies on the horizon, it?s time to brush up on your Star Wars lore. Plus, if you?re unfamiliar with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, you may want to familiarize yourself with a few of the characters that arrive on the scene after Return of the Jedi. They might feature in the upcoming movies. But keep in mind that that?s a very big ?might?. So far, we don?t really know what the new movies are going to be about.

Check more infos here.

Source: http://designyoutrust.com/2013/02/star-wars-family-tree/

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Nick Carter: Engaged to Lauren Kitt!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/nick-carter-engaged-to-lauren-kitt/

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TIMELINE: Ford's 100 years in Louisville

Below is a timeline of Ford?s more than 100 years of vehicle production at Ford?s Louisville Assembly Plant, courtesy Ford Motor Company

Louisville Assembly Plant Timeline
1913:? Louisville Ford Sales and Service Branch at 931 South Third Street begins assembly of 12 Model T's per day.

1914:? Construction begun on a new plant at Third and Eastern Parkway.

Jan.? 2, 1916:? Production of Model T begins at new plant.? An average of 53 employees produce 7000 vehicles per year.

June 1918-March 1919:? Plant occupied by the U.S. Army Mechanical and Medical Corps.

April 1923:? An addition increases assembly capacity from 85 to 200 vehicles per day.

Feb. 2, 1925:? A new assembly plant is opened at 1400 Western Parkway.? It has a capacity of 400 cars per day.

1937:? A major flood of the Mississippi River closes the plant for two months when it is submerged under nine feet of water.

Feb. 15, 1942:? Production of GPW 4x4 army trucks begins.? Civilian car production is ceased on February 24 and civilian truck production on March 31.

Sept.? 1945:? Full-scale civilian production resumes.

1953:? Construction begins of the Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road at Grade Lane.? The new plant is part of Ford Motor Company's $1.7 billion postwar expansion program.

April 13, 1955:? The last car is assembled at the old plant.? Transfer of more than 150 truckloads of tools, production equipment and office furniture begins.

April 18, 1955:? The first car produced at the Louisville Assembly Plant is received by Kentucky Governor Lawrence Weatherby.? The plant occupies more than 2 million square feet on a 180-acre site.? It has a capacity of 880 cars and trucks per day, on two shifts.

Oct. 18, 1955:? Louisville Assembly Plant is dedicated.? Ford Division general manager Robert S. McNamara delivers the dedication address.

June 1957:? Edsel production added.

Jan.? 1958:? Heavy truck production added.

Nov.? 15, 1961:? An expansion program to add 90,000 square feet to the Louisville Assembly Plant is announced.

July 30, 1963:? A dinner is held to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of Ford assembly in Louisville and the centennial of Henry Ford's birth.

Sept. 22, 1969:? The last heavy truck built at Louisville Assembly Plant is an ND-1000 diesel tractor.? Medium and heavy truck production is shifted to the newly-opened Kentucky Truck Plant .

April 16, 1973:? Light truck assembly added to car production at Louisville Assembly Plant.

June 12, 1981:? Car assembly ceases, leaving only light truck assembly.? The last car, a gold LTD, is the 3,433,660th passenger car assembled in Louisville since 1913.

September 1981:? Start of a formal Employee Involvement program.

Jan.? 18, 1982:? Ranger production begins.

January 1983:? Bronco II production begins.? A total of 820,931 Bronco II's are produced before the end of production in February 1990.

April 15-19, 1983:? Louisville Assembly Plant celebrates the 70th anniversary of Ford assembly in Louisville with an open house attended by over 55,000 visitors.

Aug. 22, 1984:? Louisville Assembly Plant is presented with a U.S. Senate Productivity Award.

May 1985:? Ford announces a new $78-million automated paint operation at Louisville Assembly Plant.

July 1985:? The 1-millionth Ranger is produced.

July 14, 1987:? Ford Motor Company announces a $260 million expansion to prepare for production of a new vehicle.? The vehicle is later revealed as the Explorer.

April 26, 1988:? The 2-millionth Ranger/Bronco II vehicle is produced at Louisville Assembly Plant.

June 13-17, 1988:? Louisville Assembly Plant celebrates the 75th anniversary of Ford in Louisville.

Feb.? 14, 1990:? The first Ford Explorer is produced at Louisville Assembly Plant.

May 1991:? Louisville Assembly Plant is awarded Ford Motor Company's prestigious Q1 award.

Aug.? 22, 1991:? A new UAW-Ford Education Center is dedicated at Louisville Assembly Plant.

1992:? Production begins of the redesigned Ranger.

November 1992:? A homologation center to modify vehicles for foreign export opens at Louisville Assembly Plant.

May 1993:? Q1 award is recertified.

Aug.? 27, 1993:? Louisville Assembly Plant produces the 1-millionth Ford Explorer.

Nov. 29, 1994:? The redesigned Ford Explorer is launched.

April 1996:? Mercury Mountaineer assembly added.

May 30, 1996:? 2-millionth Explorer produced.

1999:? The Harbour Report names Louisville Assembly Plant most efficient truck plant.

Feb. 3, 2000:? Louisville Assembly Plant hosts the launch of the Explorer Sport Trac.

Sept. 16, 2002:? The 5-millionth Explorer rolls off the line.

May 14, 2003:? Louisville is one of 100 cities on the Ford Centennial Tour.? The two-day celebration at the Louisville Zoo includes classic and modern vehicle displays.

Dec. 9, 2010:? Ford announces a plan to invest $600 million to modernize and re-tool the Louisville Assembly Plant for production of the new Escape

April 2012: Ford assembly teams prepare for all-new 2013 Escape production, training in simulated factory at Louisville plant.

June 13, 2012:? Ford Motor Company, its employees, dealers and suppliers celebrate production of the all-new Ford Escape at the company?s transformed Louisville Assembly Plant, one of several U.S. manufacturing sites where Ford adds jobs to meet strong customer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Source: http://www.whas11.com/news/local/TIMELINE-Fords-100-years-in-Louisville-192514531.html

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Latest Georgia news, sports, business and entertainment

TRUCK STOP-ORDINANCE

Truckers rail against Ga. parking ordinance

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) - Truckers nationwide have railed against a Warner Robins ordinance aimed at banning long-term parking in city lots.

Warner Robins City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday banning trucks from parking for more than two hours without permission from the owner of the lot. Truckers are federally ordered to take 10-hour rest breaks and the city is home to several large industrial companies and a military base.

Councilman Mike Brashear and other city officials told the Telegraph of Macon they've received messages from concerned truckers from across the country looking to weigh in on the ordinance.

City officials say the ordinance stemmed from concerns over prostitution and public nuisances. Business owners say that hasn't been a problem.

City officials say they will reach out to truckers at a council meeting Tuesday.

FATAL-CHATHAM CRASH

2 killed in Chatham County crash

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Police in Chatham County say Interstate 516 has reopened in both directions after a deadly crash.

The highway was shut down for more than three hours after a crash that left two people dead Friday afternoon.

Police spokesman Julian Miller says a pickup truck crossed the center line and hit three vehicles - including a motorcycle.

Police say a child and two adults were hospitalized with serious injuries. Authorities have not released the names of the people who died in the crash.

The cause of the crash is unclear and the accident is under investigation.

LOWES STABBING

Ga. man sentenced in Lowe's stabbing

MACON, Ga. (AP) - The Houston County District Attorney's office says a man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for shoplifting and stabbing a Lowe's employee.

Judge George Nunn sentenced 63-year-old Robert Alvin Broady Friday on charges of aggravated assault and shoplifting.

The man is eligible for parole and is ordered to serve seven years of probation after begin released.

The Telegraph of Macon reports Broady and a co-defendant, Alfred Thomas - who was sentenced to 30 years in prison - had stolen cordless drill from the store several times before the stabbing in February of 2012.

Police have said Broady pulled a knife on an employee and stabbed him in the chest before the two fled the scene. Tips from the public led to their arrest.

CHARLTON-MOTEL FIRE

Ga. officials rule arson in Folkston motel blaze

FOLKSTON, Ga. (AP) - The state Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner has ruled that an arsonist destroyed a motel in south Georgia.

Commissioner Ralph Hudgens says the blaze at the Relax Inn in Folkston originated in an empty storage room around 7 p.m. Thursday.

The fire gutted the building and the roof collapsed. Officials say rewards of up to $10,000 may be given for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Hudgens says first-degree arson is a felony punishable by between one and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

Folkston is about 45 miles northwest of Jacksonville, Fla.

EMORY PRESIDENT-SLAVERY

Emory president's essay draws criticisms

ATLANTA (AP) - The president of Emory University is taking heat from faculty after he wrote an essay citing the three-fifths compromise on slaves as an example of finding common ground in politics.

A faculty group has voted to censure Emory President James Wagner and students are planning a protest next week. Wagner was writing about the value of finding common ground when he mentioned the compromise of 1787. The compromise allowed states to count three-fifths of the slave population toward representation in Congress, giving southern states more power.

Wagner later wrote an apology, saying he was sorry for the hurt caused by not communicating his beliefs more clearly. In the apology, he said he considers slavery to be heinous and inhuman.

DEKALB SCHOOLS-PROBATION

Gov. Deal to decide fate of school board members

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is set to announce whether he'll suspend members of the DeKalb County School Board.

Deal is set to make a decision Monday. During a roughly 14-hour hearing Thursday, the Georgia Board of Education voted to suspend 6 of 9 school board members. Suspensions were not recommended for the board's three newest members, who were hired after problems within the district began surfacing.

An audit of the school system found evidence of fiscal mismanagement and unethical practices. In a report, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools officials said despite attempts, costs and resources used to change the board's culture, the effort appears to have been a waste.

The school system was put on probation through the end of 2013 and risks losing accreditation.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.wtvm.com/story/21313495/latest-georgia-news-sports-business-and-entertainment

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GOP: Obama's higher taxes to ruin economy

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- President Obama's insistence on higher taxes is threatening to put the U.S. economy in a tailspin, a Republican senator charged Saturday.

Delivering the GOP's weekly media address, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota spoke less than a week before mandatory across-the-board cuts for all federal agencies are set to begin.

Hoeven said congressional Republicans were ready to "provide the flexibility" to make the needed spending cuts and avoid sequestration, The Hill reported.

Republicans in the House have passed two bills that would avoid the sequester, he said. However, the president has refused to agree to the House proposals "because he wants higher taxes."

Creating jobs and expanding the tax base, not higher taxes and spending controls, were the right way to deal with the deficit, Hoeven said, but he said Obama was blocking economic growth with "more regulation, red tape, and bureaucracy."

The former North Dakota governor also slammed the president for failing to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring 830,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day from Canada to refineries in the southern United States, as well as 100,000 barrels a day from Montana and North Dakota.

Source: http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/6308219

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Conserving corals by understanding their genes

Friday, February 22, 2013

In reef-building corals variations within genes involved in immunity and response to stress correlate to water temperature and clarity, finds a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics. This information could be used to conserve or rebuild reefs in areas affected by climate change, by changes in extreme weather patterns, increasing sedimentation or altered land use.

A research team led by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and in collaboration with Penn State University and the Aix-Marseille University, studied DNA variations (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, SNPs) across populations of reef corals found at a range of temperatures and water clarity along the Great Barrier Reef.

SNPs which correlated to water clarity and water temperature preferred by cauliflower coral were found in genes involved in providing immune response, and regulating stress-induced cell-death. This means that coral with a specific version of these genes tended to grow at higher temperatures (or water clarity) and another variant at lower. A similar story was found for staghorn coral - SNP in genes involved in detoxification, immune response, and defense against reactive oxygen damage, were found to be associated with temperature or to water clarity.

Dr Petra Lundgren, from The Australian Institute of Marine Science, explained, "Corals are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Not only is the temperature of the water they live in affected but extreme weather and higher rainfall leads to increased levels of sediment, agricultural runoff, and fresh water on the reef. This work opens up possibilities for us to enhance reef resilience and recovery from impacts of climate change and pollution. For example, if in the future we need to restore coral populations, we can make sure that we use the most robust strains of corals to do so."

###

BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com

Thanks to BioMed Central for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126981/Conserving_corals_by_understanding_their_genes

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Northam Platinum H1 headlines EPS falls 30.1 percent

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Northam Platinum, one of South Africa's smaller platinum producers, reported a 30.1 percent fall in first-half headline earnings as finance and tax charges swelled.

Headline earnings per share for the six months to end December were almost a third lower at 36.3 cents from 51.9 cents in the first half of its previous year.

Headline EPS is the key measure of profitability in South Africa and strips out certain one-off and non-trading items.

Production of precious metals in concentrates climbed 6.5 percent to 157,183 ounces and precious metals sales grew 4.4 percent to 177,655 ounces.

Northam managed to escape last year's violent labour unrest unscathed but its future will be impacted by the crisis in the South African platinum sector.

"Against the background of a volatile labour relations climate in the South African mining sector, Northam's results reflect a sustained operational recovery at the company's Zondereinde mine," Northam said.

Threats of a worldwide shortage of platinum group metal (PGM) supplies from South Africa helped to stem the decline in the dollar prices of PGMs.

The weakening of the South African rand against the US dollar also played a hand in improving the rand basket price, which helped push up revenue.

While social and economic uncertainty is expected to dominate the platinum industry's agenda this year the company said it would deliver an improved operational performance compared to the previous year.

Northam did not declare an interim dividend, choosing instead to ensure it has enough cash for the 4 billion rand development of its flagship Booysendal mine.

It also wants to cushion itself against the uncertainty in the South African mining industry.

The company's shares have gained 20.86 percent in the past 12 months, while the JSE's Platinum Index has fallen 13.10 percent.

A massive decline in earnings have been reported across the platinum sector as the larger producers struggle to regain their footing after their operations were brought to their knees by extended illegal strikes late last year.

More than 50 people were killed in labour unrest last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/northam-platinum-h1-headlines-eps-falls-30-1-065418940--finance.html

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Nigerian troops surround French family's kidnappers - source


YAOUNDE/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria | Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:33pm GMT

YAOUNDE/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces surrounded the kidnappers of a French family in northeast Borno state on Thursday in an operation to rescue the hostages, a Nigerian military source said.

French, Nigerian and Cameroonian officials earlier denied French media reports that the family, who were seized in Cameroon and taken over the border, had been freed.

The Nigerian military located the hostages and kidnappers between Dikwa and Ngala in the far northeast, the military source in Borno said, asking not to be identified.

Dikwa is less than 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Cameroon where the three adults and four children were taken hostage on Tuesday.

A senior Cameroonian military official declined to comment saying the matter was too sensitive.

Citing a Cameroon army officer, French media reported earlier on Thursday that the hostages had been found alive in a house in northern Nigeria.

"This is a crazy rumour that we cannot confirm. We do not know where is it coming from," Cameroon Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told Reuters by telephone from the capital Yaounde.

"What is certain is that the French tourists who were abducted are no longer on our territory. However, we are in touch with the Government of Nigeria to intensify measures to continue the search for them along our common border," he said.

French gendarmes backed by special forces arrived in northern Cameroon on Wednesday to help locate the family, a local governor and French defence ministry official said.

Nigerian military spokesman Sagir Musa earlier also said the report on France's BFM television of the hostages being released was "not true," while Didier Le Bret, the head of the French foreign ministry's crisis centre, said the information was "baseless."

The abduction was the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.

But the region - like others in West and North Africa with porous borders - is considered within the operational sphere of Boko Haram and fellow Nigerian Islamist militants Ansaru.

On Sunday, seven foreigners were snatched from the compound of Lebanese construction company Setraco in northern Nigeria's Bauchi state, and Ansaru took responsibility.

Northern Nigeria is increasingly afflicted by attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants. Ansaru, which rose to prominence only in recent months, has claimed the abduction in December of a French national who is still missing.

Three foreigners were killed in two failed rescue attempts last year after being kidnapped in northern Nigeria and Ansaru, blamed for those kidnaps, warned this could happen again.

The threat to French nationals in the region has grown since France deployed thousands of troops to Mali to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists who controlled the country's north.

The kidnapping in Cameroon brought to 15 the number of French citizens being held in West Africa.

(Reporting By Emile Picy and Nicholas Vinocur in Paris; Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja and Bate Felix and John Irish in Dakar; Writing by Bate Felix and John Irish; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/uk-cameroon-kidnapping-idUKBRE91K0UN20130221?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

In rich and poor nations, giving makes people feel better than getting, research finds

Feb. 21, 2013 ? Feeling good about spending money on someone else rather than for personal benefit may be a universal response among people in both impoverished countries and rich nations, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"Our findings suggest that the psychological reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts," said lead author Lara Aknin, PhD, of Simon Fraser University in Canada.

The findings provide the first empirical evidence that "the warm glow" of spending on someone else rather than on oneself may be a widespread component of human psychology, the authors reported in the study published online in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers found a positive relationship between personal well-being and spending on others in 120 of 136 countries covered in the 2006-2008 Gallup World Poll. The survey comprised 234,917 individuals, half of whom were male, with an average age of 38. The link between well-being and spending on others was significant in every region of the world, and it was not affected by other factors among those surveyed, such as income, social support, perceived freedom and perceived national corruption, the study said.

The results were similar in several experiments the researchers themselves conducted with participants in wealthy and poor countries. For one analysis, they compared responses from 820 individuals recruited mostly from universities in Canada and Uganda. The participants wrote about a time they had either spent money on themselves or on others, after which they were asked to report how happy they felt. They were also asked if they spent money on another person to build or strengthen a relationship. People who remembered spending money on someone else felt happier than those who recalled spending money on themselves, even when the researchers controlled for the extent to which people built or strengthened a relationship, according to the study.

The researchers obtained the same results when they conducted an online survey of 101 adults in India. Some respondents were asked to recall recently spending money on themselves or someone else, while others were tested for their happiness level without recalling past spending. Those who recalled spending on someone else said they had a greater feeling of well-being than those who remembered spending on themselves or those who weren't asked about spending.

In another experiment, 207 university students in Canada and South Africa reported higher levels of well-being after purchasing a goody bag for a sick child rather than buying one for themselves. Both groups went to labs where they were given a small amount of money and told to buy a bag of treats for themselves or one for a child at a local hospital.

"From an evolutionary perspective, the emotional benefits that people experience when they help others acts to encourage generous behavior beneficial to long-term human survival," said Aknin.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Psychological Association, via Newswise.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Aknin, L. B., Barrington-Leigh, C. P., Dunn, E. W., Helliwell, J. F., Burns, J., Biswas-Diener, R., Kemeza, I., Nyende, P., Ashton-James, C. E., & Norton, M. I. Pro-social Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (in press) 2013 DOI: 10.1037/a0031578

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/8R0Oekg7bCg/130221104357.htm

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