Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/playstation-4-console-first-look/
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বুধবার, ২২ মে, ২০১৩
Family sentenced in scheme to smuggle Chinese immigrants
It was a high-dollar human smuggling scheme that spanned the globe.
Immigrants from the Fujian Province of China were smuggled to Mexico and then to Rio Grande Valley and on to Houston.
Each immigrant paid tens of thousands of dollars all of it that lined the pockets of at least four smugglers from Harlingen.
It?s not clear how much the group made during their five years of operation but an undercover operation by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents shut them down in May 2012.
Three members of a Harlingen family have now been sent to federal prison for their roles in the scheme.
Family Business
Court records show that Oscar Omar Gomez and his sisters ran a profitable human smuggling operation.
According to a plea agreement, Gomez and his sisters Irma Gomez and Iliana Elizabeth Gomez where the Rio Grande Valley connection in global human smuggling scheme.
Illegal immigrants from the Fujian Province in southern coastal China were taken to Mexico and then smuggled across the Rio Grande River.
Both Irma and Iliana Gomez admitted to operating stash houses in Harlingen where immigrants waited to go on to Houston.
Court records show that Oscar Gomez was living in Mexico to avoid an outstanding warrant but would direct the operations by telephone.
Undercover Operation
Federal court records show that HSI agents infiltrated the human smuggling organization back in 2011.
During one incident, a group of seven illegal immigrants from China were taken from the Valley to the parking lot of a Home Depot in Houston.
It?s at that Home Depot where co-defendant Fernando Alejandre admitted to taking custody of the immigrants.
Alejandre admitted in a plea agreement that his job was make sure the Chinese immigrants would get to their final destinations in the East Coast.
Oscar Gomez allegedly once told the undercover HSI agent that he was looking for a way to use Central America and bypass Mexico in the scheme.
Sentencing
All four pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme but Oscar, Iliana and Irma Gomez all appeared for sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Hilda Tagle on Friday.
Judge Tagle sentenced Oscar Gomez to 3 years and five months in federal prison.
Irma Gomez was sentenced to 2 years and 7 months in federal prison while Iliana Elizabeth Gomez got 1 years and 10 months.
Alejandre was supposed to be sentenced on Friday but the hearing was postponed until June 26th.
Source: http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=900882
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Moore shows that as cities grow, tornado damage grows with them
By Ben Berkowitz and Julie Steenhuysen
(Reuters) - Moore, Oklahoma, has had the bad luck of being hit by two highly destructive tornadoes, both in the month of May, 14 years apart.
But the Moore that got struck on Monday is not the same as in 1999. Like a lot of towns across America and in the so-called "Tornado Alley," rapid growth has made it a bigger target, vulnerable to more damage.
The tornado, with winds that may have topped 200 miles per hour, killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds more, with many of the casualties children from two schools that were destroyed.
Local media said the storm was much more destructive than the tornado that laid waste to Moore in May 1999. At the time, that storm was the most destructive in history by insured loss ($1 billion), later eclipsed by two 2011 tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri and Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Between 2000 and 2011, Moore's population grew by about 34 percent to 56,300, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Over the same time, Oklahoma's population grew 9 percent and the U.S. population grew almost 10 percent.
"Every so often, (a tornado) will hit a city. Sometimes you may get clusters where there are several of those hitting in a given year. Other times you will go years and years without that happening," said Bob Henson of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
"The U.S. population is growing and more territory is covered by homes and businesses than used to be the case. So the targets are getting larger."
Insurance industry experts call the phenomenon "disaster amnesia." People forget how badly devastated a region has been and focus only on what it can become through rebuilding.
One of the best examples is the Miami-area community of Homestead, all but obliterated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 but since rebuilt and now doubled in population.
'SMACK IN THE HEART'
In fact, this was at least the third severe tornado to strike Moore over the last 15 years - a fact scientists called interesting but not indicative of the town being any more susceptible than any place else.
"Oklahoma City is smack in the heart of the most prone area where these conditions come together in the most dangerous way at (this) time of year," said Tim Doggett, senior principal scientist at disaster modeling company AIR Worldwide. "When things happen with some sort of random aspect to them, people look for patterns."
After a record number of twisters in 2011, volume has actually dipped of late. Last year was the first time in at least 20 years that fewer than 1,000 tornadoes touched down in the United States.
"Until the breakout this week, it's been a very quiet year for tornadoes in the United States," said Anthony Del Genio, a climatologist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
While it can be tempting to wonder whether severe events like this week's tornadoes are part of a bigger pattern, he said, "it's always good to remember that we went through a very quiet period leading up to this."
(For a government map of the most severe tornado strikes since 1950, click here: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f5torns.html)
LOSSES STILL UNCLEAR
The German reinsurer Munich Re has estimated tornadoes caused about $40 billion in insured losses in the United States in 2011 and 2012. Since 1980, average thunderstorm losses (including tornadoes) have risen sevenfold.
Though the scope of the damage seems obvious, it will be days before there is any sense of just how much the Moore storm has cost the insurance industry.
One problem is a lack of precision. As good as the science may have become, it remains hard to predict where and when a tornado is likely to hit in future, making it hard for insurers to fully model their exposure.
I really think (insurers) would like to know a much more precise location level ... and even in tens of thousands of simulated storm years that's a difficult question to answer," AIR's Doggett said.
Catastrophe bond investors, who have about $1 billion in exposure to U.S. tornado risk, were especially on edge Tuesday. One such bond was wiped out by 2011's record tornado season, putting a chill in that market.
USAA, the insurer that caters to military veterans and their families, said it had been unable to get its team of 120 adjusters into Moore. A spokesman said the company already had more than 350 claims, ranging from hail damage to total loss.
State Farm, the largest home and auto insurer in Oklahoma, said Tuesday it did not yet have claims numbers compiled, as its adjusters have not been able to get close to Moore either. A spokesman told Reuters it had already started receiving calls, though - including from one customer whose only remaining possession in the rubble of their home was a copy of their insurance policy.
(Editing by Mary Milliken and David Gregorio)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moore-shows-cities-grow-tornado-damage-grows-them-203425159.html
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মঙ্গলবার, ২১ মে, ২০১৩
IRL: TYLT cables and a standoff between two Galaxies
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
IRL is a column about stuff we're using in real life and yes, that sometimes includes neon-green charging cables. It also includes all manner of smartphones, as you know, and this week we've got a short-and-sweet write-up comparing the GS3 and GS4. Is the 4 worth an early upgrade? Not if you ask Jon Fingas, anyway, but that's mostly because he's happy with the camera, performance and LTE radio on last year's model.
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/27yAJ4MQ_sg/
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সোমবার, ২০ মে, ২০১৩
Analysis: Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound FDI
By Stanley White
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with approval. The stock market has rallied 45 percent this year and Abe's approval ratings are around 70 percent.
Abe gave further hints on Friday about government plans to be unveiled in a longer-term economic growth strategy, referring to tripling infrastructure exports and doubling farm exports.
But a month before that strategy is due to be unveiled, his efforts to ramp up inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) are showing little indication a trickle of foreign investment will turn into a tide.
"Over the last five years, 90 percent of my work has been outbound deals," said Ken Lebrun, chair of the FDI committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and a partner at the law firm Shearman & Sterling specializing in mergers and acquisitions.
"The reason is the same as why Japanese companies haven't been acquiring companies in Japan: growth prospects are poor. Hopefully, Abe's reforms will improve these perceptions."
At first glance, Japan is tough to sell to a foreign investor. Its population is ageing and quickly shrinking. Its own corporations are pessimistic about home markets and have been hoarding cash or investing overseas.
Yet its appeal lies in the sheer size of the $5 trillion-plus economy, the world's third-largest, a survey by international consultancy Accenture showed in March last year.
In insurance and pharmaceuticals, areas of foreign investor interest, Japan is second only to the United States in market size, reports from ratings agency Standard & Poor's and research firm IMS Medical show.
Standing in the way of foreign investment are barriers that have kept Japan at the bottom of the FDI league table.
Compared with the size of the economy, foreign direct investment inflows into Japan are the lowest among the 34 developed nations grouped in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The total amount of inward FDI was less than 4 percent of its economic output at the end of 2011. In comparison, Britain's was 48.8 percent of GDP in 2011, while in the United States it was nearly a fifth of GDP.
The OECD's index of regulatory restrictions to FDI, which includes limits on foreign equity holdings, screening and approval procedures, rules on hiring foreigners and rules on repatriating capital, showed Japan was the club's most closed economy in 2012.
To break the mould, Japan needs to simplify and reduce corporate taxes, cut red tape and scale back regulations that are so excessive that they even deter Japanese firms, economists say.
"The single biggest area that Britain and other countries would welcome is a bigger move on deregulation and liberalization," said Sue Kinoshita, director of trade and investment at the British Embassy.
The benefits of foreign investment would be heightened competition for skilled workers, which could help reverse a long decline in Japanese wages and boost productivity, helping to address concerns about the "hollowing out" of manufacturing.
"We have a lot of outgoing FDI, so we need to balance this with more incoming FDI," said Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
Rather than break the mould though, the advisory panels charged with drafting the growth strategy are discussing only modest steps, such as tax breaks for special economic zones.
One idea is to provide incentives for English-speaking doctors to work in Japan and another is to run Tokyo's subway and bus networks 24 hours a day. Proponents suggest that would make Japan more attractive to foreign executives.
Areas that are likely to remain a no-go zone for foreigners are agriculture and construction, two industries that tend to rely on cozy government ties for protection.
At 1.2 percent of GDP, the size of Japan's agriculture sector is about the same as many developed economies.
The appeal is that whoever can fix the sector's notorious lack of efficiency stands a better chance at marketing Japan's high-end vegetables, beef and other produce to gourmet consumers overseas.
Construction, on the other hand, may not hold much appeal to foreign firms as there are few prospects for growth after decades of excessive public works projects.
Elderly care is one area that will be growing as Japan ages. A third of Japanese will be 65 or older by 2035, up from a quarter now.
It is ripe for new entrants, foreign or local, but it is also a prime example of the red tape keeping newcomers at bay.
Each of Japan's 47 prefectures issue the licenses for nursing homes in their areas. But local governments often deny licenses to avoid the subsidies they have to pay to nursing home workers, who themselves have to hold several licenses and qualifications to work.
Pharmaceutical firms complain that strict rules on clinical trials and on prescribing new drugs make access to the Japanese market lengthier and costlier than other leading economies.
Some economists say Japan should make it easier for foreign companies to enter the renewable energy market in Japan as the country ponders life without nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Letting foreign players in is sometimes the best way to shake things up, such as when French automaker Renault
Nissan's chief Carlos Ghosn implemented what become known as the "Ghosn shock" by aggressively pushing its steel suppliers to cut prices. At the time Japanese automakers did not dare to squeeze their long-time suppliers.
The result was lower steel prices for all automakers and a restructuring of the steel industry.
(This story corrects the third from last paragraph to show Renault took a stake in Nissan)
(Editor Neil Fullick)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-little-sign-abe-shake-japans-inbound-fdi-073954121.html
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Dr Sherrill Sellman: What Women Must Know About Breast Cancer
Posted May 20, 2013
![Monday_image[1]](http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Monday_image1.jpg)
Ever since Angelina Jolie announced that she has just undergone a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer, the world seems to be buzzing about the topic. TV and social media have gone to town with this story, and while I may not agree with the messages that have been attached to it, I think it?s awesome that her story has got everyone thinking, talking and opening up healthy discussions about what is a very sensitive subject.
I?m not a breast cancer expert, but I do have access to people who are. Which is why I asked to speak with my friend Dr Sherrill Sellman about the topic. Dr Sellman is the author of What Women Must Know To Protect Their Daughters From Breast Cancer and Hormone Heresy: What Women Must Know About Their Hormones. She?s done extensive research in the fields of epigenetics and the breast cancer genes ? BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.
And while I may not be an expert, I?ve spent enough time researching and living this topic (both for my cancer and my mum?s) to be able to say that I firmly believe we have more options than what we?re led to believe by the mainstream world.
The intention of this interview isn?t to judge whether Angelina (or anyone else in her situation) made the right choice or not. We?re all different. We all have different fears, different conditioning, and different ways of looking at and understanding the world. But, what I do want to do is counteract the messages that are being pumped out by mainstream media by offering alternative answers to some of the questions and fears this story has stirred up.
In this interview, you will learn:
+ If you have the breast cancer genes, do you have options other than a double mastectomy when it comes to preventing breast cancer?
+ Why BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 aren?t the death sentences we?re led to believe they are.
+ What we can do to lower our risk of developing cancer ? whether we have the genes or not.
+ Why mammograms are the worst step for someone who has a predisposition to breast cancer and should never be used for screening purposes.
+ What to do instead of having a mammogram.
+ So much more on this very loaded topic.
Click here to listen:
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR SHERRILL?
On Wednesday morning, Sherrill and I will be holding a live Q&A call so that you can get answers to any questions you may have on this subject.
The call will be held at 9am (Australian EST). Click here to sign up and receive further details.
Can?t make that time? Sign up anyway to send through your question and receive a recording of the call.
SEE SHERRILL IN PERSON
Click here for a full list of Dr Sherrill Sellman?s Australian tour dates.
What did you think of this interview? I?d love for you to join in the conversation in the comments below. Politely though, please.
?
Positive affirmation for the day: My mind is open to new ideas and beliefs.
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Ginger compounds may be effective in treating asthma symptoms
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 19-May-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
ndunford@thoracic.org
American Thoracic Society
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ? Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the spicy root also may have properties that help asthma patients breathe more easily.
The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
Asthma is characterized by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists (?-agonists) are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissues. This study looked at whether specific components of ginger could help enhance the relaxing effects of bronchodilators.
"Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms," said lead author Elizabeth Townsend, PhD, post-doctoral research fellow in the Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology. "In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with ?-agonists to relax ASM."
To conduct their study, the researchers took human ASM tissue samples and caused the samples to contract by exposing them to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitting compound that causes bronchoconstriction. Next, the researchers mixed the ?-agonist isoproterenol with three separate components of ginger: 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 6-shogaol. Contracted tissue samples were exposed to each of these three mixtures as well as unadulterated isoproterenol and the relaxation responses were recorded and compared.
At the conclusion of their study, the researchers found that tissues treated with the combination of purified ginger components and isoproterenol exhibited significantly greater relaxation than those treated only with isoproterenol; of the three ginger components, 6-shogaol appeared most effective in increasing the relaxing effects of the ?-agonist.
Once they were able to demonstrate that the ginger components enhanced the relaxing effects of the ?-agonist, they turned their attention to learning why. First, the researchers wanted to determine if the ginger components might work by affecting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase4D (PDE4D). Previous studies have shown that PDE4D, which is found in the lungs, inhibits processes that otherwise help relax ASM and lessen inflammation. Using a technique called fluorescent polarization, they found that all three components significantly inhibited PDE4D.
Next, the study looked at F-actin filaments, a protein structure which previous studies have shown plays a role in the constriction of ASM, and found that 6-shogaol was effective in speedily dissolving these filaments.
"Taken together, these data show that ginger constituents 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol act synergistically with the ?-agonist in relaxing ASM, indicating that these compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with ?-agonists," Dr. Townsend noted."By understanding the mechanisms by which these ginger compounds affect the airway, we can explore the use of these therapeutics in alleviating asthma symptoms."
Dr. Townsend and her colleague, Dr. Charles Emala, hope future studies will enable them to gain a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms that facilitate ASM relaxation and to determine whether aerosol delivery of these purified constituents of ginger may have therapeutic benefit in asthma and other bronchoconstrictive diseases.
###
* Please note that numbers in this release may differ slightly from those in the abstract. Many of these investigations are ongoing; the release represents the most up-to-date data available at press time.
Abstract 38824
Active Constituents Of Ginger Potentiate ?-Agonist-Induced Relaxation Of Airway Smooth Muscle
Type: Scientific Abstract
Category: 03.10 - Smooth Muscle: Airway (RSF)
Authors: E.A. Townsend, Y. Zhang, C. Xu, R. Wakita, C. Emala; Columbia University - New York, NY/US
Abstract Body
Rationale: Asthma prevalence has steadily increased and is characterized by bronchoconstriction. Bronchodilators are the first-line therapy to reverse airway obstruction by relaxing airway smooth muscle (ASM). Asthma therapies include ?-agonists that induce bronchodilation by activating adenylyl cyclase, increasing cAMP and activating protein kinase A. Despite improved understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma, few novel therapeutics have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms in the last 40 years. This highlights the need for new therapies that relax contracted airways while also augmenting traditional therapies. We demonstrated that purified components of ginger can relax ASM. By understanding the mechanisms by which these compounds exert their effects on the airway, we can explore the use of these phytotherapeutics in alleviating asthma symptoms. We hypothesized that unique chemical components of ginger have bronchorelaxant properties and work synergistically with ?-agonist signaling to relax ASM.
Methods and Results: Epithelial-denuded human ASM tissue (deidentified; exempt from Columbia's IRB) was contracted with acetylcholine in organ baths. ASM tissues were then relaxed dose-dependently with ?-agonist, isoproterenol (100 pM 10 ?M, half-log increments). The tissues were treated concurrently at 300 pM isoproterenol with vehicle, 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, or 6-shogaol (100 ?M). Significant potentiation of isoproterenol-induced relaxation was observed with each of the ginger constituents. 6-shogaol showed the largest leftward shift in the EC50 for isoproterenol. Purified phosphodiesterase 4D enzyme, the prominent isoform in the lung, was used to assess PDE inhibitory action of the ginger constituents using fluorescent polarization analyses. 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 6-shogaol (100 ?M, 15 min) significantly inhibited PDE4D compared to vehicle control (0.2% DMSO), the PDE4-selective inhibitor, rolipram (10 ?M) and non-selective PDE inhibitor, IBMX (250 ?M) were used as positive controls. ?-agonist induced depolymerization of actin via a PKA-HSP20-dependent pathway contributes to ASM relaxation. In primary human ASM cells transiently transfected with RFP-actin, treatment with 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, or 6-shogaol showed acute (within seconds) dissolution of F-actin filaments. This was not due to PKA phosphorylation of HSP20.
Conclusions: Taken together, these data show synergistic effects of ginger constituents 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 6-shogaol with ?-agonist in relaxing ASM. This may be attributed to increased cAMP due to PDE4D inhibitory activity. Additionally, these compounds stimulate actin depolymerization through a novel PKA-independent pathway, providing another pathway for potentiation with ?-agonists. These compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with ?2-agonists and highlight novel use of phytotherapeutics in the treatment of obstructive lung disease.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 19-May-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Nathaniel Dunford
ndunford@thoracic.org
American Thoracic Society
ATS 2013, PHILADELPHIA ? Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the spicy root also may have properties that help asthma patients breathe more easily.
The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2013 International Conference.
Asthma is characterized by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists (?-agonists) are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissues. This study looked at whether specific components of ginger could help enhance the relaxing effects of bronchodilators.
"Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms," said lead author Elizabeth Townsend, PhD, post-doctoral research fellow in the Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology. "In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with ?-agonists to relax ASM."
To conduct their study, the researchers took human ASM tissue samples and caused the samples to contract by exposing them to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitting compound that causes bronchoconstriction. Next, the researchers mixed the ?-agonist isoproterenol with three separate components of ginger: 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 6-shogaol. Contracted tissue samples were exposed to each of these three mixtures as well as unadulterated isoproterenol and the relaxation responses were recorded and compared.
At the conclusion of their study, the researchers found that tissues treated with the combination of purified ginger components and isoproterenol exhibited significantly greater relaxation than those treated only with isoproterenol; of the three ginger components, 6-shogaol appeared most effective in increasing the relaxing effects of the ?-agonist.
Once they were able to demonstrate that the ginger components enhanced the relaxing effects of the ?-agonist, they turned their attention to learning why. First, the researchers wanted to determine if the ginger components might work by affecting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase4D (PDE4D). Previous studies have shown that PDE4D, which is found in the lungs, inhibits processes that otherwise help relax ASM and lessen inflammation. Using a technique called fluorescent polarization, they found that all three components significantly inhibited PDE4D.
Next, the study looked at F-actin filaments, a protein structure which previous studies have shown plays a role in the constriction of ASM, and found that 6-shogaol was effective in speedily dissolving these filaments.
"Taken together, these data show that ginger constituents 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol act synergistically with the ?-agonist in relaxing ASM, indicating that these compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with ?-agonists," Dr. Townsend noted."By understanding the mechanisms by which these ginger compounds affect the airway, we can explore the use of these therapeutics in alleviating asthma symptoms."
Dr. Townsend and her colleague, Dr. Charles Emala, hope future studies will enable them to gain a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms that facilitate ASM relaxation and to determine whether aerosol delivery of these purified constituents of ginger may have therapeutic benefit in asthma and other bronchoconstrictive diseases.
###
* Please note that numbers in this release may differ slightly from those in the abstract. Many of these investigations are ongoing; the release represents the most up-to-date data available at press time.
Abstract 38824
Active Constituents Of Ginger Potentiate ?-Agonist-Induced Relaxation Of Airway Smooth Muscle
Type: Scientific Abstract
Category: 03.10 - Smooth Muscle: Airway (RSF)
Authors: E.A. Townsend, Y. Zhang, C. Xu, R. Wakita, C. Emala; Columbia University - New York, NY/US
Abstract Body
Rationale: Asthma prevalence has steadily increased and is characterized by bronchoconstriction. Bronchodilators are the first-line therapy to reverse airway obstruction by relaxing airway smooth muscle (ASM). Asthma therapies include ?-agonists that induce bronchodilation by activating adenylyl cyclase, increasing cAMP and activating protein kinase A. Despite improved understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma, few novel therapeutics have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms in the last 40 years. This highlights the need for new therapies that relax contracted airways while also augmenting traditional therapies. We demonstrated that purified components of ginger can relax ASM. By understanding the mechanisms by which these compounds exert their effects on the airway, we can explore the use of these phytotherapeutics in alleviating asthma symptoms. We hypothesized that unique chemical components of ginger have bronchorelaxant properties and work synergistically with ?-agonist signaling to relax ASM.
Methods and Results: Epithelial-denuded human ASM tissue (deidentified; exempt from Columbia's IRB) was contracted with acetylcholine in organ baths. ASM tissues were then relaxed dose-dependently with ?-agonist, isoproterenol (100 pM 10 ?M, half-log increments). The tissues were treated concurrently at 300 pM isoproterenol with vehicle, 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, or 6-shogaol (100 ?M). Significant potentiation of isoproterenol-induced relaxation was observed with each of the ginger constituents. 6-shogaol showed the largest leftward shift in the EC50 for isoproterenol. Purified phosphodiesterase 4D enzyme, the prominent isoform in the lung, was used to assess PDE inhibitory action of the ginger constituents using fluorescent polarization analyses. 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 6-shogaol (100 ?M, 15 min) significantly inhibited PDE4D compared to vehicle control (0.2% DMSO), the PDE4-selective inhibitor, rolipram (10 ?M) and non-selective PDE inhibitor, IBMX (250 ?M) were used as positive controls. ?-agonist induced depolymerization of actin via a PKA-HSP20-dependent pathway contributes to ASM relaxation. In primary human ASM cells transiently transfected with RFP-actin, treatment with 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, or 6-shogaol showed acute (within seconds) dissolution of F-actin filaments. This was not due to PKA phosphorylation of HSP20.
Conclusions: Taken together, these data show synergistic effects of ginger constituents 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, and 6-shogaol with ?-agonist in relaxing ASM. This may be attributed to increased cAMP due to PDE4D inhibitory activity. Additionally, these compounds stimulate actin depolymerization through a novel PKA-independent pathway, providing another pathway for potentiation with ?-agonists. These compounds may provide additional relief of asthma symptoms when used in combination with ?2-agonists and highlight novel use of phytotherapeutics in the treatment of obstructive lung disease.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/ats-gcm051413.php
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রবিবার, ১৯ মে, ২০১৩
Landing gear issue leads to plane's belly landing
NEWARK, N.J (AP) ? An airline official says a US Airways flight with 34 people aboard was forced to make a belly landing at Newark International Airport after experiencing landing gear trouble. No injuries were reported.
US Airways spokesman Davien Anderson tells The Associated Press that a turboprop plane that left Philadelphia shortly before 11 p.m. Friday landed safely at Newark with its landing gear retracted at about 1 a.m. Saturday.
Anderson said the flight, being operated by Piedmont Airlines, was carrying 31 passengers and three crew members. He says the plane circled Newark in a holding pattern while working to get the gear down. After several failed attempts to get the gear down, the plane landed on its belly.
Anderson says the passengers were evacuated to the terminal by bus. He says US Airways is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/landing-gear-issue-leads-planes-belly-landing-081148090.html
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Yahoo to vote on $1.1 billion Tumblr buy: AllThingsD
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's board will meet on Sunday to vote on whether to offer $1.1 billion in cash for New York-based blogging service Tumblr, tech blog AllThingsD cited sources close to the situation as saying on Friday.
Such an acquisition would be CEO Marissa Mayer's largest deal since taking the helm of the once-iconic Internet company in July 2012. Yahoo is keen on Tumblr because its younger user base would enhance the older website's "cool factor," the technology blog cited the sources as saying.
The news could be announced as soon as Monday, it said. Yahoo has invited press to an event in Manhattan at which it promised to "share something special," without elaborating.
Mayer, who spent 13 years at Google Inc, is trying to revitalize a former Internet powerhouse that in recent years has struggled with declining business. On its home page, Tumblr says it hosts 108 million blogs, with 50.7 billion posts between them.
Yahoo declined to comment, while Tumblr did not respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-vote-1-1-billion-tumblr-buy-allthingsd-010904953.html
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শনিবার, ১৮ মে, ২০১৩
Gap Employees Will Someday Be Replaced By This T-Shirt Folding Bot
Great news for anyone who's ever felt ignored by snooty Gap employees that seem more interested in what's happening in their headsets than their customers. To celebrate its one year anniversary, ROS Industrial put together this highlight reel of its robots in action, including a bit showing this arm deftly folding a shirt.
The demo is meant to show off the robot's capabilities, but like with most industries it also demonstrates that humans can be easily replaced. In fact, all it needs is a vintage hat and a few more tattoos and the arm should easily breeze through the interview process. [ROS Industrial via IEEE Spectrum]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/gap-employees-will-someday-be-replaced-by-this-t-shirt-508211061
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Most scientists agree: Humans are causing climate change
Friday, May 17, 2013
Do most scientists agree that human activity is causing global climate change? Yes, they do, according to an extensive analysis of the abstracts or summaries of scientific papers published over the past 20 years, even though public perception tends to be that climate scientists disagree over the fundamental cause of climate change.
To help put a stop to the squabbling, two dozen scientists and citizen-scientists from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the US?including Sarah Green, professor and chair of chemistry at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich.? analyzed the abstracts of nearly 12,000 peer-reviewed scientific papers on climate change published between 1991 and 2011. They also surveyed the authors of those papers, to find out how well the analysis agreed with the authors' own views on how their papers presented the cause of climate change.
They found that more than 97 percent of the scientists who expressed any opinion in their papers about the primary cause of global climate change believed that human activity was the cause. Approximately the same percentage of authors who responded to the survey said that their papers endorsed anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. Nine of the scientists, including Green, reported their findings today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, published by the Institute of Physics.
Green says she got involved because she was curious about the apparent disconnect between the general public's lack of concern about climate change and what she calls "the clear scientific evidence that humans are changing the planet's atmosphere." That led her to SkepticalScience.com, a web site that tracks and addresses common myths about climate change. She has since contributed several articles.
John Cook, who maintains the web site, is a climate communications fellow for the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia. He found that one dominant myth about climate change is the idea that scientists disagree about the cause. To investigate how much disagreement there really is in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, Cook set up an on-line system that enabled a group of SkepticalScience.com authors to rate nearly 12,000 abstracts from the Web of Science database (1991-2011) on whether they report human activities as the main contributors to climate change.
"John cleverly set up the rating process so it felt like a game to me," says Green. "After I rated five abstracts, another five would quickly appear, and counters showed how many each person had done, making it like a contest."
The abstract raters were a combination of professional and citizen-scientists from Australia, Canada, the UK, Finland, the US and Germany. The group was organized through the skeptical science web site.
"I read and rated 4,146 abstracts for this study, over about 4 months in winter/spring 2012," Green explains. "This is the first time I've published a paper where all the research was accomplished sitting on my couch."
Green adds, "I found it fascinating to see the array of implications of climate change identified in the abstracts?beyond the usual ones we hear about. They examined everything from production of tea in Sri Lanka, the stripes on salamanders, child undernutrition, frequency of lightning strikes, distribution of prickly pear cactus (and pine trees, kelp beds, wild boars, penguins, arctic fishes, canine leishmaniasis, and many, many others), mitochondrial electron transport activity in clams, copper uptake by minnows, lake effect snowfall, the rotational speed of the Earth and the prevalence of naked foxes in Iceland."
Green also found a large number of papers addressing mitigation of climate change through alternative energy and other ways to limit carbon emissions.
"It is critical to raise public awareness of the scientific consensus on climate change, so the public can make policy decisions based on factual evidence," she says. "Typically, the general public thinks that only around 50 percent of climate scientists agree that humans are causing global warming. This research has shown that the reality is 97 percent."
###
Michigan Technological University: http://www.mtu.edu
Thanks to Michigan Technological University 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.
This press release has been viewed 70 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128294/Most_scientists_agree__Humans_are_causing_climate_change
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IRS head grilled by Congress
May 15 (Reuters) - Post positions for the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, to be run at Pimlico on Saturday (Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds) 1. Orb, Joel Rosario, Shug McGaughey, even 2. Goldencents, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill, 8-1 3. Titletown Five, Julien Leparoux, D. Wayne Lukas, 30-1 4. Departing, Brian Hernandez, Al Stall, 6-1 5. Mylute, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss, 5-1 6. Oxbow, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas, 15-1 7. Will Take Charge, Mike Smith, D. Wayne Lukas, 12-1 8. Govenor Charlie, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert, 12-1 9. ...
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শুক্রবার, ১৭ মে, ২০১৩
Google?s new Hangouts app will soon support SMS [updated]
BERLIN (Reuters) - Women's rights protesters disrupted the opening of a giant pink doll's house in Berlin on Thursday, saying the Barbie "Dreamhouse Experience" objectified women. Promoting the doll made by Mattel Inc, the house allows paying visitors to try on Barbie's clothes, play in her kitchen and have a go on her pink piano. The exhibition will be open until August 25. A handful of protesters gathered outside the shocking pink house that has been erected in one of central Berlin's greyest areas. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-hangouts-app-soon-support-sms-updated-231506825.html
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Relationship troubles? Some sad music might help you feel better
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Consumers experiencing relationship problems are more likely to prefer aesthetic experiences that reflect their negative mood, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Emotional experiences of aesthetic products are important to our happiness and well-being. Music, movies, paintings, or novels that are compatible with our current mood and feelings, akin to an empathic friend, are more appreciated when we experience broken or failing relationships," write authors Chan Jean Lee (KAIST Business School), Eduardo B. Andrade (FGV School of Administration), and Stephen E. Palmer (University of California, Berkeley).
Consumers experience serious emotional distress when intimate relationships are broken, and look for a surrogate to replace the lost personal bond. Prior research has reported that consumers in a negative mood prefer pleasant, positive aesthetic experiences (cheerful music; fun comedies) to counter their negative feelings. However, under certain circumstances, consumers in negative moods might choose aesthetic experiences consistent with their mood (sad music; tear-jerking dramas) even when more pleasant alternatives are also available.
In one study, consumers were presented with various frustrating situations and asked to rate angry music relative to joyful or relaxing music. Consumers liked angry music more when they were frustrated by interpersonal violations (being interrupted; someone always being late) than by impersonal hassles (no internet connection; natural disaster).
In another study, consumers were asked to recall experiences involving loss. Preference for sad music was significantly higher when they had experienced an interpersonal loss (losing a personal relationship) versus an impersonal loss (losing a competition).
"Interpersonal relationships influence consumer preference for aesthetic experiences. Consumers seek and experience emotional companionship with music, films, novels, and the fine arts as a substitute for lost and troubled relationships," the authors conclude.
###
University of Chicago Press Journals: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu
Thanks to University of Chicago Press Journals 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.
This press release has been viewed 41 time(s).
Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128266/Relationship_troubles__Some_sad_music_might_help_you_feel_better
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ১৬ মে, ২০১৩
Google+ gets a new multi-column card design and ability to automatically add hashtags (update: video)
Today, at Google I/O 2013, Big G revealed a new look for its social network. Starting later today, Google+ users will be seeing their social content in a new way thanks to a multi-column format fit for any size screen. The home page for G+ now has up to 3 columns populated with individual cards for posts and pictures, and the social network can intelligently learn the content of those posts and automatically add related hashtags for you. Columns appear or disappear depending upon the size of your screen, and cards can be flipped to reveal editing options, or moved to suit users' aesthetic tastes. Should you have the requisite screen real estate, pictures and videos expand to the width of multiple columns to further provide a more visually pleasing social experience. In order to eliminate clutter, Google + has adopted a familiar looking left-side menu layout that disappears until a hovering cursor (or presumably a swiping finger) reveals it.
Update: You can see the new layout and auto hashtagging in action in the video after the break.
Source: Google+
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pdFvpoYBrbQ/
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BBC iPlayer coming to Windows Phone 8 today (updated)
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore has just tweeted that, at some point today, BBC iPlayer is coming to Windows Phone 8. It's been a long road getting to this point, as the BBC's and Microsoft's conflicting technologies don't play nicely with each other -- with this version being a browser-based shortcut rather than a fully-featured app. Still, for the legion of British Windows Phone users dying for their Doctor Who fix while on the go, something is far better than nothing.
Update: And it's official, so head down to the Windows Store link below to start downloading.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, HD, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Joe Belfiore (Twitter), BBC, Windows Store
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বুধবার, ১৫ মে, ২০১৩
BBC iPlayer coming to Windows Phone 8 today (updated)
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore has just tweeted that, at some point today, BBC iPlayer is coming to Windows Phone 8. It's been a long road getting to this point, as the BBC's and Microsoft's conflicting technologies don't play nicely with each other -- with this version being a browser-based shortcut rather than a fully-featured app. Still, for the legion of British Windows Phone users dying for their Doctor Who fix while on the go, something is far better than nothing.
Update: And it's official, so head down to the Windows Store link below to start downloading.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, HD, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Joe Belfiore (Twitter), BBC, Windows Store
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Asia stocks up as US small business mood improves
BANGKOK (AP) ? Enthusiasm on Wall Street sparked by another positive report on the U.S. economy helped push most Asian stock markets higher Wednesday.
The National Federation of Independent Business reported a slight improvement in confidence among small business owners in the U.S. in April. That helped boost the Dow Jones industrial average to close at a record high Tuesday.
"A combination of further improvement of economic performance and low inflation in the US should keep risk appetite buoyant," said analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong in an email commentary.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.9 percent to 15,041.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent to 23,079.31. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia also rose.
South Korea's Kospi dipped less than 0.1 percent to 1,967.92 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.7 percent to 5,182.50.
Good economic data aside, stocks are also benefiting from the economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve and other global central banks.
Under a program called "quantitative easing," the Fed has bought hundreds of billions of dollars of bonds, pushing up their prices and sending their yields lower. That makes stocks more attractive to investors than bonds and keeps interest rates low throughout the economy, encouraging investment and spending.
"Quantitative easing will not ease in the next two or three years," said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. "Quantitative easing is everywhere, in the U.S., Japan and Europe. Money depreciates so it gives some kind of boost to the stock market."
Also helping to shore up the mood were figures, released Tuesday, showing industrial production among the 17 countries that use the euro rose a better-than-expected 1 percent in March. The first estimate of the euro currency region's gross domestic product in the first three months is due for release Wednesday.
Among individual stocks, Australian-based mining giant BHP Billiton fell 2.1 percent after the company's new chief executive, Andrew Mackenzie, outlined plans to slash capital spending by nearly 20 percent in order to maximize returns on investment and improving cash flow.
Japan's Isuzu Motors Ltd. soared 21 percent a day after reporting a strong recovery in its earnings. Sony Corp. was up nearly 11 percent after Daniel Loeb, the U.S. hedge fund manager renowned for shaking up Yahoo Inc., proposed that Sony sell up to 20 percent of its entertainment business. Sony has rebuffed the idea.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent, to 15,215.25. The S&P 500 index jumped 1 percent, to 1,650.34. Both closed at all-time highs after stalling on Monday. The Nasdaq composite index rose 0.7 percent, to 3,462.61.
Benchmark oil for June delivery rose was up 11 cents to $94.32 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 96 cents to close at $94.21 a barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2932 from $1.2937 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell slightly to 102.20 yen from 102.24 yen.
___
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-us-small-business-mood-improves-032745233.html
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Video: Tomorrow In :30
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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51883066/
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মঙ্গলবার, ১৪ মে, ২০১৩
US government files morning-after pill appeal
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Obama administration on Monday filed a last-minute appeal to delay the sale of the morning-after contraceptive pill to girls of any age without a prescription.
The legal paperwork asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to postpone a federal judge's ruling that eliminated age limits on the pill while the government appeals that overall decision.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman has said politics was behind efforts by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to block the unrestricted sale of the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill and its generic competitors.
Last month, he ordered that the levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives be made available without prescription and without age restrictions. He then denied a request to postpone his ruling while the government appealed but gave it until Monday to appeal again.
Government attorneys warned that "substantial market confusion" could result if Korman's ruling was enforced while appeals are pending. On Monday, lawyers argued that the district court "plainly overstepped its authority," and that they believe they will win the overall appeal.
Attorneys for the Center for Reproductive Rights have said in court papers that every day the ruling is not enforced is "life-altering" to some women. They have 10 days to respond to the most recent government filings, after which the appeals court will issue a decision.
The appeals court will take up the issue on May 28 and said the judge's ruling remains postponed.
If the government fails, it would clear the way for over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to younger girls. The FDA announced earlier this month that the contraception could be sold without a prescription to those 15 and older, a decision Korman said merely sugarcoated the appeal of his order lifting the age restriction.
Sales had previously been limited to those who were at least 17.
The judge said he ruled against the government "because the secretary's action was politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent" and because there was no basis to deny the request to make the drugs widely available.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-government-files-morning-pill-appeal-161422988.html
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Engineered biomaterial could improve success of medical implants
May 14, 2013 ? It's a familiar scenario -- a patient receives a medical implant and days later, the body attacks the artificial valve or device, causing complications to an already compromised system.
Expensive, state-of-the-art medical devices and surgeries often are thwarted by the body's natural response to attack something in the tissue that appears foreign. Now, University of Washington engineers have demonstrated in mice a way to prevent this sort of response. Their findings were published online this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
The UW researchers created a synthetic substance that fully resists the body's natural attack response to foreign objects. Medical devices such as artificial heart valves, prostheses and breast implants could be coated with this polymer to prevent the body from rejecting an implanted object.
"It has applications for so many different medical implants, because we literally put hundreds of devices into the body," said Buddy Ratner, co-author and a UW professor of bioengineering and of chemical engineering. "We couldn't achieve this level of excellence in healing before we had this synthetic hydrogel."
The body's biological response to implanted devices -- medical technologies that often cost millions to develop -- has frustrated experts for years. After an implant, the body usually creates a protein wall around the medical device, cutting it off from the rest of the body. Scientists call this barrier a collagen capsule. Collagen is a protein that's naturally found in our bodies, particularly in connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments.
If a device such as an artificial valve or an electrode sensor is blocked off from the rest of the body, it usually fails to work. Physicians and scientists have tried to minimize this, but they haven't been able to eliminate it, Ratner said.
Ratner's collaborator and co-author Shaoyi Jiang, a UW professor of chemical engineering, and his team implanted the polymer substance into the bodies of mice. The substance is known as a hydrogel, a flexible biomedical material swollen with water. It's made from a polymer that has both a positive and negative charge, which serves to deflect all proteins from sticking to its surface. Scientists have found that proteins appearing on the surface of a medical implant are the first signs that a larger collagen wall will form.
After three months, Jiang and his team found that collagen was loosely and evenly distributed in the tissue around the polymer, suggesting that the mice bodies didn't even detect the polymer's presence.
For humans, the first three weeks after an implant are the most critical, because by then the body will show signs of isolating the implant by building a collagen wall. If this hasn't happened in the first several weeks, it's likely the body won't default to an attack response toward the object.
"Scientists have tried many materials, and with no exception, this is the first non-porous, synthetic substance demonstrating that no collagen capsule forms, which could have positive implications for implantable materials, tissue scaffolds and medical devices," Jiang said.
UW researchers and others have worked for nearly 20 years to find a way to help the body accept implants. In 1996, the National Science Foundation-funded UW Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) research center opened at the UW, with Ratner serving as director. Since that time, researchers have been trying to make a material that is invisible to the body's immune response and could eliminate the body's negative reaction to medical implants.
Now, nearly two decades years later, engineers have found the "perfect" substance, Ratner said.
"This hydrogel is not just pretty good, it's exceptional," he said.
The UW researchers plan to test this in humans, likely by working with manufacturers to coat an implantable device with the polymer, then measure its ability to ward off protein build-up.
The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, UWEB and the UW Department of Chemical Engineering.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/u-9GMFJWooo/130514122801.htm
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