(Reuters) ? Tempted by the playful antics of that adorable kitten in the pet shop? If you've never had a cat before you may want to think again, especially if you have other allergies, researchers warn.
And if you do acquire a feline, keep it out of your bedroom.
While having a cat as a child may protect against future allergies, getting one in adulthood nearly doubles the chances of developing an immune reaction to it -- the first step towards wheezing, sneezing and itchy eyes, a European study found.
The same study, which covered thousands of adults and was published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that people with other allergies were at extra high risk of reacting to a new feline in the house.
"Our data support that acquiring a cat in adulthood nearly doubles the risk of developing cat sensitization," wrote Mario Olivieri, from the University Hospital of Verona in Italy.
"Hence, cat avoidance should be considered in adults, especially in those sensitized to other allergens and reporting a history of allergic diseases."
For the study, researchers surveyed more than 6,000 adult Europeans twice over nine years, taking blood samples. None of the participants had antibodies to cats in their blood to start with, meaning they were not sensitized to the animal's dander.
Sensitization can be measured in a skin prick test. It does not necessarily lead to symptoms, but in many cases it is the harbinger of full-blown allergies.
About three percent of people who did not have a cat at either time of the survey became sensitized over the course of the study, compared to five percent of those who acquired a cat during those nine years.
Four in 10 of the newly sensitized also said they experienced allergy symptoms around animals, four times the rate seen among people without antibodies against cats.
It also turned out that only people who let their pet into the bedroom became sensitized.
"If you are an adult with asthma and/or allergies, you should think twice about getting a cat and particularly, if you do so, letting it into your bedroom," said Andy Nish of the Allergy and Asthma Care Center in Gainesville, Georgia, who wasn't involved in the study.
The researchers did find, however, that people who had had a cat in childhood had a much smaller risk against becoming sensitized to it than those who were new cat owners.
"We thought that having a cat in early childhood may be protective against the development of cat allergy in childhood, but this study seems to indicate that protection extends into adulthood," Nish told Reuters Health in an email.
Noting that he always recommends keeping cats out of the bedroom, he added: "It is remarkable that none who did not allow the cat in the bedroom became sensitized."
For people who have a cat and have become allergic, he recommended finding a new home for the pet, followed by keeping the cat outdoors at all times.
"If it comes in even occasionally, its dander will remain in the house for months. If the cat needs to be indoors, at least keep it out of your bedroom, consider a HEPA filter for your bedroom, and consider washing the cat at least once a week," he added. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/vbZHAT
(Reporting from New York by Frederik Joelving at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies and Ron Popeski)
City Data banned me. They are strict about naming companies and when I trashed NBC I got in trouble even though their members gave some minor discontent with NBC.
I don't go around and install links in my posts normally even though I did forget to remove my website link from Alipac and didn't get banned. Lots of websites ban members for leaving links. Tea Party Patriots is strict about installing links and talking openly so I stay away from that site.
No, I'm far from a troll with the NBC message I'm posting. A troll would never trash their supported media source.
As for this message being "Shit". I understand your wording but just to clarify this message is the truth and not "Shit". People do read these posts and may interpit the wording the wrong way.
OK, I'm off to post elsewhere but will post here from time to time. Gotta make people aware that massive corruption concerning immigration may exist. I've gotten replies on other sites and the people are really pissed to here it.
What were the biggest stories to hit the?competitive?fighting game community this year? With so much having happened, it?s hard to decide. These are the top ten biggest stories according to Get Your Tournament.
5. Filipino Champ wins Northwest Majors 3?and Canada Cup
4. Majors for Team Spooky
3. Wolfkrone and Latif burn through opponents
2. Canada Cup steals the show
1. The defense of competitive gaming
They also give an honorable mention to the following stories:
OnlineTony wins seven tournaments in a row
Japan?s unsuccessful attempt to overtake the United States in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at Evolution 2011
Daigo Umehara?s Super Street Fighter IV title reign at Evolution ends
The struggle against top-tier characters
Perfect Legend wins at Evolution 2011
To read their full rundown of each event that made the list, head on over to GYTnews. What about you? What are your top five fighting game stories of 2011?
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Video: Chinese Soldier Throws Grenade and Nearly Kills Himself and His Training Instructor dlvr.it/12LYgPIl y a environ 3 heuresvia dlvr.itRetweeted by 2 people
BERLIN (Reuters) ? A well-known expert on mobile phone security says a vulnerability in a widely used wireless technology could allow hackers to gain remote control of phones, instructing them to send text messages or make calls.
They could use the vulnerability in the GSM network technology, which is used by billions of people in about 80 percent of the global mobile market, to make calls or send texts to expensive, premium phone and messaging services in scams, said Karsten Nohl, head of Germany's Security Research Labs.
Similar attacks against a small number of smartphones have been done before, but the new attack could expose any cellphone using GSM technology.
"We can do it to hundreds of thousands of phones in a short timeframe," Nohl told Reuters in advance of a presentation at a hacking convention in Berlin on Tuesday.
Attacks on corporate landline phone systems are fairly common, often involving bogus premium-service phone lines that hackers set up across Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.
Fraudsters make calls to the numbers from hacked business phone systems or mobile phones, then collect their cash and move on before the activity is identified.
The phone users typically don't identify the problem until after they receive their bills and telecommunications carriers often end up footing at least some of the costs.
Even though Nohl will not present details of attack at the conference, he said hackers will usually replicate the code needed for attacks within a few weeks.
T-MOBILE, SFR LEAD RANKING
Mobile networks of Germany's T-Mobile and France's SFR offer their clients best protection against online criminals wanting to intercept their calls or track their movements, shows a new ranking Nohl will demonstrate at his presentation.
The new ranking, at gsmmap.org, lets consumers to see how their operators are performing and lets anyone to participate in measurement of their carriers' security.
Researchers reviewed 32 operators in 11 countries and rated their performance based on how easy it was for them to intercept the calls, impersonate someone's device or track the device.
"None of the networks protects users very well," Nohl said.
The sample is set to grow from 32 carriers dramatically next year as the tool enables anyone to participate in gathering of the data.
Nohl said mobile telecom operators could easily improve their clients' security, in many cases by just updating their software.
"Mobile network is by far the weakest part of the mobile ecosystem, even when compared to a lot attacked Android or iOS devices," he said.
Researchers reviewed operators in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Slovakia, Switzerland and Thailand.
(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Matt Driskill and Vinu Pilakkott)
NEW YORK?? Victims of a data breach at security think tank Stratfor apparently are being targeted a second time after speaking out.
Stratfor said Monday on its Facebook page that people who offered support after the company revealed that the loose-knit hacking movement "Anonymous" had broken into its computers "may be being targeted for doing so."
Here's more from Stratfor's Facebook warning post:
It's come to our attention that our members who are speaking out in support of us on Facebook may be being targeted for doing so and are at risk of having sensitive information repeatedly published on other websites. So, in order to protect yourselves, we recommend taking security precautions when speaking out on Facebook or abstaining from it altogether.
A Twitter feed that asserts it's associated with Anonymous on Monday mocked victims who spoke to The Associated Press. And affiliates of anonymous asserted they'd removed more funds from the account of a victim who spoke out on Facebook.
Stratfor's website and email remained suspended Monday.
Hackers said they stole thousands of client credit card numbers and other personal information from the company. Unauthorized donations made from some of the accounts are likely to be reversed.
Related: 'Anonymous' hackers target US security think tank
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - Fire tore through a house in a tony neighborhood along the Connecticut shoreline early Sunday, killing five people, making it among the worst Christmases in the city's history, the mayor said.
Officials said the fire, which was reported shortly before 5 a.m., killed two adults and three children. Two others escaped. Their names have not been released.
"It is a terrible, terrible day for the city of Stamford," Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia told reporters at a news briefing at the scene of the fire. "There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford."
Acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said attempts by firefighters to rescue the house's occupants were pushed back by intense flames and heat.
He said fire officials do not yet know the cause of the blaze and will not likely get clues for a few days until fire marshals can enter the house "and figure out what happened."
Conte said he did not know the conditions of the two survivors.
"We had our hands full from the moment we arrived on the scene," he said.
A neighbor, Sam Cingari Jr., said he was awakened by the sound of screaming and that the house was entirely engulfed by flames.
"We heard this screaming at 5 in the morning," he said. "The whole house was ablaze and I mean ablaze."
Cingari says he does not know his neighbors, who he said bought the house last year and were renovating it. Power also was out in the neighborhood, he said.
Charles Mangano, who lives near the scene, told The Advocate of Stamford he saw a barefoot man wearing boxers and a woman being led out of the house.
The woman said, "`My whole life is in there,"' he said. "They were both obviously in a state of shock."
The 3,349-square foot, five-bedroom home sold for $1.7 million in December 2010, according to the Stamford assessment office's website. It's located in Shippan Point, a neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.
Tony Low-Beer, another neighbor, said he was awakened by a neighbor after 4 a.m. who told him about a "raging fire" next door.
"Cinders were flying all over the place," he told The Associated Press.
He said he secured his three dogs and put his iguana in a carrying case because he was concerned he might have to evacuate. As of Sunday afternoon, he was still at his home.
Stamford, a city of 117,000 residents, is about 25 miles northeast of New York City.
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is urging stability in North Korea and says his country's front-line troops remain on alert.
South Korea put its troops on high alert Monday after the death of Kim Jong Il. The presidential Blue House says Lee made the comments Thursday in a meeting with lawmakers.
All signs out of North Korea suggest the transition of power to Kim Jong Il's son is going smoothly. U.S. and South Korean officials are seeing no unusual troop movements and no buildup around the heavily fortified border.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said that as of Wednesday the U.S. military has not seen any unusual military movements by the North Koreans.
To make this delicious poison dish, simply take a large dollop of Windows 7 Professional, mix it with a portion of Safari and add a dash of special iFrame sauce and voila! instant Blue Screen of Death. The flaw is triggered by running Apple's Safari web browser on a fully patched 64-bit Windows 7 Professional, then feeding it a web page containing a simple iFrame with an overly long height attribute, like this: (remove the space after the first angle bracket) Result: Windows 7 falls over instantly with a memory corruption error. Ouch. Interestingly, it seems that 32-bit Windows 7 doesn't suffer from this vulnerability and neither does XP SP3 32-bit, although this is by no means certain at this point. The flaw appears to be in the win32k.sys kernel-mode driver, which is a common source of critical Windows vulnerabilities. It was first reported by Twitter user webDEViL (@w3bd3vil) and being a zero day vulnerability, there's currently no fix or workaround for it. However, the worst part about this critical vulnerability, is that Safari runs 100% in User Mode, which is effectively a type of sandbox, preventing an application from bringing down Windows, regardless of what it does. There's obviously a little loophole here though.
To prevent a malicious web page from taking out Windows 7 at the moment, inspection of every web page before being rendered by the browser would have to be performed by installed security software, which would tend to reduce browsing performance and increase CPU usage. Alternatively, just don't use Safari.
Respected security outfit Secunia has looked at this vulnerability and believe that the crash could be used to execute malicious code, rather than just kill the operating system. They have issued advisory SA47237 about this problem:
Description
A vulnerability has been discovered in Microsoft Windows, which can be exploited by malicious people to potentially compromise a user's system.
The vulnerability is caused due to a flaw in win32k.sys and can be exploited to corrupt memory via e.g. a specially crafted web page containing an IFRAME with an overly large "height" attribute viewed using the Apple Safari browser.
Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code with kernel-mode privileges.
The vulnerability is confirmed on a fully patched Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. Other versions may also be affected.
Solution
No effective solution is currently available.
Provided and/or discovered by
webDEViL
Original Advisory https://twitter.com/#!/w3bd3vil/status/148454992989261824
Additionally, Secunia's chief security specialist Carsten Eiram, expanded on this problem:
Based on our testing the impact could be more severe due to the type of crash and nature of the vulnerability i.e. crashing when attempting to write to invalid memory in a call to memmove(). Based on this we do consider remote code execution a possibility though it has not been proven at this time.
Other 64-bit versions could be affected. During testing we observed no crashes on Windows XP SP3 32-bit nor Windows 7 32-bit, but cannot completely rule out that these could be affected via different approaches.
As can be expected, this rather embarrassing zero day security flaw is being urgently looked into by Microsoft: "We are currently examining the issue and will take appropriate action to help ensure customers are protected" said Jerry Bryant, Group Manager, Response Communications Microsoft Trustworthy Computing. Of course, one must ask why is it only Safari that does this, so Apple should be equally concerned to fix their browser.
Below is an 11 second video demonstration of the flaw:
Japan's three biggest mobile phone companies said Wednesday they will adopt international standards for touch payment systems, expanding beyond the current implementation by Sony.
NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank said they will work together in the newly formed "Japan Mobile NFC Consortium" to bring the country in line with oversea trends. The companies currently use the NFC, or near field communication, standard called FeliCa, developed and owned by Sony, but said they will incorporate two other standards that are more common abroad, known as "Type A" and "Type B."
As in other countries, the technology allows users to pay for train tickets, food and other purchases by placing a card near special readers. In Japan many phones also come with the technology built in, but foreign-made phones must be modified to work in the existing ecosystem, which is run by DoCoMo and called "Osaifu Keita," or "wallet phone."
The companies, which collectively have about 124 million contracts in a country with a total population of under 130 million, are eager to squeeze more income out of mobile devices, as price wars cut revenue and massive investments in next-generation networks weigh on their balance sheets.
Encouraged by the government, they are also moving to adopt more international standards after long years of developing Japan-only implementations, a trend that led analysts to dub the country's mobile industry "Galapagos," because technologies evolved cut off from the rest of the world.
The move away from a Sony-dependent technology should also lower costs for the mobile trio. A joint press release announcing the founding of the consortium said the companies want to free users from having to worry about different NFC standards as well as "create an environment where service providers can offer efficient, low-cost NFC services."
Despite recent downswings, gold is projected to reach $3400 in the next few years. And outside economic factors should help it climb even higher
Have yourself a merry little depression.
Skip to next paragraph Bill Bonner
Bill has written two New York Times best-selling books, Financial Reckoning Day and Empire of Debt. With political journalist Lila Rajiva, he wrote his third New York Times best-selling book, Mobs, Messiahs and Markets, which offers concrete advice on how to avoid the public spectacle of modern finance. Since 1999, Bill has been a daily contributor and the driving force behind The Daily Reckoning (dailyreckoning.com).
Recent posts
Dow up 45 points. Gold down $9.
We?re still waiting for a major correction in the gold market. Each time one begins, it seems to run out of steam before doing any real damage. At yesterday?s closing price, $1,577, gold is still solidly ahead for the year.
So, where?s the soft spot? Where?s the test? Where will it come from? When?
Don?t worry, dear reader, Mr. Market will test us. He?ll throw his curve ball. We have to be ready.
What if?
?instead of testing us on the downside, he tests us on the upside? This is not a prediction. Just a thought. What if gold suddenly shot up?and looked like it was going to the moon. What would we do?
Citigroup?s metals expert puts a $3,400 price on gold ?in the next year or two.?
Jim Rogers makes a similar forecast.
What if they?re right? We only mention it because The Trickster has more than one trick up his sleeve. And he?s perfectly capable of running the price up to $3,500 BEFORE testing us.
We could get giddy, watching the price of gold hit record after record. And then, just when we think it is ready to scale its final peak, gold could turn tail and run for the valley. We wouldn?t believe it. We would hold on. We would wait for it to go back up.
And then?wouldn?t we feel stupid, if we?d taken that ride all the way to over $3,000?and then rode it all the way back to today?s level? Wouldn?t we be put out with ourselves, if we sold out then?thinking gold had put in its final top and we missed it?
According to the 50% principle?it could hit $3,000?collapse to barely $1,500?and then soar again?possibly going to $5,000?or even $10,000. That?s what we?ll get in the final ?crack up? boom that is coming.
Who knows?
But what we see is more upside than downside for gold. Because the motor pulling gold up still has a lot of gas in the tank.
In the US the feds spend $1.60 for every dollar they raise in taxes. In Europe, the euro-feds prepare to bail out their banks and sovereign debtors.
And guess how much the feds have already spent? They were so desperate to avoid a debt crisis?or a depression?that they threw the throttle wide open on the biggest rescue effort the world has ever seen. Bloomberg calculated that $7.7 trillion were put to work. Our estimate was higher ? about $10 trillion, we guessed.
Well?we were both way off. Here?s the news report:
As part of the Ford Foundation project ?A Research and Policy Dialogue Project on Improving Governance of the Government Safety Net in Financial Crisis,? Nicola Matthews and James Felkerson have undertaken an examination of the data on the Fed?s bailout of the financial system ? the most comprehensive investigation of the raw data to date.
The extraordinary scope and magnitude of the recent financial crisis of 2007-09 required an extraordinary response by the Fed in the fulfillment of its lender-of-last-resort function.
The bottom line: a Federal Reserve bailout commitment in excess of $29 trillion.
Whoa! The feds put at risk an amount equal to 200% of US GDP. And for what? So that a depression wouldn?t knock 5% off GDP? Even the Great Depression of the ?30s only set the US back by 30% of GDP. A similar setback today would cost the economy less than $5 trillion.
Do you see what we see? Even if it worked ? which it didn?t ? the feds? efforts would have been a disaster. Who would spend $29 trillion to save $5 trillion?
But wait. There?s more. This assumes that a depression is unnecessary?or that it doesn?t do any good. We know that?s not true. A depression does a lot of good. It wipes out bad investments and eliminates bad speculators. It forces capital into more productive, more profitable uses. It kills off zombie industries. It retires worn-out industries?and reduces costs so that new industries can arise. It?s the ?destruction? that Schumpeter?s ?creative destruction? needs.
The more we think about it, the more we?re beginning to like depressions. After scammy bailouts and bogus recoveries, a depression would be something to look forward to.
Bill Bonner ?for The Daily Reckoning
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on dailyreckoning.com.
Our modal law professor is a man or woman who knows very little about the actual practice of law in any form, given that he or she spent very little time ? increasingly, at more elite schools, literally no time ? practicing law before entering the legal academy. This fact means that to a significant extent the leaders of our profession (let us call our hypothetical specimen Professor Leader) have to spend much of their time in class bullshitting. This is a natural consequence of the fact that the rhetorical posture of Prof. Leader requires him to represent to his students that is teaching them how to be lawyers. But Prof. Leader knows nothing about being a lawyer. Hence, he must bullshit ? he does not lie to his students about how to be a lawyer (doing so would require him to know how to be a lawyer, while attempting to deceive his students regarding the substance of that knowledge); rather, he "talks without knowing what he is talking about."
Hitchens? writing style defied editorial intervention. Consequently, he reduced editors to fact-checkers. He had a prodigious memory, but his head wasn?t just stuffed with lines of poetry and tables of arcane facts: Apparently, he could also recall chunks of prose from the New York Times more or less accurately. Shortly after the news of Sen. Larry Craig?s arrest in an airport men?s room broke, Hitchens filed the piece that for me best exemplifies the breadth of his interests and the completeness of his recall?it contained quotes from an obscure academic work, recollections of hilariously profane bathroom graffiti, remembered conversations with British politicians, and lines of satirical verse published decades earlier.
Zynga priced its IPO at $10 a share, according to Bloomberg and CNBC (bankers love to leak). The IPO, which is set for tomorrow, will be in the upper end of the $8.50 to $10 price range the company indicated previously in SEC filings. Zynga will sell at least 100 million shares, raising $1 billion at a $7 billion valuation. The valuation is about half of where early reports were speculating it would be, but Zynga lowered the price in the face of the tepid performance of other tech IPOs lately and general economic concerns weighing down the stock market. Even with the lower price, Zynga is poised to open trading with a bigger market cap bigger than LinkedIn, which currently is at $6.4 billion.
TUESDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- As the war against cancer continues, a group representing U.S. oncologists has picked its "Top Five" list of advances in cancer care for 2011.
Leading the list are approvals for a bevy of new, targeted drugs for tough-to-treat malignancies, plus promising results suggesting CT chest scans may be an early-detection screen for lung cancer.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) this week issued its annual report on progress against cancer. The report was published online Dec. 5 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"The big news has been targeted drug therapy," noted Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang, head of the section of genitourinary cancer at the Nevada Cancer Institute in Las Vegas and co-executive editor of the report.
"We now have drugs that are very selective for some solid tumors. We now have [new] drugs affecting melanoma and lung cancer, which is pretty sweet," he said. "We don't know how long the responses to these drugs last -- they appear to be pretty short -- but some of them are truly dramatic."
CT-based lung cancer screening was the other big news in the cancer field this past year, Vogelzang noted. "People who smoke have a huge increase in lung cancer -- 40 times that of the general population. If you stop the risk drops, but it never goes back to zero."
However, a widely reported study published earlier this year by the U.S. National Cancer Institute found that screening smokers and former smokers with a CT chest scan was "dramatically better than the chest X-ray," Vogelzang said.
According to experts at ASCO, this year's top five advances include:
A trial of the drug vemurafenib (Zelboraf), which targets a key gene mutation in melanoma. The study found improved survival in patients with advanced melanoma compared with standard chemotherapy.
A screening trial of more than 50,000 current and former heavy smokers found that three yearly low-dose CT scans reduced the death risk from lung cancer by 20 percent compared with people screened with three annual chest X-rays. Some experts have said that more study may be needed before recommending regular CT screening for all smokers, however, pointing to factors such as cost and high rates of false-positive results.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to crizotinib (Xalkori) for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer who have a specific gene mutation. In one study, 50 percent of patients talking the medication saw their tumors shrink completely or partially for an average of 10 months. Another study found a 61 percent response rate that lasted an average of 12 months.
The FDA also approved ipilimumab (Yervoy) for patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma. The drug works by activating the patient's immune response. The trial showed that when combined with standard chemotherapy using dacarbazine, Yervoy extended life by two months.
Finally, there was the first conclusive evidence that exemestane (Aromasin) a so-called aromatase inhibitor, reduced the risk of developing breast cancer, making it a preventative treatment option for postmenopausal women at high risk for breast malignancies.
According to Vogelzang, the take-home message for patients is that, "cancer therapy continues to get better and better each year. Side effects are reducing. The old story of chemotherapy is going away -- this is no longer your grandfather's Buick -- these are pills that make cancer a truly manageable disease, much like diabetes."
Other topics in the report include: Ways to deal with troublesome, ongoing shortages of certain chemotherapy drugs, and the impact of health care reform might have in addressing disparities in cancer care.
In addition, the report looked at ways to improve clinical cancer research in the United States.
The report was developed by an 18-member editorial board made up of leading oncologists. Only studies that significantly changed the way a cancer is understood or had a major impact on patient care were chosen for the report, Vogelzang noted.
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, agreed that "we are moving into a new era of [cancer] drug development."
He explained that a better understanding the genetics of a particular cancer now makes it possible to develop medicines that target a key part of the tumor cell, making therapies more specific and effective.
"For example, in melanoma we are still using the same drug today that I used back in 1972," Lichtenfeld said. However, the advent of new drugs is starting to change that, he added.
"The extension of life may be modest, [but] we need to appreciate that they are real," Lichtenfeld said. "Ten years ago we started talking about making cancer a 'chronic disease' and we are starting to see that happen."
More information
There's much more on cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
While we weren't "In Da Club", the Candy Shop, or the Disco Inferno, 50 Cent himself made some time this morning to meet us in downtown Manhattan and show off his brand new line of headphones. If you don't already know, 50 originally tried to get the ball rolling in the audio biz with Sleek Audio earlier this year, until some licensing issues led him to become CEO of his own company, SMS Audio. This morning we were lucky enough to see the fruits of his labor in the form of two new sets of cans, Street by 50 (wired) and Sync by 50 (wireless). 50 also mentioned that he'd be at CES, so we'll certainly be paying him a visit come January. In the meantime, let's go over the deets on these new headphones.
The state Republican party has elected Kelly Fenton its new deputy chair. In that role she'll also serve as the interim state party chair, following the previous chairman's abrupt resignation Friday.
Fenton was elected Saturday in Bloomington by delegates to the Republican State Central Committee Meeting.
She takes over the term of former Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb, which expires in April 2013. Brodkorb resigned in October to advise the congressional campaign of state Sen. Mike Parry.
As deputy chair, Fenton will temporarily serve as party chair after former chairman Tony Sutton resigned Friday. The party's constitution calls for a full-time replacement to be elected within 30 days.
Fenton says the circumstance may have changed since she first decided to run for deputy chair, but the objectives remain the same.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)?
Brain areas send signals back and forth to generate conscious thoughts
By Morgen E. Peck
?|
December 5, 2011
Image: Getty Images
Scientists have long hunted for a pattern of brain activity that signals consciousness, but a reliable marker has proved elusive. For many years theorists have argued that the answer lies in the prefrontal cortex, a region of high-level processing located behind the forehead; neural signals that reach this area were thought to emerge from unconscious obscurity into our awareness. Recent research, however, supports the idea that consciousness is a conversation rather than a revelation, with no single brain structure leading the dialogue.
The most recent to challenge the prevailing theory is Simon van Gaal, a neuroscientist who investigates the borders of conscious awareness at the Neurospin Institute in Paris. He asks participants in his ongoing experiments to push a button every time they see a symbol flash on a screen, except when they see a certain icon that means ?stop.? During some of the trials van Gaal flashes the stop signal in a way that the subjects cannot consciously perceive. Although they do not see the stop signal, they hesitate to push the button, as though some part of the brain were choking on the information. As he runs the test, van Gaal measures brain activity with functional MRI and electroencephalo?graphy (EEG). He has found that the unconscious inhibitory signal seems to make it all the way up to parts of the prefrontal cortex.
The results indicate that ?activity in a certain region is not sufficient to generate consciousness,? van Gaal explains. Instead, he posits, different regions must exchange information before consciousness can arise.
A study in Science in May bolsters the claim that awareness emerges when information travels back and forth between brain areas rather than from ascending a linear chain of command. Researchers in Belgium recorded EEG signals in patients with brain damage as they listened to stimulating tones. All the patients were awake and alert, but with a range of responsiveness. Mathematical models built from the data suggest that feedback between the frontal cortex and the lower-level sensory areas is crucial to producing conscious experience. These results agree with previous work done with monkeys and healthy human volunteers.
Understanding consciousness has a universal philosophical appeal, but it is also clinically urgent, according to lead author M?lanie Boly of the University Hospital Center of Sart-Tilman in Li?ge, Belgium. ?The diagnosis of patients in a vegetative state or minimally conscious state is extremely difficult, and the misdiagnosis rate can be as high as 40 percent,? she says. By defining a neural correlate for con?sciousness, Boly and her colleagues hope to improve those patients? quality of care.
FILE - In this April 6, 2010 file photo, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, right, of Russia, cools down on the bench with coach Bruce Boudreau, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Boudreau isn't blaming his newfound unemployment on Ovechkin. The Capitals coach spoke publicly Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, for the first time since being fired on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - In this April 6, 2010 file photo, Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, right, of Russia, cools down on the bench with coach Bruce Boudreau, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. Boudreau isn't blaming his newfound unemployment on Ovechkin. The Capitals coach spoke publicly Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, for the first time since being fired on Monday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Anaheim Ducks' head coach Randy Carlyle looks toward the scoreboard in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. The Ducks won 4-1. (AP Photo/ Christine Cotter)
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) ? Randy Carlyle appeared relieved after his Anaheim Ducks snapped a seven-game skid Wednesday night, figuring his talented club had turned a corner.
If only the winningest coach in franchise history had known what was waiting for him around that corner.
Fed up with the Ducks' inexplicably slow start, the club fired the Stanley Cup-winning coach and his staff late Wednesday night. Anaheim swiftly replaced Carlyle with former Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, who was dismissed by the Capitals just two days earlier.
The Ducks made the abrupt moves after beating Montreal 4-1 on Wednesday night for just their third victory in 19 games. Despite the presence of league MVP Corey Perry, captain Ryan Getzlaf, 41-year-old scorer Teemu Selanne and All-Star goalie Jonas Hiller, the Ducks are off to a 7-13-4 start, ahead of only Columbus in the 15-team Western Conference.
"Randy is a terrific head coach, and did a tremendous job for us for six-plus seasons," Anaheim general manager Bob Murray said. "We thank him greatly for his hard work and dedication to our franchise, not the least of which was a Stanley Cup championship. At this time, we simply felt a new voice was needed. Bruce is a proven winner with a great track record, and we are optimistic we can turn this season around under his leadership."
Carlyle coached the Ducks to the franchise's only Stanley Cup title and Pacific Division championship in 2007, but the longtime NHL defenseman struggled to get his talented club's attention this fall after agreeing in August to a three-year contract extension through the 2013-14 season.
After Anaheim's seventh straight defeat last Sunday night, a dispassionate 5-2 loss to Toronto, Carlyle lamented that his players sometimes seemed to be "dead between the ears." He was in a better mood after the Ducks handled the Canadiens, praising their tenacity and his stars' leadership through a tough stretch.
A few minutes later, Carlyle was dismissed from the job he had held since August 2005. Anaheim cleaned house Wednesday night, also firing assistant coaches Dave Farrish and Mike Foligno and video coordinator Joe Trotta.
The Ducks hired Brad Lauer as an assistant coach to Boudreau, and will add another assistant soon.
Carlyle is the fourth coach to be fired in the always-impatient NHL's young season, and the third this week. Paul Maurice was also dismissed on Monday by the Carolina Hurricanes, while Davis Payne was let go by the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 6.
Boudreau, after doing a round of interviews Wednesday morning in which he said the Capitals made the right move by firing him, took a new job less than 72 hours after leaving a remarkably similar situation in Washington, which dropped him Monday after a slow start with a talented roster that's had little recent playoff success.
Boudreau will run the Ducks' practice on Thursday before his formal introduction, and his new players will be in for a major change from the sometimes-crusty Carlyle to the personable Boudreau, nicknamed "Gabby" for his garrulous style. Anaheim hosts Philadelphia on Friday night for Boudreau's debut.
Carlyle was behind Anaheim's bench for many of the 1993 expansion franchise's biggest moments. He had compiled a 273-182-6 record after taking over for Mike Babcock as the seventh head coach in club history.
Carlyle led Anaheim to the postseason in five of his first six seasons, winning more playoff games during that stretch than any coach except Babcock in Detroit. But Anaheim won just one playoff round in the past four years since winning the Cup, losing to fifth-seeded Nashville in the first round last season.
Boudreau led Washington to the last four Southeast Division titles and the 2010 Presidents' Trophy while winning 201 games in just four years on the job, but the Caps' lack of playoff success helped to seal his fate when they slumped following a 7-0 start to this season.
He won the Jack Adams award as the NHL's best coach in 2008, but never got past the second round of the playoffs despite a roster featuring Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and talented supporting casts. Boudreau favors an attacking offensive style that should suit the Ducks' talented forwards, although Carlyle also gave his players plenty of freedom for offensive creativity.
Lauer was promoted from the Ducks' AHL affiliate in Syracuse, where he had been an assistant since July. He spent the previous two seasons on the Ottawa Senators' staff.
RAMALLAH, West Bank ? The Palestinian prime minister said Thursday he wants to reduce his people's reliance on foreign aid drastically in the coming year and hopes to be able to pay for all day-to-day operations of his government by 2013.
Salam Fayyad told The Associated Press that the decision was spurred, in part, by what he described as the Palestinian Authority's worst financial crisis since its inception in the mid-1990s. The crisis was triggered by a 2011 shortfall of millions of dollars in foreign aid and Israel's decision last month to suspend the transfer of about $100 million a month in tax funds to the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resumed the transfer Wednesday under intense international pressure. But his office said he might freeze the funds again, should the Palestinians take additional steps seen by Israel as an attempt to bypass negotiations, such as seeking U.N. recognition of an independent state.
Fayyad said he wants to make sure Israel won't be able to hold up the transfers again. "It is a priority for us to find a way that we can be assured of the uninterrupted flow of funds from Israel," Fayyad said in an interview at his Ramallah office. He did not elaborate.
Weaning the Palestinians off the foreign aid will be a difficult task. In 2011, such aid made up $1.5 billion of the $3.7 billion budget. However, Fayyad, said he has already made significant progress and aims to cover all running costs of the government, such as public sector salaries and welfare payments, with local revenues by 2013.
He said he hopes "to make 2012 the last year ... in which this Palestinian Authority will need any external financing to help with recurrent expenditures." Foreign aid would still be needed for development projects, he said.
Even as Fayyad lays out his ambitious goals, it is by no means certain he will remain in office long enough to see them through.
His boss, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is pursuing reconciliation with the Islamic militant Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip ? one of the territories the Palestinians want for their state ? since a violent takeover in 2007.
As part of reconciliation, the rivals are to form an interim government that would prepare for elections in May. Hamas has objected to Abbas' choice of Fayyad as head of the interim government.
Negotiators are to meet later this month to revisit the issue, but Hamas officials have raised the possibility of keeping the rival governments in place until elections if no compromise is found. This would keep Fayyad in his post, at least until May.
Fayyad said Thursday that regardless of the political uncertainties, he had to try to get a grip on the financial crisis, "the deepest the Palestinian Authority has encountered since its inception."
The Palestinian self-rule government, which was set up as part of interim peace deals with Israel nearly two decades ago, is "teetering on the edge of collapse at any point of time," he said.
The billions of dollars of aid given to the Palestinian Authority were seen from the start as a way of supporting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that were to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state. But talks have stalled repeatedly, and have been paralyzed since late 2008.
Fayyad's pledge to slash reliance on aid comes in the context of the diplomatic deadlock and the global financial crisis. In 2011, donors didn't pay all the money they had promised or paid it late.
"Donors are on board" with his new approach, said Fayyad, who recently visited Norway, which has coordinated aid efforts. "Donors do not want to continue to advance in what they perceive to be an endless operation with continued occupation," he added.
In the 2011 budget, about $1 billion of the foreign aid went to government operating costs, such as public sector salaries, while some $500 million were spent on development projects. Fayyad noted that just three years earlier, his government still required $1.8 billion in aid for operating costs, or nearly double the 2011 figure.
Fayyad was able to decrease his deficit, in part, because of modest economic growth in the Palestinian territories, spurred in part by Netanyahu's easing of restrictions on Palestinian trade and travel. However, many restrictions persist and hamper growth.
The Palestinian prime minister said he plans to cut spending and increase revenue in 2012, including by going after tax evaders.
NJIT researchers publish news of success with robots as learning toolPublic release date: 30-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sheryl Weinstein 973-596-3436 New Jersey Institute of Technology
NJIT researchers, who have helped hundreds of science, mathematics, and technology teachers in New Jersey improve how students learn, have published a book chapter about their success using robotics as both a motivational and learning tool. "Robotics as an effective instructional tool and a motivation for learning" was published earlier this year in Innovations 2011, a publication of iNEER (International Network for Engineering Education and Research). The text was distributed to participants at the 2011 International Conference on Engineering Education in Northern Ireland this past summer.
"In recent years, considerable effort has been made to increase student interest and competency in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and using robotics as a teaching tool has been particularly successful," said lead author John Carpinelli, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and director of NJIT's Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP).
In 2007, Carpinelli and his NJIT colleagues at the Newark College of Engineering and CPCP, led by principal investigator Ronald Rockland, received a $1 million National Science Foundation Grant to develop and implement "Medibotics, the Merging of Medicine, Robotics and Information Technology." To read more and learn what New Jersey teachers have to say, see, "Training Teachers To Use Medibotics in the Classroom."
The successful culmination of this grant and the hard work of this fervent group of educators has been the publication of this book chapter. Co-authors were Howard Kimmel, professor, Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological, and Pharmaceutical Engineering, and associate vice president for academic affairs; Rockland, professor of engineering technology and biomedical engineering, and chair of the department of engineering technology; Levelle Burr-Alexander, associate director for K-20 Partnerships at CPCP; and Linda S. Hirsch, program evaluator for CPCP.
The book summarizes how to use robotics as a tool to enhance student understanding of and interest in STEM topics for curricula from sixth through twelfth grade with the ultimate goal of encouraging more students to pursue collegiate studies in these fields. The authors contend that many students do not pursue careers in technology and engineering in the US because they are not prepared academically in middle and high schools. Teachers in kindergarten through twelfth grade have not been trained to incorporate engineering and technology topics into their classroom lessons and, there is a shortage of high-quality curricular materials in these areas.
As with others who contributed to the book, the NJIT team believes that using the theme of robotics can overcome these obstacles. They show in this chapter how they have used robotics successfully for both teachers and students in classroom settings. Their program, Medibotics, focuses on developing projects that are medical in origin using LEGO Mindstorms Educational kits and NXT software.
Students and teachers learn to design, construct and write computer algorithms for LEGO robots that perform grade-appropriate prototypes of medical procedures performed by surgeons using robotic technologies.
###
The authors also developed a workbook of lessons and hands-on activities to foster creativity, innovation, critical thinking skills and more. Future work, recently funded by a three-year grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation, includes the development of video-based training materials to implement the Medibotics program in schools beyond New Jersey. For more information, please visit www.njit.edu/precollege or call 973-596-3550.
NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.
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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.
NJIT researchers publish news of success with robots as learning toolPublic release date: 30-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sheryl Weinstein 973-596-3436 New Jersey Institute of Technology
NJIT researchers, who have helped hundreds of science, mathematics, and technology teachers in New Jersey improve how students learn, have published a book chapter about their success using robotics as both a motivational and learning tool. "Robotics as an effective instructional tool and a motivation for learning" was published earlier this year in Innovations 2011, a publication of iNEER (International Network for Engineering Education and Research). The text was distributed to participants at the 2011 International Conference on Engineering Education in Northern Ireland this past summer.
"In recent years, considerable effort has been made to increase student interest and competency in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and using robotics as a teaching tool has been particularly successful," said lead author John Carpinelli, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and director of NJIT's Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP).
In 2007, Carpinelli and his NJIT colleagues at the Newark College of Engineering and CPCP, led by principal investigator Ronald Rockland, received a $1 million National Science Foundation Grant to develop and implement "Medibotics, the Merging of Medicine, Robotics and Information Technology." To read more and learn what New Jersey teachers have to say, see, "Training Teachers To Use Medibotics in the Classroom."
The successful culmination of this grant and the hard work of this fervent group of educators has been the publication of this book chapter. Co-authors were Howard Kimmel, professor, Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological, and Pharmaceutical Engineering, and associate vice president for academic affairs; Rockland, professor of engineering technology and biomedical engineering, and chair of the department of engineering technology; Levelle Burr-Alexander, associate director for K-20 Partnerships at CPCP; and Linda S. Hirsch, program evaluator for CPCP.
The book summarizes how to use robotics as a tool to enhance student understanding of and interest in STEM topics for curricula from sixth through twelfth grade with the ultimate goal of encouraging more students to pursue collegiate studies in these fields. The authors contend that many students do not pursue careers in technology and engineering in the US because they are not prepared academically in middle and high schools. Teachers in kindergarten through twelfth grade have not been trained to incorporate engineering and technology topics into their classroom lessons and, there is a shortage of high-quality curricular materials in these areas.
As with others who contributed to the book, the NJIT team believes that using the theme of robotics can overcome these obstacles. They show in this chapter how they have used robotics successfully for both teachers and students in classroom settings. Their program, Medibotics, focuses on developing projects that are medical in origin using LEGO Mindstorms Educational kits and NXT software.
Students and teachers learn to design, construct and write computer algorithms for LEGO robots that perform grade-appropriate prototypes of medical procedures performed by surgeons using robotic technologies.
###
The authors also developed a workbook of lessons and hands-on activities to foster creativity, innovation, critical thinking skills and more. Future work, recently funded by a three-year grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation, includes the development of video-based training materials to implement the Medibotics program in schools beyond New Jersey. For more information, please visit www.njit.edu/precollege or call 973-596-3550.
NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2010 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.
[ | 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.
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Public release date: 30-Nov-2011
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