Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295517466?client_source=feed&format=rss
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রবিবার, ৩১ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Patients of Okla. doctor line up for tests
TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? Hundreds of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon accused of unsanitary practices showed up at a health clinic Saturday, looking to find out whether they were exposed to hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS.
Letters began going out Friday to 7,000 patients who had seen Dr. W. Scott Harrington during the past six years, warning them that poor hygiene at his clinics created a public health hazard. The one-page letter said how and where to seek treatment but couldn't explain why Harrington's allegedly unsafe practices went on for so long.
Testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS began at 10 a.m. Saturday, but many arrived early and stood through torrential downpours. The Tulsa Health Department said 420 people were tested Saturday at its North Regional Health and Wellness Center. Screenings resume Monday morning.
Kari Childress, 38, showed up at 8:30 a.m., mainly because she was nervous.
"I just hope I don't have anything," said Childress, who had a tooth extracted at one of Harrington's two clinics five months ago. "You trust and believe in doctors to follow the rules, and that's the scariest part."
Inspectors found a number of problems at the doctor's clinics in Tulsa and suburban Owasso, according to the state Dentistry Board, which filed a 17-count complaint against Harrington pending an April 19 license revocation hearing. According to the complaint, needles were reinserted into drug vials after being used on patients, expired drugs were found in a medicine cabinet and dental assistants administered sedatives to patients, rather than the doctor.
One patient, Orville Marshall, said he didn't meet Harrington until after he had two wisdom teeth pulled about five years ago at the Owasso clinic. A nurse inserted the IV for his anesthesia; Harrington was there when Marshall came to.
"It's just really scary. It makes you doubt the whole system, especially with how good his place looked," said Marshall, 37.
An instrument set reserved for use on patients with infectious diseases was rusty, preventing its effective sterilization, and the office autoclave ? a pressurized cleaner ? was used improperly and hadn't been certified as effective in at least six years, according to the complaint.
Dr. Matt Messina, a Cleveland dentist and a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association, said creating a safe and hygienic environment is "one of the fundamental requirements" before any dental procedure can be performed.
"It's not hard. It just takes effort," he said.
Weekly autoclave testing can be performed for less than $400 annually, according to the website of the Autoclave Testing Services of Pearl River, New York.
Autoclaves typically can be purchased for $1,000 to $8,000, depending on their size and features. And an average dental practice can expect to pay more than $40,000 a year in equipment, tools and supplies alone, according to several dental organizations.
Attempts to reach Harrington have been unsuccessful. No one answered the door Thursday at his Oklahoma home, which property records show is worth more than $1 million. His practice a few miles away, in a tony section of Tulsa where plastic surgeons operate and locals congregate at bistros and stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, has a fair-market value of around $851,000.
Property and tax records show Harrington owns another residence in Carefree, Ariz., in an area of upscale homes tucked into in the boulder-strewn mountains north of Phoenix.
Nobody was at home Saturday at the low-slung, 1950s-style vacation home, across from the Boulders Resort. Neighbors said they had seen a lot of activity at the home in recent weeks.
Harrington's malpractice lawyer, Jim Secrest II, did not respond to phone messages left Thursday or Friday. A message at Harrington's Tulsa office said it was closed and an answering service referred callers to the Tulsa Health Department.
Suzy Horton, an old friend of Harrington's, said she can't believe the allegations about the man who removed two of her teeth in the early '90s. Horton's ex-husband sold Harrington his home in Carefree ? a home where she once lived.
"I've been to dentists my whole life, so I know what a professional office looks like," Horton, who now lives in Phoenix, said in a telephone interview. "His was just as professional as anybody."
Horton hasn't seen Harrington in years, but she said he has sent her a Christmas card and wreath every year since her 1999 divorce.
"It was a long time ago, so I suppose anything can change, but the kind of person they're portraying in the news is not the kind of person who sends you a Christmas" card, she said.
___
Associated Press writers Traci Carl in Carefree, Ariz., and Jeannie Nuss in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/patients-oklahoma-doctor-line-tests-204306341.html
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Big depositors in Cyprus to lose far more than feared
By Michele Kambas
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Big depositors in Cyprus's largest bank stand to lose far more than initially feared under a European Union rescue package to save the island from bankruptcy, a source with direct knowledge of the terms said on Friday.
Under conditions expected to be announced on Saturday, depositors in Bank of Cyprus will get shares in the bank worth 37.5 percent of their deposits over 100,000 euros, the source told Reuters, while the rest of their deposits may never be paid back.
The toughening of the terms will send a clear signal that the bailout means the end of Cyprus as a hub for offshore finance and could accelerate economic decline on the island and bring steeper job losses.
Officials had previously spoken of a loss to big depositors of 30 to 40 percent.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Friday defended the 10-billion euro ($13 billion) bailout deal agreed with the EU five days ago, saying it had contained the risk of national bankruptcy.
"We have no intention of leaving the euro," the conservative leader told a conference of civil servants in the capital, Nicosia.
"In no way will we experiment with the future of our country," he said.
Cypriots, however, are angry at the price attached to the rescue - the winding down of the island's second-largest bank, Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, and an unprecedented raid on deposits over 100,000 euros.
Under the terms of the deal, the assets of Laiki bank will be transferred to Bank of Cyprus.
At Bank of Cyprus, about 22.5 percent of deposits over 100,000 euros will attract no interest, the source said. The remaining 40 percent will continue to attract interest, but will not be repaid unless the bank does well.
Those with deposits under 100,000 euros will continue to be protected under the state's deposit guarantee.
Cyprus's difficulties have sent jitters around the fragile single European currency zone, and led to the imposition of capital controls in Cyprus to prevent a run on banks by worried Cypriots and wealthy foreign depositors.
"CYPRUS EURO"
Banks reopened on Thursday after an almost two-week shutdown as Cyprus negotiated the rescue package. In the end, the reopening was largely quiet, with Cypriots queuing calmly for the 300 euros they were permitted to withdraw daily.
The imposition of capital controls has led economists to warn that a second-class "Cyprus euro" could emerge, with funds trapped on the island less valuable than euros that can be freely spent abroad.
Anastasiades said the restrictions on transactions - unprecedented in the currency bloc since euro coins and banknotes entered circulation in 2002 - would be gradually lifted. He gave no time frame but the central bank said the measures would be reviewed daily.
He hit out at banking authorities in Cyprus and Europe for pouring money into the crippled Laiki.
"How serious were those authorities that permitted the financing of a bankrupt bank to the highest possible amount?" Anastasiades said.
The president, barely a month in the job and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 war split the island in two, accused the 17-nation euro currency bloc of making "unprecedented demands that forced Cyprus to become an experiment".
European leaders have insisted the raid on big bank deposits in Cyprus is a one-off in their handling of a debt crisis that refuses to be contained.
MODEL
But policymakers are divided, and the waters were muddied a day after the deal was inked when the Dutch chair of the euro zone's finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said it could serve as a model for future crises.
Faced with a market backlash, Dijsselbloem rowed back. But on Friday, European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot, a fellow Dutchman, said there was "little wrong" with his assessment.
"The content of his remarks comes down to an approach which has been on the table for a longer time in Europe," Knot was quoted as saying by Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad. "This approach will be part of the European liquidation policy."
The Cyprus rescue differs from those in other euro zone countries because bank depositors have had to take losses, although an initial plan to hit small deposits as well as big ones was abandoned and accounts under 100,000 euros were spared.
Warnings of a stampede at Cypriot banks when they reopened on Thursday proved unfounded.
For almost two weeks, Cypriots were on a ration of limited withdrawals from bank cash machines. Even with banks now open, they face a regime of strict restrictions designed to halt a flight of capital from the island.
Some economists say those restrictions will be difficult to lift. Anastasiades said the capital controls would be "gradually eased until we can return to normal".
The government initially said the controls would stay in place for seven days, but Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Thursday they could last "about a month".
On Friday, easing a ban on cheque payments, Cypriot authorities said cheques could be used to make payments to government agencies up to a limit of 5,000 euros. Anything more than 5,000 euros would require Central Bank approval.
The bank also issued a directive limiting the cash that can be taken to areas of the island beyond the "control of the Cypriot authorities" - a reference to Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus which considers itself an independent state. Cyprus residents can take 300 euros; non-residents can take 500.
Under the terms of the capital controls, Cypriots and foreigners are allowed to take up to 1,000 euros in cash when they leave the island.
(Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac and Gilbert Kreijger in Amsterdam; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-no-intention-leaving-euro-president-095234615--business.html
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শনিবার, ৩০ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Pat Riley to Danny Ainge: Shut up
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Miami Heat President Pat Riley has added another chapter to his rivalry with the Boston Celtics.
After LeBron James complained about calls and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge chided him for it, Riley lashed back Friday night.
Riley's response: "Danny Ainge needs to shut the (expletive) up and manage his own team."
This saga started Wednesday after Miami's 27-game winning streak ended in Chicago. James told reporters that night that he does not believe some of the hard fouls he takes are "basketball plays." A day later, Ainge told Boston radio station WEEI that "it's almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating."
Riley was clearly irked, calling Ainge "the biggest whiner going when he was a player."
The Heat and Celtics play April 12 in Miami.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pat-riley-danny-ainge-shut-010424469--spt.html
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Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Lists $28.5 Million Lake ... - AOL Real Estate
Billionaire Oracle chief Larry Ellison has just listed his Lake Tahoe mansion in Glenbrook, Nev., for a whopping $28.5 million. No surprise to us, really, considering that he's built another mega-mansion on the other side of the lake, which he's just about ready to move into, according to our friends at Curbed.
If the new mansion's anything like the one that he's just thrown on the market, then we want in! It boasts 230 feet of lake frontage with its own white sand beach and private harbor. And that beachfront cabana with sundeck just sweetens the deal! Yes, owning your own Hawaiian island just isn't enough for some members of the 1 percent. Oh, you haven't forgotten that Ellison bought 98 percent of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, have you? And then bought a freakin' airline to get him to and fro?!
He'll keep that while you settle for his measly 14,192-square-foot mansion. Altogether, Ellison's just-listed Lake Tahoe property boasts 13 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Maybe its movie theater, library and sauna will also entice you. But, yeah, it's no Hawaiian island.
See the listing for more details.
Find more homes for sale in Glenbrook, Nev., or search listings in your area.
More on AOL Real Estate:
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Source: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/03/29/oracle-larry-ellison-home-listing/
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How Do You Distract Yourself from the Agony of Exercise?
Exercise doesn't have to suck, but if you want to get into really great shape you have to work pretty hard and that's not fun or comfortable. Some people listen to music or podcasts to distract themselves. Others watch television, or even work. How do you distract yourself from the agony of exercise?
Not all exercise involves riding a stationary bike, running on a treadmill, and lifting weights, of course. Plenty of activities combine something fun with a workout. If that's how you enjoy your exercise, share that as well.
Photo by WIlliam Perugini (Shutterstock).
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Sensory helmet could mean firefighters are not left in the dark
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 29-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Beck Lockwood
beck@campuspr.co.uk
University of Sheffield
A specially-adapted 'tactile helmet', developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield, could provide fire-fighters operating in challenging conditions with vital clues about their surroundings.
The helmet is fitted with a number of ultrasound sensors that are used to detect the distances between the helmet and nearby walls or other obstacles. These signals are transmitted to vibration pads that are attached to the inside of the helmet, touching the wearer's forehead. Rescue workers, such as fire-fighters, who might be working in dark conditions or in buildings filled with smoke, will be able to use the signals to find walls and other obstacles that could help guide them through unfamiliar environments.
It is anticipated that a lightweight version of the technology could also be useful to people with visual impairments, acting as an additional 'sense' to guide users or to help them avoid hazards.
Invented by a team of researchers at the Sheffield Centre for Robotics (SCentRo), the helmet was inspired by research into tactile sensing in rodents, whose whiskers give early warning of potential hazards.
Professor Tony Prescott of the University of Sheffield and director of SCentRo, said: "When a firefighter is responding to an emergency situation he will be using his eyes and ears to make sense of his environment, trying to make out objects in a smoke filled room, for example, or straining to hear sounds from people who might need rescuing. We found that in these circumstances it was difficult to process additional information through these senses. Using the sense of touch, however, we were able to deliver additional information effectively."
The team also found that the helmet was the ideal place to locate the vibrating pads because, although the fingertips might seem a more obvious choice, stimuli delivered to the wearer's forehead enabled them to respond more rapidly to the signals, and would also leave their hands free for other tasks.
The prototype helmet was developed using a Rosenbauer helmet donated by Northfire Ltd and was produced following a two-year research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have also assisted, providing advice during the development period as well as access to their training facility. The next step is to find a commercial partner interested in further developing the helmet.
The helmet will be on show at this year's Gadget Show Live, to be held at the NEC in Birmingham from 3-7 April 2013. For more information go to: http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/.
###
Notes for Editors:
1. The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield - the 2011 Times Higher Education's University of the Year - is one of the largest in the UK. Its seven departments include over 4,000 students and 900 staff and have research-related income worth more than 50M per annum from government, industry and charity sources. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed that two thirds of the research carried out was either Internationally Excellent or Internationally Leading.
The Faculty of Engineering has a long tradition of working with industry including Rolls-Royce, Network Rail and Siemens. Its industrial successes are exemplified by the award-winning Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the new 25 million Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC).
The Faculty of Engineering is set to ensure students continue to benefit from world-class labs and teaching space through the provision of the University's new Engineering Graduate School. This brand new building, which will become the centre of the faculty's postgraduate research and postgraduate teaching activities, will be sited on the corner of Broad Lane and Newcastle Street. It will form the first stage in a 15 year plan to improve and extend the existing estate in a bid to provide students with the best possible facilities while improving their student experience
To find out more about the Faculty of Engineering, visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/faculty/engineering/.
3. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800m a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change.
The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via research Councils UK.
[ | 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: 29-Mar-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Beck Lockwood
beck@campuspr.co.uk
University of Sheffield
A specially-adapted 'tactile helmet', developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield, could provide fire-fighters operating in challenging conditions with vital clues about their surroundings.
The helmet is fitted with a number of ultrasound sensors that are used to detect the distances between the helmet and nearby walls or other obstacles. These signals are transmitted to vibration pads that are attached to the inside of the helmet, touching the wearer's forehead. Rescue workers, such as fire-fighters, who might be working in dark conditions or in buildings filled with smoke, will be able to use the signals to find walls and other obstacles that could help guide them through unfamiliar environments.
It is anticipated that a lightweight version of the technology could also be useful to people with visual impairments, acting as an additional 'sense' to guide users or to help them avoid hazards.
Invented by a team of researchers at the Sheffield Centre for Robotics (SCentRo), the helmet was inspired by research into tactile sensing in rodents, whose whiskers give early warning of potential hazards.
Professor Tony Prescott of the University of Sheffield and director of SCentRo, said: "When a firefighter is responding to an emergency situation he will be using his eyes and ears to make sense of his environment, trying to make out objects in a smoke filled room, for example, or straining to hear sounds from people who might need rescuing. We found that in these circumstances it was difficult to process additional information through these senses. Using the sense of touch, however, we were able to deliver additional information effectively."
The team also found that the helmet was the ideal place to locate the vibrating pads because, although the fingertips might seem a more obvious choice, stimuli delivered to the wearer's forehead enabled them to respond more rapidly to the signals, and would also leave their hands free for other tasks.
The prototype helmet was developed using a Rosenbauer helmet donated by Northfire Ltd and was produced following a two-year research project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have also assisted, providing advice during the development period as well as access to their training facility. The next step is to find a commercial partner interested in further developing the helmet.
The helmet will be on show at this year's Gadget Show Live, to be held at the NEC in Birmingham from 3-7 April 2013. For more information go to: http://www.gadgetshowlive.net/.
###
Notes for Editors:
1. The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield - the 2011 Times Higher Education's University of the Year - is one of the largest in the UK. Its seven departments include over 4,000 students and 900 staff and have research-related income worth more than 50M per annum from government, industry and charity sources. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) confirmed that two thirds of the research carried out was either Internationally Excellent or Internationally Leading.
The Faculty of Engineering has a long tradition of working with industry including Rolls-Royce, Network Rail and Siemens. Its industrial successes are exemplified by the award-winning Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the new 25 million Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC).
The Faculty of Engineering is set to ensure students continue to benefit from world-class labs and teaching space through the provision of the University's new Engineering Graduate School. This brand new building, which will become the centre of the faculty's postgraduate research and postgraduate teaching activities, will be sited on the corner of Broad Lane and Newcastle Street. It will form the first stage in a 15 year plan to improve and extend the existing estate in a bid to provide students with the best possible facilities while improving their student experience
To find out more about the Faculty of Engineering, visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/faculty/engineering/.
3. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and physical sciences. EPSRC invests around 800m a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change.
The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via research Councils UK.
[ | 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/2013-03/uos-shc032913.php
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How Cosmic Collisions Have Shaped Our Solar System
From the rocky fragments in Saturn's rings to Earth's own moon, our solar system bears signs of an ancient demolition derby. Planetary scientist Erik Asphaug describes the role of impacts in our planetary neighborhood, and looks ahead to a possible comet collision on Mars.
Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/29/175741693/segment-2?ft=1&f=1007
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শুক্রবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Ethanol Debate Has Glimpse of Bipartisanship
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are finally on the same page about a controversial energy policy after reading from two completely different playbooks the last four years.
Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are both undecided about what Congress should do about the renewable-fuels standard, a federal mandate established in 2005 that requires increasingly large amounts of biofuels each year to be blended with gasoline.
?I don?t have an immediate solution. I don?t have the answer,? Upton said in a recent interview in his office. ?But we?re going to have thoughtful hearings, first a couple of white papers. We?re going to see where people are. I have confidence that we?ll have a solution by going regular order.?
So will Waxman, who has vehemently disagreed with Upton on everything from the Keystone XL pipeline to greenhouse-gas regulations, be working with him on this? ?I?d like to think Henry would be on board,? said Upton, noting the two jointly released the first of a series of white papers on the mandate last week.
In a recent interview in Waxman?s corner office in the Rayburn Office Building, the usually opinionated California liberal was noncommittal. ?I?m not going to take a position on this issue,? he said. ?I?m looking forward to working with [Upton]. Let?s explore it. Let?s get the options. Let?s get input. And then let?s sit down together.?
The geographical and parochial interests shaping the debate over the biofuels mandate put Waxman and Upton on the same side of one of the most controversial issues Congress is poised to take up this year. The mandate is facing criticism from an informal?and unusual?coalition that includes the American Petroleum Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Chicken Council, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
While they?re not willing to admit it, both lawmakers seem open to reforming the policy, which has come under intense scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats alike in the wake of last summer?s record-setting drought that sent corn prices souring. Refineries that are required to blend biofuels with gasoline often use corn-produced ethanol to meet the mandate. Apart from providing fuel in the form of ethanol, corn also serves as a key feedstock to the poultry, pork, and cattle industries. More advanced biofuels made from products other than corn are not coming to market as quickly as the 2005 law had envisioned. On top of these concerns, the original intent of the standard?to wean America off foreign oil?has been trumped by the boom in oil and natural-gas production around the country in the last five years.
Waxman?s chief concerns, according to sources knowledgeable about his position, center on the impact corn-based ethanol could have on efforts to tackle global warming. Some reports have found that gasoline blended with corn-based ethanol is no better at reducing greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline alone. He is also aware of the legal liability automakers could incur if engines are unable to run using blends with more ethanol.
Waxman has never been a big fan of corn ethanol. He voted against the energy bill in 2005 that initially created the mandate but supported a 2007 measure that strengthened the mandate?s goal of promoting advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which don?t use corn and have lower carbon footprints.
Waxman may also be getting an earful from a powerful opponent of the standard: Chevron. Waxman?s newly redrawn district includes, for the first time since he came to Congress in 1975, a refinery. Chevron bills the facility, located along the coast near the Los Angeles International Airport, as the largest refinery on the West Coast. The facility spans 1,000 acres and employs 1,100 people, according to Chevron?s website. When National Journal Daily asked about the refinery in the interview, Waxman laughed, smiled broadly, and simply said: ?Yeah.? He said he hasn?t met (yet) to talk with Chevron about the biofuels mandatey.
?I?m not anti-oil,? Waxman said. ?I?m happy there is a refinery in my district that is producing a product that is very much needed. That doesn?t mean I?m going to agree with them on everything.? He quickly added: ?We?re going to need fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. I?d like us to start moving away as quickly as possible and make our portfolio of energy resources more than just fossil fuels.?
The background of Upton?s stance on the policy is equally nuanced. Along with 207 other Republicans, he supported the creation of the mandate as part of the 2005 bill and also the measure two years later that strengthened it. Republican President Bush signed both those bills into law.
Sources familiar with Upton?s thoughts on the policy now say the Republican is more inclined to oppose it, given the Republican Party?s growing hostility to federal mandates and the resurgence in oil and natural-gas production that?s helped get the U.S. closer than ever to the elusive goal of energy independence.
Upton has another concern to keep in mind: Ensuring that any movement on the standard doesn?t divide his conference, which is already splintered on a host of other issues. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who works closely with Upton as the chairman of the House Environment and Energy Subcommittee, is a big proponent of ethanol (Illinois produces the third-highest amount of ethanol in the country). ?Yes, I know there are real hard feelings on all sides of the issue: oil and gas side to the corn folks,? Upton said.
For the next couple of months, expect Upton and Waxman to be reading quietly from the same playbook as they roll out white papers on the standard. The real test of how long this bipartisanship will last will come when the hearings?and actual debate?begin in the committee.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ethanol-debate-glimpse-bipartisanship-195915918--politics.html
U.S. asks Liechtenstein for data in tax evasion probe
Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-asks-liechtenstein-data-swiss-banking-probe-074807421.html
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Ahmadinejad roadshow: Pitching his political heir
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? During a celebration last week to mark the Persian new year, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did something quietly remarkable: He stood modestly to the side and let his favored aide have the spotlight.
The gesture was far more than just a rare demure moment from the normally grandstanding leader. It was more carefully scripted stagecraft in Ahmadinejad's longshot efforts to promote the political fortunes of his chief of staff ? and in-law ? and seek a place for him on the June presidential ballot that will pick Iran's next president.
In the waning months of Ahmadinejad's presidency ? weakened by years of internal battles with the ruling clerics ? there appears no bigger priority than attempting one last surprise. It's built around rehabilitating the image of Esfandiari Rahim Mashaei and somehow getting him a place among the candidates for the June 14 vote.
To pull it off, Ahmadinejad must do what has eluded him so far: Come out on top in a showdown with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the other guardians of the Islamic Republic. Ahmadinejad has been slapped down hard after bold ? but ultimately doomed ? attempts in recent years to push the influence of his office on policies and decisions reserved for the ruling clerics.
That has left him limping into the end of his eight-year presidency with many allies either jailed or pushed to the political margins. Mashaei is part of the collateral damage.
He's been discredited as part of a "deviant current" that critics say seeks to undermine Islamic rule in Iran and elevate the values of pre-Islamic Persia. The smear campaign has even included rumors that Mashaei conjured black magic spells to cloud Ahmadinejad's judgment.
The prevailing wisdom is that the backlash has effectively killed Mashaei's chances for the presidential ballot. The ruling clerics vet all candidates and, the theory follows, they seek a predictable slate of loyalists after dealing with Ahmadinejad's ambitions and disruptive power plays. In short: Friends of Ahmadinejad need not apply.
Khamenei and others, including the powerful Revolutionary Guard, also are hoping to quell domestic political spats that they fear project a sense of instability during critical negotiations with the West over Tehran's nuclear program.
Yet none of this seems to have discouraged Ahmadinejad, whose son is married to Mashaei's daughter. Ahmadinejad has been trying to groom Mashaei for years as his potential heir and now appears reluctant to toss his backing behind a less controversial figure.
To that end, the president has hit the road as a cheerleader for Mashaei under the slogan "Long Live Spring."
At one stop, Ahmadinejad described Mashaei as "a pious man." At another event he called him "excellent, wise," and at a third said his adviser has "a heart like a mirror."
At last week's event, both men burst into tears as they discussed the need to help children with cancer. Ahmadinejad then "thanked God for having the opportunity to get to know Mashaei."
Ahmadinejad appears to be banking on his populist appeal to force the Guardian Council ? the gatekeepers for the candidates ? to consider Mashaei too prominent to reject.
"Ahmadinejad doesn't want to go out with a whimper. That's not his style," said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center based in Geneva. "He wants his legacy, his man, as his successor."
Tehran-based political analyst Sadeq Zibakalam also sees Mashaei as Ahmadinejad's last-ditch insurance policy. Without an ally as successor, Ahmadinejad fears he will be cast to the political sidelines.
"Ahmadinejad has no option but to get one of his loyalists into power," he said.
It will be more than a month before the candidate list is finalized. The presidential hopefuls will register from May 7-11, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Monday.
Already, however, the general contours are taking shape.
There is Ahmadinejad's quest for Mashaei as the only active campaign roadshow.
Many conservatives, meanwhile, seem to be coalescing around a three-way alliance ? all apparently in the good graces of the ruling system ? of former Foreign Minister and current Khamenei adviser Ali Akbar Velayati; Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and prominent lawmaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, whose daughter is married to Khamenei's son.
"Should we win, our coalition will form the backbone of the future government," Velayati told a press conference earlier this month, suggesting that the potential winner would seek key posts for the other two.
A separate roster of establishment-friendly candidates is getting bigger by the day. It includes former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian; parliament's vice speaker, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, Mohsen Rezaei, who ran against Ahmadinejad in his disputed re-election in 2009.
Reformists remain undecided whether to fall behind a potential candidate or boycott the vote in protest of the 2009 outcome ? which they claim stole the election from Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi ? and the crushing pressures on dissent that followed. Mousavi and fellow reformist candidate Mahdi Karroubi have been under house arrest for more than two years.
But the most unpredictable element is still Ahmadinejad's push for Mashaei, whom he bills as his ideological heir and supporter of populist initiatives such as government stipends to poor families.
"Ahmadinejad will travel city to city and tell the public that they should vote for me if they want Ahmadinejad's plans to be pursued," Mashaei was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
The president ? the same man who calls for the destruction of Iran's enemies ? is often musing and sentimental as Mashaei's pitchman.
"I testify that this man loves all human beings," Ahmadinejad said of his in-law.
Mashaei, however, has been a political lightning rod for years. In 2009, Ahmadinejad appointed him as his first vice president, but was forced to backtrack on orders from Khamenei.
Mashaei is believed to have been Ahmadinejad's adviser in a stunning feud with Khamenei over the choice of intelligence chief in 2011. The president boycotted Cabinet meetings for 11 days ? an unprecedented show of disrespect to Iran's supreme leader ? but finally backed down.
In December, Ahmadinejad named Mashaei to a top post in the Nonaligned Movement, a Cold War holdover that Iran seeks to revive as a counterweight to Western influence. The appointment was seen as an attempt to raise Mashaei's political profile and give him some international experience.
While it's not possible to rule out any candidate until the vetting process is complete, one conservative cleric gives Mashaei no chance.
"The exalted supreme leader ordered that Mashaei is not qualified to serve as first vice president." said Qasem Ravanbakhsh. "So will the Guardian Council approve for president a man was not qualified to be the first vice president? Never."
___
Murphy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ahmadinejad-roadshow-pitching-political-heir-063835043.html
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Donovan: Goal is to get back on US soccer team
Associated Press Sports
updated 12:34 p.m. ET March 28, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) - Landon Donovan has returned to training with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Now his goal is to work his way back into the national team picture.
Donovan, whose asked club coach Bruce Arena for an extended offseason after the Galaxy's MLS Cup triumph early last December, says it will take some time to regain his form.
After a training session with the Galaxy Thursday at Georgetown, Donovan says he realizes he has "a long way to go, both on the field and off the field, to work back into the national team."
Donovan, who joined the Galaxy ahead of their visit to the White House Tuesday, says he will not play in Los Angeles' match Saturday at Toronto, but could return as a substitute in upcoming league matches.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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PST: We took the current standings from qualifying tournaments around the world, assumed the teams? points-per-game rates played out, and then ?qualified? the appropriate teams for Brazil.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51362405/ns/sports-soccer/
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DragonBox for iPhone, iPad, Mac makes learning algebra fun
DragonBox is an educational math game for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that teaches the concepts of algebra in a fun way. Instead of sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher give all the rules for solving an equation, kids can simply play a game with similar rules that starts with pictures and slowly introduces algebraic symbols.
When you first start playing DragonBox, you are introduced to the game board that is split into two sides. On the board, there is a box and other tiles with pictures, and the goal is to get the box alone on one side of the board (solve for x).
At the bottom of the screen, there are tiles that you may need to use to reach your goal of isolating the box. If you put a tile on one side of the board, you must also put an identical tile on the other side. Later in the game, this rule extends to placing tiles next to or under other tiles (multiplying or dividing).
Each tile can also be flipped. On one side, it will be day (positive), and the other side will be night (negative). Stacking the day and night versions of the same picture will merge them into a picture of a portal. If you tap a portal, it will disappear. (The portal represent 0). Eventually, DragonBox does introduce variables with negative symbols instead of day/night as well as the number 0.
Some tiles look like an ace dice and they represent the number 1. If you have two identical tiles above and below each other, you can slide them together to convert them into an ace. If an ace is touching another tile, you can slide it into the adjacent tile and it disappears (multiplying by 1).
The goal is not only to isolate the box, but to also eliminate any useless tiles. For example, if there's an ace attached to another tile, get rid of it. And if there's a portal floating around, make it disappear. The number of stars you earn for each level is dependent on solving the equations in the least number of moves and eliminating useless tiles.
By the time you reach the end of the game, all tiles will be variables or numbers, the box will be an 'x', and you'll have to perform several moves to solve the equations, including fraction manipulation and more than one 'x' tile on the board at a time. Dragonbox will also begin to display the tiles as an equation with multiplication symbols and plus and equal signs.
After beating the game, you'll have access to bonus levels for even more practice.
The good
- Great graphics
- Fun and educational
- Teaching algebra concepts as game-rules, making it fun
- Leaves some "rules" open to discovery (like how it's best to add/subtract terms from both sides before multiplying/dividing)
- Starts with pictures and box and slowly advances to numbers, variable and 'x'
- Multiple user support
- Universal for iPhone and iPad
The bad
- Operators don't always line up nicely
The bottom line
DragonBox is one of the best math games I've seen. It does an excellent job of turning algebra into a game and teaching concepts in a fun environment. It also leaves some ideas open to discovery instead of a rule, which is the best way to learn.
As a math educator, I highly recommend DragonBox to anyone who is learning algebra or struggling with algebraic concepts. I also believe DragonBox is an excellent way to first introduce kids to algebra before they formally learn about it in a classroom setting.
Seriously, I'm very impressed with DragonBox as a fun, yet very effective, educational tool.
- $5.99 for iPhone and iPad - Download now
- $5.99 for Mac - Download now
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1Ys7yPjkwDs/story01.htm
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Creepy Critters in Sensitive Places: How Science Reporters Get Your Attention
We're not as daring as Magellan (who died) or Columbus (who went crazy) or Henry Hudson (who froze), but in our dainty little way, we take astonishing risks. Well, maybe not astonishing. Maybe just embarrassing.
Some of the best science reporters, like the best Vaudevillians, the best circus performers, the best teachers, are hungry for attention ? not for themselves (well, maybe a little), but for a way to seize your mind, to bring you to an idea, a creature, a puzzle. We are a strange bunch, shy, desperate, ferocious ? we want you to know what we know, meet who we've met.
Here's a perfect example. I've got this friend, Destin, who is not even a fully-employed science reporter (though he's about to be). By day, he tests rockets for the U.S. Defense Department in Huntsville, Ala., but the rest of the time he explores physics, biology and explodes things, blowing up anything and everything (while, of course, wearing safety glasses ? because, as I said, we may look crazy, but we're dainty on the inside). He does his reporting on his own YouTube channel, called Smarter Every Day. He's his own cameraman, reporter, narrator, money-raiser and nuisance to his long-suffering wife.
Doing What Must Be Done
Recently, he took himself on a trip to the Amazon rainforest, accompanied by a gang of, you should excuse the expression, "frat boy" types (scientists, I suppose), who took him to a hole, literally a hole in a mound of mud or dirt deep in the forest. In that hole, they knew, was a tailless whip scorpion, a big, scary, frightening-looking multi-legged beast who is clearly, VERY CLEARLY, making Destin extremely uncomfortable. Lots of people get the creeps near spiders, which is what these are (though six-legged, they've got two more limbs up front, making them "amblypygids," part of the spider family). But true to our code (Explore, Describe, Pee in Your Pants) Destin has his Encounter. Yes, his eyes are squinched shut, and he's barely breathing, but he's a Science Reporter, Doing What Must Be Done ... as you will see ... right here ...
By the way, (and this is why we don't belong with Columbus, Magellan or Henry Hudson), according to the scientists at The Wild Classroom, tailless whip scorpions "are completely harmless. They have no way of inflicting stings, or in any way hurting a human being. [They] do not have venom, and their formidable pedipalps [those claw-like limbs] are used solely for capturing small prey like tiny crickets crawling on tree trunks."
They don't even have tails. Tailless scorpions are like mouthless dragons. Very un-dangerous. Their Latin name, "amblypigid," means "blunt rump." So Destin was never in harm's way, not even slightly.
The Science Reporting Difference ...
But this is why we are different from those other show folks who make fiction TV and movies ? we show you the truth. Destin may be a coward, but he knows the animal is not his enemy. Heck, he even takes it home to its hole after their "date."
They didn't do that in the Harry Potter movies. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, features a tailless whip scorpion. Professor Mad-Eye Moody (the one with the magical eye) calls it "lethal" (hah!) and proceeds to torture the little guy until Hermione begs him to stop.
Dr. Moody may be a full professor at Hogwarts ? but he's no science reporter. We may not be pure-bred wizards, but we're made of truer stuff.
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Stocks open higher following jump in goods orders
Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-open-higher-following-jump-goods-orders-134755148--finance.html
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Syrian opposition claims seat at Arab summit
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Syria's opposition took over the country's seat for the first time at an Arab summit Tuesday in a diplomatic triumph marred by severe divisions in the ranks of the Western-backed opposition alliance.
The opposition's ascension to representing the country at the summit in Qatar, a key backer of the those fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, demonstrated the extent of the regime's isolation two years into a ferocious civil war that the U.N. says has killed an estimated 70,000 people.
In Damascus, the government on Tuesday blasted the Arab League's decision, portraying it as a selling-out of Arab identity to please Israel and the United States.
"The shameful decisions it (Arab League) has taken against the Syrian people since the beginning of the crisis and until now have sustained our conviction that it has exchanged its Arab identity with a Zionist-American one," said an editorial in the Al-Thawra newspaper, a government mouthpiece.
The Qatari ruler, who chaired the summit, said the Syrian opposition deserves "this representation because of the popular legitimacy they have won at home and the broad support they won abroad and the historic role they have assumed in leading the revolution and preparing for building the new Syria."
In a further show of solidarity with anti-Assad forces, the Arab League endorsed the "right of each state" to provide the Syrian people and the Free Syrian Army with "all necessary means to ... defend themselves, including military means."
It was unclear whether the statement would open new weapons channels to fighters. But it would mark a symbolic slap of the U.S. and European allies that have resisted full-scale military aid to the rebels.
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told reporters that the call for "rights" to aid rebels is not an end to diplomatic efforts to solve Syria's crisis, but seeks to provide more "balance" with Assad's superior firepower and aid he is getting from Russia and Iran.
"The right to send more weapons to support the opposition is not an end to political efforts, but this might establish balance between both parties," Elaraby said.
Fighting, meanwhile, raged on in Syria. Rebels barraged Damascus with mortar shells that killed at least three people and wounded dozens in one of the most intensive attacks on the seat of President Bashar Assad's power.
The state news agency also reported that a car bomb exploded near the predominantly Kurdish neighborhood of Rukneddine, killing three people.
The opposition delegation led by Mouaz al-Khatib, the former president of the main opposition alliance ? the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition ? took the seats assigned for Syria at the invitation of Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, while other delegates applauded.
Al-Khatib used the forum to call for a greater U.S. role in aiding the rebels and said he had appealed to Secretary of State John Kerry to consider using NATO Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey to help defend northern Syria against strikes by Assad's forces.
Asked about al-Khatib's request for Patriots, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the deployment of the anti-missile batteries to Turkey was a NATO decision with a clear mandate to protect Turkey.
"We've heard some of this before in private," Ventrell told reporters in Washington. "He's now publicly saying this. But again, that's what the NATO mission is."
A NATO official said "the secretary general of NATO has been very clear since the beginning that NATO has no intention of getting militarily involved with Syria. That remains the same."
"Our current deployment of Patriot systems is a defensive action to protect our ally Turkey," said the NATO official in Belgium on condition of anonymity in keeping with the alliance's regulations.
The diplomatic triumph, however, could not conceal the disarray within the top ranks of the opposition and underlined the splits that continue to plague the opposition, complicating U.S. and Western efforts to try to shape the course of the fight to oust Assad.
Besides al-Khatib, the Syrian delegation included Ghassan Hitto, recently elected prime minister of a planned interim government to administer rebel-held areas in Syria, and two prominent opposition figures, George Sabra and Suheir Atassi.
Al-Khatib announced his resignation on Sunday because of what he described as restrictions on his work and frustration with the level of international aid for the opposition. The coalition rejected the resignation and al-Khatib said he would discuss the issue later and represent the opposition at the Qatar summit "in the name of the Syrian people."
Also, Hitto's election as the head of the interim government was rejected by the opposition's military office, which said he was not a consensus figure. Some members have accused Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood of imposing their will on the Coalition.
Atassi briefly suspended her membership in the coalition after Hitto was elected.
Addressing the gathering, al-Khatib thanked the Arab League for granting the seat to the opposition and lamented the inaction of several foreign governments, which he did not name, toward the Syrian crisis despite the suffering of civilians in his country.
"I convey to you the greetings of the orphans, widows, the wounded, the detained and the homeless," al-Khatib told the gathering in an opulent hall in Doha.
Most of the mortar strikes hit the capital's east side, falling near a school in the Baramkeh neighborhood, the Damascus Hospital, the Law Faculty of Damascus University and the state news agency's own offices.
SANA said one girl and two other civilians were killed.
A government official in Damascus told The Associated Press that four people were killed and 42 wounded. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, and the discrepancy could not immediately be resolved.
Mortar rounds also fell in a number of areas on the city's west side, including the Christian neighborhood of Bab Touma, SANA said.
The agency published photos of a hole in a wall of what appeared to be a school, medics treating blood-stained patients and firemen extinguishing burning cars.
It was not immediately known who fired the mortar shells. Such attacks in the capital have grown more common in recent weeks as rebels have clashed with government troops on the city's east and south sides. While the shelling rarely causes many casualties, it has shattered the aura of normalcy the regime has tried to cultivate in Damascus.
"They think that that through this tactic they can pressure residents to rise up against authorities," said Fayez Sayegh, a member of parliament and a member of the ruling Baath Party. "But on the contrary, this indiscriminate shelling makes people realize that this opposition is nothing but gangs of criminal terrorists."
Meanwhile, anti-regime activists said Syrian troops seized control of a neighborhood in the central city of Homs that is considered a symbol of opposition to Assad's regime.
The Syrian military's recapture of Baba Amr, in Homs, while not strategically important in the civil war, is a symbolic blow to the rebels. The poor, predominantly Sunni neighborhood emerged early in the uprising as a symbol of the rebel movement, first for its protests and later for the armed groups who held it against the regime onslaught.
The seesaw fight for the Homs neighborhood reflects the back-and-forth nature of Syria's civil war. While rebels appear to be gaining ground, their progress is slow and their fighters remain vulnerable to Assad's military superiority.
In other violence Tuesday, the Observatory said that at least 13 charred bodies, including four children and five women, were found on the outskirts of the village of Abil, southwest of Homs city. It said local activists blamed the killings on pro-government gunmen.
The Syrian government does not respond to requests for comment and did not mention the killing in official media.
___
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Doha, Ben Hubbard in Beirut, Bradley Klapper in Washington, Tom Wagner in London, and Hamza Hendawi in Cairo contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-opposition-takes-syrias-arab-summit-seat-192735251.html
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New lung cancer study takes page from Google's playbook
Mar. 25, 2013 ? The same sort of mathematical model used to predict which websites people are most apt to visit is now showing promise in helping map how lung cancer spreads in the human body, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Research.
A team of researchers used an algorithm similar to the Google PageRank and to the Viterbi Algorithm for digital communication to analyze the spread patterns of lung cancer. The team includes experts from the University of Southern California (USC), Scripps Clinic, The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.
"This research demonstrates how similar the Internet is to a living organism," said USC Viterbi School of Engineering Professor Paul Newton, Ph.D., the lead and corresponding author of the study. "The same types of tools that help us understand the spread of information through the web can help us understand the spread of cancer through the human body."
Employing a sophisticated system of mathematical equations known as a Markov chain model, the research team -- guided by USC applied mathematicians- found that metastatic lung cancer does not progress in a single direction from primary tumor site to distant locations, which has been the traditional medical view. Instead, they found that cancer cell movement around the body likely occurs in more than one direction at a time.
Researchers also learned that the first site to which the cells spread plays a key role in the progression of the disease. The study showed that some parts of the body serve as "sponges" that are relatively unlikely to further spread lung cancer cells to other areas of the body. The study identified other areas as "spreaders" for lung cancer cells.
The study revealed that for lung cancer, the main spreaders are the adrenal gland and kidney, whereas the main sponges are the regional lymph nodes, liver and bone.
The study applied the advanced math model to data from human autopsy reports of 163 lung cancer patients in the New England area, from 1914 to 1943. This time period was targeted because it predates the use of radiation and chemotherapy, providing researchers a clear view of how cancer progresses if left untreated. Among the 163 patients, researchers charted the advancement patterns of 619 different metastases to 27 distinct body sites.
The study's findings could potentially impact clinical care by helping guide physicians to targeted treatment options, designed to curtail the spread of lung cancer. For example, if the cancer is found to have moved to a known spreader location, imaging tests and interventions can be quickly considered for focused treatment before the cells may be more widely dispersed. Further study is needed in this area.
Keeping tabs on cancer's movement in the body is vital to patient care. While a primary cancer tumor (confined to a single location) is often not fatal, a patient's prognosis can worsen if the cancer metastasizes -- that is, flakes off and travels to other parts of the body to form new tumors.
The study is part of a relatively new movement to involve physical sciences in oncology research. Mathematics probability models that interpret data from specific patient populations offer a new alternative to the established approach of relying on broader clinical trends to predict where, and how fast, cancer will spread.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- P. K. Newton, J. Mason, K. Bethel, L. Bazhenova, J. Nieva, L. Norton, P. Kuhn. Spreaders and sponges define metastasis in lung cancer: A Markov chain mathematical model. Cancer Research, 2013; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-12-4488
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/S2c0yU_9a4g/130325111150.htm
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Anxiety, hope as high court ponders gay marriage
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases concerning marriage rights for same-sex couples. In one, United States v. Windsor, the court could determine whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples. The other, Hollingsworth v. Perry, tackles Proposition 8, California?s ban on gay marriage that voters narrowly passed in 2008.
Yahoo News asked Americans who will be affected by these cases to share their stories and perspectives. Here's a sampling of what they said.
'I can't help but hold on to a thread of hope'
In 2010, Jacob Z. Flores had two weddings. He and his husband got married first in Provincetown, Mass., and three weeks later they had a ceremony in their hometown of Victoria, Texas.
Their marriage was legal in Massachusetts. But, Flores writes, they held the second ceremony ?to demonstrate to our friends and family that we were just like the other married couples they knew, whether it was legal in Texas or not."
?Yet, when both weddings were over, I couldn't help but feel cheated," he continued. "In each other's eyes and in the eyes of our friends, we were husbands, but to the federal government we were not.?
So for Flores, this week?s arguments over same-sex marriage in the nation?s highest court are a reason to be hopeful. He sees the cases on DOMA and Proposition 8 as similar to bans on interracial marriage and notes that the Supreme Court struck down such laws.
?I can't help but hold on to a thread of hope,? Flores writes. ?My marriage might be recognized on a federal level soon.?
'I could not perform a gay wedding'
D.L. Teamor, 39, a pastor in Michigan, says she ?cannot and will not judge another person,? but that she feels gay marriage violates the tenets of her faith.
?I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman as illustrated in the Bible, the nucleus of my faith,? Teamor writes. ?The laws and lessons contained therein do not change according to modern times or popular outlooks.?
She adds that performing a gay wedding ?would completely oppose my Christian beliefs."
?Sacrilege?
Another clergy member, Gerald Watt, has the same worries as Teamor. Watt says he supports civil unions but is opposed to same-sex marriage. ?To attempt to join two same sex individuals in the sacrament of marriage would be a sacrilege for me,? Watt writes.
He lives in Illinois, which is debating legalizing gay marriage. He notes that the proposed law allows for clergy to be exempt from performing same-sex weddings, but he fears that provision might not last.
?I can see a time when test cases will eventually force the government to withdraw credentials from clergy like me,? he writes. ?I might even be sued for violation of someone's civil rights.?
?Anxiety and anticipation?
Kate Coenen has been engaged since July, but she hasn?t made any solid wedding plans. Her fianc?e is finishing her degree at the University of Michigan, and they don?t know where they?ll live after graduation.
?Because each state has its own approach to same-sex marriage, we may end up in a state that won't recognize our relationship,? Coenen, 26, writes. Regardless of where they wind up, Coenen says she and her fianc?e ?plan on building our lives together whether or not we end up living in a state where we can marry legally.?
To her, the potential for broader recognition of gay marriage is more than just a symbol. She, too, wants to take advantage of ?tangible benefits that many people in straight couples take for granted.?
The end of DOMA ?would give our lives a greater degree of stability and certainty,? she writes.
But no matter how the Supreme Court cases turn out, Coenen, who was a student at the University of Iowa when the state?s Supreme Court legalized gay marriage there in 2009, is optimistic about the prospects for gay marriage.
?I look forward to sharing that future with my wife-to-be,? she writes.
?DOMA is a slap in the face?
A.R. Treadway lives with her partner of seven years in DeLand, Fla., where they are raising her son from, as she puts it, her ?former life.?
She believes ?DOMA is a slap in the face??one with practical implications for her family.
?I want to be able to have the same rights and protections my parents have,? Treadway writes. ?When my father passes away, my mother is eligible to collect his benefits [and] make arrangements for his burial. ... If I died tomorrow, my fianc? couldn't make funeral arrangements for me or claim my son as her son, which would mean a nasty court battle between my family and his birth father.?
She also hopes to one day see gay marriage recognized in all 50 states. But, as she awaits the outcome of the DOMA and Proposition 8 cases, she is seeing some advances for LGBT rights in Florida and is ?enjoying the little victories.?
Worry at church and at work
Matt Bianco, 36, of Southern Pines, N.C., works at a Christian company and is an elder in his church. He fears that broad legalization of gay marriage could force both institutions to violate their conscience.
?In both cases, they have the right, and possibly the duty, to oppose gay marriage, including the funding of health and benefits coverage for the gay spouse,? Bianco writes.
For him, the root of the problem is the government?s involvement in marriage in the first place. He writes that ?the government has usurped authority it does not have? by giving benefits to married couples. And now, with the Supreme Court cases looming, he sees moral conflicts on the horizon over the granting of those benefits.
?This is not simply a matter of gays wanting equal access to marriage; this is a case of the government imposing acceptance of and financial support of gay marriage upon individuals and employers who are morally opposed to gay marriage,? he writes.
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