Leading Real Estate Companies of the World? Conference Week ...

Chicago, IL ? February 27, 2013 ? (RealEstateRama) ? Nearly 2,000 top real estate professionals from 17 countries are gathered this week for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World? Conference Week at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Collectively, those in attendance represent more home sales than any real estate network, selling more than 924,000 homes in 2011 ? the last full-year statistics available ? valued at $234.6 billion in the U.S. alone.

Attendance numbers exceeded expectations, with all events selling out, including the network?s Annual Conference for brokers and relocation professionals, the inaugural Performance SUMMIT and Luxury Portfolio SUMMIT for sales associates, Sales Manager SUMMIT, MarTech for marketing and technology professionals, and the RELO Direct? Corporate Forum for employee mobility professionals.

?We are thrilled to have assembled such a sizable and impressive group of real estate professionals, especially the 1,000 agents who have come for our first large scale event for sales associates,? said Pam O?Connor, president/CEO of LeadingRE. ?Having so many market leaders together in one place ? and in one network ? signifies the power of this global organization, and the excitement is contagious.?

Each Conference Week event offers sessions focused on the unique needs of the various roles within a real estate brokerage, offering in-depth discussions on the issues and trends impacting the real estate market worldwide. With content ranging from new business sources to innovations in marketing and technology to how to tap the many resources available through LeadingRE, the program was designed to give attendees tangible ideas for growing their businesses.

Keynote speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist and bestselling author Dave Barry, author of the international bestseller The Happiness Advantage Shawn Achor; and former Good Morning America host Joan Lunden. Also on tap from the world of finance is Dave Stevens, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Addressing the areas of social media and marketing are word-of-mouth marketing authority Spike Jones; Brian Boero and Marc Davison, partners at 1000watt; Vice Chairman of Harrison Group Dr. Jim Taylor; and Internet marketing expert Jim Marks of Virtual Results.

The Deans of LeadingRE?s professional development platform, Institute, are also featured, including best-selling author and executive coach Mike Staver of The Staver Group; real estate technology and consumer expert Matthew Ferrara, Steve Harney, author of the popular Keeping Current Matters blog and a leading authority on educating consumers on market realities, and performance and customer experience consultant Debbie Maier. Author of Dress Your House for Success Martha Webb and WeSkill founder Brian Parsley will also be featured.

Noteworthy names from within the industry include Vice President and Chief Economist for the California Association of REALTORS? Leslie Appleton-Young, REAL Trends Editor Steve Murray, Ninja Selling architect Larry Kendall, founding partners of WAV Group Victor Lund and Marilyn Wilson, OwnAmerica CEO Greg Rand, founder of PCMS Jose Perez, and authors of the Short Sale Campus Certified designation Brandon Brittingham and Gee Dunsten. An array of talented and accomplished LeadingRE members will share unique insights and perspectives on achieving success in today?s market.

Grand sponsor HGTV?s FrontDoor.com and Premier sponsor Quicken Loans lead an extensive list of sponsors and exhibitors.

For more information on Leading Real Estate Companies of the World?, visit www.LeadingRE.com.

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• Leading Real Estate Companies of the World? Announces Conference Week Speakers
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Source: http://www.realestaterama.com/2013/02/27/leading-real-estate-companies-of-the-world%C2%AE-conference-week-draws-record-crowds-ID019259.html

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Syrian rebel put his dreams on hold in civil war

In this Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Beloved of Allah Brigade , which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebel Abdullah Qadi, foreground, addresses other fighters in the village of Orim, Syria. Qadi, a fresh graduate of veterinary school when Syria's conflict began, was killed this week while fighting the forces of President Bashar Assad.(AP Photo/Beloved of Allah Brigade via AP video)

In this Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Beloved of Allah Brigade , which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebel Abdullah Qadi, foreground, addresses other fighters in the village of Orim, Syria. Qadi, a fresh graduate of veterinary school when Syria's conflict began, was killed this week while fighting the forces of President Bashar Assad.(AP Photo/Beloved of Allah Brigade via AP video)

In this Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Beloved of Allah Brigade , which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrian rebel Abdullah Qadi, second right, addresses other fighters in the village of Orim, Syria. Qadi, a fresh graduate of veterinary school when Syria's conflict began, was killed this week while fighting the forces of President Bashar Assad.(AP Photo/Beloved of Allah Brigade via AP video)

In this Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013 image taken from video obtained from Beloved of Allah Brigade, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, dead Syrian rebel fighter Abdullah Qadi lies on a floor before burial in Syria. Qadi, a fresh graduate of veterinary school when Syria's conflict began, was killed this week while fighting the forces of President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Beloved of Allah Brigade via AP video)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Abdullah Qadi stood apart from his fellow rebel fighters ? an educated young man from a poor farming town who managed to make it through veterinary school.

He was fresh out of school in March 2011, when Syria's uprising began and erased his career plans of treating animals and someday becoming a professor.

As the violence deepened into a civil war, Qadi worked as a medic but later took up arms when his brother was killed, becoming a field commander.

Qadi was leading fighters into battle against the government forces when I met him on two occasions last year, a 25-year-old who was swept up in events he didn't quite understand and didn't expect to survive.

"I try to ask myself where I'll be after the revolution, and I can't imagine myself anywhere but in the grave," Qadi told me the last time I saw him in person.

I saw Qadi again earlier this week: As I sat at my computer in Beirut, a YouTube video flashed across the screen showing his body after he had been killed in northern Syria during government shelling and airstrikes. The video, posted online by the rebels, declared him a "martyr" in the fight against President Bashar Assad.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ben Hubbard, an Associated Press correspondent based in Beirut, interviewed rebel fighter Abdullah Qadi during reporting trips into Syria. Here is his remembrance of the young brigade commander who died this week while fighting in northern Syria.

___

Qadi's death was like many of the more than 70,000 in the civil war ? violent, fast and mostly invisible to the outside world, other than in a few posts on Facebook pages run by his friends.

For me, it was a moment of recognizing someone familiar in the stream of gruesome images from the nearly 2-year-old conflict.

Because the government bars most reporters from working in Syria, on-the-ground reporting can only be done on dangerous, clandestine trips into the country.

It was on one such trip in November that I spent several days with Qadi and his brigade in northern Syria, both in a simple farmhouse they used as a base near their hometown of Maaret Misreen and in a fancy villa where they squatted while planning to attack an army base.

Qadi fielded my questions about his group, answering softly and earnestly, laughing shyly at times without opening his mouth much to hide a chipped front tooth.

His college education made him different from most of his fellow fighters. He was shorter than many of his colleagues and he usually wore an army green sweater and camouflage pants. He had grown a beard in the revolutionary fashion, but it was too downy to harden his image.

When the political protests against Assad grew more violent, his future was changed forever. Instead of healing farm animals, his medical expertise was put to use in treating victims of the government crackdown.

Then, in December 2011, his brother, Mazen, was killed in a shootout with a pro-regime militia, and Qadi joined a new brigade called The Beloved of Allah, most of whose members were guys he grew up with.

Like most of those fighting Assad's forces, he was a devout Sunni Muslim who didn't fully agree with the jihadists and foreign fighters who had joined the civil war seeking to turn Syria into an Islamic state. But their presence didn't bother him enough to make him refuse their help in battle.

He was popular with his men and known for his caution, recalled Sair Schaib, another brigade member, in an interview via Skype.

Some chafed at times at Qadi's reluctance to push forward quickly, but they later appreciated it. They realized that despite all the talk of the glory of martyrdom, he really didn't want to get his men killed.

This week, Qadi's brigade was among the rebels who pushed into Khan al-Assal, a village east of Aleppo in northern Syria near a police academy that Assad's forces have turned into a military base that regularly fires shells at nearby villages.

Government forces heavily shelled the area and the rebels organized cars to evacuate the civilians, said Schaib, who was a few streets away from Qadi.

Then a government jet bombed them, damaging homes and wounding a number of fighters and civilians.

Once they had been evacuated, Schaib rejoined the rest of his group and found another fighter cradling Qadi's head in his lap and reciting the Muslim declaration of faith.

Qadi's colleagues announced his death on their Facebook page, telling his story in epic language that portrayed him as a model for all.

"He picked up his weapon and joined the valiant revolutionaries, a courageous hero who did not fear death, but instead asked Allah for it, seeking martyrdom and receiving it from Allah," it said. "You will live on in our presence and in or hearts as we continue the march until we reach one of two blessings, victory or martyrdom."

They also posted a video of his body, his face uncovered. His fellow rebels, their voices cracking with emotion, yelled "God is great!"

Qadi was buried Monday night in his hometown, next to his brother.

Months earlier, over a plate of chicken fingers and french fries, Qadi spoke of how he had deferred his dreams of work, graduate study and marriage to fight a war he didn't expect to see end.

But he didn't seem depressed at that late-night dinner. He had fully embraced his new life.

"I'm happy with the battles and the people I've gotten to know," Qadi said. "These are the best moments of my life."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-28-ML-Syria-Death-of-a-Rebel/id-2d226f68ee344be38d9945abf1fefed0

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Australian Muslim activists lose free speech case

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia's highest court on Wednesday narrowly rejected the case of two Muslim activists who argued they had a constitutional free-speech right to send offensive letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Iranian-born Man Horan Monis, a self-styled Sydney cleric also known as Sheik Haron, was charged with 12 counts of using a postal service in an offensive way and one count of using a postal service in a harassing way over three years until 2009. Amirah Droudis was charged with aiding and abetting the offences. They face potential maximum prison sentences of 26 years and 16 years respectively if convicted.

The six judges of the High Court split on whether the charges were compatible with Australians' right to free speech. When the nation's highest court is tied, an appeal is dismissed and the lower court decision stands.

That sends the charges to a lower court where they will be heard on a date to be set.

Monis allegedly wrote letters critical of Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan and condemning the dead soldiers. He also allegedly wrote to the mother of an Australian official killed in a terrorist bomb blast in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2009 and blamed Australian government foreign policy for the tragedy.

His lawyer David Bennett argued in the High Court last year that the letters were "purely political." He argued the charges were invalid because they infringed on Australians' right to freedom of political communication.

The Australian Constitution doesn't include an equivalent of the U.S. First Amendment. But the High Court has held for decades that the constitution contains an implied right to free speech because such political communication is essential to democracy. This right is not as extensive as that guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The pair had appealed in the High Court the unanimous ruling of three judges of the New South Wales state Court of Appeal in December 2011.

"Whilst at one level the letters are critical of the involvement of the Australian military in Afghanistan, they also refer to the deceased soldiers in a denigrating and derogatory fashion," their judgment said.

Prof. Anne Twomey, a Sydney University constitutional lawyer, said the High Court's tied decision offered little legal precedent on the extent that offensive speech can be prohibited in Australia.

She said the issues could be tried again in a different case. Two of the seven judges on the High Court will have changed before the next such case is heard.

"It's rather unpredictable" how the court would rule on a similar case, Twomey said. "The area of offensive speech has always been difficult."

Only six judges heard the case because the seventh, Justice William Gummow, intended to retire in October last year before the trial was likely to be completely heard.

One of the judges who would have upheld the appeal on free speech grounds, Justice John Dyson Haydon, retires in March.

It is a crime under Australian federal law to use a postal service to communicate a message that "reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive."

Twomey said Monis and Droudis might not have been charged if the letters had been hand delivered.

Federal authorities have limited criminal jurisdiction in Australia and relied in this prosecution on its powers over national postal and electronic communications.

Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan which is the biggest military contribution to the war of any country outside NATO. Australia has suffered 39 casualties over the past decade in Afghanistan and another 249 Australian soldiers have been wounded.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-muslim-activists-lose-free-speech-case-062857877.html

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Australian Muslim activists lose free speech case

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia's highest court on Wednesday narrowly rejected the case of two Muslim activists who argued they had a constitutional free-speech right to send offensive letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Iranian-born Man Horan Monis, a self-styled Sydney cleric also known as Sheik Haron, was charged with 12 counts of using a postal service in an offensive way and one count of using a postal service in a harassing way over three years until 2009. Amirah Droudis was charged with aiding and abetting the offences. They face potential maximum prison sentences of 26 years and 16 years respectively if convicted.

The six judges of the High Court split on whether the charges were compatible with Australians' right to free speech. When the nation's highest court is tied, an appeal is dismissed and the lower court decision stands.

That sends the charges to a lower court where they will be heard on a date to be set.

Monis allegedly wrote letters critical of Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan and condemning the dead soldiers. He also allegedly wrote to the mother of an Australian official killed in a terrorist bomb blast in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2009 and blamed Australian government foreign policy for the tragedy.

His lawyer David Bennett argued in the High Court last year that the letters were "purely political." He argued the charges were invalid because they infringed on Australians' right to freedom of political communication.

The Australian Constitution doesn't include an equivalent of the U.S. First Amendment. But the High Court has held for decades that the constitution contains an implied right to free speech because such political communication is essential to democracy. This right is not as extensive as that guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The pair had appealed in the High Court the unanimous ruling of three judges of the New South Wales state Court of Appeal in December 2011.

"Whilst at one level the letters are critical of the involvement of the Australian military in Afghanistan, they also refer to the deceased soldiers in a denigrating and derogatory fashion," their judgment said.

Prof. Anne Twomey, a Sydney University constitutional lawyer, said the High Court's tied decision offered little legal precedent on the extent that offensive speech can be prohibited in Australia.

She said the issues could be tried again in a different case. Two of the seven judges on the High Court will have changed before the next such case is heard.

"It's rather unpredictable" how the court would rule on a similar case, Twomey said. "The area of offensive speech has always been difficult."

Only six judges heard the case because the seventh, Justice William Gummow, intended to retire in October last year before the trial was likely to be completely heard.

One of the judges who would have upheld the appeal on free speech grounds, Justice John Dyson Haydon, retires in March.

It is a crime under Australian federal law to use a postal service to communicate a message that "reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive."

Twomey said Monis and Droudis might not have been charged if the letters had been hand delivered.

Federal authorities have limited criminal jurisdiction in Australia and relied in this prosecution on its powers over national postal and electronic communications.

Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan which is the biggest military contribution to the war of any country outside NATO. Australia has suffered 39 casualties over the past decade in Afghanistan and another 249 Australian soldiers have been wounded.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-muslim-activists-lose-free-speech-case-062857877.html

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Health & Fitness UK ? April 2013 - Release BB

Health & Fitness magazine is the UK?s leading title for active, health ? conscious women,. Packed with the latest expert advice, news and features. Health & Fitness is your personal trainer, nutritionist and life coach.

Health & Fitness UK ? April 2013
English | 132 pages | True PDF | 22.50 Mb
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Source: http://www.rlsbb.com/health-fitness-uk-april-2013/

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Time to step in? U.S. weighs direct aid to Syrian rebels

PARIS (AP) ? The Obama administration, in coordination with some European allies, is for the first time considering supplying direct assistance to elements of the Free Syrian Army as they seek to ramp up pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down and end nearly two years of brutal and increasingly deadly violence.

Officials in the United States and Europe said Tuesday the administration is nearing a decision on whether to provide non-lethal assistance to carefully vetted fighters opposed to the Assad regime in addition to what it is already supplying to the political opposition. A decision is expected by Thursday when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will attend an international conference on Syria in Rome that leaders of the opposition Syrian National Coalition have been persuaded to attend, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the shift in strategy has not yet been finalized and still needs to be coordinated with European nations, notably Britain. They are eager to vastly increase the size and scope of assistance for Assad's foes.

Kerry, who was a cautious proponent of supplying arms to the rebels while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been consulting with European leaders on how to step up pressure on Assad to leave power. The effort has been as a major focus of his first official trip abroad as America's top diplomat. On the first two stops on his hectic nine-nation tour of Europe and the Middle East, in London and Berlin, he has sought to assure the Syrian opposition that more help is on the way.

In London on Monday, he made a public appeal to opposition coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib not to boycott the Rome meeting as had been threatened and to attend the conference despite concerns among Assad foes that international community is not doing enough. Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden made private telephone calls to al-Khatib to make the same case.

"We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind, wondering where the support is, if it is coming," Kerry told reporters after meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Hague said that the deteriorating conditions in Syria, especially recent scud missile attacks on the city of Aleppo, were unacceptable and that the West's current position could not be sustained while an "appalling injustice" is being done to Syrian citizens.

"In the face of such murder and threat of instability, our policy cannot stay static as the weeks go by," Hague told reporters, standing beside Kerry. "We must significantly increase support for the Syrian opposition. We are preparing to do just that."

The officials in Washington and European capitals said the British are pushing proposals to provide military training, body armor and other technical support to members of the Free Syrian Army who have been determined not to have links to extremists. The officials said, however, that the U.S. was not yet ready to consider such action although Washington would not object if the Europeans moved ahead with the plans.

The Obama administration has been deeply concerned about military equipment falling into the hands of radical Islamists who have become a significant factor in the Syrian conflict and could then use that materiel for terrorist attacks or strikes on Israel.

The Italian government, which is hosting Thursday's conference, said on Monday that the Europeans would use the meeting "to urge the United States' greater flexibility on measures in favor of the opposition to the Assad regime."

"They will be asking, in particular, that 'non-lethal' aid be extended to include technical assistance and training so as to consolidate the coalition's efforts in the light of what emerged at the latest meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council," the foreign ministry said in a statement. In a recent meeting, European Union foreign ministers agreed that support to the rebels needed to be boosted.

Officials in Washington said the United States was leaning toward providing tens of millions of dollars more in non-lethal assistance to the opposition, including vetted members of the Free Syrian Army who had not been receiving direct U.S. assistance. So far, assistance has been limited to funding for communications and other logistical equipment, a formalized liaison office and an invitation to al-Khatib to visit the United States in the coming weeks.

The officials stressed, however, that the administration did not envision American military training for the rebels nor U.S. provision of combat items such as body armor that the British are advocating.

The officials said the U.S. is also looking at stepping up its civilian technical assistance devoted to rule of law, civil society and good governance, in order to prepare an eventual transition government to run the country once Assad leaves.

In Europe, meanwhile, Kerry on Tuesday visited Berlin where he met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, for the first time in his new post, spending more than an hour discussing the Syria conflict. Russia has been a strong supporter of Assad and has, along with China, repeatedly blocked efforts at the United Nations to impose global sanctions against the regime unless it stops the violence that has killed nearly 70,000 people.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the two met for an hour and 45 minutes, spending more than half that time on Syria in what she called a "really serious and hardworking session."

Kerry and Lavrov discussed how they could implement the so-called Geneva Agreement, which is designed to get the Syrian government and rebels to plan a transitional government for the time after Assad leaves office, Nuland said.

Lavrov told Russian news agencies that his talks with Kerry were "quite constructive." On Syria, he said the two reaffirmed their "intention to do all Russia and the U.S. can do. It's not that everything depends on us, but we shall do all we can to create conditions for the soonest start of a dialogue between the government and the opposition."

Syria's foreign minister was in Moscow on Monday and while there expressed a willingness to meet with opposition leaders.

The Syrian National Coalition is skeptical about outside help from the West and threatened to boycott the Rome meeting until a series of phone calls and meetings between Kerry and his ambassadors and Syrian opposition leaders repaired the schism. The council now says it will attend the meeting, but is hoping for more concrete offers of help, including military assistance.

___

Klapper contributed to this report from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-us-weighs-direct-aid-syrian-rebels-014311467--politics.html

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LG Shows Off Wireless 4K Streaming, From Phone to TV

LG has been showing off the first example of wireless Ultra HD steaming at MWC: it can take video from a phone, playing at 1080p, upscale it on the fly, and show it off at 4K on a TV. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vAYicmxRPkc/lg-shows-off-wireless-4k-streaming-from-phone-to-tv

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BPA may affect the developing brain by disrupting gene regulation

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Environmental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a widespread chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Medicine.

The researchers published their findings - which were observed in cortical neurons of mice, rats and humans - in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Feb. 25, 2013.

"Our study found that BPA may impair the development of the central nervous system, and raises the question as to whether exposure could predispose animals and humans to neurodevelopmental disorders," said lead author Wolfgang Liedtke, M.D., PhD, associate professor of medicine/neurology and neurobiology at Duke.

BPA, a molecule that mimics estrogen and interferes with the body's endocrine system, can be found in a wide variety of manufactured products, including thermal printer paper, some plastic water bottles and the lining of metal cans. The chemical can be ingested if it seeps into the contents of food and beverage containers.

Research in animals has raised concerns that exposure to BPA may cause health problems such as behavioral issues, endocrine and reproductive disorders, obesity, cancer and immune system disorders. Some studies suggest that infants and young children may be the most vulnerable to the effects of BPA, which led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of the chemical in baby bottles and cups in July 2012.

While BPA has been shown to affect the developing nervous system, little is understood as to how this occurs. The research team developed a series of experiments in rodent and human nerve cells to learn how BPA induces changes that disrupt gene regulation.

During early development of neurons, high levels of chloride are present in the cells. These levels drop as neurons mature, thanks to a chloride transporter protein called KCC2, which churns chloride ions out of the cells. If the level of chloride within neurons remains elevated, it can damage neural circuits and compromise a developing nerve cell's ability to migrate to its proper position in the brain.

Exposing neurons to minute amounts of BPA alters the chloride levels inside the cells by somehow shutting down the Kcc2 gene, which makes the KCC2 protein, thereby delaying the removal of chloride from neurons.

MECP2, another protein important for normal brain function, was found to be a possible culprit behind this change. When exposed to BPA, MECP2 is more abundant and binds to the Kcc2 gene at a higher rate, which might help to shut it down. This could contribute to problems in the developing brain due to a delay in chloride being removed.

These findings raise the question of whether BPA could contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as Rett syndrome, a severe autism spectrum disorder that is only found in girls and is characterized by mutations in the gene that produces MECP2.

While both male and female neurons were affected by BPA in the studies, female neurons were more susceptible to the chemical's toxicity. Further research will dig deeper into the sex-specific effects of BPA exposure and whether certain sex hormone receptors are involved in BPA's effect on KCC2.

"Our findings improve our understanding of how environmental exposure to BPA can affect the regulation of the Kcc2 gene. However, we expect future studies to focus on what targets aside from Kcc2 are affected by BPA," Liedtke said. "This is a chapter in an ongoing story."

###

Duke University Medical Center: http://www.dukemednews.org

Thanks to Duke University Medical Center for this article.

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

This press release has been viewed 13 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127014/BPA_may_affect_the_developing_brain_by_disrupting_gene_regulation

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Raul Castro to step down: Who will run Cuba next?

Raul Castro, president of Cuba, says he'll step down in five years. Who will replace Castro? Miguel Diaz-Canel has been tapped to be first in the line of succession.

By Peter Orsi,?Associated Press / February 24, 2013

Cuba's President Raul Castro, waves after voting during a session of the National Assembly in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2012. Cuba?s President Raul Castro accepted a new five-year term that will be, he said, his last as Cuba's president.

(AP Photo/Ismael Francisco, Cubadebate)

Enlarge

Raul Castro announced Sunday that he will step down as Cuba's president in 2018 following a final five-year term, for the first time putting a date on the end of the Castro era. He tapped rising star Miguel Diaz-Canel as his top lieutenant and first in the line of succession.

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The 81-year-old Castro also said he hopes to establish two-term limits and age caps for political offices including the presidency ? an astonishing prospect for a nation led by Castro or his older brother Fidel since their 1959 revolution.

The 52-year-old Diaz-Canel is now a heartbeat from the presidency and has risen higher than any other Cuban official who didn't directly participate in the heady days of the revolution.

"This will be my last term," Castro said, his voice firm.

In his 35-minute speech, Castro hinted at other changes to the constitution, some so dramatic that they will have to be ratified by the Cuban people in a referendum. Still, he scotched any idea that the country would soon abandon socialism, saying he had not assumed the presidency in order to destroy Cuba's system.

"I was not chosen to be president to restore capitalism to Cuba," he said. "I was elected to defend, maintain and continue to perfect socialism, not destroy it."

Castro fueled interest in Sunday's legislative gathering after mentioning on Friday his possible retirement and suggesting lightheartedly that he had plans to resign at some point.

It's now clear that he was serious when he promised that Sunday's speech would have fireworks, and would touch on his future in leadership.

Cuba is at a moment of "historic transcendence," Castro told lawmakers in speaking of his decision to name Diaz-Canel to the No. 2 job, replacing the 81-year-old Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, who fought with the Castros in the Sierra Maestra.

Castro praised Machado Ventura and another aging revolutionary for offering to leave their positions so that younger leaders could move up.

Their selflessness is "a concrete demonstration of their genuine revolutionary fiber ... That is the essence of the founding generation of this revolution."

Castro said that Diaz-Canel's promotion "represents a definitive step in the configuration of the future leadership of the nation through the gradual and orderly transfer of key roles to new generations."

"Our greatest satisfaction is the tranquility and serene confidence we feel as we deliver to the new generations the responsibility to continue building socialism," he added.

On the streets of Havana, where people often express a jaded skepticism of all things political, there was genuine excitement.

"This is the start of a new era," said Roberto Delgado, a 68-year-old retiree walking down a street in the leafy Miramar neighborhood. "It will undoubtedly be a complicated and difficult process, but something important happened today."

"I'm mesmerized," added Regla Blanco, 48. "You thought that with all these old men, it would never end. I am very satisfied with what Raul said. He is keeping his promise."

Since taking over from Fidel in 2006, Castro has instituted a slate of important economic and social changes, expanding private enterprise, legalizing a real estate market and relaxing hated travel restrictions.

Still, the country remains ruled by the Communist Party and any opposition to it lacks legal recognition.

Castro has mentioned term limits before, but he has never said specifically when he would step down, and the concept has yet to be codified into Cuban law.

If he keeps his word, Castro will leave office no later than 2018. Cuban-American exiles in the United States have waited decades for the end of the Castro era, although they will likely be dismayed if it ends on the brothers' terms.

Nevertheless, the promise of a change at the top could have deep significance for U.S.-Cuba ties. The wording of Washington's 51-year economic embargo on the island specifies that it cannot be lifted while a Castro is in charge.

When Raul Castro hinted at his retirement plans on Friday, it earned a sharp response from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American Republican from Florida, who called it a ploy.

"If dictator Raul Castro states that he will retire in five years, there will still be no real change for the Cuban people so long as the Castro brothers remain in any form of leadership position, even behind the scenes," she said. "The U.S. should not change its policy of isolation of the Cuban regime."

Fidel Castro is 86 and retired, and has appeared increasingly frail in recent months. He made a surprise appearance at Sunday's gathering, receiving a thunderous ovation from lawmakers.

Some analysts have speculated that the Castros would push a younger member of their family into a top job, but there was no hint of that Sunday.

While few things are ever clear in Cuba's hermetically sealed news environment, rumblings that Diaz-Canel, an electrical engineer by training and ex-minister of higher education, might be in line for a senior post have grown.

In recent weeks, he has frequently been featured on state television news broadcasts in an apparent attempt to raise his profile.

He also traveled to Venezuela in January for the symbolic inauguration of Hugo Chavez, a key Cuban ally who had been re-elected president but was too ill to be sworn in.

The 612 lawmakers sworn in Sunday also named Esteban Lazo as the National Assembly's first new chief in 20 years, replacing Ricardo Alarcon.

Lazo, who turns 69 on Tuesday, is a vice president and member of the Communist Party's ruling political bureau. Parliament meets only twice a year and generally passes legislation unanimously without visible debate.

The legislature also named as vice presidents of the ruling Council Machado Ventura; comptroller general Gladys Bejerano; second Vice President Ramiro Valdes; Havana Communist Party secretary Lazara Mercedes Lopez Acea; and Salvador Valdes Mesa, head of Cuba's labor union.

___

Anne Marie-Garcia and Paul Haven contributed to this report.

___

Peter Orsi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Peter_Orsi

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/kGjZGVkqvsw/Raul-Castro-to-step-down-Who-will-run-Cuba-next

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AGS Stream (Adventure Games) - Android Apps on Google Play

DESCRIPTION:
Have you ever enjoyed playing the old Lucasarts & Sierra classics such as Monkey Island, Zak McKracken, Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, Space Quest, Police Quest, Kings Quest, Mean Streets, Pandora Directive, etc? Many companies had developed commercial Adventure Games for Windows, DOS & Mac/Apple as well as Unix or Linux.

More Adventure Games are being released today with improved graphics & hardware. Until recently, most of these games were available only for Desktop Systems. No More! Welcome to the world of amateur & professional adventure games.

AGS Stream is a UNIQUE market app allowing you to download point and click adventure games not found anywhere else on The Play Store or any Android Market App right onto your Android Device without the hassle of manually going into your devices storage and system files to do so. This will allow you to eventually play many games not available to you before. AGS Stream simply downloads the game and the software to play it, then installs it for you and allows you to just click on the game in AGS to play it. No non-sense. No Root. Just enable installing unknown sources within your phones settings & thats it.

We are trying to add all these games found here: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/ that were not previously available on Android. These Games were made with Adventure Game Studio (AGS) by Chris Jones, a game engine available for free for use on Windows.

There are only a few games in the market at the moment, but more are coming. There are literally hundreds already available for Windows/Mac/Linux/Iphone/Sony PSP. A new list of Games will be added to the Market every 1 or 2 weeks.

AGS is a Game Making software which allows you to make Point & Click Adventure games for a wide number of devices & OS. The software is aimed at experts as well as new and aspiring game developers. Try it out for yourself and make a game for Android!

-----
DISCLAIMER:
BE ADVISED: This is simply a TOOL or MARKET APP that allows you to download "Point & Click Adventure Games" NOT available via any other Android market, SCUMMVM or the Play Store. I DID NOT develop these games individually or collectively. I DID NOT DEVELOP OR CONTRIBUTE TO THE AGS SOURCE CODE, NOR DO I OWN AGS.I do not own the rights to them. I am not responsible for the content found within them. Check for Malware and Viruses at your own risk.

These games have been made with Windows software Called "Adventure Game Studio (AGS)" Developed by Chris 'Pumaman' Jones & improved on & ported by a development team. This tool itself is OPEN SOURCE & developed using C++ & C#. These games are also available FOR FREE from their developers & can be downloaded off their websites. HOWEVER: When downloading from a developer, you will need to MANUALLY Install the game.

BEFORE YOU RATE OR LEAVE A REVIEW: If the app does not perform for you the way it should, Please, please please: contact me so that we can work on a fix. Please, be considerate before rating. Also, when Rating, rate the app properly. Use it within 15 minutes of purchase. It's ONLY $1.15 & you really should play with it right away to see if its an app you like or not rather than leaving me a bad review or rating so you can get a refund. If you do rate the app, rate it on what its purpose is for: It is a tool to help download & install Adventure Games made with AGS onto your Android Device. Then I would really appreciate it if you rate the app on: If it works, if it provides you with everything you need, If using it is easy for you, If it is updated frequently enough for you, if its performance is good or not, etc.. If a game will NOT FUNCTION, It might be due to a development issue with the game developer himself, or AGS, NOT AGS Stream.

IF YOUR GAME IS ON THIS LIST: & you would like it removed, Accept my apologies & I will take care of it right away. Do not give me a LOW RATING for it.

Updates will come once every week to a month. Please be patient.

Source: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.agsstream1.diperla&hl=en

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Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric resigns

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric resigned on Monday the day after he rejected allegations that he had behaved in an "inappropriate" way with other priests.

"The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today, 25 February 2013," Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who had been expected to take part in the conclave to choose the next pope, said in a statement.

O'Brien, who is known for outspoken views on homosexuality, had been reported to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behavior stretching back 30 years, according to the Observer newspaper.

O'Brien, the archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, had rejected the claims.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-most-senior-roman-catholic-cleric-resigns-112040627.html

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The Weekly Roundup for 02.18.2013

You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/24/the-weekly-roundup-for-02-18-2013/

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White House Tells Agencies To Increase Access to Fed-Funded Research

Z80xxc! writes "The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced a "policy memorandum" today requiring any federal agency with over $100 million in R&D expenditures each year to develop plans for making all research funded by that agency freely available to the public within one year of publication in any peer-reviewed scholarly journal. The full memorandum is available on the White House website. It appears that this policy would not only apply to federal agencies conducting research, but also to any university, private corporation, or other entity conducting research that arises from federal funding. For those in academia and the public at large, this is a huge step towards free open access to publicly funded research." Edward Tufte calls the move timid and unimaginative, linking to a Verge article that explains that it's not quite as sweeping as the summary above sounds.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/IpJMnLe1Puo/story01.htm

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Obama Dispatches 100 US Troops To Niger To ?Support Predator Drone Base?

Related info:

- French Troops Protecting Niger Uranium Mine: Fight For Security In Africa Or ??

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- Obama Dispatches 100 US Troops To Niger To ?Support Predator Drone Base? (ZeroHedge, Feb 22, 2013):

As we speculated from the very beginning, and as was reaffirmed in ?Is Nigeria, And Its Light Sweet Crude, About To Be Drawn Into The Mali ?Liberation? Campaign??, the ?French? (with complete and fully-comped US support) Mali campaign is slowly but surely migrating to its intended target: Nigeria, and rather its holdings of light sweet crude. And while the US presence in this latest resource land grab, this time in Africa, was so far rather stealthy, it appears the time for foreplay is over and moments ago Obama told congress has has dispatched 40 more American troops to Niger this week, bringing the total U.S. military presence in the west African country to 100. Let?s hear it for the full retroactive transparency demanded by the War Powers Resolution.

The Hill reports: ?The troops have been deployed to support the intervention in neighboring Mali, where French troops have been helping local forces rout Islamist militants from the country?s north since last month.? The Obama administration is also planning to build a base in Niger for unarmed Predator drones to conduct surveillance on militants in the region, The New York Times reported last month. On Wednesday, ?the last elements of a deployment of approximately 40 additional U.S. military personnel entered Niger with the consent of the Government of Niger,? Obama wrote to the House and Senate leaders.? Next: extensive weapons of mass destruction are discovered in Abuja while Al Qaeda terrorists are seen making threatening gestuers and using harsh language at Nigerian oil rigs which is the international acknowledged symbol that the US has to do its sworn globocop duty and liberate all that oppressed Nigerian crude.

More importantly, China is surely delighted over what as everyone can now understand, is an imminent confrontation over who owns what in Africa.

Here?s the full letter:

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE

February 22, 2013

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

On February 20, 2013, the last elements of a deployment of approximately 40 additional U.S. military personnel entered Niger with the consent of the Government of Niger. This deployment will provide support for intelligence collection and will also facilitate intelligence sharing with French forces conducting operations in Mali, and with other partners in the region. The total number of U.S. military personnel deployed to Niger is approximately 100. The recently deployed forces have deployed with weapons for the purpose of providing their own force protection and security.

I directed this deployment of U.S. forces in furtherance of U.S. national security interests, and pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA

Tags: Africa, Barack Obama, China, Global News, Government, Military, Niger, Obama administration, Politics, U.S., War

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InfiniteUnknown/~3/pTf2B7_2gFg/

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NFL Combine: Who stole the show? - Browns - Ohio

Arkansas-Pine Bluff OT Terron Armstead

How he did it: Armstead, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 306 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds, the best time by an offensive lineman since at least 2006, according to the NFL. A standout at the East-West Shrine Game, Armstead also finished first among linemen in the vertical jump (34.5 inches), tied for fourth in the broad jump (9-4), tied for eighth in the bench press (31 reps of 225 pounds) and tied for 13th in the three-cone drill (7.62 seconds).

Armstead said he was recruited by Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State, but ended up at Pine Bluff because he didn?t get the ACT score he needed until after signing day. He also competes in track at Pine Bluff, and said 61 feet, 5 inches in the shot put is his personal best there.

?I?ve been blessed with a unique skill set. I?m extremely light on my feet for a big guy,? he said last week. ?It?s a blessing.?

? Marla Ridenour

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ObrNewswire/~3/fzeqlU-y5ko/nfl-combine-who-stole-the-show-1.375841

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GOP wary on immigration

By Michael O'Brien, Political Reporter, NBC News

?

A recurring fear has colored Republicans? attitude toward the current immigration reform debate in Congress: President Barack Obama has no actual interest in reaching a deal, and is instead pursuing the issue to exacerbate the GOP?s problems with Hispanic voters.

Yet all of the evidence so far ? whether in his speeches and or his relations with Congress ? suggests he and his administration clearly want a deal that he could sign into law.

Politics, of course, play an undeniable role in the renewed effort to overhaul the nation?s immigration laws, especially given that Obama won more than 70 percent of the Latino vote in the 2012 election. Consequently, Republicans who had previously resisted any legislation that offered a pathway to citizenship for the nation?s some 11 million undocumented immigrants have now reversed course.

Isaac Brekken / AP

In this Jan. 29, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about immigration reform Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas.

?The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens and we realize that there are many issues on which we think we are in agreement with our Hispanic citizens but this is a preeminent issue with those citizens,? Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican member of the bipartisan Senate group working toward an immigration accord, said bluntly upon the introduction of that proposal?s framework.

But Republicans have warily engaged the new debate over immigration with active fears that the president?s true intentions on immigration are half-hearted, at best.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who?s established himself as an outspoken conservative after just a couple of months on the job, was only the latest Republican to give voice to that fear.

?I don?t believe President Obama wants an immigration bill to pass, instead I think he wants a political issue,? he said in a speech on Wednesday, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle. ?His objective is to push so much on the table that he forces Republicans walk away from the table because then he wants to use that issue in 2014 and 2016 as a divisive wedge issue.?

It?s a fear that many of Cruz?s fellow elected Republicans appear to share.

?The question that many of us are asking, Republicans and Democrats, is he looking to play politics or does he want to solve the problem?? Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the former GOP vice presidential nominee, asked during his Jan. 27 appearance on NBC's ?Meet the Press? preceding Obama?s major policy speech on immigration.

Republicans carefully watched that speech with concerns that Obama would eventually demagogue immigration. The president generally did the opposite; he used the speech to carefully embrace the bipartisan Senate talks, while warning that the administration would have its own backup plan at the ready for congressional consideration should the Senate talks fail. He further embraced a bipartisan speech in prime time, during his State of the Union address.

?As we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts,? Obama said. ?So let?s get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away.?

But Republicans? concerns that Obama will jilt the GOP on immigration very much inform the work toward a comprehensive reform law, and help explain part of the reason why the politics of the issue are so fraught.

When a draft of the White House?s immigration reform proposal leaked over the weekend, Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is helping negotiate the Senate plan, pronounced it dead on arrival in Congress.

?It?s a mistake for the White House to draft immigration legislation without seeking input from Republican members of Congress,? Rubio said in a statement.

AOL Co-Founder Steve Case talks about the economy explains why he thinks comprehensive immigration reform may be the solution to attracting and keeping the brightest minds from around the world in America.

Rubio?s scorching statement was also intended to maintain credibility with conservatives, whose support ? or, at least, tolerance ? of an immigration overhaul the Cuban-American senator?s worked to win.

(And, for his part, Obama said that the leak was but a hiccup. ?It certainly did not jeopardize the entire process,? he told an Univision affiliate in Texas. ?The negotiations are still moving forward.?)

But as Republicans tread carefully toward an immigration agreement, they might also keep in mind the political skin Obama has put at stake with this issue.

For as ballyhooed as Obama?s 44-point advantage over Republican nominee Mitt Romney among Hispanic or Latino voters has been, the president had to quell frustration among Latino voters about his failure to pursue immigration in his first term. He faced some of his toughest questioning of the campaign on that very issue during a town hall last September with Univision?s Jorge Ramos, who pointedly accused Obama of breaking his promise to bring up an immigration reform bill during his first year in office. Latino activists have repeatedly criticized Obama for overseeing a record pace of deportations during his first term.

What?s more, Obama basically premised his plea for Latinos? votes on the premise that, if they helped re-elect him, immigration reform would finally be achievable.

?What I?m absolutely certain of is if the Latino community and the American community that cares about this issue turns out to vote, they can send a message that this is not something to use as a political football, that people?s lives are at stake, that this is a problem that we can solve and historically has had bipartisan support,? Obama said in the same Univision forum.

That?s to say: if immigration reform fails during Obama?s second term, there will be more than enough political fallout to spread around.

?

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17057820-gop-fears-obama-will-jilt-them-on-immigration?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=2

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Lessons from cockroaches could inform robotics

Feb. 22, 2013 ? Running cockroaches start to recover from being shoved sideways before their dawdling nervous system kicks in to tell their legs what to do, researchers have found. These new insights on how biological systems stabilize could one day help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors' understanding of human gait abnormalities.

In experiments, the roaches were able to maintain their footing mechanically -- using their momentum and the spring-like architecture of their legs, rather than neurologically, relying on impulses sent from their central nervous system to their muscles.

"The response time we observed is more than three times longer than you'd expect," said Shai Revzen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, as well as ecology and evolutionary biology, at the University of Michigan. Revzen is the lead author of a paper on the findings published online in Biological Cybernetics. It will appear in a forthcoming print edition.

"What we see is that the animals' nervous system is working at a substantial delay," he said. "It could potentially act a lot sooner, within about a thirtieth of a second, but instead, it kicks in after about a step and a half or two steps -- about a tenth of a second. For some reason, the nervous system is waiting and seeing how it shapes out."

To arrive at their findings, the researchers sent 15 cockroaches (one-by-one, in 41 trials) running across a small bridge onto a placemat-sized cart on wheels. The cart was attached to an elastic cord that was pulled tight like a loaded slingshot and held in place with a strong magnet on the other side. Once a roach was about a body length onto the cart, the researchers released the magnet, sending the cart hurling sideways. The force was equivalent to a sumo wrestler hitting a jogger with a flying tackle, said Revzen, adding that cockroaches are much more stable than humans.

To gather detailed information about the roaches' gait, the researchers utilized a technique Revzen developed several years ago called kinematic phase analysis. It involves using a high-speed camera to constantly measure the position of each of the insects' six feet as well as the ends of its body. A computer program then merges the continuous data from all these points into an accurate estimate of where the roach is in its gait cycle at all times. The approach gives scientists a more detailed picture than just measuring the timing of footfalls -- a common metric used today to study gait.

In kinematic phase analysis, the signals are converted into a wave graph that illustrates the insect's movement pattern. The pattern only changes when the nervous system kicks in. How do the researchers know this? In a separate but similar experiment, they implanted electrodes into the legs of seven cockroaches to measure nerve signals.

The nervous-system delay the researchers observed is substantially longer than scientists expected, Revzen said. And it runs contrary to assumptions in the robotics community, where computers stand in for brains and the machines' movements are often guided by continuous feedback to that computer from sensors on the robots' feet.

Revzen said the new findings might imply that the biological brain, at least in cockroaches, adjusts the gait only at whole-step intervals rather than at any point in a step. Periodic, rather than continuous, feedback systems might lead to more stable (not to mention energy-efficient) walking robots -- whether they travel on two feet or six.

Robot makers often look to nature for inspiration. As animals move through the world, they have to respond to unexpected disturbances like rocky, uneven ground or damaged limbs. Revzen and his team believe that patterns in how they move as they adjust could give away how their machinery and neurology work together.

"The fundamental question is, 'What can you do with a mechanical suspension versus one that requires electronic feedback?" Revzen said. "The animals obviously have much better mechanical designs than anything we know how to build. But if we could learn how they do it, we might be able to reproduce it."

More than 70 percent of Earth's land surface isn't navigable by wheeled or tracked vehicles, so legged robots could potentially bridge the gap for ground-based operations like search and rescue and defense.

For human gait analysis, Revzen and colleagues said their noninvasive, high-resolution kinematic phase approach could be valuable in the biomedical community.

"Falls are a primary cause for deterioration in the elderly," Revzen said. "Anything we can do to understand gait pathology and stabilization of gait is very valuable."

These experiments were conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, before Revzen came to U-M. The work was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Shai Revzen, Samuel A. Burden, Talia Y. Moore, Jean-Michel Mongeau, Robert J. Full. Instantaneous kinematic phase reflects neuromechanical response to lateral perturbations of running cockroaches. Biological Cybernetics, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s00422-012-0545-z

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/n63Fs5xz7M8/130222143233.htm

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Google?s Pixel Chromebook Has a Konami Code Easter Egg

At least one person on the team behind Google?s new Chromebook Pixel is a big-time videogame nerd. That?s because the laptop has an easter egg that?s unlocked after you type in the Konami Code.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/kMGRC3Ay6P4/

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WESTERN C GIRLS: Madison gives coach 300th win, reaches regional final

9:51 PM

Augusta Council OKs tax deal for hospital site redevelopment

AUGUSTA ? City councilors unanimously approved a tax break Thursday to help a local firm redevelop the MaineGeneral Medical Center hospital building which is about to be left nearly empty when a new regional hospital opens later this year.

10:31 PM

WESTERN C BOYS BASKETBALL: Boothbay knocks off Madison

John Hepburn scored 20 points to lead the Seahawks, all but a pair of free throws coming from the low post, to lead top-seeded Boothbay to a 55-43 win over the No. 4 Bulldogs in the Western Class C semifinals.

4:11 PM

? MOVIES ?

? A Good Day to Die Hard ? Argo ? Amour ? Beautiful Creatures ? Escape From Planet Earth ? Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters ? The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey ? The House I Live in ? Identity Thief ? The Impossible ? Life of Pi ? Mama ? Safe Haven ? Side Effects ? Silver Linings Playbook ? Warm Bodies ? Wreck-it Ralph ?

Yesterday at 7:56 PM

SNAPSHOT: Waiting game

Ian Ballard, 2, waits for a flag Tuesday on Cochnewagon Lake in Monmouth while fishing with his father, Scott. The duo chased several flags together in temperatures in the mid 30s, but only caught pickerel, the elder Ballard said.

Source: http://www.kjonline.com/r?19=961&43=585082&44=192368491&32=10357&7=624612&40=http://www.kjonline.com/sports/WESTERN-C-GIRLS-Madison-gives-coach-300th-win-reaches-regional-final.html

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200 jobs to go at Clonmel plant of medical devices firm Abbott

A leading pharmaceutical and medical devices firm is to cut 200 jobs in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Abbott is to lay off the workers at its Clonmel manufacturing plant after a downturn in demand for its older products.

A spokeswoman said the company was seeking the redundancies on a voluntary basis.

?The demand for our older products is declining and with that then we do not have the same need for the labour force,? she said.

Several dozen staff who work on a contract basis will not have their contracts renewed at the end of March.

A 30-day consultation period on redundancy has begun with employees.

Abbott?s vascular facility in Clonmel currently employs more than 1,400 people.

The company is a global healthcare company and employs approximately 70,000 people.

It has eight manufacturing sites with commercial operations in Dublin and Westport and makes diabetes products in Donegal, nutrition in Cootehill and Sligo, diagnostics in Longford and Sligo and vascular devices in Clonmel.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bnireland/~3/qg2Nqcm_xRA/200-jobs-to-go-at-clonmel-plant-of-medical-devices-firm-abbott-585625.html

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Vestas cuts Colorado manufacturing work force

DENVER (AP) -- Wind manufacturer Vestas announced another round of layoffs on Thursday, saying that Congress' last-minute extension of a tax credit for wind energy generation came too late to save jobs.

The $12 billion Production Tax Credit was extended by one year after expiring Jan. 1. The extension passed as part of the so-called "fiscal cliff" deal signed by President Obama in the first week of the New Year.

But in a statement, Denmark-based Vestas said that was too late to avoid layoffs that amount to 10 percent of its 1100-person manufacturing work force in the state. The cuts will land at plants in Brighton and Windsor.

"We are disappointed we must lay off many of our highly skilled employees," spokeswoman Susan Innis said in the statement.

Before the PTC became a bone of partisan contention last year -- GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for its elimination, as did several Tea Party Republicans -- Vestas employed 1700 people in Colorado. Wind manufacturers across the country laid off thousands of workers while the extension was in doubt. That limbo prevented wind farms from buying new equipment to expand.

Critics of the credit argue the government should not subsidize industries. Backers note that fossil fuels like oil and coal have benefited from centuries of government support.

Vestas said that it still plans to expand some parts of its Colorado operation and that it expects the U.S. wind market to revive now that the PTC is in place. However, wind advocates acknowledge that the same uncertainty that derailed the industry last fall could return once the one-year extension nears its expiration.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo) said in a statement: "Congress needs to stop manufacturing these unnecessary crises and give these industries some predictability."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vestas-cuts-colorado-manufacturing-force-142002049.html

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