Tokyo - A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan today, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The quake hit at depth of 40 kilometres at 11:59 pm (1459 GMT Saturday), about 123 kilometres east of the northern city of Sendai, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage.
A powerful 7.3-magnitude undersea quake off the northeast coast earlier this month triggered a one-metre-high tsunami but no reports of fatalities.
In March last year a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the same area left some 19,000 people dead or missing and crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the world's worst atomic disaster in 25 years.
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (Reuters) - Three New Jersey police officers were shot and wounded on Friday at their police station, and one was in surgery for his wounds, a hospital official said.
Local TV news reported that the suspected gunman was killed in the exchange of gunfire at the police station in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, about 16 miles from Philadelphia. The TV report said the suspect had been brought in for a domestic incident.
"A violent struggle occurred while the suspect was being processed," Gloucester Deputy Police Chief David Harkins said, according to Philadelphia TV station NBC10. The man was able to grab a gun and then opened fire.
The gunman was killed by police during the confrontation, Gloucester Police Chief W. Harry Earle said, according to the NBC10 report.
Gloucester Township Police declined to comment on the incident or to confirm the NBC10 report. An officer answering the phone said a press statement would be issued later, and a press conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The three wounded police officers, two men and a woman, were brought to Cooper University Hospital shortly after 6 a.m. EST, hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer said.
Two of the officers suffered minor wounds, but one of the three, a male, required surgery, Shaffer said. She had no more information on the extent of the officer's wounds.
Part of the Gloucester Township municipal complex, which houses the police department, was cordoned off by yellow police tape on Friday. Residents described it as a quiet community.
"It's really a safe neighborhood," said Kim Kavanaugh, 47, who lives across the street from the complex with her husband and two grown children.
Her husband Don Kavanaugh, 49, said he arrived home from his overnight work shift about 5 a.m. "About 6 o'clock I saw a bunch of flashing lights. I didn't think nothing of it, I see flashing lights in and out of there all the time," he said.
The incident follows several recent multiple shootings in the United States, and comes two weeks after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
One week ago in western Pennsylvania, a man with a pistol fatally shot three people and then opened fire on police. Three officers were injured in that incident, one in a collision from a car chase with the gunman, another from bullet fragments to the face and a third who was struck with gunfire to the chest but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
(Additional reporting and writing by Dan Burns in New York; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Claudia Parsons and David Gregorio)
Yuvraj welcomes inclusion of young players in the national team ? Cricket News Update
Prolific India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has welcomed the inclusion of youngsters in the national T20 squad, saying the mix of youth and experience is very important in the shortest format of the game.
"New players are coming and the format is such that new players can perform well also," said the experienced left-hander while speaking to media reporters after India?s series-levelling 11-run victory over Pakistan in the second and final T20 International in Ahmedabad on Friday. "The inclusion of youngsters is very important in T20 cricket. The mix of youngsters and seniors is important," he added further.
The 31-year-old stylish Punjab cricketer was one of India?s standout players in the 11-run victory, playing a whirlwind knock of 72 runs, studded with seven sixes and four fours, to help the hosts?post a fightable total of 192 for 5. Yuvraj was well supported by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33 off 23), as the duo went on to post 97 runs for the fourth wicket, from just 44 balls.
Replying to a query regarding his big-hitting batting style, Yuvraj said, "I am just trying to watch the ball because if you make plans early and the ball is not there to be hit, you get out."
The Chandigarh born cricketer, who was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his spectacular 72, agreed that the fast paced T20 format requires different mindset; however, he insisted that there was no substitute to good cricketing shots.
On his approach to the game, the veteran left-hander, who recovered from a painful blow to his foot at the start of his innings, said that his aim right from the first ball was to stay at the crease till the end.
"I just wanted to stay till the end. In the previous games, I just held up a bit and I just got the opportunity to bat in the seventh over, so I thought to get set and then try hitting...I thought it was important for me to bat till the last five overs."
Yuvraj, 31, also complemented the efforts of the Indian fielders saying, ?Because of our fielding, we won the game. Catches of Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were exceptional at pressure times."
After having squared the two-match T20 series against Pakistan one-all, MS Dhoni and Co will next take on the tourists in three One Day Internationals, starting in Chennai on December 30, 2012.
The Wing Fort House is located at 69 Spring Hill Road, East Sandwich, Massachusetts. Open Tuesday through Saturday from June 15 to September 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is a small admission fee. For off-season visits please call the Caretakers at (508) 833-1540. Cousins, if you ever have the opportunity, this is a "must do" visit. It is something you will never forget and something you will never tire of talking about.
The oldest house in New England owned and occupied continuously by the same family for over three centuries. Built in 1641.? In 1646 it became the home of Stephen Wing, one of the early settlers of Sandwich, son of the Reverend John Wing and Deborah Bachelor. Stephen?and his descendants occupied the house from then on, adding on as families grew and changing tastes dictated. Now restored, it is furnished almost entirely with Wing family antiques showing the different periods of its long history. The house is maintained by the Wing Family of America and open to the public.
?This house is a must see on my list of Historic Landmarks!
Being search is a key requirement of every website and blog. Every website owner wants to generate high volume business web traffic at his or her website and use each and every tip to impress the targeted visitors.
In this way, it is crucial to understand search engine dynamics to find the touch points of your esteemed customers. It will help you in bringing them at your website. There is simply no way other than better presentation, focused approach, and search engine optimization.
You are required to keep your website updated with high quality search engine optimized contents to bring the online surfers at your website, but repeat visits are more important than initial ones.
So, you should implement below given tips to drive stable and organic web traffic at your website.
?
Stunning Tips to Drive Stable Organic Web Traffic at Your Web Site
Update your Website with SEO friendly content, which should be relevant to your Meta description and page description.
Don?t change the URL of your website in some haste. At first, try not to change the URL or follow Google?s procedure of URL changing to avoid the ignorance of Google towards your site with the URL.
Using duplicate content is a crime, especially if you are targeting high search engine rankings. In case you like to mention the quote of a legend, then put the text in double commas.
Albeit, the flash makes the websites beautiful, yet you should say goodbye to this technology for gaining top rankings.
Always prefer high quality directories for the submission of your website.
The robots.txt should not block the particular URL that should be opened for your visitors.
Use intelligently created Meta keywords in your Meta description as well as in web content.
Try to have high value links in your website.
Always add a text link in the image and icon links of your website.
Try to give something to your visitor, even if you are running an affiliate website.
Don?t forget to include a site map of your website at the homepage. It helps the Google crawlers to scan the web pages properly.
Link schemes can be risky for your website virtual reputation.
Add high quality search engine friendly contents in your website to convey the meaningful information to your customers.
Always add page descriptions in your website.
Install all search engine friendly tools in your website.
Keep your search engine optimization strategy updated with recent search algorithms to get the best turnout.
Keep the content headings crispy and catchy to grab the quick and lasting attention of your targeted customers. In this way, it is also necessary to post meaningful contents in your website.
Take help of article marketing websites.
You should write quality articles and publish on the reputed article sites such as ezinearticles.com
Run a blog in support of your website.
Publish meaningful articles in your blog to keep the reader interested in visiting your blog.
Take help of social media platforms.
Create impressive social media networking profiles in support of your website.
Integrate all of your social media pages with your website.
Always test the usability of your website links.
Remove the dead links of your website.
Update your Website with new age web management functionalities to ease the tough management tasks.
By following all above bulleted tips of attracting visitors to your website, you will be able to seek the lasting interest of your targeted customers. Though, you should keep following these tips to increase your web traffic regularly.
It has been seen that website owners stop their search engine optimization activities after achieving an optimum amount of web traffic to focus on the real business of website, but it is a self-destructive approach.
Online surfers never come up to a website all of a sudden. A kind of wave touches each online surfer and the interested ones touched the wave back. This is the process of search engine optimization.
Thus, you cannot get the ceaseless cyber traffic, if you are not maintaining the flow of search engine optimization activities.
?
About Author -??Mike Swan is Internet Marketing Head at Markupcloud, a renowned company offering PSD to Drupal theme conversion and PSD to Joomla conversion services. Author loves to discuss on latest trends of all types of Internet Marketing.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A homeless woman was in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital after a man doused her with liquid accelerant and set her on fire as she slept on a bus bench, police said on Thursday.
Officers arrested Dennis Petillo, 24, in connection with the early morning attack, and he has been booked in jail on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was being treated at a local hospital with burns all over her body, said Los Angeles police Lieutenant Damian Gutierrez.
Erickson Ipina, a witness to the attack, told local station ABC 7 that he often saw the homeless woman sleeping on the bus bench. Ipina said he chased after the attacker, and called for help on his cell phone.
"I called 911 and he just turned back on me and pulled out a knife, and he told me, 'Stop following me or I will cut you,'" Ipina told ABC 7.
The television station showed images of the bus bench set on fire, which had black burn marks along it.
(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Claudia Parsons)
A high school student (L) walks towards a group of female students chatting in front of a school in Tokyo November 9, 2006.
Credit: Reuters/Kiyoshi Ota
By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK | Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:20am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Kids who have food allergies or are overweight may be especially likely to get bullied by their peers, two new studies suggest.
Not surprisingly, researchers also found targets of bullying were more distressed and anxious and had a worse quality of life, in general, than those who weren?t picked on.
Bullying has become a concern among parents, doctors and school administrators since research and news stories emerged linking bullying ? including online ?cyberbullying? ? with depression and even suicide.
?There has been a shift and people are more and more recognizing that bullying has real consequences, it?s not just something to be making jokes about,? said Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general pediatrics at Boston Children?s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, who wrote a commentary published with the new research.
Studies suggest between one in ten and one in three of all kids and teens are bullied ? but those figures may vary by location and demographics, researchers noted.
The new findings come from two studies published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
In one, Dr. Eyal Shemesh from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and his colleagues surveyed 251 kids who were seen at an allergy clinic and their parents. The children were all between age eight and 17 with a diagnosed food allergy.
Just over 45 percent of them said they?d been bullied or harassed for any reason, and 32 percent reported being bullied because of their allergy in particular.
?Our finding is entirely consistently with what you find with children with a disability,? Shemesh told Reuters Health.
A food allergy, he said, ?is a vulnerability that can be very easily exploited, so of course it will be exploited.?
The kids in the study were mostly white and well-off, the researcher said ? a group that you?d expect would be targeted less often. So bullying may be more common in poorer and minority children who also have food allergies.
But allergies aren?t the only cause of teasing and harassment by peers.
In another study, researchers from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found that almost two-thirds of 361 teens enrolled in weight-loss camps had been bullied due to their size.
That likelihood increased with weight, so that the heaviest kids had almost a 100 percent chance of being bullied, Rebecca Puhl and her colleagues found. Verbal teasing was the most common form of bullying, but more than half of bullied kids reported getting taunted online or through texts and emails as well.
?START THE CONVERSATION?
Shemesh?s team found only about half of parents knew when their food-allergic child was being bullied, and kids tended to be better off when their families were aware of the problem.
He said parents should feel comfortable asking kids if they?re being bothered at school or elsewhere ? and that even if it only happens once, bullying shouldn?t be ignored.
?We want parents to know,? he said. ?Start the conversation.?
?Parents whose kids have a food allergy should really be aware that their kids have the kind of characteristic that often leads to being bullied,? Schuster told Reuters Health. ?They should be working with the school to handle the food allergy in a way that isn?t going to make it more likely that their kids will be bullied ? and they need to be attuned to their kids.?
That?s the same for parents of overweight and obese children, he added.
?Kids need their parents to be their allies in these situations,? he said. ?Their parents can help them still feel strong.?
SOURCE: bit.ly/cxXOG Pediatrics, online December 24, 2012.
CAIRO (AP) ? One of the top officials in charge of overseeing Egypt's vote on a contentious Islamist-backed draft constitution resigned Wednesday citing health problems, a judicial official said. The move follows boycotts of the referendum by judges and others that have left the voting process with a severe shortage of monitors to oversee it.
Secretary General of the Election Committee Zaghloul el-Balshi attributed his resignation to "a sudden health crisis," according to a copy of a letter he sent to the committee that was published by several Egyptian dailies including the privately owned el-Watan.
The official confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Relatives told local Egyptian media that el-Balshi has undergone eye surgery.
"The effort I put in over the past period has caused a sudden health crisis," the letter of resignation read. "As you know, it is impossible to carry out my mission with this health condition," it added.
The judicial official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Many of the country's judges had boycotted overseeing the referendum. The resulting shortage of supervisors has added to doubts about the vote, the first round of which was held on Dec. 15 and the second round of which is scheduled for Saturday.
El-Balshi had himself threatened to boycott following deadly clashes between liberal and Islamist demonstrators earlier this month, one of several incidents that have increased the sense of crisis in Egypt since President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last month issued a decree giving himself wide-ranging powers.
Morsi rescinded the decree, but his move set the scene for further polarization when an Islamist-dominated constitutional drafting panel rushed through the draft of a constitution opposed by liberal parties, secularists, Christians, and many Muslims skeptical of the Brotherhood.
The constitution received 56 percent of the vote in the first round of the referendum. The Brotherhood says the opposition needs to respect the voter majority. His critics say the process has been rushed, the vote was rife with irregularities, turnout was a comparatively low 32 percent, and that a constitution needs consensus, not just a simple majority, to have legitimacy.
We are far from global ubiquity for LTE and other 4G networks, but carriers in markets that have implemented the faster mobile data standard are seeing a boom in growth. Figures out today from Strategy Analytics predict that shipments of LTE devices will hit 275 million units in 2013, a three-fold rise from the 90.9 million that have been shipped this year. And while a lot of this is being driven by strong competition among handset makers and carriers, Strategy Analytics predicts that the rise of 4G will bring something else to light: new entrants like Amazon and Mozilla also trying their hands at LTE phones.
If you are just starting out in commercial real estate investing, you will surely find this collections of tips helpful. Let the following advice lead you to more successful commercial real estate ventures.
If you are renting or leasing, be sure to know about pest control arrangements. In some areas, in particular in areas with known populations of pests, this is a very important concern.
Commercial Loan
TIP! When choosing between two similar commercial properties, think large scale. It?s just as difficult to obtain adequate financing for a 10 unit apartment complex as it is for a 20 unit building.
Secure the proper financing prior to hunting for property to buy. Financing for a commercial loan in real estate investment differs from the rules that apply to home loans. In many ways they may be better than a residential loan. While you do need to put more money down on a commercial loan, you?re fully protected from personal liability and are permitted to borrow some money to put towards your down payment.
If you are investing in real estate, consider going big. If you are considering investing in a building that only has about five units, you need to realize that it will require the same amount of time and resources to manage fifty units as it does to manage five. Commercial real estate is more economical when purchasing a building that has more units, but you must then maintain a much larger property.
You may wish to focus your efforts on only one property type at a time. Whether you?d like to get involved in investing in commercial property, renting apartments or some other type of commercial investment, do yourself a favor, and choose just one investment to focus on. Your undivided attention will be need to maintain each of these types of property. It is better to become master of one type of investment rather than just being mediocre at many types of investments.
TIP! Standard release forms are not something you should rush to sign. Some real estate firms will add questionable requirements to these documents, and because of the length of these leases such additions are often overlooked.
Before paying any agent, check his or her disclosures; these can tell you a great deal about the agent?s character and ability. Try to beware of dual agency. In this case, the agent is two-faced: she is representing both parties to the transaction. This will mean that the agency will work with the landlord and tenant simultaneously. When it comes to dual agencies, both parties should actually agree to it and it should be disclosed.
Find out how to spot and jump on good deals. Real estate professionals have an easier time finding deals. Pros understand when they need to walk away from some deals, so they always have an exit strategy ready to put into play when it is necessary. A pro will be able to see things that will need to be fixed right away or in the future. They can calculate the risk involved to see if the property is a worthwhile investment for the long run.
Bear in mind that, with any newly written lease, rent considerations and strategies will be essential to the future of your investment. Don?t talk to potential tenants until you have figured out your rental fee structure. Having a good rent plan will enable you to meet the goals you have established for your investment, and allow you to easily analyze how well your investment is performing.
TIP! Investors of commercial real estate should be sure to be conscious that drastic inflation is a real possibility in the near future and shouldn?t overlook it when thinking about buying. Leases use to have a built-in clause for adjustments related to Consumer Price Index rates, protecting the signers from inflation.
Commercial Real Estate
Hopefully the previous tips that were mentioned in this article will help you get started, so you know what it takes to buy and sell commercial real estate. These hand-picked tips were chosen specifically because they represent the best strategies for completing commercial real estate transactions.
Fuller Sotheby?s International Realty is pleased to welcome Jessica Northrop to the company as a broker. Jessica has more than 17 years of experience in the residential real estate industry, with a history of exceeding client expectations and delivering outstanding results.
?Jessica brings enthusiasm, extensive knowledge of the real estate market, and the ability to get the job done to all of the clients she serves. She is another welcomed addition to our team,? said Scott Webber, President of Fuller Sotheby?s International Realty.? ?All of our seasoned professionals, combined with the Sotheby?s brand, are a winning combination for any client.?
Jessica is a CRS Designated Broker, a status that only three percent of brokers achieve.? She has developed a network of go-to associates ranging from mortgage lenders and movers to home inspectors, electricians, plumbers and contractors; all vital in completing a satisfying home buying process. Her clients appreciate her follow through and hands-on approach whether they are local first time buyers, home owners scaling up or down, or families moving to Metro Denver through a relocation process.
House Speaker John Boehner makes a brief statement to the media at the Capitol in Washington December 19, 2012.??Republican House Speaker John Boehner warned President Barack Obama on Wednesday that he can either accept a GOP alternative to a comprehensive ?fiscal cliff? compromise or ?be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.?
?I hope the president will get serious soon about providing, and working with us on, a balanced approach,? Boehner told reporters in a brief public appearance at which he took no questions.
The verbal hardball tactics came one day before the Republican-led House of Representative was to vote on the speaker?s ?Plan B," which would extend Bush-era tax cuts on income up to $1 million but raising tax rates above that. His plan also keeps in place deep automatic defense and domestic spending cuts -- the so-called sequester -- that key Republicans have spent months denouncing as unacceptable and dangerous to national security.
?Tomorrow, the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American 99.81% of the American people,? Boehner said. ?Then the president will have a decision to make: He can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.?
The speaker?s remarks hinted at the pitched public relations battle over the ?fiscal cliff? -- across-the-board income tax hikes and deep government spending cuts that will be triggered if the White House and congressional Republicans can't reach a deal. The combination of spending cuts and tax hikes could plunge the fragile economy into a new recession. Both would go into effect January 1 barring an 11th-hour compromise.
Republicans have squirmed for months in the face of opinion polls showing the public sides with Obama, who has accused the GOP of holding tax cuts that chiefly benefit the middle class hostage to secure tax cuts for the richest Americans. The president first called for extending tax cuts on income up to $250,000 annually per household, then in a concession to Republicans raised that to $400,000.
Boehner?s gambit also highlighted how he is in a political bind. Many conservatives in the House oppose any tax increase at all. On Wednesday, the anti-tax Club for Growth interest group warned House members to vote against the speaker?s plan. And some House Republicans remain opposed to the automatic defense cuts they say risk endangering national security.
But it?s also not lost on anyone that Boehner?s ?Plan B? could turn out to the be the legislative vehicle for any final compromise deal. Once received by the Senate, lawmakers there could amend the package and send it back to the House ? though that may be easier said than done.
(Roll Call ace reporter Niels Lesniewski lays out the parliamentary details here with characteristic clarity and thoroughness, noting that ?Plan B? might actually prove to be ?a much-needed Christmas present? to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.)
In some ways, Obama seems to be playing along with the idea that the time for talking is over and its now time to vote. During a press conference at the White House shortly before Boehner's comments, the president signaled that he was done negotiating. ?Take the deal,? he said.
As for a negotiated compromise? ?I think the Speaker would like to get that done,? Obama said.
The National Rifle Association's?main?Facebook page isn't accessible, and its Twitter account is quiet three days after the?shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
Only?a Facebook page for the NRA?blog remains posted. The last item shared?at 6:30 a.m. Friday (before the school?shootings)?was?about the "Friends of NRA" TV show that will start a third season soon.
The blog is described as being an "official?inside look at the NRA's Programs including Shooting Championships, National Firearms Museum, Law Enforcement Division, Education & Training and more." (The NRA's Web blog is here.)
On Twitter, Friday was also the last day the NRA tweeted, at 6:36 a.m.: "10 Days of NRA Giveaways???Enter today for a chance to win an auto emergency tool!"
The day before, Dec. 13, on Twitter, the NRA said: "Did you hear? Our #facebook page reached 1.7 million 'likes'?today! Thanks for being a friend!" and this photo was posted by the organization:
But those 1.7 million likes, tied to the NRA's main Facebook page, could not be?seen as of Monday.
NBC News contacted the NRA for comment about its Facebook page removal, and will update this post if we hear back.
It it does not appear that?Facebook?itself took any action, one way or another, regarding the NRA page. When asked, a?Facebook spokesperson told NBC News the social network had no?comment.?
Online, the NRA's?news?site?continues to be viewable???but without any news of Friday's horror. On the site, among the "top stories"?viewers will find "Homefront Hugs USA Urges Volunteers to Make a Difference in a Soldier's Life," "Fast & Furious Gun Buyer Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison" and "Illinois Concealed Carry Ban Ruled Unconstitutional." All were apparently posted before the shootings.
Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital?Life and InGame on?Facebook,?and on?Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.
All a question of timing: When bushcrickets mate, the male attaches a sticky package, the so-called spermatophore, to the female's abdomen. Alongside the sperm themselves, this 'bridal present' consists of a protein-rich mass that the female eats after mating. It then takes several hours for the sperm to find their way into the female's reproductive tract. But, who decides when that will happen? A study by the Bielefeld biologists Professor Dr. Klaus Reinhold and Dr. Steven Ramm suggests that it is the male who determines the dynamics of this process even when he has long 'hopped off' somewhere else. They have now published their results in the online first version of the journalBehavioural Ecology and Sociobiology.
In contrast to direct sperm transfer, the use of a spermatophore could grant the female more influence over the fertilization or non-fertilization of her eggs. However, the results of the Bielefeld study cast doubt on this assumption. They suggest a high degree of male control over this decisive stage in reproduction. For their study, Professor Dr. Klaus Reinhold and Dr. Steven Ramm from Bielefeld University paired males and females from two subspecies of the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus in whom the time between pairing and sperm transfer differ. Whereas in the subspecies Poecilimon veluchianus minor, sperm are transferred within the first three hours, the transfer in Poecilimon veluchianus veluchianus starts only after four hours. If the two subspecies are interbred ? the researchers thought ? then the number of transferred sperm after three hours would indicate whether it is the male or the female who determines how long this transfer takes.
The researchers mated nine to twelve pairs in each of the four possible combinations of Poecilimon veluchianus minor and Poecilimon veluchianus veluchianus. Three hours after mating, they examined how many sperm they could find in the female's reproductive tract. The result: the sperm from the males of the 'faster' subspecies Poecilimon veluchianus minor could be found in the females of both subspecies. In contrast, the males in the 'slower' sub-species Poecilimon veluchianus veluchianus had transferred almost no sperm at all to either type of female.
The researchers conclude from this experiment that the males control the speed of transfer over the sperm package. However, this does not automatically lead to the conclusion that the female is powerless. Females can also influence whether sperms are transferred by how quickly they eat the spermatophore. In addition, the larger the male, the larger the size of the sperm package, and this influences how long the females need to consume the protein. As a result, the sperm have more time to transfer to the female ? and the female's eggs have a greater chance of being fertilized by a 'high-quality' male. Professor Reinhold stresses, 'Our findings show that the females do not determine the transfer ? not that they could not do so.'
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University of Bielefeld: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/
Thanks to University of Bielefeld 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.
Head Iton Eoin tipped for success in Stadium Bookmakers Gents Standard
Head Iton Eoin has got a very good chance of winning the Stadium Bookmakers Gents Standard at Nottingham in England on Monday, December 17, 2012. He will be up against some fierce competitors, thus there will be immense pressure on him.
However, he is experienced enough to challenge his rivals in Grade OR competitions, so his fans will be expecting a strong run from him today.
He will not get a chance to attack in the initial phases of the race, as his starting position is not a good one. He will be breaking into the contest from trap number three, and there is always a risk of being blocked by slower greyhounds from that place.
Despite that, the seasoned runner will not be worried much, as the overall distance to cover for him will be 500 metres. Even if he starts off steadily, there will be ample time for him to make a comeback towards the final moments. A victory will earn him
a cash prize of ?200, so he will be pushing extremely hard.
The race is scheduled to kick off at 20:19 GMT, so there is plenty of time for the punters to choose their favourite greyhound carefully. They do have a few solid options, but should do their homework before risking their money on anyone.
According to the bookmakers, the best chances of victory are with Jordans Chris, as he has got a very good stamina. His performances in recent times have been impressive, which will help him get the attention of the bettors as well.
The young challenger has been given a general starting price of 4 to 5, which clearly shows that a strong run is expected from him. Moreover, he will be starting the race from trap number one, which will give him a chance of gaining an early momentum.
The C. Lister?s trained hound was given pretty high odds for a victory in his most recent Grade OR competition, but he failed to meet the expectations of his team. However, he will be looking to make amends at Nottingham today.
On the other hand, Head Iton Eoin is good rhythm right now and his opponents should keep an eye on him.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer?s and do not reflect bettor.com?s official editorial policy.
At a dinner event several years ago, a former editor-in-chief of a major computing trade magazine told attendees that his first published article was about home automation. That article ran back in 1979 -- just two years after the debut of the Apple II and two years before the introduction of the IBM PC.
Indeed, in its early days, home automation, like the PC, was confined to hobbyists more concerned with being able to do things rather than their practical value. However, the PC proved itself first in business and then with games, word processing and the consumer web as the internet grew. Meanwhile, home automation has largely remained the province of the very wealthy and corporations. Indeed, we're still likely many years away from all of us having smart homes, but there are signs of that future approaching and putting the squeeze on today's high-end installations both from above and below.
Doberman Pinscher - Misha - Medium - Young - Female - Dog
Misha is a very sweet and spunky female Doberman mix who came to us very emaciated and with rickets. After a month on a healthy diet with a lot of TLC, she is doing great. Our vet said she has been on hard surfaces her whole life, never a pillow or soft bed to lie on. She is flourishing in her foster home with another Dobie and she loves to play. She loves riding in the car and is a well-behaved passenger. She is pretty good on leash too. She's 99% housebroken and as long as you get her out every few hours, she has no accidents. We want her to be someone's little princess and will ensure that she goes to the best home ever when she's ready. We want to thank her sponsors as she has had some significant vet expenses. She will be at Saturday's Meet and Greet this weekend. Apply at www.saveadog.org <http://www.saveadog.org>
CHARACTERISTICS: Breed: Doberman Pinscher Size: Medium Petfinder ID: 24643288
ADDITIONAL INFO: Pet has been spayed/neutered
CONTACT: Save A Dog | Sudbury, MA | 978-443-7282
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Want to know all Far Cry 3 Skill Trees? You?ve come to the right place for a guide!
Ubisoft have released the Far Cry 3 Skill Tree video and complete skills list.
Index of Far Cry 3 Guides:
To quote Far Cry 3?s lead game designer Jamie Keen about how the different skill trees manifest themselves in-game:
?The tattoo is about Jason becoming one with the Rakyat, following the path of the warrior and getting closer to the rebels in the world. Every time you get a new skill, you?re going to have a corresponding tattoo appear on your arm ? it?s going to depend on the route that you have taken.?
In the below Far Cry 3 Skill Tree guide, Ubisoft?s Dan Hay explains how they tie into how you play the game.
Next, a video guide shows you through the different skill trees and classes.
The Heron skill tree guide
The Heron = Long-range Takedowns & Mobility.
? Cook Grenades: Allows you to hold the grenade button to cook a grenade.
? Hip Shooter: Gives you better hip-fire accuracy with SMGs, pistols and shotguns.
? Syringe Potency: The effects from Syringes that you create will last 25% longer.
? Aimed Reload: Allows you to reload any pistol or sniper rifle while aiming.
? Death from Above: Press a button to kill an enemy directly below you with x5 experience per kill
? Death from Below: Press the Right Stick kill an enemy on a climbable ledge with x5 experience per kill.
? Enhanced Syringe Potency: Effects from crafted syringes will last 50% longer.
? Deep Breath: Stay underwater longer.
? Steady Aim: Pressing a button while looking through a scope will keep the weapon steady twice as long.
? Long Gun Expert: You have better accuracy while firing from the hip with assault rifles, sniper rifles, and LMGs.
? Line Gunner: Allows you to shoot certain weapons while on the zipline.
? Soft Landing: Fall damage is lessened by 25%.
? Cool Gunner: 10 Mounted Gun Kills; Mounted guns fire longer before overheating.
? Breath Control: You can steady an aimed gun 4 times longer.
? Marathon Man: Collect 5 Relics; You can sprint faster.
? Dual Death From Above: 1 Death from Above Takedown; You can now jump down and kill 2 enemies for x7.5 XP per kill.
? Dual Death From Below: 1 Death from Below Takedown; You can now kill 2 enemies above you for x7.5 XP per kill.
? Gunslinger Takedown: 10 Handgun Kills; Allows to take an enemy?s pistol and kill others with it.
The Spider skill tree guide
The Spider = Stealth Takedowns & Survival.
? Sprint Slide: While sprinting, you can press a button that will cause you to go into a slide.
? Jungle Run: You can move quicker while crouched.
? Takedown Drag: Allows you to drag and hide bodies after performing a normal takedown.
? Running Reload: Lets you reload your weapong while sprinting.
? Expert Archery: Their is less movement when you are zoomed in with the bow.
? Expert Swimmer: Move 25% quicker in water when you hit a button.
? Horticulture 101: Obtain 2 times more items from plants then you normally would.
? Dealmaker: Complete 3 Wanted Dead Quests; Get 25% more money when selling your loot items.
? Penny Pincher: Find more money on dead bodies.
? Stone Wall: Less chance of being knocked over by enemies and take less damage from animals.
? Zoology 101: Get twice as many items from dead animals.
? Loot Takedown: After any takedown, automatically loot the body.
? Knife Throw Takedown: Perform a takedown, and throw the victim?s knife at another enemy.
? Ninja Step: 2 Outposts Liberated without being detected; Lowers the amount of noise you make while walking and sprinting.
? Combat Archery: Drawing and firing arrows is done 50% faster.
? Nimble Fingers: Reload pistols, SMGs and shotguns 25% quicker.
? Quick Swap: Bringing up iron sights and switching weapons is faster.
? Takedown: This skills give you the ability to quietly kill an enemy from behind, giving you triple experience.
? Adrenaline: Health bars that aren?t empty refill 50% faster.
? Improved First Aid: Allows you to heal yourself without medicine.
? Advanced Conditioning: Gain another health slot.
? Field medic: Medical Syringes restore 4 health slots.
? Field Surgeon: Medical Syringes restore 6 health slots.
? Chained Takedown: String together up to 10 takedowns, giving you 10 times more experience per kill.
? Ironsides: Reduce damage taken from explosions by 50%.
? Fire Retardant: Damage taken from fire is cut in half.
? Evasive Driving: Commandeered vehicles take half as much damage.
? Heavy Beatdown: Kill one Bull Shark; Special Heavy attack; 5 times more XP per kill.
? Grenade Takedown: 5 kills with grenades; Activate an enemy?s grenade before pushing him away; x5 XP per kill.
Thanks to Ubisoft & LaWOGGamer for the skill tree guide videos.
What?s your favorite Far Cry 3 Skill Tree so far?
About the author
By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.
If Google+ communities didn't fix those social network blues you've been feeling recently, perhaps a bumper edition of new features will. When the mobile app update goes live later today, you'll be able to edit your profile through it as well being updated on what's happening through new content notifiers. Subscription options will also expand to include Google+ Communities. Google will now give full-sized image back-ups when uploaded (up to 5GB are yours for free), while any Android Jelly Bean users will be able to share their photospheres directly from the phone app. Support for gifs is also included, as well as birthday reminders in Google Now and a new lock screen widget.
Hangouts has been put on a data diet, and Google+ Vice President of Engineering, Dave Besbris reckons it should now offer a smoother experience even on low bandwidth connections -- you'll now need only 150KB to connect to Hangouts on this new setting. Only hanging out with yourself? Well the new interface won't show that depressing strip of black and will instead fill the screen with your own video.
In Events, you'll be able to send messages to individual guests, harass them check that they've read the invite and even invite more party-goers by inserting the event URL into emails or instant messages. It's also now easier to replicate your previous events and have Google fill in the rest of the details. You can expect the Android app update to hit your device later today, but until then, visit the source for Google's full explanation.
Update: Looks like iOS users will be getting a little more Google love this week. They'll also be getting a Google+ app update with community functionality and new conversation cards for shared content. Again, the refreshed version is set to arrive later today
Project Description: We have a WordPress website with a Business Pro theme by CyberChimps The Business Pro 3 from CyberChimps is a Professional Responsive WordPress Theme perfect for any business on any device. Business Pro offers exciting new Drag and Drop Page Elements including a Responsive Content Feature Slider, Portfolio, Product Element, Page Content, Image Carousel, Twitter bar, Widgetized boxes, and Callout section.
We are seeking a WordPress Expert to assist with the fully customization of the theme to ensure proper functionality and for it to appears like the demo on the CyberChimps WordPress website with drop down menus, animation, etc.: http://demos.cyberchimps.com/businesspro/
A key part of the WordPress website will be the integration of social networking within the website with links to outside website like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. In addition the website will need to include a e-commerce capability including an option to sale articles and documents. In addition, we would like the website in integrate the following plugins:
The following are plugs from (http://premium.wpmudev.org/projects/category/plugins/) that have been reviewed that should be considered for integration into the website:
Online Business Plug Ins
? Market Press ? Membership ? Fundraising ? Ultimate Branding ? Pay with a Like ? Classifieds ? Directory ? Pay Per View ? Affiliates ? Autoblog ? Ultimate Facebook ? Custom Press ? Social Marketing ? Chat ? Pop Up ? Q & A ? User Synchronization ? Custom Admin Bar ? Signup Code ? Mail Chimp Integration ? Communities ? Ad Sharing ? Terms of Service
SEO
? Ultimate Branding ? Language for Word Press ? Comment Form Text ? Floating Social ? Comments Plus
Publishing ? Subscribe Via Email ? Invite ? Custom Admin Text ? Content Monitor ? Admin Messenger
Community
? User Reports ? Live Stream Widget ? Members Directory ? Status ? Buddy Press Group Email ? Blog Directory ? Recent Posts ? Multisite Privacy ? Moderation ? Recent Global Comments ? Recent Posts Widget ? Batch Create ? Site Categories
Multisite
? Set Password ? Remove E-mail Verification ? Blogs Widget ? Post Indexer ? Remember Me Checked ? Dashboard Feeds ? Social Marketing
We prefer a WordPress Expert in the Los Angeles Metro area so that we can learn how to managed the website through the administrative panel. In addition, the WordPress Expert will need to sign a contract/project agreement. There will be no exceptions to this request.
Add this to the list of terrifying robots we hope to never be chased by. Thankfully, Kenshiro here looks to be fairly slow from the video below. Still, this skeleton-and-muscle headless humanoid robot has secured a place in our nightmares for the foreseeable future, thanks in part to its lifelike movements. The 'bot, which is a followup to 2010's Kojiro model, stands about 5'1 and weighs around 110 pounds. It was developed by Yuto Nakanishi and a team of researchers at University of Tokyo, making its public debut at the recent Humanoids conference in Osaka. You can watch Kenshiro in action after the break.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Every New Yorker knows how to hail a yellow cab.
The next step for some might be to "e-hail" a cab using a smartphone.
Members of the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission are to vote Thursday on whether to allow people to nab a ride electronically. Downloaded apps would link customers with drivers.
If the vote is yes, companies offering the high-tech hailing method can compete for business.
TLC Commissioner David Yassky says the city would lay down some ground rules to accommodate people raising their arm to stop a cab the old-fashioned way. But the commissioner says that as long as the technology exists, it should be available to customers and drivers.
Till now, the city has banned yellow taxis from prearranging rides.
Researchers find new culprit in castration-resistant prostate cancerPublic release date: 13-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Bill Schaller william_schaller@dfci.harvard.edu 617-632-5357 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Previously unknown protein function could be a treatment target
BOSTONScientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a molecular switch that enables advanced prostate cancers to spread without stimulation by male hormones, which normally are needed to spur the cancer's growth. They say the finding could lead to a new treatment for prostate cancers that are no longer controlled by hormone-blocking drugs.
The researchers report in the Dec. 14 issue of Science that the molecular switch occurs in a protein, EZH2, which is increased in these tumors, termed castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPC).
EZH2 is part of a protein complex that normally shuts off the expression of genes. But in CRPC cells, "It isn't working the way people had thought," said Myles Brown, MD, co-senior author of the report. Instead, EZH2 switches into a different mode, activating cell-growth genes -even in the absence of androgen hormones that spur the dangerous growth and spread of these cancers.
As a result, the researchers suggest that drugs designed to stifle this unexpected function of EZH2 might be effective as a new treatment strategy for CRPC tumors.
Brown's co-senior author is X. Shirley Liu, PhD; together they lead Dana-Farber's Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics.
Most prostate tumors are fueled by male hormones, or androgens, which interact with a molecule called the androgen receptor in cancer cells. When the receptor receives androgen signals, it transmits orders to the cell's nucleus to divide and grow. Surgical castration or administering drugs that halt androgen production can control cancers that have spread outside the prostate gland.
However, these cancers often escape their need for androgens after a few years of treatment and become resistant. Brown said the tumor cells reprogram the androgen receptors so that they activate cell-growth genes despite the absence of hormone stimulation.
EZH2 is known as an "epigenetic regulator," meaning that it regulates the activity of genes without changing their DNA structure. Previously it was found that EZH2 levels are dramatically increased in late-stage castration resistant prostate cancer, Brown said, but researchers thought the protein was acting primarily to turn off gene activity which is its normal role.
Drugs aimed at blocking EZH2 activity are being tested in other cancers, where they are designed to block the protein's gene-suppressing role. However, they carry a risk of harmful side effects as a result. "But we found that isn't the important function of EZH2 in CRPC," Brown explained. "In these cancers, EZH2 works with the androgen receptor to turn on genes involved with cell growth." As a result, he proposes that inhibitors of EZH2 that avoid targeting its gene-repressor function might be a safe and effective strategy for use in castration-resistant prostate cancers.
Further, said Brown, the EZH2 protein itself is activated by a molecular signaling pathway known as PI3K, or PI3 kinase. Several PI3K inhibitors are in clinical trials at present, and Brown said that a combination of drugs to inhibit both that pathway and the EZH2 protein might be yet another way to attack the resistant prostate cancers.
###
Co-first authors of the report are Kexin Xu, PhD, and Zhenua Jeremy Wu, PhD, of Dana-Farber.
Support for the research was provided in part by the Prostate Cancer Foundation; the U.S. Department of Defense (PC100950); the National Cancer Institute (CA131945, CA89021, and CA90381); and the National Institutes of Health (CA166507, CA111803, CA090381, GM99409, CA85859 and CA097186).
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. It provides adult care with Brigham and Women's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, and it provides pediatric care with Children's Hospital Boston as Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. Dana-Farber is the top-ranked cancer center in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report, and one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health grant funding. Follow Dana-Farber on Twitter: @dana-farber or Facebook: facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Researchers find new culprit in castration-resistant prostate cancerPublic release date: 13-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Bill Schaller william_schaller@dfci.harvard.edu 617-632-5357 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Previously unknown protein function could be a treatment target
BOSTONScientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered a molecular switch that enables advanced prostate cancers to spread without stimulation by male hormones, which normally are needed to spur the cancer's growth. They say the finding could lead to a new treatment for prostate cancers that are no longer controlled by hormone-blocking drugs.
The researchers report in the Dec. 14 issue of Science that the molecular switch occurs in a protein, EZH2, which is increased in these tumors, termed castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPC).
EZH2 is part of a protein complex that normally shuts off the expression of genes. But in CRPC cells, "It isn't working the way people had thought," said Myles Brown, MD, co-senior author of the report. Instead, EZH2 switches into a different mode, activating cell-growth genes -even in the absence of androgen hormones that spur the dangerous growth and spread of these cancers.
As a result, the researchers suggest that drugs designed to stifle this unexpected function of EZH2 might be effective as a new treatment strategy for CRPC tumors.
Brown's co-senior author is X. Shirley Liu, PhD; together they lead Dana-Farber's Center for Functional Cancer Epigenetics.
Most prostate tumors are fueled by male hormones, or androgens, which interact with a molecule called the androgen receptor in cancer cells. When the receptor receives androgen signals, it transmits orders to the cell's nucleus to divide and grow. Surgical castration or administering drugs that halt androgen production can control cancers that have spread outside the prostate gland.
However, these cancers often escape their need for androgens after a few years of treatment and become resistant. Brown said the tumor cells reprogram the androgen receptors so that they activate cell-growth genes despite the absence of hormone stimulation.
EZH2 is known as an "epigenetic regulator," meaning that it regulates the activity of genes without changing their DNA structure. Previously it was found that EZH2 levels are dramatically increased in late-stage castration resistant prostate cancer, Brown said, but researchers thought the protein was acting primarily to turn off gene activity which is its normal role.
Drugs aimed at blocking EZH2 activity are being tested in other cancers, where they are designed to block the protein's gene-suppressing role. However, they carry a risk of harmful side effects as a result. "But we found that isn't the important function of EZH2 in CRPC," Brown explained. "In these cancers, EZH2 works with the androgen receptor to turn on genes involved with cell growth." As a result, he proposes that inhibitors of EZH2 that avoid targeting its gene-repressor function might be a safe and effective strategy for use in castration-resistant prostate cancers.
Further, said Brown, the EZH2 protein itself is activated by a molecular signaling pathway known as PI3K, or PI3 kinase. Several PI3K inhibitors are in clinical trials at present, and Brown said that a combination of drugs to inhibit both that pathway and the EZH2 protein might be yet another way to attack the resistant prostate cancers.
###
Co-first authors of the report are Kexin Xu, PhD, and Zhenua Jeremy Wu, PhD, of Dana-Farber.
Support for the research was provided in part by the Prostate Cancer Foundation; the U.S. Department of Defense (PC100950); the National Cancer Institute (CA131945, CA89021, and CA90381); and the National Institutes of Health (CA166507, CA111803, CA090381, GM99409, CA85859 and CA097186).
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. It provides adult care with Brigham and Women's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, and it provides pediatric care with Children's Hospital Boston as Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. Dana-Farber is the top-ranked cancer center in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report, and one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health grant funding. Follow Dana-Farber on Twitter: @dana-farber or Facebook: facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
We are far from global ubiquity for LTE and other 4G networks, but carriers in markets that have implemented the faster mobile data standard are seeing a boom in growth. Figures out today from 
Fuller Sotheby?s International Realty is pleased to welcome Jessica Northrop to the company as a broker. Jessica has more than 17 years of experience in the residential real estate industry, with a history of exceeding client expectations and delivering outstanding results.
By Ferry Groenendijk: He is the founder and editor of Video Games Blogger. He loved gaming from the moment he got a Nintendo with Super Mario Bros. on his 8th birthday. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and at Google+.
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Public release date: 13-Dec-2012
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