Orange made a bold pledge to the future of Europe's "digital economy" yesterday, promising to bring 4G / LTE networks to all EU markets by the year 2015, and reaffirming its commitment to Africa and the Middle East. The France-based carrier outlined its plan during an event in Brussels, where CEO Stéphane Richard and European Commission digital chief Neelie Kroes met to discuss the Commission's "Digital Agenda for Europe." Orange laid out ten commitments in total, including a promise to make FTTH available for 15 million households and 80 percent of all businesses in France by the year 2020. It also vowed to bring 3 million NFC-enabled handsets to the EU this year, and 10 million by the year 2013. Perhaps most salient to Kroes' agenda was Orange's promise to offer customers a privacy "dashboard" by the year 2015, allowing them to more directly control their personal data. In Africa and the Middle East, meanwhile, the company is looking to roll out its 3G network by the year 2015, in the hopes of providing 80 percent of the population with mobile services. For more promises and optimism, check out the full PR after the break.
Since it's launch, there's been talk about the new iPad running hot. Well, here's some proof: these images show the outer case gets 10 degrees warmer than its predecessor. More »
Why getting healthy can seem worse than getting sickPublic release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kevin Stacey kstacey@press.uchicago.edu 401-284-3878 University of Chicago Press Journals
A new article in The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why the immune system often makes us worse while trying to make us well.
The research offers a new perspective on a component of the immune system known as the acute-phase response, a series of systemic changes in blood protein levels, metabolic function, and physiology that sometimes occurs when bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens invade the body. This response puts healthy cells and tissue under serious stress, and is actually the cause of many of the symptoms we associate with being sick.
"The question is why would these harmful components evolve," asks Edmund LeGrand (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who wrote the paper titled with Joe Alcock (University of New Mexico). The researchers contend that answer becomes clear when we view the acute-phase response in terms of what they call "immune brinksmanship."
The immune brinksmanship model "is the gamble that systemic stressors will harm the pathogens relatively more than the host," LeGrand said. The concept, he explains, is akin to what happens in international trade disputes. When one country places trade sanctions on another, both countries' economies take a hit, but the sanctioning country is betting that its opponent will be hurt more.
"One of our contributions here is to pull together the reasons why pathogens suffer more from systemic stress," LeGrand said.
The acute-phase response creates stress in several ways. It raises body temperature and causes loss of appetite and mild anemia. At the same time, certain vital nutrients like iron, zinc, and manganese are partially sequestered away from the bloodstream.
Some of these components are quite puzzling. Why reduce food intake just when one would expect more energy would be needed to mount a strong immune response? Zinc is essential for healthy immune function. Why pull it out of the bloodstream when the immune system is active? The benefits of a stressor like fever are fairly well known; heat has been shown to inhibit bacterial growth and cause infected cells to self-destruct. But what hasn't been clear is why pathogens should be more susceptible to this stress than the host.
LeGrand and Alcock offer some answers. For an infection to spread, pathogens need to multiply, whereas host cells can defer replication. Replication makes DNA and newly forming proteins much more susceptible to damage. It also requires energy and nutrientswhich helps explain the benefits of restricting food and sequestering nutrients.
The act of invading a body also requires bacteria to alter their metabolism, which can make them more vulnerable to all kinds of stress, including heat.
Another reason pathogens are more vulnerable to stress is that the immune system is already pummeling them with white blood cells and related stressors at the site of the infection. That means that pathogens are already under local stress when systemic stressors are piled on. "In many ways, the acute-phase response reinforces the stress inflicted on pathogens locally at the infection site," LeGrand said.
As the term "brinksmanship" implies, there's an inherent risk in a strategy that involves harming oneself to hurt the enemy within. This self-harm leaves the body more vulnerable to other dangers, including other infections. Additionally, it is possible for the immune stressors to do more damage than required to control the pathogens.
"But in general, systemic stressors when properly regulated do preferential harm to invaders," LeGrand said. Viewed this way, it's not surprising that natural selection has utilized the stressful parts of the acute-phase response in mammals, reptiles, fish, and even invertebrates.
###
Edmund LeGrand and Joe Alcock, "Turning Up The Heat: Immune Brinksmanship In The Acute-phase Response." The Quarterly Review of Biology 87:1 (March 2012).
The premier review journal in biology since 1926, The Quarterly Review of Biology publishes articles in all areas of biology but with a traditional emphasis on evolution, ecology, and organismal biology. QRB papers do not merely summarize a topic, but offer important new ideas, concepts, and syntheses. They often shape the course of future research within a field. In addition, the book review section of the QRB is the most comprehensive in biology.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Why getting healthy can seem worse than getting sickPublic release date: 20-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kevin Stacey kstacey@press.uchicago.edu 401-284-3878 University of Chicago Press Journals
A new article in The Quarterly Review of Biology helps explain why the immune system often makes us worse while trying to make us well.
The research offers a new perspective on a component of the immune system known as the acute-phase response, a series of systemic changes in blood protein levels, metabolic function, and physiology that sometimes occurs when bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens invade the body. This response puts healthy cells and tissue under serious stress, and is actually the cause of many of the symptoms we associate with being sick.
"The question is why would these harmful components evolve," asks Edmund LeGrand (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who wrote the paper titled with Joe Alcock (University of New Mexico). The researchers contend that answer becomes clear when we view the acute-phase response in terms of what they call "immune brinksmanship."
The immune brinksmanship model "is the gamble that systemic stressors will harm the pathogens relatively more than the host," LeGrand said. The concept, he explains, is akin to what happens in international trade disputes. When one country places trade sanctions on another, both countries' economies take a hit, but the sanctioning country is betting that its opponent will be hurt more.
"One of our contributions here is to pull together the reasons why pathogens suffer more from systemic stress," LeGrand said.
The acute-phase response creates stress in several ways. It raises body temperature and causes loss of appetite and mild anemia. At the same time, certain vital nutrients like iron, zinc, and manganese are partially sequestered away from the bloodstream.
Some of these components are quite puzzling. Why reduce food intake just when one would expect more energy would be needed to mount a strong immune response? Zinc is essential for healthy immune function. Why pull it out of the bloodstream when the immune system is active? The benefits of a stressor like fever are fairly well known; heat has been shown to inhibit bacterial growth and cause infected cells to self-destruct. But what hasn't been clear is why pathogens should be more susceptible to this stress than the host.
LeGrand and Alcock offer some answers. For an infection to spread, pathogens need to multiply, whereas host cells can defer replication. Replication makes DNA and newly forming proteins much more susceptible to damage. It also requires energy and nutrientswhich helps explain the benefits of restricting food and sequestering nutrients.
The act of invading a body also requires bacteria to alter their metabolism, which can make them more vulnerable to all kinds of stress, including heat.
Another reason pathogens are more vulnerable to stress is that the immune system is already pummeling them with white blood cells and related stressors at the site of the infection. That means that pathogens are already under local stress when systemic stressors are piled on. "In many ways, the acute-phase response reinforces the stress inflicted on pathogens locally at the infection site," LeGrand said.
As the term "brinksmanship" implies, there's an inherent risk in a strategy that involves harming oneself to hurt the enemy within. This self-harm leaves the body more vulnerable to other dangers, including other infections. Additionally, it is possible for the immune stressors to do more damage than required to control the pathogens.
"But in general, systemic stressors when properly regulated do preferential harm to invaders," LeGrand said. Viewed this way, it's not surprising that natural selection has utilized the stressful parts of the acute-phase response in mammals, reptiles, fish, and even invertebrates.
###
Edmund LeGrand and Joe Alcock, "Turning Up The Heat: Immune Brinksmanship In The Acute-phase Response." The Quarterly Review of Biology 87:1 (March 2012).
The premier review journal in biology since 1926, The Quarterly Review of Biology publishes articles in all areas of biology but with a traditional emphasis on evolution, ecology, and organismal biology. QRB papers do not merely summarize a topic, but offer important new ideas, concepts, and syntheses. They often shape the course of future research within a field. In addition, the book review section of the QRB is the most comprehensive in biology.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a total population of around 500 million, is witnessing a major growth in telecom penetration and broadband internet access in the past 5 years. From a low base of only 1.51 million broadband connections in the whole region in 2006, the number is estimated to have reached 17 million in 2011. This number is expected to double in the next 4 years and the World Bank and other institutions are actively encouraging the spread of broadband telecom as a major instrument for social advancement in the region.
The internet has become the principal medium for communication
The internet has become the principal medium of communication for people, not just at the workplace but also in their personal lives. It is the medium that people turn to for information, for day to day transactions like banking, travel and public services, for communication with friends and family and increasingly also for entertainment. Governments have also realized that providing public services through the internet is cost effective and insulates people from delays, frustration and low level corruption involved in face-to-face interaction with government agencies.
Access to internet has become a good surrogate indicator of the standard of living. In the US and the European Union, over 78 percent of the population has access to the internet. In China this has grown rapidly to reach 34 percent but in India it is still low at 7.5 percent. The MENA region presents a very diverse picture with the advanced trading nations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain having internet access percentages similar to the advanced economies. The percentage falls off very quickly in the less developed countries of the region like Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Iran and internet usage is minuscule in Sudan and Yemen.
The internet, which was previously accessed only from desktop computers, is now being accessed from portable computers and mobile phones. The bandwidth requirements are increasing as the internet now delivers graphics, streaming videos, high fidelity music and gaming content. This is the driver for the worldwide growth of broadband connections at over 21 percent a year in the last 5 years to reach a total of 545 million connections in 2011.
The additional spur for growth in the MENA region
Over 33 percent of the population in the MENA region is under the age of 12. This young population is quicker to adopt new technology than their parents? generation. In much of this region, television and radio stations are state controlled and do not provide the standard of entertainment that is available through the internet.
The monopoly state run land-line telecom services are facing competition from the newly emerging mobile telecom players who are able to extend services far quicker than the ?dig and bury cable? process used for land-lines. These mobile phone companies induce new consumers to internet access by simple promotional activities such as the downloading of ring tones and wallpapers, access to on-line music and videos and connection to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. These customers become regular mobile internet users and quickly upgrade to higher bandwidth applications which helps the mobile phone companies realize better revenues. The present broadband usage costs in the region are amongst the highest in the world with an unlimited usage plan in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain costing as much as $140 a month. These are bound to come down very quickly to the international norm of around $20.
The Arab Spring movement in the region was fueled mainly through internet communication. The penetration of mobile broadband in the region could bring out other such changes.
ScienceDaily (Mar. 18, 2012) ? Combining known factors in a new way, theoretical physicists Boris Svistunov and Nikolai Prokof'ev at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with three alumni of their group, have solved an intractable 50-year-old problem: How to simulate strongly interacting quantum systems to allow accurate predictions of their properties.
It could open the door to practical superconductor applications, as well as to solving difficult "many-body" problems in high-energy physics, condensed matter and ultra-cold atoms.
The theoretical breakthrough by Prokof'ev and Svistunov at UMass Amherst, with their alumni Kris Van Houcke now at Ghent University, Felix Werner at Ecole Normale Sup?rieure Paris and Evgeny Kozik at Ecole Polytechnique, is reported in the current issue of Nature Physics. The paper also includes crucial results of an experimental validation conducted by Martin Zwierlein and colleagues at MIT.
Svistunov says, "The accompanying experiment is a breakthrough on its own because achieving a few percent accuracy has long been a dream in the field of ultra-cold atoms. We needed this confirmation from Mother Nature."
Van Houcke adds, "Our answers and the experimental results perfectly agree. This is important because in physics you can always make a prediction, but unless it is controlled, with narrow error bars, you're basically just gambling. Our new method makes accurate predictions."
Physicists have long been able to numerically simulate statistical behavior of bosonic systems by mapping them onto polymers in four dimensions, as Richard Feynman proposed in the 1950s. "In a bosonic liquid one typically wants to know at what temperature the superfluid phase transition occurs," Prokof'ev explains, "and mapping onto the polymers yields an essentially exact answer."
But simulating particle behavior in strongly interacting fermionic liquids, like strongly interacting electrons in high-temperature superconducting compounds, has been devilishly elusive, he adds. "The polymer trick does not work here because of the notorious negative-sign problem, a hallmark of fermionic statistics."
Apart from mapping onto the polymers, Feynman proposed yet another solution, in terms of "diagrams" now named after him. These Feynman diagrams are graphical expressions for serial expansion of Green's functions, a mathematical tool that describes statistical properties of each unique system. Feynman diagrams were never used for making quantitatively accurate predictions for strongly interacting systems because people believed that evaluating and summing all of them was simply impossible, Svistunov points out. But the UMass Amherst team now has found a way to do this.
What they discovered is a trick -- called Diagrammatic Monte Carlo -- of sampling the Feynman series instead of calculating diagrams one by one. Especially powerful is the Bold Diagrammatic Monte Carlo (BDMC) scheme. This deals with a partially summed Feynman series (Dyson's development) in which the diagrams are constructed not from the bare Green's functions of non-interacting system (usually represented by thin lines), but from the genuine Green's functions of the strongly interacting system being looked for (usually represented by bold lines).
"We poll a series of integrals, and the result is fed back to the series to keep improving our knowledge of the Green's function," says Van Houcke, who developed the BDMC code over the past three years.
The BDMC protocol works a bit like sampling to predict the outcome of an election but with the difference that results of polling are being constantly fed back to the "electorate," Prokof'ev and Svistunov add. "We repeat this with several hundred processors over several days until the solution converges. That is, the Green's function doesn't change anymore. And once you know the Green's function, you know all the basic thermodynamic properties of the system. This has never been done before."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
K. Van Houcke, F. Werner, E. Kozik, N. Prokof?ev, B. Svistunov, M. J. H. Ku, A. T. Sommer, L. W. Cheuk, A. Schirotzek, M. W. Zwierlein. Feynman diagrams versus Fermi-gas Feynman?emulator. Nature Physics, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nphys2273
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.
One particular evolution in marketing to the IM niche is so many people want absolutely everything spoon fed to them, and that can really present problems at times. You can think of that in terms of background information that has been learned elsewhere about legal loan or through experience.
Even something as simple as setting up an autoresponder and doing email marketing requires some detailed knowledge to do it with good effect.
As we proceed with our talk about these strategies, bear in mind they are just the tip of the iceberg. Those who are new to online business need to remember there is always a lot more to the story in any article. If you are about to get started with your marketing, then look hard at what you have done and need to do and be sure you have all you need.
Remodeling or renovating your home is quite difficult, unless of course you have a right program of action. You could have a wise decision of what you need to accomplish, how much it?s going with cost and how much time it takes. People that are not planning on doing the function themselves should consider selecting the appropriate person for the job. We will discuss a limited significant aspects of doing a house improvement project in a means that will help you in the extended run.
You should ensure that you have enough income with do your home improvement project before you start 1. It is absolutely necessary that you understand how much the work is going to cost before hiring anyone with do the job for you. This involves tools, supplies, work and any different relevant costs. It?s always a good idea to assume that a project is going to expense more than you initially estimate, as this might be normally the case. Be sure with look over any contract that you are provided by somebody that will work for you so that you understand what you may be getting into. Being aware of more charges is anything you should keep on top of every step of the renovation.
One of the best ways with cut costs on any home improvement project is with renovate existing rooms instead of building new ones from the ground up (e.g. ? your kitchen or bathroom) The total appearance of the space will be greatly improved by simply doing simple repairs here and there. Instead of gutting an whole room, you may like to consider painting it with change its overall appeal. It just is not necessary with substitute everything in a space to make it look better; easy changes are less costly and are occasionally more efficient. So before you commit with an expensive renovation with your kitchen or bathroom, consider if you might get by with some piecemeal improvements.
Priorities, the points you require to receive fixed or renovated at your house, ought to be organized for right execution. Taking care of significant issues initially is what prioritizing is all about.
Cosmetic improvements must constantly be completed last and important elements like electric rewiring ought to be done at initially. Nonessential repairs like installing a brand-new countertop should be performed perfectly in the end of the priority-based repairs or renovations are accomplished. By taking care of these renovations in this purchase, issues are easy to avoid. Contractors and building inspectors are persons that you need to ask for help, specifically should you are having problems selecting what should be completed at your house. Everybody wants more from their business such as profits, and testing and tracking is one of the surest ways to get more. That is most crucial when trying new techniques much like what you are reading today about lawsuit settlement loans. There are some testing methods that are truly advanced, but even still the most basic type most newbies would have no clue about.
Once you have started enough online ventures, you just sort of get it done without being careless. You can set things up any way you want, and then just monitor what is happening and be prepared for what ever feedback occurs. Even if you have never done testing before in your business, just going through the process several times will make you much more confident.
You will obviously need traffic for testing anything, and so with a site-based test just choose those pages that receive the greatest amount of traffic. Metrics are your best friend in so many ways, and the type of information you need to glean from your testing efforts will be conveyed to you through tracking metrics/data. For the best results, it happens to be significant that you plan ahead, specifically before making any home improvements with your house. A professional opinion is occasionally an effortless means to saving a great deal of funds on your upcoming house improvement project or renovation. Always find out what must be renovated and never guess during this task. So by doing the appropriate kind of planning, you are able to avoid unpleasant problems along the way by carrying this out in a step-by-step manner each and every day.
We realize that sometimes it feels like you are treading water and all you can do is keep your nose above it. One thing we want to say about lawsuit financing, and that is you should look beyond what has been discussed here today because there is so much more. If you are new to IM, then you need to exercise caution anytime you read about a marketing method in a short article, and the reason is you should never assume that is all there is to it.
Sure, there is a learning curve that you have to tackle, but do not lose momentum out of fear that you do not know enough to get started.
Working on your business means making sites, creating content, starting marketing and advertising campaigns but not spending all your time learning. Work on your sense of self-discipline, and that could mean dragging your self to your computer in the evening after your regular job and just working for half an hour or an hour.
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
This week's edition of IRL is geekier than usual because really, only the nerdiest of you would be reading a tech site when you could be pretending to be Irish. On tap (har!) we have James and Andy talking about their favorite ways to charge gadgets on the go, while Darren, a man after serious photographers' hearts, tells what happened when he took his beloved D3S in to have the sensor cleaned.
Are you interested in joining an organisation with a long term commitment to fighting poverty? Would you like to work in a challenging environment and develop an international career focused on demonstrating shared core values that achieve results?
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SNV DR Congo is looking for a:
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SENIOR ASSOCIATE AGRI BUSINESS ADVISOR
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Based in Kinshasa
(Consultancy contract)
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SNV ? the Netherlands Development Organisation ? is an advisory organization that promotes market based solutions for the poor in 33 countries around the world. Our advisors, and the local capacity builders we work with, deliver support to over 2,000 clients. SNV DRC works in the agricultural, renewable energy and water and sanitation sectors in three multidisciplinary portfolio teams.
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SNV is looking for a Senior Advisor in Agri-food systems and markets with experience in forging Inclusive Business Arrangements, who is passionate about working with productive communities to create a more sustainable and equitable future. The chosen candidate will play a strategic role in developing SNV DRC approaches and tools of work in this field.
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Reduce food vulnerability of18,000people (3,000 Households) and increase incomes from USD 160 to USD 320 by increasing rice production capacity from2?? to 4 ton/hectares and processing capacity from 600 to 900 Kg /jour through??? facilitating participation of small holder farmers in existing Commercial Rice supply chains by 2013
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Expected Impact Rice Value Chain Program SNV DRC:
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Establish an Inclusive Business Arrangement between SNV DRC a Local Companies using Rice Grain
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Establish a formal agreement between SNV (memorandum of understanding/contract) between a Commercial Company and SNV for supply chain development.
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Expected Results:
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Supply Chain Development: Rice Producers
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800 small scale farmers access training through 12 demonstration plots established on 24 hectares across 2 Districts in Kinshasa province by 2013
4 Rice Associations registered with 30% female leadership by 2013
12 Seed growing farms established by small scale farmers (30% women) by 2013
12 farmer managed collection centres established to collect sort and pack paddy rice by 2013
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Supply Chain Development: Rice Processors
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Identification and selection of 5 Small and Medium Enterprises (Rice Processors) and link them to leading agricultural companies seeking processed rice in the DRC by 1st August 2012
Facilitate access to trade finance for the 3 small and medium enterprises (SME) by 2013
Facilitate? trade of 300 tons of paddy/white rice by 3 SME by 2013
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Reduce food vulnerability of18,000people (3,000 Households) and increase incomes from USD 160 to USD 320 by increasing rice production capacity from2?? to 4 ton/hectares and processing capacity from 600 to 900 Kg /jour through??? facilitating participation of small holder farmers in existing Commercial Rice supply chains by 2013
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Responsibilities
?????????????????
Provision of Capacity Development Services;
Engaging with companies, governments and financial institutions? in-country to transform? their policies, strategies, , operations and behavior(governance practices);
Forging innovative business models engaging small holder farmers across value chains, developing strategies to promote investment? at farm gate and? identifying market opportunities in the? domestic market?
Market studies, value chain assessment, developing marketing strategies??
Experience with impact investment strategies, value chain financing options would be an added advantage.
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Networking and Resource Mobilization
Further strengthen SNV?s niche and reputation in the Agro-business sector among key stakeholders in DRC, develop new program concepts and proposals, and support resource mobilization? for SNV?s Agricultural Development Program in DRC.
Explore, identify, establish and maintain partnerships with international and national Organizations active in the Agro-business, Agriculture and? Food Security sector
Identification of organizations that can work with SNV as Local Capacity Builders (LCBs); include and steer these LCBs as clients and/or sub-contractors in the advisory work
Knowledge Development and Coaching
Translating? the theory of Value Chain Development to? practice and facilitate the learning and development of others? (Provide coaching to team members)
Provide content leadership to the SNV DRC Agriculture team and strengthen SNV Congo?s knowledge base. Participate in key knowledge development activities for SNV Congo, assure good documentation and dissemination.
Participate in external and internal networks that contribute to? the development of approaches and? practical tools? for the SNV Agriculture program.
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Candidate profile
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Master?s in Business Administration, Agri-business or Agricultural Economics
Candidates will have a strong background in economics, business management or economic development policy.
A proven ability to work in cross-cultural contexts.
Excellent spoken and written French (A working Knowledge of English is an added advantage)
Private sector experience in agri-business, farm based enterprises, agro retail business
10 years working experience with extensive international experience, exposure to African agricultural markets would be an advantage
You understand field realities and are able to link between these governance, business and policy processes.
You must be able to work and communicate across different? professional spheres ; business, government, NGO and academic worlds.
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We are particularly interested in people with significant private sector experience. A track record of writing for academic and/or non-academic audiences is important.
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Description duty station
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Name: Kinshasa ? capital of DR Congo with frequent travel to other provinces of DR Congo.
Health services: Acceptable
Educational facilities: There are international schooling systems in English and French.???
Security situation: Good.
Accessibility: Daily flights.
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Contract Duration: 2 year, with the possibility of renewal
Desired start Date: May 2012
Salary: Depending on relevant working experience, including individual allowances.
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How to apply?
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Send your application letter and CV (in English) to 5 April 2012 with reference number CD 7039.
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We do not appreciate third-party mediation based on this advertisement.
Flower seller Jimmi Lee, 55, sells a sprig of shamrock to shopper Catherine Fahy, 45, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers, many of them wearing a corsage of shamrock, the lucky symbol of Ireland. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
Flower seller Jimmi Lee, 55, sells a sprig of shamrock to shopper Catherine Fahy, 45, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers, many of them wearing a corsage of shamrock, the lucky symbol of Ireland. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
A shopper walks past a flower stall selling shamrock, lower left, on Dublin's main shopping boulevard Friday, March 16, 2012. Dublin is getting ready for its annual St. Patrick's Day parade on upcoming Saturday and is expected to attract a half-million onlookers. (AP Photo/Shawn Pogatchnik)
DUBLIN (AP) ? Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny is leading a global St. Patrick's Day charm offensive that seeks to woo investment from the United States, China and other countries to debt-crippled Ireland.
Kenny arrived Friday in Chicago to begin a five-day U.S. visit that concludes Tuesday with St. Patrick's Day festivities in the White House. The Washington events are happening three days late because this year the March 17 holiday falls on a weekend.
Kenny has deployed 16 of his government's ministers to Canada, China, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, nine European neighbors and several other American cities from Boston to San Francisco.
Most of his other 13 ministers are presiding over the dozens of parades, performances and celebrations at home, particularly in Dublin, where a four-day festival started Friday and will peak Saturday when a half-million spectators are expected to line the main Dublin parade route.
The focus on boosting Ireland's image abroad reflects the stark economic challenges facing the one-time Celtic Tiger. Today the Irish are struggling to reverse 14.4 percent unemployment, slow a renewed wave of emigration and rebuild a battered credit rating that forced the country to negotiate a humiliating 2010 bailout.
"Now is the time to invest in Ireland's recovery," Kenny said. "The government will use the unique global opportunity of St. Patrick's Day to bring that message to all our key global markets and to Ireland's many friends around the world."
Ireland's diplomatic efforts are double the size of St. Patrick's Day missions last year, when Kenny had just taken power following a landmark election that devastated the previous government. It was blamed for leading Ireland to the brink of bankruptcy by fueling a runaway construction market fed by tax breaks and cheap credit from Ireland's ill-regulated banks.
When Ireland's property boom went bust in 2008, the government sought to save those banks from collapse by promising to ensure all their debts against default. That gamble failed to stem a tide of fleeing capital from Ireland and left taxpayers on the hook for repaying potentially ?70 billion ($91 billion) in bank losses.
That bill, far too big for Ireland to finance, required a ?67.5 billion ($88 billion) credit line with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. The money is supposed to cover Ireland's bills until late 2013, by which time Kenny's government hopes to resume normal borrowing from bond markets.
But economists agree that Ireland's recovery depends on forces beyond its control, particularly whether the U.S. economy gets rolling again.
More than 600 American multinationals already have made Ireland their European Union base, providing more than 5 percent of the nation's jobs and 12 percent of its entire gross domestic product, or GDP. American companies favor Ireland's English-speaking work force, participation in the euro common currency, and particularly its low 12.5 percent rate of tax on corporate profits.
Economists are counting on export-led growth by U.S.-focused multinationals to compensate for the debt crisis overshadowing most, if not all, of Ireland's 4.5 million people.
The existing bailout deal requires Ireland to slash its deficits to 3 percent of GDP by 2016. The 2011 deficit stood at 10 percent. The target this year is to reach 8.6 percent. But this means yet more spending cuts and tax hikes in a country where hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs, are trapped in negative-equity mortgages and are clamping down on spending.
The government expects to spend more than ?55 billion this year but collect just ?38 billion in taxes.
But Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan, attending St. Patrick's-related events in France, said Friday if U.S. economic growth expands, Ireland's own economy should "take off like a rocket."
___
Online:
St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, http://bit.ly/zjX52N
You are not Irish, but on March 17th the whole world gets to be Irish. Hell, they even celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Dubai. Want to go hang out at your local Irish pub? Good luck, it's going to be packed and unpleasant. But that doesn't mean you can't celebrate in your garage or your apartment. Here's how to turn wherever it is you are into an Irish pub. More »
For the last year or so, Index Ventures' Saul Klein has been living in Israel, not soaking up the hot sun (well, maybe a little of that) but the local startup scene -- the "Silicon Valley for the rest of the world," as he calls it. Now he is gearing up to move back to London, and at the same he is taking part in a new initiative to continue building those bridges: the UK Israel Tech Council. The group, associated with a new UK-Israel Technologies Hub based at the UK Embassy in the country, sounds like the kind of high-level effort that sits fairly far above the workings of startup life: some 35 "top business leaders and officials from both countries to develop an ambitious strategy for creating the UK/Israel tech partnership," the group says. They include the British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould; non-executive chairman of the UK-Israel Technologies Hub Haim Shani; Yossi Vardi; and senior executives from Virgin Media, Google, Alcatel Lucent, Amadeus Capital, NICE Systems, Pitango Venture Capital and Index, among others. But at the same time, it is a signal of how some significant efforts are being invested to tap further into the evolving startup culture in the country, and to make sure there is mindshare at all levels concerning that.
'Where would artists like Akon and T-Pain, Drake [be]?' actor Ricky Harris says of G-Funk icon's impact in previously unseen MTV News clip. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Rahman Dukes
Nate Dogg Photo: MTV News
One year ago to the day (March 15), hip-hop suffered a great loss when singer Nate Doggdied due to complications from multiple strokes. Nate was a pivotal figure in the West Coast's dominating G-Funk sound in the 1990's, and his closest friends and collaborators still feel his impact.
He added deep and soulful melodies to many hit records, notably appearing alongside Dr. Dre and his childhood friends Snoop Dogg and Warren G. Who could forget his bass-heavy bellows on Warren's 1994 hit "Regulate" or Dre's 2000 club banger "The Next Episode"? Not his fans, and surely not his loved ones.
Last year, MTV News took a trip out to Nate's old stomping grounds in Long Beach, California, and made a pilgrimage to the store World Famous V.I.P. Records. While there, we got reactions from some who knew the singer best. Read on and be sure to click on the embedded video for an exclusive clip.
"To me, and probably all Nate Dogg fans and to the city of Long Beach, this is just as big to hip-hop as Big L, [Big] Pun, Jam Master Jay, somebody leaving the world of hip-hop," said actor Ricky Harris, who appeared on skits on Snoop's Doggstyle LP and Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. "He created a lane where there was no lane to get paid. If it weren't for Nate Dogg — no disrespect to other artists — but where would artists like Akon and T-Pain, Drake [be]? A lot of cats that do that, as far as singing choruses and hooks, and nobody did it better than Nate Dogg."
Nate's cousin Deirdre Nichols remembered that even as a child, the iconic hip-hop crooner was always singing. "Him coming up, all I can remember is, him, his sister and brother, they always sung gospel in church and their mother always directed them," she said. "Out in the streets here in Long Beach, in the neighborhoods and garages and parks, he was singing and rapping with his other friends such as Warren G and Snoop Dogg."
Before his health issues began to arise, Nate lent his voice to so many hits. He didn't just limit himself as a West Coast hookman, either. In 1998, he released his debut, G-Funk Classics, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, and then branched out and collaborated with a number of notable East Coast and southern artists like Mos Def, Fabolous, Ludacris and 50 Cent.
DJ Battlecat, who has produced for Snoop, Xzibit and Game, told MTV News that he was proud to have played a role in Nate's career. After Nate's death, he urged fans to look on the positive side. "It's never an ending situation, it's a new beginning for Nate, so let's celebrate that," he said.
What is your fondest Nate Dogg memory? Tell us in the comments.
ScienceDaily (Mar. 13, 2012) ? Men's diets, in particular the amount and type of different fats they eat, could be associated with their semen quality according to the results of a study published online in the journal Human Reproduction.
The study of 99 men in the USA found an association between a high total fat intake and lower total sperm count and concentration. It also found that men who ate more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats (the type of fat often found in fish and plant oils) had better formed sperm than men who ate less.
However, the researchers warn that this is a small study, and its findings need to be replicated by further research in order to be sure about the role played by fats on men's fertility. Professor Jill Attaman, who was a Clinical and Research Fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School at the time of the research* said: "In the meantime, if men make changes to their diets so as to reduce the amount of saturated fat they eat and increase their omega-3 intake, then this may not only improve their general health, but could improve their reproductive health too. At a global level, adopting these lifestyle modifications may improve general health, as high saturated fat diets are known to be a risk factor for a range of cardiovascular diseases; but, in addition, our research suggests that it could be beneficial for reproductive health worldwide."
A number of previous studies have investigated the link between body mass index (BMI) and semen quality, with mixed results. However, little is known about the potential role of dietary fats and semen quality, and so Prof Attaman and her colleagues set out to investigate it in men attending a fertility clinic.
Between December 2006 and August 2010 they questioned the men about their diet and analysed samples of their semen; they also measured levels of fatty acids in sperm and seminal plasma in 23 of the 99 men taking part.
The men were divided into three groups according to the amount of fats they consumed. Those in the third with the highest fat intake had a 43% lower total sperm count and 38% lower sperm concentration than men in the third with the lowest fat intake. "Total sperm count" is defined as the total number of sperm in the ejaculate, while "sperm concentration" is defined as the concentration of sperm (number per unit volume). The World Health Organisation provides a definition of "normal" total sperm count and concentration as follows: the total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate should be at least 39 million; the concentration of spermatozoa should be at least 15 million per ml.
The study found that the relationship between dietary fats and semen quality was largely driven by the consumption of saturated fats. Men consuming the most saturated fats had a 35% lower total sperm count than men eating the least, and a 38% lower sperm concentration. "The magnitude of the association is quite dramatic and provides further support for the health efforts to limit consumption of saturated fat given their relation with other health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease," said Prof Attaman.
Men consuming the most omega-3 fats had slightly more sperm (1.9%) that were correctly formed than men in the third that had the lowest omega-3 intake.
Of note: 71% of all the men in the study were overweight or obese, and the health effects of this could also affect semen quality. However, the researchers made allowances for this. "We were able to isolate the independent effects of fat intake from those of obesity using statistical models," said Prof Attaman. "Notably, the frequency of overweight and obesity among men in this study does not differ much from that among men in the general population in the USA (74%)."
The study is subject to a number of limitations that could affect the results; for instance, the use of a food frequency questionnaire might not accurately reflect men's actual diets, and only one semen sample per man was collected. The authors point out that studies like theirs cannot show that dietary fats cause poor semen quality, only that there is an association between the two.
"To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date examining the influence of specific dietary fats on male fertility," they write. But they conclude: "Given the limitations of the current study, in particular the fact that it is a cross-sectional analysis and that it is the first report of a relation between dietary fat and semen quality, it is essential that these findings be reproduced in future work."
Prof Attaman and her colleagues are continuing to investigate how dietary and lifestyle factors influence fertility in men and women as well as the treatment outcomes of couples undergoing fertility treatment.
* Prof Jill Attaman is currently Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dartmouth Medical School and a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Subspecialist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. A. Attaman, T. L. Toth, J. Furtado, H. Campos, R. Hauser, J. E. Chavarro. Dietary fat and semen quality among men attending a fertility clinic. Human Reproduction, 2012; DOI: 10.1093/humrep/des065
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
The letter to the editor of a prestigious archaeology magazine came from inmate No. J81961 at Tehachapi State Prison.
Prisoner Timothy Fenstermacher, a high school dropout, wrote to disagree with an article by an archaeologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Archaeologist Orly Goldwasser had based her story on the birth of the alphabet in part on the appearance of the rare "Sinai hieroglyph," which she said was used in the Sinai during Egypt's Middle Kingdom.
Fenstermacher thought otherwise. "I believe the rarity of this hieroglyph has been overstated," he wrote to Biblical Archaeology Review.
Drawing on expertise gleaned from books sent to him in prison, improvised flashcard drills and correspondence with scholars, Fenstermacher gave examples of the hieroglyph's appearance outside the Sinai.
The magazine published the letter, just as it has others from prisoner J81961.
"The extent of this guy's self-taught scholarship is mind-boggling," said the review's editor, Hershel Shanks, adding that his staff had grown "quite fond" of Fenstermacher. "I wonder how a man could come from such difficulty and achieve such heights of scholarship."
Many prisoners pass time building up their bodies, studying law or writing bitter letters. Inspired by a chance reading of the Biblical Archaeology Review in a prison waiting room, Fenstermacher focused on learning. He began studying Egyptian history and language and writing letters to scholars.
His knowledge doesn't approach that of archaeologists who have spent years in formal training, but those he writes to say he's special.
"He is a natural for linguistics, working out on his own the mechanics of grammar, etc.," said retired Egyptologist Joyce Bartels of Lombard, Ill. Bartels has sent Fenstermacher books from her library and printouts from the Web and elsewhere, explaining that "Tim is a very likable person."
Goldwasser also stays in touch. She sends him copies of her recent papers and books on Egyptian grammar and other research topics.
::
Few would have predicted two decades ago that Fenstermacher's life would go this way.
He was a wild young man who was running with the wrong group, say people who know him. His escapades got him in trouble twice, then culminated with his stabbing a man during a fight in the San Diego County community of Lakeside.
In 1996, Fenstermacher, then 24, was sentenced to 16 years for felony assault, a period extended by three years after an altercation with a guard in prison.
The prison confrontation landed him in solitary confinement, where he thrived because he could focus on Egyptology. When time came to return to the general prison population, he sought and won permission to remain in solitary.
Using the cartons from his allotment of morning milk, Fenstermacher would make flashcards, each bearing a single hieroglyph ? four a day for a decade. He read the cards while he worked out, forcing himself to get five right before switching exercises.
"Fortunately, I've been blessed with a phenomenal memory," he said. He now has what he calls "a small dictionary in my head."
He asked the couple who once had been his legal guardians, Mary and Richard Dinnen of El Cajon, to buy him a subscription to Biblical Archaeology Review. Mary responded that "I was wasting my time," Fenstermacher said. But they still got him the subscription.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Yahoo is suing Facebook over patents, just weeks before the social-networking heavyweight is due to cash in with its initial public offering of stock.
Yahoo Inc. said in a court filing Monday that Facebook has infringed 10 of its patents covering advertising, privacy controls and social networking. Yahoo had threatened to sue Facebook last month, insisting that the social network license its patents.
Facebook vowed to defend itself vigorously against what it called "puzzling actions" by Yahoo.
"We're disappointed that Yahoo, a longtime business partner of Facebook and a company that has substantially benefited from its association with Facebook, has decided to resort to litigation," Facebook said in a statement. Yahoo ties a lot of its online services to Facebook, which has helped it attract users.
As with many patent suits, this one will likely be resolved in a settlement or licensing deal. That said, the patent claims could cast a spotlight on Facebook's vulnerabilities as the company tries to complete an IPO this spring. At the end of 2011, Facebook had just 56 U.S. patents, a relatively small number compared with other big tech companies. Yahoo owns more than 1,000 patents.
That trove of patents may come in handy for Yahoo, which has seen its revenue fall steadily over the past three years. But it could also cast the company as desperate, trying to extract money from soon-to-be-public Facebook.
Yahoo made hundreds of millions of dollars from a patent settlement that it reached with Google Inc. just before the Internet search leader went public in 2004. Facebook's IPO is expected to dwarf Google's, valuing the Menlo Park, California-based social network at as much as $100 billion.
Yahoo defended its lawsuit, saying it has invested "substantial resources in research and development" over the years leading to technology patents that other companies have licensed. Its lawsuit says that without Yahoo's innovations, Facebook and other websites would not enjoy "repeat visitors or substantial advertising revenue."
Among other claims, the lawsuit says that Yahoo's patents cover basic social networking ideas such as customizing website users' experiences to their needs and interests. And it says that Yahoo's advertising patents cover ways of generating ads that relate to individual users, increasing revenue for website operators.
Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in San Jose, California. It is asking for unspecified damages and a jury trial.
Getting dragged behind a boat is no fun. Getting dragged behind a boat but underwater is freakin' awesome. At least that's the idea behind the new Subwing system. More »
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Public release date: 20-Mar-2012
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For the last year or so, Index Ventures' Saul Klein has been living in Israel, not soaking up the hot sun (well, maybe a little of that) but the local startup scene -- the "Silicon Valley for the rest of the world," as he calls it. Now he is gearing up to move back to London, and at the same he is taking part in a new initiative to continue building those bridges: the UK Israel Tech Council. The group, associated with a new UK-Israel Technologies Hub based at the UK Embassy in the country, sounds like the kind of high-level effort that sits fairly far above the workings of startup life: some 35 "top business leaders and officials from both countries to develop an ambitious strategy for creating the UK/Israel tech partnership," the group says. They include the British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould; non-executive chairman of the UK-Israel Technologies Hub Haim Shani; Yossi Vardi; and senior executives from Virgin Media, Google, Alcatel Lucent, Amadeus Capital, NICE Systems, Pitango Venture Capital and Index, among others. But at the same time, it is a signal of how some significant efforts are being invested to tap further into the evolving startup culture in the country, and to make sure there is mindshare at all levels concerning that.
