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Sunday, May 5, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
PST: MLS to announce plans for 20th team in NYC
Major League Soccer has announced that in four to six weeks it will unveil plans for a new stadium in New York City to house the league?s 20th team.
Commissioner Don Garber discussed the plans while talking with reporters at halftime of Wednesday night?s contest between Toronto and Montreal?at BMO Field. In the conversation?Garber informed the public: ?We?are deeply engaged with potential ownership groups and we?re hopeful to be able to announce a 20th team within the next [four to six weeks].? The winning ownership group is expected to pay an expansion fee of?$100 million.
Garber had previously indicated that the league hoped?for something definitive on an expansion franchise in Queens by the end of 2013. He reiterated that desire on Wednesday, noting MLS? progress in getting a deal done.??We?re making progress,? Garber said of talks with New York City. ?We continue ? you?ve heard this for the last year ? but we continue to negotiate with the City of New York and meet with local political folks and community leaders to get support for the stadium we hope to build in Flushing Meadow Park.?
MORE: MLS expansion updates from Commissioner Garber
When asked if the New York Cosmos were going to be the 20th team, Garber refused to answer instead?saying that he and MLS support what the NASL is doing.?Garber did claim, however, that he believes MLS will continue its expansion beyond 20 teams by the end of 2020. But 30 teams? That would be too much of a leap.??It?s hard to imagine we?d have 30 teams,? Garber said. ?The other major leagues are around that size, they?ve been around 100 years.?
The league and the City have previously?been engaged in negotiations to build a stadium on a ten acre site in the Queens-based park with the goal of having a team begin playing there by 2016. On Thursday, Garber spoke again on the issue with the Associated Press, informing reporters that there are no other possible sites for a new stadium. ?If we get this done, it will be in Flushing Meadow Park. There is no Plan B.?
While New York is the league?s preferred choice for expansion, Orlando, Miami and Atlanta have all been linked as possible MLS expansions while USL Pro side Orlando City recently secured a $8.2m downtown parcel of land where they plan to build a new soccer-specific stadium.
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Is Internet Killing the Video Star? - AllThingsD
My career in digital media started at a pivotal moment. The year was 2001, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had just upheld an order for Napster to begin identifying and removing copyrighted songs from its music file sharing service. I was hired by a young startup that had recently changed its name from CDDB to Gracenote to help Napster use music recognition technology to comb through millions of tracks to find copyrighted works from the labels that it had to remove.
Napster was the first of its kind, providing music fans with easy and free access to albums and tracks and giving them a reason to avoid buying expensive CDs ? the lifeblood of the music industry?s business. The ability to share files around the globe reduced the barriers to music discovery and allowed Napster users to find new artists and songs in ways never imagined. It was a truly disruptive service, and it scared the hell out of the music industry.
Instead of embracing the massive adoption of this new service, finding a solution to accommodate the changing landscape or harnessing Napster as a future platform, the music industry held onto its rigid CD-based business, prayed that file sharing would go away and eventually tore Napster down.
Today, you can draw several parallels between the music industry in the late ?90s and early 2000s and the TV industry today. Viewing habits are changing. Just like music in the early 2000s when young adults started turning away from physical media and opting for singles versus complete albums, viewers are ?tuning in? very differently to movies and TV programming.
Today, if Netflix were part of a cable package, it would be one of the top viewed networks, according to a Facebook post from CEO Reed Hastings. Meanwhile, Nielsen recently reported that cable cutting is up by 150 percent since 2007, marking a significant shift in viewer behavior. Additionally, Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia is now assuming the role of Shawn Fanning by intimidating the cable companies with a disruptive service that lets viewers access broadcast programs at a much lower cost than cable packages.
But, instead of adapting to changing viewer behavior, the cable companies, Hollywood and broadcasters are holding onto old business models for dear life and calling the lawyers. Sound familiar?
Avoiding a Bad Sequel: Lessons for the TV Industry
Ignoring or fighting digital consumer behavior is a recipe for disaster ? resulting in rejection faster than an unpalatable creation by a contestant on Hell?s Kitchen. It?s time for TV broadcasters, content creators and advertisers to innovate their businesses instead of maintaining existing models through threats and litigation.
First, they need to understand that their viewers are setting the rules and defining the life expectancy of their programming and services. They will decide your fate ? not you. Consider the following:
- You Can?t Take Content Away: The outdated model based on controlling distribution is dying. If you force it underground ? that is, ?illegal streams and downloads? ? you?ve lost the battle.
- Adapt or Die: The millennial generation is addicted to YouTube, on-demand and streaming services. They no longer tune in at a specific time and date, and are increasingly shying away from paying for premium cable bundles. With filmmakers and producers spending the time and resources to make great TV programing, like ?Homeland,? ?Girls? and ?Mad Men,? delivery methods should be figured out to get these shows to viewers who won?t pay $150 per month in subscription fees.
- Open the Windows: The ?distribution window? is used by Hollywood to define how long a VOD and streaming service can distribute movies and TV programming. The problem? If the window for season one of ?Downton Abbey? is about to close from Netflix or your cable provider, and you haven?t watched any of the episodes, you better call in sick to work to get your fill of the Granthams and the Crawleys, or miss the entire season altogether.
- Stop Explaining Business Models: Movie and TV viewers don?t give a sh*t about business models. They just want to watch their favorite shows ? whenever and wherever they choose. The music industry followed the same pattern in the early 2000s, explaining why the economics of music streaming and downloads would not support artists and the industry. Guess who won?
- Open Up to Developers: Don?t assume innovation will only come from within your organization. By tapping the developer community, you will be able to move faster and find new ways to use or distribute content, which could result in new monetization strategies. Some of the more forward-thinking media properties, including ESPN, are already doing this, allowing developers to hack ad strategies and sports data.
- Rethink Discovery: As video distribution evolves, there needs to be a corresponding evolution in how people discover new movies and TV programming. If viewers are paying hefty monthly subscriptions (which today support a lot of what they don?t watch), it is critical to provide paths to find what they really want to watch. The current TV guides embedded in our set-top boxes have to be completely rethought.
- Reinvent Measurement: We still depend on a small sample of viewers to rate the popularity of programs and we base all advertising decisions on this data. However, the technology to measure real time usage inside the TV exists today and has the potential to enable more precise measurement and better targeting of advertising.
The TV industry?s fate is as much in the hands of viewers as the next American Idol. Not only accepting, but also realizing that TV programs and movies are easily accessible via proliferating distribution channels such as Netflix and Aereo, the industry can turn the tables and find opportunities with additional platforms and options to reach viewers for their eyeballs and spending. Most importantly, cable, broadcasters and Hollywood have the opportunity to move forward and determine better and more efficient business models to thrive.
Forward-looking networks like HBO have slowly worked toward a compromise by offering specialized content that depends on the Pay-TV ecosystem. However, with cord-cutting slowly beginning to eat into cable subscriptions, the HBOs of the world need to take distribution models a step further and offer everything streaming with direct-to-consumer subscription models, or risk losing their next core audience. If TV viewers are willing to pay for subscription streaming services, then the industry needs to jump on that bandwagon.
Rewriting the Ending: To Be Continued
The nature of distributing media is evolving, and the music industry learned the hard way as it struggled to adapt to a new generation of music fans. More than 10 years after the music industry forced Napster to tear down its P2P platform, the same industry has embraced free, ad-supported services from Spotify, Rhapsody, Deezer and others. In fact, this year marked the first time that the music industry made a profit since 1999.
Instead of struggling against the Internet Age and the connected world, broadcasters, cable companies and Hollywood can capitalize on the audience?s need to enjoy what they have to offer ? great TV programming. Content will always be king and the industry creates a tremendous amount of really compelling material. It just needs to keep the crime scenes to ?Law & Order? and save the video star by taking a cue from music?s past.
As president of Gracenote, Stephen White has played a critical role in shaping the company into a digital entertainment leader. He spearheaded the development of Gracenote technologies for top entertainment platforms and brands, including Apple, Ford and Sony. Today, he oversees all company strategy and operations, and is responsible for growing Gracenote?s core business and vision.
Source: http://allthingsd.com/20130503/is-internet-killing-the-video-star/
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Venezuela's Maduro says Colombia's Uribe plotting to kill him
May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-maduro-says-colombias-uribe-plotting-kill-him-202801147.html
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Italy race problems seen with black gov't minister
FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge listens as Italian Premier Enrico Letta delivers his speech during a vote of confidence to confirm the government, in the lower house of Parliament, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - In this April 29, 2013 file photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge listens as Italian Premier Enrico Letta delivers his speech during a vote of confidence to confirm the government, in the lower house of Parliament, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
In this photo taken on April 28, 2013 photo Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge walks moments after taking oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
FILE - In this April 28, 2013 file photo Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge arrives at Chigi palace Premier's office, in Rome. The appointment of Italy's first black cabinet minister was initially hailed as a giant step forward for a country that has long been ill at ease with its increasing immigrant classes. Cecile Kyenge's new job has instead exposed Italy's ugly race problem, an issue that flares regularly on the football pitch with racist taunts and in the rhetoric of xenophobic political parties but has come to the fore anew as a shaky coalition government tries to bring Italy out of its economic doldrums. Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children and was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)
ROME (AP) ? It was hailed as a giant step forward for racial integration in a country that has long been ill at ease with its growing immigrant classes. But Cecile Kyenge's appointment as Italy's first black Cabinet minister has instead exposed the nation's ugly race problem, a blight that flares regularly on the soccer pitch with racist taunts and in the diatribes of xenophobic politicians ? but has now raised its head at the center of political life.
One politician from a party that not long ago ruled in a coalition derided what he called Italy's new "bonga bonga government." On Wednesday, amid increasing revulsion over the reaction, the government authorized an investigation into neo-fascist websites whose members called Kyenge "Congolese monkey" and other epithets.
Kyenge, 48, was born in Congo and moved to Italy three decades ago to study medicine. An eye surgeon, she lives in Modena with her Italian husband and two children. She was active in local center-left politics before winning a seat in the lower Chamber of Deputies in February elections.
Premier Enrico Letta tapped Kyenge to be minister of integration in his hybrid center-left and center-right government that won its second vote of confidence Tuesday. In his introductory speech to Parliament, Letta touted Kyenge's appointment as a "new concept about the confines of barriers giving way to hope, of unsurpassable limits giving way to a bridge between diverse communities."
His praise and that of others has been almost drowned out by the racist slurs directed at Kyenge by politicians of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, an on-again, off-again ally of long-serving ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, and members of neo-fascist Internet groups.
In addition to his "bonga bonga" slur, Mario Borghezio, a European parliamentarian for the League, warned in an interview with Radio 24 that Kyenge would try to "impose tribal traditions" from her native Congo on Italy.
Kyenge on Tuesday responded to the insults, thanking those who had come to her defense and taking a veiled jab at the vulgarity of her critics. "I believe even criticism can inform if it's done with respect," she tweeted.
Unlike France, Germany or Britain, where second and third generations of immigrants have settled albeit uneasily, Italy is a relative newcomer to the phenomenon. France has several high-ranking government ministers with immigrant roots, and few French had a problem with the appointments: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy named a justice minister and urban policy minister, both born in France to North African parents, to his cabinet, while his minister for human rights was born in Senegal. Francois Hollande's government spokeswoman was born in Morocco and raised in France, and his interior minister was born in Spain. He also has two black ministers from French overseas territories ? one from Guyana and one from Guadeloupe.
Italy is another story. Once a country of emigration to North and South America at the turn of the last century, Italy saw the first waves of migrants from Eastern Europe and Africa coming to its shores only in the 1980s. In the last decade or two, their numbers have increased exponentially, and with them anti-immigrant sentiment: Surveys show Italians blame immigrants for crime and overtaxing the already burdened public health system. Foreigners made up about 2 percent of Italy's population in 1990; currently the figure stands at 7.5 percent, according to official statistics bureau Istat.
Some of the most blatant manifestations of racism occur in the realm of Italy's favorite sport, soccer ? which for Italians and others has shown itself to be a perfect venue for displays of pent-up emotions. In the case of a handful of Italian teams, soccer is a way for right-wing fan clubs to vent.
Mario Balotelli, the AC Milan striker born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants and raised by an Italian adoptive family, knows all about it. Perhaps Italy's best player today, he has long been the subject of racist taunts on and off the field: Rival fans once hung a banner during a match saying "Black Italians don't exist" while the vice-president of his own club once called him the household's "little black boy."
Balotelli called Kyenge's nomination "another great step forward for an Italian society that is more civil, responsible and understanding of the need for better, definitive integration."
The race situation is almost schizophrenic in Italy. In the same week Kyenge was made a government minister and Balotelli was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, AC Milan's cross-town rival, Juventus, was fined 30,000 euro for fans' racist taunts during a game against Milan in which Balotelli wasn't even playing.
"There was no racism 40 years ago because there were no non-white Italians," said James Walston, a political science professor at American University of Rome. "You need the other in order to hate the other."
"It will take a long time ? probably there will never be a completely racism-free society ? but it will take a long time for Italy to reach the sort of acceptance, multi-cultural acceptance that the rest of Europe has and North America has," he said in an interview.
Kyenge got off to a rocky start with the Northern League when, on the day she was named minister, she said one of her top priorities would be to make it easier for children of immigrants born in Italy to obtain Italian citizenship. Currently, such children can only apply once they turn 18.
The issue has vexed Italy for years and previous center-left governments have failed to change the law even though most Italians ? 72 percent according to a 2012 Istat-aided study ? favor it. It's not just a matter of a passport but has real impact on the ability of an immigrant family to integrate into Italian society: Children of non-EU immigrants born in Italy, for example, can't take advantage of the EU citizen discounts at the Colosseum and other cultural treasures, having to pay full admission prices to get in to learn the heritage of the nation where they were born. If they were Italian citizens, they'd get in free until they were 18.
But raising an issue that so riles the Northern League ? during an already tense political transition ? was enough to set off Roberto Maroni, the interior minister in Berlusconi's last center-right government and a top League official. Maroni immediately demanded that his successor as interior minister make clear his position on the law.
Other members of Maroni's party were more blunt: Italian newspapers quoted the head of the League in Italy's northern Lombardy region Matteo Salvini as saying that Kyenge was a "symbol of a hypocritical and do-gooding left that wants to cancel out the crime of illegal immigration and thinks only about immigrants' rights and not their duties."
La Repubblica newspaper on Tuesday, meanwhile, cited the vile insults directed at her on fascist Internet groups such as www.ilduce.net . Repubblica said the antagonism was born from the League's basic opposition to a minister who tends to favor immigrant rights. "But the racist origins had to explode. And here they are. True, they're consigned to the stupid transience of the Web, but they're a sign of the widespread climate of hatred" in the country, the paper wrote.
Coming to Kyenge's defense was Laura Boldrini, the president of parliament's lower chamber, who for years was the chief spokeswoman in Italy for the U.N. refugee agency. In that role she frequently defended the rights of immigrants ? and squared off with Northern League leaders after they pushed through a controversial 2009 policy to send back would-be Libyan migrants without screening them first for asylum.
"It is indecent that in a civil society there can be a series of insults ? on websites but not only there ? that are being hurled against the neo-minister Cecile Kyenge," Boldrini said. "Like many people, watching her take her oath of office I felt that Italy was taking an important step forward, and not just for 'new Italians.'"
Also defending Kyenge was the other foreign-born minister in Letta's government, Josefa Idem, a German-born Italian who won five Olympic kayaking medals before retiring after the London Games. Idem is Italy's new equal opportunities minister ? one of seven women in Letta's government ? and in that role authorized an investigation by Italy's national anti-discrimination office into the racist online slurs directed against Kyenge.
Italian news reports quoted Idem as saying she was doing so in her capacity as minister "but also as a woman."
Sociologist Michele Sorice at Rome's Luiss University said Italians have long harbored racist attitudes, stemming from the nation's colonial past in north Africa, but that they stayed hidden until the Northern League "legitimized" xenophobic political rhetoric after entering the government in the 1990s. The League denies it's xenophobic and says it is merely protecting the interests of Italians.
Italy has since become more sensitized to the issue, Sorice said, but it still lags behind its European and North American partners. Changing the law on citizenship, as Kyenge wants, "wouldn't do anything more than to bring Italy into line with the great European traditions," he said.
But he was doubtful that this particular government, made up of longtime political rivals, could pull it off when even previous center-left governments had failed to do so.
"It remains to be seen how this can be done on a practical level with a coalition government," he said.
___
Tricia Thomas in Rome and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
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Thursday, May 2, 2013
Persistent pain after stressful events may have a neurobiological basis
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Public release date: 2-May-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Tom Hughes
tahughes@unch.unc.edu
919-966-6047
University of North Carolina Health Care
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. A new study led by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers is the first to identify a genetic risk factor for persistent pain after traumatic events such as motor vehicle collision and sexual assault.
In addition, the study contributes further evidence that persistent pain after stressful events, including motor vehicle collisions and sexual assaults, has a specific biological basis. A manuscript of the study was published online ahead of print by the journal Pain on April 29.
"Our study findings indicate that mechanisms influencing chronic pain development may be related to the stress response, rather than any specific injury caused by the traumatic event," said Samuel McLean, MD, MPH, senior author of the study and assistant professor of anesthesiology. "In other words, our results suggest that in some individuals something goes wrong with the body's 'fight or flight' response or the body's recovery from this response, and persistent pain results."
The study assessed the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, a physiologic system of central importance to the body's response to stressful events. The study evaluated whether the HPA axis influences musculoskeletal pain severity six weeks after motor vehicle collision (MVC) and sexual assault. Its findings revealed that variation in the gene encoding for the protein FKBP5, which plays an important role in regulating the HPA axis response to stress, was associated with a 20 percent higher risk of moderate to severe neck pain six weeks after a motor vehicle collision, as well as a greater extent of body pain. The same variant also predicted increased pain six weeks after sexual assault.
"Right now, if an someone comes to the emergency department after a car accident, we don't have any interventions to prevent chronic pain from developing," McLean said. Similarly, if a woman comes to the emergency department after sexual assault, we have medications to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, but no treatments to prevent chronic pain. This is because we understand what causes pregnancy or infection, but we have no idea what the biologic mechanisms are that cause chronic pain. Chronic pain after these events is common and can cause great suffering, and there is an urgent need to understand what causes chronic pain so that we can start to develop interventions. This study is an important first step in developing this understanding."
"In addition, because we don't understand what causes these outcomes, individuals with chronic pain after traumatic events are often viewed with suspicion, as if they are making up their symptoms for financial gain or having a psychological reaction," McLean said. "An improved understanding of the biology helps with this stigma," McLean said.
###
The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of investigators from thirteen institutions. Co-lead authors on the study were Andrey Bortsov, MD, PhD, assistant research professor in the UNC Department of Anesthesiology, and Jennifer Smith, BS, a UNC medical student and former Doris Duke Fellow.
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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.
Public release date: 2-May-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Tom Hughes
tahughes@unch.unc.edu
919-966-6047
University of North Carolina Health Care
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. A new study led by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers is the first to identify a genetic risk factor for persistent pain after traumatic events such as motor vehicle collision and sexual assault.
In addition, the study contributes further evidence that persistent pain after stressful events, including motor vehicle collisions and sexual assaults, has a specific biological basis. A manuscript of the study was published online ahead of print by the journal Pain on April 29.
"Our study findings indicate that mechanisms influencing chronic pain development may be related to the stress response, rather than any specific injury caused by the traumatic event," said Samuel McLean, MD, MPH, senior author of the study and assistant professor of anesthesiology. "In other words, our results suggest that in some individuals something goes wrong with the body's 'fight or flight' response or the body's recovery from this response, and persistent pain results."
The study assessed the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, a physiologic system of central importance to the body's response to stressful events. The study evaluated whether the HPA axis influences musculoskeletal pain severity six weeks after motor vehicle collision (MVC) and sexual assault. Its findings revealed that variation in the gene encoding for the protein FKBP5, which plays an important role in regulating the HPA axis response to stress, was associated with a 20 percent higher risk of moderate to severe neck pain six weeks after a motor vehicle collision, as well as a greater extent of body pain. The same variant also predicted increased pain six weeks after sexual assault.
"Right now, if an someone comes to the emergency department after a car accident, we don't have any interventions to prevent chronic pain from developing," McLean said. Similarly, if a woman comes to the emergency department after sexual assault, we have medications to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, but no treatments to prevent chronic pain. This is because we understand what causes pregnancy or infection, but we have no idea what the biologic mechanisms are that cause chronic pain. Chronic pain after these events is common and can cause great suffering, and there is an urgent need to understand what causes chronic pain so that we can start to develop interventions. This study is an important first step in developing this understanding."
"In addition, because we don't understand what causes these outcomes, individuals with chronic pain after traumatic events are often viewed with suspicion, as if they are making up their symptoms for financial gain or having a psychological reaction," McLean said. "An improved understanding of the biology helps with this stigma," McLean said.
###
The study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of investigators from thirteen institutions. Co-lead authors on the study were Andrey Bortsov, MD, PhD, assistant research professor in the UNC Department of Anesthesiology, and Jennifer Smith, BS, a UNC medical student and former Doris Duke Fellow.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/uonc-ppa050213.php
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'Star Wars' being dubbed into Navajo language
2 hours ago
20th Century Fox
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Han Solo in "Star Wars."
The largest Native American tribe in the United States is seeking to dub the classic 1977 movie "Star Wars" movie in Navajo as a way to help preserve its traditional language.
Fluent Navajo speakers have been invited for a casting call in Window Rock in northern Arizona on Friday and Saturday to dub the roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and others, tribal officials said.
Manuelito Wheeler, the director of the Navajo Nation Museum, said he first came up with the idea 13 years ago as a way to preserve the consonant-rich Navajo language, believed to be spoken by about 170,000 people, according to government figures.
"We thought this would be a provocative and effective way to help try to preserve the language and at the same time preserve the culture," Wheeler told Reuters. "What better movie to do this than ?Star Wars?'"
Wheeler said he believes the popular science fiction movie will resonate with the Navajo people with its universal theme of good versus evil.
The project was given the go-ahead about 18 months ago.
A team of five Navajos then spent 36 hours translating the original script, hampered by the many words in English that do not translate word for word into Navajo. Instead, several words in Navajo are sometimes needed to convey the proper meaning.
For example, he said there is no direct translation for "May the force be with you," one of the most recognizable lines in the movie.
Wheeler declined to reveal the Navajo words used for that and other catch-phrases, as a way to "build momentum" leading up to the movie.
"What we want to avoid is like the Kung Fu movies of the past where the lips didn't match up with the words they were speaking," he said.
Casting for the voices of the movie's major roles will be held at the museum in Window Rock. About 75 people have registered to audition.
The finished movie, which will include English subtitles, will be shown during the tribe's Fourth of July celebration in Window Rock and again in September at the Navajo Nation Fair.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/star-wars-be-dubbed-navajo-language-6C9733507
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Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs
May 1, 2013 ? The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have found. The tail's exceptional flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm equipped with muscles made out of polymer, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation. UC San Diego engineers, led by materials science professors Joanna McKittrick and Marc Meyers, detailed their findings in the March 2013 issue of the journal Acta Biomaterialia.
"The study of natural materials can lead to the creation of new and unique materials and structures inspired by nature that are stronger, tougher, lighter and more flexible," said McKittrick, a professor of materials science at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego.
McKittrick and Meyers had sought bioinsipiration by examining the armor of many other animals, including armadillo, alligators and the scales of various fish. This time, they were specifically looking for an animal that was flexible enough to develop a design for a robotic arm.
"The tail is the seahorse's lifeline," because it allows the animal to anchor itself to corals or seaweed and hide from predators, said Michael Porter, a Ph.D. student in materials science at the Jacobs School of Engineering. "But no one has looked at the seahorse's tail and bones as a source of armor."
Most of the seahorse's predators, including sea turtles, crabs and birds, capture the animals by crushing them. Engineers wanted to see if the plates in the tail act as an armor. Researchers took segments from seahorses' tails and compressed them from different angles. They found that the tail could be compressed by nearly 50 percent of its original width before permanent damage occurred. That's because the connective tissue between the tail's bony plates and the tail muscles bore most of the load from the displacement. Even when the tail was compressed by as much as 60 percent, the seahorse's spinal column was protected from permanent damage.
McKittrick and Meyers' research group uses a unique technique that applies a series of chemicals to materials to strip them of either their protein components or their mineral components. That allows them to better study materials' structures and properties. After treating the bony plates in the seahorse's tail with the chemicals, they discovered that the percentage of minerals in the plates was relatively low -- 40 percent, compared to 65 percent in cow bone. The plates also contained 27 percent organic compounds -- mostly proteins -- and 33 percent water. The hardness of the plates varied. The ridges were hardest, likely for impact protection -- about 40 percent harder than the plate's grooves, which are porous and absorb energy from impacts.
The seahorse's tail is typically made up of 36 square-like segments, each composed of four L-shaped corner plates that progressively decrease in size along the length of the tail. Plates are free to glide or pivot. Gliding joints allow the bony plates to glide past one another. Pivoting joints are similar to a ball-and-socket joint, with three degrees of rotational freedom. The plates are connected to the vertebrae by thick collagen layers of connective tissue. The joints between plates and vertebrae are extremely flexible with nearly six degrees of freedom.
"Everything in biology comes down to structures," Porter said.
The next step is to use 3D printing to create artificial bony plates, which would then be equipped with polymers that would act as muscles. The final goal is to build a robotic arm that would be a unique hybrid between hard and soft robotic devices. A flexible, yet robust robotic gripper could be used for medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation. The protected, flexible arm would be able to grasp a variety of objects of different shapes and sizes.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Michael M. Porter, Ekaterina Novitskaya, Ana Bertha Castro-Cese?a, Marc A. Meyers, Joanna McKittrick. Highly deformable bones: Unusual deformation mechanisms of seahorse armor. Acta Biomaterialia, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2013.02.045
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/h6G_iJCIvog/130501132123.htm
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Cheating favors extinction
Apr. 30, 2013 ? Cooperative behaviour is widely observed in nature, but there remains the possibility that so-called 'cheaters' can exploit the system, taking without giving, with uncertain consequences for the social unit as a whole. A new study has found that a yeast colony dominated by non-producers ('cheaters') is more likely to face extinction than one consisting entirely of producers ('co-operators'). The findings, published April 30 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Alvaro Sanchez and Jeff Gore from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are the results of the first laboratory demonstration of a full evolutionary-ecological feedback loop in a social microbial population.
The researchers found that while a cooperative yeast colony that survives by breaking down sucrose into a communal supply of simple sugars can support a surprisingly high ratio of freeloaders -- upwards of 90 per cent -- a sudden shock to its environment is highly likely to result in catastrophe.
"One of the main things we were interested in was the idea that natural selection can have an effect on the ecology of a population, so that as a population is evolving, natural selection affects the ecological properties," said Dr Sanchez.
The researchers studied a cooperative species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae or 'baker's yeast', focusing on two strains: one which had the SUC2 gene that produces the enzyme invertase (the co-operators), and one lacking SUC2 (the cheaters) making it unable to produce this enzyme. Invertase breaks down sucrose in the environment to liberate glucose and fructose that can be used by all yeast cells in the colony.
"We were very surprised by the fact that the total population size for the mixed group (consisting of both co-operators and cheaters) was about the same at equilibrium as the total population size in the absence of cheaters (i.e. purely co-operators). We didn't expect that," Dr Sanchez explained. "If it weren't for the fact that the co-operators and cheaters were labelled with different colours, it would have been very hard to tell whether the population contained any cheaters or not."
This was the case when the environment was benign. But when those stable populations were suddenly exposed to a harsh environment, all of the pure co-operator populations survived, while just one of six mixed populations adapted to the fast deterioration in conditions, the researchers found.
Benjamin Allen, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Emmanuel College and Martin A. Nowak, director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University, co-authored an accompanying Primer in PLOS Biology, "Cooperation and the Fate of Microbial Societies."
"The experiments of Sanchez and Gore beautifully illustrate the central dilemma in the evolution of cooperation. The yeast society depends on cooperation, but if cooperation is plentiful, 'cheaters' can exploit the generosity of others. This leads to cycles of cooperation and exploitation," said Dr Allen.
The researchers found that an eco-evolutionary feedback loop links changes in population size, and their effects, with changes in the frequency of specific genetic types in the population. During the competition for survival between co-operators and cheaters, they showed that if the population starts off with sufficient co-operators then the social properties of the yeast spiral towards a final equilibrium position that comprises a stable mixture of co-operators and cheaters. However, if the initial population density, or the initial proportion of co-operators, is too low, then not enough simple sugars are produced, and the colony dies out.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Sanchez A, Gore J. Feedback between Population and Evolutionary Dynamics Determines the Fate of Social Microbial Populations. PLoS Biol, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001547
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/Yy1IruA_P7M/130430194259.htm
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
From the mail bag: Why does my 16GB Galaxy S4 only have 8.8GB of space?
More features mean more spaced used for their files, and the Galaxy S4 takes about twice the storage space as the previous model
Morris writes in,
I just got myself a Samsung Galaxy S4 (16GB). Upon further storage checking, I noticed the Total Space is only 8.82GB. I am confused. How much memory space actually does Jelly Bean 4.2.2 take?
There sure has been a lot of discussion about the remaining storage on the Galaxy S4's 16GB "disk" after the factory software is accounted for. We're used to seeing a bit of discrepancy between what is advertised and what's really available, but this go 'round the difference is huge and has quite a few people a bit concerned. Morris gets to the root of the issue with his question, once you have a look at what's going on.
The Samsung Galaxy S4's system folder, the one where all the magic happens and the factory installed "stuff" resides takes over 2GB of space (2,235,535,360 bytes for those that like numbers). Compared to the Jelly Bean system files on the Galaxy S3 at 1.1GB, and the Nexus 4 at 495MB, that's quite a bit of difference. By the time you take the rest of the OS into account, and partition space reserved for things like the system cache, that leaves you with about half the advertised space left to use for your own stuff.
We're not going to knock on Samsung for using so much space for the operating system. When you want features included as part of the OS, you need to have the files somewhere. Samsung brings features to the Galaxy S4 that you won't find anywhere else, and the cost of those features is reduced storage left for the user. You also won't find these features on Google Play, so this is the trade-off you have to make.
Also, there's the SD card slot to remember here as well. While this won't help you when you run out of space to install applications, you can store all your multimedia and documents there. 13MP panorama pictures and 1080p video can take a lot of room, so storing your camera shots on the SD card is a good idea.
Right now, nobody seems to be selling the 32 or 64GB versions of the Galaxy S4. We're not sure if Samsung is at fault here, or the carriers around the world, but no matter who we point a finger at they just aren't available. In the meantime, 8.8GB is enough for some folks, and for some it's not. Until we start to see the models with more storage become available, this is how it is.
We can't tell you that this does or doesn't matter to you, you'll have to decide that one for yourself.
     |
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/TuVnRBVerQk/story01.htm
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Life is Good: Musings and Ramblings: Unexpectedly Blessed
(originally written Thursday, April 26, 2013)?
The days. ?They are so short, go by so quickly. ?Somehow Max is over halfway to his first birthday, and my baby bug is going to be 3 years old in 4 short months. ?What?! ?How did this happen?
I try to absorb each day; each blessed day I get to be with them, to play with them, clean up their messes, and help them reach new goals. ?Many days are calm, fun, and messy. ?Others are hectic, tear filled, and more than messy. ?That's what it's about though, right? ?I mean, whether you are home all day with your children or you work outside the home, life is all about the messy moments- whether they are controlled chaos or full blown out of control, whirlwinds.
It's hard. ?I've never done something that was so challenging in my life.?except maybe learn how to drive a stick, at which I was never successful ..? There are days I need more control than I have, and others that I let go and just let it happen. ?Those days, I have learned, are the easiest. ?This morning J.Tom, Lexie, and I sat on the bed. ?I handed her milk and declared today a NO housework day. ?No laundry, no vacuuming, no house work day. ?I've cleaned up the crumbs, and picked up toys after we played with them. ?The rest of the time all my attention was with the kids. ?I say my attention was "with" them, not on?them because though I was there watching and interacting I wasn't hovering.
Sometimes I wonder if stay at home moms are misunderstood? ?Not that it matters, we all know why we are home with our babies, no matter the reason. ?But sometimes comments from others makes me wonder, what do they think we do all day? ?What kind of person do they think I am?!? We don't lay on the couch all day watching tv. ?It's not so I can micro manage their lives and create a perfect specimen. ?On the contrary, for our family being home is about soaking in all the mistakes and character flaws, then turning them into lessons later. ?Not to mention just the time we absorb together, as a family, learning about the each other, Christ, the world. ?But you know, being a parent is somewhat about controlling what your children are exposed to, how they're exposed to it, and at what age. ?If I am going to take full responsibility for my children, I think JTom and I probably need to take control of the paths we lead them down. ?I never wanted a family; my dream at 15 was to become a forensic pathologist and move to California where I would live in a house by myself, or with my best friend at the time, and live a lavish lifestyle. ?None of those things happened... my best friend went to medical school. ?I graduated highschool early, partied until I absolutely burned myself out, started college, met and totally unexpectedly fell in love with Jtom. ?And then everything else just happened. ?Nine years later we are married and have two children. ?Nine years of blessings and growing together.
Blessings abound all around our family; we have been talking more and more about those blessings to Lexie. When she is refusing to eat her favorite food, simply because she is being defiant not because she isn't hungry, I explain that not every girl and boy get lunch every day. ?Or even food every day. The same goes for braiding her hair- not every girl has a mama to braid her hair, or give her a warm, clean bath. ?Those seem like silly examples, but she understands them. ?She's 2.5 but she knows there is a world outside our four walls, and that some of that world isn't as nice as hers. ?She will smile and say, "Jesus gave me a mommy and daddy and max and lunch!" ?*warm tingly feeling* ?(insert an edit: we went to the library this morning for story time. ?She told a mom there that "Jesus gave me a beautiful daddy." ?The mom responded with, that's right. ?Not every girl and boy have a daddy. ?You are so blessed.")
Then there are moments when I feel completely overwhelmed, asking myself what am I doing?!? How am I supposed to fit God, meals, play, learning, cleaning, and serving my husband- joyfully- all in 24 short hours? ?7 of which need to be filled with sleep, so that I am able to serve my family. ?This morning I was in the pantry deciding which lunch bag to take on our picnic play date with J.Tom this afternoon. ?As a million plastic cups fell out of the lunch bag I'd chosen, I took a deep breath and looked around. ?I was standing in a pantry the size of a bathroom, filled to the brim with food for our family and craft supplies for Lexie. ?I'm not sure what we have done to deserve the blessings we have been given. ?We have a home big enough for the family we hope to continue growing. ?It's warm in the winter and (hopefully) cool in the summer. ?You can't feel the cold air blowing from the cracks in the doors and windows. ?The floors are safe and comfortable for the babies to play on. ?We have clean, running water, toilets that work (hallelujah!), and silent pipes! (meaning no clanging and banging in the walls that wakes up sleeping babes! ?We can flush the toilet after 7pm woo hoo)
Our old home wasn't bad, it was a blessing as well; just a blessing that needed many hours and dollars worth of fixing up. ?We now live in a neighborhood with other young families. ?Our home is one street from the disc hockey park and community pool (which is more like a mini water park) so there are many places to run and play during these beautiful warm days. ?The people in Nebraska- beyond kind. ?I've not met one rude person, everyone waves and stops to talk. ?Blessings. ?They seem simple, but at the end of the day that went all too quickly, when my clothes are stained with spit up, and my hair is falling out of it's messy pony tail, ?this is what it's about.? It's not about excess. ?It isn't about more than we need (though we do have more than we need in many ways). ?It isn't about which group of friends you are a part of, or how many vacations you go on a year. ?It's about how we spend our days, day in and day out, with each other. ?It's about our kind words, soft smiles, and oh. em. gee. ?the hugs and kisses. ?It's about Max finally learning to fall onto his booty from standing up or almost?saying "mama," but it comes out "na-na."??It's about Lexie learning to write an M on her paper, reciting Bible stories to her brother, and showing him the "Moses's river" she made at the park.
Today, like I mentioned, we met JTom at the park for lunch. ?He ate with us, played with Lexie and then headed back to work. ?We hung around for an hour longer; Lexie played with a little girl. ?Her mama was with her, and being followed by a court appointed supervisor. ?The?supervisor was wearing a badge, and mama wasn't wearing much of anything. ?Much to my first?impression-ed?surprise, she was amazing?with the kids. She was down in the sand, building a mote and castle with them (which encouraged me to do the same). ?She had Lexie and her daughter sharing toys, helping each other. ?I probably seemed like a terrible mom, because I just sorta sat back in awe. ?This woman, in her skinny jeans and barely there top that matched her platinum blonde hair, seemed educated, funny, and in general like a good mom (not that any of those things would make her a bad mom-don't misunderstand me. ?I was thrown off mostly by the supervisor needing to be there). ?She invited us to play with them and their chalk, she made pictures with the girls, and even started acting out Lexie's favorite story on the playground bridge- The Three Billy Goats Gruff... ?I'm not sure where her life ?has been or where it is going, but today from 12:00-12:45pm I am pretty sure it was meant to cross paths with ours. ?On a day when Lexie and I were both feeling a little lonely, wanting a friend to play with at the park (Dayla and Ryker- we miss you!), she and her girl were a blessing. ?Looking back, I am not sure I had quite the same impact on her as she did on me. ?But I do pray that whatever her situation is, she can find more joy in park play dates with Kera, than she does in whatever got her supervised visitations.
We have had a beautiful, fun day today. ?I cannot wait to see what other blessings are in store for our family in the days to come. ?The great thing about blessings, you can't just sit back and wait for them; you have to put yourself out there, serve others, and get uncomfortable sometimes. ?This introvert has learned a lot about that in the last 2.5 years. ?(I know this post was rambly. ?I warned you in the title!)
The days. ?They are so short, go by so quickly. ?Somehow Max is over halfway to his first birthday, and my baby bug is going to be 3 years old in 4 short months. ?What?! ?How did this happen?
I try to absorb each day; each blessed day I get to be with them, to play with them, clean up their messes, and help them reach new goals. ?Many days are calm, fun, and messy. ?Others are hectic, tear filled, and more than messy. ?That's what it's about though, right? ?I mean, whether you are home all day with your children or you work outside the home, life is all about the messy moments- whether they are controlled chaos or full blown out of control, whirlwinds.
It's hard. ?I've never done something that was so challenging in my life.?
Sometimes I wonder if stay at home moms are misunderstood? ?Not that it matters, we all know why we are home with our babies, no matter the reason. ?But sometimes comments from others makes me wonder, what do they think we do all day? ?What kind of person do they think I am?!? We don't lay on the couch all day watching tv. ?It's not so I can micro manage their lives and create a perfect specimen. ?On the contrary, for our family being home is about soaking in all the mistakes and character flaws, then turning them into lessons later. ?Not to mention just the time we absorb together, as a family, learning about the each other, Christ, the world. ?But you know, being a parent is somewhat about controlling what your children are exposed to, how they're exposed to it, and at what age. ?If I am going to take full responsibility for my children, I think JTom and I probably need to take control of the paths we lead them down. ?I never wanted a family; my dream at 15 was to become a forensic pathologist and move to California where I would live in a house by myself, or with my best friend at the time, and live a lavish lifestyle. ?None of those things happened... my best friend went to medical school. ?I graduated highschool early, partied until I absolutely burned myself out, started college, met and totally unexpectedly fell in love with Jtom. ?And then everything else just happened. ?Nine years later we are married and have two children. ?Nine years of blessings and growing together.
Blessings abound all around our family; we have been talking more and more about those blessings to Lexie. When she is refusing to eat her favorite food, simply because she is being defiant not because she isn't hungry, I explain that not every girl and boy get lunch every day. ?Or even food every day. The same goes for braiding her hair- not every girl has a mama to braid her hair, or give her a warm, clean bath. ?Those seem like silly examples, but she understands them. ?She's 2.5 but she knows there is a world outside our four walls, and that some of that world isn't as nice as hers. ?She will smile and say, "Jesus gave me a mommy and daddy and max and lunch!" ?*warm tingly feeling* ?(insert an edit: we went to the library this morning for story time. ?She told a mom there that "Jesus gave me a beautiful daddy." ?The mom responded with, that's right. ?Not every girl and boy have a daddy. ?You are so blessed.")
Then there are moments when I feel completely overwhelmed, asking myself what am I doing?!? How am I supposed to fit God, meals, play, learning, cleaning, and serving my husband- joyfully- all in 24 short hours? ?7 of which need to be filled with sleep, so that I am able to serve my family. ?This morning I was in the pantry deciding which lunch bag to take on our picnic play date with J.Tom this afternoon. ?As a million plastic cups fell out of the lunch bag I'd chosen, I took a deep breath and looked around. ?I was standing in a pantry the size of a bathroom, filled to the brim with food for our family and craft supplies for Lexie. ?I'm not sure what we have done to deserve the blessings we have been given. ?We have a home big enough for the family we hope to continue growing. ?It's warm in the winter and (hopefully) cool in the summer. ?You can't feel the cold air blowing from the cracks in the doors and windows. ?The floors are safe and comfortable for the babies to play on. ?We have clean, running water, toilets that work (hallelujah!), and silent pipes! (meaning no clanging and banging in the walls that wakes up sleeping babes! ?We can flush the toilet after 7pm woo hoo)
Our old home wasn't bad, it was a blessing as well; just a blessing that needed many hours and dollars worth of fixing up. ?We now live in a neighborhood with other young families. ?Our home is one street from the disc hockey park and community pool (which is more like a mini water park) so there are many places to run and play during these beautiful warm days. ?The people in Nebraska- beyond kind. ?I've not met one rude person, everyone waves and stops to talk. ?Blessings. ?They seem simple, but at the end of the day that went all too quickly, when my clothes are stained with spit up, and my hair is falling out of it's messy pony tail, ?this is what it's about.? It's not about excess. ?It isn't about more than we need (though we do have more than we need in many ways). ?It isn't about which group of friends you are a part of, or how many vacations you go on a year. ?It's about how we spend our days, day in and day out, with each other. ?It's about our kind words, soft smiles, and oh. em. gee. ?the hugs and kisses. ?It's about Max finally learning to fall onto his booty from standing up or almost?saying "mama," but it comes out "na-na."??It's about Lexie learning to write an M on her paper, reciting Bible stories to her brother, and showing him the "Moses's river" she made at the park.
Today, like I mentioned, we met JTom at the park for lunch. ?He ate with us, played with Lexie and then headed back to work. ?We hung around for an hour longer; Lexie played with a little girl. ?Her mama was with her, and being followed by a court appointed supervisor. ?The?supervisor was wearing a badge, and mama wasn't wearing much of anything. ?Much to my first?impression-ed?surprise, she was amazing?with the kids. She was down in the sand, building a mote and castle with them (which encouraged me to do the same). ?She had Lexie and her daughter sharing toys, helping each other. ?I probably seemed like a terrible mom, because I just sorta sat back in awe. ?This woman, in her skinny jeans and barely there top that matched her platinum blonde hair, seemed educated, funny, and in general like a good mom (not that any of those things would make her a bad mom-don't misunderstand me. ?I was thrown off mostly by the supervisor needing to be there). ?She invited us to play with them and their chalk, she made pictures with the girls, and even started acting out Lexie's favorite story on the playground bridge- The Three Billy Goats Gruff... ?I'm not sure where her life ?has been or where it is going, but today from 12:00-12:45pm I am pretty sure it was meant to cross paths with ours. ?On a day when Lexie and I were both feeling a little lonely, wanting a friend to play with at the park (Dayla and Ryker- we miss you!), she and her girl were a blessing. ?Looking back, I am not sure I had quite the same impact on her as she did on me. ?But I do pray that whatever her situation is, she can find more joy in park play dates with Kera, than she does in whatever got her supervised visitations.
We have had a beautiful, fun day today. ?I cannot wait to see what other blessings are in store for our family in the days to come. ?The great thing about blessings, you can't just sit back and wait for them; you have to put yourself out there, serve others, and get uncomfortable sometimes. ?This introvert has learned a lot about that in the last 2.5 years. ?(I know this post was rambly. ?I warned you in the title!)
How have you been unexpectedly blessed this week? ?
Source: http://megswlifeisgood.blogspot.com/2013/04/musings-and-ramblings-unexpectedly.html
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Rare Diseases Obscured by Shadows of 'Popular' Ills: Op-Ed
Laurie Edwards, lecturer in health and science writing at Northeastern University and author of In the Kingdom of the Sick: A Social History of Chronic Illness in America,?contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
After a lifetime of infections, hospitalizations and surgeries, a set of lab results changed everything for me. When I was 23, biopsies of my cilia ? the tiny structures that line the respiratory tract ? confirmed that I had a genetic respiratory disease called primary ciliary dyskinesia, or PCD. In patients with PCD, the cilia don't beat properly, so clearing secretions is more difficult and infections and decreased oxygenation are common.
Haven't heard of PCD? That's no surprise; even when I'm in the hospital, I sometimes have to both spell and define it for health care professionals who don't see it often, if ever. About 400 patients have been correctly diagnosed with PCD, though an estimated 25,000 Americans are suspected to have it.?
Getting the correct diagnosis meant my label finally reflected my actual experiences of illness. Without proper treatment, the more advanced my disease became, and the more disruptive my symptoms were. While the disease-specific details may differ, long diagnostic journeys are an unfortunate but inevitable reality for rare disease patients. Research suggests we wait an average of seven years to receive diagnoses. [The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions]
All told, nearly 7,000 rare diseases affect some 30 million Americans, and eighty percent of them are genetic.? Rare, or orphan, diseases are those that affect fewer than 200,000 patients, so there are many of us spread out across relatively small population pools. If doctors and nurses don't always know what I have and what it means, you can imagine the blank stares I get in public, or the sideways glances when people hear my "productive" cough.
Our culture celebrates cause-related marketing of popular diseases through charity events, national awareness months, and the purchasing of consumer products. Rare disease patients are simply not going to see the type of corporate sponsorships and marketing in the name of awareness and research for cures that patients with more common conditions receive.
We do have some tools at our disposal, however. This spring marks the 13th anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act (ODA), legislation that provides necessary financial incentives for companies developing treatments for rare disease populations. Consider this: the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) reports that in the decade prior to the ODA's passage, only 10 drugs were developed. In the thirty years since, the FDA has approved 400 drugs for patient use, and an estimated 2,700 drugs are in the research pipeline.
In 2009, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched its own integrated drug-development pipeline named Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND). This collaborative program connects NIH researchers, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and nonprofit organizations and "bridges the gap that often exists between a basic research discovery and the testing of new drugs in humans."
Yet much work remains. The majority of rare diseases still do not have treatments; according to some industry estimates, less than 5 percent have FDA-approved therapies. Many existing therapies are expensive, and healthcare coverage can be more difficult to receive given the lack of standard guidelines on rare and poorly understood diseases.
Of course, patients can only access whatever treatments exist if they are appropriately diagnosed in the first place. Diagnosis does more than validate the experiences of patients. It confers membership to a community of patients and advocates who are working to improve diagnoses, therapies and, hopefully, find curative treatments.
Patients have utilized the Internet and social media platforms to share information on participating in clinical trials, advocate for increased funding and build momentum. From crowd-sourced funding for rare-disease research projects to companies like Rare Genomics, a nonprofit that collaborates with scientists to give patients with rare diseases access to genome sequencing and helps them raise funds for research, there is variety in this momentum. Considering that most rare diseases are genetic, this type of information could prove of incredible valuable.
Now that I know I have PCD, I have preventive daily chest physiotherapy to help clear my lungs and a more effective antibiotic regimen. I spend less time in the hospital, and more time living a more productive life. Without the technology to study cilia, I might still remain a medical puzzle. There is some exciting research underway to develop a genetic test-panel for PCD, and I can't help but think of the thousands of potential PCD patients who could benefit from it.
Focused collaboration between patients, nonprofits, and researchers ? collaboration augmented by the ODA and other programs ? will give us more of the answers we need. For patients who live outside the reach of mainstream fundraising and awareness, this collaboration is empowering.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.?
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rare-diseases-obscured-shadows-popular-ills-op-ed-124151485.html
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Visitors and residents: Students' attitudes to academic use of social media
Apr. 29, 2013 ? University of Leicester-led research has shown that university students behave very differently when using social media as part of their academic learning.
Some students happily use social networking to share information about their course with their peers, in a similar way to how they might talk to friends on Facebook.
Others are much more targeted in their use of online tools -- and will only log on to get the information they need, when they need it.
For the study, all 257 undergraduate students in the University's School of Biological Sciences were asked to use the social media site Google+ as part of a key IT and numeracy skills module.
The students were able to discuss parts of the module on the site.
At the end of the term, the students had contributed thousands of posts and hundreds of thousands of words to Google+.
The researchers analysed these contributions, along with students' responses to a questionnaire about how they found the module.
They analysed the contribution to find out what users were talking about, and who was talking to whom. They also analysed the results from the questionnaire to find out why users communicated as they did.
They found that there were significant differences between students' use of social media -- and individual participants displayed "Visitor" and "Resident" characteristics.
The Visitors and Residents model for online engagement was put forward by University of Oxford researchers David White and Dr Alison Le Cornu in 2011.
In this model, "Visitors" use the internet in functional terms as a tool, while "Residents" see the Internet as a social space.
The University of Leicester-led study suggests the Visitors and Residents model is valid -- and is the first study to suggest this using statistical methods.
Fiona Wright conducted the study as part of her final year project of her Biological Science degree.
She said: "In order to know how to effectively teach using social media one needs to understand the student's motivation to use it. Such paradigms, if proven correct, help educators to approach this problem, increasing student engagement with tasks.
"Students of today often spend a large amount of their free time using social media, so if this tool could be used effectively for academic purposes it would be a great resource for teachers in higher education."
The paper was co-written with Dr Alan Cann, a senior lecturer in the Department of Biology -- who leads the IT and Numeracy Skills for Biologists module.
Dr Alan Cann said: "Although social media forms a prominent part of most student's lives and is increasingly becoming part of academic environments, there has been little work investigating how students use and respond to social networks for formal academic purposes (as opposed to informal use).
"This is some of the first evidence which validates the Visitors and Residents model, and so it gives important insights into students reactions to social tools as part of a working environment.
"Although the Visitor and Resident labels only represent the extremes of a continuum of behaviour, this study has produced statistical evidence that Residents report online tools to be more useful academically than Visitors do.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Leicester, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Fiona Wright, David White, Tony Hirst, Alan Cann. Visitors and Residents: mapping student attitudes to academic use of social networks. Learning, Media and Technology, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2013.777077
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/tK2kysxXFDM/130429094946.htm
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Fire destroys Danish museum, artifacts saved
Museum officials say a fire is blazing through The Museum of Danish Resistance in Copenhagen, destroying large parts of the building.
They said Sunday that no one has been injured in the fire and firefighters and staff that rushed to the scene managed to save the majority of artifacts.
The fire started in the museum cafe early Sunday and quickly spread to the exhibition hall. The cause is not yet known.
The museum exhibits objects related to the Danish resistance to the German occupation during World War II.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fire-destroys-danish-museum-artifacts-saved-101522727.html
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Can a Phone Do What Your Doc Does?
Apr 27, 2013 7:00am
Dr. Meera Dalal tests a smartphone app that measures blood pressure at TEDMED. (Image courtesy TEDMED)
By Meera Dalal, M.D.
During our medical training, we?re taught to gather and use information from three sources: a patient history, a physical exam and lab tests. By far the most difficult to master is the physical exam. A good exam requires knowledge of anatomy and physiology, and awareness of normal variations that allow a doctor to recognize abnormalities.
Technology can help, and at TedMed 2013, the SmartPhone Physical exhibit by MedGadget/Nurture showcased some of the latest advances. The goal was to bring complex tests that are?pricey?to perform with traditional equipment into primary care clinics.
The result: accessible, affordable $200 phone accessories, most of them approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as ?equivalency standards,? meaning they?re equal to the industry standard. This technology could improve access to these tests, cut down on referrals, and provide overall better care.
?It?s great for primary care physicians, new doctors with less experience, teaching and even some patients,? said Shiv Gaglani, a medical student at Johns Hopkins and curator of the exhibit. ?Some physicians can go through their entire training without really learning to look into an eye.?
But I was skeptical. In medicine, we learn to question everything. If my own mother came to me saying hugs were good for a cold, I would take the hug, then ask to see the evidence.?So I decided to try it out. Gaglani would be my ?doctor? for this 10-minute exam using the following gadgets:
Blood Pressure Monitor by Withings and Blood Oxygen Monitor by iSp02
We started off, like in all physical exams, by taking the vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygenation. The screen buzzed with colorful readings and real-time measurements, and then uploaded my information into an iPad, where I could get it through an app.? It was a start, but I?wasn?t?that impressed. The technology for ?automated vital signs? had been around for a while, and a few years ago I taught my 7-year-old cousin how to use the machine on my grandmother.
ECG Cellphone Case by AliveCor
By squeezing my thumbs onto the metal plates of this iPhone cover, I was able to get a partial ECG that was uploaded and emailed to me. Interesting! One of the problems physicians have is that patients with heart symptoms often improve and the ECG normalizes by the time they see the doctor. This device was simple enough that patients with?symptoms?could get this cell phone case and be taught how to use it. So the next time symptoms occurred, we could get an ECG from during the cardiac event. One of the women who tried it earlier had palpitations during her exam and was diagnosed with a rhythm abnormality.
iExaminer by Welch Allyn
The eye exam, or ?fundoscopy,? is the only way we can look directly at blood vessels inside the body without having to cut anything open. It can tell us a lot about diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of practice, so many of us end up referred to an ophthalmologist. The iExaminer was able to take an impressive visual photo of the inside of my eye and turn it into a .pdf.
SpiroSmart
This smartphone looked at lung function, which usually is?tested at a special lab during an uncomfortable exam. Guidelines for chronic lung diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ?suggest these tests should be done regularly, but because it is often inconvenient to make a separate trip, they?re ?underused. It would be great if these tests were more accessible.
?Unlike the lab machine, which uses pressure, this device uses sound and has been shown to be almost as accurate,? said SpiroSmart co-creator?Mayank Goel. ?This opens up so many doors; imagine even being able to do this test over the phone!?
Other devices included ThinkLabs? ds32A digital stethoscope that records body sounds (like heart murmurs), the MobiUS SP1 handheld ultrasound machine that looked at the carotid arteries in the neck and was surprisingly accurate compared to the full ultrasound machines, and an otoscope that looked at my eardrum and took a picture.
Overall, I was grudgingly impressed. The devices seemed to combine the best parts of human experience and technology, using technology to gather reliable information, especially for those with less experience, and the physician to interpret the results.
Studies looking at ?inter-rater reliability,? the concept of how likely is it that different people interpreting the same physical exam sign will get the same diagnosis, show that technology is often better for gathering consistently objective information.
The long lineup at the SmartPhone Physical Booth at TedMed included the surgeon general and Dr. Daniel Kraft, faculty chair of medicine at Singularity University in San Diego, who was impressed by the? potential for improving access to care, whether in remote areas or overseas.
?It can enable primary care anywhere. And even though we need to do more testing to ensure accuracy, the potential is great,? Kraft said.
One of the problems, however, is that each device has to be attached to the phone in a separate way, and data is uploaded to different apps, creating a huge amount of information to sift through.
?Our ability to gather data is overtaking our ability to pare it down and use it to improve our health,? said?TedMed editor-in-chief?John Benditt.
And it?s true. The creation of complex devices and technology is surpassing our ability to learn it and use it to its full potential before the ?next big thing? comes out. What I?d really like to see is an ECG machine and BP machine that combines data with the lung machine and uploads it to the same profile. Arguably, the next big challenge in medicine may not be the creation of new technology but finding a way to integrate existing ones.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/04/27/can-a-smartphone-do-what-your-doctor-does/
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