White shark diets vary with age and among individuals

ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2012) ? Many white sharks shift from fish to marine mammals as they mature, but individual sharks show surprising variability in dietary preferences.

White sharks, the largest predatory sharks in the ocean, are thought of as apex predators that feed primarily on seals and sea lions. But a new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shows surprising variability in the dietary preferences of individual sharks.

The researchers described their findings in a paper published online September 28 in PLoS ONE. They analyzed the composition of growth bands in shark vertebrae to trace variations in diet over a shark's lifetime. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen incorporated into an animal's tissues serve as a natural tracer of dietary inputs.

"We did find that white shark diets changed with age, as expected, but we were surprised that the patterns and extent of change differed among individuals," said Sora Kim, who led the study as a UCSC graduate student and is now at the University of Wyoming.

The researchers analyzed vertebrae of 15 adult white sharks that had been caught along the west coast (14 off California and one off Baja California). Sharks in this population consume a wide range of prey, including seals, sea lions, dolphins, fish, and squid. But not every shark eats the same mix of prey, said coauthor Paul Koch, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UCSC.

"We confirmed that the diets of many individuals observed at seal and sea lion rookeries shift from fish to marine mammals as the sharks mature," he said. "In addition, we discovered that different individual sharks may specialize on different types of prey. These two types of flexibility in feeding behavior are difficult to document using traditional methods, but may be very important for understanding how the population is supported by the eastern Pacific ecosystem and how it may respond to changes in that ecosystem."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that it will consider whether to protect the west coast population of white sharks under the Endangered Species Act.

Tagging studies have shown that the white sharks found along the California coast have a regular migratory pattern, cruising coastal sites from late summer to early winter and moving to offshore areas during the rest of the year. While sharks within this population may have predictable movement patterns, the new study shows that there are important dietary and behavioral differences among individual sharks.

The study relied on vertebrae obtained from white shark specimens in various collections. The sharks had been caught at different times and places along the coast from 1957 to 2000. "Interestingly, we do see a small shift in diet as marine mammal populations increased after the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972," Kim said.

In addition to Kim and Koch, the coauthors of the paper include James Estes, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC, and Tim Tinker, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and adjunct professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Santa Cruz. The original article was written by Tim Stephens.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Kim SL, Tinker MT, Estes JA, Koch PL. Ontogenetic and Among-Individual Variation in Foraging Strategies of Northeast Pacific White Sharks Based on Stable Isotope Analysis. PLoS ONE, 2012 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045068

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_environment/~3/jMjVYCiUi9g/120929140238.htm

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NFL refs approve deal, ready for Sunday games

IRVING, Texas (AP) ? NFL officials ended their labor dispute with the league by approving a new eight-year contract with a 112-5 vote Saturday, then hustled off to the airport to get to work.

Next stop, stadiums around the country.

And, the officials hope, anonymity.

"The last Super Bowl that I worked, when we got in the locker room, I said, 'You know, the best thing about this game, nobody will remember who refereed this game,'" said Scott Green, president of the referees' association. "That's how we like to work."

The vote ended a labor spat that created three weeks of increasingly chaotic games run by replacement officials who drew criticism of everyone from the average fan to President Barack Obama.

"It was pretty much 'Come on in and vote,'" Green said. "We're going to talk football now. We're going to stop talking about CBAs and lockouts and now we're going to talk about rules and video and getting ourselves ready to work football games."

They may get ovations similar to the one bestowed on the crew that worked Thursday's Cleveland-Baltimore game with the tentative deal in place.

The referees met for about an hour and a half Friday night to go over the contract, then gathered for another 30 minutes Saturday morning before approving the contract.

"We are obviously pleased to hear it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Because they were aware of the financial parameters, most of the discussion by the referees involved non-economic issues such as year-round work and developmental squads, said Tim Millis, the association's executive director.

The deal came together quickly this week after an increasing chorus of complaints became impossible to ignore when a disputed touchdown call on the final play gave the Seattle Seahawks a victory over the Green Bay Packers on national television Monday night.

Many thought the ruling of a Seattle touchdown instead of a Green Bay interception was botched, and the labor dispute drew public comments from Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

By late Wednesday, the sides had a contract calling for refs' salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019. The current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service.

The defined benefit plan will then be frozen. Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials to work year-round. The NFL also can retain additional officials for training and development and assign those officials to work games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the league.

The officials that worked Thursday's Ravens-Browns game were cheered from the moment they walked onto the field. The difference between the regular crew and replacements was clear. The officials kept the game in control, curtailing the chippy play and choppy pace that had marred the first three weeks of the regular season.

"I think the thing we're most proud of is the lesson that we all learned," Green said. "If you're going to be in a professional league, you've got top-notch coaches, you need professional officials as well."

___

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nfl-refs-approve-deal-ready-sunday-games-152115516--nfl.html

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Google View lands Croat mayor in trouble

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Bob Dylan banned from Radio Split
Rock legend Bob Dylan has been banned from Croatian radio after comparing Croats to Ku Klux Klan slave masters and Nazis during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Casino robbed in centre of Zagreb
Thieves made off with over 400,000 Croatian kuna from a Zagreb casino, Friday morning.

Bubnjic signs with Udinese
Slaven Belupo

Macedonian Ilievski joins Cedevita
Macedonian international Vlado Ilievski has joined Croatian basketball club Cedevita.

Hollywood has spelling problems when it comes to Goran Visnjic
Hollywood film makers still have a problem with Croat star Goran Visnjic's surname despite his long career in the US, 24 Sata writes.

Drunk Croat woman dumped from flight
A drunk woman was thrown off a Croatia Airlines flight from Zadar to Zagreb after staff spotted her harassing other passengers.

Danijel Pranjic ends his career with national team
Croatia

All roads lead to Rome for Croatian walker
A Croatian man has set off on a 1,000 km trek to promote walking.

Australia appoints new ambassador to Croatia
Susan Cox has been appointed Australia

Oscar winning producer boycotted in Croatia after telling school kids there was no God
A producer on Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List was boycotted in Croatia after telling Zagreb school children God doesn

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Source: http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/General_News/2012-09-26/29883/Google_View_lands_Croat_mayor_in_trouble

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Weekly Ketchup: Len Wiseman Will Direct the Mummy Reboot

This week's Ketchup includes movie development news for the video game adaptation Spy Hunter, a sort-of-kind-of prequel for The Passion of the Christ, a new version of The Mummy, and new roles for actresses Gina Carano, Dame Judi Dench, Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Hilary Swank.

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This Week's Top Story

NEW GIGS FOR THE DIRECTORS OF ZOMBIELAND, MEN IN BLACK, AND UNDERWORLD

In picking the top movie development story for the week, it became something of a three way tie. So we're just going to cover all three stories in this cover story, under the theme of genre directors taking on big (potential) franchises. First up is the long-in-development New Line Cinema adaptation of the 1983 arcade video game Spy Hunter, which has in the past been tackled (unsuccessfully) by directors like John Woo and Paul W. S. Anderson. Spy Hunter is now a project for Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, whose next film will be the recently delayed Gangster Squad. Next up is the Warner Bros comic book adaptation Lore, which Dwayne Johnson was cast in a few months ago, at which time it was compared to being like Men in Black, but for mythological creatures. Well, the comparison was solidified this week as Warner Bros is now in talks with Barry Sonnenfeld, the director of all three Men in Black movies. Finally, there is the job of directing Universal Pictures' newest reboot of The Mummy, one of their Universal Classic Monsters, which has gone to Len Wiseman, the man behind some of the Underworld movies, and most recently, the remake of Total Recall. It should be noted that just because these three movies were collectively the top stories of the week, it doesn't mean that in any other week they might not be Rotten Ideas. Because they probably would be.

Fresh Developments This Week

#1 ANNE HATHAWAY MIGHT STAR IN STEVEN SPIELBERG'S ROBOPOCALYPSE

With the ambitious biopic Lincoln still a month away from release, director Steven Spielberg is already casting up his adaptation of the Daniel H. Wilson sci-fi novel Robopocalypse, which looks to take Spielberg back to the eye candy that helped establish his career. It's been known for a while that Spielberg had cast Chris Hemsworth (AKA Thor) as the film's lead, but this week, word of two other actors were added to the mix. Although she is not yet officially signed, Anne Hathaway appears to be Spielberg's choice for the female lead. Another likely chosen actor is Ben Whishaw as a hacker named Lurker, in a role that will be seen after Whishaw's appearances in Cloud Atlas and in Skyfall as the new Q. Finally, there's a third addition to the film this week, but it's a newsworthy producer, not a cast member. Tom Rothman, who just last week announced his stepping down as the head of 20th Century Fox, will be joining Steven Spielberg as one of the producers of Robopocalypse. Filming is expected to begin in early 2013, aiming for an April 25, 2014 release date via Disney's Touchstone Pictures.

#2 DAME JUDI DENCH AND THE QUEEN DIRECTOR UNITE FOR ADOPTION DRAMA PHILOMENA

Stephen Frears may hold the title for directing some of the best known and critically acclaimed movies without actually being known by name (in the USA, anyway) himself. Frears' filmography includes Dangeous Liaisons, The Grifters, High Fidelity, My Beautiful Laundrette, and The Queen. Stephen Frears' next film will be an adaptation of the non-fiction book by Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, whose title will be shortened to Philomena. The movie will tell the true story of an Irish teenager who gave birth to a son at a convent in 1952, with the baby eventually being "sold" for adoption to an anonymous family somewhere in the United States. Dame Judi Dench will play Philomena searching for her son 50 years later, who is now a successful Washington, D.C. lawyer with AIDS, also searching for his mother before he dies. Steve Coogan will costar as author Martin Sixsmith himself. Filming will start in November, as a production of Pathe, BBC Films, and Coogan's production company Baby Cow.

#3 STREEP AND SWANK JOIN TOMMY LEE JONES IN THE HOMESMAN

The Homesman is the title of a historical drama to be adapted and directed by Tommy Lee Jones, from a novel by Glendon Swarthout. This week, it was revealed that Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank are also attached to costar along with Tommy Lee Jones. The 19th century drama tells the story of a pioneer couple (Jones and Swank) escorting three insane women across the American prairie (Streep is expected to play one of those women). Tommy Lee Jones has directed a few different movies now, with his feature film debut being 2005's The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. The addition of Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank makes this one his highest profile film as director yet. That wasn't the only Hilary Swank news this week, however. The actress is also set to star in a film called You're Not You, based on a novel by Michelle Wildgen. Swank will play a fatally ill woman who befriends her younger female caretaker (not yet cast). It's expected that Jeremy Renner will also costar as the older professor lover of the young caretaker. You're Not You will be the second feature film for director George C. Wolfe after 2008's Nights in Rodanthe.

#4 TOM HARDY JOINS THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING BIOPIC EVEREST

This is another story of a successful director casting up his next movie before his previous film is released (and in this case, while that film is still filming). Doug Liman (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity) is currently filming the Tom Cruise sci-fi action movie All You Need is Kill, and his next film will be the mountain climbing biopic Everest, based on the Jeffrey Archer book Paths of Glory. That book tells the true story of different men's attempts in the 1920s to be the first to climb to the top of Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. Tom Hardy (AKA Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) has signed on to play George Mallory, the British climber that Archer's book claims was successful before Sir Edmund Hillary (the answer that will actually score you a point on a school exam, especially in New Zealand).

#5 HAYWIRE STAR GINA CARANO IS THE FIRST FEMALE EXPENDABLE (OR WHATEVER THEY'LL EVENTUALLY BE CALLED)

Earlier this summer, one of the headlines involved the plans for a female version of The Expendables (which, to be clear, won't be called that, because it's not the same company). This gave pretty much every movie news writer an opportunity to start listing all the classic female action stars they'd like to see in such a film (which usually started with Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton). This week we learned that Haywire breakout star Gina Carano is the first actress to actually officially sign on for the movie, in what is probably closer to the Jason Statham-type role.

#6 MARK MILLAR MAKES HIS MARK MANNING MARVEL (...AT FOX)

One of the most talked about trends in the last 10 years in comic books is the way that specific writers at both DC and Marvel have made huge creative impacts over each company's characters. Specifically, we're thinking here of Grant Morrison and/or Geoff Johns at DC, and Brian Michael Bendis at Marvel (writer of almost every major Marvel arc from 2004 to 2009). This idea of handing one man the keys to the kingdom has also started to expand to the movies, with Christopher Nolan acting as a "godfather" to WB's Man of Steel, and Joss Whedon recently signing on to oversee Marvel Studio's Phase II movies following the success of The Avengers. This week, we learned that another major portion of the movie properties based on Marvel Comics, those whose rights belong to 20th Century Fox, are also now going to be similiarly shepherded. In this case, the job will be going to Mark Millar, the Scottish writer best known for creating the comics that became the feature films Wanted and Kick-Ass. The movie franchises at issue here are Fantastic Four and X-Men (with Daredevil and Elektra likely to revert back to Marvel soon). Soon after the announcement, Mark Millar went online to talk (vaguely) about his own plans for these two seminal and popular comic book movie franchises.

#7 IS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE GOOD TO THE LAST DROP

Singer-turned-actor Justin Timberlake has landed yet another role, this time in a romantic dramedy called The Last Drop. Timberlake will play "a charming alcoholic working as a restaurant critic for New York Magazine who falls for a young woman and realizes he must overcome his addiction in order to have a relationship with her." The Last Drop was formerly listed on the Black List of Unproduced Screenplays, and was written by newcomers Brandon and Phil Murphy. The Last Drop will be an independent production directed by Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Raising Victor Vargas).

#8 SIR BEN KINGSLEY MAY PLAY KING HEROD IN THE SORT-OF PREQUEL TO THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

Although Mel Gibson is entirely uninvolved, Gibson's cowriter on The Passion of the Christ has cowritten a film that is basically a prequel called Mary Mother of Christ, focusing on the time following Christ's birth. Benedict Fitzgerald also cowrote the 1979 John Huston film Wise Blood, and was joined as cowriter of Mary Mother of Christ by Barbara Nicolosi, a former nun. Casting is currently underway, with Sir Ben Kingsley circling the central role of King Herod the Great, the man behind the Massacre of the Innocents that led up to Christ's birth. Mary herself will be played by Israeli actress Odeya Rush (The Odd Life of Timothy Green). Peter O'Toole has been cast as Symeon, and Julia Ormond will play Mary's cousin Elizabeth. The producers are reportedly seeking Dame Judi Dench and Hugh Bonneville to play Anna the Prophetess and Satan, respectively. Mary Mother of Christ will be the second film for director Alister Grierson, who made his feature debut in 2011 with Sanctum, executive produced by James Cameron. Mary Mother of Christ will be executive produced by Pastor Joel Osteen, and distributed by Lionsgate, most likely in 2014.

Rotten Ideas of the Week

#1 NICOLAS CAGE TO STAR IN SOUTHLAND TALES DIRECTOR'S AMICUS

There was a time when writer/director Richard Kelly was considered to be one of the independent scene's most promising new creatives. Namely, that period was after Donnie Darko, and before... pretty much everything else (namely Southland Tales and The Box). People, however, still get warm fuzzies when they hear the words Donnie Darko, and so Richard Kelly continues to be able to get financing for his new films. The latest such project is called Amicus, and it will star Nicolas Cage as an attorney who helps a family filing a lawsuit against a Motown Records executive who hired a Detroit hitman to murder family members for the inheritance. So, yeah, this movie has at least two elements that help make it the Rotten Idea in an otherwise inoffensive week. I pointed out one, I'll let you, the reader, figure out the other.

For more Weekly Ketchup columns by Greg Dean Schmitz, check out the WK archive, and you can contact GDS via Facebook.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1925983/news/1925983/

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Manage your anxiety at Caloundra | Sunshine Coast Health | Fitness ...

RESIDENTS struggling to cope and manage with anxiety are invited to a workshop being held in?late October in Caloundra.

The four week workshop will be facilitated by Adult Health program Social Workers.

It will commence October 24 from 1-3pm at Caloundra Community Health, 2A West Terrace, Caloundra.

Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Community Health Social Worker?John Buchanan?said "features of anxiety can include ongoing worry or thoughts that are distressing and that interfere with daily living."

In addition to worry or negative thinking, other symptoms of anxiety can include:

• Confusion
• Trembling
• Sweating
• Faintness/dizziness
• Rapid heartbeat
• Difficulty breathing
• Upset stomach or nausea
• Restlessness
• Avoidance behaviour
• Irritability

Participants will be taught to understand and recognise why they worry and what causes their anxiety levels to increase.

Mr Buchanan said "The Managing Anxiety workshop will help participants develop some life skills to help them manage their anxiety more effectively."

"I urge anyone who feels they may be suffering from anxiety to register for the workshop.

"Come along, learn to relax, manage anxiety, and start enjoying life again."

For more information or to register for the workshop, please phone Caloundra Community Health on 5436 8552.

Source: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/09/28/help-managing-anxiety-calounda/

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Cubify lets you skin, 3D print your own personal Android

Sick of letting everyone else skin your Android for you? 3D printing service Cubify is helping you fight back with Bugdroids, a customizable version of Google's lovable green mascot. You can change its colors, add accessories like hats, horns glasses, mustaches and bling (that's "bling," not Bing, mind), and then the service will 3D print one out and ship it to you -- well, after you drop an admittedly pricey $30 to $40, figurine size depending.

Filed under: Peripherals, Google

Cubify lets you skin, 3D print your own personal Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Cubify (Blog), (Store)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/29/cubify-lets-you-skin-3d-print-your-own-personal-android/

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Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs

Few of us who live outside of Asia or Eastern Europe know the potential convenience of a dual SIM phone. Own one and you can globetrot, or else keep separate home and work lines without the bulk of an extra device in the pocket. Sony is gambling that enough Americans have that multi-line desire by selling the Xperia tipo dual and its regular, single-SIM counterpart in the US as unlocked GSM models. Neither of the Android 4.0 phones is what we'd call a powerhouse with the same 3.5-inch screen, 3.2-megapixel camera and 800MHz Snapdragon inside, but both can latch on to HSPA 3G on AT&T, refarmed T-Mobile coverage and 2100MHz carriers abroad, even if the single-SIM tipo curiously has 900MHz 3G support that the tipo dual lacks. It's undoubtedly price that Sony is counting on more than anything: at respective contract-free prices of $180 and $190 for the tipo and tipo dual, the pair of Xperias may be sold most often as travel-only phones for the jet set.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Sony (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/27/sony-xperia-tipo-and-tipo-dual-reach-the-us-in-unlocked-form/

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How To Get Out Of A Dominating Handshake - Business Insider

In a business interaction, if you notice that your companion is trying to give you a handshake with their palm facing downwards, you should immediately strategize on how to get out of this.?

Why??

Because a?handshake is supposed to be a greeting gesture that symbolizes both parties are on equal grounds, yet allowing your palm to face upward while your companion's palm is facing downward is basically allowing them to have the upper-hand, meaning they are now in control and you are not.

This is a bad move during negotiations.

The vibe between the two of you have already been established with that first handshake and everything you say from this moment forward will always have the "lower-hand" to their "upper-hand," especially if they were trying to intimidate you with this handshake.?

"[It] is the most aggressive of all handshakes because it gives the receiver little chance of establishing an equal relationship," according to Westside Toastmasters, a non-profit organization aimed at helping people?improve their public speaking and leadership skills.

Toastmasters shared three techniques on getting out of these overbearing handshakes:

1. The Step-to-the-Right Technique.

Basically, if you're right-footed ("The natural position for 90 percent of people when shaking with the right hand), you'll have more of an advantage when you step into the handshake with your left foot, and vice versa.

When someone extends their hand for a dominant handshake, you can prevent this interaction from happening by first stepping forward with your left foot.

?

Next, step forward with your right leg and into the other person's personal space. You can then cross your left leg across your right leg (Although, we've tried this and it's a little awkward).?

"This tactic allows you to straighten the handshake or even turn it over into the submissive position. It feels as if you're walking across in front of him and is the equivalent of winning an arm-wrestling bout. It also allows you to take control by invading his personal space."

2.?The Hand-on-Top Technique.

As you're going in for the dominating handshake, respond with your palms up at first; then, place your other hand ? the left one ? over your companion's hand to form a "Double-Hander" and simply straighten the handshake to a more equal position.

This technique is easier for women to use.?

3. The Last Resort Technique.?

If all else fails, and you feel as though your companion is trying to intimidate you, grab their hand from the top and shake it. But only do this as a last resort since it can shock the other person and is a very obvious maneuver.?

NOW SEE: 12 facts about body language you should know before your next job interview >?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-out-of-a-dominating-handshake-2012-9

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Official eBay for Android app brought back to v2.0 again

The official eBay for Android app hit v2.0 with a huge UI redesign a couple weeks ago. It was exciting at the time, as the eBay app was feeling a bit stale. Unfortunately, the latest update was pulled quickly citing many bugs and constant force closes. Today, eBay is going to give it another try and has put the update back in the Google Play Store, bringing everyone back to v2.0.

Hopefully this update will stay available this time and they've fixed the force close issues. Head to the Google Play Store link above to grab the update, then let us know in the comments how the app is running on your own device.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/mXVZeXTGupA/story01.htm

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Old Fashioned Networking for Business - Business First online

says Carlo Pandian

There?s a lot of buzz around the internet these days for marketing and growing your business.? The computing revolution of the last twenty years has indeed made running your own business much easier than before and certainly made managing a business more efficient and simple.

The internet also offers a whole range of opportunities to market your firm through social networking, but oddly one site Meetup.com has taken a rather unusual angle on the social networking trend.? With Meet Up you actually get to meet your friends and make new ones.? If this sounds like a one of those sites it?s not, and it?s actually a great take on the social networking phenomena.

What is Meet Up?

Meet Up allows you to create or join groups.? Simple as that really; however these groups are not restricted to the virtual world and, in fact, only use the virtual world to manage the groups.? The meetings themselves are firmly located in the real world.? Groups are focussed on just about every interest and pursuit that you can imagine, from macram? to mountaineering, and the site really just operates as a central point of contact for people to locate groups in their area and then join in with the fun.

But is it just for hobbies?

Meet Up is very keenly focussed on ?hobbies? but that doesn?t mean that it?s only for this purpose.? You can set up and run just about any group you wish; this could be a marketing seminar, or any talk relevant to your industry.? Generally, it?s not effective to set up a sales type show, but works best when creating events that are likely to be of interest to your target demographic.

By finding groups that are relevant to your products in your area you can join up and set up a talk, event or simply a summer barbeque!? This type of event gives you the chance to ?market by stealth? but the hard sell variety will be a big turn off to the groups? users, so tread softly.

Meet Up Tools

There are simple tools on the Meet Up site which allow you to create lists of attendees, print name badges, send email reminders and create an RSPV system to help you manage the event smoothly.? The site offers you, effectively, the ability to access an events management team, without the need to actually hire one.? While it may be useful to hire event managers for larger, corporate events, this type of site allows you to hold less formal talks, seminars and events.

Target Groups

Depending on the industry you are in there may already be a Meet Up group to match in your area.? If this is the case then it?s worth joining and setting up an event that will interest users.? You can focus your efforts on targeting either potential customers or setting up a more B2B type session.? Both have advantages to grow your client base, with the former being the most obvious type to grow new business.? Corporate and B2B events should not, however, be discounted.

These can help to raise your profile with other local businesses, and can be especially useful if you target firms who operate in similar, but not the same, fields as your own firm.? This can create a number of opportunities for referrals and partnership working, which in the current economic climate are excellent ways to keep a healthy order book.

Old Tricks and New Technology

It?s strange, perhaps, that in the era of online social networking, that this type of site should have been created.? However, it just goes to show, that whatever the internet is, it?s no substitute for good old fashioned networking!

If you enjoyed this article and would like to be aware of other posts, please subscribe here

Author:
Carlo Pandian is a business graduate and blogs on business, entrepreneurialism and networking. He also writes tutorials on QuickBooks accounting software and is a regular contributor at Business2Community.

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Source: http://www.businessfirstonline.co.uk/?p=9755&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=old-fashioned-networking-for-business

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Remains of the Day: Samsung Fixes Security Issues on the Galaxy S III [For What It's Worth]

Samsung fixes the Galaxy S III vulnerability, Xbox has a new music service on the way, Dropbox integrates with Facebook and TweetDeck gets a few new features.

• Samsung has fix for Galaxy S III reset vulnerability, asks users to update software Yesterday, a developer discovered a gaping security hole in some Samsung Android phones. Samsung says Galaxy S III users can update their software right now to fix the problem. An update to earlier phones is on the way. [The Verge]
• Xbox Music pricing and features revealed through Windows 8 and leaked Xbox interface Some leaked photos reveal an upcoming change to Xbox music. Users will be able to subscribe to one of three different pricing tiers (not unlike Spotify) and stream or download music from Microsoft's library. Xbox music will reportedly also ahve a scan-and-match service similar to iTunes Match. [The Verge]
• Share stuff from Dropbox in your Facebook Groups! Dropbox and Facebook have teamed up to bring a new feature to Facebook groups: file sharing. Now, when you go to add a new file to your group, you'll have the choice of linking your Dropbox account and adding a file you've synced to your Dropbox, without having to re-upload it yourself. [Dropbox Blog]
• Profile headers and link summaries The TweetDeck web and Chrome apps have just updated to include Twitter's new profile header images, as well as link summaries on posts containing links (similar to how Facebook displays shared links). You can check out the new features on the web and in TweetDeck's Chrome app. [TweetDeck Blog]
• Your YouTube original videos now available in Google Takeout Google Takeout, the service that liberates your Google data in one click, now includes your YouTube videos. The new service downloads the original videos that you first uploaded, without transcoding them in any way, so you get the same quality you started with. [Google Data Liberation Blog]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ze0RP8m9iz4/remains-of-the-day-samsung-fixes-security-issues-on-the-galaxy-s-iii

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Increased hospital infections linked to nurse burnout

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year nearly 100,000 hospitalized patients die from infections acquired while undergoing treatment for other conditions. While many factors may contribute to the phenomenon, nurse staffing (i.e., the number of patients assigned to a nurse) has been implicated as a major cause.

A recent study by Dr. Jeannie P. Cimiotti of Rutgers College of Nursing and co-researchers concludes that the degree of "burnout" experienced by nurses could relate directly to the frequency with which patients acquire infections during hospital stays. Focusing exclusively on urinary tract and surgical site infections, the researchers found that while a significant correlation existed between the occurrence of such infections and the number of patients assigned to nurses, nurse staffing became less of a factor after accounting for nurse burnout.

From a sample of 161 acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania and an average of 45 nurses working at each sampled hospital, Cimiotti and her team measured nurse burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. According to Maslach's theory, a critical component of burnout in nurses and other health care professionals is "emotional exhaustion." Emotional exhaustion is associated with emotional and cognitive detachment from work as a mechanism for coping with the demands and responsibilities of the job.

"We hypothesize that the cognitive detachment associated with high levels of burnout may result in inadequate hand hygiene practices and lapses in other infection control procedures among registered nurses," the researchers suggest. The researchers found that every 10 percent increase in burned-out nurses in an acute care hospital increases the rate of urinary tract infections by nearly one per 1,000 patients and increases the rate of surgical site infections by more than two per 1,000 patients.

"These findings are both statistically and clinically significant," the researchers posit. "If the proportion of nurses with high burnout could be reduced to 10 percent from the average 30 percent, some 4,160 infections would be prevented ?, leading to an estimated savings of $41 million." Not to mention the saving of many lives.

To reduce nurse burnout, the researchers recommend the implementation of organizational changes that effectively build job engagement. Examples include educational interventions, performance feedback, and social support.

This study is quite significant since in represents the first time nurse burnout has been associated with secondary infections.

In addition to Cimiotti, the research team included Drs. Linda H. Aiken, Douglas M. Sloane, and Evan S. Wu, each from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. The research was supported by funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research--National Institutes of Health.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rutgers University. The original article was written by Ferlanda Fox Nixon.

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

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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/top_news/top_health/~3/enkpNf3qDaU/120927141541.htm

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Curiosity Rover Being Upgraded With Autonomous Sensor Program

DevotedSkeptic writes "Curiosity will be getting a software upgrade called Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) which will allow it to take on the go photos to save precious time while exploring our red neighbor. Another interesting feature AGEIS may be able to provide is the ability for Curiosity to call home when it sees something interesting. It won't be a quick upgrade: AEGIS, which has been used on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity since 2009, will be installed on Curiosity in the next nine to 12 months, Estlin said in an interview with InformationWeek. The AEGIS software, developed by JPL, was named NASA's 'software of the year' in 2011. Opportunity uses the software to take a wide-angle image with a low-resolution camera, then picks out rocks in the image to see if there's something of interest. If so, it takes a high-resolution image using an on-board science camera that's capable of zooming in on the subject. The software has potential beyond picture taking. Its see-and-react code could be adapted to other instruments." There's a paper on the software as used in the Opportunity rover.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/nq5iIP847S4/curiosity-rover-being-upgraded-with-autonomous-sensor-program

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Can Personal Technology Stop the Obesity Epidemic? - Obesity ...

? Obesity ? ? Public Health ? Sep 25, 2012

So much of our information from and interaction with the world is now mediated by computers, cell phones and tablets that health experts have been practically running themselves ragged trying to find ways to use these conduits to help people make healthier choices.

Great success stories have come out of parts of the developing world, where cell phones have been used to improve maternal and infant care and help people adhere to medication guidelines. But in the U.S., attempts using mobile and online technology to tackle basic health problems, such as obesity, have largely been underwhelming, especially among the tech-savvy younger set.

Researchers at the Obesity Society?s Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio, Texas., presented some of their own work on these efforts on September 23 and discussed why so many of these programs have so far failed to take hold.

With teenagers, and, increasingly, younger children, in near-constant text message contact with their friends, many researchers have figured this mode of communication might be an effective way to reach those who are overweight and obese in age groups with health-related texts. And as Susan Woolford of the University of Michigan pointed out, as she showed a video of a dance flash mob, we know that cell phone messages ?can get them to come out and dance, but can you get them to change their weight-related behavior??

She and her colleagues decided to find out. They enrolled 20 obese adolescents and sent them health-related text messages over three months. Although the kids generally accepted the program, it was unclear just how much the messages (such as reminders to drink enough water or suggestions for healthy meals) were put into practice. One of the major complaints in follow-up interviews was that the messages were flat. The kids said they ?sounded like an English person from the 1950s,? Woolford noted.

Enter Zamzee. At the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine, Steve Cole and his team have moved in an entirely different direction. They are working on an interactive health platform aimed to increase physical activity in adolescents: . Kids begin by carrying around a Zamzee, a small device that contains accelerometers to detect movement and a USB plug to upload the data into a computer. But that is only the key to unlock the whole Zamzee program. When the Zamzee is plugged in, it launches an online portal that kids can use to view their track their progress.

The program was tested in a six-month randomized controlled trial for 448 subjects, ages 11 to 14. All of them had the Zamzee stick, although the control half only got general, upbeat feedback about their activity levels from the online service. The experimental half were allowed into the full Zamzee interactive experience, which is designed to look like a social-gaming platform, with different modules that show individual activity levels, goals, rewards, and opportunities to interact with other users.

After the trial period, kids in the control group were getting about 74 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week. Those with full use of the program, however, were getting about 118 minutes a week, which is about a 59 percent increase, an effect that held steady throughout the six months. More impressively, kids in the experimental group who were overweight or obese at the start of the study were getting just as much physical activity as the normal weight kids. And at the end of the six months, the increased activity had positive effects on lipid and metabolic biomarkers in the experimental group.

Why was this program so much more successful than so many others for this age group? ?We worked very hard to eradicate education from this,? Cole said of the program a radical statement in itself. He also added that they tried to banish references to health and even exercise because, as they found, those topics are not desirable to teens especially those who are already overweight or obese and have negative associations with them. Cole?s take is to use positive psychology setting obtainable yet healthy individual goals in an effort to eventually translate these behavior changes from a program-mediated shift to one of intrinsic motivation all without telling the kids to go do an extra set of jumping jacks.

Adults, on the other hand, seem more willing to accept unmasked health information delivered to them via a digital platform. Michael Lin of Johns Hopkins University is currently working on a randomized controlled trial to test a tailored text-messaging system to help residents in an underserved population in Baltimore achieve healthier weights.

Half of the 120 participants received brief counseling sessions and handouts on diet and nutrition, along with a pedometer. The other half received the same materials but were also enrolled in the tailored text-messaging program, during which subjects received three to six texts a day. The messages were timed to the individuals? goals, challenges and schedules (such as a reminder sent right before a person?s usual lunchtime to avoid their favorite unhealthful food and instead choose more vegetables). One message a day contained a question (such as one about a participant?s weight or exercise that day). The system had preprepared messages that could use information from the subject?s text to formulate a personalized response. Although participants were told at the beginning that these responses were from a computer, many reported later in the study that they felt like they were communicating with someone about their progress, which helped with motivation.

Lin s final research results are not yet in, but the participation and adherence so far seem promising. Unlike the group of adolescents in Woolford?s study, these folks had a mean age in their 50s, and many of them had never used text messaging before enrolling. But after a five-minute tutorial, they were off and running. Or if not running, at least getting more physical activity than they were before, thanks to on-the-go technology.

###

By Katherine Harmon | Scientific American

Provided by ArmMed Media

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A matrix of corporate money funds small business organization NFIB ...

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) styles itself as the ?Voice of Small Business,? but it might be better to characterize them as just another megaphone for big business?for the corporate and wealthy elite.

An ALEC Exposed-style website, NFIB Exposed, has popped up to reveal the big corporate money behind NFIB. As noted by the Center for Media & Democracy (CMD), NFIB is bombarding the 2012 election with money and is the lead plaintiff against the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ?Obamacare.? NFIB Exposed aims to reveal the forces behind the small business organization.

For example, NFIB received $3.7 million from Karl Rove?s Crossroads GPS, which overwhelmingly supports Republicans; even though 32% of small business owners identify as Democrat and 29% identify as Independent or other, according to a poll commissioned by American Express OPEN in 2009.

After Crossroads GPS, Donors Trust, a fund set up for rich Republicans, is the next most significant donor, contributing $1.5 million to NFIB (for the 2012 election cycle). Donors Trust also heavily contributes to the Koch Brothers? Americans for Prosperity. Indeed, Donors Trust throws big money at a variety of other groups that then contribute money to candidates, lobbies, non-profits and various other forms of legalized bribery.

As Mother Jones reported in July:??Few among the legions of small business owners that it represents will benefit from its lobbying. Only 3 percent of small businesses net more than $250,000 a year, the lowest income that would be affected by Obama?s tax plan. This is one reason why a variety of rival small business groups now accuse the NFIB of doing exactly what it was founded to prevent: selling out small business owners to benefit the rich and powerful.?

?NFIB has spent an unknown, but significant, amount of money and institutional cach? fighting common sense proposals to give workers the right to earn sick time,? notes NFIB Exposed. ?However, a recent small business survey by NFIB found that providing mandatory sick and family leave was not a critical concern of NFIB members.? NFIB Exposed points to NFIB?s own study, which found that opposition to mandatory family or sick leave ranked 64 out of 75 amongst the organizations concerns.

The strategy here is: use NFIB to hoodwink Americans into believing that the majority of small business owners support the GOP. Indeed, the NFIB is simply a funnel for the wealthy?s money?a place where money can criss-cross in a confusing matrix, and give corporations and wealthy individuals some small business legitimacy.

It?s a smokescreen and NFIB Exposed is certainly helping to lift the veil on the group?s subversive machinations.

(Note the photo above, in which?NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner shakes hands with ?Guardian of Small Business? Rep. Chip Cravaack, a Minnesota Republican. It pays to have friends in Congress.)

Source: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/189021/a-matrix-of-corporate-money-funds-small-business-organization-nfib/

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Italy rocked by corruption, drug scandals

By Claudio Lavanga, NBC News

ROME ? Franco Fiorito, a member of the regional council of Lazio, the Italian region that includes Rome, was known ironically among his friends as Batman. It was a nickname he earned when he managed to fall off a Harley Davidson still on a kickstand.

But rather than a superhero, he looks like an actor out of ?The Sopranos? with his slicked-back hairstyle, striped double-breasted suit, bulky figure and bigger than life personality. ??

Fiorito, a member of Silvio Berlusconi?s People of Freedom party (PDL), was accused earlier this month of embezzling at least $1.5 million of public funds to pay for everything from oyster dinners, to hotels, aides and apartments.

Fiorito, who has since resigned, fought the allegations by telling investigators that fellow party members behaved worse than he did ? putting the spotlight on regional president Renata Polverini.

The scandal proved too much for Polverini, who resigned on Monday, and damaged the reputation of Berlusconi?s already weakened party.

She denied allegations of any wrong-doing on her part, but admitted that the scandal had exposed infighting within the PDL party and had stripped the regional council of some legitimacy. ??

But most importantly, it stands as a symbol of a political class that has lost touch with the electorate, and carries on living a lavish lifestyle financed with public funds at a time when most Italians struggle to get by.

?Why did they call him Batman? He sounds more like the joker to me,? said Carla Cecchini, a receptionist from Rome who was waiting at a bus stop in Rome on Wednesday morning. ?He is not even that smart. We know they are all thieves, but this guy didn?t even try to hide it. He is shameless.?

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Toga party pix?
Apparently Fiorito is not as brazen as another member of the regional council.

Only days ago, pictures emerged of a lavish toga party organized in 2010 by Carlo de Romanis, a 32-year- old member of Berlusconi?s party. ?

Romanis organized the party to celebrate his election to the regional council and his return to Rome after eight years working at the European Parliament in Brussels.

The theme of the party, ?Ulysses returns home and fights his enemies,? was taken seriously by his 2,000 guests. They showed up dressed up as ancient Roman maidservants, gladiators, patricians in laurel wreaths and minotaurs, drinking from ancient-looking jars. Pictures emerged of guests feeding each other grapes, as well as men wearing pig masks fondling female guests.

?A party worthy of the last days of ancient Rome, when the narcissistic and decadent elite kept enjoying a lavish lifestyle while the empire was falling apart all around them.

The similarities might not be so far-fetched. Even though Carlo ?Ulysses De Romanis? insists the $30,000 he paid for the party came from his own pocket, it still upset many Italians who are tired of seeing the political elite enjoying the lifestyle of emperors while they feel the strain of the recent austerity measures and the economic crisis.

Alex Biasco, a DJ in Milan, told NBC News that the Italian public is partly to blame as well. He said they like to complain about the widespread abuse of office, without acting to bring about any changes.

?Look at the Spanish: they fill the squares in Madrid to demand the resignation of unfit politicians,? said Biasco.? ?While in Italy we have had politicians who stole for decades, who are corrupt to the core?and yet, Italians only fill their squares when their soccer teams win.?

Luca Orsenigo, a 38-year-old Telecom manager from Milan, had a similar complaint.?

?We got to this point because we deserve it. Instead of going to prison, these people are invited to defend themselves on talk-shows," said Orsenigo, referring to the many TV appearances Fiorito enjoyed after the scandal broke. "As long as these people go unpunished, nothing will change?

Cocaine bust
More proof of widespread corruption among Italian governmental institutions came on Tuesday, when the head of the postal service in the Italian Senate was arrested for cocaine trafficking, police said.

Orlando Ranaldi, 53, is accused of being part of a criminal gang 10 Italians and Albanians who ran a cocaine ring in southern Rome. While not a politician, Orlando held a managerial position in Italy?s upper house of parliament. ?

?"I only hope that he didn't push inside the Senate," Senator Felice Belisario of the Italy of Values party told Reuters.

Roberta, a housewife from Rome who gave only her first name, jumped to her own conclusions. ??

?They are all living the high life, and I can?t believe the guy wasn?t doing ?favors? to the political elite,? she said. ?

The recent revelations of champagne-filled toga parties, embezzlement of public funds and cocaine heists have only contributed to widening the gap between the political elite and the electorate.?

?Once again we are showing the world how corrupt we are.? But Italians, thank God, are not all like Batman and Ulysses,? Alessandra Scolaro, a website designer and member of the People of Freedom party from the Veneto region, told NBC News. ?The best Italians are those who wake up every morning and go to work. And those who make us proud by raising the bar of Italian creativity in the arts and fashion industries. This is the real Italy.?

While Italians aren?t likely to descend to the squares to protest and try to get rid of the political class the hard way, they will have the opportunity to bring change in the general elections next spring.?

?

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14113589-italy-rocked-by-corruption-drug-scandals?lite

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Rape vs. Race

Newt Gingrich campaigning for Todd Akin, Sept. 24.

Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images

When Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, made his infamous comments about ?legitimate rape,? the party?s national leaders abandoned him. They urged him to step down so they could substitute a more electable nominee.

Akin refused. Today was the deadline for him to withdraw. He?s staying in the race. And some Republican leaders are creeping back in to support him.

Mike Huckabee is sticking with Akin. Phyllis Schlafly is doing a bus tour for him. The Senate Conservatives Fund, headed by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is seeking support from its donors to help Akin. And yesterday, Newt Gingrich went to Missouri to headline a $500-a-plate fund-raiser for him.

Gingrich says party leaders have no business shunning a candidate chosen by voters. ?The people of Missouri picked him to be their nominee in a fair fight,? Gingrich told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. At yesterday?s fund-raiser, Gingrich asked: ?What?s the moral case for not backing the Republican nominee picked by the people of Missouri?? In a radio interview, he elaborated:

I just think it is so profoundly wrong for the big-money boys in Washington to decide they can dictate to the people of Missouri or Georgia or any other state. Todd Akin won the nomination. ... He is clearly the candidate of the people of Missouri. ... People who donate to the [Republican] Senate committee should be calling and raising Cain and saying, ?What do you mean you?re not going to be for the Republican nominee in Missouri??

That isn?t what Gingrich said when he was one of the party?s big-money boys. In 1986, Gingrich became general chairman of GOPAC, an organization dedicated to supporting conservative Republican candidates. Three years into his tenure, David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klansman, won a seat in the Louisiana legislature as a Republican. Duke formally renounced his past racist affiliations, but Gingrich?who was a month away from being elected to the second highest Republican post in the U.S. House of Representatives?refused to accept him. ''This is a man whose record is one of ... race-baiting,'' Gingrich insisted. ''The Republican Party wants to make clear that we do not condone, we do not tolerate, race-baiting.''

In 1991, 56 percent of Louisiana Republicans voted for Duke for governor. But a year later, as Duke prepared to run for president, Gingrich repeated that Duke ?should be shunned.?

Last month, many national Republicans took a similar stance toward Akin. After Akin said that an abortion ban need not include an exception for rape because ?if it?s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,? GOP leaders said the party had to make clear that it didn?t condone his views.

Gingrich takes a different view. Now that the subject is sexism rather than racism, he advocates forgiveness, tolerance, and Republican solidarity. He defends Akin?s abortion views and says Akin?s opponent, Sen. Claire McCaskill, ?stands for the kind of abortion rules that are just totally unacceptable to most decent Americans.? Gingrich calls Akin?s comment a ?six-second mistake? and says Akin should be forgiven because he "admitted he made a mistake and apologized for it.?

That?s a whitewash. Akin?s problem with rape, like Duke?s problem with race, goes back decades. He?s been a rape skeptic since the days when Duke was running for governor. And Akin has never apologized for that. In his so-called apology, Akin asserted, ?The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold.?

This doesn?t seem to trouble Gingrich. "I can't imagine,? he exclaims in disbelief, that the Republican National Committee ?would want to risk losing Missouri for Romney by getting into some kind of divisive schismatic fight." Race is a red line, but rape is just a schism.

Akin never wore a hood, and 2012 is a long way from 1991. You can argue that the two cases are different. But Gingrich, Huckabee, DeMint, and other Republicans haven?t made that case. They haven?t explained why, if racial prejudice disqualifies a popularly chosen candidate from national Republican support, rape skepticism doesn?t. Until they do, the simplest explanation is that a history of second-guessing women about rape doesn?t bother these Republicans morally?or at least politically?the way that a history of racism does.

If you have a better answer, gentlemen, let?s hear it.

William Saletan's latest short takes on the news, via Twitter:

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=f179f4de1680b74ced82ad1a53ba2483

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Yahoo workers to get dose of 'radical transparency'

By Martha C. White

Despite an impressive track record during her 13-year tenure at Google, Marissa Mayer is still an unknown quantity in her leadership role at Yahoo. On Tuesday, investors should get a better sense of how the rookie CEO plans to turn around the Internet giant.

Mayer plans a pair of all-company meetings (two in order to accommodate employees in time zones across the globe) tomorrow to share the strategies she laid out last week for Yahoo?s board of directors ?in an act of radical transparency,? according to an internal memo obtained by the tech blog AllThingsD. Mayer will give ?guidance as to where the company is going.?

This is insight the investor community wants just as badly, especially because Yahoo didn?t offer third quarter guidance in its last earnings report to give Mayer time to assimilate into her new role. Yahoo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about whether or not any details of the meeting would be shared with investors, although Mayer's "radical transparency" will almost certainly lead to more leaks.

?The key here is a focus on getting Yahoo back to execution,? said Ron Josey, an analyst at ThinkEquity.

Although Mayer's most recent focus at Google was on location-related products, analysts expect her to concentrate now on Yahoo's core businesses of search and display advertising.?"Looking at her background, I think she will kind of elaborate on her product strategy," said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co., LLC. "It?s probably the right approach. They have two customers, the consumer and the advertiser, but without the consumer, there?s no advertiser, so she has to make sure the consumer stays," he said.

Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group, said the investment community would be listening for Mayer to lay out some strategies for a couple of key projects. "I think the ones that are most interesting to me really include things like finding ways to consolidate the display business and finding ways to deepen ties with AOL and MSN," he said.

Mayer's long history in the search business almost certainly will make her a better negotiator when it comes to working with Microsoft on the two companies' search partnership, and investments in behavioral analytics technology could help it in the display-ad space.?"Display advertising is extremely competitive but it?s growing a lot faster than it was two years back, and Yahoo?s the market leader," Sinha said.?

Analysts also want to hear Mayer lay out a framework for a mobile strategy. Making money from users coming to an online destination from their phones is an ongoing challenge for companies like Facebook, but Sinha said Mayer will do better by focusing on the expereince the user has on his or her desktop first.?

"If your core website is good, then people will try to find you on their mobile devices also," he said.

There's also the question of what Mayer plans to do with the cash left over after returning $3 billion of the proceeds from selling part of its stake in Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group to shareholders.??I definitely hope to hear more about her strategy about acquisition,? Sinha said.

Any framework of a cohesive strategy going forward will be welcome news for shareholders.??Investors will be interested in seeing what Ms. Mayer can do compared with the successive string of CEOs that have recently come and gone,? Ralph Schackart, an analyst at William Blair & Co. LLC, wrote in a research note shortly after Mayer?s hiring in July.

"For us on Wall Street to get super-excited, I think we need to see better execution and this? would be her first debut," Josey said "It?s something we've been waiting to hear from her since she joined."

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Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/24/14073024-yahoo-employees-to-get-taste-of-new-ceos-radical-transparency?lite

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LG's first VoLTE Bluetooth headset revealed: Tone + packs 'high-quality' audio codec

LG isn't short of a few Voice over LTE handsets, but this neck-hugging Bluetooth handset promises to offer similarly crisp voice calls, if the feature's available, without the need to fumble around in your pockets . The Tone + headset totes a pair of in-ear buds, is available in both white and black and will even vibrate in Battle Royale terror style when you receive a call. LG has built in a "professional grade audio codec", the aptX, to improve audio performance alongside that VoLTE compatibility. The headphones can event pair to two devices (even two smartphones) and read out your received SMS messages. You can expect the micro-USB rechargeable Tone+ to last around 15 hours of talk-time, or 500 hours on standby. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but LG promise to launch the device in the US, Korea and China by the end of the month.

Continue reading LG's first VoLTE Bluetooth headset revealed: Tone + packs 'high-quality' audio codec

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Mobile

LG's first VoLTE Bluetooth headset revealed: Tone + packs 'high-quality' audio codec originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/24/lg-volte-bluetooth-headset-tone-plus/

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Scientists reverse Alzheimer's-like memory loss in animal models by blocking EGFR signaling

ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) ? A team of neuroscientists and chemists from the U.S. and China September 24 publish research suggesting that a class of currently used anti-cancer drugs as well as several previously untested synthetic compounds show effectiveness in reversing memory loss in two animal models of Alzheimer's' disease.

CSHL Professor Yi Zhong, Ph.D., who led the research conducted in fruit flies and mice, says he and his colleagues were surprised with their results, which, he stressed, used two independent experimental approaches "the results of which clearly converged."

Specifically, the research converged on what Zhong's team suggests is a "preferred target" for treating memory loss associated with the amyloid-beta (A?) plaques seen in advanced Alzheimer's patients. That target is the epidermal growth factor receptor, often called by its acronym, EGFR.

Overexpression of the EGFR is a characteristic feature of certain cancers, notably a subset of lung cancers. Two targeted treatments, erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa), can dramatically, albeit transiently, reverse EGFR-positive cancers, by blocking the EGF receptor and thus preventing its activation.

The newly published research by Zhong's team suggests that the signaling within cells that is induced by EGFR activation also plays a role in the pathology -- still poorly understood -- involved in A?-associated memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients.

Zhong and colleagues previously had studied A?-associated memory loss in fruit flies with brain cells expressing the A?-42 peptide (a specific version of the protein, composed of 42 amino acids, seen in Alzheimer's plaques). These fruit flies are regarded as models of the illness in part because the A?-42 they manifest is encoded by a human gene, inserted in their genome. In behavioral experiments, such flies have been shown to suffer memory deficiencies analogous to those seen in human Alzheimer's.

Enhanced activation of EGFR exacerbates memory loss in flies

In the current round of experiments, Zhong's team demonstrated that enhanced activation of EGFRs in brain cells exacerbated memory loss in the A?-42 fruit fly model of Alzheimer's disease. This led them to dose 3-day-old flies of this type with the two anti-cancer EGFR inhibitors over a week's time, which was shown in behavioral tests on day 11 to prevent memory loss. The results were then confirmed in mouse models of Alzheimer's, also based on the human A?-42 gene.

This was remarkable, but even more so, says Zhong, because of a parallel but independent experimental process that also suggested EGFR as a drug target for Alzheimer's. This parallel process consisted of screening, by Zhong's collaborators in China, of some 2,000 synthetic compounds for activity against A?-induced memory loss in model fruit flies. Of these, 45 compounds showed positive results in fruit flies after two months of dosing. Nine of these were selected for testing in mouse models, of which four showed positive results after two months.

"We were amazed to find that three of these compounds -- designated JKF-006, JKF-011 and JKF-027 -- not only showed effective results in rescuing memory loss in the mice, but also, in test-tube-based experiments prevented A?-42 from activating human EGFR," Zhong reports.

Blocking EGFR signaling appeared to prevent memory loss

Importantly, a precise mechanism could not be conclusively demonstrated from this and related experiments. But the available evidence leads the scientists to propose in a paper appearing online today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that reversal of memory loss occurs when clumps of beta-amyloid proteins are either prevented directly from "docking" with the human EGF receptor, or prevent phosphate groups from attaching to the receptor, a process called phosphorylation. Both hypothesized processes would prevent the initiation of the EGFR intracellular signaling cascade.

Zhong and colleagues note the uncertainty of Alzheimer's pathology. Memory loss stemming from A?-induced activation of EGFR "may reflect the acute toxic effects of A?, which might be independent of synaptic and neuronal degeneration," they note. To gain more insight, the team tested drug treatment of middle-aged mice (8 months old) with advanced memory loss during an 18-day period -- some six weeks shorter than the dosing period initially shown to be effective.

"Eighteen days -- the shortest dosing period we tested -- was sufficient to reverse loss in these mice, although we should note that these animals had few morphological changes in the brain despite their severe memory loss when treatment began," Zhong says.

Because of the positive results they obtained in reversing memory loss in animal models, the team suggests additional testing with EGFR inhibitors be conducted, as well as testing of "behaviorally screened chemicals in treatments of Alzheimer's patients."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/s84e201qyVk/120924152535.htm

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