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US economy contracts for the first time in 3-1/2 years

9 hrs.

The U.S. economy stopped dead in its tracks in the last three months of the year, according to the latest government data, as the halting recovery was slammed by Superstorm Sandy and fiscal cliff political gridlock.

But economists said the surprise 0.1 percent contraction in the fourth quarter's annual growth rate was likely a brief pause in an otherwise halting, four-year recovery from the 2007 recession.

??This isn't the start of a new recession,? said Paul Ashworth chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

The Commerce Department's report on fourth quarter gross domestic product, the first of several that are typically revised as more data becomes available, followed a stronger-than-expected 3.1 bounce in growth during the preceding three months.Forecasters had been expecting a weak performance of about 1.1 percent growth in the final quarter of 2012 after Sandy shuttered millions of businesses and factories in early November.?

Besides the storm, the weakness appeared to be the result of other one-time factors, including the biggest defense spending cuts in 40 years and a slow build in company stockpiles. Those two factors alone slashed 2.6 percentage points from growth.

The big contraction in defense spending, which reversed an upswing in the third quarter, came as Congress remained deadlocked over compromise needed to avert across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester. The ??fiscal cliff? compromise reached at the end of the year?postponed those cuts until March 1.?

A top Defense Dept. official said last week that the Pentagon already is eliminating all 46,000 of its temporary civilian workers in anticipation of budget cuts. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that if Congress fails to head off mandatory budget cuts by March 1, some 800,000 Pentagon civilian employees will face furloughs and reduced paychecks by April, cutting spending by about $5 billion.?

The other big drag on third quarter growth, the draw-down in business inventories, followed a backup in merchandise in late summer after a slowdown in China and Europe left many U.S. manufacturers with unsold goods. As businesses sold off their backlogs by year-end, the sharp drop in inventories lopped off?1.3 percentage points in GDP growth.

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, Inc. said this week that it reduced its inventories by $2 billion in the fourth quarter as global sales declined from a year earlier.?

The?draw-down?means manufacturers are well-positioned for a pick-up in demand this year, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics.?

?That augurs very well going into the first quarter,? he said. ?You can feel things started to pick up again."

That pickup has been reflected in fresher data on the economy?s performance in December, including upbeat reports on home and car sales, business investment and manufacturing orders.??Those reports have raised hopes that the ongoing move to balance the federal budget with tax increases and spending cuts won?t dampen the emerging recovery.

Signs?of?strength
Ironically, the gloomy headline on Wednesday?s GDP report masked two additional signs of economic strength.?

Businesses and consumers were big spenders in the fourth quarter - despite worries that the ongoing budget gridlock had prompted both to sit on the sidelines until the standoff was resolved.??Consumer spending ? which accounts for roughly 70 percent of GDP ? was also up sharply, adding 1.5 percent to GDP.?The recovering housing market added 3-tenths of a percent to growth.

Business investment in new equipment and software jumped 12.4 percent from the preceding three months, adding 9-tenths of a?percent to the economy?s overall expansion rate.?

?The collapse in government spending and cautious inventory controls hide the simple fact that households are spending, businesses are investing and the housing market is expanding,? said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

The strength in consumer and business spending helps support the idea that the economy?s long-term trend of a fairly tepid 2 percent growth rate remains intact. The initial tally for all of 2012 showed the economy grew by 2.2 percent, a bit better than 2011's growth of 1.8 percent.

?The reality is that the economy is growing between 2 to 2.5 percent,? said Zandi. ?That?s how fast it?s been growing since the recovery started two-and-a-half years ago.?

That growth pace is slower than typical recoveries in the last half century, which is why the unemployment remains stuck at painfully high levels. The economy has created roughly 150,000 jobs a month, on average, for the past two years, barely enough to keep up with population growth. As a result, the unemployment rate has been falling slowly and has remained stuck at 7.8 percent for the past two months.

Economists expect the government?s January jobs report Friday to show the unemployment rate remained at that level again this month.?That tepid pace of growth and hiring is expected to continue into this year, due in part to the year-end budget deal that ended a two-year Social Security ?tax holiday.??

The increase will cost wage earners about two percent of their take-home pay (until they reach this year?s $113,700 income limit.)?That means a household earning the median $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend. A household with two highly-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less. ?

A key measure of consumer confidence plummeted this month after Americans noticed the reduction in their paychecks, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

With growth historically weak and unemployment high, the Federal Reserve has promised to keep interest rates near zero, despite the potential long-term risk of inflation. Central bank Chairman Ben Bernanke has answered critics by saying that the Fed is ready to begin raising rates if price increases begin creeping back into the economy.

Though prices are rising in the housing and stock markets, there is little sign of inflation at the consumer or producer price level. Wage growth has also been flat since the recovery began.?

Still, the risk remains that the Fed?s ?exit strategy," whenever it comes, will put another damper on the economy.?

?I?m afraid that house prices could get to depend on the extremely low mortgage rates which will turn around when the Fed stops its (low interest rate) policy,? said Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, who served as chief economic advisor to President Reagan. ?At some point the Fed is going to have to start raising long term interest rates.?


Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/us-economy-contracts-first-time-3-1-2-years-1B8174851

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Kate Middleton: Plastic Surgery Inspiration!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/kate-middleton-plastic-surgery-inspiration/

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Two U.S. senators press Justice Department on bank prosecutions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators on Tuesday questioned whether the Justice Department has been aggressive enough in prosecuting misconduct at the largest banks and asked the department to turn over information on how it determines punishments.

Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who chairs a Senate Banking subcommittee, and Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said they are worried that certain Wall Street banks enjoy "too big to fail" status in enforcement policy, resulting in disproportionately low penalties.

The requests come amid renewed interest in whether U.S. authorities have held accountable the institutions and individuals who contributed to the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the senators asked whether the Justice Department ever failed to prosecute any institutions due to concern about the stability of the financial markets or imposed a penalty that reflected such concerns.

They asked Holder to name outside experts that prosecutors consulted in making decisions about charging financial institutions with more than $1 billion (?634.6 million) in assets. Brown and Grassley also asked for copies of any contracts with such experts.

Justice Department officials have said they are required to consider collateral consequences when deciding whether to charge a company.

"Our markets will only function efficiently if participants believe that all laws will be enforced consistently, and that violators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," the two senators wrote. "There should not be one set of rules that apply to Wall Street and another set for the rest of us."

The Justice Department has entered into several major settlements related to financial misconduct in recent months.

London-based bank HSBC agreed in December to pay $1.9 billion to resolve charges that it failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. In exchange for improving its compliance program, the department agreed to defer and eventually drop criminal charges.

Last month, Swiss bank UBS agreed to pay some $1.5 billion and its Japan unit pleaded guilty to a criminal charge in connection with its role in manipulating benchmark interest rates.

"We have received the letter and are reviewing it," Justice Department spokeswoman Rebekah Carmichael said.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-u-senators-press-justice-department-bank-prosecutions-013236547--finance.html

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Apartment Careers: jobs, Austin jobs, Texas jobs, Assistant Business ...

About Pinnacle.

We invest in great people. That's why clients trust us with their real estate investments!
At Pinnacle, we consider our employees our most valuable asset. In fact, our number one key business objective is to attract and retain the best talent in the industry! At Pinnacle, the key to our continued success and competitive advantage is our people.

We offer a total compensation and benefits package to help with your needs today and build for your future tomorrow. We recognize that each employee is an individual with individual needs, lifestyles, and interests. Our benefits package was created with the flexibility to support employees who are at different places in their lives and careers.

Pinnacle values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. We offer a safe, healthy work environment for employees through a commitment to maintaining a drug-free workplace.
Pinnacle has ongoing employment opportunities at our headquarters in Seattle, our more than 40 branch office locations nationally and our many managed communities throughout the country.

Pinnacle is the national leader in third-party fee management of investment real estate encompassing multi-family, commercial space, affordable housing and military housing. Pinnacle is built on four basic principles:

  • Quality people
  • Strong customer service
  • Solid market knowledge
  • Superior systems and support capabilities

    At Pinnacle, success is about more than having a healthy bottom line. Guided by our principles and values, we are committed to making Pinnacle an amazing and unique place to work for each member of our team.

    About the job..

    As an Assistant Business Manager at Pinnacle you are an important piece of the onsite management team. You help guide the ship, so to speak, of a Pinnacle community under the direction of the Business Manager. The Assistant Business Manager is a business leader who focuses on resident customer service and assists in managing the operations, leasing activity, renewals, collections, financial reporting, supplies, and communications of a multi-million dollar apartment community. This position requires unmatched customer service and individuals who thrive in a customer-centric, fast-paced environment. Be ready to be busy!

    Essential Responsibilities:

  • Address the concerns of current and prospective residents in a friendly and professional manner.
  • Helps set the standard on how Leasing Agents engage prospective and current residents. Tours and leases apartments as necessary.
  • Helps with training staff as necessary and models effective sales techniques on a daily basis.
  • Leads rent collection efforts, specifically with delinquent residents. This may involve lease termination and legal action if necessary.
  • Assist in managing the propertys budget by making sound fiscal decisions to increase the net operating income of the community.
  • Inspecting apartments during move-in and move outs, walking apartments and the community as needed.
  • Fill the role of acting Business Manager when the Business Manager is absent.

    Personal Competencies:

  • Business leader
  • High energy
  • Customer focused
  • Articulate
  • Detail oriented/organized
  • Strong Communicator both oral and written
  • High degree of flexibility and tolerance for change

    Qualifications:

  • Minimum of high school diploma, Bachelors degree preferred.
  • 1 to 2 years previous minimum related work experience, property management exp a plus!
  • General office, bookkeeping and sales skills
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to deal effectively with persons from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.
  • Extremely computer literate, including Microsoft office Suite
  • Previous experience in a supervisory role is helpful.

    Pinnacle has grown to become America's largest apartment manager through many different successes. Yet, in today's ultra-competitive market, each success must fuel the next and speed is essential in the ongoing race to lead the industry.

    If you are ready to work hard and be empowered and encouraged to innovate, contribute ideas and discover solutions to provide current and potential residents with unparalleled, world class customer service please complete click Apply Online.

  • Source: http://jobs.apartmentcareers.com/jobs/5109649/assistant-business-manager

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    Source: http://hershel33.typepad.com/blog/2013/01/apartment-careers-jobs-austin-jobs-texas-jobs-assistant-business.html

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    Albany Great Danes Host America East Leader Stony ... - Rant Sports

    Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports

    For as good as the Stony Brook Seawolves have been this season, they?re not even close to running away with the America East Conference. They?re sitting in the driver?s seat as they head up north?to take on the in-state rival Albany Great Danes, who are currently in third-place. The two teams are tied for number one in the ?country in true road wins.

    Stony Brook comes in winners of two straight while the Great Danes have dropped their past two contests.

    The Seawolves are a defense-oriented team. I?ve seen them a few times and they always manage to make opponents take contested shots with a hand in their face. They rebound extremely well and disrupt offense in the paint, thanks in large part to 6-foot-8 freshman Jameel Warney, who averages 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The lunch pail guy for Stony Brook, though, is senior Tommy Brenton, who pulls down 8.4 rebounds, hands out five assists and chips in 8.6 points per game. He plays way bigger than his 6-foot-5 frame. His ?last game out against Maine, Brenton went off for a triple-double (15 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists). Offensively, they?re pretty balanced, with three players averaging better than 11 points per game.

    For the Great Danes, they?re pretty solid on defense as well, allowing only 70.1 points per game and they have to do a good job of holding Stony Brook?s shooters in check. Albany is a very guard-heavy team and their offense reflects that as their guards have accounted for nearly 66% of their scoring this season. Perhaps a quicker, more up-tempo offense is the key to getting a win tonight. Their offense is led by Jacob Iati, one of the top three-point shooters in the college basketball?he?s made 63 three, good for 11th in the country

    Both teams can make their free throws and overall are pretty evenly matched, but unless Albany can find an answer for Brenton and Warney, the Seawolves should walk out of the Recreation and Convocation Center victorious.

    Source: http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-basketball/2013/01/29/albany-great-danes-host-america-east-leader-stony-brook-seawolves/

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    Confirming North Korean N-test almost impossible

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea appears all set to detonate an atomic device, but confirming the explosion when it takes place will be virtually impossible for outsiders, specialists said Tuesday.

    The best indication of a test will be seismic tremors and abnormal radiation in the air, but even that can be masked if North Korea wants to. In all likelihood the first word of the test will come from Pyongyang itself, just as it happened when the country conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

    Last week, North Korea warned that it plans a third nuclear test to protest toughened international sanctions meant to punish it for firing a long-range rocket in December. The world sees the launch as a ballistic missile test banned by the U.N., while Pyongyang says it only launched a satellite into orbit as part of a peaceful space development program.

    The U.S., South Korea and their allies have pressed the North to scrap its nuclear test plans, saying it will only worsen the country's decades-old international isolation.

    The threats have placed scientists and experts in South Korea on high alert as any test is likely to aggravate the already high tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.

    South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it believes North Korea has nearly completed its nuclear test preparations, confirming satellite analysis last week by the U.S.-Korea Institute, a research group at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

    Its satellite images of the Punggye-ri site ? where the previous two nuclear tests were conducted ? show that the North Koreans may have been sealing a tunnel into a mountainside where a nuclear device would be detonated.

    In the event of such an underground nuclear test, earthquake monitoring stations in South Korea can detect seismic tremors accompanied by low-frequency sound waves. While earthquakes trigger seismic waves they don't produce sound waves.

    But this is at best a strong indication of a test and not an absolute confirmation.

    An earthquake expert at the state-run Korea Meteorological Administration said his office aims to find out the magnitude of the tremor, the time it started and the exact location on the map within 10 minutes of the explosion. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

    Experts also note that artificial earthquakes, such as those created by nuclear explosions, rarely trigger the same wave patterns as natural quakes.

    North Korea could also try to deceive and give the impression that it exploded a nuclear device by simply exploding sophisticated conventional weapons that would trigger the same seismic waves produced by a nuclear test, said Chi Heoncheol, an earthquake specialist at the government-funded Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

    By raising tensions this way, North Korea may hope to wrest concessions or aid in return for promises to scale back its unproven nuclear capability.

    "Even if they bring truckloads of high-powered conventional explosives, put them (into an underground tunnel) and explode them, they will generate the same seismic wave and sound wave," Chi said. The only difference is no radioactivity would be detected from the explosion of conventional weapons, he said.

    The best course for scientists would be to collect air samples to look for increased radiation but the process could take days. Even if the wind is favorable ? and assuming North Korea conducts the test at Punggye-ri in the country's northeastern corner ? it will take more than one day for airborne radioactive isotopes like xenon to reach South Korea, according to an official at the government-run Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

    The official, who requested anonymity citing the sensitive nature of the subject, acknowledged it may be impossible to confirm a test if the wind doesn't blow southward or if North Korea plugs the underground tunnel so tightly that no radioactive gas escapes.

    South Korea confirmed increased radiation levels following the North's 2006 nuclear test but didn't find anything in 2009.

    And if North Korea decides to conduct a so-called subcritical test, there would be no release of radioactivity at all.

    A sub-critical test only works on the properties of plutonium but stop short of creating a critical mass, the point at which a self-sustaining nuclear reaction occurs. Such an experiment requires a "very difficult technology" that only a few countries like the U.S., Russia and England have acquired, said nuclear expert Whang Joo-ho of Kyung Hee University.

    "I believe North Korea's technology has not reached that level," Whang said.

    North Korea said its upcoming atomic explosion will be a "high-level" test and many analysts said that refers to a device made from highly enriched uranium, which gives the country a second source for manufacturing bombs in addition to plutonium.

    Whether North Korea detonates a uranium- or plutonium-based device, there won't be much difference in how easily scientists can detect the tests. The only difference is that they produce different radioactive gases, Whang said.

    He also said a uranium-based test explosion would mean that North Korea's nuclear stockpile can continue to be enlarged at a time when there is no evidence of continued production of plutonium at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

    North Korea watchers in South Korea are speculating various dates for a possible nuclear test, with some predicting it could happen as early as this week and others choosing days just before the Feb. 16 birthday of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

    There is no way to determine when North Korea will conduct a nuclear test, said analyst Shim BeomChul at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul. U.S. spy satellites "can detect objects 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) in size on the ground but they cannot detect what's happening underground," he said.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/confirming-north-korean-n-test-almost-impossible-132819296.html

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    In-brain monitoring shows memory network

    Jan. 29, 2013 ? Working with patients with electrodes implanted in their brains, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have shown for the first time that areas of the brain work together at the same time to recall memories. The unique approach promises new insights into how we remember details of time and place.

    "Previous work has focused on one region of the brain at a time," said Arne Ekstrom, assistant professor at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience. "Our results show that memory recall involves simultaneous activity across brain regions." Ekstrom is senior author of a paper describing the work published Jan. 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

    Ekstrom and UC Davis graduate student Andrew Watrous worked with patients being treated for a severe seizure condition by neurosurgeon Dr. Nitin Tandon and his UTHealth colleagues.

    To pinpoint the origin of the seizures in these patients, Tandon and his team place electrodes on the patient's brain inside the skull. The electrodes remain in place for one to two weeks for monitoring.

    Six such patients volunteered for Ekstrom and Watrous' study while the electrodes were in place. Using a laptop computer, the patients learned to navigate a route through a virtual streetscape, picking up passengers and taking them to specific places. Later, they were asked to recall the routes from memory.

    Correct memory recall was associated with increased activity across multiple connected brain regions at the same time, Ekstrom said, rather than activity in one region followed by another.

    However, the analysis did show that the medial temporal lobe is an important hub of the memory network, confirming earlier studies, he said.

    Intriguingly, memories of time and of place were associated with different frequencies of brain activity across the network. For example, recalling, "What shop is next to the donut shop?" set off a different frequency of activity from recalling "Where was I at 11 a.m.?"

    Using different frequencies could explain how the brain codes and recalls elements of past events such as time and location at the same time, Ekstrom said.

    "Just as cell phones and wireless devices work at different radio frequencies for different information, the brain resonates at different frequencies for spatial and temporal information," he said.

    The researchers hope to explore further how the brain codes information in future work.

    The neuroscientists analyzed their results with graph theory, a new technique that is being used for studying networks, ranging from social media connections to airline schedules.

    "Previously, we didn't have enough data from different brain regions to use graph theory. This combination of multiple readings during memory retrieval and graph theory is unique," Ekstrom said.

    Placing electrodes inside the skull provides clearer resolution of electrical signals than external electrodes, making the data invaluable for the study of cognitive functions, Tandon said. "This work has yielded important insights into the normal mechanisms underpinning recall, and provides us with a framework for the study of memory dysfunction in the future."

    Additional authors of the study are Chris Connor and Thomas Pieters at the UTHealth Medical School. The work was supported by the Sloan Foundation, the Hellman Foundation and the NIH.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis.

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


    Journal Reference:

    1. Andrew J Watrous, Nitin Tandon, Chris R Conner, Thomas Pieters, Arne D Ekstrom. Frequency-specific network connectivity increases underlie accurate spatiotemporal memory retrieval. Nature Neuroscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nn.3315

    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/~3/-ao3Knadd_w/130129144817.htm

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    Study shows potential of differentiated iPS cells in cell therapy without immune rejection

    Study shows potential of differentiated iPS cells in cell therapy without immune rejection

    Monday, January 28, 2013

    A new study from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in an experimental model were not rejected when transplanted back into genetically identical recipients. The study, published online in Cell Stem Cell, demonstrates the potential of utilizing iPS cells to develop cell types that could offer treatment for a wide range of conditions, including diabetes, liver and lung diseases, without the barrier of immune rejection.

    Ashleigh Boyd, DPhil, and Neil Rodrigues, DPhil, the study's senior authors, are assistant professors of dermatology at BUSM and researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center (BMC). They also are lead investigators at the National Institutes of Health's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) at Roger Williams Medical Center, a clinical and research affiliate of BUSM.

    iPS cells can be developed from adult cell types, such as skin or blood, by returning them to a stem cell state using genetic manipulation. iPS cells are capable of maturing (differentiating) into all the specific cell types in the body, making them a powerful tool for biological research and a source of tissues for transplantation based therapies. Given that iPS cells can be made in a patient-specific manner, there should be great potential for them to be transplanted back into the same patient without rejection. Yet a study published in Nature in 2011 demonstrated that iPS cells transplanted in the stem cell state were rejected in genetically identical recipients.

    "The Nature study provocatively suggested that tissues derived from patient-specific iPS cells may be immunogenic after transplantation. However, it never directly assessed the immunogenicity of the therapeutically relevant cell types that could be utilized in regenerative medicine and transplantation," said Rodrigues.

    The BUSM researchers evaluated this matter by taking adult cells from an experimental model and deriving iPS cells from them. They then differentiated the iPS cells into three cell types: neuronal (nerve); hepatocytes (liver); and endothelial (blood vessel lining) cells. These three cell types represent each of the three germ layers present during embryonic development ? mesoderm, ectoderm and endoderm. Cells from these layers differentiate and ultimately develop into the body's tissue and organ systems. Using experiments to mirror the potential clinical use of patient-specific iPS cells in cell therapy, the team transplanted each of the differentiated cells into a genetically identical experimental model and found no signs of an elevated immune response or indications of rejection.

    The study results suggest that using patient-specific iPS cells should overcome issues of immune rejection in transplantation, which will be a significant problem for potential embryonic stem cell-derived therapies. Immune rejection in transplantation is treated clinically by immunosuppressive drugs but they can have serious side-effects, including the risk of developing cancer.

    "If the use of immunosuppressive drugs can be avoided, as may be the case for patient-specific iPS cell based therapies, it would be preferable. Our results are very promising and future work should be directed at assessing whether tissues derived from human iPS cells will similarly lack immunogenicity," said Boyd.

    ###

    Boston University Medical Center: http://www.bmc.org

    Thanks to Boston University Medical Center for this article.

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

    This press release has been viewed 26 time(s).

    Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126481/Study_shows_potential_of_differentiated_iPS_cells_in_cell_therapy_without_immune_rejection

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    Deadly smoke, lone blocked exit: over 230 die in Brazil club blaze

    SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? A fast-moving fire roared through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.

    It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.

    Firefighters responding to the blaze at first had trouble getting inside the Kiss nightclub because bodies partially blocked the club's entryway.

    Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by band members started the blaze in Santa Maria, a university city of about 260,000 people. Officials at a news conference said the cause was still under investigation ? though police inspector Sandro Meinerz told the Agencia Estado news agency the band was to blame for a pyrotechnics show and that manslaughter charges could be filed.

    Television images showed black smoke billowing out of the Kiss nightclub as shirtless young men who had attended a university party joined firefighters using axes and sledgehammers to pound at windows and hot-pink exterior walls to free those trapped inside.

    Bodies of the dead and injured were strewn in the street and panicked screams filled the air as medics tried to help. There was little to be done; officials said most of those who died were suffocated by smoke within minutes.

    Within hours a community gym was a horror scene, with body after body lined up on the floor, partially covered with black plastic as family members identified kin.

    Outside the gym police held up personal objects ? a black purse, a blue high-heeled shoe ? as people seeking information on loved ones looked crowded around, hoping not to recognize anything being shown them.

    Guido Pedroso Melo, commander of the city's fire department, told the O Globo newspaper that firefighters had a hard time getting inside the club because "there was a barrier of bodies blocking the entrance."

    Teenagers sprinted from the scene after the fire began, desperately seeking help. Others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms. Many of the victims were under 20 years old, including some minors.

    "There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic, and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.

    The fire spread so fast inside the packed club that firefighters and ambulances could do little to stop it, Silva said.

    Another survivor, Michele Pereira, told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage when members of the band lit flares that started the conflagration.

    "The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward," she said. "At that point, the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak, but in a matter of seconds it spread."

    Guitarist Rodrigo Martins told Radio Gaucha that the band, Gurizada Fandangueira, started playing at 2:15 a.m. "and we had played around five songs when I looked up and noticed the roof was burning"

    "It might have happened because of the Sputnik, the machine we use to create a luminous effect with sparks. It's harmless, we never had any trouble with it.

    "When the fire started, a guard passed us a fire extinguisher, the singer tried to use it but it wasn't working"

    He confirmed that accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, died, while the five other members made it out safely.

    Police Maj. Cleberson Braida Bastianello said by telephone that the toll had risen to 233 with the death of a hospitalized victim. He said earlier that the death toll was likely made worse because the nightclub appeared to have just one exit through which patrons could exit.

    Survivors said security guards briefly tried to block people from exiting the club. Brazilian bars routinely make patrons pay their entire tab at the end of the night before they are allowed to leave.

    Officials earlier counted 232 bodies that had been brought for identification to a gymnasium in Santa Maria, which is located at the southern tip of Brazil, near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay.

    Federal Health Minister Alexandre Padhilha told a news conference that most of the 117 people treated in hospitals had been poisoned by gases they breathed during the fire. Only a few suffered serious burns, he said.

    Brazil President Dilma Rousseff arrived to visit the injured after cutting short her trip to a Latin American-European summit in Chile.

    "It is a tragedy for all of us," Rousseff said.

    Most of the dead apparently were asphyxiated, according to Dr. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a professor at the medical school of the Federal University of Santa Maria who went to the city's Caridade Hospital to help victims.

    Beltrame said he was told the club had been filled far beyond its capacity during a party for students at the university's agronomy department.

    Survivors, police and firefighters gave the same account of a band member setting the ceiling's soundproofing ablaze, he said.

    "Large amounts of toxic smoke quickly filled the room, and I would say that at least 90 percent of the victims died of asphyxiation," Beltrame told The Associated Press by telephone.

    "The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit. At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom. Apparently they confused the bathroom door with the exit door."

    In the hospital, the doctor "saw desperate friends and relatives walking and running down the corridors looking for information," he said, calling it "one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed."

    Rodrigo Moura, identified by the newspaper Diario de Santa Maria as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.

    Santa Maria Mayor Cezar Schirmer declared a 30-day mourning period, and Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, said officials were investigating the cause of the disaster.

    The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro.

    Sunday's fire also appeared to be the worst at a nightclub since December 2000, when a welding accident reportedly set off a fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309.

    In 2004, at least 194 people died in a fire at an overcrowded nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Seven members of a band were sentenced to prison for starting the flames.

    A blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, killed 152 people in December 2009 after an indoor fireworks display ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches.

    Similar circumstances led to a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people in the United States. Pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White set ablaze cheap soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling of a Rhode Island music venue.

    The band performing in Santa Maria, Gurizada Fandangueira, plays a driving mixture of local Brazilian country music styles. Guitarist Martin told Radio Gaucha the musicians are already seeing hostile messages.

    "People on the social networks are saying we have to pay for what happened," he said. "I'm afraid there could be retaliation".

    ___

    Sibaja reported from Brasilia. Associated Press Writers Stan Lehman and Bradley Brooks contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deadly-smoke-lone-blocked-exit-230-die-brazil-201703681.html

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    Senate nears vote on $50.5B bill for Sandy victims

    WASHINGTON (AP) ? Three months after Superstorm Sandy devastated coastal areas in much of the Northeast, the Senate moved Monday toward passing a $50.5 billion emergency package of relief and recovery aid after House Republicans stripped it of spending unrelated to disasters.

    Despite opposition from conservatives concerned about adding billions of dollars more to the nation's debt, Northeast lawmakers were optimistic about having the 60 votes needed to win Senate approval and send the long-delayed package to President Barack Obama, who has said he would sign it. The House passed the bill two weeks ago.

    Lawmakers say the money is urgently needed to start rebuilding homes, businesses, public transportation facilities and other infrastructure damaged by the Oct. 29 storm, one of the worst ever to strike the Northeast. Sandy is blamed for more than 130 deaths in the U.S. and tens of billions of dollars in property damages, particularly in New York and New Jersey.

    "There's no excuse for delay," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. "We need to get assistance to victims of Sandy as soon as possible.

    The biggest chunk of money is $16 billion for Housing and Urban Development Department community development block grants. Of that, about $12 billion will be shared among Sandy victims as well as those from other federally declared disasters in 2011-2013. The remaining $3.9 billion is solely for Sandy-related projects.

    More than $11 billion will go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief aid fund for shelter, restoring power and other storm-interrupted utility services and meeting other immediate needs arising from Sandy and other disasters. Another $10 billion is devoted to repairing New York and New Jersey transit systems and making them more resistant to future storms.

    "The funding in this bill is urgently needed," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., as Senate debate began. "Hundreds of thousands of families have seen their lives turned upside down."

    Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., said Republicans weren't seeking "to undermine" help for Sandy victims, but instead wre trying to make sure that the money was actually being spent on emergency needs.

    "We're simply trying to say we need some standards," Coats said.

    Earlier in January, Congress approved and Obama signed a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program, which has received well more than 100,000 flood insurance claims from businesses, homeowners and businesses related to Sandy. Added to the new, $50.5 billion package, the total is is roughly in line with the $60.4 billion that Obama requested in December.

    Sandy damaged or destroyed 305,000 housing units in New York and more than 265,000 businesses were disrupted there, according to officials. In New Jersey, more than 346,000 households were destroyed or damaged.

    The aid package was greased for passage before the last Congress adjourned and the new one came in on Jan. 3. But Speaker John Boehner refused to bring it to the floor after two-thirds of House Republicans voted against a "fiscal cliff" deficit reduction deal raising taxes on couples making more than $450,000 a year while deferring some $24 billion in spending cuts to have been shared between defense and domestic programs.

    The ruckus after the Senate had passed an earlier $60.4 billion Sandy relief package by a nearly 2-to-1 margin on Dec. 28 exposed deep political divisions within Republican ranks. "There's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims, the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner," Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fumed at the time.

    Top House Republicans responded by bringing new Sandy aid legislation to the floor under ground rules designed to win over as many Republicans as possible while retaining support from Democrats eager to approve as much in disaster aid as possible.

    GOP leaders cut spending in the Senate bill unrelated to disasters. One was to transfer $1 billion for training Iraqi policemen to instead be used on bolstering security at U.S. diplomatic missions abroad in the wake of a Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed.

    Also deleted was $188 million for an Amtrak expansion project that included new, long-planned tunnels from New Jersey to Penn Station in Manhattan, and another $150 million for fisheries disasters that states such as Alaska and Mississippi could have shared.

    After all the cost-cutting, 179 House Republicans still voted against the disaster aid package with only 49 favoring it. GOP leaders had to rely on yes votes from 192 Democrats to pass it.

    As with past natural disasters, the Sandy aid bill does not offset the aid with spending cuts, meaning the aid comes at the cost of higher deficits. The lone exception is an offset provision requiring that $3.4 billion for Army Corps of Engineers projects to protect against future storms be covered by unspecified spending cuts of an equal amount in other programs before next October.

    Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, sought to amend the final package Monday with a provision to cut federal programs across the board by one-half of 1 percent through 2021 as a way to prevent the disaster aid from swelling the U.S. debt. Democrats were optimistic Lee would be unable to muster 60 votes needed to prevail.

    As of Monday, FEMA said it spent $3.3 billion in disaster relief money for shelter, restoring power and other immediate needs arising from the storm.

    New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Ohio, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia have shared that money.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senate-nears-vote-50-5b-bill-sandy-victims-181335785--finance.html

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    রবিবার, ২৭ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

    How to Choose the Best Franchise Business in the Philippines ...

    Many Filipinos are on the hunt for extra income. But since the Philippines is a country where unemployment is rampant, most people are not likely to find an extra job. That?s why buying a business franchise has become a popular choice among Pinoys.

    Franchising is relatively simple because there?s no product to invent or a business model to test. A business that has opened its doors to franchising already has the track record of earning profits. All the franchisee has to do is choose the location and run the franchise efficiently.

    Still, success is not guaranteed even with a franchise. And if one is not careful, a franchisee can easily lose his or her capital because the business proved lackluster for some reason. So choosing which franchise business to pursue is very important. There?s not a lot of freely available data which can help investors decide which business will succeed. Mostly it?s about gut feel.

    Improving Your Chances

    But if you're going to bet a considerable portion of your savings to a business venture, you would want to get the best information available to help in your decision. Although there can be many factors that will determine the fate of a franchise business, due diligence in doing the preliminary research will help you lessen the odds of failure.

    If you feel like creating a checklist for this purpose, make sure you?ve got the items that we will discuss below covered. It?s not everything there is to check but it?s an essential list that I have learned from experience running a business franchise. It wasn?t ultra-successful but the franchise I owned taught me quite a lot about running a business.

    1. You should be amazed by the product

    I have written about selling and why it is the most important skill in business. When you?ve got a franchise of a business, you definitely have to give enough attention to how effectively you sell. But in order for you to become passionate about selling a product, it should be extraordinary in your own assessment. If you?re not convinced your product or service is any good, your effort to sell it will not succeed.

    If you know your friends will like your product, you would eagerly endorse it. Because even without any selling experience, we all sometimes vouch for good products that easily convince others to buy. It?s a matter of being genuinely amazed by a product that ultimately attracts others to it as well.

    2. Know exactly the target market

    If you try selling something to the wrong market, you can end up with a lot of disappointments. Selling expensive stuff to a place frequented by Class D & E consumers, for example, would not work at all because no one will buy. It doesn?t matter how great the product you?re selling, if you?re pitching it to the wrong crowd your efforts will be in vain.

    For inexperienced entrepreneurs, seeing a product sell in one place can lead them to wrongly conclude it can sell everywhere. But if you?re going to be really smart and careful, you?ll have to know the consumers who are drawn to the product. Study who they are and how you can reach them. Considering your franchise business prospect and the market that it serves, where would be the best place to locate your business?

    3. Choose the best location

    Because it?s difficult to select a location for a business, many business owners tend to justify going for a place that they?ve found affordable even if further examination reveals some dangers. Sometimes the only factor being looked at is foot traffic. Although the amount of people who will pass by to see your products is important, it?s not as important if they?re not the right people to buy them.

    Just because location is very important, a future franchise owner should assess a business based on the locations he is able to tap. Usually, distance from the owner and rental costs will dictate what locations are possible. Given the possibilities, you can eliminate franchises that will not suit any of the locations you can think of.

    4. Analyze cost projections

    The cost of doing business is always a critical factor to consider in choosing a franchise. Doing your homework to make cost estimates will help you assess your potential to earn profits. It will also clearly spell out to you how much you need to sell if you want to succeed. The higher your expenses the lower your profit becomes.

    Knowing where the expenses will go can also help with ideas for cost-reduction measures later on. But ultimately, it will help in assessing the risk of not selling well by showing how much loss you may incur. Knowing these things can really help you to decide if the business is something your risk appetite is ready for.

    5. Know the marketing plan

    Effective selling is actively done. So it's wrong to think that a franchise business will not need any marketing activity. Business owners who fail to understand this are often forced to take action when sales struggle to meet the target.

    As a future franchise owner, understanding how your products will get to the attention of your buyers is necessary. Foot traffic will only get you so far. Getting serious attention as opposed to a useless glance from potential customers can only be achieved with good marketing. The franchisor should present their marketing plan and also help you create one for those nearer your location.

    6. Study your competitive edge

    You can have great products and a pretty good location but if your product isn't competitive enough, you will do badly. Oftentimes, competition is unavoidable. You don't need to shun them all the time. But you do have to learn your competitive edge over the others so that you can capitalize on your advantage.

    A product that doesn't have a competitive edge based on your assessment should be avoided. Even if the terms of the franchise are favorable, it shouldn't lure you to make the wrong judgment.

    7. Learn from other franchise owners

    Last but definitely not the least, existing franchise owners are a great resource of information. Find them and talk to them. Invite them to lunch if you can. Their insights into the business are better than anyone else. You can use their experience to make a determination to buy the franchise or not.

    Perfect information will never be available in any decision-making process. Same is true in choosing a franchise business. But it shouldn't stop you from knowing as much as you can before you go ahead. Oftentimes, your chances of success are made better because of it.

    *Photo Credit: ekkun (Creative Commons)

    Source: http://www.perakoto.com/2013/01/how-to-choose-best-franchise-business-philippines.html

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    Pet Dental Care Tips ? Eagle Hardware Farm & Ranch

    Pet Dental Care Tips

    caseysteeth e1359219137686 768x1024 Pet Dental Care Tips

    Yellow teeth and plaque buildup mean your pet needs a visit to the vet.

    Chew on this?did you know that 8 out of every 10 pets over the age of three suffers from gum (periodontal) disease? ?Proper prevention and dental treatment is necessary, without it your pets can suffer from tooth decay, bleeding gums, tooth loss, and even internal organ damage.

    February is National Pet Care Dental Month. ?Take the time to know the signs of oral disease in pets:

    • Bad breath. ?Your pets breath will not smell great, but persistent bad breath is a sign that your pet needs a dental visit.
    • Red, bleeding, swollen, or receding gums
    • Yellow-brown plaque or tartar on your pets teeth
    • Loose, infected for missing teeth

    What can you do to prevent oral disease?

    • Schedule annual wellness visits to your veterinarian, including dental visits and cleaning.
    • If you groom your pet monthly, see if your groomer offers teeth cleanings! ?Many of them offer this service.
    • Brush your pets teeth regularly! ?Pick up pet tooth brushes and tooth paste at your local pet store.
    • Feed pet food that is specifically designed and formatted to for tartar control and plaque buildup.
      • Choose kibble over wet pet food. ?Kibble is better for their teeth
      • Avoid table scraps and human food. ?Often these foods get stuck in your pets teeth and gums

    Keeping your pet healthy includes their teeth! ?Start you pet dental plan this month!

    ?

    Source: http://www.eaglehardwarefarmandranch.com/news-updates/pet-dental-care-tips-2013-01-3143

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    New lingo for consumers: health overhaul glossary

    President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law has spawned its own jargon. With the law finally about to take full effect, consumers might want to get familiar with some of the terms:

    Affordable Care Act ? The most common formal name for the health care law. Its full title is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA, pronounced (Pea-PUH-kah). Opponents still deride the law as "Obamacare," but Obama has embraced that term, saying it shows he cares.

    Employer mandate ? A federal requirement that companies with 50 or more workers pay a penalty to the government if one of their workers obtains taxpayer subsidized coverage through the law. Effective Jan. 1, 2014. Intended to keep companies from "dumping" employees into public coverage.

    Individual mandate ? A federal requirement that virtually everyone in the United State has health insurance, either through an employer, a government program or by buying his own plan. Effective Jan. 1, 2014. Exemptions for financial hardship and religious objections. Does not apply to illegal immigrants. People who ignore the mandate will face fines from Internal Revenue Service.

    Essential health benefits ? Basic health benefits that most health insurance plans will have to cover starting in 2014. They include office visits, emergency services, hospitalization, rehab care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, prescriptions, lab tests, prevention, maternal and newborn care, and pediatric care.

    Exchanges ? Online health insurance marketplaces in each state where consumers can get private health insurance, subsidized by the government. Open enrollment starts Oct. 1, and the coverage takes effect Jan. 1, 2014. Exchanges can be run by the states, the federal government, or a state-federal partnership. Small businesses will have access to their own exchanges.

    Medicaid expansion ? The health care law also expands the federal-state safety-net program to cover more low-income people. Medicaid is expected to account for close to half of the 30 million uninsured people who, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, eventually will gain coverage through the law. The federal government will pay the full cost of the new coverage from 2014-2016, then phase down to 90 percent. States are free to reject the expansion. In those states, many adults below the poverty level would remain uninsured.

    Metal levels ?The four levels of coverage available through exchange plans, called bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. Bronze plans feature the lowest monthly premiums, but cover only 60 percent of average costs. Platinum plans cover 90 percent of expected costs.

    Pre-existing condition ? An ongoing or past health problem. Currently insurers can use pre-existing conditions to deny or restrict coverage, or charge more. Those practices will be barred by federal law starting Jan. 1, 2014, and insurers will have to accept all applicants.

    Tax credits ? Government health insurance subsidies for individuals will come in the form of tax credits. The money will be paid directly to the consumer's health plan. The subsidies are based on income. Each year, people will have to "true up" with the IRS to make sure they got the right amount. People who receive too generous a tax credit may owe money back to the government.

    Tax penalty ? The fine levied on individuals who disregard the individual insurance mandate. It starts small and gets bigger in subsequent years. In 2014 it's $95 or 1 percent of taxable income. By 2016, it's $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income, whichever is greater. Thereafter it's adjusted for inflation.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lingo-consumers-health-overhaul-glossary-131735322--finance.html

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    শনিবার, ২৬ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

    Round 2 for Sloppy Joe's bar, a Havana original

    HAVANA (AP) ? A half-century later, Jose Rafa Malem remembers the balmy breezes blowing through the bar's arching porticos, the grain of the tall wood stools, the whiff of Pedro Domecq brandy on his father's breath.

    And how could he forget the tangy ground-beef-and-tomato-sauce sandwiches synonymous with what was then one of Havana's hippest hangouts, playfully dubbed Sloppy Joe's? "I ate so many, I got tired of them," said Rafa, a 59-year-old Havana native who grew up to become a bartender.

    Soon, Rafa will be able to relive those boyhood memories as the original Sloppy Joe's reopens in Havana's historic quarter, giving residents and tourists from all over the chance to belly up to the same bar that served thirsty celebrities such as Rock Hudson, Babe Ruth and Ernest Hemingway.

    It's part of an ambitious revitalization project by the Havana City Historian's Office, which since the 1990s has transformed block after block of crumbling ruins into rehabilitated buildings along vibrant cobblestone streets.

    The effort has helped finance Cuba's socialist present by drawing tourists fascinated by its pre-socialist past, from colonial palaces of the 18th century to celebrity hangouts of the 1950s.

    "For the people of this city, I think it's very interesting and very important to rescue a place that has so much history and is so recognized around the world," said Ernesto Iznaga, manager of the born-again Joe's, which will be run by state-owned tourism concern Habaguanex. "To restore it to how it was before."

    Sloppy Joe's was founded in 1918 by a Galician immigrant named Jose Abeal Otero who purchased a grocery store in Old Havana after years of tending bar in New Orleans and Miami. Legend has it the sobriquet comes from the place's grubbiness and Abeal's American nickname, Joe.

    Rafa's father was a close friend of longtime bartender Fabio Delgado and took his boy there on Sunday afternoons beginning in the late '50s. During the day, Rafa said, Joe's was a mellow family joint where kids slurped ice cream and Coca-Cola while mom and dad chatted over more potent spirits.

    Employees made sandwiches to order behind the black mahogany bar, polished to a high shine and purportedly once the longest in Latin America at about 59 feet (18 meters).

    After dark, the place filled up with Americans on vacation.

    Abeal's affable personality and familiarity with English from his years in the States helped make Joe's a favorite among tipsy Yanks as far back as the Prohibition era of 1920-1933, along with the nearby El Floridita bar, the reputed birthplace of the daiquiri cocktail, and La Bodeguita del Medio, home of the minty, rum-infused mojito.

    As much as any other place in Havana, Joe's exemplified the island's lure as a playground for Americans.

    "No Havana resident ever went to Sloppy Joe's," novelist Graham Greene wrote in his 1958 spy-farce "Our Man in Havana," ''because it was the rendezvous of tourists."

    It was a stylish clientele compared with the flip-flop and tank-top tourists who swarm Cuba and other Caribbean islands today. One illustrated color postcard from the era shows gentlemen in fedoras and pinstripes laughing on barstools alongside white-gloved ladies. Many were wealthy, famous and looking for a good time.

    Frank Sinatra. Ava Gardner. Nat King Cole. The list of patrons reads like a Who's Who from Hollywood's Golden Age. Rafa said his own brushes with celebrity included Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams and Cuban crooner Benny More. Swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn, who reportedly got in a fistfight at the bar with an overly admiring fan, was enough of a regular that Joe's named a cocktail for him.

    Ownership later passed to another "Joe," Jose Garcia.

    But last call came in 1965 as Fidel Castro's communist government was nationalizing nearly all private businesses, and Joe's has been shuttered for nearly five decades.

    When restoration work began in 2010, laborers discovered that the wood floors, rotten from humidity and years of neglect, had collapsed into the basement. The wooden bar, meanwhile, had splintered into three pieces.

    "It was in ruins," Iznaga said.

    He and his crew have spent two years bringing the watering hole back to life. To keep Joe's as faithful to the original as possible, they've examined historic photos and talked to old-timers like Rafa who remember the way it was.

    Messy ground-beef sandwiches will be on the new menu, naturally. Iznaga said they apparently originated as an Abeal family recipe, though others have also claimed they invented them.

    Also on the menu will be the Errol Flynn, an icy vodka and tomato-juice concoction garnished with a celery spear. Among the few changes is that the new bar will be air-conditioned for the comfort of sweaty patrons.

    At the intersection of Animas and Zulueta streets on a recent morning, dozens of workers buzzed about painting and finishing the bar's wood surfaces. A Sloppy Joe's sign hung from the building's corner, wrapped in plastic and ready to be unveiled for opening day.

    Construction setbacks have delayed the re-opening from Iznaga's original target around New Year's, and the first fingers of Havana Club rum will likely flow sometime in February.

    Across the Florida Straits, where rum-runner and speakeasy operator Joe Russell named his own bar Sloppy Joe's in the 1930s at the suggestion of his friend Ernest Hemingway, operators are delighted that the original is being reborn.

    "It's exciting because obviously our history is tied into their history," said Donna Edwards, brand manager at the Key West Joe's, which recently celebrated 75 years at its current location. "Hemingway and Russell, they would frequent Sloppy Joe's when they were in Havana. It's a piece of history, and our history is now coming to life again."

    ___

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

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/round-2-sloppy-joes-bar-havana-original-175255769--finance.html

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    Getting Around Green: Consider A Motorcycle - Green Living Ideas ...

    Join GLI's 10,000 other followers on Twitter!

    Our vehicles emit a lot of pollutants that are damaging for the environment, and the extent of pollution depends upon the type of vehicle.Cars are our everyday vehicles, but when it comes to a combination of fun and efficiency a motorcycle is the way to go! If you think you can handle a bike then you should go for it and if you just want to be a little greener here are some benefits of this vehicle:

    Green advantages of motorcycles

    1.?They emit less carbon dioxide

    Motorcycles consume less fuel than cars, which means their production of carbon dioxide is also less. As the importance given to fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions increases with time, motorcycles provide a greener option. They also take less space on the road, reducing the congestion and overall automobile emissions.

    2. Leaner manufacturing and lower embodied energy

    Motorcycles require fewer infrastructures to be manufactured compared to cars. The embodied energy of a motorcycle, just from its much smaller mass, is much lower than a car, all else being equal. In addition, if you consider the contribution of building separate lanes for motorcycles and cars, there?s a huge difference in production of greenhouse gases. If separate lanes are constructed for motorcycles as we have roads for cars, they would emit four times less greenhouse gases to maintain and build.

    3.?Consume less rare earths

    Rare earths are being consumed at a fast pace, and the demand is increasing from different industries, including automotive. The average Prius is carrying around about 10 pounds of lanthanum as part of the battery. A motorcycle uses little to none in manufacturing because battery powered bikes are not widely produced and gas powered bikes are so efficient.

    4.?Manufacturers are using catalytic converters

    Motorcycle manufacturers have realized the role they have to play for attaining a greener environment and are putting catalytic converters in the vehicle, which does a great job at reducing the pollution emitted. They prevent harmful elements from the motorcycle?s exhaust from being released into the air, and converts nitrogen oxide into nitrogen and oxygen before the release.Although these converters does not operate at 100% reduction they are pretty close and factor that into the already low-emission engines of motorcycles and you have a very green ride.

    5.?They?ve smaller engines

    The engine of any vehicle is its more prized asset, and as motorcycles have a smaller engine than other vehicles, it uses less energy and fuel. Engine parts on motorcycles are designed to be incredibly efficient because there is no space for wasted parts. From the carburetor to the o-ring a motorcycle engine can be viewed as the pinnacle of individual transportation efficiency.

    6. They are awesome!?

    A main reason why people own motorcycles is because they are awesome! Not only are they incredibly fun, but its hard not to look cool on a motorcycle too! The future of motorcycles could become even more green thanks to solar technology on bikes! Right now you can get a super fun and efficient bike but imagine having a solar powered personal transportation vehicle, the future is bright!

    Apart from all the environmental benefits of considering a motorcycle, there are other advantages as well. They are more affordable in terms of traveling while spending less on fuel. Even existing car owners can take advantage of a motorcycle, keeping their cars for when they need more space, but using the bike for getting around, which will lead to increased savings and fun.

    Photo from damonabnormal on Flickr Creative Commons

    Source: http://greenlivingideas.com/2013/01/25/getting-around-green-consider-a-motorcycle/

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    শুক্রবার, ২৫ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

    involuntariness handover: Discount Web Hosting Plans Added ...


    Houston, Texas (PRWEB) January 24, 2013

    Website hosting is one of the requirements of owning a website. Entrepreneurs, small business owners and companies selling online make use of various hosting features on a daily basis. The SuperCheapDomainNames.com company has added discount web hosting plans to its online services.

    These plans are designed to offer a low price point for new or existing businesses. Plans can be purchased in monthly or annual configurations. Discount codes from GoDaddy are accepted for these new plans.

    The use of social media websites has not decreased the amount of websites that are constructed annually according to research. New Internet domain name extensions have been approved to help fill the gap leftover from the shortage of available .com and .net extensions. These new extensions are expected to be available for registration in 2013. The new hosting plans that are now available are designed to help companies of all sizes save money.

    Streaming online audio and video content is now possible with faster web servers. This technology has been updated annually to improve video and audio quality. The dedicated packages for hosting that are now available from SuperCheapDomainNames.com includes multimedia streaming. These inclusions are important for companies that deliver streaming content to website visitors. Each server account now includes a generous amount of streaming bandwidth to make delivery of audio and video data effortless and error-free.

    To go with the cheaper server packages, a reduction in the domain name registration costs was added this month. The current price before coupon codes are applied is $ 9.99 for any available .com, .net or .org extension. This low price can be reduced downward with any GoDaddy 2013 coupon codes found online.

    This special offer for reduced prices for company services is expected to remain in place through the first quarter of this year. The news announcement for the domain price drop can be found on the Internet at http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/Cheap-Domains-Website-Launches-at-4210424.php.

    Additional services that are provided by this company online includes SSL certificates, dedicated IP addresses, email services and SEO services for small businesses. Any of these services can be explored on the company website by business owners or individuals.

    About Super Cheap Domain Names

    The Super Cheap Domain Names company has been offering its discounted services since 2010 online. As a smaller and more focused company, the packages that are offered are priced to help businesses of all sizes. The useful services like domain name registration, hosting and SSL certificates are designed by this company to help provide an easy way for anyone to start selling products or services through a website. The Super Cheap Domain Names company frequently discounts its pricing to match the demands by small business owners in all industries.

    Source: http://michiganwebsitedesignllc.org/?p=344

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    Source: http://involuntariness-handover.blogspot.com/2013/01/discount-web-hosting-plans-added-online.html

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    Assistant Accountant-Tralee | Chase Resourcing

    Job Title

    Assistant Accountant- Tralee

    Salary

    Depending on Experience

    Location

    Tralee, Co. Kerry

    Remuneration

    This is a fantastic opportunity to progress in your accounting career Salary is dependent on experience

    Start Date

    ASAP but will wait for the right candidate

    Job Description

    Do you want to become part of the diverse and dynamic team in one of the world?s leading Financial Institutions?

    Chase Resourcing are delighted to announce on behalf of our Tralee based client a position for Assistant Accountant

    This is an amazing opportunity to progress in your career and gain invaluable experience in an internationally based and world renowned company

    Job Description:

    As an assistant accountant you will be required to assist in and complete the following duties

    • Work in Conjunction with our chartered accountant to ensure such tasks as payroll and reports are completed accurately and effectively for our New York based control team
    • Invoice processing and payment
    • Manage cost incurred by the company including Pension Schemes, Payroll, Benefits and Travel Expenses
    • Prepare Bi monthly Vat Returns/Monthly Financial Reports
    • Contract and vendor management
    • Research accounting issues and report presentations for management
    • Maintain central repository of all payments, contracts, and other important business documents.
    • Understand and assist with Tax Reporting and Issues.
    • Special Projects accounting management as business requires.
    • Complete other tasks and administrative duties as requested

    Skills Required

    • Be able to work on one?s own initiative as well as being a team player
    • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
    • High competency excel skills? ( Pivot tables, ?if statements?, V-table look ups)
    • Public accounting or industry experience a plus

    Are you a recently qualified accountant who is looking to work in a challenging environment who accepts the dynamics and challenges of an internationally based company? If so please contact Trish immediately on 066 9762007 for more information or email a copy of your CV to trish@chase.ie for immediate review

    Like us on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest news and jobs!


    Source: http://www.chase.ie/assistant-accountant-tralee/

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    বুধবার, ২৩ জানুয়ারী, ২০১৩

    Damn This Lunar Rover Video Is Fun

    Watch as Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charlie Duke have a blast driving the lunar rover around the moon. According to NASA, the 16mm film became known as the "lunar rover Grand Prix". Make sure to expand to full screen and turn on the HD option. [NASA via Kottke] More »


    Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/w96sM3PR7lc/damn-this-lunar-rover-video-is-fun

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    Expert on Lying Provides Strategies for Business Interviews | US ...

    By US Daily Review.

    Since recording his ?Seven Signs of Lying? CD, Massachusetts? Private Investigator Michael A. Coller has been featured on several New England media venues. Appearances include: ?Chronicle,? The ABC Emmy award-winning television show hosted by Anthony Everett; ?Night Side? with Dan Rea on WBZ Boston; ?The Bax and O?Brien show? on WAQY Springfield/Hartford; and ?The Brass Ring? with Gina Ghioldi, WPKZ in Central Massachusetts. These experts agree that ?Seven Signs of Lying? is a solid, credible self-help tool and have promoted his ?H.O.N.E.S.T.Y? model to their audiences. Mr. Coller says, ?The word ?honesty? is an acronym, to help listeners easily remember the key characteristics of liars as they fabricate a story. Honesty stands for Hands, Open Posture, Nervous, Eyes, Story, Test, Ask Why.?

    The new CD gives detailed instructions on how to implement the Honesty model and places listeners at an advantage as they can practice using visual imagery before being face to face with a possible liar. It also includes a bonus: assisting employers and prospective employees in the interviewing process.

    When asked why he relaunched an already substantiated piece of self-help genre, Mr. Coller says, ?Job interviews can be challenging for both the prospective employee and employer. I was inspired to share what I know about the art of lying and its detection. What a better tool for an employer analyzing a prospective employee, or even a job seeker mentally preparing themselves for an interview.?

    Coller reports, ?Envision yourself as the hiring manager and subsequently employing someone that was eventually terminated for theft. Something during your questioning in the hiring process seemed ?just not right? but you offered them the position regardless. The new ?Seven Signs of Lying? can give employers that ?sixth sense? which will allow them to identify and isolate that potential ?white lie,? or even a critical omission by the candidate they are interviewing.?

    He continues, ?Conversely, those looking for employment may be anxious as interviews often make them feel like they are being ?cross examined.? The new ?Seven Signs of Lying? CD is a superb tool to prime candidates for this often difficult assessment and alleviate their uneasiness during this challenging inquiry. It will allow the best possible outcome for all involved in the interviewing process.?

    Source: http://usdailyreview.com/expert-on-lying-provides-strategies-for-business-interviews

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    Odd biochemistry yields lethal bacterial protein

    Jan. 22, 2013 ? While working out the structure of a cell-killing protein produced by some strains of the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, researchers stumbled on a bit of unusual biochemistry. They found that a single enzyme helps form distinctly different, three-dimensional ring structures in the protein, one of which had never been observed before.

    The new findings, reported in Nature Chemical Biology, should help scientists find new ways to target the enterococcal cytolysin protein, a "virulence factor that is associated with acute infection in humans," said University of Illinois chemistry and Institute for Genomic Biology professor Wilfred van der Donk, who conducted the study with graduate student Weixin Tang.

    Enterococcus faecalis (EN-ter-oh-cock-us faye-KAY-liss) is a normal microbial inhabitant of the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other mammals and generally does not harm its host. Some virulent strains, however, produce cytolysin (sigh-toe-LIE-sin), a protein that, once assembled, attacks other microbes and kills mammalian cells.

    "The cytolysin protein made by Enterococcus faecalis consists of two compounds that have no activity by themselves but when combined kill human cells," van der Donk said. "We know from epidemiological studies that if you are infected with a strain of E. faecalis that has the genes to make cytolysin, you have a significantly higher chance of dying from your infection." E. faecalis contributes to root canal infections, urinary tract infections, endocarditis, meningitis, bacteremia and other infections.

    Enterococcal cytolysin belongs to a class of antibiotic proteins, called lantibiotics, which have two or more sulfur-containing ring structures. Scientists had been unable to determine the three-dimensional structure of this cytolysin because the bacterium produces it at very low concentrations. Another problem that has stymied researchers is that the two protein components of cytolysin tend to clump together when put in a lab dish.

    Van der Donk and Tang got around these problems by producing the two cytolysin components separately in another bacterium, Escherichia coli (esh-uh-REE-kee-uh KOH-lie), and analyzing them separately.

    "The two components are both cyclic peptides, one with three rings and the other with two rings," van der Donk said. "Curiously, a single enzyme makes both compounds."

    In a series of experiments, the researchers found that one ring on each of the proteins adopted a (D-L) stereochemistry that is common in lantibiotics (see image, above). But the other rings all had an unusual (L-L) configuration, something van der Donk had never seen before.

    Scientists had assumed that the enzyme that shaped enterococcal cytolysin, a lantibiotic synthetase, acted like a three-dimensional mold that gave the ring structures of cytolysin the exact same stereochemistry, van der Donk said.

    "But we found that the enzyme, enterococcal cytolysin synthetase, makes the rings with different stereochemistry," he said. "I don't know of any other examples where one enzyme can make very similar products but with different stereochemistries."

    The researchers don't know how the enzyme accomplishes this feat, but found a clue in the sequence of amino acids that make up the protein rings. The chemical characteristics of the three amino acids in the middle of the ring structure and their proximity to another amino acid, a cysteine, determined whether the rings took on a D-L or L-L stereochemistry.

    The researchers tested the idea that the amino acid sequence of the cytolysin protein was guiding the stereochemistry by looking at other lantibiotic proteins with similar sequences. So far, every protein they've tested that has the same sequence characteristics conforms to the pattern they discovered, van der Donk said.

    Further tests showed that the cytolysin produced in E. coli had the same anti-microbial and cell-killing potency as the E. faecalis variety.

    "Knowing the structure of enterococcal cytolysin and having a method to produce it in relatively large quantities will allow scientists to find out how it kills human cells and, in turn, how we might fight against it," van der Donk said.

    The National Institutes of Health supported this research. Van der Donk also is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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


    Journal Reference:

    1. Weixin Tang, Wilfred A van der Donk. The sequence of the enterococcal cytolysin imparts unusual lanthionine stereochemistry. Nature Chemical Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.1162

    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/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/QFtSTogcrNo/130122122308.htm

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