CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's state news agency says a court has turned down deposed President Hosni Mubarak's request to be released from prison during an investigation into corruption charges.
The news agency MENA says the Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday ordered Mubarak to remain in jail for 15 days while the charges are probed.
Mubarak can appeal the court's decision.
The longtime autocrat was ousted during a 2011 public uprising. He has spent more than two years in detention without a final verdict in the case alleging that he is responsible for the deaths of nearly 900 protesters during the uprising.
He also has been ordered held in prison on other charges, including corruption.
With clear skies and rising temperatures around the country, the summer travel season is nearly upon us. And unless you've got money to burn or a first-born to offer, now's the time to book your travel plans. Here's how to get away without breaking the bank. More »
* Lewandowski scored four goals against Real Madrid * Poland international refuses contract extension (adds details, background) BERLIN, April 26 (Reuters) - Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski have not signed a deal, the newly-crowned champions said on Friday, shooting down widespread speculation of another imminent surprise transfer. "Bayern, as opposed to some reports, has no contract with Robert Lewandowski," the Bavarian Champions League semi-finalists said in a brief statement. ...
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's prisons service says a fire has broken out at the facility where former President Moshe Katsav is serving time.
Spokesman Itsik Gorlov said the fire erupted at a factory at Maasiyahu prison in central Israel Sunday. He had no immediate details on its cause or whether there were any casualties. He said it had not spread to the wards where prisoners are held.
Katsav has been serving a seven-year sentence since 2011 after being convicted of rape and other charges. He has denied the accusations.
Israel on Sunday was battling a series of brushfires caused by the combination of hot, dry weather and the Lag Baomer holiday, in which revelers traditionally celebrate with bonfires.
Here comes the bride? A new report claims that Kristen is telling friends she?s ready to settle down with Rob. Keep reading for more details!
This could be a huge step for?Kristen Stewart?and?Robert Pattinson! The 23-year-old actress who once had been criticized for not being open enough about her feelings is now reportedly announcing them to the world ? or at least her friends. A new report claims that during the couple?s getaway at Coachella on the weekend of April 12, Kristen was telling friends that she?s ready to take the plunge.
Kristen Stewart: Robert Pattinson & I ?Will Get Married?
K-Stew was overheard confiding in her gal pals, saying, ?Rob and I will get married,? according to the British magazine?Grazia. The?Twilight?star was reportedly explaining how her and Rob?s relationship has been going so well and that she wouldn?t be surprised if they took it to the next level.
The report adds that Kristen was also sporting a ring at Coachella that?s allegedly a ?commitment ring? given to her by Rob for her birthday. They aren?t married just yet, but they are definitely committed to each other, the source told?Grazia.
So maybe the only question left is ? will Kristen wear Converses with her wedding dress?
Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart?s Committed Relationship
In all seriousness, Rob and Kristen have been doing amazingly well since he returned from shooting?The Rover?in Australia in late March. They?ve been hanging out endlessly and when they?re out, they?re love is so much clearer than it used to be.
That outward display of affection is one of the things that Rob reportedly asked for from Kristen ? he just wanted to feel loved. And Kristen really took his words to heart, as?HollywoodLife.com?reported exclusively.??Before the thing with Rupert [Sanders], Kristen played hard to get. Not anymore. She is going out of her way to prove herself.?
And it sounds like it?s paying off! What do you think,?HollywoodLifers? Is a wedding in the near future for Rob and Kristen? Let us know!
WATCH:?Robert Pattinson Grabs Kristen Stewart?s Butt at Coachella?
??Andrew Gruttadaro
More Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart News:
Robert Pattinson: The Next Time He?s Leaving Kristen Stewart For Work Revealed
Robert Pattinson Arrives In LA ? Jets Back To Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart Asked Robert Pattinson To Attend Met Ball With Her
Here comes the bride? A new report claims that Kristen is telling friends she?s ready to settle down with Rob. Keep reading for more details!
This could be a huge step for?Kristen Stewart?and?Robert Pattinson! The 23-year-old actress who once had been criticized for not being open enough about her feelings is now reportedly announcing them to the world ? or at least her friends. A new report claims that during the couple?s getaway at Coachella on the weekend of April 12, Kristen was telling friends that she?s ready to take the plunge.
Kristen Stewart: Robert Pattinson & I ?Will Get Married?
K-Stew was overheard confiding in her gal pals, saying, ?Rob and I will get married,? according to the British magazine?Grazia. The?Twilight?star was reportedly explaining how her and Rob?s relationship has been going so well and that she wouldn?t be surprised if they took it to the next level.
The report adds that Kristen was also sporting a ring at Coachella that?s allegedly a ?commitment ring? given to her by Rob for her birthday. They aren?t married just yet, but they are definitely committed to each other, the source told?Grazia.
So maybe the only question left is ? will Kristen wear Converses with her wedding dress?
Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart?s Committed Relationship
In all seriousness, Rob and Kristen have been doing amazingly well since he returned from shooting?The Rover?in Australia in late March. They?ve been hanging out endlessly and when they?re out, they?re love is so much clearer than it used to be.
That outward display of affection is one of the things that Rob reportedly asked for from Kristen ? he just wanted to feel loved. And Kristen really took his words to heart, as?HollywoodLife.com?reported exclusively.??Before the thing with Rupert [Sanders], Kristen played hard to get. Not anymore. She is going out of her way to prove herself.?
And it sounds like it?s paying off! What do you think,?HollywoodLifers? Is a wedding in the near future for Rob and Kristen? Let us know!
WATCH:?Robert Pattinson Grabs Kristen Stewart?s Butt at Coachella?
??Andrew Gruttadaro
More Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart News:
Robert Pattinson: The Next Time He?s Leaving Kristen Stewart For Work Revealed
Robert Pattinson Arrives In LA ? Jets Back To Kristen Stewart
Kristen Stewart Asked Robert Pattinson To Attend Met Ball With Her
West Way Ranger to bag the first prize in Never A Quarrel ? Bet With Coral Sprint at Romford
West Way Ranger, the veteran, is still capable of showing his rivals the way home, and he is likely to do this thing in Never A Quarrel ? Bet With Coral Sprint, a 225 metres short race, scheduled to take place at Romford on Friday, April 26, 2013.
One should not judge him on the previous two ventures. After facing a few embarrassing defeats, the black dog raised his game, and took the runner-up place on two occasions earlier this month.
P. Young?s charge was unlucky last twice. After missing the gold medal only by three quarters of a length, he could not add the finishing touch, and ended up second by one and a half lengths.
The son of Droopys Maldini has loads of experience under his belt. He knows how to tackle the dangerous rivals. All he needs is a slice of luck and if he gets that, it will be an easy journey for him. The draw does not look a major concern, as he is standing
in the second trap.
Among his rivals are: Ravestock Buzz, Strath For Cash, Ballinakill Gene, Her Over There, and Sharons Dilemma. The contest is due to begin at 19:31 GMT. A prize of 175 pounds is reserved for the ultimate champion.
As far as Sharons Dilemma?s prospects are concerned, the draw appears to be only real plus. The black bitch was terrible last time around, when finishing sixth on the table. Ballinakill Gene is a lightly raced type, and ran well on last visit over C&D.
Her Over There is still seeking to chalk up elusive first win. The black bitch was at bottom of the chart last time around. Strath For Cash returns to former hunting ground following lay-off. She surely needs a race or two to gain some momentum.
Ravestock Buzz has been hammered lately, but this is way less demanding than what he faced on last two occasions. On his previous outing here last week, the black dog finished fourth on the chart. He is unlikely to play a major role. We wish the best of
luck to all the contenders.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.com's editorial policy.
SecondMarket’s CEO Barry Silbert just confirmed that the company had layoffs this morning. From a tipster, we had heard it was as much as one-third of the company’s headcount but SecondMarket says it was less than that. The rationale? Basically, Silbert said that the company had grown a “bloated cost structure,” from when it had a model that was based on transaction fees. SecondMarket offers liquidity to privately-held companies by letting shareholders sell equity in a manner that’s largely controlled by the companies and compliant with SEC rules. He called the decision “gut wrenching” and “stressful,” but said that the move would enable the company to have $25 million in cash in the bank and function on a break-even basis. It’s not the first time the company has had layoffs. They had to let go about 10 percent of staff last year in the wake of the Facebook IPO. The social network had made up a meaningful number of private stock transactions on the platform and when it went out to the public market, the company couldn’t justify certain positions. In spite of the loss of Facebook, SecondMarket’s overall transaction volume even grew a little bit, buoyed by other growth-stage companies that have decided to hold off on IPOs and reward their long-time employees in other ways. The company seems to be diversifying a bit beyond privately-held tech companies as well. Earlier this week, they convinced a boutique bank named First Advantage to delist itself from public markets and join SecondMarket’s platform. Here’s Silbert’s statement and the company says it’s not commenting beyond this. SecondMarket Org Changes I admit it, I screwed up. While the transition of SecondMarket from a telephone broker of illiquid assets in 2005 to the technology-driven reinvented stock market that we are today has been quite successful, I have done a poor job managing our cost structure during this transition. As a result, there are a number of high quality, hard-working SecondMarket family members who are now looking for their next challenge. So what went wrong? Reflecting on the past few years, the biggest mistake that I made was treating our cash in the bank and top line revenue as the ultimate gauge of the health of the company. The problem with that approach is that it helped obfuscate the bloated cost structure that we had in place from the period in our history when our
Just like last year, we're reporting on a revision Sony's making to its expectations for last year's profits, but this time around there's some positive news. According to Sony, selling some of the buildings it owns and a weakening yen have doubled its expected net profit from 20 billion yen announced in February to 40 billion yen ($403 million). The complete results will be announced May 9th, and despite Sony managing its first profit since 2008 investors are hoping to hear how it plans to keep the streak going with business gains next year. The PlayStation 4 is expected to headline CEO Kaz Hirai's plans for future products, we should hear just how optimistic Sony is about those prospects in a couple of weeks.
When we first reported on the leaked image of China Unicom's HTC One with its back cover off, some questioned its authenticity since the phone touts its unibody design in other parts of the world. Well, as we found out at HTC's Beijing launch event on Wednesday, the Chinese variants (802w, 802t and 802d; ¥4,888 or about $790 for 32GB) do indeed have a removable cover for access to their dual SIM slots and microSD slot. But the question is: how does that piece of metal come off? It's simple: the usual micro-SIM tray at the top left side of the phone is replaced by a latch release (close-up shot after the break), and pushing it up would pop the cover open, as pictured above.
While this may technically not qualify for the "unibody" moniker, HTC's Vice President of China Lin Zurong told us that the removable cover and its accompanying parts at the top and bottom are cut out from the same piece of aluminum; so if you mix and match covers across two Ones of the same color, the fit or texture may not feel "right." Other than that, the Chinese One feels and looks very much the same as its foreign counterpart.
And finally, we asked whether the much anticipated red HTC One will be sold in China, to which a representative replied this was originally designed with other regions -- namely Japan -- in mind, so there's no confirmation as to whether China will get it just yet. Come to think of it, wouldn't the red HTC One be a nice fit for Verizon?
The iPad's retina display offers one of the most pixel-dense screens you can buy, but unfortunately it's attached to your iPad and can't double as a high-resolution display for your PC. That is, unless you buy the part and convert it like Andrzej, an engineering student in Warsaw.
Andrzej found out that the display's part number was LP097QX1-SPA1 and found one on eBay for just $55. With a few experiments and some advanced wire-splicing, he was able to hook it up?at full resolution?to a standard PC with a standard DisplayPort connector. The DisplayPort connector was enough to power the screen, too. If you want to give this a try yourself, check out the full detail's on Andrzej's post.
Connecting an iPad retina LCD to a PC | EmerytHacks via DIY Photography
Delays in diagnosis worsen outlook for minority, uninsured pediatric retinoblastoma patientsPublic release date: 24-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Irene Sege irene.sege@childrens.harvard.edu 617-919-7379 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
MIAMI When the eye cancer retinoblastoma is diagnosed in racial and ethnic minority children whose families don't have private health insurance, it often takes a more invasive, potentially life-threatening course than in other children, probably because of delays in diagnosis, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) researchers will report at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology being held in Miami, April 24-27.
By analyzing data and tumor samples from 203 children across the United States who had been treated for retinoblastoma, the investigators found that the disease was more invasive at diagnosis in patients who were non-white, Hispanic, uninsured, or covered by Medicaid. Researchers now need to explore why the disease tends to be diagnosed later in such children and how those delays can be eliminated, said the study authors.
Retinoblastomas are tumors that develop during childhood in the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. There are about 350 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. Treatment may require surgical removal of the affected eye and, if the disease is likely to spread, follow-up chemotherapy.
"The longer that retinoblastomas grow before they're diagnosed and treated, the more invasive they become," said the study's lead author, Adam Green, MD, of DF/CHCC. "In this study, we used tumor invasiveness as an indicator of delays in disease diagnosis."
Data and tumor tissue used in the study came from pediatric retinoblastoma patients participating in a clinical trial run by the Children's Oncology Group, a consortium of more than 8,000 childhood cancer experts on three continents. All the patients had the diseased eye surgically removed, and those whose disease was deemed likely to spread received chemotherapy.
Investigators collected data on patients' insurance status, race, and ethnicity. The tumor tissue samples were examined by pathologists for signs that the tumors would metastasize.
"We correlated the demographic data with the results of the pathology exams to see if children with retinoblastoma who were non-white, Hispanic, or who did not have private health insurance were more likely to have disease invasiveness at diagnosis requiring chemotherapy in addition to surgery, a stage of disease that may carry a lower survival rate," Green said. "The answer was yes."
Of the factors most associated with invasive disease, Hispanic ethnicity had the greatest impact on risk, researchers found, raising the possibility that not speaking English as one's primary language poses a particular barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment.
"We now need to find out where in the diagnostic process the delays are occurring," said the senior author of the study, Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD, of DF/CHCC. "Is it because patients' families aren't familiar with the warning signs of the disease, because they have trouble getting to a primary care doctor or ophthalmologist for an exam, or some other factor? We hope to explore those questions in future studies."
###
Co-authors of the study include Bryan Langholz, PhD, of the University of Southern California; Murali Chintagumpala, MD, of Texas Children's Cancer Center; Patricia Chevez-Barrios, MD, of Methodist Hospital Research Institute; Daniel Albert, MD, MS, of the University of Wisconsin; and Ralph Eagle, MD, of the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia.
This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (grants U10 CA98543 and T32 CA136432).
Written by Rob Levy, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center
Since 1947, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have provided comprehensive care for children and adolescents with cancer through Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. The two Harvard Medical School affiliates share a clinical staff that delivers inpatient care at Boston Children's and outpatient therapies at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic. The Boston Children's inpatient pediatric cancer service has 33 beds, including 13 designated for stem cell transplant patients.
Boston Children's is also the site of DF/CHCC inpatient clinical translational research in pediatric malignancies and has long supported the operation of an effective and productive stem cell transplant service. It has a long history of investment in and support of both clinical and basic cancer research, with more than $7.3 million in National Cancer Institute research support and 47,000 square feet of space devoted to cancer research. It is a recognized center of excellence in angiogenesis, cellular/molecular immunology, cancer genetics, and molecular signaling research.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Delays in diagnosis worsen outlook for minority, uninsured pediatric retinoblastoma patientsPublic release date: 24-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Irene Sege irene.sege@childrens.harvard.edu 617-919-7379 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
MIAMI When the eye cancer retinoblastoma is diagnosed in racial and ethnic minority children whose families don't have private health insurance, it often takes a more invasive, potentially life-threatening course than in other children, probably because of delays in diagnosis, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) researchers will report at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology being held in Miami, April 24-27.
By analyzing data and tumor samples from 203 children across the United States who had been treated for retinoblastoma, the investigators found that the disease was more invasive at diagnosis in patients who were non-white, Hispanic, uninsured, or covered by Medicaid. Researchers now need to explore why the disease tends to be diagnosed later in such children and how those delays can be eliminated, said the study authors.
Retinoblastomas are tumors that develop during childhood in the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. There are about 350 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. Treatment may require surgical removal of the affected eye and, if the disease is likely to spread, follow-up chemotherapy.
"The longer that retinoblastomas grow before they're diagnosed and treated, the more invasive they become," said the study's lead author, Adam Green, MD, of DF/CHCC. "In this study, we used tumor invasiveness as an indicator of delays in disease diagnosis."
Data and tumor tissue used in the study came from pediatric retinoblastoma patients participating in a clinical trial run by the Children's Oncology Group, a consortium of more than 8,000 childhood cancer experts on three continents. All the patients had the diseased eye surgically removed, and those whose disease was deemed likely to spread received chemotherapy.
Investigators collected data on patients' insurance status, race, and ethnicity. The tumor tissue samples were examined by pathologists for signs that the tumors would metastasize.
"We correlated the demographic data with the results of the pathology exams to see if children with retinoblastoma who were non-white, Hispanic, or who did not have private health insurance were more likely to have disease invasiveness at diagnosis requiring chemotherapy in addition to surgery, a stage of disease that may carry a lower survival rate," Green said. "The answer was yes."
Of the factors most associated with invasive disease, Hispanic ethnicity had the greatest impact on risk, researchers found, raising the possibility that not speaking English as one's primary language poses a particular barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment.
"We now need to find out where in the diagnostic process the delays are occurring," said the senior author of the study, Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD, of DF/CHCC. "Is it because patients' families aren't familiar with the warning signs of the disease, because they have trouble getting to a primary care doctor or ophthalmologist for an exam, or some other factor? We hope to explore those questions in future studies."
###
Co-authors of the study include Bryan Langholz, PhD, of the University of Southern California; Murali Chintagumpala, MD, of Texas Children's Cancer Center; Patricia Chevez-Barrios, MD, of Methodist Hospital Research Institute; Daniel Albert, MD, MS, of the University of Wisconsin; and Ralph Eagle, MD, of the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia.
This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (grants U10 CA98543 and T32 CA136432).
Written by Rob Levy, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center
Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center
Since 1947, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have provided comprehensive care for children and adolescents with cancer through Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center. The two Harvard Medical School affiliates share a clinical staff that delivers inpatient care at Boston Children's and outpatient therapies at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic. The Boston Children's inpatient pediatric cancer service has 33 beds, including 13 designated for stem cell transplant patients.
Boston Children's is also the site of DF/CHCC inpatient clinical translational research in pediatric malignancies and has long supported the operation of an effective and productive stem cell transplant service. It has a long history of investment in and support of both clinical and basic cancer research, with more than $7.3 million in National Cancer Institute research support and 47,000 square feet of space devoted to cancer research. It is a recognized center of excellence in angiogenesis, cellular/molecular immunology, cancer genetics, and molecular signaling research.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev waits for a decision during the 2009 Golden Gloves National Tournament??The immigration status of the Boston bombings suspects may become a stumbling block for a new bill that seeks to legalize nearly 11 million immigrants and increase the number of legal immigrants to the United States.
Opponents of the bill?which was crafted by a bipartisan "Gang of Eight" in the Senate?and even some supporters, say the process of reforming the country's immigration system should be stalled until all the facts about the suspects' interactions with the immigration system are known.
Both Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the two brothers accused of the Boston Marathon bombings, emigrated to the United States legally from Russia as refugees a decade ago when they were children. The Tsarnaev family, which is ethnically Chechen, was granted asylum because it feared persecution in its home country, according to media reports.
Tamerlan's application for citizenship was put on hold in 2012 by the government, because he had been questioned by the FBI at the request of the Russian government for possible ties to Chechen terrorism, the New York Times reported. Dzhokhar's citizenship application was approved, and he naturalized in 2012.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over the bill on Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano defended immigration officials' handling of the Tsarnaevs, saying the process for granting asylum is rigorous.
"In the past four years we have increased both the number and the coverage of the vetting that goes on," Napolitano said. As things currently stand, she noted, those who seek asylum must go through multiple screening interviews and submit biometric data to be checked across government databases. If granted asylum and legal status, immigrants must go through two more interviews if they want to become citizens when they become eligible five years later.
(Asylum applicants must show that they face government-sanctioned persecution in their home country stemming from their race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a particular social group.)
Napolitano argued that the immigration reform bill would make the country safer because the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country would be brought "out of the shadows" and screened. The bill requires immigrants to pass a background check before they are eligible for temporary legal status. They must pay fines and back taxes and enroll in English classes to gain permanent legal status.
Opponents of the immigration bill have argued that the Tsarnaevs' alleged crime suggests that the current immigration system is unable to weed out potential terrorists, and that the process of crafting the bill should be slowed down to address that. If the bill is stalled until next fall, opponents hope it will be close enough to the next election that on-the-fence lawmakers will withdraw their support, effectively killing the bill. President Barack Obama has said he hopes the bill will pass this summer.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, one of the most prominent opponents of legalizing immigrants, said at Monday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the legalization process in the bill could present a national security threat.
"The background checks in this bill are insufficient from preventing a terrorist from getting amnesty," Kobach said.
Supporters of the immigration reform bill say the argument is a specious excuse to delay the legislation.
"Unless we are able to design an immigration background check that can get into the minds of people and predict the future, then we won't be able to solve problems like this through immigration screening alone," said Lynn Tramonte of America's Voice, a pro-immigration advocacy group.
It's also unclear how the immigration system could have known what two children seeking asylum with their family would do 10 years later.
But even some lawmakers who have indicated their support for the bill have raised concern about the Boston suspects.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been a vocal supporter of immigration reform, wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid that the immigration reform process should stop until all the facts are known about the intersection between the immigration system and the Tsarnaev brothers.
"Why did the current system allow two individuals to immigrate to the United States from the Chechen Republic in Russia, an area known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, who then committed acts of terrorism? Were there any safeguards? Could this have been prevented? Does the immigration reform before us address this?" Paul asked.
He said Congress should debate whether immigrants from "high-risk" nations should face more "scrutiny" and whether student visas for people from certain "high-risk" countries altogether should be discontinued.
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., said on ABC on Sunday that he hopes lawmakers will put the immigration debate "on hold" because of the bombing.
Roy Beck of NumbersUSA, a group that opposes illegal immigration and wants to dramatically lower rates of legal immigration, said he thinks it's significant that Paul and Coats have called for slowing down the bill.
"The Boston bombing gives them a little more of a public reason to try to get this to slow down," Beck said.
If the bill is delayed until the fall, Republicans and red-state Democrats might think it is too close to election season to support it, Beck predicts.
Apr. 24, 2013 ? The Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Neiker-Tecnalia, has created four new potato clones which are characterised by their high antioxidant content, their good production both in size and number of tubers, as well as by their resistance to the usual diseases of this crop. The clones were obtained by natural methods through crossing varieties from South America with commercial varieties used in Europe. The result was three clones of the purple-fleshed potato and one with a markedly yellow flesh. The attractiveness and nutritional value of these types of potato make them a product highly regarded by professionals in gastronomy and by the public in general.
The work of creating the clones is part of the Potato Genetic Enhancement Programme drawn up by Neiker-Tecnalia. The research was led by agricultural engineer Ms Raquel L?pez, being the basis for her PhD thesis, and was presented at the University of the Basque Country. The aim of this specialist was to find potatoes which brought together the features of the South American varieties (their colour, resistance to pathogens and their nutritional and organoleptic properties) with those of the commercial varieties employed in our latitudes and characterized by their high productivity.
The Neiker-Tecnalia researchers brought 37 varieties from the Centro Internacional de la Papa, based in Peru. These native South American varieties were crossed in the greenhouse with commercial varieties, using natural procedures. The selection of and crossing between individuals with the best traits has given rise to the four clones mentioned. For the moment, these involve advanced clones and not commercial varieties, as they are not registered at the Spanish Office for Plant Varieties (OEVV in the Spanish acronym) or the European Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO). The process of registering is a long one, lasting about 15 years.
The varieties imported from Peru have a very low productivity in our latitudes, both in size and the number of tubers. Nevertheless, with the process of crossing and selection, the final clones having acceptable productivity has been achieved.
Nutritional value and resistant to pathogens
The four clones obtained are characterised by the high presence of antioxidants compounds, making them very attractive from a nutritional perspective. The three purple-flesh clones contain a large quantity of anthocyanins ? a highly appreciated pigment in the preparation of high added value foods ?, while the yellow flesh variety have carotenes ? essential chemical components for the diet ? and in greater quantities than in the usual commercial varieties.
Resistance to diseases is another of the achievements. The four clones show certain resistance to the pathogens analysed, such as the potato virus Y, as well as the Pectobacterium atrosepticum bacteria, which weaken the vegetable and considerably undermine its production.
Researcher Raquel L?pez highlights the importance of taking into account the clones achieved. ?It is beneficial for European producers to have varieties of purple flesh potato that are adapted to the climatological conditions of this continent. Moreover, these varieties incorporate natural antioxidant compounds, which are nutritionally and visually attractive, both for restaurant professionals and for end consumers?.
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The problem with most video apps is that they don't allow viewers to have much of a clue about what a video is actually like. Too often, video publishers pick a thumbnail that is misleading or only shows a small bit of what their content is about. That can leave viewers frustrated if they invest the time to actually watch a video. And for publishers, it means lost views.
MUNICH, April 23 (Reuters) - Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than us. There is no point talking about the referee, there is no excuse." Arjen Robben, who sparkled on the wing for Bayern and scored one of the goals, hailed his team's spectacular performance. ...
North Carolina State University researchers studying aquatic organisms called Daphnia have found that exposure to a chemical pesticide has impacts that span multiple generations ? causing the so-called "water fleas" to produce more male offspring, and causing reproductive problems in female offspring.
"This work supports the hypothesis that exposure to some environmental chemicals during sensitive periods of development can cause significant health problems for those organisms later in life ? and affect their offspring and, possibly, their offspring's offspring," says Dr. Gerald LeBlanc, a professor of environmental and molecular toxicology at NC State and lead author of a paper on the work. "We were looking at a model organism, identified an important pathway for environmental sex determination, and found that there are chemicals that can hijack that pathway."
Environmental cues normally determine the sex, male or female, of Daphnia offspring, and researchers have been working to understand the mechanisms involved. As part of that work, LeBlanc's team had previously identified a hormone called methyl farnesoate (Mf) that Daphnia produce under certain environmental conditions.
The researchers have now found that the hormone binds with a protein receptor called the Mf receptor, which can regulate gene transcription and appears to be tied to the production of male offspring.
In experiments, the researchers exposed Daphnia to varying levels of an insecticide called pyriproxyfen, which mimics the Mf hormone. The pyriproxyfen exposure resulted in Daphnia producing more male offspring and fewer offspring in total, with higher doses exacerbating both effects.
"At high concentrations, we were getting only male offspring, which is not good," LeBlanc says. "Producing fewer offspring, specifically fewer female offspring, could significantly limit population numbers for Daphnia."
And low exposure concentrations had significant impacts as well. At pyriproxyfen concentrations as low as 71 nanograms per liter, or 71 parts per trillion, the Daphnia would still produce some female offspring. But those females suffered long-term reproductive health effects, producing significantly smaller numbers of offspring ? despite the fact that they had not been exposed to pyriproxyfen since birth.
"We now want to know specifically which genes are involved in this sex determination process," LeBlanc says. "And, ecologically, it would be important to know the impact of changes in population dynamics for this species. Daphnia are a keystone species ? an important food source for juvenile fish and other organisms."
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The paper, "A Transgenerational Endocrine Signaling Pathway in Crustacea," was published April 17 in PLOS ONE. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Ying Wang, a research associate at NC State; Charisse Holmes and Elizabeth Medlock, Ph.D. students at NC State; and Gwijun Kwon, a research technician at NC State. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu
Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.
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We have a first mortgage, second, and HELOC. Our home assessment took a $70k crash last year. We are sorely upside down. Are there ANY refinancing options left for us? We're looking at $239k total owed with all 3 with a home value of $170k. My husband was wondering if we could just refinance the second since the 1st wouldn't allowed for that with the 95%LTV and having to subordinate the second loan etc. Any suggestions? We're able to make pymts etc, but obviously our previous poor choices we aren't making any headway. Our interest rate is higher than need be and it'd be nice to refinance for a lower rate etc.
Teams have been pitching around Albert Pujols to get to Josh Hamilton, so the Angels have dropped Hamilton to No. 5 in the lineup tonight after using him in the cleanup spot for each of the first 17 games.
That could be partly due to facing a left-hander in Derek Holland, but if Hamilton were hitting well the handedness of the pitcher probably wouldn?t be much of a factor. Instead he?s just 12-for-68 (.176) with 23 strikeouts and a .570 OPS, and manager Mike Scioscia prefers Mike Trumbo behind Pujols.
Does international child sponsorship work? New research says yesPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Gannaway agannaway@press.uchicago.edu 773-702-2037 University of Chicago Press Journals
Child sponsorship is a leading form of direct aid from households in wealthy countries to children in developing countries, with approximately 3.39 billion dollars spent to sponsor 9.14 million children internationally. A new study to be published in the Journal of Political Economy shows international child sponsorship to result in markedly higher rates of schooling completion and substantially improved adult employment outcomes.
Researchers used first-hand survey data from a study of Compassion International, a leading child sponsorship organization, to examine the adult life outcomes of a group of 10,144 individuals in Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda that included children who began sponsorship through the program a generation ago. The study estimates causal effects on adult life outcomes in areas such as educational completion, type of employment, and community leadership.
Specifically, the study finds that international sponsorship increased the probability of a child completing secondary school by 27%, completing a university education by 50%, and obtaining a white-collar job as an adult by about 35%.
Despite the billions of dollars that flow to child sponsorship each year and the millions of American families who sponsor overseas children, this is the first published study to investigate whether such programs actually benefit the children they intend to help. Evidence from the study points to the positive effects of child sponsorship on the adult life outcomes of these children.
Compassion's program places a strong emphasis not only on providing for the basic needs, such as school tuition and healthcare, but also on nurturing children's life aspirations and self-esteem over what is typically a decade of participation in sponsorship programs. "Too often we have focused our development efforts on provision for human beings rather than the development of human beings," said Bruce Wydick, one of the study's authors. "Although child sponsorship does indeed provide help with school fees, access to health care, and other tangible benefits, Compassion's particular approach focuses on the more holistic development of the child, such as development of self-esteem, aspirations, spiritual and ethical values. In follow-up studies involving currently sponsored children, we measure very large impacts in these areas, which we believe play a significant role in what we observe in the difference in adult life outcomes."
While further research is needed to establish a causal link between aspirations and adult life outcomes, this study has intriguing implications for the way we view economic development. Said Wydick, "I believe our research contributes to a new and growing body of investigation that seeks to examine the importance of 'internal constraints' to economic developmentthe importance of aspirations, self-esteem, goals, and reference points related to behaviors that are propitious to helping the poor escape poverty."
###
Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge, "Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes." Journal of Political Economy 121:2 (published April 2013).
One of the oldest and most prestigious journals in economics, the Journal of Political Economy (journals.uchicago.edu/JPE) has since 1892 presented significant research and scholarship in economic theory and practice. The journal aims to publish highly selective, widely cited articles of current relevance that will have a long-term impact on economics research.
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Does international child sponsorship work? New research says yesPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Adam Gannaway agannaway@press.uchicago.edu 773-702-2037 University of Chicago Press Journals
Child sponsorship is a leading form of direct aid from households in wealthy countries to children in developing countries, with approximately 3.39 billion dollars spent to sponsor 9.14 million children internationally. A new study to be published in the Journal of Political Economy shows international child sponsorship to result in markedly higher rates of schooling completion and substantially improved adult employment outcomes.
Researchers used first-hand survey data from a study of Compassion International, a leading child sponsorship organization, to examine the adult life outcomes of a group of 10,144 individuals in Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda that included children who began sponsorship through the program a generation ago. The study estimates causal effects on adult life outcomes in areas such as educational completion, type of employment, and community leadership.
Specifically, the study finds that international sponsorship increased the probability of a child completing secondary school by 27%, completing a university education by 50%, and obtaining a white-collar job as an adult by about 35%.
Despite the billions of dollars that flow to child sponsorship each year and the millions of American families who sponsor overseas children, this is the first published study to investigate whether such programs actually benefit the children they intend to help. Evidence from the study points to the positive effects of child sponsorship on the adult life outcomes of these children.
Compassion's program places a strong emphasis not only on providing for the basic needs, such as school tuition and healthcare, but also on nurturing children's life aspirations and self-esteem over what is typically a decade of participation in sponsorship programs. "Too often we have focused our development efforts on provision for human beings rather than the development of human beings," said Bruce Wydick, one of the study's authors. "Although child sponsorship does indeed provide help with school fees, access to health care, and other tangible benefits, Compassion's particular approach focuses on the more holistic development of the child, such as development of self-esteem, aspirations, spiritual and ethical values. In follow-up studies involving currently sponsored children, we measure very large impacts in these areas, which we believe play a significant role in what we observe in the difference in adult life outcomes."
While further research is needed to establish a causal link between aspirations and adult life outcomes, this study has intriguing implications for the way we view economic development. Said Wydick, "I believe our research contributes to a new and growing body of investigation that seeks to examine the importance of 'internal constraints' to economic developmentthe importance of aspirations, self-esteem, goals, and reference points related to behaviors that are propitious to helping the poor escape poverty."
###
Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge, "Does International Child Sponsorship Work? A Six-Country Study of Impacts on Adult Life Outcomes." Journal of Political Economy 121:2 (published April 2013).
One of the oldest and most prestigious journals in economics, the Journal of Political Economy (journals.uchicago.edu/JPE) has since 1892 presented significant research and scholarship in economic theory and practice. The journal aims to publish highly selective, widely cited articles of current relevance that will have a long-term impact on economics research.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's SMBC Nikko Securities will expand its domestic retail branch network by more than 20 percent over the next three years as it bets that the new premier's economic policies will lift the stock market further, the head of the country's third-largest brokerage said.
Tetsuya Kubo, who became president of the brokerage arm of banking group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG) this month, said he wanted to open 25 new branches as part of an effort to increase retail client assets by one-third, to 30 trillion yen ($302 billion), by 2016.
The aggressive shift in strategy for SMBC Nikko, which has 109 branches and has not opened a new one in five years, could also mean tougher competition for Nomura Holdings Inc and Daiwa Securities Group Inc , Japan's two largest securities firms which have about 180 and 120 branches, respectively.
Kubo, 59, said there was a need to invest in the brokerage's retail network after years of tight cost controls under the previous owner Citigroup Inc , which sold the franchise, known as Nikko Cordial, to SMFG in 2009.
"Nikko is strong in retail but for the past several years we didn't really put resources into branches and staff," Kubo, previously chief financial officer of SMFG, told Reuters in an interview last week. His comments were embargoed for release on Monday.
"To be a winner over the long term there is a need to increase staff," Kubo said. Earlier this month, the company announced it would boost overall staffing by 600, to 8,600, under a three-year business plan.
A DIFFERENT LOOK
Kubo said he was confident that bold fiscal and monetary steps under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, aimed at pulling the economy out of deflation, would continue to push stock prices higher.
He would not be surprised, he said, if the Nikkei stock average <.n225> reached 16,000 by the end of 2013. That would be a gain of another 20 percent for the benchmark from its close on Friday at 13,316.48, after already rallying some 50 percent since Abe was tipped as a candidate for premier in mid-November.
Kubo also noted a marked increase in interest from foreign investors during the final months of his tenure as the banking group's CFO, when the aggressive economic stimulus espoused under "Abenomics" set stocks rising and the yen tumbling.
While it was normal to be called on by asset managers in charge of Japan, he also started to get requests for meetings from global managers of equity funds.
"There was a different look in their eyes. They wanted to know what was happening in Japan, what had changed," he said.
Japanese individuals, which park the bulk of their $15 trillion worth of savings in bank deposits and other low-yielding instruments, have been a particularly hard sell for Japanese stock brokers and asset managers. Memories still linger of the collapse of Japan's asset bubble two decades ago, which hit retail investors hard.
Kubo sees SMBC Nikko's ties to its parent bank, which owns 100 percent of the broker, as a key advantage over independent securities firms such as Nomura and Daiwa in tapping the renewed retail investor interest in stocks.
The brokerage has attracted 1 trillion yen in assets through referrals from SMFG bank clients since becoming part of Japan's third-largest banking group, Kubo said.
Of the 7 trillion yen increase in retail assets the brokerage is targeting over the next three years, it hopes to capture another 1 trillion yen through such referrals from SMFG, which has 10 times the number of accounts as SMBC Nikko, he said.
SecondMarket’s CEO Barry Silbert just confirmed that the company had layoffs this morning. From a tipster, we had heard it was as much as one-third of the company’s headcount but SecondMarket says it was less than that. The rationale? Basically, Silbert said that the company had grown a “bloated cost structure,” from when it had a model that was based on transaction fees. SecondMarket offers liquidity to privately-held companies by letting shareholders sell equity in a manner that’s largely controlled by the companies and compliant with SEC rules. He called the decision “gut wrenching” and “stressful,” but said that the move would enable the company to have $25 million in cash in the bank and function on a break-even basis. It’s not the first time the company has had layoffs. They had to let go about 10 percent of staff last year in the wake of the Facebook IPO. The social network had made up a meaningful number of private stock transactions on the platform and when it went out to the public market, the company couldn’t justify certain positions. In spite of the loss of Facebook, SecondMarket’s overall transaction volume even grew a little bit, buoyed by other growth-stage companies that have decided to hold off on IPOs and reward their long-time employees in other ways. The company seems to be diversifying a bit beyond privately-held tech companies as well. Earlier this week, they convinced a boutique bank named First Advantage to delist itself from public markets and join SecondMarket’s platform. Here’s Silbert’s statement and the company says it’s not commenting beyond this. SecondMarket Org Changes I admit it, I screwed up. While the transition of SecondMarket from a telephone broker of illiquid assets in 2005 to the technology-driven reinvented stock market that we are today has been quite successful, I have done a poor job managing our cost structure during this transition. As a result, there are a number of high quality, hard-working SecondMarket family members who are now looking for their next challenge. So what went wrong? Reflecting on the past few years, the biggest mistake that I made was treating our cash in the bank and top line revenue as the ultimate gauge of the health of the company. The problem with that approach is that it helped obfuscate the bloated cost structure that we had in place from the period in our history when our
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Public release date: 24-Apr-2013
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