AAA??Feb. 21, 2013?6:06 AM ET Opposition activists say 31 dead in Damascus blast AP
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian security agents carrying a body following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian security agents carrying a body following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows flames and smoke rising from burned cars after a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows an injured Syrian man lying on the ground after a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian security agents next to a vehicle on fire following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. A car bomb shook central Damascus on Thursday, exploding near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy, eyewitnesses and opposition activists said. (AP Photo/SANA)
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Opposition activists say at least 31 people have been killed in a car bomb attack in Damascus near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party and the Russian Embassy.
The Britain-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the dead were civilians, but members of the Syrian security services were also killed in Thursday's attack.
Witnesses and opposition activists said the explosion targeted a security checkpoint central Mazraa neighborhood.
Syrian state TV also reported the blast, calling it a "terrorist" attack by a suicide bomber on a heavily populated area.
Feb. 20, 2013 ? A Singapore invention looks set to equip mobile phones with a built-in, small yet powerful Xenon flash, allowing consumers to take great photos even in low-light conditions.
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have made a revolutionary capacitor that overcomes the limitations of current capacitors, which are needed to store enough energy to fire a powerful flash like those found on digital cameras but are too big to fit in slim mobile devices.
This invention by Associate Professor Lee Pooi See from NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering, will be made a consumer reality in partnership with Xenon Technologies (XT), the world's largest Xenon flash manufacturer.
Made from polymers layered together, the new capacitor is at least four times smaller than current electrolytic capacitors and is several times faster than current ceramic-based capacitors. The multi-layered polymer capacitor is also able to deliver the same electricity charge needed to power high-intensity xenon flash light matching those found in digital cameras.
Through the university's Nanyang Innovation and Enterprise Office, NTU and XT entered into a Collaboration Agreement to research and develop a Multilayer Polymer Capacitor for xenon flash imaging applications.
Mr Jack Tuen, CEO of Xenon Technologies said: "This project will yield a breakthrough solution for the digital imaging industry, which will be the world's smallest Xenon flash. Our customers and consumers at large constantly demand for a proper xenon flash which can fit into increasingly smaller and beautiful form factor mobile devices. This is the answer which fulfils that need."
Prof Lee, whose researchers had worked on the invention for the past two and a half years, hopes that this collaboration with XT will accelerate the transfer of her innovation from research lab to industry.
"With XT's expertise in developing successful commercial products, we are confident that this collaboration will result in a disruptive innovation, not just in the area of flash technology, but also in the world of consumer electronics, as all computers and devices requires the use of capacitors in one way or another," she said.
The new breed of capacitors
Polymer capacitors such as the one developed by Prof Lee, generally possess a higher energy density than ceramic-based multilayer capacitors.
NTU's new material, a grafted co-polymer that stores charges similar to a multilayer ceramic capacitor, can be operated at high voltages. Capacitors made using this grafted co-polymer are flexible and much smaller than the conventional capacitors. In addition, the charge and discharge times of the capacitor are faster than other types of energy storage devices making it suitable for flash applications.
Currently, the polymer capacitor project is funded by Singapore's National Research Foundation (NRF) Proof-of-Concept grant. The NTU-Xenon team is expected to develop a working commercial prototype by September 2013.
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LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The upcoming Academy Awards show is the 85th, a significant anniversary that in past years might have brought a reunion of past winners, special film clips or some sort of recognition on the Oscar show.
But this year, the number 85 has been quietly retired, and so has the phrase "Academy Awards."
Both disappeared from official AMPAS materials about three weeks ago. "We're rebranding it," Oscar show co-producer Neil Meron told TheWrap on Monday. "We're not calling it 'the 85th annual Academy Awards,' which keeps it mired somewhat in a musty way. It's called 'The Oscars.'"
During TheWrap's interview with Meron and his partner Craig Zadan, Meron said they were under the impression that the new approach would continue in the future.
Academy spokeswoman Teni Melidonian confirmed that the change has happened for the upcoming show, but described it as the kind of typical adjustment in the ad campaign and overall message that takes place every year in consultation with the show's producers and the network, ABC.
"It is right for this show, but we could easily go back to using 'Academy Awards' next year," she said.
The majority of the show's posters and advertising materials focus on host Seth MacFarlane and the phrase "The Oscars," with no mention of how long the Academy has been hosting this shindig and no use of the phrase "Academy Awards."
And Academy press releases dealing with the upcoming show, which used to routinely mention the number, stopped doing so around the beginning of February. The last such AMPAS release appears to have come on January 29; since then, every release has found ways to avoid the phrase "85th Academy Awards."
When initial voting began, for example, the Academy's December 14 release began, "Nominations voting for the 85th Academy Awards will open at 8 a.m. PT, Monday, December 17 ? "
But when final voting began seven weeks later, its release said this: "Final voting for the Oscars will officially open on Friday, February 8th at 8 a.m. ? "
The phrase "The 85th Academy Awards," which used to begin the last paragraph of most Oscar-related press releases from the Academy, has been replaced with "Oscars for outstanding film achievements of 2012."
It's hard to say that the Academy is completely turning its back on its history, given that this year's show includes a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movies and a tribute to movie musicals of the past decade. But it is consciously (if quietly) looking not to use a big round number when trying to woo viewers closer to the age of Quvenzhane Wallis (9) than Emmanuelle Riva (85), and trying to get less formal by making the show's nickname its official name.
"It'll be like the Grammys," said Meron. "The Grammys don't get a number, and neither will the Oscars."
He's not exactly right: The top of the Recording Academy's Grammy page (right) is headed, "The 55th Grammys," and the number appears in the first sentence of most NARAS press releases.
The Oscar.com page, on the other hand, just says "The Oscars."
It's not just amyloid: White matter hyperintensities and Alzheimer's diseasePublic release date: 19-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karin Eskenazi ket2116@columbia.edu 212-342-0508 Columbia University Medical Center
New York, NY (February 19, 2013) New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Most current approaches to Alzheimer's disease focus on the accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain. The researchers at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, led by Adam M. Brickman, PhD, assistant professor of neuropsychology, examined the additional contribution of small-vessel cerebrovascular disease, which they visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).
The study included 20 subjects with clinically defined Alzheimer's disease, 59 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and 21 normal control subjects. Using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative public database, the researchers found that amyloid and WHMs were equally associated with an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Amyloid and WMHs were also equally predictive of which subjects with mildcognitive impairment would go on to develop Alzheimer's. Among those with significant amyloid, WMHs were more prevalent in those with Alzheimer's than in normal control subjects.
Because the risk factors for WMHswhich are mainly vascularcan be controlled, the findings suggest potential ways to prevent the development of Alzheimer's in those with amyloid deposits.
"White Matter Hyperintensities and Cerebral Amyloidosis" was published online today in JAMA Neurology.
###
The other authors are Frank A. Provenzano, MS (CUMC and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences); Jordan Muraskin, MS (CUMC and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences); Guiseppe Tosto, MD (CUMC); Atul Narkhede, MS (CUMC); Ben T. Wasserman, AB (CUMC); Erica Y Griffith, BS (CUMC); Vanessa A. Guzman, BA (CUMC); Irene B. Meier, MSc (CUMC); and Molly E. Zimmerman, PhD (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, NY).
The research was supported by NIH (U01 AG024904, P30 AG010129, K01 AG030514, AG029949, and AG034189).
The authors report no financial or other conflict of interest.
The Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center is a multidisciplinary group that has forged links between researchers and clinicians to uncover the causes of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other age-related brain diseases and discover ways to prevent and cure these diseases. It has partnered with the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at Columbia University Medical Center, which was established by an endowment in 1977 to focus on diseases of the nervous system, and with the Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and of Neurology to allow the seamless integration of genetic analysis, molecular and cellular studies and clinical investigation to explore all phases of diseases of the nervous system. For more information visit The Taub Institute at http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/taub/.
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the MD degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States. Its physicians treat patients at multiple locations throughout the tri-state area, including the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia campus in Washington Heights, the new ColumbiaDoctors Midtown location at 51 W. 51st St. in Manhattan, and the new ColumbiaDoctors Riverdale practice. For more information, visit www.cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
It's not just amyloid: White matter hyperintensities and Alzheimer's diseasePublic release date: 19-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karin Eskenazi ket2116@columbia.edu 212-342-0508 Columbia University Medical Center
New York, NY (February 19, 2013) New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Most current approaches to Alzheimer's disease focus on the accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain. The researchers at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, led by Adam M. Brickman, PhD, assistant professor of neuropsychology, examined the additional contribution of small-vessel cerebrovascular disease, which they visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs).
The study included 20 subjects with clinically defined Alzheimer's disease, 59 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and 21 normal control subjects. Using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative public database, the researchers found that amyloid and WHMs were equally associated with an Alzheimer's diagnosis. Amyloid and WMHs were also equally predictive of which subjects with mildcognitive impairment would go on to develop Alzheimer's. Among those with significant amyloid, WMHs were more prevalent in those with Alzheimer's than in normal control subjects.
Because the risk factors for WMHswhich are mainly vascularcan be controlled, the findings suggest potential ways to prevent the development of Alzheimer's in those with amyloid deposits.
"White Matter Hyperintensities and Cerebral Amyloidosis" was published online today in JAMA Neurology.
###
The other authors are Frank A. Provenzano, MS (CUMC and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences); Jordan Muraskin, MS (CUMC and Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences); Guiseppe Tosto, MD (CUMC); Atul Narkhede, MS (CUMC); Ben T. Wasserman, AB (CUMC); Erica Y Griffith, BS (CUMC); Vanessa A. Guzman, BA (CUMC); Irene B. Meier, MSc (CUMC); and Molly E. Zimmerman, PhD (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, NY).
The research was supported by NIH (U01 AG024904, P30 AG010129, K01 AG030514, AG029949, and AG034189).
The authors report no financial or other conflict of interest.
The Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center is a multidisciplinary group that has forged links between researchers and clinicians to uncover the causes of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other age-related brain diseases and discover ways to prevent and cure these diseases. It has partnered with the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center at Columbia University Medical Center, which was established by an endowment in 1977 to focus on diseases of the nervous system, and with the Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and of Neurology to allow the seamless integration of genetic analysis, molecular and cellular studies and clinical investigation to explore all phases of diseases of the nervous system. For more information visit The Taub Institute at http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/taub/.
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the MD degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States. Its physicians treat patients at multiple locations throughout the tri-state area, including the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia campus in Washington Heights, the new ColumbiaDoctors Midtown location at 51 W. 51st St. in Manhattan, and the new ColumbiaDoctors Riverdale practice. For more information, visit www.cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Feb. 19, 2013 ? The risk posed by global warming and rising ocean temperatures to the future health of the world's marine ecosystem has been highlighted by scientists studying fossil records.
Researchers at Plymouth University believe that findings from fieldwork along the North Yorkshire coast reveal strong parallels between the Early Jurassic era of 180 million years ago and current climate predictions over the next century.
Through geology and palaeontology, they've shown how higher temperatures and lower oxygen levels caused drastic changes to marine communities, and that while the Jurassic seas eventually recovered from the effects of global warming, the marine ecosystems that returned were noticeably different from before.
The results of the Natural Environment Research Council-funded project are revealed for the first time in this month's PLOS ONE scientific journal.
Professor Richard Twitchett, from the University's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and a member of its Marine Institute, said: "Our study of fossil marine ecosystems shows that if global warming is severe enough and lasts long enough it may cause the extinction of marine life, which irreversibly changes the composition of marine ecosystems."
Professor Twitchett, with Plymouth colleagues Dr Silvia Danise and Dr Marie-Emilie Clemence, undertook fieldwork between Whitby and Staithes, studying the different sedimentary rocks and the marine fossils they contained. This provided information about the environmental conditions on the sea floor at the time the rocks were laid down.
The researchers, working with Dr Crispin Little from the University of Leeds, were then able to correlate the ecological data with published data on changes in temperature, sea level and oxygen concentrations.
Dr Danise said: "Back in the laboratory, we broke down the samples and identified all of the fossils, recording their relative abundance much like a marine biologist would do when sampling a modern environment. Then we ran the ecological analyses to determine how the marine seafloor community changed through time."
The team found a 'dead zone' recorded in the rock, which showed virtually no signs of life and contained no fossils. This was followed by evidence of a return to life, but with new species recorded.
Professor Twitchett added: "The results show in unprecedented detail how the fossil Jurassic communities changed dramatically in response to a rise in sea level and temperature and a decline in oxygen levels.
"Patterns of change suffered by these Jurassic ecosystems closely mirror the changes that happen when modern marine communities are exposed to declining levels of oxygen. Similar ecological stages can be recognised in the fossil and modern communities despite differences in the species present and the scale of the studies."
The NERC project - 'The evolution of modern marine ecosystems: environmental controls on their structure and function' - runs until March 2015, and is one of four funded under their Coevolution of Life and the Planet research programme.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Plymouth.
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Journal Reference:
Silvia Danise, Richard J. Twitchett, Crispin T. S. Little, Marie-Emilie Cl?mence. The Impact of Global Warming and Anoxia on Marine Benthic Community Dynamics: an Example from the Toarcian (Early Jurassic). PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e56255 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056255
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Fisker Automotive Inc. has what it is calling ?detailed proposals? from several investment partners that could save the maker of expensive hybrid sports cars.
The Anaheim company behind the $110,000 Karma plug-in hybrid sports car has previously said it needs about $500 million to launch a second, less expensive model, which would be made at a factory in Wilmington, Del.
Fisker ran into a cash crunch after the federal government froze a Department of Energy loan to the company and its battery maker went bankrupt.
?We can only confirm that the company has received detailed proposals from multiple parties in different continents,"?the company said in a statement, "which are now being evaluated by the Company and its advisors.?
A deal could be reached in March.
Previously reported potential partners include Geely Auto, the Chinese company that owns Volvo, and Wanxiang Group, another Chinese company, which recently purchased battery maker A123 Systems out of bankruptcy. A123 builds the lithium-ion battery that goes into Fisker?s cars.
Fisker also is in talks with Wanxiang to start purchasing batteries again. But for now, production of the Karma, which is built in Finland, has been halted until the automaker secures a battery supply. The company had built up an inventory of cars prior to A123?s bankruptcy and there are cars still for sale at dealerships in the U.S. and Europe.
The automaker is looking for funds to restart work on the Atlantic, a $55,000, four-door rechargeable sports sedan that Fisker sees as a higher-volume model that would have a broader market.
Work on the Atlantic came to a halt last year when the federal government suspended a $529-million loan after delays in the introduction of the Karma. Fisker had drawn down about $192 million of the loan.
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It's nothing we didn't see coming toward the end of last year, but T-Mobile's finally ready to make its GoSmart Mobile prepaid service officially official. As outlined during its trials, the service is offering up plans starting at $30 a month for unlimited talk and text. An extra $5 a month'll get you unlimited talk, text and web, and if you jump up to a full $45 a month, you can add 3G to the list. T-Mob's promising a service free of hidden fees and caps, or as the company puts it "No DUM caps. No DUM overages " -- you know, "FreeDUM in wireless," as it were. The GoSmart Mobile SIM kit will run you $8. More info can be found in the press release after the break.
Show full PR text
GoSmart Mobile Launches Nationwide No-Contract Wireless Service for Budget-Conscious Consumers
It is time for FreeDUM in wireless.
GoSmart Mobile today announced the nationwide launch of its no annual contract wireless service for budget-conscious consumers, ending the era of DUM[TM] hidden fees, roaming charges and overly complicated annual contracts. GoSmart, a new brand from T-Mobile USA, offers affordable, no annual contract plans on a reliable nationwide network starting at just $30 per month.
With GoSmart, wireless customers get what they need - great savings and flexibility without the hassle. For example, customers have the choice of purchasing an inexpensive SIM kit to use in their own compatible mobile phone or they can buy a low-priced GoSmart phone. In addition, all GoSmart services are offered without limits. No DUM caps. No DUM overages. Just a very affordable service for calling, texting and Web surfing.
GoSmart is available online at www.GoSmartMobile.com and at thousands of dealer stores across the nation.
"You don't need food bigger than your face, and you don't need mobile phone plans that charge you more than you can afford for services you don't want or need," said Doug Chartier, senior vice president of marketing for GoSmart. "GoSmart is one of the simplest, most budget-friendly options in wireless, with unlimited plans on a reliable nationwide network starting at $30 per month." GoSmart's launch comes as the no annual contract market continues to grow at a steady pace, fueled by cost-conscious consumers looking to reduce what they spend each year for wireless service. The number of no annual contract customers in the United States is expected to reach 80 million by the end of 2013 and grow an average of 7.4 percent per year until 2016, according to a report from market research firm IDC.[i]
"The influx of data services, coupled with the traditional flexibility and value of no contract plans, has considerably increased consumer interest in the no annual contract wireless market" said John Weber, Associate Research Analyst at IDC. "Customers often look for unlimited service plans on a robust network, while simultaneously limiting monthly wireless expenses. GoSmart represents a viable option for consumers to consider."
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Public release date: 19-Feb-2013
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