The Best Wines to Avoid a Wine Hangover | Wine Folly

There are few ailments that can ruin your night faster than a wine headache. A dull thudding starts in the back of your neck and slowly pulses its way to the middle of your forehead. Game over. Worse still is the next morning when you wake up with a wine hangover. So?

Is there a wine that won?t give you a hangover?

The short answer is yes. Certain red wines are less likely to give you a hangover based on both chemical properties and the psychology of how we consume them. Given the ideal red wine, there is one more major factor that will help you avoid a wine hangover
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With every glass of wine, drink a glass of water.

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Wines That Won?t Hurt You as Bad

When looking for a wine that is less likely to give you a hangover, pay attention to these characteristics.

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• 

  Medium Bodied

  Such as ?Pruno? Tempranillo. Less extracted wines that are less sensitive; requiring less additives.

• 

  Less Manipulated

  Wineries that focus on less manipulation such as Deloach cannot hide hangover-giving wine faults like Acetaldehyde.

• 

  Moderate Tannin

  Wines with higher tannin such as Travaglini Gattinara made with Nebbiolo will encourage you to drink more water.

• 

  Lower Alcohol

  A wine with less alcohol like Beaujolais will reduce ethanol consumption per drink. Look for wines under 13% ABV

Major causes of a wine hangover

Toxic Chemicals

There is one major organic chemical compound in wine, beer and other spirits that has been shown to increase the occurences of severe hangovers. The chemical, Acetaldehyde, is a byproduct your body produces while metabolizing ethanol. Liquor with higher levels of Acetaldehyde (considered a wine fault) have been shown to cause a more severe hangover.

Red wine has lowest levels of Acetaldehyde.

Our noses are able to detect Acetaldehyde levels above 125 mg/L as a fruity, sour green apple aroma. Wines with high levels of this chemical include Sherry, Brandy and some sweet wines. Red wines start at close to 4 mg/L.

Aren?t sulfites and tannin bad? Find out how sulfites in wine are not the real problem.

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Dehydration

The major cause of a wine hangover is dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic that inherently causes hypoglycemia. This is a major factor to the common Red Wine Headache. Doing things like eating food and drinking more water will help avoid a hangover more than your wine selection.

Red wine makes us thirsty.

A higher tannin red wine makes our mouth feel dry and encourages more water drinking. Unlike beer, white wine or Champagne, red wine?s undervalued benefit is that red wine doesn?t quench thirst.
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Awesome resources
What wines have the highest Acetaldehyde Dr. Waterhouse at US Davis
Alcohol effects information How Alcohol Is Metabolized in the Human Body
Tom Cannavan?s Wine Pages on Acetaldehyde and Sherry Aroma
Acetaldehyde on wikipedia

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By Madeline Puckette
I'm a certified wine geek with a passion for meeting people, travel, and delicious food. You often find me crawling around dank cellars or frolicking through vineyards.

Source: http://winefolly.com/tutorial/the-best-wines-to-avoid-a-wine-hangover/

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Europe's robust financial-transactions tax | Felix Salmon

The details of Europe?s new financial transactions tax won?t be made public for a few weeks, but the FT?s Alex Barker has seen a draft, and it looks impressively robust. The tax is being implemented by 11 countries, including most importantly Germany and France, and it?s going to be levied at two levels: 0.1% on securities trades, and 0.01% on derivatives trades. It?s also going to be very difficult to dodge: any trader whose institutional headquarters is in one of the 11 countries will have to pay the tax, as will all transactions taking place in those countries, and all transactions involving securities issued in those countries.

The tax will have two main purposes. The first is to raise substantial tax revenues on the order of $45 billion per year; the second is to discourage financial speculation. I?m hopeful on the former, but less so on the latter.

As Robert Peston and Avinash Persaud pointed out back in 2011, financial transactions taxes work pretty well: even the UK, which is implacably opposed to the European tax and which won?t ever join such a scheme, levies a surprisingly large 0.5% tax whenever anybody ? anywhere in the world ? trades a UK stock. And yet, somehow, London remains the first choice for international companies looking for a place to list their shares.

The European tax, which is much smaller than UK stamp duty, will similarly have little effect on how and where financial markets operate. The ?if you tax me, I?ll just move elsewhere? threat is a pretty empty one, in practice, especially if you have a carefully-drafted law which makes tax avoidance difficult, and if you?re talking about established financial institutions rather than individuals. Count me on the opposite side of Steve Slater: large banks won?t avoid this tax, because doing so would be both politically suicidal and practically incredibly complex. Especially in a world where tax laws can be changed quite quickly, if any obvious avoidance is noticed.

So I think that the financial transactions tax will actually be very good at raising money ? possibly even good enough, over time, that the rest of the EU will come around to it. Maybe even London could decide to swap out its stamp duty and join a unified European system instead, especially if a less City-friendly government is elected in 2015. That?s one reason I like the idea of half the EU going ahead with this scheme while the other half stays out: it will provide a proof of concept to persuade the nay-sayers.

On the other hand, I doubt that speculators will find this tax particularly off-putting. Europe doesn?t suffer from the high-frequency trading that has overtaken the U.S. stock market, and these taxes are low enough that any remotely sensible financial transaction will remain sensible on a post-tax basis. It?s possible that total trading volume might decline a little bit in some markets, and that would be fine: no one thinks it?s too low at the moment, and in the derivatives markets especially, increase in volumes generally just translates into increased rents being paid to big sell-side banks. But I?m not someone who believes that speculators are causing a noticeable amount of harm in European markets: as far as they?re concerned, the financial transactions tax is likely to make very little difference to a group of people who are not much of a problem in the first place.

One of the themes in Davos this year was a series of EU politicians pushing pretty hard for a big EU-U.S. trade deal, while the U.S. seemed to feel much less urgency. The financial-transactions tax won?t help on that front: it will widen the gap even further with respect to the treatment of the crucial financial-services sector. Still, it?s good to see real leadership here from France and Germany. They?re going to implement a sensible tax, which will raise much-needed revenues at minimal societal cost. What?s more, if you pierce corporate veils to find out which individuals will end up paying the tax, it?s going to look a lot like a wealth tax, rather than an income tax. That?s good news, in a world where the wealthy tend to pay much lower taxes than those with high incomes.

So let?s hope that this tax gets introduced; that it works; and that the rest of the world, seeing the costs and the benefits, starts to follow suit and sign on too. The area covered by the initial 11 countries is big enough that the tax will work well at inception, but as more and more countries join the scheme, the tax will become increasingly efficient and effective. Maybe, eventually, it could even incorporate the U.S.

Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2013/01/30/europes-robust-financial-transactions-tax/

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As The Auto Insurance Industry Spends Billions, Fewer Drivers ...

All those ads trying to wheedle, cajole, convince and otherwise get drivers to switch car insurers add up to billions of dollars for insurance companies. But a new study says that even with all that financial heft, fewer drivers are deciding to take the plunge and go elsewhere. That sound you hear is money sliding down the drain.

Last year only around 9% of policyholders, about $12 billion worth of premiums, switched to another car insurer, say consultants at McKinsey & Co. (via the Wall Street Journal).

Apparently that?s quite a slide from the 12% who did so in 2009 and 2010, when people used comparison shopping to buy insurance that could save them a few bucks after the recession.

In order to lure new customers, marketing expenditures for insurers jumped 21% in 2010 to $5.1 billion before ticking up to $5.9 billion in 2011. The numbers for 2012 aren?t out yet but that dollar amount is expected to have risen yet again.

Geico spends the most, at $1 billion in marketing costs reported in 2011, followed by State Farm at $813.5 million and Allstate at $745.3 million.

Throwing all that firepower at drivers isn?t quite working, however, as the people who are usually the target of such advertising are quite price-sensitive and??is not as large or as valuable as the marketing firepower aimed at them would indicate,? the report said.

Only 27% shopped around in 2011 and then a third of those decided to switch insurance coverage from one business to another, while the rest stayed put and didn?t even take a peek elsewhere.

Things aren?t going to change anytime soon, say experts ? the companies will continue to shell out dough to try and woo those stubborn customers. Even though??the industry as a whole is treading water; some carriers are spending heavily for brand recognition and have little to show for it? in market-share growth, McKinsey?s report said. Still, ?this expensive battle for customer consideration isn?t going away.?

Bombarded by Ads, Few Drivers Switch Car Insurer [Wall Street Journal]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2013/01/30/as-the-auto-insurance-industry-spends-billions-fewer-drivers-switching-insurers/

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Safer way to vaccinate? Polymer film that gradually releases DNA coding for viral proteins may beat traditional vaccines

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV.

In recent years, many scientists have been exploring DNA as a potential alternative vaccine. About 20 years ago, DNA coding for viral proteins was found to induce strong immune responses in rodents, but so far, tests in humans have failed to duplicate that success.

In a paper appearing in the Jan. 27 online issue of Nature Materials, MIT researchers describe a new type of vaccine-delivery film that holds promise for improving the effectiveness of DNA vaccines. If such vaccines could be successfully delivered to humans, they could overcome not only the safety risks of using viruses to vaccinate against diseases such as HIV, but they would also be more stable, making it possible to ship and store them at room temperature.

This type of vaccine delivery would also eliminate the need to inject vaccines by syringe, says Darrell Irvine, an MIT professor of biological engineering and materials science and engineering. "You just apply the patch for a few minutes, take it off and it leaves behind these thin polymer films embedded in the skin," he says.

Irvine and Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering, are the senior authors of the Nature Materials paper. Both are members of MIT's David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The lead author of the paper is Peter DeMuth, a graduate student in biological engineering.

Gradual vaccine delivery

Scientists have had some recent success delivering DNA vaccines to human patients using a technique called electroporation. This method requires first injecting the DNA under the skin, then using electrodes to create an electric field that opens small pores in the membranes of cells in the skin, allowing DNA to get inside. However, the process can be painful and give varying results, Irvine says.

"It's showing some promise but it's certainly not ideal and it's not something you could imagine in a global prophylactic vaccine setting, especially in resource-poor countries," he says.

Irvine and Hammond took a different approach to delivering DNA to the skin, creating a patch made of many layers of polymers embedded with the DNA vaccine. These polymer films are implanted under the skin using microneedles that penetrate about half a millimeter into the skin -- deep enough to deliver the DNA to immune cells in the epidermis, but not deep enough to cause pain in the nerve endings of the dermis.

Once under the skin, the films degrade as they come in contact with water, releasing the vaccine over days or weeks. As the film breaks apart, the DNA strands become tangled up with pieces of the polymer, which protect the DNA and help it get inside cells.

The researchers can control how much DNA gets delivered by tuning the number of polymer layers. They can also control the rate of delivery by altering how hydrophobic (water-fearing) the film is. DNA injected on its own is usually broken down very quickly, before the immune system can generate a memory response. When the DNA is released over time, the immune system has more time to interact with it, boosting the vaccine's effectiveness.

The polymer film also includes an adjuvant -- a molecule that helps to boost the immune response. In this case, the adjuvant consists of strands of RNA that resemble viral RNA, which provokes inflammation and recruits immune cells to the area.

The ability to provoke inflammation is one of the key advantages of the new delivery system, says Michele Kutzler, an assistant professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Other benefits include targeting the wealth of immune cells in the skin, the use of a biodegradable delivery material, and the possibility of pain-free vaccine delivery, she says.

"It's an interesting approach that can be applied not just to delivery of DNA-based vaccine antigens, but other small molecules," says Kutzler, who was not part of the research team.

Eliciting immune responses

In tests with mice, the researchers found that the immune response induced by the DNA-delivering film was as good as or better than that achieved with electroporation.

To test whether the vaccine might provoke a response in primates, the researchers applied a polymer film carrying DNA that codes for proteins from the simian form of HIV to macaque skin samples cultured in the lab. In skin treated with the film, DNA was easily detectable, while DNA injected alone was quickly broken down.

"The hope is that that's an indication that this will translate to large animals and hopefully humans," Irvine says.

The researchers now plan to perform further tests in non-human primates before undertaking possible tests in humans. If successful, the vaccine-delivering patch could potentially be used to deliver vaccines for many different diseases, because the DNA sequence can be easily swapped out depending on the disease being targeted.

"If you're making a protein vaccine, every protein has its little quirks, and there are manufacturing issues that have to be solved to scale it up to humans. If you had a DNA platform, the DNA is going to behave the same no matter what antigen it's encoding," Irvine says.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Anne Trafton.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Peter C. DeMuth, Younjin Min, Bonnie Huang, Joshua A. Kramer, Andrew D. Miller, Dan H. Barouch, Paula T. Hammond, Darrell J. Irvine. Polymer multilayer tattooing for enhanced DNA?vaccination. Nature Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3550

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/top_news/top_technology/~3/S-p9Fg4Dyxo/130128113922.htm

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Antigua gets OK to become copyright haven

LONDON (AP) ? Americans call it piracy. Antiguans call it justice.

The islands of Antigua and Barbuda are threatening to strip intellectual property protections from American goods as part of a long-running trade dispute over the U.S. embargo on the tiny Caribbean nation's online gambling industry.

U.S. officials say the proposed copyright haven ? whose broad outlines were approved Monday at the World Trade Organization in Geneva ? amounts to "government-authorized piracy." But Antiguans, who've won a series of legal victories against the U.S. at the international trade body, reject any suggestion that they're pirates.

"We have followed the rules and procedures of the WTO to the letter," Antigua's high commissioner to London, Carl Roberts, said in a statement Monday. "Our little country is doing precisely what it has earned the right to do under international agreements."

The U.S. and Antigua have been tussling for years over the ability of Americans to use online casinos based in the Caribbean nation. U.S. laws have long been interpreted to mean that Internet gambling is illegal if it crosses state lines.

The World Trade Organization, however, has come down on Antigua's side. In 2007, it allowed the islands to draw $21 million a year's worth of "nullification or impairments" from the United States as a penalty for the continuing refusal of the U.S. to allow American customers to place their online bets in Antigua.

Antiguan officials say they could make up the money through the operation of a copyright haven, although what that might look like and what its scope would be remains unclear. Antiguan officials have kept details vague and the move has little precedent.

Observers have suggested, for example, a subscription service to access copyright-free American music, or a pay-per-download site that charges pennies for Hollywood hits.

Mark Mendel, a lawyer for Antigua's government, cautioned that whatever ends up being set up, it wouldn't be an Antiguan version of The Pirate Bay, the free-for-all file sharing site whose name has become synonymous with illegal downloads.

"We aren't going to be flaunting the rules," he said in a telephone interview last week. "It's not piracy if you have the right to do it."

The proposed copyright haven may still never see the light of day; Mendel said Antigua's goal remains a negotiated settlement with U.S. authorities over the gambling dispute.

Even if such a haven were set up, international fans of free downloads may want to exercise caution. Antiguans may be allowed to download legally, but for those outside the country the legal regime remains murky.

Nevertheless, the notion of a country of 89,000 people standing up to the powerful United States on intellectual property matters has caught the imagination of many ? especially those who believe that U.S. copyright rules are too restrictive.

"It's time for small countries to be treated fairly in these organizations," said Mendel.

___

Online:

Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://raphae.li/twitter

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-28-Caribbean%20Copyright%20Haven/id-6c36825bec584f148bf92c07009d2783

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Despite revival, US economy still on life support

16 hrs.

John W. Schoen , NBC News

After four years of government prodding ? from federal stimulus spending to the Fed?s historic easy-money policies ? the U.S. economy finally?is showing signs of sustainable growth.?

But?it?s not out of the woods yet.

The hopeful signals are coming from a broad range of indicators - from upbeat reports on home and car sales to 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.

?We think the U.S. economy will be able to power through that this year ? even with the drag,? said?Tony Fratto, an economist at Hamilton Place Strategies and former Treasury official under President George W. Bush.

But when Federal Reserve officials wrap up?their two-day meeting Wednesday, they?re widely expected to continue to keep their foot on the gas pedal by extending their aggressive program of holding interest rates near zero.?

Though some critics think it may be time for the central bank to begin winding down its epic easy-money strategy, Fed policy makers have already promised to stick with it until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5 percent. ?

The halting pace of the recovery is expected to be highlighted Wednesday when the government takes its initial estimate of the growth of gross domestic product for the last three months of 2012. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the report to peg expansion at a weak 1.1 percent annual rate, down from a 3.1 percent rate in the previous three months.

But a basket of separate reports this week is expected to confirm the marked pickup in growth as the year drew to a close.?

Orders for durable goods jumped by 4.6 percent in December, the?Commerce Department said Monday, more than double what private forecasters had expected. Though many business managers complained loudly that uncertainty in Washington had left them unwilling to take on new workers, they were busy investing in new plant and equipment to keep up with rising demand from customers.

?CEOs may have been worrying about falling off the cliff but demand for big-ticket items still soared,? said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic?Advisors.

The report followed wider signs of a broad pickup in demand throughout the economy. Rising home sales, which began to pick up in the second half of last year, continue to push prices higher, helping convince reluctant buyers and sellers that the market has finally bottomed out. ?

Car sales jumped 16 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous year, and are on pace for another annual sales increase. Automakers will report monthly sales on Friday and are expected to post another month of robust demand. The prolonged sales downturn during the Great Recession left behind an aging fleet of cars and trucks that buyers are now replacing. ?

Despite a lackluster holiday shopping season, overall retail sales in the last three months of the year were up 6 percent from a year ago.?Manufacturers are also seeing a solid pickup in orders for new goods. Lower energy costs -- the result of an ongoing boom in natural gas production?--?have helped them win bids against low-cost foreign competitors.?

But unemployment remains stubbornly high, as the latest reading, due this Friday, is expected to show. Economists are looking for a net gain of just 163,000 new jobs for the latest month. That?s barely enough to keep up with population growth and not enough to move the needle of the unemployment rate which forecasters expect to remain stuck at 7.8 percent.

To be sure, the Fed?s easy money policy is helping some households ? especially those with investments in the stock market. With interest rates at near zero, investors looking for a positive return have few alternatives.?

Stocks are up 15 percent since June. In January alone, investors sank $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, the biggest monthly inflow on record, according to TrimTabs Investment Research.?

Fears of a financial meltdown in Europe have faded. Last year?s worries about a sharp slowdown in Asia have eased for now.?And despite continued threats of political disruption in Washington, the long-running battle over the federal budget seems to be inching toward resolution.

On Monday, credit rating agency Fitch said last week?s deal to delay suspension of the country's debt limit have reduced the odds that it might strip United States of its AAA rating. Another rating agency, Standard and Poor?s, cut the U.S. debt rating one notch after the last debt ceiling debacle in July 2011 pushed the Treasury to the brink of defaulting on its bonds.?

But the recovery remains weak by historical standards. Four years after a recession, pent-up demand typically produces a strong rebound in growth and a?sustained hiring spree by employers. So far, that hasn?t happened.?

Most forecasters expect the slow steady pace of expansion to continue through this year and into 2014, with the unemployment rate gradually falling.?

The consensus sees GDP picking up to a 2.7 percent annual rate by the end of this year and 3.0 percent by the end of 2014, according to the latest survey by Blue Chip Economic Indicators. That pace is expected to pull the unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent by the end of this year and to 7.0 percent by the end of next year.

If that scenario plays out, it will be awhile before the Fed reaches its 6.5 percent jobless rate target and begins to throttle back its money-making machinery. ? ? ? ??

?At some point were going to have to wean ourselves off that kind of support,? said Fratto. ?And I think we?re going to see that this year. But we have to go through that ? and it?s going to bode well for the future.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/despite-recent-revival-us-economy-still-needs-life-support-1C8145732

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Social Security commissioner to leave in February

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue says he will step down in February after completing his six-year term. Astrue's departure gives President Barack Obama the opportunity to name a new head to the federal government's largest program.

Astrue's term was marked by increasingly dire warnings about the long-term financial health of the massive retirement and disability program. Astrue also worked to reduce backlogs of people applying for disability claims.

The trustees who oversee Social Security project that the program's trust funds will run dry in 2033. At that point, Social Security will collect only enough in taxes to pay 75 percent of benefits. As commissioner, Astrue is also a trustee.

Astrue has urged Congress to shore up the program's finances but has not publicly endorsed any solutions.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-28-Social%20Security%20Commissioner/id-cf8a2827eb414cb499f5352a8b2b5010

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Firefighters: Death toll to 180 in Brazil fire

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? Firefighters say that the death toll from a fire that swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil has risen to 180.

Officials say the fire broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria while a band was performing. At least 200 people have been injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/firefighters-death-toll-180-brazil-fire-122402429.html

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Cell Phone Towers Pluck Birds

Click here to listen to this podcast

As you chatter on your smartphone, the death toll rises?almost 7 million birds are killed each year when they fly into communication towers that make cellphone conversations possible. Worse, the towers often kill birds that are already rare. So says a study in the journal Biological Conservation. [Travis Longcore et al, Avian mortality at communication towers in the United States and Canada: which species, how many, and where?] For example, tower impacts kill more than 2,000 yellow rails per year. That's roughly 9 percent of the total population. Ninety-seven percent of all birds killed are songbirds, especially warblers. The red-eyed vireo suffers some of the biggest losses, some 581,000 deaths annually, though that represents less than 1 percent of its population. The Southeast and Midwest lead the country in tower-bird collisions. That's because these regions have the largest concentrations of the tallest towers, up to 900 feet high. While all of the more than 80,000 communication towers in North America cause problems, the roughly 1,000 tallest towers cause 70 percent of the bird deaths, luring birds to their doom with red warning lights that are always on. A partial solution is relatively simple: replacing the always-on red lights with blinking ones could cut the deaths by as much as 70 percent. Otherwise, Twitter could have a monopoly on tweets. ?David Biello [The above text is a transcript of this podcast]? Yellow rail and red-eyed vireo sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cell-phone-towers-pluck-birds-195208518.html

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What you need to know about cell phone unlocking

Did you know that as of Jan 26, 2013, it's "illegal" to unlock your phone? Of course you did. You've seen the "Sky is falling!" headlines

It's not quite that simple, but that's what you'll hear around the Internets today. The too-long-didn't-read simple version is that you'll likely not be affected in any way (minus the personal freedom aspect). But after seeing so many people worried, and some of the poor information they were receiving, we knew it was time to talk about it a bit. 

In 1998 Congress passed a law that provides copyright protection to the software (and software means written code, remember) that locks your cell phone to a certain carrier. This has nothing to do with rooting, or bootloader unlocking. It only covers locking your phone to a GSM carrier through software. As a provision of this law, the Librarian of Congress (which I imagined as a totally hot babe with her hair in a bun, and was quickly disappointed when I investigated) is allowed to grant exceptions, and did until his October 2012 decision to allow the DMCA to regulate cell phone locking. Fast forward to today, when the exceptions expired, and now the software used to lock phones is covered under the same copyright laws as most other software.

It sounds scary. But it's really not. Let's have a look.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/fU9cj9yVK5k/story01.htm

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CES 2013 through the eyes of our contest winner (video)

Many entered, but it was Daniel Orren who sent in a great green-screened video that snagged him a temporary spot on the Engadget crew at this year's CES. Hanging with the team in our trusty trailer, getting comped meals, roaming the floor, wearing mind-controlled cat ears -- honestly, it's probably just easier to list all of the things the photographer didn't do the other week in Vegas.

With the dust settled, we asked Orren how he enjoyed the trip. "The showroom floor was a lot bigger than I had anticipated originally, so naturally this was great as there were more gadgets." Amongst the highlights: "My favorite times would have to be hanging with the Engadget crew, it's nice just chatting with everyone about all the cool stuff you've seen that day/week and just geeking out." And as for that inevitable question, the one we ask ourselves right around this time each year, " I'd love to go back to CES if given the chance, and who knows, maybe I'll just go on my own in a few years."

Also included in the prize package was an Engadget Show segment to call his very own. When he wasn't occupied with the Steambox and 4K TVs, our film crew was following Orren around to find out what it's like going to CES as a first-timer. Check in after the break for the results.

This segment originally appeared in episode 40 of The Engadget Show.

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4mIaao-ytaI/

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QUESTS

A city only where you either can be a Meister or a Weapon. A man out of darkness plans revenge upon the people of Death City. Teams are created, to defeat the darkness. (Never to late to join.)

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Death's Game of Shadows?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

Completely ignore the quest box. I will be posting quests here. Message me if you got any questions.

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Dear Students,
I Lord Death will give you the chance to try collecting at least 12 souls by the end of the week.
Remember dear students you need a total of 99 souls, and 1 witch soul to become one of my Death Scythes.
Also, witch souls are very hard to collect so if you mess up on collecting the witch soul.
I am sorry to say but you must repeat the process of collecting 99 souls from the beginning.
Take care everyone,
-Lord Death.

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As Pentagon Opens Up Combat Positions to Women Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services Discuss Unique Needs of Female Combat Veterans

Female military service members and veterans face varied challenges when they return from active duty, like their male counterparts, but especially when it comes to issues of unemployment, homelessness and sexual traumas. As the Pentagon announced yesterday its decision to formally open up combat positions to women, representatives from Dixon Center and it?s partner Easter Seals commend the policy move and express urgency about the unique needs women veterans face upon returning home from military service.

Chicago (PRWEB) January 24, 2013

Female military service members and veterans face varied challenges when they return from active duty, like their male counterparts, but especially when it comes to issues of unemployment, homelessness and sexual traumas. As the Pentagon announced yesterday its decision to formally open up combat positions to women, representatives from Dixon Center and it?s partner Easter Seals commend the policy move and express urgency about the unique needs women veterans face upon returning home from military service.

?For our nation, formally recognizing the fact women have been and are serving valiantly in combat roles for the past 11 years is appropriate,? says Kimberly Mitchell, Deputy Director, Dixon Center. ?I do look forward to the bold policy steps that will be taken recognizing the unique needs of all our service members regarding post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, military sexual trauma and the military's proactive steps which previously have been reactive.?

Women are far more likely than men to have experienced a military sexual trauma. Women also make up the fastest growing population of homeless individuals today ? and they?re not alone; increasingly they bring their children with them.

Mitchell?s 17 years of service in the U.S. Navy included a commission as a Surface Warfare Officer, service aboard several surface Navy combat warships, and multiple shore tours in Washington, D.C. This evening, Mitchell will be participating in a panel discussion, ?Change and Challenges ? Women in Today?s Military,? at the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago, offering her insight and perspective.

?As a Navy veteran, I know women have been serving side by side their male counterparts for years. This is a watershed moment for our country and recognizes all of our service members? capabilities, valor and achievements,? adds Mitchell. ?Opening combat roles to females should not be lauded as a bold step but rather a normal progression towards equality. The military's mix of gender, races, creed, lifestyles, and backgrounds makes it a bellwether of society. This decision should not be used as an opportunity for demagoguery, but rather a chance to acknowledge our military's ability to fight and win our nations? wars.?

With this decision, Mitchell along with Dixon Center and Easter Seals urge policymakers to collaborate with the myriad of resources in the civic and private sector, as well as support and dedicate resources to all military service members, veterans, their families and the families of our fallen when they return home from their deployments and where they live. Today?s service members ? women and men alike ? are making significant contributions to their communities but some face challenges during transition and reintegration. These challenges include physical wounds as well as isolation, exasperating emotional and psychological wounds. They face unemployment, families that are not always intact, and communities unable to meet their immediate and long-term needs.

?We need to consolidate local efforts in communities and find synergies for the delivery of services or to services. We as a society need to focus on enabling their potential, and not create more cookie cutter solutions. This is our mission at Dixon Center,? concludes Mitchell.

About Dixon Center

Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services is a national clearinghouse launched in 2012. The Center is a catalyst for the consolidation of the disparate efforts underway since 9/11 that provide services to veterans, military service members, and their families. We use a holistic approach that focuses on three areas: education, employment and access to healthcare. We endorse and disseminate practical, community-based solutions that maximize private and public dollars. Services include disseminating relevant information; convening meetings of corporate, philanthropic, nonprofit and military and veteran leaders; and advising funders on investments that facilitate real and lasting success in civilian, family and community life.

Dixon Center provides leadership to a nationwide network of support ? consisting of tens of thousands of organizations - for the delivery of services, or to services. Its team is led by Executive Director David W. Sutherland, Colonel US-Army, Retired. Easter Seals is Dixon Center's 501(c) 3 sponsor and is also one of its myriad partners that provide support and direct services to veterans and military families. Easter Seals is supporting Dixon Center to emerge and deliver on its bold mission. Dixon Center?s work will not be done until veterans and our military families can thrive; where they live. Learn more at http://www.theDixonCenter.org.

About Easter Seals

Easter Seals has provided direct services to the military community since World War II. In 2005, recognizing the new and unmet needs of so many returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the organization renewed its commitment to military families and veterans by establishing a Military and Veterans Initiative to address serious gaps in service and mobilize its national community-based provider network. Today, Easter Seals serves thousands of military families across its 73 affiliates, 550 nationwide service sites, 24,000 professional staff and 40,000 local volunteers.

Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs. For more than 90 years, we have been offering help and hope to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play. Visit http://www.easterseals.com.

###

Kristen Barnfield
Easter Seals, Inc
312.551.7147
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-opens-combat-positions-women-dixon-center-military-230632164.html

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Bangladesh fire victims' families wait for money

In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 photo, Bangladeshi man Ansar, who uses one name, reacts at his home near the gutted Tazreen factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two months after his wife and daughter were killed in a fire at the Bangladeshi garment factory, 55-year-old Ansar is scrambling to survive. Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated. The fire drew international attention to the conditions that garment workers toil under in Bangladesh, where the $20 billion-a-year textile industry is incredibly powerful and politically connected. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 photo, Bangladeshi man Ansar, who uses one name, reacts at his home near the gutted Tazreen factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two months after his wife and daughter were killed in a fire at the Bangladeshi garment factory, 55-year-old Ansar is scrambling to survive. Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated. The fire drew international attention to the conditions that garment workers toil under in Bangladesh, where the $20 billion-a-year textile industry is incredibly powerful and politically connected. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 photo, Bangladeshi man Ansar, who uses one name, holds photographs of his wife and daughter at his home near the gutted Tazreen factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two months after his wife and daughter were killed in a fire at the Bangladeshi garment factory, 55-year-old Ansar is scrambling to survive. Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated. The fire drew international attention to the conditions that garment workers toil under in Bangladesh, where the $20 billion-a-year textile industry is incredibly powerful and politically connected. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 photo, Bangladeshi man Ansar, who uses one name, wails holding photographs of his wife and daughter at his home near the gutted Tazreen factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two months after his wife and daughter were killed in a fire at the Bangladeshi garment factory, 55-year-old Ansar is scrambling to survive. Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated. The fire drew international attention to the conditions that garment workers toil under in Bangladesh, where the $20 billion-a-year textile industry is incredibly powerful and politically connected. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 photo, Bangladeshi Zamiron Begum, 45, weeps as she displays a photograph of her daughter Bobita Khatum, 18, a senior sewing machine operator who died in the fire at Tazreen Fashions, in the garment district in Ashulia, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. When fire ravaged the Bangladeshi garment factory, killing 112 workers, dozens of their families did not even have a body to bury because their loved ones' remains were burned beyond recognition. Two months later, they have yet to receive any of the compensation they were promised - not even their relatives' last paychecks. The remainder were burnt beyond recognition and their remains are undergoing DNA testing to prevent people from filing fake claims. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 photo, Bangladeshi Mohammed Hannan, 35, weeps as he holds a picture of his wife Ahenur, 30, an assistant sewing machine operator who died in the fire at Tazreen Fashions, in the garment district in Ashulia, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. When fire ravaged the Bangladeshi garment factory, killing 112 workers, dozens of their families did not even have a body to bury because their loved ones' remains were burned beyond recognition. Two months later, they have yet to receive any of the compensation they were promised - not even their relatives' last paychecks. The remainder were burnt beyond recognition and their remains are undergoing DNA testing to prevent people from filing fake claims. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) ? When fire ravaged a Bangladeshi garment factory, killing 112 workers, dozens of their families did not even have a body to bury because their loved ones' remains were burned beyond recognition. Two months later, the same families have yet to receive any of the compensation they were promised ? not even their relatives' last paychecks.

An official with the country's powerful garment industry said DNA tests must first be conducted to confirm the losses of more than 50 families. He would not say why the families have not even received the wages their relatives had earned before the Nov. 24 blaze.

Many of the families desperately need money after losing their primary breadwinners in the fire at the Tazreen factory, which made clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a foreign supplier and the government promised to give the families of the dead 600,000 takas ($7,500) each, finance the education of the dead workers' children and pay the November salaries of both dead and surviving factory workers.

"I have got nothing. Nobody is saying anything," said Ansar, who uses one name and who lost his wife and daughter in the fire.

The 55-year-old is too ill to work himself. His 16-year-old son, who also worked at Tazreen, managed to escape but was traumatized by leaving his mother and sister behind "amid the darkness and ash," Ansar said at his home near the gutted factory.

The boy got a job at another factory but was unable to work because of his trauma.

"My son cannot sleep," Ansar said, sobbing. "He wakes up at midnight and then cries for a long time. The same thing happens to him every night."

Ansar has been unable to pay his rent for two months and fears that if he gets evicted and is forced to return to his home village in the impoverished north, he may never be compensated.

The fire drew international attention to the conditions that garment workers toil under in Bangladesh, where the $20 billion-a-year textile industry is incredibly powerful and politically connected.

The factory lacked emergency exits and its owner said only three floors of the eight-story building were legally built. Surviving employees said gates had been locked and managers had told them to go back to work after the fire alarm went off.

A government panel concluded that the fire was sabotage. No one has been charged with setting the blaze, though three officials accused of locking in workers have been arrested.

Siddiqur Rahman, vice president of the garment association, said checks have been cut for families of the 59 victims whose bodies were identified. In addition, 80 workers injured in the fire received 100,000 takas each.

The other 53 people killed were burned beyond recognition and buried in unmarked graves, after samples of their DNA were taken. The garment industry demanded relatives provide their own DNA samples to ensure their claims were valid. Those samples are undergoing testing.

Rahman said the industry did not want to handle the claims haphazardly and said the money should be disbursed by the end of February.

"We will do whatever we have promised," he said.

He declined to explain why the victim's families had not yet received their November wages, which they would be entitled to whether the employee had died or not. Those wages are much smaller than the promised 600,000 takas; Ansar said his wife and daughter together earned around 10,500 takas a month as sewing machine operators.

When Ansar heard about the compensation, he gave the industry association photographs of his wife and daughter, their employee IDs and copies of their national identity cards. His son gave a blood sample for a DNA test days after the fire, but he has heard nothing.

"We went there; we met the BGMEA officials. They have asked us to wait. They don't make anything clear. They asked us to stay at home, not to go there," he said.

He has their phone numbers, but they don't answer when he calls, he said.

"I went there three times, but returned without anything," he said. "How long should we wait?"

"These families are very poor," said Mahmudul Sumon, an anthropologist from Jahangir Nagar University who is studying the fate of the victims' families. "They have lost their dear ones. Now they are suffering a lot, as many of the families have lost someone who was the main earner in the family."

Ruhul Hannan, who said his 35-year-old wife was killed in the blaze, sent his 18-year-old son for a DNA test, but so far he has received nothing, despite his pleas to the garment trade group.

"I am just waiting. They told me to wait until end of this month for the test result," he said.

Activists criticized the government, the garment industry and the factory for keeping important information secret, including the names of the victims of the fire and who has received compensation.

"Who died, who got compensated, who not? We don't have any clear idea," said Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. "There should not be any plot to play hide-and-seek."

She said the major Western brands that produced clothing in the factory have a responsibility to come to Bangladesh to check on the compensation situation. She also raised concerns about the DNA testing process.

"We don't know why it's taking too much time. If time is required, fine, but there should be proper reasons ... that should be explained," she said.

Ahedul, a mechanic who lost his wife in the fire but could not identify her body, said he has no idea what is happening with his claim.

"I have been asked to stay calm by the BGMEA," said Ahedul, who uses only one name. "They told me they will come to me. I don't need to go to them."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-24-Bangladesh-Factory%20Fire/id-4af365bdf53f481f8bd5ae2f1ae360d9

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Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs: First Clip!

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Senate approves limits on the filibuster rule to speed debate (Los Angeles Times)

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Success with BlackBerry ?diehards? isn?t the key to BlackBerry 10?s future

BlackBerry 10

Research In Motion (RIMM) shares are up more than 164% over the past six months as hype surrounding the struggling vendor?s next-generation BlackBerry 10 smartphone platform peaks. While the increased anticipation may lead to success in the early days for RIM?s new BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry X10 smartphones, the company has a much steeper mountain to climb if it hopes to compete in the cutthroat smartphone market.?RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue is trying to keep a level head amid the buzz, and he paints a realistic picture of RIM?s prospects in 2013.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 browser smokes iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 in comparison test [video]]

In a note to investors on Wednesday, Sue raised his price target on RIM shares to $19, up from $11, with a?Sector Perform rating. He sees plenty of potential in BlackBerry 10, but he also warns clients that industry watchers may be getting sucked into the hype and are issuing overzealous estimates as a result.

[More from BGR: Leaked pictures show HTC?s cleaned-up Sense interface from the upcoming M7]

Though some are calling for RIM to sell as many as 30 million handsets to current BlackBerry users, Sue says converting the ?diehards? it just the beginning and convincing the bulk of RIM?s current installed base won?t be as easy as many believe.

?Our forecast calls for RIM to ship 500k BB10 units in the Feb-quarter and 10M in CY13,? the analyst wrote. ?Heavy subsidies and promotions may be required to sustain initially positive trends. Approximately 10?20M of RIM?s 79M installed base may upgrade to BB10 over time, although migration to low-cost Android is likely to continue. BB10, which does not entail mandatory service fees, will increase RIM?s mix of hardware revenue over time. Sustainable hardware margins have been elusive for many vendors.?

Sue continued, noting that the stage is set for RIM?s early success with BlackBerry 10. He lists several things working in RIM?s favor, including 70,000 BlackBerry 10 apps available at launch, the fact that more than 1,600 businesses in North America are testing the platform, and the presence of several key points of differentiation in RIM?s new OS, such as BBM and the separation of work and personal profiles.

But solid early BlackBerry 10 performance is only the tip of the iceberg for RIM.

?The true measure of success will be not just units, but also sustainable profitability, and competition is cut-throat with Windows convinced they will be the third mobile OS vendor,? Sue wrote. ?Heavy upfront spending may be required for the launch and we expect initially $500+ ASP and 10?15% gross margins on BB10 before volumes help margins.?

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/success-blackberry-diehards-isn-t-key-blackberry-10-151528599.html

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Scientists find gene interactions that make cocaine abuse death 8 times more likely

Scientists find gene interactions that make cocaine abuse death 8 times more likely

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Scientists have identified genetic circumstances under which common mutations on two genes interact in the presence of cocaine to produce a nearly eight-fold increased risk of death as a result of abusing the drug.

An estimated one in three whites who died of cocaine exposure is a carrier of variants that make cocaine abuse particularly deadly.

The variants are found in two genes that affect how dopamine modulates brain activity. Dopamine is a chemical messenger vital to the regular function of the central nervous system, and cocaine is known to block transporters in the brain from absorbing dopamine after its release.

The same dopamine genes are also targeted by medications for a number of psychiatric disorders. The researchers say that these findings could help determine how patients will respond to certain drugs based on whether they, too, have mutations that interact in ways that affect dopamine flow and signaling.

The scientists had previously identified a total of seven mutations on two dopamine-related genes, some of which were linked to the risk for cocaine abuse death. Years of molecular genetics studies showed that the mutations had specific functions ? a single variant alone was associated with an almost three-fold increase in risk of dying of cocaine abuse ? and led researchers to hypothesize that the variants probably interacted because the genes themselves relied on each other for proper function.

A statistical analysis that dissected the complex interactions among the variants combined with cocaine exposure revealed gene-gene-environment interactions that would dramatically increase the risk of death from cocaine abuse.

"Finding an impact factor of 8 just blew us away," said Wolfgang Sadee, professor of pharmacology and director of the Program in Pharmacogenomics at Ohio State University and senior author of the study. "Beyond that, this represents a new paradigm. Going forward, we can ask whether such interactions do exist between variants that may be a normal variation in the population. These kinds of interactions may underlie the genetics of behavior."

These specific findings apply primarily to whites. The researchers found that a different combination of variants affect the risk of cocaine abuse death in African Americans, and that in this population, some of the variants had protective properties.

The research is published in the online journal Translational Psychiatry.

The mutations are mostly single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced "snips"). Each gene contains two alternative forms ? called alleles ? that are functionally identical in most people. However, in some cases, the activity level, or expression, of an allele can differ from its partner allele in a single gene.

The SNPs described here are on two genes: the dopamine receptor D2, which is a target for antipsychotic drugs, and the dopamine transporter DAT, the main target of cocaine and amphetamines.

The variants' clinical relevance was determined in earlier work led by Sadee that analyzed human brain autopsy tissues of people who had died of cocaine overdose and from age-matched drug-free controls.

The variants identified in this work are harder to detect and analyze than many mutations because these variants have no role in making protein; they exist in deeper and often overlooked regions of genes. Sadee's lab has designed a technique to predict and determine their functions based on measurements of how much messenger RNA, a carrier of genetic information, each specific allele expresses.

Having a defined set of a manageable number of variables then made a statistical analysis both possible and a critical step to more fully understanding the effects of these variants. First author Danielle Sullivan, a doctoral student in biostatistics at Ohio State, built logistic regression models to search for the main effects and interactions among the variants associated with the higher risk of cocaine death.

"A combination of variants turned out to have a high effect on the risk of dying. That is called epistasis ? a gene-gene-environment interaction that is seen only when there is that extra stimulus, in this case the cocaine," Sadee said. "It's a three-way system, which is incredibly complex unless you know beforehand that these variables are all related to each other."

Sadee said consideration of how gene-gene-environment interactions affect the impact of single genes could help solve the mystery of "missing heritability." Scientists know that genes are behind the causes of many diseases and conditions, but to date have been unable to document the complete genetic history of any given disease.

More immediately, what he has discovered about these variants is likely to increase understanding of numerous psychiatric disorders and improve the effectiveness of medical therapies for these problems. Dopamine-related conditions include attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, phobias, anxiety and schizophrenia.

"The gene-gene interaction that we've reported here, eliciting what might be a 'perfect dopamine storm' under cocaine stimulation, could well contribute to other conditions and affect response to drugs such as antipsychotics and amphetamines," Sadee said.

Clinical studies led by his lab so far suggest that gene-gene interactions occurring without an environmental stimulus such as cocaine do appear to help predict response to certain medications.

He is also extending the research to a handful of other genes that affect signaling in the brain.

"Each gene gives us new combinations, each one has novel variants that can be tested in this way. And they may be considered normal variations ? they're not associated with a disease process, but if there are multiple variants together, they may push this whole system in the direction that makes disease more likely or influences individual response to circumstances like stress or drugs," Sadee said.

###

Ohio State University: http://researchnews.osu.edu

Thanks to Ohio State University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126410/Scientists_find_gene_interactions_that_make_cocaine_abuse_death___times_more_likely

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