Mercedes-Benz USA Announces Senior Management Appointments

30 Apr, 2013

MONTVALE, N.J., April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ ? ;Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today announced new appointments within its senior management team both at corporate headquarters in Montvale, NJ and in its regional offices. ; All appointments take effect May 1, 2013.

(Logo: ; http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100901/NY58315LOGO)

Tracey Matura: Regional General Manager, Central Region
Tracey Matura will become regional general manager, central region. In her new role, Matura will report directly to Mike Slagter, senior vice president, sales, and will be responsible for all service, sales, marketing, operations and dealer relations for the company?s central region in Chicago, IL. ; Most recently, Matura held the role of general manager for smart, overseeing the ; ; ;re-launch of the iconic brand in the U.S. when MBUSA took over in July 2011. ;

Mark Webster: General Manager, smart
Mark Webster will assume Matura?s previous post as general manager for smart USA, overseeing the business operations for the brand in the U.S. ; He will report directly to Bernie Glaser, vice president of marketing. ; His most recent post was general manager, pre-owned and fleet operations, where Webster was responsible for all pre-owned vehicles, remarketing programs and fleet operations.

Kurt Cornell: General Manager, Fleet and Pre-Owned
Kurt Cornell will replace Webster as general manager, fleet and pre-owned at MBUSA. ; In his new role, Cornell will be responsible for volume, customer experience and profit targets by ensuring that all activities within the pre-owned vehicles, remarketing programs and fleet operations departments are appropriately executed. ; He will report directly to Mike Slagter. Most recently, Cornell served as an area manager for the western region. ;

Andrew Noye: Regional General Manager, Southern Region
Andrew Noye will assume the role of regional general manager for the southern region. ; ;In this position, Noye will have oversight of all service, sales, marketing, operations and dealer relations for the company?s southern region in Jacksonville, FL. ; He will report directly to Mike Slagter. Previously, Noye served as an area manager for the northeast region.

Bob Yeatman: Regional General Manager, Western Region
Bob Yeatman will assume the role of regional general manager, western region. In this position, he will oversee all service, sales, marketing, operations and dealer relations for the company?s western region in Irvine, CA, reporting directly to Mike Slagter. Most recently, Yeatman served as general manager, sales operations at MBUSA.

Blair Creed: General Manager, Sales Operations
Blair Creed replaces Yeatman as general manager, sales operations. Creed will oversee the development and implementation of all policies, programs and activities in support of all Mercedes-Benz new vehicle sales and objectives. ; He will also be responsible for sales volume planning, which aligns MBUSA?s strategic sales direction and front-line execution. ; Creed will report directly to Mike Slagter. His most recent post at MBUSA was general manager for Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, the company-owned dealership. ;

Jay Schmid: General Manager, Mercedes-Benz Manhattan
Jay Schmid takes over Creed?s position as general manager, Mercedes-Benz Manhattan. In this role, he will be responsible for all operations at the Manhattan dealership, including personnel management, customer experience, sales, aftersales, marketing and community relations. Schmid will report directly to Gareth Joyce, vice president, customer services. ; Previously, Schmid served as general manager, central region. ;

For complete biographies and photos, accredited journalists can visit the MBUSA Media Site, http://www.media.mbusa.com. ;

About Mercedes-Benz USA

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz products in the United States. ; MBUSA offers drivers the most diverse line-up in the luxury segment with 12 model lines ranging from the sporty C-Class to the flagship S-Class sedans and the SLS AMG GT. ; ;

MBUSA is also responsible for the distribution, marketing and customer service of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Vans, and smart products in the U.S. ; More information on MBUSA and its products can be found at www.mbusa.com, www.mbsprinterusa.com ;and www.smartusa.com.

SOURCE Mercedes-Benz USA

Source: http://latinbusinesstoday.com/2013/04/mercedes-benz-usa-announces-senior-management-appointments/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mercedes-benz-usa-announces-senior-management-appointments

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Protein shaped like a spider

Monday, April 29, 2013

The protein C4BP is similar to a spider in its spatial form with eight "arms". The structure of the "spider body" has recently been described in detail by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Technische Universit?t Darmstadt. This leads the scientists to unconventional ideas ? the protein is possibly suitable as a scaffold for the transport of active pharmaceutical substances, particularly biomolecules. The researchers are publishing their results in the current edition of the international journal Journal of Molecular Biology.

The so-called complement system is a part of the innate immune defence within the human body: more than sixty different proteins form one of the first countermeasures against invading pathogens. One of them is the C4b binding protein known as C4BP. It is involved in the immune defence against bacteria in the blood. How precisely such protein substance carries out its function or how it interacts with other molecules ? this can only be predicted by scientists once they have identified the spatial structure of the molecule. Structural biologists therefore examine the substance in its purest form with x-ray machines and are able to reconstruct the spatial design in a computer. Regarding the case of the recently-described C4BP, they found out that it has eight "arms" and thus resembles a spider to a certain degree. Seven of the "arms" are identical as "alpha chains", while the eighth, a "beta chain" is different from the others. The spider body that holds these side chains together is called the oligomerisation domain. Its structure was of special interest to researchers, since it determines the spatial alignment of the "arms".

The newly-described structure allows two possible variants. "However, there is one of these two possibilities that is more feasible because it is much more stable", says Thomas Hofmeyer, PhD student at the Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of TU Darmstadt and first author for the publication. And the C4BP is quite stable, as explained by the other first author Dr. Stefan Schmelz from the Department of Molecular Structural Biology of HZI: "Even boiling is not able to break down its form." Usually, human proteins remain stable up to about 40?C. Higher temperatures are of course not found in the body, but the stability of C4BP has a completely different purpose: "As is the case with all components of the complement system, the C4b binding protein is present in blood plasma. The proteins are exposed to enormous shear forces in the blood stream", explains Dr. Andrea Scrima, head of the junior research group "Structural Biology of Autophagy" at HZI. Therefore, the protein needs a high stability in order to be able to withstand these forces.

The researchers now would like to make use of the spatial structure. Their discoveries have facilitated biochemical synthesis of the molecule. In the context of replication within a test tube, the researchers can undertake alterations in a targeted way: "Instead of the seven alpha chains, we could implement other biomolecules", claims Prof. Harald Kolmar, director of the work group Applied Biochemistry at the Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Technische Universit?t Darmstadt. "We can use the oligomerisation domain as a framework, in order to decorate it with drug molecules." These could be vaccines, for example. Seven with one stroke, by means of the seven-fold binding capability. Bundled in this manner, more active ingredient could make its way to its target. The dosage could be reduced but the immune system would still be considerably stimulated. "It is thereby possible in the future that bottlenecks, limiting the supply of vaccine, could be avoided and side effects reduced", says Kolmar.

###

Thomas Hofmeyer*, Stefan Schmelz*, Matteo T. Degiacomi, Matteo Dal Peraro, Matin Daneschdar, Andrea Scrima, Joop van den Heuvel, Dirk W. Heinz, Harald Kolmar, * contributed equally Arranged Sevenfold: Structural Insights into the C-Terminal Oligomerization Domain of Human C4b-Binding Protein Journal of Molecular Biology, 2013, DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2012.12.017

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research: http://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en

Thanks to Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127972/Protein_shaped_like_a_spider

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California police search for suspect in fatal stabbing of girl

(Reuters) - A manhunt was under way on Sunday in a northern California suburb for a suspect who authorities say stabbed a 9-year-old girl to death in a suburban home and fled, officials said.

Residents of Valley Springs, California, 60 miles southeast of Sacramento, were being warned on Sunday morning to remain inside their homes with their doors locked as investigators fanned out across the region, hunting for the suspected attacker.

Authorities said the victim's 12-year-old brother encountered an intruder in his home on Friday afternoon and the suspect fled, according to KCRA, a local television news station.

The boy went to check on his sister and found her stabbed. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, KCRA reported.

The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department said in statement released on Sunday morning that the suspect may be armed and dangerous.

The department said multiple law enforcement agencies are on the lookout for a white or Hispanic man, about 6-feet tall and described as "muscular," with longish gray hair. They said he was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and blue pants.

The victim's identity has not been released.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-police-search-suspect-fatal-stabbing-girl-161331492.html

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PFT: Next for Tebow?? | ?Not Philly? |? Nor Tampa

AP

After analyzing the draft needs of all 32 teams, PFT will review how well each team addressed those needs. Up next: The Houston Texans.

What they needed: Wide receiver, outside linebacker, guard, nose tackle, tight end.

Who they got:
Round 1: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

Round 2: D.J. Swearinger, SS, South Carolina

Round 3: Brennan Williams, OT, North Carolina

Round 3: Sam Montgomery, DE, Louisiana State

Round 4: Trevardo Williams, DE, Connecticut

Round 6: David Quessenberry, OT, San Jose State

Round 6: Alan Bonner, WR, Jacksonville State

Round 6: Chris Jones, DT, Bowling Green

Round 6: Ryan Griffin, TE, Connecticut

Where they hit: Hopkins overcame the pre-draft smear campaign, and might be the kind of big-play threat they?ve lacked at receiver (other than that Andre Johnson guy, of course). They also added some good offensive line depth in Williams and Quessenberry, guys who should be in the mix this year and could start down the line.

Where they missed: Some more pass rush help would have been nice, and while Williams has promise, there are a lot of folks in the scouting community who think Montgomery?s a waste of time. The talent is there, but that?s not the problem for him. Landing on a good team might create the atmosphere he needs, but the Texans can?t count on him in the short term. The good news is they don?t have to.

Impact rookies: Swearinger will make an impact on opponents, mostly. One of the true hitters in this class, he?s an enforcer in the back of the defense, the kind of guy Ed Reed would have loved lining up next to in Baltimore. He should be a huge benefit on special teams, as he has explosive ability and doesn?t mind dropping a shoulder into someone.

Long-term prospects: Even if Hopkins is the only rookie that contributes, that?s OK for the Texans, who didn?t enter the offseason with many holes to fill. But they need Hopkins to contribute quickly. Reed?s signing was symbolic as much as tangible, as they?re hoping some of his Ravens mojo rubs off on a team with talent, which has disappointed in the postseason. They drafted a few guys who could become the next wave of replacements for departed veterans, but this is clearly a team that sees the window closing, if not this year then soon.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/29/whats-next-for-tebow/related/

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Bangladesh building collapse death toll hits 359

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Police in Bangladesh took six people into custody in connection with the collapse of a shoddily-constructed building that killed at least 359 people, as rescue workers admitted that voices of survivors are getting weaker after four days of being pinned under the increasingly unstable rubble.

Still, in a boost for the rescuers, 29 survivors were pulled out Saturday, said army spokesman Shahinul Islam.

Most of the victims were crushed by massive blocks of concrete and mortar falling on them when the 8-story structure came down on Wednesday morning ? a time many of the garment factories in the building were packed with workers. It was the worst tragedy to hit Bangladesh's massive garment industry, and focused attention on the poor working conditions of the employees who toil for $38 a month to produce clothing for top international brands.

Among those arrested Saturday were two owners of a garment factory, who a Dhaka court ruled can be questioned by police for 12 days without charges being filed. Also detained are two government engineers and the wife of the building owner, who is on the run, in an attempt to force him to surrender. Late Saturday, police arrested another factory owner. Violent public protests continued sporadically in Dhaka and spread to the southeastern city of Chittagong where several vehicles were set on fire.

Working round-the-clock since Wednesday through heat and a thunderstorm, rescuers on Saturday finally reached the ground floor from the top of the mountainous rubble through 25 narrow holes they have drilled, said Brig. Gen. Ali Ahmed Khan, the head of the fire services.

"We are still getting response from survivors though they are becoming weaker slowly," he said, adding that rescue workers were now able to see cars that were parked at the ground level.

"The building is very vulnerable. Any time the floors could collapse. We are performing an impossible task, but we are glad that we are able to rescue so many survivors." He said the operations will continue overnight as chances fade of people surviving for a fifth day with possibly grievous injuries and the heat.

The building site was a hive of frenzied activity all day with soldiers, police and medical workers in lab coats working non-stop. Rescuers passed bottles of water and small cylinders of oxygen up a ladder leaning against the side of the building to be given to possible survivors inside.

They used bare hands and shovels, passing chunks of brick and concrete down a human chain away from the collapsed structure. On the ground, mixed in the debris were several pairs of pink cotton pants, a mud-covered navy blue sock and a pile of green uncut fabric.

Every once in a while a badly decomposed body would be brought out, covered in cloth and plastic, to a spot where ambulances were parked. Workers furiously sprayed air-fresheners on the bodies to cover the stench, leaving the air thick with the smell of death and cheap perfume.

The bodies were kept at a makeshift morgue at the nearby Adharchandra High School before being handed over to families. Many people milled around at the school, waving photos of their missing loved ones.

Officials at a rescue control center at the scene said Sunday that the death toll had risen to 359. Military spokesman Shahinul Islam said 2,429 survivors were accounted for.

Junior Home Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku said police had arrested Bazlus Samad, managing director of New Wave Apparels Ltd., and Mahmudur Rahman Tapash, the company chairman. He told reporters that police had also detained the wife of Mohammed Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, for questioning. The top three floors of the eight-story building were illegally constructed. Military spokesman Shahinul Islam said officials arrested Aminul Islam, chairman of Phantom Apparels Ltd., late Saturday in Dhaka.

Authorities are still searching for Rana, a local politician, who hasn't been seen publicly since the building collapsed. Negligence cases have been filed against him. Police in Bangladesh often detain relatives of missing suspects as a way to pressure them to surrender.

Dhaka police superintendent Habibur Rahman said Rana was a local leader of ruling Awami League's youth front. His arrest, and that of the factory owners, was ordered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the Awami League leader.

Police said they detained for questioning two engineers working for the Savar municipality, Imtemam Hossain and Alam Ali. They did not say what role they played in approving the design of the building but it was clear that the arrests amounted to a widening crackdown. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

A garment manufacturers' group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed.

Police say they ordered an evacuation of the building on Tuesday after cracks in Rana Plaza were found, but the factories ignored the order and were operating when it collapsed the next day. Video before the collapse shows cracks in walls, with apparent attempts at repair. It also shows columns missing chunks of concrete and police talking to building operators.

Officials said soon after the collapse that numerous construction regulations had been violated.

The disaster is the worst ever for the country's booming and powerful garment industry, surpassing a fire five months ago that killed 112 people and brought widespread pledges to improve worker-safety standards. Since then, very little has changed in Bangladesh, where low wages have made it a magnet for numerous global brands.

Bangladesh's garment industry was the third largest in the world in 2011, after China and Italy, having grown rapidly in the past decade. The country's minimum wage is the equivalent of about $38 a month.

Among the garment makers in the building were Phantom Apparels, Phantom Tac, Ether Tex, New Wave Style and New Wave Bottoms. Altogether, they produced several million shirts, pants and other garments a year.

The New Wave companies, according to their website, make clothing for several major North American and European retailers.

Britain's Primark acknowledged it was using a factory in Rana Plaza, but many other retailers distanced themselves from the disaster, saying they were not involved with the factories at the time of the collapse or had not recently ordered garments from them.

Wal-Mart said none of its clothing had been authorized to be made in the facility, but it is investigating whether there was any unauthorized production.

__

AP writers Chris Blake and Gillian Wong in Dhaka, and Kay Johnson in Mumbai contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-building-collapse-death-toll-hits-359-033425257.html

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Kristen Stewart: I'll Marry Robert Pattinson ? Report - Hollywood Life

FameFlynet

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:

1. Robert Pattinson: The Next Time He?s Leaving Kristen Stewart For Work Revealed
2. Robert Pattinson Arrives In LA ? Jets Back To Kristen Stewart
3. Kristen Stewart Asked Robert Pattinson To Attend Met Ball With Her

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/04/28/robert-pattinson-kristen-stewart-marriage-committed-relationship/

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Grizzlies beat Clippers 104-83, tie series at 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) ? When Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph click together, the Memphis Grizzlies are very, very tough to beat.

Gasol and Randolph had 24 points apiece and led a strong rebounding effort by the Grizzlies in a 104-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday that evened their first-round playoff series at 2-all.

"Their synergy is pretty amazing you know what I mean," Clippers guard Chris Paul said. "Z Bo on the inside and big fella Marc, that's another guard the way he passes the ball and shoots the ball. You just got to run them. You got to run them. You got to try to get them tired. You can't just leave them in a rocking chair."

Gasol also contributed 13 rebounds and Randolph had nine boards as Memphis won its second straight to ensure another stop in Tennessee for Game 6. Mike Conley had 15 points and 13 assists, and Tayshaun Prince scored 15 in his best game of the series.

"Now we got to go out there and try to get a win," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

Paul and Blake Griffin had 19 points apiece for the Clippers, and Griffin also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double this postseason. Los Angeles' reserves outscored its counterparts again, 43-16. But DeAndre Jordan was the only other starter besides Paul and Griffin to score for the Clippers, and he had two points. Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler went a combined 0 for 10 from the floor in being shut out.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

"We got to go back, and we got to take care of business in Game 5 at home in front of our fans," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "But there's no question we're going to have to get back to playing the way we did the first couple games."

The team that controls the boards has won each game of the series so far, with Memphis owning a 45-28 advantage in Game 4. That led to a 22-2 difference in second-chance points, boosted by a 13-5 edge on offensive boards.

The Grizzlies used their prowess on the glass to beat the speedy Clippers when it came to fast-break points, 18-6.

Memphis' biggest advantage is its big men, and Randolph and Gasol each took turns helping the Grizzlies turn this into a best-of-three series. Gasol had six points at halftime, and Tony Allen said Hollins chewed out the 7-foot-1 Spaniard at the break, reminding him to score.

"The second half he was just phenomenal," Allen said.

Gasol said Hollins didn't tell him to try to score more because the center noted he had been trying to do just that in the first half.

"We had Zach going in the first half, so we played through Zach," Gasol said. "It doesn't matter who scores. At the end of the day, what matters is we win."

Randolph had 16 points and seven rebounds in the first half as Memphis got off to a quick start, leading 33-25 after the first quarter. Gasol scored 18 in the second half, using an effective jumper to avoid the paint after picking up his third foul with 7:54 left in the third. Randolph got his third 7 seconds later.

It didn't matter.

The Clippers never led by more than two, the last at 60-58 on a pair of free throws by Paul with 5:58 left in the third. Gasol then hit a 23-footer that beat the shot clock and made a pair of free throws to put Memphis ahead.

Ronny Turiaf's layup tied it for the sixth and final time. Gasol found Randolph for a layup that put the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 64-62 on the 10th and final lead change with 3:21 left in the third.

Memphis opened the fourth with a 19-5 surge and went up as much as 20, the first on a drive by Quincy Pondexter with 3:45 left at 96-76. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 33-16 in the quarter and 55-36 for the half.

Del Negro then subbed in from his bench with 3:02 remaining and had all his starters on the sideline for the final 2 minutes.

"They kind of blew us away in the fourth quarter," Billups said.

The Grizzlies set the tone from the start and led by as much as 12 in the first quarter. They went cold in the second when Paul scored nine of his 14 first-half points to help the Clippers to a 47-46 lead at halftime.

The Clippers wanted to be aggressive in what's been a physical series with lots of wrestling, especially between Randolph and Griffin. All the pounding appeared to take a toll in the second quarter as the Clippers had a chance to take their first lead only to have Griffin travel on back-to-back possessions. They couldn't even connect on a dunk as Prince tipped away a lob to Griffin.

Gasol was the key in the third. He even connected on a 23-foot jumper off an inbounds pass from Prince late in the shot clock. That tied it at 60 with 4:35 left and cranked new energy into the arena.

NOTES: The Grizzlies went 15-3 in the regular season when Gasol posted a double-double. ... Memphis improved to 17-1 when shooting at least 50 percent. ... The Grizzlies sold out their 12th straight postseason game. ... The Grizzlies played without veteran guard Keyon Dooling, who sat out with a strained muscle. ... Prince had only 10 points in the first three games combined. ... The Clippers shot 13 of 39 in the second half, compared to 20 for 35 for Memphis.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-04-27-Clippers-Grizzlies/id-2667b85271004d67964644bd849a6562

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Pat Healy submits Jim Miller at UFC 159, but Bruce Buffer almost announces wrong winner

Jim Miller is 5-foot-8, fights at 155 lbs., and has a bushy red beard. Pat Healy is 5-foot-9, fights at 155 lbs., and sported a trimmed red beard at UFC 159. Can you blame UFC announcer Bruce Buffer for mixing them up?

Healy, who returned to the UFC after spending much of his career in Strikeforce, put Miller to sleep with a rear naked choke in the third round of their thrilling bout. As the two stood on either side of referee Herb Dean to have the fight result announced, Buffer announced the winner by submission was Jim Mill-Pat Healy!

Healy smiled and corrected Buffer, who rarely makes such errors. It was a lighthearted moment that Healy laughed about after a thrilling bout.

Miller started out landing leg kicks and used ground and pound to beat up Healy in the first round. Near the end of the round, Healy was saved by the bell as Miller's ground and pound was close to ending the bout before the horn sounded.

[Also: Two bizarre endings mar UFC 159 prelims]

It was in the third that Healy turned the bout around. Healy weakened Miller with striking, then took him down and took his back. He sunk in the rear naked choke, and Miller's arms went limp. The fight was stopped at 4:02 in the third because Miller was out.

Miller wanted to use the bout to convince UFC president Dana White that he was ready for a title shot. Instead, it was Healy who stood out. In his post-fight interview with UFC commentator, he warned other UFC lightweights to watch out because he was "putting them on blast."

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/pat-healy-submits-jim-miller-ufc-159-bruce-030349579.html

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On the far side of the sea: Conakry traffic laws according to Michelle

Immediately upon our arrival in Guinea, I quickly realized that there aren't exactly a clear set of traffic rules in Conakry. And by that I mean there seem to be none whatsoever. Now, eight months of driving a Land Rover around this crazy city later, I have decided to write my own, based on what I have seen.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware that these are not the actual, legal traffic laws.

The biggest car always has the right of way. Stubbornness can overcome some amount of size difference. Constant horn honking combined with stubbornness can overcome even more size difference.

Turn signals typically (not always) indicate that a car is turning. However, an important distinction is that a right turn signal might very well indicate that a person is turning left. They may just have a broken left turn signal.

One-ways are not well-marked so usually their direction is determined by which direction more people want to go at any given time. Even when it is obvious which way traffic is flowing, if that is not conducive to the direction you want to go, you can go the other way. In that case, the right of way rules come into effect. The bigger you are and the more you honk your horn, the faster you can drive down a one-way in the wrong direction.

The number of people who can fit in a taxi is always one more. The same goes for what can go on top- always a little bit more.

When stuck in a traffic jam (aka anytime driving on a weekday), always move as far in the direction you are trying to go as possible. Even if this will ultimately slow you down because the entire traffic jam is caused by someone trying to turn around and they need some minimal amount of space to do so, keep inching forward no matter what.

If you allow more than a couple of car lengths between you and the car in front of you on the highway, you must prepare yourself and your brakes for dozens of people to make a break for it crossing the street.

I still have not quite figured out the hand signal system used by guards at gates and roadblocks. Usually I have found that a functional way to determine what they mean is slowly keep doing what you planned on doing anyway and watch their reaction. Smiling and a thumbs up helps.

It's not exactly a traffic law, but if you decide to buy anything being sold by people walking along the street (including, but not limited to: kleenex cases, bags of water, q-tips, popcorn, plungers, sheets, mini lawn chairs, frozen yogurt, cups of tea, bars of soap, phone cards, pieces of fresh coconut, and leopard print leggings) you need only to wave the salesman down and they will certainly find a way to catch up with you. Eye contact with one of these salesman indicates, "I have never wanted leopard print leggings more in my life so please don't let my words tell you otherwise."

Source: http://michelledeneen.blogspot.com/2013/04/conakry-traffic-laws-according-to.html

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Syrian rebels, troops clash at 3 air bases

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad fought intense battles with his troops on Sunday to try to seize control of three military air bases in the country's north and curtail the regime's use of its punishing air power, activists said.

Rebels, who have been trying to capture the air fields for months, broke into the sprawling Abu Zuhour air base in northwestern Idlib province and Kweiras base in the Aleppo province on Saturday. Fighting raged inside the two facilities Sunday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least seven fighters were killed in the fighting in Abu Zuhour, in addition to an unknown number of soldiers. The group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said the Syrian air force conducted an airstrike on Abu Zuhour village during the fighting to ease pressure on government troops inside the base.

Rebels control much of Idlib and Aleppo provinces, which border Turkey, although government troops still hold some areas including the provincial capital of Idlib province and parts of the city of Aleppo, Syria's largest urban center.

The Aleppo Media Center said rebels also seized 60 percent of the Mannagh helicopter base near the border with Turkey. Rebels from the Islamist al-Burraq Brigades announced that fighters from multiple factions in northern Aleppo have launched a large-scale offensive to seize full control of the facility.

Government troops regularly shell nearby areas from the Mannagh base, including a rocket attack overnight on the town of Tal Rifaat near the border with Turkey that killed at least four people, including two women and a child.

Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful anti-government protests in March 2011 but eventually turned into a civil war. More than 70,000 people have been killed, according to the United Nations.

The Obama administration said Thursday that intelligence indicates that government forces likely used chemical agents against rebels in two attacks.

Washington's declaration was its strongest on the topic so far, although the administration said it was still working to pin down definitive proof of the use of chemical weapons. It held back from saying Damascus had crossed what President Barack Obama has said would be a "red line" prompting tougher action in Syria.

Both sides of the civil war accuse each other of using the chemical weapons.

The deadliest such alleged attack was in the Khan al-Assal village in the Aleppo province in March. The Syrian government called for the United Nations to investigate alleged chemical weapons use by rebels in the attack that killed 31 people.

Syria, however, has not allowed a team of experts into the country because it wants the investigation limited to the single Khan al-Assal incident, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged "immediate and unfettered access" for an expanded investigation.

The state-run al-Thawra newspaper on Sunday accused the U.N. secretary general of being a "tool" for the United States and accused him of "bowing to American and European pressures."

In neighoring Lebanon, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported that Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Saturday night with the pro-Syrian militant group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. No details emerged of the late night meeting.

The Shiite Muslim group has been drawn into the fighting in Syria and is known to be backing regime fighters in Shiite villages near the Lebanon border. The Syrian opposition accuses fighters from the group of taking part in the Syrian military crackdown inside the country.

At a Sunday morning at a news conference in Beirut, Bogdanov called for a diplomatic solution to Syria's civil war based on the Geneva Communique of June 2012. The communique is a broad but ambiguous proposal endorsed by Western powers and Russia to provide a basis for negotiations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-troops-clash-3-air-bases-145501269.html

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FBI's longtime director faces criticism of bureau again

By Susan Cornwell and Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As he nears the end of a dozen years as director of the FBI, Robert Mueller finds himself defending the agency over its handling of two high-profile cases. It is a familiar spot for the low-key ex-Marine.

At the request of President Barack Obama, Mueller stayed on for two years beyond the job's 10-year term to help stabilize law enforcement's fight against domestic and international threats to U.S. security. Recent events - the bombing at the Boston Marathon and ricin-laced letters sent to Obama and a U.S. senator - have left Mueller dealing with suggestions that agency missteps may have added to the damage.

Mueller, 68, who is scheduled to leave office in early September, has endured many congressional attacks against his agency's performance. While he is not universally praised on Capitol Hill, he has won enough bipartisan support to be considered a success.

Tellingly, it was a target of the 2001 anthrax letters - Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont - who told Mueller at a 2008 hearing that he seriously doubted the findings of the FBI's long and complicated anthrax investigation. But three years later, Leahy as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman helped Mueller win a two-year extension of his term.

The FBI chief gets far milder treatment than some other prominent members of the 0bama administration, such as U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. She came under heavy fire from Republicans for remarks she made after the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi in which four Americans were killed, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

In Washington, where making enemies is easy, Mueller wins high scores from members of Congress for his competence, even as he guided a vast expansion of FBI powers since the hijacked plane attacks of September 11, 2001.

"I believe he is well liked, even though I find fault with a lot of his policies, or how he does things," Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in an interview. "I think he's well intentioned ... it's kind of difficult for me to criticize him even when there is a screw-up," Grassley added.

This month, the FBI has faced fresh assaults over its failure to spot the potential danger from Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a suspect in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, after Russia asked the bureau to investigate him two years ago. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a police shootout and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been charged in the bombings that killed three people and injured more than 200.

Two senior Republican lawmakers complained Tamerlan Tsarnaev was yet another in a series of cases in which a person investigated by the agency had later taken part in attacks.

Soon after the Boston bombings, the FBI accused an Elvis impersonator of sending letters containing ricin to Obama and other officials, only to quickly drop the charges for a lack of evidence.

Mueller and his leadership team have briefed members of Congress about the cases, but further inquiries are likely.

"I think he is ready to go home. He has had 12 years," said Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. He praised Mueller, who was first nominated to the job by a Republican president, George W. Bush.

"He has had some major issues to confront, including 9/11, then Russian and China threats, cyber threats," he said.

Some lawmakers say that despite the Boston blasts, the FBI thwarted other plots in recent years, including one to bomb New York's subway system. They also note that there was an arrest within days of the Boston bombing.

"I thought they (the FBI) did fabulous in getting to the bottom of the Boston bombing, but as great as that was, it was embarrassing to bring in a guy who had nothing to do with the ricin mailings," said Representative Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the FBI.

Mueller's office did not comment, although Mueller has praised the work of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for the arrest of the Boston bombing suspect.

LOW PROFILE?

Some think Mueller's secret to success has been keeping a low profile in a town where many people are constantly angling to get attention. Mueller, while doing a lot of closed-door briefings for leaders, does not talk much to the media.

"I think he has been successful because he hasn't been a press hog," Grassley said.

Mueller, a former Justice Department official, was nominated for the top FBI job in 2001 and took office days before the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

When Obama asked Mueller to stay on, some Senate Republicans initially balked. One, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, came around after Mueller met with him to discuss the bureau's handling of a Kentucky case.

Mueller fielded heavy criticism from his earliest days in office.

After the 9/11 attacks, politicians from both parties questioned how the FBI had missed several warning signs of the hijackings, such as a memo from a Phoenix agent about Middle Eastern men taking flight lessons.

The anthrax case led to criticism because the bureau focused for so long on the wrong man, a mistake that ultimately cost the government millions of dollars in settling a lawsuit.

The FBI finally concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivans was responsible for the anthrax attacks, but he killed himself before charges were brought.

In 2008, Leahy, then the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Mueller he did not believe the FBI finding that Ivans was solely responsible. Leahy said he thought others had to be involved.

Mueller reorganized the FBI to expand its analytical capability and improve its intelligence collection. He also beefed up its bioterrorism capabilities.

He has been praised for resisting some parts of the expansion of domestic surveillance under Bush.

Grassley said Mueller had not always been as responsive as possible to the senator's letters or "as protective of whistleblowers as he should be."

But he said there should not be another extension as director for Mueller, no matter how well liked he may be.

The purpose of the law limiting the director's term "is to make sure we don't get into this J. Edgar Hoover syndrome, that one guy is so indispensable," Grassley said, referring to the former FBI director of almost four decades. "We don't want to get caught in that syndrome again."

(Reporting By Susan Cornwell; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fbis-longtime-director-faces-criticism-bureau-again-122025633.html

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APNewsBreak: Russia caught bomb suspect on wiretap

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Russian authorities secretly recorded a telephone conversation in 2011 in which one of the Boston bombing suspects vaguely discussed jihad with his mother, officials said Saturday, days after the U.S. government finally received details about the call.

In another conversation, the mother of now-dead bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was recorded talking to someone in southern Russia who is under FBI investigation in an unrelated case, officials said.

The conversations are significant because, had they been revealed earlier, they might have been enough evidence for the FBI to initiate a more thorough investigation of the Tsarnaev family.

As it was, Russian authorities told the FBI only that they had concerns that Tamerlan and his mother were religious extremists. With no additional information, the FBI conducted a limited inquiry and closed the case in June 2011.

Two years later, authorities say Tamerlan and his brother, Dzhohkar, detonated two homemade bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260. Tamerlan was killed in a police shootout and Dzhohkar is under arrest.

In the past week, Russian authorities turned over to the United States information it had on Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva. The Tsarnaevs are ethnic Chechens who emigrated from southern Russia to the Boston area over the past 11 years.

Even had the FBI received the information from the Russian wiretaps earlier, it's not clear that the government could have prevented the attack.

In early 2011, the Russian FSB internal security service intercepted a conversation between Tamerlan and his mother vaguely discussing jihad, according to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with reporters.

The two discussed the possibility of Tamerlan going to Palestine, but he told his mother he didn't speak the language there, according to the officials, who reviewed the information Russia shared with the U.S.

In a second call, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva spoke with a man in the Caucasus region of Russia who was under FBI investigation. Jacqueline Maguire, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington Field Office, where that investigation was based, declined to comment.

There was no information in the conversation that suggested a plot inside the United States, officials said.

It was not immediately clear why Russian authorities didn't share more information at the time. It is not unusual for countries, including the U.S., to be cagey with foreign authorities about what intelligence is being collected.

Nobody was available to discuss the matter early Sunday at FSB offices in Moscow.

Jim Treacy, the FBI's legal attache in Moscow between 2007 and 2009, said the Russians long asked for U.S. assistance regarding Chechen activity in the United States that might be related to terrorism.

"On any given day, you can get some very good cooperation," Treacy said. "The next you might find yourself totally shut out."

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva has denied that she or her sons were involved in terrorism. She has said she believed her sons have been framed by U.S. authorities.

But Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers and Zubeidat's former brother-in-law, said Saturday he believes the mother had a "big-time influence" as her older son increasingly embraced his Muslim faith and decided to quit boxing and school.

After receiving the narrow tip from Russia in March 2011, the FBI opened a preliminary investigation into Tamerlan and his mother. But the scope was extremely limited under the FBI's internal procedures.

After a few months, they found no evidence Tamerlan or his mother were involved in terrorism.

The FBI asked Russia for more information. After hearing nothing, it closed the case in June 2011.

In the fall of 2011, the FSB contacted the CIA with the same information. Again the FBI asked Russia for more details and never heard back.

At that time, however, the CIA asked that Tamerlan's and his mother's name be entered into a massive U.S. terrorism database.

The CIA declined to comment Saturday.

Authorities have said they've seen no connection between the brothers and a foreign terrorist group. Dzhohkar told FBI interrogators that he and his brother were angry over wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the deaths of Muslim civilians there.

Family members have said Tamerlan was religiously apathetic until 2008 or 2009, when he met a conservative Muslim convert known only to the family as Misha. Misha, they said, steered Tamerlan toward a stricter version of Islam.

Two U.S. officials say investigators believe they have identified Misha. While it was not clear whether the FBI had spoken to him, the officials said they have not found a connection between Misha and the Boston attack or terrorism in general.

___

Associated Press writer Adam Goldman in Washington and Michael Kunzelman in Boston contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-27-Boston%20Marathon-Russia/id-cfb418756c2f4c2e8ab1e77976b35674

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Hitting 'reset' in protein synthesis restores myelination: Suggests new treatment for misfolded protein diseases such as Alzheimer's

Apr. 26, 2013 ? A potential new treatment strategy for patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is on the horizon, thanks to research by neuroscientists now at the University at Buffalo's Hunter James Kelly Research Institute and their colleagues in Italy and England.

The institute is the research arm of the Hunter's Hope Foundation, established in 1997 by Jim Kelly, Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, and his wife, Jill, after their infant son Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, an inherited fatal disorder of the nervous system. Hunter died in 2005 at the age of eight. The institute conducts research on myelin and its related diseases with the goal of developing new ways of understanding and treating conditions such as Krabbe disease and other leukodystrophies.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth or CMT disease, which affects the peripheral nerves, is among the most common of hereditary neurological disorders; it is a disease of myelin and it results from misfolded proteins in cells that produce myelin.

The new findings sere published online earlier this month in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

They may have relevance for other diseases that result from misfolded proteins, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, cancer and mad cow disease.

The paper shows that missteps in translational homeostasis, the process of regulating new protein production so that cells maintain a precise balance between lipids and proteins, may be how some genetic mutations in CMT cause neuropathy.

CMT neuropathies are common, hereditary and progressive; in severe cases, patients end up in wheelchairs. These diseases significantly affect quality of life but not longevity, taking a major toll on patients, families and society, the researchers note.

"It's possible that our finding could lead to the development of an effective treatment not just for CMT neuropathies but also for other diseases related to misfolded proteins," says Lawrence Wrabetz, MD, director of the institute and professor of neurology and biochemistry in UB's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and senior author on the paper. Maurizio D'Antonio, of the Division of Genetics and Cell Biology of the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan is first author; Wrabetz did most of this research while he was at San Raffaele, prior to coming to UB.

The research finding centers around the synthesis of misfolded proteins in Schwann cells, which make myelin in nerves. Myelin is the crucial fatty material that wraps the axons of neurons and allows them to signal effectively. Many CMT neuropathies are associated with mutations in a gene known as P0, which glues the wraps of myelin together. Wrabetz has previously shown in experiments with transgenic mice that those mutations cause the myelin to break down, which in turn, causes degeneration of peripheral nerves and wasting of muscles.

When cells recognize that the misfolded proteins are being synthesized, cells respond by severely reducing protein production in an effort to correct the problem, Wrabetz explains. The cells commence protein synthesis again when a protein called Gadd34 gets involved.

"After cells have reacted to, and corrected, misfolding of proteins, the job of Gadd34 is to turn protein synthesis back on," says Wrabetz. "What we have shown is that once Gadd34 is turned back on, it activates synthesis of proteins at a level that's too high -- that's what causes more problems in myelination.

"We have provided proof of principle that Gadd34 causes a problem with translational homeostasis and that's what causes some neuropathies," says Wrabetz. "We've shown that if we just reduce Gadd34, we actually get better myelination. So, leaving protein synthesis turned partially off is better than turning it back on, completely."

In both cultures and a transgenic mouse model of CMT neuropathies, the researchers improved myelin by reducing Gadd34 with salubrinal, a small molecule research drug. While salubrinal is not appropriate for human use, Wrabetz and colleagues at UB and elsewhere are working to develop derivatives that are appropriate.

"If we can demonstrate that a new version of this molecule is safe and effective, then it could be part of a new therapeutic strategy for CMT and possibly other misfolded protein diseases as well," says Wrabetz.

And while CMT is the focus of this particular research, the work is helping scientists at the Hunter James Kelly Research Institute enrich their understanding of myelin disorders in general.

"What we learn in one disease, such as CMT, may inform how we think about toxins for others, such as Krabbe's," Wrabetz says. "We'd like to build a foundation and answer basic questions about where and when toxicity in diseases begin."

The misfolded protein diseases are an interesting and challenging group of diseases to study, he continues. "CMT, for example, is caused by mutations in more than 40 different genes," he says. "When there are so many different genes involved and so many different mechanisms, you have to find a unifying mechanism: this problem of Gadd34 turning protein synthesis on at too high a level could be one unifying mechanism. The hope is that this proof of principle applies to more than just CMT and may lead to improved treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Type 1 diabetes and the other diseases caused by misfolded proteins."

Co-authors with D'Antonio and Wrabetz are M. Laura Feltri, MD, professor of neurology and biochemistry at UB and a researcher with UB's Hunter James Kelly Research Institute at the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences; Nicolo Musner, Cristina Scapin Daniela Ungaro and Ubaldo Del Carro from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute and David Ron of Cambridge and the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the European Community and an award to D'Antonio from the Italian Ministry of Health.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University at Buffalo. The original article was written by Ellen Goldbaum.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. M. D'Antonio, N. Musner, C. Scapin, D. Ungaro, U. Del Carro, D. Ron, M. L. Feltri, L. Wrabetz. Resetting translational homeostasis restores myelination in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1B mice. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2013; 210 (4): 821 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20122005

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/~3/_o1zELs2WuM/130426135037.htm

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Justin Bieber Takes On The Paparazzi In 'Believe' Film Scene

Director Jon Chu tells The Los Angeles Times how the movie release has 'evolved' since earlier this year.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706425/justin-bieber-believe-movie-scene.jhtml

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NASA video shows 3 years of the Sun?s activity in 3 minutes

* 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. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/nasa-video-shows-3-years-sun-activity-3-003654420.html

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N. Korea: American tourist will face trial

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday a Korean-American tourist, who has been held in prison by the reclusive state since late last year, will face trial for "committing crimes" against the North, a move that could further stoke tensions with the United States.

Kenneth Bae, 44, was in a group of five tourists who visited the northeastern city of Rajin on a five-day trip last November and has been held by police since then.

KCNA, the North's official news agency, said Bae entered the North on November 3.

"In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it," the KCNA report said, using the North's official title of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"His crimes were proved by evidence," it said, adding he would soon be taken to the Supreme Court "to face judgment".

Former U.N. ambassador Bill Richardson delivered a letter regarding Bae to officials during a trip to North Korea in January, although he was unable to meet Bae.

Richardson has made numerous trips to North Korea that have included efforts to free detained Americans.

Tensions between North Korea and South Korea and Seoul's ally the United States have spiraled in recent weeks since the United Nations tightened sanctions after the North's third nuclear weapon test in February.

The toughening of those sanctions led to a dramatic intensification of North Korea's threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.

On Friday, Pyongyang rejected a call for formal talks to end a standoff that led operations at a joint industrial complex shared by the North and South to be halted.

South Korea in turn said it would pull out all its remaining workers from the Kaesong factory complex, which is just inside North Korea and is one of the North's few sources of ready cash.

(Reporting By Jane Chung; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-says-american-tourist-holding-face-trial-035954456.html

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Everything Wrong With Iron Man 2

Hot on the heels of pointing out everything wrong with the original Iron Man film, the folks at CinemaSins have passed their fine toothed combs over the sequel, finding a mountain of errors that even a robotic supersuit can't fix. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4QxA5Xnr-eE/everything-wrong-with-iron-man-2

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Hookah smoking delivers carcinogens and carbon monoxide

Along with nicotine, user gets toxic substances from water pipes

By Nathan Seppa

Web edition: April 26, 2013

Enlarge

SMOKE IN THE AIR

Compared with smoking cigarettes, using a hookah (shown) sends more carbon monoxide and carcinogens into a smoker?s body.

Credit: Aptyp_koK/Shutterstock

The tobacco and fruit mixture smoked in public hookah bars might be considerably more dangerous than its pleasant scent would suggest. An analysis of people who smoked from water pipes three times a day finds that the pipes deliver more carbon monoxide and benzene, a carcinogen, than does smoking half a pack of cigarettes daily.

In an upcoming issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers document those and several other cancer-causing compounds that showed up in urine tests of the water-pipe smokers. The research calls into question a common assumption: that hookahs are safe.

?This is a great addition to the literature,? says Thomas Eissenberg, a psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He and his colleagues had previous found toxic substances in hookah smoke. The new paper extends his findings by detecting carcinogens and other bad actors in water-pipe smokers themselves, he says.

Hookah smoking goes back hundreds of years in India, the Middle East and North Africa, but it is newer in parts of Europe and North America. The substances heated in a hookah vary. In the study, researchers used pastes chosen by the participants that were 5 to 10 percent tobacco combined with honey, molasses and bits of fruit. This paste goes in the bowl of the pipe, which is covered with a perforated piece of aluminum foil and topped with a burning piece of charcoal, says study coauthor Peyton Jacob III, a research chemist at the University of California, San Francisco. The smoker then inhales.

In the new study, 13 healthy volunteers -- all smokers who used both cigarettes and hookahs -- smoked only a hookah for four days and then, after a week with no restrictions, only cigarettes. The volunteers averaged three water pipe sessions or 11 cigarettes per day.

Urine tests revealed that the volunteers had higher benzene levels when smoking hookahs than when smoking cigarettes. Benzene inhalation is associated with leukemia and lung cancer. The volunteers? tests also showed higher levels of pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon? or PAH, when smoking the hookah. Similar amounts of the probable human carcinogen acrylamide and the PAH phenanthrene showed up during cigarette or hookah smoking. Exposure to PAHs is linked to cancer and immune problems (SN: 3/23/13, p. 19).

Using breath tests, the researchers found that levels of carbon monoxide, a poisonous, odorless gas, were 2.5 times greater in volunteers after the water-pipe sessions than after cigarette smoking. The volunteers? blood samples while smoking the water pipe showed about half as much nicotine as when smoking cigarettes, but researchers estimated that the level was enough to be addictive.

Carbon monoxide and PAHs have been traced to burning charcoal, Eissenberg says. The contributions from the incompletely combusted paste are less clear.

Water-pipe smoking delivers more smoke per puff, Eissenberg says, because the taste is sweet, the smoke is cooled, and inhaling is easier when a smoker doesn?t have to drag air through a filter or tightly packed cigarette. A 2004 study done in an upper class neighborhood in Beirut found that people take 50 to 200 puffs during a water-pipe smoking session, which lasted 20 to 80 minutes. A cigarette smoker takes eight to 12 during an average smoke, the research found.

In the U.S., three in 10 university students have tried a hookah, Eissenberg and colleagues reported in a 2008 survey. Despite the apparent risks, Eissenberg says, hookah pipes and packages of hookah paste carry no regulatory warnings.

?Many water-pipe smokers tell me they know cigarettes are dangerous,? he says. ?It?s written on the pack. They say, ?I haven?t heard anything about water pipe smoking. It must be safe.? ?

---

Suggested Reading

N. Seppa. Tracing pollution links to asthma, allergy. Science News. Volume 183, March 23, 2013, p. 19. [Go to]

B. Primack et al. Water-pipe tobacco smoking among middle and high school students in Arizona. NeoReviews. Vol. 123, Feb. 1, 2009, p. e282.?doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1663. [Go to]

B. Primack et al. Prevalence of and associations with waterpipe tobacco smoking among U.S. university students. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Volume 36, August 2008, p. 81. doi: 10.1007/s12160-008-9047-6. [Go to]

W. Maziak et al. Tobacco smoking using a waterpipe: a re-emerging strain in a global epidemic. Tobacco Control. Volume 13, December 2004, p. 327. doi:10.1136/tc.2004.008169. [Go to]

World Health Organization, ?Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking: Health Effects, Research Needs and Recommended Actions by Regulators.? [Go to]

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349987/title/Hookah_smoking_delivers_carcinogens_and_carbon_monoxide

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Creating Shareholder Value: A Guide for Managers and Investors
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The ultimate test of corporate strategy, the only reliable measure, is whether it creates economic value for shareholders. Now, in this substantially revised and updated edition of his 1986 business classic, Creating Shareholder Value, Alfred Rappaport provides managers and investors with the practical tools needed to generate superior returns. After a decade of downsizings frequently blamed on shareholder value decision making, this book presents a new and indepth assessment of the rationale for shareholder value. Further, Rappaport presents provocative new insights on shareholder value applications to: (1) business planning, (2) performance evaluation, (3) executive compensation, (4) mergers and acquisitions, (5) interpreting stock market signals, and (6) organizational implementation. Readers will be particularly interested in Rappaport?s answers to three management performance evaluation questions: (1) What is the most appropriate measure of performance? (2) What is the most appropriate target level of performance? and (3) How should rewards be linked to performance? The recent acquisition of Duracell International by Gillette is analyzed in detail, enabling the reader to understand the critical information needed when assessing the risks and rewards of a merger from both sides of the negotiating table.

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Missouri House Backs Income Tax Cut, Sales Tax Hike ? CBS St ...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Envious of income tax cuts in neighboring states, Missouri?s Republican-led House voted Wednesday to slice income taxes for individuals and businesses while imposing a higher sales tax that would fund schools and roads.

The legislation would mark the most significant change to Missouri?s tax code in at least a couple of decades. But Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has voiced opposition to similar versions, citing the potential to shift the tax burden away from corporations and the affluent onto those who can least afford the higher sales tax.

The House passed the legislation by a 90-68 vote, though some members of the Republican supermajority defected to join Democrats in opposition. The bill now must go back to the Senate, because the House made changes to a version passed last month in the other chamber.

Republican supporters in both chambers have touted the tax changes as an important counter-move in an ongoing battle for businesses among Missouri and its neighboring states such as Kansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Kansas passed an income tax cut last year. Oklahoma, which cut its income taxes over the past couple decades, appears poised to make another reduction this year. And Tennessee doesn?t tax individual income.

Missouri?s GOP lawmakers asserted that the state hasn?t cut its individual income tax rates since 1921.

?We have to do something, or our state is going to lose out,? said Rep. Andrew Koenig, R-St. Louis County, who handled the bill.

Legislative researchers project the House plan would eventually reduce state revenues by $438 million annually. The Missouri Budget Project, a St. Louis-based nonprofit that has run ads against the proposed tax changes, estimates that the bill could eventually reduce state revenues by almost $1 billion annually.

Democrats suggested the proposed tax changes would bust the state?s budget.

?We?re being really irresponsible here,? said Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Kansas City.

Under the House plan, the top individual income tax rate of 6 percent would be cut by two-thirds of a percentage point over five years, so long as state revenues continue to rise by $100 million annually. The corporate income tax would be gradually reduced by three-quarters of a percentage point. And a new 50 percent deduction would be phased in for business income reported on individual income tax returns.

The bill also contains several provisions meant to aid lower-income families and small businesses. It would nearly double the personal deduction on individual income taxes for those with adjusted gross incomes below $20,000 annually. It also would exempt the first $25,000 of corporate income from taxation.

To partially offset that lost revenue, the legislation would gradually increase the state sales tax by three-fifths of a cent, with most of those revenues earmarked to schools and a smaller portion dedicated to state roads and construction of a new mental hospital. Like the income tax cuts, the sales tax increase would take effect only if state revenues continue to rise by at least $100 million annually.

The various tax changes would start in 2014 and be fully implemented in 2018.

The legislation ?creates a tax structure that?s going to prompt growth and investment in Missouri,? said Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.

No Republicans spoke against the legislation during a debate that was cut off by GOP leaders after an hour and a half. But 19 Republicans voted against the legislation, leaving it far shy of the 109 votes that would be needed to override a potential gubernatorial veto.

Rep. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, said in an interview that he voted ?no? primarily because of the potential hit on government revenues and services.

?I?m concerned, when we?re not fully funding the (school) formula now, how another tax reduction could affect our schools,? Hoskins said.

The House bill differs in several ways from the version previously passed by the Senate. For example, the Senate plan had a larger individual income tax cut of three-quarters of a percentage point and a smaller sales tax hike of one-half cent that would have gone to general state revenues instead of being earmarked for specific purposes.

The House version also includes an amnesty period from this August through October that would allow those with overdue Missouri taxes to pay up without penalties or interest. Supporters of that provision hope it can prompt the payment of tens of millions of tax dollars that Missouri might otherwise not collect.

? Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/04/24/missouri-house-backs-income-tax-cut-sales-tax-hike/

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