Saturday, March 31, 2012

Total Recall: Sequels to Remakes

Total Recall: Sequels to Remakes - Rotten Tomatoes

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With Wrath of the Titans hitting theaters, we take a look at movies whose do-overs were popular enough to warrant a follow-up.

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Who?s Responsible for Meeting the Cyber Threat?

Recently an old colleague, Dr Andrew Rogoyski, came to lecture to our MSc students on how government deals with cyber security. Dr Rogoyski has studied the interactions between government and industry and his talk led to a key question for which there was a surprising range of views. The question? When and how should government get involved in cyber security?

The UK has the most Internet-centric economy in the G20 group of industrialised nations according to research by the Boston Consulting Group released in March 2012. It estimates that the UK?s internet economy was worth ?121bn in 2010, more than ?2,000 per person. Couple this with the knowledge that approximately 20 threats per second are discovered on the Internet, and it?s not surprising that UK government lists cyber security as a ?Tier 1 Threat?, alongside terrorism. However, recognising the threat is slightly different from actually doing something about it.

Governments now recognise that there is a strong economic advantage in having a secure digital infrastructure. In order to attract businesses to your economy increasingly you need to demonstrate that your country is a safe place to conduct Internet-based business. Booz-Allen reports on this aspect of a countries with its cyber hub index.

Interestingly the UK and the US are seen as the safest places for Internet based business. This has resulted in several large corporations quietly reversing the recent trend to relocate business to the developing world to reduce costs. Ensuring security has become as important, if not more important, a business driver for governments as cost. When a country loses its AAA credit score for a ratings agency, it makes headlines. I predict it will not be long before similar importance is attached to measures such as the Booz Allen cyber hub index.

But in order to ensure a safe environment, where does government responsibility end and business responsibility begin? In November 2011, the UK government hosted the first intra-governmental conference on the cyber threat, at which time they issued a revised cyber-security strategy. As well as discussing the usual topics of the threat from cybercrime, espionage and warfare, the conference saw the debate begin at governmental level as to where responsibility lies for protecting key assets on the Internet. When the national interest is threatened, responsibility for protection lies primarily with the state, but many governments are powerless in the case of the cyber threat, for a variety of reasons.

A significant difficulty in protecting critical national assets is that the Internet is primarily run by private companies or non-governmental organisations. That?s true even in the case of? critical national infrastructure such as utilities, which are vulnerable to attack via the Internet. Most of the infrastructure and services that underpin national digital infrastructures are run by private companies such as HP, Fujitsu, IBM, Verizon, BT and others. Even the key technologies employed to sit on top of the infrastructure are developed by private companies ranging from Google, to Microsoft, to Apple plus a raft of much smaller start-ups, some of whom you will never have heard. The level of investment produced by these companies dwarfs those made by governments.

For example, the UK?s National Cyber Security Programme is making available a total of GBP650 million (USD1.01 billion) over four years. This money is intended to be part of a programme whereby government works with businesses, as well as protecting governmental assets. But this money is lost when you think, for example, of cyber security company Symantec spending USD862 million in 2011 alone on research and development. Similarly, Microsoft spent USD8.7 billion in 2010 and Google USD3.7 billion. The disparity between individual government spend, and that they are used to procuring systems over many years rather than at the speed at which Internet technologies change, means that governments find it very difficult to engage with private businesses.

So what have governments done in response to this situation? Well, they have acted in remarkably different ways.

For example, you might imagine the all-out attack on Estonia in 2007 would have led to an aggressive response. Instead it led to the formation of the Co-operative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD COE). The purpose of CCD COE is to understand the cyber threat as it develops and thence to prevent those attacks. This is an approach which has received the full backing of NATO. Meanwhile, the EU has created the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) to act as a hub for the exchange of information, best practices and knowledge in the field of information security.

Other governments have adopted a more militaristic approach. In May 2010, the United States Cyber Command, part of the US Strategic Command, became operational. Cyber Command is not just there for the operations and defence of specified Department of Defense information networks but also to carry out ?full spectrum military cyberspace operations?. Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced in May 2011 that the country would set up a cyber-defence task force to defend Israel?s vital infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

Regardless of style of approach one common theme has emerged: the key to effective defence against the rapidly evolving threat is shared intelligence. The studies conducted by Dr Rogoyski showed that what business wants most from government is Information Sharing and Awareness Raising. And, intelligence is one thing that governments do have.

They are now looking for ways of sharing sensitive information, that they might otherwise be unhappy to share as it might reveal the source of the information, with those who are directly affected by it. In the US in 2011, the Department of Defense launched a new pilot programme, the Defense Industrial Base Cyber-Pilot, in which it shares classified threat intelligence with around 20 defence contractors or their commercial internet service providers. Although the initial scope of Defense Industrial Cyber-Pilot was to help protect government network, it doesn?t take a great leap of imagination to see how this can become a two way process, especially in areas such as power, transportation and energy. The success of this scheme resulted in it being extended in September 2011 to include more private organisation. It has, however, highlighted in the public consciousness that the military are involved in protecting the Internet, and the debate continues as to whether it should be the Department for Homeland Security of the DoD that has such a responsibility. Either way, the positive aspect is that it is happening.

In the UK, the private sector is not necessarily waiting for government direction. For example, a financial services virtual task force has been formed by several large banks. This task force co-operates with the Metropolitan Police and exchanges information on threats and attacks as rapidly as possible. This has proved to be a very effective approach and has led to a number of successful prosecutions. Another information exchange is being set up by Intellect and ADS, UK hi-tech trade associations.

The emergence in 2011 of the infamous Stuxnet virus has highlighted how vulnerable critical national infrastructure is, and this has given a jolt to all those thinking about Internet security from a governmental perspective. Even if it were just a commercial issue, cyber security (and certainly the perception of it) can dramatically affect a nation?s fortune in the modern world. The fact that someone can potentially turn off the water, lights and stop the trains makes people think quite differently about what is a ?stable? country, and will certainly influence anyone trying to decide whether to base their business in a country.

However, it is clear that unlike many historical threats to national wellbeing, this threat can only be checked by the closest collaboration possible between government and business. Business must be focussed on ensuring that this happens, and government must be more willing to share what it knows than it has been previously.

With news only this week that the Duqu virus (evil son of Stuxnet) has been found in the wild in a new variant, we can see that the threats are becoming more advanced and more persistent, and perhaps most worry of all, more targeted. Governments and business have a relatively small window in time to put in place the necessary mechanisms to share information such that it can be acted upon quickly enough to prevent damage. For those countries that don?t do this, they will rapidly realise that whilst in the past people ?voted with their feet?, these days people ?vote with their mouse? and it takes a lot less time lose trust in the Internet age than ever it did before.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=3fb19ade0148d74629bb11dff6fdafea

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[unable to retrieve full-text content]Another great online marketing strategy a internet marketing consultant will recommend is promotion through websites. This is a ... Are You Looking For An Internet Marketing Consultant For Your Small Business Website?

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Study finds circle hooks lower catch rate for offshore anglers

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Anglers are required to use circle hooks in some fishing tournaments because they are less likely to cause lethal injuries in billfish, such as marlin. However, research from North Carolina State University shows that broadening circle hook requirements could adversely impact charter and recreational fishing, since they make it more difficult to catch non-billfish.

"We wanted to know whether circle hooks are effective as conventional J hooks when angling for non-billfish ? such as yellowfin tuna ? in North Carolina waters," says Paul Rudershausen, a research assistant in NC State's biology department and lead author of a paper describing the research. The NC State team worked with charter boat captains and mates who were experienced with use of circle hooks to look at the efficacy of circle hooks versus J hooks when trolling offshore with rod and reel. The findings are relevant for similar fishing efforts in other waters where these same species occur.

A "circle hook" is defined as a circular hook in which the point of the hook is perpendicular to ? and aligned with ? the shank of the hook. This differs from a J hook, which is shaped like the letter J.

Studies have found that circle hooks are less likely to mortally wound billfish during recreational or charter fishing. As a result, the National Marine Fisheries Service instituted regulations requiring anglers in Atlantic billfish tournaments to use circle hooks when using natural baits. J hooks are still permitted if an angler is using purely artificial bait.

Anglers and fishing industry observers have speculated about the possibility that circle hook regulations may be expanded to fishing outside of billfish tournaments ? even when anglers are not fishing for billfish ? to protect billfish species that may be caught inadvertently.

This speculation led NC State researchers to determine whether circle hooks would be as effective as J hooks when fishing for non-billfish species. The answer is no.

The researchers looked at the relative effectiveness of circle and J hooks for three popular sporting fish: dolphinfish (often called mahi mahi in the Pacific), yellowfin tuna and wahoo. "Circle hooks were roughly 60 to 70 percent as effective at catching these three species as J hooks," Rudershausen says.

The researchers found that the fish would still strike at the bait, but that the hook was significantly less likely to set in the mouth of the fish. However, when the hook did set, anglers were just as likely to be able to get the fish to the boat.

"The charter ocean fishing industry is economically significant in North Carolina," Rudershausen says, "receiving approximately $65 million in for-hire fees in 2009. The concern is that circle hooks would drive down catch rates ? which could result in fewer clientele for North Carolina's offshore charter fishing industry."

The researchers hope to work with economists to better capture the potential economic impact of any expansion of circle hook regulations.

###

North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu

Thanks to North Carolina State University 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/118787/Study_finds_circle_hooks_lower_catch_rate_for_offshore_anglers

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West Bloomfield Township Plumbing Qualifications: How DO You ...

Plumbers have a very essential job due to the fact their contribution to society entails strengthening community wellness by using care of clean water, sanitation and heating systems. None of us can do without sizzling baths and central heating. Owing to this, there is a wonderful desire for skilful plumbers and therefore the profession prospects for plumbers are really great. If plumbers have the appropriate training and expertise, they can transfer into air-conditioning air flow, heating, refrigeration and electrical industries. There are also openings for plumbers to enter into management, design and style consultancy and training.

1. Immediately after the instruction and finding the suitable plumbing qualifications, the pay out is typically very great.

2. The perform is different and you have a chance to meet diverse men and women nearly every single day.

3. You shall have to carry heavy tools about with you.

4. You may have to get really soiled whilst working, and thus, you won?t be ready to go out at night time proper following operate.

5. This could not be the right job for you if you do not like paperwork.

Plumbing includes operate which is linked with the situation of drinking water provide pipe perform including that employed in case of fireplace fighting all sorts of space heating, sanitary appliances, fuel set up, weathering of buildings and framework, and discharge of drainage and pipe operate.

Plumbing contains a significant area of perform. Some plumbers operate as ?wet only plumbers and deal with piped systems for water like shower, rest room suites and radiator installation. Other individuals often consider additional plumbing courses and enter into the gas trade as effectively so that they can set up a gas central heating technique also. One of the required plumbing qualifications is to get lawfully registered with the Council of Registered Gas Installers (CORGI) after passing their Approved Certification Scheme (ACS). Plumbers need to have to have the expected plumbing qualification irrespective of which region of the plumbing industry the want to perform in, and they also want to know the Drinking water Laws (Drinking water Bylaws in Scotland) and the Constructing Laws.

Characteristics expected by those wishing to teach as plumbers:

Plumbers need the capacity and the enterprise to remedy issues, have a wish to know far more about any development in plumbing technology, an imaginative mind, good judgment and the most crucial plumbing qualification is professionalism and honesty. Plumbing educational institutions choose applicants to have a GCSE grade A-C stage in Maths and Science or equivalent in order to be positive that they have the mental potential to understand and stick to the plumbing study course.

Becoming a plumber does not only require passing several plumbing programs, it is an incredibly bodily task. You have to be ready to get your hands soiled, be able to use many various types of gear and instruments in a way which is efficient but secure, and also be in a position to work in really cramped areas such as under sinks. You have to be in a position to discover issues quickly due to the fact the skilled plumbers who will get you alongside with them to give you perform experience will enable you to make a blunder once, but by no means once again.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Arizona Contraception Bill: State Senate Defeats Measure Amid Privacy Concerns

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Senate narrowly rejected a bill to allow more employers to drop health insurance coverage for birth control amid concerns that the proposal jeopardized women's care and privacy.

Supporters had changed the bill ahead of the vote Wednesday in an attempt to provide assurances that a woman wouldn't have to explain to her employer why she wants contraceptives.

The amended provisions were a response to criticism that the proposal could force women to divulge private health matters to employers, an interpretation that supporters of the bill disputed.

Under the bill, employers could cite religious and moral objections and be allowed to drop coverage for birth control.

Arizona now allows only religious nonprofits to opt out of the state law requiring coverage of contraceptive care.

The vote Wednesday was a 17-13. Nine Democrats and eight Republicans voted against the bill ? though one Republican did that so she can ask for another vote on the bill sometime in the future ? while Republicans provided all 13 votes in favor.

"I'm all for religious freedom. I'm for all kinds of freedom," but not at the expense of others, said Sen. Jerry Lewis, a Mesa Republican who voted against the bill.

The Republican-sponsored bill is supported by social conservatives and Roman Catholic bishops who say it protects the religious freedom of all employers by allowing them to use the opt-out privilege now extended only to religious entities.

Sen. Nancy Barto, a supporter who changed her vote to no to allow her to ask for another vote, said the bill is needed to provide "a safe haven" to employers.

"Our religious freedoms are under serious attacks and health care is just the latest venue for that attack," said Barto, R-Scottsdale.

Under the bill, employers' health plans still would have to cover contraception for purposes other than birth control, and some of the debate about the bill centered on how that would work.

The bill would allow a health plan of an employer opting out of contraception for birth control to require that workers submit evidence that contraception is for other purposes.

Critics said that could force female workers to submit private health information to their employers and open the door to discrimination based on contraception use.

Supporters denied that and said the information would go only to health plans or insurers, not to employers.

However, they changed multiple parts of the bill to specify that employers wouldn't be authorized to receive the information and that federal health privacy protections must be honored.

Democratic legislators participating in a small Planned Parenthood rally at the Capitol said the contraception bill is part of a Republican "war on women."

"I don't care what they believe ? just don't tell me and my friends and my family to believe the same thing," said Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson.

The Republican-led Legislature also is considering anti-abortion legislation as well as a bill to prohibit funding for Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/arizona-contraception-bill-loses_n_1385917.html

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Social Media and Social Networking Tips | Branson's Web Guy

Social Media and Social Networking Tips

Article by Neel Alfred

Getting website developed and launched is just the half work done. The major challenge is to make the site accessible and visible to your target audience. A website owner may have to undertake search engine optimization in order to do this. But often, website owners and webmasters make small mistakes, which may hinder their website?s chances of been popular.

Have well written content but keep it brief and in an easy to read format ideally using bullet points to highlight the benefits of your gift. You want them to opt in and nothing else so keep your message clear on focused on this objective. Do not distract them with any other needless text or attempt to sell anything.

Posts have a subject, the same as email does. Next comes the body of the subject, or the main part of the post. Usually, posts have comments as a way for readers to respond to what?s been said. Many posts include the time and date it was submitted. Often, blogging is a thing of the moment, and people aren?t as interested in reading out of date posts.

Social Media and Social Networking is among the most popular words nowadays. You will see that everybody is talking about these latest buzzwords in e-Business promotion and advertising. Nowadays, social media marketing and social network marketing is among the most popular strategies in Internet Marketing. A majority of people often swap these words during discussion. For them both words have same meaning, which is completely wrong.

LGN Prosperity is a business that offers an exclusive online suite of products that can be used in any business that is using the internet to market. So, for example, if you have an LGN Prosperity store, you can offer your products to a much wider population of people. If you are working in a business that is targeted at a certain population or age group, your target audience is much more limited. Anyone can use LGN Prosperity to help grow their own existing business, from a work at home mom to a corporate team or company.

Smart internet marketers know that if masses of people congregate at these sites, then these are potential advertising goldmines. Proof of this is aptly explained in one of this year?s best selling books at Amazon.com, entitled, The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, by Lon Safko (author), David Brake (author). The key challenge with social network marketing is how to advertise on these sites in a subtle, inconspicuous way, without being noticed as an advertiser.

The number one problem that people have with their online opportunity is creating MLM business leads. Most people usually get frustrated with lead generation and end up spending money buying leads. This never works. As a matter of fact I dare say that I have never met anyone who has successfully built an MLM business buying leads. Do you want to know how to create MLM business leads for your opportunity, good.

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Monday, March 26, 2012

'Noodle gels' or 'spaghetti highways' could become tools of regenerative medicine

'Noodle gels' or 'spaghetti highways' could become tools of regenerative medicine [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
619-525-6268 (March 23-28, San Diego Press Center)
202-872-6042

Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
619-525-6268 (March 23-28, San Diego Press Center)
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society


SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2012 Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist said here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The world's largest scientific society, ACS is meeting here this week with reports on more than 11,000 reports on new advances in science on its schedule.

Samuel I. Stupp, Ph.D., who presented an ACS plenary lecture, explained that the synthetic pasta-like objects actually are major chemistry advances for regenerative medicine that his research team has accomplished. Regenerative medicine is an emerging field that combines chemistry, biology and engineering. It focuses on the regeneration of tissues and organs for the human body, to repair or replace those damaged through illness, injury, aging or birth defects. Those tissues range from cartilage in joints damaged by arthritis to heart muscle scarred by a heart attack and nerves severed in auto accidents.

"A graying of the population is underway in industrialized countries," Stupp said. "In the U.S., we have the 'baby boom' generation 75 million people born between 1946 and 1964, who now are reaching their mid-60s. At the same time, people are living longer into their 80s, 90s and even 100s. With that comes an expectation of a better quality of life. It's also an economic issue because with lifespan rising, we're going to have to think about how to provide healthcare and keep people functional for longer periods of time, perhaps to keep them in the workforce longer."

Stupp explained that advances in regenerative medicine also hold promise to improve people's lives at any age. For example, a young person could survive a car accident, but emerge with a spinal cord injury and be paralyzed. Also, cardiovascular disease and heart attacks are a leading cause of premature death around the world. Cartilage wears away and does not regenerate on its own in the body, leading to painful osteoarthritis. Some bones do not mend correctly. And the millions of people with diabetes face complications, including blocked blood vessels that result in an increased risk of heart attacks and limb amputations. Regenerative medical techniques could coax cells to grow and repair all of these types of damage, said Stupp, who is with Northwestern University. He is Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Medicine and director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine.

One type of spaghetti-like filament developed by Stupp's team is a nanostructure of small bits of protein that glue themselves together spontaneously. These nanofilaments are so small that more than 50,000 would fit across the width of a human hair, and they can serve as smart scaffolds for many uses. For example, Stupp attached to these fibers signaling substances that mimic a powerful substance called VEGF that can promote the formation of new blood vessels. The VEGF-mimic caused new blood vessels to form in mice (stand-ins for humans) with blood vessel damage.

"When VEGF itself was used in clinical trials on humans, it didn't work, despite a lot of laboratory research that suggested otherwise," said Stupp. "The problem was that VEGF was quickly broken down in the body. The nanofilament scaffold, however, lasts in the body for weeks, which allows the VEGF-mimic more time to grow vessels." Eventually, the nanofilaments break down and disappear, leaving only the new blood vessels behind.

In other research, his group developed so-called "noodle gels," which are nanofibers that form long, noodle-like gels when they are heated, cooled and then squeezed out from a pipette (much like frosting from a piping bag) into salty water. These gels can be more than half an inch long and are visible with the naked eye.

These noodle gels are a potential solution to a long-standing problem in regenerative medicine. It involves delivering proteins, biological signals and stem cells in a specific direction to target precisely the damaged parts of the heart, brain, spinal cord or other organs. Noodle gels can align stem cells in the linear fashion needed for proper repair of damaged tissue. Those strings could also serve as "spaghetti highways" to guide cells in our bodies to a specific location where repair is needed. Alternatively, the noodle gels containing aligned filaments could deliver signaling proteins and other beneficial substances to diseased locales.

Many of Stupp's innovations are in the preclinical stage of testing by various companies, including his own company called Nanotope. These include materials for spinal cord, cartilage, blood vessel and bone regeneration. He predicts that some of these could be in clinical trials within the next five years. Eventually, the nanofibers and gels might someday allow doctors to simply "fix" damage that is currently impossible to treat, improving the quality of life for millions of people with devastating injuries and conditions.

###

The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

Abstract

Regeneration of human tissues and organs can have extraordinary impact on quality of life and the cost of health care, both issues of critical importance when the average lifespan of world populations continues to rise. As the relevant biological pathways become better understood, chemistry can play a key role in implementing novel therapies. This lecture describes strategies that utilize supramolecular self-assembly to create bioactive, biomimetic, and biodegradable nanoscale filaments, virus-like objects, or cell-like microcapsules that function as an artificial extracellular matrix to trigger regeneration. The supramolecular chemistry of these nanostructures allows them to interact directly with cell receptors, activate or mimic growth factors, recruit endogenous proteins, or interact with intracellular targets. The lecture will discuss their use in spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, rapid growth of blood vessels for myocardial infarction or peripheral arterial disease, as well as their use in bone and cartilage regeneration.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


'Noodle gels' or 'spaghetti highways' could become tools of regenerative medicine [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 25-Mar-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
619-525-6268 (March 23-28, San Diego Press Center)
202-872-6042

Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
619-525-6268 (March 23-28, San Diego Press Center)
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society


SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2012 Medicine's recipe for keeping older people active and functioning in their homes and workplaces and healing younger people injured in catastrophic accidents may include "noodle gels" and other lab-made invisible filaments that resemble uncooked spaghetti with nanoscale dimensions, a scientist said here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The world's largest scientific society, ACS is meeting here this week with reports on more than 11,000 reports on new advances in science on its schedule.

Samuel I. Stupp, Ph.D., who presented an ACS plenary lecture, explained that the synthetic pasta-like objects actually are major chemistry advances for regenerative medicine that his research team has accomplished. Regenerative medicine is an emerging field that combines chemistry, biology and engineering. It focuses on the regeneration of tissues and organs for the human body, to repair or replace those damaged through illness, injury, aging or birth defects. Those tissues range from cartilage in joints damaged by arthritis to heart muscle scarred by a heart attack and nerves severed in auto accidents.

"A graying of the population is underway in industrialized countries," Stupp said. "In the U.S., we have the 'baby boom' generation 75 million people born between 1946 and 1964, who now are reaching their mid-60s. At the same time, people are living longer into their 80s, 90s and even 100s. With that comes an expectation of a better quality of life. It's also an economic issue because with lifespan rising, we're going to have to think about how to provide healthcare and keep people functional for longer periods of time, perhaps to keep them in the workforce longer."

Stupp explained that advances in regenerative medicine also hold promise to improve people's lives at any age. For example, a young person could survive a car accident, but emerge with a spinal cord injury and be paralyzed. Also, cardiovascular disease and heart attacks are a leading cause of premature death around the world. Cartilage wears away and does not regenerate on its own in the body, leading to painful osteoarthritis. Some bones do not mend correctly. And the millions of people with diabetes face complications, including blocked blood vessels that result in an increased risk of heart attacks and limb amputations. Regenerative medical techniques could coax cells to grow and repair all of these types of damage, said Stupp, who is with Northwestern University. He is Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and Medicine and director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine.

One type of spaghetti-like filament developed by Stupp's team is a nanostructure of small bits of protein that glue themselves together spontaneously. These nanofilaments are so small that more than 50,000 would fit across the width of a human hair, and they can serve as smart scaffolds for many uses. For example, Stupp attached to these fibers signaling substances that mimic a powerful substance called VEGF that can promote the formation of new blood vessels. The VEGF-mimic caused new blood vessels to form in mice (stand-ins for humans) with blood vessel damage.

"When VEGF itself was used in clinical trials on humans, it didn't work, despite a lot of laboratory research that suggested otherwise," said Stupp. "The problem was that VEGF was quickly broken down in the body. The nanofilament scaffold, however, lasts in the body for weeks, which allows the VEGF-mimic more time to grow vessels." Eventually, the nanofilaments break down and disappear, leaving only the new blood vessels behind.

In other research, his group developed so-called "noodle gels," which are nanofibers that form long, noodle-like gels when they are heated, cooled and then squeezed out from a pipette (much like frosting from a piping bag) into salty water. These gels can be more than half an inch long and are visible with the naked eye.

These noodle gels are a potential solution to a long-standing problem in regenerative medicine. It involves delivering proteins, biological signals and stem cells in a specific direction to target precisely the damaged parts of the heart, brain, spinal cord or other organs. Noodle gels can align stem cells in the linear fashion needed for proper repair of damaged tissue. Those strings could also serve as "spaghetti highways" to guide cells in our bodies to a specific location where repair is needed. Alternatively, the noodle gels containing aligned filaments could deliver signaling proteins and other beneficial substances to diseased locales.

Many of Stupp's innovations are in the preclinical stage of testing by various companies, including his own company called Nanotope. These include materials for spinal cord, cartilage, blood vessel and bone regeneration. He predicts that some of these could be in clinical trials within the next five years. Eventually, the nanofibers and gels might someday allow doctors to simply "fix" damage that is currently impossible to treat, improving the quality of life for millions of people with devastating injuries and conditions.

###

The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

Abstract

Regeneration of human tissues and organs can have extraordinary impact on quality of life and the cost of health care, both issues of critical importance when the average lifespan of world populations continues to rise. As the relevant biological pathways become better understood, chemistry can play a key role in implementing novel therapies. This lecture describes strategies that utilize supramolecular self-assembly to create bioactive, biomimetic, and biodegradable nanoscale filaments, virus-like objects, or cell-like microcapsules that function as an artificial extracellular matrix to trigger regeneration. The supramolecular chemistry of these nanostructures allows them to interact directly with cell receptors, activate or mimic growth factors, recruit endogenous proteins, or interact with intracellular targets. The lecture will discuss their use in spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, rapid growth of blood vessels for myocardial infarction or peripheral arterial disease, as well as their use in bone and cartilage regeneration.


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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/acs-go030512.php

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How can we reconcile the existence of suffering with the premise of ...

A piece from my second book has been published in the latest issue of Meanjin. This piece addresses the problem that is described in its title: ?How can we reconcile the existence of suffering with the premise of a good and almighty god??

Here are some pics of the published piece, which has actually been printed as a colour supplement or insert. I think it looks great:

Meanjin March 2012 issue

Front cover of story

Story text

I spent so many months working on this piece. In the end, I had to go all the way to Japan to bring the first draft to fruition. I went to Japan last year for an Asialink residency. I?d already spent many months struggling with the writing of this piece. I felt so burdened by its central question. I was also intimidated by the sheer volume of what had already been written about this topic. Would I have anything original to contribute?

About a week before I was due to go to Japan, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami occurred. Spooked by news coverage of the events and the escalating problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, friends and colleagues were telling me to postpone my residency. As I read update after update on the Australian Government?s Smart Traveller website, I was starting to feel spooked myself.

And yet I felt that, in writing a piece about?reconciling suffering with the premise of a good and almighty god, surely I needed to go to Japan at this time. Eventually, I decided to go and I set myself the residency writing goal of completing the first draft of the piece.

Throughout much of my residency, I stayed in my tiny studio apartment and tried to finish the draft. I had so many dispiriting times. I berated myself that I was wasting my residency because I wasn?t exploring Japan enough. I spent long days where I would simply get out of bed, walk a few steps to my computer, struggle with the piece for hours and forget about eating until about 10:30 at night, when I would finally go out to get something to eat. (Luckily Nagoya is a city that doesn?t sleep ? one of the things I loved about it.)

Being in Japan during this point in Japanese history heightened the burden I was feeling in writing this piece. Could I do justice to its central question? Sometimes I spoke to Japanese citizens about the earthquake and tsunami. A few people teared up while talking to me. I am not someone who can cry very easily at all but, one day during my residency, I was in a newsagency and I saw a magazine that contained a photo essay of the earthquake and tsunami. I looked through the photo essay and I teared up too.

Then I discovered this Buddhist scripture, known in English as the Heart Sutra. It was so dense and mysterious. I felt that it could help progress my work on the draft and I really wanted to learn more about it, but soon found myself struggling to access good English-language analyses of the piece. One of my residency contacts recommended that I speak to someone she knew ? a Buddhist priest and scholar at Nagoya University. She told me that his English was good. So I made contact with him and he agreed to speak with me about the Heart Sutra.

As it turned out, while his English was quite good, it wasn?t at a sufficient level for us to discuss the complexities of the Heart Sutra. As we tried to discuss the piece, I also felt guilty ? and definitely not for the first time during my residency ? that my Japanese was so poor.

When I realised that it was too difficult for us to discuss the Heart Sutra, I turned the conversation away from that text and simply asked him if he held any particular belief as to why Japan had experienced this earthquake and tsunami that had killed thousands of people. Knowing that he was a Buddhist, I asked him, ?Do you attribute the events to karma?? No, he told me. The events didn?t occur because of any karmic debt that had accrued. I nodded and asked him, ?What about the belief that attachment leads to suffering? Did attachment in any way catalyse the earthquake and tsunami?? No, he told me. That had nothing to do with it. I nodded again and asked: ?So why did this earthquake and tsunami occur??

He said to me: ?It occurred because??

?And I leaned closer, desperate to hear his answer?

It seemed that he was speaking so slowly and yet with the assurance of someone who had arrived at a satisfactory answer. ?It occurred because of the movements??

?And I leaned closer still?

??of tectonic plates. You see, Japan is located at the intersection of some tectonic plates and this is why we have all these earthquakes.?

I stared at him for a bit, wondering if he was joking.

He looked back at me and said: ?It?s true. You ask any Japanese person and they?ll tell you the same thing.?

He really did seem serious. In fact, I began to think: he is serious but, nonetheless, the joke is on me. I?ve been wound up so tightly about this piece. I?ve become so desperate for solutions to its central issue.

Not long afterwards, as he walked me back to the street, I asked him if he knew where I could find any English-language analyses of the Heart Sutra. He said to me, ?You?d better come to my office.?

It turned out that his office was also housed in the departmental library. His desk was surrounded by shelves of books. He kindly recommended some texts and I was able to photocopy some excerpts.

Yet, around a week before I was due to return to Australia, I still had not finished my draft of the piece. One of the excerpts that I had photocopied back at Nagoya University had helped me, but the draft was still missing a conclusion. I utterly regretted putting so much pressure on myself to finish the draft during my residency. I felt that I was going to return to Australia without a draft to show for my residency, and ? despite all my work in Japan ? feeling a sense of failure.

But there was one more thing I decided to do. I decided to travel to Sendai, to see if I could take a look, firsthand, at some of the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. I reasoned that maybe this would help me finish the draft.

But on the day that I was due to go to Sendai, I had this stronger feeling that I should stay in my flat instead and work on the piece. Although this would be the last day that I would be available to travel to Sendai, I just had this sense that I shouldn?t go ? that I should leave Sendai to its citizens and I should work on my piece.

So, once again, I stayed in my flat all day and for most of the night, and I finished the draft later that night.

#

Just a few months after I came back to Australia, my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I stopped all work on my book. My mum died on 3 January 2012.

By the time February came, I was desperate to get away from all the obligations and pain that I was feeling in Melbourne. I decided to take my pain to San Francisco instead. It was the first time, as an adult, that I had ever taken an overseas holiday that didn?t involve a writers? festival or residency. While I was there, someone asked me to give a talk to their creative writing class, but I turned them down.

By this time, my piece had already been accepted by Meanjin. While I was in San Francisco, I read over the proofs and made my final corrections.

Now this piece has been published. It?s almost 9000 words long. I look at this piece and?it is so steeped in pain.

I am so glad that I wrote it.

Source: http://tomcho.com/post/how-can-we-reconcile-the-existence-of-suffering-with-the-premise-of-a-good-and-almighty-god

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Gaza hit by power crisis as fuel runs out again

[ [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['associated with such a small earthquake', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/GTco9z', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/0/b4/0b493c1a47b6e3f97f8f48a2b251d7d4.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger', ], [ [['Fox News host Geraldo Rivera sparked outrage', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GKMVTk', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/2/7c/27c7367bc512d233ae1790b320a5e92c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gaza-hit-power-crisis-fuel-runs-again-192029117.html

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Premier Martial Arts Classes for Kids, Teens and Adults | Articles101

With all the emphasis positioned upon health and health in today?s modern society, it is actually no surprise that martial arts has expert a new resurgence in popularity. Individuals of all ages are turning to martial arts to the bodily and mental health advantages it provides. You will discover numerous great things about training martial arts at Premier-Austin, and courses for kids, teenagers, and adults are available wherein all the advantages of the activity can be received. Initial Austin health and fitness martial arts might help you achieve the match, lean, and beautiful physique that you just desire. Training martial arts provides an entire overall body exercise that can help melt away calories and develop muscle mass. Doing the varied and complex motions of the art/sport also will help produce superior hand-eye coordination, along with increasing your full-body handle. Besides the physical health benefits affiliated with martial arts, a variety of other gains exist too. Enrolling children and teens in Premier Austin martial arts can help develop and develop their self-esteem and confidence amounts. Martial arts classes may assist discipline children and teens, which may be of great gain to folks anxious about their children?s lack of self-discipline. Leading Austin fitness martial arts teaches men and women the best way to be assertive and robust, but additionally provides the substantially necessary self-control for kids of these days. Lessons in Austin martial arts may also be out there for adults of any knowledge and ability degree. Whether or not you will be functioning up as a result of your belt ranges, or maybe setting up out in martial arts, you could find Austin martial arts to suit you. In addition, Austin health martial arts deliver a variety of kinds of martial arts classes, together with krav maga, kickboxing, tae-kwon-do, Muay Thai and karate.

Most of these versions of martial arts will permit the individual to become bodily suit by means of centered and intensive exercising and courses. Furthermore, martial arts can provide the self-control and self-confidence that kids and teens need to have in excess of actually in today?s bewildering society. Premier Martial arts may result in sporting and competitive possibilities, or is usually just practiced being a passion. Lots of folks attest to your rest and solace they find in doing martial arts, and you, too, can knowledge the physical and psychological health benefits provided by martial arts by enrolling in lessons nowadays!

Austin Fitness Martial Arts
Austin Martial Arts

This entry was posted in Pets and tagged premier. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.articles101.info/premier-martial-arts-classes-for-kids-teens-and-adults/

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Supreme Court election-year blockbusters (CNN)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/208954235?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

What game consoles do you own that you can salvage? - Nintendo ...

Wow, all of my old consoles are stored away but they still work. Hmm I am mostly a Nintendo gamer so here it goes.
  • Magnavox Oddysey2
  • Atari 2600
  • NES Power Set
  • NES (Newest model)
  • Snes
  • N64
  • GCN
  • Wii
  • Playstation
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
  • Gameboy
  • Gameboy Color
  • GBA
  • GBA Micro (AWESOME mini system)
  • Nintedo DS phat
  • DS light
  • DSi
  • DSi light
  • DSi XL
  • N3DS
Woah!!! I think Im missing something......

Ohh yeah, not a system but the most awesome AND useless controller accessory the mighty The Power Glove!

EDIT: The Dreamcast, how could I forget that awesome system? I dont care what everybody says, this was Sega's best. PSO, Power Stone, 2K series, Grandia II, Seaman, RE Code Veronica, Chu chu rocket, Jet Grind Radio, MvC 2 and Quake III Arena ect ect ect...

Edited by Kirby_Z, Today, 03:08 AM.

Still awaiting Friend code confirmation:
Manbearpig
Liljazz
Brizzy
Mr Luigi
UltimateKoopa
Lamar
Pokedude
EpicSage
Arpegius
Mat
Leonce
Cha

Smashboy
Keyatta

Source: http://nintendo3dscommunity.com/index.php?/topic/6007-what-game-consoles-do-you-own-that-you-can-salvage/

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De Niro says meant no offense with first lady joke

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2011 file photo, actor Robert De Niro is seen in New York. De Niro opened a fundraiser starring Michelle Obama by listing her Republican rivals and jokingly suggesting that America isn't "ready for a white first lady." Newt Gingrich was not amused. And the Obama campaign says the actor's quip was inappropriate. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2011 file photo, actor Robert De Niro is seen in New York. De Niro opened a fundraiser starring Michelle Obama by listing her Republican rivals and jokingly suggesting that America isn't "ready for a white first lady." Newt Gingrich was not amused. And the Obama campaign says the actor's quip was inappropriate. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

(AP) ? Robert De Niro says he meant no offense when he joked at a presidential fundraiser featuring Michelle Obama that America might not be ready for a white first lady.

"My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone ? especially the first lady," De Niro said in a statement.

The joke drew criticism Tuesday from Newt Gingrich, who said the racial reference to the Republican candidates' wives was "inexcusable" and demanded an apology from President Barack Obama.

The White House referred questions to Obama's re-election campaign. Mrs. Obama's campaign spokeswoman Olivia Alair called the joke "inappropriate" but declined further comment.

The tough-talking star of "Taxi Driver," ''Raging Bull," ''Casino," and "Meet the Parents" was host of the re-election fundraiser Monday night in New York. He opened by listing the wives of Republicans running for president.

"Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney," De Niro said. "Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?"

The crowd of big-dollar donors waiting to hear from the nation's first black first lady roared in approval, and De Niro finished: "Too soon, right?"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-03-21-Michelle%20Obama-De%20Niro/id-8e34e71047d44a0e8e3538dcd6321733

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Government cuts income tax in political austerity rejig

(Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne cut personal income taxes but aimed new levies on the wealthy on Wednesday, taking a political gamble while pledging to stick to his government's tough austerity plan.

He also said that economy was improving, although growth is set to remain very modest this year.

In a move that will please his own Conservative party, he cut a 50 percent income tax band for the highest earners to 45 percent, from next year on. The Conservatives say that high a levy is a barrier to aspiration. The Labour opposition say it is a fair way to spread the pain.

In a nod to the Liberal Democrats, the junior coalition partner, Osborne raised the income tax threshold by more than previously announced to 9,205 pounds ($14,300), taking more poorly paid people out of the tax net.

Osborne also introduced a new 7 percent stamp duty rate on sales of property worth more than 2 million pounds. But he cut corporation tax 2 pence to 24 pence in April.

"We'll be getting five times more money each and every year from the wealthiest in our society," he said, in a statement opponents are likely to challenge.

Mindful of the risk that heavily indebted Britain could lose its prized top-notch credit rating, Osborne said there was no room to soften the plan of unprecedented spending cuts and tax increases, aimed at reducing sky-high debts.

A shock jump in public sector borrowing to a new record in February, released ahead of the budget statement, provided a stark reminder that the chancellor of the exchequer had no money to provide the fragile economy with a significant boost.

"This budget reaffirms our unwavering commitment to deal with Britain's record debts," Osborne said in his budget speech to parliament.

Despite the ongoing risks from the euro zone debt crisis, Britain's economy was set to avoid a renewed recession and growth is expected to pick up in coming years, Osborne said.

The coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also remained on track to meet its fiscal targets to erase the budget deficit - which topped 11 percent before it took office - within the next five years.

In November, the ongoing economic weakness had forced Osborne to add two more years of austerity after the 2015 election and pointing to a much slower recovery than they expected when they took power in 2010.

Ratings agencies have warned Britain that it could be downgraded, with apparently only Osborne's unwavering determination to cut the deficit keeping them onside for now.

AUSTERITY

Britain has been hit hard by the 2007-2009 financial crisis and had to spend tens of billions to bailout major banks.

The recovery from the steep slump has been very weak, with the economy still running well below its precrisis peak and the unemployment rate at its highest in 16 years.

Many Britons have experienced the worst squeeze on their living standards in at least a generation as price rises outpaced meagre wage growth and the government's tax increases and austerity measures are eating into households budgets.

But in recent weeks, the overall mood among businesses is slowly improving after taking a severe knock from the euro zone crisis at the end of last year.

The government's Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that growth should pick up from the 0.8 percent predicted for 2012 to 2.0 percent next year and 2.7 percent in 2014, leaving its November predictions largely unchanged.

The government's Office for Budget Responsibility forecast predicted that net borrowing would fall from 126 billion pounds in 2011/2012 to 21 billion in 2016/2017.

Overall Britain's public sector debt as share of gross domestic product (GDP) will peak at 76.3 percent in 2014/15 before falling, fulfilling the second part of the fiscal target.

Any hopes for stimulus still rest squarely with the central bank and Wednesday's minutes suggested those chances of more money printing are receding.

Minutes from the Bank of England's latest meeting, also released on Wednesday, showed rising concerns about oil prices and future wage inflation, in a sign that the central bankers may be reluctant to extend quantitative easing beyond the current target of 325 billion pounds.

(Additional reporting by Fiona Shaikh, David Milliken, Olesya Dmitracova, and UK bureau; Editing by Mike Peacock/Jeremy Gaunt)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/budget-juggle-politics-austerity-000556713.html

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Shins' 'Port of Morrow' bogs down in studio splendor

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - James Mercer, the self-proclaimed auteur behind the Shins, must really, really hate "Garden State." (Or should.)

That, you may recall, was the 2004 movie in which writer-director Zach Braff had Natalie Portman promise his character that listening the band would "change your life." Every time a Shins record has come out since then (which has been all of twice), a passel of once favorably inclined fans and critics has rushed to render judgment: Not life-changing enough.

If you're willing to set the bar just a little lower for "Port of Morrow," which Mercer has recorded with an all-new crew of musicians under the Shins' banner, you might be newly bowled over, just as so many of us were a decade ago, by a gift for melody and rich facility with language that long ago set the Shins apart from any indie-pop pack.

But even then, it's hard to avoid the nagging feeling that something is missing here, and that that something might be a band.

You don't have to be the kind of personnel purist who'd refuse to forgive Mercer for sacking his former support musicians to recognize that a tradeoff has taken place as the Shins have become essentially a studio concoction. At least he's working with a production wizard as accomplished as Greg Kurstin, who's the auteur behind an act of his own, the Bird and the Bee.

Together they create rock soundscapes that are simultaneously multi-layered and sound like real musicians are involved, which maybe ought to be enough. But even as you're admiring the instrumental depth beneath the sheen, you'll have a hard time shaking the sensation that everything will sound better live, or at least have more of the propulsive force that made 2003's "Chutes Too Narrow" a power-pop classic.

But, speaking of "life-changing," Mercer seems lyrically preoccupied at times by how having two young children has or hasn't altered his worldview. In the album's closing title song - its longest and spookiest - he goes up into an uncertain falsetto to describe the predatory circle of life as "a fact of life I know to hide from my little girls." "There are flowers in the garbage," he concludes in the haunting final lines, "and a skull under your curls."

Up until then, the album is at its best when Mercer and his hired hands work up some old-fashioned nervous energy, as in the unabashedly guitar-driven "Bait and Switch," an uncharacteristically basic rocker about a girl messing a guy's head up. On the gentler side, "September" is such a Beatlesque ballad that you'd swear Mercer is forcing himself to hold back a British accent.

The chorus of the nostalgic ballad "40 Mark Stresse" bears a strong resemblance to "Sara Smile," of all things. This may or may not be coincidental, since co-producer Kurstin's act, the Bird and the Bee, recorded that on a Hall and Oates tribute album a couple of years back.

For anyone coming to the Shins anew from rudimentary, bare-bones indie-rock, the sonic riches of "Port of Morrow" might seem like a godsend. But for longtime fans, the album may seem a little like one of the albums R.E.M. made in the late ?90s and early ?00s, after Bill Berry left the group -- luscious, but a bit listless.

If you want an ambivalent kiss on the cheek, "Port of Morrow" is the album for you. If you'd prefer the solid kick in the shankbone that the Shins once provided, you might have to hold out for Mercer and his hired hands to hit your town on tour.

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shins-port-morrow-bogs-down-studio-splendor-154204928.html

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