Cardiopoietic 'smart' stem cells show promise in heart failure patients

Apr. 10, 2013 ? Translating a Mayo Clinic stem-cell discovery, an international team has demonstrated that therapy with cardiopoietic (cardiogenically-instructed) or "smart" stem cells can improve heart health for people suffering from heart failure. This is the first application in patients of lineage-guided stem cells for targeted regeneration of a failing organ, paving the way to development of next generation regenerative medicine solutions. Results of the clinical trial appear online of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The multi-center, randomized Cardiopoietic stem cell therapy in heart failure (C-CURE) trial involved heart failure patients from Belgium, Switzerland and Serbia. Patients in the control group received standard care for heart failure in accordance with established guidelines. Patients in the cell therapy arm received, in addition to standard care, cardiopoietic stem cells -- a first-in-class biotherapeutic. In this process, bone marrow was harvested from the top of the patient's hip, and isolated stem cells were treated with a protein cocktail to replicate natural cues of heart development. Derived cardiopoietic stem cells were then injected into the patient's heart.

"The cells underwent an innovative treatment to optimize their repair capacity," says Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., study senior author and director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. "This study helps us move beyond the science fiction notion of stem cell research, providing clinical evidence for a new approach in cardiovascular regenerative medicine."

Every patient in the stem cell treatment group improved. Heart pumping function improved in each patient within six months following cardiopoietic stem cell treatment. In addition, patients experienced improved fitness and were able to walk longer distances than before stem cell therapy. "The benefit to patients who received cardiopoietic stem cell therapy was significant," Dr. Terzic says.

In an accompanying editorial, Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle, say, "Six months after treatment, the cell therapy group had a 7 percent absolute improvement in EF (ejection fraction) over baseline, versus a non-significant change in the control group. This improvement in EF is dramatic, particularly given the duration between the ischemic injury and cell therapy. It compares favorably with our most potent therapies in heart failure."

The science supporting this trial is a product of a decade-long journey in decoding principles of stem cell-based heart repair. "Discovery of rare stem cells that could inherently promote heart regeneration provided a critical clue. In following this natural blueprint, we further developed the know-how needed to convert patient-derived stem cells into cells that can reliably repair a failing heart," says Dr. Terzic, underscoring the team effort in this endeavor.

Initial discovery led to the identification of hundreds of proteins involved in cardiogenesis, or the heart development process. The research team then identified which proteins are necessary in helping a stem cell become a reparative cell type, leading to development of a protein cocktail-based procedure that orients stem cells for heart repair. Such upgraded stem cells are called cardiopoietic or heart creative.

Mayo Clinic partnered with Cardio3 Biosciences, a bioscience company in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium, for advanced product development, manufacturing scale-up, and clinical trial execution.

Mayo Clinic and Dr. Terzic have a financial interest related to technology in this research program.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/mn3_XAF0Kl4/130410103349.htm

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IDC: PC shipments in Q1 faced their steepest known drop to date

If Windows 8 is the ticket to a bounce-back in PC sales, it's going to be a long, slow recovery. At least, as long as you ask IDC. It estimates that worldwide computer shipments in the first quarter of 2013 fell 13.9 percent to 76.3 million, which is the steepest quarterly drop the research firm has recorded since it started tracking PCs back in 1994. While the exact factors at work aren't clear, IDC blames it on a mix of customers spooked by Windows 8's unfamiliar interface, the continued rise of mobile devices, and the decline of the netbook. This isn't helped by the higher typical prices of touchscreen PCs, or by restructuring efforts at computing giants like Dell and HP.

Who's reigning in this apparently declining PC empire, then? Worldwide, it's a different picture than it was a few months ago: HP is back on top at 15.7 percent, followed by Lenovo, Dell, Acer and ASUS. The American climate is somewhat more familiar, with HP in front at 25.1 percent while being chased by Dell, Apple, Toshiba and Lenovo. With the exception of Lenovo, however, virtually all of the manufacturers involved saw at least some decline in their PC shipments. To IDC, that's a sign that vendors and Microsoft need to find an antidote to the crazes for smartphones and tablets -- and find it quickly.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Apple, ASUS, HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo

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Source: IDC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/hpHzSQlPLBc/

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Voters to choose Jackson Jr.'s House successor

CHICAGO (AP) ? While Democrat Robin Kelly is widely expected to capture Tuesday's special election for former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s seat over Republican Paul McKinley, any winner will face big challenges.

Illinois' newest member of Congress will have big shoes to fill: Jackson was a 17-year incumbent who served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and brought home nearly $1 billion to the district. He also had strong relationships with mayors, activists and voters across the district that includes city neighborhoods, suburbs and some rural areas.

Jackson resigned in November. He pleaded guilty in February in federal court to lavishly misspending $750,000 in campaign funds.

Political experts, voters and mayors agree that Kelly, 56, has the edge. She's a former state representative, has received big name endorsements including from President Barack Obama and received a huge boost from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's super PAC, which supported her gun control stance. Also, the district is solidly Democratic and has been for about six decades. McKinley is an ex-con-turned-community activist who barely won his primary.

While early estimates showed low voter turnout districtwide, the special election coincided with municipal elections in communities outside Chicago.

Voters trickled into New Life Celebration Church of God in Dolton throughout the day and campaign workers handed out glossy candidate cards.

Carl Rochelle, 51, voted for Kelly. He liked her attention to anti-violence efforts and guns. He was also happy to see a new candidate after ethical and legal troubles surrounded the district's previous three congressmen.

"I like to see a fresh face," he said. "Hopefully something is different. I hope it doesn't happen to her."

Kelly, from Matteson, said whoever wins will face challenges, like being the last to get committee assignments and having to play catch up. But she believes she can be a voice on the national stage for gun control. Her primary victory speech, in which she issued a direct challenge to the National Rifle Association, earned praise from Bloomberg and Vice President Joe Biden. And Obama nodded to her anti-gun advocacy in his endorsement.

"I will have a voice in Congress as the debate is going on and as issues come to the floor," Kelly said. "I will attend everything I can attend."

But McKinley isn't so sure it's in the bag for Kelly. The Chicago man ? who doesn't advocate for gun control ? has focused his campaign on how his integration back into society after serving nearly 20 years in prison for robbery and other charges has made him ready to help others.

"I have a 50-50 chance like my opponent has," he said. "There is nothing written in stone that she's supposed to win."

Independent candidates Curtiss Llong Bey, Marcus Lewis and Elizabeth Pahlke are also running, as is Green Party candidate LeAllen M. Jones.

Whoever wins will face extra scrutiny on ethics.

The three previous congressmen in the Chicago-area district left office under an ethical cloud.

Until his resignation, Jackson remained under a House Ethics Committee investigation over ties to ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. His predecessor, Mel Reynolds, left office in 1995 and was convicted of fraud and having sex with a minor. Before that, Gus Savage faced allegations of sexual misconduct with a Peace Corps worker while on a congressional visit overseas.

"There's a lot of hope (among voters) because she's had a pretty clean record so far," said Don Rose, a longtime political consultant in Chicago. "It'll be a while before she can become a leader but it's a matter of what she does."

Others are just skeptical of any new congressman's ability in Washington.

Ford Heights Mayor Charles Griffin, who also backed Jackson, said he's become frustrated with partisan politics and with the monthslong absence of a congressman in the Chicago-area district that has large pockets of unemployment and poverty.

"He had some influence," Griffin said. "When a freshman person goes in dealing with guys who are well-grounded and unwilling to negotiate, nothing's going to transfer. The fact is that she is almost facing an insurmountable task."

The district's last special election was 1995 when Jackson won office.

___

Contact Sophia Tareen at https://www.twitter.com/sophiatareen .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/voters-choose-jackson-jr-house-successor-070501206--election.html

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News Corp COO Threatens To Pull Fox Broadcast Signal If Aereo Prevails In Legal Battle

Could Fox remove its broadcast signals and become available only as part of a cable subscription? That's one possibility that News Corp. COO Chase Carey offered up as a business solution if it and other broadcasters lose their ongoing legal battle against streaming video provider Aereo.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PCIbipVKtIU/

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Fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer dies at 81

MIAMI (AP) ? Lilly Pulitzer hosted parties in her bare feet and wasn't afraid to get a little messy ? just as long as she looked good and had fun, too.

In the late 1950s, the Palm Beach socialite had time to spare and a wealthy husband who owned citrus groves, so she opened an orange juice stand just off the island's main shopping street. Pulitzer needed to hide all the juice stains on her clothes, though. Instead of just putting on an apron, she asked her seamstress to make some sleeveless dresses in colorful fruit prints, and a fashion staple was born.

Pulitzer died at her home Sunday, according to Quattlebaum Funeral and Cremation Services. She was 81.

Pulitzer's tropical print dresses became a sensation in the 1960s when then-first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who attended boarding school with Pulitzer, wore one of the sleeveless shifts in a Life magazine photo spread.

The colorful revolution came as fashion shed its reliance on neutrals, and Pulitzer's stuff was almost the housewife version of the more youthful mod look that was migrating from London.

To this day, the Lilly Pulitzer dress remains a popular, if not a necessary, addition to any woman's closet.

"I designed collections around whatever struck my fancy ... fruits, vegetables, politics, or peacocks! I entered in with no business sense. It was a total change of life for me, but it made people happy," Pulitzer, who married into the famous newspaper family, told The Associated Press in March 2009.

Pulitzer's dresses hung behind her juice stand and soon outsold her drinks. A boutique featuring the company's dresses ? developed with the help of partner Laura Robbins, a former fashion editor ? soon replaced the juice stand.

"Today we celebrate all that Lilly meant to us and come together as Lilly lovers to honor a true original who has brought together generations through her bright and happy mark on the world," James B. Bradbeer Jr. and Scott A. Beaumont, who bought the Lilly Pulitzer brand in 1992, said in a statement.

The signature Lilly palette features tongue-in-cheek jungle and floral prints in blues, pinks, light greens, yellow and orange ? the colors of a Florida vacation.

The line of dresses that bore her name was later expanded to swimsuits, country club attire, children's clothing, a home collection and a limited selection of menswear.

"Style isn't just about what you wear, it's about how you live," Pulitzer said in 2004.

"We focus on the best, fun and happy things, and people want that. Being happy never goes out of style," she said.

In 1966, The Washington Post reported that the dresses were "so popular that at the Southampton Lilly shop on Job's Lane they are proudly put in clear plastic bags tied gaily with ribbons so that all the world may see the Lilly of your choice. It's like carrying your own racing colors or flying a yacht flag for identification."

But changing taste brought trouble. Pulitzer closed her original company in the mid-1980s after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The label was revived about a decade later after being acquired by Pennsylvania-based Sugartown Worldwide Inc.; Pulitzer was only marginally involved in the new business but continued reviewing new prints from Florida.

"When Lilly started the business back in the '60s, she targeted a young customer because she was young," Bradbeer told the AP in 2003. "What we have done is target the daughter and granddaughter of that original customer."

Pulitzer herself retired from day-to-day operations in 1993, although she remained a consultant and a muse for the brand.

Sugartown Worldwide was bought by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries in 2010. Sales of the Lilly Pulitzer brand were strong in the earnings period that ended Feb. 2. The brand's revenue increased 26 percent to $29.1 million, according to Oxford Industries' earnings report. The company said last week it planned to add four to six new stores each year for its Lilly Pulitzer brand.

Pulitzer was born Lilly McKim on Nov. 10, 1931, to a wealthy family in Roslyn, N.Y.

In 1952, she married Pete Pulitzer, the grandson of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, whose bequest to Columbia University established the Pulitzer Prize.

Pulitzer had three children in quick succession. After the third was born, she had a nervous breakdown and ended up in a mental hospital that catered to upscale clientele in New York. A doctor there told her that she needed to find a job.

"The doctor there said, 'You're not happy because you're not doing anything,' and I said, 'I don't know how to do anything.' I'd always had everything done for me, always had my nanny and my mummy making up my mind. The doctor said, 'You've got to go out and find something to do,'" Pulitzer told The New Yorker in 2000.

Pulitzer gave the same prescription to her friends. If one of them needed something to do, Pulitzer would open a store in her town.

The Pulitzers divorced in 1969. Pulitzer's second husband, Enrique Rousseau, died in 1993.

"I don't know how to explain what it was like to run my business, the joy of every day," she told Vanity Fair magazine in a story in 2003. "I got a kick every time I went into the shipping department. ... I loved seeing (the dresses) going out the door. I loved them selling in the shop. I liked them on the body. Everything. There's no explaining the fun I had."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fashion-designer-lilly-pulitzer-dies-81-170631324.html

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Lift weights to lower blood sugar? White muscle helps keep blood glucose levels under control

Lift weights to lower blood sugar? White muscle helps keep blood glucose levels under control

Monday, April 8, 2013

Researchers in the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan have challenged a long-held belief that whitening of skeletal muscle in diabetes is harmful.

In fact, the white muscle that increases with resistance training, age and diabetes helps keep blood sugar in check, the researchers showed.

In addition, the insights from the molecular pathways involved in this phenomenon and identified in the study may point the way to potential drug targets for obesity and metabolic disease.

"We wanted to figure out the relationship between muscle types and body metabolism, how the muscles were made, and also what kind of influence they have on diseases like type 2 diabetes," said Jiandie Lin, Life Sciences Institute faculty member and associate professor at the U-M Medical School.

Lin's findings are scheduled to be published online April 7 in Nature Medicine.

Much like poultry has light and dark meat, mammals have a range of muscles: red, white and those in between. Red muscle, which gets its color in part from mitochondria, prevails in people who engage in endurance training, such as marathon runners. White muscle dominates in the bodies of weightlifters and sprinters?people who require short, intense bursts of energy.

"Most people are in the middle and have a mix of red and white," Lin said.

When you exercise, nerves signal your muscles to contract, and the muscle needs energy. In response to a signal to lift a heavy weight, white muscles use glycogen to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP)?energy the cells can use to complete the task. While this process, called glycolysis, can produce a lot of power for a short time, the glycogen fuel soon depletes.

However, if the brain tells the muscle to run a slow and steady long-distance race, the mitochondria in red muscles primarily use fat oxidation instead of glycogen breakdown to generate ATP. The supply of energy lasts much longer but doesn't provide the burst of strength that comes from glycolysis.

People with diabetes see whitening of the mix of muscle.

"For a long time, the red-to-white shift was thought to make muscle less responsive to insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar," Lin said. "But this idea is far from proven. You lose red muscle when you age or develop diabetes, but is that really the culprit?"

To find out, the team set out to find a protein that drives the formation of white muscle. They sifted through microarray data sets from public databases and identified a list of candidate proteins that were prevalent in white muscle but not in red.

Further studies led the team to focus on a protein called BAF60c, a sort of "zip code" mechanism that tells the cells when and how to express certain genes. The Lin team made a transgenic mouse model to increase BAF60c only in the skeletal muscle. One of the first things they noticed was that mice with more BAF60c had muscles that looked paler.

"That was a good hint that we were going in the white-muscle direction," said lead author Zhuo-xian Meng, a research fellow in Lin's lab.

They used electron microscopy to see the abundance of mitochondria within the muscle, and confirmed that muscle from BAF60c transgenic mice had less mitochondria than the normal controls.

"We saw predicted changes in molecular markers, but the ultimate test would be seeing how the mouse could run," Lin said.

If the BAF60c mice could run powerfully for short distances but tired quickly, the scientists would be able to confirm that the BAF60c pathway was a key part of the creation of white muscle.

Using mouse treadmills, they compared the endurance of BAF60c mice to a control group of normal mice, and found that the BAF60c transgenic mice could only run about 60 percent of the time that the control group could before tiring.

"White muscle uses glycogen, and the transgenic mice depleted their muscles' supplies of glycogen very quickly," Lin said.

After some follow-up experiments to figure out exactly which molecules were controlled by BAF60c, Lin and his team were confident that they had identified major players responsible for promoting white muscle formation. Now that they knew how to make more white muscle in animals, they wanted to determine whether white muscle was a deleterious or an adaptive characteristic of diabetes.

The team induced obesity in mice by feeding them the "Super Size Me" diet, Lin said. On a high-fat diet, a mouse will double its body weight in two to three months. They found that obese mice with BAF60c transgene were much better at controlling blood glucose.

"The results are a bit of a surprise to many people," Lin said. "It really points to the complexity in thinking about muscle metabolism and diabetes."

In humans, resistance training promotes the growth of white muscle and helps in lowering blood glucose. If future studies in humans determine that the BAF60c pathway is indeed the way in which cells form white muscle and in turn optimize metabolic function, the finding could lead to researching the pathway as a drug target.

"We know that this molecular pathway also works in human cells. The real challenge is to find a way to target these factors," Lin said.

###

University of Michigan: http://www.umich.edu/

Thanks to University of Michigan 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/127624/Lift_weights_to_lower_blood_sugar__White_muscle_helps_keep_blood_glucose_levels_under_control

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The East Austin Urban Farm Tour | LiveMom.com - Dedicated to ...

Posted by Lauren on Apr 8, 2013 in Austin, Events | 0 comments

Get ready for a rollicking party in East Austin?s urban farmlands next weekend. The 4th Annual East Austin Urban Farm Tour will be held on Sunday, April 14 from 1 to 5 pm, and, aside from the regular family-friendly fun times you?d expect at these farms, there will be a plethora of food and drink on offer from an all-star cast of local chefs, restaurants and producers.

?Although we like to think the highlight is the farms, we know people come for the food,? says Paula Foore, co-owner of Springdale Farm, which is participating in the tour. ?The food is amazing.?

Local stars, including Wink, Dai Due, Hillside Farmacy and Olivia (among many others), will be offering chef tastes, and drink purveyors like East End Wines and Live Oak Brewery will have samples of wine, beer and spirits on offer, too. There will be four or five food and beverage options at each farm, and the farms? produce is the highlight of the menus.

Of course, while the food and drink may be the main draw for the grown-ups, there is plenty on offer for kids, too.

?I?m a mom, and visiting farms for kids is just such a great experience,? says Kim Beal of Rain Lily Farm, which is also participating in the tour. ?Kids don?t have as much an opportunity, especially in the city, to see things growing, to see animals. That?s the part the kids usually love ? the animals.?

And plenty of animals there are. Between the donkeys, rabbits, goats, chickens and ducks, the little ones are likely to be in hog heaven (pardon the pun).

The East Austin Urban Farm Tour came about as a partnership between four urban farms in East Austin ? Boggy Creek Farm, Haus Bar Farms, Springdale Farm and Rain Lily Farm ? to raise awareness of their presence and invite the community to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

?We?re all really good friends, and we?ve all gotten really close being here and supporting each other,? says Beal. ?Even though we?re so close [physically], we tend to be kind of isolated.?

The tour is an opportunity for the farms to come together and spend an afternoon with the community.

?It?s a chance to see everybody?s farm in the spring when things are pretty,? says Carol Ann Sayle of Boggy Creek Farm. ?It?s a big social thing and the community comes, and it?s just fun.?

Each of the farmers also sees the tour as an opportunity to raise awareness of what they?re doing and engage with the community.

?Anybody coming to the farms has a chance, if they want to, to come and see some of the nuts and bolts of how a farm operates,? says Dorsey Barger, co-owner of HausBar Farms. ?We?re introducing people, not only kids, to how food gets made. A farm is a living organism, and to see how all the living elements work together on a farm is amazing.?

The cost for a ticket is $45 ($55 for day-of sales, if available), but kids under 12 are free. All proceeds go to support the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, a lobbying organization for small farms and ranches. Advance tickets may be purchased here, and planners say the event is likely to sell out.

This year they?ve limited it to 400 tickets, with a quarter of the participants assigned to start at each of the four farms. They?re hoping to avoid lines for the food and spread out the crowds. Although good weather is predicted, the event is rain or shine.

?Farming is rain or shine, and if it rains, we?re giddy with excitement,? says Sayle. ?Most of the people who are interested in this sort of thing know we need rain, so they understand. Just bring your umbrella!?

The farms are all in the same approximate neighborhood, so participants are encouraged to walk or ride bikes.

?All of the farms are within a half-mile of each other, so biking is perfect,? says Foore, adding that participants can drive or walk, too.

Beal, who has a 16-month-old daughter, has some sage advice for parents: ?Make sure you?ve got everything you need for the kids. It?s a short walk between each farm, but it can seem like a long distance for little kids.? Strollers and bike trailers are encouraged.

As an added bonus, you have the collective expertise of Austin?s most experienced farmers at your fingertips. ?Bring your questions, so we can help with your gardening issues,? says Foore.

Lauren Walz is a freelance writer and editor and mama to a two-year-old girl. While she?s quick to brag about being a fifth-generation Texan, Lauren moved to Northern California in 2004 after graduating from UT Law and lived in the Silicon Valley area until last spring, when she and her family were drawn back to Austin. Lauren is busy getting re-acquainted with her old stomping grounds and is astonished by how the food and wine scene has changed in Austin in the past 8 years. Lauren also blogs about cooking and parenthood on gourmetveggiemama.com.

Source: http://www.livemom.com/2013/04/08/the-east-austin-urban-farm-tour/

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Suicide blast in Syrian capital kills at least 15

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows smoke rising from burned cars after a huge explosion shook the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus on Monday, killing more than a dozen with many more injured and sending a huge cloud of black smoke billowing over the capital?s skyline, Syrian state-run media said. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows smoke rising from burned cars after a huge explosion shook the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus on Monday, killing more than a dozen with many more injured and sending a huge cloud of black smoke billowing over the capital?s skyline, Syrian state-run media said. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrians inspecting a damaged car at the scene of a car bomb attack near the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus on Monday, killing more than a dozen with many more injured and sending a huge cloud of black smoke billowing over the capital?s skyline, Syrian state-run media said. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a Syrian fire fighter extinguishing a burning car after a huge explosion shook the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus, killing at least a dozen people with more than fifty injured and causing heavy material damage, a Syrian government official said. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian fire fighters extinguishing burning cars after huge explosion shook the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus, killing at least a dozen people with tens more injured and causing heavy material damage, a Syrian government official said. (AP Photo/SANA)

This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrians inspecting a damaged car at the scene of a car bomb attack near the Sabaa Bahrat Square, one of the capital's biggest roundabouts, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, April. 8, 2013. A car bomb rocked a busy residential and commercial district in central Damascus, killing at least a dozen people with tens more injured and causing heavy material damage, a Syrian government official said. (AP Photo/SANA)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? A suicide car bomber struck Monday in the financial heart of Syria's capital, killing at least 15 people, damaging the nearby central bank and incinerating cars and trees in the neighborhood.

The attack was the latest in a recent series of bombings to hit Damascus in the civil war, slowly closing in on President Bashar Assad's base of power in the capital. Rebel fighters have chipped away at the regime's hold in northern and eastern Syria, as well as making significant gains in the south, helped in part by an influx of foreign-funded weapons.

The blast was adjacent Sabaa Bahrat Square ? near the state-run Syrian Investment Agency, the Syrian Central Bank and the Finance Ministry ? and dealt a symbolic blow to the nation's ailing economy.

In the early days of the 2-year-old uprising, the grandiose roundabout was home to huge pro-regime demonstrations with a gigantic poster of Assad hung over the central bank headquarters.

The area was a very different scene Monday.

State TV showed several cars on fire and thick black smoke billowing above the tree-lined street. At least six bodies were sprawled on the pavement. Paramedics carried a young woman on a stretcher, her face bloodied and her white shirt stained red. A man placed a T-shirt over a victim whose face was blown off.

Firefighters struggled to extinguish flames that engulfed the two buildings as well as a row of cars near the roundabout. State media put the toll at 15 dead and 146 wounded.

Witnesses said the suicide attacker tried to ram the vehicle into the investment agency but was stopped by guards, forcing the bomber to detonate the explosives at the gate.

Visiting a mosque across the street that was damaged in the blast, Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi described the attack as "the work of cowards" and vowed the army would crush all armed groups fighting the government. Shattered glass and torn curtains littered the mosque's red carpet.

Some people wandering through the twisted metal, body parts and rubble on the street and directed their anger at countries supporting the rebellion.

"I want to say to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey that the Syrian people stand firm behind their leadership, and they are steadfast and will never kneel down, and we will emerge victorious," said engineer Saeed Halabi, 54, calling the attack a "terrorist and cowardly act."

The U.N. estimates that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war.

The Syrian regime denies there is a popular uprising and refers to the rebels as "terrorists" and "mercenaries," allegedly backed by foreign powers trying to destabilize the country.

The last large explosion in central Damascus took place March 21, when a suicide bomber at a mosque killed 42 people, including a top Sunni Muslim preacher who was an outspoken supporter of Assad.

A month earlier, a suicide car bombing near the ruling Baath Party headquarters ? just blocks away from Monday's attack ? killed 53, according to state media. Anti-regime activists put the death toll from that bombing at 61, which would make it the deadliest in the conflict.

There was no claim of responsibility for any of those bombings.

In the past, the Islamic militant group Jabhat al-Nusra has claimed responsibility for some of the suicide bombings targeting regime and military facilities. The U.S. says the group, which is one of the most effective rebel factions fighting Assad's forces, is linked to al-Qaida and has designated it a terrorist organization.

The bombings, along with now near-daily mortar attacks in the capital, have punctured the sense of normalcy that the regime has tried to cultivate in Damascus. Until recently, the city was largely insulated from the bloodshed and destruction in other urban centers.

The rebels launched an offensive on Damascus in July but were swept out in a punishing counteroffensive. Since then, government warplanes have pounded opposition strongholds on the outskirts, and rebels have managed only small incursions on the city's southern and eastern sides.

The recently elected prime minister of the main Western-backed Syrian opposition bloc, Ghassan Hitto, visited the northern province of Idlib, the Syrian National Coalition said on its Facebook page. The coalition posted photos of Hitto, dressed in a gray suit, meeting with rebel fighters. It was his second trip to Syria since he was selected last month to lead the opposition's interim government, which the U.S. and its allies hope will emerge as the united face of those fighting to topple Assad.

Also on Monday, the Syrian government rejected a request by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to allow international inspectors to have access to the whole country to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in the civil war.

The government is willing to allow the inspectors only into the village of Khan al-Assal in northern Syria, where an attack was alleged to have taken place on March 19.

Both the rebels and the regime have traded blame for the alleged attack, which has not been confirmed.

Speaking in the Netherlands, Ban said an advance team of inspectors is waiting in Cyprus, ready to move into Syria immediately to investigate the reported use of chemical weapons.

All reports of chemical attacks "should be examined without delay, without conditions and without exceptions," Ban said. "The longer we wait, the harder this essential mission will be."

His comments appeared aimed at increasing the pressure on Assad's regime and ensuring that U.N. inspectors are given access to all sites of reported chemical weapons attacks ? not just those the Syrian government wants them to see.

Syria's Foreign Ministry swiftly rejected the proposal, saying it would constitute "a violation of Syrian sovereignty."

"The secretary-general, while in The Hague, asked for additional tasks that would allow the team to deploy across all of Syrian territory, which goes against what Syria had asked from the U.N. and shows bad intentions," the ministry said in statement. "Syria cannot accept such maneuvers from the secretary-general of the U.N, taking into consideration the negative role played in Iraq which paved the way for the American invasion."

It added, however, that Syria is ready to grant inspectors access to Khan al-Assal.

Syria is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons, but it is one of only eight countries in the world that has not signed up to the chemical weapons convention. That means it does not have to report any chemical weapons to The Hague-based organization that monitors compliance with the treaty.

Britain and France have followed up by asking Ban to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in two locations in Khan al-Assal and the village of Ataybah, in the vicinity of Damascus, all on March 19, as well as in Homs on Dec. 23.

The delay in getting to the scene will hamper investigators, said Amy Smithson, a chemical weapons expert with the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the United States.

"It is going to make it a bigger challenge. But it doesn't mean you should throw in the towel," Smithson said in a telephone interview.

Investigators will likely go after two key sources of evidence ? samples from the environment and from any possible victims or survivors of suspected chemical attacks.

"When the environment has changed, that makes it that much more challenging to get a clean environmental sample," Smithson said.

___

Lucas reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam, Bassem Mroue and Barbara Surk in Beirut, and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-08-ML-Syria/id-868de211cfae4256b437a8f1dc1e0484

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Children with autism leave 'silly' out

Apr. 8, 2013 ? When a child with autism copies the actions of an adult, he or she is likely to omit anything "silly" about what they've just seen. In contrast, typically developing children will go out of their way to repeat each and every element of the behavior even as they may realize that parts of it don't make any sense.

The findings, reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on April 8, are the first to show that the social nature of imitation is very important and challenging for children with autism, the researchers say. They also emphasize just how important it is for most children to be like other people.

"The data suggest that children with autism do things efficiently rather than socially, whereas typical children do things socially rather than efficiently," says Antonia Hamilton of the University of Nottingham. "We find that typical children copy everything an adult does, whereas autistic children only do the actions they really need to do."

The researchers made the discovery after testing 31 children with autism spectrum conditions and 30 typically developing children who were matched for verbal mental age. On each of five trials, each child was asked to watch carefully as a demonstrator showed how to retrieve a toy from a box or build a simple object. Importantly, each demonstration included two necessary actions (e.g. unclipping and removing the box lid) and one unnecessary action (e.g. tapping the top of the box twice). The box was then reset behind a screen and handed to the child, who was instructed to "get or make the toy as fast as you can." They were not specifically told to copy the behavior they'd just seen.

Almost all of the children successfully reached the goal of getting or making the toy, but typically developing children were much more likely to include the unnecessary step as they did so, a behavior known as overimitation. Those children copied 43 to 57 percent of the unnecessary actions, compared to 22 percent in the children with autism. That's despite the fact that the children correctly identified the tapping action as "silly," not "sensible."

Hamilton says the researchers now want to know precisely what kind of actions children copy, and how that tendency to copy everything might contribute to human cultural transmission of knowledge. She says that parents and teachers should be aware of the social value in going beyond the successful completion of such tasks.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cell Press, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. L. Marsh, A. Pearson, D. Ropar, A. Hamilton. Children with autism do not overimitate. Current Biology, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.036

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/oxwiBiWAYoM/130408123144.htm

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Samsung's operating profit up 53 percent in 1Q

In this Jan. 8, 2013 file photo, Samsung Electronics Co. logo is seen at a showroom of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. The firm said Friday, April 5, 2013 its operating profit last quarter rose 53 percent over a year earlier, outpacing expectations for what's normally a slow time for consumer electronics sales. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

In this Jan. 8, 2013 file photo, Samsung Electronics Co. logo is seen at a showroom of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. The firm said Friday, April 5, 2013 its operating profit last quarter rose 53 percent over a year earlier, outpacing expectations for what's normally a slow time for consumer electronics sales. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? Samsung Electronics Co. said its operating profit last quarter rose 53 percent over a year earlier, outpacing expectations for what's normally a slow time for consumer electronics sales.

The South Korean firm on Friday estimated its first quarter operating income at 8.7 trillion won ($7.7 billion). The preliminary result is a 2 percent decline from the previous quarter when the operating income stood at a record high.

Samsung said its first quarter revenue grew 15 percent from a year earlier to 52 trillion won.

Its first-quarter profit was higher than market expectations, and analysts said Samsung benefited from smartphone sales and shortages in memory chips for personal computers.

Counterpoint Technology Market Research said last month that it expected Samsung's smartphone sales to top 70 million during the first three months of this year, further expanding its share in the global smartphone market. The market research firm estimated Apple's iPhone sales to reach 35 million during the same period.

Samsung's semiconductor business likely benefited from the shortages in memory chips used in personal computers, which spiked prices of Samsung's key products. Global chip makers have reduced production of PC memory chips to increase chip supplies for mobile devices.

Samsung is the world's largest maker of smartphones, memory chips, televisions and flat screen panels.

Samsung's full results including net profit and breakdown figures for each division will be released later this month.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-05-AS-SKorea-Earns-Samsung/id-b31bf2dd3b25437e95f836037a7da81e

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IndieLondon: Mike Marlin - Grand Reveal (Review) - Your London ...

Review by Jack Foley

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IndieLondon Rating: 3.5 out of 5

MIKE Marlin is nothing if not distinct. With his gruff, Nick Cave-esque vocals and challenging lyricism, he?s also an artist in the classic mould who may be difficult to like for a lot of tastes.

But for those willing to listen, there is plenty to enthral while listening to his latest album, Grand Reveal.

The template is laid down from the start with the robust (and sometimes troubling) Skull Beneath The Skin, which combines deep vocals, edgy imagery and fiery guitar solos to compelling effect (evoking memories of both Nick Cave and The Stranglers). Indeed, Baz Warne is behind the guitar work!

Another former single, War To Begin drops chugging riffs and questioning lyrics to emerge as both a call to arms and a lament for lives lost on the battlefield courtesy of lines like: ?I?ve been here before, standing in my uniform, waiting for this bloody war to begin?.

There?s a hypnotic quality to some songs, too. The Murderer broods magnificently over a bed of glockenspiel style beats (or wind-up toys) and atmospheric strings, while Forgive Me Yet has a blues-rock vibe that?s appealing, complete with bluegrass elements supplied by the inclusion of some banjo and even some foot-stomping soul and jazz (courtesy of brass).

Title track Grand Reveal is layered with lyrical ambiguity, spouting lines such as ?I?m older than I look but younger than I feel? (displaying a laconic sense of humour), while Doesn?t Care has a satisfyingly aching sensibility about it (?if I was half the man you wanted me to be?) complete with nods to superheroes.

Just occasionally, Marlin?s style comes over a little too pensive and brooding, with the occasional track struggling to get going (despite being lyrically intelligent). Amazing is one example, the Cohen-esque Giving It All Away another.

The eight minute finale, To The Grave, ends things on an overly sombre note too.

Overall, however, this is a fascinating, often complex listen that deserves to be heard.

Download picks: War To Begin, Skull Beneath The Skin, The Murderer, Forgive Me Yet, Doesn?t Care

Track listing:

1. Skull Beneath The Skin
2. Grand Reveal
3. War To Begin
4. Amazing
5. Giving It All Away
6. The Murderer
7. Forgive Me Yet
8. Girl On The Roof
9. More Than I Can Say
10. Doesn?t Care
11. To The Grave

Source: http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/mike-marlin-grand-reveal-review

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Guns and garden gnomes: 3-D printer revolution is now

Helen A.S. Popkin ? ? ? 21 hrs.

Addressing a packed auditorium at Austin?s South by Southwest festival last March, Bre Pettis, keynote speaker and co-founder of MakerBot, one of the leaders in desktop 3-D printers, described the increased interest and affordability of his company?s product as heralding the ?the next Industrial Revolution.?

"Revolution" is often used even when the result doesn't match the definition ? a complete change from the way things were before. Add "Industrial," and the comparison implies not just a change in manufacturing, but society as well, from improved living standards to changes in social class structure. Whether ? and how ? desktop 3-D printing can bring such changes is much debated, and remains to be seen.

Thanks to companies such as MakerBot, the bulk, expense and technical inefficiency that kept the 30-year-old technology known as Additive Manufacturing ? or 3-D printing ? confined to major laboratories and factories, is a thing of the past. Now, for less than $3,000, anyone with basic computer skills and an interest in learning more can download and personalize or create a computer-assisted design (CAD) that a printer will fabricate, layer by layer of filament.

Pettis is not the first to make the ?next Industrial Revolution? comparison. For some within the maker community ? subculture of tech-based do-it-yourself-ers ? the increased accessibility of 3-D printer technology means "the end of consumerism.? Conversely, tech analysis firms Gartner predicts that 3-D printing could create opportunities for new product lines created in-house by local retailers. And Daniel Suarez, who spent a decade developing logistics and production planning software for major multinational corporations (and is also a best-selling novelist who writes about near-future technologies) predicts that "3-D printing will be a disruptive economic force in the next two decades ? but I also think this disruption will benefit average Americans by causing a resurgence in local manufacturing."

Fervor over 3-D printing?s potential has only increased since SXSW, when Pettis introduced a prototype for the MakerBot Digitizer, which will scan small objects with the end goal of 3-D fabrication. He illustrated the Digitizer?s potential with a projection of a garden gnome, scanned to create ? another garden gnome.

For those who don?t so much see an endless supply of home-printed garden gnomes as ?revolution,? so much as a shot at getting on A&E?s ?Hoarders,? there?s Cody Wilson, the notorious public face of Defense Distributed. Wilson is a University of Texas law student recently licensed to manufacture guns by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In March, Defense Distributed, much to the consternation of gun control advocates, printed the plastic lower receiver for an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle ? the portion of a firearm that carries the serial number ? which that can fire more than 600 rounds.

Scary, legal and ? as Wilson points out ? a 3-D printed result that actually does something.

Wilson latched on to Pettis?s garden gnome to express his frustration with the maker community to make something more than geegaws during his riveting yet sparsely attended SXSW presentation about Defense Distributed and DefCAD, an open-source CAD design website he launched after MakerBot?s Thingiverse CAD site dumped all the gun designs from the site following the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

A cursory scan on Thingiverse finds a sea of files to create iPhone cases, and myriad holders and stands, but other than clock components, parts to complete a cigar box ukulele, and a theoretical design for a working camera, there isn?t a lot on the open source data base that does stuff.

Wilson is using the platform of 3-D printing to make a political statement about? and push the boundaries of ? liberty and the freedom to share information. ?I think this isn't a project about firearms, it?s a project about political equality,? Wilson recently told NBC?s Nightly News.

The potential Wilson sees for for 3-D printers isn't just about guns, but prosthetics and other medical devices, even drugs, putting the means of production in the hands of the people.

Pettis and Wilson are often portrayed as polar opposites in the 3-D printer movement, but they both face the inevitable roadblock of all new digital technology ? intellectual copyright law.

"When it comes to 3-D printers, groups producing tools, weapons, and reproducing patented or copyrighted objects will be where all the debate and legal fireworks will occur," Suarez told NBC News.

"Sure, a copyright holder might get upset when individuals reproduce their trademarked cartoon character as little plastic tchotchkes, but I suspect this will follow the same path as digital music and torrented video ? namely, there will be several high profile legal cases against perceived infringers until big companies realize technological advances have made this an unstoppable tide."

And so begins the revolution.

Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her she doesn't know what she's talking about on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a697cbc/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cguns0Egarden0Egnomes0E30Ed0Eprinter0Erevolution0Enow0E1B9247842/story01.htm

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Hillsong NYC Church Led by Carl Lentz & Joel Houston Quickly Taking Hold of New York City

The Hillsong Church and movement is led by Brian Houston in Sydney, Australia. ?They started services in a Public School hall only 45 people and now they run over 21,000 people at their main campus alone, with several multi-sites around other cities in Australia. ?
Hillsong United worship band also organically spawned from the youth group at Hillsong led by Brian Houston's son, Joel. ?Hillsong United, now over 15 years late has become the most influential worship band of this generation and tours all over the world leading people in worship. ?

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When Carl Lentz and Joel Houston were in bible college together over 10 years ago they had a discussion and agreed that if Hillsong ever did a church in America that they would do it together and New York would be a great place to do it. ?

Little did they know that the friendly deal they made so many years back would actually come true. ?

Hillsong NYC, the Manhattan-based church, which meets at Irving Plaza near Union Square, kicked-off their weekly services on Feb. 13, 2011 following it's official launch on Oct. 17, 2010. ?They are now running over 5 services which usually result in standing room only. ?The church sometimes meets in the Gramercy Theatre and other different locations ?for their services which helps bring home the point constantly to the people that the church is about the community and people of the church, not a building to meet in. ?

If you see Carl and Joel, they don't automatically strike you as "church leaders" which is part of their appeal. ?On the other hand though, they are not just a trendy, lets look cool and sound cool and nothing more kind of people. ?And Hillsong NYC is definitely not that kind of church either. ?They are impacting the city and reaching new souls for Jesus every day.?

If you follow either of them on twitter (@carllentznyc @joelhouston) or instagram (@carllentz @jtimh) they are constantly sharing about the church (especially Carl) and it's need to be involved in the community. ?They use the hash tags like #occupyallstreets and #churchinthewild to keep everyone focused on the reason that the church exists and its mission. ?Being one with the community and showing the love of Jesus Christ are their main focuses. ? ??

Lentz is a regular at New York Knicks games and as become close personal friends with Knicks center Tyson Chandler. ?Chandler is very involved in the community as well and he and Lentz do a lot of events together. ?Being close with the Knicks team has helped his platform grow even more and has even been seen sharing the book "Jesus Is ____" by Judah Smith with players among others. ?Smith is the popular pastor of The City Church in the Seatle,WA area and is also a close personal friend of Lentz.?

The church and it's leaders have a pulse on the community unlike many churches, especially being in the largest city in the world. ?They know how to "be in the world but not of the world". ?They, as all Christians should, are working on walking that line closely and carefully, because that is what we are called to do. ?We are not called to be safe and stay out of harms way. ?We as Christians are called to reach the unloveable and the hopeless, with no one being out of reach and too far gone from God's plan to come back. ?

As a Christian, I am thankful they are doing such great work in New York City and showing how to balance Christ and culture together. ?I can't wait to see what God does through them next. ??

Source: http://breathecast.christianpost.com/articles/6932/20130405/hillsong-nyc-church-led-carl-lentz-joel.htm

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Microsoft executive to 'always-online' Xbox critics: 'Deal with it'

Yannick LeJacq , NBC News contributor ? ? ? 1 day

Following speculation that Microsoft?s hotly rumored next-generation console might feature an "always-online" requirement for its customers, one Microsoft executive has taken to the Internet in an attempt to make his case for this controversial sort of digital rights management (DRM). Or, rather, Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth told always-online?s detractors that they should just "deal with it."

"Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on'console," Orth tweeted early Friday morning. "Every device now is ?always on?. That's the world we live in. #dealwithit"

"I want every device to be 'always on,' Orth went on to say, telling one vocal critic whose friends don?t have regular access to the Internet but own Microsoft?s current generation console, the Xbox 360, that they should "get with the times and get the Internet."

Fellow game industry insider Manveer Heir, who currently works as a designer on ?Mass Effect? at BioWare, also took Orth to task for his response, saying that "deal with it is a sh**ty reason" and asking if Microsoft had not learned anything from the disastrous launches of "SimCity" and "Diablo III."

"Sometimes the electricity goes out. I will not purchase a vacuum cleaner," Orth said in response. "The mobile phone reception in the area I live in is spotty and unreliable. I will not buy a mobile phone."

Heir later qualified his disagreement with Orth, saying that he was a "dear friend" and "one of the good guys."

Orth?s statements on Twitter came shortly after popular gaming site Kotaku ran a story that claimed two Microsoft sources had all but confirmed that the company?s upcoming Xbox 360 successor would feature some kind of always-online requirement. This type of DRM has formed many longstanding feuds between gamers and video game publishers, most recently with the botched launch of "SimCity" and the developer?s own admission that, while the game could be run offline, it wouldn?t let gamers use it that way anyways.

Most prominent cases of unloved DRM in the video game industry have centered on individual titles such as "SimCity" and "Diablo III," or game publishers such as Ubisoft which last year decided to abandon DRM for its PC games entirely after several years of brutal spats with its players. If Microsoft does make the entire Xbox 720 device function with some sort of always-online requirement, the entire conflict over DRM will become a question of hardware, not just software. This may help game publishers like Ubisoft or Electronic Arts save face in the eyes of their most ardent fans, but placing more requirements for the ?proper use? of a device on its users will undoubtedly rankle those same players ? and could even come to disturb fellow game developers as well.

Orth's Twitter account has since been made private, but one enterprising NeoGAF user posted the relevant social media exchange on the forum for posterity.

When we contacted Microsoft for comment a spokesperson replied "We are aware of the comments made by an employee on Twitter. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views are not reflective of those of the company. We have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter."

Yannick LeJacq is a contributing writer for NBC News who has also covered games for Kill Screen, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic. You can follow him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq and reach him by email atylejacq@gmail.com.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a612983/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cingame0Cmicrosoft0Eexecutive0Ealways0Eonline0Exbox0Ecritics0Edeal0Eit0E1B9231940A/story01.htm

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China Is Finally Becoming A Lucrative Market For App Makers

Two years ago, while traveling in Beijing, the big surprise for me was how badly local mobile developers wanted to get U.S. customers. They wanted out, not in. Fraud, piracy, way too many Android stores and a still small installed base of iOS and Android devices made the local Chinese market financially nonviable for many developers. Today the picture is starting to look very different. Why? The market is now huge: two months ago, mobile analytics company Flurry reported that China finally surpassed the U.S. in terms of active installed Android and iOS devices.? Local payment options and restructured carrier billing choices with the big operators like China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have made it easier to charge mobile app users. It’s also helped give Chinese consumers legal alternatives to acquiring fraudulent credit card data on Taobao, the eBay of China. The number of alternative Android app stores — while still overwhelming — is consolidating. “Two years ago, a lot of people were getting downloads, but they weren’t making a lot of money,” said Henry Fong, the CEO of Yodo1, which helps foreign mobile game developers enter the Chinese market. “This changed in late 2012 when the big mobile operators kind of reset their carrier billing programs. Monetization on Android has gotten a lot better.” That has meant that local app developers are starting to see their revenues per month soar. Beijing-based mobile game developer and publisher CocoaChina/Chukong said a few weeks ago that their flagship game Fishing Joy is now making $6.28 million per month, mostly from China. “We fully expect that sometime in 2013 that there will be a $10 to 15 million-per-month game in China. This should be not ignored by the Western market,” said Lei Zhang, who is the U.S. general manager for CocoaChina. CocoaChina estimates that the entire size of the Chinese app ecosystem will reach $1.2 billion this year (see below). They add that three games have now reached runrates of $4.5 million per month in the country this quarter. It doesn’t mean that the Chinese market is a cakewalk though. ?The distribution channels and payment methods are completely different than in the U.S. market. There are more than 200 Android app stores as the standard store Google Play isn’t widely available in China. Yodo1 shared this slide at the Game Developers’ Conference last week. You can see the craziness. Two stores

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WHc9jkzvl-w/

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Book Review: 'F?@k Knows' by Shailendra Singh | Mumbai Boss

Should you buy Shailendra Singh?s F?@k Knows?

F?@k no.

Here?s why:

Singh, one half of the infamous Singh brothers who run Percept, the media and communications firm with fingers in the music, sports and Bollywood businesses, is a hella of a spin man. He?s shaped more than one rough cut Bollywood star, given the country its largest EDM festival and been embroiled in his fair share of controversies, so he?s probably got a story or two to sell. Except having likely had a hand in causing murmurs of what was to come from his memoirs, he?s spun the biggest con of them all: this isn?t a juicy tell all with delicious dark secrets that, holy legit lawsuit, might cause certain stars to sweat and sue him for defamation. In fact the only pulses likely to race are those of school teachers who might scowl at the liberal usage of the word fuck, written here annoyingly enough as f?@k, and upon whose many applications the entire crux of this books rests.

It?s self help masqueraded as a memoir, with bits and bobs ham fistedly pulled from Singh?s favourite enlightenment authors, where The Power of Now, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and The Secret is spliced with Osho and Deepak Chopra and the word f?@k because well, fuck knows. Cavalier as Singh is about his tryst with fame and glitz, even he?s canny enough to know that when your entire career is built on maintaining relationships with the powers that be, it doesn?t pay to name names. Instead to give his readers some amount of bang for their vastly overpaid 195 bucks, Singh dispenses his remedies for living well. Create a fuck it list (?it just like a bucket list, but with a cooler name?), trust your gut, apply yourself, do what you love, channel your chi by saying chi
f?@k a lot, know who you want to be, do what you want, look after yourself and oh, don?t worry so much. Why?

Because ?Worrying is like riding a tiger. If you can stay on top of it, you will enjoy the ride. If you get off, the tiger will eat you.? If presented with this book, may we suggest you hope choose the latter option.

F?@k Knows by Shailendra Singh, Rupa, Rs195.?

Tags: book reviews, Books, F?@k Knows, Fuck Knows, Percept, Shailendra Singh

Source: http://mumbaiboss.com/2013/04/05/book-review-fk-knows-by-shailendra-singh/

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Report predicts ever-bigger Lake Erie algae blooms

This Oct. 5, 2011 satellite photo from a NASA website shows algae blooms swirling on Lake Erie. A study released Monday, April 1, 2013 said the warming climate and modern farming practices are creating ideal conditions for gigantic algae formations on Lake Erie. The shallowest and southernmost of the Great Lakes, Erie contains just 2 percent of their combined waters but about half their fish. (AP Photo/NASA)

This Oct. 5, 2011 satellite photo from a NASA website shows algae blooms swirling on Lake Erie. A study released Monday, April 1, 2013 said the warming climate and modern farming practices are creating ideal conditions for gigantic algae formations on Lake Erie. The shallowest and southernmost of the Great Lakes, Erie contains just 2 percent of their combined waters but about half their fish. (AP Photo/NASA)

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) ? It was the largest algae bloom in Lake Erie's recorded history ? a scummy, toxic blob that oozed across nearly one-fifth of the lake's surface during the summer and fall of 2011. It sucked oxygen from the water, clogged boat motors and washed ashore in rotting masses that turned beachgoers' stomachs.

It was also likely an omen of things to come, experts said in a study released Monday. The warming climate and modern farming practices are creating ideal conditions for gigantic algae formations on Lake Erie, which could be potentially disastrous to the surrounding area's multi-billion-dollar tourist economy. The shallowest and southernmost of the Great Lakes, Erie contains just 2 percent of their combined waters but about half their fish.

According to the report, which was compiled by more than two dozen scientists, the 2011 runaway bloom was fueled by phosphorus-laden fertilizers that were swept from corn and soybean fields during heavy rainstorms. Weak currents and calm winds prevented churning and flushing that could have short-circuited its rampant growth.

The combination of natural and man-made circumstances "is unfortunately consistent with ongoing trends, which means that more huge algal blooms can be expected in the future unless a scientifically guided management plan is implemented for the region," said the report's lead author, Anna Michalak, of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The U.S. and Canada limited the use of phosphate laundry detergents and cracked down on Great Lakes pollution from industry and municipal sewage systems four decades ago. Those policies led to a drastic algae drop-off in Lake Erie, which had been declared all but dead. But algae began creeping back in the mid-1990s, and the blooms have gotten progressively bigger.

They consist largely of blue-green strains that are poisonous and cause skin irritation. Measurements in 2011 found that concentrations of a liver toxin they produce were hundreds of times higher than levels approved by the World Health Organization for drinking and recreational waters.

The building blocks of algae blooms, particularly phosphorus, are well known. The newly released paper was compiled by experts from a range of disciplines to determine why the 2011 bloom got so huge and whether it's a harbinger of things to come. At its peak, that bloom covered 1,930 square miles, making it more than twice as big as the freshwater sea's second-biggest bloom on record, which happened three years earlier.

Published in the online version of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report said soil management practices in the region's corn and soybean fields are partly to blame.

One such practice is no-till farming, in which seeds are planted in small holes and the ground is not plowed. While it helps the environment by preventing erosion, no-till farming keeps fertilizer in the upper soil. Other culprits include the application of fertilizer in the fall, when the ground is bare, and the spreading of manure on the surface, instead of into the soil. Together, they leave huge volumes of phosphorus where it can be easily washed into streams and eventually, into Lake Erie.

That's what happened in the spring of 2011, when the area was slammed by heavy storms.

The bloom formed that July around the mouth of the Maumee River, on the lake's western end near Toledo, Ohio. Under normal circumstances, choppy waters might have diluted the phosphorus and broken up the bloom. Instead, a calm spell enabled it to keep growing.

By October, it had zoomed past Cleveland ? more than 100 miles to the east ? and penetrated the lake's central basin, where decomposed algae had already created an oxygen-deprived "dead zone" lethal to most fish and other aquatic organisms.

Scientists are studying how the algae outbreak might have affected fish populations but have reached no firm conclusions, said Jeff Tyson, Lake Erie program administrator with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Numbers of the lake's most prized sport and commercial species, walleye and yellow perch, have dipped in recent years in the fertile western basin. But because so many factors affect them, it's uncertain what role ?if any ? the algae has played.

The lake's algae cover was about 90 percent smaller during drought-stricken 2012. But the scientists analyzed computer models and concluded that as the planet warms over the next century, weather that fueled the 2011 mega-bloom may become "the new normal," Michalak said. The report noted that storms generating more than an inch of rain could happen twice as often, and that wind speeds are dropping.

Slowing climate change would require action on a global scale. But significant cuts in Lake Erie's phosphorus levels could be achieved with different fertilizing techniques, the scientists said.

"A lot of management practices that were put in place in the '80s improved things for a while, but we're shifting into this warmer world and we need new practices," said Allison Steiner, a University of Michigan atmospheric scientist and member of the study team.

Nancy Rabalais, executive director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and an expert on dead zones who didn't participate in the study, said its findings are consistent with climate change scenarios she projects for the upper Mississippi River basin, where flooding caused high algae concentrations two years ago. Nutrient runoff also is causing toxic algae blooms in the Gulf of Mexico's Barataria Estuary, she said.

Another group of scientists convened by the International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canadian agency that deals with boundary waters, is developing recommendations for solving Lake Erie's toxic algae problem. A draft version is scheduled to be released for public comment in May, said Raj Bejankiwar, the team leader.

"Simply put, we have to reduce phosphorus inputs into the lake," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-04-01-Lake%20Erie-Runaway%20Algae/id-6b1403121dd54caf913c8f6d110ba1e8

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