Many beachgoers, hoping for a supervised swim, may be disappointed that seasonal lifeguard service has ended at many Nova Scotia beaches.
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Monthly Archives: August 2012
Tropical Storm Isaac Likely to Erode Beaches
Tropical Storm Isaac is likely to cause erosion of beaches and dunes over 89 percent of the Mississippi coast and 45 percent of Alabama's coast, according to a statement released by the National Hurricane Center this morning (Aug. 27).
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BAFact Math: The Sun is 400,000 times brighter than the full Moon | Bad Astronomy
[BAFacts are short, tweetable astronomy/space facts that I post every day. On some occasions, they wind up needing a bit of a mathematical explanation. The math is pretty easy, and it adds a lot of coolness, which I'm passing on to you! You're welcome.]
Todays BAFact: The Sun is 400,000 times brighter than the full Moon in the sky.
If youve ever looked at the full Moon through a telescope you know how painfully bright it can be. But you can do it if you squint, or use a mild filter to block some of the light.
On the other hand, if you try the same thing with the Sun (hint: dont) youll end up with a fried retina and an eyeball filled with boiling vitreous humor.
So duh, the Sun is much brighter than the Moon. But how much brighter?
Astronomers use a brightness system called magnitudes. Its actually been around for thousands of years, first contrived by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus. Its a little weird: first, its not linear. That is, an object twice as bright as another doesnt have twice the magnitude value. Instead, the system is logarithmic, with a base of 2.512. Blame Hipparchus for that: he figured the brightest stars were 100 times brighter than the dimmest stars, and used a five step system [Update: My mistake, apparently he didn't know about the factor of 100, that came later.]. The fifth root of 100 = 2.512 (or, if you prefer, 2.5125 = 2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 x 2.512 = 100), so there you go. Ill give examples in a sec
Secondly, the other weird thing about the magnitude system is that its backwards. A brighter star will have a lower number. Its like an award; getting first place is better than third. So a bright star might be first magnitude, and a dimmer one third magnitude.
To figure out how much brighter one star actually is than another, subtract the brighter stars magnitude from the dimmer ones, and then take 2.512 to that power. As an example, the star Achernar has a magnitude of roughly 0.5. Hamal, the brightest star in the constellation of Aries, has a magnitude of 2.0. Therefore, Achernar is 2.512(2.0 0.5) = 2.5121.5 = 4 times brighter than Hamal. So you can say its four times brighter, or 1.5 magnitudes brighter. Same thing.
Its weird, but actually pretty handy for astronomers. And it doesnt stop at 0. A really bright object can have a negative magnitude, and the math still works. For example, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, has a magnitude of about -1.5 (making it 6 times as bright as Achernar check my math if you want). Which brings us to the topic at hand
The Moon is pretty bright, and when its full has a magnitude of about -12.7. Thats bright enough to read by! But the Sun is way, way brighter. Its magnitude is a whopping -26.7. How much brighter is that?
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BAFact Math: The Sun is 400,000 times brighter than the full Moon | Bad Astronomy
Artificial Intelligence And Semantic Technology Conference In Kuching This September
You are here : Bernama News
August 27, 2012 22:32 PM
Artificial Intelligence And Semantic Technology Conference In Kuching This September
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- A conference which gathers famous researchers and scientists from all over the world to discuss artificial intelligence and semantic technology will be held in Kuching, Sarawak for five days from Sept 5.
Mimos Berhad (Mimos) Artificial Intelligence (AI) director Dr Dickson Lukose, the conference chairman, said organised by the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB), the conference would be held in conjunction with the 2012 Technological Knowledge Week.
"It is the biggest conference in the Asia-Pacific region, after the conference in Europe and the United States.
"Careful planning was needed because the researchers and scientists who will be attending the conference are so famous and busy that their attendance had to be confirmed two years before the conference," he said in a statement, Monday.
-- BERNAMA
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Artificial Intelligence And Semantic Technology Conference In Kuching This September
ST Aerospace Injects Capital into Its Commercial Pilot Training Academy
Singapore, 28 August 2012 ST Aerospace Ltd today announced that it has, through its wholly owned subsidiary ST Aerospace Engineering Pte Ltd (STA Engineering), injected US$1.44m (approximately S$1.8m) into the capital of wholly owned subsidiary, ST Aerospace Academy Pte Ltd (STAA).
The capital injection affirms ST Aerospaces confidence in the pilot training business and its continued investment to upgrade STAAs flight training capacity and capabilities to meet rising training demand from airline customers and private self-funded individuals. STAA will use part of the funds to equip its new Flight Operations Centre (FOC) at the Ballarat Airport, featuring a state-of-the-art centralised flight operations and dispatch centre. The FOC will come with a new aircraft apron that can accommodate a fleet of up to 40 training aircraft. There is also plan to acquire a PA44 Seminole full flight simulator in late 2012. STAA expects to train 200 commercial pilot cadets by the end of 2012.
The fund injection is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.
ST Aerospace (Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd) is the aerospace arm of ST Engineering. Operating a global MRO network with facilities and affiliates in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, it is the worlds largest commercial airframe MRO provider with a global customer base that includes leading airlines, airfreight and military operators. ST Aerospace is an integrated service provider that offers a spectrum of maintenance and engineering services that include airframe, engine and component maintenance, repair and overhaul; engineering design and technical services; and aviation materials and management services, including Total Aviation Support. ST Aerospace has a global staff strength of more than 8,000 engineers and technical specialists. Please visit http://www.staero.aero.
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ST Aerospace Injects Capital into Its Commercial Pilot Training Academy
Fitting Kv potassium channels in the PIP2 puzzle
Public release date: 27-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rita Sullivan King news@rupress.org 212-327-8603 Rockefeller University Press
A recent study in the Journal of General Physiology brings new insights to an area of ion channel regulation: whether voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels can be regulated by physiological changes to PIP2.
Potassium channels, microscopic pores that allow potassium ions to cross cell membranes, are crucial to such diverse processes as conduction of the nerve impulse, regulation of the heartbeat, and the secretion of hormones such as insulin. PIP2, a minor phospholipid component of cell membranes, regulates the activity of various proteins in the cell membrane, and previous studies have indicated that it might be a very important regulator of such channels. To probe the cell signaling roles of PIP2 under physiological conditions, Bertil Hille (University of Washington) and colleagues used a set of sophisticated molecular tools to rapidly deplete PIP2 in the membranes of intact cells and simultaneously monitor the PIP2 changes that occurred. Using this approach, they confirmed previous studies showing that the activity of "inward rectifier" potassium channels was strongly dependent on PIP2. Surprisingly, however, they found that various members of the Kv channel family thought to be PIP2 sensitive on the basis of studies that analyzed their activity in isolated patches of cell membrane were, in fact, unaffected by PIP2 depletion. Thus, the group demonstrated that large PIP2 changes at the membranes of intact cells did not modulate the function of these Kv channels, contrary to expectations.
According to Donald Hilgemann (UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas) in commentary appearing in the September 2012 issue of JGP, the findings are an important step forward in our understanding of PIP2 effects on Kv channels. Furthermore, the tools employed by the Hille group can now be used to address questions about PIP2 functions in other cellular processes. In addition to its complex roles in cytoskeleton regulation and endocytosis, PIP2 appears to influence many cell membrane processes, including the formation of membrane domains, membrane budding, and membrane turnover.
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About The Journal of General Physiology
Founded in 1918, The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) is published by The Rockefeller University Press. All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are made by active scientists. JGP content is posted to PubMed Central, where it is available to the public for free six months after publication. Authors retain copyright of their published works and third parties may reuse the content for non-commercial purposes under a creative commons license. For more information, please visit http://www.jgp.org.
Hilgemann, D.W., et al. 2012. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.201210874. Kruse, M., G.R.V. Hammond, and B. Hille. 2012. J. Gen. Physiol. doi:10.1085/jgp.201210806.
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Fitting Kv potassium channels in the PIP2 puzzle
Study: For Body Fat, 30 Minutes of Exercise as Good as 60
Research in the American Journal of Physiology found that Danish men lost more weight with a half hour of daily exercise than they did with a full hour; their body fat remained the same in both cases. Moderation wins again.
PROBLEM: Creating a negative energy balance -- burning off more than you take in -- is the not-so-secret key to successful weight loss. Dieters, however, often find that eating less triggers compensatory mechanisms, such as increased appetite and a slowed metabolism, that make this balance difficult to maintain. Looking at the other side of this equation, is there an infinitely positive relationship between amount of exercise and pounds shed? Or is there a certain point where the compensatory mechanisms kick in, so that extra time on the treadmill ceases to affect weight loss?
METHODOLOGY: Sixtymoderately overweight Danish men were randomly assigned to either a moderate or high-dose aerobic routine of running, biking, or rowing. The moderate exercisers burned 300 calories per day, which took about 30 minutes, while the high-dose group burned 600 calories, which, predictably, took about twice as long. The subjects' body composition was monitored throughout the 13-week experiment, as were their compensatory behaviors (food intake and non-exercise physical activity). Their accumulated energy balance was calculated from their changes in body composition.
RESULTS: The group that practiced moderate exercise lost an average of 7.9 lbs in body weight, while the group that worked harder only lost an average of 6.0 lbs. Both saw similar losses in fat mass (about 8.8 lbs in the moderate group, and 8.3 pounds in the high-dose group). Researchers measured no significant difference in caloric intake or non-exercise energy expenditure.
CONCLUSION: Comparingmen who exercised for half an hour each day to men who worked out for twice as long, less exercise was actually associated with greater weight loss, and no significant difference infat loss. So the moderate exercisers got a lot more for their effort.
IMPLICATIONS: "Lose more weight in half the time" sounds like the kind of pitch that can get you into trouble. And the researchers aren't sure exactly why they got the results that they did. They suggest that less exercise may be associated with a greater willingness to engage in other forms of physical activity throughout the day that they did not measure, or that the more intense workouts may have lead to more compensatory food intake (though, within the limits of this study, they measured no difference). This calls to light the interplay of all the variables that go into weight loss and gain, and how, when factored in the bigger picture of life and physiology and behavioral psychology and taco rewards, more exercise isn't always better.
The full study, "Body fat loss and compensatory mechanisms in response to different doses of aerobic exercise -- a randomized controlled trial in overweight sedentary males," is published in the American Journal of Physiology.
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Study: For Body Fat, 30 Minutes of Exercise as Good as 60
Pathology Software – Developed by Nspire Technologies Nagpur. – Video
27-08-2012 01:57 Pathology Software is a fully loaded for pathology laboratories. It is use for Sugar Health Care management System.
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Pathology Software - Developed by Nspire Technologies Nagpur. - Video
Conditions prime for cricket invasion
Field crickets are taking advantage of the weather conditions and spreading like wildfire, according to OSU Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.
These outbreaks seem to occur after periods of prolonged dry weather in spring and early summer followed by rainfall in July and August, said Rick Grantham, director of the Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Lab in Oklahoma State Universitys Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. Extensive soil cracking may be an important factor.
The current conditions provide good sites for egg deposition, an abundance of favorable food, vegetation for shelter and a scarcity of parasites and predators may also be involved. Crickets will feed on almost anything and occasionally damage alfalfa, cotton, strawberries, vegetables and ornamentals. Additionally, they will be drawn indoors by lights and sometimes damage fabrics, wood, plastic, rubber and leather goods.
Crickets commonly spend the daylight hours hiding in dark, damp areas. Eliminating piles of bricks, stones, wood or other debris around the home will help reduce numbers, Grantham said. Weeds and dense vegetation around the foundations of homes are other good hiding places.
Trash dumps provide both food and shelter for crickets and should be cleaned out. Eliminating light sources at night and ensuring there are tights seals around all doors and windows will reduce the number of crickets inside a house or business.
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Conditions prime for cricket invasion
Bode Technology Offers First Rapid DNA Service Delivering a DNA Profile from Evidentiary Samples in Under 90 Minutes
LORTON, Va., Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The Bode Technology Group, Inc. (Bode), a leading provider of innovative forensic DNA services, announced today the launch of their Rapid DNA Service to provide near real-time DNA analysis. This service delivers a DNA profile from forensic samples in less than 90 minutes resulting in a fast turnaround of investigative leads for law enforcement agencies holding persons of interest. Bode's Rapid DNA Service also allows for DNA to be used as a biometric application for identity resolution of detainees at critical screening points.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120619/PH27111LOGO)
"The 'CSI Effect' has raised the expectations of the public. Bode's new Rapid DNA Service, which provides a DNA profile from evidence samples or reference samples in under 90 minutes, has significantly closed the gap between television fiction and real life. This service also brings reality to the possibility of using DNA as a biometric for identity resolution," said Barry Watson, CEO & President of Bode. "DNA has been labeled the gold standard in forensic science by the National Academy of Science, and this rapid service makes it applicable in more situations."
Rapid DNA Service utilizes commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment already commonly used in forensic laboratories and capitalizes on improvements to both rapid thermal cycling and direct amplification. Bode scientists have also made significant advancements in obtaining DNA from virtually all forensic and biological evidence types, including cigarette butts, bloodstains, touch evidence and handled objects.
Mike Cariola, COO of Bode Technology, said, "We have achieved a breakthrough and are the only forensic laboratory providing a service that can successfully obtain high quality DNA profiles from evidentiary items this rapidly. We have implemented an amplification procedure that meets the FBI's Quality Assurance Standards for validation and sets a new performance level for the forensic community which is a testament to the ingenuity of our scientists."
Bode's expertise and innovation allows us to offer this industry leading service for evidentiary items. Other rapid DNA systems will soon reach the market, but require significant capital expenditure while providing lower throughput and are limited to only processing reference samples. In addition, these systems are still pending validation by the forensic community. Bode's Rapid DNA Service provides an immediate solution.
Bode's Virginia laboratory is one of the few private facilities worldwide to receive ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from both the American Society of Crime Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB-International Program) and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board/FQS for forensic testing.
For more information, see http://www.bodetech.com/rapid-dna.
About The Bode Technology Group, Inc.
Bode Technology provides a comprehensive set of state-of-the-art forensic DNA collection products, analysis services, and research services to law enforcement, justice system, and other government agencies around the world. Operating one of the most internationally respected private DNA laboratories, Bode's forensic DNA experts have assisted in identifying criminals in every state in the United States, and played a key role in the exoneration of numerous individuals. Bode provides immigration and paternity testing worldwide. Bode has also been instrumental in the identification of victims of natural disasters, war, crime, and terrorism, including the attack on the World Trade Center.
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Bode Technology Offers First Rapid DNA Service Delivering a DNA Profile from Evidentiary Samples in Under 90 Minutes
pH-sensitive liposomal cisplatin improves peritoneal carcinomatosis treatment without side-effects
Public release date: 27-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Andrea Teixeira Carvalho atcteixeira@gmail.com Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
Scientists at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and Federal University of Minas Gerais, led by Dr. Andra Teixeira-Carvalho and Dr. Mnica Cristina de Oliveira, have developed and characterized a circulating and pH-sensitive liposome containing cisplatin (SpHL-CDDP) aiming to promote the release of cisplatin near the tumor as well as decreasing toxicity. The development of analog drugs and new formulations are current strategies for increasing the effectiveness and safety of cisplatin as an anti-peritoneal carcinomatosis drug. The results, which appear in the August 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine demonstrate that the treatment of initial or disseminated Ehrlich ascitic tumor-bearing Swiss mice with SpHL-CDDP improved the antitumor efficacy and decreased renal and bone marrow toxicity of cisplatin-based therapy.
"Peritoneal carcinomatosis is a serious concern in the treatment of abdominal tumors such as hepatic, gastric and gynecological tumors", says Dr. Oliveira. "The strategy of local chemotherapy is interesting due to the possibility to increase the therapeutic efficacy while minimizing systemic side-effects. SpHL-CDDP treatment was able to reduce cancer cell proliferation and increase survival, in the animal model, with no known toxicity clinical signs found in the free CDDP treatment." says Dr. Maroni.
These results open the possibility of future use of SpHL-CDDP in chemotherapy of peritoneal carcinomatosis. "New studies are underway in our research group to investigate the signaling pathways of cell death as well as use of high doses of SpHL-CDDP for the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis", says Dr. Teixeira-Carvalho.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine, said " This very interesting study has utilized a new pH-sensitive circulating liposome containing cisplatin formulation which decreased cancer proliferation and drug toxicity in a mouse model. This provides the basis for further translational testing of this formulation leading to clinical trials aimed at more effective treatment of abdominal tumors".
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Experimental Biology and Medicine is a journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. The journal was first established in 1903.
Experimental Biology and Medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn about the benefits of society membership visit http://www.sebm.org. If you are interested in publishing in the journal please visit http://ebm.rsmjournals.com .
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pH-sensitive liposomal cisplatin improves peritoneal carcinomatosis treatment without side-effects
To cap or not to cap: Scientists find new RNA phenomenon that challenges dogma
ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2012) Some RNA molecules spend time in a restful state akin to hibernation rather than automatically carrying out their established job of delivering protein-building instructions in cells, new research suggests.
And instead of being a fluke or a mistake, the research suggests that this restful period appears to be a programmed step for RNA produced by certain types of genes, including some that control cell division and decide where proteins will work in a cell to sustain the cell's life.
This could mean that protein production in cells is not as clear-cut as biology textbooks suggest, scientists say.
"This could mean there are more variations to the proteins in our bodies than we realize; it means that RNAs can be stored and reactivated and we don't know what biological process that affects -- it could influence embryonic development, or neurological activity, or even cancer," said Daniel Schoenberg, professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study.
Schoenberg and colleagues discovered this phenomenon by tracing the origins of a cap-like structure on messenger RNA (mRNA) that is known to coordinate most of this RNA molecule's short life. Messenger RNA is manufactured in a cell's nucleus and each mRNA contains the instructions needed to produce a specific protein that a cell needs to live.
Until now, scientists have believed that once an mRNA is no longer needed to make protein, the cap comes off and the molecule is degraded, its job complete. But Schoenberg's lab discovered in 2009 that some mRNAs that were thought to be degraded were instead still present in the cell, but they were missing part of their sequence and had caps placed back on the newly formed ends. Because these mRNAs were in the cytoplasm, the changes had to happen there rather than inside the nucleus.
In this new study, the researchers were looking for further evidence of these apparent rogue mRNAs, but instead they found that a completely unexpected biological process occurs before some proteins are even a glimmer in a gene's eye: The uncapping and recapping of mRNAs outside the nucleus results from a cap recycling operation in the cell cytoplasm. This process appeared to enable certain RNAs to pause, without being degraded, before launching protein production.
"What this discovery tells us is a complete fundamental reworking of the relationship between a gene, messenger RNA and a protein. It's more complicated than we realize," Schoenberg said.
The research is published online in the open-access journal Cell Reports.
That fragments of mRNA could exist at all in the cell's main body was first reported by other scientists in 1992. Years later, Schoenberg asked a postdoctoral researcher in his lab to revisit these unexpected RNA fragments and confirm they exist. The postdoc's experiments showed that these mRNA, thought to be the dregs left over from their degradation, had caps on them -- suggesting they still had the potential to function in protein production. Schoenberg, also director of Ohio State's Center for RNA Biology, has been investigating this cytoplasmic capping operation ever since.
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To cap or not to cap: Scientists find new RNA phenomenon that challenges dogma
Loretta Devine: 'Anatomy' of An Emmy Nom
I don't know of a single performer with a more apt surname than Loretta Devine. From Dreamgirls to Waiting to Exhale to her recent Emmy-nominated turn on Grey's Anatomy, every role this multi-hyphenate takes on is instantly imbued with elegance and excellence.
TheInsider.com caught up with the divine Miss. Devine to talk about her Grey's arc (as Adele Webber the Alzheimer's afflicted wife of Seattle Grace's Chief of Staff), that proposed Exhale sequel and what fans can expect from a second season of The Client List!
TheInsider.com: Adele first appeared during the second season of Grey's -- at that time, did you have any idea of how important she'd be to the show? Loretta Devine: No, absolutely not. It's been almost eight years now and you never know when they're going to call you in it's always about availability. The last few seasons, I had a block of time and was excited about that. But when I found out she'd be dealing with Alzheimer's, I thought they were going to kill her off [laughs]. It's always so scary, because Richard was in love with Ellis, who also had Alzheimer's and they just killed her off! I mean, after a year of working ... dead. Good lord! [laughs]
RELATED - Grey's Creator Defends Finale Death
Insider.com: Alzheimer's can sometimes come across as very "act-y" -- how did you prepare and avoid those pitfalls? Loretta: A lot of it is in the writing Shonda Rhimes and her team have so much to do with the look of the character. My father passed and he had a touch of dementia, and I have some friends who are dealing with that with their parents too. I played Adele with a baseline of feeling she was fine for the first few episodes. But what was so great about this past season is she had to acknowledge she was sick, let go of her home, let go of her husband and move into this [assisted living facility]. It was so sad. Now she's sleeping with strangers and [Richard] is dating Debbie Allen [who plays Dr. Catherine Avery] -- it's funny, I was watching TV and finding some of this out with the rest of America and screaming at my television!
VIDEO - Whitney Houston Sparkles in Final Insider Interview
Insider.com: Do you know anything about what the future holds for Adele? Loretta: I don't know if I'm going to be back, or how theyre going to resolve the issue maybe they'll find a cure. I saw Jim [Pickens Jr., who plays Richard Webber] at the premiere of Sparkle and he didn't know either. So we'll see!
Insider.com: How was it seeing your friend Whitney in the film? Loretta: Oh my God, it's such a great loss. And that's what is so weird about movies you feel like the person is there but they're not. When I think of Whitney, I think of a young, vivacious girl, but in Sparkle, she plays this little old lady and I had to get used to seeing her doing that. She got a chance to sing in the film and it just breaks your heart. It's such a tremendous loss. But she was excellent in the movie. Right on point and I believed she believed what she was doing, so that was great.
RELATED - Waiting Sequel Moving Forward
Insider.com: Any update on the Waiting to Exhale sequel we've heard so much about? Loretta: Terry McMillan is still working on the script. They want it to be a tribute to Whitney, but I don't know if they're going to include her character or try something totally different. Also, Gregory Hines' character has to be dealt with too it can't be a movie full of funerals, so I don't know what their plan is. They're trying to get it together.
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Loretta Devine: 'Anatomy' of An Emmy Nom
Precise Patterning of Nanocrystal Films Achieved
Category: Science & Technology Posted: August 27, 2012 10:57AM Author: Guest_Jim_*
Nanotechnology takes many forms, as it can offer special electrical and optical properties, just based on the patterns and materials used. Precisely making these patterns, however, is quite difficult in part because the patterned films involved often have defects. These defects also make measuring the properties of the nanotechnology device difficult to accurately measure. Now researchers at MIT have discovered a way to create these patterns in the film without any defects.
It turns out what the researchers needed was to coat the silicon dioxide substrate with a polymer, which the nanocrystals and films could attach to. Essentially the polymer provided a foundation the nanocrystals would stay on, whereas the silicon dioxide would not always hold them in place, which caused the defects. Luckily testing to make of these structures sped up greatly once they started working with devices that operate in the visible part of the spectrum. Instead of having to look at it with a microscope, they could just see if it was emitting light correctly.
This discovery could impact not only optical systems but electrical as well. While the nanostructures can be tuned to respond to any frequency, the researchers found that the electrical conductivity of their defect free films was actually 180 times greater than the imperfect films made by more conventional means.
ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel Meeting Announced for October in Washington, DC
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ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel Meeting Announced for October in Washington, DC New York August 27, 2012
The American National Standards Institute's Nanotechnology Standards Panel (ANSI-NSP) will hold a meeting on October 30, 2012, in Washington, DC. Formed in 2004, ANSI's NSP serves as the cross-sector coordinating body for the facilitation of standards development in the area of nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology, linked to nanoscale science and engineering, involves the understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, (approximately 1-to-100 nanometers), where unique phenomena allow for innovation and novel technological applications. The ANSI-NSP works to provide a forum for standards developing organizations (SDOs), government entities, academia, and industry to identify needs and establish recommendations for the creation or updating of standards related to nanotechnology and nanomaterials. In addition, the ANSI-NSP solicits participation from nanotechnology-related groups that have not traditionally been involved in the voluntary consensus standards system, while also promoting cross-sector collaborative efforts.
ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia said, Nanotechnology is a growing and vital field that has the potential to change current industries and pave the way to new ones. The ANSI-NSP looks forward to building on its record as a coordinator and facilitator of responsive nanotechnology standardization activities that keep pace with the fields advancement.
The ANSI-NSP encourages SDOs involved in nanotechnology standardization, representatives from companies working with nanomaterials or developing nanotechnology-based products and solutions, government agencies, consumer groups, and academics, to take part in the October meeting, which is free to attend. The meeting will include updates from SDOs developing nanotechnology standards and from industry representatives regarding their current needs in this area.
The meeting will take place on October 30, 2012, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the offices of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP (1501 K Street NW, Washington, DC). Individuals planning to attend the October NSP meeting may register online here. For more information, visit the event Web page or contact Heather Benko (hbenko@ansi.org), ANSI senior manager, nanotechnology standardization activities.
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ANSI Nanotechnology Standards Panel Meeting Announced for October in Washington, DC
McCune says co-star chemistry "scripted"
Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhodes at the media launch of South Pacific, a musical backed by Opera Australia. Pic - Sam Mooy Picture: Sam Mooy Source: Herald Sun
LISA McCune says on-stage chemistry between her and South Pacific co-star Teddy Tahu Rhodes is because of the script, and is not due to a blossoming romance between the pair.
Leading lady McCune (who plays Nellie Forbush) and opera star Rhodes, who plays her on-stage love interest Emile de Becque, made headlines recently when they were photographed locking lips in a Sydney laneway.
ANY inkling the audience might get of a blossoming romance between Lisa McCune and Teddy Tahu Rhones in South Pacific the two lead actors of Opera Australia's production of South Pacific has been put down to the powerful script of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
But during the Brisbane launch of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic on Monday, McCune attributed any on-stage chemistry with New Zealand-born Rhodes as a result of the script rather than a personal connection.
"The script is really beautiful, the script is so well constructed," the former Blue Heelers star said.
"Rogers and Hammerstein ... are great technicians, so they know how to manufacture that for the audience."
Tim Disney and Lisa McCune at their home in Melbourne. Picture: Media-mode.com Source: Supplied
Co-star Daniel Koek (Lieutenant Cable) was also quick to brush off any romantic connection between the pair as nothing more than good acting.
"Lisa's such a great actress that she's giving him (Rhodes) so much to work with, he's playing off of it and that's where it comes from," Koek told reporters.
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McCune says co-star chemistry "scripted"
Love Goes Late-Night With Chemistry.com
DALLAS, Aug.27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Chemistry.com, one of the nation's leading dating sites, today reveals the Top 10 Sleepless Citieswhere singles are looking for love between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. Although New York City may be known as "the city that never sleeps," singles in Honolulu, Hawaii are the most restless during the wee hours of the night, followed by their unattached counterparts in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Night owls are in good company all over the U.S., with plenty of like-minded late-night aficionados looking for love until the sun rises from coast to coast.
The Top 10 Sleepless Cities in the U.S.:
Chemistry.com is celebrating these sleepless singles by hosting "Up All Night," where visitors can try out the dating site for free from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. CDT beginning Thursday, August 30. The event will offer both new and existing members access to all of Chemistry.com's features free of charge, including the ability to browse full profiles with photos and communicate with other members using emails and Chemistry's unique get-to-know-you games. To register for this free night of flirting, singles can take theChemistry.com Personality Test and create a profile to join in with other night owls online at http://www.chemistry.com/cp/upallnight.
Top 10 cities list was calculated by examining the top U.S. cities that were active on Chemistry.com between midnight and 6 a.m., accounting for the six different time zones in the country.
About Chemistry.comLaunched by Match.com in February 2006, online dating site Chemistry.com was created to bring together singles that are looking for ways to discover if true chemistry exists before meeting on the first date. Based on the research of renowned biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, Chemistry.com uses a proprietary test to get to know each individual and their ideal match.This approach makes Chemistry.com the ideal place for singles to empower their love life and find the relationship that is right for each individual, whether it's marriage, romance, a partnership or a long-term commitment.Chemistry.com is an operating business of IAC (IACI).
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Biotech Industry Merger and Acquisition Activity at a Four-Year High
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -08/27/12)- Biotechnology stocks continue to be some of the strongest performers in the markets as favorable legislation, such as the FAST and TREAT acts, have helped boost investor optimism within the industry. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund (IBB) is up over 30 percent in 2012 -- handedly outperforming the Dow Jones industrial average year-to-date. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Biotech Industry and provides equity research on Complete Genomics, Inc. (GNOM) and Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SVNT).
Access to the full company reports can be found at:
http://www.FiveStarEquities.com/GNOM
http://www.FiveStarEquities.com/SVNT
The FAST and TREAT acts introduced in 2012 have helped accelerate the development, review and approval process of medicines/personalized therapies for patients suffering from serious and life-threatening diseases. According to recent data from Thomas Reuters, biotech mergers & acquisitions activity is currently at a four-year high as large pharmaceuticals are facing major patent cliffs. So far in 2012 the volume of biotech M&A has exceeded $25 billion, compared to roughly 10 billion in the same period of 2011.
"Their patents have expired, and as a result they have holes in their revenue line they are trying to fill," said Scott Lindsay, global head of mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse. "The other part is just shoring up the pipeline they have. So even if they don't have a major patent problem, they're all looking for growth."
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As the world's first company dedicated to large-scale whole human genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis provided as a service, Complete Genomics frees researchers from purchasing and operating sequencing instruments and computing infrastructures so they can focus on making biological discoveries. For the second quarter of 2012 the company reported revenue of $8.7 million, compared to $5.9 million in the second quarter of 2011.
Savient Pharmaceuticals is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing KRYSTEXXA (pegloticase) for the treatment of chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy. The company recently reported net sales for KRYSTEXXA were $4.0 million for the second quarter of 2012, a 30% increase over the first quarter of 2012.
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Biotech Industry Merger and Acquisition Activity at a Four-Year High
Loretta Devine: 'Anatomy' of An Emmy Nom
I don't know of a single performer with a more apt surname than Loretta Devine. From Dreamgirls to Waiting to Exhale to her recent Emmy-nominated turn on Grey's Anatomy, every role this multi-hyphenate takes on is instantly imbued with elegance and excellence.
TheInsider.com caught up with the divine Miss. Devine to talk about her Grey's arc (as Adele Webber the Alzheimer's afflicted wife of Seattle Grace's Chief of Staff), that proposed Exhale sequel and what fans can expect from a second season of The Client List!
TheInsider.com: Adele first appeared during the second season of Grey's -- at that time, did you have any idea of how important she'd be to the show? Loretta Devine: No, absolutely not. It's been almost eight years now and you never know when they're going to call you in it's always about availability. The last few seasons, I had a block of time and was excited about that. But when I found out she'd be dealing with Alzheimer's, I thought they were going to kill her off [laughs]. It's always so scary, because Richard was in love with Ellis, who also had Alzheimer's and they just killed her off! I mean, after a year of working ... dead. Good lord! [laughs]
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Insider.com: Alzheimer's can sometimes come across as very "act-y" -- how did you prepare and avoid those pitfalls? Loretta: A lot of it is in the writing Shonda Rhimes and her team have so much to do with the look of the character. My father passed and he had a touch of dementia, and I have some friends who are dealing with that with their parents too. I played Adele with a baseline of feeling she was fine for the first few episodes. But what was so great about this past season is she had to acknowledge she was sick, let go of her home, let go of her husband and move into this [assisted living facility]. It was so sad. Now she's sleeping with strangers and [Richard] is dating Debbie Allen [who plays Dr. Catherine Avery] -- it's funny, I was watching TV and finding some of this out with the rest of America and screaming at my television!
VIDEO - Whitney Houston Sparkles in Final Insider Interview
Insider.com: Do you know anything about what the future holds for Adele? Loretta: I don't know if I'm going to be back, or how theyre going to resolve the issue maybe they'll find a cure. I saw Jim [Pickens Jr., who plays Richard Webber] at the premiere of Sparkle and he didn't know either. So we'll see!
Insider.com: How was it seeing your friend Whitney in the film? Loretta: Oh my God, it's such a great loss. And that's what is so weird about movies you feel like the person is there but they're not. When I think of Whitney, I think of a young, vivacious girl, but in Sparkle, she plays this little old lady and I had to get used to seeing her doing that. She got a chance to sing in the film and it just breaks your heart. It's such a tremendous loss. But she was excellent in the movie. Right on point and I believed she believed what she was doing, so that was great.
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Insider.com: Any update on the Waiting to Exhale sequel we've heard so much about? Loretta: Terry McMillan is still working on the script. They want it to be a tribute to Whitney, but I don't know if they're going to include her character or try something totally different. Also, Gregory Hines' character has to be dealt with too it can't be a movie full of funerals, so I don't know what their plan is. They're trying to get it together.
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Loretta Devine: 'Anatomy' of An Emmy Nom
Nutrition tied to improved sperm DNA quality in older men
Public release date: 27-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dan Krotz dakrotz@lbl.gov 510-486-4019 DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A new study led by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that a healthy intake of micronutrients is strongly associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men. In younger men, however, a higher intake of micronutrients didn't improve their sperm DNA.
In an analysis of 80 healthy male volunteers between 22 and 80 years of age, the scientists found that men older than 44 who consumed the most vitamin C had 20 percent less sperm DNA damage compared to men older than 44 who consumed the least vitamin C. The same was true for vitamin E, zinc, and folate.
"It appears that consuming more micronutrients such as vitamin C, E, folate and zinc helps turn back the clock for older men. We found that men 44 and older who consumed at least the recommended dietary allowance of certain micronutrients had sperm with a similar amount of DNA damage as the sperm of younger men," says Andy Wyrobek of Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division.
"This means that men who are at increased risk of sperm DNA damage because of advancing age can do something about it. They can make sure they get enough vitamins and micronutrients in their diets or through supplements," adds Wyrobek.
Wyrobek conducted the research with a team of researchers that includes Brenda Eskenazi of the University of California at Berkeley's School of Public Health and scientists from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. They report their findings in the August 27 online issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Their research comes as more men over 35 have children, which raises public health concerns. Previous research conducted in Wyrobek's lab found that the older a man is, the more he's likely to have increased sperm DNA fragmentation, chromosomal rearrangements, and DNA strand damage. Older men are also more likely to have increased frequencies of sperm carrying certain gene mutations, such as those leading to dwarfism. These findings help explain why aging men are less fertile and are predicted to have more chromosomally defective pregnancies and a higher proportion of offspring with genetic defects.
But until now, researchers haven't understood whether diet can protect against the detrimental effects of aging on the sperm genome.
The scientists studied a group of about 80 men between 20 and 80 years old with an average age of 44. They were recruited several years ago as part of the California Age and Genetic Effects on Sperm Study when Wyrobek was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Each man who participated in the study filled out a 100-item questionnaire that estimated their average daily vitamin intake, both from food and supplements.
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Nutrition tied to improved sperm DNA quality in older men