Libertarian joins Hagan, Tillis in final U.S. Senate debate

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WILMINGTON Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and Republican rival Thom Tillis used every opportunity in their last scheduled televised debate Thursday night to blast each others legislative records and reinforce themes from television ads heading into the final weeks of their tight race.

It was their third debate and second this week, but Libertarian nominee Sean Haugh joined them for the first time during the hourlong program at a Wilmington television studio aired elsewhere in the state.

While Haugh promoted his limited government, anti-war platform, the debates main attractions remained Tillis and Hagan in a race considered to be one of a handful that will determine which party holds the Senate majority in 2015.

Heres the rundown on the debates major themes:

CATCH PHRASES

In her opening statement, Hagan said, North Carolina needs a common sense voice, somebody who will always put the best interest of our state before anything else before proceeding to tell viewers that Tillis puts the interests of the Republican Party and its allies ahead of the people. Its reiterating her strategy to link Tillis to the unpopular GOP-led legislature.

She mentioned at least three times that under Tillis leadership as state House speaker, the legislature let expire the states film production tax credit, a significant issue for the regions large film and television industry. Its been replaced by a less generous grant program.

Tillis said at least a half-dozen times that Hagan was a rubber stamp for President Barack Obamas policies, which Tillis said were dampening the economic recovery. Hes been laser-focused on connecting the first-term senator to the president. If we want to change the presidents policies, we have to change our senator, he said.

MEETING MISSTEPS

Tillis kept harping on Hagan for her attendance record at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings this year and emphasized Hagans acknowledgement that she missed a February meeting because of a scheduled campaign fundraising reception in New York. The closed meeting on current and future worldwide threats to national security had been rescheduled for the afternoon, Hagan and her campaign said.

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Libertarian joins Hagan, Tillis in final U.S. Senate debate

Excluded from Fla gov debates, Libertarian sues

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Shut out of televised debates, Libertarian candidate for governor Adrian Wyllie filed a lawsuit Thursday that seeks to force the Florida Press Association to allow him onstage with Gov. Rick Scott and Democrat Charlie Crist, the Miami Herald has learned.

Wyllie could not be immediately reached for comment, but the head of the association confirmed Wyllie filed suit in Broward County, where the debate takes place Wednedsay at Broward College in conjunction with Leadership Florida.

Dean Ridings, president and CEO of the association, said Wyllie didnt make the cut because he failed to register 15 percent support in at least one statewide credible public-opinion survey from a nonpartisan polling organization by Sept. 30.

But we want to be fair and consistent, Ridings said. There are 10 candidates for governor and why would it be fair to them to change our criteria?

Ridings said the criteria for candidate participation has been in place since before the 2010 elections. He noted that Wyllie, who garnered as much as 13 percent support in a recent poll from the Republican-leaning polling firm 0ptimus, appears to be improving his standing in the polls.

But its not enough.

Were not going to change criteria in mid-stream because we like a candidate and hes doing better, Ridings said.

Wyllie is planning a protest at another televised debate to be held Friday at Telemundo in Miramar, where Crist and Scott will face off for the first time. The debate will be broadcast at 7 p.m. that night.

The third and final debate between the two major candidates takes place Oct. 21 in Jacksonville.

Crist wanted more debates, but Scott would only agree to three. Scott's running mate, Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, has also ignored calls from Crist's running mate, Annette Taddeo, to debate on television.

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Excluded from Fla gov debates, Libertarian sues

PropertyCayman, RE/MAX Cayman Islands, Point at Paradise Cove #8 – Video

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Cayman Islands jury clears ex-premier of all criminal charges nearly 2 years after his ouster

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Published October 09, 2014

KINGSTON, Jamaica A Cayman Islands jury on Thursday found a former premier not guilty of nearly a dozen criminal charges about two years after he was ousted from office on suspicion of corruption.

Prosecutors alleged McKeeva Bush had illegally tapped his government credit card to withdraw nearly $50,000 in casinos in the Bahamas and the United States, using some of the cash to gamble on slot machines.

The jury of four men and three women deliberating about seven hours, and unanimously cleared Bush of six counts of misconduct and five counts of breach of trust in the tiny British Caribbean territory that is one of the world's biggest financial centers.

In a statement after the verdict was delivered, Bush said the charges "were nothing more than the result of a conspiracy to remove me from power." He has repeatedly asserted that he did not break any laws and that he was the victim of a smear campaign by political opponents.

Bush and a few dozen supporters hugged and cheered outside the courtroom after Justice Michael Mettyear had departed.

Bush, the British Caribbean territory's longest serving politician, lost a no-confidence vote in December 2012 and was ousted as the islands' No. 1 politician after police arrested him at his home on suspicion of misusing a government credit card and other charges.

The charges rocked the Cayman Islands, where Bush had been the premier since his United Democratic Party won 2009 general elections. He wielded great power within the territory because he was in charge of finance, tourism and development as well as being head of government.

A few months after his arrest, Bush's fractured party was defeated in parliamentary elections. He retained his seat as a lawmaker in his powerbase in a populous district of Grand Cayman. He also remained head of his political faction.

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Cayman Islands jury clears ex-premier of all criminal charges nearly 2 years after his ouster

Chinas Airstrip in Paracel Islands Heightens Vietnam Tensions

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Chinas completion of an upgraded airstrip in the disputed Paracel Islands gives it another foothold in the South China Sea and risks sparking a renewed diplomatic rift with communist neighbor Vietnam.

Vietnam foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh yesterday called the two-kilometer-long runway on Woody Island, part of the Paracel group, a violation of Vietnams sovereignty after photos of the project appeared in Chinese media this week. In July, a Chinese company removed an oil rig it had placed in contested waters off Vietnams coast after skirmishes between boats of the two countries and deadly anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam.

Chinas presence on the island it calls Yongxing, which houses banks, post offices and government buildings, is likely to further strain ties with fellow claimants to the South China Sea, through which some of the worlds busiest shipping lanes run. The military facility could spur countries such as Vietnam to turn to the U.S. for sophisticated maritime aircraft to counter Chinas actions.

It has a huge significance for Chinese ability to exercise its sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, Collin Koh, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said by phone. Vietnam is not going to let this go easily. Its going to lead to more diplomatic tensions.

Chinas runway violates international law and damages ties, Vietnam News cited foreign ministry spokesman Binh as saying. The move contravenes an accord between Vietnam and China on settling sea disputes and a 2002 agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on conduct in the area, he said.

Clashes between Vietnamese and Chinese vessels near the oil rig during the summer highlighted Chinas limited maritime air surveillance in the region, according to Koh. An offer by Malaysia offer to host U.S. P-8 Poseidon surveillance airplanes in the country further unnerved China, he said.

The Woody Island outpost is set to become a military command and control network, he said.

Its not just about lengthening the runway, Koh said. Its about having shelters for small aircraft like jet fighters, underground bunkers for fuel and ammunition.

China considers much of the South China Sea its territory based on its nine-dash line map first published in the 1940s. The map covers an area that extends hundreds of miles south from Hainan Island and takes in the Paracels, which are claimed by Vietnam, and the Spratly Islands, some of which are claimed by the Philippines. China is creating artificial islands in the Spratly area.

China is sending a message to everyone in the world about its resolve to maintain what it perceives as its territorial integrity, Alexander Vuving, a security analyst at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, said by phone. China is hardening its position with all of these things.

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Chinas Airstrip in Paracel Islands Heightens Vietnam Tensions

University of Chicago establishes national center to study genetics of drug abuse in rats

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Oct-2014

Contact: Kevin Jiang kevin.jiang@uchospitals.edu 773-795-5227 University of Chicago Medical Center @UChicagoMed

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded the University of Chicago a $12 million, five year grant to establish a national Center of Excellence to study drug abuse-associated behaviors by conducting research with rats.

Led by Abraham Palmer, PhD, associate professor of human genetics, the NIDA Center for Genome-Wide Association Studies in Outbred Rats will combine complex behavioral studies with recent technological advances in rat genetics to help scientists shed light on the genes behind drug addiction.

Rats have a long and storied history as an important animal model for research, especially in behavioral studies. But in recent decades, the use of rats has given way to mice because of innovations in the manipulation of mouse genomes. This shift has affected certain research fields, particularly the study of drug abuse and addiction, where behavioral tasks are often too complex for mice to perform. That's led to a slowdown in research aimed at revealing the genetics thought underlie drug abuse-related behaviors.

"The odds of permanently recovering from drug addiction are low and there is currently very little understanding of why that is," Palmer said. "With an animal system, we have a powerful advantage in that once we've found a genetic location or pathway, we can easily manipulate the gene and measure the resulting effects. The use of rats is critical because many of the behaviors we will study have proven difficult or impossible to adapt for mice."

A rat revival

To shed light on the genetics behind complex traits such as drug abuse behavior, the researchers will utilize genome-wide association studies (GWAS) an examination of the entire genomes of different individuals to reveal genetic variants linked with particular traits. Research groups around the country will perform experiments exploring separate behaviors, and send samples to UChicago for genetic analysis. This allows the center to study the genetics of multiple aspects of drug abuse efficiently and at a much more rapid pace than previously possible.

While most animal studies use almost genetically identical subjects, GWAS studies require large numbers of unrelated individuals. The center will support a comprehensive breeding program that provides researchers with a unique population of rats that have been bred to maintain as much genetic diversity as possible. Studies will be performed on both male and female rats to explore the relationship between gender, drug abuse behavior and genetics.

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University of Chicago establishes national center to study genetics of drug abuse in rats

Multiple neurodevelopmental disorders have a common molecular cause

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Oct-2014

Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary moleary@cell.com 617-397-2802 Cell Press @CellPressNews

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome and autism-spectrum disorder can have profound, lifelong effects on learning and memory, but relatively little is known about the molecular pathways affected by these diseases. A study published by Cell Press October 9th in the American Journal of Human Genetics shows that neurodevelopmental disorders caused by distinct genetic mutations produce similar molecular effects in cells, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all therapeutic approach could be effective for conditions ranging from seizures to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"Neurodevelopmental disorders are rare, meaning trying to treat them is not efficient," says senior study author Carl Ernst of McGill University. "Once we fully define the major common pathways involved, targeting these pathways for treatment becomes a viable option that can affect the largest number of people."

A large fraction of neurodevelopmental disorders are associated with variation in specific genes, but the genetic factors responsible for these diseases are very complex. For example, whereas common variants in the same gene have been associated with two or more different disorders, mutations in many different genes can lead to similar diseases. As a result, it has not been clear whether genetic mutations that cause neurodevelopmental disorders affect distinct molecular pathways or converge on similar cellular functions.

To address this question, Ernst and his team used human fetal brain cells to study the molecular effects of reducing the activity of genes that are mutated in two distinct autism-spectrum disorders. Changes in transcription factor 4 (TCF4) cause 18q21 deletion syndrome, which is characterized by intellectual disability and psychiatric problems, and mutations in euchromatic histone methyltransferase 1 (EHMT1) cause similar symptoms in a disease known as 9q34 deletion syndrome.

Interfering with the activity of TCF4 or EHMT1 produced similar molecular effects in the cells. Strikingly, both of these genetic modifications resulted in molecular patterns that resemble those of cells that are differentiating, or converting from immature cells to more specialized cells. "Our study suggests that one fundamental cause of disease is that neural stem cells choose to become full brain cells too early," Ernst says. "This could affect how they incorporate into cellular networks, for example, leading to the clinical symptoms that we see in kids with these diseases."

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The American Journal of Human Genetics, Chen et al.: "Molecular convergence of neurodevelopmental disorders."

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Multiple neurodevelopmental disorders have a common molecular cause