World Islamic Travel Summit to debut in Abu Dhabi

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(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) The World Islamic Travel Summit, WITS15, the largest showcase of Halal travel and tourism solutions, is to debut in Abu Dhabi next October.

The pioneering conference and exhibition will run in two halls at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC, from October 19th-21st, 2015.

The multi-faceted event will include an exhibition with over 200 participants plus a 1,000-delegate conference, comprising keynote sessions, panel discussions, a Ministerial debate and 150 presentations from 70 international speakers.

Organised under the theme, "Driving the Halal Tourism Revolution", the event will bring together an unprecedented array of international specialists, projects, suppliers and policy-makers.

"The Halal tourism market is booming with analysts saying it now represents 13% of the global market," said WITS15 Events Manager, Hosam Moustafa. "A recent Muslim travel report, released by the consultancy DinarStandard and rating agency Crescent Rating, projects that until at least 2020, Muslim international tourism will increase faster than conventional tourism 4.79% versus 3.8%. At that point, overall annual spending for international Muslim tourism is expected to reach US192 billion and these figures don't even include estimated Hajj and Umrah expenditures.

"The time is right for an event of this size and scope to address the needs of this vast international sector and Abu Dhabi, with its award-winning ADNEC and event facilities in the heart of this market, is an ideal venue and host." WITS15 is being brought to the UAE capital by organiser Cacti Events with the support of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau the dedicated business events promotion arm of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi.

"Many Muslim majority markets are now fast emerging economies, with higher than average population growth rates supported by a young demographic," said Sultan Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director Tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi. "Against this background, expenditure on Halal tourism is expected to rise more than 6% per annum for the foreseeable future, which is almost double global industry growth.

"With Abu Dhabi now specifically targeting the Halal tourism sector with segment-specific accommodation and product, the staging of this event in the UAE capital will put the spotlight on our offering and ambitions." WITS15 is expected to draw high profile international attendance from government delegations, tourism associations, market-leading private sector operators and leading financiers funding Islamic tourism projects.

"WITS15 is a major opportunity for tourism bodies, private tourism companies and professionals interested in developing business models in the Halal Travel space perhaps the single most important meeting of the decade for this sector," added Moustafa.

"More than 60 countries will be represented at WITS15, with many exhibiting and others contributing presentations and speakers to the conference sessions." WITS15 will focus strongly on the intra tourism between the 57 members states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the United Nations with a membership spread over four continents.

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World Islamic Travel Summit to debut in Abu Dhabi

Oman Air tops 2014 world rankings for economy class

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(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Oman Air has been named as the World's Leading Airline Economy Class at the World Travel Awards grand final gala ceremony in Anguilla.

The ceremony presented by award-winning actress Vivica Fox at the CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa was attended by hundreds of dignitaries international media and government and industry leaders.

Following the awards Paul Gregorowitsch chief executive of Oman Air commented 'Oman Air is delighted to accept this award. It is powerful recognition of our outstanding Economy Class service and once again confirms Oman Air as the airline of first choice.

'Earlier this year the World Travel Awards named Oman Air as Best Business Class Airline Middle East and Best Economy Class Airline Middle East. To now take the global Economy Class title shows that not only the World Travel Awards judges but also air travellers around the world continue to be extremely impressed with what Oman Air offers. I would like to thank them all on behalf of Oman Air for their support.'

He added 'And it is particularly satisfying to be able to accept this award at a time when we have just launched our latest expansion programme.

'This will see us operate more aircraft to more destinations than ever before. It will also allow us to delight our customers by making even more improvements to our Business Class and Economy Class cabins. We are taking the best and making it even better!'

Oman Air's growth strategy was launched in November 2014 and will see the airline expand its fleet from 30 to around 50 aircraft by 2018. The first of 15 Boeing 737s and three Airbus A330s touched down at Muscat International airport recently. Six Boeing 787 Dreamliners will also be delivered from late 2015.

The new aircraft offer brand new Business Class and Economy Class cabins. Each Economy Class seat provides exceptional comfort and features a one-piece composite seat back structure a high seat back pivot and articulating bottom pan and a four-way adjustable headrest. Meanwhile the 10.6-inch seatback LCD screen offers access to the same IFE options as those enjoyed in Business Class. A USB port is mounted on the seatback screen allowing customers to charge mobile phones and seats also have a PC power port

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Oman Air tops 2014 world rankings for economy class

See what Navy got for $3 billion

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The Navy's new super stealthy destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, has a lot in common with Hollywood's starship Enterprise, according to folks who've seen it in person.

Much has been written about the Zumwalt's appropriately named commander, Capt. James Kirk. But aside from that coincidence, the ship's operations center utilizes advanced technology that takes multitasking to a deadly new level on the high seas.

First launched last year, this is a massive $3 billion warship -- the largest type of destroyer in the modern Navy by about 65%. One thing that sets it apart is a very small crew.

Compared with about 300 sailors needed for similar warships, the Zumwalt's minimum compliment is only 130.

U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer

U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer

U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer

U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer

U.S. Navy's new stealth destroyer

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See what Navy got for $3 billion

Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLCs Director Sherley's Address on Whats Holding Back Regenerative Medicine …

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Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 23, 2014

Earlier this year in a June 24 international conference presentation, Dr. James L. Sherley, director of the Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLC (ASCTC) focused attention on an often overlooked and under appreciated unique property of adult tissue stem cells. His title Asymmetric Self-Renewal by Distributed Stem Cells: Misunderstood in the Past, Important for the Future, embodied the essence of his message to congress participants. He gave the address at the 4th World Congress on Cell Science and Stem Cell Research in Valencia, Spain.

The international congress was organized by the Omics Group as a part of its mission to foster the dissemination of leading discoveries and advances in life sciences research. Their posting this month of the slides from Dr. Sherley's June 24 keynote address now provides worldwide open access to life sciences investigators - stem cell biologists in particular - of the concepts that he emphasized.

In a 2008 publication [Breast Disease 29, 37-46, 2008], Sherley coined the new term distributed stem cells (DSCs) as a biology-based name for all natural tissue stem cells that are not embryonic in origin. Adult stem cells are included under the DSC heading. DSCs do not make every cell in the body. Their nature is to produce only a limited tissue-specific or organ-specific distribution of the total possible mature cell types. So, for example, liver DSCs make mature liver cells, but not mature cells found in other organs like the lungs.

Since 2001 and the start of "the stem cell debate," Sherley has insisted that only DSCs can be effective for developing new cellular therapies. In his keynote address, he explained to attendees why the counterparts of DSCs human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and more recently developed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could not.

Though many stem cell scientists recognize and acknowledge the genetic defects, incomplete differentiation, and tumor formation problems of hESCs and iPSCs - which their proponents suggest can be solved - few appreciate their greater problem, which cannot be solved. Unlike DSCs, hESCs and iPSCs lack the property of asymmetric self-renewal.

Sherleys main message is that asymmetric self-renewal, which is the gnomonic for DSCs the very property that defines DSCs is essential for effective cellular therapies. Asymmetric self-renewal means that DSCs can actively multiply with simultaneous reproduction of themselves and production of mature cells. This ability allows DSCs to replenish mature cells, which are continuously lost from tissues and organs, but not lose their genetic blueprint required for tissue and organ renewal and repair.

The asymmetric self-renewal of DSCs is a crucial consideration for all aspects of their study and use. Sherley argues that overlooking it is holding back progress in regenerative medicine. Asymmetric self-renewal is the factor that limits the production of DSCs; but it is so unique to them that it can also be used to identify DSCs, which are notorious for being elusive. The ASCTCs patented technologies for producing and counting DSCs for research and clinical development are grounded in the companys special research and bioengineering expertise for DSC asymmetric self-renewal.

Asymmetric self-renewal may even play a role in the efficient production of iPSCs. At the end of his address, Sherley announced the approval of a new ASCTC patent. The patent covers the invention of a method to make iPSCs from DSCs that were produced by regulating their asymmetric self-renewal (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office No. 8,759,098).

The ASCTC anticipates that despite the new technologys origin in DSC research, it will advance human disease research based on iPSCs. Although iPSCs are not suitable for cell therapy applications, they are uniquely able to provide disease research models for hard to obtain cell types found in patients (e.g., brain cells from autism patients, cardiac cells from heart disease patients).

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Adult Stem Cell Technology Center, LLCs Director Sherley's Address on Whats Holding Back Regenerative Medicine ...

New Technique for Bioengineering Stem Cells Shows Promise in HIV Resistance

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Sacramento, Calif. (PRWEB) December 22, 2014

Using modified human stem cells, a team of UC Davis scientists has developed an improved gene therapy strategy that in animal models shows promise as a functional cure for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. The achievement, which involves an improved technique to purify populations of HIV-resistant stem cells, opens the door for human clinical trials that were recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

We have devised a gene therapy strategy to generate an HIV-resistant immune system in patients, said Joseph Anderson, principal investigator of the study and assistant professor of internal medicine. We are now poised to evaluate the effectiveness of this therapy in human clinical trials.

Anderson and his colleagues modified human stem cells with genes that resist HIV infection and then transplanted a near-purified population of these cells into immunodeficient mice. The mice subsequently resisted HIV infection, maintaining signs of a healthy immune system.

The findings are now online in a paper titled Safety and efficacy of a tCD25 pre-selective combination anti-HIV lentiviral vector in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and will be published in the journal Stem Cells.

Using a viral vector, the researchers inserted three different genes that confer HIV resistance into the genome of human hematopoietic stem cells cells destined to develop into immune cells in the body. The vector also contains a gene which tags the surface of the HIV-resistant stem cells. This allows the gene-modified stem cells to be purified so that only the ones resistant to HIV infection are transplanted. The stem cells were then delivered into the animal models, with the genetically engineered human stem cells generating an HIV-resistant immune system in the mice.

The three HIV-resistant genes act on different aspects of HIV infection one prevents HIV from exposing its genetic material when inside a human cell; another prevents HIV from attaching to target cells; and the third eliminates the function of a viral protein critical for HIV gene expression. In combination, the genes protect against different HIV strains and provide defense against HIV as it mutates.

After exposure to HIV infection, the mice given the bioengineered cells avoided two important hallmarks of HIV infection: a drop in human CD4+ cell levels and a rise in HIV virus in the blood. CD4+ is a glycoprotein found on the surface of white blood cells, which are an important part of the normal immune system. CD4+ cells in patients with HIV infection are carefully monitored by physicians so that therapies can be adjusted to keep them at normal level: If levels are too low, patients become susceptible to opportunistic infections characteristic of AIDS. In the experiments, mice that received the genetically engineered stem cells and infected with two different strains of HIV were still able to maintain normal CD4+ levels. The mice also showed no evidence of HIV virus in their blood.

Although other HIV investigators had previously bioengineered stem cells to be resistant to HIV and conducted clinical trials in human patients, efforts were stymied by technical problems in developing a pure population of the modified cells to be transplanted into patients. During the process of genetic engineering, a significant percentage of stem cells remain unmodified, leading to poor resistance when the entire population of modified cells is transplanted into humans or animal models. In the current investigation, the UC Davis team introduced a handle onto the surface of the bioengineered cells so that the cells could be recognized and selected. This development achieved a population of HIV-resistant stem cells that was greater than 94 percent pure.

Developing a technique to purify the population of HIV-resistant stem cells is the most important breakthrough of this research, said Anderson, whose laboratory is based at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures. We now have a strategy that shows great promise for offering a functional cure for the disease.

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New Technique for Bioengineering Stem Cells Shows Promise in HIV Resistance

On Being a Reformational Philosopher: Spirituality, Religion, and the Call to Love – Q & A – Video

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On Being a Reformational Philosopher: Spirituality, Religion, and the Call to Love - Q A
Question and Answer session following Dr. Lambert Zuidervaart #39;s lecture "On Being a Reformational Philosopher: Spirituality, Religion, and the Call to Love" given to the ICS "Scripture, Faith,...

By: Institute for Christian Studies

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On Being a Reformational Philosopher: Spirituality, Religion, and the Call to Love - Q & A - Video

FSC marks 30 years of helping people in spirtual quests

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Sister Kathleen Kenkel remembers getting cranky phone calls from priests and laypeople alike when the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse first began offering yoga.

How can Catholic sisters have programs like that? the doubters demanded, said Kenkel, 85, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and one of the founders of the center in 1984.

Her answer: One of our goals is to develop the whole person spiritual, mind, body and movement.

Reflecting on the three decades of the center, where Kenkel was the first director, she said, I think it has opened up peoples mind and hearts that spirituality is for the whole being not just retreats and silence and prayer, but the whole body and mind.

Audrey Quanrud, the current director of the center at 920 Market St., describes Kenkel as one of the facilitys wisdom figures.

Shes amazing because she still comes to programs here, even though shes heard everything they would say, said Quanrud, 60.

The center found its roots in Vatican II, a council in the early to mid-1960s that opened new roles for nuns and laypeople in the Catholic Church, Kenkel said.

The council said the church is all the people of God, she said. Before that, it was the hierarchy, and we were just the helpers. Vatican II said all are called to evangelize.

The center answered that call, ushering in the evolution from a church where only priests could lead retreats and interpret the Bible to one where sisters and laypeople can do so, she said.

One of the big things we debated was whether to call it a retreat or a spirituality center, Kenkel recalled with a smile. Retreat conveys just silence and direction, but spirituality is broader.

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FSC marks 30 years of helping people in spirtual quests

Visual odes set in spiritually aesthetic modes

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United in themes of divinity, spirituality, faith and a quest for a higher consciousness, 17 artists have presented a diverse range of art work in a variety of media at the exhibition, Towards Aesthetic Convergence: Visual Odes in Anamnesis with Gratitude at the Exhibition House of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at the Beach Road.

The artists are a mix of Ashram inmates, devotees, artists from Shantiniketan, Kolkata, the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and Auroville.

I have enjoyed being a part of this exhibition as I feel the other artists are like my younger brothers, said artist Ajay Kumar Ghosh, a follower of Indian style of painting. He has explored Indian mythology in the work exhibited here. Priti Ghosh, an Ashram artist, has looked at the meeting between Sri Aurobindo and The Mother as it is the centenary year of the occasion, as well as scenes from Savitri by Sri Aurobindo.

Prabhat Biswas has rendered blooming pink lotuses on his canvas as a tribute to Sri Aurobindo, as the flower is a symbol of his spiritual significance.

The exhibition also had a posthumous presentation of the mixed media works of artist Susobhan Ghosh. Mr. Ghosh had experimented with modern forms in his art, and had made use of Central American style of art in some of his works.

Artist Mahesh Poddar had made two 2.5cm chalks his canvas with intricate carvings depicting an elephant on one, and Hanuman on the other.

A highlight of the exhibition is the huge 2880 x 150 cm canvas depicting Epochs of Modernity after Enlightenment by artist Basudev Ghosh, which runs across three walls of a room in the hall.

Some of the events depicted include the French Revolution, the First World War, Industrial Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Second World War, Indias Independence and the meeting of Sri Aurobindo with The Mother. Basudev has also presented a work which shows Puducherry as a spot for transformation of human species.

The exhibition is on till December 23.

Other art exhibitions which are taking place across the town include a group show Round the Clock Hands by artists Gayathry, Kayalvizhi, Reshma and Sankida organised by Puducherry artists group, Shilpataru, which is on till January 4 at The Promenade, as well as The Inheritance of Fragilities, a solo show by artist Jitha Karthikeyan at the Maison Perumal, which is on till January 31.

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Visual odes set in spiritually aesthetic modes

XCRAFT – "NEW THEIA SPACE STATION" [roleplay] w/Chrisandthemike & CarFlo – Video

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XCRAFT - "NEW THEIA SPACE STATION" [roleplay] w/Chrisandthemike CarFlo
JOIN A SPACE TEAM FROM THE PLANET THEIA TAKE OFF INTO SPACE TO DISCOVER NEW PLANETS AND MAYBE EVEN ALIEN LIFE! Don #39;t forget to give a like share, Thank y...

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XCRAFT - "NEW THEIA SPACE STATION" [roleplay] w/Chrisandthemike & CarFlo - Video

Space Station Partners Discuss Year-Long Mission During Paris News Conference – Video

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Space Station Partners Discuss Year-Long Mission During Paris News Conference
NASA and its International Space Station partners held a news conference in Paris on Dec. 18, to discuss the upcoming one-year expedition on the Station. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will launch...

By: NASA

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Space Station Partners Discuss Year-Long Mission During Paris News Conference - Video

International Space Station Crew Members Discuss Living in Space During the Holidays with the Media – Video

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International Space Station Crew Members Discuss Living in Space During the Holidays with the Media
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA discussed the progress of their mission and life away from Earth during...

By: NASA

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International Space Station Crew Members Discuss Living in Space During the Holidays with the Media - Video

NASA prints 3D wrench in space

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By Sarah LeTrent, CNN

updated 5:29 PM EST, Fri December 19, 2014 |

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Bringing supplies to astronauts on the International Space Station can be a little screwy, leaving astronauts waiting for the next costly and risky resupply mission.

This week, thanks to 3-D printing, astronaut and ISS commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore had a wrench he needed manufactured by a printer in just four hours.

The ratcheting socket wrench was the first "uplink tool" printed in space, according to Grant Lowery, marketing and communications manager for Made In Space, which built the printer in partnership with NASA. The tool was designed on the ground, emailed to the space station and then manufactured.

From start to finish, the process took less than a week.

Made in Space's 3-D printer is the first to operate in zero gravity, and printed its first object in orbit -- a part for the printer, ironically -- in November.

"This means that we could go from having a part designed on the ground to printed in orbit within an hour to two from start to finish," Niki Werkheiser, NASA's 3-D print manager, said in a press release when the printer was sent to the ISS in September. "The on-demand capability can revolutionize the constrained supply chain model we are limited to today and will be critical for exploration missions."

The goal for the project is to create in-space manufacturing, especially as missions venture farther from Earth.

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NASA prints 3D wrench in space

Joy to the World! Space Station Crew Sends Christmas Cheer

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Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Terry Virts got into the Christmas spirit by sending holiday greetings from space to the rest of us here on Earth. From their perch aboard the International Space Station some 220 miles (250 kilometers) above Earth's surface, Wilmore and Virts beamed down a Christmas video greeting to the world.

"This is definitely going to be a Christmas that we'll remember, getting a chance to see the beautiful Earth, and I hope that for you also it will be a memorable Christmas this year," Virts said in the video that NASA uploaded to YouTube. Wilmore has been aboard the space station since late September and will return to Earth in March. Virts arrived at the station in late November and will stay until mid-May.

James Eng

First published December 22 2014, 3:42 PM

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Joy to the World! Space Station Crew Sends Christmas Cheer

Space station commander is 'emailed' a much-needed spanner

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A NASA COMMANDER on the International Space Station has been emailed a spanner just in time for Christmas.

Christmas probably has very little to do with the spanner - although we suspect that the space station's inhabitants are in a good position to see Santa coming - but 3D printing and progress do.

A post on the Medium.com website said that Made in Space, a 3D printing company with ties to NASA and hardware already on the ISS station, sent directions for the spanner to an onboard 3D printer.

"We had overheard ISS commander Barry Wilmore mention over the radio that he needed one, so we designed one in CAD and sent it up to him faster than a rocket ever could have. This is the first time we've ever emailed' hardware to space," wrote Mike Chen, founder of Made in Space.

"On the ISS this type of technology translates to lower costs for experiments, faster design iteration, and a safer, better experience for the crew members, who can use it to replace broken parts or create new tools on demand.

"But what I'm really excited about is the impact this could have on human space exploration beyond Earth orbit."

Chen, like Elon Musk, sees space exploration taking in Mars and, like the SpaceX explorer, has the red planet in his sights.

"When we do set up the first human colonies on the moon, Mars and beyond, we won't use rockets to bring along everything we need," he added. "We'll build what we need there, when we need it."

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Space station commander is 'emailed' a much-needed spanner