Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Uncle arranging Boston bomb suspect's burial rites

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) ? The uncle of a Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a gun battle with police arrived at a funeral home Sunday to prepare his body for burial.

Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Md., and three other men met with Worcester funeral home director Peter Stefan. The men who accompanied Tsarni plan to wash and shroud the body of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev according to Muslim tradition, the uncle said.

Tsarnaev, who had appeared in surveillance photos wearing a black cap and was identified as Suspect No. 1, died days after the April 15 bombing, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Tsarni told reporters that he is arranging for Tsarnaev's burial because religion and tradition call for his nephew to be buried. He said his friends came along to help him prepare Tsarnaev's body and he understands that "no one wants to associate their names with such evil acts."

Stefan said he has received calls from people criticizing him and calling him "un-American" for being willing to handle Tsarnaev's funeral.

"We take an oath to do this. Can I pick and choose? No. Can I separate the sins from the sinners? No," he said. "We are burying a dead body. That's what we do."

A half dozen protesters gathered outside the funeral home Sunday holding signs and American flags and chanting "USA!" One sign read: "Do not bury him on U.S. soil." Several people drove by the funeral home earlier Sunday and yelled, including one man who shouted, "Throw him off a boat like Osama bin Laden!"

Stefan said he hasn't been able to find a cemetery in Massachusetts willing to take the body, but he has received offers to provide a grave and to contribute money toward the funeral expenses from people in other states. Stefan said he plans to ask the city of Cambridge, where Tsarnaev lived, to provide a burial plot, and if Cambridge turns him down, he will seek help from state officials.

Stefan said Tsarnaev's uncle told him he is anxious to bury his nephew.

"They just want to get it over with. They want to get him buried," Stefan said.

The state medical examiner ruled that Tsarnaev died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso. Stefan said Sunday that the family won't request that an independent medical examiner perform a second autopsy, but representatives from the family's legal team might photograph Tsarnaev's body before it's washed.

Tsarni has denounced the acts that his nephews ? Tamerlan and younger brother Dzhokhar ? are accused of committing and has said they brought shame to the family and the entire Chechen ethnicity. The brothers are ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago with their parents. Both parents returned to Dagestan last year.

Dzhokhar, 19, is in a prison hospital, facing a potential death sentence if convicted of the terrorism plot.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uncle-arranging-boston-bomb-suspects-burial-rites-163554313.html

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Childhood disability rate jumps 16 percent over past decade

May 5, 2013 ? More children today have a disability than a decade ago, and the greatest increase is among kids in higher-income families, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The study also found that disabilities related to physical health conditions have decreased, while disabilities due to neurodevelopmental and mental health problems have increased greatly.

"Nearly 6 million kids had a disability in 2009-2010 -- almost 1 million more than in 2001-2002," said lead author Amy J. Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, chief, Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Houtrow said previous studies have indicated that the prevalence of childhood disability is increasing. She and her colleagues wanted to look more closely at the conditions and socio-demographic factors associated with disabilities.

The researchers analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2001-2002 and survey data from 2009-2010. A total of 102,468 parents of children ages 0-17 years participated in the surveys.

Parents were asked whether their child had any limitations in play or activity, received special education services, needed help with personal care, had difficulty walking without equipment, had difficulty with memory or had any other limitation.

If they answered yes to any of those questions, they were asked whether their child's limitations were due to a vision or hearing problem; asthma or breathing problem; joint, bone or muscle problem; intellectual deficit or mental retardation; emotional or behavior problems; epilepsy; learning disability; speech problems; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; birth defect; injury or other developmental problem.

Researchers classified conditions into three groups: physical, neurodevelopmental/mental health and other.

Results showed that the prevalence of disability increased 16.3 percent from 2001-2002 to 2009-2010.

While neurodevelopmental and mental health-related disabilities increased, those due to physical conditions decreased. This trend was most notable among children under 6 years of age whose rate of neurodevelopmental disabilities nearly doubled over the study period from 19 cases to 36 cases per 1,000 children.

"The survey did not break out autism, but we suspect that some of the increase in neurodevelopmental disabilities is due to the rising incidence or recognition of autism spectrum disorders," Dr. Houtrow said.

The data also showed that children living in poverty experienced the highest rates of disability at both time periods but not the highest growth. The largest increase was seen among children living in households with incomes at or above 300 percent of the federal poverty level (about $66,000 a year for a family of four).

"We are worried that those living in poverty may be having problems with being diagnosed and getting services," Dr. Houtrow said.

Since the study could not pinpoint why the disability rate is increasing, more research is needed, she concluded.

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/most_popular/~3/ze81aWPMLqM/130505073733.htm

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Sunday, May 5, 2013

Boston bomb suspect died of gunshots, blunt trauma

BOSTON (AP) ? A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso, his death certificate says.

Worcester funeral home owner Peter Stefan has 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body and read details from his death certificate on Friday. The certificate cites Tsarnaev's "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities," Stefan said.

Tsarnaev died last month after a gunfight with authorities a few days after the deadly marathon bombing. Police have said he ran out of ammunition before his younger brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene.

Tsarnaev's family was making arrangements for his funeral as investigators searched the woods near a college attended by his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, on Friday.

The funeral parlor in Worcester is familiar with Muslim services and said it will handle arrangements for Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose body was released by the state medical examiner Thursday night.

The body was taken initially to a North Attleborough funeral home, where it was greeted by about 20 protesters. Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, an hour's drive west of Boston, said everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of his or her death and he is prepared for protests.

Tsarnaev died three days after the bombing in a furious getaway attempt in which authorities say he and his brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago, killed an MIT campus police officer and tossed homemade bombs and grenades at police. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, ran over his brother's body as he drove away from the scene to escape, authorities have said.

Meanwhile, two U.S. officials said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators that he and his brother initially considered setting off their bombs on July Fourth.

Boston police said they planned to review security procedures for the Independence Day Boston Pops concert and fireworks display, which draws a crowd of more than 500,000 annually and is broadcast to a national TV audience. Authorities plan to look at security procedures for large events held in other cities, notably the massive New Year's Eve celebration held each year in New York City's Times Square, Massachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Gov. Deval Patrick said everything possible will be done to assure a safe event.

"I think the most important thing is that we got them, and there's investigation continuing about where the other leads may lead," he said. "I can tell you, having been thoroughly briefed, that the law enforcement at every level is pursuing everything."

As part of the bombing investigation, federal, state and local authorities were searching the woods near the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, could not say what investigators were looking for but said residents should know there is no threat to public safety.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a suburban Boston backyard, faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. Three of his college classmates were arrested Wednesday and accused of helping after the bombing to remove a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The April 15 bombing, using pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards, killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

The brothers considered setting off their bombs on July Fourth but decided to carry out the attack sooner when they finished assembling the bombs, the surviving suspect told interrogators after he was arrested, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the investigation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Investigators believe some of the explosives used in the attack were assembled in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's home, though there may have been some assembly elsewhere, one of the officials said. It does not appear that the brothers ever had big, definitive plans, the official said.

The brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to immediately begin verifying that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government's first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.

The order from a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, David J. Murphy, was circulated Thursday and came one day after President Barack Obama's administration acknowledged that one of the students accused of hiding evidence, Azamat Tazhayakov, of Kazakhstan, was allowed to return to the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.

Tazhayakov's lawyer has said he had nothing to do with the bombing and was shocked by it.

A benefit concert featuring Aerosmith, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett is scheduled for May 30 at the TD Garden in Boston. The proceeds will go to The One Fund, which has taken in more than $28 million for those injured and the families of those who were killed.

The fund's administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, said Friday he plans to hold meetings with victims next week and begin cutting checks by the end of June.

___

Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc in Boston and Pete Yost, Eileen Sullivan and Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-bomb-suspect-died-gunshots-blunt-trauma-000018135.html

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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Fujifilm's Finepix JZ700 compact shoots for speed with 8 fps burst, 200 fps video

Fujifilm's JZ700 compact camera goes for performance with 8 fps shooting, 1080P video

Camera makers seem to be scrambling to equip their compact models with wireless options, all the better to work with the smartphones that are trying to replace them. Fujifilm's taking a different tack with the 14-megapixel FinePix JZ700 by going for raw performance instead, like 8 fps burst shooting and 1080/30p video, both quite rare in low-end compacts. You'll also get an 8x Fujinon lens equivalent to 24-192mm, optical image stabilization, a 2.7-inch, 230K-dot LCD, up to 3200 ISO sensitivity, numerous filters and, interestingly, 200 fps video capture -- though the resolution at that speed isn't specified and we can imagine it's pretty low. Still, the camera's already hit the streets for around £130 ($200) and we don't know of any other near time-stopping cameras you can grab for that sum.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/26/fujifilms-jz700-compact-camera/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Japan's SMBC said in talks for TPG's Indonesia bank stake

By Denny Thomas and Taiga Uranaka

HONG KONG/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is in advanced talks to buy a $1.2 billion stake in BTPN, an Indonesian lender backed by TPG Capital, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

SMBC's pursuit of Indonesia's seventh-largest bank by market value is another example of a Japanese company seeking to grow in that country's fast growing financial services market. A sale by TPG would also provide another case of a U.S. private equity investor raking in a massive profit from an early investment in an Asian financial institution.

In 2008, TPG Capital Management LP acquired a 71.6 percent stake in the Indonesian pensioners' savings bank, named Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk PT (BTPN) , for $195 million. The private equity firm's stake dropped to 58.5 percent after a rights offering in 2010.

SMBC, a unit of Japan's third-largest lender by assets Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc , is currently negotiating to buy 40 percent of TPG's stake, allowing it to abide by Indonesia's new foreign ownership limits for banks, the people added. The stake is currently valued at $1.2 billion, based on Friday's stock price.

SMFG and TPG declined comment.

The sources declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential.

TPG executives were in Tokyo this week for another round of talks, one person with knowledge of the matter said. It was not immediately clear what TPG plans to do with its remaining 18.5 percent stake, although the buyout firm may sell the shares in the open market, people familiar with the matter said.

Established in 1958, BTPN now operates as a full-fledged commercial bank with a market value of $3 billion and has more than 19,000 employees and over 10,000 branches.

EXPENSIVE BANK

BTPN is the world's seventh-most expensive bank among lenders with a market value of $1 billion or above, according to Thomson Reuters data. It trades at a price-to-book (P/B) multiple of 3.81, up from 0.7 in December 2008, when TPG struck the deal.

TPG is expecting a 25 percent premium over the current market price for the stake, which would take the deal value to $1.5 billion, giving it a P/B multiple of around five, one person familiar with the talks said.

A successful deal would give SMBC a foothold in the rapidly growing Indonesian economy and an under-developed banking market, where just 20 percent of working age individuals have a bank account, compared with nearly 100 percent in Australia and New Zealand. Indonesia, which is Southeast Asia's biggest economy, is forecast to grow at 6.2 percent in 2013, fuelling demand for consumer and corporate loans.

NEW RULES

Last year, Indonesia issued new bank ownership rules that limit single ownership in local banks at 40 percent. The new rules have made it difficult for buyers such as SMBC to get control of a domestic bank.

The same rule has delayed the approval of Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd $7.2 billion bid for PT Bank Danamon a year after it was launched. The Indonesian bank regulator is expected to make a final decision on the DBS-Danamon deal in May.

TPG and its Indonesian affiliate North Star agreed to a five year lock up when they acquired the stake in 2008. That lock up expired in March this year. Since then, several suitors have held informal talks to buy TPG's stake. SMBC's bigger rival, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc had also expressed interest buying the stake, but those talks have since discontinued, the people familiar with the matter said.

It was unclear whether TPG and SMBC would announce a deal before Indonesian bank regulator would make a final decision DBS-Danamon deal next month.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc , people familiar with the matter said.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

PROFITABLE EXITS

A successful sale to SMBC would be the latest lucrative exit from bank and insurance assets for private equity in Asia. Many of those investments were made around the mid-2000s as U.S. private equity firms in particular snapped up stakes in regional banks and insurers at low valuations following the Asian financial crisis that crippled many financial institutions across the region.

Earlier this year, private equity firm Carlyle Group LP sold its remaining stake in China's No.3 insurer China Pacific Insurance Co Ltd , raking in a total profit of more than $4 billion, its largest-ever dollar profit on an investment.

TPG's previous bank exits in Asia include the sale of an 18 percent stake in China's Shenzhen Development Bank, which the firm acquired in 2004. That generated a return of about 16 times the initial investment of $155 million, selling the stake in two blocks to Ping An Insurance for a total of around $2.4 billion in 2010.

(Reporting by Denny Thomas and Taiga Uranaka; Additional reporting by Stephen Aldred, Saeed Azhar and Janeman Latul; Editing by Michael Flaherty, Gary Hill and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japans-smbc-said-talks-tpgs-1-2-billion-202802115.html

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Luis Suarez won't appeal 10-match ban for biting

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:50 a.m. ET April 26, 2013

LONDON (AP) -The English Football Association says Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has not appealed his 10-match ban for biting an opponent during a Premier League game.

Suarez's suspension begins immediately, meaning he will miss the last four games of this season and the first six of the next.

The Uruguay international was handed one of English football's harshest penalties for on-the-field misbehavior for biting Branislav Ivanovic's arm during Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

Suarez could have appealed against the decision to add seven games to the regular three for violent conduct, which the FA deemed insufficient.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Liberty Global's $15.8B Acquisition Of Virgin Media Is Sailing Through EU Antitrust Court

Liberty Global acquires Virgin MediaReuters has reported, and TechCrunch has now confirmed with an independent source close to the situation, that the European Union's competition commission is approving the deal for Liberty Global to buy UK's Virgin Media for $15.75 billion, first announced in February when it was calculated to be worth up to $23.3 billion with debt factored in. As we understand it, there will be no antitrust conditions put on the merger, a crucial step for the two companies to close the deal more quickly.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UuR87HIBTIk/

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Father: Slain diplomat died doing what she loved

CHICAGO (AP) ? The family of an American diplomat who was among those killed in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan has taken solace in knowing she died doing what she loved.

Anne Smedinghoff, the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya, was one of five Americans killed Saturday in a suicide car bombing while they were delivering textbooks to school children. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The 25-year-old suburban Chicago woman was remembered as having a quiet ambition and displayed a love of global affairs from an early age. She joined the U.S. Foreign Service straight out of college and volunteered for missions in perilous locations worldwide.

"It was a great adventure for her ... She loved it," her father, Tom Smedinghoff, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "She was tailor-made for this job."

Anne Smedinghoff grew up in River Forest, Ill. ? an upscale suburb about 10 miles west of Chicago ? the daughter of an attorney and the second of four children. She attended the highly selective Fenwick High School, followed by Johns Hopkins University, where she majored in international studies and became a key organizer of the university's annual Foreign Affairs Symposium in 2008. The event draws high-profile speakers from around the world.

Speaking in a telephone interview Monday from the Afghan capital of Kabul, Solmaz Sharisi said her desk was next to Smedinghoff's at the embassy, where they both worked as assistant information officers. Working frequently with Western and Afghan journalists, the two became close friends, Sharisi said.

"What I admired most was her energy and enthusiasm and an unwavering commitment to the work she was doing," Sharisi said. "And it really did have an impact."

One of Smedinghoff's favorite projects was working with the Afghan women's soccer team and helping it gain greater acceptance inside Afghanistan. To ensure she would better interact with the Afghan players, Smedinghoff even practiced her own soccer skills on her days off, Sharisi said.

"She was young but she almost seemed like a seasoned foreign diplomat," Sharisi added.

Smedinghoff's remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Monday afternoon for an official ceremony, according to State Department, which also said the family had asked that the ceremony be private. The family was expected to attend along with Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, Ambassador David Pearce and other officials.

While a student in Baltimore, Smedinghoff worked part time for Sam Hopkins, an attorney near campus. He described her as ambitious "but in a wonderfully quiet, modest way."

Her first assignment for the foreign service was in Caracas, Venezuela, and she volunteered for the Afghanistan assignment after that. Her father said family members would tease her about signing up for a less dangerous location, maybe London or Paris.

"She said, 'What would I do in London or Paris? It would be so boring,'" her father recalled. In her free time, she would travel as much as possible, her father said.

Smedinghoff was an up-and-coming employee of the State Department who garnered praise from the highest ranks. She was to finish her Afghanistan assignment as a press officer in July. Already fluent in Spanish, she was gearing up to learn Arabic, first for a year in the U.S. and then in Cairo, before a two-year assignment in Algeria.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday at a news conference in Turkey that Smedinghoff was "vivacious, smart" and "capable." Smedinghoff had assisted Kerry during a visit to Afghanistan two weeks ago.

He also described Smedinghoff as "a selfless, idealistic woman who woke up yesterday morning and set out to bring textbooks to school children, to bring them knowledge."

Her father said they knew the assignments were dangerous, though she spent most of her time at the U.S. Embassy compound. Trips outside were in heavily armored convoys ? as was Saturday's trip that killed five Americans, including Smedinghoff. The U.S. Department of Defense did not release the names of the others who died: three soldiers and one employee.

"It's like a nightmare, you think will go away and it's not," he said. "We keep saying to ourselves, we're just so proud of her, we take consolation in the fact that she was doing what she loved."

Friends remembered her Sunday for her charity work too.

Smedinghoff participated in a 2009 cross-country bike ride for The 4K for Cancer ? part of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults ? according to the group. She served on the group's board of directors after the ride from Baltimore to San Francisco.

"She was an incredible young woman. She was always optimistic," said Ryan Hanley, a founder of the group. "She always had a smile on her face and incredible devotion to serving others."

Johns Hopkins officials mourned her death in a letter on Sunday to students, faculty and alumni. Smedinghoff graduated in 2009. In the letter, University President Ronald J. Daniels praised her work on the symposium, her involvement in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and her involvement outside campus too.

"Her selfless action for others was nothing new," he wrote.

Funeral arrangements for Smedinghoff are pending.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Tarm contributed to this report from Chicago.

___

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/father-slain-diplomat-died-doing-she-loved-090847524.html

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Paths to Publishing: A Writers' Panel Discussion

Friday, April 12, 2013 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Maxwell Dworkin G115
33 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA

Hear from published Extension School authors as they share their experience in writing and publishing.

On the panel is:

  • Historical fiction writer Christine Frost, ALM ?08 (The Veiled Mirror: The Story of Prince Vlad Dracula?s Lost Love and Dark Lady of Doona)
  • Journalist and historian Linda Kush, ALB ?05 (The Rice Paddy Navy: US Sailors Undercover in China)
  • Historical fiction writer James Redfearn, ALM ?02 (The Rising at Roxbury Crossing)
  • Journalist Paul Reid, ALB ?90 (The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965)

Pulitzer prize-winning former Harvard Extension School instructor Paul Harding (Tinkers) will moderate.

Authors will be on hand to answer questions and sign copies of their books, which will be available for sale courtesy of The Coop.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online.

Source: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/hub/events/paths-publishing-writers-panel-discussion

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

State firms loom over Malaysian poll despite pledge to divest

By Stuart Grudgings and Siva Sithraputhran

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, managing director of Malaysia's UEM Land, thought it was a "match made in heaven" when his state-linked property firm bought out Sunrise, a successful property developer owned by ethnic Chinese, in 2010.

Critics, however, saw it as a sign that Prime Minister Najib Razak's promise to roll back the state's overbearing influence in business and dismantle polices favoring ethnic Malays was already ringing hollow less than a year after it was made.

Najib will this month fight what is shaping up to be the closest election in Malaysia's 56-year post-colonial history. Despite his promise, state-controlled firms remain stubbornly dominant in Southeast Asia's third-largest economy and are even moving into new sectors like property.

Some high-profile government divestments turned Kuala Lumpur into Asia's IPO hotspot in 2012. But the enduring role of Malaysia's "GLCs" (government-linked companies) is stunting the private sector and entrenching an economic malaise dating back to Asia's 1997/98 financial crisis, according to a study by two Asian Development Bank (ADB) economists seen by Reuters.

"They can present evidence that they are divesting and yet move into new sectors and move vested interests to new opportunities," said Jayant Menon, one of the senior economists who wrote the report. "It's classic politics."

The GLCs are also central to policies favoring majority ethnic Malays over other races, including the economically dominant Chinese minority.

Najib wants to double Malaysians' incomes by 2020 but the economists' report is a sobering challenge to his contention that his government is breaking Malaysia out of its "middle-income trap".

"SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG THERE"

Najib acknowledged in 2010 that the state's overbearing influence on the economy was crimping Malaysia's growth and dynamism. He says the private sector must "return to the driver's seat" of the economy.

The government points to the $3.1 billion listing of palm oil firm Felda in 2012 and the $2.1 billion debut of IHH Healthcare as proof its plan to divest stakes in 33 firms is on track.

But critics point to an expansion of state involvement in other new areas, in particular the property sector, as evidence that vested interests within the bureaucracy and the ruling ethnic Malay party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), have pegged back Najib's early reform ambitions.

The ADB economists say in their report that, under Najib's rule, the real record on state firms was "more of a diversification than a divestment". It said the deterrent effect on private investment was contributing to Malaysia's status as the only major Southeast Asian nation with net capital outflows.

"What we do know is that investment has slumped in Malaysia, both foreign and domestic," said Menon.

"The fact is there is a net outflow of capital in a country that transformed itself with huge inflows in the past. Surely there is something terribly wrong there."

Private investment levels in Malaysia have picked up under Najib but have never fully recovered from the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s that signaled the end of rapid growth fuelled by exports and high foreign direct investment.

POLITICAL SETBACK

Najib dissolved parliament on April 3, paving the way for an election within weeks where he hopes to regain the two-thirds parliamentary majority the UMNO-led coalition lost for the first time in 2008. He came to power a year after that poll debacle.

In early 2010 he set out a transformative "New Economic Model", pledging the government would move away from being an "orchestrator" of the economy to being a "facilitator".

One stated goal of the planned 33 divestments is to help increase the share of national equity held by Malays to a long-held target of 30 percent. So far, 15 have been completed, but the pace slowed to four in 2012 from 11 in 2011.

Announcing the 2012 report card for his economic program last month, Najib hailed a 22 percent rise in private investment, compared with a 12 percent gain the previous year. That, however, includes spending by the GLCs.

Total committed investments under the program fell to 32 billion ringgit ($10.2 billion), down 82 percent from 179 billion ringgit in 2011. Foreign direct investment fell 26 percent to 29.1 billion ringgit in 2012.

GLCs play a big role across Malaysia's economy, taking up 56 percent of banking assets, 67 percent of the communication sector and 88 percent of utilities, according to the ADB.

Defined as companies with commercial goals but with some government control over decisions, they include Malaysia's two biggest banks, CIMB and Maybank.

Seven out of Malaysia's top 10 listed companies are majority-owned by the government, and GLCs make up about 36 percent of the stock market's capitalization.

"NATIONAL SERVICE"

Their political role has also been underlined in the run-up to the election, with Najib announcing that 40,000 employees of Telekom Malaysia and postal group Pos Malaysia would receive a 500 ringgit ($160) bonus.

He also authorized a 1,000 ringgit bonus for the 40,000 employees of state oil giant Petronas.

"They will think of it as a form of national service," an analyst with an investment bank in Kuala Lumpur, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said of the pre-election bonuses.

A flurry of recent moves by GLCs into Malaysia's property sector, like the $450 million Sunrise deal, has expanded the state's role in a sector traditionally dominated by Chinese business interests.

Teh Chi-Chang, director of the opposition-linked REFSA think tank, called them "backdoor nationalizations" that deter entrepreneurs in the sector.

In 2011, state investment firm Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) took a controlling stake in Malaysia's biggest property firm, SP Setia Berhad. State-controlled plantation Sime Darby became the largest shareholder in property developer E&O later that year.

The three-party opposition alliance, led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, has an outside chance of upsetting Najib's coalition, according to opinion polls. The alliance points to the expansion of state-linked firms as evidence Najib's reform agenda has stalled.

"Malaysia has one of the most vibrant private property sectors in the world and yet you have the government getting involved," said Tony Pua, a leading opposition politician.

"There's no point in having our GLCs competing on building luxury homes."

Malaysia's GLCs have increasingly gone international in their hunt for yield, despite the government's insistence that there are bountiful investment opportunities at home.

A consortium including Sime Darby, SP Setia, and Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund, bought Britain's Battersea power station for more than $600 million last year and plans to build luxury apartments on the site.

That helped put Malaysians ahead of Russian oligarchs and rich Chinese on the list of the biggest buyers of London property in the first seven months of 2012.

The government rejects accusations it is stifling enterprise in the property market, saying projects like a new publicly funded $8.4 billion financial exchange in the works in Kuala Lumpur will generate opportunities for companies.

Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah, a director at the government's economic performance unit and a Felda board member, said the move into London property showed that government-linked firms were keen to avoid suffocating private firms at home.

The government also notes that many GLCs are strong performers, with the biggest 20 generating a compound annual return of 14.5 percent from May 2004 to April 2012, far outperforming the Kuala Lumpur market.

($1 = 3.125 ringgit)

(Additional reporting by Niki Koswanage; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/state-firms-loom-over-malaysian-poll-despite-pledge-024715822--sector.html

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Friday, March 29, 2013

The Daily Roundup for 03.28.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/the-daily-roundup-for-03-28-2013/

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Met Office advice was 'not helpful'

The Met Office has admitted issuing advice to government that was "not helpful" during last year's remarkable switch in weather patterns.

Between March and April 2012, the UK experienced an extraordinary shift from high pressure and drought to low pressure and downpours.

But the Met Office said the forecast for average rainfall "slightly" favoured drier than average conditions.

The three-month forecast is said to be experimental.

It is sent to contingency planners but has been withheld from the public since the Met Office was pilloried for its "barbecue summer" forecast in 2009.

Last spring's forecast has been obtained by BBC News under Freedom of Information.

The Met Office three-monthly outlook at the end of March stated: "The forecast for average UK rainfall slightly favours drier than average conditions for April-May-June, and slightly favours April being the driest of the three months."

A soul-searching Met Office analysis later confessed: "Given that April was the wettest since detailed records began in 1910 and the April-May-June quarter was also the wettest, this advice was not helpful."

In a note to the government chief scientist, the Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo explains the difficulty of constructing long-distance forecasts, given the UK's position at the far edge of dominant world weather systems.

She says last year's calculations were not actually wrong because they were probabilistic.

The Met Office forecast that the probability that April-May-June would fall into the driest of five categories was 20-25%, whilst the probability it would fall into the wettest was 10-15% (The average probability would be 20%).

The Met Office explained it this way: "The probabilistic forecast can be considered as somewhat like a form guide for a horse race.

"It provides an insight into which outcomes are most likely, although in some cases there is a broad spread of outcomes, analogous to a race in which there is no strong favourite. Just as any of the horses in the race could win the race, any of the outcomes could occur, but some are more likely than others."

It said: "The creation of the three-monthly outlook relies upon the fact that weather is influenced by the slow variation of ocean conditions (and other processes) which can be predicted months in advance.

"Whilst there is a very strong dependence of tropical weather on processes such as El Nino ,the UK's weather is dominated by the highly variable atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic, making it much harder to what will happen weeks and months ahead."

In the case of last spring, Dr Slingo says the forecast may have been pushed awry by a little-understood climate phenomenon, the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) - a pattern of thunderstorms that starts in the Indian Ocean. The Met Office calls it "one of the great unsolved challenges of tropical meteorology".

The irregular phenomenon is an envelope of thunderstorms starting in the Indian Ocean and moving into the Pacific. The MJO concentrates tropical rainfall within the envelope, with blue skies around it.

Nick Klingaman from Reading University says that, as it moves east, the MJO influences monsoon rainfall in Australia, India, Southeast Asia, South America and Africa.

These "bursts" and "breaks" in the monsoon cause floods and droughts that impact agriculture, river systems and infrastructure. The "long arm of the MJO" even extends into the middle latitudes.

"The thunderstorm activity generates waves in the atmosphere that move toward the poles," he told me. "The position of the MJO today has been shown to influence the position of the Pacific and Atlantic jet streams 10-15 days later."

He says the MJO can be an important predictor of the state of the North Atlantic Oscillation - which controls much of our weather in the UK - about 2-4 weeks in advance.

And that's how a thunderstorm off the coast of India might trigger a pattern of events which led to the weather switch last spring.

Some weather models can predict the MJO three weeks ahead, he said, but others struggle to predict it a week ahead.

Forecasts have greater skill when the MJO is already active. Reading University is working with the Met Office on improving MJO forecasting, he said.

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21967190#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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EE's 4G LTE reaches 50-market milestone in the UK

LTE

UK's first 4G network says it now covers half the country's population

EE, currently the UK's sole provider of 4G LTE services, has announced that its 4G network is now live in a total of 50 towns and cities, five months after its launch. The operator says today's 4G light-ups mean its 4G network now covers half the UK population.

Today EE's LTE has been switched on in Bradford, Bingley, Doncaster, Dudley, Harpenden, Leicester, Lichfield, Loughborough, Luton, Reading, Shipley, St Albans and West Bromwich. EE says it's committed to bringing 4G to a further 30 towns and cities by the end of June.

EE claims its 4G network currently offers average download speeds of 16Mbps and peak speeds of 50Mbps. That average speed sounds about right, but the 50Mbps claim is nowhere near what we've seen from EE's network in real-world use. If you've been using EE's 4G network in recent months, let us know how you're getting on down in the comments.

We've got the full list of all towns and cities with EE 4G service after the break.

read more



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/6YqVuGsf7XE/story01.htm

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Crumpler's Vegetable from Within the Mountain Laptop Backpack

  • Pros

    Exquisitely well made. Includes drawstring pouch and padded headphones case. Supremely comfortable to wear. Inspiring design. Spacious. Vented rear padding. Water resistant.

  • Cons Pricey. Only available in one color.
  • Bottom Line

    Crumpler's royal laptop knapsack, called Vegetable From Within the Mountain, lives up to the company's first-rate reputation. Though expensive, this minimalistic bag for 13-inch laptops strikes the perfect balance of form and function for the understated tech-savvy crowd.

By Jill Duffy

Crumpler has quickly become one bag-making company whose work I truly admire. Every bag is designed exquisitely in both form and function for a particular type of consumer. Its bags aren't cheap, but that's practically the only negative thing I have to say about them. One of its newer styles, called Vegetable From Within the Mountain ($145 direct), lives up to Crumpler's reputation and may be my favorite new release from the company this year. From afar, this blue knapsack looks decidedly too simplistic, but up close, it strikes the perfect balance of style and curiosity for the intentionally understated tech-savvy individual with a 13-inch laptop. ?

The Vegetable's inspiring design starts with lightweight yet rugged material in solid colors: a deep royal blue outside, which contrasts with an energetic turquoise inside. A single pink dot on one external zipper perks up the otherwise solemn look. And thicker black fabric from the back of the bag wraps underneath the bottom to better protect the Vegetable when you set it on the ground.

Three bonuses come included: a turquoise drawstring pouch (intended for gym shoes, although infinitely functional for other bag organization tricks), a spring-loaded pink key clasp with a rubber water bottle holder, and a black-and-pink-accented padded headphone case. All told, the bag measures 17.7 by 13.4 by 9.4 inches (HWD) and weighs a scant 1.57 pounds when empty. What's more, the Vegetable expands handily to 915 cubic inches. What couldn't you fit in that space?

The Vegetable suits minimalists to a tee. The interior has a padded laptop section for 13-inch notebooks or tablets, with a wide Velcro closure, and on the front of that is a half-sized zippered pouch where you can tuck away various charging cords and cables. One more pouch adorns the outside of the bag skirted off to the side (it's the one with the fleck-of-pink zipper toggle). And that's it for pockets, pouches, and enclosures?enough for everything you need, and nothing wasted.

Wearing the two-shoulder-strapped Vegetable around town on foot and bicycle, it felt extremely comfortable on my back. The fabric feels rugged. The bag added no perceptible weight to my load. The shoulder straps adjusted to easily fit my gangly arms and narrow shoulders.

As I mentioned, I've fallen in love with the Crumpler line, and price would be the only thing to hold me back from gushing any further about this bag. After all, $145 is no small chunk of change, so you've got to really love the look of this bag before committing to it. The attention to detail couldn't be more thorough, though. Even main zipper is protected by a hood of fabric that folds back so it never gets caught. All that earns the Vegetable From Within the Mountain our Editors' Choice. A slightly lower priced Crumpler model that I also love, and which also earned our Editors' Choice, is the Crumpler Arnold Heist Tablet Bag ($105, 4.5 stars). Another alternative that we loved and which holds up to 15-inch notebooks is the hundred-dollar Booq Mamba Daypack (4.5 stars, Editors' Choice)?. And if the mountainous blue of the Vegetable doesn't strike your hardcore note, or you have a massive laptop, try the edgy Chrome Citadel Laptop Bag ($190, 4 stars), designed to withstand the turmoil of urban bicycling with any size notebook inside.

Jill Duffy By Jill Duffy Analyst, Software

Jill Duffy is an analyst in the software, Internet, and networking team, specializing in productivity software, iOS, and apps and gadgets for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on...

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

High-resolution endoscope as thin as a human hair

Mar. 12, 2013 ? Engineers at Stanford have developed a prototype single-fiber endoscope that improves the resolution of these much-sought-after instruments fourfold over existing designs. The advance could lead to an era of needle-thin, minimally invasive endoscopes able to view features out of reach of today's instruments.

Engineers at Stanford have demonstrated a high-resolution endoscope that is as thin as a human hair with a resolution four times better than previous devices of similar design. The so-called micro-endoscope is a significant step forward in high-resolution, minimally invasive bio-imaging with potential applications in research and clinical practice. Micro-endoscopy could enable new methods in diverse fields ranging from study of the brain to early cancer detection.

The new endoscope was developed by a team under the direction of Joseph Kahn, professor of electrical engineering at the Stanford School of Engineering. The results were published recently in the journal Optics Express and showcased in the Optical Society of America's Spotlight on Optics.

Their prototype can resolve objects about 2.5 microns in size, and a resolution of 0.3 microns is easily within reach. A micron is one thousandth of a millimeter. By comparison, today's high-resolution endoscopes can resolve objects only to about 10 microns. The naked eye can see objects down to about 125 microns.

Light paths

Kahn is best known for his work in fiber-optic communications -- the ultra-fast data pipes essential to the Internet and large-scale data centers. His work on endoscopy began two years ago when he and a fellow Stanford electrical engineer, Olav Solgaard, were discussing biophotonics -- a field of light-based technologies used in studying biological systems.

"Olav wanted to know if it would it be possible to send light through a single, hair-thin fiber, form a bright spot inside the body, and scan it to record images of living tissue," said Kahn.

The opportunity and the challenge, Kahn and Solgaard knew, rested in multimode fibers in which light travels via many different paths, known in optics as modes; hence the name, multimode fiber. Light is very good at conveying complex information through such fibers -- whether computer data or images -- but it gets scrambled potentially beyond recognition along the way.

Kahn devised a way to undo the scrambling of information by using a miniature liquid crystal display called a spatial light modulator. To make this possible, Kahn and his graduate student, Reza Nasiri Mahalati, developed an adaptive algorithm -- a specialized computer program -- by which the spatial light modulator learned how to unscramble the light. Several years before, Kahn had set world records for transmission speeds using a similar trick to unscramble computer data transmitted through multimode fibers.

Research on the micro-endoscope took an unexpected and fortunate turn when Nasiri Mahalati mentioned seminal work in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done by John Pauly, another Stanford electrical engineer. Pauly had used random sampling to dramatically speed up image recording in MRIs.

"Nasiri Mahalati said, 'Why not use random patterns of light to speed up imaging through multimode fiber?' and that was it. We were on our way," recalls Kahn. "The record-setting micro-endoscope was born."

Confronting the Laws of Physics

In Kahn's micro-endoscope, the spatial light modulator projects random light patterns through the fiber into the body to illuminate the object under observation. The light reflecting off the object returns through the fiber to a computer. The computer, in turn, measures the reflected power of the light and uses algorithms developed by Nasiri Mahalati and fellow graduate student Ruo Yu Gu to reconstruct an image.

Kahn and his students were stunned to discover their endoscope could resolve four times as many image features as the number of modes in the fiber.

"Previous single-fiber endoscopes were limited in resolution to the number of modes in the fiber," said Kahn, "So this is a fourfold improvement."

The result, however, raised a scientific conundrum for the team.

"This meant that, somehow, we were capturing more information than the laws of physics told us could pass through the fiber," said Kahn. "It seemed impossible."

The team wrestled with the paradox for several weeks before they came up with an explanation. The random intensity patterns mix the modes that can propagate through the fiber, increasing the number of modes fourfold and producing four times as much detail in the image.

"Previous research had overlooked the mixing. The unconventional algorithm we used for image reconstruction was the key to revealing the hidden image detail," said Kahn.

The ultimate endoscope

Kahn and team have created a working prototype. The main limiting factor at this point is that the fiber must remain rigid. Bending a multimode fiber scrambles the image beyond recognition. Instead, the fiber is placed in a thin needle to hold it rigid for insertion.

Rigid endoscopes -- those used frequently for surgeries -- are common, but they often use relatively thick, rod-shaped lenses to yield good images. Flexible endoscopes on the other hand -- the kind used in colonoscopies and ureteroscopies -- usually employ bundles of tens of thousands of individual fibers, each conveying a single pixel of the image. Both types of endoscopes are bulky and have limited resolution.

A single fiber endoscope such as Kahn's would be the ultimate minimally invasive imaging system, and has been the focus of intense research in optical engineering over the past few years.

Kahn is not the first to develop a single-fiber endoscope, but in boosting the resolution it is possible now to conceive of a fiber endoscope about two-tenths of a millimeter in diameter -- just thicker than a human hair -- that can resolve about 80,000 pixels at a resolution of about three-tenths of a micron. Today's best flexible fiber endoscopes, by comparison, are about half-a-millimeter in diameter and can resolve roughly 10,000 pixels with a resolution of about three microns.

The future

A rigid single-fiber micro-endoscope could enable myriad new procedures for microscopic imaging inside living organisms. These range from analyzing neuronal cellular biology in brain tissue to studying muscle physiology and disease to the early detection of various forms of cancer.

Looking ahead, Kahn is excited about the potential of working with biomedical researchers to pioneer these applications, but being a physicist and an engineer at heart, he is most enthralled by the technical challenges of creating a flexible single-fiber endoscope.

"No one knows if a flexible single-fiber endoscope is even possible, but we're going to try," said Kahn.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford School of Engineering. The original article was written by Andrew Myers.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Reza Nasiri, Mahalati, Ruo Yu Gu and Joseph M. Kahn. Resolution Limits for Imaging throught Multi-mode Fiber. Optics Express, 2013

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/SAX5GgtRRCA/130313100436.htm

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Eva Longoria is busy post-'Desperate Housewives'

In this Thursday, March 7, 2013 photo, chosen as the face of the new SHEBA global campaign "Follow Your Passion," actress and executive producer Eva Longoria poses for a portrait, in New York. Besides showbiz, Longoria's passions include philanthropy and politics. She's committed to encouraging Latin women to further their education and start entrepreneur programs; and also founded Eva's Heroes which is dedicated to children with special needs. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

In this Thursday, March 7, 2013 photo, chosen as the face of the new SHEBA global campaign "Follow Your Passion," actress and executive producer Eva Longoria poses for a portrait, in New York. Besides showbiz, Longoria's passions include philanthropy and politics. She's committed to encouraging Latin women to further their education and start entrepreneur programs; and also founded Eva's Heroes which is dedicated to children with special needs. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

In this Thursday, March 7, 2013 photo, chosen as the face of the new SHEBA global campaign "Follow Your Passion," actress and executive producer Eva Longoria poses for a portrait, in New York. She's busy behind-the-camera too as an Executive Producer on two upcoming television shows. The first, a reality dating show called ?Ready for Love,? premieres later this month on NBC. She is also Executive Producer of "Devious Maids," alongside ?Desperate Housewives? creator Mark Cherry. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

In this Thursday, March 7, 2013 photo, chosen as the face of the new SHEBA global campaign "Follow Your Passion," actress and executive producer Eva Longoria poses for a portrait, in New York. The actress, who just wrapped a movie called ?Frontera? alongside Ed Harris and Michael Pena, is also busy behind-the-camera too as an Executive Producer on two upcoming television shows. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

(AP) ? Eva Longoria hasn't slowed down since "Desperate Housewives" signed off after eight seasons last year. In fact, the actress says the word "lazy" isn't in her vocabulary.

"There are days when I relax but it won't be a full day. It usually means I'm gonna clean out my closet. That's relaxing for me. Or I'm gonna cook a full meal for my family and friends," Longoria, who will be 38 on Friday, said in a recent interview.

Longoria said she has no problem juggling various projects.

"I always say there's more time in the day than you think. You waste a lot of time that you don't realize," she said. "When I was on 'Desperate Housewives,' I learned two languages. I went back to school for my master's degree, I was married (to San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker) and flying back and forth (between Los Angeles and Texas). You have time."

Her passions also include philanthropy and politics. She's committed to encouraging Latin women to further their education and start entrepreneurial programs. She also founded Eva's Heroes, dedicated to teens and young adults with special needs.

She just wrapped up filming on "Frontera," alongside Ed Harris and Michael Pena, and has endorsement deals with L'Oreal, Frito-Lay and Sheba.

Longoria is also an executive producer on two upcoming TV shows.

On "Ready for Love," a reality dating show that will air on NBC, three matchmakers help three men find love.

Longoria says she handpicked each of the three eligible guys.

They're "not only handsome and successful, but generous, kind and sweet human beings. ... They'll forever be friends in my life," she said.

She's also one of the executive producers of "Devious Maids," alongside "Desperate Housewives" creator Mark Cherry. Based on a Mexican series, it follows four maids who work in Beverly Hills but dream of their own success. The show will air on Lifetime.

While she's enjoying TV production, Longoria said, "I love the medium of television. I'll definitely be back. I'll definitely come back one day."

___

Online:

http://sheba.com/feedyourpassion

http://www.evasheroes.org/

http://www.nbc.com/ready-for-love/

___

Alicia Rancilio covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow her online at http://www.twitter.com/aliciar

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-13-US-People-Eva-Longoria/id-c3b3fb04223a43a3aca0109910ff1db8

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Rush scientists identify buphenyl as a possible drug for Alzheimer's disease

Monday, March 11, 2013

Buphenyl, an FDA-approved medication for hyperammonemia, may protect memory and prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening condition that can affect patients at any age. It is caused by abnormal, high levels of ammonia in the blood.

Studies in mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have shown that sodium phenylbutyrate, known as Buphenyl, successfully increases factors for neuronal growth and protects learning and memory, according to neurological researchers at the Rush University Medical Center.

Results from the National Institutes of Health funded study, recently were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

"Understanding how the disease works is important to developing effective drugs that protect the brain and stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease," said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, the Floyd A. Davis professor of neurology at Rush and lead investigator of this study.

A family of proteins known as neurotrophic factors help in survival and function of neurons. Past research indicates that these proteins are drastically decreased in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

"Neurotrophic factor proteins could be increased in the brain by direct injection or gene delivery," said Pahan. "However, using an oral medication to increase the level of these protein may be the best clinical option and a cost effective way to increase the level of these proteins directly in the brain."

"Our study found that after oral feeding, Buphenyl enters into the brain, increases these beneficial proteins in the brain, protects neurons, and improves memory and learning in mice with AD-like pathology," said Pahan.

In the brain of a patient with AD, two abnormal structures called plaques and tangles are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells. While neurons die, other brain cells like astroglia do not die.

The study findings indicate that Buphenyl increases neurotrophic factors from astroglia. Buphenyl stimulates memory-related protein CREB (cyclic AMP response element-binding protein) using another protein known as Protein Kinase C (PKC) and increases neurotrophic factors in the brain.

"Now we need to translate this finding to the clinic and test Buphenyl in Alzheimer's disease patients," said Pahan. "If these results are replicated in Alzheimer's disease patients, it would open up a promising avenue of treatment of this devastating neurodegenerative disease."

###

Rush University Medical Center: http://www.rush.edu

Thanks to Rush University Medical Center 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/127233/Rush_scientists_identify_buphenyl_as_a_possible_drug_for_Alzheimer_s_disease

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