Thursday, May 16, 2013

Untangling the tree of life

May 15, 2013 ? These days, phylogeneticists -- experts who painstakingly map the complex branches of the tree of life -- suffer from an embarrassment of riches. The genomics revolution has given them mountains of DNA data that they can sift through to reconstruct the evolutionary history that connects all living beings. But the unprecedented quantity has also caused a serious problem: The trees produced by a number of well-supported studies have come to contradictory conclusions.

"It has become common for top-notch studies to report genealogies that strongly contradict each other in where certain organisms sprang from, such as the place of sponges on the animal tree or of snails on the tree of mollusks," said Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University.

In a study published online May 8 by the journal Nature, Rokas and graduate student Leonidas Salichos analyze the reasons for these differences and propose a suite of novel techniques that can resolve the contradictions and provide greater accuracy in deciphering the deep branches of life's tree.

"The study by Salichos and Rokas comes at a critical time when scientists are grappling with how best to detect the signature of evolutionary history from a deluge of genetic data. These authors provide intriguing insights into our standard analytical toolbox, and suggest it may be time to abandon some of our most trusted tools when it comes to the analysis of big data sets. This significant work will certainly challenge the community of evolutionary biologists to rethink how best to reconstruct phylogeny," said Michael F. Whiting, program director of systematics and biodiversity science at the National Science Foundation, which funded the study.

To gain insight into this paradox, Salichos assembled and analyzed more than 1,000 genes -- approximately 20 percent of the entire yeast genome -- from each of 23 yeast species. He quickly realized that the histories of the 1,000-plus genes were all slightly different from each other as well as different from the genealogy constructed from a simultaneous analysis of all the genes.

"I was quite surprised by this result," Salichos pointed out.

By adapting an algorithm from information theory, the researchers found that they could use these distinct gene genealogies to quantify the conflict and focus on those parts of the tree that are problematic.

In broad terms, Rokas and Salichos found that genetic data is less reliable during periods of rapid radiation, when new species were formed rapidly. A case in point is the Cambrian explosion, the sudden appearance about 540 million years ago of a remarkable diversity of animal species, without apparent predecessors. Before about 580 million years ago, most organisms were very simple, consisting of single cells occasionally organized into colonies.

"A lot of the debate on the differences in the trees has been between studies concerning the 'bushy' branches that took place in these 'radiations'," Rokas said.

The researchers also found that the further back in time they went the less reliable the genetic data becomes. "Radioactive dating methods are only accurate over a certain time span," said Rokas. "We think that the value of DNA data might have a similar limit, posing considerable challenges to existing algorithms to resolve radiations that took place in deep time."

The research was supported by National Science Foundation CAREER award DEB-0844968.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/9F2MAVdoBWs/130515094809.htm

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Even for the greats, blunders are part of the equation



>>> our next guest says mistakes are an essential part of his field. not toure. he is a renowned physicist and says the errors from the most famous scientists from einstein to darwin to kelvin are every bit as important to the world as their successes. according to him, the march toward our understanding of evolution and the earth around us has been filled with false starts and botched theories and we are all better for it. joining us now is mario, the astrophysicist at the hubble space science institute and the author of brilliant blunders. let's start there. why blunders? why are they productive? what was the goal of the book?

>> so there were three goals to the book. one is to make us all feel a little bit better. namely that even the biggest geniuses make some serious blunders. second is to correct the misconception that some people think that science marches on a straight line from a to b when in fact it is really a zig zag path that encounters many, many blunders. and third to convey this notion that if you want to think outside the box , be prepared to meet some blunders along the way.

>> chars darwin didn't know any genetics and we cannot blame him for that because nobody knew genetics at the time. but the theory of genetics with which he was operating was like mixing of paints. you take qualities of the father and the mother and mix them. or you would do gin andtonic. what he didn't realize was that if that was the correct theory, natural selection could never have worked. because you know, you think of one black cat , 100 white cats. every time they mate, you mix those paints, no way even if black gives some advantage will take over. because you know, it will just get diluted and diluted.

>> i want to talk about the big bang for a hot second. you look at the review of when we had the big bang on one side and the steady state theory on the other. you tell the story of fred hoyle . a big believer in the steady state theory . that the universe doesn't change over time . it basically has no beginning or end. kind of a cool concept. that ultimately the big bang won out. that's the idea that the universe began as hot dense matter and then it expanded and cooled over time . you explain that fred basically knew a lot of stuff and better, but he couldn't get away from the study staeady state theory . you wrote being wrong in a major enterprise constitutes a trauma. why was hoyle traumatized by the fact the steady state theory was failing?

>> you know, fred hoyle had this idea of a steady state , that the universe isn't changing. this was a very elegant idea, and he got, you know, in some way fell in love with that idea. and so that every time, you know, people said no, actually it started with a big bang and so on, you know, he's -- what's amazing is that he coined the term " big bang ." you know, he said it all started in one big bang , and this is the term we use ever since. but he never believed in that. and the main blunder really, in his case, is that just stubbornly refusing to accept even as evidence was mounting that the big bang was the correct theory.

>> are you saying that he used the term "big boang" dericively?

>> this was in a radio address. he wanted to create a mental picture for his listeners. basically he said on one hand we have this theory, and on the other, there are those who say it all started in one big bang .

>> mario, you'll be happy to know in all of my science classes i almost always made blunders and that's why i'm here today and not in a lab somewhere. but, you know, legend has it that thomas edison famously said, no, no, no, i didn't fail a thousand times to make a light bulb work, i came up with a thousand ways how not to make a light bulb . but are there any happy accidents that come out of these blunders where maybe you don't stumble through science to get to the point you were hoping, but you do sort of go off route and find something else? some other wonderful discovery?

>> well, yes. there are a number of such examples and discovery of penicillin is one such example. but, in fact, you will notice that i called the book "brilliant blunders" because of the reason that, in fact, all of the blunders i describe here eventually actually led to breakthroughs. i mean, the idea is that to make a really big discovery, you need to think outside the box . and to think outside the box really means that sometimes you're going to make blunders.

>> right.

>> and this is the way science really progresses.

>> all right. mario livio , interesting things and certainly makes us all who have made a blue blunders feel better that geniuses have also made blunders. so thank you so much for the book and for joining us.

>> thank you for having me.

>>> all right. up next, s.e.'s take on the real life episode of "scandal" unfolding in washington right now. we had

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2beb3c42/l/0Lvideo0Bmsnbc0Bmsn0N0Cid0C518820A23/story01.htm

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Preclinical tests shows agent stops 'slippery' proteins from binding, causing Ewing sarcoma

Preclinical tests shows agent stops 'slippery' proteins from binding, causing Ewing sarcoma [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON Continuous infusion of a novel agent not only halted the progression of Ewing sarcoma in rats, while some tumors also regressed to the point that cancer cells could not be detected microscopically, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their study, which will be presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, provides pre-clinical evidence necessary to initiate a clinical trial.

"This agent has the potential to be more effective, and considerably less toxic, than the current drugs now used to treat this rare cancer," says the study's lead investigator, Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, a pediatric oncologist and researcher at Georgetown Lombardi, part of Georgetown University Medical Center.

The agent, (S)-YK-4-279, was developed by Toretsky and his colleagues, including scientists in GUMC's Center for Drug Discovery. Based on early promising studies of the compound, Toretsky established TDP Biotherapeutics, Inc. to manufacture the agent. Toretsky says TDP Biotherapeutics, Inc. is preparing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) application for (S)-YK-4-279 so that a clinical trial can be initiated.

In the United States, about 500 children and young adults are diagnosed with the cancer annually, and they are treated with a combination of five different chemotherapy drugs. Between 60 to 70 percent of patients survive more than five years, but with many late effects from therapy. Few treatments lead to a cure for patients whose cancer progresses, Toretsky says.

Ewing sarcoma is caused by the exchange of DNA between two chromosomes. The resulting EWSR1-FLI1 gene produces a fusion protein, EWS-FLI1, responsible for development of the cancer. In 2006, Toretsky and his team discovered that the fusion protein binds to another protein, RNA helicase A (RHA), which is important for cancer progression.

The (S)-YK-4-279 agent they developed is considered unique because it stops the two proteins EWS-FLI1 and RHA from interacting. "Scientists have long thought it impossible to block protein-protein interaction because the surface of these proteins are too slippery and flexible for a drug to bind to," Toretsky says. "Our agent challenges that conventional thinking."

To test the agent, the researchers developed a rat model of Ewing sarcoma and figured out how to deliver a continuous drip of the drug to the animals. "We found that cancer cells need a continuous exposure at low concentrations for the drug to be of maximum effectiveness," Toretsky says. "And this strategy works extremely well in these animal models. The drug appears to be very successful."

Toretsky is an inventor on a patent application that has been filed by Georgetown University related to the technology described. He has an ownership interest in TDP Biotherapeutics, to which the technology has been licensed for research and development.

###

The FDA has granted the TDP Biotherapeutics company orphan drug status (Orphan Drug Act), which qualifies the sponsor of a product to receive tax credit and marketing incentives. The study was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (RC4 CA156509) issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (R01CA138212).

About Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach, and the training of cancer specialists of the future. Georgetown Lombardi is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, as designated by the National Cancer Institute (grant #P30 CA051008), and the only one in the Washington, DC area. For more information, go to http://lombardi.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Preclinical tests shows agent stops 'slippery' proteins from binding, causing Ewing sarcoma [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 15-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON Continuous infusion of a novel agent not only halted the progression of Ewing sarcoma in rats, while some tumors also regressed to the point that cancer cells could not be detected microscopically, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Their study, which will be presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, provides pre-clinical evidence necessary to initiate a clinical trial.

"This agent has the potential to be more effective, and considerably less toxic, than the current drugs now used to treat this rare cancer," says the study's lead investigator, Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, a pediatric oncologist and researcher at Georgetown Lombardi, part of Georgetown University Medical Center.

The agent, (S)-YK-4-279, was developed by Toretsky and his colleagues, including scientists in GUMC's Center for Drug Discovery. Based on early promising studies of the compound, Toretsky established TDP Biotherapeutics, Inc. to manufacture the agent. Toretsky says TDP Biotherapeutics, Inc. is preparing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) application for (S)-YK-4-279 so that a clinical trial can be initiated.

In the United States, about 500 children and young adults are diagnosed with the cancer annually, and they are treated with a combination of five different chemotherapy drugs. Between 60 to 70 percent of patients survive more than five years, but with many late effects from therapy. Few treatments lead to a cure for patients whose cancer progresses, Toretsky says.

Ewing sarcoma is caused by the exchange of DNA between two chromosomes. The resulting EWSR1-FLI1 gene produces a fusion protein, EWS-FLI1, responsible for development of the cancer. In 2006, Toretsky and his team discovered that the fusion protein binds to another protein, RNA helicase A (RHA), which is important for cancer progression.

The (S)-YK-4-279 agent they developed is considered unique because it stops the two proteins EWS-FLI1 and RHA from interacting. "Scientists have long thought it impossible to block protein-protein interaction because the surface of these proteins are too slippery and flexible for a drug to bind to," Toretsky says. "Our agent challenges that conventional thinking."

To test the agent, the researchers developed a rat model of Ewing sarcoma and figured out how to deliver a continuous drip of the drug to the animals. "We found that cancer cells need a continuous exposure at low concentrations for the drug to be of maximum effectiveness," Toretsky says. "And this strategy works extremely well in these animal models. The drug appears to be very successful."

Toretsky is an inventor on a patent application that has been filed by Georgetown University related to the technology described. He has an ownership interest in TDP Biotherapeutics, to which the technology has been licensed for research and development.

###

The FDA has granted the TDP Biotherapeutics company orphan drug status (Orphan Drug Act), which qualifies the sponsor of a product to receive tax credit and marketing incentives. The study was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (RC4 CA156509) issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (R01CA138212).

About Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, seeks to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer through innovative basic and clinical research, patient care, community education and outreach, and the training of cancer specialists of the future. Georgetown Lombardi is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, as designated by the National Cancer Institute (grant #P30 CA051008), and the only one in the Washington, DC area. For more information, go to http://lombardi.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/gumc-pts050913.php

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Festival Ready: A Swiss Army App Tailored to Summertime Fun

Summer approacheth, and with summer comes festivals?all sorts of festivals! Whether you're a music buff, renaissance enthusiast, or food and wine connoisseur there's a festival out there somewhere waiting for you. Now an actual Swiss Army knife is handy to have, but probably won't do you too much good at any of the above. A festival-specific Swiss Army app though? Just what ye olde doctor ordered.

What does it do?

Helps you take care of every problem you might come across at any sort of festival the summer season can throw at you. For friends prone to wandering, the app will help you track down lost friends, assuming they've left a pin for you to find. Or if you just so happen to be that friend, it'll also help you find your way back to a previously marked campsite. Group messaging, "sound flare" (for those times when you need an adult), up to the minute weather info, and packing checklists make sure that whatever the potential problem, you've already got a solution at hand.

Why do we like it?

Most festivals these days will often come with their own "helpful" festival guide in the form of an app, but these are usually overrun with annoying ads, glitchy, and often not much more than extra exposure for whatever your festival of choice might be hocking. The folks behind the Swiss Army Knife, though, obviously have a knack for design, and they've made this app with you in mind?not the entertainment. It's a far more pleasant experience, making sure your fun-having goes as seamlessly as possible.

Festival Ready, Download this app for: iOS and Android, Free

The Best: Beautiful navigation feature

The Worst: Your friends can only be found if they so choose

Source: http://gizmodo.com/festival-ready-a-swiss-army-app-tailored-to-summertime-506966123

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Correction: Congo-Tanzanian Troops story

GOMA, Congo (AP) ? In a story May 11 about the arrival of Tanzanian troops in eastern Congo, The Associated Press erroneously cited United Nations mission spokesman Col. Felix Basse. The information should have been attributed to Alexandre Essome, press information officer for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the eastern province of North Kivu.

A corrected version of the story is below:

A contingent of about 100 Tanzanian troops arrived in eastern Congo Saturday, a first step in assembling the new United Nations intervention brigade, said a UN spokesman.

The troops arrived on Friday and Saturday, and the rest of the brigade will arrive in successive waves, said Alexandre Essome, press information officer for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the eastern province of North Kivu.

The Tanzanian troops are the first batch to arrive in eastern Congo to start forming the U.N. intervention brigade to be deployed in eastern Congo following a Security Council resolution in March.

On March 28th, the U.N. Security Council voted a resolution that renewed the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo for one year, and created a special intervention brigade that has an aggressive mandate that allows it to fight armed groups, rather than merely defend civilians.

The intervention brigade commander arrived in Goma on the 23rd April, but troops meant to arrive by the end of April have only just started arriving in eastern Congo. The rest of the troops will arrive in stages, but no clear deadline has been given so far.

Malawi and South Africa have pledged to contribute troops to the U.N. force.

The need for an intervention force became clear in November, when the U.N. peacekeepers merely stood by as Congo's M23 rebels took the provincial capital of Goma. The rebels eventually withdrew from the city two weeks later, but the fall of Goma convinced the international community to create a brigade with a more assertive mandate to try to put an end to the turmoil in which has plagued eastern Congo for years.

But with just over 3,000 special troops to battle more than 25 armed groups in the Kivu region alone, the new U.N. brigade risks being spread too thin, say military experts. Already eastern Congo's M23 rebels are training fighters in guerrilla tactics to fight the U.N. troops.

The Congolese army, with poor discipline and lacking resources, has been unable to contain the rebels maintain order in the east. Congo's authorities have put a lot of hope that the new U.N. brigade will help solve the security crisis in the east.

"With the first Tanzanian troops landing, a new dynamic will emerge in the east. Security problems cannot be solved in one day," said Congo's prime minister, Augustin Matata Ponyo, to the Associated Press from his office in Kinshasa, Congo's capital. "The most important thing is that the government is aware of this problem and is working to solve it."

___

Associated Press writer Saleh Mwanamilongo contributed to this report from Kinshasa, Congo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/correction-congo-tanzanian-troops-story-105312315.html

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Brain frontal lobes not sole center of human intelligence

May 13, 2013 ? Human intelligence cannot be explained by the size of the brain's frontal lobes, say researchers.

Research into the comparative size of the frontal lobes in humans and other species has determined that they are not -- as previously thought -- disproportionately enlarged relative to other areas of the brain, according to the most accurate and conclusive study of this area of the brain.

It concludes that the size of our frontal lobes cannot solely account for humans' superior cognitive abilities.

The study by Durham and Reading universities suggests that supposedly more 'primitive' areas, such as the cerebellum, were equally important in the expansion of the human brain. These areas may therefore play unexpectedly important roles in human cognition and its disorders, such as autism and dyslexia, say the researchers.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) today.

The frontal lobes are an area in the brain of mammals located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere, and are thought to be critical for advanced intelligence.

Lead author Professor Robert Barton from the Department of Anthropology at Durham University, said: "Probably the most widespread assumption about how the human brain evolved is that size increase was concentrated in the frontal lobes.

"It has been thought that frontal lobe expansion was particularly crucial to the development of modern human behaviour, thought and language, and that it is our bulging frontal lobes that truly make us human. We show that this is untrue: human frontal lobes are exactly the size expected for a non-human brain scaled up to human size.

"This means that areas traditionally considered to be more primitive were just as important during our evolution. These other areas should now get more attention. In fact there is already some evidence that damage to the cerebellum, for example, is a factor in disorders such as autism and dyslexia."

The scientists argue that many of our high-level abilities are carried out by more extensive brain networks linking many different areas of the brain. They suggest it may be the structure of these extended networks more than the size of any isolated brain region that is critical for cognitive functioning.

Previously, various studies have been conducted to try and establish whether humans' frontal lobes are disproportionately enlarged compared to their size in other primates such as apes and monkeys. They have resulted in a confused picture with use of different methods and measurements leading to inconsistent findings.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/eiG5DM9MW3Y/130513152827.htm

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Flu in pregnancy may quadruple child's risk for bipolar disorder

May 14, 2013 ? Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked to prenatal exposure to influenza.

"Prospective mothers should take common sense preventive measures, such as getting flu shots prior to and in the early stages of pregnancy and avoiding contact with people who are symptomatic," said Alan Brown, M.D., M.P.H, of Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, a grantee of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). "In spite of public health recommendations, only a relatively small fraction of such women get immunized. The weight of evidence now suggests that benefits of the vaccine likely outweigh any possible risk to the mother or newborn."

Brown and colleagues reported their findings online May 8, 2013 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Although there have been hints of a maternal influenza/bipolar disorder connection, the new study is the first to prospectively follow families in the same HMO, using physician-based diagnoses and structured standardized psychiatric measures. Access to unique Kaiser-Permanente, county and Child Health and Development Study databases made it possible to include more cases with detailed maternal flu exposure information than in previous studies.

Among nearly a third of all children born in a northern California county during 1959-1966, researchers followed, 92 who developed bipolar disorder, comparing rates of maternal flu diagnoses during pregnancy with 722 matched controls.

The nearly fourfold increased risk implicated influenza infection at any time during pregnancy, but there was evidence suggesting slightly higher risk if the flu occurred during the second or third trimesters. Moreover, the researchers linked flu exposure to a nearly sixfold increase in a subtype of bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

A previous study, by Brown and colleagues, in a related northern California sample, found a threefold increased risk for schizophrenia associated with maternal influenza during the first half of pregnancy. Autism has similarly been linked to first trimester maternal viral infections and to possibly related increases in inflammatory molecules.

"Future research might investigate whether this same environmental risk factor might give rise to different disorders, depending on how the timing of the prenatal insult affects the developing fetal brain," suggested Brown.

Bipolar disorder shares with schizophrenia a number of other suspected causes and illness features, the researchers note. For example, both share onset of symptoms in early adulthood, susceptibility genes, run in the same families, affect nearly one percent of the population, show psychotic behaviors and respond to antipsychotic medications.

Increasing evidence of such overlap between traditional diagnostic categories has led to the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project, which is laying the foundation for a new mental disorders classification system based on brain circuits and dimensional mechanisms that cut across traditional diagnostic categories.

The research was also funded by NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/mental_health/~3/wzF6oVA2TXo/130514101459.htm

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Klingon Comes to Bing Translator

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/klingon-comes-to-bing-translator/

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The Barrister Blog: Title: New Smartphone App Solves the Personal ...

Since the Government announced plans to ban referral fees,
legal firms specialising in personal injury claims have been scratching their
heads as to how best continue their levels of custom. Despite the large savings
that they will make now that they will not be paying out referral fees, higher
marketing costs may be incurred. Business plans have had to be revised as law
firms enter an uncertain plane.

However, a graduate from Liverpool John Moores University may have found a cost-effective and elegant solution in the form of a smartphone app. Lawyerly, available on both Apple and Android formats, allows the victims of accidents to connect directly to applicable solicitors.

The app provides the victims with important personal injury solicitor information including user ratings, services and contact information. Designer, Matt Cavanagh, has highlighted the significant impact that the app could have on people hoping to make a road accident claim:

?The app effectively acts as a seamless link between client and lawyer. For example, if someone has a road accident and is in a position to record the damage via a smart phone or tablet, it will allow them to find a solicitor right there and then.?

Law firms can register with a monthly subscription to the app so that their details can be shared with users who can download Lawyerly for free.

"Lawyerly is fool proof despite its many benefits to both parties. The potential client can reduce ambiguity by obtaining advice at the scene of the incident, while the solicitor receives a direct referral. This will reduce any friction in doing business."

The app could negate the need for excessive marketing campaigns in the wake of the ban on referral fees. This will be especially welcome news for no win no fee solicitors who have found business hard to come by with the new regulations and can help maximise the compensation that goes directly to the claimant and the solicitor working on their behalf rather than a referral company.

Source: http://timkevan.blogspot.com/2013/05/title-new-smartphone-app-solves.html

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Holmes asking judge to change plea to insanity

(AP) ? The long journey toward a verdict in the deadly Colorado theater shootings enters a new and critical phase Monday when suspect James Holmes asks a judge to change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.

The plea is widely seen as Holmes' best hope, and perhaps his only hope, of avoiding the death penalty. But his lawyers have held off until now, fearing a wrinkle in the law could cripple their ability to raise his mental health as a mitigating factor during the sentencing phase.

Two judges have refused to rule on the constitutionality of the law, saying the attorneys' objections were hypothetical because Holmes had not pleaded insanity. The defense had little choice but to have Holmes enter the plea and then challenge the law.

Holmes' lawyers announced last week that Holmes would ask to change his plea at Monday's hearing.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. They say Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student, spent months acquiring weapons and ammunition, scouting a theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora and booby-trapping his apartment.

Then on July 20, dressed in a police-style helmet and body armor, he opened fire during a packed midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," prosecutors say. Twelve people died and 70 were injured.

No motive has emerged in nearly 10 months of hearings, but Holmes' attorneys have repeatedly said their client is mentally ill. He was being treated by a psychiatrist before the attack.

The insanity plea carries risks for both sides. Holmes will have to submit to a mental evaluation by state-employed doctors, and prosecutors could use the findings against him.

"It's literally a life-and-death situation with the government seeking to execute him and the government, the same government, evaluating him with regard to whether he was sane or insane at the time he was in that movie theater," said attorney Dan Recht, a past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar.

Among the risks for prosecutors: They must convince jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Holmes was sane. If they don't, state law requires the jury to find him not guilty by reason of insanity.

"That's a significant burden on the prosecution," Recht said.

If acquitted, Holmes would be committed to the state mental hospital indefinitely.

A judge entered a standard not guilty plea on Holmes' behalf in March, and he needs court permission to change it. Recht said it's a foregone conclusion the judge will accept the new plea to preclude appeals later.

The mental evaluation could take weeks or months. Evaluators will interview Holmes, his friends and family, and if Holmes permits it, they'll also speak with mental health professionals who treated him in the past, said Dr. Howard Zonana, a professor of psychiatry and adjunct professor of law at Yale University.

Evaluators may give Holmes standardized personality tests and compare his results to those of people with documented mental illness. They will also look for any physical brain problems.

Zonana estimates he has conducted around 200 mental evaluations of criminal defendants, including some death penalty cases.

"All cases are tough," he said.

Meticulous planning, as in the scenario prosecutors laid out against Holmes, doesn't necessarily mean a defendant is sane, Zonana said.

Zonana said he helped evaluate Stephen Morgan, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2009 shooting death of Johanna Justin-Jinich in Middletown, Conn., where she was attending college.

Evidence showed Morgan planned the shooting, Zonana said, "but he was delusional as hell."

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-13-Colorado%20Shooting/id-ca586dc786134692b8f76322d08b7ce9

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Give Us The Detail House Plans For Your Home Improvement

?

You can use creative ideas to make the best use of the space in the middle of your kitchen. It is also important to determine your cabinet height by height of your ceiling. The height of ceiling in your kitchen is very important. The eighth foot ceiling height is very ideal for your kitchen. Deep drawers are ideal for the easy storage of kitchen items.

If your kitchen ceiling is very high then you can also leave open space above your cabinets for extra storage items. The exchange-off is you presumably need to commission them yourselves but the reward is you are able to restore or repaint them as you like. In the event that your kitchen needs some shade, a basic and practical kitchen remodeling configuration is to repaint the kitchen. You are able to present a strong or subtle update to your kitchen by introducing revamped colors and plans. Before you hire a contractor you must first know and plan how you want your kitchen to be. Decide on your budget and have a rough idea of the kitchen design. Choosing the right design can be done on your own or you can ask a professional interior designer for help. Lay out your plans for your kitchen renovation project that will use when you are looking for a contractor.

There are heaps of sport tips noticing kitchen remodeling within the web based world. Fabricate a portfolio full of the outlines you like the most. Then attempt to pinpoint what it are you like in every photograph. You are able to present a strong or subtle update to your kitchen by introducing revamped colors and plans. A proportionally minor backing of fabricating an island can yield huge resell esteem profits. Have a detail house plan will be good for kitchen makeovers, it can include Custom Kitchens and Wholesale Kitchens.?

Source: http://www.jwopenmarket.com/give-us-the-detail-house-plans-for-your-home-improvement/

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

New Google Services apk confirms Google Play Games is coming

Games

We have a clue at what Google will provide in their upcoming Play Games service, look for it all to make more sense next week at Google I/O

There's a new version of Google Play Services being distributed, and inside the file there's plenty of reference to Google Play Games. For the past few weeks everyone has been sure that we were going to see some sort of Google Game Center for Android devices in the very near future, likely at Google I/O, and the fellows at Android Police have found all manner of clues and hints to what it will entail.

Things like leader boards and a matchmaking service are activities that a future application can trigger, as well as achievements and invitations. The settings for Play Games (so far, the only portion that's working) also show notification settings that will allow you to pick and choose who can send you game notifications. The whole kit and caboodle is tied up into Google+, which should mean easy access to your friends as well as a central hub for all the gaming goodness.

Make no mistake, this is pretty awesome. But it leaves a few unanswered questions. How backwards compatible will this be? How difficult (or easy) will it be for developers to integrate Play Games into their applications? Can any game be built to work with the new service? Most importantly, when will this go live? We'll likely get all those answers and more next week in San Francisco. 

For now, be sure to head to Android Police to read their in-depth look at everything they found inside the new Google Play Services file, it's a pretty epic read.

Source: Android Police

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/MdLkEF_F0E4/story01.htm

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Editor's desk: Orlando live!

See that picture up top? That's me trying to figure out a) which flight I'm about to miss, b) which event is next, and c) how I got stuck in the Matrix. And why's that? Because this week marks the first in what will no doubt be several crazy summer weeks in mobile and at Mobile Nations. For my part, I leave for Orlando today to join Kevin Michaluk and what feels like most of the CrackBerry nation for BlackBerry Live 2013. I'll be there in my Mobile Nations producer capacity to help broadcast and record not only CrackBerry Live TV -- we'll be streaming straight from the show floor! -- but also to continue working on #TM13...

Speaking of which, we've launched the official teaser page in all its teasing glory. You can sign up to learn more about our smartphone round-robin re-imagined, and since this is Mobile Nations we're talking about, you know that there'll be some insane karmic rewards coming your way, so you probably want to sign up sooner rather than later...

But that's only part of the stuff headed your way this week. We've also got:

  • Phil Nickinson and Jerry Hildenbrand from Android Central off to Google IO, where they should get a ton of Android and Chrome news, and we may even get some updated iOS apps. Watch for Google's big keynote on Wednesday. 2011 saw a ton of stuff get announced that never materialized, but 2012 -- Nexus Q aside -- showed a new, more disciplined focus. Here's hoping this year is more of that.

  • Daniel Rubino from Windows Phone Central is off to London for a Nokia Windows Phone event. There are rumors of new hardware, new software, and more.

On our end, we're starting our prep for WWDC 2013 here at iMore. It's still a month away, but with iOS 7 coming, and OS X 10.9 coming with it, Apple news is going to go from 0 to warp 60 really fast.

That raises the question: with iMore's new, all-Apple focus, what kind of coverage do you want to see? Should we treat Mac and OS X the same way we treat iPhone, iPad, and iOS, or do you want to see it handled differently? Also, Google is really stepping up their iOS game, how much of Google IO do you want to see us pull in here? Let me know!

Photo: @safesolvent

    


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/WptQa_TN2-c/story01.htm

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Mark Zuckerberg's Group Loses High-Profile Backers Elon Musk, David Sacks

WASHINGTON -- Billionaire eco-entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on Friday that he was quitting Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's immigration advocacy group, upset over its controversial political strategy.

Fwd.us told The Huffington Post that a second funder also had decided to withdraw. Several media outlets have reported that David Sacks, founder of the business networking site Yammer and a former colleague of Musk's, had dropped off the list of the group's supporters.

Zuckerberg started Fwd.us to press for comprehensive immigration reform. But the group has been heavily criticized by some immigration reform supporters in recent weeks for its television ad campaign praising lawmakers for backing projects like the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Fwd.us has argued that the ads were meant to give home district support to lawmakers backing immigration reform.

In a statement to AllThingsD on Friday, Musk, the founder of the electric carmaker Tesla Motors, made clear he was unhappy with the pro-oil ads.

?I agreed to support Fwd.us because there is a genuine need to reform immigration," Musk said. "However, this should not be done at the expense of other important causes. I have spent a lot of time fighting far larger lobbying organizations in D.C. and believe that the right way to win on a cause is to argue the merits of that cause. This statement may surprise some people, but my experience is that most (not all) politicians and their staffs want to do the right thing and eventually do.?

Fwd.us retains the backing of other Silicon Valley heavyweights, including Bill Gates.

The withdrawal of Musk and Sacks comes just days after a coalition of progressive groups announced that they were temporarily pulling all their ads from Facebook in protest.

?Leaders in the technology community have every right to talk about how immigration reform will benefit their businesses," former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said in a statement on Tuesday. "But instead, Fwd.us has chosen a strategy that?s condescending to voters and counterproductive to the cause of reform."

The seven-figure Fwd.us ad campaign ran for a week in seven states, but it is no longer on the air.

Fwd.us spokeswoman Kate Hansen told HuffPost, "We recognize that not everyone will always agree with or be pleased by our strategy -- and we're grateful for the continued support of our dedicated founders and major contributors. Fwd.us remains totally committed to supporting a bipartisan policy agenda that will boost the knowledge economy, including comprehensive immigration reform."

As The Huffington Post reported in February, Musk is a significant -- but not top-tier -- donor to Democrats. He also contributes to Republicans.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/mark-zuckerberg-elon-musk_n_3256614.html

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New Microsoft Ad Shows Google Apps Risks - Business Insider

Baseball great Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball for life in 1989 for gambling on the sport while managing the Cincinnati Reds, made a cameo appearance in a new Microsoft ad.

The ad claims using?Google Docs is like gambling in a Las Vegas casino.?

Actor Rob Schneider also stars in the ad as a casino dealer running a game called, you guessed it, Google Docs. The object is to open a Microsoft Office presentation in Google Docs without losing data or running into messy formatting errors, and the prize is a shiny key chain.?

Of course, when?Schneider lures a player to the table, he loses immediately because Microsoft and Google are like the Hatfields and McCoys of the productivity software market and haven't shown any interest in getting their respective file formats to work well with each other. And both blame each other for this.

When Schneider tries to get Rose to play, the 72-year old former baseball star waves him away and says: "No, no, no, it's too big a gamble?? even for me."

Rose's appearance is self-effacing and funny, though it's probably not going to endear him to the forces in Major League Baseball who've been fighting his efforts at reinstatement. This would be a necessary first step before Rose can be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. ?

Here's the video:?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-microsoft-ad-shows-google-apps-risks-2013-5

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Potential flu pandemic lurks: Influenza viruses circulating in pigs, birds could pose risk to humans

May 10, 2013 ? In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people.

A new study from MIT reveals that there are many strains of H3N2 circulating in birds and pigs that are genetically similar to the 1968 strain and have the potential to generate a pandemic if they leap to humans. The researchers, led by Ram Sasisekharan, the Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT, also found that current flu vaccines might not offer protection against these strains.

"There are indeed examples of H3N2 that we need to be concerned about," says Sasisekharan, who is also a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. "From a pandemic-preparedness point of view, we should potentially start including some of these H3 strains as part of influenza vaccines."

The study, which appears in the May 10 issue of the journal Scientific Reports, also offers the World Health Organization and public-health agencies' insight into viral strains that should raise red flags if detected.

Influenza evolution

In the past 100 years, influenza viruses that emerged from pigs or birds have caused several notable flu pandemics. When one of these avian or swine viruses gains the ability to infect humans, it can often evade the immune system, which is primed to recognize only strains that commonly infect humans.

Strains of H3N2 have been circulating in humans since the 1968 pandemic, but they have evolved to a less dangerous form that produces a nasty seasonal flu. However, H3N2 strains are also circulating in pigs and birds.

Sasisekharan and his colleagues wanted to determine the risk of H3N2 strains re-emerging in humans, whose immune systems would no longer recognize the more dangerous forms of H3N2. This type of event has a recent precedent: In 2009, a strain of H1N1 emerged that was very similar to the virus that caused a 1918 pandemic that killed 50 million to 100 million people.

"We asked if that could happen with H3," Sasisekharan says. "You would think it's more readily possible with H3 because we observe that there seems to be a lot more mixing of H3 between humans and swine."

Genetic similarities

In the new study, the researchers compared the 1968 H3N2 strain and about 1,100 H3 strains now circulating in pigs and birds, focusing on the gene that codes for the viral hemagglutinin (HA) protein.

After comparing HA genetic sequences in five key locations that control the viruses' interactions with infected hosts, the researchers calculated an "antigenic index" for each strain. This value indicates the percentage of these genetic regions identical to those of the 1968 pandemic strain and helps determine how well an influenza virus can evade a host's immune response.

The researchers also took into account the patterns of attachment of the HA protein to sugar molecules called glycans. The virus' ability to attach to glycan receptors found on human respiratory-tract cells is key to infecting humans.

Seeking viruses with an antigenic index of at least 49 percent and glycan-attachment patterns identical to those of the 1968 virus, the research team identified 581 H3 viruses isolated since 2000 that could potentially cause a pandemic. Of these, 549 came from birds and 32 from pigs.

The researchers then exposed some of these strains to antibodies provoked by the current H3 seasonal-flu vaccines. As they predicted, these antibodies were unable to recognize or attack these H3 strains. Of the 581 HA sequences, six swine strains already contain the standard HA mutations necessary for human adaptation, and are thus capable of entering the human population either directly or via genetic reassortment, Sasisekharan says.

"One of the amazing things about the influenza virus is its ability to grab genes from different pools," he says. "There could be viral genes that mix among pigs, or between birds and pigs."

Sasisekharan and colleagues are now doing a similar genetic study of H5 influenza strains. The H3 study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/B_j0De3iKUs/130510180250.htm

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Study finds copper reduces 58 percent of healthcare-acquired infections

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

New research has revealed that the use of Antimicrobial Copper surfaces in hospital rooms can reduce the number of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) by 58% as compared to patients treated in Intensive Care Units with non-copper touch surfaces. In the United States, 1 out of every 20 hospital patients develops an HAI, resulting in an estimated 100,000 deaths per year. Although numerous strategies have been developed to decrease these infections, Antimicrobial Copper is the only strategy that works continuously, has been scientifically proven to be effective and doesn't depend on human behavior, according to a recently published study in the SHEA Journal of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

"The implications of this study are critical," said Dr. Harold Michels, Senior Vice President of the Copper Development Association (CDA). "Until now, the only attempts to reduce HAIs have required hand hygiene, increased cleaning and patient screening, which don't necessarily stop the growth of these bacteria the way copper alloy surfaces do. We now know that copper is the game-changer: it has the potential to save lives."

Intensive Care Units See the Benefit of Copper Alloys

The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, was conducted in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of three major hospitals: The Medical University of South Carolina, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. To determine the impact of copper alloy surfaces on the rate of HAIs, copper-surfaced objects were placed in each ICU, where patients are at higher risk due to the severity of their illnesses, invasive procedures and frequent interaction with healthcare workers. Patients were randomly placed in available rooms with or without copper alloy surfaces, and the rates of HAIs were compared. A total of 650 patients and 16 rooms (8 copper and 8 standard) were studied between July 12, 2010 and June 14, 2011.

Results of this study, that appeared last July in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, found that Antimicrobial Copper can continuously kill 83% of bacteria that cause HAIs within two hours, including strands resistant to antibiotics. The study compared copper to equivalent non-copper touch surfaces during active patient care between routine cleaning and sanitizing.

"Copper alloy surfaces offer an alternative way to reduce the increasing number of HAIs, without having to worry about changing healthcare worker behavior," said Dr. Michael Schmidt, Vice Chairman of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina and one of the authors of the study. "Because the antimicrobial effect is a continuous property of copper, the regrowth of deadly bacteria is significantly less on these surfaces, making a safer environment for hospital patients."

In study results, 46 patients developed an HAI, while 26 patients became colonized with MRSA or VRE. Overall, the proportion of patients who developed an HAI was significantly lower among those assigned to intensive care rooms with objects fabricated using copper alloys. There are currently hundreds of Antimicrobial Copper healthcare-related products available today, including IV poles, stretchers, tray tables and door hardware.

This study was so successful that an interdisciplinary team from UCLA began replicating this research in July 2012. The team is testing ICUs with Antimicrobial Copper at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

###

Kellen Communications - NY:

Thanks to Kellen Communications - NY 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.

This press release has been viewed 49 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127680/Study_finds_copper_reduces____percent_of_healthcare_acquired_infections

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INTERIORS: Recaro touts new business class concept with a ...

Recaro business 2 150x150 INTERIORS: Recaro touts new business class concept with a separate lie flat areaRecaro, one of the leaders in economy class seating, is testing out a new business class seat concept that features a seat with a fully lie-flat space attached.

Company CEO Mark Hiller says the design criteria driving the potential new design are direct aisle access and offering a separate sleeping area for passengers that accompanies the seat.

While the seat may give the impression of taking up more space, Hiller explains that ?if you do the evaluation?you will figure out it [the seat] is more efficient than existing concepts available in the market?. He estimates carriers could increase passengers counts by 10% ?with such a seating concept?, and states the pitch on the possible new design could go down to 45in.

Recaro plans to get feedback from potential customers here at the Aircraft Interiors Expo ?and then after the show decide how to go forward?, says Hiller.

Recaro business INTERIORS: Recaro touts new business class concept with a separate lie flat area

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About Kerry Reals

Kerry is a London-based?freelance journalist who has spent eight years on the aviation beat, with an emphasis on how?the industry is addressing its environmental impact. Most recently, she was Deputy News Editor at Flightglobal. She was previously based in Washington DC.

View all posts by Kerry Reals ?

Source: http://blog.apex.aero/cabin-interior/recaro-touts-business-class-concept-separate-lieflat-area/

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NC dad dug for buried children until he couldn't breathe

STANLEY, N.C. (AP) ? For Jordan Arwood, the images return in waves. A wall of dirt collapsing and burying his 6-year-old daughter and her 7-year-old cousin in a pit he was working on. Rescue workers frantically pulling the children from thick red clay. Their lifeless bodies placed in the back of an ambulance.

"When she came out of the hole she was so cold," Arwood, of Stanley, N.C., told The Associated Press in his first news media interview. "I just wanted for her to be warm. I just wanted to put my arms around her and tell her she would be safe....I promised her I'd keep her safe. I promised them I'd keep them safe and warm. I broke that promise."

The 31-year-old Arwood was operating a backhoe Sunday night in the pit when the walls caved in on the children. The bodies of the two young cousins, Chloe Jade Arwood and James Levi Caldwell, were dug out Monday morning.

Arwood is the girl's father. His parents, Nancy and Ken Caldwell, had adopted the boy, his twin sister Jazmin and 9-year-old brother Josiah. Arwood lives next to his parents and the pit was on his property.

Arwood told the AP he reached out to save the children but they were just outside his grasp. He said he dug faster and faster trying to rescue them until he couldn't breathe.

"When the wall came down, I kept grabbing what was in front of me ? grabbing enough dirt, grabbing boulders. ... I wasn't going to stop until I pulled them out. But I couldn't save them," he said, sobbing.

He paused for a moment.

"I wish it was me,' he said.

Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Detective Lt. Tim Johnson said investigators were interviewing family members and neighbors about the case. When they finished, they planned to present their findings to the district attorney's office.

Investigators described the pit as 20 feet by 20 feet, with a sloped entrance leading down to the 24-foot bottom. The children were at the bottom of the pit retrieving a child-sized pickaxe when the walls fell in on them. No permits had been issued for Arwood to dig on the site.

Johnson said investigators still don't know why Arwood was digging the hole and that people have speculated that the pit was everything from a "doomsday bunker" to an underground structure for "illegal activity," such as growing marijuana.

But Arwood said he was building a rammed earth home, an ancient building method where dirt is used to shape the foundation. Arwood said he had been digging for three months.

Sheriff's deputies on Monday removed guns and a marijuana plant from Arwood's mobile home. Arwood is a felon who is not allowed to have guns. He was convicted in 2003 for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.

Dion Burleson, spokesman for the Denver Fire Department, which responded to collapse, said crews filled in the pit Monday.

Arwood said he didn't expect the walls to collapse. And late Tuesday afternoon, Arwood walked to the site of the pit and pointed to the spot where his daughter and James had been buried under the dirt.

He reached down and sifted the dirt between the fingers of his right hand. Then he punched the soil in frustration.

As the walls fell in, he recalled, the children were running to get away. He was within inches of grabbing his daughter's hand. But she disappeared under a surge of dirt. Now he's haunted by the memories.

"I want to wake up. I just want to wake up," he said.

Recalling the children, his eyes brighten. They were always running around together ? the best of friends.

And his parents' house was filled with laughter. He taught his daughter and James how to ride four-wheelers in the backyard.

Arwood was like a big brother to James.

"How many times did I have to tell him to brush his teeth? I'll never be able to tell him again, 'Go brush your teeth, brush your hair.' That was the first thing he did in the morning," he said.

On Tuesday, friends and family in this tight-knit rural community came by to offer their condolences. They brought food to the family.

Ken Caldwell sat on a couch, surrounded by photos of his grandchildren. Nearby was a white karate suit. James is going to be buried in it. He was just a few days shy of taking a test for his orange belt.

Caldwell, who worked 34 years in a steel fabrication plant, recalled reading Tom Swift books every night to James, a bright, energetic first-grader with a big smile.

He loved his grandmother, who would tuck him in every night. "After she tucked him in, he would stick out his leg out of the covers and say, "Grandma, my foot's not covered.'"

Chloe was always running around the house and jumping in his lap.

"She's so beautiful," he said.

When he saw the children's bodies in the ambulance, he said he placed his hands on them and asked God to "bring them back."

While his prayers went unanswered, his faith is still strong ? and he's going to use it to carry him through the tough times.

"You have to trust the Lord," he said. "I'm just grateful I had time to spend with my grandkids."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nc-man-says-tried-save-kids-buried-dirt-082249026.html

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Research firm: PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

(AP) ? Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said Wednesday. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen.

Global shipments of PCs fell 14 percent in the first three months this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994.

The report comes after a year of bad news for the PC. Consumers, especially in wealthy countries like the U.S., are steering their dollars toward tablets and smartphones rather than upgrading their home PCs. It's the biggest challenge to the personal computer since the IBM PC was released in 1981.

In an attempt to keep the PC relevant, Microsoft released a radical new version of Windows on Oct. 26. Windows 8 has a completely new look and forces users to learn new ways to control their machines.

"Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn't provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC Vice President Bob O'Donnell said.

The newest version of Windows is designed to work well with touch-sensitive screens, but the displays add to the cost of a PC. Together, the changes and higher prices "have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said.

Representatives of Microsoft Corp. were not immediately available for comment.

Another research firm, Gartner Inc., reported an 11 percent decline in PC shipments in the quarter. That, too, is the sharpest decline it's seen since it started tracking the market in 2001.

Microsoft shares fell 28 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $30 in extended trading, after the release of the report. They had gained 67 cents in regular trading.

Hewlett-Packard Co., the world's largest maker of PCs, saw a 24 percent drop in shipments in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. The industry's No. 2, China's Lenovo Group, is benefitting from sales to first-time buyers in China and other developing countries. As a result, it held sales steady, alone among the world's top 5 PC makers, according to IDC's figures.

HP shares fell 27 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $22.05 in extended trading. They had risen 10 cents in regular trading.

Shares of Intel Corp., which makes four out of five PC processors, fell 27 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $21.99, after rising 51 cents in regular trading.

Gartner noted one bright spot: Businesses are buying more PCs, and account for about half of the market.

Both firms track shipments of PCs from the manufacturer rather than retail sales. Shipments correlate closely with sales. The figures include shipments of Apple's Macs, which account for about 5 percent of the worldwide market.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-10-PC%20Sales/id-4fdc11efdb6b4b0984842073c9d4613d

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