Three dozen indicted in Atlanta cheating scandal

ATLANTA (AP) ? Juwanna Guffie was sitting in her fifth-grade classroom taking a standardized test when, authorities say, the teacher came around offering information and asking the students to rewrite their answers. Juwanna rejected the help.

"I don't want your answers, I want to take my own test," Juwanna told her teacher, according to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.

On Friday, Juwanna ? now 14 ? watched as Fulton County prosecutors announced that a grand jury had indicted the Atlanta Public Schools' ex-superintendent and nearly three dozen other former administrators, teachers, principals and other educators of charges arising from a standardized test cheating scandal that rocked the system.

Former Superintendent Beverly Hall faces charges including conspiracy, making false statements and theft because prosecutors said some of the bonuses she received were tied to falsified scores. Hall retired just days before the findings of a state probe were released in mid-2011. A nationally known educator who was named Superintendent of the Year in 2009, Hall has long denied knowing about the cheating or ordering it.

During a news conference Friday, Howard highlighted the case of Juwanna and another student, saying they demonstrated "the plight of many children" in the Atlanta school system.

Their stories were among many that investigators heard in hundreds of interviews with school administrators, staff, parents and students during a 21-month-long investigation.

According to Howard, Juwanna said that when she declined her teacher's offer, the teacher responded that she was just trying to help her students. Her class ended up getting some of the highest scores in the school and won a trophy for their work. Juwanna felt guilty but didn't tell anyone about her class' cheating because she was afraid of retaliation and feared her teacher would lose her job.

She eventually told her sister and later told the district attorney's investigators. Still confident in her ability to take a test on her own, Juwanna got the highest reading score on a standardized test this year.

The other student cited by Howard was a third-grader who failed a benchmark exam and received the worst score in her reading class in 2006. The girl was held back, yet when she took a separate assessment test not long afterward, she passed with flying colors.

Howard said the girl's mother, Justina Collins, knew something was wrong, but was told by school officials that the child simply was a good test-taker. The girl is now in ninth grade, reading at a fifth-grade level.

"I have a 15-year-old now who is behind in achieving her goal of becoming what she wants to be when she graduates. It's been hard trying to help her catch up," Collins said at the news conference.

The allegations date back to 2005. In addition to Hall, 34 other former school system employees were indicted. Four were high-level administrators, six were principals, two were assistant principals, six were testing coordinators and 14 were teachers. A school improvement specialist and a school secretary were also indicted.

Howard didn't directly answer a question about whether prosecutors believe Hall led the conspiracy.

"What we're saying is, is that without her, this conspiracy could not have taken place, particularly in the degree that it took place. Because as we know, this took place in 58 of the Atlanta Public Schools. And it would not have taken place if her actions had not made that possible," the prosecutor said.

Richard Deane, an attorney for Hall, told The New York Times that Hall continues to deny the charges and expects to be vindicated. Deane said the defense was making arrangements for bond.

"We note that as far as has been disclosed, despite the thousands of interviews that were reportedly done by the governor's investigators and others, not a single person reported that Dr. Hall participated in or directed them to cheat on the C.R.C.T.," he said later in a statement provided to the Times.

The tests were the key measure the state used to determine whether it met the federal No Child Left Behind law. Schools with good test scores get extra federal dollars to spend in the classroom or on teacher bonuses.

It wasn't immediately clear how much bonus money Hall received. Howard did not say and the amount wasn't mentioned in the indictment.

"Those results were caused by cheating. ... And the money that she received, we are alleging that money was ill-gotten," Howard said.

A 2011 state investigation found cheating by nearly 180 educators in 44 Atlanta schools. Educators gave answers to students or changed answers on tests after they were turned in, investigators said. Teachers who tried to report it faced retaliation, creating a culture of "fear and intimidation," the investigation found.

State schools Superintendent John Barge said last year he believed the state's new accountability system would remove the pressure to cheat on standardized tests because it won't be the sole way the state determines student growth. The pressure was part of what some educators in the system blamed for their cheating.

A former top official in the New York City school system who later headed the Newark, N.J. system for three years, Hall served as Atlanta's superintendent for more than a decade, which is rare for an urban schools chief. She was named Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators in 2009 and credited with raising student test scores and graduation rates, particularly among the district's poor and minority students. But the award quickly lost its luster as her district became mired in the scandal.

In a video message to schools staff before she retired in the summer of 2011, Hall warned that the state investigation launched by former Gov. Sonny Perdue would likely reveal "alarming" behavior.

"It's become increasingly clear that a segment of our staff chose to violate the trust that was placed in them," Hall said. "There is simply no excuse for unethical behavior and no room in this district for unethical conduct. I am confident that aggressive, swift action will be taken against anyone who believed so little in our students and in our system of support that they turned to dishonesty as the only option."

The cheating came to light after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that some scores were statistically improbable.

Most of the 178 educators named in the special investigators' report in 2011 resigned, retired, did not have their contracts renewed or appealed their dismissals and lost. Twenty-one educators have been reinstated and three await hearings to appeal their dismissals, said Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Stephen Alford.

APS Superintendent Erroll Davis said the district, which has about 50,000 students, is now focused on nurturing an ethical environment, providing quality education and supporting the employees who were not implicated.

"I know that our children will succeed when the adults around them work hard, work together, and do so with integrity," he said in a statement.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission is responsible for licensing teachers and has been going through the complaints against teachers, said commission executive secretary Kelly Henson. Of the 159 cases the commission has reviewed, 44 resulted in license revocations, 100 got two-year suspensions and nine were suspended for less than two years, Henson said. No action was taken against six of the educators.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/3-dozen-indicted-atlanta-cheating-scandal-214241949.html

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Transporter

Do you store work files on Dropbox?so that you can still access them when you are not at the office? Do you use various cloud storage services so that you can share personal files, images, and videos with friends and family? For end-users and businesses worried about security and privacy on these third-party services, Transporter from Connected Data may be the exact private offline yet online storage they are looking for. Part network-attached-storage and part cloud storage, Transporter offers users remote access to data stored on its drives.

Users on the same network as the Transporter can take advantage of Gigabit Ethernet speeds to access the files. If the Transporter is on a remote network, then the user is restricted to that network's upload and download speeds, but that isn't any different from what you would have with a cloud service. The Transporter is better than a NAS, though, because you can access the Transporter files from anywhere in the world, so long as you have an Internet connection.

However, the key feature for the Transporter isn't its remote access functionality, but the fact that it can communicate with other Transporters. The Transporter maps to a drive on your computer that you can directly navigate to. The desktop management software, Connected Desktop, lets you switch between Transporters and different files. When you want to share your files, you send an invitation asking the recipient to register an account.

What It Looks Like
The Transporter is a stylish, not-quite-obelisk-shaped black box, measuring about 3.9 inches x 3.9 inches x 5.52 inches. The case ?looks more like a fancy paperweight or conversation piece for the coffee table than a network-attached-storage device. Weighing less than 2 pounds, the Transporter is very easy to move around.?

A Gigabit Ethernet port and a USB port are built into the base of the unit, and a colored light indicates the Transporter's status. Reddish yellow indicates a problem, such as low disk space or no Internet connection, greenish-blue is normal operation, and flashing blue means it is transferring data.?

Users can buy the Transporter with a 1TB hard drive ($299), with a 2TB hard drive ($399), or without any hard drive at all ($199). The Transporter can take almost any 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive, including SATA II, SATA-300, SATA 3Gb/s, SATA III, SATA-600, and SATA 6Gb/s drives, as long as it is 160 GB or larger. Users can decide exactly how much storage capacity they need and swap out for larger drives as necessary.

Unlike many of the popular NAS products on the market, the Transporter has only one drive bay, so there is no way to aggregate storage capacity together in a RAID configuration. In this case, the Transporter is more like an external hard drive that happens to be on the network than a true NAS.

However, unlike an external drive, the Transporter can back up its data on another Transporter and restrict who has access to the files. Transporter can store and transfer videos, pictures, documents, and spreadsheets to other Transporters, other computers (with the Connected Desktop management software installed), and iOS devices.

Getting Started
Connected Data sent me two Transporters, each one with 1 TB hard drive inside. I plugged the Transporter (from now on to be referred to as the "lab unit") into one of PC Mag'stest networks and created an account on the Transporter Website. Once I registered for an account, I was able to "claim" the Transporter based on the device's serial number. This associated the Transporter with my account.

I set up the second Transporter (the "remote unit") on a different network. At this point, I logged back into my account and claimed the second Transporter as well. I could see both Transporters via Connected Desktop. If a friend had yet another Transporter and granted me access on some of the files on that unit, I would have seen that Transporter listed as well.

As part of the setup process, I installed the Connect Desktop software on my test computer. This is the actual software that allows me to browse the files stored on any of the Transporters I have access to. The software works on Mac OS X 10.7.x and 10.8.x, Windows 7 SP1 for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and Windows 8 for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. While there is an app for iOS versions 5.1.x ?and higher, an Android app is not yet available.

When I want to transfer files or share with other people, I send an invitation through the interface to the user's email address. That person registers for an account, installs the software, and that's it.

Transporting the Data
The people you want to share your files with also use Connected Desktop to access the data, even if they aren't on your network.?Next: Accessing the Data on the Transporter

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/1iVRzp9sVDE/0,2817,2417258,00.asp

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Futile pot raid follows indoor gardening, spurs lawsuit - KansasCity ...

A Leawood couple says heavily armed Johnson County deputies barged into their home last year, turning it upside down and detaining them and their children for more than two hours in a fruitless search for marijuana.

?This is how we were awakened: banging, pounding, screaming,? the mother, Adlynn Harte, said Friday. ?My husband opened the door right before the battering ram was set to take it out.?

The father allegedly was forced to lie shirtless on the foyer while a deputy with an assault rifle stood over him. The children, a 7-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy, reportedly came out of their bedrooms terrified, the teenager with his hands in the air.

And all because the couple, Robert and Adlynn Harte, bought indoor gardening equipment to grow a small number of tomato and squash plants in their basement, according to a lawsuit filed this week. The equipment was never used for marijuana, the couple says, and no one in the family has ever used illegal drugs.

Nearly a year after the SWAT-style raid, the Hartes still don?t know what evidence deputies used to persuade a judge to grant a warrant to search their home in the 10300 block of Wenonga Lane on April 20. Their requests for records that could provide such information have been denied by the sheriff?s office.

The lawsuit filed Thursday asks the court to order the release of the records. The information revealed could be used in a federal civil rights lawsuit.

?You can?t send out the SWAT team because people are trying to grow tomatoes in their basement,? Robert Harte told The Star.

Cheryl Pilate represents the couple, who met while both worked for the CIA and, according to Adlynn Harte, had top-secret security clearances.

?This was an egregious overreach, and there was no basis for the search,? Pilate said. ?These are highly educated and very patriotic people. They feel very strongly about it.?

Tom Erickson, a spokesman for the Johnson County Sheriff?s Office, declined to confirm the raid or discuss the allegations in the lawsuit Friday.

?We?ll let it play out in court,? he said.

The 7:30 a.m. raid was part of a highly publicized series of raids conducted on a day that is known to some as a marijuana holiday. After the raids, the sheriff?s office publicly declared the initiative a success, saying that they had confiscated 43 marijuana plants and one pound of marijuana.

But ?there was no acknowledgment in the Sheriff?s Department announcement that at least one of the raids had revealed no evidence of any kind of drug activity,? the lawsuit said.

Adlynn Harte said that after the deputies entered the home and asked for the children, she followed them downstairs.

?They made me and the children sit cross-legged against the wall in the foyer while my husband was face-down with his hands behind his head,? she said.

Once deputies searched the couch, the family was allowed to sit there. At first, they thought the authorities had simply come to the wrong house. But then the search went on and on ? every cupboard, every closet and into the attic, Robert Harte said.

Deputies told the Hartes that they had the couple under surveillance for months prior to the raid. But the Hartes ?know of no basis for conducting such surveillance, nor do they believe such surveillance would have produced any facts supporting the issuance of a search warrant,? the lawsuit said.

Over the course of the raid, the deputies appeared to get frustrated that they weren?t finding anything, the suit said. The suit also said deputies ?made rude comments? and implied their son was using marijuana. After two hours, they brought in a drug-sniffing dog, but still found nothing.

Pilate said the search should have been finished in minutes instead of hours.

?They would have known in the first minute if they would have checked the equipment and seen the tomato plants,? she said. ?This was a hydroponic garden on the level of a school project, with just a few plants and inexpensive lights. It was nothing.?

Afterward, they gave the Hartes a receipt stating, ?No items taken.? The Hartes said they never received an apology.

?It was just egregious. It was outrageous,? Robert Harte said.

The incident was so embarrassing, Adlynn Harte said, that her husband went around the neighborhood, showing everyone the receipt.

But the Hartes want more information than a receipt. They believe the information they are seeking is in the public interest.

?This is about government accountability,? Pilate said. ?These folks have a right to know why they were targeted and why they were allegedly surveilled.?

The family has lived in their Leawood home since 2004. They moved to Kansas City in 1999. Adlynn Harte works at Waddell and Reed, a financial planning and management firm; Robert Harte works in the home, caring for the children, one of whom is home-schooled.

Pilate said she has learned through her own investigation that deputies routinely generate leads for their marijuana raids by watching stores that sell hydroponic equipment.

?With little or no evidence of any illegal activity, law enforcement officers make the assumption that shoppers at the store are potential marijuana growers, even though the stores are most commonly frequented by backyard gardeners who grow organically or start seedlings indoors,? the lawsuit said.

Robert Harte said that several times over a year and a half, family members had visited such a store in the River Market area, but bought only small amount of equipment. And they paid with a credit card.

Their gardening efforts weren?t going well, he said, so they sometimes consulted a clerk there for advice.

Adlynn Hart said the family has the ?utmost respect? for law enforcement, but wants to make sure that tax dollars are properly used and that other families ? with fewer resources than the Hartes have ? aren?t subjected to similar tactics.

?We feel llike it?s un-American and we need to do something about it,? Adlynn Harte said. ?I told my son last night that doing the right thing takes courage.?

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/29/4151902/futile-pot-raid-spurs-lawsuit.html

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Cash shortage stretches to sea bed

29 March 2013 Last updated at 20:00 ET By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst

The government has admitted moving slowly to protect wildlife in the seas because of the cost.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said that in the current financial squeeze he could not designate as many areas for protection as he would like.

He said he was hoping to confirm the designation of the current tranche of 31 Marine Protected Zones under a consultation that ends on Sunday.

Environmentalists have accused the government of dragging its feet.

This is because 127 zones were originally nominated for protection after a compromise deal agreed with other users of the sea.

Jolyon Chesworth from the Wildlife Trusts said: "We are disappointed at the rate of progress. The government has an international obligation to protect wildlife in the seas.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

I want to do as many zones as we can for as little as we can?

End Quote Richard Benyon Environment minister

"The marine environment is not as obvious to people as it is when they see wildlife walking through a woodland or downland but it's just as important and equally worthy of protection.

"The 127 zones were only nominated after very long discussions with anglers, sailors and the fishing industry. We are now being asked to compromise on a compromise."

But Mr Benyon told the BBC that with cuts to the Defra budget, the cost of making scientific assessments and then developing rules for the use of different areas could not be dismissed.

"We are constrained by a hugely expensive process at a time when we have little money in government", he said.

"I want to do as many zones as we can for as little as we can. People have waited many years for this; we will designate the first tranche in September and will announce the next lot for consultation then."

Environmentalists are worried that the UK might slither back from its international commitment to create an ecologically coherent network of sites.

They are angry that several key sites have been left out of the first tranche on the grounds that insufficient evidence was supplied to justify them.

Sailors' fears

Mr Chesworth said that in his south of England region there was a cast-iron case for designating, among others, Bembridge Levels on the Isle of Wight - home of the stalked jellyfish and Poole Harbour - a key breeding ground for sea horses.

But both of these zones have been contested by sailors who fear that new rules will prevent them anchoring on sensitive sites. One boat owner on the Isle of Wight told Mr Benyon that the designations were "bonkers".

Boaters are the mainstay of the local economy and have lived in harmony with wildlife for decades, he said.

John Pockett from the Royal Yachting Association told the BBC: "We fear we won't be able to anchor our yachts; we fear we won't be able to train our next Ben Ainslie (the Olympian) because we won't be able to anchor marker boats."

Sailors are not the only ones protesting. In some areas fishing crews object to MPZs, even though they are supposed to provide a breeding ground for fish stocks to recover.

Conservationists warn that recently revealed chalk arches off the North Norfolk coast could be destroyed by one careless pass of a trawl net.

A further complication is the fact that UK jurisdiction ends six nautical miles from the shore, even though its responsibility for wildlife stretches further.

"It would be terrible to stop our own fishermen from exploiting a sensitive areas then allow boats of other nationalities to come in", Mr Benyon said. "We are trying to negotiate this with Brussels."

The proposals stem from the 2009 UK Marine Bill. If all the sites had been approved, just over a quarter of English waters would end up under some kind of protection. Currently, the total is way under 1%.

Globally just 0.6% of the world's oceans have been protected, compared to almost 13% of our planet's land area.

Marine author Callum Roberts told the BBC: "There's no way you'll have an effective network of marine-protected areas the way we are going. It's undermining trust."

But public sector cutbacks are a reality. And the government insists that the state of the economy will inevitably be felt on the sea bed, like everywhere else.

Follow Roger on Twitter

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21967189#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Oklahoma to allow horses to be slaughtered for meat

By Steve Olafson, Barbara Goldberg and Philip Barbara, Reuters

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma took a step toward allowing livestock owners to slaughter horses for food on Friday when the governor signed a bill that permits the practice, but processing plants must first be authorized by the federal government.

Governor Mary Fallin's action legalized the slaughter of horses so that their meat may be prepared and packaged for export. But slaughterhouses must get U.S. Department of Agriculture authorization, Fallin said.

The slaughter of horses for food had been illegal in Oklahoma since 1963 and was carried out only in Texas and Illinois until Congress stopped it in 2006. The congressional ban was lifted in 2011.

Fallin said horse slaughterhouses in Oklahoma would use more humane practices than those in Mexico because they would be inspected by federal authorities.

Horse meat was at the center of a scandal that erupted in Europe in January, when testing in Ireland revealed that some beef products also contained equine DNA.

The United States Humane Society and animal rights activists opposed the new law in Oklahoma, while livestock interests said the change preserves their private property rights and will benefit horse owners.

Related:

'Fraud on a massive scale': Europe's horse meat scandal keeps on growing

Why we don't eat horse meat: It's economics

Horse meat in the US? Unlikely, but tests are rare

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653381/s/2a28c5d4/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C30A0C1752910A50Eoklahoma0Eto0Eallow0Ehorses0Eto0Ebe0Eslaughtered0Efor0Emeat0Dlite/story01.htm

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The Everybody?s Back Hurts Gabfest

Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there. Or follow us @SlateGabfest!

To listen to the discussion, use the player below:

Dear Prudence Live Show ? New York, April 23, at 92Y. Tickets and additional information.

This week?s Audible recommendation is Until I say Good-Bye by Susan Spencer-Wendel. Try Audible free for 30 days and get a free audiobook by visiting AudiblePodcast.com/Gabfest.

On this week?s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Supreme Court?s hearings on two momentous gay marriage cases, one involving California?s Proposition 8 and the other focusing on the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). They also consider what progress has been made on gun control legislation 100 days after the Newtown shooting. Plus, the Gabfesters discuss This American Life?s investigation of why more Americans are receiving disability benefits.

Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:

Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)

Podcast production by Mike Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ffdb97ea9626f074c01d66323c2bcfdf

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Chew on this: Sexiest stars eat what you eat

By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY

If you ever wanted six-pack abs on your way to being named the Sexiest Man Alive, or if you crave the toned legs and flat belly of an international pop superstar, a trip to your nearest fast-food establishment may be in order.

Startraks, FameFlynet

Ryan Reynolds, left, gets his Burger King on during a break from filming in New York this week. Britney Spears grabs KFC to go in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on March 19.

If that doesn't make sense, than neither does Ryan Reynolds walking down the street with Burger King to go, or Britney Spears hauling a bag of KFC across a parking lot. We know stars are supposed to be "just like us," but have you seen us? We don't look like them.

Let's just assume that Reynolds and Spears ate whatever was in those bags. Instead of collapsing into a cheeseburger coma in front of "South Park," it's safe to say these two burned it off. Probably before the bags hit the trash. (In Reynolds' case, the task may have been a little easier. A publicist tied to the actor called Friday to say that's just a turkey burger and unsweetened iced tea!)

Albert Michael / startraksphoto.com

No Coke. Pepsi. Actress Denise Richards at Arby's.

Celebs with six-packs under their shirts and not in their shopping carts get that way thanks to a strict diet-and-exercise routine. And there's a good chance that both of those disciplines are maintained under the watchful eye of well-paid personal chefs and trainers. It also doesn't hurt to go the "kale and dust" route if fitting into a catsuit is in your job description.

So those of you envisioning looking like any of these people because you eat at the same drive-thru, take note. Joy Bauer, nutrition and health expert for TODAY, says "limit fast food outings to once per week, and alternate fattening fare with healthier offerings like grilled chicken salads, turkey burgers, and snack wraps."

If the thought of a snack wrap taking the place of your bacon-double sounds unappetizing, Bauer crunches some numbers for you.

She says to pay penance for a Burger King Whopper (630 calories), large fries (500 calories), and?40-ounce soda (380 calories) -- totaling 1,510 calories -- you would have to:

• run for 2 hours straight, or
• swim for 4 hours, or
• bike for 2 hours, or
• play full-court basketball for 2 hours

INFphoto.com

Rihanna hits the drive thru at a fast food joint in her native Barbados.

If you scarf down KFC's Original Recipe chicken-thigh value box (540 calories), a side of mashed potatoes with gravy (120 calories), and?30-ounce sweetened iced tea (260 calories) -- totaling 920 calories -- you'd need to:?

• spin for one hour and 10 minutes, or
• walk for 3 hours, or
• hit the dance floor and boogie down for an hour and a half, or
• do yoga for 5 hours straight!

"Celebs have cravings just like everyone else ... and when they succumb to fast food faves -- just like us mortals -- they must work hard to burn off the calorific splurges," Bauer says.

Maybe you're burning calories right now at the thought of Ryan Reynolds burning calories to work off his meal. Maybe the thought of his wife, Blake Lively, in a swimsuit is enough to motivate him to stay in shape. We know she'd never eat ... aw, forget it!

Who's making a food run?

More in TODAY Entertainment:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/29/17505755-chew-on-this-the-sexiest-people-alive-eat-what-you-eat?lite

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Rep. Don Young apologizes for racial slur

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/alaska-lawmaker-sorry-racial-slur-121808048.html

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Valley Fever Fungal Infection on Rise in Southwest - Health News ...

THURSDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) ? Cases of a fungal lung infection called Valley Fever increased sharply in several southwestern states since the late 1990s, according to a report released Thursday.

In Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, the number of cases climbed from less than 2,300 in 1998 to more than 22,000 in 2011, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

During that time, Arizona and California had the largest average increases in Valley Fever incidence, at 66 percent and 31 percent per year, respectively.

Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) is caused by inhaling a fungus called Coccidioides, which lives in the soil in southwestern states. Not everyone who is exposed to the fungus gets sick, but those who do become ill typically have flu-like symptoms that can last for weeks or months.

More than 40 percent of patients who get sick may require hospitalization, with an average cost of nearly $50,000 per visit. And research has shown that 75 percent of those who get sick miss work or school for about two weeks, the CDC said.

Between 1998 and 2011, nearly 112,000 cases of Valley Fever were reported in 28 states and Washington, D.C., but 66 percent of the cases were in Arizona, 31 percent were in California, 1 percent were in Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, and about 1 percent were in all other states combined.

More research is needed to determine what is causing the increase in Valley Fever and how to reduce its effects, the CDC said. Possible reasons could be population growth, weather changes that could affect where the fungus grows and how much of it is circulating, or changes in the way the disease is detected and reported to the CDC.

?Valley Fever is causing real health problems for many people living in the southwestern United States,? Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, said in an agency news release. ?Because fungus particles spread through the air, it?s nearly impossible to completely avoid exposure to this fungus in these hardest-hit states. It?s important that people be aware of Valley Fever if they live in or have traveled to the southwest United States.?

Doctors and patients need to be aware that the symptoms of Valley Fever are very similar to flu or pneumonia symptoms, the CDC said. A lab test is the only way to diagnosis Valley Fever.

Not everyone who gets Valley Fever requires treatment, but early diagnosis and treatment are important for those at risk for the more severe forms of the disease. Those at higher risk for severe disease include people of Asian descent (particularly Filipino), blacks, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC website.

More information

The American Lung Association has more about Valley Fever.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/03/28/valley-fever-fungal-infection-on-rise-in-southwest/

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Record Wall Street boosts sentiment, U.S. holds key in Q2

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Whether the world's largest economy can sustain momentum will be a primary focus for investors for the next three months after a general recovery trend in the United States helped risk sentiment for broad markets in the first quarter of 2013.

Asian shares edged higher and the euro steadied on Friday after banks in Cyprus reopened to relative calm. Overall trade was subdued, with many Asian markets, including Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, closed on Friday for Easter holidays.

European and U.S. markets will also shut for Easter Friday.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> was up 0.2 percent for a quarterly 1.5 pct gain, the worst performance in three quarters. The pan-Asian index touched a 1-1/2-year high in February.

The first quarter was marked by growing optimism about global growth, particularly with data pointing to a recovery in the U.S. economy that fed speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve might scale back its aggressive stimulus earlier than planned.

Such views spurred strong rallies in U.S. equities while underpinning the dollar, breaking the usual negative correlation between U.S. equities and the dollar.

The U.S. economy shows a seasonal tendency to weaken in the second quarter and effects of fiscal tightening may compound the bearish trend, with property regulations clouding China's growth prospects also providing potential risk.

The euro zone's financial crisis re-emerging in one form or another from time to time remains another downside risk. Worries over Chinese growth and the euro zone were not as severe as in past years, due to the brightening global growth outlook and safety nets being placed in Europe, along with the extremely accommodative monetary policy stance of major central banks.

"The basic scenario for the second quarter will be for the U.S. to maintain its economic recovery trend, which is key to sustaining hopes for improvement in global growth," said Junya Tanase, chief FX strategist at JPMorgan Chase Bank in Tokyo.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> ended on Thursday at a record high 1,569.19, finishing the first quarter up 10 percent, slightly below a 12 percent rise at the end of the first quarter a year ago.

The fairly orderly reopening for banks in Cyprus on Thursday after the island nation received a controversial 10 billion euro bailout reduced safe-haven demand for U.S. Treasuries and gold and weighed broadly on the dollar.

The dollar measured against a basket of key currencies <.dxy> fell 0.4 percent to 82.921 in Asia on Friday, moving away from Wednesday's 7-1/2 month peak of 83.302. The dollar index was set for a quarterly gain of nearly 4 percent, its best quarter since end-September 2011.

Demand for the dollar, backed by hopes on rising yields, might wane because the U.S. recovery is not yet strong enough to prompt the Fed to end its aggressive easing stance.

"The dollar remains firm basically, but its outperformance is likely to wane from the very strong showing in the first quarter," Tanase said.

JAPAN IN FOCUS

The Nikkei stock average <.n225> was up 0.6 percent, set for a quarterly increase of 19 percent, after touching a 4-1/2-year peak of 12,650.26 last week. <.t/>

Daiwa Securities senior strategist Eiji Kinouchi said in a research note that, given the past pattern of cyclically sensitive industrial names lagging interest rate-sensitive names in New York Dow components, funds may be allocated to stocks that are sensitive to economic fundamentals. That should also be positive for Japanese stocks, he said.

Japanese equities have largely benefited from the yen's steady decline on expectations the Bank of Japan would take bold reflationary steps under its new leaders, who will hold their first policy meeting next week.

The dollar steadied around 94.06 yen, having risen about 8.4 percent for the quarter after touching a 3-1/2-year peak of 96.71 earlier in March.

The latest available data from EPFR Global released on March 22 showed Japan Equity Funds had extended their recent run to mid-March and were on track for the biggest quarterly inflow since the fourth quarter of 2005.

In contrast, China Equity Funds posted outflows for the fourth week in a row, reflecting concerns about China's property tightening and uncertainty over the economy.

Stocks in the Philippines <.psi> and Indonesia <.jkse> hit a record high, while Thai stocks <.seti> this month scaled their highest point in 19 years.

The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index <.trxfldanpu>, an indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, was set for a 5.7 percent gain for the first quarter, down from a 14.8 percent jump a year earlier.

"Southeast Asia is in overbought territory and may be vulnerable temporarily to the downside in cases of receding risk appetite, but money is expected to continue flowing into Asia over the longer term," said Hirokazu Yuihama, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.

The euro was at $1.2822, hovering near a four-month low of $1.2750 touched on Wednesday, and was set for a quarterly loss of 2.8 percent.

Crude futures markets will be shut on Friday.

Brent's slide of near 1 percent in the quarter and U.S. crude's robust 5.9 percent rise reflected the difference in sentiment between a gloomy outlook for Europe and a U.S. economy showing signs of improving growth.

Spot gold was down 0.1 percent to $1,595.19 an ounce, set to end the first quarter down nearly 5 percent.

(Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/record-wall-street-boosts-sentiment-activity-subdued-022012999--finance.html

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10 Things to Know for Thursday

Plaintiff Edith Windsor of New York waves to supporters in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, after the court heard arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. The U.S. Supreme Court, in the second day of gay marriage cases, turned Wednesday to a constitutional challenge to the federal law that prevents legally married gay Americans from collecting federal benefits generally available to straight married couples. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Plaintiff Edith Windsor of New York waves to supporters in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 27, 2013, after the court heard arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case. The U.S. Supreme Court, in the second day of gay marriage cases, turned Wednesday to a constitutional challenge to the federal law that prevents legally married gay Americans from collecting federal benefits generally available to straight married couples. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE - This photo released Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Jared Lee Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting rampage that killed six people and left several others wounded, including then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Hundreds of pages of police reports in the investigation of the shooting were released Wednesday, March 27, 2013 marking the public's first glimpse into documents that authorities have kept private since the attack on Jan. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshal's Office, File)

Pope Francis kisses a baby handed to him as he is driven through the crowd during his general audience, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

1. MARRIAGE: NEVER WITHOUT ARGUMENTS

The Supreme Court signals it could boost same-sex marriage by invalidating part of a federal law that limits benefits to gay spouses.

2. ONLINE, A SIGN OF THE TIMES

Millions of social media users ? and celebs from Beyonce to George Takei ? are sharing a simple red logo in support of gay marriage.

3. HOW CYPRIOTS WILL BE KEPT IN CHECK

When the nation's banks re-open Thursday, account holders will be allowed to withdraw only about $380 each day.

4. THE MIND OF A KILLER

In newly released documents, Loughner's father describes the 24-year-old as "lost" and delusional before the shooting rampage in Arizona that wounded ex-Rep. Giffords.

5. REBELS BEING ARMED ON THE SLY

Aided by the U.S., Mideast powers unfriendly to Assad have dramatically ? and covertly ? increased weapons shipments to the Syrian opposition.

6. WHICH REPUBLICANS ARE BUILDING BUZZ

It's still early, but Rand Paul and Marco Rubio look like the front-runners as the GOP heads toward the 2016 presidential race.

7. ONE OF THESE POPES IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

Francis' belief that a pope's job is to serve the lowliest will be demonstrated on Holy Thursday when he washes the feet of young inmates.

8. WHY YOUR INTERNET MAY SEEM SLUGGISH

A massive cyberattack targeting an anti-spam group is rippling across the Web.

9. NBC TO LAUER: YOUR SEAT IS SAFE

An exec responds to reports that the network has approached CNN's Anderson Cooper about taking over at "Today."

10. MORE MADNESS

Top-seeded Indiana takes on No. 4 Syracuse, a rematch of the 1987 national title game, as the NCAA tourney ramps up again Thursday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-27-10-Things-to-Know-Thursday/id-56be71da6eb54de8b176a2422faa73cd

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NYAS: Testing the BMW 1.5-Liter Three-Cylinder Engine

BMW isn't alone in needing to make its small cars more fuel efficient, and like Ford, which is trying to sell America on its 1.0-liter three-cylinder, Bimmer sees fewer cylinders as part of the solution. The automaker says its 1.5-liter three-cylinder is up to 15 percent more efficient than the current 2.0-liter four, weighs nearly 25 percent less, and is likely to power a number of new models.

BMW says its magic formula is that each cylinder displaces a half liter; that is true for its existing 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines and of course the 3.0-liter in-line sixes. Beyond the mathematical elegance of this is an obvious gain in common dimensions to parts. BMW can also make 1.5-liter three-cylinders diesels on the same assembly line, and when an engine is powered by the same fuel (for instance a three-cylinder diesel and a six-cylinder diesel) there's up to a 60 percent commonality on parts, all of which saves BMW a fortune in parts costs and assembly speed.

The three-cylinder will reside in the back half of BMW's forthcoming i8, when that super-plug-in-hybrid debuts this coming winter. But this mono-scroll, 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder is more than a niche product. BMW also spoke openly of how the engine would work transversely or mounted in-line, which gives the engineers a lot of options. It's an obvious choice for Mini, and BMW all but gave us that. The three-cylinder could go into BMW's 2-series and just about anywhere the company presently uses turbocharged fours.

For our test at the New York Auto Show, BMW showcased the engine on 1-Series prototypes. In the i8 concept cars, BMW says, it makes 223hp. The cars we test-drove (for about 10 minutes) felt like somewhere closer to 180-200 hp.

BMW says that the gas three-liter is happiest, producing between 44 and 66 lb. ft. of torque per cylinder, but a key characteristic of the gas version of this engine is that it pulls hard from idle, with peak torque hitting very low in the curve. In fact, BMW says that peak torque hits quicker than on its turbocharged four-cylinder cars.

Mind you, this was a very brief taste of the engine. And it must be said that first, these were mules, not production models, and second, they were mated to BMW's automated manual gearbox. But the first impression is aural: The low end of the three-cylinder sounds motorcycle raw. Higher up it winds more smoothly, a little like BMW's in-line six, though BMW says it's still working on exhaust tuning. Also, at least in the 1-series, there's lots of ready power but also flexible power. You don't have to flog this motor to get useful output, and that's going to be a huge relief for the-sky-is-falling fans of BMW and Mini.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/nyas-testing-the-bmw-1.5-liter-three-cylinder-engine-15273078?src=rss

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Trash Talkin? Tuesday

Trash Talkin’ Tuesday

Marion Cotillard Pulls Off an Odd Haircut?[The Frisky] Demi Lovato Admits to Mistakes on ‘X-Factor’?[HollyWire] ‘General Hospital’ Gets a Casting Shake-Up?[Right Celebrity] Justin Timberlake Tapped to Host Oscars Next Year??[The Celebrity Cafe] Britney Spears Caught Smoking in Bikini?[The Blemish] Madonna Scary Looking Sans Makeup?[The Huffington Post] Halle Berry Stays Put in the U.S.?[CeleBitchy] Jennifer Lawrence ...

Trash Talkin’ Tuesday Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/trash-talkin-tuesday-88/

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Internet Marketing Needed- List building | Internet Marketing

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Source: http://www.freelancer.com/projects/Internet-Marketing/Internet-Marketing-Needed-List-building.html

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Early number sense plays role in later math skills

WASHINGTON (AP) ? We know a lot about how babies learn to talk, and youngsters learn to read. Now scientists are unraveling the earliest building blocks of math ? and what children know about numbers as they begin first grade seems to play a big role in how well they do everyday calculations later on.

The findings have specialists considering steps that parents might take to spur math abilities, just like they do to try to raise a good reader.

This isn't only about trying to improve the nation's math scores and attract kids to become engineers. It's far more basic.

Consider: How rapidly can you calculate a tip? Do the fractions to double a recipe? Know how many quarters and dimes the cashier should hand back as your change?

About 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. lacks the math competence expected of a middle-schooler, meaning they have trouble with those ordinary tasks and aren't qualified for many of today's jobs.

"It's not just, can you do well in school? It's how well can you do in your life," says Dr. Kathy Mann Koepke of the National Institutes of Health, which is funding much of this research into math cognition. "We are in the midst of math all the time."

A new study shows trouble can start early.

University of Missouri researchers tested 180 seventh-graders. Those who lagged behind their peers in a test of core math skills needed to function as adults were the same kids who'd had the least number sense or fluency way back when they started first grade.

"The gap they started with, they don't close it," says Dr. David Geary, a cognitive psychologist who leads the study that is tracking children from kindergarten to high school in the Columbia, Mo., school system. "They're not catching up" to the kids who started ahead.

If first grade sounds pretty young to be predicting math ability, well, no one expects tots to be scribbling sums. But this number sense, or what Geary more precisely terms "number system knowledge," turns out to be a fundamental skill that students continually build on, much more than the simple ability to count.

What's involved? Understanding that numbers represent different quantities ? that three dots is the same as the numeral "3'' or the word "three." Grasping magnitude ? that 23 is bigger than 17. Getting the concept that numbers can be broken into parts ? that 5 is the same as 2 and 3, or 4 and 1. Showing on a number line that the difference between 10 and 12 is the same as the difference between 20 and 22.

Factors such as IQ and attention span didn't explain why some first-graders did better than others. Now Geary is studying if something that youngsters learn in preschool offers an advantage.

There's other evidence that math matters early in life. Numerous studies with young babies and a variety of animals show that a related ability ? to estimate numbers without counting ? is intuitive, sort of hard-wired in the brain, says Mann Koepke, of NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. That's the ability that lets you choose the shortest grocery check-out line at a glance, or that guides a bird to the bush with the most berries.

Number system knowledge is more sophisticated, and the Missouri study shows children who start elementary school without those concepts "seem to struggle enormously," says Mann Koepke, who wasn't part of that research.

While schools tend to focus on math problems around third grade, and math learning disabilities often are diagnosed by fifth grade, the new findings suggest "the need to intervene is much earlier than we ever used to think," she adds.

Exactly how to intervene still is being studied, sure to be a topic when NIH brings experts together this spring to assess what's known about math cognition.

But Geary sees a strong parallel with reading. Scientists have long known that preschoolers who know the names of letters and can better distinguish what sounds those letters make go on to read more easily. So parents today are advised to read to their children from birth, and many youngsters' books use rhyming to focus on sounds.

Likewise for math, "kids need to know number words" early on, he says.

NIH's Mann Koepke agrees, and offers some tips:

?Don't teach your toddler to count solely by reciting numbers. Attach numbers to a noun ? "Here are five crayons: One crayon, two crayons..." or say "I need to buy two yogurts" as you pick them from the store shelf ? so they'll absorb the quantity concept.

?Talk about distance: How many steps to your ball? The swing is farther away; it takes more steps.

?Describe shapes: The ellipse is round like a circle but flatter.

?As they grow, show children how math is part of daily life, as you make change, or measure ingredients, or decide how soon to leave for a destination 10 miles away,

"We should be talking to our children about magnitude, numbers, distance, shapes as soon as they're born," she contends. "More than likely, this is a positive influence on their brain function."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/early-number-sense-plays-role-later-math-skills-173349630--politics.html

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Kerry meets again with Afghan President Karzai

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accepts an Afghan-made soccer ball from Zahra Mahmoodi, captain of Afghanistan's women's soccer team, as he meets with Afghan women entrepreneurs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, March 26, 2013. Kerry met again Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, POOL)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accepts an Afghan-made soccer ball from Zahra Mahmoodi, captain of Afghanistan's women's soccer team, as he meets with Afghan women entrepreneurs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, March 26, 2013. Kerry met again Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, POOL)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves from the steps of his aircraft with the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan in the background as he departs Kabul,Tuesday March 26, 2013. Kerry met again Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, POOL)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry talks to staff during his visit to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Tuesday March 26, 2013. Kerry met again Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, POOL)

KABUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met again Tuesday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a day after they put on a show of unity as they tried to end recent bickering over anti-American comments made by the Afghan leader.

Kerry also met Tuesday at the American Embassy in Kabul with participants in a U.S.-backed women's entrepreneurship program. He heard a succession of concerns from businesswomen fearful of what the 2014 transition will mean for not only for women and girls but for Afghanistan's commerce in general.

Many advocates for women's rights worry that the departure of international troops will lead to a deterioration in conditions for women, who were denied basic rights such as education under Taliban rule.

"After the transition happens, we are hoping for the same attention" as we get now, said Hassina Syed, who runs catering, construction and transportation firms. With the transition approaching "there is a lot of negative effect on the business sector," she told Kerry.

Kerry also spoke with civic leaders preparing for Afghanistan's 2014 elections, telling them he wanted to pay the "respects of everybody in America for the journey that you are on and for the great contribution you're making to your country and the efforts you're making to develop this democracy."

"You're engaged in a remarkable effort and the whole world is watching," Kerry said.

Kerry arrived Monday in Kabul amid concerns that Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his rhetoric. Karzai infuriated U.S. officials earlier this month by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration pressed ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.

After a private meeting, Kerry said he had asked Karzai about the comments and was very satisfied with the president's explanation. He said the two countries were on the same page as international forces prepare to end combat operations in 2014.

At a joint news conference after his talks with Kerry, Karzai told reporters his comments in a nationally televised speech had been misinterpreted by the media. Kerry demurred on that point but said people sometimes say things in public that reflect ideas they have heard from others but don't necessarily agree with.

"I am confident the president (Karzai) does not believe the U.S. has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace and that we are completely cooperative with the government of Afghanistan with respect to the protection of their efforts and their people," Kerry said.

For his part, Karzai said he had been trying to make the point in his speech that if the Taliban really wanted foreign troops out of Afghanistan they should stop killing people. On Tuesday, eight suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing five officers and wounding four, police said. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.

One of the female entrepreneurs Kerry met Tuesday was Afghan Women's National Soccer team captain Zahra Mahmoodi, who tries to promote gender equality through sports. She said that even with the presence of the international forces and aid groups that focus on women's rights, it is still a struggle to persuade traditional conservative families to allow their daughters to play.

Mahmoodi also had a more pressing request for Kerry: a field on which to play. Women's teams used to use the International Security Assistance Force's pitch for games, but it has been turned into a helicopter landing pad. Kerry promised he would look into the matter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-26-Afghanistan-Kerry/id-479db9e7d19c455b91ae79cd327ea977

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Crumpler's House of Horror Laptop Backpack

I love bags that transition effortlessly from the cubicle farm to the urban outdoors, a sack big enough to hold everything you'd need in either environment, but simple and compact enough to carry. Crumpler's House of Horror laptop bag ($130) hits all those high notes, sliding quickly onto your shoulders as a backpack when you're riding the subway rails to fitting snugly in your palm via two top handles that turn it into a business tote.

Like all of Crumpler's bags, the House of Horror has an exquisitely minimalistic and chic design, and a lot of attention paid to detail. It also has a signature bizarre-yet-catchy name (I guess its shape resembles a haunted house... ) and a price tag that prevents it from being an impulse buy.

Available in two colors, gunmetal and rifle green, this laptop bag holds notebooks up to 15 inches but expands in practically every direction to stow a whole lot more than that. It measures 16.5 by 13.3 by 8.6 inches (HWD) and expands to 732 cubic inches. When empty, the bag weighs a meager 1.52 pounds, so it adds no perceptible heft to your load.

A zippered compartment in the front of the bag fits larger items, like books, a tablet, or your lunch. Just above it is another, smaller zippered pouch designed for quick access. Both front-side sections open wide, letting you easily peer into them and find whatever you may have dropped inside. Neither is a bottomless pit, an example of Crumpler's fine attention to detail. And did I mention that both the fabric and all the zippers are water resistant?

Inside the main section of the House of Horror bag you'll find a lightly padded laptop compartment with a single-strap Velcro closure. Opposite it is one more zippered half-sized pouch, similar to the one on the bag's front top side, which I found ideal for tucking away cords, headphones, and charging cables while I was testing out the bag (I have many more thoughts on how to master bag organization).

You won't find any other pen holders or tiny and miscellaneous slots inside this bag, which I actually appreciate, and other minimalists will, too. There's plenty of room for everything you need, and not an inch of wasted space.

I carried around the House of Horror for a few days, both on foot and bicycle. I adore the two handles on the top of the bag that let me carry it like a classy tote. The backpack straps, on the other hand, weren't perfectly comfortable. While I don't have any major complaints, the adjustment mechanisms on the straps were stiff, although they'll probably break in over time. Between the laptop compartment and the back of the bag isn't much padding, which means the House of Horror conforms to your shape?unless of course you're carry oddly shaped or off-kilter objects that jab you through that thin layer, which happened to me a little.

House of Horror's main selling point is its style and size, and I do think it's an amazing bag for trendy office workers who want to use the same gear bag on the weekends or when traveling. It would be a stellar "personal item" or piece of hand luggage in the airport.

I recommend practically any Crumpler-branded bag, and the House of Horror is no exception. Given the $130 price tag, though, you do need to fall in love with the design to make the purchase worthwhile. A slightly less expensive non-Crumpler alternative which holds up to 15-inch notebooks is the $100 Booq Mamba Daypack (4.5 stars, Editors' Choice)?which has a very straightforward and unassuming look. And if the House of Horror's style just doesn't strike your hardcore note (or you have a massive laptop) try the all-black and very edgy looking Chrome Citadel Laptop Bag ($190, 4 stars).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/zNwfYPhb3gI/0,2817,2417038,00.asp

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How Jurassic Park's VFX Wizards Brought One of the Largest Dinos of All Time To Life

In shots where they were seen walking, Jurassic Park's resident brachiosaurs were realized with ground-breaking computer animation. But for shots when the film's human characters interacted with them high in the trees, the brachiosaurs were brought to life with complicated animatronics created by Stan Winston Studios. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/t3QuyP-NxpY/how-jurassic-parks-vfx-wizards-brought-one-of-the-largest-dinos-of-all-time-to-life

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Genomes of peregrine and saker falcons throw lights on evolution of a predatory lifestyle

Mar. 24, 2013 ? In a collaborative study published online in Nature Genetics, researchers from Cardiff University, BGI, International Wildlife Consultants, Ltd., and Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, have completed the genome sequencing and analysis of two iconic falcons, the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and saker (Falco cherrug). The work provides an invaluable resource for the deep understanding of the adaptive evolution in raptors and the genetic basis of their wide distribution.

Peregrine and saker falcons are widespread, and their unique morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations make them successful hunters. The peregrine is renowned as the world's fastest animal, and the falcon is the national emblem of United Arab Emirate. In recent decades, peregrine and saker falcons have been listed as endangered due to rapid population declines caused by a wide range of factors including environmental change, overharvesting for falconry, habitat loss and bioaccumulation of pesticides (e.g. DDT, PCBs).

In this study, researchers focused on the evolutionary basis of predatory adaptations underlying peregrine and saker. They conducted whole genome sequencing and assembled the high quality ~1.2 Gb reference genomes for each falcon species. Phylogenic analysis suggested that the two falcon species might diverged 2.1 million years ago.

Comparing with chicken and zebra finch, researchers found the transposable element composition of falcons was most similar to that of zebra finch. Large segmental duplications in falcons are less frequent than that in chicken and zebra finch, and comprise less than 1% of both falcon genomes. They also found that a gene expansion in the olfactory receptor ?-c clade in chicken and zebra finch is not present in falcons, possibly reflecting their reliance on vision for locating prey.

Observing genome-wide rapid evolution for both falcons, chicken, zebra finch and turkey, researchers found that the nervous system, olfaction and sodium ion trans-port have evolved rapidly in falcons, and also the evolutionary novelties in beak development related genes of falcons and saker-unique arid-adaptation related genes.

Shengkai Pan, bioinformatics expert from BGI, said, "The two falcon genomes are the first predatory bird genome published. The data presented in this study will advance our understanding of the adaptive evolution of raptors as well as aid the conservation of endangered falcon species."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BGI Shenzhen.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Xiangjiang Zhan, Shengkai Pan, Junyi Wang, Andrew Dixon, Jing He, Margit G Muller, Peixiang Ni, Li Hu, Yuan Liu, Haolong Hou, Yuanping Chen, Jinquan Xia, Qiong Luo, Pengwei Xu, Ying Chen, Shengguang Liao, Changchang Cao, Shukun Gao, Zhaobao Wang, Zhen Yue, Guoqing Li, Ye Yin, Nick C Fox, Jun Wang, Michael W Bruford. Peregrine and saker falcon genome sequences provide insights into evolution of a predatory lifestyle. Nature Genetics, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ng.2588

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/~3/nKjE34V6NSI/130325111216.htm

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BU School of Medicine launches safe opioid prescribing education program for health care providers

Public release date: 18-Mar-2013
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Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
Boston University Medical Center

Awarded the first of its kind funding

(Boston) Awarded the first of its kind funding to provide FDA-mandated opioid prescribing education, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has launched a program to train health care providers how to safely and effectively manage patients with chronic pain using opioid analgesics.

With approximately 100 million Americans affected by chronic pain, the appropriate prescribing of opioids is a national concern. The FDA requires that manufacturers of extended release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesics, as part of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), create a fund to support comprehensive prescriber education in the safe use of these medications. BUSM was the sole grantee in the first round of funding, receiving an unrestricted award of more than $1.8 million by the manufacturers of ER/LA opioid analgesics, known as the REMS Program Companies (RPC).

Offered in collaboration with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), BUSM's Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE) of Pain program is based on the FDA curriculum known as the Blueprint for Prescriber Education for Extended Release and Long- Acting Opioid(ER/LA) Analgesics.

Directed by Daniel Alford, MD, associate professor of medicine at BUSM, the program's first phase, launched on March 1, 2013, is a three-module online educational activity. It is designed to train providers how to determine appropriateness of opioid prescribing, assess risk of misuse, and monitor patients for risk and benefits of opioid treatment for pain management. The next phases of the SCOPE of Pain Continuing Medical Education program will include conferences in ten states which, in addition to the essential curriculum, will feature state-specific policy and resource panels. These panels will be recorded and archived as part of the online educational activity. There will also be train-the trainer sessions designed to develop a national cohort of SCOPE of Pain trainers, who will deliver a series of workshops at local hospitals and community health centers around the country.

Dr. Norman Kahn, Executive Vice President and CEO of the CMSS notes that "CMSS believes education designed for the prescriber community is paramount to helping clinicians safely prescribe opioids while addressing the critical public health problem faced by opioid misuse."

Dr. Humayun J. Chaudhry, President and CEO of the FSMB, adds that "The FSMB believes educational initiatives such as this collaboration are crucial in raising awareness with physicians of the risks opioids pose, while providing a framework to ensure physicians who prescribe opioids do so responsibly and safely."

"We are proud to have been selected to receive the first grant for such an important education initiative," says Barry Manuel, MD, Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and Professor of Surgery at BUSM. "It is a testament to the quality and the comprehensive nature of the professional medical education provide by Boston University School of Medicine."

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ABOUT BUSM Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has been sponsoring Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities since 1973. In 2012, BUSM was reaccredited with Commendation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians and reaccredited with Distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a provider of continuing nursing education. Within the last five years BUSM has educated more than 179,000 health care professionals.

ABOUT CMSS

Founded in 1965, CMSS was created to provide an independent forum for the discussion by medical specialists of issues of national interest and mutual concern. Today, CMSS represents thirty-nine societies with an aggregate membership of 700,000 US physicians. Its main purpose is to provide a forum for collaboration to influence policy, medical education and accreditation from a broad, cross-specialty perspective. CMSS is the unified voice for specialty societies established to improve the United States' healthcare system and health of the public. For more information, visit CMSS at http://www.cmss.org.

ABOUT FSMB

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories. The FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation as the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical and osteopathic boards in their protection of the public. http://www.fsmb.org

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Public release date: 18-Mar-2013
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Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
Boston University Medical Center

Awarded the first of its kind funding

(Boston) Awarded the first of its kind funding to provide FDA-mandated opioid prescribing education, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has launched a program to train health care providers how to safely and effectively manage patients with chronic pain using opioid analgesics.

With approximately 100 million Americans affected by chronic pain, the appropriate prescribing of opioids is a national concern. The FDA requires that manufacturers of extended release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesics, as part of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), create a fund to support comprehensive prescriber education in the safe use of these medications. BUSM was the sole grantee in the first round of funding, receiving an unrestricted award of more than $1.8 million by the manufacturers of ER/LA opioid analgesics, known as the REMS Program Companies (RPC).

Offered in collaboration with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), BUSM's Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE) of Pain program is based on the FDA curriculum known as the Blueprint for Prescriber Education for Extended Release and Long- Acting Opioid(ER/LA) Analgesics.

Directed by Daniel Alford, MD, associate professor of medicine at BUSM, the program's first phase, launched on March 1, 2013, is a three-module online educational activity. It is designed to train providers how to determine appropriateness of opioid prescribing, assess risk of misuse, and monitor patients for risk and benefits of opioid treatment for pain management. The next phases of the SCOPE of Pain Continuing Medical Education program will include conferences in ten states which, in addition to the essential curriculum, will feature state-specific policy and resource panels. These panels will be recorded and archived as part of the online educational activity. There will also be train-the trainer sessions designed to develop a national cohort of SCOPE of Pain trainers, who will deliver a series of workshops at local hospitals and community health centers around the country.

Dr. Norman Kahn, Executive Vice President and CEO of the CMSS notes that "CMSS believes education designed for the prescriber community is paramount to helping clinicians safely prescribe opioids while addressing the critical public health problem faced by opioid misuse."

Dr. Humayun J. Chaudhry, President and CEO of the FSMB, adds that "The FSMB believes educational initiatives such as this collaboration are crucial in raising awareness with physicians of the risks opioids pose, while providing a framework to ensure physicians who prescribe opioids do so responsibly and safely."

"We are proud to have been selected to receive the first grant for such an important education initiative," says Barry Manuel, MD, Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and Professor of Surgery at BUSM. "It is a testament to the quality and the comprehensive nature of the professional medical education provide by Boston University School of Medicine."

###

ABOUT BUSM Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has been sponsoring Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities since 1973. In 2012, BUSM was reaccredited with Commendation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians and reaccredited with Distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a provider of continuing nursing education. Within the last five years BUSM has educated more than 179,000 health care professionals.

ABOUT CMSS

Founded in 1965, CMSS was created to provide an independent forum for the discussion by medical specialists of issues of national interest and mutual concern. Today, CMSS represents thirty-nine societies with an aggregate membership of 700,000 US physicians. Its main purpose is to provide a forum for collaboration to influence policy, medical education and accreditation from a broad, cross-specialty perspective. CMSS is the unified voice for specialty societies established to improve the United States' healthcare system and health of the public. For more information, visit CMSS at http://www.cmss.org.

ABOUT FSMB

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories. The FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation as the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical and osteopathic boards in their protection of the public. http://www.fsmb.org

---

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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/2013-03/bumc-bso031813.php

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