The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is seeking an adjunct instructor for the Media Arts & Animation department. The Art Institutes are one of the nation's leaders in postsecondary career-oriented education for the creative arts. Our schools offer Bachelor and Associate degree programs. Professional faculty, industry-focused curriculum and industry related facilities and equipment keep our schools at the forefront of art and technology. Please note that this position is located at our on-ground ...
Egypt's new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, is urging the United States to change its approach to the Arab world to be able to repair relations and revitalize an alliance with Egypt.
Morsi will travel to New York on Sunday to take part in a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
"Successive American administrations essentially purchased with American taxpayer money the dislike, if not the hatred, of the peoples of the region," the president told The New York Times in an interview.
According to the paper, he was referring to US backing of dictatorial governments in the region and Washington's unconditional support for Israel.
The remarks followed days of violent anti-American protests in Cairo sparked by an amateur anti-Islamic film posted on YouTube. During these events Morsi called on demonstrators to show restraint while condemning the film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed.
Morsi praised US President Barack Obama for moving "decisively and quickly" to support the Arab Spring revolutions, arguing that the United States supported "the right of the people of the region to enjoy the same freedoms that Americans have."
But he also expressed concern about the plight of Palestinians, who still don't have their own state, the paper said.
Americans, he pointed out, "have a special responsibility" for the Palestinians because the United States had signed the 1978 Camp David accord, which called for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza to allow for full Palestinian self-rule.
"As long as peace and justice are not fulfilled for the Palestinians, then the treaty remains unfulfilled," he said.
According to The Times, Morsi was evasive when asked if he considered the United States an ally.
"That depends on your definition of ally," he said, adding that he considered the two nations "real friends."
The issue was thrust to the forefront of bilateral relations earlier this month, when President Obama suggested that Cairo was neither an ally nor a foe.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland and other top administration officials then tried to distance from Obama's comment by acknowledging that officially Egypt was still "major non-NATO ally."
Egypt was granted such status under US law in 1989, allowing it to enjoy a close relationship with the US military, along with other allies including Australia, Japan, Jordan, Israel and Thailand.
In his interview, Morsi also reaffirmed his links to the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious organization viewed by many in the United States with suspicion.
"I grew up with the Muslim Brotherhood," the president said. "I learned my principles in the Muslim Brotherhood. I learned how to love my country with the Muslim Brotherhood. I learned politics with the Brotherhood. I was a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood."
He also pointed out that the United States should not expect Egypt to live by its rules as the West, underscoring a cultural divide between the two nations.
"If you want to judge the performance of the Egyptian people by the standards of German or Chinese or American culture, then there is no room for judgment," he said. "When the Egyptians decide something, probably it is not appropriate for the US. When the Americans decide something, this, of course, is not appropriate for Egypt."
Morsi initially sought to meet with President Obama at the White House, The Times said, but he received a cool reception, and the idea was dropped.
There's nothing quite like having your birthday on a weekend. And while we're sure that Android was out late last night, dining on sweets with its fellow mobile operating systems, we'd like to wish Google's OS a very happy birthday. It was this day in 2008 that the Android team unveiled its 1.0 SDK, release 1 -- a milestone that coincided with the announcement of T-Mobile's G1, which would get the new OS into consumer hands around a month or so later, finally delivering the promise of a long rumored "Googlephone." Android was a bit of a late bloomer, but now, toward the end of 2012 with 4.1 Jelly Bean beginning to bloom, it's hard to remember a time when it wasn't a dominate player in the ever more crowded mobile space. With that in mind, we're raising a glass to you, Android -- a glass of something sweet, naturally.
Terms dependence and addiction are linked to self-destructive behavior, which in a way, marked an impoverished self-insight.
It is a fact that human beings are born defenseless, needing others to achieve development.
Human beings need to depend on others
The animals born in conditions where the presence is essential for the mother. This dependence continues for the first few months of life, then the puppy achieved sustained without major difficulties. In humans, this period lasts for much of the journey vital as a human baby a year would fail to survive on their own. In this condition, the human Puppy necessarily establishes links with other dependents, since otherwise not be able to survive. They are the early links that structure to be impressing your personality and how you act.
The basic fears and links
In turn, that man can be labeled is crossed by the presence of two basic fears, Pichon Riviera, ?attachment theory? refers to the fear of losing the one hand and fear of another attack, with fears that being coexist throughout life. With each issue, limit to situations that generate anxiety and fears and anxieties will these handle such situations every man according to his personality structure, which is particular and unique in each case.
Consumption and addiction
The current trend in society is geared to consumption , an issue not less, since the human awakens the need to eat, behavior that can become dangerous because somehow enabled, replace dependence that has accompanied it since its conception, the need to consume. In the consumer need, which can in many cases be linked to reduce anxiety, addiction is displayed.
Addiction is a form of quiet anguish, and everyone in this society resolves to solve it, not as you want but as you can, from their particular personality structure, unconsciously choose behaviors to reduce anxiety and distress about living in the world. The above does not enable addiction as successful exit, but from somewhere explaining one of the causes of addiction, the goal is, somehow mark the need to strengthen the self-esteem to avoid dependency objects that are ultimately harmful.
On the other hand, can be labeled that addictive behavior is not only drugs but in wide variety of situations ranging from the compulsion to buy up the need to be at risk for increased adrenaline, through compulsion to play , drink, food, technology, gender and more. In all cases, the need for professional help would enable both self-esteem and strengthen emotional ties, initiating a process of reconstruction is where the emotional support that enable a vision of himself targeting a healthy life plan.
All marriages have difficulties and marriage issues because life has difficulties and issues. The impact those difficulties have depends on the impact that the couple allows them to have. Some couples will fight and claw one another?s eyes out, others will ignore the issue and bury it, and still others will seek out professional help with various aspects of their marriage. Regardless of the choice of getting through marriage issues, they will always occur.
Many people fight it out when they have conflicts or marriage issues. For some couples, the best possible option is to yell and scream at the top of their lungs until the problem has been ?shouted out?. This can be therapeutic if standards and boundaries are set.
If a conflict becomes physical, however, it will quickly turn dangerous for both parties and can serve as a ?deal breaker? for the entire relationship. Physical conflict is something that should never occur under any circumstances. Divorce marriage is certainly an aspect to consider if physical conflicts begin to take place. Divorce marriage will quickly remove the participants from the situation and possibly save lives.
In other cases, couples choose to ignore the marriage issues and bury them. This generally unhealthy approach can lead to problems down the road, escalating the original conflict. One thing piles up on top of another and, before the participants are even aware of what is happening, there is an explosion of catastrophic impact.
For some reason, people seem to want to test the bonds of their relationships by keeping conflicts and issues hidden. Burying concerns in a marriage will certainly test the bonds, but they will inevitably bring about a breaking point as they grow and boil to the surface. Instead, they should be approached as they occur and a discussion should take place.
Other people will seek out marriage counseling help for their marriage issues. This is viewed differently by many couples. Some will view counseling as a last resort, while others will view it as a first call.
The idea behind marriage counseling is that a third party will hear the problems of the couple and be able to offer qualified objective advice. Many people put a high value on this type of help, but others find it to be redundant because the counselor does not ?know? the couple.
Regardless of the type of conflict resolution used to help with marriage issues, they will rear their ugly head during the course of a marriage. There are many books and other materials that are designed to help couples with conflict resolution skills. Some may turn to therapy, while others ignore the issue. Still others shout the issue out until it is apparently drained from their systems.
The reality about issues in marriage is that they will occur, but the true challenge comes in the overcoming of these issues. If a couple is strong and open, the ability to conquer marriage issues will be present. If they hide issues, however, the ability to overcome the marriage issues may be weakened.
Over time, marriage issues will begin to represent the various ups and downs that all married people experience throughout their lives.
About the Author
Mike Selvon owns a number of niche portal. Please visit our marriage portal for more great tips on marriage issues. While you are there don?t forget to claim your free gift.
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whereby the original author?s information and copyright must be included.
Mike Selvon owns a number of niche portal. Please visit our marriage portal for more great tips on marriage issues. While you are there don?t forget to claim your free gift.
Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author?s information and copyright must be included.
In a letter released by his campaign on Friday, Mitt Romney's doctor gave him more than just a clean bill of health. His personal physician called the Republican presidential candidate a "vigorous man" with "reserves of strength, energy and stamina that provide him with the ability to meet unexpected demands."
And it's a good thing because the last two weeks have brought more than a few of those "unexpected demands" - from a foreign policy crisis that spilled over onto the campaign trail to a hidden camera video that landed Romney in hot water to the release of his tax returns on Friday.
Even the disclosure of his 2011 tax documents, has become the subject of blunt attacks by Democrats. President Obama's deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, said in a statement that the taxes confirm "what we already knew - that people like Mitt Romney pay a lower tax rate than many middle class families because of a set of complex loopholes and tax shelters only available to those at the top."
A new web video released on Saturday by the Obama campaign accuses Romney of stashing away his money in "foreign tax havens" and of "betting against the dollar" by investing in foreign currency. The video also criticizes Romney for releasing only two full years of tax returns even though other presidential candidates have made many more public.
"Why won't Mitt Romney match other presidential candidates, including his father?" the video's narrator says. "Why won't he come clean with the American people? What else is he hiding?"
But the timing of Friday's document release was no accident. Romney had long pledged to make his 2011 taxes public before the middle of October, but he and his campaign were unwilling to wait that long. That's because, with a mere 45 days until the Nov. 6 election, Romney and his advisers are finally ready for the re-set that they have so desperately been seeking.
The Republican National Convention was supposed to offer Romney a chance to re-introduce himself to the electorate. But the GOP's confab in Tampa was forced to compete for headlines with a hurricane that slammed into the Gulf Coast as well as the Democratic National Convention that took place just a few days later.
On Monday, the campaign held a "state of the race" conference call with reporters to announce another kind of re-tooling - a new focus on talking to the American people about the specifics of Romney's economic plan.
"It's natural kind of time in the cycle to do that," one of the campaign's top advisers, Ed Gillespie, said, adding: "There are a lot of Americans out there who are just now really starting to lock in and starting to look for more information and new information, and now is the time for us to provide that for them."
But not long after Gillespie outlined the campaign's new direction, the release of a series of hidden camera videos from a Romney fundraiser in May, forced an abrupt detour. Those videos, released by the left-leaning Mother Jones magazine, sent the campaign into damage control mode.
Friday's release of Romney's 2011 taxes capped off what many political observers in both parties agree has been the GOP candidate's roughest patch of the general election. And as if to signal their readiness to move on, the campaign circulated statements from elected officials, including Sen. John McCain advising everyone to do just that.
"Mitt Romney has now released more than 1,200 pages of tax returns, giving voters an incredibly detailed look at his finances," McCain said in a statement. "Now that the most recent tax return has been released, it's time to get back to discussing the issues that voters care about."
Romney and running mate Paul Ryan are hoping to turn the page in a big way next week when both candidates descend on the crucial battleground state of Ohio for what is being billed as a three-day "Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class" bus tour. Ryan is set to campaign in Lima and Cincinnati while Romney will travel to Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo.
But Romney and Ryan are plunging headfirst into Ohio just as polls show President Obama with a consistent lead in the crucial swing state - one of just eight that is likely to decide the 2012 election. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll out earlier this month put Obama's edge in Ohio at 7 percentage points over his Republican challenger and a RealClearPolitics.com average of recent polls pegs the president's lead over Romney at roughly 4 points there.
The GOP ticket's focus on the state next week reflects its importance on the political map. Without winning there Romney faces a much narrower path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
And it's not just Ohio where the early fall polls are spelling trouble for Republicans. A separate NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll released this week found Obama ahead of Romney by five percentage points among likely voters in Colorado, 50 percent to 45 percent, and by eight percentage points in Iowa, 50 percent to 42 percent. And a series of CBS News-New York Times-Quinnipiac University polls out last week also gave Obama the edge in Wisconsin and Colorado as well as another closely-watched battleground - Virginia.
But earlier this week, Gillespie, the Romney adviser who also served in George W. Bush's White House, said the campaign was still "very optimistic." One reason: The Republicans are keeping President Obama and his allies on their toes in Wisconsin.
This weekend, President Obama is making his first trip to the Badger State since February, a sure sign of the state's "tossup" status. The competitiveness of the state this election season is even more remarkable considering that a Republican presidential candidate has not won the state since 1984 and that four years ago then-candidate Obama beat McCain by a solid 56 percent to 42 percent margin there.
Currently, Obama has the support of 50 percent of likely Wisconsin voters compared to 45 percent who are backing Romney, according to a recent NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll.
"President Obama has a narrow lead in a state he handily carried last time," Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion said this week. The pollster noted, "slightly greater enthusiasm of Romney backers over Obama supporters, but it's not enough to tip the scales in Romney's direction."
And as the clock ticks down to Nov. 6, there is little time to spare: Voters are already voting in many parts of the country. After this weekend nearly half of all states will have begun some form of early or absentee voting. The first of three presidential debate - held in hotly-contested Colorado where Romney will campaign on Sunday - is just 11 days away and Election Day is only about six weeks off.
DETROIT (Reuters) - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick ran a criminal enterprise out of his office to enrich himself and family and friends, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday at the opening of Kilpatrick's public corruption trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Chutkow told jurors the prosecution case would rely on testimony from former Kilpatrick associates and text messages to and from the former mayor in what is expected to be a four-month trial.
Kilpatrick's attorney, James Thomas, denied the charges and countered that his client was a faithful public servant who had encountered fierce opposition from political foes.
If convicted Kilpatrick faces up to 30 years in prison for stealing millions from one of the poorest cities in the United States.
Kilpatrick and co-defendant Bobby Ferguson exchanged text messages such as, "?Let's get us some money,' ?No deal without me,' ?It's my time to get paid'," Chutkow told jurors.
The former mayor and two other co-defendants face a combined 46 counts including racketeering, extortion, bribery and income tax evasion.
Kilpatrick, now 42, was a rising political star in the Democratic Party when he was elected the youngest mayor in Detroit history in 2001. He resigned as part of a plea deal in a separate perjury case in 2008.
Kilpatrick pocketed kickbacks, bought $60,000 worth of custom-made suits, and paid off credit cards with $280,000 in cash, Chutkow said.
Ferguson, a construction company owner and long-time Kilpatrick friend, helped the ex-mayor rig $60 million in city contracts, Chutkow charged. Ferguson's competitors for city contract work often called him "the king," Chutkow said.
Thomas, the defense attorney, said the "snippets" of information in text messages fail to tell the whole story of Kilpatrick's personal or professional relationships with his co-defendants.
"Politics is like making sausage: It's not pretty and it's messy, but, once it's cooked, it tastes pretty good," Thomas told the jury in his 20-minute opening statement.
"We're here to tell you that he did not take any bribes, he did not extort anyone," Thomas added.
Prosecutors can call on more than 200 witnesses and rely on 600,000 text messages exchanged on city-issued devices.
Kilpatrick, who is black, and his attorneys earlier this year tried to have the charges dropped because they claimed blacks were systematically excluded from federal grand jury pools in southeastern Michigan.
Among the dozen jurors, six are white, five are black and one is Hispanic. There are six alternate jurors.
Two other co-defendants that prosecutors say were involved in some of the schemes are Kilpatrick's father, Bernard Kilpatrick, and former head of the city's water department, Victor Mercado.
If you didn't stay up until 3 a.m. to pre-order an iPhone 5 last week, you were probably?too late to get one confirmed for shipment by Frida... Read more
10 hrs.
Rosa Golijan
Even though the atmosphere in lines around the world wasn't as exciting as?in past years?? in part thanks to sponsored human billboards and protesters?? the moment the clock chimed 8 a.m. at Apple's retail stores around the world, cheers erupted. The iPhone 5 has arrived.
The first person in line at Apple's flagship store in New York City is Hazem Sayed, the developer behind Vibe, an?app that lets its users broadcast anonymous messages to those nearby. He has spent well over a week sitting in front of the Apple Store on 5th Avenue and he does not regret a moment. "I'm as happy as I am tired," he tells reporters who crowd him as soon as he exits the store with his new?iPhone 5?in hand.
When asked whether he even has the energy to use his new smartphone after the long wait, Sayed smiles. "It's love at first sight," he says. "I'll stay up all night."
Love at first sight isn't eternal though. Sayed says he would consider selling his new gadget for twice what he paid, meaning about $1600 total. "The receipt is longer than the phone," he remarks absentmindedly as he holds up a crumpled slip of paper next to the device. He bought a black 64GB AT&T version of the iPhone.
Long after Sayed managed to escape the clutches of reporters, cheers continued?erupting?each time someone exited the Apple Store, with a new iPhone 5 in hand. The applause could be heard for blocks.
The iPhone 5 is the latest generation of Apple's popular smartphone. In appearance, it is similar to the iPhone 4S, its predecessor, though it has?a 4-inch display (rather than a 3.5-inch display) and is a bit thinner.?The iPhone 5 offers 4G LTE connectivity (meaning users will see faster data speeds), improved battery life, a faster processor, and a lighter body.?
Out of the box, the new smartphone will run iOS 6, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, which means that it will have?a significantly improved version of Siri, a new app called Passbook (which will store boarding passes, discount cards, and more for users), and about 200 new features.?
Much to the dismay of many, the new operating system does not offer a Google-powered Maps app, but instead uses Apple's own creation (which is not earning much praise so far).
If you are looking to pick up a shiny new iPhone 5, keep in mind that Apple's retail locations aren't the only place to get it. You can order one through the Apple website (though shipping dates are several weeks out) or through individual carriers' websites or telesales lines. You can also go to AT&T, Verizon or Sprint retail stores as well as to Walmart, Target, Best Buy and RadioShack.
Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - A man armed with a kitchen knife and a hammer took a business owner hostage for several hours inside a Pittsburgh high-rise building on Friday and posted messages on Facebook before surrendering to police, officials said.
Klein Michael Thaxton, 22, released his hostage unharmed after holding him for about six hours, said Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper.
Police had been negotiating with Thaxton by telephone after he went into the 16th-floor office of 3 Gateway Center shortly after 8 a.m., grabbed his hostage and told everyone else in the office to leave, Harper said.
Thaxton did not disclose any motive to police, Harper said, but he posted several messages on Facebook during the standoff. He also posted what he said was his telephone number.
"i cant take it no more," he wrote in one Facebook message.
"this life im livn rite now i dnt want anymore ive lost everything and i aint getting it back," said another message.
Police asked Facebook to take down his page and as of midday it was not longer visible.
Police originally thought Thaxton was armed with a bomb and a gun but he revealed following his surrender that he was carrying only a kitchen knife and a hammer, Harper said.
His hostage was Charles Breitsman, the owner of CW Breitsman Associates, which handles company benefits and union pensions.
Thaxton chose Breitsman at random, choosing his office because it had no security, Harper said.
Thaxton eventually emerged with his hands in the air and surrendered to police. Once in custody, Thaxton was charged with kidnapping, making terroristic threats and aggravated assault. He was undergoing a psychological evaluation, police said.
Thaxton had been living in a so-called three-quarters house - transitional housing for people newly released from prison - after being incarcerated for carjacking, Harper said.
His messages prompted many people to respond on Facebook, saying they were praying for him and encouraging him to cooperate with police. A separate site was set up called Dont Do This Klein Thaxton, also filled with supportive messages.
However, others urged him on Facebook to extend his standoff, and they could face criminal charges as accessories, Harper said.
Thaxton was contacted by people on Facebook some 700 times before his page was taken down, Harper said.
On Facebook, Thaxton also wrote: "welln pops youll never have to worry about me again you'll nevr need to by me anything no need to ever waste ur hard earned money on me. i'll live n jail you dnt want me around anymore thats kool bye..."
Thaxton's mother, Ronda Thaxton, told reporters her son had served in the U.S. Army. She spoke to him inside the building during the standoff and emerged visibly distraught.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Keys; writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; editing by Jackie Frank and Mohammad Zargham)
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo will allow exploration work inside Africa's oldest national park if significant oil deposits are found there, the country's hydrocarbons minister said on Saturday.
Congo is keen to expand its underdeveloped oil sector, which currently produces only 26,000 barrels a day despite oil-rich areas in both the east and west of the country.
British oil company Soco International was earlier this year given permission to carry out aerial surveys on Block 5, a block of land near the border with Uganda, but the move has faced fierce opposition from environmental groups.
Most of the concession lies within Virunga National Park, one of Africa's most biodiverse areas, and a last refuge for the region's famous mountain gorillas.
"The DRC has the right to know what resources it has under the earth, even if it's in the park or the forest, anywhere," minister Crispin Atama Tabe told Reuters in an interview.
It is currently against Congolese law to prospect or exploit minerals inside the country's national parks, but Atama Tabe said the legislation could be reviewed.
"We're going to evaluate the quantity of the deposit. If it's very significant we'll compare the value of the park with the oil... We'll see whether we'll respect the park or not. It's up to us," he said, adding that exploration could take up to three years.
Block 5 is part of the Albertine Graben, an area which has already attracted oil major Total, which also holds stakes in both DRC and Uganda.
Earlier this month Uganda upped its estimated oil reserves to 3.5 billion barrels, and Atama Tabe said the Graben remains the most attractive area for oil exploration in Congo, despite also lying at the heart of recent instability which has seen government troops clash with rebels, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee.
Relations between Kampala and Kinshasa have been strained in recent years over border demarcation issues, but Tabe said good relations would be maintained and discussions over a possible pipeline from the DRC via Uganda to Mombasa in Kenya remain a possibility.
Atama Tabe said the government is also keen to push through a specialized hydrocarbons code to regulate the sector during the current three-month parliamentary session, and said it would be in line with international standards.
"When (investors) come, it's important that they find themselves at ease with legislation that is basically the same as other countries," he said.
OFFSHORE, KIVU GAS
Atama Tabe also said he hoped that Congo will reach a deal with Angola over disputed blocks off the west coast of the country within six months.
The two countries have yet to find a resolution over how to manage the so-called Common Interest Zone created in 2004 and could see Congo receiving royalties from production already under way there.
"There is a significant deposit there, and we can expect 150,000 barrels a day, just from that zone... Angola is very happy, negotiations are advancing without question" Atama Tabe stated.
The minister said his ministry would focus a substantial amount of its estimated $700 million budget on how to exploit gas reserves in Lake Kivu, which lies along the border with Rwanda.
Relations between the two countries have been strained over allegations that Rwanda is backing Congolese rebels. But Tabe said dialogue was continuing over gas extraction to provide electricity for the region, but also because the highly volcanic area could be at risk of an explosion if gas from the lake was not drained.
Rwanda is already pumping the gas and Congo is hoping to launch a tendering process by the end of the year.
"There's lots of accords signed with Rwanda, because this concerns both countries. If the lake explodes, it won't just be Congolese that die, it'll be Rwandans too," Atama Tabe said.
Kessler Foundation scientists awarded New Jersey grants for brain injury researchPublic release date: 21-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lauren Scrivo lscrivo@kesslerfoundation.org 973-324-8384 Kessler Foundation
Drs. Genova and Weaver received three-year grants totaling more than $660,000 to study ways to improve cognitive function after traumatic brain injury
WEST ORANGE, N.J.Two neuroscientists at Kessler Foundation received grants from the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research. Helen Genova, Ph.D., research scientist in Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research was awarded a three-year Individual Research Grant totaling $462,103. Starla Weaver, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Research, received a three-year Fellowship Research Grant for $199,764. Kessler Foundation conducts cognitive and mobility rehabilitation research in brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, Ph.D., director of Traumatic Brain Injury and Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research, commented, "We are pleased to have the support of the Commission for these important studies. Expanding our knowledge of how TBI affects brain function will help us to devise more effective strategies for cognitive rehabilitation."
Dr. Genova is interested in the long-term cognitive dysfunction that can cause disability after brain injury. While some recover over time, a significant number of individuals show continued impairment and even progressive cognitive decline. The identification of an accurate and reliable predictor of cognitive outcome would help to guide patients and families through the recovery process, but such a predictor has eluded investigators. Dr. Genova will apply a new neuroimaging technique, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to the study of the cognitive effects of TBI. DTI has proven to be a highly sensitive measure of diffuse axonal injury and white matter integrity, but few studies have applied DTI to the study of cognitive deficits in people more than two years post TBI. Delineating the relationship between diffuse axonal injury and cognitive impairment could transform the initial approach to rehabilitation and enable clinicians to provide patients and families with prognostic information regarding cognitive recovery. Dr. Genova's project is "The longitudinal examination of the relationship between white matter pathology & cognitive impairment in traumatic brain injury using diffusion tensor imaging."
Dr. Weaver's interest is in chronic cognitive deficits that are a major cause of disability after TBI. Her research focuses on executive function, which is the ability to organize thoughts and activities, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and make decisions. Developing rehabilitation interventions that improve executive function will minimize disability and aid performance of daily activities necessary for independent living. Task switching, i.e., the ability to switch between two simple tasks, has been found to be the best predictor of performance of tasks related to executive function. Dr. Weaver will compare the effects of task-switching in individuals with TBI and controls to determine whether this type of intervention can provide lasting benefits. She will use functional MRI to compare patterns of cerebral activation with task switching in both groups. Dr. Weaver's project is "The effects of task switching training on traumatic brain injury."
Drs. Genova, Weaver and Chiaravalloti have faculty appointments in the department of physical medicine & rehabilitation at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
###
About The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research
The mission of the NJCBIR is to promote the necessary research that will result in the treatment and cure for traumatic injuries of the brain, thereby giving hope to an ever-increasing number of residents who suffer the debilitating effects of this injury. To achieve these goals the Commission will encourage and promote significant, original research projects in New Jersey emphasizing nerve regeneration as a means to a cure for brain injury through the funding of approved research projects at qualifying research institutions in the state. In addition, the Commission will establish and maintain, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Health, a central registry of all persons who sustain traumatic brain injuries.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation is one of the largest public charities in the field of disability. Kessler Foundation Research Center focuses on improving function and quality of life for persons with injuries of the spinal cord and brain, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other chronic neurological conditions. Kessler Foundation Program Center fosters new approaches to the persistently high rates of unemployment among people disabled by injury or disease. Targeted grantmaking funds promising programs across the nation. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, people recovering from catastrophic injuries and stroke, and young adults striving for independence are among the thousands of people finding jobs and training for careers as a result of the commitment of Kessler Foundation.
Find us at KesslerFoundation.org
Like us at http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation
Follow us @KesslerFound
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Kessler Foundation scientists awarded New Jersey grants for brain injury researchPublic release date: 21-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lauren Scrivo lscrivo@kesslerfoundation.org 973-324-8384 Kessler Foundation
Drs. Genova and Weaver received three-year grants totaling more than $660,000 to study ways to improve cognitive function after traumatic brain injury
WEST ORANGE, N.J.Two neuroscientists at Kessler Foundation received grants from the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research. Helen Genova, Ph.D., research scientist in Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research was awarded a three-year Individual Research Grant totaling $462,103. Starla Weaver, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Research, received a three-year Fellowship Research Grant for $199,764. Kessler Foundation conducts cognitive and mobility rehabilitation research in brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and multiple sclerosis.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, Ph.D., director of Traumatic Brain Injury and Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research, commented, "We are pleased to have the support of the Commission for these important studies. Expanding our knowledge of how TBI affects brain function will help us to devise more effective strategies for cognitive rehabilitation."
Dr. Genova is interested in the long-term cognitive dysfunction that can cause disability after brain injury. While some recover over time, a significant number of individuals show continued impairment and even progressive cognitive decline. The identification of an accurate and reliable predictor of cognitive outcome would help to guide patients and families through the recovery process, but such a predictor has eluded investigators. Dr. Genova will apply a new neuroimaging technique, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to the study of the cognitive effects of TBI. DTI has proven to be a highly sensitive measure of diffuse axonal injury and white matter integrity, but few studies have applied DTI to the study of cognitive deficits in people more than two years post TBI. Delineating the relationship between diffuse axonal injury and cognitive impairment could transform the initial approach to rehabilitation and enable clinicians to provide patients and families with prognostic information regarding cognitive recovery. Dr. Genova's project is "The longitudinal examination of the relationship between white matter pathology & cognitive impairment in traumatic brain injury using diffusion tensor imaging."
Dr. Weaver's interest is in chronic cognitive deficits that are a major cause of disability after TBI. Her research focuses on executive function, which is the ability to organize thoughts and activities, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and make decisions. Developing rehabilitation interventions that improve executive function will minimize disability and aid performance of daily activities necessary for independent living. Task switching, i.e., the ability to switch between two simple tasks, has been found to be the best predictor of performance of tasks related to executive function. Dr. Weaver will compare the effects of task-switching in individuals with TBI and controls to determine whether this type of intervention can provide lasting benefits. She will use functional MRI to compare patterns of cerebral activation with task switching in both groups. Dr. Weaver's project is "The effects of task switching training on traumatic brain injury."
Drs. Genova, Weaver and Chiaravalloti have faculty appointments in the department of physical medicine & rehabilitation at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
###
About The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research
The mission of the NJCBIR is to promote the necessary research that will result in the treatment and cure for traumatic injuries of the brain, thereby giving hope to an ever-increasing number of residents who suffer the debilitating effects of this injury. To achieve these goals the Commission will encourage and promote significant, original research projects in New Jersey emphasizing nerve regeneration as a means to a cure for brain injury through the funding of approved research projects at qualifying research institutions in the state. In addition, the Commission will establish and maintain, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Health, a central registry of all persons who sustain traumatic brain injuries.
About Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation is one of the largest public charities in the field of disability. Kessler Foundation Research Center focuses on improving function and quality of life for persons with injuries of the spinal cord and brain, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other chronic neurological conditions. Kessler Foundation Program Center fosters new approaches to the persistently high rates of unemployment among people disabled by injury or disease. Targeted grantmaking funds promising programs across the nation. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, people recovering from catastrophic injuries and stroke, and young adults striving for independence are among the thousands of people finding jobs and training for careers as a result of the commitment of Kessler Foundation.
Find us at KesslerFoundation.org
Like us at http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation
Follow us @KesslerFound
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LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Space shuttle Endeavour returned to its California roots Thursday after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband.
"That's my spaceship," said Endeavour's last commander, Mark Kelly, as the couple watched the shuttle loop over Tucson, Ariz.
Later in the day, a 747 jet carrying Endeavour swooped out of the desert sky and glided down a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, not far from where the now-retired shuttle fleet was assembled.
The shuttle and jumbo jet take off again at sunrise Friday to make low, sweeping passes over Sacramento, San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.
Next stop: Los Angeles International Airport where Endeavour will be prepped for a slow ride on a special flatbed trailer through city streets next month to its final destination as a museum showpiece.
Endeavour's highly anticipated homecoming was twice delayed by stormy weather along the Gulf of Mexico. Early Wednesday, it departed from its Cape Canaveral, Fla., home base, soared over NASA centers in Mississippi and Louisiana, and made a layover in Houston, home of Mission Control. Crowds craned their necks skyward as the shuttle circled low over Florida's Space Coast and Houston.
After refueling in El Paso, Texas, Thursday, it flew over the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, an emergency shuttle landing site used once. Kelly requested that Endeavour pass over Tucson to honor Giffords, who is recovering after suffering a head wound in a shooting rampage last year. Before retiring from her House seat, she was a member of the House committee on science, space and technology.
The couple watched from the roof of a University of Arizona parking garage.
Former Giffords aide C.J. Karamargin said Giffords was "elated" and started "hooting and hollering" when she spotted Endeavour.
Kelley said seeing the shuttle reminded him how difficult it was to land.
"Landing a space shuttle is not easy," he said. "It doesn't glide very well."
Endeavour's maiden voyage into space two decades ago ended with a planned touchdown at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center based at Edwards. Unlike a return from orbit, no ear-splitting twin sonic booms accompanied the latest return.
Known as the baby shuttle, Endeavour replaced Challenger, which exploded during liftoff in 1986. NASA lost a second shuttle, Columbia, which broke apart during re-entry in 2003. A replacement was not built. Fourteen astronauts died in the accidents.
Six years after the Challenger tragedy, during Endeavour's first flight, three spacewalking astronauts made a daring rescue of a stranded communications satellite. A year later, it was launched on a service repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Endeavour flew 25 times, mostly to supply the International Space Station. It spent 299 days in space and circled Earth nearly 4,700 times, logging 123 million miles.
The space shuttle has deep roots in California: The main engines were manufactured in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The heat shield tiles that protected the shuttle during re-entry were invented in Silicon Valley. The shuttle's "fly-by-wire" technology was developed in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey.
Shuttle parts from California and other plants around the country were shipped to Rockwell International's assembly factory in Palmdale near Edwards. In the early days, landings occurred in the desert before switching to Florida. Edwards remained the backup landing site.
Endeavour is the second of three surviving shuttles bound for its retirement home. In April, Discovery landed at the Smithsonian Institution's annex in Virginia after victory laps around the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Atlantis will remain in Florida and will be towed in November to the Kennedy Space Center's visitor center.
Enterprise, a prototype that flew in approach and landing tests but never went into space, sailed up the Hudson River by barge in June en route to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
After three decades of service, NASA permanently grounded the shuttles last year under a White House mandate to focus on destinations beyond low-Earth orbit with goals to land astronauts on an asteroid and eventually on Mars. The space agency is relying on Russian rockets to the space station until private companies can provide regular taxi service to the giant orbiting lab.
NASA deeded Endeavour to the California Science Center last year. The estimated coast-to-coast shipping and handling costs is $28 million to be paid for by the science center. A final cost has not been calculated. NASA officials have said it didn't cost extra to fly over Tucson because it was on the way.
After landing at LAX Friday, Endeavour will undergo several weeks of preparations for its last mission: Inching through the streets of Los Angeles in early October to its museum home, a 12-mile crawl that required chopping down hundreds of trees and rerouting power lines.
For shuttle workers, it's a "bittersweet moment. The shuttle is finally retired and done. But for us, it's a great beginning of its next mission," said museum president Jeffrey Rudolph.
___
Davenport reported from Tucson. Associated Press writer Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston contributed to this report. Alicia Chang can be followed at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia
Final testing is being done on a National Center for Atmospheric Research supercomputer on the outskirts of Cheyenne that will be used for climate modeling and other Earth sciences.
Research is expected to begin this fall on the new computer, called Yellowstone, which has enough power to rank among the top dozen or so fastest supercomputers in the world.
So how fast is it, exactly?
The computer will run at a speed of up to 1.5 petaflops, or 1.5 quadrillion operations per second. Put another way: If you counted one number per second, it would take a lot longer than your entire lifetime or anybody else's to get all the way up to 1.5 quadrillion. Try more than 47 million years.
The roughly $30 million IBM machine fills much of a 153,000-square-foot, custom-built facility.
The Boulder, Colo.-based National Center for Atmospheric Research already has lined up 11 initial research projects that will get time on its machine starting this fall, center spokesman David Hosansky said.
One of the upcoming projects will model air movement inside hurricanes and tornadoes. Another will examine how weather and air quality could change in North America in the years ahead.
First, the machine needs to pass its final tests. The process is more complicated than trying out a new laptop.
"These complex systems need extensive testing and analysis before we could formally accept it," Hosansky said Wednesday.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research hopes to wrap up testing and accept the supercomputer in October. A ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Gov. Matt Mead and National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh is scheduled for Oct. 15.
The supercomputer is 30 times more powerful than the machine currently in use at the center's Mesa Laboratory in Boulder.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has a long history of using supercomputers. One of the world's first, the Cray 1-A, crunched numbers at the center from 1977 to 1989. The Yellowstone supercomputer will be 9.7 million times faster with 3.4 million times the disk capacity and 19 million times the central memory size of the Cray 1-A, according to NCAR.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The Wyoming Legislature committed $21 million for the supercomputer project in 2007.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
iMovie for iPhone and iPad has been updated for iOS 6 and introduces some new features including three new trailers, the ability to split audio with the iPad, slideshow creation from iPhoto, 1080p upload resolution, and more.
Three new trailers ? Adrenaline, Coming of Age, and Teen
Add photos to any trailer and have them automatically animate with the Ken Burns effect
On iPad, open the Precision Editor to create split audio edits
Play clips in the Video Browser before adding them to your project
Create a slideshow by sharing photos from iPhoto for iOS
Tap the help icon to display Coaching tips
1080p HD upload resolution is now available for sharing to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport
Audio recordings captured in a project now appear in the Audio Browser for easy access
Although this update doesn't include anything major, it's nice to see Apple address some common complaints like split audio and 1080p output. The three new trailers are also a great addition. What are your favorite features of the new iMovie?
ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2012) ? The impact of crop pesticides on honeybee colonies is unlikely to cause colony collapse, according to a paper in the journal Science September 20, 2012. More research is now needed to predict the impact of widely-used agricultural insecticides, called neonicotinoids, on honeybee populations.
UK scientists from the University of Exeter and Food and Environment Agency highlight flaws in previous research (published in Science, April 2012) that predicted that neonicotinoids could cause honeybee colony collapse. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely-used agricultural insecticides and honeybees ingest residues of the pesticides as they gather nectar and pollen from treated plants.
The previous research has been cited by scientists, environmentalists and policy-makers as evidence of the future impact of these pesticides on honeybees. It is likely that the research was instrumental in the French government's recent decision to ban the use of thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid that is the active ingredient of Cruiser OSR, a pesticide produced by the Swiss company Syngenta.
However, the new paper argues that the calculations made in the research were flawed because they failed to reflect the rate at which honeybee colonies recover from losing individuals.
The previous research, led by French scientist Mika?l Henry, showed that the death rate of bees increased when they drank nectar laced with a neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam. It calculated that this would cause their colony to collapse. The research published September 20 explains how the calculation may have used an inappropriately low birth rate.
Lead author Dr James Cresswell of the University of Exeter said: "We know that neonicotinoids affect honeybees, but there is no evidence that they could cause colony collapse. When we repeated the previous calculation with a realistic birth rate, the risk of colony collapse under pesticide exposure disappeared.
"I am definitely not saying that pesticides are harmless to honeybees, but I think everyone wants to make decisions based on sound evidence -- and our research shows that the effects of thiamethoxam are not as severe as first thought.
"We do not yet have definitive evidence of the impact of these insecticides on honeybees and we should not be making any decisions on changes to policy on their use. It is vital that more research is conducted so that we can understand the real impact of neonicotinoids on honeybees, so governments can put together a proper plan to protect them from any dangers that the chemicals pose."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Exeter, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
M. Henry, M. Beguin, F. Requier, O. Rollin, J.-F. Odoux, P. Aupinel, J. Aptel, S. Tchamitchian, A. Decourtye. Response to Comment on "A Common Pesticide Decreases Foraging Success and Survival in Honey Bees". Science, 2012; 337 (6101): 1453 DOI: 10.1126/science.1224930
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.
One of the most important investments you have is your home. The amount of money that you have in your home probably dwarfs anything else besides a business if you are a small business owner. Because of this significant amount, it is essential that you take good care of your home and protect it from anything that can cause damage to it. Taking precautions by having home insurance is a good start, as it will protect your house from fires, floods, and other types of severe weather, but there is a threat that you may have never even thought of before: bugs. Most bugs are only pests in your home, but there are some that can destroy your entire home without you knowing anything about it. For these bugs, it is very important that you contact a company to do pest control Portland in and around your home.
The number one pest that can cause damage to your home is the termite. If you have never seen one before, termites are small brown bugs that feed on wood. As most homes are made of wood, termites would be a devastating pest. The best way to combat an infestation of termites, or any other type of pest is prevention. You will definitely want to take preventative measures so the pests never have a chance to do any damage. Also, once the pests have invaded your home, they will be much more difficult to get rid of. Pest control Portland professionals will be able to help you both prevent and get rid of these bugs, so you will want to contact an exterminator as soon as possible.
There are probably many pest control Portland companies in your area, so it will be in your best interest to do a little bit of research before you choose one to spray your home. One thing that you will definitely want to ask about, especially if you have small children or babies, is what they use to kill the bugs. Some types of bug spray can be toxic to children and to animals for that matter, so you will need to ask about any toxicity issues.
Another question that you may want to ask is how often the pest control Portland representative will have to come out to your home to spray. There are ome types of insects will need to be killed over a period of time with multiple appointments, so make sure that you ask how many treatments you need and how far they will be spaced apart.
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BERLIN (Reuters) - Bill Clinton may have been the first to use a strategy of "triangulation" to win an election, co-opting policies of his Republican rivals to win a second term as president in 1996.
But it is Germany's Angela Merkel who seems to have turned the tactic, coined by controversial Clinton campaign guru Dick Morris, into an art form.
With a year to go until Germans go to the polls, the country's leftist opposition parties are searching desperately for issues to throw at the conservative chancellor and finding the cupboard alarmingly bare.
It has been a great few years for opposition parties elsewhere in Europe. With the euro zone debt crisis raging, incumbents have been booted out of office in France, Italy, Spain and a host of smaller countries, including bailout victims Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
In the Netherlands, the big winner in an election set for September 12 is likely to be a far-left party that until recently was seen as a bit player in Dutch politics.
Yet Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), who will celebrate their 150th anniversary next year, and their left-leaning allies the Greens, have watched Merkel peck away at their programs, turning their most potent positions - on nuclear power, the environment, education, childcare and wages - into her own.
On the euro crisis, the theme that seems sure to overshadow all others in a German vote set for September 2013, Merkel has walked a tightrope, appeasing her bailout-averse domestic audience with tough rhetoric while keeping just enough money flowing to Europe's battered periphery to ensure the euro train does not go off the rails on her watch.
The SPD meanwhile has tied itself in knots as it searches for a euro policy that is at once popular with voters and different from that of Merkel.
After coming out strongly for joint euro zone bond issuance early on in the crisis, the SPD reversed course last spring after realizing that three in four Germans opposed the idea.
This summer it recalibrated again, saying a more limited form of debt mutualization was advisable but only when tied to strict fiscal conditionality - a position so close to Merkel's as to be indistinguishable to most Germans.
Lately it has taken to attacking the chancellor for not speaking up more forcefully against the European Central Bank's plans to buy the bonds of struggling euro members - not exactly a vote winner, even in Germany.
"The problem is that the SPD has no theme," said Klaus-Peter Schoeppner, head of the Emnid polling group. "On the euro crisis they have swung back and forth. They are not offering a real alternative to Merkel."
WAITING GAME
The SPD kicked off an internal debate on its election platform early last year. In mid-September it will hold a "Zukunftskongress", or conference on the future, to debate the policies it intends to take into the campaign.
But high-ranking members of the party concede in private that little of substance will emerge. Instead the party has decided to play for time in the hope that the euro crisis, domestic economy and political tide turn against Merkel.
"It makes sense to wait this out," said one senior SPD official who requested anonymity out of reluctance to openly discuss party strategy.
"A weakening economy would make the campaign much easier for us. And we could see the euro crisis deepening, forcing more rescues and making it very difficult for Merkel to keep people in her own ranks on board."
The party also plans to wait until after a January election in the state of Lower Saxony to pick a challenger to Merkel.
The hope is that an SPD-Greens victory in the central German region will give the left vital momentum, showing voters that victory is also achievable at the national level.
But even if it comes out on top, finding the right candidate will be tough. The odds-on favourite is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the respected but colorless former foreign minister who went up against Merkel in 2009, only to deliver the worst result for the SPD in the post-war era - a meager 23 percent.
He is seen as the least bad option among the SPD's leadership "troika". Party chairman Sigmar Gabriel is a fighter but unpopular and undisciplined. In an interview last week he all but took himself out of the race, saying he planned to cut back on his working hours to spend more time with his family.
Former finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, the third option, may be the one who wants it most. But he is regarded with suspicion by the party's influential left-wing and the momentum behind his candidacy has faded since he made clear late last year that he wants to be the SPD's frontman.
GREAT CANDIDATE
"If the SPD could combine the positives of each of them - Steinmeier's seriousness, Steinbrueck's financial acumen and Gabriel's campaigning skills - they'd have a great candidate," said Peter Loesche, emeritus professor at Goettingen University.
"But more than anything they need a strategy. Waiting until the euro falls apart or the economy collapses doesn't cut it."
The environmentalist Greens, who shot to record highs of over 20 percent in national polls early last year only to fade after Merkel herself jumped on the anti-nuclear bandwagon following Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, are also engaged in a painfully public dance over who will lead the party into the vote.
Once celebrated for their youthful vigor and counter-culture creed, the Greens are now run by 50-somethings in suits, and the upstart Pirate party is siphoning away young supporters.
Richard Hillmer, who heads polling group Infratest-Dimap and advises the SPD, believes the party should give up trying to score points against Merkel on the euro crisis.
"She has positioned herself in such a way that there is very little scope for the SPD to benefit," he said.
Instead, he says the left should challenge her on other themes, for example her failure to put in place stronger banking regulations, her ill-planned switch out of nuclear power, and rising inequalities in German society.
But even on these issues, Merkel and her aides are busy triangulating, working quietly on their own plans to neutralize any and all fields of attack.
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Public release date: 21-Sep-2012
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