Saturday, December 31, 2011

Brain's connective cells are much more than glue

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Glia cells, named for the Greek word for "glue," hold the brain's neurons together and protect the cells that determine our thoughts and behaviors, but scientists have long puzzled over their prominence in the activities of the brain dedicated to learning and memory. Now Tel Aviv University researchers say that glia cells are central to the brain's plasticity ? how the brain adapts, learns, and stores information.

According to Ph.D. student Maurizio De Pitt of TAU's Schools of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical Engineering, glia cells do much more than hold the brain together. A mechanism within the glia cells also sorts information for learning purposes, De Pitt says. "Glia cells are like the brain's supervisors. By regulating the synapses, they control the transfer of information between neurons, affecting how the brain processes information and learns."

De Pitt's research, led by his TAU supervisor Prof. Eshel Ben-Jacob, along with Vladislav Volman of The Salk Institute and the University of California at San Diego and Hugues Berry of the Universit? de Lyon in France, has developed the first computer model that incorporates the influence of glia cells on synaptic information transfer. Detailed in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, the model can also be implemented in technologies based on brain networks such as microchips and computer software, Prof. Ben-Jacob says, and aid in research on brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.

Regulating the brain's "social network"

The brain is constituted of two main types of cells: neurons and glia. Neurons fire off signals that dictate how we think and behave, using synapses to pass along the message from one neuron to another, explains De Pitt. Scientists theorize that memory and learning are dictated by synaptic activity because they are "plastic," with the ability to adapt to different stimuli.

But Ben-Jacob and colleagues suspected that glia cells were even more central to how the brain works. Glia cells are abundant in the brain's hippocampus and the cortex, the two parts of the brain that have the most control over the brain's ability to process information, learn and memorize. In fact, for every neuron cell, there are two to five glia cells. Taking into account previous experimental data, the researchers were able to build a model that could resolve the puzzle.

The brain is like a social network, says Prof. Ben-Jacob. Messages may originate with the neurons, which use the synapses as their delivery system, but the glia serve as an overall moderator, regulating which messages are sent on and when. These cells can either prompt the transfer of information, or slow activity if the synapses are becoming overactive. This makes the glia cells the guardians of our learning and memory processes, he notes, orchestrating the transmission of information for optimal brain function.

New brain-inspired technologies and therapies

The team's findings could have important implications for a number of brain disorders. Almost all neurodegenerative diseases are glia-related pathologies, Prof. Ben-Jacob notes. In epileptic seizures, for example, the neurons' activity at one brain location propagates and overtakes the normal activity at other locations. This can happen when the glia cells fail to properly regulate synaptic transmission. Alternatively, when brain activity is low, glia cells boost transmissions of information, keeping the connections between neurons "alive."

The model provides a "new view" of how the brain functions. While the study was in press, two experimental works appeared that supported the model's predictions. "A growing number of scientists are starting to recognize the fact that you need the glia to perform tasks that neurons alone can't accomplish in an efficient way," says De Pitt. The model will provide a new tool to begin revising the theories of computational neuroscience and lead to more realistic brain-inspired algorithms and microchips, which are designed to mimic neuronal networks.

###

American Friends of Tel Aviv University: http://www.aftau.org

Thanks to American Friends of Tel Aviv University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116346/Brain_s_connective_cells_are_much_more_than_glue

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Short careers and the Hall

After writing the Dale Murphy post an uncomfortable thought struck me: would it have been better for his Hall of Fame case if he had been hit by a bus in 1988 than for his career to have simply cratered like it did?

I know, I?m awful for thinking that. Trust me when I say this is just a thought experiment. Dale Murphy is by all accounts a wonderful father, husband and human being and he gave me great joy in the early years of my Braves fandom. I?m delighted that he was not, in fact, run over by a bus while crossing a street in Salt Lake City, Utah in January 1988. Because that would be dreadful.

But if it had happened, he would have shuffled off this mortal coil ? or at least out of baseball if the bus had inflicted merely debilitating as opposed to fatal injuries ? with a damn interesting baseball career.

Our last memory of him would have been putting up a monster year: .295/.417/.580, 44 homers, 105 RBI and 115 runs scored. All for an awful team, so by all rights he shouldn?t have had a decent pitch to hit all year. ?At the moment the bus hit him, he?d have a career line of .279/.362/.500 in 12 seasons, which for the era was fantastic: a 132 OPS+. ?Oh, and multiple MVP awards and gold gloves at a premium defensive position.

Clearly that would have landed him in the Hall of Fame, right? It had to! ?Because let?s look at another center fielder whose career was cut short after 12 seasons: ?.318/.360/.477, an OPS+ of 124, and multiple gold gloves. That center fielder was Kirby Puckett, and he was voted into the Hall of Fame with over 80% of the vote in his first year of eligibility.

The difference: Puckett left the game on top, having his eyesight ruined by a freakish onset of glaucoma, ending his career. Murphy, in contrast, had something just as freakish but not as conventionally tragic happen: his skills just somehow evaporated, and he spent another six years in the baseball wilderness, toiling for the Phillies and the Rockies, desperately trying to regain his elite form.

It?s a safe assumption that Puckett would have remained a Hall of Fame caliber player for several more years and would have finished with career stats that more than justified his induction. ?But it is an assumption. Dale Murphy is a rare example of a player who just lost it overnight, but he is proof that it could happen to anyone.

I don?t mean to make some sort of political point with this. I don?t think Puckett was unfairly inducted nor do I think Murphy is unfairly being held out. ?It?s just one of those strange and uncomfortable realizations about how we as human beings fill in gaps in a narrative. How we mentally honor or reward victims of a certain set of circumstances and give no benefit of the doubt to victims of a different set of circumstances. ?Of how we think better of going out on top, no matter how tragic it was that the man in question went out, than we do of someone working hard but ultimately failing to recapture what he once had.

Even for those of us who are really partial to the numbers, it?s never just about the numbers. And I?m not sure how to reconcile it all.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/29/short-careers-and-the-hall-of-fame-its-better-to-burn-out-than-fade-away/related/

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Can?t Wait For The Mummers Parade? Catch A Free Sneak Preview Tonight

Rocco Gallelli with the Philadelphia Mummers Brigade Association. (Credit: John McDevitt)

Rocco Gallelli with the Philadelphia Mummers Brigade Association. (Credit: John McDevitt)

By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? Last minute preparations are underway for the Mummers Fancy Brigade finale shows on New Years Day. But, you can get a free sneak peak of the show tonight at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Air brush artist Bobby Daltry, 45, was doing some touch up work on some props and sets he?s been working own for the past couple months.

?They bang the floats practicing; they got to retouch them. They?re changing their minds real fast. It?s nuts right now.?

Ten fancy brigade clubs perform each get four and half minutes to do their thing.

Rocco Gallelli is with the Philadelphia Mummers Brigade Association.? He describes the show as Broadway meeting Mardi Gras.

?A big ship or a big seahorse coming at you ? it kind of gets exciting. And the competitions on new years day we have the two shows at noon and 5 o?clock.?

Tickets are still available for the New years day shows by going to fancybrigade.com

Story continues below?

mummersprep2 mcdevitt Cant Wait For The Mummers Parade? Catch A Free Sneak Preview Tonight

(Credit: John McDevitt)

But, the public can get a free preview of what?s in store ? minus the elaborate costumes ? by just showing up at the Convention Center tonight at 6:30.

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Source: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/12/30/the-mummers-fancy-brigades-hold-a-free-sneak-preview-at-the-pennsylvania-convention-center/

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Beijing Cottage (Croydon, London, by NeonPink)

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Paul returns to Iowa as rivals eye his supporters (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is rallying his diehard supporters, whom his rivals regard as the greatest complication in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

With less than a week until Iowa's leadoff contest, Paul planned to meet with supporters near Des Moines. The other GOP candidates spread out across the state Wednesday to woo potential caucus-goers, many of whom are still undecided amid a flood of television and radio ads. Paul's rivals also worked to disqualify him on social issues, foreign affairs and even his decades-old newsletter.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday he couldn't vote for Paul if he were to become the GOP nominee and called his views "totally outside the mainstream of every decent American" during an interview with CNN.

Gov. Rick Perry said during a campaign stop in Council Bluffs that his fellow Texan was dangerous: "You don't have to vote for a candidate who would allow Iran to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and then ultimately America."

As Paul's poll numbers have risen, so has scrutiny of him. That has led to questions about a newsletter he published in the early 1990s, when he was not serving in Congress. Among the quotes from the newsletter: "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."

Paul has said many of the passages were written by aides but acknowledged he was responsible.

A conservative with libertarian leanings, Paul commands strong allegiance from his supporters but appears to have little potential to expand his appeal and emerge as a serious challenger for the nomination. Yet he could complicate other candidates' pathway to the nomination.

Some polls show Paul on top in Iowa, and a caucus victory for him could prove embarrassing to candidates such as Rep. Michele Bachmann or former Sen. Rick Santorum. Both essentially relocated to Iowa ? it's Bachmann's birthplace ? with hopes that momentum from here would launch a national campaign.

"If I finish dead last, way behind the pack, I'm going to pack up and go home," Santorum said in a radio interview on WHO in Des Moines. "But I don't think that's going to happen."

Santorum, more than any of the others, has campaigned in Iowa the old-fashioned way ? by doggedly visiting all 99 counties and holding hundreds of town hall meetings.

Bachmann was trying to match that. She scheduled 11 stops Wednesday to build momentum and media attention. She is lagging in fundraising, as her rivals have poured millions of dollars in advertising onto the airwaves.

The candidates and allied groups have spent more than $12 million on commercials to air through caucus day next Tuesday. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Perry and groups supporting the two men account for almost half the total, according to one estimate.

Gingrich and Perry also planned to continue their bus tours, although at a slower clip.

Romney, who a day earlier looked past his Republican rivals toward the general election during a speech to Iowans, planned the first three stops of his tour in a state he had largely kept at arm's length.

"Mr. President, you have now had your moment," he said Tuesday, criticizing President Barack Obama and sounding every bit the nominee he hopes to become. "We have seen the results. And now, Mr. President, it is our time."

___

AP Special Correspondent David Espo in Des Moines and Associated Press writers Charles Babington in Des Moines, Tom Beaumont in Mason City, Shannon McCaffrey in Dubuque and Kasie Hunt in Davenport, Iowa, and Steve Peoples in New Hampshire contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Investing for Retirement | Education of Business Online from NCSU

Retirement may be a long way off for you ? or it might be right around the corner. No matter how near or far it is, you?ve absolutely got to start saving for it now. However, saving for retirement isn?t what it used to be with the increase in cost of living and the instability of social security. You have to invest for your retirement, as opposed to saving for it!

Let?s start by taking a look at the retirement plan offered by your company. Once upon a time, these plans were quite sound. However, after the Enron upset and all that followed, people aren?t as secure in their company retirement plans anymore. If you choose not to invest in your company?s retirement plan, you do have other options.

First, you can invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts. You do not have to state to anybody that the returns on these investments are to be used for retirement. Just simply let your money grow overtime, and when certain investments reach their maturity, reinvest them and continue to let your money grow.

You can also open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). IRA?s are quite popular because the money is not taxed until you withdraw the funds. You may also be able to deduct your IRA contributions from the taxes that you owe. An IRA can be opened at most banks. A ROTH IRA is a newer type of retirement account. With a Roth, you pay taxes on the money that you are investing in your account, but when you cash out, no federal taxes are owed. Roth IRA?s can also be opened at a financial institution.

Another popular type of retirement account is the 401(k). 401(k?s) are typically offered through employers, but you may be able to open a 401(k) on your own. You should speak with a financial planner or accountant to help you with this. The Keogh plan is another type of IRA that is suitable for self employed people. Self-employed small business owners may also be interested in Simplified Employee Pension Plans (SEP). This is another type of Keogh plan that people typically find easier to administer than a regular Keogh plan.

Whichever retirement investment you choose, just make sure you choose one! Again, do not depend on social security, company retirement plans, or even an inheritance that may or may not come through! Take care of your financial future by investing in it today.

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Source: http://www.graspncsu.com/2011/12/investing-for-retirement/

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Analysis: Caution mutes US response to NKorea (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Obama administration's cautious response to the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il reflects unease and uncertainty about the leadership transition in the reclusive country that has confounded U.S. presidents since Harry S. Truman.

For the past 60 years, the "hermit kingdom" has vexed the United States and its allies with war, nuclear tests, missile launches, belligerence and bellicose bombast. But since he took office, President Barack Obama has had to deal with the country at perhaps its most secretive point: an unclear succession at the very top at a time of deep concern about the stability of the regime.

Thus, the administration's carefully worded public messages have underscored the administration's desire for better relations with the autocratic nation and its concern about the welfare of the North Korean people. They are also gentle reminders that Washington expects Pyongyang to follow through on denuclearization pledges and improve ties with its neighbors, particularly South Korea.

The kid gloves treatment accorded to the North's youthful new leader, Kim's twenty-something son Kim Jong Un, has attracted criticism from some who see this is a moment to make a forceful case for dramatic reform and regime change.

But without solid intelligence of the opaque transition process and fearful of misunderstandings that could lead to provocations with the notoriously erratic North, U.S. officials concluded that the best course is to say little, wait and watch.

Indeed, the administration's initial reactions to Kim's death have contained little substance at all and were couched in niceties.

"All I can say is that we're monitoring the situation closely," White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Wednesday as North Korean state media broadcast pictures of wailing mourners, apparently overcome with grief. "Kim Jong Il had designated Kim Jong Un as his official successor, and at this time we have no indication that that has changed."

Carney added: "We hope that the new North Korean leadership will take the steps necessary to support peace, prosperity and a better future for the North Korean people, including through acting on its commitments to denuclearization."

Those comments echoed words from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. On Monday, more than 16 hours after Kim's death was announced, she was the first senior U.S. official to comment publicly on the developments. In intentionally vague comments, she called for "a peaceful and stable transition in North Korea" and expressed hope that it would not affect "regional peace and stability."

Ironically, it was Clinton who first stirred the pot about a possible succession crisis in North Korea.

Nearly three years ago, on her first trip to Asia as secretary of state, she stunned diplomatic circles with a frank appraisal of U.S. concerns amid rampant speculation about the health of Kim Jong Il, who had suffered a stroke in 2008, and his choice of a successor.

"If there is a succession, even if it's a peaceful succession, that creates more uncertainty and it also may encourage behaviors that are even more provocative as a way to consolidate power within the society," Clinton told reporters on her way to South Korea on Feb. 20, 2009.

Her remarks on a previously taboo subject sparked great debate. In Seoul the next day, she expressed surprise at the uproar, noting that reports of Kim choosing his youngest son Kim Jung Un to succeed him had "been in the news for months."

"I don't think that it's a forbidden subject to talk about succession in the hermit kingdom," Clinton said. "In fact, it seems to me it's got to be factored into any policy review that one is undertaking. ... I think it would be irresponsible for it not to be factored into what you were thinking about."

That same month, U.S. diplomats were scrambling to collect any information they could about Kim Jong Un from South Korean, Chinese and Japanese officials and experts, according to leaked State Department cables published by WikiLeaks.

Unfortunately for the Americans, their interlocutors had sharply divided opinions, according to the cables. Some predicted the North Korean regime would collapse politically within two to three years of Kim Jong Il's death. Others foresaw a power struggle between the young and untested Kim Jong Un and rivals in the elite but differed over who would prevail. Others believed there would be little change.

One apparent area of convergence, however, was that most South Korean experts believed the challenge for the younger Kim would come after his father's death.

Thus, as North Korea's transition is under way, the lack of clarity has put U.S. policy on hold.

Before Kim's passing, the administration had been expected this week to announce the resumption in food aid to North Korea and a potential bilateral meeting on nuclear disarmament. Although the State Department said there had been brief exchange with North Korean officials in New York on Monday, both initiatives are now in flux pending the end of the North's mourning period.

The administration says it is respecting that mourning period by understanding that North Korean officials will not be available for discussions. Yet it has steadfastly refused to express any sympathy for the death of Kim, whose Stalinist regime is accused of having one of the worst, if not the worst, human rights records in the world.

While showering the late Czech democracy leader Vaclev Havel with effusive eulogies, American officials have refused to even utter the word "condolence" in relation to Kim.

"With regard to the C-word," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday, "I think we didn't consider it appropriate in this case."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Matthew Lee covers international affairs and U.S. foreign policy for The Associated Press.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_nkorea_analysis

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

http://mojosavings.com/2011/12/26/coach-purse-50-amazon-gift-card-giveaway-328-v...

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Parnell includes shale oil money in 2013 budget

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell's proposed capital budget for fiscal year 2013 features several items of interest to the oil and gas industry.

The proposal includes $1.1 million to encourage exploration and development of shale oil deposits in Alaska. The bulk of the money, $1 million, would be used to "develop an inventory of environmental data to support permitting for shale oil development," a project summary says.

The data will include the identification and delineation of wetlands and streams, surveys of animal and fish populations and habitat, and surveys of subsistence activities and "other potential resource conflicts."

The state will provide the data to North Slope shale oil developers for use in completing environmental impact statements required for federal permits.

"In absence of this state data collection effort," the project summary says, "... data will be more costly (to developers) and development may be slowed."

"Moreover," the summary says, "federal agencies tend to give more credence to data acquired by state agencies as opposed to third-party collection under contract to industry."

Another $100,000 is proposed in fiscal year 2013 for a "geologic assessment of North Slope shale oil potential." A project summary indicates the state would contribute $300,000 more in 2014.

"The North Slope remains under-explored relative to other sedimentary basins around the world."

The primary purpose of the two-phase project is to acquire "a comprehensive new geologic data set" to benefit explorers, especially smaller independents who rely on publicly available maps and technical reports from the state.

The shale oil project summary continues:

"The North Slope petroleum system includes three excellent organic-rich, source rock intervals -- a characteristic that is required for the successful creation of shale oil accumulations. Industry has recently recognized this potential, as indicated by one company (Great Bear) spending more than $6.5 million to lease about 500,000 acres of state land for the stated purpose of exploring for shale oil resources."

The governor's capital budget also includes $200,000 to fund phase three of a three-year project to assess natural gas potential in prospective unexplored basins near Alaska transportation corridors and population centers.

Previous funding totaled $1 million to evaluate the Nenana and Susitna basins. The $200,000 request will go toward finishing that work, with data to be made available for public release to encourage exploration investment, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Parnell also is proposing $160,000 for Arctic Power, an organization that has lobbied for almost a dozen years to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas exploration and development. A project summary indicates the state has contributed between $120,000 and $3.75 million in every annual budget since 2000.

The governor's capital budget proposes $1.5 million, including $1 million in state general funds and $500,000 in federal receipts, to continue a study to identify potential sites for a deepwater port along the Arctic Ocean coast.

Such a port could support oil and gas industry efforts in the remote region, as well as U.S. Coast Guard operations.

A project summary contemplates further spending in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. The port study is being done in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Alaska legislators will consider the governor's budget when they open their next session on Jan. 17.

Source: http://www.adn.com/2011/12/23/2232274/parnell-includes-shale-oil-money.html

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Mortenson Construction: A move into renewable energy

Mortenson Construction, best known as a builder of hospitals, offices and sports stadiums, also has become one of North America's leading renewable energy contractors.

Most of the wind power generated in Minnesota comes from turbines installed by the Golden Valley-based company. It has built other wind farms and utility-scale solar power projects across the United States and in Canada.

It's now constructing the nation's largest concentrated solar power station in Colorado, and one of the largest U.S. wind farms in Messena, Iowa. The company says renewable energy work accounted for 28 percent of its $2.4 billion in revenue last year.

Tom Wacker, senior vice president, helped move Mortenson into renewable energy and now leads the five groups focused on wind, solar and transmission. He recently sat down to talk about the business.

QHow did Mortenson get into the wind and solar energy construction business?

AMortenson has always had an industrial side -- wastewater, water-treatment projects, energy projects, pulp and paper mills. In 1995, as the pulp and paper business was slowing down, our guys were out looking for another market and built their first wind turbine down in Iowa. That market continued to grow and expand. Then in 2008 we started building our first solar projects.

QHow many wind farms has Mortenson built and what is the largest one?

AAt the end of this year we'll have finished about 107. The largest one is the Mid-America Energy project in Iowa.

QTell me a little bit about that.

AThat's 443 megawatts, and it is the single largest, single-build wind project in the United States, maybe even in the world. There are larger wind projects in total megawatts but they were built in multiple phases.

QTell us the steps in building a wind farm.

ATypically when we are the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, we will get involved when the wind farm developer has a bunch of dots on a map. We'll work on micro-siting of the turbines with the owner and the wind consultant, and on designing the roads, the electrical collection systems, the substation and transmission lines. We do all the work, with the dozers and graders to build the roads, then pour the foundations, erect the turbines and do all the electrical work.

QDo your workers move around for these projects?

AIt's a combination. We'll move most of our management staff to a project site, then we'll bring in some key travelers from the trades who have been with us for many years. And then we hire local in the local community. We have a lot of people out of northern Minnesota who travel with us around the country; that is where a lot of our millwrights and ironworkers came from. We peaked this year at just under 800 crafts people. If you add in some of the sub-trades, you double or triple that.

QWhat is concentrated solar and where is Mortenson building that?

AIt basically concentrates the sun on much smaller but more efficient solar cells. We're building a large project in Colorado that uses Amonix technology, and that will be 30 megawatts. That currently is the largest concentrating solar facility in North America.

QThe cost of new wind farms has dropped significantly this year. Why is that?

AThe price is down for a variety of reasons. One of course is the turbine suppliers are selling their product at less cost. Part of that is because raw materials are down. Then everybody's prices are just tighter as the cost of electricity has gone down. Everybody through the whole supply chain just tightened up their pricing.

QMortenson recently established a power transmission group. Where are those opportunities and are they related to the concerns about reliability of the power grid?

AEventually if we don't build more transmission, we don't build much more wind power because there is no grid to get it onto. The projects we're looking at today are in the West. We are bidding on a project in Utah. We are looking at work in Texas and at some projects up in Canada. Most of those projects are either moving renewables, or strengthening the grid.

QMuch of the construction industry was badly hurt by the financial crisis and recession. What happened in renewable energy during this period?

AI happened to be out in Washington, D.C., meeting with a bunch of the wind people and senators and representatives just days after Lehman Brothers went under in 2008. Customers were talking about projects going away. 2009 was a down year for us. 2010 started coming back, and 2011 is looking pretty good. But there was an immediate effect, a dampening in the market. 2012 looks pretty good. I don't know if it will be as big as 2008 but it will approach it.

QWhat is the outlook for your wind business if the federal wind production tax credit (PTC) isn't renewed at the end of 2012?

AAbout 35 percent of our renewables business is in Canada, so there will be a continued market for us there. Every time there has been no PTC, there have been one or two projects built in the United States. There are a couple places where the wind regime is good enough they don't need a PTC to make it competitive. There may be a couple of projects where the turbine vendors, in order to continue manufacturing turbines, will build a project. But I think that will be limited. Most people are going to wait.

David Shaffer ? 612-673-7090

Source: http://www.startribune.com/business/136161243.html

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

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I Would Sell My Soul To See This With My Own Eyes [Astronomy]

The little grey ball is Dione, the third largest Saturn moon. The large brown sphere with the ethereal haze is Titan, the largest. On the background, that's Saturn and its rings. Never an astronomy picture looked so painterly to me. More »


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Saturday, December 24, 2011

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Pop superstars duet with 'X Factor' final three

Fox

Melanie Amaro kicked out the jams with R. Kelly, but was it a good enough performance to push her over the top?

By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

The three ?X Factor? finalists got two final chances to impress the voters on Wednesday night, once in a duet and once with their audition song. It was an odd choice on the part of the show?s organizers, making the finale a report card where the two categories boiled down to ?Plays Well with Others? and ?Most Improved.?

The duets were ... well, interesting would be one word. Random is another. Josh Krajcik and Alanis Morrissette? Really? How did that conversation go? ?Josh, great news! You get to sing with one of the most prominent female vocalists of the last two decades! But there?s a catch. You have to try to sing ?Uninvited.?

That didn?t go so well, especially since Krajcik?s facial expression never got beyond the ?Holy moly, I?m onstage with Alanis Morissette!? stage. Fortunately, he got a second chance, and ?At Last? drew raves, but it was ultimately the least memorable pair of numbers on the night. He was also the first to perform, which never helps in the voting.

Chris Rene went second, and again had the random pop star partner in Avril Lavigne. ?Complicated,? wasn?t much better than the previous duet, but Rene looked more comfortable and got his chance to take the spotlight with his riff towards the end of the number.

Rene also had a huge advantage in that his audition song became a YouTube sensation in about a nanosecond. Though we?ve all heard ?Young Homie? before, it was a reminder that of all the ?X Factor? finalists he?s the best equipped to have that hit single right away.

That left it up to Melanie Amaro. The judges all picked at her duet with R. Kelly and ?I Believe I Can Fly,? which continues the trend in which she gets nagged at for small things while the other contestants can skate by with pretty much anything. We did get some variety, though, as this time the culprit was ?wrong key? instead of ?predictable.?

But she got to close the show, and made Beyonce?s ?Listen? a song that will resonate in the minds of her fans. If this is based on pure vocal abilities, she?s a lock. But is that ever really the case?

To add to the drama, all three singers had cameras in their hometowns. Krajcik?s were at his old high school, a place he graduated before some of the current students were born. Rene?s were at a nightclub he performed at, and Amaro?s were at her church.

Of course, those selections were far from random. Krajcik, who came to his audition fresh off a job making burritos, is the everyman. Rene?s the club entertainer pulled back from the brink of self-destruction. Amaro defines herself by her faith, and it was Simon?s faith in her in bringing her back (or more likely his desire for some added drama, but why be cynical on such an important night?) that caused her to have the needed faith in her own abilities to become a favorite.

Which storyline will win? Well, as Simon Cowell said, this is likely to be the closest finale in the show?s history. Of course, it?s the first season, so that went without saying.

Krajcik is the longshot, so it?ll likely come down to the best voice against the best song. I?d bet on Amaro to win, but no result would be truly be surprising. And as long as a lot of folks watch and the winner goes onto become bigger than Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry combined, the ?X Factor? brass will be happy. No pressure.

Who do you think has the chops to win it all? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/22/9629917-avril-alanis-and-r-kelly-share-duets-with-x-factor-final-three

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Jury awards record $150 billion payout

A jury in Texas has awarded $150 billion in damages to the family of a man who died 12 years after he was horrifically burned on his eighth birthday in what is reportedly the largest personal injury award in U.S. history.

Lawyer Craig Sico said his clients don't expect to collect any of the $150 billion judgment. Instead, they hope it will help persuade prosecutors to seek charges against a man they say doused Robbie Middleton with gasoline and set him on fire.

Middleton survived his horrific injuries for 12 years before dying last year of a rare form of skin cancer, which attorneys argued was related to the extensive burns.

Sico and Middleton's family said they now hope for a renewed investigation of Don Wilburn Collins, who Middleton accused of attacking him.

Collins never faced criminal charges in Middleton's case, in part, prosecutors said, because of inconsistencies in the evidence and difficulty obtaining information from such a young victim.

Sex offender
Now 26, Collins is in prison for an unrelated sexual assault conviction against another 8-year-old boy and for failing to register as a sex offender. He is to be released next year.

He did not appear in court during the civil trial and no attorney appeared on his behalf.

Sico said he asked jurors to make a statement in the case by topping the biggest civil verdict he was aware of ? a $145 billion judgment handed down against the tobacco companies in Florida in 2000.

The Fayette County jury returned the $150 billion verdict Tuesday after a two-day trial.

The Florida tobacco verdict of $145 billion, which was later overturned, had stood as the largest U.S. civil jury verdict, said John T. Nockleby, professor and director of the civil justice program at the Loyola Marymount University School of Law in Los Angeles.

"It's the kind of award that has no meaning outside of an expression of moral outrage," he said. "They could have awarded a trillion dollars, and it would have made no difference."

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Middleton's mother, Colleen Middleton, said Wednesday the family hadn't really thought about the size of the judgment.

"We're never going to see any money," she said. "What we thought was please let these people realize Robert was precious, like everybody else's child, and he didn't deserve this."

"When they came back with the $150 billion, I was like: 'They get it.' And that made me feel so good," she said.

Cold case review
Robbie Middleton was attacked on June 28, 1998 ? his eighth birthday ? as he walked through a wooded area in the Southeast Texas town of Splendora, northeast of Houston. A neighbor who discovered the boy told a 911 dispatcher that the burned child said, "Some kids threw the gas on him."

When police questioned the boy, who was burned over 99 percent of his body, he told them: "Don did it."

Collins, who was 13 at the time, was taken into custody five days later. He was held in juvenile detention for six weeks before he was released without charges to the custody of an uncle appointed as his legal guardian.

In a video deposition taken just before he died last year, Middleton identified Collins as a person who sexually assaulted him about two weeks before the fire attack.

Montgomery County Attorney David Walker said Wednesday that the sheriff's department's cold case unit already has been reviewing the Middleton burning case for several months.

Walker, who was not county attorney at the time of the assault on Middleton but was working at the office, told the Los Angeles Times that Collins was not charged because "the case was very, very difficult, with evidence that was not clear or necessarily compelling at that time."

He said Middleton was severely injured and "his ability to say what had happened and who did this horrible crime to him was extremely difficult."

"There will be people who will say that's an excuse, but the professionals here worked very hard," Walker added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45761980/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

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Insight: How renewable energy may be Edison's revenge (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? At the start of the 20th century, inventors Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla clashed in the "war of the currents." To highlight the dangers of his rival's system, Edison even electrocuted an elephant. The animal died in vain; it was Tesla's system and not Edison's that took off. But today, helped by technological advances and the need to conserve energy, Edison may finally get his revenge.

The American inventor, who made the incandescent light bulb viable for the mass market, also built the world's first electrical distribution system, in New York, using "direct current" electricity. DC's disadvantage was that it couldn't carry power beyond a few blocks. His Serbian-born rival Tesla, who at one stage worked with Edison, figured out how to send "alternating current" through transformers to enable it to step up the voltage for transmission over longer distances.

Edison was a fiercely competitive businessman. Besides staging electrocutions of animals to discredit Tesla's competing system, he proposed AC be used to power the first execution by electric chair.

But his system was less scalable, and it was to prove one of the worst investments made by financier J. Pierpont Morgan. New York's dominant banker installed it in his Madison Avenue home in the late 19th century, only to find it hard to control. It singed his carpets and tapestries.

So from the late 1800s, AC became the accepted form to carry electricity in mains systems. For most of the last century, the power that has reached the sockets in our homes and businesses is alternating current.

Now DC is making a comeback, becoming a promising money-spinner in renewable or high-security energy projects. From data centers to long-distance power lines and backup power supplies, direct current is proving useful in thousands of projects worldwide.

"Everyone says it's going to take at least 50 years," says Peter Asmus, a senior analyst at Boulder, Colorado-based Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm in global clean technology. But "the role of DC will increase, and AC will decrease."

FROM CLOUD TO MICROGRID

The main factor driving demand is the need to conserve energy and produce more of it from renewable sources. Alternating current is generated by rotating engines, but renewable sources such as wind and solar produce DC power. To use it, because of the way our buildings are wired, we first convert it to AC.

Another thing that's happened since Edison's time is the advent of the semiconductor. Semiconductors need DC power, and are increasingly found in household appliances. These have to convert the AC supply back to DC, which is a waste of energy and generates heat. In the early years of industrialization this wasn't an issue, but today it's important, especially in the huge and fast-growing business of cloud computing.

The companies that handle our information traffic are racking their brains to boost efficiency and cut carbon emissions from their plants. Pike Research expects the green data center business to be worth $41 billion annually by 2015, up from $7.5 billion now. That will be just under a third of all spending on data centers.

Finnish information technology company Academica, for instance, has a data center in a granite cave beneath Helsinki's Uspenski cathedral. It uses Baltic sea water to cool the plant and feeds surplus heat to the city's homes. IBM has designed a solar array to power its Bangalore data center. Microsoft has filed a patent application for a wind-powered data center.

Direct current may be one way to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. Right now, outside a handful of universities, it's not the first thing people are thinking of because there are more basic things to do, says Eric Woods, Research Director for Smart Industry at Pike. But for companies on the leading edge, "it's sort of coming out of the research ghetto."

Pike has not put a figure on how big the DC component of the green data center market will be. Swiss-Swedish engineering firm ABB, a big DC advocate, says about 35 percent of demand for green data centers will come from the United States, 30 percent from Europe, and the rest spread globally.

Every day, says ABB, we all send more than 300 billion emails and 250 million tweets globally. The centers to handle all this data are growing by 10 percent each year and already consume 80 million megawatt-hours of energy annually -- almost 1.5 times the amount of electricity used by the whole of New York City. They're also responsible for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions.

DC power could help. At low voltages it has long been used in data centers but will be "game-changing" at higher voltages, ABB says.

Beyond its potential in data centers, DC power's ability to run on renewable energy sources makes it interesting for important plants that need to operate in "island mode" -- independent of the grid -- in case of a supply failure. Building systems with small, self-contained electricity distribution networks known as microgrids is of particular interest to governments and militaries who worry about terrorist attacks.

"In our view the market (for microgrids) is about to take off," said Pike Research's Asmus, who also sees demand for microgrids in countries that aren't densely covered by AC grids, such as Australia and India, and in developing countries looking to replace costly and wasteful diesel generators.

SMART GRIDS

And it's not just "island mode." Thanks to power electronics - semiconductor switching devices - DC can now be transmitted at high voltage over very long distances, longer than AC. It can be easily used in cables, over ground or under the sea.

High voltage direct current (HVDC) systems are the backbone of plans for smart grids, or supergrids, which aim to channel energy from places where power sources such as sunlight and hydropower are abundant to countries where it is scarce.

Siemens, which vies with ABB for market leadership in HVDC transmission, says demand is increasing fast. "By 2020, I'm expecting to see new HVDC transmission lines with a total capacity of 250 gigawatts. That is a dramatic increase," says Udo Niehage, CEO of the Power Transmission Division in Siemens' Energy Sector. "In the last 40 years, we've only installed 100 gigawatts worth of HVDC transmission lines."

Emerging markets have been the main drivers. ABB has installed a 2,000-km line in China that operates DC power; a 2,375-km HVDC project under construction in Brazil will be the world's longest transmission line when it comes online in 2013.

But Europe is also important. HVDC is now used in a power connection between Britain and the Netherlands. The island of Majorca, whose tourists push up power demand every summer, was hooked up to the Spanish mainland in September. The HVDC system can transmit 30 to 40 percent more energy than with conventional overhead lines carrying alternating current.

Jochen Kreusel, the head of ABB's Smart Grid program, says smart grid demand will put Europe at the forefront of HVDC growth over the next 10 years. "At the moment, based on the number of projects, I'm quite sure it's the strongest market," he said. Pike in November 2010 estimated HVDC investment would reach $12.1 billion by 2015.

The bulk of this DC know-how is currently with European companies, although Chinese firms are joining in. Besides ABB, Siemens and France's Alstom are the main players.

NOT THERE YET

There are plenty of obstacles to all these developments. People in some places worry about the environmental damage from laying new grids, others point to a lack of standards and say DC still has technological limitations that need to be fixed.

Public fears about the potential danger of high voltage cables could also be an issue, especially in the United States where standard voltages are already much lower than in Europe. There are practical limitations, such as a shortage of cable-making capacity.

If the economic climate does not improve, cash may also be a constraint. Countries such as Spain and the Netherlands have already cut subsidies to renewable energy projects. ABB's Kreusel says the economic crisis will have an impact on the market, but he still expects DC to become "an evolutionary add-on" to AC grids over the next 20 years.

How would Edison see all this? He might even have foreseen it. "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy," he reportedly told his associates Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone in the 1930s. "What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."

(Edited by Simon Robinson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111220/sc_nm/us_power_acdc

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

TechStars Seattle Grad GoChime Raises $630K To Help Brands Monetize Social Media

158968v2-max-250x250GoChime, a graduate of the 2011 TechStars Seattle program, is today announcing that it has raised $630,000 from a host of entrepreneurs and angel investors that include Geoff Entress, who has invested in companies like Hootsuite and Cheezburger, Walter Winshall, an investor in Harmonix (Guitar Hero), Co-founder of Feedburner and former Googler, Matt Shobe, Dave Carlson (investor in Socialthing, Daily Burn), and Founder and CEO of Bigdoor Keith Smith -- to name a few. What is GoChime? Simply put, the startup is delivering relevant offers to people based on real needs they've expressed across their social media profiles. In other words, it's direct marketing for social, something which GoChime Co-founders Matt Walters, Josh Emert, and Austin Evarts are convinced has not yet been done successfully.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/zL9_QiTWTVw/

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Would You Like To Choose Your Flight Seat Mate Using Facebook? [Video]

This is what KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is doing: their incoming check-in system will allow passengers to choose seat mates based on their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, so he or she would be someone who shares your interests. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/WLNXl9o4FDc/would-you-like-to-choose-your-flight-seat-mate-using-facebook

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World's largest river dolphin looks pretty in pink

Rowan Hooper, news editor

01318072.jpg(Image: Kevin Schafer/naturepl.com)

Meet the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), also known as the boto, or, if you believe Amazonian folklore, dad. Legend has it that the dolphin can transform itself into a handsome young man, who is a willing dance and conversation partner for village women. The enchanted dolphin is blamed - somewhat conveniently, it has to be said - for children whose paternity is disputed.

Now we know a little more about the animal - but not much. It lives in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, but we don't have a good estimate of population size because its habitat range is vast and the rivers are mostly inaccessible. Despite this, it is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species. Many boto are killed by fishermen, pollution, boat traffic accidents and habitat loss, which are factors that drove the Chinese river dolphin, the Baiji, to almost-certain extinction.

The boto - the largest of the four remaining species of river dolphin - is well adapted to its murky environment. Unfused vertebrae in its neck mean it is capable of turning its head through a range of 180 degrees, allowing it to squeeze around submerged trees and roots. Its long snout means it can winkle out hiding fish, crabs and turtles.

As for why it is so delicately coloured, we don't know for sure. A network of capillaries at the surface of the skin may explain it.

Subscribe to New Scientist Magazine

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1afba724/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A110C120Cworlds0Elargest0Eriver0Edolphin0El0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Phil Spector to take appeal to US Supreme Court (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? A lawyer for imprisoned music legend Phil Spector is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review his murder conviction, arguing his constitutional rights were violated by the trial judge.

Attorney Dennis Riordan contends that Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler became a witness for the prosecution by offering his opinion on an expert's testimony.

The filing was expected to reach the court Friday. It cites the prosecution's use of the judge's videotaped comments and his picture during prosecution summations.

The same arguments were made to state appellate justices, who refused to consider them because of a belated filing. They upheld Spector's second-degree murder conviction in the death of actress Lana Clarkson.

The California Supreme Court declined to review the case.

Spector is serving 19 years to life in prison.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_en_mu/us_phil_spector

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Happy 2nd Birthday, Mason Dash Disick!


Mason Dash Disick turns two years old today and it's rather clear what all THG readers should chip in to get the tyke: a plane ticket as far away from his family as possible.

Kim and Mason

As you might expect, Mason - who will soon be a big brother - was bombarded with well wishes over Twitter this afternoon, as mother Kourtney wrote: "Happy birthday to the love of my life. My precious little angel. It is my joy to see you grow every single day."

Khloe chimed in with "Happy Birthday, Mason. You are one of the greatest things to happen to our family! I love you like you will never understand," while Kris Jenner referred to MDD as her "little angel."

The kid is a cutie, even the most ardent Kardashian basher must admit as much. We wish Mason health, happiness and a life free from sex tapes.

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/happy-2nd-birthday-mason-dash-disick/

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