TOKYO (AP) ? Japanese phone company Softbank, owned by billionaire Masayoshi Son, says its net profit more than doubled in the October-December quarter from a year earlier, helped by strong sales of Apple's iPhone and iPads.
Net profit rose to 65.9 billion yen ($724 million) in the last quarter of 2012 compared with 32.83 billion yen a year earlier.
Sales rose 7 percent to 932.7 billion yen ($10.2 billion).
Softbank is seeking approval from U.S. authorities for its $20 billion purchase of a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel Corp. that would be Japan's biggest foreign acquisition ever.
Softbank, which also offers fixed-line broadband services, has carried out an aggressive marketing drive in recent years, starring a talking white dog that has proved popular among Japanese.
The Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, is seen in a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside a blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, is seen in a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside a blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Leonel Cruz pulls down the flab on the Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, in a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside a blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, is seen in a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside a blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bradley Hasemeyer, the host of AOL's Trasnlogic show, uses his smartphone to photograph the Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, outside a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside the blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Aeroscraft airship, a high-tech prototype airship, is seen in a World War II-era hangar in Tustin, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. Work is almost done on a 230-foot rigid airship inside a blimp hangar at a former military base in Orange Co. The huge cargo-carrying airship is has shiny aluminum skin and a rigid, 230-foot aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) ? The massive blimp-like aircraft flies but just barely, hovering only a dozen feet off a military hangar floor during flight testing south of Los Angeles.
Still, the fact that the hulking 230-foot-long Aeroscraft could fly for just a few minutes represents a step forward in aviation, according to the engineers who developed it. The Department of Defense and NASA have invested $35 million in the prototype because of its potential to one day carry more cargo than any other aircraft to disaster zones and forward military bases.
"I realized that I put a little dot in the line of aviation history. A little dot for something that has never been demonstrated before, now it's feasible," said flight control engineer Munir Jojo-Verge.
The airship is undergoing testing this month at Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, and must go through several more rounds of flight testing before it could be used in a disaster zone or anywhere else. The first major flight test took place Jan. 3.
The biggest challenge for engineers is making sure the airship will be able to withstand high winds and other extreme weather conditions, Jojo-Verge said.
"Their vulnerability is their large size," said aviation expert and former Navy test pilot Pete Field. "There's a lot of surface area so wind affects it tremendously."
Worldwide Aeros, the company that developed the aircraft, said it also must secure more funding for the next round of flight tests, but is hopeful the Defense Department and others will step in again as investors.
The company says the cargo airship's potential to carry more cargo more efficiently than ever before would provide the U.S. military with an advantage on the battlefield and greater capacity to save more lives during natural disasters.
The lighter-than-air vehicle is not a blimp because it has a rigid structure made out of ultra-light carbon fiber and aluminum underneath its high-tech Mylar skin. Inside, balloons hold the helium that gives the vehicle lift. Unlike hydrogen, the gas used in the Hindenburg airship that crashed in 1937, helium is not flammable.
The airship functions like a submarine, releasing air to rise and taking in air to descend, said Aeros mechanical engineer Tim Kenny. It can take off vertically, like a helicopter, then change its buoyancy to become heavier than air for landing and unloading.
"It allows the vehicle to set down on the ground. And then when we want to become lighter than air, we release that air and then the vehicle floats and we can allow it to take off," Kenny said.
In the early 1930s, the Navy operated two airships ? the Macon and the Akron ? as flying aircraft carriers that could launch and retrieve biplanes. Both were lost to thunderstorms.
If the design team can make the Aeroscraft steady and maneuverable, it would be the ultimate logistics and transport vehicle, carrying tanks, equipment and supplies to bases around the world, Field said.
"I don't think there's much doubt about whether it's going to work or not. It's physics," he said. "In the right atmospheric conditions, it would be ideal."
The project has set abuzz the old hangars at the Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin. The structures were built to hold blimps during World War II. Now workers zip around in cherry-pickers, and the airship's silvery surface shines against the warm tones of the aging wood of the walls.
"You could take this vehicle and go to destinations that have been destroyed, where there's no ports, no runways, stuff like that. This vehicle could go in there, offload the cargo even if there's no infrastructure, no landing site for it to land on, this vehicle can unload its whole payload," said Kenny.
The prototype isn't intended to carry cargo, though a similar-sized craft could haul about 30 tons. Aeros wants to build a full-size 450-foot-long vehicle that can carry 66 tons of payload.
Good news for Honda fans: the automobile manufacturer has just revealed which of its 2013 vehicles will receive support for Apple's hands-free extension of Siri, known as Eyes Free. Namely, the feature will be available as a dealer-installed option for the Honda Accord, along with the RDX and ILX from Acura. Mum's currently the word on software integration, but it's worth pointing out that the HondaLink infotainment system was previously revealed to debut on the 2013 Accord, and both the RDX and ILX feature AcuraLink -- so, you do the math. Honda's yet to reveal pricing for the kit, but hey, it's something to haggle about.
Sen. Marco Rubio went on Rush Limbaugh's show to sell his proposal for comprehensive immigration reform on Tuesday, a day after the radio host said only he and Fox News stand can stop amnesty now, and while Rubio charmed Limbaugh, the Senator from Florida didn't win a new supporter for his immigration proposal. Rubio insisted that illegal immigrants already here wouldn't see a path to citizenship until enforcement measures were in place to limit more illegal immigration -- and that even four Democratic senators had signed an agreement endorsing enforcement triggers. Limbaugh showered Rubio with compliments, saying he was "honestly, forthrightly... seeking compromise," that he "does not fear talk radio," that he's "impressive." But those were personal assessments.?Unlike other conservative pundits, Limbaugh did not find Rubio's policy all that impressive. President Obama could agree to the enforcement triggers, Limbaugh suggested, and then still fail to enforce them. Enforcement was promised in the 1986 immigration reform law, and it didn't happen. "This is a repeat," Limbaugh said. And passing immigration reform probably wouldn't win Republicans a bunch of new Latino votes, either, because that didn't happen after the 1986 law, either.?
RELATED: 62% Want Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants
Limbaugh's callers voiced similar concerns, saying Democrats would hold onto Latino voters and were looking to get more people on government benefits. If you look at posters at FreeRepublic, they say much the same thing. "Why don?t they just call this the 'Turn Texas into a Blue State' Act? That?s what it basically is. Twenty-five million new Democrat voters," says one freeper. "Build the fence first, control the border and then we negotiate," demanded another. "We need to have some t-shirts made for the GOP. I voted for immigration reform and all I got was this T-shirt..they got 11 Million new Rat voters," another said. During the senator's radio interview, people?tweeted at Limbaugh that Rubio was one of the Tea Party's worst insults: RINO.?
RELATED: GOP Finds a Way to Woo Latinos Without Angering the Tea Party
Rubio, who is enjoying national prominence as the future of the Republican Party (at least?a?future), may not need the Limbaugh audience to support his cause. But another very small, but very important audience, does: the Republicans in Congress still scared at watching party stalwarts like former Sen. Dick Lugar go down to Tea Party-backed challengers. If anything is clear from today's interview, neither Rubio nor Limbaugh is giving them much cover to come out in favor of immigration reform.?
China considers lifting video game console ban says report ? SlashGear | Bowden Gaming 10 visitors online now 5 guests, 5 bots, 0 members Max visitors today: 18 at 11:50 am EST This month: 30 at 01-10-2013 08:13 pm EST This year: 30 at 01-10-2013 08:13 pm EST All time: 88 at 10-17-2011 06:46 am EDT
Jan. 28, 2013 ? In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms -- principally bacteria -- in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above Earth's surface.
Whether the microorganisms routinely inhabit this portion of the atmosphere -- perhaps living on carbon compounds also found there -- or whether they were simply lofted there from Earth's surface isn't yet known. The finding is of interest to atmospheric scientists, because the microorganisms could play a role in forming ice that may impact weather and climate. Long-distance transport of the bacteria could also be of interest for disease transmission models.
The microorganisms were documented in air samples taken as part of NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) program to study low- and high-altitude air masses associated with tropical storms. The sampling was done from a DC-8 aircraft over both land and ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and portions of the Atlantic Ocean. The sampling took place before, during and after two major tropical hurricanes -- Earl and Karl -- in 2010.
The research, which has been supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation, was scheduled to be published online January 28th by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"We did not expect to find so many microorganisms in the troposphere, which is considered a difficult environment for life," said Kostas Konstantinidis, an assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "There seems to be quite a diversity of species, but not all bacteria make it into the upper troposphere."
Aboard the aircraft, a filter system designed by the research team collected particles -- including the microorganisms -- from outside air entering the aircraft's sampling probes. The filters were analyzed using genomic techniques including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing, which allowed the researchers to detect the microorganisms and estimate their quantities without using conventional cell-culture techniques.
When the air masses studied originated over the ocean, the sampling found mostly marine bacteria. Air masses that originated over land had mostly terrestrial bacteria. The researchers also saw strong evidence that the hurricanes had a significant impact on the distribution and dynamics of microorganism populations.
The study showed that viable bacterial cells represented, on average, around 20 percent of the total particles detected in the size range of 0.25 to 1 microns in diameter. By at least one order of magnitude, bacteria outnumbered fungi in the samples, and the researchers detected 17 different bacteria taxa -- including some that are capable of metabolizing the carbon compounds that are ubiquitous in the atmosphere -- such as oxalic acid.
The microorganisms could have a previously-unidentified impact on cloud formation by supplementing (or replacing) the abiotic particles that normally serve as nuclei for forming ice crystals, said Athanasios Nenes, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
"In the absence of dust or other materials that could provide a good nucleus for ice formation, just having a small number of these microorganisms around could facilitate the formation of ice at these altitudes and attract surrounding moisture," Nenes said. "If they are the right size for forming ice, they could affect the clouds around them."
The microorganisms likely reach the troposphere through the same processes that launch dust and sea salt skyward. "When sea spray is generated, it can carry bacteria because there are a lot of bacteria and organic materials on the surface of the ocean," Nenes said.
The research brought together microbiologists, atmospheric modelers and environmental researchers using the latest technologies for studying DNA. For the future, the researchers would like to know if certain types of bacteria are more suited than others for surviving at these altitudes. The researchers also want to understand the role played by the microorganisms -- and determine whether or not they are carrying on metabolic functions in the troposphere.
"For these organisms, perhaps, the conditions may not be that harsh," said Konstantinidis. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is active life and growth in clouds, but this is something we cannot say for sure now."
Other researchers have gathered biological samples from atop mountains or from snow samples, but gathering biological material from a jet aircraft required a novel experimental setup. The researchers also had to optimize protocols for extracting DNA from levels of biomass far lower than what they typically study in soils or lakes.
"We have demonstrated that our technique works, and that we can get some interesting information," Nenes said. "A big fraction of the atmospheric particles that traditionally would have been expected to be dust or sea salt may actually be bacteria. At this point we are just seeing what's up there, so this is just the beginning of what we hope to do."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology. The original article was written by John Toon.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Natasha DeLeon-Rodriguez et al. Microbiome of the upper troposphere: Species composition and prevalence, effects of tropical storms, and atmospheric implications. PNAS, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1212089110
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Kerry Confirmed 94-3 - Who'd have thought the former Democratic presidential candidate at the State Department would be easier to confirm than the former Republican senator at the Pengaton? - http://abcn.ws/Wt8DS6
Stay Tuned to Nightline and ABC News.com for Cynthha McFadden's interview with Hillary Clinton with tough questions about her Benghazi testimony and her future.
To whet your appetite - Clinton by the Numbers - 956,000 Miles, 1,700 meetings with world leaders, 3 on-camera dances - http://abcn.ws/WzAD3L (Jilian Fama and Dana Hughes)
QOTD - "We've received a lot of feedback from residents who love the gnomes," PG & E Spokesman Jason King told The Associated Press. "We're looking for solutions. We'll keep them where people can enjoy them." - Don't Mess with Oakland's Anonymous Gnomes - http://bit.ly/UANuVL
A 7th "happy to be alive" anniversary for ABC's Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt - http://bit.ly/TTBBfO
The Immigration Pitch - Today it was Rubio on Rush. Tomorrow it is Obama on ABC's partner Univsion.
No - Obama (and Democrats) and Rubio (and Republicans) don't unanimously agree on what'll be in an immigration bill. But the big names on both sides seem to be trying to get the sales pitch out of the way early. Jordan Fabian wraps the day - http://abcn.ws/WsOyeU
Immigration Pre-greement? - The immigration strategy on both sides of the aisle seems to go a little like this: We all agree! Make a big show of bipartisan agreement, get everyone to sign onto big ideas, woo the conservative media before there are specifics over which to quibble? and then work out the details later.
Obama Today - "The good news is that - for the first time in many years - Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together. Members of both parties, in both chambers, are actively working on a solution. And yesterday, a bi-partisan group of Senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I've proposed and campaigned on for the last few years. At this moment, it looks like there's a genuine desire to get this done soon. And that's very encouraging."
Rubio also did his part today. The Florida Senator who today began a spirited PR offensive in favor of bipartisan action. In addition to his appearance on Rush, Rubio also gave an impassioned Senate floor speech. He planned appearances on other radio talk shows as well.
But there was no animosity between Rubio and Rush today. Rush was extremely respectful of Rubio and his ideas even as he suggested President Obama was only after political gain with this process.
Here's what Rubio said after Obama's speech in Las Vegas:
"I am concerned by the President's unwillingness to accept significant enforcement triggers before current undocumented immigrants can apply for a green card. Without such triggers in place, enforcement systems will never be implemented and we will be back in just a few years dealing with millions of new undocumented people in our country. Furthermore?" and he goes on from there.
How does Obama's Plan Differ from the Gang of 8? - No guest worker program and more direct path to citizenship for starters - http://abcn.ws/X5ULtI (Jordan Fabian)
Rubio Says Immigration Reform Needs Obamacare Changes - Marco Rubio is leading the GOP charge on immigration reform, but he says new policies won't work without changing President Obama's health-reform law to specifically exclude the undocumented. http://abcn.ws/XIkYhY (Chris Good)
Obama's Immigration Plan Does Includes Provisions for Gay and Lesbian Immigrants - http://abcn.ws/YCyASH (DeRuy)
The Pivotal Question on Immigration - From Potomac Strategies Matt Mackowiak - "Can conservative supporters like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., convince conservative critics that the bill does not equal amnesty?
"The ultimate resolution of (that) question will determine the bill's fate. The most reasonable criticism of the bipartisan plan is that even by requiring those already here illegally to pass a background check, register for a visa (with a requirement that they learn English) and pay back taxes, and then wait for everyone else in line legally to be processed first, the reform would still advantage the lawbreakers. How?
"If Republicans want to benefit from strengthening border security, reforming our highly skilled immigrant visa program and opening Hispanic voters up to listen to our ideas, then we must be willing to accept the unfortunate reality that we cannot deport 12 million people." http://bit.ly/UAf4Ta The A-Word: Why Amnesty Is a Dirty Word in the Immigration Debate - Two days before his bid for immigration reform died in the Senate, President George W. Bush accidentally told a group of lawmakers that his plan would grant undocumented individuals "amnesty." http://abcn.ws/WdJPhP (Sarah Parnass) NRA's Wayne LaPierre: Don't Blame Gun Owners for Acts of Criminals - Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association, will tell the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the federal government should not blame law abiding gun owners for the acts of criminals by enacting new gun control legislation. http://abcn.ws/VlLttX (Arlette Saenz)
Our Palin Expert Shush Walshe Says Palin Is Not Over - Sarah Palin's break up with Fox News should not have been, well, breaking news, as she had publicly complained in August on Facebook that the network had canceled her appearances at the Republican National Convention. http://abcn.ws/WMVPo1 (Shushanna Walshe)
The Many Immigration Positions of Marco Rubio - From Beth Reinhard at National Journal - "As Rubio's star power and skills at framing the immigration debate begin to lure conservatives to the table, the potential for a breakthrough in Washington is already overshadowing his previous policy shifts. As a state lawmaker in 2003 and 2004, he co-sponsored bills to give college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants. As Florida House Speaker in 2008, half a dozen bills that aimed to crack down on illegal immigrants fizzled on his watch. But during the 2010 campaign, Rubio towed the anti-amnesty line demanded by the conservative base of his party. He even argued the U.S. census should count "only legal citizens" because including illegal immigrants would "actually incentivize politicians to perpetuate our broken immigration system by rewarding states with large illegal immigrant populations with a louder voice in Washington." - http://bit.ly/14s1vsT
Election to Replace Sen. Kerry Likely June 25 - With Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's confirmation for Secretary of State proceeding at a smooth and quick pace, the question now becomes who will replace him and when? http://abcn.ws/WyZAMH (Elizabeth Hartfield)
Islet transplant may slow progression of atherosclerosisPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sherri McGinnis Gonzlez smcginn@uic.edu 312-996-8277 University of Illinois at Chicago
Minimally invasive islet transplantation for patients with type 1 diabetes achieves insulin independence and reverses the progression of atherosclerosis in the first few years after transplant, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study.
The research is published in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care and is available online.
Patients with diabetes, particularly women, have a substantial increased risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, according to previous research. However, future cardiac events may be prevented with intensive glycemic control.
In the current longitudinal study, UIC researchers looked at changes over time in carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT -- a marker for atherosclerosis -- in a group of type 1 diabetes patients without kidney disease or previous cardiovascular events.
"This is the first study to look at what happens to diabetes-related cardiovascular complications after islet cell transplantation alone without kidney transplant," said Kirstie Danielson, assistant professor in the UIC College of Medicine and School of Public Health, and lead author of the study, who noted that previous research has focused on metabolic changes and glycemic control after transplant.
The 15 adults (two men and 13 women) suffered from type 1 diabetes for more than five years and had hypoglycemic unawareness despite best efforts to manage insulin levels. The patients received a total of 27 islet transplants (one to three transplants each) and were followed from one to five years after their first transplant. CIMT was measured before and approximately every 12 months after the first islet transplant.
The researchers found a significant decrease in CIMT one year after islet transplant. The CIMT measures started to progress again -- slightly more than they would in healthy individuals without diabetes -- between 12 and 50 months. At 50 months, post-transplant the CIMT measures were still lower than pre-transplant levels, Danielson said.
"The decline of CIMT we saw at one year is not generally seen in patients with diabetes," said Danielson, who attributes the improvements to better glycemic control achieved through islet transplantation and better management of cholesterol, or lipid levels, post-transplant.
All 15 patients achieved insulin independence after receiving one to three islet transplants at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. At the end of the current study, 11 patients were insulin free, three remained on insulin but at greatly reduced doses, and one patient withdrew from the trial because of islet graft loss.
The next step would be to replicate these results in a larger trial, Danielson said.
###
Co-authors include Dr. Jose Oberholzer, Dr. Enrico Benedetti, Dr. Alessandra Mele, Dr. Meirigeng Qi, Joan Martellotto and Katie Kinzer from the UIC College of Medicine, Dr. Betul Hatipoglu from the Clevelend Clinic, and Dr. Bruce Kaplan from the University of Arizona.
The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System provides comprehensive care, education and research to the people of Illinois and beyond. The UI Health System includes a 495-bed tertiary hospital; the University of Illinois at Chicago Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Applied Health Sciences, School of Public Health and the Jane Addams College of Social Work; 22 outpatient clinics located in Chicago; 12 federally qualified health centers throughout the city; and Colleges of Medicine and affiliated health care facilities in Urbana, Peoria and Rockford.
For more information: The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Islet transplant may slow progression of atherosclerosisPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sherri McGinnis Gonzlez smcginn@uic.edu 312-996-8277 University of Illinois at Chicago
Minimally invasive islet transplantation for patients with type 1 diabetes achieves insulin independence and reverses the progression of atherosclerosis in the first few years after transplant, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study.
The research is published in the February issue of the journal Diabetes Care and is available online.
Patients with diabetes, particularly women, have a substantial increased risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, according to previous research. However, future cardiac events may be prevented with intensive glycemic control.
In the current longitudinal study, UIC researchers looked at changes over time in carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT -- a marker for atherosclerosis -- in a group of type 1 diabetes patients without kidney disease or previous cardiovascular events.
"This is the first study to look at what happens to diabetes-related cardiovascular complications after islet cell transplantation alone without kidney transplant," said Kirstie Danielson, assistant professor in the UIC College of Medicine and School of Public Health, and lead author of the study, who noted that previous research has focused on metabolic changes and glycemic control after transplant.
The 15 adults (two men and 13 women) suffered from type 1 diabetes for more than five years and had hypoglycemic unawareness despite best efforts to manage insulin levels. The patients received a total of 27 islet transplants (one to three transplants each) and were followed from one to five years after their first transplant. CIMT was measured before and approximately every 12 months after the first islet transplant.
The researchers found a significant decrease in CIMT one year after islet transplant. The CIMT measures started to progress again -- slightly more than they would in healthy individuals without diabetes -- between 12 and 50 months. At 50 months, post-transplant the CIMT measures were still lower than pre-transplant levels, Danielson said.
"The decline of CIMT we saw at one year is not generally seen in patients with diabetes," said Danielson, who attributes the improvements to better glycemic control achieved through islet transplantation and better management of cholesterol, or lipid levels, post-transplant.
All 15 patients achieved insulin independence after receiving one to three islet transplants at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. At the end of the current study, 11 patients were insulin free, three remained on insulin but at greatly reduced doses, and one patient withdrew from the trial because of islet graft loss.
The next step would be to replicate these results in a larger trial, Danielson said.
###
Co-authors include Dr. Jose Oberholzer, Dr. Enrico Benedetti, Dr. Alessandra Mele, Dr. Meirigeng Qi, Joan Martellotto and Katie Kinzer from the UIC College of Medicine, Dr. Betul Hatipoglu from the Clevelend Clinic, and Dr. Bruce Kaplan from the University of Arizona.
The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System provides comprehensive care, education and research to the people of Illinois and beyond. The UI Health System includes a 495-bed tertiary hospital; the University of Illinois at Chicago Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Applied Health Sciences, School of Public Health and the Jane Addams College of Social Work; 22 outpatient clinics located in Chicago; 12 federally qualified health centers throughout the city; and Colleges of Medicine and affiliated health care facilities in Urbana, Peoria and Rockford.
For more information: The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The FBI says the week following the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting massacre saw the greatest number of background checks for firearms sales and permits to carry guns conducted within a one-week period since 1998.
The FBI says the second highest week was when President Barack Obama announced sweeping plans to curb gun violence.
This new data published by the FBI confirms what many gun dealers around the country have said about sales going up after the deadly shooting that left 27 dead, including 20 children, as gun enthusiasts braced for stricter controls.
The number of background checks does not represent the number of firearms purchased, but gun manufacturers use these statistics to measure the health of the gun industry in the U.S.
SEATTLE (AP) ? Seattle police worked with Army officials Monday to track down the history of a nonfunctional missile launcher that showed up at a weapons buyback program and determine whether it was legal or possibly stolen from the military.
A man standing outside the event Saturday bought the military weapon for $100 from another person there, according to Detective Mark Jamieson.
The single-use device is a launch tube assembly for a Stinger portable surface-to-air missile and already had been used. As a controlled military item, it is not available to civilians through any surplus or disposal program offered by the government, according to Jamieson.
Seattle police have contacted Army officials at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma to deputy chief Nick Metz said Monday.
"Once it's brought on base and investigators have a chance to look at it, they'll see what they can determine," Army spokesman Joe Kubistek said Monday. "It's too early to give any information on it until we have hands-on access to see it and take a look at it."
Police witnessed the private exchange of the military launch tube near the gun buyback event, where gun buyers tempted those standing in long lines to turn in their weapons with cash.
"It was absolutely crazy what we saw out there," Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said at a news conference Monday where officials announced they had collected a total of 716 weapons, including four confirmed as stolen.
Officers saw guns changing private hands without knowing whether the person buying the gun had the legal right to buy it, and those transactions are occurring all the time, McGinn said.
He added that the private sales of the missile launch tube and other weapons illustrate the need for comprehensive background checks as proposed by President Barack Obama, as well as other regulations at the state level.
While there were private gun buyers at the periphery of Saturday's event, Metz said a large majority of people chose to wait in line and get less money because they wanted to make sure they got the weapons off the streets.
"These are very dangerous weapons," Metz said. "They may not have looked very pretty, but (they're) definitely operable."
The firearms collected included 348 pistols, 364 rifles and three so-called street sweepers, or shotguns that include a high capacity magazine capable of holding twelve 12-gauge shotgun shells.
The program allowed people to anonymously turn in their weapons for a shopping gift card worth up to $200 -- $100 for each handgun, rifle or shotgun turned in, and $200 for each gun classified as an assault weapon under state law. Officials distributed about $70,000 in gift cards at Saturday's event.
McGinn said he wanted to plan another buyback event soon and urged more donations to the program.
Meanwhile, police said people who wanted to turn in guns could do so at any time outside a buyback program, though they wouldn't be compensated for it.
?The HR Business Systems Analyst provides HR systems support through technical and analytical responsibilities to include maintaining accurate, current and legally compliant information in the HR Systems; configuring and testing system changes; working with end-users to provide functional and technical assistance; and report writing and quantitative and qualitative analyses of data.
Job Requirements
1. Bachelor?s degree in Information Systems?Human Resources Management, Business Management, or related field preferred. PHR or SPHR certification preferred.
2. Three (3 ) years experience with data integration and migration tools.
3. Three (3 ) years Human Resources information systems experience, required.
4. Experience working in a fast-paced team environment.
5. Experience managing customer expectations.
6. Extensive and expert knowledge of all employment related regulations.
7. Ability to communicate effectively with individuals at all levels within the organization.
8. Ability to use computers and generate various reports, spreadsheets and other documents utilizing various software packages and systems.
9. Ability to set priorities and forecast needs.
10. Strong research and analytical skills.
11. Experience presenting technical information, explaining PC-related concepts and providing instructions and coaching in a user-friendly manner.
12. Demonstrates strong ability to make decisions and judgments; attentive to details and assumes accountability for consequences of actions taken.
13. Lead HR Business Systems Analyst ? Four (4) year experience in Human Resources operations.
14. Senior HR Business Systems Analyst ? Five (5) years expereinece in Human Resources operations
*CB*
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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Seven years after suffering a massive stroke comatose ex- Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has surprised his doctors by displaying "a certain degree of consciousness," an expert who examined him using an MRI scan said on Sunday.
The results of tests conducted by a joint Israeli-American team did not mean the former general and right-wing politician turned peacemaker was about to wake up from the coma he has been in since a January 2006 stroke.
But doctors saw the responses displayed by Sharon, 84, in a two-hour exam on Thursday as "encouraging" that there may some day be a cure for some comas, Alon Friedman, a neurological director at Israel's Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba, said.
Experts at Soroka, joined by a leading U.S. neurologist, Martin Monti, of the University of California Los Angeles, scanned Sharon's brain to test its function Friedman told Reuters in an interview by telephone.
"The chances of him getting out of bed are very, very slim," Friedman said.
But the machine detected some brain activity, when Sharon was shown photographs of his family and also when asked to imagine his home, he said.
These findings suggest that despite Sharon's comatose state "he might be listening, and some important information goes into his brain and is being processed," Friedman said.
Sharon "might be awake, and there is a chance that he is conscious," though due to paralysis suffered as a result of his stroke he cannot respond physically, he added.
"To some extent the patient is what we call 'locked in', he understands and responds with his brain but cannot activate any muscles."
Friedman said Sharon's eyes were open for at least part of the time when he responded to the sight of family photographs.
More surprising were signs the machine showed that Sharon had processed a request to imagine various scenes such as his home, Friedman said, adding that Sharon's brain had also shown signs of responding to his son, Gilad's voice.
"The results of the tests are not clear but encouraging, and they surprised us," Friedman said, adding he saw the results as contributing to data about potential stimuli scientists hope may someday help them awaken certain patients from a coma.
"This is futuristic, and not the case at the moment," he said.
Sharon's stroke felled him at a critical juncture in Israeli politics.
Once a hard-line defense chief, Sharon made a dramatic political about-face with a 2005 Gaza pullout. His illness came just weeks after he made a dramatic exit from the right-wing Likud party to found a centrist faction in the hope of advancing peace moves with the Palestinians.
(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Jason Webb)
Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly very ill with pneumonia. The “Silver Linings Playbook” star, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, has been forced to cancel appearances this week due to illness. Lawrence was unable to attend the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards on Saturday night, where she received the award for ...
MTN Career for a Senior Manager, VAS, Data and Content Development
posted on 2013-01-25??|?by Admin | 4 views
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Careers in MTN Nigeria is focused on the strategic development of talent in line with the key business imperative of ensuring continuity through our key source of competitive advantage our people.
Job Title Senior Manager, VAS, Data & Content Development Department: Marketing and Strategy Location: Lagos Job Description: Quickly evolving platforms and partners Translate customer insights into innovative concepts that achieve business objectives while providing value to customer segments Integrate product development requirements with technical capacity such as Messaging, Portals, Data services, devices, content an d applications, and all supporting platforms including SDPs, service creation environments, policy control engines, etc Balance and negotiate stakeholder requirements Champion new data, applications, content portals and messaging product concepts, as well as existing key products and services across the organization Own and maintain all data, portals and messaging product and service business rules Support all business units with regard to product development and support Deeply understand and propose direction for multimedia portal and services investments Work and drive to optimise mobile device, content and applications value chain Review telecommunications market and contribute to the development of strategies for MTNN products and services, demonstrating an understanding of MTNN business strategies and needs of the customer. Develop detailed plans in support of approved strategies, organizing required resources, monitoring and periodically reporting progress of plans. Direct and provide a strategic framework for product managers to develop and manage new 3rd party relationships, contracts, data services/features, content and application portals and messaging products. Develop possible future scenarios of MTNN?s data, applications/content portals, VAS and messaging product portfolio by considering current and future business models and technologies, and determine combination of features and scenarios that will positively impact and satisfy customer?s needs and aspirations. Identify and advise on new opportunities for MTNN to explore by providing products and services based on the evolution of technologies. Design and develop new systems, products and services for multiple market segments, across the entire spectrum of customers addressed by MTNN. Ensure market managers and the rest of the organization are aligned with the evolution of the product and services roadmap based on new technologies. Drive product and service delivery across the organization in the medium to long term by agreeing and setting goals cross functionally. Maintain in-life products and services. Ensure full integration of quality management processes and their effective deployment on a day-to-day basis. Use relevant metrics and measures to routinely monitor progress against targets and take appropriate managerial action to ensure targets are met or exceeded. Provide performance data to support management decision-making. Identify training and development needs of team members and manage skills enhancement programmes for the team to ensure enterprise sales targets are fully met. Review performance of individual team members and complete appraisals in accordance with the employee performance appraisal procedures and time schedules.
Job Conditions: Normal MTNN working conditions. May be required to work extended hours. Frequent national travel. Reporting To: ??? General Manager, Innovation & Product Development Required Skills: ??? A first degree or post-graduate diploma in Marketing, Accounting, Business Administration or a related discipline An MBA will have an advantage A first degree or post-graduate diploma in Engineering and/or Design is desirable. Training and certification in Project Management is desirable At least 12 years work experience of which includes: 5 years in advanced Business development, or Product Development and Management experience in a Telecommunications-related environment 12 months experience in managing Portals or data services development, or technical/technology partner management 3 years experience in advanced Project Management 3 years in co-coordinating a number of external agencies and suppliers at management level 2 years experience in dealing with senior stakeholders within an established organization.
Employment Status : Permanent Qualification: other
Disclaimer: Though we make every effort to verify the authenticity of our job posts, Employment Nigeria is in no way affiliated with any of these companies whose vacancies we publish.
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Leftist former prime minister Milos Zeman won the Czech Republic's first direct presidential election on Saturday, beating a conservative opponent he had accused of favoring foreign interests in a bitter campaign.
Zeman, a 68-year-old who favors more integration within the European Union, won by 54.8 to 45.2 percent over Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, results from 99.9 percent of voting districts showed.
Economic forecaster Zeman, a Communist Party member before the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, will steer Czechs closer to Europe's mainstream.
The anti-EU rhetoric of outgoing President Vaclav Klaus, who succeeded late playwright Vaclav Havel, has pushed the country towards the margins of the 27-member bloc.
Czech presidents do not wield much day-to-day power but represent the country abroad and appoint prime ministers, central bankers and judges.
Zeman said he wants to overcome divisions provoked by the election in the central European country of 10.5 million people. The final stage of the campaign was marked by doubts cast on the national loyalties of Schwarzenberg, a prince from a centuries-old aristocratic family who lived much of his life in Austria.
Zeman promised to tackle graft, an issue which has dominated political debate for years.
"I want to be president of the bottom 10 million. These include voters of Milos Zeman as well as Karel Schwarzenberg. I do not want to be president of mafias that act as parasites on this society," Zeman said.
Zeman served as Social Democrat prime minister in 1998-2002 under a power-sharing deal with Klaus's right-wing party that critics saw as a breeding ground for corruption.
Schwarzenberg conceded defeat and congratulated Zeman, but relations between the centre-right cabinet and new president may be strained.
Zeman, who has a folksy manner and a well-advertised appetite for sausages and alcohol, appeals to poorer and rural voters, unlike the government, which has raised taxes, cut social benefits and suffered several corruption scandals.
During his premiership, Zeman was credited with privatizing the main banks and attracting foreign investment. Opponents criticize his friendship with former communist officials and businessmen with links to Russia.
Previously, Czech presidents were elected by parliamentary votes that involved a lot of back-room dealing, which led to popular demand for a constitutional change approved last year.
GHOSTS OF THE PAST
The finale of the campaign was marked by appeals to nationalism, unusual for the Czech Republic, whose biggest trading partner is Germany.
Zeman accused Schwarzenberg of backing the cause of some three million ethnic Germans, known as Sudeten Germans, who were expelled from then-Czechoslovakia after World War Two.
Schwarzenberg has said that in today's world, the expulsion could be seen as a war crime, but denied allegations he would open the door for demands to return confiscated property.
Klaus backed Zeman in the vote, saying he wanted a president who had lived in the country all his life, unlike Schwarzenberg, whose family has large land holdings in Austria where he lived in exile during the 1948-1989 communist rule.
Schwarzenberg said the election was won by lies.
"The difference of 10 percentage points was the result of this kind of campaign," he said. "It is impossible to defend against certain type of bad-mouthing."
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Jason Webb)
EVEN the darkest cloud may have a silver lining. The sharp drop in air pollution that accompanied Greece's economic crisis could be a boon to the nation's health.
Mihalis Vrekoussis of the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia and colleagues used three satellites and a network of ground-based instruments to measure air pollution over Greece between 2007 and 2011. Levels of nitrogen dioxide fell over the whole country, with a particularly steep drop of 30 to 40 per cent over Athens. Nitrogen monoxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide also fell (Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: 10.1002/grl.50118).
Pollution levels have been falling since 2002, but the rate accelerated after 2008 by a factor of 3.5, says Vrekoussis. He found that the drop in pollution correlated with a decline in oil consumption, industrial activity and the size of the economy. "This suggests that the additional reported reduction in gas pollutant levels is due to the economic recession," he says.
In Athens, a combination of heavy car use and lots of sunshine have created serious health problems, so city dwellers should see real benefits. Sunlight triggers chemical reactions that make the car exhaust pollution more harmful, for instance by forming small particulates that cause respiratory diseases. "Hospital admissions for asthma should decline," says Dwayne Heard of the University of Leeds in the UK.
It's not all good news: despite the drop in pollutants, levels of ground-level ozone - another cause of respiratory disease - have risen. Ozone would normally be suppressed by nitrogen oxides, but those have declined. That will take the edge off the benefit, says Heard.
Greece isn't the only country where air pollution has dropped. Nitrogen oxide levels fell across Europe after the 2008 financial crisis (Scientific Reports, doi.org/j74). In the US, nitrogen dioxide levels fell between 2005 and 2011, with the sharpest fall at the height of the recession (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, doi.org/j75).
Such declines can be one-offs, or governments can help make them permanent, says Ronald Cohen of the University of California, Berkeley, who led the US study. "A time of crisis is a real opportunity to initiate change." After the 2008 financial downturn, for instance, the US and Europe committed to pollution cuts. "In 10 years, there will be an end to air pollution in the US and Europe," says Cohen. "It's an incredible success story."
Greece, however, is not seizing the current opportunity, says Vrekoussis. "Investments in clean technologies and low-carbon green strategies have been abandoned," he says. "I'm afraid that in the long run the negative effects will override the positives."
Global greenhouse gas emissions initially fell in the wake of the financial crisis, but not by much. Emerging economies like China and India continued their economic growth, so a small emissions drop in 2009 was followed by a huge rise in 2010 which continued in 2011.
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two of the most wanted Islamist rebels in Chechnya were among 13 killed in a shootout between Russian law enforcement officers and rebels in the volatile mountain province, Interfax news agency said on Thursday.
Brothers Khuseyn and Muslim Gakayev have been accused of organizing several high-profile attacks, most recently a suicide bomb attack on an interior ministry vehicle that killed four last August.
They were also blamed for an attack on the Chechen parliament in 2010 that killed at least six people, and an assassination attempt at the residence of Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
"During a special operation in the mountains of Chechnya, twelve militants were killed," Interfax quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry spokesman as saying. One law enforcement official was also killed, Interfax said.
The operation started on Wednesday and was still going on, Kadyrov was quoted by Interfax as saying.
Insurgents seeking a separate Islamist state still stage daily attacks across the broader North Caucasus Mountain region more than a decade after Russia reestablished federal control over the province following two separatist wars.
The special operation was going on in the Vedeno district, one of the regions hardest hit by the wars that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.
(Reporting By Thomas Grove; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
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Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly very ill with pneumonia. The “Silver Linings Playbook” star, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, has been forced to cancel appearances this week due to illness. Lawrence was unable to attend the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards on Saturday night, where she received the award for ...