Monday, April 29, 2013

In a first, black voter turnout rate passes whites

WASHINGTON (AP) ? America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home.

Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press.

Census data and exit polling show that whites and blacks will remain the two largest racial groups of eligible voters for the next decade. Last year's heavy black turnout came despite concerns about the effect of new voter-identification laws on minority voting, outweighed by the desire to re-elect the first black president.

William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, analyzed the 2012 elections for the AP using census data on eligible voters and turnout, along with November's exit polling. He estimated total votes for Obama and Romney under a scenario where 2012 turnout rates for all racial groups matched those in 2004. Overall, 2012 voter turnout was roughly 58 percent, down from 62 percent in 2008 and 60 percent in 2004.

The analysis also used population projections to estimate the shares of eligible voters by race group through 2030. The numbers are supplemented with material from the Pew Research Center and George Mason University associate professor Michael McDonald, a leader in the field of voter turnout who separately reviewed aggregate turnout levels across states, as well as AP interviews with the Census Bureau and other experts. The bureau is scheduled to release data on voter turnout in May.

Overall, the findings represent a tipping point for blacks, who for much of America's history were disenfranchised and then effectively barred from voting until passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

But the numbers also offer a cautionary note to both Democrats and Republicans after Obama won in November with a historically low percentage of white supporters. While Latinos are now the biggest driver of U.S. population growth, they still trail whites and blacks in turnout and electoral share, because many of the Hispanics in the country are children or noncitizens.

In recent weeks, Republican leaders have urged a "year-round effort" to engage black and other minority voters, describing a grim future if their party does not expand its core support beyond white males.

The 2012 data suggest Romney was a particularly weak GOP candidate, unable to motivate white voters let alone attract significant black or Latino support. Obama's personal appeal and the slowly improving economy helped overcome doubts and spur record levels of minority voters in a way that may not be easily replicated for Democrats soon.

Romney would have erased Obama's nearly 5 million-vote victory margin and narrowly won the popular vote if voters had turned out as they did in 2004, according to Frey's analysis. Then, white turnout was slightly higher and black voting lower.

More significantly, the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Colorado would have tipped in favor of Romney, handing him the presidency if the outcome of other states remained the same.

"The 2012 turnout is a milestone for blacks and a huge potential turning point," said Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University who has written extensively on black politicians. "What it suggests is that there is an 'Obama effect' where people were motivated to support Barack Obama. But it also means that black turnout may not always be higher, if future races aren't as salient."

Whit Ayres, a GOP consultant who is advising GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a possible 2016 presidential contender, says the last election reaffirmed that the Republican Party needs "a new message, a new messenger and a new tone." Change within the party need not be "lock, stock and barrel," Ayres said, but policy shifts such as GOP support for broad immigration legislation will be important to woo minority voters over the longer term.

"It remains to be seen how successful Democrats are if you don't have Barack Obama at the top of the ticket," he said.

___

In Ohio, a battleground state where the share of eligible black voters is more than triple that of other minorities, 27-year-old Lauren Howie of Cleveland didn't start out thrilled with Obama in 2012. She felt he didn't deliver on promises to help students reduce college debt, promote women's rights and address climate change, she said. But she became determined to support Obama as she compared him with Romney.

"I got the feeling Mitt Romney couldn't care less about me and my fellow African-Americans," said Howie, an administrative assistant at Case Western Reserve University's medical school who is paying off college debt.

Howie said she saw some Romney comments as insensitive to the needs of the poor. "A white Mormon swimming in money with offshore accounts buying up companies and laying off their employees just doesn't quite fit my idea of a president," she said. "Bottom line, Romney was not someone I was willing to trust with my future."

The numbers show how population growth will translate into changes in who votes over the coming decade:

?The gap between non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black turnout in 2008 was the smallest on record, with voter turnout at 66.1 percent and 65.2 percent, respectively; turnout for Latinos and non-Hispanic Asians trailed at 50 percent and 47 percent. Rough calculations suggest that in 2012, 2 million to 5 million fewer whites voted compared with 2008, even though the pool of eligible white voters had increased.

?Unlike other minority groups, the rise in voting for the slow-growing black population is due to higher turnout. While blacks make up 12 percent of the share of eligible voters, they represented 13 percent of total 2012 votes cast, according to exit polling. That was a repeat of 2008, when blacks "outperformed" their eligible voter share for the first time on record.

?Latinos now make up 17 percent of the population but 11 percent of eligible voters, due to a younger median age and lower rates of citizenship and voter registration. Because of lower turnout, they represented just 10 percent of total 2012 votes cast. Despite their fast growth, Latinos aren't projected to surpass the share of eligible black voters until 2024, when each group will be roughly 13 percent. By then, 1 in 3 eligible voters will be nonwhite.

?In 2026, the total Latino share of voters could jump to as high as 16 percent, if nearly 11 million immigrants here illegally become eligible for U.S. citizenship. Under a proposed bill in the Senate, those immigrants would have a 13-year path to citizenship. The share of eligible white voters could shrink to less than 64 percent in that scenario. An estimated 80 percent of immigrants here illegally, or 8.8 million, are Latino, although not all will meet the additional requirements to become citizens.

"The 2008 election was the first year when the minority vote was important to electing a U.S. president. By 2024, their vote will be essential to victory," Frey said. "Democrats will be looking at a landslide going into 2028 if the new Hispanic voters continue to favor Democrats."

___

Even with demographics seeming to favor Democrats in the long term, it's unclear whether Obama's coalition will hold if blacks or younger voters become less motivated to vote or decide to switch parties.

Minority turnout tends to drop in midterm congressional elections, contributing to larger GOP victories as happened in 2010, when House control flipped to Republicans.

The economy and policy matter. Exit polling shows that even with Obama's re-election, voter support for a government that does more to solve problems declined from 51 percent in 2008 to 43 percent last year, bolstering the view among Republicans that their core principles of reducing government are sound.

The party's "Growth and Opportunity Project" report released last month by national leaders suggests that Latinos and Asians could become more receptive to GOP policies once comprehensive immigration legislation is passed.

Whether the economy continues its slow recovery also will shape voter opinion, including among blacks, who have the highest rate of unemployment.

Since the election, optimism among nonwhites about the direction of the country and the economy has waned, although support for Obama has held steady. In an October AP-GfK poll, 63 percent of nonwhites said the nation was heading in the right direction; that's dropped to 52 percent in a new AP-GfK poll. Among non-Hispanic whites, however, the numbers are about the same as in October, at 28 percent.

Democrats in Congress merit far lower approval ratings among nonwhites than does the president, with 49 percent approving of congressional Democrats and 74 percent approving of Obama.

William Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, says that in previous elections where an enduring majority of voters came to support one party, the president winning re-election ? William McKinley in 1900, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and Ronald Reagan in 1984 ? attracted a larger turnout over his original election and also received a higher vote total and a higher share of the popular vote. None of those occurred for Obama in 2012.

Only once in the last 60 years has a political party been successful in holding the presidency more than eight years ? Republicans from 1980-1992.

"This doesn't prove that Obama's presidency won't turn out to be the harbinger of a new political order," Galston says. "But it does warrant some analytical caution."

Early polling suggests that Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton could come close in 2016 to generating the level of support among nonwhites as Obama did in November, when he won 80 percent of their vote. In a Fox News poll in February, 75 percent of nonwhites said they thought Clinton would make a good president, outpacing the 58 percent who said that about Vice President Joe Biden.

Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the NAACP, predicts closely fought elections in the near term and worries that GOP-controlled state legislatures will step up efforts to pass voter ID and other restrictions to deter blacks and other minorities from voting. In 2012, African-Americans were able to turn out in large numbers only after a very determined get-out-the-vote effort by the Obama campaign and black groups, he said.

Jealous says the 2014 midterm election will be the real bellwether for black turnout. "Black turnout set records this year despite record attempts to suppress the black vote," he said.

___

AP Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ "America at the Tipping Point: The Changing Face of a Nation" is an occasional series examining the cultural mosaic of the U.S. and its historic shift to a majority-minority nation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-black-voter-turnout-rate-passes-whites-115957314.html

jk rowling qnexa kingdom of heaven national enquirer whitney houston arizona republican debate arizona debate enquirer

Obama Mixes Serious Tone with Humor at WH Correspondents' Dinner (ABC News)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/302082506?client_source=feed&format=rss

Andy Griffith joe johnson scientology Wimbledon 2012 TV Schedule fourth of july IFE Fireworks 2012 4th Of July

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

YouTube lets you relive the old-school look of VHS -- in HD

YouTube lets you relive the oldschool look of VHS  in HD

Sure, watching YouTube videos in HD is great when you want clarity, but maybe you've been yearning for that grainy, tape-recorded look. Marking what's apparently the 57th anniversary of cassette-based video recording, the YouTube team has snuck a VHS tape-shaped button on select videos. Clicking it will the throw a filter over the content, providing a highly distorted and nostalgic feast for the eyes. There's no official list of compatible content, but the option seems to be available on most of the videos on YouTube's native channel. We have a feeling at least one VCR enthusiast will be quite pleased.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: YouTube (Google+)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/15/youtube-lets-you-relive-the-old-school-look-of-vhs-in-hd/

carlos santana dodgers triple play baa samoyed kenny powers kenny powers carl hagelin

Monday, April 15, 2013

Kim Kardashian Escorted Out Of Court By 10 Sherrifs After Kris Humphries Is A No Show (PHOTOS)

Kim Kardashian proved she's the master of b*tch face, as she was escorted out of a Los Angeles courthouse by ten L.A. County sheriffs on Friday.

The 32-year-old's estranged husband Kris Humphries was a no show at the mandatory divorce settlement conference, and it's clear that Kardashian was none too pleased. Superior Court Judge Hank Goldberg had to set another hearing for April 19, though it seems pointless since Humphries' lawyers said no settlement was reached and that a trial is still scheduled for May 6.

At least the pregnant reality star can take some solace in the fact that Humphries might be fined for skipping out of their court date.

Kardashian left the courthouse flanked by what seems like an excessive amount of sheriffs, since we doubt anyone would dare mess with her at that moment.

Seriously, if looks could kill...

kim kardashian sheriffs

kim kardashian sheriffs

Also on HuffPost:

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/13/kim-kardashian-sherriffs_n_3076824.html

miss america 2013 Oscar Nominations ABC Family social security social security paulina gretzky paulina gretzky

Channing Tatum Or Taylor Lautner: MTV Movie Awards Oddsmakers Weigh In!

We're letting the pros pick the winners of Sunday's MTV Movie Awards.
By James Montgomery


Best Shirtless nominees Channing Tatum and Taylor Lautner
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Lionsgate

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705578/2013-movie-awards-oddsmakers-winners.jhtml

lindsay lohan saturday night live snl lindsay lohan valley fever project x the lorax lorax fisker karma

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Obama to hike upper-income seniors' Medicare (cbsnews)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/298676069?client_source=feed&format=rss

taraji p. henson shuttle discovery bonnie raitt internal revenue service intc tupac andrew shaw

Bacterial security agents go rogue

Bacterial security agents go rogue [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 14-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Quinn Eastman
qeastma@emory.edu
404-727-7829
Emory Health Sciences

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses, has been found to be involved in helping some bacteria evade the mammalian immune system.

The results are scheduled for publication Sunday, April 14 in Nature.

CRISPR is itself a sort of immune system for bacteria. Its function was discovered by dairy industry researchers seeking to prevent phages, the viruses that infect bacteria, from ruining the cultures used to make cheese and yogurt. Bacteria incorporate small bits of DNA from phages into their CRISPR region and use that information to fight off the phages by chewing up their DNA.

Now scientists at the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center have shown that Francisella novicida, a close relative of the bacterium that causes tularemia, and another bacterium that causes meningitis, need parts of the CRISPR system to stay infectious. F. novicida, which grows inside mammalian cells, employs parts of CRISPR to shut off a bacterial gene that would otherwise trigger detection and destruction of the bacteria by its host.

Because disabling CRISPR creates a weakened bacterial strain that is easily recognized by the immune system, the finding could accelerate vaccine development. But it is also a broader reminder that in biology, defensive tools can be co-opted for purposes of stealth.

"CRISPR systems are bacterial defenses, but we've found that bacteria can use them offensively to hide from the host immune system and cause disease," says David Weiss, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University School of Medicine and Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

The CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) system has attracted recent attention among scientists for its potential uses in genetic engineering and biotechnology, but its roles in gene regulation and evading host immunity have remained relatively unexplored, Weiss says.

Weiss first isolated strains of F. novicida that had defects in their CRISPR systems while working as a postdoc with Denise Monack at Stanford. F. novicida infects rodents and only rarely infects humans. It is a model for studying the more dangerous F. tularensis, a potential biological weapon. Weiss was looking for F. novicida genes that are important for virulence: causing disease in a live animal.

Intriguingly, he found a DNA sequence that has recently been shown to encode a protein of the CRISPR system. What they were doing in F. novicida during infection was a puzzle.

"The mutations have a strong effect in the bacteria," Weiss says. "The wild type will kill mice, while the mutants are eradicated after a couple days. But why would the bacteria need to defend against foreign DNA to cause disease in a mouse? It didn't make sense."

The researchers discovered that the bacteria require one of the CRISPR genes to turn off production of a lipoprotein part of the bacterial cell membrane -- when the bacteria infect mammalian cells. For immune cells, lipoprotein is like blood in the water for a shark. A little whiff excites them. So for the bacteria to survive undetected, they have to silence lipoprotein production.

Working with Weiss, graduate student Tim Sampson who is first author of the Nature paper -dissected which parts of the CRISPR system were needed to turn off the lipoprotein. The CRISPR system consists of genes encoding several proteins and also incorporates small bits of DNA from phages as "repeats" into the bacterial DNA. RNA produced from the repeats guides an enzyme called Cas9 to slice up the phage DNA.

Sampson and Weiss found that part of the F. novicida CRISPR system makes an RNA that directs Cas9 against the lipoprotein gene. Weiss says the Cas9 regulatory system allows F. novicida to tune down the lipoprotein efficiently at the times when detection could be harmful, while still keeping it around for its function still unclear when the bacteria are outside the host.

"The finding that Cas9 is regulating a bacterial gene rather than slicing up a phage gene appears to be new, although there were already some hints that CRISPRs had broader functions in other bacteria," Sampson says.

To show that their results were not peculiar to F. novicida, the researchers collaborated with the laboratory of Yih-Ling Tzeng, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory. They generated a strain of Neisseria meningitidis -- a cause of meningitis infections in humans -- with a deletion in Cas9. The mutated strain displayed defects in its ability to adhere to, invade and replicate in human cells. This suggests that similar functions for Cas9 and CRISPR may be found in other bacteria.

"Most of the bacteria that encode Cas9 are either pathogenic, or can commonly be found in the human body," Sampson says. "I think our findings will encourage other scientists to re-examine the functions of Cas9 and CRISPR in other bacteria, to look at interactions with the host."

For example, some Streptococcus bacteria and Listeria have similar CRISPR systems, but any potential function in causing disease in humans has not been revealed. Weiss and Sampson plan to investigate further how Cas9 functions to shut off the lipoprotein gene in F. novicida and how Cas9 becomes activated.

Sampson is a student in Emory's Microbiology and Molecular Genetics graduate program.

###

The research was supported by the Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U54-AI057157, R56-AI061031, R56-AI87673).

Reference:

T.R. Sampson, S.D. Saroj, A.C. Llewellyn, Y.L. Tzeng, and D.S. Weiss. A CRISPR-CAS system mediates bacterial innate immune evasion and virulence. Nature (2013).


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

?


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


Bacterial security agents go rogue [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 14-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Quinn Eastman
qeastma@emory.edu
404-727-7829
Emory Health Sciences

CRISPR, a system of genes that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses, has been found to be involved in helping some bacteria evade the mammalian immune system.

The results are scheduled for publication Sunday, April 14 in Nature.

CRISPR is itself a sort of immune system for bacteria. Its function was discovered by dairy industry researchers seeking to prevent phages, the viruses that infect bacteria, from ruining the cultures used to make cheese and yogurt. Bacteria incorporate small bits of DNA from phages into their CRISPR region and use that information to fight off the phages by chewing up their DNA.

Now scientists at the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center have shown that Francisella novicida, a close relative of the bacterium that causes tularemia, and another bacterium that causes meningitis, need parts of the CRISPR system to stay infectious. F. novicida, which grows inside mammalian cells, employs parts of CRISPR to shut off a bacterial gene that would otherwise trigger detection and destruction of the bacteria by its host.

Because disabling CRISPR creates a weakened bacterial strain that is easily recognized by the immune system, the finding could accelerate vaccine development. But it is also a broader reminder that in biology, defensive tools can be co-opted for purposes of stealth.

"CRISPR systems are bacterial defenses, but we've found that bacteria can use them offensively to hide from the host immune system and cause disease," says David Weiss, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory University School of Medicine and Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

The CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) system has attracted recent attention among scientists for its potential uses in genetic engineering and biotechnology, but its roles in gene regulation and evading host immunity have remained relatively unexplored, Weiss says.

Weiss first isolated strains of F. novicida that had defects in their CRISPR systems while working as a postdoc with Denise Monack at Stanford. F. novicida infects rodents and only rarely infects humans. It is a model for studying the more dangerous F. tularensis, a potential biological weapon. Weiss was looking for F. novicida genes that are important for virulence: causing disease in a live animal.

Intriguingly, he found a DNA sequence that has recently been shown to encode a protein of the CRISPR system. What they were doing in F. novicida during infection was a puzzle.

"The mutations have a strong effect in the bacteria," Weiss says. "The wild type will kill mice, while the mutants are eradicated after a couple days. But why would the bacteria need to defend against foreign DNA to cause disease in a mouse? It didn't make sense."

The researchers discovered that the bacteria require one of the CRISPR genes to turn off production of a lipoprotein part of the bacterial cell membrane -- when the bacteria infect mammalian cells. For immune cells, lipoprotein is like blood in the water for a shark. A little whiff excites them. So for the bacteria to survive undetected, they have to silence lipoprotein production.

Working with Weiss, graduate student Tim Sampson who is first author of the Nature paper -dissected which parts of the CRISPR system were needed to turn off the lipoprotein. The CRISPR system consists of genes encoding several proteins and also incorporates small bits of DNA from phages as "repeats" into the bacterial DNA. RNA produced from the repeats guides an enzyme called Cas9 to slice up the phage DNA.

Sampson and Weiss found that part of the F. novicida CRISPR system makes an RNA that directs Cas9 against the lipoprotein gene. Weiss says the Cas9 regulatory system allows F. novicida to tune down the lipoprotein efficiently at the times when detection could be harmful, while still keeping it around for its function still unclear when the bacteria are outside the host.

"The finding that Cas9 is regulating a bacterial gene rather than slicing up a phage gene appears to be new, although there were already some hints that CRISPRs had broader functions in other bacteria," Sampson says.

To show that their results were not peculiar to F. novicida, the researchers collaborated with the laboratory of Yih-Ling Tzeng, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at Emory. They generated a strain of Neisseria meningitidis -- a cause of meningitis infections in humans -- with a deletion in Cas9. The mutated strain displayed defects in its ability to adhere to, invade and replicate in human cells. This suggests that similar functions for Cas9 and CRISPR may be found in other bacteria.

"Most of the bacteria that encode Cas9 are either pathogenic, or can commonly be found in the human body," Sampson says. "I think our findings will encourage other scientists to re-examine the functions of Cas9 and CRISPR in other bacteria, to look at interactions with the host."

For example, some Streptococcus bacteria and Listeria have similar CRISPR systems, but any potential function in causing disease in humans has not been revealed. Weiss and Sampson plan to investigate further how Cas9 functions to shut off the lipoprotein gene in F. novicida and how Cas9 becomes activated.

Sampson is a student in Emory's Microbiology and Molecular Genetics graduate program.

###

The research was supported by the Southeastern Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U54-AI057157, R56-AI061031, R56-AI87673).

Reference:

T.R. Sampson, S.D. Saroj, A.C. Llewellyn, Y.L. Tzeng, and D.S. Weiss. A CRISPR-CAS system mediates bacterial innate immune evasion and virulence. Nature (2013).


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

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/ehs-bsa041113.php

instagram Robert Bork mark sanchez christina aguilera Mayan End Of The World Olivia Black World Ending 2012

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Counting copy numbers characterizes prostate cancer

Apr. 5, 2013 ? Non-invasive 'liquid biopsies' can find metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, in a low cost assay suitable for most healthcare systems, finds research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine. Genomic signatures of prostate cancer, isolated from plasma DNA, display abnormal copy numbers of specific areas of chromosomes. It is even possible to separate out patients who develop resistance against hormone deprivation therapy, which is the most common form of treatment in men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men with 2.6 million new cases being diagnosed each year in Europe alone. PSA testing means that many cancers are found and treated at an early stage. However some men still have recurrent or metastatic disease despite treatment which appears to have destroyed the cancer.

Testing for metastasis remains a challenge requiring repeated biopsies. A team of researchers from the Medical University of Graz and the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf investigated the possibility of testing for the presence of disease in a less invasive manner.

Using whole genome analysis of plasma DNA, plus targeted sequencing of genes known to be involved in prostate cancer, the team discovered that there are abnormal copy numbers (some losses, some gains) of specific prostate cancer related sequences. Although this was a small scale study the presence of prostate cancer was flagged by copy number mistakes in sequences such as NCOA2, PHLPP1 and TMPRSS2-ERG. As expected each person's cancer signature was slightly different, however patients whose cancer did not respond to castration all had increased copy numbers of genes for the androgen receptor (AR).

Discussing the value of this research Dr Jochen Geigl and Prof Michael Speicher, who led this study commented, "The simplicity and low cost of 'liquid biopsies' make these genetic tests an attractive alternative to traditional biopsies. Better genetic information resulting from these tests may also help target treatment, especially of castration-resistant prostate cancer and aid personalised therapy in the clinic."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Ellen Heitzer, Peter Ulz, Jelena Belic, Stefan Gutschi, Franz Quehenberger, Katja Fischereder, Theresa Benezeder, Martina Auer, Carina Pischler, Sebastian Mannweiler, Martin Pichler, Florian Eisner, Martin Haeusler, Sabine Riethdorf, Klaus Pantel, Hellmut Samonigg, Gerald Hoefler, Herbert Augustin, Jochen B Geigl, Michael R Speicher. Tumor associated copy number changes in the circulation of patients with prostate cancer identified through whole-genome sequencing. Genome Medicine, 2013; 5 (4): 30 DOI: 10.1186/gm434

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/yOVY23y8hYk/130405064405.htm

hilary rosen grilled cheese allen west north korea missile don t trust the b in apartment 23 world financial center shabazz muhammad

Candlemas: Feast of Flames download ebook for free

Download ebook or buy real book: ?Candlemas: Feast of Flames? by Amber K, Azrael Arynn K

Genres: Reference, Non Fiction, History, Religion, Spirituality, Food And Drink, Cooking, Holiday, Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism

Candlemas: Feast of Flames

Original title: Candlemas: Feast of Flames

Rating: 3.97

Publish date: December 8th 2001

Language: English

Isbn: 0738700797

A High Priestess of Wicca and a third-degree Wiccan devote this custom-filled book to Brigid?s Festival of Returning Light, an ancient holiday filled with hope.

Source: http://www.ebookjoint.org/candlemas-feast-of-flames.html

white lion mike d antoni resigns holes ncaa brackets 2012 odd lamar d antoni

Friday, April 5, 2013

Suicide risk linked to rates of gun ownership, political conservatism

Apr. 4, 2013 ? Residents of states with the highest rates of gun ownership and political conservatism are at greater risk of suicide than those in states with less gun ownership and less politically conservative leanings, according to a study by University of California, Riverside sociology professor Augustine J. Kposowa.

The study, "Association of suicide rates, gun ownership, conservatism and individual suicide risk," was published online in the journal Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology in February.

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death for all ages in the United States in 2007, the most recent year for which complete mortality data was available at the time of the study. It was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 15th leading cause of death for females. Firearms are the most commonly used method of suicide by males and poisoning the most common among females.

Kposowa, who has studied suicide and its causes for two decades, analyzed mortality data from the U.S. Multiple Cause of Death Files for 2000 through 2004 and combined individual-level data with state-level information. Firearm ownership, conservatism (measured by percentage voting for former President George W. Bush in the 2000 election), suicide rate, church adherence, and the immigration rate were measured at the state level. He analyzed data relating to 131,636 individual suicides, which were then compared to deaths from natural causes (excluding homicides and accidents).

"Many studies show that of all suicide methods, firearms have the highest case fatality, implying that an individual who selects this technique has a very low chance of survival," Kposowa said. Guns are simply the most efficient method of suicide, he added.

With few exceptions, states with the highest rates of gun ownership -- for example, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Alabama, and West Virginia -- also tended to have the highest suicide rates. These states were also carried overwhelmingly by George Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

The study also found that:

  • The odds of committing suicide were 2.9 times higher among men than women
  • Non-Hispanic whites were nearly four times as likely to kill themselves as Non-Hispanic African Americans
  • The odds of suicide among Hispanics were 2.3 times higher than the odds among Non-Hispanic African Americans
  • Divorced and separated individuals were 38 percent more likely to kill themselves than those who were married
  • A higher percentage of church-goers at the state level reduced individual suicide risk.

"Church adherence may promote church attendance, which exposes an individual to religious beliefs, for example, about an afterlife. Suicide is proscribed in the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam," Kposowa noted in explaining the finding that church membership at the state level reduces individual risk of suicide. "In states with a higher percentage of the population that belong to a church, it is plausible that religious views and doctrine about suicide are well-known through sacred texts, theology or sermons, and adherents may be less likely to commit suicide."

Kposowa is the first to use a nationally representative sample to examine the effect of firearm availability on suicide odds. Previous studies that associated firearm availability to suicide were limited to one or two counties. His study also demonstrates that individual behavior is influenced not only by personal characteristics, but by social structural or contextual attributes. That is, what happens at the state level can influence the personal actions of those living within that state.

The sociologist said that although policies aimed at seriously regulating firearm ownership would reduce individual suicides, such policies are likely to fail not because they do not work, but because many Americans remain opposed to meaningful gun control, arguing that they have a constitutional right to bear arms.

"Even modest efforts to reform gun laws are typically met with vehement opposition. There are also millions of Americans who continue to believe that keeping a gun at home protects them against intruders, even though research shows that when a gun is used in the home, it is often against household members in the commission of homicides or suicides," Kposowa said.

"Adding to the widespread misinformation about guns is that powerful pro-gun lobby groups, especially the National Rifle Association, seem to have a stranglehold on legislators and U.S. policy, and a politician who calls for gun control may be targeted for removal from office in a future election by a gun lobby," he added.

Although total suicide rates in the U.S. are not much higher than in other Western countries, without changes in gun-ownership policies "the United States is poised to remain a very armed and potentially dangerous nation for its inhabitants for years to come."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, Riverside. The original article was written by Bettye Miller.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Augustine J. Kposowa. Association of suicide rates, gun ownership, conservatism and individual suicide risk. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s00127-013-0664-4

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/mTd6Pto3uYg/130405064029.htm

Celeste Holm Stephen Covey klimt bastille day breaking bad breaking bad food network star

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Using machinery correctly, thorough inspections can stop injuries ...

Unsafe?machinery operation continues to be a major concern for small businesses. In a?recent press release, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminded?construction companies about the proper use of machinery.?

OSHA cited a contractor?in Arizona with three violations following the investigation into the death of a worker in August. The citations include failing to visually inspect the machinery before use, not training the employee operator to maintain safe distance?and failing to recognize trenching hazards within the workspace.?The?penalties total $8,400 and once the company receives the receipt of the citations, it has 15 business days to?comply, request an informal conference?or contest the findings.?

?OSHA continues to see tragic cases where workers die because the necessary steps were not followed to ensure quick couplers are properly connected prior to starting excavation work,? said T. Zachary Barnett, director of OSHA?s Phoenix area office. ?Employee safety must be the top priority. It is the employer?s responsibility to assess the hazards and fix them.?

Leading by example
Workplace accidents?caused?by incorrect?machinery use are avoidable. With more than?20 percent of workplace deaths occurring in construction in 2011, the industry had the highest number of compensation claims, according to Ogletree Abbott, a Texas-based law firm. Construction business owners may want to consider providing workers?refresher courses on machinery use.?In addition, it?s a good idea to talk to?employees about safe habits and knowing when?to communicate with supervisors about concerns.?With more than?95 percent of incidents caused by employer negligence and only 4 percent due to employee error, companies need to remember that safety enforcement begins at the top.

Along with retraining employees to respect safety rules, employers?may consider?setting up quarterly sessions or a designated safety month to continually remind workers?of the importance of working cautiously.?Long-term communication between business owners?and workers is vital to keeping the workplace safe for everyone.

Source: http://www.safeatworkaz.com/?p=1365

Alfonso Ribeiro adam sandler College Football Scoreboard nfl scores nfl scores Devon Walker Tom Cruise

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

After "Tan Mom," New Jersey bans children from tanning beds (reuters)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/296060585?client_source=feed&format=rss

vikings stadium breitbart dead db cooper fafsa branson missouri davy jones dead monkees

Ozone masks plants volatiles, plant eating insects confused

Ozone masks plants volatiles, plant eating insects confused [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 2-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

Increases in ground-level ozone, especially in rural areas, may interfere not only with predator insects finding host plants, but also with pollinators finding flowers, according to researchers from Penn State and the University of Virginia.

"Ozone pollution has great potential to perniciously alter key interactions between plants and animals," the researchers said in a recent issue of Environmental Research Letters.

The animal tested in this case was the striped cucumber beetle, a predator of cucurbits -- cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melons. These insects dine on the plants from the moment they emerge from the ground and when fruit forms, they eat that as well.

"Insects detect odor with olfactory receptors located on their antennae," said Jose D. Fuentes, professor of meteorology, Penn State. "These receptors sense plant-emitted volatile organic compounds in very small amounts -- as low as six molecules hitting an antenna."

However, ozone, which is a very reactive substance, degrades the volatile organic compounds when they mix to the point where they no longer stimulate the olfactory system.

Fuentes, working with John Zenker, Penn State undergraduate in meteorology, and T'ai H. Roulston, research associate professor and curator, Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia, tested the beetles in an enclosed Y-tube apparatus so that the insect could choose which branch to take. Researchers collected the insects from pumpkin and squash plants. They tested the insects using buffalo gourd plants, a naturally growing wild gourd that likes semiarid areas.

Separate air streams flowed into the two branches of the Y-tube. Choices of air in each tube were ambient filtered air, ambient filtered air plus up to 120 parts per million ozone, ambient filtered air plus volatile organic compounds, or air plus up to 120 parts per billion ozone and volatile organic compounds from the plant. To obtain this mix, or only ozone or volatile organic compounds, that branch flowed either to a plant chamber or ozone generator or both.

The researchers tested the insects with all ambient air, with ambient air and ozone, with ambient air and volatile organic compounds, and with ambient air and a mix of ozone and volatile organic compounds. When presented with an ambient air or volatile organic compound airstream, the beetles chose the volatile organic compound tube 80 percent of the time.

"However, as the ozone levels increased, they chose the path to the flower less frequently," said Fuentes. "By the time the mix contained 80 parts per billion ozone, the beetles showed no preference for either tube."

The researchers also tested the beetles with volatile organic compounds and a mix of volatile organic compounds and ozone. At low ozone levels, the insects showed no preference, but as ozone levels increased, the insects increasingly preferred the ozone-free path. At 80 parts per billion, the beetles chose the volatile organic compounds without ozone significantly more often than the ozonized mixture.

While one might think that higher ozone levels in the lower atmosphere would improve crops because predator insects would be unable to find their hosts, the additional ozone would also interfere with mutualistic insect plant responses such as pollination.

###

The National Science Foundation supported this research.


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

?


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


Ozone masks plants volatiles, plant eating insects confused [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 2-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State

Increases in ground-level ozone, especially in rural areas, may interfere not only with predator insects finding host plants, but also with pollinators finding flowers, according to researchers from Penn State and the University of Virginia.

"Ozone pollution has great potential to perniciously alter key interactions between plants and animals," the researchers said in a recent issue of Environmental Research Letters.

The animal tested in this case was the striped cucumber beetle, a predator of cucurbits -- cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melons. These insects dine on the plants from the moment they emerge from the ground and when fruit forms, they eat that as well.

"Insects detect odor with olfactory receptors located on their antennae," said Jose D. Fuentes, professor of meteorology, Penn State. "These receptors sense plant-emitted volatile organic compounds in very small amounts -- as low as six molecules hitting an antenna."

However, ozone, which is a very reactive substance, degrades the volatile organic compounds when they mix to the point where they no longer stimulate the olfactory system.

Fuentes, working with John Zenker, Penn State undergraduate in meteorology, and T'ai H. Roulston, research associate professor and curator, Blandy Experimental Farm, University of Virginia, tested the beetles in an enclosed Y-tube apparatus so that the insect could choose which branch to take. Researchers collected the insects from pumpkin and squash plants. They tested the insects using buffalo gourd plants, a naturally growing wild gourd that likes semiarid areas.

Separate air streams flowed into the two branches of the Y-tube. Choices of air in each tube were ambient filtered air, ambient filtered air plus up to 120 parts per million ozone, ambient filtered air plus volatile organic compounds, or air plus up to 120 parts per billion ozone and volatile organic compounds from the plant. To obtain this mix, or only ozone or volatile organic compounds, that branch flowed either to a plant chamber or ozone generator or both.

The researchers tested the insects with all ambient air, with ambient air and ozone, with ambient air and volatile organic compounds, and with ambient air and a mix of ozone and volatile organic compounds. When presented with an ambient air or volatile organic compound airstream, the beetles chose the volatile organic compound tube 80 percent of the time.

"However, as the ozone levels increased, they chose the path to the flower less frequently," said Fuentes. "By the time the mix contained 80 parts per billion ozone, the beetles showed no preference for either tube."

The researchers also tested the beetles with volatile organic compounds and a mix of volatile organic compounds and ozone. At low ozone levels, the insects showed no preference, but as ozone levels increased, the insects increasingly preferred the ozone-free path. At 80 parts per billion, the beetles chose the volatile organic compounds without ozone significantly more often than the ozonized mixture.

While one might think that higher ozone levels in the lower atmosphere would improve crops because predator insects would be unable to find their hosts, the additional ozone would also interfere with mutualistic insect plant responses such as pollination.

###

The National Science Foundation supported this research.


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

?


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


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/ps-omp040213.php

supreme court health care joe oliver joba chamberlain new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin

Osborne tries to limit welfare overhaul fallout

By Andrew Osborn

LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne tried to limit political fallout from the biggest overhaul of Britain's welfare state in decades on Tuesday, saying the country could no longer afford a system he said was "broken".

In a rare political speech, given to supermarket workers in Sittingbourne in Kent, Osborne sought to justify changes including a cap on welfare benefits that church leaders and the Labour opposition have called callous and to defend his policies which have brought slower-than-expected economic recovery.

Osborne knows changes to a 200 billion pound-per-year system that swallows more than a third of his budget is fraught with risk for the ruling Conservative party ahead of local elections next month and a 2015 general election.

Critics accuse his party of governing in the interests of the rich and it is the less well off who will bear the brunt of changes, even though the welfare budget is being restructured and its growth curbed rather than being cut in nominal terms.

The changes are part of a drive to get Britain's large public sector deficit down in a year when the economy is only forecast to expand by 0.6 percent, but Osborne said they were also meant to restore fairness.

"For too long, we've had a system where people who did the right thing - who get up in the morning and work hard - felt penalised for it, while people who did the wrong thing got rewarded for it," he told Morrisons supermarket workers.

"The system became so complicated, and benefits so generous, that people found they were better off on the dole (on unemployment benefits) than they were in work."

Some of the new rules start to bite this week, while others will take effect later this year.

REFORM

The welfare budget includes pensions and tax credits as well as unemployment, sickness, housing, local tax and child support benefits. Such benefits have traditionally risen in line with inflation but will rise by just 1 percent between 2014 and 2016.

Other measures include an overall cap on welfare benefits, less help for people to pay their local council tax, and lower rental assistance to households deemed to have more rooms than they need. The government describes this as ending a "spare bedroom subsidy," the opposition as imposing a "bedroom tax".

Osborne said criticism from church leaders and Labour was "ill-informed rubbish", saying it was not the end of the welfare state, the product of a post-World War Two Labour government.

He said nine out of ten households would be better off due to a decision to raise the amount of money you earn before you pay tax and defended a move to cut the top rate of tax.

Labour have called the measure "a tax cut for millionaires" but Osborne said the outgoing higher tax rate had brought in less not more money and had discouraged people from investing.

The Conservatives - who rule in coalition with the Lib Dems - have had image problems in the past with Theresa May, now interior minister or home secretary, once saying people viewed them as "the nasty party".

Portrayed by Labour as a bunch of millionaires who are out of touch with ordinary people, the fact many senior Conservatives including Prime Minister David Cameron come from privileged backgrounds has made it harder for them to counter that charge. They trail Labour in polls by 10 percentage points.

But cuts to welfare may prove popular with parts of the electorate. According to a survey by pollsters ComRes in November, 64 percent of respondents said the benefit system was not working well or was failing and 40 percent thought at least half of claimants were "scroungers".

Ed Balls, Labour's finance spokesman, said most families would be worse off as a result of Conservative policies.

"Figures from the independent IFS show that the average family will be 891 pounds worse off this year because of tax and benefit changes since 2010," he said in a statement.

People in east London spoken to by Reuters were negative about the changes and said they feared for the future.

"It's a bad policy. What do they expect people to do?," said Almas Ali, 38, who said he and his wife couldn't work because they had to care for their disabled daughter.

"You will find a lot of people on benefits who are going to suffer big time."

(Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Jason Webb)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/osborne-tries-limit-welfare-overhaul-fallout-160919657--business.html

ron burgundy millennial media nit championship transcendentalism bells palsy channel 5 news uc berkeley