Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://twitter.com/ckbliss/statuses/218356802264375296
spring forward day light savings day light savings daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft
Sabtu, 30 Juni 2012
Where states stand on implementing health care law
Here is a look at where each of the 50 states stand on implementing President Barack Obama's federal health care overhaul, which the Supreme Court ruled Thursday can go forward with its aim of covering more than 30 million uninsured Americans.
___
ALABAMA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 720,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 15.4 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Robert Bentley, a physician, created a commission in 2011 to recommend a plan for a health insurance exchange, but he successfully opposed efforts by some legislators to enact one in May. Critics said the bill would have limited the exchange to companies operating statewide, which is one at this point. Bentley said it was premature to act before the Supreme Court ruled.
___
ALASKA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 125,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 18 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Alaska, which is among the states that sued over the constitutionality of the federal health care law, has yet to implement a health care exchange. The health department has hired a consultant to help design one, and that report is expected soon.
___
ARIZONA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1.28 million state residents not covered, or about 19 percent
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Arizona is among the states challenging the constitutionality of the health care overhaul. The lawsuit covers about 22,000 people statewide, including some 14,000 people in the Phoenix area. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's administration is moving to implement part of the contested law by reviewing health insurance rates to see if they should be labeled unjustifiably high. The state also has accepted a federal grant to create a state health insurance exchange.
___
ARKANSAS
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 539,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 19 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Arkansas decided on a federal-state partnership for its health insurance marketplace. Legislators blocked a bill by which the state would have created its own insurance exchange but have since accepted a grant that will allow it to at least have a role in the federally created exchange.
___
CALIFORNIA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 7,209,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 19 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: California has worked to be a model for the health care law and has begun implementing parts of it already, including creating the beginnings of health care exchanges to provide consumers a marketplace to purchase insurance policies starting in 2014. The state has also already banned insurers from refusing coverage for children with pre-existing illnesses and young adults are allowed to stay on their parents' plans through age 26 in California.
___
COLORADO
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 656,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 13 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Colorado lawmakers passed legislation in 2011 to set up health insurance exchanges, and a commission is in the process of implementing them. The exchanges are set to start October 2013.
___
CONNECTICUT
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: About 377,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 11 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Connecticut has hired staff and a board of directors to begin implementing health care exchanges and have them in place by the 2014 deadline set by the federal law. The state already is allowing people under 26 years old to stay on their parents' health insurance policies, which is part of the federal law.
___
DELAWARE
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: Between 100,000 and 110,000 Delaware residents are uninsured, about 11 percent of the state's population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Delaware officials are working on a health care exchange. State officials also are accepting public input as they come up with minimum coverage requirements that must be included in health care plans for individuals and small businesses.
___
FLORIDA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 3.85 million Floridians are uninsured, or about 21 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Rick Scott ordered the state not to accept federal money for implementing the health care law after he took office last year. Florida has rejected or declined to pursue more than $106 million and has returned $4.5 million. The state has its own health insurance exchanges, mainly for small businesses but without an individual mandate. The state has not implemented an exchange that would meet the requirements of the federal law.
___
GEORGIA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 111,000 state residents are uninsured, or 19 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Georgia has done nothing to implement a health care exchange. Lawmakers have introduced bills that would either allow or hinder implementation of the law, though none have passed.
___
HAWAII
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 97,000 state residents are uninsured, or 7.7 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Hawaii has been moving at full speed in anticipation the overhaul will be upheld. It joined several states last year in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the law. Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, said at the time the law preserved the best elements of Hawaii's long-standing health care statutes. The state also used a $300,000 private grant to create a state job for a coordinator to implement the overhaul. Hawaii plans to develop its own insurance exchange, a key component of the federal overhaul.
___
IDAHO
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 294,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 19 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Idaho has not implemented health insurance exchanges, over objections from insurers including Blue Cross of Idaho. The GOP-controlled Idaho Legislature declined to accept federal grants for the project and also balked at putting together a scaled-down state-funded version while awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.
___
ILLINOIS
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1,914,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Illinois has received three federal grants to study and start building its health insurance exchange, but the Legislature has failed to pass a law establishing it. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, has considered an executive order to do that, but now may pursue a federal-state partnership instead.
___
INDIANA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 850,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 13.4 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered state agencies to build a framework for a possible exchange, but he has not implemented one pending the Supreme Court ruling. Indiana also has pushed to use its health savings account to help cover an estimated 500,000 who will become eligible for Medicaid in 2014 under the federal health care overhaul, but federal officials denied the request in September, saying it was premature.
___
IOWA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 366,000 Iowa residents are uninsured, about 12 percent of the population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: The state does not have a law establishing a health insurance exchange, and Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has said Iowa will create a state-based exchange only if the law is upheld. The Republican House Majority leader says the state has already enacted several pieces of the law, including a website that helps residents find insurance, but the state has yet to comply with other requirements.
___
KANSAS
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 350,000 state residents are uninsured, or almost 13 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: The Republican-dominated state government has been hostile to the 2010 federal law and hasn't moved to set up a health care exchange. Last year, GOP Gov. Sam Brownback's administration returned a $31.5 million federal grant.
___
KENTUCKY
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 640,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Kentucky has laid the groundwork for a statewide health insurance exchange, but Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear opted to wait for the Supreme Court ruling before moving doing anything more.
___
LOUISIANA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 886,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 20 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Louisiana has not implemented health care exchanges, instead choosing to have the federal government create and operate them. Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal and Attorney General Buddy Caldwell oppose the health care law, and Louisiana is one of the states challenging it in court.
___
MAINE
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 121,000 state residents uninsured, or about 9.4 percent. The number may rise due to Medicaid cutbacks authorized by the latest state budget.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Maine had a task force to create a health care exchange, but legislation implementing one was set aside until after the Supreme Court's decision. Maine has passed laws implementing components of the law, such allowing parents to add coverage of children up to age 26 and outlawing denial of insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Maine has also passed a law that will allow consumers to shop out-of-state for coverage.
___
MARYLAND
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 747,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 13 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Maryland has passed legislation to create a health care exchange, setting up standards and regulations to run the program and creating the framework for a marketplace where individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage.
___
MASSACHUSETTS
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: Massachusetts says 120,000 people, or about 2 percent of the population, remained uninsured in 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau had a somewhat higher estimate of about 370,000 people, or more than 5 percent of the population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Massachusetts passed a sweeping health care law in 2006 that became the blueprint for the federal overhaul. Many of the key elements of the federal law, including the "individual mandate" requiring nearly everyone have insurance, remain the law in Massachusetts.
___
MICHIGAN
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1.27 million Michigan residents are uninsured, about 13 percent of the population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has been working to set up a health insurance exchange but has had limited success because House Republicans refuse to let it use $9.8 million in federal planning dollars. Because of looming federal deadlines to have an exchange in place, state officials are planning for a state-run exchange while also talking to federal officials about a possible partnership on a federal exchange where the state handles just some responsibilities, such as customer service.
___
MINNESOTA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 509,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 9.8 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Minnesota has embraced the health care overhaul more than many states. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton used a provision in the federal law to extend Medicaid coverage to more than 80,000 vulnerable adults as soon as he took office in 2011. His administration has focused on developing an online health insurance exchange envisioned as a key part of the law, securing $28.4 million from the federal government for Minnesota's planning efforts.
___
MISSISSIPPI
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 618,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 21 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, a Republican, has been working on a health care exchange and has accepted federal money for the project. The exchange originally was proposed by Republican Haley Barbour when he was governor.
___
MISSOURI
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 835,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 14 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Missouri received an initial planning grant but has not implemented a health insurance exchange because of opposition to it by some Republican state senators.
___
MONTANA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 176,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 18.1 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican lawmakers in Montana who controlled the Legislature rejected any efforts to establish a health insurance exchange.
___
NEBRASKA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 237,000 Nebraska residents are uninsured, about 13 percent of the population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: The state does not have a law establishing a health insurance exchange. However, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman has instructed the state Department of Insurance to plan for one in case the law is upheld.
___
NEVADA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 563,000, or about 21 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS NOW: The Nevada Legislature in 2011 passed a bill implementing the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and creating a seven-member board to oversee it. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval opposed the federal health care law as a candidate. He also allowed a private attorney appointed by former Gov. Jim Gibbons to continue representing Nevada in the lawsuit filed by more than two dozen states challenging the law. State officials estimate the Affordable Care Act would cost Nevada $575 million in the first five years as more people become eligible for Medicaid.
___
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 134,000 state residents are uninsured, or just more than 10 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: New Hampshire currently has laws that echo portions of the Affordable Care Act, such as allowing dependent unmarried residents to remain on their parent's health care insurance until age 26. Last year, state legislators passed laws that said residents cannot be required to obtain health insurance or be fined for not being covered. They also established a state oversight committee that must give its OK before the federal law is implemented. Democratic Gov. John Lynch's office said it has done some work on implementing aspects of the Affordable Care Act, but has put plans on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court makes its ruling.
___
NEW JERSEY
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1.3 million, or about 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: The Legislature passed a law to set up a state health insurance exchange, but Republican Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the measure in May, saying he did not want to spend money on something that could be ruled unconstitutional.
___
NEW MEXICO
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 433,000, or about 21 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: New Mexico this week announced formation of a task force to develop a proposal for creating a state health insurance exchange. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration is also working on an overhaul of Medicaid to try to slow the growth of the program without cutting enrollment or changing who's eligible to receive medical services. The state wants to have the revamped Medicaid program implemented in the fall of 2013.
___
NEW YORK
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 2,886,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order April 12 to establish a statewide health insurance exchange, where individuals and small businesses could tap up to $2.6 billion in federal tax credits and subsidies, planning to show by January that the state is ready to participate, start taking applications the following October and start operating Jan. 1, 2014.
___
NORTH CAROLINA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1.57 million state residents are uninsured, or about 17 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Legislation aimed at prohibiting the mandate for individuals to buy health insurance was the first item introduced after Republicans took over control of by North Carolina's General Assembly last year. Lawmakers haven't been able to overcome Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue's veto of their bill. But work to design health care exchanges has stalled since last summer.
___
NORTH DAKOTA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 83,000 North Dakota residents, or about 13 percent, had no health insurance in 2010.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Legislators rejected a state-run health insurance exchange last year. Majority Republicans said it was too complex and too expensive and to do so would be tantamount to accepting the federal health care overhaul.
___
OHIO
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: More than 1.5 million state residents are uninsured, or about 14 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Ohio has not moved to create a health care exchange but is evaluating its options. It received a $1 million federal exchange planning grant in 2010. Republican Gov. John Kasich's administration has taken advantage of some parts of the new law to expand coordinated care and propose changes to Medicaid eligibility. Democrats have unsuccessfully pushed bills in the Legislature to set up a state-run exchange. But Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, who is also Ohio's insurance director, frequently criticizes the overhaul and says it's premature to plan for an exchange without further clarification from the federal government.
___
OKLAHOMA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: About 624,480 Oklahomans are uninsured, or about 17 percent of the state's population.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS NOW: Oklahoma lawmakers first rejected $54 million in federal funding to create a health care exchange and then decided to take no action on developing an exchange, deciding instead to wait and see whether the law is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
___
OREGON
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 612,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 16 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Oregon is working aggressively to implement the health care law and is farther along than most other states. The federal government has committed more than $60 million in grants to develop a health insurance exchange that could be duplicated in other states.
___
PENNSYLVANIA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 1.37 million state residents are uninsured, or about 11 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, as state attorney general in 2010, joined a group of state officials in challenging the law. Still, Pennsylvania is working to set up a health insurance exchange required by the law, although the state Insurance Department says it is waiting for the Supreme Court's decision before it touches a $33 million grant it won in January to build out the exchange.
___
RHODE ISLAND
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 119,000 state residents are uninsured or about 11.4 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Rhode Island has received $58 million in federal funds to assist in the creation of its health benefits exchange. Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an independent, last week picked a former state health official to direct the exchange.
___
SOUTH CAROLINA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 930,000 state residents are uninsured, or more than 20 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: South Carolina, which is among the states that sued over the constitutionality of the federal health care law, opted not to implement health care exchanges after a panel concluded there were too many unanswered questions.
___
SOUTH DAKOTA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: Federal officials estimate 105,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 13 percent; South Dakota officials say state survey data is lower, about 9 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard has delayed work on setting up a health insurance exchange until the Supreme Court's decision.
___
TENNESSEE
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: About 930,000 people, or 15 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Tennessee has laid the groundwork for a health insurance exchange but would have to wait until the Legislature returns in January to complete it.
___
TEXAS
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: About 6.2 million, or about 25 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Texas has not implemented a health care exchange. Texas has joined with other states in challenging the law in court. Gov. Rick Perry, who is vocally opposed to the law, says the state can "deliver health care more efficiently, more effectively and cheaper than the federal government can."
___
UTAH
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 386,000 state residents are uninsured, or nearly 14 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Utah implemented a health insurance exchange before the federal Affordable Care Act was passed to help small businesses obtain insurance coverage for their employees. Utah is among 26 states that sued the federal government over the law. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert has criticized the individual mandate and the expansion of Medicaid rolls that administration officials say would cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
___
VERMONT
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 59,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 9.5 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Vermont in 2011 passed legislation to use the insurance exchange called for under the federal health care law as a springboard to launch a statewide, universal, publicly funded health care system by 2017.
___
VIRGINIA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: Nearly 1.1 million state residents are uninsured, or about 14 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Virginia has expressed its intent to create a health care exchange, but Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has not acted on recommendations made by a gubernatorial advisory council. Virginia filed its own lawsuit challenging the health care law, but lost in federal appeals court.
___
WASHINGTON
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 927,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 13.8 percent
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna signed on to the health care lawsuit against the wishes of the state's Democratic governor and majority Democrats, but Washington state moved ahead this past legislative session with implementing its own health insurance exchange.
___
WEST VIRGINIA
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 244,000 West Virginians are uninsured, or about 13.5 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: West Virginia has enacted legislation allowing for a state-run health care exchange, but the state has slowed the pace of setting it up to see how the Supreme Court rules.
___
WISCONSIN
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 526,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 9 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Wisconsin has not begun setting up its health insurance exchange. Work on that was put on hold in January by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who wanted to await the Supreme Court's decision.
___
WYOMING
NUMBER OF UNINSURED: 93,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 17 percent.
WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Wyoming has not implemented health care exchanges, but a steering committee is studying an exchange for Wyoming and will present a report to the Legislature this fall.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/where-states-stand-implementing-health-care-law-143122206.html
gotye bill cosby divine mercy cabin in the woods the legend of korra three stooges the three stooges
Jumat, 29 Juni 2012
A Real Estate Q&A: Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction?
Posted on June 28th, 2012
Let?s play a Real Estate ?Question & Answer? game. But instead of the typical ?Fact or Fiction,? this has a bit of a twist ? a ?Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? game?. And the reason I put it this way is because it seems in real estate that there is always an exception to the rule. This is often the result of the emotions and choices that buyers and sellers make that don?t always make financial or practical sense thus resulting in real estate transactions that don?t always proceed in the way in which we expect.
So here is a list of questions that are either ?Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction,? and I can?t wait to see what you think. ?But before we start, just one last thing ? these answers are based on our current state of the market. We have not had our peak performing real estate years of late, and our economy is unpredictable and still has some instability, and so these questions and answers are coming from that perspective. And now, on to the game:
- Most of the time, the first offer is the best. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. You have probably heard this countless times, and it is indeed true. Almost always the first offer is the best. ?This is due in large part to the fact that buyers discount homes the longer they sit on the market, and generally offers don?t come in within consecutive days of one another. There is usually a lag time between offers, which means buyers will continue to discount the price of the home as the days on the market accrue.
- Location is just as important as price. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fiction. Location is certainly quite important. In fact, I?m sure you?ve heard that old adage over and over again, ?Location, location, location.? But the truth is ? price is hand?s down the most important factor when it comes to selling a home. Buyers need to feel, see and experience a perceived value in the home, and when they do, they buy!
- There?s no such thing as underpricing a home. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. Or at least theoretically this should be mostly fact. If a home is underpriced, then multiple buyers will perceive such value in the home that they will all jump in to put in an offer. This will result in a bidding war, which ultimately forces up the price of the home to the ?real? market price. The problem with this question, however, is that you can?t really prove the hypothesis. ?Because once you?ve set a price, you don?t get a second chance to set another, higher price to see if you ultimately end up with the same sale price.
- A buyer who falls passionately in love with a house results in a higher price for the seller. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? Mostly Fact. We don?t see this too much these days, however. Buyers are ultra sensitive about overpaying for a home today. They don?t want to pay more than they should and then be faced with the potential challenge of re-selling the home in the future when there is no way to predict how the economy and real estate market will be at that time.
- A seller ends up with more money if she initially prices her house at a higher price to test the market. Mostly Fact or Mostly Fiction? This is actually 100% Fiction. The best way for a seller to maximize her sale price is to price her house competitively from the start ? to follow the ?Price to Sell Strategy.? Buyers then feel, see and experience the?perceived value in the house and act quickly ? Mission Accomplished.
Finally as we like to say in our listing presentations, the rule of thumb, which also happens to be 100% Fact, is that the seller sets the asking price, but the market (one or more buyers) sets the selling price for the home.
And now back to you. Have you seen some of these real estate questions and answers first-hand? And what are your thoughts about this real estate Q&A game??I can?t wait to hear?.
For more information about the real estate market in?Weston, ?Wellesley, ?Wayland and the surrounding towns or if you are considering selling your home, please contact me,?Lisa Curlett (781-267-2844 orwww.homesalesbylisa.com), to answer any questions or for a complimentary home appraisal.
Source: http://www.homesalesbylisa.com/buying-a-home/a-real-estate-qa-mostly-fact-or-mostly-fiction/
ufc 139 fight card houston nutt houston nutt peter marshall peter marshall zombie boy zombie boy
South Korea shelves disputed military pact with Japan
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
vanessa minnillo lenny dykstra super tuesday epidemiology total eclipse of the heart jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco
Communication scheme makes popular applications 'gracefully mobile'
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sRsRU1uGj48uJMvRb0L4G1dnP10DWTItw4Nk2EUv0sZzUh4c2H440K5FgOrchXMzPr2Lz69SlHi3TcgeejqFAKiOyjZ4jgnWccmWr_5PA=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 28-Jun-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Caroline McCall
cmccall5@mit.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New MIT software keeps tens of thousands of people logged into remote computers from mobile devices, but the underlying technology could improve a host of other programs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Secure Shell, or SSH, is a popular program that lets computer users log onto remote machines. Software developers use it for large collaborative projects, students use it to work from university servers, customers of commercial cloud-computing services use it access their accounts, and system administrators use it to manage computers on their networks.
First released in 1995, SSH was designed for an Internet consisting of stationary machines, and it hasn't evolved with the mobile Internet. Among other problems, it can't handle roaming: If you close your laptop at the office and reopen it at home, your SSH session will have died; the same goes for an SSH session on a tablet computer that switches from a Wi-Fi connection to the cellular network.
At the Usenix Annual Technical Conference in Boston this month, researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory presented a paper describing a new remote-login program called Mosh, for mobile shell, which solves many of SSH's problems. The researchers also believe that the communication scheme underlying Mosh could improve the performance of a host of other mobile applications.
Even before they presented the paper, they made Mosh freely available on a number of different websites; it's now been downloaded at least 70,000 times. "That's from the ones that we're able to track," says Keith Winstein, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and lead developer of Mosh.
Besides roaming, another of the problems that Mosh addresses is the delayed "echoing" of keystrokes in SSH. During a standard SSH session, when a user strikes a key on the keyboard, nothing appears onscreen until information about the keystroke travels to the remote machine, which performs a computation and sends back the result. That's because, in many applications commonly run through SSH, keystrokes don't necessarily correspond directly to displayed symbols: In an email program, for instance, the "N" key might call up the next email; similarly, when a user enters a password, it shouldn't appear onscreen.
Mosh has an algorithm running in the background that deduces when keystrokes should be displayed and when they shouldn't. Until the remote computer confirms Mosh's predictions, the characters onscreen are underlined. "I have never seen it display anything wrong," says Hari Balakrishnan, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Winstein's coauthor on the Usenix paper.
The reason Mosh handles roaming so much better than SSH does is that it abandons the Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP the framework that governs almost all the traffic in today's Internet.
"TCP has some wonderful ideas embedded in it congestion control, ways of doing reliability and so forth," Balakrishnan says. "But it has this one big, big problem: It provides a reliable, in-order byte-stream abstraction between two fixed endpoints. If you were to pick the worst possible abstraction for the mobile world, it would be that."
With mobile applications, Balakrishnan explains, it's not as crucial that every byte of information be displayed in exactly the order in which it was sent. If you've lost connectivity while using the map application on a smartphone, for instance, when the network comes back up, you probably want an accurate map of your immediate surroundings; you don't want to wait while the phone reloads data about where you were when the network went down.
Winstein and Balakrishnan developed their own communications protocol, which they call SSP, for state synchronization protocol. SSP, Balakrishnan says, works more like the protocols that govern videoconferencing, where getting timely data about the most recent state of the application is more important than getting exhaustive data about previous states.
Mosh is already proving itself useful: At his computer in his office, Balakrishnan pulls up the connection log for one of the servers in MIT's Athena network; a third of the people logged into it are using Mosh. But in ongoing research, Winstein and Balakrishnan are investigating how SSP can be improved and extended so that other applications can use it as well.
"We have sort of a broader agenda here," Winstein says. "Mosh is a gracefully mobile application. But there's a lot of even more popular network applications that have the same problems, like Gmail, or Google Chat, or Skype. None of these programs gracefully handle mobility, even though they're intended for mobile devices."
###
Written by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office
[ | 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.
Public release date: 28-Jun-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Caroline McCall
cmccall5@mit.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
New MIT software keeps tens of thousands of people logged into remote computers from mobile devices, but the underlying technology could improve a host of other programs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Secure Shell, or SSH, is a popular program that lets computer users log onto remote machines. Software developers use it for large collaborative projects, students use it to work from university servers, customers of commercial cloud-computing services use it access their accounts, and system administrators use it to manage computers on their networks.
First released in 1995, SSH was designed for an Internet consisting of stationary machines, and it hasn't evolved with the mobile Internet. Among other problems, it can't handle roaming: If you close your laptop at the office and reopen it at home, your SSH session will have died; the same goes for an SSH session on a tablet computer that switches from a Wi-Fi connection to the cellular network.
At the Usenix Annual Technical Conference in Boston this month, researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory presented a paper describing a new remote-login program called Mosh, for mobile shell, which solves many of SSH's problems. The researchers also believe that the communication scheme underlying Mosh could improve the performance of a host of other mobile applications.
Even before they presented the paper, they made Mosh freely available on a number of different websites; it's now been downloaded at least 70,000 times. "That's from the ones that we're able to track," says Keith Winstein, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and lead developer of Mosh.
Besides roaming, another of the problems that Mosh addresses is the delayed "echoing" of keystrokes in SSH. During a standard SSH session, when a user strikes a key on the keyboard, nothing appears onscreen until information about the keystroke travels to the remote machine, which performs a computation and sends back the result. That's because, in many applications commonly run through SSH, keystrokes don't necessarily correspond directly to displayed symbols: In an email program, for instance, the "N" key might call up the next email; similarly, when a user enters a password, it shouldn't appear onscreen.
Mosh has an algorithm running in the background that deduces when keystrokes should be displayed and when they shouldn't. Until the remote computer confirms Mosh's predictions, the characters onscreen are underlined. "I have never seen it display anything wrong," says Hari Balakrishnan, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Winstein's coauthor on the Usenix paper.
The reason Mosh handles roaming so much better than SSH does is that it abandons the Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP the framework that governs almost all the traffic in today's Internet.
"TCP has some wonderful ideas embedded in it congestion control, ways of doing reliability and so forth," Balakrishnan says. "But it has this one big, big problem: It provides a reliable, in-order byte-stream abstraction between two fixed endpoints. If you were to pick the worst possible abstraction for the mobile world, it would be that."
With mobile applications, Balakrishnan explains, it's not as crucial that every byte of information be displayed in exactly the order in which it was sent. If you've lost connectivity while using the map application on a smartphone, for instance, when the network comes back up, you probably want an accurate map of your immediate surroundings; you don't want to wait while the phone reloads data about where you were when the network went down.
Winstein and Balakrishnan developed their own communications protocol, which they call SSP, for state synchronization protocol. SSP, Balakrishnan says, works more like the protocols that govern videoconferencing, where getting timely data about the most recent state of the application is more important than getting exhaustive data about previous states.
Mosh is already proving itself useful: At his computer in his office, Balakrishnan pulls up the connection log for one of the servers in MIT's Athena network; a third of the people logged into it are using Mosh. But in ongoing research, Winstein and Balakrishnan are investigating how SSP can be improved and extended so that other applications can use it as well.
"We have sort of a broader agenda here," Winstein says. "Mosh is a gracefully mobile application. But there's a lot of even more popular network applications that have the same problems, like Gmail, or Google Chat, or Skype. None of these programs gracefully handle mobility, even though they're intended for mobile devices."
###
Written by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office
[ | 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.
the band colton dixon houston weather dwyane wade magic mike trailer the night they drove old dixie down levon
This Homemade Crossbow Revolver Spins and Shoots Arrows So Fast You Can't Even See It [Video]
sharia law new hampshire primary results ron paul molly sims hostess brands nh primary david crowder band
Kamis, 28 Juni 2012
Truck Test Digest - Skid plate panel system for SUVs
Developed with extensive field testing, ARB skid plates give protection to vital underbody components
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT:
The transmission panel is common to both kits and also to petrol and diesel engine variants. It has a two position mounting bracket providing a lower mount for petrol engine vehicles where the exhaust sits lower than diesel models. The transmission panel is also tapered to the rear to clear chassis bracing that is unique to the Prado/FJ chassis design.
PROTECTION & STYLING CHARACTERISTICS:
Developed with extensive field testing, ARB skid plates give protection to vital underbody components with vehicle specific models protecting steering, engine oil panel, transmission and transfer case where applicable. Panels are easily removed for vehicle servicing and were practical, include access to oil panel drain plugs. Each panel has recessed mounting bolts in vulnerable areas to ensure ease of removal even if the panels become damaged from severe off road service.
ARB skid Plates are fully compatible with all ARB products such as Bull Bars, Side Rails & Steps, Air Locker and Old Man Emu Suspension systems.
About ARB
ARB Corporation Limited is Australia?s largest and industry leading manufacturer and distributor of quality, 4WD vehicle accessories, with distribution in more than 100 countries worldwide. The company manufactures and stocks the world?s most respected and sought after brands including ARB Air Locker locking differentials and bumpers; Old Man Emu (OME) customized suspension systems, IPF high performance lighting, and Safari snorkel systems. ARB?s Seattle office is the North, South & Central American headquarters and importer of ARB 4?4 Accessories.
pie crust recipe heritage foundation dancing with the stars results 2011 ali fedotowsky ali fedotowsky krill oil krill oil
Rabu, 27 Juni 2012
Saturn, Spica and First Quarter Moon Light Up Night Sky
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
aziz ansari katherine jenkins peyton manning broncos mexico city earthquake stand your ground law dancing with the stars season 14 david garrard
Google Glasses? price tag announced, first models to ship in 2013
Since news of?Google Glass, the web search giant's wearable computer experiment, broke earlier this year, those of us at Tecca have been anxiously awaiting more details. And finally, today, precious details came via the?2012 Google I/O media conference and an epic skydiving stunt.
As you can see?in the video above, Google chose to demo their Glass eyewear in the most dynamic way possible ? by throwing them out of a plane (with humans attached). We suppose you could also use the glasses to just take photos during a memorable stroll with your baby (as proposed in a I/O conference video). To each their own.
Unfortunately, we also got our first look at the price tag on?Google Glass, and man is it a doozy: $1,500. Pre-orders for the device will start today, with units shipping in 2013. But don't expect to be able to get in on these glasses just yet unless you're a developer: Only people physically present at today's I/O conference will be able to pre-order at this time.
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca
More from Tecca:
2012 grammy awards powerball results pebble beach golf beverly hilton roland martin whitney houston dead at 48 whitney houston dead 2012
Selasa, 26 Juni 2012
Science & the Public: Ozone: Heart of the matter
As reported this week, breathing elevated ozone levels can mess with the cardiovascular system, potentially putting vulnerable populations ? such as the elderly and persons with diabetes or heart disease ? at heightened risk of heart attack, stroke and sudden death from arrhythmias. Is this really new?
Turns out it is, says Robert Devlin, the Environmental Protection Agency toxicologist who led the new study. Among the chief priority air pollutants affecting human health that his agency regulates are ozone and near-nano-scale particles called PM (for particulate matter). Although air pollution can affect the heart, there has been a longstanding question about which constituents deserve the blame.
In urban areas especially, many different pollutants are produced by the same or similar processes, so they tend to show up as a mix. Teasing out the role of any individual element can prove challenging.
A little more than 20 years (SN: 4/6/91, p. 212), studies emerged showing that airborne PM levels below the federal limit were killing people in many U.S. cities. An ambitious hunt immediately commenced to find out how and why. Data on the why are still emerging and a bit equivocal. But clearly, this pollution can damage the lungs, heart and brain.
Ozone, by contrast, had for years appeared fairly wimpy. Sure, it could aggravate asthma. But for decades there were no data indicating this pollutant would kill people without pre-existing lung disease. And to this day, Devlin notes, data on non-lung impacts from ozone tend to be quite thin.
So until ozone mortality data started to come out around 2004 (SN: 12/11/04, p. 372), his team had little motivation to probe for cardiovascular impacts. But it?s probed them now ? and found plenty of potentially adverse changes in a?trial involving 23 healthy young men and women. Some of the more compelling observations involve markers of inflammation, the scientists report in a paper published ahead of print June 25 in Circulation.
Tracy Stevens finds them compelling, anyway. The reason: ?The big theory about cardiovascular disease centers around inflammation,? notes this cardiologist at St. Luke?s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.
?I think of plaque in the arteries like pimples,? she says. Yes ? she?s talking about zitz.
As pimples become inflamed, they fill with pus, eventually rupturing and then scabbing over. ?And that?s essentially what happens in a sudden heart attack or sudden stroke,? she argues.
Beginning in childhood, fatty plaque deposits can begin to accumulate along the interior walls of arteries. Various agents of the body?s immune system (such as the interleukins and tumor necrosis factor elevated in the new study)?can inflame this plaque. And when they do, the fatty deposits can engorge with immunity-driven materials, eventually to the point of bursting.
The body will interpret a rupture as the equivalent of a cut ? something that needs immediate repair, Stevens explains. In an attempt to seal the breach, a clot forms ? ?and it?s the clot that obstructs the blood flow and triggers the sudden crisis.? This, in fact, explains why some people survive a stress test in the doctor?s office only to drop dead a day later from a heart attack. It?s not that the stress test failed to find a problem, she says, but that ?the patient, for whatever reason, had a spontaneous plaque rupture the next day.?
The elderly may be especially vulnerable to ozone?s inflammatory impacts, she worries, because they tend to have the most plaque and the longest exposure to this pollutant.
In addition, Stevens points out that some of the inflammatory chemicals that rose in the new study following ozone inhalation ?can trigger inappropriate artery constriction and cause spasms.?
Cardiologist Wayne Cascio, who heads a division on environmental public health at EPA?s National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, noted that his scientists? new study also identified provocative signs of an elevated risk of clotting after the volunteers had breathed in ozone-enriched air.
The pollutant altered levels of several clot-related proteins, including plasminogen, tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor. Concentrations of some went up, others down. Based on the pattern of changes, notes Cascio, ?one might predict that [high ozone] would slow the dissolving of clots.? That suggests clots might propagate or enlarge, he says ? ?or potentially block up a vessel, causing a heart attack or stroke.?
Keep in mind, Devlin notes, many different conditions spawn clots. But once they form, he says,?his group's data are now ?suggesting that exposure to ozone might inhibit the body?s ability to dissolve them.?
When EPA is charged with imposing or revising health-related pollution standards, it?s not enough to have good epidemiology ? observations and survey data suggesting associations between events (like disease) and possible predisposing factors, explains air pollution epidemiologist Douglas Dockery of the Harvard School of Public Health. Although epidemiology can point to associations, he explains, it can?t establish causes. Yet to set federal health-protecting pollutant limits, ?you really need to know that there is a true causal link between this pollutant and a health effect.?
?And that?s what makes the new study so remarkable,? he says. The EPA scientists carried out controlled exposures in people and then conducted electrocardiograms and blood sampling over a prolonged followup period. Through this intensive probing, he maintains, those researchers have at last demonstrated that ozone ?is causally linked? to adverse cardiovascular changes.
Found in: Body & Brain, Environment and Science & Society
red solo cup new planet new planet green bay packers stock jeff garcia jeff garcia big east
Mystery of the flatfish head solved
ScienceDaily (June 25, 2012) ? Those delicious flatfishes, like halibut and sole, are also evolutionary puzzles. Their profoundly asymmetrical heads have one of the most unusual body plans among all backboned animals (vertebrates) but the evolution of their bizarre anatomy has long been a mystery. How did flatfishes, with both of their eyes on one side of their head, evolve? So puzzling was the anatomy of flounders and their kin that they were used in early arguments against Darwin and his theory of natural selection. Skeptics wondered how such unusual features could have slowly evolved whilst remaining advantageous for the fishes' survival.
A new fossil discovery described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology by Oxford University researcher Dr Matt Friedman finally solves the mystery. Friedman's fossil fish, named Heteronectes (meaning 'different swimmer'), was found in 50 million year old marine rocks from northern Italy. This study provides the first detailed description of a primitive flatfish, revealing that the migrated eye had not yet crossed to the opposite side of the skull in early members of this group. Heteronectes, with its flattened form, shows the perfect intermediate stage between most fish with eyes on each side of the head and specialized flatfishes where both eyes are on the same side.
"This fossil comes from Bolca in northern Italy, a site that has literally been mined for hundreds of years for its fossil fishes. This remarkable site provides a snapshot of an early coral reef assemblage. Reefs are well known as biodiversity hotspots, so it is perhaps not surprising that Bolca provides us with the first evidence of many modern fish groups," said Friedman. "Our understanding of the relationships of some of these groups is in a state of change with the increasing influx of molecular genetic studies. Fossils have not contributed very much to this debate, but specimens like that of Heteronectes reveal the superb level of detail that can be extracted from extinct species."
Friedman noted that "The specimen itself was discovered -- with no identification -- in a museum collection in Vienna. It just goes to show that even well-known fossil sites can yield important surprises, and that not all new discoveries take place in the field."
"This is a profound discovery which clearly shows that intermediate fossil forms, which according to certain creationist theories shouldn't exist, are regularly turning up as scientists keep looking for them," says Dr. John Long of the Natural History Museum of LA County, an expert in fossil fishes who was not involved in the study.
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 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Friedman, M. Osteology of ?Heteronectes chaneti (Acanthomorpha, Pleuronectiformes), an Eocene stem flatfish, with a discussion of flatfish sister-group relationships. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2012; (32)4: 735-756
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
kelsey grammer martin henderson mlk day golden globes 2012 winners golden globes 2012 red carpet golden globes red carpet nfc championship game
Tropical Storm Debby turns sights on Fla., Ala.
A state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana in preparation for Tropical Storm Debby and oil rigs across the Gulf have been evacuated. The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel reports.
By NBC News and news services
Updated at 10:13 p.m. ET: Parts of Florida and Alabama were under a tropical storm warning Sunday as Debby churned off the Gulf Coast, leaving wary residents to closely watch a storm whose path has so far been difficult to forecast.
Underscoring the storm's unpredictable nature, forecasters discontinued a tropical storm warning for Louisiana after forecast models indicated Debby was less likely to make a westward turn than initially predicted. Coastal Alabama and parts of Florida, including the Panhandle, remained under tropical storm warnings.
Debby already had dumped heavy rain on parts of Florida and spawned some isolated tornadoes, causing some damage to homes and knocking down power lines. High winds forced the closure of an interstate bridge that spans Tampa Bay and links St. Petersburg with areas to the southeast.
The first named storm of 2012 to enter the Gulf of Mexico, was centered about 115 miles south-southwest of Apalachicola, Florida and was nearly stationary, the National Hurricane Center said in its 7 p.m. CDT update.
Debby, no longer expected to gain hurricane strength, packed winds of 60 mph, the Miami-based center said.
Citing a "significant change in the forecast track," the NHC said Debby is expected to hit the Florida Panhandle near Panama City on Thursday as a tropical storm. "This forecast remains uncertain due to weak steering currents," the NHC said.
The NHC had previously predicted that the storm would track westward toward the Louisiana coast as a weak hurricane, spurring Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to declare a state of emergency.
Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said forecasters rely on computer models which were contradictory until Sunday.
"They came into a bit more of an agreement that the westward turn is less likely," he said.
Landsea said every storm is different and has different characteristics, "and in this case it's a very unpredictable storm." He said Debby was could become a hurricane.
A major concern will be flooding from heavy rainfall. Parts of Florida and southeast Georgia could receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, with some areas getting as much as 20, he said.
NASA via AFP - Getty Images
This Sunday handout image provided by NASA shows a satellite view of Tropical Storm Debby as it nears the northern rim of the Gulf of Mexico.
Debby's top sustained winds were at about 60 mph (95 kph). The storm was moving toward the northeast at 3 mph (6 kph).
Near the mouth of the Mississippi southeast of New Orleans, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said officials were making preparations to protect the main highway from tidal flooding.
At least one tornado linked to the storm touched down Saturday in southwest Florida, but no injuries were reported. Another was reported Sunday in Venice, damaging some homes.
"This is quite common with this type of storm," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart with the National Hurricane Center said of the twisters. "They tend to not be very large or long-lived, which can be difficult to detect on radar. So people need to keep an eye on the sky."
Debby has shut nearly a quarter of offshore crude oil and natural gas production, the U.S. government said.
BP Plc, the largest oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, shut in all of its production. The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S. port for handling the largest oil tank ships, stopped operating due to rough seas.
ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell Plc had also shut some of their production as of Sunday as the first storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season to threaten offshore production gained strength in the Gulf.
The storm has a 30 percent chance of reaching hurricane strength before landfall and could temporarily disrupt 55 percent of Gulf offshore oil production and 44 percent of natural gas production due to short-term evacuations, according to Weather Insight, a unit of Thomson Reuters.
Despite storm warnings in the Panhandle, Debby hadn't totally dampened vacations.
Thousands were on the beach at Pensacola Beach, Fla., on Sunday morning. Many used their phones to take photos of huge waves crashing into the concrete supports of a fishing pier. There wasn't any rain yet; just gusty winds and dark, fast-moving clouds.
Few people were in the water. Red flags warned tourists to stay out of the surf, and lifeguards cruised the sand on all-terrain vehicles, blowing whistles at anyone who got near the waves.
Workers with rental companies used pickup trucks to gather chairs and umbrellas as a precaution against an unusually high tide.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
peyton hillis carolina panthers fletcher cox charlotte bobcats denver broncos new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012
Senin, 25 Juni 2012
FDA delays decision on Pfizer, Bristol-Myers drug
A Friday, March 2, 2012 photo shows the exterior of Pfizer in Groton, Conn. Pfizer Inc. Shares of Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. fell Monday, June 25, 2012, after federal regulators unexpectedly delayed for a second time a decision on whether to approve the companies' highly touted experimental anticlotting drug Eliquis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
A Friday, March 2, 2012 photo shows the exterior of Pfizer in Groton, Conn. Pfizer Inc. Shares of Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. fell Monday, June 25, 2012, after federal regulators unexpectedly delayed for a second time a decision on whether to approve the companies' highly touted experimental anticlotting drug Eliquis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? Shares of Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. fell Monday after federal regulators unexpectedly delayed for a second time a decision on whether to approve the companies' highly touted experimental anticlotting drug Eliquis.
Some analysts see Eliquis as better than two new clot-preventing pills that beat it to market, but the latest delay means a U.S. launch of Eliquis likely won't happen until next year.
The Food and Drug Administration said it wants more information on "data management and verification" from a huge international study called ARISTOTLE that examined how well Eliquis prevented strokes in patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, the drugmakers said Monday.
The companies said the FDA did not ask for new studies, and they plan to work quickly to address outstanding questions. Even so, a spokeswoman for New York-based Bristol-Myers said the agency could take up to six months to review their response.
"We are already working with the agency, and we are hopeful that the review of our submission can be completed within a shorter timeframe," said spokeswoman Laura Hortas.
Analyst Erik Gordon, a professor at University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said the FDA requiring more information on data management and verification indicates "someone either flubbed the application by not making the data management process clear or flubbed the actual data process."
"It's a giant botch-up to, at best, lose a year on one of your much-needed blockbusters," Gordon added.
In afternoon trading, Bristol-Myers shares dropped $1.17, or 3.3 percent, at $34.19, and Pfizer shares fell 23 cents to $22.49 per share.
The news has a bigger impact on Bristol-Myers, because it is much smaller than Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker. Also, the FDA in January delayed a decision on another crucial experimental drug from Bristol, diabetes treatment Forxiga, known chemically as dapagliflozin. The agency said it needed more data, including data from an ongoing study and possibly new studies, to assess Forxiga's benefits and risks.
Eliquis, known chemically as apixaban, is one of a handful of new drugs meant to prevent heart attacks and strokes better than warfarin ? long the standard treatment despite how tricky it is to use. Eliquis, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's Pradaxa and Xarelto from Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare all are expected to grow into much-needed blockbusters for their makers, with annual sales topping $1 billion.
"All of this is surprising given the widespread perception that Eliquis is a best-in-class product relative to already-approved" Pradaxa and Xarelto, BernsteinResearch analyst Dr. Tim Anderson wrote of the new delay.
It could benefit Xarelto and Pradaxa, and possibly a fourth stroke-preventing pill in late-stage testing by Daiichi Sankyo, called edoxaban, Barclays analyst C. Anthony Butler wrote to investors.
"The longer time window is significant in a market that appears to be less open to switches (from warfarin) than previously assumed," Butler wrote.
He added that if Bristol-Myers and Pfizer give the FDA the new information by September, the agency could make a decision next March. That would be a year after the FDA's original target date for a decision on Eliquis. At the end of March, the FDA pushed back its original deadline until June 28, saying it needed more time to review additional information the companies submitted after applying for approval late last year.
Both men noted analysts may revise their sales forecasts for Eliquis, which Anderson had pegged at $2.3 billion in 2015 and $3.5 billion in 2020.
Doctors and millions of patients have long wanted a better alternative to warfarin, an inexpensive generic drug also sold under brand names such as Coumadin. Getting the dose of warfarin correct is so tricky that patients must have frequent blood tests to ensure they're getting enough to prevent clots but not enough to cause internal bleeding. Some foods interact with warfarin, compounding the difficulty.
Bristol-Myers discovered Eliquis and since 2007 has been testing it in partnership with New York-based Pfizer. The European Union approved it in May for preventing blood clots in patients getting hip or knee replacement surgery, and the companies are considering whether to seek approval for that use in the U.S., Hortas said. The drug also is in late-stage testing for treating patients with clots in major blood vessels.
Pradaxa, also known as dabigatran, was first to market, getting approved in October 2010 for patients with atrial fibrillation. Xarelto has since been approved for patients with atrial fibrillation and for preventing blood clots after hip or knee replacement surgery. But J&J said last week the FDA denied its request to expand approval of Xarelto to prevent life-threatening blood clots in patients with acute coronary artery disease, and it expects to work with them to address the questions as quickly as possible.
___
AP Business Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this story.
___
Linda A. Johnson can be followed at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma
Associated Pressruben studdard black friday sales 2011 black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan bradley cooper roger craig roger craig
UN sees China behind NKorea embargo breach: report
A UN panel has found Chinese involvement in more than half of the suspected violations of the North Korean arms and luxury goods embargoes, a Japanese media report said Friday.
The panel identified 38 instances in which banned goods have gone to or from North Korea. Of these, 21 have involved China, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources.
"The findings reflect in the end China has helped North Korea expand its weaponry and military threats," the Asahi said.
The panel, created in 2009 after the North's second nuclear test, reviewed the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions banning trade with North Korea in certain goods, the paper said.
In the majority of cases examined, Chinese ports served as transit points or Chinese firms were involved as intermediaries, it said, adding the panel's report could be released as early as next week.
Of the 21 cases linked with China, two involved the export or import of items related to weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles, the Asahi said.
One of them was a 2007 attempted shipment from North Korea to Syria -- via the Chinese port of Dalian -- of electronic parts and metal plates to be used for ballistic missiles, the Asahi said.
The other was a 2010 shipment from Taiwan, via China, to North Korea of machine tools that could have military applications.
Six other cases involved the export or import of weapons. The remaining 13 cases were about imports of luxury goods to North Korea, the Asahi said.
Friday's report followed earlier claims that a Chinese firm had exported four giant trucks capable of transporting and launching ballistic missiles in August.
The vehicles were likely those on display at the huge military display in April marking the centennial of the birth of the state's founder Kim Il-Sung, the Asahi said.
However, the UN panel did not include this in the tally as an investigation into the claims is still ongoing, the paper said.
China is North Korea's sole major ally and has long shielded Pyongyang from the worst of the international community's wrath over its nuclear and missile programmes.
The panel issued an earlier report in November 2010, and said North Korea has established elaborate schemes to evade sanctions, including false labelling, illicit financial transactions and use of shell and front companies.
The 2010 report called on UN members to stay vigilant, but acknowledged implementation of the sanctions might be difficult.
game of thrones game of thrones season 2 wrestlemania 28 dierks bentley kenny chesney blake shelton academy of country music awards
Gaza Muslims Honor the Sabbath ? Shoot 30 Grad Rockets Into Israel
Over 150 rockets hit Israel over the past week injuring an Israeli civilian. Iron Dome anti-missile defense system intercepteed 8 rockets targeting residential areas.
Terrorists in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets at civilian communities in southern Israel, with approximately 20 rockets that hit Israeli territory on Saturday (June 23).
In response Israel targeted terrorists on the ground in Gaza.
Gaza terrorists honored the Sabbath today by firing 30 grad rockets into Israel.
Arutz Sheva reported, via Israel Survival Updates:
Gaza terrorists continued to fire on Israel over the Sabbath. The Iron Dome rocket defense system successfully shot down 5 rockets, but more than 20 hit southern communities.
One rocket hit a factory in the Sha?ar Hanegev region. A worker was moderately wounded.
Another rocket hit a school in Sderot, causing damage to the building. School was not in session, and no injuries were reported.
?
solar flare joseph kony 2012 arian foster dennis kucinich apple ipad kony kony 2012
Minggu, 24 Juni 2012
Federer eyes record-tying 7th Wimbledon title
Swiss Roger Federer returns a ball to Germany's Tommy Haas during the final match of the Gerry Weber Open ATP tennis tournament in Halle, western Germany, Sunday June 17, 2012. Wild card Tommy Haas of Germany defeated five-time winner Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 6-4 to win the Gerry Weber Open for the second time on Sunday. The 87th-ranked Haas, the oldest player in the singles draw at 34, recovered from losing his serve in the first game by winning the first set on a tiebreaker and then getting the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set. (AP Photo/dapd/Joerg Sarbach)
Swiss Roger Federer returns a ball to Germany's Tommy Haas during the final match of the Gerry Weber Open ATP tennis tournament in Halle, western Germany, Sunday June 17, 2012. Wild card Tommy Haas of Germany defeated five-time winner Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 6-4 to win the Gerry Weber Open for the second time on Sunday. The 87th-ranked Haas, the oldest player in the singles draw at 34, recovered from losing his serve in the first game by winning the first set on a tiebreaker and then getting the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set. (AP Photo/dapd/Joerg Sarbach)
This combo made from 2009, left, 2008, center, and 2011 file photos shows from left: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic after winning at Wimbledon. As Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer step back on the grass at Wimbledon, each has reason to believe he'll be hoisting the trophy overhead in two weeks' time. Indeed, it's tough to imagine anyone outside that trio winning this year's championship at the All England Club, where play begins Monday June 25, 2012. (AP Photo/FILE)
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ? No one makes Wimbledon fashion choices quite like Roger Federer, who showed up at the All England Club on Saturday sporting a collar-popped, long-sleeved cream sweater with purple trim and a green "RF" insignia on the upper right arm.
This is the guy, remember, who pulled on a specially tailored white jacket with a gold "15" stitched on the back when he broke Pete Sampras' career record of 14 Grand Slam titles by winning Wimbledon for the sixth time in 2009.
Federer hasn't been able to add No. 7.
Actually, he hasn't made it past the quarterfinals at the grass-court tournament since, losing in that round the past two years.
"I want to do better; I have to do better in this event, because I could have gone further," the 30-year-old Federer said Saturday. "Maybe a bit unfortunate at times. Maybe the other guys were just too good. Maybe I wasn't quite at my best. Who knows what the combination was? But it's up to me to make that difference now and take it to the next step. ... A seventh would be amazing."
Only Sampras and Willie Renshaw ? who played in the 1800s and got a bye directly into the final as the defending champion for five of his titles ? have won Wimbledon seven times.
The last man 30 or older to win a Grand Slam title was Andre Agassi at the 2003 Australian Open.
"Well, I mean, any one is a special one. Doesn't matter if it was No. 5, No. 2, No. 17 or No. 7 here at Wimbledon," Federer said. "Over a two-, three-week period, a lot of things can go wrong or can go right for you. If you come through, it's a beautiful feeling. I am dreaming of the title. There's no denying that."
Federer owns a record 16 Grand Slam titles now, but has gone about 2? years since his most recent one at the 2010 Australian Open, the longest drought since he won No. 1 at Wimbledon in 2003.
The last nine major trophies were collected by Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, who have played each other in the last four Grand Slam finals.
Federer, of course, wants to be the one to end that run.
"Hopefully it's my time of the year now," he said. "I fancy my chances here and at the U.S. Open. It's exciting times ahead, but we'll see how it goes. As long as they're No. 1 and No. 2, they face each other in the (finals). It's maybe a good thing for them; a hard thing for us. At the same time, I'm very close (to) breaking that, and hopefully I can make a run here at Wimbledon."
Federer was ranked No. 1 for 285 weeks in all, one short of another record held by Sampras, but currently is No. 3, trailing No. 1 Djokovic and No. 2 Nadal.
Federer, who was drawn to face Djokovic in the semifinals, would return to the top ranking by winning the title at Wimbledon, where play begins Monday.
"I'm sort of picking him to win this year at Wimbledon, even though it looks like the gap has grown between the other two and him," said three-time Wimbledon champion and ESPN analyst John McEnroe. "But to me Wimbledon is his best chance to win another major. He seems to still want it, as much as he'd already won. He's got a great chance this year. I think that's his best bet."
And as much as a return to No. 1 would be gratifying, Federer left no doubt about what would mean even more to him.
"Trophies is what really gets you going. No. 1 is a nice feeling. Every day, when you wake up ... you think, 'OK, you're the best at something.' I've had that in the past and that felt great," he said. "Obviously, it's really titles that interest you the most at this moment."
___
Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
Associated Pressphantom of the opera agoraphobia andrew lloyd webber obscura grok cirque du freak eric cantor
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)