Built On Steam

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Private Roleplay between SteampunkZero. (This is her Orgainal roleplay, made by her.)

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Built On Steam?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Flesh-eating disease victim gets prosthetic hands

ATLANTA (AP) ? A metro Atlanta woman who lost both hands, her left leg and right foot after contracting a flesh-eating disease was on her way back from Ohio Friday after being fitted with prosthetic hands.

Aimee Copeland, 25, is returning from Hilliard, Ohio, where she was fitted with a pair of "bionic" hands with 24 programmable functions that will improve her dexterity, her father, Andy, told the Associated Press.

Copeland, of Snellville, contracted a rare infection called necrotizing fasciitis in May 2012 after falling from a zip line and gashing her leg. She spent two months at the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation clinic in Atlanta, learning to move, eat and bathe without prosthetics.

She spent part of the week at Touch Bionics being fitted for the prosthetic hands that her father says will be controlled by her muscle movements and arm positions.

"All four days she sent us videos of things she could do," Copeland said. "The second day she was moving water between cups. On the third day she was cutting a cucumber. On the fourth day she was doing more typical things, like applying makeup to her face and more personal things."

Copeland said the hands were given to Aimee in exchange for her serving as a Touch Bionics ambassador. He said Aimee is likely to begin looking for a prosthetic leg with a computer-controlled knee joint to allow for more natural movement than a mechanical one.

"I just really look forward to her regaining her confidence about certain things she's been unable to do," Copeland said, "Really I just want to see her enjoying life the way that she should."

Among other things, Copeland said, the prosthetic hands will help his daughter learn to prepare meals from scratch, which she enjoyed doing before the amputations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flesh-eating-disease-victim-gets-prosthetic-hands-013930801.html

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Google Glass to get CNN, Elle, Twitter, Tumblr, Evernote and Facebook apps soon

The I/O news faucet hasn't quite dried up yet. During the San Francisco conference today, Google chatted up some new Glass apps. The new applications will come packaged as "Glassware," delivering CNN breaking news alerts, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook posts, Evernote reminders and articles from Elle Magazine. The New York Times and Path were the only two apps previously available to Explorers, making this new suite of products a very welcome addition indeed. More apps are no doubt on the way -- hundreds of developers are working to produce their own software for the Google-branded headgear, which is set to launch for consumers sometime next year.

Filed under: Wearables, Software, Google

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Source: The New York Times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/16/google-glass-apps/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Analysis of Sony Corporation - FinanceLab

This article is brought by the Finance Lab Investment Panel
?
Sony Corporation is a company that has gone through a difficult period the last years with declining financial performance. The management has recognized this fact and they have launched a new comprehensive strategic plan. Is this a potential successful turn-around or is it a company in continuous decline?
?
Sony?s financial performance has been declining the last several years. The revenue has fallen with almost 23% the last five years and from 2009-2012 Sony reported a loss. This was first and foremost because of the decline in the revenue but also because of a significant downturn in their margins. In their newly reported results for 2013 they have reported a profit of $458 million. The increase is mainly caused by the depreciation of the Japanese Yen as well as the consolidation of Sony Ericsson AB. So the result is positively affected by nonrecurring gains and it is therefore not representative for the ongoing development.
?
After a comprehensive renewal of the management team followed by a reorganization of the organizational structure Sony Corporation launched a new ambitious strategic plan. Sony Corporation is with their new plan trying to increase the focus on their core strategic business units and reorganizing their broad portfolio of business units. The three new focus areas, where almost 70% of their R&D budget will be allocated, are ?Digital Imaging?, ?Game? and ?Mobile?. In all of these three areas Sony is going to increase the focus on innovation, strengthen their network across product platforms and improve the integration.
?
In addition to this new focus Sony has also initiated a turn-around of their television business. This included a 60% reduction in fixed business costs as well as a 30% reduction in operating costs. This reduction is supposed to be achieved through a thorough overhaul including reducing the model count with 40%. In addition to the reduction in costs they are also targeting innovation and development of new technology such as OLED.
?
As a last part of the strategy plan Sony is going to strengthen their already strong position on emerging markets.
?
Broadly speaking we believe that their new strategy includes some good initiatives and they have realized that they have to focus on their core competences. However, we do believe they could have been more ambitious in the restructuring and possibly sold some of their business units such as the ?Entertainment? division. We also do not believe that their competitive positioning is especially attractive and they have to strengthen their competitive advantage if they want to survive in the market. The execution of the strategy plan also involves significant risks and we would like to see more decisive results before we are convinced.
?
Japan is going through tremendous macroeconomic change and there is a lot of risk involved in this process. The expansionary monetary policy has already caused the Japanese Yen to depreciate and it has also led to gains on the stock market. If it will have a permanent effect or not is difficult to predict and it will be very decisive for Sony during the next years as 32% of their revenue comes from their home market.
?
The share price has already soared by almost 80% during this year measured in Japanese Yen and we would argue that the stock is currently too expensive. In addition we believe there is significant risk associated with their new strategy plan, their competitive positioning as well as the Japanese economy. This adds up to the fact that we do not see the company at the current moment as an attractive investment.
?

Source: http://www.financelab.dk/2013/05/17/analysis-of-sony-corporation/

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One Direction World Tour: Set for 2014!!!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/one-direction-world-tour-set-for-2014/

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Parker leads Spurs past Warriors for 3-2 lead

San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green scores over Golden State Warriors' Andrew Bogut, left, and Harrison Barnes (40) during the second half in Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green scores over Golden State Warriors' Andrew Bogut, left, and Harrison Barnes (40) during the second half in Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green (4) looks to pass against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio.(AP Photo/Darren Abate)

San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker (9), of France, passes around Golden State Warriors' Festus Ezeli, left, during the first half in Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry pauses during time out against the San Antonio Spurs during the first half in Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan (21) is fouled by Golden State Warriors' Harrison Barnes, left, and Golden State Warriors' Festus Ezeli also defends during the first half in Game 5 of a Western Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series, Tuesday, May 14, 2013, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ? The San Antonio Spurs got the added energy Gregg Popovich wanted against the Golden State Warriors and a stellar performance from Tony Parker that they desperately needed.

Now the Warriors will have to win two in a row to keep the Spurs from returning to the Western Conference finals.

Tony Parker had 25 points and 10 assists, and the Spurs held the Warriors' starting backcourt to 13 points for a 109-91 victory Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their topsy-turvy playoff series.

Despite being outworked and trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, Golden State coach Mark Jackson believes his team can rebound and win Game 6 at home Friday and force a Game 7 in San Antonio on Sunday.

"It's doable," Jackson said. "Obviously, we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. They're a heck of a basketball team. We talked about it being a long series. If we won tonight, it would be doable for them to win two games. Two pretty good teams going at it. We look forward to going back home, playing our brand of basketball and putting the pressure back on them."

The Warriors must put added pressure on Parker, specifically.

The All-Star point guard was 9 for 16 from the field while continually attacking Golden State's interior defense for layups and short jumpers when he wasn't finding open teammates. Parker's 10 assists came with only two turnovers in 34 minutes.

"It's big for all of us," Tim Duncan said of Parker's penetration. "It's big for him to get some easy ones and he's not just shooting jump shots all night. It's big for us because it collapses their defense. He is a wanting and willing passer. He wants to draw everybody in. He wants to find our shooters.

"That's one thing we've done all year long. He gets to the basket a couple of times, all of a sudden everyone's head starts to get on a swivel."

Kawhi Leonard added 17 points, Danny Green scored 16 and Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Parker's play also seemed to impact Curry's offense, too.

"When Tony had it up top, I let him get to his right and that is his strength," Curry said. "A lack of discipline on my end. I think I held my own in the first four games, but tonight I wasn't locked in. That is inexcusable. This is a big game. I dropped the ball."

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, Jarrett Jack added 20 and Carl Landry 16 for Golden State, but Curry was held to nine points.

"I was terrible, plain and simple," Curry said. "They outplayed us as a team. Individually, I didn't have anything on either end. (I was) a step slow, my shot wasn't falling and I was trying to make plays but defensively I lost a little focus."

The Spurs held Jackson's self-proclaimed "greatest shooting backcourt" in NBA history to 6-for-22 shooting. Curry was 1 for 7 on 3-pointers, while Klay Thompson was held to four points while not even attempting a 3.

"The series for us is all about the defense," Popovich said. "(Leonard and Green) did a good job; (there were) other people who did good work out there. We got a lot of mismatches. They love those mismatches, so we have to play intelligently. I thought we did that tonight.

"But we followed up the defense with a board. There is no stop until the board is secured. That was our main emphasis going into the game."

Curry has not missed any time since turning his left ankle late in Game 3, but the injury seemed to limit his explosiveness.

Leonard stripped Curry and then outran him to the ball midway through the first quarter, feeding Parker for an uncontested layup. Curry appeared to grimace when he attempted to push off to sprint for the loose ball.

"It is sore, but I came in feeling good," Curry said. "I was pretty optimistic about how I could play tonight, but it didn't go that way."

He played only 4 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter, leaving the game for good with 4 minutes left and San Antonio leading 102-84.

"It got to a point where they had made plays and I had to look toward Game 6," Jackson said. "It was just being smart, that's all. I didn't want to see him get hurt. Obviously, he wasn't 100 percent. I just felt if we were going to make a run, let's make a run and then maybe get him back in, but it was just a long night for us."

The Spurs outrebounded the Warriors 38-36, forced 14 turnovers and limited them to 16 second-chance points.

"Our energy was good," Parker said. "We got the 50-50 ball; that was huge for us tonight. It was a tough turnaround for us in Game 4. We missed an opportunity at the end and we realize that. Tonight we played for 48 minutes."

His energy was just as big a spark.

Parker dove over Jarrett Jack midway through the third quarter to corral a loose ball, rising to lead a fast break that resulted in a dunk by Green.

Even Popovich displayed more energy, chasing referee Ed Malloy down the sidelines from the free throw line to just past midcourt while screaming and motioning for a timeout with 9 minutes left in the game.

The Spurs led for all but the opening 6 minutes of the game and moved one game closer to advancing to their 12th conference finals in franchise history.

"Nobody talks about getting this over with like you've got a rash," Popovich said. "Like you can take a pill or put some cream on it, it's going to be gone. This is a war."

Curry and Thompson were held to a combined four points on 2-for-10 shooting in the opening 16 minutes, but Barnes had 13 points and Jack seven.

"We just missed shots," Curry said. "Early in the game, I got a little off balance a couple (times) trying to get a foul. They play good defense. We didn't get into a rhythm. We just missed shots."

Curry did not make his first 3 until there were 2 minutes left in the first half.

The Spurs stopped going inside in the second quarter, helping Golden State rally.

The Spurs returned to attacking the basket in the third, resulting in another double-digit lead.

NOTES: Duncan surpassed Shaquille O'Neal and tied Wilt Chamberlain for second on the career postseason list in double-doubles with his 143rd. Magic Johnson heads the list with 157 during his Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Parker passed Chauncey Billups for fourth in postseason assists among active players with 832. New York's Jason Kidd (1,258), the Lakers' Steve Nash (1,061) and Boston's Rajon Rondo (845) are ahead of Parker. ... Richard Jefferson, who played with San Antonio from 2010-2011, continues to receive a chorus of boos from the Spurs' fans whenever he enters the game or makes a shot.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-15-BKN-Warriors-Spurs-Folo/id-6f492a38267b45dabf4e9133e05aa1ae

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Intro ? Video & Google Hangouts for Small Business Marketing ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.rangrage.com/intro-video-google-hangouts-for-small-business-marketing-portland-oregon/

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The Construction Lamp: An Oil Derrick Look, Inspired by Tinker Toys

The Construction Lamp looks like oil derricks you see dotting the landscape in parts of Texas. Their industrial aesthetic is the result of the designer Joost van Bleiswijk playing with the nuts, bolts, and tools in his workshop as though he was still a kid.

In fact, van Bleiswijk says the lamp was inspired by a love for Meccano, the tinker toy construction sets of yore. The great thing about Meccano, of course, is that it's just a series of components?what you actually build with its joints, wheels, and gears, is up to you. In a way, that's exactly what's happening in these awesome lamps, which borrow their components of old electricity towers and industrial buildings. [Joost van Bleiswijk via MocoLoco]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-construction-lamp-an-oil-derrick-look-inspired-by-505543079

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Evidence of host adaptation of avian-origin influenza A virus

Public release date: 15-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: YAN Bei
yanbei@scichina.org
86-106-400-8316
Science China Press

A novel avian-origin reassortant influenza A (H7N9) virus emerged in China in February 2013, and is associated with severe lower respiratory tract diseases. To date, more than 100 human cases of infection, including at least 20 deaths, have been reported in China. Three early cases of infection were described in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The general clinical features of the three patients were similar to the previously reported cases in China. Two of the three patients had a history of direct contact with live poultry markets. Interestingly, poultry cage swabs and feces from the free market visited by Patient 2 one week prior to the onset of symptoms were positive for the novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus. This indicates a direct connection between human infection with the novel H7N9 virus and an environmental source.

Researchers analyzed the DNA sequences from the Hangzhou viruses and other human H7N9 viral sequences available from the databases, together with those from other H7 influenza viruses. This showed that the virus sequenced from Patient 2 was most closely related to the virus derived from the environmental source associated with Patient 2, while Hangzhou/1 and Hangzhou/3 were more divergent. These data suggest that several H7N9 viruses are circulating in Hangzhou. It is uncertain whether the diversity of H7N9 in Hangzhou is the result of host adaptation, or predates the transmission to humans from an avian source.

The pathogenesis of the novel avian-origin H7N9 virus in humans remains unknown, although a series of substitutions that have been confirmed as pathogenicity factors in animal models were found in viruses from Hangzhou. A glutamine to isoleucine substitution was observed at position 226 of the hemagglutinin amino acid sequence in the newly sequenced virus. Isoleucine has similar characteristics to leucine, which was previously shown to be a pivotal amino acid in the binding of avian- or human-type receptor, and might be essential for pathogenicity in cases of airborne viral transmission. This substitution was observed for the first time at this site in H7N9, which may indicate a novel host adaptation feature of the H7 virus.

Findings from the current study implied a rapid evolution of the novel H7N9 virus. This may assist in determining the source and mode of transmission of these infections, and provide a reference for selecting candidate vaccine strains. The receptor binding properties of Q226I and the significance of the substitutions in H7N9 need further exploration, including both in vitro and in vivo experiments, and extensive field surveillance.

###

Funder: Hangzhou Key Medicine Discipline Fund for Public Health Laboratory sponsored by the Hangzhou Government, China Ministry of Science and Technology Project 973 (grant nos. 2010CB530303 and 2011CB504703), and an intramural special grant for influenza virus research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSZD-EW-Z-002).

Corresponding authors:

PAN JingCao
jingcaopan@gmail.com

LIU Jun
liuj333@gmail.com

See the article:

Li J, Yu X F, Pu X Y, et al. Environmental connections of novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus infection and virus adaptation to the human. Sci China Life Sci, 2013, 56(6), 485-492. doi: 10.1007/s11427-013-4491-3

http://life.scichina.com:8082/sciCe/EN/10.1007/s11427-013-4491-3

Science China Press Co., Ltd. (SCP) is a scientific journal publishing company of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). For 50 years, SCP takes its mission to present to the world the best achievements by Chinese scientists on various fields of natural sciences researches.

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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: 15-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: YAN Bei
yanbei@scichina.org
86-106-400-8316
Science China Press

A novel avian-origin reassortant influenza A (H7N9) virus emerged in China in February 2013, and is associated with severe lower respiratory tract diseases. To date, more than 100 human cases of infection, including at least 20 deaths, have been reported in China. Three early cases of infection were described in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The general clinical features of the three patients were similar to the previously reported cases in China. Two of the three patients had a history of direct contact with live poultry markets. Interestingly, poultry cage swabs and feces from the free market visited by Patient 2 one week prior to the onset of symptoms were positive for the novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus. This indicates a direct connection between human infection with the novel H7N9 virus and an environmental source.

Researchers analyzed the DNA sequences from the Hangzhou viruses and other human H7N9 viral sequences available from the databases, together with those from other H7 influenza viruses. This showed that the virus sequenced from Patient 2 was most closely related to the virus derived from the environmental source associated with Patient 2, while Hangzhou/1 and Hangzhou/3 were more divergent. These data suggest that several H7N9 viruses are circulating in Hangzhou. It is uncertain whether the diversity of H7N9 in Hangzhou is the result of host adaptation, or predates the transmission to humans from an avian source.

The pathogenesis of the novel avian-origin H7N9 virus in humans remains unknown, although a series of substitutions that have been confirmed as pathogenicity factors in animal models were found in viruses from Hangzhou. A glutamine to isoleucine substitution was observed at position 226 of the hemagglutinin amino acid sequence in the newly sequenced virus. Isoleucine has similar characteristics to leucine, which was previously shown to be a pivotal amino acid in the binding of avian- or human-type receptor, and might be essential for pathogenicity in cases of airborne viral transmission. This substitution was observed for the first time at this site in H7N9, which may indicate a novel host adaptation feature of the H7 virus.

Findings from the current study implied a rapid evolution of the novel H7N9 virus. This may assist in determining the source and mode of transmission of these infections, and provide a reference for selecting candidate vaccine strains. The receptor binding properties of Q226I and the significance of the substitutions in H7N9 need further exploration, including both in vitro and in vivo experiments, and extensive field surveillance.

###

Funder: Hangzhou Key Medicine Discipline Fund for Public Health Laboratory sponsored by the Hangzhou Government, China Ministry of Science and Technology Project 973 (grant nos. 2010CB530303 and 2011CB504703), and an intramural special grant for influenza virus research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSZD-EW-Z-002).

Corresponding authors:

PAN JingCao
jingcaopan@gmail.com

LIU Jun
liuj333@gmail.com

See the article:

Li J, Yu X F, Pu X Y, et al. Environmental connections of novel avian-origin H7N9 influenza virus infection and virus adaptation to the human. Sci China Life Sci, 2013, 56(6), 485-492. doi: 10.1007/s11427-013-4491-3

http://life.scichina.com:8082/sciCe/EN/10.1007/s11427-013-4491-3

Science China Press Co., Ltd. (SCP) is a scientific journal publishing company of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). For 50 years, SCP takes its mission to present to the world the best achievements by Chinese scientists on various fields of natural sciences researches.

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/scp-eoh051013.php

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'S.H.I.E.L.D.' Teaser Brings 'Avengers' Character Back To Life

Marvel Entertainment brings superheroes to the small screen.
By Todd Gilchrist

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707349/agents-of-shield-teaser.jhtml

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Obama Tells Harvey Weinstein, Justin Timberlake to Blame Rush Limbaugh

On last night's Daily Show,?Jon Stewart took on the legitimate scandal at the IRS, which involves the?targeting of Tea Party groups, and explained how it gives conspiracy theorists a leg to stand on. After having a good laugh about how the IRS can just apologize for anything, Stewart went straight to the top: "Well, congratulations, President Barack Obama," he said. "Conspiracy theorists, who generally can survive in anaerobic environments, just had an algae bloom dropped on their f--king heads, thus removing the last arrow in your pro-governance quiver."?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-tells-harvey-weinstein-justin-timberlake-blame-rush-212843334.html

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Your Gmail, Drive, and Google+ Storage Is Now One Big 15GB Chunk

It used to be that you'd have 10GB of storage for your Gmail account, and 5GB to share between your Google Drive and your Google+ pictures. Not anymore: Google just unified all three into a shared pool of 15GB.

This is great because now, you'll be able to make better use of all that space you weren't using before. Chances are, you weren't coming close to your 10 GB Gmail limit, or could clean out plenty of old emails if you are. And now, that space will be fair game for your Drive account.

The unification is going to come along with an update for the Google Drive storage page, to help you figure out how much you've got where, and if you decide to buy more storage, it's up for grabs across all three services. The changes will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks. [Google]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/googles-unifying-storage-for-gmail-drive-and-google-504646279

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phTitle Legislators Propose Making Passage of New Taxes Easier

?(May 13, 2013) The California Chamber of Commerce is opposing a half dozen measures awaiting action in the Senate this week that will make it easier for lawmakers to approve new taxes.

All the measures, which are on the CalChamber ?job killer? list, propose amending the State Constitution to lower the vote requirement for tax increases from two-thirds to 55%, thereby adding complexity and uncertainty to the current tax structure and pressure to increase taxes on commercial, industrial and residential property owners.

SCA 3 (Leno; D-San Francisco) gives school districts and community colleges new authority to enact a parcel tax for education programs through the lowered vote requirement.

SCA 4 (Liu; D-La Ca?ada Flintridge) and SCA 8 (Corbett; D-San Leandro) give local governments the new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, for transportation projects.

SCA 7 (Wolk; D-Davis) gives local governments the new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, to finance library construction.

SCA 9 (Corbett; D-San Leandro) gives local governments the new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, to finance community and economic development projects.

SCA 11 (Hancock; D-Oakland) simply gives local governments new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, through lowering the vote threshold.

Blanket Authority

A chief concern with these proposals is that they provide blanket authority to the local government entity, school district or community college district to impose the designated tax.

There are few parameters or restrictions under which the tax may be imposed, other than that the revenue be used for the designated purpose.

With such broad discretion in the type or scope of the tax to impose on real property, the CalChamber is concerned that the constitutional amendments could lead to targeted taxes at the local level against unpopular taxpayers, industries, products or property.

Disproportionate Impact

For example, a parcel tax could be disproportionately directed at commercial property within the local jurisdiction, thereby potentially undermining Proposition 13 protections and discriminating against commercial property versus residential.

Similarly, a special sales tax could be imposed solely on sweetened beverages or high calorie items.

The CalChamber appreciates the current financial pressure many cities, counties, or special districts are under to maintain levels of funding for important services, such as services for educational entities, but does not believe amending the Constitution to reduce the level of local voter approval necessary to impose nearly any type of tax is proper.

The current two-thirds vote requirement for taxes provides a mechanism by which voters can still approve tax increases while protecting the interests of a small minority of taxpayers.

The business community consistently maintains that if a tax is necessary, it should be only temporary and broad based so that the impact is minimized as the tax is uniformly shared by all instead of an individual business, industry, or taxpayer.

Reducing the threshold for voter approval of a new tax increases the threat of unfair and economically harmful targeted taxes.

Action Needed

All these proposed constitutional amendments are scheduled to be considered in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee on May 15.

The CalChamber is encouraging businesses to contact their senators and members of the committee to urge them to oppose SCA 3, SCA 4, SCA 7, SCA 8, SCA 9 and SCA 11.

Staff Contact: Jeremy Merz

Source: http://www.calchamber.com/Headlines/Pages/05132013-LegislatorsProposeMakingPassageofNewTaxesEasier.aspx

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Verizon Samsung Galaxy S4 release moves up to May 23rd

Great news for all of you on Verizon, the Samsung Galaxy S4 (read our review!) release date has been moved up to May 23rd from May 30th. The news comes from a Tweet from Ken Muche, who works for Big Red. Last month, we received confirmation that Samsung's new flagship device would not be released until the end of May. This upset many of us on Verizon as the rest of the carriers were getting the S4 out to customers' hands much earlier. This news should appease many as you'll be able to snatch up the phone in just 10 days.

To refresh what we know about the release, the 16GB version will cost $200 with a new contract or $650 with no contract.

So, for all of you on Verizon, who is excited and will be picking one up on May 23rd? Let us know in the Samsung Galaxy S4 Forum.

Source: Twitter

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/wGBfw3ht8G8/story01.htm

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Non-inherited mutations account for many heart defects, Yale researchers find

Public release date: 12-May-2013
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Contact: Bill Hathaway
william.hathaway@yale.edu
203-432-1322
Yale University

New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led, in part, by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine.

The analysis of all the genes of more than 1800 individuals found hundreds of mutations that can cause congenital heart disease, the most common form of birth defect that afflicts nearly 1% of all newborns. In particular, the study found frequent mutations in genes that modify histones, proteins that package DNA in the nucleus and orchestrate the timing and activation of genes crucial to development of the fetus. The results of the study, part of the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium funded by the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), were published online May 12 in the journal Nature.

"These findings provide new insight into the causes of this common congenital disease," said Richard Lifton, Sterling Professor and chair of the Department of Genetics, investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a senior author of the paper. "Most interestingly, the set of genes mutated in congenital heart disease unexpectedly overlapped with genes and pathways mutated in autism. These findings suggest there may be common pathways that underlie a wide range of common congenital diseases."

"This is an important piece of the puzzle that gives us a clearer picture of the causes of congenital heart disease," said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the NHLBI. "What this international, multi-center collaborative research effort was able to accomplish, in a small amount of time, is truly remarkable. The state-of-the-art sequencing techniques that were used are allowing us to push the envelope and envision a day when we may be able to better treat and eventually prevent congenital heart disease in the early stages of heart formation."

The mutations can occur at the same site, and both increase and decrease the modification histone proteins, said Martina Brueckner, professor of pediatrics and genetics at Yale and another senior author of the study. The results suggest a very sensitive developmental system that might also be influenced by environmental factors in development.

"These findings point to fundamental mechanisms that play a role in a wide range of congenital diseases," Lifton said.

###

Samir Zaidi and Murim Choi of Yale were co-lead authors of the paper. Researchers from Harvard University, Columbia University Medical Center, the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai shared senior authorship.

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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: 12-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bill Hathaway
william.hathaway@yale.edu
203-432-1322
Yale University

New mutations that are absent in parents but appear in their offspring account for at least 10% of severe congenital heart disease, reveals a massive genomics study led, in part, by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine.

The analysis of all the genes of more than 1800 individuals found hundreds of mutations that can cause congenital heart disease, the most common form of birth defect that afflicts nearly 1% of all newborns. In particular, the study found frequent mutations in genes that modify histones, proteins that package DNA in the nucleus and orchestrate the timing and activation of genes crucial to development of the fetus. The results of the study, part of the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium funded by the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), were published online May 12 in the journal Nature.

"These findings provide new insight into the causes of this common congenital disease," said Richard Lifton, Sterling Professor and chair of the Department of Genetics, investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a senior author of the paper. "Most interestingly, the set of genes mutated in congenital heart disease unexpectedly overlapped with genes and pathways mutated in autism. These findings suggest there may be common pathways that underlie a wide range of common congenital diseases."

"This is an important piece of the puzzle that gives us a clearer picture of the causes of congenital heart disease," said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the NHLBI. "What this international, multi-center collaborative research effort was able to accomplish, in a small amount of time, is truly remarkable. The state-of-the-art sequencing techniques that were used are allowing us to push the envelope and envision a day when we may be able to better treat and eventually prevent congenital heart disease in the early stages of heart formation."

The mutations can occur at the same site, and both increase and decrease the modification histone proteins, said Martina Brueckner, professor of pediatrics and genetics at Yale and another senior author of the study. The results suggest a very sensitive developmental system that might also be influenced by environmental factors in development.

"These findings point to fundamental mechanisms that play a role in a wide range of congenital diseases," Lifton said.

###

Samir Zaidi and Murim Choi of Yale were co-lead authors of the paper. Researchers from Harvard University, Columbia University Medical Center, the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai shared senior authorship.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

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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/2013-05/yu-nm050913.php

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Ginsburg: Roe gave abortion opponents a target

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discusses the Roe vs. Wade case on it's 40th anniversary at The University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Saturday, May 11, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. It established a nationwide right to abortion. Ginsburg, the second woman to serve as Supreme Court justice, was appointed to the high court by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discusses the Roe vs. Wade case on it's 40th anniversary at The University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Saturday, May 11, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. It established a nationwide right to abortion. Ginsburg, the second woman to serve as Supreme Court justice, was appointed to the high court by former President Bill Clinton in 1993. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, right, discusses the Roe vs. Wade case on it's 40th anniversary with University of Chicago Law School Professor Geoffrey Stone, left, at The University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Saturday, May 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, right, discusses the Roe vs. Wade case on it's 40th anniversary with University of Chicago Law School Professor Geoffrey Stone, left, at The University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Saturday, May 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg discusses the Roe vs. Wade case on it's 40th anniversary at The University of Chicago Law School in Chicago, Saturday, May 11, 2013. The U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. It established a nationwide right to abortion. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

CHICAGO (AP) ? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she supports a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, but feels her predecessors' landmark Roe v. Wade ruling 40 years ago was too sweeping and gave abortion opponents a symbol to target.

Ginsburg, one of the most liberal members of the nation's high court, spoke Saturday at the University of Chicago Law School. Ever since the decision, she said, momentum has been on abortion opponents' side, fueling a state-by-state campaign that has placed more restrictions on abortion.

"That was my concern, that the court had given opponents of access to abortion a target to aim at relentlessly," she told a crowd of students. "... My criticism of Roe is that it seemed to have stopped the momentum that was on the side of change."

The ruling is also a disappointment to a degree, Ginsburg said, because it was not argued in weighty terms of advancing women's rights. Rather, the Roe opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, centered on the right to privacy and asserted that it extended to a woman's decision on whether to end a pregnancy.

Four decades later, abortion is one of the most polarizing issues in American life, and anti-abortion activists have pushed legislation at the state level in an effort to scale back the 1973 decision. This year, governors in North Dakota and Arkansas signed strict new abortion laws, including North Dakota's ban on abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

Ginsburg would have rather seen the justices make a narrower decision that struck down only the Texas law that brought the matter before the court. That law allowed abortions only to save a mother's life.

A more restrained judgment would have sent a message while allowing momentum to build at a time when a number of states were expanding abortion rights, she said. She added that it might also have denied opponents the argument that abortion rights resulted from an undemocratic process in the decision by "unelected old men."

Ginsburg told the students she prefers what she termed "judicial restraint" and argued that such an approach can be more effective than expansive, aggressive decisions.

"The court can put its stamp of approval on the side of change and let that change develop in the political process," she said.

A similar dynamic is playing out over gay marriage and the speculation over how the Supreme Court might act on that issue.

The court decided in December to take up cases on California's constitutional ban on gay marriage and a federal law that denies to gay Americans who are legally married the favorable tax treatment and a range of health and pension benefits otherwise available to married couples.

Among the questions now is whether the justices will set a nationwide rule that could lead to the overturning of laws in more than three dozen states that currently do not allow same-sex marriage. Even some supporters of gay marriage fear that a broad ruling could put the court ahead of the nation on a hot-button social issue and provoke a backlash similar to the one that has fueled the anti-abortion movement in the years following Roe.

The court could also decide to uphold California's ban ? an outcome that would not affect the District of Columbia and the 11 states that allow gay marriage.

Ginsburg did not address the pending gay marriage cases.

Asked about the continuing challenges to abortion rights, Ginsburg said that in her view Roe's legacy will ultimately hold up.

"It's not going to matter that much," she said. "Take the worst-case scenario ... suppose the decision were overruled; you would have a number of states that will never go back to the way it was."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-12-Ginsburg-Roe%20v%20Wade/id-214cd50bf4b94f9699994cdee23bc28a

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2016 looms: Paul, Jindal visit early voting states

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) ? Republican Sen. Rand Paul opened his presidential exploration tour Friday with a splashy set of speaking engagements in Iowa designed to broaden his tea party brand into something more mainstream and, perhaps, viable.

At the same time, another Republican, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, became the first potential 2016 presidential candidate this year to visit New Hampshire, unofficially kicking off the state's presidential primary season roughly 2? years before voting begins.

Paul, the son of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, capped his first day as a presidential prospect in Iowa by headlining the party's annual Lincoln Day dinner. He told about 500 of the state's most influential Republicans that they must undertake the difficult task of drastically altering their tone toward black and Hispanic voters.

"We're an increasingly diverse nation and I think we do need to reach out to other people that don't look like us, that don't wear the same clothes, that aren't exactly who we are," he told the vastly white audience. "We need to express something that attracts people to our party."

The audience members, who had laughed and applauded at Paul's jokes earlier in the speech, were mostly silent in response. A few minutes later, they applauded and cheered at the conclusion of his remarks.

Dubuque Republican Jennifer Smith said Paul's prescription for the party is the right one but difficult to accept. "Sometimes it's hard to hear something you think you're doing right, when it turns out you're not," Smith said.

Paul has offered such intraparty criticism before and likely will continue as he reintroduces himself in early voting New Hampshire and South Carolina as a durable would-be candidate able to broaden the GOP into diverse voting blocs dominated by Democrats. He's already laid some of the groundwork for his case by speaking to black and Hispanic audiences and saying he opposes a federal ban on gay marriage.

"I think people are looking for something different. You might accuse me of being not exactly the traditional cookie-cutter Republican," Paul told reporters during a Friday afternoon of political events in Cedar Rapids. "I do know the GOP needs to grow and I want to be part of growing the GOP."

More than 1,000 miles away, Jindal reiterated his call for the GOP to stop being "the stupid party," insisting that Republicans must expand their message beyond budget austerity and shrinking government.

"In Louisiana, in New Hampshire and in America, we cannot be the party that's obsessed with government and government only," he said at a Manchester, N.H., fundraiser for state senators.

While Jindal hasn't ruled out a White House bid, he insisted Friday that he visited New Hampshire simply to help the local GOP.

"The reality is anybody who's thinking about 2016 needs to have their head examined," Jindal said. "It's way too early."

All of the prospective GOP candidates face the challenge of uniting a party without a definitive leader after election losses last year. Key voting blocs ? women, blacks and Hispanics ? voted overwhelmingly for Democrats. Republicans lost seats in the GOP-controlled House, failed to capitalize on a once-promising shot at winning the Senate majority and the party's presidential nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, failed to unseat Obama.

Jindal said the GOP must work to appeal to "100 percent of America" and called for a more "compassionate solution" for the nation's immigration debate. But he refused to endorse the bi-partisan immigration bill moving through the Senate that includes a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.

Paul said Friday that the party itself must change, and that means taking another look at policies that have alienated some groups. For instance, he favors relaxing federal sentencing laws for drug crimes, which disproportionately penalize racial minorities.

The Kentucky Republican has crafted a more aggressive schedule reaching out to Republicans in early voting states to make the case that he can unite the party and broaden its appeal. He starts with a key advantage: the base of more than a million supporters of his father, a libertarian Republican who sought the presidency in 1988, 2008 and 2012.

On Friday, Paul met with about 10 evangelical pastors ? influential in Iowa's Republican caucuses ? and about 25 area GOP activists at a rural home outside Cedar Rapids. He's scheduled to attend an eastern Iowa GOP breakfast on Saturday.

He's is slated to deliver the keynote address at a party banquet in New Hampshire. He'll cap May's busy travel schedule with a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on May 31.

Then it's back to Iowa next month to court more pastors. And on June 28, Paul attends a fundraiser for Republicans in South Carolina, another early primary state in presidential nominating campaigns.

Among the challenges Paul faces is explaining his opposition to a federal gay marriage ban to influential cultural conservatives in Iowa. Paul says he would fight gay marriage at the state level, an explanation that suffices for Tamara Scott, among Iowa's leading Christian conservatives.

"He's trying to strategize where we can keep marriage as God designed," Scott said.

But some Iowa Republican activists are wary of Paul's views, many of which they see as in line with his father's libertarian ideals and at odds with GOP orthodoxy. Paul said last month Republicans "need to be the party that is reluctant to go to war," and the strong national defense he supports should be for "prevention of war," not for intervening in conflicts around the globe.

"He has a few ideas that maybe wouldn't be exactly mine. That would be national security," said Gwen Ecklund, a Republican county chairwoman in conservative western Iowa.

___

Peoples reported from Manchester, N.H.

___

Follow Tom Beaumont on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TomBeaumont

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2016-looms-paul-jindal-visit-early-voting-states-233650868.html

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Astronauts May Take Emergency Spacewalk to Fix Space Station Leak

Astronauts on the International Space Station are preparing for a possible emergency spacewalk tomorrow (May 11) to fix a serious leak of ammonia coolant on the orbiting laboratory.

On Thursday (May 9), the six residents of the station noticed frozen flakes of ammonia leaking from a coolant loop affixed to one of the eight solar arrays responsible for supplying power to the station. The crew is in no danger, NASA officials say, but if the leak continues, it could cause a shutdown in the loop, possibly preventing the array from generating power.

Space station commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency announced the possibility of the emergency spacewalk via Twitter (where he posts as @Cmdr_Hadfield) early on Friday. [How the Space Station's Cooling System Works (Infographic)]

"Good Morning, Earth! Big change in plans, spacewalk tomorrow, Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn are getting suits and airlock ready," Hadfield wrote. "Cool!"

NASA has not yet made an official decision on whether to conduct the spacewalk, and is still investigating the problem.

"The crew is not in danger, and the station continues to operate normally otherwise," agency officials wrote today in a statement. "Work is underway to reroute power channels to maintain full operation of the systems normally controlled by the solar array that is cooled by the suspect loop."

If the spacewalk goes forward, Cassidy and Marshburn ? both NASA astronauts ? will float outside the station to inspect the leak and possibly attempt to fix it.

"Suddenly very busy! Ammonia leak on the outside of station means that Cassidy and I will be doing a spacewalk tomorrow to try and repair it," Marshburn posted on Twitter (@AstroMarshburn) Friday.

This is not the first time space station crewmembers have spacewalked to repair a coolant leak. Last year, NASA's Sunita Williams and Japanese spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshidu took a spacewalk to troubleshoot a leak in a coolant loop on the station's Port 6 truss (its scaffolding-like backbone). The 2012?coolant leak was in the same loop as the current leak, but engineers don't yet know if the two leaks are related.

On the ground, astronauts Terry Virts of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency are practicing the routine for tomorrow's potential spacewalk in the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston. This lab is a giant swimming pool that holds a full-scale mock-up of the International Space Station?used for astronaut training.

"@AstroSamantha and I are doing a dry run in the NBL for tomorrow's planned Spacewalk, looking for the ammonia leak," Virts wrote on Twitter (@AstroTerry).

Hadfield, Marshburn and Cassidy are part of the station's Expedition 35 crew, along with Russian cosmonauts Roman Romanenko, Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin.

Romanenko, Marshburn and Hadfield are scheduled to leave the space station on Monday (May 13) to return to Earth after close to five months aboard the $100 billion orbiting outpost. On May 28, three new crewmembers are expected to launch from Kazakhstan to join Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy on the station.

Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter and Google+. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook?and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/astronauts-may-emergency-spacewalk-fix-space-station-leak-143359030.html

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