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A stroke can cause permanent paralysis even if a patient's cognitive functions recover. But those thoughts, if a revolutionary new robotic orthotic succeeds, could be all it takes to help stroke victims' bodies recover a greater degree of limb function. More »
Study suggests large methane reservoirs beneath Antarctic ice sheetPublic release date: 29-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ, CA -- The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to a report in the August 30 issue of Nature by an international team of scientists.
The new study demonstrates that old organic matter in sedimentary basins located beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet may have been converted to methane by micro-organisms living under oxygen-deprived conditions. The methane could be released to the atmosphere if the ice sheet shrinks and exposes these old sedimentary basins.
Coauthor Slawek Tulaczyk, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, said the project got its start five years ago in discussions with first author Jemma Wadham at the University of Bristol School of Geographical Sciences, where Tulaczyk was on sabbatical.
"It is easy to forget that before 35 million years ago, when the current period of Antarctic glaciations started, this continent was teeming with life," Tulaczyk said. "Some of the organic material produced by this life became trapped in sediments, which then were cut off from the rest of the world when the ice sheet grew. Our modeling shows that over millions of years, microbes may have turned this old organic carbon into methane."
The science team estimated that 50 percent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (1 million square kilometers) and 25 percent of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (2.5 million square kilometers) overlies pre-glacial sedimentary basins containing about 21,000 billion metric tons of organic carbon.
"This is an immense amount of organic carbon, more than ten times the size of carbon stocks in northern permafrost regions," Wadham said. "Our laboratory experiments tell us that these sub-ice environments are also biologically active, meaning that this organic carbon is probably being metabolized to carbon dioxide and methane gas by microbes."
The researchers numerically simulated the accumulation of methane in Antarctic sedimentary basins using an established one-dimensional hydrate model. They found that sub-ice conditions favor the accumulation of methane hydrate (that is, methane trapped within a structure of water molecules, forming a solid similar to regular ice).
They also calculated that the potential amount of methane hydrate and free methane gas beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet could be up to 4 billion metric tons, a similar order of magnitude to some estimates made for Arctic permafrost. The predicted shallow depth of these potential reserves also makes them more susceptible to climate forcing than other methane hydrate reserves on Earth.
Coauthor Sandra Arndt, a NERC fellow at the University of Bristol, who conducted the numerical modeling, said, "It's not surprising that you might expect to find significant amounts of methane hydrate trapped beneath the ice sheet. Just like in sub-seafloor sediments, it is cold and pressures are high, which are important conditions for methane hydrate formation."
If substantial methane hydrate and gas are present beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, methane release during episodes of ice-sheet collapse could act as a positive feedback on global climate change during past and future ice-sheet retreat.
"Our study highlights the need for continued scientific exploration of remote sub-ice environments in Antarctica, because they may have far greater impact on Earth's climate system than we have appreciated in the past," Tulaczyk said.
###
This research is a collaborative venture between the University of Bristol (UK), The University of California, Santa Cruz (USA), The University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). It was funded principally by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), the Leverhulme Trust (UK) with additional funds from the National Science Foundation (USA), the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
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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.
Study suggests large methane reservoirs beneath Antarctic ice sheetPublic release date: 29-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tim Stephens stephens@ucsc.edu 831-459-2495 University of California - Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ, CA -- The Antarctic Ice Sheet could be an overlooked but important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to a report in the August 30 issue of Nature by an international team of scientists.
The new study demonstrates that old organic matter in sedimentary basins located beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet may have been converted to methane by micro-organisms living under oxygen-deprived conditions. The methane could be released to the atmosphere if the ice sheet shrinks and exposes these old sedimentary basins.
Coauthor Slawek Tulaczyk, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, said the project got its start five years ago in discussions with first author Jemma Wadham at the University of Bristol School of Geographical Sciences, where Tulaczyk was on sabbatical.
"It is easy to forget that before 35 million years ago, when the current period of Antarctic glaciations started, this continent was teeming with life," Tulaczyk said. "Some of the organic material produced by this life became trapped in sediments, which then were cut off from the rest of the world when the ice sheet grew. Our modeling shows that over millions of years, microbes may have turned this old organic carbon into methane."
The science team estimated that 50 percent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (1 million square kilometers) and 25 percent of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (2.5 million square kilometers) overlies pre-glacial sedimentary basins containing about 21,000 billion metric tons of organic carbon.
"This is an immense amount of organic carbon, more than ten times the size of carbon stocks in northern permafrost regions," Wadham said. "Our laboratory experiments tell us that these sub-ice environments are also biologically active, meaning that this organic carbon is probably being metabolized to carbon dioxide and methane gas by microbes."
The researchers numerically simulated the accumulation of methane in Antarctic sedimentary basins using an established one-dimensional hydrate model. They found that sub-ice conditions favor the accumulation of methane hydrate (that is, methane trapped within a structure of water molecules, forming a solid similar to regular ice).
They also calculated that the potential amount of methane hydrate and free methane gas beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet could be up to 4 billion metric tons, a similar order of magnitude to some estimates made for Arctic permafrost. The predicted shallow depth of these potential reserves also makes them more susceptible to climate forcing than other methane hydrate reserves on Earth.
Coauthor Sandra Arndt, a NERC fellow at the University of Bristol, who conducted the numerical modeling, said, "It's not surprising that you might expect to find significant amounts of methane hydrate trapped beneath the ice sheet. Just like in sub-seafloor sediments, it is cold and pressures are high, which are important conditions for methane hydrate formation."
If substantial methane hydrate and gas are present beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet, methane release during episodes of ice-sheet collapse could act as a positive feedback on global climate change during past and future ice-sheet retreat.
"Our study highlights the need for continued scientific exploration of remote sub-ice environments in Antarctica, because they may have far greater impact on Earth's climate system than we have appreciated in the past," Tulaczyk said.
###
This research is a collaborative venture between the University of Bristol (UK), The University of California, Santa Cruz (USA), The University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands). It was funded principally by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK), the Leverhulme Trust (UK) with additional funds from the National Science Foundation (USA), the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
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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.
Lao announces dramatic shift in land policy, commits to expand rights of communities, ethnic groupsPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jenna DiPaolo jdipaolo@rightsandresources.org 202-412-0331 Rights and Resources Initiative
As major international conference opens in Lao PDR, high-level government leaders commit to implement large-scale land reform
VIENTIANE, LAO PDR (28 August 2012)During a riveting keynote speech given at a international land and forestry conference in Vientiane today, Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong, President of the National Assembly of Lao's Committee on Economic Planning and Finance, announced the government's intention to undergo a nationwide formal process of large scale land reform, and prioritize the need for increased local land management, given that access to land for rural households is fundamental to sustained poverty alleviation.
"For over a year, Lao has been undergoing a process of reviewing and revising various policies and legislation pertaining to land and natural resources. What we've learned from countries across the world is that by ensuring local peoples' rights to the land they live and work on, we are opening the door for numerous other benefits for our country." said Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong to the global audience at the Workshop on International Knowledge Sharing and Learning hosted by the National Assembly of Lao PDR in cooperation with the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and RECOFTC-The Center for People and Forests in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on August 28-29, 2012. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Saysomphone Phomvihane, Vice President of the National Assembly.
"A new national land policy is a priority in Laos," Dr. Bouphanouvong added. "Land disputes are a top concern of Lao's multi-ethnic population, and as a nation, we cannot ignore this opportunity to address conflicts and alleviate poverty."
This historic commitment follows a recent change in the government organization responsible for land matters, which is now managed by the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), though the Lao National Assembly plays a key role in balancing accelerated economic development and growth with ensuring that benefits from this process are distributed equitably across Lao PDR. It also responds to increasing demand from villagers in Lao PDR for a review of existing land laws to ensure development projects don't encroach on their land as they have in the past.
Today's commitment from the president of a key committee of the National Assembly signals that the Lao government is dedicated to working closely with civil society and community groups to develop and implement a new national strategy to grant significant land rights to the people who live in and around the nation's land and forest resources.
Mr. James Bampton, Program Director of RECOFTC noted how seriously the government is taking the land rights issue.
"We all heard Dr. Bouphanouvong say that what is needed now are policies and laws that end land disputes and enhance livelihoods in an equitable manner," said Mr. Bampton. "The high level people in this room suggest that this is now a true priority for Lao PDR. This is something millions of citizens have been waiting for, and hopefully, will soon benefit from."
Participants from more than eleven countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe shared their experiences, suggesting that granting greater control to local forest communities has been a key element in the turn-around accomplished by many of these countries, including China, South Korea, Mexico, Sweden, Nepal, Vietnam and Norway.
"Lao PDR is the latest in a series of countries around the world that are realizing the fundamental role of local control and improved forest governance in alleviating poverty, expanding legal and sustainable land management, and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" said Arvind Khare, Executive Director of the Rights and Resources Group, the nonprofit coordinating mechanism of the Rights and Resources Initiative. "RRI's research and firsthand experience in other nations suggests that if Lao PDR does as it says it will do, it will slow the destruction of the nations' lands and unleash the entrepreneurial energy of an estimated 6 million people, who currently have only partial right to maintain and benefit from the use of their own land."
In her keynote address, Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong said that "a significant shift in rethinking natural resource management and land tenure systems is already catalyzing a comprehensive revision of national forest policies and laws," and that the government would move immediately to take action in balancing between economic development, cultural and social progress, natural resources preservation, and environmental protection as well as political stability to achieve growth with equity.
"This represents a tipping point in our policies toward land rights and local management," said Dr. Akhom Tounalom, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, in his remarks to an audience comprised of researchers, high level government officials, policymakers, international experts on forestry and land reform, and community leaders from across Asia, Africa and Latin America. "Our current policies are not sufficient to ensure that we can meet our goals in terms of poverty eradication, economic growth, food security and climate change."
###
The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)
The Rights and Resources Initiative is a global coalition of 14 Partners and 120 Collaborators comprised of international, regional, and community organizations advancing forest tenure, policy and market reforms. RRI leverages the strategic collaboration and investment of its Partners and Collaborators around the world by working together on research, advocacy and convening strategic actors to catalyze change on the ground.
RRI is coordinated by the Rights and Resources Group, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.rightsandresources.org.
[ | 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.
Lao announces dramatic shift in land policy, commits to expand rights of communities, ethnic groupsPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jenna DiPaolo jdipaolo@rightsandresources.org 202-412-0331 Rights and Resources Initiative
As major international conference opens in Lao PDR, high-level government leaders commit to implement large-scale land reform
VIENTIANE, LAO PDR (28 August 2012)During a riveting keynote speech given at a international land and forestry conference in Vientiane today, Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong, President of the National Assembly of Lao's Committee on Economic Planning and Finance, announced the government's intention to undergo a nationwide formal process of large scale land reform, and prioritize the need for increased local land management, given that access to land for rural households is fundamental to sustained poverty alleviation.
"For over a year, Lao has been undergoing a process of reviewing and revising various policies and legislation pertaining to land and natural resources. What we've learned from countries across the world is that by ensuring local peoples' rights to the land they live and work on, we are opening the door for numerous other benefits for our country." said Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong to the global audience at the Workshop on International Knowledge Sharing and Learning hosted by the National Assembly of Lao PDR in cooperation with the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and RECOFTC-The Center for People and Forests in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on August 28-29, 2012. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Saysomphone Phomvihane, Vice President of the National Assembly.
"A new national land policy is a priority in Laos," Dr. Bouphanouvong added. "Land disputes are a top concern of Lao's multi-ethnic population, and as a nation, we cannot ignore this opportunity to address conflicts and alleviate poverty."
This historic commitment follows a recent change in the government organization responsible for land matters, which is now managed by the new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), though the Lao National Assembly plays a key role in balancing accelerated economic development and growth with ensuring that benefits from this process are distributed equitably across Lao PDR. It also responds to increasing demand from villagers in Lao PDR for a review of existing land laws to ensure development projects don't encroach on their land as they have in the past.
Today's commitment from the president of a key committee of the National Assembly signals that the Lao government is dedicated to working closely with civil society and community groups to develop and implement a new national strategy to grant significant land rights to the people who live in and around the nation's land and forest resources.
Mr. James Bampton, Program Director of RECOFTC noted how seriously the government is taking the land rights issue.
"We all heard Dr. Bouphanouvong say that what is needed now are policies and laws that end land disputes and enhance livelihoods in an equitable manner," said Mr. Bampton. "The high level people in this room suggest that this is now a true priority for Lao PDR. This is something millions of citizens have been waiting for, and hopefully, will soon benefit from."
Participants from more than eleven countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe shared their experiences, suggesting that granting greater control to local forest communities has been a key element in the turn-around accomplished by many of these countries, including China, South Korea, Mexico, Sweden, Nepal, Vietnam and Norway.
"Lao PDR is the latest in a series of countries around the world that are realizing the fundamental role of local control and improved forest governance in alleviating poverty, expanding legal and sustainable land management, and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" said Arvind Khare, Executive Director of the Rights and Resources Group, the nonprofit coordinating mechanism of the Rights and Resources Initiative. "RRI's research and firsthand experience in other nations suggests that if Lao PDR does as it says it will do, it will slow the destruction of the nations' lands and unleash the entrepreneurial energy of an estimated 6 million people, who currently have only partial right to maintain and benefit from the use of their own land."
In her keynote address, Dr. Souvanhpheng Bouphanouvong said that "a significant shift in rethinking natural resource management and land tenure systems is already catalyzing a comprehensive revision of national forest policies and laws," and that the government would move immediately to take action in balancing between economic development, cultural and social progress, natural resources preservation, and environmental protection as well as political stability to achieve growth with equity.
"This represents a tipping point in our policies toward land rights and local management," said Dr. Akhom Tounalom, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, in his remarks to an audience comprised of researchers, high level government officials, policymakers, international experts on forestry and land reform, and community leaders from across Asia, Africa and Latin America. "Our current policies are not sufficient to ensure that we can meet our goals in terms of poverty eradication, economic growth, food security and climate change."
###
The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)
The Rights and Resources Initiative is a global coalition of 14 Partners and 120 Collaborators comprised of international, regional, and community organizations advancing forest tenure, policy and market reforms. RRI leverages the strategic collaboration and investment of its Partners and Collaborators around the world by working together on research, advocacy and convening strategic actors to catalyze change on the ground.
RRI is coordinated by the Rights and Resources Group, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.rightsandresources.org.
[ | 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.
Made from synthetic leather that is eco-friendly and elegant, the EXPERT Case is thin enough to slide into your briefcase or purse. Your iPad will be securely held in this portfolio case by Clean-Grip adhesive technology. In addition to transporting, securely holding, and protecting your iPad, use the EXPERT case to prop up your tablet in two angles that are optimal for typing, viewing movies and television shows. Comes in black, brown, purple and white.
Police are looking for a man dressed in dark clothing who attacked a woman in her apartment at The Osborn in Rye.
In addition to police from Rye, the investigation team includes the bomb squad from Westchester County Police.
Police said a 72-year-old resident was reportedly attacked and injured at around 2:15 a.m., with the intruder leaving behind a suspicious object in a bag that prompted the call for the bomb squad.
Rye police said security staff at The Osborn alerted them to the incident this morning. Police said the intruder may have entered the complex at an entrance near a garage.
The incident prompted a temporary evacuation of residents in other nearby units at the complex; residents have been allowed to return home.
Police said the victim left her bedroom and found a man in a hallway of her apartment. The victim told police the man had a kitchen knife.
Police said the victim was assaulted and was taken to Greenwich (CT) Hospital this morning for treatment of facial injuries.
During the investigation, police said the found a cylindrical object in a bag that was apparently dropped by the intruder. Because of the nature of the object, which had a string attached to it, police said they called in the bomb squad to assist.
Nothing appears to have been stolen in the incident, police said.
ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? Like a melody that keeps playing in your head even after the music stops, researchers at the Beckman Institute have shown that the beat goes on when it comes to the human visual system.
In an experiment designed to test their theory about a brain mechanism involved in visual processing, the researchers used periodic visual stimuli and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings and found, one, that they could precisely time the brain's natural oscillations to future repetitions of the event, and, two, that the effect occurred even after the prompting stimuli was discontinued. These rhythmic oscillations lead to a heightened visual awareness of the next event, meaning controlling them could lead to better visual processing when it matters most, such as in environments like air traffic control towers.
The research was reported by Beckman faculty members Monica Fabiani, Gabriele Gratton, Diane Beck, Alejandro Lleras, first author and Beckman Fellow Kyle Mathewson, and undergraduate psychology student Christopher Prudhomme. The paper was published online last week in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
The researchers wrote that this entrainment of brain oscillators can be used to lock the timing of repetitive brain activity and, therefore, enhance, "processing of subsequently predictable stimuli."
"In nature, rhythmicity is everywhere, so it makes sense that our brain has evolved to be sensitive to rhythms in the world and to be able to latch on to them to improve neural processing," Lleras said. "It's very nice to be able to show that not only does the brain work in this oscillatory fashion but that we can harness that property that is inherent to the brain and use it to control the brain's response."
This study follows their 2010 report involving a brain entrainment experiment in which a series of repetitive flashes were presented and followed by a faint target stimulus. They found that participants were only aware of those targets whose timing could be predicted based on the rhythm of the previous flashes; targets presented on the off-beat were not seen. The authors wrote that "awareness of near-threshold stimuli can be manipulated by entrainment to rhythmic events, supporting the functional role of induced oscillations in underlying cortical excitability, and suggest a plausible mechanism of temporal attention."
Gratton said their idea in this most recent experiment was "to manipulate the brain activity and see if this manipulation was in fact predictive of performance for this phenomenon."
It was. Using EEG to test their theory, they were able to assess the brain's predictive responses, as well as show they could control them.
"We hooked up EEGs to measure the electrical activity from people's brains to see if their brain waves were becoming locked to the rhythms, and they were," Mathewson said. "Then we showed that their visibility of the target fluctuated depending on the timing with respect to this rhythm. So we locked in the timing of their brainwaves and that locked in their ability to see the world at a certain time."
The research line goes back to a discovery by Mathewson of a pulsed inhibition mechanism in the brain that is based on oscillations in the alpha phase. This discovery supported the theory that the brain sometimes samples the visual environment in rhythmic "frames" rather than continuously, as the term "brain waves" implies.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. The original article was written by Steve McGaughey.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Kyle E. Mathewson, Christopher Prudhomme, Monica Fabiani, Diane M. Beck, Alejandro Lleras, Gabriele Gratton. Making Waves in the Stream of Consciousness: Entraining Oscillations in EEG Alpha and Fluctuations in Visual Awareness with Rhythmic Visual Stimulation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2012; : 1 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00288
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended little changed in another day of scarce activity on Tuesday after mixed economic data gave investors little reason to shift their focus from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on Friday.
The Fed chief is scheduled to address a conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and could announce new measures to boost growth. While Bernanke is expected to keep alive expectations for a third round of major bond buying by the Fed, or quantitative easing, he could keep markets guessing about the actual timing.
Volume was among the lightest of the year after Monday's lightest trading in 2012. August is a slow season, and investors mostly stayed on the sidelines, anticipating Bernanke's speech.
"I don't think you can read a lot from what's going on in the market right now," said John Fox, co-manager of the FAM Value Fund, in Cobleskill, New York. "Because there's nothing going on, everyone is waiting for the speech on Friday."
The latest sign of slowing in the global economy added to expectations for more central bank stimulus. Japan cut its assessment of economic growth, citing a deceleration in U.S. and Chinese demand for Japanese exports.
U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly weakened in August to its lowest in nine months as Americans turned more pessimistic about the short-term outlook, according to the Conference Board.
But in another report, the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas showed U.S. home prices rose for a fifth consecutive month, a sign of slow improvement in the housing sector.
Among the day's biggest gainers, Lexmark International Inc jumped 13.7 percent to $21.62 after it said it would stop making inkjet printers, cut about 1,700 jobs, and focus on its more profitable imaging and software businesses.
The NYSEArca computer hardware index <.hwi> rose 1.2 percent. Shares of Hewlett Packard , which has a substantial portion of inkjet sales, were down 1.8 percent at $16.90.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 21.68 points, or 0.17 percent, at 13,102.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> slipped 1.14 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,409.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> edged down 3.95 points, or 0.13 percent, at 3,077.14.
Volume was 4.60 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with Monday's 2012 low 4.46 billion shares. The year-to-date average is about 6.6 billion.
The S&P 500 has been pinned in a fairly tight range over the last three weeks, finding a support level at 1,400 while also unable to convincingly pierce the April high of 1,422.38, which has acted as a resistance point. The index has been unable to muster a move of at least 1 percent in either direction since August 3.
Among other gainers, PVH Corp raised its full-year earnings outlook for the third time this year as it expects its European business to grow and its flagship Tommy Hilfiger brand to remain popular with shoppers. Shares climbed 4.8 percent to $92.77.
Movado Group Inc shares were up 17.4 percent at $35.36 after hitting an all-time high of $36.11. The watchmaker reported a higher second-quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast for the second time.
Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE by about 4 to 3 and on the Nasdaq by about 14 to 9.
>>point let's bring in the rest of our political team,
david gregory
is here with us in the studio, moderator of "meet the press" and andrewia mitchell, veteran of political conventions is down on the floor of this one. andrea, starting with you, by how much have they been forced to
ad lib
their way through especially this format, their rundown?
>> reporter: already they are squeezing a lot of these speeches and they have to deal with oversized egoes and get them down to the size of the network productions from
10:00
to
11:00prime time
. they've already lost a day and a half and they know they have to accomplish that, but both republicans and democrats, we should point out, have a challenge, a political challenge here with this approaching storm especially for the republicans. no one here can easily forgot the iconic picture of
president bush
flying on
air force
one looking out the window and looking down at new orleans during katrina. they're not going to forget that but democrats also have to be sensitive.
joe biden
, the vice president canceled his plans to come to tampa and other cities in florida this week and sort of get in the face of the republicans. and the president leaving tomorrow for iowa, a three-day visit to
battleground states
, to college campuses, and he might have to cancel some of that as well.
>>all right,
andrea mitchell
on the floor,
david gregory
, let's talk about image. we just saw some of it.
>>yes.
>>in
chuck todd
's setup piece, this is a family that's been forced to talk about their rightfully gained enormous wealth, having been successful in business, the garage for their cars at their home in
la jolla
, california, now comes this, but it's part of a package they want to promote and discuss with the
american people
.
>>you know, brian, i talked to republicans on the floor here and around this convention, giving some of himself, something that romney's got to do. that is the consensus. he's got to show more of his heart but there's also a recognition that he's not going to be able to beat back all of these negative images and at the same time he's not going to be able to be mr. inspirational, there's recognition the analogy i heard is the
car mechanic
nim. you may not love him, he may not light up the room but he can do to washington and fix things. that i think is going to be the master strategy. that's what romney wants to leave people not just here but
people watching
at home.
>>david gregory
,
andrea mitchell
and
chuck todd
, thank you. our
prime time
coverage of this gop convention including
ann romney
's speech to this gathering and
chris christie
's keynote address, that begins tomorrow night,
10:00
eastern, 7:00 pacific, on this nbc station.
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For those who have equally a doctor plus a therapist, ensure that they may be on a single site. Your doctor and your specialist do not necessarily have to communicate with one another. You could nonetheless, desire to always keep a single abreast of what the other is performing with you. It could stay away from later on confusion and complication.
As was stated in the beginning on this report, self improvement is focused on improving your self and developing like a individual. Applying the advice from this short article will assist you to attain all of your current self improvement targets and enable you to feel happier about your self than you ever have well before you started.
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If you have a close look on your body, there will be number of symptoms you can detect beforehand. Also, you will easily figure out sudden changes like skin marks, white patches and others. A human body shows numerous changes as an indication that a serious disease is developing. And, if you catch the signs early, remedy and treatment is possible before it?s too late.
This means you have to check out your body for any unusual signs. And, this you should do every morning. Here are 4 of those signs.
1. Bright White Stripes on Nails
Everybody has white spots on their nails at some or the other point of time. But if there are long white stripes that are horizontal and show discoloration on the surface of the nail then it indicates you are fatigued. And, it is your kidneys that will suffer. This is an indication of your kidneys not able to filter protein from urine. And, this might result in kidney failure.
2. Thin Hair on Scalp
Extreme hair loss indicates thyroid disorder. When you see many hair strands on your hair brush, it means your thyroid gland has gone out of order. This will make your hair fragile and rough. Go and consult a doctor. He would figure out if this level is too high or too less. And, provide you medication for the same.
3. Undereye Circles that don?t Fade Away
If you don?t stay up late or have excessive work to do and then too you have dark circles that refuse to go away, indications are that you are developing allergies. In this case, you have to consult a doctor; he would suggest you to get a test done. On the basis of its result, the allergen that is causing dark circles will be known.
4. Dark, Rough Skin in Armpits
If you are not obsessed with self-tanning then this might be the result of diabetes. Abnormal levels of insulin in bloodstream results in multiplication of skin cells rapidly. And, as a result skin looks thicker and darker. Get a test for diabetes done to determine whether you suffer from the disease or not.
There are many signs you need to be aware of. Don?t ignore even a small skin eruption or a red/white mark. At once, consult a physician and confirm the cause of abnormal signs.
SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich hinted on Saturday he may soften his stance against Russia over gas prices and membership of Moscow-backed regional groups, seeking support from the Soviet-era ruler before an October parliamentary election.
Ukraine is heavily dependent on Russian gas while about 70 percent of Russia's gas exports to Europe go via Ukraine.
Kiev has tried for years to renegotiate a deal struck in January 2009 after Ukraine's squabbling with Moscow left several European countries without gas for almost three weeks when Russia halted exports via Ukraine.
Yanukovich, whose party faces an election in late October, met Vladimir Putin in the Russian president's Black Sea residence of Bocharov Ruchei.
This was second such meeting in just over six weeks, and despite the fact that the encounter again failed to produce any solid results, the Ukrainian leader said his country may change its stance in gas talks. He gave no further details.
"The issue (of gas supplies from Russia) will never be excluded from our relations and will always remain sensitive," he said. "We would like to slightly alter our positions in our relations with Russia."
After failing to get a discount from Moscow in prolonged negotiations throughout 2011, Ukraine, which pays more than $400 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas - on a par with Europe - tried to cut the volume of its gas imports, set at maximum of around 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year.
The Kremlin has hinted that it may sweeten the gas deal if Ukraine joins a Putin-brokered alliance, including fellow former Soviet states of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Kiev has resisted the idea of jointly building Putin's vision of a Eurasian Union, but Yanukovich told the Russian president that Ukraine is willing to participate in another Moscow-backed entity, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
"We would like to become observers in this organisation so that we would be able to take part in integration processes on this territory," Yanukovich said.
Yanukovich's Party of the Regions hopes to get a renewed majority at October 28 elections despite signs of flagging support in parts of the country's industrialized east and south, with high gas prices paid by consumers traditionally seen as a major shortcoming of the Ukrainian leadership.
Supporting Putin, who is popular among the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine, was crucial for Yanukovich in his victory in 2010 presidential election, when he trounced the leader of the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution Yulia Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko was jailed last year for abuse of office relating to the January 2009 gas agreement.
TOKYO (AP) ? The strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years was bearing down on the southern Japanese island on Sunday as officials warned residents to stay indoors and take the utmost precaution to ensure their families' safety.
Slow-moving Typhoon Bolaven was centered about 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Okinawa and was expected to pass over the island Sunday evening, dumping as much as 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain over a 24-hour period, weather officials said.
The typhoon was packing extremely strong gusts reaching 250-kilometers-per-hour (155-miles-per-hour), which could knock over telephone poles and even overturn cars, public broadcaster NHK warned. Waves could top 12 meters (13 yards), it said.
So far there were no reports of injuries or major damage, disaster officials in Okinawa said.
Gusts from the typhoon could equal or surpass the previous record of 265 kph (165 mph) gusts in a 1956 typhoon, said Tsukasa Uezu, an official with the Okinawa Meteorological Observatory.
Those strong gusts combined with the slow pace of the storm's movement ? 15 kph (9 mph) to the northwest ? meant that the typhoon could inflict serious damage, officials warned.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency said maximum wind speed near the center of the typhoon was 180 kph (112 mph). It issued storm and storm surge warnings in Okinawa prefecture and for high waves in the waters around the island.
More than half the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan are stationed in Okinawa. At Kadena Air Base, one of the biggest bases on the island, all shops and service facilities were ordered closed and movement around the base was to be kept to a minimum. All entry into the ocean was prohibited.
?Why do writers write? Because it isn?t there.? These true words about writing were said by Thomas Berger the author of Little Big Man, and they are especially true when the writer is Judith S. VanAlstyne. Shortly after retiring from a three decade long career as a College Professor, she decided she would write a type of book that had not existed before anywhere in the world. She would write a how-to book on technical writing, and in 1986 the first edition of Professional and Technical Writing Strategies: Communicating in Technology and Science appeared in bookstores. It is currently in its 6th Edition, and with each subsequent edition she has updated the book with necessary tips and techniques that have arrived with the times. This book is widely used in universities and colleges around the world. The text is written in a comprehensive and easy-to-read style so it is also accessible to the general public. As technical writing applies to a multitude of fields, this book covers all of its applications and runs the gamut from its uses in scientific disciplines to more business orientated missives. Professional and Technical Writing Strategies: Communicating in Technology and Science is highly commended by professionals and has won awards.
As South Florida is her home, Judith VanAlstyne discovered early on another sort of home ? writing. In high school she worked for her school paper in addition to local papers. She maintained this practice when she went to college. Speaking of her academic instruction, she earned her Bachelors Degree in English at the University of Miami, Ohio; she then went on to Florida and received her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from Florida Atlantic, University. Afterwards, Dr. VanAlstyne would become a professor at Florida Atlantic, University, and it was here that she was asked to instruct a course in technical writing. As there were no textbooks on the subject she was sent to take courses at Stanford and Princeton in order to learn the techniques of this discipline.
Her retirement from the university enabled Dr. Judith VanAlstyne to fully devote time to her writing. The success of her first book encouraged her in other genres such as travel writing, poetry, and fiction. She has published several articles on travel, and she currently has a book in the works based on her own travels (she has visited over 150 countries including all seven continents). Several of her poems have been published. Two of her poems have the separate honors of each appearing on the first page of two anthologies of Poetry: The International Library of Poetry?s Book: The Timelessness of Voice and Noble House Presents: Centers of Expression. When her travel book is completed, Judith has another writing project in mind ? a romance novel based on personal experience. The story of a young couple who separated primarily due to the long distance nature of their relationship only to be reunited almost forty years later. As this story is based in truth, she feels this book will give the gift of hope with its message that it is never too late.
Madison Who?s Who VIP Member Judith S. VanAlstyne, Ph.D. can be found on the Madison Who?s Who Directory where she is looking forward to networking with you.
Judith VanAlstyne
CEO and President
Judith S. VanAlstyne, Published Author
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Public release date: 29-Aug-2012
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