Sunday, March 31, 2013

PFT: Crabtree says QB change divided SF lockerroom

Texas v Kansas StateGetty Images

Collin Klein, the Kansas State quarterback who was a star in a spread-option offense in college but whose abilities as a passer leave much to be desired in the eyes of NFL scouts, remains committed to playing quarterback at the next level. And he thinks NFL teams are starting to come around to the idea that he can do it.

Klein told the Topeka Capital-Journal that he believes he has impressed scouts at the Combine and at Kansas State?s Pro Day.

?I felt like I had two good days,? Klein said. ?I made progress and really improved, before the Combine first and then in the time between the Combine and Pro Day we made some strides, too. We?re moving in the right direction. It?s different not being in school, but it gives me a little extra time to focus and work on little things here and there. It?s a pretty all-inclusive process, but we?re enjoying it. I just love the game. We?re getting better and having fun with it.?

Klein said his workouts with former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer have helped get him ready to play the game at the next level.

?We did everything,? Klein said. ?We worked on footwork, core strength, flexibility with the shoulder . . . lots of different things. It was pretty all-inclusive and he taught me a lot. He gave great insight from him having been there [the NFL] and doing that for a very long time. I really appreciated his time and his effort working with me.?

Although Klein still believes he is going to get drafted, he acknowledged that it?s possible he?ll have to settle for being an undrafted free agent.

?I think we?ll definitely get a chance and it?s just being ready and making the most of it,? Klein said. ?We?ll see where the best fit is going to be. Teams are out there trying to figure out who?s the best fit for them, too. It will all settle out. If that doesn?t happen, we?ll try to get picked up as a free agent on some level. We?ll cross that bridge when we get there.?

So just a few months after the Heisman Trophy voters considered Klein the third-best player in college football, Klein is just hoping NFL teams consider him one of the 254 best players available in the draft.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/30/crabtree-says-quarterback-change-divided-locker-room/related/

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Snooki's Beach Bod: Instagram Bikini Pics

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/snookis-beach-bod-instagram-bikini-pics/

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Source: Business, labor get deal on worker program

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Big business and major labor unions appeared ready Friday, March 29, 2013 to end a fight over a new low-skilled worker program that had threatened to upend negotiations on a sweeping immigration bill in the Senate providing a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. Schumer, who's been brokering talks between the AFL-CIO and the Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that negotiators are "very close, closer than we have ever been, and we are very optimistic." He said there were still a few issues remaining. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT

Several southwest Michigan pastors along with immigrant families and members of the general public take part in a pray-in for immigration reform event outside of Representative Fred Upton's office in downtown Kalamazoo on Friday, March 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group, Matt Gade ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT

(AP) ? Big business and labor have resolved a dispute over a low-skilled worker program that threatened to hold up agreement on a sweeping immigration bill, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The deal was struck in a phone call late Friday night with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, U.S. Chamber of Commerce head Tom Donohue, and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who's been mediating the dispute.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, said the deal resolves disagreements over wages for the new workers and which industries would be included. That had led talks to break down a week ago.

The deal must still be signed off on by the seven other senators working with Schumer to negotiate a bipartisan immigration bill ? but that's expected to happen. The agreement between business and labor removes the biggest hurdle to completion of the immigration bill to secure the border, crack down on employers, improve legal immigration and create a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants already here.

The bipartisan senate group is expected to introduce the bill the week of April 8 after Congress returns from a two-week recess.

The AFL-CIO and the Chamber had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries.

On Friday, officials from both sides said there was basic agreement on the wage issue, and Schumer said a final deal on the worker dispute was very close.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement earlier this week. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

Under the emerging agreement between business and labor, a new "W'' visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The program would be capped at 200,000 a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs, personnel can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship. And currently there's no good way for employers to bring many low-skilled workers to the U.S. An existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

The Chamber of Commerce said workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department determines prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it varies from city to city.

The low-skilled worker issue had loomed for weeks as perhaps the toughest matter to settle in monthslong closed-door talks on immigration among the senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, when the legislation foundered on the Senate floor after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community.

The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. President Barack Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-30-Immigration/id-30320c0905d34d69a1308fc43e282dd1

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Guinea to hold polls with or without opposition: minister

By Bate Felix and Saliou Samb

CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea will hold long-delayed parliamentary elections this year, to conclude its transition to civilian rule, with or without the participation of the country's main opposition coalition, a government minister said on Friday.

The mineral-rich country was originally supposed to hold the vote in 2011 - but it was held up amid wrangling over the makeup of the electoral commission and opposition accusations that the government was planning to rig it.

Eight people were killed and hundreds more wounded during two weeks of clashes this month between security forces and opposition protesters demanding reforms before the election, currently scheduled for May 12, could be held.

Guinea's minister for territorial administration, Alhassane Conde, told Reuters the objections would not block the vote.

"Yes, the elections will be held this year, very soon, with or without the opposition," Conde said in an interview at his office in the capital Conakry's administrative district.

"We don't want to do it without them, but if necessary, we will go ahead and hold the election without them," he said.

The vote is meant to be the last step in a drawn-out transition to civilian rule after a coup in late 2008 led to two bloody years with the army in charge.

Conde accused some members of the opposition of making unacceptable conditions to try and delay elections he said they feared losing.

Opposition groups have alleged there were irregularities in awarding a contract to update the electoral register to the South African firm Waymark - and demanded a replacement.

"If we were to bring in a new company to replace Waymark, there is no way we'll be able to organize the election within the next six months," said Conde.

The European Union, a major donor, unblocked about 174 million euros ($223.43 million) in aid after the elections commission proposed a date for the parliamentary polls late last year. But Conde said Guinea risked losing future donor funding if elections were not held by September.

MORE PROTEST

The opposition this week walked out of talks with the government organized in the wake of this month's violence, accusing the ruling coalition of failing to respect the terms of a planned dialogue over election preparations.

The opposition coalition on Friday called for another round of protests and a strike from April 8, saying the government has not contacted them since they abandoned the talks.

Guinea's main opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, who lost to President Alpha Conde in a tight presidential run-off in November 2010, told Reuters last week the opposition would do everything to stop the election if it was held without them. President Conde is not related to the minister.

"We'll not participate in the election with Waymark handling the technical process, and we'll disrupt it. We do not want the election to be held without us," Diallo told Reuters during a visit to Senegal.

Guinea is the world's top supplier of the aluminum ore bauxite and holds rich deposits of iron ore, gold and diamonds. But the political turmoil has unnerved investors.

Behind Guinea's political feuding there is a deep-rooted rivalry between the Malinke and the Peul, its two largest ethnic groups. The Malinke broadly support President Conde, while the opposition draws heavily from the Peul. ($1 = 0.7788 euros)

(Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/guinea-hold-polls-without-opposition-minister-201513670.html

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93% Zero Dark Thirty

All Critics (242) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (227) | Rotten (17) | DVD (2)

What's striking is the absence of triumphalism -- Bigelow doesn't shy away from showing the victims shot down in cold blood in the compound -- and we come away with the overwhelming sense that this has been a grim, dark episode in our history.

This is an instant classic.

Chastain makes Maya as vivid as a bloodshot eye. Her porcelain skin, delicate features and feminine attire belie the steel within.

No doubt Zero Dark Thirty serves a function by airing America's dirty laundry about detainee and torture programs, but in its wake, there's a crying need for a compassionate Coming Home to counter its brutal Deer Hunter.

While "Zero Dark Thirty" may offer political and moral arguing points aplenty, as well as vicarious thrills,as a film it's simply too much of a passable thing.

From the very first scenes of Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow demonstrates why she is such a formidable filmmaker, as adept with human emotion as with visceral, pulse-quickening action.

Slathered in controversy, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty confidently and forcefully storms onto DVD with an admirable A/V transfer, only hindered by a paltry gathering of extras from Sony.

The direction by Kathryn Bigelow, who won Oscars for Best Film and Best Director in her previous film "The Hurt Locker," is fierce and focused...

Despite what those silly Oscars would have you believe, it was this movie, not Argo, that was the finest of 2012.

Indulges Cheneyian fantasies complete with the bad-movie scene of the prisoner's defiance: "You're just a garbage man in the corporation," shouts the Arab who needs a lesson in manners from the Ph.D. (in torture?) who is racking him.

Bigelow tells the story very well, very efficiently, but doesn't really say much about it, which is ironic given the response to the film in some quarters.

Kathryn Bigelow takes the procedural model and brushes away every unnecessary detail, leaving behind a heavy, blunt object of a film that is also hugely watchable, engrossing and, best of all... highly suspenseful.

Rotten Tomatoes notes that I agree with Tomatometer critics 80 percent of the time, but this is one of those times I have to part ways with them.

Bigelow has directed excellent movies before, but this deserves to be remembered as the film that established her as a master.

You can't deny that what Zero Dark Thirty sets out to do, it does excellently.

An exhilarating and compelling historical document worthy of praise.

Bigelow's latest proves a rewarding piece of filmmaking, one that, in its best moments at least, is as gripping and as troubling as anything the director's ever made.

Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal shape history -- those breaks, big and small, that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden -- into one of the finest fact-based thrillers since "All the President's Men."

Purely as cinematic exercise, Zero Dark Thirty is an exhilarating piece of work. But, beyond its for-the-times subject matter, the work does not linger whatsoever.

Zero Dark Thirty is interesting as opposed to enjoyable, intriguing as opposed to entertaining, and certainly less memorable than The Hurt Locker.

It's quite remarkable how Bigelow and Boal managed to take 12 years of information (including a conclusion that everyone knows) and packaged it into a coherent, intimate and intense movie.

We know the ending, yet remain mesmerized by familiar details, filmed with a harrowing sense of urgency. It's as close to being in the White House situation room that night, watching a closed-circuit broadcast, as anyone could expect.

The second half of the film IS the film.

Whereas Locker was less about war than what it is to have a death wish, ZDT is less about the suspenseful true-life search for Osama bin Laden than the red tape one woman must wade through to prove that a mean old bastard is living in suburban Pakistan.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zero_dark_thirty/

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Man accused of using fake penis for drug test

(AP) ? A man accused of using a prosthetic penis to try to pass a drug test is now facing charges in eastern Missouri.

Authorities allege that 34-year-old Sydney Levin was submitting a urine sample last week as part of his probation when an officer allegedly spotted him using a prosthetic known as a Whizzinator. The prosthetic is advertised as a discreet device that includes synthetic "medical grade urine."

Levin, of Lake St. Louis, was charged last week with possessing a forging instrument, KMOV-TV (http://bit.ly/11SXafU ) reported. He was arrested and released after posting $25,000 bond, and pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Levin was on probation for possession of a controlled substance and felony stealing in 2009. Authorities said Levin's probation required that he submit a urine sample as part of drug test.

Levin did not have a listed phone number. Court records show that he does not yet have an attorney.

In 2010, Gerald Willis of Los Angeles was sentenced to six months in federal prison for running a company that sold the Whizzinator to cheat on drug tests. Willis' company disbanded, but the Whizzinator is still sold online as a sex toy. A message seeking comment Thursday from the company selling the device was not returned.

___

Information from: KMOV-TV, http://www.kmov.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-03-28-US-Prosthetic-Penis-Charges/id-15051fc8e8894e7abb0b8a4113ccee74

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Sprial galaxy: Hidden depths of Messier 77 revealed

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Messier 77 is a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. Also known as NGC 1068, it is one of the most famous and well-studied galaxies. It is a real star among galaxies, with more papers written about it than many other galaxies put together.

Despite its current fame and striking swirling appearance, the galaxy has been a victim of mistaken identity a couple of times; when it was initially discovered in 1780, the distinction between gas clouds and galaxies was not known, causing finder Pierre Mechain to miss its true nature and label it as a nebula. It was misclassified again when it was subsequently listed in the Messier Catalogue as a star cluster.

Now, however, it is firmly categorised as a barred spiral galaxy, with loosely wound arms and a relatively small central bulge. It is the closest and brightest example of a particular class of galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies -- galaxies that are full of hot, highly ionised gas that glows brightly, emitting intense radiation.

Strong radiation like this is known to come from the heart of Messier 77 -- caused by a very active black hole that is around 15 million times the mass of our Sun. Material is dragged towards this black hole and circles around it, heating up and glowing strongly. This region of a galaxy alone, although comparatively small, can be tens of thousands of times brighter than a typical galaxy.

Although no competition for the intense centre, Messier 77's spiral arms are also very bright regions. Dotted along each arm are knotty red clumps -- a signal that new stars are forming. These baby stars shine strongly, ionising nearby gas which then glows a deep red colour as seen in the image above. The dust lanes stretching across this image appear as a rusty, brown-red colour due to a phenomenon known as reddening; the dust absorbs more blue light than red light, enhancing its apparent redness.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ESA/Hubble Information Centre.

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


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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/ecypzfdwMAw/130328125104.htm

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Business Advertising - Making Choices for Boat, Dog or Auto ...

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Shipping companies have set rates that they charge for a person who calls in for a pick up. However, because they want to maintain their income, they will often participate on these sites that help consumers find lower rates for their shipping needs. If you are looking for a lower rate for shipping your things, you can post an ad on this website and others will bid for the job.

While there may be some things that will require special certifications in order to transport, the majority of items that are shipped will not require any special permits or other licensing. Because of this, you might even elect a private citizen to do the work for you if they offer you the right price. When you are making your choice however, you want to be sure that you are checking references and things such as that to be sure that your cargo arrives safely.

Everyone is looking for ways to limit expenses today on everything that they need. Shipping items is no different and the rates continue to rise as the cost of gas and other fuels rise. By finding a way to get a better rate for this type of thing, you will be able to reduce your expenses and save money.

This option is available for people for just about any type of shipment that they may need to make. Whether you are looking for someone to transport your pet to a new location or you need a big truck to help you move all of your belongings, you can take bids and select the one that fits your needs the best.

This helps you to accomplish the task that needs to be done as well as helping you save money too.

Auto shipping or boat shipping will require some special handling to make sure they arrive safely. Whether you need to move them across land or across water, there are organizations that offer these services. When you need a great deal on the cost, you can use sites such as Citizen Shipper to help you get the job done at a good price.

Dog shipping may be a bit easier to find someone to do the job at a lower price. As long as the animal is going to be contained, many people will be happy to take on the task of driving your pup across the state or across the country. When hiring for this, make sure you are looking at references so you can be sure your animal will arrive safely.

When you need anything moved from one place to another, you might first think about calling a local trucking company to get the job done. However this is often very expensive. Instead you can turn to sites such as Citizen Shipper to get the best possible rate for whatever you are trying to move.

About us: You simply list the shipment you need completed on their website at Citizen Shipper www.citizenshipper.com and local truckers, contractors and couriers will compete to provide services to you at a much lower price.

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Source: http://business-advertising.s-article.com/making-choices-for-boat-dog-or-auto-shipping-today.html

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Ex-Sen. Craig loses bid to dismiss FEC lawsuit

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A federal judge refused on Thursday to dismiss a Federal Election Commission lawsuit that accuses former Sen. Larry Craig of misusing $217,000 in campaign funds for his legal defense after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting.

Craig had argued that the airport bathroom trip fell under his official duties as senator because he was traveling between Idaho and Washington for work, and therefore the legal fees could be paid for with campaign money.

But U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected that argument. She wrote in her ruling that the charge against Craig didn't relate "to his conduct as a legislator, but only actions undertaken in the privacy and anonymity of a restroom stall." Jackson set a scheduling conference in the case for April 26.

The Idaho Republican was arrested by an undercover police officer at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The officer said Craig tapped his feet and signaled under a stall divider that he wanted sex. Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a fine. After his arrest later became public, Craig tried unsuccessfully to reverse his conviction.

The FEC allows campaign funds to be used for legal expenses that were caused by a candidate's campaign or officeholder's duties, and determines that on a case-by-case basis. The commission sued Craig last year after concluding his legal problems had nothing to do with campaigning for federal office. The FEC is seeking an order requiring Craig to return the money to his campaign, along with fines of up to $6,500 against Craig and his campaign treasurer, Kaye O'Riordan.

"Senator Craig was arrested for, and pled guilty to, committing a criminal violation of Minnesota state law," Jackson wrote. "One does not need to be a United States congressman - or any sort of federal official - to be charged with this offense, and the arrest did not call into question his conduct as a legislator. Neither the charge nor the underlying conduct had anything to do with his performance of his official duties, so the legal expenses they generated were not incurred in connection with those duties."

In an email, Craig's lawyer, Andrew Herman, said, "We will assess the opinion and decide how to proceed after doing so."

___

Follow Fred Frommer on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ffrommer

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-sen-craig-loses-bid-dismiss-fec-lawsuit-211033753--politics.html

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

How Secure Is the Passcode on My Phone?

How Secure Is the Passcode on My Phone?Dear Lifehacker,

There have been a lot of passcode exploits lately. Like, a whole lot. Should I be worried? How much does protection does my lock screen actually give me?

Sincerely
Perturbed About Passcodes

Dear Perturbed,

Your concern isn't unfounded, and while these exploits don't give an attacker full access to your phone, other tricks can. Here's what you need to know about keeping your phone secure.

What These Exploits Actually Do

Let's start with the iPhone: Both of the recent iOS 6 passcode exploits allowed an attacker to glitch their way only into the Phone app, not the home screen. As such, they could place calls, see/edit your contacts and access your photos via the "assign new picture" option. So while it doesn't give someone total access to your phone, it's still enough to be concerned about.

The exploits affecting Samsung Galaxy phones worked a bit differently, flashing the home screen (or whatever was open before the phone locked) for no more than a second. While it doesn't seem all that nefarious, it's enough time to launch an app, and persistent attackers could use it repeatedly to download an app that would unlock your phone completely.

How Secure Is the Passcode on My Phone?

Both manufacturers are aware of these problems?Apple recently released iOS 6.1.3 to address its passcode issue, only to have it circumvented yet again. Samsung has also stated it's intent to do the same, although at the time that this is being written the only existing fix is a third party one.

A Passcode Doesn't Completely Protect You

It may seem like your phone's security has suddenly been compromised with all these passcode exploits, but really, passcodes have never been foolproof. In fact, they're no more secure than any other password or PIN: they can be cracked, and they really shouldn't be the only thing protecting your smartphone's data.

I reached out to security expert Brandon Gregg about the level of security a passcode affords. Here's what he had to say:

Passcodes do not mean encryption. Only if you specifically go to your Android settings can you encrypt your phone (and SD card) with a separate, strong password. Too many people believe their four digit Android or iOS passcodes protect their private information. First off, anyone can easily brute force your short 10,000 possibility password. Tools like XRY (which I use and was profiled on Gizmodo) can do the crack in milliseconds. Second, a passcode does not protect from direct forensic access by tools like XRY, MPE by Accessdata and the growing list of programs for Law Enforcement. Once inside the phone, all your data is up for grabs. The best thing you can do right now is full encryption. The above tools aren't designed for brute force at that level (yet) and the data will be useless.

Basically, your data is vulnerable on two levels. First, you have a lock screen passcode, which can be cracked, although using a strong alphanumeric password can make brute-forcing your phone take much longer to crack. However, your data is still sitting there on your phone's hard drive, and an attacker with the proper forensic equipment and enough patience can still get at your data?unless you have full disk encryption.

Android has had full disk encryption since Honeycomb (3.0), albeit with some limitations. iOS also has a Data Protection API that apps can use to encrypt and protect your data, but it's up to app developers to incorporate it (and it doesn't work with apps that use iCloud), so its a lot less useful. In both cases, however, the encryption key is the same as your passcode lock, and you'd have to use a strong passcode for the encryption to be effective. But who wants to enter in a long, alphanumeric password every time they need their phone? The point is to make it hard for hackers to get into your phone, not you.

Should I Even Bother with a Passcode Lock?

Of course. There's no reason for you to make things easy for the thief who steals your phone. You could also be very fortunate and end up being robbed by someone who doesn't know the first thing about getting around lock screens. By all means, enable your passcode, and make sure it's a good one.

However, understand that your lock screen alone isn't going to truly protect your data, and encryption is far from perfect. To that end, we recommend setting up a service like Apple's Find My iPhone, or a third-party app like Prey. They can track your smartphone and wipe its data when you lose it (or it gets stolen). Hopefully, you'll never need to worry about this sort of thing, but you know what an ounce of prevention is worth.

Sincerely,
Lifehacker

Photo by Neyro(Shutterstock).

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/zjjNIyiZDis/how-secure-is-the-passcode-on-my-phone

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Kenya Moore Laments Porsha Williams Divorce, Sends Rival Best Wishes

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/kenya-moore-laments-porsha-williams-divorce-sends-rival-best-wis/

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Wall St ends up on economic data; S&P near record close

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 within striking distance of its all-time high, as strong data on home prices and manufacturing fed optimism about the economy, although the improvements were seen as slow.

The S&P 500 made yet another attempt at a record, but failed to break above the all-time closing high for the second day this week. At Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 was only 1.38 points below its lifetime closing high. On Monday, the benchmark index traded just a quarter point below its record closing high, which stands at 1,565.15 set on October 9, 2007, and then retreated as investors sold some equities to cash in on gains in the wake of the news out of Europe.

Data showed U.S. single-family home prices rose in January at the fastest pace in more than six years, while long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods, also known as durable goods orders, shot up in February.

"I think the batch of data was enough to convince investors that the U.S. economy is on the right track," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co, in New York.

"At this point, it's hard to argue that anything will derail the U.S. economy, and that is boosting investors' confidence as they continue to load up on equities."

Still, investors may look for reasons to take profits, with the S&P 500 up nearly 10 percent so far this year. The rally has lifted the benchmark index near its all-time closing high, which it nearly reached on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 111.90 points, or 0.77 percent, to 14,559.65 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 12.08 points, or 0.78 percent, to 1,563.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> advanced 17.18 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 3,252.48.

In a sign that growth continues to be slow, sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell more than expected in February, and the latest reading on consumer confidence was weaker than expected.

Shares of homebuilding stocks were mixed. Lennar Corp stock rose 0.4 percent to $41.72, but Hovnanian Enterprises shares slid 3.1 percent to $5.87.

Investors remained concerned about the negative implications of a financial rescue plan for Cyprus. They worried it would serve as a template for other euro-zone economies requiring bailouts.

Banks in Cyprus will remain closed until Thursday and will then be subject to capital controls to prevent a run on deposits. President Nicos Anastasiades said late on Monday that a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue plan approved over the weekend was "painful" but essential to avoid economic meltdown.

"If there's a run on deposits, there may be a selloff (in U.S. stocks), but that could pose an excellent entry point to get into the market and take advantage of this rally," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital, in New York.

In U.S. corporate news, Monsanto Co and DuPont Co settled a legal battle over rights to technology for genetically modified seeds. The companies agreed to drop antitrust and patent lawsuits against each other in U.S. federal court. Monsanto shares rose 4.4 percent to $103.79. DuPont, a Dow component, shed 0.3 percent to $48.97.

Netflix Inc was the S&P 500's top percentage gainer, jumping 5.4 percent to $190.61 after Pacific Crest raised its price target on the stock to $225 from $160, citing prospects for international subscriber growth.

Michael Dell's $24.4 billion buyout bid for Dell Inc could be derailed after billionaire Carl Icahn opened the door to an alliance with Blackstone Group LP to take control of the computer maker from its founder. Dell dipped 0.1 percent to $14.50.

Volume was roughly 5.1 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the 2012 average daily closing volume of about 6.45 billion.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 7 to 3. On the Nasdaq, seven stocks rose for every five that fell.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-higher-wall-st-open-083212656--finance.html

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Scientists discover how drug prevents aging and cancer progression

Mar. 26, 2013 ? University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slows the aging process and may prevent the progression of some cancers. In the March 23 online edition of the journal Aging Cell, scientists from the University of Montreal explain how they found that the antidiabetic drug metformin reduces the production of inflammatory cytokines that normally activate the immune system, but if overproduced can lead to pathological inflammation, a condition that both damages tissues in aging and favors tumor growth.

"Cells normally secrete these inflammatory cytokines when they need to mount an immune response to infection, but chronic production of these same cytokines can also cause cells to age. Such chronic inflammation can be induced, for example by smoking" and old cells are particular proficient at making and releasing cytokines says Dr. Gerardo Ferbeyre, senior author and a University of Montreal biochemistry professor. He adds that, "We were surprised by our finding that metformin could prevent the production of inflammatory cytokines by old cells."

In collaboration with Michael Pollack of the Segal Cancer Centre of the Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Dr. Ferbeyre and his team discovered that metformin prevented the synthesis of cytokines directly at the level of the regulation of their genes. "The genes that code for cytokines are normal, but a protein that normally triggers their activation called NF-kB can't reach them in the cell nucleus in metformin treated cells," Dr. Ferbeyre explained. "We also found that metformin does not exert its effects through a pathway commonly thought to mediate its antidiabetic effects," he added. "We have suspected that metformin acts in different ways on different pathways to cause effects on aging and cancer. Our studies now point to one mechanism," noted lead authors of the study Olga Moiseeva and Xavier Desch?nes-Simard.

Dr. Ferbeyre emphasized that, "this is an important finding with implications for our understanding on how the normal organism defends itself from the threat of cancer and how a very common and safe drug may aid in treatment of some cancers and perhaps slow down the aging process. He adds, "It remains that determining the specific targets of metformin would give us an even better opportunity of profit from its beneficial effects. That's what we want to figure out next."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Montreal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Olga Moiseeva, Xavier Desch?nes-Simard, Emmanuelle St-Germain, Sebastian Igelmann, Genevi?ve Huot, Alexandra E. Cadar, V?ronique Bourdeau, Michael N Pollak, Gerardo Ferbeyre. Metformin inhibits the senescence-associated secretory phenotype by interfering with IKK/NF-?B activation. Aging Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/acel.12075

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/tW2vZfQT_VY/130327093604.htm

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

PFT: Raiders to cut ties with DT Kelly

Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl XLVII Media AvailabilityGetty Images

Before Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo appeared at a rally at the Supreme Court, he spoke to Erik Brady of USA Today regarding the question of whether a gay NFL player will come out of the closet.

Ayanbadejo believes that it will happen in another sport first.

?I think it will happen in baseball sooner than in football or basketball,? Ayanbadejo said.? ?The reason I say that is because I think there is less of a connection to religion in baseball.? The religious roots are a lot deeper in basketball and football.? With that being said, I think baseball players are more open minded.?

Ayanbadejo later acknowledged that he ?could be wrong,? but he nevertheless believes baseball players generally are ?open-minded and not so tied to religion as much as football and basketball.?

But he also believes the NFL is ready for an openly gay player, and that the league is ?laying the foundation for a player to be comfortable and safe.?? Ayanbadejo likewise thinks that last month?s ?do you like girls?? controversy from Scouting Combine interviews has helped the situation by forcing the NFL to instruct teams to end potentially discriminatory practices.

Still, the biggest impediment to coming out may come from the external distractions.? The player will have to be willing to bear that burden, and to subject his teammates and others in the organization to questions about the situation.? Most players won?t want that, for themselves or for their teammates.

The media could help reduce that burden by not getting carried away by news of the first gay NFL player.? The reality is that, when a football player comes out of the closet, every media organization will come out of the woodwork in search of sound bites and reactions and, ideally, controversy.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/27/raiders-to-release-tommy-kelly/related/

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Pope Francis chooses guest room over luxurious papal apartments

Pope Francis continues to follow the example of his chosen namesake, declining the imperial trappings of the papacy in favor of a simpler lifestyle

By Philip Pullella,?Reuters / March 26, 2013

The renovations on the palatial papal apartments are finished, but Pope Francis has decided to stay put in his two-room unit, including this bedroom and a sitting room for visitors, at the Vatican guesthouse.

L'Osservatore Romano / AP / File

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Pope Francis wants to stay in a simple Vatican residence instead of moving into the spacious and regal papal apartments, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

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The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is still living in the Domus Santa Marthae, a modern hotel-style residence inside the Vatican City where he stayed during the conclave that elected him on March 13.

Although the palatial papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace are ready ? including more than a dozen luxurious rooms as well as quarters for staff and a terrace ? he shows no desire to move in any time soon, said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.

In the past few days, Francis has moved out of a single room in the guesthouse, which has some 130 rooms for visitors to the Vatican, into a 2-room unit so he could have more space to work and to receive people, Lombardi said.

Francis has set a more austere tone for the papacy than his predecessor Benedict XVI, who gained a reputation for sumptuous costumes. Lombardi says the new pope enjoys the residence's community atmosphere where he lives alongside other clergy.

The pope says Mass in its chapel every morning and invites Vatican workers and other guests to attend.

"I can't make long-term predictions, but for now it seems he is experimenting with this type of simple co-habitation," Lombardi said.

"It is still a period of getting used to things, of experimentation. Certainly in this phase he has expressed the desire to stay where he is," he said.

Lombardi said the pope will be using the offices in the Apostolic Palace and its grand, frescoed reception rooms to meet heads of state and delegations, and will continue to appear each Sunday to deliver a blessing from the window of the papal apartments overlooking St. Peter's Square.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/BtU8BE1A2GM/Pope-Francis-chooses-guest-room-over-luxurious-papal-apartments

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Europe's financial crisis leads to suicide surge

(AP) ? The harsh spending cuts introduced by European governments to tackle their crippling debt problems have not only pitched the region into recession ? they are also being partly blamed for outbreaks of diseases not normally seen in Europe and a spike in suicides, according to new research.

Since the crisis first struck in 2008, state-run welfare and health services across Europe have seen their budgets cut, medical treatments rationed and unpopular measures such as hospital user fees introduced.

Those countries that have slashed public spending the hardest ? namely Greece, Spain and Portugal ? have fared the worst medically.

"Austerity measures haven't solved the economic problems and they have also created big health problems," said Martin McKee, a professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the research.

He said worsening health was driven not just by unemployment, but by the lack of a social welfare system to fall back on. "People need to have hope that the government will help them through this difficult time," he said.

The paper was published online Wednesday in a special series of the journal Lancet.

McKee said Greece in particular was struggling. Based on government data, he and colleagues found suicides rose by 40 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year. Last year, the country also reported an exponential rise in the number of HIV cases among drug users, due in part to addicts sharing contaminated syringes after needle exchange programs were dropped.

In recent years, Greece has also battled outbreaks of malaria, West Nile virus and dengue fever.

"These are not diseases we would normally expect to see in Europe," said Willem de Jonge, general director of Medecins Sans Frontieres in Greece.

In 2011, MSF helped Greece tackle a malaria outbreak that broke out after authorities scrapped spraying programs to kill mosquitoes.

"There's a strong willingness in the government to respond (to health problems) but the problem is a lack of resources," de Jonge said.

Outside Madrid's Hospital Clinico San Carlos, several patients grumbled about deteriorating medical care.

"The cutbacks are noticeable in many ways," said Mari Carmen Cervera, 54, an unemployed nurse. Cervera's mother was initially admitted to the hospital with a serious heart problem that required surgery. Cervera says her mother was discharged too early and had to be brought back when she had trouble breathing one night.

"While she was (hospitalized), she wasn't being properly washed by the nursing staff, so I had to do it myself," she said. "I personally think what has happened to my mother is a consequence of negligence and I am going to make an official complaint as soon as (she) is well enough to come home again."

Hans Kluge of the World Health Organization's European office, advised countries against radical health reforms during an economic crisis. "In every health system, there is fat to cut," he said, recommending countries start with straightforward measures such as buying more generic drugs or eliminating unnecessary hospital beds.

Still, McKee and colleagues found not all countries mired in debt are unhealthy. Despite massive losses in its banking sector, Iceland rejected a bailout deal prescribed by the International Monetary Fund. McKee and colleagues didn't find any bump in suicides and the population may even be healthier since it nearly went bankrupt ? which could have been a result of global junk food chains pulling out of the country due to rising food costs.

Elsewhere, the researchers noted a drop in road accidents as more drivers opted for public transport. In turn, that has led to a shortage of organ donations and transplants, particularly in Spain and Ireland.

___

AP Writer Harold Heckle in Madrid contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-03-26-EU-MED-Financial-Crisis-Health/id-677afb7f3d1b4fc6b71a314c9270d319

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Boeing 787 takes to sky in first flight check

NEW YORK - Boeing said on Monday that the first flight test of its reworked battery system for the 787 Dreamliner went "according to plan," enabling it to move on to formal testing.

The successful mission means Boeing can conduct a second flight test that will gather data for the Federal Aviation Administration, which must approve the new system before the 787 can be used for commercial service.

Regulators grounded the global fleet of 50 Dreamliners in January after a battery burned aboard a jet on the ground in Boston, and a second battery overheated on a flight in Japan.

"During the functional check flight (on Monday), crews cycled the landing gear and operated all the backup systems, in addition to performing electrical system checks from the flight profile," Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in a statement.

The flight carried six crew members: two Boeing pilots, two instrumentation engineers, a systems operator and a flight analyst, Boeing said.

"More than 600 of these functional check flights were completed in 2012 across Boeing commercial airplane programs."

Resuming flights would be a huge boost for Boeing, which is losing an estimated $50 million a week while the 787 is grounded, and for airlines, which are barred from flying the 787. Boeing also is prevented from delivering the planes to customers during the grounding, though it continues to build them.

Some Boeing officials have said the jet could be back in service by May 1. But some experts cautioned it could take longer.

Oliver McGee, an aerospace and mechanical engineer who was a deputy assistant secretary of transportation under President Bill Clinton, said he was skeptical that federal regulators would allow the 787 to resume flights as early as May 1.

"Take whatever date is agreed upon and add three to six months to it," McGee told Reuters. "I don't think that you're going to see any type of quick fix or compromising on the FAA side."

Once data from the flight has been analyzed, Boeing said it would prepare for a ground and flight demonstration aimed at certifying the company's proposed changes to the battery system, a key step toward getting permission from the FAA to resume flights of the grounded plane.

Birtel said it wasn't clear if the demonstration test for the FAA would conclude Boeing's testing of the new battery system, which was unveiled in Tokyo on March 15. The tests are being conducted in the laboratory, in planes on the ground, and in flight.

"Obviously, progress is being made on all three fronts," Birtel said.

The battery system is made by Thales SA of France, while the battery itself is made by Japan's GS Yuasa Corp.

Boeing plans to conduct one certification demonstration flight using the same LOT plane, Line number 86, to show that the new battery system performs as intended during flight conditions.

Separately, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Monday said it would hold a two-day forum April 11-12 to examine the design and performance of lithium-ion batteries in transportation -- a comprehensive review sparked by the battery failures on the two Boeing 787 Dreamliners in January.

The public forum will examine the design and development of various lithium-ion batteries, how their use and manufacturing are regulated, and the use and safety of such batteries in various modes of transportation.

The FAA grounded all 50 Boeing 787s in use worldwide in January after failures of two batteries on two separate aircraft - one parked at the Boston airport, and the other forced to make an emergency landing in Japan.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/29faf194/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cboeing0E7870Etakes0Esky0Efirst0Eflight0Echeck0E1B90A66242/story01.htm

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Dell drama takes new twist with 2 new buyout bids

FILE - In this Thursday, March 26, 2009 file photo, Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Inc., reacts to a question during a news conference in Beijing. Dell said Monday, March 25, 2013, that a special board committee plans to negotiate with Blackstone Group and activist investor Carl Icahn over new acquisition bids for the computer maker that rival an offer of more than $24 billion from an investor group that includes founder Michael Dell. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 26, 2009 file photo, Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Inc., reacts to a question during a news conference in Beijing. Dell said Monday, March 25, 2013, that a special board committee plans to negotiate with Blackstone Group and activist investor Carl Icahn over new acquisition bids for the computer maker that rival an offer of more than $24 billion from an investor group that includes founder Michael Dell. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File)

(AP) ? The two new suitors pursuing Dell have a message for Wall Street: Don't allow Michael Dell to hoard potential gains from the PC maker's expansion into more profitable technology products and services.

Competing bidders Carl Icahn and the Blackstone Group LP are wooing Dell shareholders with an offer of a little more money today coupled with the possibility of even bigger returns if the struggling personal computer maker can pull off the turnaround envisioned by its CEO and founder, Michael Dell and a group of investors led by Silver Lake Partners.

The new bidders are also making a statement by proposing to maintain Dell Inc.'s status as a publicly traded company.

The long-awaited challenge to Michael Dell and Silver Lake began to unfold Monday with the announcement that Icahn, a billionaire investor with a long history of corporate confrontation, and the Blackstone, a major buyout firm, had submitted separate alternatives in an attempt to scuttle a $24.4 billion sales agreement that has been in place since Feb. 5.

If completed, the original deal would end Dell's 25-year history as a publicly traded company, leaving it entirely owned by Michael Dell, Silver Lake and a handful of other investors. The new bidders are taking advantage of a 45-day window that had been left open for better offers.

Although the details are still sketchy, both Icahn and Blackstone are offering to buy a portion of Dell Inc.'s outstanding stock at prices higher than the $13.65 per share that Michael Dell and Silver Lake have proposed to pay. Icahn is offering $15 per share for up to 58 percent of the company's existing stock while Blackstone will ante up more than $14.25 per share in cash or stock for an unspecified number of shares.

"We intend to work diligently with all three potential acquirers to ensure the best possible outcome for Dell shareholders, whichever transaction that may be," said Alex Mandl, the chairman of a four-person board committee overseeing the sale of the Round Rock, Texas company. For now, the committee is still recommending the deal put forth by Michael Dell and Silver Lake, though they are acknowledging the new offers could end up being more lucrative.

Dell's stock gained 37 cents, or 2.6 percent, to close Monday at $14.51. The shares have been trading above $14 most of this month, signaling that most investors expected alternative bids to emerge.

Monday's developments heighten the uncertainty surrounding Dell, the world's third largest PC maker behind Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group. Dell's cloudy future could rattle some corporate customers who may be more willing to do business with HP, Lenovo or other rivals. It also threatens to distract Dell's 111,000 workers at a critical time.

The bidding battle also could culminate in the departure of Michael Dell, who founded the company bearing his name in 1984 while still a teenager attending the University of Texas.

In a statement, Dell's special committee said Michael Dell is willing to work with other parties besides Silver Lake.

Getting Dell's cooperation will be crucial for either Icahn or Blackstone if they hope to gain control of the company, predicted analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy.

"It would be naive to move forward without Michael Dell," Moorhead said. "He is the glue the keeps the place together."

Other analysts fault Michael Dell for not reacting more swiftly to a computing shift unleashed by the 2007 introduction of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and the 2010 release of Apple's iPad. Those products ushered in an era of powerful and elegantly designed mobile devices that are causing consumers and companies to spend less on PCs. The upheaval is crimping Dell's earnings and has left its stock well below its price of $24 when Michael Dell returned for his second stint as CEO in early 2007.

Michael Dell, who would contribute about $4.5 billion in cash and stock to finance his preferred deal, believes he will be in a better position to overhaul the company if he doesn't have to worry about catering to Wall Street's fixation on short-term earnings and revenue growth.

Icahn, Blackstone and other current Dell shareholders also believe the company can bounce back. They just don't want to see Dell sold at a perceived discount that would deny existing shareholders the benefits of a potential comeback.

Under Icahn's proposal, his group would spend more than $15.6 billion to buy 1.04 billion shares of Dell stock, leaving about 900 million of the existing shares still on the market. If Icahn didn't spend all the money earmarked for buying 58 percent of the outstanding stock, the remaining amount would be distributed in the form of a special dividend. Icahn said he and his affiliates currently own about $1 billion worth of Dell's stock.

Blackstone's proposal doesn't spell out how much money it would spend to buy Dell's existing stock, nor does it estimate how much stock would remain trading on the Nasdaq exchange. The New York firm said it hopes to team up with Michael Dell and also hopes to work with other major company shareholders, including Southeastern Asset Management and the T. Rowe Price Group. Both of those shareholders, who combined own nearly 13 percent of Dell's stock, oppose the offer currently backed by Michael Dell.

In a letter to Dell's special committee, Blackstone predicted its bid would be more "compelling" than the deal proposed by Michael Dell and Silver Lake.

If the deal with Michael Dell and Silver Lake falls apart, they would be owed a $180 million breakup fee.

The flexibility of the two new bids appeals to Bill Nygren, manager of the Oakmark Fund and affiliates, which owns about 25 million shares of Dell stock.

"Given the wide range of estimated values for Dell shares, if all else is nearly equal, we believe a proposal is superior if it allows investors who want to remain invested in Dell the opportunity to do so," Nygren said.

Dell shareholders who choose to retain some of the company's stock will be assuming the risk that things could get even worse if the turnaround plan flops and the sales in the slumping PC market deteriorate even more.

Although Dell has expanded into business software, technology consulting services and storage products, about 70 percent of its revenue remains tied to PCs and peripheral products, estimated Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu. That's one of the main reasons Dell's stock price had slipped below $10 before talk of a buyout began swirling earlier this year.

"What is going on now is quite good for Dell shareholders," Wu said. "It's a bit like a bailout."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-25-Dell-Acquisition/id-95df358cef38455d8e4991f2c4f3f2ef

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Sequencing tracks animal-to-human transmission of bacterial pathogens

Mar. 22, 2013 ? Researchers have used whole genome sequencing to reveal if drug-resistant bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans in two disease outbreaks that occurred on different farms in Denmark. The results, which are published today in EMBO Molecular Medicine, confirm animal-to-human transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a disease-causing bacterium that carries the recently described mecC gene. The mecC gene is responsible for resistance to the penicillin-like antibiotic methicillin.

Drug-resistant bacterial infections pose a significant challenge to public health and may have severe and sometimes fatal consequences. As the costs of whole genome sequencing methods continue to plummet and the speed of analysis increases, it becomes increasingly attractive for scientists to use whole genome sequencing to answer disease-related questions.

"We used whole genome sequencing to see if we could determine if the two disease outbreaks were caused by the same bacterium and to investigate if the pathogens were transmitted from animal to humans or the other way around," remarked Mark Holmes, from the University of Cambridge and the senior author on the paper. "At first glance, it seems reasonable to expect the same pathogen to be the source of the two outbreaks at the two geographically close locations. By looking at the single differences in nucleotides or SNPs in the DNA sequences of each isolate, it became obvious that two different strains of bacteria were responsible for the two disease outbreaks. In one case, the results also clearly showed that the most likely direction of transmission was from animal to human."

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus can lead to debilitating skin and soft tissue infections, bacteremia, pneumonia and endocarditis. The researchers used an Illumina HiSeq sequencing system to take a close look at the nucleotide sequence of each pathogen. By comparing single difference in nucleotides in the two sequences (single nucleotide polymorphisms) they were able to reach conclusions about the identity of the pathogens and the routes of infection.

The researchers emphasize that while whole genome sequencing cannot replace other more traditional types of diseases analysis it can greatly increase the ability of scientists to distinguish between different pathogens as the cause of disease.

"Our findings demonstrate that the MRSA strains we studied are capable of transmission between animals and humans, which highlights the role of livestock as a potential reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria," remarked Ewan Harrison, one of the lead authors of the study.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by EMBO - excellence in life sciences.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Ewan M. Harrison, Gavin K. Paterson, Matthew T.G. Holden, Jesper Larsen, Marc Stegger, Anders Rhod Larsen, Andreas Petersen, Robert L. Skov, Judit Marta Christensen, Anne Bak Zeuthen, Ole Heltberg, Simon R. Harris, Ruth N. Zadoks, Julian Parkhill, Sharon J. Peacock, Mark A. Holmes. Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novelmecAhomologuemecC. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/emmm.201202413

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/0hbveD-BUWY/130325093712.htm

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