'Cool' gas may form and strengthen sunspots

ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2012) ? Hydrogen molecules may act as a kind of energy sink that strengthens the magnetic grip that causes sunspots, according to scientists from Hawaii and New Mexico using a new infrared instrument on an old telescope.

"We think that molecular hydrogen plays an important role in the formation and evolution of sunspots," said Dr. Sarah Jaeggli, a recent University of Hawaii at Manoa graduate whose doctoral research formed a key element of the new findings. She conducted the research with Drs. Haosheng Lin, also from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Han Uitenbroek of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, NM. Jaeggli now is a postdoctoral researcher in the solar group at Montana State University. Their work is published in the Feb. 1, 2012, issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

They used the new Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter (FIRS; Seeing Red, below) at the Dunn Solar Telescope at Sunspot, NM, and the older Horizontal Spectrograph. Although built in 1969, the Dunn now is equipped with advanced adaptive optics that correct for much of atmospheric blurring.

The team analyzed seven active regions on the Sun, one in 2001 and six during December 2010 to December 2011 as Sunspot Cycle 23 faded away. The full sunspot sample has 56 observations of 23 different active regions.

Sunspots appear to come and go in approximate 11-year cycles. They are brighter than an arc-welder's torch, but appear black because the surrounding solar surface is so much brighter. Galileo and his contemporaries discovered sunspots in 1610. George Ellery Hale discovered magnetism in spots in 1908, and scientists soon determined that intense magnetism suppresses the normal convective motions present throughout the solar photosphere and forms "cool" spots.

But the details remain a mystery. Among the clues solar physicists have observed is a direct relationship between the spot's inner temperature and its magnetic field strength. But at very low temperatures, the field strength makes a sharp rise.

"This result is puzzling," Jaeggli and her colleagues wrote. It implies some undiscovered mechanism inside the spot.

One suspect is hydrogen atoms combining into hydrogen molecules (H₂). The Sun is about 90 percent hydrogen atoms (plus 10 percent helium and 0.13 percent everything else). Most of the hydrogen is ionized atoms since the average surface temperature is an inferno-like 5780K (9944 deg. F). Yet it is a "cool star" since astronomers can detect heavy-element molecules in the solar spectrum. In 1997 they even found water, as traces of super-heated steam, inside spots.

This suggests that a spot's cool umbra, the "black" shadow at center, might let hydrogen molecules combine in surface layers. As early as 1986 the late Prof. Per E. Maltby and colleagues at the University of Oslo predicted that the gas in the umbra could be as much as 5 percent hydrogen molecules.

Such a shift would cause a major change in sunspot dynamics. A basic law of physics is that gas particles exert the same pressure whether they are atoms or molecules. A hydrogen molecule will provide half the pressure of the two atoms it used to be. And bonds between atoms oscillate and rotate, thus storing energy without raising the temperature. (This is why water absorbs a lot of heat before boiling.)

"The formation of a large fraction of molecules may have important effects on the thermodynamic properties of the solar atmosphere and the physics of sunspots," Jaeggli wrote.

But direct measurement of hydrogen molecules in spots is beyond our grasp for now, so the team measured a stand-in, the hydroxyl radical made of one atom each of hydrogen and oxygen (OH). About 1 percent of the mass of the Sun is oxygen. OH dissociates (breaks into atoms) at a slightly lower temperature than H₂, meaning H₂ can also form in regions where OH is present. By coincidence, one of its infrared spectral lines is 1565.2nm, almost the same as the 1565nm line of iron, used for measuring magnetism in a spot and one of the lines FIRS is designed to observe. (These are twice the wavelength of the deepest red, 770nm, the human eye can see.)

First using the older HSG in 2001, and then with the more advanced FIRS in 2009-10, the team measured magnetic fields across sunspots, and the OH intensity inside spots. From that, they calculated the H₂ concentrations.

"We found evidence that significant quantities of hydrogen molecules form in sunspots that are able to maintain magnetic fields stronger than 2,500 Gauss," Jaeggli said. By comparison, Earth's magnetic field, which turns a compass needle, is about one-half Gauss. The team estimated a hydrogen molecule quantity of a few percent.

Jaeggli said its presence leads to a temporary "runaway" intensification of the magnetic field. Magnetic flux emerges from the interior and suppresses convection at the surface, trapping cool gas that has radiated its energy into space. Molecular hydrogen forms, reducing the volume. This is more transparent than atomic hydrogen, so more energy radiates into space, cooling the gas further. Hot gases around the emerging flux compress the cooler region and intensify the magnetic field.

Eventually it levels out, partly from energy radiating in from the surrounding gas. Otherwise, the spot would grow without bounds. As the magnetic field weakens, the H₂ and OH molecules heat up and dissociate back to atoms, compressing the remaining cool regions and keeping the spot from collapsing.

The team says that simulations are needed to test their observations. They also note that most of the active regions observed are of modest field strength. They expect that Cycle 24, which is now ramping up, will provide stronger active regions for a test of their hypothesis.

NSO's mission is to advance knowledge of the Sun, both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth, by providing forefront observational opportunities to the research community. NSO is operated by Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA Inc.) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the benefit of the astronomical community.

Founded in 1967, the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa conducts research into galaxies, cosmology, stars, planets, and the Sun. Its faculty and staff are also involved in astronomy education, deep space missions, and in the development and management of the observatories on Haleakala and Mauna Kea.

Seeing Red

The Facility Infrared Spectropolarimeter (FIRS) at the National Solar Observatory's Dunn Solar Telescope is an advanced imaging spectropolarimeter developed by Haosheng Lin and colleagues at the Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and NSO.

FIRS provides simultaneous spectral coverage at visible and infrared wavelengths through the use of a unique dual-armed spectrograph. The geometry of the spectrograph has been specially designed to capture 630.2nm and 1564.8nm lines of hot, neutral iron (Fe I) with maximum efficiency. It can be re-tuned so the infrared arm instead captures light from helium or silicon around 1083nm or, for this study, OH at 1565nm.

In addition, the spectrograph operates in a multiple slit mode. By using narrowband filters, the spectra from four consecutive slit positions can be imaged at once on the same detector. This feature decreases fourfold the time necessary to scan across a large area on the sun, making it an ideal instrument for the study of quickly developing active regions as illustrated in this "data cube" movie. It also operates simultaneously with other instruments at the Dunn, making for powerful observational capabilities.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Jaeggli, S. A.; Lin, H.; Uitenbroek, H. On Molecular Hydrogen Formation and the Magnetohydrostatic Equilibrium of Sunspots. The Astrophysical Journal, Feb. 1, 2012 [link]

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/~3/_ueFDKK9se0/120131093104.htm

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The 'Choking Game': 1 in 7 College Kids Has Tried It (Time.com)

College students aren't necessarily renowned for their good judgment, and a new study reinforces that, finding that nearly one in seven co-eds has played the Choking Game, which is every bit as dangerous as it sounds.

Also called the Fainting Game, Pass Out, or Space Monkey, the Choking Game can be played individually or in groups. It consists of manually choking yourself or others, sticking a plastic bag over the head, tying a string around the neck or hyperventilating, all in search of a few seconds of euphoria. (See TIME's health and medicine covers.)

Researchers at The Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University surveyed 837 students at a Texas university and found that the behavior, which works by cutting off blood flow to the brain in order to induce a high, was frighteningly commonplace:

?16% of students said they'd played the game, and three-quarters more than once
?On average, students first played the game at age 14
?Males were more likely to have played than females
?90% of students who had played the game learned about it from friends, and most students said they first played in a group

Why in the world would kids engage in this potentially deadly behavior? In a word, curiosity. They may also not realize it has the potential to be just as deadly as illegal drugs. The good news is that learning that a number of teens and college students have suffocated to death from playing the Choking Game helped deter students from playing. Parents, talk to your kids. And schools can play a role too: related research found that 90% of parents think that including information about the dangers of the game in school health and drug prevention classes is a smart idea.(MORE: For Teens Who Cut, Going Online Can Sometimes Help)

As the study notes:

"This 'game,' as it is often called, does not require obtaining any drugs or alcohol, is free, and can go undetected by many parents, teachers, physicians, and other authority figures. Most importantly, many of those who engage in this activity, do not understand that the practice can be just as deadly as the illegal substances youth have been warned against."

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'Xperia P' branding rumored for Sony LT22i 'Nypon'

 

Some more evidence has cropped up this morning to suggest that Sony (Ericsson) is moving forwards with a letter-based naming scheme for its 2012 line-up. Just like last week, when we saw suggestions that the entry-level ST25i 'Kumquat' looked set to become the Xperia U, a recent listing by the Indonesian telecom authority has revealed the name 'Xperia P' or Sony's purported mid-range offering, the LT22i 'Nypon'.

Rumored specs for the 'Nypon' include a 1GHz dual-core processor, a 4-inch qHD (960x540) Reality Display and an 8MP EXMOR R camera. According to the recently-leaked roadmap, the device may be due for release as early as April, at a €370 price point.

Whatever the case, we'll be hoping to get our first look at the Xperia P, or whatever it's called, at Mobile World Congress in just a few weeks.

Source: e-POSTEL; via: XperiaBlog

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/tiULgU5lGwI/story01.htm

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This Is an Electric Scooter? [Scooters]

Boxx is a bizarre little creation. Combining an electric scooter with a very modern design, Boxx looks like hard drive on wheels. But with the ability to travel 80 miles at speeds up to 35 MPH, this thing is no child's toy, either. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/cpchTrmTHRg/this-is-an-electric-scooter

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Awards Tour 2012: Directors Guild of America Winners

DGA President Taylor Hackford announced the winner for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2011.

"The directors nominated this year for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award have each demonstrated an inspired command of the medium. The fact that their prodigious talents have been recognized by their peers is the highest honor a director can achieve," said Hackford. "I offer my most sincere congratulations to each of the nominees."

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Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film

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Feature Documentary

James Marsh, Project Nim

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924274/news/1924274/

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Tight-fisted mortgage lenders pressure home sales

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer

Home prices have fallen by a third since 2006, creating tremendous bargains for home buyers. Mortgage rates are at rock-bottom lows, making houses more affordable than they have been in decades. Yet home sales last year fell to the lowest levels since the government began keeping records in 1963.

One big reason: mortgage bankers have gotten a lot choosier about approving loans, according to a report by Goldman Sachs economists Hui Shan and Jari Stehn. By some measures, they're pickier than they were before the housing boom took off.?

With anecdotal evidence showing that home mortgages are harder to get, the economists crunched Federal Reserve data to show just how much tighter lending standards have become. Using the results of the Fed's survey of loan officers, the report found that lending standards rose sharply after the mortgage market collapsed and the financial system imploded in 2008. Since the recession ended in 2009, lenders haven?t eased their tight grip on mortgage money.

Part of the reason is that there?s less money available to lend. During the housing boom, as brokers produced a flood of new mortgages, Wall Street bankers churned out a torrent of mortgage-backed bonds for investors waiting to snap them up. That market has all but vanished; 90 percent of new mortgages written today are backed by the government. ??

The new mortgage pipeline also has slowed because it is clogged with paperwork. These days, you?ll have to fill out many more forms and produce a lot more documentation, on average, just to get your loan considered.

The percent of loans that required ?full documentation? declined steadily from 2000 through 2006, hitting a low of less than 60 percent. Those ?no-doc? loans were a big part of the reason mortgage bankers made the bad underwriting decisions that created the mortgage mess. Today, nearly 90 percent of mortgage applications require full documentation. That?s much higher than the pre-bubble level.

You?ll also have to show a much higher credit score than you did in the go-go days of the housing boom. In a separate report, Mortgage Marvel, an online mortgage-shopping website, analyzed data from more than 700,000 mortgage applications filed last year and found that the average FICO score was 730. That?s a significant jump from the days when borrowers with scores in the high 500s were routinely steered to high-cost subprime loans.

Applications with highest credit scores concentrated in California, Oregon, Wisconsin, District of Columbia and Hawaii, the company said. The states with the lowest credit scores were Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisiana? and Oklahoma.

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GDP grew 2.8 percent last quarter, but momentum still weak

The fourth quarter 2.8 percent GDP increase represents a pickup from the 1.8 percent pace seen in the prior quarter, but it was lower than economists expected. And unemployment remains high.

America's economy grew at a strengthened 2.8 percent annual pace in the final quarter of last year, but much of the acceleration was based on a restocking of business inventories ? raising the prospect of some cooling early in 2012.

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The fourth quarter increase in gross domestic product (GDP) represents a pickup from the 1.8 percent pace seen in the prior quarter, but it was a bit lower than what many economists expected. The number is preliminary and will be revised a bit by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis in a month.

GDP gains came from consumer spending as well as in the warehouse inventories, with those forces offset by declines in consumption by federal, state, and local governments.

Most forecasters believe the US has the momentum to avoid dipping back into recession, but that the recovery from recession remains weak, given the nation's high rate of unemployment.

"The economy is less healthy than the headline growth rate would suggest," Chris Williamson of the financial data firm Markit said in a written analysis of the new numbers. "Excluding inventories, the rate of expansion slowed" to just 0.8 percent.

Consumer spending is moving forward at a slightly improved clip of about 2 percent, he noted, and consumers appear more confident about buying durable goods such as cars. But they and the economy have yet to shake off the troubles that took hold during the recession.

"Consumers remain concerned about debt, job security, and the housing market, which will stifle domestic demand," Mr. Williamson said. "At the same time, companies face an uncertain climate both at home and abroad, with the Eurozone's sovereign debt crisis remaining a key cause of concern."

For the 2011 calendar year, GDP increased 1.7 percent, after rising 3 percent the year before. Many forecasters expect GDP growth to come in lower than 3 percent for 2012, but perhaps a bit higher than the 2011 pace. (All these numbers reflect estimates of inflation-adjusted output.)

In recent months, consumer confidence has improved in the US, and small businesses have grown more optimistic about hiring workers. The official unemployment rate has fallen to 8.5 percent.

But job creation has been tepid compared to some past recoveries from recession, and millions of would-be workers remain on the sidelines.

A sign of the challenge: The percentage of working-age Americans who have jobs has barely budged upward over the past year and stands near a low point for the era since women entered the work force in large numbers. Some 58.5 percent of working-age people have jobs. That ratio stood at above 64 percent before the 2001 recession.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zcR0xLkL6QM/GDP-grew-2.8-percent-last-quarter-but-momentum-still-weak

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Officials call off search for missing SC toddler (AP)

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? The mother of a South Carolina toddler missing since Thanksgiving is pregnant and mentally ill and should be released from jail because she needs medical care, the woman's attorney argued in court papers filed this week.

Hemphill Pride II says Zinah Jennings has been ordered to have treatment for her mental illness for a year and has been told to take Risperdal, which is used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia. He also said she needs prenatal care.

On Thursday afternoon, dozens of federal, state and local police agents and cadaver dog teams for more than four hours searched a county in the central part of the state for the boy who was 18 months old when he disappeared. Columbia police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said officers scoured an 8-mile radius near a small rural church in Richland County but found no evidence of the boy.

Jennings, 22, has been in jail since late December, when Columbia police say they arrested her for lying about the whereabouts of her son, Amir.

Her mother had reported Jennings missing several weeks earlier, telling police she thought her daughter and grandson were in Atlanta but that she was receiving evasive answers when she asked about Amir.

Speaking to police after a Christmas Eve car wreck, Jennings first said she didn't have children and then said her son was with relatives and friends in cities from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C.

Investigators say they chased down Jennings' stories but met with several dead ends before arresting her. Authorities said they hope a tip line and $10,000 reward will yield information, and state police are analyzing stains on blankets and clothes removed from Jennings' car to see if they are blood.

Her half-sister who reported her missing told police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed.

Jocelyn Jennings Nelson, who has said her headstrong daughter frequently traveled to visit relatives and friends in the Carolinas and Georgia, said she reported Jennings and the boy missing last month after becoming concerned during their visit to Atlanta.

Jennings was arrested on prostitution and drug charges in Georgia shortly before her son disappeared, accused of offering sex to an undercover officer. Jennings had been staying with a half-sister in the Atlanta area for three weeks before her Nov. 9 arrest.

On the day Zinah Jennings was arrested, her half-sister reported her missing, telling police that she had left her home and suffered from "schizophrenic tendencies" that had not been diagnosed. Nelson has said her headstrong daughter had been depressed since the birth of her son, struggling both in classes at a community college and in her search for a job that allowed the flexibility needed to go to school and care for her son.

In his motion filed Tuesday, Pride cites a doctor who has examined Jennings and says she "lacks sufficient insight or capacity to make responsible decisions" about her treatment and needed to be committed to the hospital.

Police would not say what information led to their search Thursday. Jennings' attorney said his client was no longer speaking to police.

"She's incapacitated at this time, so she's not in a position to cooperate," Pride said. "The medicine that she's on right now, she's quite frankly, zonked."

Nelson told The Associated Press she didn't know about the search until a conversation with a reporter.

"I'm not surprised that they didn't find anything," Nelson told AP. "I had no idea."

Nelson said she knew about her daughter's pregnancy and was not surprised that she had been prescribed psychiatric medication.

"She's very quiet, solemn, and basically that's it," Nelson said, of a recent visit to her daughter. "It's very hard to describe."

In a separate motion, Pride asks a judge to allow his client to wear street clothes during hearings because of intense media attention on her case. In a previous appearance, Jennings wore an orange jail jumpsuit and handcuffs.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday.

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Online:

SC Crimestoppers: http://www.sccrimestoppers.com

___

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

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Medics suspend Libya prison role over torture

By msnbc.com news services

BENGHAZI, Libya?-- Doctors Without Borders has suspended its work in prisons in the Libyan city of Misrata because it said torture was so rampant that some detainees were brought for care only to make them fit for further interrogation, the group said Thursday.

Amnesty International also said it has recorded widespread prisoner abuse in other cities as well, leading to the death of several inmates.

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The allegations, which come more than three months after former leader Moammar Gadhafi was captured and killed, were an embarrassment to the governing National Transitional Council, which is struggling to establish its authority in the divided nation.

Torture-related wounds
Doctors Without Borders said that since August, its medical teams have treated 115 people in Misrata who bore torture-related wounds, including cigarette burns, heavy bruising, bone fractures, tissue burns from electric shocks and kidney failure from beatings. Two detainees died after being interrogated, the group's general director said.

"Patients were brought to us in the middle of interrogation for medical care, in order to make them fit for further interrogation. This is unacceptable," MSF general director Christopher Stokes said in a statement. "Our role is to provide medical care to war casualties and sick detainees, not to repeatedly treat the same patients between torture sessions."

Libya's Western-backed leadership, which has sought to assure the world of its commitment to democracy and human rights, has acknowledged that some prisoners held by revolutionary forces have been abused. It insisted the mistreatment was not systematic and pledged to tackle the problem.

But the transitional government has been unable to rein in the dozens of militias that arose during the war and have been reluctant to disband or submit to central authority.

An official with the Libyan government said it paid attention to all credible reports of abuse.

"There is no doubt that there are acts of violation of human rights but these are to do with the mentality of the people who are in charge of these prisons," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

"Neither the government, nor the NTC, nor any Libyan group supports these acts. These actions are individual acts and the authorities will take a very serious view of them."

Beatings and whippings
Amnesty International said in a statement issued Thursday that it has met with a number of detainees in Tripoli, Misrata, and Gharyan who showed visible marks indicating torture, including open wounds on the head, limbs, back and other parts of the body. A number of detainees spoke to Amnesty about beatings with electric cables and metal chains, and they reported being suspended in contorted positions and given electric shocks.

It quoted one man who said he had been tortured earlier this month in the headquarters of Misrata security forces.

"They took me for interrogation upstairs. Five men in plain clothes took turns beating and whipping me," Amnesty quoted the man as saying.

"They suspended me from the top of the door by my wrists for about an hour and kept beating me. They also kicked me."

The London-based group said the torture and mistreatment, mostly against suspected Gadhafi loyalists and sometimes foreign nationals from sub-Saharan African countries, is carried out by officially recognized military and security bodies as well as by a number of armed militias operating outside any legal framework. The group said several detainees died in custody from torture, detailing the death of at least two detainees.

Britain, which played a key role in the NATO-led air campaign that helped revolutionary forces overthrow Gadhafi, urged the new regime to "live up to the high standards they have set themselves."

"They need to ensure a zero tolerance policy on abuse. We are concerned about these reports and are taking them up with the Libyans as a matter of urgency," British Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement.

The head of Amnesty International told The Associated Press the mistreatment of detainees in Libya showed the need for the international community to keep helping the country in its difficult transition. "It's not just a matter of sending in troops and then getting out again. Libya needs long term assistance," Salil Shetty said.

Stokes, of the MSF, told The Associated Press that those subjected to torture include ex-combatants and people accused of theft and looting.

"There is a significant number of people with darker skin, but there is really a wide mix," he said. "Whatever the motives, it is unacceptable to do this to human beings."

The interrogations were carried out by Libya's National Army Security Service at facilities outside the detention centers, MSF said in a statement.

'Couldn't even stand up'
The group, which operates in prisons but not interrogation centers, said it contacted authorities in Misrata, the port city that saw some of the fiercest fighting of the war, to demand an end to the abuse, but it received no official response, prompting MSF to halt its operations in the city's detention centers.

MSF said it will continue its support in Misrata hospitals and schools in addition to providing assistance to African migrants, refugees and internally displaced people in and around Tripoli.

In its statement, MSF said the most alarming case was on Jan. 3, when MSF doctors treated a group of 14 detainees returning from an interrogation center. It said nine of the detainees had numerous injuries, including broken arms and renal failure, and displayed obvious signs of torture.

Stokes said his group has informed the National Army Security Service that a number of patients needed to be transferred to hospitals for urgent and specialized care. All but one of the detainees were deprived of further medical care and hospitalization, and instead taken back to interrogation centers.

"Some of them couldn't even stand up, they were so badly beaten," he said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.?

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SOTU Response: We???re Still in Bad Shape (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Tuesday night was the night of speeches. First there was the State of the Union; then there was the GOP response. While I'm not a fan of Mitch Daniels, I liked his answer. It was more factual and current then Obama's State of the Union address, and it highlighted the importance of the 2012 elections. As a country, we cannot do another four years of Obama, and the answer is electing a Republican president.

Gov. Daniels crafted an impressive response to Obama's State of the Union address. I particularly liked Daniels' speech when he stated, "The president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continue in America tonight. But he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today."

While I'm not in either of those demographics, I didn't go to work yesterday. In fact, I gave up looking for traditional employment in November 2011. There are no jobs out there. There are no jobs for the uneducated, and there are no jobs for the educated. I fall into the latter category. I have two degrees, and I'm thinking about getting a third degree. I shouldn't need three degrees to find a job. With two degrees I'm already overeducated, but that's the world Obama has created.

I had a job in 2008, and I still had a job in 2009 after Obama was elected. I wasn't downsized until April 2009. Supposedly, the recession ended during that summer, but a more than two years later, I'm still not traditionally employed. It's a problem, and it's not just a problem for me. It's a problem for the nation.

The United States cannot thrive with high unemployment. "The federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy; it borrows one of every three dollars it spends. No nation, no entity, large or small, public or private, can thrive, or survive intact, with debts as huge as ours," said Gov. Daniels.

It's been more than two years since the recession officially ended. Yet, the unemployment rate is still a whopping 8.5 percent. While Obama wants to take credit for the improvements no matter how marginal, I don't see enough improvement.

The answer to the economy is to elect a Republican president. We can't do another four years of Obamanomics. That means we need to pay close attention during this year's primaries. We need to scrutinize each candidate as if our lives depended on it. Then, we, as a nation, need to pick the best republican presidential candidate so we can get this nation and its jobs and its citizens back on track.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10883091_sotu_response_were_still_in_bad_shape

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House bills promote religion at war memorials (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The House has passed a bill confirming the use of religious symbols at military memorials. It was also voting on legislation to order that a prayer issued by Franklin Roosevelt on D-Day be installed at the World War II memorial in Washington.

The first bill would write into law existing practice of allowing display of religious symbols at military memorials and cemeteries. It was introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego Republican, in response to a federal court decision a year ago that a 43-foot cross at St. Soledad Veterans Memorial in nearby La Jolla was unconstitutional.

The other bill, expected to pass later in the day, would direct the Interior Secretary to install a plaque of inscription with the FDR prayer to the nation on June 6, 1944.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_re_us/us_war_memorials_religion

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Researchers discover method to unravel malaria's genetic secrets

Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: William Allstetter
allstetterw@njhealth.org
303-398-1002
National Jewish Health

The parasite that causes malaria is a genetic outlier, which has prevented scientists from discovering the functions of most of its genes. Researchers at National Jewish Health and Yale University School of Medicine have devised a technique to overcome the genetic oddity of Plasmodium falciparum, the major cause of human malaria. This new approach led them discover a new gene involved in lipid synthesis, and opens the door to further genetic discovery for the entire organism. This should foster a much greater understanding of the parasite, and facilitate discovery of new medications for a disease that infects more than 200 million people and kills nearly 700,000 every year.

"The malarial genome has been a black box. Our technique allows us to open that box, so that we can learn what genes in the most lethal human parasite actually do," said Dennis Voelker, PhD, Professor of Medicine at National Jewish Health and senior author on the paper that appeared in the January 2, 2012 , issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "This could prove tremendously valuable in the fight against a disease that has become increasingly drug-resistant."

The genome of P. falciparum was sequenced in 2002, but the actual functions of many of the organism's genes have remained elusive. One of the primary methods for discovering gene function is to copy a specific gene, insert it into a model organism that is easy to grow, often the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, then draw on the incredible knowledge base about yeast and its abundant genetic variants to discover how that inserted gene changes the organism's biology.

DNA is composed of building blocks with the shorthand designations A,T,C and G. The genome of P. falciparum is odd because it is particularly rich in A's and T's. Because of this A-T-rich nature, P. falciparum genes generally do not function when they are inserted into other organisms. As a result, scientists have been largely stymied when trying to understand the functions of P. falciparum's genes.

It turns out, however, that P. falciparum has a close cousin, P. knowlesi, which shares almost all its genes with P. falciparum, but with fewer A's and T's. As a result, P. knowlesi genes function well when inserted into yeast. Scientists can now insert P. knowlesi genes into yeast, discover their function, and then match them to corresponding genes in P. falciparum, which reveals the function of the malarial parasite's genes.

"This technique could lead to an explosion in knowledge about malaria and the parasite that causes it." said Dr. Voelker.

The researchers used the technique to discover a new gene involved in the synthesis of lipids in cell membranes of P. falciparum. The gene, phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, directs the formation of a protein unique to malarial parasites and is a potential therapeutic target. For example, selective disruption of lipid synthesis in P. falciparum, would prevent the organism from making new cell membranes, growing and reproducing in human hosts.

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Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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Contact: William Allstetter
allstetterw@njhealth.org
303-398-1002
National Jewish Health

The parasite that causes malaria is a genetic outlier, which has prevented scientists from discovering the functions of most of its genes. Researchers at National Jewish Health and Yale University School of Medicine have devised a technique to overcome the genetic oddity of Plasmodium falciparum, the major cause of human malaria. This new approach led them discover a new gene involved in lipid synthesis, and opens the door to further genetic discovery for the entire organism. This should foster a much greater understanding of the parasite, and facilitate discovery of new medications for a disease that infects more than 200 million people and kills nearly 700,000 every year.

"The malarial genome has been a black box. Our technique allows us to open that box, so that we can learn what genes in the most lethal human parasite actually do," said Dennis Voelker, PhD, Professor of Medicine at National Jewish Health and senior author on the paper that appeared in the January 2, 2012 , issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "This could prove tremendously valuable in the fight against a disease that has become increasingly drug-resistant."

The genome of P. falciparum was sequenced in 2002, but the actual functions of many of the organism's genes have remained elusive. One of the primary methods for discovering gene function is to copy a specific gene, insert it into a model organism that is easy to grow, often the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, then draw on the incredible knowledge base about yeast and its abundant genetic variants to discover how that inserted gene changes the organism's biology.

DNA is composed of building blocks with the shorthand designations A,T,C and G. The genome of P. falciparum is odd because it is particularly rich in A's and T's. Because of this A-T-rich nature, P. falciparum genes generally do not function when they are inserted into other organisms. As a result, scientists have been largely stymied when trying to understand the functions of P. falciparum's genes.

It turns out, however, that P. falciparum has a close cousin, P. knowlesi, which shares almost all its genes with P. falciparum, but with fewer A's and T's. As a result, P. knowlesi genes function well when inserted into yeast. Scientists can now insert P. knowlesi genes into yeast, discover their function, and then match them to corresponding genes in P. falciparum, which reveals the function of the malarial parasite's genes.

"This technique could lead to an explosion in knowledge about malaria and the parasite that causes it." said Dr. Voelker.

The researchers used the technique to discover a new gene involved in the synthesis of lipids in cell membranes of P. falciparum. The gene, phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, directs the formation of a protein unique to malarial parasites and is a potential therapeutic target. For example, selective disruption of lipid synthesis in P. falciparum, would prevent the organism from making new cell membranes, growing and reproducing in human hosts.

###

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/njh-rdm012512.php

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Atlanta Jewish newspaper publisher resigns (AP)

ATLANTA ? The owner of a small Jewish publication in Atlanta is resigning over a column he wrote suggesting Israel might consider a hit on President Barack Obama.

Interim editor John McCurdy said Monday that Andrew Adler is relinquishing his day-to-day duties at The Atlanta Jewish Times.

Adler wrote Jan. 13 that Obama's assassination could be one of Israel's options in preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. He was roundly condemned by national and local Jewish groups after larger media outlets reported on his column.

McCurdy says Adler has apologized in interviews and plans to publish an apology in the next edition. It's unclear if Adler will sell the newspaper.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Max Milien says the agency is following up on the matter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_ge/us_jewish_newspaper_flap_georgia

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Chip Solar House is powered by the sun and controlled through Xbox Kinect (Digital Trends)

There is a lot that goes into making a house green, and we don?t mean just slapping a coat of paint on it. Building an energy efficient home is hard enough, let alone maintaining a home that doesn?t harm the environment by wasting resources and over consuming energy. Little things like switching off the lights and adjusting the thermostat go a long way in conserving energy, but it isn?t always easy, and it can be difficult fiddling with all of that on a day to day basis. Enter the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arch) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their easy-to-use CHIP Solar House, a cutting-edge solar home you control with a wave of your hands and the help of Xbox Kinect.

CHIP, which stands for Compact, Hyper-Insulated Prototype Solar House utilizes an Xbox Kinect as its means of control. Tasks like turning off the lights or turning down the thermostat can now be accessed through gesture controls. Wave your arm or flick your wrist, it doesn?t matter. CHIP was designed to make maintaining an energy neutral home as streamlined as possible. The house even features a 3-D camera that can go a step further by tracking your movements and auto-switching off a light when you leave a room. Who said being green wasn?t easy?

Of course besides being unique on the inside, the CHIP Solar House also carries with it a distinct look with its insulation stretched around the exterior of the house (resembling the material found on the inside of a padded cell). The house measures 750-square feet and took over two years, more than 100 students, and $1 million to build?however according to SCI-Arch and Caltech, the house could be replicated for as little as $300,000. So while being green might be easy, it isn?t exactly cheap.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120124/tc_digitaltrends/chipsolarhouseispoweredbythesunandcontrolledthroughxboxkinect

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Drought returns to Sahel, bringing hunger (AP)

DAKAR, Senegal ? For the third time in the past decade, drought has returned to the arid, western shoulder of Africa, bringing hunger to millions. Aid agencies are warning that if action is not taken now, the region known as the Sahel could slip into crisis.

More than 1 million children in the eight affected countries are expected to face life-threatening malnutrition this year, according to the United Nations Children's Fund. The region has not yet recovered from the last drought two years ago, and many families lost their herds which means that they will not have assets to purchase food.

Aid workers also worry that donors are suffering from "famine fatigue," as the looming West African crisis comes just six months after Somalia's capital was declared a famine zone.

"I think there is a real risk that people may think this is the kind of thing that just happens every few years," Stephen Cockburn, the West Africa regional campaign manager for Oxfam, said of the droughts in the Sahel.

Earlier this week, aid agencies revealed that thousands of people died needlessly in the Horn of Africa because donors waited until people started dying to respond. The warning signs were there as early as August 2010 but aid wasn't ramped up until July 2011.

Signs of the looming famine in the Sahel were first detected late last year, according to the report released Wednesday by Oxfam and Save the Children. The lessons of Somalia and the Horn of Africa, where as many as 100,000 people died, are front and center in how aid agencies are responding to the potential famine in West Africa.

"Everyone recognizes in looking back that there was a delay in responding (in the Horn of Africa). Tens of thousands of people died because of that delay ... We know from this recent and painful experience what the risks are," said Cockburn.

He said that there could be more hope for the Sahel, since the indications of a crisis have been detected early on.

"The alarms (for the Sahel) were already sounding in November and December. Every country in the region, and every president in the region, has recognized this and asked for outside help," he said.

The U.N. children's agency was among the agencies reacting early. The organization issued an appeal in December and began ordering therapeutic foods for infants and toddlers. By then, Niger had already issued its own alert saying that more than half the country's villages were vulnerable to food insecurity.

Droughts in the Sahel ? a region spanning eight countries, including northern Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, northern Nigeria, Cameroon and southern Chad ? have become increasingly frequent with emergencies declared in 2005, 2008 and 2010. The consequences are especially dire for children, said UNICEF spokesman Martin Dawes.

"In this crisis adults will suffer, but children will die. Why? Because nutrition deterioration is a vicious cycle ? in growing, the body requires more to replace and make up what it lacks and when the right kinds of food are not available the situation gets worse," said Dawes. "They go from moderately malnourished to acute, and lifesaving intervention is needed."

As the child gets weaker, he or she becomes more vulnerable to routine problems, like diarrhea. The child is less able to fend off diseases, and the effects are more pronounced, Dawes said.

Even during a non-drought year, as many as 300,000 children die of malnutrition in the Sahel, says Cockburn. It's a region that is perpetually on the edge, and any extra shock sends it over the precipice.

"The increasing frequency of droughts in the Sahel means that communities have had little time to recover from the last food crisis," according to Malek Triki, the Dakar-based spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program. "Their savings are exhausted and livestock herds have not been rebuilt."

The United Nations is already purchasing food and deploying specialized teams to the region. Grain prices across the region are rising and WFP has observed a rush on maize by wholesalers, who are buying up local stocks. Markets are emptying and staples including millet and sorghum are now in short supply.

Traders from the Sahel are traveling increasingly greater distances to buy maize, with some spotted as far as northern Ivory Coast, according to the WFP.

Cockburn said that the hard-learned lessons of Somalia are already bearing fruit. He is cautiously optimistic by the response from the European Union, which announced this week that it is doubling its humanitarian aid for the Sahel.

Kristalina Georgieva, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid visited Niger on Wednesday in order to see the problem up close.

"Within months people will begin to starve unless we act," she said, according to a statement posted on the European Union's website. "The alarm bells are ringing."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_af/af_west_africa_hunger_crisis

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[OOC] The Azure Citadel

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Azure Citadel?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the character approval thread for potential applicants to the Azure Citadel. Before we go any further, there are a few things that need to be completely understood;

1. This is not Hogwarts. There are no real 'classes' and there are no 'teachers' or 'students'. There is only your recognized rank. Even the newest addition to the Citadel is allowed to hold seminars if they feel they are up to the challenge. The Azure Citadel is primarily a research institute for wizards and sorcerers alike to further their knowledge of the arcane.
2. People coming to the college are expected to already be powerful casters or accomplished magical scientists. If you don't think you have something to offer the Citadel, then take your application elsewhere.
3. If you are accepted here, you are expected to follow the Citadel rules both here AND in the Multiverse.

Now that we got that out of the way, we can get on to the application form:

Name with Full Title: (Links to Character Sheets are appreciated)

Magical Experience: (How long your character has been working with the arcane)

Notable Discoveries or Achievements: (Not Required, but will certainly help)

Primary Magical Focus: (Aspect of magic your character is most concerned with. Pick just one, please)

Arcane Summary: (A summing up of what your character is capable of magically. Agreeably ridiculous and obviously overpowered characters need not apply)

Assets: (Your character's total wealth)

Reason for Applying: (Why they should be here)

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Fill it out as best you can. Detail is good, but please don't go overboard. Once you're accepted here you can go ahead and submit your character to the 'Characters' tab. You don't need to make a new sheet for them or anything. Also, once you're accepted, Grey will give your character their first initiation test at first convenience.

Though there are is not exactly a teacher/student dynamic within the Citadel, there is certainly a hierarchy. The following list are available titles and those who have qualified for such honor. (Also serves as a handy enrollment roster)

Grand Master: Eustace 'Grey' Therello - Tearen_Wover

Master:

Precept:

Augur:

Seeker:

Adjutant:

Initiate:

I'll try and keep the list updated. Just nudge me if I fall behind.

Last edited by Tearen Wover on Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Creation is what you make of it.

Tearen Wover

Member for 3 years

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Name with Full Title: Sir Eustace Therello, The Wizard Grey; Grand Master Wizard of The Azure Citadel

Magical Experience: Grey has been harnessing the power of the arcane since he was only a boy, giving him over forty years of applied magical experience.

Notable Discoveries or Achievements: Grey has published over one thousand arcane theses, become the herald of a Blue Dragon King, created his own pocket dimension, and apprenticed almost twenty disciples.

Primary Magical Focus: Transmutation

Arcane Summary: Grey excels in changing the world and people around him, using the best of Conjuration and Transmutation to change entire landscapes, buildings, and sometimes reality itself given enough time. He is also very skilled at nullifying the magical powers of others and supernatural phenomena in general.

Assets: Grey essentially runs and entire magical institute and is extremely well compensated by his King. His total net worth is at least two and a half million platinum pieces.

Reason for Applying: Grey is the Grand Master. YOU apply to HIM.

Tearen Wover

Member for 3 years

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Weslaco finance director resigns | weslaco, director, finance ...

WESLACO?The search is on for a new finance director after its money manager, Bret Mann, submitted his resignation Wednesday.

Olivares announced the departure to staff Thursday morning. Mann will officially remain the finance director until Feb. 1, but because he had leave available, his last day was Friday.

Mann is the third finance director Weslaco has had in the past two years. The city has faced a tumultuous financial challenge during that time and pursued cost saving techniques that included widespread staff cuts.

?That was one of the reasons I took the position, kind of as a challenge, to see if I could get the city back on path and I think we are,? Mann said.

At a presentation to city commissioners Jan. 3, Mann touted the city?s approximately $825,000 general fund balance when the fiscal year ended Sept. 30?up from negative numbers the year before?and said the city would be about $3.3 million in the hole without changes they had made in city practices.

City Manager Leo Olivares called Mann ?a key component of our Weslaco transformation? and said he was sorry to see him go. He said he hopes to find someone else with comparable experience.

?He?s more of a CFO and he brought that mentality to the position,? Olivares said. ?He?s really upped the game as far as financial management.?

Weslaco began advertising Friday for a new director. Because the position is that of an employee rather than an officer of the city, its selection is up to Olivares. He said he would be looking for applicants with, at minimum, an accounting degree and at least three years of experience in public accounting.

Mann said his departure did not stem from any problems with the city but from a decision to pursue an opportunity in the private sector.

?It?s one of those things where I don?t want to be kicking myself later for not doing it, not trying it,? he said.

?

______

Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at efindell@themonitor.com or (956) 683-4428.

Source: http://www.themonitor.com/news/weslaco-58134-director-finance.html

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World not quite as hot in 2011; ranks 11th warmest (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The world last year wasn't quite as warm as it has been for most of the past decade, government scientists said Thursday, but it continues a general trend of rising temperatures.

The average global temperature was 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit, making 2011 the 11th hottest on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. That's 0.9 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, officials said. In fact, it was hotter than every year last century except 1998.

One reason 2011 was milder than recent years was the La Nina cooling of the central Pacific Ocean. La Ninas occur every few years and generally cause global temperatures to drop, but this was the warmest La Nina year on record.

And 2011 also was the warmest year on record for Spain and Norway, and the second warmest for the United Kingdom. In the United States, the average temperature of 53.8 was just 1 degree above normal, making last year only the 23rd warmest on record. But 17 cities ? including Houston, Miami, Trenton and Austin ? had their warmest years.

This marks the 35th straight year that global temperatures were warmer than normal. NOAA's records for world average temperatures date back to 1880.

"It would be premature to make any conclusion that we would see any hiatus of the longer-term warming trend," said Tom Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. "Global temperatures are continuing to increase."

NASA, which calculates global temperatures in a slightly different way, announced essentially the same temperature for the year. But NASA's record-keeping calls it the ninth warmest ever.

Both NASA climate scientist James Hansen and University of Victoria's Andrew Weaver said they expect that in the next few years the world will set yet a new record high temperature. 2010 tied for the hottest on record.

NOAA also released new figures for extreme weather. The agency recalculated the number of billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S., bumping the total from 12 to 14. Officials added Tropical Storm Lee, which dumped rain from Maryland to New England in September, and a July hail and wind storm in Colorado to the list.

The 14 extreme events smash the old record of nine billion-dollar disasters in 2008.

"America has endured an unusually large number of extreme events, totaling damages of more than $55 billion," NOAA deputy administrator Kathryn Sullivan said. She blamed a variety of factors, including population changes.

For the year, a record 58 percent of the United States had either extreme rainfall or severe drought, about triple what is normal for the country. Seven states ? New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Indiana and Kentucky ? had their wettest years since those types of records were kept beginning in 1895. Texas had its driest year ever.

The record wet up north and dry down south fits with what climate change science predicts, but it is too early to say if 2011's precipitation extremes were due to global warming, Karl said. And the unusual number of deadly tornadoes can't be linked to global warming, he said.

But Kevin Trenberth, director of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., which is a consortium of universities, said it's hard not to see the hand of man-made global warming behind the extremes.

"Where these events occur is largely driven by natural variability, but the fact that they are breaking records and causing tremendous damage when they do occur is undoubtedly because of the human stimulus," Trenberth said in an email.

___

NOAA's climate report: http://1.usa.gov/zeeYab

NASA's climate report: http://1.usa.gov/ynPirr

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_sc/us_sci_warm_year

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Republicans say Obama wrong to cut military funds (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Republicans looking to challenge President Barack Obama say the president is wrong to cut military spending and charge that he's putting the United States at risk.

Front-runner Mitt Romney says the United States needs to maintain its military at any cost so that no one would ever think of testing its might.

GOP rival Rick Santorum says Obama is trying to balance the budget at the expense of those serving in uniform. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says military spending not only protects the country but educates its veterans.

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas alone says he would cut spending, an unpopular position in South Carolina, home to 413,000 veterans and eight military bases.

Santorum calls such cuts "disgusting" and Romney calls them "doomsday."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_military

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