All signs suggest that the Moto X will become official on August 1st, but if snapshots and videos of the real thing aren't enough to satiate your curiosity... well, now there's a press render from @evleaks and partner site TheUnlockr. Naturally, stock Android has been key to the Moto X for some time now, but it seems that we might find subtle interface tweaks from Motorola, such as the transparent navigation bar, which is now highly visible. In all, there aren't many startling revelations in the latest leak, but one thing is for certain: the phone's face sure looks a lot snazzier now that Motorola's logo has been scrubbed away.
Uwe E. Reinhardt is an economics professor at Princeton. He has some financial interests in the health care field.
There is much coverage and commentary on news Web sites about whether the health insurance exchanges called for in the Affordable Care Act will be ready by Oct. 1 for enrollment by individuals seeking health insurance in the nongroup market. Insurance bought there takes effect on Jan. 1. I sense that many of those commenting would like the exchanges to fail.
Why is setting up these exchanges so difficult? After all, they are not a novel invention. The eHealthInsurance.com Web site, for example, has since 1997 functioned as an electronic exchange for private health insurance products sold in the nongroup United States market.
That exchange and similar existing private exchanges, however, are not suitable models for the exchanges envisaged in the Affordable Care Act. They function merely as passive brokers for whatever policies private insurers under contract with them choose to list. It is up to consumers to pore over the fine print of any particular insurance contract listed on an exchange for a detailed description of coverage benefits, limitations and exclusions.
There have been many reports on how coverage gaps in the fine print of such policies can leave people who believe they have health insurance in serious financial distress once they fall ill. See, for example, an analysis by Consumer Reports.
More relevant as a model in this context might be the health insurance exchanges in several European countries that operate social health insurance systems with multiple competing private insurers ? Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland prominent among them.
Let us therefore pretend that we are residents of Switzerland and rummage around in a Swiss health insurance exchange.
All Swiss residents are required by federal statute to purchase insurance coverage for a common, comprehensive benefit package prescribed in the statute. Individuals buy that coverage on health insurance exchanges whose architecture is broken down by canton and that facilitate easy comparisons of the community-rated premiums charged by the competing private insurance carriers active in the individual?s canton.
Individuals can purchase supplemental benefits ? e.g., coverage for private rooms in hospitals or alternative medicine ? from the same companies on the same exchanges. The premiums for these benefits, however, are medically underwritten, which means that they depend in part on the applicant?s health status.
Private insurers in Switzerland are not allowed to earn profits on the common, comprehensive, social-insurance benefit package they cover, but they can earn profits on the supplemental benefits.
The Swiss company Comparis, a general insurance broker, among other exchanges operates one for health insurance, and it is available in English.
To receive premium quotes from competing insurers, one enters the postal code of one?s residence (e.g., 3010 for a part of the city of Bern). One is also asked to identify one?s current insurance carrier in a pop-up list of carriers serving the canton. As if I were a Swiss resident, I randomly clicked on ?Publisana? from that list. (A new resident would click on ?Relocating to Switzerland.?)
Because basic benefits are standard across Switzerland, the only consumer choice with regard to the benefit package is the deductible, which can range from 300 to 2,500 Swiss francs. (At current exchange rates, a Swiss franc is about $1.06.)
At the bottom, one can choose comparisons among standard coverage, a gatekeeper model (with a general practitioner), health maintenance organizations and telemedicine (shown as Telmed). I recommend ?standard,? offering free choice of provider.
Click on ?Continue,? and up comes the comparison of premiums for one?s chosen deductible for policies sold in one?s canton. Monthly and annual premiums of the various insurers are shown, along with the savings one could achieve by switching insurers.
A click on ?request quote? leads to a page offering supplementary insurance for various items. A click on the ?i? in green provides information on each supplementary benefit. Note that generous maternity benefits are included in the basic coverage and one can opt for additional services. (European men do not seem to view being forced to pay for maternity care an affront. At least one critic of the Affordable Care Act in the United States, on the other hand, has denounced inclusion of maternity benefits among the basic benefits as ?Obamacare?s War on Men.?)
Swiss insurance exchanges seem quite simple and user friendly. Presumably, no one needs the assist of an insurance navigator to work through this Web site.
So why can?t the insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act be as simple as those in Switzerland? Why would it take almost three years to set up the American exchanges? And why will American buyers of health insurance need specially trained navigators to help them navigate these exchanges?
There are several reasons.
For one, the exchanges are but one small component of America?s highly complex health insurance system and must be stitched smoothly onto its many facets ? a challenge that would be just as demanding for anyone proposing to move toward universal health insurance coverage through private insurers, even in the absence of deliberate attempts to sabotage the effort.
Swiss exchanges do not determine the public subsidies to which lower-income Swiss residents are entitled. These subsidies are handled by a different, cantonal authority. Therefore the Swiss exchanges do not have to determine eligibility for insurance. By contrast, in the United States, state-based exchanges must coordinate with the Internal Revenue Service to determine eligibility for subsidies and their magnitude.
The American exchanges must also work with the state-administered Medicaid programs, to determine whether an applicant on the exchanges should be referred to Medicaid, and with small employers.
Furthermore, some American exchanges will be ?active? ? they will actually negotiate premiums with insurers.
Finally, the Swiss exchanges need to feature premiums only for exactly the same health benefits. Individuals have a choice only over the deductible in the policy. The Affordable Care Act does specify the basic benefits that must be covered, which each state can translate into its own basic benchmark package. There will be four levels of covered benefits (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) that are likely to differ mainly by the degree of cost-sharing (deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance). But some variation of covered services around the state benchmark package nevertheless will be possible within the same actuarial value of a policy, adding some complexity.
Benefit packages on the American exchanges will also vary by the degree of choice among providers that different policies permit. Presumably, the exchanges will have to ascertain the adequacy of the networks of providers attached to particular policies.
In short, comparing the various offerings on the American exchanges will not be nearly as simple as it is on the Swiss exchanges; hence the need for the specially trained navigators.
Americans insist on choice and pluralism among insurance products, enabling them to find coverage they believe will fit their personal needs. That choice, desirable though it may be, comes at a stiff price, with two dimensions.
First, it adds considerably to monetary outlays on administrative functions, which in the United States run about twice per capita what they are in other countries. And to make careful and responsible choices takes a great deal of a person?s time.
China has welcomed efforts to kick-start the long-stalled negotiations between Israel and Palestinian leaders.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said China expects Palestinians and Israel ?to overcome difficulties and strive to reach concrete results at an early date.?
Hua added that the Chinese government has made endeavors to persuade both Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks when receiving Palestinian and Israeli leaders during their China tours earlier this year.
She added that China even hosted an international meeting in June aimed at reviving the stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
?Chinese President Xi Jinping has made four-point proposal to resolve the Palestinian issue,? Hua stated.
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said if everything goes as expected, Israel-Palestine negotiations will resume soon.
?We have reached an agreement that establishes the basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,? he said, adding, ?This is a significant and welcome step forward.?
?The agreement is still in the process of being formalized,? Kerry noted, but gave no details on what had been agreed so far.
The Palestinian-Israeli talks were halted in September 2010 over disagreements on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip and are demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Tel Aviv, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds.
Apple's attempts to get into Russia have met another brick wall.
Cupertino has been trying for a decade to sell its products in Russia but has always been met with total disinterest. Part of the problem was that it did not want to reduce the price and Russians did not want to waste several months salary on a product which would be obsolete in a year.
Now Vimpelcom, one of Russia's top mobile operators, has said that it will no longer sell Apple's iPhone.
The move follows similar action by other mobile companies in Russia.
Vimpelcom ended negotiations with Apple over iPhone sales this month as the US company would not soften its contract terms, the Financial Times reported, citing a person close to the operator.
The Financial Times also reported that Russian operators MTS and Megafon have halted iPhone sales.
A representative for MTS said that the company's contract to sell iPhones ended in September 2012, so it did not purchase the iPhone 5. But it sold older iPhone models.
MTS is still selling the iPad, as it sees a huge potential for such products in Russia, the representative said. Megafon said it has not sold an iPhone since 2009.
Apple is still selling in Russia through its own resellers and other mobile phone retailers.?
Verizon users who happen to be Halo fans are in for a treat. A new Halo title, dubbed Halo: Spartan Assault has launched exclusively for Windows Phone 8 devices running on Verizon. So what are you waiting for? Head over to Windows Store and download the game right away.
Halo: Spartan Assault available today for Nokia #Lumia on @VerizonWireless! Download from @WindowsPhone store #SDCC pic.twitter.com/w2pKSklf3a
? Nokia USA (@NokiaUS) July 18, 2013
Halo: Spartan Assault is also available for Windows 8 and Windows RT (yeah, RT gets some love). Either copy costs $6.99 in the Windows Store, making it one of the "costly" mobile game titles, but hey, it's Halo after all.
Halo: Spartan Assault on Windows Store
Halo: Spartan Assault on Windows Phone Store
343 Industries announced that non-Verizon users will have to wait until August 16 to get their hands on the newest Halo title (ouch). Can't wait? Switch to Verizon, or download it via your Windows 8 or RT device.
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for nonmetastatic prostate cancer was associated with a significantly increased risk of acute kidney injury, according to a study that included more than 10,000 men published in JAMA.
Androgen deprivation therapy is the mainstay treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer. While this therapy has been traditionally reserved for patients with advanced disease, ADT is increasingly being used in patients with less severe forms of the cancer, such as in patients with biochemical relapse who have no evidence of metastatic disease.
Although ADT has been shown to have beneficial effects on prostate cancer progression, serious adverse events can occur during treatment.
The testosterone suppression associated with this therapy may lead to a hypogonadal condition that can have detrimental effects on renal function, thus raising the hypothesis that ADT-induced hypogonadism could potentially lead to acute kidney injury (AKI). The mortality rate is high for patients with AKI (around 50 percent).
Francesco Lapi, Pharm.D., Ph.D., of Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether the use of ADT was associated with an increased risk of AKI in patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. The researchers used medical information extracted from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to the Hospital Episodes Statistics database. The study included men newly diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between January 1997 and December 2008 who were followed up until December 2009. Cases were patients with incident AKI during follow-up who were randomly matched with up to 20 controls on age, calendar year of prostate cancer diagnosis, and duration of follow-up. Analysis was conducted to estimate the odds ratios of AKI associated with the use of ADT. ADT was categorized into 1 of 6 mutually exclusive groups: gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, oral antiandrogens, combined androgen blockade, bilateral orchiectomy, estrogens, and combination of the above.
A total of 10,250 patients met the study inclusion criteria. During follow-up, 232 cases with a first-ever AKI admission were identified. All cases were matched with at least l control. The researchers found that compared with never use, current use of ADT was significantly associated with a 2.5 times increased odds of AKI. ?This association was mainly driven by a combined androgen blockade consisting of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists with oral antiandrogens, estrogens, other combination therapies, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists.?
?To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to investigate the association between the use of ADT and the risk of AKI in men with prostate cancer. In this study, the use of ADT was associated with an increased risk of AKI, with variations observed with certain types of ADTs. This association remained continuously elevated, with the highest odds ratio observed in the first year of treatment. Overall, these results remained consistent after conducting several sensitivity analyses,? the authors write.
(Anil Kumar -- sub-editor compiled and published Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer may increase kidney injury risk at HealthNewsTrack on July 16, 2013 sourced from American Medical Association - http://www.ama-assn.org/)
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Subscribe: rss | email Join 250,000 crazy readersCurrent news Use of ADT For Treatment of Prostate Cancer Linked With Increased Risk of Kidney Injury
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's choice as U.N. ambassador says if she's confirmed by the Senate, she'll work to eliminate what she calls the United Nations' "unacceptable bias and attacks" on Israel.
Samantha Power says she'll also work to make the U.N. more efficient and stand up for freedom.
Power has been criticized by some groups for past comments considered critical of Israel.
Still, the former journalist and human rights activist is expected to be confirmed.
The Irish-born Power told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the U.S. has no "greater friend" than Israel.
She criticized the U.N. for its "disproportionate" focus on Israel.
Power also said the Security Council's failure to stop Syria's civil war is a "disgrace that history will judge harshly."
?2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Download Percy Jackson e o Mar dos Monstros Dublado e Legendado
Lan?amento: 16/08/2013
Informa??es do Filme
T?tulo no Brasil: Percy Jackson e o Mar dos Monstros T?tulo Original: Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Pa?s de Origem: EUA G?nero: Aventura Ano de Lan?amento: 2013 Estreia no Brasil: 16/08/2013 Est?dio/Distrib.: Fox Filmes Dire??o: Thor Freudenthal
Elenco Logan Lerman ? Percy Jackson Nathan Fillion ? Hermes Jake Abel ? Luke Alexandra Daddario ? Annabeth Chase Stanley Tucci ? Dionysus Missi Pyle ? Gray Sister Leven Rambin ? Clarisse Daniel Cudmore ? Manticore Brandon T. Jackson ? Grover Underwood Anthony Head ? Chiron Douglas Smith ? Tyson Grey Damon ? Chris Rodriguez Robert Maillet ? Polyphemus / Laistrygonian Derek Mears ? Cyclops Yvette Nicole Brown ? Gray Sister Paloma Kwiatkowski ? Thalia Grace Mary Birdsong ? Gray Sister Alisha Newton ? Annabeth Christopher Redman ? Reardon Aleks Paunovic ? Cyclops Zoe Aggeliki ? Silena Katelyn Mager ? Thalia Danny Le Boyer ? Ethan Nakamura Bjorn Yearwood ? Grover Jordan Weller ? Ichneutae Samuel Braun ? Luke Richard Yearwood ? Ganymede Anthony Shim ? Barista Maxine Miller ? Customer Camille Atebe ? Barista David Mylrea ? Lydian Drakon Connor Dunn ? Tereus Andrew Plaisance ? Half-Blood Demigod Teen Artin John Tsambazis ? Demigod
Sinopse: O Filme Percy Jackson e o Mar dos Monstros, Percy Jackson ter? que enfrentar junto com seus amigos, terr?veis monstros marinhos, para poder encontrar o raro e m?tico Velo de Ouro.
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JERUSALEM -- A senior Israeli official is condemning the European Union's new directive banning EU dealings with settlements as "worrying" and counterproductive to peace talks.
From 2014, Israeli authorities must guarantee that all EU funding and cooperation projects are conducted within Israel's pre-1967 border and not in east Jerusalem, the West Bank or Golan Heights.
Israel's deputy foreign minister Zeev Elkin called the decision a "very significant and worrying move," telling Israel radio on Tuesday that it doesn't help attempts by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.
Kerry returns to the region this week for consultations, but is not scheduled to visit Israel or the Palestinian territories.
Israel says the status of lands it captured in the 1967 Mideast war should be resolved through talks.
I recently returned back from a UVA study abroad program in Italy. After a couple of weeks of living in Italy there were some obvious, even sometimes minor aspects, of Italian food and dining that made me miss the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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Ice:
It is incredibly rare to get ice in any beverage besides a cocktail. Everything is refrigerated and bottled/canned. No fountain drinks. To ask for ice in your water at a restaurant, you most likely will be charged a small amount. Your drink will never truly be cold. I often drank room temperature water. It sounds snotty that I really missed the luxury of having ice in my drink, but it was definitely a notable aspect of dining that made me miss America.
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Breakfast Foods:
A Classic Italian pastry, Sfogliatelle. It?s flakey puff pastry on the outside with a custard filling.
In Italy a typical breakfast consists of a pastry and an espresso drink (typically a cappuccino, since it is referred to as a breakfast drink and you wouldn?t otherwise drink it at any other time of day). At first this seems like an amazing breakfast because it?s on the sweet side of tastes. However, day after day the mouthfuls of sugar every morning started to catch up to me. I felt slower, fatter, and overall unhealthy. I was dying for some eggs, lean protein, and an abundance of fruit. Eggs aren?t offered as a breakfast food in Italy. I only saw eggs on salads or sometimes pizzas (which by the way, are amazing because once the pizza is cooked they take it out and crack an egg over it and it cooks slowly). The only alternative that was presented to me was white bread (hardly ever wheat or any other type), prochiutto or ham, and sometimes cheese. Ever so often there was yogurt offered. European yogurt is ten times better than any yogurt I?ve ever eaten in the States. It?s richer, creamer, and authentically flavored with fruit (no ?naturally flavors? and no dyes). The best thing about this yogurt is that it?s just as many calories per container as US yogurt. Finally, I also really missed bagels. I guess I?m just used to and spoiled by Bodo?s Bagels on a regular basis in Charlottesville?but who can blame me!
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Smaller Meals:
I typically graze throughout the day, eating small portions every couple of hours. In Italy, meal time is spectacle and a cultural experience which lasts hours. Every meal contains at least a ?primi,? or a first course, and a ?secondo,? or a second course. A ?primi? is always a pasta dish. The portion of pasta that is typically given to you is a decent size?I would say almost meal-size. After scarfing down some delicious, homemade pasta I am practically full and not even thinking I have a second course! A ?secondo? is typically a meat, sometimes accompanied my more starch.
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Side Salad:
Salad is hard to come by. You don?t normally have an option of a side salad and Italians are too keen on substituting items on the menu. Side salads are also very expensive. For a normal sized bowl-portion of a salad with three basic ingredients (typically lettuce, tomatoes, and olives/cucumbers) it can cost upwards of 7 euros (almost $10). Unless you order a large salad and make it a meal, getting a side salad is expensive, lacks a variety of ingredients, and difficult to order. Moreover, I was deterred from eating many vegetables in Italy because salads lacked any dynamic/creativity and were overpriced.
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Paying for Water:
Italians don?t like tap water and instead drink bottled distilled or sparkling water. Granted a large bottle and table bread amounts to 3-4 euros, but that typically charged to the table whether you ask for it or not because it acts like a ?cover? charge. Keep in mind the reason for a cover charge is because you typically don?t tip anything over 5%, if any tip at all, for table service in Europe. At the end of my trip I was sick and tired of having to ask for water and paying for it. Growing up in the US, I just assumed water was a public good?that I have a right to receive water for free!
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Supermarkets:
Campo dei Fiori Market in Rome, Italy
I took for granted how much variety was offered to me at US supermarkets. There are some large-scale supermarkets in Italy, but it?s much more common to see small, mom-and-pop markets. At least in these small markets you get fresh, local food, but on the other hand they have a limited variety of products and don?t offer many international/American brands that I?m familiar with. The lack of large department stores and grocery markets (which all offer a huge variety) didn?t bother me too much because I do appreciate local food and non-commercialized business, I just took note of this drastic difference in my shopping experience. 20 different types of cookies? 5 brands of milk? Only in America.
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There were certain things that I didn?t miss from the US. There are some things that Italians do better?
Coffee?Espresso is head and shoulders over mild, water-down coffee served in the US. I did miss having more substance in my cup to sip on?considering espresso is served as a shot (1.5 oz)?but European espresso is of such higher quality that it isn?t so bitter and it?s mouthfeel isn?t as gritty. It takes some getting used to because it?s very dense and strong, but you learn to appreciate the coffee bean and how coffee is made.
Soda?Of course Coca Cola is an international brand, but I want to make note of Italian soda (with its flavors such as grapefruit, pomegranate, blood orange and of course lemon). If you aren?t familiar with Italian soda, think of brands like Izze and San Pellegrino soda. These sodas tastes like the real flavor of fruit and are incredibly refreshing.
Smoothies?Nothing is wrong with good ol? Smoothie King and Robek?s, but Italy offers Frulattas and they are way better! Frulattas are all made with fresh fruit (farmer?s market quality) and a little bit of yogurt (which I previously raved about). Frulattas have a thinner consistency and tastes exactly like the fruit that was put into it, unlike a typical US smoothie that is full of sugar to the point that it could be considered cousin to a milkshake.
No?Preservatives?Everything is fresher in Italy. They use a lot of local, authentically Italian products. This can possibly explain why Italian food markets have less variety than in the US. Since Italians don?t have many products with a shelf-life (due to preservatives), market owners have a lower threshold of how many products they can keep in the store, considering that they have to restock most of their products regularly.
DETROIT (AP) ? Chrysler Group is recalling 45,961 Ram trucks because their electronic stability control systems may not turn on when the vehicles start.
Ram 1500 4x4 trucks built between June 26, 2012, and Feb. 5, 2013, are involved in the recall.
Chrysler says a software problem may disable the electronic stability control system when the pickups start.
Electronic stability control helps vehicles stay upright and maintain the right direction even if the driver swerves or loses control. A disabled system increases the risk of a crash.
Chrysler began investigating the issue after getting some warranty complaints. It says no accidents or injuries have been reported due to the problem.
Dealers will update the software for free. Chrysler will begin notifying owners next month.
Men aren?t the only ones driving the hookup culture so prevalent across college campuses. ?More than 60 women, all students at the University of Pennsylvania, granted anonymous interviews to The New YorkTimes, and the resulting Style Section feature explores the?sexual mores of some ambitious female students today:
Ask her why she hasn?t had a relationship at Penn, and she won?t complain about the death of courtship?or men who won?t commit. Instead, she?ll talk about ?cost-benefit? analyses and the ?low risk and low investment costs? of hooking up.
?I positioned myself in college in such a way that I can?t have a meaningful romantic relationship, because I?m always busy and the people that I am interested in are always busy, too,? she said.
Young women?s goals for academic and professional success make for a schedule packed with student clubs, internships, and challenging classes. A committed relationship would drain energy and complicate decisions about post-college opportunities. That is partially, the article describes, why some female students choose instead to move from one casual fling to another. Still, hookups are often awkward for them:
Women said universally that hookups could not exist without alcohol, because they were for the most part too uncomfortable to pair off with men they did not know well without being drunk?.
[One female student recalled having too much to drink at a party], and she remembered telling [a boy from her floor] that she wanted to go home.
Instead, she said, he took her to his room and had sex with her while she drifted in and out of consciousness. She woke up with her head spinning. The next day, not sure what to think about what had happened, she described the night to her friends as though it were a funny story: I was so drunk, I fell asleep while I was having sex!
It?s this aspect of the hookup culture that is particularly toxic. As women engage more frequently in casual sex, and as the encounters are fueled by drugs and alcohol, the line between consensual sex and abuse is increasingly blurred. And many universities have now adopted a ?preponderance of evidence? standard in sexual assault proceedings, making convictions that much easier. All of these factors create a recipe where both women and men can be victimized.
Technique transports nonmagnetic particles such as cells, water droplets and coffee grounds
Technique transports nonmagnetic particles such as cells, water droplets and coffee grounds
By Meghan Rosen
Web edition: July 15, 2013
Enlarge
FLOATING OBJECTS
Using a platform of aluminum blocks to manipulate sound waves, researchers can move levitating objects (such as this droplet of florescent green dye).
Credit: Courtesy of Dimos Poulikakos
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Levitating objects can spin, glide and collide together ? no magnets or magic tricks required.
Using steady streams of sound waves, engineers maneuvered hovering toothpicks, coffee granules and water droplets through the air, a team from ETH Zurich reports July 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists could use the touch-free technique to gently handle delicate or hazardous lab chemicals or to avoid contaminating cells in biological experiments.
?It?s a beautiful piece of work,? says Penn State bioengineer Tony Jun Huang, who has used sound to manipulate particles in liquid. In a single device, the study?s authors can move two airborne particles in different directions or make them converge. No one has done that before, Huang says.
Scientists have known for years how to use sound waves to hoist particles in the air, a process known as acoustic levitation. But moving the lifted bits around was more challenging. The sound waves tend to trap a levitated object in a fixed pocket of space.
The new technique moves the pockets around by deforming a field of sound waves, letting researchers transport trapped objects several centimeters, says study coauthor Dimos Poulikakos, a mechanical engineer at ETH Zurich.
?Before, it was like you had a beautiful car, but could only park it,? Poulikakos says. ?Now you can drive the car.?
To achieve levitation, Poulikakos and colleagues vibrate aluminum blocks about the size of postage stamps up and down, like tiny jackhammers. The rapid buzz kicks up sound waves that sail upward until they hit a Plexiglas reflector and then bounce back down to the blocks.
When these falling waves run into the climbing ones, they can cancel out, creating a low-pressure pocket that can support an object?s weight.
By adjusting vibration rates to control the position of the pocket, the researchers could float particles across a chessboard of the aluminum blocks. The team used the technique to mix droplets of cells with DNA. They also glided a bubble of water into a globule of sodium metal to demonstrate how to safely work with hazardous materials from a distance. When the water struck the metal, the combo exploded, spewing flammable hydrogen gas.?
Poulikakos and colleagues also drifted together levitating drops of water and instant coffee granules to make tiny cups of joe. ?That was just for fun,? he says. But the experiment highlights an advantage over magnetic levitation: The new technique doesn?t require the floating objects to be magnetic.
The method may also be an improvement over microfluidic chips, devices that mix tiny amounts fluids together in channels carved into plastic or glass, says Pierre Lambert a microfluidics engineer at the Universit? libre de Bruxelles. ?Though the chips allow scientists to mix chemicals, the liquids still contact the devices? carved channels. Levitation can keep the liquids from touching anything but air.
?Basically everything that is done on microfluidic chips could be done by levitation,? Lambert says.
Now, Poulikakos is scaling up his chessboard and working on moving heavier objects, such as steel pellets.
By gliding a globule of metal sodium (left) into a droplet of water (right), engineers demonstrate how to safely handle hazardous chemicals using acoustic levitation. Courtesy of Dimos Poulikakos
Study determines source of oil sheens near the site of Deepwater HorizonPublic release date: 16-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Julie Cohen julie.cohen@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-7220 University of California - Santa Barbara
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) A chemical analysis of oil sheens recently found floating at the ocean's surface near the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster indicates that the source is pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the sunken rig.
First reported to the U.S. Coast Guard by British Petroleum (BP) in mid-September 2012, the oil sheens raised public concern that the Macondo well, which was capped in July 2010, might be leaking. However, both the Macondo well and the natural oil seeps common to the Gulf of Mexico were confidently ruled out, according to researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The research was published today in Environmental Science & Technology.
The researchers used a recently patented method to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the oil sheens and to estimate the location of the source based on the extent to which gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens. Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, scientists can compare it to other samples to determine if they share a common source.
"This appears to be a slow leak from the wreckage of the rig, not another catastrophic discharge from a deep oil reservoir," says geochemist David Valentine, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UCSB. "Continued oil discharge to the Gulf of Mexico from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig is not a good thing, but there is some comfort that the amount of leakage is limited to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the rig."
Lead scientists Valentine and WHOI's Chris Reddy were eminently prepared to investigate these sheens. They have worked on Deepwater Horizon for much of the last three years, investigating a wide range of problems, including the composition of the oil, detection of subsurface plumes, the biodegradation of the oil, the fate of the dispersants, and the chemical transition from floating oil slicks to sunken tar balls.
"Because of our ongoing funding from the National Science Foundation, we were prepared to interrogate the source of mysterious oil sheens in the Gulf of Mexico," said Valentine. "We've been exploring new ways to do this for several years in the context of natural seeps and this event provided us an opportunity to apply our fundamental advances to a real-world problem. This is a classic case where fundamental science finds a real-world application."
This research analyzed 14 sheen samples skimmed from the sea surface during two trips to the Gulf of Mexico. Using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC), a technique developed in Reddy's lab, the researchers first confirmed the sheens contained oil from the Macondo well. But the sheen samples also contained trace amounts of olefins, industrial chemicals used in drilling operations. The presence of olefins provided a fingerprint for the sheens that the scientists could compare to the library of samples they had analyzed over the past three years.
Olefins are not found in crude oil and their uniform distribution in the sheens indicated that the Macondo well was unlikely to be the source. The team surmised that the sheens must be coming from equipment exposed to olefins during drilling operations. "The occurrence of these man-made olefins in all of our sheen samples points to a single main source, which contains both Macondo oil and lesser amounts of the drilling fluids that harbor the olefins," said Valentine. "This pointed us to the wreckage of the rig, which was known to have both, as the most likely source for the sheens."
The research team compared the sheen samples to other field samples, some of which they expected would contain olefins and some they thought would not. The reference samples included two pieces of debris from Deepwater Horizon found floating in early May 2010, as well as oil collected by BP in October 2012 during an inspection of the 80-ton cofferdam that had been abandoned at the sea floor after its use in a failed attempt to cover the Macondo well in 2010.
The team's GCxGC analysis of BP's cofferdam samples definitively showed it was not the sole source of the leak as there were no olefins present. Prior to the analysis the cofferdam had become the prime suspect as the source when BP found small amounts of oil leaking from its top. BP acquired oil samples from this leak point before sealing the leak, thinking they had resolved the problem. However, the sheens on the sea surface persisted, and the lack of olefins pointed to another source entirely.
When Valentine and Reddy compared the chemical makeup of the sheens with debris found floating in 2010, they found a match. That debris, which came from the rig itself, was coated with oil and was contaminated by drilling mud olefins.
"The ability to fingerprint synthetic hydrocarbons allowed us to crack this case," Valentine said. "We were able to exclude a number of suspects and match the olefin fingerprint in the new oil slicks to that of the wreckage from the sunken rig."
The chemical analysis also told researchers which sheens had surfaced more recently than others, allowing them to reconstruct a trajectory for local ocean currents that pointed back to the oil's source. By looking for sheens that showed the least amount of evaporation, they determined that oil surfaced closer to Deepwater Horizon wreckage than the to cofferdam site.
To explain how the oil might be trapped and released from the wreckage, the scientists point out that when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank, it was holding tanks containing hundreds of barrels of a mixture of drilling mud and oil. Over time, corrosive seawater can create small holes through which oil can slowly escape to the surface. The researchers suspect that the containers on the rig holding trapped oil may be the source of the recent oil sheen.
In the process of their research, Valentine and Reddy operated with transparency, alerting the government and BP to their research plans. They believe this fostered a collegial relationship that ultimately improved their research. Throughout the effort to find the source of the oil, BP and various federal agencies showed keen interest in the independently conducted research. "We had a fruitful exchange and developed a collegial relationship with both BP and the government. Both provided us with data, and in turn we gave them a preview of our findings with no strings attached," says Valentine.
"This is a good study, but the long-lasting impacts of this effort highlight that academia can play a useful role during a crisis," said Reddy. "We can be unbiased and collaborative without losing our integrity. In this case, interacting with representatives of the government and BP is a win-win."
###
In addition to Valentine and Reddy, the research team consisted of WHOI postdoctoral researcher Christoph Aeppli, UCSB postdoctoral scholar Matthias Kellermann, and Robert K. Nelson, a member of the WHOI technical staff.
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study determines source of oil sheens near the site of Deepwater HorizonPublic release date: 16-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Julie Cohen julie.cohen@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-7220 University of California - Santa Barbara
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) A chemical analysis of oil sheens recently found floating at the ocean's surface near the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster indicates that the source is pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the sunken rig.
First reported to the U.S. Coast Guard by British Petroleum (BP) in mid-September 2012, the oil sheens raised public concern that the Macondo well, which was capped in July 2010, might be leaking. However, both the Macondo well and the natural oil seeps common to the Gulf of Mexico were confidently ruled out, according to researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The research was published today in Environmental Science & Technology.
The researchers used a recently patented method to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the oil sheens and to estimate the location of the source based on the extent to which gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens. Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, scientists can compare it to other samples to determine if they share a common source.
"This appears to be a slow leak from the wreckage of the rig, not another catastrophic discharge from a deep oil reservoir," says geochemist David Valentine, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UCSB. "Continued oil discharge to the Gulf of Mexico from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig is not a good thing, but there is some comfort that the amount of leakage is limited to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the rig."
Lead scientists Valentine and WHOI's Chris Reddy were eminently prepared to investigate these sheens. They have worked on Deepwater Horizon for much of the last three years, investigating a wide range of problems, including the composition of the oil, detection of subsurface plumes, the biodegradation of the oil, the fate of the dispersants, and the chemical transition from floating oil slicks to sunken tar balls.
"Because of our ongoing funding from the National Science Foundation, we were prepared to interrogate the source of mysterious oil sheens in the Gulf of Mexico," said Valentine. "We've been exploring new ways to do this for several years in the context of natural seeps and this event provided us an opportunity to apply our fundamental advances to a real-world problem. This is a classic case where fundamental science finds a real-world application."
This research analyzed 14 sheen samples skimmed from the sea surface during two trips to the Gulf of Mexico. Using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC), a technique developed in Reddy's lab, the researchers first confirmed the sheens contained oil from the Macondo well. But the sheen samples also contained trace amounts of olefins, industrial chemicals used in drilling operations. The presence of olefins provided a fingerprint for the sheens that the scientists could compare to the library of samples they had analyzed over the past three years.
Olefins are not found in crude oil and their uniform distribution in the sheens indicated that the Macondo well was unlikely to be the source. The team surmised that the sheens must be coming from equipment exposed to olefins during drilling operations. "The occurrence of these man-made olefins in all of our sheen samples points to a single main source, which contains both Macondo oil and lesser amounts of the drilling fluids that harbor the olefins," said Valentine. "This pointed us to the wreckage of the rig, which was known to have both, as the most likely source for the sheens."
The research team compared the sheen samples to other field samples, some of which they expected would contain olefins and some they thought would not. The reference samples included two pieces of debris from Deepwater Horizon found floating in early May 2010, as well as oil collected by BP in October 2012 during an inspection of the 80-ton cofferdam that had been abandoned at the sea floor after its use in a failed attempt to cover the Macondo well in 2010.
The team's GCxGC analysis of BP's cofferdam samples definitively showed it was not the sole source of the leak as there were no olefins present. Prior to the analysis the cofferdam had become the prime suspect as the source when BP found small amounts of oil leaking from its top. BP acquired oil samples from this leak point before sealing the leak, thinking they had resolved the problem. However, the sheens on the sea surface persisted, and the lack of olefins pointed to another source entirely.
When Valentine and Reddy compared the chemical makeup of the sheens with debris found floating in 2010, they found a match. That debris, which came from the rig itself, was coated with oil and was contaminated by drilling mud olefins.
"The ability to fingerprint synthetic hydrocarbons allowed us to crack this case," Valentine said. "We were able to exclude a number of suspects and match the olefin fingerprint in the new oil slicks to that of the wreckage from the sunken rig."
The chemical analysis also told researchers which sheens had surfaced more recently than others, allowing them to reconstruct a trajectory for local ocean currents that pointed back to the oil's source. By looking for sheens that showed the least amount of evaporation, they determined that oil surfaced closer to Deepwater Horizon wreckage than the to cofferdam site.
To explain how the oil might be trapped and released from the wreckage, the scientists point out that when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank, it was holding tanks containing hundreds of barrels of a mixture of drilling mud and oil. Over time, corrosive seawater can create small holes through which oil can slowly escape to the surface. The researchers suspect that the containers on the rig holding trapped oil may be the source of the recent oil sheen.
In the process of their research, Valentine and Reddy operated with transparency, alerting the government and BP to their research plans. They believe this fostered a collegial relationship that ultimately improved their research. Throughout the effort to find the source of the oil, BP and various federal agencies showed keen interest in the independently conducted research. "We had a fruitful exchange and developed a collegial relationship with both BP and the government. Both provided us with data, and in turn we gave them a preview of our findings with no strings attached," says Valentine.
"This is a good study, but the long-lasting impacts of this effort highlight that academia can play a useful role during a crisis," said Reddy. "We can be unbiased and collaborative without losing our integrity. In this case, interacting with representatives of the government and BP is a win-win."
###
In addition to Valentine and Reddy, the research team consisted of WHOI postdoctoral researcher Christoph Aeppli, UCSB postdoctoral scholar Matthias Kellermann, and Robert K. Nelson, a member of the WHOI technical staff.
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship.
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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.
CAIRO (AP) ? A senior U.S. diplomat held talks Monday with Egypt's interim leaders as well as the head of the military in the highest level visit by an American official since the Egyptian army ousted the country's first democratically elected leader.
The two-day visit by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to Cairo comes nearly two weeks after Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was overthrown by the military following days of mass protests. Washington has been sharply criticized by both Morsi's supporters and opponents for what each side perceives as support for their rival's position.
Burns met with the military-backed administration led by interim President Adly Manour and Prime Minister-designate Hazem el-Beblawi, as well as army chief and Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
There was no immediate word on the discussions with the interim civilian leaders. But the military said in a statement posted on the army spokesman's Facebook page that Burns and el-Sissi discussed "the recent political developments in Egypt ... and ways to reinforce cooperation" between the two countries.
Burns, the No. 2 American diplomat, is also expected to meet with civil society groups and business leaders during his trip.
Ahead of the visit, the State Department said Burns would stress in his talks in Cairo U.S. support for the Egyptian people and an inclusive democratic process in which all political groups can participate.
A Muslim Brotherhood official said the group does not currently have a meeting scheduled with Burns.
The parallels between development and pollution tracks in industrializing poor countries now and the United States half a century ago are remarkable.
Jim Yardley?s story on the iridescent, malodorous effluent from Bangladesh?s factories and mills provides the latest echoes, harking back to Fishkill Creek and the Hudson River, as described to me for a 1996 feature by longtime residents of the Hudson Valley. My Twitter item above leads you to the relevant articles.
I?m going to reach out to historians and others focused on the factors driving environmental cleanups in the past to see if there?s any evidence that today?s polluting nations can somehow accelerate their journey along what some economists call the ?Environmental Kuznets Curve,? a pattern described well in 2003 by David I. Stern, an economist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:
The environmental Kuznets curve is a hypothesized relationship between various indicators of environmental degradation and income per capita. In the early stages of economic growth degradation and pollution increase, but beyond some level of income per capita (which will vary for different indicators) the trend reverses, so that at high-income levels economic growth leads to environmental improvement.
Master Trainer and gifted Facilitator, Bennie Naude, has taught EFT in the UK, Australia, Europe and South Africa. Bennie is a very versatile speaker and able to meet and match the specialized interests of all participants present, while demonstrating this amazing gift which is EFT.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques or ?Tapping?) is a technique that you can learn in minutes. EFT has been proven clinically effective as a simple yet powerful way of releasing fears, phobias, anxieties, angers, addictions, and all kinds of emotional and physical issues.
Prolonged stress and trauma affects the Amygdala situated in the Limbic System of the Brain which signals the brain to mobilise the body to Flight, Fight or Freeze. Brain scans have shown that while tapping on acupressure points along meridians, or pathways of energy throughout the body, while being tuned in to a specific problem or issue, the mind/body energy system sends a calming response to the body. The Amygdala recognizes that it is now ?safe? thus de-activating the Brain?s stress response, releasing stress and trauma at its root. This is a new paradigm in healing, no longer taking months or years of therapy and or chronic medication to resolve problems. With EFT, specific issues can often be dissolved in minutes ? even forever!
EFT is about stress release. EFT is not about stress management.
Most physical pain has an emotional component. By tapping on the emotion related to the pain, the underlying feelings of anger, resentment, guilt, shame, anxiety or frustration behind it, will come to the surface and then these feelings are tapped upon ? many people find their pain decreasing or even disappearing entirely. EFT can identify the limiting beliefs we hold about ourselves and others and thereby remove the blocks to achieving a life of vitality, love and abundance.
WHO BENEFITS FROM EFT ? EVERYONE! Anyone can learn how to apply EFT on themselves. Men, women and children, in fact everyone interested in helping themselves or others benefits from EFT. Most people experience relief and relaxation the first time they try it, while others need a little more practice.
This invaluable tool is a perfect addition to any healing practice. Many professionals have incorporated EFT into their specific modalities. EFT has been taught to physicians, nurses, alternative health care providers, psychologists and psychiatrists, therapists, dentists, chiropractors, nutritionists, mental health counselors, social workers, educators, hypnotherapists, massage therapists, reflexologists, Reiki Masters, spiritual/energy healers, ministers of religion, teachers and to parents and their children.
Exposure to others stress, anxiety and trauma, affects one?s own health and well-being. Tapping on yourself will immediately reduce your feelings of pressure and frustration, allowing you to help those who need it the most, in the moment.
Date and Time: Thursday 18th July ? 16.30 ? 18.00
Venue: Conference Room at the Lofts Hotel, Thesan Island, Knysna
Bookings: There is no charge for this event, however bookings are limited so please call to confirm your space ? Jeanne Booth on 083 293 3970.
For more about EFT go to www.deepliving.com/eft-training and also www.emofree.com.
Just a couple of months back, there was yet one more natural skin care commercial banned from being testinged in the UK. The commercial was for an anti ? crease serum, and it was prohibited as a result of ?Unacceptable Image Manipulation?. The advert naturally consisted of ? Prior to? and ?After? photos, as do many of the cosmetics adverts.
In this certain situation, the distinction between both collections of photos was astonishing, but as we later figured out, those pictures were not to be relied on. Sad to say, the version is a reputable celeb, and the item is made by among the most significant names in the industry, so of course individuals are going to be quickly encouraged.
If you are significant regarding discovering the very best anti aging cream, then you have to look past flashy TV commercials, and you should look beyond brand. Rather, you require to concentrate on exactly what components are in a specific product.
There are numerous ingredients which are known to be useful for skin, yet there are even more ingredients which are the precise reverse. A number of usual ingredients have the possible to trigger major health problems, and yet you still find them in plenty of brand name items. In a nutshell, you ought to just use ?all natural? natural skin care items.
Whatever Credits Should You Be Seeking?
1) The Capability To Raise Collagen An Elastin Production ? A great moisturizer needs to include several natural active ingredients which, when taken in, urge your physical body to create more collagen and elastin compared to it currently is.
2) The Capacity To Optimize Hyaluronic Acid Levels ? Every human being has a hazardous enzyme which breaks down hyaluronic acid which is current in your skin. This is perfectly typical as well as necessary, but when these enzymes begin damaging down excessive of this acid, troubles start to emerge. A excellent hydrating cream needs to for that reason also include at the very least one ingredient efficient in inhibiting this dangerous enzyme.
3) The Ability To Damage Cost-free Radicals ? It would call for a number of web pages to explain just about cost-free radicals and the damage they can cause within the body. For convenience, permit?s just say they are the bad boys. Other than playing a significant function in individuals establishing cancer cells, they additionally induce bunches of various other damage, including things like premature maturing and etc. It goes without stating then that any great skin cream should include one or more anti corroding active ingredients, such as organic supplement E.
The large majority of brand name lotions and ointments do consist of vitamin E, however not all supplement E coincides, so this is something worth thinking of when purchasing your natural skin care items. You will certainly also locate that most ? brand? creams benefit from mineral oil as a moisturizer. Many of the time it is petroleum based mineral oil, and this might lock moisture in, however it does not moisturize your skin at all.
Finding the very best anti aging moisturize could commonly need a specific quantity of effort on your part, yet the prospective conveniences make it a very worthwhile objective. Not just are you likely to observe great outcomes, however you will certainly likewise have tranquility of thoughts understanding that you are not placing your health in danger. neutrogena anti aging skin care
Well, to it the easiest way (or at least the cleanest) I'd paint first. Then do the cabinets and countertops. Do the carpets and flooring last. This way, you won't get paint from the walls all over the place. At least, that's how I would do it.
new kitchen countertops, reface cabinets, interior paint & baseboards, new carpet and flooring
SANFORD, Fla--George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman whose trial for the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin riveted viewers and sparked a national conversation about race and justice, was found not guilty on all charges Saturday.
Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted on charges of second-degree murder in the death of Martin, a 17 year old whom the defendant shot during a scuffle in a nearby gated community on Feb 26, 2012. The six-woman jury also found Zimmerman not guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The jury signaled they had reached a verdict 9:45 pm ET and filed into the courtroom around 10 pm. After the verdict was read, Judge Debra Nelson polled the jurors to make sure each agreed with the decision. She then told Zimmerman he was free to go.
Zimmerman showed little emotion as the verdict was announced.
The decision from the jury had been expected to spark outrage from Martin family supporters who say the teen's death was ignored by police and prosecutors for weeks because of his race. Martin was black, and Zimmerman is half white and half Hispanic. But more than an hour after court was adjourned, only a handful of demonstrators were outside the courthouse and they were heavily outnumbered by members of the media trying to interview them.
Estefania Galvez, a protester with the national "Justice for Trayvon" group, said protesters will hold a press conference on Sunday at the courthouse to announce a national day of protest on Monday. There were reports of some demonstrations in other cities sparking late Saturday night. Dozens of people marched in San Francisco holding signs in support of Martin, and another spontaneous rally was reported in Washington D.C.
Martin's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read. They later tweeted thanks to their supporters.
"Lord during my darkest hour I lean on you. You are all that I have. At the end of the day, GOD is still in control," Fulton tweeted. "Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will love you forever Trayvon!!! In the name of Jesus!!!"
Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father, tweeted, "Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY," he wrote.
The jurors deliberated 12 hours on Saturday--including a one-hour lunch during which they were allowed to discuss the case--before alerting the court that they would like the attorneys to clarify the charge of manslaughter. The attorneys on both sides told the jury that they could not speak about the charge "in general terms" but would be happy to answer a more specific question.
The jury never sent back a more specific inquiry. They only made one other request during their deliberations--for an itemized list of all the evidence presented during the trial on Friday. They reached their verdict after 16 hours of deliberating over two days. The jurors, whose identities are protected by a court order, declined an opportunity to talk to the media after the verdict.
In a televised three-week trial, jurors heard the defense and prosecution each paint very different pictures of the night in question. Zimmerman was an angry ?wannabe cop? who was seething with anger at a rash of break-ins in his neighborhood when he pursued and shot Martin, the state has argued. The defense, meanwhile, maintained Zimmerman was within his rights to follow and question Martin, and that it was the teen who became violent, prompting Zimmerman to shoot as a way to save his own life.
The case ignited a national debate over self-defense laws and race, prompting marches and demonstrations around the country. Local leaders have urged members of the community to remain peaceful no matter what verdict the jury hands down.
The prosecution failed to convince the jury that Zimmerman had ?a depraved mind without regard for human life? when he shot Martin, which was required for second-degree murder. A lesser manslaughter conviction could have been handed down if the jury believed Zimmerman had no lawful reason to kill Martin, even if he bore Martin no ill will. The law says if Zimmerman had a ?reasonable? belief that his own life was in jeopardy or that he could suffer bodily harm from Martin, he was justified in killing him.
At a press conference following the verdict, prosecutors expressed disappointment with the outcome but urged the community to remain calm.
"We have from the beginning just prayed for the truth to come out and for peace to be the result and that continues to be our prayers," prosecutor John Guy said.
But prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda insisted the fundamentals of the case should have favored the prosecution. "We respect the jury's verdict but really this is about a kid being followed by a stranger," de la Rionda said.
Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney advising the Martin family, echoed that plea. "For Trayvon to rest in peace, we must all be peaceful," Crump said at a press conference.
Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, told reporters that he believed Zimmerman will now try to return to a normal life. O'Mara said that Zimmerman was used as a "scapegoat" by people who wanted to create a civil rights violation, and was thus overcharged in the crime. "It certainly wouldn't have happened if he was black," O'Mara said of his client being charged with murder.
O'Mara also compared the media to "mad scientists" who had turned his client into a "monster" with shoddy reporting.
O'Mara mentioned that he will vigorously defend any forthcoming civil charges against his client, and that he may seek to recoup some of Zimmerman's defense costs from the state.
Witnesses gave conflicting testimony over who was the aggressor of the fight and both Zimmerman's family and Martin's family have claimed it was their relative who could be heard screaming for help in the background of a 911 call during the fight.
Zimmerman wasn?t arrested in the shooting for weeks, after a public outcry. Bill Lee, then the police chief of Sanford, said Zimmerman was justified under Florida?s stand your ground self defense law. Lee lost his job after the incident, and a special prosecutor was appointed to argue the case.
LONDON (AP) ? Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan bought the English soccer club Fulham on Friday, becoming the sixth American owner among the 20 teams currently in the Premier League.
The deal between previous owner Mohamed Al Fayed and Khan for the sale of the London club was completed on Friday and approved by the Premier League. Financial details were not disclosed.
"Fulham is the perfect club at the perfect time for me," Khan said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "I want to be clear, I do not view myself so much as the owner of Fulham, but a custodian of the club on behalf of its fans. My priority is to ensure the club and Craven Cottage each have a viable and sustainable Premier League future that fans of present and future generations can be proud of.
"We will manage the club's financial and operational affairs with prudence and care, with youth development and community programs as fundamentally important elements of Fulham's future."
Al Fayed, an Egyptian businessman, has owned Fulham since 1997 and is leaving the club debt-free as it prepares for a 13th Premier League season.
"He is giving me the privilege and responsibility of serving as the next custodian of Fulham Football club," Khan said. "I am extremely honored to accept and want to thank him, on behalf of everyone who loves Fulham, for 16 years of exceptional service to the Club. Mr. Al Fayed rescued the club in its hour of need and has led it to a sustained place within the Premier League."
Manchester United (Glazer family), Arsenal (Stan Kroenke), Liverpool (John Henry), Aston Villa (Randy Lerner) and Sunderland (Ellis Short) also are controlled by American owners.
NBC's networks will televise matches from August under a $250 million, three-year deal.
Fulham plays at Craven Cottage, a 25,700-seat stadium on the banks of the River Thames in west London. The venue has been the club's home for most years since 1896, and the team was given approval last year to redevelop its Riverside stand and increase capacity to 30,000.
The Cottagers, who finished 12th last season, have never won a major trophy but reached the final of both the FA Cup in 1975 and the Europa League in 2010 under current England coach Roy Hodgson. Fulham has had a string of American players in recent seasons, including Clint Dempsey, Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra, Kasey Keller and Eddie Johnson, and a hospitality area at the stadium is named after McBride.
The sale comes with Khan's Jaguars preparing to play NFL regular-season games in London.
The Jaguars have a deal to play one home game in London for four consecutive seasons starting in October at Wembley Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers.
Khan, who owns Flex-N-Gate Corporation, a leading American automotive supplier, moved to the U.S from his native Pakistan as a 16-year-old in 1967. Forbes magazine estimates Khan is worth $2.9 billion.
"By his hard work, vision and determination, Shahid Khan has become a living embodiment of the American success story," Al Fayed said. "His achievements speak for themselves. I met him twice prior to our successful transaction this week and have been very favorably impressed."
The 84-year-old Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department store, said he is retiring to spend time playing soccer with his grandchildren.
Al Fayed has been largely adored by fans for investing money into the club, but one of his contentious decisions was to place a statue of the late pop star Michael Jackson outside the stadium in 2011. Al Fayed wanted to commemorate his friendship with the "King of Pop," who died in 2009.
Al Fayed's son Dodi died in a 1997 car crash in Paris along with Princess Diana
___
Rob Harris can be reached at www.twitter.com/RobHarris
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Public release date: 16-Jul-2013
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Master Trainer and gifted Facilitator, Bennie Naude, has taught EFT in the UK, Australia, Europe and South Africa. Bennie is a very versatile speaker and able to meet and match the specialized interests of all participants present, while demonstrating this amazing gift which is EFT.