Motherlode Blog: Study Links Autism With Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy

A cautiously worded study based on data collected in Sweden has found that ?in utero exposure to both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (S.S.R.I.?s) and nonselective monoamine reuptake inhibitors (tricyclic antidepressants) was associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders, particularly without intellectual disability.?

The Swedish medical birth register (which contains data on current drug use reported by mothers early in their pregnancies), along with a system of publicly funded screenings for autism spectrum disorders and extensive national and regional registers of various health issues, make a detailed, population-based case-control study possible ? one that controls for other variables like family income, parent educational level, maternal and paternal age and even maternal region of birth (all factors the authors note have been previously associated with autism).

This is the second study in two years to associate antidepressant use during pregnancy with an increased incidence of autism in exposed children. An earlier, smaller study in California also found a modest increase in risk. The Sweden-based study could not (and did not) exclude the possibility that it was the severe depression, rather than the use of antidepressants, that created the association, but the smaller California study (which considered only S.S.R.I.?s) found ?no increase in risk? for mothers with a history of mental health treatment in the absence of prenatal exposure to S.S.R.I.?s.

The authors of the current study took a very cautious approach to their findings:

The results of the present study as well as the U.S. study present a major dilemma in relation to clinical advice to pregnant women with depression. If antidepressants increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder, it would be reasonable to warn women about this possibility. However, if the association actually reflects the risk of autism spectrum disorder related to the nongenetic effects of severe depression during pregnancy, treatment may reduce the risk. Informed decisions would also need to consider weighing the wider risks of untreated depression with the other adverse outcomes related to antidepressant use. With the current evidence, if the potential risk of autism were a consideration in the decision-making process, it may be reasonable to think about, wherever appropriate, nondrug approaches such as psychological treatments. However, their timely availability to pregnant women will need to be enhanced.

Others working in the field are more inclined to draw a line between the prenatal drug exposure and the increased risk of autism. ?It really shouldn?t come as that much of a surprise given that numerous animal studies have shown that exposure during development leads to changes in the brain and changes in behavior ? often that mimic autism,? said Dr. Adam C. Urato, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Tufts University School of Medicine and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass. (Dr. Urato obviously didn?t speak in links, but you can find the animal studies he refers to here and here.)

?And why should it surprise us that medications that can change brain chemistry and function might alter the development of the brain and behavior?? Dr. Urato argues that the risks of antidepressant use during pregnancy outweigh what he sees as the limited benefits.

One conclusion that is simple to draw is that it?s extraordinarily difficult for a pregnant woman with clinical depression to find some definitive answer about what?s best for her in her situation. I?ve spoken to other researchers in the past who have described for me how difficult it is to put together a study that separates the risks of depression itself in pregnancy from the risks, if any, of the drugs used to treat it. As the researchers in Sweden note, it?s unlikely that conclusive evidence on this issue will ever be available.

If you?ve been pregnant with clinical depression, where did you go to find the information and advice you needed?

Updated | April 23, 2013: In re-reading this post, I?ve realized I should have included exactly how ?modest? the increase in attributable risk was (an increase that, again, wasn?t ?caused? by prenatal exposure to either form of antidepressant but rather associated with it). In this study, the increase was just 0.6 percent in the studied population. I?ve been surprised by the number of readers who, in the comments, took this cautiously observed association and blew it up into something rather larger. Happily, the entire study (unlike many) is freely available at the link above. You?ll find other, more extensive (but still far from conclusive) discussions of what these numbers do and don?t mean for individual women here, here, and here.

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Source: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/study-links-autism-with-antidepressant-use-during-pregnancy/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Suspect in Canada terror plot rambles in court appearance

TORONTO (AP) ? A man accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada gave a rambling statement in a Toronto court Wednesday and appeared to be saying he does not recognize its jurisdiction.

Law enforcement officials in the U.S. said the target was a train that runs between New York City and Canada. Canadian investigators say Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35, received guidance from members of al-Qaida in Iran. Iranian government officials have said the government had nothing to do with the plot.

"My comment is the following because all of those conclusions were taken out based on criminal code and all of us know that this criminal code is not a holy book," Esseghaier said at the hearing Wednesday. "We cannot rely on the conclusions taken out from these judgments."

The judge told him to "save that for another court," and take the advice of his lawyers. He was given a May 23 court date.

Charges against the two men in Canada include conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group. Police ? tipped off by an imam worried by the behavior of one of the suspects ? said it was the first known attack planned by al-Qaida in Canada. The two could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

In a brief court appearance in Montreal on Tuesday, Esseghaier declined to be represented by a court-appointed lawyer. He made a brief statement in French in which he rejected the allegations against him.

Esseghaier, who was arrested Monday afternoon at a McDonald's restaurant in the train station, was later flown to Toronto for Wednesday's appearance in the city where his trial will take place.

Jaser also appeared in court Tuesday in Toronto and also did not enter a plea. He was given a new court date of May 23. The court granted a request by his lawyer, John Norris, for a publication ban on future evidence and testimony.

The case has raised questions about the extent of Shiite-led Iran's relationship with al-Qaida, a predominantly Sunni Arab terrorist network. It also renewed attention on Iran's complicated history with the terror group, which ranges from outright hostility to alliances of convenience and even overtures by Tehran to assist Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Law officials in New York with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press the attack was to take place on the Canadian side of the border. They are not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Jaser's lawyer said on Tuesday that his client questioned the timing of the arrests, pointing to ongoing debates in the Canadian Parliament over a new anti-terrorism law that would expand the powers of police and intelligence agencies.

Norris speaking outside the court said his client is "in a state of shock and disbelief."

He said his client would "defend himself vigorously" against the accusations, and noted Jaser was a permanent resident of Canada who has lived there for 20 years. Norris refused to say where Jaser was from, saying that revealing his nationality in the current climate amounted to demonizing him.

Canadian police have declined to release the men's nationalities, saying only they had been in Canada a "significant amount of time." But a London-based newspaper Al Arab reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources in the Gulf, that Jaser is a Jordanian passport holder with full name Raed Jaser Ibrahim Amouri, who had visited the UAE several times and most recently in September 2011. The newspaper reported that the suspect also visited other Gulf countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.

Esseghaier's, in a profile on a university department website ? which has since been removed ? says he was born in Tunis, Tunisia.

Muhammad Robert Heft, president of the P4E Support Group Inc., a non-profit organization that provides support to Muslims in Canada, said Jaser's father Mohammad Jaser came to him several times citing concerns about the radicalization of his son. The discussions took place between 2010 and 2011, while the father was living in a basement apartment in Heft's home in Markham, Ontario. The pair took up accommodation there while awaiting surgery for Jaser's younger brother, who had been in a serious car accident, because the apartment didn't have stairs.

"He came to me about his son saying he how concerned he was getting about the rigidness of his son and his interpretation of Islam. He was becoming self-righteous, becoming pushy, pushing his views on how much they (his family) should be practicing as a Muslim," said Heft.

"His son was becoming overzealous and intolerant in his understanding of the religion," he said. "Those are the telltale signs that can lead into the radicalization process."

The investigation surrounding the planned attack was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Canadian police said the men never got close to carrying out the attack.

The warning first came from an imam in Toronto, who in turn was tipped off by suspicious behavior on the part of one of the suspect.

___

Associated Press writers Benjamin Shingler in Montreal, Tom Hays and Jennifer Peltz in New York, Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Brian Murphy in the United Arab Emirates contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-canada-terror-plot-denies-charges-220238197.html

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Amputee Skateboarder Hopes to Inspire Others With Disabilities ...

Christine Lee, NBC 5 Irving Reporter

Jon Comer, a professional skateboarder who lost his leg as a child, inspires others to push the limits no matter what their disabilities.

Professional Skateboarder Inspires Others

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For the second year, RISE Adaptive Sports and the city of Irving are hosting an adaptive skate event for disabled children, adults and veterans.

Among the participants is Jon Comer, a professional skateboarder who lost his leg when he was four years old. Comer said his physical disability didn't keep him from pursuing his passion, and on Saturday he will be inspiring others to do the same.?

"I got hit by a car when I was four years old and then lost my foot when I was seven just due to complications from that," said Comer.

Since he was 10 years old, skateboarding became a passion and Comer never saw his amputation as a disability and has been a professional skateboarder since 1997. He's hoping to inspire the kids to push the limits no matter what their disabilities are.?

"I would destroy my prosthetics all the time," said Comer. "And I'd go in and I'd get fixed up so I can get back out there and skate some more."

Nonprofit Rise Adaptive Sports is working with the city of Irving for the second year to help raise awareness and inspiration.?

"We want people to realize that we have a diverse population, which includes people with physical and mental disabilities, and we ought to be providing services for them as well," said Joseph Moses, city of Irving recreation superintendent.

Chris Goad, executive director of Rise Adaptive Sports, hopes the event inspires those reaching for their dreams, like Comer.?

"Doing something like this really helps with self-esteem and confidence," said Goad. "And especially if we can get kids in the fold at an early age, it helps them with school, knowing that they can accomplish things despite disabilities."

The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Lively Pointe Skate Park on Saturday, April 27.

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Source: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Amputee-Skateboarder-Hopes-to-Inspire-Others-204562651.html

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Gwyneth Paltrow Named World's Most Beautiful Woman

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/gwyneth-paltrow-named-worlds-most-beautiful-woman/

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Five Favorite Films with Dennis Quaid

Dennis Quaid came into his own as one of the astronauts in 1983's The Right Stuff, and has since been one of America's hardest-working, most consistent actors, appearing in everything from Innerspace and Wyatt Earp to Far from Heaven and Traffic. (And lest we forget his gallant, if doomed, effort to hold together Movie 43.) This week he plays dad to Zac Efron's rebellious son in Ramin Bahrani's At Any Price, and with the film opening in limited release, we had a chance to sit down with Quaid recently and talk about his favorite movies.

I think my favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia. To me, it's just about a perfect film; in the performances and what it means to me. I saw it as a boy -- and I just can't stop watching it, every time it comes on. All David Lean's movies, really. I love Doctor Zhivago, too.

Five Easy Pieces is a film that hit me as a young man. Most of my favorite movies, I think, come from the '70s, in that period where I really wanted to become an actor. Jack Nicholson's performance in that... it's a film that would never be done by a major studio today.

There's Bonnie and Clyde. That's a film that kind of started the new wave in the '70s. That was incredible. I saw that when I was in about the eighth grade, I think. Those characters, and also the history of Bonnie and Clyde, you know... it was something new. I remember, in fact, Bonnie and Clyde came out in either late Spring or early Summer, and then it was pulled. I think it flopped when it came out, and then they brought it back out in the Fall. I mean, I loved it when I first saw it; then they brought it back out in the Fall and it was a huge success.

Scarecrow (Jerry Schatzberg, 1973; 71% Tomatometer)

There's another movie back then called Scarecrow, with Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. They play two hobos that are going across America to open up a car wash. Both performances are just amazing.

I'm gonna say The Godfather -- the first one. That's another movie that's just about a perfect film, you know, from a great filmmaker in his prime.

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At Any Price opens in limited release this week.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927319/news/1927319/

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A name change to 456 as easy as 123? Not quite - Automotive News

DUSTIN WALSH

April 23, 2013 - 12:01 pm ET

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On March 22, A123 Systems Inc. became B456 Systems Inc.

Confusion followed the announcement and continues to follow the battery maker in the wake of its bankruptcy, said Jason Forcier, vice president of its automotive business.

Wanxiang America Corp., the U.S. arm of Chinese supplier titan Wanxiang Group, acquired the automotive, commercial and government assets of A123 Systems Inc., with plants in Livonia and Romulus, for $260 million in a bankruptcy auction in December.

Here's where the distinctions come into play: Wanxiang renamed its newly acquired assets A123 Systems LLC, attempting to benefit from the highly publicized name. (Note the LLC.)

But meanwhile in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, some of the unsold assets and debt remained under scrutiny, most notably with its claim against embattled carmaker Fisker Automotive. The bankrupt estate, under the guidance of a trustee, had 60 days to operate as A123 but then was forced to change its name under bankruptcy code.

Result? B456 Systems Inc.

Media jumped on a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that A123 Systems had changed its name to B456, many assuming that Wanxiang made the change.

Not the case.

I've explained the issue to my editors like this: Think of B456 like Old Carco LLC, the bankrupt estate of Chrysler after the automaker emerged in 2009.

But some media outlets and customers remain perplexed, Forcier said Friday after returning from customer and potential customer visits in Europe.

"It's created a lot of confusion, especially in non-U.S. countries where they don't have the same bankruptcy process," he said. "That was evident in my recent trip, but I hope it's starting to get cleared up. As the estate continues to wind down, it will take care of itself."

Meanwhile, in Michigan, the manufacturing plants of A123 -- not B456 -- are operational but not at full capacity, Forcier said. A123's local employment around Detroit is more than 500, he said, but well below its peak of around 1,000 a year ago.

The battery maker is making headway with automaker interest in the microhybrid space. A microhybrid uses a small ancillary battery -- lead acid like Johnson Controls Inc. or lithium-ion like A123 -- to power electric fuel-saving systems such as start-stop, etc.

"If you look at the next five years, that's where you'll see the majority of the business," Forcier said. "Where electric vehicle demand is driven by the consumer, microhybrid is a technology, like a turbocharger, where the OEMs are looking to improve fuel economy to meet the standards."

A123 is currently supplying 12-volt microhybrid lithium-ion batteries to McLaren Automotive and will begin shipping in larger quantities to Daimler AG, Forcier said.

But electric vehicle demand, or the lack thereof, continues to drag at the bottom line. Despite originally predicting breaking even in 2012, A123 now predicts the end of the cash burn in 2016.

"Capacity is underutilized here and elsewhere in the industry," Forcier said. "But we haven't cut our r&d efforts, and we're not willing to cut other areas any further, which may push out the break-even."

If the battery maker breaks even, that means microhybrid technology has gone mainstream or electric vehicles gained significant traction.

And until then, almost nobody cares whether it's A123 or B456.

Source: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130423/BLOG06/130429971/a-name-change-to-456-as-easy-as-123-not-quite

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Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland

Apr. 23, 2013 ? The alcohol industry -- including supermarkets, drinks companies, and trade associations -- distorted international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government's public health policy to its advantage, according to a study published today in PLOS Medicine.

Researchers, led by Dr Jim McCambridge at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that the alcohol industry had ignored, misrepresented and undermined scientific evidence in submissions made to the Scottish Government's 2008 consultation, "Changing Scotland's relationship with alcohol." The consultation looked at policy proposals to introduce minimum unit pricing and end irresponsible promotions including below-cost selling of alcoholic drinks.

Dr McCambridge said: "There is a broad consensus internationally among researchers that the most effective measures to control problems caused by alcohol are to raise the price, control availability and restrict marketing activities. However, our study shows that key players in the alcohol industry constructed doubt about this wealth of scientific evidence and instead chose to promote weak survey-based evidence as well as making unsubstantiated claims to their advantage.

"These tactics mean it is harder for governments to make evidence-based policy where industry is involved. The public interest is not served by the alcohol industry's misinterpretation of research evidence and we must consider to what extent we should allow the health of the population to be compromised by these commercial interests."

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of York looked at 27 submissions made to the Scottish consultation by the alcohol industry.

Tesco criticised the data supporting the Scottish Government's proposals, claiming there was "little in the way of evidence" to support the impact of price on consumption. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association heavily promoted weak evidence in their submission, citing a small community trial which lacks thorough data.

The Portman Group made unsubstantiated claims that the proposals could "increase the appeal of alcohol to young people by creating a 'mystique'" and thereby "turning alcohol into a 'forbidden fruit'." They also claimed that the approach taken by the Scottish Government had been "widely discredited in research studies" when in fact there is broad consensus among researchers, who strongly support the approach as the correct one.

ASDA also made unsubstantiated claims about the adverse effects of policy proposals, saying they believed "minimum pricing and a promotions ban will create incentives for the black market and criminals and illegal door to door sales."

The findings raise concerns over the alcohol industry's ongoing involvement in alcohol policy-making for England and Wales. Unlike in Scotland, where submissions were available for all to see, not all submissions to the Home Office consultation on the implementation of the Government's Alcohol Strategy will be accessible in the public domain. It is unclear whether minimum unit pricing will be introduced.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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. J. McCambridge, B. Hawkins, C. Holden. Industry Use of Evidence to Influence Alcohol Policy: A Case Study of Submissions to the 2008 Scottish Government Consultation. PLOS Medicine, 2013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001431

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/tRigVtf0LZg/130423172712.htm

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Analysis: Sleeping ad giant Amazon finally stirs

By Alistair Barr and Jennifer Saba

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is known in the advertising industry as the "sleeping giant" because the world's largest Internet retailer harbors a trove of consumer-spending data that many marketers have called an unrealized opportunity.

Now it's awakening to the potential. After running ads on its own website for years, the company has taken the first steps toward becoming a true Internet advertising network, using the knowledge garnered from its data to place targeted ads for some of the world's biggest advertisers across thousands of other websites.

An Amazon mobile ad network, launched late last year, is now blasting ads via apps on smartphones and tablets, including Apple Inc iPhones and devices powered by Google Inc's Android operating system.

For Amazon, an ad business is a new revenue stream with fatter margins than its retail operations. To Google, Facebook Inc and other online ad leaders, Amazon is a threat because it has data they lack.

Google knows what people are searching for. Facebook knows what people like and who their friends are. Amazon knows you searched last week for running shoes, but also that you bought a pair a year ago. That kind of information has advertisers salivating.

"In today's marketing world, data is gold and Amazon is Fort Knox," said Jeff Lanctot, chief media officer at digital ad agency Razorfish, which counts Mercedes Benz USA, Delta Air Lines and McDonald's among its clients.

Lanctot has worked with Amazon for over a decade and says the company's attitude to advertising used to be "take it or leave it."

"Now it's clearly an area they decided to invest in," he said. "They have made a concerted effort to listen to what advertisers want - the type of data you need, the type of scale you are looking for."

ANOTHER $1 BLN BUSINESS?

Amazon is getting into hotly contested turf. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Facebook and AOL command two-thirds of U.S. online advertising, according to eMarketer.

But its consumer data gives it a unique proposition, industry insiders argue. And though the competition will be stiff, it could be worth it.

Online advertising has 20 to 30 percent profit margins versus less than 5 percent for Amazon's retail business, according to Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie.

On Thursday, when Amazon reports results, analysts will be looking for signs of growth in higher-margin businesses, such as advertising and cloud-computing, after years of sacrificing short-term profit to grow those divisions.

Amazon does not disclose ad business results and spokeswoman Kristin Schaefer Mariani declined to comment.

But analysts estimate the ad business already generates at least $500 million a year in revenue. David Selinger, a former Amazon executive who runs e-commerce personalization firm RichRelevance, recently predicted that Amazon's ad business will hit $1 billion in sales this year.

That's a fraction of Amazon's revenue, expected to be $75 billion this year. But longer term, the ad business could become substantial if it can grab a bigger slice of a digital ad market that will be worth over $50 billion by 2015 in the United States alone, according to eMarketer data.

"Could it rival something like Yahoo, Facebook or AOL's ad businesses?" said Macquarie's Schachter. "Sure."

ADS ON OTHER WEBSITES

Display ads on Amazon's own websites have grown fast since 2011 but what really excites Madison Avenue and Wall Street is Amazon's latest push to create and serve ads on other sites.

"The big opportunity is in having a third-party ad network," said Schachter. "There are only a few Amazon sites. Expanding beyond that, they can take advantage of millions of other websites out there."

Amazon quietly started serving ads on other websites in the fourth quarter of 2010. This part of its business remained un-named until about the middle of last year, when the company formally christened it the Amazon Advertising Platform.

It currently serves ads on thousands of websites in the United States, Britain and Germany, according to its website.

Amazon's Mariani declined to name websites. However, she said Amazon buys ad inventory - or online ad space - from content publishers or through exchanges, which are online markets for buying and selling inventory.

The company's in-house technology serves the ads to third-party websites in real time. A campaign Amazon ran for Kimberly-Clark's Huggies diapers, and another for video game designer Ubisoft, included ads served off Amazon websites.

This is where its advantage lies. It has tracked what millions of shoppers browse, search, and buy on Amazon.com for more than 15 years, using that information to recommend related products to customers. Now, it's using that data to buy ad inventory more efficiently and serve ads to the right consumers, on the right websites, at the right time.

A large entertainment company worked with Amazon to promote one of its movies last year, according to a person at the entertainment company. Data on purchases of related DVDs, books and music on Amazon.com helped identify potential customers who were likely to see the movie at the theater and ads were targeted at this audience. Results were above average, based on the number of impressions served and the number of clicks on the ads, the person said. They did not want to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the company's ad spending.

"Amazon spent a lot of time developing algorithms to make recommendations to consumers shopping on Amazon.com," said an executive who oversees an ad exchange that is a partner of Amazon's.

"Now they can do this outside of the Amazon world for other companies. It's really an extension of one of their core competencies," said the executive, who declined to be identified because Amazon is an important partner.

Armed with consumer information, Amazon can bid more aggressively on exchanges because it is confident that ads created from that inventory will be clicked on more often. The company can also charge advertisers more because its ads are better targeted, according to industry insiders and analysts.

"Amazon is not a retailer anymore, it is the largest behavioral marketing company in the world," said Yaakov Kimelfeld, chief research officer at Kantar Media Compete, which helps global brands improve their online marketing. "Amazon will be the best positioned to predict whether to buy inventory or not and be the most efficient in this market."

Amazon's purchase data helps advertisers spend more efficiently because they only have to buy access to those consumers most likely to respond to their messages, according to Mark Pavia, an executive at media buying firm Starcom USA, which represents clients including Kellogg, Samsung Electronics and Mars.

"I can spend 100 percent of my dollars, if you will, against only the people I want to get because of the purchase data," Pavia said. "That level of targeting is highly interesting."

(Reporting by Alistair Barr and Jennifer Saba; Editing by Martin Howell and Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-sleeping-ad-giant-amazon-finally-stirs-050944925--sector.html

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Game of Thrones, Season 3

Westeros is a funny place. With its kings and queens and lords and ladies, it?s the opposite of egalitarian. But it?s also a place where women and smugglers can be knighted, where having a famous name can lead to a lifetime of exile, and where pimps and eunuchs can end up advising kings. Cunning Varys, who has risen to great influence in mysterious fashion, demonstrated his skills this week, and made it clear that Westeros offers multiple paths to power-seekers.

First, he shares with Tyrion with the traumatic story of how he was castrated and then thrown out to the streets to die. ?Influence is largely a matter of patience,? he says. ?Step by step, one distasteful task after another, I made my way from the slums of Myr to the small chamber.? This scene is important not only because it gives the viewer insight into Varys, but also because it sets the tone for the rest of the episode: Vengeance is on the minds of many in Westeros, though not everyone is as patient as Varys.

It's a treat to watch Lord Varys pull the levers of powers behind the scenes, as he does here in a conversation with Lady Olenna Redwyne

Photo by Keith Bernstein/HBO

Next we see Varys at work as the Master of Whispers. He and Ros are gossiping about the sexual prowess of Pod, Tyrion?s squire, when he tells her that ?prodigies appear in the oddest of places.? This is, of course, a largely nonsexual double entendre, as Ros herself started out as one of Littlefinger?s prostitutes but is now his trusted assistant and adviser.

And lastly, we see Varys doing what he does best?using the intelligence he has procured from Ros to serve the realm, at least as he sees it. Having learned that Littlefinger intends to take Sansa Stark?the ?key to the north? and the Lannisters? hostage?on his voyage to propose to her aunt, Varys turns to Lady Olenna Redwynne, matriarch of the Tyrells. And whaddya know: All of a sudden Margaery Tyrell suggests to Sansa that it would be lovely for her to marry Loras so they could be sisters.

No doubt that some will complain that these scenes are a departure from the events of Storm of Swords, on which the season is based. Over at the AV Club, Todd VanDerWerff (a frequent guest of Slate?s "TV Club") addresses the need for the show to depart from the source material at times. He?s mostly talking about the way the show has handled Barristan Selmy and Daenerys? knowledge of Valyrian. I would argue that the same point applies to Varys.

He?s an important figure in Westeros, but because he so often lurks in the shadows, we know of his exploits and power only from what other people say about him, and how wary of him they are. That is fine for a book, but on a television show, it?s far more entertaining for us to see at least few scenes showing a smooth operator at work than it is to listen to characters cursing him and his spiders.? And while we don?t yet know all the ?distasteful tasks? that he completed on his journey to the small council, we are now privy to at least a few of his secrets.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6416ed8db0b58017ef9e9a669f406d2e

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Brad DeLong : Is Microsoft the Quiet Villain of Global Finance?

Richard Beales:

Is Microsoft the quiet villain of global finance?: Microsoft may be the quiet villain of global finance. Excel errors overstated pre-crisis structured finance ratings, dented JPMorgan?s risk management just as banks were on the mend, and tripped up influential fiscal policy ideas. The rest of the Office suite of ?productivity? applications - the bulk of a division responsible for $24 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year - seems equally apt to court trouble.

In 2007, the triumph of the spreadsheet-style financial model peaked with so-called constant proportion debt obligations. This piece of structured finance genius managed to garner AAA ratings despite being designed so that as losses started accumulating, the built-in leverage would automatically increase (yes, increase). Sure enough, a coding error at Moody?s Investors Service had inflated the firm?s CPDO ratings.

Then there was JPMorgan?s $6 billion ?London whale? trading loss last year. Excel flubs made another appearance. Also, overly flattering input assumptions allowed risk outputs to be understated - the garbage in, garbage out principle. Most recently, a graduate student discovered a spreadsheet error missed by two Harvard economists, undermining part of their widely cited theoretical case for austerity.

Source: http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2013/04/is-microsoft-the-quiet-villain-of-global-finance.html

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Samsung Researching How To Let You Control Your Phone With Your Brain

I just finished The Divine Invasion and if that is evidence of his writing, I won't be reading any more of his stuff.

Sure, I got where he was going, but it was a trudge, a very long trudge, to get to the end of such a short work.

I realize what I like others may not like and vice versa, but I can't see how other than his thought process can be held up as a master of sci-fi writing.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/4jrLj_cERm8/story01.htm

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Tough battle predicted in Coors Light 3 Steps To Victory Heat 2 at ...

Tough battle predicted in Coors Light 3 Steps To Victory Heat 2 at Sheffield

Tuesday?s Coors Light 3 Steps To Victory Heat 2 at Sheffield is a very tough competition, as almost every contender is in great shape at the moment. Pats Legacy is all set to fancy his chances after last month?s two terrific victories. He made two wonderful solo rides to make his opponents realise that he would be a major threat in this meeting.

Hather George is aiming high after taking three consecutive victories. After doing the goods at Nottingham, the brindle dog continued his majestic work and took the first prize twice at Coven earlier this month. In good shape, Charlie Lister?s charge is well prepared to take more.

Killieford Blaze was not impressive last time, but prior to that he won an open race in a tremendous fashion, beating Ayamzabeauty by two and a half lengths. Although the draw is a concern, it is hard to ignore the nature of potential he possesses.

Vanjohn made a few nice rides lately. He is progressing at a rapid speed. After taking a couple of wins respectively at Grade IR and A1, he moved to this class and showed the world how dangerous he could be. Despite getting bumped in the beginning, the black dog managed to finish second on the table.

Bubbly Ebony is also aiming high after a couple of classy performances in the trials. The black dog could not do well in his last few races, but the latest two trial shows are enough to believe that he is back to his best.

Airforce Frankie also has a big win under his belt. At Crayford, he bagged the first prize over a long distance of 714 metres. The black dog also looked nice in the recent solo run.

If you are a bettor, you need to make a decision very carefully. According to our calculations, Hather George is the best choice, as he is in great form. In case of a clear run, no hound will be able to stop him from bagging the first prize. Pats Legacy is the biggest threat. We wish the best of luck to all the hounds.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.com's editorial policy.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Tough-battle-predicted-in-Coors-Light-3-Steps-To-Victory-Heat-2-at-Sheffield-a214667

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Mass. mosque: Bomb suspect had 2 recent outbursts

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) ? When preachers told congregants at a mosque in November that it was appropriate for Muslims to celebrate U.S. holidays such as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, a man who would later be a suspect in last week's the Boston Marathon bombing stood up to argue, the mosque said.

The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center on Monday told about that outburst by Tamerlan Tsarnaev and provided more details on a second one two months later that the group had previously described.

The group said in its statement that Tsarnaev, who was pronounced dead on Friday after a shootout with police, was not a member of its Cambridge mosque but sometimes attended Friday services and daily prayers over the last year or so. His younger brother, Dzhokhar, who was captured Friday and charged Monday with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, showed up sometimes for prayers, the group said.

Two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday that the brothers were motivated by religion but appear not to be tied to any Islamic terrorist groups. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Both mosque incidents happened after the older brother returned from a months-long trip to Russia last year. An aunt there said he was studying Islam but struggled to fit in.

The troublesome behavior first came in November, just before Thanksgiving, the mosque said. At a weekly prayer, a preacher gave a sermon saying it was appropriate for Muslims to celebrate American holidays. Tamerlan Tsarnaev stood up and argued that "celebration of any holiday was not allowed in the faith."

The preacher met with Tsarnaev and discussed the issue after the service.

In January, the mosque said Tsarnaev had a similar outburst.

This time, the sermon included praise for Martin Luther King Jr., and this time Tsarnaev shouted, calling the preacher a "non-believer" and "hypocrite" who was "contaminating people's minds." Congregants shouted back at him, telling him to leave, and he did.

Later, volunteer leaders of the mosque met with him and told him that he would not be welcome at service if he interrupted again. The group said he continued attending sometimes and did not cause any more problems.

___

Associated Press reporters Eileen Sullivan and Pete Yost in Washington and Arsen Mollayev in Makhachkala, Russia, contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mass-mosque-bomb-suspect-had-2-recent-outbursts-014641792.html

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Unique New Maid Right Franchise Kicks Off Launch ? Successful ...

The new Maid Right Franchise is the first residential cleaning brand available for Master as well as Unit franchisees. Growth of Maid Right will be built based on the Master/Unit business model used by sister company Jan-Pro, who has built over 10,000 Franchisees globally.

Alpharetta, GA (PRWEB) April 23, 2013 - Premium Franchise Brands LLC, a holding company of Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc. (Jan-Pro), and Maid Right Franchising LLC, announced today the official launch of their new Maid Right Professional Grade Home Cleaning Franchise.

A unique concept within the residential cleaning franchise arena, the Maid Right Home Cleaning Franchise is the first and only residential cleaning franchise in America with the Master/Unit business model concept. This is the franchise concept wherein a Master Franchise controls a defined territory, and builds by adding Unit Franchisees within that territory. The two-tiered concept has been proven successful with sister company, Jan-Pro, who using it, has built an organization with over 10,000 franchisees globally.

The new Maid Right franchise gains much through the relationship with sister company Jan-Pro, namely the power of the Jan-Pro brand, a proven playbook for success, as well as world class support and experience with cleaning and franchising from an established company of 20+ years.

?We feel that the launch of Maid Right will be one of the most energetic growth opportunities of any franchise in years,? said Danessa Itaya, Vice President Maid Right. ?Many cleaning industry sources have told us that the Master/Unit concept is needed in residential cleaning. Maid Right is providing just that.?

As part of the Maid Right team, Itaya brings a wealth of residential cleaning experience, with over 18 years in the residential cleaning industry, over 10 years in multi-brand franchising, and has an extensive background in systems and new franchise development. Having a complete franchise development team for the new Maid Right franchise is an approach that Premium Franchise Brands feels will super charge the launch.

?The time is right for the Maid Right franchise concept,? said Rich Kissane, President & CEO of Premium Franchise Brands. ?There is a need for a new and different approach in residential cleaning, one that finally addresses the issues of high customer turnover and the quality of service offered.?

Today, the home cleaning industry has an average customer retention time of only about 6 months. One reason for this short time period is that in many cases, the homeowner does not get the quality of service they were expecting, as hourly paid cleaning crews come and go. Maid Right is out to change this industry standard and is committed to long term customer retention and high quality service.

Longer customer retention will come for Maid Right, due to the fact that the Unit Franchisees will be owners and more invested in establishing trust with customers. Innovative products and services will be provided to help franchisees in this area, like EnviroShield, the unique branded system that delivers 100% disinfection coverage.

?By having Unit franchise owners do the cleaning, they are definitely more invested in the residential customer, and are committed to providing the best in professional service,? continued Itaya. ?The result is a win/win situation for all involved, and long-lasting customer relationships.?

Both Master and Unit owners will have strong support in helping develop their business, through the company?s MaidView Software System and Processes. Master Franchisees will have thorough support, which will include ongoing advanced training, a service center, a business coach, webinars, hotline, regional meetings, call center, SEO, and more.

Premium Franchise Brands is currently in the stage of interviewing Master Franchise interested parties. Inquiries should contact Brad Smith at brad.smith@premiumfranchisebrands.com.

About Premium Franchise Brands

Premium Franchise Brands LLC is a franchise development company, representing Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc, and Maid Right Franchising LLC. Jan-Pro was founded in 1991 by Jacques Lapointe in Providence, Rhode Island, with a desire to offer the highest quality cleaning techniques and systems available. Currently, the Jan-Pro team is comprised of business leaders with experience from around the world, as well as seasoned cleaning industry executives. Today, the international company structure is comprised of over 10,000 Master and Unit franchisees. Jan-Pro regularly receives inquiries and accolades nationally as well as internationally. Maid Right Professional Grade Home Cleaning is a franchise, focused on strong customer retention, and is currently being initially launched domestically in America.

To learn more about Maid Right visit http://www.maidright.com

SOURCE: Premium Franchise Brands

Media Contact:

Mike Dektas
(513) 234-0560
brad(dot)smith(at)premiumfranchisebrands(dot)com

###

Social Reach:

Viewer Response:

Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20130423_unique_new_maid_right_franchise_kicks_off_launch_n.html

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Ecology, economy and management of an agro-industrial Amazon frontier

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ian Vorster
ivorster@whrc.org
Woods Hole Research Center

Agriculture intensification could spare large tracts of tropical forest

Published today, a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society Biological Sciences, addresses a major challenge facing our society: feeding a global population that is simultaneously growing and increasing its per capita food consumption, while preventing widespread ecological and social impoverishment.

According to Michael T. Coe, Senior Scientist at The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and one of the issue's co-editors, "One important finding presented in these papers is that landowners respond quickly to external and internal forces, particularly signals from government and market forces to be better land stewards."

The special issue contains 18 articles from researchers in Brazil, the United States, and Europe. The articles focus on the agricultural transformation of the southeastern Amazon and address three primary topics:

1. Trends in land-use change in Mato Grosso, Brazil (MT);
2. Ecological and social consequences of land use change;
3. Landscape management strategies that can reduce environmental degradation in agricultural frontiers.

Primary conclusions of the papers include:

1. Trends in land-use change in Mato Grosso, Brazil (MT)

   Analysis shows that MT's development from 1990 to 2005 was largely based on economic activities that resulted in deforestation, forest degradation, and associated socio-ecological consequences. During this period, approximately 70,000 km2 of forests were converted to low-productivity pasturelands, which degraded streams, increased disturbance (for example, via escaped forest fires), and altered the regional climate. Policies enacted as early as 2004 began reversing those trends. The national standard for Brazil was to set policies to reduce Amazon deforestation by 80 per cent by 2020; MT formulated its own goals, achieving remarkable results by the late 2000s.

   Emphasizing this, lead-editor Paulo Brando, Scientist at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) and Visiting Fellow at WHRC, said "The widespread reduction in Amazon deforestation is a great achievement, but forest fires, logging, pesticides, etc. still threaten the integrity of tropical ecosystems. Best agricultural management practices could minimize their impacts, being a key instrument to secure the health of forests and streams in the Amazon and in other tropical regions."

2. Ecological and social consequences of land use change

   Ecological and social problems related to land management remain, including degradation of forests by the combination of human-induced fires and drought; impoverishment of aquatic ecosystems through the widespread application of agricultural chemicals and lack of stream restoration; and loss of indigenous peoples' livelihood options because of ecological degradation. Furthermore, forest conversion is expected to increase with increasing national and international demand for soya, beef and/or palm oil.

3. Landscape management strategies that can reduce environmental degradation in agricultural frontiers

   A major challenge for sustainable management of tropical agricultural landscapes is highlighted: to transform low-yield, high-deforestation production systems into high-yield, low-deforestation ones. Extensive tracts of land in Brazil's cattle ranching frontier, could undergo these transformations where approximately 200 million hectares of pasture sustain notoriously low cattle densities. Recent declines in MT's deforestation, coupled with increases in crop and cattle productivity, suggest that agriculture intensification could spare large tracts of land for tropical forest conservation.

Co-editor Ruth DeFries of Columbia University notes that "The experience in Brazil's southern Amazon illustrates that deforestation can be controlled simultaneously with increases in agricultural production, but policies and incentives to reach these objectives are not yet in place in many other tropical forest regions."

###

The Woods Hole Research Center: The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) is a private, non-profit research organization focusing on environmental sciences. Our scientists combine analysis of satellite images of the Earth with field studies to measure, model, and map changes in the world's ecosystems, from the thawing permafrost in the Arctic to the expanding agriculture regions of the tropics. We work locally and regionally, with in-depth expertise and collaborations in North and South America and Africa; and we also work globally, focusing on how humans are changing global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and water. We merge natural science with economics to discover sustainable paths for human prosperity and stewardship of the Earth's natural resources.

Citation: Ecology, economy and management of an agro-industrial frontier landscape in the southeastern Amazon, 2013 Brando PM, Coe MT, DeFries R, Eds. Phil Trans R Soc B 368: http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/368/1619.toc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Ian Vorster
ivorster@whrc.org
Woods Hole Research Center

Agriculture intensification could spare large tracts of tropical forest

Published today, a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society Biological Sciences, addresses a major challenge facing our society: feeding a global population that is simultaneously growing and increasing its per capita food consumption, while preventing widespread ecological and social impoverishment.

According to Michael T. Coe, Senior Scientist at The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and one of the issue's co-editors, "One important finding presented in these papers is that landowners respond quickly to external and internal forces, particularly signals from government and market forces to be better land stewards."

The special issue contains 18 articles from researchers in Brazil, the United States, and Europe. The articles focus on the agricultural transformation of the southeastern Amazon and address three primary topics:

1. Trends in land-use change in Mato Grosso, Brazil (MT);
2. Ecological and social consequences of land use change;
3. Landscape management strategies that can reduce environmental degradation in agricultural frontiers.

Primary conclusions of the papers include:

1. Trends in land-use change in Mato Grosso, Brazil (MT)

   Analysis shows that MT's development from 1990 to 2005 was largely based on economic activities that resulted in deforestation, forest degradation, and associated socio-ecological consequences. During this period, approximately 70,000 km2 of forests were converted to low-productivity pasturelands, which degraded streams, increased disturbance (for example, via escaped forest fires), and altered the regional climate. Policies enacted as early as 2004 began reversing those trends. The national standard for Brazil was to set policies to reduce Amazon deforestation by 80 per cent by 2020; MT formulated its own goals, achieving remarkable results by the late 2000s.

   Emphasizing this, lead-editor Paulo Brando, Scientist at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) and Visiting Fellow at WHRC, said "The widespread reduction in Amazon deforestation is a great achievement, but forest fires, logging, pesticides, etc. still threaten the integrity of tropical ecosystems. Best agricultural management practices could minimize their impacts, being a key instrument to secure the health of forests and streams in the Amazon and in other tropical regions."

2. Ecological and social consequences of land use change

   Ecological and social problems related to land management remain, including degradation of forests by the combination of human-induced fires and drought; impoverishment of aquatic ecosystems through the widespread application of agricultural chemicals and lack of stream restoration; and loss of indigenous peoples' livelihood options because of ecological degradation. Furthermore, forest conversion is expected to increase with increasing national and international demand for soya, beef and/or palm oil.

3. Landscape management strategies that can reduce environmental degradation in agricultural frontiers

   A major challenge for sustainable management of tropical agricultural landscapes is highlighted: to transform low-yield, high-deforestation production systems into high-yield, low-deforestation ones. Extensive tracts of land in Brazil's cattle ranching frontier, could undergo these transformations where approximately 200 million hectares of pasture sustain notoriously low cattle densities. Recent declines in MT's deforestation, coupled with increases in crop and cattle productivity, suggest that agriculture intensification could spare large tracts of land for tropical forest conservation.

Co-editor Ruth DeFries of Columbia University notes that "The experience in Brazil's southern Amazon illustrates that deforestation can be controlled simultaneously with increases in agricultural production, but policies and incentives to reach these objectives are not yet in place in many other tropical forest regions."

###

The Woods Hole Research Center: The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) is a private, non-profit research organization focusing on environmental sciences. Our scientists combine analysis of satellite images of the Earth with field studies to measure, model, and map changes in the world's ecosystems, from the thawing permafrost in the Arctic to the expanding agriculture regions of the tropics. We work locally and regionally, with in-depth expertise and collaborations in North and South America and Africa; and we also work globally, focusing on how humans are changing global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and water. We merge natural science with economics to discover sustainable paths for human prosperity and stewardship of the Earth's natural resources.

Citation: Ecology, economy and management of an agro-industrial frontier landscape in the southeastern Amazon, 2013 Brando PM, Coe MT, DeFries R, Eds. Phil Trans R Soc B 368: http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/368/1619.toc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/whrc-eea042213.php

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Vietnam police seize 53 king cobras from car

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? Vietnamese police say they have seized 53 king cobras from a car in Hanoi and arrested the driver.

Officer Dang Van Hanh said Monday the live snakes were taken to a wildlife rescue center near the capital where they treated before being released into the wild.

King cobras are the world's longest venomous snake, and grow up to 5.5 meters (18) feet.

The meat of the king cobras is considered a delicacy by some in Vietnam, where hunting and trading the snakes is banned. The snakes are also sometimes preserved in traditional medicines.

The snakes, which were kept in green sacks, were seized Friday.

Hanh said the car driver told officers he was paid to transport them. Local media reported he was paid under $50.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-police-seize-53-king-cobras-car-102847104.html

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Rescuers struggle to reach China quake zone as toll climbs

By Michael Martina and Maxim Duncan

LUSHAN, China (Reuters) - Rescuers struggled to reach a remote, rural corner of southwestern China on Sunday as the toll of the dead and missing from the country's worst earthquake in three years climbed to 208 with almost 1,000 serious injuries.

The 6.6 magnitude quake struck in Lushan county, near the city of Ya'an in the southwestern province of Sichuan, close to where a devastating 7.9 quake hit in May 2008, killing 70,000.

Most of the deaths were concentrated in Lushan, a short drive up the valley from Ya'an, but rescuers' progress was hampered by the narrowness of the road and landslides, as well as government controls restricting access to avoid traffic jams.

"The Lushan county center is getting back to normal, but the need is still considerable in terms of shelter and materials," said Kevin Xia of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

"Supplies have had difficulty getting into the region because of the traffic jams. Most of our supplies are still on the way."

In Ya'an, relief workers from across China expressed frustration with gaining access to Lushan and the villages beyond, up in the mountains.

"We're in a hurry. There are people that need help and we have supplies in the back (of the car)," said one man from the Shandong Province Earthquake Emergency Response Team, who declined to give his name.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs put the number of dead at 184 and missing at 24, with more than 11,800 injured.

Hundreds of armed police were blocked from using roads that were wrecked by landslides and marched in single file with shovels en route to Baoxing, one of the hardest hit areas. Xinhua news agency said 18,000 troops were in the area.

The Foreign Ministry thanked foreign governments for offers of help, but said the country was able to cope.

In Lushan, doctors and nurses tended to people in the open or under tents in the grounds of the main hospital, surrounded by shattered glass, plaster and concrete. Water and electricity were cut off by the quake, but the spring weather is warm.

"I was scared. I've never seen an earthquake this big before," said farmer Chen Tianxiong, 37, lying on a stretcher between tents, his family looking on.

In another tent, Zhou Lin sat tending to his wife and three-day-old son who were evacuated from a Lushan hospital soon after the quake struck on Saturday.

"I was worried the child or his mother would be hurt. The buildings were all shaking. I was extremely scared. But now I don't feel afraid any more," said Zhou, looking at his child who was wrapped in a blanket on a makeshift bed.

Premier Li Keqiang flew into the disaster zone by helicopter to comfort the injured and displaced, chatting to rescuers and clambering over rubble.

"Treat and heal your wounds with peace of mind," Xinhua quoted Li as telling patients at a hospital. "The government will take care of all the costs for those severely wounded."

Chen Yong, the vice director of the Ya'an city government earthquake response office, told reporters on Saturday that the death toll was unlikely to rise dramatically.

Already poor, many of the earthquake victims said the government was their only hope.

Cao Bangying, 36, whose family had set up mattresses and makeshift cots under a dump truck, said her house had been destroyed.

"Being without a home while having a child of this age is difficult," Cao said, cradling her nine-month-old baby. "We can only rely on the government to help us."

No schools had collapsed, unlike in 2008 when many poorly constructed schools crumpled causing huge public anger, prompting a nationwide campaign of re-building.

Ya'an is a city of 1.5 million people and is considered one of the birthplaces of Chinese tea culture. It is also the home to one of China's main centers for protecting the giant panda.

(Writing by Ben Blanchard, Additional reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rescuers-struggle-reach-china-quake-zone-toll-climbs-032552277.html

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Watch live: Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket to lift off on test flight (update: success!)

SpaceX may be the only private outfit currently shepherding cargo to the International Space Station, but Orbital Sciences, which is the second party in NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services effort, is taking a step towards its own ISS resupply missions. Today, the firm's Antares rocket will undergo its very first test flight, taking off from the space agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Liftoff is slated for sometime between 5PM and 7PM, with an 80 percent chance of favorable weather, as opposed to the 45 percent odds and high-altitude winds that foiled its initial attempt yesterday. To watch Antares embark on its maiden voyage, hit the jump for a live video feed.

Update: Antares blasted off at a hair past 5PM and successfully separated from its mock payload. The live stream has wrapped up, but we'll slot in a video of the launch as soon as we get ahold of one.

Update 2: NASA just posted its footage of the rocket taking off, and we've placed the video after the break for your viewing pleasure.

[Image credit: NASA, Flickr]

Filed under: Science, Alt

Comments

Source: NASA (1), (2), Orbital Sciences

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DdiSAu5zy40/

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