The Treasury Department agreed Tuesday to sell a bankrupted company that manufactured sensitive military and commercial technology to a business based in China.
The government approved the sale of A123 Systems to the Shanghai-based Wanxiang firm, despite pleas from lawmakers and military insiders to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to nix the sale. The committee, chartered by the Treasury Dept., has not yet offered an explanation for its decision, according to Human Events.
A123 Systems gained notoriety last year when it filed for bankruptcy after having received approximately $132 million of a $249 million grant, almost $1 million of it coming the same day of the bankruptcy filing.
?The approved sale marks yet another step in the coordinated strategy by foreign countries to acquire leading U.S. companies who are researching, developing and producing critical technologies,? Dean Popps, co-chairman of the Strategic Materials Advisory Council, told Human Events. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ?has recognized this strategy but continues to fail to do anything to prevent it.?
The sale?s approval is curious, since it comes on the heels of President Barack Obama?s inaugural-day pledge not to ?cede to other nations? critical energy technology,? Popps said.
?Far from protecting America?s lead, as the president promised on the west front of the Capitol, his administration has just allowed China to leapfrog the world in advanced batteries at the expense of American taxpayers,? he said.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said Tuesday it?s clear the technology acquired by Wanxiang has both civilian and military applications, according to an AOL story.
?It is also apparent that this technology was developed using taxpayer dollars through President Obama?s stimulus program and is now falling into the hands of a foreign company,? Huizenga said. ?American taxpayers should not be funding technology that will in turn be used in competition against American companies.?
In response to the flap, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn,R-Tenn., introduced legislation earlier this month requiring safeguards on future decisions by the committee. The following clip is a Fox News clip of the issue:
Recent posts of interest: FL Attorney General arrests two executives for $2.75 million in Medicaid fraud
Justice Scalia: The Constitution is ?dead, dead, dead!?
Quadriplegic Iraqi war veteran receives double-arm transplant
ELIZABETH, Ind. ? The National Weather Service says a small tornado touched down overnight in a small southern Indiana town near the Ohio River.
A survey crew from the weather service?s Louisville, Ky., office confirmed that an EF-O tornado touched down in the Harrison County town of Elizabeth about 3 a.m. Wednesday. Meteorologist Mike Callahan said the tornado packed winds up to 80 mph as it cut a half-mile track through the area.
Elizabeth resident Teresa Campbell told WLKY-TV (http://bit.ly/11fH2mI) the tornado heavily damaged a barn and old school house on her property and stripped shingles from her home.
Neighbor Matt Marion said the tornado ?sounded like a big vacuum cleaner.?
Callahan said crews were also assessing reported tornado touchdowns near Salem in Washington County and the Orange County town of Prospect.
From BelloMag to 7 Hollywood, Dorian to Instinct, the OhLaLa team aka moi, is working hard to make your iPad the sexiest iPad ever ... and this new issue of Instinct is worth the $2,99 on iTunes especially if you are into swinsuits and abs ;-)
"Continuing our pledge to feature and tell the stories of openly gay and bisexual men on our covers, Jakub Bandoch stepped up to the tall order of showing off a winning personality and a bangin? body. Plus, we even get a little European history lesson, too. But we don?t have just one cover guy for this February/March Issue. After being one of the most popular cover guys in our 15-year history, we caught up with 2010 Swimsuit Issue star Cris Faluba for a little chat...and a photoshoot, of course. (And guess what? He?s single now!)"
Jake Dimmock, co-owner of the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, waters medical marijuana plants in a grow room, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012, in?Seattle.
By Gene Johnson, Associated Press
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 | 1:19 p.m.
TACOMA, Wash. ? Wanted: A green thumb with extensive knowledge of the black, or at least gray, market.
As Washington state tries to figure out how to regulate its newly legal marijuana, officials are hiring an adviser on all things weed: how it's best grown, dried, tested, labeled, packaged and cooked into brownies.
Sporting a mix of flannel, ponytails and suits, dozens of those angling for the job turned out Wednesday for a forum in Tacoma, several of them from out of state. The Liquor Control Board, the agency charged with developing rules for the marijuana industry, reserved a convention center hall for a state bidding expert to take questions about the position and the hiring process.
"Since it's not unlikely with this audience, would a felony conviction preclude you from this contract?" asked Rose Habib, an analytical chemist from a marijuana testing lab in Missoula, Mont.
The answer: It depends. A pot-related conviction is probably fine, but a "heinous felony," not so much, responded John Farley, a procurement coordinator with the Liquor Control Board.
Washington and Colorado this fall became the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed cannabis.
Both states are working to develop rules for the emerging pot industry. Up in the air is everything from how many growers and stores there should be, to how the marijuana should be tested to ensure people don't get sick.
Sales are due to begin in Washington state in December.
Washington's Liquor Control Board has a long and "very good" history with licensing and regulation, spokesman Mikhail Carpenter said.
"But there are some technical aspects with marijuana we could use a consultant to help us with," Carpenter said.
The board has advertised for consulting services in four categories. The first is "product and industry knowledge" and requires "at least three years of consulting experience relating to the knowledge of the cannabis industry, including but not limited to product growth, harvesting, packaging, product infusion and product safety."
Other categories cover quality testing, including how to test for levels of THC, the compound that gets marijuana users high; statistical analysis of how much marijuana the state's licensed growers should produce; and the development of regulations, a category that requires a "strong understanding of state, local or federal government processes," with a law degree preferred.
Farley said the state hopes to award a single contract covering all four categories, but if no bidder or team of bidders has expertise in all fields? regulatory law, statistical analysis and pot growing ? multiple contracts could be awarded. Or bidders who are strong in one category could team up with those who are strong in another. Bids are due Feb. 15, with the contract awarded in March.
Habib, the chemist, said she's part of a team of marijuana and regulatory experts from Montana who are bidding for the contract. They're fed up with federal raids on medical dispensaries there.
"We want to move here and make it work. We want to be somewhere this is moving forward and being embraced socially," she said.
Khurshid Khoja, a corporate lawyer from San Francisco, wore a suit and sat beside a balding, ponytailed man in a gray sweatshirt ? Ed Rosenthal, a co-founder of High Times magazine and a recognized expert on marijuana cultivation. They're on a team bidding for the contract.
"I've seen the effect of regulation of marijuana all my life," Khoja said. "I'd like to see a more rational, scientific approach to it."
Several people asked whether winning the contract, or even subcontracting with the winning bidder, would preclude them from getting state licenses to grow, process or sell cannabis. Farley said yes: It would pose a conflict of interest to have the consultant helping develop the regulations being subject to those rules. But once the contract has expired, they could apply for state marijuana licenses, he said.
After the questions ended, the bidders mingled, exchanging business cards and talking about how they might team up. One Seattle-area marijuana grower, a college student who declined to give his name after noting that a dispensary he worked with had been raided by federal authorities in 2011, approached Rosenthal.
"It would be my dream to smoke a bowl with you after this," he said.
Protesters gather near a tank as they defy a curfew in the city of Port Said on Monday.
By Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh and Yusri Mohamed, Reuters
The struggle between political forces in Egypt could ?lead to the collapse of the state,? the country?s army chief said Tuesday.
In a posting to the army?s Facebook page, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said political and economic issues now represented a ?real threat? to security.
"The continuation of the struggle of the different political forces ... over the management of state affairs could lead to the collapse of the state," General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.
He added that the army would remain "the solid and the cohesive block" on which "the foundation of the state rests."
Al-Sisi, who is also defense minister, also said that the army had been deployed in cities along the Suez Canal primarily to protect the key global trade link.
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi has imposed emergency rule in an attempt to end days of clashes that have left at least 52 people dead.
But Egyptian protesters defied an overnight curfew in restive towns along the Suez Canal, attacking police stations.
At least two men died Monday night or early Tuesday in fighting in the canal city of Port Said, the latest unrest in a wave of violence unleashed last week on the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that brought down autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Cairo sky lit by flames Political opponents spurned a call by Morsi for talks on Monday to try to end the violence. Instead, huge crowds of protesters took to the streets in Cairo and Alexandria, and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Morsi imposed emergency rule and a curfew on Sunday.
"Down, down with Mohammed Morsi! Down, down with the state of emergency!" crowds shouted in Ismailia. In Cairo, flames lit up the night sky as protesters set vehicles ablaze.
The demonstrators accuse Mubarak's successor Morsi of betraying the two-year-old revolution. Morsi and his supporters accuse the protesters of seeking to overthrow Egypt's first ever democratically elected leader by undemocratic means.
Debris from days of unrest was strewn on the streets around Cairo's Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising.
Ed Giles / Getty Images
Protesters stand by a vehicle of the Central Security Forces that had been stolen then set alight during clashes near Tahrir Square in Cairo on Monday.
Youths clambered over a burned-out police van. But unlike on previous mornings in the past few days, there was no early sign of renewed clashes with police.
In Port Said, men attacked police stations after dark. A security source said some police and troops were injured. A medical source said two men were killed and 12 injured in the clashes, including 10 with gunshot wounds.
"The people want to bring down the regime," crowds chanted in Alexandria. "Leave means go, and don't say no!"
Voters backed Islamists Since Mubarak was toppled, Islamists have won two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote.
But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Morsi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism, and punctuated by repeated waves of unrest that have prevented a return to stability in the most populous Arab state.
The political unrest in the Suez Canal cities has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting in Port Said a year ago, which lead to the deaths of 74 people.
The president announced the emergency measures on television on Sunday. "The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Morsi said.
His demeanor infuriated his opponents, not least when he wagged a finger at the camera.
Some activists said Morsi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.
"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," said Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanize the 2011 uprising. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."
Related:
Thousands attend funerals in Port Said as Egypt's stability teeters
Analysis: Egyptians fear decades of Brotherhood rule
PhotoBlog: Weekend violence in Egypt
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Hennes & Mauritz reported an unexpected fall in quarterly profits on Wednesday due partly to increased costs from the fashion retailer's push to compete with Spanish rival Inditex.
H&M, the world's second-biggest apparel group after Zara owner Inditex , said earnings were affected by long-term investments in online shopping, a new chain of stores, plans to broaden its fashion range, and an unusually strong Swedish crown.
The retailer has the bulk of its business in Europe, where the region's debt crisis and rising unemployment have dampened consumer spending.
"These long-term investments have created cost increases and to a great extent have not yet generated any revenue," said chief executive Karl-Johan Persson.
"However, we consider these investments to be both necessary and wise as they aim to secure future expansion and profits and thereby further strengthen H&M's position," he added.
Pretax earnings in the September-November period fell to 6.6 billion crowns ($1.0 billion) from a year-earlier 6.8 billion. Analysts polled by Reuters had on average forecast an unchanged profit.
The gross margin, which disappointed in the third quarter, shrank to 61.6 percent from 61.9 percent, matching forecasts.
H&M shares fell 2.9 percent by 0810 GMT.
($1 = 6.3815 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom. Editing by Patrick Lannin and Jane Merriman)
(Reuters) - A U.S. judge accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
The company said it pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts related to workers' deaths, a felony related to obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors. It faces five years' probation and the imposition of two monitors who will oversee its safety and ethics for the next four years.
After the April 2010 explosion on the Transocean rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf over 87 days. Shorelines from Texas to Florida were fouled before responders could cap the mile-deep well.
BP has struggled with political, financial and legal fallout ever since. Even after settling federal criminal charges, the company faces civil penalties of up to $21 billion and separate state claims due to be heard at a trial starting in New Orleans on February 25.
Alabama's attorney general, Luther Strange, said the BP sentence was welcome for setting some federal money aside to restore the Gulf coast, but he planned to press ahead with his state's own claims for economic and natural resource damages.
"I look forward to presenting Alabama's case that BP was grossly negligent when we have our day in court next month," Strange said in a statement.
Transocean, owner of the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig, agreed this month to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over the disaster.
Halliburton Co, the oilfield services company that performed cementing work on the Macondo well and is being sued in the civil litigation along with BP, said on Friday it was working on its defense ahead of the trial next month.
BP, with its federal plea agreement now approved, has 60 days to send a remedial plan to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Environmental Protection Agency laying out how it plans to meet all its stipulations. The plan could go back and forth among the three parties before it is agreed to by all sides.
The judge who imposed the sentence on BP, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana, found the fines far exceeded any in U.S. history, and were structured so BP will feel the "full brunt" of them, the DOJ said.
BP's total of $4.5 billion in federal penalties includes $2.4 billion for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a $1.256 billion criminal fine and $350 million for the National Academy of Sciences -- all payable over five years -- and a $525 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Our guilty plea makes clear, BP understands and acknowledges its role in that tragedy, and we apologize - BP apologizes - to all those injured and especially to the families of the lost loved ones," Luke Keller, a vice president of BP America Inc, told the court, according to a BP statement.
BP now aims to settle the civil claims, for which negligence is a key issue. A gross negligence finding could quadruple civil damages owed by BP under the Clean Water Act to $21 billion.
The British company has already announced an uncapped class-action settlement with private plaintiffs that the company estimates will cost $7.8 billion to resolve. The litigation was brought by more than 100,000 individuals and businesses claiming economic and medical damages from the spill.
BP believes it can handle it all after selling off $35 billion worth of assets. As of November, when it agreed to the plea, BP had paid $23 billion in clean-up costs and claims.
The U.S. government banned BP from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the spill, which could threaten its role as a leading U.S. offshore oil and gas producer.
But BP said on Tuesday that its mandatory debarment under the settlement did not affect any existing contracts or leases.
"The government has awarded BP over 50 federal leases since the Deepwater Horizon accident," said BP, which is the largest investor and deepwater leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico with interests in 700 blocks and seven rigs now operating there.
The criminal case is "USA v. BP Exploration and Production Inc," case no. 2:12-CR-00292, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Nick Zieminski, Alden Bentley and David Gregorio)
By Agence France-Presse Tuesday, January 29, 2013 12:34 EST
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Domestic cats in the United States kill up to 3.7 billion birds and as many as 20.7 billion mice, voles and other small mammals each year, biologists estimated on Tuesday.
Puss is probably the biggest human-induced killer of these species, outstripping better-known culprits such as habitat loss, agricultural chemicals or hunting, they said in a study published in the journal Nature Communications.
A team led by Scott Loss at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington looked at published research into the predation habits of cats.
Cats that have outdoors access kill between 30 and 47 birds apiece in temperate parts of Europe and North America each year, and between 177 and 299 mammals, according to past investigations.
The next step was to get an estimate of the number of cats in the United States.
Loss?s team calculated there were around 84 million cats with owners, of which a couple of million are unlikely to have outdoor access or go hunting.
Added to that are between 30 and 80 million ?unowned? cats ? animals that are wild or free-ranging but without an owner and survive on goodwill.
?We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 to 20.7 billion mammals annually,? says the study.
?Unowned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality.?
The paper says the estimates are much bigger than previously thought, and show that cats ?are likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic [man-made] mortality for US birds and mammals.?
It adds: ?Scientifically sound conservation and policy intervention [are] needed to reduce this impact.?
The study tried to get a fix on the numbers of reptiles and amphibians that are killed by cats, but drew a blank.
According to the famous ?Red List? compiled by the/ International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), cats on islands have caused or contributed to the extinctions of 33 species of birds, mammals and reptiles.
The study coincides with a fierce debate in New Zealand, where Gareth Morgan, a businessman turned philanthropist, has called for cats there to be eradicated to save the country?s unique species of wildlife, which includes the flightless kiwi.
Healthy Choices for everybody??as well as in a snack machine !!!
The number of occasions perhaps you have found yourself trying to find something that was lower in body fat and calories but nonetheless sampled decent inside a snack machine ? Usually they merely have perhaps a bag of pretzels plus some overpriced diet soda. Well should you have had a choice of selecting something more healthy, wouldn?t you need to ?
Gabrielle Rem began her snack company Healthy Options Snack LLC in New You are able to city to supply healthy and dietary drink and food choices to people at the office, on the run and also at play! / Her company installs and keeps snack models that provide healthy drinks, food main courses, sides and snacks and her company also provides a multitude of kosher and organic food options too. /
Gabrielle Rem maintained a Branding & Imaging firm named Expert Business Presentations that?s possessed by Johnny Giles to produce the on-line image on her company Healthy Options Snack LLC and listed here are the outcomes of the efforts. /
Marketing Video: / / The recording was custom-designed on 1080p HD quality for use like a marketing video that delivers a teaser leading individuals to her blog and website. /
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If you?re a commercial house owner or management company, a company or perhaps a facility manager in a school, college, college, hospital or government/private building then you?d like to learn that the organization you do business with isn?t fly-by-evening! Dealing with Expert Business Presentations and Johnny Giles Gabrielle Rem continues to be able to produce a spectacular on-line image that?s accented by print media and pamphlets to create a great first impression. If you?d like a lot of Healthy Options Snack LLC contact Gabrielle Rem at 222-666-1190 or and she or he will gladly discuss the questions you have and/or needs along with you. /
This short article was compiled by Johnny Giles who owns Expert Business Presentations and you may get in touch anytime at 704-315-5149 or and this site address is . /
Appreciate making the effort to see this short article and please rate it for me personally!
What is a ?fixed? ticket price? Well actually there is no such thing as the cost of a particular ticket usually varies greatly throughout its life. You see a ticket is like any other commodity in that its value gets smaller as its likelihood of sale diminishes. In the case of an air ticket the value hits zero as soon as that aircraft takes off with an empty seat on it. An airline flight seat is more perishable than a bunch of ripe bananas.
It has taken a while but airlines have now recognised this having competed and mainly lost to no frills companies that work on the ?stack them high and sell them cheap? business model. Now you have the most conservative of the major airlines of the world discounting their prices to produce full flights. Everyone is working on the same concept which is to sell their seats at the maximum price they possibly can but shift them nonetheless.
I challenge anyone to run a straw poll on price paid on any airline flight and I can almost guarantee that they would all be different. Much depends on the popularity of the service as the ?rush hour? peak aircraft will always be able to charge a premium for the exclusivity of what they have. If you are flying to Paris on business on a Monday morning there is no point in arriving early afternoon so you, like everyone else in that situation, pays extra to go early and do a full day?s work.
So how do airlines work out their fares? Firstly they look at the trends. They see how that flight did previously going back a considerable distance. They calculated who paid what and when. They identify when they booked and how often people then cancelled. Then they look at how full the aircraft was and what prices people paid who occupied those seats. They learn from this information and build a pricing plan. The vast majority of airlines invest in ?yield management? as a way of optimising seat usage and making money.
I would say the price of a seat in a particular cabin on an airline can change over 50 times from first being put on the market up to departure time. Get it right and you have a full aircraft and no wastage. Get it wrong too often and you go out of business or need a government bail out!
Everyone knows that only individual private travelers and tourist book and pay early so the prices initially start low. Closer to departure date you get the more thrifty business traveler and those that need to go more suddenly so the price goes up. Three to four days out you have the business traveler. They need flexibility and they have to go so they get hit with the highest fares. The day before, if there are any seats left, they are discounted for the last minute traveler who is looking for cheap deals and can risk being turned away.
This is the sort of basic model that is used today. Within that there are prices for groups booked together, ships crews, tour operators and numerous others. Success or otherwise is measured by filling that last seat however they can, and at the best price for the airline. Most planes are overbooked by airlines as they even gamble on how many folk will turn up on the day. This is especially true when an airline operates different classes as they feel safer overbooking economy seats if they can upgrade any surplus into business class. This happens a lot.
Another method of selling large volumes of seats is through consolidators and wholesalers. These people have a lot of customers and they buy seats at low net prices from airlines for resale to their own market. Airlines get less but they have outsourced the responsibility of selling them to a third party.
How do you get the best ticket price? The only way is to book when others do not. Either early or risk a last minute attempt. It is like a game of chess really, except your competitors employ ?grand masters? to play their pieces!
Taslima Nasreen, an award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, is known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death. In India, Bangladesh and abroad, Nasreen?s fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir have topped the best-seller?s list. Taslima Nasreen was born in Bangladesh. She started writing when she was 13. Her writings won the hearts of people across the border and she landed with the prestigious literary award Ananda from India in 1992. Taslima won The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 1994. She received the Kurt Tucholsky Award from Swedish PEN, the Simone de Beauvoir Award and Human Rights Award from Government of France, Le Prix de l' Edit de Nantes from the city of Nantes, France. She is a Humanist Laureate in The International Academy for Humanism,USA. She won Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union, Free-thought Heroine award from Freedom From Religion foundation, USA., IBKA award, Germany,and Feminist Press Award, USA . She got the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for Promotion of the Tolerance and Non-violence in 2005. She received the Medal of honor of Lyon. She got honorary citizenship from Paris, Nantes, Lyon, Metz, Thionville, Esch etc. Taslima was awarded the Condorcet-Aron Prize at the ?Parliament of the French Community of Belgium? in Brussels and Ananda literary award again in 2000. Bestowed with honorary doctorates from Gent University and UCL in Belgium, and American University of Paris and Paris Diderot University in France, she has addressed gatherings in major venues of the world like the European Parliament, National Assembly of France, Universities of Sorbonne, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, etc. She got fellowships as a research scholar at Harvard and New York Universities. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in the USA in 2009. Taslima has written 35 books in Bengali, which includes poetry, essays, novels and autobiography series. Her works have been translated in thirty different languages.Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh. Because of her thoughts and ideas she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India. She has been prevented by the authorities from returning to her country for 19 years.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading Democratic and Republican senators said on Sunday there were encouraging signs in the push to overhaul U.S. immigration laws - a top priority for President Obama's second term - and they would introduce their plan this week.
With Obama set to begin his push for immigration reform with a speech in Las Vegas on Tuesday, a group of three Democratic and three Republican senators have been working for weeks on a plan.
One of those senators, Republican John McCain of the border state of Arizona, said on ABC's "This Week" program that the group still had hard work ahead but that he was pleased with the progress and that the principles of a comprehensive plan would be put forth this week.
McCain said the plan was much like a 2007 immigration proposal that died during the presidency of George W. Bush. That plan included a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, tighter borders, a guest worker program and requirements for employers to verify workers' immigration status.
The immigration issue was largely pushed aside during Obama's first term as economic concerns weighed more heavily, but the president, who had overwhelming backing from Hispanic voters in his 2012 re-election, cited it as part of his agenda when sworn in for a second term last week.
McCain said the political aspect of immigration reform should sway any Republicans who object to a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
"We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours, for a variety of reasons, and we've got to understand that," he said.
McCain said change also was needed because "we can't go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. We cannot forever have children who were born here, who were brought here by their parents when they were small children, to live in the shadows, as well."
Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, another member of the six-person Senate group, said on "Fox News Sunday" that work remained to be done but that the progress was encouraging.
"We are trying work our way through some very difficult issues but we are committed to a comprehensive approach to finally in this country having an immigration law that we can live with," he said. "We have virtually been going for maybe 25 years without a clear statement about immigration policy. That's unacceptable in this nation of immigrants."
Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey who is also a member of the immigration group, said on "This Week" that he was cautiously optimistic because of the bipartisan spirit that has prevailed in the recent reform effort.
"I see things that were once off the table for agreement and discussion being on the table with a serious pathway forward," he said.
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, a Republican who is not a member of the group, said he had spoken with one of its members, who said he was "very optimistic" about reform.
As frigid?weather continues to pound the East Coast and the Plains, fingers go numb, noses go red and cellphones go out. "We remind customers that their electronics operate best in the same temperatures that people like, too," said Jazmin Hupp, director of marketing at Tekserve, a popular Manhattan Apple reseller.
When the temperature drops below freezing, the lithium-ion batteries can lose some of, or even all, their charge for a time. What looked like a half-full battery when you walked out of the house could soon appear completely empty and shut down in 20-degree weather. Stop inside for a while, restart the phone and the battery will probably appear half-full again.
In most cases, the cold isn't doing any permanent damage ? just reducing the power of the battery until you warm it up again. This shouldn't come as a surprise. With the iPhone, for example, Apple's site clearly states, "Operating ambient temperature: 32 degrees to 95 degrees F (0 degrees to 35 degrees C)."
But most people don't read specs. Tekserve's Hupp said that the store's service department has had a spike in complaints about short battery life on iPods and iPhones during the cold snap. In the past week, the company has also sold 20 percent more Mophie Juice Packs ? external iPhone batteries. But they are just as susceptible to the cold as the phone's built-in battery.
The only proven remedy is perhaps also the simplest: Put your phone in your pocket. That will disrupt the popular pastime of surfing and walking. But it's the safe bet: protecting not only your phone but also your chilled fingers, as well as decreasing the likelihood of walking into traffic. [See also: How to Improve Android Smartphone Battery Life ]
No technology is likely to be foolproof. "Cases can't really help unless you had a specific case that warmed the product," said Bryan Hynecek, chief designer at smartphone case maker Speck. "Still, you would need something over the glass because that is a large surface ? best thing is to keep it in a pocket close to the body and only use in short intervals."
"A good case will mitigate that issue (somewhat)," wrote Ken Sander, owner of New York City electronic repair shop, The Cable Doctor, in an email. Sander recommended one piece of hardware, however. "If you used headphones, it won't be an issue," he said, because the phone would remain in the pocket.
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The $20 million home built by Patriots QB Tom Brady and his other half who earns well over half of the family income has a moat.? (And if they get past the moat, Tom will be ready with his sliding crane kick.)
With Ike Hilliard serving as the Bills? receivers coach, the wideouts will have a position coach who played at the NFL level for the first time since Charlie Joiner in 2000.
So what should the Dolphins do with LT Jake Long?
CB Antonio Cromartie says the Jets ?can?t lose a guy like? Darrelle Revis.
Steelers RB Isaac Redman is due to become a restricted free agent in March.
The defamation lawsuit filed by the Bengals cheerleader who pleaded guilty to having a relationship against a gossip website ended in a mistrial.
Here are some thoughts about the things about which the Browns are thinking.
Ravens CB Asa Jackson says the people hitting him up for seats at the Super Bowl are ?not quite in the ticket budget range? for this specific game.
The Texans average general-admission ticket price will increase by 9.8 percent in 2013.
Some Colts fans had some questions about teams, and someone from the Colts website had some answers.
The radio description of the Titans? ?Music City Miracle? has been named one of the top calls in sports history.
The Jaguars continue to support local charities and programs in Jacksonville.
The mother of deceased Chiefs LB Jovan Belcher is still trying to secure custody of Belcher?s daughter, Zoey.
The powers-that-be in Oakland will spend $1 million to study new stadium proposals.
In an appearance with CNN?s Piers Morgan, Broncos V.P. of football operations John Elway talked about fake girlfriends and real guns.
Since the Chargers didn?t make it to the real tournament, they?ve concocted a tournament of the best plays from a year that wasn?t good enough to get them to the real tournament.
Former Giants DE Michael Strahan talks about his upcoming Hall of Fame bid.
MADD is working with the Cowboys on strategies to raise team awareness regarding the consequences of drunk driving.
The lawyer for former Redskins CB Fred Smoot wants to make one thing clear about Smoot?s recent DUI arrest in D.C.:? Smoot did not pee in his pants.
If the Eagles return to a 3-4 defense, there could be plenty of changes on the defensive line.
Here?s an argument for the Lions drafting Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro.
Vikings K Blair Walsh offered to pay for P Chris Kluwe to attend the Pro Bowl, but Kluwe doesn?t want a free ride unless he earns it.
Even if the read-option is only a fad, teams like the Packers need to adjust to it.
Bears DT Henry Melton remains optimistic that he?ll work out a deal to stay in Chicago before the start of free agency.
Saints P Thomas Morstead finds it ?surreal? to be hanging out at the pool after Pro Bowl practice with the ?best athletes in the world.?? (Meanwhile, the ?best athletes in the world? find it surreal that Morstead has a puzzled look on his face when they tell him they?d like a Mai Tai and a bowl of macadamia nuts.)
It could be that the Falcons will get $300 million in public money for their proposed new stadium only if the effort avoids a vote from the Georgia legislature.
So how can the Bucs recapture their 10-year-old glory?? Here are 12 steps for getting there.
Panthers LB Luke Kuechly is still working toward finishing his marketing degree at Boston College.
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh sought advice from John Madden on how to handle the Super Bowl:? ?I just know that over the years watching it, the team that complains the most when they get down there usually loses,? Madden said.? ?The other thing I know is that you haven?t done anything yet.? And I think that the team that celebrates having gotten there the most usually loses focus.?
Rams G.M. Les Snead talks about the pool of talent at the Senior Bowl.
Here?s photographic proof that Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is the same size as Drew Brees.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said this week of the team?s quarterbacks:? ?I?m going to give them all a shot.?? (John McKay would be in favor of that.)
Which is preferable: house flipping or real estate investing?
In order to reach an answer, it will help to explain each phrase and put each one in perspective.
Home flipping is the strategy of buying a house and then selling it at a profit in the least amount of time manageable. A house flipper tries to make the most money in the shortest span of time, which is why its called house flipping.House flippers don?t hold onto house, they flip them quick. In fact, the shorter period of time the house flipper holds the property, the better their profits usually are.
Real estate investors want to keep the property for income then either keeping the house for a while and selling or keeping it for rental income.
The real estate investor might buy the property with the purpose of selling it at some time, but usually not in a short (two to three month) period of time.
Which form of investing is the best for you and your family?
The main differentiator is house flippers want fast cash back and real estate investors want appreciation and income from rent
House flip guys aim to get property for the cheap then rehab and sell quickly. In doing it this way, the house flipper locks in fast profits.
Frequently, the property will likely be purchased at a price a lot less compared to its selling price (within the cover anything from fifty to ninety percent of the market price).
Buying and renovating a home is the easiest way to house flip. The house flipper buys the house, renovates and sells it in a very short time.
House flip renovations are popular because if you estimate your fix up costs, you can turn a profit quickly. It can be easy to get professionals who identify the specified renovations needed and the house will look really good for a quick resale when it?s done.
This allows the house flipper to get a fast market for the house and at the same time fetching a really good price for the house.
House flipping tends to be more hassle free than real estate investing especially where the flipper is just buying a house and selling it without doing any renovations.
Where a house flipping pro works is important as well and this depends on the local real estate market in large part, the house flip professional can make a higher return of their invested dollars in shorter period of time if he flips the house quickly. The real estate investor holds the property and rents it to renters, thus making cash flow instead of a quick buck.
In buy and hold real estate investing, the scheme is more long term and for investors looking for a steady income. There is one major advantage in that the investor can build houses as per the needs of the current buyers (given the changing trends in life and buyers? requirements).
The profits fetched can also be higher if the investor is getting benefits such as economies of scale where he/she is able to buy building materials at a much lower price.
I am purely biased, but house flipping is my preferred way of making money in real estate, what do you think?
To get information on how to flip a house and house flipping tips check out our website.
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
From left, Slovenia Tina Maze, second placed, Lindsey Vonn, the winner, of the United States, and third placed Austria's Anna Fenninger celebrate on podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, speeds past a gate on her way to clock the third fastest time in an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
MARIBOR, Slovenia (AP) ? Lindsey Vonn beat rival Tina Maze on the Slovenian's home snow and in her best discipline Saturday, earning a surprising victory in a giant slalom.
Maze had a chance to secure her third giant slalom discipline title with a victory and led after a near-perfect first run, but a poor start to the second cost her valuable time and she finished 0.08 seconds behind Vonn.
Vonn proved again that she is back to her best after an illness by putting down two good runs in what is traditionally her weakest event to win in 2 minutes, 22.2 seconds.
Vonn was third after the first run but overcame several errors to have the fastest time in the second and create a margin that Maze couldn't bridge.
"In the second run I decided, OK, it's all or nothing, I had to go for it," Vonn said. "It's been a rough year for me in GS, so it's just perfect."
Vonn earned her first GS victory since March of last year, and her second win in a week after taking the downhill at Cortina D'Ampezzo.
With her 59th World Cup win overall, she's just three away from equaling Annemarie Moser Proell's record on the women's side.
Austria's Anna Fenninger was third, 0.57 seconds behind Vonn.
Maze extended her lead in the overall standing to 748 points against her closest challenger, Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who finished fourth. Vonn stands another 66 points back in third, having missed several races while recovering from an intestinal illness that landed her in hospital in November.
The 29-year-old Maze was expected to clinch the GS title in front of a passionate home crowd and was 0.48 seconds ahead of Vonn after dominating the first run.
However, she ran wide at the start of the second, leaving her 0.13 seconds behind her rival at the first checkpoint. Despite the cheers of the fans urging her on, Maze couldn't make up the time and finished with tears in her eyes.
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God Breathes on Blended Families by Moe Becnel (24)
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Stepparenting & Blended Families
In 1989, Moe & Paige Becnel married and began the task of blending his three children and her two children into a true family. The Becnels experienced many struggles, failures, and eventually victory in the blending process. God Breathes on Blended Families is the story of their blended family coming together in fullness, and is a handbook for other blended families who are pursuing a solid, loving family. This book identifies several crucial problem areas that blended families, children of divorce and stepparents face today, and how the Becnels were able to overcome to make their family complete.
A MotherHood Experience: P&G Tips to maximize family budgets skip to main | skip to sidebar
P&G Tips to maximize family budgets
The holiday season is now over and as we sit back and reflect about the joyous festivities, we can't help but also think about our 2013 budget which may or may not have a dent in it after gift giving and holiday hosting. Soon we will be facing the much?dreaded?post-holiday bills and some of us may be scratching our heads as to what happened and how we can get back on track for the New Year.?Sandra Hanna, CEO and co-founder of www.smartcookies.com has some great tips to help ease the pain of the headache that comes with post-holiday budget blues. We had the opportunity to listen to Sandra speak at the P&G event last November, shes a fantastic person with some amazing ideas to help families everywhere.? Find free outdoor activities: During the weeks the kids are off on holidays, or on weekends, why not participate in free outdoor activities like sliding at a local public hill, skating at a local public rink or even look into free winter festivals that may be taking place in your neighbourhood. These activities keep everyone happy and won't make an impact on your already dented budget.? If you live in a close-knit neighbourhood you can also invite the local kids together for a snowman parade. This is where kids build snowmen and parade them around the block in a wagon or sled. Maybe even have a judging contest (of course everyone would win, it's all for fun after all). Workout at home: There's no need to keep up with the?Jones'?and spend on a gym membership this year. You can get a simple workout right at home. If you're willing to tough it outside a brisk walk, run or snowshoe could be the best workout you have all year. Best of all these activities cost you nothing but time and energy, if you want to work off that post-holiday overindulgence, these are great starting points. In winter months it can even be fun to get a group of friends together and share winter workout gear or workout music playlists to help eachother get motivated to meet their workout goals. With the money saved, you could all enjoy a nice hot chocolate or late for a treat afterward.? Cold water wash: No matter what the season, I wash our laundry in cold water. It saves money on electricity, use of hot water and also not as hard on the clothing. Less chance of shrinking that new sweater mom got me for Christmas. Using cold water and detergent like Cold Water Tide can actually save about $7 a load in energy costs. With the amount of laundry we do per week - those savings can definitely add up!
Winter Staycation: Want to take the family on a vacation on an already tight budget? Why spend hundreds on a vacation somewhere hot and balmy when you can save money on a staycation right in your own city! You'd be surprised how fun and inexpensive a staycation close to home can be. Local hotels, restaurants and attractions often have off-season discounts you can cash in on. Just do a little research about where you're heading and call in advance letting them know about your local staycation to see if they have any discounts and savings you could use for your family. Being local you may just find a cheap hotel room rate or family meal discounts in hotels and restaurants!? For more great money saving tips don't forget to follow @SmartCookies on Twitter and Like the SmartCookies Facebook fan page! Happy winter budgeting! Disclosure: Posted by AME in participation as a #PGMom Brand Ambassador. We receive special perks as part of the program. Comments and opinions on this blog are those of the author. Product information, tips and stock images provided by representatives of P&G.?
Elizabeth Shaw has announced a further move into the premium chocolate sector with the?launch of its new Connoisseur Bars.
The chocolate brand has given a new twist?to its current range and hopes to appeal to the more discerning palate with the introduction?of luxury chocolate bars.
This follows on from the launch of the companies? first?venture into bars last year, which has proved a great success.
The chocolate bars come in two ?flavours, Blackberry & Ginger?and Pear & Almond.
The bars come in, Blackberry & Ginger and Pear & Almond
Made from dark chocolate the Connoisseur Bars are?have a fruit and spice flavour combination with a crunchy texture.
The 100g bars have a RRP of ?2.29 and will be available from early 2013 in?Sainsbury?s.
Karen Crawford, Managing Director said:
?This is a most exciting time for the Brand.
?These innovative new flavours tap into consumers? desire to try something new and?different but from a Quality Brand they can trust.
?Together with other planned launches?later in the year they embody the new Elizabeth Shaw which aims to offer exciting flavours?and textures in formats for every treating and gifting occasion.?
Twitter has officially launched its Vine video sharing app in the App Store, as announced on the company blog. With Instagram taking the world by storm, and subsequently selling to Facebook for $1 billion, the question on everyone's minds has been who will be able to do the same thing with video? Twitter's been thinking this through for a while, proven by the acquisition of video-sharing app Vine in October.
AAA??Jan. 24, 2013?9:30 PM ET AP PHOTOS: A look at women's military service By The Associated Press??By The Associated Press
In this May 9, 2012 photo, Capt. Sara Rodriguez of the 101st Airborne Division walks through the woods during the expert field medical badge testing at Fort Campbell, Ky. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
In this May 9, 2012 photo, Capt. Sara Rodriguez of the 101st Airborne Division walks through the woods during the expert field medical badge testing at Fort Campbell, Ky. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2009 file photo, U.S. Marine Female Engagement Team members Lance Cpl. Mary Shloss, right, of Hammond, Ind., Sgt. Monica Perez,, center, of San Diego, Calif. and Cpl. Kelsey Rossetti, of Derry, N.H. wait for the signal to begin their patrol in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
FILE - In this Sunday, April 12, 2009, file photo, an Iraqi woman is searched by a female U.S. soldier before reuniting with her husband, who was among 32 men released from U.S. military detention at Camp Bucca to their families in Tarmiyah, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
This Thursday, March 20, 2008, photo provided by the US Army shows Army Spc. Monica Brown, a medic from the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, who received a silver star at an award ceremony at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Brown is the second female since World War II to earn the Silver Star award for her actions while in combat. (AP Photo/US Army, Spc. Micah E. Clare)
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2005, file photo, Army Major Tammy Duckworth rolls herself up during physical therapy at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Duckworth lost both legs when the helicopter she was in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a mission near Baghdad on Nov. 12, 2004. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Michael Chow)
Through the years, women's roles in wartime have evolved ? not that they've ever been inclined to just stand by.
During the American Revolution, Nancy Morgan Hart was famously depicted with a musket, defending her home and children from British soldiers in Georgia.
In World War II, members of the Women Army Corps worked in a support capacity, while in Iraq and Afghanistan women have served closer to the front.
Those roles evolved further Thursday when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed an order ending the Pentagon's ban on women serving in combat.
Here's a collection of images showing some of the ways women have served their country in the U.S. military..
Associated PressNews Topics: General news, Women in the military, Military affairs, Photographic services, Military culture, Military and defense, Government and politics, Consumer services, Consumer products and services, Industries, Business
Jan. 23, 2013 ? Fonolo, the company that improves the call center experience by replacing hold time with a call-back, continues to grow its portfolio of world-class partnerships with the addition of Cruises.com. Owned and operated by World Travel Holdings, one of the nation?s top travel agencies, Cruises.com offers incredible savings on brand-name cruises.
Click hereto join the UK Contact Centre Forum ? the no.1 LinkedIn group for UK customer management professionals
With the addition of Fonolo to the Cruises.com website, users select the cruise they?re interested in and can now easily request an agent call-back with just one click ? eliminating phone menus and hold-time. Fonolo?s cloud-based call-back service provides a convenient and intuitive interface for callers and a secure, seamless process for call center agents.
?World Travel Holdings recognizes that the vacation experience begins long before you arrive at your destination,? said Shai Berger, Fonolo CEO. ?The integration of Fonolo with the Cruises.com website gives prospective travellers a first-class customer service experience right from the start of the booking process.?
According to a 2012 study from American Express, for a complex purchase like booking a cruise, customers preferred talking to a live person on the phone two-to-one over simply using a website. Offering an intelligent call-back feature makes it seamless for customers to reach an agent, removing the barriers from buying online.
?Not only does Fonolo direct callers to the right agent based on their travel needs, but the resulting data shows an improvement on the caller experience which has exceeded our expectations and favorably impacted sales,? said Jeff Smith, SVP sales and customer care, World Travel Holdings. ?Fonolo makes it even easier for our customers to book their dream vacation and furthers our ability to deliver a remarkable experience.?
Because Fonolo?s cloud-based solution required no changes to their call center, World Travel Holdings was able to deploy this new functionality in a matter of days. They also integrated their web analytics with Fonolo so they could track and optimize every aspect of the customer experience.
World Travel Holdings began offering Fonolo service to its Cruises.com customers in November 2012.
About Fonolo
Fonolo?s cloud-based solutions improve the way call centers interact with their customers by replacing hold time with a call-back. Regardless of where the conversation begins ? on the web, mobile or by phone ? Fonolo quickly and conveniently routes customers through the call center, connecting them to the right agent while eliminating hold time.
A growing list of organizations, including the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Allstream and SiriusXM Canada have discovered the value of using Fonolo as an innovative call center solution. The privately-held, Toronto-based company has received numerous awards, including ?Best of Enterprise Connect,? ITExpo?s ?Best Contact Center Solution?, ?50 Best Websites? from Time.com and more.
About World Travel Holdings
World Travel Holdings is the world?s leading cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company with a portfolio of more than 30 diverse brands. In addition to owning some of the largest brands distributing cruises, villas, hotels and luxury travel services, World Travel Holdings has a vast portfolio of licensed private label partnerships comprised of top leisure travel providers, almost every U.S. airline, leading hotel brands and prominent corporations. The company?s home based division operates a top-rated travel agency franchise and the country?s original host agency. Its global presence in the United Kingdom includes operating two cruise agencies and multiple private-label brands. World Travel Holdings has offices in Long Island, NY, Wilmington, Mass., Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., Virginia Beach, Va., and Chorley, United Kingdom. For more information, visit WorldTravelHoldings.com.
Category:?Customer Experience
Added By: Sam Collins on 23rd Jan 2013 - 12:26
Number of Views: 105
Novel aptamer boosts T cell-based immune response to therapeutic vaccinesPublic release date: 23-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2013A small compound called an aptamer that specifically targets and stimulates a human immune cell can greatly increase the effectiveness of an immunotherapeutic drug designed to destroy malignant or virus-infected cells. The development of a novel apatamer that recognizes activated T-lymphocytes and can boost the therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).
Elizabeth Pratico, Bruce Sullenger, and Smita Nair, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, describe the innovative techniques they used to create an aptamera short sequence of nucleic acidsthat binds to the human protein OX40, a costimulatory molecule present on the surface of already activated immune cells.
In the article "Identification and Characterization of an Agonistic Aptamer Against the T Cell Costimulatory Receptor, OX40," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/nat.2012.0388) the researchers demonstrate that binding of the aptamer to OX40 on activated T cells enhances the cells' ability to proliferate and to produce the immunostimulatory cytokine interferon-gamma. The authors envision future studies that would evaluate the therapeutic potential of the human OX40 aptamer, which could be used to stimulate T cells during the production of patient-specific vaccines for use in cell therapy and personalized medicine.
"The therapeutic potential of aptamers has always been one of their most promising aspects," says Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD, SomaLogic, Inc., Boulder, CO. "This elegant work by the Duke team underlines that promise while extending it into the critical area of immunotherapy."
###
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is under the editorial leadership of Co-Editors-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and C.A. Stein, MD, PhD, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; and Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD (SomaLogic, Boulder, CO).
About the Journal
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat) is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the Official Journal of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (http://www.oligotherapeutics.org). Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene Therapy, Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers website (http://www.liebertpub.com).
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
http://www.liebertpub.com
Phone: (914) 740-2100
(800) M-LIEBERT
Fax: (914) 740-2101
[ | 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.
Novel aptamer boosts T cell-based immune response to therapeutic vaccinesPublic release date: 23-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2013A small compound called an aptamer that specifically targets and stimulates a human immune cell can greatly increase the effectiveness of an immunotherapeutic drug designed to destroy malignant or virus-infected cells. The development of a novel apatamer that recognizes activated T-lymphocytes and can boost the therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).
Elizabeth Pratico, Bruce Sullenger, and Smita Nair, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, describe the innovative techniques they used to create an aptamera short sequence of nucleic acidsthat binds to the human protein OX40, a costimulatory molecule present on the surface of already activated immune cells.
In the article "Identification and Characterization of an Agonistic Aptamer Against the T Cell Costimulatory Receptor, OX40," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/nat.2012.0388) the researchers demonstrate that binding of the aptamer to OX40 on activated T cells enhances the cells' ability to proliferate and to produce the immunostimulatory cytokine interferon-gamma. The authors envision future studies that would evaluate the therapeutic potential of the human OX40 aptamer, which could be used to stimulate T cells during the production of patient-specific vaccines for use in cell therapy and personalized medicine.
"The therapeutic potential of aptamers has always been one of their most promising aspects," says Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD, SomaLogic, Inc., Boulder, CO. "This elegant work by the Duke team underlines that promise while extending it into the critical area of immunotherapy."
###
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is under the editorial leadership of Co-Editors-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and C.A. Stein, MD, PhD, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; and Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD (SomaLogic, Boulder, CO).
About the Journal
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat) is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the Official Journal of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (http://www.oligotherapeutics.org). Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Human Gene Therapy, Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers website (http://www.liebertpub.com).
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
http://www.liebertpub.com
Phone: (914) 740-2100
(800) M-LIEBERT
Fax: (914) 740-2101
[ | 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.
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Elizabeth Shaw has announced a further move into the premium chocolate sector with the?launch of its new Connoisseur Bars.
Twitter has officially launched its Vine video sharing app in the App Store, as announced on the 
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Public release date: 23-Jan-2013
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