Beaumont Health System Considers Strategic Partnerships - Troy ...

A Beaumont Health System executive said Tuesday that the organization is considering strategic partnerships with other institutions, but refuted a rumor the hospital is for sale.

Colette Stimmell, Beaumont's director of corporate communications, said Tuesday afternoon that the Royal Oak-based health system's executive board is meeting today and one of the agenda items is strategic partnerships.

"Our board and executive team have been involved in strategic planning discussions for some time now. As part of that, we've been talking with many organizations locally and across the country and these are confidential discussions so I can't discuss the names of any of the organizations we've been talking with," she said. "As soon as we make a decision, we will make an announcement. We're not quite there yet but I expect it will be soon."

Stimmell couldn't discuss entails of what a potential partnership would look like but said the health system has considered "a variety of options."

One thing is clear: "We are not up for sale," she said. "Acquisition is not an option."

Beaumont's name won't be changing, either, she said.

Crain's Detroit Business reported that an unnamed tipster told the publication that Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System's board voted Friday to acquire Beaumont. However, the Crain's report also noted Henry Ford spokesman Dwight Angell said that while the system's board of trustees did meet to discuss potential partnerships, he could not confirm any details.

Stimmell said a decision and an announcement on strategic partnerships could come any time.

"We recognize people are anxious to know. Our employees are anxious to know. They've known that the discussions are going on," she said. "We want to get the information out as soon as we can."

Regardless of what decision is made, patients won't be affected, she said.

"We will continue to take care of patients as we always have," she said.

As for why Beaumont has been considering strategic partnerships, Stimmell said it has to do with health care reform.

"Health care organizations are all talking with each other and pursuing various types of relationships," she said. "It's all related to changes in the health care industry, health care reform, declining reimbursement.

"Here in Michigan, and across the country, organizations are getting together and forming various types of relationships. We're trying to be proactive to make sure that we can remain a leading health care system," Stimmel said. "In order to do that you have to look ahead at what changes are occurring and be prepared to respond to those. That's why our board and executive team have been involved in these discussions."

Source: http://troy.patch.com/articles/beaumonth-health-system-considers-strategic-partnerships

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Stock futures climb after historic market closure

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday in what could be a volatile day of trading as equity markets reopen after a damaging storm forced a two-day market closure.

It was the first time since 1888 that the stock market had been closed for multiple days because of weather.

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq shuttered operations on Monday, hours before hurricane Sandy made landfall on the U.S. eastern seaboard with devastating consequences. Transport into and around New York City remained limited on Wednesday, while wide-scale power outages meant many would be unable to work from home.

After the market closures, coming during the busy corporate earnings season and at the end of the fiscal year for some funds, some analysts predicted an over reaction and higher-than- normal volume as pent-up demand is realized during early trading.

Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer at Global Financial Private Capital in Sarasota, Florida, said the day would be marked by "the compression effect," marked by above-average volume as "one day of trading basically represents three."

"However, that's volume to the upside since we've had some positive underpinnings with strong earnings from Ford and BP and good news out of Europe," he said. "If we had been open over the past two days that would've been reflected in the market, but since we were dark, all that is going to come out today."

Stocks moving in premarket trading included Ford Motor Co , up 1.9 percent to $10.56, Advanced Micro Devices , up 2.4 percent to $2.12, and Home Depot , gaining 1.4 percent to $60.90.

Home Depot, a Dow component, is viewed as a company that may benefit from the storm as people buy rebuilding supplies. Insurance companies, which may be on the hook for billions of dollars of damage relating to the storm, will also be in view, as will airlines, which canceled thousands of flights in the northeast because of Sandy.

S&P 500 futures rose 8.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 65 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 9 points.

All of the U.S. stock market operators took part in coordinated testing Tuesday for trading on NYSE's backup system, in case it needed to be used.

The exercise was also aimed at allowing member trading firms, many of which were operating on backup systems due to complications from the storm, a chance to ensure they're ready for resumption of trading Wednesday.

Ford posted a third-quarter profit that trounced analysts' forecasts on Tuesday, driven by higher vehicle prices and record profit margins of 12 percent in North America. Wednesday will be the first day investors will be able to trading on the earnings.

General Motors reported earnings Wednesday that beat expectations, even as other companies, including Pfizer Inc , delayed the release of its results because of the impact of the storm.

Walt Disney Co agreed to buy filmmaker George Lucas's Lucas film Ltd and its "Star Wars" franchise for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, a blockbuster deal that includes the surprise promise of a new film in the series in 2015.

Investors will be looking ahead to Friday's non-farm payrolls report, the last before the November 6 presidential election, which is expected to show 125,000 jobs added in October, up 11,000 from the previous month. (Additional reporting by Ed Krudy; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-higher-wall-street-set-open-100047901--finance.html

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Proposed SNA on the ERASMUS program at the Institut d'Etudes ...

Proposed SNA project by Ryan Spagnolo, who will be taking D217. In the Fall of 2007, I embarked on a semester long stay in France as part of an exchange program placing me at an international relations program in Strasbourg. The program ? ERASMUS (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) ? left an indelible impression on me as the most transformative and unforgettable experience I?ve had to date. As a topic that is close to my heart, the ERASMUS program at IEP Strasbourg gathered students from 10 European countries, the United States, Canada and Australia to study for a year in a country and an educational system much different from their own.? The goal of the ERASMUS program is to connect European students with one another, build cross-cultural relationships across language and national identity, and to train young leaders. One of the uniting factors in the 2007-8 ERASMUS program (other than our language proficiency in French) was that we were all pursuing degrees in the international affairs or public policy field.

A possible research question could analyze whether the program influenced participants (by their time there and the connections they made) to pursue actually internationally focused careers post-graduation? What would be interesting to find out is whether there is a correlation between who kept in touch with who based off of certain characteristics.

Another research question to ask is: was the experience as transformative for them as well? It would be easy just to chalk up ongoing correspondence to the friendships forged in Strasbourg, but again?it would be interesting to see if?patterns exist (if any) regarding attributes of life after ERASMUS.

From this angle of the ?transformative? nature of the ERASMUS program, I would be curious to analyze if cross-cultural, cross-sectoral and cross-lingual (native) ties were established and maintained five years after the program. Doing a social network analysis of this group would be really helpful in finding the answers to these questions, most importantly these three: whether these connections?exemplified the goals of the ERASMUS program, whether people are now in internationally-focused careers (or headed in that direction) and if the program was personally transformative (in terms of the qualitative aspects of the relationships forged during the program) for the participants.

Hypothesis
I hypothesize that the majority of people will have kept in contact with people who share the same native language and possibly, but not necessarily, the same country.? There might be variation in terms of what sectors will have significant connections, but the public sector and international/multilateral organization sector may have the most interconnections or might have cliques, based on the focus of academic study in our ERASMUS program. ?Of course, the most obvious connections will be with those who spent the most time together during the program and formed friendships. But, again, my question is did they meet people based on interest and then carry that relationship to their professional lives.

The one-mode nodes of analysis would be the participants themselves (ideally all the ones for 2007-2008, regardless of whether they spent a semester or a year in Strasbourg). The ties would represent the top 3 people from the program that participants keep in contact with the most. Centrality measures will be important to determine whether certain people are linked with others regarding current professional sector, native language, country, education and other attribute characteristics. ?All of these characteristics and the proposed survey questions are listed below.

Data, for the most part, would be moderately easy to obtain if everyone responds to the survey. Unfortunately, one of my close friends from the program is no longer with us and the data set would not give a complete picture of all the participants in the 2007-8 IEP Strasbourg ERASMUS program. Assuming everyone would respond back to the survey, the data set in UCINet and the network map in NetDraw would be manageable to upload and analyze.

Since the three main goals are transformative experience (through different connections), internationally-focused careers among the participants, and meeting the mission of the ERASMUS program, there are certain questions we need to ask. Aside from personal friendships, did we keep in touch with each other based on other factors, such as similar career/professional paths by sector? Did participants go on to have international careers or domestic careers? Does our ongoing communication really depend on our native languages and countries of origin? Did pursuing a higher degree have an impact on the ongoing relationships forged?

Proposed Survey Questions

Network Question
Who are the top 3 people you stay in touch with the most? 1.?????? What country are you from?
??????????????????? a.?????? United States
??????????????????? b.????? Canada
??????????????????? c.?????? Norway
??????????????????? d.????? Iceland
??????????????????? e.????? Spain
????????????????????f.??????? Italy
??????????????????? g.?????? Ireland
??????????????????? h.????? UK
??????????????????? i.???????? Australia
????????????????????j.??????? Poland
??????????????????? k.?????? Sweden
??????????????????? l.???????? Latvia
???????????????????m.??? Germany

2.?????? What is your first (native) language? Please select one.

????????????????????a.?????? English
??????????????????? b.????? French
??????????????????? c.?????? Spanish
??????????????????? d.????? Norwegian
??????????????????? e.????? Icelandic
??????????????????? f.??????? Polish
??????????????????? g.?????? Italian
??????????????????? h.????? Russian
???????????????????? i.???????? German

3.?????? What sector do you currently work in?

??????????????????? a.?????? Private/for-profit
??????????????????? b.????? Non-profit
??????????????????? c.?????? Public/government
??????????????????? d.????? International/multilateral organization
??????????????????? e.????? Grad student
??????????????????? f.??????? Academia

4.?????? Do you currently work abroad from your home country?

??????????????????? a.?????? Domestic
????????????????? b.????? Abroad

5.?????? Did you pursue a higher degree (Masters, MBA, Law) after ERASMUS?

??????????????????? a.?????? Yes
??????????????????? b.????? No

6.?????? Does your job currently involve international travel?

????????????????? a.?????? Yes
????????????????? b.????? No

7.?????? Do you interact with international colleagues/counterparts in your current job?

??????????????????? a.?????? Yes
??????????????????? b.????? No

As the project develops, there may be additional attribute questions added in order to pick up relevant characteristics essential to understanding our post-ERASMUS ties.

Source: http://crtunnard.blogspot.com/2012/10/proposed-sna-on-erasmus-program-at.html

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Fed to keep buying bonds despite firmer U.S. growth

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve appears intent to stick to its bond-buying stimulus on Wednesday, having already indicated it would take more than a modest show of economic strength for policymakers to begin taking their foot off the gas.

The Fed unveiled a third round of bond purchases last month to try to rev up a sluggish economic recovery despite a looming presidential election that some thought might deter action.

Now analysts believe the central bank will wait until at least December to make any changes to its current plans to buy $40 billion of mortgage debt per month.

"With the election in two weeks, the Fed will be in a self-imposed quiet mode this week," said Stephen Stanley, an economist at Pierpont Securities, in Stamford, Connecticut. "Look for a statement that has no more than marginal language changes."

Policymakers have already said they will stick to their open-ended plans to buy bonds until the employment outlook improves substantially, and they are expected to reiterate that intention in a statement due around 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT).

While officials will likely nod to recent signs of a pickup in economic activity emerging in employment and housing, economists agree that the glimmers of a stronger recovery are too few and far between for the Fed to alter its policy course.

Indeed, it is also likely the Fed will repeat that it expects to keep overnight interest rates near zero through at least mid-2015 and that it intends to keep a highly stimulative policy in place "for a considerable time" after the recovery strengthens.

The Fed, which has held rates close to zero since December 2008, had already bought $2.3 trillion in mortgage-related and government debt before it launched its latest round of stimulus.

TALKING THE TALK

Aside from a discussion over the stance of monetary policy, officials look set to debate fine-tuning their communications strategy by adopting numerical thresholds for economic variables that would guide the central bank's unconventional stimulus.

Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, for instance, has advocated keeping rates near zero until the unemployment rate, currently at 7.8 percent, goes down to 7 percent, as long as inflation does not exceed 3 percent. The central bank formally targets 2 percent inflation.

Policymakers are also strongly considering the adoption of a consensus economic forecast for the central bank as a whole, as opposed to the quarterly individual projections for growth, employment, inflation and interest rates currently published.

But no announcement is likely until at least December, when the Fed releases its next installment of economic estimates and Chairman Ben Bernanke holds a news conference.

"We do not anticipate that an agreement will be reached at this meeting," said Millan Mulraine, senior U.S. economic strategist at TD Securities, in New York. "However, the tone of the accompanying statement should remain exceptionally dovish, with the Fed offering only modest upgrades to the economic assessment and reiterating its commitment to do more if necessary."

The December meeting is also seen as a good time for the Fed to re-evaluate the extent of its monthly bond purchases. In addition to the new program to buy mortgage-backed debt, the Fed has been using proceeds from short-term government securities to buy longer-term ones. That program, known as Operation Twist, expires at the end of the year.

In response to the financial crisis and deep recession of 2007-2009, the Fed launched a series of unconventional policy actions, including its bond purchases. Some analysts have expressed concern about future inflation from the Fed's policies, but price increases have remained tame so far.

The problem is, growth has, too. U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of just 1.3 percent in the second quarter, not enough to put steady downward pressure on the jobless rate.

Economists expect a report on Friday to show the recovery perked up a bit in the third quarter on the back of stronger retail sales, but there are concerns a looming tightening of U.S. fiscal policy could toss the economy back into recession.

Europe's debt crisis, a key source of concern for the Fed, also remains unresolved, although it is not flaring up too wildly in financial markets, offering comfort that the U.S. economy will escape any contagion.

(Editing by Tim Ahmann and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-keep-buying-bonds-despite-firmer-u-growth-041425787--business.html

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Shadow Isles Patch Notes - Blog - SoloMid.NET - League of ...

Shadow Isles Patch Notes

by Pingmeep @ October 25, 2012
3662 Views PVP.net v1.70

?Crest of Honor - Honorable Opponent will now be displayed to the player and his teammates during champion select lobby and the loading screen
?Fixed a bug where a player's Ranked Solo rating would be displayed before all of his provisional matches had been finished.

League of Legends v1.0.0.150

Twisted Treeline has been remade!
?New layout and reworked jungle that will push the pace of champion encounters.
?New altar control objective and boss, Vilemaw.
?New environmental art, monster skins, music, and sound.
?New Twisted Treeline items (details are subject to change)

*NEW ITEM* Blackfire Torch
?Recipe: Kage's Lucky Pick + Catalyst
?Total gold cost: 2890 (combine cost: 800)
?+50 Ability Power
?+300 Health
?+350 Mana
?Unique Passive: Your spells burn for an additional 5% of the target's maximum Health in magic damage over 3 seconds (effect halfed for AoE and and damage over time).

*NEW ITEM* Wooglet's Witchcap
?Recipe: Needlessly Large Rod
?Total gold cost: 2700 (combine cost: 1100)
?+100 Ability Power
?Unique Passive: +10% Movement Speed
?Unique Passive: Increases Ability Power by 25%.

*NEW ITEM* Overlord's Bloodmail
?Recipe: Giant's Belt + Ruby Crystal
?Total gold cost: 2565 (combine cost: 980)
?+850 Health
?Unique Passive: On kill or assist, heal 200 HP over 5 seconds.

*NEW ITEM* Lord Van Damm's Pillager
?Recipe: Heart of Gold + Brutalizer
?Total gold cost: 2962 (combine cost: 800)
?+40 Attack Damage
?+350 Health
?Unique Passive: 10% Cooldown Reduction
?Unique Passive: 10% Spell Vamp

*NEW ITEM* Grez's Spectral Lantern
?Recipe: Madred's Razors
?Total gold cost: 1200 (upgrade cost: 200)
?+25 Attack Damage
?+30 Armor
?Unique Passive: Your basic attacks against minions and monsters have a 20% chance to deal 300 bonus magic damage.
?Unique Active: A stealth-detecting mist grants vision in the target area for 10 seconds (1 minute cooldown).

*NEW ITEM* Wicked Hatchet
?Recipe: Cloak of Agility + Long Sword
?Total gold cost: 1955 (combine cost: 710)
?+20 Attack Damage
?+18% Critical Strike Chance
?Unique Passive: Your basic attacks inflict Grievous Wounds on enemy champions, causing 50% reduced healing and regeneration for 1.5 seconds.

*NEW ITEM* Blade of the Ruined King
?Recipe: Bilgewater Cutlass
?Total gold cost: 2825 (upgrade cost: 1000)
?+40 Attack Damage
?+10% Life Steal
?Unique Passive: Your attacks deal 4% of the target's current health in magic damage and heals you for half the amount (120 max vs. minions).
?Unique Active: Drains target champion, dealing 150% physical damage plus 50% of your attack damage and healing you by the same amount. Additionally, you steal 30% of their movement speed for 2 seconds (1 minute cooldown).

*NEW ITEM* Ichor of Rage
?Gold cost: 500
?Click to Consume: Grants 20-42 Attack Damage based on champion level, 20-42% Attack Speed based on champion level, and 15% increased damage to Turrets for 4 minutes.

*NEW ITEM* Ichor of Illumination
?Gold cost: 500
?Click to Consume: Grants 30-64 Ability Power based on champion level, 15% Cooldown Reduction, and a huge boost to mana and energy regeneration for 4 minutes.

Blitzcrank
?Base Health reduced to 518 from 568
?Health per level reduced 95 from 100

Evelynn
?Agony?s Embrace Ability Power ratio reduced to +1% every 100 Ability Power from +1% every 50 Ability Power

Ezreal
?Essence Flux no longer reduces enemy champion Attack Speed

Jayce
?Thundering Blow
?No longer deals any flat base damage (still deals % Max Health damage and has a bonus Attack Damage ratio)
?Fixed: Stun no longer sometimes lasts beyond the knockback duration
?Acceleration Gate mana cost increased to 50 from 30

Leona
?Fixed: Shield of Daybreak's cooldown now matches its tooltip (11/10/9/8/7 seconds)

Mordekaiser
?Fixed: Mace of Spades now damages wards properly

Poppy
?Fixed: Devastating Blow now damages wards properly

Rengar
?Base Health Regeneration reduced to 4 from 8
?Health Regeneration per level reduced to 0.4 from 0.8
?Bonetooth Necklace no longer grants a base +10 Attack Damage
?Savagery Empowered Attack Damage ratio reduced to 2.0 from 2.5

?Thrill of the Hunt
?Stealth duration reduced to 5 seconds from 7
?Cooldown increased to 140/105/70 seconds from 120/85/50

Skarner
?Crystalline Exoskeleton Cooldown increased to 18 seconds from 14
?Impale will no longer finish casting if the target escapes the range during the cast time

Sona
?Base Health reduced to 410 from 450
?Base Armor reduced to 9 from 11

Syndra
?Force of Will
?Now grabs nearest Dark Sphere in range if no valid target selected
?Grab time reduced to 0.25 seconds from 0.33
?Throw commands given during the grab time now execute immediately after the grab finishes
?Fixed a bug where minions/Dark Spheres being pulled could get stuck on terrain

?Scatter the Weak
?Dark Spheres that have nearly finished casting will now get knocked back once they arrive
?Fixed a bug where units hit by both Scatter the Weak and an affected Dark Sphere would be knocked back but not stunned

?Unleashed Power
?Spell shields will now only block a single sphere rather than the entire spell
?Now also pulls in spheres cast just before the start of Unleashed Power
?Fixed a bug where Unleashed Power would go on cooldown if the target died before the cast animation completed

Tristana
?Explosive Shot Cast Range now matches her Attack Range (including per level increases from her passive Draw a Bead)
?Fixed: Rocket Jump now is more reliable when used around terrain
?Buster Shot mana cost reduced to 100 from 140

Trundle
?Rabid Bite Mana Cost decreased from 40 to 30
?Contaminate's cast animation no longer locks Trundle out of using other abilities

Twisted Fate
?Fixed: Pick a Card now damages wards properly

Items
?Ward Skins
?Harrowing Ward skins will be available to unlock in the store in the Ward Skins tab.
?Unlocking a ward skin allows you to use it in game for the next 7 days.
?Multiple weeks can be stacked for an individual ward skin.
?When activated in the store, ward skins cosmetically change both sight and vision wards in-game.

?Deathfire Grasp
?No longer grants Cooldown Reduction
?Active base damage reduced to 15% current Health from 25%
?Ability Power ratio increased to 5% per 100 Ability Power from 4%

?Phage
?Slow duration reduced to 2 seconds from 2.5
?Slow for ranged attacks reduced to 20% from 30%

?Trinity Force
?Slow for ranged attacks reduced to 25% from 35%

?Frozen Mallet
?Fixed: Slow duration now correctly lasts for 2.5 seconds instead of 2

?Hextech Sweeper
?New Recipe: Amplifying Tome + Kindlegem
?Total gold cost: 1435 (combine cost: 150)
?Ability Power reduced from 40 to 25
?Active effect increased from 6 second duration to 10 seconds.

Co-op vs. AI
?Cho'gath bot will now increase the damage of Vorpal Spikes when he levels it up.
?Veigar bot will now appear on intermediate difficulty in Co-op vs AI for all maps.
?Fixed a bug where Summoner's Rift bots would occasionally get stuck on the summoning platform after respawn if enemy champions were nearby
?Fixed a bug where Kayle Bot would idle while trying to attack enemy minions
?Bots now properly factor untargetable enemy turrets in threat calculations, making it harder to get them stuck between towers.

General
?The Dragon's burning damage will no longer disrupt players from Recalling
?Game tips and interesting facts will now be displayed on the loading screen and at the start of some matches
?The mini-scoreboard will no longer block right clicks from issuing champion orders.
?Item cooldowns will now be displayed in a similar color blue to spell cooldowns.
?The blue overlay for spells on cooldown has been slightly lightened.
?Locking the camera on a champion will now persist through that champion's deaths.
?Added a hotkey for switching between items and gold on the scoreboard.
?Directed camera algorithms have been improved for Twisted Treeline.
?API for Manual Recommended Items Overrides now works correctly with all champions and also works correctly even if the character changes forms prior to opening the shop for the first time, like Udyr

Source: http://www.solomid.net/blog.php?v=34317

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Yadin Nicol and Bede Durbidge make the Round 3 cut at Rip Curl ...

Yadin Nicol and Bede Durbidge make the Round 3 cut at Rip Curl Pro Portugal

Australia?s Yadin Nicol and his fellow countryperson Bede Durbidge made it through into the third round of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, the eighth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours in their respective Round 2 heats that went down at Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, on Saturday, October 13.

Nicol got the better of Brazil?s Heitor Alves to earn his place in the third round, while the latter found his name added to the elimination list.

The eighth heat saw America?s Taylor Knox failing to keep his place in the contention for the event title after succumbing to Durbidge, who confidently advanced to Round 3.

The latest event on the elite tour was at the tail end of the season, thus likely to play an integral role in determining the eventual ASP World Champion as well as the surfers who are to compete for the coveted title during the next round.

The afternoon session on the first active day of the event saw the three-to-five foot waves continue to improve, something that allowed the surfers to cut even more loose as the day progressed.

After failing to make much of an impact during the morning session, Nicol and Alves found themselves standing on the edge, desperate to register a win to keep their names from getting added to the elimination list.

As the seventh heat got underway, Nicol wasted absolutely no time to get down to business, locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the one-on-one affair to post a 7.17 on the score-board.

He soon added an additional and even more impressive 8.93 to his account, thus moving to a heat-total of 16.10 points.

Alves responded with a 3.67 and 4.57 off his best-two waves, thus finishing with a heat-total of 8.24 points. The effort was hardly sufficient to bring Nicol?s lead under threat, thus allowing him to walk away with the win.

The eighth heat saw Durbidge get the better of the ever-so-experienced Knox to secure his place in the next round.

The Australian surfer started off slow, but gradually built momentum to eventually get his hands on a 6.83 and 7.80-point ride, which allowed him to finish with a heat-total of 14.63 points.

Knox, in response, collected an 8.33 and 4.00 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 12.33 points, which resulted in him falling short by 2.30 points and causing him to surrender the Round 3 spot to his rival.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Yadin-Nicol-and-Bede-Durbidge-make-the-Round-3-cut-at-Rip-Curl-Pro-Portugal-a196971

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CME on Thyroid held at SKIMS Lastupdate:- Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18 ...

Srinagar, Oct 23: Department of Endocrinology, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Tuesday held a day long Continuing Medical Education (CME) on Thyroid Update Srinagar as part of a nationwide initiative taken by the Indian Thyroid Society (ITS) on thyroid disorders.
?The update was attended by national and international endocrinologists, students and faculty members of SKIMS and its Medical College, and Government Medical College, Srinagar.
?The program was inaugurated by the former Director SKIMS, Dr. Mehraj-ud-din while Director SKIMS, Dr Showkat Ali Zargar, concluded the program with his valedictory speech.
?Earlier, the speakers Dr. Sanjay Bhahada from PGI Chandigarh, Dr Sridhar Chitturi from Australia, Dr Shamima Parveen, Dr Shoukat A Khan and Dr Rouf Wani from SKIMS, Dr Muhammad Hayat Bhat from SMHS, and Dr Raiz Ahmad Misgar from JLNM highlighted various aspects of the thyroid disorder with special reference to Jammu and Kashmir.
?Dr Shariq Rashid Massodi, course director of the program and the organizer, deliberated on the importance of the CME and highlighted importance of such academic activities in his welcome address.
?Head of the Department of Endocrinology and organizing chairman, Dr. Bashir Ahmad Laway highlighted the activities of the department in the field of thyroid disorders.
?Prof. Abdul Hamid Zargar, former Director SKIMS & Head of Endocrinology department gave an overview of thyroid disorders in the Valley and underscored the importance of continued education to match up to the challenge of increasing patient load and expectations.
?Dr Showkat Zargar emphasized on the importance of conducting such CME programs and urged the faculty to conduct awareness programs for common people.
?Later prizes were distributed among winners of the Thyroid quiz in the valedictory function.
?The winners received latest edition of Harrison's Textbook of Medicine. Besides every participant of the quiz received a complimentary book on thyroid disorders. Prof. Khurshid Iqbal, Dean o Faculty, SKIMS and assured continued support to academic activities and capacity building endeavours of various departments.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST

Source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Oct/24/cme-on-thyroid-held-at-skims-64.asp

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Phone call app translator set to revolutionise communications with ...

Tuesday 23 October 2012 by Formelia Alberthine

Communication with Geordies is to set to be revolutionised following the development of ?Wey-Aye-Fi? app, which offers real-time translations of the noises leaving the mouths of people from Newcastle upon Tyne.

The app, which will translate utterances of north-east natives and relay them back to the recipient in English, is said to use an algorithm so sophisticated it would be refused entry into every single nightspot in Newcastle?s city centre.

A spokesman for the Japanese mobile network responsible for bringing the product to market, NTT Docomo, said extracting a modicum of sense from the incomprehensible sounds Geordie?s consider words and phrases had at first seemed an insurmountable challenge.

He told reporters, ?We needed to consult several world-renowned experts in Neanderthal linguistics before progress could be made.?

?It?s been a difficult process, but we?ve finally unlocked the secrets of the Geordie dialect,??he told a press conference.

?By allowing people from the north-east of England to engage freely in real-time conversations with native English speakers, we are truly bringing the inhabitants of Newcastle into the modern age.?

Real-time translation app

Non-Geordie, Pete Ball, said that while he welcomed the advances in linguistic technologies, it would be far better if they invented an app to silence the region ?en masse?.

?Geordie-cancelling headphones. There?s a free idea for you right there. I bet you?d sell a shit load, too.?

?I think the mistake this app has made is in the assumption that people actually want to understand what the Geordies are saying.?

?I fail to see what?s wrong with just nodding and smiling politely whenever one tries to talk to you??

Related posts:

1. Geordie Shore debut set to reopen Eugenics debate
2. Babel Fish to launch online canine translator for moron dog owners
3. Geordie man buys coat
4. NHS premium phone lines ?barely arousing? say men
5. Flexible smartphone to revolutionise displays of self-importance

Source: http://newsthump.com/2012/10/23/phone-call-app-translator-set-to-revolutionise-communications-with-geordies/

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ST Electronics embarks on R&D of Smart Utilities Solutions | Eco ...

Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited (ST Electronics), will be embarking on more in-depth Research and Development (R&D) activities in Smart Utilities solutions and technologies with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).? ST Electronics has over the past few years, offered its innovative Smart Utilities products, solutions and services to large cities to help them address urbanisation, sustainability and environmental challenges. This announcement is made in conjunction with the Singapore International Energy Week 2012.

Through this R&D initiative, ST Electronics will enhance its Smart Utilities solutions and applications to benefit the development of large sustainable cities.? ST Electronics will tap EDB?s broad network of related industry knowledge, and extend its existing competencies in Smart Utilities to offer a more comprehensive suite of integrated smart utilities solutions to help build more efficient, clean and safe cities.

The Smart Utilities R&D will focus on enhancing smart resource management, distribution and consumption management of utilities (electricity, water and gas). This includes the provision of robust and converged multi-utility network infrastructure to facilitate integrated electricity, water and gas management.? This solution capitalises on ST Electronics? advanced communications technologies, comprehensive security suite and a highly flexible and scalable network management system to address different deployment scenarios.

Apart from supply and demand management, the ST Electronics? Smart Utilities suite will support timely and reliable information collection and facilitate a higher level of competition in the utility retail market that will eventually lead to increased operational efficiency, utility resource optimisation and cost savings for utilities service providers/retailers.

No stranger in the Smart Utilities arena, ST Electronics participated in Singapore?s Energy Market Authority?s Intelligent Energy System (IES) pilot project. ST Electronics is designing and implementing the critical infrastructure to enable smart grid applications for Phase 1 of the IES pilot project.? The company is also developing and implementing important segments of an Intelligent Water Management System (IWMS) in Singapore. The IWMS will visually display critical information including the location of water incidents such as damaged or leaking pipes. Response teams can quickly be despatched and provided with accurate information and route guidance.

ST Electronics has also delivered more than four million automatic meter readers in North America, Europe and India.? It has recently been awarded a major contract by Arad Technologies Ltd, a world leading supplier of smart water meters, to supply Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) radio transceivers to be deployed with Arad?s AMR solutions in China, Europe, India and the US markets.

?We are pleased that ST Electronics is making a strategic move into Smart Utilities as a new growth frontier. This fast-growing sector will help further diversify Singapore?s clean technology industry into smart grids and energy management. Through the close partnership with our government agencies, this R&D centre is aligned with Singapore?s position as a ?Living Laboratory? where companies can develop, test, prove and commercialise innovative green solutions for global and Asian markets.?

~ YEOH Keat Chuan,

Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board

?Large cities will be a joy to live in provided they are safe, clean and efficient.? Our Smart Utilities systems will allow city planners to improve operational efficiencies through better management of water, electricity and gas distribution.? We are excited by what technology could offer and we look forward to close partnership with EDB and research institutions to enhance our value proposition.?

~ LEE Fook Sun,

President, ST Electronics

ST Electronics (Singapore Technologies Electronics Limited), the electronics arm of public listed? ST Engineering, delivers innovative system solutions to government, commercial, defence, and industrial customers worldwide. With a presence in more than 20 countries, ST Electronics markets its solutions to more than 100 countries internationally. It specialises in the design, development and integration of advanced electronics and communications systems, such as broadband radio frequency and satellite communication, e-Government solutions, information communications technologies and IT, rail and traffic management, real-time command and control, modelling and simulation, interactive digital media, intelligent building management and information security. Please visit www.stee.stengg.com.

Media Contacts:

Magdalen Loh
AVP/Head, Corporate Communications
ST Electronics
Email: magloh@stee.stengg.com

Source: http://www.eco-business.com/press-releases/st-electronics-embarks-on-rd-of-smart-utilities-solutions/

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IKEA to move to clean energy by 2020, protect forests

OSLO?? IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, will shift to renewable energy by 2020 and grow more trees than it uses under a plan to safeguard nature that has won support from environmentalists.

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The Swedish-based group, which wants to build on many customers' desire for a greener lifestyle, also said Tuesday it would limit sales by 2016 to energy-efficient products including induction cookers and LED light bulbs.

"This will be a great driver of innovation," said Mikael Ohlsson, chief executive of the firm which is known for its flat-packs and giant stores that are expected to be visited by 776 million people this year.

Ohlsson told Reuters he had no doubt the "People & Planet Positive" strategy would save money both for IKEA and its clients, although he declined to estimate total savings.

Under the plan, IKEA will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.95 billion) from 2009-15 in solar and wind power to produce at least 70 percent of the group's energy. By 2020 it would produce as much renewable energy as it consumes.

IKEA already owns wind farms in six European nations and has 342,000 solar panels on its stores, warehouses and factories that generate 27 percent of the group's electricity.

"We are a little under half-way in terms of investments" to the 2015 goal, said Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer. The company would also halve its greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 2015, from 2010 levels.

By 2020 IKEA, one of the world's top users of wood, will grow at least as many trees as it uses to make products such as beds or cupboards. Already, IKEA says it does not take wood from natural tropical forests, such as in the Amazon or the Congo basins.

By 2017 it would buy 10 million cubic meters of wood -- half the projected total for that year and four times current amounts -- from sources such as those certified by the non-profit Forest Stewardship Council.

Environmentalists backed the shift. John Sauven, head of Greenpeace UK, said it "puts IKEA at the forefront of leading companies" trying to transform their businesses in the face of environmental threats.

Mark Kenber, head of the UK-based Climate Group, said IKEA's plan was a roadmap to a "clean industrial revolution" and urged other businesses to follow.

Both Kenber and Greenpeace confirmed the remarks, provided by IKEA. The firm said other environmental experts had praised the strategy, including the World Wildlife Fund.

Many companies, from chip maker Intel to Wal-Mart Stores, are setting green goals and moving towards renewable energy as part of efforts to combat global warming and ensure supplies.

As part of the shift to energy-efficient products, induction hobs use 40 percent less energy than conventional cookers.

IKEA announced the shift to LED lighting, which can last 20 years, earlier this month. Changing all 12 billion incandescent bulbs worldwide to LEDs would cut global greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of the Netherlands.

A shift to more efficient appliances, such as fridges, cookers or lightbulbs, would reduce energy use by the average household by 30 percent. "That is like having a 10 percent pay rise for most people," Howard said.

IKEA also set stricter targets for palm oil, leather and cotton supplies. It would tighten bans on child labor and enforce workers' rights, partly with unannounced audits of suppliers. The company would also ensure greater supplies of clean water in communities where it operates, cut waste and promote recycling.

IKEA predicted the number of visitors to its stores would double to 1.5 billion by 2020, and forecast a potential 45-50 billion euros in turnover, up from 27.5 billion for 2012.

It predicted the number of stores would rise to 500 from 338 and that staff numbers would rise to above 200,000 from 154,000.

Ohlsson said IKEA had freedom to act partly because it is not listed on a stock market. "We are owned by a foundation, it means also that our whole focus is customers throughout the chain and not stock exchange and owners," he said.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Click For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49518034/ns/world_news-world_environment/

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Parade through Ipswich in your Halloween best

October 23, 2012

Parade through Ipswich in your Halloween best

Anonymous The Salem News The Salem News Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:00 AM EDT

IPSWICH ? Get your little ghosts, monsters and superheroes ready: The Police Department?s Halloween parade is Thursday.

The parade will begin at the Riverwalk downtown, near EBSCO Publishing, at 5:30 p.m. The procession will wind down Elm Street and County Road and end at Town Hall on Green Street for cider and doughnuts.

The event is sponsored by the Ipswich Police Department, Marini Farm and Russell Orchards.

? Bethany Bray

Source: http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1684128889/Parade-through-Ipswich-in-your-Halloween-best

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ISN Blog ? A Maligned Law to Protect the Philippines from Cybercrime

Photo: trick77/flickr

The majority of Filipino internet users and media groups opposed the passage of the Philippine Cybercrime Law because of provisions that potentially curtail media freedom and other civil liberties. But prior to the insertion of online libel and other last minute amendments, the bill was actually quietly supported by many people.

In fact, it remains popular among business groups, computer security experts, and advocates of safe cyberspace, even after the Supreme Court issued an order to suspend its implementation for the next 120 days.

The Department of Justice ? the main agency in charge of implementing the law ? insists that the measure is necessary to stop global cybercrimes:

Precisely the purpose of the law is to protect our citizens from unscrupulous and abusive actions of misfits and the wicked in society. We see massive cyber fraud, state-sponsored terrorism, telecommunications hacking, credit card scams and consumer schemes that the State is mandated to investigate and prosecute. There is no doubt that cybercrime is a global crime that requires immediate and adequate response.

According to the agency, the hacking of government websites is another reason to use the law against ?transnational organized crimes and criminal syndicates?:

The number of incidents and the ease of hacking government websites only show the vulnerability of our country?s ICT framework and prove the necessity of a cybercrime law to protect us against criminal syndicates and transnational organized crime.

But it also emphasized that the agency opposed the inclusion of online libel in the original bill:

The IT industry knows that since 2007 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) first crafted the consolidated cybercrime bill, internet libel was never a part of any versions. The main purpose of the legislation was to cover acts committed with new technologies that were not included or could not have been anticipated by the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws. The DOJ will protect and defend the freedom of expression and freedom of speech in whatever form by going after transnational organized crimes and criminal syndicates who abuse the openness of social media

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda echoed the arguments of the DOJ:

The Cybercrime Prevention Act was enacted by Congress to address legitimate concerns about criminal behavior on the Internet and the effects of abusive behavior.

We would therefore like to point out that no government entity has moved to deprive anyone of access to the Internet or to suppress civil liberties as exercised online. In fact what has taken place is that hackers who claim to be aligned with critics of the Cybercrime Act are the ones who have engaged in online vandalism, depriving the broader public of access to much needed government information and services online.

The Business Processing Association of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of business process outsourcing companies in the country, identifies the advantages of having a Cybercrime Law:

The Cybercrime Prevention Act will help sustain and enhance investor confidence and strengthen our position as one of the world?s top locations for high-value IT-BPO services.

The Cybercrime Prevention Act is meant to provide the resources and legal framework to identify, prevent, and impose punishment for Internet-based crimes and safeguard users? online information from unauthorized data collectors. Because IT-BPO firms utilize the Internet and computer technology as the principal channel for communication processes, the industry will benefit from provisions covering system and data protection, device security, and penalties for computer-related offenses.

Outsourcing is touted as a sunshine industry in the Philippines. It employs more than half a million young workers and contributes about $13 billion to the local economy.

Responsible Internet Users for Social Empowerment (Cyber RISE) appeals for the implementation of the law [fil]:

It is saddening that the law intended to curb evil acts in social networking today is the focus of attacks by groups which claim that human rights are going to be violated.

Give a chance by implementing the law to realize its positive intent. We have long clamored for a strong law to apprehend ?cybercriminals?.

Even Senator Teofisto Guingona III, the only senator who voted against the law, recognizes the necessity of having a Cybercrime Law:

A Cybercrime Prevention Act is necessary, but must not be oppressive.

Republic Act 10175 is oppressive and dangerous. It demonizes the computer user and extends its tentacles to a computer user?s freedom of expression and speech. In an age when decriminalization of libel is the trend, this law makes a fatal step back, toward the vault of archaic policies that cannot be made to apply to the modern man operating in a modern world.

Let me just point out the fact that we need a Cybercrime Prevention Act. Except for certain problematic provisions, this law is necessary.

---

For further information on the topic, please view the following publications from our partners:

Ambiguous Definitions in the Cyber Domain: Costs, Risks and the Way Forward

The Next Digital Decade

The International Regulation and Governance of the Internet

---

For more information on issues and events that shape our world please visit the ISN?s Security Watch and Editorial Plan.

Source: http://isnblog.ethz.ch/social-media/a-maligned-to-law-to-protect-the-philippines-from-cybercrime

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Steve Davis Answers Your Real Estate Questions - Lifestyles ...

In her 20 years of experience, Christine's portfolio has consisted of A to D properties and supervising 2000+ units, from new construction to million dollar rehabs. She is a CAPS designate and a respectable leader in the multi-family industry.

Watch member case studies.

Source: http://www.lifestylesunlimited.com/steve-davis-answers-your-real-estate-questions-3/

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Jordan foils plot to bomb Western targets, arrests 11

Petra via Reuters

Jordan detained 11 men suspected of planning attacks against shopping centers and other diplomatic targets. The men have been 'going in and out' of Syria, and are also believed involved in the rebel effort to overthrow Assad.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

Jordan has foiled a plot by an al-Qaida-linked cell to bomb its shopping?centers?and assassinate Western diplomats, state television said on Sunday, thwarting an attempt to destabilize the key U.S. ally.

Security forces had detained 11 suspects, all Jordanians, in connection with the plot, which envisaged carrying out attacks in the capital Amman using smuggled weapons and explosives from Syria, according to security officials cited by television.

The plot had been active since June.

Minister of Information Samih al Maaytah said the arrests underscored the serious threat posed by radical "terror groups" seeking to undermine the kingdom's long tradition of stability.

A key U.S. ally in the Middle East and Israel's peace partner, Jordan enjoys close ties with Western intelligence agencies and has often been targeted by al-Qaida and other Islamist militants.

The cell had targeted two major shopping malls in the capital and was planning a bombing campaign in the capital's affluent Abdoun neighborhood, where many foreign embassies are located.

The U.S. and British embassies were among the targets, reported the Jordan Times, quoting a security source.

A security source said the suspects had manufactured explosives "aimed at inflicting the heaviest losses possible".

"The group was able to devise new types of explosives to be used for the first time and planned to add TNT to increase their destructive impact," said the source.

Links to Syria
The same security source said there was a crucial link with Syria where President Bashar al-Assad is battling to put down an uprising against his family's rule.

"Their plans included getting explosives and mortars from Syria," the security source told Reuters, saying the militants had sought to strike at a time of regional upheaval when the country's security establishment is over stretched.

The authorities said they had seized large quantities of ammunition, machine guns and other items such as computers. The militants were training to use "suicide bombers using explosive belts and booby-trapped cars", said another security source.

The case was referred to the state security court's prosecutor?who began questioning "11 Jordanian nationals from Salafist movements," a judicial source told the AFP.

Maaytah told reporters that members of the militant group had spent some time in Syria, without saying when they had returned to Jordan.

"This group arrived from Syria. They have been going in and out," said Maaytah, explaining that the case had been transferred to the state security prosecutor.

Another security source said the cell had been fighting for "some period" alongside Islamist rebel groups in Syria.

Jordan has in recent months arrested scores of hard-line Islamist fundamentalists along its northern border with Syria as they were about to cross into the country to join jihadist groups fighting to overthrow Assad.

Hundreds gathered in Bali, Indonesia, in remembrance of those lost 10 years ago when suicide bombers linked to al-Qaida orchestrated Asia's deadliest terror strike by bombing two nightclubs. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

If Jordan allows Assad's opponents to aid the armed uprising, Amman's security forces fear the Syrian government could retaliate by sending agents to carry out bomb attacks inside the country.

Intercepted electronic mail showed that the cell had received advice from explosives experts affiliated with al-Qaida in Iraq.

Jordan regularly arrests Islamist suspects and puts them on trial in military courts that human rights groups say are illegal and lack proper legal safeguards. Many civic groups also say many of the Islamist cases are politically motivated.

In 2005, al Qaida claimed responsibility for three suicide bombings that ripped through luxury hotels in Jordan's capital killing dozens of people.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/22/14608960-jordan-foils-plot-to-bomb-western-targets-arrests-11?lite

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Emily Maynard to Star as The Bachelorette AGAIN?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/10/emily-maynard-to-star-as-the-bachelorette-again/

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One dead, six seriously injured in Arizona bus crash

WILLOW BEACH, Ariz. (AP) ? A charter bus carrying tourists back to Las Vegas from the Grand Canyon crashed on an Arizona highway, killing the driver and injuring more than 20 passengers, six of them seriously, authorities said.

The bus was northbound on Highway 93 on Friday night, nearing the Nevada state line, when the driver suffered a physical problem and lost control, the Arizona highway patrol said. The company that offered the tour said the driver may have suffered a heart attack.

The vehicle hit a ravine, tore up a small hill, and then bounced and lurched over rough terrain for more than 700 feet before stopping, damaging the front end but remaining upright, patrol spokesman Carrick R. Cook said.

"We believe the driver experienced some sort of the medical condition and he just went off the road," the patrol said in a statement. No other vehicles were involved.

All 48 passengers were injured, but 27 of them were walking wounded with mainly bumps and bruises, Cook said.

"The passengers were pretty much bouncing around," he said.

The six most seriously hurt were flown by helicopter to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, while 15 others with less severe injuries were rushed to area hospitals by road.

UMC spokeswoman Danita Cohen said the six were being treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, such as broken bones and lacerations. She described them as being mostly over 50 years old.

Cook said most of the passengers appeared to be from Asia or Europe, but he didn't have details.

The passengers were returning to Las Vegas following a trip to the Grand Canyon when the crash occurred.

Tony Fiorini, president of Silver State Trailways, the California-based company bus company that operates tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, said the company believes its driver had a heart attack while on the road. "Fortunately, no one else was seriously injured," Fiorini said.

Fiorini declined to release the name or age of the driver and didn't say how long the driver had been with the company. "I'm mainly concern about my driver's family right now," he said.

It was the third time in recent years that a tour bus crash in the area claimed lives.

Two years ago, two people were killed and several others injured in a crash on an area highway. In January 2009, seven people died and 10 were injured when a charter bus carrying a group of Chinese tourists on a return trip from the Grand Canyon crashed on U.S. 93, the main highway leading to Hoover Dam.

Four hours after the crash, the bus was sitting upright about 30 feet off the shoulder of the road.

The highway near the crash site was reduced to one lane of traffic for several hours.

___

AP writers Bob Seavey in Phoenix and Russell Contreras in Albuquerque, N.M. contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/1-dead-6-seriously-injured-arizona-bus-crash-083950138.html

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Earth-size Alpha Centauri B planet detected by telltale star wobble

HARPS, as the instrument is called, successfully detected a rocky planet around one of Earth?s closest neighboring stars when other tools missed it.

By Rachel Kaufman,?TechNewsDaily Contributor / October 18, 2012

This artist's impression shows the planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B, a member of the triple star system that is the closest to Earth in this image released on October 17, 2012.

L. Calcada/N. Risinger/ESO/Reuters

Enlarge

The instrument astronomers used to discover the small rocky planet circling the star Alpha Centauri B that was announced this week was not a glitzy new high-tech space telescope, but rather a decade-old workhorse attached to a ground observatory in Chile.

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HARPS, as the instrument is called, successfully?detected a rocky planet?around one of Earth?s closest neighboring stars when other tools missed it because astronomers have had plenty of time to learn what it is capable of, planet hunter Xavier Dumusque of Geneva Observatory, Switzerland and the Center for Astrophysics at the University of Porto, Portugal, said.

After 10 years of working with HARPS, "we understand much better how the instrument works now," he added.

"And we have used a new strategy to observe the star, which allows us to average the perturbing signals" to eliminate noise.

[App Provides Up-Close Look at Far-Out Exoplanets]

Alpha Centauri Bb, as the new planet is known, has a mass about the same as Earth and is likely rocky. However, unlike Earth, it's likely roasting at 2,200 degrees F (1,204 degrees C) due to how close it is to its parent star.

HARPS, a spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory?s 3.6 meter telescope in La Silla, Chile, works by looking for telltale "wobbles" in a star, caused by an orbiting planet gravitationally tugging on the star. That means that it's much easier to find heavy, Jupiter-like planets than tiny low-mass planets.

"This technique depends on two things," Dumusque said. "The mass of the planet ? the more mass, the easier it is to detect ? and also the distance to the star. In this case, it is a small-mass planet, but it is still very close," which is what made the detection possible.

Even still, the researchers had to deal with interfering signals ? from the star itself.

[Gallery: Nearby Alien Planet Alpha Centauri Bb]

Alpha Centauri B?is one star in a two-star system, but eliminating the noise from the second star was easy, Dumusque said. But the surface activity of Alpha Centauri B itself was enough to throw off instruments. "The surface of the star is not solid. It's very high temperature. It's ... boiling, so you have some bubbles that come up to the surface. These bubbles are [an interfering] signal." Even sunspots ? tangled knots of magnetic activity found on the surface of stars, including our own sun ? can affect HARPS, since the instrument relies on Doppler effects to determine a star's wobbles. A sunspot appearing in view of HARPS can affect the star's perceived redshift and thus trick the instrument into thinking it saw a wobble.

That led to the discovery of the planet, which is "for sure" accompanied by others that scientists haven't yet found, he added. "Statistics show that if you have a very small mass planet in one system, you have other planets in the same system. With this case, with Alpha Centauri B ... we don't have the precision to find them, but for sure there are other planets in the system."

Alpha Cen Bb's gravitational effect on the star causes it to move by just 19.6 inches (50 centimeters) per second. In comparison, if alien observers wanted to discover Earth using the same method, they'd need an instrument that could detect wobbles of 3.9 inches (10 cm) per second. The Espresso instrument, scheduled to go online in 2016, will be able to observe with that precision. "With this instrument, it should be possible to discover Earth's twin," Dumusque said.

Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/TqBss5wV6lQ/Earth-size-Alpha-Centauri-B-planet-detected-by-telltale-star-wobble

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How You Can Use The Internet To Market Your Business - PDF

How You Can Use The Internet To Market Your Business

The most popular form of marketing these days is Internet marketing. You can learn a lot by
studying what those other guys are doing via marketing. With the right marketing tactics, in
fact, you can become successful in any genre. This article will give you an introduction to
internet marketing.

It is quite helpful to have a 500 error webpage that is user friendly. This happens when your
code does not work properly. The page will say that there was a connection time out. There
are ways that are better to let the users know you are informed and attempting to repair the
issue.

One of the major concerns on affiliate marketing for beginners is how to choose an
appropriate affiliate program. Affiliate marketing is a business model that gives you the
opportunity to make extra money while working on other projects or opportunities. This article
covers affiliate marketing for beginners, how to get started, what to look for, and what to
avoid. Being active in popular social media is an Internet marketing must these days.
Facebook fan pages give clients as well as customers a place to give feedback that anyone
can view. You can easily chat informally with all your customers using your Twitter account.

Make yourself an expert in any topic on your site. This will give you credibility and a good
reputation.

Observe what words were used in conversations so you can use them in other Internet
marketing campaigns. Your customers will feel closer to your brand. Make them feel "at
home" with your products and services. By using the right language, you will be able to reach
the right audience.

It is essential that you find the right places to advertise your business online. For example, if
someone is looking for a Star Wars toy, you aren't going to be able to get them to buy a
baseball card. You might be able to, but someone that desires the baseball cards may look
elsewhere than the person that wants the vintage Star Wars toys. The main point is that you
should market your products and services to the appropriate niche, rather than straying into
uninterested markets.

Interviewing someone famous in the area of your niche is a great way to increase Internet
marketing. Having an authority figure speaking well of your product/business is a great way
to entice others to try it. This helps to create a personalized feeling with your viewer, so that
they are more likely to purchase.

Fortunately, there is plenty of information about how to do better Internet marketing. You will
not need to study the topic extensively either. These ideas are just to get you started. There
are many quick approaches and steps for different avenues that bring about success. Keep

---

your eyes peeled and you can learn ways to keep your marketing results improving all the
time.

---

Source: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/how-you-can-use-the-internet-to-market-your-business

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Mining machinery enters the information age

Now is the era of information technology, which has four major characteristics, that is intelligent, electronic, globalization and non-groups; Automate manual operation mining is the development direction of underground mining or dangerous environment, but also an effective way to protect security mining. Integrated use of mining science, automation technology, communications technology, computer science and technology makes mining machinery will toward the development of robotics and intelligent direction. Many industries are entering the information technology, of course, mining machinery industry should immediately following the pace of the development of the times, gradually develop towards the intelligent direction, so as to continue with international standards and the level of development of the social practice.
Mining machinery manufacturing industry should continue to integrate into the human outstanding achievements in various fields, combine with the national economic construction material needs and the guidance of the scientific concept of development to achieve sustainable development.
Compared to the overall level of mining machinery in China with the international advanced level, there are still gaps. The opportunities and challenges coexist in the journey towards jaw crusher manufacturing power. Product design is the soul of the manufacturing sector, the product structure, function, quality, cost, delivery time, as well as human, machine and environment relations, in principle, are determined at the product design stage. The product's innovative design capabilities have become the primary factor in determining the status of the enterprise in the global competition.
Mining machinery is equipment with technical content and high intergradations, the development of new equipment constantly fusion of human achievements in various fields, therefore we have to rely on the integration of multidisciplinary technology to improve design efficiency and quality, and enhance the capability of independent innovation and market competitiveness.
Face of social change, Henan Hongxing will increase capital investment to introduce and develop advanced science and technology and talent, transform development mode, take the information technology and strive to remain unbeaten in the competition in future.

We provide Professional technology, excellent product quality and intimate after-sales service when you purchase preheater, Ore vibrating feeder, from our company.As a professional mining machinery exporter, we will win your trust with our delivery speed, Enterprises Credit and product quality.

Source: http://www.greenoptions.com/t/4427/mining-machinery-enters-the-information-age

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Survey Shows Small Businesses Lack Security Procedures - Home ...

Symantec and The National Cyber Security Alliance studied the security habits and beliefs of small businesses across the U.S. in a September of 2012 survey.? For the survey, a small business is defined one with less than 250 employees.? The results seem to indicate small businesses do feel secure even though they appear to lack security policies and practices.? Here?s a sampling of the survey results:

*Over 70 percent of small businesses believe strong cyber security and online safety are good for the company brand.

*Over 80 percent do not have a written cyber security plan and 60 percent do not have a privacy policy for handling? customer and employee confidential information.

*About one-half of those surveyed do not believe experiencing a data breach would impact their business and over 50 percent of those surveyed do not have a data breach response plan.

*Nearly 20 percent say if their network was compromised, they would not be aware of it.

We previously reported on a survey regarding the purchase of internet/network security insurance. In it, the majority of businesses did not feel the need to purchase cyber insurance.? This would seem to track with the responses of this survey.? But it doesn?t necessarily track with reports showing targeted attacks do affect small businesses.? In fact, Symantec has released more current numbers underscoring the small business exposure.?? Read more about the survey in CNet?s article,? Small biz survey: No cybersecurity plans ? no worries. What?

Source: http://blog.euclidmanagers.com/home/survey-shows-small-businesses-lack-security-procedures.html

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Microsoft profit falls as PC sales shrink

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