New research looks at novel ways to combat drug resistance

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
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Contact: Glenn Harrsis
G.Harris@soton.ac.uk
44-023-805-93212
University of Southampton

University of Southampton biological scientists are leading a major research project aimed at making drugs more effective.

They are investigating a group of proteins called 'multidrug transporters', which remove unwanted and toxic material from cells. Normally these proteins protect cells from toxins, but multidrug transporters also prevent anticancer drugs from killing cancer cells, particularly since the amount of these proteins is increased in cancer cells when they encounter such drugs. Related proteins also remove antibiotics from bacteria and remove herbicides from the plant cells of weeds leading to herbicide resistant weeds.

All cells are surrounded by a membrane made of molecules called lipids, which forms a barrier that prevents the movement of many important biological molecules into and out of the cell. Embedded in this barrier are proteins that provide the cell with the ability to take in nutrients and remove waste and toxic molecules.

Dr Malcolm East, a Reader in Biochemistry, who is leading the research with Dr Howard Barton, a Reader in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, says: "Besides ejecting waste material, cells also remove drugs, which make them less effective as treatments. We believe that a particular group of lipids, called anionic lipids, within cell membranes play a role in controlling the biological function of certain membrane proteins. We want to know how lipids interact with proteins and how that affects their ability to transport drugs.

"Understanding these mechanisms could suggest ways of improving the effectiveness of antibiotics, anti-malarial drugs and cancer treatments and boost the action of herbicides and pesticides."

Anionic lipids in the membrane change in amount and distribution when cells respond to changes in their environment. By labelling different proteins and lipids, the scientists can determine which lipids have a closer relationship with the multidrug transporter and how it affects the drug transporting ability of the protein.

Dr Barton adds: "These studies will tell us how signals are transmitted to membrane proteins by changes in membrane lipid composition and distribution. In addition a greater understanding of how multidrug transporters are controlled by lipids, may suggest ways in which these proteins can be controlled by the use of novel drugs that would also interact with these multidrug transporters. This could help to tackle treatment failures caused by the serious problems of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and resistance to anticancer drugs seen with repeated rounds of chemotherapy. A similar approach could be taken to provide strategies for reducing the resistance seen with a whole range of important molecules, including pesticides, herbicides and anti-malarials."

Dr East and Dr Barton have won 287,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for the three-year project.

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

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Glenn Harrsis
G.Harris@soton.ac.uk
44-023-805-93212
University of Southampton

University of Southampton biological scientists are leading a major research project aimed at making drugs more effective.

They are investigating a group of proteins called 'multidrug transporters', which remove unwanted and toxic material from cells. Normally these proteins protect cells from toxins, but multidrug transporters also prevent anticancer drugs from killing cancer cells, particularly since the amount of these proteins is increased in cancer cells when they encounter such drugs. Related proteins also remove antibiotics from bacteria and remove herbicides from the plant cells of weeds leading to herbicide resistant weeds.

All cells are surrounded by a membrane made of molecules called lipids, which forms a barrier that prevents the movement of many important biological molecules into and out of the cell. Embedded in this barrier are proteins that provide the cell with the ability to take in nutrients and remove waste and toxic molecules.

Dr Malcolm East, a Reader in Biochemistry, who is leading the research with Dr Howard Barton, a Reader in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, says: "Besides ejecting waste material, cells also remove drugs, which make them less effective as treatments. We believe that a particular group of lipids, called anionic lipids, within cell membranes play a role in controlling the biological function of certain membrane proteins. We want to know how lipids interact with proteins and how that affects their ability to transport drugs.

"Understanding these mechanisms could suggest ways of improving the effectiveness of antibiotics, anti-malarial drugs and cancer treatments and boost the action of herbicides and pesticides."

Anionic lipids in the membrane change in amount and distribution when cells respond to changes in their environment. By labelling different proteins and lipids, the scientists can determine which lipids have a closer relationship with the multidrug transporter and how it affects the drug transporting ability of the protein.

Dr Barton adds: "These studies will tell us how signals are transmitted to membrane proteins by changes in membrane lipid composition and distribution. In addition a greater understanding of how multidrug transporters are controlled by lipids, may suggest ways in which these proteins can be controlled by the use of novel drugs that would also interact with these multidrug transporters. This could help to tackle treatment failures caused by the serious problems of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and resistance to anticancer drugs seen with repeated rounds of chemotherapy. A similar approach could be taken to provide strategies for reducing the resistance seen with a whole range of important molecules, including pesticides, herbicides and anti-malarials."

Dr East and Dr Barton have won 287,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for the three-year project.

###

---

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uos-nrl032713.php

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Here's How David Meerman Scott Writes | Copyblogger

As publishers of online content, you and I inevitably run into the challenge of making the leap from the blank page, into the hearts and minds of our audience.

Content marketing ? at its core ? is finding the successful integration of great content and time-tested marketing strategies. International bestselling author and marketing strategist, David Meerman Scott, has made it his mission to help you find that sweet spot.

Mr. Scott is the author of eight books published in over 30 languages, the former marketing VP of two publicly traded companies, as well as Asia marketing director of Knight-Ridder.

With his extensive experience at that junction of the new media frontier and the old guard of publishing and PR, he?s found highly effective avenues to helping content creators and businesses connect with their audiences in extraordinary ways.

Let?s explore the file of David Meerman Scott, writer ?

Everything old is new again, online

Copyblogger?s Brian Clark was featured in Mr. Scott?s instant industry classic The New Rules of Marketing & PR (currently in its third edition), a textbook for the digital frontier on leveraging modern marketing to build your business.

Last year David brought us Newsjacking, an ingenious way for online marketers to leverage PR using nothing more than your blog and a Twitter account.

And today he shares his observations on the writing life, strategies for creating epic content, connecting with your audience, using your blog as an idea generator, and the nature of perfection.

About the writer ?

?
Who are you and what do you do?

I?m David Meerman Scott.

Meerman is my middle name which I?ve used professionally since the first time I Googled myself in the 1990s and found that David Scott (Commander of Apollo 15), David Scott (Congressman from Georgia), and David Scott (Ironman Triathlon champion) were too difficult to compete with for SEO.

I?ve written eight books, delivered talks at events in 36 countries on six continents, and serve on the advisory boards of a bunch of very cool companies.

What is your area of expertise as a writer or online publisher?

My first job was on a bond trading desk in the 1980s where I learned how to use real-time online content from media companies like Dow Jones and Reuters.

In the 1990s I was Asia Marketing Director for Knight-Ridder?s online media business and later VP of marketing at NewsEdge where I learned how to create content.

By the 2000s I realized that I had 20 years experience at the intersection of online media and marketing when most people had zero, so I left the corporate world to write and speak about that intersection.

Where can we find your writing?

davidmeermanscott.com

With thanks to my publisher John Wiley & Sons, my book World Wide Rave is now completely free as a PDF (with no registration required) and on Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Kobo ebook readers:

davidmeermanscott.com/free-stuff/free-ebooks/

The writer?s productivity ?

How much time, per day, do you spend reading or doing research?

All day, every day. My best ideas come at odd times, like waiting in line to board a plane.

Before you begin to write, do you have any pre-game rituals or practices?

When I?m not traveling, I wake up at 3:00am, check email and social feeds for a few minutes, then exercise for 90 minutes. After breakfast and a shower I go to my little hideout office in town and do long-form writing for about 3 hours. I eat lunch around 10:30, and after lunch is meetings, phone calls, interviews, and short form content like blog posts. I?m in bed by 8:30.

What?s your best advice for overcoming procrastination?

Don?t think of a book as 60,000 words. Instead think of a book as 120 blog posts of 500 words each.

What time of day is most productive for your writing or content production?

Mornings.

Do you generally adhere to a rigid or flexible writing system?

I use what I call a ?writing ladder? but I?ve never thought of it as a system till now. Maybe it is!

If a tweet resonates (it gets a bunch of RTs and @ replies) then I consider it good blog post fodder. If a blog post resonates, I?ll explore it with a riff in a speech and maybe another blog post or two. If a series of posts on the same topic resonates, that?s my next book.

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead (which I wrote with HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan), Real-Time Marketing & PR, and Newsjacking were all developed this way.

How many hours a day do you spend actually writing (excluding email, social media etc.)?

Including my blog as writing, probably 3 hours a day average.

Do you write every day?

Yes. But the length of time varies significantly.

The writer?s creativity ?

Define creativity.

Seeing patterns that others don?t and effectively communicating them.

Who are your favorite authors, online or off?

In no particular order and with apologies to many people I?ll forget: Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman, Seth Godin, Bob Lefsetz, Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Clark, Laura Hillenbrand, Tom Wolfe, Michael Collins, Nathaniel Philbrick.

Can you share a best-loved quote?

Here I am at the turn of the millennium and I?m still the last man to have walked on the moon. It says more about what we have not done than about what we have done.
~ Gene Cernan, Commander of Apollo 17

Do you prefer a particular type of music (or silence) when you write?

Silence.

How would you personally like to grow creatively as a writer?

My first book, Eyeball Wars, was a thriller. I?d like to take another shot at fiction.

Do you believe in ?writer?s block?? If so, how do you avoid it?

No writing is perfect. Just write.

Who or what is your ?Muse? at the moment (i.e. specific creative inspirations)?

Musicians like Phil Lesh, Charlie Musselwhite, B.B. King, and Keith Richards, who are still working the stage and making people happy half a century on.

Would you consider yourself someone who likes to ?take risks??

Absolutely.

What makes a writer great?

The ability to connect with an audience.

The writer?s workflow ?

What hardware or typewriter model are you presently using?

Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz with Retina display (which I love), Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, Apple mouse, and, to complete the package, an ergonomic keyboard made by Microsoft(!).

What software are you using for writing and general workflow?

Microsoft Word, TypePad for my blog, and WordPress for my site.

Do you have any tricks for staying focused?

Fear that someone else will write about the pattern I?m seeing before I write about it.

Have you run into any serious challenges or obstacles to getting words onto the page?

No. Only minor ones.

How do you stay organized (methods, systems, or ?mad science?)?

After nearly 1,000 posts over almost a decade, I use my blog as a catalog of my ideas. It may seem strange, but I search my own blog several times a day.

How do you relax at the end of a hard day?

Put away the MacBook Pro and iPhone and read something printed on paper.

A few questions just for the fun of it ?

Who (or what) has been your greatest teacher?

My liberal arts education.

What?s your biggest aggravation or pet peeve at the moment (writing related or otherwise)?

People who say, ?I?ve always wanted to write a book,? but don?t.

Choose one author, living or dead, that you would like to have dinner with.

Brian Clark, so we can talk both writing and music. It will happen. I hope it is soon.

Do you have a motto, credo or general slogan that you live by?

You are responsible for your own success.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

When my ideas spark people to be more successful.

If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go (cost or responsibilities are no object)?

Does the Moon count?

What would you like to do more of in the coming year?

Surfing and scuba diving.

Can you offer any advice to writers and content producers that you might offer yourself, if you could go back in time and ?do it all over??

You can?t convince a publisher to accept your work. But if you show publishers that you already have readers of your work, they?ll come knocking at your door.

Please tell our readers where they can connect with you online.

Google David Meerman Scott and connect with me any way you like ? except the telephone.

Is there anything else you?d like our readers to know?

If you?ve read this far, I want to thank you very much for your interest.

I really appreciate it. You are why I write.

And finally, the writer?s desk ?

Building an audience that builds your brand or business requires some fearlessness.

But fearless exploration of the unknown, whether it be outer space, or the blank page, is the most rewarding part about this whole mysterious process.

Be prepared.

Innovative ideas arrive when you least expect them.

You might be jacked into the Matrix, or wandering aimlessly in the world, completely free of technology.

And writing 1000 words that gets your audience thinking, talking, and sharing, that is the part that requires some old-school ?ass-in-chair? time.

Thank you, Mr. Scott.

Thank you for tuning in to The Writer Files ?

Stay tuned for more inspiring Q&As from writers we admire.

If you?ve already subscribed to Copyblogger via email or RSS, the next installment will be delivered to you just like the rest of our daily content.

If not, go ahead and subscribe right now so you don?t miss a thing.

Now sharpen your pencil and get back to work!

About the Author: Kelton Reid is Director of Marketing for Copyblogger Media's StudioPress division, and an independent screenwriter, and novelist. Get more from Kelton on Twitter and Google+.

Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/writer-files-david-meerman-scott/

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Google Introduces Pop-Up Video Info That No One Will Use

Google wants to remind you that the Google Play store has more than just Android apps — like, say, movies you can download, with embedded pop-up information about actors. The Google Play Movies & TV app (yes, that’s actually what ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/FLX1wcen8lI/

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Multiple moves found harmful to poor young children

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Poor children who move three or more times before they turn 5 have more behavior problems than their peers, according to a new study by researchers at Cornell University and the National Employment Law Project. The study is published in the journal Child Development.

Moving is a fairly common experience for American families; in 2002, 6.5 percent of all children had been living in their current home for less than six months. Among low-income children, that number rose to 10 percent. In addition, in 2002, 13 percent of families above poverty moved once, but 24 percent of families below poverty moved. Research has shown that frequent moves are related to a range of behavioral, emotional, and school problems for adolescents.

Using national data on 2,810 children from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal, representative study of children born in 20 large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000, researchers sought to determine how frequent moves relate to children's readiness for school. Parents were interviewed shortly after the birth of their children, then again by phone when the children were 1, 3, and 5; in-home assessments were done when the children were 3 and 5. The study also looked at the children's language and literacy outcomes, as well as behavior problems reported by mothers.

The study found that 23 percent of the children had never moved, 48 percent had moved once or twice, and 29 percent had moved three or more times. Among children who moved three or more times before age 5, nearly half (44 percent) were poor; poverty was defined based on the official federal threshold. Moving three or more times was not related to the children's language and literacy outcomes.

But children who moved three or more times had more attention problems, anxiousness or depression, and aggressiveness or hyperactivity at age 5 than those who had never moved or those who had moved once or twice. These increases in behavior problems occurred only among poor children, the study found, suggesting that frequent moves early in life are most disruptive for the most disadvantaged children.

"The United States is still recovering from the great recession, which has taken a major toll on the housing market," notes Kathleen Ziol-Guest, postdoctoral associate at Cornell University, who led the study. "As housing markets have collapsed across communities, highly mobile low-income families have moved in search of work and less expensive housing.

"The findings in this study suggest that the housing crisis and its accompanying increase in mobility likely will have negative effects on young children, especially poor children."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Research in Child Development, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Claire C. McKenna. Early Childhood Housing Instability and School Readiness. Child Development, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12105

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/Y4-8E5yDj7Y/130328080229.htm

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Backpack mapping system captures intelligence in tough-to-get-to places

Mar. 26, 2013 ? Engineers at APL have developed a portable mapping system -- carried in a backpack -- that can be used to automatically create annotated physical maps of locations where GPS is not available, such as in underground areas and on ships.

Produced for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Enhanced Mapping and Positioning System (EMAPS) captures a floor-plan-style map of the area traversed, as well as 360-degree photos and sensor readings of that area using a combination of lasers and sensors. The system improves upon algorithms once developed for robots -- which are not practical for all environments -- and has a built-in allowance for normal human movement, like walking.

Using light, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) sensors, EMAPS works while operators walk through an area carrying the unit in a backpack. Designed mainly to detect and map environmental threats on ships and in other tough-to-get-to locations, EMAPS' novel algorithms also associate critical environmental data, such as radiation or radio frequency signal levels, with map locations.

The basic EMAPS unit is an approximately six-inch cube that weighs less than four pounds (smaller than a brick), and includes a 270-degree laser scanner that measures the distances to walls and features in the environment. "EMAPS virtually takes pictures with every step," says Jason Stipes, of the Force Projection Department. "Using this technology, we can map almost every nook and cranny of targeted locations, capture that intelligence, and store it. Sensors can also detect threats, such as radiation or chemicals, and include them in our map."

A second laser scanner is available to allow 3-D data collection, while an inertial sensor measures the roll, pitch, and yaw of the system to compensate for steps taken by the user. In addition, a removable camera system can be used to capture omnidirectional images along the walker's path. A GPS receiver can be connected to EMAPS to allow for georegistration of the data, and an onboard computer stores and processes data in real time.

Stipes says EMAPS has collected more than 100 hours of mapping data from a wide array of GPS-denied environments, including ships, underground storage facilities, Army training areas, and buildings such as the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. The maps include paths that are several miles long, in environments ranging from office buildings to complex engine rooms of ships at sea.

"The EMAPS software addresses a number of challenges using specially developed algorithms," says Stipes. "Working with DTRA, APL engineers have created software to efficiently map data without boundaries while using a fixed amount of computer memory. And, while previous algorithms fail in open areas and long, smooth hallways, we have been able to design algorithms to map these challenging environments."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

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

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/0HM0oZTzooY/130326162155.htm

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Arguments in the home linked with babies' brain functioning

Mar. 25, 2013 ? Being exposed to arguments between parents is associated with the way babies' brains process emotional tone of voice, according to a new study to be published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The study, conducted by graduate student Alice Graham with her advisors Phil Fisher and Jennifer Pfeifer of the University of Oregon, found that infants respond to angry tone of voice, even when they're asleep.

Babies' brains are highly plastic, allowing them to develop in response to the environments and encounters they experience. But this plasticity comes with a certain degree of vulnerability -- research has shown that severe stress, such as maltreatment or institutionalization, can have a significant, negative impact on child development.

Graham and colleagues wondered what the impact of more moderate stressors might be.

"We were interested in whether a common source of early stress in children's lives -- conflict between parents -- is associated with how infants' brains function," says Graham.

Graham and colleagues decided to take advantage of recent developments in fMRI scanning with infants to answer this question.

Twenty infants, ranging in age from 6 to 12 months, came into the lab at their regular bedtime. While they were asleep in the scanner, the infants were presented with nonsense sentences spoken in very angry, mildly angry, happy, and neutral tones of voice by a male adult.

"Even during sleep, infants showed distinct patterns of brain activity depending on the emotional tone of voice we presented," says Graham.

The researchers found that infants from high conflict homes showed greater reactivity to very angry tone of voice in brain areas linked to stress and emotion regulation, such as the anterior cingulate cortex, caudate, thalamus, and hypothalamus.

Previous research with animals has shown that these brain areas play an important role in the impact of early life stress on development -- the results of this new study suggest that the same might be true for human infants.

According to Graham and colleagues, these findings show that babies are not oblivious to their parents' conflicts, and exposure to these conflicts may influence the way babies' brains process emotion and stress.

Support for this work was provided by the Center for Drug Abuse Prevention in the Child Welfare System (1-P30-DA023920); the Early Experience, Stress, and Neurobehavioral Development Center (1-P50-MH078105); a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31-10667639); and the Lewis Center for NeuroImaging at the University of Oregon.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Association for Psychological Science.

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

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/sLArOIeEaa4/130325135359.htm

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Google?s killing spree continues: shuts down blocked sites feature

And here goes another product feature. Google has been retiring many of its products, services and product features in recent time in several so-called Spring cleaning rounds. The company only recently announced the closure of the RSS feed reading service Google Reader and several other products.

Today it became known that Google removed the blocked sites feature rather quietly from Google Search. The feature enabled users of Google's search engine to block select websites from appearing in the search results. That was quite handy to keep low quality sites from appearing in your search results.

Basically, if you added a domain to your blocked sites list you'd make sure that it would never again appear in the search results. Google for some time displayed a "block all domain results" when users returned to the search results after visiting one of the sites displayed on the page.

If you open the manage blocked sites page today on Google you are greeted with the message that the feature has been discontinued.

Manage Blocked Sites (DISCONTINUED)
Dear users,

We have discontinued offering the blocked sites feature for now. We continue to offer the Chrome extension for blocking sites, and will reconsider features for blocking unwanted search results in the future.

You may download your blocked sites list as a text file below.

Download as text file

You can download a text file from Google that contains all of the domains that have been blocked by the Google account accessing the website.

The text file lists all domain names in a file called blocked_sites.txt. All domain names seem to be lumped together though in the text document so that it may be difficult to distinguish them from each other or import them into another script or program. They show up lumped together in Notepad but will display fine in better text editors such as Notepad++.

Google is promoting the company's official Chrome extension to block sites on Google Search when you are using Google Chrome. It fails to mention solutions for other browsers. Firefox users can take a look at the Google Domain Blocker userscript which lets them block domains in Google Search as well.

It is interesting to note that blocked sites was not Google's first attempt at adding a feature like it to its search engine. This may mean that we may see a similar feature appearing again in the future.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ using the icons below.

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.

Source: http://www.ghacks.net/2013/03/24/googles-killing-spree-continues-shuts-down-blocked-sites-feature/

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Capriles, Maduro at each other's throats in Venezuela election

By Andrew Cawthorne and Mario Naranjo

CARACAS (Reuters) - Presidential candidates Nicolas Maduro and Henrique Capriles have begun Venezuela's election race with scathing personal attacks even as mourners still file past the late Hugo Chavez's corpse.

Maduro, who was sworn in as acting president after Chavez succumbed to cancer last week, is seen as the favorite to win the April 14 election, bolstered by an oil-financed state apparatus and a wave of public sympathy over Chavez's death.

"I am not Chavez, but I am his son," Maduro told thousands of cheering, red-clad supporters as he formally presented his candidacy to the election board on Monday.

Chavez made clear before his fourth and last cancer operation in December that he wanted Maduro to be his Socialist Party's candidate to succeed him if he died.

Maduro has vowed to continue the socialist policies of Chavez's 14-year rule in the South American OPEC nation, including the popular use of vast oil revenues for social programs. But Capriles is promising a tough fight.

"Nicolas, I'm not going to give you a free passage ... you are not Chavez," Capriles said in a combative speech late on Sunday. He also accused Maduro of lying to minimize Chavez's medical condition while he prepared his candidacy.

"Nicolas lied to this country for months," Capriles said. "You are exploiting someone who is no longer here because you have nothing else to offer the country ... I don't play with death, I don't play with suffering, like that."

Within minutes, in a late-night address to the nation, Maduro said his rival was playing with fire, offending Chavez's family and risking legal action.

"You can see the disgusting face of the fascist that he is," a visibly furious Maduro said, alleging that the opposition was hoping to stir up violence.

"His aim is to provoke the Venezuelan people."

At stake in the election is not only the future of Chavez's socialist "revolution," but the continuation of Venezuelan oil subsidies and other aid crucial to the economies of left-wing allies around Latin America, from Cuba to Bolivia.

Venezuela boasts the world's largest oil reserves.

CHAVEZ'S WISHES

Thousands of Maduro supporters, waving photos of Chavez, accompanied him at the election board's headquarters in downtown Caracas. "I'm backing Maduro because Chavez asked us," said law student Marliely Lopez, 22.

Chavez's voice boomed from loudspeakers at the rally.

Shaken by Chavez's death and now immersed in an ugly election campaign, Venezuelans saw some semblance of normality return on Monday as most schools and shops re-opened after being closed for most of last week.

The official mourning period for Chavez ends on Tuesday.

Several million have paid their respects at his coffin at a military academy in a dramatic outpouring of grief.

Though criticized by many for his authoritarian tendencies and handling of the economy, Chavez was loved by millions, especially the poor, because of his own humble background, plain language, attacks on global "imperialists" and the domestic "elite," as well as his welfare policies in Venezuela's slums.

In death, he is fast earning a near-religious status among supporters, perhaps akin to that of Argentina's former populist ruler Juan Peron and his deeply loved wife Eva Peron.

State TV has been playing speeches and appearances by Chavez over and over, next to a banner saying "Chavez lives forever."

"We have the honor of having shared with the Bolivarian leader the same ideals of social justice and of support for the exploited," Chavez's friend and mentor, Fidel Castro, said in the latest of many tributes to him.

"I remembered the times he joked with me saying that when both of us finished our revolutionary work, he would invite me to spend time by the Arauca River in Venezuelan territory, which reminded him of the rest he never had."

OPPOSITION'S UPHILL RACE

Though there are hopes for a post-Chavez rapprochement between ideological foes Venezuela and the United States, a diplomatic spat worsened on Monday when Washington expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in a tit-for-tat retaliation.

Two U.S. military attaches were ordered out last week, on the day of Chavez's death, for allegedly conspiring with locals against the government.

Chavez's many local detractors are keeping a low profile.

But they say his memory is being burnished to forget less savory parts of his rule like the bullying of opponents and stifling of private businesses with nationalizations often announced on a whim.

Capriles, a 40-year-old centrist governor who describes himself as a "progressive" and an admirer of Brazil's model, ran in the last presidential election in October, taking 44 percent of the votes, but was unable to prevent Chavez's re-election.

While attacking Maduro's handling of the crisis over Chavez's cancer, Capriles will try to turn the focus of this month-long election campaign to the many day-to-day problems afflicting Venezuelans, from electricity cuts to crime and an inflation rate that is among the world's highest.

Maduro, 50, a burly one-time bus driver and union leader who echoes Chavez's anti-imperialist rhetoric, is sure to make his former boss the centerpiece of his campaign while casting himself as the only heir.

Two opinion polls before Chavez's death gave Maduro a lead of more than 10 percentage points.

"This is going to be a really tough campaign for us, we know," said an aide at Capriles' office in Caracas.

"It's hard to get everyone enthused and pumped again, we've only got a month, and we're fighting Chavez's ghost, not Maduro. But believe me, we'll give it our best."

Chavez's death and the imminent vote have eclipsed other pressing issues in Venezuela, including a raft of economic austerity measures the government had been expected to announce.

(Additional reporting by Simon Gardner; Editing by Kieran Murray and Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-opposition-leader-joins-presidential-race-004657986.html

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Blue bursts of hot young stars captured by Hubble

Mar. 11, 2013 ? A new Hubble image, speckled with blue, white and yellow light, shows part of the spiral galaxy IC 5052. Surrounded in the image by foreground stars in our own galaxy, and distant galaxies beyond, it emits a bright blue-white glow which highlights its narrow, intricate structure. It is viewed side-on in the constellation of Pavo (The Peacock), in the southern sky.

When spiral galaxies are viewed from this angle, it is very difficult to fully understand their properties and how they are arranged. IC 5052 is actually a barred spiral galaxy: Its pinwheeling arms do not begin from the center point but are instead attached to either end of a straight "bar" of stars that cuts through the galaxy's middle. Approximately two-thirds of all spirals are barred, including the Milky Way.

Bursts of pale blue light are visible across the galaxy's length, partially blocked out by weaving lanes of darker gas and dust. These are pockets of extremely hot newborn stars. The bars present in spirals like IC 5052 are thought to help these formation processes by effectively funneling material from the swirling arms inwards towards these hot stellar nurseries.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA.

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/LiCIpKtmK-w/130311144521.htm

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Senate Democrats prepare government funding bill

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2013 file photo, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. leaves a Republican caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. A Senate bill to carry the government through September denies the Obama administration money for implementing new regulations on Wall Street and expansion of government health care subsidies but provides modest additional funding for domestic priorities like Head Start and health research. Looking to next year, House Republicans prepare a now-familiar budget featuring futile gestures to block "Obamacare" and turn Medicare into a voucherlike program for future retirees. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2013 file photo, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. leaves a Republican caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. A Senate bill to carry the government through September denies the Obama administration money for implementing new regulations on Wall Street and expansion of government health care subsidies but provides modest additional funding for domestic priorities like Head Start and health research. Looking to next year, House Republicans prepare a now-familiar budget featuring futile gestures to block "Obamacare" and turn Medicare into a voucherlike program for future retirees. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - In this June 5, 2012 file photo, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. takes part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. A Senate bill to carry the government through September denies the Obama administration money for implementing new regulations on Wall Street and expansion of government health care subsidies but provides modest additional funding for domestic priorities like Head Start and health research. Looking to next year, House Republicans prepare a now-familiar budget featuring futile gestures to block "Obamacare" and turn Medicare into a voucherlike program for future retirees. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senate Democrats are preparing a catchall government funding bill that denies President Barack Obama money for implementing signature first-term accomplishments like new regulations on Wall Street and his expansion of government health care subsidies but provides modest additional funding for domestic priorities like health research.

The measure expected to be released Monday is the product of bipartisan negotiations and is the legislative vehicle to fund the day-to-day operations of government through Sept. 30 ? and prevent a government shutdown when current funding runs out March 27.

Passage in the Senate this week would presage an end to a mostly overlooked battle between House Republicans and Obama and his Senate Democratic allies over the annual spending bills required to fund federal agency operations.

The bipartisan measure comes as Washington girds for weeks of warfare over the budget for next year and beyond as both House and Senate Budget Committees this week take up blueprints for the upcoming 2014 budget year.

The first salvo in that battle is coming from House Republicans poised to release on Tuesday a now-familiar budget featuring gestures to block "Obamacare," turn Medicare into a voucher-like program for future retirees and sharply curb Medicaid and domestic agency budgets. Such ideas are dead on arrival with Obama and Democrats controlling the Senate, but will ? in concert with new taxes on the wealthy enacted in January ? allow Republicans to propose a budget that would come to balance within 10 years.

"We think we owe the American people a balanced budget," House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said on "Fox News Sunday."

Senate Democrats are countering on Wednesday with a budget plan mixing tax increases, cuts to the Pentagon and relatively modest cuts to domestic programs. The measure would not reach balance, but it would undo automatic budget cuts that started taking effect this month and largely leaves alone rapidly growing benefit programs like Medicare.

The upcoming debate over the long-term budgetary future promises to be stoutly partisan, even as Obama is undertaking outreach to rank-and-file Republicans in hopes of sowing the seeds for a bipartisan "grand bargain" on the budget this year after two failed attempts to strike agreement with House Speaker John Boehner. Obama's budget is already weeks overdue and Press Secretary Jay Carney deflected questions about it Monday, other than to promise that it would "for a period of time" bring deficits below 3 percent of gross domestic product, a measure that many analysts say is sustainable without damaging the economy.

The wrap-up spending bill for the half-completed fiscal year released Monday, however, is another matter entirely. It's a lowest common denominator approach that gives the Pentagon much-sought relief for readiness accounts but adds money sought by Democrats like Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., for domestic programs such as Head Start, health research, transportation and housing.

The Senate measure would award seven Cabinet departments ? including Defense, Commerce, justice, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs ? with their line-by-line detailed budgets, but would leave the rest of the government running on autopilot at current levels. All domestic agencies except for Veterans Affairs would then be subject to a 5 percent across-the-board cut while the Pentagon would bear an 8 percent cut.

Mikulski needs GOP votes to pass the measure through the Senate, which Democrats control with 55 votes but where 60 votes are required for virtually every piece of substantive legislation. Using their leverage, Republicans have denied a White House request for almost $1 billion to help set up state health-care exchanges to implement Obamacare as well as smaller requests for financial regulators to implement the 2010 Dodd-Frank law overhauling regulation of Wall St. and for the IRS to police tax returns.

It is hoped that the pre-negotiated Senate measure could return to the House ? which passed a different catchall spending bill last week ? and pass through that chamber unchanged and be sent on to Obama well in time to avert a politically disastrous government shutdown.

House Republicans weighed in strongly and successfully against a proposal by Mikulski to give the Obama administration greater flexibility to transfer funds between accounts to cope with the across-the-board spending cuts, known as sequestration. By law, the across-the-board cuts are supposed to be taken in equal measure from front-line programs like air traffic control, meat inspection and the Border Patrol and lower-priority items such as agriculture research and subsidies for airline travel to rural airports.

Even as many Republicans attack the administration for choices such as ending White House tours or canceling early snow removal from Yellowstone National Park, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee in particular fear that giving Obama greater flexibility would erode Congress' control over the federal purse, which is enshrined in the Constitution and zealously guarded.

Thirty-eight Senate Republicans voted last month to give Obama significant flexibility to manage the automatic cuts, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Richard Shelby of Alabama, the party's senior member on the Appropriations Committee.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-11-Budget%20Battle/id-6395c1262b4f4dc885cc01aa12ad4183

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8 Hidden but Useful Google Business Tools

Sure, you know about Google Maps, AdWords, Google Analytics and Gmail. Some of you might also know about Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Chrome, Google?s web browser. I even bet a few of you out there have delved into Google?s ?Even More? section where you?ll find several dozen Google products listed. But Google provides tools beyond those published in this section, and many of them can help you in your everyday marketing and business operations. Let me take you on a brief tour of a few right now.

1. Google Trends

You?re in the process of evolving your business to change with the changing times. You?re trying to determine what kind of marketing language and descriptive terminology to use for your sales materials, website copy and even search engine optimization. Consider plugging some of your terms into the Google Trends search bar to see how searches for these terms have changed over time. Look for those still trending upward and review the additional detail Google provides.

2. Think with Google

Speaking of seeking data to help your company evolve, don?t miss Think with Google, its free resource loaded with consumer trends, marketing insights, case studies, industry research and ?creative inspiration?.

3. GoMo

Did you know that 67% of people say a mobile-friendly site makes them more likely to buy a product or use a service (or that even if these people like your business, 50% will use you less often if your website is not mobile-friendly!).? Don?t fall into the latter category!? In last year?s article about mobile marketing, I mentioned how Google offers a way for you to build a free mobile website for a year. Google?s GoMo can also take your existing website through a free diagnostic test to determine to what extent it is (or is not) already mobile friendly.

4. YouTube?s My Business Story

Create free high-quality online videos using this Google guide and tool. All you have to do is create a free YouTube account, upload some video clips and photos, and the tool will guide you through templates to add graphics and music.

5. Google+ Hangouts

Use Hangouts in Google+ for team meetings or virtual brainstorming sessions with up to ten people. You can share your screen for easy presentation and collaboration. You can also invite your customers to participate by hosting a Q&A session or office hours where you can share news or answer their burning questions, or invite some lucky customers to participate in an exclusive lesson or behind the scenes look.

6. AmericaGetOnline.com ? Site where businesses can get a free, easy-to-build website as well as a free, customized domain name and web hosting for one year. Also free resources to help small businesses grow and advertise online.

Stats: Ninety-seven percent of Americans who use the Internet look online for local goods and services but more than half of all small businesses in the U.S. don?t have a website.

7. Google Trusted Stores

Google Trusted Stores is a free badging program that can improve your conversion rate and average order size by reassuring potential customers that you offer a great shopping experience.

8. Google Apps

Competing head-to-head with Microsoft Office, Google Apps for Business is a cloud-based service convenient from any location (on and offline). Pricing starts at $5 per user per month depending on the features you select. You can also take advantage of Google Apps Scripts to further empower your business.

So go ahead ? dig around Google for a little while. What it can provide your business beyond search might surprise you.

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Source: http://www.webadvantage.net/webadblog/8-hidden-but-useful-google-business-tools-6389

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Fellowship Announcement: Rutgers Institute for Law & Philosophy

The Rutgers Institute for Law and Philosophy is soliciting applications for its Visiting Fellows program. This program is intended to attract scholars in law and philosophy who can contribute to the life of the Rutgers law and philosophy community. We welcome scholars from any stage of their career who would like to spend a semester or the academic year at Rutgers Law in Camden. We will provide office space, a computer and IT support, and a very modest research stipend. Applicants will need to provide their own funding.

The Rutgers Institute for Law and Philosophy is among the most active such centers in the nation. In the past twelve months alone, we have hosted conferences on criminal law theory, law and neuroscience, and tort theory. A full list of the events that we have hosted is available here: http://lawandphil.rutgers.edu/past-conferences.

To apply, please email lawandphil@rutgers.edu with your CV.

Source: http://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/2013/03/fellowship-announcement-rutgers-institute-for-law-philosophy.html

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Colonoscopy Reduces Risk of Advanced Colorectal Cancer

PHILADELPHIA?A new study led by a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania adds support to current medical recommendations stating that screening colonoscopy substantially reduces an average-risk adult?s likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) in either the right or left side of the colon. In recent years, colonoscopy has begun to rapidly replace sigmoidoscopy?a procedure used to detect abnormalities in the rectum and left side of the colon?despite initially limited evidence of its efficacy and higher cost.

In the new study, researchers noted an overall 70 percent reduction of advanced CRC diagnoses associated with receiving a screening colonoscopy. The results of the study suggest that colonoscopy has the ability to effectively identify tumors in both the left and right side of the colon before they progress to an advanced stage. The full results of the study appear online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Previous research has established that screening with sigmoidoscopy or fecal occult blood test reduces the risk of death from colorectal cancer. By contrast, the efficacy of the colonoscopy?which examines the entire colon for precancerous and cancerous growths?in average-risk adults has remained largely uncertain. Colonoscopy?s effectiveness in the right colon (where approximately 50 percent of new CRC cases in the U.S. are found) has remained in doubt.

?Colorectal cancer is one of the most important cancers we face in this country. It was responsible for over 50,000 deaths in 2012, and the truth is, most of those deaths are preventable through screening, early detection, and treatment," said Chyke Doubeni, MD, MPH, presidential associate professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Penn Medicine, and lead author on the study. ?Our goal with this study was to understand the extent to which colonoscopy can prevent the diagnosis of advanced colorectal cancers, the ones that primarily result in death. What we saw was a dramatically reduced risk of death for patients who were screened."

Source: http://www.endonurse.com/news/2013/03/colonoscopy-reduces-risk-of-advanced-colorectal-c.aspx

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'Hangover Part III' Trailer: Watch Now!

Bradley Cooper and the gang head back to Las Vegas for the comedy trilogy's final chapter.
By Josh Wigler

Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms in "Hangover III"
Photo: Legendary Pictures

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703190/hangover-part-3-trailer.jhtml

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Use it or lose it: Molecular mechanism for why a stimulating environment protects against Alzheimer's disease

Mar. 6, 2013 ? "Use it or lose it." The saying could apply especially to the brain when it comes to protecting against Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown that keeping the mind active, exercising and social interactions may help delay the onset of dementia in Alzheimer's disease.

Now, a new study led by Dennis Selkoe, MD, co-director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases in the BWH Department of Neurology, provides specific pre-clinical scientific evidence supporting the concept that prolonged and intensive stimulation by an enriched environment, especially regular exposure to new activities, may have beneficial effects in delaying one of the key negative factors in Alzheimer's disease.

The study will be published online on March 6, 2013 in Neuron.

Alzheimer's disease occurs when a protein called amyloid beta accumulates and forms "senile plaques" in the brain. This protein accumulation can block nerve cells in the brain from properly communicating with one another. This may gradually lead to an erosion of a person's mental processes, such as memory, attention, and the ability to learn, understand and process information.

The BWH researchers used a wild-type mouse model when evaluating how the environment might affect Alzheimer's disease. Unlike other pre-clinical models used in Alzheimer's disease research, wild-type mice tend to more closely mimic the scenario of average humans developing the disease under normal environmental conditions, rather than being strongly genetically pre-disposed to the disease.

Selkoe and his team found that prolonged exposure to an enriched environment activated certain adrenalin-related brain receptors which triggered a signaling pathway that prevented amyloid beta protein from weakening the communication between nerve cells in the brain's "memory center," the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays an important role in both short- and long-term memory.

The ability of an enriched, novel environment to prevent amyloid beta protein from affecting the signaling strength and communication between nerve cells was seen in both young and middle-aged wild-type mice.

"This part of our work suggests that prolonged exposure to a richer, more novel environment beginning even in middle age might help protect the hippocampus from the bad effects of amyloid beta, which builds up to toxic levels in one hundred percent of Alzheimer patients," said Selkoe.

Moreover, the scientists found that exposing the brain to novel activities in particular provided greater protection against Alzheimer's disease than did just aerobic exercise. According to the researchers, this observation may be due to stimulation that occurred not only physically, but also mentally, when the mice moved quickly from one novel object to another.

"This work helps provide a molecular mechanism for why a richer environment can help lessen the memory-eroding effects of the build-up of amyloid beta protein with age," said Selkoe. "They point to basic scientific reasons for the apparent lessening of AD risk in people with cognitively richer and more complex experiences during life."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Shaomin Li, Ming Jin, Dainan Zhang, Ting Yang, Thomas Koeglsperger, Hongjun Fu, Dennis J. Selkoe. Environmental Novelty Activates ?2-Adrenergic Signaling to Prevent the Impairment of Hippocampal LTP by A? Oligomers. Neuron, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.12.040

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Uqpd89BqiGk/130306134224.htm

Jordan Pruitt

Chavez's try to be savior of poor floundered in US

FILE -In this Sept. 20, 2006, file photo, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez holds a Spanish-language version of "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" by Noam Chomsky while addressing the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. During his address, Chavez, who often tried to cast himself as a champion of the American poor, called President George W. Bush "the devil." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE -In this Sept. 20, 2006, file photo, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez holds a Spanish-language version of "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" by Noam Chomsky while addressing the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. During his address, Chavez, who often tried to cast himself as a champion of the American poor, called President George W. Bush "the devil." (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Hugo Chavez' mother Elena Frias, third from left, and brothers Adan, second from left, Argenis, first right, and Adelis, fourth from right, stand next to the flag-draped coffin containing the body of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez on display during his wake at a military academy where his body will lie in state until his funeral in in state in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Seven days of mourning were declared, all schools were suspended for the week and friendly heads of state were expected for an elaborate funeral Friday. (AP Photo/Miraflores Presidential Press Office)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered to send thousands of soldiers, firefighters and volunteers to help with the cleanup. He also pledged $1 million in aid plus fuel to help rebuild hard-hit cities like New Orleans.

The offer, swiftly rejected, was part of a larger pattern: Chavez's repeated attempts to provide humanitarian relief to low-income and distressed U.S. families. Despite those efforts, he was never able to foster his image as a savior of the American poor like he did in Venezuela. More often, he was accused of orchestrating politically motivated ploys that in the end helped relatively few Americans.

"Many people questioned his motivation," said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society think tank. "Was this a true humanitarian gesture or was it an opportunity to stick it in the eye of the United States? I think many people in the U.S. thought it was the latter."

Chavez died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, ending 14 years of rule and leaving the oil-rich Latin American nation divided over his fiery brand of socialism. Vice President Nicolas Maduro will run Venezuela as interim president and serve as the candidate for Chavez's socialist party in an election that must be called, constitutionally, within 30 days.

While much of Chavez's socialist vision would have been in line with that of many American liberals, he never gained widespread admiration in the U.S.

Hollywood actor Sean Penn and director Oliver Stone praised him, but they were the exception, and many were hesitant to embrace a leader with military roots who shut down media outlets and abolished term limits.

Complicating any potential ideological synergy, Chavez had a combative relationship with the U.S. leaders that went beyond politics.

In 2006, he famously called President George W. Bush the devil in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, saying the podium reeked of sulfur after the U.S. president's address. Chavez's inner circle has also claimed the U.S. was behind a 2002 coup to overthrow him. Yet across the years, he kept up a lucrative oil-export relationship with the U.S. while also spreading his petroleum-funded largesse around Latin America.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept into Louisiana, busting federal levees, leaving New Orleans under a blanket of water and trapping tens of thousands in a chaotic landscape with no utilities, little food and a government that seemed unable to respond.

Chavez was quick to step in, offering a planeload of aid and criticizing Bush as "the king of vacations" for being at his Texas ranch when the storm hit.

"There were many innocent people who left in the direction of the hurricane," Chavez said in a speech. "No one told them where they should go."

Neither the U.S. government nor the state of Louisiana took him up on his offer. Bob Mann, who was communications director for then-Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said he supported the state's decision because he believed the offer was motivated more by Chavez's desire to embarrass Bush than any humanitarian concern.

Looking back nearly eight years later, though, he might have chosen differently.

"In retrospect, I think maybe we should have taken the money because we didn't get the help we needed from the federal government," Mann said.

Chavez did make some inroads through his heating oil program; more than 1.7 million people have received oil from Citgo Corp. to keep warm during the cold winter months over the last eight years, according to the state-owned oil subsidiary. The program was initially rejected in many states, but has now helped families in 25 states and Washington, D.C., as well as Native American communities.

Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, who heads Citizens Energy, said Tuesday that Chavez cared about the poor at a time when "some of the wealthiest people on our planet have more money than they can ever reasonably expect to spend." A spokesman for Kennedy said Chavez and the people of Venezuela had donated about 200 million gallons in its collaboration with Citizens Energy.

Thomas Boswell, a geography professor at the University of Miami, said the amount of money and oil he contributed was too small to have a sizable impact.

Chavez's contributions "didn't really touch most of the poor in the United States," Boswell said, adding most Americans were unaware of Chavez's efforts.

There were many other reasons Chavez's populist message didn't resonate. In Venezuela, he could dominate the airwaves for hours on end. In the U.S., he faced a language barrier, among other hurdles. New York University professor Alejandro Velasco said Americans have long rejected the idea of a foreign country providing support to the U.S. population.

Velasco said Chavez's efforts to highlight the contradictions of the U.S. economic system were ultimately more successful in generating pride in Venezuela than gaining him a following up north.

While initially Chavez may have curried favor among liberals in the U.S., support had eroded over the last decade as he continued to takes steps against private property, the media and his opposition. His fierce rhetoric against the U.S. during the Bush administration also won fewer admirers when President Barack Obama was elected as the nation's first black president.

"It's hard to be a supporter of somebody today who is dismantling democratic institutions, from the left, right or center," Farnsworth said.

He added that Chavez's approach in Venezuela faced a different economic reality in the U.S. that proved to be a less fertile ground for shoring up political support. For example, Farnsworth noted the U.S. already has programs for the poor that include energy subsidies for heating oil.

Today, Hurricane Katrina victims are divided over whether the U.S. should have accepted Chavez's aid.

"I don't deal with that country. I don't know what they're about," said James Cager, 52, whose brick and stucco home in the Lower 9th Ward flooded to the rooftop. "If our government felt that it's not a good idea to take from them, then we have to go with that."

Others regret an offer to provide help in a desperate time was turned down. Mtangulizi Sanyika, 70, lived in New Orleans at the time of the storm and now resides in Houston. He said Katrina's victims weren't concerned with the ideological origins of the aid.

"An offer from Mr. Chavez may be multidimensional," Sanyika said. "Yes, it might be said he was seeking to embarrass the United States. On the other side, he could have been genuine."

___

Associated Press writers Stacey Plaissance and Kevin McGill in New Orleans, and Juan Lozano in Houston, contributed to this report. Armario reported from Miami.

___

Follow Christine Armario on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-07-Chavez-American%20Appeal/id-0e4f477bb960435cbd8557d9ce86ed89

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St. Mark's finishes winter sports season on a high note

by susan on March 6, 2013

Above: St. Mark?s boys hockey celebrated a big win over Groton to cap off their season
(contributed photo)

St. Mark?s wrapped up its winter sports season last month with five wins over rival Groton. The school sent along this recap of the victories:

On February 23, St. Mark?s traveled to Groton to play six games, and the Lions defeated the Zebras in five of them. During the winter season, St. Mark?s went 8-6-1 against Groton.

Varsity boys? basketball defeated Groton 54-40 on Saturday, finishing the year with a record of 11-9, for the 16th consecutive winning season for the program. The St. Mark?s Varsity girls? basketball team also won against Groton by a score of 52-41, earning their first ISL win of the season. JV girls? basketball dominated their hosts 31-12, while JV boys? basketball suffered the only loss of the afternoon: a close 32-39 thriller. Varsity girls? ice hockey also was victorious, shutting out Groton 3-0.

The most exciting win came fromVarsity boys? ice hockey, scoring two goals in the final minute of play to take home a 4-3 win. The Lions defeated Groton in an earlier game this season. Earlier in the month, 3rds boys? basketball, JV girls? hockey, and 3rds girls? squash all registered victories over Groton to cap their respective winning campaigns.

Highlights:

• 3rds boys? basketball, win over Groton
• Varsity girls? hockey, 3-0 win over Groton
• JV girls? hockey, 4-2 win over Brooks
• Varsity boys? hockey, 4-1 win over St. George?s; 4-3 win over Groton
• JV boys? hockey, 4-2 win over Tabor
• Varsity girls? basketball, 52-41 win over Groton
• JV girls? basketball, win over Groton
• Varsity boys? basketball, win over Groton
• JV boys? basketball, 53-50 win over Brooks
• JV girls? squash, 5-2 win over Pomfret

Source: http://www.mysouthborough.com/2013/03/06/st-marks-finishes-winter-sports-season-on-a-high-note/

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GOP's anti-tax focus trips Dems in budget battle

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congressional Republicans' unyielding stand against income tax increases has caught President Barack Obama and his allies off guard.

The result is the spending-cuts-only approach to deficit reduction that Democrats wanted to avoid.

The events have dimmed hopes for broader efforts to start taming costly "entitlement" programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Democrats thought House Republicans would accept some new tax revenues last month to minimize military cuts.

But Republicans seem more determined than ever to block tax increases on high incomes, whatever the political risk.

The latest round of deficit-reduction policy tilts more toward Republicans' wishes than many people would have expected.

Obama won re-election with a campaign that called for higher taxes on the rich. And the federal tax burden is low by historic standards.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gops-anti-tax-focus-trips-dems-budget-battle-173012618--politics.html

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