wheeze flan: April 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

Belief in God May Boost Treatment of Mental Illness

Patients who believe in God may experience better short-term treatment outcomes for psychiatric illness, according to a new study.

Individuals who described themselves as having strong faith reported having a better overall response to treatment, said David Rosmarin, a clinician and instructor in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"We found that patients who had higher levels of belief in God had better treatment outcomes ? better well-being, less depression and less anxiety," Rosmarin told LiveScience. [8 Ways Religion Impacts Your Life]

The researchers monitored 159 patients in the Behavioral Health Partial Hospital program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. The patients were receiving treatment for various psychiatric illnesses, including depression and anxiety, and their average length of stay in the program was two weeks, Rosmarin said.

The study results, however, can't necessarily prove any cause or effect; the researchers aren?t sure whether spirituality caused the treatment boost, some other factor played a role or if spiritual people, perhaps, are somehow healthier than others.

Evaluating spiritual belief

Study participants were asked to rate their belief in God and their expectations for the effectiveness of treatment on a five-point scale. At the beginning and end of the program, the researchers evaluated each patients' well-being?defined by their levels of depression, anxiety and self-harm.

Patients who reported more than a "slight" belief in a higher power were twice as likely to respond to treatment, Rosmarin said.

In addition to experiencing better treatment outcomes, patients who believed in God were also more likely to expect therapeutic benefits from their time in the program.

"Belief in God can facilitate belief in treatment," Rosmarin said. "People who had more faith also had more faith in treatment. They thought it was credible and were optimistic about treatment. They believed it was going to help them."

The impact of spirituality

When patients feel a sense of power outside their own lives ? whether through religious beliefs or through connections with friends, family or even nature ? it can boost their treatment outcomes, said Christina Puchalski, founder and executive director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health in Washington, D.C. Puchalski was not involved in the new study, but has done her own research on clinical strategies to address patients' spiritual concerns.

"If people are able to see something outside of themselves, they tend to do better in general, so that's not surprising," Puchalski said. "From my own clinical practice, I certainly see that if people are able to have some sense of transcendence, they often have better responses."

Part of what makes this a fascinating area of study is that spirituality can take so many different forms, which means it can have diverse implications for patient care, Puchalski explained.

"Spirituality can be broadly defined," she said. "It's not just religion, or a belief in a higher power. The ability to connect to something outside of oneself ? things like hope and being hopeful, or having a sense of coherence ? it's all part of spirituality."?

Clinical applications

Although the new study did not specifically look at links between specific spiritual belief, types of psychiatric illnesses and reported treatment outcomes for that particular illness, Rosmarin said the findings indicate that faith plays an important role in therapy.

However, a lot more research is needed, he added.

"It's embarrassing that there's such a disparity between what we know about patient spirituality, and how to handle it," Rosmarin said. "It's an area that's relevant to us as a people, but we have no clue what to do about it."

With a clearer understanding of the impact of spirituality on treatment, doctors can develop better treatments that meet their patients' needs.

"When I speak to audiences, the clinicians are at the edge of their seats," Rosmarin said. "Studies like this equip us health care professionals with practical guidance on how to address patient spirituality and treatment. Our whole program of research is clinically focused. We want to know how this is going to make a difference in patients' lives."

The results of the study were published Thursday (April 25) in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook?& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/belief-god-may-boost-treatment-mental-illness-113218743.html

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Mormon Church to accept gay Boy Scouts

In a major step regarding openness in the Boy Scouts of America, Mormon Church officials have approved the scout organization's acceptance of gay scouts. Still, the new ruling remains controversial because it bans gay scout leaders.

By Mark Trumbull,?Staff writer / April 27, 2013

James Oliver, left, hugs his brother and fellow Eagle Scout, Will Oliver, who is gay, as Will and other supporters carry petitions to end the ban on gay scouts and leaders in front of the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

Tony Gutierrez/AP

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For the Boy Scouts of America, a new effort to chart a middle ground on the issues of sexual orientation is proving controversial.

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The proposed policy by the Boy Scouts, announced recently, is to welcome youths into the organization, regardless of sexual orientation, but to maintain a ban on gay adults serving in the organization. The proposal must be approved by the Scouts?National Council at a meeting in Texas the week of May 20.

It?s an effort to quell rising controversy, but it comes with its own ability to stir passionate arguments.

On the one hand, an important ally of the Boy Scouts, the Mormon church, has given an important welcome to the move. Important because of the reiligion?s large involvement in Scouts, along with other churches.

On the other hand, many groups and individual Americans are voicing criticism of the Scouts? proposal as not going far enough. If a young man earns his way to be an Eagle Scout, they ask, is it fair to bar him from becoming a troop leader later in life, based on sexual orientation?

The Boy Scouts of America is walking a line more difficult than many a woodland ropes course: Any position it takes will come in for significant criticism.

Among Boy Scouts members in the heavily Mormon Great Salt Lake Council, some 4 in 5?Scout?leaders and parents said they're opposed to lifting the ban on gays, the Associated Press reported. Nearly half of some 4,700 respondents to the survey said they would quit the?Scouts?if the ban on gays is lifted.

But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Thursday that ?while the Church?has not launched any campaign either to effect or prevent a policy change, we have followed the discussion and are satisfied that BSA has made a thoughtful, good-faith effort to address issues that, as they have said, remain ?among the most complex and challenging issues facing the BSA and society today.?

The statement is significant, because of the strong role that Mormon churches and families nationwide play in sponsoring scout groups. The church sponsors 25 percent of all local Cub?Scout?and Boy?Scout?groups, and accounts for 15 percent of the Boys Scouts? total membership of 2.7 million, according to a Saturday news report in the New York Times.

The Boy Scouts of America, defending its proposed policy, said in a recent statement that ?while perspectives and opinions vary significantly, parents, adults in the Scouting community, and teens alike tend to agree that youth should not be denied the benefits of Scouting.?

At the same time,?many people involved in scouting nationwide are reluctant to change the current policy on adults in the group. The group?s current policy is that ?While the BSA does not proactively inquire about sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/NmmqeDVGUv8/Mormon-Church-to-accept-gay-Boy-Scouts

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PFT: Patience rewarded from top to bottom in draft

Getty Images

Here are the terms of trades completed on Saturday, April 27, the third and final day of the 2013 NFL Draft. All draft choices are 2013 selections unless otherwise noted:

The Jaguars traded a fourth-round pick (No. 98) to the Eagles. In exchange, the Eagles sent fourth- and seventh-round picks (Nos. 101, 210) to Jacksonville. With pick No. 98, the Eagles selected Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley. Three picks later, the Jaguars selected South Carolina wide receiver Ace Sanders at No. 101. With pick No. 210, the Jaguars took Appalachian State cornerback Demetrius McCray.

The Buccaneers acquired a fourth-round pick (No. 100) from Oakland. The Raiders, in turn, received fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 112, 181) from Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers took Illinois defensive tackle Akeem Spence at No. 100. The Raiders selected Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson at No. 112 and UCF running back Latavius Murray at No. 181.

The Giants traded for a fourth-round pick (No. 110) belonging to Arizona. In exchange, New York sent fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 116, 187) to the Cardinals. The Giants took Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib at No. 110. With No. 116, the Cardinals took James Madison offensive guard Earl Watford, and with No. 187, they selected Clemson running back Andre Ellington.

The Steelers acquired a fourth-round pick from Cleveland (No. 111). In return, the Browns will get the Steelers? third-round pick in 2014. The Steelers selected Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas at No. 111.

The Packers traded for Denver?s fourth-round pick (No. 125), giving the Broncos fifth- and sixth-round picks (Nos. 146, 173) in return. The Packers selected UCLA running back Jonathan Franklin at No. 125. At No. 146, the Broncos selected Western Kentucky defensive end Quanterus Smith. At No. 173, the Broncos took Virginia Tech offensive tackle Vinston Painter.

The Seahawks acquired the Lions? fifth-round selection (No. 137). In return, the Lions received fifth- and sixth-round choices (Nos. 165, 199) from Seattle. At No. 137, the Seahawks took Alabama defensive tackle Jesse Williams. The Lions took Appalachian State punter Sam Martin at No. 165 and Notre Dame running back Theo Riddick at No. 199.

The Colts acquired the Browns? fifth-round pick (No. 139) in exchange for Indianapolis? 2014 fourth-round pick. At No. 139, the Colts selected Tennessee-Martin defensive tackle Montori Hughes.

The Falcons acquired the Bears? fifth-round selection (No. 153), sending fifth- and seventh-round picks (Nos. 163, 236) to Chicago. The Falcons selected Texas Christian defensive end / outside linebacker Stansly Maponga. The Bears took Louisiana Tech tackle Jordan Mills at No. 163 and Washington State wide receiver Marquess Wilson at No. 236.

The Rams traded back into Round Five, sending sixth- and seventh-round picks (Nos. 184, 198) to the Texans for Houston?s fifth-round pick (No. 160). The Rams took Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy at No. 160. The Texans exercised pick No. 198 on Bowling Green defensive tackle Chris Jones. The Texans dealt selection No. 184 to Oakland (see next entry).

The Texans acquired a sixth-round pick from Oakland (No. 176). In return, Houston sent sixth- and seventh-round selections to Oakland (Nos. 184, 233). The Texans selected San Jose State offensive tackle David Quessenberry at No. 176. The Raiders used selection No. 184 on Tennessee tight end Mychal Rivera and selection No. 233 on Missouri Western State defensive end David Bass.

The Buccaneers traded running back LeGarrette Blount to the Patriots for running back / kick returner Will Demps and a seventh-round pick (No. 229). The Buccaneers traded the No. 229 pick to Minnesota (see next entry).

The Buccaneers acquired a sixth-round pick from Minnesota (No. 189). In return, the Vikings received sixth- and seventh-round picks (Nos. 196, 229). The Buccaneers took Miami (Fla.) running back Mike James at No. 189. The Vikings selected UCLA offensive guard Jeff Baca at No. 196 and Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins with pick No. 229.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/27/draft-wrap-up-patience-is-rewarded/related/

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad updated with new media timeline

Tweetbot for iPhone has been updated with a new media timeline view that features supported photos and videos. The image viewer has also been completely redesigned and Instagram previews have been fixed. Lastly, the Tweet/status detail view in Tweetbot now displays the number of Favs and Retweets.

I'm really liking this new media timeline. It's a great way to scroll through images and videos that have been shared to twitter, including Instagram photos. What do you think of the new media view?

$2.99 for iPhone - Download now
$2.99 for iPad - Download now

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/QfRn_oZ8Zto/story01.htm

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Beyonce Concert Footage: Who Runs the World?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/beyonce-concert-footage-who-runs-the-world/

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Genetics defines a distinct liver disease

Apr. 21, 2013 ? Large-scale genetic study defines relationship between primary sclerosing cholangitis and other autoimmune diseases.

Researchers have newly associated nine genetic regions with a rare autoimmune disease of the liver known as primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This brings the total number of genetic regions associated with the disease to 16.

Approximately 70 per cent of people who suffer from PSC also suffer from IBD. The team showed that only half of the newly associated genetic regions were shared with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). For the first time, this definitively proves that PSC, although genetically related to IBD, is a distinct disease.

PSC is a chronic, progressive disease of the bile ducts that channels bile from the liver into the intestines. It can cause inflammation of the bile ducts (cholangitis) and liver scarring that leads to liver cirrhosis and liver failure. There are no effective treatments available. Although PSC affects only one in 10,000 people, it is a leading cause of liver transplant surgery.

?Before our study, it was never quite clear whether PSC was a complication of IBD or a distinct disease in its own right,? says Dr Carl Anderson, lead author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. ?We have proven it to be a unique disease, and hope that our results will inform the development of more effective treatments, designed to target the biological pathways involved in causing the disease?.

The work involved an international group of scientists from the International PSC study group recruiting patients from 13 countries within Europe and North America. Without this large collaborative effort it would not have been possible to obtain the large number of patient DNA samples necessary for the study.

The team used DNA genotyping technology to survey more thoroughly regions of the genome known to underlie other immune-related diseases to discover if they also play a role in PSC susceptibility.

In addition to the nine genetic regions newly associated, they also saw strong signals at three regions of the genome previously associated with the disease. Of these twelve genetic regions, six are also associated with IBD, while the six other regions showed little to no association in a recent large study of IBD.

?Using the Immunochip genotyping chip, we can pull apart the genetic relationships between these autoimmune diseases and begin to see not only their genetic similarities, but also the differences,? says Jimmy Liu, PhD student and first author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. ?As PSC is a rare disorder, sample collection is more difficult than for other, more common, autoimmune diseases. We hope that with more samples from patients, we?ll be able to link more genetic regions to the disease, and it will become easier to identify underlying pathways that could act as therapeutic targets.?

Three of the genetic regions associated with PSC fall within a single biological system that underlies variation in T cells, cells important to our immune response. One gene that controls this pathway, HDAC7, is known to be a key factor in immune tolerance and the new data strongly suggests exploring the possibility that drugs affecting HDAC7 function may serve as future therapeutics in PSC.

In an extended analysis, the team identified an additional 33 genetic regions that are also involved in several common immune-mediated conditions (celiac disease, Crohn?s disease, ulcerative colitis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis and psoriasis). This analysis shows that PSC shares many genetic risk loci with other immune-mediated diseases and opens up the possibility for testing drugs known to be effective in genetically similar diseases for efficacy in PSC.

The next step for the team is to do a high-powered search throughout the entire genomes of PSC patients to find specific regions associated with PSC outside of the regions included on the Immunochip genotyping chip.

?This study has uncovered more about the genetics underlying PSC than any before it, but this is only the first step? says Dr Tom Hemming Karlsen, lead author from Oslo University Hospital, Norway. ?We hope the ongoing scientific and clinical research being conducted through the International PSC study group will help improve the outlook for those currently suffering at the hands of this disease?

?Our study, which is the largest of its type for PSC, would not have been possible without the help of the patients with this rare disorder,? adds Dr Hemming Karlsen.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

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

Journal Reference:

Jimmy Z Liu, Johannes Roksund Hov, Trine Folseraas, Eva Ellinghaus, Simon M Rushbrook, Nadezhda T Doncheva, Ole A Andreassen, Rinse K Weersma, Tobias J Weism?ller, Bertus Eksteen, Pietro Invernizzi, Gideon M Hirschfield, Daniel Nils Gotthardt, Albert Pares, David Ellinghaus, Tejas Shah, Brian D Juran, Piotr Milkiewicz, Christian Rust, Christoph Schramm, Tobias M?ller, Brijesh Srivastava, Georgios Dalekos, Markus M N?then, Stefan Herms, Juliane Winkelmann, Mitja Mitrovic, Felix Braun, Cyriel Y Ponsioen, Peter J P Croucher, Martina Sterneck, Andreas Teufel, Andrew L Mason, Janna Saarela, Virpi Leppa, Ruslan Dorfman, Domenico Alvaro, Annarosa Floreani, Suna Onengut-Gumuscu, Stephen S Rich, Wesley K Thompson, Andrew J Schork, Sigrid N?ss, Ingo Thomsen, Gabriele Mayr, Inke R K?nig, Kristian Hveem, Isabelle Cleynen, Javier Gutierrez-Achury, Isis Rica?o-Ponce, David van Heel, Einar Bj?rnsson, Richard N Sandford, Peter R Durie, Espen Melum, Morten H Vatn, Mark S Silverberg, Richard H Duerr, Leonid Padyukov, Stephan Brand, Miquel Sans, Vito Annese, Jean-Paul Achkar, Kirsten Muri Boberg, Hanns-Ulrich Marschall, Olivier Chazouill?res, Christopher L Bowlus, Cisca Wijmenga, Erik Schrumpf, Severine Vermeire, Mario Albrecht, John D Rioux, Graeme Alexander, Annika Bergquist, Judy Cho, Stefan Schreiber, Michael P Manns, Martti F?rkkil?, Anders M Dale, Roger W Chapman, Konstantinos N Lazaridis, Andre Franke, Carl A Anderson, Tom H Karlsen. Dense genotyping of immune-related disease regions identifies nine new risk loci for primary sclerosing cholangitis. Nature Genetics, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ng.2616

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/~3/Eq8ub1bLGf0/130421152410.htm

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Physicists find right (and left) solution for on-chip optics: Nanoscale router converts and directs optical signals efficiently

Apr. 22, 2013 ? A Harvard-led team of researchers has created a new type of nanoscale device that converts an optical signal into waves that travel along a metal surface. Significantly, the device can recognize specific kinds of polarized light and accordingly send the signal in one direction or another.

The findings, published in the April 19 issue of Science, offer a new way to precisely manipulate light at the subwavelength scale without damaging a signal that could carry data. This opens the door to a new generation of on-chip optical interconnects that can efficiently funnel information from optical to electronic devices.

"If you want to send a data signal around on a tiny chip with lots of components, then you need to be able to precisely control where it's going," says co-lead author Balthasar M?ller, a graduate student at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "If you don't control it well, information will be lost. Directivity is such an important factor."

The coupler transforms incoming light into a wave called a surface plasmon polariton, a surface ripple in the sea of electrons that exists inside metals.

In the past, it has been possible to control the direction of these waves by changing the angle at which light strikes the surface of the coupler, but, as M?ller puts it, "This was a major pain. Optical circuits are very difficult to align, so readjusting the angles for the sake of routing the signal was impractical."

With the new coupler, the light simply needs to come in perpendicularly, and the device does the rest. Acting like a traffic controller, it reads the polarization of the incoming light wave -- which might be linear, left-hand circular, or right-hand circular -- and routes it accordingly. The device can even split apart a light beam and send parts of it in different directions, allowing for information transmission on multiple channels.

The coupler consists of a thin sheet of gold, peppered with tiny perforations. But the precise pattern of these slits, arranged rather like herringbones, is where the genius lies.

"The go-to solution until now has been a series of parallel grooves known as a grating, which does the trick but loses a large portion of the signal in the process," says principal investigator Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering at Harvard SEAS. "Now perhaps the go-to solution will be our structure. It makes it possible to control the direction of signals in a very simple and elegant way."

Because the new structure is so small -- each repeating unit of the pattern is smaller than the wavelength of visible light -- the researchers believe it should be easy to incorporate the design into novel technologies, such as flat optics.

Yet Capasso speaks most animatedly about the possibilities for incorporating the new coupler into future high-speed information networks that may combine nanoscale electronics (which currently exist) with optical and plasmonic elements on a single microchip.

"This has generated great excitement in the field," Capasso says.

M?ller and Capasso were joined on this work by co-lead author Jiao Lin, a former SEAS postdoctoral fellow who is now at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology; and coauthors Qian Wang and Guanghui Yuan, of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Nicholas Antoniou, Principal FIB Engineer at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems; and Xiao-Cong Yuan, a professor at the Institute of Modern Optics at Nankai University in China.

The research was supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the National Research Foundation of Singapore. Part of the work was performed at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems, which is a member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

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

Journal Reference:

J. Lin, J. P. B. Mueller, Q. Wang, G. Yuan, N. Antoniou, X.-C. Yuan, F. Capasso. Polarization-Controlled Tunable Directional Coupling of Surface Plasmon Polaritons. Science, 2013; 340 (6130): 331 DOI: 10.1126/science.1233746

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/matter_energy/electronics/~3/_0lvH4V3B7c/130422143313.htm

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Kardashian Special: Six Years, Six Fun Facts About Kim, Kanye And More!

In intimate sit-down with Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian reveals she 'will get married again.'
By Natasha Chandel

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian on "Ryan Seacrest With the Kardashians: An E! News Presentation"
Photo: E!

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706123/kardashian-ryan-secrest-special-recap.jhtml

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Boy Scouts Propose Lifting Ban of Gay Members

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/boy-scouts-propose-lifting-ban-of-gay-members/

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Zooey Deschanel misidentified as Boston Marathon bombing suspect by Fox TV?s closed-captioning

April 22 (Reuters) - Pep Guardiola is not the only connection between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who meet in their Champions League semi-final, first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Both teams are dominating their leagues to an almost embarrassing extent, have won the Champions League four times apiece, share an acrimonious rivalry with Real Madrid, and owe part of their success to the flamboyant Dutchman Louis van Gaal. Both have also been in two Champions League finals in the last four years, though the Catalans won both of theirs and the Bavarians came out losers on each occasion. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/zooey-deschanel-boston-marathon-bombing-suspect-fail-202412271.html

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Ex-felon employment bill approved by Minnesota Senate (Star Tribune)

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Google Wants To Operate .Search As A ?Dotless? Domain, Plans To Open .Cloud, .Blog And .App To Others

If it gets it, Google wants to turn .search into a “dotless domain,” the company told ICANN a few days ago. Last year, Google applied to manage the .app, .blog, .cloud and .search generic top-level domain (gTLD) names as part of a major expansion of the domain-name system. ICANN, which is managing this expansion, hasn’t awarded any of the gTLDs yet, and the whole program remains controversial. But in May, Google sent a letter to ICANN?telling the organization that it would soon provide some specific details about its plans for these top-level domain names. Now, Google has done so through its Charleston Road Registry subsidiary (we have embedded the full letter below). At the time, it looked like Google was ready to open up these gTLDs to the public and wasn’t just planning on using them for its own services. In its letter to ICANN, Google now confirms that it is working with “the relevant communities related to .blog and .cloud to develop technical standards relating to the operation of those top-?level domains.” Google’s Plans For A Dotless .Search The most interesting plan here is to use .search to operate a redirect service on the “on the ‘dotless’ .search domain (http://search/) that, combined with a simple technical standard, will allow a consistent query interface across firms that provide search functionality, and will enable users to easily conduct searches with firms that provide the search functionality that they designate as their preference.” Dotless domains (think http://example and email addresses like mail@example) are something ICANN has discussed for a while now and that security experts are not in favor of. Google plans to run http://search/ as a redirect service that “allows for registration by any search website providing a simple query interface.” “The mission of the proposed gTLD, .search, is to provide a domain name space that makes it easier for Internet users to locate and make use of the search functionality of their choice,” Google writes in its amended application. What exactly this will look like in practice remains to be seen, however. It’s definitely a novel use of the domain system, and judging from the amended application, Google will open this functionality up to third-party developers and its direct competitors. Of course, it remains to be seen who will actually get to manage .search. Besides Google, Amazon, dot Now Limited, and Donuts.co have also applied for this gTLD. .Blog, .App

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/FKMWUqsfce4/

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Soccermetrics Interview #7: Bill Gerrard | Soccermetrics Research ...

Bill Gerrard is someone who I?ve wanted to meet since I started Soccermetrics.? Prof. Gerrard is a pioneer in statistical performance analysis in sport and a leader in bringing an evidence-based approach to coaching in football, rugby league and rugby union.? Perhaps he?s better known in North America for his work with Billy Beane of the Oakland A?s, while in Britain he?s best known for his work with Leeds United and Saracens rugby.

Bill and I conducted the longest interview of this series yet one that covered a lot of areas in sports analytics.? I hope you enjoy it.

[Interview conducted 4 April 2013.]

(Howard) So Bill, tell us a couple of sentences about yourself.

(Bill) I?m a Scot living in Leeds, a big sports fan whose first love was the beautiful game but I follow most sports. I?ve always supported Celtic and, like many Scots of my generation, Leeds United is my English team because so many Scots including Billy Bremner played for the great Revie team. My day job is a university prof at Leeds University Business School. The rest of my time is spent working in sports analytics.

How did you get started in sport analytics?

I started in the mid-90s analysing the economics of the football transfer market. That academic research led naturally into the practical problem of how to value footballers. I developed a valuation algorithm for valuing footballers which I first applied for a stockbroker in late 1997 to analyse the efficiency of Tottenham Hotspur in their transfer dealings.

I noticed that one of your first consulting jobs in football was performing valuation for Leeds United. How did you get that job?

Initially most of the interest in my consultancy work was for financial institutions who were interested in putting a market value on a club?s playing assets as security for various debt instruments. I undertook a squad valuation for a company that provided debt finance for Leeds United. Later the club asked for an updated squad valuation which I subsequently discovered was used in the securitisation deal that raised ?60 million.

As a Leeds United supporter, did that job give you a greater appreciation for how football clubs are managed? And if so, in what way?

Running a pro sports team must always be about combining passion and prudence. As a business school prof and a sports fan, I guess I was in a good position to understand both aspects of the sports business. And Leeds United provided a very sad lesson of what happens when passion over-rules prudence in the boardroom.

Do you think the rest of the football establishment has learned any lessons in the years since Leeds United?s relegation?

Leeds United was a victory of vanity over sanity and shows what happens when you chase ?The Dream? with little regard for a sustainable business model. In three years Leeds United went from last four in the Champions League to relegation from the Premiership. And a decade on, Leeds United are still struggling to get back into the Premiership. It could have been very different if the senior management of the club had invested in the stadium to grow the revenues to support the wage costs of a higher quality playing squad. Arsenal have shown the right way to do things. Wenger versus Ridsdale ? no contest when it comes to constructing a sustainable business model for a football club.

Let?s talk about Arsenal for a moment.? How have Wenger et al. gone about creating their business model and does there exist any tension between it and the desire to win trophies?

The major aspect of Arsenal?s business plan in recent years has been to build the Emirates Stadium This involved a very high level of debt financing but it was prudent given the cash flow projections. By increasing capacity from 37,000 at Highbury to 60,000 in their new stadium, Arsenal have more than doubled their matchday income. This has given them the financial resources to afford the top players. There has been?some?unrest amongst fans that Arsenal have not?yet reinvested these resources into the playing squad?but the resources are there for Wenger to compete in the transfer market. And I think we can see evidence of a greater willingness to spend big in the contract extension agreed with Walcott.

I?d like to ask a few questions about your work on competitive balance. One of your more recent findings was that even though North American sports leagues are more regulated than their European counterparts, the competitive balance as measured by ?win dispersion? is better in the European leagues. Could you explain that?

It seems to me that competitive balance is quite a complex concept that has lots of different aspects to it. Win dispersion measures the variation in sporting performance between teams in a league. We would expect a lower degree of variation in win percentages between teams in leagues that are more competitively balanced. Given that North American leagues have tended to take a more proactive approach to managing competitive balance through, for example, salary caps and player drafts, you would expect lower win dispersion than in the less-regulated European football leagues. Surprisingly you tend to find win dispersion in lower in European football. One reason for this is because of tied games with around a quarter of football games tending to be tied.

What about measuring competitive balance by competitions won, which I imagine would be how most people think of competitive balance?

Win dispersion is only one aspect of competitive balance. The concentration of competition winners ? prize dispersion ? is another aspect. And yet another aspect of competitive balance is whether or not teams tend to have similar levels of sporting performance from year to year.

And how variable is that performance among teams in professional football?

When it comes to performance persistence (i.e. the year-to-year stability of team performance), you find that the leading European football leagues tend to have similar levels as the North American major leagues with one exception, the NFL which has a very low level of performance persistence. But this is no real surprise given that?the NFL is probably the most proactive sports league in the world in terms of trying to ensure competitive balance.

There?s a lot of anxiety among football fans about competitive balance, especially when comparing who wins the Premier League now to who won the First Division in the 70s and 80s. But then I read papers by people like Peter Sloane who state that there were the same concerns about a two-tiered competition in the 60s! Are fans right to feel uneasy today, or has professional football always had issues with competitive balance?

My sense is that concerns about competitive balance have grown significantly in recent years across European football. And I would say the concerns are about the emergence of a three-tier not two-tier competitive structure. As well as the concerns about the super-rich top tier pulling away from other clubs in the top leagues, there are also concerns about the increasing gap between the top leagues and the rest of the football family. The latest TV deal will widen the gap between the Premiership and the rest of the English football pyramid making it more and more difficult for promoted clubs to survive in the Premiership. Whether or not UEFA?s soon-to-be implemented financial fair play rules will reverse the trends is questionable but at least there is acknowledgement of the problems and the need to act. But it?s a difficult tightrope to tread by the governing bodies because if they go too far in trying to regulate the super rich clubs they face a real threat of these clubs setting up on their own independent European Super League.

That?s a very good point.? I?ve always felt that UEFA might not want to push too hard on Financial Fair Play for similar reasons.? So how do you anticipate UEFA enforcing FFP in practice?

Perhaps when it comes to politics I?m too cynical but I wouldn?t be surprised if ?temporary? exceptions were allowed to UEFA?s FFP if it is found that some of the biggest European?clubs are going to be excluded from the Champions League. It will hurt UEFA financially if those clubs are excluded and it will intensify the threats of a breakaway European Super League.

You had a chapter on competitive balance and the sports media rights (The Economics of Sport and Media by Jeanrenaud and K?senne) where you wrote, ?Unlike standard textbook industries, there is good reason to believe that rights market deregulation in the professional team sports industry may be against the consumer interest.? Has the experience of domestic competitions in Spain and Italy provided support to your point?

I am a strong believer in the collective selling of league media rights for a number of reasons, one of which is that teams are effectively monopoly suppliers to their own fans. Market deregulation creates rather than weakens market power in this case. I also think that collective selling of TV rights provides an effective revenue redistribution mechanism. The experiences of Spain and Italy show the problems created if you remove this redistribution mechanism.

It seems that football analytics is being asphyxiated by lack of data for outside analysts, lack of expertise from internal staff at football clubs, and lack of interest (if not strong cultural resistance) from the football community. Is that perception accurate?

We continue the conversation with Bill Gerrard in the upcoming edition of the Soccermetrics Newsletter.? Only subscribers will be able to access the full interview, so subscribe now.? You are a subscriber, right?

Source: http://www.soccermetrics.net/soccermetrics-interviews/soccermetrics-interview-7-bill-gerrard

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

Danielle Hrzic: Gourmet Growth: How I Took My Small Business to ...

A 10x10 kitchen, a few employees and a passion to improve the quality of school lunches in the Chicago area -- that's how Gourmet Gorilla began. My husband and I started our business because we saw a need that we wanted to fill. As our first son was about to turn one year old, we were given the colorful lunch menu from his school. Being healthy eaters at home, who regularly shopped at Whole Foods and farmers markets, we of course started investigating the ingredients in the meals! We were discouraged with what we found and approached the school, only to find that there were no options in the area at the time for sourcing healthy, cooked-from-scratch meals, that used organic and/or local ingredients. As is the case with many small business owners, we had a desire to fix this problem! We began calling other schools in the area to find that there was a real demand for this type of service and so we hired our first chef named Elvis and started cooking!

That first year, we partnered with our son's school and an additional two other schools, quickly growing out of that 10x10 kitchen and into our first production space. We were now producing about 1000 meals per day and secured another 20 contracts for the coming school year. We were enjoying the success and growth, and positive feedback from schools and parents (the kids were eating their vegetables!) and we knew we were on our way to building a sustainable business. With this growth, however, we found ourselves leading a much different company than we first started, and needed guidance on how to take us through the next stage. We wanted to serve more schools, and surprisingly, we found the answer was to leave the kitchen.

Small business owners often feel the need to be a part of every aspect of the business. For me, that was overseeing meal production, arranging delivery and directing food prep and cleanup. When I learned I had to pull myself away from the business -- I needed to work on it instead of in it -- our business started to expand rapidly. We hired a director of operations to allow both my husband and me to stop focusing on the day-to-day management. This change allowed us to obtain additional contracts, increasing our production by almost 50 percent year over year. And the best part: I haven't chopped a vegetable in months!

I learned to step out of the daily management through my participation in Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Harold Washington College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. I applied because of the promise of practical business knowledge. Our company had grown from a few employees serving 100 meals a day to more than 30 employees serving 7,000 meals a day to 90 different schools. I wanted to learn how to successfully continue this growth.

The program delivered on its promise of a practical, actionable business education. I learned how to better analyze the company's finances and cash flow, be an effective leader and make the right hires. This included hiring the right accounting team to prepare us for the next stage in our business growth and create the indispensable position of director of operations. Our mission is to provide healthier eating options for our children. Today, we are serving over 7,500 meals per day throughout Northern Illinois. We are making an impact in all communities, and our students are eating their fruits and veggies and enjoying it! I look forward to improving the lunches at many more schools and, eventually, around the country. I look forward to seeing the impact we will make on helping grow healthier bodies and minds. And I know now I'll only accomplish this if I stay out of the kitchen!

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-hrzic/gourmet-growth-how-i-took_b_3006748.html

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Obama talks climate, regaining House for Democrats, at fundraisers (reuters)

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Where in the world is it safe to travel?

Click to explore. (CBC)

Reports of brutal rapes of foreign tourists in India and Brazil in recent months have rocked the international travel industry.

According to data cited by The Atlantic, visitors to India have dropped 25 percent since December's fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus in the capital of New Delhi, and 35 percent among female travelers. And that data was compiled before March 16, when a Swiss woman who was touring the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh by bicycle with her husband was gang-raped by a group of eight men.

In Madhya Pradesh, there are nine reported rapes every day, according to the Washington Post.

In Brazil, where an American tourist was raped by three men over the course of six hours on Monday, reports of rapes there have risen 150 percent since 2009, The Atlantic reported.

Not surprisingly, Brazil and India are among the most dangerous places to travel, according to an interactive map produced by Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs.

But they're not the most dangerous: North Korea, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Mail, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Somalia are where would-be tourists are warned to "avoid all travel."

For other countries, like Libya, visitors are cautioned to "avoid non-essential travel."

The color-coded danger map also includes region- and time-specific warnings. In Pakistan, tourists are told to avoid:

- areas reporting military or militant activity;
- all border areas, except the Wagha official border crossing point;
- Kashmir region, including Azad Kashmir;
- the province of Baluchistan, including the city of Quetta;
- the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Swat, the city of Peshawar and the Khyber Pass;
- and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

In Mexico, those "required to travel to Monterrey, in the state of Nuevo Le?n, should avoid movement after dark and stay within the suburb of San Pedro Garza Garc?a."

So where, exactly, is it safe to travel? Australia, Botswana, Canada, Chile, most of Europe, Greenland, Iceland, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Korea, the United States and Uruguay, according to the agency.

"No matter where in the world you intend to travel," the department's website advises, "make sure you check the travel advice and advisories page twice: once when you are planning your trip, and again shortly before you leave. ... The decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the individual."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/countries-safe-danger-travel-140344866.html

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Fort Knox shooting leaves Army employee dead

Fort Knox shooting:?Army officials said in a news release late Wednesday that the victim was an employee of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which handles personnel actions for soldiers.

By Associated Press / April 4, 2013

This image provided by the U.S. Army shows the Chaffee Gate entrance to Fort Knox. An Army civilian employee was shot and killed in a parking lot at Kentucky's Fort Knox on Wednesday, and investigators were seeking to question a man in connection with the shooting, authorities said.

US Army/AP

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An Army civilian employee was shot and killed in a parking lot at Kentucky'sFort?Knox, and investigators were seeking to question a man in connection with the?shooting, authorities said.

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Army officials said in a news release late Wednesday that the victim was an employee of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, which handles personnel actions for soldiers. The?shooting?occurred in a lot outside the command. The victim was transported to the Ireland Army Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"Special Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command are investigating a personal incident and not a random act of violence," said Chris Grey, spokesman for the independent Army investigative agency.

The identity of the victim was being withheld pending notification of family.

Police were seeking to speak with a person of interest in the case. The news release identified him as a 5-foot, 9-inch black man who is American and is believed to be using a black Yamaha motorcycle for transportation.

Fort?Knox?police received a 911 call about the?shooting?at about 5:40 pm., the news release said.

As a security measure, the post's gates were locked down at about 5:50 p.m. About an hour later, the main gate was fully reopened, but due to enhanced security measures, those coming and going were advised to expect delays.

Fort?Knox?spokesman Kyle Hodges said late Wednesday that the post remained on a heightened security alert, but said officials don't believe the person of interest was still on post.

He said he could not comment on whether the victim was targeted, or whether the?shooting?may have been related to his work. He also couldn't say what type of weapon was used.

The FBI dispatched two agents to?Fort?Knox?and is assisting in the investigation, said Mary Trotman, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Louisville.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/yltZ_D2ubCI/Fort-Knox-shooting-leaves-Army-employee-dead

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Self-Defense ? Pepper Spray Tips | Jackie's Women's Interest Bazaar

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Since pepper sprays are the most widely used nonlethal self-defense item in the world, we thought you should know some tips on what to look for when you buy one and how to get the most out of it once you have it. Read on to learn more.

Source:Self-Defense ? Pepper Spray Tips