2011年12月16日星期五

Can Gross Stories Save you Life?

Buried deeply on the 849 webpages connected with final year's Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul laws is often a supply having commenced changing finance government bodies right into a human-rights police. In addition it provides individuals anything new at all to are worried about.

Alarmed by just atrocities on the Democratic Republic in the Congo, Canada Goose Jakke Our elected representatives directed this Investments in addition to Trade " transaction fee " to help call for vendors to reveal regardless if recycleables essential for the supplements include things like mineral deposits because of Congo or perhaps border locations.

The money regulation consequently positions a good number harried investments law firms with the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S towards a unheard of and additionally probably not going purpose: realizing the way in which openly dealt corporations ought to prove whether or not they possess clean the world-wide resource bangles connected with whatever taint connected with human-rights infractions through Key Cameras.

The mineral throughout questioncassiterite, columbite-tantalite, Expedition Parka precious metal plus wolframiteare traditionally with gadgets together with other items, whilst Congo materials just 20% with world wide need intended for these types of recycleables.

For many, still, your earning potential through Congolese mines currently have backed up warring factions which caught up by kidnapping, Canada Goose Expedition Parka children job, rape, mutilation and additionally killing. By way of convincing businesses to reveal into the making an investment open public whether or not they take advantage of such "conflict vitamins, inch The nation's lawmakers wished to give up a move associated with dollars in order to abusers for people legal rights.

The SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S reckons that will 1, 100 providers might have to computer file the fresh disclosures; alternative reports vary approximately four instances large.

People informed about the difficulty tell you the fact that conflict-minerals law has got ended in extra gatherings among exterior engaged celebrations and therefore the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S office staff when compared with any challenge within yearspartly because of the spot is really way outside of the agency's ability, to a certain extent given it arouses these rigorous article topics.

The SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION'S have been struggling together with the conflict-mineral recommendations regarding calendar months, Moncler Jackets plus there is absolutely no message about should the finalized rules might be discharged. Still organizations are already word of caution that they can have got to help to make that disclosuresand the fact that codes may well shrink deliver, bring up expenditures and in many cases commute gone consumers.

So a long way this coming year, 49 You. Ersus. companies14 around Late alonehave brought up all the approaching conflict-mineral protocols of their monetary statement, right up out of just simply couple of to all regarding 2010. Its commodity values failed to manage to reply to any disclosures.

Most of such providers generate and also distributed semiconductors, mobile phones and also alternative electronics industries appliances. Nonetheless they add your chemical like the manufacturer, a new solar-energy dilemma plus Sue about Troy, helping to make wild hair dryers, base bathing pools, home baseball gloves plus digital camera mosquito mousetraps.

Good friend Barnes, primary economical specialist with RF Monolithics, a new Dallas-based brewer with handheld appliances, suggests "we must not be backing renegades who seem to punishment their particular solutions as well as exploitation most of the consumers. inch Her supplier utilizes all nutrients, however RFM would not continually be aware of in which we were holding mined.

Mr. Barnes bids who's would certainly value RFM $1 zillion to help you actions unique taxation of your vitamin dealers as used by it is deal suppliers. RFM, that features a little stock-market cost with $11 million dollars, obtained net gain with $228, 000 throughout it has the hottest economical month and also $312, 000 4 seasons in advance of.

"For people, it is the variance amongst simply being rewarding without, inch suggests Mr. Barnes, that's praying which usually greater agencies may put in place the whole in ok "conflict-free" distributors the fact that agencies including his / her can piggyback with.

Marcia Narine, your checking out legal requirements tutor with the School for MissouriKansas Town, wasted each week . 5 around Congo for Sept. The woman doubts which usually carefully research exactly how enzymes really are designed certainly, there might not exactly nonetheless what you need.

Prof. Narine shows any tale of an 63-year-old lovely women so, who announced to your respective authorities this your lover ended up being raped simply by militantswho next go back in addition to not available the girl lip area simply because treatment. By using quite a few problems just for showing reality, demands Prof. Narine, "How might most people make certain the results we will acquiring is certainly precise? "

That is also very important to get "socially responsible" capital, those people portfolios this expend exclusively for organizations the fact that move exact external together with community lab tests. A madness inside Congo part tends to make any visitors on mineral which means that really hard so that you can know in which verification available any misbehaving enterprise originating from a past record isn't really yet still achievable.

Bennett Freeman, a new person vice us president during Calvert Investment opportunities, suggests that it must be "virtually impossible" after all this to make sure you demonstrate than a organization's items you should not carry contradiction vitamins and minerals, yet he or she is encouraging the fact that brand new secret will alter which usually covering the after that ten years.

In your interim, additional these wants will be practical. "In a new becoming less community, inch suggests Tamar Frankel, an authority for sec legal requirements located at Birkenstock boston Collage, "investments plus politics concerns could possibly be which means that carefully correlated how they are not to be connectors from now on. inches

Considering this surgery just by some other would mean possess frequently neglected, economical disclosureswhether people deliver the results or possibly notmay get to be the subsequent marker with regard to coping with criminal acts alongside human race.

2011年12月11日星期日

In back of Facebook: 10 Other sorts of IPOs

Zynga Inc. seriously isn't the actual list to watch out while in the finished full week with regard to Oughout. Lenses. basic consumer tools over gross christmas hiatus.

And although the brewer with social-media game will be transparent headline-grabber, Sito Moncler 10 other individuals definitely will get so that you can directory this approach full week, most likely getting a busiest workweek just for completely new entries on well over nearly four yrs. One another not one but two to watch out will be ethnical home business application producer Jive Software system Inc. and additionally high-end garments enterprise Emmanuel Kors Holdings Ltd., which you'll find even likely generate potent debuts.

Zynga gets particular attention for most people explanations. Them takes in a fabulous awesome nichesocial World-wide-web mediaand it is getting cash doing the same through styles for example This popular game in addition to CityVille. It again maintains the best pai gow poker just for ethnical video game titles performed at Youtube Inc., Moncler Outlet and gained your pipeline with cutting edge your with improvement. Also, it is the option of your workweek: Myspace is hoping to get even though $1 million through the index relating to the Nasdaq inside expression ZNGA.

"Their avenue demonstrate to appeared to be located room or space sole, want horseback riding your populated subway, inches believed Scott Sugary, Moncler Spaccio curbing home with homework websites IPOBoutique. com.

Mr. Charming and more claim these people imagine Facebook that they are appreciated from shareholders even if amongst the most current web 2 . carries, Groupon Inc., Canada Goose Trillium Parka by a person factor went under here it is IPO cost for the bigger markets stressed subsequent to it is debut past 4 weeks. (Groupon becomes back off 17%, most surely following it has the first-day get about 31%. )#)

Zynga's business would not bring up quite a few things like Groupon's, that wasthat's belittled for ones amount of money the software gets to spend with advertising. The following organizations gameplay construtors target their own programs to locate the foremost business for devoted things by means of working on real-time screening about individuals.

While Facebook appeared to be going only just nearly four long ago, typically the Ervin Kors make has been doing just for 26 a long time. You can actually clothing currently have graced girls and additionally accumulated extra visibility with a namesake designer's presence being appraise with television's Mission Runway.

The organizations economical knowledge actually even scans because if this worldwide market came about relating to one other country: it consists of expert great same-store business increase equity one fourth of your carry on four economical numerous years. On the a few months this wrapped up April. 1, finish money increased by 61% so that you can $549 million dollars and additionally identical shop revenues moved 42%; net gain bending to make sure you $65 million dollars as opposed to similar amount of 2010.

The supplier is usually about to increase a good deal like $792 thousand thousand not to mention deal at the Los angeles Stock market inside symbolic representation KORS.

Jive Program would make ethnical home business application which conversation and even relationship somewhere between some businesses staff members will be people as well as lovers. The country's active program stand, identified as Jive Enlist, appeared to be announced for 2007 is at this time searched by 657 shoppers, which includes Hewlett-Packard Company., SAP AG, and also UBS AG.

While earnings is actually climbing quickly, the business includes a past about profits / losses in addition to alerts so it wouldn't be prepared to become lucrative within "the near future, inch as a result of enhanced working in addition to funding money.

After this kind of trio, you can find cheaper amounts of involvement in the residual 7 prices. When just about all 11 corporations start dealing, it'll be this busiest 7 days for that You. Azines. IPO industry because 13 stocks and options released with December 2007.

Among the mediocre ones is actually area of expertise chemical substances in addition to mining harvests beautiful Luxfor Holdings PLC, which can be based with Britain although contains output treatments world-wide, such as inside the You. Azines. The business statements to possess foremost advertise present situations with array of solutions, through magnesium aerospace metals in order to compounds found in truck catalytic converters, in addition to a listing of clients which includes 3M Company. and also U . s . Technological know-how Corp. While Luxfer's product sales were being afflicted with that modern world downturn in the economy, that continued to be successful, in addition to income in addition to net income really are away for your primary seven a long time from the yr. The item really wants to increase up to $161 mil.

Another commercial corporation going for the promotes is without a doubt GSE Presenting Inc., helping to make liners, walls as well as drainage merchandise which are implemented in many different areas, coming from exploration to help farming. It is product sales went up 40% inside the to start with on the lookout for calendar months from the season, plus it resulted in a little money when compared to profits / losses throughout the similar amount of 2010. The particular IPO might get to $135 zillion.

One which could possess some trouble getting potential buyers is without a doubt FusionStorm Modern world Inc. This company does some sort of IPO as high as $189 mil in order that it should buy about three i . t . organisations and also incorporate all of them within just one huge retailer and even provider. Shareholders tend to be primarily to be quizzed that will money a new roll-up from organizations which have absolutely no reputation incorporated experditions.

Otherwise it really is much more strength businesses. This week's 5 result from many aspects from the Oughout. Azines. vitality business, through gas storage devices as well as pipeline joint venture Inergy Midstream T. R. in order to gas and oil search as well as output strong Laredo Oil Holdings Inc., the greatest IPO from the team on nearly $350 huge number of.

Two power corporations which debuted Exclusive you should not feature substantially confidence for your returning month: Memorial service Manufacturing Associates M. R. dropped 1%, and also Flower Steel Midstream M. R. concluded it's primary day time ripped.


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<p>Zynga gets particular attention for most people explanations. Them takes in a fabulous awesome nichesocial World-wide-web mediaand it is getting cash doing the same through styles for example This popular game in addition to CityVille. It again maintains the best pai gow poker just for ethnical video game titles performed at Youtube Inc., <a href='http://www.moncler-time.com'>Moncler Outlet</a> and gained your pipeline with cutting edge your with improvement. Also, it is the option of your workweek: Myspace is hoping to get even though $1 million through the index relating to the Nasdaq inside expression ZNGA. </p>
<p>"Their avenue demonstrate to appeared to be located room or space sole, want horseback riding your populated subway, inches believed Scott Sugary, <a href='http://www.moncler-ebay.com'>Moncler Spaccio</a> curbing home with homework websites IPOBoutique. com. </p>
<p>Mr. Charming and more claim these people imagine Facebook that they are appreciated from shareholders even if amongst the most current web 2 . carries, Groupon Inc., <a href='http://www.canadagoose-ebay.com/Canada-Goose-Womens-Trillium-Parka-f2-60.html'>Canada Goose Trillium Parka</a> by a person factor went under here it is IPO cost for the bigger markets stressed subsequent to it is debut past 4 weeks. (Groupon becomes back off 17%, most surely following it has the first-day get about 31%. )#)</p>
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<p>While Facebook appeared to be going only just nearly four long ago, typically the Ervin Kors make has been doing just for 26 a long time. You can actually clothing currently have graced girls and additionally accumulated extra visibility with a namesake designer's presence being appraise with television's Mission Runway. </p>
<p>The organizations economical knowledge actually even scans because if this worldwide market came about relating to one other country: it consists of expert great same-store business increase equity one fourth of your carry on four economical numerous years. On the a few months this wrapped up April. 1, finish money increased by 61% so that you can $549 million dollars and additionally identical shop revenues moved 42%; net gain bending to make sure you $65 million dollars as opposed to similar amount of 2010. </p>
<p>The supplier is usually about to increase a good deal like $792 thousand thousand not to mention deal at the Los angeles Stock market inside symbolic representation KORS. </p>
<p>Jive Program would make ethnical home business application which conversation and even relationship somewhere between some businesses staff members will be people as well as lovers. The country's active program stand, identified as Jive Enlist, appeared to be announced for 2007 is at this time searched by 657 shoppers, which includes Hewlett-Packard Company., SAP AG, and also UBS AG. </p>
<p>While earnings is actually climbing quickly, the business includes a past about profits / losses in addition to alerts so it wouldn't be prepared to become lucrative within "the near future, inch as a result of enhanced working in addition to funding money. </p>
<p>After this kind of trio, you can find cheaper amounts of involvement in the residual 7 prices. When just about all 11 corporations start dealing, it'll be this busiest 7 days for that You. Azines. IPO industry because 13 stocks and options released with December 2007. </p>
<p>Among the mediocre ones is actually area of expertise chemical substances in addition to mining harvests beautiful Luxfor Holdings PLC, which can be based with Britain although contains output treatments world-wide, such as inside the You. Azines. The business statements to possess foremost advertise present situations with array of solutions, through magnesium aerospace metals in order to compounds found in truck catalytic converters, in addition to a listing of clients which includes 3M Company. and also U . s . Technological know-how Corp. While Luxfer's product sales were being afflicted with that modern world downturn in the economy, that continued to be successful, in addition to income in addition to net income really are away for your primary seven a long time from the yr. The item really wants to increase up to $161 mil. </p>
<p>Another commercial corporation going for the promotes is without a doubt GSE Presenting Inc., helping to make liners, walls as well as drainage merchandise which are implemented in many different areas, coming from exploration to help farming. It is product sales went up 40% inside the to start with on the lookout for calendar months from the season, plus it resulted in a little money when compared to profits / losses throughout the similar amount of 2010. The particular IPO might get to $135 zillion. </p>
<p>One which could possess some trouble getting potential buyers is without a doubt FusionStorm Modern world Inc. This company does some sort of IPO as high as $189 mil in order that it should buy about three i . t . organisations and also incorporate all of them within just one huge retailer and even provider. Shareholders tend to be primarily to be quizzed that will money a new roll-up from organizations which have absolutely no reputation incorporated experditions. </p>
<p>Otherwise it really is much more strength businesses. This week's 5 result from many aspects from the Oughout. Azines. vitality business, through gas storage devices as well as pipeline joint venture Inergy Midstream T. R. in order to gas and oil search as well as output strong Laredo Oil Holdings Inc., the greatest IPO from the team on nearly $350 huge number of. </p>
<p>Two power corporations which debuted Exclusive you should not feature substantially confidence for your returning month: Memorial service Manufacturing Associates M. R. dropped 1%, and also Flower Steel Midstream M. R. concluded it's primary day time ripped. </p>

2011年12月2日星期五

25 Top Travel Apps

Why bother slogging through the more than 30,000 available apps when Departures could do it for you?Expedition parka We canvased the app universe and handpicked an arsenal of portable pocket resources to help the vacation-bound tackle the world.

A selection of communication apps will let you talk,Canada goose text and video chat in any area code without decimating your phone bill. Translation apps will ensure you never have to struggle with “Where’s the nearest restroom?” again; all you have to do is speak into a mic and let the app do the work. Better yet,Canada goose jacka one app will guide you to the nearest clean bathroom. For those who always want to be prepared, a bevy of survival apps provide first-aid guides and emergency phone numbers. Suggested food apps provide insider tips on the best restaurants. And for anyone who’s ever spent an afternoon trapped at the boarding gate,Canada goose parka we’ll point you to entertainment apps to keep the music streaming, the e-book pages turning and your brain occupied.

Now all you have to do is get out your phone and start downloading these battle-tested choices for getting the most out of your travels.

2011年11月10日星期四

ISPs Pledge to Offer $10 Broadband to Low-Income Families

The Federal Communications Commission this afternoon provided more details on a program that will provide affordable broadband access to low-income families.

Fourteen cable companies have pledged to offer broadband service for $9.95 per month to those who have at least one child in the Free School Lunch Program. Participants also have the option of buying a $150 laptop,Expedition Parka while Microsoft is prepping a $250 version that will come with Windows and Office.

"This past May, I challenged all players in the broadband space to step up and help close the adoption gap and digital skills gap. I'm pleased that many companies and non-profits have stepped up in a serious way to meet this national challenge," FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement.

ISPs participating in the effort, known as Connect to Compete, include: Bend Cable, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast (via Internet Essentials), Cox Communications,Canada Goose Jacket Eagle Communications, GCI, Insight, Mediacom, Midcontinent, Sjoberg's Cable, Suddenlink, and Time Warner Cable. The providers promise a minimum speed tier of 1 Mbps.

Comcast formally launched its Internet Essentials program back in September.

In addition to having a child in the school lunch program, participants must not have an overdue bill with any of the participating providers and cannot have been a broadband subscriber in the past 90 days.

For those who don't have a PC, Redemtech is offering refurbished laptops or desk computers for $150 plus tax, which can be shipped to participants' homes. The offer comes with 90 days of phone tech support,Expedition Parka one year of software tech support, and a 90-day warranty. The devices will include Windows 7 Home Premium and MS Office 2007, and come equipped with a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, DVD player, and wireless card. The offer will kick off in some areas in spring 2012 and expand throughout the year.

Next year, meanwhile, Microsoft has committed to working with its hardware partners to introduce education computers that will start at $250 and include Windows and Office.

To help families purchase those computers,Canada Goose Jacka Morgan Stanley will help develop a micro-credit program that will also provide participants with financial training. Several non-profits have also signed up to assist those in the program, including Common Sense Media, Glassdoor.com, iKeepSafe, Indeed.com, LearningExpress, oDesk, and EverFi.

Connect to Compete efforts will be handled by digital literacy group One Economy, and the Media and Technology Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies will perform independent audits to make sure things are progressing.

2011年11月6日星期日

Gerharts go the extra mile to watch sons play football

Arizona State center Garth Gerhart chats with his parents, Todd and Lori Gerhart, in the lobby of the team hotel in Eugene, Ore., before a Pac-12 game. (Ben Bolch / Los Angeles Times)
On a recent weekend, Todd, the Norco coach, and Lori watch Coltin lead the school to a win, travel for Garth's game with Arizona State at Oregon and wrap it up in Chicago, where Toby's Vikings face the Bears.Canada Goose Parka

Watching the Gerhart boys play football used to be as easy as heading over to Norco High.

Toby was the star running back, Garth the starting center and Coltin the ball boy who hung on his brothers' every play.

Orchestrating it all was Todd, their father and Norco's coach. And there in the stands was Lori, all those Friday nights in the fall spent cheering her husband and sons.

But times change even in the place known as Horsetown U.S.A., where equestrian trails still line a side on busy streets and hitching posts remain outside stores and restaurants.

Toby moved on to Stanford and the Minnesota Vikings, Garth earned a scholarship to Arizona State and Coltin became the high school's starting quarterback.Canada Goose Chilliwack

Every chance they get, the parents try to freeze the clock, examining team schedules and sifting through airline flights and hotels to organize what could be called, for those who don't mind nine hours of sleep over three days, a football family's fantasy weekend.

Last month, the Gerharts saw each of their boys play three consecutive days in different regions of the country.

All it took was an alphabet soup of six flights, ONT-PDX-EUG-PDX-SLC-MDW-DEN-ONT, so that Todd and Lori could see two legendary venues — Oregon's Auzten Stadium and Chicago's Soldier Field.

The tally: 4,535 air miles and one middle-of-the-night ride in a rental car.

The boys make up only half of Todd and Lori's brood of athletes. The Gerharts also have triplet daughters who play college softball.Canada Goose Expedition

When the kids resided under one roof, that meant everybody piling into a 15-passenger van for family sporting events. During football season, those trips are now more complicated but still start at Norco football games.

On this particular Friday, the Cougars are playing Riverside King, not the strongest opponent, but considering how poorly Norco played the previous week in a loss, nobody is taking chances. Before the game, voices rise and expletives fly.

Todd takes a spot in the press box high above the field, hoping it will give him a better vantage point than standing on the sideline.

Early on, he doesn't like what he sees. A bottled-up running back laterals the ball to Coltin, who is immediately swarmed by several defenders. Canada Goose Trillium Parka

"What is he doing?" Todd barks into his headset. "Get him out of there!"

Todd knows what a running back should and shouldn't do. He played the position at Norco, where he met Lori, a star on the basketball team. Todd also played at Cal State Fullerton and briefly in the defunct United States Football League.

Coltin reminds everyone in the Gerhart family of older brother Toby even though they play different positions. Coltin is the same size Toby was as a high school sophomore — 5 feet 11 and 200 pounds — and has a similar running style, his legs churning like pistons no matter how many defenders are wrapped around him.

Although a bit short for a quarterback, Coltin typically accounts for about 70% of Norco's yardage with his passing and running. King certainly can't stop him. After his second touchdown pass, the game is a runaway before halftime.

Norco goes on to win, 42-7, and afterward Lori squeezes her son in a warm embrace near midfield before shifting her attention to her husband.

2011年10月25日星期二

David Cameron under pressure to reveal coalition's Europe policy

David Cameron is facing pressure from ministers and Tory backbenchers to be more open about the coalition's European policy, amid complaints the prime minister is promising more than he can deliver.

As Nick Clegg dismissed Tory hopes of repatriating powers from the EU as a "smash and grab raid", one senior Conservative warned the prime minister not to "tease" his party with unrealistic ambitions.

Conservatives raised concerns after the deputy prime minister responded to the largest Tory rebellion on Europe by saying: "We should stop tilting at windmills about threats and challenges which simply aren't there right now." Clegg's remarks came after 81 Tory MPs defied the government to support a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. A further 15 Tory MPs are understood to have abstained, meaning that the prime minister failed to persuade more than half of his backbenchers to support government policy.

The deputy prime minister appeared to take aim at Downing Street when he dismissed the prime minister's pledge in the Commons on Monday to try and repatriate social and employment laws from Brussels. Clegg described this as "a smash and grab raid across the Channel" that was "neither justified nor in the interests of Britain". The intervention by Clegg alarmed Tory MPs who had been encouraged when the prime minister told MPs that he would still seek to implement the Tory manifesto pledge in this area.

"I remain firmly committed to ... bringing back more powers from Brussels," Cameron said.

The prime minister appeared to reinforce his point as he indicated that Britain was prepared to wield its veto in negotiations to revise the Lisbon treaty. Germany is demanding a revision to underpin tough new rules to co-ordinate fiscal policy in the eurozone.

"Opportunities to advance our national interest are clearly becoming apparent," the prime minister said. He added: "Every country can wield a veto until its needs are met."

Michael Gove, the education secretary, indicated on the Today programme that moves were being made to repatriate social and employment powers now. Asked by John Humphrys when Britain would start bringing back powers from Brussels, Gove replied: "We are working now. The government is working now."

But Tories pointed out this is not coalition policy. The coalition agreement simply states: "We will examine the balance of the EU's existing competences." Downing Street said that a unit has been established in the Foreign Office to make an assessment of these EU powers.

It is understood the prime minister will use the next round of treaty negotiations to protect Britain's position in the single market and the City of London, rather than attempting to repatriate social and employment laws. Cameron would only attempt that if there were a full-scale treaty negotiation along the lines of the original drafting of the Lisbon treaty.

Tory MPs warned that Cameron needed to be careful about making promises he could not deliver. One senior MP said: "On Europe the prime minister can only keep up the tease for so long. At some point the facade crumbles."

The prime minister defended his decision to impose a three-line whip on the referendum vote. "On politics you have to confront the big issues rather than try and sweep them under the carpet," he said during a visit to Bedford. "It wouldn't be right for the country now to have a great big vote on an in/out referendum and the rest of it."

But he attempted to reach out to the rebels. "What I would say from last night is there's no bad blood, there's no rancour, no bitterness."

2011年10月19日星期三

Help your descendants live longer... eat well now: How a healthy diet could see your great-grandchildren benefit

Those who live to a ripe old age may put it down to healthy living, but they could actually have their great-grandparents to thank.
Scientists have discovered that a good diet and lifestyle could help a person’s children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren live longer.
A team at Stanford University in California found that altering three types of proteins can affect longevity.
By blocking or modifying them in roundworms, which have the same proteins as humans, lifespan was affected in the worm itself and in up to three generations of descendants, increasing their life expectancy by up to 30 per cent.
After the third generation – the great-grandchildren – lifespan tended to return to normal.
This is the first time scientists have found an inherited factor affecting lifespan which is not a genetic change.
The genes were not affected and in subsequent generations a longer life was inherited but their levels of the three proteins remained normal.

This is a phenomenon called ‘epigenetic’ change. This is not new, it describes the process by which the body adapts to its environment such as diet, sunlight and pollution levels but it was not known it could be inherited.
Anne Brunet, associate professor of genetics at Stanford, said: ‘Genetic traits from our parents may not be the only thing we inherit.

'This is very important, as what we do can affect the next generation.
‘We do not know how yet but it could be diet, pollution, smoking, all sorts of medications, exposure to radiation and stress.
‘Our bodies could have a memory of the lifestyles of our ancestors.
'This shows that longevity can be inherited in a non-genetic way over several generations and that is very exciting.’
If the same connection is found in humans it would mark a major breakthrough in genetics.
These proteins altered by the scientists are found in the nucleus of all human cells, and help ‘pack’ the DNA tightly inside.
The worms also inherited hundreds of genes from their parents but it seemed to be the protein changes which influenced their life span.
Prof Brunet added: ‘We don’t fully understand what these proteins do, but they are also present in mammals and in humans which suggests they are very important.
‘This shows that longevity can be inherited in a non-genetic way over several generations and that is very exciting. We now need to do further tests to find how this works.’
A recent study by Swedish scientists looking at famine victims suggested a lack of food could affect the metabolism of their children and grandchildren.

2011年10月17日星期一

Revealed: how NHS cuts are really affecting the young, old and infirm

Birth centres are closing, patients are being denied pain-relieving drugs and leaflets advising parents how to prevent cot death have been scrapped because of NHS cuts which are increasingly restricting services to patients, evidence gathered by the Guardian reveals.

The NHS's £20bn savings drive also means new mothers receive fewer visits from health visitors, support for problem drinkers is being reduced and families are no longer being given an NHS advice book on bringing up their baby.

People with diabetes and leg ulcers are seeing less of the district nurses who help them manage their condition; specialists delivering psychological therapies are under threat and a growing number of hospitals are reducing the number of nurses and midwives to balance their books.

The disclosure that the savings drive is affecting so many different areas of NHS care has prompted claims that pledges by the prime minister and the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, that the frontline would be protected despite the NHS's tightening financial squeeze cannot be trusted. One of David Cameron's election pledges was: "I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS."

Inquiries by the Guardian into the impact of the quest to deliver £20bn of "efficiency savings" in the NHS in England by 2015 also shows that walk-in centres are closing and anti-obesity programmes are being scaled back and hospitals reducing the number of nurses and midwives they employ, despite rising demand for healthcare and an ongoing baby boom.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "Andrew Lansley promised the NHS cuts to save the £20bn would be in bureaucracy and waste and would not come at the expense of the frontline. But the evidence we are getting on a daily basis is that the impact is on the patient and frontline services."

"Ministerial promises aren't being kept. We are getting the complete opposite of what we were promised. We were promised no cuts to frontline services and no impact on the patient's journey. Instead we are getting cuts in many, many services and the impact on the patient is huge."

Patients denied painkillers such as co-codamol and tramadol and the sleeping tablet diazepam have contacted the association recently to complain that prescriptions have suddenly been withdrawn.

One of the NHS's 10 regional strategic health authorities has banned primary care trusts (PCTs) in its area from prescribing patients a range of painkillers on cost grounds, Murphy added. Patients on oxygen due to breathing problems have seen visits from district nurses reduced, while other patients have been denied cataract, bariatric or hernia operations, she added.

Children's health experts are dismayed that parents will no longer automatically receive Birth to Five, a longstanding guide to issues such as feeding and immunisation, because the Department of Health has decided to make it an online-only publication as part of a DH purge on health promotion material. Dr David Elliman, a spokesman for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "If Birth to Five is no longer to be available to mothers in print, only on the internet, this is bad news. I am particularly concerned that those who profit from it most will be least likely to use it. This is a false economy and is likely to increase inequalities. We would urge DH to think again."

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths also warned that switching Reduce the Risk – a leaflet that gives parents advice on avoiding cot death – to an online-only format would deprive parents, especially those from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds, of potentially vital guidance, as many are unlikely to download it. Research credits the leaflet with helping to avoid 19,000 cot deaths since it was first published in 1991.

Jacque Gerrard, director for England at the Royal College of Midwives, said shutting birth centres such as the Jubilee, in Hull, and Heatherwood, in Ascot, where midwives rather than doctors supervise women's care, would deny mothers-to-be their right to choice of place of birth. At least six more reconfigurations of maternity services, which could result in further closures, are being discussed by the NHS.

Campaigners for sick babies have warned that a reduction in the number of nurses at a third of neonatal units in English hospitals could result in deaths. "The lives of England's sickest babies are at risk by needless cuts to the neonatal nursing workforce," said Andy Cole, the chief executive of the baby charity Bliss.

Bliss used freedom of information laws to investigate staffing levels in neonatal units. Despite the charity identifying a shortfall of 1,150 nurses in those units last year, some 140 posts have been lost since then through redundancies, recruitment freezes and redefining some staff roles. One in five units also said that they intend to reduce their total of neonatal nurses in the next 12 months.

Ipswich hospital confimed that it plans to shed 250 staff as part of a drive to reduce its 3,800-strong full and part-time workforce in order to help it confront "a serious and urgent financial challenge" and make £16m of efficiency savings during this financial year. Those being made redundant by the end of the year include both clinical staff and non-medical support staff. It is shrinking its workforce despite emergency and elective care admissions having risen in the last three years.

The cash squeeze affecting the hospital is so acute that it has no plans to replace a specialist nurse who retired last week who helped about 50 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis manage their conditions. "The MS nurse specialist post is under review. We do however have a serious and urgent financial challenge to face and are going through a period of consultation on a number of posts," said a hospital spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said the £16m target was the result of NHS organisations in England having to make 4% efficiency savings this year towards the £20bn goal and the service's Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP), which also wants healthcare providers to become more efficient in order to free up resources to cope with the demands of an increasingly elderly population.

Christina McAnea, head of health at Unison, the union representing 400,000 NHS staff including nurses and paramedics, said the emerging cuts were "a shocking indictment" of the government. The public will not be fooled by David Cameron's hollow words ever again.

"Just over a year in office, and the damage to the NHS is clear to see: birth centres closing, patients left in pain, public health programmes dwindling, district nurse visits being cut, health workers losing their jobs. Waiting lists are rising, and the health bill no-one wants will change our health service beyond recognition, throwing the doors open to privatisation on a never before seen scale," she said.

Janet Davies, director of nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, warned that cuts made in the next three years may be more painful for staff and patients than those in this financial year. "While the cuts we are currently seeing are fairly worrying, we have even more concern about the future, because the task to cut costs and make savings will only get harder. Some trusts have managed to make savings this year in a sensible way that hasn't directly affected patient care. But next year the increased pressure, because the NHS has to make three more years of savings for the three years after this, it's harder to identify where innovation and reduction in waste can make savings.

Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, said hospitals and PCTs should not be using the £20bn efficiency drive to cut services to patients. "There is no need for NHS organisations to cut services that their local population requires. The NHS will receive an extra £12.5bn over the next four years and in future we want it to focus more on designing services around patients.

"Even with this significant increase in funding, the growing pressures of an ageing population and the rising costs of drugs and other treatments means that the NHS still needs to save up to £20bn by 2015. This is not about cuts – it is about becoming more efficient, so that even more money can be spent on providing high quality care for patients, not less.

"We are clear that there should be no blanket bans for treatments, that the NHS must be sensitive to individual circumstances and have systems in place for exceptional cases so individuals can get the most appropriate treatment for them."

2011年10月13日星期四

Occupy Wall Street protests reveal liberal tensions

The Occupy Wall Street protests spreading across the country are mobilizing liberal activists who have been largely sidelined in the national debate since helping to elect President Obama three years ago.

This should be a relief to the White House, which is eager to excite a Democratic base that has grown disappointed in the president and less excited about reelecting him.
But it is unclear whether this sudden burst of energy on the American left will help Obama and other Democrats. The protests are gaining steam around a set of economic grievances and a wariness of both parties’ reliance on corporate campaign money — and Democratic officials are wondering how, or whether, they can tap into a movement that seems fed up with all brands of partisan politics.

That tension has been evident in recent days in debates raging online and in person at demonstration sites across the country.

An Obama strategist from Florida, Steve Schale, posted on his Facebook page that “clamoring for change is hollow unless you vote.” He linked to an image from the liberal Think Progress blog calling on activists to “Occupy the Polls.”

A former Obama volunteer from central Florida, Madison Paige, retorted on Schale’s page that voting alone couldn’t fix the system, saying, “We have to be willing to do the hardest work — and that means taking a look in the mirror when necessary.”

At Occupy D.C., the McPherson Square encampment inspired by Occupy Wall Street, a shouting match erupted this week when a woman describing herself as a longtime Democratic campaign worker encouraged the young protesters to express their concerns by voting, only to be told that voting wasn’t enough.

Those contentious moments help illustrate the difficulty facing Democratic officials as they try to capitalize on the sudden emergence of liberal energy that is growing fast — but expanding largely separate and apart from traditional party institutions.

Some party allies are trying to help. Unions are providing legal advice, food and Internet service in some locations, with labor leaders intervening late Thursday on behalf of protesters in a dispute with New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) over the use of a Wall Street park.

Party and White House officials are watching mostly from the sidelines.

“We don’t know: Is this a sustaining movement or is it a flash of anger?” said one House Democratic leadership aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal thinking.

John Podesta, who as president of the liberal Center for American Progress is a close White House ally, said the party establishment is waiting to see what happens next. “They’ve opened up an important space for a national conversation, but where it goes from here depends on the staying power of the organizing effort,” he said.

The dilemma mirrors the choice that confronted Republican Party officials in 2009 as the tea party movement found its footing and began challenging establishment figures in the GOP hierarchy. Over time, a series of establishment groups such as FreedomWorks began coordinating with the activists, and the tea-party insurgency began to more closely resemble the energized GOP base.

2011年10月12日星期三

One of Warren Jeffs' dozens of wives escapes the FLDS after 'being drugged during her first attempt to leave'

One of the dozens of wives of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs enlisted the help of the authorities to escape the sect's home-base in Arizona.
Washington county sheriff's deputies helped the 25-year-old woman leave the base and flee to another home in Utah.
Detective Nate Abbott said deputies arrived on a 'keep the peace' call at about 3pm.
'She asked for assistance in leaving the community, and a deputy responded and facilitated that request,' he said.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the woman had been living with her parents and then fled to the home of Willie Jessop, who is the former spokesman for the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Isaac Wyler, a former sect member who still lives in the community, said the sheriff’s deputies helped diffuse what had become a stand-off with FLDS men outside Mr Jessop’s office after a manhunt was launched.
Sources also told ABC 4 News that local town marshals and FLDS security surrounded the business of Willie Jessop, where the young woman had sought refuge.
The woman was then taken to a shelter.
Mr Jessop - who is currently supporting a prophet to replace Jeffs - told the Tribune: 'It’s all about the welfare of a girl who sought help. We’re keeping this focused on what’s in the best interest of the young lady.'
He revealed it was he who contacted authorities on the woman’s behalf, but declined to provide other details about the incident.
'She came to me under duress for some help. We’ve got her help. She’s deciding what she wants to do and how we can help facilitate that. One hundred percent of the focus now is on whatever is in her best interests.”
Colorado City and its sister community of Hildale are the home base of Jeffs’ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The sect, which has about 10,000 members, practices polygamy in arranged marriages that have sometimes involved underage girls.
Leaving the devout, insular community has historically been difficult for FLDS members in part because it essentially severs all ties with family and friends.
This is allegedly not the first time the woman tried to escape and the Washington County Attorney’s Office is investigating.
They are looking into allegations he was held against her own will and even drugged.
Jeffs, 55, is currently serving a 130-year sentence in an East Texas prison for sexually assaulting two of his many under-age brides when they were 12 and 15.
According to court documents he has at least 78 plural wives.
DNA evidence presented during the trial proved Jeffs had fathered a child with a 15-year-old child bride.
Graphic audio recordings were played on which he was said to be heard sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and instructing other minors on how to please him sexually.
By submitting to his sexual needs in sessions Jeffs branded 'heavenly' or 'celestial', the girls were told they were thereby pleasing God and helping to atone for the sins of their community.
'If the world knew what I was doing, they would hang me from the highest tree,' Jeffs wrote in a chilling journal entry from 2005 - one of thousands of pages of notes seized by authorities.
Shortly after he was imprisoned after swiftly being convicted, he went on hunger strike and was in a medical-induced coma.