Sony Xperia ZL Review

Introduction:

Making a radical impact on today's smartphone market is no easy task, but Sony is hoping to succeed by taking a slightly different approach than its rivals. While most manufacturers have their time and resources focused on a single high-end device, the Japanese tech giant is delivering its one-two punch in the form of the slim and shiny Sony Xperia Z and its less fabulous and non-water-resistant, but (presumably) less expensive Sony Xperia ZL.

On paper, the Sony Xperia ZL is very similar to its fashionable cousin. It is?equipped?with a 5-inch, 1080p screen, powerful quad-core processor, 13MP camera, and LTE connectivity ? factors that land it right into the high-end category. The Sony Xperia ZL, however, is being advertised as more compact than its competitors while its battery has a slightly bigger capacity than the one inside the Xperia Z.

But the competition on the smartphone battlefield is nothing short of fierce. It usually takes far more than just specs to turn a flagship into a bestseller ? outstanding features, well-executed software, and attractive design are pretty much mandatory traits. Does the Sony Xperia ZL have any of that? Well, it is time to take it for a spin and find out!

In the box:

• Wall charger
• microUSB cable
• MH-EX300AP wired headset with extra ear gels
• User guide and other papers

Sony Xperia ZL Unboxing:

Design:

If we had to describe the Sony Xperia ZL using one single word, that would be ?boring?. Sure, the smartphone has adopted some visual cues from its sleeker cousin ? the Xperia Z, but it is thicker and far less appealing with all that matte plastic used in its construction. As a result, the Xperia ZL simply lacks that ?wow? factor we've come to expect from top-of-the-line smartphones nowadays.

Something that the Sony Xperia ZL is supposed to stand out with is its small footprint. Looking at numbers alone, it should be one of the most compact 5-inch smartphones in existence, with over three quarters of its front side occupied by its large screen ? an impressive technical achievement that must be noted. But in reality, the difference between holding the ZL and one of its 5-inch rivals is not as striking as Sony wants you to think. Actually, using the Sony Xperia ZL would have been much more enjoyable if its corners weren't so pointy. And yes, it is still uncomfortable to operate using one hand only, but that's a common trait for all phones of that size.

5.18 x 2.75 x 0.39 inches
131.6 x 69.8 x 9.8 mm
5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31 inches
136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
5.19 x 2.71 x 0.33 inches
131.9 x 68.9 x 8.45 mm
5.47 x 2.8 x 0.31 inches
139 x 71 x 7.9 mm
On the bright side of things, we're extremely pleased with how much grip the textured, soft touch back plate provides. What's more is that absolutely no fingerprints stick to the back so it looks clean and pristine pretty much all of the time. The physical buttons are another detail executed flawlessly ? they are all exposed well and easy to access, while the camera shutter key isn't prone to accidental presses. Display:

Just like many other high-end Androids, the Sony Xperia ZL comes with a 5-inch display offering an outstanding resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels. The high pixel count is undoubtedly the most awesome thing about the smartphone's screen as the level of detail it provides is superb ? even the finest lines of text are always sharp, while graphics are extremely smooth and pleasant to look at.

Using the Sony Xperia ZL on a bright, sunny day isn't much of a problem once the screen sets its brightness up to the maximum. The device's outdoor visibility is comparable to that of other high-end handsets available today.

Sadly, the display's viewing angles are far from impressive. Tilting the phone to the side results in a drastic color degradation and loss of contrast. Speaking of contrast, that's another thing that the screen could have had more of. Well, actually the Mobile BRAVIA 2 engine improves image quality a bit, but the feature is active only when viewing photos and videos in the gallery or the video player.

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Sony-Xperia-ZL-Review_id3305

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Earth permanently deformed by big quakes? Measurements in Chile challenge established theory.

Earth permanently deformed:?New research suggests that large-scale temblors can leave permanent scars on the crust of our planet.

By Mai Ng?c Ch?u,?Contributor / April 29, 2013

A collapsed building lays in ruins after an earthquake in Concepcion, Chile, in March 2010.

Natacha Pisarenko/AP/File

Enlarge

Large earthquakes can deform the earth's crust permanently, a study of major quakes in northern Chile over the past million years suggests.

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This finding challenges a longstanding theory in geology that seeks to explain how energy is spread during earthquakes. First posited in 1910 by Johns Hopkins geologist Harry Fielding Reid after he observed?the displacement of the ground following San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake, the elastic rebound theory holds that rock on either side of a fault slowly deforms over time, until it suddenly snaps back into its original shape, causing the quake. Reid's theory was the first to satisfactorily account for earthquakes, and has ben supported by many GPS measurements, among other evidence.

But a study of major earthquakes in Chile complicates the picture. ?A team led by Cornell University?geologist Richard Allmendinger, who examined temblors of magnitude 7 or greater in Chile's Atacama Desert, found permanent deformations in?the Earth's crust.

"My graduate students and I originally went to northern Chile to study other features," Allmendinger told LiveScience writer?Charles Q. Choi. "While we were there, our Chilean colleague, Professor Gabriel Gonz?lez of the Universidad Cat?lica del Norte, took us to a region where these cracks were particularly well-exposed."

"I still remember feeling blown away ? never seen anything like them in my 40 years as a geologist ? and also perplexed," Allmendinger said. "What were these features and how did they form? Scientists hate leaving things like this unexplained, so it kept bouncing around in my mind."

The Atacama Desert has been rocked by some of the largest earthquakes over the past 100?years, including?a 8.1 Richter earthquake in 1995?and a 7.7 Richter earthquake in 2007.?

In a paper published by the journal Nature Geoscience,?Allmendinger said that up to 10 percent of the horizontal deformations created during the quakes, recorded by GPS data and previously assumed to be recoverable, are permanent. The deformations in the crust of the Atacama Desert measuring millimeters to meters large were generated by between 2,000 and 9,000 earthquakes during the past 800,000 to 1 million years.

The hyperarid Atacama?Desert, Allmendinger said, may be the only place in the?world where such permanent deformation can be preserved and?identified.?

"It is only in a place like the Atacama Desert that these cracks can be observed ? in all other places, surface processes erase them within days or weeks of their formation, but in the Atacama, they are preserved for millions of years," Allmendinger told LiveScience. "We have every reason to believe that our results would be applicable to other areas, but is simply not preserved for study the way that it is in the Atacama Desert."?

Prior to?Allmendinger's research, a study by?the Institute of Geomatics ? Research Centre of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Government of Catalonia?showed that the 9.0 magnitude Japan earthquake in 2011 caused a permanent ground deformation in the city of Sendai. The deformation was estimated?1.69 meters.

The 2004 temblor in North Sumatra, Indonesia which left 227,898 people dead or missing, also left permanent marks on the Earth. The 8.7 Richter disaster resulted in permanent displacements covering a vast region around the epicenter?exceeding 40 million square miles, according to one study. ?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/reH2IMr6nAY/Earth-permanently-deformed-by-big-quakes-Measurements-in-Chile-challenge-established-theory

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SMG's Finance Degree Ranked Seventh Nationwide | BU Today ...

School of Management 2013 seniors surveyed by Bloomberg Businessweek ranked SMG?s finance degree seventh nationwide, beating out New York University and Boston College. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Michael Tobitsch took his first finance class junior year at BU and never looked back. He landed a job after graduation in investment banking at Wachovia Securities, now merged with Wells Fargo, where he honed his skills before securing a position on the mergers and acquisitions team of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Companies in New York City.

A rising star in his field, Tobitsch (SMG?07) says BU gave him a strong foundation in finance, so he was hardly surprised to hear that 2013 seniors of the School of Management surveyed by Bloomberg Businessweek recently ranked the school?s finance program the seventh best nationwide, beating out competitors like New York University and Boston College.

Tobitsch credits Kenneth Freeman, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean of SMG, for changing the curriculum so students can select finance courses as early as freshman year (an option unavailable to him) and predicts other top-notch rankings will follow. ?I really think it?s an indication of what?s to come.?

In compiling its results, Bloomberg Businessweek surveyed Class of 2013 seniors about the courses they took and their overall satisfaction with their individual programs. The student satisfaction score rose to 18th overall, an increase from last year?s rank of 26th. And the publication ranked SMG?s overall undergraduate program as 23rd nationwide. Freeman expects more favorable survey results assessing other departments in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg Businessweek ranked SMG's undergraduate program 23rd nationwide. Photo by Vernon Doucette

?Being able to rise to the top 10 for finance is a validation of the really strong commitment of our faculty to our students,? says Freeman. ?It?s heartening to see that our efforts are being recognized by our students to really differentiate the schools of management.?

Marcel Rindisbacher, an SMG associate professor and chair of finance, thinks the survey reflects the school?s decision to redefine the undergraduate curriculum and ?shows the kind of efforts we put in to address students? needs are paying off.?

?Employers know the quality of our curriculum as well as the quality of our students,? says James French, an SMG lecturer in organizational behavior and acting assistant dean. ?Nearly one third of the 2012 graduating class took a position in financial services with a starting salary of over $54,000.?

According to SMG?s Feld Career Center, 92 percent of Class of 2012 graduates concentrating in finance landed a job within six months of graduation, many with Fortune 500 companies, among them Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Fidelity, and J.P. Morgan. Across all SMG departments, 93 percent of Class of 2012 graduates are employed in their respective fields.

Tobitsch wants that trend to continue. That?s why he?s planning his fourth Your Future in Finance conference at BU in September, where young alumni professionals join professors to mentor students for the career of their dreams.

?This ranking was really fully driven by the SMG student experience,? he says, and ?demonstrates that the University and alumni care about them.?

Source: http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/smg-finance-degree-ranked-seventh-nationwide-by-alums/

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Affirmations for Self-Improvement | tmcelvany - Armesaugustus74's ...

This article talks about how ?the more we practice having thoughts or beliefs that benefit our well-being, the more naturally those thoughts and beliefs will play themselves out in our everyday life,? as long as these affirmations you repeat to yourself are ?congruent with reality, and aligned with your core values.?

This is a very corny article on the surface, but the message about mindfulness and the list of affirmations are great. Really try to give this article a chance and see what it has to offer for your own life.

Trisha McElvany

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Source: http://tmcelvany.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/affirmations-for-self-improvement/

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Source: http://armesaugustus74.typepad.com/blog/2013/04/affirmations-for-self-improvement-tmcelvany.html

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Kidnapping suspect returns to US after Mex. arrest

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A phone tip and a Superman tattoo led to the Mexico arrest and return to the U.S. of a fugitive charged with abducting and sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Los Angeles girl.

Tobias Summers, 30, a fugitive for nearly a month, was arrested Wednesday in a Mexican village where he had checked into a drug and alcohol treatment center, authorities said.

The FBI had received a phone tip the night before that Summers was there and alerted Mexican authorities, who identified Summers by the Superman logo tattooed on his chest, FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim Delaney told a news conference.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck credited a $25,000 FBI reward that was highly publicized south of the border for the phone tip.

"Anybody in this city who thinks they can commit that kind of crime and remain free after doing so," the chief said, "we'll hunt you, we'll find you, you cannot hide."

The FBI website later showed pictures of Summers and his tattoos with the word "captured" across the bottom of each photo.

Summers, who was expected to be arraigned Friday, was charged in his absence by Los Angeles County prosecutors with kidnapping, burglary and nearly three dozen counts of sexual assault.

He was arrested without a struggle in the village on the coast between Tijuana and Ensenada, according to Alfredo Arenas, international liaison for the Baja California state police.

"He was pretty scared," Arenas said. "We had him in custody very fast."

The victim's parents discovered she was missing from her bedroom in her Northridge home in the early morning hours of March 27. She was found about 12 hours later wandering near a Starbucks several miles away.

Daniel Martinez, 29, was arrested as a suspected accomplice. He later pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and burglary.

Authorities later revealed that Summers had been spotted in a video recording as crossing the U.S.-Mexico border east of San Diego three days after the abduction.

Mexican authorities distributed "wanted" posters with Summers' picture and put police in the cities of Tecate, Ensenada and Rosarito Beach on alert.

Authorities believe Summers broke into the girl's home planning to burglarize it but instead abducted her at knifepoint. They believe Martinez was waiting outside in a car the two used to flee with the girl.

Martinez soon abandoned the car and vanished, police said.

Summers took the girl to several locations and allegedly raped her, FBI Special Agent Scott Garriola wrote in an affidavit.

Summers was described as a transient with a criminal record including convictions for burglary and grand theft. Detectives identified him as a suspect based on evidence at a crime scene, the victim's descriptions and others.

Summers has a criminal record dating to 2002 that includes arrests for robbery, battery and grand theft auto.

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Shaya Tayefe Mohajer contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kidnapping-suspect-returns-us-mex-arrest-081127847.html

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Obama's Syria caution shows Washington uncertainty

President Barack Obama answers a question regarding the ongoing situation in Syria during his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama answers a question regarding the ongoing situation in Syria during his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Secretary of State John Kerry and national intelligence advisers arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2013, to update members of the House on Syria's alleged use of poisonous gas in its ongoing civil war. U.S. intelligence has concluded with "varying degrees of confidence," that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons in its fierce civil war, the White House and other top administration officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama points to a member of the media as he prepares to answer a question regarding the ongoing situation in Syria, during his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Friday, April 26, 2013, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Secretary of State John Kerry and national intelligence advisers arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 26, 2013, to update members of the House on Syria's alleged use of poisonous gas in its ongoing civil war. U.S. intelligence has concluded with "varying degrees of confidence," that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons in its fierce civil war, the White House and other top administration officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama said Friday that any use of chemical weapons by Syria would be a "game changer," but he cautioned that the United States needs more evidence that President Bashar Assad has used the deadly agents against his people.

"We cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations," Obama said in his first comments since the White House disclosed that U.S. intelligence indicates Syria probably has used chemical weapons.

However, the president said more evidence of such use was still needed, including when and how the deadly agents might have been used. He said the U.S., along with the United Nations, would seek to "gather evidence on the ground" in Syria to solidify intelligence assessments.

"This adds increased urgency to what already is a significant security and humanitarian problem in the region," he said from the Oval Office, where he was meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

The White House said on Thursday that the Syrian government probably had used chemical weapons, most likely the agent sarin, in the two-year civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

Obama's cautious response reflects a lack of agreement in Washington over aggressive military intervention. However, lawmakers in both parties also have expressed concern that inaction could embolden not only Assad but such countries as North Korea and Iran as well.

Obama has declared that the Assad government's use of chemical weapons would cross a "red line" for a major military response.

"For the Syrian government to utilize chemical weapons on its people crosses a line that will change my calculus and how the United States approaches these issues," the president said.

Emerging from a closed-door briefing with Secretary of State John Kerry on Capitol Hill, House Republicans and Democrats expressed uncertainty about the appropriate next step as the Obama administration considers limited military options.

No lawmaker pressed for military invasion by the U.S., after more than 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It is such a muddled picture," said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "I think probably we should be asking the U.N. to be involved. I think perhaps that's in the making."

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the senior Democrat on the House intelligence committee, was among many lawmakers who called for a cautious approach to Syria even as they acknowledged the seriousness of the situation.

"We want to do everything we can to avoid putting boots on the ground," he told reporters. The U.S. should work with other countries to stabilize Syria and ensure its chemical weapons are kept out of the hands of terrorist groups, he said.

"I don't think that we, just as the United States, want to go in to another war," Ruppersberger said.

Obama's vow that Syria's use of chemical weapons would elicit a strong response and the administration's latest caution could raise questions about Obama's definition of a "red line." The U.S. credibility and international authority are on the line in the administration's handling of Syria, and the message it sends to Assad and other nations.

"There's no question that when the United States takes a position that this crosses a line that our failure to respond has implications," said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I think the president was saying the use of chemical weapons is a game changer. I think most people agree with that. So that if we in fact determine that chemical weapons were used, I think the expectation is that we and the coalition and others take some action."

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., wondered whether the red line is "turning into a pink line."

In Syria, officials rejected the U.S. intelligence assessment and denied that it had used chemical weapons.

Pressed on the response, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said: "If the regime has nothing to hide they should let the U.N. investigators in immediately so we can get to the bottom of this."

The White House faces a limited choice of military options to help the rebels oust Assad.

Arming the rebels would run into several problems. For one, a military group fighting alongside them has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. Also, establishing a no-fly zone poses a significant challenge, as Syria possesses an air defense system far more robust than the U.S. and its allies overwhelmed in Libya two years ago.

The next move on Syria was high on the agenda for Obama's meeting Friday with King Abdullah, as the U.S. ally has struggled with the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping the Syrian violence.

"I think it's important for the administration to look for ways to up the military pressure on Assad," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

One of the most powerful of the rebel groups in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra, which recently declared its affiliation with al-Qaida. Last December, the State Department designated the group a terrorist organization, and the administration's opposition to directly arming the Syrian opposition stems from concerns about the weapons ending up in the hands of Islamic extremists.

Arming the rebels, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is a "lot harder that it was before."

"We've gotten to the point now where the opposition has been affected by the radicals," Graham said in an interview. "Right weapons in right hands is the goal. The second war is coming. I think we can arm the right people with the right weapons. There's a risk there, but the risk of letting this go and chemical weapons falling into radical Islamists' hands is the greatest risk."

Several lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have called for the U.S. to create a narrow, safe zone inside Syria, along its border with Turkey.

Either a safe zone or a no-fly zone would require neutralizing Syria's air defenses. According to a report by the Institute for the Study of War, Syria's largely Soviet-era air defense system includes as many as 300 mobile surface-to-air missile systems and defense systems, and more than 600 static missile launchers and sites.

The U.S. has taken only minimal military steps so far, limiting U.S. assistance to nonlethal aid, including military-style equipment such as body armor and night vision goggles.

The U.S. has deployed about 200 troops to Jordan to assist that country's military, and participated in NATO's placement of Patriot missile batteries in Turkey near the border to protect against an attack from Syria.

___

Associated Press Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier and AP writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-26-US-Syria/id-42b02ab553074f61b8d473f0d6f196e4

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Google Currents (for iPad)

Flipboard?and a handful of other iPad newsreading apps have changed the way that we consume media, by allowing news junkies to read content in a tablet-friendly, magazine-like format.?Google entered the space in 2011 with Currents, its own take on the mobile newsreader. This free iPad?app (also available on Android) lets users read online publications in a slick, easy to navigate layout. Featuring partnerships with the likes of The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Slate, and many other publications, Google Currents has no shortage of interesting content. The biggest obstacles the app faces is overcoming some stability issues and getting users to use it instead of the entrenched champion, Flipboard.

The Reading Fundamentals
Getting started is as simple as logging into Google Currents with your Google account credentials. If you don?t have an account, you can create one from within the app. After logging in with my Gmail username and password, I watched a brief navigation and usage tutorial which gave me a quick rundown of the app's various features.

I then arrived at the Google Currents new streamlined home screen which let me add subscriptions (now known as "Editions") from the Editions Sidebar (which replaces the "Library" and "Trending Stories" sections that drove the first Google Currents iteration). The new design puts Currents in visual alignment with other Google properties such as YouTube and Google Plus, and makes navigating the app simpler.

Diving Into Content
Bring a finger to an Editions category (like Science & Tech, for example) and the apps reveals thematically related publications. There are several publications included by default, but you can easily remove unwanted ones by tapping the Edit icon. Tapping "Add Subscriptions" opens a section containing publications grouped by category. If, for example, you decide to add Space.com to your reading lists?a site listed within the Science & Tech cluster?it will automatically be added to the similarly named group in the Editions Sidebar.

Each Editions Sidebar grouping has an associated "Breaking News" subhead that lets you check out the hottest stories of the moment?through some may not be of great importance. On the day that I tested Google Currents, the Entertainment section's Breaking News was fronted by a story that detailed why Gwyneth Paltrow is the Worlds' Most Beautiful Woman.

Navigation operates in a similar fashion as other iPad newsreading apps by letting you swipe from page to page, through the animation can be a bit slow at times (as well as adding or deleting subscriptions). You can also share articles via email, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinboard, Instapaper, and Google+. Unlike Flipboard, Google Currents doesn't display updates from social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, but you can view the Google+ updates from Google Currents curators such as Tom Anderson (best known as the face of MySpace). You can also star stories to save them for future reference, and read caches stories offline.

Best of all, Google Currents syncs across all devices on which you have it installed, so you can move from phone to tablet and back again without missing a beat. That said, Google Currents doesn't sync with the soon-to-be-extinct Google Reader, so those who use both won't find articles read/unread across both services.

Like Flipboard, Google Currents gives user the opportunity to create their own digital magazines by adding a RSS feed, Flickr images, a logo, and more.

Google Currents has a major gripe that keeps me from abandoning Flipboard: It doesn't always display a feed's latest stories in chronological order. A site's most recent article may be place behind a story that published a few days before.

Should You Download Google Currents?
Google Currents is a strong entry in the iPad newsreading space thanks to a slick redesign, native offline reading, and cross-device syncing. Flipboard gets the nod thanks to its simple design, deep social networking ties, and overall swiftness. Still, Google Currents is an app worth a try if Flipboard and the handful of other newsreading apps aren't to your fancy.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/-syuraAZXq8/0,2817,2397454,00.asp

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U.S. government may not hit debt limit until October: analysts

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States might not hit the statutory limit on its debt until October, a policy research group said on Friday, giving Republican lawmakers more time to extract spending cuts from the Obama administration in return for extending the borrowing cap.

After giving into Democratic demands in December to raise taxes and later working with them to avoid a government shutdown, Republicans have been gearing up to use the debt limit as leverage to seek fresh budget cuts and changes to the tax code.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank that analyzes the Treasury's daily and monthly cash flows, had expected the federal government to hit the congressionally-set limit on its debt sometime between early-August and mid-September.

But stronger-than-expected revenues and deeper-than-anticipated budget cuts mean the ceiling on borrowing probably will not be reach until sometime between mid-August and mid-October, the group said on its website on Friday.

"October is a nasty month," BPC economic policy director Steve Bell said in an interview, noting that major government payments are due in October.

If Congress does not raise the borrowing cap before the Treasury hits the limit, the government will no longer be able to borrow money to pay its bills, including interest on its bonds, raising the risk of a damaging debt default.

In an attempt to avoid being blamed for a default, Republicans in the House of Representatives are pushing legislation to require the Treasury to pay bondholders and Social Security retirement benefits before other bills if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling on time.

The BPC said its forecast could change depending on economic conditions and when updated financial information became available.

Nearly $90 billion may soon be pumped into government coffers by the now-profitable government-controlled housing finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to account for deferred tax assets that were written down.

The think tank, however, does not think the disbursement to the Treasury will be that high. "We do expect that there will be a payment of some size in June but it is our opinion that the number is more likely to be in the $20 billion range and not in the rumored $100 billion range," Bell said.

The Treasury has said it could not forecast an exact date for when Congress must raise the debt ceiling due to delayed tax filings and uncertainty about the effect of the government budget cuts.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-government-may-not-hit-debt-limit-until-215216483.html

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Weight loss programs via virtual reality

Apr. 25, 2013 ? Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36% of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programs, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for childcare, and loss of anonymity.

In a new study released in the May/June 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, investigators from The University of Kansas Medical Center continue to explore alternative weight management delivery methods to eliminate some of these barriers. The solution they are investigating -- virtual reality for weight loss and weight maintenance.

Looking at the results from twenty overweight and obese individuals after 3 months of a weight loss program at a weekly clinic delivered via face-to-face or virtual reality and then 6 months of weight maintenance delivered via virtual reality, the investigators found virtual reality compares favorably with face-to-face for weight loss and may facilitate greater weight maintenance. Debra Sullivan, lead investigator, adds, "Although we found weight loss was significantly greater for face-to-face compared to virtual reality, weight maintenance was significantly better for virtual reality."

The virtual reality weight maintenance program was conducted using Second Life, a Web-based virtual reality environment available to the public. Participants in Second Life create virtual representations of themselves, called ''avatars,'' which can interact with other avatars and navigate through the virtual world of Second Life. Voice communication is accomplished via headset, which allows for person-to-person and group interaction. Education and training takes place on an ''island,'' which is purchased from Second Life and provides restricted group access to the nutrition education/training area.

To further explain how Second Life can be used in this capacity, Dr. Sullivan explains, "Individuals who want to participate in real-life scenarios without real-life repercussions can use virtual reality. For example, participants can practice meal planning, grocery shopping, and dietary control when eating at restaurants and holiday parties to a much greater extent with Second Life compared with the time-limited clinic meeting. Virtual reality may even be able to serve as a more feasible option to monitor individuals after completing a weight loss program."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier Health Sciences.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Debra K. Sullivan et al. Improving Weight Maintenance Using Virtual Reality (Second Life). Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, May/June 2013

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/bogh1gGK3B8/130426115628.htm

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Editor's desk: Big Apple Apple

I've been in New York City all week at the temporary Mobile Nations HQ working on some amazing stuff. We're not finished yet, which means I can't announce it yet, but I also can't wait to tell you all about it. In the meantime, here's some catch-up on the CrackBerry party, the Facebook event, and what Apple's up to with iOS 7 and the iPhone 5S...

Facebook angst

Who could have predicted the post-Facebook not-a-phone launch would be even more annoying than the pre-Facebook not-a-phone launch? My only guess is that the reality was less interesting than the tease, and analytical desperation followed.

1. We kinda knew what it was going to be going in
2. What it means for HTC, who currently earns almost no profit off mobile, is unclear but certainly sub-optimal. Why not brand the phone with Facebook front-and-center and get some of that halo?
3. It's not an Android fork, but that doesn't mean it's not an Android intermediation. Google made Android the way it is to grow market share quickly at the expense of keeping control. Facebook is taking advantage of that. Clever girl.
4. The target audience for a Facebook not-a-phone was never unclear -- it's for people for whom Facebook is, in large part, the primary purpose of the internet. For others, it will be less breakthrough experience and more deal-breaker.
5. Person-centric interface may not be new but it's also not a panacea. Sometimes I'm thinking apps. Sometimes I'm thinking people. Both approaches force me into a model that may not fit my requirements for the moment. Ultimately, we need better interface, not just different.
6. The Facebook not-a-phone means absolutely nothing to Apple or the iPhone right now. No. Period. Thing. Period. If you're posting BS Apple-is-doomed linkbait based on what Facebook did or didn't say or do last week, please stop it. Maybe surrender your keyboards for the good of journalism, the internet, and our collective sanity.
7. The Facebook phone means a lot for Facebook. Social has always been migratory, and Facebook was web-centric in an increasingly mobile-centric world. Google's Android may eventually be Google+ and Google Now. If Facebook doesn't want to be the next Friendster (ask your grand parents), they need to adapt. This was the next stage of that.
8. No, I don't get the point of Facebook's first commercial either.
9. Phil Nickinson and the Android Central crew killed it at the event, and are doing a great job on follow up. Check them out.

iOS 7, iPhone 5S, and beyond

In case you missed it earlier in the week, a bunch of Apple reporters got together on Branch to discuss what we'd heard about [iOS 7, iPhone 5S, iPad 5, upcoming events, and more.

Here's my take, with links to all the good stuff.

New Crack City

The big news for everyone not-us this week was the CrackBerry party at 1 Oak. First, I don't know how they got that venue, but it was fantastic. It was also filled to over-capacity, as 260+ CrackBerry faithful flooded the place. BlackBerry was nice enough to set up a booth in the back and show off the as-yet-unreleased BlackBerry Q10 full-QWERTY keyboard device.

A ton of iMore readers showed up as well -- it's a cross-platform world now, folks, get used to it! -- and I got to spend a great evening talking mobile with the incredibly engaged, incredibly intelligent Mobile Nations community. Nothing in the world better than that.

Maybe we should start thinking about an iMore event...?

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

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Tim Pernetti resigns as Rutgers athletic director

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2012 file photo, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti answers a question in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the decision says Pernetti is out as Rutgers athletic director, Friday, April 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2012 file photo, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti answers a question in Piscataway, N.J. A person familiar with the decision says Pernetti is out as Rutgers athletic director, Friday, April 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2012 file photo, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, center, poses with Rutgers President Robert Barchi, right, and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany during a news conference in Piscataway, N.J., after they announced that Rutgers will join the Big Ten. A person familiar with the decision says Pernetti is out as Rutgers athletic director. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made yet. The school will hold a press conference on campus at 1 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2013. Pernetti dismissed basketball coach Mike Rice Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs. The scandal has now cost Pernetti his job some five months after he didn't fire Rice when the video first became available. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2009 file photo, Tim Pernetti speaks to reporters after he was named the new athletic director at Rutgers University during a news conference on the university campus in Newark, N.J. A person familiar with the decision says Pernetti is out as Rutgers athletic director. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made yet. The school will hold a press conference on campus at 1 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2013. Pernetti dismissed basketball coach Mike Rice Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs. The scandal has now cost Pernetti his job some five months after he didn't fire Rice when the video first became available. (AP Photo/Mike Derer, File)

At dusk, lights remain on at Rutgers University's Old Queens building where President Robert Barchi was in a meeting Thursday, April 4, 2013, in New Brunswick, N.J., one day after Rutgers basketball head coach Mike Rice was fired. Rice was fired Wednesday after a videotape aired showing Rice using gay slurs, shoving and grabbing his players and throwing balls at them in practice. Scarlet Knights AD Tim Pernetti was given a copy of the video in late November by a disgruntled former employee, and he suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000 and made him undergo anger management classes for inappropriate behavior after investigating it. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

FILE - In this May 6, 2010 file photo, Mike Rice, left, former coach of Robert Morris, is introduced as the new men's basketball coach of Rutgers by athletic director Tim Pernetti, during a news conference at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers has fired Rice after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs during practice. With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school decided to take action on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. relieving Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) ? Tim Pernetti resigned as Rutgers athletic director on Friday, two days after the basketball coach he hired was dismissed for abusive behavior during practices ? actions that prompted nationwide outrage once a video went public.

In a letter of resignation sent to university president Robert Barchi, Pernetti said he hoped that his tenure at Rutgers "will not be judged by this one incident."

When he first saw the video of Rice pushing, shoving and throwing balls at players in November, Pernetti said he wanted to fire him on the spot. However, he said the consensus among school officials at the time was the actions didn't call for dismissal.

The video was broadcast Tuesday on ESPN, showing numerous clips of Rice at practice firing basketballs at players, grabbing them by their jerseys and yelling obscenities in addition to gay slurs.

At a campus news conference Friday, Barchi said he first saw the video this week, but was aware it existed in late November. He said Pernetti gave him a summary of what was on the Rice video at the time.

"This was a failure of process. I regret that I did not ask to see this video when Tim first told me of its existence," Barchi said. "I want to apologize to the entire Rutgers community for the negative impact that this situation has had on Rutgers.

"I also apologize to the LGBTQ community and all of us who share their values for the homophobic slurs shown on that video. I personally know how hurtful that language can be."

Based on the summary he received from Pernetti, Barchi said he "agreed with and supported his recommendation to suspend, rather than fire, coach Rice at that time. It was not until Tuesday evening of this week, when I watched the video, that I had the opportunity to witness personally for the first time what Tim had seen last fall."

"I was deeply disturbed by the behavior that the video revealed, which was much more abusive and pervasive than I had understood it to be. As Tim acknowledged on Wednesday, his decision to rehabilitate, rather than fire, coach Rice was wrong."

Also resigning Friday was John B. Wolf, Rutgers' interim senior vice president and general counsel who is believed to have recommended against firing Rice in December.

Pernetti said in his resignation letter to Barchi that he has "spent a great deal of time reflecting on the events which led to today. As you know, my first instincts when I saw the videotape of Coach Rice's behavior was to fire him immediately. However, Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel.

"Following review of the independent investigative report, the consensus was that university policy would not justify dismissal. I have admitted my role in, and regret for, that decision, and wish that I had the opportunity to go back and override it for the sake of everyone involved," it said.

Pernetti was given the video by a former employee, Eric Murdock. With Barchi's approval, he suspended Rice for three games, fined and docked him pay totaling $75,000 and ordered him to attend anger management classes.

The 42-year-old Pernetti is a Rutgers graduate who played tight end for the Scarlet Knights from 1989-93.

Before Pernetti's resignation, there was an outcry from Rutgers faculty and state legislators not only for his ouster but for Barchi's as well.

By Friday morning, nearly 3,000 people had joined a Facebook site calling for the university to keep him, several accusing the media and politicians of a witch hunt. Former Rutgers football players including Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed during a game in 2010, were among those campaigning for Pernetti.

On Thursday, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli resigned.

Pernetti's finest hour may have been when he helped in the school's move to the Big Ten Conference, which means millions in additional revenue by way of television contracts and more national exposure, especially in football. The move, which becomes official in 2014, should provide a big boost to the program in recruiting and season ticket sales. The Scarlet Knights will continue to play next season in the Big East.

Pernetti's first major move as athletic director came in May 2010, when he hired the volatile Rice away from Robert Morris, which he took to two NCAA tournament appearances.

"He convinced me he understood his reputation, but he also understood where the line was," Pernetti said, referring to Rice. "I made clear to him if he crossed the line he would be held accountable."

The move might have been too soon for a coach like Rice, and clearly Pernetti took a serious risk. After all, most Big East coaches do not land there immediately after stops in the Northeast Conference, but Rutgers and Pernetti looked at Rice and saw the man who could turn the perennially underachieving program around.

It never happened. Rice went 44-51 in three years and posted a 16-38 mark in the Big East after going 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris. The Scarlet Knights went 15-16 this season, including 5-13 in the league, and questions about Rice's status ? based on wins and losses alone ? began to surface.

But Pernetti again made a questionable decision. Given what he knew about the video, and taking Rice's record into consideration, he still gave the coach a public endorsement at season's end.

"Of course he's coming back," Pernetti said at the time. "It's been an interesting year to say the least, and while I think in one case some of the progress ? and there's been a lot of progress ? doesn't show, and that's in the win-loss column. I would like it to show there. I think everyone in the program would. But you can definitely see us getting better."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-05-Rutgers-Pernetti/id-313af136de24469caf6dbba7b4c790ef

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Third Major Oil Spill In A Week Is No Big Deal, Right?

Huh. So maybe these pipelines are shoddy or poorly designed, since this is the third accident in a week. If only there was some kind of movement to keep these pipelines out of ecologically sensitive areas like the Gulf of Mexico! Oh, wait....

Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from a pipeline in Texas, the third accident of its kind in only a week.

Shell Pipeline, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, shut down their West Columbia, Texas, pipeline last Friday after electronic calculations conducted by the US National Response Center showed that upwards of 700 barrels had been lost, amounting to almost 30,000 gallons of crude oil.

By Monday, Shell spokespeople said inspectors found ?no evidence? of an oil leak, but days later it was revealed that a breach did occur. Representatives with the US Coast Guard confirmed to Dow Jones on Thursday that roughly 50 barrels of oil spilled from a pipe near Houston, Texas and entered a waterway that connects to the Gulf of Mexico.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Steven Lehman said that Shell had dispatched clean-up crews that were working hard to correct any damage to Vince Bayou, a small waterway that runs for less than 20 miles from the Houston area into a shipping channel that opens into the Gulf.

Y'all come on down and enjoy some of our oil-soaked shrimp!

The spill was contained, said Lehman, who was hesitant to offer an official number on how much crude was lost in the accident. According to Shell spokeswoman Kim Windon, though, the damage could have been quite significant. After being presented with the estimate that said as much as 700 barrels were found to have leaked from the pipeline due to an unknown cause, investigators determined that 60 barrels entered the bayou.

"That's a very early estimate--things can change," Officer Lehman told Dow Jones.

Source: http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/third-major-oil-spill-week-no-big-dea

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iMore Editors' Choice: Badland, Soundcloud, Veronica Mars, and more

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include an app that lets you check the coverage of major US carriers, a refreshing runner game, a music app, a TV show, an app for a popular auctioning service, and an app that lets you bookmark your favorite locations.

Coverage? - Joseph Keller

Whether I'm planning a road trip or writing an article about a carrier for iMore, Coverage tells me where the four major carriers have their various networks deployed, from 2G to LTE. Currently, Coverage provides data on a carrier's roaming areas and its 2G, 3G, "4G", and LTE networks. If you want to look at just one or two networks, you can turn their filters on and off in the top right-hand corner.Coverage uses the reports of each carrier, and it's proven reliable enough for me to count on its information. The only real downside of Coverage is its need for an app update to become current after a network turns on towers in more cities. It's a universal app that costs $2.99, so pick it up if you want this sort of information on hand wherever you go.

• $2.99 - Download Now

Badland - Simon Sage

Badland is a refreshing new runner game that does away with the idea that you have to be out of the game as soon as you hit anything. In Badland, you control this odd little creature trying to flap its way through a treacherous forest. Debris falls in your path, and odd machinery peaks through the brush and occasionally knocks you around, but the really interesting part are the power ups you pick up. Some types make you smaller, and able to fit through tiny crevices, while others make you larger and massive enough to push aside obstacles. You can play local multiplayer and try to nudge opponents off the edge of the screen, which moves gradually forward as you progress. What really got me about Badland is the altogether polished art style. It's certainly dark, but a little whimsical too. Definitely check this one out if you're looking for something visually refreshing.

• $3.99 - Download Now

Soundcloud - Chris Parsons

These days, I find myself listening to all sorts of different music. One reason for that is the fact I not too long ago signed up for a Soundcloud account. Rather then listening to the same music over and over, I now just let Soundcloud play on in the background let it pick some music for me. Then, we I hear some stuff I like, I favorite it. My use case is fairly slim in comparison to what Soundcloud is capable of as a whole, but if you're looking to check some new music or even podcasts then it's certainly worth a look. From indie bands to top acts, you'll find them all offering free content on Soundcloud and best of all, the app itself is free.

• Free - Download Now

Veronica Mars Rene Ritchie

Veronica Mars was a post-Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series that used a similar formula -- small, young, precocious, blond, snarky, lady hero raised in a single family home positively cleaning the clocks of big bad forces all around her. The setting wasn't super natural, but the stories smart, the characters well rendered, and the mix of humor, hope, pain, rage, suspense, and triumph remarkably well balanced and well executed.

Series creator Rob Thomas is currently using Kick Starter to fund a movie spin off. I backed it within moments of it going live and it's now at somewhere around $4.5 million. More money will mean a better movie, however, so if you haven't backed it yet, check it out.

The original three seasons are available on iTunes. They're all good, the first is spectacular.

• $49.99 per season - Download now

eBay - Ally Kazmucha

We did some spring cleaning around The Pod Drop office and found lots of old iPhones, iPads, damaged logic boards, and pretty much everything you could imagine. To get rid of all this stuff, we frequently use eBay. I'd never really managed eBay auctions from the native iPhone and iPad app but decided to give it a try. I have to say I'm actually pretty impressed.

If you're selling items or bidding on other items, you'll get notifications pushed directly to your iPhone or iPad if you're outbid or when someone places another bid on one of your items. You can literally do almost everything you can on the web based version of eBay through the mobile apps. It's a huge time saver for answering buyer questions on the go. If you use eBay quite often and own an iPhone or iPad, it's hugely convenient.

• Free - Download Now

Rego - Leanna Lofte

Rego is an iPhone app that lets you bookmark your favorite locations. For each locations you can attached photos and notes to remember why it is that you like that location. As a photographer, I'm using Rego as a way to save great photo shoot locations and make notes about lighting, specific areas of the locations, and other helpful details. Rego lets you save up to 10 locations for free and an unlimited amount for $0.99.

• Free - Download now

Your choice?

Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/qjg__sy-1YU/story01.htm

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Dante And Elizabeth Corso Reunited With Bandit 13 Years After Cat Disappeared

Elizabeth and Dante Corso were reunited with their cat Bandit more than 10 years after he disappeared in Las Vegas.

A cat has clawed his way back into the hearts and home of the owners that lost him 13 years ago.

The Corsos lived in Las Vegas when their pet, Bandit, disappeared one day when he was let out of the house. Imagine the surprise of Elizabeth and Dante Corso to get a call in San Diego -- where they now live -- that Bandit had been found circling around in their old Vegas neighborhood.

A microchip implanted in the feline enabled someone at Bonanza Cat Hospital to find the 15-year-old cat's owners and get them all back together on April 4, according to KTNV.

?This cat here has an amazing story. Yeah, I wish I knew it. All of it; who he?s [been] with, where he?s been,? Elizabeth said to NBC San Diego.

Bandit moved into a veritable menagerie. The Corsos own 13 other animals, KPBS said.

One of the other pets is Bandit's brother Coot who was never the same after Bandit disappeared, according to KGTV.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/06/dante-and-elizabeth-corso-bandit-13-cat-years_n_3028991.html

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New minimally invasive, MRI-guided laser treatment for brain tumor found to be promising in study

Apr. 5, 2013 ? The first-in-human study of the NeuroBlate? Thermal Therapy System finds that it appears to provide a new, safe and minimally invasive procedure for treating recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), a malignant type of brain tumor.

The study, which appears April 5 in the Journal of Neurosurgery online, was written by lead author Andrew Sloan, MD, Director of Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, who also served as co-Principal Investigator, as well as Principal Investigator Gene Barnett, MD, Director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at Cleveland Clinic and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues from UH, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic Florida, University of Manitoba and Case Western Reserve University.

NeuroBlate? is a device that "cooks" brain tumors in a controlled fashion to destroy them. It uses a minimally invasive, MRI-guided laser system to coagulate, or heat and kill, brain tumors. The procedure is conducted in an MRI machine, enabling surgeons to plan, steer and see in real-time the device, the heat map of the area treated by the laser and the tumor tissue that has been coagulated.

"This technology is unique in that it allows the surgeon not only to precisely control where the treatment is delivered, but the ability to visualize the actual effect on the tissue as it is happening," said Dr. Sloan. "This enables the surgeon to adjust the treatment continuously as it is delivered, which increases precision in treating the cancer and avoiding surrounding healthy brain tissue."

The study was a Phase I clinical trial investigating the safety and performance of NeuroBlate? (formerly known as AutoLITT?), a specially-designed laser probe system. The FDA gave the system's developer Monteris Medical and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (comprising the UH Case Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine), an investigatory device exemption (IDE) to study the system in patients with GBMs. The device has recently been cleared by the FDA due, in part, to the results of the study.

The paper describes the treatment of the first10 patients with this technology. These patients, who had a median age of 55, had tumors which were diagnosed to be inoperable or "high risk" for open surgical resection because of their location close to vital areas in the brain, or difficult to access with conventional surgery.

"Overall the NeuroBlate? procedure was well-tolerated," said Dr. Sloan. "All 10 patients were alert and responsive within one to two hours post-operatively and nine out of the 10 patients were ambulatory within hours. Response and survival was also nearly 10 ? months, better than expected for patients with such advanced disease."

"Previous attempts using less invasive approaches such as brachytherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery have proven ineffective in recent meta-analysis and randomized trials," said Dr. Barnett. "However, unlike therapies using ionizing radiation, NeuroBlate? therapy results in tumor death at the time of the procedure. A larger national study will be developed, as a result of this initial success."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University Hospitals Case Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Andrew E. Sloan, Manmeet S. Ahluwalia, Jose Valerio-Pascua, Sunil Manjila, Mark G. Torchia, Stephen E. Jones, Jeffrey L. Sunshine, Michael Phillips, Mark A. Griswold, Mark Clampitt, Cathy Brewer, Jennifer Jochum, Mary V. McGraw, Dawn Diorio, Gail Ditz, Gene H. Barnett. Results of the NeuroBlate System first-in-humans Phase I clinical trial for recurrent glioblastoma. Journal of Neurosurgery, 2013; DOI: 10.3171/2013.1.JNS1291

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/71b3wZIbft0/130405104811.htm

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Microsoft Outlook to Windows RT rescue?

Adding Microsoft Outlook to RT devices like Microsoft's Surface certainly won't hurt the platform.

(Credit: CNET)

A fresh rumor out today holds that Microsoft Outlook is coming to Windows RT.

The popular e-mail application is conspicuously absent on Windows RT devices. That is, RT devices -- which run a limited version of Windows 8 on the ARM chip platform -- come with Microsoft Office sans Outlook.

Today there's word that Outlook has been seen running on Surface RT tablets.

And that's not all. SuperSite for Windows claims that an ARM-related firmware issue was causing Outlook to crash. Possibly offering at least one reason for its exclusion until now.

Adding Outlook certainly wouldn't hurt, said Craig Stice, an analyst at IHS iSuppli. "Consumers can find this frustrating. They think they're getting a Windows 8 system but there's no Outlook," he said.

And that's a larger ongoing problem for RT. "They don't know what they're getting into when they buy an RT device," he said. Consumers buy an RT device because it's less expensive than a full-blown Windows 8 system but miss the fact that it's incompatible with older "legacy" Windows software, Stice explained.

Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, whose ARM chip powers the Microsoft Surface RT tablet, said in no uncertain terms last month that Outlook is necessary for RT's success. "Outlook god, please," Huang said at that time, pleading for Microsoft to add Outlook.

(Note that RT products come preloaded with Word 2013 RT, Excel 2013 RT, PowerPoint 2013 RT and OneNote 2013 RT.)

[Via Neowin ]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/oqmThkubn7g/

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The Daily Roundup for 04.04.2013

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DGV_kGF4GiQ/

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The Engadget Interview: HTC President of Global Sales Jason MacKenzie

Shortly after Facebook's big reveal this morning, we caught up with HTC President of Global Sales Jason McKenzie and spent a few minutes with him discussing the First. As expected, he was pretty excited about this collaboration between his company, Facebook and AT&T. Jason revealed to us that HTC's strategy involves ultimately catering the First to hardcore (or at least frequent) users of the social network, whereas a device like the One will be more appealing to those who aren't interested in staying constantly connected. Interestingly, HTC seems to have put Facebook in the driver's seat here, as the First will not only come pre-loaded with Facebook Home (and its firmware optimizations), but no sign of Sense anywhere. It's certainly a departure from HTC's usual branding efforts, so it'll be intriguing to see exactly how well the device sells on AT&T. We have our full interview with Jason below, so take a few minutes to get the First scoop.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, AT&T, Facebook

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/04/engadget-interview-htc-jason-mackenzie/

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Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival Announces ... - 4E Entertainment

Superfly and A.C Entertainment are proud to announce that the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has confirmed an exceptional comedy lineup to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival?s hugely popular Comedy Theatre. In keeping with tradition, Bonnaroo, which will take place on its 700-acre farm in Manchester, TN, from June 13 ? 16, will host a vibrant and diverse collection of national headlining comics at its inimitable air-conditioned venue, where fans lineup to get a chance to commune with some of the most hilarious personalities working today.

Like the music programming, festival organizers always strive to do things a little bit differently as they look for ways to present performances you won?t experience anywhere else. In light of that, for its 10th year, Bonnaroo will bring back some festival veterans as well as welcome plenty of up and coming new faces to the Bonnaroo Comedy Theatre Hosted by IFC. Appearing this year, among others, will be: Daniel Tosh, Bob Saget, David Cross, Maria Bamford, Mike Birbiglia, Ed Helms? Whisky Sour Radio Hour, Comedy Bang!Bang! With Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts, Chris Gethard, Michael Che, Nikki Glaser, James Adomian and more. The full list of comedians confirmed for the festival is below.

The 2013 event marks the 10th year since this legendary festival came up with the notion to add this all-important entertainment option to its already monolithic menu of events. From its inception, the Comedy Theatre has been one of Bonnaroo?s most popular attractions and has since made a palpable impact on the comedy industry as the festival is now considered to be one of the biggest comedy events in the country. Much like it does for the musical acts that appear at the festival, the intangibly unique nature of Bonnaroo and the distinctive artist-fan relationship there tends to inspire the comedians to perform at their highest level. This has resulted in the Comedy Theatre becoming a not-to-be-missed experience for attendees across the globe.

As the only round-the-clock major U.S. music festival, Bonnaroo packs an unparalleled amount of entertainment options into its four days. The event has offered its attendees the amenities and community spirit of a small city, with 24 hours of activities including a comedy theater, cinema festival, broo?ers festival, silent disco, salon, sustainable gardening lessons, arcade, Internet caf?s, restaurants, yoga classes and hundreds of high quality food and craft vendors.

Not only is Bonnaroo, 24/7 during the festival, it?s also 365 days a year via its YouTube Channel, where exclusive Bonnaroo-approved original content can be seen on demand. Today, March 28, marks the premiere date for a new comedy web series called Universally Speaking, available HERE. In this series, Rob Cantrell receives life council from inanimate objects who communicate messages from the universe and advise him how to handle the challenges of everyday life in Brooklyn, NY. His issues range from lady problems, money issues to mourning a recently deceased pet. The show features guest comedians as various objects, including: Greer Barns, Anthony Atamanuik, Kurt Metzger, Marina Franklin, Robin Montague and Dan Soder. All episodes directed by Dan Powell (Ugly Americans, Inside Amy Schumer).

Set on 700 acres in Manchester, TN, Bonnaroo is a four-day festival that draws 80,000 fans every summer. Featuring over 120 musical performances, along with comedy, cinema, sustainability workshops and more, the grounds are converted into a virtual city of music and art. The legendary event began in 2002 as a remarkable idea to serve a passionate fanbase, and ended up becoming the premier multi-day concert destination of the summer which dynamic and eclectic programming paved the way for the age of the great American music festival. Bonnaroo has now evolved into becoming much more than just a concert destination; it has become a cultural touchstone and, for two generations of music fans, a rite of passage. Each year, the lineup cements Bonnaroo as a force in music discovery, exposing its fans to legendary artists, current favorites, as well as breaking acts.

The 2013 comedy lineup:

Bob Saget

Chris Gethard

Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts

Cristela Alonzo

Daniel Tosh

David Cross

Ed Helms? Whisky Sour Radio Hour

Eric Andre

Improvised Shakespeare Company

James Adomian

Jared Logan

Jerrod Carmichael

Kyle Dunnigan

Maria Bamford

Michael Che

Mike Birbiglia

Nikki Glaser

MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.bonnaroo.com/

via Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival Announces 10th Anniversary Comedy Lineup | Contactmusic.com.

Source: http://4eentertainment.com/bonnaroo-music-and-arts-festival-announces-comedy-lineup/

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