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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Gun control fight not over, Newtown families vow as anniversary nears

The families have converged on Washington to meet with President Obama and lawmakers and read names of those killed by gun violence. Friday marks six months since the Newtown shootings.

By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo,?Staff writer / June 13, 2013

Supporters and family members of the Newtown, Conn. shooting victims form a human "ribbon" on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, looking toward the Washington Monument, on the sixth month anniversary of the Newtown shootings.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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Family members of the Newtown, Conn., shooting victims joined with other gun-control supporters in Washington Thursday to form a human ?ribbon of remembrance.? For hours, they read the names of nearly 4,800 people who have been killed by gun violence in the six months since the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School ? including the 20 children and six adults slain there that day.

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In a tribute to victims? families, key Democratic lawmakers vowed at a noon press conference that they would continue pushing for a vote on universal background checks in the Senate ? which failed for lack of five votes in April ? and in the House, which has not voted on any gun-control legislation since the Newtown tragedy.

?I am here today to remind Congress of what happened to my family,? said Jillian Soto, the younger sister of Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto, who was killed while confronting the gunman. ?Just last week, more people were murdered in Santa Monica,? she said of the California shooting during the press conference. ?Congress cannot continue to allow guns to be in the hands of these madmen.... We will continue to fight until Congress stands up and does something to make us safer from gun violence.?

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D) of California thanked the family members for turning their grief into action and vowed they would not give up the push for universal background checks. ?You are the key to our getting something done,? Senator Reid said, ?because the American people identify with what happened at that little elementary school in Connecticut.?

The families? activism ? combined with a continued drumbeat from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the coalition he supports, Mayors Against Illegal Guns ? is once again drawing attention to the gun-control debate. But it?s unclear whether the momentum will be sustained enough to overcome many lawmakers? opposition to more federal restrictions on guns.

?It?s difficult to keep this issue on the agenda,? says Harry Wilson, a political science professor at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., and author of ?Guns, Gun Control, and Elections: The Politics and Policy of Firearms.? ?No one ever wants to say, ?We?ve given up,? ... and to a limited extent, I would take [legislators] at their word on that,? he says. ?But if you?ve lost that issue and there are six other issues you want to pursue, you can?t spend all your time on one single issue.?

Gun-control activists contend the momentum for reform has strengthened rather than faded.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/u-eUsb8mDe4/Gun-control-fight-not-over-Newtown-families-vow-as-anniversary-nears

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Thursday, June 13, 2013

MacBook Air 2013 Teardown: So Much Battery

12 hours of battery life on the 2013 MacBook Air is simply ridiculous (though it's also sort of ridiculous that it's ridiculous). iFixit's task force took apart this year's MBA, which is pretty identical to last year's MBA, to see what's new and how it can squeeze so much juice.

iFixit found that the 2013 MacBook Air had a 7.6 V, 7150 mAh battery. Which is surprising because that's only a slight upgrade compared to the 2012 MacBook Air's 7.3 V, 6700 mAh battery. Maybe the much smaller flash drive plays a part in the battery savings? That new SSD is like half the size! iFixit also found the updated Airport card (now with 802.11ac), a new heat sink clamp and two microphones. Check out all thats new in the guts of a MacBook Air over at iFixit. [iFixit]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/macbook-air-2013-teardown-so-much-battery-512781660

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Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration

June 12, 2013 ? Mammals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate a lost fingertip, including the nail, nerves and even bone. In humans, an amputated fingertip can sprout back in as little as two months, a phenomenon that has remained poorly understood until now. In a paper published today in the journal Nature, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center shed light on this rare regenerative power in mammals, using genetically engineered mice to document for the first time the biochemical chain of events that unfolds in the wake of a fingertip amputation. The findings hold promise for amputees who may one day be able to benefit from therapies that help the body regenerate lost limbs.

"Everyone knows that fingernails keep growing, but no one really knows why," says lead author Mayumi Ito, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU School of Medicine. Nor is much understood about the link between nail growth and the regenerative ability of the bone and tissue beneath the nail. Now, Dr. Ito and team have discovered an important clue in this process: a population of self-renewing stem cells in the nail matrix, a part of the nail bed rich in nerve endings and blood vessels that stimulate nail growth. Moreover, the scientists have found that these stem cells depend upon a family of proteins known as the "Wnt signaling network" -- the same proteins that play a crucial role in hair and tissue regeneration -- to regenerate bone in the fingertip.

"When we blocked the Wnt-signaling pathway in mice with amputated fingertips, the nail and bone did not grow back as they normally would," says Dr. Ito. Even more intriguing, the researchers found that they could manipulate the Wnt pathway to stimulate regeneration in bone and tissue just beyond the fingertip. "Amputations of this magnitude ordinarily do not grow back," says Dr. Ito. These findings suggest that Wnt signaling is essential for fingertip regeneration, and point the way to therapies that could help people regenerate lost limbs. An estimated 1.7 million people in the U.S. live with amputations.

The team's next step is to zoom in on the molecular mechanisms that control how the Wnt signaling pathway interacts with the nail stem cells to influence bone and nail growth.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NYU Langone Medical Center.

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

Journal Reference:

Makoto Takeo, Wei Chin Chou, Qi Sun, Wendy Lee, Piul Rabbani, Cynthia Loomis, M. Mark Taketo, Mayumi Ito. Wnt activation in nail epithelium couples nail growth to digit regeneration. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12214

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/9MLp15md8q4/130612132532.htm

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Workers do not quit due to mandatory flu shot

June 11, 2013 ? Mandatory influenza (flu) vaccination, as a condition of employment, does not lead to excessive voluntary termination, according to a four-year analysis of vaccination rates at Loyola University Health System in Chicago.

"First do no harm is our mandate as health care workers," said Jorge Parada, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, study author and professor of medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "We have a fiduciary responsibility to perform hand hygiene and adhere to contact precautions, and flu vaccines should be considered in the same vein -- meaning we should do all we can to not pass along illness to our patients." Loyola has sustained a 99 percent compliance average since adopting the mandatory flu vaccination protocol four years ago.

Flu infections result in approximately 150,000 hospital admissions and 24,000 deaths annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all healthcare personnel receive the annual flu vaccine, yet the national average for vaccination of health care professionals is only 64 percent.

"Just as construction workers must wear steel-toed boots and hard hats on job sites as a condition of employment, we believe that healthcare workers should get a flu shot to work in a hospital," said Parada, who leads the vaccination program at Loyola.

Infection prevention specialists worked with a multidisciplinary task force at Loyola to develop a facility-wide policy that made flu vaccination a condition of employment. Parada presented his study of the four-year program on June 9, 2013 at the annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

As one of the first medical centers in the country to implement mandatory flu vaccination, Loyola began with the full backing of the hospital's senior leadership. "Starting in 2008, staff were no longer simply not allowed to not bother to get influenza vaccination, instead they were required by employee health to state "yes" or "no" when asked to be vaccinated and provide reasoning for why they declined the vaccine," said Parada. This delineation brought Loyola's overall vaccination rate up to 72 percent, well above the CDC's goal of more than 60 percent of health care professionals vaccinated. "This was still well short of what we at Loyola felt we should achieve to maximize patient safety," said Parada. "After all, this still meant more than one in four staff were not being immunized."

In 2009 Loyola chose to mandate flu vaccination as a condition of employment, and extended this mandate to students, volunteers, and vendors. To support and encourage compliance, the center's communications department developed facility-wide reminder emails and created short videos, which were displayed on flat screens throughout the hospital.

In the first year of their mandatory policy (2009/10 season), 99.2 percent of employees received the vaccine, 0.7 percent were exempted for religious/medical reasons, and 0.1 percent refused vaccination and chose to terminate employment. In 2012, four years later, the results have been sustained: 98.7 percent were vaccinated, 1.2 percent were exempted and 0.06 percent refused vaccination. "In reality our numbers were even better than that, of the 5 persons who refused vaccination in the mandatory period, 3 were unpaid volunteers, who later reconsidered, received vaccine and returned to Loyola. The two other persons were part-time staff, each with only 10% time commitment at Loyola?truly reflecting a 0.002 vaccine refusal rate" reports Parada. Over the course of four years, less than 15 staff, including volunteers, out of approximately 8,000 total chose termination over vaccination.

"Near universal flu immunization is achievable and sustainable with a mandatory vaccination policy," said Parada. "Our employees and associates now understand that this is the way Loyola does business and we believe that patient safety has been enhanced as a result."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/7fi-0hmpYR0/130611154039.htm

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Is Your Network Speed Getting Faster?

For whatever reason, Netflix has been publishing the average ISP speeds for every provider in the US for several months now. And while the top rankings haven't fluctuated all that much in the last few months, Netflix did point out today that the overall average speeds for the top five have seen an a slight uptick.

Is Your Network Speed Getting Faster?

Time Warner still sucks for me in Manhattan but hopefully the rest of you have benefited from this newfound speed. Or maybe you haven't noticed. Well, have you? [Netflix]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/for-whatever-reason-netflix-has-been-publishing-the-av-512463933

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Monday, June 10, 2013

In Nelson Mandela's village of Qunu, prayers and well-wishes

The South African government says the former president is in 'serious but stable condition.'

By Brian Hayward,?Contributor / June 9, 2013

Former South African president Nelson Mandela in a file photo from July 2012. He has been hospitalized.

AP/File

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Even as residents of Qunu in the rural Eastern Cape offered up prayers?for the health of former South African president Nelson Mandela on?Sunday, many have come to realize that they may never again see their?village?s ?father? walking its dusty dirt roads, greeting and joking?with fellow residents.

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As news of Mr. Mandela?s third?serious hospitalization in six months reached his home town of Qunu in?the rural Eastern Cape, residents of the village held their breath.
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In?Sunday?services throughout the village, church-goers ushered up?prayers for the elderly global icon?s health after he was admitted?to hospital in the early hours of?Saturday?in what the South African?Presidency described as ?a serious condition? ? a result of a?recurring lung infection, it said.

Despite a subsequent news alert that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate?was in ?serious but stable condition? and breathing on his own, the?townsfolk remained concerned for the man they have come to regard as?their father and overwhelmingly expressed the feeling that they are not ready to face his passing.

?I am not ready?to say goodbye. We as a community are not ready. Maybe God will make a?plan and we will still be able to see him here in the village again," says Qunu resident Boniwe?Matikinca.

The Qunu Mthini Society women?s prayer group often prays for the?former statesman when they meet at a local hall each?Thursday, and they?would do so again, says resident Nomaova Habe.

?We are worried, because there is so much Madiba [as Mandela is affectionately known among Qunu residents] has done for us as?his community. He used to throw Christmas parties and give presents to?the children, and he even gave local children new school uniforms at?one stage,? says Ms. Habe.
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The last time Mandela was back in his home village, where he grew up?and where his family homestead is based, was in early December.?Since then, he has been confined to life behind the high walls of his?home in the upmarket Johannesburg suburb of Houghton ? a far cry from?his understated homestead in Qunu where he would spend much of his?time outside its gates conversing with the villagers, according to?long-time Qunu residents.?

Despite Qunu residents? wish to see their beloved ?father? once again,?the reality is looking increasingly unlikely.

?His family don?t want him to stay here. They would rather he be up?in Johannesburg where there are good hospitals. The thing is, he loved?to be here at home,? says Gloria Habe, formerly Gloria Mandela and the granddaughter of Mandela?s half-brother, Solomon.

Mandela has become increasingly frail in recent years. He was last?seen in public during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Fifa Soccer?World Cup, and even then he did not give a public speech.?Recent television footage, featuring President?Jacob Zuma smiling as he sat next to a frail-looking, unsmiling?Mandela, sparked a public outcry and claims that?the anti-apartheid icon was being used as political currency despite?his poor health.

A military plan is in place for?protocol following Mandela?s death, ?including specifics about his?body lying in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria before being?flown to the Eastern Cape and buried at his Qunu home.

The youth in Qunu have grown up proud of the fact that the global icon?resides just a stones? throw away. Despite many dwelling in mud huts ??some without access to electricity or running water ? the topic of?Mandela sees their faces light up as many recall meeting the former South African dissident-turned-president.

?I am so grateful to have been born in this famous village,? says student Lungile Xozwa. "He has done a great job in this?village and the world."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/pbAl1NtrdnQ/In-Nelson-Mandela-s-village-of-Qunu-prayers-and-well-wishes

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A Princess's Vulgar Pets Vs. Prince Charming in THE TEA PARTY ...

Here's a funny short film directed by?Cameron McCulloch?called The Tea Party. It features a princess, a prince, and a group of foul-mouthed stuffed animal pets. I thought the short was entertaining. Make sure to watch through the end, because that's where the real WTF moment comes into play.?

Princess has waited a long time to finally meet her Prince Charming, the only thing standing in their way is her foul mouthed pets and the lack of a condiment.

One of the reasons why I like this so much is because it's such a weird, uncomfortable setting. Enjoy!

The Tea Party from Cameron McCulloch on Vimeo.

Source: http://geektyrant.com/news/2013/6/9/a-princesss-vulgar-pets-vs-prince-charming-in-the-tea-party.html

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