(REUTERS/Gary Cameron) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington??Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been admitted to a New York hospital for treatment of a blood clot, her spokesman said Sunday.
State Department Spokesman Philippe Reines said Clinton had entered the hospital following a medical examination for a concussion she sustained earlier this month. "In the course of a follow-up exam today, Secretary Clinton's doctors discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago," Reines said in a statement.? "She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours."
Reines added, "Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion. They will determine if any further action is required."
Clinton was scheduled to return to work this week after treatment for the concussion. She is set to step down from her post shortly after President Barack Obama's inauguration on January 21. Last week, Obama announced he had chosen Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to replace Clinton as the nation's top diplomat.
Cars drive through a winter snow storm, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. on South Main Street in Pittston, Pa. Snow from a mild but widespread winter storm began falling Saturday over most of the Northeast and the upper Ohio River Valley, the second in less than a week for the regions. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Ralph Francello) MANDATORY CREDIT
Cars drive through a winter snow storm, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. on South Main Street in Pittston, Pa. Snow from a mild but widespread winter storm began falling Saturday over most of the Northeast and the upper Ohio River Valley, the second in less than a week for the regions. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Ralph Francello) MANDATORY CREDIT
Matt Nigro sleds down a hill in Lode Star Park in Fredon, N.J., on Saturday Dec. 29,2012. Snow from a mild but widespread winter storm began falling Saturday over most of the Northeast and the upper Ohio River Valley, the second in less than a week for the regions. (AP Photo/The New Jersey Herald, Amy Herzog)
BOSTON (AP) ? Up to a foot of snow fell in parts of southern New England with the latest winter storm to move through the Northeast, national weather forecasters said Sunday.
The storm began Saturday afternoon and ended by Sunday morning, with some power outages but no reports of critical injuries or major property damage. Dry weather was expected for days in southern New England, although strong winds may chill the bones.
Meteorologist Frank Nocera of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., said southern New England appeared to be the hardest hit.
Six to 12 inches of snow fell in Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts, including Foxborough where the New England Patriots play. The exception was at Boston and the Cape Cod area where rain was mixed with snow. There two to four inches fell. Many residents lost power after wet snow piled up on power lines.
The storm spread over the Northeast and parts of Ohio on Saturday, just days after the regions were hit by another storm that moved in from the nation's midsection.
New York City and Philadelphia saw a mix of rain and snow, and drivers throughout the regions were warned to be cautious. About 20 vehicles piled up in a storm-related chain-reaction crash on Interstate 93 in New Hampton, N.H., police said, and five people were injured.
Officials lowered the speed limit on much of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about 300 miles from the Ohio state line to east-central Pennsylvania, from 65 mph to 45 mph. Flights at Philadelphia's airport, mostly arrivals, were delayed about an hour, spokeswoman Stacy Jackson said.
In Albany, N.Y., a regional jet skidded into a snow bank at the airport and became stuck, temporarily stranding passengers en route to Chicago. The 66 passengers and four crew members aboard the GoJet Airlines flight, operating as United Express, were put on a bus and sent back to the airport. There were no injuries, and the incident didn't cause any other flight delays, airport authority spokesman Doug Myers said.
In Ohio, Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati saw about 2 to 5 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said.
If cut, fiscal deal will pale against expectations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A year-end deadline looming, Senate negotiators remained short of an agreement Sunday to prevent across-the-board tax increases for millions. President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for putting the nation's shaky economy at risk.
Despite indications of progress in the negotiations, Democrats said Republicans were seeking to slow future cost of living increases for Social Security recipients as part of a compromise to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Republicans declined to confirm the assertion ? and one GOP official disputed it ? but noted that Obama said in a television interview broadcast earlier in the day he had advanced such a proposal in earlier talks with Republicans.
The fate of the negotiations remained in doubt, with both the House and Senate meeting during the day, two days before the beginning of a new year that would trigger across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that leaders in both parties have said they want to avoid.
"We have been talking to the Republicans ever since the election was over," Obama said in the interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that aired Sunday. "They have had trouble saying yes to a number of repeated offers."
Senate leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., were hoping for a deal that would prevent higher taxes for most Americans while letting rates rise at higher income levels, although the precise point at which that would occur was a major sticking point.
Also at issue were the estate tax, taxes on investment income and dividends, continued benefits for the long-term unemployed and a pending 27.5 percent cut in payment levels for doctors who treat Medicare patients.
"I feel fine," McConnell said in response to questions from reporters about the status of negotiations.
Obama, in the NBC interview, said that while he had been "modestly optimistic" late last week, "we don't yet see an agreement."
As the Senate opened a rare Sunday session, Chaplain Barry Black offered a timely prayer for lawmakers.
"Lord show them the right thing to do and give them the courage to do it," Black said. "Look with favor on our nation and save us from self-inflicted wounds."
Senate negotiators were haggling over what threshold of income to set as the demarcation between current tax rates and higher tax rates. They were negotiating over estate limits and tax levels, how to extend unemployment benefits, how to prevent cuts in Medicare payments to doctors and how to keep a minimum income tax payment designed for the rich from hitting about 28 million middle class taxpayers.
Obama pressed lawmakers to start where both sides say they agree ? sparing middle-class families from looming tax hikes.
"If we can get that done, that takes a big bite out of the fiscal cliff. It avoids the worst outcomes. And we're then going to have some tough negotiations in terms of how we continue to reduce the deficit, grow the economy, create jobs," Obama said in the NBC interview.
Gone, however, is the talk of a grand deal that would tackle broad spending and revenue demands and set the nation on a course to lower deficits. Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner were once a couple hundred billion dollars apart of a deal that would have reduced the deficit by more than $2 trillion over ten years.
Republicans have complained that Obama has demanded too much in tax revenue and hasn't proposed sufficient cuts or savings in the nation's massive health care programs.
Obama upped the pressure on Republicans to negotiate a fiscal deal, arguing that GOP leaders have rejected his past attempts to strike a bigger and more comprehensive bargain.
"The offers that I've made to them have been so fair that a lot of Democrats get mad at me," Obama said.
Boehner disagreed, saying Sunday that the president had been unwilling to agree to anything "that would require him to stand up to his own party."
Don Stewart, a spokesman for McConnell, said Sunday: "While the president was taping those discordant remarks yesterday, Sen. McConnell was in the office working to bring Republicans and Democrats together on a solution."
The trimmed ambitions of today are a far cry from the upbeat bipartisan rhetoric of just six weeks ago, when the leadership of Congress went to the White House to set the stage for negotiations to come.
"I outlined a framework that deals with reforming our tax code and reforming our spending," Boehner said as the leaders gathered on the White House driveway on Nov. 16.
"We understand that it has to be about cuts, it has to be about revenue, it has to be about growth, it has to be about the future," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said at the time. "I feel confident that a solution may be in sight."
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is predicting that without at least 28 of the 47 GOP senators on board with any given proposal, House Speaker John Boehner wouldn't be able to get the votes to pass it.
If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "can't get 60 percent of us to vote for this deal, it will be hard for Boehner to get it through the House. And I want to vote for it even though I won't like it because the country's got a lot at stake here," Graham said on "Fox News Sunday".
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the 2.1 million Americans whose extended unemployment benefits ran out on Saturday are already feeling the pain of Congress' inaction.
"From this point on, it's lose-lose. My big worry is a contraction of the economy, the loss of jobs, which could be well over 2 million in addition to the people already on unemployment. I think contraction of the economy would be just terrible for this nation. I think we need a deal, we should do a deal," Feinstein said on "Fox News Sunday."
But the deal was not meant to settle other outstanding issues, including more than $1 trillion in cuts over 10 years, divided equally between the Pentagon and other government spending. The deal also would not address an extension of the nation's borrowing limit, which the government is on track to reach any day but which the Treasury can put off through accounting measures for about two months.
That means Obama and the Congress are already on a new collision path. Republicans say they intend to use the debt ceiling as leverage to extract more spending cuts from the president. Obama has been adamant that unlike 2011, when the country came close to defaulting on its debts, he will not yield to those Republican demands.
Lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar mattered. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up, and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.
___
Associated Press writers David Espo, Alan Fram and Michele Salcedo contributed to this report.
layanau: writ trig: Bodybuilding Basics | Sports n Recreation Info ...
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LOS ANGELES ? Ryan Reynolds is the latest superhero to rule the weekend box office. Reynolds? ?Green Lantern? debuted at No. 1 with $52.7 million, a fair but unremarkable opening stacked up against other comic-book adaptations. Released by Warner Bros., ?Green Lantern? brought up the rear among superhero movies to open so far this summer, [...]
? About 3 weeks ago, a box from Sprint arrived. Inside the box was a kitten. No, sorry?actually it was this nifty 7? Android tablet from HTC, the EVO View 4G. After using it almost daily, and discussing it with everybody I could corner, I?m still somewhat conflicted about whether or not I?d buy one. [...]
Hong Kong bills itself as one of Asia?s most diverse cities and is home to a sizable population of non-ethnic Chinese minorities, but many of them educated at local public schools are unable to read and speak Chinese. In the 15 years since reverting to Chinese sovereignty, South Asian students here have been given the [...]
At first, you?ll be mystified by the 20 most-liked Facebook photos posted by advertisers during 2012. The giants of Facebook advertising ? Walmart, Amazon, Target, Samsung, etc. ? are completely absent. In their place are some tiny businesses and niche companies you?ve never heard of. Sure, a couple of major brands like Bed Bath & [...]
Start Your Investment on Arizona Land for Sale | Home Gardening ...
Making an investment on a land and property is one of the best options of investment. Well, it is reasonable since we all understand that everyone in the world will need a piece of land to live and to build a house or shelter. That fact makes the investment on properties and lands become very promising.
You can start your investment by survey what kind of location that you need. The best deal is when you can find the land which is in developed area or near the tourism object. Even if you do not want to stay in that area, you can always rent the property or land that you have. How about the Arizona land? There are a lot of promising spots for investment. The Arizona area has a lot of tourism spots. Besides, the development of the area is quite rapid. In years, the area will be crowded and it is a nice choice to start you investment right now.
If you are interested in buying piece of land in Arizona, you can go to the reliable source of information. Reputable broker will help you a lot if you are not familiar with the area. Check Myazland.com for complete information about Arizona land for sale.
YouTube Takes Away Billions Of Fake Views Music Industry Bought ...
Home???Entertainment???Music???YouTube Takes Away Billions Of Fake Views Music Industry Bought For Their Artists
Those who were faking the funk as far as how many YouTube views they have are in for a rude awakening, as YouTube is cracking down on the fake views that people have purchased.
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Universal is taking the biggest hit, as the channel which features music videos from Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber lost more than one billion of its seven billion views.
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Sony was also hit hard, losing more than 850 million views in one day.
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The confiscation of the views comes after statistic analysts at SocialBlade conducted an audit of YouTube?s view counts, in an attempt to curb the black hat techniques to boost view counts.
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Many artists and labels artificially build up view counts on YouTube videos in order to create a pseudo-buzz, using the philosophy that people will follow what?s popular.
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In other words, when people see a high YouTube view count, they assume that the song is good and have a positive association with the song before hearing it.
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YouTube does not permit artificial view count boosters.
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?This was not a bug or a security breach. This was an enforcement of our viewcount policy,? YouTube said in a statement.
Now artists will have to earn their views. Maybe that artist isn?t as popular as you previously thought!
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Stephen Willard | Elite.
Home???Entertainment???Music???YouTube Takes Away Billions Of Fake Views Music Industry Bought For Their Artists
PERRIS: City offers money to buy fixer-uppers : Menifee Blog
Posted on | December 29, 2012 | Comments
Perris is looking to lend money to homeowners who want to renovate their residences.
Rebecca Miranda and Luis Natera chat with Perris homeowner Laura Schwecke, who took advantage of the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Loan Program to install a new fence, patio and painting at her home. The City is looking to expand participation in the program. PHOTOS BY JOE VARGO
The Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Loan Program offers up to $50,000 in loans to qualified property owners at two-percent simple interest. To qualify, homes must be owner-occupied single-family detached properties not within a special-hazard flood zone and the owners must meet HUD income guidelines.
Loans must be used to correct existing code violations or address repairs that could lead to future violations. Authorized improvements include new landscaping, fencing, painting, windows and woodwork, patios and room additions.
Laura and Mike Schwecke are among the first homeowners to take advantage of the Perris program, which is being funded through federal grants. The couple borrowed $10,500 to install a new 12-foot by 20-foot backyard patio, new fencing and exterior painting.
Laura Schwecke recently met with Perris staff members Rebecca Miranda and Luis Natera, who are working to increase participation in the new rehab program by getting the word out to Perris residents. The pair checked in with Schwecke to make sure all the improvements lived up the family?s expectations.
?We want to get as many folks as possible into the program,? Natera said. ?We have funds available and we want to let people know that we want to expand this important program.?
Miranda said the city is committed to helping residents improve their homes.
?We want to make people feel welcome in Perris and we believe this program has the potential to improve the quality of life for a lot of families,? she said.
Laura Schwecke said the improvements make home more secure and attractive. The new patio provides shade and cools the house. The new fencing?twice as high as the one it replaced?provides more security and privacy for her 5-year-old son, Austin, to play on his swingset.
Austin Schwecke, 5, plays on his swing set in the backyard of his parents? home, which received several upgrades as part of the City of Perris Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Loan Program.
She called the new patio a ?huge help? in making the home more appealing and attractive.
?It?s nice to have a nice backyard,? said Laura Schwecke, who with her family moved to Perris about two years ago. ?We spend a lot of time out here. Without the improvements, it would not be that good.
Laura Schwecke said her family was approved for the loan in the summer and work on the home was completed soon afterwards. She said her family is grateful for providing an affordable way to make significant home improvements.
?It?s nice that the city of Perris offers this program,? she said. ?It?s nice that they help people.?
More information about the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Loan Program is available by calling Miranda at 951-943-5003, ext. 496 or emailingrmiranda@cityofperris.org.
- By Joe Vargo, spokesperson for the city of Perris
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Trolley Company Leaves Wedding Business Rather Than Let Gay ...
Trying to reconcile your personal, religious beliefs that may conflict with running your business can be a difficult thing to juggle, which is apparently why the owner of popular trolley company has decided to walk away from the wedding business altogether rather than be hired by gay couples. The man says he didn?t want to compromise his Christian convictions by accepting same-sex couples who might hire a trolley for their wedding fun.
The owner of the Annapolis tour company says he?s going to ditch out on taking any couples and their wedding parties for rides because he?d have to take gay couples as well as the straight ones, and his religious beliefs conflict with that, reports the?Baltimore Sun.
To that end, he told the Annapolis Patch:??We?re a Christian-owned company, and we just can?t support gay marriages. We?re not trying to make a statement. We?re not trying to make a point. We?re just trying to be faithful Christians.?
He also wants his clients to side with him and lobby state lawmakers to institute an exemption for wedding vendors that would allow them to abstain from taking business due to religious beliefs. Same-sex marriage will become legal in Maryland ?in less than a week, so he?s cutting out while he can.
By walking away from the marriage business altogether, the owner is potentially avoiding discrimination lawsuits that might be brought against the company for refusing to cater to gay weddings.
?If they?re providing services to the public, they can?t discriminate who they provide their services to,? said the general counsel for the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, according to the Baltimore Sun. That organization is the one which enforces the laws that don?t allow businesses to discriminate on the basis of ?things like race, sexual orientation, religion and more.
It?s his business, and therefore he can do what he wants, as long as he doesn?t allow anyone to use his service whatsoever. The owner said he will post a full explanation on his company website by Jan.
He did admit to Eye on Annapolis to sending an email to a potential straight client that read:??we used to do weddings until recently. But we?re a Christian-owned business, and we are not able to lend support to gay marriages. And as a public accommodation, we cannot discriminate between gay or straight couples, so we had to stop doing all wedding transportation.?
The man who?d wanted to hire the company for his heterosexual wedding replied in an email, via the Annapolis Patch:??It is your right to run your business any way you see fit, but let?s be honest here, you drive a trolley up and down a street. Not exactly God?s work.?
He?s not the only business to step away from thousands of dollars in potential wedding revenue. According to the?Maryland Wedding Professionals Association, the trolley company is the second vendor to get skittish over the same-sex marriage law.
We?ve seen discrimination accusations against other businesses elsewhere, including B&B owners in Canada who reportedly refused to rent a room to a gay couple?and were subsequently ordered to pay $4,500 to the couple to make up for it.
Previously:?Should Wedding-Related Businesses Be Allowed To Refuse Service To Same-Sex Couples??
Religious Wedding Vendor Seeks Exemption for Gay Marriages [Annapolis Patch] Annapolis Tour Company Turns Away Business Because Of Gay Marriage [Eye On Annapolis] Opposed to same-sex marriage, company ends wedding business [Baltimore Sun]
Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) Buys Heiser Insurance Agency In Morton ...
(By Balaseshan) Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), which provides insurance brokerage and third-party claims settlement, said it has purchased Heiser Insurance Agency Inc. in Morton, Illinois for an undisclosed sum.
Heiser Insurance Agency Inc. (HIA) is a retail insurance broker providing retail property/casualty, employee benefits and risk management insurance services for their commercial clients throughout the Midwestern United States. They specialize in both the transportation and manufacturing industries.
Sam Parrott and his team will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of Thomas Gallagher, head of Gallagher's Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage operations.
On December 26, Arthur J. Gallagher said it has purchased Ahrold Fay Rosenberg (AFR) in Des Moines, Iowa for an undisclosed sum. AFR is a retail insurance broker providing retail property/casualty, employee benefits and risk management insurance services for their commercial clients throughout the Midwestern U.S.
On December 13, the company said it has acquired a 21.3% interest in Casanueva Perez S.A.P. de C.V. (Grupo CP), headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico for an undisclosed sum. Grupo CP is an insurance broker and risk management company.
On December 12, Arthur J. Gallagher said it has purchased Western Benefit Solutions, LLC headquartered in Boise, Idaho for undisclosed terms. Founded in 1997, Western Benefit Solutions, LLC (WBS) provides a wide range of employee benefit insurance brokerage and consultation services.
On December 11, the company announced the acquisition of Charter Lakes Marine Insurance Agency, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1986, Charter Lakes operates as a retail property/casualty insurance broker, program administrator and managing general agency specializing exclusively in commercial and personal marine insurance products and services.
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On December 4, Arthur J. Gallagher said it has bought Brendis & Brendis Inc. located in Omaha, Nebraska for undisclosed terms. Founded in 1989, Brendis & Brendis provides a wide range of employee benefit program consulting services for their employer group clients throughout the Midwest.
AJG is trading down 0.43% at $34.68 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $32.01 and $38.24 for the past 52 weeks.
Contact: Bryan Ghosh bghosh@plos.org 44-122-344-2837 Public Library of Science
A new study, published December 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, finds that vector-borne and parasitic diseases have substantial effects on economic development across the globe, and are major drivers of differences in income between tropical and temperate countries. The burden of these diseases is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological factors: it is predicted to rise as biodiversity falls. This has significant implications for the economics of health care policy in developing countries, and advances our understanding of how ecological conditions can affect economic growth.
According to conventional economic wisdom, the foundation of economic growth is in political and economic institutions. "This is largely Cold War Economics about how to allocate property rightswith the government or with the private sector," says Dr Matthew Bonds, an economist at Harvard Medical School, and the lead author of the new study. However, Dr Bonds and colleagues were interested instead in biological processes that transcend such institutions, and which might form a more fundamental economic foundation.
The team was intrigued by the fact that tropical countries are generally comprised of poor agrarian populations while countries in temperate regions are wealthier and more industrialized. This distribution of income is inversely related to the burden of disease, which peaks at the equator and falls along a latitudinal gradient. Although it is common to conclude that economics drives the pattern of disease, the authors point out that most of the diseases that afflict the poor spend much of their life-cycle outside the human host. Many cannot even survive outside the tropics. Their distribution is largely determined by ecological factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and soil quality.
Because of the high correlations between poverty and disease, determining the effects of one on the other was the central challenge of their statistical analysis. Most previous attempts to address this topic ignored disease ecology, argue Bonds and colleagues. The team assembled a large data set for all of the world's nations on economics, parasitic and infectious vector-borne diseases, biodiversity (mammals, birds and plants) and other factors. Knowing that diseases are partly determined by ecology, they used a powerful set of statistical methods, new to macroecology, that allowed variables that may have underlying relationships with each other to be teased apart.
The results of the analysis suggest that infectious disease has as powerful an effect on a nation's economic health as governance, say the authors. "The main asset of the poor is their own labor," says Dr Bonds. "Infectious diseases, which are regulated by the environment, systematically steal human resources. Economically speaking, the effect is similar to that of crime or government corruption on undermining economic growth."
This result has important significance for international aid organizations, as it suggests that money spent on combating disease would also stimulate economic growth. Moreover, although diversity of human diseases is highly correlated with diversity of surrounding species, the study indicates that the burden of such human disease actually drops when biodiversity rises. The analysis is inconclusive about why this effect is so strong. The authors suggest that competition and predation limit the survival of disease vectors and free-living parasites where biodiversity is high. The research sets the stage for a number of future analyses that need to lay bare the relationship between health care funding and economic development.
###
Funding: MHB is funded by NIH Grant #K01TW008773 from the Fogarty International Center. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Bonds MH, Dobson AP, Keenan DC (2012) Disease Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Latitudinal Gradient in Income. PLoS Biol 10(12): e1001456. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456
CONTACT:
Matthew Bonds
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
UNITED STATES
Tel: +1-410-991-6759
mhb9@hms.harvard.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Bryan Ghosh bghosh@plos.org 44-122-344-2837 Public Library of Science
A new study, published December 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, finds that vector-borne and parasitic diseases have substantial effects on economic development across the globe, and are major drivers of differences in income between tropical and temperate countries. The burden of these diseases is, in turn, determined by underlying ecological factors: it is predicted to rise as biodiversity falls. This has significant implications for the economics of health care policy in developing countries, and advances our understanding of how ecological conditions can affect economic growth.
According to conventional economic wisdom, the foundation of economic growth is in political and economic institutions. "This is largely Cold War Economics about how to allocate property rightswith the government or with the private sector," says Dr Matthew Bonds, an economist at Harvard Medical School, and the lead author of the new study. However, Dr Bonds and colleagues were interested instead in biological processes that transcend such institutions, and which might form a more fundamental economic foundation.
The team was intrigued by the fact that tropical countries are generally comprised of poor agrarian populations while countries in temperate regions are wealthier and more industrialized. This distribution of income is inversely related to the burden of disease, which peaks at the equator and falls along a latitudinal gradient. Although it is common to conclude that economics drives the pattern of disease, the authors point out that most of the diseases that afflict the poor spend much of their life-cycle outside the human host. Many cannot even survive outside the tropics. Their distribution is largely determined by ecological factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and soil quality.
Because of the high correlations between poverty and disease, determining the effects of one on the other was the central challenge of their statistical analysis. Most previous attempts to address this topic ignored disease ecology, argue Bonds and colleagues. The team assembled a large data set for all of the world's nations on economics, parasitic and infectious vector-borne diseases, biodiversity (mammals, birds and plants) and other factors. Knowing that diseases are partly determined by ecology, they used a powerful set of statistical methods, new to macroecology, that allowed variables that may have underlying relationships with each other to be teased apart.
The results of the analysis suggest that infectious disease has as powerful an effect on a nation's economic health as governance, say the authors. "The main asset of the poor is their own labor," says Dr Bonds. "Infectious diseases, which are regulated by the environment, systematically steal human resources. Economically speaking, the effect is similar to that of crime or government corruption on undermining economic growth."
This result has important significance for international aid organizations, as it suggests that money spent on combating disease would also stimulate economic growth. Moreover, although diversity of human diseases is highly correlated with diversity of surrounding species, the study indicates that the burden of such human disease actually drops when biodiversity rises. The analysis is inconclusive about why this effect is so strong. The authors suggest that competition and predation limit the survival of disease vectors and free-living parasites where biodiversity is high. The research sets the stage for a number of future analyses that need to lay bare the relationship between health care funding and economic development.
###
Funding: MHB is funded by NIH Grant #K01TW008773 from the Fogarty International Center. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Bonds MH, Dobson AP, Keenan DC (2012) Disease Ecology, Biodiversity, and the Latitudinal Gradient in Income. PLoS Biol 10(12): e1001456. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001456
CONTACT:
Matthew Bonds
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
UNITED STATES
Tel: +1-410-991-6759
mhb9@hms.harvard.edu
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In a rare and now controversial investigation, scientists have been asked by Connecticut's medical examiner?to study Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza's DNA?? but the DNA community doesn't think that's such a good idea. Though details on the research are scant, University of Connecticut geneticists will apparently be looking for?biological clues that might explain Lanza's extreme violent behavior.?The New York Times's Gina Kolata reports that this undertaking is thought to be the first time scientists have studied the genome of a mass killer. ...
Top 10 Hemmings Classic Car stories of 2012 | Hemmings Blog ...
Issue #99, December ? Art Deco. Painstaking research that took months to accomplish explored how the art deco movement influenced automotive designs. Mark McCourt?s thorough examination of style resulted in numerous accolades from our readers, telling us that a story such as this has been long overdue.
Issue #93, June ? Custom Cadillacs. Everyone appreciated seeing these two ?un-built? 1930s-period Fleetwood designs come to life, but our readers were split on the validity of their status for today?s concours. As a result we were bombarded with letters and emails, with the general consensus being that a special class for these ?recreations? needs to be created at all concours events.
Issue #89, February ? Class of ?58. With two colorful 1958 Oldsmobiles on the cover, this issue was a huge hit with our readers and newsstand buyers, too. GM?s restyled models for this year were polarizing when new and still are today, so we weren?t surprised to learn just how vocal our readers were about these ornate giants.
Issue #96, September ? Brand Champions. Crunching production numbers was a laborious task that took days on end, but it uncovered just what were the best-selling cars of all time. There were many surprises and our readers really enjoyed finding out which models topped the sales chart.
Issue #95, August ? 1950s Mopars. The combination of Mopars and the 1950s always makes for interesting stories, especially when the main feature car was a purple and white 1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer which generated so much positive mail, it was understandably our most popular feature car of the year.
Issue #92, May ? Give-A-Way Cars. Baby boomers remember well the popularity of give-a-way cars back in the prosperous post-war years, so we weren?t surprised to learn just how well-liked this theme story was. Such light-hearted stories about the forgotten side of automotive history, such as this, lends the magazine a fun quotient that our readers found to be highly entertaining.
Issue #91, April ? Top 10 Most Powerful Classics. Horsepower is highly celebrated by all car enthusiasts, but it?s a car?s power-to-weight ratio that?s the true barometer in determining its power rating. David Traver Adolphus ran the numbers to discover the real ?muscle car? champions of each era, and the results surprised everyone.
Issue #94, July ? Deco Diva Town Cars, Wealth on Wheels (and part 2). In this two-part series of the History of Automotive Design, Walt Gosden explored custom-built motorcars for societys elite. This ever-popular design feature always generates reader mail, but this particular series had the Full Classic enthusiasts asking for more.
Issue #97, October ? Jay Leno?s alternative energy cars. While Jay?s Chrysler Turbine car was the main feature, we also went inside his garage and profiled his steam-powered vehicles. Our environmentally-conscious readers loved this issue, while everyone else simply enjoyed reading about Jay?s diverse car collection and his thoughts on steam power.
Issue #98, November ? 25 Collectible Plymouths That You Must Own. When it comes to collector cars, Plymouths usually get short-changed, so this issue was designed to highlight all the great Plymouth models that everyone should own. We selected the top 25 most collectible Plymouths, and were surprised to learn that 99 percent of our readers agreed with us.
How to Reduce Business Expenses by Using Remote Control ...
When it comes to a organization there are so a lot of distinct variables that indicate how effective or unsuccessful a organization is. One of the major aspects that all corporations have to take into account on a daily basis is a budget. With all companies, the budget has to be correctly split and laid out to ensure that each and every component of the company is funded with the proper amount of money to avoid overspending or under-budgeting. This consists of salaries, advertising costs, property taxes, price to use outside vendors, and so on.
Often firms that are run today are highly technology-based. Even if the goods or services offered don?t have considerably to do with anything technologies or computer-based, the reality is that life nowadays is built on technologies, and therefore it is no surprise that corporations rely heavily on computers and other technologies to be productive and productive on a every day basis. Nevertheless, along with utilizing technology comes the require for an IT department that is able to oversee, maintain, and monitor the network. This department has to be properly trained, manned, and funded to provide for technologic-assistance whenever it is needed. Several times a organization will depend on outside support from vendors and contractors to assist with network and other technologies-based troubles.
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However, with the use of Remote Control Software, there is no want to invest valuable dollars on vendors and other outside contacts. Instead, all of the troubleshooting can be carried out in-home at a extremely minimal cost. The only price involved in making use of this software program is the amount required to obtain it. Other than that there is hardly any income that is necessary. Of course, this doesn?t cut off all ties with outside customers, as it never hurts to keep a relationship with the software?s vendor but, overall, making use of software that enables Remote Access saves time, funds, and effort.
Saving Funds
By making use of PC Remote Access software program your organization will be able to eliminate much of the income spent on outside contractors that are utilised for technology troubleshooting and aid. Instead, your IT department, with use of this software, will be able to have remote access to all of the computers and servers connected to the network. This means that outside contractors won?t want to be relied upon in the case that there are network or computer problems.
With remote access software network administrators will have the proper access and capacity to fix any issues that may possibly come about. With this software program administrators are able to have access to view and control a computer?s monitor, mouse, and keyboard, which fundamentally creates the feel and works efficiently as if that person is sitting in front of the target laptop or computer.
This type of software is a need to have if your company spans across the state, country, or is 1 that operates worldwide. This way your IT department is totally able to have appropriate access and control to all computers and other hardware items on the company?s network.
WASHINGTON --?The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of measures to delay hitting the government's $16.4 trillion borrowing limit. Without those steps, the debt ceiling?would be hit on Dec. 31.?
The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become ensnarled in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could cause the government to default on its debt.
To cut government spending and delay bumping up against the debt ceiling, the Treasury will suspend issuance of state and local government series securities -- known as "slugs" -- beginning on Dec.?28.
Investments in a government employee pension fund will also be suspended, along with some other measures, although Treasury did not give dates for when these other measures will begin.
"These extraordinary measures ... can create approximately $200 billion in headroom under the debt limit," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.
Normally, these measures would buy the Treasury about two months time before hitting the debt ceiling, Geithner said in the letter. But a series of planned tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect in early January could give Treasury further time if they take effect as scheduled, he said.
"Treasury will provide more guidance regarding the expected duration of these measures when the policy outlook becomes clearer," he said.
The instruments known as slugs are special low-interest Treasury securities offered to state and local governments to temporarily invest proceeds from municipal bond sales. They have been suspended several times over the last 20 years to avoid hitting the debt ceiling.
Many analysts believe the measures available to the Treasury can stave that date off into late February.
The U.S. Congress typically authorizes government borrowing in a two-stage process, first drafting plans to spend more than it raises in tax revenues. Every few years, it raises a limit on government borrowing to accommodate annual deficits, a process that this year has become ensnared by the contentious budget talks in Washington.?
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was included in this report.
How to Keep Score in Business: Accounting and Financial Analysis ...
How to Keep Score in Business: Accounting and Financial Analysis for the Non-Accountant, 2nd Edition Free Full Downloads - Flmsdown
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How to Keep Score in Business: Accounting and Financial Analysis for the Non-Accountant, 2nd Edition
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In How to Keep Score in Business, Second Edition, long-time CEO Robert Follett shows you exactly how to "keep score" in business by reading and interpreting company financials. Step by step, Follett helps you capture crucial insights buried in balance sheets, income statements, and other key reports. Follett shows how to apply core tools for analyzing financial reports and investment opportunities, and demystifies key accounting terms every business decision-maker and investor needs to know. You'll learn how to uncover a company's true financial position through its balance sheet and income statements-and identify crucial information those documents may not be showing. Follett demonstrates how to use modern ROI tools to evaluate performance or analyze potential investments; how to track ongoing changes in a company's financial position; how to build cash flow budgets for more effective planning; and how to use common analysis ratios (without misusing them). Practical from start to finish, this fully updated book won't transform you into an accountant-but it will help you work more confidently with financial professionals, make smarter business decisions, and choose better investments. Uploaded: http://uploaded.net/file/xu7iq6ss/3ah0w.How.to.Keep.Score.in.Business.Accounting.and.Financial.Analysis.for.the.NonAccountant.2nd.Edition.rar
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BEIRUT -- Syrian rebels fully captured a northern town near the Turkish border on Tuesday after weeks of heavy fighting and attacked a regime air base in a neighboring province, activists said.
The air base is in Aleppo province, where opposition fighters have already captured three other large military bases in recent months. Rebels have also laid siege to the international airport in the city of Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital, and launched an offensive on the police academy near the city.
With steady rebel gains across the north, President Bashar Assad's regime is having increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province, especially after rebels cut a major thoroughfare from Damascus. It is just another sign that the opposition is consolidating its grip across large swathes of territory in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
In his traditional Christmas address, Pope Benedict XVI decried the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, where anti-regime activists estimate more than 40,000 have died in fighting since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule began in March 2011.
In another blow to the regime, activists said that Mohammed Adnan Arabo, a member of Syria's parliament has left the country and joined the opposition. Ahmad Ramadan, an executive council member of the opposition Syrian National Council group, and other activists said Arabo arrived in Turkey on Tuesday.
He said the regime's hold on power is deteriorating and rebels are besieging military bases for weeks until they either take over or negotiate with local army commanders to surrender. He added that some regime forces are being diverted to the capital to fight there.
"The regime cannot protect its bases and also cannot send forces to support troops under siege," he said.
Over the weeks, rebels fighting to overthrow Assad have also been able to take the battles into the capital Damascus, Assad's seat of power, where the southern neighborhoods are witnessing almost daily clashes between troops and rebels.
The big successes began in mid-November, when rebels captured Aleppo's Regiment 46, a large military base, carting off tanks, armored vehicles and truck-loads of munitions. Three weeks later, they captured the Sheik Suleiman base near the provincial capital of Aleppo and days later they took an infantry base in the city.
Last week, they captured an army technical regiment near Damascus' international airport but were pushed back in a counter attack. The army command said in a statement that the regiment's commander was killed in the battle.
The rebels have also brought the battle to areas around Damascus international airport where some flights were cancelled earlier this month because of the intensity of the fighting.
One of the biggest blows came in Damascus on Dec. 12 when a suicide attacker blew his vehicle outside the Interior Ministry, killing five and wounding many, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. The government denied at first that al-Shaar had been wounded until it got out when he was brought last week to a Beirut hospital for treatment.
It was the second injury the minister suffered after being wounded in a July 17, bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus that killed four top regime officials, including Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister.
The rebel takeover of Harem, a town of 20,000 in northern Idlib province, was the latest in a string of recent rebel successes.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels captured Harem in the early hours of Tuesday. Mohammed Kanaan, an Idlib-based activist, said the last post to be taken was the historic citadel, which overlooked the town. The army had turned the citadel into a military post.
"Harem is fully liberated now," Kanaan said via Skype. He added that as the rebels pounded army posts and checkpoints in Harem, the troops withdrew to the citadel that later fell in the hands of rebels.
Rami-Abdul-Rahman, who heads to Observatory, said nearly 30 soldiers and pro-government gunmen surrendered late Monday. He added that rebels set free all gunmen at the age of 16 or less and referred others to local tribunals.
"Harem was very important because it is one of the towns that was loyal to the regime," Abdul-Rahman said by telephone about the town that is nearly a mile from the Turkish border.
In Aleppo province, which neighbors Idlib, local activist Mohammed Saeed said rebels attacked the air base in the town of Mannagh near the Turkish border. He said it is one of four air bases in the province, adding that rebels also attacked the police academy near the city of Aleppo.
Regime forces have been using helicopters to carry supplies to besieged areas and to attack rebel positions.
The regime has had increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province after rebels captured in October the strategic town Maaret al-Numan. The town is on the highway that links Damascus with Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a major battleground in the civil war since July.
"Airplanes and helicopters are the only way to send supplies since the Free Syrian Army controls the land," Saeed said. He added that rebels are also laying a siege to Aleppo's international airport known as Nairab and threatening to shoot down military or civilians planes using it.
In the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, opposition gunmen ambushed the head of military intelligence in the area and seriously wounded him. He later died of his wounds, the Observatory said.
Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory reported violence in areas including the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the southern area of Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Height and the southern region of Daraa.
In Israel, top officials said they cannot corroborate Syrian activists' claims that the regime has used chemical weapons against its citizens.
Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon told Army Radio that Israel has "no confirmation or proof" the regime has employed such weapons in the civil war. He says Israel is "monitoring the situation with concern."
Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad told Israel Radio that Syria was closely guarding its chemical weapons stockpiles.
On Monday, the Observatory quoted activists in the central city of Homs as saying that six rebels died in two neighborhoods the day before after inhaling white smoke that came out of shells fired by government troops in the area. Amateur videos released by activists showed men in hospital beds suffering breathing problems as doctors placed oxygen masks over their faces.
Available Online Education Options ? EDUCATION TIPS ...
The information inside a library has to be correctly managed and maintained so individuals can use it. Students can step into careers as librarians after completing the appropriate training. Available online education options for library science can provide students with the chance to gain undergraduate and graduate degree training in library science.
Online education can be gained at the undergraduate study. However, for students that want to become librarians an associate?s or bachelor?s degree program will only act as a prerequisite to the required graduate training. To enter a master?s degree program in library science students need to have a bachelor?s degree. Students have two educational options to choose from when preparing for a master?s degree in library science.
Online training at the associate?s degree level provides students with the knowledge to enter assistant positions inside a library. Students work through two-year programs that develop their knowledge of how libraries are ran and what tasks are to be completed by assistants. The daily operations are broken down to teach students how to correctly maintain the circulation desk, carry out reference research, and appropriately use library equipment. Coursework is designed to prepare students to understand how to manage and categorize information. Depending on the program, students may be able to study specific areas such as library technology or children?s services. Further education at the bachelor?s degree level deepens students? knowledge of the field.
Students that complete an online bachelor?s degree program gain an in depth education that can be applied to careers or graduate training. The modern library is broken down so students can understand how to correctly organize the media inside several different types of libraries. Library administration as a whole is learned and students are able to focus the rest of their courses on a particular area. For example, students that are interested in museum work can tailor their education to learning how to manage that type of information. Other possible areas include corporate, medical, school, and military libraries. Resource management, classification, media selection, and database usage courses are some subjects that will prepare students for the field. Students that don?t continue education can become technicians and associate librarians.
Masters degree programs allow students to study information technology along with the entire field of library science. Students are able to correctly manage all information located in a library. Electronic and print materials are explored using the Dewey decimal system and the Library of Congress classification system. Specific courses break down the roles that librarians fulfill such as obtaining new materials and archiving materials for later use. Online programs typically have students choose a concentration and complete specific coursework related to that area. This is important because students learn how to catalog information for their concentration. Some possible areas of concentration include:
For each area students learn about source referencing, cataloguing, accessing information, and collection development. Education allows students to step into several careers, which may include becoming school, reference, media, and archival librarians.
(REUTERS/Gary Cameron) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington??Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been admitted to a New York hospital for treatment of a blood clot, her spokesman said Sunday.
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
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