For microscopic animals living in the Gulf, even worse than the toxic oil released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster may be the very oil dispersants used to clean it up, a new study finds.
More than 2 million gallons (7.5 million liters) of oil dispersants called Corexit 9527A and 9500A were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to prevent oil from reaching shore and to help it degrade more quickly.
However, when oil and Corexit are combined, the mixture becomes up to 52 times more toxic than oil alone, according to a study published online this week in the journal Environmental Pollution.
"There is a synergistic interaction between crude oil and the dispersant that makes it more toxic," said Terry Snell, a study co-author and biologist at Georgia Tech. Using dispersants breaks up the oil into small droplets and makes it less visible, but,? "on the other hand, makes it more toxic to the planktonic food chain," Snell told LiveScience.
Toxic mixture
That mixture of dispersant and oil in the Gulf would've wreaked havoc on rotifers, which form the base of the marine food web, and their eggs in seafloor sediments, Snell said.
In the study, Snell and colleagues tested ratios of oil and dispersant found in the Gulf in 2010, using actual oil from the well that leaked in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the dispersant. The mixture was similarly toxic at the various ratios tested, the study found. His group exposed several varieties of rotifers to concentrations of the oil-dispersant mixture likely seen over a large area of the Gulf.
"The levels in the Gulf were toxic, and seriously toxic," Snell said. "That probably put a big dent in the planktonic food web for some extended period of time, but nobody really made the measurements to figure out the impact." [Deepwater Horizon: Images of the Impact]
The dispersant makes the oil more deadly by decreasing the size of the droplets, making it more "bio-available" to small organisms, said Ian MacDonald, a researcher at Florida State University. "The effect is specifically a toxic synergy ? the sum is worse than the parts," said MacDonald, who was not involved in the research.?
A cautionary tale
This is one of the first studies to look at the impact of the oil-dispersant mixture on plankton. A decline in populations of plankton could impact larger animals all the way up to whales, he said. In general, plankton can rebound quickly, although the toxicity to larvae in sediments is concerning, since it reduces the size of the next generation. This ocean-bottom oil slurry could have also impacted other species that spend part of their life cycles here like algae and crustaceans.
"This is an important study that adds badly needed data to help us better understand the effects of oil spills and oil spill remediation strategies, such as the use of dispersants," said Stephen Klaine, an environmental toxicologist at Clemson University who wasn't involved in the research. "Species' differences in the sensitivity to any toxic compounds, including the ones in this discussion, can be huge."
The results contrast with those released by the Environmental Protection Agency in August 2010. That study found that a mixture of oil and Corexit isn't more toxic than oil alone to both a species of shrimp and species of fish. However, several studies have found the mixture is more toxic than oil to the embryos of several fish species. The EPA could not immediately be reached for comment.
"To date, EPA has done nothing but congratulate itself on how Corexit was used and avow they would do it the same way again," MacDonald said.
However, Snell said the dispersant should not be used. It would be better to let the oil disperse on its own to minimize ecological damage, he said.
"This is a cautionary tale that we need to do the science before the emergency happens so we can make decisions that are fully informed," Snell said. "In this case, the Corexit is simply there to make the oil disperse and go out of sight. But out of sight doesn't mean it's safe in regard to the food web."
"It's hard to sit by and not do something," Snell said."But in this case, doing something actually made it more toxic."
Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook& Google+.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
New Episode of Emmy Award-Winning CBS Reality Series to be Broadcast Friday, Dec. 7
DENVER, Nov. 29, 2012 // PRNewswire // - Since founding PostNet in 1993, CEO Steve Greenbaum has worked tirelessly to evolve the franchise from its origins as a mail and parcel store to a full-on Neighborhood Business Center, providing small business owners with relevant services and supporting economic growth in communities across the country. His journey to get a behind-the-scenes look at how that evolution is playing out in the PostNet franchise centers will unfold on the hit CBS series "Undercover Boss," airing on the CBS Television Network on Friday, Dec. 7 (8 pm/7c).
"Going undercover gave me an unprecedented opportunity to get a sense of how the decisions we've made at the executive level have affected our franchise owners, employees and customers," Greenbaum said. "I came away with an incredible sense of pride in our company and a renewed appreciation for those on the front lines of our business every day. It was an exhilarating and humbling experience, both personally and professionally."
With more than 700 locations worldwide, PostNet has carved a niche as the nation's first and only Neighborhood Business Center. Greenbaum, along with co-founder Brian Spindel, built the PostNet franchise system from the ground up and have remained intimately involved in all aspects of the company's operations. The two longtime friends and business partners spearheaded the evolved franchise model, which involved in-depth training of hundreds of PostNet franchise owners to meet the unique needs of start-ups and growing businesses, such as multi-channel marketing campaigns and web design.
On the episode, Greenbaum, disguised as a longhaired, former motorcycle shop owner named "Brad," worked in PostNet centers around the country in a variety of tasks, ranging from designing marketing collateral to outside sales and marketing of PostNet's services to local business owners. Along the way, Greenbaum hears the personal struggles of employees, and the challenges faced by some franchisees that aren't following the new Neighborhood Business Center model.
Each week, the Emmy Award-winning "Undercover Boss," now in its fourth season, follows a different executive as they leave the comfort of their corner office for an undercover mission to examine the inner workings of their companies. While working alongside their employees, they witness how their decisions affect others, where the problems lie within their organizations, and get an up-close look at the good and the bad while discovering and rewarding the unsung heroes who make their companies run.
About PostNet
PostNet Neighborhood Business Centers provide marketing services and specialize in meeting the design, printing and shipping needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs. Founded in 1993, PostNet has over 700 locations worldwide, including several hundred locations in South Africa. Select PostNet locations across the country now offer website and mobile site design and hosting and mobile printing capabilities. Each PostNet franchise is locally owned and operated. For more information about PostNet services, please visit postnet.com; for information about owning a PostNet franchise, visit postnetfranchise.com.
US Residential Asset Fund, LLC (http://usresifund.com/), implemented a unique strategy by launching as an REO- (real estate-owned) to-Rental fund. Christopher J. Crippen, the Fund?s manager, announced, ?We put together a strategy that allows us to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities available in the REO-to-Rental markets and to support the communities we invest in.
US Residential Asset Fund?s investment strategy is focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, managing, and exiting distressed single-family properties in multiple U.S. metropolitan areas. Tenants have the option to rent the properties with a ?contract for deed,? paving the road to homeownership for those who otherwise would be lifelong renters. The tenants work with the Fund?s strategic partner, Sagamore Home Mortgage, to resolve their credit challenges, qualify for a mortgage, and purchase the home they are renting.
Mr. Crippen, an industry expert, explained, ?This is really a unique Fund. We can do something good for the communities we invest in, enable our tenants to become homeowners, and provide double-digit returns for our investors. It?s a win-win-win strategy, which is hard to find in this market. I am proud to be a part of it.?
US Residential Asset Fund?was founded by Mr. Crippen, Dana Bradley, Al Espinoza, Patrick Cipolla, and Amos Alexander. Focusing on the $3 trillion single-family rental market, the Fund expects to invest more that $20 million over the next two years, beginning with acquiring assets in the Charlotte, Memphis, and Chicago, MSAs. Phase two acquisitions will be in the Atlanta, Indianapolis, Tampa, Orlando, MSAs.
?My partners, Innotion Enterprises, Inc. (www.innotion.com), and Performance Holdings (http://www.performanceholdings.com/), have been operating in the single-family and REO arenas, and have built a world-class acquisition, renovation, and management platform uniquely designed for these properties,? Mr. Crippen continued. ?We work with Sagamore Home Mortgage to work with our tenants to qualify them to purchase our properties.? Christopher J. Crippen formerly headed Prescient Asset Management?s FDIC ORE Disposition.
Mr. Crippen described how the program works, saying, ?All of our properties are offered as ?rent to own? (RTO) to our tenants. This encourages homeownership in the markets we are investing in. Studies show that RTO tenants take better care of their properties than strictly rental tenants. The benefits are a more secure investment and the ability to give back to the communities in which we invest. It?s a win-win-win situation.?
Adolescent girls focus of New University of Houston studyPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Melissa Carroll mcarroll@uh.edu 713-743-8153 University of Houston
Pilot study involves 30 at-risk girls on probation with Harris County
As a young clinical social worker, Danielle Parrish, an assistant professor at the University of Houston (UH) Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW), frequently noticed that at least a third of the girls were visibly pregnant on the girl's unit in a juvenile detention center.
"As a mental health clinician in the juvenile justice system, I noticed there were stark differences in terms of what the females needed in their program and what the males needed. They are dealing with very different kinds of risks," said Parrish. "I would find the females were engaging in multiple risk behaviors simultaneously - using drugs, drinking, smoking - even while pregnant - and seemed to participate more frequently in high-risk sex behaviors that put them at risk of pregnancy and STDs, including HIV. When I looked to the research, I found very limited information on gender-specific interventions for adolescent females in the juvenile justice system that addressed these unique risks."
Parrish plans to research this understudied population as principle investigator for a $100,000 grant funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), titled, "Choices Teen: A Bundled Risk Reduction Intervention for Juvenile Justice Females." The pilot study includes 30 at-risk girls, ages 14-17, on intensive probation with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. The goal of the pilot study is to assess the feasibility and promise of a prevention intervention in reducing risk behaviors that lead to HIV, alcohol-exposed pregnancy and nicotine-exposed pregnancy with this high-risk female population. This intervention, unlike others that typically focus on one risk behavior at a time, takes a bundled approach to risk reduction and addresses multiple risks simultaneously. If effective, this approach would be more cost-efficient than multiple interventions targeting these risks, and make better use of the limited time these girls present for services. The intervention includes two counseling sessions with a prevention counselor trained in motivational interviewing (MI), an appointment with a pediatrician and a referral for an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention.
"Dr. Parrish's research and grant award emphasize both the need for and importance of innovative approaches to problem-solving, especially when working with high-risk youth, in particular young women in the juvenile justice system," said Ira Colby, dean of the UH GCSW. "This award aligns with the UH Graduate College of Social Work's mission and specifically connects advanced social work practice and research with the broader social services community."
Parrish notes one of the big issues for this population of adolescent girls is condom negotiation. They may have a boyfriend who says it isn't "cool" to use a condom. To prepare the girls for these types of situations, the counselors and pediatricians will teach them how to negotiate condom use with their partner. The intervention also helps empower and motivate girls to make healthier choices regarding their alcohol use, smoking and prevention of unplanned pregnancy.
The intervention is based on CHOICES, a prevention intervention, developed by Mary Velasquez, an associate dean of research and director at the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at the University of Texas at Austin. It focuses on initial behavior change as well as the maintenance of behavior over time. By using motivational interviewing techniques focused on changing specific behaviors, this intervention helps women choose safer, healthier strategies best suited to their circumstances. Velasquez's research (and that of her colleagues) was recognized by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) with the Charles C. Shepard Science Award.
"Dr. Parrish's study extends an award-winning behavior intervention for reducing alcohol-exposed pregnancies to the juvenile justice population," said Velasquez. "Its emphasis on HIV prevention is innovative and critically important for these young women."
The results of the study may be useful to guide further research in the development of gender-specific prevention interventions with adolescent girls in the juvenile justice system. This pilot study will help lay the groundwork for a much larger study and future studies to better understand this population in terms of their unique risks and how they can best be supported on an individual level, as well as what can be done at the community and policy levels to address the lack of services and supports for this vulnerable and largely invisible population.
"A lot of these young women are dealing with issues of human trafficking, abuse, health issues, not having a stable place to live- there are a lot of issues we also need to address on a community and policy level," said Parrish. "If we can learn more about them, and what those issues are, then maybe we can address things on a broader level as well."
###
About the UH Graduate College of Social Work
The UH Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) is a nationally recognized program, ranked 37 by U.S. News & World Report, educating professionals for social work practice, research and leadership. Offering MSW and PhD degrees, the GCSW is the only social work program in the world to have a Nobel laureate on its faculty. The GCSW advocates for innovative, collaborative, inclusive and humane policies and solutions that promote social, economic and political justice. A commitment to critical thinking that links rigorous scientific inquiry, ethical social work practice and community engagement generates new knowledge to the field of social work and many other disciplines.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 39,500 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.
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?
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.
Adolescent girls focus of New University of Houston studyPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Melissa Carroll mcarroll@uh.edu 713-743-8153 University of Houston
Pilot study involves 30 at-risk girls on probation with Harris County
As a young clinical social worker, Danielle Parrish, an assistant professor at the University of Houston (UH) Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW), frequently noticed that at least a third of the girls were visibly pregnant on the girl's unit in a juvenile detention center.
"As a mental health clinician in the juvenile justice system, I noticed there were stark differences in terms of what the females needed in their program and what the males needed. They are dealing with very different kinds of risks," said Parrish. "I would find the females were engaging in multiple risk behaviors simultaneously - using drugs, drinking, smoking - even while pregnant - and seemed to participate more frequently in high-risk sex behaviors that put them at risk of pregnancy and STDs, including HIV. When I looked to the research, I found very limited information on gender-specific interventions for adolescent females in the juvenile justice system that addressed these unique risks."
Parrish plans to research this understudied population as principle investigator for a $100,000 grant funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), titled, "Choices Teen: A Bundled Risk Reduction Intervention for Juvenile Justice Females." The pilot study includes 30 at-risk girls, ages 14-17, on intensive probation with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. The goal of the pilot study is to assess the feasibility and promise of a prevention intervention in reducing risk behaviors that lead to HIV, alcohol-exposed pregnancy and nicotine-exposed pregnancy with this high-risk female population. This intervention, unlike others that typically focus on one risk behavior at a time, takes a bundled approach to risk reduction and addresses multiple risks simultaneously. If effective, this approach would be more cost-efficient than multiple interventions targeting these risks, and make better use of the limited time these girls present for services. The intervention includes two counseling sessions with a prevention counselor trained in motivational interviewing (MI), an appointment with a pediatrician and a referral for an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention.
"Dr. Parrish's research and grant award emphasize both the need for and importance of innovative approaches to problem-solving, especially when working with high-risk youth, in particular young women in the juvenile justice system," said Ira Colby, dean of the UH GCSW. "This award aligns with the UH Graduate College of Social Work's mission and specifically connects advanced social work practice and research with the broader social services community."
Parrish notes one of the big issues for this population of adolescent girls is condom negotiation. They may have a boyfriend who says it isn't "cool" to use a condom. To prepare the girls for these types of situations, the counselors and pediatricians will teach them how to negotiate condom use with their partner. The intervention also helps empower and motivate girls to make healthier choices regarding their alcohol use, smoking and prevention of unplanned pregnancy.
The intervention is based on CHOICES, a prevention intervention, developed by Mary Velasquez, an associate dean of research and director at the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at the University of Texas at Austin. It focuses on initial behavior change as well as the maintenance of behavior over time. By using motivational interviewing techniques focused on changing specific behaviors, this intervention helps women choose safer, healthier strategies best suited to their circumstances. Velasquez's research (and that of her colleagues) was recognized by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) with the Charles C. Shepard Science Award.
"Dr. Parrish's study extends an award-winning behavior intervention for reducing alcohol-exposed pregnancies to the juvenile justice population," said Velasquez. "Its emphasis on HIV prevention is innovative and critically important for these young women."
The results of the study may be useful to guide further research in the development of gender-specific prevention interventions with adolescent girls in the juvenile justice system. This pilot study will help lay the groundwork for a much larger study and future studies to better understand this population in terms of their unique risks and how they can best be supported on an individual level, as well as what can be done at the community and policy levels to address the lack of services and supports for this vulnerable and largely invisible population.
"A lot of these young women are dealing with issues of human trafficking, abuse, health issues, not having a stable place to live- there are a lot of issues we also need to address on a community and policy level," said Parrish. "If we can learn more about them, and what those issues are, then maybe we can address things on a broader level as well."
###
About the UH Graduate College of Social Work
The UH Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) is a nationally recognized program, ranked 37 by U.S. News & World Report, educating professionals for social work practice, research and leadership. Offering MSW and PhD degrees, the GCSW is the only social work program in the world to have a Nobel laureate on its faculty. The GCSW advocates for innovative, collaborative, inclusive and humane policies and solutions that promote social, economic and political justice. A commitment to critical thinking that links rigorous scientific inquiry, ethical social work practice and community engagement generates new knowledge to the field of social work and many other disciplines.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 39,500 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.
[ | 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.
Concentration not merely around the mortgage premiums, but additionally within the expenses connected aided by the bank loan. Albeit you are able to have a payday cash advance pretty rapidly without having delivering considerably info about by yourself, the lending costs may lead to your owing a great deal extra money within the financial loan. Ensure that you will find a way to pay for back again the theory too as any accrued expenses.
Prior to you employ for virtually any pay day loan, you need to look for out businesses that happen to be rated nicely which are open up together with the service fees and fees they cost. Steer clear of organizations who allow it to be tough to locate out the costs related with their financial loans. Generally you should definitely make your payments in time or to create preparations beforehand when you usually are not in a position to create a charge.
If you join pay day loans, be cautious when providing out your own personal data. Delicate facts just like a cultural safety amount might be gold from the arms of identification robbers or unscrupulous men and women. Double verify the legitimacy of your respective loan company.
Well before you end up picking to go along with a financial loan firm, do your exploration on the internet or within the telephone to locate out your borrowing restrict. Lending techniques change organization to organization. This tends to instant cash loans make certain you pays again the mortgage because of the because of day.
Test the standard of your personal loan prior to you use to it. A lot of individuals consider payday cash advances are classified as the most secure financial loans given that they've the most beneficial phrases, so you would do very well to try and do your investigation to locate a trusted mortgage financial institution.
Consider for getting a pay day loan about the cellular phone. An area corporation can normally current a test inside an hour although a web-based organization can frequently deposit financial loan funds inside of 24 hrs. Not merely could you check with any thoughts you've, you may also ensure you realize the many conditions and terms with the financial loan.
One particular pay day loan solution that is definitely typically offered is post-dating a examine for your quantity owed additionally supplemental costs to the day the mortgage is because of. It is crucial that you've sufficient resources inside your account to include this verify when it really is on account of be cashed. Should your cost test bounces, you may be confront costs with the financial institution and along with the loan company.
Don't do small business with any mortgage supplier that doesn't obviously disclose, in composing, their desire prices, costs and reimbursement guidelines. If this information and facts isn't offered to you personally evidently, you'll want to see it being a red flag the provider may possibly be considered a con.
Should you do elect to get out a cash advance, make sure that you entirely repay the bank loan by day specified on the deal. Your costs and desire shall be higher however you will steer clear of overdrawing your banking account or defaulting on your own cash advance. Paying out immediately will decrease your publicity to desire fees.
You have to possess a latest do the job record ahead of you could qualify to safe a cash advance loan. Loan companies normally have to have your several most latest pay out stubs from the steady occupation so as to financial loan you funds. You should have to most probably submit your paycheck stubs for the financial institution.
For those who have secured a cash advance, guarantee that you should have the payback amount of money within your account by your loan's because of day. Most loan providers withdraw the money straight from your account. You should make it possible for time for every deposits to generally be used to the account harmony in order for you in order to avoid extra fascination prices.
Produce a robust program to repay the bank loan. Most loan companies demand the financial loan to generally be compensated in complete inside a make a difference of weeks. Make certain you have the ability to determine the amount of you may potentially afford to pay for to provide whenever your bank loan is because of.
Numerous people today find yourself in placements exactly where a payday cash advance will be the only selection. It really is vital to build certain you have no other available choices before you take out a mortgage, although. When you have associates or kinfolk who may have the sources to help you, you need to surely talk about your finances with them ahead of you speak to the payday loan provider.
Carry out the required investigate. Hardly ever select the initial bank loan supplier you experience. Examine distinctive fascination fees. This really is time-consuming, nevertheless it could enable you conserve lots of capital. Occasionally the businesses are very helpful ample to supply at-a-glance data.
Soon after studying this post about payday cash loans, you need to truly feel extra assured about earning knowledgeable selections about them. A lot of men and women have got a pretty much irrational dread of cash advance loans, but by evading them, in addition they stay away from an exceptionally helpful and functional economic prospect. By scheduling items out with regards to a payday cash advance, it is possible to achieve everything you will need, with out hurting your credit score.
Skid & the Too Tiny Tunnel (Hardcover) By Jeffery Stoddard
Review & Description
Skid, the littlest yellow tractor in the equipment yard, wants to be mighty like the giant bulldozers, tall cranes, and massive diggers who tower over him. But all the big machines tell him he is just a dinky tractor with a putt-putt engine. While they are busy building a new road through the mountain, Skid is left behind to take out the garbage.
When disaster strikes and a tunnel the machines are digging collapses, Pillar, the biggest bulldozer, is left trapped in the rubble. Only a small opening is left at the tunnel entrance and the only one who can fit through the opening is Skid who is afraid of the dark.
Now it's up to the tiniest tractor to save the day. Can Skid find the courage to do what he was made to do and prove that he doesn't have to be big to be mighty? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
A scan of all the mutations in the human gene map shows something surprising ? people of European descent are evolving fast, and not for the better.
The study finds that in the past 5,000 years, European-Americans have developed a huge batch of potentially harmful genetic mutations ? many more than African-Americans.
The study, published in the journal Nature, may help explain why so many people develop diseases even though they don?t have common genetic mutations. It can also help explain why different people have so many different reactions to the same drug, said Joshua Akey of the University of Washington in Seattle who led the study.
It likely has to do with population explosion, Akey said. European populations expanded after the Ice Age ended and prosperous agricultural societies emerged. ?The number of mutations that exist is directly attributable to the population growth that happened in the last 5,000 years,? Akey told NBC News.
?The things that allowed us to go from millions to billions of has also been the same process that has been pumping in all these new mutations.?
Akey and colleagues at genetics institutions across the country examined the gene sequences of more than 6,500 people ? more than 4,200 European-Americans and 2,200 African-Americans. They were looking for small changes in the genetic code called single nucleotide variants ? one-letter differences in the genetic code of A,C, T and G.
They found ?an enormous excess of rare variants? in the European-Americans. And 73 percent of these mutations only appeared in the human genome in the past 5,000 to 10,000 years. Most were mutations that are known to weaken proteins, Akey said, and most of these harmful mutations were also in the people of European descent.
Now researchers are working to see which of these mutations might be associated with diseases. But many are in known disease-causing genes, such as the LAMC1 gene associated with premature ovarian failure, LRP1, which is linked with both Alzheimer?s disease and obesity and the CPE gene linked to hardening of the arteries.
Most are rare mutations ? meaning they only affect a few people. ?Some genes might be more disease-causing than other genes,? Akey said.
It may explain why it?s been so hard to find clear genetic links to many diseases. ?We have been looking for disease risk where it isn?t,? he said. ?The last five to 10 years have been dominated by looking for common genetic variations that dominate common diseases. There is a lot of disease risk that is unexplained. Maybe there are classes of mutations that haven?t been looked at.?
The findings could explain why some people can smoke for a lifetime and never get lung cancer or heart disease, while someone else might suffer a heart attack despite having healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
It definitely shows evolution in action, Akey said. ?It?s just the process of evolution playing out in real time,? he said. ?The dramatic population expansions that occurred over the past couple thousand years had a profound consequence on our genetic variability.?
Genetic mutations usually occur by accident ? they are just mistakes that get made when DNA gets copied. They become important to evolution when they affect a person?s ability to survive and have children. The expansion of civilization, and the ability of societies to care for people who are less fit, was probably a factor in allowing these mutations to spring up, Akey said. ?I think that is undoubtedly true,? he said.
Some of the genes identified in the scan also affect peoples? response to drugs. That could explain why some people are helped, for example, by a cholesterol-lowering drug while others may not be. There wouldn?t have been much ?selective pressure? on these genes before the modern drug era, but that doesn?t mean the genes were not influenced by something else. ?It turns out that genes involved in adverse drug responses also have different biological roles,? Akey said ? for instance, detoxifying certain foods.
There may even be more evolution in the future, Akey predicted. One example ? phenylketonuria or PKU. It?s caused by a mutation in a gene that breaks down an amino acid called phenylalanine. People with PKU mutations must eat a strict, low-protein diet or they can develop seizures and mental retardation.
Now newborns are routinely tested for PKU so they can start the diet immediately and avoid any brain damage. Akey said because these kids can now grow up and lead normal lives, they will likely start having children and the gene may become more common in the population.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) ? A federal judge has recused himself from presiding over a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on one of the network's morning shows.
Judge Lawrence L. Piersol recused himself from hearing the defamation lawsuit filed by South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on "Good Morning America."
The case has been reassigned to Chief Judge Karen Schreier.
Beef Products Inc. sued ABC in September over its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef. Critics have dubbed the product "pink slime." The meat processor claims the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing the product is unhealthy and unsafe.
Most real estate investors have heard of zoning and subdivision regulations and may even have a basic understanding of what they do and how they can impact their investments.? There is however another document that may be decades old guiding the drafting and implementation of those two land use controls, that is the comprehensive plan.
The comprehensive plan, aka, master plan, general plan, land use plan or master development plan is a document that is prepared by a local jurisdiction to guide growth and development.? It is generally a long term plan looking 10 to 20 years into the future.? Comprehensive plans can be found at many levels, from neighborhoods, to cities and counties on up to the state level.?? These plans often have lofty goals such as protecting public health and safety, improving circulation, providing adequate services, etc, etc.? Such plans may be years in the making and take a lot of resources to complete.? However once completed, they can carry a lot of weight and thus can affect our properties and plans as real estate investors.
The comprehensive planning process usually involves a research phase where data is collected and correlated, a public input phase where input is gathered from the public and an approval/adoption phase where the plan is adopted and approved by the local governing body.? The plan usually contains a combination of goal and objective statements with recommendations on how to achieve them along with supporting maps and other documentation.
Why Should Real Estate Investors Care?
The comprehensive plan directly affects many real estate activities since it is a plan for future growth and development.? Here are some basics.
In some states, Florida for example, the plan can have force of law and it can be very difficult to get anything done which is contrary to the plan.? Here in Tennessee, every piece of land is labeled for growth or no growth.? So while you may be able to develop on one side of the road you may not be able to on the other (I have seen this happen!).? Imaging buying land on one side of the road to develop because you see the other side of the road being developed and then being told no, you cannot develop that.
The comprehensive plan can make it much more time consuming to gain approval for development projects as they will have to be reviewed for conformity to the plan, sometimes even at the state level.? This process can add months or even years to a development review process.? Time is money folks!
Trying to change a comprehensive plan is literally like trying to get an act of congress.? If what you want to do does not conform to the plan you are in for a long uphill battle.
The plan will guide zoning and subdivision decisions.? You may be able to develop apartments in one place and not another.? One acre lots may be allowed here but only five acre lots there.? That land over there is reserved for conservation uses.? You get the picture. ?It will all depend on what the plan says.
The plan will guide utility extensions.? Will your land be served by sewer or not?
The plan will guide road and road improvement decisions.? Where will the next major intersection be?? Will the parking lot in front of that commercial building you just bought by condemned and taken to widen the road it fronts on?? How will the removal of your parking lot impact your business?
As you can see, the comprehensive plan could be a very important document to real estate investors.? At the very least, you could use it to see where development will be directed and perhaps get ahead of the curve and purchase land to hold (if you can afford to wait a while.).? On the other hand, it can impact your plans for your property and perhaps hamper your ability to do business.
Wherever you invest, find out what your jurisdiction is doing and what tools it uses to guide its development decisions.? ??Not every jurisdiction has a comprehensive plan, but most of the larger ones do. ?If your jurisdiction has a plan, take a little time to look it over.?? You might just see an opportunity that others may have missed.?? You may also find plans that affect your property that you were not aware of.? I have witnessed planners tell befuddled property owners, ?That has been in the plan for ten years, I?m sorry you did not check it before you purchased the property.?
Also, you need to stay in tune with what you locality is doing.? If you hear or read about a comprehensive planning process that is underway, get involved or at the very least find out what is going on.? You need to speak up to protect your property and your rights.? Only you can protect your property rights!? Plus the old adage is true; the squeaky wheel does get the grease.? So make yourself heard or be left out of the plan.
Kevin Perk is co-founder of Kevron Properties, LLC with his wife Terron and has been involved in real estate investing for 10 years. Kevin invests in and manages rental properties in Memphis, TN and is the past president and current vice-president of the local REIA group, the Memphis Investors Group.
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Recently, while traveling, I came across a ?traditional print business magazine? and read it on the plane. It had nothing to do with startups, so it felt novel. There was one segment in the magazine where the editors solicited a few business leaders to share the most important advice they?ve ever received, and I found it to be unexpectedly powerful. So, I decided to try it on people that I look up to in the startup world, and below is what they wrote. I figured for folks in the startup community, the advice that stuck with others that we recognize as leaders could have a positive impact. Below is what a few folks shared with me, and I see the result as sort of an experiment. I just emailed a good handful of folks, asked for some contributions, and seven folks were kind enough to write back. Their contributions make up a simple, good list. I hope you enjoy it. (I?m trying to experiment with new content styles to expand out from the type of posts I normally write here. I?d appreciate any suggestions you may have.)
Amazon has built a killer budget media tablet in the new Kindle Fire HD 8.9. With a solid design, top-notch media store, affordable data plan, and robust parental controls, this tablet is a great choice for families on a budget. Nope, it's no iPad. But at this price, more than $200 less (for the base Wi-Fi model) than Apple's competing tablet, it doesn't have to be.
The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is available in several models. Without cellular, the 16GB model costs $299 and the 32GB model costs $369. With cellular, a 32GB model costs $499 and a 64GB unit costs $599. Getting rid of ads on the lock screen runs an extra $15. We tested the $499, 32GB cellular model, but we'll discuss all of the various models in this review.
Physical Features The Kindle Fire HD doesn't look at all cheap, which is impressive considering its low price. At 9.45 by 6.50 by .35 inches (HWD) and 1.29 pounds, it's smaller and slightly lighter than the Nexus 10, the iPad, and other 10-inch tablets, which makes sense; after all, its screen is a bit smaller. Like most larger tablets, it naturally orients itself in landscape mode, with the 1-megapixel camera at the top and the power and HDMI ports at the bottom. The headphone jack and very flat Power and Volume buttons are on the right side. The back panel is covered in a soft-touch material, which feels great, but shows fingerprints. There's also a shiny black stripe running the width of the tablet. The stereo speakers show at either end of this strip.
The 8.9-inch screen is a good-looking 1,920-by-1,200 IPS LCD panel with relatively deep colors. It's outmatched by the competition; the Nexus 10, iPad 4, and even the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ all have even tighter screens that pop more. It's not a bad display by any means, and the pixels are small enough to be barely perceptible. Because it's smaller than the iPad, at 8.9 inches and 254 pixels per inch, it's just behind the iPad's 263 ppi.
AT&T Service and Plans The cellular Kindle Fire HD runs on AT&T's EDGE, 3G, and LTE networks. AT&T now has 4G LTE in 103 cities nationwide, and where you can find it, it's often the fastest network available as we found in our 30-city tests earlier this year.
The device can work with standard AT&T data plans, but it also offers one unique option: $49.99 gets you 250MB of data per month for a year, averaging $4.16 a month. Amazon throws in a $10 credit for its app store with that. That's by far the least-expensive 4G plan available on any tablet. You can't extend it past a year, though, and if you hit your 250MB limit you're just cut off until the next month starts.
In my experience, 250MB isn't enough data to use without worrying; remember, an HD movie generally runs between one and two gigabytes. Most smartphone users consume between 400MB and about 2 GB in a month if they stay away from streaming too much video. 250MB is just enough that you start enjoying your mobile data by the time it gets taken away. It's a tease.
So that puts you back on AT&T's more traditional tablet plan: 3GB for $30/month plus $10 for each additional gigabyte. You can also include the tablet on an existing AT&T shared data plan for a $10-per-month fee.
AT&T 4G LTE performance on this tablet was solid in my tests, with download speeds averaging about 13.5Mbps and uploads clocking in around 6Mbps. The tablet really benefits from the dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi. While connected to a fast corporate network on the crowded 2.4Ghz band, the Fire averaged 11Mbps down, but kicked up to 31Mbps when I switched over to the 5GHz band. That means you can transfer a 1.4GB movie in six minutes as opposed to 16.?
One more thing about that excellent Wi-Fi: My advice is to save your two benjamins and stick with the Wi-Fi-only Fire. If you want to connect your tablet on the road, get a hotspot option on your cell phone.
"Amdroid" and Apps The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 runs a thoroughly forked version of Android 4.0 that I've been calling "Amdroid." For a detailed rundown of "Amdroid" and Amazon's available content selection, take a look at our 7-inch Kindle Fire HD review. This tablet works just like that one.
The interface looks nothing like standard Android; it's a carousel of content and shopping options. It's extremely simple to use for Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newsstand, Audiobooks, Web, Photos, and Docs, as the text menu running across the top says. It's nowhere near as configurable as true Android, but for some people, that's a plus.?
Amdroid is designed to make it really easy to buy things from Amazon. Keep that in mind. Those things can include apps, of course, and Amazon has more than 10,000 of them in its Appstore. That's far fewer than Google has in Google Play, but it's a much more targeted selection, and when I downloaded apps I was happy to see that unlike many apps in Google Play, the dozen or so I grabbed here didn't look awful on this tablet. You also don't have to buy everything from Amazon. The Kindle Fire lets you sideload apps and content via USB cable, and I had no problem loading a bunch of Android apps and videos that way.
The tablet's "FreeTime" feature will be a big benefit for the families who make up a major part of the Kindle Fire's audience. FreeTime lets you set up several child profiles, each with its own content library and separate daily time limits for books, videos, and apps. Because of the time limits, it's the best system any tablet has for pure parental controls. Both the Nexus and Nook tablets have more flexible multi-user setups for multiple adults handling a tablet, though.?
Performance The Kindle Fire 8.9" packs a dual-core TI OMAP 4470 processor that delivers adequate, but not stellar performance. If this tablet wasn't so darn inexpensive I'd complain, but performance is acceptable given the price. As we've been seeing on these high-res tablets recently, game frame rates suffer as the dense screen strains the tablet's GPU: I got 33 frames per second on the simple Nenamark2 graphics benchmark and only 9.2 frames per second on the more complex Taiji benchmark, which means Need for Speed: Most Wanted isn't quite as smooth as it is on the iPad.
The tablet's overall scores on the Basemark OS system benchmark was roughly in line with other popular devices like the Google Nexus 7 and the Samsung Galaxy S III?, so you'll be neither amazed nor appalled here. Amazon's complicated, extremely graphical shopping menus tend to introduce some lag, though, as the tablet downloads big pictures and icons. Sometimes those menus take ten seconds to load; it's a buzz kill.
Amazon's special Silk browser also continues to be a damp squib. Silk was supposed to accelerate browsing by pre-caching pages on Amazon's servers, but it continues to be slower than the browsers on Apple and Google tablets. The Kindle HD 8.9 loaded our basket of pages in 11.4 seconds on average, as compared with 5.8 seconds on the Nexus 10 and 5.4 seconds on the iPad 4.
It's possible to get some productive work done on the Kindle Fire, but if you're really looking for a productivity tablet, go for an iPad with an add-on keyboard or a Microsoft Surface instead. You can download the Microsoft Office-compatible OfficeSuite Professional 6, Pocket Informant for calendars and tasks, and a range of email programs, but there's still the sense that you're pounding a square peg into a round hole.
So general performance won't win any awards here, but it's perfectly good given the price. For battery life, on the other hand, the Fire beat out both the iPad 4 and the Nexus 10 in our test, which loops a video with the screen set to full brightness and Wi-Fi switched on. We got 7 hours, 14 minutes with the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, as compared with 5 hours, 36 minutes with the iPad and just over five hours with the Nexus 10.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -The Spanish league is barely three months old, but Real Madrid's title defense is in serious danger after Real Betis midfielder Benat Etxebarria struck from long range to deal last season's champion a 1-0 loss on Saturday.
Madrid appeared to have put its struggles from earlier this season well behind it after stringing together five straight wins, but even with Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka on the pitch, it failed to break through a Betis defense that had lost by four or more goals three times this season.
Jose Mourinho's team is in third place and can find itself an imposing 11 points behind Barcelona if the league leader wins at Levante on Sunday.
The largest deficit ever overcome by a team that went on to win La Liga was eight points by Rafa Benitez's Valencia in 2004.
A stern Mourinho acknowledged that it would be "difficult" to repeat as domestic champions.
"I understand that our fans are pessimistic. It is very possible that we will arrive to the end of December 11, 12, 13 points behind," he said. "But it is still possible. We have to try to cut and cut and cut into (Barcelona's) lead."
After being routed 5-1 by Sevilla in the Seville derby just six days before, Pepe Mel's Betis appeared to be an easy target for a Madrid that had just eliminated English champion Manchester City from the Champions League and was unbeaten in eight rounds.
But Betis emerged victorious thanks to an impressive physical display that never wavered through 90-plus minutes.
"It was a tough week for both the team and our fans. We deserved this win," a breathless Etxebarria said. "We had a good game plan and worked hard in defense. They didn't have many clear scoring chances and we had some more on the break."
It was Betis' second win in 22 games in all competitions against Madrid since 2001.
Both sides' pressing style set a fast pace from the start at Benito Villamarin Stadium, but after Madrid's Sami Khedira missed a good look on goal Etxebarria netted what proved to be the winner 17 minutes in.
The Basque player picked up Angel Di Maria's wild clearance from the flank, dribbled around Khedira and beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas with right-footed shot from about 23 yards.
"I was fortunate the ball fell to me," said Etxebarria, a Spain international. "I controlled it and shot and it went in."
Madrid bombarded Betis' area with crosses, but came no closer before halftime than Di Maria's shots into the side and the top of the netting.
Mourinho sent on playmakers Luka Modric and Kaka at the start of the second half for Mesut Oezil and fellow Germany international Khedira.
And when the leveler didn't come, the Portuguese manager soon threw forward Jose Callejon into the mix.
Yet even with all its firepower, Madrid couldn't convert its scarce opportunities while giving up chances to Betis' Salva Sevilla and Ruben Castro on counterattacks.
The nearest Madrid came was a Kaka shot that drew a diving parry from goalkeeper Adrian San Miguel, who bounced back in fine form from his woeful performance in last week's loss at Sevilla.
Madrid only dropped seven points away from Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last season en route to the title. It has already relinquished 11 points on the road through 13 rounds this campaign.
Also, Malaga outclassed a drab Valencia 4-0 thanks to a goal and assist by midfielder Francisco Portillo in Saturday's meeting of two of Spain's sides to reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Leonardo Carrilho's strike three minutes from time sparked Rayo Vallecano to a 2-0 home win over Mallorca, while Valladolid broke a streak of three home draws by beating Granada 1-0 thanks to Angola striker Manucho's second-half goal.
Second-place Atletico Madrid hosts Sevilla on Sunday, while Espanyol hosts Getafe and Deportivo La Coruna visits Athletic Bilbao. Real Zaragoza plays Celta Vigo on Monday.
Real Sociedad drew 0-0 with Osasuna at home on Friday.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Manchester United fought back to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 on Saturday, reclaiming top spot while the bottom-placed team fell to 0-4-9.
Arsenal held to 0-0 draw at Aston Villa
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -Arsenal endured its third 0-0 draw of the English Premier League season, allowing Aston Villa to climb out of the relegation zone on Saturday.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2012) ? A team of scientists from Temple University School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania has moved another step closer to solving a decades-long mystery of how the all-important flow of calcium into the cell's power source, the mitochondria, is controlled.
By painstakingly shutting down the activity of 50 genes, one at a time, they have identified a protein, MCUR1, which hugs the inside of the mitochondrial membrane and is part of an elaborate mitochondrial channel pore system. MCUR1 acts as an accelerator to help regulate calcium coming into the mitochondria from the cell's large reservoir.
The results, appearing November 25, 2012 in an advance online issue of the journal Nature Cell Biology, may also point to new treatment opportunities. Understanding how to manipulate MCUR1 may help in the development of treatments for disease conditions involving excessive calcium in the cell, such as cardiovascular disease and stroke.
"Calcium is a key to regulate many fundamental processes in cells," said co-senior author Muniswamy Madesh, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Temple University School of Medicine and a member of Temple's Center for Translational Medicine. "Excessive calcium in the cell's mitochondria could lead to heart and neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. This pathway could be contributing to disease conditions during ischemia/reperfusion injury and stroke, and this discovery opens up possible therapeutic interventions."
Maintaining calcium at an appropriate level is crucial for cells to work properly, and especially important in the mitochondria. Cells rely on mitochondria to generate usable energy in the form of the chemical ATP, which is necessary to carry out normal cellular and metabolic activities. ATP production in turn depends on calcium -- more specifically, charged calcium ions -- that can enter into the mitochondria from the cell's vast supply in the cytoplasm. Dr. Madesh, co-senior author Kevin Foskett, PhD, at the University of Pennsylvania, and their co-investigators recently described the role of a gatekeeper protein in maintaining a calcium "set point" under normal resting conditions in the mitochondria. But a long unanswered question remained: the details of how calcium entry into the mitochondria is controlled.
How MCUR1 Dictates Calcium Load
In the current study, Drs. Madesh and Foskett and their co-workers may have come closer to solving this puzzle. Dr. Madesh and his group sought to identify the genes involved in the flow of calcium into the mitochondria. They developed a way to use a technology called targeted RNA interference (RNAi) to screen 50 mitochondrial proteins, systematically testing whether eliminating the function of each of these genes individually altered the movement of calcium into the mitochondria. They found a mitochondrial inner membrane protein -- MCUR1 -- that regulates a calcium channel pore during active calcium uptake.
MCUR1 is part of a calcium channel pore called the uniporter, the existence of which has been known for some five decades. Recent studies identified two important pieces of the pore -- a subunit protein, MCU, and the gatekeeper protein, MICU1, to maintain calcium levels at a resting, set point. The researchers found that MCUR1 interacts with MCU to accelerate the movement of calcium into mitochondria when the cell's calcium level rapidly rises.
"MCUR1 is an essential third component of the uniporter complex," Dr. Madesh said. "In the absence of MCUR1, mitochondrial calcium uptake is markedly reduced, with adverse cellular consequences, including compromised cellular bioenergetics."
Without this accelerator, the mitochondria channel pore alone cannot take up calcium. When MCUR1 is physically attached to the pore, it is functional, and when it is not attached, it is much less active. "The regulator is always on, and its activity level increases when the extra-mitochondrial calcium levels increase. When there is a high calcium level, say during a disease state, the MCUR1 senses this and facilitates the channel activity, dumping calcium inside," Dr. Madesh explained.
Calcium Control as a Targeted Therapeutic
Dr. Madesh explained that in some disease conditions -- such as ischemic reperfusion injury (tissue damage that occurs when blood returns to tissue after a period without oxygen), stroke involving brain injury from ischemia, and myocardial infarction -- calcium floods into the mitochondria. "The mitochondria have a massive membrane potential and grab external calcium. The mitochondria then are overloaded and rupture, leading to cell death and possible organ injury."
Because some diseases are characterized by an overabundance of calcium in the mitochondria, a possible therapy could involve slowing down the amount of calcium coming into the mitochondria. "We want to control the calcium entering the mitochondria," he said.
"Further studies already underway should reveal the precise molecular mechanisms by which MCUR1 accelerates the channel pore MCU, providing insights into mitochondrial bioenergetics," said first author Karthik Mallilankaraman, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry and the Center for Translational Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Temple University Health System, 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:
Karthik Mallilankaraman, C?sar C?rdenas, Patrick J. Doonan, Harish C. Chandramoorthy, Krishna M. Irrinki, T?nde Golen?r, Gy?rgy Csord?s, Priyanka Madireddi, Jun Yang, Marioly M?ller, Russell Miller, Jill E. Kolesar, Jordi Molg?, Brett Kaufman, Gy?rgy Hajn?czky, J. Kevin Foskett, Muniswamy Madesh. MCUR1 is an essential component of mitochondrial Ca2 uptake that regulates cellular metabolism. Nature Cell Biology, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/ncb2622
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
SANAA, Yemen (AP) ? Yemeni security officials say that four Shiites were killed when unknown assailants fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a gathering of worshippers observing the holy day of Ashoura.
Officials say the attack took place Saturday in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, near the airport road.
The assailants fired the weapon at a celebration hall where worshippers had gathered, killing four people outside. No further details were immediately available.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Tensions have long existed between extremist Salafis, who are Sunni Muslims, and Shiite tribesmen known as Hawthis who have also at times battled the government. Nearly 200 people died in fighting late last year between Salafis and Hawthis in northern Saada province.
Damour is the latest Lebanese town to be sold off to real estate developers with a little help from the country?s politicians. The story of the town?s Mtill Project shows just what political connections can buy in this coastal town.
Some people in the city of Damour think the story of their town should be made into a movie.
It would entail a mix of political corruption, waste of public funds, and abuse of power. The starring roles would be given to mayor Charles Ghafri and Lebanese MP for the Chouf district Elie Aoun.
The plot would center around how the Real Estate Investment and Development Co. managed to acquire land in Damour and begin constructing the Mtill Project, a massive, 77 building residential development on plots 1571 and 3392.
As the plot unfolds, we?d learn about the figures behind the company: Aoun himself, who owns 49 percent of the company?s shares; his son Jean, who owns 2 percent; and Saudi national Tareq bin-Abdul Aziz al-Rasan with the other 49 percent.
A possible sequel would feature a second residential development called the Imadeddin al-Dimasi Project on plot 2339.
The great mystery surrounding the projects would be one that Damour residents are eager to solve: How, locals want to know, was Rasan and Aoun?s company able to build on land that had been zoned as a no-construction area?
If you want to buy a villa in the Mtill Project, it will set you back $2 million. Easily. They just devised a new zoning plan for Damour. This was implemented through resolution 71/2006 issued by Ghafri?s municipality, and then decision 1165 issued by the council of ministers on 18 March 2008, bearing the signature of the then-acting director of urban districting, Berj Hatijian. This reclassified several plots in Damour as residential ? including the two for the Mtill development ? and accorded them the highest investment ratio, meaning the portion of the land that can be built on, in the governorate of Mount Lebanon.
The History of Plots 1571 and 3392
Land registry records show that plots 1571 and 3392 were bought in 2006 by a Hassan Khalil Hashem for $1.5 million. They were then sold to a Rami Hares Halawi in early 2010 for a modest LL250,000 ($166).
Property prices in Lebanon were much lower when Hashem bought the land prior to the 2006 war than when he sold it. Given that its zoning classification had been changed in the interim, property experts say that in 2010 the land should have been worth at least ten times its 2006 price, and the pretense that it was sold for LL250,000 was obviously a tax dodge.
This evidently escaped the attention of the land registry secretary, who agreed to record a sale contract of that value. Maybe he did not notice that in the process he was losing the state treasury hundreds of millions of pounds.
Rami Halawi, for his part, was no chance buyer.
Under Lebanese law, foreign individuals or entities can only buy land in the country with a license that is contingent on a recommendation from the ministry of finance. Therefore Rasan, as a Saudi national, or the Aoun-Rasan company, could not buy the properties in question. So Halawi bought them, and then proceeded to give Rasan full legal control over them by means of a ?Comprehensive and Absolute Power-of-Attorney? registered with Beirut notary Salim Yousef Khalil on 31 May 2011. Halawi is thus a frontman for Rasan.
MP Aoun, it should be remembered, is a member of parliament?s administration and justice committee, which has a subcommittee that is discussing a proposed law to restrict land ownership by foreigners. Aoun famously said after one session that the opponents of the law on property ownership by foreigners were a handful of MPs concerned about the inheritance of their children, and that the administration and justice committee could not prevent it from being put to cabinet.
After Aoun helped get some of his hometown?s land sold to his partner Rasan, we move to the next scene: the construction and sale of the buildings.
The Mtill Project
If you want to buy a villa in the Mtill Project, it will set you back $2 million. However, after local people objected to the scheme, they were told by Aoun that ?original? Damouris would be offered a 30 percent discount.
This discount is no comparison to the bargains offered to Saudi nationals like Abdullah Bin-Said al-Shahrani, Abdul-Rahman Bin-Saleh al-Faqih, and Raafat Abdul-Aziz al-Rasan (Rasan?s brother) who were offered two villas for the price of one at the exceptional price of only $130,000. Ahmad Bin-Zaned Asiri, another Saudi national, got an even better deal of $120,000. A price tag of $60,000 for a single villa is quite a bargain given the insane skyrocketing of property prices in Mount Lebanon.
These villas were sold on 18 September 2012, using powers-of-attorney granted by the aforementioned purchasers to a Khaled Mohammad al-Ghosh, and registered at the Lebanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
The mayor thus acts as an agent for contractors on whose behalf he alters zoning regulations. Perhaps he has not heard of the term ?conflict of interest.?These sales also failed to catch the attention of the land registry secretary, the same one who was taken in by the LL250,000 resale of the land that had cost $1.5 million four years prior, despite its upgraded investment ratio.
The Mtill story wouldn?t be complete without reference to another mayoral ploy. On 8 December 2012, Ghafri declared ? by means of two affidavits issued by the municipality ? that the two plots concerned were vacant and contained no buildings. The affidavits were issued at the request of the Mechref Company.
But what does the Mechref Company have to do with Mtill Project? Nothing at all, other than Ghafri being the company?s agent. He paid the fee to be registered as such at the Lawyers Union, as recorded in receipt 23334.
This does not mean that the Mechref Company ? whose board of directors is chaired by Saudi national Hassan Bin-Salem al-Maamari ? has nothing to do with Damour. Ghafri has brought it into town in a big way. After getting the Mtill Project?s plots reclassified, he did the same for several other parcels, and proceeded to buy most of them on behalf of the company for which he is the agent.
The mayor thus acts as an agent for contractors on whose behalf he alters zoning regulations. Perhaps he has not heard of the term ?conflict of interest.?
Meanwhile, Damour is furious. This is apparent from the Facebook walls of two local activist groups, one of which has at least 1,500 members. The Emergency Committee to Save Damour was set up in early October to try to halt the project. One of its members, lawyer Jihad Fadhel, managed to obtain hundreds of legal documents and connect them to make a case to put to the fiscal prosecutor in Beirut, representing a group of townspeople.
Earlier this month, the Lebanese Forces website ran a story about the Mtill Project in which it furiously denounced the sale of land to ?aliens.? A few hours later the item was pulled, and replaced with a statement titled ?An Apology to Charles Ghafri.? This wasn?t the decision of the website?s editors, but just some strings being pulled on Ghafri?s behalf by a fellow Chouf native, MP Georges Adwan.
Residents of this town ? only 7 percent of whose displaced pre-civil war population remain ? want someone to stand up for them, and prevent a new Solidere or a new Mtill being inflicted on it.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead runs off the field after their 13-7 victory over Iowa in an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead runs off the field after their 13-7 victory over Iowa in an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Iowa fullback Mark Weisman (45) tries to break a tackle by Nebraska cornerback Andrew Green during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Nebraska safety P.J. Smith (13) reacts after Iowa missed a field goal during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) ? Winning five straight games mostly without him, didn't mean Nebraska doesn't need Rex Burkhead.
On a cold and blustery afternoon with a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line, Burkhead proved why he's so valuable to the Huskers.
Burkhead scored the go-ahead touchdown in his return from a knee injury and No. 17 Nebraska beat Iowa 13-7 on Friday to claim the Legends Division's berth in the championship game.
The Huskers (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) will face off against Wisconsin next Saturday in Indianapolis after winning six straight since a loss at Ohio State.
It'll be a rematch of Nebraska's thrilling 30-27 home win over the Badgers in late September.
"I remember after Ohio State, I said what we needed to do, and you all looked at me like I was a crazy man. I probably thought I was a crazy man that night. I believe in this team. Honestly, I'm proud of those kids in that locker room," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said.
Burkhead had to be at the top of Pelini's list.
Burkhead, making his first appearance since aggravating a sprained left knee on Oct. 20 against Northwestern, broke through with a 3-yard TD run to make it 13-7 late in the third quarter. He rushed for 69 yards, all in the second half.
Alonzo Whaley's interception with 2:11 left sealed the victory for Nebraska.
The Huskers defense held the Hawkeyes (4-8, 2-6) scoreless in the final three quarters in windy conditions.
Mark Weisman had 91 yards rushing for Iowa, which finished the season on a six-game losing streak. The Hawkeyes will miss out on a bowl game for just the second time since 2000.
"Nobody's happy about where we're at," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We fully realize we have a lot of work to do right now."
Nebraska's offense spent much of the day stifled by a stiff wind that gusted up to 40 mph and a surprisingly stout Iowa defense.
Fittingly, quarterback Taylor Martinez and Burkhead teamed up to put the Huskers ahead.
Martinez beat quadruple coverage for an 18-yard completion to Braylon Heard, an impressive hookup considering the conditions. Burkhead was in the end zone a few plays later to give Nebraska a six-point lead with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
Iowa pinned Nebraska at the 1 with 12:03 left, but Burkhead willed the Huskers out of harm's way with runs of 9 and 8 yards into the wind.
Though the Huskers were later forced to punt, Burkhead helped them avoid the worst while burning valuable minutes off the clock.
"I just thought it would be a mental boost for us. I went into the game thinking we're only going to play him if we need him," Pelini said of Burkhead, who rushed for 57 yards in the fourth quarter. "I asked him 'How do you feel about it? And Rex said 'Let's go.'"
A mild fall in the Midwest came to an abrupt end on Friday.
During the national anthem, the breeze at Kinnick Stadium was so strong it nearly blew over the American flag ? and the man holding it. The wind chill hovered in the teens all day.
The conditions made passing a risky venture. Martinez threw for just 63 yards, while Iowa's James Vandenberg had 92 yards passing and two picks.
"It was really difficult. That wind and that cold weather," Martinez said. "My hands were frozen."
Nebraska threw just once on a 16-play drive that led to a field goal, and Iowa did the same on a 62-yard drive that led to a 1-yard plunge from Vandenberg and a 7-3 lead it held at halftime.
The Huskers muffed a punt and Martinez fumbled and nearly threw a pick in the second quarter. But Iowa's offense, which was lackluster all season, couldn't turn those miscues into points.
The ineptitude of Iowa's offense reached its nadir late in the first half. They were penalized for having too many men on the field ? even though they were coming out of a timeout ? and Mike Meyer followed with a missed field goal.
"They've really had a great season, but they have turned the ball over and we were hoping to be opportunistic that way," Ferentz said. "Overall, they just did a better job than we did in that second half."
Nebraska finished with a 7-1 conference mark for the first time since 2001, when it posted the same mark in the Big 12.
With one more Big Ten win next weekend, Burkhead and his teammates are headed to the Rose Bowl.
"I was just glad to be out there with the guys again," Burkhead said. "I missed being out there."
___
Follow Luke Meredith on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP
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Public release date: 29-Nov-2012
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Recently, while traveling, I came across a ?traditional print business magazine? and read it on the plane. It had nothing to do with startups, so it felt novel. There was one segment in the magazine where the editors solicited a few business leaders to share the most important advice they?ve ever received, and I found it to be unexpectedly powerful. So, I decided to try it on people that I look up to in the startup world, and below is what they wrote. I figured for folks in the startup community, the advice that stuck with others that we recognize as leaders could have a positive impact. Below is what a few folks shared with me, and I see the result as sort of an experiment. I just emailed a good handful of folks, asked for some contributions, and seven folks were kind enough to write back. Their contributions make up a simple, good list. I hope you enjoy it. (I?m trying to experiment with new content styles to expand out from the type of posts I normally write here. I?d appreciate any suggestions you may have.)