Poznan, Poland-based startup Zapstreak has just brought its AirPlay-style media streaming solution for Android out of beta, making the SDK it provides available to developers worldwide after a six-month extended testing period. The company's tech allows Android developers to build music, video or picture-streaming right into their app. But will new options change Zapstreak's chances at success?
With 18 new AAAS Fellows, Ohio State remains near the top of the national classPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Emily Caldwell caldwell.151@osu.edu 614-292-8310 Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio Eighteen Ohio State University faculty have been elected among the newest class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Ohio State ranks second this year in the number of scholars chosen for the award, which is based on evaluations by peer scientists. The university has ranked first or second among new Fellows each year for more than a decade.
"Ingenuity and innovation are the hallmarks of Ohio State and represent the future of the 21st century university," said President E. Gordon Gee. "Our university is home to the most extraordinary scholars in the world, including these 18 new Fellows recognized as the top experts in their fields. Their collective work enriches Ohio State's remarkable tradition of academic excellence and discovery in myriad disciplines."
The University of Michigan ranks first this year with 19 new Fellows, and the University of California, Davis and Vanderbilt University each has 17 new Fellows.
In all, 702 members have received the honor this year because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be welcomed in a ceremony at the AAAS annual meeting in Boston in February. Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society.
"This year's election of 18 distinguished scholars is a testament to our faculty's dedication, leadership and impact in their respective fields. Affirmation by their peers confirms the quality and diversity of their work across a broad spectrum of disciplines," said Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research. "On a daily basis, Ohio State researchers are serving our communities and advancing the frontiers of discovery as they solve the world's greatest challenges related to energy and the environment, health and wellness, and food production and security."
Including this year's class, Ohio State has more than 200 AAAS Fellows on the faculty. Ohio State's newest AAAS Fellows are:
Heather Allen, professor of chemistry and of pathology; for outstanding contributions to the development of vibrational spectroscopic probes of interfaces, and their creative application to problems in environmental chemistry, geochemistry and physiology.
Donald Dean, professor emeritus of biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to biochemistry, particularly for studies on the mechanism of action and protein engineering of insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis.
Biao Ding, professor of molecular genetics; for distinguished contributions to the field of intercellular trafficking of RNA and proteins and to the field of viroid-host interactions.
Prabir Dutta, Distinguished University Professor of chemistry; for notable contributions in understanding zeolite formation and applications of zeolites in photocatalysis and sensing.
Mark Failla, professor and interim chair of human sciences; for distinguished contributions to the field of nutritional biochemistry for developing valuable models elucidating bioavailability, metabolism and efficacy of health promoting dietary constituents.
John Finer, professor of horticulture and crop science and in the Center for Applied Plant Sciences; for distinguished contributions in the development of new and insightful approaches for increasing the efficiencies of gene transfer and expression analyses in crop plants.
H. Lisle Gibbs, professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology; for distinguished contributions to the field of evolutionary biology, particularly for the application of molecular ecology and genetics to problems in conservation biology.
Maura Gillison, professor of medical oncology, of epidemiology and of otolaryngology; for distinguished contributions to the fields of tumor virology, cancer biology and epidemiology, particularly in defining human papillomavirus as the etiologic agent for head and neck cancers.
Randy Hodson, professor of sociology; for distinguished contributions to the study of organizational effectiveness and dignity at work through the study of power and its abuses.
Michael Ibba, professor of microbiology and of molecular and cellular biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to the fields of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase biology, translational quality control and microbial physiology.
William Marras, professor of integrated systems engineering, of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and of orthopaedics; for distinguished contributions to understanding biomechanical causal pathways for low back disorders and developing methods to prevent occupational back injuries and quantify back disorders.
Haikady Nagaraja, professor and chair of biostatistics, of internal medicine and of statistics; for distinguished contributions to the field of statistics, particularly for methodologic work in the areas of order statistics and stochastic modeling.
Susan Olesik, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to the field of analytical chemistry as well as excellence in communicating science to the public.
Richard Pogge, professor and vice chair of astronomy; for distinguished contributions in astronomical instrumentation and toward understanding the nature and environment of active galactic nuclei.
Phillip Popovich, professor of neuroscience, of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, and of neurological surgery; for distinguished contributions to the field of neuroimmunology and spinal cord injury, particularly for defining the functional contributions of the immune system in CNS repair.
Zhenchao Qian, chair of sociology; for distinguished contributions to the field of population studies and sociology, particularly for the studies of marriage, cohabitation, interracial marriage and assortative mating patterns.
David Williams, dean of the College of Engineering; for distinguished contributions to metal and material sciences, particularly on electron microscopy, and to higher education, providing academic leadership at three major research universities.
Rama Yedavalli, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; for distinguished research and education contributions to the fields of robust and distributed control of mechanical and aerospace systems, and for service to multiple professional societies.
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.
With 18 new AAAS Fellows, Ohio State remains near the top of the national classPublic release date: 29-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Emily Caldwell caldwell.151@osu.edu 614-292-8310 Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio Eighteen Ohio State University faculty have been elected among the newest class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Ohio State ranks second this year in the number of scholars chosen for the award, which is based on evaluations by peer scientists. The university has ranked first or second among new Fellows each year for more than a decade.
"Ingenuity and innovation are the hallmarks of Ohio State and represent the future of the 21st century university," said President E. Gordon Gee. "Our university is home to the most extraordinary scholars in the world, including these 18 new Fellows recognized as the top experts in their fields. Their collective work enriches Ohio State's remarkable tradition of academic excellence and discovery in myriad disciplines."
The University of Michigan ranks first this year with 19 new Fellows, and the University of California, Davis and Vanderbilt University each has 17 new Fellows.
In all, 702 members have received the honor this year because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be welcomed in a ceremony at the AAAS annual meeting in Boston in February. Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society.
"This year's election of 18 distinguished scholars is a testament to our faculty's dedication, leadership and impact in their respective fields. Affirmation by their peers confirms the quality and diversity of their work across a broad spectrum of disciplines," said Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research. "On a daily basis, Ohio State researchers are serving our communities and advancing the frontiers of discovery as they solve the world's greatest challenges related to energy and the environment, health and wellness, and food production and security."
Including this year's class, Ohio State has more than 200 AAAS Fellows on the faculty. Ohio State's newest AAAS Fellows are:
Heather Allen, professor of chemistry and of pathology; for outstanding contributions to the development of vibrational spectroscopic probes of interfaces, and their creative application to problems in environmental chemistry, geochemistry and physiology.
Donald Dean, professor emeritus of biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to biochemistry, particularly for studies on the mechanism of action and protein engineering of insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis.
Biao Ding, professor of molecular genetics; for distinguished contributions to the field of intercellular trafficking of RNA and proteins and to the field of viroid-host interactions.
Prabir Dutta, Distinguished University Professor of chemistry; for notable contributions in understanding zeolite formation and applications of zeolites in photocatalysis and sensing.
Mark Failla, professor and interim chair of human sciences; for distinguished contributions to the field of nutritional biochemistry for developing valuable models elucidating bioavailability, metabolism and efficacy of health promoting dietary constituents.
John Finer, professor of horticulture and crop science and in the Center for Applied Plant Sciences; for distinguished contributions in the development of new and insightful approaches for increasing the efficiencies of gene transfer and expression analyses in crop plants.
H. Lisle Gibbs, professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology; for distinguished contributions to the field of evolutionary biology, particularly for the application of molecular ecology and genetics to problems in conservation biology.
Maura Gillison, professor of medical oncology, of epidemiology and of otolaryngology; for distinguished contributions to the fields of tumor virology, cancer biology and epidemiology, particularly in defining human papillomavirus as the etiologic agent for head and neck cancers.
Randy Hodson, professor of sociology; for distinguished contributions to the study of organizational effectiveness and dignity at work through the study of power and its abuses.
Michael Ibba, professor of microbiology and of molecular and cellular biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to the fields of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase biology, translational quality control and microbial physiology.
William Marras, professor of integrated systems engineering, of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and of orthopaedics; for distinguished contributions to understanding biomechanical causal pathways for low back disorders and developing methods to prevent occupational back injuries and quantify back disorders.
Haikady Nagaraja, professor and chair of biostatistics, of internal medicine and of statistics; for distinguished contributions to the field of statistics, particularly for methodologic work in the areas of order statistics and stochastic modeling.
Susan Olesik, professor and chair of chemistry and biochemistry; for distinguished contributions to the field of analytical chemistry as well as excellence in communicating science to the public.
Richard Pogge, professor and vice chair of astronomy; for distinguished contributions in astronomical instrumentation and toward understanding the nature and environment of active galactic nuclei.
Phillip Popovich, professor of neuroscience, of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, and of neurological surgery; for distinguished contributions to the field of neuroimmunology and spinal cord injury, particularly for defining the functional contributions of the immune system in CNS repair.
Zhenchao Qian, chair of sociology; for distinguished contributions to the field of population studies and sociology, particularly for the studies of marriage, cohabitation, interracial marriage and assortative mating patterns.
David Williams, dean of the College of Engineering; for distinguished contributions to metal and material sciences, particularly on electron microscopy, and to higher education, providing academic leadership at three major research universities.
Rama Yedavalli, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; for distinguished research and education contributions to the fields of robust and distributed control of mechanical and aerospace systems, and for service to multiple professional societies.
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.
Demographics and immigration are difficult topics to discuss.? {snip}
The following are three lies that have been repeated ad-nauseum about demographics, immigration and all things considered too taboo to contradict.
Whites are no longer the majority of births in the US
The New York Times?published this story on May 17, 2012 based upon the US Census estimates.? The US Census stated, ?a set of estimates showing that 50.4 percent of our nation?s population younger than age 1 were minorities as of July 1, 2011.?? Despite these claims, the US Census admits on its website, ?The US Census Bureau is not the primary source for data on births.? The primary source is the National Center For Health Statistics (NCHS).?? The NCHS did not provide the full data on 2011 births until October 3, 2012; nonetheless, the liberal media couldn?t wait to celebrate the multicultural future they helped to build.? Unfortunately, when the NCHS did provide the numbers in detail, they didn?t quite pan out the way?The New York Times?had hoped.
According to the?National Vital Statistics Report: Volume 61, number 5 which is entitled?Births: Preliminary Data for 2011: Total births for 2011, there were 3,953,593 births, of which 2,150,926 were by non-Hispanic whites.? That total equates to 54.4% of the population and according to any first grade math teacher that makes a majority.
In fact this total was a trend of the white share of births increasing since 2008 according to?previous NCHS Reports:
White
Black
Hispanic
2008
53.38%
14.70%
24.50%
2009
53.56%
14.75%
24.19%
2010
54.06%
14.72%
23.60%
2011
54.40%
14.74%
23.07%
?Americans favor legal immigration
?Americans dislike illegal immigration but love legal immigration and favor increasing the number of legal immigrants.? This has been something politicians have said as long as they?ve had to pander to diverse ethnic groups for votes and to big business for campaign contributions. {snip}
Gallup has been running polls on this issue since 1965.? According to Gallup, a majority or plurality of Americans have favored decreasing legal immigration in eight of the eleven years polled; the remaining three years had a plurality of Americans wanting immigration levels to stay the same.? Obviously, immigration is not on the forefront of the national conversation at all times; however, when national security or amnesty are brought into a major national debate, a majority of Americans favor decreasing legal immigration. {snip}
{snip}
We Need More Skilled Immigrants Who Create Jobs
There is nothing untrue with this statement; unfortunately, Democrats just lie when they say it.? In 2012, the Republicans proposed the STEM Act, which would abolish Diversity Visas, a program with the sole intent of diversifying the immigrant population of the United States.? With no skills, levels of education, or abilities with the English language taken into account, one recent winner of the Diversity Visa was Hersham Mohamed Hadayet, a terrorist who murdered two Israelis at Los Angeles International Airport.? The STEM ACT would have replaced the 55,000 diversity visa winners with visas to Ph.D.?s in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).? The bill failed the two-thirds majority in the House when 153?democrats voted against?the measure.? {snip}
Even as President Obama praised immigrants who started high-tech engineering and technology companies all throughout his campaign, his pandering would mean little for such jobs because the Democratic Party is indebted to the ethno-minority lobbies, very few of whom would be in such high-tech fields.? The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation,?released a study?on immigrant entrepreneurship, which broke down the top ten nations of origin for high-tech job creators:
India
33.2%
China
8.1%
United Kingdom
6.3%
Canada
4.2%
Germany
3.9%
Israel
3.5%
Russia
2.4%
South Korea
2.2%
Australia
2.0%
The Netherlands
2.0%
Total
67.8%
Democrats would have to trade uneducated minorities from the third world and replace them with a majority of highly educated Europeans, Canadians, Australians and Asians.? That dog won?t hunt for Democrats? electoral prospects.? {snip}
Original Article
?
Topics: Immigration, Liberal Myths, the Demographic Transformation
Fantasy football cheat sheets are created by various publications and also other analysis products for making confident they could make essentially the most away from a fantasy football draft. These fantasy soccer cheat sheets provide a compiled record of participant rankings in a solitary table for many placements. These types of fantasy football cheat sheets are often hard to discover and it really is not offered by quite a few sources. If it truly is readily available, they may be excellent assets to make use of when assessing the relative fantasy football worth of 1 situation vs. a different.
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Dreaming of having tight, six-pack abs that turn heads?
If so, exercising is a key component to your chiseled abs. Be careful though, overdoing it can cause injury, bulk up muscles you want looking lean, and might sideline plans to lose weight while improving muscle tone and strength. I often see people focusing too much on their abs. This will lead to your frustration! Avoid overworking the abs and use a smarter, more controlled routine for crafting the desired look you seek.
For those of you who are serious about developing six-pack abs or at least toning these muscles and improving appearance, there are some tips that can make all the difference in the world. Here?s some sound advice for toning the abs without going overboard and causing injury.
Create a Workout Plan That Utilizes Your Entire Body
Chances are the abs aren?t the only muscles that need a little attention. To make sure the whole body gets the workout it needs, start out by talking with your physician. Just get an initial checkup to make sure working out is advised and at what level serves you best. After that, consider working with a fitness trainer that can help craft a routine that incorporates some serious abdominal exercise. A trainer will help make sure that other muscles are covered during regular workouts, too.? This is very important because most people have very unbalanced workout routines.
Don?t Overdo Your Abs
While it?s hard to resist working out the abs every day when a tighter, trimmer, more muscled figure is desired, avoid doing this. Listen to your trainer and only do abdominal workouts about two to three times a week. When the abs are overworked, imbalances and injuries can occur.
Sticking to your workout schedule which develops your abs safely while also concentrating on your other major muscle groups is much more likely to produce the results that enhance your entire body. Your glutes, quadriceps, and lattisimus dorsi (back) will produces amazing results in comparison to your tiny abdominal musculature. You want more bang for your buck right?
Other Considerations
When strong, attractive abs are your end goal, it?s important to remember that exercise isn?t the only ingredient that goes into making your six-pack look. Diet or rather your food intake is also a crucial consideration for toning and trimming the body. Diets will fail you but supportive nutrition will last a lifetime!
Be sure to support exercise with a well-rounded, healthy nutritional approach. As muscles are being developed, they will need proper fuel. Supportive nutrition offers the right amount of calories which can also promote weight loss as abdominal exercises do their trick. Most people desire to lean their midsection out while not building bulk.
While it?s fine to target the abs as a gauge for the effectiveness of an overall workout routine, it?s not a good idea to overwork them. Avoid injury by playing it safe and only working out these muscles two to three times a week. No one needs to work out 7 days a week! You get stronger and rebuild your body when you incorporate rest days and focus on your supportive nutrition.
Here is your ab video that will build your core from the inside out. Remember all these exercises may not be appropriate for beginner and injury prone individuals. The best advice I can share with you is to take advantage of your FREE coaching session and learn more about how you can achieve serious and fast results.
About the Author
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If you?re ready, you can reach Mr. Spongberg at (415) 785-4826 or visit his website at www.PersonalTrainingInMarin.com where you can download your free copy of his special health and fitness report, The Truth About Losing Weight
BANGKOK (AP) ? The price of oil fell below $87 a barrel Wednesday after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its growth outlook for the U.S. and the 17 countries that use the euro currency.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 23 cents to $86.96 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 56 cents to finish at $87.18 a barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.
The Paris-based OECD said Tuesday that the combined economy of the 17 euro countries will contract by 0.4 percent this year, worse than May's 0.1 percent forecast. For 2013, it will contract a further 0.1 percent.
The OECD also downgraded its forecasts for the U.S. economy. Even if the White House and Congress strike a budget deal before Jan. 1 and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, the OECD said the U.S. will grow by only 2 percent next year, down from May's forecast of 2.6 percent.
Traders said weak economic growth would likely hurt demand for energy.
Michael Hewson, senior market analyst of CMC Markets, said the OECD report refocused concerns on "the toxic effect the European crisis continues to have on global growth prospects."
Brent crude, which is used to set prices for many international varieties of oil, fell 28 cents to $109.59 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
? Wholesale gasoline was down 0.3 cent at $2.692.
? Natural gas fell 2 cents to $3.749 per 1,000 cubic feet.
? Heating oil fell 0.2 cent to $3.023 a gallon.
___
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson
What do you get for the girl who has everything? A pig, obviously.?In celebration of Miley Cyrus' birthday -- she turned 20 on Friday, Nov. 23 -- the animal-rights organization PETA is sponsoring a pig, Nora, in the starlet's honor. Nora is a resident at Kindred Spirits Sanctuary, a farm in Ocala, Fla., that provides refuge to abused or neglected animals such as pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, horses, and donkeys.
PHOTOS: Miley's hair evolution
Citing a recent interview in which the actress/singer professed her love for swine, the organization explained that the gift had special significance beyond just novelty.
"Miley proved her affection for pigs when she retweeted a PETA action alert to her 10 million followers asking them to urge Walmart to ban its suppliers from cruelly confining pigs to tiny metal-barred gestation crates for months at a time," PETA said on its website.
PHOTOS: Miley's wildest moments
"And the singer's compassion for animals doesn't stop there. She lavishes love on her rescued dogs and consistently encourages people always to adopt and never buy. And she's striving to rid her diet of dairy products."
PHOTOS: Miley's raciest outfits
"PETA knew that sponsoring a rescued pig was the perfect birthday present for a young woman who spends so much time encouraging others to help animals," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman added, via E! News. "From promoting animal adoption to speaking up for cows who suffer on dairy farms, Miley never stops letting her millions of fans know what they can do to make the world a kinder place."
Motorola may face a new contender to the Droid RAZR MAXX HD's battery capacity crown. Lenovo's quietly introduced IdeaPhone P770 at least theoretically challenges its American counterpart by cramming a 3,500mAh lithium polymer battery into a thicker 11.9mm (0.47-inch) body. That's 200mAh more than Motorola's energy champion, and enough for the company to flaunt a 29-hour talk time. That's not quite as long as Motorola's claimed 32 hours, but Lenovo has done something its American rival seemingly can't -- launch a phone with Jelly Bean. Motorola might rest easier in knowing that the the P770 is an unrepentantly budget-focused behemoth, carrying a 4.5-inch qHD display, a (possibly MediaTek-made) 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of built-in storage, an 8GB microSD card and both 5-megapixel rear as well as VGA front cameras. For the ¥1,699 ($273) Lenovo is asking for an off-contract model in its native China, the P770 could still be the first pick of many local phone owners on long-haul trips. It's just a shame that the lack of 4G (and Lenovo's domestic-first mobile strategy) likely means we won't see a launch in the US.
Researchers study cry acoustics to determine risk for autismPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Blustein ablustein@wihri.org 401-681-2822 Women & Infants Hospital
Autism is a poorly understood family of related conditions. People with autism generally lack normal social interaction skills and engage in a variety of unusual and often characteristic behaviors, such as repetitive movements. While there is no specific medical treatment for autism, some success has been shown with early behavioral intervention.
Understanding the importance of early diagnosis, researchers at Women & Infants' Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk in collaboration with researchers at University of Pittsburgh have been studying the cry acoustics of six-month-old infants. Their research has recently been published in Autism Research.
"Because we can measure various aspects of babies' cries from the earliest days of life, it may be possible to use this technique to identify risk for neurological problems such as autism long before we can detect behavioral differences," said Stephen J. Sheinkopf, PhD, lead researcher, psychologist at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, and assistant professor (research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
The study examined ways in which infants at risk for autism produced cries as compared to the cries of low-risk infants. Recordings of babies' cries were excerpted from vocal and video recordings of six-month-old infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with low risk. Infants were considered to be at risk if they had an older sibling with a confirmed ASD diagnosis.
Cries were categorized as either pain related or non-pain related based on observations of the videotapes. At-risk infants produced pain related cries with higher and more variable fundamental frequency (commonly referred to as "pitch") as compared to low-risk infants. A small number of the at-risk infants were later diagnosed with an ASD at 36 months of age. The cries for these babies had among the highest fundamental frequency values and also differed in other acoustic characteristics.
"These findings demonstrate the potential of this approach for babies as young as six months of age," said Dr. Sheinkopf.
###
The Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk was established at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital in 2005. The mission of the Center is to stimulate outstanding interdisciplinary research, education and clinical services on the biological and social factors that determine the developmental outcome of at-risk children.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the eighth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened what was at the time the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health's Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
[ | 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.
Researchers study cry acoustics to determine risk for autismPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Blustein ablustein@wihri.org 401-681-2822 Women & Infants Hospital
Autism is a poorly understood family of related conditions. People with autism generally lack normal social interaction skills and engage in a variety of unusual and often characteristic behaviors, such as repetitive movements. While there is no specific medical treatment for autism, some success has been shown with early behavioral intervention.
Understanding the importance of early diagnosis, researchers at Women & Infants' Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk in collaboration with researchers at University of Pittsburgh have been studying the cry acoustics of six-month-old infants. Their research has recently been published in Autism Research.
"Because we can measure various aspects of babies' cries from the earliest days of life, it may be possible to use this technique to identify risk for neurological problems such as autism long before we can detect behavioral differences," said Stephen J. Sheinkopf, PhD, lead researcher, psychologist at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, and assistant professor (research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
The study examined ways in which infants at risk for autism produced cries as compared to the cries of low-risk infants. Recordings of babies' cries were excerpted from vocal and video recordings of six-month-old infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with low risk. Infants were considered to be at risk if they had an older sibling with a confirmed ASD diagnosis.
Cries were categorized as either pain related or non-pain related based on observations of the videotapes. At-risk infants produced pain related cries with higher and more variable fundamental frequency (commonly referred to as "pitch") as compared to low-risk infants. A small number of the at-risk infants were later diagnosed with an ASD at 36 months of age. The cries for these babies had among the highest fundamental frequency values and also differed in other acoustic characteristics.
"These findings demonstrate the potential of this approach for babies as young as six months of age," said Dr. Sheinkopf.
###
The Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk was established at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital in 2005. The mission of the Center is to stimulate outstanding interdisciplinary research, education and clinical services on the biological and social factors that determine the developmental outcome of at-risk children.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women's medicine, Women & Infants is the eighth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country with nearly 8,400 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened what was at the time the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.
New England's premier hospital for women and newborns, Women & Infants and Brown offer fellowship programs in gynecologic oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery, neonatal-perinatal medicine, pediatric and perinatal pathology, gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is home to the nation's only mother-baby perinatal psychiatric partial hospital, as well as the nation's only fellowship program in obstetric medicine.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group and the National Institutes of Health's Pelvic Floor Disorders Network.
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? A study published today in BioMed Central?s open access journal Skeletal Muscle reports of a new therapeutic technique to repair and rebuild muscle for sufferers of degenerative muscle disorders. The therapy brings together two existing techniques for muscle repair ? cell transplantation and tissue engineering ? specifically, mesoangioblast stem cells delivered via a hydrogel cell-carrier matrix.
A number of conditions can lead to considerable degeneration or loss of skeletal muscle and, since skeletal muscle has a limited capacity for self repair, therapies for muscle reconstruction or regeneration are often necessary. There are currently two ways to rebuild muscle: cell transplantation, whereby stem cells are injected directly into the muscle or arteries, and tissue engineering, whereby cells are embedded on a biomaterial scaffold to reconstruct a whole muscle.
Stem cell transplantation on its own can be limited by poor cell survival, but the authors hoped that the technique in combination with tissue engineering could increase the chances of efficacy for localized disorders of muscle.
The research team, comprised of researchers from institutions all over Europe, embedded Mab cells within a polyethylene glycol and fibrinogen (PF) hydrogel scaffold that has a proven track record in tissue and cardiac engineering. The Mab/PF grafts were then injected into mice, directly into the chronically inflamed and sclerotic regions typical of the advanced stages of muscular dystrophy. The team observed increased engraftment and survival of Mabs when injected with PF than with Mabs suspended in saline solution.
Five weeks after treatment, analyses revealed that Mabs had better integrated into regenerating muscle fibers when used with a PF carrier than when used without. In addition, there was better organization of muscle fibers when Mabs was used in combination with PF.
Lead author Cesare Gargioli commented, ?This study demonstrates a novel tissue engineering approach that is capable of producing enriched donor cell engraftment into skeletal muscle after an acute injury or in more-difficult-to-treat advanced-stage muscular dystrophy. Both Mabs and PF are currently undergoing separate clinical trials, but their combined use may increase efficacy for sufferers with more localized forms of muscular dystrophy or disorders that lead to damage of skeletal muscle, including hernias and sphincter disorders.?
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited.
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Journal Reference:
Claudia Fuoco CF, Maria L Salvatori MLS, Antonella Biondo AB, Keren Shapira-Schweitzer KS-S, Sabrina Santoleri SS, Stefania Antonini SA, Sergio Bernardini SB, Francesco S Tedesco FST, Stefano M Cannata SMC, Dror Seliktar DS, Giulio Cossu GC and Cesare Gargioli CG. Injectable PEG-fibrinogen hydrogel adjuvant improves survival and differentiation of transplanted mesoangioblasts in acute and chronic skeletal muscle degeneration. Skeletal Muscle, 2012 (in press) [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Marketing is heading in the direction of the Internet and will be around for years to come. These useful tips can help you to earn more profit.
Personal attention to customer complaints can be the difference between getting a bad reputation or resolving a conflict peacefully and positively. You might be tempted, as a busy business owner, to outsource customer service, but you will build much better customer relations if you take care of them yourself. If an unsatisfied customer emails you about a purchase gone wrong, personally reply to the email, and try to help them out.
Learn how to employ HTML tags if you want the best optimization results. These tags are used to indicate key content on the page and makes it appear bold. Search engines will often judge your website based on what terms your HTML tags emphasize. Emphasize, then, your most important keywords.
Offer customized versions of your website to people in other countries. Try to create many variations of the same site in different languages. You will gain global customers and get more traffic at your sites. If customers can easily read your site, they are a lot more likely to stay and buy your products.
It is essential when owning a business that you spend your advertising dollars in the right ways. It is not prudent for your overhead to pay needless money if it does not benefit your business. It is important to make sure you get what you are paying for.
You might want to package similar products together and then sell them together at a discounted price. Advertisements for sales or promotions must be detailed and contain the exact conditions of the offer.
Encouraging your customer to get emotionally invested in your product/service can be a powerful Internet marketing tactic. Get your reader to think about how much easier their life would be when they use your product. Your advertising copy should read as if the customer is enjoying the special features and benefits of the product, even as they are reading the ad.
Personalized descriptions full of emotion and praise are the best for your products as it will cause potential customers to form a sense of attachment to an item and be more likely to purchase it. Doing so will help to create brand recognition. Use words such as ?relief? or ?security? or other fitting descriptions.
Have areas on the website where your customers can converse with each other. Allowing your customers the ability to communicate with each other on your site makes them enjoy visiting you more. People enjoy being a part of a group and this will give them a good reason to keep visiting your site.
Building trust with your clients and keeping that going is one of the most important things that you can do. When you design promotional material, only include information that can be backed up with facts. Testimonials from happy clients, test results and endorsements from experts in the field should all be presented.
Employ a lot of descriptions on the site. Creative adjectives help to create a sexy aura on your site. Try to come up with some clever wording and you can impress your visitors. Your customers will want to come back just for your content!
Titles are important when it comes to respectability. If you are the owner of a business you should be the CEO. If you don?t have a company, give yourself a creative job title that sounds powerful and authoritative. When signing emails and article, put your name and title in them.
In order to have success in Internet marketing, you need to get the most out of your website. Try various color schemes until you find one that looks great with your products. Just keep in mind that you want your website to appeal to a person?s eye so they do want stay longer on your site.
The only positive way to look at this high rate of failure in Internet businesses is that it leaves a spot open for you to fill. Use these techniques to ensure you fill a need in Internet marketing.
If you need to build a more lucrative Multilevel marketing business, browse the Internet Business Marketing article at Best Networking Blog
If you are making plans to get a pony, have you made adequate budgetary provisions? Don?t commit the blunder of assuming that your expenses are over after you have paid for the horse. A pony might be the largest item on your agenda of costs, but in no way is it the sole item.
Before you set out to get a pony, you ought to have identified, quantified and made allowance for all items that are a part of purchasing, riding and caring for your pony. These include accommodation for your horse, feeding and watering him, medical care, riding gear and riding clothes for yourself. All of these items need to be attended to before it?s possible to even sit in the saddle for the first time. Making your budgetary provisions means making decisions about several aspects of horse ownership. You want to decide on the type of riding you wish to do, the quality and style of riding gear you want to use, the type and quality of riding clothes you want to wear.
If your financial position does not make allowances for new gear, you might want to visit pony shows, farm sales and used gear shops to buy less expensive tack which has been well kept. If you do buy new stuff, do so as far as possible from outlets that are within easy reach, to enable replacement of gear that doesn?t fit or is other wise unsuited for your specific purposes. Naturally, you need to make sure that refunds or replacements are permitted before purchasing. If you?re completely certain of your requirements, you can buy from online outlets. There are numerous great purchase options online, but you need to be very sure of yourself, because returning goods bought online could be a very pricey business. Whether online or off line, buy only once you?ve made certain of the seller?s refund or replacement policies.
The most basic of gear you absolutely have to buy are a halter and lead rope, 2 items essential to bring your horse home to begin with. Note that if you?re purchasing a young horse, you want to get yourself a suitable halter and keep replacing it as the pony grows older. If you buy a mature pony, you need a halter for adult horses you can use for a long time. Nylon halters are not very pricey and even leather ones that aren?t intricate show pieces won?t cost too much.
For riding the pony, you will require a saddle, blankets or pads, a bit, a bridle and one or perhaps 2 sets of reins depending what type kind of riding interests you. Tack comes in two broad categories: western and English. Both western and English tack items are used for the same purposes, but differ broadly in size, shape and appearance. Usually, English tack is lighter and smaller, the saddles are minimalist, short of frills. They don?t have horns, deep seats or high forks. The stirrups don?t come with wide fenders. Comparatively, western saddles are heavy, with distinct horns, deep seats and tall, rigid cantles at the rear. Stirrup fenders and saddle skirts might be impressively carved or may come with gold accents or silver ones. Both English and western style tack come in many variations, and thus it is very important that if you are planning to participate in specific disciplines you research the right kind of tack to acquire.
Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers visit HorseHorses
Posted by: admin on November 24, 2012 Under: debt relief in |
Getting rid of debt in Alaska is virtually the same as any other state in the nation. If you are looking for debt relief choices, you can get in touch with a debt management business who can help you in examining your financial standing, total debt and payment capabilities.
National Debt Relief can provide you with debt relief services in the State of Alaska. All you have to do is give us a call and you can get professional help that will lead you to rise above your financial woes. You can also send us your information through the short form on this page and we will have someone get in touch with you.
What we can do is to help you come up with a debt relief strategy that you can afford. We will present that to the creditor/collector on your behalf to come up with a reduced payment plan. The purpose is to have a certain percentage of your debt forgiven as long as you stick to the new payment term.
Apart from that, National Debt Relief is also here to help train you of your consumer rights based on the federal laws enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state laws of Alaska. Despite being unable to pay off your debts, your collectors do not have the right to abuse, threaten or harass you and the people around you.
Please notice that anything you find on this page is just meant to be a source of debt collection facts in Alaska. It is not meant nor should it be treated as a legal advice.
Debt Collection Laws in Alaska
The State of Alaska follows the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as enforced by the FTC. They also came up with state laws that can further protect consumers under their authority.
Based on Chapter 1, Article 3 (Sections 210 and 220) of the Alaska Administrative Code, the state laws forbid the subsequent debt collection practices:
Debt collectors are forbidden from calling your workplace unless the company and the debtor allows it. A collector is forbidden from getting in touch with friends, employers (former and present), co-workers, neighbors, and other family members and talk about a debtor?s financial obligations. They are only permitted to do so to get advice on how to contact the debtor and they should correctly and truthfully introduce themselves. Unless a property has been used for security, the collector has no legal claims over a debtor?s property and should not threaten to repossess it. If the debtor is represented by a lawyer, the collector should quit communicating with them and deal with the representative instead. Any type of misrepresentation of the collector?s identity is strictly forbidden (e.g. lawyer, government officer). The same holds true for the details of the debt like the sum. The collector should not falsely tell the debtor of the rights to file a response or dispute to their demands. They are also forbidden from deceiving the debtor to signing any confession of judgement. The collector is prohibited from adding any fees and costs on top of the debt originally owed by the debtor. In addition to these provisions, the law in Alaska also says in sections 45.50.471 ? 561 that unfair trade practices and any violation can be sued in the state courts. If the courts rule in favor of the debtor, they can receive 3 times more than the true financial damages incurred by the untowardly actions of the collector. It is either that or $500, depending on which amount is higher. On top of this, you will also be paid for any legal costs and attorney fees spent on the legal action.
To file a charge, you can get in touch with the Attorney General of the State of Alaska. Their office will use your charge ? along with other consumers, to file a suit against breaking debt collectors and their various agencies.
There are three methods for you to file a charge.
By submitting charge form online. By sending a formal written charge that can be sent to the office of the Attorney General at the Alaska Department of Law (Civil Division), Commercial and Fair Business Division. Here are the different addresses that you can use: 1031 W. 4th Avenue, Suite 200, Anchorage, AK 99501-1994; (tel) 907-269-5200 PO Box. 110300, Juneau, AK 99811-0300; (tel) 907-465-3600 100 Cushman Street, Suite 400, Fairbanks, AK 99701-4679;n (tel) 907-451-2811 By calling the nearest Attorney General?s office near you through the individual numbers provided in number 2. Debtors are also encouraged to submit your complaints with the FTC. They supply the Congress with a yearlyl report with regards to debt collection and also fair credit reporting practices and violations. To send your complaints, you can use this LINK.
For more information about the Fair Debt Collection Practices in Alaska, click on this LINK.
Statute of Limitations in Alaska
Alaska also has a list of statute of limitations (SOL) that protect debtors from old debts that were not acted upon by either the creditor or the collector representing them. Once the debts age long enough to surpass the statute of limitations, both the creditor and collector cannot go after the debtor or file a legal action against them.
The time limit for debts in Alaska is six (6) years for oral and written contracts. For promissory notes and open-ended accounts, the limitation is just up to three (3) years. The SOL countdown begins from the day the debtor defaults payment. This does not mean the count begins on your last payment but the date after you have not paid. For instance, if your payment is every 1st of the month and your last payment was on 2/1/2012, the SOL will begin on 3/2/2012. If this is a written contract, you will not be covered by the SOL until
3/3/2018. What Happens When the Debt Goes to Court
If a creditor or collector goes to court as a last resort to get the debtor to pay their debts, one of the first things to check is the statute of limitations. You need to present evidence of the age of the account. This can be in the form of the cardholder agreement and the letter from the collector with the name of the original creditor, the quantity of the debt and the date you stopped payments.
Should your debt be uncovered by the SOL, the state laws of Alaska enable the debtor to get the professional services of a debt settlement business. They can represent the debtor to help them reduce the outstanding balance of the debt to an amount that is satisfactory to both debtor and creditor.
However, if the creditor or the debtor cannot reach an understanding, they might be compelled to go to court. As the debtor, you can present in court evidence of your limited financial situation. The Alaska Courts will require at least 3 months of bank statements to show the debtors claim if being financially unable to pursue paying the debts. If the court rules a debtor as being ?judgement proof?, this means any opinion against them will be rendered useless to the creditor since there is nothing of value that can be taken as compensation for the debt.
When the court finds the debtor completely responsible for the debt, the creditor will be given judgement. They will be permitted to gather valuable assets and properties that belong to the debtor as payment for the debt owed. However, there are limits to what they are permitted to gather.
Here is a list of assets and properties that are exempted from being collected:
$54,000 equity of a house property (whether separately or co-owned) $2,800 worth of personal things that the debtor needs to make a living (e.g. publications, gear, etc) $350 (weekly) or $1,400 (monthly) of the debtors wages. If the debtor is the single earner in the family they are entitled to either $550 (weekly) or $2,200 (monthly) of their wages. $3,000 worth of personal things like clothes, publications, home goods, family portraits, heirlooms and musical instruments $1,000 worth of jewelry $3,000 of a vehicle?s equity $1,000 for pets owned Burial plot Recoveries for any personal injury or wrongful death (same value as the wage garnishment exemption) Profits for any lost, destroyed or damaged property exempted from group Health helps Building materials Insurance benefits for/from the following: Impairment $10,000 worth of contract or annuity loan from a Life insurance Life insurance profits for policies wherein the beneficiary is the debtor?s spouse or any dependent (same value as the wage garnishment exemption) Benefits from Fraternal benefit society Qualified ERISA benefits (should have been deposited at least 120 days before bankruptcy filing) Medical, hospital or surgical benefits Pensions of teachers, judicial and public employees (benefits building up only) Other pensions with the same value as the wage garnishment exemption (for payments being received) Public benefits from the following: Adult assistance (blind, handicapped and aged) AFDC Longevity bonus for Alaska residents Compensation for crime victims National public benefits General Aid assistance 45% from dividends of permanent funds Tuition credits from a contract for college tuition payment Worker?s compensation Compensation for unemployment Company property (if involved in a venture) Alimony (same value as wage garnishment exemption) Child support from a collection agency License for Liquor Alaska Fisheries limited entry permit There are also national exemptions that you may need to look into. See the FTC debt collection FAQ section.
Alaska is also one of the states implementing the community property law. However, couples have the option to sign up for it or not. The community property law means any property or asset incurred after marriage is co-owned by the couple. If one of them declares bankruptcy, properties and assets possessed by the couple can be taken by creditors/collectors.
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.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Affiliate promotion is the brand-new generation of web marketing, permitting online companies to generate brand-new revenues and bring in business in an effective and simple way. If you are interested in affiliate promotion, you are invited to ...
I?ve been involved with online camera and filmmaking discussions for nearly a decade now and in that time I have seen one of the most important shifts in the history of filmmaking for the beginning filmmaker and professional alike: The Digital Revolution. We?re coming to the completion of that digital shift ? technology is maturing and these new tools are now widely available. But now what? What is the future?
Technology can only progress so far. It will get better but not at this astounding pace we?ve seen in the last 5 years. Now we are entering a perfect storm of social propaganda that threatens to enslave us in a never ending [camera] consumer cycle and it has nothing to do making films or making films better.
For 95% of video applications, what is currently available on the market and affordable to most people is ?good enough?. ?For the remainder 5% of projects there are a myriad of options available for rent.?And yet I keep reading comments like ?I?ve been asking for a camera that does x, y, z? or ?This camera is crap because it can?t do 60p? or ?Z Camera company is finally listening to their customers.?
Bullshit.?No camera is holding you back.
You are holding yourself back.
The digital revolution has ushered in an era of artistic freedom. But freedom is scary. Freedom means we have to take responsibility for our success and our failure. This freedom also means your audience now has the same tools as you and you no longer belong to a special class with?privileged?access. ?Freedom requires you to compete, which means you have to be good. You have to bring something unique to the table. That?s downright terrifying.
The reaction is to build up imaginary walls ? Walls to separate you as a REAL Filmmaker?from the hobbyist. Walls that reinforce your?superiority?over the riff raff.
And this is exactly what?s happening with camera discussions and flame wars.?And the camera manufacturers love it.
They want your money.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool capitalist. I have no moral issue with companies making money. They build the tools I use to tell my stories and without that exchange for profit I would not be able to do what I want to do. It?s not a zero-sum game where they win and we loose ? it?s a win-win. Filmmakers and Manufacturers have different objectives and our relationship is mutually beneficial.
The problem emerges when we as filmmakers loose sight of our objective (to tell stories) and play into imaginary walls vanity and class. The camera manufacturers have product to sell and once everybody has a camera, they need to convince us to buy another one to keep the revenue coming in. That?s when they appeal to our need for vanity, helping us build up our imaginary walls. The result is a constant state of dissatisfaction for sole purpose of selling cameras to replace the perfectly functional cameras we already own.
?I want it now. Give it to me now, or I will scream and scream until I am sick!!!!?
That hissy-fit quote above came from Philip Bloom?s run down on the new Sony F5 and F55 cameras. In context of the article it is clear he is being facetious. The F5 and F55 are studio grade cameras made for professional productions and he?s playing on the juvenile attitude for comedic effect.
But the childish sentiment is not uncommon in the online arena where aspiring (and inexperienced) filmmakers are trying?desperately?to crawl up the social ladder.
If Hollywood is about the manufacturing of dreams, then the industry of filmmaking is the wide glossy-eyed?pursuit?of those dreams. As filmmakers, we?re all looking for the golden ticket in.
For some, the camera has become that golden ticket. The camera has become a symbol of filmmaker?s status than a tool of creation. Higher end cameras are?perceived?as a luxury item catering to the filmmaker who has a ?refined taste? or ?great eye?.
It is more than just brand loyalty. With the product life cycle of cameras getting shorter and shorter (about 2-3 years before the community deems them ?obsolete? even though they?ll function much longer) maintaining the imaginary walls as a filmmaker means you must have access to the latest camera offerings. You can?t be seen with last year?s model. But the cost of cinema-level cameras keeps wanna-be-filmmakers from ?buying-in? to the?prestigious?class.
And it?s here where the dangers of the camera flame wars rears their ugly head. Ownership and Experience are not prerequisites to discussion anymore, all you need to at least waft a scent of filmmaking authority is sound like you know something.
Fanboys and Speculation
It happens like clockwork. Every time a new camera is announced, even before official press releases are sent out, blogs get filled up with comments from people either in eager excitement or trashing the camera. These debates almost always devolve into flame wars ? any discussion on the grey areas quickly posterized into black and white ironically by people who shout the loudest for 12-bit color space.
Almost all ?camera news? prior to a release is pure speculation.?In the fast paced socially connected online world, information is a valued commodity and being perceived as ?first? with any sort of news is key, even if that news is wishful thinking and/or completely made up.
Speculation is so prominent that a cottage industry has sprung up around it. There are sites?that contain the word ?rumors? for almost every hotly anticipated brand.
Of course fanboys eat it up. Fanboys have identified themselves as lords of the brand and superior to the ignorant masses. Having information on any new camera (even if it?s not their preferred brand) gives them a sense of authority that they can lull over their fellow internet commenter. Being able to say, ?This camera sucks, you should wait until my favorite company releases their new camera? makes them feel as though they are speaking with a voice of experience even though that experience does not come from actually making films or making anything useful to society.
But what value to REAL filmmaker does speculation have? ? Absolutely nothing.
What serious filmmaker is going to base a hefty buying decision on what amounts to nothing more than gossip?
Why should an aspiring filmmakers put off producing a film in order to wait for a new camera to arrive that?s only talked about by people that have never seen it and never used it? Speculation may be ?fun? but it?s taking your energy away from what really matters.
None of this Crap has to do with Filmmaking
Filmmaking begins with a camera, that fact cannot be skirted around. The Camera defines the art form, but the camera is not defining element of a film.
Having the same type of camera that was used on?The Hobbit?for example does not mean you have the same screenwriters, the same visionary director, celebrity actors, story rights, production designers, locations, lighting specialists, prop designers, stunt coordinators, editors, digital artists, location managers, producers, office staff, marketing representatives and distribution deals that are the REAL reason The Hobbit will be successful.
It?s belabored point and so tiresomely cliche: A camera will not make you a better filmmaker. It will not make a great movie.
Thanks to technology, the camera is starting to become the?least important element on a set: trumped by things like a fantastic story and extraordinarily talented cast and crew.
And that?s the terrifying fact, especially to fan boys.
Confessions of an Addict
I have a lot of gear.
I have a garage full of grip stuff and shelves of cameras. I?ve reinvested most of my money working professionally back into my collection. Do I need it? Yes, it makes my job easier. But they also make my job harder. More gear, more choices, more problems ? more space to store it all.
Running Filmmaker IQ, I?ve been exposed to a lot of the propaganda that camera manufacturers and camera fanboys throw my way. I?ve even been a?participant?of it. I get excited over new cameras just like everyone else and I admit that I have felt that my now two-and-a-half year old Canon 5D MkII is some how an inferior camera. A camera that has make me films that ahve won me awards and had RED users complementing me the image quality.
But?occasionally, when I look at a well-lit piece of video I shot with my?five-year-old Sony EX1 camera, I take pause and marvel at the clarity. This really does look good. ?When I compared my 5D MkII with the MkIII last April at NAB, I saw no?discernible?difference between the two that jumped out at me despite what some on the Internet were telling me.
I know there are limitations of these cameras ? they?re not perfect. But?I can take out the credit card and order any camera I want. I even make deals with myself ? if I reach a certain income, I?ll reward myself with this lens or that light or that camera. But for all that gear, it?s nothing without a story to tell, without great actors, a great story and a great soundtrack. What?s the point of credit card debt if there?s nothing to shoot?
And perhaps my eyes are starting to fail me as I get older. But as my age adds up, my heart gets wiser. I connect to films differently now. It?s not about the clarity of 4K projection or the?pristine?nature of the image, it?s about whether I care after the first 10 minutes.
Go out and make your stories. Gear is important, there?s no getting around that. But never loose sight on the real reason why people watch films in the first place ? for the story.
Poznan, Poland-based startup Zapstreak has just brought its AirPlay-style media streaming solution for Android out of beta, making the SDK it provides available to developers worldwide after a six-month extended testing period. The company's tech allows Android developers to build music, video or picture-streaming right into their app. But will new options change Zapstreak's chances at success?
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Public release date: 29-Nov-2012
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