DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? In an open letter Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the African Union urged the U.N. to take immediate military action in northern Mali, which was seized by al-Qaida-linked rebels earlier this year.
Yayi Boni, the president of Benin who is also head of the African Union, said any reticence on the part of the U.N. will be interpreted as a sign of weakness by the terrorists now operating in Mali. The AU is waiting for the U.N. to sign off on a military plan to take back the occupied territory, and the Security Council is expected to discuss it in coming days.
In a report to the Security Council late Wednesday, Ban said the AU plan "needs to be developed further" because fundamental questions on how the force will be led, trained and equipped. Ban acknowledged that with each day, al-Qaida-linked fighters were becoming further entrenched in northern Mali, but he cautioned that a botched military operation could result in human rights abuses.
The sprawling African nation of Mali, once an example of a stable democracy, fell apart in March following a coup by junior officers. In the uncertainty that ensued, rebels including at least three groups with ties to al-Qaida, grabbed control of the nation's distant north. The Islamists now control an area the size of France or Texas, an enormous triangle of land that includes borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger.
Two weeks ago, the African Union asked the U.N. to endorse a military intervention to free northern Mali, calling for 3,300 African soldiers to be deployed for one year. A U.S.-based counterterrorism official who saw the military plan said it was "amateurish" and had "huge, gaping holes." The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
Boni, in his letter, said Africa was counting on the U.N. to take decisive action.
"I need to tell you with how much impatience the African continent is awaiting a strong message from the international community regarding the resolution of the crisis in Mali. ... What we need to avoid is the impression that we are lacking in resolve in the face of these determined terrorists," he said.
The most feared group in northern Mali is al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, al-Qaida's North African branch, which is holding at least seven French hostages, including a 61-year-old man kidnapped last week.
On Thursday, SITE Intelligence published a transcript of a recently released interview with AQIM leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, in which he urges Malians to reject any foreign intervention in their country. He warned French President Francois Hollande that he was "digging the graves" of the French hostages by pushing for an intervention.
Also on Thursday, Islamists meted out the latest Shariah punishment in northern city of Timbuktu. Six young men and women were each given 100 lashes for having talked to each other on city streets, witnesses said.
___
Associated Press writer Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou, Benin and Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.
A fake ?copyright notice? ?has been making the rounds in Facebook posts this week. ?The notice attempts to restrict the use of the posting member?s ?profile information. ?It also encourages other Facebook users to post the notice to their profile. ?Quite simply, the notice is a hoax.
The copyright notice meme first made the rounds in Spring 2012, and it returned this month. ?Its return prompted Facebook to publish a ?fact check? bulletin debunking the hoax by stating: ?There is a rumor circulating that Facebook is making a change related to ownership of users? information or the content they post to the site. ?This is false.?
It should come as no surprise that the notice has no legal effect. ?The use of Facebook is subject to Facebook?s terms of service. ?A mere post can create no legal obligation. ?The notice does not create or modify any contract between the posting member and any other user or Facebook itself.
One version of the bogus legal disclaimer is:
In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, graphics, comics, paintings, photos, and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For any and all commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times!
(Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. ?This will place them under protection of copyright laws. ?By the present communiqu?, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook?s direction or control. ?The content of this profile is private and confidential information. ?The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute).
Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. ?If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates.
Readers who are familiar with intellectual property law will quickly spot the post?s meaningless references to nonexistent laws the ?Berner Convention? and ?UCC 11-308-308?. ?Whether the person who created the original post intended errors like this to serve as a signal, or whether it was merely a lack of knowledge, many Facebook users have fallen for the ruse.
Research Explores Link Between Morality and Creativity in Driving Innovation.
Beijing, China, November 30, 2012.John Wiley Sons, Inc., today announced that Dr. Chang Liu, professor of psychology at Nanjing Normal University, has won the first annual Wiley-IPCAS prize for excellence in Chinese psychological science. The prize, valued at $5000, is awarded by Wiley in partnership with the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPCAS), China's national psychology research institute.
"For years I have sought to understand the psychological and biological mechanisms behind human creativity," said Dr. Liu. "The destiny of a nation depends on using creativity as a driver of innovation. My team is exploring the relationship between creativity and morality and we suggest people with higher moral standards are also more creative."
As part of this research the team began to explore that sudden innovative moment when a discovery is made, the "A-ha!" moment. To explore this moment, the study, published in Acta Psychologica Sinica, used ancient Chinese riddles and analysed brain patterns during the "A-ha!" moment as the riddles were solved.
"We explored the biological mechanics behind a sudden moment of realisation and for the first time we are discounting the influence of memory. Instead we found that insight is dominated by the right hemisphere, which can be represented by neural activity," said Dr. Liu.
Dr. Liu will receive his award at the 15th National Academic Congress of Psychology, which runs from 30 November to 2 December at the University of Guangzhou. The prize is awarded to the best article written by Chinese or China-based researchers publishing in PsyCh Journal or Acta Psychologica Sinica each year. PsyCh Journal is China's first international psychology journal and is published by Wiley in partnership with IPCAS.
"At IPCAS it is our mission to strive to understand the essence of the human mind by exploring the biological base and the environmental influence of mind and behaviour, and we are proud to recognise Dr. Liu's award-winning paper as a prime example of this focus," said Xiaolan Fu, Director of IPCAS. "This is a very exciting time for psychology in China and this new annual award is an opportunity to showcase the very best of Chinese psychological research."
"This award-winning study is an example of the ground-breaking psychological research taking place across China," said Philip Carpenter, Vice President Managing Director, Social Sciences and Humanities, Wiley. "We are proud to help celebrate this research and our partnership with IPCAS underlines our commitment to bringing Chinese research to an international readership."
The award winning paper is published in Acta Psychologica Sinica. Media wishing to receive a copy should contact sciencenewsroom@wiley.com (Please note the paper is in Mandarin.)
About the Author Dr. Chang Liu is a professor of psychology at the School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University. Dr. Liu has won many accolades for his research and was awarded Special Government Allowances of the State Council since 2011. He is the vice president of Physiological Psychology Division of the Chinese Psychological Society, and has served as a member of the editorial board of Chinese Psychological Science and Advances in Psychological Science.
About the Paper Shen, W.B., Liu, C., Zhang, X.J., Chen, Y.L. "The Time Course and Hemispheric Effect of 'Insight' in Three-character Chinese Riddles Task: An ERP Study", Acta Psychologica Sinica, 43(3), 229-240 URL: http://pub.chinasciencejournal.com/article/downArticle.action?articleid=26167issn=0439-755X
About Wiley Founded in 1807, John Wiley Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
It's an existential question most of us have probably pondered at some point: is space infinite? It's tricky to answer because there's not just one kind of infinity to consider. Even if the universe goes on forever, it may not be infinitely large. It could be bounded like the surface of the Earth, allowing you to travel indefinitely without ever finding an edge.
In this animation, we try to determine the size of space, and whether it could be never-ending. Although infinity is easy to imagine mathematically, in the real world it's harder to pin down. Perhaps the universe is just really big but has a finite size. And if it has an upwards limit, what about the opposite: can it contain things that are infinitely small? Is there a smallest possible length?
If you enjoyed this video, check out our previous animations that tackle, for example, the true nature of reality, or why there's no such thing as nothing.
ZURICH (AP) -Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic head the list of candidates for selection as forwards in a FIFPro World XI.
Neymar and Uruguay teammates Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are also among 15 nominees for three places in the world lineup.
Contenders from South America include Radamel Falcao and Sergio Aguero.
Manchester United teammates Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney, and Aguero's Manchester City colleague Mario Balotelli represent the Premier League.
Africa has Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o in contention. France's Karim Benzema and Mario Gomez of Germany complete the list.
Candidates for other positions were previously announced.
The FIFPro World XI, chosen by 50,000 members of the global players' union, will be announced on Jan. 7 at the FIFA Ballon D'Or gala in Zurich.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsStephen Dunn / Getty Images
Bye, Becks
PST: What a run. After Galaxy signed soccer superstar in 2007, everything changed for league ? more media exposure, franchise expansion and better players. A retrospective.
Canadian enthusiasts are preparing to celebrate a museum re-opening by re-enacting a battle from a war which saw Welsh troops set fire to the White House.
A specialist battle re-enactment group from Hamilton, Canada, is preparing a military tattoo-style demonstration to mark the launch of the Museum of the Welch Regiment?s new home at Cardiff Castle next year.
The Military Living History Group specialises in re-enacting battles of the 41st Regiment, which became the Welch Regiment and is now known as the Royal Welsh.
The regiment is highly regarded in Canada because it helped defend the country from American invasion in 1812. The USA had attacked Canada, then a British colony, because the UK refused to allow the Americans to trade with continental Europe.
In response, Welsh-born 41st Regiment soldiers attacked Washington, setting fire to the White House and taking control of Detroit. They became the only soldiers ever to fly a foreign flag above an American city.
The re-enactment group is run by historian Dr Ray Hobbs, who was born in Pontypridd but has lived in Canada for 40 years.
He said: ?We?re bringing over our muskets but also a superb fife and drum band which has won awards.?
Dr Hobbs has been liaising with Welch Regiment museum curator John Dart and Swansea-based historian Jon Latimer, whose book 1812: War With America is currently nominated for the prestigious George Washington Book Prize.
CEDAR RAPIDS ? Haley Lorenzen is ?a different player? this season, according to Bill McTaggart.
?She?s stronger,? said the Iowa City High girls? basketball coach. ?And her footwork is so much better.?
Rebounding, though ? she could always rebound.
Lorenzen spearheaded the Little Hawks? superior boardwork in an 82-67 Mississippi Valley Conference win over Cedar Rapids Washington on Tuesday at Washington High School.
Class 5A third-ranked City High outrebounded the Warriors, 53-29, and improved to 3-0 overall, 1-0 in the MVC.
?It?s something we work on a lot in practice,? said Lorenzen, a 6-foot-3 junior who is getting looks from some high Division-I programs. ?We focus on boxing out and crashing. And we do have some size.?
Lorenzen posted 23 points and 12 rebounds as the Little Hawks claimed the victory in a physical contest. The teams combined for 47 fouls (30 by Washington).
Guards Kiera Washpun and Mickey Hansche added 17 and 16 points apiece.
?We?ve got a ways to go, but we can cause some matchup problems,? McTaggart said. ?We?ve got an inside game and an outside game.?
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Little Hawks claimed the lead in the second period and held control the rest of the way. It was 40-31 when Lorenzen picked up her third foul with 3:08 left in the half, but City played the Warriors (0-1, 0-1) even until intermission without her.
City High had been through two games while this was Washington?s opener.
?It might have made a difference,? Washington Coach Frank Howell said. ?After the first game or two, you have a little inventory on where you are.
?I thought we would rebound a little better than we did tonight. We need to go after the ball a little harder. There were times we had the ball ripped out of our hands.?
Lorenzen?s short left-handed hook gave the Little Hawks a 15-point lead through the third quarter, and the Warriors could get no closer than 10. Fouling at the end wasn?t much of an option; each of the four starters had four personals.
All-stater Dani Franklin had 18 points for Washington. So did Abby Herb.
City High hosts Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday; Washington is at Dubuque Senior.
IOWA CITY HIGH 82, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 67
At C.R. Washington
IOWA CITY HIGH (82): Kiera Washpun 5-10 6-10 17, Mickey Hansche 4-12 7-9 16, Courtney Joens 2-6 5-8 9, Haley Lorenzen 10-16 3-5 23, Aliyah Gustafson 5-11 2-4 12, Sam Blowers 0-3 1-2 1, Sara Blowers 1-5 0-0 2, Brie Hightshoe 0-0 0-0 0, Deah Moore 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 28-62 24-38 82.
CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON (67): Abby Herb 7-12 4-4 18, Aleena Hobbs 2-10 3-5 8, Colby Bjornsen 1-3 0-0 3, Madison Kramer 3-6 0-0 7, Dani Franklin?6-13 5-7 18, Devin Glenski 3-7 1-2 9, Sophie Malcolm 1-2 0-0 2, Callie Cook 1-2 0-0 2, M.J. Kamin 0-0 0-0 0, Sophie Ochs 0-1 0-0 0, Jasmyne Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 67.
Halftime: City High 45, Washington 37. 3-point goals: City High 2-11 (Washpun 1-1, Hansche 1-6, Joens 0-4), Washington 6-20 (Hobbs 1-4, Bjornsen 1-3, Kramer 1-4, Franklin 1-2, Glenski 2-6, Malcolm 0-1). Team fouls: City High 17, Washington 30. Fouled out: Lorenzen, Malcolm. Rebounds: City High 53 (Lorenzen 12), Washington 29 (Franklin 6).?Assists: City High 13 (Hansche 5), Washington 15 (Kramer 5).?Steals: City High 11 (Hansche 4), Washington 10 (Hobbs 4). Turnovers: City High 14, Washington 14.
By ranking your website on the very first page of search engine results, you are tapping into a huge number of people looking for what exactly you offer. A website owner must be able to find a good agency that can give him a website that has a fast interface and a website that can be opened via the different devices used by people in order to access the internet. Try not too over burden your visitors by adding too much information and excessive small text. There is the saying that a colourful life is better, so why not put a little life into your site? So what are you waiting for?
When somebody reads your article and likes it, he may click the link to visit your website. Today, websites are playing a very crucial role in determining the success of a company. The toolbox of every website designer should include knowledge of the concepts related to engaging and immersive environments that lead to memorable experiences. Website visitors are impressed by modern, simplistic and fresh looking websites that are easy to navigate. Most organizations know that an effective web design will grow your customer base and increase your overall sales.
With the influx of smartphones and tablets, it is no surprised that more users are more likely to log on to websites with an iPhone instead of an iMac anymore. Do web designs for popular bloggers, online stores, crafters, musicians, small businesses and films. They are well versed with existing trends and phenomena about to change. Put a little color in your website too. There is another version of JPEG images, known as progressive JPEG.
It is advisable though that you will maintain the same layout for all these pages. You?d like your purchaser get started on the top menu still left corner and end in the foot perfect corner. I would not personally consider rented office space for my web design business unless I had employees or a customer base that expected to be able to come to my office frequently. I have also used Notepad++ in the past. Electronics, cell phones, and stereo equipment are all big sellers.
Small business bookkeeping is actually not as scary as it may sound. web design is no exception. It is good to know that websites that feature only the services and products may not have profitable results compared to their competitors. If you also dream the same, it is good to have a professional web design to enhance your business. More website traffic means more opportunities.
It pays to invest though. Unfortunately, this requires customers to work so new businesses will need to jumpstart their advertising in order to find customers. The image designer will need to create images that fit with the information and the overall layout. You can lower or make higher the quality of JPEG image for your use. This will guarantee the success of any website.
It?s an entire area of research for web developers, and people have made quite the solid profit from researching into web marketing technologies. The entire sorts will need to flow from just one to another one. Write content that you think your readers want to see. Deciding to hire a freelancer is one thing. JavaScript is also used to add interactivity to develop pages that can be read by people.
These developers create dynamic websites which are fully optimized, well efficient and interactive websites. Before you start to design your own puzzle, it is better to start with some online research and find a website that can help you the most in making every occasion even more special that you can ever imagine. The debate is finally over about which type of navigation menu users prefer. In the last year, we saw that the Internet swiftly transcended to mobile phones as well, apart from the normal computer (desktops), laptops, and PDAs. Through this program, the clients can decide the basic content and layout of the website.
Undoubtedly, they have ample options to choose from on the web. Everything will need to work together, just like a website created by one person. Look At This
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? PTB and Dectris have developed a vacuum-compatible X-ray detector that allows the size of low-contrast nano-objects to be determined.
Microvesicles are smallest cell elements which are present in all body fluids and are different, depending on whether a person is healthy or sick. This could contribute to detecting numerous diseases, such as, e.g., carcinomas, at an early stage, and to treating them more efficiently. The problem is that the diameter of the relevant microvesicles generally lies below 100 nm, which makes them technically detectable, but their exact size and concentration hardly possible to determine. A new device is now to provide the metrological basis for these promising biomarkers. The vacuum-compatible version of the Pilatus hybrid pixel detector for X-rays, which was developed by Dectris in cooperation with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), now allows also the size of nano-particles -- which, to date, have been difficult to characterize -- to be determined using small-angle X-ray scattering at low photon energies. The detector can also be used for other X-ray-based techniques.
What makes this detector unique is the size of its total surface (17 cm ? 18 cm) as well as the fact that it can be operated in vacuum. Operating the detector in vacuum drastically increases the sensitivity of the measuring facility, since the soft X-rays, which are scattered on the sample, are not absorbed by air molecules on their way towards the detector. This device now allows, for example, experiments for size determination of nanoparticles to be carried out with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) also at the absorption edges of the light elements calcium, sulphur, phosphor or silicon at photon energies below 5 keV with high dynamics and good spatial resolution.
For a few months, the new Pilatus X-ray detector has been used for some of PTB's own research projects. At the synchrotron radiation source BESSY II in Berlin-Adlershof, where PTB has been operating its own laboratory for 15 years, scientists are now using the new detector, for example, to establish the -- urgently needed -- metrological basis for the size determination of microvesicles. A project carried out within the scope of the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) and with the significant participation of the Amsterdam Medical Center in the Netherlands is to contribute decisively to fully exploiting the potential of microvesicles for the early diagnosis of diseases.
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The hungry caterpillar: Beware your enemy's enemy's enemyPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Bryan Ghosh bghosh@plos.org 44-122-344-2837 Public Library of Science
When herbivores such as caterpillars feed, plants may "call for help" by emitting volatiles, which can indirectly help defend the plants. The volatiles recruit parasitoids that infect, consume and kill the herbivores, to the benefit of the plant. However, such induced plant odours can also be detected by other organisms. A new study published November 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology shows how secondary parasitoids ('hyperparasitoids') can take advantage of these plant signals to identify parasitoid-infected caterpillars, and duly infect the primary parasitoid, to the detriment of the original plant.
Plant volatiles have long been considered to mediate this mutualistic relationship between plants and herbivores' natural enemies such as parasitoids. When a caterpillar feeds, the parasitoids are able to use the emitted volatiles to locate the otherwise inconspicuous caterpillar, releasing the plant from its attacker. This principle has made its way into sustainable agriculture by using natural enemies such as parasitoids to control herbivorous pests on agricultural crops. However, the largest group of enemies of parasitoids, hyperparasitoids, have so far been left out of studies in this area. This is because very little is known about the cues that hyperparasitoids use to locate their parasitoid hosts.
The new study, by a team of Dutch researchers led by Erik Poelman, shows that hyperparasitoids exploit the different plant odours that are released when a plant is fed upon by a parasitoid-infected caterpillar.
"In controlled laboratory assays as well as under field conditions, hyperparasitoids were offered plant odours coming from two types of plant: ones damaged by healthy caterpillars, and ones damaged by parasitoid-infected caterpillars. We found that they preferentially detected odours of plants damaged by infected caterpillars," explained Dr Poelman. "We were excited by these results as they indicate that hyperparasitoids rely on a network of interactions among plant, herbivore and parasitoids to locate their host".
To show how this complex network of interactions can reliably provide hyperparasitoids with information on the presence of their parasitoid host, the researchers collected saliva of the caterpillars, as they noticed the colour of saliva in healthy, non-host caterpillars was different to that of caterpillars hosting a parasitoid. Factors in caterpillar saliva play an important role in provoking the release of odours from plants, and a change in saliva composition may then alter the cocktail of odours emitted by the plant.
Indeed, Dr Poelman's team found that plant odours induced by the saliva of parasitized caterpillars was more attractive to hyperparasitoids than plant odours induced by the saliva of healthy caterpillars. Consequently, plant odours may actually reduce the benefit of attracting parasitoids to a plant.
"Our results demonstrate that the effects of herbivore-induced plant volatiles should be placed in a community-wide perspective that includes species at the fourth trophic level, to improve our understanding of the ecological functions of volatile release by plants," said Dr Poelman. In addition to the ecological aspects of their work, the authors also stress that their findings are important for developing Integrated Pest Management strategies, in which crops are manipulated to control insect pests by using parasitoids.
Although parasitoids are effective biological control agents, this study suggests that using plant odours to optimize biological control of pests may have side effects that could actually reduce the benefit of pest control, said Dr Poelman.
###
Funding: This study was supported by the Strategic Fund of the Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS) and the Earth and Life Sciences Council of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO-ALW) by a Veni Grant 863.10.012 (to EHP), Vici Grant 865.03.002 (to MD) and Ecogenomics Grant 844.10.005 (to FZ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Poelman EH, Bruinsma M, Zhu F, Weldegergis BT, Boursault AE, et al. (2012) Hyperparasitoids Use Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles to Locate Their Parasitoid Host. PLoS Biol 10(11): e1001435. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001435
CONTACT:
Dr. Erik Poelman
Laboratorium voor Entomologie
Wageningen University
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-317-485433
erik.poelman@wur.nl
[ | 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.
The hungry caterpillar: Beware your enemy's enemy's enemyPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Bryan Ghosh bghosh@plos.org 44-122-344-2837 Public Library of Science
When herbivores such as caterpillars feed, plants may "call for help" by emitting volatiles, which can indirectly help defend the plants. The volatiles recruit parasitoids that infect, consume and kill the herbivores, to the benefit of the plant. However, such induced plant odours can also be detected by other organisms. A new study published November 27 in the open access journal PLOS Biology shows how secondary parasitoids ('hyperparasitoids') can take advantage of these plant signals to identify parasitoid-infected caterpillars, and duly infect the primary parasitoid, to the detriment of the original plant.
Plant volatiles have long been considered to mediate this mutualistic relationship between plants and herbivores' natural enemies such as parasitoids. When a caterpillar feeds, the parasitoids are able to use the emitted volatiles to locate the otherwise inconspicuous caterpillar, releasing the plant from its attacker. This principle has made its way into sustainable agriculture by using natural enemies such as parasitoids to control herbivorous pests on agricultural crops. However, the largest group of enemies of parasitoids, hyperparasitoids, have so far been left out of studies in this area. This is because very little is known about the cues that hyperparasitoids use to locate their parasitoid hosts.
The new study, by a team of Dutch researchers led by Erik Poelman, shows that hyperparasitoids exploit the different plant odours that are released when a plant is fed upon by a parasitoid-infected caterpillar.
"In controlled laboratory assays as well as under field conditions, hyperparasitoids were offered plant odours coming from two types of plant: ones damaged by healthy caterpillars, and ones damaged by parasitoid-infected caterpillars. We found that they preferentially detected odours of plants damaged by infected caterpillars," explained Dr Poelman. "We were excited by these results as they indicate that hyperparasitoids rely on a network of interactions among plant, herbivore and parasitoids to locate their host".
To show how this complex network of interactions can reliably provide hyperparasitoids with information on the presence of their parasitoid host, the researchers collected saliva of the caterpillars, as they noticed the colour of saliva in healthy, non-host caterpillars was different to that of caterpillars hosting a parasitoid. Factors in caterpillar saliva play an important role in provoking the release of odours from plants, and a change in saliva composition may then alter the cocktail of odours emitted by the plant.
Indeed, Dr Poelman's team found that plant odours induced by the saliva of parasitized caterpillars was more attractive to hyperparasitoids than plant odours induced by the saliva of healthy caterpillars. Consequently, plant odours may actually reduce the benefit of attracting parasitoids to a plant.
"Our results demonstrate that the effects of herbivore-induced plant volatiles should be placed in a community-wide perspective that includes species at the fourth trophic level, to improve our understanding of the ecological functions of volatile release by plants," said Dr Poelman. In addition to the ecological aspects of their work, the authors also stress that their findings are important for developing Integrated Pest Management strategies, in which crops are manipulated to control insect pests by using parasitoids.
Although parasitoids are effective biological control agents, this study suggests that using plant odours to optimize biological control of pests may have side effects that could actually reduce the benefit of pest control, said Dr Poelman.
###
Funding: This study was supported by the Strategic Fund of the Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS) and the Earth and Life Sciences Council of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO-ALW) by a Veni Grant 863.10.012 (to EHP), Vici Grant 865.03.002 (to MD) and Ecogenomics Grant 844.10.005 (to FZ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Poelman EH, Bruinsma M, Zhu F, Weldegergis BT, Boursault AE, et al. (2012) Hyperparasitoids Use Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles to Locate Their Parasitoid Host. PLoS Biol 10(11): e1001435. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001435
CONTACT:
Dr. Erik Poelman
Laboratorium voor Entomologie
Wageningen University
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-317-485433
erik.poelman@wur.nl
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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Forced treatment for people with mental illness has had a long and abusive history, both here in the United States and throughout the world. No other medical specialty has the rights psychiatry and psychology do to take away a person?s freedom in order to help ?treat? that person.
Historically, the profession has suffered from abusing this right ? so much so that reform laws in the 1970s and 1980s took the profession?s right away from them to confine people against their will. Such forced treatment now requires a judge?s signature.
But over time, that judicial oversight ? which is supposed to be the check in our checks-and-balance system ? has largely become a rubber stamp to whatever the doctor thinks is best. The patient?s voice once again threatens to become silenced, now under the guise of ?assisted outpatient treatment? (just a modern, different term for forced treatment).
This double standard needs to end. If we don?t require forced treatment for cancer patients who could be cured by chemotherapy, there?s little justification for keeping it around for mental illness.
Charles H. Kellner, MD unintentionally provides a perfect example of this double-standard in this article about why he believes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT, also known as shock therapy) shouldn?t be held to the same standards as FDA-approved drugs or other medical devices:
Yes, ECT has adverse effects, including memory loss for some recent events, but all medical procedures for life-threatening diseases have adverse effects and risks. Severe depression is every bit as lethal as cancer or heart disease. It is inappropriate to allow public opinion to determine medical practice for a psychiatric illness; this would never happen for an equally serious nonpsychiatric illness.
And yet, strangely enough, if someone were dying from cancer or heart disease, they have an absolute right to refuse medical treatment for their ailment. So why is it that people with mental disorders can have that similar right taken away from them?
People who?ve just been told they have cancer are often not in their ?right? minds. Many people never recover from that information. Some rally, undergo treatment, and live a long and happy life. Others feel like they?ve been given a death sentence, resign themselves to the disease, and refuse medical treatment.
As long as they do it in the quiet of their home, nobody seems to much care.
Not so with mental disorders. No matter what the concern ? depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, heck, even ADHD ? you could be forced into treatment against your will if a doctor thinks it may help you. Technically, he or she must also be concerned about your willingness to live, but isn?t an oncologist also concerned about their patient?s will to live?
I?ve wrestled with this double standard all my professional life. Early in my career, I believed professionals had the right to force a person to undergo treatment. I rationalized this position ? as most psychiatrists and psychologists do ? arguing to myself that since many mental disorders can cloud our judgment, it seems like something that may be appropriate from time to time.
I was never fully comfortable with this idea, though, because it seemed completely antithetical to the basic human right of freedom. Shouldn?t freedom override the right to treat someone, especially against their will?
After talking with hundreds of people over the years ? patients, clients, survivors, people in recovery, advocates, and even colleagues who voluntarily underwent psychiatric treatment procedures such as ECT ? I?ve come to a different point of view. (Luckily, it appears ECT treatment is in decline and may someday go the way of the dodo bird.)
Forced treatment is wrong. Just as no doctor would ever force someone to undergo cancer treatment against their will, I can no longer back the rationalizations that justify forcing a fellow human being to undergo treatment for their mental health concern without their consent.
As a society, we?ve shown time and time again that we cannot devise a system that won?t be abused or used in ways that it was never intended. Judges simply don?t work as check for forced treatment, because they don?t have any reasonable basis on which to actually rest their judgment in the short time they?re given to make a determination.
The power to force treatment ? whether through the old-style commitment laws or the new-style ?assisted outpatient treatment? laws ? cannot be trusted to others to wield compassionately or as an option of last resort.
What should be good enough for the rest of medicine should be good enough for mental health concerns. If an oncologist can?t force a cancer patient to undergo life-saving chemotherapy, there?s little that can justify our use of this type of power in psychiatry and mental health.
It?s a double-standard in medicine that has gone on long enough, and in modern times, has outlived its purpose ? if it ever even had one.
Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
Like this author? Catch up on other posts by John M. Grohol, PsyD (or subscribe to their feed).
????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 26 Nov 2012 ????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference Grohol, J. (2012). The Double Standard of Forced Treatment. Psych Central. Retrieved on November 26, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/11/26/the-double-standard-of-forced-treatment/
(Reuters) - India's patents appeal board has dismissed British drugmaker AstraZeneca's petition challenging an earlier ruling that refused patent protection for a cancer-fighting drug, in the latest blow for Big Pharma in the country.
The Indian patents office in 2007 refused patent protection to AstraZeneca's quinazoline molecule, citing lack of invention. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) on Monday upheld the refusal.
The decision is also a setback for struggling AstraZeneca, which is battling to turn itself around as key drugs lose patent protection.
Global drug companies suffered a high-profile reversal in March when India granted the first ever compulsory license to domestic drugmaker Natco Pharma to sell cheap copies of Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar. Bayer has appealed the order.
And early this month IPAB revoked a six-year-old Indian patent granted to Roche's hepatitis C drug Pegasys, citing lack of evidence that the drug was any better than existing treatments.
Multinational drug manufacturers regard India's $13 billion drug market as a huge opportunity, but are wary of what they see as lax protection for intellectual property in a country where generic medicines account for more than 90 percent of sales.
Indian generic companies, which do not need to plough money into future research, can produce drugs at a fraction of the cost of originator firms like Roche or Bayer.
Natco and another domestic drugmaker, G. M. Pharma, had opposed the initial patent application for AstraZeneca quinazoline derivative. The London-listed company filed a review petition, which India's patent office dismissed in 2011.
A challenge to a review petition does not come under the purview of the IPAB, and even on merit the petition has failed, S. Majumdar & Co, the counsel for Natco Pharma, said in a statement.
AstraZeneca could not immediately be reached for a comment by Reuters. The company has the option to take its case to India's Supreme Court.
(Reporting by Kaustubh Kulkarni in MUMBAI; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Eurozone finance ministers agreed to give Greece the next installment of its bailout loan, totaling about $57.8 billion. Greece will soon enter its sixth year of recession.
By Don Melvin and Raf Casert,?Associated Press / November 26, 2012
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday.
Virginia Mayo/AP
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Greece is on its way to getting the next installment of its much-needed bailout loans after finance ministers from the 17 European Union countries that use the euro agreed on a program to reduce the country's debt.
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The first disbursement will take place Dec. 13, said Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurogroup of finance ministers, which made the decision early Tuesday.
Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, welcomed the agreement.
"It will certainly reduce the uncertainty and strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece," Draghi said.
This was the third time in the last two weeks that finance ministers from the eurozone had tried to hammer out a deal on the next installment of bailout money ? some ?44.6 billion ($57.8 billion).
The so-called troika of the European Central Bank, IMF and the European Commission, which is the 27-country EU's executive arm, have twice agreed to bail out Greece, pledging a total of ?240 billion in rescue loans ? of which the country has received about ?150 billion so far. In return for its bailout loans, Greece has had to impose several rounds of austerity measures and submit its economy to scrutiny.
Greece is predicted to enter its sixth year of recession shortly, and there had been fears that it might be forced to drop out of the eurozone, destabilizing other countries in the process.
The main aim of the bailout program is to right Greece's economy and get it to a point where it can independently raise money on the debt markets. It has been clear for months that the country is far from achieving that goal, and the latest talks were about trying to get Greece back on the path to sustainability.
Juncker said the agreement includes:
? A plan to reduce Greece's debt level to 124 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020 and below 110 percent by 2022. The original goal had been 120 percent of GDP in 2020.
?A lowering by 100 basis points of the interest rate charged to Greece by other eurozone member states ? excluding those that are also receiving bailouts.
?A 15-year extension of the maturities of loans from other countries and the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and a deferral of interest payments by Greece on EFSF loans by 10 years.
"This is not just about money," Juncker said. "It is the promise of a better future for the Greek people and for the euro area as a whole."
The head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, also said the agreement was significant.
"We wanted to make sure that Greece was back on track," Lagarde said. "If you put it all together it is a significant amount."
Greek officials welcomed the agreement.
"Of course it is positive that the blockage has been removed from the loan installments," said Notis Mitarakis, the country's deputy development minister, early Tuesday, on the private Skai channel in Greece. "But I am unaware of the details, so we'll have to look at them."
The channel reported that Greece would get ?31.5 billion ($40.84 billion) straight away and the rest in separate installments in January, February and March, but it cited no sources.
The political agreement reached Tuesday will have to be submitted to national parliaments in some countries. After that, the finance ministers plan to hold another meeting, either in person or by telephone, to give final approval to the disbursement.
Pan Pylas in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.
A couple of months ago, Occupy Wall Street quietly published its own version of a personal finance manifesto.
In a nutshell, "The Debt Resistor's Operations Manual" is 122 pages of some of the dodgiest financial advice we've ever seen.
Though there are a few decent pieces of information, it's all lost as soon as they start encouraging cash-strapped consumers to lie, cheat, and steal their way to a debt-free lifestyle.
In one particular passage, Occupy hashes out several steps to living credit-free. We ran them by credit expert John Ulzheimer, President of Consumer Education at?SmartCredit.com and blogger for?Mint.com.?
And he found it all quite amusing.
Below, we list a few parts of Occupy's strategy, along with Ulzheimer's reaction.
Occupy Wall Street:? For housing utilities, if you have a roommate, you can ask them to put the accounts in their name. If you live alone, ask a relative or friend.
John Ulzheimer: And as far as turning your family into lenders, family members don't want to lose money any more than lenders want to lose money. They'll know after the first "default" that you're not worthy of borrowing money. So technically, you're still being assessed, just by family members. Further, nothing tears a family apart faster than lending money to other family members. ?Suggesting that people borrow money from family members is step one toward family disharmony.
OWS: Opt for services that don?t require credit checks. If a company requires a check, try to talk them out of it. Build up an old-fashioned trusting relationship by spending time?talking with the person. They may choose to bypass the?credit check.?
JU: The problem is that most lenders and service providers pre-determine their underwriting standards so talking to someone or building the trust of one person in a large bank is meaningless because the decision to let you have the service has already been made by someone else you'll never meet in a city you'll never visit.
OWS: Create your own credit report: put together a portfolio showing you are a trustworthy person (reference letters,?job history, life narrative).
JU: That's as worthless as the paper it's written on. ?Lenders and service providers don't consider self made credit reports because of the chances that they're not honest...The only way to reject the system, other than ceremonially, is to never, ever borrow money for any reason from any company. Otherwise, you're in the system. You may not like it, but you're in the system.
OWS: Build networks of mutual support in your community so you?rely less on outside services.
JU: I'm sorry but I'm laughing reading this. ?There are over 100,000,000 people in this country (part of the 99%) that have great credit and don't have any issues getting loans or services at great rates and terms. Again, like their letter to the CFPB, it appears that whomever is in charge of OWS's "credit strategy" doesn't understand credit. And you can quote me on that one.
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I?m so glad you are joining me the next 5 days, as I share about a ?No Apologizing Holiday Season? and a menu with 5 holiday recipes! Today I?m sharing an easy appetizer recipe.
But let?s first start with the home. The purpose of the home?is it only for our own comfort, or is it also for sharing with others, imperfections and all?
The holidays can be a wonderful time for many, in opening our homes for parties, meals, and traditions.
But can we do it without apologizing for something?
I?m sorry for ? The last 21 years of marriage, my husband and I have opened our home to others. Our first humble home was 1100 square feet, but we still managed to invite families over for dinner. The adults would sit in the small dining room and we?d be creative with the little kids. I was thankful that we even had a home ? a place where we could share the common life together with friends and family, usually around a very simple meal.
Then we moved to a slightly bigger home, but it still had a small dining room, and other reasons why we shouldn?t entertain.
But, we did it anyway.
Our house is larger now, but along the way, I?ve learned to look beyond the size of my home and the things that embarrassed me.
Embarrassed me? Seriously, that was very small thinking.
If friends are truly our friends, they are not coming to our home to judge or criticize, or ? compare. If they are, then they are the ones with the problem.
The crazy excuses in our heads We have to get over the excuses that stop us from experiencing joy and fellowship with others.
-The house needs painting. -The carpet is stained. -The furniture is old and falling apart. -I?m a horrible cook.
When we think this way, hospitality actually becomes more about us, and less about others. Less about the real reasons we should be sharing our home.
Once we get that through our heads, we experience freedom. I promise, it works!
Focus on what you love Take what you LOVE about your home, and expound on that. Focus on what you LOVE about your home.
For me, I love our intimate, cozy living room. This is the place where our guests gather for appetizers.
It?s very small, but you can see that it?s intimate and people have a good time.
Easy appetizer If you?re unsure about an appetizer to make, stick with what you know. One of the best appetizers ever includes:
-Fresh fruit. -A hunk of delicious cheese. -Crispy, salty crackers
It?s really the easy!
Familiarity will boost your confidence.
Another festive holiday recipe for appetizers is to roast red grapes. Red grapes are an easy fruit to keep on hand, and it only takes few minutes to pop in the oven, and to serve with goat cheese and warm crostini.
Don?t forget to finely chop rosemary and sprinkle on top. Tasty and your guests will love you!
Or, you can always ask your guests to bring the appetizer!
What apologies do you make for your home?
Ingredients
Seedless red grapes
Fresh rosemary
Olive Oil
Kosher salt & black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Carefully toss the grapes with olive oil, salt, pepper and small amount of chopped rosemary. Roast for 10 minutes.
Serve warm on crostini spread with a light layer of goat cheese. Garnish with rosemary twigs.
Preparation time: 3 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Tomorrow on RE? No Apologizing Holiday Season ? There Will Be Culinary Mistakes, and a delicious salad to serve to your guests!
Top 2 photos by David Gibb Photography.
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November 25, 2012 at 10:59 pm | In Holidays, West Seattle Christmas lights, West Seattle news | 8 Comments
The Sunday sunshine was a boon to many who wanted to get their Christmas lights up ? including the small army of family and friends working on West Seattle?s biggest and brightest display at the Menashe family?s home in the 5600 block of Beach Drive. They started work at 8 this morning, Josh Menashe told us, and by the time we stopped by about five hours later, they?d made a lot of progress. We got to meet two exuberant helpers ? two of Jack and Linda Menashe?s grandchildren, Jacob Menashe?s daughters Sophia and McKenna, who were riding in the cherry picker:
The girls helped show us some of the new/newer decorations waiting in the yard ? including candy canes taller than they are:
Here?s the biggest of the light-laden stars waiting to be put up around the property:
And while some of the shrubbery already was decked with bulbs, more lights ? in boxes and tubs ? waited to be added to the mix:
The Menashes will continue working on their display throughout the week, and they?re expecting to officially turn the lights on at 7 pm this Saturday (December 1st) ? if you want to be there, that?ll give you (and us!) time after the West Seattle Junction Christmas Tree Lighting celebration, (5 pm Saturday). Another date to note ? the evening of December 15th, Santa will be at the house for photos, as a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank.
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Forced treatment for people with mental illness has had a long and abusive history, both here in the United States and throughout the world. No other medical specialty has the rights psychiatry and psychology do to take away a person?s freedom in order to help ?treat? that person.
Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
