The college evaluation, application and admissions process has many layers. One layer in the process is finding a the college that is tailored to fit you.
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Many corporations, government organizations, charitable organizations, private investors and alumni are willing to invest in colleges and universities that can attract individuals like you who will eventually contribute to educational system revenue, future research, products, or become the employees and leaders they need. As such, one of your objectives is to learn about the market (potential colleges and universities) that may wish to admit you because you address their interests.
Aside from basic college information (e.g., size, majors, campus life, location, and cost), pursue answers to the following questions.
1. What are the objectives of their Admissions Committees? 2. What do their recent freshman class profiles look like? 3. What are the colleges' recent histories regarding meeting their admissions distribution objectives (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity, home of origin, skills, academic/athletic interests, etc.)? 4. Are admissions profiles as expected or somewhat off-target recently? If misaligned, will future strategies to bring their statistics back in line possibly affect your opportunities? 5. What are their recent matriculation yield trends (of all students offered letters of acceptance, the percentage of students that matriculate)? 6. Do any of their Departments have specific recruitment needs and objectives?
Academics.
Fine and Performance Arts.
Athletics.
7. Is major public funding of scholastic arts funding favoring their programs? 8. How are their teams and individual athletes performing at national and international levels? 9. How are the media trends (famous and infamous) concerning the institution and their graduates? 10. Are you likely to enhance their 4-year graduation rates?
There are generic qualities portrayed by all competitive candidates. However, as stated by Nancy Griesemer, DC College Admissions Examiner, ?...every college sets its own priorities within the framework of individual admissions philosophies.? As such, find as much as is possible about the institutions and their priorities. These data will help locate institutions that are tailored to fit, as well as find the schools that need students like you.
Twitter has agreed to hand over data that could help identify the authors of a stream of anti-Semitic messages which caused a national scandal in France.
The messages - posted under the hashtag unbonjuif, which means "a good Jew" in French - flooded the microblogging site last October, causing a backlash amid Jewish organisations.
The hashtag became the third most popular among French Twitter users and sparked what French newspaper Le Monde described as a "competition of anti-Semitic jokes".
In April, the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) made a complaint which was subsequently forwarded to Paris's public prosecutor, accusing Twitter president and director Dick Costolo of being "responsible for racial defamation and publicly inciting to discrimination, hate or violence towards Jews".
A French court stated in January that Twitter?must help identify?the authors of anti-Semitic tweets. UEJF subsequently sued the Californian company for $50 million after it reportedly failed to comply with the ruling.
The union also accused Twitter of lying when it announced in October that it would delete the messages. The tweets are still available to any user who is not based in France, according to UEJF.
Twitter said that the transmission of data would "allow the identification of some authors" of anti-Semitic tweets to the French court, and thus end the dispute with UEJF. Both parties agreed to "actively continue to fight against racism and anti-Semitism in compliance with their respective national legislation".?
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I'm wondering how useful this technology would be for large-scale energy storage. Say you have a wind farm, and you want to grab all the power when the wind is blowing, and store it for later.
400 charge/discharge cycles seems like each battery might last a year. Then the battery is swapped out for a new one. How expensive is that part?
How much will it cost to take a wood battery and recover the sodium and tin? Would it be cheaper to dispose of the sodium and just build a new battery? How do you dispose of sodium anyway... mix it with chlorine to make salt, or just dump it in the ocean, or bury it, or what?
Hmm. I did a Google search on "refine sodium" and it looks as if, much like aluminum, you use an electric process to purify sodium. If so, then refining sodium can be viewed as another way to use excess power. Perhaps it would make sense to have a facility to recycle old sodium ion batteries co-located with a major wind farm or other large-scale variable power source?
And how does this compare with other well-understood technologies for energy storage? For example: using excess power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Solar Impulse chairman Bertrand Piccard flashes a thumbs-up sign as he greets pilot Andre Borschberg after the plane's landing Saturday night at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The two men are wearing yellow scarves to pay tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of "The Little Prince."
The Swiss-built Solar Impulse airplane ended its two-month-long, solar-powered trip across America with a nail-biter of a flight from Washington to New York on Saturday.
"Maybe if I didn't have 10 cameras pointed at me, I would cry," Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots for the coast-to-coast journey, said just before the 11:09 p.m. ET landing at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The extra drama came from the discovery in the trip's final hours that the ultra-light airplane had suffered an 8-foot-long (2.5-meter-long) tear in the fabric on the lower side of the left wing. Andre Borschberg, who was filling the pilot's seat for the Washington-to-New York segment of the "Across America" journey, noticed a balance issue with the wings on Saturday afternoon ? and pictures taken by a helicopter flying nearby confirmed the damage.
Neither Borschberg nor the plane were thought to be in danger; nevertheless, the Solar Impulse team did everything it could to reduce the risk. That meant considering all the options for ending the flight, including the possibility of bailing out over the Atlantic. It meant passing up a Statue of Liberty photo op and working out a deal with air traffic controllers to land the plane three hours earlier than originally planned. And it meant changing the landing procedure.
Borschberg brought the airplane in low and slow, without air braking, to reduce the stress on the wing. The spindly craft seemed to float to a stop on the runway ? prompting cheers at JFK as well as at Solar Impulse's mission control center in Switzerland. Moments later, a stepladder was set up so that Piccard could greet Borschberg in the cockpit. And despite what he said, Piccard could be seen wiping at his eyes after the two men hugged.
"This was supposed to be the shortest and easiest leg," Piccard said later. "It has been the most difficult one."
Early takeoff, late landing The "Across America" odyssey began on May 3 with a flight from Moffett Field, near San Francisco, to Phoenix, and continued with hops to Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Washington. Piccard and Borschberg, co-founders of the Solar Impulse venture, traded turns piloting the single-seat plane. For most of those flights, the plane had to leave early and wait until late to land, so as to reduce the potential for disrupting commercial air traffic.
Solar Impulse
A tear in the fabric on the underside of the Solar Impulse airplane's wing forced a slightly early end to the final flight of its two-month-long "Across America" odyssey.
Saturday's trip began with a 4:46 a.m. ET takeoff from Washington's Dulles International Airport. The solar-powered plane's top speed is around 45 mph (72 kilometers per hour), but even at that speed, there were plenty of hours to spare for the 228-mile (336-kilometer) trip.
While Borschberg flew in circles off the coast of New Jersey, waiting for clearance to land, he participated in media interviews and a video hangout with such luminaries as James Cameron, the famed film director and ocean explorer; and Erik Lindbergh, the grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh.
Before the wing's damage came to light, Borschberg also had time to reflect on the meaning of Solar Impulse's odyssey: Swiss corporate backers have put up ?90 million ($115 million) over the past decade for the project, which is aimed at demonstrating technologies ranging from solar-power generation and storage to ultra-light composite materials.
Ultra-light, and powered by light Solar Impulse weighs as much as an automobile, but has the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Scooter-type electric motors drive the single-seat plane's propellers. All of the power comes from almost 12,000 solar cells installed on its wings and horizontal stabilizer. Excess electricity is stored in 800 pounds' (363 kilograms') worth of batteries, so the plane can theoretically fly day and night.
"We have an airplane which has almost unlimited endurance," Borschberg told NBC News. "This airplane could have flown directly from California to New York, so it?s fully sustainable in terms of energy. The limiting factor is the pilot."
Piccard is already in the record books for the first-ever nonstop balloon flight around the world in 1999 (which he flew along with Brian Jones). He and Borschberg have been flying the Solar Impulse prototype in Europe and Africa over the past couple of years, but with the end of the "Across America" trip, this particular prototype will be retired. A more advanced solar-powered plane is being built for an even more ambitious series of flights around the world in 2015.
Clean tech on the ground Piccard has said that solar-powered planes could conceivably go commercial within five years or so, but Borschberg emphasized the potential applications for clean-energy technologies on the ground.
"All the partners who are involved with this project developed technologies not for the aviation world, but for their own customers," Borschberg told NBC News. "The customers are maybe homebuilding, maybe the automobile industry, maybe appliances. That?s what they are looking for, and that?s what?s slowly taking place. So if part of the legacy could be to show a way how to increase the efficiency of what we do and reduce the energy consumption but keeping the same quality of life, that would be a wonderful achievement for the project."
Cameron, who is as proud of his ocean adventures as he is of his blockbuster films "Titanic" and "Avatar," paid tribute to Borschberg and Piccard during Saturday's Google+ Hangout.
"What Solar Impulse stands for is renewable energy ? not just electric aircraft, but use of solar power in general, and this is something that?s going to be fundamental and critical to the survival of the human race," Cameron said. "You've got people that are standing for something, committing themselves, putting their personal asses on the line to make a point for the betterment of human civilization, and I greatly applaud that."
The consciousness-raising is due to continue after Saturday night's landing: Borschberg and Piccard will participate in a NASDAQ opening-bell ceremony and are to meet with U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon on Tuesday.
More about the Solar Impulse odyssey:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the NBC News Science Facebook page, following@b0yle on Twitter and adding +Alan Boyle to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Mika is a Bernese Mountain Dog with a mission: watching video of puppies on his human's iPad.
"Mika watching Bernese Mountain puppies on my iPad, complete with Steve Jobs' bio in the background (though don't know how much he appreciates the narrative). He actually climbed up when he heard the puppy vocals."
If you've got a Dog Days nominee to share, let us know via our feedback page (and please remember that the photo has to have some sort of connection to Apple and its products -- don't just send us a photo of your canine buddy). For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link.
Thanks to TUAW reader dwbernergirl for this sweet photo of an Apple fandog!
Muscle power: Bats power take-off using recycled energyPublic release date: 5-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clara Howcroft Ferreira sebiology@gmail.com 44-078-504-41445 Society for Experimental Biology
Bats are uniquely able to stretch and store energy in their bicep and tricep tendons during take-off and climbing flight, giving them an extra power boost. A new study on fruitbats, to be presented at the meeting of the Society for Experimental in Valencia on July 4, used cutting edge technology to image how these small mammals move through the air.
Dr Nicolai Konow (Brown University, USA), who led the research said: "Energy is stored in the triceps tendon, which is used to power elbow extension in essence, elbow extension happens using "recycled" energy. State of knowledge, and our results, indicates that bats are unique among small mammals in stretching their tendons, as small mammal limb tendons are thought to be too thick and stiff to be stretched."
"By combining information about skeletal movement with information about muscle mechanics, we found that the biceps and triceps tendons of small fruitbats are stretched and store energy as the bat launches from the ground and flies vertically."
The researchers used a cutting edge 3D imaging technology called XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) that allows visualizing rapid internal skeletal movement. XROMM combines 3D models of bone morphology with movement data from biplanar x-ray video to create highly accurate re-animations of the 3D bones moving in 3D space. The researchers also used a novel method called fluoromicrometry, where small radio opaque markers are implanted directly into muscle, which allows measuring length change with high precision and accuracy during contractions.
These findings indicate that the action of muscles powering animal movements through fluids may be influenced by series elasticity, and that at least some limb tendons in small mammals can be stretched by muscular and aerodynamic forces, enabling force control of joint movement.
This research will likely have relevance for the development of autonomous micro aircrafts and potentially also amphibious search and rescue vehicles.
###
[ | 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.
Muscle power: Bats power take-off using recycled energyPublic release date: 5-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Clara Howcroft Ferreira sebiology@gmail.com 44-078-504-41445 Society for Experimental Biology
Bats are uniquely able to stretch and store energy in their bicep and tricep tendons during take-off and climbing flight, giving them an extra power boost. A new study on fruitbats, to be presented at the meeting of the Society for Experimental in Valencia on July 4, used cutting edge technology to image how these small mammals move through the air.
Dr Nicolai Konow (Brown University, USA), who led the research said: "Energy is stored in the triceps tendon, which is used to power elbow extension in essence, elbow extension happens using "recycled" energy. State of knowledge, and our results, indicates that bats are unique among small mammals in stretching their tendons, as small mammal limb tendons are thought to be too thick and stiff to be stretched."
"By combining information about skeletal movement with information about muscle mechanics, we found that the biceps and triceps tendons of small fruitbats are stretched and store energy as the bat launches from the ground and flies vertically."
The researchers used a cutting edge 3D imaging technology called XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) that allows visualizing rapid internal skeletal movement. XROMM combines 3D models of bone morphology with movement data from biplanar x-ray video to create highly accurate re-animations of the 3D bones moving in 3D space. The researchers also used a novel method called fluoromicrometry, where small radio opaque markers are implanted directly into muscle, which allows measuring length change with high precision and accuracy during contractions.
These findings indicate that the action of muscles powering animal movements through fluids may be influenced by series elasticity, and that at least some limb tendons in small mammals can be stretched by muscular and aerodynamic forces, enabling force control of joint movement.
This research will likely have relevance for the development of autonomous micro aircrafts and potentially also amphibious search and rescue vehicles.
###
[ | 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.
Subject: Prince George?s County ? The Non-Profit Sector of Prince George?s County is Underfunded and Needs Volunteer Grant Writers
Fact: ?As of 2012, there were 3,554 registered non-profits in Prince George?s County
Fact: The Prince George?s County non-profit sector generates $3.2 billion in combined revenues
Fact:? 81% of the County?s non-profits operate on an annual budget of less than $25K
Question: Why do a majority of the non-profits operate on a shoestring budget?
Question: If they operate on shoestring budgets, how do they pay employees to manage the organization and operate programs?
Question: If the budget of individual non-profits is barely above the poverty line, can they accomplish their mission and effectively serve the client(s)??
I am NOT an expert on grants, grant writing, or funding. I can ONLY speak from my limited perspective of ?just in time? volunteering with a small Prince George?s County technology non-profit. The balancing act of capacity building, meeting payroll, raising short term and/or long term funding, planning events and programs, managing events and programs, recruiting parents and community volunteers, etc. is daunting. It is even more daunting when additional human capital and resources are needed just to get through the next event but the organization is ?tapped out.? I did see that organizations like Human Services Coalition of Prince George's County offers capacity-building programs and provides networking opportunities. Coordinated Funding & Capacity Building Grants: The Neel Hajra Interview Making Good Organizations Great: Capacity Building
Annuity Funds
I want to know if non-profits in Prince George?s County pool their financial resources to create an annuity fund. An annuity fund is a tool used to generate lasting income. It usually works best when a large amount of money is used to initially establish it. A professional money manager is put in charge of the annuity to ensure it continues to generate the interest needed for perpetuity.
54 Freedom Not-for-Profit Training Module I
Partnering on Grants
I would also like to know if non-profits in the County are organized to partner on grants similar to the government contracting sector. Each company has a specialty that can be used to meet the requirements of the contract. In this case, it would be meeting the requirements of the grant.
Marketing and Branding
Many residents in the community are oblivious to non-profits and what they do for a sizeable portion of the population. Just like any other business, the non-profit sector must market itself to let residents know exactly what they do, how they have helped individuals, and the vital functions they perform for the County. In business, it takes money to make money which means individual non-profits have to pool their resources together and identify a marketing company to develop an ongoing, well crafted campaign to communicate the message. Unfortunately, businesses don?t have the luxury of being shortsighted when it comes to marketing the brand and the message.?
Are there boutique marketing firms in Prince George?s County with the skills and proven track record that are willing to work with the non-profit community to develop an effective marketing campaign? I listen to WAMU 88.5 which is the local NPR station and marvel at the creative ideas and effectiveness of their marketing. ?They have the volunteer legal and financial expertise which allows them to alert listeners that they can write the station into their will as well as donate cars, boats, stock market losses, etc. Anyway people that have assets want to donate, WAMU 88.5 has you covered. I have never heard such appeals from individual Prince George?s County non-profits or cooperatives.Technology and Non-Profits
Using technology to support non-profits and automate as many tasks as possible is a strategic way to lessen the failure rate of startup non-profits and build capacity for mature non-profits that can?t breakthrough the funding barrier. The You Tube video showcasing an Indian tech company that provides a for-profit software service to subsidize the non-profit software services shows the creativity and innovation. The founder of the company states that his sustainable business model allows him NOT to be at the whim of philanthropic foundations and going through the rigors of the grant process. The business model probably has philanthropic foundations coming to him to create custom software for their organizations. Although I am not a programmer, this is how I envisioned the Prince George?s County Volunteer Tech Nation. Members of the Volunteer Tech Nation would identify a problem and find a way to solve it using tech and collaborating online or in person with other like-minded individuals with varying skill sets. If we could employ the same type of business model as the company in the video, that would be great!
??
Technology for Nonprofits: enabling reach and funding
Google 101 for Non-Profits - Google Grants Workshop
Volunteer Grant Writers and Compliance
I would like to get back to the title of this post. Prince George?s County non-profits need two basic things from my limited perspective and they are:
-volunteer grant writers
-volunteer 501C3 compliance officers?
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Volunteer grant writers would be instrumental in streamlining the grant writing process for non-profits which lack human capital and overwhelm the minimal staff with multiple duties on a daily basis. I know grant writing is a legitimate occupation which people use to generate income. In this situation, I think residents have to look at the bigger picture and forsake income generation until the sector as a whole in Prince George? s County is operating within the baseline set forth by organizations such as Maryland Nonprofits and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement. ?I plan to attend the Hands on Grant Writing Workshop on Wed July 10 from 6:30 pm ? 9:00 pm sponsored by People for Change. I hope to learn valuable grant writing skills so I can volunteer my services to a local non-profit.?
Nancy Faria da Costa - 90% Grant Fund Award Rate - How to Write a Grant Proposal
In 2006 many non-profits were victims of the new IRS regulations dealing with ?automatic revocation.? If the non-profit was oblivious to the new regulations and didn?t comply with them, their non-profit status was automatically discontinued. As I understood this, the job of knowing about the regulation changes fell squarely on the person or persons handling the non-profits financial obligations and taxes.?
IRS - Tax Tips How to Get Your Tax-Exempt Status Back?
This is where I think a 501C3 compliance officer is critically needed. Most, if not all, grants require the 501C3 of the recipient organization to be current and compliant. If the organization?s 501C3 status is not current, it is virtually impossible to receive donations from the major philanthropic organizations to include governments.
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501(c)(3) Compliance & Form 990 Preparation
The ?New? Expectations of Philanthropic Organizations
In the last 5-10 years, companies that want to contribute to the community by donating to causes have changed their approach. They see their donation as an investment and consequently want to see a Return on Investment (ROI). The donor wants to see an entrepreneurial approach to problem solving and delivery of services by the non-profit. To the donor, this demonstrates efficiency and a high chance of successful outcomes. Small non-profits need to understand the requirements of the philanthropic community and tailor their application and process for delivering services to clients accordingly. This will increase their chances of success in the grant writing arena.
The video below speaks to how the philanthropic foundations tie the hands of non-profits. They want non-profits to act like for-profit businesses but put restrictions on how the money can be used. Dan Pallotta was in the ?weeds? and using big thinking entrepreneurial strategies to build capacity with his breast cancer non-profit before it was shut down.
Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong
What action are you going take??
What Volunteer Tech Nation member are you going to collaborate with?
Unsecured bad credit loans are quite unlike a typical loan for several purposes. Many of us feel because they?re both loans, that it?s merely a different style of wording. But, this is honestly far from the truth. It is usually important to do your research on several types of loans just before you apply for a loan. You?ll find unique loans for different consumers caused by different scenarios. This editorial?s objective is generally to assist you to be aware of the 2 models of loans, and eliminate any confusion regarding typical loans, and bad credit unsecured loans.
Funding limits. For starters, traditional lending products normally don?t have any restrictions on what you can borrow. What this means is, if needed, you could ask for $10,000 or more. But, any time you are considering an unsecured bad credit loan, you will find there?s cap on what it is possible to borrow. Depending on the company, the majority only let you borrow one hundred or $500, and some have a limit of a five thousand dollar loan.It depends on which company you go to and what the money is for.
Distinctions in collateral specifications. An additional distinction between a ordinary loan and a weak credit unsecured loan is the fact that typical lending options often demand a security item to be presented. This translates to things like a home, a car, etc. That is so the provider is assured you are likely to pay back the loan punctually. In regards to poor credit unsecured loans, you are not obligated to put something up for a security. This is usually because individuals with awful credit may not hold anything at all for collateral. Or, they just don?t want to put things up since it?s all critical items for day to day life.
Credit preferences. The key distinction between a standard loan and an unsecured poor credit loan is basically that you need very good credit for the traditional loan. This is when you don?t have anything unfavorable on your credit report; including delinquent bills, lower FICO scores, etc. Consumers with bad credit can go after unsecured loans, because in some cases, you don?t have to undergo a credit check. A lot of services are doing this now for individuals wanting a loan, and quickly. This is simply a life saver to numerous folks who have sub-standard credit.
Interest rate factors. One additional great difference between an unsecured negative credit loan and a conventional loan is the APR. Most providers give people some leeway they?ve got superior credit, this means they?ve got a low rate of interest to pay off. It can also mean they are given more leeway and additional time to pay off their loan.However regrettably, for folks with awful credit, their credit rates of interest are normally double or triple the regular rates. Not to mention, they are generally given a more rigid time frame to settle their loans.It can be six months to a year, or higher, with regards to which service they selected for a lender.
Accessibility. Other differences between a terrible credit unsecured loan and a normal loan is Convenience. This means, various loans may not be offered to people with bad credit. These kinds of loans are mostly for corporations and personal loans. However, when you currently have excellent credit, you?ve got the ability to secure whichever loan you would like. From time to time, you may get any of a variety of loans, for consumers that have decent credit. It generally depends on which company they head to for their loans.
The cost of borrowing. Another difference can be service fees that a provider uses. Some services, individuals who choose a typical loan have no fees to repay. Consequently they merely must repay their loan during the length of time they?re provided. However, for some companies, they tend to have fees for individuals who have bad credit, and are looking for an unsecured bad credit loan. These fees are ordinarily to cover the cost of monthly statements. etc.
Acceptance time. Another difference is how soon persons are granted their loan. For consumers who ask for a conventional loan, they can be approved from one hour to 1 business day. For those people who need to have an unsecured loan, it is usually from 1 hour to one week, or maybe more. For the duration of the time you are watching for approval, the lenders generally goes over your application form, as well as your credit history, and occupational history. Typically people who go for a standard loan are qualified more rapidly than individuals who require an unsecured loan for awful credit.
Unsecured bad credit loans are generally less difficult to get than a regular loan. This is because, those sorts of loans are often smaller amounts, and they?re guaranteed by the borrower?s job and bank account. If you?re shopping for a loan, and need to know the differences surrounding a variety of loans, you?re lucky because there?s a lot of details around. Do your homework prior to seeking a loan for yourself.
If you are in need of unsecured bad credit loan , we definitely can assist you. We do provide you help by giving additional information about bad credit unsecured loan.
If you're on EE in the UK, you could be seeing a major LTE speed boost coming your way. Alex Dobie of Android Central explains:
The new, faster speeds are enabled by allocating more of EE's spectrum to its LTE network ? it's now using 2x20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum instead of 2x10MHz. This brings theoretical transfer rates of up to 150Mbps, with real world speeds averaging around 30-40Mbps. In practice we've seen download speeds regularly hit 40-50Mbps in London and Manchester, with throughput reaching highs of 78-79Mbps in some areas.
Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield, start your speed tests!
(I've gotten 50Mbps down at the local coffee shop, how you doing?)
LIVE VIDEO: Protesters gather in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt.
By Charlene Gubash and Ian Johnston, NBC News
CAIRO - The clock is ticking for Egypt?s President Mohammed Morsi to meet the demands of millions of protesters seeking his ouster and fresh elections after an ultimatum issued to the Islamist leader by his own armed forces.
If Morsi does not meet the demands by Wednesday, the military has said it will impose its own ?road map? for the future.
Morsi rejected the army?s call in a statement issued at 2 a.m. local time Tuesday (8 p.m. Monday ET) by saying his administration would continue on its "previously plotted path" toward reconciliation. Violence during the protests at the weekend saw 16 people killed and hundreds injured.
Barack Obama and the United Nations have each urged Morsi to listen to his people, as a vast crowd gathered once again in Cairo's Tahrir Square Tuesday.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations? High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a briefing Tuesday that they were following the ?extremely tense situation? in Egypt with ?great concern.?
?We urge all political parties and social groups to urgently engage in a serious national dialogue in order to find a solution to the political crisis and prevent an escalation of violence,? Colville said.
?We call on the president of Egypt to listen to the demands and wishes of the Egyptian people, expressed during these huge protests over the past few days, and to address key issues raised by the opposition and civil society in recent months, as well as to heed the lessons of the past in this particularly fragile situation,? he added.
NBC's Richard Engel reports from Cairo, where he says "it feels like a new revolution could be underway" as opponents of Mohammed Morsi are demanding he be removed from the presidency.
He welcomed assurances given by the military and law enforcement agencies that ?no measures will be taken that could lead to excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators.?
The White House said in a statement Tuesday that Obama had called Morsi on Monday, urging him to listen to ?the voices of all Egyptians.?
Obama told Morsi that the United States was ?committed to the democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or group.?
But the president also ?stressed that democracy is about more than elections.?
Suhaib Salem / Reuters
The headquarters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was ransacked as widespread protests against President Mohammed Morsi turned violent.
?It is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country,? the statement said.
Obama encouraged Morsi ?to take steps to show that he is responsive to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process,? it added.
?President Obama also underscored his deep concern about violence during the demonstrations, especially sexual assaults against female citizens,? the White House said. ?He reiterated his belief that all Egyptians protesting should express themselves peacefully, and urged President Morsi to make clear to his supporters that all forms of violence are unacceptable.?
Amid the heightened tensions, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was closed on Tuesday with regular consular service suspended. It was also closed on Sunday. U.S. citizens were advised to ?avoid areas where large gatherings may occur.?
On June 28, the State Department allowed a ?limited number of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members? to leave the country ?due to the ongoing political and social unrest.?
Canada said on Twitter that its embassy in Cairo would be ?closed until further notice for security reasons.?
According to an airport security source, ?a list has been circulated containing the names of 48 leading members of political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, who must now inform national security officials before leaving the country. The use of private jets has also been temporarily banned.
It remains unclear whether the Egyptian army was actually calling for Morsi to stand down, or whether it would accept some attempted compromise.
However, a statement issued by Morsi?s office complained said that it was not consulted about the army?s ultimatum and said ?the presidency sees that some of the statements in it carry meanings that could cause confusion in the complex national environment.?
It added that his administration was ?going forward on its previously plotted path to promote comprehensive national reconciliation ... regardless of any statements that deepen divisions between citizens.?
Protesters attacked and stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, calling for Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi to step down. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
Morsi?s office, discussing the call with Obama, said the U.S. was ?working with the Egyptian leadership elected by the Egyptian people and supports peaceful democratic conditions in Egypt.?
?The president confirmed that Egypt is moving forward in a peaceful democratic transition built on constitution and law,? Morsi?s office said.
It also said that Egypt?s ?democratic, civil, modern state? was ?the most important achievement? of the revolution that deposed former President Hosni Mubarak.
?We will not allow Egypt with all its forces to return backward under any circumstances,? Morsi?s office said. ?Egypt has paid dearly from the blood of its sons and its stability and security and its delayed the path to development, these are the high prices it paid to build a new state. We all chose democratic means as the only safest way to manage our differences of opinion."
Ian Johnston reported from London.
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This story was originally published on Tue Jul 2, 2013 9:56 AM EDT
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? The spelling and grammar need work, but the message has its own eloquence.
A 10-year-old's note to Nelson Mandela, the prisoner who fought South African apartheid, or white racist rule, and became a global emblem of unity and humility, addresses him as "the greates president are land has ever had it is realy bad that you are in the hospital. But realy cool that you stopt apartit. you maid are land A beter place"
It is one of hundreds of messages that have been placed at two makeshift shrines by South Africans and others who are celebrating the life and legacy of Mandela, 94, even as some openly lament that his life may be approaching an end.
The South African government said Monday that Mandela remains in "critical but stable" condition in the hospital where he was admitted on June 8.
The hospital in downtown Pretoria is one of those pilgrimage sites; the other is his home in Houghton, a tree-lined neighborhood in Johannesburg where high walls ring expansive homes.
A swell of well-wishers has deposited letters, paintings, candles, stuffed bears and bouquets of flowers outside these spots, reflecting the cathartic mood of a nation whose identity is so closely linked to an ailing man who is out of public sight. It is a bittersweet time for South Africa, proud of its power to reconcile amid racial conflict but struggling to fulfill expectations of a better life two decades after the end of apartheid.
The former president is visited daily by his family, and on Monday the three other surviving defendants in the sabotage trial in which Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964 visited the hospital.
Even in this most vulnerable moment, Mandela is again emerging as an enabler, this time for a new generation, across racial and gender lines.
"I am a 16 year old girl who wanted to meet you very much. Unfortunately I did not have the oppurtunity, but even in the early stages of my life I decided that I wanted to be a caring, loving person just like you," writes Carien Struwig, who left her telephone number on a note at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital entrance, perhaps hopeful that she might get summoned inside.
"Ps. I am Afrikaans, sorry for any incorrect spelling or grammar," she writes in English.
Mandela reached out to the Afrikaner community that devised apartheid and jailed him for 27 years, negotiating an end to white minority rule and allaying fears of widespread racial war. Freed in 1990, the anti-apartheid leader was elected president in an all-race vote in 1994, an event that electrified people around the world because of its sense of peaceful promise.
The mood at these impromptu shrines is partly festive and partly mournful, likely a harbinger of the outpouring that will accompany Mandela's inevitable demise. His protracted illness, the final struggle of a momentous life, has become a time for national introspection and a chance for people to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
People pray, hands pressed to faces. Choirs sing and sashay. On Saturday, a group of Pentecostal worshippers stood outside the hospital gates, wailing, shouting and gesturing. A wall of photographers recorded the emotional paroxysm.
An artist displayed a painting of a robust-looking Mandela with a finger on his lips, symbolizing his perceived desire for quiet as he battles a recurring lung infection and other ailments. When President Barack Obama was visiting South Africa this weekend, three men in dark suits and sunglasses, apparently members of the presidential security detail, soaked up the scene at the hospital entrance. One of the men politely declined to speak to an Associated Press reporter, saying he was off-duty and would get in trouble if he spoke to the media.
The sense of occasion is across the country, including Cape Town, where an exhibition about Mandela recently opened in a civic center; in coastal Durban, where a mass prayer session was held; in Qunu, the rural village where Mandela grew up and where he is expected to be buried; and Soweto, the area of Johannesburg where he once lived.
On Soweto's Vilakazi Street, a tourist hub where Mandela's old brick home has been turned into a museum, two rappers sang about Mandela, patting their chests for a beat. Impressionist Peter Bopape imitated Mandela's raspy, deliberately paced voice.
"I decided to come out of the hospital today, just to come and thank all the South Africans and the support that you're showing me," Bopape said in Mandela's stately tones.
Mandela often said many people played a role in making South Africa better. That it was not only his doing, that he made mistakes. But the written tributes to Mandela suggest there is no one like him in the country, and possibly in the world, who can connect with people of all walks at their core.
"Families like ours exist partly because of you!" reads a caption below a photo of two white women and two black children who are seated with a third woman in an apron who appears to be a housekeeper.
One message to Mandela comes from a day care center, another from a group of platinum mine workers.
One writer recalled seeing Mandela raise his fist after being released from prison in Paarl, the writer's hometown.
"My whole life, you'd been in prison, and now you were stepping out, surrounded by the very mountains that held me every day as I grew up," the handwritten note says.
"In 1994 I walked along Pretorius street to the Union Buildings to witness your inauguration. I raised my fist as the helicopters flew over with rainbow nation streaks of smoke trailing behind them. For the first time in my life I felt patriotism and pride in the leader of my country."
While iOS already has a place in the corporate world, that spot isn't guaranteed when there's competition with both a renewed BlackBerry and Samsung's Knox. Accordingly, Apple isn't leaving anything to chance: it just posted a page explaining the business-friendly iOS 7 features that it teased at WWDC. The biggest improvements for end users may be enterprise single sign-on and per app VPN, both of which will save hassles when launching work apps. IT managers should have it easier as well -- iOS devices can join Mobile Device Management as soon as they're activated, and a company can assign apps to individual users without losing control. There's considerably more features than we can list here, but it's clear from a cursory glimpse that Apple likes its foothold in the enterprise.
Symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome associated with interference in circadian, metabolic genesPublic release date: 25-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phyllis Brown phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9023 University of California - Davis Health System
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute and Agilent Laboratories have found that Prader-Willi syndrome a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep.
The research was led by Janine LaSalle, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology who is affiliated with the MIND Institute. It is published online in Human Molecular Genetics.
"Prader-Willi syndrome children do not sleep as well at night and have daytime sleepiness," LaSalle said. "Parents have to lock up their pantries because the kids are rummaging for food in the middle of the night, even breaking into their neighbors' houses to eat."
The study found that these behaviors are rooted in the loss of a long non-coding RNA that functions to balance energy expenditure in the brain during sleep. The finding could have a profound effect on how clinicians treat children with Prader-Willi, as well as point the way to new, innovative therapies, LaSalle said.
The leading cause of morbid obesity among children in the United States, Prader-Willi involves a complex, and sometimes contradictory, array of symptoms. Shortly after birth children with Prader-Willi experience failure to thrive. Yet after they begin to feed themselves, they have difficulty sleeping and insatiable appetites that lead to obesity if their diets are not carefully monitored.
The current study was conducted in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome. It found that mice engineered with the loss of a long non-coding RNA showed altered energy use and metabolic differences during sleep.
Prader-Willi has been traced to a specific region on chromosome 15 (SNORD116), which produces RNAs that regulate gene expression, rather than coding for proteins. When functioning normally, SNORD116 produces small nucleolar (sno) RNAs and a long non-coding RNA (116HG), as well as a third non-coding RNA implicated in a related disorder, Angelman syndrome. The 116HG long non-coding RNA forms a cloud inside neuronal nuclei that associates with proteins and genes regulating diurnal metabolism in the brain, LaSalle said.
"We thought the cloud would be activating transcription, but in fact it was doing the opposite," she said. "Most of the genes were dampened by the cloud. This long non-coding RNA was acting as a decoy, pulling the active transcription factors away from genes and keeping them from being expressed."
As a result, losing snoRNAs and 116HG causes a chain reaction, eliminating the RNA cloud and allowing circadian and metabolic genes to get turned on during sleep periods, when they should be dampened down. This underlies a complex cycle in which the RNA cloud grew during sleep periods (daytime for nocturnal mice), turning down genes associated with energy use, and receded during waking periods, allowing these genes to be expressed. Mice without the 116HG gene lacked the benefit of this neuronal cloud, causing greater energy expenditure during sleep.
The researchers said that the work provides a clearer picture of why children with Prader-Willi syndrome can't sleep or feel satiated and may change therapeutic approaches. For example, many such children have been treated with growth hormone because of short stature, but this actually may boost other aspects of the disease.
"People had thought the kids weren't sleeping at night because of the sleep apnea caused by obesity," said LaSalle. "What this study shows is that the diurnal metabolism is central to the disorder, and that the obesity may be as a result of that. If you can work with that, you could improve therapies, for example figuring out the best times to administer medications."
###
The study's other study authors include Weston T. Powell, Rochelle L. Coulson, Florence K. Crary, Spencer S. Wong, Robert A. Ach and Dag H. Yasui, all of UC Davis, and Peter Tsang and N. Alice Yamada of Agilent Laboratories.
The work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants F31NS073164 and 1R01NS076263 and the Prader-Willi Foundation.
At the UC Davis MIND Institute, world-renowned scientists engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research to find the causes of and develop treatments and cures for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fragile X syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. For more information, visit http://mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome associated with interference in circadian, metabolic genesPublic release date: 25-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phyllis Brown phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9023 University of California - Davis Health System
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) Researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute and Agilent Laboratories have found that Prader-Willi syndrome a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep.
The research was led by Janine LaSalle, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology who is affiliated with the MIND Institute. It is published online in Human Molecular Genetics.
"Prader-Willi syndrome children do not sleep as well at night and have daytime sleepiness," LaSalle said. "Parents have to lock up their pantries because the kids are rummaging for food in the middle of the night, even breaking into their neighbors' houses to eat."
The study found that these behaviors are rooted in the loss of a long non-coding RNA that functions to balance energy expenditure in the brain during sleep. The finding could have a profound effect on how clinicians treat children with Prader-Willi, as well as point the way to new, innovative therapies, LaSalle said.
The leading cause of morbid obesity among children in the United States, Prader-Willi involves a complex, and sometimes contradictory, array of symptoms. Shortly after birth children with Prader-Willi experience failure to thrive. Yet after they begin to feed themselves, they have difficulty sleeping and insatiable appetites that lead to obesity if their diets are not carefully monitored.
The current study was conducted in a mouse model of Prader-Willi syndrome. It found that mice engineered with the loss of a long non-coding RNA showed altered energy use and metabolic differences during sleep.
Prader-Willi has been traced to a specific region on chromosome 15 (SNORD116), which produces RNAs that regulate gene expression, rather than coding for proteins. When functioning normally, SNORD116 produces small nucleolar (sno) RNAs and a long non-coding RNA (116HG), as well as a third non-coding RNA implicated in a related disorder, Angelman syndrome. The 116HG long non-coding RNA forms a cloud inside neuronal nuclei that associates with proteins and genes regulating diurnal metabolism in the brain, LaSalle said.
"We thought the cloud would be activating transcription, but in fact it was doing the opposite," she said. "Most of the genes were dampened by the cloud. This long non-coding RNA was acting as a decoy, pulling the active transcription factors away from genes and keeping them from being expressed."
As a result, losing snoRNAs and 116HG causes a chain reaction, eliminating the RNA cloud and allowing circadian and metabolic genes to get turned on during sleep periods, when they should be dampened down. This underlies a complex cycle in which the RNA cloud grew during sleep periods (daytime for nocturnal mice), turning down genes associated with energy use, and receded during waking periods, allowing these genes to be expressed. Mice without the 116HG gene lacked the benefit of this neuronal cloud, causing greater energy expenditure during sleep.
The researchers said that the work provides a clearer picture of why children with Prader-Willi syndrome can't sleep or feel satiated and may change therapeutic approaches. For example, many such children have been treated with growth hormone because of short stature, but this actually may boost other aspects of the disease.
"People had thought the kids weren't sleeping at night because of the sleep apnea caused by obesity," said LaSalle. "What this study shows is that the diurnal metabolism is central to the disorder, and that the obesity may be as a result of that. If you can work with that, you could improve therapies, for example figuring out the best times to administer medications."
###
The study's other study authors include Weston T. Powell, Rochelle L. Coulson, Florence K. Crary, Spencer S. Wong, Robert A. Ach and Dag H. Yasui, all of UC Davis, and Peter Tsang and N. Alice Yamada of Agilent Laboratories.
The work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants F31NS073164 and 1R01NS076263 and the Prader-Willi Foundation.
At the UC Davis MIND Institute, world-renowned scientists engage in collaborative, interdisciplinary research to find the causes of and develop treatments and cures for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fragile X syndrome, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, Down syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. For more information, visit http://mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 5-Jul-2013
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