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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
30,000 children lose out on pre-K classes | Bridge Michigan
By Ron French/Bridge Magazine
Landen Ford wants to go to preschool. The 4-year-old Flushing boy with a crew cut and a toothy grin thought he?d learn the alphabet and his sounds, and maybe make some friends, just like his big brother Logan did last year. But instead of learning to write his name, Landen is learning an early lesson in budgets and bureaucracy.
?The teacher called and said ?I?m sorry, Landen didn?t get in,?? said Janelle Ford, mother of the two boys. ?Logan learned so much ? he loved it. Now there are no spots for Landen. It?s not fair.?
Almost 30,000 Michigan 4-year-olds who qualify for free preschool are not in classrooms, because of inadequate state funding, logistical hurdles and inadequate coordination of services.
On average, those children will be less prepared than their peers for kindergarten. They?ll get lower test scores throughout school, be held back a grade more often and drop out at a higher rate. Once they leave school, they?ll earn less money in their careers.
Michigan taxpayers shoulder a hefty bill for those forgotten 4-year-olds, too, starting with higher costs for special education and repeated grades, and ending with higher long-term prison and welfare costs.
Once among the leaders in state-funded preschool, Michigan is getting lapped by states that believe high-quality preschool today means an economic boom in 20 years.
?If we?re serious about becoming a business-friendly state, we need to put our funds at the front end,? said Paula Cunningham, president and CEO of Capitol National Bank in Lansing and a former president of Lansing Community College. ?It?s a huge investment. But research says it?s money well-spent.?
State didn?t know how many went unserved
Brothers Landen and Logan Ford have been treated quite differently by Michigan's public pre-K program. Logan was able to attend public classes, but his younger brother, Landen, was kept out this year due to Michigan's limited funding for pre-school. (courtesy photo)
Though Michigan has offered free half-day preschool for its neediest children for decades, the state had never fully calculated how many eligible children weren?t being served. An in-depth data analysis by Bridge Magazine revealed gaping holes in the taxpayer-funded system meant to provide an educational leg up for 4-year-olds in moderate- to low-income families. That analysis, plus dozens of interviews with state and national early childhood experts, economists, legislators, business and nonprofit leaders, superintendents, teachers and families uncovered sobering facts about Michigan?s preschool program:
* Two out of every five children (40 percent) who qualify for the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) are not enrolled in GSRP or any other state or federally funded preschool. In some counties, less than half are in classrooms.
* Long waiting lists for preschool exist in some school districts, while other districts don?t fully use the slots they?ve been given by the state.
* Disparities exist across the state, and sometimes within a school district, in whether the programs are full-day or half-day.
* Children who can?t attend preschool because transportation isn?t provided ? even when buses carrying elementary school kids travel past their homes heading to the same school building.
* Communities where at-risk children can?t attend free preschool because their school district doesn?t offer the program.
* At-risk children are stuck on wait lists for the federally funded Head Start preschool, when they could attend similar GSRP classrooms.
?We all talk about early childhood, but we do nothing about it,? Michigan state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan said bluntly. ?We ought to blame the system first and foremost. This involves a system reform and stopping the yelling and screaming about who is stealing whose money.?
Research shows big impact for pre-K classes
Route to the numberThere are approximately 120,000 4-year-olds in Michigan. An estimated 45,000 of these 4-year-olds are from middle- and upper-income families (living in households with income greater than 300 percent of the federal poverty level). Most of those children are in private preschool programs paid for by parents. That leaves 75,000 4-year-olds living in what Michigan currently considers to be ?low-income? households below 300 percent of the federal poverty line. Two main public preschool programs are available for some of these 4-year-olds ? the federally funded Head Start program and the state-funded Great Start (GSRP) program. Head Start serves those from the lowest income families. These households are below the federal poverty line ($23,050 annual income or less for a family of four people). Head Start serves an estimated 19,500 4-year-olds across the state. Special education and other specialized programs serve an estimated 3,200 4-year-olds in households below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. That leaves an estimated 52,300 4-year-olds in households with income below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. These 4-year-olds are eligible for the state GSRP program. Just more than 23,000 were in GSRP in the 2011-12 school year. That leaves more than 29,000 who were eligible, but not enrolled. |
The 23,000 Michigan children lucky enough to get seats in the state preschool program reap benefits for years. A recent study followed 500 kids from pre-K through high school and found that kids from similar economic backgrounds did better throughout their academic careers if they attended GSRP as 4-year-olds.
That study, conducted by HighScope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti and presented to the State Board of Education in June, found that children enrolled in GSRP across the state were more prepared for kindergarten. Four years after preschool, those kids were still doing better, scoring higher on MEAP tests. Significantly fewer were held back a grade during their academic careers (37 percent, compared to 49 percent of children with the same economic background who didn?t attend preschool). More graduated from high school on time than their non-preschool peers (57 percent to 43 percent).
For minorities, the graduation gap was even wider ? 59 percent for pre-K participants compared to 37 percent for families with no formal early childhood education.
Another study conducted by HighScope found that the impact of high-quality preschool was still being felt 40 years later, with participants more likely to hold jobs, make more money in those jobs, and have committed fewer crimes.
Kelly Hart doesn?t need statistics to know the impact the states? free preschool can have on children. Her daughter Kamrynn was born prematurely. She didn?t talk until she was 2 ? years old. ?She had trouble keeping up with her milestones,? Kelly recalls. ?She was really far behind.?
After a year in a GSRP classroom in Flushing, Kamrynn was a different girl. ?She can write her name,? Kelly boasted. ?She knows her address and my cell phone number.
?Without the program, I would be scared about her going into kindergarten. Now I?m confident she?ll keep up.?
Teachers in Bay City Public Schools tell similar stories, after the district recently reinstated its GSRP classrooms. The district dropped its state-funded preschool about five years ago because the money the state provided for the program didn?t cover costs. ?The math didn?t add up,? said district curriculum director Adair Aumock. ?It wasn?t sustainable.? The district opened a GSRP classroom again in the fall of 2010 as an experiment. When students who?d enrolled in preschool entered kindergarten classes the following September, teachers were stunned.
?Not only were students more academically prepared and school-ready, but parent involvement has gone up,? Aumock said. ?We?re engaging parents who may not have had a lot of success in education themselves.?
Just as important to the district, ?we?ve seen a larger number of our kindergarten students choosing to stay at their home schools, even in this era of school of choice,? Aumock said.
Though the district is supplementing the cost of the program above the $3,400 per slot provided by the state, it?s turned out to be ?good budget-wise for the district.?
Now Bay City has the opposite problem ? running a popular program for which there are more deserving students than seats.
?This year, we?re funded for 88 slots,? Aumock said. ?We had 150 qualifying applications. This is the hardest time, saying to parents ?We?d love to help you, our heart goes out to you, but all we can do is put you on a waiting list.??
Districts strain to deal with funding gaps
GSRP works. But it only works for those enrolled. And 40 percent of Michigan 4-year-olds deemed at-risk by current eligibility guidelines are not in classrooms of GSRP or any other state or federal program.
?Obviously, there?s unmet need,? said Washtenaw County ISD Superintendent Scott Menzel. ?Too many children in need don?t have access to a quality preschool experience.?
But Michigan?s state-funded preschool enrollment fell considerably over the past decade. Michigan was one of only five states to record enrollment drops from 2002 to 2011, with 4,410 fewer 4-year-olds in classrooms, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research?(NIEER).
Michigan?s enrollment dropped even though the number of families living in poverty rose (51 percent of births in Michigan last year were covered by Medicaid); more should qualify for the program.
A big part of the drop in enrollment can be traced back to state funding.
Unlike K-12 funding, which pays schools based on how many students are enrolled, under GSRP the state basically tells school districts how many preschool students they can enroll in class, with the expectation that each student in a half-day class costs $3,400.
The allotment is lower than the cost of the program for most districts, so districts that choose to have a program must take money away from other programs to pay for it.
?The amount of money we get is absolutely ludicrous,? said Margie Murphy, who coordinates GSRP classes for school districts within the Van Buren County Intermediate School District in Southwest Michigan. ?You have to hire a certified teacher with an extra certification in early childhood, and an assistant teacher who is supposed to have an associate?s degree. You have transportation and you have to make sure classroom supplies are adequate. It?s ridiculous. You can?t do it.?
The state gave public and private providers $3,300 per student for half-day GSRP classes in 2000; 12 years later, the state pays $3,400. When inflation is taken into account, that?s the equivalent of a?23 percent cut in funding.
The actual cost of a half-day program is between $4,200 and $5,200, according to estimates from the Michigan Department of Education and NIEER.
Some districts have dropped the program altogether, such as Flint Beecher. Many have dropped transportation and shrunk the number of weeks classes are offered, such as Grand Rapids. Others have lowered preschool teacher salaries, even though the state mandates higher academic credentials than those required for grade-school teachers. ?The assistant teachers have to have an associate?s degree, and those people are hard to come by at $6, $7, $8 an hour,? the only salary districts can afford, says Murphy.
Because of the low state funding and caps on enrollment, school officials have little incentive to beat the bushes for more at-risk 4-year-olds.
?What do you do if you have this waiting list?? asks Joanne Elkin, at Macomb County Intermediate School District. ?If you have 100 slots and you have 100 kids and 50 on a waiting list, you?re not going to go out and find the next 100.?
The result is a preschool program that pays large dividends to those fortunate to hear about it and snag a spot before classes are filled, but which also leaves almost 30,000 ? the equivalent of the student body of Central Michigan University ? in an academic hole that many will never dig out of.
The state spent $109 million this year on the Great Start program, with the goal of offering early childhood education to low-income families who may not otherwise be able to afford it. But spending would have to more than double to cover the cost of educating all 4-year-olds who qualify.
Menzel said funding priorities, such as Adequate Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law, has ?driven investment to higher (grades),? when a higher return can be found in the years before kindergarten when a child?s brain is developing rapidly.
In the meantime, Michigan spends almost $100 million per year for the 13,000-plus students who repeat kindergarten. Yet HighScope studies show that access to high-quality preschool increases kindergarten preparedness and lowers grade retention.
Though the business argument for preschool is well-established, ?frankly, I don?t think we as a state have had a real commitment to it,? says Judy Samelson, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corp. ?It?s incomprehensible we haven?t solved it.?
Business leaders in the state are beginning to look at early childhood education less as a social program and more as a long-term investment in the economic health of the state. Many have signed on to efforts to increase state funding for GSRP in next year?s budget, including Capitol National?s Cunningham. ?We can?t get to where we want to go as a state without a greater investment in early childhood education,? says Cunningham. ?It?s not just a moral issue ? it?s an economic issue.?
Peas in a pod, but with different futures?
For now, the Ford family in Flushing is scraping together money to pay for a twice-weekly preschool program for Landen, a less-intensive and far more expensive program than was available for Logan last year.
When Logan comes home from kindergarten, he and Landen often dress up and play different characters from Batman. The brothers are best friends, with so much in common, but with one difference that could make one successful, and leave one struggling.
Senior Writer Ron French joined Bridge in 2011 after having won more than 40 national and state journalism awards since he joined the Detroit News in 1995. French has a long track record of uncovering emerging issues and changing the public policy debate through his work. In 2006, he foretold the coming crisis in the auto industry in a special report detailing how worker health-care costs threatened to bankrupt General Motors.
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Monday, September 24, 2012
9/12/2012 - 9/29/2012 : Washington DC and New York City
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NYC landmark getting $177 million facelift
The New York City landmark is arguably one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.??It was designed by famed architect James Renwick, Jr., in the Gothic Revival style with its soaring arches clad in marble, accented by intricate detail and full of beautiful stained glass windows. It is now undergoing two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation.??NBC's Craig Stanley reports
Craig Stanley, NBC News writes
NEW YORK -- St. Patrick?s Cathedral, one of New York City?s most recognized landmarks, is getting a much-needed facelift. The 140-year-old cathedral is almost completely shrouded in scaffolding as it undergoes a painstaking 22-month restoration project to enhance its aesthetic beauty and extend its functionality for the next 25 years?and beyond.
It?s a $177 million effort that couldn?t come at a more crucial time?the recommended restoration cycle for a building like this is typically every 30 years. More than 60 years have passed since significant work was done on the cathedral, putting its long-term stability at great risk.
?This project is about stabilizing the building and addressing all of the maintenance issues that have been neglected over the years,? said architect Jeffrey Murphy, a partner of Murphy, Burnham & Buttrick, the architecture firm leading the design team. ?The effort is intended to ?really put the Cathedral on firm footing for the future.?
The cathedral draws more than five million visitors annually, many coming to relish in the intricate, awe-inspiring beauty of the chapel. But a closer look at the cathedral?s fa?ade reveals great potential for improvement.
?The cathedral is so beautiful, it?s such incredible architecture, and you come in and you?re totally in awe by what you see,? Murphy said. ?But, in some ways, that masks a lot of the issues that we see on the cathedral.?
Chunks of falling stone?inside and out of the cathedral?parched, peeling paint, and a leaky roof are a few? of the issues that will be addressed with this restoration. St. Patrick?s Cathedral hasn?t undergone a restoration of this magnitude since the 1940s?save minimal work done in the 70s.
The architect, project manager and cathedral rector involved in the St. Patrick's Cathedral restoration project describe the care, passion and creativity involved.?? ?
The renovation, which began in May, is a three-phased project. The first of which is dedicated to deep-cleaning the Cathedrals? fa?ade, which has become remarkably dirty over the years due to exposure to weather and air pollution. Parts of the exterior have already been cleaned, revealing a pristine finish?something project manager Andrew Bast said represents the significance of the Cathedral?s pending transformation.
?When you see it? the clean versus the dirty, you can see how much better it could really be,? Bast said. ?Bringing the beauty of the building really back out to the public is something very important to all of us on the team.?
The second and third phases will be dedicated to repairing the stone and wood that comprise the building?s exterior, re-glazing stained glass storm windows and updating the cathedral?s interior. The altars will all be replaced and more than 1,000 stained-glass windows will be cleaned with a few extracted for special attention. Parts of the ceiling and walls will also be repainted in this project, scheduled for completion by May 2014.
These restorative efforts are as much about injecting new life into the 140-year old cathedral, as they are about reviving the vision of renowned 19th century architect James Renwick Jr., the mastermind architect.
?That?s part of the mantra of historic restoration,? Bast said. ?You?re really focusing on making it feel like you didn?t make any interventions or changes to the historic fabric of the building.?
With that said, improvisation and innovation are still a part of this restoration, which includes plans for a new garden to be designed from scratch. The design time is also using clues from the past?including Renwick?s original blueprints?to recreate parts of the ceiling that weren?t exactly real to begin with.
?Above the 30-foot line, everything is not stone,? Murphy said. ?It?s painted to look like stone, but it?s actually plaster and? pre-cast concrete material. One of the big challenges? is actually coming up with the recipe? to make the whole inside, the ceiling and the walls above 30 feet look like stone.?
The cathedral plans to stay open during all three phases of restoration, allowing services such as mass and weddings to continue as scheduled. In addition to the cathedral?s improved state, Cathedral Rector Msgr. Robert Ritchie is looking forward to the positive effects the restoration will have on the people who treasure it.
?I think the first impact will be that everyone says, ?we never knew how beautiful it was,? Ritchie said. ?When we?re finished, everybody would say, ?It?s so much lighter than we thought? and because of that, it brings peoples? spirits up.?
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Sunday, September 23, 2012
Punflaykids: Baby Explorer by PunFlay ? Review http://t.co/IgwtUx8l #kidsapp #ipad
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Saturday, September 22, 2012
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Why Are You Blogging
A lot of people ask me about blogging and how to make money from blogging. It?s not that I have suddenly become an authority on blogging but more I suspect, because I have actually committed to producing a blog a day and have started to generate traffic to my authority site.
There are many reasons why someone would blog, for me my current aim is to grow an audience and get people visiting my authority site Work With Gordon. I write about various topics but mainly subjects related to online business, work from home and create your own business. This is the niche market that I want to specialise in and while I learn my trade and create my brand I am using blogging as a platform to get exposure.
I also promote various products through my authority site so it goes without saying that if I am blogging with purpose I will have more eyes on my site and therefore more sales of my products.
The first step is to understand why you are blogging. It?s very important that you think about why you are blogging and don?t simply just write something down and expect people to find it. That?s the whole point about blogging, to express your views and then have other people read it and engage with you.
There are many different reasons people blog:
Political or Religious Blogs
You can blog to make political or religious statements. Religious groups find the blog format great for generating interest, encouraging interaction and even sharing on social sites.
Personal Journals
People use blogging as an easy and effective way of keeping a diary. Documenting difficult or satisfying experiences can be easily managed on a blog. It can also be kept private or made available to a select group of friends and family.
Quick Sites for Online Profit
There are thousands of blogs been setup every day entirely for profit. There are AdSense blogs, niche blogs, blogs designed to sell a single product or product bundles. There are list building blogs, affiliate blogs and many more. Blogs can be setup fast, automated and set loose as an income generator.
Developing Your Expertise
Blogging is a great way to become an authority figure. It can help you build a reputation as a leader in your field of expertise. Bloggers can gain popularity, employment and even new cliental by blogging as an expert.
Business and Brand Building
There are big benefits to building a great brand. Thousands of businesses of every size have discovered the benefits of building brands by blogging.
Customer Support and List Building
Every business understands the importance of customer support, interaction and development. Blogging is an easy method for meeting those needs. Blogs encourage customer engagement and can help build email lists.
SEO and Search Traffic
Search engines love blogs and using the blog format can help bring in search engine traffic. Blogging makes it easy to build back links by participating on other relevant blogs, submitting to blog directories and blog post rating sites.
For me personally there is a combination of reasons I do blogging. I am trying to create an authority site and share the knowledge I am developing in the various niches I am involved with. I am relatively new to the world of online marketing, blogging and making money online niches. You may ask how I can say I want to be an authority however, for me I only have to know slightly more about my niche markets than my readers to be an authority. I am not trying to portray myself as something I am not, but if you have never blogged before I can certainly offer some good advice.
Make Sure You Are Blogging With Purpose
Most of the people I talk to want to blog to make money. To do this we need to understand some core principles of what we are writing about and why we are writing about it! If the purpose of blogging is to make money there are five key components that you should think about before writing your blog:
Product ? To make money blogging you need to have something to sell. It really can be anything, there are over 2 billion people on the internet and there is a market out there for your product.
Target Market ?Who you are directing your blog at. To make money blogging you need to understand who is most likely to buy your product. If you?re product wedding dresses you would target recently engaged women for example.
Discover How Your Target Market Shops ? The internet runs on search! Behind every search is a live person ACTIVELY looking for more information or to purchase a solution to a pressing problem. Target this ?search? and make sure that your blogging is seen by your target market.
Create Problem Solving Content ? People do not like to be sold stuff but love to buy things. If you can provide a solution to a problem they have then they will gladly part with their cash ? if you are doing a hard sell you are less likely to make money blogging than if you are providing a solution to a problem.
Promote Content To Rank ? Over a million people search for ?Buy A Website? each month on Google. If you were selling websites imagine how much money you would make if you could get ranked on page one! Remember when you rank for the KEYWORDS people use to shop for your product or service you win traffic to your site and make money blogging.
Make Money Blogging
You do not have to be a SEO guru to structure your blog to make money blogging. Here is a great TEN STEP formula blog checklist to help you get started:
- Choose great Keywords and include them in your title.
- Repeat title in the first sentence of your blog and make it a bold H1 tag.
- You should include Keyword rich H1, H2, and H3 tags in your blog.
- You should link back to a previous blog.
- Anchor text for hyperlinks. Anchor text is the visible characters and words that hyperlink display when linking to another document or location on the web.
- What you put in your title tags is important ? make use of your chosen keywords.
- Add a category to your blog.
- Always have a call to action. Tell your prospect how they can get your product or service.
- Have a good signature for your blog.
- End your blog with a repeat of your header, H3 tagged and underlined.
I hope you find this article useful, if you have any further questions or would like to add value (or criticism) then please do leave some feedback. One of the best ways of promoting your blog is to have readers engaging through commentary and sharing.
Together we can achieve more,
Skype: workwithgordon
gordon@workwithgordon.com
P.S. Looking to start your own online business? Sign Up For My FREE 7 Day Video Marketing Bootcamp!
Why Are You Blogging
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Source: http://www.workwithgordon.com/blogging/
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Friday, September 21, 2012
I Have an IRA. How Can I Invest in Gold and Silver?
Deviant Investor
Deviant Investor
September 21st, 2012
Reader Views: 412
It is quite easy! Yes, I am talking about actual physical gold and silver, not ?paper? gold, or certificates, or paper promises.
Question:?Why gold and silver in an IRA?
Answer:?The simplest explanation is that gold and silver will protect your purchasing power. There are many other reasons including safety in the event of another economic melt-down such as what happened in 2008.
Question:?Why not buy ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) that invest in gold and silver, such as GLD, SLV, PSLV, and PHYS?
Answer:?You certainly can. They are more convenient to buy and sell, and the annual fees are less. But, if you are looking for maximum safety, purchase metals in your IRA and have them stored in a secure, insured, private vault.
Question:?Why can?t I store them in my personal safe deposit box instead of a private vault?
Answer:?Per the IRS code, you can?t take delivery until you pay taxes. Don?t fight the IRS.
Question:?How do I open an account?
Answer:?Find a self-directed IRA custodian who will allow precious metals in your account, complete the paperwork, send it and the initial fee to the IRA custodian, and they will open the account.
Question:?How do I find a self-directed IRA custodian?
Answer:?Go to your favorite metals dealer ? there are many ? and look at their recommendations. My preference is Apmex.com but there are many fine choices for metals dealers, and they can recommend IRA custodians. Apmex currently suggests seven?IRA custodians?on their website.
Question:?Once I get the account, how do I fund the account?
Answer:?You can fund it with a non-taxable (partial or total) roll-over from an existing IRA, 401k, or 403(b) account, or by contributions under the current IRA rules.
Question:?Then what?
Answer:?The IRA is open, the money arrives from the rollover or contributions, and the IRA custodian asks you what you want to purchase with the funds and what dealer (such as Apmex) you wish to use. You tell the dealer what combination of silver and gold coins and bars (there are a few restrictions regarding what coins and bars are acceptable in IRAs) that you wish to purchase.
Question:?Then what?
Answer:?The metals are purchased and shipped to a bonded, insured, private storage facility in Delaware (or wherever) and stored. They are not in a bank. The IRA custodian sends periodic statements showing transactions and estimated fair market value of your gold and silver holdings.
Question:?What does this cost?
Answer:?It depends on the custodian, the size of your IRA, and the storage facility. Assume $200 ? $400 per year as an estimate.
Question:?Why so much?
Answer:?Fees, IRS regulations, accounting, profit, and expenses. Gold and silver have increased 15% to 20% per year for the past decade. How has your money market account performed in that time? How have your brokerage accounts and mutual funds performed in that time??Did you feel safe or vulnerable during the crash of 2008??Would you feel safer if your IRA funds were not held in the banking or financial system? After considering these questions, the fees may seem quite reasonable. If not, then stay with what has been working for you.
Conclusion
An IRA that invests in physical gold and silver is NOT for everyone, but it may be appropriate for a portion of your retirement funds. It will probably be safer in the event of another financial meltdown, but it will be more expensive than a traditional IRA, and it is less convenient and flexible. Choose what works for you.
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About Deviant Investor: I am a retired accountant who has 30 years of experience following markets, investing, and trading both futures and stocks. I have made and lost money during my investing career, and those successes and losses have taught me much about markets, timing, risk, inflation, and crashes. I currently invest for the long term, and I swing trade (in a trade from one to four weeks) stocks and ETFs. I offer opinions and commentary, but not investment advice.
Years ago I did graduate work in physics (all but dissertation), so I strongly believe in data, analysis, objective facts, and rational decisions based on hard data. I currently live in Texas.
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Wal-Mart to hire 50,000 to meet holiday rush
By Reuters
UPDATED 12:43 p.m. EDT: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to hire more than 50,000 seasonal employees to work at its Walmart stores in the United States, slightly more than it did last year, as it gets ready for the winter holiday season, its busiest time of year.
The world's largest retailer also said on Friday that it would give current workers the chance to work more hours during the season. Some Walmart workers have said that they are not given the opportunity to work as many hours as they would like.
"We know many customers are continuing to struggle as a result of the economy and high unemployment levels, but they have shown us that they're resilient. They're committed to giving their families a memorable Christmas," Walmart U.S. Chief Operating Officer Gisel Ruiz said in a statement.
Walmart did not say how many seasonal workers it hired for the 2011 holiday season, but the plan to hire more than 50,000 is up slightly from last year. The company is trying to improve the level of service at its thousands of stores, where shoppers often complain that they have to wait in long lines to pay.
Retailers typically add seasonal staff in the weeks leading up to the holiday shopping season in order to work in stores and to help in other areas, such as distribution and fulfilling online orders.
Earlier this week, department store chain Kohl's Corp said it planned to increase its holiday season hiring by more than 10 percent. Kohl's said on Tuesday that it plans to hire more than 52,700 people for the holiday season to work in stores and support its online business.
Target Corp, meanwhile, said it plans to hire about 80,000 to 90,000 seasonal employees for its stores and distribution centers. While Target plans to hire fewer than the 92,000 seasonal staff it brought on in 2011, it said that 30 percent of those who were hired to work during last year's holiday season were then given year-round positions.
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Dot Earth Blog: Single-Study Syndrome and the G.M.O. Food Fight
[This is a modified, expanded version of my Tumblr post from yesterday. I was on the run between Arctic ice symposium and teaching duties; more on ice anon.]
11:31 a.m. | Updated below as marked |
I?ve written here before about what I call ?single-study syndrome,? the habit of the more aggressive camps of advocates surrounding hot issues (e.g., climate, chemical exposure, fracking) to latch onto and push studies supporting an agenda, no matter how tenuous ? or dubious ? the research might be.
Here?s a fresh example from the food wars, which are particularly heated right now because of California?s looming vote over Proposition 37, which would require labeling of genetically modified foods:
Groups opposed to genetically modified crops or ?Big Ag??are heavily promoting a?new study?claiming to find big impacts on longevity and cancer rates in rats fed Roundup-ready corn (and separately exposed to the herbicide for which the corn variety is named). Andrew Pollack?s?news article on the study?describes the methods and findings.
The study has been?quickly and widely criticized, even as it has been written on far and wide.?One issue is that, while the experiments ran for two years, far longer than most rat studies of food safety, the chosen rat breed commonly develops tumors after two years. Combined with small sample size (the different test groups had 20 animals each), this has led even some advocates for G.M.O. labeling to question the results.
The food researcher and writer?Marion Nestle, a supporter of labeling, called the study ?weirdly complicated? in?an excellent look at the work?posted yesterday by Tim Carman of the Washington Post.
In Rosie Mestel?s?Los Angeles Times article, another scientist said the combination of a tumor-prone rat breed and small sample size created big problems:
Another red flag was that tumor rates didn?t increase in line with the dose of GMOs fed to animals, as scientists would expect to see if the genetically engineered corn were to blame, said Kevin Folta, a plant molecular biologist at the?University of Florida?in?Gainesville. Instead, ?you are likely seeing variation of normal tumor incidence in a small population of rats,? he said.
Please read the pieces by Carman and Mestel end to end if you have time.
For more background on the California ballot tussle, read Stephanie Strom?s recent feature and video report.?Here?s my view. As I wrote in considering ?pink slime:?
I?m all for?open disclosure of food contents, but not when the labeling effort is aimed at fomenting fear over facts. (This issue goes far beyond beef byproducts; I encourage you to read this Colorado State University analysis ofthe issues surrounding labeling of genetically engineered foods.)
While I?m for transparency, I don?t like the California initiative because it?s rife with exemptions and special cases, all of which speak of a double standard and point to the intent being less to protect public health than make life complicated or costlier for some agriculture sectors.
If a fair labeling process were somehow created, I actually think it?d build public support for genetically modified foods in the long haul, primarily by illustrating how many safe, nutritious foods now unremarkably contain some constituent from this form of agricultural technology.
I?ll set up a separate post to vet the prime arguments on all sides. My colleague Mark Bittman has a different view, laid out in ?G.M.O.?s: Let?s Label ?Em.?
For more on the debate over risks from Roundup-ready corn and the herbicide Roundup, read biologist* Michael Eisen?s June blog post: ?#GMOFAQ How Bt corn and Roundup Ready soy work, and why they should not scare you.?
[11:31 a.m. | Updated | Professor Eisen, who?s at the University of California, Berkeley, sent this reaction to my post:
It?s a really messed up field. The vast majority of research on GMO safety ? on both sides ? is done by people out to prove something rather than investigate something. This affects every aspect of the work, from study design, to execution, interpretation and publicity.
This particular study was so poorly designed ? the highly sensitized line, the inexcusably small number of animals ? that you didn?t even have to look at the ridiculous statements from the lead author (like ?GMOs are a pesticide sponge?) to see that it was biased.
The result of all of this severely tainted work (and there?s plenty from the pro-GMO side too) is that the really good science in the field gets drowned out, and isn?t taken seriously because people just assume that it, too, must be biased. Total mess.
For a broader view of the literature on health studies focused on genetically modified foods, read this review paper from 2011:??Assessment of the health impact of GM plant diets in long-term?and multigenerational animal feeding trials: A literature review.?
Abstract:
The aim of this systematic review was to collect data concerning the effects of diets containing GM maize, potato, soybean, rice, or triticale on animal health. We examined 12 long-term studies (of more than 90?days, up to 2?years in duration) and 12 multigenerational studies (from 2 to 5 generations). We referenced the 90-day studies on GM feed for which long-term or multigenerational study data were available. Many parameters have been examined using biochemical analyses, histological examination of specific organs, hematology and the detection of transgenic DNA. The statistical findings and methods have been considered from each study. Results from all the 24 studies do not suggest any health hazards and, in general, there were no statistically significant differences within parameters observed. However, some small differences were observed, though these fell within the normal variation range of the considered parameter and thus had no biological or toxicological significance. If required, a 90-day feeding study performed in rodents, according to the OECD Test Guideline, is generally considered sufficient in order to evaluate the health effects of GM feed. The studies reviewed present evidence to show that GM plants are nutritionally equivalent to their non-GM counterparts and can be safely used in food and feed.
Addendum: When research cuts against an agenda, other issues arise. A ridiculous petition has been initiated aimed at forcing the retraction of a paper by Stanford University scientists on the relative nutritional merits of organic and conventional foods. Rosie Mestel, a vital guide on such issues, did a valuable piece that essentiallydismantles the assertions of the activists pushing the petition. I agree with Paul Raeburn, writing on Knight Science Journalism tracker, who?hailed the story?for charting ?a clear path for us through a nasty thicket.?
11:34 a.m. | Clarification | * Michael Eisen, while writing much on genetics, is better described as an evolutionary biologist. I originally described him as a geneticist.
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Thursday, September 20, 2012
Khoe-San peoples diverged before 'out-of-Africa' migration of modern humans
ScienceDaily (Sep. 20, 2012) ? Genetically, culturally and ethically the Khoe-San have something special to add to this world.? The largest genomic study ever conducted among Khoe and San groups reveals that these groups from southern Africa are descendants of the earliest diversification event in the history of all humans -- some 100,000 years ago, well before the 'out-of-Africa' migration of modern humans.
Some 220 individuals from different regions in southern Africa participated in the research that led to the analysis of around 2.3 million DNA variants per individual -- the biggest ever.
The research was conducted by a group of international scientists, including Professor Himla Soodyall from the Human Genomic Diversity and Disease Research Unit in the Health Faculty at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Entitled Genomic variation in seven Khoe-San groups reveals adaptation and complex African history, the study has been selected for early online publishing in the scientific journal, Science, on September 20, 2012.
"The deepest divergence of all living people occurred some 100,000 years ago, well before modern humans migrated out of Africa and about twice as old as the divergences of central African Pygmies and East African hunter-gatherers and from other African groups," says lead author Dr Carina Schlebusch, a Wits University PhD-graduate now conducting post-doctoral research at Uppsala University in Sweden.
Soodyall, from National Health Laboratory Services in South Africa, has a long standing relationship with Khoe and San communities and said that the findings are a "phenomenal tribute to the indigenous Khoe and San people of southern Africa, and through this magnificent collaboration, we have given the peoples of Africa an opportunity to reclaim their place in the history of the world."
Besides the publication of the study, the authors will also be visiting the San groups in the Kalahari, in the Askam area in South Africa on the 24th of September 2012 for the country's Heritage Day celebrations. "We are excited that together with some of our colleagues from Uppsala University, we will be able to join in the celebrations with the San groups in the Kalahari who participated in our research and to acknowledge their contribution in making our research possible."
The researchers are now making the genome-wide data freely available: "Genetic information is getting more and more important for medical purposes. In addition to illuminating their history, we hope that this study is a step towards Khoe and San groups also being a part of that revolution," says Schlebusch. Another author, Professor Mike de Jongh from University of South Africa adds, "It is important for us to communicate with the participants prior to the genetic studies, to inform individuals about the nature of our research, and to also go back to not only to share the results with them, but also to explain the significance of the data for recapturing their heritage, to them."
According to Assistant-Professor Mattias Jakobsson from Uppsala University, these deep divergences among African populations have important implications and consequences when the history of all humankind is deciphered.
The deep structure and patterns of genetic variation suggest a complex population history of the peoples of Africa. "The human population has been structured for a long time," says Jakobsson, "and it is possible that modern humans emerged from a non-homogeneous group."
The study also found surprising stratification among Khoe-San groups. For example, the researchers estimate that the San populations from northern Namibia and Angola separated from the Khoe and San populations living in South Africa as early as 25,000 -- 40,000 years ago.
"There is astonishing ethnic diversity among the Khoe-San group, and we were able to see many aspects of the colorful history that gave rise to this diversity in their DNA," said Schlebusch.
The study further indicates how pastoralism first spread to southern Africa in combination with the Khoe culture. From archaeological and ethnographic studies it has been suggested that pastoralism was introduced to the Khoe in southern Africa before the arrival of Bantu-speaking farmers, but it has been unclear if this event had any genetic impact.
The Nama, a pastoralist Khoe group from Namibia showed great similarity to 'southern' San groups. "However, we found a small but very distinct genetic component that is shared with East Africans in this group, which may be the result of shared ancestry associated with pastoral communities from East Africa," says Schlebusch.
With the genetic data the researchers could see that the Khoe pastoralists originate from a Southern San group that adopted pastoralism with genetic contributions from an East African group -- a group that would have been the first to bring pastoralist practices to southern Africa.
The study also revealed evidence of local adaptation in different Khoe and San groups. For example, the researchers found that there was evidence for selection in genes involved in muscle function, immune response, and UV-light protection in local Khoe and San groups. These could be traits linked with adaptations to the challenging environments in which the ancestors of present-day San and Khoe were exposed to that have been retained in the gene pool of local groups.
The researchers also looked for signals across the genome of ancient adaptations that happened before the historical separation of the Khoe-San lineage from other humans. "Although all humans today carry similar variants in these genes, the early divergence between Khoe-San and other human groups allowed us to zoom-in on genes that have been fast-evolving in the ancestors of all of us living on the planet today," said Pontus Skoglund from Uppsala University.
Among the strongest candidates were genes involved in skeletal development that may have been crucial in determining the characteristics of anatomically modern humans.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of the Witwatersrand, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Carina M. Schlebusch, Pontus Skoglund, Per Sj?din, Lucie M. Gattepaille, Dena Hernandez, Flora Jay, Sen Li, Michael De Jongh, Andrew Singleton, Michael G. B. Blum, Himla Soodyall, and Mattias Jakobsson. Genomic Variation in Seven Khoe-San Groups Reveals Adaptation and Complex African History. Science, 20 September 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1227721
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/dhbT_U4jPsA/120920141139.htm
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We're live from Tokyo Game Show 2012 in Tokyo, Japan!
This week Japan's capital city welcomes gamers from around the globe for some show and tell with the country's finest at TGS. As for us, we're particularly anxious to see what Sony may have in store. Will we see another PS3 redesign? Perhaps some buzz about it's next-gen console? Will we see some energized color options for the PS Vita? We're eager to find out. Worried you're too far away to be in the loop with the happenings here? Fret not! We've got you covered on all of the proceedings at Makuhari Messe, so keep your peepers locked here for all of the latest news over the next few days.
Sean Buckley contributed to this report.
Filed under: Announcements, Gaming
We're live from Tokyo Game Show 2012 in Tokyo, Japan! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Romney?s recent missteps reflected in new polls
Why you're having that midweek meltdown
??If you're reading this on a Wednesday or Thursday, we're willing to bet you're guilty of at least one of the following: a) snapping at your spouse; b) skipping your regularly scheduled workout; or c) abandoning your healthy eating intentions. Why?
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/49094050#49094050
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
NASA Mars rover targets unusual rock enroute to first destination
ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2012) ? NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has driven up to a football-size rock that will be the first for the rover's arm to examine.
Curiosity is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) from the rock. It lies about halfway from the rover's landing site, Bradbury Landing, to a location called Glenelg. In coming days, the team plans to touch the rock with a spectrometer to determine its elemental composition and use an arm-mounted camera to take close-up photographs.
Both the arm-mounted Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer and the mast-mounted, laser-zapping Chemistry and Camera Instrument will be used for identifying elements in the rock. This will allow cross-checking of the two instruments.
The rock has been named "Jake Matijevic." Jacob Matijevic (mah-TEE-uh-vik) was the surface operations systems chief engineer for Mars Science Laboratory and the project's Curiosity rover. He passed away Aug. 20, at age 64. Matijevic also was a leading engineer for all of the previous NASA Mars rovers: Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.
Curiosity now has driven six days in a row. Daily distances range from 72 feet to 121 feet (22 meters to 37 meters).
"This robot was built to rove, and the team is really getting a good rhythm of driving day after day when that's the priority," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Manager Richard Cook of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The team plans to choose a rock in the Glenelg area for the rover's first use of its capability to analyze powder drilled from interiors of rocks. Three types of terrain intersect in the Glenelg area -- one lighter-toned and another more cratered than the terrain Curiosity currently is crossing. The light-toned area is of special interest because it retains daytime heat long into the night, suggesting an unusual composition.
"As we're getting closer to the light-toned area, we see thin, dark bands of unknown origin," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. "The smaller-scale diversity is becoming more evident as we get closer, providing more potential targets for investigation."
Researchers are using Curiosity's Mast Camera (Mastcam) to find potential targets on the ground. Recent new images from the rover's camera reveal dark streaks on rocks in the Glenelg area that have increased researchers' interest in the area. In addition to taking ground images, the camera also has been busy looking upward.
On two recent days, Curiosity pointed the Mastcam at the sun and recorded images of Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, passing in front of the sun from the rover's point of view. Results of these transit observations are part of a long-term study of changes in the moons' orbits. NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which arrived at Mars in 2004, also have observed solar transits by Mars' moons. Opportunity is doing so again this week.
"Phobos is in an orbit very slowly getting closer to Mars, and Deimos is in an orbit very slowly getting farther from Mars," said Curiosity's science team co-investigator Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station. "These observations help us reduce uncertainty in calculations of the changes."
In Curiosity's observations of Phobos this week, the time when the edge of the moon began overlapping the disc of the sun was predictable to within a few seconds. Uncertainty in timing is because Mars' interior structure isn't fully understood.
Phobos causes small changes to the shape of Mars in the same way Earth's moon raises tides. The changes to Mars' shape depend on the Martian interior which, in turn, cause Phobos' orbit to decay. Timing the orbital change more precisely provides information about Mars' interior structure.
During Curiosity's two-year prime mission, researchers will use the rover's 10 science instruments to assess whether the selected field site inside Gale Crater ever has offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.
For more about Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl. You can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/y4WTxiUu07w/120919201958.htm
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Amazon Offers Sneak Peek At New Kindle Fire Gaming Experience
Two weeks ago, Amazon introduced its latest tablet, the Kindle Fire HD, which comes in two screen sizes, 7 inches and 8.9 inches. The new Kindle Fire tablets will offer players a revamped gaming experience, powered by Amazon GameCircle, its version of Apple?s Game Center.
With the upcoming general release of the Amazon GameCircle API, game developers will essentially get more features and visibility.
Today, Amazon revealed on its mobile app developer blog what the aforementioned new gaming experience will look like on Kindle Fire tablets, posting a series of screenshots that show gaming is now front and center overall.
You can find them at the bottom of this post.
Amazon says it has created a new Games library to give players a ?home base for their game collection?, and has ? quite tellingly ? moved the ?Games? product category to the very first position in the navigation (before ?Apps? and ?Books? even).
In said library, players can see all their games, sorted by the most recently played. For games that have integrated with Amazon GameCircle, players can also see their friends, achievement, and leaderboard activity.
GameCircle-enabled games also get several pages of content in the game library, including a ?Summary? page, a friends page, an achievements page and a leaderboards page.
Fruthermore, GameCircle will let players connect with other users or import their Facebook Friends to compare achievements and compete for higher scores.
Customers are also able to discover new games by seeing what games their friends own.
Read more:
Amazon?s Kindle Fire won?t be a threat to the iPad until it remembers the rest of the world
Amazon quietly launches the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD in the UK, Italy, France & more [Updated]
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HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)
HTC is making a two-pronged attack on Windows Phone 8, and while it may not match up to the specs on its new flagship, the Windows Phone 8S by HTC (yes, that's the official moniker) has some charm all of its own. The screen is a pretty underwhelming Gorilla Glass-coated 4-inch WVGA LCD, with a similarly middleweight 5-megapixel camera peering out from the other side. Given that it's looking to be priced closer to the One V than the One S, we're not all that surprised. The phone itself is a good-looking slab, thanks to the breezy color schemes and while the build is certainly solid enough, we'd be hard-pressed to put it in league with the 8X, which felt at home in our hand from the start. The 8S is cocooned in a matte plastic finish, arriving in four different color options -- depending on carrier and territory.
The two-tone color scheme, aside from a few color licks around the lens and ear piece, keeps the second color limited to the bottom edge and the detachable cap. This offers access to the microSD slot (upgrading the built-in 4GB of storage up to 32GB), but like the 8X, no access to the battery. Yep, these new Windows Phones look nothing like HTC's One series, and while the same design studio is responsible, this time, it took its inspiration from Microsoft's tile interface. There's a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor inside, but the phone wasn't quite ready to be put completely through its paces. While the software was still locked down, you can take a video tour -- and read more of our hardware impressions -- after the break.
Continue reading HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
HTC Windows Phone 8S hands-on: a bright Windows phone that holds promise (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Hope on the horizon for asthma sufferers
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Public release date: 17-Sep-2012[ | E-mail |
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University of California - San Francisco
UCSF-led research team targets physiological factors that lead to asthma attack
A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding the two most significant biological responses that lead to an asthma attack.
Asthma, a respiratory disorder that causes shortness of breath, coughing and chest discomfort, results from changes in the airways that lead to the lungs. It affects 18.7 million adults and 7.0 million children in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers from UCSF, Johns Hopkins University and Duke University demonstrate that a specific calcium-activated chloride channel holds valuable clues to reducing two biological processes that contribute to the severity of asthma. These channels regulate airway secretions and smooth muscle contraction, the two major factors that lead to an asthma attack.
"Maybe if we could inhibit both of these processes by blocking this one channel, then we could affect the two symptoms of asthma," said senior author Jason Rock, PhD, assistant professor at the UCSF Department of Anatomy.
Normally humans have few mucus-producing cells but asthma sufferers have an elevated number of these cells in the lining of the tubes that lead to the lungs. Asthmatics also have an abnormal amount of smooth muscle surrounding the airway tubes. Even the slightest stimulus can cause these to contract.
"The overabundance of mucus plugging the airways combined with hyper-contractility of the smooth muscle when the tubes get really small make it difficult to move air in or out," Rock said. "A lot of people equate that with breathing through a straw."
Rock and his colleagues focused on a calcium-activated chloride channel called TMEM16A. This channel secretes chloride ions in response to rises in intracellular calcium. It regulates a significant number of biological processes such as neuron firing, gastrointestinal activity and the secretion of sweat and tears.
The researchers wanted to prove that the channel was present in asthma. They studied human lung samples and looked for the mRNA (messenger RNA which carries information from the DNA to the sites of protein synthesis), and compared protein levels in asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients.
"We found that the level of this channel was increased in the mucus producing cells of asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics," Rock said. "And we also validated this in several models of asthma, including mouse models. That was step one."
Step two consisted of a screen to identify chemicals that inhibit the activity of TMEM16A. The authors identified three chemicals that inhibit the channel.
"We tested the ability of these chemicals to inhibit TMEM16A and other channels, and we found that they specifically block TMEM16A," Rock said. "It is great that we came across these molecules that were unknown previously since we can now try to get into clinical trials to benefit patients."
Then, the authors simulated asthma in a dish and blocked the channel to observe whether it affected mucus production. "Mucus produced by these cells wasn't secreted as efficiently," Rock said. "We also studied airway smooth muscles of human patients who had given their organs to science, and we could see that blocking TMEM16A inhibited their contraction response as well."
Rock is in the pre-clinical phase to test the safety and effectiveness of the blockers in animal studies. If that goes well, Phase One of clinical trials can begin.
"At present, I am optimistic," Rock said. "This could be a major advance to help asthma sufferers."
###
Rock is the senior author of the paper; co-authors include Fen Huang, Huanghe Yang, Makoto Kudo, Christian Peters, Prescott Woodruff, Owen Solberg, Matthew Donne, Xiaozhu Huang, Dean Sheppard, John Fahy, Paul Wolters, Walter Finkbeiner Yuh-Nung Jan, and Lily Jan of UCSF; Brigid Hogan of Duke University; and Hongkang Zhang, Meng Wu, and Min Li of Johns Hopkins University.
This study was supported by the Strategic Program for Asthma Research, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
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Public release date: 17-Sep-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Leland Kim
leland.kim@ucsf.edu
415-502-6397
University of California - San Francisco
UCSF-led research team targets physiological factors that lead to asthma attack
A new study that identifies ways to reduce the factors that lead to an asthma attack gives hope to asthma sufferers. A UCSF researcher and his colleagues believe they have found a way to help asthma sufferers by impeding the two most significant biological responses that lead to an asthma attack.
Asthma, a respiratory disorder that causes shortness of breath, coughing and chest discomfort, results from changes in the airways that lead to the lungs. It affects 18.7 million adults and 7.0 million children in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers from UCSF, Johns Hopkins University and Duke University demonstrate that a specific calcium-activated chloride channel holds valuable clues to reducing two biological processes that contribute to the severity of asthma. These channels regulate airway secretions and smooth muscle contraction, the two major factors that lead to an asthma attack.
"Maybe if we could inhibit both of these processes by blocking this one channel, then we could affect the two symptoms of asthma," said senior author Jason Rock, PhD, assistant professor at the UCSF Department of Anatomy.
Normally humans have few mucus-producing cells but asthma sufferers have an elevated number of these cells in the lining of the tubes that lead to the lungs. Asthmatics also have an abnormal amount of smooth muscle surrounding the airway tubes. Even the slightest stimulus can cause these to contract.
"The overabundance of mucus plugging the airways combined with hyper-contractility of the smooth muscle when the tubes get really small make it difficult to move air in or out," Rock said. "A lot of people equate that with breathing through a straw."
Rock and his colleagues focused on a calcium-activated chloride channel called TMEM16A. This channel secretes chloride ions in response to rises in intracellular calcium. It regulates a significant number of biological processes such as neuron firing, gastrointestinal activity and the secretion of sweat and tears.
The researchers wanted to prove that the channel was present in asthma. They studied human lung samples and looked for the mRNA (messenger RNA which carries information from the DNA to the sites of protein synthesis), and compared protein levels in asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients.
"We found that the level of this channel was increased in the mucus producing cells of asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics," Rock said. "And we also validated this in several models of asthma, including mouse models. That was step one."
Step two consisted of a screen to identify chemicals that inhibit the activity of TMEM16A. The authors identified three chemicals that inhibit the channel.
"We tested the ability of these chemicals to inhibit TMEM16A and other channels, and we found that they specifically block TMEM16A," Rock said. "It is great that we came across these molecules that were unknown previously since we can now try to get into clinical trials to benefit patients."
Then, the authors simulated asthma in a dish and blocked the channel to observe whether it affected mucus production. "Mucus produced by these cells wasn't secreted as efficiently," Rock said. "We also studied airway smooth muscles of human patients who had given their organs to science, and we could see that blocking TMEM16A inhibited their contraction response as well."
Rock is in the pre-clinical phase to test the safety and effectiveness of the blockers in animal studies. If that goes well, Phase One of clinical trials can begin.
"At present, I am optimistic," Rock said. "This could be a major advance to help asthma sufferers."
###
Rock is the senior author of the paper; co-authors include Fen Huang, Huanghe Yang, Makoto Kudo, Christian Peters, Prescott Woodruff, Owen Solberg, Matthew Donne, Xiaozhu Huang, Dean Sheppard, John Fahy, Paul Wolters, Walter Finkbeiner Yuh-Nung Jan, and Lily Jan of UCSF; Brigid Hogan of Duke University; and Hongkang Zhang, Meng Wu, and Min Li of Johns Hopkins University.
This study was supported by the Strategic Program for Asthma Research, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/uoc--hot091712.php
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