Could the ramen burger be more than a fad food?

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Vidya Rao TODAY

47 minutes ago

Rebecca Davis/TODAY.com

Call it unconventional. Call it over-the-top. You can even call it greasy. Just don?t call the ramen burger ?college food.?

The burger, an all-beef patty stuffed between fresh, chewy ramen noodles in lieu of a bun, and served with a variety of fillings and accompaniments, has captured the appetites of New Yorkers since its debut a month ago, with hundreds of people standing in line to get a bite at Brooklyn?s Smorgasburg on Saturdays. For the mash-up?s mastermind Keizo Shimamoto, it?s proof that the American palate has a soft spot for good ramen.

?The ultimate dream is that I want to teach Americans about real ramen, not just instant ramen that we?re used to,? Shimamoto, 35, told TODAY.com. ?Most people in America think ?Oh, college food, instant ramen, cheap,? but real ramen is actually a little more healthy for you than instant ramen and it?s actually really good. People take good care in making it.?

The ramen aficionado, who blogs about the noodles, can count on at least one new fan ? Marilyn Hagerty, the 87-year-old food writer who became a viral sensation because of her Olive Garden review.

?You just wonder, who would ever think of a ramen burger?? she told TODAY.com after taking a taste. ?It is a good combination of flavors with the ramen flavor and the burger? a very clever way to serve a burger. It does hold up well ? it?s a tiny bit oily, you need the napkin, but I think it?s got to be the way it is to taste as good as it does. It would be something that would make it for me at lunchtime or maybe in the middle of the afternoon when you?re just about ready to eat something, at 4 o?clock.?

Unfortunately, she?d be out of luck by 4 p.m.

People start lining up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays for a chance to get just one ramen burger, which Shimamoto, who is of Japanese descent and grew up in Los Angeles, says is made with fresh ramen from Sun Noodle in New Jersey.

?I?ve been surprised by how excited, curious and interested people are about this ? their anticipation is really cool,? said Mike Fox, who is producing a documentary short about the fervor around the ramen burger. ?It?s weird ? people have decided they want this and they?re resigned to waiting ? they have a fear of missing out so they make sure to get there early.?

Story: Marilyn Hagerty reviews the Cronut: 'It's very chewy'

To assure that people aren't standing in line on blind faith alone, Shimamoto and crew count up how many patrons they'll likely be able to feed, and give the final person a sign pointing out they are the lucky last customer. Even so, they always sell out, so several hopefuls go home empty handed.

The fanfare is encouraging for Shimamoto, who quit his job as a computer programmer and moved to Japan to study ramen for four years.

?Basically, I?ve loved ramen since I was a kid,? he said. ?I?ve been eating it my whole life ? I just wanted a [career] change. I wanted something new and interesting, so I decided to just quit my job and go study it. I took a trip around Japan and in 28 days, I ate 55 bowls of ramen and visited 21 different cities, and every one had a regionally different style so that really interested me and I wanted to learn more about it.?

Shimamoto came across something similar to the ramen burger in Japan and fell in love with the creation, which perfectly combines his Japanese and American cultures. He wanted to improve upon it and bring it to the U.S. ? making the bun stay together and using a beef patty instead of pork.

Hagerty told TODAY.com that she hopes the ramen burger will make its way to the Midwest. While that may not happen anytime soon, Shimamoto does have dreams of expansion.

?As long as we can get production up, we?d like to do other markets and collaborate with other restaurants,? he said. ?And possibly, in the future, open up a restaurant of our own, I?d like to open a restaurant on both coasts.?

Matt Murray contributed to this story.?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/307f4199/sc/8/l/0L0Stoday0N0Cfood0Ccould0Eramen0Eburger0Ebe0Emore0Efad0Efood0E8C110A12649/story01.htm

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Marching for King's dream: 'The task is not done'

Crowds rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Fifty years ago, on the actual anniversary, April 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Crowds rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Fifty years ago, on the actual anniversary, April 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Participants gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks at a rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Martin Luther King III, his wife Arndrea King and daughter Yolanda wave from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, to the crowd gathered for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE- In this Aug. 28, 1963, black-and-white file photo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. NBC News says it will rebroadcast a 1963 "Meet the Press" interview with Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the March on Washington's 50th anniversary next week. King appeared on the news program three days before his landmark ?I Have a Dream? speech at the civil rights march. (AP Photo/File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Tens of thousands of people marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and down the National Mall on Saturday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of King's famous speech and pledging that his dream includes equality for gays, Latinos, the poor and the disabled.

The event was an homage to a generation of activists that endured fire hoses, police abuse and indignities to demand equality for African Americans. But there was a strong theme of unfinished business.

"This is not the time for nostalgic commemoration," said Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the slain civil rights leader. "Nor is this the time for self-congratulatory celebration. The task is not done. The journey is not complete. We can and we must do more."

Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said he would not be in office, nor would Barack Obama be president, without those who marched.

"They marched in spite of animosity, oppression and brutality because they believed in the greatness of what this nation could become and despaired of the founding promises not kept," Holder said.

Holder mentioned gays and Latinos, women and the disabled as those who had yet to fully realize the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. Others in the crowd advocated organized labor, voting rights, revamping immigration policies and access to local post offices.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the only surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, railed against a recent Supreme Court decision that effectively erased a key anti-discrimination provision of the Voting Rights Act. Lewis was a leader of a 1965 march, where police beat and gassed marchers who demanded access to voting booths.

"I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Ala., for the right to vote," he said. "I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by. You cannot sit down. You've got to stand up. Speak up, speak out and get in the way."

Organizers expected about 100,000 people to participate in the event, the precursor to the actual anniversary of the Aug. 28, 1963, march that drew some 250,000 to the National Mall and ushered in the idea of massive, nonviolent demonstrations.

Marchers began arriving early Saturday, many staking out their spots as the sun rose in a clear sky over the Capitol. By midday, tens of thousands had gathered on the National Mall.

Lynda Chambers, 58, gave up a day's pay to attend because her retail job does not provide paid vacation. Even as a 7-year-old at the time of the original march, she felt alienated and deprived of her rights. Remembering those feelings, she said, she was compelled to make the trip Saturday.

"I wanted to have some sort of connection to what I have always known, as far as being a black person," she said.

Longtime activist Al Sharpton, now a MSNBC host, implored young black men to respect women and reminded them that two of the leading figures in the civil rights movement of the 1960s were women.

"Rosa Parks wasn't no ho," he said. "And Fannie Lou Hamer wasn't no bitch."

Speakers frequently mentioned persistent high unemployment among blacks, which is about twice that of white Americans, and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Along the Mall, Martin's picture was nearly as ubiquitous as King's.

Nancy Norman, of Seattle, said she was disappointed more people who look like her had not attended. She is white. But the 58-year-old she said she was glad to hear climate change discussed alongside voting rights.

"I'm the kind of person who thinks all of those things are interconnected. Climate change is at the top of my list," Norman said. "I don't think it's one we can set aside for any other discussion."

Those in attendance arrived in a post-9/11 Washington that was very different from the one civil rights leaders visited in 1963.

Then, people crowded the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and could get close to King to hear his "I Have a Dream" speech. Saturday's speakers were also on the memorial's steps, but metal barriers kept people away from the reflecting pool and only a small group of attendees was allowed near the memorial Saturday.

There was a media area and VIP seating. Everyone else had been pushed back and watched and listened to the speeches on big-screen televisions. Police were stationed atop the Lincoln Memorial. After the speeches, marchers walked from there, past the King Memorial, then down the National Mall to the Washington Monument, a distance of just over a mile.

On the day of the anniversary, President Barack Obama will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He will be joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Churches and groups have been asked to ring bells at 3 p.m. Wednesday, marking the exact time King spoke.

Joseph Lowery, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with King, urged the crowd to continue working for King's ideals.

"We've come to Washington to commemorate," the 92-year-old civil rights leader said, "and we're going home to agitate."

___

Follow Suzanne Gamboa at http://www.twitter.com/APsgamboa

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-08-24-US-March-on-Washington/id-bfde700781ab4897b7916c39c163209c

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Huge Calif. wildfire spreads into Yosemite

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? A giant wildfire raging out of control spread into Yosemite National Park on Friday as authorities urged more evacuations in nearby communities where thousands have already been forced out by flames marching through the timbered slopes of the western Sierra Nevada.

The fire hit the park at the height of summer season, as officials geared up for a busy Labor Day weekend. It has closed some backcountry hiking but was not threatening the Yosemite Valley region, one of California's most popular tourist destinations.

The week-long blaze has spread to more than 165 square miles and was only 2 percent contained. It continued to grow in several directions, although "most of the fire activity is pushing to the east right into Yosemite," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The spectacular valley carved by glaciers offers visitors such iconic sights as the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations and Bridalveil and Yosemite falls.

Smoke blowing across the Sierra into the state of Nevada forced officials in several counties to cancel outdoor school activities and issue health advisories, especially for people with respiratory problems.

Authorities urged more evacuations in nearby communities where thousands have already been forced out by flames.

The fire was threatening about 4,500 residences, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Already, the blaze has destroyed four homes and 12 outbuildings in several different areas. More than 2,000 firefighters were on the lines and one sustained a heat-related injury.

While the park remained open, the blaze closed a 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three entrances into Yosemite on the west side. Two other western routes and an eastern route were open.

Within the park, the blaze was burning on about 17 square miles in a remote area around Lake Eleanor, about 4 miles northwest of Hetch Hetchy reservoir, Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.

Backcountry permits are required to hike in that area, Cobb said. The park was no longer issuing those and had contacted every person who had received a permit to go there. Two roads into that area were closed and occupants of a campground near the Route 120 west entrance were relocated.

"We don't have anybody we know of in that area based on the permits we have out now," she said.

The fire was more than 20 miles from Yosemite Valley and skies there were "crystal clear," Cobb said.

"Right now there are no closures, and no visitor services are being affected in the park," he said. "We just have to take one day at a time depending on fire activity."

Officials also have advised voluntary evacuations of more than a thousand other homes, several organized camps and at least two campgrounds in the area outside the park's boundary.

On Friday, officials issued voluntary evacuation advisories for two new towns ? Tuolumne City, population 1,800, and Ponderosa Hills, a community of several hundred ? which are about five miles from the fire line, Forest Service spokesman Jerry Snyder said.

A mandatory evacuation order remained in effect for part of Pine Mountain Lake, a summer gated community a few miles from the fire.

"It feels a little bit like a war zone, with helicopters flying overhead, bombers dropping retardant and 10 engine companies stationed on our street," said Ken Codeglia, a retired Pine Mountain Lake resident who decided to stay to protect his house with his own hoses and fire retardant system. "But if the fire gets very hot and firefighters evacuate, I will run with them."

More homes, businesses and hotels are threatened in nearby Groveland, a community of 600 about 5 miles from the fire and 25 miles from the entrance of Yosemite.

Usually filled with tourists, the streets are now swarming with firefighters, evacuees, and news crews, said Doug Edwards, owner of Hotel Charlotte on Main Street.

"We usually book out six months solid with no vacancies and turn away 30-40 people a night. That's all changed," Edwards said. "All we're getting for the next three weeks is cancellations. It's a huge impact on the community in terms of revenue dollars."

The fire is raging in the same region where a 1987 fire killed a firefighter, burned hundreds of thousands of acres, and forced several thousand people out of their homes.

Five wildfires also were burning in Yellowstone National Park but not nearly as vigorously since portions the park in northwest Wyoming got half an inch or more of rain Wednesday.

Park officials continued to monitor a 12-square-mile fire five miles north of Lake Village. They didn't plan to send in firefighters but and continued to let the fire burn to help the ecosystem.

___

Associated Press writers Jason Dearen, Lisa Leff and Andrew Dalton in San Francisco, and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyo., also contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-calif-wildfire-spreads-yosemite-193657768.html

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Healthy Back (Video) Series / Part I | Nimble Fitness: New York City ...

Hello! This is the first of a three-part video series on how to have and maintain a healthy back. Let?s start this week with your lower back.

Lower back health is a multi-billion dollar business in the U.S, with a very high percentage of people experiencing some type of lower back pain during their lifetime. There are many books and videos on the subject. Most of those books will explain the structural and muscular issues that contribute to lower back pain and proscribe stretches, exercises and medications to counteract them.

What I?ll discuss today is starting with a much more basic approach?things you can do right now, today, to help ease lower back pain that don?t cost a dime and are surprisingly effective. It?s our intention that this video series inspires you to take action. You can live pain free and feel young at any age!

Namaste,
Daniel

Source: http://www.nimblefitness.com/healthy-back-video-series-part-i

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Find Out How To Gain Attention For Your Website - Internet ...

Any business can increase profits through good Internet marketing strategies. When you use the Internet to market your business, you can reach customers across the world. There are some tricks, however, to market your business more effectively. What follows are ways to maximize the effectiveness of your Online marketing strategy.

Pay attention to your competitors. Their strategies may help you refine your own, allowing you to better reach your customer base. When looking at a competitor?s website, put yourself in the shoes of a customer. If you would purchase their products, what about their marketing encourages you to do so? How can you incorporate some of these strategies into your own website?

You possess the skills needed to be successful in web marketing. Advanced software programs are not needed to be profitable. With plenty of thought and effort, you will work through your decisions and strategies when it comes to marketing.

Video marketing is a good way to get your business Internet exposure. Incorporating an informative video onto your website is a great method for gaining the attention of your viewers. Remember that you have to entice customers into watching the video in order to realize the benefit; a compelling title and an intriguing picture are important.

You must know your competition if you are to succeed with an online business. Compare the web pages of your competitors to garner ideas on things that may work for you too. If you see that your competition is not providing certain services on their websites, offer the same services on your site so that your customers will choose you over your competition.

If you can create an Ezine, it can be a great tool to get subscribers and market your company. You can experiment with adding photographs of your staff, customers, or even family. In addition, write some fun memories about your employees or family. Use of captivating words in your subject line, such as examples of easy, fast ways to attain their goals, will peak your customers interest.

Be sure to back up any claims about your business or products that you make with cold hard facts. For instance, if you say your product works great, people may or may not believe you. However, if you make a video showing how effective the product functions, you will be far more convincing. Real life videos and images can be a great boost to your Internet promotion campaign.

The above advice will enable you to improve your internet promotion efforts. Next, you should try them to see how well they work. Alterations may be in order to customize them to fit your own particular needs. Be bold in exploring new approaches and keep an open mind to progressive ways of thinking.

Source: http://internetmarketingforums.net/?p=265

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Yemi Sax wedding photos

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Source: en.wordpress.com --- Sunday, July 14, 2013
Award winning Saxophonist, Adeyemi Adeosun, popularly known as Yemi Sax married his longtime girlfriend, Sholatayo Durojaiye, yesterday July 12th in Lagos. Congratz ...

Source: http://bussytalknaija.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/yemi-sax-wedding-photos/

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Microsoft?s Xbox One chief product officer admits big mistakes in messaging

Xbox One chief product officer Marc Whitten admitted that Microsoft made mistakes in communicating its policies on digital rights to its consumers, according an interview published by?IGN.

The mistakes started on May 21, when the company announced its next-generation game console, and then multiplied as Microsoft executives gave different answers to the same questions on used game sales, once-a-day connection requirements, and privacy issues. The company issued a clarification on the policies just before the E3 trade show in June, and then it backtracked after a gamer revolt after the show on June 19. Then games chief Don Mattrick left the company and Microsoft installed Windows chief Julie Larson-Green as the new Xbox hardware boss.

?I think it?s pretty simple. We?ve got to just talk more, get people understanding what our system is,? Whitten told IGN. ?The thing that?s really gratifying is that people are excited about the types of features that are possible, and it?s sort of shame on us that we haven?t done as good of a job as we can to make people feel like that?s where we?re headed.?

?The number one thing I want to do is I want to get the product out, because people are going to use it and obviously a lot of this is more evident, but certainly what I want to do right is now is talk more about how we thought about these features,? he continued. ?How we thought about how Xbox Live works, how digital works. I see people feeling like we?ve moved away from digital, when certainly I don?t believe that?s the case. I believe we?ve added on choice for people. It was an addition of a feature onto Xbox One, not a removal of a feature. And I understand people see things like Family Sharing and they?re like, ?Wow, I was really looking forward to that,? which is more of an engineering reality time frame type-thing.?

Whitten said that an online petition asking Microsoft to overturn its backtracking was another indication of the company?s need to talk more openly.

?What it tells me is we need to do more work to talk about what we?re doing because I think that we did something different than maybe how people are perceiving it,? he said. ?When I read some of the things like that petition, from my perspective we took a lot of the feedback and, while Xbox One is built to be digital native, to have this amazing online experience, we realized people wanted some choice. They wanted what I like to call a bridge, sort of how they think about the world today using more digital stuff. What we did, we added to what the console can do by providing physical and offline modes in the console. It isn?t about moving away from what that digital vision is for the platform. It?s about adding that choice. Frankly, I think we need to just do more to let people see how the console works, what they?re going to be able to do for it. I think a lot of the things they?re wishing for are frankly there.?

Microsoft has taken a beating from Sony, which has argued that it is thinking more about hardcore gamers.

?We love core gamers,? Whitten said. ?They?re the people that have built Xbox and Xbox Live. That?s the place where we need to do a better job showing up, and we need to engage more.?

Source: http://venturebeat.feedsportal.com/c/34021/f/617406/s/2e9ef06f/l/0Lventurebeat0N0C20A130C0A70C130Cmicrosofts0Exbox0Eone0Echief0Eproduct0Eofficer0Eadmits0Ebig0Emistakes0Ein0Emessaging0C/story01.htm

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It's Dumb Easy to Wreck a $20,000 Camera with Just a Couple Lasers

Lasers are bad for your eyes, so it shouldn't be a surprise they're bad for cameras too. This clip shows exactly how trivial it is for a laser to pop inside a $20,000 piece of equipment and totally scramble its brains.

The camera in question here is a Red EPIC?a bit more expensive than the Canon 5D we saw get taken out a while back. The cam was just minding its own business, filming the Electric Daisy Carnival 2013 in Chicago when it came face-to-face with a laser array. And laser beats sensor.

Fortunately the busted sensor should be replaceable at a cost less than the camera's full $20,000, but it's still a multi-thousand dollar screw-up, and apparently two cameras there got hit. So be careful where you point, well, everything; the damage doesn't look quite awesome enough to justify that cost. [Reddit]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/its-dumb-easy-to-wreck-a-20-000-camera-with-just-a-co-771211069

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Let's Hear It Once More for Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan

Florida Georgia Line

Did you see something move?

Well, it probably wasn't this week's country charts. Once again, it's Florida Georgia Line's Here's to the Good Times and Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" topping the albums and country airplay rankings, respectively.

Compounding the sluggishness is the fact that there's only one new album and three new songs to announce.

The debut CD is the multi-artist collection Mud Digger 4, which climbs aboard at No. 8.

Making comebacks, however, are Country: Willie Nelson (returning at No. 66), Mud Digger: Volume 3 (No. 68), Chris Cagle's Back in the Saddle (No. 70), Johnny Cash's The Greatest: The Number Ones (No. 72) and Craig Campbell's Never Forget (No. 74).

First-time-appearing songs include the Henningsens' "I Miss You" (No. 54), Jake Owen's "Summer Jam," featuring Florida Georgia Line (No. 57) and Lauren Alaina's "Barefoot and Buckwild" (No. 58).

The No. 2 through No. 4 albums, in that order, are Blake Shelton's Based on a True Story, Darius Rucker's True Believers, Hunter Hayes and the various-artists grab bag, Now That's What I Call Country, Volume 6.

Completing the Top 5 songs cluster are The Band Perry's "Done," the Zac Brown Band's "Jump Right In," Kip Moore's "Hey Pretty Girl" and Brad Paisley's "Beat This Summer."

OK. Can you please crank up the air conditioning?

Source: http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1710484/lets-hear-it-once-more-for-florida-georgia-line-and-luke-bryan.jhtml?rsspartner=rssRSSMicrocom

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2,000 jobs forecast for ?5bn wind farm and energy storage hub project in north M...

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Move Over Peter Thiel, Oregon Proposes Investment Model For ...

As college debt skyrockets to over $35,000 per student, the state of Oregon has proposed a novel investment approach to loans: free tuition at public universities in exchange for 3 percent of earnings for the first 25 years after graduation. Just like a venture-capital portfolio that earns its profit from a few star investments, many students would end up underpaying the cost of their college, subsidized by the school?s star businessmen.

For example, students who earned a meager $600,000 over a quarter century would pay just $18,000 for their degree, while a multi millionaire would theoretically pay enough to subsidize all the artists, public servants, and most of the humanities. Assuming the Higher Education Coordinating Commission?s pilot goes according to plan, Oregon will roll out a polished version of the so-called ?Pay It Forward? student loan program statewide.

Critics of ?higher education, especially venture capitalist Peter Thiel, have long argued that college simply isn?t worth the price tag:

?Probably the only candidate left for a bubble ? at least in the developed world (maybe emerging markets are a bubble) ? is education. It?s basically extremely overpriced. People are not getting their money?s worth, objectively, when you do the math.?

To prove his point, he opened the deliciously controversial Thiel Fellowship, which pays a cohort of 20 entrepreneurial youngins $100,000 to opt-out of college for at least 2 years and invest the money. The implication is that students are better off investing their time and money directly into a product, rather than delaying it for a double major in Beer Pong and 18th-century literature.

But as Stanford?s Dean of Engineering, Jim Plummer, argues, the problem with Thiel?s market-only approach is that most investments will fail, leaving students without marketable skills or a network of support. Perhaps more importantly, the general education requirements of college give students an important humanities background, necessary to be a well-rounded citizen. In other words, Thiel?s model doesn?t scale for a democracy.

Oregon?s approach is a happy hybrid between the old college loan model and Thiel?s investment approach. The state bets that it?s investment in public universities will yield enough brilliant minds to justify the cost of universal higher-education.

It should be noted that Oregon?s proposal isn?t entirely novel. According to the New York Times, libertarian icon and Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman proposed it back in 1955. Yale University piloted it for their own students before the introduction of federal loans.

Starting in 2012, President Obama established an Income-Based Repayment (IBR) system for student loans, based on one that the U.K. and Australia have done for years.?But according to the Chronicle of Higher Education [PDF], mass confusion over student loans has yielded a disappointing adoption rate. Oregon?s may succeed because it is state-wide and done in conjunction with universities.

With any luck, it will also incentivize colleges to invest in curriculum that teaches real-world skills. If the entire college system was tied to financial success, administrators would have to start thinking long-term. Given that many of the most successful businessmen of our time, including Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, are college dropouts, educators are going to have to do a much better job appealing to their new economic life lines.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/07/move-over-peter-thiel-oregon-proposes-investment-model-for-student-loans/

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Hearing loss from loud blasts may be treatable

July 1, 2013 ? Long-term hearing loss from loud explosions, such as blasts from roadside bombs, may not be as irreversible as previously thought, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Using a mouse model, the study found that loud blasts actually cause hair-cell and nerve-cell damage, rather than structural damage, to the cochlea, which is the auditory portion of the inner ear. This could be good news for the millions of soldiers and civilians who, after surviving these often devastating bombs, suffer long-term hearing damage.

"It means we could potentially try to reduce this damage," said John Oghalai, MD, associate professor of otolaryngology and senior author of the study, published July 1 in PLOS ONE. If the cochlea, an extremely delicate structure, had been shredded and ripped apart by a large blast, as earlier studies have asserted, the damage would be irreversible. (Researchers presume that the damage seen in these previous studies may have been due to the use of older, less sophisticated imaging techniques.)

"The most common issue we see veterans for is hearing loss," said Oghalai, a scientist and clinician who treats patients at Stanford Hospital & Clinics and directs the hearing center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

The increasingly common use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, around the world provided the impetus for the new study, which was primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Among veterans with service-connected disabilities, tinnitus -- a constant ringing in the ears -- is the most prevalent condition. Hearing loss is the second-most-prevalent condition. But the results of the study would prove true for anyone who is exposed to loud blasts from other sources, such as jet engines, air bags or gunfire.

More than 60 percent of wounded-in-action service members have eardrum injuries, tinnitus or hearing loss, or some combination of these, the study says. Twenty-eight percent of all military personnel experience some degree of hearing loss post-deployment. The most devastating effect of blast injury to the ear is permanent hearing loss due to trauma to the cochlea. But exactly how this damage is caused has not been well understood.

The ears are extremely fragile instruments. Sound waves enter the ear, causing the eardrums to vibrate. These vibrations get sent to the cochlea in the inner ear, where fluid carries them to rows of hair cells, which in turn stimulate auditory nerve fibers. These impulses are then sent to the brain via the auditory nerve, where they get interpreted as sounds.

Permanent hearing loss from loud noise begins at about 85 decibels, typical of a hair dryer or a food blender. IEDs have noise levels approaching 170 decibels.

Damage to the eardrum is known to be common after large blasts, but this is easily detected during a clinical exam and usually can heal itself -- or is surgically repairable -- and is thus not typically the cause of long-term hearing loss.

In order to determine exactly what is causing the permanent hearing loss, Stanford researchers created a mouse model to study the effects of noise blasts on the ear.

After exposing anesthetized mice to loud blasts, researchers examined the inner workings of the mouse ear from the eardrum to the cochlea. The ears were examined from day one through three months. A micro-CT scanner was used to image the workings of the ear after dissection.

"When we looked inside the cochlea, we saw the hair-cell loss and auditory-nerve-cell loss," Oghalai said.

"With one loud blast, you lose a huge number of these cells. What's nice is that the hair cells and nerve cells are not immediately gone. The theory now is that if the ear could be treated with certain medications right after the blast, that might limit the damage."

Previous studies on larger animals had found that the cochlea was torn apart and shredded after exposure to a loud blast. Stanford scientists did not find this in the mouse model and speculate that the use of older research techniques may have caused the damage.

"We found that the blast trauma is similar to what we see from more lower noise exposure over time," said Oghalai. "We lose the sensory hair cells that convert sound vibrations into electrical signals, and also the auditory nerve cells."

Much of the resulting hearing loss after such blast damage to the ear is actually caused by the body's immune response to the injured cells, Oghalai said. The creation of scar tissue to help heal the injury is a particular problem in the ear because the organ needs to vibrate to allow the hearing mechanism to work. Scar tissue damages that ability.

"There is going to be a window where we could stop whatever the body's inflammatory response would be right after the blast," Oghalai said. "We might be able to stop the damage. This will determine future research."

In addition to the Department of Defense, the study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants K08DC006671 and P30DC010363) and Chosun University in South Korea.

The first author of the study, Sung-Il Cho, MD, assistant professor at Chosun University, was working at Stanford during the study. Other Stanford authors were graduate students Simon Gao, Jongmin Baek and David Jacobs; senior research scientist Anping Xia, MD, PhD; research technician Rosalie Wang; research associate Felipe Salles, PhD; computer programmer Patrick Raphael; and research coordinator Homer Abaya.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Vz9QFbqbnIQ/130701172108.htm

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What is Stock Android?

There's Nexus and Google Play editions and experiences ... Just what exactly is 'Stock Android' anymore? (And does it even matter?)

The term "Stock Android" gets thrown around quite a bit — particularly with the introduction of these Google Play edition devices — and has earned a level of reverence that's pretty unparalleled in the Android world. Even the words get a capital letter, so you know it's something that people care about. The (very vocal) minority of us have even forced HTC and Samsung's hand to release their latest and greatest with all their hard work removed and the mighty Stock Android in place. But Stock Android itself is a misnomer, and it's almost impossible to define.

Webster's tells us that "stock" is the original from which others derive. In that sense, it does describe Android as Google intended it. But we don't apply a direct definition to most things when they work their way into daily use, so Stock Android (with the capital S) needs some further explanation.

I'm not preaching from my virtual soapbox here; I'm every bit as guilty of muddling things as anyone else is. But that doesn't mean we can't discuss it, right? 

Let's do that, then.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/fdXhpF22IEM/story01.htm

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Reading DNA, backward and forward: Biologists reveal how cells control the direction in which the genome is read

June 24, 2013 ? MIT biologists have discovered a mechanism that allows cells to read their own DNA in the correct direction and prevents them from copying most of the so-called "junk DNA" that makes up long stretches of our genome.

Only about 15 percent of the human genome consists of protein-coding genes, but in recent years scientists have found that a surprising amount of the junk, or intergenic DNA, does get copied into RNA -- the molecule that carries DNA's messages to the rest of the cell.

Scientists have been trying to figure out just what this RNA might be doing, if anything. In 2008, MIT researchers led by Institute Professor Phillip Sharp discovered that much of this RNA is generated through a process called divergent expression, through which cells read their DNA in both directions moving away from a given starting point.

In a new paper appearing in Nature on June 23, Sharp and colleagues describe how cells initiate but then halt the copying of RNA in the upstream, or non-protein-coding direction, while allowing it to continue in the direction in which genes are correctly read. The finding helps to explain the existence of many recently discovered types of short strands of RNA whose function is unknown.

"This is part of an RNA revolution where we're seeing different RNAs and new RNAs that we hadn't suspected were present in cells, and trying to understand what role they have in the health of the cell or the viability of the cell," says Sharp, who is a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. "It gives us a whole new appreciation of the balance of the fundamental processes that allow cells to function."

Graduate students Albert Almada and Xuebing Wu are the lead authors of the paper. Christopher Burge, a professor of biology and biological engineering, and undergraduate Andrea Kriz are also authors.

Choosing direction

DNA, which is housed within the nucleus of cells, controls cellular activity by coding for the production of RNAs and proteins. To exert this control, the genetic information encoded by DNA must first be copied, or transcribed, into messenger RNA (mRNA).

When the DNA double helix unwinds to reveal its genetic messages, RNA transcription can proceed in either direction. To initiate this copying, an enzyme called RNA polymerase latches on to the DNA at a spot known as the promoter. The RNA polymerase then moves along the strand, building the mRNA chain as it goes.

When the RNA polymerase reaches a stop signal at the end of a gene, it halts transcription and adds to the mRNA a sequence of bases known as a poly-A tail, which consists of a long string of the genetic base adenine. This process, known as polyadenylation, helps to prepare the mRNA molecule to be exported from the cell's nucleus.

By sequencing the mRNA transcripts of mouse embryonic stem cells, the researchers discovered that polyadenylation also plays a major role in halting the transcription of upstream, noncoding DNA sequences. They found that these regions have a high density of signal sequences for polyadenylation, which prompts enzymes to chop up the RNA before it gets very long. Stretches of DNA that code for genes have a low density of these signal sequences.

The researchers also found another factor that influences whether transcription is allowed to continue. It has been recently shown that when a cellular factor known as U1 snRNP binds to RNA, polyadenylation is suppressed. The new MIT study found that genes have a higher concentration of binding sites for U1 snRNP than noncoding sequences, allowing gene transcription to continue uninterrupted.

A widespread phenomenon

The function of all of this upstream noncoding RNA is still a subject of much investigation. "That transcriptional process could produce an RNA that has some function, or it could be a product of the nature of the biochemical reaction. This will be debated for a long time," Sharp says.

His lab is now exploring the relationship between this transcription process and the observation of large numbers of so-called long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). He plans to investigate the mechanisms that control the synthesis of such RNAs and try to determine their functions.

"Once you see some data like this, it raises many more questions to be investigated, which I'm hoping will lead us to deeper insights into how our cells carry out their normal functions and how they change in malignancy," Sharp says.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/vK48xKSPdxQ/130624141412.htm

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Boston trial of 'Whitey' Bulger enters 3rd week

FILE - This June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Bulger's trial began Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in federal court in Boston, where he is charged with playing a role in 19 killings during the '70s and '80s while allegedly the boss of the Winter Hill Gang. (AP Photo/ U.S. Marshals Service, File)

FILE - This June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Bulger's trial began Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in federal court in Boston, where he is charged with playing a role in 19 killings during the '70s and '80s while allegedly the boss of the Winter Hill Gang. (AP Photo/ U.S. Marshals Service, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2008 file photo, John Martorano is questioned about his plea agreement in exchange for testifying against former FBI agent John Connolly, in the Miami Courthouse. Martorano has admitted to 20 killings and previously spent 12 years in prison in exchange for his cooperation with authorities. He lives in a condo on a golf course in Milford, Mass. Neighbors say they didn?t have a clue about his past until seeing him on television in connection with court case in Boston. (AP Photo/Marice Cohn Band, Pool, File)

FILE - This June 23, 2011 booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger, captured in Santa Monica, Calif., after 16 years on the run. Bulger's trial began Wednesday, June 12, 2013 in federal court in Boston, where he is charged with playing a role in 19 killings during the '70s and '80s while allegedly the boss of the Winter Hill Gang. (AP Photo/ U.S. Marshals Service, File)

The trial of James "Whitey" Bulger enters its third week Monday with more testimony from prosecution witnesses. Bulger is accused in a 32-count racketeering indictment of a long list of crimes, including participating in 19 killings. Here are some highlights from the courtroom last week:

THE DEFENDANT

The 83-year-old Bulger took notes on a legal pad and stared straight ahead during testimony. Bulger, whom prosecutors say is the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, was one of the nation's most wanted fugitives after he fled Boston in 1994. He was captured in 2011 in Santa Monica, Calif. His early image as a modern-day Robin Hood who gave Thanksgiving dinners to working-class neighbors and kept drug dealers out of his South Boston neighborhood was shattered when authorities started digging up bodies.

THE PROSECUTION

Former hit man James Martorano testified about murders he said he committed at the request of Bulger and Bulger's partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi. Martorano also described a 1975 killing he said Bulger and Flemmi did themselves. Martorano, who admitted killing 20 people, spoke in a clipped, businesslike manner while describing how he pumped bullets into people and shot up cars, but he said Bulger and Flemmi "sort of broke my heart" when he learned they had been FBI informants. Prosecutors also called to the stand family members of people they say were killed by Bulger and his gang and others who survived the attacks. The government also began the process of introducing Bulger's FBI informant file into evidence. The prosecution says Bulger was a longtime informant who provided the FBI with information on the rival New England Mafia; Bulger's lawyers deny he was an informant.

THE DEFENSE

Under cross-examination by Bulger lawyer Hank Brennan, Martorano insisted he was not a hit man or a serial killer. He said he did not get paid for killing people but instead just did it as part of his work for Bulger's gang, to help family or friends, or to defend himself. "I always tried to be a nice guy," he said. The defense asked prosecution witness Ralph DeMasi if during his time in prison, he learned that inmates who become government witnesses know they can get "extraordinary benefits," an obvious reference to plea deals struck by Martorano and other Bulger associates expected to testify against him. "Absolutely," DeMasi said. "Guys are walking the street after they killed 20 people, if they cooperated." Martorano served 12 years in prison after cutting a deal with prosecutors to testify against Bulger.

Bulger's defense attorneys filed a motion Saturday asking Judge Denise J. Casper to lift a gag order because it is infringing on Bulger's Constitutional right of free speech. They cited "personal attacks" against their client in the media and "an enormous degree of media attention and public discourse."

Prosecutors responded Sunday that Bulger is free to tell his story by testifying. They noted that Bulger spent considerable time before the trial trying to bar some reporters from the courtroom.

It was not clear when Casper would rule on the request.

THE JURY

Eleven men and seven women are serving on the jury, which includes six alternates. The trial is expected to last three to four months.

THE GALLERY

Academy Award winner Robert Duvall sat in the back of the courtroom Friday. The 82-year-old Duvall has had a long TV and film career, including starring roles in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather: Part II." In those mob epics, he played Tom Hagen, a lawyer and adviser to the Corleone family. He has been shooting a movie, "The Judge," in Shelburne, Mass., this month. Duvall plays the title character in the film.

WHAT'S UP NEXT

Former Boston FBI Agent John Morris is expected to testify Monday. Morris was the supervisor of John Connolly, who prosecutors say was Bulger's handler as an FBI informant. Morris, who was granted immunity from prosecution, has admitted he accepted cash from Bulger's gang.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-24-Whitey%20Bulger-The%20Trial%20So%20Far/id-1f492ca40178434fa059537eca52f59a

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