Williamsville, NY (WKBW) - Close to a thousand people have joined a Facebook page to support former Williamsville Basketball Coach Al Monaco. Many who've joined the page describe Monaco as a mentor and don't understand why this accomplished coach was let go from his position.
Al Monaco has coached the Williamsville South High School Basketball Team for the past 24 season and lead his team to sectional championships back in 2010 and 2011. Last week though, his coaching career in the district was over after student harassment complaints were filed against him.
"This is a personnel matter. We take it very seriously. It's very unfortunate that it's come to this, but unfortunately we are going to go in a different direction with our basketball coach at South High School," said Williamsville School District Superintendent Scott Martzloff.
Amherst police investigated the complaints from some parents of players who said Monaco verbally harassed their children, however no chargers were filed.
To view the 'We Support Coach Al Monaco' Facebook Page visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/404672459593646/
In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, a Nicaraguan police officer stands next to a van bearing the logo of Mexican news channel Televisa, confiscated from a group of Mexican nationals posing as journalists, in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguan police say the group was detained while attempting to drive the vans to Costa Rica, transporting millions of dollars, to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, a Nicaraguan police officer stands next to a van bearing the logo of Mexican news channel Televisa, confiscated from a group of Mexican nationals posing as journalists, in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguan police say the group was detained while attempting to drive the vans to Costa Rica, transporting millions of dollars, to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Mexican national Raquel Alatorre Correa, center, surrounded by fellow detainees, all facing organized crime and money laundering charges, attend a court hearing to face additional indictments, in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Costa Rican authorities say Alatorre is believed to be the leader of a group posing as Televisa journalists transporting millions of dollars to Costa Rica to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A group of Mexican nationals who were posing as journalists when detained are escorted by Nicaraguan police agents to a court hearing to face additional charges, in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Nicaraguan police say the group was detained while attempting to drive vans emblazoned with Televisa's news logo, to Costa Rica, transporting millions of dollars, to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
Nicaraguan police stand guard during a court hearing for a group of Mexican nationals who were posing as journalists when detained, in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Nicaraguan police say the group was detained while attempting to drive vans emblazoned with Televisa's news logo, to Costa Rica, transporting millions of dollars, to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
A group of Mexican nationals who were posing as journalists when detained are escorted by Nicaraguan police agents to a court hearing to face additional charges, in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. Nicaraguan police say the group was detained while attempting to drive vans emblazoned with Televisa's news logo, to Costa Rica, transporting millions of dollars, to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States. The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua?s role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) ? Most days the only vehicles on Highway 15 are battered trucks shuttling grain, coffee beans and cooking oil through the lush, mountainous highlands on the Honduras-Nicaragua border.
Then one recent morning, a convoy of six vans cruised down the two-lane road. All were emblazoned with the logo of the world's largest Spanish-language television network, Televisa, and inside were 18 Mexicans with press badges, high-definition video cameras, microphones and a satellite dish.
Nicaraguan police were waiting. Acting on an anonymous tip from Honduras, officers pulled over the vans and after two days of investigation determined the occupants were falsely posing as employees of Televisa's news division. Hidden beneath the sound boards and screens in three of the vans, officers found black gym bags stuffed with $9.2 million in cash.
The Aug. 20 seizure has pulled back the curtain on Nicaragua's role as a conduit between South American cocaine producers and the Mexican drug cartels that move their product into the United States. It also shows how the gangs are resorting to ever-more inventive ways to move their profits out of the U.S. as authorities crack down harder on suspicious bank transfers and other relatively easy ways of moving money.
"It's been a case that has drawn our attention. We are studying the way organized crime is operating," said Nicaragua's National Police spokesman, Commander Fernando Borge. "Organized crime is powerful and has many resources and it will try in every different way to get across our country."
Nicaraguan police say the cash was destined for Costa Rica, where the fake journalists planned to pay for a load of drugs that had been smuggled into the United States.
Authorities here aren't saying which cartel employed the woman and 17 men arrested ? most of them in their 20s or 30s and most with addresses in Mexico City or its suburbs. Testimony in a high-profile trial in progress in Nicaragua has alleged, however, that Nicaragua and Costa Rica are being used as transfer points in the trade between Colombian drug traffickers and the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is one of Mexico's two most powerful criminal organizations.
The suspects were charged with drug trafficking at a court appearance Friday. They already had been charged with money laundering and organized crime.
Costa Rican authorities say the woman arrested, 30-year-old Raquel Alatorre, who is believed to be the leader of the group, had crossed from Nicaragua into their country at least 15 times since 2006, though it was unclear if she had traveled in similar convoys previously.
"We were not investigating them," said Costa Rica's vice minister of security, Celso Gamboa. "We were not very shrewd."
Nicaragua's Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policy, which tracks how much money is seized from suspected criminals in the country, says a total of $40 million in cash has been confiscated by police over the past seven years, including $7 million last year alone.
"Normally drug dealers don't function like this. This isn't the usual way they operate," said Roberto Orozco, a researcher with the group. "However, it is possible that we're seeing new techniques emerge, with drug dealers disguising themselves as journalists."
The seized 2011 Chevy Express vans, five white and one yellow-and-blue, bore custom-made stickers with Televisa's orange sun logo. The logo was also embroidered in the neck lanyards of the suspects' supposed press badges and stamped on their microphones.
Nicaraguan prosecutors say police had received an anonymous call the previous day from a man in Honduras who said he had overheard the group talking suspiciously about crossing into Nicaragua.
So 13 officers waited south of the border checkpoint and stopped the convoy inside Nicaragua.
The people in the vans gave inconsistent accounts about what stories they were planned to cover in Nicaragua, with some saying they going to produce a piece on tourism, and others saying the topic was crime.
Local media have cited unidentified Nicaraguan authorities as saying the fake journalists claimed they were going to cover the current trial of a Nicaraguan who allegedly helped the Sinaloa cartel smuggle drugs and money through his country to Costa Rica and Colombia. The defendant, Henry Farinas, was charged after a 2011 attack apparently aimed at him killed Argentine folk singer Facundo Cabral, who was being driven by Farinas to a Guatemala airport.
The indictment against the 18 people, obtained by The Associated Press, says they had no way to show authorities that Televisa sent the large contingent on assignment. So police escorted the suspects to the capital city of Managua and kept them at the Holiday Inn for two days while investigators contacted the Mexican Embassy to find out more information about them.
Embassy officials reported that the 18 people were not employees of Televisa, and that justified a thorough search of the vans, the indictment says.
Nicaragua's courts and treasury are now fighting over who gets to keep the money. The archbishop of Managua has also put in a bid, saying the Roman Catholic Church could use the money to help the poor of Nicaragua, the second-poorest nation in the hemisphere. In previous cash seizures, the money was held by the courts until trials were finished and then distributed among law enforcement agencies.
Last Friday, police showed off 16 of the 18 suspects to the news media.
Sirens blaring, ski-masked police officers dressed in black drove the five white vans with the orange Televisa logo onto the parking lot of Nicaragua's National Police headquarters in Managua. Some officers took wads of cash from gym bags for the cameras. Prosecutor Javier Antonio Morazan said in court documents that at least one wad of cash underwent a narcotic trace detector and tested positive for cocaine.
Alatorre and the 17 men will have their first hearing Sept. 18 on the charges of organized crime and money laundering.
Televisa has said since the arrests that the detainees were not its reporters and the vehicles were never in its car fleet. A statement this week said the company may sue the group for pretending to be its reporters.
___
Associated Press writer Cesar Barrentes in San Jose, Costa Rica, contributed to this report.
___
Adriana Gomez Licon on Twitter: http://twitter.com/agomezlicon
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First validated method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa products could help scientists and the industry in standardized reporting Public release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
International laboratories collaborate to validate a method developed by Mars, Incorporated to quantify the much-studied cocoa flavanols
Mars, Incorporated, working in partnership with AOAC International, has successfully completed a multi-laboratory, first-of-its-kind validation of a method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa-based products. The study, just published in the latest edition of the Journal of AOAC International, details the results of a comprehensive evaluation of this method by 12 international laboratories, which included academic, industrial and commercial institutions. As it has been proved to be reproducible, robust, and readily transferable, this method could have far-reaching implications for researchers and consumers.
"This multi-laboratory collaborative study represents a critical breakthrough in the field by demonstrating that a method to measure these complex phytonutrients in cocoa can be reliable, robust, and easy-to-use," said Dr. Catherine Kwik-Uribe, study author and R&D Director at Mars Botanical. "Excitingly, in the not too distant future, this could lead to more uniform numbers on product labels that will help consumers compare and contrast flavanol-containing products, and help regulators evaluate claims."
Flavanols are a group of natural compounds that are particularly abundant in cocoa. Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in the potential cardiovascular and cognitive health benefits of flavanol and procyanidin-containing foods. For example, in July this year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a positive Scientific Opinion on the health benefits of cocoa flavanols and procyanidins related to healthy blood flow. Though these phytonutrients are of great scientific and consumer interest, until now there has been no common, validated approach to the analysis of these compounds in foods. As a result, different laboratories and companies have used different methods to report content. This has resulted in considerable variability and confusion in reported values, and scientists, regulators, and consumers lack clear and relevant information.
Moreover, the lack of an agreed method of analysis has left the field plagued by a variety of non-specific methods that provide no details about the types and mixtures of flavanols and procyanidins in foods, and typically overestimate the true levels of these compounds in foods, including cocoa products. Recognition of the limitations of these non-specific methods for reporting the content of phytonutrients has recently been highlighted by the USDA, which removed the USDA Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) Database for Selected Foods from its Nutrient Data Laboratory website. This was a result of mounting evidence indicating that measurements of "antioxidant capacity" have no relevance to human health, particularly as it relates to the benefits of specific phytonutrients.
The availability of a new, properly-validated and standardized method that provides specific compositional information on the types and mixtures of flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate products is therefore an important step. Such a method will be crucial to establishing a causal relationship between the intake of the specific phytonutrients and their health benefits.
To address this, Mars, Incorporated initiated and led a collaborative study with AOAC International, a not-for-profit scientific association that assists in the validation of analytical methods worldwide. To validate the method at the various laboratories, scientists at Mars distributed 14 samples representing a variety of cocoa-containing products and ingredients with flavanol and procyanidin concentrations ranging from
The method is the culmination of a decade of work and represents the first multi-laboratory validated method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa. "Mars initiated its flavanol research program in the late 1980s and since then has developed significant expertise in the analysis of cocoa, which has been key to the program's success. Robust analytical methods such as the one just published enable the link between understanding the flavanol compounds in cocoa and the important benefits these components can have on our health. Without the proper analytical tools, this would be impossible," commented Harold Schmitz, Executive Director of the Mars Center for Cocoa Health Science.
###
The results of this multi-laboratory collaboration have been published in the Journal of AOAC International, available online here: http://aoac.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/aoac/jaoac/2012/00000095/00000004/art00027. This work was supported by Mars, Incorporated and is part of a wider collaborative research program focused on the health benefits of cocoa flavanols. In collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific institutions, Mars, Incorporated has been pursuing extensive research to advance understanding of cocoa flavanols for over 20 years.
Mars, Incorporated's ongoing commitment to research in the field of cocoa flavanols is represented by the publication of more than 140 scientific papers and approximately 100 patents. Using this knowledge, Mars scientists have developed a proprietary, patented Cocoapro process that helps to retain the flavanols found naturally in the cocoa bean, which are usually destroyed during normal processing.
(1)Robbins, R.J., et al., Method performance and multi-laboratory assessment of a normal phase high pressure liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection method for the quantitation of flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate containing samples. J Chromatogr A, 2009. 1216(24): p. 4831-40.
About Mars, Incorporated
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the philosophy of a "mutuality of benefits" for all stakeholders this vision serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and approximately 70,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.
For more information, please visit www.mars.com, www.marscocoascience.com, www.healthycocoa.com. Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
First validated method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa products could help scientists and the industry in standardized reporting Public release date: 30-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
International laboratories collaborate to validate a method developed by Mars, Incorporated to quantify the much-studied cocoa flavanols
Mars, Incorporated, working in partnership with AOAC International, has successfully completed a multi-laboratory, first-of-its-kind validation of a method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa-based products. The study, just published in the latest edition of the Journal of AOAC International, details the results of a comprehensive evaluation of this method by 12 international laboratories, which included academic, industrial and commercial institutions. As it has been proved to be reproducible, robust, and readily transferable, this method could have far-reaching implications for researchers and consumers.
"This multi-laboratory collaborative study represents a critical breakthrough in the field by demonstrating that a method to measure these complex phytonutrients in cocoa can be reliable, robust, and easy-to-use," said Dr. Catherine Kwik-Uribe, study author and R&D Director at Mars Botanical. "Excitingly, in the not too distant future, this could lead to more uniform numbers on product labels that will help consumers compare and contrast flavanol-containing products, and help regulators evaluate claims."
Flavanols are a group of natural compounds that are particularly abundant in cocoa. Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in the potential cardiovascular and cognitive health benefits of flavanol and procyanidin-containing foods. For example, in July this year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued a positive Scientific Opinion on the health benefits of cocoa flavanols and procyanidins related to healthy blood flow. Though these phytonutrients are of great scientific and consumer interest, until now there has been no common, validated approach to the analysis of these compounds in foods. As a result, different laboratories and companies have used different methods to report content. This has resulted in considerable variability and confusion in reported values, and scientists, regulators, and consumers lack clear and relevant information.
Moreover, the lack of an agreed method of analysis has left the field plagued by a variety of non-specific methods that provide no details about the types and mixtures of flavanols and procyanidins in foods, and typically overestimate the true levels of these compounds in foods, including cocoa products. Recognition of the limitations of these non-specific methods for reporting the content of phytonutrients has recently been highlighted by the USDA, which removed the USDA Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) Database for Selected Foods from its Nutrient Data Laboratory website. This was a result of mounting evidence indicating that measurements of "antioxidant capacity" have no relevance to human health, particularly as it relates to the benefits of specific phytonutrients.
The availability of a new, properly-validated and standardized method that provides specific compositional information on the types and mixtures of flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate products is therefore an important step. Such a method will be crucial to establishing a causal relationship between the intake of the specific phytonutrients and their health benefits.
To address this, Mars, Incorporated initiated and led a collaborative study with AOAC International, a not-for-profit scientific association that assists in the validation of analytical methods worldwide. To validate the method at the various laboratories, scientists at Mars distributed 14 samples representing a variety of cocoa-containing products and ingredients with flavanol and procyanidin concentrations ranging from
The method is the culmination of a decade of work and represents the first multi-laboratory validated method for analyzing flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa. "Mars initiated its flavanol research program in the late 1980s and since then has developed significant expertise in the analysis of cocoa, which has been key to the program's success. Robust analytical methods such as the one just published enable the link between understanding the flavanol compounds in cocoa and the important benefits these components can have on our health. Without the proper analytical tools, this would be impossible," commented Harold Schmitz, Executive Director of the Mars Center for Cocoa Health Science.
###
The results of this multi-laboratory collaboration have been published in the Journal of AOAC International, available online here: http://aoac.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/aoac/jaoac/2012/00000095/00000004/art00027. This work was supported by Mars, Incorporated and is part of a wider collaborative research program focused on the health benefits of cocoa flavanols. In collaboration with some of the world's leading scientific institutions, Mars, Incorporated has been pursuing extensive research to advance understanding of cocoa flavanols for over 20 years.
Mars, Incorporated's ongoing commitment to research in the field of cocoa flavanols is represented by the publication of more than 140 scientific papers and approximately 100 patents. Using this knowledge, Mars scientists have developed a proprietary, patented Cocoapro process that helps to retain the flavanols found naturally in the cocoa bean, which are usually destroyed during normal processing.
(1)Robbins, R.J., et al., Method performance and multi-laboratory assessment of a normal phase high pressure liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection method for the quantitation of flavanols and procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate containing samples. J Chromatogr A, 2009. 1216(24): p. 4831-40.
About Mars, Incorporated
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the philosophy of a "mutuality of benefits" for all stakeholders this vision serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and approximately 70,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.
For more information, please visit www.mars.com, www.marscocoascience.com, www.healthycocoa.com. Follow us: facebook.com/mars, twitter.com/marsglobal, youtube.com/mars.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Coffee may reduce risk of colorectal cancer | AnthonyDeBartolo.com
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A study of 490,000 people published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found those who drank four cups of coffee daily were 15% less likely to develop bowel or rectal cancer, and those who drank six cups reduced their risk by 24%. The researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute asked participants about their diets and lifestyles a decade ago.
Trendy life calls for that all individuals should stay fit to be able to keep up with the wild pace. Health refers to a person?s capability to adapt favorably and take stress led to by altering conditions. In this sort of situation, should you?re bodily match, then your thoughts or body is not going to be disturbed in any way. As you possibly can see, health just isn?t solely about bodily strength however of psychological stability as well.
In some ways, fitness is synonymous to health. Trendy dwelling requires good health and to achieve such state, a person should stay fit. Good health and fitness are interrelated. When a person is fit, then that person is taken into account healthy; and if an individual is wholesome, his or her health level naturally goes up.
But when health only pertains to healt,h it is inadequate. Have you ever heard concerning the Evolution Concept? It states that only the match of all species can survive and move their genes. So health is not totally about health; you also needs to suit the environment that you just stay, anytime and anywhere. Subsequently, a person ought to have the ability to adapt to any environment with a view to survive, along with proper health exercises.
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EFS were founded by Dave Tate after he made an evaluation in some internet sources about sports training. Many coaches in addition to athletes are looking for coaching advices however don?t get the very best and complete information. So, EFS was created to answer this demand.
Dave was as soon as an elite energy athlete. For twenty years in the fitness world, he has encountered every training program and gear in the industry. The EFS driving power is to put success in any coaching program above different things. This makes EFS the world?s leader in the discipline of conditioning and strength training.
Power coaching is great for developing totally different muscle groups, and there are plenty of machines that may support you in your health regimen. That you must make comparisons between using exercise machines and free weights. Both have its advantages and downsides and the purpose of comparing is to weigh which one meets your fitness wants the best.
The most recent construction of free weights is extensively available within the type of barbells and dumbbells. Many dumbbells are single weight, one piece items. Some are designed equally with barbells. It has a bar on the center and the weights are removable. Thus, it provides you the option to alter weights. That is inexpensive, however time consuming. It?s worthwhile to change weights for each exercise.
Weigh stack machine have two types, single exercise (created for one motion) and a number of train machines (adjustable for performing varied workout routines).
EFS prospects became their biggest supply of advertising. They put customer?s success first in their training programs. In return, they developed their ardour on the EFS by doing enterprise repeatedly and visiting their web sites daily.
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ScienceDaily (Aug. 30, 2012) ? Fungi found in plants may not be the answer to mitigating climate change by storing additional carbon in soils as some previously thought, according to an international team of plant biologists.
The researchers found that increased carbon dioxide stimulates the growth of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) -- a type of fungus that is often found in the roots of most land plants -- which then leads to higher decomposition rates of organic materials, said Lei Cheng, post doctorate fellow in plant science, Penn State. This decomposition releases more carbon dioxide back into the air, which means that terrestrial ecosystems may have limited capacity to halt climate change by cleaning up excessive greenhouse gases, according to the researchers.
"Prior to our study, there have been few studies on whether elevated levels of carbon dioxide would stimulate organic carbon decomposition through AMF," said Cheng.
To study the effect of higher levels of carbon dioxide on AMF-mediated decomposition, the researchers conducted four experiments, two in greenhouses and two in fields to mimic Earth's expected North American atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. They studied plots of a wild oat species, which is native to Eurasia and now common in North American grasslands, and wheat.
In the experiments, one plot was treated with AMF, the other did not have the fungus. Both plots were exposed to higher than currently existing carbon dioxide levels. After a ten-week gestation period, the sample of plants with AMF had 9 percent less carbon in the soil than the plot that was not treated with AMF, indicating that the carbon was released back into the atmosphere.
"Basically, we showed that elevated carbon dioxide increases carbon allocation to AMF to increase plant nitrogen uptake, and higher AMF facilitate organic residue decomposition which releases carbon dioxide into the air," said Cheng.
Elevated levels of carbon dioxide did significantly increase the size of the AMF colonies and carbon allocation underground, according to the researchers, who released their findings in the Aug. 30 issue of Science. However, the storage of carbon is offset by the role of AMF in facilitating decomposition.
"We used to think that this excess carbon would be sequestered in the soil," said Cheng. "So, that could help mitigate climate change, but it doesn't appear to be so."
They also studied the effect on a wheat and soybean field. In this experiment, Cheng said elevated levels of carbon dioxide increased both the size of AMF colonies and decomposition.
AMF colonies, which are found in the roots of 80 percent of land plant species, play a critical role in Earth's carbon cycle. The fungus receives and stores carbon -- a byproduct of the plant's photosynthesis -- from its host plant in its long vein-like structures. A plant stores about 20 percent of its carbon in AMF, according to Cheng.
AMF also help the plant capture nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen.
"We found that, under elevated carbon dioxide levels, AMF supply more nitrogen to their host plants by acquiring ammonium directly from decomposing residues," Cheng said. "So the good news is that AMF's role in the plant's nitrogen uptake may open up the possibility of keeping carbon in the soil."
When there are higher carbon dioxide levels, the plant's ability to take in nitrates is inhibited and it then adds more carbon to fungi like AMF to acquire ammonium, said Cheng. The management of soil nitrogen transformations may provide a promising strategy of restoring levels of carbon sequestration under higher carbon dioxide conditions.
Cheng worked with Fitzgerald L. Booker, plant physiologist and professor of crop science, and Kent O. Burkey, plant physiologist and professor of crop science and botany, both of North Carolina State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service; Thomas W. Rufty, Bayer Distinguished Professor, department of crop science, Shuijin Hu, associate professor of plant pathology, H. David Shew, professor of plant pathology, and Cong Tu, research specialist, all of North Carolina State University, and Lishi Zhou, department of plant pathology, North Carolina State University and State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science.
The USDA supported this work.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State.
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Journal Reference:
L. Cheng, F. L. Booker, C. Tu, K. O. Burkey, L. Zhou, H. D. Shew, T. W. Rufty, S. Hu. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Increase Organic Carbon Decomposition Under Elevated CO2. Science, 2012; 337 (6098): 1084 DOI: 10.1126/science.1224304
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.
Step into an Apple Store with a computer question, and you'll notice that the Geniuses have a peculiar way of empathizing with your situation before selling you new products. A leaked Apple training manual, uncovered by Gizmodo on Tuesday, shows the company's idiosyncratic approach to sales.
By Jeff Ward-Bailey / August 28, 2012
An Apple training manual uncovered by Gizmodo tells the company's Geniuses how to empathize with customers -- but it also includes lists of forbidden words and other psychological tricks. Here, shoppers walk by an Apple Store in Toronto, Canada.
Mark Blinch/Reuters/File
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Veteran Apple-watchers have often heard the phrase ?Reality Distortion Field? applied to the company and its products. It?s a tongue-in-cheek way of referring to the apparently magical sway that iPads and Macs hold over customers, and it?s never more apparent than when you walk into a gleaming Apple store. If you?ve ever wondered how those blue-shirted Geniuses are so good at empathizing with you, then convincing you that you need a 17-inch Macbook Pro, you might be interested to learn that the Reality Distortion Field comes in book form.
Skip to next paragraph Jeff Ward-Bailey
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Jeff began writing for the Monitor's Horizons blog in 2011, covering product news and rumors, innovations from companies like Apple and Google, and developments in tech policy.
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On Tuesday Gizmodo revealed that it has a leaked copy of the Genius Student Training Workbook, Apple?s secret 14-day boot camp that mixes technical skills with self-help-style psychological tips designed to allow one to cheer up customers and solve Genius Bar confrontations.
It apparently leans pretty heavily toward the latter -- Gizmodo writer Sam Biddle says ?almost the entire volume? is dedicated to the psychology of sales. The manual, and the accompanying course, is designed to get trainees to embody the ?Genius Actions and Characteristics,? which include graceful education and persuasive recommendation. A happy customer is one who will buy more products, after all.
The most interesting part of the manual is the list of words that Apple employees shouldn?t say. Your computer didn?t ?bomb,? ?crash,? or ?hang,? for example -- it ?unexpectedly quit? or ?stopped responding.? And Geniuses aren?t in the business of fixing ?bugs? -- they?re responding to ?conditions? or even to ?situations.? The manual also adds that an Apple product is never hot -- at most, it?s ?warm.? (Remember back in 2006, when Apple recalled all those batteries after two users got burned by their laptops? Those must have been pretty "warm.")
The Genius Workbook also gives black-belt level instructions in setting mistaken customers straight, without actually telling them they?re mistaken. It all revolves around the phrase ?turns out,? which makes it seem as though the customer and the Genius are stumbling upon the truth together. For example, if a customer mistakenly says, ?This OS isn't supported,? the manual recommends that the Genius respond with, ?You'd think not, wouldn't you. Turns out it is supported in this version.?
If the volume has a dark side, it?s the prohibition on sympathy. Geniuses aren?t allowed to apologize directly to customers, even when Apple technology is at fault. At best, Gizmodo tells us, they can use phrases like ?I?m sorry you?re feeling upset? or ?sorry about your soda-spill accident? -- which seems like it would be cold comfort to someone who just lost a bunch of data to a hard drive crash (or, to put it in Genius terms, whose hard drive has ?stopped responding?). But as VentureBeat points out, Apple retail stores made $4.1 billion last quarter -- and people wouldn?t keep shopping there if they didn?t feel respected by the staff.
Readers, what do you think about the manual? Does it strike you as an effective way to build rapport with customers? Does it creep you out? Let us know in the comments section below.
To receive regular updates on how technology intersects daily life, follow us on?Twitter @venturenaut.
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ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2012) ? Smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day doubles the risk of a potentially fatal brain bleed as a result of a burst aneurysm, finds research published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
If a smoker quits, the risk diminishes over time, but it still persists suggests the study.
An aneurysm is a bulge in a weakened artery, which, if it bursts causes blood to leak into the brain. The chances of surviving a ruptured aneurysm are only about 50% and those who do survive often live with disability for the rest of their life.
The researchers base their findings on 426 cases of brain bleeds (subarachnoid haemorrhage), drawn from 33 hospitals across Korea between 2002 and 2004, and a comparison group of 426 people, matched for age and sex, who had not sustained a haemorrhage.
Detailed information on lifestyle, medical history and smoking habits were obtained from all participants whose average age was 50.
The number of smokers was greater in the brain bleed group, as were the proportions of those with a family history of stroke and high blood pressure.
Just under 38% of those who had had a brain bleed were current smokers, compared with one in four (just over 24%) of those in the comparison group.
After taking account of influential factors, such as salt intake, working hours, weight and family history of diabetes, smokers were almost three times as likely to have a brain bleed as non-smokers.
The impact of smoking was cumulative: the longer and more heavily a person had smoked, the greater was their risk of a brain bleed.
Quitting smoking cut the risk of a ruptured aneurysm by 59% after five or more years -- bringing it down to the level of non-smokers. But this was not the case among heavy smokers.
Those who had smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day were still more than twice as likely to have a ruptured aneurysm as those who had never smoked.
The authors point out that previous long term research has indicated that the risk of an aneurysm in former smokers disappears after 10 to 15 years. But these studies either included only one gender and/or included too few people to draw firm conclusions.
In the short term, smoking thickens blood and drives up blood pressure, both of which can increase the risk of a brain bleed. These effects can be reversed by stopping smoking.
But smoking also induces permanent changes in the structure of artery walls, say the authors. These changes may be greater in heavy smokers, they say.
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From Michelle Govender, Managing Editor of the Practical Accountancy Loose Leaf
Dear reader,
Fraud and financial loss is common during the production process. Use these controls to eliminate fraud in your production process.
--------------------------------- The business tip that can mean the difference between an overseas holiday and a camping trip?
You?ve made the giant leap of faith. You?ve ditched the company car, the six-figure salary and the fantastic fringe benefits to start up your own business.
Although there are many benefits of trading as a company, did you know that you if you trade as a sole proprietorship you can actually save money because your financial statements don?t need to be audited or verified?
With your subscription to the Practical Accountancy Loose Leaf, you?ll get access to the Accountancy Helpdesk where all your accounting questions are answered by our expert accountants with more than 30 years? experience.
Make sure that you have enough cash for that overseas holiday and visit our site to read more about the Accountancy Helpdesk.
Read more here
----------------------------------
5 serious consequences of insufficient controls
Insufficient controls in the production process could result in:
1.??? Excessive raw materials being purchased, when they aren?t actually needed ? this leads to ineffective cash management;
2.??? The waste of raw materials during the production process, which leads to financial loss for the entity;
3.??? Raw materials or finished goods being stolen by employees during the production process, which leads to financial loss for the entity;
4.??? Inventory (whether it represents raw materials, work in progress or finished goods) being damaged during the production process due to employee carelessness or error, which leads to financial loss for the entity.
2 internal accounting controls you should implement in your production process
1. Production forecasts
Use a production forecast to plan the activities of the production process. It?s more effective. Production forecasts usually include your expectation and estimates of the items needed for the next year.
These estimates are based on the expected demand for the product on the market:
For example the products that will be manufactured by the company for the next 12 months;
????????? The Bill of Materials (simply state the parts required to manufacture the goods which include):
?
1.??? The raw materials required to manufacture the goods;
2.??? The quantities of raw materials;
3.??? The mixtures or ratios of raw materials; and
4.??? The standard cost allocated to the raw materials.
?
????????? The total number of products to be manufactured during the next 12 months; and
????????? The equipment required to manufacture the inventory.
-------------------------------- Give your auditors accurate information ? or find yourself behind bars
Although the auditors are looking to gather evidence about your financials, they do know that the accuracy of these figures can only be determined after a substantial amount of time.
However, the auditors will be checking to see that your books are reasonable and accurate. If these aren?t, you, as the director, could end up before the Companies Tribunal ? with the next stop, jail?
Make sure that this doesn?t happen to you!
-------------------------------
2. Supervision
Supervision is key during the entire production process. Appoint a responsible production manager is to oversee the activities of the facility, which include daily production goals, staff management as well as inventory management.
The production manager must?watch for these 5 things:
1.??? Misuse of machinery by employees, e.g. employees leaving expensive machinery lying around;
2.??? Excessive waste of raw materials during the production process due to employees acting negligently;
3.??? Employees standing around idly instead of being involved in the manufacturing of the finished goods;
4.??? Inspect raw materials bought to ensure they comply with the standards required for production. If poor quality raw materials are bought the odds are good that the finished goods will also be of poor quality, which may affect the reputation of the company as well as future sales and profits; and
5.??? Ensure that your daily production goals are met. You can do this by comparing the actual number of finished goods manufactured to the production forecasts.
The Practical Accountancy loose leaf gives you two controls to put in place. If you?re not yet a subscriber then take up a 14 day risk free trial now.
Until next time?
Michelle Govender, Managing Editor of the Practical Accountancy Loose Leaf
PS. Before I go, I?d like to ask you a question? And I hope that you answer ?yes!?
Are you performing solvency and liquidity tests?
With the new Companies Act, you need to perform solvency and liquidity tests as part of your business?s financial statements. This is the law. The Practical Accountancy Loose Leaf gives you practical tips and examples of how to analyse your financial statements using ratios. If you order your copy of the loose leaf today, I?ll throw in two bonus gifts.
Do you ever find yourself in an overwhelmed state that walking away from the challenges/issues and doing something else relieves you of your stress?and the feelings of being overwhelmed?
?
Well my "therapy" for these kinds of days lately is to scrapbook. To create for myself. Recently I was able to finish two layouts, both from the holidays but one from 2010 and the other from our trip back to California for Holiday 2011.
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Christmas Party
I love this event bec. we had just moved into our new home here in Colorado and Marcus was finishing up his first week in school when the class had their Christmas party. Maddie and I got to attend and I felt to blessed that Marcus' 2nd grade teacher was so welcoming not only to him but to me and Maddie as well. I had the matching die cut shapes from this Christmas collection and I used one of the ornament die cut to add a layered embellishment against all of the flat ornament design on the paper. to make the title stand out against the diagonal striped paper, I used some vellum for my title block.
?
H.B. (Huntington Beach)
this page is a small glimpse of what we saw when we visited Huntington Beach pier last December. It's funny how in the 9+ years we've been living in Cali as a family, we've never taken the kids here. We felt like tourists roaming around the area and to think we were Cali residents just a year before that! I added some travel themed stamping on my page to denote the theme. I initially wanted the stamp to be white but it wasn't showing very well against the brown cardstock so I restamped it with black and I like the "shadow" effect the white and black combo created.
I hope that if you are feeling stressed today, that you can find a time during your day to unwind. Wether it's through some kind of creative endeavor or other means, step away and take a breather. We all need that once in a while. :)
The members of the Senate, parliament's upper house, approved a foreign policy bill at a plenary meeting. The document, which declares that Uzbekistan will not take part in any military and political blocs, allows no deployment of foreign military bases or other facilities on its territory.
Low nutrient solidity eating plan is a very popular weight-loss technique, in this technique of weight-loss, the most essential one is how to select low nutrient eating slim forte plan.
1, select the size, fiber and more food: because the meals can increase satisfied, thereby successfully control your hunger, for example: fresh vegetables, fruits. 2, select clean organic food: clean organic meals in general warm handling meals is reduced than. For example: juice warm below, clean chicken cash, jerky and other warm from below. 3, boiled, steamed, boiled, choice of cold meals : these meals than fried, fried, fried meals is much reduced in calorie consumption, for example: steamed seafood, greens fresh vegetables, pickles are available for you to eat out selected excellent low nutrient meals. 4, try to select seafood various animal meat, poultry and other meats: calorie consumption according to different types, is roughly: chicken, mutton, beef, in, seafood, poultry, so try to select poultry and seafood.
Pancakes can add mushrooms; porridge put some bananas, apple or banana; marinade put vegetable, carrot and oatmeal stick after dropping. This can eat, but also reduce the warm solidity. Only the scientific choice of low nutrient meals, to lean more healthy.
Many women like to consume organic yogurt, an essential reason is that no matter how much to consume, do not get fat. But it can also consume on the breasts. Yogurt did have some weight-loss, mainly because it contains a huge number of active lactic acid bacteria, can successfully regulate plants balance, enhance stomach peristalsis, thus reducing irregular bowel movements. While the long-term irregular bowel movements and excess body weight have a certain relationship. Then the organic yogurt has a strong sense of satisfied, slightly starving consume a cup can successfully alleviate the urgent hunger, thereby reducing the amount of eating the next meal. However, not much to consume organic yogurt will not be fat, it also contains a certain quantity of warm, if the original diets based on the additional eat more, also can cause excess body weight.
The best way is to select the marked degreasing and low nutrient ? organic yogurt, although they taste better than use products yogurt so wealthy and calm, but low in calorie consumption, not the warm in our bodies quickly acquire fat. Green pawpaw has always been the first breasts excellent fresh fruit, Kelly felix Lin, Yuku Hsu will take it to the breasts. Because an enzyme-rich pawpaw and vitamin A can activate the release of female hormones, help breasts, pawpaw compound can break down aminoacids, enhance our bodies ?s intake of the aminoacids, with various animal meat people, effect is best.
A group of friends and enemies alike must fight to survive the war engulfing their homeland.
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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Fire Emblem: Scorched Earth?. Anything posted here will also show up there.
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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup. Each weapon rank, regardless of weapon type, will bestow a certain amount of experience points to the user and each Rank you hold has a different experience requirement to meet as it increases.
Rank E - 4 exp Rank D - 7 exp Rank C - 9 exp Rank B - 11 exp Rank A - 13 exp Rank S - N/A (Maxed out weapon rank)
Rank E Exp --> Rank D = 60 (Use the weapon 15 times) Rank D Exp --> Rank C = 140 (Use the weapon 20 times) Rank C Exp --> Rank B = 225 (Use the weapon 25 times) Rank B Exp --> Rank A = 330 (Use the weapon 30 times) Rank A Exp --> Rank S = 520 (Use the weapon 40 times)
This is a simple and effective system to help you know how quickly you're gaining weapon experience so you know when you can equip higher level weaponry!
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