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Florida SunPass users and North Carolina Quick Pass users can use their toll collection transponders in either state beginning in July, according to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.
North Carolina's Quick Pass serves about 50,000 drivers, while Florida?s SunPass has sold 7.7 million transponders, the Sentinel reports.
Officials hope that the agreement will lead to toll collection agreements with other states, especially those that use E-ZPass.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vertical_64/~3/-O66uwGIh9g/florida-north-carolina-toll.html
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/2012-12-18/results
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Bitcasa has offered truly unlimited cloud storage for awhile, but only desktop users have had access to more than an HTML5 page. Now that there's native Infinite Drive apps for Android, Windows 8 and Windows RT, that dream of having access to everything, everywhere just got more tangible. The new apps stream media in a native player and offer two-way file access, no matter the size or quantity -- if your life's work is in the cloud, your Surface can see it. Android users can also link their camera app to Bitcasa to guarantee an instant photo backup, and any file is shareable with those who haven't signed up. We're promised both an iOS version and a finished Mac app in early January. The $10 monthly subscription is relatively cheap when there's no ceiling to what the service can hold; just try not to stream a 1080p movie from that capped mobile connection if you're not a fan of overage fees.
Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Software, Mobile
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Google Play, Windows Store
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Her husband Benedict Barboza, daughter Lisha, 14, and 16-year-old son Junal were joined by hundreds of mourners for the simple ceremony in Shirva, south west India.
Crowds lined the roads close to the Catholic church where the service was held and prayers were said at the graveside.
Prayers ... hundreds of people attended service
Extra police had been drafted in as up to 5,000 mourners were expected.
The family were mobbed by crowds amid tearful scenes when they arrived in India with the coffin yesterday.
Wrapped in sackcloth, it was towed by a tractor through the streets after arriving from the UK.
Grief ... family said Jacintha's death left an 'unfillable void'
It was then loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital.
Jacintha, 46, killed herself after taking a hoax call by two Aussie DJs. The pranksters, pretending to be royals inquiring after the Duchess of Cambridge, were blamed in a note by Jacintha, it was claimed.
The Indian-born nurse?s death near London?s King Edward VII hospital on December 7 sparked protests in her home country.
Tragic ... hoaxed nurse Jacintha Saldanha
Students demonstrated at the British High Commission in New Delhi on Saturday, claiming she was ?harassed?.
Her children described the ?unfillable void? in their lives during a mass at Westminster Cathedral at the weekend. An inquest into her death has been adjourned until March.
Back home ... Jacintha Saldanha's coffin arrives in India yesterday
Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4702167/jacintha-saldanha-is-home-to-tears.html
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December 16th, 2012 by admin
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I can tell that your transition into RPG has been trying, so I'd like to offer my help to make the rest of it run a little smoother. I'll do my best to answer any questions. I have edited your original post to remove any baiting or hostile comments so that we may conduct a friendly discourse to resolve some of your stated issues until such a time where you may be able to send private messages.
To begin with: Welcome. While the navigation of the site can be daunting at first, I have faith you will learn the layout in a relatively short period of time. I'd like to offer you some links that are both important and helpful.
Forum Posts for PMS - This link explains why you need a minimum of ten posts. It also explains efficient ways to receive these posts without creating spam.
Newbie Guide - Self explanatory, this is a friendly guide to help you ease into our world at Roleplay Gateway. You can find out how to find roleplays, how to start or join roleplays, and a few other things.
Rules - Short and sweet, the few but important rules of RPG.
Outside of these posts, I'd like to address your confusion with what the "Trash Bin" is. This is a location not available to the public where rule-breaking or outdated threads are placed. Unfortuantely, your non-adherance to our codes of conduct have landed a few of your posts here. I'm offering my help to keep future posts of yours in the public eye.
If you have any further questions, please post them here and I'll do my best to answer them promptly.
- Modesty
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/GUIWTWOtWVQ/viewtopic.php
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The conservancy that manages 88% of Santa Catalina Island is roiling with dissent that has led to the departures of a half-dozen senior officers and scientists in the last year.
At the core of the rancor is dissatisfaction with the direction the nonprofit Santa Catalina Island Conservancy has taken under Ann Muscat, president and executive officer. Muscat helped engineer a controversial shift away from a focus on conservation and toward creation of tourism-oriented attractions intended to bring more visitors ? and revenue ? to the island.
Many residents of the island 22 miles off the Southern California coast depend on the conservancy for their livelihoods. Established by the Wrigley family, the island's wealthiest and most powerful benefactors, the organization employs 75 people and operates on a $12-million budget. It is funded by philanthropy and grants, endowments and earned income from gift stores sales and inland tours.
The conservancy's governing board plans to meet in closed session Friday to discuss the problem. The board could trigger a significant retooling of the conservancy's staff at a time when it is trying to raise funds for costly tourist attractions.
"We clearly have issues here," board Chairman John Cotton said. "No organization likes to have its talent taken from it. Does it hinder our ability to push forward? You bet."
"We will come to a decision based on what we believe is best for the organization," Cotton said.
Critics say Muscat, an aloof and tough manager who earns $286,000 a year, is to blame for the ongoing problems and should be removed from office. Muscat was unavailable for comment.
"There's dissension within the ranks of the conservancy and it's up to a good manager to deal with it," Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy said. "The island's residents consider the Catalina interior part of their home. But there's been a disconnect with the conservancy because Ann doesn't care about that. It's her way or the highway."
In October, the board's then-chairman, Cliff Hague, quit and leveled snarling broadsides about Muscat's managerial style. Hague declined to comment this week.
Norris Bishton, a lawyer and chairman of the conservancy's legal affairs committee, said, "Ann is a Type-A personality who is hard-driving and expects people to do their jobs. Does that ruffle feathers? Yes it does."
Among others who left the conservancy are Jackie McDougall, chief development officer, who resigned in October.
Mel Dinkel, the conservancy's treasurer and chief operating officer, resigned in May. Bishton said Dinkel left because he found a better job elsewhere. However, Dinkel did not have a job when he quit.
Dinkel's wife, Leslie Baer, the conservancy's chief of educational outreach and marketing, is out on sick leave and was unavailable for comment.
Carlos de la Rosa, one of the most popular scientists on the island, stepped down in March as chief conservation and science officer.
In a written statement, de la Rosa, now director of the Organization of Tropical Studies' La Selva biological station in Costa Rica, said, "The conservancy had completely lost its way under Ann's poor leadership, and I couldn't bear to watch it crumble ... as it is continuing to do."
The organization has undergone internal investigations into Muscat's conduct in office. Bishton said he personally investigated a claim that the conservancy violated its rules by paying about $5,000 in travel expenses for Muscat's husband to join her on a conservancy-sponsored "donor development trip" in 2009 to an island off Baja California, Mexico.
Sources say that Muscat later reimbursed the organization after other officers pointed out that there was no policy for covering a spouse's travel costs in full.
Bishton denied that any wrongdoing occurred. "When the bills came in, she paid them," he said. "She did it voluntarily."
Cotton said that the conservancy later decided to stop sponsoring such trips, but insisted the move had nothing to do with ethical questions related to Muscat. "Those trips were just not paying off," he said.
louis.sahagun@latimes.com
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Driving in the rural town of Veazie, Maine, after midnight, a woman accidentally hits what she thinks is an oversized cat. She puts the unconscious animal in her car and drives several miles. In the town of Bangor, Maine, the cat regains consciousness.?That?s when the...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2013-dubbed-mobile-malware-android-users-205131167.html
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This photo provided by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department shows Jacob Tyler Roberts, the suspect in a shooting at an Oregon Mall on Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. Roberts, who killed two people and himself in the shooting rampage, was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Department)
This photo provided by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department shows Jacob Tyler Roberts, the suspect in a shooting at an Oregon Mall on Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. Roberts, who killed two people and himself in the shooting rampage, was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Department)
Leslie King, right and Tenille Beseda place flowers Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012, at the entrance to the scene of a multiple shooting yesterday at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore. A gunman who opened fire on shoppers at a Portland mall had no connection to the two people he fatally shot and wanted to kill as many people as possible, police said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)
This combo made from undated photos released by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Dept. shows Oregon mall shooting victims shows Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45, of West Linn, Ore., left, and Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, of Portland, Ore. The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Clackamas County Sheriff's Dept.)
This undated photo provided by the Shevchenko family shows Kristina Shevchenko, 15, who was injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Portland, Ore. Doctors expect Shevchenko to make a full recovery from a gunshot wound to the chest. (AP Photo/Shevchenko family)
Police and medics work the scene of a multiple shooting at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore., Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012. A gunman is dead after opening fire in the Portland, Ore., area shopping mall Tuesday, killing two people and wounding another, sheriff's deputies said. (AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? To police and witnesses, Jacob Tyler Roberts was a gunman on a mission, shooting numerous rounds from a semiautomatic rifle as he stalked through a Portland mall, ultimately killing two people and seriously injuring another. To Roberts' shocked friends and family, he was just Jake, a happy, easygoing 22-year-old who liked video games and talked about moving to Hawaii.
"Jake was never the violent type," Roberts' ex-girlfriend, Hannah Patricia Sansburn, told ABC News. "His main goal was to make you laugh, smile, make you feel comfortable. You can't reconcile the differences.
"I hate him for what he did, but I can't hate the person I knew because it was nothing like the person who would go into a mall and go on a rampage," she said.
The Clackamas County sheriff's office said Roberts had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at the mall Tuesday. Roberts parked his 1996 green Volkswagen Jetta in front of the second-floor entrance to Macy's and walked through the store into the mall and began firing randomly in the food court.
He fatally shot Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45, and Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, the sheriff said. Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was wounded and in serious condition Wednesday.
Sansburn said Roberts had recently quit his job at a gyro shop in Portland and sold all of his belongings, telling her he was moving to Hawaii. He was supposed to take a flight Saturday but told her he got drunk and missed it.
"And then this happens. ... It makes me think, was he even planning on going to Hawaii?" Sansburn told ABC News.
Sansburn didn't return phone messages left by The Associated Press, and no one answered the door at her home Wednesday.
On a Facebook page that a friend identified as Roberts', a few photos show Roberts with friends, while one shows the back of a person in a knit cap firing what appears to be a handgun at targets. The cover photo is of a wall painted in graffiti with the message "Follow Your Dreams" and the word "Canceled" stamped across it.
In the public portion of his page, Roberts wrote: "I may be young but I have lived one crazy life so far."
"I'm the kind of person that is going to do what I want," he wrote. "There is no reason for another person to tell you what to do, I'm the conductor of my choo choo train."
He added he was "a bit of an adrenaline junkie" who was "just looking to meet new people and see the world."
A former neighbor of Roberts said he liked to play video games and never seemed troubled.
"We knocked on each other's door every morning. Every day to hang out, to talk," said Samantha Bennett, who added she went to middle school with Roberts but wasn't close to him until he moved in with a girlfriend across the hall from her at an apartment complex in summer 2011.
"If me and my boyfriend were fighting, he was there to talk to me," Bennett said. "We would go to the bar together. I don't get it."
Roberts' dining room was decorated like a jungle, Bennett said ? just one of the quirky things he did. He had green lights and put ivy on the walls.
He once showed her a black handgun that she believed he purchased legally. He dropped out of sight earlier this year, and his phone was disconnected, she said.
More recently, Roberts rented a basement room in a modest, single-story Portland home and hadn't lived there long, neighbor Bobbi Bates said. She said she saw him leave at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday wearing a dark jacket and jeans, carrying a guitar case.
Police say the suspect had stolen an AR-15 rifle from someone he knew.
The first 911 call came in at 3:29 p.m. Officers arrived a minute later. Instead of waiting for SWAT teams, police immediately entered the crowded mall.
Police told people inside to put their hands in the air, to make sure an armed person wasn't among them. Police spent hours clearing the 1.4 million-square-foot mall, as some workers and shoppers continued to hide in fear.
Wearing a hockey-style face mask and dark clothing, Roberts fled along a mall corridor and into a back hallway, down stairs and into a corner where police found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said.
Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said the fact that more people weren't killed was due to several factors. The suspect's gun jammed at one point; the mall implemented an immediate lockdown; and a large number of officers arrived on-scene quickly, "curtailing the suspect's ability to move around the mall."
"Ten thousand people in the mall at one time kept a level head. They got themselves out of the mall. They helped others get out, and there are just a number of heroes that took the time to help people get out," the sheriff said. "It was really about a full group of people coming together to make a difference."
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Steven DuBois, Jonathan J. Cooper, Nigel Duara, and Sarah Skidmore in Portland, Pete Yost in Washington and Manuel Valdes in Seattle, along with researcher Rhonda Shafner.
___
Follow Rachel La Corte at http://www.twitter.com/RachelAPOly and http://www.facebook.com/news.rachel
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Genre: First Person Shooter
Platform: Wii U
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Released: November 18th 2012
The Wii U launch line up can probably be considered as the most diverse ever for a Nintendo console, with a mix of Nintendo products and strong third party support, with Wii U versions of games mostly aimed at hardcore gamers. It?s definitely surprising seeing the Call Of Duty series on a Nintendo console even though it?s not the first time, since some games of the series were available on Wii but this shows how far Nintendo is willing to go ?to get most hardcore games on its new console. Now it?s time to find out if the Wii U version of Black Ops 2 lives up to the other versions and how the Gamepad is used in the game and if it indeed improves the overall experience. As you can see, this review is going to focus on the Wii U version, if you want to read about our opinion of the full game you can check out our review here.
An extra weapon for the killing
Let?s get down to business and answer the most important question: how?s Black Ops 2 on Wii U? It?s good but it could have been better. The Gamepad?s screen is barely used during the single player campaign: the only thing you?ll notice on it are some messages related to the mission and some options, nothing more. The biggest thing is the Off-Tv play option: at any time during the game you can play the game on the Gamepad and turn off the Tv: the screen resolution is still 480p so graphics are going to suffer a bit, however there?s something good in being able to play a full Call Of Duty game on the go. Other than the lower resolution, there?s almost no difference and that?s a great thing. Another good feauture is the ability to change aiming sensitivity on the go, allowing experienced players to change it quickly according to the situation: it?s even better when you think how the standard settings really aren?t the best. Sadly, the single player campaign Gamepad features end here and that?s really disappointing: the Gamepad is barely used during Zombie Mode as well.
Multiscreen equals better multiplayer?
Unlike the single player experience, the Gamepad features a number of uses in multiplayer modes: nothing that will totally change the experience but the additions are well thoght out and implemented. During multiplayer modes, a map with enemies and team mates will always be visible on the screen and you?ll be able to activate Scorestreaks with a simple tap on the touch screen. The presence of the Gamepad also makes local multiplayer a lot better than the other versions, allowing one player to play on the TV and the other to play on the Gamepad: this is a great feature since we won?t be getting any split screen cluttering, which I personally can?t stand at all. As for the overall online experience on the Wii U unfortunately I can?t say much: there?s too little players to make an extensive test right now.
Wii U VS The World
While comparing graphics, obviously the Wii U version comes out as the loosing side, but not so much: if you have played the other versions you?ll notice some small frame rate drops and some extra aliasing, but nothing that makes the Wii U version truly inferior. If you haven?t played the game already on other platforms you won?t probably notice any of this. Given how it?s a new console we?re talking about, the port is well done and performs better than other launch releases.
Final Thoughts
Other than some small features, the Wii U version of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 doesn?t differ much from the other versions. The biggest feature is the possibility of Off-Tv play but other than this there?s really nothing big which could make players buy the game for a second time. If you haven?t already got the game and don?t have a high-end PC or other consoles you can get it and don?t get disappointed. However if you have other means to play the game you can ignore the Wii U version due to some small technical issues. If you intend to play the game alot online, avoid the Wii U version since there are very few players as of now and the situation will hardly change in the next months.
?
PROS
CONS
Rating:?
?
9 out of 10 for the game content, 6 out of 10 for the Wii U exclusive features
Article from Gamersyndrome.com
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Source: http://gamersyndrome.com/2012/videogame-reviews/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-wii-u-version-review/
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If people cannot find your website, it too will fail. This is why it is so important to employ effective search engine optimization techniques. Ensure that your site is found by applying the tips from this article.
Think about adding a podcast to your website. You can include both audio and video content in a podcast, just be sure it is content your users care about. They are growing more and more popular among consumers, and the good news is all they require is a video camera or tape recorder. Description of your podcast may then appear in search engines.
Design an easy to use site map that also includes your target keywords. The purpose of the site map is to index the pages on your site, making it easier for search engine spiders, and viewers alike, to find important information. These are used by search engines to rank sites higher on their lists based on how easily accessible the content is.
Search engine optimization results will not occur overnight. It is a natural response to want to see results immediately. It will take patience, work and time to generate traffic online. You must continue to work hard even if you do not immediately see the results that you want. Using common keywords and linking to other sites can also make your site more visible.
You could possibly have your site optimized for only a couple of the major search engines. Including keywords in your site?s content and page structure will improve rankings on smaller search engines. , Ask. These must be targeted through different techniques.
You can optimize your website by using a lot of different techniques. You will find you get the most productive results if you are maximizing search efficiency. When you improve the search engine performance, you can potentially give the user a better experience.
Sign up for a free listing through services provided by Google. This will increase the visibility of your site. Free listings at these sites will generate more traffic and recognition for your site. Finding free ways to promote your business will stretch your marketing budget.
Use obvious keywords in your link titles, whether they are on your site or someone else?s. ?as anchor text. That?s the way to make your anchor text seem credible and relevant to the search engines. Review your site?s pages periodically to update internal links with additional keywords.
After choosing which keywords are best for your site, get as many as you can in your web page?s title. Create an interesting and trendy title, because it will be the first glimpse of your website that users from search engines will get. Correct use of keywords will help drive visitors to your site by allowing search engine spiders to properly rank your page in the listings.
Target one keyword phrase when optimizing a page. Including multiple keywords per page can give the page a scattered feel. The better your content, the more interested your readers will be. More regular visitors means you have a better chance of ranking higher on searches.
It?s important to make your domain name memorable and relevant. Memorable domain names that are easy to pronounce are advantageous for Internet users who locate your content through YouTube.
When selecting a third party to complete the search engine optimization for your website, you?ll need to do some research first. There are a lot of fly-by-night SEO and internet marketing companies out there that charge exorbitant prices for sloppy work. Research and read testimonials about what other people have to say about their services. Your bottom line will thank you.
You don?t want failure. That?s the last thing a business wants. Although there are a lot of failures in web-based companies, it is actually one of the easier paths to success in the business world because there are so many wide-ranging methods and strategies you can apply.
Search Engine Optimization, SEO
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BRASILIA/CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will not attend a regional trade summit in Brazil on Friday, sources said, an absence sure to heighten speculation over the leftist leader's health.
Before he went to Cuba last week for more cancer-related treatment, Chavez had spoken enthusiastically about attending the Mercosur bloc's meeting in Brasilia to celebrate Venezuela's entry.
He has not been seen in public since November 15.
"Chavez is not coming. They've even canceled the hotel reservation," a Brazilian foreign ministry source said on Thursday. Another Brazilian official said Chavez's logistics and security advance staff were leaving Brasilia.
In Caracas, a source at the Miraflores presidential palace also said Chavez, 58, was not going to travel.
The recently re-elected president went to Cuba nine days ago for "hyperbaric oxygenation" treatment - normally used to treat bone decay caused by radiation therapy.
Chavez has had three cancer surgeries in Cuba since mid-2011. So even though officials were portraying the latest treatment as normal follow-up after radiation, rumors are rampant that it could be more serious.
"If Chavez does not show up at the first meeting where Venezuela is a full member of Mercosur, it will create a lot of distrust over his health," said Marcelo Coutinho, professor of international relations at Rio de Janeiro's Federal University.
Officials have given no detailed information on Chavez's condition.
SPECULATION AND SCENARIOS
His presence in Cuba, where Chavez has spent more than three months in total since his first 2011 diagnosis of cancer in the pelvic region, has overshadowed December 16 regional elections.
Without him on the campaign trail or television, the race for 23 governorships has been a low-key one, failing to light up the public like October's presidential election did with a record voter turnout of more than 80 percent.
Although Chavez continues to sign official papers and make appointments from Cuba, his absence may delay decisions on some major issues like a possible devaluation of the Bolivar currency or an amnesty for jailed opponents.
Various ministers have been visiting him in Havana this week, according to Venezuelan officials.
Chavez allies have lambasted media and others for behaving like "vampires" with speculation about his condition. One pro-opposition journalist said he was using a wheelchair.
Bonds have rallied since his departure, on investor hopes for a change to a more business-friendly government.
Newly appointed Vice President Nicolas Maduro, 49 - a former bus driver and union leader - has assumed a more prominent position amid speculation among Venezuelans over who could replace Chavez should he leave office.
Maduro, who is also foreign minister, was due to represent Venezuela at the Mercosur meeting in Brazil.
Congress chief Diosdado Cabello, a former military comrade of Chavez, is also often touted as a possible successor to lead the ruling Socialist Party.
Under the constitution, an election would have to be held if Chavez were to leave office within the first four years of his new six-year term, which starts on January 10.
That would give a fresh chance to the opposition, which garnered 44 percent of the vote - and a record number of 6.5 million votes - in the October presidential poll.
An internal U.N. report seen by Reuters drew three possible scenarios.
"If Chavez lives, his term will continue to face monumental political, economic and security challenges. If Chavez accepts his mortality and organizes a managed transition, a unified PSUV would likely fare well in a snap election," the report said.
"If Chavez dies unexpectedly without a clear successor, a unified opposition - likely behind former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski - would stand its best chance to come to power in over a decade."
Chavez is guaranteed a warm welcome and discreet treatment in Cuba because of his friendship with past and present rulers Fidel and Raul Castro, plus the strict controls on information there.
(Additional reporting by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, Marianna Parraga and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-chavez-skip-summit-due-health-180417063.html
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By Sarah Pavlus
For-profit university targets community college students
University of Phoenix says new relationships will restore profits, reputation
The University of Phoenix plans to roll out more than 100 new partnerships with community colleges in the coming year ? a strategy that, if successful, will provide a much-needed financial and reputational boost to the nation?s largest for-profit school.
Facing declining enrollment and regulatory scrutiny, the University of Phoenix has targeted community college students as a safe and profitable investment. And some community college administrators, eager to offer their students more opportunities to earn a bachelor?s degree, are embracing the school?s overtures.
It?s a strategic business move for the for-profit giant.
The University of Phoenix has raked in billions of dollars through federal financial aid programs. But critics contend that the company serves students poorly and leaves them saddled with debt they cannot repay.
Now, as federal dollars are increasingly tied to student outcomes, the University of Phoenix is attempting to attract more qualified students from community colleges, in hopes of retaining its slice of the government pie.
The new partnerships will funnel graduates of associate?s degree programs at community colleges into bachelor?s degree programs at the University of Phoenix, providing the for-profit school with an influx of students who are more likely to graduate and repay their student loans, company executives say.
However, the company acknowledges that the specific details of the partnerships have not yet been established. Only two ? with large community colleges in Virginia and Arizona ? have been publicly announced, University of Phoenix spokesman Ryan Rauzon said.
Rauzon said the company hopes to roll out ?more than one hundred? partnerships over the next twelve months, including several in California, which is home to roughly a quarter of the nation?s community college students.
Proponents of the new partnerships ? including some community college leaders ? say the University of Phoenix is an enthusiastic participant in unconventional programs that four-year public and private non-profit institutions are either unable or unwilling to try.
But the initiative also comes as the company is embroiled in controversy. Earlier this year, Democratic Senator Tom Harkin released a report that criticized for-profit colleges for predatory recruiting practices, low graduation rates, and high student loan default rates.
The report said that in the recent past, the Apollo Group, the University of Phoenix?s parent company, ?appears to have made critical decisions that prioritized financial success over student success.? It added that the company has instituted some important reforms but that ?serious concerns remain,? such as poor student retention ? particularly in associate?s degree programs ? and the fact that the company ?makes one of the lowest investments in per student spending on instruction.?
The report concluded: ?Because the company [the Apollo Group] received $3.8 billion in Federal financial aid, including over a billion in Pell grant dollars, these poor outcomes are particularly troubling.?
Immediately following the release of the Harkin report, the University of Phoenix responded with a public relations campaign to ?set the record straight,? which included an open letter to its student body that pointed to, among other things, the importance of the University of Phoenix?s work with a ?growing number? of community colleges.
?A wide open market space?
Community colleges and for-profit schools typically serve the same working, non-traditional student demographic. They ?divide up the market,? explained Dr. Anthony Carnevale, an education expert from Georgetown University.
And as increased demand for bachelor?s degrees is driving many four-year public and non-profit private institutions to become more selective, it is unsurprising that community colleges seeking to build new programs would find an eager partner in for-profits like the University of Phoenix, Carnevale pointed out.
?It?s a fairly obvious deal,? he said. ?It?s kind of a wide open market space at the moment.?
Carnevale acknowledged that the alliance may not be popular with some, but he said it could be beneficial if the for-profit college industry was adequately regulated.
The industry, however, has resisted additional regulation. The Apollo Group, along with other for-profit colleges, has lobbied aggressively against new federal rules proposed by the Obama administration.
During the most recent presidential election, the Apollo Group donated $75,000 to a super PAC that backed Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who opposed tougher regulations for the industry.
But the company has been quick to capitalize on the Obama administration?s promotion of community colleges. In interviews, University of Phoenix spokespeople portrayed their new partnerships as an extension of the Obama administration?s investment in community colleges and workforce training.
They also noted that Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, teaches at Northern Virginia Community College, where the University of Phoenix has announced a partnership. Dr. Biden has traveled across the country speaking about the administration?s support for community colleges.
Building partnerships
At its peak, the University of Phoenix enrolled nearly 500,000 students. That number has dropped to 320,000, which company executives attribute to additional regulation and increased competition online.
On recent earnings calls, Apollo Group executives have highlighted ?new relationships with community colleges? among several initiatives the company has implemented to increase enrollment at the University of Phoenix.
The partnerships are intended to serve another purpose as well.
?These relationships strengthen our reputation,? then Apollo Group co-CEO Charles Edelstein told investors in June.
The University of Phoenix already has agreements ? known as articulation agreements ? with community colleges across the country that govern how a student?s credits will transfer from one institution to another.
Community colleges typically have articulation agreements with many institutions, both public and private.
As state and federal officials are calling for colleges to produce more students with bachelor?s degrees, these agreements, as well as other transfer programs, are becoming increasingly important.
Apollo Group executives say the new community college partnerships will expand these existing agreements in a strategic way, with input from local employers.
However, company officials have declined to disclose a complete list of participating schools or reveal the number of new students the company expects to gain from the initiative.
Varied reception
Two of the partnerships ? with Northern Virginia Community College and Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona ? were announced at press conferences earlier this year.
A spokesman for the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, when asked about its new University of Phoenix partnership, downplayed its significance.
Tom Gariepy, Maricopa?s District Director for Marketing and Communications, said that the school?s partnership with the University of Phoenix ?is a standard agreement that was updated slightly to expand educational opportunities in manufacturing, healthcare, business, and hospitality.?
?The stress on those areas is a difference, but it is basically the same agreement that we have with many other institutions,? he added.
Maricopa has partnership agreements with 35 institutions, both public and private, according to Gariepy. The school?s transfer program with Arizona State University ?eclipses anything we?ve done with any other university of any kind,? he said.
In Virginia, the University of Phoenix?s new partnership has generated controversy within the state?s higher education community.
There, the University of Phoenix is pursuing a ?3-plus-1? bachelor?s degree program with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) that the state?s more traditional four-year institutions have rejected.
The arrangement would allow students to earn three years? worth of credits at NOVA before transferring to a four-year college ? in this case, the University of Phoenix ? for their final year.
Virginia?s four-year public and non-profit private institutions say 3-plus-1 programs will produce inferior degrees and will be difficult to implement, but advocates of the arrangement argue that the state lacks career-oriented, affordable bachelor?s degree options ? particularly for students who are working or otherwise place-bound.
?If our public universities won?t create the options, and our non-profit, private institutions won?t, then we have to seek other alternatives, and the University of Phoenix is one of those that we?re trying,? NOVA president Bob Templin told The American Independent.
?If we don?t have options for our students, that?s not acceptable,? he said.
Templin said that the 3-plus-1 program, if combined with a tuition discount from the University of Phoenix, will provide his students with additional bachelor?s degree options that are priced competitively.
He said his goal is to keep the total cost of tuition comparable to that of a four-year public institution in the state, although details of the program have yet to be finalized.
While public and non-profit private four-year colleges in Virginia are eager to work on improving traditional transfer agreements with community colleges, they are wary of participating in 3-plus-1 partnerships.
?I have talked with my presidents about that, and I have a very hard time finding any reputable four-year college that feels it?s appropriate or is comfortable offering a four-year degree when the student is only a student for one year," said Bob Lambeth, the President of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia.
"It?s sort of mission creep on behalf of the community colleges, at a time when they?re talking about being overwhelmed with enrollment and needing funding,? he added.
Lambeth also criticized NOVA?s decision to partner with the University of Phoenix. ?I think it is inappropriate for community colleges to partner with for-profit schools. ? I?m disappointed that that?s the direction that any state-supported institution would go.?
Janette Muir, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at George Mason University, a public four-year institution in Virginia, was also skeptical of participating in 3-plus-1 programs. "When you?re talking about a 3-1 program, there?s not a lot that Mason would gain from that kind of involvement. We would lose students, for one, and we would have to, in order to make that happen, have some major policy shifts here that would take a long time to make that happen,? she said.
?It may be easier for him [Templin] to work within that kind of a for-profit setting, because for-profits are out to make money and they are interested in all kinds of innovation. I just think to make that kind of thing happen here would be a really difficult process,? Muir added.
Responding to criticisms of the for-profit college industry, Templin explained, ?We believe that where proprietary institutions may have had practices that have been questioned, they haven?t traditionally been with students that have already demonstrated that they are completing associates degrees and transferring.?
Jeffrey Kraus, a spokesman for the Virginia Community College System, agreed that for-profit colleges could play a productive role in partnering with community colleges.
?Our focus is on creating pathways for affordable baccalaureate degrees,? Kraus said. ?If our partnering institutions are willing and able to help us make that a reality, then they would be ripe for this sort of work.?
?I think pragmatism is what?s required right now,? he added. ?Not turf wars.?
Also on HuffPost:
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/university-of-phoenix-community-colleges_n_2241840.html
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Mitch Levinson is managing partner with Marketing RELEVANCE and the author of ?Internet Marketing: The Key to New Home Sales.?
By Mitch Levinson
In my last post, I talked about what Chicago real estate agents and homebuilders should be incorporating into their social media program. Today, I?m going to share more on the foundation to this program ? your blog.
Whether you are an agent or a homebuilder, creating and regularly updating a blog devoted to your content is essential. Just like you wouldn?t build a home without having a blueprint and building a solid foundation, you shouldn?t build a social media program without a plan for content and a blog. Your blog will act as the syndication hub from which everything else will flow.
Here?s a list of the top 10 considerations for building your foundation:
Building your blog the right way can be hard work and will be time consuming, but without it, your program, like a house without a foundation, will not stand strong.
Mitch Levinson, MIRM, CAPS, CGP, CSP is managing partner with Marketing RELEVANCE and the author of ?Internet Marketing: The Key to New Home Sales? published by BuilderBooks. He is an Internet marketing expert with expertise in search engine optimization, website development, email marketing, social media and CRM consulting services. If you?re looking to improve your online presence through website development or mobile website design, contact Marketing RELEVANCE or connect with Mitch Levinson on Google+.
Source: http://chicagoagentmagazine.com/building-a-solid-social-media-foundation/
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On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces.
The next day, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the United States Congress with his memorable ?a date which will live in infamy? speech.
This speech had two purposes:
In this speech analysis article, we focus on Roosevelt?s choice of words to see how they helped communicate his message. Then, from these choices, we extract 5 key speech writing lessons for you.
This is the latest in a series of speech critiques here on Six Minutes.
I encourage you to:
I was unable to find a complete recording with video, but did find these two options:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 ? a date which will live in infamy ? the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The most memorable phrase of this speech comes in its first line. The label ?infamy? foreshadows the tone of the entire speech. Consider the very different tone?resulting?from the following alternatives:
None of these alternatives are consistent with Roosevelt?s goal.
Roosevelt continues to use vivid, emotional words throughout the speech, including:
These phrases continue the ?infamy? theme, and characterize the Japanese actions as duplicitous and dishonorable.
Choose words deliberately which match the tone of your speech.?If your goal is to ignite polarizing emotions, then choose emotionally charged words as Roosevelt has done. On the other hand, more neutral words would be more appropriate if your goal was to heal wounds.
Consider the following phrases:
[...] the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
And, later:
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area.
By using this exhaustive variety of word forms (?Empire of Japan?, ?Japanese Government?, ?Japanese forces?, ?the Japanese?, ?Japan?), Roosevelt makes it clear that the many components of Japan cannot be separated. That is, the attack was not made simply by the Japanese military, but by the Empire, the government, the armed forces, and Japan itself.
Use a variety of related terms to emphasize the whole.
For example, suppose you want to voice opposition to a particular industrial development in your community. In this case, you might use a variety of phrases to communicate the widespread opposition:
[...] the residents of this neighbourhood are opposed [...] the business community is opposed [...] the taxpayers are opposed [...] the media opposes the development [...] this environmental impact study blasts it [...]
Imagine if the entire passage (?? last night Japanese forces attacked ??) quoted above had been abbreviated to the following sentence, which is identical in meaning:
Yesterday, Japanese forces attacked Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippine Islands, Wake Island, and Midway Island.
Would this have had the same rhetorical effect as the six individual sentences? No, not even close!
Roosevelt?s use of repetition amplifies the message and draws more attention to the two key words: ?Japanese? and ?attacked?. If one were asked to narrow the speech down to just two words, those two words would be ?Japanese attacked?.
Use repetition strategically to highlight key words or phrases that carry the weight of your message. Forceful repetition will help these words resonate with your audience.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
This is the only triad used in the entire speech. More importantly, this is the only appeal to logic (logos) within the speech. Most of the rest of the Roosevelt?s speech is an appeal to emotion (pathos). He seems to be consciously aiming for an emotional, gut-level response from Congress and from the American people.
This is in sharp contrast to the speech which led the United States into World War I, which relied heavily on appeals to logic (i.e. we should enter the war because it is a just war).
Understand the roles of ethos, pathos, and logos in a persuasive speech. Make conscious decisions about when to invoke each one depending on your audience and your message.
Roosevelt?s immediate audience for this speech was the members of the United State Congress. In the final sentence of the speech, Roosevelt clearly asks Congress to make the formal declaration of war:
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
The other audience for this speech was the United States public as a whole. In the sentences which precede the final one above, Roosevelt makes his call-to-action clear to the American people:
[...] that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.
Make your call-to-action clear so that your audience will never wonder what you are asking from them. If your audience is comprised of different groups, use your audience analysis to match a call-to-action to each group.
In the complete speech transcript below, the 8 charismatic leadership tactics are annotated with the following colors. A similar color-coding analysis was performed on Winston Churchill?s ?Iron Curtain? speech.
| Legend for CLTs | Demonstrate moral convictions | Reflect the sentiments of the group | Set high expectations | Communicate confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use metaphors, similes, and analogies | Employ contrast | Organize content into triads | Ask rhetorical questions |
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 ? a date which will live in infamy ? the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
Source: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-analysis-franklin-roosevelt-pearl-harbor-fdr-infamy/
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2012) ? Breakthrough in heart research: The research team from Professor Katja Schenke-Layland of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart has discovered cell surface markers that enable the identification and isolation of living functional cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs). For the first time, therapeutically relevant CPCs can be derived from induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPS) cells. CPCs, which are typically only found in fetal development, can become all of the different cell types of the heart and can integrate into heart muscle tissue after injection.
An estimated 17 million people die from cardiovascular disease each year. Although mortality rates are declining, heart attacks are still among the most frequent causes of death in the developed world. Often, the cause of a heart attack is the closure of a coronary artery that supplies blood to the heart, which kills heart muscle cells. Cardiomyocytes, which are the heart muscle cells responsible for the contraction of the heart, are not able to regenerate after a heart attack. The massive loss of cells and tissue, and the highly restricted regeneration capacity of the adult heart, lead to an impaired blood supply throughout the body that drastically affects a patient's quality of life. To restore the heart's function after a major heart attack, clinicians require functionally mature cardiomyocytes that perform like the native cells in the adult heart to replace the cells that were killed.
The production of such functional cardiomyocytes from well-defined cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) is the focus of the research team led by Prof. Dr. Katja Schenke-Layland from the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart and her colleagues, Dr. Ali Nsair of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Prof. Dr. Robb MacLellan of the University of Washington in Seattle, who have now succeeded in identifying such cells in a mouse model. The work could revolutionize the treatment of heart disease.
Development of heart muscle cells from precursor cells
Myocardial cells -- as well as endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells -- develop from CPCs during the embryonic development of humans and other animals. There has been a significant amount of research effort towards discovering a path for the clinical application of these cells in patients. The reason for the lack of success is that the markers that help to identify CPCs, such as Islet1 or Nkx2.5, are located in the nucleus of the cells. The use of these cell markers modifies the cells rendering them therapeutically unusable, making the identification of safe cell-surface markers essential.
Surface markers identified for cardiovascular progenitor cells
On this task, the research team of Professor Katja Schenke-Layland from the Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart, Prof. Dr. Robb MacLellan and Dr. Ali Nsair of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), where Schenke-Layland previously worked before returning to Germany to join the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Attract Program, focused their research. With success: They were able to identify two markers, the receptors Flt1 (VEGFR1) and Flt4 (VEGFR3), on the surface of CPCs with which these cells can be clearly identified while fully preserving their biological function. This discovery allows scientists to isolate clinically relevant cardiovascular progenitor cells that can be functionally matured.
In the search for surface markers, the researchers investigated the cardiovascular progenitor cells using microarray gene expression profiling. These studies show exactly which genes are active at a specific point in time. The resulting data from this analysis were compared to the sequencing data from existing databases of already known as cell markers.
From induced-pluripotent stem cells, cardiovascular progenitor cells are developed
Encouraged by the success of being able to identify and isolate living CPCs, the researchers sought out to derive the cells from induced-pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. For this purpose, they used a method for which the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka was recently awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine. This work, published just six years ago, demonstrated that only four proteins are responsible for the embryonic state of cells (Takahashi K, Yamanaka S. Cell 2006, 126 (4): 663 -676). He brought those four genes into differentiated -- mature and specialized -- cells, which then returned them back to an embryonic state. From these cells, which he called iPS cells, scientists can develop all cells of the body, such as liver cells, nerve cells or heart muscle cells.
In their study, the researchers used cells from a mouse strain in which the cells are labeled with a visible green fluorescent protein (GFP) that can be identified with a fluorescence microscope. The cells from these mice were then reprogrammed with the same four genes discovered by Yamanka, resulting in iPS cells that could be easily identified.
In a next step, the researchers cultured the GFP-labeled iPS cells in the laboratory under different conditions with cell-influencing solutions such as growth factors. "Using our newly established cell surface markers, we could detect and isolate the Flt1 and Flt4 positive CPCs in culture," says Schenke-Layland. "When we cultured the isolated mouse CPCs then in vitro, they actually developed -- as well as the embryonic stem cell-derived progenitor cells -- into endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and more interestingly into functional heart muscle cells."
iPS cell-derived CPCs integrate into the living mouse heart
But how do the developed CPCs behave in living organisms? Can these cells really integrate into tissue and regenerate heart muscle? To answer these questions, the scientists injected the GFP-labeled CPCs into the hearts of living mice. After 28 days, the researchers analyzed the hearts and saw that the green fluorescent cells had developed into beating heart muscle cells and had fully integrated into the myocardial tissue of the mouse.
Enormous potential for heart research
Researchers have long tried to stimulate the regeneration of heart muscle cells. For this purpose, they inject stem cells or stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes into the heart. Although the majority of studies found a slight improvement in heart function, in most cases, neither long-term integration nor the differentiation of the cells into heart muscle has been demonstrated.
The result of the group from Schenke-Layland, Nsair and MacLellan provides the first opportunity to generate functioning heart muscle cells, which integrate into the heart muscle. "We are currently focusing on research with human iPS cells. If we can show that cardiovascular progenitor cells can be derived from human iPS cells that have the ability to mature into functional heart muscle, we will have discovered a truly therapeudic solution for heart attack patients," hopes the scientist.
The work of the research group has been funded by the German-American funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as well as the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Attract Program), the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-W?rttemberg, and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/BY4-eiieI8A/121122112833.htm
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