LONGVIEW, Texas (AP) ? A small East Texas county is awaiting word from the secretary of state on what to do with more than 250 ballots already cast after an error was discovered on the first day of early voting.
Camp County clerk Elaine Young says officials made "emergency ballots" Monday while they waited for new ballots to be printed.
The Longview News-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/POmJx3 ) that Libertarian candidate Sherri Little was listed as a Democrat in a State Board of Education race. Young says Little pointed out the error about 2 p.m. Monday.
Young said it was the second time ballots had to be reprinted for the Nov. 6 election. Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall was left off the first ballot.
Pittsburg, the Camp County seat, is about 120 miles east of Dallas.
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Information from: Longview News-Journal, http://www.news-journal.com
An international goal is to set aside 10 percent of coastal and marine waters as protected areas by 2020. Although much work remains to reach the goal, areas are being added at an accelerated pace.
By Pete Spotts,?Staff writer / October 25, 2012
In this photo, pink coral is seen on the Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific. Parts of three remote and uninhabited Pacific island chains were set aside by President George W. Bush as national monuments to protect them from oil and gas extraction and commercial fishing.
AP Photo/USFWS, Jim Maragos
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Efforts to set aside conservation zones in the world's oceans are picking up steam, putting countries on a path to reach an international goal of setting aside 10 percent of coastal and marine waters as marine-protected areas by 2020.
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That's the assessment of a report prepared by the Nature Conservancy and unveiled this month at a UN biodiversity conference in Hyderabad, India.
Marine-protected areas, or MPAs, generally are designed as free-swim zones for a wide range of ocean life, giving them havens to reproduce and grow without pressure from fishing or other ecologically disruptive human activities.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that the world's oceans maintain a healthy level of biological diversity even as they continue to serve the needs of millions of people who either make their living from fishing or rely on the sea as a main source of food.
In raw numbers, the extent of protected areas is small compared with available square miles of ocean, acknowledges Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy who led the?team that pulled the data together. Indeed, marine-protected areas currently cover far less than 1 percent of the world's oceans.
But the pace at which reserves are growing is picking up.
Between 2003 and 2007, marine-protected areas grew at a rate of about 11.8 percent a year to cover about 2.5 million square kilometers (about 965,000 square miles). By 2010, protected areas covered about 4.8 million square kilometers, an average growth rate of 31 percent for each of the intervening three years. This year, protected areas cover about 8.2 million square kilometers, which would put the growth rate since 2010 at an average of 35 percent a year.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, another 5.2 million square kilometers could be added if Cook Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia follow through on their plans to establish or expand protected areas.
Protected areas are being added so fast that "you can't keep up to date with these things," Dr. Spalding says. "It's a huge acceleration."
One reason the growth rate has picked up: A few countries have been picking the low-hanging fruit. They are preserving vast expanses of pristine marine ecosystems that are off the beaten nautical path.
For instance, twice during his second term, President George W. Bush set aside expanses of ocean falling within the US exclusive economic zones off northwestern Hawaii and the Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
Environmentalists hailed that move in no small part because keeping reefs in these areas as untouched as possible leaves them to serve as reference points for ecologists as they strive to restore stressed reefs elsewhere in the tropics. But the remoteness also meant that setting these areas aside presented relatively low opportunity costs politically compared with similar efforts along continental coasts.
Originally, nations had agreed to meeting the 10 percent coverage target by 2012. But by 2010, it was obvious that wasn't going to happen, Spalding explains. At a UN biodiversity conference that year in Nagoya, Japan, negotiators extended the deadline to 2020. But they also reworded the goals in ways aimed to provide more-specific direction on what was to be protected.
For instance, no longer was it enough merely to add patches of ocean anywhere. Protected areas were to include regions that humans rely on for food or economic benefits, as well as regions that safeguard biodiversity. The new goals also noted that conservation efforts needed to reach deep inland to include areas whose runoff flows into the rivers that empty into coastal waters.
These represent the high-hanging fruit. These goals are difficult to achieve politically and so require close cooperation among all parties interested in using marine resources, ranging from fish under water to offshore wind farms that seek to exploit ocean winds.
Some countries are moving in this direction, although generally the steps remain small, Spalding says. But word on the benefits of marine-protected areas is getting around ? from regional pacts, such as one signed in 2007 for a vast expanse of the western Pacific known as the Coral Triangle, to fisher-to-fisher exchanges in which those from well-managed marine areas share their experiences with those from poorly managed areas.
Referring to a well-designed protected area ? one that brings benefits to the livelihoods of all the potential stakeholders ? Spalding says: "If you get it right, you'll be generating such benefits for people that the whole system should snowball. People look over their shoulders, see an MPA down the road, and say: 'We want one of those.' "
Nature Video presents five short films on this summer's Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which brought early-career physicists together with Nobel Prize-winners
By The Editors
Image: Nature Video
The majority of Nobel prizewinners are men, including the two in this film: Harry Kroto and Dudley Herschbach. This gender imbalance worries the young researchers who join them at a German school to debate the state of science education and how science is perceived beyond the classroom. Kroto tells them about a creationist museum in the U.S., which brings up the issue of public trust in science. The young researchers wonder what role they can play.
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For more on the discussions at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2012, please see?Nature Outlook's?"Physics Masterclass" issue.
Stories can be difficult to write. But not impossible. If you follow the following five steps, you will be sure to have a complete story, and with practice, you are sure to generate new and exciting stories that your friends will love.
Step One: Brainstorm Short Story Ideas About Conflict
Stories are all based on conflict. The best use of conflict in a story is a battle that you have experienced yourself.
Examples:
1) fight with a boyfriend or parent or sister or brother,
2) decision over what school to go to,
3) what to do about that dress you bought but didn?t like,
4) how to stop your boss from annoying you
Provide your own list of ideas of traumas you?ve dealt with and learned from. Once you?ve listed them, decide how these conflicts can be unusual, worse, or more annoying.
Step Two: Play Halloween or Dressup to Build Your Character for Your Short Story
Characters are a matter of making someone cooler, nastier, odder than yourself. Decide who your character is and how they will tell the story. Stay with one character observing all the action and telling the tale, it will make the story easier to understand. Then make up the evil other person who is the problem behind the conflict.
Short Story Exercise:
Describe both characters with a timer, give yourself 1-5 minutes for brainstorming how each looks.
Step Three: Decide Where the Short Story Will Occur
Depending on the story you are writing, the setting, or where the story takes place will help pull the reader into the story. When you create short fiction, make the setting as specific as possible. Try to pick an unusual place since most people find stories that are different from others stories of greater interest than the usual run of the mill place.
Examples of places to skip in your short fiction:
1) home
2) restaurants
3) school
4) offices
Examples of place to include in your short fiction:
1) places you visited on vacation
2) places that have caught your eye i.e. odd buildings
3) places that smell good, make odd sounds, made of odd materials
Brainstorm your own list for your short story.
To write science fiction short stories: use planets, stars, spacecraft, asteroids, comets, black holes etc.
To write horror short stories: use any place that causes you terror ? remote, empty, old, forgotten
To write mystery short stories: use any place that looks odd or unusual
To write romance short stories: use any beautiful place or place that makes you feel some emotion
To write thriller short stories: use any place that is dangerous i.e. cliffs or high spots, machinery, hiding spots
Writing Short Fiction Exercise: Write for 1-5 minutes describing this odd place
Step Four: Write Your Short Story
Ignoring all your previous work, but having it in mind, do the following exercise:
1) Write one to three sentences describing your character entering into the setting, use all five senses
2) Write one to three sentences describing the evil character and what they say to start the conflict
3) Write several sentences describing how your character gets away
4) Repeat steps 1-3 in steps where the conflict gets worse each time and or go to a worse place or face a worse villian
5) Write an unexpected conclusion to the conflict?who wins, who loses, what both get as a result of the conflict
Step Five: Edit Your Short Story
To edit your story, make sure you tell how your character feels at every step of the way. The character must feel worse and worse, but at the end, better. The stakes of the conflict have to get worse. The setting must get wilder. Make sure all of your verbs are active. Move important words like dead, mean, etc. to the end of your sentence. Make sure the story fits within the definition of the story length requirements by removing any repeated thoughts or actions.
There?s also a sense of humor. As others have reported, Vitt was on the team plane from Tampa back to New Orleans. Hiding in the cockpit, he got on the intercom and said, ?Listen up, you f?kers. Put your trays up and buckle your seat belt of I?ll come f?king do it myself.?
Or words to that effect.
So welcome back, Joe. With the Saints on a two-game winning streak and a date with Denver looming, things could get very interesting, very quickly.
Saints welcome Vitt?s energy, sense of humor | ProFootballTalk
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment firm Huawei Technologies pledged on Wednesday to become more transparent, proposing to set up a cyber-security center in Australia to help address concerns that threaten to shut it out of key global markets.
Huawei, the world's second-biggest telecoms equipment maker, has been barred from a $38 billion project in Australia and is also under siege by U.S. lawmakers who suspect it has close ties to Beijing and that its equipment could be used for espionage.
"Huawei has done a very poor job of communicating about ourselves and we must take full responsibility for that," the chairman of its Australian business, John Lord, told reporters on Wednesday in what was a rare opportunity for international media to quiz a senior Huawei figure on the security concerns.
"Huawei has a duty to set the record straight, to dispel the myths and the misinformation," the retired admiral told the National Press Club in Canberra, denying there were any grounds for governments to fear Huawei.
Lord said Huawei proposed to set up a center in Australia to give security-cleared officials complete access to its software source code and equipment - similar to a center it established in Britain two years ago.
Huawei, the sole supplier of equipment for Britain's national broadband network, set up the UK center with the cooperation of the government, enabling Huawei's hardware and software to be tested to ensure against cyber security threats.
Huawei has also offered to undergo similar scrutiny in the United States, along with another Chinese telecoms equipment firm, ZTE Corp, the world's fifth largest telecom equipment maker.
However, a U.S. congressional intelligence committee has decided any such efforts would likely fall short of addressing security concerns, given the scale of the U.S. telecoms market, and it called for Huawei and ZTE to be locked out of the market.
The committee's report followed the Australian government's announcement this year that it had barred Huawei from participating in its $38 billion high-speed broadband network. Both those actions have in turn prompted Canada and Britain to look deeper into similar issues.
Suspicions of Huawei are partly tied to its founder, Ren Zhengfei, a former People's Liberation Army officer. Huawei, an employee-owned and unlisted company, denies any links with the Chinese military and says it is a purely commercial enterprise.
It is the second-biggest maker of routers, switches and telecom equipment by revenue after Sweden's Ericsson, but there is little public information about its operations.
HUAWEI LOOKS FOR LOCAL FACES
Lord, one of many influential figures hired by Huawei in Western markets to reassure foreign governments, said the company needed to do a better job to counter misperceptions.
"We sincerely hope that in Australia, we do not allow sober debate on cyber security to become distorted the way it has in the U.S.," Lord said.
Asked why Huawei did not bring forward its stated plans for a stock exchange listing in five to 10 years to appease concerns about transparency, Lord said the firm's focus was instead localizing the company's boards and activities.
"Would listing be the panacea that would solve all of this openness? At the moment the advice to us from experts outside of Huawei is not necessarily so," he said.
Huawei's board in Australia, created last year, was the company's first local board with non-executive directors and includes former foreign minister Alexander Downer and former premier of Victoria state John Brumby.
"We're developing a model and once that model is mature, that model will be exported to other regions and countries around the world, so that's the first step of us moving out," Lord said.
Huawei CEO Ren, who founded the company 25 years ago after he was laid off by the Chinese army, said during a visit to Australia in August that the company would begin reinvesting local profits back into the Australian market.
Huawei started in Australia in 2004 and has expanded its business across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
It has become a significant market force in the region, supplying equipment to Optus and Vodafone and conducting trials with Telstra Corp Ltd.
Huawei Marine Networks, a joint venture between Huawei and Britain's Global Marine Systems, is involved in building two telecommunications submarine cables between Australia and New Zealand and between Australia and Singapore.
(Additional reporting by Jane Wardell and Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Mark Bendeich)
Two men met recently and struck up a conversation. One was telling the other about some problems he was having with one of his kids.
After a while the other guy said, "You think you have family problems? Get a load of my situation. A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter and we got married. Later, my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter my stepmother and my father became my stepson.
"Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law. Then the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my father's son, but he was also the son of my wife's daughter, which made him my wife's grandson. That made me grandfather of my half-brother.
"This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the sister of my son, my mother-in-law, is also the grandmother. This makes my father the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father's wife.
"I am my stepmother's brother-in-law, my wife is her own child's aunt, my son is my father's nephew and I am my own grandfather. Wow! You think you have family problems."
today'sTHOT============================
This girl said she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I'd never met herbivore.
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PASS IT ON! Yeah, you can send this Funny to anybody you want. And, if you're REAL nice, you'll tell them where you got it! www.mikeysFunnies.com
Being the founder of Microsoft certainly has its advantages, as well as its downsides. Case in point: the video interview Microsoft released this morning, starring none other than Bill Gates himself talking about the world of Windows 8. On the positive side, Gates reveals he's already got his own soon-to-be-released Microsoft Surface RT -- he calls it "an unbelievably great product," unsurprisingly -- with a black keyboard. On the less than positive side, despite being out of the CEO seat at the company, Gates still has to do interviews like the one found after the break. You'd think he could just get Ballmer to put on his old Crazy Eddie's impersonation! We've dropped that notorious video after the break as well, for comparison sake.
http://bit.ly/SZzwdD Given mntain biking is a recreational hobby wherein riders ride bicycles off-road on tough terrains. The bicycles used for these hobby is specifically manufactured to suit these kind of terrains which are generally tough and patchy. Such bikes are favoredly regarded as mntain bikes. These mntain bikes are especifically suitable for these kinds of environments. These forms of bikes look very similar to any other bike, but they are fitted with exclusive features to greatly enhance and improve the ride, consolation and most importantly performance on such terrains.Terrain biking are of different categories such as hybrid country, dirt jumping and trails to name a few. The most favored forms of mntain biking is the recreational and trail driving categories. One can perform mntain biking anywhere like on country back rds, off-road trails, zigzag rds thtough forests, on hills or mntains, areas and on roads. considering mntain biking involves journeyling on your own and most of the time being away from the civilization, the rider needs to be self-reliant in the hobby. The rider is expected to carry a backpack and be equipped with essential items like water, instruments expected for repairs, a first aid kit, and some crisis food packets in case of need arising from any unfortunate incident like accidents. mntain biking thtough clubs or in teams is very common on long treks. This hobby has received in favoredity after the year 1990 and is acknowledged as a form of recreational hobby.Some of the equipments one needs for mntain biking are, a good bike specifically made for performance on terrains which are tough. They have sure exclusive features like dual suspension, broader tires, and flat and raised treat for consolationable driving posture giving good control for the rider. These make of bikes come fitted with disc brakes and gears to assist in climbing hills which are steep and journey thtough bumpy surfaces. Due to these exclusive capabilities such bikes are heavier as compared to the regular tour bicycles. A rider also needs to carry sure accessories like helmets, gloves, first aid kit, GPS device, pumps to fill flat tires, a good shoe, instruments for the bike etc.hybrid country is the most favored form of off-road biking all over the earth. This involves journeyling from one point to another involving some climbs and descents on different forms of terrains. Trails involve jumping the bikes over obstacles without the rider's foot touching the land. It is generally performed off-road and needs good balance from the rider. just about just about every hobby has its risks and mntain biking also involves some risks. Without the use of any protective gears a rider can be susceptible to minor as well as some really serious accidents to head or spine especifically in downhill biking. With a protective gear one can avoid such really serious accidents.Australia has some excellent terrain biking tours which are eco certified, these tours come with instructions for just about just about every kind of biking practical experience be it the rainforest tours or the coastal tours on bikes. They cater to all kinds of rider amateur as well as seasoned. practical experience the adventures involved in mntain biking like any other hobby and also enjoy dynamics at its best. Such form of biking is a great stress buster.
Investors and financial analysis firms are increasingly looking at "sentimental analysis." They analyze things such as Facebook "likes" and Twitter messages to gauge a company's social popularity.
iStockphoto.com i
Investors and financial analysis firms are increasingly looking at "sentimental analysis." They analyze things such as Facebook "likes" and Twitter messages to gauge a company's social popularity.
iStockphoto.com
High School was not a particularly awesome time in the life of Arthur J. O'Connor. That social fairy dust that some people seem to have, he didn't have it.
"I was a wallflower. I was a nerd," O'Connor says. "I was incredibly intimidated by everybody."
Well, whatever he lacked in cool, O'Connor had in brains. He went on to work a couple decades on Wall Street in risk management and then enrolled in a Ph.D. business program. That's where he wrote a paper that's gotten quite a bit of attention: The Power of Popularity: An Empirical Study of Fan Counts and Consumer Brand Stock Prices.
"My theory was, it's like in high school," he says. "Does being really popular help you win friends [or] help you enhance your performance? And it turns out that yeah, popularity does seem to help brands."
To test this, O'Connor tracked 30 brands with the most followers on Facebook, including Abercrombie and Fitch, Adidas, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters and Best Buy among others.
O'Connor tracked the likes of those companies on Facebook for a whole year, while at the same time tracking their daily share price. What he found astonished him.
"A 99.95 percent of the change could be explained by the change in fan counts," he says. He found that the overwhelming majority of the change in company's stock price correlated to the Facebook likes that day or that period.
It's not that Facebook likes caused shares to rise or fall, but the admiration a company gets on social media seems to be a good clue about stock market performance.
Naturally, people on Wall Street are interested, and many of them are already buying so-called "sentiment feeds" and folding them into the algorithms they use to buy and sell stocks. It's kind of like a digital mood ring.
"Typically, our clients are hedge funds and institutional money managers that would look at interpreting this data in different strategies," says Rich Brown, head of financial analytics at Thomson Reuters, one of the largest providers of sentiment analysis.
Thomson Reuters' supercomputers regularly scan 4.5 million news and social media sites for data on what people are saying about a company. Tweets with words like "love" get a positive score. "Disappointment" and "jerks" get negative scores.
So computers can read the news and opinion like people do, but much faster. So does that really give anyone an edge?
"I'm not yet convinced that this is particularly the right approach," says James Liew, who teaches finance at NYU Stern Business School and has a small hedge fund. He studies sentiment analysis, but he's not using it to invest. Not yet anyway.
"A lot of the research that's coming out right now is funded by the sentiment providers," he says. "So they're looking and they're trying to sell this data ... and so the research tends to be a little bit on the biased side."
Liew says it is possible someone is getting rich off of tweets and Facebook posts, but you probably won't hear about it. Because when people on Wall Street are making tons of money, they don't tend to proclaim it on Twitter.
October 23, 2012, 1:29 PM ? The most talked-about issue in the lead-up to Microsoft's launch of Windows 8 is the new Start screen,?featuring the Modern UI. But Windows 8 has much more to offer than just a revamped interface.
The operating system includes fundamental enhancements, such as better multiple-monitor setups, an overhauled Windows Explorer, cloud-based account syncing, and new ways to personalize your desktop.
Here are 15 improvements to Windows that you'll want to check out in Microsoft's latest OS, including some new tools in the Modern UI.
Some of these improvements have no corresponding feature in Windows 7. If they do, we'll show you what they look like in Windows 7 and (for comparison) provide a screenshot showing how they are enhanced in Windows 8. Lets dive in.
Account sync
Where to get started:Charms bar > Settings > Change PC settings > Sync your settings
Windows 8 can sync your user account settings across multiple PCs, saving you the trouble of having to customize your Windows environment manually on different computers.
You can sync your desktop themes and backgrounds, lock screen, account pictures, passwords, HomeGroup settings, Modern UI app settings, browser history, favorites, and more.
Settings syncing requires having a Microsoft account connected to each Windows 8 PC.
Sharing
Where to get started:Charms bar > Share
Social networking comes built into Windows 8's Modern UI, with the ability to share items between Modern UI apps.
You can use this functionality to share items such as links and photos with specific people via Mail, or you can post items to social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter via the People app.
Sharing has to be built in to third-party apps by the apps' developers, so sharing may not work with all Modern UI apps.
Better multiple-monitor setups
Where to get started:Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Display
In Windows 8, Microsoft adds several improvements to multiple-monitor setups. The traditional desktop interface now features separate taskbars and backgrounds for each display.
A leading Birmingham video production company this week claimed that online video will become as commonplace as websites for businesses. The claim came as figures continued to confirm the growth in popularity of online video.
Alexis Belle of Pro Web Video Online, a Birmingham video production company that specialises in creating online video for small and medium size organisations said this week ?We are seeing a rapid growth in the popularity of online video. This mirrors the growth in popularity of websites a few years ago, and businesses need to start acting on this growth.?
Pro Web?s claim came as comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring digital media has recently released statistics revealing the extent of online video consumption in the UK in January 2012. Its figures reveal that online video reached 80% of the total internet audience in the UK ? equivalent to 34 million people.
In January 2012, the research revealed, 8.4 billion videos were watched by 34.2 million people for a total of 58.8 billion minutes. There have been other significant areas of growth for internet video. For example, there was an increase of 28% in the number of videos watched and a growth of 42 percent in the amount of time spent watching videos online.
?A few years ago business, particularly small and medium companies, were resistant to the growth of websites. Websites were not for them, always for ?other companies?. But changes in consumer behaviour, linked to technological changes, meant companies had to adapt or die. At Pro Web Video Online, we believe the same is true today concerning online video.?
Pro Web Video Online are a Birmingham video production company consisting of small team of professionals and creatives who specialise in online marketing and web video production. The team manage every element of the video production process, from initial concepts and scriptwriting through to filming, editing and distribution to the web. Their approach is to establish an open relationship with clients from the outset, ensuring they are involved at each and every stage of the production process. They have both achieved success for in video marketing for many West Midlands organisations.
Any organisation looking to find out more about the company?s services should visit their website at www.prowebvideoonline.co.uk.
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Remember to watch this space as we will be releasing a range of online video marketing blogs over the coming months. Our readers can also find our Pro Web Video Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ProWebVideoOnline. For all the latest goings on, you can keep up-to-date with Pro Web Video on Twitter https://twitter.com/AlexisProWeb. And we also now have an Pro Web Video YouTube page live at http://www.youtube.com/ProWebVideoOnline.
Moffitt researchers study how patterns, timing of sunlight exposure contribute to skin cancersPublic release date: 23-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Polacek kim.polacek@moffitt.org 813-745-7408 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Blistering sunburns and working outdoors associated with 2 kinds of skin cancer
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of South Florida and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France have studied the patterns and timing of sunlight exposure and how each is related to two nonmelanoma skin cancers basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
This study, published in the open-access journal BioMed Central, is the first case-control study to simultaneously evaluate identical patterns and timing of sunlight exposure as they are related to basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas in the same U.S. population with high annual ultraviolet radiation exposure. Patterns of sunlight exposure are continuous or intermittent, and timing refers to exposure during childhood, adulthood or both. It included 703 Florida residents - 218 with basal cell carcinoma, 169 with squamous cell carcinoma and 316 without skin cancer. The research goal was to identify potential differences or similarities in sunlight exposure responses for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
"There are more than a million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas diagnosed in the United States each year," said senior study author Dana E. Rollison, Ph.D., associate member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program, and vice president and chief health information officer at Moffitt. "While mortality associated with nonmelanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, is low, patients may experience substantial morbidity and treatment costs are high."
It is estimated that 25 percent of lifetime sunlight exposure occurs before age 18. Youth is a time of greater toxic sunlight exposure and also a time when the chances of receiving blistering sunburns are higher.
"Blistering sunburn is believed to result from high doses of intense ultraviolet radiation exposure in short increments of time and is considered to be a measure of intermittent exposure," said study co-author Michelle Iannacone, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The researchers surveyed those with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, as well as those with no history of skin cancer, to determine the effects of intermittent versus continuous sunlight exposure, as well as the timing of the exposure and age. They noted that although the relationship between both cancers and sunlight exposure is complex, researchers began to identify cumulative outdoor sunlight exposure as a risk factor for nonmelanoma skin cancer beginning in the 1950s.
Being exposed to ultraviolet radiation intermittently, perhaps while on summer vacation in high ultraviolet radiation regions, and continuous exposure through working at a job outside in the sunlight were patterns the researchers wanted to identify and correlate to basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
Study subjects were surveyed on their recollections of their history of sun exposure.
Survey results reveal that a history of blistering sunburn was associated with both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Having a job in the sunlight was also associated with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Measures of younger age at sunlight exposure "tended to be associated with squamous cell carcinoma, but not basal cell carcinoma, risk," researchers concluded.
"Sunlight exposure, regardless of the exposure pattern, is associated with both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas," Iannacone said. "Understanding how sunlight exposure response may differ by nonmelanoma skin cancer type is important for educating the public on safe sunlight behaviors. Applying sunscreen while on vacation may decrease basal cell carcinoma risk with intermittent sunlight exposure, but may not impact the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, which may be more strongly related to continuous sunlight exposure."
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The study was funded by a grant from the state of Florida's James & Esther King Biomedical Research Program (06NIR-08).
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Since 1999, Moffitt has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. With more than 4,200 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact on the state of nearly $2 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, twitter and YouTube.
Media release by Florida Science Communications
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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.
Moffitt researchers study how patterns, timing of sunlight exposure contribute to skin cancersPublic release date: 23-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kim Polacek kim.polacek@moffitt.org 813-745-7408 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Blistering sunburns and working outdoors associated with 2 kinds of skin cancer
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, the University of South Florida and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France have studied the patterns and timing of sunlight exposure and how each is related to two nonmelanoma skin cancers basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
This study, published in the open-access journal BioMed Central, is the first case-control study to simultaneously evaluate identical patterns and timing of sunlight exposure as they are related to basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas in the same U.S. population with high annual ultraviolet radiation exposure. Patterns of sunlight exposure are continuous or intermittent, and timing refers to exposure during childhood, adulthood or both. It included 703 Florida residents - 218 with basal cell carcinoma, 169 with squamous cell carcinoma and 316 without skin cancer. The research goal was to identify potential differences or similarities in sunlight exposure responses for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
"There are more than a million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas diagnosed in the United States each year," said senior study author Dana E. Rollison, Ph.D., associate member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program, and vice president and chief health information officer at Moffitt. "While mortality associated with nonmelanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, is low, patients may experience substantial morbidity and treatment costs are high."
It is estimated that 25 percent of lifetime sunlight exposure occurs before age 18. Youth is a time of greater toxic sunlight exposure and also a time when the chances of receiving blistering sunburns are higher.
"Blistering sunburn is believed to result from high doses of intense ultraviolet radiation exposure in short increments of time and is considered to be a measure of intermittent exposure," said study co-author Michelle Iannacone, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The researchers surveyed those with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, as well as those with no history of skin cancer, to determine the effects of intermittent versus continuous sunlight exposure, as well as the timing of the exposure and age. They noted that although the relationship between both cancers and sunlight exposure is complex, researchers began to identify cumulative outdoor sunlight exposure as a risk factor for nonmelanoma skin cancer beginning in the 1950s.
Being exposed to ultraviolet radiation intermittently, perhaps while on summer vacation in high ultraviolet radiation regions, and continuous exposure through working at a job outside in the sunlight were patterns the researchers wanted to identify and correlate to basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
Study subjects were surveyed on their recollections of their history of sun exposure.
Survey results reveal that a history of blistering sunburn was associated with both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Having a job in the sunlight was also associated with basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. Measures of younger age at sunlight exposure "tended to be associated with squamous cell carcinoma, but not basal cell carcinoma, risk," researchers concluded.
"Sunlight exposure, regardless of the exposure pattern, is associated with both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas," Iannacone said. "Understanding how sunlight exposure response may differ by nonmelanoma skin cancer type is important for educating the public on safe sunlight behaviors. Applying sunscreen while on vacation may decrease basal cell carcinoma risk with intermittent sunlight exposure, but may not impact the risk of squamous cell carcinoma, which may be more strongly related to continuous sunlight exposure."
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The study was funded by a grant from the state of Florida's James & Esther King Biomedical Research Program (06NIR-08).
About Moffitt Cancer Center
Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Since 1999, Moffitt has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. With more than 4,200 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact on the state of nearly $2 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, twitter and YouTube.
Media release by Florida Science Communications
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The end of September/start of October was a whirlwind! I made three trips to Warrenton/Round Top in two weeks and then flew back home to IL to spend some much needed time with friends and family. What a short yet wonderful weekend it was! The one season that I miss the most is definitely fall; last year I didn't make it home until Thanksgiving so I missed all that is great about fall in the midwest: fields being harvested, crisp air, and colorful trees. I made it a priority to get back home this fall and I am so glad I did!?
Many great fall memories center around a bonfire roasting hot dogs and s'mores. Where I am from, that is called a wieny roast! My parents were gracious hosts to my two best friends and their families. The kids had a lot of fun feeding the sheep in the barn.?
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How sweet are my nieces and nephews!? They all take after their Aunt Sarah. ;)
Another core component of a wieny roast is the hay rack ride. We improvised this year and did a golf cart ride! Worked well for our small crew. They posed on the straw and then we had to ditch it for our ride. ?
After kids enjoyed hot dogs and smores, the girls headed into town! What a wonderful time reminiscing with my best friends since grade school.?
On Sunday, my parents and I headed to west toward Macomb to visit my grandmother. The fields of Central IL are dotted with these massive wind turbines. It is crazy how slowly they move considering how windy it is, but I can only imagine how much those blades weigh.?
That weekend was the first of the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive, a collection of festivities along a long stretch of roads from west of Peoria to beyond Farmington. There are endless small shows with vendors and tons of yard/barn sales! You better believe we took that route to Grandma's; it was literally over the river and through the woods! With tons of stops along the way... ???
These aren't your ordinary garage sales. These people had great stuff! At the above sale, I found a great old doll with bright green eyes, several tarnished silver dishes, old ammo pellet bags, and a few Ball mason jars.?
And I went with this one on the bottom. My aunt saw this and couldn't believe I paid money for it. I think it is perfectly shabby! It has a great shape and could easily be recovered (by someone who knows how to do that).
Here are some more great sights from my Midwestern weekend:
And here are some goods I found while there:
Loving the industrial style desk and the two chippy shutters.
This old farm table was a steal!?
It looks like no matter where I go, I can find a deal! Luckily for me, my parents are driving down to Texas in less than two weeks to help me with my first 'real' show, the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale. It is in Gonzalez, TX on November 2 and 3 and it is worth the drive if you are within a few hours. I went as a shopper last year, and it was so much fun that I am going to be a vendor this year! This weekend has been filled with lots of prep work ?- I am so anxious and excited to see it all come together, and so very thankful my parents will be there to help!?
It was great to be home even if it was for just 48 hours; I didn't get to see lots of other friends and family members, but I treasure the time I got to spend with those I did see. And I look forward to the next trip back!
Making a sale with your luxury home at auction is the easiest and very profitable way to sell real estate. Therefore, the advice that other purchasers of property use to pick their spots can be just as useful in Brevard County.
In order to exemplify it, we can say that in Mexico foreigners have not been permitted to buy land or homes within 50 km of this coast or 100 km out of a border unless they have title in a Mexican Corporation. You can choose between a wide range of properties and locations when you aspire to real estate trends in the capital of Texas. Austin is in the heart of this great state, and there are tons of reasons why you should consider buying commercial real estate in this area.
Unless happen to be aiming to real estate express only to persons of a certain religion, noting that you are an enthusiastic follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster may cause people to secure you by, even if you?re actively proselytizing to them. You put real estate on the market, hire an agent, put up a sign and it will sell. The way you treat a partner can go a long significantly.
Better deals on real estate happen to those that know the quality of the things they are buying. So, you can make specific you can rely with this agency. Those who bought in the past six months have been buying at the top, and even large companies have made this mistake.
With inflation creeping upward glance, but acquiring real property will result in delays in paying more a short while ago. Normal more and more people are deciding to become weekend marketplace investors. Higher interest charges are needed to help impede inflation.
This strategy is not the best and buyers should try to buy the property in cash if at all possible. Real estate refers to a legal term which usually means the land and some development made in there such as building, fencing, wells and many others which are immovable in nature. Many want to buy but may possibly scared to spend money any the fear that they may lose their jobs.
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The BBC's correspondent in Malaysia, Jennifer Pak, says Petronas has 30 days to appeal the decision.
Canada has blocked a $5.2bn(?3.3bn) takeover bid from Malaysia's Petronas, saying it would not benefit the country.
Petronas had wanted to buy Canadian oil and gas firm Progress Energy Resources. It now has 30 days to adjust its offer.
Analysts said the move raises questions about Canada's appetite for foreign investment in key industries.
The decision also casts doubt over a $15.1bn (?9.3bn) bid for Canada's Nexen by Chinese state-owned Cnooc.
"If they can reject Petronas it doesn't look good for Cnooc," said Laban Yu, energy analyst at Jefferies in Hong Kong.
International investment
The offer from Petronas for Progress Energy Resources, worth 5.18bn Canadian dollar, was agreed by the companies in June.
However, in a statement on Friday the Canadian industry minister said the deal was not of "net benefit" to Canada.
A takeover would give Petronas access to shale gas reserves in the Montney region of British Columbia and Alberta, a resource many firms are keen to develop.
Chief executive of Progress Energy Resources, Michael Culbert, expressed the company's disappointment at the decision.
"Progress will be working over the next 30 days to determine the nature of the issues and the potential remedies," he said.
"The long-term health of the natural gas industry in Canada and the development of a new liquefied natural gas export industry are dependent on international investments such as (the one by) Petronas."
Petronas would not comment on the decision when contacted by the BBC.
Parents with a higher number of stressors in their lives are more likely to have obese children, according to a new study by pediatric researchers. Furthermore, when parents perceive themselves to be stressed, their children eat fast food more often, compared to children whose parents feel less stressed.
?Stress in parents may be an important risk factor for child obesity and related behaviors,? said Elizabeth Prout-Parks, M.D., a physician nutrition specialist at The Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia, who led a study published online today in the November issue of Pediatrics. ?The severity and number of stressors are important.?
Among the parental stressors associated with childhood obesity are poor physical and mental health, financial strain, and leading a single-parent household, said Prout-Parks. Although previous researchers had found a connection between parental stress and child obesity, the current study covered a more diverse population, both ethnically and socioeconomically, than did previous studies.
The study team suggested that interventions aimed at reducing parental stress and teaching coping skills may assist public health campaigns in addressing childhood obesity.
The researchers analyzed self-reported data from 2,119 parents and caregivers who participated in telephone surveys in the 2006 Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Health Survey/Community Health Database, conducted in Philadelphia and neighboring suburbs. The households contained children aged 3 to 17, among whom 25 percent were obese. Among the variables included were parental stressors, parent-perceived stress, age, race, health quality and gender of children, adult levels of education, BMI, gender, sleep quality, and outcomes such as child obesity, fast-food consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity.
Of the measured stressors, single-parent households had the strongest relationship with child obesity, while financial stress had the strongest relationship for a child not being physically active. Unexpectedly, neither parent stressors nor parent-perceived stress was associated with decreased fruit and vegetable consumption by their children.
However, this study was the first to find an association between parent-perceived stress and more frequent fast-food consumption by children. Fast food, often containing high quantities of fat and sugar, is an important risk factor for obesity and child health. The researchers speculated that parents experiencing stress may buy more fast food for the family, to save time or reduce the demands of meal preparation. The authors also suggest that actual and perceived parental stress may result in less supervision of children, who may then make unhealthy food and activity choices.
?Although multiple stressors can elicit a ?stressor pile-up,? causing adverse physical health in children, parent?s perception of their general stress level may be more important than the actual stressors,? the authors write.
Future research on child obesity should further examine other family behaviors and community factors not available in the current study, conclude the authors. In addition, ?Clinical care, research and other programs might reduce levels of childhood obesity by developing supportive measures to reduce stressors on parents,? said Prout-Parks. ?Teaching alternative coping strategies to parents might also help them to reduce their perceived stress.?
10-23-2012, 09:35 PM
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Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
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