I have been really busy since returned from February vacation. The personal life and work life are competing aggressively against each other, to see who wins the race!
There has been a delay in shipment for the safety eyes, and we are still chasing for the short-shipment. I guess it?s just super busy for everyone in the first quarter of a new year.
Nonetheless, most of our safety eyes and yarns are restocked, but some eyes (oval 7mm) are still low stock in inventory?until the short-shipped items are received. We are also negotiating the possibility in stocking up triangle noses in more sizes (currently all triangle noses are out of stock!). That may take a while longer as the factory has to work out the schedule to accommodate to our request.
NEW PATTERNS
New designs are scheduled to be worked on from late April ? exciting new things are happening in my personal life, and it doesn?t involve a living thing (if that is what you are guessing).
CUSTOM (MADE-TO-ORDER) ORDERS ? Finished Products
Custom order is shelved indefinitely because of very heavy schedule. Finished products will be offered in Ready-Made segment, when?I am more adjusted to my new timetable.
There are cells in your brain that recognize very specific places, and have that as one of their main jobs. These cells, called place cells, are found in an area behind your temple called the hippocampus. While these cells must be sent information from nearby cells to do their job, so far no one has been able to determine exactly what kind of nerve cells, or neurons, work with place cells to craft the code they create for each location. Neurons come in many different types with specialized functions. Some respond to edges and borders, others to specific locations, others act like a compass and react to which way you turn your head.
Now, researchers at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have combined a range of advanced techniques that enable them to identify which neurons communicate with each other at different times in the rat brain, and in doing so, create the animal's sense of location. Their findings are published in the 5 April issue of Science.
"A rat's brain is the size of a grape. Inside there are about fifty million neurons that are connected together at a staggering 450 billion places (roughly)," explains Professor Edvard Moser, director of the Kavli Institute. "Inside this grape-sized brain are areas on each side that are smaller than a grape seed, where we know that memory and the sense of location reside. This is also where we find the neurons that respond to specific places, the place cells. But from which cells do these place cells get information?"
The problem is, of course, that researchers cannot simply cut open the rat brain to see which cells have had contact. That would be the equivalent of taking a giant pile of cooked spaghetti, chopping it into little pieces, and then trying to figure out how the various spaghetti strands were tangled together before the pile was cut up.
A job like this requires the use of a completely different set of neural tools, which is where the "light switches" come into play.
Neurons share many similarities with electric cables when they send signals to each other. They send an electric current in one direction ? from the "body" of the neuron and down a long arm, called the axon, which goes to other nerve cells. Place cells thus get their small electric signals from a whole series of such arms.
So how do light switches play into all of this?
"What we did first was to give these nerve arms a harmless viral infection," Moser says. "We designed a unique virus that does not cause disease, but that acts as a pathway for delivering genes to specific cells. The virus creeps into the neurons, crawls up to the nucleus of the cell, and uses the nerve cell's own factory to make the genetic recipe that we gave to the virus to carry."
The genetic recipe enabled the cell to make the equivalent of a light switch. Our eyes actually contain the same kind of biological light switch, which allows us to see. The virus infection converts neurons that have previously existed only in darkness, deep inside the brain, to now be sensitive to light.
Then the researchers inserted optical fibres in the rat's brain to transmit light to the different unidentified cells that now had light switches in them. They also implanted thin microelectrodes down between the cells so they could detect the signals sent through the axons every time the light from the optical fibre was turned on.
"Now we had everything set up, with light switches installed in cells around the place cells, a lamp, and a way to record the activity," Moser said.
The researchers then turned the lights on and off more than ten thousand times in their rat lab partners, while they monitored and recorded the activity of hundreds of individual cells in the rats' grape-sized brains. The researchers did this research while the rats ran around in a metre-square box, gathering treats. As the rats explored their box and found the treats, the researchers were able to use the light-sensitive cells to figure out which cells were feeding information to the place cells as the rat's brain created the map of where the rat had been.
When the researchers put together all the information afterwards they concluded that there is a whole range of different specialized cells that together provide place cells their information. The brain's GPS ? its sense of place ? is created by signals from head direction cells, border cells, cells that have no known function in creating location points, and grid cells. Place cells thus receive both information about the rat's surroundings and landmarks, but also continuously update their own movement, which is actually independent on sensory input.
"One mystery is the role that the cells that are not part of the sense of direction play. They send signals to place cells, but what do they actually do?" wonders Moser.
"We also wonder how the cells in the hippocampus are able to sort out the various signals they receive. Do they 'listen' to all of the cells equally effectively all the time, or are there some cells that get more time than others to 'talk' to place cells?"
###
Norwegian University of Science and Technology: http://www.ntnu.edu
Thanks to Norwegian University of Science and Technology for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service (Sports Management/Finance/Admin)
Job Number:
84239752
Company Name:
Pro Sports
Location:
Denver, US
Career Focus:
Sales & Sales Management
Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service (Sports Management/Finance/Admin)
The Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service will report to the team President. The position is responsible for all ticket sales and activities related to the conceptualization, implementation and direction of all team ticketing programs and ticketing staff for both sales and service. The position is based in Denver, Colorado.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Establish ticketing strategy in collaboration with Team President and Chief Marketing Officer in accordance with overall team marketing and branding strategy Analyze existing ticket prices and policies and set annual direction and price points and programs Manage full and part-time ticket sales team Achieve overall ticketing revenue targets Manage box office staff Manage existing customer database Conduct annual goal setting, mid-year and annual performance reviews for direct reports Network with community leaders regarding ticketing partnerships Work game nights Train sales staff and manage their workflow Institute a sales and service culture that maximizes top level sales, service and retention Responsible for development of ticketing staff and timely performance management Other duties as requested
Qualifications
Bachelor degree Minimum of 5 - 7 years of proven ticket sales experience, preferably in sports / entertainment industries Public speaking and presentation skills Highly motivated Previous financial experience with revenue and expense budgets and ability to achieve financial goals Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point Ability to meet tight deadlines and work well under pressure Experience in managing teams Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks / projects Ability to work collaboratively with others and ability to build strong interpersonal relationships Availability and willingness to work extended hours, including nights and weekends and be on-call as necessary
Compensation
Salary will be commensurate with experience Compensation will be a combination of salary, sales commission and team profit sharing Health benefits, 401K, parking
Get Started Applying for this Job by entering your email address below.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Furniture retailer IKEA said on Saturday it had halted sales of moose lasagne after traces of pork were found in a batch of the product.
Sales of the lasagne, of which about 10,000 tonnes has been produced by a Swedish supplier for IKEA, were stopped at its stores in 18 countries across Europe after tests by Belgian authorities late last month revealed traces of pork.
"We received confirmation on Friday that one production series contained minced pork in very small quantity, roughly 1 percent," IKEA spokeswoman Tina Kardum said, adding that the tainted series totaled just over 17,000 packages.
"Due to this, we are now in dialogue with our supplier, which has taken steps to make sure this does not happen again."
In February IKEA halted sales of its trade-mark meatballs after tests showed a batch contained horsemeat, a discovery that widened a Europe-wide horsemeat scandal that has damaged confidence in the continent's food industry.
(Reporting by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
DENVER (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to rally public support for proposed background checks for all gun buyers, touting new gun control measures enacted in Colorado - the scene of two of the deadliest gun massacres in American history - as "a model of what's possible."
Obama is aiming to revive stalled momentum in Congress for several gun control measures, including universal background checks for gun buyers, that he called for after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut school in December. The Senate is set to take up gun control next week.
Speaking in a Western state that Obama noted has a strong tradition of gun ownership and hunting, the president said that taking action to reduce gun violence does not have to infringe on Americans' gun rights, enshrined in the Constitution's Second Amendment.
"There doesn't have to be a conflict between protecting our citizens and protecting our Second Amendment rights," Obama told a cheering crowd in Denver.
Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper last month signed into law legislation passed by Colorado legislators to require universal background checks for gun buyers and ban ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds.
"I've come to Denver today in particular because Colorado is proving a model of what's possible," Obama said, adding that the state has shown that "practical progress" can be made.
Obama met privately with law enforcement and elected officials as well as relatives of victims of two Colorado mass shootings: at a movie theater last year in the Denver suburb of Aurora and at Columbine High School in 1999.
Obama devoted most of his speech at the Denver Police Academy to trying to build the case for expanding the existing background checks to cover all gun buyers. Loopholes in the law have exempted many gun buyers from such checks.
"Now understand, nobody is talking about creating an entirely new system. We are simply talking about plugging holes, sealing a porous system that isn't working as well as it should," Obama said.
"If you want to buy a gun, whether it's from a licensed dealer or a private seller, you should at least have to pass a background check to show you're not a criminal or someone legally prohibited from buying one. And that's just common sense," Obama added.
No major gun legislation has passed the U.S. Congress since 1994, but Obama has made gun control one of his top legislative priorities. Opinion polls show strong support for background checks and other gun control proposals, but gun rights advocates led by the National Rifle Association have lobbied fiercely against any new measures.
'THEATERS OF WAR'
In Denver, Obama mentioned some of his other gun control proposals - reinstating the ban on assault weapons and cracking down on high-capacity ammunition clips - that already appear to have little chance of passing the Democratic-led Senate, let alone the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
"I don't believe that weapons designed for theaters of war have a place in movie theaters. Most Americans agree with that," Obama said.
Obama urged Americans to call their senators and House members to ask where they stand and demand votes on his proposals. "There are already some senators back in Washington floating the idea that they might use obscure procedural stunts to prevent or delay any of these votes on reform," Obama said.
Obama drew applause when he pressed for the assault weapon ban despite its bleak prospects in the Senate. At least 15 of the 55-member Senate Democratic caucus are expected to join all the chamber's 45 Republicans to reject the measure.
Even a bipartisan measure to crack down on gun trafficking may be in trouble, according to congressional aides, because of a possible change being pushed by the NRA to weaken it.
The only provision that appears to have strong bipartisan support is a relatively minor one that would provide schools $40 million a year for 10 years to bolster security. This drew Republican backing only after Democrats slashed the proposed price by more than a half.
Obama met with two representatives of hunters' groups in Colorado. The president said he has received "stacks of letters" from gun owners who want gun violence stopped. Obama urged Americans on both sides of the gun debate to listen to each other and try to be more empathetic.
Obama plans to visit Connecticut next week to continue his push for action on reducing gun violence. Connecticut legislators were expected to vote on Wednesday on proposals to expand a state ban on assault weapons and require registration of high-capacity clips.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Will Dunham)
Our cat Mischa is ill, and I am sad. But sadness is only one of the things I am feeling. Because of technology and the internet, I am angry, frustrated and a little bit freaked out.
Unofficial Apple spokesman John Gruber has written a short post on Daring Fireball suggesting that iOS 7 is running well behind schedule—and that as a result Apple is hauling man power from its OS X development team. More »
A: Yes, you will be able to print the forms right within QuickBooks, depending on the payroll service you subscribe too.
Before you start using QuickBooks for Payroll, you will have to contact IRS, State department and County for an account number. Following are the questions you will ask:
What forms do you have to file to apply for an account?
What is the tax rate for employer and employee the tax rate to withhold from paychecks and employer taxes
?
Can you file returns online and if so what is website?
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy album: The singer-songwriter's new album features a song critical of French President Hollande. Clara Bruni-Sarkozy is the former 'first lady' of France.
By Nicholas Vinocur,?Reuters / April 1, 2013
French-Italian singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy performs during the Echo music awards ceremony in Berlin, last month.
Markus Schreiber/Reuters
Enlarge
Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy took some not-so subtle shots at France's current president Francois Hollande in her new album.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
The singer-songwriter is the wife of former President Nicolas Sarkozy. In a song entitled, "The Penguin," Bruni uses a French nickname for someone who is seen as all dressed up but still lacking grace and manners.
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
"She mocks [President Hollande's] ?sovereign air.?? ?He takes on the airs of a king, but I know the penguin does not have the manners of a lord,? read the lyrics. Bruni was widely said to feel slighted when Hollande skipped the customary walk with the departing couple as they exited Elysee Palace, instead staying in the garden to pose for photos. ?Hey penguin, you look all alone in your garden,? she sings. ?If one day you cross my path, I?ll teach you to kiss my hand.?
In a blitz of interviews with French media to promote her album, Bruni also said a formal investigation of her husband opened last week for allegedly exploiting the mental frailty of 90-year-old L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt was causing her great pain.
"It's impossible to imagine that this man could have abused the frailty of a lady the age of his mother... It's unthinkable," Bruni told RTL radio in a shaky voice.
Sarkozy, who retreated from front-line politics after losing his re-election bid last May, rejects accusations that he took advantage of Bettencourt, France's richest woman, in 2007 to raise funds for his first election campaign. He wrote on Facebook this week that the probe against him was "unfair and unfounded".
The case could scupper any political comeback for Sarkozy, whose remains a popular figure for center-right voters and has said he would consider running for president again in 2017.
His lawyer, Thierry Herzog, has said he would seek to have the case thrown out on grounds that the investigation conducted by judge Jean-Michel Gentil was biased against Sarkozy.
A former model, Bruni played a restrained role as first lady while Sarkozy was in power but has since returned to the media spotlight, performing last week at the ECHO Music Awards in Berlin.
Bruni's 2008 marriage to Sarkozy after a whirlwind courtship irritated many French people who felt the high-profile romance blurred the lines between the president's private and public lives.
Asked if she was tempted to fight back publicly against the accusations and "show her claws", Bruni said: "Yes, I want to but I don't dare. It is difficult for me to talk about this, it's painful for my family."
Ten years, ago, 19-year-old Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch was rescued with multiple injuries after her supply unit had come under fire and she was taken captive in Iraq. Lynch was the only POW in her unit to come out alive, and the first woman POW to be rescued in war.
Lynch, on the 10th anniversary of her rescue, went on the "Today" show on Monday to talk about the intervening years and the difficulty she had had with being in the spotlight. Thanks to the story of the capture having been inaccurate, the Iraq war veteran had gone from being a media darling to the poster child for an ill-prepared war effort.
She recalled, ?I set the record straight as much as I can. I did Congress and testified to let everyone know ? the real story.? For example, her many broken bones, attributed to enemy fire, came from her Humvee crash. And while it was reported that she used her M16 rifle, she said it actually had jammed.
The West Virginia native is now a motivational speaker, teacher and mother?the latter is the role for which "she feels the most pride," she said.
Lynch told "Today," "I?m happy we?re at this 10-year mark, but I?m happy to put Iraq in the past. It?s always going to be part of my life."
She added, "I'm blessed and happy to be here."
Her injuries, however, always serve as a reminder of the war: She has had 21 surgeries, including for a broken back and two broken legs. She wears a brace on the left leg and her right leg still hurts. She said, ?I do the best that I can and am just thankful that I'm here.?
Lynch also told "Today" that as the only one in her unit to survive, she has had to deal with survivor?s guilt. "My best friend [Lori Paestewa] didn?t get to come back, and I did. She had two beautiful kids," Lynch said. "It?s hard to know they?re going to have to grow up without their mom.?
She added, ?I have that never-give-up attitude. As long as you keep it in your mind, you can do anything. That?s what it?s all about, it?s persevering.?
Geosphere adds 2 new special issue themesPublic release date: 1-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@coyotesong.com Geological Society of America
US Sierra Nevada geodynamics and swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes
Boulder, Colo., USA Two new themes: "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California" and "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes " add new content to Geosphere's already dynamic lineup. Also in the April 2013 issue: themes "ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) and Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Drilling Projects" and "Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond," plus three individual articles not associated with a specific theme.
1. Theme introduction;
2. Theme introduction;
3. Alteration minerals, assemblages, and textures in a McMurdo Ice Shelf core;
4. Submarine landslides;
5. Waterford Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa;
6. Cretaceous carbon isotope fluctuations in northern Japan; and
7. Application of terrestrial laser scanning for measuring Earth-surface features.
Abstracts for these and other Geosphere papers are available at http://geosphere.gsapubs.org/. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of Geosphere articles by contacting Kea Giles at the address above.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to Geosphere in articles published. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Introduction: Geodynamics and consequences of lithospheric removal in the Sierra Nevada, California
Craig H. Jones and Jason B. Saleeby, Department of Geological Sciences and CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00907.1. Themed issue: "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California."
The work addressing the issues in this new themed issue (Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California) falls broadly into four categories: (1) geophysical and geochemical work constraining the modern lithospheric structure of the region; (2) geological, petrological, and geochemical work constraining the lithospheric structure prior to about 12 million years ago; (3) geological, sedimentological, and geochronological work bearing on the evolution of uplift and subsidence; and (4) numerical and analytical modeling seeking to relate the geological observations to deep-seated processes.
Introduction: The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes
Myron G. Best (Eric H. Christiansen, corresponding author) et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00870.1. Themed issue: "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes."
Thirty-six to eighteen million years ago, some 200 colossal explosive volcanic eruptions broadcast tens of thousands of cubic miles of volcanic ash across what is now western Utah, Nevada, and eastern California. This unusually intense burst of explosive eruptions or "ignimbrite flareup" (Latin ignis, meaning fire, and nimbus, meaning cloud) included some of the largest explosive eruptions known on Earth. At least thirty of the eruptions came from "super volcanoes." where more than 250 cubic miles of magma were ejected. Individual layers of ash emplaced in the course of these eruptions are found as much as 100 miles from their sources and are as much as 300 feet thick. As a result of geologically instantaneous withdrawals of such huge volumes of magma from the crust, collapse depressions, or calderas, formed over the evacuated magma chambers. The largest was 35 miles across and 3 miles deep -- as big as the better known Yellowstone caldera. These calderas are no longer evident in the landscape because of obliteration by millions of years of faulting and erosion, but the vast ignimbrite layers still reveal the enormity of these events.
Alteration of volcanic deposits in the ANDRILL AND-1B core: Influence of paleodeposition, eruptive style, and magmatic composition
Alessio Di Roberto et al., Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Pisa, Via della Faggiola, 32-56126 Pisa, Italy. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00812.1 Themed issue: "The ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) AND Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Drilling Projects"
Alessio Di Roberto and colleagues studied alteration minerals, assemblages, and textures in a 175-m-thick volcanic sequence found between 759.32 and 584.19 m below seafloor within the 1285-m-long ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling project) McMurdo Ice Shelf core (MIS AND-1B). They identified three main alteration zones through the application of different analytical methods (optical and scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and X-ray diffraction). Alteration zoning is guided by the texture of the volcanic deposits, which is in turn determined by the eruptive style, transport mechanisms, and paleodepositional conditions. In particular, alteration reflects the evolution of paleodepositional conditions from submarine or shallow water to subaerial due to the growth of a nearby volcanic edifice. The general alteration trend is also influenced by the contribution of volcanogenic sediments derived from the reworking of silica-rich pyroclasts from earlier volcanic activity.
Estimation of submarine mass failure probability from a sequence of deposits with age dates Eric L. Geist et al., U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS 999, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00829.1. Themed issue: Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond.
Submarine landslides present a significant hazard to communications cables, offshore energy development, and to coastal regions via the generation of tsunamis. One of the critical components of assessing hazards posed by submarine landslides is determining the probability of occurrence. For an empirical determination of probability, there are very few places in the world where a sequence of submarine landslides have been individually dated. However, in 2005, cores from two Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) sites in the Ursa Basin, northern Gulf of Mexico penetrated through a sequence of deposits left by landslides. This study develops a methodology to estimate the probability of submarine landslides from a sequence of dated deposits, such as those found in the Ursa Basin.
Contrast in the process response of stacked clinothems to the shelf-slope rollover George E.D. Jones et al., Stratigraphy Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00796.1.
The shelf edge rollover represents a critical zone in understanding the timing and processes involved in the transfer of sediment and organic carbon from continents to oceans. Subsurface datasets provide exceptional understanding of the long term development of a margin, and modern basin margin studies are invaluable in studying both down dip and across strike variability. However, both suffer from a lack of high-resolution stratigraphic and sedimentological detail that permit process-based interpretations to be made. This gap in data coverage can be filled by the use of large-scale ("seismic-scale") outcrop based studies where the transition from the continental shelf to continental slope can be identified and characterized. This study concentrates on the different process response of deltas to shelf edge rollover zones in two successive exhumed clinothems from the lower Waterford Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa. Their depositional architecture demonstrates that the delivery of sediment to deep water settings is governed by parameters other than the presence and proximity of a fluvial supply point, which is heavily advocated by current models for shelf construction.
Carbon isotope stratigraphy of terrestrial organic matter for the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) in northern Japan: implications for ocean-atmosphere delta-13C trends during mid-Cretaceous climatic optimum Go-Ichiro Uramoto et al., Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Monobe B200, Nankoku, Kochi 169-8502, Japan. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00835.1.
Carbon isotope data of terrestrial organic matter obtained from the Cretaceous successions in northern Japan elucidate detailed carbon isotope fluctuations for the Turonian (Cretaceous) supergreenhouse in this region of East Asia. Correlation of terrestrial carbon isotope curve within northern Japan reveals three positive carbon isotope events in the Turonian. These carbon isotope events are correlated with previously documented marine carbon isotope events in Europe. Our correlations documented the marked carbon isotope variations occurred near simultaneously in the ocean-atmosphere-biosphere system in the Turonian. In addition, global correlation of Turonian marine and terrestrial carbon isotope events identifies changes in the isotopic difference between terrestrial and marine carbon isotope data, and are interpreted to reflect changes in atmospheric pCO2 levels, and climate driven stresses of humidity and soil processes. In earlier stages of Turonian, the isotopic differences are increased. Elevated atmospheric pCO2, and increased humidity and soil processes in enhanced greenhouse conditions during mid-Turonian are interpreted to enlarge the isotopic differences. In later stages of Turonian, the isotopic difference is constant level, and the lowering of atmospheric pCO2 or decrease of climate stress which related to the diverse paleoclimatic cooling is interpreted to have restored the ocean-atmosphere carbon isotope trends.
Quantifying the effects of terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) settings and survey configuration on land surface roughness measurement Owen W. Brown, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada; and Chris H. Hugenholtz, Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00809.1.
The application of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for measuring Earth surface features is increasing. However, TLS surveys require users to choose and specify certain properties of the scan (i.e., resolution, height, distance, number of scan positions), often with limited understanding of how these properties affect the accuracy of the data. Owen W. Brown and Chris H. Hugenholtz present results from an experiment that quantifies the effects of different scan settings and survey configurations on the measurement of centimeter-scale surface roughness. The main goal is to provide quantitative evidence to help guide and optimize field-based surface roughness measurements involving TLS data. The experiment involved an array of artificial roughness elements placed on an asphalt surface, similar to the approach of using inverted buckets in boundary layer experiments to simulate a rocky or sparsely vegetated surface with smooth interspaces. The independent variables consisted of laser point spacing, number of scan positions, and the height and distance of the scanner relative to the roughness array. The dependent variables were roughness element height, data occlusion, relative vertical accuracy, the root mean square height of the cup array, and the relative roughness of the asphalt surface. Two roughness patterns were tested, isotropic and anisotropic. Results show that when the laser point spacing was greater than the size of the individual roughness elements, their calculated height was between 32% and 73% below their actual height, but with a smaller spacing the calculated height was either equivalent to their actual height or only slight lower. Therefore, before a TLS survey is undertaken, manual measurements of roughness elements should be used to determine the size of the smallest roughness elements of interest, thus guiding the selection of laser point spacing.
###
http://www.geosociety.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
Geosphere adds 2 new special issue themesPublic release date: 1-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kea Giles kgiles@coyotesong.com Geological Society of America
US Sierra Nevada geodynamics and swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes
Boulder, Colo., USA Two new themes: "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California" and "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes " add new content to Geosphere's already dynamic lineup. Also in the April 2013 issue: themes "ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) and Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Drilling Projects" and "Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond," plus three individual articles not associated with a specific theme.
1. Theme introduction;
2. Theme introduction;
3. Alteration minerals, assemblages, and textures in a McMurdo Ice Shelf core;
4. Submarine landslides;
5. Waterford Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa;
6. Cretaceous carbon isotope fluctuations in northern Japan; and
7. Application of terrestrial laser scanning for measuring Earth-surface features.
Abstracts for these and other Geosphere papers are available at http://geosphere.gsapubs.org/. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of Geosphere articles by contacting Kea Giles at the address above.
Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to Geosphere in articles published. Contact Kea Giles for additional information or assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Introduction: Geodynamics and consequences of lithospheric removal in the Sierra Nevada, California
Craig H. Jones and Jason B. Saleeby, Department of Geological Sciences and CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00907.1. Themed issue: "Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California."
The work addressing the issues in this new themed issue (Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California) falls broadly into four categories: (1) geophysical and geochemical work constraining the modern lithospheric structure of the region; (2) geological, petrological, and geochemical work constraining the lithospheric structure prior to about 12 million years ago; (3) geological, sedimentological, and geochronological work bearing on the evolution of uplift and subsidence; and (4) numerical and analytical modeling seeking to relate the geological observations to deep-seated processes.
Introduction: The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes
Myron G. Best (Eric H. Christiansen, corresponding author) et al., Dept. of Geological Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; open access at http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00870.1. Themed issue: "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes."
Thirty-six to eighteen million years ago, some 200 colossal explosive volcanic eruptions broadcast tens of thousands of cubic miles of volcanic ash across what is now western Utah, Nevada, and eastern California. This unusually intense burst of explosive eruptions or "ignimbrite flareup" (Latin ignis, meaning fire, and nimbus, meaning cloud) included some of the largest explosive eruptions known on Earth. At least thirty of the eruptions came from "super volcanoes." where more than 250 cubic miles of magma were ejected. Individual layers of ash emplaced in the course of these eruptions are found as much as 100 miles from their sources and are as much as 300 feet thick. As a result of geologically instantaneous withdrawals of such huge volumes of magma from the crust, collapse depressions, or calderas, formed over the evacuated magma chambers. The largest was 35 miles across and 3 miles deep -- as big as the better known Yellowstone caldera. These calderas are no longer evident in the landscape because of obliteration by millions of years of faulting and erosion, but the vast ignimbrite layers still reveal the enormity of these events.
Alteration of volcanic deposits in the ANDRILL AND-1B core: Influence of paleodeposition, eruptive style, and magmatic composition
Alessio Di Roberto et al., Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, sezione di Pisa, Via della Faggiola, 32-56126 Pisa, Italy. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00812.1 Themed issue: "The ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) AND Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Drilling Projects"
Alessio Di Roberto and colleagues studied alteration minerals, assemblages, and textures in a 175-m-thick volcanic sequence found between 759.32 and 584.19 m below seafloor within the 1285-m-long ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling project) McMurdo Ice Shelf core (MIS AND-1B). They identified three main alteration zones through the application of different analytical methods (optical and scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and X-ray diffraction). Alteration zoning is guided by the texture of the volcanic deposits, which is in turn determined by the eruptive style, transport mechanisms, and paleodepositional conditions. In particular, alteration reflects the evolution of paleodepositional conditions from submarine or shallow water to subaerial due to the growth of a nearby volcanic edifice. The general alteration trend is also influenced by the contribution of volcanogenic sediments derived from the reworking of silica-rich pyroclasts from earlier volcanic activity.
Estimation of submarine mass failure probability from a sequence of deposits with age dates Eric L. Geist et al., U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS 999, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00829.1. Themed issue: Exploring the Deep Sea and Beyond.
Submarine landslides present a significant hazard to communications cables, offshore energy development, and to coastal regions via the generation of tsunamis. One of the critical components of assessing hazards posed by submarine landslides is determining the probability of occurrence. For an empirical determination of probability, there are very few places in the world where a sequence of submarine landslides have been individually dated. However, in 2005, cores from two Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) sites in the Ursa Basin, northern Gulf of Mexico penetrated through a sequence of deposits left by landslides. This study develops a methodology to estimate the probability of submarine landslides from a sequence of dated deposits, such as those found in the Ursa Basin.
Contrast in the process response of stacked clinothems to the shelf-slope rollover George E.D. Jones et al., Stratigraphy Group, Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 6 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00796.1.
The shelf edge rollover represents a critical zone in understanding the timing and processes involved in the transfer of sediment and organic carbon from continents to oceans. Subsurface datasets provide exceptional understanding of the long term development of a margin, and modern basin margin studies are invaluable in studying both down dip and across strike variability. However, both suffer from a lack of high-resolution stratigraphic and sedimentological detail that permit process-based interpretations to be made. This gap in data coverage can be filled by the use of large-scale ("seismic-scale") outcrop based studies where the transition from the continental shelf to continental slope can be identified and characterized. This study concentrates on the different process response of deltas to shelf edge rollover zones in two successive exhumed clinothems from the lower Waterford Formation, Karoo Basin, South Africa. Their depositional architecture demonstrates that the delivery of sediment to deep water settings is governed by parameters other than the presence and proximity of a fluvial supply point, which is heavily advocated by current models for shelf construction.
Carbon isotope stratigraphy of terrestrial organic matter for the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) in northern Japan: implications for ocean-atmosphere delta-13C trends during mid-Cretaceous climatic optimum Go-Ichiro Uramoto et al., Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Monobe B200, Nankoku, Kochi 169-8502, Japan. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00835.1.
Carbon isotope data of terrestrial organic matter obtained from the Cretaceous successions in northern Japan elucidate detailed carbon isotope fluctuations for the Turonian (Cretaceous) supergreenhouse in this region of East Asia. Correlation of terrestrial carbon isotope curve within northern Japan reveals three positive carbon isotope events in the Turonian. These carbon isotope events are correlated with previously documented marine carbon isotope events in Europe. Our correlations documented the marked carbon isotope variations occurred near simultaneously in the ocean-atmosphere-biosphere system in the Turonian. In addition, global correlation of Turonian marine and terrestrial carbon isotope events identifies changes in the isotopic difference between terrestrial and marine carbon isotope data, and are interpreted to reflect changes in atmospheric pCO2 levels, and climate driven stresses of humidity and soil processes. In earlier stages of Turonian, the isotopic differences are increased. Elevated atmospheric pCO2, and increased humidity and soil processes in enhanced greenhouse conditions during mid-Turonian are interpreted to enlarge the isotopic differences. In later stages of Turonian, the isotopic difference is constant level, and the lowering of atmospheric pCO2 or decrease of climate stress which related to the diverse paleoclimatic cooling is interpreted to have restored the ocean-atmosphere carbon isotope trends.
Quantifying the effects of terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) settings and survey configuration on land surface roughness measurement Owen W. Brown, Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta T1K 3M4, Canada; and Chris H. Hugenholtz, Department of Geography, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada. Issue: April 2013. Originally posted online 18 March 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/GES00809.1.
The application of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for measuring Earth surface features is increasing. However, TLS surveys require users to choose and specify certain properties of the scan (i.e., resolution, height, distance, number of scan positions), often with limited understanding of how these properties affect the accuracy of the data. Owen W. Brown and Chris H. Hugenholtz present results from an experiment that quantifies the effects of different scan settings and survey configurations on the measurement of centimeter-scale surface roughness. The main goal is to provide quantitative evidence to help guide and optimize field-based surface roughness measurements involving TLS data. The experiment involved an array of artificial roughness elements placed on an asphalt surface, similar to the approach of using inverted buckets in boundary layer experiments to simulate a rocky or sparsely vegetated surface with smooth interspaces. The independent variables consisted of laser point spacing, number of scan positions, and the height and distance of the scanner relative to the roughness array. The dependent variables were roughness element height, data occlusion, relative vertical accuracy, the root mean square height of the cup array, and the relative roughness of the asphalt surface. Two roughness patterns were tested, isotropic and anisotropic. Results show that when the laser point spacing was greater than the size of the individual roughness elements, their calculated height was between 32% and 73% below their actual height, but with a smaller spacing the calculated height was either equivalent to their actual height or only slight lower. Therefore, before a TLS survey is undertaken, manual measurements of roughness elements should be used to determine the size of the smallest roughness elements of interest, thus guiding the selection of laser point spacing.
###
http://www.geosociety.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
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.
It's a continue the story game, but you aren't necessarily continuing it from the same perspective as the previous poster. You can jump into the narrating another character and explaining how they came into the picture and explaining your interaction with the other characters. You can have your character swap places with the previous poster's character, you can mild meld the two temporarily. Anything goes as far as how you feel like going about the transition. It's dream logic, damn near anything is possible.
This thread is where we toss out some ideas about how to manage transitions and how to best go about it. See how well other players feel about your ideas before they are brought into the game so we have a good idea of how we're going adapt.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Increased use of English in videos by Islamic extremists and a rising flow of recruits from Europe to fight in Syria and on other battlegrounds is disturbing U.S. officials who fear some could return to Europe or come to the United States to plot attacks.
Only last week, a man who spoke English and Arabic and called himself Abu Ahmed al-Amriki (Arabic for 'the American') starred in a new video message posted on jihadist websites and produced by al Shabaab, the Islamic militant group based in Somalia.
Abu Ahmed, whose face was blurred and whose real identity is not known, called on Muslims to give up their comfortable lives in the West and head for the front lines, in places like Somalia, Mali and Afghanistan, to wage Islamic holy war, according to an account by the Long War Journal, a counterterrorism blog published by the conservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Although the fears of the West have sometimes proven overblown, this video and others highlight what senior U.S. and European security officials say is a fresh increase in English-speaking recruits, including dozens of British citizens, traveling abroad to fight - most notably to Syria.
The United States and Europe want to see Assad defeated themselves. The concern, officials said, is that many English-speaking recruits are joining the most militant, anti-Western Syrian rebel factions.
Earlier in February, a person describing himself as an "American mujahid," or holy warrior, posted the second of two video messages touting his involvement with rebels fighting the government of Syria, according to Flashpoint Global Partners, a New York-based consulting group which monitors militant websites.
"Bashar Assad, your days are numbered," the fighter, who spoke in English with an American accent, declared, referring to Syria's beleaguered president. "You should just quit now, while you can, and leave. You are going to die, no matter what. Where you go we will find you and kill you."
Simultaneously, U.S. officials said, English-language literature has blossomed online exhorting aspiring militants to violence wherever they are and providing them step-by-step instructions on how to use household materials to cause death and destruction.
"We've been monitoring (these developments) and yes, it's concerning," said Paul Browne, Deputy Commissioner and spokesman of the New York Police Department, which since the September 11, 2001, attacks has built aggressive counterterrorism operations.
The two videos' authenticity could not be independently confirmed. While some deadly attacks - including the July 2005 London bombings - have been executed by European citizens trained overseas, other feared threats have often failed to materialize.
JIHAD 'POCKETBOOK'
In recent days, al-Qaeda's Yemen-based affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has issued two slick English-language magazines for the would-be weekend holy warrior.
The tenth issue of "Inspire," AQAP's irregular but well-produced Internet magazine, contains what amounts to a list of westerners the group has targeted for death. They include novelist Salman Rushdie, anti-Islamic Dutch politician Geert Wilders, and Terry Jones, the Koran-burning Florida preacher.
The second new publication, published by Inspire with equally slick production values, calls itself the "Lone Mujahid Pocketbook". The guidebook, originally spotted by the Flashpoint monitoring group, asks readers: "Have u been lookin' 4 a way to join the mujahideen in frontlines? Well, there's no need to travel abroad, coz the frontline has come to you... Just read 'n' apply the contents of this guide."
It goes on to offer how-to guides, complete with pictures and maps, for causing traffic accidents, staging "lethal ambushes," "destroying buildings" by creating gas leaks and igniting them, and even "starting forest fires."
Browne said the NYPD is also "tracking the actual and threatened violence accompanying demands" by militants for the release from a U.S. prison of Omar Abdel Rahman, convicted for his role in New York-related plots in the early 1990s.
The latest Inspire issue contains a purported message from Rahman, known as the Blind Sheikh, complaining about insulting and isolating prison treatment.
BRITONS TO SYRIA
The Internet messages targeted at potential English-speaking militants surfaced as European intelligence sources say they are monitoring steady traffic of young British citizens and residents to Syria to fight Assad's government.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said dozens of fighters - and possibly as many as 60 or 70 - from Britain are believed to be in Syria.
It is unclear whether all are Islamic extremists. But many, the intelligence sources said, have joined up with Al-Nusra, a militant anti-Assad faction that the U.S. government declared a terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda in Iraq.
Rizon Jet, the award-winning luxury flight services company, headquartered in Doha, Qatar, takes exclusivity to a new dimension. The opulence on board its private jets is matched only by the splendour and tranquillity of its VIP terminals and maintenance facilities in Doha and London Biggin Hill.
Even for those accustomed to luxury in life, Rizon Jet exceeds expectations. When you step out of your private jet at either of their locations, you enter exquisitely appointed terminals, offering everything from plush lounges to tranquil prayer rooms. While you relax, the pristine maintenance facilities ensure your aircraft receives the same VIP treatment.
Rizon Jet is raising the bar for standards in what is already a very exclusive marketplace. The VIP facilities at its impressive airport terminals, its security and safety standards, and its commitment to developing exceptional maintenance and management operations for private jet owners combine to surpass every customer?s expectations.
Luxuriously located Founded in 2006, Rizon Jet has additional operating bases strategically located in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates, Qatar) and Europe (UK). The company focuses on providing a comprehensive suite of services ranging from aircraft charter, aircraft maintenance, aircraft management, VIP flight support, and VIP terminal services, to aircraft sales and consulting. It is part of Ghanim bin Saad al Saad & Sons Group Holdings (GSSG), also headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
CEO of Rizon Jet, Captain Hassan Al-Mousawi says: ?We pursue a holistic and customer-centric approach to business aviation, providing private travel solutions and business aircraft services to today?s time-pressed traveller. Our mission is to meet increasing demand for corporate aircraft charter and expand our services with aircraft maintenance services and aircraft management.?
Rizon Jet was the first private jet operator in the Middle East to expand its business activities into London, and importantly, the first private operator in Qatar to receive an Air Operator Permit (AOP), ensuring customers enjoy the highest possible levels of safety available anywhere in the world.
Captain Hassan Al-Mousawi continues: ?Our aim is to always deliver much more than what is expected. We have invested in truly luxurious VIP terminals, in Doha and London: the latest and most modern gateways to the Middle East and Europe. When you fly with Rizon Jet, the best service in the sky is matched by what?s waiting for you on the ground. We were honoured when Business Destinations Travel Awards voted us as Best Charter Airline Company, Middle East, 2013 and our Doha terminal the Best Fixed Base Operation in the Middle East, 2012 and 2013.?
At Doha, the airline?s facility covers approximately 7,200sq m, while the London facility consists of over 6,500sq m. Clients enjoy the finest passenger amenities, including spacious private VIP lounges, male and female prayer rooms, and exclusive shower and changing room facilities. The terminals also offer meeting services, including boardrooms with the latest communication technology and secretarial support.
The skilled ground staff help make journeys as smooth as possible by providing full ground-handling capabilities that include flight planning and passenger management. They also assist with concierge services such as customs and immigration, limousine transfers and hotel reservations.
Tailor-made itineraries The exclusivity of Rizon Jet?s services extends far beyond the passenger terminal and the passenger experience, with the company offering a turnkey solution to exclusive business or leisure travel. From fully approved and certified maintenance facilities, aircraft management and consultancy services, to an extensive fleet of charter aircraft, Rizon Jet provides a seamless service.
Recently, the company has launched its luxury travel management division to complement existing operations. It specialises in creating and advising on tailor-made itineraries for leading business destinations as well as the world?s most glamorous, sought-after and remote locations. Rizon Jet is now extending its portfolio of services for individuals who prefer customised business or leisure travel plans, and who prefer to have a single, personal contact making their arrangements, including transfers, flights, accommodation and activities.
At both bases, there are fully approved and certified maintenance and repair operations. Both facilities are fully EASA Part-145 compliant and hold approvals from a number of different countries around the world, including the UK and Qatar. Aircraft maintenance is carried out by Rizon Jet?s own experienced team of trained engineers and technicians, using the most up-to-date technology, ensuring the highest quality of technical compliance. Certifications and approvals are being developed all the time, and currently cover a range of Bombardier and Hawker types.
Aircraft management One of the most exciting developments in the business over recent years has been the establishment of a new division ? aircraft consultancy and management. In Doha, this is offered through Rizon Jet, and in the UK, through affiliate company Oryx Jet. By partnering with Oryx Jet, a majority UK-owned company and operating with a UK AOC, Rizon Jet can offer all clients full aircraft management and chartering services in both the Middle East and Europe. ?This unique service is all about giving clients honest and impartial advice regarding aircraft selection, acquisition and management. Once the aircraft has been specified, our team of lawyers can assist with the purchase contracts and we can assist with the delivery and entry into service,? explains Captain Hassan Al-Mousawi.
Travelling or working with Rizon Jet gives you the chance to pause, take a breath, and indulge in the luxury of time. Its exclusive services enable you to enjoy all the freedom and flexibility of private aviation, with none of the hassle. You set the itinerary, and Rizon Jet makes it happen. Rizon Jet welcomes you to a whole new world of business aviation.
For further information: email: sales@rizonjet.com; Tel: 00974 4419 9400
Connect via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/rizon-jet or follow on Twitter @rizonjet or Facebook at www.facebook.com/rizonjet, www.rizonjet.com
Mar. 6, 2013 ? A team of scientists led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), revealed in a new study, for the first time, the presence of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians sampled in Singapore. And the American bullfrog may be a central player in the spread of the disease.
The study appears in the current issue of the journal EcoHealth, and is the first to consider the role that Southeast Asia's commercial trade plays in the spread of amphibian pathogens.
Demand for amphibians through local and international trade is high and fueled by use of frogs as pets, food, bait, and as a source of traditional 'medicine.' More than 40 percent of amphibian species are in decline globally due, not only to chytrid fungus, but also overharvesting, competition from invasive species, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.
In the study, scientists collected samples from 2,389 individual animals in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore at 51 different sites including farms, locally supplied markets, pet stores, and from the wild.
The molecular testing of samples was led by Dr. Tracie Seimon at WCS's Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at the Bronx Zoo. Results showed that frogs from Lao PDR and Vietnam tested negative for chytrid. In Cambodia, one frog intended for food tested positive. In addition, 74 animals in Cambodia and Vietnam were screened for ranavirus and tested negative, suggesting that these specific pathogens are not yet a conservation threat in species tested from these countries.
In Singapore, however, 13 samples tested positive for chytrid and represent the first report of chytrid in the territory. Eleven of those samples were collected from four pet stores and the remaining two were taken from amphibians in the wild.
The scientists noted that the chytrid detections were most prevalent in the American bullfrog (Lithobates aka Rana catesbeiana), a common species in the trade and one that is tolerant of chytrid infections.
"Finding chytrid in four of the seven Singaporean pet stores we sampled is cause for concern," said lead author and WCS Scientist Martin Gilbert. "Since the American bullfrog is able to tolerate this pathogen, it may act as a carrier for spreading chytrid to the region when it is imported through commercial trade."
In another alarming discovery, the scientists found that all 497 frogs sampled from 23 frog farms in Vietnam had skin lesions ranging from swelling and inflammation to ulcers and deformed or missing digits in the most severe cases. Disease examination revealed four of the animals had bacteria associated with the lesions that in two cases appeared to have spread to other organs.
While the bacteria and its role as primary or secondary pathogen could not be positively identified, the scientists noted that frog farms could serve as a source of infection for the wider environment.
The study noted that lesions among frogs raised at commercial facilities in Vietnam are of particular concern, in light of the low level of bio-security that exists. All of the farms in the study disposed of untreated wastewater directly into natural watercourses, which becomes an avenue to spread infection to other places and other species.
According to the authors, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) requires its 174 member countries, which include the four countries in this study, to conduct surveillance for chytrid fungus, report confirmed cases, and implement measures to control their spread.
Co-author of the study, Assistant Professor David Bickford from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, said, "In light of the fact that this emerging infectious disease is now known to be spread by commercial trade, it is in everyone's best interest to eliminate it from the trade in live animals before both the native amphibian populations of Southeast Asia are affected and before it completely decimates the commercial trade and people are unable to make a living. This is not just about the frogs."
The paper concludes, "There is an urgent need to conduct wider surveys of wild amphibians in Southeast Asia to determine the extent and severity of chytrid fungus and other infectious diseases among a range of species, and whether and how these change over time. Studies should focus on differentiating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis strains that may be endemic to the region from exotic strains that may be introduced through routes including international trade."
Authors of the study include Martin Gilbert of WCS; David Bickford of NUS; Leanne Clark, Arlyne Johnson, Priscilla H. Joyner, Lucy Ogg Keatts, Kongsy Khammavong, Long Nguy?n V?n, Alisa Newton of WCS; Tiffany P. W. Seow of NUS; Scott Roberton, Soubanh Silithammavong of WCS; Sinpakhone Singhalath of the National University of Laos; Angela Yang, and Tracie A. Seimon of WCS.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? Twelve former Florida A&M University band members were charged Monday with manslaughter in the 2011 hazing death of a drum major.
Ten of the band members had been charged last May with third-degree felony hazing for the death of 26-year-old Robert Champion, but the state attorney's office said they are adding the charge of manslaughter for each defendant. They also have charged two additional defendants with manslaughter, though they have yet to be arrested.
The second-degree manslaughter charge announced during an afternoon status hearing carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Champion died in Orlando in November 2011 after he collapsed following what prosecutors say was a savage beating during a hazing ritual. It happened on a bus parked in a hotel parking lot after Florida A&M played Bethune-Cookman in their annual rivalry football game.
Authorities said Champion had bruises on his chest, arms, shoulder and back and died of internal bleeding. Witnesses told emergency dispatchers that the drum major was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard the bus.
Christopher Chestnut, an attorney for Champion's parents, said Pam and Robert Champion, Sr. were pleased with Ashton's decision to upgrade the charges.
"These charges are commensurate with the acts committed," Chestnut said. "It sends the right message regarding zero-tolerance of hazing in the FAMU band."
Prosecutors had originally filed felony hazing charges that only required that they prove the defendants took part in a hazing that resulted in death. It didn't require them to prove who struck the fatal blows.
A spokesman for State Attorney Jeff Ashton's office said the prosecutor would not comment. Ashton, a 30-year veteran who was on the team that failed to convict Casey Anthony of murder in 2011, was sworn in as the area's top prosecutor in January after beating his former boss in a hotly contested election.
David S. Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in Miami, said it would be easier to prove felony hazing charges than it would be to prove manslaughter.
"The easy way out is you charge them with felony hazing. That's what they decided to do initially. You're still holding someone accountable," Weinstein said. "Now you have somebody new who comes in, takes a look at the evidence, and for a combination of reasons decides the manslaughter charge is warranted."
Weinstein also said it was not unusual for prosecutors to go ahead with the lesser charge while still gathering evidence and then later upgrade.
Two former band members whose cases were resolved last year weren't among those charged Monday. Brian Jones and Ryan Dean have already been sentenced after pleading no-contest to third-degree felony hazing last year.
Jones was sentenced last October to six months of community control, which strictly limits his freedom with measures including frequent check-ins with probation officials. He also was given two years of probation and required to perform 200 hours of community service.
Dean was sentenced the following month and received four years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
Judge Marc Lubet conferenced with all the attorneys involved before Monday's hearing and said they all agreed that because of a witness list that includes more than 100 people, a June trial date was unlikely.
He has set another status hearing in the case for August.
Since Champion's death FAMU has made sweeping changes to fight hazing. The band remains suspended and there still has not been a time announced for its return. The university is still searching to find a new director for the band.
FAMU's board held an emergency meeting last month to discuss the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Champion family, though there were no final decisions made. Interim FAMU President Larry Robinson said the board was authorized to continue trying for a resolution with the family.
The Champions, who live in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur, Ga., claim university officials did not take enough action to stop hazing in the famed Marching 100 band before the death of their son. They rejected a previous offer to settle the case for $300,000.
___
Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 1-Apr-2013
Share ]