Liver protein crucial for pregnancy

June 30, 2013 ? A protein first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce the liver receptor homolog-1 (Lrh-1) molecule were unable to create the uterine conditions necessary for establishing and sustaining pregnancy, resulting in the formation of defective placentas. The researchers then showed that Lhr-1 was present in the human uterus and the essential processes related to the success of early gestation.

"We previously showed that Lrh-1 is essential for ovulation. Our newest studies have revealed that it is plays an important role in the uterus, raising the possibility that Lrh-1 deficiency contributes to human gestational failure," explained lead author Bruce Murphy, of the university's Animal Reproduction Research Centre. "We worked with mice before looking at human tissues. I believe it premature to propose determination of Lrh-1 in uterine biopsies as a diagnostic tool, but we are working on determining the receptor's pattern of expression across the menstrual cycle."

The researchers also looked at whether hormone replacement therapy might restore normal uterine functions in the mice. "Progesterone did not make a difference. Although hormone therapy allowed for the embryos to implant, we saw problems with the lining in the uterus, compromised formation of the placenta, fetal growth retardation and fetal death," Murphy said. "However, there are new Lrh-1 agonists and antagonists, currently in clinical trials to treat hepatic consequences of type II diabetes, and thus therapeutic intervention might be possible."

The study was published in Nature Medicine on June 30, 2013, and was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The US National Institutes of Health funded collaborators at Baylor University that contributed to the study.?

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/XMMTwWhUK3A/130630144447.htm

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Large crowds mass in Egyptian cities, march on palace, demanding removal of president

CAIRO ? Hundreds of thousands thronged the streets of Cairo and cities around the country Sunday and marched on the presidential palace, filling a broad avenue for blocks, in an attempt to force out the Islamist president with the most massive protests Egypt has seen in 2? years of turmoil.

In a sign of the explosive volatility of the country's divisions, a hard core of young opponents broke away from the rallies and attacked the main headquarters of President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, pelting it with stones and firebombs until a raging fire erupted in the walled villa. During clashes, Brotherhood supporters opened fire with birdshot on the attackers, who swelled to a crowd of hundreds.

Fears were widespread that the two sides could be heading to a violent collision in coming days. Morsi made clear through a spokesman that he would not step down and his Islamist supporters vowed not to allow protesters to remove one of their own, brought to office in a legitimate vote. Thousands of Islamists massed not far from the presidential palace in support of Morsi, some of them prepared for a fight with makeshift armor and sticks.

At least four people were killed Sunday in shootings at anti-Morsi protesters in southern Egypt.

The protesters aimed to show by sheer numbers that the country has irrevocably turned against Morsi, a year to the day after he was inaugurated as Egypt's first freely elected president. But throughout the day and even up to midnight at the main rallying sites, fears of rampant violence did not materialize.

Instead the mood was largely festive as protesters at giant anti-Morsi rallies in Cairo's central Tahrir Square and outside the Ittihadiya palace spilled into side streets and across boulevards, waving flags, blowing whistles and chanting.

Fireworks went off overhead. Men and women, some with small children on their shoulders, beat drums, danced and sang, "By hook or by crook, we will bring Morsi down." Residents in nearby homes showered water on marchers below ? some carrying tents in preparation to camp outside the palace ? to cool them in the summer heat, and blew whistles and waved flags in support.

"Mubarak took only 18 days although he had behind him the security, intelligence and a large sector of Egyptians," said Amr Tawfeeq, an oil company employee marching toward Ittihadiya with a Christian friend. Morsi "won't take long. We want him out and we are ready to pay the price."

The massive outpouring against Morsi, culminating a year of growing polarization, raises the question of what is next. Protesters have vowed to stay on the streets until he steps down, and organizers called for widespread labor strikes starting Monday. The president, in turn, appears to be hoping protests wane.

For weeks, Morsi's supporters have depicted the planned protest as a plot by Mubarak loyalists. But their claims were undermined by the extent of Sunday's rallies. In Cairo and a string of cities in the Nile Delta and on the Mediterranean coast, the protests topped even the biggest protests of the 2011's 18-day uprising, including the day Mubarak quit, Feb. 11, when giant crowds marched on Ittihadiya.

It is unclear now whether the opposition, which for months has demanded Morsi form a national unity government, would now accept any concessions short of his removal. The anticipated deadlock raises the question of whether the army, already deployed on the outskirts of cities, will intervene. Protesters believe the military would throw its significant weight behind them, tipping the balance against Morsi. The country's police, meanwhile, were hardly to be seen Sunday.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/213737391.html

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Currency of the year Bitcoin gains popularity for online gaming ...

glaws.in /?by?JAY SAYTA?/?APRIL 17, 2013

Will Bitcoin change the future of the online gaming industry?

Virtual Peer-to-Peer currency Bitcoin generated a great deal of media attention this week as the value of the virtual currency increased exponentially after the Cyprus bailout and Eurozone crisis (the total value of Bitcoins in circulation was approximately?US $ 2.6 Billion?as on last week), where investors supposedly pulled their money out of conventional banks and invested it in Bitcoins. [See reports of?Economist,?Forbes,?Time?and?Times of India].

As noted by popular online gaming news website Calvin Ayre?here?and?here, Bitcoin has become extremely popular for online gaming transactions and a host of online gaming websites are offering payments and withdrawals in Bitcoin due to its anonymity, decentralisation and guaranteed authenticity.? [For more details on Bitcoin and how the currency functions, read Economist's detailed explanation for beginners?here]. Users are comforted by the fact that Bitcoin transactions are encrypted, safe and not traceable by government authorities. This enables them to freely use the currency for gambling and illicit activities online without any fear of liability and also provides a great tool for tax avoidance specially for online gaming transactions in India, where foreign remittances are barred under FEMA Rules and withdrawal of high-value winnings also attract the attention of the taxman and create a host of problems.

READ MORE

h/t: The Daily Bitcoin

Source: http://www.thebitcoinchannel.com/archives/14371

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Ford : Excursion 137" WB 6.8L LIMO, LIMOUSINE, FORD, EXCURSION, SUV LIMO, Excellent condition, 2005, BLACK,

Seller's Notes:

Print this listing LIMO, LIMOUSINE, FORD, EXCURSION, SUV LIMO, Excellent condition, 2005, BLACK, westwind limousine inc2720 w. national rddayton, OH 45414Call Us Today(937) 898-9000Ask ForMichaelAsk Us A Question Vehicle DetailsYear: 2005Make: FordModel: ExcursionVIN: 1F1NU40S35EC15975Stock Number: L4213Mileage: 85200Transmission: AutomaticEngine: 10 Cylinder, 6.8 LExterior Color: BlackInterior Color: GrayTitle: Clear Description L4213: 2005 FORD EXCURSION LIMOUSINE 140" STRETCH BY TIFFANY COACH...

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Source: http://cars.i-newswire.com/car-detail/excursion/Ford-Excursion-137-WB-68L-LIMO-LIMOUSINE-FORD_151073159586.html

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Is the Z10 BlackBerry's savior? Not so fast.

Bad news on Q1 results sends BlackBerry stock tumbling in trading on Friday.?

By Matthew Shaer / June 28, 2013

The BlackBerry Z10.

Reuters

Enlarge

It was supposed to be a major do-over: a new name (BlackBerry, instead of RIM), a new operating system (BlackBerry 10), and the sleek and stylish new?Z10 handset.

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But in a conference call with investors this week, BlackBerry announced that it had sold only 6.8 million smart phones in the first fiscal quarter of this year, with 2.7 million of that number consisting of BB10 devices. That missed predictions from many analysts, who had predicted BlackBerry might sell a total of 7.5 million smart phones in Q1 (including 3.6 million BB10 units), according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.?

As a result, BlackBerry stock tumbled on Friday by as much as 26 percent.?

For its part, BlackBerry execs have said the company is only in the "early stages" of a wider roll-out that will take place over the remainder of 2013. But?Kevin C. Tofel of GigaOM, for one, isn't having it.?

"I agree it is early for BlackBerry yet, but I don?t think sales of the new BlackBerry 10 devices are meeting or exceeding expectations," writes?Mr. Tofel. "For one thing, I really anticipated that the loyal BlackBerry fans would be more receptive to the new phones and software. This group should be the company?s bread and butter for sales. I?ll grant that the new devices aren?t yet available in every market, which could be part of the issue."?

The Z10 received largely favorable ? if not quite ecstatic ? reviews when it launched earlier this year, although many critics questioned whether BlackBerry had done enough to attract non-business users.?

"At $199 (which BlackBerry says is the suggested on-contract price in the US), the Z10 and BB10 are a nice piece of kit," wrote Tim Stevens of Engadget. "The BlackBerry faithful who've been waiting patiently for something more modern will flock to this (and its QWERTY-having cousin) in droves, but there simply isn't enough here to woo those consumers who have already made investments in Android or iOS. Too little? Maybe. Too late? Sadly."?

For more tech news, follow us on?Twitter @venturenaut.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/lJYzRTs8G58/Is-the-Z10-BlackBerry-s-savior-Not-so-fast.

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High Medical Bills Remain the Leading Cause of Personal Bankruptcy

By John Clark

The skyrocketing costs of medical care are expected to help push 1.7 million Americans into bankruptcy protection this year, according to a recent report from NBC News.

Sources also say that unpaid medical bills are leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States, and that having health insurance doesn?t necessarily protect consumers from medical debt.

While the number of bankruptcy filings this year will still likely be lower than the number of filings at the height of the recession, roughly 60 percent of bankruptcies will involve large amounts of medical debt, sources indicate.
//

Medical Costs are Leading Factor for Bankruptcy Filers

And while high medical costs lead hundreds of thousands of Americans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, they may also be impacting the health of the average patient.

According to data compiled from a broad range of federal sources, 25 million people are reluctant to take their medications in order to help lower their medical costs.

This tactic is very troubling, because delaying the use of needed medication could lead to more expensive trips to the emergency room, according to Christina LaMontagne, the vice president of NerdWallet, a foundation that studies the impact of medical debt.

In addition to the potential damage to consumers? health, high medical costs have led to risky financial behavior. This year, more than 11 million people will add credit card debt in an effort to pay medical bills, according to sources.

To add to the financial misery, more than 15 million people are expected to empty their savings in order to pay medical bills, and 10 million will have to skip a rental payment or a meal in order to pay medical bills, sources say.

Even Those Who do Not File Bankruptcy Struggle to Pay Medical Debt

Even consumers who choose not to file for bankruptcy are likely to struggle to pay their medical bills. According to sources, more than 20 percent of Americans between the ages of 19 and 64 will struggle to pay the high costs of medical treatment. This amounts to 56 million people.

To make matters worse, roughly 10 million adults who have comprehensive health insurance will still be unable to meet their medical debt obligations.

Most of the pain will be experienced by consumers with high deductible plans. ?With an average American family bringing home $50,000 in income, a high medical bill and a high-deductible insurance plan can quickly become something they are unable to pay,? said LaMontagne.

Source: http://www.clearbankruptcy.com/blog/high-medical-bills-remain-the-leading-cause-of-personal-bankruptcy/

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Project Anarchy, Havok's mobile game development suite now available at no cost

Havok -- the physics middleware engine used by almost every big console and PC game -- announced its start-to-finish mobile game development suite will be available at no cost to developers. Project Anarchy has tools for everything: visuals, physics, artificial intelligence and animation. We say "no cost" instead of free for a reason: Havok expects a few things out of its users in return. It wants to co-market some finished games and for clients to become part of its development community. Currently, that dev community includes folks programming for iOS, Android and Tizen. Microsofties may not be left out, however, as Havok has "flexible business models" for Windows Phone if you ping its sales team. Full details in the links below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Mobile

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Source: Project Anarchy

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/-9D99-RA_IE/

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Whole genome or exome sequencing: An individual insight

June 26, 2013 ? Focusing on parts rather than the whole, when it comes to genome sequencing, might be extremely useful, finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine. The research compares several sequencing technologies in the same individual with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and shows that sequencing the coding regions alone at high depth of coverage can identify the genetic variation behind this disease, and was also able to resolve previous ambiguities.

Next generation sequencing for understanding human DNA variation and genetic disorders is advancing in leaps and bounds. Whole genome sequencing reads all of an individual's DNA, whereas exome sequencing captures only the parts of the DNA which code for proteins. Exome sequencing is faster and cheaper, but concerns have previously been raised that it misses important information.

A team from Baylor College of Medicine led by Prof. James Lupski and Prof. Richard Gibbs compared several different exome and whole genome sequencing technologies on DNA from the same person with CMT. Prof. Jim Lupski explained, "Both methods were able to find the same 12 variants which affect cellular response to specific drugs such as betablockers, warfarin and the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel, and identify novel CMT-associated mutations in SH3TC2 that encodes for a protein with a role in peripheral nerve myelination."

Exome sequencing had fewer false positives, and a greater sensitivity due to the higher coverage achieved when focusing only in a small fraction of the genome. Consequently it was able to correctly identify nucleotides which were ambiguous when using whole genome sequencing at lower coverage, and so clarify whether they were associated with CMT or not.

Prof. Richard Gibbs commented, "The higher coverage afforded by focusing on the exome at approximately 120x for clinical exomes allows greater precision of exome sequencing making this a superior approach, rather than a shortcut, to find which people might respond to a particular therapy or to define who has a specific disease."

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Journal Reference:

1. James R Lupski, Claudia Gonzaga-Jauregui, Yaping Yang, Matthew N Bainbridge, Shalini Jhangiani, Christian J Buhay, Christie L Kovar, Min Wang, Alicia C Hawes, Jeffrey G Reid, Christine Eng, Donna M Muzny and Richard A Gibbs. Exome sequencing resolves apparent incidental findings and reveals further complexity of SH3TC2 variant alleles causing CMT neuropathy. Genome Medicine, (in press)

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/UpbhlS4DXWg/130626211922.htm

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Samsung Elec shares down 3 percent on weaker earnings outlook

SEOUL (Reuters) - Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd slumped 3 percent to nine-month lows on Wednesday, as investors braced for weaker-than-expected earnings from the smartphone maker for the April-to-June period.

Shinhan Investment Corp joined a number of brokerages in cutting its target price for the South Korean technology giant, forecasting smartphone shipments and earnings would be less than it had previously expected.

Samsung Electronics shares were set to fall for a sixth consecutive session. They were down 3.1 percent to 1,257,000 Korean won ($1,100) as of 11:43 p.m. ET, underperforming the wider market's 0.2 percent drop. This was their lowest level since September 11 last year.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-elec-shares-down-3-percent-weaker-earnings-040237160.html

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Feds' list of most expensive colleges

What are the most expensive colleges? That depends what you mean by "most expensive." Are they the schools with the highest listed tuition ? the highest sticker price? Or those with the highest average net price ? what the typical student pays to attend after accounting for all expenses, but also all financial aid? What about different types of schools? Is it fair to compare public and private colleges?

Because there's no simple answer, under a 2008 law the Department of Education publishes different lists, and on Thursday released its latest annual update. Here are the top five in some of the main categories. The data are for 2011-2012.

Public four-year colleges with highest tuition, in-state

1. University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus $16,132

2. Pennsylvania State University ? Main Campus $15,984

3. University of New Hampshire ? Main Campus $15,250

4. University of Vermont $14,784

5. Colorado School of Mines $14,453

Private (not-for-profit) four-year colleges with highest tuition

1. Columbia University (N.Y.) $45,290

2. Sarah Lawrence College (N.Y.) $45,212

3. Vassar College (N.Y.) $44,705

4. George Washington University (District of Columbia) $44,148

5. Trinity College (Conn.) $44,070

Public four-year colleges with highest net price, in-state

1. Miami University-Oxford (Ohio) $22,210

2. Pennsylvania State University ? Main Campus $21,342

3. University of Guam $21,296

4. St. Mary's College of Maryland $20,521

5. Pennsylvania State University ? Altoona $20,457

Private (not-for-profit) four-year colleges with highest net prices

1. School of the Art Institute of Chicago $42,882

2. Ringling College of Art and Design (Fla.) $40,222

3. The Boston Conservatory $39,602

4. Berklee College of Music (Mass.) $38,814

5. California Institute of the Arts $38,802

___

Online: To see full lists, including lists of least expensive schools, along with other data visit http://collegecost.ed.gov/catc/Default.aspx . Additional data on individual schools available at http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

Follow Justin Pope on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JustinPopeAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/feds-list-most-expensive-colleges-180307659.html

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70 vote goal vanishes as Senate nears immigration reform vote

The Senate will vote on a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday morning, and a recently hashed-out compromise on border security is expected to win over some conservative support for the measure.

The "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of senators who drafted the bill, had hoped to get 70 out of 100 senators to vote to pass the bill and send a strong signal to the Republican-controlled house that the legislation is bipartisan. But on Wednesday, test votes drew only 67 votes each, suggesting the bill might fall short of that goal.

The reform would implement a mandatory, national employment verification system, allow for more legal immigration of low- and high-skilled workers, beef up border security and eventually give green cards to most of the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants.

The bill has moved to the right in the Senate on border security, thanks to an amendment adopted last week that will double the number of Border Patrol officers and increase fencing on the southern border by hundreds of miles before any unauthorized immigrants are offered permanent legal status. But House members working on their own version of immigration reform told The Hill this is not enough: They would prefer that no unauthorized immigrant be offered even temporary legal status until all the border security measures in the bill are fully implemented.

Union leaders representing both Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers say they oppose the bill, and groups that seek lower immigration levels have tried to rally members to call and write senators asking them to kill the bill. But so far, the critics of the bill have been outnumbered. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has worked as a conservative ambassador for the legislation. Rubio will deliver a "closing argument" for immigration reform, highlighting his parents' journey to the United States.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/senate-takes-immigration-vote-supporters-back-off-70-143951088.html

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Behold the First Images of the Official Lego Back to the Future Set!

Brick News has obtained photos of the official Lego Back to the Future set, including the minifigs for Marty McFly and Doc Brown. As you can see, it's more elaborated than the version approved by Lego Cuusoo although not as pretty. You'll be able to create all the three versions of the car using the pieces in this set.

It will be available on July 18, apparently, priced at ?35 in the UK?which will be about $50 in the US. [Brick News]

You're reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the most awesome Lego models in the web. Follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://lego.gizmodo.com/behold-the-first-images-of-the-official-lego-back-to-th-578288625

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