Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/tv-anchor-fired-for-on-air-swearing-general-awkwardness/
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Tom Cruise Takes Back Box-Office Crown With 'Oblivion'
Sci-fi flick takes the #1 spot this weekend with a $38.2 million debut.
By Ryan J. Downey
Tom Cruise in "Oblivion"
Photo: Universal Pictures
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706098/box-office-oblivion-tom-cruise.jhtml
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Grains of sand from ancient supernova found in meteorites: Supernova may have been the one that triggered the formation of the solar system
Apr. 19, 2013 ? It's a bit like learning the secrets of the family that lived in your house in the 1800s by examining dust particles they left behind in cracks in the floorboards.
By looking at specks of dust carried to earth in meteorites, scientists are able to study stars that winked out of existence long before our solar system formed.
This technique for studying the stars -- sometimes called astronomy in the lab -- gives scientists information that cannot be obtained by the traditional techniques of astronomy, such as telescope observations or computer modeling.
Now scientists working at Washington University in St. Louis with support from the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, have discovered two tiny grains of silica (SiO2; the most common constituent of sand) in primitive meteorites. This discovery is surprising because silica is not one of the minerals expected to condense in stellar atmospheres -- in fact, it has been called 'a mythical condensate.'
Five silica grains were found earlier, but, because of their isotopic compositions, they are thought to originate from AGB stars, red giants that puff up to enormous sizes at the end of their lives and are stripped of most of their mass by powerful stellar winds.
These two grains are thought to have come instead from a core-collapse supernova, a massive star that exploded at the end of its life.
Because the grains, which were found in meteorites from two different bodies of origin, have spookily similar isotopic compositions, the scientists speculate in the May 1 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, that they may have come from a single supernova, perhaps even the one whose explosion is thought to have triggered the formation of the solar system.
A summary of the paper will also appear in the Editors' Choice compilation in the May 3 issue of Science magazine.
The first presolar grains are discovered
Until the 1960s most scientists believed the early solar system got so hot that presolar material could not have survived.
But in 1987 scientists at the University of Chicago discovered miniscule diamonds in a primitive meteorite (ones that had not been heated and reworked). Since then they've found grains of more than ten other minerals in primitive meteorites.
Many of these discoveries were made at Washington University, home to Ernst Zinner, PhD, research professor in Physics at Washington University in St. Louis, who helped develop the instruments and techniques needed to study presolar grains (and the last author on the paper).
The scientists can tell these grains came from ancient stars because they have highly unusual isotopic signatures. (Isotopes are different atoms of the same chemical element that have a slightly different mass.)
Different stars produce different proportions of isotopes. But the material from which our solar system was fashioned was mixed and homogenized before the solar system formed. So all of the planets and the Sun have the pretty much the same isotopic composition, known simply as "solar."
Meteorites, most of which are pieces of asteroids, have the solar composition as well, but trapped deep within the primitive ones are pure samples of stars. The isotopic compositions of these presolar grains provide clues to the complex nuclear and convective processes operating within stars, which are poorly understood.
Even our nearby Sun is still a mystery to us; much less more exotic stars that are incomprehensibly far away.
Some models of stellar evolution predict that silica could condense in the cooler outer atmospheres of stars but others predict silicon would be completely consumed by the formation of magnesium- or iron-rich silicates, leaving none to form silica.
But in the absence of any evidence, few modelers even bothered to discuss the condensation of silica in stellar atmospheres. "We didn't know which model was right and which was not, because the models had so many parameters," said Pierre Haenecour, a graduate student in Earth and Planetary Sciences, who is the first author on the paper.
The first silica grains are discovered In 2009 Christine Floss, PhD, research professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, and Frank Stadermann, PhD, since deceased, found the first silica grain in a meteorite. Their find was followed within the next few years by the discovery of four more grains.
All of these grains were enriched in oxygen-17 relative to solar. "This meant they had probably come from red giant or AGB stars" Floss said.
When Haenecour began his graduate study with Floss, she had him look at a primitive meteorite that had been picked up in Antarctica by a U.S. team. Antarctica is prime meteorite-hunting-territory because the dark rocks show up clearly against the white snow and ice.
Haenecour with the NanoSIMS 50 ion microprobe he used to look for presolar grains in a primitive meteorite. The silica grain he found is too small to be seen with the unaided eye, but the microprobe can magnify it 20,000 times, to about the size of a chocolate chip.
Haenecour found 138 presolar grains in the meteorite slice he examined and to his delight one of them was a silica grain, But this one was enriched in oxygen-18, which meant it came from a core-collapse supernova, not a red giant.
He knew that another graduate student in the lab had found a silica grain rich in oxygen-18. Xuchao Zhao, now a scientist at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing, China, found his grain in a meteorite picked up in Antarctica by the Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition.
With two specks to go on, Haenecour tackled the difficult problem of calculating how a supernova might have produced silica grains. Before it explodes, a supernova is a giant onion, made up of concentric layers dominated by different elements.
A massive star that will explode at the end of its life, a core-collapse supernova has a layered structure rather like that of an onion.
Some theoretical models predicted that silica might be produced in massive oxygen-rich layers near the core of the supernova. But if silica grains could condense there, Haenecour and his colleagues thought, they should be enriched in oxygen-16, not oxygen-18.
They found they could reproduce the oxygen-18 enrichment of the two grains by mixing small amounts of material from the oxygen-rich inner zones and the oxygen-18-rich helium/carbon zone with large amounts of material from the hydrogen envelope of the supernova.
In fact, Haenecour said, the mixing needed to produce the composition of the two grains was so similar that the grains might well come from the same supernova. Could it have been the supernova whose explosion is thought to have kick-started the collapse of the molecular cloud out of which the planets of the solar system formed?
How strange to think that two tiny grains of sand could be the humble bearers of such momentous tidings from so long ago and so far away.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Pierre Haenecour, Xuchao Zhao, Christine Floss, Yangting Lin, Ernst Zinner. FIRST LABORATORY OBSERVATION OF SILICA GRAINS FROM CORE COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 768 (1): L17 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/768/1/L17
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.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/JDhPlmpFrZo/130422111246.htm
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Insight: Battered by war, Syrian army creates its own replacement
BEIRUT (Reuters) - In Syria, for scores of men called each month to join the army for deadly combat, there is a more attractive alternative: stay home, join a loyalist paramilitary group, and get a share of the loot in raids on President Bashar al-Assad's enemies.
Now into the third year of the uprising against Assad, which began with peaceful protests and became an armed rebellion, Syria's regular army has been weakened. Sectarian faultlines that are increasingly dividing the nation are now fragmenting an army whose strength was already eroded by desertions and defections to rebels.
Army officers belonging mainly to the minority Alawite sect, to which Assad himself belongs, sit uncomfortably in charge of a conscript army of men who are mostly from Syria's majority Sunni Muslims.
Officers wary of their own recruits say they can create a more reliable force out of irregular loyalist militias spread across the country.
"After the events began, our leadership started to lose faith in the army and its effectiveness on the ground in a war like this. The Syrian army is an aging one. There is a lot of routine. A lot of soldiers fled. Some joined armed gangs (the opposition)," said a 35-year old military commander by telephone from Damascus. He withheld his name for safety reasons.
"So we got the idea to make the National Defence Forces. They started out as popular committees patrolling their neighborhoods. Then they became armed groups. And in late 2012, they were legitimized under the name National Defence Forces (NDF)."
Pro-Assad militias used to be called 'shabbiha', derived from the Arabic word for ghost. Since their inception, they have had a sectarian bent. They were feared by the Sunni majority, who accuse the shabbiha of several massacres of Sunnis.
These once shadowy groups are being reorganized, trained and transformed. They have branded themselves as a volunteer reserve army. NDF fighters say the military even pays their salary.
But the creation of this parallel wing to the army could have dangerous consequences. The NDF system may reinforce the sectarian dimensions of a bloody conflict that has already killed more than 70,000 people and driven millions from their homes.
Sunni Islamists now lead the insurgency against four decades of Assad family rule, and minorities are flocking to the NDF to avoid recruitment into an army still comprised mostly of Sunnis. Most NDF fighters are Alawites, but many Christians and Druze have joined as well.
Rising sectarianism is plaguing both sides of a conflict that has become a civil war.
Rebel groups lacking experience have turned to hardline but effective Islamist fighters for support, including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front that says it wants to create an Islamic theocracy. That has radicalized some elements of a movement that started out calling for secular democracy.
FRAGMENTING ARMY?
After months of violence that has torn the country apart, both the opposition and pro-Assad groups are splintered. The creation of the NDF may be a sign that fragmentation is picking up pace, and that militias will one day take over the army's role in protecting Assad and the minorities that fought with him.
"Most of the soldiers in my unit are Sunnis. They don't trust me, and I don't trust them. That's the problem," said the commander in Damascus.
Like most of the elite in Syria's armed forces, he is Alawite. He says many officers now only use their Alawite soldiers as personal guards or special combat units.
"The soldiers are good guys, but I still worry each night. That's why the NDF is better. No one defects, no one flees."
For many, like 38-year-old Ali, an Alawite, joining the NDF was a necessity. He has a young daughter and wife to support. His small company based in the Gulf collapsed in late 2011 when he returned to his hometown of Homs after his brother, a soldier, was shot dead by rebels.
"I had no idea how to use a gun anymore; it had been two years since I did my compulsory army service. But my cousin was the head of an armed group," he said, referring to the shabbiha.
"He told me I should make a group, too, and he'd arm us ... Six months later, we organized ourselves into a unit of the NDF. Now we get a fixed salary with receipts for expenses. It's very organized."
The NDF has offices in government-controlled cities across Syria. Residents say many have training centers run by Syrian officers. The NDF gives fighters a monthly salary and weapons.
Training can last two weeks to a month, depending on whether it is for basic combat, sniping, or intelligence gathering.
FIGHTING FOR HOME AND SPOILS
For many fighters, the main attraction is fighting for their own home towns and the chance to accumulate extra wealth at a time when the country's economy is collapsing. Unlike soldiers, they say they are allowed and even encouraged to loot houses when attacking rebel-held areas.
"I get 15,000 lira ($158) a month, and I am allowed to keep a percentage of the loot from any battle I fight in," said Nader, a 30-year old Alawite from Homs who studied English literature before the conflict.
"I don't want to die anywhere other than Homs ... I want to be fighting for my own land. So when I got called up for service, I went to join the NDF. They gave me a stamped form, and I took that to the army recruitment office."
Tall and bulky with piercing blue eyes, Nader makes his own personal uniform of green camouflage pants and shirts. For the NDF, uniforms are more a fashion statement than a requirement - in loyalist villages, they sport camouflage bullet vests loaded with ammunition over jeans and t-shirts.
"There's no military routine where I have to wake up at 6 a.m. for drills. This is much more comfortable. Also, you know everyone in your group because you're all from the same area," he told Reuters by phone.
NDF fighters say they can choose to only work checkpoints and are not forced to join the army on raids - but if they don't, they don't get any of the spoils.
Loot is sold to makeshift markets, residents say, where the best goods are sent on to coastal cities or neighboring Lebanon.
Like the rebels who hold much of the northern and southern border regions, the NDF is scattered across the country wherever the army has a foothold. The NDF and army have nearly total control of the coast, home to a large Alawite enclave.
Many people from minorities, including Alawites, have suffered as much poverty and repression as the Sunnis who lead the uprising, but the community has embraced the president as their only protection against a Sunni backlash after decades of Assad family rule dominated by an Alawite elite.
MILITARISED SOCIETY
Military experts originally estimated Assad's army as a force of 300,000 to 500,000, but deserters and defectors have taken their toll.
The army sees many benefits to localized militias. They know every alley in their town, every village in their countryside.
An officer in Homs, who asked not to be identified, said the army was increasingly playing a logistical and directive role, while NDF fighters act as combatants on the ground.
"We direct artillery and air strikes ... Usually NDF fighters stay in their own areas, but if we have a shortage of manpower, sometimes we do send the guys to other provinces if their own areas are calm," the Homs officer said, speaking by phone.
Not all residents look on the growth of the NDF with approval. Its fighters run checkpoints and practically administer smaller towns now, creating resentment among local leaders.
"They take over a government office or a school and make it their base. No one can say or do anything about it," said an elderly Alawite cleric from the village of Masyaf in central Syria, who asked not to be named.
"The head of the NDF here is a dirty man. Two years ago he had nothing. Now he has land, cars, houses. That is all from stealing under the name of 'nationalism'."
Other residents complain the creation of the NDF has inextricably connected minorities to pro-Assad militias, giving them a stark choice.
"Either you become a part of it, or you leave," says Fadi, an Alawite whose family lives in Tartous.
He says he wants to move with his wife and daughter to neighboring Lebanon. "We've become complicit in the militarization of our society."
(Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by Will Waterman)
(The name of the journalist has been withheld for security reasons)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-battered-war-syrian-army-creates-own-replacement-081013152.html
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Monday, April 22, 2013
Antares vs. Falcon 9: How the two rockets ferrying NASA's cargo differ
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has already proved itself able to get a cargo payload to the International Space Station. Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket, set for its first test launch Wednesday evening, is a very different animal.
Workers gather on the launch pad for a group photograph beneath Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket while it waits on the launch pad at Wallops, Va., Tuesday.
Jay Diem/The Daily Times/AP
EnlargeGlistening white and standing 130 feet tall, the second of two commercial rockets NASA is relying on to ferry cargo to the International Space Station is set for its first test flight at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
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If all goes well, the Antares rocket, built and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., will join Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 as replacements for the space shuttles that carried cargo to and from the ISS. The Falcon 9 and its Dragon cargo capsule already have completed two formal resupply missions to the station.
"We did come late to this activity," acknowledges Frank Culberston, a former NASA astronaut and now an executive vice president at Orbital Sciences. The company signed on to NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program about 1-1/2 years after the program began, after NASA dropped one of the two initial participants.
"We've been playing catch-up, but we've about caught up. By the end of next year, we should have another four or five cargo missions under our belt," he adds.
NASA's initial choice of two companies for the COTS program involved aerospace upstarts born within a year of each other. Now, the program has paired a grizzled spaceflight veteran with a precocious tweenager.
Orbital Sciences has been building satellites and building and launching rockets for more than 30 years. SpaceX was founded in 2002.
Their approaches to designing and building their rockets are markedly different.
SpaceX has prided itself on designing and building its hardware in-house, beginning with its two-stage, liquid-fueled Falcon 1 rocket. The Falcon 1, with a single engine in its first stage, had teething problems. First launched in March 2006, the rocket's initial three missions failed to deliver anything to orbit. After a fourth, successful test that put a dummy payload into low-earth orbit, the Falcon 1 went on to loft a Malaysian remote-sensing satellite a year later, only to be retired as SpaceX focused on its workhorse, the Falcon 9.
Nearly 200 feet tall, the Falcon 9 boasts nine main engines and can loft much heavier payloads than its predecessor. Sometime this year, the company plans to test a third rocket, the Falcon Heavy ? in effect three Falcon 9s strapped side by side, with the center booster topped with a second stage and a payload. The company bills the Falcon Heavy as the most powerful rocket the US has seen since the Apollo program's Saturn V rocket in the 1960s and '70s.
The company's ultimate quest is to develop reusable rockets, in addition to the reusable capsule it has built to carry cargo and eventually humans. SpaceX is testing a propulsion system that will allow a rocket booster to land vertically.
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Exceptional Special Education Teacher Honored by Peers
Jason Harrison, who won teacher of the year.
by Kathleen Ganster -
Jason Harrison had what he considered some ?great teachers? growing up, and he knew early on that he wanted to teach.
?I grew up in the McKeesport Area School District and had a couple of teachers that were true inspirations. Plus, I?ve always been a patient guy, and this is a population that needs patience and attention,? he said of his choice to work in special education.
On April 4, Mr. Harrison was named Outstanding Teacher of 2012 by the Ambridge Area Chamber of Commerce, the first year the award has been given.
As a special education teacher at Quaker Valley Middle School, he was nominated by his fellow teachers in the Quaker Valley Education Association.
?Because I was selected by my peers ? this is an unbelievable honor,? he said.
Mr. Harrison, 35, of Bellevue, was the first member of his immediate family to go to college. His sister has since followed in his footsteps.
He wasn?t familiar with the Quaker Valley School District until he received a phone call about the opening.
?I was back home after graduation, painting my parents? house, when I got this call,? he said. ?Then I found out it was a premier school district.?
When he landed the job, he said, he couldn?t believe his ?good luck.?
?I was a new teacher and really had to lean on the principal and other teachers. It was amazing how much support that I received,? he said.
It was a role in which he was a natural, said Sean Aiken, principal at Quaker Valley Middle School.
?The best way to describe Jason is to say that nothing he does is average. He is unique in every way,? Mr. Aiken said.
?The way that he collaborates with his fellow teachers and staff is stellar, and he exudes a positive, patient nature with his students.?
Mr. Harrison said he had a particular hurdle this year in assisting his students with their move to a new school building.
?We had the transition to the middle school, and then we had the move. With my population, the transition can be a tough one,? he said.
Mr. Aiken said Mr. Harrison?s skills really shine during challenges such as the move.
?Even in difficult situations, he can manage a calm demeanor that his students need,? he said.
After teaching in the field for a short while, Mr. Harrison knew it was a good fit and went on to obtain his master?s degree from Duquesne University.
Read more at?A newsmaker you should know: Quaker Valley teacher finds calling in special education.
[Via?- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Source: http://specialedpost.com/2013/04/21/exceptional-special-education-teacher-honored-by-peers/
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Bombing suspect still hospitalized, guarded
BOSTON (AP) ? As the lone surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing lay hospitalized under heavy guard Saturday, the American Civil Liberties Union and a federal public defender raised concerns about investigators' plan to question Dzhokhar Tsarnaev without reading him his Miranda rights.
What Tsarnaev will say and when are unclear ? he remained in serious condition and apparently in no shape for interrogation after being pulled bloody and wounded from a tarp-covered boat in a Watertown backyard. The capture came at the end of a tense Friday day that began with his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, dying in a gunbattle with police.
U.S. officials said an elite interrogation team would question the Massachusetts college student without reading him his Miranda rights, something that is allowed on a limited basis when the public may be in immediate danger, such as instances in which bombs are planted and ready to go off.
ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said the legal exception applies only when there is a continued threat to public safety and is "not an open-ended exception" to the Miranda rule, which guarantees the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
The federal public defender's office in Massachusetts said it has agreed to represent Tsarnaev once he is charged. Miriam Conrad, public defender for Massachusetts, said he should have a lawyer appointed as soon as possible because there are "serious issues regarding possible interrogation."
There was no immediate word on when Tsarnaev might be charged and what those charges would be. The twin bombings killed three people and wounded more than 180.
The most serious charge available to federal prosecutors would be the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people, which carries a possible death sentence. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.
President Barack Obama said there are many unanswered questions about the bombing, including whether the Tsarnaev brothers - ethnic Chechens from southern Russia who had been in the U.S. for about a decade and lived in the Boston area - had help from others. The president urged people not to rush judgment about their motivations.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Saturday afternoon that Tsarnaev was in serious but stable condition and was probably unable to communicate. Tsarnaev was at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where 11 victims of the bombing were still being treated.
"I, and I think all of the law enforcement officials, are hoping for a host of reasons the suspect survives," the governor said after a ceremony at Fenway Park to honor the victims and survivors of the attack. "We have a million questions, and those questions need to be answered."
The all-day manhunt Friday brought the Boston area to a near standstill and put people on edge across the metropolitan area.
The break came around nightfall when a homeowner in Watertown saw blood on his boat, pulled back the tarp and saw a bloody Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hiding inside, police said. After an exchange of gunfire, he was seized and taken away in an ambulance.
Raucous celebrations erupted in and around Boston, with chants of "USA! USA!" Residents flooded the streets in relief four days after the two pressure-cooker bombs packed with nails and other shrapnel went off.
Michael Spellman said he bought tickets to Saturday's Red Sox game at Fenway Park to help send a message to the bombers.
"They're not going to stop us from doing things we love to do," he said, sitting a few rows behind home plate. "We're not going to live in fear."
During the long night of violence leading up to the capture, the Tsarnaev brothers killed an MIT police officer, severely wounded another lawman and took part in a furious shootout and car chase in which they hurled explosives at police from a large homemade arsenal, authorities said.
"We're in a gunfight, a serious gunfight. Rounds are going and then all of the sudden they see something being thrown at them and there's a huge explosion," Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said Saturday of the melee.
The chief said one of the explosives was the same type used during the Boston Marathon attack, and authorities later recovered a pressure cooker lid that had embedded in a car down the street. He said the suspects also tossed two grenades before Tamerlan ran out of ammunition and police tackled him.
But while handcuffing him, officers had to dive out of the way as Dzhokhar drove the carjacked Mercedes at them, Deveau said. The sport utility vehicle dragged Tamerlan's body down the block, he said. Police initially tracked the escaped suspect by a blood trail he left behind a house after abandoning the Mercedes, negotiating his surrender hours later after an area resident saw blood and found the suspect huddled in his boat.
Chechnya, where the Tsarnaev family has roots, has been the scene of two wars between Russian forces and separatists since 1994. That spawned an Islamic insurgency that has carried out deadly bombings in Russia and the region, although not in the West.
Investigators have not offered a motive for the Boston attack. But in interviews with officials and those who knew the Tsarnaevs, a picture has emerged of the older one as someone embittered toward the U.S., increasingly vehement in his Muslim faith and influential over his younger brother.
The Russian FSB intelligence service told the FBI in 2011 about information that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a follower of radical Islam, two law enforcement officials said Saturday.
According to an FBI news release, a foreign government said that Tamerlan Tsarnaev appeared to be strong believer and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the U.S. for travel to the Russian region to join unspecified underground groups.
The FBI did not name the foreign government, but the two officials said it was Russia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter publicly.
The FBI said that in response, it interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev and relatives, and did not find any domestic or foreign terrorism activity. The bureau said it looked into such things as his telephone and online activity, his travels and his associations with others.
An uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers said he had a falling-out with Tamerlan over the man's increased commitment to Islam.
Ruslan Tsarni of Montgomery Village, Md., said Tamerlan told him in a 2009 phone conversation that he had chosen "God's business" over work or school. Tsarni said he then contacted a family friend who told him Tsarnaev had been influenced by a recent convert to Islam.
Tsarni said his relationship with his nephew basically ended after that call.
As for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, "he's been absolutely wasted by his older brother. I mean, he used him. He used him for whatever he's done," Tsarni said.
Albrecht Ammon, a downstairs-apartment neighbor of Tamerlan Tsarnaev in Cambridge, said in an interview that the older brother had strong political views about the United States. Ammon quoted Tsarnaev as saying that the U.S. uses the Bible as "an excuse for invading other countries."
Tamerlan Tsarnaev studied accounting as a part-time student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston for three semesters from 2006 to 2008, the school said. He was married with a young daughter. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
As of Saturday, more than 50 victims of the bombing remained hospitalized, three in critical condition.
___
Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie and Steve Peoples in Boston; Mike Hill in Watertown, Mass.; Colleen Long in New York; Pete Yost in Washington; Eric Tucker in Montgomery Village, Md.; and AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-bombing-suspect-still-hospitalized-guarded-072110364.html
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Crests approaching in several towns in Midwest
CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) ? An all-too-familiar springtime ritual played out around the nation's heartland through the weekend as volunteers, National Guardsmen and even prison inmates joined together in an effort to ward off fast-rising floodwaters.
Dire flooding situations dotted at least six Midwestern states following torrential rains this past week that dumped up to 7 inches in some locations. Record flooding was possible in some places as dozens of rivers overflowed their banks.
The floods and flash floods forced evacuations, closed roads, swamped hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and shut down much of the upper Mississippi River to barge traffic. Even two Mississippi River bridges were closed.
Several Mississippi River towns north of St. Louis were expected to see crests sometime Sunday, including hard-hit Clarksville, Mo.
Volunteers in the tiny community have worked endlessly since Wednesday to build a makeshift sandbag levee that seemed to be holding as the crest? expected to be 11 feet above flood stage ? approached. Even prisoners from far-away Jefferson City were brought in to help.
After four straight 12-hour days of sandbagging, Trish Connelly, 57, was exhausted but optimistic the town would beat back the daunting river. Her plans to open a new fine arts gallery downtown this weekend were on hold "until we know what the river is going to do," she said.
"This is frustrating for people," Connelly said. "This isn't as bad as 2008, but thank God it stopped raining."
Gov. Jay Nixon on Saturday toured the unprotected-by-choice town that was also flooded in 2008, 2001, 1998, 1995 and many times before that.
"The water is continuing to rise but it is our full hope and expectation that these walls will hold," Nixon said of the sandbag levees.
Travel was at a standstill on most of the Mississippi between the Quad Cities and St. Louis. The Army Corps of Engineers closed several locks, halting barge traffic.
Recreational traffic was halted, too, including the Mark Twain Riverboat that offers excursions at scenic Hannibal, Mo. Owner and pilot Steve Terry has moored the ship since Thursday, with no end in sight.
Just crossing the river was becoming difficult. One of two bridges at Quincy, Ill., closed Friday, and the narrow two-lane bridge at the Missouri town of Louisiana was shut down Saturday by high water on the Illinois side.
To get across the river, people in the Louisiana, Mo., area either had to drive 35 miles north to Hannibal, Mo., or 50-plus miles south to suburban St. Louis. Penny Scranton's normal 13-minute commute from Rockport, Ill., to the BP convenience store in Louisiana turned into an hour and a half.
"There are others worse off," she shrugged.
Among those worse off was Louisiana resident Erica Campbell, whose rented home in a low-lying area of the town was flooded for the second time in three years.
This time, Campbell said, she's had enough. Campbell, her husband and their eight kids are packing up.
"We're planning to move to the country ? as far away from water as I can get," Campbell, 35, said.
Mississippi River levels vary greatly but are typically highest in the spring, so minor flooding is not uncommon. But when river levels exceed flood stage by several feet, serious problems can occur.
Smaller rivers across the Midwest were swelling, too. In Illinois, heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar will shut down its East Peoria, Ill., factory on Sunday as the Illinois River approaches an expected 30-foot crest early next week.
Several Indiana towns were threatened by high water, forcing hundreds of evacuations. The Wabash River in Tippecanoe County reached more than 14 feet above flood stage on Saturday, the highest level since 1958.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Pence took a helicopter tour Saturday of damage in Kokomo, Tipton and Elwood. A spokeswoman said the tour is the first step toward determining if a disaster declaration might be needed.
In Grand Rapids, Mich., high water forced the evacuation of the Courtyard Marriott Hotel and an apartment building on Saturday. Apartment resident Johnny Cartwright said water was coming into the basement and parking garage "like the Titanic."
___
Salter reported from St. Louis. AP Photographer Jeff Roberson in Clarksville and Louisiana contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/crests-approaching-several-towns-midwest-070600592.html
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Sunday, April 21, 2013
Nets crush Bulls in first playoff game in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez, right, reacts after scoring against the Chicago Bulls during the first quarter of Game 1 of a first-round series of the NBA basketball playoffs, Saturday, April 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez, right, reacts after scoring against the Chicago Bulls during the first quarter of Game 1 of a first-round series of the NBA basketball playoffs, Saturday, April 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler, center, drives to the basket through Brooklyn Nets' Jerry Stackhouse, left, and Brook Lopez during the first quarter of Game 1 of a first-round series of the NBA basketball playoffs, Saturday, April 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez, top, dunks against the Chicago Bulls during the first quarter of Game 1 of a first-round series of the NBA basketball playoffs, Saturday, April 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Brooklyn Nets' Brook Lopez, right, blocks a shot by Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler during the second quarter of Game 1 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs at the Barclays Center, Saturday, April 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Brooklyn blackout was a blowout.
Ripping apart the vaunted Chicago Bulls defense during an impressive second quarter, the Nets punctuated their return to the postseason with a 106-89 victory on Saturday night.
Deron Williams scored 22 points, Brook Lopez had 21 and the Nets made 16 of 20 shots in the second period on their way to 60 percent in the first half.
"That's a hell of a performance," Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
Joe Johnson finished with 16 for the Nets, who made their successful first season in Brooklyn even better with a victory in their first playoff appearance since 2007. They will host Game 2 on Monday night.
The Nets wore their road black uniforms and fans were encouraged to wear black as well to make it a "blackout" for the first major postseason game in Brooklyn since Oct. 10, 1956, when the Yankees beat the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series at Ebbets Field.
The Nets then came out white-hot, shooting nearly 56 percent and putting six players in double figures.
"Everybody was excited for this game," Williams said. "I think it has been a long time coming for this franchise, this organization with the move and everything. We expected to be here, so we came out playing like we wanted to be here ... we were locked in today."
Carlos Boozer had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who had Joakim Noah in the starting lineup despite foot pain. But he was clearly limited, and there was no reason to play him more than the 14 minutes he got with the game never in doubt after halftime.
"It was the end of the first (quarter) and they hit us with a haymaker, got us back on our heels," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "So end of the first, second quarter, poor defense, poor intensity, poor energy on offense. You can't win like that."
The sellout crowd of 17,732 was roaring long before Nets reserve Jerry Stackhouse, who wears the No. 42 that Jackie Robinson once sported in Brooklyn, sang the national anthem.
Owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who committed hundreds of millions on player contracts last summer expecting a longtime loser in New Jersey to win big in Brooklyn, came on the court to thank fans for their passion and support, telling them that this playoff appearance was only the beginning.
And what a beginning it was.
Williams even had a reverse dunk in the third quarter, showing how much better he feels after ankle pain had him playing well below his usual level before the All-Star break, when he could barely jump.
Gerald Wallace and C.J. Watson each scored 14 for the Nets, while Andray Blatche had 12.
Noah has battled plantar fasciitis in his right foot and Thibodeau said he didn't want his All-Star center playing if he was injured. But Noah, who grew up in New York, wanted to give it a try. He finished with four points.
"The thing is he hasn't practiced so he's going to be rusty, but I'd rather have him out there. Whatever he can give us is a plus," Thibodeau said. "We didn't play well. It wasn't Jo, it was our team. So he's a big plus for our team, so we'd like to have him out there. We've got to play better. Everyone has to play better."
The Bulls are still without Derrick Rose, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last year's playoff opener. Thibodeau hasn't ruled out the former MVP returning in this series, noting the end would be two weeks from Saturday if it went the distance.
That looked unlikely after Game 1.
Chicago won three of four during the regular season, holding the Nets to 87.5 points per game, but Brooklyn had 89 after the third quarter of this one.
"It was disappointing," Noah said. "We didn't play well. We didn't come out with the right mindset. They scored way too many points in the paint. We didn't execute well offensively. But you know what, we've got to bounce back. No time to feel sorry for ourselves. We've showed resiliency all year and I think we've got a lot of basketball left."
Fans chanted "Brooklyn! Brooklyn!" before the tip and chanted Wallace's name during it, recognizing his strong performance after a difficult regular season.
The Nets jumped out to an 11-point lead after one quarter, getting 12 points from Lopez. It was 38-26 midway through the second before the Nets blew it open. Lopez made two straight baskets, the latter a dunk after Williams juked Marco Belinelli so badly that Jay-Z practically jumped out of his nearby courtside seat.
Former Bulls backup Watson followed with a 3-pointer to make it a 20-point game for the first time, and it was 60-35 at halftime after the Nets scored the final six points.
"I thought we competed extremely well, I thought we defended extremely well and pushed the ball and shared the ball extremely well in the first half," Carlesimo said.
Noah started the second half, clearly not running well, but was back on the bench before long.
Nate Robinson scored 17 points for Chicago, while Jimmy Butler and Belinelli each had 13. Luol Deng had just six on 3-of-11 shooting.
NOTES: Carlesimo got his first playoff victory since April 30, 1997, when he coached Portland. ... The Bulls reached the conference semifinals the previous three times they were a No. 5 seed. ... Jay-Z was in his usual seat near the Nets' bench even though the rap mogul is selling his small portion of the team, as required, to focus on his player agency business.
___
Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney
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Friday, April 19, 2013
ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League guide: Pune Warriors vs ... - Bettor
ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League guide: Pune Warriors vs Hyderabad Sunrisers
The Indian Premiere League (IPL) proceedings will continue with Pune Warriors taking on Hyderabad Sunrisers in local conditions on gameday 15, i.e. April 17, 2013.
It is extremely difficult to pick a favourite as far as the possible outcome of the encounter between the two teams is concerned, as they have both earned quite a reputation for surprising the opposition in both good and bad ways. Their biggest problem so far in the tournament has been their lack of consistency despite having some pretty solid players in their line-up, though Pune Warriors have had a bit of a hard time playing their full strength due to injuries and, in the case of skipper Angelo Matthews, politics.
For the ESPNcricinfo IPL Fantasy League enthusiasts, there are plenty of points for you to win today, though you will have to make some really smart selections.
Keeping in mind that the match will be played in Pune, the pitch should be expected to assist the bowlers, while making it extremely hard for the batsmen to get the runs.
Since the pitch would not be easy to bat on, you should adopt a very conservative approach while adding batmen to your Fantasy League playing XI.
Pune Warrior?s Aaron Finch has been in great touch lately and he gets his runs at a good pace as well, which means bonus points. Therefore, it can pay off to have him in your team. Yuvraj Singh is expected to miss yet another game due to injury, so do not make the mistake of putting him in your team.
From the Hyderabad Sunriser?s side, Cameron White and Steven Smith are your best bet. White is a bit of a risk, but if he gets going, he can score big. As for Smith, he has already shown his mood to make an impact in as many games as he gets. Kumar Sangakkara has not exactly been in great touch, so do not take the risk of using up a transfer to have him in your team. He might not even play today?s match, as there are plenty of players in the dugout who can serve as good replacements.
As for the bowlers, Dale Steyn and Thisara Perera, a more than handy all-rounder, should be in your team. Amit Mishra would also be an excellent choice, considering the pitch for today?s match.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rahul Sharma can prove to be good choices for today?s match as well. Kumar in particular is bound to trouble the batsmen with his swinging deliveries.
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Broadband internet arrives in California's Gold Country through white spaces deployment
While select outfits race to make satellite broadband an acceptable solution for those who need ping times south of three digits, there's another game in town looking to quietly revolutionize rural access. As LTE slowly rolls out to major metropolitan areas in the United States, vacated spectrum is allowing companies like Carlson Wireless to offer up another option. TV white spaces -- unused TV channels freed up after the analog-to-digital transition of 2009 -- have long since been eyed as the answer for distributing high-speed internet to areas that aren't economical to reach via wireline, or are otherwise shunned by conventional wireless operators.
Armed with an FCC-granted Special Temporary Authority to validate the efficacy of the product in real-world scenarios, Carlson has partnered with Cal.net in order to bring internet to sections of California's Gold Country; the project comprises multiple transmission sites delivering broadband to several hundred heretofore un-serviceable subscribers in El Dorado County. There's no word on pricing, but we're sure hoping it's a runaway hit -- we can think of plenty of gorgeous locales in this country that could stand a pinch of internet. (Yellowstone National Park, we're looking at you.)
Filed under: Networking, Internet
Source: Carlson Wireless, Cal.net
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/KYew2r70dr4/
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National consortium to lead North Carolina in big data innovation
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Public release date: 18-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Thania Benios
thania_benios@unc.edu
919-962-8596
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A new collaboration called the National Consortium for Data Science (NCDS) aims to make North Carolina a national hub for data-intensive business and data science research, a move that will help develop a national strategy to ensure U.S. leadership in the data-driven global economy.
The consortium, launched at RENCI, the Renaissance Computing Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, unites data researchers in academia with data creators and users in business and government. Industry leaders, major research universities, and nonprofit and government organizations are NCDS founding members.
Together they will address the challenges related to collecting, sharing and using large, diverse data collections, or big data. The NCDS will look at ways to harness big data as an economic engine, such as developing data-centric businesses, conducting multidisciplinary data science research and supporting new data science education programs.
"Those who harness the power of big data and use it to develop new data-intensive business sectors will be the winners in the 21st century economy," said Stanley C. Ahalt, director of RENCI and a chief organizer of the NCDS, and professor of computer science at UNC-Chapel Hill. "Our members understand that, want to find solutions to big data problems and put North Carolina on the map as a center of data science innovation."
Big data refers to the large, multidimensional data sets that are used and created every day by scientists, engineers, consumers, social media users, financial institutions, hospitals and clinics and more. These big data take the form of electronic medical records, medical images, financial and business transaction records, and scientific data ranging from genomic sequences to models used in meteorology to data collected by telescopes and environmental sensors.
Representing the private sector are Cisco, GE, IBM, NetApp and SAS. Founding academic members are UNC-Chapel Hill, RENCI, North Carolina State University, UNC Charlotte, UNC General Administration, Duke University and Drexel University. Nonprofit and government sector members are The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, MCNC, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, RTI International and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All founding members have major facilities in North Carolina except Drexel, located in Philadelphia.
In February, the NCDS held its inaugural meeting and agreed to the following initiatives in year one:
- Capitalize on member strengths to compete for federal data science research funding, including the $200 million Big Data Research and Development Initiative announced by the White House last year, the National Science Foundation's BigData program, and the National Institutes of Health's Big Data to Knowledge initiative.
- Convene the first invite-only NCDS Leadership Summit April 23-24 in Chapel Hill. Each year, the summit will focus on data issues in a specific field. The 2013 summit, Data to Discovery: Genomes to Health, will bring together genomic and data scientists to draft recommendations on how to translate genomic data into better, more affordable healthcare.
- Host a public lecture by Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and acting director of the new National Institutes of Health Data Science program. Green will speak at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, at the Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill just before the start of the Leadership Summit.
- Launch a Data Fellows program that provides internships for students at member companies and visiting scientist positions at member universities for industry employees.
"It is no longer enough for businesses to be big in order to be successful; now success is driven by the amount of knowledge a company possesses," said David Turek, vice president of exascale computing at IBM. "Ninety percent of our planet's data has been created within the past two years, and the demand will grow as businesses look to optimize big data analytics to improve decision making and expand their business operations into cloud, social and mobile environments."
###
For more information on the NCDS, visit http://www.data2discovery.org.
For more information on the public lecture by Eric Green, visit http://data2discovery.org/public-lecture/
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 18-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Thania Benios
thania_benios@unc.edu
919-962-8596
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A new collaboration called the National Consortium for Data Science (NCDS) aims to make North Carolina a national hub for data-intensive business and data science research, a move that will help develop a national strategy to ensure U.S. leadership in the data-driven global economy.
The consortium, launched at RENCI, the Renaissance Computing Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, unites data researchers in academia with data creators and users in business and government. Industry leaders, major research universities, and nonprofit and government organizations are NCDS founding members.
Together they will address the challenges related to collecting, sharing and using large, diverse data collections, or big data. The NCDS will look at ways to harness big data as an economic engine, such as developing data-centric businesses, conducting multidisciplinary data science research and supporting new data science education programs.
"Those who harness the power of big data and use it to develop new data-intensive business sectors will be the winners in the 21st century economy," said Stanley C. Ahalt, director of RENCI and a chief organizer of the NCDS, and professor of computer science at UNC-Chapel Hill. "Our members understand that, want to find solutions to big data problems and put North Carolina on the map as a center of data science innovation."
Big data refers to the large, multidimensional data sets that are used and created every day by scientists, engineers, consumers, social media users, financial institutions, hospitals and clinics and more. These big data take the form of electronic medical records, medical images, financial and business transaction records, and scientific data ranging from genomic sequences to models used in meteorology to data collected by telescopes and environmental sensors.
Representing the private sector are Cisco, GE, IBM, NetApp and SAS. Founding academic members are UNC-Chapel Hill, RENCI, North Carolina State University, UNC Charlotte, UNC General Administration, Duke University and Drexel University. Nonprofit and government sector members are The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, MCNC, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, RTI International and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All founding members have major facilities in North Carolina except Drexel, located in Philadelphia.
In February, the NCDS held its inaugural meeting and agreed to the following initiatives in year one:
- Capitalize on member strengths to compete for federal data science research funding, including the $200 million Big Data Research and Development Initiative announced by the White House last year, the National Science Foundation's BigData program, and the National Institutes of Health's Big Data to Knowledge initiative.
- Convene the first invite-only NCDS Leadership Summit April 23-24 in Chapel Hill. Each year, the summit will focus on data issues in a specific field. The 2013 summit, Data to Discovery: Genomes to Health, will bring together genomic and data scientists to draft recommendations on how to translate genomic data into better, more affordable healthcare.
- Host a public lecture by Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute and acting director of the new National Institutes of Health Data Science program. Green will speak at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, at the Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill just before the start of the Leadership Summit.
- Launch a Data Fellows program that provides internships for students at member companies and visiting scientist positions at member universities for industry employees.
"It is no longer enough for businesses to be big in order to be successful; now success is driven by the amount of knowledge a company possesses," said David Turek, vice president of exascale computing at IBM. "Ninety percent of our planet's data has been created within the past two years, and the demand will grow as businesses look to optimize big data analytics to improve decision making and expand their business operations into cloud, social and mobile environments."
###
For more information on the NCDS, visit http://www.data2discovery.org.
For more information on the public lecture by Eric Green, visit http://data2discovery.org/public-lecture/
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uonc-nct041813.php
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Bathroom remodeling mistakes | ***Dave Does the Blog
Actually, a lot of these apply to other home remodeling efforts, esp. kitchens. ?And having done a lot of house hunting help of late, I've seen a lot of example of all these mistakes.
5 common bathroom remodeling mistakes to avoid
When it comes to home improvement projects, taking an old bathroom from dingy to dazzling can add significant value to your home ? especially if you do it correctly.It?s all too easy however, to get s?
View this post on Google+
Source: http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2013/04/18/bathroom-remodeling-mistakes.html
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013
China Warns Against Foreign Military Buildup in Asia, in Veiled Warning to US (Voice Of America)
Bad decisions arise from faulty information, not faulty brain circuits
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Making decisions involves a gradual accumulation of facts that support one choice or another. A person choosing a college might weigh factors such as course selection, institutional reputation and the quality of future job prospects.
But if the wrong choice is made, Princeton University researchers have found that it might be the information rather than the brain's decision-making process that is to blame. The researchers report in the journal Science that erroneous decisions tend to arise from errors, or "noise," in the information coming into the brain rather than errors in how the brain accumulates information.
These findings address a fundamental question among neuroscientists about whether bad decisions result from noise in the external information ? or sensory input ? or because the brain made mistakes when tallying that information. In the example of choosing a college, the question might be whether a person made a poor choice because of misleading or confusing course descriptions, or because the brain failed to remember which college had the best ratings.
Previous measurements of brain neurons have indicated that brain functions are inherently noisy. The Princeton research, however, separated sensory inputs from the internal mental process to show that the former can be noisy while the latter is remarkably reliable, said senior investigator Carlos Brody, a Princeton associate professor of molecular biology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute (PNI), and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
"To our great surprise, the internal mental process was perfectly noiseless. All of the imperfections came from noise in the sensory processes," Brody said. Brody worked with first author Bingni Brunton, now a postdoctoral research associate in the departments of biology and applied mathematics at the University of Washington; and Matthew Botvinick, a Princeton associate professor of psychology and PNI.
The research subjects ? four college-age volunteers and 19 laboratory rats ? listened to streams of randomly timed clicks coming into both the left ear and the right ear. After listening to a stream, the subjects had to choose the side from which more clicks originated. The rats had been trained to turn their noses in the direction from which more clicks originated.
The test subjects mostly chose the correct side but occasionally made errors. By comparing various patterns of clicks with the volunteers' responses, researchers found that all of the errors arose when two clicks overlapped, and not from any observable noise in the brain system that tallied the clicks. This was true in experiment after experiment utilizing different click patterns, in humans and rats.
The researchers used the timing of the clicks and the decision-making behavior of the test subjects to create computer models that can be used to indicate what happens in the brain during decision-making. The models provide a clear window into the brain during the "mulling over" period of decision-making, the time when a person is accumulating information but has yet to choose, Brody said.
"Before we conducted this study, we did not have a way of looking at this process without inserting electrodes into the brain," Brody said. "Now thanks to our model, we have an estimation of what is going on at each moment in time during the formation of the decision."
The study suggests that information represented and processed in the brain's neurons must be robust to noise, Brody said. "In other words, the 'neural code' may have a mechanism for inherent error correction," he said.
"The new work from the Brody lab is important for a few reasons," said Anne Churchland, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who studies decision-making and was not involved in the study. "First, the work was very innovative because the researchers were able to study carefully controlled decision-making behavior in rodents. This is surprising in that one might have guessed rodents were incapable of producing stable, reliable decisions that are based on complex sensory stimuli.
"This work exposed some unexpected features of why animals, including humans, sometimes make incorrect decisions," Churchland said. "Specifically, the researchers found that errors are mostly driven by the inability to accurately encode sensory information. Alternative possibilities, which the authors ruled out, included noise associated with holding the stimulus in mind, or memory noise, and noise associated with a bias toward one alternative or the other."
###
Princeton University: http://www.princeton.edu
Thanks to Princeton University 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.
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NYU Langone research shows early investment in families helps children succeed in school
Public release date: 16-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Allison Clair
allison.clair@nyumc.org
212-404-3753
NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
ParentCorps, developed at NYU Langone, holds promise for addressing achievement disparities
An innovative program that supports parents and teachers of public school pre-kindergarten students improves early academic achievement, according to a new study published in the April 15 online edition of Pediatrics. In a five-year study of 1,050 minority pre-kindergarten students from disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City, NYU Langone researchers found that ParentCorps, a family-focused, school-based program, led to better achievement test scores and overall school performance.
Children from low-income families are ten times as likely as children from middle-class families to drop out of high school, and only half of black and Latino students in U.S. public schools graduate, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The stress and strain of poverty makes the job of parenting even more difficult, and early childhood teachers in disadvantaged areas face significant challenges in creating classrooms that support early learning for all children. The new study found that engaging and supporting parents and early childhood teachers put children on a pathway to success.
"All parents want their children to succeed. Parents are often hopeful and worried as their children start school, so offering ParentCorps at this key transition gives parents support at a time when they are highly motivated to make positive changes at home," said lead researcher Laurie Miller Brotman, PhD, Prevention Science Professor at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone. "Implementing ParentCorps as part of universal pre-k in public elementary schools means that all parents have access to the latest evidence on how to promote children's social, emotional and behavioral development the foundation for success in school and life."
ParentCorps was developed by Dr. Brotman and her colleagues at NYU Langone in 2000 to promote self-regulation and early learning among children in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. The program includes a series of group sessions for parents and children held at the school during early evening hours, and professional development for early childhood educators. ParentCorps helps schools engage families early on in their children's education, and supports parents and educators in using scientifically-proven strategies such as how to establish routines and rules, reinforce positive behavior and provide effective consequences for misbehavior.
The study is the second test of the impact of ParentCorps showing positive results on children's health and development. This study included nearly 90 percent of students enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs over four years in ten public elementary schools in two large New York City school districts with historically low high school graduation rates. Schools were randomized to receive ParentCorps or pre-k and kindergarten education as usual.
Results showed children in schools with ParentCorps had significantly higher kindergarten achievement test scores for reading, writing and math compared to children receiving education as usual, and more positive trajectories of academic performance from pre-kindergarten through kindergarten. In fact, by the fourth year of ParentCorps implementation in schools, the impact on reading achievement was comparable to the size of the achievement gap for poor and minority children, moving the average reader (50th percentile) to above average (69th percentile). Together with previously-reported program effects on obesity and behavior at school, findings indicate that ParentCorps has the potential to meaningfully improve children's lives.
"ParentCorps is one of a few programs shown to promote positive behavior, learning and health for young children living in underserved communities," said Dr. Brotman. "Public investment in programs that address disparities early in life can prevent costly problems later on and help children lead happier, healthier, more productive lives."
Dr. Brotman and her team are working with local and state leaders to bring ParentCorps to hundreds of elementary schools with pre-kindergarten programs serving low-income children.
###
Co-authors of the study at NYU Langone include Spring Dawson-McClure, PhD, Esther J. Calzada, PhD, Keng-Yen Huang, PhD, Dimitra Kamboukos, PhD, Joseph J. Palamar, PhD and Eva Petkova, PhD.
Study funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, grant R305F050245 and by the National Institutes of Health grant R01MH077331.
The Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center is a recognized leader in the treatment of child psychiatric disorders through scientific practice, research, and education. The CSC offers a wide range of mental health services for children, adolescents, young adults and families and our experts specialize in the fields of child, adolescent and adult psychiatry, clinical psychology, neuropsychology, social work, pediatric neurology and education and academic achievement. The center recently moved to its new location at One Park Ave. in Manhattan, and has facilities in New Jersey and on Long Island. For more information, please visit the Child Study Center website or call (212) 263-6622.
About NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one of the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world's first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine plus NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to http://www.NYULMC.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 16-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Allison Clair
allison.clair@nyumc.org
212-404-3753
NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
ParentCorps, developed at NYU Langone, holds promise for addressing achievement disparities
An innovative program that supports parents and teachers of public school pre-kindergarten students improves early academic achievement, according to a new study published in the April 15 online edition of Pediatrics. In a five-year study of 1,050 minority pre-kindergarten students from disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City, NYU Langone researchers found that ParentCorps, a family-focused, school-based program, led to better achievement test scores and overall school performance.
Children from low-income families are ten times as likely as children from middle-class families to drop out of high school, and only half of black and Latino students in U.S. public schools graduate, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The stress and strain of poverty makes the job of parenting even more difficult, and early childhood teachers in disadvantaged areas face significant challenges in creating classrooms that support early learning for all children. The new study found that engaging and supporting parents and early childhood teachers put children on a pathway to success.
"All parents want their children to succeed. Parents are often hopeful and worried as their children start school, so offering ParentCorps at this key transition gives parents support at a time when they are highly motivated to make positive changes at home," said lead researcher Laurie Miller Brotman, PhD, Prevention Science Professor at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone. "Implementing ParentCorps as part of universal pre-k in public elementary schools means that all parents have access to the latest evidence on how to promote children's social, emotional and behavioral development the foundation for success in school and life."
ParentCorps was developed by Dr. Brotman and her colleagues at NYU Langone in 2000 to promote self-regulation and early learning among children in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. The program includes a series of group sessions for parents and children held at the school during early evening hours, and professional development for early childhood educators. ParentCorps helps schools engage families early on in their children's education, and supports parents and educators in using scientifically-proven strategies such as how to establish routines and rules, reinforce positive behavior and provide effective consequences for misbehavior.
The study is the second test of the impact of ParentCorps showing positive results on children's health and development. This study included nearly 90 percent of students enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs over four years in ten public elementary schools in two large New York City school districts with historically low high school graduation rates. Schools were randomized to receive ParentCorps or pre-k and kindergarten education as usual.
Results showed children in schools with ParentCorps had significantly higher kindergarten achievement test scores for reading, writing and math compared to children receiving education as usual, and more positive trajectories of academic performance from pre-kindergarten through kindergarten. In fact, by the fourth year of ParentCorps implementation in schools, the impact on reading achievement was comparable to the size of the achievement gap for poor and minority children, moving the average reader (50th percentile) to above average (69th percentile). Together with previously-reported program effects on obesity and behavior at school, findings indicate that ParentCorps has the potential to meaningfully improve children's lives.
"ParentCorps is one of a few programs shown to promote positive behavior, learning and health for young children living in underserved communities," said Dr. Brotman. "Public investment in programs that address disparities early in life can prevent costly problems later on and help children lead happier, healthier, more productive lives."
Dr. Brotman and her team are working with local and state leaders to bring ParentCorps to hundreds of elementary schools with pre-kindergarten programs serving low-income children.
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Co-authors of the study at NYU Langone include Spring Dawson-McClure, PhD, Esther J. Calzada, PhD, Keng-Yen Huang, PhD, Dimitra Kamboukos, PhD, Joseph J. Palamar, PhD and Eva Petkova, PhD.
Study funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, grant R305F050245 and by the National Institutes of Health grant R01MH077331.
The Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center is a recognized leader in the treatment of child psychiatric disorders through scientific practice, research, and education. The CSC offers a wide range of mental health services for children, adolescents, young adults and families and our experts specialize in the fields of child, adolescent and adult psychiatry, clinical psychology, neuropsychology, social work, pediatric neurology and education and academic achievement. The center recently moved to its new location at One Park Ave. in Manhattan, and has facilities in New Jersey and on Long Island. For more information, please visit the Child Study Center website or call (212) 263-6622.
About NYU Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated, academic medical center, is one of the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of only five hospitals in the nation dedicated to orthopaedics and rheumatology; Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services; and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the world's first university-affiliated facility devoted entirely to rehabilitation medicine plus NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The medical center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education and research. For more information, go to http://www.NYULMC.org.
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nlmc-nlr041613.php
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