Telecommuting a bad option for stressed parents

Getty Images stock

Telecommuting parents have little chance to escape the messy world of parenting, a new study suggests.

By Linda Carroll

If you?re considering telecommuting to salve your stress from the constant juggling of work and family, think again.

A new study shows that ?telework? takes a toll on the very employees who might desire this option most ? those who feel especially torn between job responsibilities and family. For these people, the more hours spent working at home, the higher the risk of burnout, according to the report, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology.

That?s because when job and family are in the same place, some workers feel there is no chance for downtime ?no respite or time to relax, said Timothy Golden, an associate professor of management at the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

?A teleworker may feel conflict more because you?re being constantly reminded of your home role: whether it?s what you need to do as a parent or household chores,? Golden said. ?And that can make exhaustion worse."

Live Poll

Does work disrupt your family life?

• 167436

  Yes, I wish I had more time with my family.

  47%

• 167437

  No, I have good work-life balance.

  45%

• 167438

  I don't have a job.

  8%

VoteTotal Votes: 1528

Golden surveyed 316 employees from a large computer company that allows workers to? telecommute and to work with a flexible time schedules.

To ferret out the level of job/family conflict, Golden asked employees to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how strongly they agreed with statements such as, ?My work keeps me from my family activities more than I would like,? ?Due to pressures at work, sometimes when I am at home I am too stressed to do the things I enjoy,? ?The time I spend on family responsibilities often interferes with my work responsibilities,? and ? Because I am often stressed from family responsibilities, I have a hard time concentrating on my work.?

Golden also surveyed the employees about their level of exhaustion. Study volunteers were asked to rate on a scale of 1-5 how strongly they agreed with statements such as, ?I feel emotionally drained by my work.?

Telecommuting was a boon to workers who felt little or no conflict between work and family. But those who were the most torn between home and work responsibilities showed increasing levels of exhaustion as hours spent teleworking rose.

Still, Golden said,? even among those who feel strong conflict, telecommuting can be a good choice if it?s done right. That means having clear boundaries, both mental and physical ? such as a door to one?s home office ? between work and family.

?Telework, if it?s done well, can be very beneficial,? he added. ?You save time commuting. You don?t have to deal with the stress of being delayed on your way to work because of traffic or weather.?You have the comfort of working where you want to. But you have to think ahead of time about what might impact you if you?re working from home.?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/11/8757570-telecommuting-might-not-wrong-answer-for-stressed-out-parents

earthquake when is daylight savings 2011 what time is it lsu vs alabama cain gingrich debate andy rooney dies andy rooney dies

Natalie Wood Investigation: Unlikely to Yield Results

The death of Natalie Wood has remained a mystery for 30 years, but some in the L.A. County D.A.'s Office are puzzled as to why the investigation was re-opened.

They say it's extremely unlikely that the D.A. is going to prosecute the late actress' then-husband, Robert Wagner, or anyone else for her tragic 1981 drowning.

Although the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. says Wagner isn't a suspect, it's pretty clear that as the last person to see Natalie Wood alive, he's a person of interest.

Be that as it may, the statute of limitations has long since expired.

Natalie Wood Interview

Under California law, even if (and it's a big if) Robert Wagner accidentally pushed Natalie Wood into the water, or failed to report her missing quickly, that's not murder.

The most he could be charged with is involuntary manslaughter, of which there's a statute of limitations of three years. In other words, he'd be in the clear 27 years ago. 

Same with regular manslaughter, which has a statute of three. Second-degree murder has a limit of six. Only first-degree murder has no statute of limitations. 

Proving that is next to impossible, as there were no witnesses other than Wagner.

So short of a bizarre confession by the veteran actor or someone else, don't expect any charges to be pressed, no matter what shady allegations are made.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/natalie-wood-investigation-unlikely-to-yield-results/

the shining stanford stanford when does daylight savings time end world series mvp rocky horror picture show rutgers

Growing protest pushes back troops in Tahrir Square (San Jose Mercury News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/164563184?client_source=feed&format=rss

weather houston weather houston diaspora breaking dawn premiere rock center nbpa itunes match

Maggie Lyon : 6 Simple Steps to Find Peace Within Yourself

We all ultimately wish for peace. The trouble is that we are taught to believe that battles need to be fought and won to earn it. But what if our steps towards peace were instead steps of studying and dismantling those battles? To do this, it is best to start with the most intimate ones we know and the ones we least want to address, the burning and entangled battles within ourselves.

What are yours? Conversely, how are you stepping toward inner peace?

My most significant battle over the years has been with my body. Because of my history with allergies, eating disorder, acne, parasitic infection, and all the repercussions from the infection, it has at times been impossible not to think of my body as having turned against me. It has indeed been stranglingly hard not to see my body as an enemy. As a result, a huge part of my work on my meditation cushion, my yoga mat, in my journal and my therapist's office, has been in uncovering peace, or a profound sense of ease and friendship within this physical body.

Here's my path to inner peace and one that I hope resonates with you:

1. Commit to truly awakening peace and to no longer being in combat with yourself. Set peace as a deep intention, not only reserved for more tranquil moments over the weekend or on holiday when it always feels easier to give yourself a break. Better to use these moments to draw on this very minute, especially if you're going through a rough patch, or basically at any chance you get.

2. Create a safe space where you can bear witness to your struggles every day. Instead of trying to ignore or numb yourself from your internal struggles, give yourself a place to get to know the struggles better, without judging them, simply through observation. Meditation cushions or yoga mats are great, but so too are a favorite bench in the park or your favorite chair. So long as you feel comfortable and secure. Keeping pen and paper close by is always handy, as expressing whatever comes up will also help encourage the calm from really understanding what is going on.

3. Be still with the peace that arises from your bravery and your willingness to look. Appreciate how peace miraculously comes -- and I promise it does -- when you are courageous and take the time to acknowledge your personal war. Trusting in and staying still long enough to allow for resounding calm to arise is the key. These moments are difficult. Taking a good honest look at your intimate fight is never easy, but wow does it help to clear the mind and funnily enough, ignite the peace you're in search of.

4. Carry this peace out into your daily life, where it is so easy to get tripped up. This is a tough one. As best you can, maintain that connection with peace even as you step into the hectic demands and turmoil of the day. Instead of dropping out of your peaceful zone and getting caught up all over again with your battle, gently remind yourself of where you just were, and how lovingly you just made room for both the battle and the peace that came from such a warm and friendly gesture.

5. Spread peace beyond your relationship with you, into your relationship with others. The beauty here is that when you tap and awaken your own peace, you quite naturally begin to radiate and offer up serenity to those with whom you interact. Your peace touches others, and has a wonderfully contagious effect.

6. Live from and for peace in the world, and continually go back to step 1. Always remember, peace is undeniably powerful, far more so than even the most epic of battles. Isn't it astounding that from your very own restful heart, world peace is attainable?

Pema Chodron says, "If we want to make peace, with ourselves and with the world at large, we have to look closely at the source of all of our wars." Hopefully the steps above will encourage you not only to look closely at your wars, but also to recognize them as opportunities ripe in unearthing the oft-disguised peace inside. We just have to be willing to not fight the fight and to not pick our battles. We just have to be willing to pick peace instead.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maggie-lyon/finding-inner-peace_b_1099583.html

storm in alaska storm in alaska asteroid eric johnson eric johnson russell pearce russell pearce

Lunatic Preparing to Bomb Government Buildings Arrested [Bombs]

Police have arrested a man who was allegedly in the process of building pipe bombs which he intended to use to kill elected officials, government workers, and returning military personnel. Don't worry, everybody, the world is still full of assholes. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Z2yBhQaXHfI/lunatic-preparing-to-bomb-government-buildings-arrested

occupy occupy midnight madness midnight madness john henry john henry zack greinke

Brazil official: Oil leak bigger than thought (AP)

RIO DE JANEIRO ? The Rio de Janeiro state environment minister says an offshore oil spill is bigger than oil company Chevron is stating.

But Environment Minister Carlos Minc isn't saying how much oil he thinks has been dumped in the Atlantic ocean 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Rio de Janeiro.

The leak started a week ago at a well owned by Chevron. The company says that between 400 and 650 barrels leaked.

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency says it thinks 1,000 barrels leaked ? and that it's not clear if the leak has stopped.

Minc tells Globo TV that he thinks the spill is "much bigger" than those estimates.

He says the government expects to soon release satellite images showing the extent of the spill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_brazil_oil_spill

bob sanders evan longoria janeane garofalo janeane garofalo braves braves harrys law

HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One

The HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One ($99.99 direct) is a multifunction printer (MFP) geared squarely at home use?its meager paper capacity and lack of business-centered features make it a poor choice for even light-duty home-office work. As a home printer, though, it?s fast and has good output quality, particularly for photos. It even has a touch screen?albeit a small one, but you seldom see them at all at its price.

The 5510 is compact, measuring 5.7 by 17.2 by 12.8 inches (nearly as small as the Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One) and weighing 11.1 pounds. It can print, copy, and scan; print from and scan to a memory card (slots are limited to SD/MultiMediaCard and Memory Stick Duo).

The PhotoSmart 5510?s paper tray holds a mere 60 sheets, which may be fine for modest home use, but precludes its use for even light-duty home-office work. It lacks an automatic duplexer (for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper) or any other paper-handling options.

The 5510 supports HP?s ePrint: You can e-mail files as attachments to a unique address that HP assigns to the printer, and it will print out the e-mail and files. Unlike most of HP?s e-All-in-Ones, though, this MFP doesn?t support HP?s Web apps. ?The 5510 is compatible with Apple?s AirPrint, allowing users to print directly to it from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as long as it?s on the same WiFi network as the printer.

The PhotoSmart 5510 offers USB and WiFi (but not Ethernet) connectivity. I tested it connected via a USB cable to a PC running Windows Vista.

Print Speed?

Though it couldn?t match the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430W?s ?($100 street, 4 stars) effective speed of 4.3 pages per minute (ppm), the 5510?s 3.7 ppm speed when tested on our business applications suite (timed using QualityLogic's hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com) is fast for a $99 MFP. I timed the Kodak HERO 3.1 ($99.99 direct, 4 stars) at 3.1 ppm, while the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 All In One Printer ($99.99 direct, 4 stars) was clocked at 2.7 ppm and the Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One at 1.7 ppm

The Photosmart 5510 took an average of 1 minute 2 seconds to print out a 4-by-6 photo, a typical score for a budget inkjet.

Output Quality

Output quality is one of the 5510?s strengths, particularly for photos, with text a little below par for an inkjet and graphics typical of inkjet MFPs. Text is fine for schoolwork and general business use, but not for tasks requiring very small fonts.

Graphics quality was par for an inkjet MFP, with banding (a regular pattern of faint lines of discoloration in some images with solid backgrounds) the main issue. In a couple of illustrations, the banding was serious enough to be distracting. Graphics were suitable for schoolwork or for general business use, including PowerPoint handouts, although you might think twice before giving them to a prospective client you?re seeking to impress.

Photo quality was overall very good, with most images better than what you?d expect from drugstore prints. Colors seemed realistic looking, with good saturation. A monochrome image showed a modest tint, but that was the only issue of note.

Other Issues

HP?s claimed running costs for the 5510 are 4.1 cents per monochrome page and 14.9 cents per color page

The HP Photosmart 5510 e-All-in-One is a solid choice for a $100 MFP, providing good speed and respectable output quality, with photos its forte. Its most notable feature is the touch screen, rare on a budget MFP. Its meager 60-sheet consigns it to very light use, which may be just as well as its claimed cost per page?particularly for color printing?is relatively high.

The Kodak HERO 3.1 and Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 offer lower claimed running costs and have higher paper capacity, though they?re slower than the Photosmart. And if you?re looking for a more business-centered budget MFP, the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430w adds goodies such as fax capabilities and a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF), and it?s faster than the 5510, though it doesn?t print as pretty photos.

More Multi-function Printer Reviews:

??? HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One
??? Canon imageClass MF5960dn
??? Canon imageClass MF5950dw
??? Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One
??? Brother MFC-J430w
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/udNvUjB2VXQ/0,2817,2396560,00.asp

mona simpson grady sizemore grady sizemore samhain great pumpkin charlie brown the strangers all hallows eve

U.S. commander cannot pin down satellite anomaly (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The command responsible for U.S. military space operations lacks enough data to determine who interfered with two U.S. government satellites, anomalies behind perhaps the most explosive charge in a report on China sent to Congress on Wednesday.

"What I have seen is inconclusive," General Robert Kehler, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said in a teleconference from Omaha, Nebraska, home to the military outfit that conducts U.S. space and cyberspace operations.

The congressionally created U.S.-China Economic Security and Review Commission said in its 2011 annual report that at least two U.S. environment-monitoring satellites were interfered with four or more times in 2007 and 2008 via a ground station in Norway.

China's military is a prime suspect, the bipartisan, 12-member commission made clear, though it added that the events in question had not actually been traced to China.

The techniques "appear consistent with authoritative Chinese military writings" that have advocated disabling a foe's satellite control facilities on the ground in a conflict, the commission said.

Kehler spoke to reporters during a conference hosted by his command on cyber and space issues. He was asked by Reuters whether he could assign blame for the possible efforts to take control of the Landsat-7 and Terra AM-1 satellites, as reported by the commission.

"First of all, I am familiar with the two incidents," he replied. "The best information that I have is that we cannot attribute those two occurrences."

"I guess I would agree that we don't have sufficient detail," Kehler added.

The commission in its report said an attacker could use access to a satellite's controls to damage or destroy spacecraft with more sensitive functions, such as military communications or intelligence-gathering.

It accused Beijing of responsibility for mounting malicious cyber activities, including to facilitate industrial espionage and to compromise U.S. and foreign government computer systems.

China's embassy in Washington said in response that it was "obvious that the commission is entrusted with the mission of vilifying China's image and spreading China threat theory by patching up unwarranted allegations against China."

"We urge the commission to stop issuing such reports for the good of increasing mutual trust between our two countries while China will continue to play a responsible role in both the realistic and the virtual worlds," Wang Baodong, the embassy spokesman, said by email.

(Reporting by Jim Wolf in Washington, editing by Matthew Lewis, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/pl_nm/us_china_usa_space

pumpkin patch troy polamalu boo at the zoo when is daylight savings time 2011 when is daylight savings time 2011 renaissance festival melanie iglesias

Sports Illustrated Legal Analyst Discusses Disadvantages Of ...

Jerry Sandusky (Photo Credit: Office Of Pennsylvania Attorney General)

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) ? Sports Illustrated Legal Analyst and Director of Sports Law Institute at Vermont Law School Michael McCann joined Seibel, Starkey and Miller to discuss why former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky?s lawyer would have him do that interview last night on national television.

McCann said Sandusky only hurt himself by talking last night because he admitted to behavior that was arguable criminal, and his attorney must have been hoping that people would see that while Sandusky made poor judgments both morally and ethically, he didn?t do anything illegal, but it didn?t come across that way and the audience still most likely views him as guilty.

McCann also discussed the legal impact Sandusky?s interview could have on Penn State and others implicated in the Grand Jury testimony.

Source: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/11/15/sports-illustrated-legal-analyst-discusses-disadvantages-of-sandusky-interview/

hilary duff pregnant hilary duff pregnant psat psat brenda song mountain west mountain west

Occupy protesters coordinate in marches nationwide (AP)

NEW YORK ? Demonstrations of Occupy Wall Street protesters popped up from coast to coast Thursday to mark two months since the movement's birth in a lower Manhattan park. Dozens of protesters were arrested by midday near Wall Street in New York, while hundreds of protesters marched in the financial district in Los Angeles.

A few hundred demonstrators paraded through lower Manhattan for several hours Thursday morning, and about 50 to 60 were arrested as they thronged intersections near the New York Stock Exchange, brokerage houses and banks.

"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted.

Helmeted officers hauled several protesters to their feet after they sat down in the street to block traffic. Most of the crowd then assembled in Zuccotti Park, from which the protesters' camp was evicted this week. There were more rallies planned later in the day.

About 500 sympathizers of the Occupy protest marched in downtown Los Angeles. The protesters, chiefly a coalition of labor unions, gathered between the Bank of America tower and Wells Fargo Plaza, chanting "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out."

Protesters in Las Vegas vowed to pitch tents in front of a federal building. In Albany, N.Y., protesters from Buffalo, Rochester and other encampments were coming in by bus to join a demonstration in a downtown park.

Police in Portland, Ore., closed a bridge in preparation for a march there.

In New York, where dozens are typically arrested in periodic marches since the movement began, police hauled sit-in protesters to their feet, handcuffing them and setting up metal barricades.

"You do not have a parade permit! You are blocking the street!" a police officer told protesters through a bullhorn.

The congestion brought taxis and delivery trucks to a halt. Police were allowing Wall Street workers through the barricades, but only after checking their IDs.

The protest did not delay the opening of the New York Stock Exchange or disrupt business, said Rich Adamonis, a spokesman for the exchange.

The protest marked two months since the Occupy Wall Street Movement sprang to life on Sept. 17 with a failed attempt to pitch a protest camp in front of the New York Stock Exchange. After police kept them out of Wall Street, the protesters pitched a camp in nearby Zuccotti Park, across from the World Trade Center site.

On Tuesday police raided Zuccotti Park and cleared out dozens of tents, tarps and sleeping bags.

"This is a critical moment for the movement given what happened the other night," Paul Knick, 44, a software engineer from Montclair, N.J., said as he marched through the financial district with other protesters on Thursday. "It seems like there's a concerted effort to stop the movement and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

The confrontations in New York followed early-morning arrests in other cities.

In Dallas, police evicted dozens of protesters from their campsite near City Hall citing public safety and hygiene issues. They arrested 18 protesters who refused to leave.

Two protesters were arrested and about 20 tents removed at an encampment on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Organizers in New York said protesters would fan out across Manhattan later on Thursday and head to subways, then gather downtown and march over the Brooklyn bridge.

In Foley Square, which is surrounded by state and federal courthouses, organizers got a permit that would allow them to march and use a microphone.

Passer-by Gene Williams, a 57-year-old bond trader, joked that he was "one of the bad guys" but that he empathized with the demonstrators.

"They have a point in a lot of ways," he said. "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor and it's getting wider."

The police department said Thursday it would have scores of officers ready to handle protesters in the subways.

"The protesters are calling for a massive event aimed at disrupting major parts of the city," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said. "We will be prepared for that."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111117/ap_on_re_us/us_occupy_protests_anniversary

harry caray northern lights maksim chmerkovskiy aurora borealis s.978 larry ellison go ask alice

Long Beach State stuns No. 9 Pittsburgh 86-76 (AP)

PITTSBURGH ? Long Beach State coach Dan Monson helped turn Gonzaga into a national power more than a decade ago by challenging anyone, anywhere at any time.

He's kept the same philosophy with the 49ers, although without the same spectacular results.

Until now.

Casper Ware scored a career-high 28 points and Long Beach State raced by No. 9 Pittsburgh 86-76 on Wednesday night, the program's first win over a top-10 team in nearly 20 years.

"It's a big win but we expected to win this," Ware said. "Everybody in the locker room knew we were going to win this game."

Maybe because Monson told his players they would when practice started last month.

Long Beach State (2-0) has put together the toughest nonconference schedule in the country in each of the last two seasons, and this one is no different.

Wednesday night's game was the start of a brutal stretch that includes trips to defending Mountain West champion San Diego State, No. 8 Louisville, No. 12 Kansas, No. 1 North Carolina along with a showdown in Hawaii against No. 13 Xavier three days before Christmas.

It's how to make a name for yourself as a mid-major. Only Monson has grown tired of the act and he let his team know it.

"I told `em the first meeting of the year that playing this schedule is unacceptable," he said. "It's time for this team to stop playing the toughest schedule and start competing against the toughest schedule."

So far, so very good.

Long Beach State became just the second non-Big East team to win at the Petersen Events Center and the first nonconference opponent to knock off the Panthers at home in November and December since the gym opened in 2002.

"We got beat every which way," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Repeatedly.

James Ennis added 19 points and Larry Anderson had 12 points and seven assists for the 49ers (2-0), who relentlessly attacked the Panthers.

"All teams, they try to do a lot to stop us from running, but we were just too fast today," Ware said. "We were clicking on offense and it was too fast (for them) to stop us."

Ashton Gibbs led Pitt (2-1) with 20 points and Nasir Robinson added 19, but the Panthers simply couldn't keep up with the 49ers.

"They wanted it more than us," Robinson said. "They worked harder. They ran harder. They got to loose balls. They executed better than us. They outsmarted us."

Mostly, they outplayed the Panthers.

Long Beach State took a nine-point halftime lead and never let up.

Pitt drew within six points on a few occasions but each time the 49ers answered to become the first non-Big East team to beat the Panthers at home since Bucknell in 2005.

The victory was Long Beach State's first over a top-10 team since beating then-No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 25, 1993, when most of the current 49ers were in diapers.

This was no fluke, however.

Long Beach State never trailed after taking the lead less than 8 minutes in, attacking Pitt from the opening tip. If Ware wasn't knocking down 3-pointers, he, Ennis and Anderson were splitting Pitt's zone and finding open teammates.

The 49ers shot 59 percent from the floor, collected 24 assists on 32 baskets and turned it over just 10 times, beating the Panthers both outside and inside.

Long Beach State went out and played like it, outscoring Pitt 25-5 on the break and 48-31 in the paint, even slightly out-rebounding the bigger, stronger defending Big East regular season champions.

Dixon has preached patience while his team searches for a new identity behind Gibbs, the Big East preseason player of the year.

The Panthers looked lethargic at times in a win over Rider on Sunday. Dixon stressed the need to get more tenacious on defense, a hallmark of the program since he replaced Ben Howland in 2003.

There's still plenty to work on. Long Beach State wasn't intimidated by the long cross-country trip, the late tipoff or one of the country's toughest places to play.

Pitt has been practically unbeatable at "the Pete" against nonconference foes. Most of the wins have been laughers. When asked to answer the bell for the first time this season, the Panthers responded too late.

Pitt's best chance to get back in it came on back-to-back 3-pointers by Travon Woodall and Gibbs that pulled the Panthers to 62-56. The 49ers responded with a pull-up from Edis Dervisevic and a steal and dunk by Ennis, who flexed after flushing it to push the lead back to 10.

The Panthers crept within six twice more but couldn't get key stops.

"We knew they were very good and we wanted to play someone very good," Dixon said. "They're an experienced team. I had anticipated us being a much better team this time and, obviously, we're not where I'd like us to be."

The 49ers, by contrast, are right on schedule.

Confidence grew with each basket and by the time the horn sounded all Pitt could do is trudge off the floor as the shouts of about two dozen Long Beach State supporters echoed throughout the quiet arena.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111117/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_long_beach_st

koch brothers dash diet weather phoenix dippin dots lindsey vonn lindsey vonn triumph the insult comic dog

Turkey cancels oil search plans in Syria (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey on Tuesday canceled plans for oil exploration in Syria, while also threatening to cut electricity supplies after a spate of attacks by supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad on its diplomatic missions.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced that Turkey had shelved plans for Turkey's petroleum company, TPAO, to jointly explore oil with Syria's state oil company in six wells. Yildiz also threatened that Turkey could review supplies of electricity to the troubled country if tensions continue.

"Right now, we are providing electricity (to Syria)," Yildiz said. "If (Syria) continues on this course, then we might have to reconsider these decisions."

A Turkish Energy Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with ministry regulations, told The Associated Press that Turkish companies provide Syria with on average 2 billion kilowatt/hour of electricity per year ? around 10 percent of Syria's annual power consumption

But Turkish Energy Analyst Necdet Pamir said Syria produces an excess of some 10 billion kilowatt/hour, and was therefore not likely to suffer from any possible Turkish move.

"The cut may affect some parts of Syria for a short period of time, but it does not amount to a huge loss," Pamir said.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Assad for his brutal crackdown on opponents and attacks by his supporters on Turkish diplomatic missions on Saturday.

Turkey no longer has confidence in the Syrian regime, Erdogan said, warning Assad that his brutal crackdown on opponents threatens to place him on a list of leaders who "feed on blood."

Erdogan also urged Assad to punish those responsible for attacks on Turkish diplomatic missions in Syria.

Addressing Assad disrespectfully by his first name, Erdogan said: "Bashar, you who have thousands of people in jail, must find those who attacked the Turkish flag and punish them," in reference to burning of the Turkish flag in Saturday's attack on the Turkish consulate in the Syrian city of Latakia.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey was "determined to implement the most effective sanctions that will not harm the people of Syria." The minister was speaking to Turkish journalists in Rabat where he is holding talks with Arab foreign ministers.

Assad's supporters tried to break into Turkish missions on Saturday to denounce an Arab League decision to suspend Syria's membership over its crackdown on the eight-month uprising. Turkey is not a member of the league, but welcomed the decision.

Erdogan took pains to note that his comments were politically neutral.

"It is not among our expectations that the Assad regime meet all the demands of the (Syrian) people," Erdogan said. "Our wish is that it (the Assad regime), which is now on a knife-edge, does not enter this road of no return, which leads to the edge of the abyss."

Turkey evacuated the families of diplomats after Saturday's attacks on its embassy in Damascus and its consulates in the cities of Aleppo and Latakia.

"I again strongly condemn the attack on the Turkish flag and our missions," Erdogan said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned Syria that it must protect Turkish missions.

"If they don't take necessary measures, no doubt our reaction will be different if it is repeated," Gul said.

Turkey has long urged Syria to end the crackdown, which the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March.

"No regime can survive by killing or jailing," Erdogan said. "No one can build a future over the blood of the oppressed."

Turkey's government had cultivated warm ties with Assad, but has grown highly critical of his government. Turkey has imposed an arms embargo on Syria and is expected to announce other sanctions. Turkey has also opened its borders to Syrians fleeing the violence. More than 7,700 refugees are being sheltered in several Turkish camps along the Syrian border.

Turkey has also allowed a Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, to hold meetings in Turkey.

The council, a broad-based opposition umbrella group, was formed in Istanbul in September. No country has recognized it so far as a legal representative of the country and Syria has threatened tough measures against any country that does.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111115/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_syria

craigslist nc chronicle baked alaska baked alaska battlefield 3 release battlefield 3 release battle field 3

Huntsman super PAC goes on air in New Hampshire as campaign looks for second life (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/162073062?client_source=feed&format=rss

holly marie combs unc basketball college basketball gunsmoke papelbon papelbon anita hill

LinkedIn Stock Sales Will Help Finance Company's Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO -- LinkedIn Corp.'s employees and early backers plan to sell more than 6.7 million shares as they try to reap the gains from a rapid run-up in the online professional networking service's market value.

CEO Jeff Weiner wants to sell more than 372,000 shares, the most among LinkedIn's management. The company listed the amounts in a regulatory filing Monday.

After two years as LinkedIn's CEO, Weiner is in line for a $29 million windfall from the sale. That's based on Monday's closing price of $78.49 for LinkedIn's shares. The stock sold for $45 per share in an initial public offering completed in May.

Investors are betting LinkedIn is still in the early stages of its growth as it tries to reshape the way people try to advance their careers. Since its 2003 inception, LinkedIn has attracted more than 135 million members who have posted details about their current and past jobs on the company's website.

Weiner, 41, will still own 2.3 million shares after his stock sale is completed.

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's co-founder and executive chairman, isn't selling any of his nearly 19 million shares. That stake is currently worth about $1.5 billion.

LinkedIn, which is based in Mountain View, plans to sell nearly 1.3 million additional shares to help finance its expansion. The company announced its plans to sell the stock earlier this month, but hadn't spelled out how many shares it would offer until Monday. The sale aims to raise about $100 million to supplement the $367 million that LinkedIn already had in the bank as of Sept. 30.

The mass stock sales will test investors' faith in LinkedIn by nearly doubling the number of shares circulating on the stock market. LinkedIn's IPO sold about 9 million shares. Including LinkedIn's fundraising effort, at least 8 million shares are supposed to be sold this time around.

LinkedIn's shares have fallen by about 10 percent since the company reported a third-quarter loss of $1.6 million on Nov. 3. They slipped $2.49, or 3.2 percent, to $76 in extended trading after the company made the SEC filing.

Most of the stock in this offering is being sold by three venture capital firms that invested in LinkedIn before the IPO. Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors plans to sell all 3.7 million LinkedIn shares that it owns. Greylock Ventures plans to sell 10 percent of its 14 million LinkedIn shares and Bessemer Venture Partners plans to sell 11 percent of its nearly 4. 6 million shares.

Other big sellers include: Allen Blue, another LinkedIn co-founder who is offering more than 118,000 shares: Steven Sordello, LinkedIn's chief financial officer, who is offering more than 98,000 shares; and Dipchand "Deep" Nishar, a senior vice president in charge of products who is offering 94,500 shares.

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/linkedin-stock-sales_n_1094669.html

bob ward susan lucci jim caviezel arturo gatti arturo gatti stoma stoma

Pakistan - Urgent finance appeal for ?Faisalabad 6?

Home > IV Online magazine >? IV442 - November 2011 >? Pakistan?

IV Online magazine : IV442 - November 2011

?

Farooq Tariq

?

As you all are aware, six labor leaders from Faisalabad have been handed jail sentences of 490 years in total. Their only crime was to lead a peaceful strike for an increase in minimum wages as announced by the government. They are Akbar Ali Kamboh, Babar Shafiq Randhawa, Fazal Elahi, Rana Riaz Ahmed Muhammad Aslam Malik and Asghar Ali Ansari. Four of them were arrested in July 2010 while the other two were arrested in July 2011 on the same charges.

All of them are leaders of a power looms works organization called, Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM) in Faisalabad, the third largest city of Pakistan. LQM is a community based labour organization fighting for the rights of the textile workers since 2004. It has a mass base among textile workers of the city and surrounding areas.

An anti-terrorist court judge on November 1, 2011, sentenced six leaders under terrorism charges in Faisalabad. As is frequently observed that Terrorists are set free by these courts and workers leaders are charged under terrorist laws in Pakistan

They were accused of burning down a factory during the strike. This is a fabricated charge. The facts are that on the day of strike, July 20, 2010, gangsters in the pay of the factory owner in Thekri Wala started shooting at the workers who were leaving the factory to demand better wages. Some workers dared to go inside the factory and forced the gangsters to stop firing. Some of them were beaten up by the angry workers.

During the trial, the workers? advocate asked if the factory had been burned down then how was it able to be operating again three days later.

More than 100,000 power loom workers in Faisalabad district went on strike on July 20, 2010, for an increase of wages that had been announced by the government during the presentation of budget 2010-11. The government announced 17 percent rise in the minimum wage for the private sector workers. The LQM in Faisalabad, Jhang and other districts had been in negotiations with power loom owners for three weeks before the strike.

The incident happened in Sudhar area, an industrial suburb of Faisalabad where a big number of power loom factories are located. This area had been a battle ground between workers and owners for three years as the workers organised themselves effectively in huge numbers there.

The long term jail sentences of these workers leaders has been a devastating blow to the workers movement in Faisalabad, and indeed across the country. That the court could hand out such a draconian anti-labor judgment was beyond anyone?s expectations, especially since this judiciary itself had been restored through the support of a powerful people?s movement. Yet, the anti-terrorist court chose to give a verdict with the sole aim of damaging the power loom workers movement which was slowly becoming a symbol of working class militancy all over the country.

One of the principal methods of disciplining labor under capitalism is to push them to the point where they are only left with an option of negotiating with the bosses on the latter?s terms. This is done either through brute state force or by financially crushing the working class so that they only have the option of compromising in order to survive within the system.

The bosses have used the latter tactic to ensure that these labor leaders become examples for anyone who dares to raise his/her voice against the injustices meted out to the workers. All of our jailed comrades are married and were the primary breadwinners of their families. Their families have been pushed to the brink of a financial catastrophe. The families are contemplating removing children from the schools since they are unable to even buy enough groceries.

Knowing that this is part of the political strategy of the bosses to subjugate the workers, and that it is having severe consequences for the families of the jailed leaders, the Labour Party Pakistan, the Labour Qaumi Movement, the National Trade Union Federation and the Labour Education Foundation are launching a finance appeal to support the families of our jailed comrades.

These leaders have shown tremendous courage and steadfastness in refusing to compromise with the authorities and instead suffer the consequences of speaking the truth. These families deserve our generous support not only because these comrades are suffering due to their involvement with a working class movement. But also, because the outcome of this movement, and our ability to extend solidarity and support to our comrades in difficult conditions, will dictate whether this particular event will deter working class militancy (as wished by the bosses) or act as a shining example of working class solidarity against the hideous tactics of the ruling classes.

Anti-terrorist laws are frequently used against protesting industrial workers in Punjab. Thirteen trade union leaders are facing such charges of terrorism. Their real crime is fighting for a better life for their members and demanding higher wages. The Punjab government is all out to crush any trade union movement in factories which is challenging their authority.

On behalf of the LQM, NTUF,the LPP and the LEF, we urge you to donate generously for the families of these victims of state-terrorism. These families are in dire need of financial support and we can only sustain them with a collective effort. The bank details are as follows..

If you wish to transfer funds, below are details of the account for sending money to this finance appeal,

A/C Title: Labour Education Foundation

A/C Number: 01801876

Route: Please advise and pay to Citi Bank, New York, USA Swift CITI US 33 for onward transfer to BANK ALFALAH LTD., KARACHI, PAKISTAN A/C No. 36087144 and for final transfer to BANK ALFALAH LTD., LDA PLAZA, KASHMIR ROAD, LAHORE, PAKISTAN Swift: ALFHPKKALDA for A/C No. 01801876 OF LABOUR EDUCATION FOUNDATION.

Please send motions and/or messages of solidarity to the Labour Education Foundation: Ground Floor, 25-A Davis Road, Lahore, Pakistan. Tel: 92-42-36303808 Fax: 92-42-36271149 Email: lef@lef.org.pk Website: www.lef.org.pk

1. Khalid Mehmood, director Labour Education Foundation (kahlid@lef.org.pk) 03219402322

2. Mian Abdul Qayum, Chairman Labour Qaumi Movement (0300 6606306)

3. Nisar Shah, general secretary Labour Party Pakistan (rednisar@hotmail.com) 0300 2147960

4. Niaz Khan, General Secretary National Trade Union Federation (Punjab) 03009414863

Farooq Tariq is the national spokesperson of Labour Party Pakistan, http://www.laborpakistan.org/.

Other recent articles:

Pakistan

Source: http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2377

the rum diary trailer nor easter nor easter st.louis cardinals st.louis cardinals drag me to hell alot

Bangladesh, Russia sign nuclear power plant deal (AP)

DHAKA, Bangladesh ? A government official says Bangladesh and Russia have signed a cooperation deal to build a nuclear power plant in the energy-starved South Asian nation.

Bangladesh's junior Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman says he and Russia's Rosatom State Corporation Director-General Sergei Kiriyenko signed the agreement on Wednesday for the nation's first such plant at Rooppur in Pabna district, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the capital, Dhaka.

Bangladesh now relies on decades-old gas-fired power plants and suffers a daily shortfall of about 2,000 megawatts that is blamed for hampering industrial production and economic growth.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_re_as/as_bangladesh_nuclear_plant

directions driving de la salle de la salle google doodle notre dame shane denarius moore

PLO to pursue statehood despite Israeli measures (Reuters)

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) ? Israel's tough responses to a successful Palestinian bid to join UNESCO -- financial sanctions and a faster settlement drive in the occupied West Bank -- are unlikely to halt a Palestinian quest for recognition as a state at the United Nations.

A senior Palestinian official said on Wednesday that Israel was trying to undermine the Palestinian Authority (PA) through a decision on Tuesday to freeze temporarily transfers of PA funds after it won membership of the U.N. cultural agency.

The UNESCO vote marked a success for the Palestinians in their broader thrust for recognition as a sovereign state in the U.N. system -- an initiative opposed by Israel and its main ally the United States.

In what the Palestinians saw as a reprisal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet also decided to accelerate the building of Jewish settlements on land where the PA aims to establish an independent state next to Israel.

"It is very serious. Israel wants to strive to destroy the role of the Palestinian National Authority," Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Voice of Palestine radio.

Saeb Erekat, another senior Palestinian official, said in a statement that Israel's latest decisions would "not change our course of action," signaling the Palestinians will push ahead regardless in their U.N. initiative.

Israel's decision to step up settlement-building drew expressions of disappointment and concern from Washington and the European Union.

"We are deeply disappointed by yesterday's announcement about accelerated housing construction," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, adding that such "unilateral actions" did not help bridge differences with the Palestinians.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "deeply concerned by the latest Israeli decisions" and urged Israel to reverse them.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said he was "deeply concerned" by Israel's announcement and said funds transfers to the Palestinians must continue "in line with Israel's obligations."

Netanyahu, in a speech on Wednesday, said construction in Jerusalem -- whose eastern sector Palestinians want for the capital of a future state -- is Israel's "right and obligation." Israel deems all of Jerusalem, including areas taken in a 1967 war, as its capital, a status not recognized internationally.

The revenues Israel has decided to withhold include duties on goods being imported to the Palestinian territories and which amount to around half of the PA's domestic revenue base.

In May, Israel temporarily withheld the revenues in response to a reconciliation pact between Abbas and the Hamas movement, which governs the Gaza Strip and is deeply hostile to Israel.

That suspension meant the PA was unable to pay salaries to its 150,000 employees on time for the first time since 2007. A PA spokesman said salaries for November were paid on Wednesday despite the Israeli decision.

"The (Israeli) decision to deny Palestinians access to their own custom tax revenues is an unlawful punitive measure that Israel has done in the past (2005, 2006, 2007, 2011) and will most likely do again," the PA said in a statement.

While Israel may want to punish the Palestinian Authority for its pursuit of statehood at the United Nations, analysts question whether Israel has any interest in the PA's collapse, not least because of its role in policing the West Bank.

PA security forces currently cooperate with the Israelis.

"This is one point of strength the PA has," said George Giacaman, a political scientist at Birzeit University in the West Bank.

MORIBUND PEACE PROCESS

The Authority was set up in 1994 as a state-in-waiting at the outset of a peace process which the Palestinians hoped would yield their independence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, which were all captured by Israel in 1967.

That process, to the extent it exists at all, is in deep crisis. The last round of direct peace talks broke down around a year ago because of a dispute over Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem -- construction which Abed Rabbo said aimed to kill any chance of Palestinian independence.

Israel said on Tuesday the areas where building would be accelerated would remain in its hands in any future peace deal.

"The Palestinians have no one but themselves to blame for the current impasse in the peace talks that stems directly from their refusal to negotiate peace, from their boycotting the negotiations and from their decision to attack Israel in international fora," Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev said.

UNESCO was the first U.N. agency to admit the Palestinians as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for a full seat at the United Nations on September 23.

Israel and the United States both see the Palestinian policy as an attempt to bypass bilateral peace talks. Israel also says that the Palestinians are aiming to delegitimize it.

Palestinian analysts say Abbas' resolve to press ahead has only been hardened by the recent success of his rivals in the Islamist Hamas movement, which last month scored points among Palestinians by brokering a prisoner swap with Israel.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to decide the fate of the Palestinian application for full membership around November 11. Washington has vowed to use its veto if it comes to a vote.

The Palestinians could then ask the General Assembly to upgrade their status to that of "a non-member state," an improvement on their current standing as an "observer entity."

They also have plans to apply for full membership of other U.N. agencies, regardless of the course of events in New York.

(Additional reporting by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Louis Charnonneau at United Nations; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Roger Atwood)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111102/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel

us constitution us constitution articles of confederation articles of confederation current events current events nick lowe

Switching senses: Leeches shift the way they locate prey in adulthood

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2011) ? Many meat-eating animals have unique ways of hunting down a meal using their senses. To find a tasty treat, bats use echolocation, snakes rely on infrared vision, and owls take advantage of the concave feathers on their faces, the better to help them hear possible prey. Leeches have not just one but two distinct ways of detecting dinner, and, according to new findings from biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), their preferred method changes as they age.

Medicinal leeches, like many aquatic animals, use water disturbances to help them find a meal. Juvenile leeches eat the blood of fish and amphibians, while adults opt for blood meals from the more nutritious mammals. Since it was known that leeches change their food sources as they develop, the Caltech team wanted to know if the way they sense potential food changed as well. Their findings are outlined in a paper now available online in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

The group set up experiments to test how much leeches rely on each of the two sensory modalities they use to find food: hairs on their bodies that can note disturbances in the water made by prey moving through it and simple eyes that can pick up on the passing shadows that those waves make. They monitored both juvenile and adult leeches as they reacted to mechanical waves in a tank of water or to passing shadows, as well as to a combination of the two stimuli. The leeches in both age groups responded in similar ways when only one stimulus was present. But when both waves and shadows existed, the adult leeches responded solely to the waves.

"We knew that there was a developmental switch in what kind of prey they go after," says Daniel Wagenaar, senior author of the paper and Broad Senior Research Fellow in Brain Circuitry at Caltech. "So when we saw a difference in the source of disturbances that the juveniles go after relative to the adults, we thought 'great -- it's probably matching what we know.'"

However, the team was very surprised to see that the individual sensory modalities aren't modified during development to help decipher different types of prey. The leech's visual system doesn't really change as the animal matures; neither does the mechanical system. What does change, however, is the integration of the visual and mechanical cues to make a final behavioral decision.

"As they mature, the animals basically start paying attention to one sense more than the other," explains Cynthia Harley, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar in biology at Caltech. She says that the team will now focus their studies on the adult leeches to learn more about how this sensory information is processed both at the behavioral and cellular levels.

Paper coauthor Javier Cienfuegos, now a freshman at Yale, contributed to the study while a high school student at the Polytechnic School, which is located next to Caltech's campus. He ran about half of the experimental trials and was "instrumental in the success of the study," says Harley.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by California Institute of Technology.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. C. M. Harley, J. Cienfuegos, D. A. Wagenaar. Developmentally regulated multisensory integration for prey localization in the medicinal leech. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2011; 214 (22): 3801 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.059618

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/~3/BsCMVt6gyE4/111101141343.htm

the killing fields the killing fields texas killing fields burzynski pete seeger itunes match itunes match

Buy Inexpensive Touring Caravan Insurance coverage at tpctourism ...

October 31st, 2011 by Aaric

There are a few issues we don?t should do but we get it done since it is only functional to complete so. Today, we often think about the worth of money and that is why it?s not as simple to do points instantly without contemplating it more than two times.

In case you are thinking about purchasing Touring Caravan Insurance, there are a variety of critical elements that you just ought to contemplate. That is why in the event you can get your arms to some caravan insurance coverage quote, then make probably the most out of this and examine.

Typically, it handles a wide array of Touring Caravans in equally the Continental and British. The choices are both single or twin axle. In reality, a few of the insurance providers have been supplying their services for over a decade now.

Many people opt to go for these sorts of insurance coverage firms since they know the fantastic deal they can get from a specialist.

It also aids to check the opposite buyers who opted for that solutions which might be provided by the touring caravan insurance agency. A plan has added capabilities and this tends to make the consumer feel safer.

They are far more assured when the strategy that they acquired lowers the threat for them. Thanks towards the World wide web, it is so simple to just examine one approach from one more. With just the click on from the mouse button, 1 can already have hindsight of what on earth is incorporated while in the plan.

The insurance policy holder also has the option of storing his touring caravan insurance policy firm if he signs alongside the Caravan Storage Internet site Owners Association, often known as the CaSSOA.

This may offer them with a additional discount on their touring caravan insurance. They will check their insurance policy strategy about the proportion that they can get ic they sign up to get a certain approach.

On typical, the CaSSOA delivers 25% discount off the touring caravan insurance if it require storage. There are a few touring caravan insurance policy firms that supply their clientele having a 15% low cost.

Irrespective of the portion, a low cost on this type of insurance might be really valuable towards the buyers.

Lastly, if you?re finding a touring caravan insurance coverage approach, it?s best that you simply ensure in the subsequent policies. Should you can obtain a reduced coverage extra, then you need to make the most out of the situation. Insure up to you are able to.

Source: http://www.tpctourism.org/2011/10/buy-inexpensive-touring-caravan-insurance-coverage/

boston news black friday day light savings time matilda peyton hillis new jersey weather halloween movies

Link between fungus and bat epidemic confirmed

Monday, October 31, 2011

Bats in North America are under attack. Since 2006, more than a million have been killed. Little has been done to save them, because there has not been enough evidence to implicate the suspect?until now.

A study has discovered that the fungus Geomyces destructans is the causal agent of White-nose Syndrome (WNS), the fungal disease decimating the bat population.

The study is coauthored by Justin Boyles, a post-doctoral research associate in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a team led by David Blehert at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Wildlife Health Center together with Jeffrey Lorch, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. WNS is dubbed so because affected bats develop halos of white fungus around their muzzles. The symptoms of WNS include loss of body fat, unusual winter behavior, lesions to the wing membranes, and death.

The findings are published in the latest edition of Nature.

G. destructans has been thought to be the likely culprit, because the skin lesions characteristic of the disease are associated with colonization of the fungus. Still, the role of G. destructans in WNS has remained controversial, because evidence proving the fungus as the primary cause of the disease was lacking.

"Many assumed that fungal infections in mammals only occur if some other pathogen has already weakened the immune system," said Boyles. "Additionally, the recent discovery that G. destructans commonly colonizes the skin of bats in Europe with no major die-offs generated speculation that other unidentified factors are the primary cause of WNS."

To put the speculation to rest, the researchers set up an experiment to see if G. destructans causes WNS. They housed healthy little brown bats in a laboratory under hibernation conditions and treated them with G. destructans. Exposure to the fungus caused WNS in the healthy bats. They also found that WNS can be transmitted from infected bats to healthy bats through direct contact.

"This information can be very useful to managers in their efforts to contain the spread of the disease," said Boyles. "These results provide the first direct evidence that G. destructans is the causal agent of WNS and that the recent emergence of WNS in North America suggests the fungus is new to the continent and the bats here have not developed immunity to the disease."

The researchers are hopeful the findings will allow land managers and reseachers to focus efforts on solutions that may slow the spread of the fungus to new bat populations.

"By illustrating that the fungus causes WNS, we are taking an instrumental step in clarifying how this disease develops and how to control it," said Boyles. "We hope our findings are useful in guiding management actions to preserve bat populations against this novel and devastating threat."

###

University of Tennessee at Knoxville: http://www.tennessee.edu

Thanks to University of Tennessee at Knoxville 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.

This press release has been viewed 76 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114769/Link_between_fungus_and_bat_epidemic_confirmed

sly and the family stone sly stone the bling ring facebook news facebook news boardwalk empire earthquake california