Potter star Watson parties with Borrell & other

Thursday 4 September 2008

Diatom Reduces Red Tide's Toxicity

�It's estimated that the red tide algae, Karenia brevis, costs approximately $20 million per bloom in economic price off the coast of Florida alone. Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that a diatom can scale down the levels of the red tide's toxicity to animals and that the same diatom can shrink red tide's toxicity to other algae as well. If scientists can watch to enjoyment this action to slim the toxicity of red tide, they could reduce the immense amount of economic damage done to the seafood and touristry industries. The research appears as articles in press for the Web sites of the journals Harmful Algae and the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.

"We found that red tide toxins can be metabolized by other species of phytoplankton. That holds true for both the brevetoxins that damage members of the animal kingdom and the as heretofore unknown allelopathic toxins that kill other competing species of algae," said Julia Kubanek, an associate professor with a joint appointment in Georgia Tech's School of Biology and School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Red tide is a dramatic case of an ecosystem that's out of control. In normal seawater, K. brevis makes up about 1 per centum or less of the species, merely during a red tide, that share increases to more than 90 pct. Filter feeders such as oysters, mussels and lucre ingest the dinoflagellate and become insecure to feed. Fish killed by the red tide wash on the land, which rump be contaminated and fundamentally unusable to tourists for months at a time.

Kubanek and her researchers base in premature work that the growth of the diatom Skeletonema costatum was only moderately suppressed by the brevetoxins released by the red ink tide. So, they figured that the diatom power have a way to deal with the toxins. According to their work, they were right.

In unitary experiment, elaborated in the journal Harmful Algae, Kubanek's students grew the red tide alga along with the S. costatum diatom to test her group's hypothesis and found that the samples with both organisms had a littler concentration of brevetoxin B than samples without the diatom. They also tried the algae with quaternity different S. costatum diatom strains from around the world and came up with for the most part the same results. That suggests that evolutionary experience with the red tide algae was not necessary for the diatom to resist the toxins.

In another experiment, covered in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they found that the red ink tide alga was able to reduce the growth of the S. costatum diatom, only that exposure of the red lunar time period organism to S. costatum makes the red tide less toxic to microscopical algae. That suggests that the diatom is somehow able to reduce the potency of red tide's toxins.

"It could be that Skeletonema is degrading Karenia's allelopathic chemicals just wish it degrades brevetoxins. Or, it could be that Skeletonema is stressing Karenia out, making it harder to farm allelopathic chemicals," said Kubanek.

What they do know is that the brevetoxins that harm oysters and other members of the beast kingdom aren't the whole story.

"We establish that when we took seawater and added purified brevetoxins to it, the live algae didn't suffer much, so there moldiness be other chemicals released by the red tide that are toxic to these alga," said Kubanek.

How that's done, isn't clear yet, but Kubanek and her radical are currently working on finding the answer to that question.

"What we do know is that this diatom, S. costatum, is able to undermine these toxins produced by the red tide, as well as the brevetoxins that are known to kill vertebrate animals like fish and dolphins," said Kubanek.

If scientists such as Kubanek and her team buns learn more about the strategies that microscopic alga use to reduce the toxicity of red tide, they power be able to economic consumption that noesis to help reduce the poisonous personal effects the tide has on the brute kingdom, non to reference the hurt it does to the seafood and tourism industries.

Kubanek's research team for these studies consisted of Tracey Myers and Emily Prince from Georgia Tech and Jerome Naar of the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Source: David Terraso

Georgia Institute of Technology

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Friday 15 August 2008

Newspapers Highlight Activities Related To World Breastfeeding Week

�This week is the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action's World Breastfeeding Week. Summaries of related stories appear at a lower place.

~ Colorado: A law requiring employers to cater reasonable time and private space for women to breastfeed their infants will take effect on Thursday, the Summit Daily News reports (Allen, Summit Daily News, 8/4). The Workplace Accommodations for Nursing Mothers Act as well requires that employers non discriminate against the breastfeeding women. Colorado is the 16th province to pass such a law. The Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition hosted a festivity Friday at the state Capitol building, where Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien (D) spoke almost the legislation. Coalition representatives said the law will improve the health of Colorado mothers and children by increasing breastfeeding duration and exclusivity rates. According to the Pueblo Chieftain, research has shown that employers wHO provide breastfeeding support live improved productivity and morale, greater retention, and rock-bottom health care costs and absenteeism (Sword, Pueblo Chieftain, 8/4). The coalition posted on its Web site steps employers can assume to see to it compliance with the unexampled law (Summit Daily News, 8/4).

~ Kentucky: Public health officials are vocation on employers, families and health workers to help oneself improve breastfeeding rates in the state, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. According to the 2008 CDC account card on breastfeeding exclusivity, Louisiana is the but state that has a lower breastfeeding rate than Kentucky. Less than half of Kentucky mothers breastfed their children at least once in 2005, compared with the national average of 74%, the analysis showed. After six months -- the minimum amount of time that health professionals commend breastfeeding solely -- less than quarter of Kentucky mothers were breastfeeding, according to the report card. Breastfeeding innovation rates are higher in metropolitan areas of the state. According to the Herald-Leader, women in rural areas give less approach to certified lactation specialists and breastfeeding supplies (Vos, Lexington Herald-Leader, 8/4).

~ New York City: The New York City Breastfeeding Promotion Leadership Committee on Friday lED a demonstration during which about 24 women openly nursed their children on the city's subway organisation, the New York Daily News reports. The citizens committee began the annual monstrance in 2004 after a mother breastfeeding her fry on the subway was given a citation for indecent exposure. The grouping supports country legislation (S 1674) called the Breastfeeding Bill of Rights that would require all mothers to be informed of breastfeeding rights and options (Angelova, New York Daily News, 8/2).

~ Togo: UNICEF is working with the Togolese government to bolster community support groups and local initiatives that promote exclusive maternal breastfeeding over common traditional practices, the UN News Service reports. Pregnant and wet mothers in Togo and other West African countries face problems in trying to obtain a intelligent and well-balanced diet, according to Vincent Maku of UNICEF. About 28% of Togolese mothers exclusively lactate, and as many as 108 out of every 1,000 children in the rural area die ahead age quintuplet, often because of malnutrition, UN News Service reports. According to UN News Service, advocacy campaigns let had to address traditional Togolese alimentation practices that can

Thursday 7 August 2008

Junior Watson

Artist: Junior Watson

   Genre(s):
Blues

Discography:

Long Overdue

Year:
Tracks: 17

If I had a Genie

Year:
Tracks: 14

Despite performing the role of perrenial sideman, often in fine bands that left field much to be coveted in the visibleness department, Mike "Junior" Watson was, and is, one of the almost influential vapors guitarists of his generation. In fact, undermentioned Robben Ford's defection into

Barbarity

Friday 27 June 2008

Lost Tribe

Artist: Lost Tribe

   Genre(s):
Dance
   Jazz
   Rock

Discography:

Gamemaster (Disc Two)

Year: 1999
Tracks: 3

Many Lifetimes

Year: 1998
Tracks: 10

Soulfish

Year: 1994
Tracks: 11

Lost Tribe didn't so much start up out as a band only as a collective of first-class studio musicians working on the side. Like the 1970s British mathematical group Brand X (Phil Collins' jazz spinal fusion alter ego getaway from Genesis), Lost Tribe became a melting potful of the styles popular in the 1990s, mixture rhythmical jazz and rock with regular some rap elements. Saxophonist David Binney's sparse lines and the twin-guitar rape of Adam Rogers and David Gilmore blended above the rhythmic muscle of bassist Fima Ephron and drummer Ben Perowsky on Lost Tribe's self-titled 1993 debut CD. Most of the music was instrumental, just the occasional rap data track ("Letter to the Editor") and chanted vocal ("Mofungo") provided a changeup 'tween dizzying jazz fusion pieces like "Mythology" and "Suit & Effect." The group's 1994 followup, Soulfish, was regular harder-edged without losing whatever rhythmic nidus. Perowsky's earsplitting drumming on "Whodunit" and the guitar interplay on "Minute Story," "Planet Rock," and "Blurred Logic" made for a nouveau coalition of casimir Funk and metal. But barely as a collective from the rap-jazz-opera hybrid the Screaming Headless Torsos (Ephron), jazz coalition guitar player Mike Stern (Perowsky) and African-influenced jazz saxist Steve Coleman (Gilmore) was compulsory for Lost Tribe's elementary sound, the nature of the school term musicians' wolf had to signal an eventual retardation. Binney released solo CDs and Rogers focused on self-employed work while Ephron, Perowsky, and Gilmore (ever-confused with Pink Floyd guitar player David Gilmour) toured and recorded elsewhere over the future four-spot long time. By the time Lost Tribe released Many Lifetimes in 1998, Gilmore had left hand the band, as much to pursue precept as playing. The titles unequaled ("The River," "Kyoto," "Jordan River") signaled a kinder, gentler, and more than melodic Lost Tribe -- just non without igneous moments, specially from Ephron and Perowsky. Adding pleximetry and Fender Rhodes galvanising forte-piano to his regular duties on Many Lifetimes, the regular touring drummer for Stern shows wherefore there's no route -- letdown after the guitarist records with virtuosos like Dennis Chambers or Vinnie Colaiuta. And the salient yet virtually nameless bassist is now a piece of both guitarist David Fiuczynski's vocal (Screaming Headless Torsos) and implemental (Headless Torsos) groups, so there's no tattle when Lost Tribe testament be in session (in the studio or on stage) again.

Sunday 22 June 2008

Coldplay rule U.S. charts

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Coldplay scored its first No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart Thursday, and preliminary sales data indicate the British rock band will claim the top spot on the albums tally next week.

"Viva La Vida," which has been featured prominently in commercials for iTunes, jumped one place to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, spurred by digital sales of 246,000 copies.

The group's fourth album "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," which was released Tuesday, will easily debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 when weeklong data are issued next Wednesday.

A source close to the new album expects the album to sellbetween 700,000 and 750,000 units through Sunday. Coldplay's previous album, 2005's "X&Y," debuted at No. 1 with 737,000 units, and spent three weeks atop the Billboard 200.

If Coldplay's album sells north of 700,000, it will be the first time since 2005 that the chart has housed back-to-back 700,000-plus sales weeks. It last happened when 50 Cent's "The Massacre" cleared more than 700,000 in its first two weeks at No. 1, the first of those clearing the 1 million mark.

At the receiving end of Coldplay's one-two punch is rapper Lil Wayne, whose album "Tha Carter III" currently leads the Billboard 200 after selling more than 1 million units through last Sunday. After five weeks at No. 1, his single "Lollipop" fell to No. 3 on the latest Hot 100. His new single "3 Peat" was the chart's top debut at No. 66.

Elsewhere on the Hot 100, rookie California singer Katy Perry jumped two places to No. 2 with "I Kissed a Girl." British reality-TV champ Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" slipped one to No. 4, while R&B starlet Rihanna's "Take a Bow" held at No. 5.

Reuters/Billboard

Sunday 15 June 2008

Steven Spielberg has $1 billion dream

DreamWorks seeks a deal enabling it to own its films

Steven Spielberg aims to raise more than $1 billion in third-party financing to reinvent DreamWorks as a separate company that once again owns the movies it makes.

As for distribution, Spielberg wants to bolt his roost at Paramount for Universal, which wants to land Spielberg and DreamWorks after losing out to Paramount in that quest a couple years ago. But on recommendation from his advisers, Spielberg has allowed a bidding war to begin among studios for the rights to distribute future DreamWorks movies.

The chief suitors other than Paramount: Universal, Disney and Fox.

Warner Bros. has sat out the competition so far despite previous expectations that the studio would seek a relationship with DreamWorks if Spielberg and company were to leave Paramount. Industry betting runs heavily against Spielberg's staying put at Paramount, with the related question of where he and the DreamWorks film label land considered a simple matter of who will offer sufficiently attractive terms to attract Spielberg, chief Stacey Snider and their brand.

"Stacey is the next generation, and Steven is very committed to her," said one participant in DreamWorks strategy meetings.

Spielberg's contract runs until 2010, but he can terminate it early at year's end. Snider and DreamWorks chairman David Geffen have similar escape clauses in their deals with Par, while about 100 other DreamWorks employees theoretically would be unaffected by departures among the top execs.

Yet Spielberg will wield considerable leverage in any exit negotiations with Par and could insist on taking additional execs with him as he reconstructs DreamWorks elsewhere. Although Par owns "Transformers" and other films produced by DreamWorks while at the studio, Spielberg's rights regarding involvement on sequels could trigger negotiations over which films he brings with him and which would remain under Par's control.

A window in Spielberg's personal contract with Par opened May 1, allowing him to discuss potential offers for his services from rival studios. Since then, Spielberg or such advisers as Geffen and attorney Skip Brittenham have held several meetings with prospective studio suitors and financiers.

Still, there is the argument -- offered a few months back by Par execs amid early handicapping of Spielberg's future -- that early ill-will between DreamWorks brass and their Par overlords has been smoothed over. Par boosted DreamWorks' production funding and even credit on DreamWorks/Par releases during the course of the former's residency on the lot.

But barring a complete revision of his current arrangement at Par, only bolting the studio would allow Spielberg again to stake actual ownership claim to his future films. He participated in just that through the original DreamWorks SKG, but Spielberg at Par essentially is a producer and director of films owned by others, backend deals on individual films notwithstanding.

Even the DreamWorks name is controlled neither by Spielberg nor Par but by Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation. If Spielberg were to exit Paramount, DWA could withdraw rights to the name from Par and presumably grant them to Spielberg.

DWA's distribution contract with Par runs through 2012.

Meanwhile, it appears that Spielberg's hunt for financing could lead to DreamWorks securing a bank facility to fund production as well as private-equity investment.

Yet this time around, it's likely that the latter would be much more limited than the one-time majority stake in DreamWorks SKG by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. DWA went public in 2004 and DreamWorks $1.6 billion sale to Par a year later both were prompted by Allen's desire to cash out his interest in DeamWorks.

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