WASHINGTON?? Climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer stood along the Hudson River and watched his research come to life as Hurricane Sandy blew through New York.
Just eight months earlier, the Princeton University professor reported that what used to be once-in-a-century devastating floods in New York City would soon happen every three to 20 years. He blamed global warming for pushing up sea levels and changing hurricane patterns.
New York "is now highly vulnerable to extreme hurricane-surge flooding," he wrote.
For more than a dozen years, Oppenheimer and other climate scientists have been warning about the risk for big storms and serious flooding in New York. A 2000 federal report about global warming's effect on the United States warned specifically of that possibility.
Still, they say it's unfair to blame climate change for Sandy and the destruction it left behind. They cautioned that they cannot yet conclusively link a single storm to global warming, and any connection is not as clear and simple as environmental activists might contend.
"The ingredients of this storm seem a little bit cooked by climate change, but the overall storm is difficult to attribute to global warming," Canada's University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver said.
Some individual parts of Sandy and its wrath seem to be influenced by climate change, several climate scientists said.
First, there's sea level rise. Water levels around New York are a nearly a foot higher than they were 100 years ago, said Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann.
Add to that the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean, which is about 2 degrees warmer on average than a century ago, said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University. Warm water fuels hurricanes.
And Sandy zipped north along a warmer-than-normal Gulf Stream that travels from the Caribbean to Ireland, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director for the private service Weather Underground.
Meteorologists are also noticing more hurricanes late in the season and even after the season. A 2008 study said the Atlantic hurricane season seems to be starting earlier and lasting longer but found no explicit link to global warming. Normally there are 11 named Atlantic storms. The past two years have seen 19 and 18 named storms. This year, with one month to go, there are 19.
After years of disagreement, climate scientists and hurricane experts have concluded that as the climate warms, there will be fewer total hurricanes. But those storms that do develop will be stronger and wetter.
Sandy took an unprecedented sharp left turn into New Jersey. Usually storms keep heading north and turn east harmlessly out to sea. But a strong ridge of high pressure centered over Greenland blocked Sandy from going north or east, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Science news from NBCNews.com
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Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Nationwide polls may portray the presidential campaign as a neck-and-neck race, but less conventional data-crunching methods spit out a different picture.
Scientists look at climate change, superstorm
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Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University, an expert in how a warming Arctic affects extreme weather patterns, said recent warming in the Arctic may have played a role in enlarging or prolonging that high pressure area. But she cautioned it's not clear whether the warming really had that influence on Sandy.
While components of Sandy seem connected to global warming, "mostly it's natural, I'd say it's 80, 90 percent natural," said Gerald North, a climate professor at Texas A&M University. "These things do happen, like the drought. It's a natural thing."
On Tuesday, both New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said they couldn't help but notice that extreme events such as Sandy are causing them more and more trouble.
"What is clear is that the storms that we've experienced in the last year or so, around this country and around the world, are much more severe than before," Bloomberg said. "Whether that's global warming or what, I don't know. But we'll have to address those issues."
Cuomo called the changes "a new reality."
"Anyone who says that there's not a dramatic change in weather patterns I think is denying reality," Cuomo said. "I told the president the other day: 'We have a 100-year flood every two years now.'"
For his published research, Oppenheimer looked at New York City's record flood of 1821. Sandy flooded even higher. This week's damage was augmented by the past century's sea level rise, which was higher than the world average because of unusual coastal geography and ocean currents. Oppenheimer walked from his Manhattan home to the river Monday evening to watch the storm.
"We sort of knew it could happen, but you know that's different from actually standing there and watching it happen," Oppenheimer said from a cell phone. "You don't really imagine what this looks like until you see it."
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Malcolm Ritter in New York and Michael Gormley in Albany contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A Russian Soyuz space capsule linked up with the International Space Station on Thursday, delivering three new residents to the orbiting laboratory.
The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft docked at the space station's rooftop Poisk module at 8:29 a.m. ET after a two-day orbital chase. Riding on the Soyuz were NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who are beginning a five-month mission to the space station.
"We can see you, everything looks fine," Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who was already onboard the station, told the approaching crew before the two spacecraft docked about 230 miles (370 kilometers) over southern Ukraine.
After checking to all the connections were tight, the Soyuz crew floated into the space station for a round of greetings.
"We?ll stay until March," Ford said in a NASA interview before launch. "We?ve got some space station maintenance activities planned, some kind of periodic maintenance that we?ve trained for, but really the emphasis will be on getting the science rolling and getting as much utilization out of the flight as we can."
Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin launched into space on Tuesday atop a Soyuz rocket that blasted off from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are the second half of the space station's six-person Expedition 33 crew, which is commanded by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams. Malenchenko and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide round out the crew. [Launch Photos: Soyuz Rocket Blasts Off With Station Crew]
The Soyuz spacecraft is bringing some fishy friends to the space station in addition to its human crew. The spacecraft is ferrying 32 small Medaka fish to the space station so they can be placed inside a tank, called the Aquatic Habitat, for an experiment to study how fish adapt to weightlessness.
Flurry of activity
Thursday's Soyuz docking at the space station kicks off a flurry of arrivals and departures at the International Space Station.
A robotic Dragon space capsule built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX will leave the space station on Sunday and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. The Dragon capsule will return nearly 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) of science experiment hardware and other gear back to Earth.
Space news from NBCNews.com
X-ray probe spots black hole's blast
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: NASA's NuSTAR telescope catches a rare glimpse of our galaxy's supermassive black hole gobbling down a cosmic snack.
84 million stars in amazing galaxy photo
Dark matter halos not so dark after all
That meteorite? Just an Earth rock
On Oct. 31, an unmanned Russian Progress spacecraft will launch toward the space station and arrive six hours later to make a Halloween delivery of food, equipment and other Halloween treats. One day later, Williams and Hoshide will don bulky spacesuits and float outside the space station on a spacewalk to fix an ammonia leak in the orbiting lab's cooling system.
Williams, Hoshide and Malenchenko are in the final weeks of their mission to the space station, and will return to Earth Nov. 12. At that time, Ford will take command of the space station crew to begin the Expedition 34 mission.
You can follow Space.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik and Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebookand Google+.
? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
While many will experience obstacles and setbacks in the beginning of their affiliate business, it does not have to be this way for you. One way to get started, that is cost effective and simple, is to use the referral technology available today. Use this article to guide you in the right direction.
Try incorporating a trivia question into your banner ads. You can make the question a tricky one, with the answer available on your website. People will not be able to resist wanting to answer the question. Give your customers a discount if they answered correctly.
Make sure that the affiliate links on your site are related to the subject of your site. For example, if your blog is about sports, your customers want sports-related products. A sports site should only have sports related links. If the site has relevant links, people will be more likely to access them.
You will get the most income out of your affiliate programs by paying advertisers like Google Ads. This type of advertising uses the same SEO algorithm that you use in your marketing campaign. The ads help direct traffic to your website. Even better, the people who click on them are already interested in the type of goods or services you offer, making them more likely to buy something.
Give your visitors a reason to have faith in you, your company, and your product. If your readers trust and like you, they?re more likely to want to support you by using your referral links.
Use a multitude of venues when promoting your affiliate product. You can advertise online as there are a lot of people that like to shop this way. Some may prefer to receive brochures or leaflets. Some people just won?t buy unless they have some kind of coupon. You?ll get a bigger audience by advertising through many mediums.
Statistics that are tracking current traffic numbers and rankings are essential for running a good website. This lets you know how many users have been to your site and how many of them have made a purchase.
Don?t put excessive banners on your website. The focus of your site should be your own products. You want your site content to be prominent, with banners added here and there.
Text services are one option affiliates may consider when trying to earn commissions. This is a very new service, yet there are already large numbers of affiliates taking advantage of text service as a way to promote products and keep customers informed.
When you are selling a product through internet marketing, promote several uses for the product. Your high-lipped mat can double as a tray for pet food and water, or even a dish drainer.
Select pop-under ads instead of pop-up ones. Most readers are already using browsers with tools to prevent pop-ups from ever being visible, so those ads are ineffective from the start. Research indicates that pop-under ads, which load unobtrusively in your website?s background, are greatly preferred by visitors, a fact that is verified by the response rate, which is much greater than that of pop-up ads.
Stay upfront and give information about your business. Your site visitors can easily recognize affiliate links. Trying to fool them by not being upfront about the fact that you make money from the link causes a lack of trust. Honesty builds your credibility and earns the trust of your customers so that they are likely to return to your website and buy again.
There are not the same costs or complexities associated with affiliate marketing as there once were. You can use these suggestions in this article to help you make the most of your affiliate program. You can also save money.
Eric Green
Skype ID: thedigitalgangster
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October 25th, 2012 ? 30 Comments ? Disease & Health
Back in August I had the great opportunity to present at The 21 Convention alongside longtime friends Keith Norris, Skyler Tanner, Greg Swann and...Dr. Doug McGuff. After Doug's presentation, we headed over to Skyler's house for a meal just hours before I was to fly out.
R-L: Skyler, Keith, Michelle, Sarah, Doug
A few days later I blogged about Doug's presentation in detail:?Dr. Doug McGuff?s The 21 Convention Presentation in 2 Words: You?re Fucked. Lot's of good comments on that post expounding upon the problem.
So just today, the video of his full presentation has been released on YouTube. His previous 21 Convention presentation a few years back stands at nearly 190,000 views, so that's an indication of the quality, depth and insight Doug always brings. Of course, those who have read his co-authored book,?Body by Science, already know the kind of knowledge and experience Doug brings to the table.
So here you go. Make yourself some available time and watch this, and then spread it around, especially in a time when everyone's going on and on about who's gonna pay for there health care besides themselves. Here's a true look, from the inside and in the trenches.
If I've ever met a nicer guy than Doug, I just don't remember it. Here's a guy who has practiced as an ER doc for 23 years?a place where seconds count and there's never a second chance. He cares deeply for people, yet is no willy-nilly bleeding heart. He knows what it really takes to provide real medical care competently.
Unfortunately, guys like him will never have a seat at the healthcare policy table, when in reality, guys like him are the only ones who ought to have such a seat.
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18 October 2012Last updated at 13:16 ETBy Roger HarrabinEnvironment analyst
The UK has just experienced its "weirdest" weather on record, scientists have confirmed.
The driest spring for over a century gave way to the wettest recorded April to June in a dramatic turnaround never documented before.
The scientists said there was no evidence of a link to manmade climate change.
But they say we must now plan for periodic swings of drought conditions and flooding.
The warning came from the Environment Agency, Met Office and Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) at a joint briefing in London.
Terry Marsh from the CEH said there was no close modern precedent for the extraordinary switch in river flows. The nearest comparison was 1903 but this year was, he said, truly remarkable.
What was also remarkable - and also fortunate - was that more people did not suffer from flooding. Indeed, one major message of the briefing was that society has been steadily increasing its resilience to floods.
Paul Mustow, head of flood management at the Environment Agency, told BBC News that 4,500 properties were flooded this year. "But if you look back to 2007 when over 55,000 properties were flooded we were relatively lucky - if lucky is the right word - for the impacts we saw this summer," he said.
"The rainfall patterns affected different areas - and also there were periods of respite between the rain which lessened the impact."
Fast moving
He said 53,000 properties would have been flooded this year without flood defences. In total, he said, 190,000 properties had received flood protection in recent years.
Mr Mustow claimed that flood defences repaid their investment by a factor of 8-1 but admitted that continuing to invest would be a "challenge", after government cuts to planned projects.
But he said that new streams of joint funding from local authorities and private developers had allowed 60 schemes to happen that otherwise would not have gone ahead.
He said: "We have to get our heads round the possibility now that we're going to have to move very quickly from drought to flood - with river levels very high and very low over a short period of time.
"We used to say we had a traditional flood season in winter - now often it's in summer. This is an integrated problem - there's no one thing that going to solve it. The situation is changing all the time."
But scientists present from the Met Office and CEH said not much could be read into the weird weather. Terry Marsh from CEH said: "Rainfall charts show no compelling long-term trend - the annual precipitation table shows lots of variability."
Sarah Jackson from the Met Office confirmed that they did not discern any pattern that suggested manmade climate change was at play in UK rainfall - although if temperatures rise as projected in future, that would lead to warmer air being able to carry more moisture to fall as rain.
She said that this year's conditions were partly caused by a move to a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation which would be likely to lead to more frequent cold drier winters - like the 1960s - and also wetter summers for 10-20 years.
"Longer term we will see a trend to drier summers but superimposed on that we will always see natural variability," she said.
Whatever happens with the weather, the Environment Agency expects that more and more people will be protected from floods and droughts thanks to water sharing between farmers, water transfer between water companies, and better management of leaks and demand.
But Mr Mustow admitted that much more needed to be done to ensure that farmers didn't increase flood risk with land drainage schemes and that developers and builders ensured that new developments allowed water to drain into the soil rather than flushing into the sewers.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Bangladeshi man in a sting operation on charges he attempted to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank with what he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb, federal authorities said.
Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The FBI said the public was not in danger because the explosives provided to Nafis were never in working condition and the suspect was closely monitored by the undercover agent - highlighting a script law enforcement has employed several times this year in similar cases, including one in Washington and another in Ohio.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama had been briefed about the arrest.
"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure," said Mary Galligan, FBI acting assistant director-in-charge. "The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences."
In an initial appearance in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Nafis wore a plain brown crew-neck T-shirt, dark-colored jeans and sneakers. He barely spoke during the brief hearing, mumbling answers of "yes" to questions from U.S. Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann.
According to the criminal complaint, Nafis traveled to the United States in January 2012. Once in New York, he claimed to be in contact with al Qaeda members overseas, although federal agents found no evidence that he was working for al Qaeda or that he was directed by the organization, according to a U.S. official who declined to be named.
Nafis considered several targets for his attack, including the New York Stock Exchange and a high-ranking government official, whom the U.S. official identified as Obama.
(For a related Reuters video, please see http://link.reuters.com/wen43t)
In the end, the criminal complaint said, Nafis decided to focus on the Federal Reserve Bank in lower Manhattan, which stands like a limestone and sandstone fortress atop what is believed to be one of the world's largest stockpiles of gold.
RECRUITS
To create a cell to help him carry out the bombing, Nafis began to seek out recruits, eventually bringing on board an undercover agent working for the FBI.
The two met on Wednesday morning and traveled by van to a New York warehouse, where Nafis assembled what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb, before driving to the Federal Reserve Bank, among the most secure and guarded buildings in Manhattan.
After parking near the bank, Nafis walked to a nearby hotel and recorded a video statement in which he said, "We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom," according to the FBI.
Nafis was arrested in the hotel as he repeatedly attempted to detonate the inert bomb, the FBI said.
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, whose department was part of the operation, objected to suggestions that Nafis' plans were crude and bumbling.
"I don't see how you characterize (him as) unsophisticated, I mean he was arrested, but he clearly had the intent to create mayhem here," Kelly told reporters.
Other FBI sting operations this year have netted at least one foreign suspect, as well as some from the United States.
In February, a 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested near the U.S. Capitol wearing a vest he believed was full of al Qaeda-supplied explosives, and charged in an attempted suicide bombing of Congress.
Five self-described anarchists in the Cleveland area were arrested in May and accused of plotting to blow up a four-lane highway bridge. An undercover FBI agent had sold the men inoperable detonators and plastic explosives.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer and David Ingram in Washington; Writing by Dan Burns and Paul Thomasch; Editing by Sandra Maler and Mohammad Zargham)
BEIJING (AP) ? The company that manufactures Apple's iPhone said Tuesday it found underage interns as young as 14 working at one of its factories in China.
Foxconn Technology Group said the interns were found by a company investigation at its factory in the eastern city of Yantai and were sent back to their schools. China's minimum legal working age is 16.
Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said it was investigating with schools how the interns were sent to its factory. It didn't say how many underage interns it found.
"We recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action," Foxconn said in a statement. "Any Foxconn employee found, through our investigation, to be responsible for these violations will have their employment immediately terminated."
Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc. and also assembles products for Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. The company gave no indication what products were made in facilities where the interns worked.
A labor rights group, China Labor Watch, said in a statement that primary responsibility lay with schools involved but "Foxconn is also culpable for not confirming the ages of their workers."
Conditions in factories in China are a sensitive issue for foreign brands that outsource production of shoes, consumer electronics and other goods to local contractors. Last month, Foxconn suspended production for one day at a factory in the city of Taiyuan following a brawl by as many as 2,000 employees that injured 40 people.
Foxconn is one of China's biggest employers, with about 1.2 million employees in factories in several cities.
The company has an internship program that takes vocational students who work for three to six months in its factories, accompanied by teachers.
Foxconn faced a complaint in August that vocational students were compelled by their schools to work in its factories in China. Foxconn said the students were free to leave at any time.
The Fair Labor Association, which was hired by Apple to audit working conditions at Foxconn factories, said in August that improvements it recommended in March were being carried out ahead of schedule. That included verifying the ages of student interns.
To provide context, let?s start out by describing this car. It?s a 1965 Citroen Sahara. If you think it looks like a 2CV, you?re absolutely right. Only there?s a difference. The Sahara was a four-wheel-drive variation on the 2CV, which required a pair of 425cc engines to be installed, the second one at the rear. The Sahara could operate on a single engine if need be, both controlled through dual hydraulic clutches. Just 694 of them were built, most purchased by Spanish police or used by rescue teams in the Alps.
Not many survive, and here?s the proof. At its very unique auction of unrestored vehicles, held at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, Bonhams offered this complete but raw Sahara, the eighth from last produced by Citroen. It was bought new off the display floor at the 1965 New York Auto Show by Alexis du Pont, whose family used it for noodling around their estate on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. It still wore its original Michelin tires and had an honest 6,000 kilometers showing. The Sahara sold for ? are you ready? ? $142,500, an unchallenged world record for one of these very basic cars.
The Bonhams Simeone sale, described as ?the first ever auction to promote the concept of preservation of collector cars,? was one of the most interesting auctions we?ve attended in a long time and took in a total of less than $3 million. We?ll have full coverage coming up in both Hemmings Motor News and Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.
A second suspect has admitted involvement in high profile attack last year against Sony Pictures website by notorious hacking crew LulzSec.
Passwords and personal information leaked as a result of the breach in May 2011. The site was breached using an SQL injection attack, a common hacking technique, to extract personal information (names, birth dates, addresses, emails, phone numbers and passwords) of individuals who had entered Sony competitions. At least 38,000 records were exposed.
Raynaldo Rivera (AKA "neuron," "royal," and "wildicv"), 20, of Tempe in Arizona, appeared in court last week to plead guilty to involvement in the hack. Another suspect, Cody Kretsinger, 23, of Phoenix, Arizona, pled guilty to similar computer hacking and conspiracy offences back in April as part of a similar plea-bargaining agreement.
Both are due to be sentenced in next year.
Rivera used the HideMyAss anonymising proxy service in an attempt to disguise his IP address while he carried out reconnaissance work, probing Sony Pictures' website for security vulnerabilities. HideMyAss turned over his IP address after the authorities issued a court order, ultimately exposing Rivera's identity. ?
Teen star Elle Fanning wowed the crowds in a floor-sweeping gown as French thespian Marion Cotillard debuted Dior at the annual BFI London Film Festival.
Railway Board, Ministry of Railways has requested to Ministry of Finance for?enhancing exemption of Transport Allowance from the purview of Income Tax from Rs. 800/- to Rs. 3200/- plus DA thereon. ?This request has been made by Railway Board in view of NFIR demand on the same matter.?
DC/JCM Item No 24/2012 - Exemption of Transport Allowance from Purview of Income Tax - Enhancement of Exemption Limit from Rs 800/- to Rs 3,200 plus DA thereon.?
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)
No. F(X) I-2012/23/4
New Delhi, dated 10.10.2012
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Sub: Exemption of Transport Allowance from the purview of Income Tax- Enhancement of exemption limit from Rs. 800/- to Rs. 3200/- plus D.A. thereon.
The undersigned is directed to draw the attention of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) Central Board of Direct Taxes towards para 5.2(10) (i) at page 14 of their circular No. 05/2011 dated 16.08.2011 wherein it has been specified that the transport allowance granted to an employee to meet his expenditure for the purpose of commuting between the place of his residence and the place of duty is exempt to the extent of Rs. 800/- per month.
Representations are being received in the Ministry of Railways from various federations of Railways. The Federations have represented that Transport Allowance was introduced with the concept of providing financial support to the Central Government Employees who incur considerable amounts for their day-to-day travel from their residence to the work place. This had materialized based on the recommendations of the V CPC which introduced Transport Allowance in 3 slabs at the rate of Rs.100. Rs.400 and Rs.800, based on the classification of the cities/towns under Urban Agglomeration Act. Further, a prerequisite was introduced to allow this facility for those who stay beyond 1 km radius from the place of work.
A decision was taken to equate such allowance on par with normal Travelling/Daily Allowance and these amounts have also been exempted from computation of annual income and exempted from the purview of Income Tax vide Income Tax (Eighth Amendment) Rules, 1995 notified vide F.No.142/9/95-TPL dt. 7-7-1995.
The VI CPC, while reviewing the system of grant of Transport Allowance has recommended to enhance the same from Rs.100 to Rs.800, ?Rs.400 to Rs.1600 and Rs.800 to Rs.3200, for Pay Bands 1 to 4 respectively. The City Compensatory Allowance was Withdrawn. It was also recommended to provide the coverage of DA. to Transport Allowance as per increase in the Consumer Price Index.
Ministry of Finance are therefore requested to include the request of the Railways for taking due action for enhancing exemption of Transport Allowance from the purview of Income Tax from Rs. 800/- to Rs. 3200/- plus DA Thereon.
sd/-
(M.Anand Krishna)
Deputy Director, Finance (Exp.)
Railway Board.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(RAILWAY BOARD)
No. F(X) I-2012/23/4
New Delhi, dated 10.10.2012
The General Secretary, NFIR, 3, Chelmsford Raod, New Delhi - 110055
Dear Sir,
Sub : DC/JCM item No.24/2012 : Exemption of Transport Allowance from the purview of Income Tax- Enhancement of exemption limit from Rs. 800/- to Rs. 3200/- plus D.A. thereon.
Ref:- Your letter No.11/58(i) dated 31/08/2012.
The matter has been referred to the Ministry of Finance vide Board?s letter of even number dated 10.10.2012 to expedite the issue. A copy of the same is enclosed for information.
Yours faithfully,
sd/-
For Secretary/RaiIway Board
Source: NFIR
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The Toyota Camry is a car ?enthusiasts? love to hate. It?s an uncle car, big and boring, overpriced and underspecced, they say. Rubbish, some might add. For an online reviewer to say that it?s decent would be akin to running across a firing line. Online? Without the scrutiny of active feedback from you, dear readers, papers and car mags can get away with almost anything.
Anyway, we believe there?s a car for everyone, and one that?s not to your personal taste doesn?t make it a bad car. After drving this XV50 Camry 2.5V for few days, not only am I quite fond of it, I now fully understand why the Camry is such a popular car, the default big sedan that racks up sales Koreans dream about in our part of the world.
First, let?s get some niggles out of the way. There?s no Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) available, even on our range topping RM180,900 2.5V. This is either very stingy or a big oversight on Toyota?s part, especially when the previous Camry had it. Needs to be rectified for the facelift, if not sooner.
Looks wise, I prefer the quiet elegance of the previous model (pre-facelift was even smoother) than the sharper ?more dynamic? lines of this Camry. Could be just me, but it looks a little forced. Perhaps they wanted to incorporate ?more Lexus? into the image, but those who prioritise eye-catching design won?t be looking this way, not with the Sonata and Optima in town.
The chiselled new face, dominated by that huge chromed grille, is bolder but a bit fussy, and those LED strips below the fog lamps can?t be anything but an afterthought. There?s more adventure then you?d expect from Toyota?s designers though ? there?s an arc that rises from the headlamps, diving down to meet the rising belt line for a signature character stroke.
Another unique cue is the way the car?s sides don?t meld into the front and rear surfaces, and are instead ?cut off? quite severely. Toyota calls this ?aero corner design? and it helps simplify air flow, aiding aerodynamics along with the discreet ?aero stabilising fin? behind the wing mirrors and under-floor covers.
Moving inside, I like the simplicity of this new dashboard. Same amount of functions, via less buttons ? a completely opposite approach from the Honda Accord.
Another plus point for me is the rich meter panel, now incorporating a fuel-consumption section (needle for average FC, light bar for instantaneous) and a two-tier trip meter. When the latter shows average FC and range, I rarely need to jog it via the steering buttons. And like most new cars, an ECO light is included to coach your right foot.
It has to be said though that the more spartan feel (?feel? because there are no less functions than before) and plain black plastic on the centre stack do little to add to the impression of luxury, something that the previous car did better. Points are clawed back with the stitched dashboard, stereo knobs with fine cut surfacing and a richly-lined handphone slot below the AC panel.
If wood is a must, then they?ve done all they can to make the cabin look ?younger? compared to the previous Camry and the Nissan Teana. The black-beige colour combo is right for me, especially in a car like this. The lighter hue provides an expansive feel, while the contrasting black (dashboard, steering, door caps) adds dynamism. Better than the Teana?s different shades of beige theme, I think.
Let?s not forget the Camry specials. Things like a powered rear blind, manual rear window blinds and shoulder switches give the Camry a touch of limo appeal. The latter is located on the side of the front passenger seat, allowing the driver to adjust that seat electrically without bending over and stretching. Ferrying the family over the weekend, I used it often.
Speaking of limo appeal, rear occupants can really sit back and relax, like a boss. Besides the features above, the Camry?s front passenger headrest can be folded down for a better view.
The rear bench seating position is good (base not too low, seat back angle not too reclined) and there?s plenty of knee and legroom, more than before thanks to reshaped front seat backs and centre console, which houses air vents. The Camry?s exterior dimensions, 2,775 mm wheelbase included, are unchanged, but packaging has been improved to realise better cabin space.
Kit wise, our 2.5V came with niceties like HID projectors (across the range), eight-way powered seats with electric lumbar for the driver, touch-screen DVD-AVN system with USB, AUX, Bluetooth and reverse camera, front and side airbags, plus keyless entry with push start button.
Good stuff, but for the money, I would have liked an anti-glare rear view mirror (current one is a thin, cheap looking unit) and wing mirrors that auto fold along with the keyless entry. There?s also no auto headlamps and wipers.
Much has been said about the rise of the Koreans, who are doing a great job, but this new Camry is proof (or rather reminder) that Toyota really knows how to make a big sedan work. No edgy design or fancy glass roof here, just a very comfortable and effortless cruiser.
The 2AR-FE 2.5-litre engine (Dual VVTi, 181 PS, 231 Nm) is very well insulated and smooth revving, and the way it picks up speed with that strong mid range is impressive.
Same goes for the silky six-speed auto gearbox, which is a good balance between smoothness and speed ? changing gears is not so sharp till you feel it, but it does not overlap and slur its way around either. Judgement and perception is very good, which is why I never felt the need to use manual mode.
There?s a slickness and effortlessness to this drivetrain that?s missing in say, a Hyundai Sonata, which is more rough around the edges, and the hushed way the Camry goes about its business should appeal to more in this segment than charismatic nemesis Honda Accord.
The Camry is a smooth operator, which is why I was surprised at the higher than expected vibration at idle, which isn?t in character. Could be an isolated case, but even if not, I reckon that it?s not something that many would notice, only because we?re serial testers.
Some might say that the Camry has always been smooth. True, but it has never been this competent when hustled. The big Toyota is still not a driver?s car, or even as nice to drive hard down a B-road than an Accord, but it doesn?t feel as uncomfortable as before should you insist.
The steering has surprising weight to it, too. Not much feel, but its precision and weight alone makes the Camry a sharper tool than before. Trunk road driving is not a nightmare as many keen drivers would expect ? tyres squeal very early on, and there?s quite a bit of roll, but body control is decent.
Ride comfort is good, and the primary high-speed ride isn?t disconcertingly floaty. Road and wind noise are very well insulated, adding to the XV50?s mile munching cruiser appeal. The Camry has always been a smooth operator, but this time around, the dynamics have caught up a little.
Living with it for a few days, I can understand why the Camry is so popular with the conservative buyer. It?s not the most exciting player around (far from it), there are spec (too low) and price (too high) issues, and there?s that image problem with younger folks; but Toyota understands what the bulk of D-segment buyers want, and executes the plan well, on the 2.5V at least.
Of course, there?s also the strong resale value and service network the brand commands, things that are high up the priority list of many car buyers.
I?m pleasantly surprised. The uncle never had it this good.
Paul says:The Camry does well in matters that the target buyer wants and can perceive. But everyone thinks bad things only happen to the next guy, and the lack of demand of stability control even in this RM150k-RM200k segment (and hence the removal of this feature in all variants of the Camry for whatever reasons) shows how alarmingly uneducated Malaysian buyers are about safety features. While the car is competent, Toyota seriously needs to add VSC stability control back into this car with the facelift. Until then it is hard to recommend anyone to purchase this if you care about your safety on the road. If you really want a Camry, I would recommend you look for a low mileage last generation model with VSC and some warranty left if you must have warranty.
Total success. After many delays, Felix did it. He reached the highest altitude ever reached by any man in a balloon, more than 127,000 feet. He then jumped and fell faster than any man, breaking Mach 1 (it's unofficial for now, they have to confirm it). More »
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Union picketing has brought a temporary halt to second-season production of the NBC reality show "Fashion Star."
About 70 members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees picketed the show Saturday at Hollywood Center Studios, prompting producers to cancel a taping and dismiss a studio audience.
IATSE official Vanessa Holtgrew told the Hollywood Reporter the union was striking against the show until a contract is reached.
The union allows members to work on the non-union "Fashion Star," but they get no pension and health benefits without a union contract.
IATSE is fighting to keep a foothold as union-heavy productions like feature films in Los Angeles increasingly give way to productions that tend to be non-union like reality shows.
NBC and the show's three production companies had no immediate comment.
___
Information from: The Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathwayPublic release date: 12-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: J. Andrew Pospisilik pospisilik@immunbio.mpg.de 49-761-510-8757 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Scientists discover novel diabetes and obesity therapy, and potential cause of major side effects from hedgehog inhibitors used as a cancer treatment
This press release is available in German.
Cancer, diabetes, and excess body weight have one thing in common: they alter cellular metabolism. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and the Medical University of Vienna together with an international research team have jointly resolved a new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism. The previously unknown signalling pathway, acting downstream of the hedgehog protein enables muscle cells and brown fat cells to absorb sugars without relying on insulin. Substances that selectively activate the signalling pathway could thus be utilized in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. With their results, the researchers are also able to explain why various new anti-cancer agents have induced mysterious pronounced side effects in the clinics.
Hedgehog was initially identified as an important protein for embryonic development across various organisms. Without hedgehog, the physiological partitions of the embryo become indistinct. However, hedgehog also influences replication, migration and specialisation of cells that is, the processes that also play a role in carcinogenesis. Mutation of genes also occurs concomitantly in various types of cancer, such as pancreatic, gastric or intestinal carcinomas. Above and beyond this, hedgehog inhibits the formation of "bad" white adipose tissue. Brown or "good" fat that serves to control body temperature, however, remains unaffected.
Hedgehog is therefore a very promising target for medications that fight cancer, diabetes and excess body weight. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first hedgehog inhibitor, Vismodegib, for treatment of cancer this year. There are presently at least six further agents being tested in clinical studies. Surprisingly, the first patient cohorts receiving Vismodegib have shown serious side effects, such as weight loss and muscle cramps, to the extent that more than half of the participants in the studies had to discontinue use.
The new research results appear to explain the mysterious cramps and suggest an easy, safe and already available adjunct therapy to resolve the complication. The researchers discovered a new hedgehog signalling pathway that is independent of the activation of transcription factors and genes known thus far. Cells control their primary energy metabolism, including the glucose, fatty acid and amino acid metabolisms, via this pathway.
The membrane protein known as Smo plays an important role here. Smo controls the known signalling pathway through transcription factors, as well as the new pathway via a much faster AMP-kinase enzyme and calcium dependent pathway. Smo is activated if hedgehog binds to a specialised receptor in the cell membrane. In the signalling pathway that has now been discovered, calcium flows through the membrane channels into the cell and activates calcium-dependent enzymes that in turn activate the AMP-kinase. This completely rewires metabolism. The cell can rapidly absorb large quantities of glucose using the AMP-kinase and other enzymes, rebalancing anabolism and catabolism.
Further, rather promoting efficient energy metabolism through mitochondria, the new hedgehog signalling pathway prompts much less efficient via lactic acid fermentation a process with which cancer cells use to acquire their energy without oxygen, for example (Warburg effect).
Even more surprising, the new pathway is stimulated promiscuously by both classical activators and inhibitors of the old, "canonical" hedgehog pathway. This finding potentially flips the interpretation of tens, if not hundreds of research papers in the field. Still not clear, this could be one additional reason why hedgehog inhibitors are so effective, in essence they starve the cancer cells from the inside.
Counterintuitive inhibitor-based activation of the hedgehog and Smo-calcium/AMP-kinase signalling pathways interferes with anabolic metabolism. "Activation of the AMP-kinase and increased catabolism could explain the exaggerated weight loss of the participants in the clinical studies. More importantly though, the influx of calcium into muscle cells leads to instant contraction, and must be triggering the cramps," explains Andrew Pospisilik from the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg.
Importantly, Hedgehog inhibitors do not have to lead to these side effects. "We targeted the Smo protein with various substances and found out that there are inhibitors that do not evoke an increase in calcium or glucose values, and critically, these same inhibitors fail to cause muscle cells to contract in culture. The development of medications such as these, which have minimal side effects, is therefore entirely possible," says Pospisilik.
In addition, again using fat cells, the scientists find that cells dramatically increase the glucose quantity they can absorb without relying on insulin. Glucose-tolerance tests on mice confirmed the findings. This was accomplished by administering a specific amount of glucose via the food and measuring the blood glucose concentration afterwards. Mice that had previously been treated with the classic hedgehog inhibitor cyclopamine had correspondingly lower blood glucose than untreated animals. Apparently, cyclopamine increases the glucose absorption, but only in the brown adipose tissue and various types of muscle tissue. Thus, researchers measured an increase in body temperature of around one degree a sign of higher activity in brown adipose tissue.
"Agents that only activate the Smo-calcium/AMP-kinase hedgehog signalling pathway are therefore candidates as medications for treating excess body weight, as well as type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Similar to the broad hedgehog inhibitors, they possess the potential to induce muscle cramps. Thanks to our findings, we now know that a new agent must first be tested on muscle cells before it is used on humans," says Harald Esterbauer from the Medical University of Vienna.
###
Original Publication:
Hedgehog partial agonism drives Warburg-like metabolism in muscle and brown fat
Raffaele Teperino, Sabine Amann, Martina Bayer, Sean L. McGee, Andrea Loipetzberger, Timothy Connor, Carsten Jaeger, Bernd Kammerer, Lilli Winter, Gerhard Wiche, Kevin Dalgaard, Madhan Selvaraj, Jeremy Reiter, Michael Gaster, Robert S. Lee-Young, Mark A. Febbraio, Claude Knauf, Patrice D. Cani, Fritz Aberger, Josef M. Penninger, J. Andrew Pospisilik, and Harald Esterbauer
Cell, 12 October 2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Cells control energy metabolism via hedgehog signalling pathwayPublic release date: 12-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: J. Andrew Pospisilik pospisilik@immunbio.mpg.de 49-761-510-8757 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Scientists discover novel diabetes and obesity therapy, and potential cause of major side effects from hedgehog inhibitors used as a cancer treatment
This press release is available in German.
Cancer, diabetes, and excess body weight have one thing in common: they alter cellular metabolism. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and the Medical University of Vienna together with an international research team have jointly resolved a new molecular circuit controlling cellular metabolism. The previously unknown signalling pathway, acting downstream of the hedgehog protein enables muscle cells and brown fat cells to absorb sugars without relying on insulin. Substances that selectively activate the signalling pathway could thus be utilized in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. With their results, the researchers are also able to explain why various new anti-cancer agents have induced mysterious pronounced side effects in the clinics.
Hedgehog was initially identified as an important protein for embryonic development across various organisms. Without hedgehog, the physiological partitions of the embryo become indistinct. However, hedgehog also influences replication, migration and specialisation of cells that is, the processes that also play a role in carcinogenesis. Mutation of genes also occurs concomitantly in various types of cancer, such as pancreatic, gastric or intestinal carcinomas. Above and beyond this, hedgehog inhibits the formation of "bad" white adipose tissue. Brown or "good" fat that serves to control body temperature, however, remains unaffected.
Hedgehog is therefore a very promising target for medications that fight cancer, diabetes and excess body weight. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first hedgehog inhibitor, Vismodegib, for treatment of cancer this year. There are presently at least six further agents being tested in clinical studies. Surprisingly, the first patient cohorts receiving Vismodegib have shown serious side effects, such as weight loss and muscle cramps, to the extent that more than half of the participants in the studies had to discontinue use.
The new research results appear to explain the mysterious cramps and suggest an easy, safe and already available adjunct therapy to resolve the complication. The researchers discovered a new hedgehog signalling pathway that is independent of the activation of transcription factors and genes known thus far. Cells control their primary energy metabolism, including the glucose, fatty acid and amino acid metabolisms, via this pathway.
The membrane protein known as Smo plays an important role here. Smo controls the known signalling pathway through transcription factors, as well as the new pathway via a much faster AMP-kinase enzyme and calcium dependent pathway. Smo is activated if hedgehog binds to a specialised receptor in the cell membrane. In the signalling pathway that has now been discovered, calcium flows through the membrane channels into the cell and activates calcium-dependent enzymes that in turn activate the AMP-kinase. This completely rewires metabolism. The cell can rapidly absorb large quantities of glucose using the AMP-kinase and other enzymes, rebalancing anabolism and catabolism.
Further, rather promoting efficient energy metabolism through mitochondria, the new hedgehog signalling pathway prompts much less efficient via lactic acid fermentation a process with which cancer cells use to acquire their energy without oxygen, for example (Warburg effect).
Even more surprising, the new pathway is stimulated promiscuously by both classical activators and inhibitors of the old, "canonical" hedgehog pathway. This finding potentially flips the interpretation of tens, if not hundreds of research papers in the field. Still not clear, this could be one additional reason why hedgehog inhibitors are so effective, in essence they starve the cancer cells from the inside.
Counterintuitive inhibitor-based activation of the hedgehog and Smo-calcium/AMP-kinase signalling pathways interferes with anabolic metabolism. "Activation of the AMP-kinase and increased catabolism could explain the exaggerated weight loss of the participants in the clinical studies. More importantly though, the influx of calcium into muscle cells leads to instant contraction, and must be triggering the cramps," explains Andrew Pospisilik from the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg.
Importantly, Hedgehog inhibitors do not have to lead to these side effects. "We targeted the Smo protein with various substances and found out that there are inhibitors that do not evoke an increase in calcium or glucose values, and critically, these same inhibitors fail to cause muscle cells to contract in culture. The development of medications such as these, which have minimal side effects, is therefore entirely possible," says Pospisilik.
In addition, again using fat cells, the scientists find that cells dramatically increase the glucose quantity they can absorb without relying on insulin. Glucose-tolerance tests on mice confirmed the findings. This was accomplished by administering a specific amount of glucose via the food and measuring the blood glucose concentration afterwards. Mice that had previously been treated with the classic hedgehog inhibitor cyclopamine had correspondingly lower blood glucose than untreated animals. Apparently, cyclopamine increases the glucose absorption, but only in the brown adipose tissue and various types of muscle tissue. Thus, researchers measured an increase in body temperature of around one degree a sign of higher activity in brown adipose tissue.
"Agents that only activate the Smo-calcium/AMP-kinase hedgehog signalling pathway are therefore candidates as medications for treating excess body weight, as well as type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Similar to the broad hedgehog inhibitors, they possess the potential to induce muscle cramps. Thanks to our findings, we now know that a new agent must first be tested on muscle cells before it is used on humans," says Harald Esterbauer from the Medical University of Vienna.
###
Original Publication:
Hedgehog partial agonism drives Warburg-like metabolism in muscle and brown fat
Raffaele Teperino, Sabine Amann, Martina Bayer, Sean L. McGee, Andrea Loipetzberger, Timothy Connor, Carsten Jaeger, Bernd Kammerer, Lilli Winter, Gerhard Wiche, Kevin Dalgaard, Madhan Selvaraj, Jeremy Reiter, Michael Gaster, Robert S. Lee-Young, Mark A. Febbraio, Claude Knauf, Patrice D. Cani, Fritz Aberger, Josef M. Penninger, J. Andrew Pospisilik, and Harald Esterbauer
Cell, 12 October 2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Dr. Doug McGuff?s The 21 Convention Presentation in 2 Words: You?re Fucked 
My Butt Hurts So Bad 
The 21 Convention, Austin, TX, 2012 
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Public release date: 12-Oct-2012
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