This week brings us everything from mega releases to retro revivals and small-time grabs for success. Topping the list is Bladeslinger, the highly anticipated 3D action title with a crazy concept and world. We've also got a new Action real-time strategy (RTS) from Gameloft, a revival of the craziest graffiti skating game Japan ever offered, a top-down racer from a great studio, and a very possible Impossible Test sequel. That's not even mentioning the zombie bowling game!
This is merely the first entry in what's sure to be a fantastic series of games from Kerosene and Luma Arcade. It's a Western themed action adventure with some steampunk elements, and you fight through hordes of rampaging mutants. The touch controls, while not perfect, are surprisingly intuitive and innovative, and shooting, slashing, dodging, and stabbing your way around the battlefield is easy as pie. Not only that, but the visuals are some of the best on mobile devices so far, up to par with any Gameloft game. The setting may be a bit bizarre, but if you want a solid, if repetitive action game, look no further.
Gameloft finally thrown their hat into that very particular arena of Action RTS games, more commonly known as a MOBA, or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Like League of Legends, or the original Defense of the Ancients mode that inspired the genre, you take control of a hero and fight alongside your friends, pushing to the enemy base through turrets and RPG style combat. The connection with Order & Chaos Online doesn't seem very prevalent. Unlike Legendary Heroes, the last big MOBA release for iOS, this game actually lets you play on a team instead of controlling the entire team yourself, and it offers online play. I love a good MOBA, and like millions of others, have been waiting for such a game on iOS. That game is finally here.
This is one of those bizarre classics that could only have come from absurd world of the SEGA Dreamcast. Yes, this is one of those games that make old school gamers pine for the good old days, and man is it weird. Each level has you skating around a fairly open world, tagging just about everything you can find, including people, with your gang's graffiti symbols. Vandalism and inner city turf wars have never been so kid-friendly. It really is a great game, and now that it's on iOS, a whole new generation can enjoy it.
The first Impossible Test was ludicrously popular, and not nearly as impossible as advertised. Still, with such a following, PixelCUBE was able to bring us plenty of spin off games such as Impossible Test Space and Summer. But only now do we get an official sequel, with a number at the end of the title and everything. You already know what to expect with this one. More hilariously literal and obvious or deceptively tricky puzzles and riddles to complete. When all is said and done, you can go back in for leaderboard speed runs. The previous games were downloaded by everyone, and this one probably will be too.
Activision, with their swimming pools filled with money, decided to do the obvious thing with that money, and release a hilariously cheesy bowling game in which you literally bowl zombies. It may sound random and gimmicky, but the developers at Slant Six Games know what they're doing, with a self-aware, tongue in cheek sense of humor that simply revels in the absurdity of the concept. Turns out guns can't kill zombies, even with headshots. Only a secretly developed government bowling ball can. Luckily, you're an awesome bowler who happens to find it. Also, everything is drenched in that dirty, bloody, 70's grindhouse movie aesthetic, which is a nice touch.
Even a passing glance at the features list of Ghost Racer can be very underwhelming. We've already seen top-down racers that allow you to race against "Ghosts" of your online friends best runs, and they often had more features on top of that. A second glance, however, reveals that this is from the same developer of Mos Speedrun, which is one of the best pixel art platformers to hit the App Store. It turns out the gameplay is quite solid, and while this won't take the iOS gamers by storm, it's worth at least an afternoon of play.
Job Summary: The Grant and Contract Accountant is responsible for monitoring all aspects of fiscal management for Special
Programs/DYPG and other year round federal, state, and/or local funded programs within the department of Special Programs to ensure
effective and efficient operation while maintaining a professional work environmental to ensure compliance with rules and regulations
applicable at a public institution of higher education including, but not limited to expenditure allowability. Interprets and implements
policies and procedures mandated by the system, and University to assure department is in compliance. Provides Excellent Customer
Service.
Job Responsibilities: Monitor/Review expenditures from Federal funds to ensure compliance with U.S. Department of Education
and University requirement; assure proper documentation for all expenditures for audit purposes. Advises staff through written and oral
interpretation of TAMUK policies and procedures to ensure compliance and facilitate a cohesive work environment.
Responsible for reviewing and approving EPA (Employee Personnel Action) and Form 500s for DYPG accounts as delegate for AVP. Review reports
relative to the payroll, FAMIS and BCS Web Applications , including but not limited to Monthly and Bi-weekly; interface to verify accuracy
of transactions and coordinate with supervisors to resolve inaccurate entries, including periodic analysis of fund availability relative to
payroll.
Responsible for researching and resolving grant discrepancies and determine correction and or adjustment required to ensure proper
accounting of expenditures. Request cost transfer or correction on accounts to ensure compliance with OMB Circular A-21, agreement terms,
University policies and procedures. If necessary, contact Grants and Contract Department to initiate moving expenditures to correct account.
Liaison between program staff, and students to streamline the daily operation of Special Programs and maintain a professional image while
continuing to strengthen then the quality of work performed.
Reviews invoices for unallowable charges and verify programmatic integrity to ensure expenditure allowability. Approves the grant fiscal
expenditures to ensure grant project requirements are met and monies are expanded in manner that was intended by awarding agency.
Perform budget reconciliation on accounts as required. Provide financial data or reports, as requested, to AVP.
Provide financial and regulation feedback to DYPG staff; assist with questions and concerns regarding expenditures allowability and
compliance.
Attend and participate in staff meetings and related activities; attend workshops, conferences to increase professional knowledge; serves on
committees as assigned.
Perform other related job duties or responsibilities as requested or required, whether or not specifically mentioned in this job
description, such as special assignments as directed by the Assistant Vice President of Student Access.
Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting or Finance, or Equivalent work experience.
Two to five years progressively responsible accounting experience in university or in business environment.
Ability to
interpret written guidelines and policies.
Personal computer experience, including word processing and spreadsheets.
Experience in Federal Funded Programs.
Ability to comprehend and apply rules and regulations in complex environment.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Strong commitment to customer service and problem-solving skills.
Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.
Selected candidate must pass a pre-employment background
investigation to be hired for this position.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville is committed to excellence, the University invites applications from all qualified applicants. EEO/AA/ADA
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2012) ? Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet in our solar system, revolves around the sun in a mere 88 days, making a tight orbit that keeps the planet incredibly toasty. Surface temperatures on Mercury can reach a blistering 800 degrees Fahrenheit -- hot enough to liquefy lead.
Now researchers from NASA, MIT, the University of California at Los Angeles and elsewhere have discovered evidence that the scorching planet may harbor pockets of water ice, along with organic material, in several permanently shadowed craters near Mercury's north pole.
The surprising discovery suggests to scientists that both ice and organic material, such as carbon, may have been deposited on Mercury's surface by impacts from comets or asteroids. Over time, this volatile material could then have migrated to the planet's poles.
"We thought the most exciting finding could be that this really was water ice," says Maria Zuber, the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, and a member of the research team. "But the identification of darker, insulating material that may indicate complex organics makes the story even more thrilling."
Zuber and her colleagues published their results this week in the journal Science.
Mounting evidence for ice
The possibility that water ice might exist on Mercury is not new: In the 1990s, radar observations detected bright regions near Mercury's poles that scientists believed could be signs of either water ice or a rough planetary surface. However, the evidence was inconclusive for either scenario.
To get a clearer picture of Mercury's polar regions, Zuber and her colleagues analyzed observations taken by NASA's MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) mission, a probe that has been orbiting the planet and mapping its topography since April 2011.
Mapping the planet's surface is a challenging task, as the craft must weather the sun's intense radiation, which can "play havoc with electronics," Zuber says. What's more, the probe moves from pole to pole in an elliptical orbit, making for an extremely tricky mapping mission, both dynamically and thermally. Despite these challenges, MESSENGER's onboard laser altimeter has amassed more than 10 laser pulses that have been used to map topography and measure the near-infrared reflectance of the surface.
Last year, researchers analyzed the probe's topographic observations and created a high-resolution map of Mercury; they then overlaid previous radar observations. They found that the bright regions detected in radar lined up with permanently shadowed craters at the planet's north pole -- regions that never see the sun, and which are potentially ideal places for ice to survive. This finding was one more piece of evidence that Mercury might harbor water ice.
Revealing shadows
In this latest analysis of MESSENGER's observations, scientists believe they have found conclusive evidence for water ice on Mercury, although the data was at first puzzling.
The team found that the probe's reflectance measurements, taken via laser altimetry, matched up well with previously mapped radar-bright regions in Mercury's high northern latitudes. Two craters in particular were bright, both in radar and at laser wavelengths, indicating the possible presence of reflective ice. However, just south of these craters, others appeared dark with laser altimetry, but bright in radar.
The observations "threw us off track for a long time," Zuber says, until another team member, David Paige of UCLA, developed a thermal model of the planet. Using MESSENGER observations of Mercury's topography, reflectance and rotational characteristics, the model simulated the sun's illumination of the planet, enabling precise determination of Mercury's temperature at and below the surface.
Results indicated that the unusually bright deposits corresponded to regions where water ice was stable at the surface; in dark regions, ice was stable within a meter of the surface. The dark insulating material is consistent with complex organics that would already be dark but may have been darkened further by the intense radiation at Mercury's surface.
In addition, MESSENGER's neutron spectrometer detected elemental hydrogen in the vicinity of Mercury's north pole. The combination of the compositional, spectral and geometric observations and the thermal models provided a strong, self-consistent explanation for the unusual radar backscatter observations.
Paul Lucey, a professor of geophysics and planetology at the University of Hawaii, points out that MESSENGER has also revealed a number of regions where surfaces were much darker than in previous radar measurements. Lucey interprets these results as possible evidence of receding ice on Mercury's surface.
"This suggests that in the past, ice was more extensive on Mercury, and retreated to its current state," says Lucey, who was not involved in the research. "Even Mercury experiences global warming."
MESSENGER will continue to orbit Mercury, and Zuber says future data may reveal information beyond the planet's surface. "There are still some really good questions to answer about the interior," Zuber says. "I'll tell you, we're not done."
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Jennifer Chu.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal References:
David A. Paige, Matthew A. Siegler, John K. Harmon, Gregory A. Neumann, Erwan M. Mazarico, David E. Smith, Maria T. Zuber, Ellen Harju, Mona L. Delitsky, and Sean C. Solomon. Thermal Stability of Volatiles in the North Polar Region of Mercury. Science, 29 November 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1231106
Gregory A. Neumann, John F. Cavanaugh, Xiaoli Sun, Erwan M. Mazarico, David E. Smith, Maria T. Zuber, Dandan Mao, David A. Paige, Sean C. Solomon, Carolyn M. Ernst, and Olivier S. Barnouin. Bright and Dark Polar Deposits on Mercury: Evidence for Surface Volatiles. Science, 29 November 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1229764
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.
When herbivores such as caterpillars feed, plants may "call for help" by emitting volatiles, which can indirectly help defend the plants. The volatiles recruit parasitoids that infect, consume and kill the herbivores, to the benefit of the plant. However, such induced plant odours can also be detected by other organisms. A new study published November 27 in the open access journalPLOS Biology shows how secondary parasitoids ('hyperparasitoids') can take advantage of these plant signals to identify parasitoid-infected caterpillars, and duly infect the primary parasitoid, to the detriment of the original plant.
Plant volatiles have long been considered to mediate this mutualistic relationship between plants and herbivores' natural enemies such as parasitoids. When a caterpillar feeds, the parasitoids are able to use the emitted volatiles to locate the otherwise inconspicuous caterpillar, releasing the plant from its attacker. This principle has made its way into sustainable agriculture by using natural enemies such as parasitoids to control herbivorous pests on agricultural crops. However, the largest group of enemies of parasitoids, hyperparasitoids, have so far been left out of studies in this area. This is because very little is known about the cues that hyperparasitoids use to locate their parasitoid hosts.
The new study, by a team of Dutch researchers led by Erik Poelman, shows that hyperparasitoids exploit the different plant odours that are released when a plant is fed upon by a parasitoid-infected caterpillar.
"In controlled laboratory assays as well as under field conditions, hyperparasitoids were offered plant odours coming from two types of plant: ones damaged by healthy caterpillars, and ones damaged by parasitoid-infected caterpillars. We found that they preferentially detected odours of plants damaged by infected caterpillars," explained Dr Poelman. "We were excited by these results as they indicate that hyperparasitoids rely on a network of interactions among plant, herbivore and parasitoids to locate their host".
To show how this complex network of interactions can reliably provide hyperparasitoids with information on the presence of their parasitoid host, the researchers collected saliva of the caterpillars, as they noticed the colour of saliva in healthy, non-host caterpillars was different to that of caterpillars hosting a parasitoid. Factors in caterpillar saliva play an important role in provoking the release of odours from plants, and a change in saliva composition may then alter the cocktail of odours emitted by the plant.
Indeed, Dr Poelman's team found that plant odours induced by the saliva of parasitized caterpillars was more attractive to hyperparasitoids than plant odours induced by the saliva of healthy caterpillars. Consequently, plant odours may actually reduce the benefit of attracting parasitoids to a plant.
"Our results demonstrate that the effects of herbivore-induced plant volatiles should be placed in a community-wide perspective that includes species at the fourth trophic level, to improve our understanding of the ecological functions of volatile release by plants," said Dr Poelman. In addition to the ecological aspects of their work, the authors also stress that their findings are important for developing Integrated Pest Management strategies, in which crops are manipulated to control insect pests by using parasitoids.
Although parasitoids are effective biological control agents, this study suggests that using plant odours to optimize biological control of pests may have side effects that could actually reduce the benefit of pest control, said Dr Poelman.
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Poelman EH, Bruinsma M, Zhu F, Weldegergis BT, Boursault AE, et al. (2012) Hyperparasitoids Use Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles to Locate Their Parasitoid Host. PLoS Biol 10(11): e1001435. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001435
Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org
Thanks to Public Library of Science 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.
Whether you are enjoying your golden years or a family member of a senior, there are things to look out for to increase their safety. Even if you live in a retirement community, some of these will still apply. Seniors tend to be the target of scam artists and hoodlums. They will case a home before they strike and sometimes it doesn?t end well. Being well protected will ease everyone?s mind.
Having double paned windows are great for energy efficiency, but they also have very secure locks on them. However, in the event that one is left unlocked, another safety measure should be taken just to ensure complete home security. It is as simple as having wooden dowels cut to fit in the tracks of all the windows in the house, even the bathroom. Home improvement stores generally carry these and will cut them for you if you ask.
Traditionally, we just lock our front door and rely on us not losing the keys to get us back in. Now, there is a way to unlock the door using the cell phone. The app is easy to navigate and requires an electronic device be put on the deadbolt area of the door. It can be easily installed with a screwdriver and is accessible from anywhere in the world, on most accounts. They can also be programmed to work with multiple phones, so family can unlock it in case of emergency or if the parents ever get locked out.
Any outside entrance to the home is a concern. Garage doors are one of those safety issues that should be addressed. But it is only a garage door, you say? Well, that is true, but it is one of the biggest threats to home security. Having a newer model of garage door opener will reduce the risk of anyone being able to copy the code used to open the door. However, carry the opener in your purse or invest in a keychain opener. If anyone were to get into the car, they would take the opener to be able to get inside the home. When going on a trip, use padlocks to secure the door by the handles near the ground. But even more importantly, always lock the door that leads from your garage into the house. If possible, install a deadbolt to reinforce the door and make it that much harder to get in.
This doesn?t deter thieves, but it is a very important part of safety and feeling secure in your home. Fires kill more than 4,000 people every year. That is not including those that die from complications due to the fire. That?s a lot of casualties that might have been prevented. Change the batteries in all smoke detectors each month. Just testing the alarms may not ensure that the batteries will work when there is a need for them to. New fresh batteries will keep them in tip top shape all the time. Practice an escape plan so if there were a fire in the home, the residents will know what to do based on the circumstances.?
Security of the home is so very important and so many of us pay little attention to it. If there are any concerns, address them sooner than later. Ask for help if you need it, but don?t be the victim of a terrible event because your locks and codes are subpar. Your personal safety should be a priority.
Maddy Olsen??blogs on a variety of subjects that are deep topics and can change lives. Writing for Brookdale http://www.brookdaleliving.com/?assisted living is a very rewarding passion she enjoys. Several losses in her family to Alzheimer?s Disease has prompted her write about the topics she has researched or practiced.
Tagged as: doors, garage doors, home security, scam artists, smoke alarms, thieves, windows
ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? Sea levels are rising 60 per cent faster than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) central projections, new research suggests.
While temperature rises appear to be consistent with the projections made in the IPCC's fourth assessment report (AR4), satellite measurements show that sea levels are actually rising at a rate of 3.2 mm a year compared to the best estimate of 2 mm a year in the report.
The researchers, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Tempo Analytics and Laboratoire d'Etudes en G?ophysique et Oc?anographie Spatiales, believe that findings such as these are important for keeping track of how well past projections match the accumulating observational data, especially as projections made by the IPCC are increasingly being used in decision making.
The study, which has been published November 28, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, involved an analysis of global temperatures and sea-level data over the past two decades, comparing them both to projections made in the IPCC's third and fourth assessment reports.
Results were obtained by taking averages from the five available global land and ocean temperature series.
After removing the three known phenomena that cause short-term variability in global temperatures -- solar variations, volcanic aerosols and El Nino/Southern Oscillation -- the researchers found that the overall warming trend at the moment is 0.16?C per decade, which closely follows the IPCC's projections.
Satellite measurements of sea levels showed a different picture, however, with current rates of increase being 60 per cent faster than the IPCC's AR4 projections.
Satellites measure sea-level rise by bouncing radar waves back off the sea surface and are much more accurate than tide gauges as they have near-global coverage; tide gauges only sample along the coast. Tide gauges also include variability that has nothing to do with changes in global sea level, but rather with how the water moves around in the oceans, such as under the influence of wind.
The study also shows that it is very unlikely that the increased rate is down to internal variability in our climate system and also shows that non-climatic components of sea-level rise, such as water storage in reservoirs and groundwater extraction, do not have an effect on the comparisons made.
Lead author of the study, Stefan Rahmstorf, said: "This study shows once again that the IPCC is far from alarmist, but in fact has under-estimated the problem of climate change. That applies not just for sea-level rise, but also to extreme events and the Arctic sea-ice loss."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Stefan Rahmstorf, Grant Foster, Anny Cazenave. Comparing climate projections to observations up to 2011. Environmental Research Letters, 2012; 7 (4): 044035 DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044035
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.
Designed with a young, hip, and active demographic in mind (cliche alert!), Hyundai's C3 (convertible three door) concept is inspired by California's bike and skateboarding culture. The roll top can be opened to the front or the rear, and the floor is constructed of recycled skateboard decks. During the unveiling, Hyundai showed off the car's utility by rolling the top to the front, lowering the rear lift gate, and storing a standing bike in the rear cargo space. The roll top's design was a bit much, but we like the idea.
The folks who do this sort of thing have updated the Google Apps package today, handing you a shiny new flashable to go with that 4.1.2 AOSP ROM you're about to download.
Technically a grey area, Google doesn't release their closed source applications for redistribution. Instead, they get sucked out of a phone running the current version, and blood, sweat, and scripts are used to create a package that gives you all the Googley services you would expect from an Android phone.
Yesterday's 4.1.2 updates didn't bring about any new versions of the Gapps, so we imagine this update is more along the lines of streamlining and enhancing the installation process -- the biggest step in the whole process. Grab em from the source link below so you have them the next time you need them.
Skid & the Too Tiny Tunnel (Hardcover) By Jeffery Stoddard
Review & Description
Skid, the littlest yellow tractor in the equipment yard, wants to be mighty like the giant bulldozers, tall cranes, and massive diggers who tower over him. But all the big machines tell him he is just a dinky tractor with a putt-putt engine. While they are busy building a new road through the mountain, Skid is left behind to take out the garbage.
When disaster strikes and a tunnel the machines are digging collapses, Pillar, the biggest bulldozer, is left trapped in the rubble. Only a small opening is left at the tunnel entrance and the only one who can fit through the opening is Skid who is afraid of the dark.
Now it's up to the tiniest tractor to save the day. Can Skid find the courage to do what he was made to do and prove that he doesn't have to be big to be mighty? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a New Mexicopeanut butter plant that had repeated food safety violations over several years, using new authority to halt operations at facilities that may be producing unsafe food.
The agency on Monday suspended the registration of Sunland Inc., which is the country's largest organic peanut butter processor. FDA officials found salmonella in numerous locations in Sunland's processing plant after 41 people in 20 states, most of them children, were sickened by peanut butter manufactured at the Portales, N.M., plant and sold at the Trader Joe's grocery chain. The company had announced plans to reopen its peanut processing facility on Tuesday after voluntarily shutting down earlier this fall.
The FDA gained the new authority to suspend companies' registrations in a food safety law signed by President Barack Obama in early 2011, and this is the first time the agency has used it. The ability to shut down the company's operations is a step forward in an FDA effort to stem a growing number of widespread outbreaks like the salmonella illnesses linked to the peanut butter, said Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods.
Before the food safety law was enacted, the FDA would have had to go to court to suspend a company's registration.
"We would have had to go to court and build a case," Taylor said, stressing that the burden will now be on the company to prove it is safe.
Sunland had closed its peanut processing facility after the September outbreak. It planned to reopen this week with hopes of selling peanut butter again by the end of the year. Sunland spokeswoman Katalin Coburn said the FDA's decision to suspend the registration was a surprise to the company and Sunland officials had assumed they would be allowed to resume operations.
The company now has the right to a hearing and must prove to the agency that its facilities are clean enough to reopen. Coburn said Sunland is cooperating with the FDA and company officials hope they can be operating again soon.
Besides organic peanut butter, Sunland also produces many non-organic products. The company recalled hundreds of organic and non-organic nut butters and nuts manufactured since 2010 after Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter was linked to the salmonella illnesses in September.
In addition to Trader Joe's, Sunland sold hundreds of different peanut products to Target, Safeway, Whole Foods and other large grocery chains. Many of the grocery stores repackaged Sunland products and sold them under their own names.
After the outbreak linked to Sunland and to Trader Joe's, FDA inspectors found samples of salmonella in 28 different locations in the plant, in 13 nut butter samples and in one sample of raw peanuts.
The agency also found improper handling of products, unclean equipment and uncovered trailers of peanuts that were exposed to rain and birds outside the facility.
The FDA said that over the past three years, the company shipped products even though portions of their lots, or daily production runs, tested positive for salmonella in internal tests. The agency also found that the internal tests failed to find salmonella when it was present.
FDA inspectors found many of the same problems, including employees putting their bare fingers in empty jars before they were filled, open bags of ingredients, unclean equipment and many other violations, in a 2007 inspection. Similar issues were recorded by inspectors in 2009, 2010 and 2011, although government officials didn't take any action or release the results of those inspections until after the illnesses were discovered this year.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Sunland's president and chief executive officer, Jimmie Shearer, denied the company knowingly shipped tainted products.
"At no time in its 24-year history has Sunland Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms," Shearer said in a statement posted on the company's website. "In every instance where test results indicated the presence of a contaminant, the implicated product was destroyed and not released for distribution."
A separate peanut butter outbreak in 2009, not related to Sunland, was linked to hundreds of illnesses and nine deaths.
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Online:
http://www.sunlandinc.com/
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Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick
Thomas Jefferson University honoring Axel Ullrich with Lennox K. Black International PrizePublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Graff stephen.graff@jefferson.edu 215-955-5291 Thomas Jefferson University
2-day symposium Nov. 29-30 will focus on individualized medicine
PHILADELPHIAThomas Jefferson University will honor the renowned biotech researcher whose discoveries led to a slew of innovative drugs that revolutionized treatment including Herceptinone of the first gene-based medications for breast cancerwith its prestigious Lennox K. Black International Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research.
Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, will receive the recognition for his work in individualized medicine during a two-day symposium that will feature speakers from Jefferson, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Johns Hopkins University, Genentech and former Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Director Carlo Croce, M.D., Director of the Human Cancer Genetics Program at The Ohio State University.
The symposium, "Individualized Medicine," will be held November 29 and 30 on the Jefferson campus at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building, Connelly Auditorium, 1001 Locust Street. The prize award and keynote speech by Dr. Ullrich will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 29. Michael J. Vergare, M.D., Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Jefferson, will present the award to Dr. Ullrich on behalf of the University.
The prize is awarded every two years to recognize the impact of pioneering biomedical research on the alleviation of human disease and suffering. Another goal is to draw the international scientific research community together in recognition of the ability of the spirit of human inquiry to transcend national boundaries and divisions.
For the past 25 plus years, Dr. Ullrich has been a leader in the biotechnology world, translating many of his basic science discoveries into clinical applications. Dr. Ullrich and his team's research led to the development of the drug Humulin (human insulin for diabetes), which is the first therapeutic agent ever to be developed through gene-based technology.
Another product based on Dr. Ullrich's work is the anti-cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab). In the mid-1980s, Dr. Ullrich and collaborators discovered that 30 percent of breast cancer patients overexpress the HER2 gene, which is a gene involved in the development of invasive cancers. This was the basis for the development of a monoclonal antibody that inhibits HER2 production, known as Herceptin, which been used since the late 1990s to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer. It has been shown to improve overall survival and prevents tumor recurrence in many women.
Dr. Ullrich received his primary degree in biochemistry at the University of Tubingen, Germany, and his Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in Molecular Genetics in 1975. He worked as a senior scientist at Genentech in San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. Since then, he has been Managing Director of the Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry.
He also received the 2010 Wolf Prize for research on human proto-oncogenes and development of novel cancer therapies.
After the award and keynote speech are delivered, Marc S. Williams, M.D., Director of the Genomic Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, and David Nash, M.D., MBA, Dean of Jefferson School of Population Health, will address the symposium. A poster session and reception hosted by the Chairman of the symposium planning committee, Stephen C. Peiper, M.D., Peter A. Herbut Professor and Chair, in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Jefferson, will follow.
Several researchers will speak on Nov. 30, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Bluemle Life Sciences Building, 233 S 10th Street, Room 101, on "The Role of Structural Biology in Precision Medicine." That includes John M. Pascal, Ph.D., of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Jefferson, Wei Yang, Ph.D., a Senior Investigator and Section Chief at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH, Daniel J. Leahy, Ph.D., Professor of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, and Chris Bowden, M.D., Vice President of Product Development for Signal Transduction Inhibitors, Genentech.
The full agenda can be found here: www.jefferson.edu/international_affairs/symposiums
The Lennox K. Black Prize is given biennially by Jefferson to an international researcher who is accomplished in his or her field. This year marks the 7th symposium for this award at Jefferson. Previous Lennox K. Black International Prize winners include Professor Harald zur Hausen, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Barry J. Marshall, AC, Nobel Laureate.
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Thomas Jefferson University honoring Axel Ullrich with Lennox K. Black International PrizePublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Graff stephen.graff@jefferson.edu 215-955-5291 Thomas Jefferson University
2-day symposium Nov. 29-30 will focus on individualized medicine
PHILADELPHIAThomas Jefferson University will honor the renowned biotech researcher whose discoveries led to a slew of innovative drugs that revolutionized treatment including Herceptinone of the first gene-based medications for breast cancerwith its prestigious Lennox K. Black International Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research.
Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, will receive the recognition for his work in individualized medicine during a two-day symposium that will feature speakers from Jefferson, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Johns Hopkins University, Genentech and former Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Director Carlo Croce, M.D., Director of the Human Cancer Genetics Program at The Ohio State University.
The symposium, "Individualized Medicine," will be held November 29 and 30 on the Jefferson campus at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building, Connelly Auditorium, 1001 Locust Street. The prize award and keynote speech by Dr. Ullrich will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 29. Michael J. Vergare, M.D., Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Jefferson, will present the award to Dr. Ullrich on behalf of the University.
The prize is awarded every two years to recognize the impact of pioneering biomedical research on the alleviation of human disease and suffering. Another goal is to draw the international scientific research community together in recognition of the ability of the spirit of human inquiry to transcend national boundaries and divisions.
For the past 25 plus years, Dr. Ullrich has been a leader in the biotechnology world, translating many of his basic science discoveries into clinical applications. Dr. Ullrich and his team's research led to the development of the drug Humulin (human insulin for diabetes), which is the first therapeutic agent ever to be developed through gene-based technology.
Another product based on Dr. Ullrich's work is the anti-cancer drug Herceptin (trastuzumab). In the mid-1980s, Dr. Ullrich and collaborators discovered that 30 percent of breast cancer patients overexpress the HER2 gene, which is a gene involved in the development of invasive cancers. This was the basis for the development of a monoclonal antibody that inhibits HER2 production, known as Herceptin, which been used since the late 1990s to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer. It has been shown to improve overall survival and prevents tumor recurrence in many women.
Dr. Ullrich received his primary degree in biochemistry at the University of Tubingen, Germany, and his Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in Molecular Genetics in 1975. He worked as a senior scientist at Genentech in San Francisco from 1978 to 1988. Since then, he has been Managing Director of the Max Plank Institute of Biochemistry.
He also received the 2010 Wolf Prize for research on human proto-oncogenes and development of novel cancer therapies.
After the award and keynote speech are delivered, Marc S. Williams, M.D., Director of the Genomic Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, and David Nash, M.D., MBA, Dean of Jefferson School of Population Health, will address the symposium. A poster session and reception hosted by the Chairman of the symposium planning committee, Stephen C. Peiper, M.D., Peter A. Herbut Professor and Chair, in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Jefferson, will follow.
Several researchers will speak on Nov. 30, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Bluemle Life Sciences Building, 233 S 10th Street, Room 101, on "The Role of Structural Biology in Precision Medicine." That includes John M. Pascal, Ph.D., of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Jefferson, Wei Yang, Ph.D., a Senior Investigator and Section Chief at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH, Daniel J. Leahy, Ph.D., Professor of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, and Chris Bowden, M.D., Vice President of Product Development for Signal Transduction Inhibitors, Genentech.
The full agenda can be found here: www.jefferson.edu/international_affairs/symposiums
The Lennox K. Black Prize is given biennially by Jefferson to an international researcher who is accomplished in his or her field. This year marks the 7th symposium for this award at Jefferson. Previous Lennox K. Black International Prize winners include Professor Harald zur Hausen, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and Barry J. Marshall, AC, Nobel Laureate.
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AMSTERDAM (AP) ? IOC President Jacques Rogge supports proposals to double the length of doping bans to four years as a way of keeping drug cheats out of the Olympics.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is planning to raise the penalty from two to four years for serious drug violations in the next version of the global anti-doping code, which comes up for approval next year and goes into effect in 2015.
"We are waiting for the final text but already what is on the table today is something that is heartening for us," Rogge said Monday at conference in Amsterdam.
Rogge said the proposal "is something that satisfies us in that it endorses increasing sanctioning for what I would call heavy doping."
He said the change would be in line with the International Olympic Committee's previous failed attempt to bar any athlete slapped with a ban of more than six months from competing in the subsequent Olympics.
The so-called "Osaka Rule" was thrown out last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on grounds that the sanction represented a second penalty for the same offense and did not comply with the WADA code.
WADA's proposed four-year bans should serve the same purpose as the IOC rule.
"This is something that is completely in line with the Osaka Rule, because the Osaka Rule was to stop the athletes to participate in the next games if their penalty was higher than six months," Rogge said. "Now with this high penalty of four years, automatically you don't participate in the next games."
Rogge also said the IOC is still studying the case against Lance Armstrong to see if it can strip the American cyclist of the bronze medal he won in the time trial at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Armstrong has already been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for involvement in what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency called the biggest doping conspiracy in sports.
The IOC must consider its eight-year statute of limitations before deciding whether to take away Armstrong's Olympic medal.
"There is still legal work to be done," Rogge said.
Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in ChinaPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Yan Bei yanbei@scichina.org 86-106-400-8316 Science China Press
Soil respiration is a critical hydrological process that plays an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Associate Professor CHEN ShuTao and his colleagues from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology set out to estimate annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China. They have tabulated published estimates of annual soil respiration and developed an empirically based, semi-mechanistic model that includes climate and soil properties. They found that the highest and lowest annual soil respiration rates appear in southeastern China and northwestern China, respectively, which is in accordance with the spatial patterns of mean annual air temperature and annual precipitation. They also determined that annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China varied from 4.58 to 5.19 Pg of carbon per year (1 Pg = 11015 g or 1109 tonnes) between 1970 and 2009. Their work, entitled "Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China and its response to climate change", was published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, 2012, VOL 55 (10).
With the exception of gross photosynthesis, soil respiration (e.g., soil CO2 emissions) exceeds all other terrestrial-atmospheric carbon exchanges. Quantifying the spatio-temporal pattern of soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China is critical to provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the carbon budget. Great uncertainty remains from previous annual soil respiration estimates for terrestrial ecosystems in China, with a difference of 1 Pg of carbon per year between the highest and lowest values. Moreover, few studies have focused on the relationship between interannual variability in soil respiration and climatic factors. The need to develop a soil respiration model that includes increased field measurement data covering a wide range of plant functional types and biomes is urgent.
Based on in situ measurements, global soil respiration data sets have been compiled. These data sets include measured annual soil respiration from China and other countries, covering most types of terrestrial ecosystems. A annual soil respiration model was established using a range of predictors, data including mean air temperature, total annual precipitation and soil organic carbon storage. The data sets used in estimating soil respiration include climate (mean annual air temperature and precipitation) data sets from 1970 to 2009 and topsoil (0 cm) property data sets obtained from the Second State Soil Survey. Data on the annual precipitation at ~670 weather stations from 1970 to 2009 were obtained from the National Meteorological Information Center, China. By linking the model to the spatial database, the annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China was estimated from 1970 through 2009.
The variability of annual soil respiration shows clear spatial patterns in the data. Three distinct regions can be characterized by differences in their annual soil respiration; these regions can be geographically identified as southeastern China, northwestern China, and northern and northeastern China. The highest and lowest annual soil respiration rates appeared in southeastern China and northwestern China, respectively, in accordance with the spatial patterns of mean annual air temperature and annual precipitation. Annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China varied from 4.58 to 5.19 Pg of carbon per year between 1970 and 2009. During this time period, annual soil respiration was estimated to be 4.83 Pg carbon per year on average. Annual soil respiration in China accounted for 5% of the global annual soil respiration.
A significant linear relationship between annual soil respiration and annual precipitation was found. Precipitation may influence soil respiration by affecting vegetation growth and root activity. In this regard, precipitation is therefore an important factor controlling the terrestrial carbon cycle. Interannual variability in mean air temperature also influences the variability in annual soil respiration. This relationship suggests that, under a scenario of warming, increasing variability in mean annual air temperature incurs greater variability in annual soil respiration.
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See the article: Chen S T, Huang Y, Zou J W, et al. Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China and its response to climate change. SCI CHINA Earth Sci, 2012, 55(10).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in ChinaPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Yan Bei yanbei@scichina.org 86-106-400-8316 Science China Press
Soil respiration is a critical hydrological process that plays an important role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Associate Professor CHEN ShuTao and his colleagues from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology set out to estimate annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China. They have tabulated published estimates of annual soil respiration and developed an empirically based, semi-mechanistic model that includes climate and soil properties. They found that the highest and lowest annual soil respiration rates appear in southeastern China and northwestern China, respectively, which is in accordance with the spatial patterns of mean annual air temperature and annual precipitation. They also determined that annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China varied from 4.58 to 5.19 Pg of carbon per year (1 Pg = 11015 g or 1109 tonnes) between 1970 and 2009. Their work, entitled "Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China and its response to climate change", was published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, 2012, VOL 55 (10).
With the exception of gross photosynthesis, soil respiration (e.g., soil CO2 emissions) exceeds all other terrestrial-atmospheric carbon exchanges. Quantifying the spatio-temporal pattern of soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China is critical to provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the carbon budget. Great uncertainty remains from previous annual soil respiration estimates for terrestrial ecosystems in China, with a difference of 1 Pg of carbon per year between the highest and lowest values. Moreover, few studies have focused on the relationship between interannual variability in soil respiration and climatic factors. The need to develop a soil respiration model that includes increased field measurement data covering a wide range of plant functional types and biomes is urgent.
Based on in situ measurements, global soil respiration data sets have been compiled. These data sets include measured annual soil respiration from China and other countries, covering most types of terrestrial ecosystems. A annual soil respiration model was established using a range of predictors, data including mean air temperature, total annual precipitation and soil organic carbon storage. The data sets used in estimating soil respiration include climate (mean annual air temperature and precipitation) data sets from 1970 to 2009 and topsoil (0 cm) property data sets obtained from the Second State Soil Survey. Data on the annual precipitation at ~670 weather stations from 1970 to 2009 were obtained from the National Meteorological Information Center, China. By linking the model to the spatial database, the annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China was estimated from 1970 through 2009.
The variability of annual soil respiration shows clear spatial patterns in the data. Three distinct regions can be characterized by differences in their annual soil respiration; these regions can be geographically identified as southeastern China, northwestern China, and northern and northeastern China. The highest and lowest annual soil respiration rates appeared in southeastern China and northwestern China, respectively, in accordance with the spatial patterns of mean annual air temperature and annual precipitation. Annual soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China varied from 4.58 to 5.19 Pg of carbon per year between 1970 and 2009. During this time period, annual soil respiration was estimated to be 4.83 Pg carbon per year on average. Annual soil respiration in China accounted for 5% of the global annual soil respiration.
A significant linear relationship between annual soil respiration and annual precipitation was found. Precipitation may influence soil respiration by affecting vegetation growth and root activity. In this regard, precipitation is therefore an important factor controlling the terrestrial carbon cycle. Interannual variability in mean air temperature also influences the variability in annual soil respiration. This relationship suggests that, under a scenario of warming, increasing variability in mean annual air temperature incurs greater variability in annual soil respiration.
###
See the article: Chen S T, Huang Y, Zou J W, et al. Interannual variability in soil respiration from terrestrial ecosystems in China and its response to climate change. SCI CHINA Earth Sci, 2012, 55(10).
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
ROME (Reuters) - Pier Luigi Bersani, head of Italy's Democratic Party, will face his main rival Matteo Renzi in a runoff next week to pick the center-left candidate to fight to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister following the first round of a primary vote on Sunday.
With almost half the results counted, Bersani led with about 44 percent, ahead of Renzi, the youthful mayor of Florence, who was campaigning as a modernizer, at around 36 percent, according to party officials.
Both candidates have pledged to maintain the budget discipline pursued by Monti's technocrat government and to respect Italy's commitments to its European partners but say they will encourage growth and will not blindly pursue austerity policies.
"Pier Luigi Bersani has won the first round," Renzi, whose result was better than polls had projected, told supporters late on Sunday. He promised a "loyal" contest before the runoff vote on December 2.
"If we don't succeed, we'll lend a hand and together we will try to win and finally close the ugly chapter left by the centre-right," he said.
Nichi Vendola, the openly gay head of the left-wing Left, Ecology, Freedom party was in third place with 15 percent, while the remaining two candidates, Bruno Tabacci and Laura Puppato, trailed far behind.
The outcome of the second round will remove one major element of uncertainty dogging Italian politics ahead of spring elections to choose a successor to Monti's government, which took over after Silvio Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister in November, 2011.
Monti has said he will not run in the next election, expected in March, because it would destabilize the right-left coalition that now supports him, though he has left open the possibility of staying on if there is no outright winner.
The center-left alliance is well ahead in opinion polls for the election, although uncertainty over what electoral system will be used in the ballot means it is unclear whether it will be able to form a government without seeking allies from centrist parties.
Even so, the winner of the primary will be in pole position to take over Monti's efforts to control strained public finances and tackle a deep recession.
While the slick and dynamic Renzi, 37, is much more popular across the general population, the 61 year-old Bersani's core support among traditional PD party voters proved decisive.
"It's been a magnificent day. I'm extremely happy," Bersani said as his lead in the vote became clear.
The unified front contrasts with deep divisions in the center-right over whether to stick with Monti's unpopular economic policies. Support for Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) has crumbled to less than half of what it recorded in the last election in 2008.
Berlusconi, who has changed his mind several times over whether or not to run in the election, added to the chaos facing the PDL when he said on Saturday he was again thinking about standing, throwing plans to hold a center-right primary into doubt.
LEGITIMACY
About 4 million party and non-party voters took part in the center-left vote, with queues forming at several outdoor polling booths in cities across Italy.
Democratic Party (PD) officials said the strong turnout at the poll, which was not restricted to party members, ensured the next center-left leader would be chosen in a fair and democratic way.
"With this level of participation and with very clear rules, there is full and complete legitimacy," said PD deputy leader Enrico Letta, a Bersani supporter. "The candidate for premier who emerges from this election will be extremely strong."
While the PD has supported Monti's government in parliament, neither Bersani nor Renzi think the former European Commissioner should return as prime minister after the vote.
Business leaders have expressed strong support for a second term for Monti, who has implemented a tough program of spending cuts, tax hikes and labor reform to cut the massive public debt and restore economic competitiveness.
Monti, who has said repeatedly he would be ready to serve a second term if needed, kept up a diplomatic silence about his future on Sunday, saying only that he would consider what contribution he could best make.
Protests on Saturday by tens of thousands of students and workers from across the political spectrum highlighted the levels of discontent among Italians grappling with the slump and rising unemployment in the euro zone's third biggest economy.
Further complicating the national political picture is the dramatic rise of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which is now second in opinion polls, and that around half of Italians say they are either undecided or will abstain.
(Additional reporting by Silvia Ognibene in Florence and James Mackenzie, Editing by Myra MacDonald and Paul Simao)
Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras (R) with his French counterpart, Pierre Moscovici
Eurozone finance ministers on Nov. 26 will consider for the third time in three weeks whether to sign off on a long-delayed $38.8 billion loan installment Greece needs to keep its debt-crushed economy from crashing, but could face yet another setback.
The bloc?s fiscal chiefs can?t see eye-to-eye with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde over how to reduce Greece?s debt and deficit, including whether granting another two years, until 2022, to meet fiscal targets, as well as other options that include imposing losses on its lenders.
The Troika of the European Union-IMF-European Central Bank is holding back the loan, the first in a second bailout of $173 billion, until a consensus can be reached. Greece was surviving on a first series of $152 billion in rescue loans and Samaras pushed through Parliament an unpopular $17.45 billion spending cut and tax hike plan as a condition of getting the additional aid, and has been frustrated at the delay.
Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras will be in Brussels hoping to clinch a deal that could include folding in another installment to bring the total to $57 billion, although most of that is set to pay overdue bills and recapitalize the country?s banks that had been pushed toward insolvency after a previous administration imposed 74 percent losses on investors.
Stournaras took part in a Nov. 24 teleconference between the finance ministers that focused on the technical issues involved in finding a formula to reduce Greek debt. Finance Ministry sources told the newspaper Kathimerini there were not any serious disagreements and said they were confident a deal would be reached.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras spent the last few weeks contacting foreign officials, including Lagarde and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, to get their support. Final approval may require a fourth gathering, pushing the decision to a previously scheduled meeting on December 3, according to a statement issued by Finland.
So far, the options for debt reduction under consideration include reducing interest on already extended bilateral loans to Greece from the current 1.5 percent above financing costs. Another option, which could cut Greek debt by almost 17 percent of GDP, is to defer interest payments on loans to Greece from the EFSF, a temporary bailout fund, by 10 years.
The ECB could forego profits on its Greek bond portfolio, bought at a deep discount, cutting the debt pile by a further 4.6 percent by 2020, a document prepared for the ministers? talks last week showed, but some banks are balking, including the German Bundesbank.
Greece could also buy back its privately-held bonds on the market at a deep discount, with gains from the operation depending on the scope and price. To cut the debt more boldly, the IMF wants the euro zone to forgive Greece some of the official loans, in what is called Official Sector Involvement (OSI) but which Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Slovakia have already rejected as it would make their taxpayers pay for Greece?s negligence.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) ? Former championship boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho died Saturday at the hospital in Puerto Rico where he has been unconscious since he was shot in the face in an attack in his hometown.
Camacho went into cardiac arrest in the pre-dawn hours and he was then taken off life support and died shortly thereafter, said Dr. Ernesto Torres, the director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan.
Camacho's mother, Maria Matias, said Friday night that she had authorized removing him from life support after his three sons had arrived from the U.S. mainland and had a chance to see their father for the last time. They managed to visit him before he died, said former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend who has been acting as a family spokesman in recent days.
"The family destroyed," Callejas said outside the hospital.
Doctors had declared Camacho brain dead on Thursday. Matias had said she decided it was time for doctors to disconnect life support over the objections of the boxer's eldest son, Hector Jr., because there was no chance of recovery.
"I lost my son three days ago. He's alive only because of a machine," she said Friday night. "My son is not alive. My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added.
Camacho was shot as he sat in a car with a friend, 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, who was killed in the attack. Police spokesman Alex Diaz said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket and a 10th bag open inside the car.
Police reported no arrests and said investigators continued to look for potential witnesses. Capt. Rafael Rosa told reporters they were following several leads, but declined to say whether police had identified any suspects. He said very few witnesses were cooperating.
Hector Camacho Jr. decried the violence that grips Puerto Rico, a U.S. island territory of nearly 4 million people that reported a record 1,117 homicides last year.
"Death, jail, drugs, killings," he said. "That's what the streets are now."
Camacho's sisters have said they would like to fly Camacho's body to New York and bury him there. Camacho grew up mostly in Harlem, earning the nickname the "Harlem Heckler."
He won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard while compiling a career record of 79-6-3. He knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending the former champ's final comeback attempt.
Camacho battled drug, alcohol and other problems throughout his life. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison on burglary charges, but a judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail after violating that probation. A wife also filed domestic abuse complaints against him twice before their divorce.
This is merely the first entry in what's sure to be a fantastic series of games from Kerosene and Luma Arcade. It's a Western themed action adventure with some steampunk elements, and you fight through hordes of rampaging mutants. The touch controls, while not perfect, are surprisingly intuitive and innovative, and shooting, slashing, dodging, and stabbing your way around the battlefield is easy as pie. Not only that, but the visuals are some of the best on mobile devices so far, up to par with any Gameloft game. The setting may be a bit bizarre, but if you want a solid, if repetitive action game, look no further.
This is one of those bizarre classics that could only have come from absurd world of the SEGA Dreamcast. Yes, this is one of those games that make old school gamers pine for the good old days, and man is it weird. Each level has you skating around a fairly open world, tagging just about everything you can find, including people, with your gang's graffiti symbols. Vandalism and inner city turf wars have never been so kid-friendly. It really is a great game, and now that it's on iOS, a whole new generation can enjoy it.
Activision, with their swimming pools filled with money, decided to do the obvious thing with that money, and release a hilariously cheesy bowling game in which you literally bowl zombies. It may sound random and gimmicky, but the developers at Slant Six Games know what they're doing, with a self-aware, tongue in cheek sense of humor that simply revels in the absurdity of the concept. Turns out guns can't kill zombies, even with headshots. Only a secretly developed government bowling ball can. Luckily, you're an awesome bowler who happens to find it. Also, everything is drenched in that dirty, bloody, 70's grindhouse movie aesthetic, which is a nice touch.
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Public release date: 26-Nov-2012
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