mauabai

শুক্রবার, ২৬ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

One in four people jobless in Spain

MADRID (AP) ? With over 6 million unemployed for the first time ever, Spain's jobless rate shot up to a record 27.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday, in another grim picture of the recession-wracked country.

The agency said the number of people unemployed rose by 237,400 people in the first three months of the year, a 1.1 percent increase from the previous quarter. The total out of work stood at 6.2 million people, the first time the number has breached the 6-million mark.

Unsurprisingly, the details of the report make for grim reading.

The number of people considered long-term unemployed ? out of a job for more than a year ? increased to 3.5 million while the unemployment rate for those aged under 25 was a staggering 57 percent. The government body also said its survey found the number of households without any one working had risen by 72,400 to a 1.91 million.

"The situation is really bad, with all the cuts that there have been, there are families that are going through a bad time because a lot of families have all the members unemployed and they don't have any income," said shop assistant Rodrigo Limpias , 30.

Labor Ministry employment secretary Engracia Hidalgo described the figures as "dramatic" but said the government was working non-stop to try make Spain a job creator once again.

Spain has been in recession for much of the past four years as it struggles to deal with the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008. In the previous decade its economy was thriving, generating millions of jobs.

In just over a year in office, the conservative government has launched a series of financial and labor reforms and pursued a raft of spending cuts and tax increases that have managed to reduce a swollen deficit. Even so, the country had the highest budget deficit among the 17 European Union countries that use the euro in 2012.

"This is getting worse every day. (The government) has no solution, there are more and more people unemployed and we don't have enough to eat," said Maria Carmen Huerta, 55, an unemployed IT worker.

The government's handling of the crisis has sparked almost daily protests.

On Thursday, 1,400 police were to be deployed around Parliament and the building was totally cordoned off ahead of an evening demonstration. Parliament cancelled its session for the day but blamed reasons other than the rally.

Several previous rallies close to Parliament have ended in clashes with police. The Interior Ministry said police arrested four people and confiscated material they believe was to be used to start fires at bank offices in the city. The ministry claims violent, anti-establishment groups are behind the rally.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has acknowledged that 2013 will be a bad year but insists that it would have been worse without the reforms. The International Monetary Fund indicated last week that Spain's economy will contract by 1.6 percent this year.

The government is predicting that Spain will return to growth, which should help the labor market. Rajoy has promised reforms to be presented Friday that will "make the economy more flexible, more competitive and will turn those predictions around."

Opposition parties said the unemployment figures highlight how Rajoy's austerity policies are damaging the economy.

"6 million people unemployed is 6 million reasons for the government to withdraw the labor reform and change its economic policy," said Oscar Lopez of the leading opposition Socialist party.

But the EU's top economic official, Commissioner Olli Rehn said "Spain should maintain the reform momentum by including comprehensive and concrete policy measures" in its programs.

He said that "despite significant progress in 2012, there are still excessive macroeconomic imbalances" with high domestic and external debt continuing to pose risks for growth and financial stability.

____

Associated Press writer Juergen Baetz in Brussels contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spains-jobless-above-6-million-first-time-111922081--finance.html

Tate Stevens Miss Universe 2012 x factor x factor john kerry eastbay Samantha Steele

Longer days bring 'winter blues' -- for rats, not humans

Apr. 25, 2013 ? Most of us are familiar with the "winter blues," the depression-like symptoms known as "seasonal affective disorder," or SAD, that occurs when the shorter days of winter limit our exposure to natural light and make us more lethargic, irritable and anxious. But for rats it's just the opposite.

Biologists at UC San Diego have found that rats experience more anxiety and depression when the days grow longer. More importantly, they discovered that the rat's brain cells adopt a new chemical code when subjected to large changes in the day and night cycle, flipping a switch to allow an entirely different neurotransmitter to stimulate the same part of the brain.

Their surprising discovery, detailed in the April 26 issue of Science, demonstrates that the adult mammalian brain is much more malleable than was once thought by neurobiologists. Because rat brains are very similar to human brains, their finding also provides a greater insight into the behavioral changes in our brain linked to light reception. And it opens the door for new ways to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's, caused by the death of dopamine-generating cells in the brain.

The neuroscientists discovered that rats exposed for one week to 19 hours of darkness and five hours of light every day had more nerve cells making dopamine, which made them less stressed and anxious when measured using standardized behavioral tests. Meanwhile, rats exposed for a week with the reverse -- 19 hours of light and five hours of darkness -- had more neurons synthesizing the neurotransmitter somatostatin, making them more stressed and anxious.

"We're diurnal and rats are nocturnal," said Nicholas Spitzer, a professor of biology at UC San Diego and director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. "So for a rat, it's the longer days that produce stress, while for us it's the longer nights that create stress."

Because rats explore and search for food at night, while humans evolved as creatures who hunt and forage during the daylight hours, such differences in brain chemistry and behavior make sense. Evolutionary changes presumably favored humans who were more active gatherers of food during the longer days of summer and saved their energy during the shorter days of winter.

"Light is what wakes us up and if we feel depressed we go for a walk outside," said Davide Dulcis, a research scientist in Spitzer's laboratory and the first author of the study. "When it's spring, I feel more motivation to do the things I like to do because the days are longer. But for the rat, it's just the opposite. Because rats are nocturnal, they're less stressed at night, which is good because that's when they can spend more time foraging or eating."

But how did our brains change when humans evolved millions of years ago from small nocturnal rodents to diurnal creatures to accommodate those behavioral changes?

"We think that somewhere in the brain there's been a change," said Spitzer. "Sometime in the evolution from rat to human there's been an evolutionary adjustment of circuitry to allow switching of neurotransmitters in the opposite direction in response to the same exposure to a balance of light and dark."

A study published earlier this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found some correlation to the light-dark cycle in rats and stress in humans, at least when it comes to people searching on the internet for information in the winter versus the summer about mental illness. Using Google's search data from 2006 to 2010, a team of researchers led by John Ayers of San Diego State University found that mental health searches on Google were, in general, 14 percent higher in the winter in the United States and 11 percent higher in the Australian winter.

"Now that we know that day length can switch transmitters and change behavior, there may be a connection," said Spitzer.

In their rat experiments, the UC San Diego neuroscientists found that the switch in transmitter synthesis in the rat's brain cells from dopamine to somatostatin or back again was not due to the growth of new neurons, but to the ability of the same neurons there to produce different neurotransmitters.

Rats exposed to 19 hours of darkness every 24 hours during the week showed higher numbers of dopamine neurons within their brains and were more likely, the researchers found, to explore the open end of an elevated maze, a behavioral test showing they were less anxious. These rats were also more willing to swim, another laboratory test that showed they were less stressed.

"Because rats are nocturnal animals, they like to explore during the night and dopamine is a key part of our and their reward system," said Spitzer. "It's part of what allows them to be confident and reduce anxiety."

The researchers said they don't know precisely how this neurotransmitter switch works. Nor do they know what proportion of light and darkness or stress triggers this switch in brain chemistry. "Is it 50-50? Or 80 percent light versus dark and 20 percent stress? We don't know," added Spitzer. "If we just stressed the animal and didn't change their photoperiod, would that lead to changes in transmitter identity? We don't know, but those are all doable experiments."

But as they learn more about this trigger mechanism, they said one promising avenue for human application might be to use this neurotransmitter switch to deliver dopamine effectively to parts of the brain that no longer receive dopamine in Parkinson's patients.

"We could switch to a parallel pathway to put dopamine where it's needed with fewer side effects than pharmacological agents," said Dulcis.

The other researchers involved in the study, which was funded by grants from the Ellison Medical Foundation, were Pouya Jamshidi and Stefan Leutgeb of UC San Diego.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Diego.

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

Journal Reference:

D. Dulcis, P. Jamshidi, S. Leutgeb, N. C. Spitzer. Neurotransmitter Switching in the Adult Brain Regulates Behavior. Science, 2013; 340 (6131): 449 DOI: 10.1126/science.1234152

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/depression/~3/jWxZHMiyj5c/130425142430.htm

masters par 3 gwen stefani overeem laron landry mary j blige burger king islands 2013 nissan altima

Carville and Matalin working on joint memoir

NEW YORK (AP) ? James Carville and Mary Matalin, political rivals and personal bedfellows, are collaborating on a book in which they will again agree to disagree.

The longtime strategists have a deal with Blue Rider Press for a memoir with the working title "You Can Go Home Again." Officials with Blue Rider, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), told The Associated Press on Thursday that the book is scheduled for release in 2014.

Carville, a Democrat, and Matalin, a Republican, previously worked together on the 1993 release "All's Fair." Blue Rider is billing them as "the nation's best-known, most annoying, intensely rabid, romantically mismatched, and provocative political couple."

"The heart of the book will be insights on culture and politics from two unique perspectives: Mine counterbalanced by one that is opposite and wrong," Matalin said in a statement issued by Blue Rider.

"I love my wife, my family, LSU football, the Nats, the Saints and politics," Carville added. "In this book I'll talk about 4 of those 6 things I'm an expert on."

According to Blue Rider, the book "will be written in two alternating and distinct voices" as Matalin and Carville share political war stories, their takes on current and past events and how they managed to stay married for 20 years and raise two children.

Matalin and Carville were represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose bipartisan list of authors includes Democrats Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/carville-matalin-working-joint-memoir-142413699.html

cruise ship Asteroid 2012 DA14 Reeva Steenkamp rubio Affenpinscher Dorner Banana Joe

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৫ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

Bush, Clinton speak on eve of library dedication

DALLAS (AP) ? Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush urged the nation to change its immigration and education systems to ensure a robust American economy in remarks Wednesday before the World Affairs Council in Dallas. A suburb away, former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered her first paid speech since leaving the helm of the State Department earlier this year.

The dueling appearances came on the eve of the opening of George W. Bush's presidential library, stoking speculation about each of their political futures. Both are considered strong White House contenders should each seek the presidency in 2016.

Both of their families were gathering for the library dedication on the campus of Southern Methodist University, an event that will put five living U.S. presidents, including President Barack Obama, on the same stage.

Presidential politics were close to the surface in Dallas Wednesday.

During a question-and-answer session, one man told Bush he had met him in Florida. "Hopefully I'll meet you in Washington as the next president of the United States," the man said.

Asked by another questioner whether he might run for president in 2016, Bush pointed to his son, George P. Bush, a candidate for statewide office in Texas. "To be honest, I'm focused on the land commissioner race in 2014," Bush said with a smile.

Bush, who recently released a book promoting immigration changes, said the nation needed an agenda that would give Americans "the right to rise," whether in entrepreneurial ventures, through restructuring immigration or educational policies that help children attain success. He urged Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would stretch from Canada to Texas and pointed to fellow Texan Lyndon B. Johnson as a president who cajoled and persuaded Congress to enact his agenda.

"We need people to get outside their comfort zones. We need leaders to have humility to find consensus and compromise. If we do that we'll break the logjams in all sorts of areas of policies that right now don't seem to be working, and this country will take off," Bush said.

Bush lauded his brother's approach to life after the White House, saying he deserved credit for "not sitting on the sidelines and publicly carping and chirping and opining about his successor. I think that is a great tradition in our country that once you serve, you do your best and then you move on."

The feeling was mutual. The former president said in an interview with ABC News that Jeb Bush would be "a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so. He doesn't need my counsel 'cause he knows what it is, which is 'run.'"

Meanwhile, Clinton spoke at a private event to the National Multi-Housing Council's board of directors, a trade group that represents the apartment building industry. Terms of Clinton's compensation for the speech have not been disclosed, but it was expected to net six-figures.

About 40 Clinton supporters gathered in Irving, Texas, waving signs outside the resort where the speech was being held. Chance Browning, 29, wore a red T-shirt that read "Hot for Hillary" as he gathered with friends.

"It's never too early to start rallying support. I think she's perfectly poised to run in 2016," Browning said.

Jim Lapides, a spokesman for the housing council, said the event was closed at the request of the former New York senator's speakers' group, the Harry Walker Agency, a common practice.

In recent speeches, Clinton has discussed ways of helping women and children flourish in developing nations but offered few hints about her political future. She is writing a book about her experiences as secretary of state, which will be released in June 2014.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bush-clinton-speak-eve-library-dedication-190419695--politics.html

j.k. rowling axl rose google earnings pat burrell hilary rosen grilled cheese allen west

বুধবার, ২৪ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

Kidnapped Syrian bishops still missing, despite reports otherwise

The churches of two prominent Syrian Orthodox bishops reportedly kidnapped in northern Syria were unable to verify a claim that the pair had been released by their armed rebel captors.

By Arthur Bright,?Staff writer / April 24, 2013

This undated combo photo shows Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church (l.) and John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church (r.) who were kidnapped Monday, in the northern province of Aleppo, Syria. The fate of two prominent Orthodox bishops remains uncertain, after their churches were unable to verify a claim that the pair had been released by their 'terrorist' captors.

SANA/AP

Enlarge

? A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Skip to next paragraph Arthur Bright

Europe Editor

Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.? He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.? He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

More rain expected for already swollen Midwest rivers

CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) ? Communities along the Mississippi River and other Midwestern waterways are vigilantly eyeing ? and in some cases hastily fortifying ? makeshift levees to hold back floodwaters that meteorologists say could worsen or be prolonged by looming storms.

An inch of rain was expected to fall from Oklahoma to Michigan through Tuesday, a new drenching that led the National Weather Service to heighten the forecast crest of some stretches of rivers while blunting the progress of other waterways' slow retreat.

Mark Fuchs, a National Weather Service hydrologist, said the latest dousing could be especially troubling for communities along the Illinois River, which he said is headed for record crests.

"Along the Illinois, any increase is going to be cause for alarm, adding to their uncertainty and, in some cases, misery," he said late Monday afternoon.

Last week's downpours brought on sudden flooding throughout the Midwest, and high water is blamed for at least three deaths. Authorities in LaSalle, Ill., spent Monday searching for a woman whose van was spotted days earlier near a bridge, and a 12-year-old boy was in critical condition after being pulled from a river near Leadwood, Mo., about 65 miles south of St. Louis.

The additional rain isn't welcome news in Clarksville, Mo., about 70 miles north of St. Louis.

Days after bused-in prison inmates worked shoulder to shoulder with the National Guard and local volunteers to build a makeshift floodwall of sand and gravel, the barrier showed signs of strain Monday. Crews scrambled to patch trouble spots and build a second sandbag wall to catch any water weaseling through.

In Grafton, Ill., some 40 miles northeast of St. Louis, Mayor Tom Thompson said small community was holding its own against the Mississippi that by early Monday afternoon was 10 feet above flood stage. Waters lapped against some downtown buildings, forcing shops such as Hawg Pit BBQ to clear out and detours to be put up around town ? one key intersection was under 8 inches of water.

"If it gets another foot (higher), it's going to become another issue," Thompson said. Many businesses "are kinda watching and holding their breath. ... Some things are going to really be close to the wire."

Elsewhere, smaller rivers caused big problems. In Grand Rapids, Mich., the Grand River hit a record 21.85 feet, driving hundreds of people from their homes and flooding parts of downtown.

Spots south of St. Louis aren't expected to crest until late this week, and significant flooding is possible in places like Ste. Genevieve, Mo., Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Cairo, Ill. Further downriver, flood warnings have been issued for Kentucky and Tennessee.

___

Salter reported from St. Louis.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-rain-expected-already-swollen-rivers-070400840.html

Avril Lavigne Microsoft Tropical Storm Isaac amber portwood Phyllis Diller Darla Moore newsweek

Binge eating curbed by deep brain stimulation in animal model

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a precise region of the brain appears to reduce caloric intake and prompt weight loss in obese animal models, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The study, reported in the Journal of Neuroscience, reinforces the involvement of dopamine deficits in increasing obesity-related behaviors such as binge eating, and demonstrates that DBS can reverse this response via activation of the dopamine type-2 receptor.

"Based on this research, DBS may provide therapeutic relief to binge eating, a behavior commonly seen in obese humans, and frequently unresponsive to other approaches," said senior author Tracy L. Bale, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Animal Biology and in the Perelman School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. DBS is currently used to reduce tremors in Parkinson's disease and is under investigation as a therapy for major depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Nearly 50 percent of obese people binge eat, uncontrollably consuming palatable highly calorie food within a short period of time. In this study, researchers targeted the nucleus accumbens, a small structure in the brain reward center known to be involved in addictive behaviors. Mice receiving the stimulation ate significantly less of the high fat food compared to mice not receiving DBS. Following stimulation, mice did not compensate for the loss of calories by eating more. However, on days when the device was turned off, binge eating resumed.

Researchers also tested the long-term effects of DBS on obese mice that had been given unlimited access to high-fat food. During four days of continuous stimulation, the obese mice consumed fewer calories and, importantly, their body weight dropped. These mice also showed improvement in their glucose sensitivity, suggestive of a reversal of type 2 diabetes.

"These results are our best evidence yet that targeting the nucleus accumbens with DBS may be able to modify specific feeding behaviors linked to body weight changes and obesity," Bale added.

"Once replicated in human clinical trials, DBS could rapidly become a treatment for people with obesity due to the extensive groundwork already established in other disease areas," said lead author Casey Halpern, MD, resident in the Department of Neurosurgery of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (DA022605 and HL091911). In addition to Drs. Bale and Halpern, Penn experts include Anand Tekriwal from the College of Arts and Sciences, John Wolf from Neurosurgery and Jeffrey Keating from Neurology. They were joined by colleagues in Psychology at the University of Buffalo.