haujrur: মে 2013

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৩ মে, ২০১৩

Former IRS commissioner: ?Not personally responsible? for creating the ?Be On The Lookout? list

Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman is sworn in prior to testifying before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday.??

Former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman said that he was "not personally responsible" for the agency's practice of placing elevated scrutiny on conservative groups that applied for nonprofit status, but that he regrets it occurred during his tenure.

"I certainly am not personally responsible for creating a list that had inappropriate criteria on it. What I know, with the full facts that are out, is from the inspector general's report, which doesn't say I'm responsible for that," Shulman said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday. "With that said, this happened on my watch and I very much regret that it happened on my watch."

Shulman, who served as IRS commissioner from 2008 to 2012, appeared before the Senate panel with outgoing Acting Commissioner Steven Miller and Treasury Inspector General J. Russell George on Tuesday. Both Shulman and Miller have said that the agency acted inappropriately in how it reviewed groups applying for tax-exempt status.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/former-irs-commissioner-not-personally-responsible-targeting-conservative-164324385.html

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Video: 5 States Still Under Tornado Watch

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51958451/

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Researchers find genetic tie to improved survival time for pulmonary fibrosis

Public release date: 21-May-2013
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Contact: Mark Couch
mark.couch@ucdenver.edu
303-724-5377
University of Colorado Denver

AURORA, Colo. (May 21, 2013) Research into genetic features of pulmonary fibrosis by physicians and scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine may lead to improved treatment of this deadly lung disease, according to a paper published online by JAMA.

The study found that a particular genetic variation helps predict survival in some cases of pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic progressive disease with a median survival of three years. As a result of the study, researchers may want to consider including genetic testing in future clinical trials.

The researchers looked at whether the MUC5B promoter polymorphism, which previously was found to be associated with developing the disease, is also associated with survival time for individuals with pulmonary fibrosis. MUC5B is a protein that is a component of the mucous produced by the bronchial tubes. Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where lung tissue becomes thickened, stiff and scarred.

The investigators found that genetic changes in the MUC5B gene are associated with marked improvement in survival among patients with pulmonary fibrosis. This represents the first genetic test that can be used to prognosticate in pulmonary fibrosis and may prove useful taking care of patients with this disease. Currently in the United States, there are no drugs approved for use in cases of the disease. This paper indicates that future drug trials should consider including this genetic test to determine the benefit of their intervention.

The research was supported by funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Endowed Chair for Pulmonary Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Twenty-two authors shared credit for the paper, including researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt University and InterMune from Brisbane, Calif.

Anna L. Peljto, DrPH, from the Colorado School of Public Health was the first author and David A. Schwartz, MD, chairman of the School of Medicine's Department of Medicine, was the senior author of the paper. Additional authors from Colorado institutions were Tasha E. Fingerlin, PhD, from the Colorado School of Public Health; Lori J. Silveira, PhD, Max A. Seibold, PhD, Kevin K. Brown, MD, and Janet L. Talbert, MS, from National Jewish Health; and Elissa Murphy, MS and Marvin I. Schwarz, MD, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

David Schwartz this month gave the American Thoracic Society's Amberson Lecture, an honor bestowed annually on an individual with a career of major lifetime contributions to clinical or basic pulmonary research and/or clinical practice. The JAMA study was released online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society's international conference.

###

Faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine work to advance science and improve care. These faculty members include physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver Health, National Jewish Health, and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The school is located on the Anschutz Medical Campus, one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system. To learn more about the medical school's care, education, research and community engagement, please visit its web site. For additional news and information, please visit the University of Colorado Denver newsroom.

Keep up with the medical school and healthcare news on Facebook.

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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.

Researchers find genetic tie to improved survival time for pulmonary fibrosis Public release date: 21-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mark Couch
mark.couch@ucdenver.edu
303-724-5377
University of Colorado Denver

AURORA, Colo. (May 21, 2013) Research into genetic features of pulmonary fibrosis by physicians and scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine may lead to improved treatment of this deadly lung disease, according to a paper published online by JAMA.

The study found that a particular genetic variation helps predict survival in some cases of pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic progressive disease with a median survival of three years. As a result of the study, researchers may want to consider including genetic testing in future clinical trials.

The researchers looked at whether the MUC5B promoter polymorphism, which previously was found to be associated with developing the disease, is also associated with survival time for individuals with pulmonary fibrosis. MUC5B is a protein that is a component of the mucous produced by the bronchial tubes. Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where lung tissue becomes thickened, stiff and scarred.

The investigators found that genetic changes in the MUC5B gene are associated with marked improvement in survival among patients with pulmonary fibrosis. This represents the first genetic test that can be used to prognosticate in pulmonary fibrosis and may prove useful taking care of patients with this disease. Currently in the United States, there are no drugs approved for use in cases of the disease. This paper indicates that future drug trials should consider including this genetic test to determine the benefit of their intervention.

The research was supported by funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Endowed Chair for Pulmonary Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Twenty-two authors shared credit for the paper, including researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt University and InterMune from Brisbane, Calif.

Anna L. Peljto, DrPH, from the Colorado School of Public Health was the first author and David A. Schwartz, MD, chairman of the School of Medicine's Department of Medicine, was the senior author of the paper. Additional authors from Colorado institutions were Tasha E. Fingerlin, PhD, from the Colorado School of Public Health; Lori J. Silveira, PhD, Max A. Seibold, PhD, Kevin K. Brown, MD, and Janet L. Talbert, MS, from National Jewish Health; and Elissa Murphy, MS and Marvin I. Schwarz, MD, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

David Schwartz this month gave the American Thoracic Society's Amberson Lecture, an honor bestowed annually on an individual with a career of major lifetime contributions to clinical or basic pulmonary research and/or clinical practice. The JAMA study was released online to coincide with its presentation at the American Thoracic Society's international conference.

###

Faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine work to advance science and improve care. These faculty members include physicians, educators and scientists at University of Colorado Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado, Denver Health, National Jewish Health, and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The school is located on the Anschutz Medical Campus, one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system. To learn more about the medical school's care, education, research and community engagement, please visit its web site. For additional news and information, please visit the University of Colorado Denver newsroom.

Keep up with the medical school and healthcare news on Facebook.

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/uocd-rfg_1052113.php
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'Whodunnit' of Irish potato famine solved

May 21, 2013 ? An international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered the Irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century.

It is the first time scientists have decoded the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host from dried herbarium samples. This opens up a new area of research to understand how pathogens evolve and how human activity impacts the spread of plant disease.

Phytophthora infestans changed the course of history. Even today, the Irish population has still not recovered to pre-famine levels. "We have finally discovered the identity of the exact strain that caused all this havoc," says Hern?n Burbano from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

For research to be published in eLife, a team of molecular biologists from Europe and the US reconstructed the spread of the potato blight pathogen from dried plants. Although these were 170 to 120 years old, they were found to have many intact pieces of DNA.

"Herbaria represent a rich and untapped source from which we can learn a tremendous amount about the historical distribution of plants and their pests -- and also about the history of the people who grew these plants," according to Kentaro Yoshida from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.

The researchers examined the historical spread of the fungus-like oomycete Phytophthora infestans, known as the Irish potato famine pathogen. A strain called US-1 was long thought to have been the cause of the fatal outbreak. The current study concludes that a strain new to science was responsible. While more closely related to the US-1 strain than to other modern strains, it is unique. "Both strains seem to have separated from each other only years before the first major outbreak in Europe," says Burbano.

The researchers compared the historic samples with modern strains from Europe, Africa and the Americas as well as two closely related Phytophthora species. The scientists were able to estimate with confidence when the various Phytophthora strains diverged from each other during evolutionary time. The HERB-1 strain of Phytophthora infestans likely emerged in the early 1800s and continued its global conquest throughout the 19^th century. Only in the twentieth century, after new potato varieties were introduced, was HERB-1 replaced by another Phytophthora infestans strain, US-1.

The scientists found several connections with historic events. The first contact between Europeans and Americans in Mexico in the sixteenth century coincides with a remarkable increase in the genetic diversity of Phytophthora. The social upheaval during that time may have led to a spread of the pathogen from its center of origin in Toluca Valley, Mexico. This in turn would have accelerated its evolution.

The international team came to these conclusions after deciphering the entire genomes of 11 historical samples of Phytophthora infestans from potato leaves collected over more than 50 years. These came from Ireland, the UK, Europe and North America and had been preserved in the herbaria of the Botanical State Collection Munich and the Kew Gardens in London.

"Both herbaria placed a great deal of confidence in our abilities and were very generous in providing the dried plants," said Marco Thines from the Senckenberg Museum and Goethe University in Frankfurt, one of the co-authors of this study. "The degree of DNA preservation in the herbarium samples really surprised us," adds Johannes Krause from the University of T?bingen, another co-author. Because of the remarkable DNA quality and quantity in the herbarium samples, the research team could evaluate the entire genome of Phytophthora infestans and its host, the potato, within just a few weeks.

Crop breeding methods may impact on the evolution of pathogens. This study directly documents the effect of plant breeding on the genetic makeup of a pathogen. "Perhaps this strain became extinct when the first resistant potato varieties were bred at the beginning of the twentieth century," speculates Yoshida. "What is for certain is that these findings will greatly help us to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens. This type of work paves the way for the discovery of many more treasures of knowledge hidden in herbaria."

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/J78d43qPtQA/130521011232.htm

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মঙ্গলবার, ২১ মে, ২০১৩

Spotify Takes on Billboard With Free-to-Play Most-Streamed Charts

Spotify has decided to take on the likes of Billboard with its own charts, making available a list of the top-50 most-streamed and most-shared songs to the public.

How monetary inflation leads to consumer price inflation

By Stefan Karlsson,?Guest blogger / May 21, 2013

A woman shops at a Nordstrom store in Chicago. The fact that both the US and large parts of Europe pursue deficit reducing policies right now contributes to lower consumer price inflation relative to asset price inflation.

Nam Y. Huh/AP/File

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A reader has asked why monetary inflation sometimes, like today, causes asset price inflation and sometimes, like in the 1970s, causes consumer price inflation.

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Half the mice on 'space ark' survive a month in orbit ? all the lizards do

Russia24 on Vesti.ru

Vladimir Sychov, deputy director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems and the lead researcher for the Bion-M project, talks to reporters Sunday while others examine the "space ark" capsule in the background. Visit Vesti.ru to watch a Russian-language video, or click on the embedded video below.

By The Associated Press

MOSCOW ??A Russian capsule carrying mice, lizards and other small animals returned to Earth on Sunday after spending a month in space for what scientists said was the longest experiment of its kind.

Fewer than half of the 53 mice and other rodents who blasted off on April 19 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome survived the flight, Russian news agencies reported, quoting Vladimir Sychov, deputy director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems and the lead researcher.

Sychov said this was to be expected. The surviving mice were sufficient to complete the study, which was designed to show the effects of weightlessness and other factors of spaceflight on cell structure, he said. All 15 of the lizards reportedly survived. The capsule also carried small crayfish and fish.

The capsule's orbit reached 575 kilometers (345 miles) above Earth, according to the news agencies. That's higher than the orbit of the International Space Station, which is currently at a maximum altitude of about 421 kilometers (262 miles).

Russian state television showed the round Bion-M capsule and some of the surviving mice after it landed slightly off course but safely in a planted field near Orenburg, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) southeast of Moscow.

"This is the first time that animals have flown in space for so long on their own," Sychov said in the television broadcast from the landing site. The last research craft to carry animals into space spent 12 days in orbit in 2007.

The mice and other animals were to be flown back to Moscow to undergo a series of tests at Sychov's institute, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Watch Vesti Russia24's Russian-language coverage of the "space ark" that returned to Earth.

More about animals in space:

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2c24653c/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A50C190C183574730Ehalf0Ethe0Emice0Eon0Espace0Eark0Esurvive0Ea0Emonth0Ein0Eorbit0Eall0Ethe0Elizards0Edo0Dlite/story01.htm

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Link between childhood ADHD and obesity revealed in first long-term study

May 20, 2013 ? A new study conducted by researchers at the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center found men diagnosed as children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were twice as likely to be obese in a 33-year follow-up study compared to men who were not diagnosed with the condition.

The study appears in the May 20 online edition of Pediatrics.

"Few studies have focused on long-term outcomes for patients diagnosed with ADHD in childhood. In this study, we wanted to assess the health outcomes of children diagnosed with ADHD, focusing on obesity rates and Body Mass Index," said lead author Francisco Xavier Castellanos, MD, Brooke and Daniel Neidich Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center at NYU Langone. "Our results found that even when you control for other factors often associated with increased obesity rates such as socioeconomic status, men diagnosed with ADHD were at a significantly higher risk to suffer from high BMI and obesity as adults."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ADHD is one of the most common neurobehavioral disorders, often diagnosed in childhood and lasting into adulthood. People with ADHD typically have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors and tend to be overly active. ADHD has an estimated worldwide prevalence of five percent, with men more likely to be diagnosed than women.

The prospective study included 207 white men diagnosed with ADHD at an average age of 8 and a comparison group of 178 men not diagnosed with childhood ADHD, who were matched for race, age, residence and social class. The average age at follow up was 41 years old. The study was designed to compare Body Mass Index (BMI) and obesity rates in grown men with and without childhood ADHD.

Results showed that, on average, men with childhood ADHD had significantly higher BMI (30.1 vs. 27.6) and obesity rates (41.1 percent vs. 21.6 percent) than men without childhood ADHD.

"The results of the study are concerning but not surprising to those who treat patients with ADHD. Lack of impulse control and poor planning skills are symptoms often associated with the condition and can lead to poor food choices and irregular eating habits," noted Dr. Castellanos. "This study emphasizes that children diagnosed with ADHD need to be monitored for long-term risk of obesity and taught healthy eating habits as they become teenagers and adults."

The research was supported by grants MH-18579 and T32 MH-067763 from the National Institute of Mental Health, grant DA-16979 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and grant PIOF-253103 from the European Commission.

Co-authors of the study include Salvatore Mannuzza, PhD (retired); Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD, of the Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience and Verona University, Italy; Erika Proal, PhD, of the Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience and Neuroingenia, Mexico; Rachel G. Klein, PhD, and Maria A. Ramos Olazagasti, PhD, of the Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/child_development/~3/F-Y48m4kXdo/130520113925.htm

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Microsoft's new Xbox tipped to conquer cloud streaming - TechRadar

Microsoft's next Xbox console is poised to go toe-to-toe with Sony's PlayStation 4, and a new report out over the weekend claimed that cloud streaming will be one of the major battlefields between the two systems.

The new Xbox console will feature significant cloud streaming capabilities, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The console, codenamed "Durango," will be able to stream gameplay from Microsoft data centers and send players' button presses right back, effectively streaming games over the internet, similar to what game streaming services like OnLive and Gaikai (last year purchased by Sony) do.

This functionality could allow the new Xbox to play older Xbox 360 games without having to include extra hardware bells and whistles, providing backward compatibility without extra cost.

One day left

The WSJ described new Xbox prototypes with game streaming capabilities that are in development at Microsoft, according to the always reliable "people familiar with the matter."

Microsoft has reportedly been cautious about jumping head-first into game streaming like Sony has, but the new Xbox console will indeed boast it as a feature, those sources said.

The ability to play older Xbox games on the next Xbox will surely be a boon for fans of Microsoft's game consoles, though it remains to be seen exactly how or if such a feature could be implemented.

Of course, we'll know for sure tomorrow when the new Xbox is revealed.

Looking backward

Sony's PS4 will use Gaikai's technology in a variety of ways, and the company hinted when it announced the new console in February that it will eventually be able to play older games via streaming.

Recent consoles, including certain hardware versions of Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3, have featured spotty backward compatibility or lacked it entirely, which has rankled some fans.

But these consoles have proved that a lack of backward compatibility is by no means a hindrance to success in the console hardware market.

Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/microsoft-s-new-xbox-will-conquer-cloud-streaming-say-sources-1152900

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Christie Stars in NJ Tourism Ads, Dems Cry Foul

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his family are starring in television commercials that are part of a publicly funded $25 million tourism campaign to encourage people to visit the Jersey Shore after Superstorm Sandy, but Democrats say they are simply taxpayer-funded campaign ads.

The ad campaign called "Stronger Than The Storm" launched last week with its first ad, but five more begin today. Supporters of Christie note the ads are not just running in New Jersey, but out of state as well.

In the first ad, Christie and his family are visible at the end of the 30 second commercial. First lady Mary Pat Christie says, "The Jersey Shore is open." Christie's son Andrew then says: "The word is spreading" before Christie himself says "We're stronger than the storm," followed by his daughter Bridget saying, "You bet we are!"

The six ads are part of a television and radio roll out that includes a digital campaign, billboards in high-profile spots like Times Square and the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel, as well as an official roll out May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. The kick off is a five mile ribbon cutting that spans across Seaside Heights, around the businesses and down the shore. Simultaneously, other parts of the shore will hold similar ribbon cuttings. They believe it will break the Guinness World Record for ribbon cutting.

According to Shannon Eis of MWW, the firm that won the bid to make the ads, they will run in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and other parts of Pennsylvania as the primary push. The secondary markets are Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, upstate New York, and eastern Canada. The ads provide Christie extra face time in the pricey New York and Philadelphia markets through July, the markets that New Jersey residents are included in. They will run in a scaled-back schedule the rest of the summer in August and September.

The campaign of Christie's gubernatorial opponent Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono say these are just campaign ads charged to the taxpayer. In a statement Buono said "the hard-working and resilient people who have rebuilt their businesses and homes after Sandy should have been the star of these ads."

"That Gov. Christie would allow $25 million in federally-funded ads to feature him in the middle of an election year is both supremely arrogant and wildly inappropriate," Buono said.

The Democratic Governor's Association is also making their displeasure known with spokesperson Danny Kanner saying, "Chris Christie loves to promote a 'New Jersey Comeback' that never happened, but his use of Sandy recovery dollars to promote his own re-election campaign is nothing short of shameless."

The money is coming from part of the $60 billion in federal emergency disaster funding earmarked for New Jersey and other Northeastern states ravaged by Sandy. The package was approved by both Congress-o ver the cries of some Republicans who called it wasteful-as well as the Obama administration.

Christie defended himself at a campaign event, according to the New Jersey Star Ledger who first reported the existence of the ads, saying, "I'm happy and proud to have me and my family in those ads and I hope that what they do is they bring people to the Jersey Shore. There's nothing political about the ads."

Eis recounted for ABC why they decided to go with Christie as opposed to another face of New Jersey. She said there were "no shortage of celebrities" that offered their services, but even before they pitched the idea to the governor's office they did consumer research which she said made it clear Christie would be the most effective choice.

"We had to think about who is the most effective person to?literally wave the flag that we are back," Eis said, noting that research showed that even months later Christie's call to "get the hell off the beach" is what people remembered.

"The governor's voice came through loud and clear," Eis said, noting they were fighting a "massive consumer perception" that the beach is still closed due to the storm.

Christie's spokesperson Colin Reed said the decision to include Christie and his family was a "creative decision by the Stronger Than The Storm campaign."

"They are in a uniquely qualified position to tell a very wide audience beyond New Jersey that our state and our Shore is open for business," Reed said in a statement.

It's not unprecedented in the state for governors to star in ads. In 2007, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine starred in a PSA to wear seatbelts. It was the same year he sustained serious injuries when he was in a car accident and was not wearing a seatbelt. It came two years before his 2009 face off against Christie, which he lost. Democratic Gov. Tom Kean also starred in a tourism ad for the state when he was governor in the 1980s. It was named "New Jersey and you, Perfect Together."

Buono is out with her own digital ad Monday aiming to introduce herself to New Jersey voters, while poking fun at the pronunciation of her own last name.

Christie's ad controversy may be getting some heat from Democrats, but he is still beating Buono by a wide margin in recent polls. A poll out earlier this month from NBC News/Marist has Christie up 34 points over Buono 62 percent to 28 percent.

It comes at the same time former Democratic governor of New Jersey Brendan Byrne has publicly called for Buono to think about withdrawing from the race due to her poor poll numbers and dismal fundraising. In a New Jersey Star Ledger conversation with another former New Jersey governor Sunday, Tom Keane Byrne noted Buono is "way behind."

"I was way behind in 1977 and I was thinking, if it gets worse, I'm going to withdraw," Byrne said. "It didn't get worse. As a matter fact, it got better. But at one point I thought of dropping out in favor of a better-positioned candidate. I don't know whether that consideration would appeal to Buono, but I would advise she make that evaluation."

Bloggers Table : Shimmer and Azure, Taj Vivanta Yeshwantpur | Sin ...

Sometime ago Taj Vivanta Yeshwantpur invited some of us bloggers for an evening with cocktails and Mediterranean food at Shimmer and Azure, I was so looking forward to the evening with company like Swaps, Swati, Natasha, Neha, Suma and some more friends that came along and food from Azure it was a promising evening.? We started the evening at Shimmer which true to its name was well shimmery

Such a lovely sight isn?t it?

The making of Oliveto

We were given a demo of three cocktails and encouraged to go behind the bar counter and try our hands at it and yes I did try my hand at making one of them.

and the drink itself

The first drink we started with was Oliveto a combination of Olive oil , lemon and egg whites along with Gin before it started getting made we were fearing it will be mayo like after we had that drink I thought may be mayo would have been better. Seriously if the balance of the flavors would have been anywhere close to any balance at all it may have tasted like a good cocktail alas what we got tastedjust like mausambi juice in a weird way

The next drink up for the demo was Watermelon and Basil Bramble which I was hoping will redeem some of the disappointment we had from Oliveto but unfortunately we weren?t so lucky, this drink too was way off the balance mark and it was so strange that two glasses were being passed between several people with no one wanting to finish the drink at all and yes that was anot Azure Bloggers Table1 her thing I found a little strange, when you invite people for a review you don?t hand over a glass and ask the guests to share. I would have been fine with less of the drink, may be they should have served in shot glasses if they had a constraint on the number of drinks they want to serve the guests but somehow the idea of handing over the glasses to us and asking us to taste from the same didn?t go down too well with me.

The last drink Rosemary delight unfortunately couldn?t change my mind about Shimmer either inspite of the fact that it looked oh so pretty

With a heavy heart and great expectations from Azure (since I have eaten there once before and quite enjoyed the food and in general I love Mediterranean food) we moved to the first floor hoping the food will make us forget the experience at the bar but I guess we had all left our lucky stars back home that day since the usually good Azure fair was below average in most accounts. I think the only two dishes that stood out for me that day were the sea food broth, where the flavours were fabulous and the shrimps and the clams in it perfectly cooked. The other dish which I have a strong and good memory from that day is the?Plum tomato confit, artichoke and cured buffalo mozzarella with french dressing. I have to say this Azure Bloggers Table4 was the dish of the day for me, one of the best confits I have had and the tomatoes were so nicely cooked that there was a discussion on the table on just how they managed it and what have they done to it, unfortunately it wasn?t my dish but I did steal a few bites from Swaps who was sitting right next to me

The beef carpaccio with onion jam and truffle oil was a beautifully plated dish with a good onion jam apart from this in the starters I liked the Falafel

the dips

which was crispy and crunchy, Maqaali which I found severely lacking in flavors infact I don?t think I understood the dish at all , the Shawarma came inside the pitas and was a bit too dry for my liking, chicken liver on buttered brioche had a good sauce but the liver was chewy, the panko crusted chicken was a dish that didn?t make any impression on me, according to me it?s a dish that has been placed there to please kids which is perfectly fine. I can actually imagine my? 5 yr old son eating it with great relish.

There were also the quintessential Mediterranean dips namely tahini, hummus and?baba ganoush, my heart actually p Azure Bloggers Table6 ains to say that none of the dips were really outstanding. Yes they weren?t bad but a place which calls itself a Mediterranean joint you certainly expect better.

By the time the journey to main course had started I was very disheartened Azure Bloggers Table7 and was so hoping for the dish that will blow me away a dish that will change my mind into writing a stellar review (I hate writing bad reviews), I ordered Baked Prawns and its a sad day when you leave one of the three jumbo prawns that you have been served because they are overcooked and rubbery and I really struggled to finish the two and did because I was really hungry and didn?t want to go back home and cook again. Sadly the fate of others on the table was similar, I saw people leaving lamb chops and tenderloins because either the meat was over cooked or raw. Another dish I was really looking forward to was the?Tajine but as soon as I got to know that it was only served in the tajine vessel I actually felt cheated, I am wondering how the person who ordered it felt.

And with this we moved to the last course of the day, the course I am so so critical about yes I am talking about the dessert. By this MiaOnWheels1 time I had no hopes what so ever and the fact that Swaps told that their baklava was not so stellar last time she came just killed whatever little hopes I had and I have to give it to her because she called that baklava not so stellar according to my view it was BAD. The beauty of baklava for me is the gorgeous layers of phyllo pastry with the crunch of nuts and a fair amount of ghee/butter. Its the explosion of textures and flavors in every bite that makes baklava what it is.? Sadly this had none of it, to be fair to them it had a lot of nuts may be a little more than what usually is there in a baklava but if I had to eat nuts I would fry them in ghee and eat. The warm chocolate fallen cake with organic vanilla ice cream was certainly a little bit of save face for them. It was a decent chocolate cake but it was the ice cream both which came with the cake and which was served as gelato which fell on its face. First I don?t think they were different ice creams atleast there wasn?t any taste of flavor difference between them which is strange since one was the vanilla and other was red wine gelato and two they had big ice crystals in them. So disappointing

In the end with a very heavy heart I have to say that the day had more misses than hits and there were only a couple of items that left mark in my mind such a pity that they had a bad day on the day they had invited bloggers for an evening there. I sincerely hope this was just one off day and they get their act together fast

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Source: http://sinamontales.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/bloggers-table-shimmer-and-azure-taj-vivanta-yeshwantpur/

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Obama to grads: 'No time for excuses' (CNN)

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সোমবার, ২০ মে, ২০১৩

Not just blowing in the wind: Compressing air for renewable energy storage

May 20, 2013 ? Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power -- which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low -- for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.

"With Renewable Portfolio Standards requiring states to have as much as 20 or 30 percent of their electricity come from variable sources such as wind and the sun, compressed air energy storage plants can play a valuable role in helping manage and integrate renewable power onto the Northwest's electric grid," said Steve Knudsen, who managed the study for the BPA.

Geologic energy savings accounts

All compressed air energy storage plants work under the same basic premise. When power is abundant, it's drawn from the electric grid and used to power a large air compressor, which pushes pressurized air into an underground geologic storage structure. Later, when power demand is high, the stored air is released back up to the surface, where it is heated and rushes through turbines to generate electricity. Compressed air energy storage plants can re-generate as much as 80 percent of the electricity they take in.

The world's two existing compressed air energy storage plants -- one in Alabama, the other in Germany -- use human-made salt caverns to store excess electricity. The PNNL-BPA study examined a different approach: using natural, porous rock reservoirs that are deep underground to store renewable energy.

Interest in the technology has increased greatly in the past decade as utilities and others seek better ways to integrate renewable energy onto the power grid. About 13 percent, or nearly 8,600 megawatts, of the Northwest's power supply comes from of wind. This prompted BPA and PNNL to investigate whether the technology could be used in the Northwest.

To find potential sites, the research team reviewed the Columbia Plateau Province, a thick layer of volcanic basalt rock that covers much of the region. The team looked for underground basalt reservoirs that were at least 1,500 feet deep, 30 feet thick and close to high-voltage transmission lines, among other criteria.

They then examined public data from wells drilled for gas exploration or research at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. Well data was plugged into PNNL's STOMP computer model, which simulates the movement of fluids below ground, to determine how much air the various sites under consideration could reliably hold and return to the surface.

Two different, complementary designs

Analysis identified two particularly promising locations in eastern Washington. One location, dubbed the Columbia Hills Site, is just north of Boardman, Ore., on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The second, called the Yakima Minerals Site, is about 10 miles north of Selah, Wash., in an area called the Yakima Canyon.

But the research team determined the two sites are suitable for two very different kinds of compressed air energy storage facilities. The Columbia Hills Site could access a nearby natural gas pipeline, making it a good fit for a conventional compressed air energy facility. Such a conventional facility would burn a small amount of natural gas to heat compressed air that's released from underground storage. The heated air would then generate more than twice the power than a typical natural gas power plant.

The Yakima Minerals Site, however, doesn't have easy access to natural gas. So the research team devised a different kind of compressed air energy storage facility: one that uses geothermal energy. This hybrid facility would extract geothermal heat from deep underground to power a chiller that would cool the facility's air compressors, making them more efficient. Geothermal energy would also re-heat the air as it returns to the surface.

"Combining geothermal energy with compressed air energy storage is a creative concept that was developed to tackle engineering issues at the Yakima Minerals Site," said PNNL Laboratory Fellow and project leader Pete McGrail. "Our hybrid facility concept significantly expands geothermal energy beyond its traditional use as a renewable baseload power generation technology."

The study indicates both facilities could provide energy storage during extended periods of time. This could especially help the Northwest during the spring, when sometimes there is more wind and hydroelectric power than the region can absorb. The combination of heavy runoff from melting snow and a large amount of wind, which often blows at night when demand for electricity is low, can spike power production in the region. Power system managers have a few options to keep the regional power grid stable in such a situation, including reducing power generation or storing the excess power supply. Energy storage technologies such as compressed air energy storage can help the region make the most of its excess clean energy production.

Working with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, BPA will now use the performance and economic data from the study to perform an in-depth analysis of the net benefits compressed air energy storage could bring to the Pacific Northwest. The results could be used by one or more regional utilities to develop a commercial compressed air energy storage demonstration project.

The $790,000 joint feasibility study was funded by BPA's Technology Innovation Office, PNNL and several project partners: Seattle City Light, Washington State University Tri-Cities, GreenFire Energy, Snohomish County Public Utility District, Dresser-Rand, Puget Sound Energy, Ramgen Power Systems, NW Natural, Magnum Energy and Portland General Electric.

REFRENCE: BP McGrail, JE Cabe, CL Davidson, FS Knudsen, DH Bacon, MD Bearden, MA Chamness, JA Horner, SP Reidel, HT Schaef, FA Spane, PD Thorne, "Techno-economic Performance Evaluation of Compressed Air Energy Storage in the Pacific Northwest," February 2013, http://caes.pnnl.gov/pdf/PNNL-22235.pdf.

COMPRESSED AIR ENERGY STORAGE SITES

Columbia Hills Site

? Location: north of Boardman, Ore., on Washington side of Columbia River

? Plant type: Conventional, which pairs compressed air storage with a natural gas power plant.

? Power generation capacity: 207 megawatts

? Energy storage capacity: 231 megawatts

? Estimated levelized power cost: as low as 6.4 cents per kilowatt-hour

? Would work well for frequent energy storage

? Continuous storage for up to 40 days

Yakima Minerals Site

? Location: 10 miles north of Selah, Wash.

? Plant type: Hybrid, which pairs geothermal heat with compressed air storage

? Power generation capacity: 83 megawatts

? Energy storage capacity: 150 megawatts

? Estimated levelized power cost: as low as 11.8 cents per kilowatt-hour

? No greenhouse gas emissions

? Potential for future expansion

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/mb3lmNXBYK8/130520142823.htm

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Come Mr. HR man, hire my alumni (rent check due soon, don?t wanna lose home) (Unqualified Offerings)

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শুক্রবার, ১৭ মে, ২০১৩

Investigation into Powell disappearance may close

SCOTTS MILLS, Ore. (AP) ? After a search in rural Oregon failed to yield any trace of missing Utah mother Susan Powell, authorities say they may close the investigation.

Wayne Pyle, who is city manager in West Valley City, Utah, said Thursday that leads in the case have dried up in the three and a-half years since Powell went missing.

Police said earlier Thursday they found no signs of Powell after searching for two days at a rural site near Salem, the capital city of Oregon.

Susan Powell was reported missing in December 2009 after she didn't show up for work. Her husband said he had taken the couple's young boys on a midnight camping trip the night she disappeared.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/investigation-powell-disappearance-may-close-191609175.html

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বৃহস্পতিবার, ১৬ মে, ২০১৩

Cannes Film Festival 2013: Our Must-See Movies

With Emma Watson and Ryan Gosling bringing movies to the fest, we take a look at the year's hottest entries.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

"The Bling Ring"
Photo: A24

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707352/cannes-film-festival-2013-preview.jhtml

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Google Cloud Platform Opens To General Availability With 3 Million Applications, New Pricing And PHP

Google announced today at I/O that it made Google Cloud Platform generally available,?marking a milestone for the cloud community and the real arrival of a giant to contend with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its pay-as-you-go pricing.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gKpMQGj-VJM/

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