St John benefits from business network | Otago Daily Times Online ...

Chairman of the St John Wakatipu Marty Black and BNI branch president Rachel Prendergast. Photo by Andrew Busst.

Business Networking International's Queenstown branch has given $1000 to St John in recognition of the services it provides.

The local networking group meets every Thursday at the Goldridge Hotel to allow for business swapping among the various workers involved.

BNI Queenstown branch president Rachel Prendergast said the group selected St John because of the great work it did in the community and the high volunteer count.

St John has 25 people working as volunteers.

On Thursday morning, Mrs Prendergast presented a cheque to the chairman of the St John Wakatipu area committee, Marty Black.

BNI is a business and professional networking organisation that allows only one person from each profession to join any group or chapter. New Zealand has some 29 chapters, totalling 2650 members. Worldwide, BNI is represented in more than 49 countries and has 145,870 members in 6232 chapters.

Mrs Prendergast said the Queenstown branch included members drawn from many industries and professions, including law, real estate, banking and trades.

She said more local businesses were welcome to join the network or indicate their interest.

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Source: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/queenstown-lakes/244544/st-john-benefits-business-network

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Mobile Phone Network Truphone Raises $118M Led By Russian Tycoon Roman Abramovich, At $473M Valuation

Truphone, a UK-based mobile network that lets its users make free or low-cost calls to other mobile devices, has today announced a large funding injection of ?75 million ($118 million) from a group of investors led by Roman Abramovich, the wealthy Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, among other things. Abramovich's investment company Minden accounted for ?70 million of this investment, giving it a 23.3% stake in the company at a ?300 million ($473 million) valuation.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/e4jU688uFjw/

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MU taps Post writer to speak at graduation - The Miami Student

Miami University announced Monday that the May 2013 commencement speaker will be journalist, author and Miami alumnus Wil Haygood. Haygood (Miami ?76) has worked as a journalist for the Washington Post since 2002, according to Carole Johnson, assistant director of university news and communication.

The 2013 Commencement Speaker Advisory Committee identified Haygood along with a handful of other potential speakers to be presented to University President David Hodge, according to Ted Pickerill, executive assistant to the president. Hodge then made a final decision and extended Haygood a personal invitation.

The selection committee looks for commencement speakers who are successful, well-respected, good speakers and inspiring to students, according to Pickerill. As is customary, the Miami alumnus will receive an honorary degree at the commencement ceremony in May.

Pickerill said Haygood?s recent success as well as his connection to the university made him a strong candidate.

?It?s really special when [the commencement speaker] can be an alumnus who?s successful, well-known, well-respected and inspiring,? Pickerill said. ?What?s more inspiring to a Miami graduating student than to have a speaker who once sat there themselves??

The advisory committee is comprised of 20 people, including faculty, staff and students: an undergraduate student from each division, one from a branch campus and a graduate student. Each member submits a list of names to be considered for the position, and then the committee as a whole votes to narrow the list to a few key suggestions.

Pickerill said the inclusion of student opinion is an important component to the selection process.

?Because commencement is an event for the graduates,? Pickerill said. ?To celebrate their completion of Miami University.?

Senior Taylor Lewis was on the committee that selected Haygood. He will graduate in May and hear Haygood speak.

?I?m excited,? Lewis said. ?We?re all at this place in our lives where we?re going off into the real world. Having someone there to inspire [the graduates] and encourage them to go forward with their Miami degree and do something great, so that 20 years down they road maybe they can come back and say ?this is what Miami gave to me.??

Lewis said Haygood?s achievements and connection with Miami were impressive attributes. He also cited Haygood?s inspirational personal story as a reason for his selection.

?He was raised in Columbus and came to Miami and obviously he is African American,? Lewis said. ?Coming to Miami is not the most [welcoming] in terms of diversity.?

Lewis, an education major, said Haygood?s success and career is something that will resonate with all graduates, regardless of their program.

?I think journalism and media affects all of our lives, doesn?t matter if your in education, engineering, if you?re going to be a doctor or a businessman,? he said. ?All of us read the news, all of us like reading good books. Just the fact that he?s a Miami alum and he knows what it takes, he?s walked the same brick paths as we have. I think that?s just one more thing that?s like ?oh wow, I can totally be successful in this world.??

Haygood is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has earned awards and distinctions for feature writing and national and foreign reporting, including a National Headliner Award, Sunday Magazine Editors Award and National Association of Black Journalists award, according to Johnson.

For the Washington Post, Haygood covered Hurricane Katrina and reported on Barack Obama?s 2008 campaign. Pickerill also pointed to Haygood?s recent newsworthy endeavors as another reason for his selection. Haygood?s 2008 front-page story about White House butler Eugene Allen is the inspiration for the film The Butler, directed by Lee Daniels due to be released next fall. The film stars Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr. Vanessa Redgrave and Robin Williams. Haygood is an associate producer of the movie.

Haygood is also currently writing a book about Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice and Brown v. Board of Education lawyer.

Source: http://www.miamistudent.net/news/campus/mu-taps-post-writer-to-speak-at-graduation-1.2980949

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Novel materials shake ship scum

Jan. 31, 2013 ? Just as horses shake off pesky flies by twitching their skin, ships may soon be able to shed the unwanted accumulation of bacteria and other marine growth with the flick of a switch.

Duke University engineers have developed a material that can be applied like paint to the hull of a ship and will literally be able to dislodge bacteria, keeping it from accumulating on the ship's surface. This buildup on ships increases drag and reduces the energy efficiency of the vessel, as well as blocking or clogging undersea sensors.

The material works by physically moving at the microscopic level, knocking the bacteria away. This avoids the use of bacteria-killing paints, which can contain heavy metals or other toxic chemicals that might accumulate in the environment and unintentionally harm fish or other marine organisms.

The Duke researchers also say that similar types of materials could be used in other settings where the buildup of bacteria -- known as biofilms -- presents problems, such as on the surfaces of artificial joint implants or water purification membranes.

"We have developed a material that 'wrinkles,' or changes it surface in response to a stimulus, such as stretching or pressure or electricity," said Duke engineer Xuanhe Zhao, assistant professor in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. "This deformation can effectively detach biofilms and other organisms that have accumulated on the surface."

The results of the Duke studies were published online in the journal Advanced Materials.

Zhao has already demonstrated the ability of electric current to deform, or change, the surface of polymers.

"Nature has offered many solutions to deal with this buildup of biological materials that we as engineers can try to recreate," said Gabriel L?pez, professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering and materials science. He also serves as director of Research Triangle Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), which is funded by the National Science Foundation.

"For example, the hair-like structures known as cilia can move foreign particles from the lungs and respiratory tract," Lopez said. "In the same manner, these types of structures are used by mollusks and corals to keep their surfaces clean. To date, however, it is been difficult to reproduce the cilia, but controlling the surface of a material could achieve the same result."

The researchers tested their approach in the laboratory with simulated seawater, as well as on barnacles. These experiments were conducted in collaboration with Daniel Rittschof the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C.

Keeping bacteria from attaching to ship hulls or other submerged objects can prevent a larger cascade of events that can reduce performance or efficiency. Once they have taken up residence on a surface, bacteria often attract larger organisms, such as seaweed and larva of other marine organisms, such as worms, bivalves, barnacles or mussels.

"It is known that bacterial films can recruit other organisms, so stopping the accumulation process from the beginning in the first place would make a lot of sense," Lopez said.

The project is funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the MRSEC. Other members of the Duke team are Phanindhar Shivapooja, Qiming Wang and Beatriz Orihuela.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University. The original article was written by Richard Merritt.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Phanindhar Shivapooja, Qiming Wang, Beatriz Orihuela, Daniel Rittschof, Gabriel P. L?pez, Xuanhe Zhao. Bioinspired Surfaces with Dynamic Topography for Active Control of Biofouling. Advanced Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/adma.201203374

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/Ejio7fzCdNE/130131095230.htm

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Scientists unveil a superbug's secret to antibiotic resistance

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Worldwide, many strains of the bacterium Staphyloccocus aureus, commonly known as staph infections, are already resistant to all antibiotics except vancomycin. But as bacteria are becoming resistant to this once powerful antidote, S. aureus has moved one step closer to becoming an unstoppable killer. Now, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have not only identified the mechanism by which vancomycin resistance spreads from one bacterium to the next, but also have suggested ways to potentially stop the transfer.

The work, led by Matthew Redinbo, professor of chemistry at UNC's College of Arts and Sciences, addresses the looming threat of incurable staph infections ? a global public health problem that has mobilized scientists across disciplines to work together to identify the Achilles heel of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

"We used to live in a world where antibiotics could readily cure bacterial disease," said Redinbo. "But this is clearly no longer the case. We need to understand how bacteria obtain resistance to drugs like vancomycin, which served for decades as the 'antibiotic of last resort.'"

In his work, Redinbo and his team targeted a bacterial enzyme known as Nicking Enzyme in Staphyloccoccus, or NES. The enzyme has long been known to interact with plasmids, circular pieces of double-stranded DNA within bacteria that are physically separate from the bacterial chromosome. Plasmids commonly contain antibiotic-resistance genes, and can make the machinery necessary to transfer these genes from an infected bacterium to an uninfected one.

By revealing the crystal structure of NES, the researchers found that this enzyme nicks one strand of the plasmid at a very specific site?and in a very specific way. It turns out that NES forms two loops that work together to pinch one strand of the plasmid at a particular groove in the DNA to cut it. This strand is now free to leave its host and transfer to a nearby bacterium, making them resistant to vancomycin.

Moreover, Redinbo was able to capture a snapshot of the enzyme bound to the plasmid. "As a structural biologist, it's all about the pictures for me," said Redinbo. "And it was this picture that confirmed the precise location on which NES works."

With this information, Redinbo knew the groove on the DNA that the enzyme recognize and could design a small synthetic molecule that would sit on this groove and block NES. Teaming up with colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, Redinbo did just that. The molecule prevented NES from nicking the DNA, which could prevent the resistance genes from spreading.

According to Redinbo and colleagues, this small synthetic molecule could help guide future research aimed at developing effective therapies for strains of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus.

"This is really exciting for us," said Redinbo, who is also a professor at UNC's School of Medicine and a member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "It opens the door for potentially stopping the spread of antibiotic resistance?and that's exactly what we need in this post-antibiotic era."

The work was published this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

###

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: http://www.unc.edu

Thanks to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126555/Scientists_unveil_a_superbug_s_secret_to_antibiotic_resistance

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Content Is Search Engine Food ? How Healthy Is Your Information ...

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

Source: http://www.ecommercepartners.net/blog/content-is-search-engine-food-how-healthy-is-your-information.html

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Why Every Geek and Gamer Needs a 128GB Capacity iPad

By Roger K. on January 30th, 2013 1

If you?re an iPad user or just a regular Apple enthusiast, you probably know by now that a 128GB version of the iPad 4 is coming. But the question is, do you need one? The answer depends on another question which is, are you an iPad gamer and a movie geek?

If you?re neither, then perhaps you don?t really need the space. Even if you consume and download tons and tons of apps, 128GB may still leave you with a lot of unused space. In fact, compared with laptop and desktop applications, the vast majority of iPad apps don?t take up all that much space. Then again, that doesn?t mean you can put the whole App Store on your tablet.

Games are a different species of apps however, that can very quickly consume a whole lot of storage space on an iPad, particularly for more hardcore gamers who like to play console games on the go. Even though casual games like Angry Birds or Gridlee don?t take up a lot of space, something like an Infinite Blade can easily take up well over 500 MB to download.

Multiply that by twelve and you?re already looking at 6 GB. Thing is, if you?re a hardcore gamer and you don?t like to delete and reload games constantly to optimize your storage space, you?re likely going to end up taking a lot more than that. So very soon, you?ll feel things jamming up on your iPad.

If added to that variable you also happen to be an avid insatiable movie and TV show geek, things have gotten worse for you, by the order of at least 4². Considering that the average size of an SD movie on iTunes is between 1 and 3 GB, with HD going between 3 and 5 GB, then cramming the whole Star Trek: The Next Generation, plus the Original series, plus the whole Lord of The Rings: Extended set of movies for your lonely business trips can become a bit?well, stuffy.

Then of course you have your music space considerations. Typically speaking, music files aren?t very large, but if you like to carry all your favorite albums around, it adds up. You may use a music locker service like iTunes Match or some streaming services. However, you still need local space for your offline playbacks.

At the end of the day, all of the above adds up to an expensive storage bill. In fact, Apple may well be trying to cater specifically to such an audience with the new iPad 128 GB. Logically, the people more prone to buying a tablet with lots of space can only be for the above stated reasons. In other words, it?s built for geeks.

But, as Philip Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said in the 128GB iPad press release, he clearly mentions the target market of the higher capacity iPad:

?With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs.?

How about you? Do you plan on buying an iPad 128 GB? If so, please share comments about how you intend to use the extra space.

Roger K.

Online Media specialist, tech geek and publisher of the French web site Vilain Geek, who loves writing about Gmail tips and iOS games.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/iphoneincanada/~3/k6CUTG3TEKE/

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