BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Big powers hope soon to agree with Iran to hold a new round of nuclear talks in another bid to resolve a protracted dispute over Tehran's atomic program and avert the increasing threat of a downward spiral into Middle East war.
Iran is seen by the six powers to be covertly trying to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons. They want to rein in the Islamic Republic's uranium enrichment program, to ensure it is geared only for civilian energy as Iran maintains it is, through a mix of diplomacy and economic sanctions.
They are eager to make progress soon because of Israel's increasingly pointed threats to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. Israel, widely understood to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, views Iran's nuclear drive as a mortal threat.
Senior EU and Iranian diplomats discussed the timing and venue of possible new talks on Wednesday, said a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who oversees contacts with the Islamic Republic on behalf of six countries.
"Deputy Secretary-General Helga Schmid had a telephone call with (the) Iranian deputy nuclear negotiator... in order to discuss the way ahead, including possible dates and venues for a meeting with Iran," he said, referring to a senior member of the EU diplomatic service.
"We hope that agreement with Iran can soon be reached on how to continue the talks and make concrete progress towards addressing international concerns."
Britain, France, Germany, United States, Russia and China are hoping to agree on confidence-building measures as a step towards a final agreement with Iran. Three rounds of negotiations this year produced no breakthrough.
Western diplomats have said a new round could be scheduled as soon as January, but Ashton's spokesman declined to say what dates were discussed in Wednesday's conference call.
PREPARATIONS TAKING PLACE
Last month, senior diplomats from the six countries met in Brussels to prepare a new proposal for talks.
They are particularly concerned about Iran enriching uranium to 20 percent fissile purity, an important technological advance that brings it significantly closer to the threshold of weapons-grade material. They also want Iran to cooperate fully with the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday some politicians in the Islamic Republic were reluctant to resolve the nuclear dispute, apparently referring to hardline conservative rivals in Tehran's factionalized ruling elite.
Experts see Ahmadinejad as sidelined on nuclear policy, and his comments underlined differences between him and supporters of clerical Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The president has been criticized by hardliners within Iran's power structure for saying Tehran was ready for dialogue with the United States on the nuclear program.
"Our policy is cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).
"Of course in Iran some do not want the issue to be resolved and think it is better this way," he said, without elaborating.
In Vienna on Wednesday, a senior IAEA official said agency inspectors travelling to Iran would be prepared to go to its disputed Parchin military complex if the Islamic state were to allow a visit during talks in Tehran this week.
The IAEA believes Iran has done explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a facility southeast of the Iranian capital, and has repeatedly asked for access.
(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; editing by Rex Merrifield and Mark Heinrich)
The food truck operated by a Chesterfield cake shop and bakery picked up some national acclaim Tuesday when Sarah's Cake Stop was voted Best Dessert Truck of 2012 in an online poll sponsored by Mobile-Cuisine.com.?
The mobile version of Sarah's Cake Shop started rolling in June of 2010 and was one of the first of a wave of food trucks that now regularly comb the St. Louis area. Sarah's Cake Stop specializes in serving a wide variety of specialty cupcakes, usually rotating daily.?
Sarah's Cake Stop was one of 12 finalists to make it to the final round of voting, which ran over a two-week period and wrapped up Dec. 7. According to Mobile Cuisine, the on-the-go cupcake bakery grabbed 29 percent of the total vote, trailed closely behind by another Missouri nomination, 3 Girls Cupcakes out of Kansas City, which came in second with 27 percent of the vote.?
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Sarah's Cake Stop thanked all those who had participated in the online contest.?
"This is really cool but I will say it was made fun by our friends in KC 3 Girls Cupcakes?who in my mind could have been named CO-Dessert Trucks of 2012. Thanks to all who took time out of their day to vote for us!"
The win will also earn Sarah's Cake Stop some free press, as Mobile Cuisine said they would be writing a feature on the bakery later this week in a statement announcing the results.?
Don Mertz? ?Embrace Freedom? places second in the 2012 juried show.
?Embrace Freedom,? a 36?x36? mixed media on canvas painting by Cary-based fine artist Don Mertz, received second prize in the Fine Arts League of Cary?s 2012 Members Show, a juried exhibition.
Don Mertz moved to Cary from New York City 12 years ago and, subsequently, joined the Fine Arts League of Cary (FALC). Since then, his abstract paintings have been included in many solo- and group exhibitions throughout the Triangle region and sold to numerous art collectors. He has also donated to, and sold paintings in, the Works of Heart charitable fundraising auction for the Triangle AIDS Alliance.
A former U.S. Marine, Mertz explains that ?Embrace Freedom? is a ?semi-statement on the chaos, loss, and excitement of war.? Subtly embedded in the roughly textured, scraped, marked, and chaotic surface of the painting are: a simple military gravesite cross; the Marine?s motto ?Semper Fi;? ?HooRah? the military version of ?hooray;? a two-bar chevron, the rank insignia of a corporal; the outline of four blue stars; four veiled red stripes; and the words ?Embrace Freedom.?
Mertz said he included the corporal?s chevron as a reminder that ?our wars are fought and won by the ?grunt? ? the enlisted man ? and the non-commissioned officer. So many of the dead and wounded, our loss of national treasure, come from their ranks.?
Although it was not Mertz?s original intent, he admits that the more prominent four blue stars may be seen as a statement concerning the ?higher visibility of military generals, especially in light of recent events,? he said. ?The fact that they are scattered around the painting might also reflect the not-so-positive point of view of the wartime contributions of some our senior commanders in Thomas Ricks? just released book, The Generals.?
Jennifer Dasal, associate curator of contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art since November 2008, served as the judge for show.
The 2012 FALC Members Show will be on exhibit at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center at 119 Ambassador Loop, Cary, NC, until January 2, 2013.
The 200-member, non-profit FALC provides continuing education for its members through regularly scheduled programs. It also offers members opportunities to exhibit their visual art while contributing to the cultural environment of the community and increasing public awareness of visual art. For more information, go to www.fineartsleagueofcary.org.
For more information on Don Mertz, visit his website at www.mertzart.com.
About Don Mertz: Don Mertz is an abstract artist who has lived in Cary for 12 years. A former truck driver, Marine, and IBM branch manager, he attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and The Art Students League in New York City where he lived for 25 years. He is a member of the Visual Arts Exchange of Raleigh, the Fine Arts League of Cary and the Durham Art Guild. He is represented by ArtSource Fine Art Gallery in North Hills, Raleigh, NC, and by Joe Rowand Art Fine Art Services in Chapel Hill, NC. For more information visit www.mertzart.com or find him on Facebook.
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Statement On War Painting Wins Cary Fine Arts League Prize, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating
Discovery in Ghent could improve screening for sudden cardiac deathPublic release date: 12-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Van der Beken kris.vanderbeken@vib.be 32-924-46611 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
ARVC is a hereditary heart condition in which the heart muscle (particularly the right ventricle) is partly replaced by fatty tissue and connective tissue. Cardiac arrhythmias can occur as a result of the changes in the heart muscle. Severe arrhythmias can cause dizziness or even lead to fainting or an acute cardiac arrest (= sudden death). ARVC is a progressive disease that usually presents during the teenage years.
Known mutations in desmosomal proteins
Mutations in various genes have already been linked to ARVC. These are primarily genes that are responsible for the production of proteins in the desmosomes. Desmosomes are structures in the heart that ensure that the heart muscle cells remain connected to each other. Therefore, it was assumed that defects in the desmosomes were the most important factors in developing ARVC.
Identification of new mutations
Together with Italian scientists, Jolanda van Hengel, studied patients with ARVC who did not exhibit mutations in the desmosomal genes. The scientists identified mutations in the CTNNA3 gene in these patients, which codes for the protein ?T-catenin a component of the area composita. The area composita is a structure specifically modified to the heart, where extra strong connections between cardiac muscle cells occur.
The scientists' findings indicate that there is a link between mutations in the CTNNA3 gene and ARVC. It was demonstrated for the first time that in addition to desmosomal genes an area composita gene also plays a role in the development of ARVC. Future genetic screening tests for ARVC should include the CTNNA3 gene as a standard part of the test. This would increase the value of the screening.
###
Questions
Given that this research can raise many questions of patients, we would like to refer you to the email address that VIB makes available for this purpose. Anyone can submit questions concerning this and other medically oriented research to patienteninfo@vib.be.
Relevant scientific publication
The research will be published in the leading journal European Heart Journal, van Hengel et al., Mutations in the area composita protein alpha-T-catenin are associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
Research team
This research was performed in the research group of Frans van Roy in the VIB Department of Molecular Biomedical Research, UGent, headed by Bart Lambrecht.
Funding
This research was funded by FWO, UGent and VIB.
Note to the editor
Credits
When reporting on this research, please mention all partners involved.
VIB
VIB is a non-profit research institute in the life sciences in Flanders, Belgium, with 1200 scientists conducting strategic basic research on the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the functioning of the human body, plants, and micro-organisms. Through a partnership with four Flemish universities Ghent University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel ? and a solid funding program, VIB unites the forces of 72 research groups in a single institute. Through its technology transfer activities, VIB strives to convert the research results into products for the benefit of consumers and patients. VIB develops and disseminates a wide range of scientifically substantiated information about all aspects of biotechnology. For more information, please visit www.vib.be.
Ghent University
After more than twenty years of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is now one of the most important institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. Ghent University yearly attracts over 30,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 2,200 EU and non-EU citizens. Ghent University offers a broad range of study programs in all academic and scientific fields. With a view to cooperation in research and community service, numerous research groups, centers and institutes have been founded over the years. For more information www.UGent.be.
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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.
Discovery in Ghent could improve screening for sudden cardiac deathPublic release date: 12-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Van der Beken kris.vanderbeken@vib.be 32-924-46611 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
ARVC is a hereditary heart condition in which the heart muscle (particularly the right ventricle) is partly replaced by fatty tissue and connective tissue. Cardiac arrhythmias can occur as a result of the changes in the heart muscle. Severe arrhythmias can cause dizziness or even lead to fainting or an acute cardiac arrest (= sudden death). ARVC is a progressive disease that usually presents during the teenage years.
Known mutations in desmosomal proteins
Mutations in various genes have already been linked to ARVC. These are primarily genes that are responsible for the production of proteins in the desmosomes. Desmosomes are structures in the heart that ensure that the heart muscle cells remain connected to each other. Therefore, it was assumed that defects in the desmosomes were the most important factors in developing ARVC.
Identification of new mutations
Together with Italian scientists, Jolanda van Hengel, studied patients with ARVC who did not exhibit mutations in the desmosomal genes. The scientists identified mutations in the CTNNA3 gene in these patients, which codes for the protein ?T-catenin a component of the area composita. The area composita is a structure specifically modified to the heart, where extra strong connections between cardiac muscle cells occur.
The scientists' findings indicate that there is a link between mutations in the CTNNA3 gene and ARVC. It was demonstrated for the first time that in addition to desmosomal genes an area composita gene also plays a role in the development of ARVC. Future genetic screening tests for ARVC should include the CTNNA3 gene as a standard part of the test. This would increase the value of the screening.
###
Questions
Given that this research can raise many questions of patients, we would like to refer you to the email address that VIB makes available for this purpose. Anyone can submit questions concerning this and other medically oriented research to patienteninfo@vib.be.
Relevant scientific publication
The research will be published in the leading journal European Heart Journal, van Hengel et al., Mutations in the area composita protein alpha-T-catenin are associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
Research team
This research was performed in the research group of Frans van Roy in the VIB Department of Molecular Biomedical Research, UGent, headed by Bart Lambrecht.
Funding
This research was funded by FWO, UGent and VIB.
Note to the editor
Credits
When reporting on this research, please mention all partners involved.
VIB
VIB is a non-profit research institute in the life sciences in Flanders, Belgium, with 1200 scientists conducting strategic basic research on the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the functioning of the human body, plants, and micro-organisms. Through a partnership with four Flemish universities Ghent University, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel ? and a solid funding program, VIB unites the forces of 72 research groups in a single institute. Through its technology transfer activities, VIB strives to convert the research results into products for the benefit of consumers and patients. VIB develops and disseminates a wide range of scientifically substantiated information about all aspects of biotechnology. For more information, please visit www.vib.be.
Ghent University
After more than twenty years of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is now one of the most important institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. Ghent University yearly attracts over 30,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 2,200 EU and non-EU citizens. Ghent University offers a broad range of study programs in all academic and scientific fields. With a view to cooperation in research and community service, numerous research groups, centers and institutes have been founded over the years. For more information www.UGent.be.
[ | 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.
Dec. 11, 2012 ? It has long been known that the inner ear actively amplifies sounds it receives, and that this amplification can be attributed to forces generated by outer hair cells in the cochlea. How the ear actually accomplishes this, however, has remained somewhat of a mystery. Now, Jonathan A. N. Fisher, PhD, and colleagues at The Rockefeller University, in New York, describe how the cochlea actively self-amplifies sound it receives to help increase the range of sounds that can be heard.
The results of their research were published in the December 6, 2012 issue of Neuron.
Dr. Fisher received a grant for this research from the American Hearing Research Foundation in 2011.
Fisher and colleagues used a new optical technique that inactivates prestin, a motor protein involved in the movement of the outer hair cells. The outer hair cells are part of the hair cell bundles (which also include the inner hair cells)- the true sensory cells of the inner ear. The main body of the hair cells sits in the basilar membrane- the tissue that lines the interior of the bony cochlea. The "hair" part of these cells, called the stereocilia, sticks up into the fluid-filled space of the cochlea, where they are pushed by the fluid as sound waves travel through it.
The sound waves traveling down the cochlea produce actual waves that can be observed along the basilar membrane. The cochlea picks up different sound frequencies along its length, with higher frequency sounds picked up at center of the "snail" and the lower frequency sounds being picked up at the part of the cochlea closest to the eardrum.
The outer hair cells have been known to provide amplification of sound waves picked up by the inner hair cells by actively changing their shape to increase the amplitudes of the sound waves. These outer hair cells can do this because the membrane protein can contract and cause the stereocillia to be deflected by the overlying tectorial membrane.
Fisher and colleagues developed a light-sensitive drug that when illuminated by an ultraviolet laser can inactivate prestin in select locations within the cochlea. Using this novel technique, the researchers were able to affect prestin at very specific locations along the basilar membrane.
The researchers found that by inactivating prestin at very specific locations, the sound-evoked waves that carry mechanical signals to sensory hair cells were re-shaped and of smaller amplitude- indicating that without prestin, amplification is dampened compared to what the researchers saw when prestin was allowed to function normally. Their findings reveal how prestin's molecular forces pump energy into the waves within the cochlea, and how this energy is pushed forward as the wave travels. The research also demonstrates the importance of prestin in locally amplifying these sound evoked traveling waves.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Hearing Research Foundation.
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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.
Dec. 11, 2012 ? The SARS epidemic of 2002-2003 was short-lived, but a novel type of human coronavirus that is alarming public health authorities can infect cells from humans and bats alike, a fact that could make the animals a continuing source of infection, according to a study to be published in in mBio?, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on Dec. 11.
The new coronavirus, called hCoV-EMC, is blamed for five deaths and several other cases of severe disease originating in countries in the Middle East. According to the new results, hCoV-EMC uses a different receptor in the human body than the SARS virus, and can infect cells from a wide range of bat species and pigs, indicating there may be little to keep the virus from passing from animals to humans over and over again.
First identified in a patient in Saudi Arabia in June, nine laboratory-confirmed cases of hCoV-EMC infection have now been identified, five of whom have died. Although the virus does not apparently pass from person-to-person very readily, the case fatality rate and the fact that the source of the virus has not been identified have caused concern among global public health authorities. Cases of hCoV-EMC infection are marked by severe pneumonia and often by kidney failure.
"This virus is closely related to the SARS virus, and looking at the clinical picture, it causes the same pattern of disease," says Christian Drosten of the University of Bonn Medical Centre in German, a lead author of the study.
Given the similarities, Drosten and his colleagues wanted to know whether hCoV-EMC and SARS might use the same receptor, a sort of molecular "dock" on human cells that the virus latches onto to gain entry to the cell. The SARS receptor, called ACE2, is found mostly on pneumocytes deep within the human lung, so an individual must breathe in many, many SARS viruses for a sufficient number of them to reach this susceptible area and cause an infection. Drosten says this simple fact helped ensure the SARS outbreak didn't spread like wildfire and was mostly limited to healthcare workers and residents of overcrowded housing in Hong Kong. Also, once a person was infected with SARS in the deep part of their lungs, he or she felt sick almost immediately and therefore was not active in the community and infecting others, another aspect of the receptor that helped curb the outbreak.
Does hCoV-EMC use the same receptor? If so, the means of controlling this new virus might become clearer.
"The answer is a clear no," says Drosten. "This virus does not use ACE2." This leaves open the possiblity that hCoV-EMC could use a receptor in the human lung that is easier to access and could make the virus more infectious than SARS, but it is still not known what receptor the virus does use.
To help identify how hCoV-EMC might have originated and moved between humans and animals, the second part of the study focused on the animal species the virus can infect. SARS is closely related to viruses from bats, but Drosten says the virus changed in the transition from bats to civet cats to humans and could no longer infect bats, so SARS was not present in the wild and did not pass repeatedly from bats to humans like a classical zoonotic disease. "So the [SARS] virus lost its old host and gained a new one," says Drosten.
Like SARS, hCoV-EMC is most closely related to coronaviruses from bats, but unlike SARS, this study found that hCoV-EMC can still infect cells from many different species of bats. "This was a big surprise," says Drosten. "It's completely unusual for any coronavirus to be able to do that -- to go back to its original reservoir." The virus is also able to infect cells from pigs, indicating that it uses a receptor structure that all these animals have in common. If that receptor is present in mucosal surfaces, like the lining of the lung, it is possible the virus could pass from animals to humans and back again, making animals an ongoing source of the virus that would be difficult or impossible to eliminate.
Drosten says work on hCoV-EMC will continue in many hospitals and laboratories. His own lab will continue the search for the hCoV-EMC receptor and will work on developing diagnostic tools to help identify cases of infection with the virus.
Drosten says he's also driven to find the animal source of the virus, a crucial piece of information in managing a potential outbreak. The virus can infect bats with host ranges that extend all across Europe and into the Arabian Peninsula.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Microbiology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
M?ller MA, et al. Human coronavirus EMC does not require the SARS-coronavirus receptor and maintains broad replicative capability in mammalian cell lines. mBio, 2012; 3 (6): e00515-12 DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00515-12
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.
Two of the NFL?s eight division titles have already been clinched. By Sunday night, that number could grow to six.
The Texans, Ravens and Packers all clinch their divisions if they win on Sunday, while the 49ers will clinch the NFC West if they win and the Seahawks lose. The Colts can?t clinch their division on Sunday, but they will clinch a playoff berth if they beat the Texans.
Here are the full NFL playoff scenarios for Week 15:
Houston Texans clinch the AFC South with a win and clinch a first-round bye if they win and the Patriots and Broncos both lose.
Baltimore Ravens clinch the AFC North if they win, or if the Steelers and Bengals both lose.
Indianapolis Colts clinch a playoff spot if they win, or if the Jets and Bengals both lose.
Atlanta Falcons clinch a first-round playoff bye with a win and either a Packers loss or a 49ers loss, and the Falcons clinch home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs if they win and both the Packers and 49ers lose.
San Francisco 49ers clinch the NFC West with a win and a Seahawks loss. They also clinch a playoff spot with a win, and they can even clinch a playoff spot with a loss if the Vikings, Cowboys, Redskins and Seahawks all lose.
Green Bay Packers clinch the NFC North with a win.
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Public release date: 12-Dec-2012
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