ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) ? Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he's not talking about running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 and he's not waiting to see if Hillary Clinton runs.
Over his first two years as governor, Cuomo has repeatedly refused to talk publicly about running for president despite prompting by supporters. He has said such talk would hurt his ability to govern and would create a distraction, as it did for his father, Mario Cuomo, when he was governor.
But Andrew Cuomo has never ruled out a run for president in 2016.
Amid the speculation, HarperCollins announced Monday it had acquired rights to an untitled book by Cuomo, to be published next year, about his life and the "profound moments" of his first term in the governor's office.
A column in Monday's New York Post stated Cuomo has "quietly conceded" to associates he can't run for the presidential nomination if Clinton runs. That has been a widely accepted assumption for years because Cuomo's mentor and biggest political patron is her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
Cuomo dismissed the column as "Monday rumors," and he didn't say whether he's conceded the 2016 race to Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and ex-senator from New York.
"Hillary Clinton is going to do whatever Hillary Clinton is going to do and I'm doing what I'm doing," Cuomo said on public radio's "Capitol Pressroom."
"I'm focusing on running this state and doing it the best I can. And that's all there is to that," he said.
"There is no truth to the assertion that I am talking presidential politics and strategy and what Hillary Clinton should do or shouldn't do or what I'm doing presidentially," Cuomo said. "The only discussions I'm having are how to help this state ... and to the extent that I'm focusing on politics, it's my race next year."
Many New Yorkers don't buy it.
An April 22 Siena College poll found New Yorkers split on whether Cuomo was basing his decisions on what he thinks is best for his political future or based on what's best for his constituents. The poll also found 53 percent of New Yorkers would vote to re-elect him, part of a steady drop the poll has tracked since December.
Cuomo has been closely tied to Bill Clinton for decades.
Gov. Mario Cuomo gave an early and important endorsement to Clinton in his first run for president.
Andrew Cuomo later was hired by Clinton, who appointed him housing secretary. Back in New York, with Clinton at his side, the younger Cuomo dropped out of the 2002 race for the Democratic nomination for governor for lack of support.
His office now is decorated with Clinton gifts and memorabilia, and the governor has involved the popular former president in state initiatives.
Cuomo was elected as attorney general in 2006 and turned that into a landslide win in the 2010 governor's race. Today, he has a campaign fund of more than $20 million, which traditionally has been more than enough for a governor's campaign.
Cuomo led New York's effort in legalizing same-sex marriage in 2011. This year, he pushed through the nation's first gun-control law after the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.
The April 22 Siena poll questioned 811 New Yorkers April 14-18 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Getting in shape is an essential element of a healthy way of living. But with all the details on the market, understanding what is proper can be hard. You might like to stop trying, but will not practice it. The advice that adheres to can give you some understanding concerning how to boost the healthiness quotient in your daily life.
If you take control of your respiration, it will help you boost your exercises. If you are performing situps or ab crunches, try and exhale forcefully once your shoulder area have reached their highest stage. The muscle tissues that commitment your diaphragm also push your abdominal muscles into working harder.
Around-training decreases the strength of workout, so be sure to aren?t doing the work. Look at the heartbeat the time after having an exercise routine to make certain that it has delivered to normalcy.
Yogurt is an excellent addition to a diet regime aimed at health and fitness. Fat free yogurt has numerous benefits, including aiding your digestive function method. This meals is also full of a high level of calcium supplement and health proteins. Consuming adequate dairy foods can increase your state of health.
Exercising should be one of the best goals. It is an integral part of lifestyle that ought to be accomplished each day. Include exercising to your set of day to day activities, and you will feel good crossing it away your to-do list. If workout gets to be an every day routine, you are going to truly feel significantly better about yourself.
The following details gives you a method that tennis games and racquetball athletes discovered that helps them enhance their forearm durability. On a toned region, set a big sheet of newspapers. Only using one particular hand, begin to wad the paper up in your palm as tightly as you possibly can and continue this for 30 seconds. Do two units with the much stronger hands, one set with the less strong hand, as well as 2 a lot more sets with your more powerful hand.
Will not lift up dumbbells for more than 1 hour. In addition to that, your muscles commence to weaken after about an hour or so of employment. Make sure that your body weight picking up schedule will last no more than a single hour.
Take the youngsters outside the house to try out and obtain an excellent aerobic exercise concurrently. It is possible to burn up excess fat by undertaking exciting stuff with the little ones such as enjoying label, walking around the lawn, or going for a loved ones bicycle ride. Anything that stimulates process will help both you and your children.
It is actually frequent for anyone to force issues past the boundary once they make the decision to start a good work out strategy. Start slowly when you have not been actual physical for some time. Go slowly and gradually to avoid harming on your own, your body has not been employed to workout for awhile.
There are several spots you can look for physical fitness regimens which entail individuals with issues. Search the internet or talk with a neighborhood community center, health club or college or university to see what training course offerings you can find for people with an impairment. An affiliate from the medical center which specializes in sporting activities treatments can be beneficial.
Possessing an objective for the figure out is the best way to keep you moving. It concentrates yourself on the optimistic result, not how difficult it will likely be to achieve the aim. Establishing desired goals offers you a way to really feel individually accountable for attempting to meet up with all those goals as opposed to quitting.
A lot of people should feel or begin to see the results of weight-loss to stay inspired to go on. Trade your level for a few comfortable apparel. Put the ensemble on once weekly so you can see and have the difference inside your excess weight.
When performing ab stomach crunches, breathe out forcefully towards the top of the movements. This will cause your stomach muscle tissues to operate more difficult and burns a greater quantity of energy. Use this strategy to boost the effectiveness of your ab crunches.
Exercise is useful for anyone, and you may improve your exercise by fine-tuning your schedule and changing it from time to time. With more health and fitness expertise to enhance your fitness expertise you can easily build a fitness plan and achieve your objectives.
There is more content available about leg workout for women head over to Kasha D. Hitchman?s site there?s a lot of details not detailed in this article, find those details on Author?s website to locate supplementary information.
Scanners and mice are more similar than you might expect. Just as a mouse can sweep the breadth and height of an on-screen page, a device like a wand scanner can capture images of physical documents as it sweeps across lines or blocks of text. The IRIScan Mouse merges the two devices. You can use it as a mouse, and with a click of a button you can scan a physical document, OCR it, save it in various formats, or send it to social media or the Cloud.
The Mouse Scanner as a Mouse
The IRIScan Mouse is a wired mouse, connecting to a computer's USB port. The device is reasonably attractive, black (glossy on top, matte on the sides and bottom) with green trim. The Scan button, on the left side, glows blue, and blinks when a scan is in progress. On the bottom of the mouse is a plastic window through which the scan element can read the page. A flickering white light illuminates the page while you're scanning.
I've used the IRIScan Mouse as my normal work mouse for about a week, and in that capacity?in terms of scrolling and doing other typical mouse tasks?it's operated smoothly, with only a single issue of note. The scan button is on the left side of the mouse, right where I rest the ball of my thumb. The scan button requires a bit of pressure to activate, but nonetheless I've triggered it accidentally while writing a review or working in a Word document. Doing so is an annoyance, as it takes a few moments to stop and then cancel the scan. It happens most frequently when I'm standing at my test bench taking notes, though I've also accidentally initiated scans while typing at my desk.
Software
The scanning software comes on an included disk, which you install on your PC (it is Windows only). Software includes IRISCompressor, which enables compression of image and PDF files. You can send notes to Evernote?the IRIScan Mouse includes 3 free months of Evernote Premium. You can also send scanned text directly to Google Translate. Output formats include PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, XML, and DOC.
Scanning With the Mouse
To scan, you place the mouse on a document, press the scan button, and sweep the mouse across the parts of the document you want to scan. As you scan a larger area, the view will automatically zoom out. You'll want to have plenty of free room to the sides of the document if you want to scan the whole thing. I found the scanning process awkward, as tracking wasn't that great.
When you're done scanning, you press the scan button again; the scan will appear rectangular and properly aligned. The Edit menu will appear; you can Paste the scan (either as image or text); Share (to email, Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr); send it to Apps (Evernote or Google Translate); Save (to the file formats mentioned below); Print; Edit; or access Settings.
When you paste a scan as text to a program like Word, the IRIScan software will perform text recognition on it, a quick process. Then you can edit or save the document. OCR performance was a mixed bag. It read our Arial test page at sizes down to 8 points without a mistake, but with Times New Roman it had some errors at all sizes up to 12 points.
The IRIScan Mouse is best for scanning individual sheets of paper; scanning from a magazine proved tricky at times as the text wouldn't always stay flat enough for a clean scan. Also, since the scan window is on the left side of the mouse, it was hard (and sometimes impossible) to scan to the inner margin on left-handed pages.
For about $50 more than you'd pay for a normal wired mouse, you can get the IRIScan Mouse, a wired (USB-connected) mouse that can scan to text or image, provides text recognition, and can save scanned documents to various formats as well as perform as a typical mojuse. It's best for occasional, light-duty scanning of documents or images. The scanner portion is most akin to a wand scanner such as the Editors' Choice VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP
. However, most wand scanners operate PC-free, while the IRIScan Mouse doesn't.
Apr. 28, 2013 ? Scientists from ETH Zurich have shown for the first time that brown and white fat cells in a living organism can be converted from one cell type to the other. Their work, using mice as a model organism, provides important new insights into the origin of brown fat cells, which is a prerequisite for the development of successful anti-obesity therapies.
Two types of fat cells can be found in mammals and hence in humans: White fat cells function mainly as highly flexible energy stores which are filled in times of calorie abundance. The fat is stored in the form of lipid droplets, which are mobilized when energy is needed. Diametrically opposed in function are the so-called brown adipocytes: These cells specialize in burning energy in the form of fat and sugar to produce heat. New-born babies possess substantial amounts of brown fat and utilize it to maintain body temperature. Since it was recently shown that brown adipocytes also exist in adult humans, research has focused on understanding how brown adipocytes are formed. The ultimate goal of these efforts is to increase brown adipocyte number and activity in obese humans, allowing them to burn excess calories and thus reduce weight.
Against the current belief
It is known that both humans and mice can adapt to cold temperatures by forming brown fat cells within their white fat depots. These cells are called "brite" fat cells (brown-in-white) and are less common at warmer versus colder temperatures. However, the origin of these special brown adipocytes has remained a matter of debate. The prevalent hypothesis was that brite cells are formed from special precursor cells and are removed when no longer needed. The alternate idea of a direct interconversion between white and brown fat cells gained less attention. By demonstrating that this interconversion does occur and is one of the main contributors to brite fat cell formation, the current belief has been challenged.
Genetically labelled fat cells
To demonstrate how brite fat cells are formed the researchers in the laboratory of Christian Wolfrum, a professor at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, generated mice that allowed them to genetically label specific fat cells. These animals were kept in a changing environment: starting at 8?C for a week and for several weeks afterwards at normal room temperature. During the cold exposure, the mice formed brown adipocytes in their white fat depots -- a process called "britening." After warm adaptation the fat tissue turned white again. Using the genetic markers the scientists concluded from these experiments that white fat cells can convert into brown fat cells and vice versa. As humans have the same type of cells as mice it is likely that the same process occurs in humans upon cold stimulation.
Treatments against obesity
"To develop new treatment strategies we need to find ways to convert white into brown adipocytes," says Wolfrum. Most of the research has focused on identifying the precursor cells for brown fat cells, an approach that may be insufficient. Future work will address the question of how to manipulate this interconversion process either by pharmacological or by nutritional means.
This approach would represent a novel strategy. "Current anti-obesity therapies target the energy intake side of the equation by controlling appetite and the uptake of nutrients," says Wolfrum. The pharmacological treatments that are available are not very efficient and usually are associated with side effects. In contrast, this novel approach to treat obesity would target the energy expenditure side of the equation by promoting brown fat formation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ETH Zurich, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Matthias Rosenwald, Aliki Perdikari, Thomas R?licke, Christian Wolfrum. Bi-directional interconversion of brite and white?adipocytes. Nature Cell Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ncb2740
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.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co. said on Sunday Matt Zames will fully assume the role of chief operating officer as his former partner in the job leaves, which was part of the latest management shakeup at the U.S. biggest bank.
Zames, who has been seen as a strong candidate to succeed the bank's chief executive and chairman Jamie Dimon, had been co-chief operating officer with Frank Bisignano, the New York-based bank said in a statement.
As earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal, Bisignano will leave JPMorgan's senior ranks to head payroll processor First Data Corp. Bisignano played a major role in the bank's effort to get back on track after suffering a loss of more than $6 billion due to soured, risky bets.
First Data announced Bisignano's appointment as its chief executive officer effective Monday, after the Journal report.
Zames "is a proven business executive, who has performed exceptionally well since coming into his corporate role in May of last year. He'll continue to have an important impact on our company," Dimon said in a statement.
Of Bisignano, Dimon said, "I have worked with Frank for many years, and he has proven himself time and again as a highly talented executive willing to take on difficult challenges and get the job done."
Other changes in the bank's latest management shuffle involved the co-chief administrative officers of corporate and investment banking, which have been held by Paul Compton and Louis Rauchenberger.
Compton will become the chief administrative officer of JPMorgan Chase and report to Zames, while Rauchenberger will become the sole chief administrative officer of corporate and investment banking, the bank said.
Europe bureau chief Sara Llana writes that getting through immigration's bureaucracy in Paris is a lot harder than in her last assignment, Mexico City.
By Sara Miller Llana,?Staff writer / April 29, 2013
The Eiffel Tower and the sun are reflected in a tourist's sunglasses during a mild and sunny spring day in Paris, this month.
Christian Hartmann/Reuters
Enlarge
When I wrote a farewell letter to Mexico City?as I left for my new post?in Paris, I received not a few snide remarks: ?Oh, poor thing.? ?Oh, what a hardship beat.?
Skip to next paragraph Sara Miller Llana
Europe Bureau Chief
Sara Miller Llana?moved to Paris in April 2013 to become the Monitor's Europe Bureau?Chief. Previously she was the?paper's?Latin America Bureau Chief, based in Mexico City, from 2006 to 2013.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
Well, I am here to tell you, that it is hard. At least setting up the bureau is, with far more hassle than anything I experienced while establishing the Monitor?s office in Mexico.
It?s an endless task of official stamps, translations, long lines, subway rides, closed office hours, misinformation, and rigid rules (that appear to be inexplicably bent at any given moment).
Immigration to Mexico is not exactly easy. I spent countless hours standing in lines, only to be told I didn?t have the right paperwork and that I needed to return the next day to stand in line again.
But this, I dare say, has been worse.
Per the French consulate in Boston and then a reconfirmation from the French embassy in Mexico, I will have the right to reside in France through my husband?s European citizenship. I was told (in writing) to enter France without a visa and head to the police station upon arriving.
Having dealt with the pains of immigration ? both living abroad and in the US, since I married a foreigner ? I know to call first and find out what documents are required, even when there is a list of what you need online. Except that here, there is no such place to call. Every attempt led me to the same answer: ?You will get all of the information at the prefecture assigned to you.? So I went. Only to find huddled masses, in the freezing cold of a Parisian morning, in a line that did not budge, at all, for two hours (when I finally gave up and went home). There were no officials to ask any questions, no information posted anywhere. There must be another way to get information, I assumed.
So I went with a friend to the central offices the next day, where I was told that I needed to have gotten the visa before having arrived. The consulate and the embassy, she said, were wrong. But then she added that I should go the prefecture, to find out if she was wrong. And the documents I need to bring with me? ?You need to go there and ask,? she said.
I?ve experienced variations of this story for everything we have on our to-do list, from finding an apartment (which we mercifully did in a mere 10 days), to setting up Internet service. I do think once we?re settled it will be an amazing beat, and so many parts of the French system make life so much easier than life in Mexico or the US ? but we?ve definitely got some hard steps ahead.
Reporter note: After writing this blog, I did go back to the prefecture. I stood in line for 8 hours in total. The good news is that I apparently did not need a visa prior to entrance. The bad news: I did not have all of the paperwork - I was asked for things that were not listed on the website.
* Huntelaar on target after injury break * Schalke in race for Champions League spot (Updates with quotes, details) BERLIN, April 28 (Reuters) - Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar scored a hat-trick in a fairytale comeback from an injury break to steer Schalke 04 to a 4-1 win over Hamburg SV on Sunday and boost their chances of Champions League action next season. The Dutchman, who had been out with a knee injury since early March, could not have hoped for a better return with Schalke firmly in control of fourth place which leads to the Champions League qualifying rounds. ...
China sent a fleet of patrol ships today to the sea area it disputes with Japan, following a controversial visit by Japanese officials to a war shrine. The latest moves are seen as a setback for a diplomatic resolution.
By Ralph Jennings,?Correspondent / April 23, 2013
Chinese surveillance ships sail in formation in waters claimed by Japan near disputed islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China in the East China Sea Tuesday.
Kyodo News/AP
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Spats between Asia?s two most powerful nations, China and Japan, have grown uncomfortably routine since Tokyo nationalized a group of disputed islands in September. On Tuesday tensions reached a new and potentially worrisome high.
Skip to next paragraph Ralph Jennings
Taiwan Correspondent
Ralph Jennings has covered news in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia for the past 14 years. He lives in Taipei and holds a degree in mass communication from the University of California in Berkeley.?
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China sent eight surveillance vessels into Japanese territorial waters, apparently to track a flotilla of Japanese activists who had gone to look at the contested area. China?s presence ? an effort to exercise authority in the region ? is its largest since Japan nationalized the uninhabited islets, Kyodo News reported.
China?s use of ships in disputed waters isn?t expected to cause a war, but it raises the specter of a miscalculation at sea that could in turn create a new diplomatic row, set off more protests in Chinese cities, and strike another blow at Japanese business caught in the crossfire. Hopes of polite negotiations are also off the map for now.
"Only when Japan faces up to its aggressive past can it embrace the future and develop friendly relations with its Asian neighbors," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference on Monday.
As if the 80 pro-Tokyo activists weren?t enough to upset Beijing, that same day 168 Japanese lawmakers visited a Shinto shrine that?s reviled elsewhere in Asia for memorializing World War II heroes. Japan occupied parts of China from 1931 to 1945. Three cabinet ministers had already visited Yasukuni Shrine over the weekend, causing calculated reaction.
In protest, a high-level Chinese military official bailed on a trip this week to Japan as the Foreign Ministry lashed out.?
And China?s surveillance vessels probably weren?t loaded with olive branches. The Communist country has increasingly jousted?with Japan since around 2005 as it rose to become the world?s second largest economy.
?Such an intrusion [in the East China Sea] was certainly not undertaken spontaneously, but would have been planned and coordinated some time in advance for execution as soon as an opportunity presented itself,? says Scott Harold, associate political scientist with US-based think tank the RAND Corporation.
Japan controls the disputed islets, which it calls the Senkaku, despite 40 years of competing claims from China and a wave of destructive anti-Japanese street protests in Chinese cities last year. China criticizes the Shinto shrine visits because a memorial at the venue also honors 14 major war criminals.
The two sides are also disputing rights to an undersea natural gas field, while China periodically accuses Japan of not apologizing for the war of the 1940s. Japan says it has apologized.?
China and Japan, as the world?s No. 2 and No. 3 economies, also mean a lot to each other trade-wise. The number of Japanese subsidiaries in China has grown eight times since the 1990s, and they sold $147 billion worth of goods to the country in the 2011 fiscal year.
Will the two keep meeting, along with South Korea, to discuss a three-way trade agreement? After momentum last month, the latest events raise concern that this puts progress on ice.
?Both sides need to be more flexible,? suggests Ralph Cossa, president with US think tank Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies. ?Japan needs to acknowledge that the territory is in dispute, at least from a Chinese perspective, and the Chinese need to acknowledge that they are under Japan?s administrative control and that a military solution is unacceptable.?
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he believes the Boston Marathon bombing suspects had some training in carrying out their attack.
Rep. Michael McCaul is citing the type of device used in the attack ? shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs ? and the weapons' sophistication as signs of training.
Homemade bombs built from pressure cookers have been a frequent weapon of militants in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen once published an online manual on how to make one.
McCaul also tells "Fox News Sunday" that he thinks the suspects' mother played "a very strong role" in her sons' radicalization process and that if she were to return to the United States from Russia, she'd be held for questioning.
Downstairs in the basement at Grays Antiques has been described as a treasure trove by the national press. Grays Antique Centre is an antiques centre in Mayfair, close to Bond Street station and is better known as Grays Antique Market. Dealers specialise in fine antiques, jewellery, watches and rare collectables from around the world. The centre is home to over 200 dealers on 2 levels and the centre is split into 2 sections, Grays and the Mews.
The Grays dealers are situated in a grade-two listed building on Davies Street designed by the Edwardian architect Reginald Bloomsfield. The building was originally commissioned by water closet manufacturers, John Bolding and Son. In 1977 it was restored by Bennie Gray, the founder of Grays from a near-derelict site to the former glories of the water closet showroom.
The Mews section of Grays was built circa 1900 and was also taken over by Bolding in 1931. The basement of the Mews had been under six feet of water for many years. On closer inspection it was found that a spring arose from one end of the building. This was discovered to be a lost tributary of the River Tyburn, which rises in Hampstead and flows through the basement towards the River Thames. During the restoration, Bennie Gray made a feature of the spring, now channelled into a water feature filled with exotic fish.
Based downstairs at the BASEMENT Floor in Grays Antiques Centre, Gorringe Antiques is a friendly family run business specialising in supplying Lalique Glass, Emile Galle, Vintage Gucci Small Hobo 269959 F851G 9720 Heart Bit Fake handbag Handbags, Luggage and Art Deco Antiques. The company has been in business since 1982 and hosts an extraordinary collection of Art Nouveau antiques.
The picture above features a French Art Nouveau two tier side table by Emile Gall?, with inlaid marquetry made of a combination of rosewood, walnut and fruitwoods. The table is signed: ?Gall?? France c.1900.
Carole and Jan VAN DEN BOSCH, specialists in late 19th early 20th century, Artist? designed, silver and jewellery, from the Arts Crafts, Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Skonvirke movements, are situated at the BASEMENT floor in Grays Antiques Centre.
The picture above features a gold ring of openwork foliate design centered with a cut pink sapphire and set with moonstones and emeralds. (Ring case) English. Circa 1910. Approx ring size: British K. Width 1.9 cm. Lit.: Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts Crafts Tradition. Elyse Zorn Karlin. Grays Antiques Bond Street London
Downstairs in the basement at Grays Antiques has been described as a treasure trove by the national press. Grays Antique Centre is an antiques centre in Mayfair, close to Bond Street station and is better known as Grays Antique Market. Dealers specialise in fine antiques, jewellery, watches and rare collectables from around the world. The centre is home to over 200 dealers on 2 levels and the centre is split into 2 sections, Grays and the Mews.
The Grays dealers are situated in a grade-two listed building on Davies Street designed by the Edwardian architect Reginald Bloomsfield. The building was originally commissioned by water closet manufacturers, John Bolding and Son. In 1977 it was restored by Bennie Gray, the founder of Grays from a near-derelict site to the former glories of the water closet showroom.
The Mews section of Grays was built circa 1900 and was also taken over by Bolding in 1931. The basement of the Mews had been under six feet of water for many years. On closer inspection it was found that a spring arose from one end of the building. This was discovered to be a lost tributary of the River Tyburn, which rises in Hampstead and flows through the basement towards the River Thames. During the restoration, Bennie Gray made a feature of the spring, now channelled into a water feature filled with exotic fish.
Based downstairs at the BASEMENT Floor in Grays Antiques Centre, Gorringe Antiques is a friendly family run business specialising in supplying Lalique Glass, Emile Galle, Vintage Handbags, Luggage and Art Deco Antiques. The company has been in business since 1982 and hosts an extraordinary collection of Art Nouveau antiques.
The picture above features a French Art Nouveau two tier side table by Emile Gall?, with inlaid marquetry made of a combination of rosewood, walnut and fruitwoods. The table is signed: ?Gall?? France c.1900.
Carole and Jan VAN DEN BOSCH, specialists in late 19th early 20th century, Artist? designed, silver and jewellery, from the Arts Crafts, Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Skonvirke movements, are situated at the BASEMENT floor in Grays Antiques Centre.
The picture above features a gold ring of openwork foliate design centered with a cut pink Louis Vuitton Replica bag sapphire and set with moonstones and emeralds. (Ring case) English. Circa 1910. Approx ring size: British K. Width 1.9 cm. Lit.: Jewelry and Metalwork in the Arts Replica Louis Vuitton Tri-Fold Purses bag Crafts Tradition. Elyse Zorn Karlin.
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2013 file photo, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Baltimore Ravens general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome hopes to fill out the team's roster this weekend by making the most of 12 draft picks. Te?o could be an option, although several mock drafts have him going to Minnesota with the 25th pick. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2013 file photo, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Baltimore Ravens general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome hopes to fill out the team's roster this weekend by making the most of 12 draft picks. Te?o could be an option, although several mock drafts have him going to Minnesota with the 25th pick. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Manti Te'o made it to the NFL a day later than he expected, motivated to play well because he was snubbed in the first round of the draft.
Unconcerned about a hoax involving a fake girlfriend and a flop in the national championship game that have dogged Te'o for four months, San Diego Chargers rookie general manager Tom Telesco moved up seven spots in the second round to draft the Notre Dame linebacker on Friday night.
"I did expect to go in the first round. But things happened and all it did was give me more motivation to get better," Te'o said in a conference call with reporters.
Te'o had spent Thursday with family members in Hawaii, watching the first round of the draft and waiting for a phone call that never came.
That call came Friday.
"I don't know if I have something to prove, but it definitely puts a huge fire under my butt to just be better," Te'o said. "Again, that's the best thing that ever could happen to me. I'm already naturally a motivated person who just wants to be the best. All yesterday did was just give me more motivation and more fire to just go out there and play football and do well at it."
Te'o visited the Chargers before the draft, giving Telesco and rookie head coach Mike McCoy the chance to ask him about the issues.
"He handled it great," Telesco said.
Were the Chargers bothered by the scrutiny Te'o has been under?
"Obviously not. We took him," Telesco said. "We did our due diligence. All that stuff is not a concern to us. So we're just really, really excited to get him here. He took that Notre Dame program and kind of raised the talent level of the whole program. He was the undisputed leader there. We saw that.
"As a player, as a playmaker, he's instinctive. We can't wait to get him on the field."
Telesco said the Chargers had Te'o rated as a first-rounder. They needed an inside linebacker because Takeo Spikes was released and Demorrio Williams is a free agent.
Telesco got Arizona's second-round pick, No. 38, in exchange for San Diego's second- (No. 45) and fourth-round (No. 110) picks.
"We knew somebody may come up to get him. It was strictly just a judgment, a gut call," Telesco said. "Can we wait any longer? We made the move up to get him. Could we have waited? You just never know. We thought the value was there as far as giving up that pick to go get him."
Before being hired by the Chargers, Telesco was in the Indianapolis Colts' front office and had seen Te'o play several times.
"He's one of the finest kids I've met," Telesco said. "He loves football, is passionate about it. He's a leader. He was a leader at Notre Dame, not only on the football team, but on that campus."
Two officials, each with a different team, said their clubs passed on Te'o in the first round partly because of his off-field issues. The men, speaking on condition of anonymity because team draft strategy is confidential, said the decision was not just because of a disappointing combine performance or the linebacker's poor performance in the national title game.
The Heisman Trophy runner-up became the butt of national jokes after it was revealed he was duped into an Internet romance he had with a girlfriend he never met.
The too-good-to-be-true story began with Te'o's incredible performances after learning his grandmother and what he believed was his girlfriend had died within hours of one another in September. Te'o said it inspired him to play his best football all season, and it was so compelling that it helped turn Te'o into a Heisman Trophy contender as he was leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated regular season and into the national championship game.
On Dec. 26, Te'o notified Notre Dame officials that he had received a call from his supposedly dead girlfriend's phone three weeks earlier.
The school investigated and on Jan. 16 ? after Deadspin.com broke the story of the fake girlfriend ? athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced at a news conference that Te'o had been duped. Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, 22, later said he created the online persona of Lennay Kekua, a nonexistent woman whom Te'o said he fell in love with despite never meeting her in person.
Te'o struggled in Notre Dame's blowout loss in the national championship game to Alabama and its offense full of future NFL draft picks. One of those players, right tackle D.J. Fluker, was drafted by the Chargers with the 11th overall pick Thursday night.
Te'o said everything he's gone through has increased his passion for the game because "that's my sanctuary, that's my fortress where I'm most comfortable. All it has done is made me look forward to when I'm back on that field again."
Te'o will get plenty of attention before he even plays a game with the Bolts.
"This is going to be a football team. He's going to have to deal with it," McCoy said. "The situation came up, he'll deal with that. People are going to have questions, OK? That's happened. He's going to learn from it, very similar to a lot of other people in life. You make a mistake from time to time, whatever that is, and you move on. You learn from it. It might come up at some point in time, but we'll deal with it however we need to. But he's one of ours now and he's going to help us win a championship here."
Te'o said going to the Chargers is "a perfect scenario. My parents can come and watch, I can go home, it's San Diego. We're all excited. I can't be any happier. Just looking forward to getting up there and getting this whole thing started.
"You talk about the Chargers, especially for a Samoan kid like me and you think of Junior Seau and what he did there and the legacy he left behind not only in San Diego but in the NFL," he said, mentioning the Chargers' late star linebacker.
A four-year starter and team captain, Te'o had 113 tackles, seven interceptions ? the most ever in a season by a Fighting Irish linebacker ? and 1? sacks in 2012.
Te'o said he's going to be the same player in the pros as he was in college.
"I love the game, first and foremost. I'm a student of the game. I love to study film. I work hard. That's exactly what I'm going to be. I'm not going to change anything."
In the third round, the Chargers took Keenan Allen, California's all-time leading wide receiver, with the 76th pick overall.
The pick was unexpected, but certainly upgrades the position. He had 61 catches for 737 yards and six touchdowns for the Golden Bears last year, when he missed the final three games with a knee injury. He finished with 205 catches in three seasons. His 2,570 career yards were third in school history.
___
AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service has recouped more than $5.5 billion under a series of programs that offered reduced penalties and no jail time to people who voluntarily disclosed assets they were hiding overseas, government investigators said Friday.
In all, more than 39,000 tax cheats have come clean under the programs.
But there's more.
Government investigators suspect that thousands of other taxpayers have quietly started reporting foreign accounts without paying any penalties or interest. The number of people reporting foreign accounts to the IRS nearly doubled from 2007 to 2010, to 516,000 accounts, a report by the Government Accountability Office said.
The sharp increase suggests that some people are simply starting to report their accounts without taking part in the disclosure programs, the report said.
"IRS has detected some taxpayers with previously undisclosed offshore accounts attempting to circumvent paying the taxes, interest and penalties that would otherwise be owed," the report said. "But based on GAO reviews of IRS data, IRS may be missing attempts by other taxpayers attempting to do so."
Some taxpayers try to avoid penalties through a technique the IRS calls "quiet disclosure," in which they file amended tax returns that report offshore income from prior years. Others simply declare existing offshore accounts for the first time with their current year's tax return, the report said.
"If successful, these techniques result in lost revenue for the Treasury and undermine the offshore programs' fairness and effectiveness," the report said.
Peter Zeidenberg, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper in Washington, said it's pretty obvious that people are starting to report foreign accounts that probably existed for years.
"I don't think you get an increase like that from people just all of a sudden getting the idea I'm going to open an account in Switzerland," Zeidenberg said.
Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller said catching overseas tax dodgers is a top priority of the agency. In a written response to the report, he said the agency is working to improve the way it identifies people who are still trying get around the agency's disclosure programs.
The IRS has run four voluntary disclosure programs since 2003. The last three ? in 2009, 2011 and 2012 ? have yielded almost all of the $5.5 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest. The latest program is still open.
The agency stepped up its efforts in 2009, when Swiss banking giant UBS AG agreed to pay a $780 million fine and turn over details on thousands of accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets from American customers.
The GAO's report looked at data from the 2009 program. More than 10,000 cases from that program have been closed so far. The median account balance: $570,000.
U.S. taxpayers can hold offshore accounts for a number of legitimate reasons, the report says. They may want to diversify their investments, facilitate international business transactions or get easier access to money while living or working overseas.
But, the report notes, "some use them to illegally reduce their tax liabilities, often by not reporting the income earned on these accounts."
Taxpayers with foreign accounts totaling more than $10,000 must report them to the IRS or face stiff penalties.
The IRS has long had a policy that certain tax evaders who come forward can usually avoid jail time as long as they agree to pay back taxes, interest and hefty penalties. Drug dealers and money launderers need not apply. But if the money was earned legally, tax evaders can usually avoid criminal prosecution.
Fewer than 100 people apply for the program in a typical year, in part because the penalties can far exceed the value of the hidden account, depending on how long the account holder has evaded U.S. taxes.
The disclosure programs offered reduced penalties, but they were not a complete amnesty. In the 2009 program, most of the tax cheats were required to forfeit 20 percent of their accounts, the report said.
Miller said the agency is using information from people who have come forward to target banks and financial advisers.
The disclosure programs helped build political momentum to pass a law in 2010 that will require foreign banks to report U.S. account holders to U.S. authorities, said Ian Comisky, partner at Blank, Rome, a law firm based in Philadelphia.
If foreign governments refuse to disclose the information, U.S. banks must withhold 30 percent of certain payments to financial institutions in those countries ? a big incentive for countries to cooperate.
Together, the disclosure programs and the new law offer a powerful incentive for tax dodgers to come clean, Comisky said.
"They are more scared, and they are coming in where they might have been sitting out in the cold," Comisky said. "Now they're trying to come in, even if there's a penalty to do so."
___
Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap
Marcella Butler has joined Think Finance as Chief Human Resources Officer. Butler joins Think Finance from Google where she worked in a variety of directorate-level roles across corporate development, finance and people operations.
PRESS RELEASE
Think Finance, a company that develops online financial products that bridge the gap between payday loans and credit cards, today announced it has named Marcella Butler as its Chief Human Resources Officer.
Ms. Butler joins Think Finance from Google, where she spent five years in a variety of directorate-level roles across corporate development, finance and people operations. Prior to that, Ms. Butler was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for Pershing Square Capital Management and Chief Administration Officer for Sanford Bernstein, LLC. She has also held positions with Egon Zehner International, McKinsey & Company and Morgan Stanley & Co, Inc. ?We?re delighted to welcome Marcella to Think Finance,? said Think Finance Global Chief Executive Officer Ken Rees. ?Her impressive background and expertise will help us navigate the challenges of rapid growth and create a truly great place to work for all our employees.? ?I?m excited to work with the talented individuals at Think Finance,? said Ms. Butler. ?The Think Finance team is vibrant and growing with the business, and together, we will continue to lever the unique aspects of Think Finance?s culture as we build a great place to work and grow.? Ms. Butler graduated with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she was a Morehead scholar and holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University?s Kennedy School of Government. About Think Finance Think Finance develops online financial products that bridge the gap between payday loans and credit cards. Using our technology and analytics platform, Think Finance and the lenders we work with have provided over $3.5 billion in credit to 1.5 million consumers in the U.S. and abroad and have saved customers over $1 billion compared to payday loans. Think Finance is privately held and is backed by some of Silicon Valley?s most respected venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures. The company was recently named No. 2 on Forbes? America?s Most Promising Companies list. Learn more at?www.ThinkFinance.com.
When she emerged onto the pop scene in the late '90s, Christina Aguilera caught the attention of the media, and she's remained in the headlines ever since. The former Mickey Mouse Club star has gone from stick-skinny to voluptuous and curvy -- and back again. But her beauty and confidence is always there, no matter what!
WARSAW, April 25 (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski played down his stunning one-man demolition of Real Madrid, saying he had played better than Wednesday's four-goal masterclass. The Poland international scored all his team's goals in a 4-1 win over the nine-times champions in their Champions League semi-final first leg. "In the second half Real Madrid did not know how they should play, at some moments they were helpless," Lewandowski told the Polish pay-TV platform nc+. "We took the first step (towards the final). "I felt confident, but there were even better matches. ...
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Household appliance maker Electrolux said it hoped a recovering North American market would drive growth this year as Europe is stuck in the doldrums.
Sweden's Electrolux and bigger U.S. rival Whirlpool have cut costs and increased their exposure to faster-growing emerging markets to offset slowing growth in Europe and North America.
But U.S. demand has been picking up and Whirlpool has a relative advantage in being more exposed to the world's biggest economy, which accounts for half of its sales versus 30 percent for Electrolux.
Whirlpool reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and stood by its earnings guidance for 2013.
For Electrolux Chief Executive Keith McLoughlin, born in New York and a veteran of the U.S. industry, the main headache is Europe, where consumer caution has spread from southern states to hitherto strong markets such as Germany and Sweden.
The company now expects waning demand for appliances in the region this year, but growth of 3 to 5 percent in North America.
"We see improvements in the (U.S.) housing market... people trading up a little bit more," McLoughlin told Reuters.
He saw no improvement in Europe in the first half of 2013.
"We're hopeful that we will start to see something more positive in the second half, but we're not changing our outlook for the year for Europe," he said in a telephone interview.
Electrolux makes machines ranging from espresso coffee makers to cookers and owns brands including Frigidaire, AEG and Zanussi.
It reported core first-quarter operating profit, stripping out one-off items, of 720 million crowns ($108.60 million), down from 907 million in the same period of 2012 and below the mean forecast of 873 million in a Reuters poll.
That included a 96 percent slump in earnings from major appliances in Europe, Middle East and Africa to just 11 million crowns from 271 million, but a rise in North American appliance earnings to 457 million crowns from 131 million.
Investors focussed on Electrolux's North American outlook and its stock was up 3.6 percent by 1008 GMT at 175.6 crowns.
CURRENCY WOES
Electrolux's guidance was similar to Whirlpool's, although Whirlpool expected a flat rather than a declining European market and saw North America up 2 to 3 percent.
Some analysts remained cautious.
"Whilst Electrolux is a well-run company geared into a consumer/housing market recovery, we view the appliance industry as the worst end-market in our coverage and in our view Electrolux's valuation remains prohibitive," said Espirito Santo in a research note.
According to Thomson Starmine data, Electrolux is valued at 12.3 times forward 12-month earnings, higher than Whirlpool's 11.9 times earnings.
Both stocks rose in 2012 on hopes of a market recovery, but Whirlpool's gain was far greater. Since the start of 2012, Whirlpool has now gained 151 percent and Electrolux 60 percent.
Electrolux's first-quarter earnings were also hit by adverse currency movements. It blamed a strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real, a dollar rise versus several European currencies and a weakening of the British pound.
LONDON (AP) ? British art's prestigious Turner Prize embraced the playful and the satirical Thursday, announcing a list of four finalists including a cartoonist known for his scathing humor and an artist who orchestrates encounters that break down barriers between people.
The contenders include popular humorist David Shrigley, 44, who specializes in squiggled, bleakly humorous comics and directed the video for Blur's "Good Song." He was nominated for an exhibition of drawings, photography, sculpture and film.
British-German artist Tino Sehgal, 36, was also nominated. He creates "live encounters" including "These Associations," a piece staged last year at London's Tate Modern that got members of the public to mix with running, walking, chatting volunteers.
The judges said Sehgal's works "test the limits of artistic material and audience perception in a new and significant way."
Also nominated is Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, a Londoner of Ghanaian descent who paints realistic portraits of imaginary people ? complete with detailed back-stories that "raise pertinent questions about how we read pictures in general, particularly with regard to black subjects," the judges said.
The final contender is France-born Laure Prouvost, 35, a filmmaker and installation artist praised by the judges for her "seductive and disorienting stories."
The 25,000-pound ($40,000) award, given annually to a British or Britain-based artist under 50, often sparks lively debate about the value of modern art. Previous winners of the prize, named for 19th-century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner, include media favorites such as transvestite potter Grayson Perry, shark pickler Damien Hirst and dung-daubing painter Chris Ofili.
The prize usually attracts both controversy and bets from art-loving gamblers. Bookmaker William Hill made Shrigley the early favorite Tuesday with odds of 7-4, followed by Prouvost at 2-1, Sehgal a 5-2 and Yiadom-Boakye at 4-1.
An exhibition of work by the finalists will open in October in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, which has been designated the U.K.'s city of culture for 2013.
Reese Witherspoon & Hubby Back to Business After Embarrassing Arrests
Exclusive
Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth aren't hiding in shame following their embarrassing weekend arrests ... they're facing life head-on.
Reese was all smiles today in L.A. getting out of her car ... and Jim was back to work as usual at CAA, where he's one of Hollywood's bigwig agents.
You'll recall, Reese and Jim were both arrested in Atlanta on Friday -- Jim was popped for DUI ... and Reese was busted for disorderly conduct, after getting a little too worked up in her husband's defense.
According to police, Reese told one officer, "You're about to find out who I am ... You are going to be on national news."
Reese later released a statement, saying she was "deeply embarrassed" by what she had said.
Apr. 24, 2013 ? More than a quarter of a century after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, many children and teenagers who developed thyroid cancer due to radiation are in complete or near remission, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Following the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the former Soviet Union, the number of children and teenagers diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer spiked in Ukraine, Belarus and western areas of Russia. Most of the patients developed the papillary subtype of differentiated thyroid cancer. Although this cancer tends to be more aggressive in children than adults, nearly all of the patients tracked in the study responded favorably to treatment.
"Even though some patients did not receive optimal treatment initially, the vast majority went into remission after receiving state-of-the-art radiodine treatment and follow-up care," said study lead author Christoph Reiners, MD, of the University of W?rzburg, Germany. "Many patients recovered from advanced cancers. Of this group, 97 percent had cancer spread to the lymph nodes, and 43 percent had cancer metastasize in the lungs."
The observational study followed the treatment and outcomes of 229 Belarusian children and adolescents who underwent surgery in Belarus and radioiodine therapy in Germany. The study participants were among the highest-risk young patients exposed to radiation from the accident.
Despite the risk, 64 percent of the patients are in complete remission and 30 percent nearly complete remission of their cancer. One patient died of lung fibrosis, a side effect of cancer treatment. Only two had cancer recurrences.
The findings suggest victims of more recent nuclear accidents like the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan face lower risk of developing advanced-stage thyroid cancer, Reiners said.
"Although people fear a similar thyroid cancer 'epidemic' will affect Japan, the quick actions taken to evacuate or shelter residents and ban potentially contaminated foods following the Fukushima accident greatly reduced the risks of children developing radiation-induced thyroid cancer," Reiners said. "In addition, Chernobyl has taught us how important it is to have at-risk children and adolescents screened for thyroid cancer to catch any cases in their early stages. Because public health authorities are aware of the risks, screening programs for children from the Fukushima area already have been initiated."
Other researchers working on the study include: J. Biko, H. Haenscheid and H. Hebestreit of the University of W?rzburg; S. Kirinjuk and O. Baranowski of the Hospital for Oncology in Minsk, Belarus; R. Marlowe of Spencer-Fountayne Corporation; E. Demidchik of the National Academy of Science in Minsk; V. Drozd of the International Fund Help for Patients with Radiation Induced Thyroid Cancer in Belarus; and Y. Demidchik of the Belaruisan Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Endocrine Society, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Christoph Reiners et al. Twenty-Five Years after Chernobyl: Outcome of Radiodine Treatment in Children and Adolescents with Very-High-Risk Radiation-Induced Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma. JCEM, 2013 (in press)
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.
(Reuters) - Shares of Zynga Inc fell 10 percent in early trading on Thursday after the online game maker forecast a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss on concerns about its slow transformation into a gaming company focused on mobiles.
Zynga management on Wednesday pleaded for more time for the turnaround effort, saying that the company's business, although stabilized, may not pick up until the latter half of the year.
Analysts said until the company showed more progress on its mobile strategy, it would have to fall back on its popular "Farmville" game and new games such as "Draw Something 2" to draw in and retain gamers and investors.
"Zynga keeps hinting at meaningful changes to come ... profitably, on mobile, but we will need to see it before we can give them credit for it," Macquarie Equities Research analyst Ben Schachter said.
The company now gets 22 percent of its revenue from its mobile platform, up from 12 percent a year earlier, but that share remains modest compared with similarly sized technology companies such as Twitter Inc, which gets more than half of its revenue from mobile users.
"Zynga is unlikely to ever dominate the mobile gaming market in the same way that it has the web-based gaming market for many years," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.
The company aims to tap gamers on smartphones as it loses users on PCs but doubts remain over whether this can sustain its revenues and profits.
"Zynga's path toward renewed growth is uncertain and fraught with competitive and internal risks," Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson said in a research note to clients.
The company has also said it would tap into potentially lucrative new revenue streams, after it revised its once-lucrative business partnership with Facebook Inc.
Zynga has in recent months sought to establish a more independent network even at the risk of less visitor traffic from the social media giant and is looking to launch real-money casino games around the world, starting with Britain.
Analysts said though real-money gambling games is a good long-term opportunity, it is unrealistic to think it would boost Zynga's prospects anytime soon.
"Zynga must overcome significant competitive and legislative issues, among others. The near-term impact of real money gaming should be limited," Wedbush's Pachter said.
Shares of the company fell to $3.01 in early trading on Thursday. The company's stock, which listed on the Nasdaq in February 2011 at $10, has lost nearly a third of its value over the past year.
(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Contact: Dr. Sarah Chang chang_kai_chen@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66442 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Veredus Laboratories, a leading supplier of innovative molecular diagnostic tools, announced the launch of VereTropTM, the first biochip in the molecular diagnostics market that can identify 13 different major tropical diseases from a single blood sample.
With its high level of automation, this lab-on-chip diagnostic kit is poised to transform the quality and efficiency of testing tropical infectious diseases, including dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya and hand, foot and mouth disease, in the field.
The lead virologist in this project, Associate Professor Lisa F.P. Ng from A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) said, "Tropical diseases often reflect common symptoms like fever, and may not be accurately diagnosed early by doctors. This portable test kit is a rapid and reliable method to accurately test for multiple pathogenic targets from just one blood sample in a matter of hours."
Together with Professor Laurent Renia, an expert in Malaria Immunobiology at SIgN, the team from SIgN has successfully validated the kit on patient samples in the external fields of Northern Thailand, at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Professor Franois H Nosten, the clinical collaborator at the Oxford Clinical Unit in Mae Sot and Director of the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit said, "This technology opens new possibilities for the accurate and rapid diagnostic of important infectious diseases that remain the main causes of illness in the tropics. Its versatility and ease of use will change the approach to diagnostics at the periphery of health care system."
Developed with infectious disease expertise from A*STAR's SIgN, this biochip, which operates on STMicroelectronics' Lab-on-Chip platform, was initiated between ETPL, the technology transfer arm of A*STAR and Veredus in 2009 [1] . Prior to this, Veredus had licensed diagnostic technology from A*STAR in the areas of influenza and malaria [2].
"Veredus and A*STAR have worked on several collaborative projects dating back to 2004," said Dr. Rosemary Tan, CEO of Veredus Laboratories, a Singapore-based, majority owned subsidiary of STMicroelectronics. "This latest project on VereTrop Lab-on-Chip has combined the strengths and expertise of A*STAR, Veredus, and STMicroelectronics to create a powerful multiplexed molecular product that can rapidly detect and differentiate symptomatically similar tropical infectious diseases and enable timely proper treatment."
"After this journey of more than three years, we are glad that such a compelling technologically-advanced product with global healthcare benefits is ready to be launched to the market. Veredus is a good example of how local companies can work with A*STAR for a consistent stream of technology to develop products that can enhance their offerings and level them up to be competitive and relevant globally," said Philip Lim, Chief Executive Officer of ETPL.
###
Footnote:
[1]ETPL funded the project from the onset - designing the sequence probes, developing and validating the chip, up to acquiring samples for clinical validation
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore's manufacturing sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 20 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR's research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories. For more information about A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg
About ETPL
ETPL is the technology transfer arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences, physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and six consortia and centres. As a one-stop resource, ETPL supports A*STAR in transforming the economy through driving innovation and commercializing its research outcomes.
Also known as Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd, ETPL enhances the research output of A*STAR scientists by translating their inventions into marketable products or processes. Through shaping and facilitating licensing deals and spin-offs, ETPL actively engages industry leaders and players to commercialise A*STAR's technologies and apply them to building ecosystems that benefit business, industry and economy. For more information, please visit http://etpl.sg
About Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd
Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd was founded in 2003 and launched its first products in 2005. Veredus is a Singapore-based majority-owned subsidiary of STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications.
Veredus specializes in the development, manufacture, and marketing of innovative multiplexed molecular solutions in the clinical, specialty, and custom testing markets based on STMicroelectronics' proprietary Lab-on-Chip platform. The Lab-on-Chip platform, marketed as the VerePLEXTM Biosystem, combines Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) with micro-fluidics to integrate multiplexed DNA amplification with microarray detection for rapid, cost-effective, and accurate analysis of biological materials.
Further information on Veredus can be found at http://www.vereduslabs.com.
About STMicroelectronics
ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.
In 2012, the Company's net revenues were $8.49 billion. Further information on ST can be found at http://www.st.com.
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Contact: Dr. Sarah Chang chang_kai_chen@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66442 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Veredus Laboratories, a leading supplier of innovative molecular diagnostic tools, announced the launch of VereTropTM, the first biochip in the molecular diagnostics market that can identify 13 different major tropical diseases from a single blood sample.
With its high level of automation, this lab-on-chip diagnostic kit is poised to transform the quality and efficiency of testing tropical infectious diseases, including dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya and hand, foot and mouth disease, in the field.
The lead virologist in this project, Associate Professor Lisa F.P. Ng from A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) said, "Tropical diseases often reflect common symptoms like fever, and may not be accurately diagnosed early by doctors. This portable test kit is a rapid and reliable method to accurately test for multiple pathogenic targets from just one blood sample in a matter of hours."
Together with Professor Laurent Renia, an expert in Malaria Immunobiology at SIgN, the team from SIgN has successfully validated the kit on patient samples in the external fields of Northern Thailand, at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Professor Franois H Nosten, the clinical collaborator at the Oxford Clinical Unit in Mae Sot and Director of the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit said, "This technology opens new possibilities for the accurate and rapid diagnostic of important infectious diseases that remain the main causes of illness in the tropics. Its versatility and ease of use will change the approach to diagnostics at the periphery of health care system."
Developed with infectious disease expertise from A*STAR's SIgN, this biochip, which operates on STMicroelectronics' Lab-on-Chip platform, was initiated between ETPL, the technology transfer arm of A*STAR and Veredus in 2009 [1] . Prior to this, Veredus had licensed diagnostic technology from A*STAR in the areas of influenza and malaria [2].
"Veredus and A*STAR have worked on several collaborative projects dating back to 2004," said Dr. Rosemary Tan, CEO of Veredus Laboratories, a Singapore-based, majority owned subsidiary of STMicroelectronics. "This latest project on VereTrop Lab-on-Chip has combined the strengths and expertise of A*STAR, Veredus, and STMicroelectronics to create a powerful multiplexed molecular product that can rapidly detect and differentiate symptomatically similar tropical infectious diseases and enable timely proper treatment."
"After this journey of more than three years, we are glad that such a compelling technologically-advanced product with global healthcare benefits is ready to be launched to the market. Veredus is a good example of how local companies can work with A*STAR for a consistent stream of technology to develop products that can enhance their offerings and level them up to be competitive and relevant globally," said Philip Lim, Chief Executive Officer of ETPL.
###
Footnote:
[1]ETPL funded the project from the onset - designing the sequence probes, developing and validating the chip, up to acquiring samples for clinical validation
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore's manufacturing sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 20 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR's research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories. For more information about A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg
About ETPL
ETPL is the technology transfer arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences, physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and six consortia and centres. As a one-stop resource, ETPL supports A*STAR in transforming the economy through driving innovation and commercializing its research outcomes.
Also known as Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd, ETPL enhances the research output of A*STAR scientists by translating their inventions into marketable products or processes. Through shaping and facilitating licensing deals and spin-offs, ETPL actively engages industry leaders and players to commercialise A*STAR's technologies and apply them to building ecosystems that benefit business, industry and economy. For more information, please visit http://etpl.sg
About Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd
Veredus Laboratories Pte Ltd was founded in 2003 and launched its first products in 2005. Veredus is a Singapore-based majority-owned subsidiary of STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications.
Veredus specializes in the development, manufacture, and marketing of innovative multiplexed molecular solutions in the clinical, specialty, and custom testing markets based on STMicroelectronics' proprietary Lab-on-Chip platform. The Lab-on-Chip platform, marketed as the VerePLEXTM Biosystem, combines Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) with micro-fluidics to integrate multiplexed DNA amplification with microarray detection for rapid, cost-effective, and accurate analysis of biological materials.
Further information on Veredus can be found at http://www.vereduslabs.com.
About STMicroelectronics
ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.
In 2012, the Company's net revenues were $8.49 billion. Further information on ST can be found at http://www.st.com.
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Public release date: 25-Apr-2013
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