BlackBerry shares continue downward slide, one day after new phones debut

TORONTO - Shares in BlackBerry are continuing their downward slide a day after the smartphone pioneer debuted new product offerings to generally positive reviews.

The Waterloo, Ont., company's stock (TSX:RIM) was down almost eight per cent to $12.76 in the first 10 minutes of trading in Toronto.

The drop continued a loss in share value that began earlier this week ahead of the unveiling of the new BlackBerry Z10 and the BlackBerry Q10.

The Z10, a touchscreen model, will be available in Canadian stores next Tuesday, but not in the U.S. until March.

Analysts have noted the later release date for the U.S. market is exerting downward pressure on the stock.

The decline Monday and Tuesday was put down to profit-taking since BlackBerry shares had run up 50 per cent in January alone as of last Friday.

The BlackBerry Q10, which will have the physical keyboard beloved by the so-called CrackBerry crowd, will not be released until April. BlackBerry is the new corporate name of the company formerly known as Research In Motion.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-shares-continue-downward-slide-one-day-phones-150153558.html

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Toyota recalls vehicles for air bags, wipers

TOKYO (AP) ? Toyota is recalling 907,000 vehicles, mostly Corolla models, around the world for faulty air bags and another 385,000 Lexus IS luxury cars for defective wipers.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Naoto Fuse said Wednesday there have been no accidents or injuries related to either of those defects, but the Japanese automaker received 46 reports of problems involving the air bags from North America, and one from Japan. There were 25 reports of problems related to the windshield wipers.

Being recalled for air bags that can improperly inflate are 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix cars in the U.S. as well as thousands of similar vehicles in Japan, Mexico and Canada, manufactured between December 2001 and May 2004. Some 141,000 vehicles in Canada are being recalled, according to Toyota.

The problem wipers, which can get stuck if there is heavy snowfall, affect three kinds of Lexus IS models, manufactured from May 2005 to October 2011, including 270,000 vehicles in the U.S. and nearly 17,000 vehicles in Canada. The recall also affects the Lexus IS sold in Europe, the Middle East and China, Toyota said.

Toyota's reputation for top quality was undermined in the past few years by massive recalls for a spate of problems, including bad brakes, gas pedals and floor mats, mostly in the U.S.

Executives have repeatedly promised to beef up quality controls and be quicker with recalls to repair Toyota's image.

Toyota's production was hit by the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan in 2011, where key suppliers were located, but it has since recovered, seeing sales grow not only in the U.S. but also in Asia.

Earlier this week, Toyota released its tally for global vehicle sales last year at a record 9.748 million vehicles, regaining its spot as the world's No. 1 automaker from U.S. rival General Motors Co.

Toyota has announced some recalls in recent months, but they have been relatively minor, such as floor mats, and generally affect vehicles manufactured before its latest efforts to regain sterling quality.

Last month, Toyota agreed to pay more than $1 billion in the U.S. to settle lawsuits where vehicle owners said the value of their cars and SUVs plummeted after the company recalled millions of vehicles because of sudden-acceleration issues.

Executives say they are not admitting fault. But they acknowledge the company is eager to put the recall crisis behind it, and move ahead with sales growth in Asian nations as well as the U.S.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at www.twitter.com/yurikageyama

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/toyota-recalls-vehicles-air-bags-wipers-101031869--finance.html

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Socially acceptable: NCAA rules changes give coaches new way to connect to recruits

College coaches love the new recruiting rule. High school coaches don?t.

In June, the NCAA approved a rule that permits Division-I men?s basketball coaches to send unlimited text messages and make unlimited phone calls to recruits who have finished their sophomore year of high school. The rule also allows college coaches to send private messages to their prospects via Facebook and Twitter. Any public messages about a team?s recruiting efforts are still prohibited.

?I think it?s been a great change in the fact that it allows us as coaches and also the prospects to further develop a relationship,? said Matthew Graves, associate head coach at Butler. ?It?s been a big positive, especially being able to text a recruit after he?s had a big game. It?s more of an immediate response.?

Previously, the NCAA limited the coaches? ability to contact players to just one phone call per month. The NCAA approved the deregulation as part of a new recruiting model intended to help develop stronger relationships between coaches and recruits while limiting the influence of third parties. On Aug. 1, a similar rule will be applied to NCAA football recruiters.

Six months after the rule was put into effect in basketball, coaches at the college level are pleased with the outcome of the rule and how the recruiting process has evolved.

Before the NCAA altered the rules, recruiters? options were limited to sending emails, a hand-written note or relaying a message through a high school or AAU coach, Graves said. Now, recruiters can receive feedback from a player much more quickly after a notable performance by either the recruit or the college team.

Some recruiters use direct messages on Twitter to interact with players, but Graves and Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins said they use Twitter to follow recruits and keep themselves informed of the recruiting spectrum.

Twitter is also useful to build hype around a program, Hopkins said. He pointed to how Kentucky head coach John Calipari has tweeted about his interactions with celebrities such as Jay-Z and Charlie Sheen, tweets that could catch the eyes of a potential Wildcat.

But for one-on-one communication, Graves and Hopkins don?t use Twitter or Facebook. They instead use phone calls and text messaging, two methods that Syracuse commit Ron Patterson said he preferred to be contacted by during his recruiting period.

Hopkins said face-to-face exchanges are optimal, but being able to respond to texts at his convenience makes texting a valuable tool as well. The ability to text more than one recruit at a time is another perk of texting for Hopkins. Even 68-year-old Jim Boeheim texts, Hopkins said.

?I?m telling you, it?s about texting. It?s awesome,? Hopkins said. ?It?s a form of communication where they know you?re still actively recruiting them.?

Hopkins doesn?t like to be an ?overbearing? recruiter, which he thinks can be a positive and negative mentality. When building a relationship with a recruit, he said, it?s important to gauge just how frequently the recruiter should speak with the player.

Graves said text messages have become so popular among recruiters because of the very prospects with which they interact.

?Let?s face it, that?s the way kids like to communicate, via text, and they can do it on their own time,? Graves said. ?And you?re not being overly intrusive and it?s just been a great way to open up another way to communicate.?

The best recruiters, Graves said, will find the best ways to recruit, whether they use hand-written notes or adapt to new technology to communicate. A younger coach doesn?t necessarily have an edge over an older coach, said Jon Boon, the head coach at Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, N.Y.

Boeheim still lands good recruits, Boon said, and so does Duke?s 65-year-old head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Age isn?t a big factor in how recruiting is communicated, Boon said.

?To be honest with you, it doesn?t really change a whole lot because they don?t contact the high school coaches very much anyway,? said Boon. ?? They have too much direct contact, in my opinion.?

Boon said recruiting violations and ongoing investigations across the country are the results of players and recruiters directly communicating with each other. Nobody is required to inform a high school coach when recruiters contact his players, he said.

Since June, the NCAA has investigated UCLA ? owner of the No. 2 recruiting class in the country ? Central Florida, Tennessee and Saint Mary?s for potential violations.

Cheaters will cheat, Boon said, regardless of how the process works. But violators now have an easier path to do so, since they aren?t required to communicate through anybody else.

Boon said a third person needs to oversee the recruiter-recruit interaction. The procedure would improve for everyone, he said, if it returned to the way it used to operate, when recruiters contacted recruits through the high school.

?I don?t know if there?s a right answer to the whole situation,? Boon said. ?I just think there?s too much direct contact with the kids.?

Recently, there was a football player at Bishop Kearney, Boon recalled, who was overwhelmed by the 30-40 phone calls he received each night from college coaches who were permitted to contact him directly ? there was a brief period where the rule fluctuated.

?He hastily made a decision to go to a school and by his own account, he made the wrong decision. And he had no one to kind of help him,? Boon said. ?But the way the system is set up, it?s not done that way.?

He has issues with the new rules, but Boon admitted he would recruit the same way if he were in that position.

Carl Arrigale, the head basketball coach at Neumann-Goretti High School in Philadelphia, has an issue with college coaches texting players during school hours, distracting them from their classes. It takes away from the recruits? high school experience, he believes.

Still, he recognizes the complexity of the situation.

?To be honest with you, I?m saying there should be restrictions on what you can do, (but) who?s going to know? It?s such a hard thing to monitor,? Arrigale said. ?I mean, coaches get fired when they don?t have winning seasons anymore, so you almost can?t blame them for wanting an advantage. They need players to survive. It?s a catch-22.?

Graves agreed the system isn?t fair, but believes it?s because of a ?staff-to-staff issue,? not an issue with the rules. When Butler?s coaches recruit, Graves said, they keep the high school coaches as involved and informed as possible because they feel it?s the proper way to communicate.

Regardless of whether the NCAA?s rules are flawed, Graves said it?s imperative that recruiters obey them and uphold the standards of the NCAA as they compete against each other for the next generation of student-athletes.

?I think it?s our job as coaches to be responsible,? Graves said. ?To utilize it in a way that will help enhance the process and getting to know not only the recruit, but their whole situation.?

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb

Source: http://blogs.dailyorange.com/2013/01/socially-acceptable-ncaa-rules-changes-give-coaches-new-way-to-connect-to-recruits/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=socially-acceptable-ncaa-rules-changes-give-coaches-new-way-to-connect-to-recruits

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Coming soon: Atomic-scale, 2-D electronics

7 hrs.

John Roach , NBC News

A world filled with teeny tiny two-dimensional electronic devices is a giant step closer thanks to a pioneering technique to make atom-thick patterns that combine a conductor and an insulator.

Conventional microelectronic devices have three basic parts;?a metal to conduct electricity, semiconductor components and an insulator to protect the components from the free-flowing electricity.

?The long-term proposal is to have the different components, but all of them at the level of atomic-layer thickness,? Pulickel Ajayan, a nanomaterials scientist at Rice University, told NBC News.?

He and his colleagues have successfully mated two of the three components ? a conductor and insulator. The conductor is the wonder material graphene, and the insulator is hexagonal boron nitride.

Meanwhile,?Tom?s Palacios and his?colleagues at the?Massachusetts Institute of Technology?are?working with molybdenum disulfide?to?create?the?semiconductor piece of the puzzle.

?Ultimately, one will be able to build complete circuits with semiconductors, metals, and insulators all at the atomic level with our system,? Ajayan said.

The new?technique expands earlier research that showed graphene can be merged with hexagonal boron nitride, an insulator, since they both have the same chicken-wire atomic array.

The new work, published Sunday in Nature Nanotechnology, describes a method for finely controlling the deposition of graphene onto gaps in sheets of hexagonal boron nitride through a lithorgraphic process.

?You can essentially stitch one onto the other and that enabled us to do this pretty well,? Ajayan said.

As a proof of principle, the team created designs such as combs, rings, and an owl, the Rice University mascot.

The technique starts with a sheet of hexagonal boron nitride. Then masks are laid on top the sheets. The exposed material is etched away with boron gas. Once the masks are washed away, graphene is grown in the gaps via chemical vapor deposition.

The graphene bonded with the hexagonal boron nitride, as seen in the image at left. This layer can be picked up and placed on any substrate.

Going forward, the team aims to integrate a third element, a semiconductor, to the 2-D fabric. If this?works, it would allow for truly integrated in-plane devices.

?There is no limit to what you can build,? Ajayan said, who noted that functional layers could be stacked, creating a stacked devices at the atomic scale.

?You get a very robust, flexible, functional device that includes not just the device but also power and other peripherals,? he said. ?That is the road we are going down.?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/coming-soon-atomic-scale-2-d-electronics-1B8179074

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Kennedy Center plans 1st expansion since opening

This handout artist rendition provided by The Kennedy Center and courtesy of Steven Holl Architects, shows architect Steven Holl's design concepts for the first major expansion of the Kennedy Center that will include rehearsal halls and classrooms, a memorial garden, and a stage floating on the Potomac River's edge for outdoor performances. (AP Photo/Kennedy Center, Steven Holl Architects)

This handout artist rendition provided by The Kennedy Center and courtesy of Steven Holl Architects, shows architect Steven Holl's design concepts for the first major expansion of the Kennedy Center that will include rehearsal halls and classrooms, a memorial garden, and a stage floating on the Potomac River's edge for outdoor performances. (AP Photo/Kennedy Center, Steven Holl Architects)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is planning its first major expansion since it opened in 1971 as a "living memorial" to President John F. Kennedy, with new features including pavilions to house rehearsal halls and classrooms, a memorial garden and a floating stage on the Potomac River.

The plans unveiled Tuesday call for a $100 million addition that would create a more lively outdoor space for gatherings and performances, with a pedestrian bridge connecting the center to the river. Architect Steven Holl drafted the initial concept and was hired from among several contenders to design the expansion.

New marble pavilions ? made from the same Italian Carrara marble as the original building's walls ? would rise from a new garden situated beside the center, and the pavilions would be connected underground. Most of the new facility, totaling about 60,000 square feet of usable space, would be buried below the surface to help preserve the silhouette of the center's primary building.

Officials plan to raise private funds to build the project. To kick off the capital campaign, Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein is giving $50 million to fund half the cost. The center aims to raise an additional $75 million to complete construction and establish a programming fund. Officials hope to open the new space in 2018.

Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser said the new pavilions would have windows to allow visitors to look in on rehearsals of opera, theater or dance.

"We're giving a great improvement in public access to the Kennedy Center, to our art making," Kaiser said. "It's going to allow us to engage our audience in new and different ways."

The new space for rehearsals and education programs also is desperately needed as the center has grown since 1971, Kaiser said. The center now includes a national arts education program and houses the Washington National Opera as a permanent affiliate.

In an interview, Holl said he is honored to work on a memorial to a president he saw inaugurated in 1961 and respected so much.

"The Kennedy Center is a living memorial. It's active, open to the public for performance, the arts, which he really believed in," Holl said.

Preliminary plans call for a memorial garden to honor Kennedy. It could include 46 Gingko trees to note the number of years Kennedy lived, 35 lavender rows for the 35th president, and a video wall for projections of performances from inside the Kennedy Center.

"The idea really is that the landscape is activated," a fusion of architecture and landscape features, Holl said.

It could include a reflecting pool the exact length of the PT-109 boat that Lt. John Kennedy commanded during World War II. Holl envisions a deck along the pool made from the same mahogany wood as the boat. It could also include inscriptions of Kennedy's words.

The biggest challenge in the design concept could be winning approval for a performance stage that would float on the Potomac River, Holl said. Still, he said he has successfully negotiated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a past project that fell inside a flood plain.

"I'm ready for the fight," he said.

Open-air performances were once held on a floating river stage nearby at the Lincoln Memorial in the 1930s.

The new expansion plans come more than 10 years after the Kennedy Center announced a major project to build two new buildings and a plaza over a nearby freeway to connect the center with the National Mall. The $650 million project was essentially canceled in 2005 after budget constraints forced Congress to eliminate $400 million in federal funding for the project.

Kaiser envisioned a museum of the performing arts as part of that project. Now, he said, the center can plan future exhibition galleries in its main building as education programs and rehearsals move to the new facilities.

Rubenstein, a billionaire businessman and a former vice chairman of New York City's Lincoln Center, said the Kennedy Center has been limited by its building over the years. So he wanted to plan a realistic project that could be privately funded without relying on Congress. As the federal budget tightens, Rubenstein said more Americans should consider supporting nonprofit federal entities like the center.

Rubenstein's gift is the largest in the center's history. Combined with previous gifts, he has donated $75 million, making him the center's largest donor.

Adding a garden and outdoor pavilions will make the center more inviting, Rubenstein said.

"Rarely do people say in Washington, 'I'm going to go over and spend a couple hours at the Kennedy Center,'" Rubenstein said, noting it's often an evening destination for shows. But that will change, he said. "What we wanted to do was to remind people that this is a living memorial to a president."

___

Kennedy Center: http://www.kennedy-center.org

___

Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-29-Kennedy%20Center-Expansion/id-551906fd5567411ebd9b387fcb351f91

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Senate nears vote on $50.5B bill for Sandy victims

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2013 photo, a beach front home that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy rests in the sand in Bay Head, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2013 photo, a beach front home that was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy rests in the sand in Bay Head, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Three months after Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the densely populated Northeast, the Senate is nearing a vote on a $50.5 billion emergency relief bill to help storm victims recover.

Some conservatives are complaining the bill will add to the nation's debt. But Northeast lawmakers in both parties are optimistic they have the 60 votes need to pass the bill Monday evening and send it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The House passed the measure two weeks ago.

At least $16 billion would flow to state and local governments through grants from the Housing and Urban Development Department

Sandy roared up the East Coast Oct. 29 and was blamed for 140 deaths and billions of dollars in property damage. Hardest hit were New York and New Jersey.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-28-Superstorm%20Aid/id-1dbeddea84194c62a9f99a33daaba6d9

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White House says Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his party's victory in last week's Israeli elections and pledged to work closely with the country's new government on Middle East peace, the White House said.

"The president indicated that the United States looks forward to working with the next government," the White House said in a statement describing the telephone call between the two leaders known to have a strained relationship.

"He also reiterated his commitment to the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel, and pledged to work closely with Israel on our shared agenda for peace and security in the Middle East," the statement said.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Jeff Mason; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-says-obama-congratulates-netanyahu-election-win-175255734.html

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Video: Yahoo Q4 EPS $0.32 vs. $0.28

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

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50619520/

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CSN: Harbaugh to Obama: Easier for my son

NEW ORLEANS -- Jim Harbaugh, known as a fierce competitor, saw the bright side of comments President Obama made recently about the risks of playing football.

In a recent interview with The New Republic, the president said, "If I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football."

When asked to comment on the president's statement, Harbaugh took an unexpected and humorous turn.

"Well, I have a 4-month-old, soon-to-be-5-month-old son, Jack Harbaugh," the 49ers coach said Monday. "If President Obama feels that way, then there will be a little less competition for Jack Harbaugh for when he gets old enough. That's the first thing that jumps in my mind if other parents are thinking that way.

"It's still early. Jack, like I said, is only five months old. But he's a really big kid. He's got an enormous head. . . As soon as he grows into that head, he's going to be something. It's early, but expectations are high for young Jack."

Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/matt-maiocco/harbaughs-son-gets-head-start-competition

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Gingrich: Republicans "clearly have to change" (cbsnews)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279876209?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Source: http://www.wiseshe.com/2013/01/toe-rings-online-shopping-india.html

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China carries out anti-missile test

BEIJING (Reuters) - China tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air after an initial test in 2010, state media said on Sunday, in a move that will unnerve its neighbors.

A brief report by the official Xinhua news agency said the military carried out a "land-based mid-course missile interception test within its territory".

"The test has reached the pre-set goal," the report quoted an unnamed Defence Ministry official as saying. "The test is defensive in nature and targets no other country."

It did not specify whether any missile or object had been destroyed in the test.

"Although no other detailed information about the test was released from the military authorities, weapon system experts said such a test could build shield for China's air defenses by intercepting incoming warheads such as ballistic missiles in space," the report added.

People's Liberation Army officials and documents in recent years have said developing anti-missile technology is one focus of defense spending, which has grown by double-digits over many years.

The latest flexing of China's maturing military hardware comes as Beijing is involved in increasingly bitter territorial disputes in the East China Sea with Japan and in the South China Sea with several Southeast Asian nations.

Beijing says its military spending is for defensive purposes and the modernization of outdated forces.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-carries-anti-missile-test-173932609.html

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Gaming Industry News Weekly Recap - Online Gambling News

CalvinAyre.com is the global destination for online gambling news, lifestyle information, conferences, industry shakers, sexy girls, and event coverage.

CalvinAyre.com is a not-for-profit website, aims to be carbon neutral and will encourage other players in the online gaming industry to follow this philosophy. All profit generated from this site goes to support initiatives of the Calvin Ayre Foundation.

Source: http://calvinayre.com/2013/01/27/business/gaming-industry-news-weekly-recap-january-26/

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Fragile economy, other global woes dominated Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? The fragile state of the world economy, coupled with the relentless turmoil in Syria and the rocky fallout from the Arab Spring, dominated discussions during this year's annual gathering of the global elite at Davos, leaving many participants uneasy about what lies ahead as they left for home Sunday.

Even broad agreement that there are some positive signs on the economic front, at least in emerging markets, was coupled with a warning from the head of the International Monetary Fund. "Do not relax," Christine Lagarde said. There's still a "risk of relapse."

More than 2,500 of the best and brightest in business, government, academia and civic life gathered for the five-day World Economic Forum at this Alpine resort. But much of the overt glitz and glamor that is a usual feature was toned down or absent this year, a decision founder Klaus Schwab said reflected the serious issues facing the world.

Political and economic issues vie for top billing each year at Davos, and this time, the economy had the edge, with a special focus on how to promote economic growth and jobs, especially for the youth among the world's 220 million jobless.

The IMF said that China, Africa, and other emerging markets could see significant growth, but Japan, eurozone nations and the U.S. are likely to struggle with negative to low growth. Ahead of the 43rd forum, the IMF downgraded its forecast for global economic growth this year by one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.5 percent.

While the U.S. avoided the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and spending cuts, and fears have abated that the euro currency union will break up, there is growing concern that governments may ease up on measures to improve growth and reduce debt that the IMF and many other institutions are calling for.

IMF chief Lagarde said the "very fragile and timid recovery" depends on leaders in the 17-nation eurozone, the United States and Japan making "the right decisions." The eurozone in particular "is fragile because it is prone to political crisis" and slow decision-making, she said.

Davos participants' uneasiness about the world economy was matched by growing concern over the political turmoil in the Arab world, terrorism in North Africa, a spate of natural disasters that have highlighted the failure to tackle climate change, and the growing inequality between the world's "haves" and "have nots."

"Two years ago, gloom around the stalled economic recovery was leavened by euphoria at the outbreak of the Arab spring," Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press at Saturday night's low-key final reception. "This year, relief at the improved economic outlook is tempered by despair at the unimpeded slaughter in Syria, uncertainty about the outlook in Egypt, and frustration over the Arab monarchies' resistance to reform."

The Arab Spring uprisings have ousted dictators in Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Egypt over the past two years. But now Islamists and liberals are wrangling over power, with Islamists mainly gaining the upper hand. Democracy is far from certain, and economic woes have left hundreds of thousands of young people jobless and frustrated that their "revolutions" haven't produced any dividends.

Former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, a losing candidate in Egypt's presidential election last year, said there have been achievements, but warned that democracy isn't only about casting a vote.

"It is the respect of human rights, for rights of women, separation of powers, independence of the judiciary. This meaning of democracy we have not yet achieved," Moussa said.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks remain stalled, Arab monarchs remain entrenched, and the death toll from the escalating civil war in Syria has topped 60,000 with no end in sight.

Jordan's King Abdullah II, whose country is hosting almost 300,000 Syrian refugees, predicted that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime will last at least another six months. He called for a transition plan involving all Syrians and the Syrian army.

He also urged stepped up international support to end the Syrian crisis, saying, "The weakest refugees are struggling now just to survive this year's harsh winter."

Abdullah told the forum that "unprecedented threats to regional and global stability and security" need international action now, not the "wait and see" response by some countries ? which he did not identify ? especially in helping governments emerge politically and financially from the Arab uprisings.

The king, considered one of the region's moderate leaders, also warned Israel to stop playing the "waiting game," and said President Barack Obama's second term offered the last opportunity to create two states ? Palestine and Israel ? that can live side-by-side in peace.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said the focus on resolving the world's economic crisis has distracted leaders from many other important issues, including education, the social consequences of unemployment and promoting ways to deal with climate change.

Nonetheless, Gurria said, the world should be "very worried" because there aren't many "tools" left to fix the economy if things get worse.

Trevor Manuel, South Africa's National Planning Commission minister, told AP that the key message from Davos for him was a positive one ? that "many of the decisions that have been taken bring us closer to where we need to be." He warned that "a sense of an all-pervasive gloom ... frequently becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fragile-economy-other-global-woes-dominated-davos-154125358--finance.html

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EJ Manuel leads South to Senior Bowl win, 21-16

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) ? EJ Manuel's January couldn't have gone much better on the field. More importantly, he's hoping for a similarly happy February for his family.

The Florida State quarterback passed for a touchdown and rushed for another on the South's first two drives in a 21-16 victory over the North in the Senior Bowl on Saturday, and was named Most Outstanding Player.

Now, he can try to be the MOS ? Most Outstanding Son. His mother, Jackie Manuel, who was diagnosed with breast cancer before the season, has been recovering from her final round of chemotherapy, and Manuel said she's scheduled to have surgery on Feb. 1.

"That's kind of been my motivation," Manuel said. "I call my mom every single day and tell her I love her. I never miss a day.

"They'll be sending that award home to her. I won that award for her. I went out there and played well for her. I'm happy I was able to do it."

And even happier to return to her side in Virginia for a few days, instead of just squeezing in Skype and Facetime sessions.

It was a great finish for Manuel to a month that began with a 291-yard performance in an Orange Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.

Manuel and running backs Stepfan Taylor and Mike James combined to put the game for senior NFL prospects away on the South's final drive. Stanford's Taylor carried five times for 32 yards and caught a 6-yard pass from Manuel.

Manuel converted a fourth-and-1 play on a sneak to set up a 5-yard touchdown run for Miami's James with 2:41 left. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 76 yards with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alabama tight end Michael Williams. He also scored on a 2-yard run.

Brigham Young defensive end Ezekiel Ansah received MOP honors for the South team while Purdue defensive lineman Kawann Short was the North's top player.

Miami, Ohio quarterback Zac Dysert answered with a scoring drive that ended with his 3-yard touchdown pass to Oregon running back Kenjon Barner with 23 seconds left. The two-point conversion and onside kick both failed.

Ansah is a native of Ghana who initially was on the track team and now is a potential first-round pick. He had seven tackles, 3.5 behind the line, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

"It was fun. I came out here to work hard, with a bunch of all-star players, obviously," Ansah said. "Everyone out here is an MVP. I just came here to learn and get better."

Short had three tackles, one for a loss.

Taylor finished with nine carries for 53 yards for the South.

Barner led all receivers with seven catches for 59 yards and gained 13 yards on three carries.

It was an up and down day for most of the quarterbacks.

Arkansas' Tyler Wilson completed 8 of 11 passes for 40 yards for the South. Landry Jones, a four-year starter for Oklahoma, was 3-of-9 passing for 16 yards and was sacked twice.

For the North, Dysert was 10 of 16 for 93 yards and was intercepted once and sacked twice. North Carolina State's Mike Glennon completed half his 16 attempts for 82 yards, and Syracuse's Ryan Nassib was 4 of 10 for 44 yards and threw an interception.

Southeastern Louisiana defensive back Robert Alford set up Manuel's 2-yard run with an 88-yard return of the opening kick. Then Manuel lofted an over-the-shoulder pass to Williams in the end zone.

"The corner played the flat and big Mike ran a great route and got leverage on the linebacker," Manuel said. "I thought it was a great matchup and I just threw the ball up there and he made a great catch."

Williams converted another third-down play with a 19-yard catch on the drive.

Glennon and the North offense finally got things going to open the second half.

He completed all three of his pass attempts for 34 yards and then UCLA's Johnathan Franklin, a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, closed the drive with a 12-yard run and a 20-yard touchdown on consecutive plays.

Manuel didn't play again until the third quarter when he led the South across midfield. His fourth-down pass was deflected into the arms of Utah State defensive back Will Davis for an interception.

Davis returned it 25 yards and Glennon led the North deep enough to set up a 42-yard field goal by Oklahoma State's Quinn Sharp to make it 14-10 with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson continued his conversion to receiver. He lost 3 yards on a reverse but turned a screen pass from Nassib into a 14-yard gain late in the third quarter and added a 7-yard catch in the fourth.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/e-j-manuel-leads-south-senior-bowl-win-005359095--spt.html

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Apple Rejects Samsung Request To See iOS 6 Source Code In Korea Patent Battle

In Korea's Seoul Central District Court, Samsung has brought a patent infringement case against Apple's mobile operating system -- and is now putting pressure on Apple to show it the iOS 6 source code. According to The Korea Times, Samsung is apparently claiming -- Catch 22-style -- that without seeing the source code, it can't judge whether Apple's software infringes its technology patents.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4u_YXe1MehY/

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Mistrial in ex-cheerleader's libel lawsuit

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) ? A federal judge declared a mistrial in a defamation lawsuit against a gossip website filed by a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader who had sex with her underage student.

U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman declared the mistrial Friday after jurors couldn't reach a verdict.

Former cheerleader and high school teacher Sarah Jones had sued Scottsdale, Ariz.-based thedirty.com and its operator over two posts that said she had slept with every Bengals player and likely had two sexually transmitted diseases.

She was seeking $11 million,

The posts were unrelated to Jones' relationship with her former 17-year-old student. Jones pleaded guilty in that case in October in a deal that allowed her to avoid jail time. The two are still dating.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mistrial-ex-cheerleaders-libel-lawsuit-192242818--spt.html

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Tweet to Learn

@thomascmurray: I learn more on Twitter in one week than I did in ANY grad course, which by the way, I paid for. Who?s with me? #edtech #edchat #satchat

@sjunkins: Twitter is everything a teachers lounge should be? Inspiring educators with engaging ideas. #iaedchat

@21centuryteachr Jody & Shara ? At a PD conference I?m looking for one or two good ideas to bring to the classroom. You can get that on Twitter in five minutes. #edchat

Let us first say that, as of writing this article, we have 126 Twitter followers. Now, don?t get us wrong, we are really proud of this number, but by no means does this make us experts. In fact, we are still figuring out how to get the most out of Twitter as we possibly can. We consider ourselves newbies to the Tweet scene, and are only beginning to understand its implications for education. But, in this short time, one thing has been made very clear: Twitter is definitely the current ?it??place for the most cutting-edge ideas in the education field.

At the teaching fellowship program we attended, we were told to make sure to visit another classroom teacher and observe because, ?classroom teaching can be a very solitary profession.? Perhaps it was prior to now, but with the explosion of social media, web-based professional development communities, and online learning management systems there is no need for an opaque and solitary teaching existence. Teaching can now be, thanks to the Internet, a transparent and shared venture. In the past, teachers could hoard good lessons and live in the solipsistic world of the classroom all day; now, teachers can share their progress, their ideas, their lessons, their struggles, and most importantly, their successes.

One of the most significant (and rightly so) hurdles of this sharing on the Twitterverse is that it is so so very public. When teachers use online learning management systems or class websites they are usually only opening themselves up to the students, parents, teachers, and administrators at their school. But posting lessons, outlines, experiences, and opinions on Twitter is for the world to consume. This has implications for the teacher socially and professionally. Schools may prefer that their teachers not engage in social media as public as Twitter in the fear that the sharing may reflect poorly on the school, or, at the very least, wish that their teachers? opinions be accompanied by the oft seen caveat of: ?the opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the school.?

To indulge in these fears completely would be to miss a groundbreaking professional development opportunity. ?A recent blog post by educator Tony Sinanis recapping his year in Twitter waxed eloquent on the myriad of reasons why Twitter is so amazing, even asking the tongue-in-cheek question: ?Do you want to watch an episode of Modern Family and participate in some PD at the same time? Twitter lets you do that!? (PD being the Twitter slang for professional development.) However witty Sinanis is being, he is completely correct. What Twitter offers is a twenty-four-hour, any subject/specialty course in professional development that you can do while living your personal and professional life. ?Administrators afraid of the publicness of Twitter need to see the flip side: because it?s so public, it is free, and allows a world of educators to share what is good and what is coming.

Educators are educated too. The two of us have favorited so many articles and blog posts with both theoretical and abstract education concepts, as well as straight-to-classroom use-this-minute ideas, that we have trouble keeping up. And while we are just getting the hang of moving from consumer to contributor in the incredible #edchat #edtech conversations, the amount of support, information, and cutting-edge practice out there is astounding.

It?s easy for a teacher to feel like the king of the classroom when you are there with your students, to feel like the education you received was sufficient, that the professional development conferences you attend keep you cutting edge enough? but until you look at Twitter, you won?t realize the sheer volume of conversations that are happening without you. This was what the two of us experienced when we joined Twitter. It was kind of scary and awe-inspiring at the same time: the education world had been going on without us, and it was going really fast.

Just in January alone, Twitter educators have discussed textbook reform, classroom and school data analysis, and the engagement of parents in schools. Articles and blog posts were written on cutting edge education topics: flipped classrooms, iPad use, digital citizenship, project based learning, differentiation, and more. Teachers have their pick of topics that apply to their experience and their students? needs, and have access to a vast resource of educators who have tried new approaches to teaching and can tell their stories. And these educators come from every place in the education sphere; there are principals, heads of school, classroom teachers, resource teachers, etc. ?from all types of schools, public and private?all sharing their knowledge together.

Twitter and other social media can?t (and shouldn?t) replace professional development conferences, retreats, forums, etc. Twitter, or whatever is next that replaces it (that?s inevitable, right?) should be made a part of professional development in schools; it is professional development that can happen every day, even every hour. That being said, many teachers already balk at the idea of incorporating technology they are less than comfortable with, and Twitter is not necessarily the easiest to use. While its interface is fine, the etiquette, the chats, and other minutiae could take some time to figure out how to navigate, especially if the user is reticent in the first place. However, educators will need to figure out how to clear these hurdles, because the conversation is too rich and valuable for any teacher in this century to miss.

========

Previously in this series:

Teachers and Administrators, Don?t Be Scared of Technology: It Won?t Replace the Classroom
Being a Digital Native Isn?t Enough

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Body armour to scale up by mimicking flexible fish

IN DAYS of old, knights protected themselves in armour made up of tough, interlocking "scales". This idea might one day be revisited, with future soldiers decked out in scales inspired by the almost impenetrable skin of the "dragon fish".

This fish, Polypterus senegalus, is a tough beast whose strong bite and sturdy exoskeleton has kept its species going for 96 million years. Each of the scales that cover its long body is made up of multiple layers; when the fish is bitten, each layer cracks in a different pattern so that the scale stays intact as a whole (Nature Materials, doi.org/frkx9r).

Now we know how the different types of scales work - as a series of joints between "pegs" and "sockets", allowing the fish to bend as it swims. This combination of flexibility and strength is perfect for human armour, says Swati Varshney of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, speaking at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting in San Francisco earlier this month. She and colleagues performed X-ray scans of scales, reconstructed the shapes and then worked out how they slotted together.

Scales near the flexible parts of the fish, such as the tail, are small and allow the fish to bend. Those on the side, protecting the internal organs, are larger and more rigid. Their joints fit together tightly so that each peg reinforces the next scale rather than allowing it to flex.

The researchers created computer models of the different scale types and blew them up to 10 times their original size. Using a 3D printer, they printed a sheet of 144 interlocking scales out of a rigid material (an early prototype is pictured). The group hopes to eventually develop a full suit of fish-scale body armour for the US military that could replace the heavy Kevlar armour currently used, but Varshney says this is still some way off. Such a suit would mimic the fish: rigid and strong across the torso and more flexible towards the joints.

These fish are promising models for human armour because they have already tested out engineering designs on themselves, says Dominique Adriaens of Ghent University in Belgium. Once the design is pinned down, researchers could use different materials to make suits. Ceramic, for instance, would provide heat protection; metal could prevent punctures.

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Global mobile phone shipments breached 1.6 billion units in 2012, Samsung, Apple and Nokia still on top

A charger on every nightstand and a phone in every pocket -- it could be a presidential slogan, but it's really just reality. According to research from Strategy Analytics, a staggering 1.6 billion mobile phones were shipped (not sold) globally in 2012, and 700 million of them were smartphones. Samsung, Nokia and Apple, in that order, were the biggest movers of handsets, though the latter two change places when it comes to smartphones -- Espoo only shipped 35 million to Cupertino's 135, while Samsung topped the trio at 213 million devices shipped.

Surprising? Hardly -- smartphone sales climbed throughout 2012, and the aforementioned manufacturers have been kings of the category since last February. The numbers are telling though -- according to ABI Research, Apple saw less growth in 2012 than the previous year, and may hit a plateau in market share in 2013. Samsung, on the other hand, may have some room to grow -- capturing 34 percent of total smartphone shipments in Q4 with over 60 million smartphones moved. Apple nabbed 24.5% of the market with 47.8 million shipped iPhones, while Nokia and RIM took up the tail of the quarter with 86.3 and 6.9 million shipped devices, respectively. Statistic lover? You'll find full numbers (plus a little analyst speculation) in a trio of press releases after the break.

Show full PR text

Strategy Analytics: Global Mobile Phone Shipments Reach 1.6 Billion Units in 2012

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global mobile phone shipments grew a modest 2 percent annually to reach 1.6 billion units in 2012. Samsung was the star performer, accounting for 1 in 4 of all mobile phones shipped worldwide last year.

Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, "Ongoing macroeconomic challenges in mature markets like North America and Western Europe, tighter operator upgrade policies, and shifting consumer tastes were among the key reasons why global mobile phone shipments grew just 2 percent annually to reach 1.6 billion units in 2012. Fuelled by robust demand for its popular Galaxy models, Samsung was the star performer, shipping a record 396.5 million mobile phones worldwide and capturing 25 percent marketshare to solidify its first-place lead. However, Samsung's total volumes for the year fell just short of the 400-million threshold."

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, "Nokia's global mobile phone shipments fell 20 percent from 417.1 million units in 2011 to 335.6 million in 2012. Nokia faced tough competition from Samsung in developing markets like China, while Apple and others ramped up the pressure in developed regions such as Western Europe. Nokia's dual-SIM feature phones, Asha touchphones and Lumia handsets have been performing well, but this was not enough to offset a slump in demand for the company's aging Symbian smartphone platform last year."

Linda Sui, Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, "Apple shipped a record 135.8 million mobile phones worldwide in 2012. Apple delivered 46 percent annual growth last year, which was bolstered by solid demand in North America and Asia. Apple's launch of the iPhone 5 in Q4 2012 was a success as volumes ramped up in dozens of countries worldwide, but negative media coverage of the model's new integrated maps service and supply chain challenges cast a slight shadow over the launch."

Other findings from the research include:
o. ZTE captured 5 percent share of the global mobile phone market in 2012, as its shipments fell minus 8 percent from 2011, partly because of heightened competition in core markets like China and Western Europe from rivals such as Coolpad and Samsung.

Exhibit 1: Global Mobile Phone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2012 1
	Global Mobile Phone Shipments (Millions of Units)			Q4 '11			2011			Q4 '12			2012
	Samsung			95.0			327.4			108.0			396.5
	Nokia			113.5			417.1			86.3			335.6
	Apple			37.0			93.0			47.8			135.8
	ZTE			24.4			78.1			19.5			71.7
	Others			169.7			630.4			189.3			635.4
	Total			439.6			1546.0			450.9			1575.0
	Global Mobile Phone Vendor Marketshare %			Q4 '11			2011			Q4 '12			2012
	Samsung			21.6%			21.2%			24.0%			25.2%
	Nokia			25.8%			27.0%			19.1%			21.3%
	Apple			8.4%			6.0%			10.6%			8.6%
	ZTE			5.6%			5.1%			4.3%			4.6%
	Others			38.6%			40.8%			42.0%			40.3%
	Total			100.0%			100.0%			100.0%			100.0%
	Total Growth Year-over-Year %			9.9%			13.7%			2.6%			1.9%
_____________________________ 1 Numbers are rounded. Total in the data-table does not include grey phone shipments.

Strategy Analytics: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach a Record 700 Million Units in 2012

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew 43 percent annually to reach a record 700 million units in 2012. Samsung was the star performer, capturing 30 percent marketshare worldwide and extending its lead over Apple and Nokia.

Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, "Global smartphone shipments grew 38 percent annually from 157.0 million units in Q4 2011 to 217.0 million in Q4 2012. Global smartphone shipments for the full year reached a record 700.1 million units in 2012, increasing robustly from 490.5 million units in 2011. Global shipment growth slowed from 64 percent in 2011 to 43 percent in 2012 as penetration of smartphones began to mature in developed regions such as North America and Western Europe."

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, "Samsung shipped a record 213.0 million smartphones worldwide and captured 30 percent marketshare in 2012. This was the largest number of units ever shipped by a smartphone vendor in a single year, beating Nokia's previous all-time record when it shipped 100.1 million units during 2010. Despite tough competition in stores and courtrooms, Samsung continued to deliver numerous hit models, from the high-end Galaxy Note2 phablet to the mass-market Galaxy Y. Apple grew a healthy 46 percent annually and shipped 135.8 million smartphones worldwide for 19 percent marketshare in 2012, broadly flat from the 19 percent level recorded in 2011. Apple had a strong year in developed regions like North America, but this was offset partly by its limited presence in high-growth emerging markets such as Africa."

Linda Sui, Analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, "Samsung and Apple together accounted for half of all smartphones shipped worldwide in 2012. Large marketing budgets, extensive distribution channels and attractive product portfolios have enabled Samsung and Apple to tighten their grip on the smartphone industry. The growth of Samsung and Apple has continued to impact Nokia. Nokia retained its position as the world's third largest smartphone vendor for full-year 2012, but its global marketshare has dropped sharply from 16 percent to five percent during the past year. Nokia's Windows Phone portfolio has improved significantly in recent months, with new models like the Lumia 920, but we believe the vendor still lacks a true hero model in its range that can be considered an Apple iPhone or Samsung S3 killer."

Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Market Share in Q4 2012 ¹

Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units)					Q4 '11		2011		Q4 '12		2012
Samsung					36.5		97.4		63.0		213.0
Apple					37.0		93.0		47.8		135.8
Nokia					19.6		77.3		6.6		35.0
Others					63.9		222.8		99.6		316.3
Total					157.0		490.5		217.0		700.1
Global Smartphone Vendor Marketshare %					Q4 '11		2011		Q4 '12		2012
Samsung					23.2%		19.9%		29.0%		30.4%
Apple					23.6%		19.0%		22.0%		19.4%
Nokia					12.5%		15.8%		3.0%		5.0%
Others					40.7%		45.4%		45.9%		45.2%
Total					100.0%		100.0%		100.0%		100.0%
Total Growth Year-over-Year %					55.9%		63.8%		38.2%		42.7%

Smartphone Pressure Mounts for Samsung and Apple Exiting a Strong Q4 2012, According to ABI Research

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly 196 million smartphones and 451 million handsets were shipped during Q4 2012, according to the latest estimates from marketing intelligence firm ABI Research. This brings 2012 annual totals to 653 million smartphone and 1.6 billion handset shipments, representing a 36% and 2% YoY growth rate respectively. Smartphones accounted for 43% of all handset shipments in Q4, which pushed smartphones to 41% of all shipments in 2012.

Samsung retained its lead position overall by shipping 106 million handsets of which 60 million were smartphones in Q4 and capturing 31% of total smartphone shipments. In 2012 Samsung grew its handset shipments by 21.6% and its smartphone shipments by 123.8%. Despite missing most analyst estimates in Q4, Apple grew its smartphone shipment share to 24.5%, up from 16.4% in Q3. Apple shipped 47.8 million iPhones in Q4 bringing its 2012 annual total to 135.8 million. Apple's 2012 annual shipment growth declined from 96% in 2011 to 46% in 2012.

"It is clear that the iPhone's hyper-growth has ended, and ABI Research believes that Apple's market share will peak in 2013 at 22%," says mobile devices senior analyst Michael Morgan. "Unless Apple is willing to trade iPhone margins for low cost iPhone shipments, Apple's handset market share will become dependent on customer loyalty."

Looking at the rest of the pack, Nokia shipped 86.3 million handsets and 6.6 million smartphones in Q4 while RIM's shipments of smartphones declined to 6.9 million. ZTE had an excellent Q4 with 20.7 million handset shipments and 11.2 million smartphone shipments.

"Samsung and Apple are both under pressure to maintain their market lead as less costly smartphones gain momentum entering 2013," notes senior practice director Jeff Orr. "Technology optimization choices and a diverse handset portfolio are critical decisions over the next 6 to 9 months to come out ahead."

These findings are part of ABI Research's Mobile Handset Markets Database, which includes files detailing smartphone and mobile handset shipments, forecasts, and market share.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, RIM

Comments

Source: Strategy Analytics, ABI Research

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Concussion-related abnormal brain proteins in retired NFL players

Jan. 22, 2013 ? Sports-related concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries have grabbed headlines in recent months, as the long-term damage they can cause becomes increasingly evident among both current and former athletes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that millions of these injuries occur each year.

Despite the devastating consequences of traumatic brain injury and the large number of athletes playing contact sports who are at risk, no method has been developed for early detection or tracking of the brain pathology associated with these injuries.

Now, for the first time, UCLA researchers have used a brain-imaging tool to identify the abnormal tau proteins associated with this type of repetitive injury in five retired National Football League players who are still living. Previously, confirmation of the presence of this protein, which is also associated with Alzheimer's disease, could only be established by an autopsy.

The preliminary findings of the small study are reported Jan. 22 in the online issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.

Previous reports and studies have shown that professional athletes in contact sports who are exposed to repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries may develop ongoing impairment such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative condition caused by a build up of tau protein. CTE has been associated with memory loss, confusion, progressive dementia, depression, suicidal behavior, personality changes, abnormal gait and tremors.

"Early detection of tau proteins may help us to understand what is happening sooner in the brains of these injured athletes," said lead study author Dr. Gary Small, UCLA's Parlow-Solomon Professor on Aging and a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the

Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "Our findings may also guide us in developing strategies and interventions to protect those with early symptoms, rather than try to repair damage once it becomes extensive."

Small notes that larger follow-up studies are needed to determine the impact and usefulness of detecting these tau proteins early, but given the large number of people at risk for mild traumatic brain injury -- not only athletes but military personnel, auto accident victims and others -- a means of testing what is happening in the brain during the early stages could potentially have a considerable impact on public health.

For the study, the researchers recruited five retired NFL players who were 45 years of age or older. Each had a history of one or more concussions and some were experiencing cognitive or mood symptoms. The players represented a range of positions, including linebacker, quarterback, guard, center and defensive lineman.

"I hope that my participation in these kinds of studies will lead to a better understanding of the consequences of repeated head injury and new standards to protect players from sports concussions," said Wayne Clark, a player in the study who had normal cognitive function.

For the study, the UCLA scientists used a brain-imaging tool they had developed previously for assessing neurological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. They employed a chemical marker they created called FDDNP, which binds to deposits of amyloid beta "plaques" and neurofibrillary tau "tangles" -- the hallmarks of Alzheimer's -- which they then viewed using a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, providing a "window into the brain." With this method, researchers are able to pinpoint where in the brain these abnormal proteins accumulate.

After the players received intravenous injections of FDDNP, researchers performed PET brain scans on them and compared the scans to those of healthy men of comparable age, education, body mass index and family history of dementia.

The scientists found that compared to the healthy men, the NFL players had elevated levels of FDDNP in the amygdala and subcortical regions of the brain. These regions control learning, memory, behavior, emotions, and other mental and physical functions. Those players who had experienced a greater number of concussions were found to have higher FDDNP levels.

"The FDDNP binding patterns in the players' scans were consistent with the tau deposit patterns that have been observed at autopsy in CTE cases," said study author Dr. Jorge R. Barrio, a professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Each of the research volunteers also received a standard clinical assessment to gauge their degree of depression (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, or HAM-D) and cognitive ability (Mini-Mental State Examination, or MMSE). The players had more depressive

symptoms than the healthy men and generally scored lower on the MMSE test, demonstrating evidence of cognitive loss. Three players had mild cognitive impairment, one had dementia and another had normal cognitive function.

Elevated levels of FDDNP have been shown in studies to be associated with cognitive symptoms in normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and dementia, according to Barrio. The FDDNP signals appear to reflect a range of mental symptoms that have been observed in CTE cases, he noted.

Although the FDDNP marker also binds to another abnormal brain protein called amyloid beta, previous autopsy studies have shown the amyloid plaques are observed in less than a third of CTE cases in retired football players, suggesting that the FDDNP signal in the players represents mostly tau deposits in the brain.

"Providing a non-invasive method for early detection is a critical first step in developing interventions to prevent symptom onset and progression in CTE," said Small, director of the UCLA Longevity Center. "FDDNP is the only imaging marker currently available that can provide a measure of tau in living humans."

According to Small, a recent study of more than 3,400 retired professional football players showed that they had a higher-than-average risk of dying from Alzheimer's disease. Small's team also is studying lifestyle interventions for delaying the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms. His new book "The Alzheimer's Prevention Program," released in paperback this month, features the latest research on this topic and offers the public practical strategies for protecting brain health.

Research into CTE and the long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injuries such as sports-related concussions has been picking up momentum.

"It is the holy grail of CTE research to be able to identify those who are suffering from the syndrome early, while they're still alive. Discovering the effects of prior brain trauma earlier opens up possibilities for symptom treatment and prevention," said study author Dr. Julian Bailes, director of the Brain Injury Research Institute and the Bennett Tarkington Chairman of the department of neurosurgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem based in Evanston, IL.

The study was funded by the Brain Injury Research Institute; the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation Fund for Alzheimer's Disease Research; the Ahmanson Foundation and the Parlow-Solomon Professorship.

Additional study authors included Vladimir Kepe, Ph.D.; Prabha Siddarth, Ph.D.; Linda M. Ercoli, Ph.D.; Dr. David A. Merrill; Natacha Donghue, B.A.; Susan Y. Bookheimer, Ph.D.; Jacqueline Martinez, M.S.; and Dr. Bennet Omalu.

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