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2 Important Strategies for Effective Studying | World of Psychology

Every college student and high school student believes he or she has honed a set of highly effective, useful study skills. I used re-reading, lots of summarizing, note-taking (and outlining), and taking the little tests you would often find at the end of a chapter to help me remember the material I just read.

Nobody taught me how to study this way. It was just something I did through trial and error in trying and discarding multiple techniques. For instance, I tried highlighting, but it did little for me.

Of course, psychologists and other scientists have been testing effective study techniques now for decades. Being far more clever than I, they?ve actually run such techniques through the research ringer, and have come out with some effective study strategies.

Just last month, another group of researchers decided to take a look at all of that research, and boil down what we know about the most effective methods for studying. Here?s what they found.

Researchers led by John Dunlosky (et al. 2013) from Kent State University decided to take a critical look at the 10 most common learning techniques available to students and see whether they had strong or little backing in the research literature. The study methods examined were:

1. Elaborative interrogation ? Generating an explanation for why an explicitly stated fact or concept is true
2. Self-explanation ? Explaining how new information is related to known information, or explaining steps taken during problem solving
3. Summarization ? Writing summaries of to-be-learned texts
4. Highlighting/underlining ? Marking potentially important portions of to-be-learned materials while reading
5. Keyword mnemonic ? Using keywords and mental imagery to associate verbal materials
6. Imagery for text ? Attempting to form mental images of text materials while reading or listening
7. Rereading ? Restudying text material again after an initial reading
8. Practice testing ? Self-testing or taking practice tests over to-be-learned material
9. Distributed practice ? Implementing a schedule of practice that spreads out study activities over time
10. Interleaved practice ? Implementing a schedule of practice that mixes different kinds of problems, or a schedule of study that mixes different kinds of material, within a single study session.

So unbeknownst to me at the time, I was engaging in a combination of the above learning techniques while in school ? summarization, rereading, and practice testing. I also tried to distribute my studying over time, and not try and cram right before a test (although I probably was only marginally successful in adhering to that desire).

At least one of my techniques was deemed effective by the researchers ? practice testing. The other technique that received across-the-board high grades was distributed practice.

According to the researchers, both techniques have been shown to boost students? performance across many different kinds of tests, and their effectiveness has been repeatedly demonstrated for students of all ages.

Some common study techniques used by most students didn?t receive such high marks for effectiveness:

In contrast, five of the techniques received a low rating from the researchers. Interestingly, these techniques are some of the most common learning strategies used by students. Such ineffective strategies include: summarization, highlighting and underlining, and rereading.

?I was shocked that some strategies that students use a lot ? such as rereading and highlighting ? seem to provide minimal benefits to their learning and performance,? Dunlosky said. ?By just replacing rereading with delayed retrieval practice, students would benefit.?

Indeed, students probably relay on tasks like highlighting and rereading because they are the easiest to do while actively studying. It?s so easy to whip out a highlighter and believe that by actively marking a passage, it?s somehow seeping into your brain cavities like syrup does into those little waffle compartments.

Sadly, that?s not the case. You might as well just sniff the highlighter for all the good highlighting does in helping you study.

Other techniques that got mixed but generally positive reviews include interleaved practice, self-explanation and elaborative interrogation. Mnemonics are likely helpful for some key concepts (you can?t get through medical school without them), but not as a general study technique.

And rereading (which 65 percent of college students admit to using) can?t hurt you if the material is dense and difficult and you didn?t quite get it the first time around. But don?t kid yourself into believing that rereading is as good as taking a practice test or spreading studying over time. (And generally, you only need to re-read a text passage once; multiple rereading efforts don?t usually help with comprehension.)

So there you have it ? focus on practice testing and studying evenly over the course of the entire semester. Those techniques are going to be the most time-effective and the best use of your brain cells.

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Read the full article: What Study Strategies Make the Grade?

Reference

Dunlosky, J. Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J. & Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving Students? Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14, 4-58.

Footnotes: Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2013). 2 Important Strategies for Effective Studying. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 9, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/08/2-important-strategies-for-effective-studying/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/08/2-important-strategies-for-effective-studying/

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Etsy Is Trying to Pop Silicon Valley's Meritocracy Bubble

Christina Applegate is departing her NBC comedy, "Up All Night." "It's been a great experience working on 'Up All Night', but the show has taken a different creative direction and I decided it was best for me to move on to other endeavors," Christina said in a statement on Friday. "Working with Lorne Michaels has been a dream come true and I am grateful he brought me into his TV family. I will miss the cast, producers and crew, and wish them the best always."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/etsy-trying-pop-silicon-valleys-meritocracy-bubble-232506558.html

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Stock Your Home With Storm Essentials | WPRI.com

(WPRI) - With winter weather in full force this weekend, make sure your home is packed with storm essentials.

During extreme winter conditions, staying home is often the safest plan.

According to the NOAA, only 20% of storm-related deaths occur at home. Compare that to the 70% of deaths happening out on the road, and having a stocked home is the best way to wait out the storm.

Batteries and water may seem like obvious supplies you should already have, but double check just to make sure. A lot of times, people discover they are missing a key item when it is far too late.

With power outages a possibility, gather flashlights and check their batteries ahead of time.

If the heat shuts off, make sure to block doors with a towel to keep cold air out. Wear layers while inside, to keep warm without overheating.

Do a survey of other items in your home that you may overlook otherwise. For example, if you are running low on prescription medication, keep in mind that pharmacies might also be without power for a couple of days.

A general rule of thumb is to have enough supplies for at least a week.

Also, families might want to consider pulling out board games and a deck of cards. With the prospect of being snowed-in without power, something to keep kids busy is a must.

Source: http://www.wpri.com/dpp/weather/winter_weather/stock-your-home-with-storm-essentials

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'Closest' dinosaur extinction date

8 February 2013 Last updated at 05:10 ET

Scientists believe they have determined the most precise date yet for the extinction of dinosaurs.

Researchers from Glasgow University were part of an international team that has been investigating the demise of the dinosaur.

By using dating techniques on rock and ash samples, they established the creatures died out about 66,038,000 years ago - give or take 11,000 years.

That date appears to coincide with the impact of a comet or asteroid.

Debate has raged as to whether the giant impact was the sole cause of a quick demise of the dinosaurs, whether they were already in decline at the time of the impact, or whether the impact in fact happened as much as 300,000 years after they were gone.

The study has been published in the journal Science, and also involved researchers from the Berkeley Geochronology Center and University of California, Berkeley in the US and Vrije University Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The extinction of the dinosaurs was first linked to a comet or asteroid impact in 1980.

'Final straw'

A 180km (110mi)-wide crater in the Caribbean off the Yucatan coast of Mexico is presumed to be the result of that impact.

Called Chicxulub, the crater is thought to have been created by an object 10km (6mi) across that threw into the atmosphere debris which is still found around the globe.

These include signs of the enormous force of impact and its extraterrestrial origin: glassy spheres known as tektites, "shocked" quartz and a layer of dust enriched with an element called iridium.

The international team decided last year to use these clues to put a more precise date on the dinosaur extinction, by examining layers of the geological record where they lie close to the last fossils of dinosaurs.

They looked at tektites from Haiti and volcanic ash collected from the Hell Creek Formation in Montana - the source of many dinosaur fossils and one of the best sites to study the change in fossils from before and after the extinction.

The samples were analysed in laboratories first in the US, where a technique called "argon-argon dating" was used to determine their ages precisely.

The approach makes use of the fact that the naturally radioactive element called potassium slowly decays into argon with great regularity; the argon-argon method is among the most precise ways of "clocking" how long a particular sample has been decaying.

Paul Renne, professor in residence of earth and planetary science at the University of California, said of the revised date: "The impact was clearly the final straw that provided the tipping point.

"We have shown that these events are synchronous to within a gnat's eyebrow and therefore the impact clearly played a major role in extinctions, but it probably wasn't just the impact."

The Glasgow researchers, based at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre in East Kilbride and led by Dr Darren Mark, then conducted independent argon-argon analyses on rock samples, which confirmed the results from the US.

Dr Mark said: "This study shows the power of high precision geochronology.

"Many people think precision is just about adding another decimal place to a number, but it's far more exciting than that. It's more like getting a sharper lens on a camera.

"It allows us to dissect the geological record at greater resolution and piece together the sequence of Earth history."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-21379024#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Gemalto | Gemalto telecom blog | How to be smart with dumb phones

I expect many of our readers will know someone who either gave or received a smartphone over the last few months. They?re ubiquitous these days and I?ve even seen kids who can?t be more than two or three years old using a smart device. Thomas Husson?blogged for Forrester on mobile trends from 2012?at the end of last year, revealing that there were more than one billion smartphones in circulation by the end of the year.

But there?s another type of device that dwarfs the level of smartphone adoption. It?s called the mobile phone, or cell phone. Wired?published an article from Harvard adjunct assistant professor and CEO of Jana, Nathan Eagle, entitled ?Dumb phones are the future of advertising.? It?s a great article and highlights an important point that often gets lost in the vociferous noise of mobile operating systems, namely that up to six billion people have a mobile phone subscription. While it may not have NFC, GPS or apps, the humble, ?original? cell phone is still far from obsolete.

Africa, which lacks a wired infrastructure, depends instead on its mobile wireless communications, which has grown into a position of great strength. Kenya in particular is a world leader in mobile payments, where its M-Pesa platform has been in place for years and now has over 14 million subscribers. These users predominately access payments via an ?old? cell phone and this is just a small section of the huge cell phone demographic that continues to thrive around the world, presenting mobile marketers with huge opportunities that can often be overlooked.

As my colleague Caroline Doussot outlined in her golden rules of SMS marketing, SMS remains the most effective way of marketing to consumers via the most personal medium on the planet, making it ideal for capitalizing on the wealth of ?dumb? mobiles used by billions of people across the world. Respecting your customers? right to privacy and transparency is paramount and, coupled with a relevant reward, provides the key ingredients in a successful mobile marketing mix.

Think about this: if you have an app for the iPhone, you can reach a huge demographic; if you have an app for Android, you can reach an even larger demographic; but if you embrace SMS marketing, you can reach up to 100% of the six billion mobile phones on the planet. Nothing else is OS-neutral, device-neutral, nor carrier-neutral, providing you with an unparalleled marketing reach, mutually beneficial to both you and your customers.

So when the next shiny device is announced, flaunting its curves, its processor and its voice-recognition technology, remember that its predecessor is still there, leading the way; not quite as dumb as it looks.

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Contact Marta Bordonada

Tags: Africa, Forrester, handset, kenya, M-pesa, mobile, mobile marketing, mobile phone, smart device, smartphone, sms, Thomas Husson, Wired

Related posts:

Source: http://blog.gemalto.com/telecom/2013/02/06/how-to-be-smart-with-dumb-phones/

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Accused witch burned alive in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) ? Assailants stripped, tortured and bound a woman accused of witchcraft, then burned her alive in front of hundreds of witnesses in a Papua New Guinea town, police said Friday after one of the highest profile sorcery-related murders in this South Pacific island nation.

Some of the hundreds of bystanders took photographs of Wednesday's brutal slaying. Grisly pictures were published on the front pages of the country's biggest circulating newspapers, The National and Post-Courier. The prime minister, police and diplomats condemned the killing

Kepari Leniata, a 20-year-old who had a child, had been accused of sorcery by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who died in the hospital the day before, police spokesman Dominic Kakas said.

She was tortured with a hot iron rod, bound, doused in gasoline, then set alight on a pile of car tires and trash in the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mount Hagen, Kakas said.

"Investigations are continuing. We've got good leads. The husband is the prime suspect," Kakas said.

Sorcery has traditionally been countered by sorcery in Papuan New Guinean culture. But responses to sorcery allegations have become increasingly violent in recent years.

Kakas said the death was the first the sorcery-related murder in Papua New Guinea in a year.

Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga described the murder as "shocking and devilish."

"We are in the 21st century and this is totally unacceptable," Commissioner Kulunga said in a statement.

He suggested courts be established to deal with sorcery allegations, as an alternative to villagers dispensing justice.

Prime Minister Pete O'Neill said he had instructed police to use all available manpower to bring the killers to justice.

"It is reprehensible that women, the old and the weak in our society should be targeted for alleged sorcery or wrongs that they actually have nothing to do with," O'Neill said.

The U.S. Embassy in the national capital Port Moresby issued a statement calling for a sustained international partnership to enhance anti-gender-based violence laws throughout the Pacific.

The embassy of Australia, Papua New Guinea's colonial ruler until independence in 1975 and now its biggest foreign aid donor, said "We join ... all reasonable Papua New Guineans in looking forward to the perpetrators being brought to justice."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-07-Papua%20New%20Guinea-Sorcery/id-a5a9280116a6406fae9a10bca373e15b

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Fight over who owns Richard III's bones

LONDON (AP) ? Two English cities are doing battle over the bones of King Richard III.

This week scientists announced that a skeleton found under a parking lot in the city of Leicester belonged to the king, who died in 1485. Officials say he will now be reburied in Leicester Cathedral.

But York, 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north, is laying claim to the monarch, who belonged to the House of York and had strong ties to the city.

York City Council said Wednesday that it is writing to the government and Queen Elizabeth II, arguing that "one of the city's most famous and cherished sons" should be buried there.

Leicester is refusing to yield, and the two cities have launched rival petitions to the government that have gathered thousands of signatures.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-cities-tug-war-over-bones-richard-iii-133705868.html

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CVS Caremark's 4Q profit rises 6 percent

CVS Caremark's fourth-quarter earnings climbed 6 percent, as revenue from its established drugstores grew and new customers helped its pharmacy services segment.

Overall, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains said revenue climbed nearly 11 percent in the quarter to $31.4 billion, even though a wave of generic drugs recently has been hurting topline growth for drugstores and pharmacy benefits managers, which run prescription drug plans for employers, insurers and other customers.

Generic equivalents to top-selling medicines like the cholesterol fighter Lipitor hurt revenue for these companies because they are cheaper than their brand-name counterparts. But they boost earnings because they come with a wider margin between the price drugstores and PBMs pay to buy them and the reimbursement they receive for doling them out.

CVS Caremark Corp., which runs 7,458 drugstores in the United States, said Wednesday that revenue from drugstores open at least a year grew 4 percent, as the number of prescriptions filled at the stores climbed 9 percent. Revenue from stores open at least a year is considered a key indicator of a drugstore chain's financial health.

The company said that its pharmacy services segment, which includes one of the nation's largest PBM businesses, benefited last year from the addition of large clients like home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. Revenue from that segment jumped more than 17 percent to $18.6 billion compared with the final quarter of 2011.

CVS, which is based in Woonsocket, R.I., earned $1.13 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That compares with earnings of $1.06 billion, or 81 cents per share, in the same period in 2011. Adjusted earnings totaled $1.14 per share, when excluding a loss for the early retirement of some debt.

Results beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $1.10 per share on $31.14 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

For the full year, CVS Caremark earned $3.88 billion, or $3.03 per share, on $123.13 billion in revenue.

The company said that it continued to benefit from business that it gained due to a split between Walgreen Co., the nation's largest drugstore chain, and Express Scripts Holding Co., the nation's largest PBM. Walgreen and Express Scripts let a contract between them expire at the end of 2011, and that caused some Walgreen customers to migrate to CVS stores because they needed a place to fill their prescriptions.

Walgreen and Express Scripts resumed doing business last September. Even so, CVS estimates that it gained more than 5 million prescriptions, and it expects to keep at least 60 percent of that this year.

CVS said it now expects 2013 adjusted earnings of $3.86 to $4 per share, a two-cent increase from its previous forecast. The new outlook is still in line with analysts' prediction of $3.92 per share, on average.

CVS also said Wednesday that it made its first foray into the international drugstore business with the purchase a 44-store Brazilian pharmacy chain. CVS Caremark didn't disclose the price on the deal, which closed last week, but said the acquisition fit its plan to take a measured approach to growing outside the United States.

U.S.-focused health care companies have shown a growing interest in international markets as they seek to diversify their revenue sources and search for less mature markets that have growth potential.

"We view Brazil as an attractive market ... and while chains are prevalent, it is still a highly fragmented market so we see nice opportunities to grow the business over time," CEO Larry Merlo said.

Last year, Walgreen completed an initial investment of nearly $7 billion in the privately held European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots, which gives it a large presence in the United Kingdom and access to emerging markets like China.

The U.S. market isn't completely tapped out for drugstores, but they are preparing for that eventuality, said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager with the asset management firm GAMCO Investors. He noted that the U.S. health care overhaul will bring them more business as it expands insurance coverage, and companies figure they can add stores in the United States for another five or 10 years.

"When you take that long-term view, you just have to start now in diversifying and going into new markets," he said.

CVS shares fell 48 cents to close at $51.24 Wednesday. The stock has gained 18 percent in the past 12 months.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cvs-caremarks-4q-profit-rises-6-percent-122929936--finance.html

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FBI: Ala. captor rigged bunker, waged 'firefight'

This undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, shows the pipe FBI agents and Dale County negotiators used to communicate with Jimmy Lee Dykes while he held a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker on his Midland City, Ala. property for a week. The pipe was also used to send food, medicine, and other items into the bunker. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

This undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, shows the pipe FBI agents and Dale County negotiators used to communicate with Jimmy Lee Dykes while he held a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker on his Midland City, Ala. property for a week. The pipe was also used to send food, medicine, and other items into the bunker. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

This undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, shows the pipe FBI agents and Dale County negotiators used to communicate with Jimmy Lee Dykes while he held a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker on his Midland City, Ala. property for a week. The pipe was also used to send food, medicine, and other items into the bunker. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

In this undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, FBI agents and Dale County Sheriff's deputies secure the residence where a 5-year-old child was rescued after being held hostage for almost one week by Jimmy Lee Dykes, in Midland City, Ala. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

In this undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, FBI agents and Dale County Sheriff?s deputies secure the residence where a 5-year-old child was rescued after being held hostage for almost one week by Jimmy Lee Dykes, in Midland City, Ala. The bunker where the two were holed up is covered by a blue tent, at rear left. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

In this undated photo released by the FBI on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, a tent covers the bunker where where a 5-year-old child was held for a week by Jimmy Lee Dykes in Midland City, Ala. The boy was rescued and his captor was killed when federal agents raided the bunker on Monday. (AP Photo/FBI)

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) ? As FBI and police negotiators sought for days to coax an Alabama man into freeing a kindergartner held hostage an underground bunker, the captor was making plans of his own, authorities say.

He rigged the bunker with explosives, tried to reinforce it against any raid, and when SWAT agents stormed the shelter Monday to rescue the boy, Jimmy Lee Dykes engaged in a firefight that left the captor dead, the FBI and officials said.

After the nearly weeklong hostage ordeal, relatives say the boy who turns 6 Wednesday appears to be doing well and is back at home. He was seized off a crowded school bus Jan. 29 after authorities say the gunman shot the driver dead and took him to the bunker where he was held until Monday's rescue.

While the FBI has largely been tight-lipped about how it monitored Dykes' behavior and mood in the days leading up to the rescue, the latest revelations suggest authorities were dealing with an abductor fully prepared for more violence even as he allowed police to send food, medicine and toys into the bunker for the boy.

An FBI statement late Tuesday said Dyke, 65, had planted an explosive device in a ventilation pipe he'd told negotiators to use to communicate with him on his property in the rural Alabama community of Midland City. The suspect also placed another explosive device inside the bunker, the FBI added.

Dykes appears to have "reinforced the bunker against any attempted entry by law enforcement," FBI special agent Jason Pack said in the statement providing significant, new details about how it all ended.

When SWAT agents stormed the bunker to rescue the boy from the man's property in the rural Alabama community of Midland City, Dykes "engaged in a firefight with the SWAT agents," Pack added.

Officers killed Dykes, said an official in Midland City, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss a pending law enforcement investigation.

According to the FBI, bomb technicians scouring the Dykes property in southeastern Alabama found the two explosive devices.

The devices were "disrupted," Pack said, though he did not say whether that meant they were detonated or disarmed.

Officers will continue Wednesday to sweep the 100-acre property and, when they finish, investigators can more thoroughly investigate, Pack said.

For days, officers communicated with Dykes through a plastic pipe that rose up from the bunker, which was similar to a tornado shelter and apparently had running water, heat and cable television.

On Monday, authorities said, Dykes had a gun and appeared increasingly agitated, though it's unclear exactly how his behavior changed. Negotiations ? the details of which have not been made public ? were deteriorating. The Midland City official said law enforcement agents had been observing Dykes with some sort of camera, which is how they saw that he had a gun.

Pack declined to get into specifics, but confirmed that high-tech surveillance equipment was used during the police standoff.

Agents stormed the bunker. Neighbors said they heard what sounded like explosions and gunshots. Agents whisked the boy to safety and left Dykes dead.

Dale County Coroner Woodrow Hilboldt said Tuesday that he had not been able to confirm exactly how Dykes died because the man's body had remained in the bunker. An autopsy was to be conducted in Montgomery once the body was removed.

The boy, who has Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was said to be acting like a normal kid after his rescue. And officials said there was no indication that Dykes had harmed the boy.

The boy was running around, playing with a toy dinosaur and other action figures, eating a turkey sandwich and watching "SpongeBob SquarePants," relatives and Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said.

"We know he's OK physically, but we don't know how he is mentally," Betty Jean Ransbottom, the boy's grandmother, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. She added that she feared the ordeal would stay with the child the rest of his life.

The family was relieved and grateful for all the support in a community where ribbons, fliers and vigils all symbolized the prayers for the safe return of the boy, whom law enforcement officials have only identified by his first name, Ethan.

The boy's mother, in a statement released by authorities, expressed her thanks for all the hard work of so many officers to bring her son home. The woman declined to be identified, the statement said. During his captivity, his only comforts were a Hot Wheels car and other treats passed to him by officers.

"For the first time in almost a week, I woke up this morning to the most beautiful sight ... my sweet boy," she said. "I can't describe how incredible it is to hold him again."

In Midland City, a town of about 2,400 nestled among peanut and cotton fields, residents were relieved that the boy was safely rescued from Dykes. Neighbors had described Dykes as an unstable menace who beat a dog to death and threatened to shoot trespassers while patrolling his property armed.

Children and teachers were trying to get back to normal, though some children who were on the bus where Dykes killed the driver on Jan. 29 have not yet returned to school, said Donny Bynum, superintendent of Midland City schools. Counselors and clergy are at the school to help any distraught students.

Officials hope to eventually throw a party to celebrate the boy's sixth birthday and to honor the memory of Charles Albert Poland Jr., the slain bus driver hailed as a hero for trying to protect nearly two dozen youngsters on his bus. No date has been set, Bynum said.

___

Associated Press writer Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala., and Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-06-US-Alabama-Bunker-Standoff/id-a0b80a333f7b4d39a4c95b42a7fb81e6

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Obama to visit Israel in spring in possible Mideast peace push

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring, the White House said on Tuesday, raising the prospects of a new U.S. push to restart long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.

Obama's trip, his first to Israel since taking office, signaled that he intends to make the volatile Middle East - where Iran remains locked in a nuclear standoff with the West and Syria is caught up in a bloody civil war - a top priority in his second term.

While the White House gave no exact dates for the trip, Israel's Channel 10 television station cited unnamed sources in Washington saying Obama would visit the Jewish state on March 20.

The choice of Israel for Obama's first foreign travel since his January 21 inauguration will give the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a chance to repair their notoriously fractious relationship and seek common ground on confronting the region's troubles.

Netanyahu is now occupied with the task of forging a new governing coalition after center-left challengers made surprising gains in last month's elections, something that Obama's aides believe could strengthen his hand with the hawkish prime minister.

Obama and Netanyahu discussed the president's coming trip in a January 28 telephone call, the White House and the Israeli prime minister's office said.

"The start of the president's second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Syria," the White House said.

Netanyahu's office said only that the leaders had discussed a visit timed for after the formation of a new Israeli government.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama would also visit the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders and travel to Jordan, considered a linchpin in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, to "discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest."

NEW PEACE PUSH?

Obama's itinerary suggests that his administration may be preparing a new Middle East peace push. Word of the coming trip followed calls by incoming U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday stressing the U.S. commitment to peacemaking.

Obama's early efforts to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fell apart amid mutual acrimony in 2010, followed by accelerated Israeli housing construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians claim for a future state.

Obama was reluctant to pressure Netanyahu during the 2012 U.S. election campaign for fear of undercutting support among Jewish voters and other pro-Israel constituencies. Now that he no longer faces re-election constraints, he may be ready to take a tougher tack despite the likelihood of drawing fire from Republicans who have questioned his commitment to Israel.

Israel's Channel 10 said Obama's visit would focus on restarting peace talks with the Palestinians, but White House officials would not confirm that.

Also expected to be high on the agenda would be Obama's efforts to convince Netanyahu to hold off on any attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Obama's tensions with Netanyahu have been aggravated by Netanyahu's demands for U.S. "red lines" on Iran's nuclear program.

(Additional reporting by Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-plans-visit-west-bank-jordan-part-middle-192406784.html

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U.S. Military: A Multi-Gender Crime Syndicate - Infoshop News

Mic Check: Not all equality is created equal.

Any American woman who cherishes the freedom (sic) to fight alongside her male military counterparts is -- both directly and indirectly -- signing up for and endorsing Daisy Cutters, cluster bombs, and predator drones; depleted uranium, napalm, and white phosphorus; launching cruise missiles into crowded cities, blowing up dams to deliberately flood rice paddies and starve civilians, shooting enemy soldiers after they?ve surrendered, destroying villages in order to save them, etc. etc. etc.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

?Mess with the best/Die like the rest?

- U.S. Special Forces

?The pioneers of a warless world are the youth that refuse military service.?

- Albert Einstein

I am proud to declare that I was not among those celebrating the recent announcement from U.S. Defense (sic) Secretary Leon E. Panetta about lifting the military?s official ban on women in combat.

Mic Check: Not all equality is created equal.

Any American woman who cherishes the freedom (sic) to fight alongside her male military counterparts is -- both directly and indirectly -- signing up for and endorsing Daisy Cutters, cluster bombs, and predator drones; depleted uranium, napalm, and white phosphorus; launching cruise missiles into crowded cities, blowing up dams to deliberately flood rice paddies and starve civilians, shooting enemy soldiers after they?ve surrendered, destroying villages in order to save them, etc. etc. etc.

Of course, the most common excuse for this ongoing catalogue of crime is: ?Our troops are just following orders.?

By activating the Google function on your interwebs machines, you'll easily find many reasons why this concept has no legal basis. For example, Principle IV of Nuremberg Tribunal (1950) states:

?The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.? (And I hope I don't have to explain that ?only following orders? also has no moral footing.)

Besides following orders for equal opportunity atrocities, these fledgling female freedom fighters are also volunteering to be paid as foot soldiers in a war on nature.

Waging War? on the Eco-System
The U.S. Department of Defense (sic) (DoD) -- the interventionist institution formerly known as the War Department -- is the biggest polluter on Planet Earth, for example, releasing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined.

To add insult to injury, the world's worst polluter -- the entity wrecking havoc upon the landbase that makes all life possible -- also gobbles up 54 percent of U.S. taxpayer dollars. But it takes more than obscene amounts of money to keep this criminal enterprise afloat. It also takes more than the volunteers (of all genders) willing to be paid to wage illegal, immoral, and eco-system destroying wars. The DoD will be able to maintain its crime spree as long as most of us continue to unconditionally support (sic) those troops.

As long as the yellow ribbons fly, our future remains in doubt -- as does the efficacy of such ?support.?

Define ?Support?
While most American citizens -- even if they identify as ?antiwar? -- are manipulated, harassed, coerced, and guilted into hanging yellow ribbons, generation after generation of U.S. military personnel has suffered a distinct lack of support from their own government (and the corporations that fund it). Our (sic) troops are just as controlled and exploited as the U.S. citizens programmed to worship them.

Yellow ribbons, flag-waving, repressive laws, peer pressure, and loud chants of "USA" don?t qualify as support. Rather, this is self-policed obedience orchestrated by a corporate-dominated state.

Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the number of suicides among people serving in the armed forces has jumped more than 25 percent since 2005. In 2010 alone, 454 service members killed themselves in combat zones.

Life doesn't get easier for those who make it home. About one-third of the adult homeless population is veterans and, according to the VA, is 95 percent male, mostly likely to be: single; hail from an urban area; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders.

People of all ethnicities may sign up to defend (sic) the land of the free (sic) but 56 percent of all homeless vets are African American or Hispanic (despite only accounting for 12.8 percent and 15.4 percent of the U.S. population, respectively).

More VA stats:

• 107,000 veterans are homeless on any given night.
• Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness.
• Only 8 percent of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly 20 percent of the homeless population is made up of veterans.

Another 1.5 million veterans, says the VA, are considered at risk of homelessness due to "poverty and lack of support networks."

Yes, you read that correctly: "lack of support networks."

Manufacture ?Support?
Despite the government?s demonstrated unwillingness to truly support volunteer soldiers, Americans continue to enlist -- and this shouldn?t surprise anyone. We grow up watching war movies and playing with guns. We're surrounded by war memorials and war monuments, and are taught to obey and fear those in uniform. We witness the demonizing of those who oppose war. Our media is overrun with militaristic fervor. Our tax dollars finance war and pro-war propaganda. Our government passes laws designed to thwart dissent.

Even if we remain immune to wartime spin and propaganda -- even if we don't buy into the story that America has been dragged into conflict after conflict and perpetually left with no choice but to wage a humanitarian war against a savage enemy -- we still face the guilt factor of the "support the troops" peer pressure, e.g. no matter what we think or how we feel, once the actual fighting begins, all Americans must unite behind our troops to insure their safety through victory.

Reality check: The "support the troops" mantra specifically ignores any real examination of who those troops are, what those troops are doing in war zones, what happens to them when they come home, and why many of us don?t want them waging war in the first place.

In other words, when we're told to "support the troops," we are, in essence, being compelled to support the policies that exploit those troops.

Re-Define ?Support?
We often hear justifications like this: Don?t blame the soldiers; they only volunteer because they lack any other feasible economic options.

I wonder if the same economic excuse making would hold water for those who opt to become gang members: the poor black kid who ?enlists? in the Crips, the poverty-stricken Hispanic who ?enlists? in the Latin Kings, or any underprivileged kid anywhere in America who ?enlists? in any of the myriad mafias and crime syndicates.

These kids also face a stark choice -- being destitute or choosing a uniform and weapon -- but no one hangs yellow ribbons for them.

Of course, there are two primary differences between the kids I just described above and those who volunteer to join the U.S. military:?

1. The U.S. military is far more dangerous and deadly than any gang or Mafia family.
2. The U.S. military is considered legal.

Ponder this: If a more equitable economic climate were created via radical activism, young Americans would no longer feel compelled to enlist solely for financial reasons (and by doing so, provide manpower for wars of empire). In such a scenario, those who do volunteer could then rightfully be exposed as willing accomplices to U.S. war crimes and maybe we can finally retire all those counterproductive "support the troops" stickers? and get busy with the counter-recruitment.

Occupy Counter-Recruitment: Educate yourself on the realities of U.S. foreign policy and spread the word far and wide -- especially to those young enough to volunteer. If Americans of any gender learn the truth and refuse to enlist, the interventions -- and the inevitable atrocities -- will decrease proportionally.

Message to all potential enlistees: The U.S. Department of Defense (sic) is the most violent institution the planet has ever known. Paid volunteers are nothing more than willing accomplices to the continuing carnage.

Oh, and one more thing: Let?s stop with the ?our troops? charade. You and I may foot the bill, but ?we? have no say in how that money is spent. If those truly were ?mine,? I?d bring them right home and put them to work doing something useful? like turning the Long Island Expressway into the world?s longest organic farm.

Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook.

? WorldNewsTrust.com -- Share and re-post this story. Please include this copyright notice and?a link to World News Trust.

Source: http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20130202023114398

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Connect To Your Prospects Online Using Internet Marketing Promotion

Internet Marketing Promotion

Internet marketing promotion is focused on the advertising and sale of products and services by means of the internet. It can be challenging for newbies to start to interact in internet marketing but there is a great deal of reliable advice readily accessible to you so that you can commence your journey with internet marketing promotion properly and successfully.

Should you possess a great deal of knowledge about your prospects, use that knowledge to customize your internet marketing advertising copy. As an example, if you are aware that a visitor to your site has bought a widget in the past, you could possibly customize some of the homepage material to show related widgets. Bear in mind, however, that some customers actively take steps to avoid being monitored in this particular way.

Be Prepared For Customer Questions with Your Internet Marketing Promotion

If you want to reach your goals with internet marketing promotion, it's important to have very clear ambitions and exceptional techniques. Be sure you can respond to inquiries from your online visitors. For instance, why is your product or service better than your competitors? Why should your prospects have confidence in your? What are you going to do to encourage and convince them that your particular product or service is definitely the most effective. In the event you are not able to respond to these queries, chances are you'll possess a challenging time with your internet marketing promotion.

Honesty is the Best Policy for Internet Marketing Promotion

Avoid the temptation to market your products and services with incorrect scarcity! Under no circumstances convey to prospects that only a specified number of products are going to be available, except of course, if it's actually true! This is particularly important with regards to downloadable products and solutions, the concept of restricted availability will probably be absurd to the prospective purchaser. Continue to be honest and people will be more inclined to trust you.

Obtain Another Persons Perspective of Your Site

When making use of an online site to promote a product or service on the web, you'll want to have the ability to check out your website as though you don't own it. If you are the company proprietor and website designer, your view of your site may very well be blinkered. You might be missing noticeable problems which would be clear to you if you didn't design or own the site yourself. It is in your best interest to get another person's perspective of your site.

Internet Marketing Promotion Will Be Enhanced if You Monitor Your Stats

Review the stats on your own website, in particular the targeted traffic that comes in and out throughout each day, week, or thirty day period. This can provide you with a good understanding of when the majority of people arrive on your site and what times of the day are considered to be the busiest. Also, throughout the course of the year, this could certainly assist you in setting up seasonal traits with regards to your product or service.

Advertising Your Product or Service

One thing an internet marketing business needs to contemplate is to try and make their banner ads not look like banner ads. Viewers see banner promotions continuously and many have perfected the art of tuning out to them when browsing a website. As an alternative, consider developing a design and style that captures the curiosity of your respective visitors, resulting in them simply clicking the ad!

Be An Internet Marketer That Offers Value

Feature bonuses to visitors who return to your site. Repeat visitors will frequent your site often in order to obtain the freebies. Give away a copy of your ebook to a selected number of visitors. Encourage your readers to return to your site regularly for updates and perhaps even subscribe to your mailing list to receive benefits and other cool stuff.

Make the Guarantee the Primary Focus of Your Product or Service

One concept that may well appear to be somewhat far fetched, is allowing customers to acquire the product or service now and making it possible for them to pay for it later. You just have to keep track of each and every sale that you permit using this method and make sure to send out invoices to every one of these people.

Publicize your product or service as a general means of attaining an objective. Explain how people can achieve their ambitions as a result of your merchandise within the articles on your website. You could potentially even offer a money back guarantee should your customers not attain their primary objective. This tends to demonstrate how confident you are in your product or service.

Understand Your Market

Have an understanding of the marketplace that you're in and analyze the tactics of other businesses. This tends to help you to gauge precisely what is working across the board within your sector, and what you may perhaps need to do in order to be more effective to entice new customers. Make a note of your findings about the facts and information you uncover and put into action what you've learn from the internet marketing promotion techniques which have been doing the job for your competing firms.

Online Marketing Promotion Summary

Considering that you will have soaked up the various suggestions and recommendations presented in this particular guide, you ought to be all set to commence your internet marketing promotion on the web. Bear in mind, the internet is often a universal marketplace and when you observe a handful of reliable pointers, for instance the ones outlined in this article, then you certainly are going to be profitable with your internet marketing promotion.

Article Source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com

Clare Johnson owns www.ExtraCashNowOnline.com where popular home business ideas and opportunities are tested rigorously to find out what works and what doesn't. Visit today for more info or check out our #1 work at home business program

Posted on 2013-02-03, By: Clare Johnson *

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Note: The content of this article solely conveys the opinion of its author, Clare Johnson

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Labrador Retriever Most Popular Dog in America; Ten Most Popular ...

By Steve Dale, Saturday at 7:18 am

Labradors stand tall as America's most popular dog breed

Here are the most popular dogs in America, at least according to American Kennel Club Registration numbers. Could this be a bit misleading? Sure, these days many people with pedigreed dogs don't bother to register, but still this is some gauge. No surprise, for 21 years now the Labrador Retriever continues to be America's most popular breed.

Most Notable Dog Trends in 2012 Include:

• Mastiff-type breeds have risen in rank, with the Mastiff going from 34 to 26 and the Bullmastiff from 47 to 39 over the past decade, and the Cane Corso (67 to 60), Neapolitan Mastiff (116 to 112), and Dogue de Bordeaux (69 to 67) all making gains since the year they became recognized.
• ?Bully? breeds have pawed their way into people?s hearts over the past decade with the Bull Terrier (79 to 51), Staffordshire Bull Terrier (91 to 76), and Miniature Bull Terrier (132 to 126) all making strong gains.
• ?Dog owners are showing their love for Sporting Breeds over this past year as the Spinone Italiano (123 to 114), Boykin Spaniel (138 to 116), and Welsh Springer Spaniel (130 to 125) have all made their way up the list.
• ?Small dogs that are on the rise this year are the Havanese (31 to 28) and Affenpinscher (139 to 138), while the Chihuahua (14 to 18), Pomeranian (17 to 19), and Pug (26 to 30) seem to have fallen out of favor.

Filed under: dog breeding, dogs

Tags: American Kennel Club, Beagle, boxer, Buldog, Dachshund, dog breeders, Dog breeds, German Shepherd Dog, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, most popular dogs, Poodle, Rottweiler, Steve Dale archives, trendy dogs, Yorkshire Terrier

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2013/02/labrador-retriever-most-popular-dog-in-america-ten-most-popular-breeds/

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Apparently Online Dating Decreases Commitment. Here's Why ...

OK, maybe I haven't been on a million first dates, like the title of a recent Atlantic article, or even 50 first dates, like that Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore movie. But ever since I starting online dating, I have been on a ton of them. And rarely a second one. And almost never a third.

50 first dates? Feels like I've already been there, done that.

Why?

In that Atlantic article, the CEOs of online dating companies hypothesize that because online dating presents me so many options, I'm less likely to commit to one girl. They may be right. I mean, if I go on an uninspired date, I just jump back online and message a few more people. It's not that I'm even that attractive, but the nature of online dating (especially here in New York City) reassures me that it won't be long until I make another connection. ?As we become more secure and confident in our ability to find someone else, usually someone better,? says one executive, ?monogamy and the old thinking about commitment will be challenged very harshly.?

That sounds ominous until you consider the ?old thinking about commitment? is prone to sustaining some unsatisfying and unhealthy relationships. The article describes how one guy's ?desire to be with someone, to not have to go looking again, had always trumped whatever doubts he'd had about the person he was with.? As in, he almost married the wrong girl because he would have rather stayed with her than faced that ?mourning period, where you stare at your wall thinking you're destined to be alone.?

Kind of de-romanticizes the whole idea of commitment, yeah? Sticking around because you?d rather be with anyone than no one is a pretty unhealthy reason to prolong a relationship. I have mine, too: an idealist and a bit of a romantic, I've been known to stay with a girl not because I really liked her but because I wanted to really like her. In trying to convince myself of that, I lied to her and lied to myself, all the while wasting both our time. Now aware of the Internet?s seemingly endless supply of potential alternatives, it negates a certain level of desperation that would have previously kept me in an unfulfilling or even toxic relationship.

These days, if I?m on a second or third date with a girl, it's because we both deliberately and definitively want to be. It?s like we're quoting Jay-Z to each other: ?Thanks for coming out tonight. You could have been anywhere in the world, but you?re here with me.?

Without (even the subconscious) fear that I won't find someone else, I feel self-assured and therefore more honest with my intuition and with my heart. I don?t have to settle for unexceptional companionship merely because it beats a lack thereof. Instead, I can be patient. I can base my feelings on how I actually feel. I can wait for those unmistakable sensations of physical gravity, emotional alignment, and spiritual nirvana I?m supposed to experience when I find someone who's truly right. I won?t settle for anything less, even if it takes a million first dates.

Do you think online dating makes us less likely to commit? Or does it make us less likely to settle? How have your experiences with online affected your romantic outlook?

Photo: Everett Collection

Source: http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2013/02/apparently-online-dating-harms.html

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Leading by the nose: Star-nosed mole reveals how mammals perceive touch, pain

Thursday, January 31, 2013

The most sensitive patch of mammalian skin known to us isn't human but on the star-shaped tip of the star-nosed mole's snout. Researchers studying this organ have found that the star has a higher proportion of touch-sensitive nerve endings than pain receptors, according to a study published January 30 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Diana Bautista and colleagues from the University of California, Berkeley and Vanderbilt University.

Touch and pain are closely intertwined sensations, but very little is known about how these sensations are detected in our cells. In this study, the authors turned to a unique species for answers: the star-nosed mole. In addition to its distinction as the fastest-eating mammal known, the star-nosed mole also possesses one of the most sensitive tactile organs known in the animal kingdom. The star on its nose has the highest density of nerve endings known in any mammalian skin, with over 100,000 fibers in a patch of skin about 1 cm. in diameter. The authors found these nerve endings significantly enriched in neurons sensitive to light touch, with a lower proportion of neurons that detect and respond to pain.

The novel touch and pain receptors they identified in the star-nosed mole were also detected in sensory receptors in mice and humans, suggesting that these receptors are likely to be more common across other mammals as well. According to the authors, their results highlight how examining diverse and highly specialized species can reveal fundamental aspects of biology common across different animals. Lead author on the study Bautista says, "By studying the star-nosed mole we identified candidate genes that may mediate touch and pain. These genes represent new potential targets for the development of much needed drugs and therapies to treat chronic pain."

###

Gerhold KA, Pellegrino M, Tsunozaki M, Morita T, Leitch DB, et al. (2013) The Star-Nosed Mole Reveals Clues to the Molecular Basis of Mammalian Touch. PLoS ONE 8(1): e55001. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055001

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126558/Leading_by_the_nose__Star_nosed_mole_reveals_how_mammals_perceive_touch__pain

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New study sheds light on link between dairy intake and bone health: Not all dairy products are equal

Feb. 1, 2013 ? A study by researchers at the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), has found that dairy intake -- specifically milk and yogurt -- is associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD) in the hip, but not the spine. Cream, on the other hand, may be associated with lower BMD overall. Published February 1 in the journal Archives of Osteoporosis, these findings suggest that not all dairy products are equally beneficial in promoting bone strength.

"Dairy foods provide several important nutrients that are beneficial for bone health," says lead author Shivani Sahni, Ph.D., Musculoskeletal Research Team, IFAR. "However, cream and its products such as ice cream have lower levels of these nutrients and have higher levels of fat and sugar. In this study, 2.5 -- 3 servings of milk and yogurt intake per day were associated with better bone density. More research is needed to examine the role of cheese intake (some of which can be high in fat and sodium), and whether individual dairy foods have a significant impact in reducing fractures."

IFAR researchers based their findings on data collected from a food frequency questionnaire completed by 3,212 participants from the Framingham Offspring study. They then compared participants' dairy intake with BMD measurement, which revealed the benefits of milk and yogurt versus cream in largely middle-aged men and women. According to the study, nutrient composition varies among dairy foods. Choosing low-fat milk or yogurt over cream can increase intake of protein, calcium and vitamin D while limiting intake of saturated fats.

This study is an example of a growing area of research focused on the relationship between nutrition and bone health. Past studies suggest that dairy products contain more than one beneficial nutrient, and for this reason certain dairy products may contribute towards maintaining healthier bones.

Research like this supports the idea that proper nutrition can help combat osteoporosis and fractures. Osteoporosis is considered a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or half of those aged 50 and older.

? An estimated 10 million in the U.S. already have the disease. Women are at higher risk than men.

? Another 34 million Americans have low bone density, putting them at increased risk for osteoporosis and fractures, especially of the hip, spine and wrist. About one-quarter of those who suffer a hip fracture die within a year of the injury.

? Osteoporosis-related fractures were responsible for an estimated $19 billion in health care costs in 2005, with that figure expected to increase to $25 billion by 2025.

Co-authors on the study include, Katherine L. Tucker, Ph.D.; Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H.; Lien Quach, M.P.H, M.S.; Virginia A. Casey, Ph.D.; Marian T. Hannan, D.Sc., M.P.H.

This work was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (AR # 053205 and also AR/AG41398) and by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study (N01-HC-25195), the Melvin First Young Investigator Award and General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Shivani Sahni, Katherine L. Tucker, Douglas P. Kiel, Lien Quach, Virginia A. Casey, Marian T. Hannan. Milk and yogurt consumption are linked with higher bone mineral density but not with hip fracture: the Framingham Offspring Study. Archives of Osteoporosis, 2013; 8 (1-2) DOI: 10.1007/s11657-013-0119-2

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/dAJpGOcggcg/130201132336.htm

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Exclusive: Cuba ready to end 50 year ban on professional boxing ...

By Tom Degun

January 31 - Cuba is ready to ditch a draconian rule preventing boxers turning professional which has lasted more than 50 years so they can sign?up to join the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB).

Professional boxing was effecitvely banned in Cuba in 1962 because the country's former leader Fidel Castro regarded it as both corrupt and corrupting, while authorities there deemed it is too dangerous and unsafe.

But amateur boxing has been one of the most popular and successful sports in the Caribbean island?in recent years, and the country is the second most successful boxing nation at the Olympic Games, with an incredible 67 medals, including 34 golds, behind the United States.

But with AIBA looking to turn the sport professional, Cuba looks set to changes its laws to allow fighters to compete in the WSB, which was launched in 2010, and the APB, which will debut later this year.

Both competitions allow fighters to compete professionally while retaining their Olympic eligibility.

The move appears close after AIBA President C K Wu (pictured top, left) travelled to the country this week with WSB chief operating officer Karim Bouzidi and APB managing director Benoit Giran.

In a two-day visit, Wu met with some of Cuba's highest authorities including Cuban Sports and Recreation Institute (INDER) President Christian Jim?nez Molina (pictured top, centre) and Cuban Boxing Federation President Alberto Puig de la Barca (pictured top, right) and he now believes a deal is close.

"It has been a very productive visit where I have been able to explain to the authorities in Cuba exactly what the WSB and the APB is," Wu exclusively told insidethegames following the conclusion of the visit.

"To join up, Cuba would need to change their national policy but the meeting went very well and they are very interested in joining.

"There are still some final decisions to be made by Cuba on this but I am confident they will be joining to help the careers of their amateur boxers.

"Cuba is one of the strongest boxing nations in the world so to have them join the WSB and the APB would be a major step for us.

"We cannot say anything for definite, but they are set to internal discuss this and I think we are very close to a deal."

Securing Cuba in the WSB and APB would be a major boost for AIBA in its long-term ambition to stop the world's top boxers going to the traditional professional ranks as they would have access to a huge talent pool that is off limits to professional promoters.

However, Wu played down the fact that the move will have professional promoters worried.

"We are not after confrontation with professional promoters," he said.

"They have their own agenda and we have our own agenda.

"Our agenda is to offer a stable career for fighters after the Olympics and to allow them to compete professionally while also retaining their Olympic eligibility.

"But in the WSB and the APB, we obviously want the highest level of competition.

"Cuba will definitely increase that level of competition so we are in a very positive move after these discussions."

Contact the writer of this story at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: http://www.insidethegames.biz/sports/summer/boxing/1012676-exclusive-cuba-ready-to-end-50-year-ban-on-professional-boxing

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