ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2012) ? Although many people look forward to getting away on vacation or just putting their feet up at home, there are others who can get as anxious about taking time to relax as they would if they were delivering a national address. Christina Luberto, a doctoral student in the University of Cincinnati's Department of Psychology, has now developed a questionnaire, the Relaxation Sensitivity Index (RSI), to examine the phenomenon.
Preliminary findings on the RSI will be presented on Nov.17, at the 46th annual convention of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) in National Harbor, Md.
"Relaxation-induced anxiety, or the paradoxical increase in anxiety as a result of relaxation, is a relatively common occurrence," explains Luberto. "We wanted to develop a test to examine why certain individuals fear relaxation events or sensations associated with taking a time-out just to relax."
The RSI is a 21-item questionnaire that explores fears related to relaxation anxiety in three key categories:
Physical Issues -- "It scares me when my breathing becomes deeper; I hate getting massages because of the feeling it creates when my muscles relax?"
Cognitive Issues -- "I don't like to relax because I don't like it when my thoughts slow down; I don't like to relax because it makes me feel out of control?"
Social Issues -- "I worry that when I let my body relax, I'll look unattractive; I worry that if I relax, other people will think I'm lazy?"
Participants rate how much each statement applies to them on a scale of 0 to 5. Three-hundred undergraduate college students participated in the study. They were, on average, 21 years old, female and Caucasian.
Luberto says that exploring the idea of relaxation sensitivity was based on a related concept of anxiety sensitivity, which is the fear of arousal. Early results from the RSI study found that people who are high in relaxation sensitivity are also high in anxiety sensitivity. "This suggests that for some people, any deviation from normal functioning, whether it is arousal or relaxation, is stressful," says Luberto. Results also suggested that the RSI is a valid and reliable measure of relaxation-related fears and is able to identify which individuals have experienced increased anxiety when relaxing in the past.
Luberto states that additional research needs to be conducted to examine the effectiveness of the RSI in more diverse populations (including beyond college age), as well as among individuals with psychiatric disorders. Ultimately, the RSI could be used to identify patients who would not respond to being treated through relaxation therapies, which is a common component of treatment for anxiety disorders.
The study was supported by the UC Department of Psychology Graduate Student Seeman/Frakes Fund.
The ABCT is a multidisciplinary organization committed to the advancement of scientific approaches to the understanding and improvement of human functioning through the investigation and application of behavioral, cognitive and other evidence-based principles to the assessment, prevention, treatment of human problems and enhancement of health and well-being.
The UC Department of Psychology is recognized nationally for the quality of its undergraduate major and the excellence of its graduate training programs in clinical and experimental psychology.
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An excellent long read on the growing phenomenon of prescription drug overdoses in Southern California, which a Los Angeles Times investigative team reports "now claim more lives than heroin and cocaine combined, fueling a doubling of drug-related deaths in the United States over the last decade."
Health and law enforcement officials seeking to curb the epidemic have focused on how OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and other potent pain and anxiety medications are obtained illegally, such as through pharmacy robberies or when teenagers raid their parents' medicine cabinets. Authorities have failed to recognize how often people overdose on medications prescribed for them by their doctors.
A Los Angeles Times investigation has found that in nearly half of the accidental deaths from prescription drugs in four Southern California counties, the deceased had a doctor's prescription for at least one drug that caused or contributed to the death.
Reporters identified a total of 3,733 deaths from prescription drugs from 2006 through 2011 in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego counties.
Not one of them was from marijuana, which remains a schedule 1 narcotic and is responsible for zero overdose deaths because one cannot die from a marijuana overdose.
Read the rest. Reporting by Scott Glover, Lisa Girion, with photos and video by Liz Baylen.
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BEIJING (AP) ? The man in line to oversee China's massive but rapidly slowing economy for the coming decade speaks English and comes from a generation of politicians schooled during a time of greater openness to liberal Western ideas than their predecessors.
But Li Keqiang also has been a cautious career bureaucrat who rose through, and is bound by, a consensus-oriented Communist Party that has been slow to reform its massive state-owned enterprises while reflexively stifling dissent ? and he has played the role of enforcer to keep a lid on bad news.
Li, to be promoted within the leadership's top council after a pivotal party congress closes later this week and expected to take the economy-focused post of premier from outgoing Wen Jiabao next spring, was governor of the agricultural province of Henan in 1998 during an unusual explosion of AIDS cases.
Tens of thousands of people had contracted HIV from illegal blood-buying rings that pooled plasma and re-injected it into donors after removing the blood products. But Beijing hadn't acknowledged the problem yet, and Li oversaw a campaign to squelch reporting about it, harass activists and isolate affected villages.
When the government finally did go public four years later, Li showed canny political instincts with a rapid course reversal, channeling government assistance to victims and making public shows of compassion.
"He just tried to escape from this crisis" at first, said Wan Yanhai, a prominent Chinese AIDS activist who fled to the United States with his family in 2010 following increasing police harassment. "He's probably not a bad guy, but he's not shown himself to be very capable of managing crises in a strong and responsible way."
Li's formative years are typical of the fifth generation of communist leaders. He was introduced to politics during the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, then entered the prestigious Peking University. In contrast to the current leadership crop of engineers, Li studied law and economics, during a time of great liberal influence in the party and optimism in China.
After graduation, Li went to work at the Communist Youth League, an organization that grooms university students for party roles, when it was headed by now-President Hu Jintao.
After Beijing erupted in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Tiananmen Square, Li originally tried to build bridges between the league and student activists. However, after martial law was declared, he quickly abandoned such efforts and within four years rose to head of the league at a time when it was becoming irrelevant to young people amid increasing choices and a growing market economy.
Li had been seen as Hu's preferred successor, but the need to balance party factions prompted the leadership to choose a consensus candidate, Xi Jinping, who's expected to take over as party chief after a pivotal party congress ends Wednesday and later as president.
Li's relationship with Xi remains ambiguous, although the two are expected to follow the existing model under which Hu stayed somewhat aloof as head of state while Wen acted as the public face of the administration.
Both are seen as part of a generation of leaders more comfortable with the West than their predecessors, said Ding Xueliang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
"Their reference for great power status from Day One was the United States, unlike Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, who looked toward the Soviet Union," Ding said.
After Henan, Li's next posting was in the northeastern rustbelt province of Liaoning, where he oversaw a revival that drew foreign investment from BMW and Intel. One of the province's largest cities, the port of Dalian, even attracted the glitzy World Economic Forum, where global tycoons mixed with top Chinese leaders and captains of industry.
In a U.S. State Department cable released by the Wikileaks organization, Li is quoted telling diplomats that Chinese economic growth statistics were "man-made," and saying he looked instead to electricity demand, rail cargo traffic and lending as more accurate indicators.
Married to an English literature professor, Li and his family have largely steered clear of the webs of corruption surrounding other leading Chinese officials, although questions have been raised over whether his brother's powerful position at the government tobacco monopoly clashes with Li's role in making health policy.
Since his 2007 appointment to the Standing Committee, Li has overseen modest progress in his areas of responsibility, including public health, food safety and housing, which have long been plagued by funding difficulties, lax supervision and soaring prices.
He's maintained a steady, if low-key, schedule of meetings and speeches, with a visit last year to the Chinese autonomous region of Hong Kong attracting the greatest attention ? though not necessarily for the right reasons. The stifling security surrounding him and his unwillingness to meet with political critics seemed to cast him as a typical Chinese leader, tone deaf to public opinion in the former British colony that has maintained its own legal system and political freedoms.
In an April speech to the Boao Forum, a gathering of government officials and business leaders in southern China, Li made the case for structural reform of China's economy, citing the need for greater balance, coordination and stability. China wants to create an "open, transparent, fair, competitive, and predictable marketplace and legal environment," he said.
Yet similar pledges have been made many times before, including in China's latest Five Year Plan, and questions remain about Li's willingness to take on vested interests, particularly in the state-owned enterprises, said Patrick Chovanec, a business professor at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
"It remains to be seen whether Li will come out as a leader, or just follow a weak, watered-down consensus," Chavonec said.
That demand for consensus severely constrains the scope of any administrative reform, even though Li and the party say they are necessary, said U.S. Naval Academy China scholar Yu Maochun.
"You can't change the key parts of China's economic structure without fundamentally changing China's political structure, so I don't expect much" from Li, Yu said.
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Though Nordstrom does not decorate for the December holidays until after Thanksgiving, the most expensive time of year is almost here, and it arrives during a time of economic uncertainty for many. Fortunately, there are simple ways of bringing in more cash this winter, whether as a side gig in addition to a full time job, or to hold you over as you continue your search for work.
The following are five jobs with flexible schedules and part-time commitments to help you earn extra money.
1. Personal Historian: This flexible freelance position allows you to create your own hours and includes using your people skills to interview people about their personal histories to create keepsake gifts for them. If you?re a people-person, have the ability to work from home, including a computer and Internet access, a position similar to one offered by Legacy Keepers may be your calling. Oh, and did we mention it pays $50 an hour? Happy holidays indeed.
2. HelpMe Expert: If you have an area of expertise, HelpMe likely needs you. Get paid to answer questions online from the convenience of your home. From IT pros to veterinarians to legal experts and everything in between, there?s likely a need for your expertise now. Wondering if your skills are a fit? Take a look at their categories.
3. Social Media Internet Assessor: Are you addicted to Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram/Google+ etc.? Then analyzing what you find on the web for Lionbridge and providing your feedback is a great fit for you. Work independently as a contractor, fit your hours in as you can and be paid based on the tasks you complete.
4. Online Substitute Teacher: With jobs available from elementary school through college, depending on your level of expertise, you can earn money while filling in for the most important job in America: teaching. After becoming certified, sub in as needed to instruct kids through online education and contribute to our future generations.
5. Customer Service: From Tiffany to Coach, top brands need the extra help to take online orders during the holiday season. If you have interpersonal skills and can handle orders over the phone, then the flexible schedule options of morning, evening or weekend shift hours make this a a great way to earn some extra cash.
Though the weather outside may be frightful in the coming months, know that there are ways to earn extra money from the convenience of your home.
Do you plan to work extra hours to prepare for the holidays? What type of work do you hope to find?
Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we?ve selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
BEIJING (AP) ? China's leadership transition has formally edged ahead, with the executive body of the Communist Party Congress forwarding a list of names to congress delegates for review.
State media reported that the congress's presidium, 41 current and former members of the leadership, approved the candidate list for the Central Committee and sent it to the delegates on Saturday. The delegates will cast votes before the congress closes Wednesday to choose the Central Committee, a roughly 350-member body.
The Central Committee, in turn, will select the top leadership.
The move is largely a formality, as is the congress itself. Deciding the lineup of leading bodies falls to a small group of power brokers.
Vice President Xi Jinping has been all but formally announced to replace President Hu Jintao as party chief and president.
China Central Television showed Hu addressing the meeting of the presidium, which was presided over by Xi.
Candidates for the Central Committee outnumber seats by only a small portion, giving the 2,268 congress delegates little choice except on the margins.
In addition to the name list for Central Committee members, the meeting also forwarded candidate lists for the party's internal watchdog agency, state media reported.
Earlier this week Nintendo began the first shipments for its eagerly anticipated new gaming console, the Wii U. Check out some images of what to expect when you get your new console home.
The Wii U is here! Sort of. Nintendo has begun shipments of its new gaming console, a device that is certainly going to be one of the hot items this holiday season. Media outlets around the world have begun to receive their units to test the device, and stores are likely filling their backrooms at this time as well.
We?ll have a full review on the hardware itself next week, along with several of the launch title games, but we wanted to give you a look at what Wii U buyers can expect when they get their new console home and unbox it for the first time.
The Wii U will be available as two bundles: Basic and Deluxe. Basic will set you back $299.99, and the Premium/Deluxe hits $349.99. The Basic model comes with 8GB of storage, while the Deluxe (seen here) comes with all the same cables, as well as 32GB of storage, the Nintendo Land game, a Nintendo Network Premium Subscription, and stands for both the Wii U and GamePad. In all other regards, the systems are identical, just with a different color scheme.
Nintendo also sent along the Wii U Pro Controller, which comes in two colors, black and white.
Check back with us next week for a detailed review of the hardware, as well as plenty of launch coverage for the Wii U.
The valedictory function of Vigilance Awareness Week 2012 was celebrated at corporate Headquarters of DCI, this evening.
Mr. G. Nageswara Rao, IPS, DIG, CBI, Visakhapatnam has attended the programme as Chief Guest. While addressing the gathering, the DIG has called for significant strengthening of anti-corruption institutions in the country.
In the light of steep increase in corruption cases, he has felt that the menace can be tackled only by better statutory and administrative arrangements, including creation of more fast-track courts, and better enforcement of laws. Underlining the role of civil society organizations in combating corruption, Mr. Nageswara Rao has expressed the view that there is a need for coalition of various stakeholders like investigative agencies, judiciary, media and non-government organizations.
Prof. R. Sudarshana Rao, Economics Department, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam in his key-note address, has stressed that continuous alertness and monitoring of administrative processes hold the key for effective governance. Stating that transparency and fairness are the key elements of responsible administration, he has stated that corruption is always associated with economic growth and unless timely intervention mechanisms are in place, it will result in lopsided development and the society would remain in a turbulent state.
This will have adverse implications for polity and economy in the long run. Analyzing various factors contributing to steep rise in black money and parallel economy, he felt that the rigidity and inequity of laws are one primary reason for unbridled corruption in the country. Globalization, while welcome for economic advancement has its negative side also and as such steps are also required to be taken for minimizing the same.
While there is no dearth of laws, laxity in implementation of the same is the retarding the progress of the country.
Capt. D.K. Mohanty, CMD, DCI in his address has noted that the deterioration of values is a major contributory factor in increase of dishonest behaviour of people.
He has called for proper blending of ethical values and managerial excellence for sustained growth of corporate sector in India.
Mr. S.Vasudeva Rao, CVO, DCI has welcomed the gathering.
The Chief Guest has released a special issue of quarterly vigilance bulletin of DCI ?ALERT? on the occasion.
Prizes were distributed by the Mr. Nageswara Rao to the employees who won prizes in various competitions held in connection with the Vigilance Awareness Week.
Mr. P.V. Ramana Murthy, Director (Finance) and Cmde. P. Jayapal, Director (Operations & Technical) were present.
Mr. T. Prasada Rao, HOD (HR) has proposed the vote of thanks.
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco
UCSF analysis of emergency department visits suggests many minor injuries may be preventable
A comprehensive survey of genital injuries over the last decade involving mishaps with consumer products like clothing, furniture, tools and toys that brought U.S. adults to emergency rooms reveals that such injuries are common and may be preventable, according to doctors at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
The study, described this week in The Journal of Urology, was the largest ever to look at major and minor "genitourinary" injuries, which involve the genitals, urinary tract and kidneys. It showed that 142,144 U.S. adults went to emergency rooms between 2002 and 2010 for such injuries about 16,000 a year.
The work suggests educational and product safety approaches for preventing these injuries may be possible because the injuries themselves tended to cluster into particular age groups and involve specific consumer products.
"It shows which groups are at risk and with which products," said UCSF urologist Benjamin Breyer MD, MAS, who led the research.
Most of the patients in the study about 70 percent were men, and more than a third were young men (18-28), who tended to hurt themselves most often in sporting accidents crashing onto the crossbar of a mountain bike, for instance.
Older men were more likely to sustain genital injuries during routine activities, such as slipping into a split and hitting their groin on the edge of the bathtub. They were also more likely to be hospitalized for their injuries.
While women were overall less likely to endure genital injuries than their male counterparts, there was at least one exception: cuts and infections related to shaving or grooming pubic hair.
The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in these types of injuries in women, and a second study that was recently published by the same UCSF group found that these types of injuries increased five-fold between 2002 and 2010.
Breyer said insight into the common ways injuries occur may also suggest the most fruitful ways to prevent them through consumer education and product safety measures, such as padding on bike rails, slip-free bath mats and safer techniques for grooming pubic hair.
In their paper, the UCSF team noted that there are also standard procedures that emergency department doctors would do well to learn, such as "zipper detachment strategies for penile skin entrapment."
How the Injuries were Counted
The data was collected through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a service of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The system collects extensive patient information from 100 hospitals nationwide and uses this data to extrapolate nationwide estimates of injuries that occur each year. The system also collects short narrative descriptions of the injuries, and the UCSF team reviewed more than 10,000 of these narratives to produce studies looking at pediatric and adult injuries.
While the data was extensive, it may underestimate the number of injuries, Breyer said, because only those injuries that brought patients to the emergency room were in the database. Many more may have occurred that were not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit.
Even those injuries collected by the NEISS tended to be minor, the study found. About 90 percent of the patients tracked were seen by hospital staff and released, rather than being admitted into the hospital though some, especially those involving internal injuries to the kidney, were much more serious.
###
The article, "Product Related Adult Genitourinary Injuries Treated in United States Emergency Departments from 2002 2010" by Herman S. Bagga, Gregory E. Tasian, Patrick B. Fisher, Charles E. McCulloch, Jack W. McAninch and Benjamin N. Breyer was published on November 2, 2012 in The Journal of Urology. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2012.10.122
In addition to UCSF, authors on the study are affiliated with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health through grant #K12DK083021, #T32HD060550, and #UL1 RR024131.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
COMMON CAUSES OF GENITAL INJURIES
The following are annual statistics for common causes of adult injuries to the genitals, urinary tract and kidneys taken from a survey of U.S. emergency department visits from 2002 to 2010.
Bicycles 1,212
Razors, scissors and clippers 1,089
Zipper injuries 951
Bathroom falls and mishaps 818
Basketball equipment 309
Baseball and softball equipment 240
Skiing and snowboarding equipment 182
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco
UCSF analysis of emergency department visits suggests many minor injuries may be preventable
A comprehensive survey of genital injuries over the last decade involving mishaps with consumer products like clothing, furniture, tools and toys that brought U.S. adults to emergency rooms reveals that such injuries are common and may be preventable, according to doctors at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
The study, described this week in The Journal of Urology, was the largest ever to look at major and minor "genitourinary" injuries, which involve the genitals, urinary tract and kidneys. It showed that 142,144 U.S. adults went to emergency rooms between 2002 and 2010 for such injuries about 16,000 a year.
The work suggests educational and product safety approaches for preventing these injuries may be possible because the injuries themselves tended to cluster into particular age groups and involve specific consumer products.
"It shows which groups are at risk and with which products," said UCSF urologist Benjamin Breyer MD, MAS, who led the research.
Most of the patients in the study about 70 percent were men, and more than a third were young men (18-28), who tended to hurt themselves most often in sporting accidents crashing onto the crossbar of a mountain bike, for instance.
Older men were more likely to sustain genital injuries during routine activities, such as slipping into a split and hitting their groin on the edge of the bathtub. They were also more likely to be hospitalized for their injuries.
While women were overall less likely to endure genital injuries than their male counterparts, there was at least one exception: cuts and infections related to shaving or grooming pubic hair.
The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in these types of injuries in women, and a second study that was recently published by the same UCSF group found that these types of injuries increased five-fold between 2002 and 2010.
Breyer said insight into the common ways injuries occur may also suggest the most fruitful ways to prevent them through consumer education and product safety measures, such as padding on bike rails, slip-free bath mats and safer techniques for grooming pubic hair.
In their paper, the UCSF team noted that there are also standard procedures that emergency department doctors would do well to learn, such as "zipper detachment strategies for penile skin entrapment."
How the Injuries were Counted
The data was collected through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a service of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The system collects extensive patient information from 100 hospitals nationwide and uses this data to extrapolate nationwide estimates of injuries that occur each year. The system also collects short narrative descriptions of the injuries, and the UCSF team reviewed more than 10,000 of these narratives to produce studies looking at pediatric and adult injuries.
While the data was extensive, it may underestimate the number of injuries, Breyer said, because only those injuries that brought patients to the emergency room were in the database. Many more may have occurred that were not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit.
Even those injuries collected by the NEISS tended to be minor, the study found. About 90 percent of the patients tracked were seen by hospital staff and released, rather than being admitted into the hospital though some, especially those involving internal injuries to the kidney, were much more serious.
###
The article, "Product Related Adult Genitourinary Injuries Treated in United States Emergency Departments from 2002 2010" by Herman S. Bagga, Gregory E. Tasian, Patrick B. Fisher, Charles E. McCulloch, Jack W. McAninch and Benjamin N. Breyer was published on November 2, 2012 in The Journal of Urology. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2012.10.122
In addition to UCSF, authors on the study are affiliated with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health through grant #K12DK083021, #T32HD060550, and #UL1 RR024131.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
COMMON CAUSES OF GENITAL INJURIES
The following are annual statistics for common causes of adult injuries to the genitals, urinary tract and kidneys taken from a survey of U.S. emergency department visits from 2002 to 2010.
Bicycles 1,212
Razors, scissors and clippers 1,089
Zipper injuries 951
Bathroom falls and mishaps 818
Basketball equipment 309
Baseball and softball equipment 240
Skiing and snowboarding equipment 182
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? George P. Bush, a rising star among Hispanic conservatives and the grandson of one president and nephew of another, has taken the first step toward seeking elected office in Texas.
But it's unclear what his next step will be.
The 36-year-old attorney from Fort Worth has filed a two-page candidate reporting declaration with the Texas Ethics Commission but didn't list which office he plans to seek. Bush did not return messages at his consulting firm Friday, and his campaign treasurer was traveling in Oklahoma and unavailable for comment.
Still, word of yet another Bush coming to Texas ballots was cheered by Republicans across the state, where party leaders are well aware that they will need Hispanic voters if they want to continue dominating politics here over the next two decades the way did during the last two.
"It's a positive thing to have something besides old white guys like me on the ballot," said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
A Democrat has not won statewide office in Texas since 1994, but Hispanics accounted for two-thirds of Texas' population growth over the last decade and now make up 35 percent of its population. Mitt Romney's failure to connect with Latinos is being cited as a reason for his defeat by President Barack Obama, who carried 71 percent of the Hispanic vote nationwide.
"I think George P. Bush is the future of the party," said George Antuna, who co-founded the Hispanic Republicans of Texas with Bush. "Whichever office he decides to seek, we will support him 110 percent."
Bush is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, who was born in Mexico. His uncle is George W. Bush and his grandfather is George H.W. Bush.
George P. Bush speaks Spanish and has been active in politics for years. In August, he was promoted to deputy finance chairman of the Texas Republican Party.
The filing answers at least one question: Texas or Florida?
Bush grew up in the Sunshine State but met his wife Amanda while attending law school at the University of Texas. He later became a partner in a real estate investment company and has since started Fort Worth-based St. Augustine Partners, a business consulting firm.
As recently as September, Bush said he was being recruited to run for statewide office by Texas GOP brass. That same month, however, he launched a four-day bus tour of Florida to drum up support for the Republican Party among college students there.
"I know he has a passion for Texas. Texas is where his granddad lives, where his uncle lives and a lot of other family members," Antuna said. "He's always been a Texan. It just took him a little while to get here."
But Bush's paperwork was filed at a time of great uncertainty among top Texas Republicans.
Gov. Rick Perry, succeeded Bush's uncle as Texas governor in 2000 and has now held the job longer than anyone in history. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has been in his post for a decade. Both are eying re-election runs in 2014.
That's sparked a logjam among Republican statewide officeholders, many of whom are anxious to move up ? and that was before Bush entered the fray.
Attorney General Greg Abbott has raised $14 million, presumably to run for governor. Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples have already said they will challenge Dewhurst, while Comptroller Susan Combs and state Sen. Dan Patrick are also expected to run for lieutenant governor.
As a newcomer, Bush will likely wait to see how the field settles before he announces what office he'll pursue.
If Perry decides not to seek another term as governor in 2014 ? a possibility since he may want to run for president two years later ? then Bush will likely want to run for attorney general. But if Abbott stays put, Bush is expected to run for land commissioner while Patterson campaigns for lieutenant governor.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Perry and the Bush family don't get along very well. Perry served as George W. Bush's lieutenant governor and once unsuccessfully sought a judicial appointment for his brother-in-law, whom Bush shunned.
Both sides claim the feud has long since cooled, but the Bush family made no secret of its support for Romney, even when Perry briefly challenged him for the Republican presidential nomination. And Jeb Bush has been mentioned as a possible presidential hopeful for 2016, which could pit him against Perry.
Patterson said he believes either attorney general or land commissioner is George P. Bush's likeliest potential destination. The land commissioner administers state-owned lands and mineral resources.
"He comes from pretty decent lineage of folks who've been successful in politics," Patterson said.
Meanwhile, all officeholders will keep an eye on Bush to see if he tries to follow in Ted Cruz's footsteps.
Instead of working his way up the Texas GOP ladder, Cruz ran for the U.S. Senate in his first election. He stunned Dewhurst in the Republican primary before being elected Tuesday as successor to retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
?A round-up of some of our favourite recipes and food-related features this week including an interview with chef Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth of ?Canada?s Best New Restaurant? Edulis, and recipes for a Bourbon Sour with Orange Bitters and Cinnamon-Pecan Rugelach.
?Edulis?: Caballo and Nemeth on establishing ?Canada?s Best New?Restaurant?
Tobey Nemeth (left) and Michael Caballo are pictured in their restaurant Edulis in Toronto (photograph by Christopher Lewis for canada.com)
Chef Michael Caballo describes the food served at Toronto?s Edulis as ?a cuisine of inspiration.? Caballo and his wife Tobey Nemeth established the acclaimed restaurant with the desire to combine their love of European-style bistros with the bounty of southern Ontario. We chat with them about their endeavour, inspiration and of course, the food!
Ingredient of the week: coffee
Photograph by Antonio Gravante, Fotolia.com
We?ve put together a collection of sweet, savoury and boozy recipes featuring the brewed beverage including Tiramis?, Bourbon Java Steak Tips and an Affogato Mocha.
Cinnamon-Pecan Rugelach
Photograph by Elzbieta Sekowska, Fotolia.com
Elizabeth Karmel shares a family recipe for the Ashkenazic pastry rugelach, with a ?less-is-more? attitude towards the cinnamon-sugar and toasted pecan filling.
Seasonal Sips: Bourbon Sour with Orange Bitters
Photograph by Colleen De Neve, Calgary Herald
This bourbon-based sour is sweetened with homemade honey syrup and enhanced by orange bitters.
And to finish, some tasty inspiration from the blog world:
- Amanda Making David Eyre?s Pancake from The Essential New York Times Cookbook - Al Munro ? Flavoured Salts from Feasting on Art - Sriracha Maple Pumpkin Seeds from Savory Simple - Pumpkin Ale Risotto from Once Upon a Cutting Board - Concord Grape Granita from Leite?s Culinaria
SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. lawsuit has been filed against Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Motors Corp , seeking $775 million in damages in one of the biggest known actions against the automakers since they admitted overstating the fuel economy of some their vehicles.
The South Korea carmakers conceded on Friday that they had overstated the fuel efficiency ratings on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles in the United States and Canada, and agreed to compensate owners for the additional fuel costs.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed in the U.S. District Court for Central California on behalf of 23 Hyundai and Kia car owners and challenges the automakers' compensation plan.
Under the plan, customers will receive a debit card that will reimburse them for the difference in fuel economy, and an extra 15 percent to the amount will be added to acknowledge the inconvenience.
The lawsuit, which like a separate one filed in the Southern District of Ohio this week, is seeking further compensation for the reduced value of their vehicles.
Hyundai Motor was also sued in July by public interest group Consumer Watchdog for allegedly misleading consumers sensitive to high gas prices that its popular 2011 and 2012 Elantra model is more fuel efficient than it actually is.
A Hyundai Motor spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuits.
Moody's Investors Service has estimated that the automakers' compensation plan for fuel costs will cost them $100 million a year until the cars are scrapped but has not estimated potential legal costs.
Hyundai shares were down 1 percent on Thursday morning, and have lost 7 percent since rumors of lawsuits first emerged late last week. Kia's stock fell 2.4 percent and has lost 5 percent since late last week.
The broader market was down 1.5 percent on Thursday.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)?More casinos and more gaming are coming to Maryland. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Question 7 voter referendum passed by a narrow margin.
Mike Schuh has more what the gambling expansion bill means for the state.
Question 7 passed with 52 percent of Marylanders for expanded gambling and 48 percent against it.
When you break down those numbers, most of the counties did not want it to pass, but the population centers in Baltimore City and near Washington, D.C. Those counties overwhelmingly voted in favor of Question 7.
It was a battle to the end, but voters have approved an expansion of casino gambling in Maryland. And supporters say it?s bringing big money to the state.
?It?s gonna be more jobs, construction jobs, long-term jobs in the hospitality industry, but it?s also gonna mean more dollars for Maryland schools,? said Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown.
The measure will allow table games in addition to existing slots machines, increase the state-wide cap on the number of slots and permit a sixth casino at National Harbor in Prince George?s County.
It landed on the ballot after the General Assembly passed the measure at a special session in August and quickly became the most expensive campaign in Maryland history.
Opponents claim the revenue won?t really fund education as supporters claim and don?t like the tax breaks it offers the casinos.
?It?s a low road to economic development. It?s a race to the bottom,? an opponent said.
But despite opponents? best efforts to stop Maryland from expanding gaming, the voters are calling it ?game on.?
The expanded gambling question drew more than 87 million campaign dollars. That?s more than Maryland?s last race for governor.
Pancakes are among the favorite of breakfast recipes and are so easy and quick to make. With its soft and tasty flavor, one can never resist picking up some pieces offered on the table. Also, this treat is not only loved by kids but for adults as well.
For this overnight buttermilk pancakes recipe, you will really taste the incredible flavor as the batter sits overnight before cooking. The idea of having this stay overnight is for you to be able to bake it easily in the morning after combining the other ingredients. It is perfect for moms who want to have a sumptuous breakfast but do not have the luxury of time to make use of the kitchen in a period of time.
Make the batter tonight for yummy pancakes tomorrow!
Images and recipe via
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups buttermilk
2-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon hot tap water
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the buttermilk and flour.? Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, beat the eggs in a mixing bowl until light.? Add the salt, baking powder, the soda which has been dissolved in the hot tap water, and the brown sugar.? Combine with the buttermilk-flour mixture and mix well.
Heat an oiled griddle pan until hot, and spoon on pancake batter to desired size of pancakes.? Flip once and serve hot with syrup.
Make these fluffy pancakes tonight!
This is best served with maple syrup, honey or your favorite fruit. Feel free to use the quick melt butter if you do not have any syrup or fruit available. This will surely deserve a slot in your recipe lists for a breakfast or snack treat. Serve hot.
For more breakfast recipes on Stagetecture, click here.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Airlines are again looking at canceling flights in and out of the Northeast, just a week after Superstorm Sandy led to more than 23,000 cancellations in the region.
This time it's a coastal storm that's leading to travel headaches.
United Airlines is grounding about 500 flights between noon Wednesday and noon Thursday out of Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports.
Many United passengers were automatically rebooked on other flights to their destination, connecting through those hubs.
Passengers can rebook themselves on other flights without paying the usual change fees.
Other airlines said they are evaluating which flights will and won't be canceled. Delta Air Lines and US Airways also issued fee change waivers, while American Airlines had an existing waiver for this week related to Sandy.
Action movie star and all-around ... interesting guy Steven Seagal has supported Anderson Silva several times in the UFC middleweight champion's career. He reportedly taught him the kick Silva used to knock out Vitor Belfort. Now, Silva will get a chance to return the favor. He told Globo that he will have a role in Seagal's next film.
"I'm going to Los Angeles to record a movie with Steven Seagal. I'm very excited about this new phase. I'm preparing," Silva said.
The Internet Movie Database doesn't have Seagal in the production stages of any movies, so we don't know exactly which film Silva and Seagal are working on. A rumor circulated in April that Seagal would be in the next sequel to "Expendables," the movie that starred Randy Couture and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
But Silva already has plenty of training in acting. He is a commercial king, and starred in "Never Surrender," the 2009 film that also had Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn in it. It's still shocking that "Never Surrender" was snubbed by the Oscars and Golden Globes.
The holidays are just around the corner and we are thinking about family, friends, loved ones and our furry friends - our pets!
We have had a change in our pet family here at home. We lost our beloved Hazel cat in Fall of 2011 when she disappeared one evening and never returned. She was one of our favorites and is still missed today.
We had been living with our two dogs, Zeus and Ruffy until this past spring. We took in another fur baby, a chihuahuah mix named Mia. At only 5 months old Mia was too much puppy for her previous owner. She was loved, she was well taken care of except she was just more than what they had expected. She needed a lot of training and a lot of attention and since I am home most of the time and have the time *plus two already trained dogs* we decided to give her a new forever home.
This makes me happy, knowing she will be celebrating her first Christmas with a family who loves her (including the two other dogs, you would be surprised at how quickly they have bonded). Having pets, especially dogs in our lives is warming. It gives a warm feeling knowing you are doing something to help at least one animal.
Iams is celebrating their 14th annual IAMS Home 4 The Holidays Program, we are happy to help spread the word once again for the lives of animals across the country. IAMS Home 4 The Holidays is an amazing adoption program in participation with the Helen Woodward animal centre which helps find homes for animals across the country, right in time for the holiday season.
IAMS Home 4 The Holidays is on its 14th year and counting, helping over?7 million homeless animals find loving families and forever homes for the holidays for the past 13 years.
You can become involved through IAMS Bags 4 Bowls, every purchase of IAMS pet food donates a bowl of food to a local pet shelter. Look for specially marked IAMS products where pet food is sold.
You can also check out the IAMS Facebook Page. This year, on top of helping homeless animals find their families, IAMS is also donating bowls of pet food to local shelters for every "like" on their page! The goal is 5 million bowls this year so lets head over and help them reach it! It only takes a minute to click like and feed a pet in your community.
Having a pet is wonderful and if you are thinking of helping out IAMS by adopting a pet you can visit your local shelter or use the IAMS Pet Finder through the Facebook Page to find your perfect furry friend!
Last year an estimated 1.2 million pets were adopted through the IAMS Home 4 the Holidays program and over 5 million bowls donated to participating shelters with 75,000 in Canada alone. With a little love and an open home, we can reach this goal again if not more. Thank You!?
For more information about the campaign or to find out how to get involved, become a fan of the Iams Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Iams or visit www.iams.ca.
Disclosure: Posted by AME on behalf of IAMS. Opinions and comments on this blog are those of the author.
FRESNO, California (Reuters) - A poultry processing plant employee opened fire on his co-workers on Tuesday in Fresno, California, killing a man and injuring three people before critically wounding himself, police said.
The gunman, identified as Lawrence Jones, 42, opened fire at the facility and killed a 32-year-old man, Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters.
Jones, who has a criminal history and was found by officers on the sidewalk near the plant with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and the four people he shot were all employees of the business, Dyer said.
A 34-year-old worker at the plant was shot in the head and a 28-year-old male employee was hit in the neck, Dyer said. Both men were hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
A 32-year-old woman was shot in the lower back, but is in good condition, police said. She was found outside the plant, but investigators believe she was shot inside the facility.
About 30 workers inside the plant are believed to have witnessed the shooting, and roughly another 30 were there but did not see what happened, Dyer said.
Dyer initially said the plant is called Apple Valley Farms, but city of Fresno spokesman Michael Lukens later said the business recently changed its name to Valley Protein. The facility processes poultry, he said.
The plant where the shooting occurred is a windowless, rectangular warehouse set back from the street and near an antique store and a railroad track, in a mixed commercial and industrial area.
After the shooting, employees' relatives gathered anxiously outside, hoping to be reunited with loved ones.
Fresno, a city with a population of about 500,000, is located 160 miles southeast of San Francisco and is surrounded by farmland in the San Joaquin Valley.
"This was a senseless, violent act that affects our entire community," Mayor Ashley Swearengin said in a statement.
SEEKING A MOTIVE
"Anytime you have an incident where you have multiple people that are shot, people that are deceased and it includes workplace violence like this ... it is a tragedy," Dyer said. He said police hope to determine a motive for the shooting.
Joe Martinez, 45, was sitting at the drive-through window at a McDonald's across the street from the shooting, and said he witnessed the end of it.
"All I heard was boom and I immediately looked over and see three people, and then one drops to the ground," Martinez said.
The person who fell was the gunman, Marintex said, and that it looked like the shooter was chased out of the plant.
Jones reported for work before dawn and his coworkers noticed that he "did not appear to be himself," Dyer said. Jones was at the meat processing plant for more than three hours before opening fire with a handgun, Dyer said.
"It's difficult to say if there was a specific target that Jones was looking for," he said.
Police have not released the names of the four employees they say were shot by Jones. A representative for Valley Protein could not be reached for comment.
Jones has worked at the plant for the past 14 months and has a criminal history dating to the 1990s, Dyer said.
Officers have gone to Jones' home in Fresno and they are seeking to determine if he might have attacked anyone else before going to work, Dyer said.
He is hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
After the shooting, Janette Ramos stood outside the plant waiting for her daughter, an employee who eventually came outside and waved at her mom from beyond the police tape.
"Oh thank God," Ramos said, as she walked to her daughter.
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Stacey Joyce and Todd Eastham)
ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2012) ? Bacteria can talk to each other via molecules they themselves produce. The phenomenon is called quorum sensing, and is important when an infection propagates. Now, researchers at Link?ping University in Sweden are showing how bacteria control processes in human cells the same way.
The results are being published in PLoS Pathogens with Elena Vikstr?m, researcher in medical microbiology, as the main author.
Bacteria 'talk'
When the announcement goes out, more and more bacteria gather at the site of the attack -- a wound, for example. When there are enough of them, they start acting like multicellular organisms. They can form biofilms, dense structures with powers of resistance against both antibiotics and the body's immune defense system. At the same time, they become more aggressive and increase their mobility. All these changes are triggered when the communication molecules -- short fatty acids with the designation AHL -- fasten to receptors inside the bacterial cells; as a consequence various genes are turned on and off.
AHL can wander freely through the cell membrane, not just in bacterial cells but also our own cells, which can be influenced to change their functions. In low concentrations white blood cells, for example, can be more flexible and effective, but in high concentrations the opposite occurs, which weakens our immune defenses and opens the door for progressive infections and inflammations.
A team at Link?ping University is the first research group to show how AHL can influence their host cells. Using biochemical methods, the researchers have identified a protein designated IQGAP, which they single out as the recipient of the bacteria's message, and something of a double agent.
"The protein can both listen in on the bacteria's communication and change the functions in its host cells," Vikstr?m says.
Their laboratory studies were carried out on human epithelial cells from the intestines, which were mixed with AHL of the same type produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a tough bacterium that causes illnesses in places like the lungs, intestines, and eyes. With the help of mass spectrometry, they have been able to see which proteins bind AHL.
"We have proof that physical contact between bacteria and epithelial cells is not always required; the influence can happen at a distance," Vikstr?m says.
The team's discovery can open the door to new strategies for treatment where antibiotics cannot help. One possibility is designing molecules that bind to the receptor and block the signal path for the bacteria -- something like putting a stick in a lock so the key won't go in. It's a strategy that could work with cystic fibrosis, for example, an illness where sticky mucus made of bacterial biofilm and large amounts of white blood cells is formed in the airways.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Link?ping University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Thommie Karlsson, Maria V. Turkina, Olena Yakymenko, Karl-Eric Magnusson, Elena Vikstr?m. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa N-Acylhomoserine Lactone Quorum Sensing Molecules Target IQGAP1 and Modulate Epithelial Cell Migration. PLoS Pathogens, 2012; 8 (10): e1002953 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002953
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.
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Public release date: 9-Nov-2012
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Action movie star and all-around ... interesting guy Steven Seagal has supported Anderson Silva several times in the UFC middleweight champion's career. He reportedly taught him the kick Silva used to knock out Vitor Belfort. Now, Silva will get a chance to return the favor. 
