Sticking around - what clues could 'goose' barnacle adhesives hold? Photos: Dr Anne Marie Power and Jaimie-Leigh Jonker
Some people use social media to keep up with breaking news. Some sign in to catch up with friends and meet business contacts. But a group of researchers in Galway, Ireland, is using Twitter and Facebook to find? barnacles. Barnacles?
It?s not as peculiar as it may sound. By encouraging members of the public to alert them if they find clumps of barnacles washed ashore on the west coast of Ireland, the researchers hope to peel back some of the mysteries behind how the animals stick to surfaces. And what they find could even help to inform the development of new synthetic glues.
But Dr Anne Marie Power and Jaimie-Leigh Jonker at NUI Galway aren?t in search of just any old barnacles. They are specifically after large, stalked, goose barnacles (Lepas anatifera). The marine crustacean produces an adhesive made up of several proteins and can affix to material such as wood, plastic, glass and even other animals and plants, explains Jonker, who is doing a PhD on the goose barnacle?s sticky properties.
?Our morphological results show that the adhesive is produced by large gland cells and all of the adhesive components appeared to be produced together in the same cell,? she explains. ?This is quite different to the adhesive systems of other animals, where components are separated prior to being extruded from the body.?
The goose barnacle adhesive also seems to have its own way of sticking around: the NUI Galway research, which is funded by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Marine Institute, has not found in the goose barnacle the types of protein residues that are common in other animal adhesives. Teasing out the modus operandi of this particular crustacean?s underwater stickiness will help the researchers get a better grip in how it conducts ?wet adhesion?, explains Dr Power.
?The fact that the barnacle?s natural adhesive works in a saline environment means that there are possible applications for use inside the human body,? she notes. ?That said, we are still a long way from this point. This work is more advanced in other marine animals like mussels, but barnacles do not use the same system as mussels and so there are potential novelties there. Besides, the more that we know about the many different marine adhesives, the more likely we are to succeed in developing new biomimetic adhesives.?
So where do Twitter and Facebook come in? One of the challenges in the project to date has been to gather specimens. Goose barnacles can dehydrate and die quickly when washed ashore, so they have to be rescued promptly and moved to an aquarium. In the past, the researchers trawled the beaches several times a week themselves, but it was a slow and largely unsuccessful way to find the sporadically stranded barnacles, says Jonker. So the scientists have started a social media campaign this summer to get people to tell them when they find the sticky marine creatures.
?It is difficult to be in the right place at the right time to find these animals, so we are now appealing to the public to help,? she explains. ?If somebody happens to notice our publicity campaign and then they see some of these barnacles washed ashore, they could contact us and we would find a way to get there as soon as possible to collect the animals. They can survive a few hours on the beach, and even longer if they are in a bucket or pool of seawater and if they can be kept cool.?
Once retrieved, the barnacles will be kept in an aquarium, and the researchers will examine gene expression in the animals and chemical bonds in the adhesive. ?Our experience in previous years has been that these animals will mostly wash ashore in August and September, so now is a good time to spread the word,? says Jonker. ?The response so far has been quite positive, with many people saying that they have seen these animals on the beach before and didn?t know what they were. Well, now they know and hopefully they will see them again and contact us.?
See @BarnacleHunt on Twitter, or search for The Amazing Goose Barnacle on Facebook
Jack Allgood, 61, of Grinnell, died July 25, 2012, at his home.
A memorial service was held at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 28, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with the Rev. Nick Adam, St. Mary?s Catholic Church, officiating. Honorary bearers were Martin, Jackie and Joe Jordan and Dennis, Doug and Mark Allgood. Burial was in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Malcom.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the Jack Allgood Memorial Fund.
Jack was born Nov. 22, 1950, in Grinnell, the son of Ivan ?Jim? and Betty Cram Allgood. He was raised in Grinnell and moved with his family to Wilton in 1967. He was a 1969 graduate of Wilton High School where he excelled in sports, making All-Conference in football, basketball and baseball. He furthered his education and played football at Waldorf Junior College in Forest City and Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. He later attended U.N.I. in Cedar Falls.
He worked for the Waldorf Athletic Department as a football recruiter for several years and returned to Wilton in 1982 where he was employed with North Star Steel. He retired from the steel plant in 1999 and moved to Grinnell in 2001. While in Grinnell he worked at the Grinnell United Methodist Church and as a care giver for immediate family members and several friends. He attended St. Mary?s Catholic Church in Grinnell.
Jack was a loving and caring person to many. He loved his family dearly, they were his pride and joy and he looked forward to sharing his time with them. He was very athletic and held an appreciation for sports. He was a passionate fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers. He was an avid reader and enjoyed watching ESPN. His dog, Jake was a loyal companion.
Survivors include three children, Jason (Cristina) Allgood of Iowa City, Aaron (LeAnn) Allgood of Peoria, Ariz., and Melanie (Michael) Berry of Chicago, Ill.; one brother, Jim (Mary Jane) Allgood of Ankeny; one sister, Carol Jordan of Grinnell; and six grandchildren, Anson, Lucas, Micaela, Annabel and Maddy Allgood and Beckham Berry.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Jarod Allgood; a brother-in-law, Robert Jordan; and a sister-in-law, Dixie Allgood.
Doris I. Large, 85
Doris I. Large, 85, of Grinnell, died on Thursday, July 26, 2012, at the Mayflower Health Care Center.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Monday, August 6, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with the Rev. Christine Tinker, chaplain of the Mayflower Community, officiating. Pianist will be William Tinker. Inurnment will be at a later date in the Westfield Cemetery near Grinnell.
Memorials may be directed to the Human Needs Fund of the Mayflower Community or to Grinnell Regional Hospice.
Doris was born on May 16, 1927, on a farm near Grinnell to Vinton and Lola Squire Carmer. The family lived near Montezuma and Barnes City until 1933 when she moved to Grinnell. While living in Grinnell, she worked at the Grinnell Shoe Company.
On Oct. 5, 1946, she was married to John William Large at Montezuma. The couple lived in Grinnell and Searsboro. Besides being a mother and homemaker, she worked in the laundry department of the Grinnell hospital and for Clean Towel Company of Grinnell.
Doris was a member of the former Assembly of God Church in Grinnell and enjoyed doing the cradle roll and transporting children to church camp. She enjoyed fishing, camping and time spent with her children and grandchildren. She was an excellent seamstress and made wedding dresses for her daughters. She enjoyed baking and decorating cakes as well.
Survivors include her two daughters, Jonnie (Larry) Morton of Grinnell and Kathy Large of Searsboro; three grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two sisters, Bernice Goodwin of Grinnell and Carolyn Buckley of Centerville; and one brother, Earl Carmer of Marshalltown.
She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; and three brothers, Lloyd, Charles and Dale Carmer.
Rita Mae Thys, 69
Rita Mae Thys, age 69, of Victor, died on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.
Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 28, at St. Bridget Catholic Church in Victor with Fr. Brian Shepley officiating. Pallbearers were Chris Boeding, Craig Buscher, Ed Loventinsky, Mike Loventinsky, Adam Thys and Paul Thys. Interment was in Calvary Cemetery in Victor.
Memorials may be designated to the Rita Mae Thys Memorial Fund, PO Box 485, Victor, Iowa 52347. Memories and condolences may be shared with her family on the Smith Funeral Home website at www.smithfh.com.
Rita was born on July 22, 1943, to Henry and Alvira Boeding Naber in Dyersville. She was raised in Lamont, and she graduated from Lamont High School with the class of 1961.
She was united in marriage to John Thys on Dec. 28, 1963, in Lamont. The couple moved to Victor where they farmed and later began working at Victor Manufacturing where she worked for 26 years.
Rita was very energetic and always had a positive outlook on life. The simple blessings in her life were her family, faith and friends. She was an active member of St. Bridget Catholic Church in Victor and the Altar and Rosary Society. Her enjoyments included gardening, going to the casino, playing board games with her grandchildren, talking to her sisters on the phone, and staying in touch with everyone?s activities on her Facebook page.
Rita is survived by her husband of 48 years, John Thys of Victor; four children, John (Deb) Thys of Belle Plaine, Joel (Dawn) Thys of Blairstown, Julie (Mike) Klein of Brooklyn, Jeff (Stephanie) Thys of Victor; six sisters, Jan (Tom) Wilhelm of Columbus, Ohio, Rose Ann (Gary) Davis of Scottsdale, Ariz., Laura (Allen) Behning of Mason City, Mary Elaine Boeding of Dubuque, Virginia Wise of Spring Hill, Kan., Dorothy (Wayne) Loventinsky of Marion; and two brothers, Al (Patsy) Boeding of Ely, and Francis (Lois) Boeding of Hopkinton; and 12 grandchildren.
Rita was preceded in death by her parents; and her brothers, Leo, Linus, and Herman Boeding.
Lillie Bell Bunn, 71
Lillie Bell Bunn, age 71 of Brooklyn, died July 29, 2012 at her home following an extended illness. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Friday, August 3, 2012 at Kloster Funeral Home, Brooklyn. A memorial service will follow at 7 P.M. at the funeral home. A memorial fund has been established.
Lillie is survived by her husband Donald; her children Kimberly McDonald of Grinnell, Janet Tuttle (Ed) of Malcom, Alan Bunn of Brooklyn, Michele Sadler (Tracy) of Grinnell, and Michael Bunn (Vickie) of Brooklyn; seven grandchildren, Cody McDonald, Andrew McDonald, Nicole Sadler Faircloth, Jacob Sadler, Amber Cuellar Towner, Chantelle Bunn and Kendall Bunn; six great-grandchildren, Kyle McDonald, Logan McDonald, Keirsten, Billie, and Jessie Towner, and Orin Faircloth. Also surviving are a brother Keith Garwood of Grinnell and a sister Geraldine Huff of Buena Park, Cal. She was preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Wilma Garwood and two sisters, Joyce Baker and Charlotte ?Shorty? Cox
Lillie Bell Garwood was born July 29, 1941 in Grinnell, the daughter of Glenn and Wilma Bell Garwood. She attended the Grinnell schools and later received her GED. She married Donald Floyd Bunn on May 2, 1958 in Iowa City. Lillie worked as a housekeeper and a CNA at the nursing home in Montezuma, and the Mayflower Home in Grinnell. She loved spending time with her family, and playing games with her grandchildren. In her quiet time, she was found working word searches, and doing crafts.
Online condolences may be extended to the family at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.
Tagged as: Poweshiek County Iowa obituaries Lillie Bell Bunn Brooklyn Rita Mae Thys Victor Doris I. Large Searsboro Jack Allgood Grinnell Malcom
Open Range RV Co. will be expanding operations at its facilities in Shipshewana, Ind., according to a press release from the LaGrange County Economic Development Corp. (LCEDC).
The company plans to add a 15,000-square-foot addition to its customer service center located just east of the company?s main Shipshewana campus. The release stated that these investments ?will allow Open Range RV to operate more efficiently and provide a higher level of service to their customers by having more parts and inventory on hand for custom projects as well as warranty work.? The project will also result in the addition of 10-15 new employees with an average wage of $45,000/year.
The Town of Shipshewana has initially approved a 10-year tax abatement request from the company at the request of the LCEDC. ?Open Range RV has been a great partner in Shipshewana and LaGrange County, and we?re happy to continue to support their continued growth as one of our largest employers? said Roger Yoder, president of the Shipshewana Town Council.
?Our customer demand continues to necessitate our expansion at our home in Shipshewana? said Randy Graber, president of Open Range . ?We are excited that our customers continue to appreciate the high quality units that we produce, and their dedication to our brand makes us continue to work hard and innovate for them.?
Open Range, founded in 2007, produces fifth-wheels and travel trailers under the Open Range, Mesa Ridge, Journeyer, Residential, Roamer and Light brand names. Since its inception, the company has earned several Quality Circle Awards from the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA).
?Open Range RV?s continued growth in our community is a tribute to the quality craftsmanship that Open Range RV exemplifies, and truly is a testament to Open Range?s motto: ?Enjoy the Journey!? We look forward to continuing to work with Open Range RV Co. as they build upon their successes in LaGrange County,? said Keith Gillenwater, LCEDC president and CEO.
Chris Brown continues to make himself look like a real moron -- this time by allegedly making homophobic remarks about R&B singer Frank Ocean, who admitted he was once in love with a man.
When asked by paparazzi as he was coming out of a nightclub in France what he thought of Ocean?s bisexuality, Brown said: ?Man, no homo,? The Advocate reports. The phrase, used as slang, refers to the disgust of any homosexual activity. This guy really has no filter.
Because the remark unsurprisingly sparked outrage,and because Brown has zero backbone, he then turned to Twitter to deny his comment. He tweeted via @chrisbrown: ?My Opinion on the whole Frank Ocean subject is??.Love who u wanna love. It?s ur decision. People stop searching for BS.?
Three minutes later, he tweeted again: ?Everyone is so quick to point the wrong fingers at each other! Ask urself...Am I Doing everything I can to help the world????? Uh okay, Chris. When was the last time you used your fame to do something good because you genuinely wanted to?
Troops backed by helicopters pushed an offensive against rebels in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo into a second straight day on Sunday, sparking fierce fighting and sending civilians fleeing.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) accused the government of preparing to carry out "massacres" in the northern city and pleaded for heavy weapons to enable rebels to meet the onslaught.
It also urged the UN to hold an emergency session to discuss ways to protect civilians caught up in the conflict.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, on a surprise visit to key ally Iran, said the rebels "will definitely be defeated" in Aleppo, even as a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander boasted the city would become a "graveyard" for the army's tanks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday's fighting was focused around the southwestern neighbourhood of Salaheddin, where rebels repulsed a ground assault on Saturday.
"There are clashes on the edges of... Salaheddin" which regime forces were pounding with helicopter gunships, the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Abdel Rahman described the situation in Aleppo as "a full-scale street war," with fighting also in the neighbourhoods of Arkub, Bab al-Hadid, Fardoss, Jisr al-Hajj, Sukari, Zahraa, Zebdiyeh, at the Al-Hindrat Palestinian refugee camp, and Bustan al-Qasr district which was being pounded by helicopter gunships.
The Britain-based Observatory said that "the sound of heavy machinegun fire and explosions" could be heard in Salaheddin late on Sunday but gave no further details.
Rebels broke into a juvenile detention centre "in order to set the prisoners free," he said, adding displaced families were having difficulty finding refuge "because nowhere is safe any more."
After massing for two days, troops backed by tanks and helicopters on Saturday launched a ground assault on Salaheddin, where rebels concentrated their forces when they seized much of Aleppo on July 20.
Both sides claimed to have made advances, but an AFP correspondent reported rebels had largely repulsed the army when it launched its first onslaught.
Civilians in the city of some 2.5 million crowded into basements seeking refuge from the intense bombardment by artillery and helicopters, the correspondent said.
Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, FSA commander for Aleppo, said the rebels had inflicted heavy losses on the army in Salaheddin but that there had been many civilian deaths.
"We have destroyed eight tanks and some armoured vehicles and killed more than 100 soldiers," he said.
"Aleppo will be the graveyard of the tanks of the Syrian army," Oqaidi told AFP in an interview conducted at an isolated farmhouse surrounded by olive groves near the city.
"We ask the West for a no-fly zone" in order to prevent aerial raids by Assad's forces, he said.
The colonel said his men were positioned across Aleppo and would not withdraw as they had when they came under intense fire from regime troops in Damascus earlier this month.
"There is no strategic withdrawal of the Free Syrian Army. We await the attack," he said, while refusing to reveal how many rebels are fighting in Aleppo.
"We expect (the army) to commit a very great slaughter, and we urge the international community to intervene to prevent these crimes," the colonel said.
The Observatory reported that by late afternoon seven people were killed in Aleppo, contributing to a nationwide death toll of 66: 25 civilians, 19 troops and 22 rebels.
In Tehran, Muallem vowed regime forces would crush the rebels in Aleppo.
"We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government... and they will definitely be defeated," he told a joint news conference with Tehran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
Muallem also met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told him that he hoped Syria's government would restore "stability" in the country quickly, Iran's ISNA news agency said.
Syria's Muslim Brotherhood denounced Iran and Russia, saying the powerful allies of the embattled Assad regime were "drowning in the blood of the Syrian people."
As the rebels faced the superior firepower of Assad's regime, SNC chief Abdel Basset Sayda called on foreign governments to provide them with heavy weapons.
"We want weapons that would stop tanks and jet fighters," Sayda said after talks in Abu Dhabi.
The SNC also called on the Security Council to hold an emergency session on the situation in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs and urged it to "take action to provide civilians with the needed protection from brutal bombing campaigns."
Peace envoy Kofi Annan urged both sides to hold back, saying only a political solution could end a conflict that rights activists say has killed more than 20,000 people since the uprising erupted in March 2011.
"The escalation of the military build-up in Aleppo and the surrounding area is further evidence of the need for the international community to come together to persuade the parties that only a political transition, leading to a political settlement, will resolve this crisis," he said.
Latest feature of Channel One News InterActiv texts and emails parents about their children?s schoolwork
By Raishay Lin, Contributing Editor Read more by Contributor
Parents can follow a daily link to watch the same videos that their children watched in class and see how their children did on assignments.
A simple text message could clue in parents to the perfect conversation starters with their kids: The Parent Connection, a new feature of Channel One News InterActiv (C1Ni), sends parents messages about what their children learned in school that day in an effort to strengthen the home-school connection.
C1Ni, an interactive video program that allows teachers to pause a Channel One News broadcast and work through accompanying lessons with students on Promethean ActivBoards, launched a year ago as a collaborative effort between Channel One News and Promethean.
The new Parent Connection feature, introduced this summer during the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in San Diego, sends an eMail or text message to parents who sign up, with a link to the Channel One News InterActiv (C1Ni) video their child watched in school that day.
See also:
How to engage parents online more effectively
Using video to improve teaching and learning
Parents can watch the video themselves and can see how their child responded to the questions that were asked about the video, as well as how these responses compared with the rest of the class. Parents also receive sample questions to foster further discussion at home.
The National PTA will conduct a research study on the efficacy of the program in the San Diego Unified School District during the 2012-13 school year, and the service will be available nationwide beginning around Labor Day.
Too often, parents will try to ask their children what they did at school?only to get a bland answer such as ?not much,? said Kent Haehl, CEO of Channel One News. ?How do you change the subtext of that discussion at dinner?? Haehl asked, noting that this new service aims to do just that.
?What this service allows is for this dialogue between son or daughter and parent to open on common ground,? he said.
In the past, parents have used similar services to check whether their children made it to class or turned in their homework, said Jim Marshall, Promethean?s president.
Parents have accessed these basic kinds of services on average about nine times a week, Marshall said?indicating an interest in greater parental engagement.
With the Parent Connection, parents can watch the same videos that their children watched in class and see how their children did on assignments.
Teachers can also look at data available on their end to see which parents are engaged. They know which parents watch the Parent Connection news feed, and how often, which can make parent-teacher conferences and PTA meetings more effective, he said.
The Parent Connection is unique in the frequency of parent engagement: Because Channel One News airs a different segment every school day?about 190 shows a year??there?s something new to talk about every day,? Haehl said.
It is very easy for a business office staff to become satisfied. They can fall into the routine where they become very self-sufficient and rely on their particular fellow workers less. While this may seem like the best thing, many office responsibilities can be accomplished quicker far better when the team really does them as a whole instead of relying on the input of only one person. If your business is in Toronto, team building events activities from a firm like XPEERience Group can help create that ?we? mindset again.
This company specializes in Keynote Speaker Canada activities in a number of settings. Choosing the proper team building events activities is important when setting up an event such as this as it is important to be sure all staff members are comfy with the events. All things considered, it would not serve a reason to alienate staff during a team building routines as you want everyone to sign up in the events.
One of the most popular packages with regard to Toronto team building activities is the Ultimate Xpeerience. This bundle encompasses low bodily impact activities including dodgeball, water balloon chuck, and volleyball along with more demanding team development activities like the inflatable obstacle course and also the outdoor rockwall. Most employers will have a pretty good thought of what their employees are capable of and can select the team building activities that can work best for their employees.
The beauty of an getaway such as this is that nearly all employees forget why they are actually presently there in the first place. They are possessing so much fun, these people naturally form a better bond with their many other workers and reestablish the teamwork attitude that has been missing from your office. So how will all of this actually integrate itself back into the place of work?
Something that a lot of companies is going to do is have a workers meeting to discuss the actual outing the next time the complete staff is together at the office. Keep it very laid-back and talk about the several events and how the actual winning teams was able to perform so well. Keep stressing how they used each person?s strengths to help you the team perform better.
Once this matter gets rolling, will bring up examples of projects around the office which are delayed because the ?team? was not working together. Keep in mind this is simply not a disciplinary meeting, merely a reinforcement of how effective it is to work as a team. From that point, hand out the identical assignment to both individuals and teams. Give them a limited time to focus on them and then hold a meeting later inside day to monitor advancement.
While there may be some people capable of pulling over upset victory, more often than not, the teams can present a better plus more complete project. That?s where management can strengthen the idea of how crucial it is to work together whenever possible instead of doing work alone all the time. Clothing long before the entire office benefits from the Toronto team building events activities they loved during the outing.
For more information about Team Building Toronto visit our website.
One thing quickly has become clear in the lawsuit against Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh:? The question isn?t whether he owns Saadia Van Winkle compensation for her injuries, but how much.
?Mr. Suh acknowledges Ms. Van Winkle should receive fair compensation for any injury she sustained or medical expense or wage loss she incurred and Mr. Suh has attempted to resolve the matter fairly with her,? Mike Lehner said in a written statement, according to the Detroit Free Press.? ?She has rejected those attempts and has now filed a lawsuit against Mr. Suh asking for more than $1,000,000.? According to that lawsuit, she has incurred approximately $4,000 in medical expenses, and lost wages in the amount of $2500.? Mr. Suh denies many of the allegations in the complaint, but now it appears a jury will have to decide how to fairly compensate Ms. Van Winkle for her injury.?
Typically, a personal-injury case has a settlement value in the range of three times the amount of the so-called ?out-of-pocket? or ?special? damages.? The thinking is that, by using a specials-times-three formula, the bills get paid, the plaintiff gets an equivalent amount for pain and suffering, and the lawyer gets his/her cut.
Of course, a jury can award whatever it wants, subject to modification by the judge if the jury gives too much or too little.? Still, in this case, the settlement value would be in the range of $20,000, if Van Winkle?s injuries are fully resolved.
So, yes, a $1 million demand is excessive.? It therefore makes sense to take it to trial, especially since the legal fees and the settlement/verdict ultimately will be covered by Suh?s insurance policy ? assuming that he had one that was paid up and in place.
For his part, Suh declined to address the situation on Friday, referring all questions to his lawyers.? That?s the smart approach, because anything he says now can be used against him in court later.
What's rectangular, coated in a royal bronze finish, opens like a clam and lasts for up to seven and a half hours? If you answered MSI's new CR41 notebook, you'd be right (though we would've accepted self-destructing jewelry boxes as an answer). The 14-inch multimedia "mobile companion," announced just today, packs a 1,366 x 768 HD display, dedicated HM76 graphics chipset, choice of Intel's third-generation Core i processors and comes in a variety of storage configurations: 500 GB, 640GB or 720GB. Weighing in at 5.3 pounds (2.4kg) and measuring 13.8 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches (349.7 x 234.8 x 32mm), the laptop also features a six-cell 4,400mAh battery, support for Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi b/g/n, an optical drive, ports for HDMI, USB 3.0 (x2), USB 2.0 (x2), an SD slot and the requisite headphone jack. So far no official pricing or release dates have been made public for the Windows 7 rig, but when it does hit retailers' shelves, rest assured it'll be upgrade-ready for Redmond's next great OS. Follow on past the break for the official PR.
The economy's growth slowed in the second quarter, government data showed, as consumers, worried about jobs and wages, held back.
By John W. Schoen, NBC News
The economy is stumbling and there is little evidence that leaders in Washington are willing to act to get it moving smoothly again.
Fresh data confirmed Friday that the growth of gross domestic product slowed sharply in the past nine months.?The Commerce Department?s initial estimate pegged second-quarter growth?at a 1.5 percent annual rate, the weakest showing since the third quarter of last year.
The slowdown was brought into sharper relief following the government's?revision Friday to estimates for prior quarters. First-quarter growth was bumped up by a tenth percentage point to 2.0 percent and output for the fourth quarter was raised to a 4.1 percent rate from 3.0 percent.
The report prompted the White House to cut its growth forecast for 2012 and 2013. In its semi-annual budget review, the White House said it now expects gross domestic product to rise 2.3 percent this year and 2.7 percent again next year ? down from the 2.7 percent and 3.0 percent growth projections it made in February.
In June, the Federal Reserve lowered its prediction for growth in 2012 to 2.4 percent, a half percentage point weaker than its previous forecast in April.
The latest data show the biggest drag on growth is coming from consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity. After a spending perked up last year , driven by sales of cars and other long-lasting goods, spending grew by just ?1.5 percent rate, down from the 2.4 percent pace in the last quarter of 2011. That was the weakest showing in a year.?
A separate report Friday showed consumer sentiment tanked in July, falling to its lowest level of the year so far.
Consumers have reason to hunker down, following years of stagnant wages. Now, with the jobless rate stuck at painfully high levels, there is little news from Washington to boost confidence. As the economy continues to sputter, the Federal Reserve remains on the sidelines and Congress and the White House are stubbornly deadlocked over proposals to boost growth.
Hanging over all of this is the election in November. The economy's poor showing throws?a hurdle in front of President Barack Obama's campaign to keep his job. His Republican rival Mitt Romney, a former businessman turned politician, has made his financial acumen a central theme of his campaign.
The poor showing in the second quarter has raised hopes that the Fed will step in with another round of asset purchases known as quantitative easing. But most economists feel if the Fed acts at all, it won't be at its regularly scheduled meeting next week.
"This (economic data) is the sign that policymakers must act to provide more support to the economy if they want it to grow fast enough to start putting sustained downward pressure on today's still too-high unemployment rate," said Josh Bivens, research and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute.
That action doesn?t appear likely in the near term, especially on the fiscal front.
In the latest act in the ongoing congressional dog and pony show on the budget,?House Republicans agreed to a vote next week on a Senate-approved measure that would extend Bush-era tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000.
"If our Democrat colleagues want to offer the president's plan or the Senate Democrats' plan, we're more than happy to give them a vote," House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.
But the Democratic bill almost certainly?will?fail in the Republican-controlled House, serving only to confirm that both sides are deeply deadlocked over the looming year-end tax increases and spending cuts put in place when Congress deadlocked a year ago over raising the government's legal borrowing limit.
Just as that standoff lasted until the nation was on the verge of a debt default, both sides are apparently committed to driving the government to the edge of a ruinous ?fiscal cliff? before acting. In the closing days of its current session, Congress will have to resolve the issue of expiring tax cuts and ?automatic? spending cuts that most economists believe would throw the U.S. economy into recession in a matter of months.
Spending cuts alone would result ?in an estimated 2 million lost jobs?next year?even as?the pace of hiring is already too slow to keep up with population growth.
With Congress and the White House deadlocked in partisan paralysis, the Fed is the economy?s last, best hope. With growth falling, speculation is rising over whether --?and when --?the central bank will begin pumping more cash into the financial system to spur more borrowing and spending by businesses and consumers.
'The Fed's concern and mandate is employment,? said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at Worldwide Markets. ?Annualized GDP growth at 1.5 percent cannot begin to mend the unemployment picture. Mr. Bernanke and company have all the rationale they need to open the liquidity spigot.?
But Fed watchers say it?s unlikely that policy makers will announce any new moves to prod growth at next week?s regularly scheduled, two-day meeting. One reason is that?the latest data seem to bolster hopes that the economy may still dodge an outright recession. Friday?s GDP revisions, which included growth rates all the way back to 2009, tend to bolster that view.
The new figures show that the 2007 recession was not was deep as originally reported and that the recovery was not as strong. ??
Based on a review of additional data, including IRS tax returns, the government now believes gross domestic product grew by just 2.5 percent in the 12 months after the recession ended in June 2009, not the 3.3 percent rebound previously reported.
That means that since the recession ended, the economy has been growing at an average pace of 2.2 percent. In that light, the latest reading of 1.5 percent growth represents a somewhat milder slowdown from the longer-term trend. ?
Still, any reading of less than a 3 percent growth rate will be painful, because?anything less is too slow to bring down the unemployment rate. The economy needs to grow at a 2.0 to 2.5 percent pace just to keep the?unemployment rate stable.??Most Fed watchers believe that if sluggish growth persists, or worsens, the central bank likely will fire up its money pumps by the end of the year.
It remains to be seen, though, whether those moves will have much impact.
?Today?s (GDP) report may be enough to tip the balance of probability towards further monetary accommodation before the end of the year,? said Chris Jones, and economist at TD Economics. ?But will it give the real economy the boost it needs?? Probably not.?
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently conceded that the Fed's powers to revive growth are limited without help from Congress and the White House, which seems unlikely in an election year.
CNBC's Rick Santelli breaks down the latest economic data on the nation's gross domestic product, with Joel Naroff, Naroff Economic Advisors president.
Here?s something you don?t see everyday: a writer apologizing to a player for giving life to a rumor of PED usage.
You see, there was a nasty rumor flying around on Twitter that Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com decided to ask Cabrera about it. Cabrera categorically denied the rumors, saying MLB hasn?t informed him or the players union about a positive test. He even contacted his agent to make sure. Baggarly then decided to pass along word of Cabrera?s denial. However, Baggarly later had regrets of acknowledging the rumor in the first place and issued a public apology to Cabrera.
Here?s part of the apology, which you can read in full on CSNBayArea.com:
We live in a different media universe and the rules are changing every day. Information is immediate. The level of interaction between fans and journalists is greater than ever. Anyone can self-publish any thought that rumbles through his or her head, true or untrue. It can be a confusing cacophony for any journalist, and it certainly is for me at times.
It?s my job to serve readers. But what if it?s just one tenth of one percent of my readership who are asking these questions? Is it my responsibility to respond to them in a public way?
Asking these questions from a different vantage point: If I were Melky Cabrera, would I appreciate a reporter who knocked down a rumor that was just a whisper in some corners of the Internet? Or would I be royally pissed to see my name mentioned alongside PEDs, no matter the context, by a credentialed, professional journalist?
It?s obvious, isn?t it? Well, it should have been obvious to me. It wasn?t.
In retrospect, I made the wrong decision to address these rumors on my Twitter account and disseminate it to my 30,000-plus followers.
So I feel it?s important that I issue a public apology to Melky Cabrera for giving greater voice to a rumor that, to the best of my knowledge and on his word, has absolutely no basis in fact.
It?s a good read on a sensitive topic and a cautionary tale for anyone who considers running with a rumor which could do some serious damage to someone?s reputation. Baggarly may have made a mistake to run with the rumor, but he deserves credit for holding himself accountable. If only we could say the same for those who continue to recklessly spread rumors of PED usage about the likes of Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza.
There?s not much middle ground between the Jaguars and running back Maurice Jones-Drew.? He wants a new contract, and owner Shad Khan says Jones-Drew isn?t getting one.? To get Jones-Drew into camp, someone will have to blink.
We?ve seen this movie before.? The two sides seem to be completely dug in.? And then there are two possible endings. ? The player tucks tail ?twixt the hamstrings and shows up ? or the owner, G.M., or head coach decide that he?s had enough and just wants the player back.
The primary question is when will that happen?? The secondary question is whether there will be an effort (successful or otherwise) to save face.? For example, Khan could adjust the two remaining years on Jones-Drew?s current deal and claim that the player didn?t actually get a new contract.? For example, Jones-Drew could be given most of the remaining cash on his contract?($4.45 million in 2012, $4.95 million in 2012) this year, the minimum salary next year, and language that voids the contract if he reaches certain performance levels in the coming season.
That way, he?d get more money now, and potentially become a free agent in March.
Regardless, we?re no longer buying the ?honor your contract? argument.? This isn?t a normal contract.? The same system that lets the teams tear up contracts whenever they want also allows the players to take the calculated risk of holding out.? If, after all, the NFL didn?t want players to have the ability to ?violate? their contracts, the labor deal would contain a term that, for example, prevents the player from playing for any team in a given year if he doesn?t report to training camp on time.
Yes, the current system lets teams break contracts without repercussion.? And it also lets players hold out, if they?re willing to pay daily fines of $30,000 and to refund specific bonus payments that are subject to forfeiture.? Any player willing to assume that risk should be allowed to do so.? If he guesses right regarding his value to the team, he may get what he wants, or at least something close to it.
The owners, of course, don?t have to give in.? And it wouldn?t surprise us if the folks at 345 Park Avenue are urging Khan to hold firm.? It also wouldn?t surprise us if Khan, with still-fresh feeling of gratitude to 345 Park Avenue for letting him into the club, is willing to take one for the 32-member team that doesn?t like it when players take advantage of their ability to get more by holding out.
Unsecured Credit Card For Bad Credit is the site where one can find the right reviews and information about the best credit card deals for those people who have poor credit ratings. People with poor credit find it hard to use credit cards and thus they need to find the right credit card deals.
California (PRBuzz) July 26, 2012 -- Those who have a bad credit rating find it hard to get the right deals on credit cards. The reason is that most of the credit card companies are willing to offer credit card services to customers who have a good credit record and a sound credit history. However, given the profound use of credit cards, it is extremely necessary that people can find the right type of cards that can be used.
Such people should seek the services of Unsecured Credit Card For Bad Credit as at this site, one can find reviews of different types of credit cards that can be used by people who have a history of unsecured credit or extremely poor credit rating as well. There are different types of credit cards and a lot of various offers and deals as well.
Thus, all those who are willing to avail the services of Unsecured Credit Cards, they should check out the details that has been listed at the site. Some firms may have a lot of hidden costs beneath their credit card deals and thus people have to be sure of the amount of money they would be spending for using a credit card. With the help of Unsecured Credit Card For Bad Credit, one can spot the best deals as they can review the performance of the different types of credit cards.
There are poor credit cards, bad credit credit cards, fair credit cards, good credit cards and a lot of other category too. So, people who want to know more about unsecured credit cards, they should check out the posts that have been listed at this site.
The information one can find at this site is accurate and has helped a lot of people. Most people have the tendency to carry credit cards as it is an easier way of making a purchase. They are a much better solution for people who can shop as and when their mood arises. Having a credit card gives the privilege to people to shop for the daily products and other products even when they do not have ample cash at hand.
So, all those who are willing to explore the details of unsecured credit and the type of credit cards that can be of help, they should head to the Unsecured Credit Card For Bad Credit and check out all the information that have been listed there.
Those who want to know more about such cards and are willing to avail the best credit card services, they can visit http://www.unsecuredcreditcardforbadcredit.net/
About Unsecured Credit Card For Bad Credit It is the right site to explore the details of the different type of credit cards and other deals for those people who have a poor credit rating and record. They provide vital and useful information that have helped a lot of people.
Scott Piercy watches his iron shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament at Hamilton Golf and County Club in Ancaster, Ontario, on Thursday, July 26, 2012. Piercy holds the lead on after shooting an 8-under-par 62. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)
Scott Piercy watches his iron shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament at Hamilton Golf and County Club in Ancaster, Ontario, on Thursday, July 26, 2012. Piercy holds the lead on after shooting an 8-under-par 62. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)
Scott Piercy reacts after making a birdie putt on No. 9 during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament at Hamilton Golf and County Club in Ancaster, Ontario, on Thursday, July 26, 2012. Piercy holds the lead after shooting an 8-under-par 62. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)
Ernie Els tees off during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament, Thursday, July 26, 2012, at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Dave Childley)
Jim Furyk chips onto the 18th green during first round play at the 2012 Canadian Open at the Hamilton Golf and County Club in Ancaster, Ontario, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Dave Chidley)
Jhonattan Vegas reacts to his short putt on 18 during the first round of the Canadian Open golf tournament, Thursday, July 26, 2012, at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Dave Childley)
ANCASTER, Ontario (AP) ? Scott Piercy kept his cool in the rainy first round of the Canadian Open.
Instead of beating up himself, the quick-tempered American roughed up defenseless Hamilton Golf and Country Club, shooting an 8-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead.
"I get really mad generally," Piercy said. "That's something that I have to very much control. And it's a lot easier to control when you're playing well. ... It's something that I constantly have to work on. I'm kind of a perfectionist in an imperfect game. ... It's just a constant battle within me that I always have to kind of keep it nice and chilled. Golf is the only time I get really upset."
Piercy eagled the par-5 fourth and 17th holes and had five birdies and one bogey in the rainy conditions to match the competitive course record set by Warren Sye in the third round of the 1991 Ontario Amateur. The 33-year-old Las Vegas player is coming off a third-place finish two weeks ago in the John Deere Classic.
"Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens today," Piercy said. "I was rolling the ball well, and obviously you got to make some putts, too. Hit it solid out there. I think I only missed a couple greens, and ball-striking around here with the rough being so penal is a must to shoot well."
He birdied three of his final five holes, punctuated with a 10-foot putt on No. 9.
"The greens were receptive," Piercy said. "I wouldn't say overly soft or hard."
Greg Owen and William McGirt shot 63, and Robert Garrigus had a 64. Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner, was at 65 along with 2004 Canadian Open champion Vijay Singh, Troy Matteson, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Stuart Appleby and Gavin Coles.
Ernie Els, the British Open winner Sunday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, opened with a 72.
The course was a soggy mess by the end of the rainy day. Players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls on the fairways, and 94 finished at par or better.
"I woke up this morning, I thought the British Open was a week early, looking out the window," Schwartzel said.
Jim Furyk, the winner in 2006 at Hamilton and 2007 at Angus Glen, shot a 70.
Adam Hadwin topped the 23 Canadians in the field, shooting a 66. The 24-year-old player from Abbotsford, British Columbia, tied for fourth last year at Shaughnessy in Vancouver.
"It seems every time we hit the end of July, I kind of springboard my game back into shape," Hadwin said. "I shot 4 under and I was 1 over on the par 5s today. So that's pretty good confidence going into tomorrow knowing that if I play those par 5s pretty well I'm going to play pretty well."
Slumping Canadian star Mike Weir was tied for 112th after a 72. He's trying to make his first PGA Tour cut of the year.
Pat Fletcher, born in England, was the last Canadian winner, taking the 1954 event at Point Grey in Vancouver. Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. Albert Murray, a Canadian also born in England, won in 1908 and 1913.
DIVOTS: Piercy has broken 70 in nine consecutive rounds. ... Owen is bidding to become the first Englishman to win the event since Peter Oosterhuis in 1981. ... George McNeill withdrew after shooting a 75, citing a back injury. ... Despite the rain, there was only one delay, lasting 20 minutes. ... John Daly shot 69. ... Hunter Mahan, a two-time winner this year, opened with a 70.
The fin whale, under more threat in the Mediterranean than thoughtPublic release date: 26-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC Team info@agenciasinc.es FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Until now it was thought that fin whales in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea made up part of the distribution of this species of whale in the Mediterranean. However, an international team of scientists led by a Spaniard has revealed that their population has been overestimated by including specimens from the Atlantic that visit at certain times the western Mediterranean, where the noise generated by human activity affects their survival.
In 1991 the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) population in the Mediterranean Sea was estimated at 3500 specimens. A new study, published in Marine Mammal Science, now shows that this record included specimens from the Atlantic, and suggests that the distribution and size of the current population of this whale, which is threatened with extinction, should be reconsidered.
"The Mediterranean population has easily been overestimated, as the census included the whole of the southeast Mediterranean, incorporating Atlantic fin whales within the Mediterranean census", reported to SINC Manuel Castellote, the lead author of the study and researcher in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA), Seattle (USA).
The research team analysed 29,822 hours of recordings of the songs emitted by these marine mammals which can reach a length of 27 metres, and are the second biggest cetaceans in the world in order to identify the distribution limits of the Mediterranean fin whale and those of the north Atlantic fin whale in the Straits of Gibraltar, where the two populations overlap.
The results reveal that the presence of fin whales in the areas of the Straits of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea southwest of the Mediterranean is exclusively limited to Atlantic fin whales that visit the Mediterranean Sea, above all in autumn and spring.
As a consequence, "the population of Mediterranean fin whales presents a much more limited distribution than currently described, excluding a significant region of the western Mediterranean", confirms Castellote, who highlights the fact that this region had previously been identified as a feeding area.
The importance of the study is the critical state situation of the whale in these waters where it is the only mysticete (it has a baleen instead of teeth). The species is particularly susceptible to collisions with merchant vessels and ferries, which is the main cause of fin whale mortality.
Among other threats, an "insufficient" knowledge of their basic ecological characteristics such as distribution and population size stands out. For the biologist, "from a conservation point of view, it is essential to understand the geographical distribution and population size of the Mediterranean fin whale, because if not, appropriate management methods cannot be implemented".
The danger of undersea noise
Maritime traffic and geophysical exploration including the search for hydrocarbons "drastically" reduces the song effectiveness linked to reproduction and which propagates hundreds of kilometres beneath the Sea of the whales, which are also the group of marine mammals with the greatest acoustic sensitivity at low frequencies. "The noise generated through human activity in the oceans leads to possible chronic effects on the health of this species", Castellote states.
To control these threats the same researchers identified in another report the possible impact of noise generated by human activity on the acoustic behaviour and geographical movement of the fin whales in various regions of the Mediterranean Sea and in the northeast Atlantic.
After analysing 20,547 hours of recordings of the sounds emitted by the whales, the study published in Biological Conservation indicated that the whales modified the characteristics of their songs in order to try to reduce the impact of noise on their propagation.
In addition the researchers recorded a massive displacement of fin whales, triggered by the noise from geophysical prospecting at a distance of 285 km from the study area. "These recurrent displacements, together with the changes in acoustic behaviour, could increase the energy expenditure and reduce the reproductive success of whales affected by the noise", the expert indicated.
In the long-term the consequences for these mammals are clear: chronic effects which impact on their survival emerge. "Noise in the marine medium, despite being recognised as a significant pollutant, is far from being controlled and regulated within the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Spain", warns Castellote.
###
Image: Fin whale which appeared stranded on the beach in Marbella (Spain) in 2008, the skeleton of which is on display in the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN) in Madrid.
References:
Castellote, Manuel; Clark, Christopher W.; Lammers, Marc O. "Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) population identity in the western Mediterranean Sea" Marine Mammal Science 28(2): 325-344 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00491. 2012.
Manuel Castellote, Christopher W. Clark, Marc O. Lammers "Acoustic and behavioural changes by fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in response to shipping and airgun noise" Biological Conservation 147: 115 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.021. 2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The fin whale, under more threat in the Mediterranean than thoughtPublic release date: 26-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: SINC Team info@agenciasinc.es FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
Until now it was thought that fin whales in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea made up part of the distribution of this species of whale in the Mediterranean. However, an international team of scientists led by a Spaniard has revealed that their population has been overestimated by including specimens from the Atlantic that visit at certain times the western Mediterranean, where the noise generated by human activity affects their survival.
In 1991 the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) population in the Mediterranean Sea was estimated at 3500 specimens. A new study, published in Marine Mammal Science, now shows that this record included specimens from the Atlantic, and suggests that the distribution and size of the current population of this whale, which is threatened with extinction, should be reconsidered.
"The Mediterranean population has easily been overestimated, as the census included the whole of the southeast Mediterranean, incorporating Atlantic fin whales within the Mediterranean census", reported to SINC Manuel Castellote, the lead author of the study and researcher in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA), Seattle (USA).
The research team analysed 29,822 hours of recordings of the songs emitted by these marine mammals which can reach a length of 27 metres, and are the second biggest cetaceans in the world in order to identify the distribution limits of the Mediterranean fin whale and those of the north Atlantic fin whale in the Straits of Gibraltar, where the two populations overlap.
The results reveal that the presence of fin whales in the areas of the Straits of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea southwest of the Mediterranean is exclusively limited to Atlantic fin whales that visit the Mediterranean Sea, above all in autumn and spring.
As a consequence, "the population of Mediterranean fin whales presents a much more limited distribution than currently described, excluding a significant region of the western Mediterranean", confirms Castellote, who highlights the fact that this region had previously been identified as a feeding area.
The importance of the study is the critical state situation of the whale in these waters where it is the only mysticete (it has a baleen instead of teeth). The species is particularly susceptible to collisions with merchant vessels and ferries, which is the main cause of fin whale mortality.
Among other threats, an "insufficient" knowledge of their basic ecological characteristics such as distribution and population size stands out. For the biologist, "from a conservation point of view, it is essential to understand the geographical distribution and population size of the Mediterranean fin whale, because if not, appropriate management methods cannot be implemented".
The danger of undersea noise
Maritime traffic and geophysical exploration including the search for hydrocarbons "drastically" reduces the song effectiveness linked to reproduction and which propagates hundreds of kilometres beneath the Sea of the whales, which are also the group of marine mammals with the greatest acoustic sensitivity at low frequencies. "The noise generated through human activity in the oceans leads to possible chronic effects on the health of this species", Castellote states.
To control these threats the same researchers identified in another report the possible impact of noise generated by human activity on the acoustic behaviour and geographical movement of the fin whales in various regions of the Mediterranean Sea and in the northeast Atlantic.
After analysing 20,547 hours of recordings of the sounds emitted by the whales, the study published in Biological Conservation indicated that the whales modified the characteristics of their songs in order to try to reduce the impact of noise on their propagation.
In addition the researchers recorded a massive displacement of fin whales, triggered by the noise from geophysical prospecting at a distance of 285 km from the study area. "These recurrent displacements, together with the changes in acoustic behaviour, could increase the energy expenditure and reduce the reproductive success of whales affected by the noise", the expert indicated.
In the long-term the consequences for these mammals are clear: chronic effects which impact on their survival emerge. "Noise in the marine medium, despite being recognised as a significant pollutant, is far from being controlled and regulated within the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Spain", warns Castellote.
###
Image: Fin whale which appeared stranded on the beach in Marbella (Spain) in 2008, the skeleton of which is on display in the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN) in Madrid.
References:
Castellote, Manuel; Clark, Christopher W.; Lammers, Marc O. "Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) population identity in the western Mediterranean Sea" Marine Mammal Science 28(2): 325-344 DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00491. 2012.
Manuel Castellote, Christopher W. Clark, Marc O. Lammers "Acoustic and behavioural changes by fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in response to shipping and airgun noise" Biological Conservation 147: 115 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.12.021. 2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia's largest hospital operator IHH Healthcare Bhd jumped as much as 14 percent in its trading debut on Wednesday, as investors eager for exposure to the region's growing healthcare sector chased the world's third largest listing this year.
IHH raised $2.1 billion in a share sale that confirmed Malaysia's status as Asia's current IPO capital following the strong debut last month of plantation giant Felda Global Ventures Holdings, the world's biggest IPO of 2012 after Facebook .
The stock opened 9.6 percent above its IPO price of 2.80 ringgit on the Malaysian stock exchange, within the expectations of analysts who had predicted a bounce despite the backdrop of tottering global equity markets and pulled listings.
Its Singapore debut also saw a 9.6 percent jump, adding some shine to the regional bourse after India's Reliance Communications shelved a planned $1 billion IPO by its undersea cable unit this month on jittery market conditions.
"We are quite happy with the start of our stock trading even though it is just under 10 percent premium. It shows a vote of confidence from investors towards us," IHH Managing Director Lim Cheok Peng told reporters in the Malaysian capital.
By 0332 GMT, Malaysian IHH shares had risen as much as 13.9 percent to 3.19 ringgit with the help of domestic funds, while shares in Singapore climbed 11.4 percent to S$1.24.
Malaysia, where the government has a heavy hand in the economy and the equity market is dominated by local investors and large domestic pension funds, has defied a gloomy trend that has seen several IPOs pulled due to a lack of investor interest.
And there are more IPOs in the pipeline. Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan is expected to list the local operations of pay-TV firm Astro All Asia Networks Plc in the fourth quarter in a deal that could raise as much as $1.5 billion, while the world's largest condom maker, Karex, is considering an IPO.
Singapore, on the other hand, had to contend with motor racing firm Formula One delaying its $3 billion dollar IPO. Most recently, Ascendas Hospitality Trust had to cut a planned listing in the city state by 13 percent after being forced to exclude a South Korean hotel chased by creditors.
EXPOSED TO HEALTHCARE
IHH is the healthcare arm of Malaysia's state investor Khazanah Nasional . Based on its highest Malaysian share price of 3.19 ringgit on Wednesday, IHH has a market capitalization of 25.6 billion ringgit ($8.06 billion), making it the world's second-biggest listed healthcare provider after U.S. hospital operator HCA Holdings Inc .
It joins the likes of Kuala Lumpur-listed KPJ Healthcare Bhd , Singapore's Raffles Medical Group , Bangkok Dusit Medical Services and India's Fortis Healthcare as key medical services stocks.
The stock is set to lead investor exposure into a region where rising incomes and a growing middle class in China, India and Southeast Asia are boosting demand for better medical services.
"Given IHH's size, I won't be surprised to see them incorporated as a component of the STI (Straits Times Index), so some funds may be taking positions first," said Ng Kian Teck, lead analyst at Singapore-based SIAS Research.
"There are not many healthcare plays here, especially of IHH's size but valuations are not cheap."
IHH, which counts Japan's Mitsui & Co and Dubai-based Albraaj Capital as shareholders along with Khazanah, has expanded rapidly in the past few years and now employs 24,000 people in 30 hospitals as well as medical centers and clinics.
It added Turkish hospital group Acibadem AS , Singapore's Parkway Holdings and India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd to its local holdings Pantai Hospitals and International Medical University.
MIXED VIEWS
Analysts' views are mixed on IHH's earnings growth outlook, with some saying it could struggle to achieve synergies from its large, complex operations extending from Malaysia and Singapore to Turkey.
In contrast, TA Research said IHH's strong earnings growth outlook and favorable geographic diversification warrants the IPO price that values it at a 20 percent premium to its peers.
At 2.80 ringgit a share, IHH trades at a historical price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of nearly 60 times, and 46 times forward PER based on Public Investment Bank's estimate of earnings per share of 6.1 sen for 2013.
IHH's Lim said the firm was working towards a unified vision for its Turkish and Southeast Asian units and left the door open for dividends.
"We do not have any dividend policy at this point, it depends on the cash flow. If we do not need to spend on capex and expansion and have excess cash, we will return the money back to the shareholders," he said.
IHH's IPO consisted of 2.23 billion shares with an over-allotment option of up to 170 million shares, putting the total offering at $2.1 billion.
The institutional component of the offer was oversubscribed by more than 100 times. Despite strong demand, the IPO was priced slightly below the top of a 2.67-2.85 ringgit range to "leave something on the table", one source involved in the deal said.
Nearly two-thirds of the shares were taken by big "cornerstone" investors including sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority and International Finance Corp , the private investment arm of the World Bank.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch , CIMB and Deutsche Bank are the lead global coordinators for the listing, with Credit Suisse , DBS , Goldman Sachs and Maybank acting as joint bookrunners. ($1 = 3.1780 Malaysian ringgit)
(Additional reporting by Niluksi Koswanage; Editing by Alex Richardson)
So where do Twitter and Facebook come in? One of the challenges in the project to date has been to gather specimens. Goose barnacles can dehydrate and die quickly when washed ashore, so they have to be rescued promptly and moved to an aquarium. In the past, the researchers trawled the beaches several times a week themselves, but it was a slow and largely unsuccessful way to find the sporadically stranded barnacles, says Jonker. So the scientists have started a social media campaign this summer to get people to tell them when they find the sticky marine creatures.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 26-Jul-2012
Share ]