Deadly oil rig explosion puts spotlight back on embattled Gulf drillers (+video)

An oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico Friday, reportedly killing at least two. The accident hits an industry trying to improve on safety in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / November 16, 2012

An offshore oil platform burns in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana Friday.

KLFY TV10/REUTERS

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A day after BP agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion criminal fine for its role in the deadly Deepwater Horizon environmental disaster in 2010, another Gulf of Mexico oil rig exploded, killing at least two workers and injuring as many as 11 on Friday.

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While early reports are downplaying the potential for another major environmental disaster, the deadly accident came as the Gulf oil industry tries to shore up a safety record that came under deep scrutiny in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 workers and resulted in some five million barrels of oil escaping into the Gulf from a broken wellhead.

The explosion and ensuing fire on Friday happened on a permanent oil pumping rig owned by independent driller Black Elk Energy around 10 a.m. Eastern time as workers were using cutting torches to split some pipe on the oil rig.

Early indications showed some oil had escaped from the platform, but Coast Guard officials said it was not ?a major oil spill response? and that no oil was leaking from the rig. ?It?s not going to be an uncontrolled discharge from everything we?re getting right now,? said Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski.

The rig is located about 36 miles south of Port Fourchon, La. By afternoon, the main fire on the rig had been extinguished and the Coast Guard had begun its oil-spill response as reports indicated that a half-mile long, 200-yard wide sheen had developed on the water near the stricken platform.

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon capsized and sank after firefighting boats failed to get control of the blaze. On Thursday, BP, the company that had leased the rig, pleaded guilty to charges related to the workers? deaths and accepted a deal that would put two monitors in charge of assessing the company?s safety processes for the next five years.

Unlike the Deepwater Horizon, which was a deep water exploratory rig, the Black Elk rig is a shallow water platform pumping from a permanent wellhead. The rig was not producing oil on Friday, but workers were performing maintenance. After the explosion, two people were confirmed dead, two were still missing, and 11 were injured, four seriously.

?West Delta Block 32 ? our thoughts and prayers are with those who are impacted,? the Black Elk Energy website said in large letters Friday afternoon. ?We have Black Elk personnel on the scene and en route.?

While the Deepwater Horizon leak brought unprecedented scrutiny to the oil industry?s safety procedures in the Gulf, Friday?s accident is part of a legacy of danger endured by the nation?s oil workers.

Between 2001 and 2010, the US government documented 69 offshore deaths, 1,349 injuries and 858 fires and explosions on offshore rigs situated in the Gulf of Mexico.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/usa/~3/usYucY3P0G0/Deadly-oil-rig-explosion-puts-spotlight-back-on-embattled-Gulf-drillers-video

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Rare parasitic fungi could have anti-flammatory benefits

Friday, November 16, 2012

Caterpillar fungi (Cordyceps) are rare parasites found on hibernating caterpillars in the mountains of Tibet. For centuries they have been highly prized as a traditional Chinese medicine - just a small amount can fetch hundreds of pounds.

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have been studying how this fungus could work by studying cordycepin, one of the drugs found in these mushrooms. They have already discovered that cordycepin has potential as a cancer drug. Their new work indicates that it could also have anti-inflammatory characteristics with the potential to help sufferers of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, renal failure and stroke damage.

The research, published today in the academic journal RNA, was led by Dr Cornelia de Moor in the School of Pharmacy. It shows that cordycepin reduces inflammatory gene products in airway smooth muscle cells ? the cells that contract during an asthma attack.

Several studies have suggested that cordycepin could be an effective drug for a variety of conditions, including cancer, stroke, kidney damage and inflammatory lung disease but until now it was unclear how cordycepin could bring about so many different beneficial effects at the cellular level.

Dr de Moor said: "We have shown that cordycepin reduces the expression of inflammatory genes in airway smooth muscle cells by acting on the final step in the synthesis of their messenger RNAs (mRNAs) which carry the chemical blueprint for the synthesis of proteins. This process is called polyadenylation. Commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs either work much earlier in the activation of inflammatory genes, such as prednisone, or work on one of the final products of the inflammatory reaction (e.g. ibuprofen).These findings indicate that cordycepin acts by a completely different mechanism than currently used anti-inflammatory drugs, making it a potential drug for patients in which these drugs don't work well.

"However, it is a surprise that cordycepin does not affect the synthesis of mRNAs from other genes, because nearly all mRNAs require polyadenylation."

Dr de Moor's research suggests that this is because inflammatory genes can be very rapidly induced and that cordycepin has its many and varied effects by altering the synthesis of other classes of rapidly induced genes as well. If this is true if could be said that cordycepin slows down the rapid cellular responses to tissue damage and may work by preventing the over-activation of these responses which are associated with conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, renal failure, cancer and stroke damage.

However, it also indicates that cordycepin could have adverse effects on normal wound healing and on the natural defences against infectious diseases.

Dr de Moor said: "We are hoping to further investigate which genes are more dependent on polyadenylation than others and why this is the case, as well as test the effect of cordycepin on animal models of disease. Clinical testing of cordycepin is not in our immediate plans, as we think we first have to understand this drug in more detail before we can risk treating patients with it."

###

University of Nottingham: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Nottingham for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 38 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125277/Rare_parasitic_fungi_could_have_anti_flammatory_benefits_

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Japan signs pact to import rare earths from India

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Nov 16, 2012, 05.36PM IST TOKYO: India and Japan on Friday inked two strategic agreements including one that will enable Tokyo to import rare earth minerals, a move which will help it to reduce its heavy reliance on China for the key material that is vital for producing a range of high-tech products.

The agreements, both of which were supposed to be signed during the now cancelled trip of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were inked by Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba and India's ambassador to Japan Deepa Wadhwa here.

The conclusion and signing of these agreements will further enhance and strengthen the India-Japan strategic and global partnership, a statement released by the ministry of external affairs said.

Under the signed agreement, Japan will import over 4,000 tonnes of rare earths a year from India. This is its second deal this month to diversify supply from China for the metals used in mobile phones and hybrid cars to missile guidance systems.

Japan has in the past imported all its rare earth requirements from China but has been scouting for alternatives after political turbulence hit its ties with Beijing.

India is expected to begin exporting rare earths to Japan as early as next spring, officials of Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry said.

With rare earth production at full throttle, India could supply around 4,100 tons annually, equivalent to around 10 percent of Japan's peak annual demand.

The production and exports will be conducted by a joint venture between Japan's Toyota Tsusho Corp. and India's state-run Indian Rare Earths Ltd.

The other deal ? Social Security Agreement ? will immediately benefit about 30,000 citizens of both countries.

About 22,000 Indians working in Japan and about 8,000 Japanese are employed in India and their social security contributions won't be deducted in both countries.

Prime Minister Singh was forced to cancel his visit after the Japanese government decided to dissolve the lower house of parliament for an election next month.

Source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2Etb0gkMTe3Wu/story01.htm

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Free Work At Home Easy Money Making Ideas Business Opportunity ...

TreasureTrooper Online Business Opportunity Ideas

TreasureTrooper Take Surveys, Complete Offers, Signup For Free Trials, Refer Friends Get Paid Paid For All Types Of Signups

TreasureTrooper is a popular GPT ( Get Paid To ) site that has been online and paying since 2005.

Treasure Trooper is free and doesn?t charge any fees. You can stop using the site whenever you want. The minimum age requirement to join is 13 and they do accept new members from outside of the United States, but the problem is non US residents can expect a limited selection of offers and paid online surveys. If you live in the US, you will get the most out of the site. You have to earn at least $20 before you get paid. One thing I like is that you have the choice to receive payment by PayPal or check. The majority of paid online surveys only pay by check.

There are surveys to complete, offers to go through, free and paid trials to try, completing tasks, participating in contests, getting cash back from shopping online stores, and, of course, earning from referrals. All these earning features from TreasureTrooper may sound typical from any other GPT site, however, what sets this one apart from others are their treasure items and prizes. These items may be exchanged for other special items or prizes (Amazon gift cards, iPod Nanos, XBox 360 consoles, etc.).

Offers

Offers are the most important part of TreasureTrooper. Even without a credit card, you can make over $50 with free offers, and if you have access to a credit card, you can make over $1000. There are many different kinds of offers: 100% Free, Free Trials, Shopping, Credit Cards, and Gambling. Unfortuanately, if you don't have a credit card, you are basically restricted to the 100% Free section. However, and I give credit to DarknessUndead for this, if you get a Visa Gift Card, you can use it on as a credit card on offers. This means that if you get a Visa Gift Card with just $5, you can do all the Free Trial offers that don't require any money.

If you have more than one email address, it is good to switch them up between offers, as that is also a method of increasing verification odds. However, do not use emails that don't belong to you or you may get banned!

Don't do all the low-paying offers all in one day. This decreases your chances of verification. If you do 5 a day, then wait till the next day, you have a better chance of verification.

Just because you've made a lot with the low-paying offers is no excuse not to go for higher ones. For younger people, talk with your parents about TreasureTrooper, and explain to them how it works, and try to get them to help you make money with TreasureTrooper by having them let you use their credit card. Don't steal it, though, because if something goes wrong then you'll have a hard time telling you parents. Trust me, this method has worked for me.

Shopping

A relatively new section of TreasureTrooper, the Shopping section allows you to receive cashback on everyday purchases. TreasureTrooper is affiliated with hundreds of merchants who will give you a percentage of cashback on things you buy everday. Since you already buy this stuff, why not do it through TreasureTrooper? You can save between just $1 on somethings while you can save more than $10 on other purchases. Don't say "oh, well the savings are so low it's not worth it." If you start buying all your stuff on TreasureTrooper, you will save hundreds of dollars over the months.

All Countries Accepted - So far there are no restrictions and all can join and earn from this site. However USA, UK, and Canada will have the most offers.

Unlimited Direct Referrals - There are no limits on how many referrals you can have. Great for promoters

Paying - They are paying and payment proofs can be found on the TreasureTrooper website and throughout the web.

TreasureTrooper is a website that helps it's members make money by taking paid surveys and completing advertising offers. Unlike other get-paid-to sites Treasure Trooper has a lot of offers to choose from and actually passes on a decent portion of the profits.

The payouts at Treasure Trooper per survey average out to about one dollar, while the rewards for completing offers can range from 5 to 50 dollars. They also have one of the highest paying referral programs that will let you earn a residual income from two tiers.

The downside to TreasureTrooper is that if you're not a US resident then you can't get the full rewards potential. You can still make some extra cash with some of the surveys but the majority of the high paying rewards aren't available.

There are also other forms of rewards from TreasureTrooper, in the form of prize redeemable tokens. It can take a really long time but if you're persistent you can save up enough to get cool gifts such as an ipod.

The best way of earning with Treasure Trooper is their referral program. They pay a really high 20% commission on the first level and 5% on your second level. Many members have reported that they are earning hundreds of dollars with the referrals.

The thing that took me by surprised and gave me proof this was a legitimate site was Treasure Trooper?s forum. I?m glad that people are able to openly talk and interact with each other. Many of these ?get paid to? sites try to silence your complaints and you don?t really have a say in anything. The forum allows you to interact with the staff and find out what?s working for other members.

Make More Money With TreasureTrooper Referral System

There are a number of ways to tell your friends to join your referral network:

Add your referral code to forum signatures
Use business cards to promote your referral code ( affiliate link )
Use Free Advertising Forums, Free Classified Sites, to promote your referral code ( affiliate link )
Start your own TreasureTrooper blog or website
E-mail your Friends and tell them about TreasureTrooper
Make a flyer that promotes TreasureTrooper and your referral URL
Promote your earnings in a forum or message board, and tell others how to make money with TreasureTrooper

Source: http://www.gempak.org/forum/showthread.php?t=113224

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The Microsoft Store: The place to be this week-end

Microsoft Store (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are in or around the Greater Toronto Area this week-end then there is no better place to be than the Microsoft Store in Yorkdale Mall.

The first international store and the largest in the chain, the opening of Microsoft?s newest retail?store can only be descried as a huge success, with literally hundreds of people lined up hours in advance to get their first glimpse of the retail marvel.

Microsoft Canada president Max Long was joined by Tami Reller, Corporate Vice President and CFO of Microsoft?s Windows Division were on hand to open the store with a crowd of 700 onlookers.? They did not only welcome the crowd and talk about the store, they also announced that Microsoft Canada was making a new donation of $1.500,000 to local charities ? presented by store manager Alison Evans.

When the curtain dropped the entire staff was leading the cheers, and then lined up to form a passageway into the store where they high-fived the first visitors.? By the time this VIP got in the door (in the first minute) the store was already bustling with activity, a level that has hardly abated at all thus far.

I spoke to a lot of people lined up and they were all here for different reasons ? deals on new hardware, Xbox and laptops and accessories? but the two things that drew the most people were the Microsoft Surface and the new Windows Phone 8 devices.

While the Surface has been available since the launch of Windows 8 on October 26th, the only place you were able to see it in Toronto was at the pop-up retail kiosk in the Eaton Centre.? Now that the full retail store is open there are dozens of Surfaces everywhere, as well as Sony, Acer, Asus, Dell Samsung devices ranging in size from 9? ultrabooks and tablets to 27? all-in-one machines.

The greatest thing about the store in my opinion is that the display machines are all available for visitors to try out ? as I write this article from a handy Sony Vaio T, complete with multi-touch sreen and reasonably priced at $899.? They are all internet-connected, and nobody is telling visitors not to touch, try, and in the Xbox corner play.? It is a great hands-on experience, and the store associates are as welcoming and helpful as I have ever seen.

In the Windows Phone corner there are representatives not only from a couple of the local carriers but also from the manufacturers as well.? Although the platform released October 26th, this is the first time I have even seen the devices outside the Microsoft offices.

Everywhere you look people of all ages and knowledge levels are asking questions, learning, and trying out great devices.? Of course every PC is running Windows 8, so it is a great opportunity for people to get their first glimpse of Microsoft?s flagship product, barely three weeks old.

In the back of the store there is an area called the theatre where during the regular hours people can play on the Xbox connected to an incredible 103? touch screen.? This afternoon (and tomorrow and Sunday) the Microsoft MVPs are taking over ? we will be presenting sessions every hour on topic including Windows 8, Office 2013, Office 365, Xbox, and of course Windows Phone 8.? I have several sessions over the course of the week-end, but am more interested to sit in and listen to what my fellow enthusiasts have to say (I usually know what I am going to say so I am seldom surprised).

It is definitely the place to be this week-end.? Even though the initial ?line up and wait? is over, the store has been consistently hopping since it opened, with no signs of slowing down.? I spoke with several members of the management team who are all pleased by the turnout.? Alison Evans, the store manager, told me she is ?ecstatic about the turnout.?

To make things even hotter, there will be an exclusive concert with the band Train tomorrow evening, and store staff are handing out wristband passes to the lucky few; and this afternoon The Great One ? Number 99 himself ? Wayne Gretzky will be in the store, and people will be lined up to meet him, get autographs, and get the chance to play Kinect games with him!

So if you haven?t come down yet what is stopping you?? Trust me, you will not be disappointed? your only regret will be if you do NOT come down!

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Source: http://garvis.ca/2012/11/16/the-microsoft-store-the-place-to-be-this-week-end/

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Video: Guy Fieri suspects ?another agenda? behind review

>> well, we're talking about that scathing review of guy fieri 's new restaurant . some people are asking, was it too harsh? we'll ask guy about that in a moment. but first, katie with the rest of the story. good morning.

>> reporter: -- in this case a grown man -- guy fieri , food network star.

>> you were expecting a flavor reference, i know you were.

>> reporter: tenth highest paid chef in america, popular enough for an snl spoof.

>> i for one go bizerki for turkey.

>> reporter: and a seriously bruised restaurant owner. did you try that blue drink the critic pete wells asks. the one that glows like nuclear waste ? the watermelon margarita. the entire restaurant review is questions. 34 of them, each scathing. why did the toasted marshmallow taste like fish? when we hear the words donkey sauce, which part of the donkey are we supposed to think about? but it's not just the food, wells doesn't spare fieri either. when you cruise around the country for your show to the unfancy places where americans like to get down and greasy, do you really mean it? or is it all an act?

>> mmm, that's good.

>> reporter: the review of guy's american kitchen and bar in time square is being called the worst restaurant review in the paper's history.

>> i think in this scenario, pete used his skill as a word smith to create a more harsh environment in which to describe the restaurant and to create this kind of aura of negativity around the experience that he had at guy fieri 's restaurant .

>> reporter: supporters by the dozens didn't care for the negativity taking to the facebook page telling the chef to ignore all those critics in new york .

>> it's just another pompous new yorker, i don't know. i don't know. i didn't agree with it.

>> reporter: for what it's worth, that last guy said he really loved the awesome pretzel chicken tenders . the times is defending the review saying he was here four times and each time he wasn't able to celebrate good american food . the only non-question in the review was at the very end, one word, a sarcastic thanks.

>> thank you to you. and guy fieri is here with us now exclusively. you flew here all night on the red eye to be here. what was your reaction when you read this review? it must have felt like a punch in the gut.

>> i -- punch in the gut. i just thought it was ridiculous. i mean, i read reviews. you know, there's good and bad in the restaurant business, but that to me went so overboard it really seemed like there was another agenda.

>> you have a problem with not what it said but with its tone?

>> the tone, the sarcasm, the question style. i mean, i think we all know what's going on here. he came in with a different agenda. four times to a restaurant that's been open two months, that's tough times . especially this size of a restaurant .

>> this reviewer says he came not just once or twice, but four different times , obviously found the cuisine to be lacking. is there anything in this review that you think strikes a chord where you acknowledge it wasn't up to my own standard?

>> without question, i've been in the restaurant business for 25 years. this is an ever changing, ever evolving process. you get new guys in, some guys out, different timings that go on. and do we do it perfect? no? are we striving to do it perfect? yes, but that's what we're all doing in the business.

>> one thing you've mentioned to me, why it is the "new york times " chose to review a restaurant like this. if you go on yelp, which is a place where regular folks go on and review restaurants, you get an average of 2 1/2 stars out of 5, 56 reviews, so it's kind of not necessarily knocking people's socks off.

>> and at this point in time at two months, not really expecting to. we're trying to. we're trying as hard as we can to make it right, to do it right, we've got a pretty big menu. you look at the food we're doing here, the cedar plank salmon or the burger, we're doing this, forming it by hand. we make the mashed potatoes for ever service. this is what's taking place. is it perfect right now? no. are we striving for it? yeah. i think those will change. it's two months now, let's see where we are at six months.

>> there are a lot of kitchens around the country where the famous chef comes in, lends his name but is sort of hands off and isn't involved. is this your baby? did you design this menu?

>> not only did we design the restaurant , we spent a year and a half doing this. wrote the menu, brought my culinary team in to work with this team here that's on premise all the time. i did the training for the front of the house, i did the training for the back of the house. i was here pain staking hours. but this is what you do, what you love. people see me as a tv guy, i'm a chef, i'm into restaurants, i have 11 of them, 7 in california. to me, and again, that's what this is. this is more heart and soul. this is not just a name stamp.

>> one thing that the reviewer said when asked by the "new york times " public editor saying he didn't expect a fine dining experience. didn't think this was going to be gourmet cuisine. but said, quote, this is important american food that makes a lot of people happy. do you think you fell short of that?

>> in his opinion, that's what he's saying. no, do i think i'm falling short? no. by no means. i'm doing the type of foods that america loves and we're doing it the right way. could we make mistakes? absolutely. do we strive to be the best? yes. to me it's impossible to come in and have a dining experience and have every single thing wrong unless you come in with a different agenda and you want to sensationalize something and blow it out of the water. it's a great way to make a name for yourself. go after a celebrity chef who is not a new yorker.

>> and if you have -- you could say anything to this reviewer right now, what would you say?

>> you're welcome? i mean, it's a great -- like i said, i stand by my food, by my team, who will continue to do great. and i appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about it because it is the real deal.

>> all right, guy fieri , thanks for being here.

>> eat some of this.

>> you're going to love it.

>> i'll try it and report

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49836579/

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Northeastern University's haptic ball-racket system is one pricey game of paddle ball

We had the chance to check out a couple of student projects at Northeastern University's fantastically-named Action Lab during a trip to Boston this week. On our quick tour through the facilities, we were shown a haptic controller being used to simulate the act of carrying a cup full of coffee, in order to monitor how people adapt movements to deal with the fluid dynamics of a hypothetical hot beverage inside the equally theoretical cup. The team had all sorts of strange and fascinating controls bandied about the facilities for the purpose of monitoring reactions to movement, but the one that really caught our eye was the ball-racket system. The controller uses a hacked up ping pong paddle connected to an encoder that feeds its real world vertical position into a computer, so test subjects can participate in what looks like rudimentary Atari game of paddle ball. Also on the bottom is a breaking mechanism that applies force to the paddle when the "ball" makes contact, so it feels like the real thing. There's a video of the system in action after the break, and more information about the studies can be found in the source link below.

Continue reading Northeastern University's haptic ball-racket system is one pricey game of paddle ball

Northeastern University's haptic ball-racket system is one pricey game of paddle ball originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lwdrRRhMXko/

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