4 Things You Can Do While On Bed Rest | Pregnancy Blog

Posted on 01. Feb, 2012 by Danielle Buffardi in Conceiving, Pregnancy Education

Being on bed rest is always for the health of you and your child. And while it may seem boring or tedious that you can?t get up and go about your daily business, there are lots of things that you can do while you?re on bed rest.

Shop & Organize

You can shop for clothes, baby items, and cribs all online. And if you still need to contribute to the house while you?re on bed rest then ordering things like groceries and health/drugstore items can help to take the load off of your partner.

Make sure someone will be home to receive and put away the items ? that?s not on your to-do list while you?re on bed rest.

You can also do things like reserve library books, book doctors? appointments for the family, organize photo albums, start the baby book, work on your birth plan, find a pediatrician, think about baby names, and send ecards to family members for birthdays and anniversaries.

Keep a list of things needed to be ordered or done next to your bed and cross them off as you complete or order them.

Research

You should always be researching and educating yourself about your pregnancy, your developing baby, and your family?s overall well-being.

As you come across things you may not be sure of or ideas/concerns that you want to know more about, keep a running list and go over it with your doctor or midwife.

If you have to be on bed rest, then you might as well hold your laptop hostage and put it to good use as well, right?

Talk to others on bed rest

There are lots of sites that have parenting forums and online clubs where you can engage in Q&A and small talk with other moms in your same position.

They can help answer some questions and become a welcome friend/community while you?re waiting for your baby to arrive.

Perhaps starting a blog (maybe even about being on bed rest) may also help you to easily connect and interact with other moms that are currently in your place now or have been there during one or more of their pregnancies.

If you prefer to keep your thoughts closer to home, then think about starting a journal. The act of thinking about, writing down, and documenting your feelings can help ease any frustrations or anxiety about them.

Put your mind at ease

No matter how long you?re instructed to stay on bed rest, it can get to you after a while, especially if you?re going to be alone for some time during the day.

However, it?s the ideal way for you to relax and you should take advantage of the calming factor of it all.

Do some meditating and deep breathing exercises to help keep your mind and body grounded and in the moment. Getting yourself to a peaceful state has tremendous benefits for both you and your baby such as lowering your blood pressure and keeping anxiety at bay.

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  • Don?t be afraid to ask for help while you?re on bed rest. When family, friends, or neighbors ask if and how they can help you ? take them up on their offer. Running errands, putting away the groceries, and even preparing freezable dinners are all fantastic ways for them to lend a hand.

_______________________________________________________

About the author: Danielle is a freelance blogger and website content manager specializing in parenting, family, pregnancy, social media, and entrepreneurial topics. To learn more about Danielle, please visit her website at www.PenPointEditorial.com.

Tags: getting things done while on bed rest, things to do while on bed rest

Source: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyblog/2012/02/4-things-you-can-do-while-on-bed-rest/

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Using plants to silence insect genes in a high-throughput manner

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 2-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Ian T. Baldwin
baldwin@ice.mpg.de
49-364-157-1101
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Using virus vector-mediated RNAi enables scientists to rapidly study the function of insect genes

Natural toxins against herbivores

More than 200,000 insects species are herbivores. They depend on plants for food and have adapted their metabolism accordingly in the course of evolution to render plant defenses, such as the toxins plants produce to fend off herbivores, ineffective. The operating instructions of these detoxification processes are coded in different genes. Insects have evolved an enormous diversity of adaptation mechanisms; they colonize most habitats on this planet which makes them interesting research objects in ecological studies. Which insect species attack which plants species? Which toxins or signaling substances are involved? Has the insect species adapted to one specific plant species or is it a food generalist? Interesting for agriculture: Which genes allow particular pest insects, such as the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus or the Western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, to be so destructive to crop plants? Knowing these detoxification genes and switching them off with the consequence that plant toxins are no longer effective, is currently a research subject in plant breeding. First success stories have already been reported thanks to the use of RNAi technology.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology examined a well-known plant toxin: nicotine. Plants of the species Nicotiana attenuata (coyote tobacco) produce nicotine as a defensive substance against herbivores. However, it does not have any toxic effects on their worst enemy: larvae of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. The insect is resistant against this alkaloid; genes that encode nicotine-catabolizing enzymes may be responsible for its resistance. These so called CYP genes are involved in the formation of cytochrome P450 enzymes; the expression of some of these genes is increased as soon as the insect larvae are exposed to nicotine in their food. Ian Baldwin and his team identified the DNA sequences of CYP genes in Manduca sexta and were able to switch off these genes using RNAi technology, but expressed in the plant.

Using plants to silence insect genes

RNA interference (RNAi) is triggered by the production of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) comprising about 300 base pairs in the cells of tobacco plants. If larvae feed on these plant, the RNA is released in the insect gut. In the experiments, the dsRNA harbored the sequence of the insect gene,CYP6B46, a special cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase specific for Manduca sexta larvae. In a next step, the dsRNA was enzymatically broken down into smaller RNA segments; a special enzyme complex called RISC (RNA-induced silencing complex), which carries several of these RNA segments, specifically binds to the messenger RNA (mRNA) of the CYP6B46 gene and disassembles the mRNA in such a way that the cytochrome P450 enzyme cannot be produced anymore. "We were impressed by the high specificity of these RNAi experiments. The analysis of mRNA transcripts of closely related CYP6 genes revealed that only the CYP6B46 gene was silenced. This means that there was no collateral damage from the procedure: the gene silencing worked on only one targeted gene," says Ian Baldwin.

The use of additional CYP RNAi probes revealed further interesting results: Young caterpillars which had ingested dsRNA of the CYP4M3 gene gained significantly less weight within 14 days in comparison to larvae reared on control plants very likely a consequence of the nicotine and its toxic effect which had been restored by switching off the CYP gene. The RNAi experiments had been conducted using plant viral vectors. Unlike genetically transformed tobacco plants in which CYP dsRNA is produced constitutively, the virus vector-based technique provides dsRNA transiently produced in wildtype tobacco plants. Both methods worked well but the "plant virus-based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) allows for a throughput of RNAi samples that is four times faster. Many unknown functions of different insect genes involved in the adaptation of insects to their environment can now be analyzed using the VDPS technique.

However, it is still unclear how the individual steps in the RNAi mechanism from producing dsRNA in the plant cell via their uptake in the insect gut to the silencing of the detoxification genes are accomplished to induce a maximum effect. One experiment provided some interesting information: If the enzymatic step which dices dsRNA into small fragments is inhibited in the experimental plants, the amount of transcripts of the detoxification gene was reduced even further. Therefore the plant mediated RNAi procedure may be more effective, if the caterpillars ingest complete dsRNA instead of smaller diced RNA segments. [JWK, AO]

###

Original Publication:

Kumar, P., Pandit, S.S., Baldwin, I.T.: Tobacco Rattle Virus vector: A rapid and transient means of silencing Manduca sexta genes by plant mediated RNA interference. PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031347

Further Information:

Prof. Dr. Ian T. Baldwin, MPI for Chemical Ecology, Jena
Tel.: 03641 - 57 1100, baldwin@ice.mpg.de

Pictures:

Angela Overmeyer M.A., Tel. 03641 - 57 2110, overmeyer@ice.mpg.de or Download via http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/735.html



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

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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.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 2-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Ian T. Baldwin
baldwin@ice.mpg.de
49-364-157-1101
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Using virus vector-mediated RNAi enables scientists to rapidly study the function of insect genes

Natural toxins against herbivores

More than 200,000 insects species are herbivores. They depend on plants for food and have adapted their metabolism accordingly in the course of evolution to render plant defenses, such as the toxins plants produce to fend off herbivores, ineffective. The operating instructions of these detoxification processes are coded in different genes. Insects have evolved an enormous diversity of adaptation mechanisms; they colonize most habitats on this planet which makes them interesting research objects in ecological studies. Which insect species attack which plants species? Which toxins or signaling substances are involved? Has the insect species adapted to one specific plant species or is it a food generalist? Interesting for agriculture: Which genes allow particular pest insects, such as the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus or the Western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, to be so destructive to crop plants? Knowing these detoxification genes and switching them off with the consequence that plant toxins are no longer effective, is currently a research subject in plant breeding. First success stories have already been reported thanks to the use of RNAi technology.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology examined a well-known plant toxin: nicotine. Plants of the species Nicotiana attenuata (coyote tobacco) produce nicotine as a defensive substance against herbivores. However, it does not have any toxic effects on their worst enemy: larvae of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. The insect is resistant against this alkaloid; genes that encode nicotine-catabolizing enzymes may be responsible for its resistance. These so called CYP genes are involved in the formation of cytochrome P450 enzymes; the expression of some of these genes is increased as soon as the insect larvae are exposed to nicotine in their food. Ian Baldwin and his team identified the DNA sequences of CYP genes in Manduca sexta and were able to switch off these genes using RNAi technology, but expressed in the plant.

Using plants to silence insect genes

RNA interference (RNAi) is triggered by the production of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) comprising about 300 base pairs in the cells of tobacco plants. If larvae feed on these plant, the RNA is released in the insect gut. In the experiments, the dsRNA harbored the sequence of the insect gene,CYP6B46, a special cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase specific for Manduca sexta larvae. In a next step, the dsRNA was enzymatically broken down into smaller RNA segments; a special enzyme complex called RISC (RNA-induced silencing complex), which carries several of these RNA segments, specifically binds to the messenger RNA (mRNA) of the CYP6B46 gene and disassembles the mRNA in such a way that the cytochrome P450 enzyme cannot be produced anymore. "We were impressed by the high specificity of these RNAi experiments. The analysis of mRNA transcripts of closely related CYP6 genes revealed that only the CYP6B46 gene was silenced. This means that there was no collateral damage from the procedure: the gene silencing worked on only one targeted gene," says Ian Baldwin.

The use of additional CYP RNAi probes revealed further interesting results: Young caterpillars which had ingested dsRNA of the CYP4M3 gene gained significantly less weight within 14 days in comparison to larvae reared on control plants very likely a consequence of the nicotine and its toxic effect which had been restored by switching off the CYP gene. The RNAi experiments had been conducted using plant viral vectors. Unlike genetically transformed tobacco plants in which CYP dsRNA is produced constitutively, the virus vector-based technique provides dsRNA transiently produced in wildtype tobacco plants. Both methods worked well but the "plant virus-based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) allows for a throughput of RNAi samples that is four times faster. Many unknown functions of different insect genes involved in the adaptation of insects to their environment can now be analyzed using the VDPS technique.

However, it is still unclear how the individual steps in the RNAi mechanism from producing dsRNA in the plant cell via their uptake in the insect gut to the silencing of the detoxification genes are accomplished to induce a maximum effect. One experiment provided some interesting information: If the enzymatic step which dices dsRNA into small fragments is inhibited in the experimental plants, the amount of transcripts of the detoxification gene was reduced even further. Therefore the plant mediated RNAi procedure may be more effective, if the caterpillars ingest complete dsRNA instead of smaller diced RNA segments. [JWK, AO]

###

Original Publication:

Kumar, P., Pandit, S.S., Baldwin, I.T.: Tobacco Rattle Virus vector: A rapid and transient means of silencing Manduca sexta genes by plant mediated RNA interference. PLoS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031347

Further Information:

Prof. Dr. Ian T. Baldwin, MPI for Chemical Ecology, Jena
Tel.: 03641 - 57 1100, baldwin@ice.mpg.de

Pictures:

Angela Overmeyer M.A., Tel. 03641 - 57 2110, overmeyer@ice.mpg.de or Download via http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/735.html



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/mpif-upt020212.php

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2nd black graduate of Univ. of Mississippi dies (AP)

JACKSON, Miss. ? Cleveland Donald Jr., the second black graduate of the University of Mississippi who started a black studies program at the college, has died. He was 65.

Donald died Jan. 26 of natural causes at his home in New Milford, Conn., said his brother, retired Army Maj. Gen. James Donald.

Born in Newton, Miss., Donald attended Tougaloo College in Jackson for a year, then enrolled at Ole Miss in 1964 and graduated in 1966 with a history degree. He later earned a doctorate from Cornell University.

Along with James Meredith and another person, Donald entered Ole Miss under a federal protection order. In 1962, Meredith was the first black to enroll and later, the first to graduate.

"When I first went to Ole Miss, John Doar was then (an assistant) U.S. attorney general. He told me only James Meredith could've put up with this tremendous explosion that took place at Ole Miss and to be as unflappable as he was to events taking place around him," Donald said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press.

"He (Meredith) went, I think, to break down the barriers, and I sort of saw as my goal, my purpose was to show that we could succeed after the doors had been opened and that some kinds of fellowship could be established to just keep the doors open and to make sure that we were moving at another level."

Donald returned to Ole Miss in 1978 to help the university establish a black studies program.

During his career, Donald was a professor at the University of Texas, the State University of New York, the University of Massachusetts and the University of Connecticut, where he also served as director of its Waterbury campus.

James Donald said his brother, the eldest of five, had an "extraordinary strong personality" that came naturally. James Donald, who also graduated from Ole Miss and served 33 years in the military, said their family started an organization after World War II to push for military benefits for black veterans when the Veterans of Foreign Wars refused to let blacks join.

"Our father was a very strong advocate for equal rights and justice and he passed that on to us very early in life," James Donald said.

Cleveland Donald became involved in the civil rights movement while attending Tougaloo.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History's website include news reports from AP and other news organizations about Donald applying to the University of Mississippi in 1964. The reports said Donald was admitted under a federal judge's order, but was told not to engage in civil rights activities while he was a student.

James Donald said no one told his brother what to do.

"Cleveland was a driven man. He would say things that would get an average person in trouble. Everywhere he went, he provided a source of energy that pushed us forward," James Donald said.

Cleveland Donald returned to Mississippi often. He worked with former Gov. William Winter on programs at the Ole Miss Institute for Racial Reconciliation, which is named for Winter.

The Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, a defunct state agency that spied on civil rights activists, investigated Donald in 1964 as he was applying to Ole Miss.

Commission investigator Virgil Downing reported that Donald had been arrested by Jackson police twice in 1963 for parading without a permit, according to records on the archive agency's website.

Donald told AP in 2010 that none of that deterred him.

"I do believe that there were quite a few faculty members and of course the chancellor at the time and others who were hoping someone would come along who would be a serious student to help establish a new order and to give Ole Miss a better image than it had when James Meredith was there," he said.

The tumult of the civil rights era will always stay with Mississippians, he said.

"It is a part of our history. I don't know whether it's actually necessary to put a spin on it. It wasn't that there were so many bad people in the South; it was that so few of the good people spoke up so that you didn't have this dialogue and counterbalance," Donald said.

___ Associated Press writer Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_ole_miss_graduate

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Building Over Sewer Drain - Plumbing - DIY Home Improvement ...

Old Yesterday, 04:47 PM ? #1

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Join Date: Feb 2012

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live in a 1950,s semi.sewer drain runs from next door, then picks up my soil pipe.we want to build over drain but cant get 100% answer on who owns sewer.we are in southern water region.


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Warning: The topics covered on this site include activities in which there exists the potential for serious injury or death. DIYChatroom.com DOES NOT guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information contained on this site. Always use proper safety precaution and reference reliable outside sources before attempting any home improvement task!

Old Yesterday, 05:22 PM ? #2

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Huh. Good to know.

Is there a DIY question in there somewhere?

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Source: http://www.diychatroom.com/f7/building-over-sewer-drain-132228/

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Tips On How To Optimize Your Website Utilizing Articles Directory ...

When you are a newcomer in online market, you might be surprised of the sheer amount of several information you locate that you are generally unable to decide on the techniques which will work best for you. The main purpose of the article is to enable you to in the process of deciding the advantages along with the value of article marketing, definitely, one of the best search engine optimization strategies.

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One of the most beneficial points in submitting to an article directory could be the reality that it does not halt as well as stop. An article directory submission will assist you to set up a long-term online visibility that may undoubtedly be beneficial to you in the years to come.

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Source: http://1aboutpsychology.com/2012/writing-and-speaking/general/tips-on-how-to-optimize-your-website-utilizing-articles-directory/

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House transportation bill would spend about $260B (AP)

WASHINGTON ? House Republicans are proposing to spend about $260 billion over the next 4 1/2 years on transportation programs, as well as substantially increase the size of trucks permitted on highways, according to a draft bill being introduced this week.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and other GOP leaders are expected to introduce the bill on Tuesday. Mica's committee is poised to approve the measure on Thursday.

Significant policy changes in the bill include giving states far greater power ? and the U.S. Department of Transport far less say ? over how federal transportation aid is spent. The bill also consolidates many existing transportation programs, and makes it easier and quicker for road construction and other transportation projects to meet the requirements of federal environmental laws.

States could permit trucks weighing up to 97,000 pounds ? and in some cases as much as 126,000 pounds ? on interstate highways under the bill. The current limit is 80,000 pounds in most states. Increased weight limits are supported by the trucking industry, but opposed by safety advocates.

"Larger and heavier trucks mean bigger safety risks for highway drivers," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., wrote in a letter to House lawmakers last week asking them not to raise weight limits.

The bill would maintain current spending on transportation despite declining gasoline and diesel fuel taxes, which historically have paid for highway and transit programs.

A separate committee will decide how to cover the gap between gas-tax revenues and the spending levels proposed in the bill. GOP leaders have said they plan to use revenue from expanded oil and natural gas drilling, but haven't provided details. However, congressional aides knowledgeable about the proposal said it would include drilling off the Virginia coast and in federal leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The aides weren't authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be named.

The bill provides enough money to prevent the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems from falling further into disrepair, but not enough to significantly reduce the backlog of needed work on transportation infrastructure, transportation experts said. A congressionally mandated commission estimated in 2009 that it would require $200 billion a year to reduce the backlog while maintaining the current transportation system.

"Clearly this level of funding is inadequate to support our needs as a nation," said Joshua Schank, president of the Eno Center for Transportation, a Washington think tank that supports greater transportation investment.

But the bill is expected to save jobs in construction, bus manufacturing and other transportation-related industries in part because it allows state transportation departments to make long-term commitments of funds. Those kinds of commitments are usually necessary before companies can go forward with major new transportation projects.

Each $1 billion in transportation construction spending supports about 30,000 jobs, said Andy Herrmann, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The GOP bill is "holding along the lines of what we've been doing in the past," he said.

But that may be enough to propel the bill through the House in an election year where voter regard for Congress is at rock bottom and lawmakers are eager to show off an accomplishment.

The last long-term transportation bill expired in 2009. Congress has kept transportation aid flowing to states through a series of short-term extensions. The current extension expires on March 31.

The Senate is working on its own bill, which would spend $109 billion over two years. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a co-author of the bill, says the bill's sponsors have a plan to pay for the measure, but hasn't detailed how that would happen.

A bipartisan proposal introduced in the Senate on Monday would continue transit spending at current levels while giving the regulators greater safety oversight of transit agencies, including the power to impose fines. The Banking Committee is expected to approve the measure on Thursday, after which it will be incorporated into the Senate transportation bill.

____

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_go_co/us_transportation_bill

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Ari Solomon: Does Eating Meat Make You a Bully?

Here is the definition of the word bully: "A person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker." Many of us know firsthand what it's like to be bullied. We know what it's like to be vulnerable and scared, and to have that be taken advantage of. I never considered animals to be a part of that equation.

Then, a few years ago, a random discussion on a talk show led me to research factory farming, a practice that produces 99 percent of the animals we consume in the U.S. I not only read about the horrors of these places, but, thanks to countless undercover investigation videos posted online, I saw them. I saw baby calves being screamed at and punched in the face by desensitized farm workers. I saw turkeys being kicked and thrown against walls until their wings broke. A saw a baby pig having its head bashed in with a brick. These poor animals were being abused, tormented, and killed by merciless beings many times their size. They were being bullied.

Even though I was never in situations this extreme growing up gay, many LGBT people are. They are regularly verbally abused, physically assaulted, and even killed. And while there undoubtedly is a difference between people and animals, the question must be asked: when it comes to things such as fear, pain, and suffering, aren't animals much more like us than they are not like us?

I know we all love a good burger or turkey sandwich, but isn't our consumption of these foods perpetuating the power-hungry and cruel attitudes we so strongly oppose? Is it really such a stretch to ask that all those who feel be liberated from the suffering caused by bullying? Because whether you want to admit it or not, that's precisely what it is. This realization, subconscious at the time, led me to become a vegan. By choosing to avoid animal foods, I feel I'm sending a strong message that I won't be a party to bullying in any form.

I know it's difficult to imagine giving up some of your favorite foods (you'll discover new ones, trust me) but I invite you to learn the truth about where those foods come from. Really think about it. Sit with it. Be honest with yourself. Does knowing that you pay other people to treat animals this way feel good in your soul?

A brilliant writer, Laura Moretti, once said this about animals:

Animals are the most victimized living creatures on earth; more than children, more than women, more than people of color. Our prejudice enables us to exploit and use them, as scientific tools and expendable commodities, and to eat them. We do to them any atrocity our creative minds can summon. We justify our cruelties; we have to or we can't commit them.

Chew on that.

?

Follow Ari Solomon on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VeganAri

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-solomon/eating-meat-bullying_b_1234232.html

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Ex-LA teacher due in court on molestation charges

In this undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. Berndt been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 7 to 10. AP Photo/ Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)

In this undated police booking photo released by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department shows former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, who was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. Berndt been charged with committing lewd acts with 23 boys and girls ages 7 to 10. AP Photo/ Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)

Police are seen at the The Miramonte Elementary school in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. A school teacher, Mark Berndt, bound and gagged nearly two dozen children, put cockroaches on some of their faces and posed in photos with them in a classroom, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday. Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday and remained jailed on $2.3 million bail.(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Students are escorted to a waiting bus as they leave Miramonte Elementary school after classes Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 in Los Angeles. Veteran Miramontes Elementary school teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday, Jan. 30, on charges of lewd conduct with 23 children after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped and cockroaches on their faces. Berndt remained jailed Tuesday on $2.3 million bail. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The Miramonte Elementary school's principal, Martin Sandoval spesaks to the media outside his school in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Veteran Miramontes Elementary school teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested on charges of lewd conduct with 23 children after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped and cockroaches on their faces. Berndt, 61, not seen, was arrested Jan. 30, and remained jailed Tuesday on $2.3 million bail. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A student enters into Miramontes Elementary School in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Veteran Miramontes Elementary school teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday, Jan. 30, on charges of lewd conduct with 23 children after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped and cockroaches on their faces. Berndt remained jailed Tuesday on $2.3 million bail. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The children at Miramonte Elementary School never complained about their third-grade teacher. Not when he blindfolded them, not when he put tape over their mouths or even when he placed live cockroaches on their faces.

He told them it was a game. Then he photographed them, creating images that would eventually lead to his arrest.

Mark Berndt faced arraignment Wednesday on charges that he committed lewd acts on 23 boys and girls, ages 6 to 10, between 2008 and 2010. He has hired a lawyer and has made no statements to authorities, said Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

The investigation began when a film processor found Berndt's photos more than a year ago. Since the discovery, the school district fired Berndt and police put him under surveillance.

"If it wasn't for the film processor, this could still be continuing today," said sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez.

Berndt was arrested Monday at his home in Torrance and was being held on $2.3 million bail.

Some parents picking up their pre-kindergarteners at the school on Tuesday complained that officials at the school in South Los Angeles should have notified them when the photos were found.

"My concern is why, if the principal knew this in advance, why didn't he inform us?" said Gloria Polanco, the mother of a second- and a third-grader. "How long has he been doing this?"

The probe began after the film processor, who is required by state law to report suspicions of child abuse and molestation, turned over some 40 photographs to authorities.

About 400 photos were found at Berndt's home and at the photo lab during subsequent searches. It's not clear how many different children were pictured. At least 10 youngsters in the photos have not yet been identified.

Some photos showed Berndt with his arm around children or his hand over their mouths. Some photos showed children with live bugs the size of hissing cockroaches on their mouths or faces.

Others depicted girls with what appears to be a spoon up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest a clear-white liquid. Children were fed Berndt's semen from a spoon or on cookies, Marquez said.

Kids reported being fed something distasteful. A blue plastic spoon and container found in the trash in his classroom tested positive for his semen, authorities said.

Police recommended the children in the photos be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. There also may be more victims given the length of time that Berndt taught at the school, Marquez said.

Authorities could have arrested Berndt on misdemeanor charges when the investigation began but chose to build a stronger felony case, Marquez said. He could get a life sentence if he is convicted.

At first, neither the parents nor the children believed they had been molested, so there wasn't much reaction, according to Whitmore. It was only after the matter of the semen was raised that they became alarmed.

Berndt, who has no previous arrest record, was placed under surveillance and is not believed to have had contact with children during the investigation. The childless bachelor lives a few blocks from two parks and an elementary school.

As for surveillance of Berndt, Whitmore said, "It was routine. It wasn't 24-7. We knew his whereabouts."

The incidents occurred during school hours but not all the children were his students, Marquez said.

"The reason some of the kids are not his students, per se, is that during the lunch breaks or recess, he'd go out to the playground and entice them back to the classroom," Marquez said.

"They didn't know they were being violated in that manner," he said. "They just thought it was a game."

Berndt was a teaching assistant in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1976 and 1977 and he began teaching at Miramonte in 1979, according to a district work history obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Berndt had no disciplinary actions on file and performed up to standards in his last five evaluations over the last decade, according to the document.

Miramonte Principal Martin Sandoval said he wanted to express his sympathy to the children's families.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said in a statement that he was notified of the investigation last January and removed Berndt from the classroom the same day. The school board then fired him, he said.

While Berndt may be long gone from the school, the incident has left its mark.

"My children won't be coming back here," said Kimberly Kirklin, whose teenage daughter was in Berndt's class three years ago. "He preyed on our innocents. He tainted a whole neighborhood."

Berndt is scheduled for an arraignment Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. He has hired a lawyer and has made no statements to authorities, Whitmore said.

___

Associated Press writer Raquel Maria Dillon in Los Angeles and Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-01-Teacher-Classroom%20Bondage/id-73ad778bcdf140b3a1fe65a75894bf49

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Firefox 10 hits the streets (Digital Trends)

Firefox 10 cartoon

Mozilla has set loose Firefox 10, the latest version of its open-source Web browser for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. New features in the release are largely limited to technologies aimed at Web developers, but there?s one important new feature that ought to appeal to anyone who has augmented their browser?s functionality: by default, most add-ons will be compatible with new versions of Firefox by default, and users will have an easier time managing and (if necessary) updating their add-ons to new versions of the browser.

In previous versions of Firefox, Mozilla assumed add-ons weren?t compatible with new versions of the browser unless they had specifically been re-released for a new browser version; the result was that many users put off upgrades until new versions of their add-ons were available. However, Mozilla realized roughly three-quarters of all Firefox add-ons generally don?t have any compatibility issues with new releases?the biggest exceptions are binary add-ons that contain their own compiled code. So, beginning with Firefox 10, Mozilla assumes that extensions are compatible with new versions of Firefox so long as they don?t contain compiled code and were compatible with Firefox 4, the last time a major shift in architecture required add-on changes. Firefox 10 also polls for new versions of add-ons once a day, and installs them if an update is found.

Most of the other new features in Firefox 10 are under-the-hood changes and features only Web developers can love. Notable for Web authors, Firefox 10 includes a Page Inspector that enables Web authors to peer into the structure of a Web page, and there?s also a style sheet inspector to look at how styling information is handled: Web developers have previously used tools like the much-loved Firebug for similar tasks, but it?s nice to see the support included. The browser also includes a ScratchPad based on the Eclipse Orion code editor, and adds a new full-screen mode site creators can use for immersive apps like games. (Game developers will also appreciate new 3D graphics capabilities and antialiasing for WebGL content.)

Firefox 10 is the latest version in Firefox?s rapid-release program that?s intended to bring new features to the browser (and its users) more quickly, rather than waiting many months (or over a year) to bring out monolithic new versions. The goal of the rapid release program is to get new technologies out into the real Web more quickly; however, it has also drawn ire from both individual users and organizations. Some end users are frustrated by constant updates that don?t seem to bring much in the way of new features (for most users, Firefox 10 is almost indistinguishable from Firefox 4), while organizational users find Firefox too much of a moving target: they can?t certify a new version get it out to their user base before another one comes along and the process starts all over again.

The new technology for handling add-ons should make the process of upgrading to new versions smoother for end-users, and to satisfy organizations, Firefox 10 is the first Extended Support Release (ESR) of the browser: instead of fading away after a few weeks, Mozilla will maintain Firefox 10 with security updates for a full year, even as they move on to Firefox 11, 12, 13, and more. Making Firefox 10 an ESR release means the browser is a stable target for companies and organizations.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Mozilla blocks Skype?s glitchy Firefox toolbar extension

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/linux/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120131/tc_digitaltrends/firefox10hitsthestreets

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In Hong Kong, you have to win the lottery to buy an iPhone (Yahoo! News)

In an effort to combat scalping, Apple will only sell the iPhone 4S to lottery winners in the Chinese territor??

Think lining up overnight for an?iPhone launch is bad? Try snagging a new?iPhone 4S in Hong Kong, where?Apple recently implemented a lottery system in an effort to combat scalping. If you're in Hong Kong and want the newest iPhone iteration, forget waking up early to be the first person outside an?Apple Store ? the company doesn't sell any to walk-in customers. You have to first join a lottery on the company's website and?then win before you can even be eligible to buy a unit.

The recent iPhone 4S launch in mainland China was riddled with scalpers, and one particular?incident in Beijing even turned into a brawl fest. This new system is super strict, with the lottery remaining open to entries for only three hours each day. Winners get an email before 9 P.M., and they can claim their iPhone 4S units the next day provided they have a government-issued photo ID with the same name and serial number they submitted to the lottery.

No word yet on whether Apple will implement this lottery system elsewhere, though it may subsequently be used in places where scalping is rampant.

(Source)

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120131/tc_yblog_technews/in-hong-kong-you-have-to-win-the-lottery-to-buy-an-iphone

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