For immediate release:? March 6 , 2012???????????????????????????????????????? Contact:? Susan Opasik, Martin County Library System, Public Relations, 772-463-2863???
Learn About World Wise Nutrition for Kids, Teens and Parents?and Bullying, Too?at Robert Morgade Library March 21? ? Marybeth Pe?a, RN, will present ?World Wise Nutrition for Kids, Teens and Parents, Too!? on Wednesday, March 21 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Anderson Community Room of the Robert Morgade Library, located on the IRSC Chastain Campus, 5851 SE Community Drive, Stuart.?
Snacks will be prepared and served as families learn about wise and delicious nutrition from other cultures around the world through stories and wonderful food.
There will also be a special appearance by Susan Davis Abello, author of Pumpkin & Buster and The Right Thing to Do?About a Bully, who will be available to speak about her book and the topic of bullying.
Funded by the Friends of the Blake Library in Stuart, Inc., the program is free.??
Pre-registration is required.? Please call 772-221-1407 to register.
For more information about the Martin County Library System pick up a Library Connection at any Martin County library, call 772-221-1403, or visit the library website at http://www.library.martin.fl.us.
First let's start with; what exactly is a good Christian education? Would this involve only learning religious text that supports the beliefs that Jesus is God? It seems like everyone coming out of Christian high schools and colleges support Christianity with a very limited education of the Bible and worse yet humanity.
I have had the pleasure to meet quite a few adults who consider themselves to be good Christians and are the products of a Christian education. Some of these people do things that are in direct violation of their Christian upbringing and worse than that violate simple laws of the Bible like the 10 Commandments. It seems like the better Christians can justify their wrongdoings somehow through religious text.
It's almost like they were taught that that they're better than other people, somehow they have beliefs that were instilled in them, quite possibly from the religious education, that they need to help people, even though most of them can hardly take care of themselves.
They seem to always be looking for an opportunity to help someone in a very small way. Learn to take care of yourself and then you will be able to do a better job, teaching others to take care of themselves, instead of making your religious views, their religious views.
A Christian education almost guarantees the survival of Christianity. More and more Christians are sending their children to this Christian high school in the hopes of a better life. Following Jesus will also guarantee them a spot in heaven, what a relief. With this thinking, society has to deal with other problems like abortion, starvation, and of course the worst one of all, an illusion of the truth. Most Christians believe they are right and others aren't in this doesn't allow much room for negotiating.
This is a way of thinking and keeps their minds closed as fears from false prophets enter their minds. If non-Christians are talking about their religion in a negative way, it's almost an automatic reaction from their Christian education that these people could be corrupted or influenced by demons. Has it ever entered a Christian?s mind that may be; just maybe it's their religious leaders who are evil and its people like me who are teaching the truth. Think about this last statement before you put me in a box, with the rest of the evil Christian hatemonger.
The Christian impact on our society in the United States is getting worse as more Christian leaders are elected into the United States government. Believing that you are right and others are wrong doesn't make you right. Hitler during World War II convinced a country that he was right and it leads them to destruction.
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FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2012 file photo, Afghans burn an effigy representing U.S. President Barack Obama during an anti-U.S. protest in Ghani Khail, east of Kabul, Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base. Two U.S. troops were gunned down by an Afghan soldier and his accomplice Thursday, March 1, 2012, the latest of six American service members killed by their Afghan partners since the burning of Muslim holy books last week sent anti-Americanism soaring in a nation that has long distrusted foreigners. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2012 file photo, Afghans burn an effigy representing U.S. President Barack Obama during an anti-U.S. protest in Ghani Khail, east of Kabul, Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base. Two U.S. troops were gunned down by an Afghan soldier and his accomplice Thursday, March 1, 2012, the latest of six American service members killed by their Afghan partners since the burning of Muslim holy books last week sent anti-Americanism soaring in a nation that has long distrusted foreigners. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2012 file photo, Afghans shout anti-American slogans during an anti-U.S. protest in Ghani Khail, east of Kabul, Afghanistan over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base. Two U.S. troops were gunned down by an Afghan soldier and his accomplice Thursday, March 1, 2012, the latest of six American service members killed by their Afghan partners since the burning of Muslim holy books last week sent anti-Americanism soaring in a nation that has long distrusted foreigners. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An investigation into the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base has found it was a mistake involving at least five Americans who may face a disciplinary review, a Western official said Saturday, but Afghan investigators claimed it was an intentional desecration.
The conflicting accounts highlight rising tensions between the two countries despite apologies by President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials following the Feb. 20 discovery of charred Qurans and other religious literature in a burn pit at Bagram air base, north of Kabul.
Anger over the burnings already has led the deaths of more than 30 Afghans during violent protests as well as six U.S. soldiers who were shot and killed by ROGUE Afghan security forces.
A Western official told The Associated Press that preliminary findings from a joint investigation by senior Afghan and U.S. military officials that was ordered by Marine Gen. John Allen has convinced them that although mistakes were made, there was no intent to desecrate the Qurans or other material.
The official, who has knowledge of the investigation but spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said it could lead to a disciplinary review of at least five U.S. military personnel involved. The official did not elaborate, and it was unclear what such a review could recommend.
The controversy began when Qurans and other Islamic texts were removed from the library at the Parwan Detention Facility, then taken to the burn pit at the adjoining Bagram Air Field.
The Western official confirmed earlier reports that extremist inscriptions were found inside the texts, including notations apparently scribbled by detainees exchanging messages. He said that after the writings were discovered, two Afghan-American interpreters were assigned to go through the library materials, and 1,652 items were removed and placed in boxes.
A decision was made to dispose of the material because of a lack of storage space and the notes inside, but a group of three soldiers on a garbage detail removed the books before that could be done properly, the official said. He said the soldiers had no idea what they were throwing into the burn pit and insisted none of the material was destroyed before it was removed by Afghan workers.
However, Maulvi Khaliq Dad, a top Afghan religious leader who was on a different panel appointed by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident, claimed the burning was intentional.
Dad said U.S. officials informed Afghan authorities about their suspicions that notes inside the books were being used as a way for detainees to communicate with comrades outside the prison. The Americans believed that a bookseller, who had a contract to take care of the library, was acting as a mediator and told him not to show up for work on the day that two translators were scouring the materials.
The translators later told the Afghan delegation that U.S. officials had told them that the books pulled from the shelves were headed for storage.
According to Dad's account, the books were kept in a place where refuse is picked up and taken to a garbage burn pit on the base. Afghan workers at the base noticed that they were religious books and notified an Afghan army commander who questioned U.S. troops about the books and was satisfied when he was told they would be stored somewhere safe.
But the Afghan workers later noticed the books had been set on fire. The workers and two Afghan officers rescued 216 books, including 48 Qurans, from being burned, Dad said. They were shouting and pulling the books from the burn pit, preventing the U.S. troops from throwing the remaining four cartons of books into the fire, he said.
"They lied to the Afghan workers and the Afghan National Army officers, telling them they were going to store the books in a container, then they went and burned the books. If it was not intentional, they would not have lied," Dad said.
Dad also claimed the investigation had shown that some detainees had written their names, their father's names, their inmate identification numbers and the date they were detained in some of the books that were not destroyed. Some of the books written in Arabic also had definitions of Arabic words scribbled in Dari or Pashto, the two Afghan languages.
"I didn't see anything that suggested that messages were being exchanged between prisoners or with outsiders," he said.
Full details of the incident are expected to be included in the joint Afghan-U.S. probe that is being reviewed by a coalition legal expert. A date for its release has not been set. A more formal U.S. military investigation is still weeks away from completion.
The Quran burnings have brought relations between the U.S.-led military coalition and the Afghan government to an all-time low and spurred the most serious wave of anti-American and foreign sentiment across the country during the 10-year war.
Karzai's office said Saturday it had only seen the report drafted by the religious leaders and had not yet been given the joint report, so could not comment on it although the president has demanded that those involved be put on trial and punished.
"We are waiting for the result of the investigation by NATO, which will probably show who is involved in this and how many people are involved. After studying it we will announce our stance," said presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi. "What the Afghan president has requested from U.S. officials and the U.S. military is a trial and punishment."
Any action taken against American troops involved would have to come under the U.S. military justice system, officials with the international coalition have said.
Still, Karzai is likely to capitalize on the incident and use it as leverage in his government's talks over a strategic partnership document that Washington and Kabul are negotiating ahead of a planned withdrawal of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. As part of the negotiations, Karzai wants the U.S. to hand over prisons and stop unpopular night raids against the homes of suspect Taliban commanders and fighters.
___
Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.
Do you know that the MERs lowered the landing platform on a cable, followed by rocket engine ignition and a brief hover period ? Do you know that, for some reason, it worked, twice, with no broken or tangled cable ?
See it here [youtube.com] (3:03 - 3:33).
MSL uses the exact same technique, only it is simpler since after the cables are cut the rover is already on the ground. So the second part with the platform egress is not required. The only new elements are the detection of the touchdown and the fly away. The first has
[unable to retrieve full-text content]AP - The leaders of 25 European countries on Friday signed a new treaty designed to limit government overspending, but their good intentions were immediately put to the test when Spain said it would miss deficit targets this year to spare itself from austerity overload.
Google's certainly not alone in its vision of a future in which the smartphone makes credit cards go the way of the Palm Pilot. The software giant may have gotten a bit of a head start on some of the others, but it's already got some stiff competition in the form of the carrier-led Isis and a slew of new initiatives unveiled at MWC. According The Wall Street Journal, the field may soon be getting even more stiff competition. Walmart and Target have reportedly joined two dozen or so fellow retailers to develop a mobile payment system to call their own. While most of the participants have yet to be named, the list includes a pretty broad spectrum of companies, including fast food joints, big box retailers and drug stores. Google, for one, welcomes such competition, telling the paper, "We think it's great that there are other companies innovating in the payments space. This will create more choice for consumers, and in the end we believe choice is a good thing." No word on when exactly the initiative is set to launch.
Earlier today, Steve sat down with Will Ferrell for Casa de mi Padre, and learned some good news and some bad news.? Bad news first: Anchorman 2 remains dead.? There were places for a sequel to go, but the movie isn?t going anywhere.? Now the good news: you may remember that last May, Ferrell said he, John C. Reilly, and writer-director Adam McKay were considering a sequel to Step Brothers.? Today, Ferrell told Steve that they are going to start writing a script really soon with the hope of filming it in the fall.
That?s a fairly quick turnaround.? In June, we heard that McKay and Ferrell were considering the football comedy Three Mississippi.? The movie is about two Philadelphia neighbors whose annual Thanksgiving game of tackle football has become extraordinarily heated.? I like that premise, but you won?t hear me complaining if Step Brothers 2 goes in front of cameras first.? I?m always up for a fuckin? Catalina wine mixer.? Look for part of Steve?s interview later today (we?ll update this article) but until then, watch the trailer for the first Step Brothers after the jump.
Contact: Ferdie De Vega Ferdinand.DeVega@moffitt.org 813-745-7858 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Dendritic cell implants and radiotherapy together found promising
TAMPA, Fla. (March 1, 2012) A team of 18 researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that treating high-risk, soft tissue sarcoma patients with a combination of implanted dendritic cells (immune system cells) and fractionated external beam radiation (EBRT) provided more than 50 percent of their trial patients with tumor-specific immune responses lasting from 11 to 42 weeks.
Their study was published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (Vol. 82, No. 2), the journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
"Sarcomas are relatively rare forms of cancer with about 10,000 new cases in the U.S. annually," said study co-author Dmitry Gabrilovich, M.D., Ph.D., senior member of the Moffitt Department of Immunology.
The authors note that because 50 percent of patients with large, high-grade soft tissue sarcomas develop distant metastasis, new, effective treatments are needed.
"Unfortunately, conventional therapy for large, high-grade tumors is frequently systematically ineffective, making this a very deadly problem," Gabrilovich said.
According to the researchers, administration of dendritic cells has been found to be a promising method for producing an immune response because dendritic cells process antigen material and present it to other immune cells. Dendritic cells act as immune system messengers.
"Many studies have shown that preoperative radiotherapy and surgery is effective in treating many soft tissue sarcomas with high-risk features," said Gabrilovich. "We designed our study to investigate the effect of combining the administration of dendritic cells and EBRT for patients with soft tissue, high-risk sarcomas."
The researchers hypothesized that if dendritic cell implants were combined with EBRT (the most common kind of radiotherapy treatment that not only can kill tumor cells but release tumor antigens) the combination therapy might be complimentary when the dendritic cells helped process tumor antigens released by the EBRT treatment.
"The combination treatment resulted in dramatic increases in immune T cells in the tumors," explained Gabrilovich. "The presence of T cells in the tumors positively correlated with the development of tumor-specific immune responses."
An important finding in this study was that no patient had significant tumor specific immune responses before the combined therapy. After the combination treatment, tumor specific responses were observed in 52.9 percent of trial patients.
The researchers reported that the combination treatment was "well tolerated" and that 12 of the 17 patients in the clinical trial were "progression free" after one year.
The authors concluded that given that the combination therapy proved effective in creating a potent anti-tumor response and was safe, producing no adverse side effects, larger trials with greater numbers of patients were warranted.
###
About Moffitt Cancer Center Follow Moffitt on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MoffittCancerCenter
Follow Moffitt on Twitter: @MoffittNews
Follow Moffitt on YouTube: MoffittNews
Located in Tampa, Moffitt Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a description that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer.
Media release by Florida Science Communications
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Contact: Ferdie De Vega Ferdinand.DeVega@moffitt.org 813-745-7858 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Dendritic cell implants and radiotherapy together found promising
TAMPA, Fla. (March 1, 2012) A team of 18 researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that treating high-risk, soft tissue sarcoma patients with a combination of implanted dendritic cells (immune system cells) and fractionated external beam radiation (EBRT) provided more than 50 percent of their trial patients with tumor-specific immune responses lasting from 11 to 42 weeks.
Their study was published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics (Vol. 82, No. 2), the journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
"Sarcomas are relatively rare forms of cancer with about 10,000 new cases in the U.S. annually," said study co-author Dmitry Gabrilovich, M.D., Ph.D., senior member of the Moffitt Department of Immunology.
The authors note that because 50 percent of patients with large, high-grade soft tissue sarcomas develop distant metastasis, new, effective treatments are needed.
"Unfortunately, conventional therapy for large, high-grade tumors is frequently systematically ineffective, making this a very deadly problem," Gabrilovich said.
According to the researchers, administration of dendritic cells has been found to be a promising method for producing an immune response because dendritic cells process antigen material and present it to other immune cells. Dendritic cells act as immune system messengers.
"Many studies have shown that preoperative radiotherapy and surgery is effective in treating many soft tissue sarcomas with high-risk features," said Gabrilovich. "We designed our study to investigate the effect of combining the administration of dendritic cells and EBRT for patients with soft tissue, high-risk sarcomas."
The researchers hypothesized that if dendritic cell implants were combined with EBRT (the most common kind of radiotherapy treatment that not only can kill tumor cells but release tumor antigens) the combination therapy might be complimentary when the dendritic cells helped process tumor antigens released by the EBRT treatment.
"The combination treatment resulted in dramatic increases in immune T cells in the tumors," explained Gabrilovich. "The presence of T cells in the tumors positively correlated with the development of tumor-specific immune responses."
An important finding in this study was that no patient had significant tumor specific immune responses before the combined therapy. After the combination treatment, tumor specific responses were observed in 52.9 percent of trial patients.
The researchers reported that the combination treatment was "well tolerated" and that 12 of the 17 patients in the clinical trial were "progression free" after one year.
The authors concluded that given that the combination therapy proved effective in creating a potent anti-tumor response and was safe, producing no adverse side effects, larger trials with greater numbers of patients were warranted.
###
About Moffitt Cancer Center Follow Moffitt on Facebook: www.facebook.com/MoffittCancerCenter
Follow Moffitt on Twitter: @MoffittNews
Follow Moffitt on YouTube: MoffittNews
Located in Tampa, Moffitt Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a description that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer.
Media release by Florida Science Communications
[ | 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.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - Fifteen Oscar statuettes have sold for a total of $3 million at an online auction, the most money made from a single collection of Oscars in a sale by bid, organizers said on Wednesday.
When you are pregnant or become a parent, you open yourself up for a variety of unsolicited advice. When it?s from strangers,?you can shrug it off. But it?s more challenging when it comes from those who really do have the best interest of your child in mind?the grandparents. The parent-child dynamic definitely shifts a bit when the child becomes a parent, so it can be an adjustment to find balance between all of the roles. Whether you struggle with your own parents or your in-laws, we?ve got tips for making those relationships with the grandparents go smoothly.
Today, Jennifer L. Hartstein, author of Princess Recovery: A How-To Guide to Raising Strong, Empowered Girls Who Can Create Their Own Happily Ever Afters, shares an excerpt from her book with advice on finding balance between parents and grandparents. (And be sure to check giveaway details below on how to get this book!)
Grandparents are important in children?s lives, but the relationship between grandparents and the parents can sometimes be difficult. The best grandchild/grandparent relationships are those that are encouraged by the parent, who then steps back and lets them unfold. Of course, this is not always easy, especially if you don?t always agree with the things YOUR parents (the grandparents) are doing.
New parents may forget that their parents did do a good job of raising them, and thus, often have their own ideas and special knowledge that they bring to the table. If you can start to communicate about everyone?s roles prior to the baby being born, you are able to set the tone for positive interactions.
Grandparents are integral for many reasons, including offering a safe place for grandchildren to be, especially when mom and dad are tired and need a respite; providing a sense of identity and family history; stability; helping with child care; and giving support and knowledge.
Despite their importance, though, it appears that conflicts arise around several key areas:
1. Expectations. Grandparents and parents all have their own expectations, and they may not be the same. New moms may expect grandma to come over every Thursday, when, in fact, that doesn?t really work. It?s important to discuss expectations and needs openly and honestly, so no conflict arises.
2. Communication breakdowns. Everyone comes to parenting with different ideas and needs. It?s very important to provide clear information with explanations (even with reading materials/websites) to grandparents so they can understand why you are making your parenting decisions.
3. Spoiling. In some ways, it is a grandparent?s prerogative (and job) to spoil your children. It is okay to put some limits on it, though, and ask for it in moderation. This may be a challenging talk to have, especially as a grandparent believes he/she is doing the ?right? thing by over-indulging, however, it isn?t always great for the children. Be sure to speak your mind respectfully and ask to be the ?gatekeeper? of the gifts. This is especially important if you feel that the grandparents are giving gifts that are not in line with you and your partner?s beliefs.
4. Differences of opinion. These differences may occur over a wide variety of topics, and can lead to increased conflict and feelings of being judged. Be sure to slow down and hear one another out, and then make decisions.
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Public release date: 1-Mar-2012
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When you are pregnant or become a parent, you open yourself up for a variety of unsolicited advice. When it?s from strangers,?you can shrug it off. But it?s more challenging when it comes from those who really do have the best interest of your child in mind?the grandparents. The parent-child dynamic definitely shifts a bit when the child becomes a parent, so it can be an adjustment to find balance between all of the roles. Whether you struggle with your own parents or your in-laws, we?ve got tips for making those relationships with the grandparents go smoothly.